Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 294 Not Allowed to Be Like a Dragon
After leaving the sect, Li Ji'an went to the Daze Mountain Range in the north, casually killed two late-stage first-tier demonic beasts, and took their demonic blood back to the sect to report.

He then sent Lao Huang to find Zou Qi, thus diverting Lao Huang's attention, while he himself went to the Strange Stone Forest.

"Are you really going back to the Immortal Dynasty?" Ning Sujin asked with concern when she learned of Li Ji'an's purpose for the trip.

"Don't worry, Sister Jin. With Xiao Qiao's extraordinary third-tier Earth Spirit Master skills, plus the route left behind by that old scoundrel Liu, everything will go smoothly," Li Ji'an said confidently.

"Are you sure the secrets about the Jedi are true?" Ning Sujin asked again.

Li Ji'an nodded. The reason he was determined to return to the Immortal Gift Dynasty was not only to carry the original wishes of the five people who came to the cultivation world together more than 180 years ago, but also mainly to explore the secrets of the forbidden land.

In particular, the special circumstances of spiritual root growth in this world, the fact that the earth-type spiritual root did not show any signs of repair before the age of eight, indicates that the earth-type spiritual root was not delayed before the age of eight in the Immortal Dynasty.

However, in his first life in the cultivation world, his earth spiritual root was also reduced to a single strand.

This indicates that from the age of eight until the age of twenty-eight, the earth-type spiritual root was continuously worn down.

This situation was unexpected by Li Ji'an.

Another widely circulated theory in the cultivation world is that, whether it's Old Huangtou's assertion that the contemporary Wanfa Zhenjun wanted to enter the forbidden land to seek the opportunity to become a Nascent Soul cultivator, or the Taiyi Immortal Sect, which was once the pinnacle of the cultivation world in the Great Swamp, both of them mobilized the entire sect to attack another forbidden land in order to break through the shackles of becoming a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Li Ji'an's start in this life was almost perfect. Whether it was the repair of his spiritual root or the initial cultivation site, including his identity and cultivation techniques, they were all at the limits of his understanding.

Therefore, he had high hopes for this world.

It's hard to rule out the possibility that they might be plotting to become gods.

Therefore, he decided to take advantage of his Qi Refining stage to return to the Immortal Gift Dynasty. Regardless of whether he gained anything, it was a necessary accumulation.

"But I can't go back with you." Ning Sujin looked towards the desolate Storm Mountain Range, her face filled with reminiscence.

"I will take a good look at what the Immortal Dynasty has become."

A few days later, Li Ji'an approached Xiao Qiao.

He claimed to have fulfilled his master's last wish.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qiao agreed without any hesitation.

At the same time, he felt even closer to this junior brother in front of him.

Because only Xiao Qiao knew about Li Ji'an's expectations for the Storm Desert in his previous life.

The fact that Li Ping'an knew about this matter and was willing to risk being avoided by all cultivators in the cultivation world to fulfill his last wish shows that he had not made a mistake in choosing this disciple.

Three months later.

"Guagua, Xiaohuo, are you alright?" Xiao Qiao brought Li Ji'an to the edge of the Sandstorm Wasteland. Guagua and Xiaohuo had already received Li Ji'an's instructions in the spirit contract and were waiting there.

Xiao Qiao hadn't seen her two companions for over twenty years and was very excited.

There was no awkwardness or estrangement between people who hadn't seen each other for years; it was as if they had just parted ways yesterday.

Li Ji stood quietly to the side, giving them time to reunite.

Half a month later, Li Ji'an gave Xiao Qiao a route map left behind by the Liu family patriarch.

Xiao Qiao then used the power of the earth's spirit to carefully sense and judge.

The final decision to choose this route was a glimmer of hope left to the world by the desperate situation, ensuring its safety.

However, whether it was Xiao Qiao, Guagua, or Xiao Huo, as soon as they approached the edge of the perilous place, they were met with an extremely strong pressure and could only go a few miles before they could not move an inch.

