Chapter 185: Chapter 185: Secret Realm Cave Abode

When Li Ping heard Yu Menghan’s condition for using the Ying Sea Commerce Association’s channels to leave the Western Wilderness, he sank into thought.

With his current skills as a Tier Three Pill Master, a Tier Two Upper Grade Talisman Maker, and the Tier Three Puppet Master techniques he would soon learn, he had no shortage of cultivation resources. Life as a comfortable Loose Cultivator was far more appealing.

If he had a choice, he would never give up his freedom to join some faction.

However, it seemed danger was now approaching.

Compared to his own safety, a little freedom didn’t seem to matter much.

After a moment of thought, he finally asked, "Fairy Yu, what are the conditions and restrictions for joining your association?"

If the conditions weren’t too harsh, he wouldn’t mind temporarily joining the Ying Sea Commerce Association.

Upon hearing Li Ping’s question, a look of delight appeared on Yu Menghan’s face. "I hope you can understand, Fellow Daoist Li. If you wish to enjoy the conveniences our association provides, you must naturally bear the corresponding responsibilities."

At this, her expression turned serious. "You would only need to swear a Great Dao oath to serve the association for one hundred years without betrayal. In return, I can guarantee that you will be able to use the association’s channels to leave the Western Wilderness. Of course, while serving, the association will grant you contribution points based on the missions you complete. These points can be used to redeem various rare Spiritual Objects..."

As Yu Menghan spoke, Li Ping finally understood the terms laid out by this vicious, sharp-toothed girl.

The main condition was simple: sell himself into a hundred years of service in exchange for a way out of the Western Wilderness.

There were other clauses, but they were far less important.

’One hundred years!’ Li Ping sighed to himself.

He was only seventy-three now. In a hundred years, he’d be one hundred seventy-three.

The total lifespan of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator was only two hundred and forty years. At one hundred seventy-three, he’d have one foot in the grave.

’There are no good people in the Cultivation Realm,’ Li Ping sighed internally. ’To think I’d have to pay such a steep price just to use their channel to leave the Western Wilderness once.’

He frowned. "Fairy Yu, could you allow me some time to consider? I’ll give you my answer after I’ve thought it through."

"Of course," Yu Menghan said with a smile and a wave of her hand.

She then took a token engraved with the two words "Ying Sea" from her Storage Bag and handed it to Li Ping. "This is our association’s communication token, the Ying Sea Order. It allows you to communicate with other token holders within a ten-thousand-li radius. Please take it, Fellow Daoist Li. When you’ve made your decision, you can contact me through the token."

Li Ping accepted the token and nodded slightly. "I understand."

...

After Yu Menghan left, Li Ping held the Ying Sea Order, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

According to Yu Menghan, the Ying Sea Order was usually no different from a piece of scrap iron. However, once activated by injecting Magical Power, it functioned as both a locator and a communicator.

The tokens were divided into four grades: A, B, C, and D.

Holders of high-grade Ying Sea Orders could contact those with lower-grade ones, but not the other way around.

The one in Li Ping’s hand was, of course, the lowest: a D-grade Ying Sea Order.

However, before she left, Yu Menghan had "added him as a friend," so even though her Ying Sea Order was a higher grade than his, he could still contact her as long as he was within range.

Li Ping suspected that even if he didn’t activate it with Magical Power, the Ying Sea Commerce Association could still track his location just by him possessing the Ying Sea Order.

’I can’t carry this thing on me unless absolutely necessary,’ he thought.

...

In addition to cultivating his Magical Power over the past year, Li Ping had finally succeeded in mastering the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Communication Skill, a Cultivation Technique for training one’s Divine Sense. His Divine Sense had increased by about twenty percent.

Of course, others would not have found it so easy.

He had mastered the first level of the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Communication Skill so quickly mainly because his Divine Sense was already fifty percent stronger than that of an ordinary Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

The stronger one’s Divine Sense, the easier this Cultivation Technique was to practice.

Feeling the powerful Divine Sense coiling in his sea of consciousness, Li Ping let out a sinister cackle. "Time to turn up the heat on that old demon, Yan Liming!"

Since he was planning to flee, he naturally needed to gather his belongings and prepare enough supplies beforehand.

After all, even if he could use the Ying Sea Commerce Association’s channels, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t encounter danger during his escape.

He felt it was necessary to master the art of creating Tier Three Puppets before he fled. If he could build a few Tier Two Puppets, they would be a great help to his escape.

’Where exactly is this danger coming from?’ Li Ping wondered silently as he walked into the Artifact Refining room.

If he hadn’t sensed this danger, he would have happily holed up in the Immortal City until he reached Core Formation, without ever considering fleeing.

After all, the person in charge of the Immortal City was his friend, and the three Stewards who held the real power were his sworn younger brothers.

He had connections and he had Spirit Stones.

He was living a very comfortable life in the Immortal City and was too lazy to even go out.

...

Stepping into the Artifact Refining room, Li Ping casually set up a Sound Insulation Magical Shield.

He then took a plain-colored Jade Bottle from his Storage Bag. Inside was Yan Liming’s Life Soul.

Before opening the Jade Bottle, Li Ping circulated the Nine Tribulations True Saint Scripture to assume the same appearance he had on the day he captured Yan Liming. Only then did he nod in satisfaction.

He planned to perform a Soul Searching on Yan Liming’s Life Soul, then sacrifice it as nourishment to the legacy tree. It seemed there was no longer a need to hide his true identity.

But Li Ping was well aware of how easily one could fail due to a simple oversight. The Cultivation Realm was filled with countless strange and esoteric Secret Techniques.

