Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 241 Seeking an Audience Late at Night
Ultimately, Ning Sujin did not agree to the suggestion of Ning Yutan, who was mentally unstable.

The Soul Cultivation Method is already extremely detailed and involves considerable risks in its practice. If Ning Yutan were to relay it to her, it would be difficult to guarantee its safety. Therefore, she still intends to teach it to her personally.

As Ning Yutan closed her eyes, Li Ji'an continued to treat her while casually talking to Ning Sujin with his mouth.

He knew Ning Sujin could understand it, and although he didn't get any feedback, he was still quite amused by it.

In this world, perhaps only Ning Sujin, who is now only a soul, is someone he can confide in.

He told Ning Sujin that he wanted to return to the Immortal Dynasty if he had the chance, to see how that mortal paradise was now free from the scourge of the Liu family.

Tell Ning Sujin why the Immortal Dynasty is called a dead zone, and also tell her that there are other dead zones besides the Stormy Dead Zone.

He also told Ning Sujin about the current state of affairs in the Heavenly Azure Cultivation Domain...

Just as today's physical therapy was about to end, Xiao Qiao's voice came from outside.

After successfully establishing his foundation, he remained in seclusion to consolidate his cultivation, and today he has finally emerged from seclusion.

Besides this, she also had an unexpected gain that she wanted to share with Uncle Li as soon as possible.

"Go in!" Li Ji'an transmitted his voice.

"Uncle Li..." Xiao Qiao came in excitedly, and then saw Ning Yutan, who was almost half-naked on the cold jade bed.

"Uncle Li, I'm sorry, I... I'll come later."

Li Ji'an smiled faintly: "It's alright, Yu Tan's treatment will be over soon."

"Sister Qiao." Ning Yutan opened her eyes upon hearing the voice, a hint of shyness on her face.

There's an awkward feeling, like being caught being intimate with your best friend's dad by your best friend.

"Sister Tan, are you injured?" She had been in seclusion since reaching the Foundation Establishment stage, so she was unaware that Ning Yutan had sought treatment from Li Ji'an.

Over the past decade or so, she and Ning Yutan had grown increasingly close.

"Yu Tan is not injured, but her physique is insufficient, making it difficult for her to break through the Foundation Establishment stage. I am strengthening her physique." Li Ji'an sensed Ning Yu Tan's inexplicable shyness and explained.

"Oh, I see." Xiao Qiao nodded with a smile, then stood to Li Ji'an's side, waiting for the treatment to end.

After the treatment was over, Ning Yutan politely thanked him and took her leave.

"Uncle Li, my Foundation Establishment realm is now stable!" With no one else around, Xiao Qiao immediately channeled her magical power to report the good news to Li Ji'an.

Li Ji'an nodded with a smile: "Not bad, your magic power is even more refined than when I first established my foundation."

The cultivation technique he bought for Xiao Qiao back then was a top-notch earth-based technique that he had carefully selected.

Among the five elements of cultivation techniques, earth-based techniques are inherently more substantial than the other four. Furthermore, Xiao Qiao's status as an earth spirit master allows her to continuously draw earth-based spiritual energy from the earth, which enhances her magical power.

"Consider this your Foundation Establishment gift from Uncle Li!" Li Ji'an raised his hand again, and a yellow stone shield appeared in his hand.

This is a top-grade protective magic artifact that I bought by chance when I delivered the spirit talisman in Tianhe Immortal City last time.

However, after trying it a few times, I found that my fire magic could not achieve the maximum effect.

"Thank you, Uncle Li!" Xiao Qiao happily accepted the top-grade Yellow Stone Shield, and the earth elemental aura on it made her feel very comfortable.

"Uncle Li, I have some good news to tell you." After putting away the Yellow Stone Shield, Xiao Qiao said mysteriously.

"Oh? Tell me about it." Li Ji'an smiled slightly.

