Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 130 - 137: Invitation

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This was already his tenth day into the Green Mountain Range, during which he had killed four second-order Devil Beasts, including a wild Pig Devil, and had collected quite a few Spiritual Medicines. It was time to go out and sell the Spiritual Objects.

Upon hearing Li Zhiruiʼs promise, Da Qing finally nodded in satisfaction.

Li Zhirui had become accustomed to Da Qingʼs Spiritual Intelligence, which far surpassed that of its peers, and it facilitated their communication. Nevertheless, he occasionally wondered what had caused this phenomenon.

The next morning, after completing a night of cultivation, Li Zhirui moved cautiously through the mountain woods, not wishing to alarm any Devil Beast.

It wasnʼt until the afternoon that he emerged from the mountain range and entered a large Marketplace called Green Wood.

This Green Wood Market fell under the jurisdiction of Wood Spirit Sect and was the second-largest marketplace governed by the sect. It was immensely large, had a third-order Spirit Vein and several lower-order Spirit Veins, with Spiritual Energy several times denser than that of Da Rong Island!

Moreover, due to its proximity to the Green Mountain Range, the market attracted a large number of Loose Cultivators, making its prosperity and liveliness unrivaled by Yunqing Marketplace.

Especially in Yunqing Marketplace, where Foundation Establishment cultivators were rather rare, here, they could be seen everywhere and many were former Loose Cultivators.

After entering the marketplace, the first thing Li Zhirui did was to sell the Spiritual Objects that he didnʼt need. The purchase prices offered by the shops were not low at all.

This was mainly because there was strong competition among the various shops within Green Wood Market. If you priced too low, the cultivators had plenty of other options.

This time in the mountains, Li Zhirui had earned over two thousand Spirit Stones, which definitely wasnʼt as profitable as Alchemy.

But in this process, whether it was his combat awareness, strength, or even refining Mana, all had notably improved.

And this was what Li Zhirui valued the most!

Especially Mana refinement, which was crucial for a cultivatorʼs ability to form a Core. If he wanted to go further, he naturally couldnʼt neglect this aspect in the slightest.

After that, Li Zhirui rented a small courtyard for ten days at the cost of three hundred Spirit Stones. The concentration of Spiritual Energy in the yard was almost comparable to a second-order Spirit Vein, so the price wasnʼt too steep.

The first thing he did after closing the courtyard gate was to let Da Qing and Xiaoqing out to play in the yard.

”Itʼs been three months since I left,” Li Zhirui murmured softly.

He had thought he wouldnʼt miss Da Rong Island since being out and free from familial duties was something he had longed for!

But unexpectedly, after just half a month, he began to miss the things on the island and longed for family members like Li Shiqing and Li Shiren.

Today, Li Zhirui finally realized just how strong his ties to his family and clan had become.

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In the Marketplace for the past few days, Li Zhirui rarely went out. If he wasnʼt cultivating or practicing Alchemy, he was playing with Da Qing and urging Xiaoqing to cultivate diligently. This allowed him to relax significantly after having been on edge due to extended training.

Particularly, the malevolent aura that had been lingering around him had dissipated completely after this period of time.

However, Li Zhirui wasnʼt in a hurry to venture back into the mountains for training, and continued to take things at a leisurely pace.

Until one day.

”Knock, knock——”

In the midst of his daily cultivation, Li Zhirui immediately opened his eyes and inquired, ”May I know who is outside and what matter brings you here?”

”Taoist Huang, itʼs Du Zhe. I have an important matter to discuss with you,” the middle-aged man at the Foundation Establishment stage said softly outside the door.

Li Zhirui frowned slightly. Du Zhe was a Loose Cultivator at the early stage of Foundation Establishment who he had met by chance half a month ago during his training in the Green Mountain. They had joined forces once or twice afterward due to tasks.

But they were not well acquainted, and since Li Zhirui was traveling incognito to avoid causing trouble for his family, he had used a fake name.

