"Oh? Really?"

In the hidden cave mansion, a voice suddenly came from another person.

Then, a flash of spirit light passed by, and Li Zhirui’s figure appeared among the people.

"You..."

The Earth Immortal cultivator reacted as soon as he uttered a word, his attitude becoming respectful, saying: "Weren’t you in seclusion, Senior? Suddenly coming out, is there anything you wish to instruct? We will certainly strive to complete it."

"Hehe!"

Li Zhirui couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh seeing his flexible attitude.

All the cultivators present shuddered uncontrollably, their faces showing fear and apprehension, worried that they might lose their lives because of it.

"Rest assured, I won’t take your lives now."

After all, those Earth Immortals here are the main force helping them collect high-grade spiritual objects and methods. If all were dealt with now, wouldn’t his gains be reduced?

"But considering your actions, punishment is necessary!"

The local spiritual beings who just breathed a sigh of relief became tense again, afraid he would assign tasks they couldn’t possibly complete.

"Taking advantage of the external war outbreak now, with prices of many methods and spiritual objects plummeting, your main task at present is to collect these things. Only reaching a certain amount will be considered completion of the punishment."

While speaking, Li Zhirui added a touch of pressure, rising two or three levels in the realm, even if just a little, it was still unbearable for everyone, making them staggering, drenched in cold sweat.

"I don’t care if you purchase them with Spirit Stones or personally plunder them, you must complete the goal I’ve set! If not, your days ahead will not be as easy as they are now!"

With that, he disappeared, not bothering with the topic they were previously discussing.

Because even if they harbored doubts in their hearts, they had no way to report it. One reason was that among the numerous cultivators, Li Zhirui and Fu Chengguang planted numerous spies. With these people around, the behavior and whereabouts of other cultivators were under their control!

Secondly, an invisible restriction was hidden within the formation, making it impossible for them to discuss the presence of the two with outsiders.

Therefore, the two were not worried about their whereabouts being leaked, and Li Zhirui’s appearance was a chance to warn everyone, to be honest, and not waste time trying to escape control on an impossible task, thereby delaying the acquisition of methods and spiritual objects.

However...

Back in the cave mansion, Li Zhirui frowned.

Because of the external war outbreak, the Tribulation Evil Energy between heaven and earth surged, making cultivation in such a situation very unfavorable!

And this was the true reason he ended his seclusion from enlightenment; warning those cultivators was merely incidental.

Knock, knock, knock—

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

Li Zhirui understood in his heart, this was Fu Chengguang also realizing something was wrong, exiting seclusion to discuss how to deal with this matter.

"Fellow Daoist, now the Ten Thousand Rivers Realm is filled with Tribulation Evil Energy, making it impossible to continue enlightenment, what should we do now?" he said excitedly upon entering.

They went through great trouble to occupy the Beixuan Sect, wasn’t it so they could cultivate in peace?!

And yet, how long has it been? Just three months and the outside world has become so turbulent that they can’t even continue with their seclusion enlightenment.

"Such a war that affects most of the world, how could the two of us, outer realm creatures, resolve it?" Li Zhirui shook his head slightly, speaking bitterly.

They were powerless in this situation, could only wait for the war to end, or hope high-level cultivators of the Ten Thousand Rivers Realm would intervene and restore peace soon.

"Moreover, I fear the Heavenly Dao of this realm may attribute the cause of this sudden war to us..." He couldn’t help but sigh.

"This!"

Fu Chengguang was taken aback at his words; initially thinking it absurd, but upon closer thinking, it startled him to realize it wasn’t impossible.

After all, the source of this war was essentially the two of them. Solve or expel them from the Ten Thousand Rivers Realm and the situation could quickly calm down.

And given this consideration, it’s highly likely the Heavenly Dao of this realm would make such a decision.

"If such a situation truly arises, wouldn’t that mean we can’t stay in the Ten Thousand Rivers Realm for much longer?" Thinking of this, Fu Chengguang couldn’t help but frown.

The two of them had been in this realm for less than a year, spending most of the time in the Secret Realm, with many gains, but the most important laws weren’t properly comprehended yet.

"Let’s hope things don’t escalate to that point." Li Zhirui was helpless in this matter.

Shaking his head, he no longer thought about it, turning instead to say: "Since you’re here, Fellow Daoist, let’s divide up the spiritual objects collected over the past few months."

Some cultivators were working hard to gain contribution value, resulting in a considerable number of spiritual objects handed over over several months.

"Alright." Fu Chengguang was also unwilling to dwell on such troublesome matters and promptly began sorting the spiritual objects.

In just two hours, the two divided the spiritual objects.

Faced with this pleasant matter, neither displayed much joy on their faces; instead, a faint shade of worry could be seen.

"I won’t disturb your cultivation, Fellow Daoist."

With that, Fu Chengguang got up and left.

"Cultivation? Sigh!"

After he left, Li Zhirui’s face showed a trace of bitterness, his sigh slowly dissipating within the cave mansion.

In today’s world, filled with Tribulation Evil Energy, how could it still be suitable for cultivation!

But their identity only allowed them to stand by without getting involved; otherwise, they’d be unfortunate, with no good outcome.

So, they could only retreat within the cave mansion, quietly waiting for the war to end and for the world to recover clarity.

Just waiting idly wasn’t a solution either. To avoid living in torment, Li Zhirui took out some low-level methods, intending to study them thoroughly.

Occasionally, he would familiarize himself with the local spiritual objects at hand, then deduce pill recipes and refine pills.

Both for obtaining some benefits and for passing the time.

Not far away, Fu Chengguang was doing the same, just substituting pill refining with formation methods.

...

Meanwhile.

As one of the most chaotic places in the Ten Thousand Rivers Realm, Kong Mountain State was never calm even before the outbreak of the war. There might be several robbing cultivators lurking in some inconspicuous area, ready to attack passing cultivators at any time.

After the war broke out, there was actually little change in Kong Mountain State; it remained chaotic and a place with frequent battles.

But compared to before, the frequency of battles increased considerably, and the number of cultivators losing their lives rose sharply, resulting in the originally crowded Da Kong Immortal City becoming desolate now.

"Sigh!"

A shopkeeper stood at the doorway of a shop, gazing at the street with few pedestrians, couldn’t help but sigh, saying: "Damn it! How did a war suddenly break out! At this rate, I won’t even make enough for this year’s rent."