"Junior Martial Uncle Wu, why does this Junior Brother look so unfamiliar? I don't recall seeing him before?"
A Foundation Establishment Disciple guarding the gate of Ten Thousand Swords Sect asked cautiously, looking at a black-haired young man.
The one called Junior Martial Uncle Wu was Wu Ming, a Core Formation Middle Stage Cultivator of Ten Thousand Swords Sect. His Master was a Nascent Soul Early Stage Elder of the Sect.
Wu Ming glanced at him, high and mighty, "This is someone I met outside in the past. I saw he had good aptitude, and I will take him as a Disciple once he reaches Foundation Establishment."
"This time, I'm bringing him back to the Sect to register him in the treasure records."
The black-haired young man cupped his fists and bowed to the gate-guarding Disciple, "Greetings, Senior Brother. I hope Senior Brother will take good care of me in the future."
The gate-guarding Disciple was flattered. Although he was at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, he had no one above him, otherwise he wouldn't have been assigned to take turns guarding the main gate.
"Junior Brother, what are you saying? I should be the one taking good care of Junior Brother in the future."
After some polite exchanges, the gate-guarding Disciple no longer blocked them and let the two in.
After entering the Sect's territory, the two flew on Escape Light and arrived at a Spiritual Peak. This Spiritual Peak was lush with vegetation, abundant in Spiritual Qi, had rugged rocks, and waterfalls cascading down.
Occasionally, a few roars of strange Demon Beasts could be heard from the forest, and a Spiritual Crane screeched in the sky before disappearing into the mountain forest.
The black-haired young man's expression was calm, showing no shock at this immortal mountain and Spiritual Peak, as if he had long been accustomed to it, or had seen even better.
The two walked in silence, truly not looking like Master and Disciple.
At the summit of the Spiritual Peak, there was a grand palace. Wu Ming and the black-haired young man landed on the plaza in front of the palace.
Four giant stone pillars stood at the corners of the plaza, which was a hundred zhang in circumference and paved with blue stone bricks. A thin layer of Aura adhered to the surface of the stone bricks.
This was a Formation Restriction, which could, to a certain extent, absorb impacts, preventing damage and the need for frequent repairs.
"Master, Disciple has come to pay respects."
Wu Ming cupped his fists, bowed, and looked respectful. The black-haired young man followed suit.
A moment later, a voice came from the main hall, "What brings you here?"
"Who is that beside you?"
Wu Ming said, "Master, this is a Disciple I took in outside. He has now reached Foundation Establishment, and I specially brought him back to the Sect for you to see, to evaluate my Disciple, and then to record him in the treasure records to become a formal member of our Ten Thousand Swords Sect."
"Also, regarding the traces of the Blood Devil, Disciple has found quite a few clues during this trip and has come to inform Master first."
"Very good, come in."
The palace gate slowly opened by itself. The two transformed into two streaks of light, one gold and one red, and flashed inside. Then the gate automatically closed again.
In a quiet room, an old Daoist with white hair and a youthful complexion, his figure like a sword, sat cross-legged on a futon.
After Wu Ming and the black-haired young man entered, the old Daoist opened his eyes and scanned the two.
"Oh, this new Disciple of yours seems somewhat unusual."
Wu Ming smiled, "Indeed, Disciple also felt that he might possess some special Physique, which is why I took him in. However, Disciple's Cultivation is not high enough to see through it. I trouble Master to examine him."
To examine some hidden Physiques and aptitude was not so simple; it required inch-by-inch investigation, and it was also very possible not to find anything.
"Since that's the case, let me take a look."
With a flash, the old Daoist appeared before the black-haired young man. With a wave of his hand, the black-haired young man's arm automatically lifted and stretched out in front of him.
The old Daoist grabbed his wrist, just about to control his own Magic Power to surge in.
However, at this moment, a foreign object suddenly and rapidly moved within the black-haired young man's arm. Upon reaching his wrist, it instantly broke through the old Daoist's Physical Body.
A red light flashed, and the foreign object drilled into the old Daoist's hand.
"You ambushed me!"
The old Daoist's face changed drastically, his eyes glowed fiercely, and Magic Power surged around him. The black-haired young man's mouth curved slightly, and he retreated with a backflip.