"Uncle Li, after I established my foundation, I actually broke through the bottleneck of the third level of the Earth Spirit Scripture without even realizing it." Xiao Qiao's eyes widened, and she could hardly contain her laughter.

"A third-tier Earth Spirit Master!" Li Ji'an was equally surprised.

According to the iron book, a geomancer not only needs a mysterious talent that is in harmony with the earth, but also cannot succeed without such talent.

Even with talent, very few people in ancient times were able to break through to the third rank.

A third-tier Earth Spirit Master already possesses the basic ability to alter the world, which is definitely not within the scope of magical power.

Previously, Li Ji'an had always thought that Xiao Qiao was already a second-tier Earth Spirit Master, but he never expected that she would actually give him such a big surprise.

"Okay!" Xiao Qiao nodded readily, then casually waved her hand towards the courtyard outside.

hum~
A tremor came from the ground.

Li Ji'an's eyes narrowed instantly, his divine sense suddenly capturing the dense spiritual energy of the earth gathering in the courtyard.

“Uncle Li, now I can not only create formations with a wave of my hand, but also gather the essence of the earth with every move, and even change the course of the earth’s veins.”

"Good!" Li Ji'an couldn't help but shout.

"Uncle Li, should I go and gather some more earth spirit essence for Lonely Peak? It's very beneficial for the growth of spiritual plants," Xiao Qiao asked expectantly, blinking her eyes.

“No need. If we make too big a move, the sect elders will easily notice, which would be too risky for you,” Li Ji’an said decisively.

If outsiders were to learn of Xiao Qiao's abilities, the outcome would be unpredictable. While there was a possibility that she might be revered as a geomancer, she was more likely to lose her freedom.

Unlike alchemy, artifact crafting, talisman crafting, and array crafting, which produce a wealth of talented individuals and whose skills are almost equivalent to cultivation levels, this is different.

Earth Spirit Masters tend to be more supportive, and their combat abilities do not match their skill level.

A third-tier Earth Spirit Master can alter the earth's veins, something even a Golden Core True Person or a Nascent Soul True Monarch cannot do, but they do not possess the same combat power to protect their path and are easily controlled by others.

Ordinary talisman masters and puppeteers, for example, have combat strength at the Core Formation stage when they are at the third rank, and they usually have protective talisman trump cards.

“Now that you have established your foundation, you should move to this core training ground in the future. You can then set up a private medicinal herb field here, and I will transplant the herbs here,” Li Ji’an suggested, understanding Xiao Qiao’s intentions.

"Yes, I'll do whatever Uncle Li says." Xiao Qiao nodded obediently.

Li Ji'an looked at Xiao Qiao and smiled knowingly. The timid and cowardly little girl from back then had actually become a third-level Earth Spirit Master.

Thus, combined with the array formation inheritance he received from Liu Jingchun, the geographical environment of the Strange Stone Forest, and the massive interconnected array foundation left by the Liu family, he could basically preserve this Daoist temple even without Qin Henian's support.

The following day, Xiao Qiao moved out of the bamboo garden where Liu Jingchun had been under house arrest.

At the core of the Qishi Forest, at the third-tier spiritual vein, the Liu family once built their ancestral hall and the Liu family patriarch's independent Daoist temple. Now, the ancestral hall has long been demolished, and a small garden has been built on it, adjacent to the residence where Li Ji'an is temporarily staying.

Xiao Qiao loved the garden very much. After refusing Li Ji'an's request to move there, she moved in herself.

With the supernatural powers of a third-tier Earth Spirit Master, he meticulously crafted himself.

Two months later, when Li Ji'an stepped into the garden again, he was slightly shocked.

There were at least three layers of illusion arrays on the outside, and another restriction array comparable to the third rank inside. At the core was a killing array that made Li Ji'an feel a little scared.

This arrangement would be difficult for an ordinary early-stage True Core cultivator to break through. In addition, Xiao Qiao can create an array with a wave of her hand, continuously drawing spiritual energy from the earth to infuse the array. If she were in charge of the array, even a mid-stage True Core cultivator would likely find it difficult to break through in a short time.

