Cultivation Starts with Rejuvenation

"Blood Spirit Sect is now strongly asserting that only a True Pill level cultivator could have exterminated the Blood Spirit Saintess in the Celestial Cyan Domain, and she is overly confident about her daughter."

"..."

Qin Chuan and Li Ji'an nodded secretly upon hearing this, thinking that the Blood Spirit Saintess seemed almost instantly defeated, yet in reality, without that Talisman Treasure, an average Fake Pill True Man would truly be incapable of extinguishing her.

At the same time, Li Ji'an grew even more vigilant in his heart.

The shattering of a Soul Token of a Blood Spirit Saintess had already triggered the Demon Realm's wrath.

If Du Haizang's Soul Token, belonging to the Quasi-Saint Child of the Corpse Puppet Sect, were to break, it could spark an unimaginable uproar.

Moreover, Du Haizang possesses a Quasi-Gold Corpse Puppet by his side and has a backup plan to transform into a Corpse Puppet, making it impossible to be eradicated without True Pill level means.

Thinking of this, Li Ji'an secretly communicated with Gugu, whom he had set down halfway.

At this moment, Gugu had already entered the Great Marsh Mountain region.

Li Ji'an originally intended for Gugu to find where the Demon Beasts were located, allowing it to perish within the Demon Beasts' jaws.

But now, he changed his mind; for the time being, Gugu cannot completely die until the matter of the Blood Spirit Saintess is resolved.

After instructing Gugu, Li Ji'an greeted the two and returned to the inner cabin once again.

"Don't move!"

Just as he stepped into the inner cabin, he saw Yan Qingwan opening her eyes wanting to get up, and Li Ji'an moved beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Fan'Er." Seeing Li Ji'an enter, Yan Qingwan's expression was somewhat unnatural.

After three months of healing nourishment, the corpse poison within Yan Qingwan was almost entirely gone, leaving only the repair of the abdominal wound and the nurturing of meridians invaded by the corpse poison.

Because of her relatively weak cultivation, the domineering invasion of the corpse poison into her meridians had greatly impacted them.

Initially, Li Ji'an only expelled the poison for her, but when the Wood Magic Power entered Yan Qingwan's body, he noticed some dark injuries and blockages in her meridians.

So he conveniently cleaned them for her.

Yan Qingwan's expression was somewhat unnatural because when she first woke up a month ago, in a semi-conscious state, she thought she had succumbed to the corpse poison and died, mistaking Li Ji'an for a vanished Yin Soul.

In her confusion, she spoke a lot of nonsense.

She not only cried about failing to protect him, but she also lamented that he had to lure away the Corpse Puppet and die for her, sobbing her regret for being in his debt this lifetime and pledging to repay him in the next.

She even confessed that her lifetime regret, besides the family constraints, was not having a like-minded Dao companion on her path.

In such a scenario, she candidly stated that, apart from family bonds, witnessing Li Ji'an's growth led her to admire his character and heart nature, feeling inferior to his Dao heart and unable to match his achievements, with no other male cultivator able to catch her eye.

She did not hide her praises and admiration for Li Ji'an.

She even revealed a secret to Li Ji'an that during a chaotic period in the Desert, Yan Zongsheng and other elders of the Yan family attempted to persuade Yan Qingwan to summon Li Ji'an back to the clan with the condition that Yan Qingwan and Li Ji'an would become Dao companions.

After all, both Li Ji'an and Yan Qingwan were Foundation Establishment elders at the time, knowing each other well.

In the cultivation realm, ethical concerns are not important, and Li Ji'an and Yan Qingwan had no true blood relations; it was reasonable and justified.

...

This left Yan Qingwan ashamed and mortified upon fully awakening.

Additionally, over the past month, Li Ji'an nourished her meridians and healed the residual toxins, exposing her waist and abdomen entirely before him, along with prolonged close contact.

This left Yan Qingwan, who had never experienced romantic love, and had suppressed these desires due to family teachings, feeling rather tormented.

Earlier, she always regarded him as a junior due to their upbringing, but after the sentiments shared in the throes of life and death, inexplicable chaotic thoughts arose within her.