Afterward, the old Daoist tried to force out the foreign object that had drilled into his body, but no matter how he introspected or examined himself, he couldn't find it.
Wu Ming flashed to the black-haired young man's side, his eyes completely devoid of the previous reverence, instead filled with cold indifference.
"You scoundrel, you actually brought someone to ambush me!"
"What was that just now?"
Wu Ming opened his mouth, and a mass of red liquid condensed into a strange human face, speaking with Wu Ming's voice, "Master, didn't you want to see Master? I have brought Master here now. Are you happy?"
"From now on, we will all serve Master together and strive for a great cause. Wouldn't that be wonderful!"
After a burst of wild laughter, the blood-face disappeared, and Wu Ming's mouth also closed.
"Master? Blood Devil?"
The old Daoist looked at the black-haired young man in horror. At this moment, his black hair was rapidly turning red, as eerie as blood.
"Blood Devil, what means did you use to control my Disciple? Quickly undo it, or today I will surely tear you into ten thousand pieces!"
The red-haired young man was Xue Li. He looked at the old Daoist with an evil, charming expression.
"Do you still think I am the same as before? Well, with your Divine Sense, it is indeed difficult to see through my concealment and breath-holding technique."
Although Xue Li's Great Development Art had not yet reached the fourth layer, it was now enough to rival a Nascent Soul Middle Stage.
If he cultivated the fourth layer, Divine Sense manifestation would be effortless.
As Xue Li removed his concealment technique, his Nascent Soul Qi flowed out, and the old Daoist's face changed drastically.
"You actually reached the Nascent Soul Stage?!"
"How is that possible?!"
From the time Xue Li appeared in the outer sea, wantonly slaughtering Demon Beasts and human Cultivators, less than a century had passed until now.
At that time, he was only at the Core Formation Early Stage.
From Core Formation Early Stage to Nascent Soul Early Stage, it took less than a century; no one would believe this if it were said out loud.
Yet, the truth was presented before the old Daoist.
He felt as if he had provoked an existence that should not be provoked.
Just as the old Daoist was about to leave and seek help, a sudden, intense pain shot through his brain, so severe that his face contorted, veins bulged, and he was unable to concentrate or mobilize his Magic Power and Divine Sense.
"You... ah... what... did... you... do... to... me!"
"It's the same thing as with your Disciple, you know. I advise you not to resist; it will only intensify your pain."
"Devil Head, don't even think about controlling me. Even if I self-destruct, I won't give you this Opportunity."
"Haha, in your current state, you still want to self-destruct in front of me? Ridiculous."
Xue Li shot out a blood-red light, instantly immobilizing his Nascent Soul.
As his Cultivation greatly increased, the number of Blood God Seeds he refined also greatly increased, now reaching thirty-six. For every Realm increase in the Nascent Soul Stage, eighteen more could be added.
Those controlled by the Blood God Seed were almost undetectable. It could not only merge into the blood but also hide within the Golden Core, Sea of Consciousness, and Divine Soul.
Once planted, one would be controlled for life, unless the caster personally removed the Blood God Seed.
However, even so, the person's Cultivation would be at least half-Waste.
It could be said that the Blood God Seed was one of the most insidious and vicious Divine Abilities in the Blood God Great Art, if not the most.
In a direct confrontation with a Nascent Soul of the same rank, unless he was captured, it would be very difficult for the Blood God Seed to invade his body.
Before it resided in a human body, it was very weak, and a Core Formation stage Cultivator could easily destroy it.
But it also possessed the Blood Escape Divine Ability, which was extremely fast. Once the host was killed, it could quickly escape, and even split into several Clones, each of which could be real.
As long as it was not instantly destroyed, even if only a small part remained, it could slowly recover after returning to Xue Li's side.
If the Blood God Seed was destroyed, Xue Li would also be slightly affected.
Xue Li raised his hand and shot out a stream of Blood Fiend Qi, which surged into the old Daoist's body, disintegrating his power of resistance.
This was a confrontation of will; ordinary Divine Abilities were useless, and only a very few could help the Blood God Seed accelerate its parasitism.
The Blood Fiend Qi eroded the Sea of Consciousness, and the old Daoist's consciousness began to become chaotic, making it increasingly difficult to resist.
The painful screams echoed like a Demon Beast's roar in the small quiet room.
Xue Li and Wu Ming watched coldly.
