Recruit black physique to start practice in wasteland

Chapter 2576 Sensation
Qu Jianlei's rest period wasn't as long as everyone thought; he only took ten days to recover before his body began to solidify.

Han Li was a little unhappy when he saw this. "This amount of time is not enough. We need to rest and regroup. There will be tough battles to come when we get back!"

“That’s about it,” Qu Jianlei replied casually. “Birth and death don’t affect me much. The difficulty lies in finding the true meaning.”

Upon hearing this, Xiwu immediately grasped the key point: "Does the use of your supernatural power require the replenishment of the True Meaning of Life and Death?"

“Fellow Daoist Xiwu, this question is a bit rash,” Qu Jianlei said with a wry smile, “but… not entirely.”

“Heretical cultivation methods can replenish the true meaning of birth and death,” Jin Ge replied in a deep voice. “Death is one thing, but as for birth… this is the only way.”

It's no wonder the Merchant Alliance members misunderstood. While True Venerable's methods were considered heretical, if one were to force a connection, the two could indeed be linked.

The power of birth and death can not only destroy, but also generate, although the latter is much more difficult.

However, on the other hand, whoever masters the latter will be exceptionally popular.

Even the most basic form of temporary life extension is something countless cultivators dream of.

But then again, hair growth needs vitality, but where does that vitality come from?

If it's not about plundering from the outside, but only about the caster drawing life force from their own body... isn't that insane?

But plundering from the outside... that's not far from becoming a heretical cultivator.

Therefore, the most orthodox methods of creation and destruction actually only emphasize destruction, and creation is not included.

Yugiri understood, of course, and breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, "Such a powerful method, to have to supplement it like this... it's a bit of a pity."

In fact, there was no sense of regret in her tone; rather, there was more relief than regret.

Qu Zhenzun's lifespan is already terrifying enough; if another even more ruthless person were to die, how would anyone else survive?

Han Li was still a little worried. "Can we join the battle now? Should we rest a bit more... and go fishing while we're at it?"

This is just another tactic; if they don't go back for a long time, what if some unscrupulous people can't hold back...

"It's not very meaningful," Qu Jianlei shook his head. To be honest, he liked fishing even more than Han Li.

This isn't about having a bad sense of humor; it's about eliminating potential threats through this method, which can save a lot of unnecessary trouble.

But now, they are all true venerables. Even if they conceal the secrets of heaven and cannot judge that they have already perished, who would dare to act rashly?

"Didn't you say that the Merchant Alliance might still have True Venerables? Wouldn't it be pointless if someone found out?"

"Is serious injury not acceptable?" Han Li replied nonchalantly, then curled her lip. "Whatever you say, are you leaving now?"

“Let’s take a look at the cave first,” Qu Jianlei replied in a deep voice, “It’s a good opportunity to test the new uses of time.”

Upon hearing this, Yugiri raised an eyebrow and asked with delight, "You can do it now?"

How could a man say no… Qu Jianlei nodded slightly, “It’s nothing.”

Half a day later, the two cave dwellings were taken out, and the bodies of the two True Venerables had completely vanished into thin air.

One of the caves was relatively larger and better preserved, while the other cave was smaller and more desolate.

However, after seeing it, Jin Ge said that the latter's condition was not just due to poor maintenance of the cave.

The key point is that this person was cut into hundreds of pieces, while once the True Venerable One perishes, his body will return to heaven and earth.

This place is emptiness; if the physical body isn't carefully protected, it will dissipate even faster.

However, this person, who lacked protection for their cave dwelling, experienced a significantly faster dissipation of their physical body, which is why their internal cave dwelling was also affected.

These logics sound reasonable, but without Jin Ge's encyclopedic knowledge, most people wouldn't have thought of them.

Qu Jianlei was extremely fortunate that the trial cave he had obtained was intact, and that Wu Xuan Dazun's cave had been deliberately protected.

That's right, even if the latter is also desolate, it's due to the wear and tear of time.

If Wu Xuan had also hidden his cave within his body, it would have vanished long ago—after all, that place is still the Absolute Spirit World!

This is probably why treasures like the True Venerable's Cave are rarely seen in trading venues in the Houde Realm.

Even if someone occasionally manages to kill a True Venerable, without the power of time travel, how can they quickly extract the cave dwelling from the opponent's body?

Regardless, Qu Jianlei felt that this harvest was not bad. "This less desirable cave dwelling is mine, you two can share one?"

True Venerable Xiwu showed no dissatisfaction, but Jin Ge's face darkened. "You've got it all. After using the Life and Death Technique... it's all like that now!"

Qu Jianlei shook his head, "But this was originally my karma, and you all came to help me."

“That doesn’t make sense,” True Venerable Xiwu said seriously. “Even setting aside birth and death, a lot of array materials have been consumed.”

That's why talking to smart people is so much easier, isn't it? These two are really shrewd.

The array materials prepared by Qu Jianlei were truly extraordinary.

Needless to say, just consider the value of a Nascent Soul level mountain-protecting array. And what he prepared were materials that could be quickly erected.

"I have too many cave dwellings!" Qu Jianlei waved his hand and said calmly, "No need to argue, you two can discuss how to divide them."

