Chapter 442

Three days later.

Prince Yuan An and a group of Qingwei Sect disciples left the Ten Thousand Mountains.

No need to think.

As Yuan Yuan Dingting's only son, he must have many trump cards on him.

But just as Li Rui said that day.

No matter how many trump cards there are, the key depends on the person.

Walking in the world, if you want to be successful, you must be cautious, and you must have connections and support.

Yuan An is Yuan Yuan Dingting's only son, and his background is very large.

But it's not necessarily useful in the Wu Kingdom, so Li Rui gave the Black Dragon Token to Yuan An.

With the Black Dragon Token.

As long as Yuan An doesn't provoke the Great Shaman to make a move, it can basically be equivalent to a death-exemption token.

The most important thing to guard against is those unscrupulous demonic cultivators.

So Li Rui warned Yuan An.

Learning to run away is the most important thing.

"Big Brother, do you think the Prince can go smoothly?"

Ning Ning Zhongtian asked.

Li Rui laughed lightly: "How would I know? Everything depends on fate."

There is no such thing as someone who cannot die in this world, even Yuan Yuan Dingting's only son is the same.

If Yuan An wants to follow in his father's footsteps, he must do so.

If he survives, he might be another little Military Saint; if he doesn't survive, everything is over.

Who among those who have entered the world's martial arts rankings didn't walk this path?

There's no other way.

People in the world who want to reach the top must experience tempering, but as long as there is tempering, there will inevitably be life and death; even Yuan Yuan Dingting's son has no reason not to die. The Yu Kingdom advocates martial virtue, and the most direct manifestation is that many princes also die in tempering.

Although they finally got revenge, death is real.

Ning Ning Zhongtian just had a good impression of this young man who had no airs of a Prince, so he asked.

Li Rui looked at Ning Ning Zhongtian: "What about you? How is your cultivation? Do you have any confidence in the innate?"

Ning Ning Zhongtian was depressed:

"How can the innate be so easy?"

Thinking of this, he became even more depressed; Ge Hong, Tan Hu, and Wei Ming had all made progress and reached the Sixth-Rank one after another.

Among them, Ge Hong and Tan Hu even showed signs of breaking through to the Fifth-Rank.

On the contrary, he, who was the first to reach the Fifth-Rank, could not take that step for a long time.

Not everyone in the world is like Li Rui.

Breaking through is like eating and drinking water, without any bottlenecks at all.

Suddenly.

Ning Ning Zhongtian said coldly: "Big Brother, I want to go north."

Li Rui raised an eyebrow: "Have you thought it through?"

Ning Ning Zhongtian nodded seriously.

"I've thought it through; I plan to go with Lei Yong."

These years.

Life has been comfortable, and with Li Rui's support, there is no shortage of spirit medicines, but the realm has slowed down.

He also saw Yuan An going out for training.

Only then did he feel that he was living too comfortably.

He is not a seed for cultivating immortality after all; martial artists and body cultivators must be brave and diligent on the battlefield.

Ning Ning Zhongtian would rather die on the battlefield than wait to die of old age.

Li Rui pondered: "Since you have already thought it through, then go; I can ask Brother Yuan to write a letter to General He; you take the letter, and you should be able to get a good position."

"Thank you, Big Brother."

Ning Ning Zhongtian was overjoyed.

Li Rui sighed lightly: "Fourth Brother, don't lose your life easily."

"Hmm."

Ning Ning Zhongtian nodded heavily.

Everyone has their own path to walk; he cannot protect them for a lifetime.

If you want to reach a high place, you have to rely on yourself.

You can't pile up a Grandmaster just by relying on resources.

Ning Ning Zhongtian went north and took Tan Hu with him.

Before leaving.

Li Rui, Wei Ming, and Ge Hong saw them off and had a big drink.

The next day.

The two left the Qingwei Sect.

With Yuan Xiong's autograph letter, they wouldn't have to start as common soldiers.

