Seeing Qiu Li Gao collapse to the ground, a deep gash on his back bleeding profusely, Long Tian clenched his fists and stared at the attacker. “What’s the meaning of this?”
It was a young man with a treasured sword, well-dressed but with a despicable air. “Just teaching some trash a lesson for going against me. If you want to blame someone, blame him for being blind enough to get too close to you.”
Soon, several cultivators appeared around them. The weakest was at the 7th layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm, the strongest at the 9th layer. They surrounded Long Tian.
“So you’re the one who hit Young Master Bai?” sneered one of them. “Some bumpkin from the countryside who just got lucky in the duels and thinks he’s something special? Don’t tell me you really think you’re strong?”
Long Tian glanced at the group encircling him and snorted disdainfully. “Doesn’t the fact that so many of you all came to find me mean that you think I’m strong?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. We’re just making sure you don’t get away,” Bai Gui said, pointing his sword at Qiu Li Gao’s head. “You’d better behave, or this guy’s life ends here.”
“What makes you think I care about his life?” Long Tian said flatly.
“I don’t need you to care,” Bai Gui sneered. “But if he dies, and we tell the Law Enforcement Hall that it was you who killed him… with so many of us here to testify, who do you think they’ll believe?”
Long Tian’s face remained unchanged. Bai Gui couldn’t tell what he was thinking. In truth, he didn’t want Qiu Li Gao dead just yet. If he died now and Long Tian got away, sure, he could still frame him for killing a fellow sect member, but at most an elder would give him some punishment.
What Bai Gui really wanted was to personally cripple Long Tian, then kill Qiu Li Gao, and pin everything on Long Tian. That way, not only would he crush this annoying bug, but he’d also be praised for stopping a dangerous murderer who wanted to kill someone from the same sect.
Long Tian wasn’t stupid- if Bai Gui could think of that, so could he.
As the group of cultivators closed in, Long Tian narrowed his eyes. Hidden inside his robe, the jade pendant on his chest flashed briefly. A small orb appeared in his hand.
He crushed it.
Boom! Instantly, smoke exploded around them, clouding the area.
Bai Gui had a bad feeling. He quickly jumped back- just as a sword shadow slashed through the spot he had been standing.
Had he hesitated even a split second, he might not have made it out alive.
A few cultivators dispersed the smoke with spirit energy, but by then Long Tian was gone- and so was Qiu Li Gao’s bleeding body.
“Long Tian!!!” Bai Gui seethed with rage. What had seemed like a sure thing was now a complete failure.
“Where did that guy get a smoke bomb? I didn’t see a storage ring on his hand or him using a storage pouch.”
“Maybe he’s got another kind of storage treasure.”
“Young Master Bai, we’re really sorry. We let our guard down.”
“It’s not your fault.” Bai Gui wanted to punch someone, but these people were only helping him because of his cousin’s status, and they were all stronger than him. He had to hold it in. “Let’s chase them.”
There was blood on the ground, and Long Tian had to carry an injured man. They shouldn’t be hard to track.
The group gave chase.
…
The jade pendant Long Tian had used contained stored beast blood- collected earlier for drawing talismans. It came in handy now.
He wrapped Qiu Li Gao’s bleeding back with cloth to prevent his blood from leaving a trail, then splattered beast blood in a different direction to fake an escape path.
Without this trick, there was no way he could get far while carrying an injured person. And at this rate, Qiu Li Gao might actually die from blood loss.
After applying beast-avoiding incense, he ran deeper into the secret realm. Ten minutes later, he stopped, gently laid Qiu Li Gao down, fed him a Blood Restoring Pill, and sprinkled a special wound medicine on the gash.
Bai Gui had slashed with a strong force- he clearly didn’t intend for Qiu Li Gao to survive.
A few cuts and bruises were one thing, but now that Bai Gui had resorted to such vicious means against him and his companion, Long Tian’s killing intent surged.
Another half-hour passed. The wound on Qiu Li Gao’s back had scabbed over. The special medicine was amazing, and the perfect-grade Blood Restoring Pill had also improved his complexion. He even regained consciousness.
“Wha- what happened? My back hurts…” Qiu Li Gao’s eyes were filled with confusion.
“You triggered a trap and got knocked out.”
“Feels more like I got hacked. Don’t tell me it was you?”
“Why would I do that? And if I did, why would I save you after?” Long Tian rolled his eyes.
“Fair point.” Qiu Li Gao chuckled.
“That trap was dangerous. You’re lucky it didn’t take off a limb. But you’ve got internal injuries- you can’t stay in the secret realm. Go back first.”
“But I haven’t found any opportunities yet…”
“I’ll share a little with you later, okay?” Long Tian handed him another perfect Blood Restoring Pill. “Now go back and rest.”
“Alright.” Qiu Li Gao could feel how bad his condition was. His cultivation was only at the 3rd layer of the Foundation Establishment Realm. In this state, forget opportunities- he’d be lucky to survive.
He crushed his teleportation stone. A light enveloped him, and he vanished from the realm.
“I’m not strong enough yet. I can’t take on those Foundation Establishment Realm layer 8 and layer 9 guys all at once.” Long Tian’s eyes glinted as he looked toward the deeper parts of the secret realm. “But I’ve already marked them with Dark Fragrance. I’ll settle this once I reach the 9th layer.”
…
Long Tian avoided numerous spirit beasts and continued deeper. Suddenly, the Fallen Immortal Elder’s voice sounded in his mind: ‘There’s a formation ripple there- an illusion formation.’
Looking over, Long Tian saw a thicket of thorny grass. ‘How do I break it?’
‘Simple. Inject spiritual power there, then…’
Following the Fallen Immortal Elder’s instructions, Long Tian broke the illusion in about ten seconds. A small wooden hut appeared before him.
A simple fence surrounded the hut- probably used to grow something once, though the soil was bare now.
‘Already picked clean?’
‘Impossible. That was a Level 2 formation. And this deep in the secret realm? Without my specially-made beast-avoiding incense, who could’ve gotten here before you?’
‘Ye Yong?’ Long Tian asked. Of all the cultivators in the realm, Ye Yong was the one who had caught his attention.
‘He’s talented, sure. But do you think formation mastery is as easy as the mortals’ 1+1, where anyone can learn? You saw those mid stage Crystallization Realm spirit beasts earlier. Without the beast-avoiding incense, he’d never have made it past them.’
‘True.’
‘This is clearly an elder’s herb garden, abandoned because it was no longer needed. Go check inside the hut. When you’re done, grab some of this soil- it’s great for cultivating rank 3 and lower herbs.’
‘Got it.’ Long Tian entered the hut. It was empty inside, save for a single rustic box placed conspicuously in the center.
‘A level 2 restriction again. Looks like the same person set both this and the illusion outside.’
‘Could it be a trap?’ Long Tian stayed cautious.
‘Impossible. This secret realm is managed by your Heavenly Luo Sect. Elders plant opportunities here for juniors like you- there’s no reason for a trap. And if there were, I’d sense it.’
‘Indeed.’ Following the old man’s guidance, Long Tian quickly removed the restriction and opened the box.
Inside was an old, coverless book. On its page was a line of text:
[Delivery and Postpartum Care of Spirit Pigs]
In the bottom-left corner, there were two more words:
[Deluxe Edition]
Hahahahaha!!! Deluxe edition? Is there such a thing possible!?