Chapter 161
Zhou Li received the bounty and drank with the devil. She felt very happy. The life she was living was something she had never imagined.
Looking at the pretty face of the devil, Zhou Li felt a little emotional.
It turns out that putting down tasks is what life is all about. How wonderful would it be to live a life without competing with the world?
However, her joy did not last long, as the Demon King urged her to hurry on and continue her next training.
The two stayed in the East China Sea for a long time, posting bounty notices on various islands, bullying sea beasts, and practicing swordsmanship. Zhou Li's realm gradually stabilized, and her swordsmanship became more and more sophisticated, at least it could attract Liang Yiliu's attention, but the other party still had higher requirements for her.
Zhou Li also understood. After all, how could an adult care about a child just learning to speak?
To the Demon King, she was like a child learning to walk, and it was already good enough if she didn't make a fool of herself.
The two had just handed in the bounty order and received the reward money. As usual, Zhou Li treated his master to a drink when he heard people around him talking about whether the Donghua Secret Realm would be opening soon.
The person at the same table counted on his fingers and said, "It's almost time. The Donghua Secret Realm only opens once every hundred years. I wonder what kind of magical item will appear this year?"
"Then we can go join in the fun."
"Let's go, let's go."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Li couldn't help but whisper to Liang Yiliu, "Master! Master! Where is this Donghua Secret Realm? Should we go there too?"
Liang Yiliu lowered his head to drink, and said with a slightly opened mouth: "I brought you here because I was going to go there."
Zhou Li looked at her with sparkling eyes, waiting for her to continue speaking, but Liang Yiliu was only focused on drinking. She pursed her lips, looking at Liang Yiliu sullenly. Liang Yiliu looked up and saw her young disciple in this state. She said helplessly, "The Donghua Secret Realm is located in the East China Sea, fifty miles east of the East China Sea. Legend has it that this is the cave where Emperor Donghua once practiced, and now it has evolved into a secret realm."
"The secret realm opens every hundred years to select talented individuals. Those who pass will win the secret realm's rewards. So don't you think there are more people on the streets recently?"
Zhou Li said that the bounty order was easy to obtain in the past, and basically no one competed with her for it. But recently, the bounty order was snatched away as soon as it was posted. She thought it was because this sea area was more lively, and it didn't seem like it was because many people from the Donghua Secret Realm gathered here.
"Then when are we going there?" Zhou Li clapped his hands and rubbed them excitedly.
Liang Yiliu, however, remained calm. "No rush. There's still time for the East China Sea Secret Realm to open. It won't be too late to go there once it opens. Otherwise, we'll just stand there as punishment."
Zhou Li nodded in understanding, holding her chin as she watched Liang Yiliu drink. She asked in confusion, "Master, is this wine really that good?"
Liang Yiliu was a little slow, and then he said slowly: "Wine can make people sad."
"Master, you are so powerful now, what is there to be sad about?" Zhou Li asked.
Liang Yiliu smiled slightly and did not answer.
Zhou Li just asked casually, and soon his attention was attracted by the person outside the door again.
This island has been unusually lively recently. Zhou Li has seen many strange-looking people. It’s not that they are ugly, but their appearances are so different that it really opened Zhou Li’s eyes.
After Liang Yiliu finished the wine her apprentice had offered her, she said softly, "Let's go."
Zhou Li followed and just as they reached the door, new guests walked in. They were a man and a woman. The woman was pretty and had bright eyes. She was looking up and chatting with the man when she suddenly saw Liang Yiliu and said in surprise, "You're here?!"
Liang Yiliu also laughed when he saw the acquaintance: "Why did you come to Donghai?"
The woman jumped over, and the man slowly followed. She stood in front of Liang Yiliu with a happy look on her face. "My senior brother and I were traveling, and when we heard the news about the Donghua Secret Realm, we rushed over. But you, didn't you agree to go to the Beast Sect to play flower cards with me? I've already gathered everyone, but I won't let you come."
