Chapter 265

"Ugh..."

Li Rui opened his eyes and saw the little white dragon looking at him with a cheap smile.

The general meaning was.

I'm uncomfortable, so I can't let you have it easy either.

The high-EQ way of saying it is that brothers share blessings and share hardships.

Li Rui occupied both.

The pain was real, and the blessing was also truly great.

He slowly stood up, feeling the changes in his body, and then widened his eyes: "Dragon strength is done?"

Just by sleeping, the Dragon-Elephant True Origin Force had already completed the dragon strength barrier.

Originally, he would have needed at least five years to do it, but it was completed just like that.

'This pain is worth it!'

Just now, the little white dragon actually injected the last twenty percent of the Ying Dragon blood remaining in its body into his body. The Ying Dragon blood domineeringly reshaped his body and made it stronger, which is why there was such intense pain.

But the benefit was that his strength increased by more than double, directly filling up the second layer of his Dragon-Elephant True Origin Realm.

Strength greatly increased!

Li Rui felt that he could even chisel through a mountain now.

Endless strength.

The little white dragon then spoke: "How about it, Li Laoge, is your little brother loyal enough?"

Li Rui laughed lightly:

"Loyal enough."

The little white dragon metamorphosed, and the remaining Ying Dragon blood could be saved for later use, but it chose to give it to him.

"Who in the Ten Thousand Mountains doesn't know that I, Little Bai Jiao, am the most loyal."

The little white dragon raised its head proudly.

Although it is a demon beast, it also understands a principle, which is to be willing to give. Now its life is held in Li Rui's hands; if it can use Ying Dragon blood to exchange for Li Rui's sincere treatment, it is actually earning.

Afterward, it had a distressed face again: "It seems I need to recuperate for at least a year to recover."

After metamorphosing, the little white dragon's strength was also beaten back to its original form, only a bit stronger than ordinary snakes, so most dragons choose to find a safe place to hide when metamorphosing until their strength is fully recovered before going out.

The little white dragon never expected that it would metamorphose at Fifth-Rank, so it was completely unprepared.

Li Rui pondered: "Do you want me to help you send you back to the Ten Thousand Mountains?"

With the old dragon's protection, the little white dragon passing a year wouldn't be a problem.

Unexpectedly.

The little white dragon shook its head: "Going back is too dangerous; those brothers of mine would love to eat me. It's better to stay with Li Laoge."

The old dragon has too many offspring.

Before, it had the old dragon's doting and its strength was strong, so of course it wasn't afraid.

Now, any demon beast could crush it to death; going back, even with the old dragon covering it, might not necessarily work.

It's better to stay by Li Rui's side.

After all, its life is connected to Li Rui's, and Li Rui couldn't harm it.

"Fine."

Li Rui pondered and nodded.

He packed all the skin and scales that the little white dragon had shed in the room into a large box; these were all valuable treasures and couldn't be lost.

After finishing all this.

He then brought the little white dragon to his room.

Under the little white dragon's surprised gaze, he slowly opened a floor tile and drilled in, soon arriving in the secret room.

The little white dragon looked at the secret room and widened its eyes.

"Li Laoge, when did you dig such a big hole?"

Li Rui said while tidying up: "Many years ago; it's safe enough here. From now on, you stay here, and I will come to see you every day."

The little white dragon's gaze toward Li Rui became even more admiring.

Demon beasts don't read books and don't have concepts of benevolence and morality.

Survival of the fittest is what they worship.

"Humans have a term, called... called... 'cunning rabbit has three burrows', yes, Li Laoge is truly a cunning rabbit with three burrows!"

"..."

"Xiao Bai, actually we don't have to praise people, don't you think?"

Li Rui was somewhat speechless.

The little white dragon was somewhat confused.

What rabbits rely on to live is having many nests so enemies can't find them; it's clearly a brilliant means of survival, and it was praising Li Rui.

'Forget it, humans are just so fickle.'

Li Rui settled the little white dragon down.

Only then did he walk out the door.

As soon as he went out.

Wang Zhao, Yang Yong, and even Liang He appeared.

Seeing Li Rui come out, the three asked with concern: "Master, are you alright?"

Li Rui looked at Liang He, somewhat surprised:

"Xiao He, why are you here?"

Liang He: "I heard from Xiao Zhao that Master, you had been in the room for two days and two nights, and I was afraid that something went wrong with your practice and you had qi deviation."

If Li Rui hadn't been able to speak in the room, they would have crashed through the door and rushed in.

Li Rui laughed after hearing this:

"Just had a slight realization."

"Sudden enlightenment?"

Liang He guessed it immediately.

"Something like that."

Li Rui answered with a smile; he couldn't say he was waiting for a little dragon to metamorphose and even got Ying Dragon blood.

"As expected of Master."

Liang He had already become desensitized to Li Rui's sudden enlightenment and wasn't surprised.

Sudden enlightenment?

For his genius master, it's just a piece of cake.

Knowing Li Rui was fine, Liang He then took his leave. Now he and Liu Tong had higher and higher status in the Tiandi Alliance, and accordingly, there were more and more things to do, and they were busy.

