Gentlemen, it's time to enter the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.

Chapter 62 After walking several dozen steps, a sudden enlightenment appeared.

The seven-colored poisonous miasma slowly dispersed like a veil soaked in cinnabar, and the monk Fangyuan's robe glowed with golden light, burning a winding path through the poisonous fog.

The two passed through the poisonous miasma and soon arrived at the entrance of the valley.

Three weathered stone lion statues are half-hidden among the weeds, their outlines worn away by time. Occasionally, fragments of bones remain among the wild grass, creating a rather desolate scene.

What I saw before me was a desolate wasteland, as if no one had lived there for hundreds of years, which felt quite eerie.

However, when Chen Ye opened his spiritual eyes, he saw traces of spiritual energy flowing everywhere. The richness of spiritual energy in this world far exceeded what Chen Ye had seen before.

"Truly a wonderful place for spiritual practice."

Monk Fangyuan simply smiled and did not instruct Chen Ye on how to enter the valley.

Chen Ye understood that this was probably a test for Baihai Valley.

Even ordinary people's inns can put up a bronze door to test the guests' skills, let alone the territory of cultivators.

The desolate entrance before him must be an illusion; Chen Ye needs to find the correct entrance to enter Hundred Seas Valley.

If Chen Ye were to fight someone else, he would probably be nervous, because who knows what tricks the other person has, and they might be able to kill him in one fell swoop.

But if he were to break the formation, he would be quite confident.

With a single glance, he could discern the traces of the formation.

Chen Ye muttered to himself, "It's somewhat different from Jiang Shiyue's illusion technique, but it's also based on the local feng shui layout... The method is much more sophisticated, but the difficulty isn't that high."

As Chen Ye entered the valley, the seven-colored miasma immediately surged in from all directions. However, as Chen Ye stopped, the highly poisonous miasma seemed to encounter an invisible wall and was kept three feet away.

Chen Ye smiled slightly, raised his right hand, and tapped his fingertips, calculating the location through changes in spiritual energy.

"The Gui Zang hexagram's 'Trapped Dragon Formation,' the Kun position with a yin line, the first six lines indicating 'treading on frost'..."

As they walked and talked, Chen Ye paid no attention to the colorful poisonous miasma that was so close at hand.

He was in the right place at every step, and with each step he pushed back the boundless poisonous miasma.

Before long, Chen Ye's vision cleared up, and the gloomy valley transformed into a fairyland filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers.

Looking back, Monk Fangyuan was nowhere to be seen.

Chen Ye understood what the other party meant; he would have to rely on himself from now on.

As I strode into this fairyland-like valley, I soon encountered a Taoist priest with a long beard and an air of otherworldly wisdom.

The man walked over with a smile and said to Chen Ye, "Congratulations, fellow Daoist, on breaking the formation."

Chen Ye knew that he had passed the test of Baihai Valley and was qualified to join it.

This Taoist priest was guarding the entrance, presumably the person in charge of receiving newcomers from the Hundred Seas Valley Alliance. However, ordinary cultivators could not discern his cultivation level, and Chen Ye did not know what realm he was in either.

Regardless of their cultivation level, Chen Ye naturally wouldn't be negligent in the face of others' warm greetings. He politely said, "My name is Chen Ye. I'm new here, so please give me your guidance."

Chen Ye pretended to be friendly and walked closer to the Taoist priest, slipping him a small bottle of pills.

The Taoist priest was surprised by Chen Ye's politeness and hurriedly accepted the medicine. He then exclaimed in surprise, "The pills from the Incense Burning Sect are extremely valuable!"

"Not at all, my cultivation is low and it took me quite a while to break the formation. I apologize for troubling you to wait here."

Since it came from Wei Changsheng anyway, and its only effect was healing injuries, it wasn't very valuable, so Chen Ye didn't feel any pain in giving it away.

This polite and generous attitude immediately increased the other party's goodwill. The Taoist said, "What are you saying, fellow Taoist? I am Lu Fusheng, and I am on duty today. There is no need to wait. This is my duty."

"I imagine it took you a lot of time and effort to break the formation, so please come with me and rest for a while. I'll then explain the rules of Hundred Seas Valley to you."

Lu Fusheng said he was taking Chen Ye to rest, but in reality he just led him a few steps to a pavilion.

Lu Fusheng warmly invited Chen Ye to sit down and personally poured him a cup of tea before asking, "When did Fellow Daoist Chen arrive? You must have put in a lot of effort to break the formation. You can rest here for a while."

The tea itself wasn't anything special; I didn't sense any rare or precious ingredients in it, but I could only say it tasted good.

That's not surprising. How could the gatekeeper possibly offer you spiritual tea that can increase your cultivation level?
After all, rogue cultivators are all poor. Chen Ye said, "I just arrived recently, and I'm not too tired yet. Fellow Daoist Lü is too kind."

Lu Fusheng, however, had an "I understand" expression on his face and said to Chen Ye, "Fellow Daoist, there is no need to worry. If you don't break the formation with brute force, you won't be able to get through this maze at the entrance without repeatedly calculating it over three to five hours."