But swords have no eyes.

On the battlefield, anyone could die.

As for Li Rui, the path he takes is different; as long as he lives steadily and cultivates seriously, he can reach very, very high.

So he doesn't need to go to the battlefield to seek opportunities like Ning Ning Zhongtian and Tan Hu.

Ning Ning Zhongtian and Tan Hu left.

Mount Changqing Peak became even colder; Wei Ming and Ge Hong, like Li Rui, were addicted to cultivation and rarely went out.

Except for the occasional movement from the soldiers of the Benhu Camp.

Most of the time it was extremely quiet.

During this period.

Yuan An would also come to Mount Changqing Peak to see them sometimes, but he couldn't stay long before going out for training again.

Or rather, this was the test before he was to inherit the title.

In the room.

Li Rui sat on a cushion as usual.

After years of cultivation, the Eternal Evergreen Art became more and more pure, and the evergreen energy was much thicker than before.

He specifically spent more energy on studying formations.

Formations already had a trend of catching up with talismans.

The effect was also very obvious.

His speed of moving formations became faster again, and he could even keep up with the normal running speed of ordinary demon horses.

Although he still couldn't compare to the instant ten thousand miles of a Below Tongxuan martial artist, it was much more convenient for Li Rui.

"Liu Tiezhu, I plan to go to the spirit mine."

Li Rui said to Liu Liu Tiezhu, who was practicing hammer techniques in the courtyard.

"Alright."

Liu Liu Tiezhu replied with a grin.

Now when Li Rui goes out, he takes a carriage and rarely rides a horse, and as for flying, he hasn't used it again.

Others think his official prestige is growing.

Qingwei Sect disciples know it's Lord Li of the Yu Kingdom traveling as soon as they see the carriage.

Little did they know.

Lord Li doesn't want the formation to fall off.

Originally, Tan Hu was the most suitable for the job of a coachman, but Tan Hu went north, so Li Rui let Liu Liu Tiezhu take on the role.

Everyone knows.

A coachman knows many secrets, so he must be a trusted person.

Liu Liu Tiezhu, this disciple, was undoubtedly the best choice.

Very quickly.

The carriage was found by Liu Liu Tiezhu.

Li Rui stepped onto the carriage and heard Liu Liu Tiezhu shout "Drive."

The carriage began to move slowly.

He sat in the carriage.

Although the mountain road was rugged, the carriage was extremely stable, not only because the horse pulling the carriage was a top-grade demon horse, but also because of the talismans on the carriage.

Li Rui laid down hundreds of talismans in the carriage.

Among them was the Light Body Talisman.

This carriage, even if a Below Tongxuan wanted to break it open, would need to spend some effort.

If Li Rui could break through to the Third-Rank, the effect would be even stronger.

Half an hour later.

The carriage had already arrived at the spirit mine area, and he could already see the mining area where more than half of the mountain had been dug out from afar.

Li Rui dozed off in the carriage.

But his spiritual sense was scattered for several miles.

The closer to the spirit mine, the more experts hidden in the dark.

These were the spirit-stealing people who were prying.

Before, the Qingwei Sect made a thunderous move, but after not being deterred for long, these people popped up again.

They couldn't be killed off.

Spirit stones were enough to make many people fight for their lives.

Li Rui didn't have the idea of killing those spirit-stealing people along the way either.

Flies can't be swatted away.

There was no need to do something unnecessary.

Before long, the carriage drove slowly into the spirit mine.

The soldiers guarding the spirit mine of the Yu Kingdom were already familiar with the carriage and just confirmed it with Liu Liu Tiezhu before respectfully letting it pass.

The carriage finally stopped in front of a grand residence.

Li Rui got off the carriage.

Entered the residence.

He first confirmed the situation of the Evil Puppet Formation, and then reinforced the Small Five Elements Formation to offset the Evil Puppet Formation, only then feeling at ease to continue his cultivation in the residence at the spirit mine.

About three or four days passed.

