Li Mu entered the secret chamber for his secluded cultivation, casually setting up an illusion array to block Divine Sense prying, then left a Puppet doppelganger to guard the secret chamber.
He took out the Grotto-Heaven Spirit Treasure, the Painting World Treasure Mansion, from his storage space.
Li Mu’s figure flickered and he vanished from the spot, entering the world within the Grotto-Heaven Spirit Treasure.
Li Mu had always been cautious; to avoid trouble, he would try to avoid using the Painting World Treasure Mansion when on someone else's territory.
However, through the Spirit Control Contract Seal, Li Mu received bad news from the Azure-Eyed White Ape, forcing him to take a break and personally inspect the Grotto-Heaven Spirit Treasure.
The Azure-Eyed White Ape was smooth and diligent, having become Li Mu's 'full-time butler' for managing his Grotto-Heaven World, with its main task being to monitor the status of the Spiritual Plants.
Once a Spiritual Plant showed abnormal conditions or underwent any changes, it would notify him immediately through the Spirit Control Contract Seal.
As Li Mu's figure appeared in the Grotto-Heaven World, the Azure-Eyed White Ape immediately flew over.
The Azure-Eyed White Ape respectfully greeted him and reported to Li Mu: “Master, you’ve finally arrived! The Dragon Blood Heavenly Grass is in a bit of trouble.”
“Hmm! Let’s go!” Li Mu responded, flying directly to the problematic spiritual field.
The Seventh Order Grotto-Heaven Spirit Treasure, the Painting World Treasure Mansion, had a space of 100,000 mu, and most of the spiritual land was suitable for planting Spiritual Plants, though only some low-order Spiritual Plants could be planted.
The growth of high-order Spiritual Plants required special environmental conditions, necessitating the arrangement of Spiritual Essence arrays, Yin and Yang arrays, and so on, to create a special environment; therefore, the actual number of spiritual fields where each type of high-order Spiritual Plant could be planted was very limited.
Soon, led by the Azure-Eyed White Ape, Li Mu arrived at the underground volcanic cave where the Dragon Blood Heavenly Grass was planted, the cave filled with strong fire-elemental Spiritual Qi.
However, the Dragon Blood Heavenly Grass seedlings planted in the spiritual field of the volcanic cave, spanning hundreds of mu, were all drooping their heads, looking wilted and listless.
“Master, the Dragon Blood Heavenly Grass seems to be missing some important spiritual material; its growth suddenly withered, and I don’t know why,” the Azure-Eyed White Ape reported nervously, fearing Li Mu’s blame.
Li Mu’s gaze swept over the Dragon Blood Heavenly Grass seedlings, and under his Heavenly Talent - Identify Myriad Spirits, he immediately learned their growth status.
【Dragon Blood Heavenly Grass】
【Grade: Fourth Order Spiritual Plant】
【Characteristic: Contains strong Innate Fire Source, which has a great nourishing effect on Fire-elemental Cultivation Technique practitioners.】
【Status: Lack of nourishment from high-order Flood Dragon Qi, growth stalled.】
【Dragon Blood Heavenly Grass, growing in a place of Extreme Fire, is born with the Qi of high-order fire-attributed Flood Dragons. It takes five years to root, thirty years to flower, and a hundred years to bear fruit, producing Blood Dragon Fruits. Blood Dragon Fruits can nourish fire-elemental Spiritual Roots and enhance blood Qi, making them a great tonic for Fire-elemental Cultivation Technique practitioners.】
After seeing the growth status of the Dragon Blood Heavenly Grass seedlings, Li Mu sighed; at this point, where was he supposed to find a high-order fire-elemental Flood Dragon!
“Hmm! I know how to solve it, it’s not your fault,” Li Mu casually replied to the Azure-Eyed White Ape, frowning in thought.
Yu Ling Sect primarily focused on Spirit Beasts, so perhaps they knew where to find a high-order fire-elemental Flood Dragon.
Li Mu decided to talk to Liu Chang later to find out more.
Li Mu continued to check the growth status of other Spiritual Plants; the other two Fourth Order Spiritual Plants—Dragonfly Jade Fruit and Earth Dragon Spirit Ginseng—were growing well, and the thousand mu of Heavenly Wind Grass were lush and vigorous, ready for another harvest in about a month.
After advancing to the Nascent Soul Realm, the free proficiency points provided by the Second Order heavenly phoenix grass significantly decreased.