A faint smile appeared on Liang Yiliu's lips, which was different from the relaxation Zhou Li usually saw.
She said, "You also know my senior brother. He can't stand my lack of knowledge and skills, so he kept me in the sect."
"Then you can still escape from your senior brother's Five Finger Mountain?" the woman laughed.
"I listened to my senior brother and accepted a disciple. He felt relieved." Liang Yiliu turned to look at Zhou Li, "Disciple, come and meet your uncle."
Zhou Li obediently called out, "Master."
The woman frowned and said disdainfully, "How old am I? Even though we are of the same generation, we still have to discuss things on our own." She smiled and said to Zhou Li, "My name is Hua Shuwen. Just call me sister. Don't listen to your master."
Zhou Li glanced at Liang Yiliu, who nodded in agreement. She called out, "Sister Hua."
"Hey! Good!" Hua Shuwen nodded with satisfaction, then introduced the senior brother behind her and said, "This is my senior brother Dongxu, you can just call him Brother Xu."
Zhou Li called out, "Brother Xu."
Dongxu looked relatively calm and only nodded slightly to show his goodwill.
Hua Shuwen asked, "Since our meeting is fate, why don't we go to the Donghua Secret Realm together?"
Liang Yiliu smiled and nodded, "Yes."
Zhou Li looked at Liang Yiliu strangely. She thought that someone like the Demon King should be a lone ranger, but she didn't expect that the Demon King also had friends in places she couldn't see.
On the way, Hua Shuwen told Liang Yiliu about what she had seen and heard these days, especially the gossip about the Beast Sect. She also recounted all the embarrassing stories of several of her fellow apprentices. When she mentioned Senior Brother Dongxu, Zhou Li heard a cough beside her, and Hua Shuwen reluctantly stopped talking. She said to Liang Yiliu, "It was such a pity that you didn't come to that card game. I finally convinced Junior Brother to bet his beloved treasure-hunting rat. You don't know how hard it is to find a treasure-hunting rat. Junior Brother only has this one. If we team up and get the treasure-hunting rat, we'll be rich!"
This time it was Liang Yiliu's turn to cough, meaning that her apprentice was there and Hua Shuwen should not destroy her image casually.
Hua Shuwen covered her mouth with her hands and laughed, then said with emotion, "You're not alone anymore."
A faint smile played on Liang Yiliu's lips.
Zhou Li and Liang Yiliu rented a yard here as a temporary place to stay, and naturally invited Hua Shuwen and her senior brother to live with them. Hua Shuwen happily went.
Several people stayed in the yard for half a month. Hua Shuwen liked the hustle and bustle, so after exploring the customs and culture of the island, he pulled everyone to play mahjong. There were just four people to open the cards.
It was Zhou Li's first time playing, but she had Liang Yiliu, an experienced master, by her side, and she also had the luck of a novice, so she immediately won a lot of things. Hua Shuwen was not angry, and generously gave all the bets to Zhou Li, making Zhou Li a little richer.
Zhou Li gets up early every day to practice sword with his master, while Hua Shuwen plays the flute beside him. Dongxu is very bookish, never putting down his book, as if he is living a peaceful life.
Suddenly, a green light swung from the east. Everyone looked up and saw a divine light emanating from it. Hua Shuwen was the first to say, "The Donghua Secret Realm has been opened!"
Everyone looked serious as they saw countless figures flying towards the East China Sea.
"Let's go too." Liang Yiliu said.
Zhou Li nodded.
The luggage had been packed long ago, and they had been resting for a few days to recuperate. The three of them showed their magical powers. Liang Yiliu picked up Zhou Li by the collar as usual, put her on his sword, and headed towards the East China Sea.
Hua Shuwen and Dongxu are both in the Nascent Soul stage. Among the four, Zhou Li is the lowest, but she is protected by three Nascent Soul masters, so she is not panicked.
Liang Yiliu had told Zhou Li about the things in the Donghua Secret Realm a long time ago. The Donghua Secret Realm would separate everyone according to their strength and face different tests. The winner would get a reward and the loser would be sent out. However, the hearts of people in the secret realm were complicated. What was scary was not the tests of the secret realm, but the hearts of people.
