A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting as a Rogue Cultivator

A piece of the bright red heart is inexplicably missing.

"how is this possible?"

"Beep beep..."

Only then did the sound of a sharp weapon piercing through the tree be heard.

"Boom."

The Vermilion Bird Fire Ring, wreathed in raging flames, reduced the Spirit Beast Mountain disciples, whose eyes revealed deep resentment, to ashes in just a few breaths.

Know yourself and the enemy, a hundred battles will never end.

Wang Li was well aware of things like beast-repelling powder. While the disciples of the Six Sects might be unfamiliar with the various methods of Spirit Beast Mountain, having visited Spirit Beast Mountain and the various sect markets, he was intimately familiar with the methods of the Seven Sects of Yue Kingdom; he certainly knew the more conventional ones.

In this respect, he surpassed all the elite disciples of the seven sects who "only knew how to cultivate diligently but did not understand tactical and strategic arrangements."

Therefore, after several fruitless attempts to ambush his opponent, Wang Li immediately realized that his opponent possessed a spirit beast with keen senses. To avoid being detected by this beast, he repeatedly chose hiding places that were further away from the previous battlefield, attempting to locate them from all directions: southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast.

In addition, Wang Li was very confident that he would arrive at the central area in time, and therefore very patient; it was the other party who was anxious to enter the central area to collect herbs.

Therefore, when he returned for the fourth time, and his hiding place was beyond the little black snake's maximum perception range, the disciple from Spirit Beast Mountain was in trouble.

A whisk ring, a fragment of a magical artifact, an arrow, and a handkerchief wrapped around the arrow—one arrow hits the bullseye, giving no time to react.

The person was already dead the moment they heard the sonic boom.

A large fireball sent him and his pets to rest in peace, and Wang left happily, taking the other party's storage bag.

Next, of course, is sorting out the spoils.

There are ten storage bags in total.

The three brothers from the Qingxu Sect must have been involved in a murder and robbery before.

The three were fellow disciples from Huadaowu, and the two of them were clearly not good people.

The seventh one is a random passerby who was killed by the Qingxu Sect brothers; a typical small fry with no self-awareness.

The eighth and ninth were old men from the Giant Sword Sect, but Wang Li was certain that one of them was not originally from this guy.

The last one came from this disciple of Spirit Beast Mountain. Wang Li even suspected that this guy was the lucky one who first discovered the Fire Dragon Grass and the Three-Eyed Fire Wolf. However, because he failed to kill the first-level high-grade demon beast in time, he indirectly trapped himself here, unable to move forward or backward, and thus helplessly, it gradually turned into a tragedy.

After a lot of tidying up and clanging.

"A bunch of paupers!"

Leaving aside the damaged magical artifacts, there are a total of forty-nine magical artifacts: four low-level artifacts, twenty mid-level artifacts, twenty-three high-level artifacts, and two top-level artifacts.

One of the items was a storage bag, and the only high-level magical artifact that the lone man possessed was so damaged that it was unusable. The only items he could use in combat were a low-level magical artifact and a mid-level magical artifact.

Wang Li strongly suspected that this person was one of the lucky winners of the Ascension Conference more than two years ago, and was originally a rogue cultivator; unfortunately, his good fortune ran out after joining a sect, and he was forced to come and participate in this damned Blood Forbidden Trial, which cost him his life for nothing.

"The gap between ordinary disciples and elite disciples is truly enormous."

One can get a sense of this by comparing their net worth.

After all, of the only two top-tier magic artifacts, one was provided by the elder of the two brothers from the Qingxu Sect, which was a longsword; the other came from the elder of the Giant Sword Sect, which was the cane.

Of the remaining magical artifacts, it was incredibly difficult to find even one top-tier one.

Moreover, among the twenty-three high-grade magical artifacts, only two were somewhat worthy of Wang Li's attention: one was a small knife full of spiritual energy, and the other was a special bottle.

At this moment, he finally understood the hardships of rogue cultivators and the bitterness of ordinary disciples; he finally understood why, before the Blood Forbidden Trial, 99% of the disciples were so excited when faced with the rewards of high-grade magic weapons and mid-grade spirit stones given by the sect!

