Li Mu frowned, not expecting that after several months, the other party was still relentlessly pursuing him, and now had even sought out Tianji Pavilion to issue such a high-value bounty.
This… the person is already dead, is it necessary?
Could it be that this Venerable Deity Transformation has another intention, aiming for the Celestial Evolution Divine Lord’s Cave Heaven Spirit Treasure?
Li Mu frowned, paying close attention to this Venerable Linhai.
Since he was wanted with a bounty, he would have to be more careful in his future actions. Li Mu decided that unless absolutely necessary, he would try not to use the Five Elements Sword Formation or Five Elements Spiritual Power, and instead use other methods to deal with enemies.
Fortunately, Li Mu’s methods for dealing with enemies were not limited to just Five Elements Spiritual Power and the Five Elements Sword Formation.
Puppet armies, talismans, beast taming, Divine Soul attacks… he had too many ways to handle enemies.
Regarding the bounty from Tianji Pavilion and the potential threat from the Loose Cultivator Alliance’s Venerable Deity Transformation, Li Mu did not feel much urgency.
Previously, when Li Mu only had Golden Core Cultivation, Shanhe Sect’s Fire Tian Venerable also failed to pose much of a threat to him. Moreover, he had now broken through Golden Core and achieved Nascent Soul.
Soul Transformation Cultivators could fight above their rank, and while Li Mu was cautious, he wasn’t overly worried.
Seeing that “Senior” was not interested in the bounty, Shi Hongyao changed the subject, turning to talk about interesting anecdotes or less important but valuable intelligence information.
For example: After Tianjue Demonic Venerable of the Nine Demon Sect was injured, he slaughtered a certain sect’s immortal city to restore his Divine Soul and Cultivate an even more terrifying Ghost Taming Demonic Technique.
Another example: The five major alliances’ joint pioneering operation failed, and they began to withdraw their main forces, preparing to resist the Nine Demon Sect’s invasion…
…Tianji Master Shi Hongyao was eloquent and knew various secret stories. Chatting with her, Li Mu gained a lot of valuable information.
As for Lin Wanping, he and his two Spirit Appraisal Master subordinates spent over an hour cross-referencing, finally putting away their abacus.
Lin Wanping walked up to Li Mu, respectfully presenting an account book with both hands, and reported, “Senior, this is the verification list for all the Spiritual Artifacts, along with our valuation. The total number of Spiritual Artifacts is 542 pieces, with 3 Rank 5 Spiritual Artifacts: the Myriad Ghost Spirit Banner, the Blood Fiend Crystal Bottle, and the Heavenly Corpse Spirit Coffin. All of them have a certain degree of damage. The total estimated value is 7.5 million medium spirit stones. The Rank 4 Spiritual Artifacts… For all Spiritual Artifacts, the total acquisition price we offer is 16 million medium spirit stones. Senior, here is the list, please take a look.”
“No need. Deduct the talisman paper and the Spirit Stones for the two pieces of intelligence, and convert the rest into High-Grade Spirit Stones for me.”
Li Mu did not take the account book, politely declining.
Li Mu mentally calculated the quoted price, and the difference was negligible.
Tianji Pavilion was quite honest in its business dealings.
“Alright, Senior, after deducting the relevant fees, 5 million medium spirit stones, converted to High-Grade Spirit Stones, our pavilion needs to give you 110,000 High-Grade Spirit Stones. This is a large sum, please wait a moment longer, Senior.” Lin Wanping readily agreed, respectfully asking for permission.
After speaking, Lin Wanping hurried out of the secret room and soon returned with a Storage Pouch in his hand.
“This Spirit Stone Storage Pouch contains 110,000 High-Grade Spirit Stones. Please verify the amount.” Lin Wanping handed the Spirit Stone Storage Pouch to Li Mu, respectfully saying.
Li Mu took the Spirit Stone Pouch, immersed his Divine Sense, confirmed the quantity of Spirit Stones was correct, then took his materials and bid farewell to the two, leaving Tianji Pavilion.
Not long after leaving Tianji Pavilion, Li Mu found an inn, changed his attire, disguised himself as “Master Ye” with Golden Core Cultivation, and revisited Tianji Pavilion.
On the second floor of Tianji Pavilion, inside a secret room.
