CHAPTER 921: CHAPTER 693: CHANGES IN CULTIVATION

When Li Yi arrived at the Xiu Xiang Family with twelve cultivation experts, Xiu Xiang was both shocked and pleasantly surprised. He had long known that Li Yi had seized the Red Gold Mountain and become the Mountain Master.

"Da Yi, it’s truly a pleasure to see you again. No, now I should address you as Mountain Master," Xiu Xiang said with a warm smile on his face. "Nanshan Bo once said that you would not only become a Master of the land but also a God. I had no doubts about his words, just didn’t expect this day to come so soon."

Li Yi replied with a smile, "If it weren’t for the assistance from the Merchant Master back then, I wouldn’t have become the Mountain Master so quickly. This time, I’ve returned to Divine Wood City from Red Gold Mountain because I need your help with something, Xiu Xiang."

"The matter is somewhat troublesome, but I don’t have anyone else I can trust in Divine Wood City, so I can only ask you for help."

"Our friendship has reached a point where I would entrust my life to you, Da Yi. Whatever you need my help with, I will promise without hesitation," Xiu Xiang said earnestly.

Li Yi nodded slightly, then continued, "Xiu Xiang, do you know how to smelt Red Gold?"

"Among metals, Red Gold is the most precious. It’s incredibly tough, and to smelt it, you need the leaves of the Divine Tree in Divine Wood City. Burning these leaves in a furnace can produce a golden flame, with a temperature comparable to the sun’s, necessary to melt the Red Gold and forge it into weapons." Xiu Xiang, being a Merchant Master, clearly knew about this.

"That’s precisely why the leaves of the Divine Tree in Divine Wood City are so valuable. As you’ve become the Red Gold Mountain Master, could it be that you’ve come to Divine Wood City to purchase the Divine Tree leaves? If that’s the case, I can help."

Li Yi shook his head, then gestured behind him.

Immediately, two cultivation experts brought forward two unconscious and injured individuals, throwing them to the ground.

"Xiu Xiang, these are the Divine Blood Warriors of the Divine Wood Lineage," Li Yi said. "They wanted to challenge me, the new Mountain Master, but were defeated. The leader of the Divine Blood Lineage is dead, and the remaining two were captured by me. I wish to exchange their lives for the Divine Tree leaves from the warrior families of the Divine Wood Lineage. Do you think this could succeed?"

Xiu Xiang was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. He looked at Li Yi, then at the two unconscious Divine Blood Warriors on the ground.

One of the warriors had patterns resembling golden leaves on his skin; there was no mistake, he indeed belonged to the Divine Blood Lineage of the Divine Wood Lineage, and the other one was bleeding golden-yellow blood.

Identities can be faked, but bloodlines can never be.

"These two Divine Blood Warriors are Mountain Lord Level experts; one is even a Divine Blood Lineage. Although the number of warriors in the Divine Wood Lineage is greater, the lineage is still precious. If we use their lives for exchange, I believe the elders of the Divine Wood Lineage would be willing to pay a sufficient amount of Divine Tree leaves. Da Yi, leave this matter to me. Give me three days, and I will bring back a generous ransom for you."

Xiu Xiang’s eyes lit up afterward; his talents and intellect as a Merchant Master began to activate and operate, pondering how to profit the most from these two individuals’ lives.

Li Yi asked, "Will there be dangers if you go to trade?"

"Rest assured, Da Yi. Going as a Merchant Master, the Divine Wood Lineage will not harm me and will even show me due respect because I’m helping them retrieve two wounded warriors. If I were killed, no other Merchant Master would ever trade with the people from the Divine Wood Lineage. In the future, if their warriors are in trouble, other Merchant Masters wouldn’t rescue them either," Xiu Xiang said very seriously.

"I see," Li Yi nodded.

No wonder the status of a Merchant Master in this world is so unique; now he understood a bit more.

"Da Yi, please stay in my home for a few days while I handle this matter." Xiu Xiang immediately began to take action, clearly noticing Li Yi’s urgency for the Divine Tree leaves.

Right away, Xiu Xiang summoned several servant guards, brought in a mutant beast, and left his home with the two unconscious Divine Blood Warriors.

He did not rush to the City Lord Mansion of Divine Wood City to meet the elders of the Divine Wood Lineage but instead sought out a highly respected intermediary to accompany him.

After seeing Xiu Xiang leave, Li Yi spoke, "Everyone, let’s stay here for two or three days. Once we get the Divine Tree leaves, we’ll depart."

"Da Yi, this place looks ordinary but is extraordinary, especially that ancient tree. While it may not be as miraculous as the Divine Tree, it’s been blessed by the Divine Tree for many years and has become a Treasure Tree."

"Indeed, even this old Daoist noticed the special spiritual energy the grand tree emits, which seems to nourish the Primordial Spirit Flower of cultivators. Staying here, even ordinary people could extend their lives."

"Such naturally endowed treasure land being occupied by people who don’t understand cultivation is truly wasteful. If we could seize this place, it would be a new Tao Court in the future."

"To seize this place, I’m afraid Great Perfection strength might not be enough."

These cultivators discussed among themselves, quickly discovering the peculiarities of the ancient tree in Xiu Xiang’s courtyard, and then realizing the abundance of the spiritual energy here was truly unimaginable.

