Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 279 The Villainous Old Thief
Where there is oppression, there is resistance.

Even in the cultivation world where strength is paramount, the three states of Tiancang have never lacked those who would rise up in rebellion.

However, most of these were minor skirmishes, requiring no intervention from the Holy Palace or the Upper Sect. Nearby cultivation families could easily eliminate them and then claim credit from the sect.

After all, most of these rebels initially aimed to resist the oppression of their surrounding families. Some were forced into it, some were fighting to the death, and some simply wanted to take their place.

But no one has ever dared to directly attack a disciple of a sect; that would be tantamount to courting death.

"Tianyuan Prefecture or Cangyun Prefecture?" The thought flashed through my mind for a moment, then I stopped thinking about it.

Five days later, Xu Xiaochun rushed back to the place where he was first attacked.

There were signs of a magical struggle at the scene, and a large area of ​​the mountain forest was destroyed.

After carefully investigating the scene, he continued his pursuit southwards towards the mountains.

This place is already close to the southern edge of the mountain range. If we go further south, we will soon be approaching the outer edge of the Fire Domain in the easternmost part of Cangyun Prefecture.

Ten days later, Xu Xiaochun slowed down, and the aura of a cultivator reappeared ahead.

As Xu Xiaochun slowly approached, Li Ji'an's divided soul sensed the vague aura ahead, indicating at least ten people, one of whom clearly possessed the aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Every now and then, the sounds of magical explosions could be heard.

Upon hearing the explosion, Xu Xiaochun's expression changed instantly. Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately used a concealment technique to accelerate his approach.

Before long, a group of people came into view at the foot of a cliff in the distance.

Thirteen people were blocking the entrance to a cave at the foot of the cliff, each using their own methods.

The cave entrance was shrouded in a halo of light, and inside, a beautiful woman in a yellow dress, looking disheveled and covered in wounds, was struggling to maintain the protective halo around the cave entrance.

"Wanzhi!" Li Ji'an's divided soul instantly realized.

Of the thirteen people, the leader was in the early stage of Foundation Establishment, while the rest were mostly cultivators in the middle and late stages of Qi Refining. They all wore the same painted masks as the previous five people.

Beside the thirteen people, there were five other cultivators dressed in sect robes whose dantian had been sealed, their fates unknown.

Upon closer inspection, the aura shield at the cave entrance was not a magic shield, but rather a protective artifact, its power comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Li Ji'an was not surprised that Guo Wanzhi possessed such magical artifacts, given that her family had a certain level of wealth.

However, at this moment, the magical artifact's protective shield was clearly at its limit and needed Guo Wanzhi to provide magical support; otherwise, it would be difficult to maintain its strongest protective capability.

Judging from Guo Wanzhi's condition, she probably won't last much longer.

"Boom!" Suddenly, Xu Xiaochun attacked without hesitation, sending several fire snakes flying down the cliff.

"You're courting death!" The masked cultivators below were terrified, but when they realized that Xu Xiaochun was alone, the leader roared angrily.

He then ordered the others to continue bombarding the cave's protective barrier, while he himself flew off to chase after Xu Xiaochun.

Without the attacks from Foundation Establishment cultivators, the pressure on Guo Wanzhi's protective shield was greatly reduced.

However, Xu Xiaochun is under a lot of pressure.

A late-stage Qi Refining cultivator has no chance of winning against an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Unless it's a second-tier poison.

Unfortunately, Xu Xiaochun escaped alive from those five people and returned to this place, but the Foundation Establishment cultivators were already on guard.

In the ensuing battle, he was extremely cautious, never getting close to Xu Xiaochun, and instead using his Foundation Establishment power to bombard him from a distance.

Xu Xiaochun had no choice but to dodge and escape.

However, an hour later, Xu Xiaochun was pierced by a pile of thorns, his protective shield shattered, and he fell to the ground.

Without hesitation, the Foundation Establishment cultivator used a wisp of magic power to seal his dantian.

Just as Xu Xiaochun was expecting the other party to come forward and approach him, or to take his magical artifact, the other party looked cautious.

"Take him away!" He then called over one of his men.

