Hearing this, Sect Master Tongtian showed a trace of embarrassment. Calling it something he had snatched was indeed quite fitting.
After all, he had snatched it from his eldest brother, the Grand Pure Saint. But taking his own eldest brother's things could not be called stealing.
Seeing this, Li Er thought that if Third Brother Pan did not correct this habit of looting, it would definitely cause trouble sooner or later.
Helplessly, he said, "You need to change this habit in the future. Do not do such dangerous things again.
"You are now a true disciple of the Interception Sect. If someone reports you to Sect Master Tongtian, you may be punished.
"And it will also accumulate bad karma."
Li Er paused, then asked, "Do you know whether our Interception Sect has any rules? Things like forbidding disciples from killing one another or bullying fellow disciples?"
Sect Master Tongtian smiled faintly. A thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately refined the sect rules Li Er had mentioned and engraved them upon the stele outside Biyou Palace.
"Don't worry. I borrowed them from those demons who left. Our Interception Sect has strict rules; I understand what you mean."
Watching Sect Master Tongtian's unconcerned manner, Li Er could not help feeling a headache coming on. He secretly thought, If this continues, he definitely won't escape calamity.
Unfortunately, his strength was too weak. Otherwise, he would have given him a good beating and let him know that there was always someone stronger.
At this moment, Sect Master Tongtian handed him a gourd and said, "Try these pills. I have already tasted them. They are fairly flavorful, but they do little for me.
"They should be well suited to your current realm. Eat some to improve your cultivation speed."
Li Er accepted the gourd. Its entire body was azure-purple, and faint sword qi seeped from it, giving it an extraordinary aura.
He was astonished. Such a high-grade gourd was actually being used to hold pills?
He examined it carefully. At Sect Master Tongtian's prompting, he refined the gourd. Not bad—it actually had thirty-six divine restrictions. Could it be an Innate Spiritual Treasure?
Probably not. If it were an Innate Spiritual Treasure, how could someone at the Golden Core Stage refine it instantly? This gourd had to be a high-quality imitation.
Besides, how could Third Brother Pan possibly rob someone of such a treasure? So it was definitely an imitation.
At this point, he frowned tightly. He sensed that the gourd could nurture sword qi, and that it contained strands of familiar, special energy.
He had absorbed this energy while cultivating. It should have been one of the higher-grade attribute energies, far stronger than ordinary spiritual qi.
After all, after absorbing this energy, his golden core became increasingly lustrous and seemed to grow ever so slightly.
However, it was difficult for him to absorb during cultivation. Only under occasional special circumstances could he absorb a tiny amount. He had never expected this gourd to be able to gather it.
It was a good thing.
Yet he did not know that this special energy was chaos qi, naturally contained within the Azure-Purple Gourd. The gourd's innate ability was to tear open endless void, absorb and purify chaos qi, and nurture supreme sword qi for its owner.
Li Er glanced at the pills inside the gourd. They gleamed with golden light, numbering more than a hundred.
He poured out one pill and saw nine mysterious patterns engraved upon it.
He compared it with the alchemy scriptures he had read, but the more he looked, the more confused he became. The pill felt somewhat fake.
Could this be a Nine Revolution Golden Pill?
Then he shook his head, casting aside the unrealistic thought.
After all, Third Brother Pan was merely a Grand Celestial Immortal. How could he possibly obtain so many Nine Revolution Golden Pills?
Moreover, he had snatched these pills from those demons who had left. If those demons possessed such treasures, why would they need to seek entry into the Interception Sect?
They had come to the Interception Sect to take a master only because they wanted to raise their realms. With so many pills in their cave abodes, could they not simply cultivate by swallowing pills relentlessly?
"Try one."
At this moment, Sect Master Tongtian felt somewhat helpless. He had actually forgotten to conceal the patterns on the Nine Revolution Golden Pills. Afraid that Li Er would notice something suspicious, he did not know how to explain it.
However, when he saw Li Er preliminarily refine the Innate supreme treasure, the Azure-Purple Gourd, that he had given him, he breathed a sigh of relief. With this thing protecting him, Li Er could at least hold on until he came to rescue him.
