Chapter 220

Chapter 220: You All Have the Wrong Person

With a big knife in hand, Li Hui traversed over a hundred miles. By the time he emerged from the thicket, the sky was already bright.

As he walked, his body bore the marks of injuries, and the bamboo box on his back was nearly falling apart. At this moment, he could hardly move, his legs felt weak, and he collapsed onto the ground, gasping heavily: “Hah, hah, hah, I can’t run anymore, I really can’t move! I need to lie down for a while.”

He sprawled out on the ground, and even without using his Buddhist power, his grip on the Golden Silk Ring Knife lost its response.

The knife was covered in traces of burning and freezing, with several nicks along the blade, and the faint talisman light attempted to repair the damage but was in vain—it struggled far more than Li Hui, the wielder, did.

“That’s dangerous; I must have been to the Ghost Gate at least dozens of times on this journey,” Li Hui said, asking the Brocade Ball, “Is this big knife done for? It’s becoming less reliable.”

The Brocade Ball replied, “It’s not done for; it’s in great shape, but it needs Miao Jade’s nurturing. Once the time comes for you to start refining talismans, you can use blood and talisman methods to wash away the original master’s aura. If it weren’t for all the dangers faced on this journey, it wouldn’t have been easy to tame this knife.”

“Don’t mention Miao Jade; I’m definitely short on jade in my destiny. You might not know, but here’s the deal…” Li Hui shared his situation, bringing up the Nine-Nine Scatter Yuan Gourd and the Dao Rhythm Residual Talisman, hoping to gain some insight from the Brocade Ball.

“The Jade Heart of the Earth Court? That’s a great item! Has it become the core of the formation? Did the Cold Armor Emperor get stuck in the gourd for you to collect the Remnant Souls?”

The Brocade Ball chuckled coldly, “Don’t be afraid of him; he’s in no position to threaten anyone now. If I’m not mistaken, after his modification, the Nine-Nine Scatter Yuan Gourd has become an exotic treasure—nine palaces, nine remnants, nine truths, nine origins, nine images, nine systems, nine heavens, and nine earths. After gathering nine souls, it will definitely form the Yin-Yang mana, helping the emperor to slay cultivators’ souls and repair himself.”

“Ha, that’s fine, then,” Li Hui said, relaxing. “He couldn’t scare me, and I have no intention of helping him collect those Remnant Souls.”

“There are many ways to utilize this gourd, given the solid foundation he laid down,” the Brocade Ball said enviously. “If I hadn’t gone through such trauma, I would want to stay inside for a few days; it would greatly benefit the healing of my injuries. What a pity! What a pity! Now that I’m starting over, I can’t enjoy the benefits of that gourd.”

“What about the Dao Rhythm Residual Talisman? Why did it suddenly appear to assist me in gathering demon souls?” Li Hui pondered deeply about this matter, previously thinking the Brocade Ball was grasping at straws, but it turned out the Jade Symbol Sect truly had a Dao Rhythm Residual Talisman.

“It’s simple; you’ve brought great fortune to the Jade Symbol Sect, and the Dao Rhythm Residual Talisman has regained a bit of spirit. For it to continue to recover, it must protect my life because only by being beside me can it draw the Fortune Ascending Talisman. If I don’t acknowledge it, it will fail; this is an innate gift, irreplaceable.”

The Brocade Ball seemed indifferent, continuing, “The key point is that the residual talisman has regained some spirit. The Jade Symbol Sect has worked hard for years, but because the fortune was diversified, they never succeeded. Who could have thought that the Jade Symbol Sect would end up in this state, concentrating their fortune instead and finally achieving success? This indicates that this fellow needs fortune to support him, and after I was born, I gained the innate ability to draw the Fortune Ascending Talisman, which seems related to this talisman.”

“Now I get it,” Li Hui realized.