This made Xu Xiaochun curse inwardly, but he was helpless.

Soon, Xu Xiaochun was taken down the cliff and thrown directly in front of the cave's light barrier.

"Hmph! If you don't want your little lover to die, then open the light barrier and come out." The Foundation Establishment cultivator conjured an earth spike in his hand and pointed it at Xu Xiaochun, threatening Guo Wanzhi.

"Bah! I don't know her well, don't try to match us up." Xu Xiaochun scolded in advance.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator sneered: "Heh~ Not familiar? If we weren't familiar, would you risk your life to come back and save her?"

"I just want to kill you bunch of bandits!" Xu Xiaochun still stubbornly insisted.

However, Guo Wanzhi had been anxious when she saw Xu Xiaochun return half an hour earlier. Now that she saw Xu Xiaochun being captured and unable to do what he wanted, how could she remain calm?

Before the Foundation Establishment cultivator could speak again, Guo Wanzhi hurriedly begged for mercy, "No, I'll come out."

"Fool! What are you doing out here? If you come out, we'll all really die, and Master will be here tomorrow!" Xu Xiaochun rebuked sharply.

Guo Wanzhi smiled, her smile radiant, devoid of fear or resentment at the impending death, filled instead with emotion and warmth.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator laughed: "Hahaha, you still want to fool me with those parasites from the sect? This place is tens of thousands of miles away from the Azure Cloud Sect. Even if your master is a True Immortal, it will take at least a month. Don't be delusional..."

"Ah!" Just then, the masked cultivator who had brought Xu Xiaochun down let out a wail, and black blood spilled from his mouth as his life force vanished instantly.

"It's poisonous!" Several people nearby quickly moved away.

"Despicable thief!" The Foundation Establishment cultivator roared, glaring angrily at Xu Xiaochun.

At the same time, the earth in his hand was stimulated and directly targeted Xu Xiaochun's dantian!
"Senior brother!" Guo Wanzhi was shocked and immediately put away her protective shield and rushed out.

However, even if she pushed her speed to the limit, how could she catch up?
They could only watch helplessly as Xu Xiaochun's dantian was about to shatter.

Boom~
However, just as the earth spike was about to touch Xu Xiaochun, a powerful pressure suddenly erupted.

The oppressive aura not only sent the earth spikes flying, but also created a shockwave that caused even mid-stage Qi Refining masked cultivators to lose their footing and retreat.

"what is this?"

"Has a master arrived?"

"retreat!"

……

In an instant, the crowd erupted into chaos.

By the time the dust and smoke from the shockwave dissipated, everyone had already retreated several feet, remaining on high alert with Xu Xiaochun at the center.

At this moment, everyone finally saw the changes that had occurred to Xu Xiaochun.

A three-zhang-tall phantom figure stood above Xu Xiaochun's head.

His face was gentle and his demeanor peaceful, yet he possessed the imposing presence of a high-ranking cultivator at the Core Formation stage—clearly Li Ji'an's true form.

The secret method of refining Soul Jade and splitting the soul cannot disguise one's appearance. Otherwise, given Li Ji'an's personality, he would not want to show his true form to others, especially strangers who pose a life-or-death threat to his disciple.

"Young friend, cultivation is not easy. Do not make a mistake. Retreat from here and let bygones be bygones!" Li Ji'an's illusory figure issued a low but extremely oppressive voice of dissuasion.

This is also a secret technique setting for refining Soul Jade, serving as a prerequisite for the final strike.

When Li Ji'an refined it, his only purpose was to save Xu Xiaochun's life.

"Hmph! There's no need for you all to be alarmed. It's just a soul-splitting technique. This is only a wisp of that old man's soul, and its strength is no more than 100%!" The Foundation Establishment cultivator stared for a moment before speaking to reassure the group.

Immediately, he rose into the air, flying to a position slightly higher than Li Ji'an's illusory figure, his magic hammer pointing directly at Li Ji'an's illusory figure.

"You old scoundrel! You dare to intimidate others with a mere fragment of your soul? Others may fear you, but I, Yuan, am not!"

