https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-753-Waiting-by-the-Stump-for-a-Rabbit-Effortless/12942758/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-755-Secrets-of-Primordial-Power-Two-True-Cultivators-Attack/12942760/
Chapter 754: A Hundred Years in the Cavern, A Year in the World
Chapter 754: A Hundred Years in the Cavern, A Year in the World
"Is it still not enough?"
Ruo Tian's face rarely showed signs of impatience.
Fu Qinglan apologized, "I'm sorry, little sister's aptitude is dull, and even with two Illusionary Cores, I can't advance further."
Dull aptitude?
Ruo Tian shook his head; it was unthinkable for someone who had formed their Embryo Formation at the age of three hundred to be considered dull in aptitude.
In the end, it was because the Illusionary Cores contained too few Spirit Acumen, making it impossible for cultivators to persist until they comprehended the Principle Essence.
What truly dissatisfied him was "time!"
With a wave of his hand, as Fu Qinglan looked on in confusion, Ruo Tian said, "Let me have a look at your Illusionary Chess."
Fu Qinglan was perplexed but didn't resist. She handed over her Illusionary Chess.
Ruo Tian looked down; on the white Illusionary Chess, black light had encroached, covering about two or three percent of it.
The Sea Dragon's power would erode the black chess of those who entered the Heavenly Cavern, and the deeper the erosion, the shorter the time they could stay in the Heavenly Cavern.
And now!
"Two Illusionary Cores, a year's time, and only this much erosion. In other words, if one fails to comprehend the Principle Essence, wouldn't they have to stay in this Heavenly Cavern for decades, or even hundreds of years?"
This was the main reason Ruo Tian couldn't accept!
He couldn't afford to spend nearly a hundred years of his life on someone else's cultivation trial.
Moreover, this was very different from what Fu Chaosheng had said before about the Heavenly Yuan Great Competition consuming at most one or two years.
What had gone wrong?
As he pondered, he noticed the look on the woman's face across from him, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.
Ruo Tian asked tentatively, "After absorbing two Illusionary Cores in a row, did you gain anything?"
Fu Qinglan hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "There are some gains, but I'm not sure if they are real or not. If you want to hear about it, little sister can tell you."
...
It was still the same place, surrounded by three mountains.
The same formations and baits as before.
This time, however, Ruo Tian didn't bring Fu Qinglan with him. Instead, he let her rest in the Mansion while he came alone to wait by the stump for a rabbit.
Standing atop a mountain, Ruo Tian's gaze didn't linger on the Heavenly Fate Pill bait in the plain, as the pill was protected by formations and his innate treasure and wouldn't encounter any accidents.
He couldn't help but keep looking around, as if searching for something.
But no matter how he looked, he couldn't detect any clues that were different from the outside world.
Fu Qinglan's words from a few days ago kept reverberating in his mind.
"Illusory Beasts are the products of the Sea Dragon's residual consciousness. They instinctively try to rise from the ashes, recreating the Sea Dragon's spirit within their bodies. The Sea Dragon Cavern opens once every five hundred years, providing us with opportunities and also serving to clean up high-level Illusory Beasts to prevent the Sea Dragon's resurrection. When we cultivate with the help of Illusionary Cores, we must eliminate the influence of the Sea Dragon's non-spiritual consciousness and utilize its Spirit Acumen..."
"From the Illusory Beast's consciousness in the Illusionary Core, I discovered that this Heavenly Cavern and the outside world have a significant difference in time flow. The specific ratio is approximately..."
One hundred to one!
Yes, this number had made Ruo Tian restless for several days.
He never imagined he would enter such a legendary secret realm. In countless immortal tales, there were always descriptions of those with fate entering secret realms.
These secret realms varied greatly; some were filled with opportunities, while others were exceptionally dangerous, and some even had various restrictions and conditions.
In his life, Ruo Tian had encountered few secret realms and entered even fewer.
However, he had gained a good understanding of these secret realms.
For example, the secret realm of a Soul Transformation Powerhouse, it was unsuitable for most Primordial Spirit True Men to enter because the Principle Essence left behind by the Soul Transformation Powerhouse would influence the later cultivator's path, and only those with similar paths could enter.
This was a restriction based on the path.
As for the Demon Slayer Land, it appeared dangerous at first glance, but in reality, there were no overly strict entry conditions.
Not only Nascent Soul Cultivators but even Golden Core cultivators could enter.
Some Foundation Establishment cultivators with enough courage could also dare to venture in.
