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Chapter 981: Chapter 959: Surprise_2
With the passage of time, more and more cultivators left unwillingly.
A year later, only a few dozen people still lingered around the unnamed small river.
Two years later, only the last dozen or so remained.
By the third year, the unnamed small river returned to tranquility.
"Finally, they’ve all left!"
When Li Zhirui didn’t know for how many times he opened the space and found no cultivators lying in wait outside, he couldn’t help but exhale a long breath of turbid air.
Relying on the ability to freely enter and exit the mystical space at will, he didn’t have to worry about being caught and could boldly investigate the outside world.
During these three years of refuge in the space, Li Zhirui did not idly waste his time but was seriously comprehending the "Terrestrial Spirit Path Records."
After all, this was the cultivation technique he planned to switch to cultivating in the future; he couldn’t afford to be the slightest bit careless. He would rather spend decades now to thoroughly understand the methods than face problems later and spend even more time solving them.
In three years, Li Zhirui had already mostly grasped the cultivation techniques from the Qi Cultivation Realm to the Void Refinement Realm.
Such efficiency was all thanks to the heart-to-heart inheritance given to him by the old Taoist, which was the Earth Spirit Sect’s accumulation and refinement of tens of thousands of years.
With such a detailed and complete inheritance in hand, Li Zhirui’s pace of comprehension was actually considered slow.
He planned to return to Mount Wanxian immediately after obtaining the cultivation techniques, pill recipes, and spirit seeds from the Cave Abyss Sect to fully comprehend the remaining unmastered methods and then start to switch his cultivation technique.
No one was pursuing him from behind, but there were still cultivators ambushing ahead. Fortunately, Li Zhirui had changed his appearance once again, otherwise, if he were recognized, he would likely face another grand pursuit!
This was not a joke; in every marketplace and Immortal City he passed through, they blatantly offered rewards for the capture of Li Zhirui!
The rewards were very generous; even Li Zhirui himself was somewhat tempted when he saw them.
Unless unexpectedly, this bounty would remain for a long time before someone from the Cave Abyss Sect claimed the reward.
This made Li Zhirui even more cautious and careful, not daring to have any contact with other cultivators for fear of revealing his identity, to the point where he specifically avoided marketplaces and Immortal Cities; when he was tired, he would directly enter the space to rest.
Traveling with stops and starts, it took almost half a year to reach the mountain gate of the Cave Abyss Sect.
Although he didn’t enter, just from the outside, he could see the magnificent buildings, surging streams and springs; bizarre rocks jutting out, pines twisting like they were reaching for the sky; cloud and mist enveloping mountain summits, streams murmuring in the valley; a plethora of fragrant flowers along the road, dense forests all around—an excellent scene of an Immortal Sect’s blessed land.
The moment Li Zhirui brought out the Jade Token, the waiting Cave Abyss Sect immediately dispatched a Combined Body Cultivator, bringing the required cultivation techniques, pill recipes, and spirit seeds, and appeared before him rapidly via a cloud path.
"Here are the three methods and spiritual objects you wanted. If there’s no problem, you may leave," said the Combined Body Cultivator without a trace of impatience or an air of superiority, speaking to him in an extremely calm manner.
However, this attitude made Li Zhirui feel even more dissatisfied inside, as it clearly showed that the cultivator didn’t regard him at all, completely ignoring his presence!
But given the difference in their strengths, how could he, a mere Lianxu Cultivator, behave recklessly in the presence of an Immortal Sect? He even had to hide his real emotions, respectfully make a quick inspection, and then leave after paying his respects.
Almost the moment Li Zhirui left, many cultivators received the news, and countless people acted upon hearing it, waiting for him to leave from the predicted direction.
Unfortunately, their wait was bound to be in vain! No matter how long they waited, they would never see Li Zhirui’s appearance.
Because he had already changed direction, traveling an additional thousand miles before heading north to return to Shanyuan State.
Most importantly, Li Zhirui wanted to make another trip to Liubo Immortal City to exchange for a Seventh Rank cultivation pill recipe with that mysterious Alchemy Old Woman.
He didn’t want to travel tens of thousands of miles again; furthermore, he wouldn’t be able to venture out for a long period as he was going to switch cultivation techniques, so it was perfect to resolve this matter on the way back.
Fortunately, the old woman was still there.
"You again, lad?"
