77: The entire Qingzhou

Judging by the size of the Temple just now, if only this one village was paying tribute to it, they absolutely would not have developed to this scale.

The number of monks in this Temple alone is probably no less than several dozen.

Relying solely on the support of one village would definitely not be enough.

Holding the map of Qingzhou he had brought, Li Haotian quickly chose a nearby town and immediately flew in that direction.

Although this place was extremely desolate, there were still some powerful Cultivators.

He chose to come to this impoverished area because many Heaven And Earth Treasures could be cultivated here, but what the native Cultivators lacked most was not these, but Spirit Stones.

In this way, it would be much easier for him to exchange Spirit Stones for these Heaven And Earth Treasures with them.

Li Haotian soon arrived in the town; the entire town looked completely normal.

Everyone was busy living their lives, but the people here shared one common trait: they had to return home before sunset.

Although there weren't emaciated people suffering from severe Qi and blood loss visible everywhere like in the village, he could still see some sallow and thin individuals.

There were no beggars in this town. Li Haotian dared not think too deeply about this matter—if there were no beggars in the town, where did they go?

The people in the city did not notice Li Haotian's arrival; they were all busy with their own affairs.

The most expensive item sold here was meat; one catty of pork could sell for twenty Spirit Stones, nearly 20 times the price outside.

After all, this was understandable, as meat resources here were likely quite scarce.

The villagers here did not seem very panicked, likely because they had all uniformly submitted their tributes. It seemed these people had already obtained a large quantity of black flowers.

Li Haotian did not linger here for long and quickly moved on to other towns.

All these towns were the same; even the homes of Cultivators had these black flowers hanging up.

Li Haotian was truly dumbfounded. Following the map markings, he headed to a nearby Sect. There was not a single living soul at the Sect's location; the entire Sect had turned into scorched earth. Traces of a great battle seemed to remain on the ground, indicating it must have happened recently.

Nothing was left of the entire Sect, top to bottom. Only some dilapidated walls faintly spoke of its former glory.

Li Haotian visited several major factions marked on the surrounding map in succession, but received no response. All these factions had been completely wiped out.

At this moment, he felt somewhat lost. If the entire Qingzhou was like this, completely controlled by the Heretical Buddhist Cult, he would likely be in danger too.

If these Heretical Cults could destroy all the other Sects, they must have at least an Great Emperor Powerhouse presiding over them. He wasn't sure if he could defeat them.

The confidence in Li Haotian's heart faded considerably; at this moment, he already felt like retreating.

"You really are persistent. Wouldn't it have been better to just die obediently at the Temple? What good does knowing all this do you?"

An extremely familiar voice rang out, giving Li Haotian goosebumps. He turned back and saw an old man reappearing behind him, holding a Zen Staff. This person was none other than the Abbot he had previously slain.

"No need to be too astonished. I told you that you would meet me again sooner or later. How about it?"

The aura emanating from the old man was still the same intensity as before.

"I didn't expect you to have a means of Resurrection, but so what? If I can kill you once, I can kill you thousands upon thousands of times."

Li Haotian once again brought out the heaven slaying sword, his gaze gradually becoming solemn.

On the surface, he spoke casually, but if the opponent truly possessed a technique like Resurrection, it would pose an endless threat to him!

"You're actually still thinking of resisting right now. I must say, your courage is truly commendable."

"Die!"

Li Haotian didn't want to waste words. He forcefully swung the Long Sword in his hand forward. The next moment, a sturdy Mace appeared before him and collided with his heaven slaying sword, and the two instantly bounced apart.

That Mace also seemed to be a heaven-rank magic treasure. After their collision, neither weapon showed any damage.

A man wearing purple robes and a mask appeared beside the old man at some unknown point. The aura emanating from his entire body had clearly reached the level of a Saint!

Li Haotian's expression was solemn. It would be difficult for him to contend against an existence of this level. If he went all out, he might be able to fight the opponent to a draw, but if there was other backup... Just as he was pondering the gap in combat power, five more figures simultaneously appeared behind the old man—a total of five Saints!

"Shit!"

Li Haotian didn't hesitate at all and immediately turned and ran.

If he couldn't win, could he not run away? The pair of heaven-rank golden magic treasure Boots he was rewarded with previously could multiply his speed by more than ten times.

He couldn't bear to use his Experience Card here. These guys were unkillable, and even if he used the Experience Card, what difference would it make?

Although he could escape quickly for a short time, he would be powerless afterward.

If these guys could reappear after being killed once, they definitely had a method to resurrect their own people.

Such methods are most likely mastered by Evil Cultivators, and the number of these guys must be quite large!

Li Haotian's speed was astonishing. He turned into a streak of light in the air and fled into the distance. Even the Saints were stunned when they saw this scene.

"Holy crap, this kid is too damn fast."

"If you let him escape like this and attract the Powerhouses of the world, our deployment in Qingzhou will be completely ruined."

"Chase him! We must chase him! He has our Mark on him. No matter where he flees, we cannot let him leave Qingzhou alive!"

"Immediately notify higher-level Powerhouses! We absolutely cannot let him leave!"

Li Haotian finally understood what the System meant by danger. This water was far too murky; his trip here was truly troublesome.

Hiding deep in the mountains, Li Haotian formed hand seals. He didn't believe he could still be tracked while hidden in these vast mountains. A golden Paper Crane instantly appeared in his hand, but just as it flew up, preparing to head toward the Heavenly Profound Sect's location, it immediately dropped back down.

Li Haotian refused to believe it and tried again. The Paper Crane once again fell heavily to the ground.

This situation could only mean one thing: the entire Qingzhou had been sealed off, and no Sound Transmission messages could leave this place. Otherwise, this would definitely not happen.

Li Haotian's mouth twitched uncontrollably. Did he really have to use the Great Emperor Experience Card?

While he was struggling, the System Sishi's remote transmission function suddenly appeared in Li Haotian's mind.

The System had spontaneously given him a slight hint.

"Holy crap, good System! You know to save a Prop Card for Dad!"

System: ...