Opening his eyes, he found that he had already exited the secret realm and was currently lying on the small path outside.
In the distance, the cliff wall had collapsed. Amidst the rubble, the shadow of the thatched hut could faintly be seen. Liu Xinyu also lay on the grass beside the path, still unconscious.
Xiao Jue and the other two were surrounding 'Chu Qingfeng,' asking him something. Seeing Lu Li wake up, the three of them moved toward him. Xiao Jue asked, "Kid, are you alright?"
Lu Li was wearing an ink-green robe with flowing green light that looked quite extraordinary, though his bald head seemed somewhat comical. He stood up and scratched his head, "I, I'm fine."
"What exactly happened inside?" Xiao Jue stared intently at Lu Li.
Lu Li frowned slightly. Looking through the gap between them, he saw that 'Chu Qingfeng' was watching him calmly with an extremely composed expression, without a trace of nervousness, which made Lu Li somewhat uncertain.
He was actually this calm!
Lu Li narrowed his eyes slightly, took a deep breath, and said, "This disciple doesn't know either. We were picking spiritual herbs when the secret realm suddenly started shaking violently. This disciple got scared and came out."
Thinking quickly, Lu Li still restrained himself. This person appeared too calm. He suspected that even if he revealed that this person had seized Chu Qingfeng's body, the three Elders might not be able to detect any anomalies.
If he angered the other party and that person exposed the fact that he had used an evil artifact to kill fellow disciples, he would instead bring trouble upon himself because although the secret realm had shattered, those few corpses might not necessarily have been destroyed.
Of course, Lu Li wasn't afraid of the Elders investigating either. The Blood Soul Banner was inside the Spatial Hall, and he was confident that apart from himself, no one else could discover the existence of the pagoda.
But doing so would mean neither he nor Qin Feng would gain any advantage; it would be completely pointless infighting. He might even anger this thousand-year-old demon in the process, which would truly be more trouble than it was worth.
Hearing Lu Li say this, the three Elders exchanged glances, all showing deep confusion. As for Qin Feng, he didn't even lift his eyelids from beginning to end, seeming unsurprised by Lu Li's words.
"Senior Brother, do you think... could it be due to the principle of extremes reversing?" Fang Buwei suddenly looked at Xiao Jue thoughtfully.
"What principle of extremes reversing?"
"It's like this. Since the secret realm's restrictions might have been created by the Patriarch, then their purpose should be to restrict Qingyang Sect disciples from entering the secret realm. And the gradual strengthening of the secret realm's restrictions would definitely consume a large amount of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. Could it be that when the consumption reached a certain level, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi couldn't keep up, leading to the restrictions self-destructing?" Fang Buwei said.
"I think Third Brother makes sense," Yu Tong nodded.
"This possibility cannot be ruled out either."
Xiao Jue nodded and looked at Lu Li, "When you came out, aside from the secret realm shaking, did you notice any other anomalies?"
"Reporting to the Elder, this disciple saw all the ancient trees inside instantly wither," Lu Li answered truthfully.
In fact, he was also curious why this secret realm suddenly exploded when everything seemed fine.
The three of them nodded one after another upon hearing this. Fang Buwei said, "Then that should be correct. The ancient trees withering indicates the restrictions weren't just consuming Spiritual Qi but were also absorbing the secret realm's life force."
Afterwards, the three of them asked about some matters concerning Qingyang Mansion, but Lu Li straightforwardly brushed it off by saying he hadn't had time to enter Qingyang Mansion yet.
During the questioning, Liu Xinyu also woke up. Whether she had heard Lu Li and the others' conversation or not, what Liu Xinyu said was almost identical to Lu Li's, which made Lu Li secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
After another round of discussion among the three Elders, Yu Tong led Lu Li and the others to the External Affairs Hall to handle the procedures.
On the second floor of the External Affairs Hall.
Yu Tong had them take out their brocade pouches and assignment items for inspection, then personally recorded them. After completing the registration, he gave each of them a Storage Bag, saying:
"This Storage Bag counts as your reward for becoming formal disciples. Additionally, inside there's a badge, a token, and a complete copy of the Qingyang Art."
"A complete Qingyang Art?"
"That's right. The Qingyang Art you previously cultivated could only reach the Qi Refining stage, while the complete Qingyang Art can support your cultivation up to Foundation Establishment Perfection."
So that was how it was.
Lu Li had thought the previous Qingyang Art had defects, and that this complete Qingyang Art could improve cultivation speed.
It turned out it only added cultivation methods up to the Foundation Establishment stage, which was somewhat disappointing.
Yu Tong didn't pay attention to Lu Li's changing expression. After explaining matters concerning formal disciples, he summoned Liu Feng and had him lead Lu Li and the other two to find accommodations.
The residential area for formal disciples was west of the sect square. A wide tree-lined avenue stretched westward from the square all the way to the foot of a majestic mountain peak.
On both sides of the broad road stood neatly arranged independent courtyards, numbering perhaps several hundred. The courtyards were luxuriously constructed, bearing no comparison to the courtyards where miscellaneous disciples lived.
Liu Feng pointed to the high peak behind the courtyards and said, "That's Qingyun Peak. The Spiritual Qi up there is much more abundant than at the foot. When you reach the eighth layer of Qi Refining, you can move out from the courtyards below and cultivate in the cave dwellings up there."
Lu Li looked up and saw that Qingyun Peak was shrouded in mist and clouds, resembling an immortal's blessed land, making him yearn for it greatly.
After finishing speaking, Liu Feng led them forward. They walked along the main road for a while, then turned into a branch path. Following the branch path to its end, the three finally stopped before the gate of an independent courtyard.
Liu Feng took out three jade keys and handed them to each of the three: "The courtyard gate has defensive restrictions. These are the restriction keys. You must keep them safe. If you lose them, you'll need to compensate five hundred contribution points."
Lu Li held the key and looked at it, then glanced at the silent Qin Feng, feeling something wasn't quite right. After thinking for a moment, he pulled Liu Feng aside and whispered, "Senior Brother Liu, are there any separate courtyards? I'm really not used to living with strangers."
Actually, it wasn't that Lu Li disliked living with strangers. If it were just Liu Xinyu alone, that would be fine, but this Qin Feng... forget it.
Liu Feng shook his head, "Junior Brother, it's not that I don't want to help you, there's really no way. Don't think there are so many courtyards here; actually, every courtyard houses several people. Please bear with it, Junior Brother. When someone moves up the mountain, I'll help you find an independent courtyard. Is that acceptable?"
Liu Feng actually had some favorable feelings toward Lu Li. If it were someone else, he would have probably already walked away in anger, not bothering to talk so politely.
Hearing this, Lu Li felt greatly disappointed but still politely cupped his hands, "In that case, I'll trouble Senior Brother Liu. If there are any available courtyards, please let me know. I won't forget Senior Brother's kindness in the future."
"Alright, I'll remember. Junior Brother, go in and take a look first. I'll be leaving now." After giving these instructions, Liu Feng left.
Lu Li shook his head helplessly. When he walked back, the courtyard gate was already open, but Liu Xinyu was still waiting at the entrance. Seeing Lu Li return, she couldn't help asking, "Brother Lu, what did you talk to him about?"