I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

Chapter 978: Chapter 979: Strange Phenomena in Devil Cloud Cave

Central Province.

Compared to the Western Desert, this place was far more prosperous. The Central Origin Realm did not lay a finger on the Sects that chose to submit. The streets were still bustling with traffic, well-ordered, and stalls selling various Demonic Beast materials were common on both sides of the road. It really didn’t seem like it was under the oppression of the Central Origin Realm.

Li Xiaobai got off the carriage and casually struck up a conversation with a stall owner.

“All cultivators in Central Province must hand over eighty percent of their monthly earnings, keeping only twenty percent for themselves. Business is easy to do, but life is getting harder and harder,” the stall owner sighed, his gaze sizing up Li Xiaobai up and down. After glimpsing the hundred children behind him, his eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had discovered a new continent.

“Young Master, are you the Brother Li who killed King Weiwu and Master Tianxuan?”

Li Xiaobai made a silencing gesture, “Low-key, I just want to be a quiet, handsome man.”

...

“Understood, understood!”

The stall owner seemed somewhat excited, sitting right on top of that morning’s issue of the Immortal Spirit Daily. Now, he couldn’t wait to take it out and relive the heroic deeds of the legendary figure in front of him.

“How is the situation in Central Province now, and where is the Blood Demon Sect?”

Li Xiaobai asked in a soft voice.

“Now all major Sects in Central Province are affiliated with the Blood Demon Sect. Members of the Blood Demon Sect are stationed at the three Great Sects, selecting suitable cultivators to send to the Central Origin Realm. If Brother Li wants to find them, you can go to the three Great Sects,”

said the owner.

“Then do you know how things are at Devil Cloud Cave now?”

Li Xiaobai continued to ask, while Fu Tiantian leaned in closer to listen attentively.

“Devil Cloud Cave also met a tragic end. They died righteously, refusing to submit to the Blood Demon Sect and were executed down to the last member. The entire Sect was destroyed, now only ruins and remnants remain.”

The stall owner let out a sigh, seeming somewhat melancholy.

Devil Cloud Cave didn’t have a good reputation on ordinary days, often oppressing the common people, but when it came to this critical moment of right and wrong, they were resolutely determined, even in death they uttered not a single word of submission.

By comparison, the three Great Sects, as well as the larger, renowned Fire Qilin Cave, had lost their pride.

At the slightest hint of pressure, these guys would kneel and lick boots without hesitation.

“However, it’s odd to say, but recently there have been reports of strange phenomena above the ruins of Devil Cloud Cave. Many cultivators have seen it, but when the Blood Demon Sect’s cultivators went to investigate, they could never find anything unusual,”

the stall owner paused and then continued leisurely.

“Phenomena?”

“What kind of phenomena?”

Li Xiaobai asked, glancing at Fu Tiantian beside him, whose dim eyes gleamed with light.

“I haven’t seen it, but those who have say that occasionally you can see Devil Cloud Cave restored to its original state, not in ruins at all, but back to its prosperous prime. You can even see disciples and cultivators coming and going in the Sect, just like on any ordinary day.”

“Some say it’s the restless spirits of Devil Cloud Cave unwilling to leave before they witness the fall of the Blood Demon Sect, while others believe that there’s some hidden treasure within Devil Cloud Cave that remains undiscovered. The Blood Demon Sect’s cultivators are more inclined to the second theory and have turned the ruins upside down in multiple explorations, yet have found nothing.”

said the owner.

This news wasn’t a secret; many cultivators in Central Province knew about it, and there were not a few who had seen it with their own eyes. But when they actually went to explore, they found nothing, as if everything were just an illusion.

“I see, it seems there’s a great secret inside Devil Cloud Cave,”

Li Xiaobai nodded slightly, glancing at the little girl beside him. If there truly was a treasure, it must undoubtedly be meant for her.

Taking the little girl for a visit would resolve her inner conflicts, and all problems could be easily solved.

