Chapter 24: Visitors from Baiyang Sect, A Confrontation Begins!
As soon as Li Shan finished speaking, many inner sect disciples were immediately tempted.
Among them were several with only average strength. While they technically met the threshold of the seventh stage of the Qi Gathering Realm, their true combat power left much to be desired.
To gain anything in the Liuyang Secret Realm, the safest bet was obviously to follow a strong leader, to cling to a powerful thigh, so to speak.
So, without hesitation, they raised their hands and chose to join Li Shan’s team.
The number wasn’t small.
However, even more inner sect disciples remained on the fence, shifting their gaze to Zhao Yu on the other side, as if waiting for his stance.
As expected, Zhao Yu slowly rose to his feet upon noticing this.
“Those who wish to join my team, come over,” he said casually.
Immediately, many of the observing disciples walked over to Zhao Yu’s side.
Ding Hao was among them.
His face lit up with excitement, and his heart raced with anticipation. With Zhao Yu’s protection, this trip to the Liuyang Secret Realm would undoubtedly go smoothly.
After all, the secret realm was brimming with treasures and opportunities!
With so many riches inside, it was only fair to offer Zhao Yu a portion in return.
He wasn’t greedy, if he could just make a decent profit, it would be worth it!
After all, he had once lost ten low-grade spirit stones to Gu Yang. That had been a painful blow. I have to make up for it somehow.
In no time, the disciples had split into clear camps. Follow current novels on novel★fire.net
One side was naturally Li Shan’s team.
The other, Zhao Yu’s.
There were still some disciples who chose to act alone.
These were all extremely powerful inner sect disciples, true talents who ranked among the top ten!
Their strength might’ve been slightly below Zhao Yu or Li Shan’s, but they had no need to rely on anyone else.
Seeing that Zhao Yu had gathered noticeably more disciples than he had, Li Shan snorted coldly in displeasure.
He looked visibly irritated.
But Zhao Yu didn’t spare him a glance. Instead, he stepped forward, walking straight up to Gu Yang.
“You’re Gu Yang, right?”
Gu Yang was momentarily taken aback, then gave a slow nod.
“Would you like to join my team? If you follow me, I can guarantee your safety in the Liuyang Secret Realm.”
Zhao Yu spoke calmly.
The moment those words left his mouth, a wave of shock rippled through the crowd of inner sect disciples.
They stared in disbelief at what they had just witnessed.
Zhao Yu… actually invited Gu Yang to join his team personally?!
What is going on here?
Even Gu Yang himself was a little surprised.
He’s inviting me to his team? What’s that supposed to mean?
Although he had no idea why Zhao Yu made the offer, Gu Yang still shook his head.
“Sorry. I don’t plan to join any team.”
Gu Yang’s reply caused yet another stir among the crowd.
He had actually rejected Zhao Yu!
Zhao Yu was the number one inner sect disciple, the one most likely to be the first to break into the Core Condensation Realm!
For a talent like that to extend a personal invitation was a great honor.
And yet Gu Yang had the nerve to turn him down?
He was either incredibly arrogant or utterly foolish!
One after another, disciples began shaking their heads, looking at Gu Yang as if he were an idiot.
Over on Zhao Yu’s side, Ding Hao exhaled slightly in relief.
At first, when he saw Zhao Yu inviting Gu Yang personally, his heart had skipped a beat.
If Gu Yang actually joined the team and saw me there… wouldn’t he come after me?
After all, there had been… some bad blood between them.
Fortunately, Gu Yang declined the offer.
Ding Hao couldn’t help but rejoice inwardly.
What a fool! Turning down Zhao Yu’s invitation like that. Just wait till we get into the secret realm, you’ll regret it!
With the teams now finalized, Elder Yin Xiangtian, the inner sect elder leading the expedition, finally stepped forward.
“Alright. Since you’ve all formed your teams, let’s not waste any more time. Get ready to depart,” Elder Yin announced loudly, then waved his hand.
In the sky above, a massive flying vessel slowly descended before the crowd’s eyes.
Many inner sect disciples looked upon it with envy.
A flying vessel, an extraordinary magical artifact for aerial travel.
Powered by spirit stones, it was incredibly fast, rivaling flying beasts in speed. It also featured formation-based defenses against attacks.
Flying vessels were extremely expensive.
Even the most basic model sold for over ten thousand low-grade spirit stones. This one from the sect was clearly even larger and more intricately crafted.
Its value had to be astronomical!
This was something most disciples could only dream of.
Even many Core Formation experts weren’t qualified to own such a treasure.
Only a massive sect like Liuyun Sect had the resources to afford one, for emergency transportation .
Even Zhao Yu and Li Shan looked admiringly at the flying vessel, then quickly boarded it.
Gu Yang was also a little surprised.
Damn… This thing is way cooler than any airplane back on Earth!
I’ve got to buy one of these for myself someday. It’d make traveling so much easier, no more exhausting treks everywhere.
With that thought, Gu Yang stepped forward and boarded the vessel.
Once all the disciples were aboard, Elder Yin made a gesture and placed a mid-grade spirit stone onto the power core.
The flying vessel surged forward, accelerating rapidly as it sped away from Liuyun Sect.
In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the horizon.
The ornate flying vessel descended steadily into a clearing within the valley.
Soon, all of Liuyun Sect’s disciples disembarked.
“Can’t believe we got here so fast.”
“No kidding! Flying vessels are insane!”
“If I came here on horseback, it would’ve taken me a whole day. Flying vessels are a godsend!”
The disciples couldn’t help but marvel at the speed, clearly impressed.
Elder Yin, with a wave of his hand, calmly stored the flying vessel.
All eyes turned toward the front.
Standing ahead of them was a massive bronze gate radiating an ancient aura.
Its sheer presence left the disciples awestruck.
So this… is the Liuyang Secret Realm?
Not long after Liuyun Sect arrived, a flash of light streaked across the sky.
Another elegant flying vessel flew in swiftly, landing next to the one from Liuyun Sect.
A group of people disembarked from it, disciples of Baiyang Sect.
The Liuyang Secret Realm was located between both sects and had been jointly discovered by them years ago.
Thus, whenever it opened, both sects would arrive together.
If only one sect came, the secret realm could not be opened.
That was because opening the realm not only required perfect timing, but also two keys.
One held by Liuyun Sect, the other by Baiyang Sect.
Neither could open the gate alone.
“Heh, your Liuyun Sect sure got here quickly,” sneered a Baiyang Sect disciple as they disembarked. His gaze was filled with provocation and contempt.
The Baiyang Sect’s inner sect elder followed closely behind. He gave Liuyun Sect’s disciples a dismissive glance before locking eyes with Elder Yin.
With a cold laugh, he said, “Getting here fast doesn’t mean you’re stronger.”
Elder Yin chuckled in return. “We’ll see who’s stronger once we’re inside the secret realm.”
Tension instantly filled the air as the two sides squared off.