Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan-Chapter 376 - 382: Ambush

However, Li Zhiyue did not arrive at Xu Family County where Li Zhirui had been before; of course, even if it was Xu Family County, the two were unlikely to meet again, given that Li Zhirui had left early to avoid the people from Shen Leishan.

After arriving in the central region, Li Zhiyue, unlike Li Zhirui, who was preparing to experience the outside world, found a marketplace and decided to retreat for cultivation before the Secret Realm opened.

Although this approach wouldn't result in a significant enhancement of her own strength, sharpening one's weapon before battle will not make it shine any less, and improving even a bit was beneficial.

Moreover, the day after Li Zhiyue arrived in the central region, she encountered a significant event: a few Hundred-Year Golden Pills were ambushed and covertly attacked outside the marketplace!

Their strength certainly could not be underestimated, but those with intention easily overcame the unprepared. Even if they did not fall, they were seriously injured and barely managed to escape. It would take them years to fully recover.

But there were less than two years left before the opening of the Secret Realm!

So with the news of this incident, Li Zhiyue completely abandoned the thought of exploring the central region and decided to stay in the market until the Secret Realm opened.

As for how to travel to the Secret Realm when the time comes? "The ship will naturally straighten when it reaches the bridge", she would decide later.

Meanwhile.

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Li Zhirui was leaving the territory of another Nascent Soul power. He hadn't actually traveled very far recently, as he intended to truly experience the world in an attempt to break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck. He planned to suppress his progress slightly, so after the Secret Realm of Wanxian, whether to stay in the central region to attempt Tribulation Transcendence or return to Wanxian Island, was an option.

After all, a bottleneck is a bottleneck; breaking through doesn't mean one could immediately advance. It's not like some secret technique that grants success with divine intervention.

No sooner had Li Zhirui stepped out of Immortal City when his eyelids began to twitch, signaling some ill omen was about to befall him. Without hesitation, he turned back and reentered Immortal City.

"Senior Brother, it looks like that person has discovered us, he actually turned around and went back into Immortal City!" Not far from where Li Zhirui had just stood, several Golden Core cultivators were hiding beneath a Formation. One of them nearly jumped when he saw Li Zhirui turning back.

Among these were three at the early Golden Core stage, five at the Middle Golden Core Stage, and two at the Golden Core Late Stage—a total of ten Golden Core cultivators. Even if Li Zhirui was at Golden Core Perfection, without employing Da Qing and Xiaoqing, he would likely end up injured and fleeing.

As for whether he would sustain serious injuries, that depended on how formidable the trump cards of his opponents were.

"Impossible!" The cultivator holding the Array Plate immediately objected, saying, "Although this Formation is only third-grade, not even a True Lord at the Nascent Soul stage could discover it without carefully probing with his Divine Sense, let alone a mere Golden Core?"

Even though Li Zhirui was at Golden Core Perfection, seemingly just a step away from Nascent Soul, between those two stages lay an immeasurable distance. The gap between them was not night and day, but certainly not something that could be compared directly!

"Enough!" The leader barked sharply, and the two disputants immediately fell silent, though their eyes continued to confront each other, neither willing to back down.

"This matter isn't likely due to the Formation's fault, but rather it could be due to some sudden intuitive warning," he speculated.

This statement shocked everyone present. They were not ignorant cultivators; they understood what such intuition entailed.

And precisely because they knew, they were all the more surprised.

That a Golden Core cultivator could possess such powerful intuition was indeed inconceivable.

"So does that mean we have no means to kill him now? Does that mean we cannot complete the task we were assigned?" someone asked despondently.

That's right!

These cultivators were not demon spy infiltrators, nor were they evil cultivators, but legitimate cultivators of the Immortal Tao! Moreover, they came from those well-known and influential powers!

Their goal was also very simple, which was to kill or severely wound as many of the cultivators planning to enter the Secret Realm as possible, denying them any chance of entering.

In this way, they could prevent the rise of smaller powers and block any chance for these smaller forces to challenge their status.

Of course, this was not an easy thing to achieve. After all, the world is vast and full of extraordinary people. Unless they discarded their dignity and let Nascent Soul True Lords personally intervene, it was simply impossible to completely prevent the rise of smaller powers.

"What can we do? They are now on guard and unlikely to leave Immortal City easily. There's no need to waste time here anymore, let's return to the Sect and report this matter."

From this incident, it was clear that Li Zhirui had some skills. Whether the Sect planned to kill him or befriend him was no longer their concern.

So, they began to dismantle the Formation, then boarded the Spirit Boat, and swiftly left the area.

But what they didn't know was that a pair of eyes had witnessed this scene from the entrance of Immortal City!

When Li Zhirui's Spirit Sense alerted him, he originally wanted to enter Immortal City immediately to avoid the calamity, but he quickly changed his mind. He found a blind spot in view and, using the Wood Concealing Art, merged into some weeds outside the city gate, secretly observing the situation nearby.

It didn't take long for him to spot the group of cultivators, and he thought to himself with a cold laugh, "Ten Golden Core cultivators? They really think highly of me, Li Zhirui!"

Seeing they had truly left, Li Zhirui then dispelled the Wood Concealing Art, his gaze icy as he watched the direction they had departed in.

"Impressive skills, Daoist friend!" praised the Golden Core cultivator guarding the city gate with a smile.

That's right!

Golden Core cultivators in the Central Region were actually assigned to guard city gates!

Of course, these Golden Core cultivators typically had bleak prospects or had achieved their Golden Core through external aid, but even so, when Li Zhirui first saw this, his feelings were complex, feeling both shock and a sense of humiliation!

After all, he was just a Golden Core cultivator himself. Even if his cultivation was higher, he was still in the Golden Core realm. Seeing cultivators of the same realm guarding city gates inevitably evoked a feeling of commiseration.

"You flatter me, Daoist friend!"

The Golden Core guardian's gaze towards Li Zhirui couldn't help but carry a hint of envy, knowing just from looking at Li Zhirui's circumstance that he was a Hundred-Year Golden Pill, a child of heaven who was eligible to enter the Secret Realm of Wanxian. That's why he took the opportunity to curry favor, watching Li Zhirui use the Wood Concealing Art right in front of him without exposing it.

"It seems, Daoist friend, that you are from the Outer Region?" the Golden Core guarding the city said to himself: "Perhaps you are new to the Central Region and have not yet heard certain rumors."

"What rumors?" Combining the recent situation, Li Zhirui already had a guess in his mind.

"There are rumors of multiple Golden Core cultivators being severely injured or even dying." Since he had already decided to curry favor, he was not shy about sharing a bit more.

Upon hearing this, a sharp look flashed in Li Zhirui's eyes, but then his expression returned to calm, and he said with a faint smile, "Many thanks, Daoist friend, for the information!"