The road is vague

Chapter 248 True Yang Secret Realm
a few days later.

More than fifty Foundation Establishment disciples arrived in front of the teleportation pavilion.

Li Mo stood alongside Wei Cang and Jiang Feiyan in the crowd, glancing around slightly.

The cultivators who came here were almost all elite disciples in the mid-stage and late-stage Foundation Establishment. Xue Tai and Wen Sheng, who had previously joined forces with him, also participated in this competition and each had their own small group.

Wei Cang sighed inwardly, a hint of loneliness showing in his sunken eyes.

“Junior Brother Li, your senior sister and I don’t have much hope for these two spots as true disciples. We’re just here for the fun of it. But you’re different. Although you’re only at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, you’re enough to compete with the top Foundation Establishment disciples of our sect. The hope of our lineage rests on you.”

"Yes."

Jiang Feiyan couldn't help but sigh quietly and turned to look at Li Mo.

"With your strength, I think most others already consider you a formidable competitor. You'll definitely face considerable pressure once you get in, after all, there are two spots for true disciples in this competition. And you need to be careful of the Ye siblings over there; their combined attack technique is extremely powerful..."

Just like Li Mo displayed his divine power in the battle of Qinglongtan.

In the battle of the Dharma Protectorate, the Ye siblings also overwhelmed all the heroes, were invincible, and their strength was unfathomable.

However, at that time, there were still many Golden Core cultivators gathered in the Dharma Protector Hall, so the brother and sister did not become the dominant force in the battle.

"Yes."

Wei Cang sighed.

“They are undoubtedly the focus of everyone’s attention. Junior brother, if you have the chance, you must do your best to separate the brother and sister, or eliminate one of them first.”

"I see."

Li Mo responded in a low voice, glancing sideways at the Ye siblings.

Ye Yifang was tall and slender with a handsome face. Standing tall and proud, he was truly a graceful and elegant figure.

Ye Zhimei is petite and exquisite, with bright eyes and white teeth. She looks around curiously and has a quirky and clever appearance.

Then he looked at Chen Rong in the crowd.

Chen Rong was standing with the three of them, discussing something in hushed tones. She noticed Li Mo's gaze, glanced at him indifferently, and then turned her head away as if nothing had happened, continuing her discussion with the three people beside her.

After half a stick of incense.

Lu Qi, Qian Jing, and Ye Shoutian were present.

Many Foundation Establishment disciples bowed in greeting, but neither Lu Qi nor Ye Shoutian spoke. Qian Jing glanced at the two of them and then spoke up helplessly.

"You are all the elites of our sect. The future of our sect rests on your shoulders. The True Yang Secret Realm is an ancient secret realm controlled by our sect. Legend has it that in ancient times, Qingming Mountain was originally True Yang Mountain. The True Yang Sect occupied this place for thousands of years until the great chaos at the end of the Middle Ages. Like countless other ancient sects in this world, the True Yang Sect became history in a short period of time and vanished into thin air..."

After Qian Jing finished speaking, more than fifty Foundation Establishment disciples filed in and entered the teleportation pavilion.

Above them was a huge celestial orbit determination device, composed of countless interlocking rings, emitting a faint spiritual light, which was completely different from the celestial orbit determination techniques of ancient times.

The fifty-odd people present needed to be divided into four groups for the teleportation, and Li Mo was assigned to the third group.

The first group of disciples quickly disappeared in an astonishing burst of spiritual light.

Li Mo glanced at the refuge talisman on his body, then looked at the True Yang Furnace in his hand, lost in thought.

The method for competing for the true disciples this time is to collect so-called True Yang Fire.

True Yang Fire possesses the power to burn hundreds of golds and can only be generated inside high-density metal ores. It shows no signs of abnormality from the outside and must be collected by breaking open the ore and using a special container or secret technique. The so-called True Yang Furnace refined by the Jiang family is the container for collecting True Yang Fire.

"The third group."

It was finally Li Mo's turn.

He came to his senses and stepped onto the teleportation platform.

A burst of spiritual light appeared all around, forming a barrier that enveloped Li Mo and the others.

The space rippled with intense waves, and suddenly with a boom, a burst of spiritual light shot into the sky. Li Mo felt himself vibrating at a high frequency, and the others around him also faded away in the process.

By the time he came to his senses, the spiritual light around him had disappeared.

as far as the eye can see.

The undulating land is covered with densely packed metal ores of various sizes.

These oddly shaped minerals, like pebbles on a riverbed, form the landscape here.

Further away are low volcanoes, only a hundred or two meters high, with thick black smoke billowing from their craters into the sky.

The air was filled with an unpleasant odor, and the temperature was extremely high, as if it were about to steam people.

Li Mo stretched out his left hand and casually used his spiritual light to capture a piece of ore.

This piece of ore is characterized by a combination of black crystals, reddish-brown particles, and grayish-white substances. It is only the size of a fist, but weighs an astonishing several tens of kilograms.

He activated his spiritual eye to observe for a moment, but found nothing unusual. So he casually discarded it, and the dark golden light flashed and disappeared.

There was a loud bang!
The ore shattered in mid-air, but Li Mo frowned.

The ore he casually picked up was incredibly hard, almost comparable to a low-grade magic weapon.

Although he destroyed the ore, he consumed some of his magic power. Trying to find the so-called True Yang Fire from such a vast amount of ore within twelve hours was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Thinking this, Li Mo was about to leave when his gaze suddenly froze.

On the ground piled with ore, a tiny flame, the size of a soybean, was burning quietly.

"this?"

Li Mo was dumbfounded.

Isn't it said that true yang fire is extremely rare?
He hurriedly took out the True Yang Furnace and collected the flame, which was the size of a soybean. The flame emitted a power that could melt metal, which made him somewhat suspicious.

