I Have An Infinite Cultivation Resource
Chapter 97: Elder Wen: Alas, This Old Man's Heart Aches
Lu You looked at the demon core in his hand, sensed the spiritual energy within it for a moment, then placed it together with the snake egg into the small cauldron.
A demon core could not be directly absorbed. It had to be converted through refining techniques or alchemy before cultivators could use it. Thinking about how Lu Xiao'e had said that some materials required more than ten years to refine, Lu You hesitated.
"I'll study it after leaving the secret realm. Maybe with the Cauldron of Cornucopia, I can find a way to shorten the refining time."
If it were only for absorbing the Bone of Hell, Lu You could simply buy some pain-relieving pills. But refining a demon core was another matter entirely—he could not let anyone know about it.
"It's time to leave the secret realm."
Lu You sighed. The thought that Lu Xiao'e would no longer be beside him chattering away made him feel unexpectedly lonely.
'As expected, I really am a scumbag. I want everything.'
Lu You did not avoid acknowledging his own feelings. In fact, Lu Xiao'e's departure only made them clearer.
Taking out the spinal bone formation core, Lu You used its power to sense the secret realm. In the next instant, his consciousness merged with the entire realm. His eyes became like the sky of the secret realm itself, allowing him to see every corner of it.
All the Golden Core elders were dead.
Hm? Strange. Even those Foundation Establishment disciples were dead too?
After connecting his consciousness to the secret realm, Lu You could easily distinguish the cultivation levels of the remaining cultivators through the secret realm's absorption of spiritual energy. At this moment, including himself, there were only three Foundation Establishment cultivators left in the secret realm. Everyone else was merely Qi Refining disciples.
"That person… it's Senior Brother Han Tian!"
Through the formation core, Lu You located Han Tian's position. He immediately activated the Hell Avatar again, spread the giant wings, and flew over. Calculating Han Tian's likely route, Lu You stopped ahead of him and pretended to be exploring the secret realm while slowly approaching.
"Lu You? Junior Brother Lu?"
Not long after, Han Tian arrived. Seeing Lu You, he looked pleasantly surprised and immediately greeted him.
"Junior Brother, thank heavens—you're still alive!"
Han Tian looked excited as he quickly grabbed Lu You and checked his surroundings. Pulling Lu You behind a large rock for cover, he lowered his voice.
"Junior Brother Lu! You're the only person I can trust now!"
Han Tian took out his eavesdropping artifact and replayed the recording in front of Lu You. Then he said:
"Junior Brother Lu, even if you don't care about Verdant Cloud Sect, you must at least care about your Senior Sister Zeng Yan! That inheritance tomb last time was actually a conspiracy by Deep Literary Pavilion. Your Senior Sister nearly died there. And this secret realm is the same—it's another conspiracy by the Deep Literary Pavilion. You and I may both die here!"
Afraid Lu You might refuse, Han Tian hurriedly continued:
"Junior Brother Lu, I'm not asking you to expose the Deep Literary Pavilion yourself. I only want you to keep a copy of the evidence for me. I'll handle the accusation personally. But this matter involves a Nascent Soul cultivator from Deep Literary Pavilion. If I die while trying to expose them, and the evidence is covered up, then you can find a way to reveal the copy in your possession—or hand it over to Senior Brother Bai Zihua!"
"You must do this. Think about it: if Huo Chuan can devour Deep Literary Pavilion's Foundation Establishment disciples today, then what's stopping him from killing your Senior Sister Zeng Yan from Myriad Sword Mountain tomorrow?"
Han Tian had killed Wu Tong because he could not determine whether Wu Tong carried some kind of secret tracking technique, Han Tian feared that Huo Chuan might investigate him, making it impossible for him to return alive to Verdant Cloud Sect.
So now, upon seeing Lu You, Han Tian felt as though he had found family. Not only was he fairly close to Lu You, but Deep Literary Pavilion's schemes had already harmed Zeng Yan once before. Han Tian believed that as long as Lu You still possessed even a trace of integrity, he would safeguard the evidence for him.