As for that terrifying storm tornado, even a wisp of its aura thousands of miles away made their souls tremble.

Having confirmed his safety, Li Ji'an bid farewell to Xiao Qiao.

However, in the end, Xiao Qiao's request to temporarily take Guagua and Xiao Huo back to Qishilin was rejected.

“Senior sister, Master instructed me before he passed away that if I didn’t have the strength to protect the little fire babies, I must never let them have too much contact with you, my close relatives,” Li Ji’an said frankly.

Xiao Qiao hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted it.

She understood Li Ji'an's concerns and knew that the conflict between Dan Wang Chun Yuan Zhenren and Li Ji'an back then was indeed very dangerous.

Once the Little Fire Spirit is exposed, those close to it may suffer a devastating calamity at the hands of the Pure Yuan True Person of the Myriad Laws Palace.

Finally, with Xiao Qiao and the two little ones watching him go, Li Ji'an boarded the flying boat and flew towards the sandstorm wasteland along the predetermined route...

……

The northern border of the Immortal Dynasty.

This place was a no-man's land when Li Ji'an ascended to heaven 180 years ago. Apart from martial arts masters of the time who came here to seek their future path, almost no one set foot here.

However, at this moment,
Li Ji'an indifferently glanced at the corpses scattered on the ground, then spoke to the grandfather and grandson who were squatting on the ground, trembling with their heads in their hands: "Get up, it's all taken care of."

Upon hearing the sound, the grandfather and grandson looked up in alarm.

hum~
The scene before him made the old man's eyes widen, and he fell to the ground with a thud.

"Young Master... how dare you slaughter the Great Martial Guards?"

"It's over, it's over, our Desert Village is doomed!"

"Alas, Heaven is against me!"

The old man was distraught and his face was full of sorrow.

"Grandpa, my brother killed those bad guys. My brother is a great hero. We're alright now." The little grandson gradually recovered from the initial shock of the scene of corpses all over the ground. Although his small body was still trembling, he gritted his teeth and said.

"My grandson, you don't understand! This isn't saving us, it's ruining our entire desert village!" The old man was in despair, looking like a walking corpse.

Li Ji'an looked at them calmly, having anticipated their reaction.

"Don't worry, the world will be different this time!"

Having said that, Li Ji'an ignored the bewildered grandfather and grandson, and his figure shifted, quickly disappearing into the vast yellow sand.

This was a month later.

Although there was a route map left by the old thief of the Liu family when crossing the Storm Desert, and he had personally traveled this route before, Li Ji'an was still very cautious. He carefully examined all the traces along the way, which caused the journey, which should have taken ten days, to take almost a month to complete.

However, having just passed through the dangerous sandstorm zone, they encountered many mortals from the Immortal Dynasty in the desolate, uninhabited desert region of their memories.

After inquiring, it was learned that these people were locals who came here to hunt desert sand beasts such as sand lizards.

Many of these people are elderly, weak, sick, or disabled.

This is because most of the young people have already died while hunting sand beasts.

With the strength of these hunters, it would take dozens of people in a team to have any hope of capturing and killing a single sand beast, and even then, the casualty rate would be very high.

The reason they act this way is simply because oppressive government is more ferocious than a tiger!
The current Great Wu Dynasty is tyrannical and oppressive, and its people are doomed to die either way. Hunting sand beasts, on the other hand, offers a glimmer of hope.

As Li Ji'an flew towards the capital of the Great Wu Dynasty, he was filled with mixed emotions.

"Just before his ascension, he passed on his meticulously compiled martial arts manual to the Immortal Seeking Palace, even declaring that he hoped everyone here would become a dragon. Yet, in just over a hundred years, the number of martial artists here has almost completely disappeared… Hah~"

The martial arts manual he compiled and perfected over two lifetimes was based on the first half of the first level of the "Dragon Elephant Body Forging Technique" passed down to the Immortal Dynasty by the Liu family patriarch. It combined the martial arts techniques created by many predecessors at the time, and integrated them to create a set of manuals that could complement and enhance the cultivation methods and martial arts techniques. It could greatly enhance body forging and the growth of qi and blood, and greatly increase the stimulation of qi and blood.

