Chapter 423: Dangers Lurking Everywhere

"When the heart is still as water, the spirit naturally becomes clear; in seated oblivion, observe the self in stillness, and faintly behold the primordial chaos."

At this moment.

Li Rui seemed to merge with his surroundings, strands of spiritual energy winding around him as he entered a profound and mysterious realm.

This is called — unity of heaven and man.

The Evergreen Qi spread like tentacles, plucking the strings of heaven and earth.

The distance was precisely ten zhang.

A thought arose.

In an instant, the ground within ten zhang of Li Rui collapsed, sinking deeply by several zhang.

Such terrifying power came from nothing more than a single thought.

Li Rui sat cross-legged, floating above the great crater.

A faint smile curled at his lips.

Success!

After years of arduous cultivation, he had finally taken his first step.

Drawing upon the power of heaven and earth within ten zhang — this is the initial realm of Tongxuan.

Tian Niu Zhu Ha once said: ten zhang is the initial realm, one li is the middle realm, ten li is the upper realm.

Distance, in truth, represents the amount of heaven-and-earth power one can command — the greater the distance, the more natural force one can summon.

Now,

With but a single thought, Li Rui unleashed a force exceeding tens of thousands of jun.

This was something a martial cultivator below Tongxuan could never dream of.

Even a Xiantian cultivator could not achieve it.

The presence or absence of heaven-and-earth power is a fundamental distinction.

That's why the top three ranks are called Earth Immortal Ranks — once one enters the third rank, the divide between mortal and immortal is absolute.

Li Rui wore a satisfied smile.

Breaking into the initial realm after four years — though not unprecedented, it was still remarkably fast among Tongxuan cultivators.

Know that none who enter the Tongxuan realm are ordinary people.

So the achievement carried even greater weight.

Not to mention he cultivated the steady, grounded Wan Gu Chang Qing Art.

His rapid progress was thanks largely to spirit stones.

And he did not use ordinary low-grade spirit stones — he used mid-grade and even high-grade ones.

"Money can make devils push mills — how true."

What use is cultivation without money?

Wealth, companions, method, location — wealth stands first, its importance self-evident.

Of course, Li Rui acquired so many spirit stones because he leaned on a great tree.

As an imperial official and guardian of a spirit mine, he received such privileges — even senior elders of major sects rarely enjoyed such treatment.

"My lifespan has increased again."

He sensed it intuitively.

His six-jia lifespan had grown by another ten years.

This was the benefit of cultivating the Wan Gu Chang Qing Art.

Li Rui felt deeply content.

He had long grown weary of counting days until death; increased lifespan brought him profound security.

He was about to rise.

Suddenly,

He sensed a powerful aura approaching swiftly.

Li Rui's mind stirred.

He threw out a transformation talisman — his entire appearance instantly changed.

Almost the instant Li Rui transformed,

A man in black robes appeared in the valley.

When he saw Li Rui, his pupils shrank, as if he had seen a ghost, his face turning pale.

"Tian—"

The words "Tian Nan Old Devil" nearly slipped from his lips.

He forced them back, replacing them with: "Elder."

Had he not been discovered, he would have turned and fled immediately.

Li Rui's withered face twitched slightly, revealing a grin more dreadful than a ghost's wail, his voice hoarse and shrill: "Boy, we meet again."

Indeed.

The black-robed devil cultivator before him was one of the two who had pursued Chun Xu Zi in the South Sea.

The black-robed devil cultivator inwardly cursed his luck.

Ever since that day,

He and his elder brother had planned to hide somewhere and cultivate in peace.

But then,

They separated to hide and cultivate.

His elder brother was found by Xuan Yu Dao Ren, who swept him into oblivion with a single fishing rod.

When he heard the news,

He resolved to avenge his brother.

He could not defeat Xuan Yu Dao Ren, but killing a few Qingwei Sect disciples would do.

So he came ashore.

Then he heard rumors of a spirit mine.

He never expected that upon arriving at the Ten Thousand Mountains, he sensed someone breaking through — and thought to take advantage of the chaos.

Instead, he ran straight into the Tian Nan Old Devil.

Li Rui stared fixedly at the devil cultivator.

The devil cultivator felt his scalp prickle and forced a smile: "Elder, what brings you here? Did you also hear the rumor of a supreme spirit stone emerging?"

Li Rui narrowed his eyes slightly.

A supreme spirit stone?

As the guardian of the spirit mine, he had never heard of any supreme spirit stone appearing.

Yet this devil cultivator spoke so confidently — clearly he had heard some rumor.

He snorted coldly:

"Speak!"

The devil cultivator hurriedly smiled: "I heard it from other cultivators — a supreme spirit stone has emerged in the Ten Thousand Mountains mine, and many have rushed here upon hearing the news."

Li Rui let out a dry, cackling laugh.

"Good!"

"Very good!"

He smiled warmly at the devil cultivator.

But to the devil cultivator, that smile felt deeply chilling.

The devil cultivator chuckled nervously: "Elder—"

His words were cut off by Li Rui: "My soul banner still lacked a soul spirit. I thought you'd be perfect. But today I'm in a good mood — go."

Hearing this,

The devil cultivator broke into a cold sweat.

"These devil cultivators have no reason, no humanity."

He hadn't realized he had nearly just been doomed.

"Devil cultivators are truly terrifying — avoid them at all costs!"

He immediately said: "Elder, then I shall not disturb you further."

