Come Home with Me

Zhao Li changed his figure and appearance again, making a casual disguise.

This time, he was no longer the same young man as before, but had become a middle-aged man.

Zhao Li rummaged through his Storage Ring for a while, took out a Black Cloak, draped it over himself, then left the valley.

At the Auction House, there were quite a few people like Zhao Li who hid their identities, so the guards did not stop him too much.

Zhao Li entered the Auction House, summoned a maid, explained why he had come, and had her take him to Qian Le'er.

It was still the same place as before. Zhao Li pushed the door open and entered.

"Guest, what business do you have?"

When Qian Le'er saw that the newcomer was wearing a cloak, she was not surprised and asked.

"My young master had a transaction with you earlier. He has something to deal with now and cannot get away, so he had me come to complete it. This is the payment my young master mentioned. Bring over however many cultivation methods you have collected."

Zhao Li was in a hurry to go back and did not waste words. He took out the Meridian Opening Pill and got straight to the point.

Qian Le'er accepted the pill. After hearing what Zhao Li said, she did not doubt him either. As long as the transaction was completed, that was enough.

Qian Le'er also directly took out the cultivation methods and explained the situation to Zhao Li.

"There are ninety-three Yellow Tier Low-Grade cultivation methods here, thirty-one Yellow Tier Mid-Grade cultivation methods, and five Yellow Tier High-Grade cultivation methods. At market price, they would be a little over one million Gold Coins, so let's count it as one million Gold Coins."

Hearing this, Zhao Li furrowed his brows.

The price was extremely fair, and she had not counted any premium. It was just that he could not take out that many Gold Coins at the moment. Even including the Gold Coins from the previous auction, he only had a little over five hundred thousand.

After thinking it over, Zhao Li took out two more bottles of Meridian Opening Pills, as well as the Qi Gathering Powder his teacher had given him, intending to complete the transaction by bartering goods.

Zhao Li said to Qian Le'er, "I don't have that many Gold Coins on me. I'll pay five hundred thousand Gold Coins, plus one Qi Gathering Powder and two bottles of Meridian Opening Pills. Would that be acceptable?"

Qian Le'er was overjoyed when she heard this. Qi Gathering Powder was a Fourth-Grade Medicinal Pill, and in all of Great Gan, there were only a few people who could refine it. If they could obtain such a pill, the reputation alone would let the Auction House make a huge profit.

Qian Le'er agreed readily, and the transaction was successfully completed.

"That is acceptable. Please keep these cultivation methods safe. A pleasure doing business with you!"

Zhao Li put away the cultivation methods, left the Purple Gold Card, Qi Gathering Powder, and Meridian Opening Pills behind, and did not linger, leaving directly.

Qian Le'er looked at the afterimage gradually disappearing before her, her pretty face filled with solemnity.

"This person's strength is at least at the peak of Dou Shi, and he might even be a Da Dou Shi-level expert. Is he actually just that little brother's guard? I wonder which force he belongs to. It's good that the cooperation went smoothly and we didn't make enemies."

Having made the trip there and back once already, Zhao Li could now be considered quite familiar with the route. He sped along all the way, and in less than two hours, he returned to the valley.

Zhao Li thought for a moment. When he comprehended cultivation methods, judging by past experience, he might enter sudden enlightenment at some unknown point, and he did not know how long it would last. It was better to go and tell Yunsheng first.

After Zhao Li told Ye Yunsheng that he was preparing to enter Secluded Cultivation for a period of time, he returned to his Cave Dwelling.

He took out the cultivation methods and began reading them one by one. Although there were many of them, with Zhao Li's monstrous level of comprehension, there was nothing especially difficult for him to understand.

Time flew by. As Zhao Li read more and more cultivation methods, now and then, there would be some content that inspired him, gradually perfecting the Self-Created Cultivation Method that had only just taken shape.

After Zhao Li finished reading more than a hundred cultivation methods, the idea that had originally only been a rough outline had already become clear.

Zhao Li sank into deep thought. All sorts of ideas continuously surfaced in his mind, combining in different ways, and Zhao Li constantly deduced their possibilities.

No one knew how much time passed before Zhao Li seized that fleeting flash of inspiration. In an instant, realization dawned on him, and he murmured to himself, "True strength has always been control that follows the heart's desire. Whether it is Internal Force or Dou Qi, in the end, it returns to oneself, seeking to be Perfect and Leakless, Indestructible Through Countless Calamities."

