The families of these trial participants were somewhat agitated, but Chu Yang did not reunite them immediately.
The trial had ended, but many things remained unresolved.
He drew a circle, separating the trial participants from everyone else.
Then, Chu Yang looked at the group of trial participants, who seemed to have returned from a different era, and said, "I won't say much more. After seven days of bloody battles, some of you may hate this secret realm with a passion, while others might have enjoyed this kind of combat. Regardless of your results, you can all applaud yourselves!"
"In the past seven days, you've all had profound insights to varying degrees, but the constant tension has left you no chance to sit down and cultivate peacefully. Let's cast aside all distractions for now. The matter of demon cores will be tallied later. Focus entirely on your own cultivation! Everyone, follow me!"
To everyone's bewilderment, Chu Yang parted a path and pointed towards the Spirit Gathering Formation he had sketched out a few days prior.
"Walk over there and find your own spot to sit!"
Although everything happened abruptly, it was Chu Yang who was speaking, so no one suspected they were being led into harm.
The area where the Spirit Gathering Formation was located was very spacious. He had initially considered having Xue Qianwei decorate it, but then decided against it; it was fine as it was.
As soon as they stepped into the Spirit Gathering Formation, all the trial participants couldn't help but gasp in unison.
They were all cultivators and could naturally feel the vast difference in spiritual energy inside and outside.
Such immense spiritual energy gave them the blissful feeling of a mouse falling into an enormous rice jar.
Luo Xiaowei exclaimed, "Holy crap! If I worked here from now on, wouldn't I be blissfully happy?"
As a tool man who had previously worked for Chu Yang, Luo Xiaowei
Bai Nianchen stroked his chin, observing his surroundings with a contemplative look.
"This formation is quite interesting... It seems I'll have to find an opportunity to ask Immortal Brother for guidance."
Chu Yang approached them and explained, "You are now inside the Spirit Gathering Formation. This formation gathers the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, making the spiritual energy concentration here a hundred times higher than outside. Now, calm your minds and consolidate all the accumulations from the past seven days. This is the best time for you to break through your realms!"
Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood!
Chu Yang waved his hand again, and a barrier condensed, shielding out the noisy sounds from the outside.
Nineteen hundred people had entered, and less than sixteen hundred emerged. The final two days had been quite fierce.
"You will have twenty-four hours, but please cultivate with peace of mind. If you enter a state of enlightenment, I will not forcibly interrupt you."
After speaking, Chu Yang left directly.
This could be considered a collective reward for all of them. Cultivating here for twenty-four hours would be far more effective than several top-grade spirit stones!
Although Chu Yang's voice was not loud, everyone heard him.
The spectators who had been watching realized that what Chu Yang had been working on a few days prior was called a "Spirit Gathering Formation," which gathered the most concentrated and pure spiritual energy from heaven and earth.
At first, they felt a little envious, but upon seeing their dirty, tattered clothes and numerous wounds, they suddenly weren't so envious anymore.
Not all resources could be envied; these people had survived numerous life-and-death battles within the realm.
Bai Nianchen found a spot and sat down. Although his daoist robe was in tatters, it did not detract from his ethereal demeanor.
As a recipient of the Innate Dao Body, he was naturally close to the Dao.
Luo Xiaowei, with his sharp eyes, spotted Daoist Bai in the crowd and pushed Qin Xiaoxiao towards the Daoist.
"Let's go! Let's go leech off the Innate Dao Body!"
He familiarly patted Bai Nianchen's shoulder and chuckled, "Daoist Bai, is it okay if we sit together?"
"Little friend Luo, naturally it is fine. This humble Taoist does not mind at all."
Others also subtly moved closer to Bai Nianchen's position.
Before coming for the trial, they already knew the power of the Innate Dao Body. Since they weren't very familiar with Bai Nianchen, they naturally moved closer discreetly.
As a recipient of the Innate Dao Body, Bai Nianchen quickly entered a state of enlightenment after sitting down.
Entering a state of enlightenment, which others might not achieve in a lifetime, was as simple as drinking water for him.
A mysterious and profound aura emanated from him. Luo Xiaowei and Qin Xiaoxiao, sitting beside him, also felt an aura that brought peace to their hearts and entered their states.
For these seven days, everyone's spirits had been in a relatively tense state, with virtually no time for dedicated cultivation.
They had long needed a period of沉淀 (chén diàn - settling/consolidation).
And besides Daoist Bai, there was another person for whom enlightenment was as easy as drinking water: Li Qingyun.
Within him resided a wisp of the soul left by the Dao Comprehension Tree, and the Dao Comprehension Tree represented the purest Dao rhythm in heaven and earth.
Then, everyone saw that as Li Qingyun entered meditation, the phantom of the Dao Comprehension Tree reappeared above his head.
However, it was a pity that this time it did not drop any leaves.
Influenced by the two, a crowd of cultivators entered a state of seated meditation.
They breathed in the most concentrated spiritual energy of the place while recalling the events of the past seven days in their minds.
Perhaps from a certain point, they could gain a different insight.
For a time, the spiritual energy within the Spirit Gathering Formation began to surge madly, and the underground spirit stone veins were also gradually being consumed.
However, these little brats were only at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, so they couldn't absorb much.
Chu Yang estimated that most of them would break through at least one minor realm. While these brats were cultivating, he would start preparing their rewards.
He wouldn't know the exact rankings until the very end.
Although the number of demon cores hadn't been tallied yet, Chu Yang already knew the list of the top ten.
He found Wang Zhicheng and said, "Old Wang, after they finish, help me tally the number of demon cores each person has, and then compile their rankings."
"What? You're giving such a huge workload to a fifty-year-old comrade like me! Is that appropriate? It's not appropriate!"
"Don't you have a large number of soldiers at your disposal?"
"Uh... then what are you going to do?"
"Go and arrange the rewards!"
Wang Zhicheng looked at Chu Yang's departing back, feeling somewhat speechless.
He had thought this young fellow had everything prepared for his show, only to realize he was only starting to prepare rewards after the trial.
However, he didn't know that Chu Yang had his own considerations for doing this.
Were general rewards as good as personalized ones?
Upon returning, he directly entered the medicinal garden secret realm, [Myriad Fragrance Valley].