He's faking it, but the other person is genuine!

On the other hand, Huangfeng Valley is quite generous to offer dozens of high-grade magic weapons for its cannon fodder disciples to choose from at once, in order to boost their morale!

Of course, besides magical artifacts, Wang Li also gained other things, such as talisman treasures!

The two brothers from Qingxu Sect are truly kind people; he won't hold back with the golden mace talisman.

There were also several talismans: mostly low-level talismans, over a hundred; thirty-one beginner and intermediate-level talismans; six beginner and advanced-level talismans; and only one intermediate-level talisman, which was a control-type auxiliary talisman, otherwise Wang Li wouldn't have been able to obtain it so easily.

Several pills: all common ones, no rare ones.

As for spirit stones, Wang Li made a fortune: sixteen mid-grade spirit stones, seven of which came from the two brothers of Qingxu Sect and three from the elder of Giant Sword Sect; more than three hundred low-grade spirit stones, with one bag containing only a meager dozen or so low-grade spirit stones... Can you believe it?

Furthermore, there were two spirit beast pouches, but Wang Li didn't keep either of them.

Finally, there were spiritual herbs and plants, cultivation manuals, materials from demonic beasts, and miscellaneous items like clothing. The only thing that interested him was a book written in ancient script, a twenty-odd-page ancient book that he couldn't tear with his fingers and whose contents were completely incomprehensible.

"Go out and do some research."

Now, at the southwest entrance of the central area: I've arrived.

This time, they're really here.

Chapter 31 Arrival in the Central Area

Wuzhi Lake is very close to the southwest entrance of the high wall. Half an hour later, Wang Li arrived at this outer perimeter of the central area.

Along the way, whether it was due to the intimidating aura of his thirteenth level Qi Refining stage or sheer luck, he encountered no ambushers or other combatants, except for some remaining traces of battle.

The miscellaneous fish looked as if they had been cleaned up.

Wang Li's impression was that those who escaped the net were quite self-aware. Some did not choose to come here to scavenge, but instead hid in the outermost area; others, seeing no hope of finding treasure, found secluded places to hide their tracks and became cowards.

In fact, this is precisely how the weak who participate in the Blood Forbidden Trial preserve their lives.

Generally speaking, those at the tenth or eleventh level of Qi Refining, excluding those from special cultivation families, don't have much of value on them.

Each one of them was lucky if they could manage to produce two or three high-grade magic artifacts.

Looking at the elite disciples in the sect: their cultivation techniques are at least level twelve, and many are at level thirteen; their equipment starts with high-grade magic weapons, and those from good families can receive top-grade magic weapons from their elders, or obtain top-grade magic weapons through their own means.

Furthermore, above the elite disciples are seed-level minor experts. These individuals are equipped with at least one top-tier magic weapon, two or three are not uncommon, and an additional talisman is even more common.

Even if three or five ordinary disciples were to fight against such a formidable opponent, they might not be able to defeat one of them.

In battles among cultivators, the competition revolves around cultivation level, magical artifacts, talismans, talismanic treasures, elixirs, experience, and so on. At the Qi Refining stage, magical artifacts are of paramount importance; with sound tactics and strategy, whoever possesses the most powerful magical artifacts will ultimately prevail.

This is why Wang Li has such a strong preference for talismans and top-tier magical artifacts.

This is also why he was able to defeat his opponents repeatedly with overwhelming force.

"Go through this bronze door, and you'll be in the central area."

He took a deep breath and subtly increased his vigilance.

At this moment, Wang Li was standing in front of a stone wall several meters high. Looking inside the stone wall, a few hundred meters away was enveloped in a misty fog.

On the wall stood an antique bronze gate, inscribed with strange, ancient characters. Unfortunately, Wang Li had only learned a rudimentary understanding of ancient characters in the Tianzhi Pavilion of Huangfeng Valley and couldn't decipher these scribbled symbols.