Yuan Xiong came: "Old Brother Li, the Wei Wang is discussing matters; it's about time."

Li Rui nodded.

Immediately went to the residence of the Fifth Prince Zhu Gan with Yuan Xiong.

In fact.

The reason Li Rui left the Qingwei Sect and came to the spirit mine was precisely for this matter.

When the two walked into the main hall of the Wei Wang residence.

Ke Liu Chuan and Ben Shi had already arrived and were seated.

Just as Li Rui and Yuan Xiong sat down, they saw Zhu Gan walk in.

Several people saluted.

"Your Highness."

Zhu Gan didn't even look and sat in the highest seat.

He spoke slowly: "This King intends to break through to the Heavenly Elephant; to prevent any evildoers from harming this Prince, I specifically called you four to guard."

A flash of surprise crossed Li Rui's eyes.

Zhu Gan wants to charge at the Heavenly Elephant?

He then felt relieved; Zhu Gan's age was actually not small, even older than Li Rui, already having two full cycles of sixty years.

As a Prince, he lacked neither cultivation methods nor spirit medicines.

He even had the National Master personally teach him the Dao.

Zhu Gan had only touched the threshold of the Heavenly Elephant after two cycles, which was actually not slow among the Below Tongxuan.

But wanting to break through to the Heavenly Elephant... that was truly another matter.

Hearing Yuan Xiong say that Yuan Yuan Dingting could advance by leaps and bounds directly into the Heavenly Elephant, that was because his Great Dao was special; others couldn't do it so easily, and it was common to take four or five cycles.

"Yes."

Li Rui and Yuan Xiong stood up one after another.

How could they not understand that Zhu Gan's words today were specifically for the two of them.

Zhu Gan saw the two agree readily.

Only then did he nod with satisfaction.

"Very good."

After saying that, Zhu Gan stood up and left.

His words were almost equivalent to an imperial decree within the range of the spirit mine; he called Li Rui and Yuan Xiong to notify them, not to discuss.

This was the authority of being a Prince.

Li Rui and Yuan Xiong looked at each other and also stood up and walked out of the Wei Wang residence.

Yuan Xiong: "I heard that among the Emperor's princes, the eldest prince already stepped into the Second-Rank a month ago; the Fifth Prince is anxious."

Li Rui smiled slightly.

"Let's just cooperate well."

He had no intention of intervening in the struggle between the princes.

Just watch the changes.

Yuan Xiong: "That's the logic."

After Zhu Gan finished speaking about the breakthrough, he really began to retreat.

The four major guardians took turns guarding.

The lineup was not small.

But Zhu Gan was a Prince, and his status was noble, so whether it was Li Rui or Yuan Xiong, they could only follow orders.

Seven days passed like this.

Zhu Gan still showed no signs of breaking through.

"Big Brother Li, how much longer do you think this Wei Wang of ours will take to break through?"

A flash of gloating crossed Yuan Xiong's eyes.

Generally speaking, the longer it drags on, the lower the chance of success.

He didn't like Zhu Gan's arrogant temperament in the first place, so he was naturally happy to see Zhu Gan fail in his breakthrough.

Although the future Crown Prince doesn't necessarily have to be a top-tier expert in the world, if he doesn't even have the Second-Rank, he definitely can't sit on the throne.

That is to say, if Zhu Gan fails to break through, he basically says goodbye to the position of Crown Prince.

As for why Zhu Gan chose to break through at the spirit mine instead of returning to the capital.

It was estimated that he was coveting the spiritual energy here.

But just between Li Rui and Yuan Xiong's conversation.

Suddenly, a tremor of heaven and earth occurred.

Yuan Xiong blinked:

"He really succeeded?"

Li Rui and Yuan Xiong had just intended to stand up and rush to the Wei Wang residence.

That heaven and earth fluctuation dissipated like a tide.

Finally returning to calm.

