Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation

No longer paying attention to Guagua, who was consolidating its realm after advancing to the Second Order, Li Ji’an prioritized picking up Xiao Qiao.

Back when he first met Granny You, her bone age was already over 110. Coupled with her failed attempt to establish her foundation, which damaged her roots, and the injuries she sustained during the Liu family's internal strife, her lifespan was already short. Now, after not returning for four years, the situation looked grim, with a 90% chance she wouldn't be coming back.

He hadn't told Xiao Qiao about this, but she had been sensing it herself these past few years.

Strictly speaking, he was Xiao Qiao's only remaining family.

"This cultivation world is truly full of wonders and is so magnificent…" Looking at the unconscious girl in his arms, and recalling the peculiar power of the earth just now, Li Ji’an's anticipation for her abilities grew even more.

He fed Xiao Qiao a calming pill and carefully placed her on the bed before checking on the Fire Spirit's condition.

He saw that within his dantian, the Fire Spirit was listless and depleted.

He sensed it with his soul imprint and confirmed that it was only a temporary over-expenditure and not a deficiency, then he breathed a sigh of relief.

He returned to the courtyard and looked at Guagua, who was still covered in blood but in peak condition, and Li Ji’an couldn't help but grit his teeth.

"How come I feel like you're more like the protagonist than I am?"

The tenacity, will, and courage to advance at all costs when it was attacking the Second Order, especially when success seemed impossible, but it ultimately reversed the situation against the odds, and with the unreserved help of those around him… all of these fit the characteristics of the protagonists he used to read about in novels.

Comparing it to his own experiences, Li Ji’an suddenly felt a bit helpless.

Previously, Xiao Changfeng's state of mind and luck made him feel like the protagonist here.

Now, his own spirit pet was actually like this as well.

Shaking his head, Li Ji’an released his divine sense, wanting to carefully sense Guagua's current state after advancing to the Second Order.

"Hmm?" However, upon sensing it, he realized that Guagua had successfully advanced, and its aura was contained. With his divine sense comparable to a Foundation Establishment中期 cultivator, he couldn't see through it at all.

Even when his divine sense swept over Guagua, who was right in front of him, it was as if it were nothing.

Especially now that it had shed its bloody filth, its skin had merged with the murky pool water. If it weren't for the connection of the spirit pet contract, he would have had a hard time finding it.

Fortunately, there was the spirit pet contract, and his soul was much stronger than its, otherwise he would have really worried about it turning on its master.

"Guā~" He had just sensed its state through the spirit pet contract.

Guagua suddenly changed color, reverting to its previous green, opened its big mouth, croaked at Li Ji’an, and then jumped to Li Ji’an's side, affectionately rubbing its frog head against Li Ji’an's arm.

Advancing to the Second Order, its size had increased again, and squatting there, it was almost as tall as Li Ji’an.

If it advanced a few more times, one could probably ride on its back.

Li Ji’an patted its head, feeling a mix of emotions. His spirit pet had actually advanced before its master.

Judging from the demonic power of Guagua's demonic core, even his strongest trump card, the First Order peak body cultivator, couldn't withstand a single blow from it.

Comparable to the human cultivation realms, Foundation Establishment and Qi Training represented a qualitative change in dantian mana, with an insurmountable gap that couldn't be filled with quantity.

Guagua had now officially become a Second Order demon beast, and even with the help of Xiao Qiao and the Fire Spirit, Li Ji’an felt that its demonic core's demonic power was even stronger than that of ordinary Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivators.

"Go, consolidate your strength properly, and don't become arrogant because you're successful." He tossed Guagua a beast pill, and Li Ji’an turned around and returned to the pill room to stabilize his state of mind.

"It doesn't matter, I will definitely establish my foundation this year!"

Now that the situation in Immortal City was obviously changing, the main ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills wouldn't be too difficult to obtain. He had over 5,000 spirit stones in savings in his storage bag, enough to gather the medicinal materials for a Foundation Establishment Pill, and perhaps even more than one.

Buying a Second Order pill furnace was also not a problem.

Five days later, Li Ji’an was repeatedly simulating the refining techniques for Foundation Establishment Pills when his divine sense stirred. The divine sense imprint he had left on Pill Master Mo was moving towards the outside of the city.

This kind of divine sense imprint was just a small trick of Foundation Establishment cultivators who had condensed their divine sense. They released a wisp of divine sense on the other party, leaving an imprint, but it only worked if the other party's divine sense was weaker than their own, otherwise it would be discovered and easily erased.

Moreover, there were time and distance limitations. An ordinary Foundation Establishment Initial Stage cultivator's divine sense imprint would last for a maximum of three days, and it would be ineffective if the distance exceeded a hundred zhang.

"Let's see if there's a chance." Li Ji’an put Guagua into the spirit pet bag, told Xiao Qiao not to lightly activate the formation, and then changed his appearance and followed.

Before long, Li Ji’an caught up with Pill Master Mo's group of four just as they were about to step out of the city gate.

From a distance, Li Ji’an saw that Pill Master Mo and his group had once again disguised themselves as four fierce and burly bitter cultivators, wearing old, low-grade robes and wielding magical instruments that looked ominous at first glance.

Most of the cultivators they encountered on the road avoided them from afar, after all, the strength of the other four's Qi Training Late Stage cultivation was not bad in Cangyun Prefecture. Most rogue cultivators were still mainly Qi Training Initial and Middle Stage.

