Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

After this incident, apart from one or two talented children, all the men and women in Shuitian Village were free to decide for themselves whether or not to try cultivation.

Ye Xuan left the choice to mortals; for Xianliu, the more worshippers the better.

Whether or not they ultimately succeed in breaking through, it will only benefit Xianliu's own cultivation.

If the worshipper can successfully break through to a higher realm, the immortal seed within their body will begin to sprout and nourish them.

Chen Hong and his son had personally experienced that the immortal seed in their dantian had sprouted new buds, which was significantly different from the improvement that ordinary cultivators would receive when breaking through.

At the same time, some of the life force that overflows when they break through will also be absorbed by the Immortal Willow.

Conversely, if the worshipper cannot successfully break through to a higher realm, then death is the only outcome...

"My lord, I'm afraid this backyard is no longer suitable for you."

Chen Hong looked at the willow tree in the courtyard, which grew an inch taller every day. Now it had grown to nearly seven meters tall, and its trunk was more than a meter wide.

If it continues to grow in the future, he will have to demolish the house to make room for the fairy willow to grow.

Ye Xuan had long realized this, and he had already found an excellent place to cultivate—

That is the large lake behind the mountain.

He asked Chen Hong to gather the villagers and start digging in the soil in the backyard of the Chen family to find the roots, in preparation for moving the fairy willow to the lakeside.

This was a huge project. Dozens of people from the whole village worked all day to finally move the giant willow tree to the lakeside and replant it.

Choosing this location has two advantages.

Firstly, this lake is uniquely endowed with abundant water and soil, making it the perfect place for a willow to grow.

Secondly, there was the precious pearl whose inner essence had been drained earlier.

Ye Xuan estimated that if the pearl were simply placed back into the center of the lake and allowed to absorb moonlight each night, it would be able to replenish its spiritual energy within a month.

Even now, late into the night, the hundreds of people from Shuitian Village who had chosen to cultivate gathered on the shore of the lake.

They gazed curiously at the center of the lake, and before long, as the bright moon hung high in the sky, a sliver of moonlight fell straight down into the center of the lake.

The once calm lake surface was suddenly rippled, and only returned to its original state when the moonlight faded.

"How come I never noticed before that this lake has such a story behind it?"

"It seems our breakthrough is in sight!"

People returned to the shade of the willow tree, where a fence had been erected. There were plans to build things around the area in the future, so that the villagers of Shuitian Village could cultivate here on a daily basis.

With the blessing of the Immortal Willow and the assistance of the Precious Pearl, their breakthrough to Qi Refining is just around the corner.

After practicing Qi cultivation, the willow buds that sprout within the body will no longer continue to grow on their own, and whether or not to continue cultivating in the future is entirely up to the individual...

Ye Xuan withdrew his perception and focused all his attention on himself. He could say that he had done everything he could to help Shuitian Village.

Currently, I've just broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage and am in the "Immortal Willow of Immortality" bathing phase. As for the path ahead...

If he were to cultivate according to the Immortal Willow, he would need to reach the next stage, the Crown and Belt, in order to break through to human form.

This stage corresponds to the Golden Core stage in the cultivation system. If one wants to break through from Foundation Establishment to the Golden Core stage, there is a long way to go.

Moreover, there are also restrictions imposed by the Heavenly Dao in the Short-Lived Realm. Cultivators can only reach the Foundation Establishment stage at most. What will they encounter if they go beyond that? Ye Xuan doesn't know yet.

"The Way of Heaven?"

Ye Xuan thought of his superpower. If he could comprehend the Heavenly Dao of the Short-Lived Realm, could he condense a Heavenly Dao Body in this world...?

"The Heavenly Dao of the Short-Life Realm is characterized by short lifespans and limitations on cultivation levels?"

He immediately activated his spiritual power and attempted to condense a Heavenly Dao Body in the nearby lake.

But just as a phantom of spiritual energy took shape, it shattered with a crash, causing the lake water to surge.

Isn't that right?

Ye Xuan refocused his mind and suddenly thought of the Realm of Immortality, where he had obtained immortal techniques but also died young.

Compared to a short lifespan, in the world of longevity, there seem to be virtually no taboos...

He once again probed his senses and consciousness into the bottom of the lake, and around that precious pearl, he re-condensed the Heavenly Dao Body.

Carefully observing the formation of this Heavenly Dao Body, time passed second by second, and after one night, the illusory spiritual body had begun to take shape.

Ye Xuan had a premonition that this time it would succeed!

According to his imagination, if he could condense a Heavenly Dao Body in the Short Life Realm, he could rely on the Immortal Willow to cultivate and enter the next stage, simply by switching his true body from the real world.

At the same time, he can also connect with the Heavenly Dao Body of the historical world, which will make his cultivation twice as effective.

Ye Xuan was overjoyed. While the Heavenly Dao Body was taking shape, he began to search for information about the county.

Two days have passed since the town reported the matter, and the Xianjia Temple in Changning County, where Shuitian Village is located, has already taken action.

The quiet room in the back hall of the Changning County Government.

An elderly man dressed in a snow-white Taoist robe stood by the window. His face was ruddy, and although his beard and hair were gray, he was full of energy and spirit.

He had clearly broken through the lifespan limit of mortals in the short-lived world, and his cultivation had reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

At this moment, the magistrate of Changning County stood in the hall, stroking his graying beard, and listened to his subordinate's report with surprise:

"How could such a secluded, desolate paddy field village harbor such an opportunity?"

He suddenly turned around, waved his sleeve, and a powerful spiritual force lifted the gate of the county government building, gazing at the ancestral hall of immortals not far away.

The county magistrate's eyes were filled with greed. He recalled that when he was young, he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, but was restricted by the Short Life Realm, and his cultivation stagnated for several years.

If he could obtain the opportunity in that Shuitian Village now, would it help him go further?

"The ancestral hall must have received word of this as well."

His fingers tapped on the table, his eyes darting around.

"If they seize this opportunity first, I fear I will never have another chance..."

After a moment of silence, the hesitation in his eyes disappeared, and he beckoned to his trusted aide who was waiting outside the door, instructing him:

"Pass down the order: anyone who knows anything about Shuitian Village is strictly forbidden from revealing a single word to the outside world."

The servant hurriedly obeyed and left. The magistrate did not linger at the county government office but quickly returned to his home.

He followed a secret passage through his own mansion to the deepest part, where three burly men with masked faces had been waiting for some time.

These were elite assassins he had painstakingly trained over many years, all of whom were at the peak of the Qi Refining stage.

"We must set off tonight and seize the Immortal Willow and the Precious Pearl at the ancestral hall!"

"yes!"

Three dark figures simultaneously kowtowed, then silently vanished into the shadows of the secret chamber…

The magistrate returned to the courtyard and gazed in the direction of Shuitian Village. He was determined to seize this opportunity that had fallen from the sky!