Meanwhile, on one side of the garden within the formation, Xiao Qiao had used an illusion array to shroud a spiritual field.

Its essence and vitality are several times stronger than the medicinal fields on Li Ji'an's Lone Peak.

"It's probably reached the level of a fifth-grade spirit field!" After sensing it more carefully, Li Ji'an sighed inwardly.

The fifth-grade spirit field already has the conditions to cultivate third-grade spirit plants.

If this place can remain stable for the next two years, it will surely be able to cultivate third-tier spiritual materials.

Most importantly, with Xiao Qiao continuously absorbing the essence of the earth to nourish this spiritual field, there is definitely hope for further improvement.

It might even reach the upper three ranks!

"Uncle Li, please transplant all the spiritual plants from the lonely peak. I will take good care of them, and you can come and use them anytime." Xiao Qiao was even more delighted to see the surprise in Uncle Li's eyes, who always took on such a responsibility.

“Okay!” Li Ji’an no longer hesitated and decided to return to Gufeng to transplant the withered tree branch after treating Ning Yutan.

Although Xiao Qiao has modified the solitary peak, making it more vibrant than a typical medicinal field, it barely reaches the level of a spirit field and can only be considered a ninth-grade spirit field.

Apart from that withered branch, most of the spiritual plants planted there are main medicinal herbs for the Qi Refining stage and auxiliary medicinal herbs for the Foundation Establishment stage.

All other spiritual plants could be abandoned, but the withered tree branch obtained from the abyss of the ruins remained a mystery to Li Ji'an.

At first, he thought it might be an ingredient for some kind of Crystal Condensation Pill. However, as his research on Crystal Condensation Pill deepened and he obtained it during the Heavenly River Gathering, he realized that the only ingredient he needed for Crystal Condensation Pill was the Mystic Ice Blue Lotus.

Clearly, that withered branch is most likely not the Mystic Ice Blue Lotus.

Since it is not the main ingredient for the Crystallization Pill, but is together with the Seven-Colored Jade Tree and Autumn Departure Water, two other Core Formation spiritual objects, its value must be equivalent to that of a superior Core Formation spiritual object.

He suspected that it might be some kind of ancient, nascent spirit object that he was unaware of.

On that very day, Qin Henian arrived in great fanfare, bringing with him the Qin family's honor guard.

They claim they'll be holding a foundation-building celebration for Xiao Qiao.

However, he met with Li Ji'an and Xiao Qiao in private and said that this was probably the last time he would support Xiao Qiao. After that, all the Qin family members who were stationed in this area would have to be transferred back to the clan. The clan was already too busy with the spiritual bamboo trade. Even the Biluo Market, which others considered a treasure, was no longer of interest to the Qin family. They were unwilling to waste the clan members' energy and handed it all over to Xiao Qiao.

In short, from now on, Xiao Qiao will need to stand up and take the lead in this Qishilin Taoist temple and the surrounding area.

Two months later, the celebration was held as scheduled, and this celebration mainly invited the cultivation forces around the Strange Stone Forest.

People from the Liu family came to the wasteland.

After seven days and seven nights of celebration, Xiao Qiao, encouraged by Qin Henian, finally stood on the stage and announced the plans for the Qishi Forest, as well as the recruitment of talented individuals. Although she did not explicitly state that she was establishing a sect, that was the practical significance.

Thus, the power of the Strange Stone Forest officially began with Xiao Qiao as its first master.

Afterwards, Qin Henian left, leaving behind an elder of the Qin family to instruct Xiao Qiao on how to manage affairs, recruit talented individuals, and govern people...

During this period, Li Ji'an did not participate, but devoted himself to cultivation and treated Ning Yutan step by step.

Two months later, Ning Yutan's treatment came to an end.

