Chapter 154 Burdened with Troubles

Cun City was a city controlled by the Yutie Sect.

There were numerous guards at the city gates. Upon seeing that Li Mu possessed the cultivation of the Pulse Condensation stage, the guards merely glanced at him for a moment before respectfully stepping aside and letting him pass.

After inquiring at several intelligence dens within the city and offering a few spirit crystals, Li Mu obtained the information he needed.

Chunhua’s words had been entirely accurate; that Zhao Datian had indeed committed such heinous and atrocious deeds.

That made things simple.

Zhao Datian was actually a Qi Condensation cultivator who had just recently stepped onto the path of immortality. Naturally, his estate within the city was quite luxurious. His modest courtyard was guarded by several cultivators.

Li Mu did not step inside. Standing outside the gate, he manipulated dozens of motes of dust. In the blink of an eye, Zhao Datian—who was right in the middle of his meditation—was engulfed in a purple flame and vanished forever, with virtually no one noticing a thing.

Whether immortal or mortal, those who committed wrongdoings deserved their corresponding retribution. By helping others, Li Mu was also bringing closure to one of his own karmic ties.

Having finished, Li Mu strolled leisurely through the streets, pondering the vast amount of information he had just gathered at the intelligence den.

Within the Yunshan Realm, a declining sect known as the Lu Sect had unexpectedly given birth to a brand-new secret realm.

Secret realms generally led to unknown realms. They were scarce in the immortal cultivation world. Once they appeared, all sects and cultivators would fiercely contend for them, simply because secret realms always contained abundant cultivation resources.

Everyone in the Yunshan Realm knew that there were only two such secret realms previously. One was located within the Yutie Sect, containing numerous exotic trees such as the Yellow Spirit Tree, which was native to it, and even its leaves were fourth-grade treasures. The other was situated within the Mingyu Valley. The secret realm of Mingyu Valley connected to a vast, unknown region teeming with fierce beasts and even numerous members of the Asura race. By undergoing trials in this secret realm, the inner disciples of Mingyu Valley could rapidly advance their cultivation while acquiring a wealth of beast materials.

These two secret realms brought immense benefits to both the Yutie Sect and Mingyu Valley. The sects possessing secret realms gradually came to dominate the Yunshan Realm.

This time, when the Lu Sect discovered the secret realm, it should have been a golden opportunity for their sect to expand. However, a cultivator within their ranks accidentally leaked the news, triggering a massive storm.

The first to make a move was Mingyu Valley, which was located not far from the Lu Sect.

Utilizing lightning-fast tactics, Mingyu Valley slaughtered and pursued the members of the Lu Sect until the sect was utterly exterminated.

By this time, the Yutie Sect had also received the news and arrived at the territory of the Lu Sect.

Although these two major sects were hostile to each other, they did not immediately start a war. Unexpectedly, neither of the two sects was able to open this newly discovered secret realm, yet neither was willing to concede.

Secret realms always possessed unique methods of opening; while anyone could enter them, not just anyone could unlock them.

As this news spread, numerous cultivators flocked toward the Lu Sect. All of them hoped to try their luck—if the secret realm were opened, even if they only managed to slip in by chance, they could still reap massive benefits.

"Should I go take a look? If I could occupy that secret realm, the assistance it would provide in the future would be immense. No matter how many crises I might face, I would only need to hide inside the secret realm and wait for the entrance to close, ensuring absolute safety."

Li Mu walked and thought at the same time, but after a brief moment, he dismissed the idea.

For the current Li Mu, the difficulty of dealing with the secret realm was simply too high. Two major sects were keeping watch, alongside several smaller sects lurking on the sidelines. Trying to unlock the secret realm under the eyes of so many factions was nothing short of a pipe dream.

Besides, he had much more important matters to attend to at the moment.

Half an incense stick of time later, Li Mu left the city and headed north.

