After the main character who took the blame retired, the female lead quit.

"Hey! Young master, you left your things here!"

"What? No? Let me make this clear first, I didn't bribe you, cough cough... Consider that high-grade spirit stone as an invitation for you to have a cup of tea at a restaurant and relax. This is no easy task."

Xiao Yu simply picked up the wine gourd with the yellow tassel and shook it, without even turning his head. He took a sip, which he considered a toast to the female cultivator, leaving her with a dashing yet weak-willed back view.

This is indeed not an easy task. Every time a rogue cultivator hears that he cannot participate in the Phoenix Hill Secret Realm, his face immediately turns cold.

They felt that Liu Tongxiu, that bastard, had forgotten his roots. As the first discoverer of the secret realm, he not only failed to benefit them, who were also independent cultivators, but also joined forces with these sects to make things difficult for them.

Nowadays, sects are everywhere in Longshouzhou. Wild cultivators in the mountains and marshes have neither powerful backers nor spirit stones, so they live a rather unsatisfactory life, far less carefree than the rogue cultivators in Longmenzhou in the north.

Each continent has its own situation. Dragon Head Continent is the smallest of the five continents, with many large sects occupying most of the spiritual vein resources, leaving independent cultivators to hide in the corners and barely survive.

Because of its proximity to the boundary wall, Longmen Continent is sparsely populated and has few sects. Instead, it is a paradise for rogue cultivators, demonic cultivators, and fugitives. There are even fleeing demons mixed in with it. Although the situation of rogue cultivators there is much better, it is still not as safe as Longshou Continent.

So, despite the criticism, most people just swallowed their pride and left dejectedly.

A few female cultivators, taking their anger out on her, started hurling insults at her, and some even resorted to violence.

However, most of those who started a fight ended up having their arms broken and being thrown aside by the female cultivator. But after so many days, this was the first time someone like Xiao Yu had treated her to tea.

Regardless of Xiao Yu's purpose in leaving the spirit stones, it did make the female cultivator feel a little better.

Even when he's trying to pick up girls, he never throws away a single high-grade spirit stone, nor does he ask for their contact information.

Thinking of this, the female cultivator chuckled softly, her eyes, as clear as water, gazing at the spirit stone in her hand, slowly playing with it.

She brought this situation upon herself, since it was she who proposed the restriction prohibiting rogue cultivators from entering.

"Someone has come to register. What sect?"

Suddenly, a serious and solemn voice came from behind the female cultivator, asking as if it were a routine inspection.

"It's nothing, just a rogue cultivator."

The female cultivator didn't turn her head, her eyes still fixed on the crystal-clear spirit stone in her hand, and replied softly.

"A rogue cultivator? Hmph, you've brought this trouble upon yourself by setting up this barrier, but in the end it was all for naught."

Those who want to participate will still try their best to participate, but in the end, they all die, gaining nothing and only suffering unnecessary abuse.

The shadowy figure behind the female cultivator shook his head, looking at her with a tone of disappointment and frustration.

Although most of the criticism was directed at Liu Tongxiu, he wasn't there and couldn't hear it, so in the end, it was the woman in front of him who suffered.

He was just misunderstood for what he did, and he even got scolded. He's practically a fool.

"No, that person just gave me spirit stones, saying they were inviting me to a restaurant for tea."

Rarely, the female cultivator retorted softly, slightly raising the spirit stone in her hand so that the shadowy figure behind her could see it.

In response, the shadowy figure sarcastically remarked, "He probably has his eye on you. Even though he didn't ask for your contact information, he's probably planning to bump into you at the restaurant this afternoon."

The female cultivator remained silent, only thinking to herself, "So what if she likes someone? Does being unattractive mean she can't be approached?"

Realizing he had spoken too harshly, the shadowy figure softened his tone considerably afterward:

"In short, the plan is underway. Be vigilant. I know you don't want to see so many people die, but this is the necessary price. This is the only way to awaken the ancient parasol tree. My brother and the others have been planning for so long, and they finally managed to kill that guy while the heavens were in disarray. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Everything is for the purpose of overthrowing the cage that shrouds this land, and restoring freedom to its true masters. Before this, all sacrifices are necessary, at any cost, even if it means our deaths—it is all worthwhile.

The female cultivator no longer looked at the spirit stones, but instead looked up along with the dark figure behind her, her gaze piercing through the thick clouds and soaring straight into the sky.

After a long while, the female cultivator lowered her head and murmured softly again:

"I know, but... we'll save as many as we can."

"Hypocrisy!" The shadowy figure shook his head; he simply couldn't stand the female cultivator's actions.

