Just as Tianji Old Man was using the "Tianji Chains" to deduce Li Mu's location,
Li Mu was in a secluded path, concentrating on refining the one hundred and twentieth seventh-rank Dragon Bone Dao Sword. His hands formed incantations, controlling the Skyfire Refining Furnace to temper the earth dragon bones and solidify the sword embryos of the three Dao Swords. Suddenly, he felt a subtle change.
The Tianji Treasure, Time Luck Spirit Turtle, hummed, its artifact spirit warning him. Li Mu's Divine Thought stirred slightly, and he immediately felt an indescribable sense of being spied upon, as if an invisible eye was penetrating through layers of mist, trying to pinpoint his location. This feeling was both strange and familiar, reminding him of his previous experience of being deduced by Tianji.
"Someone is deducing my location? Not so easy!"
Li Mu snorted inwardly, splitting off a wisp of Divine Thought to summon the Time Luck Spirit Turtle from the tianxuan ring. He activated it to release faint ripples that spread silently, intertwining and interfering with the Tianji deduction power, making the opponent's deduction blurry and chaotic.
At the same time, Li Mu accelerated his Artifact Refining rhythm. The speed of his hand seals became even faster, and the flames within the Skyfire Refining Furnace grew fiercer, as if to devour everything.
Soon, under Li Mu's careful control, three seventh-rank Dragon Bone Dao Swords took shape. Their artifact patterns solidified one after another, spiritual light flickered, and Sword Intent soared into the sky.
"Come to fruition!" Li Mu low-roared, his hands suddenly clasped together. Three brilliant sword lights shot out from the refining furnace, piercing the clouds, as the three seventh-rank Dragon Bone Dao Swords were finally successfully refined.
Li Mu felt the power of the three new swords, and a sense of accomplishment welled up in his heart. However, he did not relax, immediately putting the three new swords into Myriad Swords Mountain.
Before long, Li Mu's figure flickered, appearing outside the Painting World Treasure Mansion. He put away the Treasure Mansion and the four directions house, then took out a Formation Plate and activated the teleportation Formation leading to an unknown area.
With a flash of light, Li Mu's figure disappeared from his original spot, leaving only a faint spatial ripple that gradually dissipated.
After several teleports and rapid journeys, Li Mu left the Southern Wilderness Spirit Domain, crossed the vast and boundless sea and land, and finally arrived at the edge of the Northern Region. Here, the cold wind was biting, snowflakes danced, and everything was covered in a blanket of silver, a stark contrast to the scenery and atmosphere of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range in the South.
Li Mu concealed his Cultivation aura, disguised himself as a sixty-year-old Loose Cultivator, and appeared at the summit of a towering snowy mountain, gazing into the distance.
Ahead, at the foot of the mountain, a city carved from ice came into view. It was an ice city built by Loose Cultivators, named "Frost City." The buildings in the city were arranged in an orderly fashion, all made of sturdy ice, crystal clear, shimmering with dazzling light under the sun. On the streets, Cultivators in heavy fur coats could occasionally be seen hurrying by, either exchanging Cultivation insights or trading spirit materials, with merchant caravans coming and going.
Li Mu slowly entered Frost City, feeling the unique coldness of this ice city. He blended into the sparse crowd, preparing to enter the city.
"One medium spirit stones to enter the city!" At the city gate, a guard in heavy ice armor with a stern face blocked Li Mu's path, speaking without a trace of emotion.
Li Mu smiled slightly and took out a Mid-Grade Spirit Stone from his sleeve, placing it on the table.
The guard glanced at the Spirit Stone on the table, confirmed it was correct, nodded, and stepped aside.
Upon entering the city, Li Mu first walked around, observing the city's layout and atmosphere. Shops lined both sides of the streets, selling various Magic Treasures and weapons, trading rare medicinal materials, and providing Cultivation resources, making it very lively. The air was filled with a faint Spiritual Qi and a chilling aura, invigorating one's spirit.
"Hmm, this Frost City is quite good, suitable for a temporary stay," Li Mu thought to himself, then began to look for a suitable courtyard, planning to live in seclusion in this city.
Soon, in a relatively prosperous but slightly secluded corner of the city, Li Mu found a small courtyard for rent. The courtyard was not large, about a hundred square meters, but its location was good.
Li Mu inquired about the owner of the courtyard, spent a thousand medium spirit stones to rent it long-term, and then summoned Xue'er and Mingyue from the Painting World Treasure Mansion, asking them to conceal their aura and appearance, disguise themselves, and help manage the courtyard.
"Li Dage, weren't you going to track the Nine-Order Earth Vein Divine Fire? Why did you suddenly come to this desolate border city of Loose Cultivators to live in seclusion?"
Xue'er looked at Li Mu, quite puzzled by his temporary decision. Her intelligent eyes blinked, full of doubt.