After the phantom finished speaking, it fell silent, because it was just a pre-set scenario.

However, Li Ji'an, who was speeding along in the airship, felt a slight twitch in his eyelids. He had a feeling of facing the protagonist of a novel.

And it seems that I have become the old man in some novels, where the protagonist beats up the young and then the old man comes to get revenge.

"Bang!" Seeing that the illusory figure stopped talking, the young Foundation Establishment cultivator immediately took the initiative, his magic hammer growing longer in the wind and smashing towards Li Ji'an's illusory figure.

The wisp of the phantom's soul was shattered by this attack.

Li Ji'an's own consciousness trembled slightly, and he suffered a slight backlash.

"Master Yuan's annihilation of the True Immortal's divided soul is truly impressive!"

"Master Yuan is mighty!"

"Hahaha, you're not afraid even when the real person is right in front of you. Hall Master Yuan truly lives up to his reputation as a young prodigy!"

……

The moment the phantom shattered, cheers erupted from all around.

Xu Xiaochun's face grew increasingly gloomy, his eyes fixed on the Yuan-surnamed Foundation Establishment bandit leader with venomous resentment.

Immediately, the Soul Jade in his hand shattered, and a rocket shot towards the Foundation Establishment bandit leader surnamed Yuan.

Its speed was as fast as lightning, and it carried the pressure of Li Ji'an. The cultivator surnamed Yuan had no way to avoid it and could only hold his magic hammer horizontally in front of him and release his protective magic shield to meet the attack head-on.

Just as Yuan Ting was feeling smug after shattering the illusory image with a single move, he was immediately horrified when he sensed the rocket.

"Oh!"

The rocket flashed by.

Yuan Ting's magic hammer broke in half, and his protective magic shield shattered after only three breaths.

Fortunately, just as the rocket, which had already lost 80% of its power, was about to pierce through his body, a blood-red ripple spread from his chest, forming a blood-red circular shield that barely blocked the rocket.

However, although he avoided being pierced by the rocket, he was still thrown several feet away by the pressure of the attack. His internal organs churned, and he couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of blood.

"Go!" Just then, a wisp of colorful silk flew out from Guo Wanzhi's sleeve, wrapped around Xu Xiaochun, and they immediately fled towards the direction of Biyun Sect.

"Chase!" Yuan Ting roared in anger and immediately gave chase, but once again, due to the fluctuation of his magical power, he spat out a mouthful of blood mist.

"Quickly, you all go after them! You absolutely cannot let them escape!" With no other choice, he could only order his men to give chase while he himself quickly sat down to meditate and regulate his breathing.

Li Ji'an's divided soul had already dissipated, and this was the last scene he saw.

"This child must not be kept!"

At the same time, he thought of Tang Yu, the young master of the vassal family of the Liu family, who was later renamed Tang.

In his mind, he was probably forced to flee his home because of the invisible pressure from Li Ji'an.

"That kid wouldn't possibly see me as Tang Qun's backer, or as the culprit who caused him to leave his hometown, would he?"

He then shook his head. With Guagua and Xiaohuoling around, even after rejuvenating, he wasn't worried about retaliation from those younger generations.

He immediately sped off again toward Xu Xiaochun's location as he sensed it.

Now that the Foundation Establishment stage bandit leader is injured, he is unable to pursue Guo Wanzhi and her companion for the time being.

Although Guo Wanzhi is not good at fighting due to her personality, she has twenty-two strands of high-grade fire-type spiritual root and has long been at the peak of the late stage of Qi Refining. Her magical power is also profound and pure.

If she were to fly at full speed, even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator would definitely not be able to catch up with her.

Now that there are no Foundation Establishment stage cultivators chasing us, we can most likely shake off the late Qi Refining stage rogue cultivators pursuing us.

However, with Xu Xiaochun's dantian magic power sealed as a burden, things became somewhat more difficult.

Xu Xiaochun knew he couldn't unseal the dantian sealed during the Foundation Establishment stage on his own.

Fortunately, as long as that Foundation Establishment cultivator hasn't recovered, Guo Wanzhi might be able to hold on until Li Ji'an arrives.

