A few days later.
A tall, handsome Black-robed young man arrived at the desert on the edge of the Far West.
It was Li Feiyu.
He carried a bamboo tube on his back, which looked ordinary but was a rare spatial Magic Treasure, like a Void Garden Pearl, with a world of its own inside.
Li Feiyu had entered it and seen that it was a bit smaller than his own Void Garden Pearl, but the Spiritual Qi in the space was quite good, making it a blessed land.
Of course, it couldn't compare to the Void Garden Pearl that Li Feiyu had painstakingly modified.
It was probably one of the few places in the entire Mortal Realm that could rival its Cultivation environment.
Suddenly, a voice from the bamboo tube on his back entered Li Feiyu's ears.
"Li Feiyu, you have quite a few treasures. I didn't expect you to have a soul nourishing wood, such a supreme treasure for nourishing the soul. I haven't heard of the yuanshen flower, but its effect of warming and nourishing the Primordial Spirit is enough to indicate its rarity."
"I've given you the items. When will you give me the subsequent Great Development Art Cultivation Technique?"
After a while, a pure white Jade Slip flew out of the bamboo tube. Li Feiyu raised his hand, grabbed it, and then immersed his Divine Sense, quickly scanning its contents.
"Why is there only the fifth layer? And only three types of Core Formation Puppets? Don't tell me you only have these?"
"Hehe, Li Feiyu, don't try to provoke me, it's useless."
"I'm not that foolish!"
"If I give you everything at once, once you master this fifth layer, I will naturally give you the rest. If you haven't mastered it before my time is up, then I will still give you everything at once."
"Otherwise, if I need Materials, what if you drag your feet and don't look for them diligently?"
Li Feiyu sighed, "It's better than nothing. The fifth layer is enough for me to Cultivate for ten or twenty years."
"Alright, no more talking. Now I must rest and recuperate, so I can continue researching Puppet arts in this blessed land. Don't disturb me unless it's important."
Monarch Soul Divergence Divine Lord said the last few words lazily, and his voice abruptly stopped.
Li Feiyu looked at the endless yellow sand ahead. He took out the Wind Chasing Spirit Pearl again; with it, flying and escaping would be much more convenient.
Despite the long distance, Li Feiyu didn't fly at full speed, but still crossed the dangerous desert in just a few days.
Crimson Crow informed Li Feiyu through Divine Sense that he had passed the weak period and wanted to come out.
Li Feiyu shook his head with a light smile and released him.
After Crimson Crow came out, he first let out a long cry, releasing scorching Spiritual Qi, then soared into the sky, circling for a while, looking very excited.
After a moment, he shrunk his body, flew down to perch on Li Feiyu's shoulder, turned his head, and preened his feathers with his beak.
"Master, look, I have more golden feathers on my body."
"Very good, strive to reverse Cultivate your True Blood and become a Golden Crow True Spirit!"
"Yes, Master!"
"You can handle the rest of the journey back."
"No problem, but where are we going? Yue State or Yuantian City?"
Li Feiyu thought for a moment and said, "The war with the Mulan people should still take a few years to end, so let's go to Yuantian City."
"Alright!"
Crimson Crow shouted, and after leaving Li Feiyu's shoulder, his body suddenly transformed to three zhang tall, with wings spanning nearly seven or eight zhang.
Li Feiyu lightly leaped, sat cross-legged on Crimson Crow's back, and began to calmly comprehend the fifth layer of the Great Development Art.
Upon arriving at their residence, Yuan Yao and the others heard Crimson Crow's cry outside the room and all came out to look. Seeing Li Feiyu, their faces all showed surprise.
"You're back." The three of them said in unison, then looked at each other, feeling a bit awkward.
Li Feiyu laughed heartily, "It seems you all miss Li!"
Yuan Yao covered her mouth and chuckled, "Brother Li, don't overthink it. We just happened to have something we wanted your help with."