"Not bad. Although her physical body is still somewhat weak, it has reached the minimum standard for Foundation Establishment. Her sea of ​​consciousness is also basically stable. She can barely attempt to break through to Foundation Establishment!" On this day, after treating Ning Yutan for the last time, Li Ji'an carefully examined her condition and nodded slightly.

Upon hearing this, Ning Yutan was overjoyed: "Thank you so much, Senior Li, for your great kindness! I will never forget it!"

"However, to be on the safe side, we should still rest and recuperate our spirit for several more months, and we will be more confident after some proper body tempering," Li Ji'an suggested again.

"I will heed your teachings, senior!" Ning Yutan bowed solemnly.

"Go, and send me a message when you reach the Foundation Establishment stage." Li Ji'an waved for him to leave.

After seeing Ning Yutan off, Li Ji'an organized the talismans he had drawn over the past year, cleared away the pile of ruined puppet materials in the corner, and finally waited for Little Fire Spirit to return from Xiao Qiao's garden villa so that all traces could be removed.

Ever since Xiao Qiao moved to the neighboring garden villa, Guagua and Xiao Huoling have been playing there almost every day.

There are multiple layers of formations to isolate the outside world, and the area is filled with towering trees and a natural spring, so there is no worry about being discovered.

However, Xiao Qiao is now being urged to transform by the Qin family elders, and spends all her energy on building up the Qishilin faction every day, leaving her with little time to play with the two of them.

The reason Li Ji'an decided to return to the sect's Lingfeng Peak now is because three months ago, he received a message from Xiao Changfeng that he had successfully obtained the sect's Core Formation spiritual resources.

After returning to his sect from the Fire Domain, he devoted himself to seclusion, waiting for Fang Zhenren to return and avoiding contact with Tian Zhenren, while also working hard to consolidate his late Foundation Establishment realm.

When he emerged from seclusion, he had already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment and was ready to attempt Core Formation.

Among the contemporary disciples, apart from Zhao Qi, who is still trapped in the Boundless Domain and whose return is uncertain, Xiao Changfeng is the top-tier seed player of the sect.

Subsequently, after more than a year of back-and-forth negotiations, thanks to Elder Fang's reasoned arguments, he finally got his wish and obtained the Core Formation materials originally prepared for the First True Disciple, Zhao Qi.

Li Ji'an speculated that he should have already begun his attempt to break through to the Core Formation stage.

With Xiao Changfeng's luck, the earth essence he obtained in the Boundless Domain, and the spiritual resources for Core Formation prepared by the sect, there will be no surprises in his Core Formation.

The only uncertainty is whether it can be made into a true pill, and what the quality of the pill will be.

However, regardless of the circumstances, this at least proves that things have calmed down within the sect, and that by returning to the sect's isolated peak, he will not be drawn into the sect's internal strife.

That evening, Li Ji'an came to Xiao Qiao's garden villa to say goodbye.

Xiao Qiao looked haggard as she recounted the hardships she had endured over the past few days.

He expressed his worries.

She begged Li Ji'an to help her.

Li Ji'an smiled and declined the offer. He wanted to break through to the Core Formation stage, and he needed a spiritual vein dojo of at least the middle grade of the third rank. The only place where he could see hope was within the Biyun Sect.

Moreover, Li Ji'an had no worries about Xiao Qiao's management of the Qishi Forest.

Given her status as Qin Henian's goddaughter and her decision-making power over the Qishilin Dojo and Biluo Market, as long as she doesn't have any grand ambitions, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Moreover, there are many things she has to experience and face herself.

After bidding farewell to Xiao Qiao with Guagua and Xiao Huoling, Li Ji'an returned to his residence.

Just as they were about to have Little Fire Spirit clean up the talismans and puppet traces in the courtyard, a familiar voice rang out from outside the door.

"Senior Li, Yu Tan requests an audience."

"Thump~" Li Ji'an's heart skipped a beat. His voice was the same as usual, but his tone was completely different.

(End of this chapter)