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Chapter 673: Chapter 678: Infighting
Previously, when Li Zhixuan and Li Zhirui discussed the fourth tier of the Secret Realm, Li Chengsheng and the others were about to undergo their trials. To avoid disrupting their thoughts, he did not mention it.
But unexpectedly, this now led to a misunderstanding.
"Hahahahaha..." The others still had reservations, but Li Chengshuo certainly did not give any face to Li Chengsheng and burst into loud laughter then and there.
To avoid embarrassment, Li Zhirui spoke up, "So, we will stay in the Central Region for another half a year. It’s a good opportunity for Sheng to heal. As for Shuo and Xian Xun, you can relax in the Immortal City, but do not venture out for any experience."
After all, half a year is neither especially long nor short, awkwardly in between, and not quite suitable for such endeavors.
"Dad, I want to stay in the Central Region to seek an opportunity for breakthrough, as well as Taiyin Spiritual Objects," Li Chengshuo hurriedly said.
"Have you decided?"
Seeing her resolute face, Li Zhirui felt somewhat helpless. He knew that if he didn’t agree, this girl would definitely take the chance to sneak out while he was away in the Secret Realm, since no one else could control her.
"We will discuss this matter after I return from the Secret Realm! During this time, you diligently stay in Immortal City as Sheng’s protector."
"Got it!" Li Chengshuo replied happily, she knew her father would not refuse.
"All right, let’s go."
Li Zhirui shook his head. Did this girl really think the Central Region was that easy to explore?
The Spirit Boat activated and in less than half an hour, they arrived at the location of the Secret Realm that Li Zhixuan had mentioned.
Even though the Secret Realm had not yet opened, many cultivators who had received the news had already arrived. Among them were not a few people like Li Zhirui, who came with their families.
Once he confirmed the location of the Secret Realm and that it had not opened yet, he steered the Spirit Boat away to the nearest Immortal City. He rented a small courtyard for one year for Li Chengsheng and the others, along with some Cultivation Spirit Pills.
"Cultivate well and honestly wait for my return."
The last sentence was mainly addressed to Li Chengshuo.
"I know, Dad. Rest assured."
Without further ado, Li Zhirui quickly steered the Spirit Boat away.
"Brother, you better go and heal. Xian Xun, let’s go for a stroll in the city," Li Chengshuo liberated herself with the lack of elder supervision.
"Ancestor, we have just come out from a trial, we should rest for a few days before going out," Li Xianxun refused, and his reason was valid.
"We don’t know how long we’ll stay here. There’s plenty of time for you to roam around later."
With that, he pulled Li Xianxun away, obviously Li Chengsheng was still harboring a grudge about being laughed at.
Setting aside the siblings’ grievances, when Li Zhirui returned to the location of the Secret Realm, he found that the number of Nascent Soul cultivators had increased significantly.
’It seems that this Secret Realm is quite famous in the Central Region, otherwise it wouldn’t have attracted so many people to participate.’
If he had known earlier, he would have stayed a while longer in the Immortal City to inquire about the Secret Realm thoroughly. Now in the dark about everything, Li Zhirui felt a tinge of regret.
Moreover, he had not found Li Zhixuan and could not get any information from her.
He could only make the best of the situation and wait to explore the circumstances upon entering the Secret Realm.
Li Zhirui shook his head, turned, and went back to the cabin, waiting for the opening of the Secret Realm.
After about three to five days, a violent space fluctuation suddenly erupted in the center of the crowd, startling all the cultivators awake, who came out to look.
They saw a colossal portal appear out of nowhere, shrouded in a layer of faint mist, which could not, however, hide the eager eyes of the crowd.
"Just an ordinary bamboo forest?" Li Zhirui, unaware of the secret realm’s intelligence, muttered in disappointment.
Although all the bamboo released spirit light indicating they were Spirit Bamboo, most were merely at the first or second tier, and amongst the tens of thousands of Spirit Bamboo, there were only a few third-tier ones, with no sign of any fourth-tier Spirit Bamboo in sight.
In fact, this was just a corner of the secret realm and did not reflect the entire situation, but the main reason for Li Zhirui’s disappointment was his overly high expectations.
A Divine Transformation ancestor who was about to undergo Tribulation Transcendence personally pointed out this secret realm.
It attracted a large number of Nascent Soul cultivators to come here, appearing to be a renowned secret realm.
It was also his first exploration of a fourth-tier secret realm after his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage; how could the expectations not be high with all these factors combined?
But the result was just a sight of ordinary Spirit Bamboo, which greatly reduced the anticipation in Li Zhirui’s heart.
"Jiu, the secret realm is about to open! When the time comes, get on my body and strive to be in the first wave to enter!" Xiaoqing’s voice instantly brought him back to his senses.
"Okay."
Soon after, the portal suddenly shone with brilliant spirit light, and the white mist dissipated along with it.
Everyone knew that this was the official opening of the secret realm!
At that moment, Nascent Soul cultivators used various means; some, like Li Zhirui, rode Spirit Beasts; some transformed into Escape Light; some brought out various Flying Artifacts.
A multitude of bizarre spirit lights gathered together, looking incredibly magnificent.
All wanted to seize the advantage, but not all cultivators were playing it fair; some who felt they were not as fast as others started to obstruct, attempting to delay their opponents.
"Damn it! If I find out which bastard did this, I will tear you to pieces!"
Curses and shouts filled the air.
These matters had little to do with Li Zhirui, because Xiaoqing’s speed was top-tier among all the cultivators; it was so fast that only a streak of green light could be seen, impossible to catch up with.
And the moment before entering the secret realm, Li Zhirui recalled Xiaoqing into his space because the teleportation into the secret realm was random, and if separated from Xiaoqing, his Spirit Beast could very likely become the target of cultivator hunts.
After a dizzy spell, Li Zhirui slowly opened his eyes, greeted by nothing but green; green bamboo poles, lush bamboo leaves, with a soft breeze rustling through them, producing a long whispering sound.
"Have I arrived in the Bamboo Sea?"
To ascertain his location, Li Zhirui flew up into the air, but no matter how hard he strained his eyes looking into the distance, he couldn’t see the end of the Bamboo Sea. 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
"This Bamboo Sea is enormous!"
It spanned at least hundreds of miles all around with Qingzhu, and perhaps it was even larger, for his sight had limits.
"Hopefully, there are higher tier spiritual objects within the Bamboo Sea," Li Zhirui randomly picked a direction and, turning into a gust of wind, swiftly navigated through it.
If he had inquired about the secret realm beforehand, he would have known that the Bamboo Sea was far larger than he imagined; except for a very few areas, the entire secret realm was covered in various types of Spirit Bamboo!
Boom—
As Li Zhirui roamed the Bamboo Sea, it wasn’t long before he heard the sounds of intense combat.
Whether driven by the thought of seizing an opportunity or some other reason, he immediately changed direction and flew toward the source of the battle.
In order to remain undetected, Li Zhirui didn’t get too close to the battlefield but was still able to clearly see that both sides of the battle were cultivators.
Moreover, judging by their attire, it appeared they came from the same power!
’Did they discover some precious spiritual object and their dispute over its division led to infighting?’
