Chapter 1673
Deception
But before the man could get close, Li Zhirui quickly disappeared from his sight and vanished into the void.
His current condition is not suitable for fighting with others; he should hide for a while longer.
"What about people?"
In the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace. No matter how hard the person searched, even if they dug three feet into the ground nearby, they could not find his whereabouts.
After searching for a while, they had no choice but to give up.
He didn't think much of it, assuming that the other party had mastered some kind of special secret technique, which was why he couldn't find them.
Li Zhirui, on the other hand, restored his strength by consuming pills in the space before returning to the secret realm.
"It seems like it's time to leave."
He couldn't help but frown at the thought that he had encountered several cultivators in such a short period of time, and that each of them was full of aggressive desires.
It should be noted that everyone has been in the secret realm for a long time, and there should be very few demonic beasts or spiritual creatures left, so the target naturally becomes the cultivators.
Moreover, as time goes on, the battles and fights between cultivators will become more and more frequent.
In this situation, the secret realm is no longer suitable for training or treasure hunting.
Especially for extraterrestrial beings like Li Zhirui, whose own strength is suppressed by the Heavenly Dao of this realm, staying would be tantamount to placing themselves in an extremely dangerous environment.
Having considered this, he did not hesitate for long and decisively chose to leave the secret realm and fly towards the exit.
A beam of light shot into the sky and flew towards the exit at an extremely fast speed.
Meanwhile, the situation within the secret realm was developing in the direction he had envisioned.
Unable to find spiritual objects and demonic beasts, and unwilling to leave the secret realm immediately, many cultivators turned their attention to their own kind, fellow cultivators, or even companions.
One battle after another broke out in various parts of the secret realm, resulting in the deaths or escapes of many cultivators.
Especially those celestial cultivators, dared not stay in the secret realm any longer, and were trying their best to escape as soon as possible, for fear that they might suddenly lose their lives one day.
"Is even the road out of the secret realm no longer safe now?"
Li Zhirui frowned as he looked at the three Xuanxian cultivators who had suddenly appeared in front of him.
He was extremely careful along the way, avoiding all places where danger might break out. He even encountered several battles along the way, which forced him to take detours.
As a result, near the exit of the secret realm, they still couldn't escape their fate, and three Xuanxian appeared at once.
Even at his peak, he was no match for three Xuanxian, let alone now that his strength is suppressed.
Therefore, the moment Li Zhirui saw them, he made up his mind not to get into a fight with them, otherwise he would have a very difficult time escaping and would really be in a life-or-death situation.
He originally intended to turn around and run away immediately, and then escape into the void to avoid this calamity.
But just as he was about to take action, a strong sense of unease welled up in his heart, as if there was a gaping abyss behind him, waiting for him to willingly crawl into it.
The moment he realized the danger, Li Zhirui immediately changed his mind. Instead of retreating and running away, he unleashed all his power and attacked the cultivator with the middle strength among the three.
The reason for choosing this person, rather than the weakest and easiest Xuanxian, was mainly because they were worried that the other party had anticipated this and was secretly on guard. If he were held up for a while, the situation would become extremely unfavorable for him.
When Li Zhirui unleashed his most powerful killing move, an enormous black shadow appeared in the sky above the secret realm. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a towering ancient tree with indistinct boundaries.
However, the interior of the ancient tree is actually completely hollow, filled with endless seawater.
This "Sea-Swallowing and Earth-Splitting Divine Wood Divine Power" was a water-wood attack divine power that he purchased at great expense from the Chaos Merchant Guild.
And this is not even the full power of this supernatural ability.
Limited by Li Zhirui's current strength and his lack of familiarity with this technique, even if he unleashed all his magical power, he could only unleash about 50% to 60% of its power.
It is said that if this technique is mastered to a high level, it can truly create a crack in a great earthquake!
Rumbling--
With a loud crash, the sacred tree fell from the sky and slammed heavily onto the man.
An immense force, capable of overturning the heavens, suddenly pressed down on that person. In the next instant, thousands upon thousands of towering waves surged forth from the hollow divine tree, crashing and pounding in all directions.
