The dust-filled battlefield gradually cleared.
As far as the eye could see, the collapsed earth slowly leveled, and a giant crater, a thousand zhang wide and several hundred zhang deep, stood before them.
Li Mu waved his hand.
The Fifth-Grade Magic Treasure—Mount Tai, the Eagle-shaped Thunder Wings, and the five Five Elements High-Grade Spirit Swords all returned.
Li Mu put them all into his nine storage spiritual pearl.
At the same time, a pile of flesh and blood mixed with dirt floated in the air, accompanied by countless Materials, Medicinal Pills, and Magical Artifacts.
The storage bracelet was smashed by Mount Tai, and all the items stored inside scattered out.
Most of them were also damaged.
“I used a bit too much force, what a pity!”
After checking the spoils of war, Li Mu felt a pang of heartache, but he still collected everything remaining into his nine storage spiritual pearl.
A Transformation God cultivator’s assets were quite abundant, including many Advanced Artifact Refining Materials, dozens of Fifth-Grade Materials, seven or eight kinds of Sixth-Grade Materials, and hundreds of High-Grade Spirit Stones, which greatly replenished Li Mu’s somewhat insufficient nine storage spiritual pearl.
Just as Li Mu was about to leave after his harvest, a golden miniature figure instantly shot up from the deep pit, speeding towards the horizon.
It was a Soul Transformation Stage Primordial Spirit.
“Heh heh, I almost let him get away!” Li Mu’s Divine Sense stirred.
Cultivating to the Soul Transformation Stage meant that even if the Physical Body was destroyed, the Primordial Spirit remained; as long as it recuperated and found suitable treasures, the Primordial Spirit could reshape a Physical Body.
The Primordial Spirit escaped extremely fast, but Li Mu was even faster. With the Five Elements Escape Technique’s Earth Escape, his figure flashed out with a ‘whoosh’.
In the previous chase, Li Mu only used the Thunder Escape of the ‘Thunder Wings’ and did not unleash his true escape strength, only using about one-half of his escape speed.
At this moment, Li Mu fully unleashed his power.
A Five Elements yellow shadow flashed, and his figure instantly appeared in front of the golden miniature figure. He unleashed a capture technique, transforming into a large Spirit Flame hand that seized it.
“Mercy, mercy! I am willing to offer all my Legacy and treasures with both hands, only asking for my life to be spared. I am willing to serve you as a beast of burden!”
The golden miniature figure, about half an inch in size, was clearly visible and was none other than Venerable Tianyun.
Now, he had long lost his high and mighty demeanor, disregarding his pride as he pleaded.
However, this Soul Transformation Primordial Spirit’s Aura was relatively weak; it had burned its Primordial Spirit during the previous battle, and its Primordial Spirit was severely damaged.
“Spare your life?”
Li Mu was not foolish; this Venerable Tianyun could not be kept alive.
For no other reason, he was a Venerable Deity Transformation; who knew how many old friends or connections he had?
And there was no other way to leave behind communication.
If there were, wouldn’t it expose his own affairs? Afterwards, he would inevitably face endless trouble.
As for the Magic Treasures and Legacy on him, Li Mu had long considered them his own possessions.
As for the Legacy, this mere Early Stage Soul Transformation’s Cultivation Technique from the battle just now was quite ordinary.
It did not catch Li Mu’s eye.
However, this Primordial Spirit could be used to nourish Little White. If Little White consumed a Soul Transformation Stage Primordial Spirit, it might even advance, who knows.
Thinking of this, Li Mu quickly summoned Little White from his spirit control treasure bracelet.
“Jiji!” As soon as Little White appeared and saw the golden miniature figure in Li Mu’s hand, its eyes lit up, and it was so greedy that its saliva almost flowed out, urging with cries.
Venerable Tianyun saw Little White and was immediately terrified.
“Do you like it? Go eat it.”
Li Mu cast several imprisonment techniques, sealing Venerable Tianyun’s Primordial Spirit, put it into a bottle, and threw it to Little White.
Little White was overjoyed.
“Jiji! Jiji!” Little White excitedly chirped a few times at Li Mu in thanks, then flew off as a white light, sealing the bottle’s opening. Venerable Tianyun’s Primordial Spirit was swallowed by it in just a few gulps.
“Jiji!” Little White let out a satisfied burp and chirped gratefully at Li Mu.
Greedy little fellow!
Li Mu smiled slightly. Little White, after devouring the Soul Transformation Cultivator’s Primordial Spirit, immediately became drowsy, emitting bursts of spiritual light from its body.
Li Mu smiled and put the sleepy Little White back into his spirit control treasure bracelet.
Just as he put away the drowsy Little White, Li Mu frowned, his Divine Sense detecting movements around him.
