Longevity: Starting with an infant's innate growth potential

The main hall of the Cloud Sea Immortal City.

"Brother Zhou, don't worry about this. I will definitely find out the truth and give you an explanation."

Lord Chen spoke solemnly to Zhou Ling.

Liu Zhengjia's ability to ambush Zhou Ling so precisely suggests that he had someone in Yunhai Immortal City to assist him.

Otherwise, it would be impossible.

"Thank you, Lord Chen."

After recovering along the way, Zhou Ling's complexion became rosier, and he bowed to Lord Chen to express his gratitude.

However, she then changed the subject, saying, "But we're about to have a major battle with the Golden-Eyed Spirit Clan. Won't this affect morale?"

The other Nascent Soul cultivators around them also nodded slightly.

They were also extremely shocked to learn that Liu Zhengjia had ambushed Zhou Ling.

A fugitive wanted by the Dao Alliance at the highest level was actually able to infiltrate their Cloud Sea Immortal City.

It is evident that there are significant loopholes in the security management of Yunhai Xiancheng.

However, what shocked them even more was that Liu Zhengjia not only failed to kill Zhou Ling.

Instead, he was killed by Zhou Ling.

How did Zhou Ling manage to do that?
A Golden Core cultivator killed a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, who was also a lightning-attribute cultivator.

The difference between them is not drastic, but it's still a huge gap.

Not on the same level at all.

Although Zhou Lingyan mentioned that he had used the Fiend Mist Storm to greatly deplete Liu Zhengjia's resources.

However, Zhou Ling also had to expend energy within the Fiend Mist Storm.

However, considering that Zhou Ling was able to refine the Absorbing Stone, this situation seemed plausible.

After all, if there is a stone to absorb the evil mist, then the suppression of the evil mist will be greatly reduced.

“You are a meritorious person of Cloud Sea Immortal City. It is the greatest crisis that I, as the city lord, cannot seek justice for you after such an attack.”

"Lord Chen said in a deep voice."

"this!"

Zhou Ling raised an eyebrow slightly, but didn't say anything more.

He didn't take the situation in Yunhai Immortal City to heart.

After all, he would leave this place in two months after completing his trial.

The people here don't have much overlap in interests with me.

What he was worried about was the Liu family of Tianxia Immortal City.

Being in the same Heavenly Summer Immortal City is the greatest danger.

Moreover, the Liu family is now far more powerful than the Zhou family.

They also have a wealth of connections.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt that Lord Chen's approach was acceptable.

Pulling out a radish brings out the mud; Liu Zhengjia was able to hide in the Cloud Sea Immortal City in this way.

This proves that the Cloud Sea Immortal City is related to the Liu family.

If Lord Chen can eliminate him, it will teach the Liu family a lesson.

He then cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Then I'll leave everything to the City Lord!"

"Take a look and see what kind of healing items you need, and I'll arrange for someone to send them to you."

"During this time, you should focus on recovering from your injury."

Lord Chen nodded and said solemnly.

Zhou Ling didn't stand on ceremony; his injuries were indeed severe, and he needed enough pills to recover.

He then asked Chen Cheng for some pills to restore his mana and soul.

······.

a few days later.

In the Cloud Sea Immortal City, there is a cultivation room.

"call!"

"The meridians have finally been repaired."

Zhou Ling sat cross-legged on the futon, exhaled deeply, and smiled.

After these past few days, thanks to the nourishment of the Azure Lotus Spirit Flame and the consumption of numerous elixirs, his meridians have been repaired.

However, his magical power has only recovered to about 30%.

Zhou Ling was extremely satisfied with the results.

It should be noted that his fusion of the five spiritual flames to deal with Liu Zhengjia was far beyond his current control.

After all, all five of his spiritual flames have now reached the fifth rank. If they weren't his natal spiritual flames, it would be difficult to control even one of them.

Therefore, after fusing the five spiritual flames, his meridians were also severely damaged.

For an ordinary cultivator, it would be good enough if they could even save their life.

To recover would be incredibly difficult.

"It was extremely fortunate that we were able to kill Liu Zhengjia this time!"

Zhou Ling's eyes flashed, and he thought to himself.

This time, he used almost every method at his disposal.

Apart from the Five Elements Sword Pill, which consumed too much energy, Zhou Ling was already too weak to activate it again.

If it weren't for the use of the evil mist to inflict huge damage on Liu Zhengjia, I would have been no match for him at all.

Another major reason was that he had been observing Liu Zhengjia throughout the battle.

I know he's not at his peak.

His strength is probably only about 80% of his peak.

After all, he had been wanted by the Dao Alliance for over a year, so he certainly didn't have any fifth-order spiritual veins to cultivate.

Without a stable spiritual energy cultivation, it is impossible to maintain one's cultivation level at its peak.

As for pills, the higher one's cultivation level, the weaker the pills' auxiliary effects become.

Not everyone is like him, taking pills as easily as eating snacks.