There are four gates in total, located in the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest directions of the forbidden area. The rest of the area is enclosed by stone walls. When the Blood Forbidden Trial first began, disciples from various sects were unaware of the importance of the four gates. In the eyes of some arrogant individuals, how could a mere stone wall a few feet high possibly stop cultivators?

Then one by one, those who were oblivious to their own mortality chose to climb over the wall and jump in.

But they didn't understand that as guests, they should be polite and abide by the rules set by the host. What they didn't know was that before leaving, the host had placed an ancient wind-based forbidden spell on the stone wall. So, these unruly guests who didn't follow the rules and tried to take shortcuts weren't just climbing over a wall, but were running into a knife's edge.

Finally, they all fell into the viewing area like dumplings being dropped into a pot, becoming fertilizer for the flowers.

In other words, the four gates are the only passageway that leads deep into the central area of ​​the forbidden zone, making them a strategically vital location.

The bronze door was now open, indicating that someone had already entered. Considering that those who could reach this place were either elites from various factions or top-tier figures, Wang Li dared not be careless in the slightest.

It was through these observations and knowledge that he stepped through this door.

On the surface, they remain calm and composed, strolling leisurely as if visiting their own backyard. In reality, they are accumulating strength, ready to strike a thunderous blow at any moment if someone suddenly appears.

Unfortunately, no one is blind to the danger.

The hunters hidden in the shadows, those at the twelfth level of Qi Refining and above, all ignored him, their prey at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

"Damn it, another thirteen-story building?"

Hidden in a patch of grass, the three from Tianque Fort grinned and poked their teeth.

"Yes, why are there so many experts at the thirteenth level participating in this trial? Counting the three who arrived earlier, there are four from the southwest gate alone."

"I must say, this kid is really young, completely different from the previous three..."

Given Wang Li's bone age and current cultivation level, he is undoubtedly a prodigy. Normally, he would be nurtured in a greenhouse by the sect's higher-ups and would never be thrown into a forbidden area to undergo any trials and tribulations.

"It's from Yellow Maple Valley. I've been looking into it before."

"Hmph, Huangfeng Valley isn't afraid of such a young upstart dying here."

"Senior brother, it's best to be cautious. The other party seems to have some past connection with the patriarch of the Chen family who is leading the team. It's best not to provoke them."

The intimidating power of a Core Formation cultivator is evident from this.

"Don't worry, I don't want to be the one who gets the last bird in the hole."

The meaning is clear: he is not afraid of a thirteenth-level expert like Wang Li, and he has the confidence to fight against him; but he is afraid of being attacked from behind and ultimately being taken advantage of.

Typical example: one can lose in terms of personnel, but cannot lose in terms of battle.

Now let's talk about Wang Li.

As soon as he entered the room and smelled the air, his whole body and mind felt lighter, and his tense nerves quietly relaxed a little.

The first floor of the three-story central area, against the wall, is indeed a place of birdsong and fragrant flowers. The various ornamental flowers and plants are pleasing to the eye, truly deserving of the name "Garden in the World".

"There are actually quite a few auxiliary spiritual herbs for refining the Youth-Preserving Pill?!"

What a pleasant surprise! What a wonderful surprise!

In addition, the concentration of spiritual energy here far exceeds that of the outside world.

It should be noted that the forbidden area itself was sealed by the ancient Great Restriction for thousands of years, and the spiritual energy outside the central area was already far superior to that of the current Tiannan Immortal Cultivation World, even comparable to some blessed lands; the spiritual energy in the central area was obviously much denser, and it was mixed with the rich and refreshing spiritual herb scent.

It is invigorating to hear.

"A good place."

How wonderful it would be to turn it into our own backyard.

The forbidden area combined with the small bottle is a match made in heaven.

However, Wang Li had no idea what dangers might brew after the five-day period of decline following the Great Forbidden Zone of Ancient Times, and he didn't want to risk his promising future. Furthermore, the second level of the central area of ​​the forbidden zone only contained a few kinds of spiritual herbs that would interest someone in the early stages of Core Formation. It wasn't suitable for Wang Li to cultivate in seclusion there for an extended period.

Unless he can acquire a variety of pills suitable for Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul stages within five to ten years.

However, this is not realistic.