"Let's go," Xu Yi said in a low voice. Yu Xiaoyu nodded emphatically beside her.
The moment they stepped into the forbidden ground, Xu Yi's every hair stood on end, a strong sense of unease washing over her.
Xu Yi instinctively glanced at Yu Xiaoyu, only to find her face unchanged. Yu Xiaoyu was looking around with curiosity, completely oblivious to any abnormality.
It seems only I can sense this, Xu Yi thought.
The sky within the forbidden ground appeared darker than outside. Following the instructions on their numbered tokens, Xu Yi and the others walked for a night to find the entrance to the Time Realm.
The entrance to the Time Realm was a distorted, eerie curtain of light.
Xue Qi, holding her token and having no competitors, was the first to enter the light curtain. After she passed through, the other disciples followed in succession.
As the last disciples to enter, Xu Yi and her group naturally fell at the end of the line.
As Xu Yi stepped into the light curtain, she felt as if time itself had frozen for an instant. She lost control of her body, hearing only her own rapidly beating heart.
But when she reappeared in a stone chamber, she could clearly perceive that only a single breath had actually passed.
Upon her arrival, Xu Yi immediately experienced the peculiar nature of the Time Realm.
The stone chamber was vast and empty, containing nothing but spiritual energy.
Xu Yi's brow twitched almost imperceptibly. This place suddenly reminded her of the time she was trapped in that strange secret realm.
Although that was an open wasteland, it was also filled with abundant spiritual energy, and most importantly, like the Time Realm, it possessed a peculiar temporal flow.
Could this Time Realm be related to the secret realm she had accidentally entered before?
Xu Yi's heart skipped a beat.
She still found the appearance of that secret realm incredibly strange.
Normally, secret realms would cause a great stir upon their emergence. Yet, this one had appeared silently, without the slightest ripple.
Moreover, it had materialized on the main road frequently traveled by Xuanji Sect disciples leaving the sect. However, aside from herself, she had never seen any other disciple fall into the secret realm, as if it were prepared exclusively for her.
Xu Yi resolved to inquire about the Time Realm from the Dean once she left.
Collecting her thoughts, Xu Yi sat down cross-legged and began to absorb spiritual energy voraciously.
Invisible spiritual energy gathered around her, gradually forming a visible mist that enveloped Xu Yi's figure.
In cultivation, time flies.
While Xu Yi was still madly absorbing spiritual energy in the stone chamber, Bai Shan had already been ejected from it.
He stood outside the entrance to the Time Realm, a look of bewilderment on his face, clearly not having recovered his senses.
A few breaths later, the light in his eyes gradually returned, and a look of unwillingness appeared on his face.
So close, just a little bit closer, and he could have reached the peak of the late Nascent Soul stage.
Bai Shan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Fine, there would be other opportunities.
However, the Time Realm was truly miraculous. He had cultivated there for over twenty years, and the spiritual energy within had never been depleted; it was as if it were infinite.
Bai Shan's eyes flickered, his mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.
At this moment, he suddenly recalled what Teacher Jing had told them: the Kunlun Forbidden Ground was not to be trespassed upon.
Could the secret of the Time Realm be hidden within the forbidden ground?
If he could uncover this secret, could he also replicate the magical Time Realm?
Upon considering this possibility, Bai Shan's chest rose and fell rapidly.
Just as his thoughts were running wild, the token in his hand suddenly emitted a dazzling red light, as if a reminder or a warning.
Bai Shan's heated mind gradually cooled.
Even if he could find the secret of the Time Realm, he could not take it out from here. This matter required further consideration.
He thought no more and followed the token out of the secret realm.
Bai Shan returned to Courtyard No. 44. Besides himself, there was no one else in the courtyard.
The empty Courtyard No. 44 once again reminded Bai Shan of a harsh reality.
He was the worst among this batch of disciples.
"Bai Shan, this is only temporary. Once you break through to the Spirit Severing stage, everything will be vastly different."
Bai Shan stood in the courtyard, repeating this sentence in his mind, as if this could somehow soothe the resentment brought about by the facts.
...
In another stone chamber within the Time Realm.
"How is your comprehension progressing?"
The Dean sat upright, his expression solemn, but the constantly waving folding fan in his hand disrupted the atmosphere he had deliberately created.
Lu Zaiye slowly opened his eyes, a strange light glinting within them.
He shook his head indifferently, "Less than ten percent."
The Dean clicked his tongue heavily, "The speed is too slow."
Lu Zaiye remained unmoved, merely casting a faint glance at him.
A chill ran down the Dean's neck, and he guiltily raised his voice, "I have already made a hundred-year pact with Xu Yi, so I can only give you a hundred years. If you still haven't comprehended this method after a hundred years, then I will have to find another way."
"A hundred years is sufficient."
The Dean was somewhat disbelieving, "With your talent, and with the assistance of the Time Realm, you still haven't comprehended ten percent by now. Are you truly confident?"
The Dean knew how demanding his conditions were. He had originally intended to wait for Lu Zaiye to say a few softening words, so he could conveniently relax the conditions.
But Lu Zaiye's temper was as direct as ever.
Let alone softening his stance, not even an extra expression was seen.
This made him increasingly certain that he had a deep connection with Xu Yi.
After all, when he had invited Lu Zaiye to join Kunlun Academy, Lu Zaiye had fiercely refused.
Thinking of this, the Dean couldn't help but curve his lips.
Thanks to Xu Yi, he had managed to regain a sliver of his meager dignity.
"I have a request."
"Speak."
"The Time Realm for a hundred years, accessible to me at will," Lu Zaiye stated calmly, his thin lips curling.
"Impossible!"
The Dean shot up, pacing back and forth in front of Lu Zaiye.
"Although the Time Realm is beneficial for cultivation, due to its special temporal laws, it still causes some harm to cultivators. That's why I stipulated the duration, your body..."
"I know."
Lu Zaiye's eyes were as deep as a cold pool, making him inscrutable.
"Then you..."
The Dean wanted to say more but ultimately fell silent and nodded.
Lu Zaiye looked at the碑文 (inscriptions) before him and closed his eyes once more.
...
"Sixty-eight years have passed."
Xu Yi stood outside the Time Realm, also feeling as if she were in a dream.
She had expected sixty-eight years to feel incredibly tedious and difficult to endure, but in reality, the long period of time seemed to have flown by in the blink of an eye.
For the first thirty years, she stabilized her cultivation at the early Spirit Severing stage.
For the remaining thirty-eight years, she integrated the knowledge she had learned from various teachers during this period. She had a premonition that after exiting, her performance in the next tower challenge would likely improve again.
Is this the learning method of Kunlun Academy? To first engage in extensive and rapid learning, and then be given a certain amount of time to digest and master it?
Xu Yi seemed to have gained some insight.
After emerging from the Time Realm, she felt even more confident about the hundred-year pact she had made with the Dean.