Li Mu’s Divine Sense had always been kept in an outward state. Four powerful Divine Senses swept towards the battleground and landed on his body.
Within their Divine Sense, Demonic Qi surged.
Sixth-Grade Yao Beast Divine Sense!
Li Mu turned his head to look into the distance, releasing his powerful Divine Sense, which clashed head-on with those Divine Senses.
Having passed the Purple Cloud Divine Lightning Tribulation, Li Mu’s Divine Sense was no less inferior to a Peak Soul Transformation, and when it clashed with Sixth-Grade Yao Beasts, which had strong Physical Bodies but slightly weaker Divine Sense, he immediately gained the upper hand.
Sure enough.
The few Yao Beast kings hidden deep within were immediately suppressed, not daring to make any further moves.
They sensed that a Human Race Transformation God strong individual had engaged in a great battle here and had been hiding in the dark, observing the fight.
They watched from the sidelines, intending to be the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind, to jointly attack and kill the injured party here to feast on their flesh and blood.
Whether it was a Nascent Soul True Lord or a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator, for Yao Beasts, they were equally great tonics.
Unexpectedly, a mere Early Stage Nascent Soul True Lord erupted with such terrifying strength.
A Human Race Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator was killed here in less than a dozen breaths, as swift as lightning.
His Primordial Spirit was even consumed by his Spirit Treasure as food.
Truly a great terror!
How could the few Sixth-Grade Yao Beasts lurking in the shadows dare to risk a fight with him?
Li Mu felt a sigh of relief when he saw that the Yao Beast kings dared not act rashly, and at the same time, he prepared to leave.
Because Li Mu discovered that besides the Sixth-Grade Yao Beasts, there were also people from the Loose Cultivator Alliance rushing over; several figures were speeding towards this direction.
This place was not suitable for staying long.
Li Mu once again spread his Thunder Wings, bursting with divine speed, transforming into a thunderbolt, and disappearing into the horizon.
Thirty breaths later.
More than a dozen figures arrived at the battlefield, carrying a heaven-shaking Aura.
What met their eyes was a mountain range and land that had already been utterly destroyed.
“How terrifying, were two Transformation God strong individuals fighting here?”
“It must be. What caused such a deep pit? It must have been a High-Grade Magic Treasure. This sharp Sword Qi is truly terrifying!”
The few Nascent Soul True Lords who arrived late at the battlefield commented, secretly shocked by the battle situation at the scene.
The battlefield was mixed with extremely terrifying Five Elements Sword Qi fluctuations and astonishing thunder power, especially the profound destructive Aura continuously overflowing from the deep pit, which made their hair stand on end.
This kind of battle was no longer something they could participate in.
The two great Venerables of the Loose Cultivator Alliance.
Venerable Tianyin.
Venerable Linhai.
Both frowned deeply. They sensed Venerable Tianyun’s Aura, but it had disappeared here.
And they quickly discovered a pile of rotten flesh through their Divine Sense.
Based on the Aura, this was undoubtedly Venerable Tianyun.
Dead?
Although Venerable Tianyun was the weakest among their three, he was still a Transformation God Venerable who had Advanced a thousand years ago.
How could he have fallen here?
Based on the Aura, there was no Yao Beast King Aura here; instead, there was a Nascent Soul True Lord’s Five Elements Sword Qi left behind.
A Nascent Soul True Lord killed a Soul Transformation Cultivator!
Is this possible?!
It was simply a fantasy; how easy was it to challenge across Realms?
Even a Genius would find it extremely difficult to achieve this condition. It might be possible to succeed in battle by crossing a small Realm.
But the difference in strength between Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation was like heaven and earth.
Twenty Nascent Soul True Lords were not a match for an Early Stage Soul Transformation.
“I tried to contact Venerable Tianyun through my Magical Artifact, but I received no reply. He is clearly dead.”
“Could this be the work of an evil devil?”
Venerable Tianyin’s expression was solemn.
Venerable Linhai heard this and also fell into deep thought.
“Brother Tianqin, it shouldn’t be a Demonic Cultivator. They could never possess such pure Five Elements Spiritual Power. It seems it might be a revenge killing.”
“No matter what, Venerable Tianyun is one of us from the Loose Cultivator Alliance. This matter must be thoroughly investigated.”
Everyone around nodded in agreement with Venerable Linhai’s words.
They felt it was very reasonable.
Soon, Huanlang Spiritual Mountain began a large-scale search.
No Five Elements Cultivator was spared; they were investigated everywhere. For a time, the entire area was thrown into chaos.
As for the culprit, Li Mu had already left Huanlang Spiritual Mountain and gone elsewhere.
Li Mu rode the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship, flying tens of thousands of zhang high, rapidly heading west.
