However, since there were too many tribespeople around, Li Zhirui lied on the surface and rely said it was a decent third-tier Spiritual dicine, giving him six thousand Contribution Values to avoid attracting trouble to this lucky youngster.
The remaining nine thousand Contribution Values were quietly given to Li Chengyu by Li Zhirui, along with an explanation through a voice transmission, telling him to keep an eye out for himself.
The reason Li Zhirui did this was mainly that the child was unlucky; his birth mother had fallen ill and died, and the following year his father took a female cultivator as a wife. At first, the stepmother treated him fairly well, but everything changed once she had her own child, who was also found to have the sa Three Spiritual Roots.
To make her own biological son go further, she began to treat Li Chengyu harshly, even taking away his family's monthly stipend when he was young.
Fortunately, it wasn't long before the teachers at the Spirit Wisdom Court noticed sothing was amiss due to his slow cultivation speed, and the matter was brought to light.
However, the situation for Li Chengyu at ho did not improve, mainly because his own father was heartless and would beat him personally.
A father hitting his son seed a matter of course, and although the other family mbers felt sorry for Li Chengyu, it was not deed appropriate for them to interfere too often.
It was later that Li Chengmo learned of this and took severe asures to rectify the situation, ridding the Li family of so undesirable customs, and only then did Li Chengyu's circumstances improve slightly.
Perhaps it was this adversity that forged his unwavering determination, for now, in his thirties, he had already reached the later stages of Qi Cultivation, undoubtedly outperforming his brother by far.
"Thank you, Uncle Shiling!" A warm current surged in Li Chengyu's heart. Six thousand Contribution Values wasn't a small amount, but that couple, fearing the family, dared not co to demand it; however, if it were fifteen thousand Contribution Values, they would probably not care so much anymore.
To know that within the Li family, exchanging for just one Foundation Establishnt Pill required only fifty thousand Contribution Values, and this was already close to thirty percent of that. The couple had accumulated only this much in half a lifeti, how could they not be tempted?
"Cultivate well," Li Zhirui did not say much more. In fact, the Li family's clan discipline was already quite good. Under Li Chengmo's governance, there had been no instances of bullying based on one's position or other such tired tropes.
If it were any other family or Sect, after their rise, there would likely be a large number of youngsters who beca arrogant, similar to those who flaunt their newfound wealth.
As more and more tribespeople returned from the Secret Realm, Li Zhirui alone was too busy to handle everything, and Li Shiqing and Li Zhiyue also had to help appraise the value of Spiritual Objects.
anwhile, within the Secret Realm, Li Zhixuan hid behind a large tree, doing her utmost to conceal her presence, spying on a deep pool not far away, or, to be precise, on the treasure within the waters of the pool.
In the middle of the pool, there stood a strange piece of wood, without branches or leaves, pitch black and roughly ten feet tall, while at the top, there were a few pale blue fruits, each nearly the size of a baby's fist.
This tree was a third-tier Profound Spirit Tree, and the fruits were called Profound Spirit Fruits. They couldn't increase Mana or enhance cultivation levels, but each ti they appeared, they were pursued by countless cultivators and caused fierce battles for their possession!
The reason was simple: the Profound Spirit Fruit could help cultivators break through bottlenecks and even had a certain effect on Nascent Soul cultivators!
Of course, for soone like Li Zhixuan facing a major bottleneck in her cultivation, the Profound Spirit Fruit would have no effect; otherwise, the competition would be even fiercer and more terrifying.
Nevertheless, the preciousness of the Profound Spirit Fruit could not be denied.
The reason Li Zhixuan was so cautious was that there was a dreadfully powerful Devil Beast within this deep pool!
When she first discovered the Profound Spirit Tree, she was drawn over by a fierce battle that was taking place.
The combatants were a Cold Dragon from the deep pool and a Black Tiger from the woods, both at the peak of the second-tier and would have broken through to the third-tier if not for the restrictions of Mana within the Secret Realm.
Their combat power was formidable; although they were only second-tier, they gave Li Zhixuan the illusion that she was witnessing third-tier Devil Beasts fighting fiercely, and she even felt that she was no match for either of these beasts.
Fortunately, the strengths of both sides were evenly matched, and after a fierce battle, both were injured; the black tiger fled into the forest, and the Cold Dragon sank into a deep pool.
They did not stop there; instead, they nursed their wounds, gathering energy and preparing to fight to the death when the Profound Spirit Fruit ripened!
After all, their shallow spiritual intelligence did not reveal to them that this was a Secret Realm; they assud it was because they had not t the conditions for a breakthrough, and so their cultivation was stalled.
To them, the Profound Spirit Fruit, teeming with Spiritual Energy, and the flesh and blood of their opponents, appeared to be the best catalysts for a breakthrough, allowing themselves to beco even stronger.
Thus, the battle was inevitable!
The reason why Li Zhixuan hid was naturally to play the opportunistic fisherman, and also to personally gauge the strength of the victor.
Whoosh—
A wind started!
With it ca a massive influx of Spiritual Energy, madly absorbed by the Profound Spirit Fruits, and gradually, a refreshing, soul-stirring fragrance erged, wafting with the wind into the nostrils of the black tiger.
Roar!
A roar shook the forest, and the black tiger erged like a monarch, stepping out slowly.
Then a dragon's cry echoed from the deep pool, and a slim Cold Dragon soared into the sky.
As for the Devil Beasts lured by the scent of the fruit, upon seeing these two, they fled without a mont's hesitation, as though they had laid eyes on the grim reaper himself.
Dragons erge from the clouds; tigers ride the winds—their speeds were fast, and even though they fought with brute force, their swiftness left a trail of lingering afterimages still locked in combat.
"What a pity, born at the wrong ti; such talented Devil Beasts, yet borne into this second-order Secret Realm. Unless they're taken out by soone, they will be stuck here for life," Li Zhixuan silently thought.
As she thought this, a sudden idea popped into her head; perhaps she could try to lead them out of the Secret Realm?
Li Zhixuan admitted to herself that she was no match for them, but just outside the 'gate', there were three Golden Core cultivators on guard. No matter how talented or strong they were, they wouldn't be able to make a significant impact!
As she was lost in thought, the black tiger suddenly opened its wide mouth, and shadows flew out from within—this was the spell that all tiger-type Devil Beasts awakened to, the Vengeful Minion Technique.
Any creature that died at its hands could be refined into a Vengeful Ghost and commanded by it.
And over the years, the beings it had killed numbered not in the thousands; they were close to ten thousand!
The Vengeful Ghosts were dense like a dark curtain, swiftly transforming what was previously a bright day into a pitch-black night.
Li Zhixuan, hidden not far away, saw the Vengeful Ghosts approaching and her expression changed. She activated without hesitation the third-order stealth Spirit Talisman given to her by Li Shiqing and instantly vanished without a trace.
The now invisible Li Zhixuan's face revealed a hint of helplessness. She had not expected the black tiger to have such a trick. Had she known, she would not have gotten so close and would not have needed to use such a precious third-order Spirit Talisman.
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