"Senior Brother Han Tian, you really are bold."
Looking at the eavesdropping artifact, Lu You sighed. After hearing Han Tian's explanation, he had already pieced together the whole story. He truly had not expected that Han Tian, merely at the Foundation Establishment realm, would be so fearless, even willing to expose the crimes of Deep Literary Pavilion.
"Junior Brother Lu, you must think I'm foolish, right? But if I don't do this, my heart will never be at peace. If I spend my whole life diligently cultivating in pursuit of immortality, only to end up slaughtered like livestock in a place like this… then that kind of immortality is less comforting than death itself!"
Han Tian's expression turned solemn. Seeing that Lu You still had not accepted the artifact, he stopped pressing the matter.
"Junior Brother, let us pretend we never met. I won't drag you into this. Senior Brother understands your choice."
As Han Tian turned to leave, Lu You reached out and stopped him.
"Senior Brother, I accept."
Taking the eavesdropping artifact, Lu You placed it into the small cauldron.
"Senior Brother's Dao heart is truly admirable. It is because of people like you that the path of immortality has meaning. Rest assured, Junior Brother will protect this evidence well. And I also wish Senior Brother good fortune in the face of danger."
"Thank you, Junior Brother."
Seeing Lu You accept the artifact, Han Tian smiled.
"Junior Brother, let us still pretend we never met, so that you won't be implicated. And there is no need to worry about my safety. If this world has no light, then I, Han Tian, was born to become a spark. Even if I burn to nothing right away, that single instant of brilliance will remain forever in people's hearts."
Watching Han Tian's figure gradually disappear into the distance, Lu You shook his head.
Originally, he had intended to make contact with Han Tian simply to leave himself a witness. Instead, he had ended up accepting a heavy responsibility.
Once Han Tian vanished completely, Lu You no longer bothered searching for anyone else. He directly took out the spinal bone and released the secret realm.
In the next moment, a sliver of light appeared within the pitch-black realm. Then the true sky tore through the secret realm and revealed itself. High above, a blazing sun shone brilliantly, leaving the heavens cloudless under its scorching radiance.
All the cultivators within the secret realm felt the world spin around them. Then the realm vanished, and everyone was suddenly transported together—standing directly aboard the flying ship.
"We're out! I'm out!"
"Waaah! Thank heavens! This is amazing! Spiritual energy—I can feel spiritual energy again! We're not going to die!"
After leaving the secret realm, everyone could once again sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. These Qi Refining disciples had originally carried very few resources, and after being drained by the secret realm, each one looked gaunt and pale-faced. Had the secret realm remained sealed for just a few more days, these Qi Refining disciples would have died out just like the Foundation Establishment cultivators.
"It must have been the elders and Senior Brothers who broke open the secret realm!"
"Yes, yes! Long live Verdant Cloud Sect! Long live Deep Literary Pavilion! Long live the elders! Long live the Senior Brothers!"
The entire flying ship erupted into cheers. But after shouting for a while, the deafening voices suddenly died away in eerie silence.
Because aboard the entire ship, the only disciple from the Enforcement Hall was Han Tian.
Everyone else was merely an outer sect disciple.
"Wait… where are all those Foundation Establishment Senior Brothers? And what about the ten Golden Core elders who brought us here?"
Everyone looked at each other in confusion. If not for the fact that the flying ship was still here, they might have believed the elders had abandoned them entirely.
"Senior Brother Han Tian, did you see the elders?"
Everyone looked around and realized that Han Tian was the only remaining inner sect disciple, so they immediately turned to him for answers.
Since not a single Foundation Establishment disciple remained, Han Tian could already guess what had happened—they had undoubtedly become food for Huo Chuan. The strange thing was that Huo Chuan himself was also nowhere to be seen.
Still, Han Tian secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Huo Chuan were here, then after killing Huo Chuan's disciple Wu Tong, Han Tian would constantly fear being exposed. But with Huo Chuan absent, at least he now had a chance to pass the information along.
