Forceful Seizure

Clutching the heart-shaped stone, Lu Li soon arrived at the Stone Forest, twenty miles away.

This was a man-made stone forest, featuring thousands of Black Steel Stones of varying sizes standing upright.

Their shapes were vastly different.

Some were carved into dragons, snakes, tigers, and leopards, appearing incredibly lifelike.

Others were carved into all sorts of strange flowers, birds, fish, and insects.

More numerous still were the carvings of ferocious ghosts, asuras, and yakshas.

At a glance, under the gloomy sky, it felt as if one had arrived in the eighteenth level of hell, sending a chill of fear through the heart.

However, Lu Li was filled with excitement and paid no mind, his peripheral vision sweeping rapidly across the stone carvings.

"This place is perfect; just right for testing my palm techniques."

Lu Li muttered to himself.

Then, he stepped forward, let out a loud shout, and slammed a palm toward the Black Tiger statue in front of him.

Bang.

A thunderous explosion rang out.

The incredibly hard Black Steel Stone shattered instantly into fragments of various sizes, which flew in all directions.

He did this, of course, to avoid drawing attention.

If he were to head straight for the stone containing the Spirit Ghost, it would likely arouse suspicion.

Therefore, using the excuse of practicing his palm techniques, Lu Li prepared to smash all the stone carvings here, eventually "accidentally" discovering another low-grade Spirit Ghost.

This might seem like an unnecessary precaution.

However, having already discovered one low-grade Spirit Ghost not long ago, if he were to catch another one now, even a fool would grow suspicious and wonder if he possessed some treasure capable of detecting the presence of Spirit Ghosts.

The suspicious members of the Ghost Sect would be even more likely to doubt him!

For the sake of safety, Lu Li decided to take it slow; there was no need to grab that Spirit Ghost immediately.

Thus, he began to practice his palm techniques, smashing one stone carving after another, while simultaneously searching for the specific Black Steel Stone that hid the Spirit Ghost.

Bang, bang, bang.

The sound of shattering stone rang out continuously.

Lu Li was like a stone-crushing machine; wherever he went, statues exploded and fell to pieces.

In less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, over a hundred stone carvings had been destroyed by Lu Li's hands.

Yet, he still hadn't found the Black Steel Stone containing the Spirit Ghost.

Lu Li was not in a hurry.

His movements remained fierce and sharp, his large palms whipping up gusts of wind as they slammed into the statues, shattering them instantly.

The commotion was significant.

Lu Li was slightly worried that he might attract other Ghost Sect disciples.

Or that someone might come to stop him.

Fortunately, no one came to intervene.

Nor did he see any other Ghost Sect disciples appear.

Lu Li felt at ease, continuing to smash the carvings while maintaining his search.

Found it!

That Black Steel Stone was in the far upper-left corner of the Stone Forest, right on the edge!

Lu Li felt a slight surge of excitement in his heart.

However, he did not show it on his face, merely quickening his movements slightly.

One stone carving after another was pulverized.

Intentionally or otherwise, Lu Li moved toward the upper-left corner.

Finally, after another cup of tea's time, he arrived before the three-foot-tall, square-shaped Black Steel Stone and, without a word, struck it with a palm.

Bang.

A three-inch-deep palm print was struck directly into the Black Steel Stone.

Then, the entire stone burst apart, fragments flying in all directions, leaving only a fist-sized ball of ghost mist behind, shimmering with a faint golden light.

Looking closely, a miniature Ghost Monkey was curled up inside the ghost mist.

"Ha! A Spirit Ghost!"

Lu Li feigned a look of pleasant surprise, reached out his large hand, and lunged to grab the Spirit Ghost.

"Eh, it's actually a low-grade Spirit Ghost?"

Just then, a cold, sinister voice suddenly drifted over from the side.

Accompanying the voice was a sharp, piercing whistle as a streak of snowy-white cold light shot forth, fast as lightning, aiming directly for the Spirit Ghost.

If Lu Li had continued to reach out, his palm would undoubtedly have been struck by that cold light.

Someone was launching a sneak attack!

Lu Li felt a slight jolt of surprise, but he did not panic. With a flip and a flick of his large palm, a pitch-black miniature tower tumbled out from his sleeve.

Without a word, he gripped the Ghost Raising Tower, channeled his magic power into it, and struck out toward the cold light.

Clang.

The Ghost Raising Tower collided with the snowy-white cold light, emitting an incredibly crisp sound.

Sparks flew in all directions.