If there were any restrictions, it was that those who had comprehended the Principle couldn't enter, or they might meet the same fate as the Blood Sea Ancestor and die within.
This time, the Sea Dragon Cavern secret realm was unexpectedly a legendary secret realm with a time restriction, where "A Day in the Cavern, A Thousand Years in the World."
However, the time flow was reversed.
A hundred years in the Cavern was equal to one year in the world.
The time flow ratio between the Sea Dragon Cavern and the Mountain Sea Realm was one hundred to one.
Moreover, if a cultivator stayed in the Cavern, their lifespan flowed normally, and even after leaving, it would remain the same.
It wouldn't result in a situation where, after entering at the age of five hundred, one year passed in the outside world, and upon leaving after a hundred years, their lifespan would still be five hundred and one years old. Instead, when their lifespan limit arrived, it would genuinely be a hundred years shorter than cultivators of the same realm who hadn't experienced the Cavern.
Ruo Tian didn't know why this was, but it might be related to the Principle and path mastered by the Sea Dragon, a type of wild beast.
Ruo Tian finally understood why the Heavenly Yuan Dao Sect only gave this opportunity to newly advanced Primordial Spirit True Men.
The lifespan of Nascent Soul Cultivators was only a thousand years in total.
Subtracting the few hundred years before reaching the Nascent Soul stage, only a few hundred years were left. Who would be willing to waste a hundred years?
Only newly advanced Primordial Spirit Cultivators with exceptional aptitude, who had broken through to the Primordial Spirit stage at a young age, had sufficient lifespan to endure the Sea Dragon Cavern's consumption.
This was the greatest condition restriction of the Five-Hundred-Year Great Competition!
As for other factors Ruo Tian had speculated, like the initial Primordial Spirit state and closeness to the Primordial Essence of Heaven and Earth, they were only minor considerations.
"No wonder in the legendary tales, when major sects encounter unknown secret realms, they often send disciples to explore first. If they accidentally encounter a secret realm with uncertain time flow, it would be too terrifying for high-level cultivators with limited lifespans to age and die in an instant after leaving."
"This makes Fu Chaosheng's actions all the more unreasonable!"
Ruo Tian was furious in his heart because Fu Chaosheng hadn't informed him about the secrets of the Cavern beforehand.
Or perhaps, when Fu Qinglan had mentioned the difference in time flow, he had lost his composure, an uncommon occurrence. The sudden burst of formidable aura had left her silent and apprehensive.
This time, he didn't join in on the hunt for the Illusionary Beast, and there was a reason for his lingering fear.
A hundred years!
How many hundred years does one have in a lifetime?
In his entire life, Luo Chen had barely managed to cultivate for two hundred years. If he had known that he would spend a hundred years in the Mirage Dragon Cavern, no matter how good the conditions Fu Chaosheng offered, he would never have agreed to this collaboration.
"I don't know if the other Dao Guardians are aware of this information, or if they are knowingly walking into the tiger's den."
"But in my case, it seems that Fu Chaosheng had been secretly indicating the price all along with the various favors he bestowed upon me. It's none other than this hundred years of lifespan!"
"I was too careless and suffered a huge loss!"
Luo Chen took a deep breath and found a stone to sit down.
First, he activated the Dust Essence Technique to calm himself down.
Then, he began to think carefully.
The first thing he considered was the potential loss of a hundred years of lifespan. Anger aside, Luo Chen could still afford this cost.
His lifespan was already far beyond his peers, and when he advanced to the Primordial Spirit, it reached an astonishing one thousand five hundred years!
Although it wasn't like the previous few realms, where each minor advancement would also increase the limit of his lifespan, it was still stuck at one thousand five hundred years.
But one thousand five hundred years was still far more than the typical one thousand-year lifespan limit of a Primordial Spirit.
A few hundred years was something he could bear.
Moreover, it wasn't certain that he would lose that much lifespan. As long as he could capture enough Illusionary Cores, and help Fu Qinglan comprehend the principles faster, he could leave earlier...
As Luo Chen thought about this, his calm demeanor turned into a furious rage!
Fu Chaosheng hadn't informed him beforehand, so why should he exhaust himself for Fu Qinglan's sake?
His anger wasn't just because Fu Chaosheng had hidden the truth, but also because he was furious with himself for being so careless.
Ever since he embarked on the path of cultivation, he had initially held the sect disciples in awe, fearing their powerful backing and formidable strength.
But as his own strength grew, he no longer felt intimidated by these factors.
