Regardless, Mu Fan had ultimately passed the desert trial and obtained a the reward.
The cold jade gourd was small and exquisitely crafted. In its normal state, it fit perfectly in the palm of one's hand. Its surface resembled ice and jade, covered in delicate crack-like patterns that did not imply damage, but instead enhanced its beauty.
It felt slightly cool to the touch and carried a faint effect of calming and refreshing the mind.
The gourd was originally named {Cold Jade Gourd}. It was a special treasure with its own inner world, containing a vast amount of cold sand that could be commanded to fight enemies.
The Master of the Secret Realm had also left behind a {Treasure Sacrificing Art} within the gourd.
From the memories of his previous life, Mu Fan understood that this ancient treasure was akin to a Spirit Treasure refined by ancient cultivators.
Unlike the treasures of the current cultivation world, ancient treasures often had singular functions but possessed immense power, and they could not be stored within the body.
This Treasure Sacrificing Art was a refining technique specifically designed for ancient treasures. It allowed one to better refine them and unleash their full potential.
The one Mu Fan obtained was the exclusive Treasure Sacrificing Art for the Cold Jade Gourd, meant specifically for refining and nourishing it. Through it, one could fully unleash its power, and with long-term nurturing, even upgrade the treasure itself.
At the same time, this technique could also be applied to other ancient treasures. Although far less effective compared to its use on the Cold Jade Gourd, it was still vastly superior to the common refinement methods of the present cultivation world.
The Cold Jade Gourd and its exclusive Treasure Sacrificing Art were the rewards for a perfect clearance.
The rewards for a normal clearance, by contrast, were three bottles of medicinal pills and one secret technique.
The three bottles of medicinal pills corresponded to restoring Qi, increasing Qi, and strengthening the physical body.
However, inside the Cold Jade Gourd, Mu Fan discovered not just three bottles of medicinal pills, but forty-two!
"This… is an unexpected surprise. I suppose that since one cannot take the Cold Jade Gourd during a normal clearance, people could complete the trial multiple times, and the rewarded medicinal pills would accumulate inside the gourd. That must be why there are so many."
Mu Fan couldn't help but imagine that when the Secret Realm was first established, its master might have stored hundreds or even thousands of bottles of medicinal pills within the gourd.
Over the years, as many cultivators completed the trial, only these forty-two bottles remained.
Thinking this, Mu Fan felt a surge of confidence.
Throughout history, countless cultivators in the Qi Refining Stage had entered this desert, yet none had achieved a perfect clearance.
Only he had succeeded.
This meant that Mu Fan stood among the very top tier of the Qi Refining Stage.
If that were the case, then his earlier self-criticism no longer held.
Even with a fully intact talisman treasure and exhausting its uses, it might not have been enough to kill the Ice Armor Exotic Beast.
Mu Fan would not assume he was the only one in possession of a talisman treasure.
"In the end… it's probably because I have so much Qi"
"When other Qi Refining Stage cultivators reach this point, they have less than a thousand points of Qi remaining, and eight or nine-tenths of their Qi-recovering medicinal pills have already been consumed along the way."
"With so little Qi left… how could they possibly fight beast built for a battle of attrition"
Mu Fan then turned his attention to the secret technique.
Inside the gourd were fourteen jade pendants, each recording the same technique:
{Spirit Condensing Art}
A secret technique for cultivating Divine Sense.
"Hahaha!"
Mu Fan let out a wild, almost unrestrained laugh. These gains were truly astonishing.
After indulging for a moment, he gradually calmed down and turned his gaze toward the teleportation formation before him.
The Cold Jade Gourd contained a legacy message, as well as a brief introduction to the Secret Realm.
Passing through the teleportation formation would lead to the core area of the Secret Realm, the inner layer Jiang Yi had mentioned.
The place Mu Fan currently stood was the middle layer.
His Qi reserves were simply too vast, far exceeding the peak of the Qi Refining Stage. When he had entered the Secret Realm and been randomly teleported, he had skipped the outer layer entirely and been sent directly into the middle layer.
No wonder Jiang Yi's experience had been useless.