Lin Wanping greeted Li Mu respectfully, praising with a smile, “Fellow Daoist, you are truly trustworthy! The seven-day appointment is exactly today.”
“Yes, the detailed intelligence on that person seems to be fine. Also, are the spirit seeds I pre-ordered from your esteemed pavilion ready?” Li Mu looked at Lin Wanping, getting straight to the point.
Seven days prior, Li Mu had pre-ordered detailed intelligence on a Demonic Cultivator from Lin Wanping, in order to obtain the living essence blood from him to restore the Fire Dragon bone. At the same time, he also pre-ordered Rank 4 Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom and Rank 4 Yin Soul Fruit spirit seeds from Tianji Pavilion.
Today, Li Mu specifically arrived for the appointment, first trading with Tianji Pavilion as ‘Zhang Laotou’ to obtain high-grade talisman skins, and then, as Master Ye, to handle this pre-arranged transaction.
Relying on the characteristics of the Rank 5 Spirit Fox Mask, Li Mu could flawlessly disguise himself as other people, acting cautiously. As for the identities of Jian Chen and Master Li, they were already on the wanted lists of the Loose Cultivator Alliance and Shanhe Sect.
Barring unforeseen circumstances, Li Mu would try to avoid using these two identities unless he could profit from their reputation.
“Fellow Daoist Ye, rest assured, our Tianji Pavilion always acts steadily. I have already prepared both types of spirit plant seeds for you. Each type can plant 200 mu. The purple yang jade and Tai Xuan Moon Dew, two auxiliary resources for spirit plant growth, are also ready. I will go get them now!” Lin Wanping happily indicated to Li Mu, then turned to retrieve a large Storage Pouch from the shelves.
“Everything is inside. Fellow Daoist, please verify the quantity.” Lin Wanping smiled as he handed the large Storage Pouch to Li Mu, indicating.
Li Mu gladly accepted the Storage Pouch, eagerly immersing his Divine Sense to inspect and count.
Inside the Storage Pouch were two sandalwood boxes with Spirit Sealing effects, containing the spirit seeds of Purple Yang Spiritual Mushroom and Yin Soul Fruit respectively, exactly enough to plant 200 mu each. There were three water-storing bottles containing three thousand drops of Rank 4 Tai Xuan Moon Dew, and two Spirit Sealing boxes containing five thousand pieces of Rank 4 purple yang jade.
“Good, the quantity is correct. How much more do I need to pay for the remaining balance?” Li Mu asked with satisfaction.
“Including the intelligence on that Demonic Cultivator, Fellow Daoist Ye, you need to pay me 2 million medium spirit stones for the remaining balance.” Lin Wanping said, smiling at Li Mu.
Li Mu nodded, taking out 20,000 High-Grade Spirit Stones from his nine storage spiritual pearl to pay the bill.
After receiving the remaining balance and confirming the correct amount of Spirit Stones, Lin Wanping smiled faintly, quickly took out a Jade Slip, and handed it to Li Mu, introducing, “Fellow Daoist Ye, all the information on that Demonic Cultivator is in this Jade Slip, plus a few extra pieces of news for you!”
“This Demonic Cultivator should be one of the core Blood God Sons of the Blood God Sect, a branch of the Nine Demon Sect. He is currently active in several immortal cities within the Yu Ling Sect’s jurisdiction, slaughtering cities to extract the essence blood of Cultivators and commoners for Cultivating the Blood Demonic Technique. Previously, the Nine Demon Sect’s operation against the Qingxuan Sect failed. This time, there is a very high probability that the Nine Demon Sect will change its target and move against the Yu Ling Sect.”
“You mean, this Demonic Cultivator is active within the Yu Ling Sect’s territory? Is this a sign that the Nine Demon Sect is preparing to attack the Yu Ling Sect?” Li Mu’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch slightly upon hearing this news, and he asked curiously.
“That’s right, Fellow Daoist. I presume you already know about the Nine Demon Sect’s failed attempt to attack the Qingxuan Sect!” Lin Wanping confirmed with a nod, then continued, “Now, Tianjue Demonic Venerable has changed to Cultivating the Ghost Dao Demonic Technique, further increasing his strength. And the Yu Ling Sect primarily relies on beast taming for combat power, which is generally countered by Ghost Dao Demonic Techniques. Therefore, the Nine Demon Sect might first launch an attack on the Yu Ling Sect, and then attack the other four sects later.”
