Chapter 424

Li Rui's gaze hardened.

Yet he heard Chen Ming speak first: "Lord Li, save me, I can tell you the whereabouts of a top-grade spirit stone."

A top-grade spirit stone?!

Li Rui was startled.

He didn't expect that upon meeting Chen Ming, the other party would mention a top-grade spirit stone right away.

Looking at Chen Ming again.

He was covered in blood, his aura was withered, and he looked extremely disheveled.

Clearly, Chen Ming was being hunted by some powerhouse and had no choice but to flee into the Yu Kingdom's spirit mine to save himself.

It was highly probable that he was being hunted precisely because of the top-grade spirit stone.

'Could it be that Chen Ming has a top-grade spirit stone on him?'

Li Rui immediately sensed the situation around him with vigilance, and only after confirming there were no strong enemies attacking did he relax slightly.

As for why Chen Ming had to find him specifically.

It was likely related to their last meeting.

But there was no doubt that Chen Ming must have long since figured out the situation at the spirit mine.

Li Rui snorted coldly in his heart.

It was indeed just as he had guessed.

How could Chen Ming possibly travel ten thousand miles just for a sworn brother?

So he had his eyes on the top-grade spirit stone.

If top-grade spirit stones were rare, then top-grade spirit stones were extremely scarce, sometimes even hard to encounter in decades; in the cultivation world, once one appeared, it would be sought after by great cultivators.

Ordinary cultivators had no chance to come into contact with them at all.

Even Wu De would turn green with envy when mentioning top-grade spirit stones.

Many great cultivators from the lower realm must have come for the top-grade spirit stones.

That was a precious cultivation resource.

Li Rui associated this with the rumors he heard when he encountered that demonic cultivator before.

At first, he thought it was a fabricated, nonsensical story.

He didn't expect it to be true.

Finally.

Li Rui spoke slowly: "Come in."

After saying this.

He took out several talismans from his sleeve and scattered them casually, setting up a restriction in the room to isolate it from outside detection.

Seeing this move by Li Rui, Chen Ming.

was slightly startled in his heart.

What a brilliant talisman technique!

He was a Tongxuan Realm powerhouse with extraordinary insight, and he considered himself to have seen many talisman masters, but very few could match this move of Li Rui's.

"He hides quite deeply."

Chen Ming pondered in his heart.

However, the more strength Li Rui hid, the better it was for him now.

Li Rui: "Brother Chen, speak."

A smile finally appeared in Chen Ming's eyes.

Li Rui speaking like this clearly meant he was willing to save him.

And rightly so; there shouldn't be many third-rankers who could resist the temptation of a top-grade spirit stone, even a first-rank Earth Immortal would take action to snatch it.

Li Rui was just a Yu Kingdom official, and it was said he had recently practiced immortal arts.

It would be strange if he weren't tempted.

Chen Ming swallowed the blood in his throat, his tone becoming calm as he spoke:

"Brother Li, since it has come to this, I will speak openly."

"I didn't lie to you before."

"I was indeed looking for the spirit mine for my brother, but there is one thing I hid from you, Brother."

"Actually, my brother gave me a compass when we last met that can detect the existence of top-grade spirit stones; this was my fault."

Li Rui narrowed his eyes.

"Continue."

Chen Ming added: "I heard that the spirit mine in the Ten Thousand Mountains had appeared, and originally I thought to pay respects to my brother, but I never expected it to cause the compass to react, which is why I stayed in the Ten Thousand Mountains to search."

He looked sincere.

"But I never expected that for some reason, I would be targeted by a demonic cultivator; I was no match for him, and in desperation, I had no choice but to find Lord Li."

After Chen Ming finished speaking, he looked at Li Rui quietly.

Li Rui spoke again: "What was the cultivation base of that demonic cultivator, and what did he look like?"

Chen Ming felt a joy in his heart and relaxed slightly.

Li Rui had started to care about the situation of that demonic cultivator, so he should be able to be protected today; otherwise, he wouldn't have asked at all.

"That demonic cultivator is in the upper stage of the Tongxuan Realm, but he has many magic treasures and is extremely difficult to deal with."

Li Rui nodded.

The upper stage of the Tongxuan Realm was still within the scope of what could be dealt with.

There were four Tongxuan powerhouses in the spirit mine, and with the great array, it was enough to suppress someone in the upper stage of the Tongxuan Realm.

It was no wonder Chen Ming had broken in.

As for how Chen Ming had avoided the great array, he didn't ask.

Everyone had their own secret methods.

Li Rui: "Brother Chen, I can let you stay here for a few days; after your injuries recover, I want half of the top-grade spirit stone. If you agree, you and I can swear a Dao oath; if you are unwilling, please leave, and I will treat today's events as if I never saw or heard them."

The so-called Dao oath.

was a method that could only be performed upon reaching the top three ranks.

Those in the top three ranks could sense heaven and earth, so they could swear by their Dao heart; once a vow was made and then broken, the backlash would be immense—at best, one would never advance an inch in their lifetime, and at worst, one would die suddenly.

Chen Ming gritted his teeth and nodded:

"Very well."

After speaking.

The two of them each released a wisp of true qi and formed a Dao oath.

Once the Dao oath was formed.

Chen Ming was clearly much more relaxed.

Li Rui said calmly: "This room will be for Brother Chen to stay in for now; rest well and heal your injuries, I will handle that demonic cultivator myself."

"Hmm."

Chen Ming nodded.

He really closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, beginning to heal.

Li Rui took a glance.

From the aura currently being emitted, he could roughly judge that Chen Ming should be in the early stage of the Tongxuan Realm.

Chen Ming's ranking in the world martial arts assessment was not much higher than Li Rui's.

Naturally, they were on the same level.

Li Rui walked out of the room.

