As the light first began to shine, Liu Buli and his companions had already turned their gazes in that direction. Upon seeing the man and the group of people behind him appear, Liu Buli couldn't help but furrow his brow.
It seemed trouble had found them again.
In fact, it was quite normal for time flow to vary within a secret realm.
Liu Buli had been wondering about the extent of this temporal discrepancy. However, upon seeing the man and hearing his words, he was certain—
The difference in time flow within this secret realm was perhaps far greater than he had imagined.
He felt that even if he hadn't spent a full year studying with Qiyu, he should have at least experienced several months. Yet, the cultivators following them had taken so long just to reach this point, proving the magnitude of the time issue.
The man who entered first had a considerable cultivation level. He might have been a rogue cultivator, or perhaps Liu Buli simply hadn't paid much attention to others, as after much thought, he couldn't recall any information about this man.
But it didn't matter.
He glanced at the man, who was already appraising them with the gaze of someone inspecting the quality of goods.
Liu Buli narrowed his eyes. Before he could speak, the man took the initiative to speak again. Licking his lips, his eyes gleamed with an utterly repulsive light. He said, "Liu Buli, I've admired your face for a long time. I've always wanted to find an opportunity like this, but I never did. I never expected the secret realm to fulfill my wish and to see such a beautiful woman. My trip is truly worthwhile."
In truth, due to Liu Buli's appearance, there had never been a shortage of people in the cultivation world who looked at him with such a gaze.
And Liu Buli, being a man, understood perfectly what that look meant.
Frowning, before Liu Buli could say anything, Lu Wuming stepped forward, blocking Liu Buli.
The man clearly saw Lu Wuming, but his gaze held only disdain and contempt. He said, "Boy, I advise you to step aside obediently now. If you don't, I'll toy with your dao companion right in front of you, and then I'll make sure you die a miserable death."
Given the conspicuous actions Liu Buli had taken previously, the fact that Lu Wuming was his dao companion was practically common knowledge throughout the cultivation world.
Although they didn't recognize these people, it was entirely reasonable for these people to recognize them based on Liu Buli's reputation alone.
Upon hearing the man's words, Lu Wuming's expression immediately turned grim. His eyes turned blood-red, but he hesitated for a moment, then sought Liu Buli's permission before asking, "Master, if I kill all of them here, Grandmaster wouldn't mind, would she?"
Liu Buli didn't quite know how to answer his question. Their gazes converged on Qiyu, but to their surprise, Qiyu didn't discuss the possibility of him acting. She merely frowned slightly and said, "These people's auras are a bit off. You need to be careful. I can't assist you with any attacks, so..."
"Hey, with you lot like this, do you really think you can beat us?" The man in the lead heard Qiyu's words and immediately burst into laughter. He said, "If it were in the past, you might have had the strength to fight me. But now is completely different, and I'm not who I used to be. If you judge me by your old standards, you'll suffer greatly!"
He spoke with smug satisfaction.
It was evident that he was very pleased with his current state.
Liu Buli stared at the man with a complicated expression for a while, then finally chose to speak truthfully. He said, "To be honest, I have no impression of you at all. Have we met before? I don't know who you are. But if you've become stronger than before, then congratulations."
His words, while not overtly hurtful, were incredibly insulting.
The man's previously smug expression immediately changed.
However, he quickly regained his composure, glaring at Liu Buli. He let out a cold laugh and said, "You can only afford to say such things to me now. For the sake of your face, after I deal with your dao companion, I'll still listen to you if you want to apologize."
As his words fell, he raised his long sword, assuming a stance ready to attack at any moment.
Another cultivator beside him quietly reminded him, "Big brother, shouldn't we look for any treasures nearby first? Although Liu Buli and this woman are very interesting, if we don't get the treasures, that person might..."
At this mention, the man's expression immediately turned strange. He seemed somewhat nervous and fearful, but he quickly recovered his composure. Glaring at the man who reminded him, he said fiercely, "There are only a few people here. If there were any treasures, they would have already taken them! If we don't subdue them completely, do you think they'll tell us where the treasures are? So, do as I say! You go deal with Liu Buli's dao companion, and I'll deal with Liu Buli himself! Do you understand!"
With his explanation, those who followed him seemed to find it reasonable. So, one by one, they stepped forward, assuming an offensive posture towards Lu Wuming.
Unlike their tense and vigilant state, Lu Wuming merely glanced at Qiyu again. After she nodded at him, Lu Wuming understood that Qiyu was giving him permission to act. He licked his lips and asked Liu Buli again, "Master, is it okay to kill them all?"
"Leave the leader. If he wants to fight me, I'll play with him. You don't move."
Liu Buli said this as he drew his own long sword.
He had been busy learning alchemy recently and hadn't wielded a sword in a long time. Picking up the sword now felt a little unfamiliar.
But that was for the best.
After all, once they left here, they might have to face the ghost race directly. In that case, it wouldn't be a bad idea to practice their skills on these cultivators first.
With his mind made up, Liu Buli directly drew his sword and attacked the man. As Liu Buli moved, flames spread across the ground. Lotus patterns crept towards the man, and as they drew closest, a long sword emerged from the center of the blooming flowers, slicing directly towards the man's arm without hesitation.
This was a new move Liu Buli had devised himself.
Although he hadn't tested it on anyone yet, with a willing test subject presenting himself, he decided to try it on the man.
The effect was as he had anticipated.
The man's attention was focused on the karmic fire lotuses he had created, so naturally, he hadn't expected the appearance of the long sword. Liu Buli twisted his wrist, and the sword immediately cut through the man's arm. The excessively sharp blade continued its sweep, severing more than half of the man's arm.
Blood gushed out, revealing stark white bone.
Seeing this, Liu Buli couldn't help but furrow his brow. He admitted his technique was somewhat unexpected, but the man couldn't even block this, and was injured so severely at the start. Who gave him the confidence to say those words earlier?
Liu Buli was filled with questions.
However, the man looked down at his wound and showed no sign of panic. Instead, he let out a light laugh and said, "Liu Buli, everyone says you're very powerful. Is this all you've got?"
Liu Buli found his composure difficult to understand.
But in the next moment, he understood.
Watching the man's arm regenerate and return to normal at a visible speed, Liu Buli's brow tightened. He gritted his teeth and asked, "You... are you from the ghost race?"