This set of secret manuals, as long as you study and practice diligently, using your Qi and blood to stimulate your martial arts skills, and using your martial arts skills to nourish your Qi and blood, in a continuous cycle, you will eventually reach the level of a martial arts grandmaster.

As for innate talent and physical attributes, they only determine the progress and efficiency of cultivation; the upper limit is the same for everyone.

Resources for nourishing qi and blood are also determined solely by efficiency.

Anyone with ambition and perseverance can climb to the pinnacle of martial arts, step by step.

After all, the so-called pinnacle of martial arts here is nothing more than the first half of the first stage of a common body-tempering technique in the cultivation world.

Normally, with this secret manual, the martial arts here would surely flourish.

With the widespread promotion of martial arts and the practice of martial arts by the general public, individual strength will increase, and productivity will inevitably be greatly improved.

At that time, the lives of the people here will get better and better. The grand vision of everyone living like a dragon will truly be realized!
However, the result was contrary to expectations, even completely opposite.

In just a few days in the desert, he had figured out the course of his 180 years since his ascension.

After he ascended to heaven, he left behind a secret manual. In order to complete the mission of the celestial master in the next decade, and even in every decade to come, the Zhao royal family vigorously promoted this manual.

In the first decade that followed, martial arts geniuses emerged in various places, far exceeding the requirements of the Immortal Master.

At that time, the Zhao royal family was overjoyed, eagerly anticipating the divine gifts bestowed upon them by the arrival of the immortal master.

However, the ten-year period has passed, but the immortal master has not yet descended.

Fortunately, the immortal master later conveyed a message that something big was happening in the immortal realm, and that they should wait for the right opportunity.

Therefore, the royal family continued to vigorously promote the secret manual left by Li Ji'an and named it "The Dragon Transformation Manual".

The second decade has arrived as scheduled.

By then, almost all the immortal seedlings recommended by various prefectures and states across the land would have reached the Qi and Blood Realm.

Moreover, in the past twenty years, the number of Grandmasters of Qi and Blood in the entire Immortal Dynasty has more than doubled compared to before, reaching hundreds.

It was hailed as a golden age of martial arts.

At the same time, the Zhao royal family responded to the wishes of martial artists across the land and erected a statue in honor of Li Ji'an.

Honorific title: Martial Saint!
In order not to disobey the Immortal Master, the Martial Saint statue was placed at the Immortal Master's feet, and its height only reached halfway up the Immortal Master's waist.

However, as the Zhao royal family eagerly awaited the arrival of the immortal master, the immortal master still did not appear in the second decade.

Thus began the third decade.

The fourth decade has passed...

There are already tens of thousands of grandmasters of Qi and Blood in the world.

Moreover, because the "Dragon Transformation Manual" does not have high requirements for talent, aptitude, and resources, coupled with the promotion efforts of the royal family, almost everyone in the Immortal Gift Dynasty practices martial arts.

Even farmers in the fields use methods to stimulate their qi and blood when hoeing the land. In the past, a family would work themselves to death to take care of several acres of land, but now one person does the work of three people.

They have also opened up many barren mountains and dense forests that they once dared not set foot in.

People's lives have improved significantly.

However, the immortal master still did not descend.

However, although there were countless martial arts masters in the world at that time, and any martial arts force in any province had the confidence to compete with the royal family, no one rebelled.

After all, there was also the deterrent effect of the celestial masters.

Until the fifth decade.

More and more new generations of Qi and Blood Masters are emerging.

Their legends about the immortal master are just that—legends.

They no longer held the same reverence for immortal masters as the older generation of grandmasters did.

Over time, they came to believe that the so-called immortal masters were nothing but empty words used by the Zhao royal family to intimidate them, and that they must be false.

In the sixth decade, the immortal master still had not arrived.

Finally, someone couldn't help it anymore.

The Li family of Qizhou, under the banner of the Martial Saint Li Ji'an, rose up in rebellion.

