Yang Hong didn't know the details, but he was still disappointed about not receiving the inheritance from Song Yu.
He was now truly curious about how these cultivators practiced, and how it differed from his own "cultivation."
However, since he couldn't cultivate for the time being, he didn't have any particular feelings about it. After all, he already had ten thousand years of cultivation in the Integration realm, and one-third of his true qi had already transformed into true essence.
Even though he couldn't cultivate, Yang Hong still sought out Song Yu to learn some common knowledge about the cultivation world.
A few days later, Yang Hong, along with others from the Carefree Pavilion, boarded carriages to set off. He and Song Yu shared a carriage.
"Master, our Carefree Pavilion is an eighth-grade sect. How is this sect ranking divided?"
"I was going to tell you even if you didn't ask, as we might have to deal with them along the way."
"The entire Taiyuan Cultivation World is vast, with the Ten Great Immortal Sects being the most powerful. These are sects that have produced a large number of Immortals and currently have Loose Immortals guarding them. Loose Immortals are cultivators who failed their tribulation during the Tribulation Transcendence stage but did not die. Most Loose Immortals are more powerful than cultivators in the Mahayana stage, though their further cultivation becomes difficult. Disciple, you must remember to show respect to the Ten Great Immortal Sects and concede if any conflict arises."
"Oh, your disciple remembers."
Yang Hong was already familiar with the cultivation realms of the cultivation world. For instance, Loose Immortals were divided into nine tribulations. A first-tribulation Loose Immortal was equivalent to a Mahayana stage cultivator, while a second-tribulation Loose Immortal could basically crush a Mahayana stage cultivator. Such Loose Immortals appeared very strong and invincible. However, their advancement was extremely difficult. They had to undergo a Loose Immortal Tribulation every hundred years, with each tribulation becoming stronger than the last. Those who passed would live on; those who failed would have their souls scattered. Their actual lifespans were very short. It wasn't guaranteed that even one nine-tribulation Loose Immortal would appear in ten thousand years on the Taiyuan Continent. Almost all Loose Immortals were in seclusion, racing against time, and were rarely encountered. Therefore, the presence of Loose Immortals in the Ten Great Immortal Sects was not dangerous and didn't signify much.
While Yang Hong was pondering these matters, Song Yu continued his explanations.
"Ninth-grade sects are those that have had no less than a hundred Immortals ascend. Ordinary ninth-grade sects also have Loose Immortals as their foundation."
"Eighth-grade sects require no less than ten Immortals to have ascended. For example, in our Carefree Pavilion's history of nearly eighty thousand years, seventy-four ancestors have ascended to become Immortals. We also have an Ancestor who is a Loose Immortal currently suppressing the sect."
"Seventh-grade sects only require one Immortal to have ascended."
"As for sixth-grade sects, they only need to have produced an eighth-level Tribulation Transcendence stage cultivator. Fifth-grade sects only need to have produced a seventh-level Integration stage cultivator. Fourth-grade sects require a sixth-level Nascent Soul stage cultivator, third-grade sects a fifth-level Core Formation stage cultivator, second-grade sects a fourth-level Golden Core stage cultivator, and first-grade sects a third-level Integration stage cultivator."
Song Yu spoke briefly about the lower-grade sects, his tone carrying a hint of disdain, as if sects that had not produced Immortals were not worth mentioning.
"That simple?"
Even Yang Hong found it surprisingly easy to establish a sect.
"Heh… it is that simple! However, many cultivators cannot even reach the Integration realm and can only become rogue cultivators. Even if one reaches the required cultivation, there are still certain requirements to establish a sect. The most basic among them is to have a spiritual mountain, at least ten disciples, and among those disciples, at least one must be in the Foundation Establishment stage," Song Yu explained further.
"I see. Master, how many people from our sect will enter that secret realm this time?" Yang Hong, having a rough understanding of the requirements for establishing a sect, kept his thoughts to himself and changed the subject.
"Our Carefree Pavilion will have ten people entering this time, including you, making it eleven."
"What! I have to go in too? Wasn't it said that only Foundation Establishment stage cultivators could enter?" Yang Hong asked with feigned surprise, a look of fear appearing on his face.
"Heh, those are just rules spoken of. In reality, anyone with the opportunity, the conditions, and who isn't afraid of death can enter. As for you, don't worry. Your senior brothers' mission in entering the Hongdong Secret Realm this time is to protect you." Song Yu saw the fear on Yang Hong's face and affectionately patted his shoulder to comfort him.
"Thank you, Master. Then I'll trouble my senior brothers." Yang Hong thanked him gratefully, but in his heart, he wondered if he should take care of those senior brothers. After all, he was a master of the Integration realm.
"Furthermore, according to past practices, we will let those rogue cultivators go in first, to be used as fodder to lure away the beast hordes. You will be much safer." As he spoke, Song Yu lifted the carriage curtain and pointed outside. "See? Those fools in the Five Directions Domain aren't conserving their true qi and are using it to travel. Such idiots are a waste of heaven and earth spiritual energy just by living."
Yang Hong followed Song Yu's gaze and saw a group of cultivators traveling by using spells.
"Due to special circumstances, the spiritual energy in the Five Directions Domain is depleted. Although we can use spirit stones to recover true qi and true essence, in this region, the spiritual energy from spirit stones dissipates very quickly, and the absorption efficiency is low, making it very wasteful." As he spoke, Song Yu flipped his hand and produced a small, ping-pong ball-sized jade stone, handing it to Yang Hong.
"Master, is this a spirit stone? It looks like a high-quality piece of jade." Yang Hong had quite a few spirit stones himself, but he had to pretend not to know, so he asked again with curiosity.
"This is not jade. However, mortals do mistake spirit stones for jade. Many rogue cultivators use depleted spirit stones, which have absorbed all their spiritual energy, as jade to exchange for supplies in mortal kingdoms."
As soon as the spirit stone was revealed, Yang Hong could feel a dense spiritual energy constantly emanating from it, its concentration much higher than the spirit stones in his possession. He deliberately touched it up and down with curiosity, looking like a curious baby. In reality, he wanted this spirit stone but was too embarrassed to ask for it.
"Huh? Why is my cultivation becoming unstable?" Just as Yang Hong was about to continue fiddling with it, Song Yu suddenly exclaimed in surprise and then quickly took back the spirit stone to absorb its energy. Following this, he took out new spirit stones one after another. As for the depleted, blank spirit stones, he simply tossed them onto the ground. Yang Hong wanted to collect them, but he outwardly had no storage equipment and couldn't use it. Therefore, he could only watch.
Time marched forward with the rolling of the carriage wheels. Song Yu cultivated like this for thirty days, not waking up until they reached Hongdong Lake. During this period, Yang Hong was moved to a different carriage. Song Yu was accompanied by another Nascent Soul stage cultivator from the Carefree Pavilion team. Yang Hong also took this opportunity to get acquainted with his other senior brothers. The Carefree Pavilion's team was well-equipped: two Core Disciple Nascent Soul cultivators, five True Disciple Golden Core cultivators, leading ten Outer Disciple Foundation Establishment cultivators. Although they were Outer Disciples, it was evident that these ten disciples were carefully trained and might become Inner Disciples, True Disciples, Core Disciples, or even core members in the future. With his vast knowledge, Yang Hong quickly mingled with these ten Outer Disciples. At the same time, he also noticed some irregularities.