Ascending from the mortal realm to become an immortal begins with taking charge of a grotto-heaven.

"But do you really think I'm easy to bully?"

A cold glint flashed in Zhang Li's eyes, and a bold idea immediately formed in his mind.

The speed of the Black Shadow Boat immediately decreased. Firstly, he did not have much mana left, and secondly, he had to create an illusion for the gray-robed cultivator, the illusion that he could deal with Zhang Li without using any talismans.

As long as the gray-robed cultivator doesn't use talismans, Zhang Li has countless ways to kill him.

As expected, the gray-robed cultivator behind them had no suspicion and sped up to catch up.

Zhang Li thought to himself, "Good timing!" and at the same time, he frantically threw out several mid-grade spirit talismans.

Several spirit talismans exploded in mid-air, with fire and wind blades crisscrossing and bursting forth. These were all inferior products he had drawn in the early stages. They looked terrifying, but their power was actually limited. Not to mention late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, even cultivators who had just entered the mid-stage of Qi Refining could easily block them.

Upon seeing this, the gray-robed cultivator's lips curled into a sinister smile.

"Have you run out of magic power? You're actually thinking of using these inferior talismans to save your life."

The Black Water Banner rolled forward, and surging black water burst forth, easily engulfing all the scattered fireballs and wind blades.

"Stop struggling, surrender obediently, and I might leave you with a whole corpse." The gray-robed cultivator mocked loudly, having already lowered his guard.

Zhang Li feigned fear, urging the black shadow boat to run erratically, appearing to be at its wit's end. In reality, he had already hidden the last Thunder Explosion Pearl in his sleeve, ready to deliver a devastating blow to the gray-robed cultivator at any moment.

He secretly calculated the distance, waiting for the best opportunity.

The distance is getting closer and closer.

Seeing that the other party was still just fleeing in a sorry state in the Black Shadow Boat, constantly throwing out sporadic talismans, the gray-robed cultivator's contempt grew stronger.

"They're still putting up a stubborn resistance!"

The gray-robed cultivator let out a low shout, closing the distance by several feet again. He raised his hand and waved the Black Water Banner, preparing to deliver the final blow to Zhang Li.

"Now!"

Zhang Li suddenly turned around and threw out several more spirit talismans.

Several talismans exploded in mid-air, with fire and wind blades spreading everywhere, instantly obscuring the gray-robed cultivator's vision.

Under the cover of this chaotic light curtain, Zhang Li flicked his wrist, and the Thunder Explosion Pearl in his sleeve flew out silently, following the talisman, heading straight for the gray-robed cultivator.

The gray-robed cultivator's gaze was fixed on the wind blades and firelight flying towards him. He sneered and swung the black water banner forward, directly swallowing this insignificant attack.

By the time he saw the rapidly approaching Thunder Bead, it was already too late.

The gray-robed cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly mobilized the black water in front of him to protect himself layer by layer.

Boom!

Black lightning exploded, sweeping away everything around it, and dark mud splashed wildly in all directions along with the violent shockwave.

After a full seven or eight breaths, the violent lightning gradually disappeared.

The moment Zhang Li threw the Thunderclap Pearl, he sped away. With the protection of the Ink Cloud Jade Pendant, he was not harmed at all by the residual force of the attack.

After the black lightning dissipated, he hurriedly looked towards the center of the explosion.

"As expected, they had a backup plan!"

The black water banner in the gray-robed cultivator's hand was directly hit by the power of the exploding thunder pearl this time. Large sections of the banner were torn apart by the lightning, but he did not die. This was because a huge black shield appeared in front of him at some unknown time.

This giant shield magic artifact was clearly of the level of a high-grade magic artifact, and it should have helped the gray-robed cultivator block most of the subsequent power of the exploding lightning pearl.

Although the black giant shield was also damaged considerably as a result, and its spiritual light dimmed considerably.

The gray-robed cultivator looked down at the completely destroyed Black Water Banner beside him, then at the fading light of the dark giant shield, and felt a pang of heartache. The Black Water Banner had been with him for many years, and now it was ruined; the giant shield was damaged, and repairing it would cost a considerable amount of spirit stones.

"What a cunning youngster!"

The gray-robed cultivator gritted his teeth and growled, his heart burning with rage. He immediately reached for his storage bag, intending to take out the Golden Bow Talisman and hunt down Zhang Li at all costs.

Only now you think of using talismans? Too late!

I'll leave it to you.

Zhang Li certainly wouldn't give the gray-robed cultivator that chance. He made a hand seal and activated the [Gengjin Sword Talisman] in his dantian, pointing it at the gray-robed cultivator from a distance.

"cut!"

The next moment, a dazzling golden light burst forth from Zhang Li's fingertip, shooting out like a meteor piercing the sun. The speed of the golden light exceeded the limits of what the naked eye could perceive.

In the blink of an eye, it landed on the black giant shield.

puff-

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only the purest and most extreme sharpness.

The superior-grade magic weapon, the black giant shield, was as fragile as tofu in front of the Gengjin sword energy, and the sharp golden light penetrated the shield without any hindrance.

The remaining power of the Gengjin sword energy was undiminished, passing straight through the gray-robed cultivator, and a dazzling red line of blood instantly spread from his chest and abdomen.

As blood and internal organs gushed out, the gray-robed cultivator didn't even have time to let out a complete scream before his consciousness completely dissipated. His two remaining body parts collapsed limply into the black mud, lifeless once more.

The [Gengjin Sword Talisman] is indeed powerful, worthy of being made by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Zhang Li nodded in satisfaction, then unleashed a burst of green flame, reducing the corpse to ashes before stepping forward with peace of mind.

"It's a pity about these two top-grade magic artifacts. It's better to buy new ones than to repair them."

Looking at the two magical artifacts that could still be repaired, Zhang Li shook his head slightly.

"Even so, I'm not at a loss."

Picking up the storage bag that had fallen to the side, Zhang Li quickly broke through the restrictions on it and took out the talisman he had been longing for.

"Finally, it's in my hands."

This powerful treasure had been held by the gray-robed cultivator, threatening his life at all times. Now that it was his, a great weight was finally lifted from his heart.

After putting the talisman into his storage bag, Zhang Li carefully put away the newly acquired storage bag and disappeared into the miasma in a flash.

After a cup of tea, Zhang Li finally found a place where you could stop and rest.

After setting up some talismans around him as a warning, he sat down cross-legged, took out a pill, swallowed it, and began to regulate his breathing.

Despite engaging in four consecutive battles, Zhang Li was not seriously injured, suffering only some internal injuries, entirely thanks to his thorough preparation.

The biggest drain was on his mana, which was completely depleted.

Once the pill enters the stomach, its gentle medicinal power slowly spreads, circulating throughout the body's meridians, gradually calming the fluctuating Qi and blood, and repairing the minor damage to the internal organs.

Zhang Li followed the cultivation method and calmly circulated his energy, simultaneously neutralizing the medicinal effects and stabilizing his injuries, while drawing in the sparse spiritual energy of heaven and earth to replenish his depleted magical power little by little.

After several fierce battles, his dantian was completely empty, and even circulating his qi was somewhat sluggish. It would take quite some time to recover to his peak condition.

About five or six hours later, Zhang Li slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. The magic power in his dantian had been completely restored, and his internal injuries had also healed to about 70-80%.

"It's time to go find Senior Sister Lu and meet up."

When the two fled separately, they agreed on a meeting point. Whoever arrived at the meeting point first only needed to wait for three days. If the other person did not appear within three days, it would be considered that something bad had happened to them, and they would not need to wait any longer.