Li Mu nodded, acknowledging Lin Wanping’s information.
Li Mu took the Jade Slip from Lin Wanping, immersed his Divine Sense, and began to examine it.
The Jade Slip depicted several informational images, showing a continuous mountain range, the Zhou Dynasty mountains, emitting a strange Death Qi, with withered vegetation and not a blade of grass growing.
Many Yao Beast skeletons, drained of their essence blood and turned into bleached bones, were scattered everywhere.
A middle-aged black-robed Cultivator, emanating bloody Devilish Qi, then walked into a mountain cave, and the image ended there.
【Blood God Sect - Dropping Blood God Son.】
【Cultivation: Golden Core Perfection】
【Cultivation Technique: Nine Yin Blood Demonic Technique, Soul Transformation Demonic Technique】
【…】.
【Location: Eight hundred li outside Yu Ling Sect, Myriad Beast Forest.】
…
Li Mu didn't pay much attention to the intelligence on a mere Golden Core Demonic Cultivator. What he was worried about was the Nine Demon Sect behind this Golden Core Demonic Cultivator. If he killed him and got involved, the subsequent troubles would definitely not be simple.
Li Mu furrowed his brows, considering the pros and cons, hesitating whether to intervene in the battle between the Nine Demon Sect and the Yu Ling Sect.
What a coincidence!
The Nine Demon Sect’s operation to attack the Qingxuan Sect had just been thwarted by him not long ago. Now, the Nine Demon Sect was stirring up trouble again within the Yu Ling Sect’s territory, most likely preparing to act against the Yu Ling Sect.
Li Mu hesitated whether to get involved again, aid the Yu Ling Sect, defeat the Nine Demon Sect, and seize the opportunity to obtain True Lord Tianhong’s Heavenly Fire.
The Heavenly Fire in the hands of Heavenly Hong True Lord, the Nascent Soul Elder of the Yu Ling Sect, was something Li Mu desperately desired. If the Yu Ling Sect were to be captured by the Nine Demon Sect, the whereabouts of the Heavenly Fire might become a problem, making it even harder to obtain.
If he intervened before the Nine Demon Sect attacked the Yu Ling Sect, he might be able to obtain that Heavenly Fire through the favor of his assistance.
…
Thinking of this, Li Mu immediately made a decision.
Heavenly Fire was related to the advancement and improvement of the Heaven Rank Artifact Refining Method. If he could obtain Heavenly Fire and achieve the Heaven Rank Eightfold Heavenly Fire Tempering Method, he would be able to refine Rank 6 Spiritual Artifacts, and even Rank 7 Spirit Treasures, Rank 8 Dao Soldiers, and Rank 9 Immortal Artifacts would not be a problem.
This Heaven Rank Artifact Refining Method was the foundation of his Dao, and Li Mu would never miss it.
I don't have time to wait for Li Xiaotian's introduction!
Li Mu decided to set off immediately for the heartland of Yu Ling Sect, to eliminate the Demon Cultivators of the Blood God Sect and seize their vital essence, and at the same time, find a way to infiltrate the Yu Ling Sect to obtain that Heavenly Fire from Heavenly Hong True Lord!
Soon, Li Mu bid farewell to Lin Wanping, returned to the Li family, and then said goodbye to Li Xiaotian.
Following this, Li Mu boarded the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship, flew out of Luo Tian City, and hastily flew in the direction of the Yu Ling Sect.
While the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship was flying, Li Mu seized every moment, multi-tasking, stripping high-grade talisman paper, refining star wood Puppets, self-detonating spider Puppets, and so on.
Time flew by, and in a blink of an eye, twenty-four days had passed.
Inside the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship, star wood shavings were scattered everywhere, and the narrow cabin of the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship had now become a workshop.
The body of a star wood Puppet was intricately and beautifully carved with Puppet patterns under Li Mu's carving knife, and a Puppet body filled with a heavy star aura quickly took shape.
Looking at the seven-foot-tall, robust star wood Battle Puppet before him, its body faintly shimmering with silver star light and exuding a solid texture, a hint of joy involuntarily appeared on Li Mu's tired face.
Next, Li Mu installed the Puppet core into the star wood Puppet's body, embedded High-Grade Spirit Stones, and attached his Divine Thought to the Puppet's core formation.
