Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Chapter 195 - 201: Explosion

”If you are willing to surrender and hand over the Thousand-Year Ghostwood in your possession, your life will be spared, as long as you agree to convert to our Elemental Tao Skill,” said a Demon Cultivator in the late Foundation Establishment stage, persuading the cautiously watchful Li Zhirui in a patient tone.

Whatʼs referred to as the Elemental Tao by cultivators like Li Zhirui is in fact the Demonic Tao, since demon cultivators would naturally shy away from a term that carries a derogatory connotation, hence they opted for the revered name of Elemental Tao from legends.

Indeed, according to those legends from a distant past, the Elemental Tao was not akin to the current state of the Demonic Tao, and although it was different from the Immortal Tao in terms of inhaling the pure spiritual energy to cultivate mana, it was still considered a right path.

Regrettably, the inheritance of the Elemental Tao fell into decline and eventually was lost to this world, to the point where even its name is now tarnished by demon cultivators.

But back to the matter at hand!

Upon hearing this proposition, Li Zhirui couldnʼt help but let out a cold snicker, replying, ”Do you really think youʼve got me cornered?”

Despite facing numerous and powerful opponents—two late-stage and three mid-stage Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators—he might not be able to defeat them, but surely he could escape, couldnʼt he? Besides, it wasnʼt a given that he would lose!

And as for the Thousand-Year Ghostwood mentioned by the other party, Li Zhirui was even less likely to surrender it, for he knew it was a third-grade Spiritual Object, with its core being the renowned Soul-Nurturing Wood!

For Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment cultivators, the spiritual soul is fragile, and if the physical body is destroyed, the soul cannot sustain itself, swiftly entering the netherworld.

But upon reaching the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages, the spiritual soul attains certain resilience, able to barely persist for a moment, and the higher the cultivation, the longer it endures.

If one possesses Soul-Nurturing Wood, then after the physical body is compromised, one can reside within it, relying on the wood to continue living merely as a soul.

Naturally, this is subject to a time limit, approximately extending for several decades.

But letʼs not forget that high-level cultivators can perform defy-heaven acts, seizing bodies of others!

Though the risks of soul possession are great, it definitely beats having the soul disperse and reincarnate, doesnʼt it?

Moreover, having Soul-Nurturing Wood not only buys time to select the best person for possession but also strengthens the spiritual soul, increasing the likelihood of successful possession.

In other words, despite being just a third-grade Spiritual Object, the appearance of Soul-Nurturing Wood would stir even high-rank practitioners such as those in the Nascent Soul or Divine Transformation stages to compete fiercely for this treasure.

After all, for them, the Soul-Nurturing Wood is tantamount to a second life-saving voucher.

This precious item, although not immediately useful to Li Zhirui, was something he could never hand over.

”To decline a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!” With no hope left of Li Zhirui yielding, the Demon Cultivators snorted coldly and took action, casting spells one after another as chilling winds began to howl and fierce ghosts and zombies emerged beside them, ambushing him in unison.

Li Zhirui beckoned with a thought, summoning Da Qing and Xiaoqing to his side, instructing, ”Da Qing, get ready to defend. Xiaoqing, entangle those zombies with your spells, and leave the rest to me.”

These two Foundation Establishment Realm Spirit Beasts were the reason he didnʼt flee on the spot!

”Hmph! I thought you had some real skill, but it turns out youʼre relying on these two beasts,” the Demon Cultivator sneered dismissively, a flash of black light glimmering in his palm before a sharp black wind rushed toward Li Zhirui in an instant.

The mid-stage Foundation Establishment Da Qing and the early-stage Xiaoqing were indeed not worrisome to them, but they had underestimated Li Zhiruiʼs strength!

As he raised his hand, several slender vine dragons appeared, each with their unique features—some shimmered with a purple hue, carrying deadly toxins; others bristled with spikes looking ferocious; and some were covered with thick leaves, appearing quite bulky.

The Vine Dragon, under Li Zhiruiʼs control, dexterously dodged the Demon Cultivatorsʼ attacks, occasionally even launching counterattacks.

Li Zhirui, relying solely on his own strength, entangled with five Demon Cultivators without falling into a disadvantage, which both surprised and angered them. They grew increasingly ruthless in their strikes, unleashing various deadly moves in succession.

Although there were many Vine Dragons, this also meant that their defense was weak. Under the full assault of the Demon Cultivators, the Vine Dragons began to sustain damage.

However, they had not noticed that those few bloated Vine Dragons were always kept in a protected state, and their attacks were very ordinary, merely simple and common flying leaf attacks.

Just as they closed in on the Demon Cultivators, Li Zhiruiʼs hand signs abruptly changed, and the thick-leafed Vine Dragons frantically absorbed the nearby Spiritual Energy, growing even more bloated before exploding in a earth-shattering blast under their horrified gazes.

These were the Exploding Spirit Vines that Li Zhirui had carefully cultivated for years, and today was the first time he had used them. Judging by their power, they should be on par with the self-destructive force of a second-order Magic Artifact.

But the two were fundamentally incomparable; it was known that first and second-order Magic Artifacts were worth at least a thousand Spirit Stones each, but a Vine Dragon cost merely ten strands of Exploding Spirit Vines.

Even if Li Zhirui used Spirit Stones to accelerate the growth of a second-order Spirit Vine, it would only require a few hundred Spirit Stones!

But how many Spirit Seeds could a mature Spirit Vine yield? At least a hundred grains!

However, the Spirit Seeds of the Exploding Spirit Vines could not all be used for reproduction; the vast majority only served for casting spells.

Therefore, Li Zhirui didnʼt have too many Spirit Seeds on hand, and using this type of Spirit Seed consumed several times more Mana than other kinds. With his current Mana, he could at most activate several dozen simultaneously, not nearly enough to activate hundreds of Spirit Seeds as casually as with other types.

In the unexpected explosion, two of the five Demon Cultivators were instantly killed, with the other three sustaining varying degrees of serious injuries.

”It seems that the ones who should be begging for mercy are not I, but all of you,” Li Zhirui said with a smile that was not quite a smile.

But he didnʼt give them the chance to beg for mercy at all. With swift motions, he deftly beheaded them.

He waved his hand and collected their corpses, planning to exchange them for Contribution Value at Immortal City after leaving the Secret Realm. He then scrambled the energy trails nearby, took Da Qing and Xiaoqing with him, and immediately flew away.

Shortly after, several Demon Cultivators arrived at the chaotic battlefield, trembling as they saw the crater blasted open. They could imagine just how terrifying and intense the battle had been.

”What a pity, The victor left no traces behind,” said the Demon Cultivator in charge of tracking, with a face full of regret.

Because he thought that with the battle being so intense, even if one side emerged victorious, they were likely only a Pyrrhic victory, having suffered significant injuries.

If they managed to catch up, wouldnʼt they become the final victors? They could then defeat the wounded party with relative ease and claim the resources of both them and the already dead group.

As to why fellow sect brothers would kill each other—they were Demon Cultivators who had managed to survive the harsh environment of the Yin Wind Cave and successfully reach Foundation Establishment. They would not entertain such naive thoughts.

Meanwhile, Li Zhirui was hiding in a concealed cave, sorting through the belongings of those few people.

There werenʼt many Spirit Stones, but there were many blood-stained materials. The overpowering stench almost made him vomit.

Suppressing the churning in his stomach, he cleaned up these disgusting materials before he could feel slightly better and began to properly examine their storage bags.