Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 274 The Imminent Return to Childhood
"It's now!"

Just as Chun Yuan Zhenren erupted in fury, Li Ji'an awakened the little fire spirit with a spirit contract, burning away its forcibly probing divine sense.

"Ah!" Pure Yuan Zhenren's divine sense was instantly damaged, and his sea of ​​consciousness trembled.

"Croak~" Despite its severe internal injuries, the croaking croaking gulped down the little fire spirit.

However, before the baby could escape, Master Chun Yuan had already made a violent move.

"You beast, die!" A long blade formed of blazing flames slashed straight down at Guagua.

"Whoosh~" Just as the frog was about to become a victim of the blade, a third-tier spirit talisman transformed into a blood arrow and arrived.

Boom~
The blood arrow struck the fire blade with a loud bang, but the early stage of the third rank talisman was ultimately no match for a late stage Core Formation True Person's attack, and it vanished in an instant.

Fortunately, this reduced some of the fire blade's power.

However, being a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, even though his physical body had suffered backlash twice and his soul had not yet recovered, this attack still possessed the strength of a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator. Although he had already exhausted some of his power, it was still something that Guagua, a mid-stage second-tier demon beast, could not withstand. Even if he didn't die, he would be severely injured.

But this was the limit of what Li Ji'an could do at this moment. He chased after them at top speed, but only just arrived. At the critical moment, only the third-tier spirit talisman could be effective; other methods were too late.

Now, it's all up to fate.

"Quack~" Sensing the deadly threat behind him, Quack's blood boiled and his skin rapidly changed color.

Finally, when the fire blade struck its back, the frog's entire skin turned a dark gold color.

With a crisp metallic clang, Guagua was sent flying dozens of feet away by the enormous impact, eventually crashing into the lakeside cliff and sending countless stone fragments flying.

To Li Ji'an's great delight, through their spiritual connection, he learned that despite the attack, Guagua was only injured in its internal abdomen.

Only crystalline cracks appeared on Wujin's skin!
"A bloodline mutation at the brink of life and death?"

"Who dares to challenge me?" Before he could think any further, Master Chun Yuan caught up in a flash, shouting sharply in Li Ji'an's direction.

"Shameless old thief, coveting my Holy Spirit, still have the nerve to bark?" After leaving the blockade zone, Li Ji'an activated Fu Xiaochen's essence blood, and now he appeared holding the magic weapon Wind and Fire Fan.

"Fu Xiaochen?" Pure Yuan Zhenren's expression changed slightly, quite surprised.

Previously, the Lieyang Sect had announced to the world that Fu Xiaochen had died, which was already common knowledge.

He scanned the area carefully with his divine sense, confirming that nothing was amiss, and then his expression suddenly changed: "Hmph! This brat faked his death, deceiving the world, all to scheme against my third-tier spiritual flame?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji'an was slightly moved, somewhat admiring the old man's ability to distort the truth and his imagination.

However, at this moment, life and death hang in the balance. If they cannot escape while their consciousness is being burned by the little fire spirit, and wait for their sea of ​​consciousness to recover, then their chances of survival are truly slim.

They must also be wary of the Holy Palace sending reinforcements.

"Whoosh~" Another third-tier spirit talisman was activated.

A barrage of lightning bolts crashed down, forcing Pure Yuan Zhenren to a halt.

At the same time, another teleportation talisman was activated, and by the time the lightning snake dissipated, Li Ji'an had already arrived beside the severely injured frog.

"Collect!" Instantly, he put the frog into his spirit pet bag and at the same time, he returned the little fire spirit, which had fallen into a chaotic state after absorbing the third-tier spirit flame, to his dantian.

"How dare you, you brat!" Master Chun Yuan gritted his teeth upon seeing this.

Normally, with his late-stage Core Formation cultivation, he wouldn't even consider Fu Xiaochen, a True Person at the early stage of Core Formation, a threat.

Even if he escapes a hundred miles away, he will surely be captured and brought back; he will not escape his grasp.

However, at this moment, his soul was injured and his physical body was suffering a backlash. If he could not keep it here, it would probably escape.

