Millennial Vermilion Fruit!

"Quick! Go get the Spirit Liquid Immortal Spring!"

He urged, a greedy light rekindling in his eyes.

Dragging their wounded bodies, the three rushed impatiently toward the spot where the mist was thickest by the pool. There, a natural stone mortar held more than half a pool of crystal-clear spirit liquid, radiating a dreamlike halo and an intoxicating fragrance.

As long as they obtained the Spirit Liquid Immortal Spring, their injuries would heal rapidly, and there was even the possibility of advancing further.

The eyes of all three were filled with greed and longing.

Just as their minds were most relaxed and their attention was completely drawn to the immortal spring!

A sudden change occurred!

A sword light, cold to the extreme, struck out from the side and rear without warning, like a freezing wind from the Nine Serenities!

The target was the heart of the most severely injured Foundation Establishment Early Stage demonic cultivator!

"Watch out!"

The Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator, possessing the sharpest senses, turned back in horror, only managing to let out a single warning.

But it was too late!

Puchi!

The Ice Sword precisely pierced through the protective demonic energy the cultivator had hastily raised, passing straight through his heart!

The extreme Sword Qi erupted instantly, freezing and tearing apart his internal organs and even his soul!

He didn't even have time to scream; the greed and surprise in his eyes froze as his body toppled straight over.

"Who?!"

The other Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator, filled with shock and rage, had just turned around.

Only to see a nearly transparent glimmer flash and vanish!

The Soul-Extinguishing Needle!

A top-grade spirit tool specialized in wounding the soul!

The demonic cultivator felt a sharp pain in his brow, as if his sea of consciousness had been pierced and stirred by millions of needles. His vision went black, his consciousness was instantly annihilated, and he collapsed to the ground without a sound, his breath extinguished.

In the blink of an eye, two Foundation Establishment Early Stage demonic cultivators were killed instantly!

"It's you?! That piece of trash who played dead!!"

The Foundation Establishment Middle Stage senior brother finally saw clearly that the attacker was the Qi Refining stage rogue cultivator they had captured—the one who should have been dead!

But the spiritual pressure radiating from him was clearly that of the Foundation Establishment Realm! And those two terrifyingly powerful, brilliantly glowing top-grade spirit tools!

"Who exactly are you?! Dare to kill disciples of the Yin Luo Sect, and there will be no place for you in heaven or on earth!"

He roared in a mix of shock and rage, his bravado masking his inner fear. He retreated rapidly while frantically driving his remaining mana, summoning a small black shield to protect himself.

Li Qingshan couldn't be bothered to waste words.

Since he had made his move, he would leave no survivors!

With a thought, the Ice Sword carved a beautiful yet lethal arc through the air, carrying a biting chill as it slashed toward his opponent once more!

At the same time, the invisible Soul-Extinguishing Needle shot out silently again, aiming straight for the center of the man's brow!

The Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator's soul nearly left his body, pinning all his hopes on the small black shield.

Clang!

The Ice Sword struck the shield with a deafening roar. The shield's spiritual light flickered violently, yet it managed to barely block the blow.

But before he could celebrate, the Soul-Extinguishing Needle had arrived!

"No—!"

He felt the terrifying threat to his soul and let out a desperate shriek.

Puff!

Ignoring physical defenses, the Soul-Extinguishing Needle pierced directly through the shield's spiritual barrier and sank into his brow!

His shriek cut off abruptly. His body shuddered violently, his eyes dimmed rapidly, and he slowly slumped to the ground, filled with endless terror and unwillingness.

Li Qingshan remained expressionless, waving his hand to retrieve the Ice Sword and the Soul-Extinguishing Needle.

His movements were swift and calm, as if he had just performed a trivial task.

"So, a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage demonic cultivator is also no match for a single blow!"

In Li Qingshan's eyes, there seemed to be infinite reflection.

Once upon a time, the Foundation Establishment cultivators who were high and unreachable in his eyes were now things he could kill with a flip of his hand.

Unknowingly, he had grown to such a level.

"This place is not suitable for a long stay!"

Li Qingshan thought to himself.

He quickly collected the storage bags from the corpses of the three demonic cultivators and any valuable items from the Jade-Eyed Golden Eagle, then unhesitatingly went to the Spirit Liquid Immortal Spring.

