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

"Indeed, if I had that Purple Tang Immortal, I would also try to refine a batch of precious pills to break through the bottleneck."

"Then that's it..."

Clearly, even though Old Li didn't give an answer, everyone already knew what was going on.

"It seems I should congratulate Senior Brother Chen in advance on his advanced cultivation, which has added to the foundation of the cultivation world in Yue Kingdom."

This is how the seven factions behaved when there was no external pressure; they weren't exactly hostile or embroiled in internal strife, but each was wary and cautious. Simply put, they couldn't stand seeing others succeed. There was also a hint of infighting.

"Ahem, let's not talk about Senior Brother Chen anymore. Everyone, how about a small bet?"

The burly man from the Giant Sword Sect grinned.

Eh?

The cultivators from various sects, all at the Core Formation stage, stared in astonishment at the Giant Sword Sect's team: five elites at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, fifteen skilled individuals at the twelfth level, and one person at the eleventh level.

This lineup would have been quite good in the past, but it's completely at a disadvantage in this trial.

Even with six people watching him, the big man remained confident.

Are there any promising young talents?

"Ahem, let's not gamble anymore. I just played a round with Brother Huayuan. He put up three pieces of iron essence, and I put up one Haoyuan Pill, five mid-to-high-level talismans, and the 1,200-year-old spiritual herb that I've been cultivating for many years, which is beneficial to the evolution of demonic beast bloodlines."

When these things were mentioned, the old Taoist priest's face twitched involuntarily.

That's a rare, thousand-year-old elixir.

Initially, he only intended to use a few talismans borrowed from his senior brother to gamble. Unexpectedly, things escalated too quickly and he couldn't stop: after all, he was the one who first proposed the duel. He couldn't bear to lose face in front of so many disciples from both sects.

"Hey, Brother Fuyun, wouldn't it be perfect if our Giant Sword Sect joined in? Whoever wins gets the item!"

The burly man flipped his left hand, revealing to everyone tiny black soil particles, each the size of a sesame seed, connected by transparent veins as thick as a hair.

"This is... the essence of black soil?"

"Indeed, it is one of the four treasure soils that are on par with 'red soil,' 'yellow soil,' and 'purple soil,' and are specially used to cultivate spiritual herbs. It is also a top-grade material for refining earth-attribute magic weapons!"

The burly man said proudly.

"Ha, what can you build from just this little clod of dirt?"

"Yes, that's too little."

"Few? Hmph! Your standards are far too high!"

The burly man from the Greatsword Sect wasn't stupid; he immediately retorted:

"If there were more of this black soil essence, could any of you afford to gamble with me? If it were many times more, it wouldn't just be worth one or two thousand spirit stones."

Turning to the two old men, he asked, "How are you, Brother Fuyun and Brother Huayuan?"

The two looked at each other, their eyes met, and they both shook their heads decisively: No betting.

Li Huayuan was confident that he had Fuyunzi under control, and he was unwilling to take any risks with the mysterious Giant Sword Sect.

The same principle applies to the old Taoist Fuyunzi: stability comes first; avoid situations where victory is assured, lest a single wrong move benefit someone else.

"And you two?"

The question concerns the Core Formation stage of Huadaowu and Tianquebao.

"I'd rather not, I'm short of money. But Fairy Ni Chang, with your wealth, a small bet shouldn't be a problem, right?"

The middle-aged man of Huadaowu, who was burning in the fire.

"No, how could my useless family members be a match for the elites of the Hidden Moon Sect?"

Don't make trouble.

The big man wasn't stupid. He knew the capabilities of the men he brought; against the historically top-ranked Hidden Moon Sect, it would be like throwing good money after bad. Rather than losing so many benefits for nothing, he might as well shamelessly stop gambling.

Disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect always rely on a secret technique to teleport male and female disciples engaged in dual cultivation to the same location with a 50% probability, thus achieving a cheating effect. This is no secret. This is also why disciples from other sects often see Hidden Moon Sect pairs of men and women in forbidden areas.

Those who missed their orders were just a small minority who were unlucky.

In the end, it turned into a deal between the Giant Sword Sect and the Spirit Beast Mountain, and it's unclear where the Giant Sword Sect got its confidence from.

The Hidden Moon Sect, the Blade Transformation Valley, and the Heavenly Palace Fortress became mere supporting characters.

In a corner, a seasoned newbie at the tenth level of Qi Refining watched all this with great interest: It's a pity that the Great Jin doesn't have the same good atmosphere as Tiannan.

Of the 108 prefectures of the Great Jin Dynasty, most were occupied by powerful forces under the Empress Yuan, with the leaders of both the righteous and demonic factions standing out among them. Each of these factions was stronger than the entire Tiannan region!

The remaining hundred or so late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, and five or six thousand early- to mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, all they know how to do is fight and kill, turning this beautiful human world into a chaotic mess. Look at how peaceful Tiannan is: a place of harmony.

Just as the seven people were casting spells to break the seal, a green light spot crawled towards them from the horizon.