It was not that he was unwilling to give him other treasures. Rather, some treasures were simply too conspicuous, too famous, and entangled with too much karma.
After considering it over and over, only the Azure-Purple Gourd seemed especially suitable. It could produce a certain amount of chaos qi and allow Li Er to evade Heavenly Dao's deductions.
That was the crucial point.
Li Er said softly, "Then I'll try it." With that, he swallowed one.
"Mm, it's a little sweet."
Once it entered his mouth, he tasted a faint sweetness. That was his most honest assessment.
Very quickly, however, he had already concluded that this golden pill was counterfeit.
Those nine patterns had merely been carved onto it to make it look more impressive and fool people. He had never expected the Primordial World to have this kind of knockoff branding as well.
It seemed that some things remained similar even across time and space.
After swallowing it, his golden core only brightened slightly. It was far less substantial than cultivating on his own.
He secretly thought, If I eat too many low-quality pills like these, I'll definitely develop pill toxins.
When that time came, if the pill toxins could not be removed, they would instead become a burden on his body.
Still, the Azure-Purple Gourd was a good thing. It could produce special energy for him to absorb, making it much more suitable for him than pills.
Sect Master Tongtian stared intently at Li Er, then his face filled with astonishment.
Something was wrong!
How could Li Er show no reaction after swallowing such a precious Nine Revolution Golden Pill? At the very least, his realm should have improved. Was that all?
Could the Nine Revolution Golden Pills his eldest brother had given him be counterfeit? That should not be possible...
He muttered to himself before suddenly realizing, "Cunning eldest brother! No wonder he ran off so quickly without daring to delay for even a moment. He was afraid I would discover these things were fake."
Still unwilling to give up, Sect Master Tongtian asked, "Li Er, how was the pill?"
Li Er answered without hesitation, "It was acceptable. The medicinal effect was weak.
"Third Brother Pan, do not take risks again in the future.
"I'll refine pills for you later. Don't eat such inferior pills; they will cause pill toxins.
"That unscrupulous alchemist actually carved nine patterns onto the pill just to make it look good, imitating the appearance of a Nine Revolution Golden Pill.
"The Great Dao is simple and pure, and all things should return to unity. A true Nine Revolution Golden Pill would not have such gaudy patterns."
Sect Master Tongtian: ...
Sect Master Tongtian was speechless for a moment, then came to his senses. What Li Er had just said made a great deal of sense, especially the line: the Great Dao was simple and pure, and all things should return to unity.
It actually gave him an insight. He needed to find a place to comprehend it.
"Fine. If you want to refine pills, I'll get you the materials."
Li Er watched Sect Master Tongtian rush out in a flurry, utterly speechless. Had this fellow become addicted to robbing people?
Or had his words embarrassed him?
It seemed that in the future, he would need to consider Third Brother Pan's feelings.
Time passed. His eldest brother came several times, and after a hundred years, he finally left with him. In the Primordial World, time was the cheapest thing of all.
Li Er slowly opened his eyes and sensed the changes in his body. He was immediately speechless.
A hundred years had passed, and he was still at the Golden Core Stage. His golden core had only grown from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a mung bean.
To be honest, if Third Brother Pan had not constantly encouraged him, he would have given up cultivating long ago.
For the entire hundred years, he had cultivated diligently and never involved himself in outside affairs. With his Golden Core Stage cultivation, what the hell could he even participate in?
Any random servant disciple in the Interception Sect was stronger than him now. As an inner disciple, he had better not compare himself to them. If Sect Master Tongtian saw that his cultivation was too low and expelled him from the sect, he would cry himself to death.
How nice it was to hide here and cultivate in peace. Every so often, Third Brother Pan would come to see him and bring medicinal herbs for him to try refining pills with.
Moreover, life in the cave abode was quite good. Whenever he tired of cultivating, he would study the knowledge contained in the jade slips. Combined with the knowledge from his previous life, he had come up with many interesting ideas.
