I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Although they had no direct interaction, Xu Zhou subconsciously felt that the person speaking must be Hu Anming.

Aside from Juanming, he could hardly imagine anyone else in the sect speaking in that tone.

Arrogant and cold, as if standing on a higher level, looking down on all the lesser ones.

The person speaking to Juan exclaimed in surprise, "Escape techniques? Could Junior Brother Hu have made a mistake? Escape techniques are either rare or difficult to master. How did he learn them?"

Juanming sneered, "The art of formations encompasses everything. Someone who has learned to my level naturally wouldn't make a mistake."

Then came a moment of silence.

Then, the person who had spoken earlier asked, "Should we report this?"

"Report it?" Juan said coldly. "There's no need."

I have no grudge against him, so there's no need for me to do such a thing. Besides, he's just an older Qi Refining disciple; even if he learned a secret escape technique, it wouldn't make much difference.

If you think reporting it will be beneficial, then go and say it yourself.

The person opposite him immediately laughed and said, "In that case, I'll say as little as possible to avoid trouble."

Juan nodded, not intending to say anything more.

Suddenly, his face darkened.

"who!?"

Juan immediately turned his head, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

Upon seeing this, the cultivator standing before him couldn't help but ask, "Junior brother, what's wrong?"

Juan searched for a moment, then snorted coldly, "Someone just used their divine sense to explore this place, and I discovered it."

"Divine sense! Who could it be?" The cultivator was taken aback upon hearing this.

"have no idea."

Juan frowned and said, "The other party's spiritual sense is not weak. I just noticed him, and he escaped."

The cultivator opposite him pondered with confusion.

After a long pause, the cultivator said, "Perhaps one of our fellow disciples was teasing us. Let's tell them when we get back."

Juan nodded without offering any further explanation.

He merely glanced in the direction where his divine sense had just vanished, a hint of lingering satisfaction flashing across his face.

"It seems that some people in the Golden Flame Sect already dislike me."

Then he looked away and stopped looking.

the other side.

Xu Zhou lowered his head, concealing his appearance.

Just now, he was using his divine sense to eavesdrop on Juanming's conversation with someone when he suddenly heard a commotion and realized that he had been discovered.

He also made a decisive move, severing the connection with the profound method recorded in the "Contemplation Method of Cold Sleep," and completely gathering his consciousness into his spiritual platform.

After waiting for a while, nothing unusual happened, so they must have successfully dodged it.

Xu Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

If he had been any slower, he might have already been targeted by the other side.

"This person's spiritual sense is far superior to that of others."

"Fortunately, the 'Cold Sleep Visualization Method' records a secret technique that can conceal one's aura at crucial moments, which is why it wasn't discovered."

Since he mastered the visualization technique, his spiritual sense has been almost invincible.

Unexpectedly, today, I have revealed a flaw in this person's hands.

Fortunately, he was prepared and immediately used his divine sense technique to narrowly escape the search.

After calming down, Xu Zhou thought about what he had just heard.

Judging from what the other party said, the Hu family probably only found out about themselves.

At least, Li Zelei should not have been exposed yet.

but...

Thinking of Juan's earlier comments, his gaze became deep again.

"Senior Brother Li can actually use escape techniques?"

Escape techniques are no longer ordinary escape arts, but are true supernatural powers, which can usually only be cultivated after one has established a foundation.

Few cultivators can master the art of Qi Refining.

Although the library contains several books on supernatural powers, very few people are able to even begin to understand them.

Once mastered, one will almost never be caught by an opponent of the same level, and can escape at any time.

If it weren't for the fact that the process of cultivating supernatural powers is almost impossible to replicate, Xu Zhou would have wanted to borrow the secret manual of escape techniques from Senior Brother Li.

"How many more extraordinary encounters does my senior brother have that I'm unaware of?"

Xu Zhou couldn't help but marvel at this.

This may be the benefit of Li Zelei's long-term adventures; as long as he survives, the profits he gains are extremely substantial, far exceeding those of a hermit like himself who lives deep in the mountains.

You can't have it by envying it.

Xu Zhou shook his head, putting aside his thoughts.

Since Li Zelei has a magic escape technique to protect him, even if he can't beat him, he doesn't need to worry about his life.

...

The inner sect competition is quite relaxed, except that there are two matches on the first day, and then one match every three days thereafter.

The first two rounds are only to eliminate some unqualified cultivators; the main event is just around the corner.

When the event ended, Xu Zhou did not accompany the Li family.

Since it's confirmed that the Hu family is unaware that Li Zelei is also involved in the old grudges, it would be more prudent to conceal their interactions to some extent.

