I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, So I’ll Max Out My Defense

His mind kept replaying the conversation he’d just had with Chen Yuanyuan, and a sense of dissonance subtly emerged in his heart, feeling that something was amiss.

The woman had treated her own husband as if he were a stranger, decapitating him without even a twitch of her brow, and in the subsequent address, she did not even call by name. How could someone so ruthless and decisive converse with him so calmly?

Yet if he were to say he had been fooled, Li Xiaobai couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was off, for every word the woman said seemed to consider the stance of the common people, without fault, which was precisely why he had agreed to her request.

On the surface, everything seemed normal, but intuition told Li Xiaobai that he must have overlooked something. These days he had been busy with his cultivation and had not collected much intelligence about the court or the government, leaving many uncertainties unresolved.

However, one thing didn’t need second guessing, no matter how the Imperial Court was, he would go to aid the frontier. As the woman said, anyone could be in trouble, but not the common people; these innocent lives should not pay for the incompetence and corruption of the court.

“Take it one step at a time,” he murmured to himself. “The Chen Family entrusting part of the military power to me shows their sincerity. Even if they have ulterior motives, they shouldn’t target me in the short term since they still need my help.”

Li Xiaobai murmured to himself.

His current destination was not the frontier, but the abandoned sect he planned to return to. At a moment no one would suspect, he intended to take out the second half of the Spirit Realm Technique!

He was not foolish, having kept some precautions up his sleeve.

He stated he would arrive at the frontier the next day after consulting with Chen Yuanyuan, also intending to use her words to lull the other government officers, since reaching the frontier by the next day would require an immediate departure and relentless travel, leaving no time for other actions.

But he was different. With his vast reserves of inner strength, he could travel to the frontier at a speed several times faster than a fast horse, and taking a slight detour to acquire a cultivation technique wouldn’t take much time.

Who knew if there were monsters beyond the Refinement Void Realm lurking at the frontier?

Better take the chance to continue cultivating the second half.

Moreover, regarding the location of the second half of the technique, he already had some clues in his heart.

A few minutes later.

On a hilltop, a figure stood among the rubble, searching for something.

Li Xiaobai used his inner strength to shift the debris of stone and tile, leveling the dilapidated remains of the sect, before stepping in and going straight toward the deity statue situated at a higher point.

This sect’s ruins had been scoured by officials countless times; they even knew exactly how many flies came daily, but they couldn’t find the second half of the technique and eventually gave up on the idea that the Spirit Realm Technique was hidden within the ruins.

But Li Xiaobai thought otherwise. His master had passed on the information to Long Xue before his demise, making it clear: the technique was within the sect, in a place no one could find.

Rather than being undiscoverable, it was a place people wouldn’t think to search, or perhaps dare not search.

Such a place could only be this deity statue, lofty and watching over the world. People depended on the deity for favorable weather and the nation’s peace. No one dared to offend the deity, let alone commit a great disrespect.

Even the haughty and overbearing officials wouldn’t dare to challenge this fundamental belief that three feet above one’s head there are deities watching.

As for where his master could’ve hidden the technique, apart from this deity statue, Li Xiaobai could think of no other hiding place.

“Exalted gods and Buddhas above, I beg your forgiveness for the offenses I may commit today. I seek only to retrieve the technique left by my master, with no intention of disrespect. Please understand and hold no grudge against me!”

Li Xiaobai bowed and muttered to himself; then he stepped forward with a large stride and, with a display of strength, he lifted the statue to reveal the secret hidden beneath it.

Under the statue lay a square mound of earth, distinctly different in color compared to the surrounding soil, which was dark. This patch alone was light, clearly having been recently turned over. The Cultivation Technique must be concealed within this small mound.

Thinking this, Li Xiaobai drew his longsword from his waist. With a sweep of Sword Qi, he cut open the surface of the ground, revealing a slightly yellowed bamboo scroll, inscribed with three large characters: Spirit Realm Technique!

“Got it!”

“The master is truly extraordinary, to have hidden the Cultivation Technique beneath the statue. Not just anyone would have the guts to do this.”

“Even if those government officers knew about it, I fear they would not dare to rashly move the statue. This move is exceptional, it sees through human hearts.”

Li Xiaobai unrolled the bamboo scroll and quickly read through the methods of advancing in the Spirit Realm Technique. Two more realms remained: the Void Merging Realm and the Earthly Immortal Realm.

These two realms are now legendary, at least in today’s world there are no known masters of the Void Merging Realm.

To reach this level, the practice was much the same as previous levels, except one must absorb the Primordial Spirit Power of a high-level practitioner from the Refinement Void Realm. It is only at this realm that martial artists cultivate Primordial Spirits, and what Li Xiaobai intended to do was to plunder their achievements.

Void Merging required the Primordial Spirit within the upper Dantian to be condensed to a certain degree to be completed. Upon reaching this level, the Primordial Spirit could exist separately from the body; even if the body was slain, the Primordial Spirit could still cling to life on its own, seize others, and start anew.

It can be said that unless by a master of the same realm, it is impossible to completely kill a warrior of the Void Merging Realm.

Reading this far, Li Xiaobai couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement. This realm was already akin to that of immortals, wasn’t it? Spirit Manifestation, a skill only known in legends, and now he too might have a chance to reach it one day.

He turned the page further, the Earthly Immortal Realm, described in just eight short words.

“Dust ends, light arises; mountains and rivers blossom!”

“What does this mean?”

Li Xiaobai was somewhat puzzled; with only eight short words and no descriptions of specific cultivation methods, he guessed it must be similar to Demon Sealing Sword Evocation. One must perceive and comprehend it. Comprehend the path and become an immortal; fail to perceive it and never touch that threshold.

A rather mysterious realm.

“Alright, I’ve got what I came for; it’s time to head to the border. There should be plenty of masters beyond the frontier, just perfect to help me achieve the Void Merging Realm!”

Li Xiaobai tossed the bamboo scroll into the fire to burn it clean, then meticulously restored the statue to its original place. After completing all this, he nodded in satisfaction, and with a sudden leap, he transformed into a gust of wind and swept away.

…

At the same time, within a certain attic in the Chen Family’s estate.

A man and a woman were enjoying tea while playing a strategy game.

“Sister, do you think Li Xiaobai might suspect us? Does he truly believe we are wholeheartedly working for the common good?”

The speaker was none other than Chen Yu, who had secretly returned to the Chen Family two days earlier and conspired with his sister to extract the Cultivation Technique from Li Xiaobai. He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly and was somewhat incredulous himself.

“Rest assured, big brother, with your little sister involved, that boy has been thoroughly hoodwinked!”