Li Mu gathered Spiritual Power in his hand and injected a powerful surge of Spiritual Power into the Battle Puppet.
The Spiritual Power successfully activated the Puppet core within the core Puppet formation, and the Puppet's dual pupils emitted a verdant green light.
A powerful Spiritual Pressure spread out, and the Battle Puppet's stiff limbs and joints began to crackle, as a formidable Spiritual Pressure emanated from its body.
The star wood Battle Puppet took a step forward, and the hull of the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship, which was in flight, trembled slightly.
“Whoosh!”
Another star wood Battle Puppet was refined!
Li Mu gently exhaled, a brilliant smile blossoming on his face.
These days, Li Mu hadn't rested for a moment, almost tirelessly refining Puppets, stripping four- and five-rank talisman paper, and drawing four- and five-rank Spiritual Talismans.
In three days, Li Mu stripped over four thousand sheets of four-rank lightning talisman paper and four-rank fire talisman paper.
Next, he spent nearly ten more days drawing over fifteen hundred four-rank Spiritual Talismans: several hundred each of four-rank Blazing Flame Thousand Lightning Talismans, four-rank Heaven Escaping Lightning Wing Talismans, four-rank Explosive Fire Pillar Talismans, four-rank Purgatory Fire Talismans, and so on.
As for the success rate of stripping five-rank talisman paper, it was significantly lower, only about one-third of that for four-rank talisman paper.
Li Mu's five-level Symbol Making Art had an extremely low success rate for drawing five-rank Spiritual Talismans, only succeeding in drawing one out of every eight or nine attempts.
However, even so, Li Mu was extremely satisfied.
Li Mu focused on drawing five-rank Spiritual Talismans, which took him three days, and he ultimately obtained: 3 Five-Rank Body Fixing Lightning Prison Talismans, 4 Five-Rank Purple Heaven Myriad Lightning Talismans, 5 Five-Rank Heart Fire Talismans, 2 Five-Rank Crimson Flame Burning Heaven Talismans, and 3 Five-Rank Red Lotus Fire Talismans, totaling 17 five-rank Spiritual Talismans.
The power of five-rank Spiritual Talismans was much greater than that of four-rank Spiritual Talismans.
After a five-rank Spiritual Talisman was released, its Spiritual Power shaping, characteristics, and attributes all underwent a qualitative change, making its power immensely strong.
Previously, the reason he could easily defeat Tianjue Demonic Lord and why the Mystic Iron Sword Formation could succeed in one move was entirely because Venerable Qingfeng used a five-rank wind-element Spiritual Talisman to immobilize Tianjue Demonic Lord for over ten breaths, showcasing the power of five-rank Spiritual Talismans.
Five-rank Spiritual Talismans also posed a great threat when used against a Soul Transformation Cultivator.
Successfully refining 17 five-rank Spiritual Talismans meant possessing 17 trump cards against Soul Transformation Cultivators, and Li Mu was naturally very satisfied with this.
With the number of four-rank and five-rank Spiritual Talismans almost complete, Li Mu began to invest in the refining of the Puppet army.
He spent about ten days successfully refining one hundred and fifty-one four-rank star wood melee Puppets, as well as over a thousand self-detonating spider Puppets.
Although the star wood melee Puppets were only four-rank, combined with the characteristics of star wood, their bodies were tough, impervious to blades and spears, and immune to water and fire, making their combat power comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator.
However, only one hundred and fifty-one were refined, a quantity far from Li Mu's envisioned Puppet army.
“One hundred and fifty-one units, the quantity is still too small!”
Li Mu sighed with a bitter smile.
If he used four-rank spiritual wood to carve the Puppet bodies, the carving speed would definitely not be this slow, but it was five-rank star wood, and its attributes and defense were exceptionally tough.
Even though Li Mu had specially refined a five-rank supreme carving knife, carving was still extremely difficult and consumed a great deal of Divine Thought.
These one hundred and fifty-one four-rank star wood Battle Puppets were equivalent to one hundred and fifty-one Nascent Soul cultivators, plus Li Mu's nine storage spiritual pearl also contained over a thousand three-rank Battle Puppets, and a large number of self-detonating spider Puppets.
With these means of defense, even without using the Five Elements Sword Formation and the Tai Shan Spirit Treasure, Li Mu would not be afraid even if he encountered a Divine Venerable again.
