The Price

Li Shaojun is the type who won't act without a reason; the other party is almost identical in character to Zhang Xuezhou, except that he prefers to swindle and deceive.

Li Shaojun must be pursuing something if he's willing to go all the way to Fengxize to dig a hole.

Feng Xize was garrisoned by Liang Gongwang and others, and they did not leave until the new emperor finished his sacrificial ceremony. It was impossible for Li Shaojun to have dug the pit during the garrison period. In other words, Zhang Xuezhou spent almost the entire night at Bai's place, while Li Shaojun likely spent the whole night digging the pit here.

He directly exposed Li Shaojun's secrets, clearly wanting to find out what the other party was digging up.

"Could it be that you're at the location where Pao Bai is?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"You really have seen him before, and you even know his name?" Li Shaojun shrieked, "How do you know his name?"

"Just ask," Zhang Xuezhou replied.

"Just ask?"

Li Shaojun found it hard to believe such a simple answer.

This is not something he would do, but it is very likely something Zhang Xuezhou would do.

Otherwise, Li Shaojun wouldn't have spent over ten years outside Nantianmen, while Zhang Xuezhou would have been running back and forth inside.

"Judging from your cowardly appearance, this doesn't seem like you're just digging a hole and pulling out a nail for nothing, does it?"

Zhang Xuezhou sized up Li Shaojun and felt that Li Shaojun was definitely not catching ginseng babies, nor did he seem to be digging holes and pulling nails for Bai.

You can enter Bai's location from the Yellow Springs, but it's almost impossible to find Bai by digging or other means.

Bai's soul was originally an illusion, hidden in some unknown treasure or remains.

If one could still try their luck digging in Bai's place during the reign of Emperor Gaozu, by the time King Liang built the Great Array of Eternal Mountain and River and drew in the Yellow Springs, the location where Bai was had already turned into the ever-repairing Qingyan.

Even if the location is determined, it is still difficult to dig the right spot.

This conclusion was reached by Zhang Xuezhou by combining Hongku's topographical map with constant reference and comparison.

If Zhang Xuezhou could figure it out in such a short time, Li Shaojun would most likely be able to figure it out after so many years.

Moreover, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't find a reason why Li Shaojun only came to dig last night. If the other party had the intention of digging a pit to save Bai, they would have done so long ago.

"What did you see up there? And what are you looking for?" Zhang Xuezhou asked with great interest.

"Don't pry into my affairs," Li Shaojun said, displeased. "I'm doing legitimate business, and it's not convenient for others to know about it!"

"Then keep digging," Zhang Xuezhou nodded. "But I must warn you, you most likely only saw some strange phenomenon because I entered Bai's place. Without my cooperation, you might never have succeeded in this lifetime!"

"Hey, you surnamed Dong... Hey, don't go!"

Upon seeing that Zhang Xuezhou indeed stopped asking questions and turned to leave, Li Shaojun couldn't help but exclaim in alarm.

He climbed out of the deep pit, threw down the shovel he was using to dig the hole, and then followed after him.

"Brother Dong? Master Dong? Master Dongfang?... Let's cooperate! Let's cooperate! I'm telling you, I've discovered a secret realm here in Feng Xize, a supreme secret realm! Once we possess it, we'll live forever and eventually become the masters of this Sacred Land!"

Li Shaojun originally wanted to work alone, but he realized that he couldn't.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't guess the secret, but he really couldn't do without Zhang Xuezhou.

He couldn't find his great-grandfather, who had been dead for over a hundred years, nor could he find the ex-boyfriend, the King of Liang, to cooperate with.

If it were to be sent to Bai's place, Li Shaojun didn't know which great cultivator would dare to step into the Yellow Springs just to confirm a piece of information.

"A secret location? Really? Can you confirm it's a secret location?"

Zhang Xuezhou's strategy of feigning indifference really worked on Li Shaojun, but the news that Li Shaojun revealed wasn't exactly good.

Zhang Xuezhou had a need for the secret location, but lacked an urgent need for it.

The Spiritual Qi in the secret realm was indeed good, but he had already entered the Body Transformation Realm, and entering the Divine Ability Realm could not be achieved simply by relying on the boost of Spiritual Qi.

However, using Spiritual Qi to aid in cultivation and avoidance techniques is quite effective, as it will give him a continuous source of Law Power to impact his acupoints.

Moreover, Zhang Xuezhou's need for the secret place was not high, but Rong Tianding and others' use of the secret place was certainly a stroke of luck.

The news about Li Shaojun isn't necessarily bad.

