Chapter 329

Chapter 329: Ghost Fox In-laws

Since the Jin Tian Treasure Mirror revealed the fortune of the Mirror Lake faction, the Haotu Sect suddenly radiated peace and harmony, with everyone greeting each other warmly, and the elders from various factions were careful not to speak too loudly.

However, everyone’s attention quickly shifted to Dalong, Haofu, and Jingzhou as news confirmed the emergence of the ancient ruins. Numerous fierce beasts surged to the surface, rampaging as the sects from the two states called for help. Blood letters had already reached Haotu’s main peak.

The latest update reported that the Dalong Iron Mask Army had suffered total annihilation, with Qiongqi, Gu Niu, Fei Yi, and Gu Diao causing chaos everywhere. The Dalong Ascension Ranking King had colluded with enemy cultivators, and the underground ruins were opened by them, resulting in a situation that exceeded all expectations.

What was initially thought to be merely Qiongqi turned out to be from the first layer. In the last month, Gu Niu, Fei Yi, and Gu Diao had breached the surface, revealing that the ruins were composed of multiple layers.

The higher-ups of the Haotu Sect were unconcerned about the suffering; their focus lay solely on the value of these ruins. Even when the disciples discussed the issue, it revolved around obtaining treasures, while the lives of common people mattered little to them.

Li Hui, hailing from Haofu, decided to contribute by taking out a hundred treasures along with fifteen artifacts, issuing a bounty to kill the ancient fierce beasts under the pretense of collecting materials. He believed that with a generous reward, there would surely be brave warriors willing to slay even one more beast, thus saving many lives.

Soon, the main peak of Haotu Sect made a decision to send true disciples to investigate the ruins, with Yuan Ciheng and Luo Meini prominently listed among them.

The list was quite targeted; although the number of participants was small, most had good relations with the Mirror Lake faction.

Li Hui, sitting in the Water Moon Palace, felt a wave of pressure descend and began to concentrate wholly on talisman-making, clearing out all the rare talisman paper and talisman ink on hand to craft hundreds of artifacts to send over.

Previously, Qiniang had exchanged points for treasures and elixirs; now, what better time to use them? He dragged Yuan and Luo to the storeroom to select items. Not just them, anyone with good ties to Mirror Lake would receive support, along with gifted talisman flags and decrees. He continuously added layers of insurance, feeling it was still not enough!

Even though Yuan Ciheng and Luo Meini held high statuses as true disciples, they were astonished by Li Hui’s generosity, building their strength with real gold and silver.

Just the precious pills alone amounted to over a dozen bottles, along with so many treasures that they felt light-headed when leaving the storeroom. Originally reluctant to accept the artifacts, they realized after Qiniang explained that they were being gifted items meant as explosives. How extravagant! They felt even more dizzy.

Li Hui did not show himself; he was preparing as well.

Not being on the scout list suited him just fine, allowing him to stay in the sect and enhance his abilities. To support Yuan and others on their expedition, he had given away almost everything a Condensed Essence Stage practitioner could use.

Considering that his Master instructed him to distance himself from the Water Moon Mirror Sky, hinting at the need to avoid trouble, he did not deliberately develop more disciples — keeping only Chef Zhao, Huo Qiniang, Zhong Yuan, Jin Feng, and Mingming connected to Mirror Lake.

He sent Song Zining back to Nanxun City to oversee affairs, providing two batches of supplies recently and ensuring he could train at home while also passing back an Inner Sect Disciples token. Although not as prestigious as that of a personal disciple, it still granted him a bit of status.

Currently, only five hundred hectares of wasteland remained beneath Mirror Lake, while the remaining two thousand five hundred hectares of spiritual fields had all been transferred into the Mysterious Pearl.

Do not let the five hundred hectares within the Mysterious Pearl fool you; its thickness had been stacked five times, and much of the spiritual energy-rich rocks were excavated to build up the mountains. Even the Water Moon Palace had lost over half its volume. Had it not been for the concealment of the formation and calamity power, one might wonder what the sect leader’s wife would think.

