Chapter Twenty-Eight: Marrow of the Myriad Spirits

Two days after returning to the Martial Academy, the elite disciples had already learned the outcome of the battle at Huaqing Pool. Chen Fan, meanwhile, had received three gifts in succession.

There were two top-tier human-grade medicinal pills—a Snow Lotus Pill for healing and a Poison-Cleansing Pill for curing ailments—as well as a Heart-Protecting Mirror of treasure-tool quality. While their value was not astronomical, each was worth several thousand Origin Points, totaling nearly ten thousand—a significant sum for Chen Fan. Even with his current ranking, he would need to complete over ten missions to earn such an amount.

"It is a pity that Origin Points cannot be traded," Chen Fan remarked with a shake of his head. "Otherwise, ten thousand points would have been far more useful to me than these three gifts."

The donors were the three highest-ranked disciples of the Martial Academy's Myriad Phenomenon Void Realm, who were also the last three candidates selected to enter Huaqing Pool. Excluding Ju Ningshou and Chen Fan, the remaining five from the Qingming Martial Academy were all top disciples of the Bright Moon Pavilion. They were either at the half-step Unity stage or had already grasped an intent, needing only to fuse the power of heaven and earth to reach the Grandmaster realm. Some had even been capable of ascending to Grandmaster for quite some time but had deliberately suppressed their cultivation, all for the sake of this singular opportunity for enlightenment.

Of course, these disciples did not earn their spots for free; it required a massive investment of Origin Points. No matter how high one's cultivation level, if one could not generate value for the academy, one could forget about accessing such precious lands. Having been in the academy for years, these disciples had completed countless missions and possessed deep reserves; for them, the cost in points was trivial—securing the spot was what mattered.

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes, thoughts racing: "It seems the news of my battle at Huaqing Pool has spread. Han Cheng was a powerful Blood-Body cultivator with formidable strength; if I hadn't participated in that bout, that boy Wan Qing would never have won. By winning, I have inadvertently done these people a favor."

With three extra spots available, the three who had been trailing in the rankings were naturally grateful to Chen Fan. Relatively speaking, a few thousand Origin Points were a small price to pay for a chance at enlightenment. Of course, even if they hadn't sent the gifts, they would have likely sought to build a connection with him regardless.

Time passed, and soon the day arrived for the opening of Huaqing Pool. The seven genius disciples of Qingming Martial Academy gathered. Among them, three held the title of top ten youth experts in their respective prefectures, while two others were formidable but kept a lower profile. Unfortunately, none of them were from Chen Fan’s hometown of Yandu City. Chen Fan was not well-acquainted with them, having only heard their names.

All five were just a hair's breadth away from the Grandmaster realm, though none were as young as Li Linliu; the youngest among them was already over thirty. Their strength was solid, but their innate talent was a notch below Li Linliu’s. The academy did possess geniuses comparable to Li Linliu, such as Ji Guanjian or Changsun Shichuan, who had broken the strength-testing record twenty years ago, but they had already entered the Bright Sun Pavilion and had no chance to attend.

Around the Huaqing Pool secret realm, the two major martial academies had long since joined forces to build high walls, sealing the area off completely. Access was forbidden to all during ordinary times, and buildings had been erected inside to house those tasked with guarding the site.

The group passed through layers of walls and crossed several pavilions before finally arriving at their destination. Before them lay a babbling stream next to a towering cliff.

"This is the Huaqing Pool?" Chen Fan asked, looking at the small pool with a strange expression. He felt it was too cramped even for him to bathe in alone; he couldn't imagine ten people fitting inside.

Ye Wuji laughed, "The Huaqing Pool is inside the secret realm; this is merely the exit. The portal won't open for another two hours. What are you in such a rush for?" The surrounding disciples chuckled as they looked at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan remained curious. When he had entered the Yuan Merchant Ruins, the exterior had been a set of ruins, but this place appeared to be a mundane natural landscape. He had not expected it to be the entrance to a secret realm.

Ye Wuji took the opportunity to instruct Chen Fan: "Once you enter, do not group up with the other disciples. Try to find an open area, then search for the Myriad Spirit Dao Marrow and fuse it into your body."

The Myriad Spirit Dao Marrow could not be taken out of the realm, and each person could only fuse one, meaning only these ten disciples would truly benefit. Chen Fan nodded in realization.

As the appointed time approached, the ten disciples from the two academies were each given a special piece of jade. Suddenly, the sky darkened as if a storm were brewing. A tornado formed, whipping up the shallow water—a miraculous sight. Chen Fan felt the jade in his hand grow scorching hot, and a layer of protective energy wrapped around his body.

"Very well, the Huaqing Pool secret realm is open. Enter," Ye Wuji said with a smile.

Immediately, the disciples cupped their hands and stepped forward into the tornado, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Chen Fan followed suit. He felt no buffeting from the wind; instead, the scene before him shifted violently.

*Plop!*

He stepped into thin air and plummeted into water. Standing up, he found the water reached his waist. White mist swirled around him, obscuring his vision, but not far away, he could see the other nine disciples. The air was damp and heavy.

Chen Fan instinctively circulated his internal energy and was struck by the dense concentration of heaven and earth energy pouring into his body. While the ambient spiritual energy did not directly affect his "idle-gain" efficiency, a higher concentration allowed his internal energy to circulate and condense into true essence much faster, accelerating his progress. He felt the energy converting within him, tempering his bones with incredible speed—even faster than when he was training in the Myriad Illusion Hall using Origin Stones.

He was shocked, then filled with delight. Looking at the others, he saw they, too, wore expressions of joy. Just then, in the distance, the water rippled, and a bright light flickered through the dense fog.

"It's the Dao Marrow!"

Upon seeing the light, Chen Fan noticed that the three strongest disciples from the Bright Moon Pavilion had eyes burning with excitement. Disregarding everything else, they bolted toward the light, terrified of missing out. Two disciples from Renchang Martial Academy also scrambled to follow.

Ju Ningshou cast an envious glance at the light before turning away. "I’ll be moving on!" He chose a direction at random and left. Each person could only fuse one piece of Myriad Spirit Dao Marrow, but the sooner one fused it, the sooner they could begin their enlightenment. They could stay in the pool for at most one day, after which they would all be teleported out. Every moment of extra time spent in the state of enlightenment made a difference. Those with less strength preferred not to move with the powerful, knowing the latter would surely claim the marrow first.

Following Ye Wuji’s advice, Chen Fan bid farewell to his fellow disciples and turned into the dense fog. The pool was vast and shrouded in mist; he walked for two incense sticks' worth of time without finding the end, and the sounds of the other disciples gradually faded. He had yet to see another point of light.

"I didn't expect the Myriad Spirit Dao Marrow to be so hard to find..."

He scanned the area for another quarter of an hour before suddenly seeing a flicker of light in the mist. His face lit up, and he sprinted toward it with all his might. The waist-deep water significantly slowed him down, even when he pushed his "Three Thousand Thunder Movements" to the limit, but the area was deserted, and he had no competition.

He finally reached the source of the light. It was submerged deep within the water. Chen Fan immediately retrieved the Blue Field Jade Refining Pill he had kept close to his body, swallowed it, dived into the water, and with burning eyes, reached out to grasp the light.