Zhou Li understood what Liang Yiliu said. She nodded seriously and promised to protect herself and not believe anyone easily.
Liang Yiliu was actually still worried about Zhou Li. After all, this was the first time Zhou Li left her. Last time in the Jiazi Secret Realm, she could still follow him, but this time she could only rely on Zhou Li alone.
Liang Yiliu touched Zhou Li's head, handed her a jade pendant and said, "If you encounter danger that you cannot solve, crush this jade."
Zhou Li looked at the jade over and over again, but couldn't figure out what kind of powerful magical weapon it was. She asked, "Master, what is this?"
Liang Yiliu just patted her head again and said, "You'll know when you're in danger."
Zhou Li put it away carefully. It seemed that this could be something that could save his life.
Arriving at the entrance of the Donghua Secret Realm, Hua Shuwen looked around, then glanced at Zhou Li worriedly. She handed Zhou Li a bracelet and said, "This is the little black dog I raised. If he encounters danger, just let him out and bite him!"
Senior Brother Dongxu said little. He summoned the spirit bird he had trained, handed a piece of paper to Zhou Li and said, "This is a guide bird. If you get lost, it will help you find the right way."
Zhou Li knew that this was a token of their goodwill, so he took it without hesitation and input his spiritual energy into the paper. The bird then recognized itself as its master and stood on Zhou Li's shoulder, chirping a few times.
Hua Shuwen said, "You can usually put them all in the bracelet and release them when needed."
Zhou Li tentatively put the attractor bird away and then released it again. The attractor bird chirped twice. Zhou Li touched its red crown, and the attractor bird tilted its head and rubbed it against it.
"Okay, let's go." Liang Yiliu proposed this. She didn't say much. The four of them jumped into the Donghua Secret Realm. Zhou Li's eyes blurred and the people next to her disappeared. What appeared in front of her was a spacious hall. Many people had already come in, gathered in twos and threes, waiting for the test to come.
After waiting for a short while, Zhou Li glanced around and saw about fifty people coming into the hall. Then he heard a loud bang and the door in front of him opened. A white light shone on the open space in front of the door, and a phantom appeared in front of everyone.
The phantom showed no joy or sorrow, and its voice floated faintly above the hall.
"There are three levels in this level. Anyone who passes will receive a treasure. Note that only the first place winner can get the treasure. This level is now open."
After saying that, the phantom disappeared, and the people standing in front rushed in impatiently.
Zhou Li didn't know what was going on inside, so he fell behind. When he didn't hear any screams, he walked in slowly.
There was a very long road behind the door. Zhou Li did not see the person who came in front of her. She guessed that they must have left long ago. She didn't know what would appear in front of her. Zhou Li was alert as she walked, and then she came to the first fork in the road. She was stunned for a moment and chose the road on the right. Then she encountered another fork in the road. Just as she was standing at the fork in the road in a daze, she suddenly heard the sound of a snake spitting out its tongue. Zhou Li looked up and saw a snake coiled on the wall, and it pounced on her the moment she looked up!
Even Zhou Li, who had trained and killed many sea beasts in the East China Sea, was almost scared to death. If she had not been on high alert and had not been trained by the Demon King recently, she might not have noticed the snake until it quietly approached her.
Zhou Li drew his sword instantly and chopped it on the snake, making a sound of metal and stone.
The sound of the recoil was so strong that Zhou Li suspected that he had hit a rock.
She cursed softly, blocked the snake's tongue with her backhand, and then jumped up to avoid the movement of the snake's tail.
Zhou Li was almost doubting her life during the fight. It was not like she had not dealt with tricky sea beasts before, but this snake didn't look like a monster at all. Its attack and defense were all maxed out. Where could she start?
Zhou Li suddenly felt something was wrong. From the very beginning, she had never felt that the snake was alive. It was like she was fighting with a dead object.
