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Chapter 1157: Chapter 1047: Confrontation_2
The Purifying White Lotus grew incredibly fast, blooming in the blink of an eye, then just as quickly withering away into a black, lifeless object.
Li Zhirui instantly knew why the White Lotus had withered; it wasn’t that the Lotus Seed Skill was ineffective. On the contrary, in this tainted land, the Lotus Seed Skill worked exceptionally well, a fact evidenced by the growth speed of the Purifying White Lotus.
But why did the White Lotus wither after all?
Because the grade of the White Lotus was too low, the evil energy accumulated over countless years in this land was far too overwhelming, having already surpassed the limit the White Lotus could endure.
Li Zhirui could immediately think of two solutions; one was to cultivate a higher-grade lotus seed, enhancing the seed’s resistance; the other was to scatter a massive number of lotus seeds, reducing the evil energy in this region.
He could envision that purifying this ’stubborn disease’ – of great severity to the entire Primal Spirit Realm – would surely yield an immense amount of merit.
Perhaps even the legendary merit-based ascension from his previous life could come true!
But Li Zhirui could only daydream about it.
After all, such simple solutions would not have eluded the great powers of the Immortal Tao, and considering the immense interests involved, the fact that they hadn’t acted despite the widespread knowledge of the Lotus Seed Skill for so many years revealed their intentions.
Furthermore, the spot where Li Zhirui stood was but a few steps from the walls of Mountain River City, and still, five hundred li away from the actual battlefield!
One can only imagine how much worse conditions are on the real battlefield.
These were not problems for Li Zhirui, a mere Integration Cultivator, to consider; he only needed to do his part well.
With this in mind, Li Zhirui transformed into a streak of Spirit Light and flew toward the battlefield five hundred li away.
In a mere quarter of an hour, he had reached his destination.
This expanse of land, witness to the deaths of countless creatures, now devoid of any vitality, the earth turned to an odious black char, and the sky stained with blood-red, bore no resemblance to part of the Primal Spirit Realm.
Li Zhirui subconsciously intensified his Divine Power of purification to avoid direct contact with this world.
"Staying in such a horrific place for too long, one would probably turn into a monster, right?" mused Li Zhirui, "I wonder how those Cultivators manage to endure it."
Demon Cultivators faced the same issue; despite cultivating by absorbing evil energy, the evil energy on the battlefield is far too intense for any ordinary Demon Cultivator to withstand.
Following the map, Li Zhirui arrived at a Cultivator encampment.
After entering the Formation, the environment changed drastically, as if he had returned to a regular realm.
"There’s a familiar scent," murmured Li Zhirui quietly, his eyes searching for something.
Soon, he discovered the reason.
Purifying White Lotus!
Moreover, it appeared to be a higher-grade White Lotus.
This Formation must incorporate some secrets of the Lotus Seed Skill, which would explain why Li Zhirui found it familiar.
But this raised another question for him: if the major forces aren’t incapable of solving the problems of this world, why aren’t they taking action?
Is it an issue of resource consumption? But for those of the Immortal Realm with Great Abilities, advancement in Realm and cultivation are more critical – after all, at their heights, Spiritual Objects hardly have any effect!
Quickly regaining his composure, Li Zhirui realized that the state of this realm had little to do with him. Whatever calculations those of Great Ability might have, as an Integration Cultivator, he should either stay well clear or be swept into their schemes.
With a slight shake of his head, dismissing these troubling thoughts and not lingering at the encampment, he silently entered the battlefield.
Among the tasks Li Zhirui had undertaken was to collect recent intelligence about the movements of Demon Cultivators, necessitating his reconnaissance on the battlefield.
Since no vegetation was visible on the battlefield, Li Zhirui could only forgo his most adept Wood Escape, instead transforming into an inconspicuous wisp of cloud, slowly extending his senses outward.
To avoid arousing suspicion and alertness from the Demon Cultivators, Li Zhirui did not control his direction but allowed himself to drift with the wind, which took him further away from the encampment.
Had Li Zhirui not been concerned about drifting into a Demon Cultivator encampment, he might not have even considered stopping.
