1099 Back to the Ephemeral Forest

As he found out just how dangerous the Valley of Illusory Beasts was, Xuan Hao was also left with a new problem… And that was whether or not he should continue staying inside the valley to continue improving his Dao of Illusions.

Even if Chu Li had told him about the signs that would show up before the emergence of the powerful creatures from deeper inside the valley, he had no idea how accurate this information was. Not to mention, he had no clue how long he would have to escape from the valley when the weaker illusory beasts began to hide away.

If he happened to be deeper inside the valley and was locked in a fight with a powerful illusory beast when the powerful creatures deeper inside the valley began to emerge, he might end up being too slow to leave the valley in time… And that was not counting the fact that there always was a chance that the powerful creatures from deep inside the valley might possess the ability to leave the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

"Haaa… Staying might end up becoming dangerous, but leaving will make breaking through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm take far longer…" Letting out a sigh as he muttered this to himself while gazing into the depths of the valley where his divine sense could not reach, Xuan Hao felt himself hesitating.

Although the smartest thing would be to leave the valley and not risk running into an Earth Immortal Realm illusory beast, he also understood that leaving the valley would make it close to impossible for him to reach the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm within the next five years.

At that point in time, he might be forced to find a way to deal with the Earth Immortal Realm Expert from the Heavenly Dragon Temple while still being in the Intermediate Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm, something he wanted to avoid if possible. Not only because he had no way to deal with someone at the Earth Immortal Realm with his current strength, but also because such a powerful cultivator would be more than strong enough to destroy every part of the Star Shattering Sect outside of the area guarded by the chaotic qi formation.

Even if the Star Shattering Sect would be able survive and he could take his time breaking through to the Late Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm inside the chaotic qi formation, the loss of the sect's entire territory outside the Shattered Star Peaks and the branch sects that had been built up over the past few years across the sect's expanding territory would take a long time to recover… And that was not to mention the mental blow many of the sect's elders and disciples would experience from something like that happening. Especially when considering that most of the sect's disciples and elders had their relatives stay in the ever-expanding city at the base of the Ninth Star peak, a place that was outside the chaotic qi formation…

Thinking about all of this, Xuan Hao could not help shaking his head. 

"Staying or not, I will have to face an Earth Immortal Realm Expert at some point while still in the Intermediate Stage of the Dao Domain Lord Realm anyway. At the very least inside the valley, I can still escape and don't have to worry about my sect being destroyed in the process." As he said this to himself, Xuan Hao decided to continue hunting down illusory beasts inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

Dangerous as it might be, he felt confident in being able to escape from any of the Earth Immortal Realm creatures that might emerge from the deeper parts of the valley in the future due to his spatial movement technique, as long as he didn't end up wandering too far into the valley where the space became far too solid for him to manipulate with his current strength and understanding of the Dao of Space.

Whoosh~

Not wasting any time after having come to this decision, Xuan Hao left the place and headed towards a different part of the valley to recover the qi he had used earlier before he would even think of starting to search for search for a Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beast to help improve his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions.

Only after he had fully recovered would he dare to try and target another illusory beast.

Of course, he also had to do his best to not use the true spatial collapse ability, if possible, as using it didn't leave a body behind. Meaning that he would not be able to make use of it to increase his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions. Essentially making the death of the illusory beast meaningless.

…

"I wonder who that senior was, the power from that attack earlier was definitely in the Earth Immortal Realm. Maybe even beyond that…"

At the same time Xuan Hao was focused on finding somewhere safe where he could recover from using the true spatial collapse, Chu Li was left wondering to himself about Xuan Hao's identity as he continued searching for another Peak Soul Ascension Realm illusory beast to hunt down.

"Ah! Come to think of it, the senior should also have come because of the illusory beasts' special ability to enhance one's comprehension of the Dao of Illusions and with that in mind, senior's dao should also be the Dao of Illusions!"

Realizing this, Chu Li could not help coming to a stop as a look of regret appeared on his face.

"To think I wasted a chance to ask for pointers from a senior in the Dao of Illusions!" Exclaiming this in a loud voice filled with endless regret, Chu Li could not help coming to a stop as he looked back in the direction he had just come from. 

Part of him wanted to turn around and see if he could catch up with the senior again and ask him for guidance in the Dao of Illusions, while another part of him understood how rude it would be of him to do something like that. Understanding that it might even result in the senior becoming hostile to him.

Although the illusory beasts were able to help him with his breakthrough to the Earth Immortal Realm, it was nowhere near as useful as getting the guidance of a senior who had already gone through the final tribulation he was about to undergo.

Even if each tribulation would vary from individual to individual and the dao was the same, the experience and guidance would still be invaluable. Far more precious than anything else he might obtain inside the Valley of Illusory Beasts.

As for asking a senior from the Blue Sea Empire… That was impossible!

Not because the Blue Sea Empire lacked Earth Immortal Realm Experts or that he was unable to come in contact with them, but because the Blue Sea Empire didn't have a single Earth Immortal Realm Expert who comprehended the Dao of Illusions.

To this day, Chu Li was the strongest expert in the Dao of Illusions in the entire Blue Sea Empire. Having no seniors that he could ask for help whenever he encountered a problem in his comprehension of the Dao of Illusions.

As he remained in a state of struggle without moving for close to half an hour, Chu Li finally let out a small groan before turning around. "Ah! I will go! I can't give up such an opportunity, even if it means I end up accidentally offending the senior!"

Whoosh~!

Wasting no time after he came to a decision, Chu Li used all of his strength to rush in the direction he had come from earlier. Silently praying that Xuan Hao hadn't left the place or at least was somewhere nearby…

"Noooo! He's gone!"

Unfortunately for Chu Li, he soon came to realize that the senior had long since left without leaving a single trace behind-

"No, I can't give up like this! If I can't find the senior anywhere around here, I will just have to search for him. At least considering that he wanted to know more about the Valley of Illusory Beasts, he should still be somewhere inside the valley…"

However, Chu Li was not one to be easily discouraged as he soon calmed down and began the process of searching through the Valley of Illusory Beasts for any sign of Xuan Hao. Hoping that the senior was still somewhere inside the valley.

…

"This place should be perfect to recover without having to worry about any illusory beasts appearing." 

At the same time Chu Li had begun the process of combing through the Valley of Illusory Beasts, Xuan Hao had made his way back to the wooden gates and returned to the Ephemeral Forest. Having concluded that it would be far safer for him to stay inside the Ephemeral Forest while recovering-

Squeak!?

Squeak?

While at the same time also letting the rabbit demon beast and squirrel out to train like they had done during his secluded cultivation to break through the Small Success Realm in the Dao of Illusions.