However, in this Grotto-Heaven World, the Second Order heavenly phoenix grass grew faster, and there were so many spiritual fields that he could plant as much as he wanted. With the addition of a mist spirit array to regularly water with spiritual rain, Li Mu didn't need to worry too much; he just needed to harvest a wave of free proficiency points periodically, which was very easy.
Unlike planting other Fourth Order Spiritual Plants, Li Mu needed to constantly monitor their growth status.
Once he acquired the Extreme Yang Heavenly Fire, Li Mu planned to find a Spiritual Mountain to hide away and continue cultivating purple yang jade and Yin Soul Fruit.
These two Fourth Order Spiritual Plants required purple yang jade and Tai Xuan Moon Dew as aids, and even more, they needed a large amount of Heaven and Earth Yin and Yang Qi for nurturing. The Yin and Yang Qi within the Grotto-Heaven Spirit Treasure was limited, meaning it could not sustain them long-term, so he would have to find another Spiritual Mountain in the outside world to cultivate them.
Finishing his inspection of the Spiritual Plants, Li Mu took out the Blood Refinement Demon Lord’s storage bracelet from his storage space to count his spoils.
After killing the Blood Refinement Demon Lord, he was immediately entangled by the Yu Ling Sect’s True Lords, and on his way to the Yu Ling Sect, Li Mu hadn't had a chance to properly count his gains from this battle.
Li Mu easily refined the storage bracelet and probed it with his Divine Sense, but he couldn't help but frown, feeling an inexplicable aversion to the 'spoils' within the storage bracelet.
The blood-colored ghost-head Demonic Artifact stored within the storage bracelet was raging inside, flying wildly and emitting a terrifying bloody aura, like a true Devil Head, opening its bloody maw and letting out a soul-stirring roar.
It attempted to break free from the storage space.
Seeing this, Li Mu concentrated his Divine Thought to suppress its demonic nature, took it out of the storage bracelet, grasped it in his hand, forcibly injected spiritual power, invaded its artifact array core, and forcibly refined it.
The blood-colored ghost-head Demonic Artifact roared repeatedly, emitting a frenzy of red Qi, and a strong putrid smell accompanied by intense corrosive power spread everywhere, attempting to break free from Li Mu's control and resist being refined.
However, having just lost its master and suffering heavy damage, with Li Mu's Divine Thought invasion and the injection of powerful spiritual power, it was instantly refined with overwhelming force.
Successfully refined the Fifth Order Demonic Artifact - Congealed Blood Skull.
Li Mu frowned. He was not a Demonic Cultivator, and after successfully refining this ghost-head Demonic Artifact, he felt an evil thought surge from the Demonic Artifact, directly rushing into his Divine Sea, attempting to backlash.
Li Mu wouldn't tolerate it. The main purpose of refining this Demonic Artifact was to extract the living essence blood it stored.
Li Mu took out the Bloodthirsty Rampaging Flood Dragon skeleton from the nine storage spiritual pearl, summoned the Flood Dragon’s soul, and with the bone and soul intertwined, they merged into one body, and the Flood Dragon skeleton began to patrol within the Treasure Mansion.
“Spit out the essence blood.”
Li Mu injected a stream of Spiritual Qi into the ghost-head Demonic Artifact and gave the command.
The ghost head, having absorbed a large amount of essence blood, had already produced a Demonic Spirit. The refined Demonic Spirit could not disobey its master’s command and opened its mouth to spray out a large amount of pure essence blood.
The dense living essence blood quickly gathered in the air, instantly forming a suspended sea of blood, churning and surging, emitting a surging, powerful vitality.
As soon as the sea of blood appeared, the Flood Dragon skeleton stirred restlessly, its body trembling slightly, intensely desiring to plunge into the sea of blood and devour the essence blood.
“Go!”
At Li Mu’s command, the Flood Dragon skeleton plunged into the sea of blood, frantically sucking the nutrients from within to repair its damaged skeletal body.
Seeing this, Li Mu determined that it wouldn't recover in a short while.
Li Mu left the Azure-Eyed White Ape to guard, then put the blood-colored ghost-head Demonic Artifact back into the storage bracelet.
With a 'whoosh', Li Mu's figure vanished from the Painting World Treasure Mansion.
…
Time flew, and seven days passed in a blink of an eye.
Li Mu had completely settled down in Lingyun Pavilion.
