Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 285 Formation of Spiritual Roots
Just as Master Jinshi was about to ask another question, Xiao Changfeng had already arrived at Dan Ding Peak.

"Greetings, Elder Changfeng."

"What brings you here?" Xiao Changfeng put aside his usual casualness and his expression became somewhat serious.

Elder Jinshi's eyelids twitched slightly. He had only come to ask this kid a question, yet he had such a grand entrance.

Li Ping'an's position in his heart was elevated several notches.

After a patient explanation, Xiao Changfeng's expression finally returned to normal.

"This is outrageous! Which disciple is so audacious? Ping An, this concerns Elder Jinshi's great-grandson, so you should speak frankly and without reservation."

"Yes, Uncle-Master!" Li Ji'an nodded.

He couldn't lie to Master Jinshi, after all, his previous life's rattle drum, a "Dao artifact," was on him, and lying would make it ring.

There's no need to lie.

"Little Ping An, does Xiao Lei have anything else to say?" After receiving Xiao Changfeng's approval, Master Jinshi asked again, but this time his attitude was noticeably gentler.

Li Ji'an shook his head: "Nothing else."

"Then I shall take my leave. I will dig three feet into the ground to find that villain!" Master Jinshi bowed to the crowd and took his leave.

Watching Master Jinshi leave in a hurry, Xiao Changfeng first comforted Li Ji'an, then solemnly reminded him: "Ping'an, you should be careful in your future actions and not let down the name your master gave you. Also, you should not be careless even within the sect."

"Uncle-Master, is it not safe even within the sect?" Xu Xiaochun asked, somewhat surprised.

He wasn't particularly close to Xiao Changfeng, just like other inner disciples of the sect, until Li Ping'an addressed him as "Uncle-Master," at which point he followed suit.

Xiao Changfeng slowly shook his head: "This matter must not be spread. The attack on Elder Jinshi's great-grandson within the sect was not due to a secret rendezvous, but must be related to the other five sects."

"The other five sects?" Master Yu Dan, who had been in seclusion refining pills for many years, was quite surprised to hear this.

"That's right. Five years ago, when we opened the sixth tomb chamber, our six sects fought fiercely. The Supreme Elder's injury was caused by the attack on the Supreme Elder of the Dongli Sect. Since then, the six sects have been mortal enemies."

"In the past five years, although the six sects have not made any open moves and have only been recuperating, they have secretly accumulated a number of resources. Who knows when a great war might break out," Xiao Changfeng explained in a low voice.

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged bewildered glances.

Li Ji'an's heart stirred slightly, for this confirmed the divination he had performed when Zou Qi's ancestors were nearing the end of their lives.

The only thing that remains unconfirmed is the absence of a True Monarch in the region.

Previously, Li Ji'an thought that Wanfa Zhenjun's seclusion since the war between the righteous and the demonic might have damaged his fundamental health, leading to his impending death.

However, five years ago, when the True Lord of Ten Thousand Laws personally visited the ancient tomb in the Blackwater Swamp, it is said that his injuries were healed and he returned to his peak condition.

"Could it be in an ancient tomb?"

As Li Ji'an was pondering, True Person Yu Dan frowned deeply: "Nonsense! With such chaos in the realm, aren't you afraid the Demon Realm will take advantage of the situation? Isn't the Holy Palace going to do anything about it?"

But Xiao Changfeng smiled slightly: "Coincidentally, a few years ago, the leaders of the righteous path in the ten central domains defeated the demonic alliance, forcing the demonic alliance to call upon demonic cultivators within the realm to help. Not only the Boundless Domain in the northeast, but also the Yellow Heaven Domain in the north, all sent their True Monarch warriors to the central region to assist. Even..."

Xiao Changfeng abruptly stopped halfway through his sentence.

What he originally wanted to say was: "The chaos that occurred when the sixth tomb chamber was opened might have been caused by the Wanfa Palace."

However, you can't say things like that.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji'an suddenly realized what was going on.

When Zou Yan revealed this secret, he also speculated that the Boundless Realm might take advantage of the situation and enter, which would perfectly match the divination.

Upon hearing this, Master Yudan's expression immediately tightened, realizing the seriousness of the problem.

The following day, news of Pang Lei's affair spread throughout the clan.

Three days later, the inner disciple of Baoqi Peak died outside the sect.