Another sword thrust out, as if stabbing into gold or stone. Zhou Li suddenly realized that this was a mechanical beast, not an ordinary monster.
Mechanical beasts are different from monsters. They are not afraid of pain or death. They only obey the orders given by their masters. If you want to defeat them, you can only destroy the core of their mechanism.
Zhou Li calmed down and exchanged dozens of moves with the opponent. Finally, she found the place where the mechanical beast would subconsciously avoid her sword. She stabbed it with a sword. With a squeak, the snake skin that originally looked shiny and slippery lost its vitality.
Zhou Li put away her sword and sighed as she looked at the mechanical beast on the ground. She really didn't know who could make such a realistic mechanical beast. It almost confused her.
Zhou Li looked around again and finally figured out his current situation.
This must be a maze, because she just walked through this fork in the road.
Zhou Li's reaction was faster than anyone else's. Without hesitation, she took out the bird guide given by Senior Brother Dongxu, touched the bird's head, and said softly, "Little guy, I need you to take me out."
The guide bird chirped twice and flapped its wings to lead the way. It soon led Zhou Li to find a way out of the maze, but the road was not so simple. Zhou Li also encountered some troublesome mechanisms. After she solved them, she actually ran into the person who came in before her.
Zhou Li stood at the foot of the wall, watching two male cultivators making things difficult for a female cultivator. The female cultivator was obviously exhausted from being teased. They were beating her left and right, acting in a deliberately rude manner. Zhou Li couldn't stand it anymore, so he swung his sword across, and the two male cultivators were pierced through the chest by the sharp sword and died.
Zhou Li walked away with his sword in hand, without even looking at the female cultivator.
The female cultivator covered her tattered clothes and whispered, "Benefactor!"
Zhou Li lowered his eyes and stopped interfering.
She saved people not for the sake of gratitude, but because she was unhappy, so the woman did not have to repay the favor. Zhou Li did not take this matter to heart, followed the guide bird, and finally got out of the maze after passing five levels and killing six generals.
Looking back at the road she came from, Zhou Li didn't know how far ahead she was or whether she was behind, but she put away the guide bird, no longer hesitated, and stepped into the second level.
The room in the second level was very dark and blurry to the naked eye, but fortunately all cultivators had night vision. Zhou Li stood in the room frowning, when suddenly a figure passed by and several hidden weapons suddenly shot towards her!
Zhou Li paused, raised her sword and knocked down two of them, then kicked out, hitting the black shadow in the stomach, then tilted her head back and chopped off one, and another hidden weapon was controlled by its owner and swirled towards her dantian!
With a sneer, Zhou Li used his body skills, turned the tip of the sword and hit the boomerang back!
Hearing a muffled groan, Zhou Li guessed that the other party had been hit by the dart, and Zhou Li swung his sword instantly! Kill him while he is weak!
A flash of frosty sword light froze the ground, the sword's energy unstoppable. With two thuds, the attacker was frozen to the ground. Zhou Li walked over and knocked the ice with the hilt of his sword. He heard a voice: "Party B wins and becomes the champion of Party A. Please wait for the next person to pass the level. Defeat them to advance."
Zhou Li suddenly realized that this was the rule for the second level.
She held the sword and closed her eyes to rest. Although it seemed that she was fighting effortlessly just now, it actually took a lot of her mind and energy.
While waiting, I quickly recovered my strength, as I didn’t know what the next opponent I would face would look like.
Zhou Li waited for a while before someone came in.
She opened her eyes and took the initiative to attack. Before the opponent could react, she set up a sword net and used her strongest killing move to kill the opponent with one blow. She stabbed the opponent's vital point. As expected, the opponent didn't have time to react and was kicked out by Zhou Li.
"Party A wins, the third level begins."
"Do you need to rest?"
This level is quite user-friendly. Zhou Li thought about it and chose to rest. She started the third level after she adjusted her condition.
The scene in front of Zhou Li suddenly changed from darkness to light. She was stunned and looked at the flower field in front of her, wondering curiously, what is this?