"Everyone, stay calm. I have a communication talisman connected to the Enforcement Hall. I'll contact the sect first."
Han Tian stepped forward, reassuring the crowd while taking a transmission talisman from his robes and activating it.
After a moment's hesitation, Han Tian decided that in order to let more people know he had survived the secret realm, he first sent a message to Bai Zihua. Then he activated an emergency contact talisman for Verdant Cloud Sect's Enforcement Hall.
This emergency talisman was exclusive to Enforcement Hall disciples and was not to be used lightly, but Han Tian felt there could not be a more appropriate time than now.
Seeing Han Tian activate the talismans, the cultivators finally regained some composure. One after another, they found places aboard the flying ship and sat down to meditate.
Although Huo Chuan had not specifically targeted the Qi Refining disciples, there were still a few unlucky ones who had died in the secret realm. The once-crowded deck was now far emptier than before.
Yet despite the emptiness, everyone unconsciously left three spaces open.
One was for Han Tian.
One was for Lu You.
And the last was for He Shan.
"Daoist Lu! Hahaha, I knew Daoist Lu was blessed by heaven!"
Seeing Lu You on the deck, He Shan approached with an ingratiating grin, ready to flatter him as usual. But after scanning the area and failing to find Lu Xiao'e, his expression instantly tightened with nervousness.
Weakly glancing at Lu You, He Shan swallowed.
"Daoist Lu… my condolences. Please rest well. This humble one shall take his leave… take his leave…"
After speaking, He Shan carefully backed away several steps while bowing. Seeing that Lu You paid him no attention, he finally relaxed in relief and hurriedly fled into the crowd.
Watching He Shan's reaction, Lu You suddenly realized his mistake.
Because he knew Lu Xiao'e had already left safely, he had acted far too naturally.
Fortunately, everyone else was still busy recovering from their near-death experience and had not paid much attention to him.
Lu You immediately forced himself to appear distraught and absent-minded. Even while sitting cross-legged to meditate, he deliberately looked restless and distracted.
The other cultivators glanced at Lu You and remembered how clingy he and Lu Xiao'e had been on the deck before entering the secret realm. Many could not help but secretly gloat.
Lu You took in all their expressions.
He felt neither joy nor anger—only a trace of regret and sadness as he looked toward Han Tian.
"I wonder whether Senior Brother Han Tian's fire will illuminate the heavens… or merely a pack of beasts unworthy of pity."
About two hours later, several streaks of golden light flew in from the distant horizon. Golden Core cultivators from Verdant Cloud Sect arrived riding flying swords.
Leading them was Elder Wen of Deep Literary Pavilion.
This trial had originally been an internal affair of Deep Literary Pavilion. So even though Han Tian had contacted the Enforcement Hall, Verdant Cloud Sect still dispatched Deep Literary Pavilion personnel to investigate first.
Han Tian clenched the eavesdropping artifact hidden in his hand, then reluctantly put it away again.
Taking a deep breath, he adjusted his emotions.
Originally, he had hoped to hand the evidence directly to an Enforcement Hall elder. It now seemed everything would have to wait until they returned to the sect.
"Hm? Only you people came out? Where is everyone else?"
As Elder Wen landed on the flying ship and noticed the absence of Golden Core elders and Foundation Establishment disciples, he immediately took out a mirror-type artifact and scanned the surrounding environment.
After a long while, Elder Wen raised his brows.
'The secret realm has completely disappeared. I can no longer sense its existence at all. If that's the case… then the people who failed to emerge must have been trapped and died inside!'
'The Golden Core elders dispatched by Deep Literary Pavilion, along with two hundred Foundation Establishment disciples… are all dead?!'
Elder Wen could not help sucking in a cold breath.
Then he quickly looked toward the people on deck, sweeping over them one by one with his spiritual sense.
Finally, his gaze stopped on Lu You.
"Daoist Lu, wonderful, wonderful! The future pillar of our Deep Literary Pavilion is still alive!"
Elder Wen originally wanted to pretend to look sorrowful, but after trying for a while, he simply could not suppress his grin. In the end, he burst into laughter and hurried toward Lu You.