"If you keep making things complicated, I won't be asking you two for help next time."

What does it mean to be domineering? This is it. These two sensed the other's strength and dared not insist. They could only reluctantly accept it.

It would be easier for Yugiri and Kingo to negotiate.

The former requires a certain amount of cave dwelling space, whether it's to improve their own cave dwelling or to mentor future generations, it's worth considering.

The latter doesn't actually have a similar need—the Master of Arts doesn't even have a caring junior.

In the end, Yugiri accepted the cave dwelling and promised Jin Ge many benefits.

In the end, she couldn't help but quietly ask the other person, "Qu Zhenzun has so many caves... how many Zhenzun did he kill?"

“It’s a rhetorical device,” Jin Ge replied casually. “You should be thinking about how to pay back my debt as soon as possible.”

"Oh dear..." For the first time, a troubled expression appeared on the face of the cold and beautiful True Venerable.

She is truly poor now—in fact, most True Venerables who have been to other worlds have this happy trouble.

After Qu Jianlei used his Time-Traveling Divine Power, he rested for two more days before the four of them began to return. Xi Wu then hid in Han Li's cave again.

The return journey took eight days, which was faster than expected. Moreover, this time, they went directly to the four main camps.

The cultivators watching from the perimeter of the camp had not dispersed much, and a stalemate had vaguely formed between the Houde Realm and the four major camps.

The atmosphere wasn't very tense; each side had three True Venerables communicating in the void.

On Houde Realm's side were Xuan Yi, Tian Li, and Song Yue'er—my injuries hadn't fully healed, so I didn't waste time with them.

It's really just a waste of time; everyone's waiting for the final news.

The palace, the grand formation, and the four trapped Venerable Masters of Great Virtue all vanished at the same time, leaving everyone present dumbfounded.

Some people were so eager to consult the oracle that, though they only tried to get information indirectly, the result... was quite a backlash.

Up to now, everyone can only vaguely confirm that not all the True Venerables of Houde have perished, and as for the Merchant Alliance... it's hard to say.

No one even knew where the two sides were, because no one was stubborn enough to continue calculating.

The virtuous cultivator wanted to enter the merchant alliance camp to search, but was stopped by the cultivators from the Three Realms: How about we wait until the battle results are out before we talk about it?

Ultimately, every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor, right?
Then we can only wait for further news and stay where we are—what if they return in the same way?
The unworthy True Venerable has gone back to report that they may need to request the Realm Envoy to be dispatched, but so far, there has been no definite news.

When the Three True Venerables appeared from the distant void, everyone present was shocked.

Some people exclaimed in surprise, some were stunned, and some pointed and whispered, but no one spoke for a long time.

Only when they got close did True Venerable Tianli raise his hand to do some calculations, confirming that they were not imposters, before he breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's good that you're alright... Qu Zhenzun, are you alright?"

Qu Jianlei, who was an illusory figure outside, nodded slightly upon hearing this and replied with only three words, "It's nothing."

"Han Li, are you alright?" Song Yue'er looked at Han Li.

Han Li was also an illusory figure outside, but Jin Ge answered first, "I'm just a little exhausted, nothing serious."

“There is one more…” Xuan Yi Zhenzun asked hesitantly, somewhat doubting that the other Zhenzun might be Xi Wu.

Because he had already calculated it, the most likely scenario was that Wenxian was still in Houde Realm.

The four were trapped in the great formation at the time, and later an illusion that concealed them was created within the formation, so the probability that it was True Venerable Xiwu is extremely high.

However, he didn't say it explicitly; he just asked to see how much their side had lost.

“I’m just exhausted,” Jin Ge replied expressionlessly, not looking like he was “fine.”

The four of them returned as quickly as possible, but if they could catch some fish while they were at it, why not?
In the end, it was Tianli who was straightforward... or rather, after he lent the spiritual vein to Qu Zhenzun, their relationship clearly warmed up considerably.

"What will be the outcome of this battle?"

"Is there even a need to ask?" Jin Ge replied arrogantly. "With the entire Merchant Alliance wiped out, who among the cultivators of the Houde Realm is there to fear?"

"Boom..." Suddenly, the surrounding area erupted in chaos.

To be honest, the cultivators of Houde have been suffering terribly lately. The Merchant Alliance keeps attacking the Merchant Road. Who wouldn't be angry in that situation?
If people hadn't later discovered that they could use DDoS attacks to harass the other party to vent their anger, who knows what they might have done.

When Jin Ge uttered the words "total annihilation," the emotions on the scene erupted.

The faces of all the virtuous cultivators were filled with excitement, and they kept whispering to each other.

The faces of the cultivators from the Three Realms were filled with astonishment, their eyes showing disbelief and uncontrollable horror.

That was the main force of reinforcements sent by the Merchant Alliance. They not only had treasures at the Nascent Soul level, but also a Nascent Soul level grand formation.

This team just vanished like that; some people even muttered, "How is this possible?"

The commotion didn't last long, because there were a dozen or so powerful figures present, and the lesser cultivators quickly calmed down.

Then, a figure flashed, and Elder Youjian appeared—clearly, he hadn't just arrived.

He looked at Jin Ge, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Did the other side... leave any survivors?"