In his previous life, it had taken him over a hundred years to reach the Destiny Realm. But in this life, in just over a year approaching two, he had already touched the threshold of the Destiny Realm.
But as he continued to push higher, his progress would only grow slower and slower.
Still, his current strength was far too weak—he couldn't possibly control his destiny.
Nie Li felt a pressing urgency. Cultivating in the Dragon Ruins Domain, mere diligence or raw talent was useless. You needed enormous quantities of cultivation resources, especially spirit stones or spirit stone essence!
Many geniuses from the lower realms had pledged allegiance to the great families, becoming their subordinates. Those who managed to grow on their own were exceedingly rare. Nie Li refused to join another family and be controlled by them, which meant his future path would be brutally difficult.
Those around him, including the likes of
The words from
Murong Yu scanned the surroundings but couldn't locate Nie Li. He furrowed his brow—could it be that Nie Li had used some kind of spatial secret technique and already fled elsewhere?
Just then, Hua Ling's subordinate flew over, swept his gaze across the area, and found no trace of Nie Li.
"That kid Nie Li got away." He glanced at Murong Yu and said with a smile, "Senior Brother Murong, that kid couldn't have gone far. We should still be able to track him down!"
Murong Yu gave him an ambiguous look, walked over to his side, and suddenly threw a punch that slammed into the man's stomach. He said with a cold sneer, "Though I don't much like that kid Nie Li, I like you even less. I hate it most when people try to use me as their pawn!"
The man took the punch and immediately doubled over like a shrimp, his face contorted in agony.
"You—" The man glared at Murong Yu furiously. Although he too was a Second Destiny Realm expert, he was still far weaker than Murong Yu.
"You dare glare at me?" Murong Yu raised his foot and stomped on the man's head, driving it into the ground. A sinister smile crept across his lips. "When you see someone stronger, you show respect. Understand?"
"Senior Brother Murong… I'm sorry!" The man felt like his skull was about to be crushed and finally managed to force out a few words.
"That's more like it!" Murong Yu snorted, picked up the cloth bag of soul scales beside the man, and said dismissively. "Only hunted down a little over two thousand demon spirits? Pathetic!" He calmly pocketed all the soul scales.
The man was seething with rage, but with his head still pinned under Murong Yu's foot, he forced a smile and said, "Senior Brother Murong, please excuse my meagerness. This is all the soul scales I have—please, take them all!"
Murong Yu nudged the man with his foot and burst into laughter. "Now that's more like it! Bark like a dog three times, and I'll let you go!"
"Woof woof woof." The man hesitated for a long time. Feeling Murong Yu's foot pressing down heavier and heavier, he finally barked out three times.
Murong Yu let out three wild laughs. "Not bad, not bad! You're a natural!"
Although Nie Li had entered the phased state, he could see this scene with perfect clarity. Murong Yu was far worse than
Without strength, one could only submit to being bullied!
Nie Li clenched his fists tightly. He slowly slipped into a stretch of ruins, and with the rubble providing cover, he deactivated his phasing technique and immediately activated his Swift Movement technique. His entire body transformed into a streak of light as he shot off toward the far distance.
Sensing a faint fluctuation in aura, Murong Yu furrowed his brow. He let out a cold snuort. "Didn't expect him to run that fast. But escaping from my grasp won't be that easy!"
Just as Murong Yu was about to give chase, something occurred to him. He stopped in his tracks, a sinister smile playing at the corner of his lips. "Since you're so skilled at hunting demon spirits and so quick about it, why don't you keep hunting? I'll deal with you later!"
If Murong Yu caught Nie Li, the most he could do was beat him up. If he beat Nie Li too badly, someone might step in to protect him. It would be far better to simply reap the rewards.
Nie Li flew at top speed for several hundred li. When he saw no sign of Murong Yu giving chase, he furrowed his brow. With Murong Yu's strength, if he had pursued, escape would have been nearly impossible. After thinking for a moment, he understood.
"You want to use me? Not a chance!"
Better to be a shattered piece of jade than a whole tile! Since Murong Yu had him marked, he might as well just leave! If he kept hunting soul scales, it would only benefit Murong Yu!
He hadn't expected that venturing into the Ghost Ruins would bring such a crushing setback. It seemed hunting demon spirits for spirit stones wasn't a viable path. Besides Murong Yu, far too many people had their eyes on him. Even if he collected plenty of soul scales, they'd easily be snatched away. When Murong Yu had been tormenting him, neither
And on top of that, both Hua Ling's men and