The streak of snowy-white cold light was knocked directly back, landing in the hand of a young man.

It turned out to be a three-inch-long silver cold needle.

Taking advantage of this opening, Lu Li's other hand lunged out, grabbing the low-grade Spirit Ghost that was attempting to flee.

He then retracted the Ghost Raising Tower to inspect it, his expression shifting slightly.

He saw that a small hole had been pierced into the tower, its spiritual glow dimmed.

It had clearly sustained damage.

"Who are you?"

Lu Li's expression was indifferent, his eyes icy as he stared at the man in green robes standing six yards away.

The man was about twenty years old, with a hooked nose, long hair draped over his shoulders, and a sinister, gloomy face that made him look quite ominous.

The aura radiating from his body was also formidable; he was a cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining!

The silver cold needle in his hand was definitely a high-grade magical artifact!

"Kid, hand over the Spirit Ghost."

The man in green robes stared with dark, hollow eyes at the Spirit Ghost in Lu Li's hand, speaking in a ghastly tone.

"On what grounds? I was the one who discovered this Spirit Ghost."

Lu Li narrowed his eyes.

"What a joke!"

The man in green robes showed a look of disdain. "This Spirit Ghost is mine! I have been in this Stone Forest for who knows how long, just waiting for this Spirit Ghost to emerge!"

"Is that so? Then why didn't you come out earlier? Why did you only appear just as I shattered this Black Steel Stone and discovered the Spirit Ghost?"

Lu Li retorted.

It was obvious that this guy was lying!

He had likely been wandering nearby, heard the noise, and hidden in the surroundings to spy on him.

When the Spirit Ghost appeared, he could no longer restrain himself and revealed his presence to seize it by force.

"Kid, don't be ungrateful! With your mere fifth level of Qi Refining, you dare to question me? Do you know who I am?"

The man in green robes looked icy, his words laced with threats.

"The ghosts are the only ones who know who you are."

Lu Li was not afraid in the slightest and replied coldly.

"Hmph!"

The man in green robes let out a cold snort, his face filled with arrogance as he sneered, "I am the true disciple of True Person Blood-Transforming, and my brother is the closed-door disciple of True Lord Yellow Spring! If you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, then don't blame my Soul Breaking Needle for being merciless!"

Hm?

Is he preparing to seize it by force?

Lu Li's gaze turned cold, and he said sternly, "Senior brother, killing a fellow disciple is a grave crime. Do you truly dare to strike?"

"I dare not. However..."

Upon hearing this, the man in green robes put away his silver needle, gave a wicked smile, and looked toward the west.

Seeing this, Lu Li frowned and followed his gaze.

At that moment, in the mountain forest to the west, a golden light soared into the sky, flickering as it traversed dozens of miles, appearing in the sky within the blink of an eye.

It was a young man dressed entirely in gold, with a slender build, sword-like brows, and star-bright eyes. He arrived on a flying sword, looking exceptionally dashing.

His appearance was actually seventy percent similar to the man in green robes before him.

His cultivation was formidable!

It was on par with that Green Lotus at the late stage of Foundation Establishment!

"I am a patrolling disciple. What has happened here?" The man in gold robes swept his gaze across them and asked coldly.

"Senior brother, this person destroyed my Stone Forest, snatched the Spirit Ghost I was raising, and even struck and injured me! You must uphold justice for me!"

The man in green robes slanted his eyes toward Lu Li, speaking with a sinister sneer.

His gaze was brimming with malice.

This guy... he's twisting the truth and playing the victim!

Lu Li was just about to open his mouth to retort.

"Hm? Such a thing actually happened?"

At this moment, the man in golden robes spoke, his gaze sweeping over like a sharp blade.

Without another word, he flicked his wide sleeve, and a massive hand of ghostly energy condensed out of thin air, growing to the size of a house as it lunged down to grab Lu Li.

Lu Li's expression shifted.

These two were in on it together!

Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Li flickered, leaving six afterimages in his wake.

Bang.

The ghostly hand slammed down, shattering the six afterimages and striking the floor of the Stone Forest with a force that sounded like a collapsing mountain.

Lu Li's figure barely materialized twenty yards away.

"Hm? You dare to dodge?"

Seeing this, a fierce light flashed in the golden-robed man's eyes. He flicked his thumb, and the golden flying sword beneath his feet flared with light as brilliant as the sun, ready to launch.

The sound of the sword ringing out grew deafening!

Just then, Lu Li took a deep breath and shouted at the sky:

"Help! The Dao Alliance is invading!"