Chapter 305: Chapter 275: Three-Leaf Mysterious Heart Grass_2

“Miss Kong, you should tend to your injuries first. I’ll take a look around.”

Without waiting for Kong Lianqing to respond, Li Cheng headed towards the back mountain of Move Cloud Mountain Stronghold, where there was a secret chamber that blocked Divine Sense.

Seeing that Li Cheng didn’t approach her, Kong Lianqing secretly heaved a sigh of relief, but her guard did not wane as she took out a Divine Pill and swallowed it.

The Divine Artifacts she had exposed earlier were not few, and even True Gods would be tempted.

“Could he really not take advantage of someone in peril?” Kong Lianqing looked up at the Nine Swords above. The Formation was very strong; even Blade couldn’t withstand it for a single round.

If Li Cheng took advantage of her vulnerability, she admitted that she wouldn’t be able to hold him off unless she resorted to her life-saving techniques.

“Using the Nine Divine Swords as the Formation’s focal points, he shouldn’t lack wealth, but his clothes are plain, and the Pill Tripod he uses is damaged… Strange, could it be that the Nine Swords were plundered?” Kong Lianqing thought to herself.

While pondering, Kong Lianqing focused on recuperating as quickly as possible.

Li Cheng had arrived at the secret chamber’s entrance. The stone door was tightly closed, with seals upon it that blocked the probing of Divine Sense.

The seals were not strong, and Li Cheng easily broke through them. As he pushed open the door, a refreshing fragrance wafted over.

This was the fragrance of some Divine Medicine, which even by merely smelling it, seemed to clear one’s mind considerably.

The secret chamber was small, and at its center was a clear spring. In the spring grew a small grass that emitted a soft white glow. Its three jade-like leaves were thick and contained an incredibly pure power.

“Three-leaf Mysterious Heart Grass? Quite rare indeed.”

Li Cheng recognized the origin of the Divine Medicine, a hint of joy appearing in his eyes. This kind of Divine Medicine, when consumed, could help Heaven Gods break through their Realm. It was very likely that the Blade siblings had chosen Move Cloud Mountain Stronghold as their base in anticipation of its maturation.

The Three-leaf Mysterious Heart Grass was already mature; had he arrived a few days later, Blade might already have become a True God.

Mature Three-leaf Mysterious Heart Grass would continue to grow, sprouting more leaves, each additional leaf exponentially increasing its effectiveness.

However, in this place, three leaves were probably the limit.

Li Cheng carefully harvested it and, seeing nothing else of worth, left the place.

With Kong Lianqing present, Li Cheng didn’t rush to inspect his spoils. He stopped about a hundred meters from Kong Lianqing and sat down cross- legged.

Kong Lianqing was seriously injured. If he got too close, it might lead to suspicion or misunderstanding.

Moreover, Li Cheng could sense that even though Kong Lianqing was sitting down to heal, her Divine Sense occasionally surfaced, clearly on guard.

As she was nowhere near finishing her recovery, Li Cheng simply took out a storage bag and the Divine Artifact Great Blade to study their Artifact Refining methods.

After a while, Li Cheng shook his head slightly. Both the storage bag and the Divine Artifact Great Blade were crudely crafted and not at all impressive.

“Are you studying Artifact Refining?” Kong Lianqing’s voice sounded.

Li Cheng looked up to see Kong Lianqing had already stood up. Her fair skin was now rosy and radiant, clearly indicating she had mostly recovered.

Putting away the storage bag and the Great Blade, Li Cheng also stood up. “There’s nothing worth studying, just took a casual glance. Since Miss Kong has recovered, I will take my leave now.”

With that, Li Cheng reached out to grab, and the Nine Swords flew back to him, causing the Hidden Spirit Array to dissipate.

Kong Lianqing was somewhat surprised. Could it be that he stayed just to guard her while she healed?

“Wait, Daoist Li, I see that you are proficient in second-level Divine Arrays. Could you do me a favor?” Kong Lianqing asked.

Li Cheng felt a bit awkward. Proficient? Hardly. He only understood the Hidden Spirit Array as of now.

During his time in the Divine Realm, he had only come by the Hidden Spirit Array and hadn’t acquired extensive knowledge of other Formations, so he certainly couldn’t claim proficiency.

Shaking his head in slight helplessness, Li Cheng said, “Sorry, as for Divine Arrays, this Hidden Spirit Array is the only one I know.”

Kong Lianqing was startled. How could that be?

Isn’t it a step-by-step process, just like with the Pill Artifact Array?

Was Li Cheng building castles in the air?

“Are you an Ascender?” A light sparked in Kong Lianqing’s eyes as she considered the possibility.

Ascenders from the Lower World invariably have extensive experiences. Li Cheng must be an Ascender, proficient in the Formation arts of the Lower World. That’s why, after arriving in the Divine Realm and obtaining the Hidden Spirit Array, he was able to have Realization, but he hadn’t obtained any other Formations.

Li Cheng did not hide it; there was nothing to hide, so he nodded slightly.

“Since you’re an Ascender, you should go to the Imperial City. The royal family treats Ascenders very well. Joining any department of the Divine Dynasty is countless times better than being a Loose Cultivator,” Kong Lianqing said.