"The aura of several nine-rank divine objects is still unstable. At least within a hundred years, they won't be able to settle down. The tracking matter is temporarily put aside. Right now, I have more important things to do: find a safe place to calmly Artifact Refining. This place is good; being hidden in plain sight, I should not be easily detected by those who are tracking me," Li Mu said with a deep gaze and a solemn tone.
"You two manage the courtyard; I will be in seclusion for a while," Li Mu added, looking at them.
"Understood, Li Dage, we will be careful," Xue'er said softly.
"Master, do you want to set up a Formation in the courtyard?" Mingyue took out a small Formation Plate from her sleeve, looking at Li Mu and asking for instructions.
"Just set up some simple protective Formations. Keep a low profile; don't attract attention," Li Mu nodded, smiling as he instructed.
Upon hearing this, Mingyue immediately took action. The Formation Plate in her hand flashed with light, then she gently waved her sleeve, and tiny runes danced in the air like spirits, finally blending silently into the surrounding ice and snow, forming a seemingly simple but intricately designed protective Formation. The Formation could protect the small courtyard from external disturbances without being overly ostentatious or attracting attention.
Li Mu nodded in satisfaction, giving silent praise to Mingyue's Formation mastery.
Afterward, Li Mu turned and entered the house, then entered the Painting World Treasure Mansion to continue his previous Artifact Refining. At the same time, he set up a spiritual Formation to provide Spiritual Qi to the Time Luck Spirit Turtle, keeping it running constantly to actively conceal his Tianji and prevent others from deducing his location again.
In the following days, Li Mu remained within the Painting World Treasure Mansion, isolating his aura and fully immersing himself in seclusion for Artifact Refining.
Time flew by like a white steed, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.
In the Heavenly South Sea Region, the Mahayana Cultivators, following the guidance of Tianji Old Man, gathered in this region and dispatched their subordinates, only to find that Li Mu had seemingly vanished into thin air. No matter how they searched, they could not find a single trace of him.
"Where exactly is Elder Li hiding? Why can't we find him?" Old Man Xuantian frowned, his eyes like torches, his Divine Sense net sweeping across the entire sea region, but he could only see the vast, turbulent ocean.
"Could it be that Fellow Daoist Tianji's deduction was wrong?" Lingyun Old Daoist also couldn't help but murmur, as Tianji deduction was not omnipotent and could indeed have deviations.
"Impossible! My Tianji Chains will never be wrong. Master Li must be in this sea region." Tianji Old Man's face was pale, his tone unusually firm. He said in a deep voice, "Unless he intentionally avoided us and left this region in advance!"
Just then, a Disciple of Xuantian Sword Sect flew over in a hurry, cupping his hands in salute: "Reporting to Sect Master, we found some clues on a small island that seem to be related to Elder Li."
"Oh? Lead the way quickly!" Old Man Xuantian was overjoyed and immediately led a group of Mahayana Cultivators, following the Disciple, flying towards the small island.
When they arrived at the small island, they saw traces of a concealed Formation and faint residual spatial ripples from a teleportation Formation, indicating that someone had been active here and had left a long time ago.
"It seems Elder Li did come here. This concealed Formation must be his work." Chen Qingxuan's gaze searched the surroundings, capturing more information from the details. He affirmed, "He must have left by a teleportation Formation in advance."
"Elder Li must have sensed Fellow Daoist Tianji's deduction and escaped ahead of time!" Feng Wuhen said.
"Elder Li is proficient in various techniques and has Cultivated the Chaotic Great Dao. If he intentionally hides, I'm afraid we won't be able to find him," Qi Xuanming sighed with admiration.
"In that case, we can only report truthfully to Senior Martial Uncle!" Old Man Xuantian sighed helplessly, unable to help but worry, "It's just that besides us looking for Elder Li, the Eternal Demon God of the Demon Abyss and Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor of the Immortal Spirit Realm are also searching for his whereabouts. Can Elder Li truly avoid their eyes and ears?"
As Old Man Xuantian's words fell, the atmosphere immediately became heavy. The Mahayana Cultivators looked at each other, all feeling uneasy. Li Mu's disappearance involved the future of the entire Spirit Realm.
"The Eternal Demon God and Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor are both Cultivators of heaven-piercing Cultivation. If they are determined to find Li Mu, I'm afraid Elder Li will indeed have difficulty avoiding them," Lingyun Old Daoist said in a deep voice. He was well aware of the strength and methods of these two powerful individuals and felt deep concern for Li Mu's situation.
Tianji Old Man was silent for a moment, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes: "We cannot sit idly by. Since he intends to hide, we can only closely monitor the movements of the Eternal Demon God and Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor and prevent them from getting there first."
"Fellow Daoist Tianji is absolutely right." Old Man Xuantian nodded in agreement, then turned to the Cultivators, "Everyone, split up. Some will continue to search this sea region, while others will go to nearby Cultivation cities to search for Elder Li's whereabouts. At the same time, strengthen surveillance of the movements of the Eternal Demon God and Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor."