Li Feiyu rubbed his nose, a sheepish smile on his face, "It seems Li overthought it."
Zi Ling gracefully stepped forward a few paces, her swaying figure making Li Feiyu's heart itch. She smiled sweetly, "Fellow Daoist Li, it's like this: a few days ago, we accidentally heard news that there's a rare Spirit Medicine called Spirit candle fruit in Devilfall Valley. It's the main Material for refining the Creation Pill, and the Creation Pill is rumored to have a great effect on breaking through Bottlenecks for those below the Deity Transformation Stage."
"So you're eyeing it." Li Feiyu chuckled, also stepping forward to Zi Ling, placing his index finger under her chin, and gently lifting it. "You want me to take you into Devilfall Valley to find the Spirit candle fruit? Then what will you offer to repay me?"
Zi Ling's face flushed slightly, and she retreated a few steps. Yuan Yao stepped forward and linked arms with Zi Ling, smiling, "Then we'll just have to let Sister Zi Ling offer herself."
"You wicked girl, what are you saying! You're asking for a beating!"
Zi Ling feigned anger, pretending to raise her hand to hit Yuan Yao, who immediately backed away, her face beaming with a radiant smile.
The playful banter of beauties was indeed a feast for the eyes.
"Alright, stop messing around. The Spirit candle fruit is also very useful to me, and I was going to go in anyway. If you're not afraid of danger, you can come along, but I don't have absolute confidence that I can return unscathed from the perilous Devilfall Valley."
"You need to think about this carefully." When he said the last sentence, Li Feiyu's expression became much more serious and earnest.
Zi Ling and Yuan Yao said, "We've thought it over, we want to go."
"Yao'er, what about you?" Li Feiyu looked at Yaoer, "You are already at the late stage Core Formation. If you just Cultivate step by step, and with my help, your chances of forming a Nascent Soul are not small."
"I..." Yaoer hesitated for a moment, "I'll go too."
"My aptitude is insufficient. If I proceed step by step, just reaching the pseudo-Nascent Soul Stage would take a long time, and the Nascent Soul Bottleneck could trap me for over a hundred years."
Li Feiyu sighed slightly.
Zi Ling said, "Fellow Daoist Xing is much better than me. My Cultivation speed is inherently slower than average, and I barely managed to form my Core. It's not even certain if I can reach the Late Stage!"
"Alright, let's not compare ourselves in such matters."
"Since you all want to go, then let's go together."
Li Feiyu stared at Zi Ling for a while. Zi Ling smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Li, why are you looking at me like that?"
Yuan Yao interjected, "It must be because Sister Zi Ling is too beautiful, Brother Li is captivated."
Zi Ling smiled, "Fellow Daoist Xing is also very beautiful."
Such a fiery atmosphere~
Seeing Yaoer look over, Li Feiyu coughed, "I just think that perhaps Zi Ling, you are cultivating a Cultivation Technique that isn't suitable for you, which is why your Cultivation is so difficult."
A hint of surprise flashed in Zi Ling's eyes, "How do you mean?"
"Could it be that Fellow Daoist Li, you've noticed something?"
Li Feiyu smiled slightly and slowly said, "Many Cultivators in the world have ordinary Spiritual Root aptitude and find Cultivation difficult, but some of them possess special Physiques."
"When Cultivating ordinary Cultivation Techniques, these people with special Physiques progress at the same speed as ordinary people. But if they find a Cultivation Technique corresponding to their Physique, then their Cultivation speed can advance by leaps and bounds, even faster than those with Heavenly Spiritual Roots."
"Even advancing to Deity Transformation and Ascension to the Upper Realm could be just around the corner."
The three women's faces all showed surprise.
"Yao'er has the Nine Profound Phoenix Physique, Zi Ling, you have the Pure Maiden Yin Physique, as for Yuan Yao..."
