Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 268 Changes in Situation

One month later, they fled rapidly towards the Wanfa Palace.

Li Ji'an sighed inwardly; the high level of vigilance he had been under had greatly depleted his spiritual energy.

At this point, we have no choice but to gradually slow down.

At the same time, he sensed Yun Yao's figure behind him, which she thought was well hidden.

Although he had condensed a mid-level True Core and cultivated supernatural powers, his divine sense was still only at the early stage of True Core, inferior to Li Ji'an's.

So when he secretly followed us a month ago, Li Ji'an noticed immediately.

Unsure whether he intended to use himself to lure out Xiao Changfeng or had other motives, Li Ji'an did not expose him in order not to reveal the uniqueness of his divine sense.

But you can't shake it off at all.

It was precisely because he was following closely behind that Li Ji'an felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

"That idiot!" I sighed helplessly.

She had already explained to them that the Lieyang Sect intended to provoke a conflict between the Qingjiang Sect and the Biyun Sect, so she deliberately separated from them to prevent the Lieyang Sect from finding an opportunity to frame her.

Surprisingly, it still dared to chase after us.

"Could it be that she's planning to protect me secretly?" Unsure of the details and progress of her relationship with Xiao Changfeng, Li Ji'an couldn't be sure of her intentions.

However, this action really made Li Ji'an nervous!
"Buzz~" Just then, Li Ji'an's sea of ​​consciousness stirred slightly.

His expression changed instantly, and he activated the two remaining top-grade shields on his body to protect himself at full power.

The next instant, a sense of crisis, chilling him to the bone, surged from beneath the earth.

Boom~
An ice spike suddenly emerged from the ground, carrying the pressure of a true elixir, and arrived in an instant.

"Bang!" The second Yellow Rock Shield shattered in just three breaths.

"Who dares to challenge me? Show yourself!" Fairy Yunyao remotely summoned her magic weapon—the Exquisite Pagoda.

When he fought Li Ji'an before, he didn't even use this natal magic weapon. He only showed it to intimidate Li Ji'an.

But now, it is being used without hesitation.

They had clearly sensed the extraordinary nature of the approaching enemy.

The exquisite pagoda directly targets the underground hiding place.

Faced with this magical treasure, the opponent did not dare to be careless and immediately dispersed his magic power to escape again.

Li Ji'an put away the Burst Pill and the Wind and Fire Fan he was about to unleash, and breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he became even more worried.

Because the attacker this time was clearly no longer the Earth-type True Person who had previously used the Sandstorm, but rather someone who imitated Earth-type magic, and whose killing move was an Ice Spike.

Based on Li Ji'an's understanding of the major sects in the region after becoming an elder, the Lieyang Sect does not have such a person.

He had a vague idea of ​​who the assassin was at the gate of Hanshui Immortal City. Although they had disguised themselves quite a bit, they were most likely the Flipping Mountain True Man of the Blazing Sun Sect, Fu Xiaochen's senior brother, with a True Core mid-stage cultivation.

"Thank you for your righteous help, Fairy Yunyao, but... why did you follow me again? It seems the other party's intention to assassinate me and frame you hasn't been completely abandoned!" Li Ji'an thanked her first, then spoke frankly, making it clear that this ambush was still orchestrated by her.

Yun Yao's expression was grave as she glanced at Li Ji'an and said, "Trying to frame me? Hmph, you probably don't understand the current situation!"

"If I'm not mistaken, the person who made the move just now was probably Master Wangyou from the Dongli Sect, not someone from the Lieyang Sect."

"The Eastern Li Sect!" Li Ji'an wondered.

"broken!"

In an instant, a thought came to mind.

"At this moment, it's no longer the Blazing Sun Sect trying to frame the Qingjiang Sect, but other sects trying to frame the Blazing Sun Sect!"

At that time, the Lieyang Sect made its move only to provoke conflict between the Biyun Sect and the Qingjiang Sect, so that they could explore the ancient tomb without being hindered.

At this time, Li Ji'an exposed the Lieyang Sect's conspiracy outside Hanshui Immortal City. He then reasoned that once he died, other sects could join forces with the Biyun Sect, under the pretext of seeking justice for him, to pressure the Lieyang Sect into jointly developing the ancient tomb.

Li Ji'an frowned, realizing that he had dug his own grave!
And it's a sinkhole!

"What are you still standing there for? I'll protect you back to your sect!" Fairy Yunyao urged when she saw Li Ji'an lost in thought.

At this point, it would be nearly two months' journey to Wanfa Palace and three months' journey to Biyun Sect. However, Wanfa Palace might not be truly willing to protect him, so returning to his sect would indeed be a safer option.

With Yun Yao's protection, it is generally difficult for a True Core cultivator to succeed.

However... the other party may not give him the opportunity to return to his sect.

Once the other party is determined to exchange his life for the possible opportunity of the Nascent Soul Tomb, and sends out two True Core cultivators, Yun Yao will be powerless to stop them.

Moreover, he possesses the Formless Mask, which even Ning Sujin's Nascent Soul and Primordial Spirit cannot see through, allowing him to easily deceive a group of True Core cultivators.

"Thank you for your kindness, Fairy. However, I have my own clever plan to avoid the enemy, so I won't trouble you." After a moment of contemplation, Li Ji'an chose the safest option.

"You? A mere fake core cultivator, how could you withstand an attack from a true cultivator?" Yun Yao frowned. "I, Li, would never joke with my own life."

