Rebuilding the Immortal Cultivator Clan

Although Xiaoqing is currently in closed-door cultivation, Li Zhirui can now fly without the aid of any external object.

This is the Imperial Soaring flight that symbolizes cultivators of the Golden Core Realm!

Lower-ranked cultivators need external objects to fly, but those in the Golden Core Realm do not; as long as the mana within their bodies is sufficient, they can fly at will.

The very next day, Li Zhirui left his cave dwelling and walked on the road leaving the city, with lower-ranked cultivators moving aside to avoid offending the newly advanced Golden Core cultivator.

In truth, he could have flown at a low altitude to leave the Immortal City, as many restrictions no longer bound them after reaching the Golden Core Realm.

However, since he had never practiced this method, and was worried about embarrassing himself in front of everyone, Li Zhirui chose to walk instead.

"Esteemed Daoist, please wait!" A hurried voice reached Li Zhirui's ears, and because the caller was also a Golden Core cultivator, he gave face and stopped to wait for a while.

"I am An Yongkang, and I greet you, fellow Daoist!" A man in a gray robe with slightly graying hair at the temples approached Li Zhirui quickly and greeted him with a bow.

"Huang Zhaoming greets you, fellow Daoist." Li Zhirui returned the greeting, and since he didn't know the other's intentions, he gave a false name to be safe.

"May I ask what is it you are here for, Daoist friend?"

"This is not a suitable place for discussion, perhaps you would join me in the tavern over there for a seat?"

Li Zhirui had no objections and followed him into the nearby tavern, where they took a private room and ordered several pots of clear wine and a few dishes of Spirit Food.

An Yongkang saw that Li Zhirui was not in a hurry at all, and was tasting the Spirit Food and wine on his own, so he held his words, waiting for the right moment.

After three rounds of drinks, An Yongkang finally spoke up, "Have you, esteemed Daoist, ever heard of the Five Elements Secret Realm?"

"I've heard of it, but I don't know much," Li Zhirui put down his chopsticks and shook his head.

He only knew that this Secret Realm was rich in five-element Spiritual Objects and that it was a third-rank Secret Realm, controlled jointly by the three great powers of the Green Mountain State. He didn't know much beyond that.

"In a few more years, the time will come for the once-in-a-century opening of the Secret Realm. Do you have any thoughts on this, fellow Daoist?"

Li Zhirui's heart instantly became wary. The Five Elements Secret Realm was tightly controlled by the three major powers, and even if some quotas were released, how could it possibly be given to him for no reason?

"Fellow Daoist, you're mistaken," said An Yongkang, laughing when he saw his reaction. "I'm just a mere Loose Cultivator; how could I manage to obtain a quota for the Secret Realm?"

"Then, fellow Daoist, you are..." Li Zhirui vaguely guessed his purpose for approaching him.

With a grin, An Yongkang said, "Of course, it's to rob the rich to aid the poor!"

For Sect and clan cultivators, they naturally have their elders to lead them back, and those who travel in groups are not easy to target, but Loose Cultivators who are alone have far fewer concerns.

Li Zhirui intended to refuse outright, as any Loose Cultivator who could safely emerge from the treacherous Secret Realm undeniably possessed extraordinary strength.

Moreover, the fact that the other party had suddenly sought him out could very well mean he saw that Li had just broken through, making him weaker and an easier target for a robbery.

But as the words reached his lips, he changed his mind and with a smile said, "Aren't we cultivators who lack wealth in need of such charity ourselves?"

"Great!" An Yongkang was thrilled and took out a Communication Talisman while speaking, "Together, you and I will certainly be invincible."

Li Zhirui smiled as he accepted it. Without further ado, he got up to take his leave, ready to depart.

"Since fellow Daoist is busy, I won't disturb you further."

After escorting Li Zhirui out of the private room, An Yongkang sat back down, his eyes flickering with sharp light, his thoughts unknown.

Li Zhirui, using mana to adhere to his hand, toyed with the Communication Talisman, chuckling to himself. Did the other party take him for a fool?

As he left the city, with a gentle release of his right hand, the talisman fell, drifting with the breeze to an unknown destination.

The reason was that An Yongkang had intentionally left a trick within that Communication Talisman; he intended to take advantage of Li Zhirui's recent breakthrough when his strength was not yet strong enough, to directly eliminate him.

As for why An Yongkang had set his sights on him? Li Zhirui had his speculations—it was nothing more than the "tycoon" behavior he had exhibited when renting the cave dwelling, showing off tens of thousands of Spirit Stones and then leaving before the lease was up, drawing An Yongkang's attention.

It is known that for most Golden Core Loose Cultivators, tens of thousands of Spirit Stones might represent their entire fortune!

And judging by An Yongkang's appearance and attire, he did not seem that wealthy.

That being said—

Once Li Zhirui stepped out of Immortal City, he began to circulate his mana, flying with the wind. At first, his speed was not fast, but as he became accustomed to it, his speed gradually increased.

However, if compared to Xiaoqing's flying speed, he could surpass him in the short term; but over time, his speed was bound to decrease, because Li Zhirui relied on mana for flight, whereas Xiaoqing possessed a natural-born talent.

An Yongkang waited a moment, then began to use a Secret Technique to contact the talisman, his face unable to hide the excitement as he quickly followed the sensing and walked hurriedly, only to feel more and more that something was amiss.

"Damn it!" When he saw the Communication Talisman had fallen into a stinking ditch, he let out a furious low growl.

Unfortunately, by this time, Li Zhirui was already far from Immortal City, and there was no chance of finding him.

——

As days and months sped by, Li Zhirui only took a day to return to Da Rong Island.

He entered his family's estate quietly, intending to surprise Li Shiqing and the others, but unexpectedly met Li Zhizhun on the way.

"Zhirui, you've come out of retreat..." As he spoke, he sensed something was amiss. After careful thought, he exclaimed in shock, "No, Zhirui, have you broken through to the Golden Core Realm?!"

This statement instantly drew the attention of the nearby family members. Whatever they were doing, they all dropped it immediately and crowded around.

"Zhirui, when did you make the breakthrough?"

"Uncle Zhirui, weren't you in closed-door cultivation at the family? Why didn't you need to face Tribulation Transcendence for your breakthrough?"

"With Uncle Zhirui's breakthrough into the Golden Core Realm, we no longer have to fear the Yuanming Sect!"

The clan members spoke over each other; dozens of questions were asked in a moment.

"Yes!" Faced with these questions, Li Zhirui felt a bit helpless and didn't know which one to answer first.

The commotion also drew Li Shiqing's attention. His Divine Sense swept over and discovered an unexpected figure, causing him to pause, then he hurriedly rushed out of his quiet room and flew to the people's side.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Upon seeing Li Zhirui in person and confirming his cultivation level, Li Shiqing was too excited to speak. Enjoy new adventures from My Virtual Library Empire

"Congratulations on forming your Golden Core, Zhirui!" Li Zhizhun then remembered he hadn't congratulated him yet and quickly added a word.

The other family members also spoke up, expressing their sincere wishes to Li Zhirui, their faces filled with excitement and joy.

In the end, the news attracted all the family members to come forward, surrounding Li Zhirui so tightly that not even water could seep through.