As he ran, his thoughts raced:
See that? Understand now? This is what it means to be a child of destiny! This is what it means to be an enlightened master with foresight! I knew from the Huang Wen incident that something was unusual. And now look—it's proven
The Golden Core elders and Foundation Establishment disciples are all dead, yet Lu You, a mere Qi Refining disciple, survived. What does that prove?
It proves the battle between Nascent Soul Venerables has already begun! The force backing Lu You has started eliminating the wings of Venerable Wu Hao!
If I hadn't seen through things early and proactively shown goodwill to Lu You, Zeng Yan, and Bai Zihua, then instead of merely suffering damaged Golden Core cultivation, I'd probably already be dead!
Throwing an arm around Lu You's shoulders, Elder Wen smiled with utmost sincerity.
"When this old man received the notice, I was worried sick! I feared something might have happened to Daoist Lu. Now I can finally relax. If Daoist Lu had perished inside the secret realm, then even dying ten thousand times wouldn't absolve this old man of guilt!"
Standing beside Lu You, Elder Wen continued smiling while casually probing for confirmation.
"Daoist Lu, that secret realm was truly so dangerous? Even the Golden Core elders and Foundation Establishment disciples all died inside?"
The outer sect disciples of Deep Literary Pavilion were already used to Elder Wen's attitude by now. After all, Lu You was a talisman master who had grasped the Grandmaster State—everyone knew this already.
But Han Tian frowned deeply.
Lu You subtly shifted away from Elder Wen.
You old fox. Whether Huo Chuan and the others died or not, instead of checking yourself or questioning Han Tian, the one who sent the message, you're asking me?
Under everyone's gaze, Lu You hesitated briefly before answering carefully:
"Under Senior Brother Han Tian's leadership, we've already waited here for two hours, and no other Senior Brothers or elders have emerged. This disciple is also unclear about what happened. However, the secret realm truly was dangerous—it devoured spiritual energy. To be honest, this disciple nearly died inside as well."
"Good! Good indeed!"
Elder Wen slapped his thigh excitedly.
Since Lu You said the secret realm was dangerous, wasn't the hidden meaning obvious? Huo Chuan and the others were dead!
He was just about to burst into triumphant laughter when realization struck him. He hurriedly twisted his own thigh and forced out a mournful expression.
"Ho-how tragic! If that is the case, then among the elders who once managed the Deep Literary Pavilion together, only I remain!"
"Alas! My old friends didn't even leave me the chance to bid them farewell! The pain is unbearable for this old man!"
"This is a matter of utmost importance and cannot be delayed! This old man shall immediately pilot the flying ship back to Verdant Cloud Sect!"
Though he wailed dramatically, the corners of Elder Wen's mouth were practically reaching his eyes.
Originally, after his Golden Core had been damaged, he had been pushed out of the Deep Literary Pavilion's center of power. But now? Huo Chuan and the others had all been wiped out.
Wouldn't that leave him as the only highly respected elder remaining in the Deep Literary Pavilion?
Even if other Golden Core elders still existed, none could compare to him in seniority or connections.
I laugh at Huo Chuan for his lack of strategy.
I laugh at Lu You for his lack of wisdom.
You factions fought each other to the death, and in the end, didn't it all benefit this old man instead?
Elder Wen's heart swelled with heroic ambition.
He immediately activated the flying ship, then turned toward Lu You with the eager expression of a lapdog.
"Daoist Lu, since the secret realm consumes spiritual energy, you should hurry and recuperate. This old man will personally guard you during your recovery."
"Also, this is this old man's allotted Solid Origin Pill for this year. Since my damaged Golden Core means I no longer have hope of reaching the Nascent Soul realm, I might as well gift it to Daoist Lu."
The outer sect Qi Refining disciples were utterly bewildered:
"Why— why is a Golden Core elder sucking up to Lu You so hard…?"
Han Tian: "Wait… no way… Lu You can't possibly be working together with Deep Literary Pavilion, right…?"