Chapter 226: Chapter 200: Li Xuerou’s Strength and the Situation of Yani Country

Half a day later, at the edge of the Yinmu Mountain Corpse Nurturing Ground, Lu Zhao stood with his hands behind his back, his calm gaze fixed on the empty space ahead.

In the center of the clearing, Li Xuerou stood motionless, surrounded by a faint, almost imperceptible Cold Yin Qi.

“Begin.” Lu Zhao’s thoughts stirred, and a clear command was transmitted via his Divine Sense.

Li Xuerou’s figure suddenly blurred, transforming into a white afterimage difficult to track with the naked eye. In an instant, she crossed several dozen zhang, her five fingers forming a claw. With a sharp shriek that tore through the air, she lunged straight at a stone wall!

“SHRRRIP!”

The stone wall, like a piece of torn cloth, was instantly gouged with a gash ten zhang deep and dozens of zhang long.

Lu Zhao’s eyes narrowed slightly. That strike, relying on the power of her Flesh Body alone, was comparable to that of a top-tier Early-stage Foundation Establishment Body Cultivator! Her speed and explosive power far exceeded his previous estimates.

“Magic Realm, activate!” Lu Zhao commanded again.

A deep red light flared in Li Xuerou’s eyes. An invisible yet immense and cold Magic Realm instantly spread out from her, enveloping an area of nearly a hundred zhang in all directions!

Within the Magic Realm, light seemed to be devoured. The temperature plummeted to freezing, and fine black Ice Crystals condensed in the air. The ground was quickly covered in a thick layer of white frost. A cold, deathly still, and corrosive power permeated the area.

Standing at the edge of the Magic Realm, Lu Zhao immediately felt a suppressive force acting on him. The flow of his Magical Power obviously slowed, as if he were mired in a swamp. Mobilizing his Magical Power felt sluggish, slowing by about ten percent.

He tried to approach the center. When he was less than fifty zhang from Li Xuerou, the suppressive force increased sharply, and the circulation of his Magical Power was hindered by nearly twenty percent!

Furthermore, a bone-chilling cold that felt as if it could freeze his very Spiritual Soul continuously eroded his Protective Spiritual Light, trying to bore into his meridians.

’What a domineering Three Yin Realm!’ Lu Zhao praised inwardly. He immediately activated his Divine Sense to forcibly dispel the invading cold and rapidly retreated from the Magic Realm’s core. After he left its range, he considered the implications. If a Cultivator were caught in that realm during a life-and-death battle, especially in close-quarters combat, having their Magical Power circulation suppressed by more than twenty percent… the consequences would be unthinkable.

Lu Zhao estimated that if a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator were careless enough to let her get close and fall into the core of her Magic Realm, they would likely find their hands tied. It would be hard to say who would win in a fight against Li Xuerou.

After testing her combat abilities against Foundation Establishment-level opponents, her performance against those at the Qi Cultivation Stage was even more astounding to Lu Zhao. The realm’s suppression of Low Tier entities was nothing short of terrifying.

He had gone out specifically to capture a few Non-Tiered Demon Beasts. After placing them inside the Magic Realm, the Demon Beasts were instantly frozen to death.

The few Early-stage Qi Cultivation Puppets he sent in next also became slow and stiff. Ice Crystals formed in their joints, and the Spiritual Power circulation within them nearly ground to a halt. Their combat strength plummeted by more than fifty percent!

Finally, even a few Late-stage Qi Cultivation Cyan Wood Giant Ape Puppets had their movements clearly hindered within the Magic Realm. Their bodies were covered in frost, the light of their Spiritual Shields dimmed, and their strength was weakened by at least thirty percent. Moreover, the pervasive, cold corrosive power continuously consumed their core Spiritual Power.

’This technique is practically a tool for clearing the field, especially effective against a large number of individually weak enemies,’ Lu Zhao realized.

When this Magic Realm was combined with Li Xuerou’s formidable close-quarters combat ability, her usefulness in a chaotic melee or when facing a siege would be immeasurable.

The tests complete, Lu Zhao nodded in satisfaction. Li Xuerou’s strength had fully met, and even exceeded, his expectations.

With a thought, the Magic Realm around Li Xuerou retracted, and the Cold Yin Qi receded within her as she became quiet once more. Lu Zhao took out the Corpse Nourishing Coffin, and Li Xuerou transformed into a streak of white light that entered it.

The coffin lid closed, and Lu Zhao carefully placed it deep within his Storage Bag.

After all this was done, Lu Zhao’s gaze swept over the Corpse Nurturing Land. Its Spiritual Qi had been greatly damaged and its Yin Qi was nearly depleted due to Li Xuerou’s advancement. The once-dense Yin Evil Qi was now as thin as mist.

“Sigh… The Yin Vein here is severely damaged. It will likely take a century to recover.” The place was no longer of any great use to him. Without lingering, he turned and transformed into a streak of Escape Light, quietly leaving Yinmu Mountain.

Back in his residence at the Bixia Sect, Lu Zhao sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion in his Quiet Chamber, his Heart Spirit calming down.

He then began to formulate a clear and efficient cultivation plan for the next two years.

After all, in two years, his ten-year grace period would be up. As an Inner Sect Steward of the Bixia Sect, he would have to start undertaking mandatory Sect missions, and his time would likely not be his own.

First, his daily cultivation.

The Foundation Establishment Chapter of the True Water Spirit Transformation Skill was the foundation of his power, and its practice was non-negotiable.

He had a considerable amount of Tier Two Spirit Water on hand, which, combined with his stock of Tier Two Pills, gave him the confidence that he could cultivate the 3rd Layer of the Thousand Waters Spirit Body past the halfway point in the next two years. He could also increase his Magical Power True Liquid by at least six more drops.

Second, his Magic practice. As he examined himself, he discovered a huge deficiency—his progress on the Thousand Threads Technique!

This technique had been with him since the Qi Cultivation Stage. It served as the very foundation of his Puppetry and the core of his Divine Sense manipulation. Yet, after he reached Foundation Establishment, it had been severely neglected because he was busy changing his Cultivation Technique, refining Puppets, and simply cultivating!

’That was truly a mistake!’ Lu Zhao admonished himself. For a Puppet Master, Divine Sense was no less important than Cultivation itself.

It determined the number, precision, and reaction speed of the Puppets one could control simultaneously, and even the possibility of controlling Stronger Puppets of a higher tier.

’With my Divine Sense now approaching the Late-stage Foundation Establishment level, condensing the ninth through eighteenth Divine Sense Threads should be a natural process. I shouldn’t encounter any problems,’ Lu Zhao deduced carefully.

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