This tenacious vitality caused Wu Tao to sigh deeply, marveling at how high this person's cultivation truly was.
Wu Tao fetched hot water, carefully picked up a towel, and began to wipe the middle-aged man. It took over an hour to clean the bloodstains from his body.
During this process, his heart pounded with a mixture of fear and excitement.
Before this, Wu Tao hadn't realized it. It was only now that he discovered the severity of the middle-aged man's injuries.
The wounds, he didn't know what caused them, went directly into his internal organs. Not only that, but the middle-aged man had also been poisoned.
Yet, even in this state, he had clung to life by a thread and been brought here alive by Wu Tao.
This sheer tenacity of life was enough to make one sigh.
However, Wu Tao was not surprised by this.
The earth-shattering phenomenon he had witnessed earlier already proved the extraordinary nature of the middle-aged man before him. Based on his estimation, this man was clearly a high-level cultivator, at the Core Formation stage or above.
"As for what this middle-aged man's exact cultivation is?" Even with Wu Tao's current realm, he couldn't determine it.
...
After cleaning the middle-aged man's body and changing his clothes, and after he had taken some healing pills, Wu Tao stood in the room, pondering how to deal with the middle-aged man.
Strictly speaking, this was a crucial issue.
Should he keep the middle-aged man in the room, provide him with good food and care, and repay him once his injuries healed?
Or should he sell him for spirit stones while he was still unconscious? After all, a living high-level cultivator was worth quite a few spirit stones.
Wu Tao was a staunch egoist, believing in seeking benefits before acting.
Wu Tao's decision to save him was not due to any kindness or a desire to waste his own time and energy treating the middle-aged man.
The reason Wu Tao saved him was because he saw potential benefits in this middle-aged man, and considerable ones at that.
...
The storage bag on the middle-aged man had vanished long before Wu Tao rescued him, and Wu Tao hadn't seen any other treasures.
Therefore, the greatest value of the middle-aged man lay in himself.
For a high-level cultivator of this caliber, the so-called life-saving grace was utterly ridiculous.
To aloof high-level cultivators, those of lower realms were like lowly ants, capable of being crushed with a flick of a finger if they dared to disrespect them, without any hesitation.
When facing such existences, caution was never excessive, as one's own life was at stake.
Cultivators in the cultivation world were mostly cold-hearted individuals. If the middle-aged man turned out to be a benevolent righteous path expert upon waking, it would be better, perhaps he would offer some token of gratitude before departing without a trace.
But if he were an evil demonic cultivator, he might even repay kindness with malice, killing Wu Tao for his troubles. If Wu Tao harbored hopes of receiving rewards, he was likely mistaken.
Even if the other party's character was impeccable and he was willing to repay, it would likely be in the form of casually teaching him some unimportant skills.
Thinking this, he couldn't help but sigh.
In this world, he had seen too many things; he was already a seasoned veteran.
A few more days passed, and Wu Tao, using his connections, found an alchemist to examine the middle-aged man.
The alchemist's examination revealed that the middle-aged man had been poisoned by fire and practiced a particularly vicious demonic art.
It was confirmed! The middle-aged man lying in bed was, at the very least, not a good person, even if he wasn't a great villain. What kind of good person would practice demonic arts? It was a joke.
Wu Tao gave the alchemist some spirit stones as hush money and payment, then sent him away.
When he looked at the middle-aged man again, Wu Tao's gaze had a different quality to it.
...
A few days later, Wu Tao, clad in a black cloak and wearing a mask that could block spiritual sense, concealed himself thoroughly, afraid of revealing his identity.
He was currently in the black market, negotiating a deal with several people. However, the item he was prepared to sell was not some rare treasure, but the middle-aged male cultivator who was still in a coma. The parties were currently haggling over the price.
It turned out that upon learning that the middle-aged man was a demonic cultivator, Wu Tao had completely abandoned any hope and decided to profit from him.
After all, he had used a considerable amount of precious healing pills to stabilize the middle-aged man's injuries. Wu Tao was not one to make a losing deal.
...
"This fellow, he's a high-level cultivator, after all. Not to mention the secrets in his sea of consciousness and his accumulated wealth, even just to cast some demonic secret arts, he needs the flesh and blood and soul of a cultivator. As a high-level cultivator, his value should be at least a thousand spirit stones. Two hundred spirit stones, are you trying to send away a beggar?"
Knowing that to get a good price when selling something, one had to start with an exorbitant demand, Wu Tao's words were sharp, spittle flying.