Fortunately, along his drift, he managed to gather quite a bit of intelligence, making the journey worthwhile.
Just as Li Zhirui was about to control the cloud and drift towards the side of the Immortal Tao, he suddenly saw several Void Refining Demon Cultivators abusing and tormenting a Cultivator.
Li Zhirui’s eyes lit up immediately, for rescue missions among all quests offer the richest rewards, and if fortune favored him to encounter cultivators from powerful lineages, there would even be additional gains.
And judging by the tattered vestment robe on this cultivator, his origins, if not the topmost, wouldn’t be far off.
However...
This place was far too distant from the Immortal Tao’s encampment and dangerously close to that of the Demonic Tao, should he take action, he might be pursued and killed by demon cultivators.
After hesitating for just a few moments, Li Zhirui still decided to take the risk and rescue the person!
Putting aside the rewards after rescuing him, just for the sake of his own path, it was worth taking the risk.
While those demon cultivators were delighting in torture, they were completely unaware of a strand of strange mist hovering above their heads.
Only when the spiritual energy around them started fluctuating abnormally did they realize something was amiss.
"Be careful!"
Just as a demon cultivator spoke, several beams of spirit light descended from the sky and shot towards them rapidly.
Crack—
The hastily erected defenses of a few Void Refining demon cultivators couldn’t withstand Li Zhirui’s assault, were directly penetrated, and several lives were taken.
Only two demon cultivators seemed to have an extraordinary background, possessing spiritual objects that automatically activated in a life-threatening situation, blocking that strike.
"How audacious! You dare to infiltrate deep into the Sacred Path’s territory, and even assault us, you’re truly courting death!" shouted one of the demon cultivators, his face fierce but inwardly timorous.
"Our masters have noticed that the life-saving spiritual objects have been activated and are rapidly on their way, just wait for your demise!"
"Is that so? Then let’s see whether they arrive faster, or you die quicker."
As the words were spoken, several vines shot up from the ground, smashing viciously towards the two.
The protective spirit light around the two men cracked under this strike.
"They’ve arrived so quickly?"
Just as Li Zhirui was about to press the attack and kill the two outright, he suddenly detected several streaks of spirit light chasing rapidly from behind, compelling him to abandon the idea.
With a wave of his hand, he collected the bodies of several demon cultivators and carried the unconscious cultivator, fleeing eastward as fast as he could.
"Damn cultivator, daring to break into our Sacred Path territory, begone!"
The demon cultivators pursuing Li Zhirui did not hesitate to launch attacks aimed at his back, intending to stop him.
Li Zhirui chose not to engage in battle here; facing several Integration demon cultivators, he wisely chose to flee.
Not to mention their numbers and strength, just the proximity to the Demonic Tao’s encampment was enough for Li Zhirui to retreat decisively.
Once he made sure that the cultivator remained unconscious, and after instructing the Golden Eagle and Liuerde to prevent him from waking up in the space, he placed him in the spatial realm and got rid of the burden, consequently boosting his speed even further.
The demon cultivators were not willing to show weakness. If they allowed him to escape like this, once the news spread, the hit to the Demonic Tao’s reputation would be massive.
Letting an Integration cultivator kill several disciples right on their doorstep and then leave safely would turn them into a laughingstock within the Demonic Tao!
So, for the sake of the Demonic Tao’s face as well as their own dignity, they would absolutely not allow Li Zhirui to escape.
But what they didn’t know was that Li Zhirui wasn’t truly fleeing for his life but was luring them away from the Demonic Tao’s encampment!
In the midst of the chase, they had already strayed far from the Demonic Tao’s encampment.
After realizing this, Li Zhirui no longer continued to flee and came to a halt.
"Hahaha, you can’t run anymore, can you? It would have been better to surrender without struggle and avoid the suffering," laughed one of the cultivators upon seeing this, thinking Li Zhirui had run out of mana.
Hearing this, Li Zhirui revealed a mysterious smile on his face and summoned the Golden Eagle, instructing, "You help me hold off an Integration demon cultivator."
The remaining three demon cultivators would be faced by him alone!