The Imperial City? The Divine Dynasty?

Li Cheng was somewhat surprised, it seemed that the Divine Realm, like the Lower World, had its own kind of dynasty, only it was referred to as the Divine Dynasty.

“It appears you must have ascended not long ago. In the Divine Realm, controls over various heritages are very strict, so the path of a Loose Cultivator is quite difficult to tread. In time, you will understand,” Kong Lianqing added.

Li Cheng looked at Kong Lianqing, could it be that she was from the Divine Dynasty?

“We’ll talk about it another time. My apologies for not being able to help Miss Kong,” Li Cheng said as he clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Kong Lianqing did not say much else and returned the gesture, watching as Li Cheng broke through the sky and departed.

“Those who ascend to the Divine Realm are all exceptional individuals. He directly comprehended a second-level Divine Array. His understanding must be incredibly profound. I expect it won’t be long before we hear his name again,” Kong Lianqing muttered to herself as she released the people she had saved.

When Li Cheng returned to Hidden Spirit Village, he casually flicked a Divine Sword. With a whistling sound, the sword instantly slew the seven spies lurking in the shadows.

Feeling the fluctuations of Divine Power, all the villagers, busy with rebuilding efforts, quickly gathered at the village entrance. Seeing Li Cheng flying towards them, Yin Qingshan breathed a sigh of relief, “Brother Li is back!”

The Formation was dismantled, and the villagers jostled each other to come forward and greet him.

“Don’t worry, Move Cloud Mountain Stronghold is no more!” Li Cheng said with a smile.

Yin Qingshan shook his head quickly, “What’s important is that Brother Li is unharmed!”

Li Cheng smiled, “With the Hidden Spirit Array in place, how could anything happen unless we encounter a True God?”

While speaking, Li Cheng took out Nine Swords and replaced the short sword in the array with it.

Yin Qingshan wanted to speak but stopped himself. He had wanted to ask Li Cheng to leave just the short sword and not to leave Nine Swords to Hidden Spirit Village, but he knew Li Cheng could not be persuaded and thus felt a deep gratitude in his heart.

“Brother Li, did you see my sister in Move Cloud Mountain Stronghold?” one of the villagers asked tentatively.

Yin Qingshan sighed, unsure of how to begin speaking.

Li Cheng had not brought anyone back, which likely meant that they had already died.

Li Cheng pondered, “A female Cultivator rescued a hundred and twenty people.

I don’t know if your sister was among them. If she was, she should be sent back here soon.”

“That many? Move Cloud Mountain Stronghold truly deserves death!” the villagers began discussing among themselves.

Move Cloud Mountain Stronghold had a habit of capturing young women from various villages and none had ever been seen returning. Over time, the villagers had lost all hope.

The fate of those women was probably a lifelong nightmare. Li Cheng did not know what to say and walked toward the village with the village chief.

“We’ve made a fool of ourselves in front of Brother Li. Against Move Cloud Mountain Stronghold, we just didn’t have the strength to protect ourselves and could only watch helplessly as some of our villagers were taken away, “Yin Qingshan said with a sigh.

Li Cheng did not reply. He had seen all of Yin Yue’s actions when she was captured, but it was not his place to judge.

“There must be some kind of government or official establishment in these cities, right? Don’t they deal with these bandits?” Li Cheng changed the subject.

Having learned of the existence of the Divine Dynasty, Li Cheng believed that larger towns must surely have a Yamen or something similar.

Yin Qingshan sighed, “Birds of a feather flock together!”

Few words, but they carried endless bitterness. Clearly, there were official establishments in the towns, but they were in league with Move Cloud Mountain Stronghold.

After a few seconds of silence, Yin Qingshan continued, “Brother Li, you are an Ascender, and I know your future journey will be a long one. May I entrust you with a matter?”

Li Cheng nodded, “Please speak!”

Yin Qingshan looked towards Yin Yue, who was still at the village entrance, “This girl possesses the best talent our village has seen in many years. May I request that Brother Li take her as your disciple and pass on some skills to her?”

Li Cheng smiled, “As long as Yuer is willing, why not? I just hope the village chief won’t think poorly of my modest cultivation.”

Yin Qingshan also smiled, “Brother Li is being modest. It’s our village’s great fortune for many generations if Yuer can become your disciple.”

“Yuer!” Yin Qingshan immediately called out.

Yin Yue turned around, “Grandfather, big brother…”

Yin Qingshan raised his hand to stop Yin Yue’s words, “Call him Master!”

Yin Yue hesitated, her hands gently holding her skirt, “Can’t I call you big brother?”

Yin Qingshan shook his head, “You’re not little anymore, you should understand that only by formally becoming a disciple can you receive the true teachings, otherwise the title does not fit and the words do not follow properly.”

This actually surprised Li Cheng, local cultivators of the Divine Realm regarded heritage so highly?

Without becoming a disciple, would it indeed be difficult to receive teachings?

Li Cheng began to understand what Kong Lianqing had said. In such a case, being a Loose Cultivator was indeed not easy.