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Chapter 655: Chapter 661: Ambush
In order to avoid unnecessary trouble, Li Zhirui planned a route that passed only through cultivator territories. Although it was a bit roundabout, it was at least safer than traveling through the realms controlled by the Demonic Tao.
However, entering the Central Region was unavoidable contact with Demonic Tao forces!
After all, they were surrounded by Demonic Tao forces on the outskirts of the Central Region, to prevent large-scale ingress of cultivators.
This was also the first test for many cultivators who wished to enter The Secret Realm of Wanxian.
Originally, Zhirui had traveled alone to the Central Region, directly hiding in the space whenever something seemed amiss, so he had not encountered any danger and had made the journey safely.
But now things were different; he was accompanied by Li Chengsheng and two others. Under normal circumstances, it was no longer possible to use the same method, so they had to find a way to get through.
The journey started off calm, even allowing time to enjoy the scenery, as everyone belonged to cultivator powers, and on the surface, they surely maintained the appearance of the righteous path.
Not to mention that on their Spirit Boat, two Nascent Souls were present. If a real fight broke out, it wasn’t certain that they would be subdued.
Moreover, they deliberately avoided places like sect gates and marketplaces. By the time the local powers noticed them, Li Zhirui had long since left on the Spirit Boat.
But to their utmost surprise, they encountered a group of cultivators in a remote wasteland—likewise with two Nascent Souls, but with a slightly larger number of Golden Core cultivators, totaling six.
"Fellow Daoist, are you also leading the younger generation to the Central Region to participate in the stone tower trial?"
One of the younger Nascent Souls greeted with a smile and said, "Not far ahead is a Demonic Tao sect. How about we join forces to get through? What do you think, fellow Daoist?"
Li Zhirui thought it over seriously. It was indeed a good idea—strength in numbers, after all.
But the problem was that they had just met, and there was absolutely no trust between them to attempt such a dangerous endeavor together. If one were to be betrayed, the outcome would surely be very bad.
Considering this, for caution’s sake, Li Zhirui smiled and refused, saying, "I am flattered by fellow Daoist’s regard, but alas, my abilities are modest, and I would rather not burden fellow Daoist."
"Since fellow Daoist is unwilling, let’s leave it at that," the person said, giving him a deep look. He appeared to be only at the mid-stage of Nascent Soul, but his presence put great pressure on Zhirui—how much weaker could he be?
"Let’s part here then, and meet again before the secret realm."
With that, he left gracefully.
"We should get going too," Li Zhirui reflected briefly on the spot, then quietly changed course.
This time, they didn’t encounter any more cultivators, but after several days of traveling, they arrived at the edge of the Demonic Tao influence.
"Father, how are we going to get through?" Li Chengshuo asked with a frown, imagining how many Demon Cultivators were lurking in some corner, waiting for them to fall into the trap.
"We’ll carefully avoid them. If it really comes to it, we’ll fight," Zhirui said decisively, his method straightforward. As long as they didn’t fall into traps laid by the Demonic Tao, he had nothing to worry about.
"Rest for a few days. Once we enter the Demonic Tao region, the three of you will take turns piloting the Spirit Boat. Increase the speed to the fastest and, unless I command you to stop, just keep heading straight west without caring about anything else."
Why did he want them to pilot the Spirit Boat? Because this would allow Li Zhirui and Xiaoqing to concentrate and be ready to face any dangers that might arise at any time.
"Understood," the three of them responded with serious expressions.
At the same time, it was also for intelligence gathering.
Picking a route to cross—whether through the domain of a terrifyingly powerful Demonic Tao stronghold or that of a more average Demonic Tao power—the difference was immensely great!
Time flew by swiftly, and Li Zhirui, along with his companions, had rested for several days and restored their conditions to perfection.
They had also collected detailed intelligence, knowing which nearby Demonic Tao power was weakest and how to quickly pass through to enter the central region.
On this day, the weather was clear, and the sky was cloudless, offering a vast field of view.
Approaching a territory belonging to a Sect known as the Jade Demon Sect, Li Zhirui swept his powerful Divine Sense across the area, ensuring that there were no ambushes nearby before he declared in a low voice,
"Go!"
With a whoosh, the Spirit Boat shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, directly penetrating into the territory of the Demonic Tao.
Li Zhirui stood at the helm of the boat, mana roiling inside him, ready to unleash a spell immediately should he detect any ambushes; Xiaoqing perched atop the mast, her Eagle Eyes scanning back and forth, watching for threats from three directions.
"Hehehe! To think some Cultivators would dare to head straight for me, they must be tired of living!" Suddenly, a person in black emerged in front of them, waving his hand to summon several large Devil Beast skeletons, which attacked the Spirit Boat in unison.
Li Zhirui reacted with lightning speed, hurling out a fourth-order vine seed in his hand, casting the spell along with it. Gigantic vines instantaneously took shape, tightly entangling those skeletons.
The Spirit Boat burst through the encirclement.
Boom, boom, boom!
The gorgeous red flowers that bloomed on those vines were actually powerful bombs!
Many Cultivators seeing this for the first time were unaware of them, so they often produced an unexpected and delightful surprise.
Because this Wood-attribute Skill was quite rare and few Cultivators cultivated it, not many knew about it.
After all, Wood-attribute Skills were notoriously weak in attack power, even less so compared to Water-based Spells. At least those could form ice to attack, inflicting decent damage, leading most Cultivators with a Wood Spirit Root to opt for Spells of other attributes.
"Aaaaah! I’ll kill you!"
As the dust settled, the Demon Cultivator saw his painstakingly refined skeletons damaged and pockmarked, which inflamed his anger, and he gave chase.
Seeing this, Li Zhirui furrowed his brow, realizing that he might have been a bit too harsh, damaging the other’s skeletons.
With a casual gesture, he summoned a mass of vines that entangled the man, then quickly wove them together to form a cage, trapping the Demon Cultivator within.
Although it wouldn’t hold for long, by the time the Demon Cultivator broke free, the Spirit Boat was already out of sight.
Why didn’t he simply kill the Demon Cultivator?
In any other place, Li Zhirui certainly would have done so, but the problem was that they were in the very den of the Demon Cultivators! At any moment, several more Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators might appear!
And to take care of him, at least an hour would be needed, by which time, the whole force of Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators might have arrived.
Moreover, he was accompanied by Li Chengsheng and three other Golden Core Cultivators; a real fight would definitely tie their hands. The main mission of this journey was to escort the three into The Secret Realm of Wanxian, and all other matters could be postponed.
Subsequently, Li Zhirui and his group encountered several more ambushes from Demon Cultivators, but each was dealt with by the formidable Li Zhirui, who then swiftly maneuvered the Spirit Boat to shake them off.
It was quite ironic that even amongst their own, Demon Cultivators had no trust to speak of, being even more wary of each other. Hence, the ambushes they encountered consisted only of a single Nascent Soul Demon Cultivator.
If they could have combined their forces and joined hands in the ambush, then Li Zhirui and his group would have been in danger.
But if that were the case, they wouldn’t be Demon Cultivators anymore.