The funniest thing is that their initial slogan was that they felt the Zhao royal family did not respect the Martial Saint of the Li family ancestors and insulted the Martial Saint with a fabricated celestial master.

The Martial Saint cannot be insulted!
Thus began a protracted battle that lasted for twenty years.

Initially, a large number of Qi and Blood Grandmasters still held the Celestial Masters in awe and stood with the Zhao royal family to fight against the Li family rebels.

Even after seven decades, the immortal master still hadn't descended, and many grandmasters began to stand by and watch.

By the eighth decade, the immortal master had still not arrived, and some grandmasters began to join the rebels.

Subsequently, the Zhao imperial family was utterly destroyed.

The Li family established the Great Wu Kingdom, honoring the Martial Saint Li Ji'an as their founding emperor, and exterminated the Zhao royal family, severing their bloodline.

Afterwards, the Great Wu Emperor ordered the statue of the Immortal Master to be overturned and the statue of the Martial Saint to be rebuilt.

The Great Wu Kingdom was instantly invigorated.

The long-standing legend of the immortal master has finally been overturned.

However, in the ten years of the Great Wu Dynasty, everyone in the world practiced martial arts, and the celestial masters no longer held any power to deter others. As a result, many instances of martial arts being used to disrupt the prohibitions occurred in various places.

In the twentieth year of the Dawu era, the Liu family of Quzhou proclaimed: "The emperor's throne rotates, and today it's our turn."

They then raised an army in rebellion.

Although it was quickly suppressed by the Great Wu Kingdom, its momentum was like a spark.

There are tens of thousands of masters of Qi and Blood.

Everyone is the pinnacle of martial arts in the world, and no one is willing to submit to anyone else.

Why should you be the emperor and I be a commoner?

In the thirtieth year of the Great Wu reign, the world was in chaos, and war raged everywhere.

In the fortieth year of the Great Wu era, the "Dragon Transformation Manual" was confiscated throughout the country. Anyone found to possess it privately would have their entire family executed, and those who knew about it but failed to report it would be implicated.

Fifty years into the Great Wu Dynasty, the martial world was swept by horses, and a ban on martial arts was issued.

In the sixtieth year of the Great Wu reign, the statue of the Martial Saint was destroyed by heavenly lightning. The Great Wu Emperor led his ministers in praying to Heaven, wishing to forgive the sins on behalf of all the people.

In the seventieth year of the Great Wu reign, the Great Wu Emperor claimed to have received a message from a celestial master who was about to descend to the mortal realm.

……

Nowadays, the Martial Saint has long been demoted to a heretic by the Great Wu royal family in accordance with the decree of the Immortal Master.

The statue of the Martial Saint, struck by lightning, was placed in a cesspool to be corroded by the filth of the world.

The "Dragon Transformation Manual" was designated as a demonic art and burned throughout the country; anyone who possessed it was to be executed along with their entire family.

In the Great Wu Dynasty, no one may practice martial arts without the permission of a Celestial Master.

The people of the world fell back into poverty and weakness, but the Great Wu royal family cultivated generation after generation of unparalleled grandmasters, and completely ruled the country with supreme martial power.

No one could threaten the royal family's rule anymore, so they were high above and domineering!

From this point on, only one true dragon is permitted in the world.

Ten days later, Li Ji'an stood on the site of the former Xunxian Palace.

This place has now been replaced by a Chunfeng Tower.

The young man like a dragon is nowhere to be seen, only the red sleeves of beauties beckoning to the building.

His statue was buried in a cesspool behind Chunfeng Tower.

With a flash, Li Ji'an returned to the palace from years ago.

Compared to the Zhao imperial family era, the Da Wu Imperial Palace was even more magnificent, with many newly built palaces far exceeding the manpower and resources available to the local population, demonstrating the waste of resources and manpower.

Most strikingly, to the north of the palace, stands a statue of a celestial master, several meters taller than those from the Xianci Dynasty.

"Where is the Emperor? Show yourself!"

(End of this chapter)