’What if my real identity is exposed, bringing the four great Demon Dao Sects down on me for revenge?’

’So, to be on the safe side, it’s better if Yan Liming dies a confused ghost.’

POP!

Li Ping uncorked the Jade Bottle and used a Secret Technique to yank out Yan Liming’s Life Soul.

Due to the numerous Restrictions Li Ping had placed on it, Yan Liming’s Life Soul could only float dumbly before him. It couldn’t move, let alone make the slightest sound.

As the Life Soul floated, Yan Liming’s face could be vaguely seen within its misty form.

It stared daggers at Li Ping, its eyes filled with hatred.

Normally, when a cultivator died, their Life Soul would dissipate and enter the cycle of reincarnation unless they immediately found a body for Possession.

But Li Ping had used a Secret Technique to forcibly restrain his Divine Soul for years. If reincarnation truly existed, Yan Liming had already lost his chance.

All that was left for him was the fate of having his soul utterly destroyed, a complete and final death.

"HEH HEH HEH... You dare look at this master with such eyes? Today, this master will show you the meaning of cruelty."

A bloody glint flashed in Li Ping’s eyes. At the same time, a crystalline, blood-red thread shot out from between his brows, vanishing into Yan Liming’s Life Soul in an instant.

Ironically, the Soul Searching Secret Technique Li Ping was now using came from the very Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture that Yan Liming himself had cultivated.

Using Yan Liming’s own Cultivation Technique to perform Soul Searching on him... it was quite a fateful coincidence.

Under the forced Soul Searching, Yan Liming’s Life Soul instantly became extremely unstable. Faint, mournful screams echoed through the Artifact Refining room as gusts of sinister wind began to swirl...

...

A few hours later, Li Ping returned the half-dead Life Soul of Yan Liming to the Jade Bottle and wearily rubbed the spot between his eyebrows. His face, however, was a mask of shock and delight.

Just moments ago, he had successfully performed the Soul Searching Technique on Yan Liming.

Although Yan Liming was a Core Formation Cultivator, his Divine Soul had been greatly weakened after undergoing Possession. Furthermore, after being captured and brutally tortured by Li Ping, his Divine Soul was already in a half-crippled state.

Meanwhile, Li Ping’s Divine Sense, after cultivating the Ten Thousand Spirits Divine Communication Skill, was already approaching the level of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Soul Searching the half-crippled Life Soul of a Core Formation Cultivator was still incredibly difficult, but in the end, he had succeeded.

Rubbing the bridge of his nose with his knuckles, Li Ping contemplated the information he had obtained from Soul Searching Yan Liming.

The other miscellaneous memories held some value, but Li Ping was focused on only one thing: the origin of the refinement method for the All Heaven Star Banner.

It was this very memory that left Li Ping both shocked and overjoyed.

Just as he had suspected, Yan Liming hadn’t been telling the truth.

He hadn’t obtained the silver pages by killing some unknown Qi Refining Cultivator. Rather, he had discovered them in a secret realm’s cave abode within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

That was why Yan Hengchuan had suddenly lost track of his aura back then—he had entered that secret realm.

Once inside the secret realm, he was no longer in this world, so it was only natural that Yan Hengchuan couldn’t sense him.

From Yan Liming’s memories, Li Ping learned that the Spiritual Qi concentration in the outer areas of the secret cave abode reached Tier Two Upper Grade, which was suitable for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator’s practice. In fact, Yan Liming had broken through to the Foundation Establishment Stage by taking a Foundation Establishment Pill inside that very secret realm!

He had found both the Foundation Establishment Pill and the silver pages in the outer area of the secret realm.

He guessed that even more precious Treasures must lie in the core of the secret realm.

However, the core was protected by a Tier Three Array, and since he knew nothing of the Array Dao, he couldn’t get inside.

And if he tried to break it by force, with his strength at the Foundation Establishment Stage, he likely wouldn’t be able to crack the Array even if he tried until the day he died.

Thus, he could only gather the Spirit Medicines from the cave’s periphery before returning to the Western Wilderness.

His original plan had been to wait until he reached the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, then capture a few Array Dao masters and force them to break the Array.

What he hadn’t expected, however, was that Yan Hengchuan, who cultivated the ’Foundation-Stealing Method,’ had been waiting for him all this time.

The moment he appeared in the Western Wilderness, Yan Hengchuan pinpointed his location.

And in the end, Li Ping was the one who captured him.

...

’A secret cave abode! This is perfect!’ Li Ping was overjoyed.

After all, a so-called secret realm was, in reality, a separate, independent space.

Anyone who didn’t know the method of entry would be shut out.

As long as he hid inside the secret cave abode, he could be the king of his own castle, completely cut off from the world.

This meant that as long as he gathered enough Spirit Medicines to refine Tier Two Upper Grade Pills, he could remain inside like a hermit, cultivating until he reached the peak of the Late-stage Foundation Establishment before emerging.

The wars and chaos of the Western Wilderness wouldn’t be able to affect him in the slightest.

Fleeing was one option, but if the cost was too high, digging a hole and hiding was also an excellent strategy.

’No need to run just yet. I’ll see how things play out,’ Li Ping decided. ’If the situation gets dangerous, I’ll just hide in the secret cave abode and cultivate for a hundred years.’

As for joining the Ying Sea Commerce Association, he naturally cast that option to the back of his mind.

Both options involved a hundred years.

One choice was to slave away like an ox, the other was to live comfortably as a recluse. Even an idiot would know which to choose.

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