Eating bizarre things in public upgrades my status; the Special Affairs Bureau wants me to join them

"From what I observe, you don't seem to receive blessings from the upper realm like the Qi cultivators of the Blazing Sun Sect. Are all Qi cultivators of your Zhenhai Sect like this?"

He Li's question came through.

He had noticed before that the Qi cultivators of the Zhenhai Sect, regardless of their leading Nascent Soul experts...

Or perhaps the other Qi cultivators on the flying boat...

They are all legitimate practitioners of Qi cultivation.

He Li couldn't detect any trace of the power left by the blessings from the immortals and gods of the upper realm on them, which was abnormal, considering the information they currently had...

The Qi cultivators in the Middle Realm also knew that calamities were inevitable and were trying every means to increase their strength and save their lives.

They worship the demons, immortals, and gods of the upper realm...

Receiving their blessings, which greatly increases one's combat power, is a shortcut to improving one's strength.

Admittedly, there are risks involved in this matter.

They might even be manipulated by demons, immortals, and gods.

But they all lost their lives in the face of disaster...

Compared to death, or becoming a mindless monster who only knows how to kill and is then mercilessly slaughtered, becoming a servant of the beings of the upper realm is still more beneficial than harmful.

As for Zhenhai Sect... judging from the tone of these people, it is a major sect with countless disciples.

It's normal for a few people not to accept the blessing.

But everyone on that airship was like that...

This is very abnormal.

Therefore, He Li was very curious. He wanted to know what these Qi cultivators of the Zhenhai Sect were thinking, or whether they had a shortcut to increase their strength without relying on the upper realm.

He asked the question out of pure curiosity.

Those Qi cultivators from the Zhenhai Sect who heard his question looked complicated and conflicted, as if they were hesitant.

Upon seeing this, He Li knew he had guessed correctly.

He also wanted to press these Qi practitioners for answers.

But before he could even ask any further questions...

Among those Qi cultivators, one who had reached the Golden Core stage suppressed his fear and feigned composure, saying, "My Zhenhai Sect... is one of the earthly branches of the East Sea Dragon Clan."

"Our sect... has no need to worship the demons and immortals of the upper realm; the Dragon God of the East Sea will naturally protect our cultivators!"

Hmm? The Dragon Clan of the East Sea?

He Li was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

But he immediately realized what he meant and retorted sarcastically, "Protection? Then why didn't you see the East Sea Dragon Clan when you encountered me? Why didn't your worshipped East Sea Dragon God protect you?"

The alchemist was not annoyed upon hearing this.

He knew he had no right to be angry.

The most urgent task now is to find a way to save his life from He Li and then escape back to Zhenhai Sect.

Therefore, he wouldn't be foolish enough to retort recklessly just because of He Li's casual mockery, disregarding the danger. He simply replied in a deep voice, "We are just ordinary disciples of the Zhenhai Sect."

"Why would the dragons care about us?"

"Moreover, the Zhenhai Sect is only one of the branches of the East Sea Dragon Clan in the East Sea and surrounding areas."

"Unless an important member is harmed..."

"For example, the adults responsible for negotiating with the dragons!"

"Or perhaps a Qi cultivator with dragon blood..."

"Otherwise, even if the sect leader is in danger..."

"Even the dragons might not show themselves."

"However..." He paused, and He Li pressed on, "However what? Continue. If you reveal enough important information, you might be able to survive."

"After all, the Heavenly Dao of the Middle Realm is watching me, and besides, your lives are worthless to me..."

"So if it's not necessary..."

"I don't need to insist on getting rid of you."

"But whether you can seize the opportunity is up to you."

He said it with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the Golden Core cultivator and the other Qi Refiners from the Zhenhai Sect behind him immediately lit up. After pondering for two seconds, the Golden Core cultivator spoke again...

"However, I once heard my master mention that the Dragon Clan has been making frequent moves recently, as if they are plotting something big."

"They also place greater emphasis on the land."

"There's a chance there might be dragon cultivators disguised among the ordinary Qi cultivators. If... if you're noticed by them, the dragons might actually show themselves!"

"If you don't want to be targeted by the dragons..."

"Some things are best thought through carefully!"

The Dragon Clan is making frequent moves? He Li ignored the warnings and threats hidden in the other party's subsequent words.

He only cared about what the dragons wanted to do.

"What else do you know about dragons?"

He pressed for more details.

Immediately, standing behind the Golden Core cultivator, the female cultivator, whose cultivation level was also Golden Core but was clearly weaker than the previous cultivator, cautiously looked at He Li and spoke in response...

"I...I know some..."

"There were rumors that a special dragon had escaped from the Abyss Prison."