Therefore, his first move was his strongest killing move.

Without hesitation, the natal cauldron was activated, carrying immense power as it struck Li Ji'an directly.

Li Ji'an's expression was solemn. In the blink of an eye, the teleportation talisman was too late. He could only retreat hastily with the help of the speed talisman while activating his natal golden bell talisman, which he had nurtured for decades, to protect him.

"Clang!" The three-legged cauldron arrived in the next moment and crashed into the golden bell talisman's protective shield.

Boom~
It shattered in an instant, and golden fragments scattered all over the sky.

Immediately, the speed of the Dharma Cauldron did not decrease.

Li Ji'an decisively summoned the glass lamp, unleashing a raging inferno that struck the Dharma Cauldron.

Boom~
It still couldn't shake the Dharma Cauldron in the slightest.

Li Ji'an gritted his teeth and let the glass lamp slip from his hand.

Boom~
The prototype of this magical artifact struck the magic cauldron, erupting in violent sparks before shattering into pieces and being completely destroyed.

However, Fa Ding's momentum was unstoppable, forging ahead into the future.

Left with no other choice, Li Ji'an could only condense the mana he had gained from taking another Explosive Mana Pill on the way to the early stage of True Core in front of him, turning it into a mana shield to defend himself.

"Bang!" Fortunately, after the consumption of the third-tier Golden Bell Talisman and a rudimentary magic weapon, the power of Pure Yuan True Person's magic cauldron was reduced by 60%, and Li Ji'an's protective magic shield did not break immediately upon contact.

However, there was no way to stop it.

It was just to buy him time to unleash the Wind and Fire Fan again.

Finally, the Dharma Cauldron broke through Li Ji'an's Dharma shield and crashed into the Wind and Fire Fan.

Crack! The Wind and Fire Fan, both magical artifacts, immediately cracked upon contact and continued to advance due to the impact of the Magic Cauldron.

Li Ji'an's blood and energy surged, and he crossed his hands to block the wind and fire fan.

"Bang!" The enormous impact sent Li Ji'an flying back several feet.

Fortunately, the power of the Dharma Cauldron finally dissipated.

"Pfft~" During the backward flight, Li Ji'an spat out a mouthful of blood mist. His internal organs were already severely injured, but he could only muster his strength and use the momentum to continue his escape.

"Hmph!" Pure Yuan Zhenren flashed and arrived in front of the Dharma Cauldron, holding it once again.

Seeing that Li Ji'an had used the momentum to widen the distance again, his eyes narrowed and his magical power erupted once more.

"Ah~" However, the mana in his dantian suddenly became disordered, and he experienced a backlash from taking the human pill.

In an instant, he lost his balance and almost fell.

"You little thief! If I hadn't suffered the backlash from the Human Pill, how could you be so arrogant!" He cursed under his breath, barely managing to maintain half of his mana to pursue.

At this moment, Li Ji'an's blood was surging, and he was focused on escaping, so he did not notice Chun Yuan Zhenren's condition.

Even with the double mana boost from the Magic Explosion Pill and the double blessing of the Speed ​​Scroll, the speed still felt too slow.

During his escape, he made hand seals, using his qi and blood as a guide, and his life essence began to slowly burn.

This is a blood-burning escape technique that he created years ago in order to deal with the arrival of the Golden Puppet Saint of the Boundless Domain. He tried many times and referred to several secret techniques of the sect.

By burning and consuming their own life essence, they can accelerate their flight speed.

The more essence blood is burned, the faster the flight speed.

The price is the depletion of one's vital essence, the severing of one's cultivation foundation, and an extreme loss of vitality and lifespan.

Ordinary cultivators would certainly not dare to use this unless absolutely necessary.

Moreover, there is a certain time delay in the casting of this escape technique.

"You little thief, prepare to die!" Ten breaths later, Pure Yuan Zhenren closed the distance again, and a fiery snake shot out from afar.

Even if he only has half of his peak mana, he is still stronger than an ordinary Foundation Establishment mid-stage True Person.

Li Ji'an hurriedly summoned the last top-grade refined gold shield.