Upon hearing this, the female cultivator said nothing, but briefly mentioned the high-grade spirit stone she was holding in her hand.

The bright sunlight shone through the superior spirit stone in her hand, causing its surface shimmer and reflect a dazzling light, pure and real, indicating that this top-grade spirit stone was not a fake, but a genuine one.

The blinding light caused the shadowy figure behind him to squint and take a step back. The sunlight shone on this woman, who possessed the last trace of phoenix blood in the world, as if draping her in a translucent feather robe. In a daze, she seemed as if a real phoenix had descended to earth.

After only a moment of distraction, the shadowy figure said nothing more. In any case, the number of rogue cultivators in this continent was dwindling, and the current order prohibiting rogue cultivators from participating was also the intention of those sects. The female cultivator's request was simply going with the flow, and they could take this opportunity to recruit some rogue cultivators.

Thinking of this, the dark figure turned around and disappeared near the female cultivator. He didn't understand this woman that his elder brother, Liu Tongxiu, the organizer of the Phoenix Hill Secret Realm, had picked up outside, but he was quite clear about some aspects of her, such as her stubborn temper. Right now, he figured there was no way to persuade her to change her mind.

Chapter Sixty-Two, Could it be that I really am a genius?

As for Xiao Yu, he had already gone far away and naturally couldn't hear the conversation between the shadowy figure and the female cultivator. Otherwise, he would never have participated in this secret realm.

Speaking of that high-grade spirit stone, Xiao Yu didn't have any thoughts about the female cultivator. He had been thoroughly exhausted by Long Wanyan, and his kidneys were still aching slightly. He had absolutely no interest in the girl and was completely detached from worldly desires.

It just feels a bit awkward to take things back now that I've already taken them out. I might as well invite that female cultivator who provides excellent service, is gentle, and has a lovely voice to have a cup of tea.

Cough cough... It's just that I have too many spirit stones, and it feels weird not to spend them. I guess this is what they mean by "money corrupts".

Getting back to the main point, he's currently having a headache over how to enter the secret realm.

Unexpectedly, he survived so many hardships, first being assassinated, then almost dying in bed, and was just one step away from success, but now he's stuck because he's not a disciple of the sect.

Speaking of sect identities, he does have quite a few, but none of them are of any use at this critical juncture. First, there's his identity as a disciple of the Xuanling Sect outside the sect. After such a terrible incident, the Xuanling Sect has probably already expelled him. Moreover, Li Yunshang is in the Xuanling Sect team participating in the Phoenix Hill Secret Realm. If he reveals his identity as a disciple of the Xuanling Sect again, wouldn't he be walking into a trap?

As for the Great Love Sect of Heaven and Earth as One? Forget about it. The sect is built on an island, and it's uncertain whether the outside world even knows about it. Moreover, even if it were possible, the secret realm still has a requirement for the number of people. It needs to have five people, and right now, he's the only one who can come to the outside world. Does he expect someone to rush out of Demon Gathering Island like him and parachute in front of him to give him a surprise?

After thinking for a long time, he still couldn't come up with any ideas. Before he knew it, the sun was high in the sky, and the bright sunlight made Xiao Yu's eyes a little blurry.

Arriving at a large, sturdy tree, Xiao Yu casually sat down against its trunk, taking advantage of the shade cast by sunlight filtering through its dense foliage. He looked up at the sky and sighed, "I can't possibly go and create my own sect before participating in the secret realms..."

Halfway through his sentence, Xiao Yu shook his head at the idea that had just popped into his head, and couldn't help but laugh, "How could that be..."

Before he could finish speaking, the tree trunk he was leaning against shook, and at the same time, a voice that seemed to have suddenly come to his senses rang out: "What a great idea!"

Xiao Yu: "Huh?!"

He turned his head, the loose black robe behind him swaying, and a familiar wisp of purple hair fluttering at the edge of the hood. As if by fate, a gentle breeze blew by, the leaves rustling, and the billowing wind lifted a corner of the hem of the robe, and in a daze, a touch of pink fluttered by.

Its owner simply pressed it down a little more casually, and his pinkish-white eyes under the hood stared at Xiao Yu, gleaming slightly.

"Create your own sect and participate in secret realms, why didn't I think of that? What's your name? You're a fucking genius."

Beneath the swaying shadows of the trees, a young girl in a wide black robe stood gracefully, a snow-white finger extending from beneath the robe, pointing directly at Xiao Yu with great interest.

