Cultivation Starts with Rejuvenation

"A Divine Sense at the level of a Core Formation Ascendant!" The Old Ghost’s Yin Soul suddenly retreated, his Sea of Consciousness being counterattacked by Li Ji’an’s Divine Sense.

Even though his Dharma Body was suffused with grievance, it was still far from matching the strength of Li Ji’an’s Divine Soul.

Looking at Li Ji’an’s cultivation in the early stages of Core Formation as a Dharma Cultivator, one could completely deduce that he must have practiced some Divine Soul Technique, specially refining his Divine Soul, otherwise it would be impossible.

"Master? You..." Besides Li Ji’an suddenly revealing his three practices of Dharma, Body, and Soul, Lin Xiuzhu was even more shocked by the distinguished Blood Spirit Sect Saintess addressing Li Ji’an as ’Master’.

"Who exactly are you? You’ve plotted against us so thoroughly, you... it was you who used the Nascent Soul technique just now!" The Old Ghost also suddenly realized, becoming tense and fully on guard.

"Hmph, it was obviously you who insisted on pulling my master into this place, and now you claim it’s my master who has schemed against you?" The Blood Spirit Saintess stood behind Li Ji’an, her face filled with pride.

"Blood Kite, even if the Four Sects ever squabble, it remains an internal matter; how dare you conspire with outsiders against us! Not even the Blood Spirit Holy Mother could bear the wrath of our two sects!" Lin Xiuzhu gritted his teeth and rebuked.

Blood Kite smiled slightly: "No need for Fellow Daoist Lin to worry, the exploration of the Ancient Dragon Burial Cave is fraught with danger, and it is common for one to die by accident during Magical Combat outside. The philosophy of our Four Sects is not to commit extermination or sect destruction lightly; besides, if you perish here, who will know what happened?"

"Are you so sure you can keep us here?" Lin Xiuzhu squinted his eyes, and the Thunder Talisman Treasure reappeared in his hand.

Seeing this, Blood Kite instinctively shrank back behind Li Ji’an.

Li Ji’an smiled faintly.

The situation had already escalated to such a stage that it was hard for Li Ji’an to settle it with fewer trump cards.

However, it didn’t matter.

The True Dragon Essence Blood had been collected, and the True Dragon Residual Soul was right before him; the rewards of this journey had exceeded expectations.

It was entirely consistent with Ning Sujin’s divination of "Great Fortune" in Seeking Fortune and Avoiding Evil.

Thinking of this, Li Ji’an glanced at the Dragon-Suppressing Cauldron in the center of the Soul Abyss and the True Dragon Residual Soul peeking out, stealthily observing their struggle.

"Hmm~" Li Ji’an felt a twinge of doubt in his heart upon seeing the sneaky manner of the True Dragon’s Residual Soul.

An Ancient Desolate True Dragon, a ruler of a realm, should be radiant with majesty, dominance, and world-conquering aura.

But at this moment...

"Though the Life Soul remains, the Soul Seal is erased, leaving only the True Spirit essence... If not for the True Spirit essence, could it be considered a newborn?" After examining the residual soul for a moment, Li Ji’an had many insights and speculations.

"Fellow Daoist! Are you confident you can withstand this Talisman Treasure?" Seeing the Blood Spirit Saintess hiding behind Li Ji’an, and Li Ji’an remained silent, Lin Xiuzhu squinted his eyes, his demeanor changing subtly.

Li Ji’an finally retracted his gaze from the residual soul and looked towards Lin Xiuzhu.

"Just a mere Third Grade Talisman Treasure. Even if it were a true Third Grade Magical Treasure, I, Li, would not fear." Having already revealed several cards, losing the chance to play coy, he might as well apply more pressure on them.

Under heavy pressure, they might become disorderly on their own.

"You... Do you really intend to go to death with us?" Li Ji’an’s stance made Lin Xiuzhu even more apprehensive.

Considering the cards Li Ji’an had already revealed, especially the Nascent Soul technique that instantly slashed the Old Ghost’s Dharma Body, Lin Xiuzhu’s fear of Li Ji’an escalated another level.

"Brother Lin, things have come to this, harboring illusions is meaningless, either he dies or we perish; there is no compromise." The Old Ghost noticed Lin Xiuzhu’s hesitation and shouted at once.

Lin Xiuzhu slowly held his breath, exchanging a determined look with the Old Ghost.

Then, after some unknown short exchange of a Secret Technique between the two.

"Then let me, Lin, see where your confidence comes from?" Lin Xiuzhu suddenly waved his hand, and five Corpse Puppets attacked Li Ji’an.

He clearly intended to test Li Ji’an’s methods once more.

Seeing this, the Blood Spirit Saintess stepped out from behind Li Ji’an, ready to deal with the five Silver Corpses.

However, before she could make a move, Li Ji’an lightly patted his Storage Pouch, and puppets flew out.

A total of twelve, all results of his realm-piercing in the Biyun Sect over the years to advance as a Tier Three Puppet Master, including seven in the later stage of the Second Tier and five quasi-Tier Three.

Once the twelve puppets appeared, they were immediately implanted with instructions by Li Ji’an’s Divine Sense, launching a massacre on the five Silver Corpses.

"So many puppets!"

"Near Tier Three puppets."

The appearance of the puppets once again shocked the other three people.

Puppetry skill had been extremely rare in the Post-Ancient Era; a Second Tier Puppet Master could already become an esteemed guest in a Sect.

As for Tier Three puppets, they had never appeared from the Post-Ancient Era to the present day in the Three Domains.

"You are a Tier Three Puppet Master!" Lin Xiuzhu’s expression became even more serious.

"Tier Three Puppet Master!" Blood Kite also widened her eyes, staring at the side profile of Li Ji’an ahead, this shock was even stronger than noticing his Late-stage Core Formation Ascendant Divine Sense earlier.

How exactly did he manage it?

Let alone the three-practice of Dharma, Body, and Soul, ordinary Cultivators compete against time for profound mastery in a single path, leaving little time for other skills.

Yet Li Ji’an, on top of his triple practice, had honed puppetry—a niche and demanding skill—to near Tier Three!

"Brother Lin, his puppets are only quasi-Tier Three, incomparable to your life-bound Corpse Puppet. Let your Golden Body Corpse Puppet sweep them away!" The Old Ghost, sitting cross-legged and repairing his Divine Soul that was counterattacked by Li Ji’an, kept urging Lin Xiuzhu to buy himself time.

Lin Xiuzhu understood his intentions, but now they were in the same boat, it wasn’t time for intrigue and dispute.

However, to unleash the Golden Body Corpse Puppet to obliterate the puppets, he felt uneasy.