"You can't even withstand a single move from me, a true immortal, yet you dare to boast so arrogantly? Don't be fooled by the world's claims of being a true immortal; you are nothing but a fake cultivator!"

"..." Li Ji'an was speechless.

"Enough with the nonsense. The reason I'm protecting you isn't to use you as bait to lure that bastard. Besides, what do I care if you live or die? It's all for the sake of Qingjiang Sect." Yun Yao's attitude was resolute.

Li Ji'an stopped wasting words with him and turned to flee.

Seeing that it was flying south towards Cangyun Prefecture, Yun Yao glanced at it with satisfaction, then locked onto it with her divine sense and followed it secretly.

Three days later, they were just approaching a family-run market town.

Yun Yao activated her full divine sense and pushed her speed to the limit, but she still had to face the reality that she had lost track of them!

"How is that possible? How could I possibly lose track of a mere fake pill?"

"Could it be that someone ambushed us?"

In an instant, cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck, and she hurriedly searched for any clues.

At the same time, Li Ji'an activated Huang Jie's essence blood with the Formless Mask, transforming into a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, and followed several fellow cultivators to the Xuan Guang Immortal City of the Myriad Laws Palace.

"Fellow Daoist Huang, what kind of spiritual item do you intend to bid on on this trip?" a Foundation Establishment cultivator traveling with him asked familiarly.

For a True Person, the journey to Xuan Guang Immortal City will take only two months.

However, for Foundation Establishment cultivators, it takes at least four months.

Moreover, most of the cultivators heading to Xuanguang Immortal City at this time are there to bid for spiritual treasures. Given the situation in the Blackwater Swamp, the journey is unlikely to be peaceful, so they mostly travel in groups.

"To be honest, I recently suffered a significant loss in the swamp, and I really don't have the means to dream of rare treasures at the auction. I'm just going to broaden my horizons," Li Ji'an said with a helpless expression.

"Hehe~ Fellow Daoist Huang is quite cautious. It was my presumption. Please don't take offense."

"It doesn't matter."

"Speaking of the Blackwater Swamp, does Fellow Daoist Huang know anything about the situation there? Is it possible for us to take advantage of the chaos?" another burly man chimed in.

Li Ji'an shook his head: "The Lieyang Sect has blocked the way, and even the Qingjiang Sect couldn't get involved. Other sects haven't found a suitable reason to intervene, so what hope do we have?"

"Hmph! The powerful sects and clans have drained the entire region, truly leaving us lowly cultivators with no chance to rise up. How despicable!"

"Yes, I've heard that whenever an ancient relic or tomb appears in the Myriad Merchants Domain, all cultivators in the domain have a chance. If any force tries to monopolize it, they will surely attack it en masse. Unlike our Heavenly Azure Domain!"

"Isn't it because the cultivators within the domain have been suppressed for too long, and no one dares to resist?"

"Resist? The highest-ranking cultivators are all leaders of the Holy Palace's upper sects. Do you expect them to overthrow you?"

When the group talked about the Lieyang Sect monopolizing the tomb, they were immediately filled with righteous indignation.

However, in the end, it was just venting.

"Haven't you heard that a major sect war is about to break out?" Finally, an old man who had been silent all along spoke up in a cryptic tone.

"A war between sects? Impossible, right? All seven major sects in the region are under the command of the Holy Palace. Without the Holy Palace's tacit approval, who would dare to fight to the death?"

The Biyun Sect of Cangyun Prefecture, the Lieyang Sect, Dongli Sect, Liuli Sect, and Qingjiang Gate of Tianyuan Prefecture, and the Jian Sect and Tianyin Pavilion of Daoyuan Prefecture—these seven sects each have their own territory, yet they all revere the Wanfa Palace, whether openly or secretly.

"This is naturally the will of the Holy Palace!" The old man said calmly, as if he had a plan in mind.

"Why?" The group looked at the old man with a hint of gossip.

"Because it won't be long before there are no True Monarchs guarding the region!" the old man said confidently.

"No True Lord is present? What... explains this?"

The old man smiled without saying a word, but pointed to the sky, indicating that the secrets of heaven should not be revealed.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji'an instinctively moved away from the old man.

Such remarks are extremely shocking and outrageous.

The successive True Lords of the Myriad Laws Palace have all inherited the title of Myriad Laws, and at the same time, they all shoulder the responsibility of upholding the throne. They will never abandon the Holy Palace.

Its tradition has been passed down to this day, through five generations of True Lords, and all of them have followed this pattern.

Even though it is said that there is hope of advancing to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm in the ten central regions of the Great Swamp cultivation world, the Myriad Laws True Monarch has never left.

The old man then said that the Heavenly Azure Domain would soon be without a True Monarch to oversee it, the meaning of which was self-evident: the Myriad Laws True Monarch was about to perish, and the Myriad Laws Palace would not be able to produce a second successor in the short term.

If this is true, the Myriad Laws Palace will no longer be able to overwhelmingly suppress the Seven Sects in the future.

In order to stabilize the Holy Palace, or to delay until a successor emerges, they might really try to weaken the foundation of the Seven Sects, at the very least to prevent the Seven Sects from uniting as one.

Li Ji'an could not categorically deny the old man's astonishing words, after all, there was a certain probability that the Myriad Laws True Lord was actually seriously injured in the battle with the Golden Puppet Demon Lord.

However, how could someone who could utter such words be an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator?
(End of this chapter)