"At that time, many dragons appeared to hunt him down."

"Although I don't know the specifics of the dragon race..."

"But my master said that if we can provide useful information about that strange dragon, the dragon race will value us and reward us, and then there will be more Qi cultivators with dragon blood."

"Perhaps it's related to this matter as well."

A strange dragon? He Li's eyelids twitched.

He instinctively thought of ten cents.

So He Li tentatively asked, "The strange dragon you're talking about, does it have ten heads?"

"It seems...so!"

The female Qi cultivator nodded.

As expected? He Li was surprised rather than pleased upon hearing this. He was puzzled as to why the East Sea Dragon Clan wanted to find Ten Horns. Was it really just because that guy had escaped from prison?

It seems unlikely, since the Ten Horns was already very weak when it was about to reach the end of its lifespan and descend to the lower realm.

The dragons have no reason to hunt it down.

Even if they were to pursue them, they wouldn't make too much of a fuss.

But given the current situation...

It's obvious that the Ten Horns is hiding an important secret, which is why the Dragon Clan is in a hurry and has mobilized a large number of people to hunt down the Ten Horns. But... what secrets could the Ten Horns possibly have?

If it truly has a secret, then Shifang, which collaborates with Shijiao, should be very aware of it.

It would definitely be written in his notes as well.

However, the result was that even after he killed Ten Horns and Ten Directions, they did not reveal any earth-shattering secrets, and all He Li gained was a golden mask and a dragon egg.

"The Golden Four-Eyed Mask originally belonged to the lower realm."

"So it definitely has nothing to do with ten cents."

"Then...could it be that dragon egg?"

He Li couldn't help but think this way.

But then he laughed at himself, after all, that dragon egg had almost died back then.

That was the offspring abandoned by the Ten Horns. How could the dragon race care so much about such a half-dead dragon egg? Why would they make such a fuss and search everywhere for the Ten Horns to catch it?

"Never mind, I haven't even had any contact with dragons yet."

"This matter has nothing to do with me now."

"Even if we want to find out, let's wait and see if we come across more information later."

"Let's not create any unnecessary trouble now."

He shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Anyway, the situation of Zhenhai Sect is now clear.

They don't worship the demons, immortals, gods, or spirits of the upper realm because they can obtain resources and power from the East Sea Dragon Clan. Since that's the case, there's nothing to care about.

So He Li changed the subject: "Has anyone like a wizard ever approached your sect before?"

"A wizard?" Everyone shook their heads.

"On this journey to Shu, besides Huanghua Temple, are there any other places along the way related to Dingfeng Xian? Or... are there gathering places for those Qi cultivators who worship him?"

He Li then raised a new question.

Some people in the crowd shook their heads, while others nodded...

"I've heard... the Zhu family once received a favor from the Immortal Dingfeng!"

"The Zhu family lives on Baiyun Mountain at night..."

"There should be many followers of the Wind-Stabilizing Immortal there."

"Yes, yes, I've heard about that too."

"That mountain is 8,300 li away from here. It is where the Hundred Thousand Demon Mountains were severed. It is said that when the calamity occurred, there were many strange monsters and demons in the vicinity, and ordinary people could not approach it..."

The Zhu family? The Ten Thousand Demon Mountain?

There are also many demons and monsters that are difficult for ordinary people to approach?

Upon hearing this, He Li's eyes shone with a brilliant blue-gold light.

Strange things are dangerous to others...

It is a troublesome thing that is difficult to deal with and even if you risk killing it, you are unlikely to gain any benefit. However, this extremely dangerous creature is a "great tonic" for He Li!

"I haven't been eating weird or strange things much lately."

"The probability of encountering powerful and strange monsters along the way is really not high, especially since the main thing I'm doing is quite simple."

"But since there are strange things near the Zhu family's residence..."

"That's certainly something we can go check out."

"Anyway, we still have to deal with Dingfengxian's matter. It's not certain that we can contact Huanghua Temple. Dealing with the Zhu family to draw his hatred will make it easier to contact him..."

He Li is full of bad intentions.

Then, he asked many questions about the Shu Kingdom, as well as the Middle Realm and the Upper Realm.

Unfortunately, the amount of useful information obtained was limited.

Seeing this, He Li lost the will to ask any more questions.

He suddenly opened his Purple Mansion...

Then, amidst the panicked, fearful, and resentful gazes of the Qi cultivators from the Zhenhai Sect, they were all taken away, since killing too many people here would invite attacks from the Heavenly Dao of the Middle Realm.

However, by using the Purple Mansion Space to take them away and then killing them, you can avoid this mechanism!