"I've never heard of a secret place being dug into a pit," Zhang Xuezhou, blinking.

"I'm searching," Li Shaojun said, scratching his head in distress. "Only by finding the passage into it can we possibly enter the secret realm, and there are some strange things about this place!"

What's strange about it?

"I think this secret place seems to be the legendary underworld."

Is there some other secret about this place?

"Huh?"

Li Shaojun thought Zhang Xuezhou was erudite and talented, with abilities that almost completely surpassed his own. However, after getting to know him better, he realized that Zhang Xuezhou wasn't quite as impressive as he had imagined.

For example, Zhang Xuezhou seems genuinely unaware of the division of secret areas.

One type of secret place is located high in the heavens. Such places are difficult for ordinary people to enter. While they contain great fortuitous opportunity, they also contain great dangers. Usually, only extremely powerful forces can develop and occupy them.

One type of secret place is a blessed land or grotto. These secret places are mostly located in secluded mountains and forests, or are traversed through cave passages, or are small worlds hidden in the shadows. These secret places can be developed by some powerful forces or great masters.

The last type, the underworld secret place, is the worst. This kind of secret place is hidden in the underground space and exists between the real and the unreal. However, this kind of secret place usually contains a lot of special Spiritual Qi, which is favored by those who practice Incantation Technique.

"So you're saying that the secret place you're looking for seems useless?" Zhang Xuezhou asked doubtfully after hearing this.

"Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse; even the worst secret place is still a secret place," Li Shaojun said. "It might not be worth much to the True Self Realm cultivator, but for us, it's an unparalleled fortuitous opportunity."

"That seems to make sense!"

"The Spiritual Qi in the secret realms of the underworld is just a bit colder. As long as we take medicines like the Rejuvenating Soup, there's no difference in how we use it," Li Shaojun said. "If you don't care so much about Spiritual Qi, it's common for these secret realms to contain heavenly materials and earthly treasures. Finding just one is enough to secure your livelihood."

"That seems to be the case!"

"Besides, don't you want to...?"

Li Shaojun pointed to the ground beneath his feet.

This made it difficult for Zhang Xuezhou to guess whether Li Shaojun wanted to kill Bai or release Bai completely.

Whether it's the former or the latter, it could bring disaster or great benefits.

"Since you've met him, given your personality, you wouldn't have returned empty-handed," Li Shaojun said. "You must have paid a price!"

Zhang Xuezhou understands Li Shaojun, and Li Shaojun obviously understands Zhang Xuezhou as well.

In handling such matters, the two of them would almost always take the same approach, only the benefits they would reap would differ.

But both of them will inevitably have to make corresponding sacrifices.

Li Shaojun didn't believe he needed to make any sacrifices, while Zhang Xuezhou could get something for nothing.

"Even a drop of blood, a strand of hair, a fingernail, or even a piece of clothing—he can remember your scent," Li Shaojun whispered mysteriously. "He can't kill us with Incantation Technique, but he has the ability to drag us down with him."

How did he drag us into this?

The thought of his own blood made Zhang Xuezhou's heart tighten.

He had long known that there would be a price to pay, but Zhang Xuezhou was also curious about how Bai would manipulate them.

"He seems to have a knack for making us very unlucky," Li Shaojun said. "He said I was too impulsive and wouldn't listen to orders once I got out. He gave me a little lesson once, and things have since proven him right."

"What's up?"

"He gave me a quarter of an hour of bad luck. In that hour, I tripped and fell eight times, got soaked in the rain, was bitten by a wild snake, and was struck by lightning while the tree I was using to shelter from the rain was being blasted away. It also electrocuted me. If I hadn't possessed some kind of life-saving technique, I would have died on the spot!"

"He probably wanted you to verify the power of the spell immediately, since few normal people would consider committing suicide to verify Technique Method!"

"Perhaps!"

Li Shaojun shrugged.

If he couldn't be a loyal lackey of a powerful figure, he figured killing the powerful figure wouldn't be so bad.

Whether to rescue the big boss or eliminate him depends on Li Shaojun's abilities and the fortuitous opportunity that come his way.

"Bad luck?"

Li Shaojun mentioned the harm caused by white.

This made Zhang Xuezhou think for a long time.

Li Shaojun would be constrained by this, but he doesn't seem to be.

The higher his skill level, the less likely Bai would be to deal with him, lest the malicious force he encounters overwhelm the favor he receives, thus making him even more unlucky.

After all, he came from Bai's place, and apart from being thrown into the Yellow Springs halfway and being in a state of panic, he didn't end up being struck by lightning and killed.