Upon hearing this, the Cultivators nodded one after another and then, according to Old Man Xuantian's arrangements, took action individually.
In the Outer Star Domain, the Eternal Demon God sat in the dark Demon Palace, surrounded by rolling Devilish Qi. His black eyes gleamed with cold light as he performed tracking secret techniques repeatedly, all of which ended in failure.
Previously, his Eternal Clone had perished because of that person, and the Eternal secret spell left on that person seemed to have been erased, causing the Eternal Demon God's plan to track his whereabouts to fail.
"Damn fellow, where are you hiding? This Venerable will surely drag you out, tear your tendons and peel your bones to vent this hatred!" The Eternal Demon God roared, Devilish Qi surging as if to overturn the entire Demon Palace.
A Demon General beside him, seeing this, quickly stepped forward to report: "My Lord, we have searched extensively in the Heavenly South Sea Region and surrounding areas as per your command, but we still haven't found any trace of Li Mu."
"Useless!" The Eternal Demon God roared, and a powerful demonic force instantly sent the Demon General flying. The Demon General spat blood and fell to the ground in a sorry state.
"I'll give you another chance. You must find Li Mu's whereabouts. This Venerable wants him alive. He has the secret of the Chaotic Great Dao, and this Venerable wants it all!" The Eternal Demon God's tone was icy, filled with undeniable majesty.
Upon hearing this, the Demon Generals all felt a chill in their hearts and quickly took their orders. The Eternal Demon God's methods were incomparably cruel; if they failed to complete the mission, they would surely suffer severe punishment.
Thus, the Demon Abyss forces' Demon Generals dispatched a large number of demonic beasts and demon Cultivators, pouring into Qi Ling Star to search for Li Mu's whereabouts.
For a time, the entire Qi Ling Star was plunged into Chaos and panic. The Devil Abyss Army was like a swarm of locusts passing through; wherever they went, living beings were devastated, and cries of sorrow filled the land.
Unable to find Li Mu's trace, the Demon Generals vented their anger and cruel methods on the innocent Spirit Realm Cultivators and common people. In various regions of the Spirit Realm, numerous Cultivation cities, Sects, and Cultivation Families were successively breached by the Devil Abyss Army. Prosperous streets turned into ruins, and once bustling markets were now left with only deathly silence and despair.
Cultivators either fought to the death or fled in all directions, but in the face of the Devil Abyss Army's almost overwhelming power, their struggles seemed so futile.
In the Central State Spirit Domain, Xuantian Sword Sect, along with a host of great Sects, gathered on the Sect plaza. The atmosphere was solemn and tragic.
Old Man Xuantian stood before everyone, his eyes like torches, gazing at the distant sky shrouded in Devilish Qi. His heart was filled with an unprecedented heaviness and determination.
"Fellow Daoists, the Devil Abyss Army is rampaging through our Spirit Realm, devastating lives, and countless Cultivators and common people have been tragically poisoned. As part of the Spirit Realm, we have an undeniable responsibility to step forward and protect our homeland!" Old Man Xuantian's voice echoed across the plaza, igniting the passion and Battle Intent in everyone's hearts.
"Swear to protect our homeland to the death, protect the Spirit Realm!" The Cultivators shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens and earth.
Xuantian Sword Sect joined forces with the major Sects, including Heavenly Sword Sect, Cloud Hidden Sect, and Blazing Flame Sect, to form a united army, vowing to fight the Devil Abyss Army to the death.
Led by Old Man Xuantian, the allied army marched majestically towards the Devil Abyss Army. Along the way, they recaptured Cultivation cities occupied by the Devil Abyss Army and rescued countless trapped Cultivators and common people, their morale high and Battle Intent soaring.
However, the Demon Abyss forces were not to be underestimated. They possessed powerful demonic beasts and demon Cultivators, and even more, they had two heaven-piercing Demon Gods—the Eternal Demon God and the Black Vulture Demon God—holding down the fort.
Although the Spirit Realm allied army achieved some victories in multiple clashes with the Devil Abyss Army, they also paid a heavy price.
At the same time, the Immortal Spirit Realm army led by Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor also seized the opportunity to act. While searching for the whereabouts of the Chaotic Great Dao practitioner, she intended to intervene in the Spirit Realm, gain a share, and unite with the Human Race Cultivators of the Spirit Realm to obstruct the Devil Abyss Army's invasion.
Although Celestial Phoenix Immortal Emperor outwardly claimed to unite with the Human Realm Cultivators of the Spirit Realm to jointly resist the Devil Abyss Army, her true purpose deep down was to eliminate the Human Race Chaos practitioner, remove potential threats, and control the secret of the Chaotic Great Dao to enhance her own strength.
For a time, all regions of the entire Spirit Realm were filled with slaughter. The entanglement and confrontation between the three major forces plunged the entire Spirit Realm, and even the broader Cultivation Domain, into unprecedented turmoil. (End of this chapter)
