When the power of the fifth Wood Spirit Pill was finally exhausted, Li Gou managed to clear his second meridian.
His cultivation level advanced to the second layer of Qi Refining.
The space in the Treasure Gathering Bottle expanded once again, doubling in size.
However, Li Gou frowned slightly.
The effectiveness of the fifth Wood Spirit Pill was almost halved compared to the first one—it lasted only half a day.
The efficiency of absorbing spiritual energy had not increased.
Li Gou thought of a term: resistance.
It seemed that the more a certain type of pill was consumed, the less effective it would become, eventually becoming useless, requiring a switch to a different pill.
Of course, that was something to consider for the future.
At this moment, Li Gou's cultivation level had already improved. This not only meant that he had much more true energy in his body but also that he could learn more powerful spells.
Li Gou quickly chose an upgraded version of the Spiritwood Sword Technique, a First-Grade Intermediate Spell—Spiritwood Sword Flight Technique!
There was no other reason for his choice: flying with a sword looked incredibly cool and sounded thrilling.
However, when he actually started practicing it, Li Gou found it incredibly difficult.
For a cultivator at the second layer of Qi Refining, a First-Grade Intermediate Spell was barely usable.
Not only did it consume a massive amount of spiritual energy, but controlling the balance was also as challenging as riding a hoverboard in his previous life. Li Gou fell countless times before he could barely manage to fly a few meters at low altitude, albeit shakily.
Just then, a sinister laugh came from behind him.
"Hahaha, I've finally caught up with you, brat!"
Li Gou turned his head and saw a red streak of light coming toward him.
Within the red light, a red-bearded man had a vicious grin on his face.
Li Gou was so frightened he almost fell off his Spiritwood Sword. Wasn't this man one of the two cultivators he had seen on his way to Sanhe County?!
This guy coming after him with such murderous intent couldn't mean anything good!
More importantly, the aura of this red-bearded man was much stronger than Li Gou's.
As a novice cultivator, Li Gou knew he couldn't win in a direct fight.
Of all the strategies, escaping was the best!
These thoughts occurred in an instant.
Without any hesitation, Li Gou crazily poured spiritual energy into the Spiritwood Sword, propelling it forward. He didn't care if his flight was shaky; he just needed to escape.
Qingyun Shangren, who was chasing him closely, was a bit puzzled. The Flight Technique was a First-Grade Intermediate Spell and required at least the second layer of Qi Refining to practice.
This brat only had two Wood Spirit Pills. Even if he were a genius, without the aid of pills, it would be impossible to reach the second layer of Qi Refining in just a few days.
It seemed that this brat must have some treasure on him!
If he could obtain that treasure, his cultivation would soar to the heavens!
Qingyun Shangren's heart burned with excitement, and he pushed the fiery red wheel beneath his feet even harder, increasing his speed.
Li Gou was secretly cursing his luck. A few days ago, he had witnessed a cultivator's pursuit and had managed to pick up some leftovers.
He never expected that today he would become the target of such a pursuit himself.
If things went wrong, his life might end today, and his journey through this world would be over.
This cultivation world was indeed harsh and cruel!
As this thought crossed his mind, a faint whistling sound accompanied by scorching heat came from behind.
"Whoosh!"
A fireball flew right past Li Gou's face.
The searing, dangerous aura made Li Gou's heart race.
If he hadn't been flying so unsteadily, that fireball might have hit him.
Judging by the power he felt, if it hit him, he would have been turned to ashes immediately.
"Brat, consider yourself lucky."
Qingyun Shangren cursed, pulling out a translucent stone emitting a fiery red light, seemingly to replenish his spiritual energy.
Li Gou's own spiritual energy was also running low. Seeing the red-bearded man holding a stone that seemed to restore his true energy, he remembered that his brocade pouch contained over a dozen similar stones.
Without hesitation, Li Gou pulled out a green-glowing stone and held it in his hand, attempting to absorb its spiritual energy.
As the wood-attribute spiritual energy flowed steadily into his meridians, Li Gou let out a sigh of relief.
With these stones, he could at least ensure that the red-bearded man wouldn't catch up to him immediately.
"Whoosh!"
Another fireball shot toward him.
This time, having learned from experience, Li Gou quickly ascended as soon as he heard the sound.
The fireball flew beneath his feet, and Li Gou gritted his teeth and turned around, using a First-Grade Basic Spell—Thorn Technique—against the red-bearded man.
A thorn made of wood-attribute spiritual energy shot out from Li Gou's hand, heading straight for Qingyun Shangren.
"Petty tricks!"
Qingyun Shangren grabbed the thorn, and a flame rose from his palm. The fire instantly traveled along the thorn toward Li Gou, who quickly severed his connection with the thorn.
Hiss—
Li Gou sucked in a cold breath.
This red-bearded man not only had a higher cultivation level but also possessed fire spells that countered his own wood-based techniques.
It was just as he had thought—if he fought head-on, it would only lead to death.
"Brat, I advise you to surrender obediently," Qingyun Shangren threatened coldly from behind. "I'll give you a swift end. Otherwise, when I catch you, I'll make you wish for death but find none!"
Li Gou naturally paid no heed and sped up his escape.
"Hmph, brat, you brought this upon yourself," Qingyun Shangren continued to sneer. "I only have a few low-grade spirit stones in my storage pouch. Once you exhaust them, I'll catch you and make you suffer!"
Li Gou's heart skipped a beat. The red-bearded man didn't look old, yet he referred to himself as an elder and mentioned something about his "storage pouch" containing only a few "low-grade spirit stones."
Although Li Gou didn't know what a storage pouch or low-grade spirit stones were, he realized one thing: the mysterious brocade pouch he had was actually a storage pouch, and it originally belonged to this man.
Wait, wasn't this storage pouch supposed to belong to the green-robed old man?
To test this suspicion, Li Gou shouted, "Nonsense! This storage pouch clearly belonged to that green-haired turtle elder!"
"Insolent! How dare you call me, Qingyun Shangren, a green-haired turtle! Brat, no matter if you surrender or not, you won't die a good death!" Qingyun Shangren roared in anger.
Hiss—
So it was true!
Although Li Gou didn't know what method the green-haired turtle elder had used to take over the red-bearded man's body, this strange situation made Li Gou resolve to be cautious in the future.
If he ever faced similar circumstances again, he would make sure to destroy the bodies thoroughly, just in case he managed to win, but ended up being counterattacked.
But who knew if there would be such an opportunity again?
Li Gou sighed inwardly.
He didn't know how long he had been flying, but in his hand was the last green crystal containing a large amount of wood-attribute spiritual energy.
All the other crystals had turned dull and lifeless after being drained of spiritual energy.
Just then, a faint sobbing sound came from nearby.
"Wuuu... my child, where are you..."
Li Gou felt a chill run down his spine but followed the sound, noticing a bamboo forest shrouded in white mist not far ahead.
"The Phantom Ghost Bamboo Forest!"
Qingyun Shangren also heard the sobbing and saw the bamboo forest. He couldn't help but exclaim in fear, slowing his pursuit significantly.
Seeing Qingyun Shangren so frightened, Li Gou gritted his teeth and rushed straight into the bamboo forest.
Instead of waiting for his spiritual energy to run out and getting caught by Qingyun Shangren, he would rather take his chances and see if he could survive in this bamboo forest that even Qingyun Shangren feared.