Half a month later, Pang Lei woke up and told her what he had seen and heard.

The inner disciple's rendezvous with the female attendant was actually an attempt to inquire about the recent developments in the creation of magical artifacts at Treasure Artifact Peak.

When the whole story was exposed, the sect was in an uproar. The sect leader immediately announced the grim situation they were facing and ordered that the sect's territory be strictly guarded from that day forward, officially entering a state of alert.

Half a month later, Xiao Changfeng handed the refined Soul Jade to Li Ji'an and once again reminded Li Ji'an to be careful.

Li Ji'an had anticipated this sudden change before his rejuvenation, but he hadn't expected it to be so severe. He never imagined that even the sect would be in such dire straits.

However, it didn't affect him much; on the contrary, it made his already steady personality less conspicuous among the many direct descendants.

In the days that followed, besides attending his sect classes, Li Ji'an devoted himself to practicing the Qi Sensing Method and tempering his soul.

He continued to take the Replenishing Pill, which he had refined with wood-type magic in his previous life, every day, allowing his spiritual veins, which had been damaged in the Desolate Land before he was eight years old, to continue to repair.

Five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

"Li Ping'an, you're not a woman disguised as a man, are you?" Pang Lei, who had just come out of class that day and hadn't seen Li Ji'an for more than half a year, stared at Li Ji'an for a long time and couldn't help but shout.

This attracted the attention of the children who had just finished their lessons.

They all instinctively looked at Li Ji'an, who stood out from the crowd.

Li Ji'an also grinned slightly, not blaming Pang Lei for being so loud and boisterous.

Moreover, the other party was by no means malicious.

Indeed, over the past five years, Li Ji'an's appearance has become increasingly refined and charming.

Compared to his somewhat ordinary appearance at the age of eight, he is now full of spiritual energy even though he has not yet begun his cultivation.

Especially now that she is thirteen years old, her spiritual root is almost fully developed, and her appearance is changing rapidly.

When Pang Lei was less than fifteen years old last year, his spiritual root was fully formed. He then participated in the annual sect trial and assessment, becoming an inner disciple of the sect and entering the Dharma Transmission Hall for cultivation. It is normal for him to be shocked since he has not been seen for more than half a year.

Even Xu Xiaochun and Guo Wanzhi, who spent every day together, were somewhat shocked by Li Ji'an's changes after occasionally emerging from seclusion to refine elixirs.

Li Ji'an investigated on his own and guessed that it was most likely the effect of the Replenishing Essence Pill.

Firstly, it replenished the spiritual veins from before the age of eight, affecting not only the five years after the age of eight, but also the eight years before the age of eight, resulting in significant changes.

Secondly, the Replenishing Pill he refined in his previous life was based on his wood-based medical skills and incorporated a great deal of wood-based magic power.

Wood-type magic inherently possesses the effect of perpetual life and eternal youth, and it also contains a great deal of vital essence. In addition to nourishing the spiritual veins, it has also had a significant impact on Li Ji'an's physical body in this lifetime.

Of course, this was a good thing for him, and it also saved him from the original plan to use the Faceless Mask to slightly conceal himself.

"Want to have a competition?" Li Ji'an glanced at him.

"Heh~ I'm already a Qi Refining Level 1 cultivator. I only need 10% of my magic power to suppress you!" Pang Lei pouted, quite smug.

Li Ji'an smiled faintly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. Although he had not yet begun to cultivate the "Divine Treasure Body Forging Technique" or practice Qi cultivation, with his current divine sense comparable to the early stage of Foundation Establishment, a single Soul-Shocking Thrust could cause his sea of ​​consciousness to collapse, resulting in his death and the dissipation of his soul.

With a joke, Pang Lei chuckled and took his leave.

Master Jinshi had long ago instructed him to be respectful to Li Ping'an and not to offend him.

On the way back to Dan Ding Peak with Li Ji'an, Guo Wanzhi stared at Li Ji'an's face in amazement. She had seen the changes in him over the past five years. If he continued to develop like this, her junior brother might be able to make a name for himself in the cultivation world once he truly grew up.

After returning to Dan Ding Peak, Li Ji'an checked himself again and confirmed that his bones and muscles had fully grown and he could begin body tempering.