“Young Master Li should be careful of the Blood Demon Sect. They are currently scouring for young cultivators, searching for suitable ‘seedlings’ to send fresh blood to the Central Origin Realm. I happened to see two disciples of the Blood Demon Sect once. From what they were saying, it seems that there are many cultivators in the Immortal Spirit Continent with great potential, lacking only the right cultivation environment,”

said the stall owner.

“Previously, two prodigies named Yang Chen and Ling Feng from Devil Cloud Cave were taken away by them.”

The stall owner spoke with a mysterious air.

Li Xiaobai nodded, “Thank you for telling me, I would like to go see the Devil Cloud Cave ruins.”

“In that direction, it’s almost entirely in ruins, you won’t recognize it.”

The owner pointed in a direction as he spoke.

“Let’s go.”

Li Xiaobai and Fu Tiantian mounted the vehicle and swept toward the ruins of Devil Cloud Cave.

What he didn’t know was that from the moment he stepped into the Central Province territory, he had been marked.

There were also a group of agile cultivators who quickly fled in the distance. They were spies of the Blood Demon Sect, posed as tourists lingering at various stalls. Upon recognizing Li Xiaobai, they didn’t dare to delay and immediately flew back to report to the three Great Sects.

He was a harbinger of death; just yesterday he had slain the highly skilled Tianxuan Master, and his appearance in Central Province today boded nothing good!

“It really is Young Master Li who has come. The Blood Demon Sect is in for trouble!”

“Yes, even Tianxuan Master of the Heavenly Immortal Realm was slain by his sword; the Blood Demon Sect is going to have a big misfortune!”

Stall owners nearby were not idle either; they excitedly ran about spreading the word, and in just the time it took to eat a meal, cultivators within dozens of miles all knew of Li Xiaobai’s arrival in this land.

…

Li Xiaobai didn’t care about the little calculations in everyone’s hearts, he paid no mind at all to the prying of the group of Earth Immortal Realm cultivators.

Traveling along the official road, house after house on both sides became scant, collapsed buildings grew in number, and the landscape became increasingly desolate.

The truck moved slowly forward as Fu Tiantian recognized the past location of Devil Cloud Cave.

“This area is under the jurisdiction of Devil Cloud Cave, the sect location is right ahead.”

Fu Tiantian said.

“There are hardly any cultivators here; it makes our actions much more convenient.” @@novelbin@@

Li Xiaobai stood up in the vehicle and looked out. On a distant mountain, there seemed to be lights of precious radiance revolving, as if a treasure had emerged. This must be the phenomenon mentioned by that stall owner before.

Li Xiaobai was not surprised to see the phenomenon, as Fu Tiantian was the sole surviving bloodline of Devil Cloud Cave. If there were some precious relic remaining or a signal to be conveyed, it would surely be told and passed down to her, naturally manifesting itself.

Fu Tiantian had obviously noticed the unusual sight on the mountain as well, a look of excitement appearing on her face, “Master, look, there really is a phenomenon!”

“My sect is still there, my relatives are still alive!”

“Calm down, my dear disciple. Keep a level head; these things are not real.”

Li Xiaobai said in a deep voice; Devil Cloud Cave had already fallen to ruins and was not truly revived. If one lingered too much in memories of the past and loved ones, it would be greatly detrimental to future cultivation.

Fu Tiantian fell silent again, possibly seeing her relatives and childhood friends once more, she couldn’t hear any words.

Li Xiaobai sat back inside the vehicle, rhythmically puffing on a cigarette, pondering the origin of this phenomenon.

Whoosh!

But just then, several beams of immortal light shot into the sky, cloaking a few children and emitting a terrifying aura that made one’s heart skip a beat.

“Eeeyah eeeyah!”

Just like before, these children were unaware, still happily gnawing on their own toes.

Li Xiaobai’s expression was one of surprise, “Have they realized something new?”