As the first person to discover the arrival of that Golden Core cultivator and one who had been keeping tabs on him ever since Li Ye remained suspicious, though the man hadn't affected him directly.
Because of that, his blood-sacrifice rituals to craft talismans hadn't been interrupted. Now, he held in his hand five nearly third-rank Formations-Breaking Talismans, forged through blood sacrifices. With previous gains included, he had already accumulated a total of seven.
One more was nearly complete just one or two more beasts to kill, and he'd have enough to finish the final talisman, bringing the total to eight.
That many was more than enough to return to Pingyang Mountain and attempt to open the place suspected to be a hidden pavilion!
"And thanks to that Golden Core cultivator stirring things up before, the beasts in the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range have been extra cautious lately. After killing so many over these past few days, even some of the beast tribes have started to organize patrols and set up defenses."
"If I keep going like this, I might get caught… hmm?"
As Li Ye pondered, he suddenly snapped his head around and looked into the distance.
The same carriage that had flown over his head months ago had reappeared.
This time it was entering the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range from a different direction and was quite far from him he could only make out its general silhouette.
But thanks to his close-up view from before, he recognized it instantly.
This time, though the Golden Core cultivator within was still shrouded in glowing light, his aura was far more restrained. Gone was the overpowering pressure from when he had stormed out of the mountains the cultivator's spiritual energy now surged much more subtly.
Li Ye glanced at him from afar, then quickly withdrew his gaze before the man could notice him, merely continuing to monitor from a distance.
The Golden Core cultivator not only didn't notice him but didn't care about the gaze of a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator. Without slowing at all, he flew straight into the depths of the mountain range and vanished within moments.
"He's returned to the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range? And diving straight into the depths again almost like he's retracing his original route. Could it be that he found this place too barren and is now heading back to the more prosperous lands beyond the mountains?"
Li Ye couldn't help but think with a bit of amusement.
The behavior of this mysterious Golden Core coming and going without incident, staying in the Four Nations for less than three months, and never once stirring up trouble was something he truly couldn't make sense of.
So his guess was mostly for his entertainment.
After all, until he reached the Golden Core stage, even if he had ways to deal with such cultivators, he was still far from being able to understand or influence their actions.
"Hmm… based on what I've gathered, this man seems to have traveled through all four nations, and now he's leaving again after only a short stop. Could it be he came here to inspect something and is now returning to report back?"
Another possibility came to Li Ye's mind.
If that were the case, then being able to dispatch a Golden Core cultivator just to inspect something suggested that whatever force was behind him held great power. But what in the Four Nations could be important enough to warrant such a move?
Maybe the Lava Palace?
That would have to wait until he returned, where he could conduct further inquiries and inspections.
Everything else was just baseless speculation, with little information to go on wasting time on it now was pointless.
Li Ye shook his head, pushing aside the tangled thoughts in his mind.
"Whatever. He's returned to the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range though being more cautious this time, he'll likely still stir up trouble… Just don't scare off the Tier-2 beasts again. I need to finish this quickly!"
Temporarily putting aside the matter of the mysterious Golden Core cultivator, Li Ye focused on what truly mattered completing the final blood-sacrifice talisman.
With that in mind, he dared not delay any further. He immediately melded into the vegetation once more, beginning the search for his next target.
......
The final enhancement of the last Formations-Breaking Talisman went rather smoothly.
Not long after that unfamiliar Golden Core cultivator entered the depths of the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range, the familiar pressure of a third-rank beast once again rippled through the air. However, Li Ye had already completed his task and was preparing to withdraw, so he wasn't affected.
This disturbance further confirmed his suspicion the Golden Core cultivator had likely crossed the mountain range again and was now returning to the outer nations.
Later, after leaving the Myriad Beasts Mountain Range and gathering intelligence at the local marketplace, Li Ye found that the information he collected largely supported this conclusion.
For Li Ye, this was naturally good news.
He was on the verge of a breakthrough. The fewer Golden Core cultivators present in the Four Kingdoms' cultivation world, the fewer potential interferences to worry about ensuring a much safer breakthrough process.
Wasting no time, Li Ye made his way directly back to the Chidi Mountains.
"Still the same as before. None of my arrangements have been disturbed, nothing seems out of place…"
Sitting atop his flying vessel, Li Ye looked down at the red-hued land below. His gaze flickered slightly as he performed a series of spiritual checks to sense each of his previously placed measures.
"Mm… the sealing arrays around the underground fire channels also show no signs of a Golden Core cultivator having passed through. Looks like that stranger never came here after all."
Feeling reassured, he turned his eyes toward the nearby Pingyang Mountain. With a wave of his hand, he cast a few spells, opening the hidden passage and descending directly to the mountaintop.
Sensing Li Ye's return, the Voidrealm Tree stretched out its branches and leaves, greeting him warmly.
The Qingluo Wood Spirit even leaped straight out from its tree body, landing in Li Ye's palm and coiling gently around his arm, nuzzling him affectionately.
As a plant-born spirit, nourished by this excellent environment and Li Ye's regular feeding, the Qingluo Wood Spirit had grown rapidly.
It had now reached the second rank, gaining some combat ability. The ethereal green serpent form it could now take had become longer and more elegant.
Yet, despite the growth, its attitude toward Li Ye remained as affectionate and endearing as ever.
Feeding it a strand of spiritual power, Li Ye spent a moment meditating and syncing with the Voidrealm Tree his way of saying hello then turned toward the Cold Sun Pear Tree and the Yuanhua Fruit Tree.
"Mm… no abnormalities. You've done a good job tending them."
In good spirits, Li Ye rewarded the Qingluo Wood Spirit with another dose of spiritual power.
Now that it had reached the second rank, the Qingluo Wood Spirit wasn't just more intelligent it had also awakened some innate abilities, naturally attuned to the conditions of plant-based spiritual beings.
While not yet reliable for battle, it was an excellent assistant in tending spiritual plants, especially when working alongside his gu worms.
The Cold Sun Pear Tree and Yuanhua Fruit Tree, both being third-rank spiritual plants, had their intelligence, though not as refined as the Voidrealm Tree or the Qingluo Wood Spirit.
It wasn't until Li Ye approached and physically connected with them that the interface feedback was activated.
[Your bonded third-rank spiritual plant "Cold Sun Pear Tree" has shown growth. Comprehension deepened. Fixed Spiritual Essence +0.1%...]
[...]
[Your bonded third-rank spiritual plant "Yuanhua Fruit Tree" has shown growth. Comprehension deepened. Fixed Spiritual Essence +0.1%...]
[...]
Receiving this rare feedback after quite a while, Li Ye immersed himself in the shifting yin-yang forces of the Cold Sun Pear Tree and the pure spiritual essence of the Yuanhua Fruit Tree, savoring the moment, his smile widening.
"Slow as it may be, the feedback from third-rank plants is truly valuable each session brings entirely new insights, greatly benefiting my cultivation of Daoist arts…"
"But at this pace, if I rely solely on this Yuanhua tree to slowly grind it out, it'll take at least a few more decades to fully stabilize its essence… That's a post–Golden Core goal. By that time, the Voidrealm Tree might've already advanced to third rank too!"
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