Millennial Vermilion Fruit!

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

He urged them on, greed once again gleaming in his eyes.

Dragging their injured bodies, the three rushed impatiently toward the spot beside the pool where the mist was thickest. There stood a natural stone basin, filled more than halfway with clear, crystalline liquid that shimmered with a dreamlike glow and gave off a refreshing fragrance!

As long as they obtained the Spirit Liquid Immortal Spring, their injuries would heal quickly, and they might even make further progress.

All three wore greedy, yearning expressions.

Just as their minds were at their most relaxed and their attention was completely drawn to the spring—

Another unexpected change occurred!

A bone-chilling sword beam, like a cold wind from the Nine Nether, suddenly struck from behind and to the side without warning!

Its target was the back of the most grievously wounded Foundation Establishment Early Stage demonic cultivator!

"Look out!"

The Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator had the sharpest senses. He whipped around in shock, managing only a single warning.

But it was too late!

Pfft!

The Ice Sword pierced through the demonic cultivator's hastily raised protective demonic aura and straight through his chest!

Frigid Sword Qi erupted in an instant, freezing and tearing apart his internal organs and even his soul!

He did not even have time to scream. The greed and delight in his eyes froze in place as his body toppled stiffly to the ground.

"Who?!"

The other Foundation Establishment Early Stage cultivator turned around, furious and alarmed.

But all he saw was a nearly transparent glimmer, there and gone in a flash!

The Soul-Extinguishing Needle!

A top-grade spiritual weapon designed to wound the soul!

The demonic cultivator felt a stabbing pain between his brows. His sea of consciousness seemed to be pierced and churned by billions of needles. His vision went black, his consciousness vanished in an instant, and he fell to the ground without a sound, lifeless.

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

"It's you?! That bastard who was playing dead!!"

Only now did the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage senior brother get a clear look. The attacker was the Qi Refining Rogue Cultivator they had captured, the one who should have been dead!

Yet the spiritual pressure radiating from him was unmistakably that of someone in the Foundation Establishment Realm! And he wielded two top-grade spiritual weapons of terrifying power, both blazing with brilliant light!

"Who the hell are you?! You dared to kill disciples of the Yin Luo Sect! There'll be no place for you under heaven or on earth!"

He shouted in fury and alarm, his bluster masking his fear. As he rapidly retreated, he frantically channeled the little magical power he had left and summoned a small black shield to protect himself.

Li Qingshan couldn't be bothered to waste words.

Now that he had attacked, he would leave no one alive!

With a thought, the Ice Sword carved an elegant yet deadly arc through the air and slashed toward his opponent once more, carrying a biting chill!

At the same time, the invisible Soul-Extinguishing Needle silently shot out again, aimed straight at the man's brow!

The Foundation Establishment Middle Stage cultivator was terrified for his life, pinning all his hopes on the black shield.

Clang!

The Ice Sword struck the shield with a deafening crash. Its light flickered violently, but it managed to withstand the blow.

Before he could even feel relief, the Soul-Extinguishing Needle arrived!

"No—!"

He sensed the terrifying threat to his soul and let out a despairing roar.

Pfft!

The Soul-Extinguishing Needle ignored physical defenses, pierced straight through the shield's barrier of light, and sank into his brow!

His roar cut off abruptly. His body shuddered violently, and the light in his eyes quickly faded. Still wearing an expression of terror and resentment, he slowly crumpled to the ground.

Li Qingshan expressionlessly waved his hand and recalled the Ice Sword and Soul-Extinguishing Needle.

His movements were swift and calm, as though he had merely done something insignificant.

"So even a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage demonic cultivator is no match for me!"

A profound feeling seemed to stir in Li Qingshan's eyes.

Once, Foundation Establishment cultivators had seemed impossibly beyond his reach. Now he could kill them with a casual flick of his hand.

Without realizing it, he had grown this powerful.

I can't stay here.

Li Qingshan quickly collected the storage bags from the three demonic cultivators' corpses, along with everything of value from the Jade-Eyed Golden Eagle. Then, without hesitation, he went to the Spirit Liquid Immortal Spring.

