As he spoke, Li Ke observed the two men. Only two breaths had passed, yet they appeared refreshed and energetic, showing no signs of fatigue, as if their suffering at Li Lin's hands was merely an illusion.
He couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. The Life and Death Sutras Cycle Sect truly lived up to their reputation as the most profound Immortal Sutra in the paths of Qi cultivation and physical refinement.
The two were also surprised by what Li Ke said.
[Zhou Jie], the immortals learned through Heavenly Secrets Calculation that it is a legendary celestial root that only appears during the final tribulation of the universe, allowing the universe to be extended for another lifetime.
It actually manifested in the world as an external spiritual root of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
"Could your master be [Doumu Yuanjun]?" Wude asked.
Doumu Yuanjun is the mother of all stars. As long as she exists, the stars will never face their end.
The destiny of the [Zhou Jie] will naturally never come.
It is said that immortal roots will only follow cultivators who have their destiny extinguished, and only Doumu Yuanjun can make them appear in the Human World ahead of time.
"Exactly," Li Lin said.
Seeing Wude's jaw almost drop in astonishment, one wonders what his reaction would be if he knew that [Doumu Yuanjun] herself was right here and praised him for having "good taste".
Phoebe, on the other hand, felt inferior.
Li Lin is a disciple of an immortal, while she, as a direct descendant of an immortal, is actually seven or eight generations removed from him, and is also a half-demon with extremely prominent demonic characteristics.
She instantly lost her spirit and no longer dared to look at Li Lin.
"Li Lin is not that kind of person."
Luna's comforting words and sudden approach surprised Phoebe.
"How did you know? You only just met him."
"I just know."
Luna stared intently at Phoebe.
There was no discrimination in those eyes, only equality, and a hint of worry.
"Don't think that just because of this, I'll let you off during the martial arts demonstration."
Phoebe quickly turned her head.
"Ah--"
With a short scream, she quickly lowered her head, for she met Li Lin's gaze, which was both amused and tinged with pity.
Then came Li Lin's words that warmed her heart. "You are beautiful, the fox you and the you you are now are the same."
"What about me, Junior Brother Li?"
Luna's interruption froze Phoebe's smile, which had been bright and cheerful as she had hoped to exchange pleasantries with Li Lin. The slight goodwill she had just felt towards Luna was replaced by a hint of resentment.
"Senior Sister Lu, you're very beautiful too," Li Lin said with a smile.
"If you didn't have this face, you'd definitely be single your whole life," Li Ke joked. The disappearance of the [Beast Lord] made him relax. "Don't praise another woman's beauty in front of one woman; that's common sense."
Li Lin nodded. Whether as Li Lin or as Basil, he had never seriously pursued a girl; he was better at rejecting them.
Wude Lu Wei, standing to the side, were practically grinding their teeth to powder.
Admittedly, as True Disciple of immortal sects, they have no shortage of beautiful female cultivators pursuing them.
However, Luna and Phoebe, both female cultivators who True Disciple of major immortal sects, had always been arrogant and had never had such an experience before.
To make matters worse, they learned from their conversation that Luna and Phoebe had fallen in love with Li Lin at first sight after only meeting him once.
They even began to suspect that Doumu Yuanjun accepted Li Lin as her disciple because of his ethereal and Daoist-like face.
"Junior Brother Li."
"We'll meet again in the [Mount Sumeru Illusionary Realm]."
Wude and Lu Wei quickly retreated.
They were afraid that if they stayed any longer, they would lose their composure and, disregarding the disparity between the two sides, would be unable to resist taking action again.
"Hey, wait a minute." Before Li Ke could stop them, the two had already disappeared and left the [Beast Arena].
The Beast Arena itself is a vast grotto-heaven, much like the Four Symbols Domain.
"They would be very surprised if they knew that you would not be participating in the martial arts competition."
"It's great that you won't be participating, Li Lang." Phoebe smiled brightly. "I can't possibly make a move against you, Li Lang."
"I can." A hint of pride crept into Luna's ethereal voice.
Phoebe's smile became even more genuine.
—I must have been out of my mind to consider you my rival; Li Lang is destined to be mine.
Unaware of Phoebe's inner thoughts, Luna continued, "Junior Brother Li, you must have looked just as good when you lost to me. What a pity."
Phoebe lowered her head, pursed her lips, and suppressed a laugh.
Haha, you're actually regretting it now.
She felt increasingly confident.
Doumu Yuanjun, however, was on high alert.
—That little bitch, she's really something.
In her opinion, Li Lin had seen all kinds of suitors, but someone as special as Luna was rare and more likely to catch her eye.
But she remained calm on the surface. "Lin'er, it's time for you to come back. The Nine Tribulations is the most important realm, you can't be careless."
This time, she didn't just use her voice; she even made herself visible.
The sky above the [Beast Arena] turned black, the sun and moon retreated, and a goddess, like Starlight source, appeared and took Li Lin's hand. Without any hesitation, she took out a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped Li Lin's forehead, which had no beads of sweat.
"Greetings, Yuanjun." x3
The three of them hurriedly went to pay their respects.
Phoebe naturally saw that this was a provocation to her rival, but this was a fairy, and she once again felt powerless. Last time, it was because of her inescapable birth and the demon blood she could not give up.
"Damn old woman! Get your filthy hands off me! No, Li Lang, Li Lang!"
She was furious inside, but dared not show the slightest dissatisfaction on her face.
—Wait for me, Li Lang, wait for me to cultivate into the body of Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.
She finally let go of her resentment and prepared to cultivate the [Demon Domain] [Pure Blood Collection].
Some special races, having kept up with the version updates, are comparable to immortals upon reaching adulthood.
The same applies to Pure-blood dragons and Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox.
This can be considered a harmless form of "Daoist influence".
The heritable True Blood cultivated from the Profound Nether Abyss, the Nether Blood Collection, the Demon Domain, and the Pure Blood Collection is just such a thing.
"Junior Brother Li's forehead is very clean, [Yuanjun], what are you wiping?"
Luna, on the other hand, was completely unaffected; she was more curious than anything else.
"Could this be a magic treasure? One that can cleanse the mind and solidify wisdom?"
Her words were incredibly sincere.
This left Doumu Yuanjun, who was about to pull Li Lin away, speechless for a moment.
"I'm leaving now. Lin'er, you should return to the cave as soon as possible."
After Doumu Yuanjun left, Li Ke breathed a sigh of relief.
He said, "This is the consequence of your failure to abide by our [Ping'an Ji] rules. You are not free to enter or leave your own grotto, and you can only be a spectator in this martial arts exercise."
"Freedom and security are relative," Li Lin said. "You should know why."
Li Ke mouthed the words "Dark Magic Fairy".
He didn't believe that the Dark Magic Fairy would actually dare to make a move in the Mount Sumeru Illusionary Realm. In his opinion, it was just that Doumu Yuanjun was being overly cautious, even more so than the people in their Ping'an Ji.
Upon returning to the cave, Buola immediately came to greet them, like a husky seeing its owner return home.
Doumu Yuanjun, however, had her back to him, like a cold and aloof little kitten.
She snorted, "The two new marks on the [Grotto-Heaven Nexus] must be those two people."
The mark on the [Grotto-Heaven Nexus] is equivalent to adding a WeChat friend, enabling video, voice, and text communication.