?

  After a while, Li Hui's eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he fell into deep thought.

  Just now, Lou Feng had told him about asking for his help to capture the spiritual beast in the Exotic Beast Valley. However, he didn't tell him that the Exotic Beast Valley was a separate space, but only said it was a place owned by the Lou family where many exotic beasts were gathered.

  "Senior, this matter is too perilous for me. The valley of the strange beasts has a large number of Golden Elixir stage demonic beasts roaming about, and there are countless ferocious strange beasts. With my limited Dao cultivation, I fear that not only will I be unable to assist you, but I may also lose my own life." Li Hui shook his head solemnly, politely declining.

  Lou Zhengming's face was expressionless, as if Li Hui's reaction had been expected. He calmly said: "This matter is indeed extremely dangerous. If an ordinary foundation-building cultivator were to go, they would indeed be sending themselves to their deaths. Even with a few life-saving items, their lives would still be at risk due to their insufficient strength, making it impossible for them to successfully capture the spiritual beast. Therefore, the person going must have sufficient personal strength."

  "In the Western Capital, among the foundation-establishing cultivators, no one can surpass Shui Feng's cultivation. Even if they went, they wouldn't be of much help. But your strength far surpasses Shui Feng's. If you were to assist me, this trip would surely yield some gains."

  Li Hui quietly listened to Lou Zhengming's words and didn't interrupt, knowing that it was time for them to discuss terms with each other.

  As expected, Lou Zhengming continued: "Of course, this trip will not let you take risks in vain. I heard from Sui Feng that you seem to be very interested in the Beast Taming Way. The beast taming technique of my Lou family is also considered top-notch in the entire Xia State's cultivation world. If you can lend a hand with this matter, I'll pass on this beast taming technique to you. What do you think?"

  At this point, it can be said that Lou Zhēngmíng Jīndān Xiūshì, as the master of the Western House of the Lou family, was extremely polite to Li Huì.

  Li Hui hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said: "I do have some interest in the Way of Beast Taming, but it's not my main focus. I'm afraid I'll disappoint your expectations."

  Li Hui's words were indeed true. The way of the imperial beast was not very useful to him unless it was for incubating that dragon egg. The way of the sword fairy pursued continuous breakthroughs, and if he relied too much on external objects, it would be detrimental to his own cultivation.

  Lou Zhengming felt slightly displeased in his heart. He was extremely polite to Li Hui, without putting on any airs, yet the other party had refused him twice.

  "Haha, Li Xian's nephew is indeed cautious, which is also expected." Lou Zhengming's face didn't show any displeasure, instead he burst out laughing.

  "This journey is fraught with danger, but I will give you two some defensive treasures to ensure your safety. Moreover, I see that Li Xian seems to specialize in the sword path, and coincidentally, I have a set of earth-level sword techniques stored in my Western Mansion. If Xian can help me, aside from the beast-taming technique, I will also bestow this sword technique upon you."

  Lou Zhengming said calmly, but in his heart, he had a few expectations.

  Li Hui's heart moved, the sword technique of the Earth Stage was something he had seen in the Dao Cang Hall of the Shen Feng Camp, a complete set would require at least 1 million merit points to exchange, but he didn't know how many tasks he needed to complete to accumulate these 1 million merit points. He was walking the path of the Sword Immortal, apart from some information left behind by Yuan Hua True Person, everything else relied on his own exploration. The Earth Stage sword technique indeed had great value for him.

  Thinking so in his heart, Li Hui's face didn't show any unusual color, and after a moment of contemplation, he clasped his fists and said: "Senior is so kind to me, several times speaking out to invite me, and bestowing generous rewards. If junior were to refuse again, it would be somewhat ungrateful."

  "Haha, alright, since this matter has been settled, I'll send someone to deliver the Imperial Beast's path to you. After preparing for a few days, you can set off with Sui Feng." Lou Zhengming's face showed a hint of joy.

  "Thank you, senior." Li Hui bowed and thanked him.