Yuan Yao had the Heavenly Yin Physique, similar to the Longyuan race's Physique. In the original plot, she and Sister Yan Li jointly Cultivated the Yin and Yang Reincarnation Art and also became a half-ghost Physique, which is also a very rare Physique.
With two Physiques, she was later favored by Qing Yuanzi and taken as his closed-door Disciple.
But now...
"Brother Li, why did you stop talking?"
"You should belong to the Heavenly Yin Physique, suitable for Cultivating Yin-attribute or Ghost Dao Cultivation Techniques."
"Ghost Dao?"
"I'm just guessing." Li Feiyu smiled, "Now that various sects in Yuantian City are gathering, you can go inquire."
"For the next period, I need to go into seclusion to Cultivate a Cultivation Technique. Unless it's important, don't disturb me."
After Li Feiyu entered the room, he handed the bamboo tube to Xue Yi and had him guard the room, while he entered the Void Garden Pearl to Cultivate the Great Development Art.
...
Meanwhile, Han Li and the others had been guarding Huanglong Mountain for many days and finally awaited the second wave of reinforcements for a rotation.
After returning to Yuantian City, Han Li organized his gains from this trip and then set off to find Li Feiyu.
At the entrance of the Immortal Come Pavilion, he encountered Zi Ling and the others who were about to go out.
"Fairy Ziling, is my Senior Brother here?"
Zi Ling said, "Fellow Daoist Li went to the Far West not long ago and just returned. He is currently in seclusion."
"Far West?!" Han Li was startled and lowered his head, beginning to ponder.
"Fellow Daoist Han, we have matters to attend to, so we'll be leaving first."
Han Li nodded, watching them disappear into the crowd.
"The Far West, isn't that Thousand Bamboo Sect's territory? Senior Brother Li going there must be for the same reason as me, to get the subsequent layers of the Great Development Art."
"I had planned to go when I had time, but Senior Brother Li beat me to it."
"What a miscalculation. I wonder how Senior Brother Li will extort me this time?"
After thinking for a moment, he shook his head, a wry smile on his lips.
He certainly wouldn't give up the later Cultivation Techniques of the Great Development Art. As for going to the Far West again, there was no need, because he knew that Li Feiyu had definitely already taken the Great Development Art.
However, this meant he would have to negotiate with Li Feiyu.
"Seclusion..."
Han Li murmured softly, then stepped into the Aura barrier of the Immortal Come Pavilion, arrived in front of Li Feiyu's door, and raised his hand to send out a sound transmission talisman.
The sound transmission talisman hit the Restriction on the door, transforming into a flash of fire that rushed into the room.
Xue Yi received Han Li's sound transmission and entered the Void Garden Pearl to notify Li Feiyu.
He did this because Li Feiyu had instructed that if Han Li came, he could enter the Void Garden Pearl to report.
Li Feiyu saw Xue Yi and asked, "Is it Han Li, or has something major happened?"
"Reporting to Master, it's Han Li."
Li Feiyu pondered for a moment, wondering if Han Li's visit was for the Great Development Art or something else.
"Xue Yi, you stay here for now."
"Yes, Master."
On the giant Fusang Tree in the distance, Crimson Crow was perched, Sun True Fire burning fiercely, and a special aura flowed between Crimson Crow and the Fusang Tree.
Li Feiyu glanced into the distance, his figure vanished from where he stood, and reappeared in the room.
He then sent out a Aura, which landed on the door. The door slowly opened by itself. Han Li immediately walked in, and then with a "bang", the door closed again, emitting a curtain of light.
"Junior Brother Han, what brings you to me?" Li Feiyu smiled slightly and made a gesture of invitation, "If you have something, why not sit down, have a cup of tea, and tell me slowly?"
Han Li sat down, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and praised, "Five-color tea, truly a Dao tea, it can be called an immortal grade among teas."
He put down the teacup and continued, "Senior Brother Li, you went to the Far West?"
Li Feiyu nodded.