This left her quite troubled, forcibly suppressing these absurd thoughts while feeling strangely stimulated and tense, under such high-pressure torment, these feelings were more intense and overwhelming than usual, rendering her unable to control herself.

"Fan'Er, I feel the corpse poison within me has disappeared; there's no need to continue the previous treatment and nourishment, right?" Yan Qingwan forcibly tried to restore her former elder mindset.

However, the more she cared, the harder it was to remain calm.

Li Ji'an, lacking experience in taboo relations, although sensing Yan Qingwan's subtle changes, had always viewed her as the little girl he saw in the Pill Workshop when he first arrived at the Yan family, with admiration and gratitude.

"The corpse poison is indeed completely removed; however, there are still blockages in your meridians. If these blockages are cleared, future cultivation efficiency should see a slight improvement, and if these four wounds heal on their own, some scar marks may remain." Li Ji'an did not insist; he merely stated the truth and let her decide for herself.

Upon hearing this, Yan Qingwan's face showed further indecision.

"Then... then it'll be troublesome for Xiaofan." She eventually chose to continue.

Li Ji'an nodded and placed one hand on her abdomen again.

With the gentle infusion of Wood Magic Power, his hand gradually moved from Yan Qingwan's Dantian upward.

Yan Qingwan immediately closed her eyes tightly, endeavoring to control her breathing.

Yet her gradually tensing body and the blush creeping onto her cheeks were entirely visible.

Li Ji'an smiled and shook his head, feigning ignorance, continuing to guide her while contemplating potential future risks.

This journey to Celestial River Immortal City had yielded substantial gains for him; moreover, he discovered the hidden danger of the Golden Radiance Mark within his Sea of Consciousness ahead of time.

Currently, he was only lacking two main ingredients for the Crystal Condensing Pill that aids in Core Formation, and Master Yuxiao should also be striving to find them for him.

Now at Foundation Establishment 6th Layer, it's estimated that in another five years, he would likely reach the bottleneck of Foundation Establishment Late Period, and if all goes well, he should break through to Foundation Establishment Late Period that very year.

By then, at most thirty years would pass, and he should be able to attempt Core Formation, and by then, the materials for the Crystal Condensing Pill would be complete.

Moreover, his Divine Sense should reach around Mid-stage True Core by that time; as long as Little Fire Spirit can rise by a small tier to Second Tier Middle Stage, he will be able to successfully refine the Crystal Condensing Pill.

Additionally, besides the main ingredients for the Crystal Condensing Pill, this time, forming a long-term collaboration with Si Shui Commerce Association has not only solved the issue of heavily monetizing the mass production of Talismans, but also secured a plentiful supply of quality Talisman Materials, offering numerous practice opportunities, with Talisman Art sure to see significant improvement.

The only concern is the Golden Radiance Mark still existing within the Sea of Consciousness now.

To date, he hadn't figured out the root and principle of this mark, nor knew how to remove it.

This has been rather hazardous for him.

If not for Qin Henian accompanying him, if confronted singularly, relying solely on that single Tier Three Heavenly Thunder Talisman, he wouldn't be able to defeat the opponent.

After all, one Heavenly Thunder Talisman could at most destroy its Silver Corpse Puppet, and if transformed into a Corpse Puppet afterward, he would have no method to extinguish the opponent.

This serves as a warning for Li Ji'an.

The cultivation realm is dangerous beyond belief and having multiple back-up plans is necessary.

Especially now that he has been marked by the Demon Realm; this time it was someone of Du Haizang's caliber seeking him out, next time it's hard to ensure it won't be someone more powerful.

Currently, his Tier Three Heavenly Thunder Talisman consumption leaves him with only the strongest cards, apart from two exquisite end-stage Tier Two Lifebound Talismans, only Tier Three Poison.

Thus, it can only suffice against a Fake Pill True Man with insufficient foundation.

As for Second Tier Middle Stage Body Cultivator, Gugu and Fire Spirit, are already somewhat inadequate for the task.

He must quickly prepare two more Tier Three Spirit Talismans and find ways to further enhance Gugu, Fire Spirit, and the Body Cultivator's strength.

"I hope the Righteous Cultivators can withstand the pressure from the Demon Cultivators; otherwise, if the boss behind Du Haizang takes action, I'll have to immediately rejuvenate."