"Breaking the formation takes a lot of mental energy. You're worried that you'll be exposed when you're weak, attracting the covetousness of others. Don't worry, once you enter Hundred Seas Valley, no one will dare to harm you. This is a peaceful place recognized by the five major sects. Even the Demon Lord doesn't dare to run wild here. Once you enter this gate, you can cultivate in peace."

Chen Ye, puzzled, asked, "Three to five hours?"

He only walked about thirty or forty steps, which is about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Could it be that this formation has the effect of blurring the flow of time?

Lu Fusheng laughed and said, "A few hours is already impressive. Only cultivators who are well-versed in formations can do that. Someone like me, who is not good at formations, took two whole days to walk there and almost died of exhaustion."

Chen Ye was silent for a moment, then rubbed his temples and said, "It was really tough. I don't remember how long it took, but it was definitely more than two days. I was just barely holding on, and I'm still dizzy and lightheaded."

Lu Fusheng laughed and said, "I understand, I understand. We rogue cultivators lack both inheritance and elixirs. Naturally, we have to be cautious when we first arrive and can't show weakness. But don't worry, there are many rules here, but it's really safe."

Perhaps because he had received Chen Ye's pills, Lü Fusheng was exceptionally enthusiastic towards Chen Ye, carefully explaining to him the various rules and regulations of Hundred Seas Valley.

Actually, it's not complicated to summarize.

As long as independent cultivators do not engage in magical battles with others, they are free to practice in Hundred Seas Valley.

Wherever there is no owner, one can build a hut and live there, and seclude oneself in seclusion as one pleases.

There are thirty-six alchemy furnaces and eighteen weapon-refining towers in the valley, which can be borrowed for a few Azure Pearls.

"This is the Azure Pearl. Most items in the Hundred Seas Valley can be traded for Azure Pearls, just like gold and silver for ordinary people."

Lu Fusheng placed a crystal-clear white bead in front of Chen Ye.

This bead is smaller than a fingernail, yet it is exquisitely carved, perfectly round and flawless. With spiritual eyes, one can vaguely see spiritual energy flowing within it. Though not abundant, it appears to be a treasure crafted using special techniques.

Chen Ye then asked, "I wonder what the value of this Azure Pearl is?"

Lu Fusheng said, "It's not cheap. Renting the alchemy furnace for a day costs ten Azure Pearls. As for the other materials and pills, that depends on your bargaining skills and eye for quality. If we're talking about market prices, the bottle of pills you just gave me is worth three hundred Azure Pearls."

Chen Ye exclaimed in surprise, "So many? Does that mean we can rent the alchemy furnace for a month?"

There are only thirty-six alchemy furnaces in the entire Hundred Seas Valley. These were created by pooling manpower and resources over many years. They are not comparable to ordinary magic treasures. Renting one for a month would be incredibly valuable.

That bottle of pills can only treat some external injuries. At most, it's a product of the Burning Incense Sect, so its medicinal effects are better. How could it be so valuable?

Lu Fusheng explained, “Fellow Daoist, you may not know this, but in Hundred Seas Valley, treasures related to the five major sects are priced ten times or even dozens of times higher. Think about it, this bottle of pills I have is not very useful if I actually eat it, but if I make up a story and say that I have some connections with the Incense Burning Sect, what do you think others will think?”
"If I have descendants in a few years, I will give this elixir to them and have them go to the Incense Burning Sect. They will say that their ancestors had a connection with the Incense Burning Sect. Perhaps they can help their descendants enter the immortal sect. That would be a true ascension to heaven."

Chen Ye understood; the medicinal effects of the elixir itself were not important.

What matters is the relationship.

Even a wandering cultivator needs to be mindful of human relationships and social interactions.

Seeing that Chen Ye suddenly understood, Lü Fusheng said to him, "Relationships with powerful sects are especially useful in Baihai Valley. Since you were able to give away Fenxiang Valley's pills so readily, we must have a close relationship. In the future, I hope you will give me more guidance."

Chen Ye awkwardly touched his nose. If Lü Fusheng knew that his pills were stolen, would he immediately sever ties and pretend not to know him?
It doesn't matter. Chen Ye has some misunderstandings with the Incense Burning Sect, but his relationship with the Qinghe Sword Sect is quite good.

Before leaving, Su Chunyi gave him a new jade pendant, which was even more exquisite than the previous one.

Not only that, Su Chunyi also said that after returning to the Qinghe Sword Sect, she would help Chen Ye choose a magic weapon and send it to him when the time was right.

The Qinghe Sword Sect is the best in the world. With such connections, life should be much easier.

Just as they were about to get up and say goodbye to find a suitable place to stay as soon as possible, they saw the two people push through the mist and appear at the entrance of the valley.

Lu Fusheng said in bewilderment, "We don't see a single new person for months at a time, but today is quite a coincidence, with three of them arriving at once."

Chen Ye also looked at the two of them, and then his expression changed.

One of them was the person he least wanted to see at that moment—Wei Changsheng of the Incense Burning Sect.

My account seems to be ruined. I rewrote this chapter in a rush, so please leave a comment to correct any mistakes. Thank you so much!
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(End of this chapter)