The three immortals were completely unprepared for Li Zhirui's actions. Instead of retreating and fleeing, they unleashed terrifying killing moves the moment they saw him. Their expressions changed drastically, and they could only hastily join forces to defend themselves and prevent the person being attacked from suffering any misfortune.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he crushed the Rejuvenation Pill in his mouth, squeezed out the mana that had just been restored in his dantian, and flew away as fast as he could.
It's important to know that the relationship between the three of them is quite extraordinary; they are three brothers born of the same mother.
They have supported each other since childhood, growing from humble cultivators to powerful immortals. They have faced countless dangers along the way, but never abandoned each other. Their bond is incredibly deep, and they would never stand idly by and watch someone face danger without offering help.
With the combined efforts of the three, they managed to save the man's life, but at a considerable cost. He was seriously injured, and the other two were also affected, looking quite disheveled.
"Second brother/second elder brother, are you alright?"
The other two Xuanxian, disregarding their own condition, rushed to the seriously injured cultivator and asked anxiously.
"Cough cough! It's alright, I won't die..." the man said with difficulty.
Upon hearing this, the two breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that their lives were not in danger.
"That damned bastard, he must not be let off! We must avenge our second brother!" Xuanxian, the third son, said angrily.
“That’s right!” Even the seemingly most composed leader was now seething with rage, his eyes blazing with fury.
Given the bond between the three brothers, how could they not be furious when their own brother was almost beaten to death?!
But they forgot that they were the ones who ambushed Li Zhirui on the way, intending to kill him. He was forced to retaliate only in order to survive.
But when they wanted to find Li Zhirui to take revenge, they looked around but could not find him anywhere.
"That damned cultivator actually escaped!"
The leader who said this had a gloomy face and an extremely low aura.
This was not just anger at the injury of their own brother, but also resentment and hatred at the fact that the three brothers had teamed up to ambush the enemy, allowing them to escape and leaving them in such a sorry state.
"If I ever encounter this person again, I will tear him to pieces to vent my hatred!"
But no matter what they think or how many harsh words they say, it's all in vain at this point.
They could only leave this place with their brothers and fly towards the portal to the secret realm.
After all, their second brother/elder brother's condition was no longer suitable for staying in the increasingly dangerous secret realm.
...On the other side.
Having successfully escaped the three immortals, Li Zhirui could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The first thing he did was to find a secluded and deserted place to restore his magical power as quickly as possible.
After spending a considerable amount of time refining two Rejuvenation Pills, his condition had almost fully recovered.
But he didn't rush into action. Instead, he changed his appearance before reappearing.
The main reason for doing this was the fear of encountering those three Xuanxian again near the entrance to the secret realm!
Although Li Zhirui was quite confident in his strength, he felt that even if he couldn't kill that Xuanxian, he could at least seriously injure him.
However, he wasn't so sure how much damage he could inflict on the other two cultivators.
Judging from the fact that the two people disregarded their own safety to help defend against him, the three of them must have a very close relationship. They might even seek revenge against him, so he had to prepare in advance.
Once everything was ready, Li Zhirui set off for the portal to the secret realm.
Along the way, he became more cautious and careful, fearing another ambush. Fortunately, his luck hadn't turned so badly as to be atrocious.
Although there were some setbacks along the way, they did not cause any major obstacles, only taking up a lot more time.
Just as he could see the portal and was about to arrive, a Xuanxian cultivator suddenly darted out from the side.
"Fellow Daoist, please do not make a move!"
If this person hadn't spoken up in time, Li Zhirui's attack would have landed on him.
But just to be on the safe side, he moved away from the man before asking, "May I ask what brings you to suddenly block my way?"
"Fellow Daoist, you wouldn't want to hand over forty percent of the spiritual treasures you obtained in the secret realm after going through countless hardships and even nearly losing your life, just for no reason, would you?" the cultivator said furtively in a low voice.
