I Don't Want to Get Hurt, So I'll Max Out My Defense - Chapter 465
Chapter 465: Chapter 466 Thanks a lot to you
Seeing the unremarkable small stone platform in the center of the pool, flames almost burst from Mei Changqing’s eyes.
During the battle with Ling Xue’er and the beggar-like man among others, the altar was his final confidence. Yet at the critical moment, it failed him, leaving no trace of its existence to be felt, as if that Li Xiaobai had taken it away.
Had it not been for the altar’s disappearance, he wouldn’t have ended up in such a wretched state.
The other people in the hall also looked curiously at the small stone platform. It was a stone platform in the shape of an altar, carved with five-colored array patterns. Though inscrutable, they could instinctively sense the aura of years it had weathered.
This altar held a story, and it was ancient!
It was a relic from the Ancient Era!
However, they couldn’t fathom what use this object could have; altars were too ancient and profound, hard to trace back to their origins.
Liuren’s eyes shone with excitement as she felt that today was truly a day of continuous discoveries. This altar exuded an aura of antiquity and its preservation was so intact, it must possess a formidable power beyond ordinary people’s imagination. Today’s secret would probably be no small matter.
“How so, didn’t you say you didn’t recognize the altar? Now you recognize it again?”
Li Xiaobai looked at Mei Changqing, speaking with a hint of a teasing smile.
“You brat, you were the one plotting against me in the shadows. If it weren’t for you stealing the altar, this City Lord wouldn’t have ended up like this!”
Mei Changqing no longer possessed his usual scholarly composure; at this moment, he wanted nothing more than to devour Li Xiaobai. To him, the altar represented the capital for his ascension to the Upper Realm, and now that it had fallen into someone else’s hands, and he was the last to know, it was infuriating.
“Heh, nobody knows what intentions the entity within the altar has. In the hands of someone like you with unrighteous intentions, it would only cause worse consequences. Speak, what secrets lie within the altar exactly? What kind of agreement did you reach with that person?”
Li Xiaobai’s expression was indifferent as he stared intently at Mei Changqing, pressing for an answer. He had heard clearly the conversation between Mei Changqing and that mysterious person that day; clearly, the mysterious person wanted Mei Changqing to fulfill a certain task for him.
“This…”
Mei Changqing’s complexion changed several times, his brow tightly knotted in conflict.
“Speak up, if you tell, I will ensure you don’t die.”
Liuren said with a detached look in her eyes.
Mei Changqing’s body shivered, and ultimately, he succumbed.
“I do not know the origins of this altar; when I found it, it was already situated deep in the frontier…”
Mei Changqing recounted encountering the altar about a year ago while exterminating a Flesh Mountain in the Mahayana Realm deep in the frontier. Coincidentally, he discovered the Five-colored Altar.
Being in the frontier and aware of some ancient secrets, he tried many methods to activate the altar, finally succeeding with a drop of Thousand-Year Ambrosia, thus enabling the Formation to communicate with that mysterious existence.
“Who was that person?”
Li Xiaobai continued to inquire.
“I do not know; he was very secretive and never revealed any information about himself. He seemed surprised when we first met as well,”
Mei Changqing explained.
“What place does the other side of the altar connect with? Could it be the Upper Realm?”
“I do not know about that either. The person refused to say anything. But he could easily grant me a vast amount of Immortal Spirit Qi. Surely, where he resides must be more conducive to cultivation than the Immortal Spirit Continent.”
Mei Changqing stated with conviction.
“What did he want you to do for him? Surely, he wouldn’t just grant you Immortal Spirit Qi for no reason?”
Li Xiaobai asked patiently, continuing the questioning.
“That person seemed very interested in the situation on the Immortal Spirit Continent, and he learned a lot from me,”
“After finding out that Elder Tianwu had almost monopolized the Immortal Spirit Qi these past two times, he became very angry. He gave me a lot of one-time Immortal Spirit Qi to suppress the old beggar and prevent him from interfering with the next occurrence of Immortal Spirit Qi,”
“And he also insisted that I ensure the Immortal Spirit Qi be distributed evenly among each powerful individual, forbidding any single person from monopolizing it.”
Mei Changqing looked at Liuren, hesitating somewhat as he spoke. This information was critical; it certainly contained a major secret he was unwilling to share. However, at this moment, he had no choice.
“Why is that?”
Liuren was also intrigued. Another mysterious figure, who could easily bestow a large amount of Immortal Spirit Qi on Mei Changqing and even suppress the old beggar. It should be noted that while the old beggar could not control his own cultivation level, not just anyone could suppress him easily.
For Mei Changqing to suppress his opponent, he would have to surpass the old beggar in the amount of Immortal Spirit Qi.
What kind of cultivator could grant such an enormous amount of Immortal Spirit Qi at will?
And what was the purpose of wanting to divide the Immortal Spirit Qi equally among everyone?
“I don’t know about that, but that person said that after the distribution of Immortal Spirit Qi, I need to reactivate the altar. He promised that he would then grant me a Cultivation Technique that can utilize Immortal Spirit Qi. With this technique and a bit of cultivation, ascending to the Upper Realm wouldn’t be difficult,”
Mei Changqing recounted everything he knew.
Everyone listening was bewildered. On the surface, it seemed like he shared a lot of key information, but every piece ended abruptly without follow-up. After much thought, they concluded that the entity beyond the altar had designs on the Immortal Spirit Continent.
Definitely not something good!
“So what exactly does that person want to do?”
“This… I do not know.”
“Then why would he grant you a cultivation technique?”
“Because I opened the altar for him, I guess.”
Mei Changqing was somewhat unsure. He recognized there were many loopholes in the story, which barely held water. From beginning to end, he didn’t understand the other party’s demands and suspected the promised technique for controlling Immortal Spirit Qi might just be a pie in the sky.
But the temptation of that pie was too great, too difficult for him to resist.
Which cultivator wouldn’t want to ascend to the Upper Realm, to pursue greater power?
Now that there was an opportunity in front of him, the temptation was too hard to resist.
Great!
It was clear now. This guy was just a pawn, knowing very little about the mysterious figure on the other side of the altar. The useful information was scant. It seemed that to understand the stranger’s background, one had to make contact themselves.
But before making contact, preparation was necessary. Otherwise, if they aroused the stranger’s caution, it would not be easy to extract information afterward.
“We will discuss this matter later. Where’s the Thousand-Year Ambrosia?”
Li Xiaobai beckoned, signaling Mei Changqing to be a bit more forthcoming.
With a look full of dejection and helplessness, Mei Changqing slowly took out a Space Ring from his chest. Li Xiaobai didn’t say a word, snatched it immediately, and slid it onto his own finger.
“That settles it then. The issue of the first battlefield is in the past. We will not pursue it further, and you need not thank us,”
Li Xiaobai waved his hand with an air of magnanimity.
Fire flickered in Mei Changqing’s eyes, but he dared not act rashly. Instead, he forced out a few words through clenched teeth, “I freaking thank you!”