That old fellow had only explored the outer layer, at most reaching the buffer zone between the outer and middle layers. He had never truly entered the middle layer.
It was no wonder Mu Fan had appeared so disheveled when facing the flying insects and poisonous snakes earlier, even while focusing solely on escaping.
Mu Fan stepped into the teleportation formation.
In an instant, he appeared within a small stone chamber.
The Spiritual Qi here was dense. The chamber itself was simple, containing only a circular stone platform meant for meditation.
Words appeared along the walls:
[One can recover here. Stepping out of the chamber would lead to the core trial. If one choooses not to proceed, remaining here for a month would result in being teleported out of the Secret Realm.]
A warning followed.
[The difficulty of the core trial corresponds with the Foundation Establishment Stage.]
Mu Fan frowned slightly and sat down on the stone platform, recalling the scene he had glimpsed just before entering the Secret Realm.
Jiang Yi had thrown them inside without hesitation, and had looked eager to act himself.
At the time, Mu Fan had found it a bit strange.
If only those in the Qi Refining Stage could enter, then why would Jiang Yi, a cultivator at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Stage, be so eager?
"The four Foundation Establishment cultivators who appeared at the entrance this time… they must have killed many in the past and pieced together information about this place."
"The four who survived back then are all still at the Foundation Establishment Stage. None of them rushed to break through to Core Formation."
"They must know, or perhaps believe… that the Secret Realm can be entered again during the Foundation Establishment Stage."
"That's why they're deliberately withholding their breakthroughs, refining their strength at this stage."
As these thoughts settled, the text on the wall faded, replaced by new patterns and words.
After reading them, Mu Fan exhaled slowly and smiled.
The patterns depicted a palace, a lamp, a wooden box, a stone box, and a jade box, exactly as Jiang Yi had described.
These were the rewards of the core area.
To select a true prodigy, the Master of the Secret Realm had set projections that would randomly appear.
If one were truly an unparalleled prodigy, they could ascend a special staircase that would appear with the projection, allowing direct entry into the core.
"This…"
"The cultivation world really does favor talent above all else."
An unparalleled prodigy could skip stages entirely, bypassing the trial itself and going straight for the treasure.
Mu Fan nearly cursed aloud, but held himself back.
After all… he himself had skipped the outer layer.
⸻———X——————
"I suppose when my cheap Master Jiang Yi enters again, he will face the core trial himself."
"He also knows that the treasure requires both luck, to encounter the projection, and exceptional talent to reach."
"If he knows this, then he doesn't truly expect us to retrieve it."
"Even if I return empty-handed… I won't be punished too harshly."
"But if I actually bring the treasure back…"
Mu Fan's gaze darkened slightly.
"That would be a death sentence."
To retrieve such a treasure was to prove oneself an unparalleled prodigy.
In a place like Extreme Yin Island, how could they possibly allow such a person to live?
However, since entry during the Foundation Establishment Stage was still possible, the chance of Jiang Yi immediately silencing him upon exit was somewhat reduced.
Mu Fan relaxed.
"I'll just cultivate here for a month and wait to be sent out."
"I can bring three bottles of medicinal pills back as proof."
Mu Fan took out a Qi-recovering medicinal pill and swallowed it, closing his eyes to refine it.
The effect was astonishing.
With just a small amount of refinement, several hundred points of Qi were restored.
By the time the pill was fully refined, nearly thirty to forty percent of his Qi had recovered.
Afterward, Mu Fan took out the Cold Jade Gourd and began refining it according to the Treasure Sacrificing Art.
Under normal circumstances, Spirit Treasures and ancient treasures could only be freely used at the Core Formation Stage.
Even mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivators could barely activate them for a single strike.
But with the exclusive Treasure Sacrificing Art, and the unique nature of the Cold Jade Gourd, even a cultivator in the Qi Refining Stage could wield it in battle.
Its function was simple:
Command cold sand.
The more cold sand it controlled, the stronger the cold Qi it emitted.
Because of this, the power of the Cold Jade Gourd could span across three major realms.
Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment… and even Core Formation.