These so-called ʼtasksʼ were actually commissions posted by various powers within Green Wood Market, including requests for Spiritual Medicines, traces of Devil Beasts, among others—in short, all kinds of tasks could be found in the Task Hall.

The sudden visit from Du Zhe was indeed quite odd, and Li Zhirui was also curious how Du Zhe had come to know where he lived, which put him on his guard.

But since the visitor had already come to his door, there was no avoiding him. Li Zhirui had to get up to open the door and invited, ”Please come inside, Taoist friend.”

”Taoist Huang truly has a calm heart. Despite such a major event happening in the marketplace these days, you are still so composed, practicing in your mansion,” Du Zhe said teasingly as he entered.

Li Zhiruiʼs eyebrows knitted slightly as he explained, ”I havenʼt been out these past few days and am unaware of whatʼs happened outside.”

”There are rumors of a Golden Core cultivatorʼs Cave Mansion discovered within the mountain range. According to the cultivator who escaped, there is a multitude of Spiritual Objects inside, and itʼs very possible that the Golden Coreʼs legacy exists,” Du Zhe promptly explained.

”Golden Core Cave Mansion?” Li Zhirui wasnʼt worried that Du Zhe would deceive him about this matter; a simple inquiry outside would be enough to determine if it was true or false.

And Li Zhirui understood Du Zheʼs motive: Du Zhe wanted to join forces with him to explore the Golden Core Cave Mansion.

As to why Du Zhe chose him, it was because Du Zhe was aware of his second-order Spirit Beast, meaning that even if Li Zhiruiʼs own strength was not that strong, the addition of the Spirit Beast made him more powerful than an average early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. Furthermore, Li Zhiruiʼs own strength was formidable, too.

”Tell me more about the situation with that Cave Mansion,” Li Zhirui said, feigning great interest.

But inwardly he was more on alert than ever; Du Zhe had a wide social circle and could easily find stronger cultivators than Li Zhirui.

Nor had he ever disclosed to anyone the location of his dwelling, so how did Du Zhe find out?

”The Cave Mansion is near the depths of the mountain range, close to the territory of a third-order Bear Devil. According to the cultivator who spread the news, he was barely into the mansion when he was ambushed by fellow cultivators and narrowly escaped with his life…”

His primary purpose for making this public was to ensure that the Spiritual Objects in the mansion wouldnʼt fall into the hands of the Foundation Establishment cultivators who had tried to kill him.

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And indeed, his objective had been achieved: some of those people either died within the cave mansion or were slain by cultivators.

Thanks to Du Zheʼs introduction, Li Zhirui had gained a deeper understanding of this cave mansion. Yet facing Du Zheʼs earnest and expectant gaze, Li Zhirui did not immediately agree.

”This matter is of great significance, why donʼt you go back first? Allow me some time to think it over alone.”

A glint of a dark light flashed across Du Zheʼs eyes, and he said with a faint smile, ”Indeed, we will set out tomorrow. If you wish to go, you must reply to me sooner.”

”Alright, thank you for informing me,” Li Zhirui said.

After sending away Du Zhe, Li Zhirui couldnʼt help but sneer. This person had obviously come to him with a purpose.

Perhaps thinking that, as a loose cultivator, he lacked experience and would immediately agree to join their team to explore the cave mansion, lured by the promise of a Golden Core cave mansion and various spiritual objects.

Not to mention any ulterior motives they might have, would he even get a share of any precious spiritual objects found during the exploration of the cave mansion?

By then, not only getting a share of the spiritual objects would be at issue, but not being attacked by the group and losing his life on the spot would be fortunate.

However, if the Golden Core cave mansion was real, Li Zhirui was still very interested.

Because of Du Zheʼs visit, his mood was disturbed, and he was unable to calm down for the time being, so he simply went out the door to inquire about the cave mansion.