He didn't need to hide his body-refining skills from others. Both Li Ji'an in his previous life and Xiao Changfeng had experience with body-refining before entering the sect.

In his previous life, he had thoroughly comprehended the "Divine Treasure Body Forging Technique," and over the past five years, he had repeatedly deduced its effects based on his own physique in this life. To his unexpected delight, his physique in this life had actually improved even further than in his previous life.

I thought that after taking the top-grade Marrow Cleansing Pill in my previous life, my muscles and bones had reached their limit. I never expected that the Source-Replenishing Pill would not only repair my spiritual veins but also improve my muscles and bones.

On that day, he used his master's instructions as an excuse to practice the "Divine Treasure Body Forging Technique" in public.

At the same time, Xu Xiaochun also encouraged him to start trying to condense his spiritual consciousness.

Children generally have a weaker spiritual foundation, and it is not until they are around thirteen years old that they have accumulated a certain amount of spiritual reserves, which is enough for them to attempt to condense their spiritual consciousness.

Thus, Li Ji'an's life became even more fulfilling in the days that followed.

He cultivated both his body and soul simultaneously, and his progress in body cultivation was particularly rapid.

Furthermore, the first level of the "Divine Treasure Body Forging Technique" is the liver, which corresponds to the element of wood in the Five Elements theory. This makes his body particularly adept at cultivation.

In just two and a half years, he had fully refined the first layer of his divine treasure. Compared to the martial arts practiced in the Immortal Dynasty, he surpassed the Qi and Blood Grandmaster realm and almost reached the peak of the first-order body cultivation.

This amazed Li Ji'an with the effects of the Replenishing Essence Pill, and also made him reflect on the vast difference in talent that existed between him and others, despite their similar backgrounds.

This shows that countless geniuses in this world have had their talents wasted.

Perhaps the world is not lacking in geniuses, but rather in the resources of the environment in which they grow up.

Of course, the "Divine Treasure Body Forging Technique" that Wu Weixiong gave him was also far superior to the body cultivation techniques he had learned in his previous two lives.

Just as he reached the peak of the first level of body cultivation, he successfully mastered the first level of the Blood Dao Secret Technique "Thousand Machine Blood Guide" that he had obtained from the Blood Spirit Saintess. With the help of his previous life's high-level understanding, he was able to control his blood and qi in a very detailed way, making it difficult for non-high-level body cultivators to detect his blood and qi condition.

At the same time, he examined his spiritual root and felt that his spiritual root in this life had been fully formed.

That day, he found Guo Wanzhi and told her about the spiritual root.

"It's already taken shape?" Guo Wanzhi asked with delight.

"Alright, junior brother, please wait a moment. I will immediately send a message to our grandmaster and uncle. Everyone is eagerly anticipating the progress of your spiritual root."

"Mm." Li Ji'an nodded.

He was very confident in his spiritual roots in this life. Compared to his affinity for spiritual energy at the same age in his previous life, he was at least five strands higher in this life. It was almost certain that he would have a superior spiritual root. The only question was whether it would be a lower-middle or upper-middle-grade spiritual root.

"Junior brother, your spiritual root has taken shape?" Not long after Guo Wanzhi sent the message, Xu Xiaochun rushed over, his divine sense enveloping Li Ji'an, carefully sensing Li Ji'an's affinity with spiritual energy.

"They are no less capable than the disciples with superior spiritual roots who participated in last year's sect trials."

“Junior brother, as long as your fire elemental root reaches the superior grade, then our master’s alchemy skills will surely be carried forward and developed in your hands. Our master’s spirit in heaven will be gratified.” Xu Xiaochun said with great anticipation.

Guo Wanzhi glared at him: "Ping An doesn't necessarily have to be an alchemist. If he truly has a top-grade spiritual root, coupled with his intelligence and steady temperament, he could compete for the sect's true successor!"

"Not bad, not bad, Junior Brother definitely has the potential to inherit the true essence. If he forms a true core a hundred years from now, it will make up for Master's regret of having a false core." Xu Xiaochun hurriedly changed his words.

Before long, Master Yudan and Elder Changfeng arrived together.

"Ping An, let's go, we'll go with you to get tested."

Accompanied by the four, Li Ji'an arrived at the sect's spirit-testing stone.

