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Chapter 1125: Chapter 1031: Curse_2
Li Zhirui had minimal contact with the monarch and ministers of the Daqian Dynasty and had only met the monarch once. Nevertheless, it was not difficult to see that this was an ambitiously aspiring monarch!
And generally, those who harbor ambition are unwilling to settle for subordination or to be a mere puppet.
As for whether the Yunshan Sect had realized it, Li Zhirui believed they must have noticed, since even someone like him, who had only met them once, had sensed it. It could be that they were tolerating the other party just because they hadn’t achieved their goal yet, or perhaps they had other countermeasures.
"I don’t know how the elders will deal with this; I am nothing but expendable material cultivated by the Sect." By the end of the sentence, Liuerde exuded an indescribable sadness.
Li Zhirui’s pupils shrank suddenly, expendable material? Expendable material in the Integration Realm?!
The Yunshan Sect was merely a Great Vehicle force!
One should understand that even within the forces of the Immortal Realm, cultivators of the Integration Realm could be seen as the backbone. But in a mere Yunshan Sect, they were treated as expendable material?
This made Li Zhirui find it incredibly unbelievable.
However, if it were explained this way, it would make sense why the strength of this Integration Realm cultivator was so poor. It must be that the Yunshan Sect had used some method of overreaching aid to nurture him; issues like an unstable foundation and other basic problems would definitely affect his strength.
"How many cultivators like you are there in Yunshan Sect?" Li Zhirui asked quietly.
"There are around thirty more, no less; after all, my status within the Sect is not that high," he replied.
Li Zhirui’s eyelid twitched, his surprise even greater, "It looks like the Sect’s requirements for their Secret Technique aren’t that stringent?" Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to bring up so many Integration Realm cultivators.
"This is actually a Secret Technique of the Human Dao Empire as well, but it was later abandoned. If you wish to know, I can tell you, just please spare my life," Liuerde pleaded.
After pondering for a moment, Li Zhirui said, "Tell me everything you know about the Human Dao Empire, Yunshan Sect, and Daqian Dynasty, and I will allow you to finish your days here."
He planned to seal the other’s Dantian, rendering Liuerde an ordinary person with mana but no cultivation.
"Alright!" Liuerde’s face showed a look of ecstasy; he hadn’t expected Li Zhirui to actually agree. No matter what conditions were attached, as long as he could live, everything else was just trivial detail.
"I do not know much about the Human Dao Empire; I only know the Secret Technique that nurtured us. Aside from the Methods, the most important thing was the power of incense and prayers. After operating the Secret Technique and absorbing a great amount of this power, one could successfully break through to the Integration Realm," he explained.
"Everything about the Daqian Dynasty is controlled by the Yunshan Sect, so not long after you struck a deal with Ji Chongming, the Sect dispatched us to assassinate you, not wishing the Methods to be disclosed," he continued.
As a result, now not only does Li Zhirui still possess the Methods, but he also captured someone, learning plenty of insider information from his captive.
"The relationship between the Sect and the Daqian Dynasty used to be very good, but in recent years, the conflict has grown. The close bond of the past has dissipated, with both sides now filled with various schemes," he revealed.
...
Although Liuerde’s position in Yunshan Sect was not very high, as someone who had lived in the Sect for over a thousand years and was at least an Integration Realm cultivator, he did know some non-top-secret information, which he now divulged to Li Zhirui.
"How ambitious!"
Upon hearing about Yunshan Sect’s ultimate goal, Li Zhirui couldn’t help but laugh; it turned out that the Sect aspired to subjugate the Immortal Tao, Demonic Tao, Devil Race, and the Sea Clan and establish the Daqian Dynasty as the preeminent power of this world.
To achieve this, they would probably have to incorporate all of East Continent’s territories. Currently, even the Daqian Dynasty could not resist Great Vehicle cultivators, not to mention they couldn’t handle an Integration Realm cultivator like Li Zhirui, which spoke volumes about the wide gap.
"From now on, you just stay here, absolutely no cultivator will be able to find you."
But before Liuerde could rejoice, a streak of Spirit Light flew from Li Zhirui’s hand, sealing their Dantians.
"What are you doing...?"