When he occasionally stopped along the way, he encountered some reckless Second-Grade and Third-Grade Yao Beasts attempting to ambush him.
He let Little Gold and Little Tile come out to move around and increase their supplies.
After nearly a month of such travels and flights, Li Mu had already fled far from Huanlang Spiritual Mountain.
Huanlang Spiritual Mountain was a thing of the past for Li Mu; with the Celestial Evolution Divine Lord's Immortal Cave Spirit Treasure, he could go anywhere in the world.
Li Mu prepared to explore other places in the Southern Spirit Continent. Now that he was a Nascent Soul True Lord, fighting above his Realm against a Soul Transformation Cultivator was not an issue.
There were many more places he could go, and the risks were greatly reduced. As long as he didn't encounter Cultivators above the Soul Transformation Realm, many places were accessible.
Ten days later.
Li Mu's Divine Sense detected a large city several thousand miles away. Li Mu planned to search for Heavenly Flames. According to the information provided by Gongsun Chu, the two Cultivators possessing Heavenly Flames were Heavenly Hong True Lord of Yu Ling Sect and Myriad Flames True Lord of Star Moon Island.
While traveling, he suddenly discovered a large city, which was quite rare, so Li Mu decided to enter and take a look.
Li Mu, who never liked to be high-profile, used the Reversal Yuan Illusion Breath Art to transform himself into a Golden Core cultivator and put on a spirit fox mask.
He transformed into the appearance of a middle-aged Loose Cultivator.
Afterward, he landed at the city gate. Eight Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators stood prominently at the entrance, clad in silver armor, guarding the city gate.
Passing individuals had to pay five lower spirit stones to enter.
As Li Mu stepped on his Flying Sword, a Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivator immediately came forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior, welcome to Luocheng. Flying is prohibited within the city. We hope Senior will walk or rent a carriage."
Li Mu did not make things difficult for them. He descended from his Flying Sword, and since he was a Golden Core cultivator, he did not need to pay the entrance fee, so he strode in with big steps.
It must be said that Luo Tian City was indeed quite large.
Its occupied area was extremely vast, even slightly larger than Qingxuan Sect's headquarters. This was no ordinary city.
Here, things were complex, and he could vaguely sense the Auras of over a dozen Nascent Soul True Lords and four or five Soul Transformation Cultivators. Li Mu did not widely release his Divine Thought, so his perception was not entirely clear.
The sects and forces in this city were intricate and very prosperous, with numerous high-level Cultivators. The endless stream of people, the bustling traffic, and the shouts of vendors created a vibrant scene.
A picture of prosperity and flourishing life, which refreshed Li Mu's senses and filled him with anticipation.
Compared to the places Li Mu had stayed before, this place was much more prosperous, and various tall buildings could be seen everywhere.
It was one of the few cities he had seen that deserved praise.
Li Mu prepared to investigate the situation here, first to understand where exactly he was and whether there was a Wanbao Pavilion here.
After Li Mu blended into the city,
he did not find Wanbao Pavilion. It was known that Wanbao Pavilion's influence was widespread across the Southern Spirit Continent.
Yet there was no news of it in Luo Tian City, which was truly strange.
The best way to gather information was naturally in a tavern, eating and listening.
Li Mu found the most high-end tavern and walked in.
He simply ordered some spirit food dishes.
Soon, the spirit food dishes were served, and some Cultivators around him were also drinking and chatting. Li Mu focused his Divine Sense on them, and their whispers entered his ears one by one.
"The recently powerful Tianji Pavilion is truly unstoppable! Could the killing of Wanbao Pavilion's shopkeeper have been done by someone from Tianji Pavilion?"
"Joking aside, don't speak carelessly. Wanbao Pavilion has a very strong foundation. How could this rising star, Tianji Pavilion, suddenly become so powerful and openly kill the other party? Isn't that clearly trying to go against Wanbao Pavilion?"
"But it's also strange. After Wanbao Pavilion's shopkeeper was killed, Wanbao Pavilion immediately packed up and left, yet Tianji Pavilion still thrives here without any movement."
"Three Nascent Soul True Lords of Wanbao Pavilion were killed. I guess Wanbao Pavilion packing up and leaving is likely because they plan to call in a Soul Transformation Cultivator to seek justice. This place is definitely not peaceful. We should go to Baiyun City to avoid being caught in the crossfire."
...
Li Mu listened to the discussions of the patrons in the tavern, and their topics almost exclusively revolved around Wanbao Pavilion.
This greatly astonished Li Mu.
The Pavilion Master of Wanbao Pavilion in Luo Tian City was killed. Who was so bold?
What was this Tianji Pavilion? Which organization, which force?