Even though each of them was a Tri-Floral Realm expert, greed sparked within them, thinking of conquering this great city.

But they also clearly understood that even if they joined forces, their current strength wouldn’t be enough to take Divine Wood City. Perhaps only after becoming Enlightened would they have the qualification to occupy such a Cave Heaven Blessed Land.

However, Li Yi smiled and said, "Seniors, if you’re interested in this place, you can come back for it once you become Enlightened."

"Taiyi is right, and after crossing boundaries, becoming Enlightened may not be very difficult. In the future, this place may indeed belong to us. Moreover, if we can’t become Enlightened, don’t we still have Taiyi? In the future, when he gathers the Three Flowers and Five Qi Chaoyuan, who in this city will be his match," Shenxu Taoist said with a gleam in his eyes.

He clearly had great confidence in Li Yi’s future strength.

After all, a cultivator with sixty acupoints, possessing Divine blood, was already at the Three Flowers Realm strength while still in the Five Qi Realm. When his realm breaks through in the future, his combat strength will probably be unimaginable.

"Since Taiyi said we should rest here for a few days, it’s perfect. We can take this opportunity to cultivate and try to recover some of our strength," said the other cultivators, unwilling to waste this excellent cultivation opportunity.

They all flew onto the trunk of the ancient tree, sat down directly, and began performing the Qi Collection Skill.

In no time, streams of invisible Heaven and Earth Qi gathered toward them.

In just a moment, each cultivator’s body was surrounded by a faint glow, and the Primordial Spirit Flower above their heads started blooming again, as if a drought had met with sweet dew.

The Divine Wood City itself had a Cosmic Energy Field, and here, the Spiritual Energy was almost limitless. Not to mention twelve cultivators, even hundreds couldn’t exhaust it.

No matter how they breathed, the spiritual energy around them remained abundant.

This discovery made all the cultivators marvel endlessly.

Seeing these cultivators busy cultivating, Li Yi didn’t disturb them and instead returned to his previous residence.

In this small courtyard, he saw two beauties, E Ji and Su Ji, as well as High Priest Dou Kun and the former Shoushan Village warrior Shanguo.

In the time he hadn’t seen them, they had changed a lot.

Because Li Yi had previously taught the Cultivation Technique to High Priest Dou Kun, and Dou Kun then taught it to everyone else.

In this environment, even though the Cultivation Technique was known for slow progress, High Priest Dou Kun, like Nanshan Bo, had begun to regain his youth. The lifeless aura was gone from him, and the wrinkles on his face had disappeared. He exuded a vibrant and vigorous air.

"Golden Core Stage?" Li Yi examined, feeling a bit surprised.

Dou Kun had already cultivated to the Golden Core Stage.

That was indeed quick.

But after thinking it over, Li Yi understood, because Divine Wood City was a Cave Heaven Blessed Land, and as a High Priest, Dou Kun already had some strength. Now, by practicing the Cultivation Technique concurrently, his previous potential was tapped, and his progress was naturally rapid.

It seemed that before long, he would be able to condense a Nascent Soul and strive for Divinity Transformation.

"Lord, you finally returned," E Ji and Su Ji were delighted to see Li Yi. They carried themselves gracefully, with glowing skin and supple waists, carrying a hint of celestial charm.

Although they hadn’t reached the Golden Core Stage, they were Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Li Yi nodded: "I will only stay for a few days this time. Afterward, you’ll leave Divine Wood City with me and head to Red Gold Mountain, for I am now the Mountain Master there, and it will be our home for a long time unless something unexpected happens."

The two beauties’ eyes sparkled with excitement at his words.

They had also heard from Xiu Xiang that Da Yi had become a master of a region, and now they were the Mountain Master’s concubines, their status much elevated. Even Xiu Xiang treated them with great respect.

"Red Gold Mountain Master, what a beautiful title," Dou Kun laughed at this moment: "That’s a Treasure Mountain, and perhaps it will eventually have a great city, allowing the Da Yi lineage to rise as a result."

Shanguo, listening to this, couldn’t help but widen her eyes.

Without realizing it, Da Yi had already become a regional master, planning to build a great city and pass down his own Divine Blood lineage.

As a former female warrior of Shoushan Village, it was hard for Shanguo to imagine all of this was true.

Dou Kun continued: "Lord, perhaps you should purchase more beauties in Divine Wood City and take them back to Red Gold Mountain. It’s only with enough women that you can propagate a large number of Divine Blood descendants, and they will all take pride in it; E and Su alone are not enough."

He suggested that Li Yi should make an effort in propagating descendants.

"Lord, E Ji and I can take care of purchasing beauties; we’ll certainly make you satisfied," E Ji and Su Ji didn’t oppose but instead volunteered, willing to add more beautiful women for their master.

Li Yi said, "We can discuss this later. Right now, Red Gold Mountain is not stable enough to support too many women. For now, E Ji and Su Ji are sufficient."

Dou Kun nodded: "The Lord makes sense, but propagation and legacy are of utmost importance. Please remember that many strong tribes decline due to insufficient propagation, and the downfall of the Divine Blood Families is also due to the scarcity of Divine Blood Warriors."

"Alright, I’ll remember this. Thank you, High Priest, for the reminder." Li Yi nodded.

He didn’t argue.

After all, in this Barbaric World, it was indeed the case.