Instead, he began to look down upon these sect disciples who were nurtured in a sheltered environment.
Especially the younger generation of Heavenly Yuan Dao Sect, with their inferior character, which only fueled his disdain.
But now, reality had given him a harsh lesson.
The younger generation might not have deep schemes, but the older sect disciples were all cunning individuals. How could he possibly gain the upper hand against them?
"In the future, when dealing with these old fellows, I must think thrice and carefully weigh the pros and cons."
After calming down, Luo Chen analyzed what he had given and what Fu Chaosheng had provided. He realized that the other party had indeed plotted to the extreme.
If he had worked hard enough and helped Fu Qinglan comprehend the principles earlier, leaving the Mirage Dragon Cavern sooner, he would have lost at most a few decades of lifespan.
On the other hand, the benefits Fu Chaosheng offered, such as a large amount of soul essence, Withered Source Fire Marrow, pills, the position of External Affairs Guest Scholar of the Heavenly Peak, and the resources collected by the Heavenly Yuan Commercial Alliance... When combined, these benefits were barely enough to hire a Primordial Spirit True Man for a few decades.
Even if Luo Chen had done those tasks himself and collected those resources, it would have taken about the same amount of time, if not more, and he would have had to exert additional effort, facing potential troubles.
"Forget it, I'll have a talk with that old fellow once I get out!"
Luo Chen exhaled a turbid breath and continued his previous train of thought.
Since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it.
He couldn't just let decades of his prime pass by in vain.
In this world, the spiritual energy was scattered, making it less suitable for Qi cultivation.
Moreover, he had to protect Fu Qinglan, which prevented him from releasing his Primordial Spirit and merging with the world to attempt to comprehend the principles, like Fu Qinglan could.
Thinking about protecting that foolish yet pure woman, Luo Chen felt a sense of disgust, as if he had swallowed a fly and couldn't spit it out.
He shook his head vigorously, suppressing the disgust in his heart.
"It's difficult to make significant progress in my realm, but minor adjustments are still possible. Reaching the second level of Primordial Spirit is just around the corner."
"For the remaining time, I should focus more on myself."
"I can improve my proficiency in the fourth-rank spells, Fiery Phoenix Blazing Wilds and Flame Dragon Descent."
The Mirage Dragon Cavern was vast, making it extremely convenient for cultivation.
Not only that, but he could also work on the transformation of the Withering Vital Flame, and with the Heavenly Fate Pill, Luo Chen could take the final step whenever he wanted to.
Additionally, there was the refinement of the White Tiger Puppet and the restriction refinement of the Penglai Octagonal Pavilion...
In the end, Luo Chen turned his attention to the Soul Splitting Art.
His main soul had already reached the limit of his current realm, and he could further divide it into another soul.
Han Zhan had cultivated the Soul Splitting Art since the Foundation Establishment stage. During the Golden Core stage, his divine soul's foundation became robust, and after forming the Primordial Spirit, within a mere hundred years, he possessed nine divided souls.
With the assistance of the Great Soul Pill, a divine pill, Luo Chen might also be able to achieve that step."
"One step at a time!"
Helpless, Luo Chen formulated his plan for the next steps.
Life is like this; one would inevitably suffer some losses along the way, but life must go on.
Not only must it go on, but it should get better and better, making those who had wronged him regret their actions and even pay the price!
...
"Here, this is the third Illusionary Core."
A fourth-rank Illusionary Core was thrown in front of Fu Qinglan, who eagerly reached out to take it.
She wanted to say something, but the other party raised a protective formation, looking like they didn't want to be disturbed.
Blocked by the formation, Fu Qinglan opened her mouth, wearing a bitter smile.
Indeed, after revealing the secret of the different time flow, she should have expected this outcome.
But what could she do?
The Fu family had been in decline for a long time and couldn't cultivate suitable servants at the right cultivation level. Hiring a Primordial Spirit True Man from outside would not only be a question of compatibility but also of strength, which was far inferior to Luo Chen's.
Her grandfather had no choice but to deceive Luo Chen and lure him in.
Now, Luo Chen was even willing to hunt Illusionary Cores for her, which was an extremely noble act.
It seemed that her grandfather hadn't misjudged Luo Chen's character.
The only problem was their relationship, which had just become familiar, now turning awkward again.
"Forget it, I can only comprehend the principles faster and let him leave this cage sooner."
With a bitter smile, Fu Qinglan tightly held the Illusionary Core and entered the temporary cave residence.
(End of Chapter)
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