Li Mu felt increasingly uneasy. Most people's discussions focused on Tianji Pavilion, but they did not say which force Tianji Pavilion belonged to.
Li Mu, holding a pot of spirit wine, walked to a table of Foundation Establishment Cultivators. "Seniors, may I join you for a drink?"
"Senior, it is our honor to have you grace us with a drink!" The Foundation Establishment Cultivator felt the cultivation of a Golden Core Middle Stage Cultivator emanating from Li Mu.
He was instantly somewhat flattered and quickly cleared a spot for Li Mu to sit down.
Li Mu was not polite. The other party enthusiastically poured wine for Li Mu, showing great courtesy.
"Senior, I am Li Yuan, son of Li Changming of the Li family." The Foundation Establishment Cultivator, who was over thirty years old, cupped his hands and smiled.
The other two were Loose Cultivators, calling each other friends and Fellow Daoists.
"Seniors, I came to Luo Tian City today with something to ask. How is it that I've searched all over Luo Tian City and cannot find Wanbao Pavilion?"
Li Mu pretended ignorance, raising his cup and drinking.
Li Yuan heard this, cupped his hands, and said, "Senior, it's understandable that you don't know, after all, this matter only happened last night."
"Oh? What happened?"
"Senior, there are two major treasure pavilions in Luo Tian City, namely Wanbao Pavilion and Tianji Pavilion. Their businesses are identical; they both deal in the same trade."
"Wanbao Pavilion has existed for a long time, having been in Luo Tian City for several hundred years. Its shopkeeper has also reached the Nascent Soul Early Stage, an incredibly rare expert."
"Just over a decade ago, Tianji Pavilion suddenly appeared in this area, starting to rapidly establish branches in every city. The business they conducted was exactly the same as Wanbao Pavilion. However, unlike Wanbao Pavilion, Tianji Pavilion offered an additional service that Wanbao Pavilion did not."
"What is it?"
Li Mu was slightly curious.
"Selling intelligence, collecting intelligence, which is why it's called Tianji Pavilion. Intelligence is divided into nine levels. Each level of intelligence includes collected information on famous individuals, the locations of Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines, and places where Secret Realms might appear."
"Some famous individuals can even sell their own intelligence to Tianji Pavilion. A Nascent Soul True Lord, by selling his strength, personality, and preferences to Tianji Pavilion, can obtain hundreds of thousands of medium spirit stones. The higher the strength, the higher the selling price."
"Golden Core cultivators range from fifty thousand to a million as the cap, and the rest follow suit, with Qi Condensation Cultivators being the cheapest."
"Starting from Soul Transformation Cultivators, they can sell their own intelligence or exchange their intelligence for certain items within Tianji Pavilion."
Li Yuan spoke endlessly, continuously pouring out all the information he knew, explaining the various intelligence and secrets of Tianji Pavilion to Li Mu.
Li Mu immediately became interested upon hearing this.
If it was truly as Li Yuan said, this Tianji Pavilion really had a knack for doing business.
When fighting others, knowing oneself and one's enemy leads to a hundred victories.
If someone sold their strength intelligence to Tianji Pavilion, their opponent would surely have to pay a greater price to purchase the intelligence of the opponent they wished to kill.
Thus, in this back-and-forth.
Tianji Pavilion would be able to collect intelligence on famous experts across the world, gathering it into a vast intelligence network.
And it could also acquire enormous wealth.
In the Cultivation world, fighting against heaven, fighting against earth, the older a Cultivator lived, the more he feared death.
Even with deep-seated enmity, they would never dare to fight without a clear understanding of the opponent's true strength.
If strength was insufficient, then intelligence would make up for it.
If the intelligence was accurate and the gap was not significant, then there would be a plan for killing or torturing.
More importantly, it not only involved personal strength and information sales, but also Heavenly Treasures, rare and exotic items.
Even the Immortal Cave Legacy left by a certain great individual could be obtained.
This Tianji Pavilion was better at doing business than Wanbao Pavilion!
No wonder it could rise in such a short time and steal Wanbao Pavilion's business.
"Senior, so the matter you need to handle, Tianji Pavilion might also be able to do it, and their efficiency is a bit stronger than Wanbao Pavilion's."
Li Yuan refilled Li Mu's spirit wine cup, kindly reminding him.
Li Mu nodded, but getting back to the main topic, what was the deal with the Wanbao Pavilion shopkeeper being killed?
And being forced out of Luo Tian City?
There were many suspicious points. Although Li Mu had a close relationship with Wanbao Pavilion, it was ultimately just a mutually beneficial business relationship.
Li Mu had no intention of standing up for Wanbao Pavilion or anything like that.
After finishing their chat, Li Mu obtained the information he wanted, then stood up and left.