Without inquiring, it wasnʼt important but once he did, Li Zhirui felt that the cave mansion was filled with oddities.

According to the cultivator who had escaped, the periphery of the cave mansion contained many jade boxes sealing spiritual objects, and this point had been confirmed. The storage bags of several deceased cultivators contained dozens of jade boxes, all filled with second-tier spiritual objects.

However, there was no news about the inner areas, which were said to claim the lives of all who trespassed instantly.

Nevertheless, this did not deter the ardent loose cultivators. After all, with so many spiritual objects in the outer areas, what about the inner areas?

Some loose cultivators who arrived late and didnʼt obtain spiritual objects felt extremely unwilling and were even more eager to enter the inner areas.

After numerous trials, they discovered an ancient formation protecting the inner area, but no matter how they attacked, they were unable to break it.

After delving deeper, Li Zhirui began to hesitate. Although there was no danger in not entering the range of the formation, if so many loose cultivators had failed to break the formation, could he do it by going there now?

Moreover, the location of the cave mansion was deep within the Green Mountain Range, which was the territory of third-tier devil beasts—a risky venture with his current level of cultivation.

But deep down, Li Zhirui felt that if he missed out this time, he would lose out on an extremely important opportunity.

This odd feeling was something Li Zhirui dared not ignore, because a cultivatorʼs sudden inspiration always signifies something.

”I will go and see tomorrow,” Li Zhirui decided, and then returned to the rented cave dwelling to begin making preparations.

Chirp!

Da Qing slowly crawled over, showing its desire to fight alongside Li Zhirui.

”Definitely, if there is a chance.” Although he was worried that Da Qing might get hurt, in a critical moment, he would still have to rely on Da Qing.

The next morning, at the crack of dawn.

Li Zhirui left the dwelling silently and hurried toward the direction of the cave mansion.

At Chen hour, by the Eastern City Gate of the Marketplace, Du Zhe stood aside leading several Foundation Establishment cultivators. One of them, seeing Du Zhe still looking out expectantly, couldnʼt help but speak up and urge:

”Brother Du, it seems that the Taoist Huang you mentioned will not come. We should leave soon. If we delay any further, we might not reach the cave mansion before nightfall.”

Still unwilling to leave, Du Zhe waited for a moment more. Finally, under the persuasion of several cultivators, he left the Marketplace with a look of dejection.

At this time, Li Zhirui had already entered the Green Mountain Range, walking on a trail that the Foundation Establishment cultivators had opened up in recent days.

Because of the emergence of the Golden Core cave mansion, this trail was frequently passed by cultivators; nearby devil beasts were either killed or had fled, making the front part of the path relatively safe.

But as he ventured deeper into the mountain range, the usefulness of the path dissipated, as no one could drive away third-tier devil beasts.

Li Zhiruiʼs speed greatly decreased as he pushed the Cicada Breathing Skill to its limit, in order to avoid attracting any devil beasts.

In the end, without encountering any trouble, he successfully entered the outer perimeter of the cave mansion.

Here, dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered; among these people, early Foundation Establishment cultivators like Li Zhirui were actually in the minority.

His arrival did not draw much attention as he quietly moved to a corner and seated himself.

He did not rush to act but decided first to observe how the others were tackling the problem.

Unfortunately, those who understood formations among the loose cultivators were an extremely rare presence, and they could only try to violently break the formation with spells.

Just then, a group of six Foundation Establishment cultivators arrived, drawing significant attention.

Li Zhirui also looked up, discovering that the leader was none other than Du Zhe, whose cultivation level was not the early Foundation Establishment he had known, but late Foundation Establishment!

Lucky he had not agreed to come together; otherwise, if it came to a fight, he would be no match for Du Zhe. Li Zhirui thought to himself.

Moreover, Li Zhirui, who knew in advance that Du Zhe would come, had altered his appearance, which was completely different from when they had met, so he was not worried about being recognized.