Zhao Li unconsciously began applying what he had learned and thought of: National Martial Arts Core Formation, Blazing Fire Burning Heaven, "Momentum," Dou Qi Attribute Transformation... The originally clearly separated Dou Qi and Physical Body cultivation methods gradually fused into one furnace.

As he continuously practiced, Zhao Li repeatedly deduced and summarized what he had learned, discarding the dross and keeping the essence, turning it into his own method.

Zhao Li, yet again, entered sudden enlightenment. This time, however, it was because Zhao Li's accumulation was deep enough to draw out many insights, and within those insights, he seized that flash of inspiration and found the root.

As time passed, the cultivation method that had originally only just taken shape also became more and more refined. It began to draw in the surrounding Dou Qi, the range growing larger and larger, the concentration higher and higher, as though a small Spiritual Energy Storm had formed.

Inside Zhao Li's body, the Dou Qi that originally could only be controlled at will through the Qi Vortex began spreading toward every part of his body. Zhao Li himself seemed to have become a Qi Vortex. His Physical Body was continuously tempered, his physique strengthened, and the Dou Qi within his Meridians also continuously became purer and more abundant.

The surrounding Dou Qi gradually calmed, and Zhao Li ended his cultivation.

"The cultivation method has only just been created. Perhaps its grade isn't that high, but it is the most suitable for me." In Zhao Li's perception during cultivation, the cultivation method could not only cultivate qi and refine essence, but also break the barrier between essence and qi, allowing the two to transform into each other. During cultivation, it continuously improved his control over himself, until he could act as his heart desired, becoming Perfect and Leakless, Indestructible Through Countless Calamities.

"With my current level of control over myself and Dou Qi, Earth Tier Mid-Grade doesn't seem to be the limit yet. Looks like I still need to keep accumulating. In the future, as my degree of control grows higher, it can still improve further. For now, though, it's enough. Everything is hardest at the beginning, and I've already taken the first step. From now on, I can't relax because of this. I have to keep accumulating and perfecting it. If I want to accomplish those things, this is only the beginning." Zhao Li suppressed the illusion that had risen in his heart because of his soaring Cultivation Level and corrected his mindset. Zhao Li naturally understood the principle that cultivation also meant cultivating the mind.

The gains from this sudden enlightenment had even exceeded Zhao Li's expectations.

Not only had his cultivation method taken its initial form, even his Cultivation Level had risen by a great deal. His Dou Qi had already reached the Da Dou Shi level. Zhao Li was somewhat pleasantly surprised by this, but it was not exactly unexpected.

"I wonder, if I used everything I had now, could I kill a Dou Wang?" Zhao Li thought.

With his comprehension of Momentum, he had smoothed over the greatest gulf separating him from a Dou Wang, or even a Dou Emperor. What he lacked was merely the strength of his Dou Qi.

Suppressing his many thoughts, Zhao Li finished sorting through his gains from this time, and a thought of returning arose in him.

"I wonder how many days have passed. I came out this time, and if I don't go back for too long, I'm afraid I won't be able to avoid another scolding. Now that the cultivation method has been completed and my Cultivation Level has broken through, all the objectives before the next stage have been achieved. It's about time I went back. But what about Yunsheng?"

Zhao Li did not know when it had started, but he had become somewhat unable to stop worrying about Ye Yunsheng.

Zhao Li thought for a while. Amid countless thoughts, in the end, he still had to ask Ye Yunsheng.

"Your Secluded Cultivation lasted more than half a month. If Dou Qi hadn't been surging toward your Cave Dwelling earlier, I would have suspected you'd already left without saying goodbye." Ye Yunsheng told Zhao Li about what had happened during his Secluded Cultivation, seemingly trying to speak casually to hide her worry.

Watching Zhao Li wolf down the food she had prepared, even though there was hardly any oil or meat, he ate it with relish. Ye Yunsheng seemed to think of something, and her face reddened again.

"Mm, I felt like it hadn't been that long. It's actually been twenty-something days? Yunsheng, your cooking is really delicious." Zhao Li mumbled indistinctly, then flattered Ye Yunsheng again, though it was indeed true.

"Yunsheng, Come Home with Me," Zhao Li said after a long while.