Li Zhuo looked inward.
Solidified magical power filled his Dantian.
He had already reached the verge of a Breakthrough.
“Mobilize your magical power to enter the Shanzhong Acupoint.”
“When Spiritual Qi transforms into magical power, directly refine those superficial magical powers!”
“Enter the Qi Training Stage, Third Level.”
This process required mobilizing magical power to ascend against the Meridians.
It was extremely difficult and painful.
One wrong move could damage the Meridians.
Even for Disciples of large Schools with abundant Cultivation resources,
the process of Breaking through to the Qi Training Stage, Third Level, carried a certain degree of danger.
One had to be extremely cautious.
Not to mention bottom-tier Cultivators like the Li family.
They did not have overly profound Cultivation Techniques.
Naturally, they also lacked auxiliary Formation and Medicinal Pill.
During a Breakthrough, they were even more prone to severe injury.
Or even damage their Dao foundation, making further Breakthroughs impossible.
“If I were still in the Li family, I wouldn't be able to Cultivate to this extent.”
He murmured.
Li Zhuo laid out the last few Spirit Stones.
“It would be great if I had a Formation or something; otherwise, it's a bit of a waste.”
Li Zhuo had always relied on Spirit Stones for his Cultivation.
However, his Spiritual Root Aptitude was too poor to rapidly absorb Spiritual Qi.
Therefore,
most of the Spiritual Qi emitted by the Spirit Stones actually dissipated into the world.
Which was equivalent to being wasted.
For Li Zhuo, who was extremely lacking in Spiritual Qi, this was truly a squandering of natural resources.
Looking at the neatly arranged Spirit Stones,
Li Zhuo shook his head, casting aside the distracting thoughts in his mind.
He held his breath and concentrated.
He directly activated the Myriad Wood Evergreen Technique, mobilizing his magical power!
In an instant,
magical power surged in his Dantian, heading towards the Shanzhong Acupoint in his chest.
Thanks to the two-star Cultivation Technique, which had no difficulty in Cultivation,
even with Li Zhuo’s Aptitude,
he successfully completed this step.
Although the process of magical power ascending against the Meridians was a bit slow, it was steady and reliable.
Everything was under Li Zhuo’s control!
At this moment,
Li Zhuo’s brows furrowed slightly, and his lower abdomen emitted a faint glow.
He slowly guided the magical power.
The Daosheng Qingwen Banyan extended several branches, blocking the curious Squirrel, the concerned Little Red, and Little Guo, keeping them outside.
It prevented them from disturbing Li Zhuo.
Time gradually passed.
The light from Li Zhuo’s lower abdomen slowly moved upward, finally stopping at his chest.
At a certain moment,
Li Zhuo’s body emitted a faint glow, and at the same time, a rich magical power burst forth!
The Squirrel, Little Red, and Little Guo were all startled!
They were concerned, but they also knew they couldn't disturb Li Zhuo at this moment.
They could only wait quietly.
The unusual phenomenon around Li Zhuo flashed and disappeared.
“Whew—”
“It's done!”
He let out a long breath.
Li Zhuo opened his eyes.
He touched the Daosheng Qingwen Banyan beside him, then smiled at the Squirrel, Little Red, and Little Guo.
He said, “The Spirit Stones are used up… the time has come.”
— — — —
In the jungle of Wanshou Mountain.
A large Scarlet Snake bird, a Fire Luan, ran through the forest.
It was actually running.
With its agile posture and the aid of its wings,
its speed was extremely fast and silent.
It was a Fire Luan!
This large bird completely followed Li Zhuo’s instructions, choosing the most secretive way to advance.
As an overlord of the sky,
it was very familiar with the territories of various powerhouses in Wanshou Mountain.
Therefore,
when choosing its route, the Fire Luan avoided all kinds of powerful races.
And to avoid being discovered,
it even completely gave up flying in the air.
“Chirp chirp~ Mama~”
“Chirp chirp~ Why aren’t we flying~”
From the fluffy feathers on the Crimson Luan’s neck, a small bird head poked out.
It chirped, expressing its confusion.
The Fire Luan was very patient and gently explained, “Because when you fly, you completely expose your position~”
“Chirp chirp~ Why can’t we expose our position?”
“Haha, you have to be cautious~”
“Chirp chirp~ I know, I know~ Master said to be like a doggy~”
“Haha~ You can tell Master that when you see him~”
“Chirp chirp~ I’ll tell Master as soon as I see him~”
Chatting casually and happily, the Fire Luan quickly arrived at a hidden mountain ravine.