Li Qingshan took out the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd and carefully collected every last drop of the spirit liquid shimmering with a dreamlike halo from the stone basin.

"Is this the Spirit Liquid Immortal Spring? It truly is extraordinary!"

Li Qingshan was filled with excitement.

As the spirit liquid entered his gourd, an indescribably pure energy and vitality flowed through the jade bottle, invigorating his spirit.

Having done all this, he dared not linger for a moment. His figure flickered, and he cast the Earth Escape Technique, instantly disappearing underground and fleeing this place of trouble.

Far from the Spirit Liquid Immortal Spring valley, Li Qingshan burrowed underground for a sufficient distance before quietly emerging from the earth.

He maintained the Lesser Heaven-Veiling Secret Art but adjusted his displayed cultivation to the Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

He had discovered that Qi Refining stage cultivators mostly roamed the outer areas, while the core region was dominated by Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. Disguising himself as a Qi Refining stage cultivator would be too conspicuous.

In the core area of this secret realm, where Foundation Establishment cultivators were everywhere, a cultivation base of the seventh level of Qi Refining was too eye-catching, akin to a child carrying gold through a marketplace, and would only attract unnecessary trouble.

A Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivation base was neither too weak to be easily bullied nor too strong to attract excessive attention; it was just right.

Indeed, after he slightly emanated his Foundation Establishment stage spiritual pressure, some of the divine senses that had been secretly probing and harboring ill intentions immediately retracted considerably.

He looked up towards the depths of the secret realm.

In the distance, a magnificent and majestic ruin of a palace complex stood between heaven and earth. Although mostly broken and dilapidated, with crumbling walls and scattered debris, one could still imagine its past glory and prosperity.

The spiritual energy there was even denser, with various colored escape lights shuttling back and forth, clearly indicating that most of the cultivators who had entered the secret realm had gathered there.

"The ruins of the Mysterious Sky Sect... The former Mysterious Sky Sect, it is said that ten thousand years ago, it was the foremost sect in this realm. I wonder what befell it to be completely wiped out, leaving only such ruins!"

Li Qingshan murmured inwardly, controlling his flying sword, he flew unhurriedly towards the ruins.

The closer he got to the ruins, the more cultivators he encountered.

Clashes also occurred from time to time, often erupting over a side hall that seemed likely to contain hidden treasures, a still intact spiritual pattern pillar, or even a storage bag beside the skeletal remains of someone who had died countless years ago.

Li Qingshan strictly adhered to his principle of never actively participating in any conflict, always giving a wide berth to any ongoing fights.

He first arrived at the ruins of a relatively intact medicinal garden.

Most of the original spirit fields within the garden were desolate, the soil appearing a spiritless grayish-white. Only a sparse few resilient spirit herbs were struggling to survive, but their age and quality were extremely poor, clearly having been repeatedly scoured by earlier cultivators countless times.

"As expected, the good things were all taken long ago."

Li Qingshan felt no great disappointment, as this was within his expectations.

Just as he was about to leave and try his luck elsewhere, his divine sense habitually swept over a corner at the very edge of the medicinal garden, concealed by a massive collapsed pillar, and he felt a slight stir.

There seemed to be an extremely faint, yet cleverly hidden, fluctuation of a restriction!

He walked over nonchalantly, pushing aside the tangled dead vines and rubble, and indeed discovered a small, deeply hidden defensive restriction.

This restriction was old and in disrepair, its power reduced to less than a tenth, but its concealment effect was excellent. If his divine sense had not far surpassed that of his peers, he would have found it difficult to detect.

"What could be inside?" A trace of anticipation arose in Li Qingshan's heart. He observed his surroundings, confirming that no one was paying attention to this secluded corner, then summoned his Ice Sword, controlling its force, and carefully stabbed towards the weakest point of the restriction.

With a soft "pop," the restriction broke.

Instantly, an alluring fruity aroma mixed with pure fire-attribute spiritual energy permeated the air! Behind the restriction, a small spirit shrine was hidden, containing a small tree with a body of pure crimson, its branches and leaves like flames.

On the tree hung three fruits, the size of dragon eyes, bright red, and plumply dripping!

The surface of the fruits bore natural cloud patterns, emitting astonishing spiritual energy!

"Millennial Vermilion Fruit!" Li Qingshan's eyes blazed with surprise and delight!