Saying this,

He turned and fled hastily to the side.

He had come to take advantage of the chaos — not to be devoured by it.

Watching the devil cultivator depart,

Li Rui's smile slowly faded. He murmured, then used the Earth-Traveling Technique and vanished.

When he reappeared,

He was back outside the Qingwei Sect.

His appearance had returned to normal.

He pondered silently.

The devil cultivator's words were almost certainly baseless rumor.

Unless the spirit mine hides secrets even he doesn't know.

But in either case, someone is definitely targeting the spirit mine in secret.

Its purpose isn't hard to guess.

It's to take advantage of the chaos and grab a share— the more chaos, the better.

These demonic cultivators already lack resources; like wolves scenting meat, they'll surely come to probe the situation.

Of course.

Among them are surely agents disguised by various factions.

'Storms are coming.'

Li Rui sighed lightly.

Holding onto a treasure mountain isn't easy— for Yu State, it's hard; for the officials on the ground tasked with carrying it out, it's even harder.

Trouble never stops.

Fortunately, the Fifth Prince is holding things up above; though he himself is merely at the Primordial stage, the resources he can mobilize are terrifying.

Li Rui had just returned to Changqing Peak.

He saw Sang Kong already seated in his courtyard, Liu Tiezhu pouring tea.

'Brother Sang, what brings you here?'

Seeing Li Rui return,

Sang Kong's face darkened: 'Brother Li, those damned demonic brats used the Spirit Concealment Technique to sneak into the spirit mine, injured and killed many, and stole a large quantity of spirit stones.'

They guarded against everything.

Yet in the end, a single oversight slipped through.

A spirit mine this vast is easy to infiltrate; but to fully secure it? The difficulty is worlds apart.

Though it doesn't affect the big picture,

Sang Kong and the other guards will be punished for it.

How could he not be frustrated?

'Brother Sang, take it easy.'

Li Rui had plenty of experience with this.

Last time Yu State's spirit mine was attacked, though losses were minor—even though most of the invading demonic cultivators were slain—all the officials guarding the mine, without exception, had their salaries suspended for a year.

A year's salary isn't much.

But the key is, this incident will be recorded in the Ministry of Personnel's evaluation files—no promotion for at least three years.

This left many soldiers frustrated.

But there's no help for it—the imperial court only cares about results.

If you mess up, you mess up.

Unjust misfortune.

As he spoke, Li Rui pulled two talismans from his sleeve: 'Brother Sang, these are Tracking Talismans—they might help you.'

Seeing the Tracking Talismans,

Sang Kong's eyes lit up instantly.

He'd heard of Li Rui chasing down killers across a thousand li, earning great military merit; now it seemed clear this talisman was the reason.

'Brother Li, from now on you're my real elder brother!'

Sang Kong's gloom lifted significantly.

With Li Rui's Tracking Talismans, he could at least make up for his failure.

Li Rui: 'Brother Sang, with these Tracking Talismans, you should be able to capture some of them.'

Sang Kong had only come to ask Li Rui for information.

He hadn't expected

Li Rui laid the achievement right before him.

How could he not be delighted?

'Old men know how to handle people.'

Watching Sang Kong leave happily, Li Rui smiled and shook his head.

Two Tracking Talismans meant nothing to him.

But for Sang Kong, they could make a huge difference.

This favor? Better to take it than let it go.

At his level, favors are invaluable.

Seven days later,

Sang Kong returned to Changqing Peak, beaming.

He'd come specifically to thank him.

Thanks to Li Rui's Tracking Talismans—and a bit of luck—he captured seven or eight demonic cultivators in one go, outperforming all others in Wu State.

His punishment was the lightest.

He had to properly thank Li Rui.

'Glad I could help.'

Li Rui smiled warmly.

Sang Kong said: 'Brother Li, I actually gained something from this—I captured a spy alive and had a Great Sorcerer cast the Truth-Extracting Spell on him.'

'Guess what?'

Li Rui played along: 'What happened?'

'It was those immortal sects behind this!'

'Even the Northern Pole Demon Sect and the Buddhist kingdom of the Western Desert sent spies!'

Sang Kong grew angrier as he spoke.

Counting them up, at least seven or eight immortal sects coveted the spirit mine.

No wonder they couldn't guard against it.

Li Rui murmured: 'Indeed troublesome.'

The Northern Pole Demon Sect and the Western Desert Buddhist Kingdom Sang Kong mentioned were nearly equal to Qingwei Sect—superior immortal sects whose power even Yu State feared.

Now, with the northern front reigniting, both sects were behind it.

But then Sang Kong chuckled: 'I just came back from the spirit mine, Brother Li—guess what? Qingwei Sect had trouble too.'

'Hahaha.'

Though his own failure pained him, seeing others fail turned pain into joy.

Li Rui was speechless.

No wonder Sang Kong was so cheerful today.

After a long laugh, Sang Kong finally calmed down: 'Brother Li, take this top-grade spirit stone—don't be polite. You helped me out big time.'

Li Rui didn't refuse.

He promptly accepted the top-grade spirit stone.

Two Tracking Talismans earned him one top-grade spirit stone and a favor from a True Profound cultivator—too good a deal.

Sang Kong chatted idly on Changqing Peak for a long while.

Then he left, thoroughly satisfied.

Li Rui, meanwhile, fell into thought.

'The one who set up the array is probably from one of those immortal sects.'

(End of Chapter)