This was the last of his three top-grade shields. The first one was broken by Fairy Yun Yao, and the second one was broken by a sneak attack suspected to be by True Person Wang You from the Dongli Sect.

"Bang!" As expected, the last top-grade shield also shattered.

However, this attack, unlike the previous top-grade magic weapon, had its power largely depleted by the refined gold shield. Li Ji'an dodged it without even looking.

At the same time, the Blood Burning Escape technique began to exert its power, and the escape speed suddenly increased.

"Fu Xiaochen! If you don't surrender now, I swear to annihilate your entire sect!" Upon seeing this, Chun Yuan Zhenren felt a chill in his heart. If the other party continued to flee at this speed for a while, he might really be able to shake him off.

If that's the case, then he's really lost out this time.

The third-tier spiritual flame was his most precious treasure that enabled him to turn the tide of his battles, and it was also his greatest asset in becoming the King of Pills.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji'an was overjoyed, realizing that the other party had probably run out of tricks.

In an instant, he increased his speed again.

"You're courting death!" Pure Yuan Zhenren gritted his teeth, his face showing a resolute expression, and he bit his tongue hard.

Despite the blood gushing from his throat, he was determined to defeat his opponent, even at the cost of damaging his physical foundation.

In an instant, his magical power returned to its peak, and he launched a fierce pursuit.

"You old beast!" Li Ji'an sensed the threat and was startled.

He gritted his teeth and once again summoned the ninth-grade magic weapon, the Wind and Fire Fan.

It glanced at the tiny cracks on it, and then suddenly shot off backward.

Just as he was about to make contact with the catching-up Pure Yuan Zhenren, he had a sudden thought and used his divine soul to activate it.

"Boom!" The power of the magic weapon's self-destruction was extraordinary, and in an instant, the world behind it seemed to turn into a sea of ​​fire.

At the same time, Li Ji'an activated another teleportation talisman.

When the fire died down, he reappeared, already a hundred miles away.

He had no interest in investigating Chun Yuan Zhenren's situation; he simply kept his head down and fled rapidly eastward.
-
Three days and three nights later, Li Ji'an's blood and qi stagnated, and his vital essence was almost completely burned away, forcing him to slow down his flight speed.

Immediately, he transformed back into Huang Jie, summoned his top-grade flying boat, and headed south.

A month later, he passed by a second-tier market town and decisively entered.

This is a market town jointly established by three Foundation Establishment sects in the vicinity, with Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed there, located in a rocky wasteland.

Li Ji'an rented a secluded courtyard house to focus on healing his wounds.

Although Huang Jie's essence blood was activated, the magical energy was controlled at the early stage of Foundation Establishment. Otherwise, if he had come here with the cultivation level of mid-Foundation Establishment, it would have easily caused unease among the three sects and created unnecessary trouble.

A month later, after being repeatedly cleansed by wood-based magic, the internal abdominal injury improved.

At the same time, the tension in my nerves eased a little due to the calm that had been going on all along.

Over the past month, some real people have occasionally passed by the area, and I have also used my divine sense to scan the surroundings a few times, but none of them have come down to investigate.

Moreover, on this day, Zou Qi brought news: Wanfa Palace angrily denounced Fu Zhenren of Lieyang Sect for faking his death and for ambushing and scheming against Dan Wang, devouring Dan Wang's third-tier spiritual flame.

Now, several late-stage True Core cultivators from the Wanfa Palace have gathered at the Lieyang Sect, forcing the Lieyang Sect to hand over the person!
Li Ji'an met Zou Qi half a month after he came to this market.

According to Zou Qi, they arrived here after leaving Xuan Guang Immortal City.

His grandfather had predicted that his opportunity lay here, which compelled him to come and wait.

However, his grandfather, Zou Yan, had already exhausted his lifespan and passed away on the way.

This made Li Ji'an look at the Zou family's divination skills with even greater respect.

Previously, back in Xuan Guang Immortal City, if he hadn't revealed the secrets of heaven in advance, he would have been trapped like a turtle in a jar by Chun Yuan Zhenren if he had entered the city with the little fire spirit.