Taking out the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd, Li Qingshan carefully collected every last drop of the dreamily glowing liquid from the stone basin.

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

Li Qingshan was overcome with excitement.

Through the jade vessel, he could feel the liquid's indescribably pure energy and vitality. His spirits lifted.

Having finished, he didn't dare linger. With a flash, he used the Earth Escape Technique and disappeared into the ground, leaving this place of trouble far behind.

After putting a great distance between himself and the valley containing the Spirit Liquid Immortal Spring, Li Qingshan traveled far underground before quietly emerging.

He continued maintaining the Lesser Heaven-Veiling Secret Art, but adjusted the cultivation level he revealed to Foundation Establishment Early Stage.

He had realized that most Qi Refining cultivators lingered around the outskirts, while the core region was mostly occupied by Foundation Establishment cultivators. Disguising himself as a Qi Refining cultivator here would make him far too conspicuous.

In this secret realm's core region, where Foundation Establishment cultivators were everywhere, the cultivation of a seventh-level Qi Refining cultivator stood out like a child carrying gold through a crowded marketplace. It would only invite needless trouble.

Foundation Establishment Early Stage was just right. He wouldn't be so weak that others could easily bully him, nor so strong that he drew excessive attention.

Sure enough, when he let a little Foundation Establishment spiritual pressure seep out, the divine senses that had been secretly watching him with ill intent quickly withdrew.

He raised his eyes toward the depths of the secret realm.

In the distance, the ruins of a magnificent palace complex stood between heaven and earth. Most of it lay in ruins, with broken walls, shattered buildings, and rubble everywhere, yet it was still possible to imagine its former glory and grandeur.

The spiritual energy there was even denser, and streaks of light darted back and forth. Clearly, most of the cultivators who had entered the secret realm had gathered there.

"The Mysterious Sky Sect ruins... They say that ten thousand years ago, the Mysterious Sky Sect was the greatest sect in this world. Who knows what happened to it? It was wiped out completely, leaving behind only these ruins!"

Murmuring to himself, Li Qingshan mounted his flying sword and headed toward the ruins at an unhurried pace.

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

Fighting broke out from time to time. A fierce clash could erupt over a side hall that might contain a hidden treasure, a mostly intact spirit-patterned pillar, or even a storage bag beside some skeleton that had lain there for who knew how long.

Li Qingshan kept to his principles and never took part in a fight. Whenever he saw cultivators battling, he gave them a wide berth.

He first went to the ruins of a relatively intact medicinal garden.

Most of the spirit fields inside had long since fallen into ruin. The soil had turned a grayish white, drained of spiritual energy. Only a few resilient spirit herbs still struggled to survive, but they were poor in both age and quality. Clearly, the cultivators who had arrived before him had already searched the place over and over.

Sure enough, all the good stuff was picked clean long ago.

Li Qingshan wasn't too disappointed. He had expected as much.

He was about to leave and try his luck elsewhere when his divine sense swept over a corner at the very edge of the garden, hidden beneath a huge collapsed pillar. It stirred faintly.

There seemed to be an extremely weak trace of a restriction's energy there, cleverly concealed!

Without showing it, he walked over and brushed aside the tangled dead vines and rubble. Sure enough, he found a small protective restriction hidden deep within.

The restriction had fallen into disrepair with age, retaining less than a tenth of its original power, but its concealment was excellent. If not for his divine sense being far stronger than that of other cultivators at his level, he would never have noticed it.

What could be inside? A hint of anticipation rose in Li Qingshan's heart. He looked around and confirmed that no one was paying attention to this secluded corner. Then he summoned the Ice Sword, carefully controlling its force as he thrust it toward the restriction's weakest point.

With a soft pop, the restriction shattered.

An enticing fruity fragrance mingled with pure fire-attribute spiritual energy and spread through the air! Behind the restriction stood a small spirit shrine. A little tree grew inside, its entire body scarlet red, its branches and leaves like flames.

Three fruits the size of longan hung from its branches, plump and bright red, seemingly ready to burst!

Natural cloud patterns streaked their surfaces, and they radiated astonishing spiritual energy!

"Millennial Vermilion Fruit!" Delight blazed in Li Qingshan's eyes!