Now that more than half a month has passed, and with Li Ji'an sparing no expense on spirit stones, plus Guo Wanzhi heading towards the Biyun Sect, they should meet in four or five days at most.

"There's enough time!"

Four days later, Li Ji'an sensed Guo Wanzhi's presence as expected.

A sweep of divine sense revealed that Guo Wanzhi's exquisite yellow robes were torn in several places, her face was pale, and her magical aura was fluctuating and unstable.

However, he still used silk ribbons and magical artifacts to bind Xu Xiaochun tightly, and even worried that he would be injured by the pursuers behind him, so he still tied him to his front.

The pursuers were also struggling to breathe and were almost exhausted.

However, the leader of the Foundation Establishment bandits is about to catch up, and once he does, Guo Wanzhi and her companion will be doomed.

"Hmph!" Li Ji'an no longer concealed himself and snorted coldly from high above.

Its power and influence could be heard for miles around, creating a strong sense of oppression.

"Master!" Guo Wanzhi and Xu Xiaochun were overjoyed.

"Run!" The pursuers were terrified and hurriedly turned to flee, their speed even faster than before.

In particular, the Foundation Establishment bandit leader who was about to catch up almost unleashed a burst of speed.

"Quick, put me down." Xu Xiaochun blushed, not wanting Li Ji'an to see him like this.

“Master saw it long ago!” Guo Wanzhi whispered a reminder.

The next moment, Li Ji'an's flying boat landed above the two of them.

"Master, you've finally arrived! We've been bullied so badly!" Xu Xiaochun hurriedly knelt down, tears streaming down his face.

He was unaware that the soul jade Li Ji'an gave him could monitor his every move in real time.

"Heh~ This time it was not bad. You did not tarnish the sect's reputation, nor did you abandon the friendship among fellow disciples." Li Ji'an responded with a smile, while simultaneously releasing a burst of magical power to lift the restriction on his dantian.

Then he looked at Guo Wanzhi and said, "Very good, but you still need to learn some self-defense techniques in the future. The cultivation world is unpredictable, and no one knows what will happen next. Having more techniques may save your life."

"Wanzhi thanks Master for saving her life and will follow Master's teachings!" Guo Wanzhi remained respectful and polite.

"Master, hurry and catch those thieves! I think they're not simple; they probably have a powerful force behind them." Xu Xiaochun was anxiously worried about letting the thieves go.

Li Ji'an nodded and said, "Come on up."

The opponent was merely a Foundation Establishment cultivator and could hardly escape the range of his divine sense.

"Huh." However, after bringing Xu Xiaochun and Guo Wanzhi onto the flying boat, and the flying boat had only traveled a short distance, Li Ji'an suddenly sensed a familiar secret technique on the two of them.

Upon closer inspection, Li Ji'an's expression changed slightly.

No wonder Xu Xiaochun was easily discovered when he hid in that tree hole.

It turns out that at this moment, Xu Xiaochun and Guo Wanzhi both still had traces of the Blood Guiding Technique within their bodies. Although they were very weak, he was quite certain of it given his mastery of the Thousand Machine Blood Guiding Technique.

This secret technique was obtained from the Blood Spirit Saintess of the Boundless Domain.

Back then, the Blood Spirit Saintess used this secret technique to lock onto Li Ji'an and Qin Henian from thousands of miles away.

"Demon cultivators from the Boundless Domain?" Li Ji'an, who had already cultivated the Blood Guiding Technique to the peak of the second level, easily neutralized the Blood Guiding Technique within the two individuals, and his expression changed slightly.

Originally, he wasn't very interested in this group of thieves, but now he felt a desire to explore them.

If the Blood Spirit Sect has already invaded the Heavenly Azure Domain, then the Corpse Puppet Sect will probably come as well. In that case, the threat to the Golden Puppet Saint Monarch will be very close.

With this in mind, the speed of the airship suddenly increased.

Soon, the entire group of thieves, including the Foundation Establishment leader, were captured by Li Ji'an and thrown onto the flying boat.

"Where do you come from? What is your purpose?"

(End of this chapter)