Chapter 149: Making a Name for Oneself_2
As he walked on the street, he could sometimes overhear cultivators discussing him, and they even referred to him as Ice Dragon in tacit agreement.
Li Zhirui pretended not to hear and quickened his pace towards the outskirts of the marketplace. Today, he was planning to go to the Great Snow Mountain on the western side of the Great Void Province to undergo some training.
At the same time, he was looking for a type of Spiritual Medicine that only grows in cold, snowy terrains but has a wide range of uses.
Meanwhile, in a certain cave dwelling within the marketplace, a voice filled with relentless hatred suddenly erupted.
"Damn Chishui San Sha, once my injuries heal, I will have you quartered to alleviate the hatred in my heart!"
"And that damned Ice Dragon, if you hadn't hidden your strength and used such cunning tactics, how would I have ended up in such a sorry state!?"
—
The Great Snow Mountain range stretched for tens of thousands of miles, with only a small section at the southernmost part belonging to the Great Void Province, but even so, it separated the Great Void Province from the west.
Numerous devil beasts inhabited the range, along with a large number of spiritual objects, especially those of the water and ice attributes, making it a treasure land for the cultivators of the Great Void Province to gather resources.
It was precisely because of the existence of the Great Snow Mountain that the Great Void Tao had not expanded towards the coastal areas of the Boundless Sea.
As Li Zhirui exited the marketplace's main gate, several figures that thought they were well-hidden quietly followed him.
"Already so far from the marketplace and still not making a move?" said Li Zhirui coldly.
The group was taken aback, clearly not expecting that he had noticed them long ago and was even brazenly urging them to attack together.
"Courting death! Then let us satisfy you!" The attackers leapt out of their hiding places, and various flashes of Spirit Light aimed at Li Zhirui.
A battle was about to erupt!
"You're the Ice Dragon who defeated Black Asura?"
When the cultivators surrounding Li Zhirui saw the giant ice crystal dragon that resembled a True Dragon, they suddenly remembered the rumors they had heard in the marketplace that day.
"Quick, run!"
After a mere moment, they turned and scattered in all directions.
If a group of them together was no match for Black Asura, what more the Ice Dragon who had defeated him?
This was something Li Zhirui had not anticipated. On his second day in the Great Void Province, such a reputation had been established, and with just his Ice Dragon technique, he had scared off several cultivators in the early stages of Foundation Establishment.
Li Zhirui had no intention of letting them get away, but they had scattered too widely, and he couldn't possibly chase so many at once. He could only focus on chasing down one cultivator.
"Xiaoqing, chase," he commanded.
A cry rang out!
With a screech, Xiaoqing shot out like an arrow released from a bow, covering several miles in an instant and relentlessly pursuing the fleeing cultivator.
The man's strength was nowhere near Black Asura's; he was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator and was very easily killed by Li Zhirui.
"Let's go. We continue to head towards our destination." After taking the storage pouch from the man's waist and setting his corpse on fire, he urged Xiaoqing to leave.
What Li Zhirui didn't know was that after this incident, his reputation in the marketplace had risen to a new level.
—
The Great Snow Mountain was not too far from the marketplace; Xiaoqing flew for just an hour before arriving.
"You've worked hard; you can go back and rest now," Li Zhirui said as he retracted Xiaoqing into the space and walked alone into the marketplace at the foot of the mountain.
This marketplace was usually a place for cultivators entering the mountain to rest, replenish, and trade spiritual objects, but once a beast tide broke out in the mountains, it would become the first line of defense against the devil beasts.
Li Zhirui planned to first collect some information in the marketplace, such as marked danger zones and areas frequented by third-order devil beasts, etc.
Although finding out these details couldn't guarantee his safety upon entering the mountains, at least he wouldn't be seeking out danger deliberately.
More importantly, he could find the Ice Crystal Flower he was looking for!
The Ice Crystal Flower, a second-order Spiritual Medicine with no roots or substance and an extremely peculiar method of reproduction, can only grow in an environment of perennial snow and ice like the Great Snow Mountain.
And once mature, no matter how one tries to preserve it, it would last only three days at most, after which it would melt into a puddle of snow water.
Yet, paradoxically, it was the dream of all alchemists because when Ice Crystal Flower is added during alchemy, it could effectively reduce the toxicity of the pills.