Facing Wu Tao's attitude, the others in the room remained silent. Only an elder who looked like a shopkeeper let out a cold laugh and retorted, "You also say he's a high-level cultivator. How do you know he doesn't have a powerful background or a significant status? Trying to attract trouble upon oneself is seeking one's own destruction. One slip-up, and instead of gaining benefits, you invite a fatal disaster. We buy this person, and we have to bear enormous risks. Two hundred spirit stones is already a considerable amount."
"And he's suffering from fire poison, which requires medicinal pills to treat, further reducing his value? A thousand spirit stones, you're simply asking for the moon. My final offer is two hundred and fifty spirit stones, no more."
"In that case, I won't sell! This senior has another use for me. Farewell." Upon hearing this, Wu Tao immediately prepared to carry the middle-aged man and leave.
Seeing this, the people in the room exchanged glances. Then, one of them stopped Wu Tao and said, "At most three hundred spirit stones. This is your only chance, please reconsider."
"Deal."
Wu Tao smiled slightly, handed the still-comatose middle-aged man to the elder, signed a restrictive confidentiality agreement with the people from the black market, and left immediately.
...
After disposing of this hot potato, Wu Tao began to prepare for his participation in the Huangji Taiyi Secret Realm.
In the vast river of time spanning billions of years across the Primordial, Ancient, and Archaic eras, countless strong individuals were born, as numerous as the stars in the heavens.
The seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, in the cycle of time, shifted and changed. The sun, moon, and stars, in black and white, continuously transformed.
The relentless passage of time and the merciless erosion of the years were the most terrifying forces in this great world.
Whether it was the ambitious powerhouses who sought to conquer the world, or the reclusive ascetics who pursued the Great Dao, all would eventually be swallowed by the surging, flowing river of time...
These individuals who stood at the apex of the world possessed great divine abilities, immense power, and profound wisdom. Although they themselves were buried in the tomb of time as it flowed by, much of their efforts and legacies remained intact.
In the current era of cultivation, forbidden lands, secret realms, and small worlds are all legacies left behind by the powerful cultivators of the Primordial, Ancient, and Archaic eras.
The "Huangji Taiyi Secret Realm" is one of the secret realms independently controlled within the tens of millions of miles of Qingzhou, jointly by the two dominant forces, the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect.
Within the tens of millions of miles of Qingzhou, there are four famous secret realms: the Tianji Taiyi Secret Realm, the Diji Taiyi Secret Realm, the Xuanji Taiyi Secret Realm, and the Huangji Taiyi Secret Realm.
These four secret realms have all been jointly occupied and divided by the two dominant forces, the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect...
Of course, the names of these four secret realms are the nomenclature used by the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
And within the Heavenly Demon Sect, there is another set of names for these four secret realms: the Tianmo Secret Realm, the Dimmo Secret Realm, the Xuanmo Secret Realm, and the Huangmo Secret Realm.
...
The Tianji Taiyi Secret Realm is the most precious among the four secret realms.
Within the Tianji Taiyi Secret Realm are rumored Heaven and Earth Spiritual Treasures, ten-thousand-year-old spiritual items, and high-quality spiritual materials that are of great use to Core Formation stage cultivators. It is a place for inner and outer sect elders of the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect to gain experience.
Moreover, due to the exceptionally powerful restrictive formations within the secret realm, no one of any other realm, apart from Core Formation stage cultivators, is permitted to enter.
The Diji Taiyi Secret Realm contains various precious refining materials and rare ores. It is a place that almost everyone among the inner and outer sect elders of the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect visits to forge their natal magic treasures.
And, similarly, due to the exceptionally powerful restrictive formations within the secret realm, no one of any other realm, apart from Core Formation stage cultivators, is permitted to enter.
The Xuanji Taiyi Secret Realm is a pure place of inheritance. Inner sect disciples at the Foundation Establishment stage of the Taiyi Immortal Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect generally obtain cultivation methods, divine abilities, alchemy techniques, formation techniques, talisman techniques, and so on in the Xuanji Taiyi Secret Realm to supplement their own inheritance and lay the foundation for future advancement.
And, similarly, due to the exceptionally powerful restrictive formations within the secret realm, no one of any other realm, apart from Foundation Establishment stage cultivators, is permitted to enter.
In the Huangji Taiyi Secret Realm, various spiritual herbs and medicines grow that are not found in the outside world. Furthermore, due to the exceptionally powerful restrictive formations within the secret realm, no one of any other realm, apart from Qi Refining stage cultivators, is permitted to enter. Additionally, there is a prohibition within the secret realm against flying at high altitudes.
...
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