Li Mu stored the Puppets into the nine storage spiritual pearl, then took out another section of star wood, and continued to engrave Puppet formation patterns on the Puppet body.
Li Mu multi-tasked, while carving Puppet formation patterns, he divided a portion of his Divine Thought to explore outside the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship, searching for the location of that Blood God Sect Demonic Cultivator.
After more than twenty days of flight, the Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship had already entered deep into the Myriad Beast Mountain Range, getting closer and closer to the location of the Blood God Sect Divine Son provided by Tianji Pavilion.
Suddenly!
The Celestial Shuttle Spirit Ship suddenly reduced its flying speed.
Li Mu flew out, a pair of blue Thunder Wings unfurling on his back, his gaze like a sharp blade, his Divine Thought covering half a mountain range.
Li Mu's Divine Thought, comparable to a Soul Transformation Cultivator's, was augmented by the Star Concealment Divine Ability of the Star Cloud Contemplation Method.
When his Divine Thought swept across, it was absolutely impossible for ordinary Cultivators to detect.
Soon, Li Mu locked onto his target.
As he expected, the Golden Core Cultivation base Blood Dripping Divine Son was not traveling alone, but was with a Nascent Soul Demon Lord of the Blood God Sect.
Four Golden Core Demonic Cultivators, led by a Nascent Soul Demon Lord, were hidden in a Spirit Valley, setting up a bloody Blood Sea Great Formation.
The target of the blood formation's power was a county city of two to three hundred thousand people not far from the Spirit Valley.
In the center of the city stood the Myriad Beast Spirit Flag of the Yu Ling Sect, presumably this city was under the jurisdiction of the Yu Ling Sect.
Li Mu's Divine Thought swept across a hundred-mile radius, confirming that no one within that range would interfere with his dealing with the Blood God Sect Demonic Cultivators, and so he acted.
Under his Divine Sense, the other party had also set up a confusing protective formation with illusionary functions, only serving to conceal and isolate Divine Sense.
Li Mu was too lazy to even glance at such a crude formation.
The next moment, Li Mu's Thunder Wings unfurled, transforming into a blue bolt of lightning, his figure moving like a sudden strike of thunder.
The Perfection-level Spirit Devouring Body Nourishing Art made Li Mu's body as indestructible as Vajra, descending from the sky like a meteor, fiercely smashing down towards the Spirit Valley.
With a thunderous “boom”!
The powerful impact instantly shattered the mere protective illusion formation, and in an instant, a dense, suffocating smell of blood permeated from the Spirit Valley.
“Who is it?!”
With the protective formation broken, the Blood Refinement Demon Lord immediately conjured his Blood Skull Magic Treasure.
The Blood Skull Magic Treasure opened its gaping maw, and myriad ghosts howled, unleashing powerful resentment to resist the massive blue lightning.
“Break for me!”
Li Mu did not suppress his Cultivation base; his Nascent Soul Spiritual Power was fully unleashed, and the Myriad Thought Fist, a Divine Ability from the Spirit Devouring Body Nourishing Art, suddenly erupted.
The endless Netherworld Ghosts were scattered by a single punch, and the sharp fist wind blasted the four Golden Core Blood God Sons who couldn't escape into shattered remains!
“What?!”
The Blood Refinement Demon Lord was instantly startled when he saw his move being countered.
Fighting in this narrow space was disadvantageous for him.
His entire being transformed into a streak of blood light, breaking through the mountaintop.
Li Mu's Thunder Wings unfurled, and in a blink, he appeared before the Blood Refinement Demon Lord.
“Impossible!”
The Blood Refinement Demon Lord's face changed drastically.
Before he could react, a sharp punch came at him, killing him instantly.
In an instant, the sound of bones breaking and screams followed.
With a loud “bang”, the Blood Refinement Demon Lord's body crashed heavily into the forest, slamming into the peak rock.
Along the way, countless broken trees were shattered and sent flying by his impact, clearing a wide path several hundred zhang long in the dense forest.
The mountain collapsed, and thousands of huge rocks buried him.
Li Mu's Thunder Wings unfurled, and his figure appeared above the Spirit Valley.
He took out a set of formation flags from the nine storage spiritual pearl, and with a flick of his hand, set up an isolation array, sealing off the entire Spirit Valley.
