121: Li Dai Tao Jiang

At this moment, Lu Ming's entire demeanor had undergone a complete transformation.

A powerful pressure emanated from his body; this was a transformation at the level of life itself, and the further one progressed in Realm, the more Immortal-like one became, until Immortal Ascension.

After Lu Ming familiarized himself with his own strength, he did not immediately exit seclusion.

He first opened the golden book to see if there were any changes.

"Hmm, good, no one is on the list!"

Lu Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no new Foundation Establishment Cultivator or Golden Core Cultivator names appeared in the golden book.

Fortunately, the phenomenon did not attract the attention of powerful Cultivators, otherwise, it would have been difficult to explain.

Subsequently, Lu Ming looked at the few Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the list.

Now, only three remained.

Zheng Tianming, Murong Jingyang, Ji Yuting

Helian Cheng's name had already disappeared.

And Zheng Tianming's name was even dimmer, almost about to extinguish.

Lu Ming estimated that after one or two more uses, this old brother would have to return to the Dao.

Lu Ming's Breakthrough this time mainly used these two.

Choosing them was also because they were the ones with the deepest direct and indirect grudges against Lu Ming.

Zheng Tianming had endured six hours of living hell and entered the cooldown period.

However, this was good; Lu Ming had always wanted to personally kill his enemies, as well as the Cultivators of the Zheng Family.

Lu Ming had once said that once he had the strength, he would definitely go to the Zheng Family and exterminate them.

Now that he had achieved Foundation Establishment, there was naturally no reason to let them go.

Moreover, the Zheng Family was a Foundation Establishment Family; who knew how much wealth they possessed.

It just so happened that he had just undergone a Foundation Establishment Breakthrough, and his resources were a bit tight, so it was appropriate to "borrow" from them.

As for Helian Cheng, he was not so lucky.

He didn't know what happened to this person, but his name was the fastest among these few to dim, and after such a torment, he was directly gone.

Fortunately, Lu Ming had a backup, otherwise, he would have been quite troubled.

It was a pity that Lu Ming didn't know Helian Cheng's specific identity, otherwise, he would have wanted to personally kill this person.

......

Six hours earlier.

Mang Mountain, an ordinary mountain range in the western part of the Southern Wilderness Region.

It was located at the junction of Heavenly Star Immortal City and the Ji Imperial Family's sphere of influence.

On Mang Mountain, a newly established Foundation Establishment Family, named the He Family, had been built.

On this day, a black streak of light pierced through the sky, passing through the clouds and descending onto Mang Mountain.

What met the eye were palaces, towers, pavilions, and terraces standing everywhere on the mountain.

There were also Spirit Fields and Spirit Gardens cultivated like terraced fields.

Figures could be seen moving within them from time to time.

The arrival of that black streak of light immediately attracted the attention of many people.

After the figure landed, a gaunt old man with sinister eyes was revealed.

"Grand Elder has returned! Junior greets Grand Elder!"

"Greetings, Grand Elder!"

"Greetings......"

Every Cultivator who saw the gaunt old man, no matter what they were doing, would put down their tasks and respectfully salute him.

From the attitudes of these people, one could see how much reverence the old man held in their hearts.

However, the old man's expression was indifferent, and he paid no attention to anyone.

But everyone was already accustomed to this, and no one dared to have any objections.

This was because the He Family's current status was entirely due to this old man.

Watching the old man depart, everyone began to converse in low voices.

"After Grand Elder's Foundation Establishment Breakthrough, his prestige has grown even heavier; I'm almost afraid to look directly at him."

"Hey, don't say that, I feel the same way. Grand Elder used to be very amiable, always smiling when he saw us, but now he's always gloomy."

"How dare you speak ill of Grand Elder behind his back? Are you ungrateful? Without Grand Elder, there would be no He Family today."

"Exactly! If it weren't for Grand Elder breaking through the Foundation Establishment Stage during our He Family's time of crisis and forcefully suppressing those ambitious fellows, our He Family would have long been annexed by the Zhang and Li families!

