First achieve immortality, then cultivate immortality.

Xu Mu and the others arrived at the crowd.

Those who can get here must have experts in their teams.

"There are actually people from the Guihe Sect here." Everyone was surprised.

They came in from Weikong City, while Guihe Sect came from Chekong City.

Despite being thousands of miles apart, they still entered the same secret realm.

Guihe Sect's Taoist robes are white, with a "crane soaring through the clouds" ink painting on the back, and cloud patterns on the cuffs and hem, making them highly distinctive.

In addition, several smaller sects from the Guihe Sect also came here.

"People from the Qinglan Sect are here too..."

The disciples dressed in Qinglan Sect robes and Guihe Sect disciples were divided into two groups. The Qinglan Sect disciples were not standing close together and did not speak to each other. Only the geniuses from each sect gathered together to discuss.

"I'll go take a look," Ye Chen said with a faint smile.

Since it's a gathering of geniuses, he believes he's qualified.

Clearly, he thought the same as Xu Mu, and did not expect Liu Yan and the others to enter the center of the secret realm with him.

They had already completed their mission by successfully arriving here.

"You guys..." He looked at the others.

"I'll go take a look too," Xu Mu said.

All eyes immediately turned to him, but he didn't seem to care, remaining calm.

"I'll go too," Liu Yan said with a determined look in her eyes.

Ye Chen frowned slightly, a little worried that they would be a burden to him, but he couldn't say it directly, so he could only nod and say, "Listen to my instructions and don't act on your own."

Liu Yan nodded, and Xu Mu nodded as well.

Although he felt he no longer needed to be with them, there was no need to immediately break ties. He decided to keep a low profile and see how things went.

So the three of them rushed into the crowd, while the other three stayed behind.

This move immediately attracted the attention of others.

Ye Chen smiled faintly and cupped his hands, saying, "Greetings, fellow Daoists. I am Ye Chen, a disciple of the Water-Intercepting Spirit Lord of the Hongshan Sect."

He showed no fear in the face of the geniuses from Qinglan Sect and Guihe Sect.

We are all disciples of the Core Formation Spirit Lord, so there is not much difference in status. Whoever is weaker will be embarrassed.

"So you are the esteemed disciple of Lord Jieshui. I have long heard that Hongshan Sect has taken in a sword genius with a promising future. You must be the one." A prodigy from Guihe Sect smiled and returned the greeting with a cupped hand.

Ye Chen was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Guihe Sect, which was so far away, would have heard of him. He felt proud and honored.

"You flatter me, I am deeply grateful for your guidance, sir." He smiled politely and stepped forward to join the group.

Everyone wanted to give Hongshan Sect and Jieshui Lingjun face, so they were all very polite, introduced themselves, and got to know each other.

The Qinglan Sect and Guihe Sect have many talented individuals who belong to the elders of their respective peaks.

Other smaller sects are clearly lacking. They either have some reputation beforehand, like Ye Chen, and can speak out, or they can only stand quietly in the back, unknown to anyone.

Xu Mu was an old man in his seventies or eighties, so no one paid him any attention, and he stood quietly at the back listening.

Several geniuses gathered together to discuss how to conquer the thunderstorm zone.

"I think it's about time. The truly powerful fellow cultivators should have already arrived here. Those who haven't arrived yet aren't anyone special, so there's no need to worry about them," a genius from the Qinglan Sect said calmly.

He seems to be the most famous genius in the Qinglan Sect, named Xue Yi, a disciple of Elder Cuixin, and considered Yan Qing's junior brother.

"Fellow Daoist Xue's words are a bit hurtful," Sun Mengyang said with a smile.

He was the representative of the Guihe Sect, and he was the first one to speak to Ye Chen. He seemed rather smooth and did not have the obvious arrogance of a genius.

"Am I not telling the truth? Why pretend?" Xue Yi sneered.

Sun Mengyang smiled and said, "Since Fellow Daoist Xue is so impatient, let's prepare to take action."

Others, not wanting to get involved in the rivalry between the two geniuses, didn't have any objections.

With little time left before the secret realm is destroyed, we really can't afford to delay any longer.

The next question is who will enter the thunderstorm area and how to form a team.

After discussion, they split into two teams: one was a team of geniuses who had the opportunity to enter the center of the secret realm to comprehend the Dao, and the other was a team that lacked the strength but wanted to give it a try.

The geniuses don't want to be held back, so the latter type will try it themselves, and if they find it difficult, they will retreat on their own. They have no interest in carrying others to "rank up".

Ye Chen looked at Xu Mu and Liu Yan and said, "Then you two should find people to team up and try it out yourselves. I'll head towards the center of the secret realm with those fellow Daoists."

Xu Mu nodded, but did not suggest teaming up with those geniuses.

After all, he was just an unknown nobody, and it would be too embarrassing for him to say such a thing.

Since there is no opportunity now, he will not force it. He will go as far as he can, and he may eventually be able to establish his foundation.

Liu Yan looked at Ye Chen as if she wanted to say something, but Ye Chen simply said, "I can't go with you. Don't force yourselves. If you can't do it, just give up."

We are both well aware of the gap between us, and we know our own talents; let's just do our best.

After saying that, he turned and left, ignoring them completely.

Liu Yan looked disappointed and gave a helpless, bitter smile.

She tried desperately to catch up with the genius, but in the end, the genius didn't even glance at her, let alone have any interest in helping her.

"Do you still want to go in?" Xu Mu asked calmly.

Liu Yan bit her lower lip, paused for a moment, and then nodded emphatically: "I must try, even if it comes at a price."

Xu Mu nodded: "Alright, let's go together, we're at least somewhat familiar with each other. Let's find a few more people."

Liu Yan nodded gently: "Yes, you are older than me and stronger than me, I will listen to you."

"Oh? That's good." Xu Mu smiled faintly.

Only in this way can we truly work together with one heart and one mind, for many hands make light work.

……

Soon, the geniuses entered the thunderstorm zone together. It wasn't really a team; it was just a temporary group.

They all have their own pride, are unwilling to ask for help from others, and want to prove their own abilities.

Their sole purpose in coming together is to deal with unexpected situations and avoid being overwhelmed by adversity.

Whether you can break into the heart of the secret realm depends on your own abilities.

Their team consisted of more than ten people, and with rival factions like the Qinglan Sect and the Guihe Sect all vying for power, it was impossible for them to work together harmoniously.

This is also one of the reasons why Xu Mu gave up on joining voluntarily; he felt it wouldn't be very effective, and it would be better to find a way on his own.

After the geniuses left, all that remained were some cultivators who were slightly weaker and hadn't been chosen. Like Liu Yan, they were dismissed and were unwilling to accept it.

"Do you want to find a few more people?" Liu Yan asked.

Xu Mu smiled and nodded: "Don't you think the remaining people are very suitable to form a team? They have ambition and fighting spirit. As long as they share the same goal and work together, they may very well be able to create a miracle."

Liu Yan remained silent and did not respond.

She didn't quite agree with that statement. Since these people were left behind, they must be relatively weak. Even if they had ambition and fighting spirit, so what? Could they get through the minefield just by relying on fighting spirit?

But she herself was one of those people, so she couldn't say anything and had to put away her initial arrogance.

Xu Mu ignored what she thought and prepared to choose his own teammates.

Anyway, do your best.