Through his senses, he detected Six Shallow Scratches on the Wheel of Life deep beneath the sea.
This Fortune had actually rejuvenated his physical body to the state of a six-year-old.
He had to admit, this was a tremendous surprise.
What puzzled Li Zhi was why no Divine Mark had emerged while he was opening his Bitter Sea.
Moreover, the area of his Bitter Sea was seriously oversized.
Was this really a Bitter Sea that a cultivator who had just opened one could possess?
Although he did not know how large other people's Bitter Seas were when they opened them, they absolutely could not exceed the size of a palm.
Yet the area of the Bitter Sea he had just opened was actually as large as a football field.
Was this really a Bitter Sea that a cultivator of the Sea of Wheels Realm could possess?
Still, puzzlement was puzzlement. Li Zhi was not overly worried, because his body did not feel any discomfort.
Very soon, Li Zhi attributed this exaggerated effect to the Ginseng Fruit, which possessed almost half the medicinal power of an Immortality Elixir.
A complete Ginseng Fruit alone could allow a Great Emperor Level powerhouse to live another Lifetime.
Although a Great Emperor Level powerhouse living another Lifetime was not necessarily due to the medicinal power accumulated by an Immortality Elixir fruit, the Life Force contained within one Immortality Elixir fruit was absolutely immense. It definitely contained far more Life Essence than Divine Source of the same volume.
After finishing opening his Bitter Sea, Li Zhi did not end his cultivation.
Instead, while his insights into the Mysterious Method were still fresh, he began trying to cultivate the true Wheel and Sea Scroll of the "Primordial Longevity Art."
Silently circulating the Mysterious Method of the Wheel and Sea Scroll of the Primordial Longevity Art, Li Zhi soon reached the entry level.
However, after cultivating for only one cycle, he stopped.
Whether it was because his Bitter Sea was too enormous or for some other reason, after circulating the cultivation method, he did not feel that he had made the slightest progress.
Taking out the Scriptures made of Eternal Blue Gold, Li Zhi infused the Divine Power he had just cultivated into them.
In an instant, a profound chanting sound rang in his ears.
The chanting sound did not disappear until sunrise.
A light of enlightenment shone from Li Zhi's eyes.
His comprehension of the Primordial Longevity Art had increased by another thirty percent.
At the same time, he learned a cultivation method called the "Longevity Locking Body Art." This cultivation method had not been recorded in the Scriptures. Instead, it had appeared in his mind through comprehension.
It seemed that the predecessors had deliberately processed this cultivation method so that it could not be seen with the naked eye. Only after activating the Scriptures made of Eternal Blue Gold with magical power would there be a certain chance of comprehending it.
At the same time, Li Zhi understood why the predecessors had dealt with it so secretly.
This "Longevity Locking Body Art" could be called one of the fundamental Secret Arts of the "Primordial Longevity Art."
After mastering it, one could lock away all of one's own essence and energy, ensuring that none of it leaked out.
Once the cultivation method reached Great Achievement, one could even seal away one's Five Great Secret Realms, severing their connection with the outside world.
This made someone who had mastered the cultivation method appear no different from a mortal in the eyes of outsiders.
Being able to lock away one's Life Essence was only the first layer of the cultivation method. Being able to lock away a cultivator's Spiritual Power was the second layer. Upon reaching the highest level, one could even completely seal the Great Dao one had cultivated within one's own body.
This allowed the Five Great Secret Realms within the human body to complete an ultimate internal cycle without relying on even the slightest bit of essence, energy, or nourishment from the outside world.
After comprehending this Secret Art, Li Zhi could not help sucking in a cold breath. Was this not the true meaning of the Secret Realm Method?
It turned out that it was not that the predecessors had failed to work hard. Someone had long since comprehended the true essence of the Secret Realm Method—seeking help from within. However, understanding the principle was one thing; whether it could actually be accomplished was another.
No wonder the "Primordial Longevity Art" created by Longevity Daoist dared to claim that mastering it could grant a person the Lifespan of a Great Emperor for one Lifetime.
Without a second word, Li Zhi immediately began cultivating the "Longevity Locking Body Art."
His Bitter Sea was far too vast. If anyone discovered it, they would certainly capture him and study him as a test subject.
When the sun rose to noon, Li Zhi finally achieved initial mastery of the "Longevity Locking Body Art."
When circulating the cultivation method, he could lock all his essence and energy within his body. Even his Bitter Sea seemed to have sealed itself shut again. From the outside, it appeared pitch-black, without any trace of Life Essence.
After reaching the entry level, Li Zhi did not continue cultivating the method.
Instead, he began trying to infuse Divine Power into the Luoyang Shovel and Snakeskin Bag.
Sure enough, after the Divine Power entered them, they reacted. The Luoyang Shovel became even sharper, and a faint blade of light even appeared on its shovelhead. The Snakeskin Bag was even more miraculous: it could expand and shrink, and it could store items. It seemed that its true form was a Cosmic Bag treasure.
As for what level of Treasure artifacts they were, Li Zhi could not yet make a clear judgment.