So he once again drew his Heavenly Golden Sword and shot it at a metal ore about half a person's height not far away.

A loud bang came from the ore deposit. This time, Li Mo expended several times more magical power than before.

However, when he got closer, he found nothing. As if he didn't believe it, he used his flying sword to attack a dozen smaller pieces of ore. With continuous loud noises, he still found nothing. Only then did he realize that he had just had a stroke of good luck and had just discovered a piece of metal ore that was nurturing True Yang Fire.

"According to Senior Sister Jiang, the closer an area is to the crater, the greater the possibility of True Yang Fire being born. This time, under the guise of selecting true disciples, many Foundation Establishment disciples are being driven to collect True Yang Fire here. It's hard to say that there isn't another purpose behind it. Perhaps it's a consolation and compensation for the Jiang family?"

After a moment of random thoughts, Li Mo shook his head.

His goal is to become a true disciple; he doesn't need to concern himself with the reasons behind it.

Then a fierce glint flashed in his eyes!
"Instead of aimlessly searching for True Yang Fire here, it would be better to eliminate everyone else in advance. In any case, according to the intelligence, this secret realm is not very large."

He immediately flew toward the nearest crater.

According to the intelligence, the closer you are to the crater, the higher the probability of collecting True Yang Fire. There are only about a dozen volcanoes in this secret realm, each only a few miles apart, so it is not difficult to visit them all.

……

Chen Linglong was one of the few early Foundation Establishment cultivators among those who signed up for this competition to become a true disciple.

She considered herself to have good aptitude, but unfortunately, her cultivation time was still short, making it difficult to compete with the mid- or late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators of her sect. Therefore, her purpose in coming here was simply to broaden her horizons and try to comprehend the alchemical power of this place.

Upon entering the secret realm, she found herself landing near a low-lying volcano.

There was a foul odor in the air.

Black smoke billowed from the crater in the distance, distorting her vision. She quickly walked forward and saw that the metal ore was being continuously refined in this high-temperature distortion. Although the process was extremely slow, it would accumulate over a long period of time and eventually reach a considerable level.

When the metal ores here are tempered to a certain degree by the natural environment, a wisp of true yang fire may be born inside them.

"It is said that this True Yang Fire is one of the basic materials for the Jiang family to forge the True Yang Cauldron. The Jiang family failed to replicate the Tongtian True Yang Cauldron here, which led to a great calamity. Now, the sect has gathered many Foundation Establishment disciples here to collect True Yang Fire. Does the Jiang family intend to restart the refining plan?"

With this thought in mind, Chen Linglong casually summoned her flying sword.

There was a soft clang!
The flying sword collided with the metal ore, but was bounced away by the ore.

She was taken aback, and her face turned somewhat pale.

He immediately activated his Heavenly Frost Thunder Body talent, condensing a layer of ice and lightning spiritual power on the surface of his flying sword, and then shot it towards the ore again.

The ore, which already had a gap, shattered instantly.

Fortunately, a tiny flame the size of a broad bean appeared in the ore. She was immediately delighted, took out the True Yang Furnace, and collected the flame.

"I didn't expect my luck to be so good!"

Chen Linglong thought with a touch of pride and smugness.

Next, she chopped up several more pieces of metal ore, but unfortunately, no more True Yang Fire appeared.

"Never mind, even if it's just a wisp, it's enough for me to gain some insight."

Think of this.

Chen Linglong activated her spiritual eye technique and looked at the flames in the True Yang Furnace. For a moment, she seemed to be completely immersed in it, unable to extricate herself.

Half an incense stick's time has passed.

Chen Linglong continued to observe the True Yang Fire using her Spiritual Eye Technique, and was slightly tired.

Just as she was about to rest for a while before continuing to comprehend the true yang fire in the furnace, she saw a figure in the distance, which quickly flew closer.

Chen Linglong quickly stopped what she was doing and looked at the person.

When she saw who it was, her expression changed immediately.

"Instructor Li!"

Chen Linglong took the initiative to make friends, and the person who came was none other than Li Mo.

Although she was only one year younger than Coach Li, Coach Li's reputation in the school was simply too great after this battle.

At this moment, she found it impossible to muster any will to resist.

"My name is Chen Linglong. I am only at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. My purpose in coming here is simply to experience the power of integration here. I will not participate in the competition for the true disciple. We met briefly at the Dharma Protector Hall training ground a few months ago. I hope Instructor Li will be lenient."

Li Mo looked down at the timid and submissive Chen Linglong from his high vantage point.

In the past, he would not have intended to make things difficult, but at this moment, he remained expressionless.

"I am determined to secure this spot as a true disciple. I will leave no one in the competition. Since you have no intention of fighting, you may tear off your talisman and leave."

Li Mo said indifferently.

"you!"

Chen Linglong thought that by lowering her stance, Li Mo would let her off the hook.

Unexpectedly, this person turned out to be heartless; his reputation was not like this before.

If it were any other mid-Foundation Establishment disciple, Chen Linglong might have been inclined to fight if she were forced to do so. However, facing this man in the air who appeared light and indifferent, she simply did not have the courage to fight.

Chen Linglong had no choice but to grit her teeth and swallow her anger, and tried to beg for mercy again.

"Why must you press me so hard, Instructor Li? I am but a woman, with only the early stage of Foundation Establishment cultivation. Instructor Li, you..."

"Noisy."

Before Chen Linglong could finish speaking, Li Mo decisively attacked, summoning the Heavenly Golden Sword and shooting it at her.

The dark golden light flashed and disappeared in an instant.

Upon seeing this, Chen Linglong, who was begging for mercy, was immediately shocked and unleashed her full power to wield the replica Langya Sword.

(End of this chapter)