It was only through the combined effect of these factors that he was able to kill Liu Zhengjia.

This does not mean that he is strong enough to kill his opponent.

He still has this bit of self-knowledge.

"Let's see if we can fully recover before the great battle with the Golden-Eyed Spirit Clan."

Zhou Ling stopped thinking about it, tossed another pill into his mouth, and began to circulate his cultivation technique to absorb it.

Originally, City Lord Chen had already told him to rest and recover in the Immortal City and not to participate in the upcoming battle against the Golden-Eyed Spirit Clan.

After all, he knew that with Zhou Ling's injuries being so severe, he wouldn't be able to recover without a period of recuperation.

So it was also for Zhou Ling's sake that he was not allowed to participate in the upcoming battle.

But after some thought, Zhou Ling decided to participate in this great battle.

Firstly, there is still time; with the help of the two talents, [Essential Medicine Stress Response] and [Restore to Original State], I can fully recover.

The overall combat strength will not be significantly affected.

Secondly, this is also an opportunity to ensure first place in this trial.

Although we are still far ahead, we need to be more prepared, after all, none of the other three are easy to deal with.

I also need to prevent myself from being surpassed.

If it were before, he wouldn't be in such a hurry.

After all, they are still leading by more than 40,000 points, and it is impossible for the three of them to catch up easily.

But after being ambushed by Liu Zhengjia, he realized that the Liu family was much stronger than he had imagined.

The Dao Alliance has not only failed to capture Liu Zhengjia for so long, but has also allowed him to ambush them in the Youyun Star Region.

Perhaps the Dao Alliance's higher-ups have already reached some kind of tacit understanding with the Liu family.

They wanted to let Liu Zhengjia go.

Therefore, I will have to rely on myself to get things done in the future.

People with differing interests are ultimately unreliable.

Under these circumstances, he was even more determined to secure first place in this trial.

This will allow me to further solidify my position within the Dao Alliance.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, a shimmering light appeared—it was the storage ring he had obtained from Liu Zhengjia.

"A mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, I hope he won't disappoint me."

Zhou Ling thought to himself.

Then, with a thought, a flash of intense flame light appeared.

The True Fire of Qianyang condensed and emerged.

Zhou Ling began to remove the mark on the storage ring.

······.

Tianxia Immortal City, the Liu family of the Zixiao Sect.

"Father, it's not good."

"Third Uncle's soul tablet is broken!" Liu Polei rushed into the main hall and hurriedly bowed to a middle-aged man with a dignified appearance, wearing a black and yellow robe.

He is Liu Zhenglong, the current head of the Liu family, with a cultivation level of late-stage Nascent Soul, and also the sect master of the Zixiao Sect.

The Liu family now has a Void Refinement Ancestor and five Nascent Soul cultivators, making them a top-tier family within the Dao Alliance.

With the addition of the affiliated Liu family and the Zixiao Sect, their overall strength is extremely formidable.

This is also why, even though Liu Zhengjia was confirmed to have secretly sent messages to the alien races in the Star Sea, in the end only Liu Zhengjia was in trouble, and the Liu family was not implicated in the slightest.

With the Void Refining Ancestor overseeing things, things won't go wrong so easily.

However, the killing of Liu Zhengjia has filled them with both shock and anger.

It's completely unexpected that Liu Zhengjia, who was quite capable, would suddenly perish.

"How could Third Brother have perished while trying to kill Zhou Ling in the Youyun Starfield?!"

“Zhou Ling is only at the Golden Core stage. Even with the Sun-Shining Immortal Sword, he could never be a match for the third brother.”

"Even if he fully activates the Sunlit Immortal Sword, he still can't stop Third Brother's Thunder Domain."

"Moreover, in the Youyun Starfield, where the evil mist is pervasive, the lightning attribute itself has a great advantage, making it easier to kill opponents."

The other Nascent Soul elders of the Liu family present were all shocked and exclaimed.

They now know quite a bit about Zhou Ling.

Everyone knew that with Liu Zhengjia's strength, killing Zhou Ling would not be an easy task.

After all, he is at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, giving him an absolute advantage.

Dealing with a Golden Core cultivator is no different from crushing an ant.

Even though Zhou Ling had amazing luck and possessed the fifth-grade Sunfire Immortal Sword.

But given his limited strength, the power he can unleash is also limited.

As for Zhou Lingyuan's killing of the fifth-tier Star Sea alien, they all knew that it was with the help of the Spirit Flame.

At most, they can only launch one or two attacks.

It might be effective against alien races.

However, they have absolutely no advantage when facing a human god-level being.

Under such circumstances, how could they possibly kill their own ancestors?

"Could it be City Lord Chen and his group from Cloud Sea Immortal City who made their move?"

The head of the Liu family's eyes flashed with a cold light, and he said in a deep voice.

Considering this situation, after all, in Cloud Sea Immortal City, City Lord Chen is a Void Refinement cultivator.