A dark glint flashed in Li Zhirui's eyes. He knew why this person had come to him: he wanted to use some kind of secret method as an excuse to take advantage of the person's greed and swindle him out of the spiritual items he possessed.
This kind of scam is very simple, even crude, but because of greed, thinking that it might really reduce the amount of spiritual items to be handed over, many cultivators still fall for it.
Moreover, they are particular about their targets. Cultivators like Li Zhirui, who appear weak and injured, are their first choice!
Because these types of cultivators may gain very little in the secret realm, they are the easiest to be hooked.
However, he has a personal space to hide spiritual objects, so he has no worries in this regard and will not be swayed or deceived by the other party's words.
He was about to turn and leave when a thought suddenly popped into his mind. He said warily, "How did you know that I could deceive the Qingjing Sect cultivators' detection methods and prevent them from discovering that I could smuggle a large number of spiritual items?"
"Could it be that a fellow Daoist introduced me to you?"
"Huh? Hmm!"
Upon hearing these words, the cultivator froze on the spot. Could this person be a fellow practitioner? However, this kind of rhetoric was more believable than their own.
"Fellow Daoist, do you not believe me?"
Li Zhirui smiled confidently and said, "Then I'll show you what I've got!"
As he spoke, he took out a Xuanxian-grade spiritual herb, making meaningless hand seals as a cover. In reality, he put the spiritual object into his spatial storage in the next instant.
"No matter what methods you use, fellow Daoist, you will not be able to find that spiritual herb."
Seeing his confident appearance, the cultivator actually went out to investigate as if possessed, and as he said, he could no longer find any spiritual herbs.
'Could this person really possess a secret method for concealing spiritual objects?'
The world is vast and full of wonders! Even though he has become a Xuanxian (a type of immortal), he dares not claim that he knows all supernatural powers and secret techniques.
Although he thought it was impossible, the skill the other party displayed did indeed shake his resolve.
"Does Your Excellency possess any precious spiritual items that you wish to have smuggled out of the country through my purse?"
As Li Zhirui revealed the spiritual object, he said, "The fee I charge is not high; it only requires two spirit crystals of the object's value."
"Moreover, I have a limited number of spiritual items that I can hide. I only have a few left. If you have any ideas, please make a decision as soon as possible."
After hearing what he said, the cultivator was actually somewhat tempted.
What was his purpose in swindling and cheating? Wasn't it to use the spiritual items in the hands of other cultivators to protect his own spiritual items?
If he could smuggle the spiritual items out of the secret realm, he wouldn't have to waste time in the secret realm.
The only concern is how to find this person after leaving the secret realm and how to get the spiritual item back!
"Since you are unwilling, I will not force you. I only hope that you will not tell others, otherwise you will offend more than just me."
After saying that, Li Zhirui prepared to leave.
"Fellow Daoist, wait a moment!"
Upon seeing this, the cultivator immediately shouted, which would have attracted the attention of other cultivators if it weren't for the restriction in place.
"I have a high-grade Xuanxian-level spiritual artifact. I would like to ask you, fellow Daoist, to help me take it out of the secret realm."
'Oh!'
Li Zhirui sneered inwardly. If the other party was using people's greed to swindle them, then he could use the same method on this person.
Moreover, in a sense, he did not deceive the other party; he could indeed smuggle the spiritual object out without worrying about being found out.
"Alright, you can find me with this jade token when the time comes."
As he spoke, he took out a jade tablet imbued with his own magical power and handed it to the other party.
But in reality, that magical power would dissipate ten miles away from him.
"This treasure is extremely important to me, and I hope you will take good care of it!"
He handed over a jade box sealed with layers of restrictions.
"Fellow Daoist, please rest assured."
Having said that, he flew toward the gate at top speed, giving the other party no chance to react.
Before leaving the secret realm, Li Zhirui glanced back at the direction of the large lake. If nothing unexpected happened, he probably wouldn't have a chance to come back in.
In doing so, he would lose all chance to encounter the fish demons in the secret realm who could gather and combine to increase their strength dramatically, and he would have no way to explore the secrets they held. (End of Chapter)