CHAPTER 63: WANG ZHAO CLOSED-DOOR CULTIVATION

They obeyed him. Wang Luqi and Wang Nam left the front courtyard of the Wang Family residence and headed to the rear area.

Li Shen continued to radiate his Immortal Ascension power, causing an entire city to remain under constant pressure from his qi energy.

They flew out of the village and arrived at a hilly region, with Li Shen following them from behind. From Li Shen’s perspective, he saw an old man sitting in meditation inside a closed, hidden cave in the hill.

To the eyes of ordinary cultivators, it would be impossible to detect the location of Wang Zhao’s secluded cultivation. But Li Shen was different. He easily located Wang Zhao through the faint fluctuations of spiritual energy the man emitted.

"We’ve arrived," said Wang Luqi. Li Shen stayed quiet and indifferent.

Although Wang Zhao was in his cultivation cave, he had restricted who could enter. In addition to the sealed entrance, two stone golems appeared, guarding Wang Zhao’s secluded cultivation.

"No one is allowed to disturb Master Wang’s secluded cultivation!" declared one of the stone golems, a creation of Wang Zhao.

Wang Luqi and Wang Nam showed their Wang Family tokens to the two golems, but they were rejected. Only those granted permission by Wang Zhao could enter, and so far, he had permitted no one.

In other words, no one was allowed to enter Wang Zhao’s cultivation cave.

Li Shen didn’t have much time. He stepped forward, each of his steps echoing with bursts of powerful magical energy. This was accompanied by overwhelming qi pressure that struck the two stone golems, rendering them unable to move or attack.

He moved closer to the cave entrance. When Li Shen touched it, a red magic rune appeared — a sealing restriction created by Wang Zhao when he had locked himself inside the cave.

"A Restriction?" Li Shen asked.

"Can you do something about it?" asked Wang Nam.

Li Shen nodded. He formed a hand seal in reverse sequence to the one used in the restriction before him. Simply put, to break a restriction like the one in front of him, Li Shen needed to know what type it was and what hand seal formation it used.

Once he understood that, Li Shen only needed to activate the counter-formation by forming the inverse of the original sequence. That would allow the restriction to be lifted.

[Mountain Root Restriction Released!]

Li Shen pointed two fingers of his right hand forward, firing a light blue laser directly at the center of the rune circle of the Mountain Root Restriction. Gradually, the entire rune shifted from red to blue as Li Shen’s unlocking technique took effect.

A burst of energy exploded and spread in all directions. Wang Luqi and Wang Nam were hit by the wave, but they were protected by Li Shen’s spiritual energy.

The two stone golems were struck by the spiritual energy and were immediately shattered, collapsing on the spot and bringing calm to the area.

Not only did the golems crumble, but the stone entrance to the cave also collapsed as the Mountain Root Ward faded away. Li Shen looked forward and saw Wang Zhao clearly, sitting in a lotus position in meditation.

Li Shen slowly stepped forward, noticing two spiritual energy gathering formations in Wang Zhao’s meditation area — one on the ground and one above his head. At a glance, it looked like the formations were encasing him.

In addition to these formations, Li Shen saw ancient characters — the kind usually seen in magic runes — floating in a circular pattern, forming an ever-spinning incantation with Wang Zhao at its center.

Just as Li Shen walked closer, his foot accidentally stepped on a small formation. When it activated, a projection of Wang Zhao appeared in glowing purple light, his body ethereal and floating in front of Li Shen.

"If you’re seeing me like this, then it’s clear I’ve failed to undo this blood seal," said Wang Zhao.

"Only those with a higher cultivation level can activate this projection formation. Whether you’re a wandering cultivator or the Ming King himself, you’ve met my conditions," Wang Zhao continued.

"I’ve realized something — this blood seal cannot be undone just like that. Only the sacrifice of the seal owner’s blood can free me."

"That’s all from me. Don’t waste your time trying to undo the blood seal. It’s pointless," Wang Zhao explained.

"Find him and kill him! Only then can I be freed from this blood seal."

Not long after, Wang Zhao’s projection disappeared. Li Shen looked forward, still seeing Wang Zhao meditating, red blood-seal runes etched into his skin. If that was what it took to remove the blood seal, then Li Shen had to try it.

Li Shen tapped his magical pouch and summoned ten celestial-level spirit stones. He let them float around Wang Zhao’s body, supplying him with abundant spiritual energy to help him endure — the spiritual energy quality in the hill was almost depleted.

"How is it? Can you help him remove the blood seal?" asked Wang Nam, stepping into the cave.

"No. Only by killing the person who owns the blood seal can Wang Zhao be truly freed," replied Li Shen, turning toward him.

"Do you know who it is?" Li Shen asked.

Wang Nam turned and gave Wang Luqi a sharp look. She nodded, showing no hesitation in revealing the truth to Li Shen.

"He is the younger brother of King Ming and the ancestor of the Ming Yuan Sect — Ming Gong."

"The younger brother of King Ming? But why is Wang Zhao involved with the Ming Palace?" asked Li Shen.

"It’s a long story. If you don’t mind, I’ll tell you everything at the Wang Family Residence," Wang Nam offered.

Li Shen cleared his throat. But before leaving, he needed to ensure Wang Zhao was protected during his secluded cultivation. That way, he could freely cause trouble in the Ming Yuan Sect.

[Fog Maze Formation Activated!]

A large blue magic rune circle appeared on the ground, creating thick fog and the illusion of many floating hills in the area. This formation also masked Wang Zhao’s presence, as his spiritual energy fluctuations were hidden within the mist.

Li Shen formed another hand seal and directed his qi energy toward the top of the hill. The peak shattered, revealing a massive dragon that would guard the place — its strength equivalent to the peak of Soul Formation.

[Stone Dragon Guardian Technique Activated!]

Wang Nam and Wang Luqi watched in awe. They were astonished by Li Shen’s ability to summon such a high-level formation and technique. They could already imagine the glory of the Li Family in the Qing Yan Kingdom.

After completing everything, Li Shen flew from the hills and arrived back at the front courtyard of the Wang Family Residence. Li Xun was still there, waiting with Wang Luyi.

Li Shen landed gently, stepping forward while lowering his cultivation level, freeing everyone from the pressure of his qi that had lasted for an hour.

The iron circle ornaments disappeared, the silk scarf vanished, and his robe returned to the simple blue robe he always wore.

His cultivation dropped from the Peak Immortal Ascension to the Mid-stage Nascent Soul. People were even more amazed by the mysterious man in blue robes.

"How did it go?" asked Li Xun, curious.

"It’s a bit difficult, but I’ll give it a try. It might take longer than I thought," Li Shen replied.

"If you’d like, you’re welcome to stay at our residence until Master Li finishes his business," offered Wang Nam, arriving with Wang Luqi.

Wang Luyi was curious about what had happened there, but Wang Nam made it clear he would explain everything inside the main residence — to keep prying ears away.

"I’ll explain everything inside. Please, follow me, Master Li."