Both were Below Tongxuan Realm experts; how could they not understand that such a situation meant Zhu Gan had failed his breakthrough.

Li Rui and Yuan Xiong looked at each other.

The bodies that had just stood up sat down again.

If they couldn't see the situation clearly now, they would have lived in vain for so many years.

The four major guardians took turns guarding, rotating and pairing up.

But it just so happened that Zhu Gan broke through when Li Rui and Yuan Xiong were resting; this was absolutely not a coincidence.

It was very clear.

Zhu Gan didn't trust the two of them.

If the breakthrough had been successful, Li Rui and Yuan Xiong would have gone to congratulate him.

But now that the breakthrough failed, going would only make Zhu Gan feel they were mocking him; at this time, it was wiser to choose not to meet.

Heaven and earth returned to complete calm.

Yuan Xiong couldn't help but sigh: "He really failed."

There are over a thousand people in the world's martial arts rankings, but there are no more than a hundred Heavenly Elephants; that is to say, less than one in ten Below Tongxuan who step into the Heavenly Elephant.

Don't look at the ten percent ratio as not low, but you must know that everyone who can reach the Below Tongxuan Realm is a genius.

This hurdle has blocked I don't know how many talents.

Even though the Fifth Prince Zhu Gan had all the right conditions, he still failed at this step.

Although one can continue to try to charge at the Heavenly Elephant after a failed breakthrough, the difficulty increases I don't know how many times, and it can almost be said that the possibility of entering the Heavenly Elephant has been cut off.

In other words, Zhu Gan had lost the qualification to compete for the throne.

Li Rui also had a look of emotion.

Cultivation is so cruel; whether you are a Prince or a Saint, everyone is treated equally.

Even Zhu Gan was so difficult.

Other martial artists and cultivators would only be more difficult.

Li Rui and Yuan Xiong were already Below Tongxuan, and sooner or later they would walk to this step.

Even a monster like Yuan Xiong couldn't guarantee that he could cross that chasm.

Li Rui's state of mind was different.

He possessed the Innate Immortal Martial Dao Fetus, as well as the Immortal Spirit Root and the Eternal Evergreen Art, so the bottleneck Zhu Gan faced didn't exist for him at all.

But this also made him alert.

The immortal path is ethereal, so he cannot be lazy; if he falls halfway, then no matter how good his talent is, it will be in vain.

Outside the spirit mine.

Deep in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Several black-robed people looked at the heaven and earth fluctuation that returned to calm and were all stunned.

"Failed?"

One of the black-robed people said.

The others hesitated for a moment and then all nodded: "Should be."

"That saves us some effort."

Another black-robed old man let out two strange laughs.

This old man was the Ten Thousand Ghost Daoist.

A few days ago.

Ji Lei suddenly sent a message, asking him to cooperate with the powerhouses of the Beiji Immortal Sect to sabotage the breakthrough of the Yu Kingdom's Fifth Prince Zhu Gan; unexpectedly, they had already set up an ambush and were just waiting to make a move.

As a result, Zhu Gan failed on his own.

The Ten Thousand Ghost Daoist was full of gloating.

The so-called Heavenly Elephant Realm in this realm had trapped I don't know how many cultivators, even in the cultivation world.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to come to the lower realm to seek opportunities.

Wasn't it just for that one chance?

Seeing a Prince suffer a setback, he was too happy to see it.

Then a fox-faced Daoist on the side spoke slowly: "Zhu Gan's fate is exhausted; it saves us from having to settle accounts; let's leave."

This fox face was not that he looked like a fox.

But this Daoist was a demon cultivator who had obtained a special method, so he transformed into a human-shaped demon head.

Demon cultivators were rare in this realm.

But it was normal in the cultivation world, and the Ten Thousand Ghost Daoist didn't feel surprised.

Hearing the fox-faced Daoist's words.

A group of powerhouses from the Beiji Immortal Sect retreated.

On the other end.

Yu Kingdom spirit mine, a secret room deep underground in the Wei Wang residence.