"Did you obtain the subsequent Great Development Art?"
Li Feiyu smiled, "Junior Brother Han, do you think I would travel so far and return empty-handed?"
"However, there was a small twist. One could say I obtained it, or didn't obtain it. To be precise, I didn't completely obtain it."
Han Li frowned, "I don't quite understand what you're saying."
"I'll let you meet someone, and you'll know."
Li Feiyu smiled, raised his hand, and retrieved the bamboo tube from a nearby table, then patted it and said, "Senior, wake up, come out and meet someone."
"Wake up, wake up."
The wrinkles between Han Li's eyebrows furrowed into a "river" character. He wondered if Li Feiyu was joking with him, or trying to withhold the subsequent Great Development Art Cultivation Technique.
Suddenly, a voice came from within the bamboo tube.
"Li Feiyu, I told you not to disturb this old man if there's nothing important. Do you know what it means to respect the elderly?"
"Then do you love the young?"
"Hehe."
A cold laugh came from the bamboo tube. Han Li was greatly astonished, his brows relaxed, and his eyes widened in surprise.
How could there be someone in such a small bamboo tube?
At this moment, a Divine Sense flew out, circled the room, "Oh, there's a young man. Li Feiyu, is he the one you wanted me to meet?"
Li Feiyu smiled and said, "Let me introduce you. This is Han Li, he's my Junior Brother. He has also Cultivated the Great Development Art that you passed down, just like me. In fact, the copy I have was obtained from him."
"If I hadn't gone, he would have gone to Thousand Bamboo Sect to find the remaining Great Development Art after a while."
"Senior Brother Li, you just said that the Great Development Art was passed down by this Senior in the bamboo tube?"
Han Li thought of a possibility, "Could it be that the person inside is the one who founded Thousand Bamboo Sect and the Great Development Art?"
"But I remember the history of Thousand Bamboo Sect is already tens of thousands of years old. How is this possible? How can someone live for tens of thousands of years? Wouldn't that be an Old Monster?!"
"Even a Deity Transformation Stage Cultivator couldn't do that, could they?"
"Kid, who are you calling an Old Monster?!"
Li Feiyu laughed, "Senior, you've existed for tens of thousands of years, what else would you be if not an Old Monster?"
"Hmph hmph~"
"After all that talk, I haven't introduced you yet. The person inside is the existence you mentioned who founded Thousand Bamboo Sect, Monarch Soul Divergence Divine Lord."
"He used some secret technique to attach himself to a Puppet, which is how he lived for so long."
"In his prime, he was a Great Cultivator at the Nascent Soul Late Stage. According to him, no one in Heavenly South at that time was his match."
Monarch Soul Divergence Divine Lord said displeased, "What do you mean 'I said it myself'? It's the truth!"
"Also, what do you mean 'in my prime I was a Nascent Soul Late Stage Great Cultivator'? To think that I, Monarch Soul Divergence Divine Lord, with unparalleled talent, if not for being distracted by other matters, Deity Transformation and Ascension to the Upper Realm would not have been difficult for me. How could I have fallen to this state?"
Han Li was still somewhat shocked, finding it hard to believe.
A Cultivator from ten thousand years ago living until now, even if he told people, no one would believe him.
"Junior Brother Han, the Old Monster didn't pass down the complete Great Development Art, so unless he personally teaches it, we can't obtain it."
"Fortunately, we have reached an agreement, and I have currently obtained the fifth layer of the Great Development Art."
"Junior Brother Han, you must also be determined to obtain this Great Development Art, right?"
Han Li nodded, "Senior Brother Li, just tell me your conditions directly."
"Why be so formal? You don't need to do anything else. The Old Monster gave some conditions, you just need to share the burden with me."
"Tell me about it."
Li Feiyu smiled slightly and repeated to Han Li what Monarch Soul Divergence Divine Lord had said earlier.
Han Li thought for a moment, "Let's do as Senior Brother Li says."