The first batch exploded.

The second batch also exploded.

The third batch didn't explode, but it got charred black.

"This is progress, that's one thing," Lin Jingyuan comforted Li Ze.

Li Ze hummed in agreement, "How about I watch you refine it first?"

Lin Jingyuan nodded, "That's the way to do it. Observe first, and then try it yourself after you've observed enough."

From then on, not only did Li Ze watch Lin Jingyuan refine pills, but he would also be called upon when others refined pills, explaining as they went.

Li Ze made rapid progress.

He felt he was almost ready to refine pills independently, but he didn't try. The disciples of the Crimson Pill Sect needed spiritual energy to refine pills, while he needed demonic energy or malevolent energy. He couldn't guarantee what the pills he refined would look like, or whether it would expose his identity.

He needed to refine it himself when no one was around to test it.

Li Ze followed the disciples of the Crimson Pill Sect. Along the way, they encountered several small beast tides, but they managed to avoid them without any serious danger.

After witnessing Li Ze's performance in battle, the disciples of the Crimson Pill Sect had an even better impression of him. They repeatedly questioned whether he was truly a Qi Refining stage cultivator, and why he was even more powerful than them, who were at the Foundation Establishment stage.

“He Yu is indeed at the Qi Refining stage; his strength lies in his divine sense,” Lin Jingyuan explained, helping Li Ze out, and then changed the subject, “These demonic beasts seem to have escaped from the center of the secret realm, right? Did something happen there?”

"It must be those high-level cultivators who have arrived in the central area."

"Our Crimson Pill Sect has dispatched more than a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators this time. I wonder what treasures they will bring back."

"......."

Listening to the conversation, Li Ze turned his head to look towards the central area. He Xingjue should be there too. What's his situation now? Is he alright?

Several months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Ze's cultivation level increased from the tenth level of Qi Refining to the twelfth level. If it weren't for the fact that there was no tribulation of lightning during the advancement in the secret realm, and that his foundation wouldn't be stable in the future, Li Ze would have directly established his foundation on the spot.

"The secret realm will close in just a few days," a Golden Core cultivator from the Crimson Core Sect suddenly said. "The closer it gets to the end, the more frequent the killings and robberies will be. Everyone should be careful and it's best not to act alone."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expressions turned serious.

Fortunately, they were lucky this time; before they even encountered the enemy, they ran into another team from the Crimson Pill Sect.

"He Yu!"

Gu Junyu and Liang Chen waved to Li Ze.

"I'm a grown man, and you didn't even see me here!" Lin Jingyuan complained.

Liang Chen rolled his eyes. "He Yu is the light, and you are the dust. Of course, I can see the light at a glance."

Gu Junyu also gave the other person a look that said, "Are you sure you want to humiliate yourself?"

Lin Jingyuan clutched his chest, "More than twenty years of brotherhood have been wasted!"

Li Ze watched Lin Jingyuan's performance, smiling faintly without saying a word.

The closer they got to the exit of the secret realm, the higher the concentration of malevolent energy became. In addition, Li Ze also smelled a faint stench of blood in the air.

Li Ze narrowed his eyes slightly. It seemed that many battles had taken place in this area, and many people had died.

“There are many people in the shadows,” Lin Jingyuan said as a child.

"Don't be afraid, there are many of us. They'll have to think twice before they make a move." Liang Chen said this, but his hand tightened around his longsword.

Everyone looked ready for battle, but Li Ze didn't even have a weapon in his hand. His hands, hidden in his sleeves, had bulging veins, as if he was enduring something.

In places unseen by the naked eye, the malevolent energy condensing around him was almost tangible. And that wasn't all; the malevolent energy continued to surge into his body.

He was about to build his foundation right there on the spot!

The people hiding in the shadows quietly retreated, and Lin Jingyuan and the other disciples of the Crimson Pill Sect breathed a sigh of relief. Although they were not afraid of fighting, they were worried that someone might take advantage of the chaos, or that someone else might benefit from the conflict between the two sides, especially since the Zhuoguang Sect was also eyeing them covetously.

A large crowd had gathered at the exit of the secret realm. When Li Ze and his group arrived, it was already packed with people.

Li Ze saw some familiar faces, such as Le You and Shangguan Meng from the Floating Sect, and Yu Zhuo from the Zhuoguang Sect.

Shortly after their arrival, the people from Fengyang Sect also arrived.

"You've all conspired to deceive me!" Yu Zhuo stood before the disciples of Fengyang Sect, his eyes fixed on Li Ze. "He's not Mo Xingjue's Daoist partner at all!"

"How do you know he isn't?" Liu Haozhi asked.

"I asked He Xingjue, and he said that his Daoist partner is named Li Ze." Mo Xingjue didn't want to say it, but he kept pestering the other party for more than ten hours, and the other party finally blurted it out.

When Li Ze, who was fighting against the evil energy, heard his name, he froze on the spot, his pupils wide open, looking just like a frightened little animal.

"You dare to mess with me when you're only at the Qi Refining stage? You're asking for death!" Yu Zhuo gritted his teeth, his Nascent Soul stage aura spreading outwards in all directions.

The Foundation Establishment and Golden Core disciples present trembled, their faces pale. They wanted to protect Li Ze, but found that they couldn't even draw their swords.

The only one who remained unfazed was Li Ze. His sea of ​​consciousness erupted with a pressure no weaker than Yu Zhuo's, forcing the other's pressure back.

The two sides clashed, and everyone present was in dire straits, suffering terribly.