  Lou Zhengming nodded: "Sui Feng, take Li Hui to rest first, and set off to that Beast Valley in a few days."

  "The junior bids farewell!" Li Hui stood up and said. He then walked out of the hall with Lou Suifeng, returning to Lou Suifeng's separate courtyard.

  ……

  Five days later, in a rather secretive grand hall within the Lou Clan's main residence in Tianhu City.

  Li Hui and Lou Suifeng each wore a set of black battle armor, standing on the transmission array in the center of the grand hall.

  A thin old man and another long-whiskered old man stood in front of the transmission array. These two old men were actually two Yuan Ying cultivators.

  The thin old man checked the storage bag carried by Li Hui and handed it back to him, nodding at the long-whiskered old man: "Alright."

  The old man with a long beard nodded, raised his hand and cast out a spell, and a white light burst forth from the transmission array, enveloping Li Hui and Lou Suifeng, who disappeared from view.

  ……

  Li Hui felt a slight dizziness in his head, and then found that his body was rapidly falling from the air. He quickly activated the spiritual energy inside his body to stabilize his figure in mid-air. Turning his head, he saw that Lou Feng beside him had the same reaction.

  After stabilizing his body, Li Hui curiously looked around at the place he was in now. The environment here was vastly different from that of Tianhu City. His gaze fell upon endless mountain ranges rising and falling continuously, and a wild and desolate ancient aura came towards him.

  Here, Li Hui felt his own infinite smallness, like an insignificant ant in the vast universe.

  The two of them hovered in the sky for a moment before one of them spun down to the ground.

  Before departure, Lou Zhengming prepared a black flame armor for each of them. This armor not only could block the spiritual probing of Golden Elixir stage demonic beasts but also could withstand a single attack from a Golden Elixir stage demonic beast. Additionally, he gave each person a jade token containing three "Thunder Knife Auras", which when activated would be equivalent to Lou Zhengming himself striking once, although it could only be used three times.

  This jade talisman, known as a "Talisman Treasure" in the Cultivation Realm, is created when a Golden Elixir cultivator seals their own treasure's power within the jade. When used, it can unleash the same might as a Golden Elixir cultivator's attack, allowing the user to tap into its power in times of danger.

  This treasure is quite costly to the golden elixir cultivator's yuanqi when made, so it is extremely rare in the cultivation world. Only those golden elixir cultivators who are particularly fond of their younger disciples may have one such treasure.

  This time, in order to ensure the safety of the building with the wind, Lou Zhengming also made two talismans with them to protect their bodies, regardless of the loss of his own vitality.

  The other two storage bags also had two teleportation talismans, and once activated, they could leave immediately.

  With so many means, the safety of the two was naturally guaranteed, but this also further illustrates the danger of this place.

  "With the wind, this place gives people a desolate feeling as if it has been here for countless years. If you hadn't come here in person, it would be hard to imagine that such a place exists in this vast wilderness." Li Hui sighed.

  The building moved with the wind, and Li Hui didn't know that this place was an independent space, thinking it was somewhere in the big marsh.

  "There are hardly any humans here, even the people from my building rarely come in. It's completely a world of demons and beasts, so it's not strange to feel a bit desolate." Lou Suifeng explained.

  Li Hui nodded and stopped worrying about the issue, opening his mouth to ask: "Do you have a precise map of the distribution of demons in this area? What should we do next?"

  Lou frowned slightly: "Very few people come in here, and these monsters don't even know how many times they have bred, so it's impossible to count their specific distribution."

  Li Hui nodded, not saying much. Since coming here, he had always had a vague sense of unknown fear in his heart, a mysterious feeling that something would happen here.

  "Then let's just head in a random direction, as long as we're careful not to run into the territory of those Golden Core demonic beasts." Li Hui said calmly.

  The two of them immediately rose into the air and transformed into two streams of light that shot forward.

  PS: First update seeking collection! My computer was broken yesterday and has been malfunctioning, sorry about that. There's another update coming up.