Moreover, there's no need to worry about conflicts between medicinal properties or the hierarchy of principal and assistant ingredients. One simply adds an Ice Crystal Flower during alchemy!
As far as Li Zhirui was aware, within ten thousand miles of the cultivators' world, only the Great Snow Mountain grew Ice Crystal Flowers!
As an Alchemist, let alone one with a magical space, how could Li Zhirui not desire the Ice Crystal Flower?
And this was also one of the reasons he came to the Great Void Province for experience.
He could transplant the Ice Crystal Flower into his space, and later on, plant a couple on Baitou Mountain for other clan members to unexpectedly find.
From then on, the Li family would have another impressive item to offer.
A most recent and comprehensive map had cost Li Zhirui two thousand Spirit Stones, but as soon as he unfolded it, he immediately felt it was more than worth the price.
Because the map detailed the territories of third-tier Devil Beasts, more dangerous areas, and the locations where Spiritual Objects grew.
With this map, Li Zhirui no longer needed to roam around the mountains blindly, whether it was to avoid danger or to gather resources.
Most importantly, it also marked the location of the Ice Crystal Flower!
Bright and early the next day, Li Zhirui left the Marketplace and entered the pure white mountain range, heading straight for the White Tree Mountain where the Ice Crystal Flower was located.
"Big brother, should we make a move on that kid?"
Cultivators like Li Zhirui, who were alone and had only "early Foundation Establishment" cultivation, were the most welcomed in the Great Void Province, even though the rewards might be small, the risks were low.
Of course, there were those like Li Zhirui who pretended to be weaker than they were, but they were few in number and rarely encountered.
If they did encounter one, they could only wish themselves good luck.
"Go!" An early Foundation Establishment cultivator they had never seen before wasn't enough to make them hesitate.
Li Zhirui, who was riding on Xiaoqing's back, sighed helplessly when he sensed that cultivators were following him again from behind.
The Great Void Province was indeed a great place for him to gain experience, albeit a bit too welcoming!
Besides in the Marketplace, where no one dared to break the rules of the Great Void Tao, there was no peace at other times.
These early Foundation Establishment Loose Cultivators had not considered that Li Zhirui's strength far surpassed theirs.
So Li Zhirui very easily dealt with these Loose Cultivators, even having the not-so-coordinated Xiaoqing cooperate with him in the fight, experimenting during the real battle.
Anyway, once he had cast Vine Prison, they couldn't escape at all.
After dealing with some cultivators, Li Zhirui successfully fetched the Ice Crystal Flower, and after he transplanted it into his space, there were no adverse reactions.
In the following days, Li Zhirui spent his time training with Xiaoqing to increase their coordination.
As for Da Qing...
Because the Great Snow Mountain was too cold, after coming out once, he didn't want to come out again.
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Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, Li Zhirui had been in the Great Void Province for half a year.
During this time, he and Xiaoqing had been training in the Great Snow Mountain, becoming very in tune with each other and capable of launching coordinated attacks.
And in the process, Xiaoqing gradually displayed the temperament and spirit of a fierce bird, with his strength reaching a new level.
As for Li Zhirui, his gains were also significant, especially during the first month at the Marketplace, where the nearly nonstop battles solidified his Mana greatly.
It was just a shame that later on, Li Zhirui's fame spread from the Taixu Market.
Of course, based on the number of cultivators who died at his hands in that month, he was more than able to establish an image in people's hearts as someone not to be trifled with.
But sometimes, being too illustrious is not necessarily a good thing; some cultivators, confident in their own strength, specifically came to challenge Li Zhirui, hoping to use him as a stepping stone to fame and advancement.
But so far, no such cultivator had appeared.
And those who wanted to use Li Zhirui as a stepping stone ended up turned to ashes.
Each one blossoms on its branch.
Meanwhile, back on Da Rong Island, where Li Zhirui had left for a half year's time, numerous clan members gathered anxiously around a small courtyard, hardly daring to blink.
The reason they were spectating was that the family might have another member reaching Foundation Establishment, and it was not Li Zhixuan, but a member of the "Shi" generation.
Unfortunately, his attempt at Foundation Establishment ultimately failed!
Despite being protected by a Foundation Establishment Pill and not suffering severe injuries, this failure drained his vitality and will, significantly decreasing his chances of breaking through if he got another pill in the future.
"I will definitely succeed!" Li Zhixuan, witnessing the scene, vowed silently in her heart.