Li Ji'an was no stranger to this spirit stone test; he had tested it here in his previous life, and it contained nineteen strands of fire element, almost reaching the top grade.

"Ping An, don't be nervous. Your affinity with spiritual energy is not bad," Guo Wanzhi encouraged gently.

"Hmm." Li Ji'an nodded and, under the watchful eyes of the four, walked confidently onto the spirit-testing stone platform.

"Elder Changfeng, have there been any increases in the number of internal cultivation techniques in the sect?" Jade Pill True Person transmitted his voice to Xiao Changfeng.

The Biyun Sect has always claimed that its most treasured cultivation technique is a water-based technique passed down by its founding patriarch, which is ranked as a high-grade earth-level technique.

It is truly the number one cultivation method in the entire Cangyun Prefecture, with great advantages in cultivation efficiency, spiritual energy conversion, and the richness and purity of magical power.

In particular, it also possesses a unique supernatural power.

Normally speaking, if someone has the talent of a superior water spiritual root and is qualified to learn this technique, the probability of condensing a true core is at least 30%, even without using any core-forming spiritual treasures.

"Yes!" Xiao Changfeng thought for a moment and gave an affirmative answer.

"However, this technique has many drawbacks, and only those with at least a superior spiritual root and an extraordinary temperament have a chance to improve upon it. Therefore, it has not yet been taught to the disciples of the sect."

Upon hearing this, Master Yudan's eyes flashed with curiosity: "Could it have come from the ruins of the Great Ze Mountains back then?"

As a leading alchemist in the sect, Master Yudan never participated in exploring the ruins, nor did he ever actively inquire about the sect's secrets.

However, the matter of the Dazeshan Ruins was spread like wildfire by some people with ulterior motives, and rumors that the Biyun Sect had discovered a high-grade earth-level cultivation technique in the ruins were almost everywhere.

"Exactly!"

Master Yudan's eyes lit up, showing some anticipation.

"May I ask what type of cultivation technique it is?"

He had high hopes for Xiao Ping'an's character and talent, and naturally hoped that Xiao Ping'an could fulfill his master's unfulfilled wish of achieving the True Elixir.

However, the situation within the region is currently unstable, and in order to deal with the threat from the other five sects, the sects have been opening their gates wider and recruiting disciples and students every year.

The overall strength of the sect naturally improved, but this also led to a rapid depletion of the sect's resources.

Given this situation, even if Xiao Ping'an becomes a true disciple, he may not be able to receive the sect's Core Formation treasures a hundred years from now.

Therefore, in such a situation, only by practicing a level-one cultivation technique can the chances of achieving a true elixir be increased.

The sect's signature technique is a water-based technique, and most of the cultivators with a high sensitivity to water-based spiritual energy are female. He had some understanding of Xiao Ping'an's spiritual root, and her water-based spiritual root was not particularly outstanding.

"Om~"

Just then, a flash of light appeared on the spirit-testing stone.

A small golden sword lit up.

"Fifteen strands of metal-type spiritual root sensitivity!"

"That's right. Judging from the affinity of the spiritual energy of the peace and tranquility, the metal element is clearly not the highest. If it can still reach the middle grade, the other elemental spiritual roots must be even higher." Xu Xiaochun praised loudly.

Li Ji'an nodded secretly. In his previous life, he only had eight strands of metal-type spiritual root, but in this life, it had increased by seven strands.

Is this the deficit caused by the time I was eight years old?

If that's the case, wouldn't all other elemental roots also be able to increase by this much?
With anticipation, he once again calmed his mind and focused his attention, trying his best to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

"Wow!"

The next moment, as a small, pale green sapling lit up, several streams of spiritual energy rose up, and the four people below were all moved.

"Twenty-eight strands of wood-type spiritual root, a superior-grade quality!"

"Great!" Xiao Changfeng and the others were overjoyed.

Li Ji'an himself was also shocked. He stared at the number of spiritual energy on the spirit-measuring stone, his heart pounding uncontrollably.

"His wood-type spiritual root was only fourteen strands in his previous life, but in this life it has doubled to twenty-eight strands? Is it because of the wood-type magic power nourished by the Source-Replenishing Pill?"

"The number of wood-type spiritual roots has doubled, so is it possible that the highest-ranking fire-type spiritual root from my previous life... or even a low-grade spiritual root?"

(End of this chapter)