Only he was able to kill the third brother.

Even if the others were to make a move at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, the third brother would still be able to escape.

Given the third brother's caution, he would never provoke Lord Chen.

Moreover, they had already made arrangements in the Cloud Sea Immortal City.

This situation doesn't seem to make sense.

Then there is only one other possibility: that the people from the Inspection Bureau took action.

"If it's the Inspection Department, then that's troublesome."

His face was grave; after much thought, this was the only possibility.

After all, the Inspection Division has been making every effort to track down the whereabouts of the third brother.

Moreover, the Inspection Department has the capability to do so.

Moreover, since Zhou Ling was originally a member of the Inspection Department, they would naturally pay more attention to his situation.

If the third brother were to encounter those people from the Inspection Division, he might also perish.

"This situation is quite serious. Everyone should be more careful in their actions from now on and avoid causing trouble."

The head of the Liu family glanced at the others, his expression grave.

Originally, it was an understanding reached between the patriarch and several other high-ranking members of the Dao Alliance.

The Dao Alliance will not pursue and eliminate the third brother with all its might.

But now that the third brother has been killed, things are not going to be easy.

"Big brother, are we just going to let this matter with Third Brother go like this?"

A middle-aged man in a black robe from the Liu family spoke up.

He is Liu Zhengtong, the fifth elder of the Liu family, with a cultivation level of the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

"Zhou Ling is now the leader of the Dao Alliance."

"If the third brother had handled this matter cleanly and efficiently back when he was at the Sword Qi Great Wall, then it would have been fine."

"But with such a huge incident, even the ancestor couldn't save him."

"The current situation in the Dao Alliance is extremely unfavorable for my Liu family."

"Let's be patient for now. Once this matter has calmed down, I will deal with Zhou Ling naturally."

"Given Zhou Ling's current situation, he won't be able to cause trouble for long."

"There will be plenty of time in the future; we will have many opportunities to deal with him."

"It was a deep voice from the head of the Liu family," he said.

With the Liu family's current strength, destroying the Zhou family wouldn't be too difficult.

However, we also need to consider the powerful backers behind Zhou Ling.

Chief Meng and the Inspection Office.

These two forces are in no way inferior to the Liu family.

Moreover, the evidence is conclusive that the third brother colluded with foreign tribes.

They are completely morally untenable.

It's unlikely that anyone else will help them.

Therefore, the third brother's death can only be tolerated for the time being.

Although the others were unwilling, they had no choice but to accept it.

No one expected that, with the Liu family's current strength, they would be unable to do anything to the small Zhou family.

······.

A few more days passed.

"call!"

"It's recovered to 80%!"

Zhou Ling sat cross-legged on the futon, exhaled, and showed a look of joy.

Over the past few days, with the repair of his meridians, his magical power and spiritual energy have also recovered rapidly.

However, the recovery has been significantly slower than before.

But in just two more days, it will be enough for a full recovery.

Not only did his injuries and cultivation recover, but after consuming a large amount of blood-nourishing medicine, the five spiritual flames also recovered to 90%.

It should be fully recovered in less than two days.

Zhou Ling then looked at the storage ring in his hand.

The marks on it have completely disappeared.

"Let's see what good stuff we have?"

Zhou Ling looked expectant; after all, he was a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

Immediately, his divine sense entered into it.

"One fifth-tier Thunder Seal...one rule-based Thunder Stone...one high-tier thunder attribute demon core..."

Before long, Zhou Ling's eyes lit up with joy.

As expected of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, even though he is wanted by the Dao Alliance.

But the items inside gave him a big surprise.

The two fifth-tier magical artifacts included the Hao Lei Seal, which Zhou Ling had previously seen, and a mid-grade fifth-tier Thunder Emperor Sword.

Hao Lei's seal is slightly damaged, but it's not a big problem.

The Thunder Emperor Sword, however, remained intact.

There was also a dark, rule-based thunderstone, containing extremely vigorous thunder attribute rules.

This is extremely helpful for lightning-attribute cultivators when shopping according to lightning-attribute rules.

There is also a fifth-tier demon core, which is also of the lightning attribute.

In addition, there are many other lightning-attribute materials.

Twenty-two pieces of fifth-order ore and two pieces of thunderwood.

There are also six bottles of pills, all of them fifth-grade pills, each of which is incredibly valuable.

In addition to these materials, there are three Earth-grade Thunder-attribute Thunder Stones and eighteen Top-grade Thunder-attribute Spirit Stones.

There are also some miscellaneous things.

"These three low-grade spirit stones alone are a huge profit!"

Looking at the Earth-grade lightning attribute spirit stone, Zhou Ling could sense that it contained extremely terrifying lightning spiritual power.

This lightning spiritual energy is not only incredibly pure, but also contains wisps of the power of rules.

Within the Dao Alliance, obtaining this is not so easy.

Each of these items is incredibly precious, its value beyond what can be measured in spirit stones. (End of Chapter)