But out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Li Zelei seemed to be in a good mood.

He performed exceptionally well today, defeating his opponent with a narrow escape and without revealing any of his trump cards. Surrounded by his wife and children, he looked utterly happy.

Xu Zhou waited until nightfall before visiting him.

Upon hearing that his escape technique had been discovered, Li Zelei's expression froze for a moment, then darkened.

After a long silence, he sighed and said, "I didn't expect it to be discovered so quickly."

However, his expression quickly returned to normal: "Well, I never intended to hide anything from you in this competition anyway, so it was only a matter of time before you found out."

Thank you for informing me in advance, junior. Your reminder saved me from being caught off guard and unable to find an answer when asked later.

After finishing his statement, Xu Zhou pondered for a moment before speaking again.

"Senior brother, I'm afraid I won't be able to watch your upcoming matches."

Li Zelei was slightly taken aback: "Why?"

"I met Juan today."

Xu Zhou briefly recounted what had happened, then added, "Hu Anming might come again during the next competition. If he recognizes you, it might affect you."

The competition is of utmost importance now, and we absolutely cannot afford any unforeseen complications. To be on the safe side, it would be better if I didn't go.

Li Zelei felt a little regretful.

But he immediately nodded: "That's fine then. Junior brother, please wait in the cave for a few days until I get the Foundation Establishment Pill, then I'll come to see you."

...

After that, Xu Zhou returned to his cave dwelling and did not go to watch the competition again.

Although he didn't go in person, his interest in the competition didn't diminish, and he still learned about the situation on site through Li Pochen.

In the third match, Li Zelei finally encountered a tough battle.

At the crucial moment, Li Zelei revealed his cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining and defeated his opponent with his superior combat experience.

After that, only a dozen or so disciples remained, and none of them were mediocre.

In the fourth and fifth matches, the opponents they faced each had formidable trump cards.

One person held a second-tier magic weapon, while the other unleashed several second-tier talismans. Although their Qi cultivation level was insufficient to unleash their full power, they still displayed overwhelming might when facing opponents of the same tier.

At this point, Li Zelei no longer concealed his abilities and finally unleashed the escape technique he had comprehended.

Li Zelei used his superb escape techniques to evade his opponent's continuous attacks. He only won when his opponent's magic power was exhausted.

Although the victory seemed hard-won, everyone realized that Li Zelei had become the new dark horse in this competition.

After these two events, countless people began to approach Li Zelei, either to test his chances of winning the grand prize or to try to win him over and establish goodwill in advance.

For a time, the area in front of the Li family's cave was packed with people, and Li Pochen almost couldn't find a chance to find Xu Zhou.

They seemed to be enjoying a moment of glory, but the competition had reached its most dangerous moment.

Only four people remain in the competition, each possessing extraordinary abilities. If they give their all, they can protect themselves even if they encounter a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The outcome of this competition rests on these few individuals.

Xu Zhou waited quietly in the mansion for the result of the sixth match.

It wasn't until evening that Li Pochen arrived at the cave dwelling, his face beaming with excitement as he said:

"Master, my father won!"

Xu Zhou's expression remained unchanged; he simply nodded and said, "Take your time and tell me slowly how things went today."

After regaining his composure, Li Pochen slowly recounted the details of today's fight.

The more Xu Zhou listened, the more his heart sank, though his outward expression remained unchanged.

This time, the victory was truly thrilling.

Li Zelei's opponent was a disciple of a sect elder, who not only possessed Foundation Establishment level skills but also had considerable combat experience.

Although he was younger, he had already broken through to the ninth level of Qi Refining several years ago, and his cultivation was more stable and superior.

Once the two sides clashed, they were evenly matched and it was difficult to determine who was superior.

Li Zelei fought him for several rounds, and even resorted to using the Gengjin Sword Qi technique, but still couldn't gain the upper hand.

At the most dangerous moment, the sword thrust out by the opponent was almost at Li Zelei's throat, only half a foot away from piercing through.

Just when everyone thought the outcome was decided, Li Zelei reached out and struck forward, displaying his peak Body Refinement strength, directly knocking the second-tier magic weapon off course by half an inch.

The blade left a startling wound on his shoulder, but ultimately avoided a fatal blow.

Taking advantage of the opponent's momentary lapse in concentration, Li Zelei launched a desperate attack.

In the end, they won this game.

After hearing the description, Xu Zhou felt a sense of unease.

Although Li Zelei won the game, he almost completely exposed all his cards.

With a tough battle looming ahead, he was nearing his limit.

I wonder if I can win the final game.