If it weren't for the two of them, how could Li Rui be so leisurely?

Well, there are always people carrying the burden forward.

However, Liang He and Liu Tong had no complaints, because the time they delayed, Li Rui made up for it, and even the speed of their martial arts progress was faster than before.

The motivation was naturally sufficient.

For young people who want to get ahead, the best way is not to let them practice easily without pressure, but to give them space and resources to display their talents.

Staying up for two days and two nights.

Even though a martial artist's physique is strong enough, he still felt a sense of hunger.

Hearing that his master wanted to eat, Wang Zhao immediately brought out the food that had been kept warm.

A few home-cooked dishes, Li Rui ate them sweetly.

Full and satisfied, the feeling of his stomach being full made one feel solid.

After eating.

He checked the cultivation of his two disciples.

His right hand rested on Liang He's shoulder, and Immortal Xuan Qi circulated between the two.

"Not bad."

Li Rui could feel that the aura in Liang He's body was much more majestic than before; this was a sign of being about to step into Willow Sinew.

Although it was slower than someone like Liu Tiezhu who was born with a diamond body, it was already quite good.

Once Liang He had the Seventh-Rank realm, Li Rui could take the opportunity to hand over more of the Tiandi Alliance's affairs to Liang He to manage.

It wasn't that he was guarding against Huang Chui and Fei Laosan.

But the current Tiandi Alliance was no longer the look of the mud-legged people before; the level of people they interacted with would get higher and higher, and if the bandit aura was too heavy, something would definitely go wrong.

Rivers and mountains are easy to change, but nature is hard to change.

Just like that Second Master of the Zhu family, Huang Chui and Fei Laosan's temperaments couldn't be changed.

So Li Rui would rather raise two idlers than change the pattern of the Tiandi Alliance.

If he, the big leader, did it, it would hurt people's hearts.

Not appropriate.

But it would be no problem for a young person like Liang He to do it; which force doesn't replace the old with the new? And Liang He himself was a disciple of the Tiandi Alliance, so those old people wouldn't be too resistant.

Liang He got Li Rui's praise and smiled slightly: "It's all because Master taught well."

Li Rui laughed loudly: "You kid, your mouth is getting better and better at talking." Then.

He then placed his hand on Wang Zhao.

Afterward, he gave a light "eh."

Looking at his youngest disciple with some surprise: "Xiao Zhao, when did you break through?"

Li Rui didn't expect that upon checking, he found that Wang Zhao had actually broken through to Eighth-Rank.

This speed, even he hadn't expected it.

After all, among the three disciples, Wang Zhao's talent was the worst, and he didn't walk the path of a pure martial artist; being able to break through so quickly was truly surprising.

Liang He, upon hearing this, was also shocked and pulled Wang Zhao, saying:

"Junior Brother, you broke through??"

Wang Zhao touched his head in a daze: "I... I don't know either."

Please... you.... collect_(!)

"..."

Liang He was speechless.

What kind of matter is this.

It turns out that among the three brothers, he is the only one who is seriously breaking through; Wang Zhao and Liu Tiezhu didn't even realize they were breaking through, and then they broke through.

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly.

A flash of realization crossed his eyes.

It's companionship!

Wang Zhao spent every day with that Three-Eyed Bai Hu, and unintentionally, the two sides formed a companion relationship.

Therefore, he gained the feedback of demon power, which allowed his disciple to break through in one fell swoop.

When Li Rui told Wang Zhao about the companionship.

Only then did he understand why he could suddenly understand what the Three-Eyed Bai Hu was saying; it turned out it had become his companion beast.

Li Rui shook his head with a smile.

Truly, fools have foolish luck.

He sought out Xia Xiaotang for the basic cultivation method of Wu Kingdom companionship to pass to Wang Zhao, never expecting that he would actually practice it successfully.

Good thing.

Qinghe's connection with the Wu Kingdom is getting more and more frequent, and Wang Zhao will have a lot to do in the future.

All disciples are useful.

As a master, there is nothing happier than seeing this.

In the blink of an eye, another half-month passed.

"Senior Li, Father wants to invite you over for a chat."

Jiang Yan knocked on the door of Li Rui's house.

Li Rui had already figured out Jiang Linxian's pattern, which was that official business was handled by disciples of the Huaqing Sect, while private matters were handled by his precious daughter.

"Good."

Li Rui nodded.

He immediately followed Jiang Yan to Jiang Linxian's residence.

As soon as he entered the door.

He saw Jiang Linxian chatting enthusiastically with an old Daoist priest; looking closely, it wasn't the old Daoist Zhang from the Wenxian Tower that Li Rui knew before.

'Could it be another expert from a hidden sect?'

Li Rui muttered in his heart.

Jiang Linxian saw Li Rui appear and greeted him quickly: "Li Laoge is here, quick, sit."

Seeing Li Rui sit down.

He then introduced him to Li Rui: "This is Daoist Xu from the Wenxian Tower, the uncle-master of Tower Lord Gu of the Wenxian Tower."

