After conversing with the stewards of those shops within the Ingenious Artifact Pavilion, Li Qi took his leave.
As the matters concerning the Void Black Market no longer required Li Qi's personal attention, the control over his Natal Spirit Puppets was returned to them.
Li Qi's consciousness then returned to his main body.
Through this exchange, Li Qi gained a greater understanding of the world outside the Void Black Market.
Furthermore, due to his previous actions of repeatedly dispatching his Natal Spirit Puppets for self-destruction, the powerful strength of "Penguin," which he had casually fabricated, should cause the powers behind those branch shop stewards to be wary once they reported back to headquarters.
In the future, unless there were significant conflicts or he exposed any flaws, those factions with whom he had no prior enmity were unlikely to cause him trouble.
"The trouble with the Azure Flame Medicine Pavilion is still the top priority."
Li Qi's eyes narrowed slightly.
He harbored considerable fear towards the Pavilion Master and Vice Pavilion Master, who were at the seventh and fifth Heaven Tribulation realms, respectively.
However, the fortunate aspect was that up to this point, the secret of Li Qi's main body had not been exposed.
No one knew that the mastermind behind the counterfeit pills was, in fact, the lord of an inconspicuous world, a world whose strength was neither overwhelmingly powerful nor significantly weak, a plane at the fifth stage of the Dao Integration realm.
Even if he lacked the strength to contend with the Azure Flame Medicine Pavilion in the future, and if they actively sought him out and exposed his fabricated lies, he could simply reinvent himself.
However, it was worth mentioning that even if he eventually possessed the strength to confront the Azure Flame Medicine Pavilion, given Li Qi's nature, he would never expose his main body.
"My conversations with those stewards today will likely reach the ears of the Azure Flame Medicine Pavilion. For a considerable period from now on, until they uncover the true background of my Natal Spirit Puppets, they will likely refrain from acting rashly. This grants me several decades to develop."
Li Qi mused inwardly.
With all matters temporarily settled, Li Qi had no further worries. He slowly closed his eyes.
The aura emanating from his body gradually stabilized.
Li Qi intended to use this period of stability to attempt a breakthrough in his cultivation realm.
Time flowed, and another ten years passed.
During these ten years, Li Qi remained motionless within the Heavenly Dao space of the Lesser Void Realm, essentially in continuous seclusion.
His aura remained at the fifth stage of the Dao Integration realm.
However, compared to when he had first entered the fifth stage of Dao Integration ten years prior, his strength had significantly increased.
Simultaneously, within the first two years of his seclusion, two more Natal Spirit Puppets, having completed their cooldown, were generated by Li Qi.
One was dispatched to the Void Black Market to assist the first Natal Spirit Puppet in business.
The other was in the Lesser Void Realm, setting up layered formations while awaiting orders from Li Qi, who might awaken at any moment.
Furthermore, during these ten years, the Azure Flame Medicine Pavilion's reaction in the Void Black Market was as Li Qi had anticipated; they had not yet appeared.
They were likely still in a state of uncertainty, wary of the force named "Penguin," which he had fabricated, capable of casually using Dao Integration cultivators as expendable assets for self-destruction.
The counterfeit pills in the Void Black Market, with their shops now open, saw a continuous stream of customers.
Moreover, owing to the good reputation of their previous products – Conscientious Pills, Assured Pills, and Affordable Pills – the cultivators flocking to purchase their pills were even more enthusiastic than they had been for the Azure Flame Medicine Pavilion in the past.
With the acquisition of so many resources, the dietary needs of his "fat pig" were finally met.
However, it was regrettable that there were still no Heavenly Dao wills of the Dao Integration realm.
Despite his "fat pig" consuming Heavenly Dao wills for so long, its strength enhancement was not particularly significant.
Fortunately, Li Qi did not dwell on this too much.
His primary focus was on improving his own cultivation.
With higher cultivation and no threats, he could more comfortably lie at ease.
Otherwise, if he were to unfortunately encounter two powerful cultivators fighting, he might be killed by the residual shockwaves, leaving him uneasy even in death.
Following this, another fifteen years slipped by unnoticed.
At this moment, the aura emanating from Li Qi had reached the peak of the fifth stage of the Dao Integration realm.
In twenty-five years, from the initial stage of the fifth Dao Integration realm to its peak – if other Dao Integration cultivators were to witness this, they would likely stare in disbelief.
They might take hundreds, or even thousands of years, to break through a single realm.
Yet, Li Qi had achieved such a significant improvement in the blink of an eye.
Another five years passed in a flash.
One day, the aura emanating from Li Qi, who was in seclusion, suddenly surged violently.
The terrifying aura that spread out was almost on the verge of diffusing beyond the Lesser Void Realm.
At this moment, the Heavenly Dao will in the sky seemed to detect this.
A small, plump hand slowly condensed and gently clasped, directly containing the breakthrough aura that was about to dissipate within the Heavenly Dao space.
After a short while, Li Qi's eyes slowly opened.
A sharp gaze shot out from them.
A feeling of abundant power filled Li Qi's entire body.
He had broken through to the sixth stage of the Dao Integration realm, a breakthrough that came naturally.
Sensing his current realm, after a considerable period, Li Qi finally revealed a hint of a smile.
"Almost there, almost there. Now that I'm at the sixth stage of Dao Integration, it won't be long before I reach the seventh stage. Soon, I'll be as powerful as Xu Tianzong in terms of cultivation!"
He felt a slight thrill at this thought!
However, if this continued, and he truly surpassed Xu Tianzong in terms of apparent cultivation, wouldn't the title of the strongest in the Lesser Sub-region truly shift to him?
"Never mind, there's still time. As my main body, I can delegate most matters to my Natal Spirit Puppets and generally avoid taking action. I will hide my cultivation realm for as long as possible."
As Li Qi was contemplating this, a figure he hadn't seen in a long time suddenly appeared outside the Lesser Void Realm, causing Li Qi's eyes to light up slightly.
It seemed that the title of the strongest in the Lesser Sub-region was now a step further away from him.
"Old Xu, it seems you haven't been idle all these years!"
It was Xu Tianzong, who had appeared outside the Lesser Void Realm once again.
And the cultivation realm displayed by Xu Tianzong at this moment had already reached the eighth stage of the Dao Integration realm.