Not long after, the roaring stopped.
The old Daoist stood up, expressionless, his eyes cold, exactly like Wu Ming's.
As for the Blood Fiend Qi within his body, it was completely devoured by the Blood God Seed. This was also to prevent outsiders from noticing anything amiss with him.
"Recover well. Later, invite your good friends over, and remember to invite them one by one."
"Yes, Master."
...
In less than half a month, the entire high-level of Ten Thousand Swords Sect was controlled by Xue Li.
Among them, the more difficult ones were the two Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivators of Ten Thousand Swords Sect, one being the Sect Master of Ten Thousand Swords Sect and the other the Grand Elder of Ten Thousand Swords Sect.
Both of them possessed extraordinary Divine Abilities and sharp sword Dao.
If they hadn't been lured outside and trapped by a grand Formation, along with the assistance of several Nascent Soul Elders of Ten Thousand Swords Sect, it would have been truly difficult to take them down easily.
Especially the Grand Elder of Ten Thousand Swords Sect, with one hand, he transformed his sword into threads, instantly splitting into dozens of indestructible sword threads.
Xue Li blocked them with his Blood Fiend Demonic Shadow Divine Ability. Otherwise, the other several Nascent Soul Elders would probably have been instantly killed by him.
Ultimately, under his powerful and eerie Blood God Great Art, the Grand Elder of Ten Thousand Swords Sect was defeated. Xue Li paid the price of three Blood God Seeds to completely control him.
With him, dealing with other Nascent Soul Middle Stage experts of this level became much simpler.
...
Time flew by. A year and a half later, Xue Li stepped onto an Ancient Teleportation Array and arrived in Tian Nan.
As soon as he appeared, Li Feiyu sensed his Qi.
Then he transmitted a Divine Sense message to him, asking him to come over.
Li Feiyu's vast Divine Sense instantly swept over Xue Li, then retracted, "Very good, you've reached the Nascent Soul Stage. You haven't disappointed me."
"Still not as good as the main body. The main body advanced to the Nascent Soul Late Stage in less than a century. Even in ancient times, no one could compare, right?"
"It was merely a stroke of Opportunity."
"Let's begin the memory synchronization. It's good to pass on my experience related to breaking through Realms to you."
Xue Li hesitated slightly, but Li Feiyu didn't mind. The Second Primordial Spirit, having experienced so much outside, already had its own personality, unlike its initial pure and obedient state.
However, Li Feiyu was confident that he could control it and that it wouldn't rebel like Han Li's Second Primordial Spirit.
"Don't worry, I won't erase your personality."
Xue Li finally nodded.
With the memory link, the initiative was in Li Feiyu's hands. He could view all of Xue Li's memories, but Xue Li could only know what Li Feiyu wanted him to know.
After it ended, Li Feiyu said, "Since you have such intentions, I will not stop you. Just follow your own ideas."
"Now that you've arrived in Tian Nan, you can go explore the surroundings. Leaving behind a reputation wouldn't be bad either."
"Understood."
Having received Li Feiyu's Cultivation experience, Xue Li gained immensely, while Li Feiyu secretly marveled at the power of the Blood God Great Art.
"It's even more overbearing than I imagined. Perhaps it's also a top-tier Legacy in the Spirit Realm."
Li Feiyu smiled slightly. Xue Li had Xue Li's path, and he also had his own Five Elements Dao to walk.
However, he was also secretly wary. Although he could control Xue Li's life and death, there was no guarantee that Xue Li wouldn't be able to break free from this control once his Realm became higher.
"As long as I'm always stronger than him, that's enough."
Xue Li came this time not only to see Li Feiyu but also to deliver several top-grade Materials.
These years, he had not been without gains.
Moreover, in the treasuries of several major Sects he controlled, there were also some Five Elements top-grade Materials.
For example, Geng Jin, Profound Yellow Stone, Phoenix Blood Stone, Ice Soul Cold Crystal, Crimson Flame Glazed Marrow, etc.
The Profound Yellow Stone and several other Materials were used by Li Feiyu to smelt the Geomagnetic Pearl. This Geomagnetic Pearl had now become an existence like Li Feiyu's Lifebound Treasure.
The power of geomagnetism was special and had infinite potential; there were still many areas that could be explored.