Afterward, he infused a stream of Divine Power into the Hundred Herbs Diagram, but unfortunately, the Hundred Herbs Diagram did not react at all.
It seemed that his Divine Power was too thin to support the revival of this Quasi-Emperor Divine Weapon.
After that, Li Zhi stored the three treasures, the Scriptures made of Eternal Blue Gold, and his backpack inside his Wheel Sea.
He continuously nourished the three treasures with the essence and energy within his Wheel Sea, striving to leave his imprint inside them as soon as possible.
After leaving the tiger's den, Li Zhi glanced at the ill-fitting clothes on his body, then fixed his gaze on the Saber-Toothed Tiger he had killed.
He took out the Luoyang Shovel, skinned and gutted the Saber-Toothed Tiger, and cut its hide into an animal-skin garment.
After putting on the tiger skin skirt, his refined and spirited bearing gained a few more hints of wild beauty.
As for the tiger meat, he did not waste it either, directly having a barbecue there.
It was not until the sun slanted westward that Li Zhi rubbed his round belly and walked toward the distant mountain forest.
Although he lacked nothing in terms of cultivation methods, Li Zhi was desperately short of all kinds of common knowledge about the cultivation world.
It was time for him to join a sect and systematically study the knowledge of the cultivation world.
Moreover, he had now rejuvenated into a six-year-old child, which invisibly increased his chances of being accepted by those sects.
After crossing a mountain ridge, the trees around him gradually grew sparse.
A relatively open area appeared before Li Zhi. The flat, hard ground looked as though it had been repeatedly crushed by something.
Not far away was a gigantic black lake. Its surface was dark and glossy, reflecting the sunlight and seeming to reveal patches of dazzling black across the water.
After looking at it for only a few moments, Li Zhi felt that the black water was filled with an extremely powerful corrosive force. It was clearly not a good place.
However, if one could withstand the corrosion of the Blackwater, it might be an excellent place for body tempering.
Not far from the lakeshore, a huge boulder lay across the ground. From behind it came the faintest hint of breathing.
Seeing this, Li Zhi took out the Luoyang Shovel and quietly walked over.
After jumping onto the boulder, he saw an entirely black mutated beast that was three meters long and one and a half meters tall. Its body resembled a water buffalo, but nine sharp horns grew from its head, and five eyes covered its face. It was currently cocooning itself and shedding its skin.
At that moment, many cracks had appeared in the layer of old black skin covering the mutated beast. Its transformation seemed close to completion.
Seeing this, Li Zhi did not hesitate. Taking advantage of the mutated beast's weakness, he raised the Luoyang Shovel and stood atop the boulder, stabbing it viciously into the creature's body.
"Moo—roar!"
The mutated beast, less than one and a half meters tall, was instantly pierced through the spine by the sharp Luoyang Shovel and let out an enraged roar.
However, with its spine broken, it could no longer exert its strength.
Li Zhi was no longer what he had been. His strength and reaction speed were hardly inferior to those of the mutated beast. He swung the Luoyang Shovel again and activated the treasure with Divine Power, causing its peerless sharpness to burst forth.
A semicircular blade of light flew from the shovelhead, directly severing the head of the mutated beast in its vulnerable period.
It instantly became separated from its head.
Afterward, Li Zhi peeled away the layer of old skin and stored the mutated beast's newly born body and its head, with nine spikes and five eyes, inside the Snakeskin Bag.
A mutated beast capable of living on the edge of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone and cultivating to the point of shedding its skin definitely possessed extraordinary flesh and blood.
Perhaps it could fetch a considerable price outside. As a newcomer, earning money was still very necessary.
Afterward, Li Zhi happily left with his spoils and plunged headfirst into the distant Barren Ancient Forest.
As for what else was in that Blackwater Lake, he was not interested in investigating it for the time being.
If the foul water turned out to be poisonous, he would suffer a huge loss.
Not long after Li Zhi left, Ye Fan and the others finally walked out of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone and arrived at the edge of the Ancient Deep Forest.
At a glance, they saw the fire pile left behind after Li Zhi's barbecue, still retaining a little warmth, along with several tiger bones beside it and a pile of scraps left over from making his tiger skin skirt not far away.
Seeing this, Pang Bo said in surprise, "Could Boss Li have eaten barbecue here?"
Ye Fan looked around and said, "Very likely."
"There's a cave over there. It seems there are also two tiger cubs that were beaten to death." At that moment, Zhou Yi also discovered the tiger's den beneath the distant rock wall.
After everyone walked over, they discovered a pile of charred-black objects inside the tiger's den.
There were also two sections of torn-off trouser legs.
Someone recognized the style of the trouser legs and said, "Li Zhi must have rested here."
However, Ye Fan, Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, and the others focused their gazes on the obviously carbonized and burned clothes.
What kind of power could have caused the clothes Li Zhi had been wearing to become like this?
It looked as though they had been set alight.
"Ye Fan, don't you feel that something is wrong?" Zhou Yi asked.
Ye Fan frowned, then nodded. "Something is indeed wrong."
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