Start from the God of Death and break through the world.

Chapter 1103 Farewell
"Aren't you going to ask again?"

Seeing that Lu Li had killed the last robber, Lu Xueqing asked a question.

"We can't get anything out of them. These people are just rogue cultivators who have just entered the ninth level. They know only limited things."

Lu Li said that he had just used the Soul Searching Technique on the bandits and discovered that they had come to the border of Martial God Mountain to cause trouble after accepting a mission. The person who issued the mission offered a large sum of money to gather a group of reckless teams.

The bandits' mission was actually quite simple: they only needed to rob the border of Wushen Mountain once, then return to complete the mission, make a profit, and leave.

So this mission, though seemingly deadly, was actually not one that could be carried out indefinitely because multiple groups of bandits had entered the country. Some of them would rob a group, collect their bounty, and then flee.

For this reason, more and more rogue cultivators are joining this group. After all, fortune favors the bold, and offending Martial God Mountain is terrifying. However, they believe that they can pull off a heist and leave as long as they don't alarm any big shots, and they may not be tracked down afterward.

Of course, this idea is very naive. There are hundreds of billions of residents in Wushen Mountain, and many people die or are injured every day due to security incidents. It is indeed a small matter that one or two small villages on the border are robbed. However, if Wushen Mountain really wants to investigate, the great cultivators' magic power will make it clear that these robbers cannot hide their identities at all.

It's just that these rogue cultivators are unaware of the terrifying methods of the Extreme Dao Immortal Sect, and since some people do indeed escape justice, they harbor a侥幸心理 (a sense of侥幸, a feeling of getting away with something).

“It’s strange. Although the number of mortals is large, to be blunt, the deaths and injuries of some mortals are nothing to Martial God Mountain, but it’s a matter of face. I asked the villagers, and they said that there have been frequent banditry on the border in recent years, and many villages have already suffered.”

Lu Xueqing frowned slightly, puzzled by something. "How dare these people? Why hasn't Martial God Mountain dealt with this matter seriously for so many years?"

"What else could it be? They just want to find out who's behind this."

Lu Li's voice was unfriendly as he glanced at the villagers repairing the village in the distance. "It's a battle between the strong, but it's pitiful for mortals."

"This……"

Lu Xueqing was speechless for a moment, but after figuring out the key point, she immediately realized that Martial God Mountain was also one of the Supreme Immortal Sects.

Throughout her cultivation journey, she has experienced numerous worlds within this space. Her many observations and experiences have taught her that none of the powerful forces that stand at the pinnacle are entirely clean.

Moreover, given the sheer size of Wushen Mountain, the matters it needs to consider are often far from simple, making it impossible to act as freely and easily as people in the martial arts world.

Upon closer examination and tracing back to the source, this matter must involve another supreme immortal sect. Otherwise, how could ordinary first- or second-rate forces dare to provoke the tiger's whiskers of Martial God Mountain?
For her and Lu Li, who were present at the scene, they felt sorry for the villagers. However, if they looked at the entire Martial God Mountain force, the life and death of a village of a few hundred people could not be compared with the billions of people and the vast wealth of Martial God Mountain.

In order to test and maneuver with the enemy, Wushen Mountain did not alert them, which caused hardship for the villagers on the border.

They all understood the reasoning, but at this moment they all felt a little uneasy, while Lu Li slashed at the corpse of another robber.

"what are you doing?"

Lu Xueqing asked in confusion.

"Let's get back to the source."

Lu Li said coldly, "I can't get anything out of them because they don't know, but what about their superiors? And their superiors' superiors?"

His soul intent erupted in full force, and the unparalleled damage from this strike spread out. In Lu Li's perception, in an instant, many of the bandits who were still ravaging the border were all inexplicably killed.

Some villagers, who had already given up hope, suddenly saw knife wounds on the robbers in front of them, their bodies cut open and dying instantly. In their horror, they immediately kowtowed in the direction of Mount Wushen, believing that the mountain had protected them.

Lu Li stood still, closed his eyes to sense, and frowned after two breaths.

"what happened?"

Lu Xueqing asked curiously.

“The tracing stopped, and very quickly. It stopped right after the previous person and traced back to someone stronger than me.”

Lu Li said helplessly, because his source tracing power was cut off, so he couldn't sense who cut off his power.

…………

While Lu Li and Lu Xueqing were still investigating at the foot of Martial God Mountain, on the other side, outside of Martial God Mountain...

In a grand courtyard of a large city inhabited by cultivators, a man in red robes sat cross-legged.

With a flick of his finger, he unleashed a burst of soul intent that annihilated the blade intent hurtling toward his face.