Limited by his cultivation and vision, he was still at a point he couldn’t touch high-end matters. In his heart, he thought, “Fortunately, I’m not far from the earth axis. Although I’ve left a trail along the way, I can’t guarantee Senior Sister Yue will catch up on time. If I had known we would part ways, I would have brought Chef Zhao and Huo Qiniang along; what if they end up lost on Wan Nest Island?”

He initially thought the path would be easier after attacking the island twice, but it was still a life-and-death struggle. Now, he couldn’t even go back unless the Golden Silk Ring Knife could return to its former state.

The knife felt sluggish, no longer a help. Li Hui tucked it away, rested enough, and continued onward.

He was heading in the right direction; pressing against the Jade Heart of the Earth Court made his sensitivity sharper. The earth axis should be about twenty miles away, as if saying that success was just a step away.

Yet, that one step felt like a matter of life and death; every step felt precarious. Two days later, he was still ten miles away, nearly losing direction and choosing the wrong path.

“Hah, hah…” The sky seemed to roar with a hurricane as several feathers fell not far ahead, shimmering with light, indicating they were good treasures. But Li Hui dared not make a move.

Before long, the feathers were drawn away, flying into the air. Li Hui finally breathed a sigh of relief; even the Feathered Beasts here were beyond normal reasoning. At first, when he saw the feathers drop, he thought he had stumbled upon a great opportunity. However, just as he touched one, it triggered a cascade of countless feathers rushing toward him, more like flying swords than flying swords. If he hadn’t run quickly, it would have been more than just getting injured; he could have lost his life.

Injuries had become a common occurrence, and he had already used up all the healing herbs he had. Surviving until now felt hard enough; he wished he could fall asleep and wake up a year ago at the Jade Symbol Sect—in that case, how splendid it would be!

Wan Nest Island, as the trial ground of the Hongmo Sect, was inhospitable even for true disciples in the core area. Li Hui had already completed a trial that most could hardly imagine, but he hadn’t thought about it in that way.

“The Wan Nest Island formation surrounds the area with numerous restrictions. I wonder what the purpose of building this island is; could it also be for trials? It’s hard to fathom.”

In the depths of fate, a hint of green light descended, sending out invisible azure lines sweeping over Li Hui. Following a certain pattern for calculations, the green light rapidly morphed into ancient glyphs, wavering between eight and nine, finally settling on the number nine.

No one noticed this, except for the eyes of the silver snake bracelet that flickered briefly before curling its lip…

Li Hui continued to struggle forward when suddenly, a red light shot out.

“Is someone attacking?” He didn’t have time to think further, immediately activating his Ideal Body, causing his form to flicker and move, while the red light missed him entirely.

“Eh?” The approaching figure was astonished, then sneered, “Right, this makes sense; otherwise, how could a Concentrating Spirit stage cultivator pass through such treacherous obstacles to enter the core area? Hand over the Jade Heart of the Earth Court and I’ll spare your life.”

The figure mistook the flickering shadow created by Li Hui’s Ideal Body as a full-fledged Concentrating Spirit stage cultivator, even though he was still at the Spirit Motion stage.

“Here for the Jade Heart of the Earth Court?” Li Hui’s heart twinged. He suddenly stopped, feeling a surge of heat throughout his body, indicating there was a terrifying formation nearby, and his Ideal Body couldn’t move freely.

“You all have the wrong person! I don’t have the Jade Heart of the Earth Court on me; I followed the trail bit by bit to find this place. You can search me if you don’t believe it.”

“Hmph, you can’t escape our grasp.” The figure glanced back, their expression turning fierce. Before going around, dozens of cultivators had endured hardships to reach this point, and now only six remained.

Six people! Two junior brothers and three nephews had fallen victim just to chase this kid for the Jade Heart of the Earth Court; this kid was audacious enough to glaringly deceive them.

“Senior Liu Yao, please…” Before he could finish, Liu Yao appeared as if facing a formidable foe: “Be careful; this kid has a high-level demon cultivator behind him. It’s a copper vessel.”