Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan-Chapter 330 - 336: Encounter
However, there were even more missing jade slips on the cabinets here, and Li Zhirui couldn't be bothered to ponder the reason any further, casually starting to look through these jade slips.
After examining them all, he only found one complete Golden Core Realm cultivation technique called "Qinghua Rongling Scripture," but after a brief scan, the "Qinghua Scripture" was not considered to be very good.
But when he thought about it, if this jade slip was valuable, how could it have passed through the hands of two groups of people and still remained intact here?
Therefore, Li Zhirui was not too disappointed. He copied the contents and then got up to leave.
"Fellow Daoist, there is no need to accompany me any further. I think the Scripture Pavilion probably has nothing good left, so I'm leaving first to wait outside for the two fellow Daoists," he said, not wanting to waste any more time.
"Alright," Huang Xiao did not insist, simply saying, "After this matter is resolved, we will return to our sect and give you the promised goods."
Li Zhirui nodded his head and flew away from the place, reasoning that with that time, he might as well record the various methods he remembered onto jade slips, lest his memory of them grew hazy over time.
As he flew away from Yuluo Mountain, he noticed that the disciples who originally belonged to the Featherfall Sect were now busily working all over the mountain.
If one looked closely, they would find a complex pattern on the back of their necks, "This is..."
The Beast Taming Sect had actually enslaved these cultivators!
Those marks were used to control one's life, thereby forcing people not to defy your commands.
However, this matter had nothing to do with Li Zhirui. He wouldn't go out of his way to help them. After merely a glance, he diverted his attention and busied himself with inscribing jade slips.
About an hour and a half later, Gu An came out with some disciples, saying, "Apologies for keeping you waiting, fellow Daoist. We will now head back to our sect to copy the 'Wanling Sutra' for you."
The remaining people, such as Huang Xiao, still had to finish cleaning up Yuluo Mountain and supervise the enslaved cultivators.
"Thank you," Li Zhirui said as he controlled his spirit boat to follow behind them, and they all hurried back to the Beast Taming Sect.
Without delving into the conversations between Gu An and the others, Li Zhirui quietly waited outside. When Gu An came out again, it was not just with a spirit boat; he was accompanied by a great number of disciples, apparently planning to properly manage Yuluo Mountain.
"Fellow Daoist, here is the 'Wanling Sutra'."
Li Zhirui took the jade slip handed to him, checked it with his divine sense, and gave it a rough look. He didn't find any obvious errors, and with the Dao oath in place, he trusted they wouldn't dare tamper with it.
However, Li Zhirui did notice a few discrepancies between this 'Wanling Sutra' and the version passed down by his family. He wasn't sure which one was correct and decided to discuss it with Li Shiqing and the others when he got back home.
"With this, our contract is complete," said Li Zhirui, intending to leave at that point but then thought to ask, "May I inquire, fellow Daoist Gu, do you know where the other batch of our fellow sect members are? Even just a direction would suffice."
As he said this, he handed over a few bottles of Essence-Enhancing Pills.
"I'm not entirely sure either; I've only heard the elders say that beyond the East Continent, there is a group of brothers and sisters of the same origin, but I'm not clear on the specifics," said Gu An after a thoughtful pause, giving a candid response for the sake of the spirit pills.
Beyond the East Continent? Li Zhirui's expression grew grim. He dismissed the idea of the West Continent as the distances were too vast, and with only Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators fleeing, they would most likely all perish on the way, not to mention it being the domain of the Demonic Tao.
But with the West Continent out of the picture, that still left the Central Region, the North Continent, and the South Continent. Trying to locate the Beast Taming Sect among them was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
'It seems I can only wait for the secret realm to open in a dozen or so years and see if I can obtain a complete "Wanling Sutra" from inside,' thought Li Zhirui with a sigh in his heart.
If possible, he didn't want to enter that secret realm, for it was far too dangerous!
Setting aside the rest, just the mention of a fourth-tier secret realm was enough to suggest its peril.
Regrettably, for himself and for his family, that secret realm had to be ventured into.
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"Many thanks for your information, fellow Daoist. I take my leave now." Casting aside the complex thoughts in his mind, after bidding farewell to Gu An, Li Zhirui boarded the Spirit Boat and flew off toward the southeast direction.
This was the direction of Wanxian Island.
Gu An watched the receding figure in the distance and slowly withdrew his gaze; he hadn't told Li Zhirui that he actually knew the whereabouts of another branch of the Beast Taming Sect—they were in the demon beast-infested South Continent.
But he kept silent, not because he was concerned about the safety of the Beast Taming Sect, for their strength was far superior to theirs; Li Zhirui wouldn't dare to be so brazen over there.
He simply did not want to speak of it.
——
Meanwhile, once Li Zhirui started his journey back, he busied himself with comprehending the Wanling Sutra, eager to determine whether the changes were good or bad.
At first, the journey was calm and uneventful; no cultivator dared to obstruct a Golden Core cultivator's Spirit Boat.
However, not long after entering Blackwater State, he was targeted by a Golden Core demon cultivator!
Blackwater State, a vast territory larger than both Myriad Thunder State and Wind Corruption Prefecture combined, had moderate spiritual energy, and hence was home to many cultivation powers, including cultivators of the Immortal Tao and demonic cultivators of the Demonic Tao—it was exceedingly chaotic.
The two factions were at odds, and encounters invariably led to grand battles.
Although Li Zhirui was not from Blackwater State, he was a cultivator, and thus had caught the attention of this demon cultivator.
The demon cultivator summoned dark clouds, layer upon layer, trapping the Spirit Boat in the center to prevent Li Zhirui from accelerating away suddenly.
At the same time, from the dark clouds emerged several hideous devil beasts, their ugly faces snarling as they lunged at Li Zhirui.
Engrossed in his cultivation technique, Li Zhirui, although he reacted immediately, was still a step too slow and could only allow Da Qing to come out and fend off the attacks, giving himself a moment to assess the situation.
"Humph, ignorant fools." It wasn't that Li Zhirui underestimated his opponent, but rather he simply did not think much of the demon cultivator.
Even though he was at the Middle Golden Core Stage, Li Zhirui had Da Qing and Xiaoqing, two third-tier Spirit Beasts, by his side. Unless confronted by multiple Golden Core demon cultivators or a powerful cultivator at the Golden Core Late Stage, they were hardly a match for him.
With Da Qing on defense and Xiaoqing on the attack, Li Zhirui dealt with entangling the opponent. Since the enemy had initiated the assault, Li Zhirui certainly wasn't going to let him go.
In fact, when Da Qing had appeared, the demon cultivator had an inkling that things were going awry, realizing he had hit a snag and attempting to escape.
But Li Zhirui did not give him the chance. The Water-Wood Divine Light flickered and shot out, catching up with the demon cultivator in the blink of an eye and blocking his path of escape.
Meanwhile, Xiaoqing's attacks also arrived, a relentless barrage of Wind Blades slashing toward him, their sharp edges impossible to ignore. He could only turn around to cast spells to neutralize them while looking for an opportunity to escape.
But Li Zhirui would not afford him that opportunity!
Giant vines shot up into the sky, their thin stems intertwining, and in an instant, they formed a massive green cage, trapping the demon cultivator inside.