Hearing this.

Li Rui immediately gasped.

The Wenxian Tower has only one Tower Lord, and the current Gu Jianzheng of the Imperial Observatory of the Yu Kingdom also happens to be surnamed Gu; this old Daoist's identity was easy to guess—naturally, it was the highest-ranking and most mysterious Divine Wind Hermit, Xu Xuan, of the Wenxian Tower.

Looking at the old Daoist again, although he was dressed sloppily and his sleeves were full of oil stains, his complexion was rosy; he truly had a crane-like appearance and a child's face, looking just like the old immortal in the storyteller's mouth.

"Junior has met Senior Xu."

Xu Xuan laughed: "I don't like discussing seniority; in the future, if you are happy, call me Daoist Xu, and if you are not happy, calling me Old Daoist is also fine."

Li Rui just took it as a joke and chose a compromise address:

"Daoist Xu."

The old Daoist Xu Xuan stroked his beard: "Old Daoist calculated a hexagram, saying there is an immortal realm mapping here. At first, I didn't care, but seeing that you two have quite an immortal atmosphere, I feel it's three-tenths credible."

Immortal realm...

Hearing these two words, Li Rui showed an interested expression.

The old Daoist Xu seemed to see Li Rui's interest and narrowed his eyes slightly: "My Wenxian Tower has been established for a thousand years for one thing, which is seeking immortals and finding the entrance to the immortal realm."

Li Rui asked tentatively: "Senior, is there really an immortal realm in the world?"

The old Daoist Xu nodded and said with an almost certain tone: "Yes."

"It's just that for some reason, the gate to the immortal realm closed in ancient times. Since the last batch of cultivators ascended thirty thousand years ago, no one in the world has been able to enter the immortal realm."

"The Great Dao is forty-nine, and people escape one."

"My Wenxian Tower's first Tower Lord created this tower because he calculated that the immortal gate hasn't completely closed, and there are still people who can ascend to immortality."

The words were resonant.

Jiang Linxian and Li Rui looked at each other.

Both saw the shock in the other's eyes.

"I see that you two have an immortal fate; even if I don't say it, you will know in the future. This old man has an eighty percent chance of having no play, so I just want to see what this immortal is like."

The old Daoist Xu said lightly.

Jiang Linxian then spoke: "Senior still has twenty years to live, no need to be self-deprecating."

Perhaps noticing the doubt in Li Rui's heart, he added:

"Daoist Xu was an Earth Immortal a hundred years ago, and only fell to Primordial in recent years."

Earth Immortal?!

Hearing these two words.

Li Rui's pupils contracted slightly, and he couldn't help but look at the old Daoist before him a few more times.

Having lived for so long, this was the first time he had seen a powerhouse in the Earth Immortal realm.

He had to look a few more times.

Martial arts climbing, not advancing is retreating.

Once the lifespan is near, one will enter the realm of the five decays of heaven and man, the realm will fall again and again, and finally, until it falls to no realm, returning all martial arts to the world, which is the time when the oil is exhausted and the lamp is dry.

Earth Immortal, at worst, can live for four hundred years.

Twenty years is indeed no different from an eighty-year-old octogenarian on the verge of death in the mortal world.

The old Daoist Xu laughed: "Having lived for so long, life and death have long been taken lightly, but seeking immortality is a knot in my heart; if it's not untied, I can't close my eyes."

'Immortal gate...'

Li Rui: "Then Senior, have you found the traces of the immortal gate in Qinghe?"

Since the old Daoist Xu himself took the initiative to mention the immortal gate, asking wouldn't hurt.

The old Daoist Xu Xuan shook his head: "My trip here isn't entirely for seeking immortals."

Jiang Linxian spoke at the right time: "Li Laoge, Daoist Xu came to Qinghe this time because there are some things he wants to ask you."

"Ask me?"

Li Rui was puzzled.

Xu Xuan then spoke: "Little Brother Li, have you seen my grand-disciple Qu Chengfeng?"

Li Rui nodded: "I have."

Jiang Linxian was present at the time, so there was no need to deceive.

Xu Xuan: "Tell me everything about Qu Chengfeng's time in Qinghe."

Li Rui was stunned.

Immediately, he said everything he knew.

Xu Xuan listened quietly.

Sometimes he would confirm some details.

The matter wasn't much, and it was finished in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

The old Daoist Xu frowned and slowly spat out four words: "Nine Souls Dharma King!"

Hearing this title, Li Rui and Jiang Linxian were both tense.

Li Rui asked: "Daoist Xu, why mention this vicious criminal? Could it be that little brother Qu was harmed by him?"

The old Daoist Xu Xuan shook his head: "On the contrary, that kid even got a great stroke of fortune."

"I have been wandering the world, and only heard a few days ago that little Gu became the Gu Jianzheng of the Imperial Observatory, so I thought I'd go see, and happened to see my grand-disciple."

"He used to be a blockhead, but now he has become a person with seven-aperture exquisite thoughts and even got a top graduate title."

"I touched him and found that he had clearly been soul-swapped!"

(End of chapter)