The society is diverse; it is not the case that only things filled with Heaven and Earth spiritual energy and high-grade spirit stones are valuable.

Some things are utterly useless for cultivation, yet possess immense value. If something without cultivation use held no worth, this society would be incredibly monotonous.

For instance, in the Great Yan Kingdom, there once lived a poet known as Liu Qibian. When inspired, Liu Qibian would compose poetry, each piece imbued with profound charm. To commission a poem from him, the price could not be less than one hundred spirit stones; otherwise, he would not deign to write. A mere mortal, his stature commanded such a price simply for the quality of his verse.

And three thousand years ago, there was a painter called the Nine Great Mountain Man. This Nine Great Mountain Man was a master artist, famed for his paintings. One of his works, "Lotus Flower and Joyful Fish Painting," was valued at one hundred and fifty spirit stones.

Of course, the most highly sought-after piece now is the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," created by a famous artist over two thousand years ago. This painting, produced by a mere mortal, has fetched over a thousand spirit stones in the market.

For beauty, be it in poetry, painting, or anything else, cultivators can perceive and genuinely appreciate it.

The Zhizhu flower is no different.

The most beautiful flower in the world grows in an extremely dangerous and shadowed place, blooming for only three shichen (about six hours), and is associated with a truly beautiful legend.

To accommodate this, the cultivation world specially developed an Ice-Cold Cup, which can transplant a blooming Zhizhu flower into it, preserving the flower—which normally wilts in three shichen—for a full thirty days. Today, Zhizhu flowers are exceedingly rare. The leader of the subterranean demons is the Demon Saint Emperor, Dongfang Yao. Beneath Dongfang Yao are the Radiant Demon Emperor and the Dark Demon Emperor. Among them, the Radiant Demon Emperor, Fang Xie, is a dashing, handsome, and carefree figure. It is said this demon dearly loves the Zhizhu flower, so he commanded his subordinates to move the majority of the Zhizhu flowers to his residence, the Radiant Palace.

Consequently, the Zhizhu flowers underground became even scarcer.

Lu Yuan was currently studying a map while cross-referencing data to pinpoint the location of a Zhizhu flower.

After looking everywhere, this place seemed to be the only option: the Scarlet Maple Forest. However, Lu Yuan frowned; this location was far too deep underground. He had adventured underground before, but only near East Continent County, very close to the surface; he had never ventured into the deep subterranean realms. The Scarlet Maple Forest he needed to reach lay deep below, where the demons would surely be much stronger.

The danger was immense!

Lu Yuan was never an arrogant person; he knew his current strength was considerable among the younger disciples, but there were infinitely more powerful individuals in this world. Even among the Ninth Generation alone, many surpassed him. Arrogance was entirely out of the question. Furthermore, near the Scarlet Maple Forest, there appeared to be a branch of the Five Immortals Alliance maintaining a defense post.

Lu Yuan visited Martial Uncle Ye Yangrong and obtained confirmed intelligence. Indeed, there was a defense outpost there, but not just one—there were fully three branch garrisons: the Seventh Branch Hall, the Fourth Branch Post, the Seventh Branch Post, and the Tenth Branch Post.

The Tenth Branch Hall was specialized in training newcomers.

The Seventh Branch Hall, conversely, was purely a combat-focused hall, entirely different from the Tenth Branch Hall.

Naturally, the Seventh Branch Hall comprised ten branch posts. Each post possessed considerable strength, but unlike the Tenth Branch Hall, the higher the ranking of the post, the stronger it was. For example, the strength of the Fourth Branch Post far exceeded that of the Seventh Branch Post and the Tenth Branch Post. The presence of three branch posts stationed here indicated one thing: demons appeared here frequently, and their strength was significant; otherwise, three posts would not be assigned to guard the area.

Lu Yuan pondered. The demons here must be formidable. He needed to pick a Zhizhu flower, but it wouldn't bloom for another two months. If he remained alone in that location, it would be extremely perilous. Perhaps joining one of the branch posts would be better, allowing him to wait until the opportune moment to pluck the flower.

By first embedding himself within a post, he could map out the surrounding terrain and gauge the strength of the local demons, making his eventual move much safer.

This approach seemed sound. Very well, it was settled.

But which branch post should he join? Since three were stationed here, Lu Yuan consulted the map one last time and settled on the Tenth Branch Post of the Seventh Branch Hall. It was not due to any other reason; simply, among the locations of the three garrisons, the Tenth Branch Post was closest to the Scarlet Maple Forest, so he chose that one.

Joining would be simple enough, as he possessed the Sole Token; he could join any branch hall he wished.

He packed his clothes and provisions, placing significantly more wine and meat into his Asura Bag this time. His previous experience beneath East Continent County taught him a harsh lesson: one must stock up on food first, as palatable provisions might be scarce deep underground.

Now, his Minor Sumeru Pouch was reserved for magical artifacts, spirit stones, and flying swords, while the Asura Bag would hold his rations.