Along the journey, he alternately walked and stopped. Free from distractions, Li Mu began practicing the Soul Manipulation Technique, gradually mastering this peculiar and extraordinary art.

The transformation of his methods proved quite effective, and coupled with the dozens of Heartless Fruits he possessed, it was more than enough to sustain Li Ying for two years.

Without realizing it, Li Mu arrived near the Bu'nan City branch of the Earth Eye Intelligence Den. After a moment of contemplation, Li Mu slowly entered the city.

Sensing with his spiritual sense, he found that the area around the Earth Eye Intelligence Den was enveloped in a film-like barrier resembling smoke—clearly a restriction array designed to block spiritual sense.

Li Mu took out the Heart-Bewitching Treasure and channeled his spiritual power. His spiritual sense instantly became much sharper, and the restriction array, which had previously been impenetrable, now revealed numerous flaws.

His spiritual sense, multiplying into countless strands, carefully bypassed the restriction array and penetrated straight into the Earth Eye Intelligence Den.

"Lord Hao, after Li Tian left Deyang City, he went to the territory of Mingyu Valley, and his trail has been untraceable ever since."

Shopkeeper Zhao’s voice was clearly transmitted over. The amiable expression on his face had completely vanished, replaced by a look of shrewd cunning.

Standing beneath him were three Pulse Condensation cultivators, while seated on the main chair was a cultivator wearing a green bronze mask. This person was Hao Qi, the manager of the Earth Eye Intelligence Den in the Yunshan Realm.

The mask was pitch black, engraved with three purplish eyes that emitted a faint, eerie glow.

Hao Qi pondered deeply for a moment before asking the other cultivators, "How about you all? Have you discovered anything?"

"All the cities controlled by the Yutie Sect have our people stationed there. Intelligence reports are sent back constantly, but so far, nothing has been found."

"There are no discoveries within the territory of Mingyu Valley either."

"We have already dispatched people to other regions, and they are all searching."

Hao Qi shook his head. "Strange. We still can't find a mere Spirit Building stage cultivator? Could he have flown up to the heavens?"

Shopkeeper Zhao stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Could he have already left the Yunshan Realm?"

"How could a Spirit Building cultivator leave? The Yunshan Realm doesn't have a transmission array," someone immediately retorted.

Shopkeeper Zhao frowned. "You don't necessarily need a transmission array; we have teleportation talismans here as well. Furthermore, a fourth-grade flying treasure can also cross the boundary. Since he is an artifact crafting master, he is surely capable of doing so."

Hao Qi thought for a moment. "Zhao Xin makes sense. Let's search for another month or so. If he still cannot be found within the Yunshan Realm, we will dispatch people to search the neighboring realms, especially the Northern Wolf Realm. Li Tian first appeared in Bu'nan City, so he could have originated from there. However, it would be much better if we could find him here. The Wolf Realm is a border realm adjacent to the Demon Realm, and the danger there is extremely high. If we provoke a war between the two races, our intelligence den won't be able to maintain its footing in the immortal cultivation world."

Hearing this, Li Mu’s heart suddenly tightened.

A cultivator whispered, "Should we report this to our superiors and request reinforcements?"

Upon hearing these words, Hao Qi instantly stood up, his voice turning sharply stern. "Say that again?"

"This subordinate spoke out of turn," the speaker hurriedly bowed to plead for mercy.

"Let me state this one last time: matters concerning cultivation techniques must not be reported to the superiors. Do you no longer wish to study the Omnipotent Technique? Once we acquire the technique, any of us can practice it, and then we can present it to the Young Master to claim our merit—no one will ever find out. If superiors were to step in, would there still be any part for us? We would lose both the merit and the technique, and if it truly came to that, none of you would survive."

Hao Qi’s voice was heavy, and an oppressive wave of tyrannical spiritual sense slowly emanated from him.

The moment Li Mu sensed it, he immediately reined in his spiritual sense, lest he be detected by Hao Qi.

"Trouble has arrived," he sighed softly to himself.