With Li Mu's arrival at Lingyun Pavilion, the usually quiet Lingyun Pavilion suddenly became incredibly lively.
These days, several Nascent Soul True Lords from the Yu Ling Sect continuously entered and exited Lingyun Pavilion. As if by prior arrangement, they visited Li Mu in batches, their attitudes incredibly enthusiastic, bringing various high-order spiritual wines, spiritual fruits, and some rare and exotic treasures as gifts.
Facing the enthusiastic Nascent Soul True Lords, Li Mu was caught between laughter and tears, finding it a bit overwhelming.
The person he was waiting for hadn't arrived, but those who shouldn't come were visiting daily. Entertaining these overly enthusiastic individuals every day was quite annoying!
As the news of 'Li Jianxian' and the Artifact Refining 'Master Li' visiting spread throughout the Yu Ling Sect, it instantly ignited the enthusiasm of countless Cultivators in the Yu Ling Sect.
Nascent Soul True Lords came to visit Li Mu, either to request the refining of Spiritual Artifacts or to catch a glimpse of 'Li Jianxian's' true appearance, as if visiting an idol. They all longed to chat with Li Mu for a few words and establish some connection.
As for Cultivators below the Nascent Soul, they also yearned to witness 'Li Jianxian's' demeanor, but alas, their cultivation was limited, and their status was low. They couldn't even go up the Sect Master's peak, let alone visit 'Li Jianxian' at Lingyun Pavilion.
However, even just dealing with the Nascent Soul True Lords of the Yu Ling Sect, Li Mu was getting a bit impatient.
Facing so many Nascent Soul True Lords, Li Mu could get almost anything he wanted at this moment.
However, favors owed must be repaid!
Li Mu dealt with them wave after wave, not daring to ask them for high-order Spiritual Plant seeds or anything similar.
The reason Li Mu left Qingxuan Sect was precisely to avoid this situation.
However, for the sake of the Extreme Yang Heavenly Fire, Li Mu had no choice but to remain in the Yu Ling Sect, patiently awaiting the outcome of the discussions between Venerable Lei Hong and True Lord Tianhong.
Li Mu didn't pay too much attention to the Nascent Soul True Lords of the Yu Ling Sect; the only person he was waiting for was Heavenly Hong True Lord.
It was a pity that, so far, the other party had no intention of visiting, nor did Venerable Lei Hong have any intention of summoning him, perhaps because the talks had broken down, and he was too ashamed to face him!
Currently, the person who visited Lingyun Pavilion the most was none other than Liu Changzai. He had become a regular guest of Lingyun Pavilion. Today, Liu Changzai came again, sitting with Li Mu at a stone table in the elegant pavilion, sipping spiritual tea.
With Liu Changzai's assistance, Li Mu successfully acquired a Fifth Order Crimson Flame Cloud Python from a Nascent Soul True Lord. It resided within a fire-rock spiritual cave, temporarily alleviating the growth issues of the Dragon Blood Heavenly Grass.
However, the most crucial Extreme Yang Heavenly Fire remained unresolved, which greatly frustrated Li Mu.
“Brother Liu, is there still no news from Heavenly Hong True Lord?” Li Mu looked at Liu Changzai, tentatively asking again.
Liu Changzai’s expression was strange, and he sighed, “Dao Friend Li, just wait a little longer! Sect Master Lei has talked with Junior Brother Tianhong several times, but the Extreme Yang Heavenly Fire is extremely important to him as well. It will take some time for Junior Brother Tianhong to make a decision! He needs a little more time.”
Hearing this, Li Mu smiled bitterly. He couldn't keep waiting in the Yu Ling Sect indefinitely. If it didn't work out, he would have to find other solutions.
…
At this moment, tens of thousands of miles away from the Yu Ling Sect, in Huanlang Spiritual Mountain, at the headquarters of the Loose Cultivator Alliance, within an elegant spiritual courtyard at the top of the Sky Tower.
“Brother Lin, is this intelligence accurate?”
In the pavilion at the center of the courtyard, Venerable Tianyin frowned tightly, gazing at the intelligence on the table with a shocked and disgusted expression.
Venerable Linhai, sitting opposite him, continuously poured wine from his flask into his mouth, looking annoyed.