Some concepts from the novels he had read in his previous life could also be borrowed. He could already perform simple Five Elements divine abilities.
Since he was inside the cave abode, he always kept the disturbance to a minimum. Otherwise, if he damaged the cave abode, he would have to trouble Third Brother Pan to repair it, because he still could not understand the complex formations arranged through magic.
For example, flames. He controlled them to the thickness of a strand of hair and slowly transformed them into all kinds of shapes.
However, his mind had recently become somewhat unstable. He vaguely sensed a crisis approaching, though logically speaking, he had completely avoided everything by hiding here.
That so-called crisis should not have been able to appear.
Could it be because of Third Brother Pan? Had he robbed too many people?
"Based on the usual schedule, he should have come by now. Could something really have happened?"
Biyou Palace.
Sect Master Tongtian was somewhat troubled at the moment. He had once worried that the Interception Sect was developing too slowly, but now he worried that it was developing too quickly.
As the Interception Sect's rules spread, they had now reached the entire Primordial World. These rules had unexpectedly produced an effect of enlightening all beings, causing merit to descend every day. It was practically like receiving money every day.
He did not care about this small amount of merit, but that did not mean other factions did not care.
Especially those two shameless ones from the West. If they learned that merit was produced here every day, they would go mad.
After all, they had made great vows to become Saints and owed Heavenly Dao an unknown amount of merit. They were practically tearing their scalps apart trying to obtain merit to repay Heavenly Dao.
Although he was not afraid of those two in terms of force, it did not feel good to be targeted by thieves—especially two powerful and shameless Saints.
Then there was the Heaven's Pride Ranking. He had initially thought it was merely a ranking list, but who would have expected it to gather destiny?
Whoever had a name on the ranking would receive a boost in destiny. When it came to manipulating destiny, the ancient ferocious beast Shenni was the ancestor of the field.
Even Shenni had not developed such a method. The more people appeared on the ranking, the stronger the destiny it gathered became.
This was not merely individual destiny; it could also gather the destiny of his Interception Sect.
Not only could the Heaven's Pride Ranking gather destiny, but it also bestowed Great Dao merit every day, encouraging these heavenly prides to grow.
In just a hundred short years, the Interception Sect's development had already exceeded imagination. It was not merely an increase in numbers; its quality went without saying.
People walked the Heart-Tempering Path every day, and merit also descended upon the Heart-Tempering Path, because it too served as a means of enlightening all beings.
If this continued, Sect Master Tongtian felt that such merit could even create a Merit Saint.
Most importantly, this change would definitely draw the attention of the other Saints. Once they deduced matters according to these clues, they would certainly discover Li Er's existence.
Honestly, if he had not met Li Er, spoken with him, and gained his understanding of the world and his way of doing things, Tongtian would never have worried about such matters.
With his temperament, if anyone dared covet his things, they would first have to ask the Immortal Slaughtering Sword.
Before the other party even came to his door, he would block their entrance and directly say, "Fellow Daoist, please draw your sword."
If he truly could not win, he would shout, "Eldest Brother, Second Brother, your little brother is about to die!"
Through Li Er's way of thinking, he understood that the taller the tree, the more wind it caught. This saying applied even to Saints.
But the problem was that the Interception Sect's current scale and development trend truly made his scalp tingle.
If this continued, the Interception Sect would definitely become an obstacle in Heavenly Dao's path in the future. If he were not still concealing the situation here, the Primordial World would already have exploded.
"Forget it. I'll go talk to Li Er and see whether he has any ideas."
A mysterious cave abode on Golden Ao Island.
When Li Er saw Sect Master Tongtian enter with his head hanging low, he was immediately intrigued. After all, Tongtian had always been high-spirited whenever he saw him.
It was rare to see him looking so dejected.
Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked, "What? Did your raid fail today?"
Sect Master Tongtian walked to the table, poured himself a cup of tea, and said helplessly, "There's no such thing. As long as I act, there is no chance of failure.
"It's just that I had a feeling today that the Interception Sect will be in great danger if it continues developing like this."
Li Er immediately perked up and asked seriously, "You have that feeling too?"