"I only promised to let you live; haven’t I done that?"
Having said that and not looking at the other’s expression, Li Zhirui left the space directly; he would not allow any threat to lurk in his final retreat.
Having delayed quite some time in this space, Li Zhirui quickened his pace, heading towards Falling Star State.
As for the affairs of Yunshan Sect and the Daqian Dynasty, they were of little relevance to him, and besides, with Li Zhirui’s current strength, meddling would bring no benefit.
The most important thing is that Li Zhirui believes that great strength originates from within oneself and also returns to oneself, rather than placing hopes on descendants like they do.
While on the road, Li Zhirui continued to comprehend the dynasty Jade Slip in his hand, drawing from it the nourishment he needed.
After several months, Li Zhirui arrived in Falling Star State relatively smoothly.
The reason it was considered smooth was that he encountered a few devil beasts who were uncouthly obstructive on the way, which wasted some time.
Falling Star State lived up to its name; on the day Li Zhirui arrived, he saw several streaks of spirit light falling from the sky.
Unfortunately, they were all too far away; even with his speed, he couldn’t catch up to them.
Not long after, Li Zhirui visited a large Immortal City.
Upon entering, he was greeted with a lively atmosphere. There were far more cultivators inside than he had imagined with varying levels of cultivation—from those formidable ones who had undergone the Tribulation Transcendence to the less capable ones only at the Nascent Soul stage.
Li Zhirui rested for a night in an inn, his vitality fully restored, and then began to ponder his next move.
"Since the purpose is for training, then I might as well take a trip to the Falling Star Mountain Range."
Falling Star Mountain Range, a vast mountain chain stretching thousands of miles, rich in spiritual energy, is very suitable for the Devil Race’s existence. Therefore, there are numerous devil beasts of various realms, naturally making it the prime choice for cultivators to train.
Having made his decision, Li Zhirui did not linger for long and set off for the Falling Star Mountain Range immediately.
As a Great Vehicle Cultivator, his place of training would naturally not be in the outer areas, but in the depths where high-rank devil beasts roamed.
However, Li Zhirui did not fly directly over the mountains to enter the inner part of the range, instead, he concealed his cultivation, slowly making his way toward his final destination.
"Hand over all your storage magical treasures, and we might spare your life!"
Halfway through, Li Zhirui encountered a group of cultivators attempting to rob him.
These insignificant cultivators, merely at the Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation stages, he did not take seriously.
But once the fight began, Li Zhirui found that these cultivators were not as easy to handle as he thought; although they were low in cultivation and lacking in power, they still possessed some techniques that he found quite remarkable.
Indeed, those who dare come to Falling Star State have some tricks up their sleeve, otherwise, they would likely have died in these vast mountains long ago.
Unfortunately, they all became obliterated spirits under Li Zhirui’s might.
The deeper he went, the fewer cultivators he saw, nothing like the bustling noise on the periphery, quiet to the point of being oppressively so.
Roar!
Screech!
Suddenly, two beastly roars came from not far away; Li Zhirui’s eyebrows slightly raised as he silently thought: I wonder if I can be a lucky fisherman this time.
Therefore, Li Zhirui restrained his aura as much as possible, ensuring that he would not be discovered by the two devil beasts before slowly heading toward the epicenter of the battlefield.
Soon, he saw the two devil beasts in action; one was a Seventh Rank wolf beast with azure fur, the other was a Seventh Rank Golden Eagle.
From the current situation, the Golden Eagle had the upper hand, relentlessly pursuing the wolf beast into a tight corner, its once magnificent fur now heavily damaged.
However, Li Zhirui sharply sensed something amiss; the wolf beast was feigning weakness on purpose!
It seemed to be in dire straits and falling behind, its injuries looked severe, but in reality, the Golden Eagle’s attacks did not inflict fatal damage!
The wolf beast was deliberately showing weakness, waiting for the opportunity to strike the Golden Eagle a fatal blow.
Li Zhirui found this quite interesting, but did not fixate on the wolf beast, for that would cause it to sense something amiss. If he were exposed, it could provoke the two devil beasts to temporarily set aside their differences and deal with him, the cultivator who had suddenly appeared.
