Cultivation: Immunity to Negative Effects

CRACK! CRACK!

Zhang Chi flew out of the passage, and the portal behind him sealed shut once more.

Even when Zhang Chi approached it, it wouldn’t open.

However, Zhang Chi wasn’t worried. The one-month time limit for the Exploration wasn’t an arbitrary rule set by the major Immortal Sects, but a calculated outcome.

Once the time was up, no matter where they were in the Secret Realm, they would be repelled—or rather, directly teleported out.

With that settled, Zhang Chi prepared to head for the Oasis.

BOOM!

But just then, the yellow sand below suddenly erupted. A towering, twenty-foot-tall humanoid black metal Puppet shot into the sky and threw a vicious punch at Zhang Chi.

This metal Puppet greatly resembled the three he had encountered earlier and likely belonged to the same Cultivator. However, this one was far more powerful—it was already at Tier Two Peak quality.

BAM!

But Zhang Chi, relying on his powerful Divine Thought, had already detected the Puppet. Entirely unafraid, he immediately activated his Celestial Net Evil Body to its full potential and threw a devastating punch from above.

The fists collided, instantly sending sand and stone flying. The Puppet was thrown heavily to the ground. Zhang Chi gave it a cold glance before continuing his flight, soon disappearing deep into the desert.

In truth, he wanted to destroy the Puppet and its master, but the Puppet’s Level was too high. Killing it would obviously not be easy.

He could do it if he used the Wood Carving, but that would be an undeniable waste.

The key thing was that he wouldn’t gain much from destroying the Puppet, and its master wasn’t even here.

Therefore, Zhang Chi simply made a mental note of the incident, deciding to settle the score with the Puppet’s master later.

After all, if he hadn’t been strong enough, that sneak attack would have been fatal.

’That kid... is he the one who withstood my three Puppets? He didn’t even reveal his true Body Refining Cultivation back then?’

’And judging from his aura, he shouldn’t be a Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivator, right? I’ve memorized the auras of all those guys, and he’s not one of them.’

’Could it be that some Immortal Sect managed to deceive the Golden Core masters and sneak in two Foundation Establishment Peak cultivators?’

The Puppet watched Zhang Chi’s departing figure without giving chase. Instead, it adopted a human-like, contemplative expression.

Then, the Puppet used a Secret Technique to once again conceal its aura and disappeared deep beneath the yellow sand.

’This won’t do. I need to increase my strength again.’

Meanwhile, Zhang Chi had flown far from the passage. Instead of heading directly for the Oasis, he found a secluded spot, set up an Array, and then took out the Black Coffin.

Clearly, that Puppet had given him a sense of crisis.

He also realized a problem: most of the opponents he would face from now on would be at Foundation Establishment Peak.

Yet he was only at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. Even with his immense strength and numerous methods, it still wasn’t enough.

Fortunately, he had collected quite a few Storage Bags along the way, and they contained a large sum of Spirit Stones.

Using these Spirit Stones to upgrade Corpse Puppet No. 1 was undoubtedly the choice that would yield the most immediate results.

’If only I had a High Tier Array. Then I could trap my target with the Array and use a Talisman Treasure to kill them. Dealing with that Demon Python wouldn’t have been so complicated.’

’It’s a pity High Tier Arrays are so expensive and hard to come by. Still, once the Corpse Puppet is upgraded, using it in conjunction with Arrays and other methods should be enough to buy me the time I need.’

With this in mind, Zhang Chi immediately dumped a large quantity of Spirit Stones into the Black Coffin, and the Corpse Puppet’s strength began to rise.

From killing five Cultivators and looting a few other bodies, and considering some of those Cultivators had killed others in turn, he had amassed a total of over 360,000 Spirit Stones.

And that was only because these Cultivators, like him, had surely prepared some trump cards or consumed a large amount of Spirit Stones to boost their strength before entering the Secret Realm.

Otherwise, his haul would have been even greater.

After all, most of the Cultivators who died in the passage earlier were at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage and were naturally worth a considerable sum.

In fact, just counting Talisman Treasures, Zhang Chi now had three. Aside from his original one, the others were all spoils of war. They just weren’t as important as Core Formation Spiritual Objects, so he hadn’t paid them much mind.

’It’s still far from enough, but the improvement is noticeable. If I can just find a way to get another large batch of Spirit Stones, I should be able to successfully advance the Corpse Puppet.’

The Spirit Stones were quickly consumed. The Corpse Puppet was still at Tier Two Middle Stage, but it was already more than halfway to the Late Stage.

Its Combat Power had increased significantly as a result. Although there was no qualitative leap, the improvement was still very good.

After that, Zhang Chi resumed his flight toward the end of the desert.

Along the way, he discovered that while the desert had almost no Spirit Medicine, it was home to many powerful Demon Beasts.

There were even some at Tier Two Peak.

Moreover, the sky here was low, with a mist full of destructive energy hanging above. Flying here, it was difficult to avoid being ambushed by Demon Beasts.

However, with his powerful Divine Thought, he was able to detect the Demon Beasts’ hiding spots in advance and avoid them completely. His journey was unimpeded, albeit with a slightly winding route.

He had no intention of hunting the Demon Beasts. There were too many of them here; if he couldn’t end a fight quickly, he would likely be swarmed.

And the Demon Beasts he could kill quickly were of relatively low value and would burrow deep into the desert at a moment’s notice, so they weren’t worth wasting too much time on.

Thus, he soon reached the edge of the desert and, just as expected, saw the Oasis.

But seven Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators were already there, waiting.

They hadn’t entered the Oasis. Upon seeing Zhang Chi, their eyes lit up, and they flew over together.

"May I ask for your name and sect, fellow cultivator? We’ve been waiting for you."

"That’s right, that’s right!"

The Cultivators were polite as soon as they approached.

Zhang Chi, however, noticed that they were all showing their true faces.

It turned out that only ten Foundation Establishment Peak cultivators had entered in total. They all knew of each other, and even a disguise couldn’t change one’s Magical Power aura. Certain Magical Artifacts and other means would also give them away.

Therefore, they didn’t bother with disguises.

But Zhang Chi was clearly an exception, which made the seven Cultivators quite curious.

"Since I am wearing a mask and a Conical Hat, I naturally have no intention of revealing my identity. So please, don’t ask."

"As for all of you, since you’ve made it here, why haven’t you entered the Oasis? And why were you waiting for me?"

Zhang Chi didn’t answer their question, instead retreating a short distance and asking his own coldly.

In truth, even before he got close to the Oasis, he had sensed a powerful aura hidden within.

But he couldn’t be sure what it was, and he didn’t want these Cultivators to know how powerful his Divine Thought perception was.

"Haha, it’s fine if you don’t wish to say, fellow cultivator. As long as you’re willing to join forces with us, that’s all that matters."

"To be honest with you, this Oasis is filled with Spirit Medicine, but it’s occupied by a Fake Core Level Demon Beast. The Oasis has practically become its lair."

"That’s right. We were attacked by that beast right as we were about to enter. That’s why we’ve been forced to wait outside for more people to arrive, so we can team up and kill it!"

Although the seven Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators were curious, they didn’t press the issue. They chimed in one after another, quickly explaining the reason.