Good heavens, Third Brother Pan, you're incredible. Could he have already sensed the danger of the future Investiture of the Gods War?
No! I, Li Er, need to learn from this sword cultivator. I need to study seriously. This clear sword heart can actually sense future crises.
Sect Master Tongtian immediately became alert. Did Li Er have a solution? He simply nodded with a deliberately worried expression.
"Li Er, tell me what you think."
Li Er frowned and slowly began, "The Interception Sect is currently developing rapidly. Its rules have spread throughout the Primordial World and unexpectedly begun enlightening all beings, with merit descending daily.
"But this merit has made other factions jealous.
"Everyone has seen the methods employed by those two Western Saints. In their pursuit of merit, they will stop at nothing.
"Now that the Interception Sect is flourishing so greatly, it will certainly attract their covetous eyes."
He paused, lifted his teacup, and took a light sip before continuing, "There is also the Heaven's Pride Ranking. I thought it was just a simple ranking, but it can actually gather destiny.
"Those who make the ranking receive a boost in destiny. This method of using destiny will likely give rise to many conflicts.
"If this continues, the Interception Sect's momentum will only become stronger and stronger. This is a cause for concern."
Sect Master Tongtian could not help nodding beside him. After all, he had told Li Er some things about the Interception Sect, so it was not as though Li Er did not know what the sect had become.
Li Er pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "The Interception Sect's development appears prosperous on the surface, but danger lies hidden within.
"Its current prosperity is like a double-edged sword. While it draws everyone's attention, it also brings many troubles.
"The Interception Sect's scale continues to expand, and its numbers are growing. Among them, there will be no shortage of people with ill intentions.
"Once such people commit acts that violate sect rules, they will damage the Interception Sect's reputation.
"Furthermore, as the Interception Sect develops, its conflicts with other factions will gradually increase in the future.
"Once conflict breaks out, the Interception Sect's foundation will be shaken."
Sect Master Tongtian nodded, his expression solemn as he said, "You are right. The Interception Sect is developing too quickly—so quickly that it makes one uneasy.
"I fear that a massive crisis is hidden behind this development.
"We must prepare for trouble before it happens and make plans in advance."
After all, the two major factions ruling the Primordial World at present were the Witch Clan and the Demon Race.
Li Er looked at Sect Master Tongtian and said seriously, "The Interception Sect's development cannot focus only on outward prosperity. It must pay greater attention to internal management.
"But these are matters that the sect leader and Saints need to consider. They are not things you and I can influence.
"Still, the Interception Sect has given us the grace of rebirth. We cannot allow it to collapse like this.
"Actually, we can use our own method."
Sect Master Tongtian's eyes immediately lit up. He had not expected Li Er to analyze the problems the Interception Sect would face and even think of a solution.
"Go on."
Li Er fell into thought. He knew that the future Investiture of the Gods War could not be avoided.
Because Heavenly Dao wanted to integrate the entire Primordial World, establish the Heavenly Court, and govern the Primordial World.
The Interception Sect would later be known as the sect where ten thousand immortals came to pay homage. It would surely become a thorn in Heavenly Dao's side, and Heavenly Dao would absolutely find a way to destroy it.
Of course, the great Witch-Demon Calamity had not yet begun, so the Interception Sect still had plenty of time to make arrangements.
Naturally, he could directly find Sect Master Tongtian and explain the problems the Interception Sect would face in the future.
But his cultivation was too low. He could not even meet Sect Master Tongtian, and even if he said it, no one would believe him.
"We should go outside and leave a spark for the Interception Sect. Secretly establish a sect and pass down the Interception Sect's teachings.
"If it truly encounters trouble in the future, we can use this small sect to restore its glory."
Sect Master Tongtian's eyes lit up at once. That was right—he could establish another small Interception Sect outside, or a branch sect of the Interception Sect.
He could gather some of the sect's top disciples into this small Interception Sect. Even if an irreversible crisis truly arose in the future,
he would still possess the capital to make a comeback. This contingency plan was brilliant!
"Good. I support you. I'll go with you."
Before you continue