It looked up.
In the nearby mountain wall, there was a rather inconspicuous cave.
“This is it.”
The Fire Luan only glanced at it, then fell silent.
Waiting quietly.
After half a day, the Fire Luan suddenly heard a very faint rustling sound.
From far to near.
The Fire Luan looked back and indeed saw a sharp-headed red-patterned large snake, with a Puppet Soldier and a Little Squirrel perched on its body.
“Little Red~”
“Chirp chirp~ Master~”
Seeing the Puppet Soldier, Little Red, and the Squirrel,
the Fire Luan and Little Guo were very happy~
Especially Little Guo.
It chirped non-stop, struggling to jump out of its mother’s feathers.
But the Fire Luan held it down.
“Be good now~”
“Chirp chirp~”
Looking at the Puppet Soldier in front of it, the Fire Luan roughly recounted its journey.
After hearing that this large bird deliberately avoided powerful creatures and chose to travel through the jungle,
he then asked about the other two unhatched eggs.
“Master, please rest assured~ I’ve arranged everything~”
Only then did Li Zhuo nod in satisfaction.
Currently,
his subordinates, the Fire Luan and Little Red, were both well-versed in the Dao of “lying low,” never causing trouble.
This was very much to his liking.
Only the boisterous Squirrel remained reckless and impulsive.
A little restless.
Thinking of this,
Li Zhuo controlled the Puppet Soldier to glare fiercely at the Squirrel.
“What do you want?” The Squirrel noticed the Puppet Soldier's gaze and looked displeased.
The Puppet Soldier ignored it and said, “Currently, the Chi She Clan Leader is in the cave.
And, according to information provided by other Chishe and Little Red’s stakeout,
there are no other creatures inside the cave.
Does everyone know what they need to do?”
The Fire Luan and Little Red all nodded, only the Little Squirrel looked impatient.
Li Zhuo glared at the Little Squirrel and asked, “According to Little Red, the Chi She Clan Leader can spray highly poisonous Spiritual Qi, with a toxicity roughly equivalent to the berries on the Hundred Poisons Thistle. Are you ready?”
“Aren’t you annoying? How many times have you asked?”
The Little Squirrel looked impatient, then actually pulled out a highly poisonous berry and threw it into its mouth.
It munched on it.
Seeing the Little Squirrel’s demeanor, Li Zhuo finally felt at ease.
“Alright, let’s go over the plan again.”
Little Red said, “I’ll take the Song Ling Rat, pretending to be poisoned, into the cave, saying the Song Ling Rat is my spoils of war, to make the Clan Chief lower his guard.”
“What about you?” Li Zhuo looked at the Little Squirrel.
“Fight it!”
The Fire Luan continued, “I’ll guard the entrance to prevent any unexpected situations.”
Li Zhuo nodded, “Good, then… show us how you’ll act when poisoned~”
The Little Squirrel squirmed for a bit, muttering, “So troublesome…”
Then,
it kicked its hind legs, gripped its neck with its front paws,
and fell straight down.
At the same time,
its large eyes rolled back, and it even spat out some white foam from its mouth.
Its body twitched, clearly showing signs of deep poisoning.
“…”
“Quite convincing~”
After complimenting it, Li Zhuo directly nodded to Little Red.
Little Red immediately coiled the Little Squirrel with its tail and slithered towards the cave with a rustling sound.
Once,
Little Red yearned to enter the cave and experience that peculiar plant.
At the same time, it was also very afraid.
Because the Clan Chief was tyrannical, not only monopolizing the plant but also killing any fellow clansmen who dared to challenge its status.
Slithering towards the entrance with a rustling sound,
Little Red had expected to feel excited or scared.
But it didn't.
Little Red was very calm.
Master wanted that plant; it would help Master retrieve it.
It was that simple.
It was no different from what it usually did.
With this thought, Little Red slowly and steadily crawled into the cave.
The cave was deep and damp.
Just as it remembered.
After crawling a short distance,
Little Red saw the emerald green plant emitting a faint, ethereal light.
Beside the plant,
a giant red-patterned, sharp-headed snake was coiled.
It was the Chi She Clan Leader!
Seeing Little Red crawl into the cave, the Chi She Clan Leader was stunned for a moment, its eyes revealing a hint of disbelief.
Looking at Little Red, who had approached, it first spoke in a calm tone, “You’re back…”
Then, it instantly erupted into a furious roar, “You actually dare to come back?!”
At the same time,
a surge of scarlet magical power suddenly burst forth!