This time, the old woman took the initiative to greet him and asked, "What pill recipe are you looking to exchange for?"
"The junior wishes to exchange for a Seventh Rank Cultivation Elixir recipe and spirit seeds," Li Zhirui respectfully stated his request.
Hearing this, the old woman gave him a slightly more serious look and said, "You lad seem to have gained quite a lot in the Taixu Illusionary Realm, but what will you use to exchange?"
Before coming here, Li Zhirui had already decided to present his proudest Pill Recipe—the Primal Qi Pill!
The old woman took the Jade Slip, looked it over for a moment, and said, "The idea is good, the technique is crude, what surprises me most is that such a peculiar Spiritual Object could have been born in a Minor Thousand World."
What the old woman was referring to was precisely the core main medicine of the Primal Qi Pill, Rongxi Cao!
"But it’s still not enough!"
Li Zhirui had anticipated this outcome, so he immediately took out several Pill Recipes he had collected in the Profound Origin Realm.
"Barely passable."
After examining them, the old woman casually tossed Li Zhirui a small Storage Bag and said, "It seems like you no longer have any valuable Pill Recipes, why not exchange some Spirit Seeds from the Minor Thousand World that you previously resided in for some of mine?"
"You jest, senior, how could I have so many Spirit Seeds?" Li Zhirui promptly denied, sensing that something was amiss.
"I wouldn’t dare to disturb your rest, senior. I will take my leave now."
Having said that, he paid his respects before leaving.
"Sly boy, full of secrets."
The old woman pursed her lips, a glint in her eyes, but then it faded away as she let out a light sigh, "With a body in such a state, why bother with such thoughts? Lest I squander the scant lifespan I have left."
Indeed, Li Zhirui’s Spirit Sense was exceptionally strong.
It took him a long time to figure out where he had revealed himself!
The problem lay in those perfectly smooth Spirit Seeds.
Although he had transferred the Spirit Seeds into his Storage Magical Treasure in advance, such a short amount of time would not have allowed any of the Spirit Light to diminish, definitely not looking like they had been preserved in a Jade Box for a long time.
After leaving Liubo Immortal City, Li Zhirui once again set out on his journey home.
Along the way, he keenly noticed that the Spiritual Energy in Cave Abyss State had not only become denser but also purer.
In addition, several times by chance, he encountered Spiritual Objects he had never seen before! Among these, the highest grade was a Sixth-order Spirit Grass!
As an Alchemist, understanding various Spiritual Objects is the most fundamental quality, and Li Zhirui could assure that these were Spiritual Objects not previously present in the Primal Spirit Realm.
Clearly, these were new varieties of Spiritual Objects that had grown after the merging with the Taixu Illusionary Realm.
They mainly originated from two sources; one was the naturally grown Spiritual Objects after the merging of the two realms, and the other was due to certain special reasons, the Earth Spirit Sect’s Spiritual Objects appeared in the Primal Spirit Realm.
This situation had also spawned a large number of treasure hunting Cultivators, most of whom turned over their finds to the Cave Abyss Sect in exchange for rewards, with only a few keeping them for themselves.
After all, researching the applications of a new Spiritual Object is a very labor, resource, and financially intensive endeavor, not something that Loose Cultivators or average forces can afford.
Besides, the rewards offered by the Cave Abyss Sect weren’t low, there was no need to go through so much effort.
Clearly, Li Zhirui was the latter; he wanted to deduce entirely new Pill Recipes and was in need of a large amount of Spiritual Objects.
This merging of the two realms had brought him an unexpected opportunity!
And so, Li Zhirui decided to put his return journey to Mount Wanxian on hold, taking advantage of this chance to collect more Spiritual Objects, enriching his collections.
This was the first time he regretted not bringing Da Qing, Xiaoqing, and the others with him throughout his years of adventuring.
Because relying solely on himself, he could not collect too many of the entirely new Spiritual Objects.
As for obtaining them from other Cultivators? Li Zhirui couldn’t offer a better price than the Cave Abyss Sect!
However, he later came up with a method—to barter!
Using the surplus Spiritual Objects or Spirit Seeds he had on hand to exchange for different Spiritual Objects, Spirit Seeds from other Cultivators.
This method indeed could help Li Zhirui collect a large number of Spiritual Objects, Spirit Seeds quickly, but it also had a significant drawback: it was easy to encounter malicious Cultivators!