A true near-death experience!
The outcome will certainly be much more serious than it is now.

Having already promised the grandfather and grandson, he did not refuse Zou Qi this time.

They rented a small courtyard next door for him so that he could practice in peace for the time being, and he often inquired about major events in the spiritual community.

Zou Qi is young, but she is very clever and well-mannered.

Her handsome face led many to mistake her for a woman dressed as a man, especially her clear, bright eyes that radiated a lively spirit.

Although his spiritual root was only of the lower-middle grade of the metal element, Zou Qi, at the age of sixteen, had already reached the third level of Qi Refining, which was stronger than Li Ji'an's at the same age in this life.

Moreover, the cultivation technique he practiced was only a mid-grade Xuan-level technique called "Gold Dividing Technique," which was similar in grade to the Yan family's "Flame Dragon Technique" that Li Ji'an practiced in this life.

Li Ji'an did not have any better metal-based cultivation techniques to teach him, but only guided his cultivation, provided him with high-quality pills, and gave him a fine magic sword.

Zou Qi, however, handed over his ancestral divination skills to Li Ji'an, showing his sincerity.

"..." Upon learning that the Wanfa Palace had gathered at the Lieyang Sect, a smile involuntarily appeared on Li Ji'an's lips.

This completely relieved him.

That night, he summoned Guagua again.

To prevent any more supernatural insects or spirits from appearing, Li Ji'an only checked Guagua's injuries and fed it healing pills before entering the market for the past month, and then kept it in his spirit pet bag.

"Quack quack~" After this period of recovery, the quack's internal abdominal injury has improved a lot, but it is still somewhat weak and covered in injuries.

After examining him carefully again, Li Ji'an began to heal him with wood-based magic.

"Can that black gold skin be transformed again?" Li Ji'an asked during the process.

Guagua tried immediately, but ultimately failed.

It remains the same as before, except that it changes color to adapt to its surroundings, similar to the camouflage effect of a chameleon.

As for the black gold skin that withstood the fiery blade from Chun Yuan Zhenren, it could not be reproduced.

Li Ji'an was slightly disappointed, as he had thought that the other party had mutated some kind of bloodline supernatural power during the life-or-death crisis.

After all, for a mid-stage second-tier demon beast to be able to withstand an attack comparable to an early-stage True Core cultivator with its skin is truly astonishing.

If he could change his skin at will, it could become another major protective trump card for Li Ji'an.

After a night of treatment, Guagua returned to the pet pouch.

Then Li Ji'an sensed the little fire spirit in his dantian.

After absorbing the third-tier spiritual flame, except for being forcibly awakened by Li Ji'an and attacked by Pure Yuan True Person, it has been in a state of chaos ever since, similar to each time it was about to advance.

This stirred Li Ji'an's heart.

I really didn't expect that the mid-stage second-tier fire spirit would directly advance after absorbing the third-tier spirit flame!
"I wonder if it's a minor advancement or a major advancement?"

"If I could leap to become a third-tier fire spirit, the power of my spirit flames might barely reach the fourth-tier pill fire, and perhaps I could even attempt to refine fourth-tier pills..."

Thinking of this, Li Ji'an immediately chuckled and shook his head.

In the end, the little fire spirit's absorption of the third-tier spiritual flame during this calamity at the Myriad Laws Palace was undoubtedly a great opportunity.

However, the losses were also considerable; the ninth-grade magic weapon, the Wind and Fire Fan, had to self-destruct before it could even truly be used against an enemy.

He then completely destroyed the glass lamp, which was still quite easy for him to use.

In addition, there are three third-tier spirit talismans and a top-grade shield.

Most importantly, I have exhausted too much of my life force this time.

One Magic Explosion Pill can advance the rejuvenation process by at least several decades.

The three days and three nights of burning blood escape almost exhausted his life essence.

Originally, after advancing to the False Core stage, he had three hundred years to refine his skills in various arts and crafts, and ample time to lay the foundation for his next life. However, this time he has almost exhausted all of that time.

Conservatively speaking, it will begin to decline in a dozen years at most due to excessive depletion of its vital essence.

(End of this chapter)