Li Feiyu felt that in the future, he could specifically create a Geomagnetic Cultivation Technique, instead of having to wait until the Nascent Soul Stage to begin Cultivating, like the Earth Emperor Skill.
After enhancing his Lifebound Treasure with various Materials, Li Feiyu continued to Cultivate the fifth layer of the Great Development Art.
These past few months, Xue Li had caused quite a stir in Tian Nan, killing two Nascent Soul Cultivators from the Demonic Paths, shocking Tian Nan.
His Demonic Technique was so overbearing and eerie that he even killed a Nascent Soul Middle Stage Cultivator, attracting the pursuit of Master Zhiyang.
But his escape speed was incredibly fast, allowing him to escape.
From then on, the name Blood Devil also spread throughout Tian Nan.
They all speculated that Xue Li was not from Tian Nan. Under the instruction of Fellow Daoist Hehuan and Master Zhiyang, the Demonic Paths joined forces to hunt down Xue Li, but he still escaped and disappeared without a trace.
After causing a lot of trouble, not long after, Xue Li returned to the Chaotic Star Sea with some auxiliary Medicinal Pills and Spirit Medicine, continuing to scheme for his position as the leader of the Inverse Star Alliance.
Later, someone revealed that Xue Li was last seen in Yue Country, and the Demonic Paths guessed that he might have gone to the Chaotic Star Sea through an Ancient Teleportation Array.
He might even have come from the Chaotic Star Sea himself.
Master Zhiyang and Fellow Daoist Hehuan even went to Li Feiyu's Sect, demanding that he refuse Xue Li access to the Ancient Teleportation Array in the future.
Unfortunately, Li Feiyu didn't even meet them and had Gu Mingyang, the Sect Master of the Five Elements Sect, send them away.
The Five Elements Sect's strength was growing, and even though they were Great Cultivators, they dared not cause trouble here.
Otherwise, if Li Feiyu charged into their Sects, it would certainly cause great chaos.
The consequences of that would be far more severe than the trouble caused by a small Blood Devil.
Another three years passed. Li Feiyu completely mastered the fifth layer of the Great Development Art and began initial Cultivation of the sixth layer.
However, this sixth layer was quite difficult to Cultivate.
It would probably take several decades to achieve Major Achievement.
Therefore, he began to take time to Cultivate other Divine Abilities.
Six years later, he sent Xue Yi to notify Han Li, arranging a time to meet.
Han Li had long given instructions that if Li Feiyu sent someone, he should be informed.
"Master said he's almost ready and plans to head to the Mulan Grasslands, so he sent me to inquire with you."
Han Li thought for a moment, "Then half a month from now. In half a month, I will go to the Five Elements Sect, and we'll depart together."
"Understood."
Afterward, Xue Yi left through the Teleportation Array there.
At this moment, a deep and uninhibited voice echoed in the quiet room, coming from Monarch Soul Divergence Divine Lord.
"Departing at this time, I see that Li Feiyu must have mastered the fifth layer of the Great Development Art. This aptitude, it has my style from back then, haha~"
Han Li ignored Monarch Soul Divergence Divine Lord's boasting and, after some thought, began preparing some methods to deal with the dangers he might encounter crossing the vast grasslands.
Monarch Soul Divergence Divine Lord said disdainfully, "Following Li Feiyu, what are you afraid of? With him around, it probably won't even be your turn to act."
"Senior Brother Li is Senior Brother Li, and I am I."
"I don't want to owe him too much."
"Heh heh, you two have come this far, can you really distinguish who owes whom?"
Han Li was stunned for a moment, seemingly pondering this question as well.
"Fool, why think so much? When there's an advantage to be taken, take it as much as possible! Miss this village, and you won't find this shop again!"
"In this regard, you're not as straightforward as Li Feiyu!"
"Give him a chance, just try it, and see if he doesn't fleece you bald!"
Han Li gave a wry smile, speechless, because he felt that Monarch Soul Divergence Divine Lord's words made a lot of sense.
Li Feiyu was indeed such a person.
How to put it, he could be called opportunistic, or he could be called real.
He would spare no effort to win over and maintain good relationships with those who could help him, but if they were useless, he might not even spare them a glance.
His sincerity was real, and his cold self-interest was also real.
After a long while, a faint sigh echoed in the quiet room.