You enjoy your current lives, yet you not only fail to be grateful but also speak ill of an Elder behind his back!"

"......"

The other Cultivators of the He Family began to verbally attack those two.

The old man's cultivation was very high; even though he had walked far away, he could still hear them, but he just sneered and ignored everything.

"If it weren't for me needing this identity, all of you ants would have to die!"

As soon as he stepped into a courtyard, the old man's face changed drastically, completely different from his previous appearance.

If Lu Ming were here, he would recognize that this person was none other than Helian Cheng, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator who had previously ambushed him!

After escaping from Heavenly Star Immortal City, he encountered an attack from a second-tier Yao Beast and had to sacrifice a Spiritual Artifact to save his life.

Unfortunately, he was infamous in the Southern Wilderness Region and a frequent guest on the bounty lists of several major powers.

Now, being severely injured, he dared not approach the territories of those major powers.

He had originally intended to find a quiet corner to seclude himself and heal, recovering for a few years to become a formidable man again.

But it seemed as if he had been afflicted by a curse; ever since he left Heavenly Star Immortal City, his Qi, magical power, and Divine Sense had been mysteriously dissipating.

Accompanied by various strange symptoms.

Although the intensity of these symptoms was not high, they would flare up every two days, tormenting him to the point of unbearable suffering.

Not only was he unable to Cultivate peacefully, but he couldn't even heal his injuries.

This led to a certain degree of regression in his cultivation.

During this period, he captured several alchemists and physicians to diagnose him, but the results all indicated excessive consumption of his essence, Qi, and spirit.

Did he not know himself that it was excessive consumption of essence, Qi, and spirit?! Did he need these people to tell him?

What he wanted was the cause! And a solution!

But the prescriptions given by these alchemists and physicians had very little effect.

In his rage, he extracted the souls and refined the spirits of all those who sought fame.

In desperation, he could only spend a fortune to purchase some precious spiritual materials and rare medicines to try to suppress or even resolve the abnormal symptoms.

Unfortunately, they were of little use; his essence, Qi, and spirit were like a punctured hole, impossible to plug.

He had thought about seeking help but realized with frustration that he had no one to turn to.

His few former friends had already become ghosts under his blade.

It seemed to confirm the saying, 'One who follows the Dao has many helpers; one who deviates from the Dao has few.'

And having almost exhausted all his Spirit Stones, he was somewhat at a dead end.

He then thought of returning to his old profession, becoming a rogue Cultivator.

But his current condition did not support him continuing to show his face.

So he decided to create an alias, hiding his identity while also seeking benefits.

He finally chose the He Family, one of the several Qi Refining Families on Mang Mountain, located at the junction of Heavenly Star Immortal City and the Ji Imperial Family's sphere of influence.

It just so happened that the He Family was facing a crisis of annihilation, with the Zhang and Li families, also Qi Refining Families of Mang Mountain, besieging the He Family.

Helian Cheng then conveniently killed the original Grand Elder of the He Family and took his place.

He then staged a drama of a Breakthrough in a desperate situation, forcefully slaying the invaders.

He led the He Family to sweep through the Zhang and Li families, ransacking their homes, exterminating their clans, leaving no one alive, and amassed a large amount of resources for his own use.

It seemed he had tasted sweetness, or perhaps found the correct way to operate as a rogue Cultivator.

He began to incite the He Family to provoke other Qi Refining Families, and finally, in one fell swoop, unified Mang Mountain.

And the resources of those families all became his possessions.

This behavior naturally aroused dissatisfaction within the Family.

But Helian Cheng was no benevolent person, nor would he tolerate these people.

However, directly killing them was not ideal, so he controlled all the high-ranking members of the He Family with mental secret techniques.

The He Family then became his one-man show, a true local tyrant.

Now, the Mang Mountain region was his private garden.