Spatial artifacts were undeniably convenient. Without them, carrying large bundles everywhere would be far less manageable. Lu Yuan sighed in appreciation, took his leave from his Master’s quarters, tightened his Yangwu Sword by his side, and strode down the mountain, following the pre-planned route downward. The subterranean world was not completely dark, nor was danger present everywhere.

The Five Immortals Alliance had invested so much effort into carving out a Path of Light underground. This entity, named the Path of Light, had consumed immense resources from the Alliance. All the major halls and branch posts stationed underground were connected by this path. The Path of Light had a main artery and numerous tributaries, and the presence of demons was absolutely forbidden along this route. Personnel transfers, resource movements—everything passed through the Path of Light. Without it, the scattered halls and posts of the Five Immortals Alliance underground could easily be defeated one by one.

The importance of the Path of Light was self-evident.

The starting point of the Path of Light was in the Hundred Mines Province on the surface. Beyond training newcomers, the Tenth Branch Hall held the crucial task of guarding the entrance to the Path of Light. Otherwise, assigning the Hall Master—a figure whose power nearly rivaled that of Yuan Ling—merely for training recruits would be a wasteful deployment.

He arrived at the Hundred Mines Province and stepped onto the legendary Path of Light. This path was indeed brilliantly illuminated, constructed astonishingly wide—even the narrowest section could likely accommodate five horses abreast—and lined on both sides with century-old lamps, bathing the area in perfect brightness.

The security here was intense; guards were posted at regular intervals, and identity checks were mandatory along the route. Fortunately, Lu Yuan’s credentials were unimpeachable, ensuring his passage was entirely smooth.

Finally, he reached the area where the three branch posts of the Seventh Branch Hall were stationed. Each branch post’s garrison was lit by countless century-old lamps, making the surroundings exceptionally bright, showing no hint of darkness. Lu Yuan adjusted his bearing and headed toward the Tenth Branch Post. From the exterior, the Tenth Branch Post of the Seventh Branch Hall appeared as a complex of structures, subtly shrouded by protective barriers.

The location of the Tenth Branch Post was by no means secure; establishing a garrison here necessitated setting up various magical formations, lest demons could easily storm in.

Lu Yuan was immediately stopped at the gate of the Tenth Branch Post. He presented his Sole Token.

The Sole Token! Only the top-ranked individual from the Tenth Branch Post competition possessed this token. Upon seeing the Sole Token, the pupils of the guards involuntarily contracted.

It was the Sole Token!

News that the winner of this term’s Sole Token, Lu Liu, had chosen to join the Tenth Branch Post of the Seventh Branch Hall had already caused a major stir in the vicinity. This was the Sole Token! Only one was awarded in each Tenth Branch Post competition.

The top fifty finishers of the Tenth Branch Post competition were welcomed by every branch post.

The top ten finishers were fiercely contended for.

And the first-place winner of the Tenth Branch Post competition, the possessor of the Sole Token, if willing to join, would likely be fought over by every hall and post in the major divisions.

No one expected that the owner of the Sole Token, Lu Liu, would choose the seemingly unremarkable Tenth Branch Post of the Seventh Branch Hall. This immediately ignited a massive commotion nearby.

Lu Yuan had not anticipated such a consequence. People came to visit him constantly. Well, as a newcomer to the Tenth Branch Post, it was improper to refuse visits outright, and this ended up exhausting him completely. Lu Yuan felt like spitting up bile; it was truly frustrating. Had he known, he would not have used the Sole Token, perhaps just adopting an alias. After all, as long as Martial Uncle Ye Yangrong was willing to assist, obtaining an alias acceptable to the Five Immortals Alliance would not have been difficult.

Life, truly, was bittersweet.

“Did you hear? The owner of the Sole Token has arrived.”

“The top person from this term’s Tenth Branch Post competition?”

“Yes. I heard he collected six hundred Five Immortals Tokens, far exceeding Elder Wu Chendong, who came second. Even more remarkably, he is merely a True Disciple, not an Elder, and incredibly young.”

“Such a formidable figure emerging as a True Disciple at such a young age…”

“Right, and I heard he has thrown his lot in with the Tenth Branch Post of the Seventh Branch Hall this time.”

“The Tenth Branch Post of the Seventh Branch Hall isn't considered very strong, is it? Why join that post? Around us, the Fourth Branch Post and the Seventh Branch Post are clearly stronger than the Tenth Post. Why did he choose the Tenth?”

“Who knows.”

“Do you think this person will influence the subterranean demon assessment in half a month?”

“How could he possibly influence it? He only ranked first in this term's Tenth Branch Post competition. Our Seventh Branch Hall is teeming with experts; how could he possibly affect the assessment in half a month? The Tenth Branch Post will likely still finish at the bottom during the subterranean demon test.”

(A note: There was a severe thunderstorm last night with continuous thunder until this morning. Power outages and network disconnection were entirely normal. The network where I am staying has not yet been restored. I have traveled elsewhere to post this, so I am only publishing three chapters today. Recent updates will likely be irregular; I will try my best to maintain a normal schedule, hoping the network issue resolves soon. Also, the water levels are rising quickly! The Golden Mountain Temple is facing a flood!)