"This power is interesting. Indeed, having four spirit seeds makes a difference."

The man in red curled his lips into an evil smile. He was Li Zhong, who had descended to this world. He was once a pioneer of the End Space, but due to certain events, he had now left the End Space and become a violator of the Wings of Freedom.

"You've grown up really fast, it's only been fifty years. But at least you've finally ventured out..."

Li Zhong muttered to himself that he had his own mission in this world, but collecting spirit seeds did not conflict with his mission. In fact, some important figures above him had hinted that it would be a good thing if he could bring the spirit seeds into the Wings of Freedom, and were encouraging him to do so.

Therefore, it was not a coincidence that he and Lu Li arrived on the Divine Martial Continent on the same day. Rather, it was because their Wings of Freedom obtained Lu Li's precise arrival time, and he used an invitation to come along as well.

Unfortunately, Lu Li didn't venture out onto the continent after passing through the Blood Slaughter Secret Realm. Instead, he was confiscated for some contraband and ended up going directly to Martial God Mountain.

This meant that Li Zhong couldn't find an opportunity to make a move. Fortunately, he was quick-witted, and since the Wings of Freedom weren't entirely unrelated to this world, he joined the Soul Devouring Sect, which was adjacent to Martial God Mountain.

The Soul Devouring Sect is one of the nine supreme immortal sects of the Divine Martial Continent. Although it is called an immortal sect, the sect's style of doing things is quite strange, and it has the feel of a cult.

The sect is basically full of traditional evil cultivators. Every year, the Soul Devouring Sect recruits a large number of outer disciples, most of whom are just "talented individuals." If they cannot make a name for themselves within the sect by being ruthless, they will soon become waste. The Soul Devouring Sect's actions should have aroused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people, but the Heavenly Dao of this world has long been dead. Although various sects are willing to punish them, they are no match for the fighting power of the Soul Devouring Sect's higher-ups.

Although those evil cultivators are not human, they all have strange methods and extraordinary combat power. Moreover, the cultivation path within their sects is unorthodox, and many of their mid-to-high-level combat power can be 'quickly' developed. Even in a war of attrition, the Soul Devouring Sect has a considerable advantage.

As for why other supreme immortal sects did not take action to attack the Soul Devouring Sect, the reasons are even more complicated.

Firstly, it is said that the Soul Devouring Sect was not the heretical sect it is today when it was first established. It only went astray many years later after the supreme figure who founded the sect left and no longer managed it.

Regardless, the Soul Devouring Sect possesses a forbidden foundation. For those supreme forbidden figures, neither mortals nor ordinary cultivators can shake their resolve. At that level, ordinary notions of good and evil no longer limit their thinking. Therefore, while the Soul Devouring Sect's actions may seem beastly to the people of the Divine Martial Continent, they might simply be seen as an 'inhuman but potentially powerful sect' by these forbidden figures.

Under these circumstances, no supreme immortal sect would be willing to specifically seek out the Soul Devouring Sect, since it could easily lead to a life-or-death battle between the two sects' patriarchs. And a battle between forbidden sects might shatter this realm and trigger an even greater catastrophe.

Moreover, although the Soul Devouring Sect is inhuman, they only act this way behind closed doors. They 'raise' mortals under their own rule and have their own sect-based cycle of regeneration. Their occasional inhuman behavior towards outsiders is all done through 'legal' 'human trafficking' to obtain consumable resources.

As for wars with foreign powers, those do happen occasionally, but which major sect doesn't have some friction with other forces over resources? Don't you, a righteous sect, expand your power and plunder others?
Even the Supreme Immortal Sect occasionally experiences minor conflicts.

However, Martial God Mountain is an exception in this world. It is the most special among the nine supreme immortal sects. Normally, no supreme immortal sect would dare to provoke a conflict with Martial God Mountain.

It's not that the overall strength of Martial God Mountain surpasses that of other extreme immortal sects, but mainly because the master of Martial God Mountain... she is not a taboo figure; she resides permanently at Martial God Mountain.

Therefore, if other extreme immortal sects have conflicts, they won't escalate to the forbidden ancestor. The lower-level people will settle things privately, since they don't even know where their forbidden ancestor is, and it would be very difficult to even meet him.

But Martial God Mountain is different. The mountain lord sits on the summit. If you dare to cause trouble for Martial God Mountain, she will really take action.

Therefore, in terms of the stability of its territory and its dominance in the Divine Martial Continent, Martial God Mountain ranks first. It can be said that when disciples of Martial God Mountain act outside, disciples of other sects may be more in awe of them than when they see disciples of the Soul Devouring Sect.