After the four left the city, they flew away to the south on their magical instruments.

Now that the impact of the Immortal City's grand auction had just ended, many cultivators were leaving the Immortal City every day, and there were also many cultivators heading south, Li Ji’an also disguised himself as a bearded man and followed from a distance.

Near the Immortal City, they occasionally encountered patrolling cultivators wearing the uniforms of the Golden Radiance Immortal City guards, giving the passing cultivators a certain degree of trust in the safety of the Immortal City.

However, their manpower was still insufficient. After only five days, the figures of the patrolling cultivators were no longer seen.

It was also from this time that the surrounding cultivators became cautious. When they encountered those who were strong and didn't look like good people, they all stayed away, and some who were weak began to find companions to travel with.

"Fellow Daoist, we are legitimate cultivators from the Tang Family Village in the south. May I ask if we can travel together?"

That day, a pale-faced cultivator with no beard and a bone age of less than thirty, who was at the fifth level of Qi Training, approached from afar.

This surprised Li Ji’an a little. The reason he disguised himself as a rough and fierce person was not only to avoid being regarded as a fat sheep by robbers, but also to avoid unnecessary complications.

His initial idea for following Pill Master Mo here was that he didn't necessarily have to take action. He planned to let it happen naturally. If there was an opportunity, he would help Pill Master Mo fulfill his promise from his previous life.

If there was no opportunity, he wouldn't force it.

Of course, this was the idea before Guagua advanced.

Now, he felt that the opportunity was very high.

It was no exaggeration to say that with the Second Order Guagua, he feared no one in the entire Cangyun Prefecture except for a few powerful forces.

Correctly recognizing oneself, in addition to recognizing one's own shortcomings and being low-key when necessary, one must also recognize one's own advantages and maintain the proper mentality.

If one was clearly very strong but still worried all day long, it could also be said that one didn't recognize oneself.

"Hmm?" Li Ji’an's face darkened, and he looked at him coldly.

"Fellow Daoist, don't misunderstand. We really have no ill intentions. It's just that we heard a few days ago that the area within ten thousand miles ahead may not be so safe. Now that the Holy Sect has gone to the Daze Mountains to seize opportunities, it is unable to maintain the safety of the state. Not only have real robbers made a comeback, but there are also many powerful amateur robbers. If we can stick together and keep warm, we can have more safety," the young man replied cautiously.

"Hmph, aren't you afraid that I am that robber?" Li Ji’an glared at him and asked curiously in his heart.

The young man smiled casually: "Fellow Daoist is joking, what robber would dress like this?"

"This is my first time, is it very funny?" Li Ji’an released a little pressure.

The young man's expression changed instantly, and he hurriedly bowed and apologized: "Fellow Daoist, please forgive me, I'll leave immediately."

After speaking, he left in a hurry.

"Eh?" After a few more days, Li Ji’an suddenly discovered that Pill Master Mo and his group had stopped a hundred miles ahead. Through the vision sharing with Guagua, he clearly saw that the four of them had changed their appearances again, all becoming four young masters.

Moreover, the auras of the four had all been suppressed, only releasing the mana aura of Qi Training Middle Stage.

"This is… could it be that they want to entrap people?" Li Ji’an looked around at the cultivators occasionally flying by and guessed the thoughts of Pill Master Mo and his group.

Near the Immortal City, Foundation Establishment cultivators often appeared, and there were also powerful Qi Training robbers, and many of them committed crimes in groups, so they avoided being targeted.

But now, far away from the northern part of Cangyun Prefecture, the overall strength of the cultivators had decreased a lot, and the strength of the four of them could be considered top-notch among this group of returning cultivators.

They wanted to earn some extra money, but they were afraid of being caught by the law enforcement team in the future, so they pretended to be fat sheep to lure people to their doom?

"If there are no rules, the law of the jungle is the rule!" Li Ji’an smiled indifferently and continued to follow from a distance.

After another half a month, after several diversions, there were fewer and fewer fellow travelers.

On this day, Pill Master Mo and his group finally got what they wanted.

The two Qi Training Middle Stage cultivators who had flown past Pill Master Mo and his group a few days ago didn't know where they had gathered three Qi Training Late Stage cultivators, and ambushed them on the road that Pill Master Mo and his group had to pass.

The five thought they had robbed a fat sheep, but as soon as they exchanged blows, they discovered the problem with the other four.

Before they could beg for mercy, they were quickly counter-killed and their corpses looted.

A passing cultivator witnessed this scene in its entirety, fled in panic, and remembered it firmly in his heart. When he returned to his clan, he joined the clan hall teaching and warned future generations.

However, in the next moment after the passing cultivator fled in panic, Pill Master Mo, who was counting the spoils, was suddenly shocked, because the auras of the other three disappeared from his senses in an instant.

The moment he turned his head, he met Guagua's long tongue.

"Puff~" A tongue pierced through his heart.

Pill Master Mo's pupils dilated, looking incredulously at the frog in front of him.

Then, a familiar figure appeared next to the frog.

"You… you… Little Li?" Memories from more than sixty years ago suddenly surfaced.

The person in front of him and this frog were so familiar.

"Pill Master Mo, my dad said you promised to give me a great opportunity, so I've come today to ask you to fulfill your promise."