The situation is obvious. She was probably leaning against the other side of the tree trunk, worrying about participating in the secret realm, when she overheard what Xiao Yu had just said. So, she jumped out from the other side in surprise.

"This... I am Ye Ba." Suppressing the twitching corners of his mouth, Xiao Yu looked at the figure in front of him and replied with a strange expression.

"Ye Ba, what a great name, so domineering, I like it. Ye Ba, you know, you're a real genius, you know that? Looks like you're also a rogue cultivator who wants to participate in the secret realm, right? Come on, let's create a sect together and go participate in the secret realm."

As expected... knocking out other disciples and impersonating them to participate in secret realms are all inferior tactics. Creating a sect is what's truly exciting and interesting!

The girl in black robes extended her hand, her face filled with excitement as she invited Xiao Yu to join her.

A gentle breeze made the scene quiet for a moment.

Through the girl's flowing black robe, Xiao Yu also saw a delicate-looking woman not far behind her, being pulled by several disciples dressed in Lily Sect attire who were trying to recruit her into the sect. The woman's face was full of resistance.

It is worth noting that whenever a disciple of the Hundred Flowers Sect came up and made physical contact with her, a shy blush would instantly creep onto the pretty woman's face. Fortunately, after some effort, the pretty woman escaped the clutches of the Hundred Flowers Sect disciples, losing only a coat.

"Hey! Hey, are you listening to me? I'm saying, do you want to create a sect with me to participate in the secret realm? If you join now, once the sect becomes famous, you'll be a veteran."

The girl's clear voice rang in his ears, and Xiao Yu came back to his senses, his gaze falling on the purple-haired girl in black robes in front of him.

What a coincidence! Isn't this the Golden Core cultivator who doted on his younger brother that I met in the dilapidated temple?

"Create a sect? I was just saying that casually. How could that be possible? If you want to participate in the secret realm, you might as well just find a sect to join."

Xiao Yu's gaze returned to the purple-haired, black-robed girl in front of him, and he refused without hesitation, even though it was his idea.

Just like the shadowy figure said before, if someone really wants to go, there's no point in stopping them; they'll do everything they can to participate.

Although independent cultivators are prohibited from participating in this secret realm, wouldn't it be possible for them to join a sect that allows participation and become a sect disciple?

Therefore, on his way here, Xiao Yu still saw quite a few sects recruiting rogue cultivators.

However, most independent cultivators probably won't participate. Why would there be independent cultivators?

Some were unwilling to accept the rules and regulations of the sect and left the sect on their own. Others were not selected by the sect during the selection process. They had extremely poor aptitude but had the ability to cultivate immortality. Unwilling to give up, they found a cultivation manual from somewhere and began to cultivate, thus becoming the rogue cultivators they are today.

The former had left the sect and naturally did not want to return, while the latter wanted to go to the sect, but the sect might not accept them, since they had been rejected by the sect in the first place.

However, besides these two types, there are a few special rogue cultivators who have good talent and cultivation, but have always been hiding in the deep mountains and forests to cultivate in seclusion, and only come out to participate in the secret realm.

These are the kinds of people that sects are eager to recruit as disciples.

Although the situation of this girl in black robes is currently unknown, with her Golden Core cultivation, joining any sect would be a piece of cake for her.

"No, if that old woman finds out I secretly joined another sect without her knowledge, she'll break my legs. Besides, joining another sect? It's not a good thing. I'll definitely be subjected to their orders, forced to do this and that. I don't want that. I want to be free to do whatever I want..."

The girl in the black robe shook her head and retorted earnestly.

Just like Xiao Yu thought, he initially planned to find any sect that would allow him to participate in the secret realm, but after thinking about it, he gave up on that idea.

Like the girl in black robes, he knew that as a rogue cultivator joining another sect, his status would definitely be lower than that of the original disciples, and he would probably be closely watched over whatever he did in the secret realm.

This contradicts Xiao Yu's purpose in entering the secret realm. What he wants is to go deep into the secret realm and find the drop of phoenix essence blood that Bu Suantian mentioned.

The actions during this period must be kept extremely secret, and if one joins a sect, it will be difficult to act with a group of people watching over one's actions.

hiss!

Thinking about it now, it doesn't seem like there's any problem with setting up my own sect to participate!

They can do whatever they want without any constraints.

wc!

Could it be that I really am a genius?!

Thinking this, Xiao Yu's expression brightened.

Chapter Sixty-Three, Conditions for Establishing a Sect

With this idea in mind, Xiao Yu's mind became active, but when he saw the eager black-robed girl in front of him, his boiling heart quickly cooled down in the next second.