It was Wang Li, a Qi Refining thirteenth level cultivator, who arrived riding the Azure Leaf Flying Artifact.

Chapter 67 The Concept of Dispersing Power and Externally Compressing True Essence

"Oh? There are other people?"

Half an hour later, when Wang Lifei got closer.

"Huh? Another disciple of Yellow Maple Valley?"

The Core Formation stage cultivators in the arena looked on with strange expressions: Was Li Huayuan trying to outwit Fu Yunzi again, just like Chen Laogui?

"Why are you only arriving now?"

Old Li stepped forward first with a cold face and asked.

In truth, I was both surprised and delighted.

What surprised him was the strange nature of Wang Li's cultivation level; what pleased him was also this level of cultivation, because it gave him another advantage.

"Reporting, reporting, reporting..."

Mr. Wang looked extremely anxious and fearful.

"Speak the key."

okay.

"I made a mistake in my practice and was late; I have already tried my best to control the Azure Leaf magic weapon, but its speed is really disappointing."

Its speed is comparable to that of a galloping steed, isn't that impressive?

"Okay, then let's rejoin the team."

Some questions are not suitable to be asked at this time.

"Brother Huayuan, isn't that a bit unfair of you?"

Fu Yunzi really had the urge to turn on him on the spot: Your Huangfeng Valley is taking advantage of being half the host country, isn't that too much of a bully!

"Brother Dao, it's an accident, an accident. This disciple just had a mishap during his practice, it's understandable."

That was a good mistake.

At this moment, Li Huayuan stepped forward without hesitation.

"I believe in your evil!"

Fu Yunzi was furious, feeling as if he had jumped into a deep pit again.

Huh? Wait a minute? This kid looks so familiar. Right, isn't he the brat who made him lose the bet last time? Did he think I wouldn't recognize him just because he's wearing a tattered mask?

"It's you again?!"

Wang Li, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, suddenly felt his heart leap into his throat again, and his face behind the mask was filled with bitterness: Sure enough, a smiling face cannot hide the divine sense of a Core Formation stage cultivator.

To be honest, he didn't want to rush over at this time.

Actually, the place where he dispersed his cultivation wasn't far from here, only about a hundred miles away; with the speed of a Foundation Establishment cultivator using magical artifacts, he could arrive in less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. But Wang Li, despite all his calculations, overlooked the fact that his speed would drastically decrease after dispersing his cultivation!

His internal mana was greatly reduced, and he could no longer use the Wind Chaser Sword.

What should have been a journey that would have taken only a short while turned into a journey that took him almost half an hour.

That's what led to the current mess.

Otherwise, even if Fuyunzi noticed her, she would never be used as an outlet for venting her emotions as she is now, or even be secretly remembered by the other party!

However, Wang Li had to come in once each time to find the many kinds of spiritual herbs that were hard to find outside the forbidden area, and to prepare for the invasion of the demonic path and the formation of the core.

"Brother Dao, why bother arguing with a mere Qi Refining junior? It's just making us Core Formation stage cultivators look bad! Besides, Brother Dao, do you really have no faith in the youngsters under your tutelage?"

If you have a temper, come at me, Li.

"Humph."

"Grandmaster, who is that person?"

There was a girl who seemed to be very familiar with Fuyunzi.

"Didn't you see him during the last trial? Be careful when you go in, don't fall for this kid's tricks, he's cunning! Just look at that mask on his face, it's a pretty good high-grade magic weapon. Hmph, trying to show off in front of me with a Qingye magic weapon, Brother Huayuan, you've really taught me well."

Feeling utterly frustrated, Fu Yunzi glanced discreetly at the man and woman in his own group, and his heart settled.

The other factions simply treated it as a joke.

After all, there were more than just one or two Qi Refining stage disciples who had ventured into the forbidden area twice; Wang Li was simply the more conspicuous one among these dozen or so people.

"Junior brother, you've worked hard."

Wang Li amiably handed a storage bag containing a hundred spirit stones to a junior disciple who had just entered the twelfth level of Qi Refining. The intention was self-evident: to buy a spot.

Twenty-five people is the full complement, and Wang is clearly the extra one.

Therefore, the other party had no reason to refuse such a mutually beneficial arrangement. They considered it a way to earn two or three hundred spirit stones by simply signing up for the trip, and they could come back in five years, which would be even more secure. As for Wang Li, he wouldn't care about those spirit stones at all.

Afterwards, the restrictions on the forbidden area were lifted, and the disciples filed in.

Before this, the six special people in Wang Li's notebook had dazzled him.

The one in charge is: Xiang Zhili, Xiang Shidi.

Secondly, a young girl from the Hidden Moon Sect at the peak of Qi Refining.

The third is the woman who brought out eleven spiritual herbs for the Qingxu Sect last time.

The remaining ones were a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy from Spirit Beast Mountain, a young man with a scar on his eye from Heavenly Palace Fortress, and a handsome young man from the Giant Sword Sect.