Suddenly, a figure as fast as water rushed towards her. The powerful air wave swept the bright flowers into the sky. Zhou Li's expression was stern. She blocked with her sword and was instantly knocked back ten meters.
Zhou Li frowned. This was another difficult opponent, and she couldn't see him. She could only wait for him to attack.
Zhou Li held the sword carefully, and the spiritual energy wrapped around her body. She raised her chin slightly, feeling the wind direction, and suddenly turned around and swung the sword, instantly engaging with the opponent!
The two fought so hard that the flower fields were blown away. After hundreds of moves, Zhou Li's hands holding the sword began to tremble. She felt very strange. The opponent seemed to have a premonition of every move she made and could make countermeasures in advance, but she knew nothing about the opponent and could only resist passively.
If this goes on, she will be the loser sooner or later.
Zhou Li pursed his lips, feeling that he needed to think of a solution and could not continue in this stalemate.
Before she could think of a solution, the opponent attacked again. The sword wind carried the familiar sword energy and killed her. Zhou Li was a little dazed for a moment, and inertia used the same sword intent. The two swords collided in the air, sparking sparks.
Zhou Li suddenly curled up the corners of his mouth. So that's how it is!
She even laughed heartily. She stopped, looked across, and murmured, "So you are me."
So the faster she drew her sword, the faster the opponent drew his sword. Her sword was sharp, and so was the opponent. She suddenly realized that the sword intent used by the opponent was the same as hers. Her opponent was not someone else, but herself!
It only took a moment for him to think and understand, and the fog dissipated instantly, and Zhou Li found a way to solve the problem.
She held her sword horizontally, no longer attacking the opponent, but stabbed at her own vital point with a fierce blow. The mirage in front of her eyes disappeared, and she was unharmed, still standing in front of the door of the second level. It turned out that this was a series of traps since she entered the second level!
"Congratulations, you've passed this level. The prize is just ahead."
Zhou Li walked forward. A golden flower was placed in a jade box. The moment Zhou Li touched it, the efficacy of the golden flower appeared in her mind. This flower was called Golden Wheat Jade. It had the effect of bringing the dead back to life and could also give a cultivator who was exhausted by age an extra sixty years of time.
This is good stuff.
Zhou Li put it into his bracelet and was sent out of the hall.
After she passed customs, everyone who passed customs was sent out.
As soon as Zhou Li went out, she was stared at by dozens of pairs of eyes. "She was the last one to come out! She must be the one who got the reward!" someone shouted.
Zhou Li felt something was wrong.
"Benefactor!" Someone stood in front of Zhou Li and shouted at those eyes, "It's because you are incompetent. The Donghua Secret Realm is for the capable!"
"Don't be afraid, benefactor." The woman who was rescued by Zhou Li turned her head with curved eyes.
She has a pretty face, and at this moment she stands in front of Zhou Li like a tough little grass. Although she is very weak, she still wants to stand in front of Zhou Li and block those harsh words for her.
Zhou Li was about to leave, but when he saw the woman, he hesitated for a moment, then took the woman with him and ran away. The two of them disappeared in a flash, and the people who were sent out of the checkpoint in front of him all cursed.
"Don't let her get away! She must have gotten something good!"
"The one who has the ability will take it! Whoever finds her first will get the thing!"
Zhou Li was very good at sword-wielding because she always remembered a saying: "If you have the green mountains, you will never lack firewood." If you can't win, you have to run away. But she didn't expect that someone would be brought with her to run.
"My benefactor," the woman said, "My name is Li Huanhuan. Thank you so much for saving me."
Zhou Li was concentrating on flying the sword, nodding coldly without expressing any extra thoughts about what was said behind him.
Li Huanhuan chuckled twice, "Although I am very grateful to my benefactor for saving me, let's put things in perspective. I'm sorry, I really need what you got!"
Zhou Li lowered her head and a short knife stabbed out from behind her. The one who attacked her was Li Huanhuan who had just stood in front of her!
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