“It can’t be wrong! Tianji Pavilion’s intelligence is renowned for its accuracy far and wide. Only such a Prodigy of a Nascent Soul cultivator could so cleanly and quickly kill Tianyun. This person is extremely difficult to deal with, do you have any good ideas?” Venerable Linhai took a large gulp of spiritual wine, looking at Venerable Tianyin as he asked.
Facing Venerable Linhai’s question, Venerable Tianyin did not answer immediately. His fingers landed on the five-stringed guqin in front of him, and he plucked the strings again, causing an impassioned melody to spread forth.
Venerable Tianyin’s fingers moved like wind, as fast as lightning. The zither music was like a sudden downpour, continuous and joyful, with a passionate and soaring style, filled with a surge of anger, like raging waves. His profound true essence mixed with the zither music, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to vibrate…
Suddenly, a segment of violent musical notes, carrying frantic spiritual essence, accompanied the zither music and poured out towards the spiritual pool ahead.
With a loud “boom,” the large rockery next to the spiritual pool suddenly exploded, instantly shattering into countless dust particles that quickly dissipated.
Venerable Linhai tilted his head back, drinking the fine wine, long accustomed to this and showing no surprise.
Venerable Tianyin had been accompanied by his zither his entire life; his temperament, thoughts, and strategies were often formulated while playing the zither.
The violent zither music abruptly ceased.
Venerable Linhai’s drinking motion also stopped. His eyes, bright and piercing, looked at Venerable Tianyin, quietly awaiting his next words.
“Isn’t this desperate rogue being hunted by Fire Tian Venerable for decades? Obviously, Fire Tian Venerable also had a valuable treasure stolen by him. If we can join forces with him, the three of us Soul Transformation Cultivators combining our strength, no matter how many tricks the opponent has, in the face of absolute power, he will only be a mantis trying to stop a chariot, with no chance of survival!” Venerable Tianyin revealed a brilliant smile, speaking with conviction.
Hearing this, Venerable Linhai couldn't help but nod, agreeing with Venerable Tianyin's method.
Venerable Linhai pondered for a moment, then asked with some concern, “It would indeed be a good thing if Fire Tian Venerable is willing to ally with us. However, if he learns about the Celestial Evolution Divine Lord’s Grotto-Heaven Magic Treasure, he will inevitably want a share, and that would be troublesome then!”
Venerable Tianyin smiled slightly, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes, and decided, “This is easy to handle. If he really wants a share, we just need to secretly make a move and deal with him!”
“This isn’t good, is it? If we really kill Fire Tian Venerable, and Shanhe Sect traces it back to us, they will definitely pursue us relentlessly. The cost is too great!” Venerable Linhai frowned, quickly shaking his head.
Venerable Tianyin slowly stood up, smiling confidently, “This is easy to solve. We can just push the responsibility onto that rogue, can’t we? The other party is good at disguise, and no one knows his true identity to this day. His strength is also terrifying; a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator can kill a Soul Transformation Realm expert. If Fire Tian Venerable dies by his hand, it’s a reasonable outcome. As long as we do it cleanly, Shanhe Sect naturally won’t suspect us!”
“Of course, this is just a precautionary measure; Fire Tian Venerable might not necessarily know about the Celestial Evolution Divine Lord’s Grotto-Heaven Spirit Treasure.”
“Moreover, we don’t know what valuable treasure Fire Tian Venerable had stolen by this person, leading to his relentless pursuit. If he dares to covet the Celestial Evolution Divine Lord’s Grotto-Heaven Spirit Treasure, why shouldn’t we covet the valuable treasure he had stolen?”
“Brother Lin, if you don’t believe me, let’s go find Fire Tian Venerable now and reveal this person’s intelligence to him. See how he reacts.” Venerable Tianyin looked at Venerable Linhai, explaining eloquently.
“Of course, the premise is that Tianji Pavilion’s bounty order is useful and can provide his whereabouts; otherwise, everything is empty talk,” Venerable Tianyin emphasized at the end.
“Confirmed, let’s make a trip first and see Fire Tian Venerable’s reaction before discussing further! One more person means one more strength. With this intelligence, plus the power of Shanhe Sect, we should be able to find that guy faster,” Venerable Linhai readily agreed and suggested.
Venerable Tianyin smiled in agreement. With a wave of his hand, he took out a large green wood spiritual ship from his storage ring.
Soon, both of them boarded the green wood spiritual ship and swiftly sped towards Shanhe Sect, tens of thousands of miles away.