165: Chapter 165 Location of the Secret Realm

"What is this Opportunity you speak of? Are you trying to deceive me?"

The Gray-robed Elder's mouth opened and closed, his voice flat and without a hint of fluctuation, as if he were sleep-talking.

"Thirty miles downstream from the source of the Black Water River, there is a ruin."

"Deep within the ruins, there is a ten-thousand-year-old spirit vine, an ancient exotic species. The entrance to the ruins is sealed by a Restriction that requires cultivation above the third rank to break. I discovered that place during my Foundation Establishment, and I have kept it hidden until now."

Upon hearing this, Wu Li retracted his Blood Pupil and stared at him for a few more breaths.

"So there is such an Opportunity."

Wu Li chuckled lightly.

The Gray-robed Elder slumped on the ground, his eyes vacant, still not having recovered from the control of the Blood Pupil.

Wu Li did not give him a chance to wake up.

He reached out his right claw, clamped it onto his crown, and unleashed his Demon Power.

Crack.

The elder's neck tilted to the side, and his body went limp.

Wu Li did not release his claw; he circulated the Blood Eye Pagoda Sutra, and a suction force surged from his palm.

Essence blood was extracted from the corpse and surged into his body along his right arm. The scalding Golden Core essence blood rushed through his Meridians, far stronger than those dying old fogies from before.

A fresh Golden Core, just broken through, with vigorous blood and Qi.

Wu Li closed his eyes, his Blood Pupil opened between his brows, and a scarlet light enveloped the entire corpse.

Essence blood, Golden Core, both forces surged in simultaneously.

Wu Li's body began to heat up.

The demon core in his Dantian spun frantically, the Demon Power in his Meridians surged like a river, and the incantations of the Blood Eye Pagoda Sutra exploded in his mind over and over again.

Because he was just one step away.

Therefore, the Blood Eye Shadow between his brows solidified very quickly this time.

Fine, blood-colored patterns began to emerge within the pupil.

"Boom!!"

The moment the blood-colored patterns formed, an invisible wave of air exploded from Wu Li's body, shaking the debris in the cave and causing it to fall with a rustling sound.

The debris blocking the cave entrance was pushed open by the air wave, creating a gap. Moonlight leaked through the gap and shone on Wu Li's face.

Three Variations of the Blood Eye · Profound Breaking.

Runes spontaneously formed within the pupil, as if inscribed by heavenly books. Profound light shot forth, capable of breaking the enemy's Formation, Restrictions, and predicting the enemy's movements.

Wu Li opened his eyes and let out a long, turbid breath.

He looked down at his hands, then at the shriveled corpse on the ground, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Three Variations, it is done!"

The aftermath of the Breakthrough had not yet dissipated; Wu Li quickly sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and looked within himself.

He scanned his chest.

There, a dark gray pattern quietly coiled on the surface of his heart, faintly resembling the character " river" when twisted.

Three vertical lines stood side by side, each emitting a faint fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.

Power of Incense.

The mark left in his body by Mountain Lord Taiyue.

It had been planted the day he entered Taiyue Mountain, taking root on his heart, entwined with his Demon Power, like a thorn growing into his flesh.

Before, he could do nothing about it; the first variation of the Blood Pupil could only spy on it, the second variation could barely suppress it, but now...

Wu Li sneered, and the Blood Pupil between his brows suddenly opened.

The scarlet light no longer spread outward but retracted, surging entirely toward his chest. Wherever the light of the Blood Pupil passed, that dark gray pattern began to tremble violently.

"Hum~"

"Boom!!!!"

It seemed to have a life of its own, wriggling frantically on the surface of his heart, attempting to burrow deeper, but the light of the Blood Pupil chased it, bit into it, and peeled it from the surface of his heart inch by inch.

"Break!"

Wu Li gave a low shout. The golden runes within the Blood Pupil between his brows suddenly lit up, and a beam of profound light shot out, accurately striking that " river" character pattern.

The pattern suddenly stiffened, and the three vertical lines exploded simultaneously, turning into countless tiny gray specks of light that fell from the surface of his heart and were evaporated away in the light of the Blood Pupil.

His chest felt lighter.

It was as if a stone that had been weighing him down for who knows how long had been removed from his body; that omnipresent, faint sense of restraint had completely vanished.

Wu Li let out a long, turbid breath, retracted his Blood Pupil, and looked down at his chest.

His heart beat steadily and powerfully; that unsightly pattern was gone.

"Hehe, refreshing!"

Wu Li cackled a few times, his voice echoing back and forth in the cave, causing more debris to fall.

Afterward, Wu Li's gaze fell upon the shriveled corpse on the ground.

He could go and check out the place that old thing mentioned.

If it really is true...

Then Wu Li would make a huge profit from this.

Thinking of this.

Wu Li kicked away the rubble at the cave entrance and flew out, spreading his wings.

The mountains and dense forests below receded rapidly.

He had passed by the Black Water River once when he came to Feiliu Workshop before. He remembered the way, and the location was not far. With Wu Li's current cultivation, he could reach it in half an hour.

Soon.

Half an hour later, the outline of the Black Water River appeared below.

The river water was pitch black as ink, shimmering with a faint cold light under the moonlight, winding like a giant black python coiled in the valley.

Wu Li slowed down and flew upstream along the riverbank.

The sound of the water grew louder, the stones on both banks became denser, and the vegetation became scarcer.

That person said thirty miles downstream from the source.

Wu Li flew while counting, flying over a rocky beach, a waterfall, and a stone bridge that had collapsed on one side.

At the thirtieth mile, he folded his wings and landed.

There was nothing around. No ruins, no spirit vines, not even a decent-looking stone; only the pitch-black river water flowed beneath his feet, along with wild grass and rubble covering the mountains and plains.

"Hmm?"

Wu Li flapped his wings and hovered in mid-air.

"Blood Pupil, open!"

"Hum!"

The Blood Pupil opened.

The scarlet light swept across the river surface, the rubble on both banks, and the wild grass covering the mountains and plains.

A few breaths later, Wu Li's gaze fixed on the river surface.

The light of the Blood Pupil penetrated the black water. Deep underwater, there was a huge bluestone with a smooth surface; there was nothing there.

But the Blood Pupil did not stop; it continued downward.

Underneath the bluestone, there was something else.

A fluctuation of Spiritual Qi, faint and elusive, seemed to be wrapped in layers by something, seeping out from the bottom of the bluestone and scattering with the current, making it extremely difficult to discover.

Wu Li's Blood Pupil narrowed.

"Formation fluctuation."

Someone had used a Formation to hide those ruins at the bottom of the river, hiding them so deep that an ordinary Cultivator wouldn't find them even if they passed by here a hundred times.

But apart from the Formation, Wu Li did not find the ten-thousand-year-old spirit vine mentioned by that person.

Wu Li retracted his Blood Pupil, landed on the riverbank, and reached his hand into the water.

The black water was icy cold, and the silt was soft and slippery.

He walked a few steps along the riverbank, found the location of the bluestone, and leaped into the river.

Demon Power formed a shield around his body, blocking the river water outside.

It was dim underwater, but the Blood Pupil could see everything clearly.

The bluestone was large, a full ten feet square, with its surface covered in moss and water weeds.

Wu Li went around to the side of the bluestone and felt the stone wall with his hand. He felt down along the stone wall and found a gap, not wide, just enough for him to squeeze in sideways.

Below the gap was a narrow passage, sloping downward, pitch black and invisible.

Wu Li squeezed in.

The passage was not long; he reached the end after walking a dozen steps.