Zhu Gan's face was pale, and his expression was listless.

Just as he was about to stand up, he saw an old man bring Ben Shi slowly walk in from behind the secret room door.

Zhu Gan's eyes were cold to the extreme, but seeing that old man, he still called out:

"Mr. Zhou."

The old man Zhu Gan called Mr. Zhou took out a spirit pill from his bosom and handed it to Zhu Gan.

"Your Highness's spirit is unstable; first take this Ding Shen Great Pill."

Zhu Gan nodded.

After taking the pill, he felt better.

The breakthrough failed, decades of hard cultivation were in vain, and his spirit was even more broken; although it wouldn't cost him his life, it would be extremely difficult to break through again next time.

He looked at the old man before him.

This person was the protector his uncle had found for him.

A Grandmaster who ranked in the top one hundred in the world's martial arts rankings.

Nine-Finger Divine Ability, Zhou Tong.

For a Prince like him, such a major event as breaking through to the Heavenly Elephant naturally couldn't just be guarded by four Below Tongxuan; in fact, Zhou Tong had always been guarding in the dark.

Zhu Gan's mouth showed a trace of bitterness.

Even he didn't have the confidence to try breaking through again.

Zhou Tong saw Zhu Gan was discouraged and used a secret technique to shout: "Your Highness must not forget your status; if you give up yourself, even the National Master cannot help you."

Zhu Gan suddenly felt his spiritual platform clear.

His body couldn't help but shudder.

A burst of lingering fear.

Just now, he had clearly failed his breakthrough and was eroded by his inner demons; if Zhou Tong hadn't shouted him awake, he would probably have gone into qi deviation by now.

Zhu Gan bowed: "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Zhou."

He soon regained his fighting spirit.

Just as Zhou Tong said, although he failed now, don't forget, he still had an uncle who ranked in the top five in the world.

Perhaps the National Master, the head of the world's hidden sects, could help him re-enter the Heavenly Elephant.

He is a Prince.

There are still many paths.

Zhu Gan's failed breakthrough became a taboo at the spirit mine, and no one dared to mention it.

Li Rui and Yuan Xiong were even more self-aware.

They didn't even intend to see Zhu Gan.

Li Rui only stayed at the spirit mine for a few days before taking the carriage back to Mount Changqing Peak.

Zhu Gan's failed breakthrough seemed to have no influence on the surface.

But no need to ask.

This matter must have already reached the imperial court in the capital, and the influence was far greater than what was seen.

Of course.

All of this had nothing to do with Li Rui.

The bamboo sea on Mount Changqing Peak was still green all year round, making the courtyard even more peaceful.

In the courtyard.

Liu Liu Tiezhu was hammering and practicing hammer techniques all day, while Li Rui was cultivating in the room.

Cultivation is like this; most of the time it is ordinary.

A spring rain was falling softly outside the window, and the raindrops hitting the green bamboo made it look even more tender.

Li Rui sat on a cushion by the window.

Letting the raindrops drifting from outside the window wet the sleeve of his right hand.

At this moment.

Li Rui seemed to have merged into the spring rain, and the vigorous vitality could not be covered up at all.

The next instant.

He opened his eyes slowly and pushed the door out.

He didn't carry an umbrella, nor did he use magic to block the rain.

Very quickly.

The dense spring rain soaked him all over.

Li Rui walked in the rain like this, walking and walking, and unknowingly he had already left the Qingwei Sect.

In the mountain forest of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

There was still no sign of stopping.

He walked from day to night, walking for several hundred miles.

Li Rui then stopped.

He leaned against a big tree at random, and the spring rain still showed no sign of stopping.

But it wasn't that the spring rain could cover several hundred miles.

It was that a rain cloud had been following Li Rui; if someone could measure it, they would find it was exactly one mile.

This night.

Li Rui stepped into the Below Tongxuan Mid-Stage naturally.

Without any twists and turns.

(End of chapter)