"That’s enough," Li Hui called for Chef Zhao and the others, drawing them into the Mysterious Pearl. He turned back to the Water Moon Palace and said, "Master, I am going to the secret realm to cultivate and have planted many peach trees to accompany you. I won’t emerge until I’ve completed the secret realm."

After the earth at the lake’s bottom burned, tender seedlings sprouted.

Ordinary peach trees grew rapidly, relying on the remnant mineral veins and spiritual energy at the lake’s bottom; within a month, they could develop into towering trees. The preset talisman array would automatically attack, causing the towering trees to wither and collapse. During this time, the growing peaches would rot, providing peach cores that would create new towering trees, which would then wither and collapse again, cycling quickly until the Peach Blossom Mist emerged.

Li Hui aimed to drain the last bit of usefulness from the Water Moon Mirror Sky; the Peach Blossom Mist could aid Yao’er, and he also needed the immortal peach tree core.

After digging for information from Qiniang, he learned that to attract the female cultivators from Cui Wei Peak closer to the Golden Jade Peach Tree, he needed a piece of the immortal peach tree core. This meant that while the tree itself perished through tribulations, the core remained unscathed and could sprout branches and leaves. The chance of this occurrence was reportedly very slim. He wondered if sacrificing five hundred hectares of spiritual fields would yield results.

The next day, a sudden ominous wind swept beneath Mirror Lake.

Before long, this wind condensed into two fox shadows that landed on the ground, surveying the area in astonishment. "How could this be? Did we intrude and Li Maocai become overwhelmed, moving the Water Moon Mirror Sky?"

"No, a massive calamity power still surrounds Mirror Lake; Li Maocai must still be in closed-door cultivation," the other fox shadow remarked in admiration. "The old fellow lives up to his reputation as a mastery cultivator, always surprising us. How many ghost cultivators did he slay in his prime? We don’t know how much longer it will take to establish a passage for our sect to finally enter Dalong."

"Forget that, what about that Li Hui kid? It seems he’s exited the Water Moon Mirror Sky. They’re rushing him. Earlier, I sent two disciples to Shanghe Village, just in case he showed up, but unexpectedly, he really went. I thought it would be a safe bet, but he used a strange gourd to destroy a piece of my divided soul. After that, he swiftly escaped and ran to Yunzhou, joining the Haotu Sect and finding a dead-end refuge."

"Hmph, still having the audacity to show his face? Wasn’t that just a couple of scapegoats? They don’t know our true origins, but they did well in luring the Dalong Ascension King, breaking the seal and releasing the fierce beasts without us getting entangled in any cause. I must inform you that Cheng Yuyan has the great favor of the higher-ups, and to surprise her, they want us to catch Li Hui at all costs."

"Understood, old man, stop rambling. I’m much better; I never cause trouble." The fox shadow continued to ramble, "Look at how that little slut Cheng Yuyan is, at what cost did her husband bring her into the dynasty? She’s flirting with others…"

"Shut up, I’m catching his scent now. This time, our in-laws have gathered all the divided souls, and we cannot make another mistake. How troublesome is that gourd you mentioned?"

At this moment, Li Hui roamed through the secret realm.

He found himself in the strangest of the eighteen secret realms of the Haotu Sect: the Azure Sky Meteorite Realm. Legend had it that a fragment of the Azure Sky layer fell into the earth, where all rocks and debris floated in the air, accompanied by unbelievable beams of light.

The dangers came from three aspects: occasionally, Azure Sky Rock Worms would shoot towards him with incredible speed. Then there were the light beams, which contained terrifying shockwaves that could disintegrate even a Condensed Essence Stage practitioner. The final danger was the most fearsome: he could hear the songs of outer domain demons.

These demons were not demon cultivators but rather formless and intangible demonic beings, possibly evolved from inner demons or spirits tainted by demonic energy, or even coming from other worlds. The cultivation world had no fixed explanation for them. Encountering such beings could bring indeterminate crises, and one might lose themselves, becoming a puppet.

Before entering the secret realm, warnings had been inscribed on the stone walls, yet Li Hui still proceeded inside. To him, this place was not dangerous at all; rather, it felt like a treasure trove to replenish the recent heavy losses.