Because while disciples of the Extreme Dao Immortal Sect might be able to provoke the Soul Devouring Sect, they couldn't afford to provoke Martial God Mountain. The brutes of Martial God Mountain were notoriously stubborn; once they believed they were in the right, they would beat you to death. The mountain lord could also intervene at any time, so everyone was naturally wary of them.

On the other hand, Li Zhong has now managed to secure the position of the second senior brother in the Soul Devouring Sect. This is largely due to his ruthlessness and inhumanity, which allows him to thrive in the sect.

Recently, he's been plotting to kill his senior brother so he can seize his position, which offers many advantages.

Oh, in the Soul Devouring Sect, internal strife among disciples is not restricted. Here, the most capable always take the lead. If you are harmed by other fellow disciples, it's because you are not skilled enough and your heart is not wicked enough. You deserve to be used as fodder for others.

However, before dealing with his senior brother, Li Zhong had to resolve the matter of the spirit seeds first. If he could obtain five spirit seeds, he felt that he would be the undisputed number one in potential across all realms. Once he reached the peak of the ninth rank, he would be invincible in all realms.

That's why he arranged for people to harass the border of Wushen Mountain. It may seem like he was courting death, but that's not actually the case.

If Wushen Mountain only felt that the deaths of a few ordinary villagers were a minor matter, and could simply send some outer disciples to investigate, then he wouldn't have much trouble.

If Martial God Mountain wants to probe and investigate the matter further, they might send their true disciples. It would be best if Lu Li were among them, but it wouldn't matter if he wasn't. It's just a casual move, since he himself hasn't shown his face. He's just asking outsiders to harass them through two hired rogue cultivators.

Before those true disciples could even find out about him, he had already cut the chains. After that, he could think of other ways to lure Lu Li out of the mountain.

The last scenario is that Martial God Mountain went to great lengths because of this matter, eventually tracing the source back to him, which triggered a full-scale war between the Soul Devouring Sect and Martial God Mountain.

He didn't need to panic in this situation. Not to mention that the Soul Devouring Sect was also an extreme immortal sect, even if the sect was morally corrupt internally, it still had to maintain its sect's dignity in public. It would not easily hand over his second senior brother.

Just look at the arrangements made by the big shots behind him; this matter is not so simple.

To put it bluntly, he was sent into this world to stir up trouble and provoke conflict.

The big shots said he could do whatever he wanted, even escalate the conflict, and that even if a supreme figure intervened, the big shots would protect him.

There were some deeper schemes involved, which Li Zhong was not entirely clear about. He only knew that someone wanted the lord of Martial God Mountain to die.

A few days ago, three forbidden figures fell on the Divine Martial Continent. He was secretly shocked when he learned of this. When he asked the giant of the Wings of Freedom, the other party only gave a vague answer.

However, he realized that he had underestimated his own organization, which made him even more certain of his stance and determined to make a big splash in the Divine Martial Continent.

He knew he was just a pawn in the hands of the strong, but things are up to people. Everyone starts from weakness. If he didn't dare to walk on the edge of a knife, how could he have a chance to reach the peak?
Seeing Lu Lizhen emerge from seclusion, Li Zhong was overjoyed, feeling that his own era was about to begin.

"Demon Prisoner... I must thank you for helping me collect so many spirit seeds..."

Li Zhong licked his lips, got up, and walked out of the courtyard.

Due to the special nature of the spirit seed, he could not allow anyone else to kill Lu Li; he had to come in person.

Therefore, he had already arranged for a group of people to track down any clues for Lu Li, luring Lu Li out of the border of Martial God Mountain. Once Lu Li reached the public area, he could then make his move.

According to his intelligence sources, there will be another opportunity for him to fight Lu Li directly in the near future, but he would not be able to use his cultivation level to suppress Lu Li in that situation, as there would be certain risks involved.

Li Zhong naturally didn't think he was weaker than Lu Li at the same level, but his motto was always to win if he could win steadily. Now that he was stronger than Lu Li and could kill him instantly, why should he fight Lu Li fairly?
With a thousand plans in mind, Li Zhong headed to the location where he had guided Lu Li, while Lu Li and Lu Xueqing continued their investigation after obtaining new clues.

At this very moment, in the space-time of the Divine Martial Continent, several pairs of eyes are looking down upon the mortal realm, watching the progress of events.

At the same time, within the World Sea, a flag with two wings drifted across the ocean and stopped in front of the Divine Martial Continent. After it stabilized, three figures appeared, each of them a person with extraordinary cultivation.

The leader spoke up: "Gentlemen, success or failure hinges on today."

(End of this chapter)