And went straight out of the courtyard.

He found the general guarding the spirit mine and asked about the recent situation.

None of the guard generals had discovered anything unusual.

"He has some skills, after all."

Li Rui chuckled.

Trying to sneak into the spirit mine was not simple at all; the previous demonic cultivator had spent a great deal of effort for it, and Chen Ming being able to enter without a sound showed he had quite impressive skills.

No need to think.

Chen Ming must have hidden his methods.

However, Li Rui was not surprised; who in the world of martial arts didn't have some trump cards?

"Keep a close watch recently; if there is any movement, report it in time."

"Yes."

The guard general accepted the order.

Li Rui then walked down the city wall.

He patrolled the spirit mine alone, leaving behind several talismans as he walked.

These talismans had no combat power.

Their only function was to provide a warning once a powerhouse approached.

Chen Ming could enter.

Perhaps that demonic cultivator could also enter.

He had to be on guard.

After doing all this, Li Rui returned to his room with peace of mind.

That day.

He found a reason to send Ning Zhongtian back to the Profound Clarity Sect.

Outside the spirit mine.

The Wan Gui Daoist waited not far from the spirit mine with eyes glowing with a cold, red light.

He cursed in his heart.

"Damn it!"

"This little mud loach."

That's right.

It was he who was hunting Chen Ming.

Originally, he had come today to check on the situation of the Evil Puppet Array he had left in the Yu Kingdom's spirit mine.

He never expected.

To run into the Spirit-Seeking Luo Pan halfway there.

This was a rare item.

It was rumored to be able to sense top-grade spirit stones in spirit mines; he never expected to see such a treasure after descending to the lower realm.

The spirit mine had appeared.

With this realm having accumulated ten thousand years of time, the possibility of having top-grade spirit stones was very high.

This Spirit-Seeking Luo Pan was of great use to the Wan Gui Daoist.

So he had the idea of snatching the treasure.

But he didn't expect the lower-realm cultivator's skills to be more powerful than he imagined; after exchanging a few moves, he was no match, and he escaped using methods he had never seen before, then broke into the spirit mine.

Although the Wan Gui Daoist also had methods to get in.

It was much more complicated than Chen Ming's, requiring at least a day of preparation.

This was also where the Wan Gui Daoist felt depressed.

He pondered for a moment.

"Forget it, don't ruin the big plan."

If he exposed the Evil Puppet Array just to catch that person, that would be a huge loss.

Especially now that people from the Wan Fadian were also targeting that person named Li Rui, he couldn't afford any mistakes.

The Wan Gui Daoist just took a glance.

And after confirming that the Evil Puppet Array he had set up was fine, he turned and left.

Half a month later.

Chen Ming's injuries had completely recovered, and he was full of vigor.

In the room.

"Lord Li, if I can obtain the spirit stone, I will definitely send it to you."

Chen Ming had survived a disaster and was in a good mood, with much more of a smile on his face.

Li Rui just nodded:

"You and I swore a Dao oath; this is what I should do."

He then added.

"Brother Chen, this is the Yu Kingdom's spirit mine, with many eyes and ears and powerhouses gathered; continuing to stay here might lead to exposure. I have already prepared a carriage; you can pretend to return to the Profound Clarity Sect with me and then leave halfway."

"Rest assured, I have already placed spiritual talismans inside the carriage; no one will discover you."

Upon hearing this.

Chen Ming was overjoyed:

"Lord Li is indeed thoughtful."

Li Rui smiled slightly: "Brother Chen, please."

Saying this, he took Chen Ming out of the courtyard.

Sure enough, a huge carriage cast from black profound iron was parked at the entrance of Li Rui's residence; the guards at the entrance had already been sent away by Li Rui, and there was no one there.

Chen Ming sat in the carriage and saw that the carriage was covered in talismans.

Li Rui explained: "These talismans can block prying eyes; no one will be able to discover us."

Chen Ming said it was good.

"Lord Li is truly a master who doesn't show his true colors; I never expected this talisman technique to be so powerful."

He praised him with his mouth.

But his heart was thinking otherwise.

Top-grade spirit stones are precious; he certainly couldn't share them with others and would naturally enjoy them alone.

As for the Dao oath, he had long since transferred it using a treasure, so the backlash would never fall on him.

Finding Li Rui was just a desperate move.

Now that he didn't need him anymore, why should he have any scruples?

Anyway, his strength was already higher than Li Rui's, and the matter between them was not something that could see the light of day; Li Rui couldn't use the power of the imperial court to pressure him either.

Since there was no longer the constraint of the Dao oath, once he got off the carriage later.

He would never see Li Rui again.

Such behavior was common in the world of martial arts.

If there was anyone to blame, it was Li Rui, that old boy, for his lack of experience in the world; he could just treat it as a lesson learned.

Anyway, Li Rui didn't lose much.

Looking at it this way, Chen Ming felt he was already very righteous.

If he had run into a shameless person, he might have even been scammed.

The heavy carriage moved extremely steadily on the rugged mountain road.

No coachman was needed.

A great demon horse pulled it, running fast.

Inside the carriage.

Li Rui and Chen Ming sat opposite each other.

Neither spoke, just quietly closed their eyes and meditated.

A full two quarters of an hour passed.

Chen Ming then opened his eyes: "Lord Li, we are already hundreds of miles away from the spirit mine; that demonic cultivator should have left by now. I will keep your kindness in saving me in my heart, and I will definitely repay you with spirit stones another day."

After speaking.

He intended to stand up and walk out of the carriage.

But just as he was halfway up.

The dense talismans inside the carriage suddenly burst into a brilliant, dazzling white light.

Chen Ming's pupils widened.

And he heard Li Rui's voice:

"Since Brother Chen has come, there is no need to leave."

(End of chapter)