Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 113: Traces of Spiritual Flame
Looking at the tragic situation in the gathering area, Li Ji'an felt a tightness in his heart.

He had anticipated this situation. When he first came to this world decades ago, he roughly understood in the wasteland gathering area that resources were king in this cultivation world. Everyone fought against the sky, against others, and against themselves for that glimmer of opportunity. And since they possessed powerful combat power, they had always been in awe.

Especially in the gathering areas, although most of the people are mortals who have never set foot on the practice of cultivation, because of the exchange of value, there are resources needed by the cultivators. There is no guarantee that there will not be despicable people who bully the weak and fear the strong and have their eyes on the mortals in the gathering areas.

Although the general gathering areas are close to the spiritual veins and are protected to a certain extent by nearby forces, it is limited after all.

So he was worried before he regained his youth.

Until Guagua came into being, I felt a little more secure.

This is also the reason why he tried so hard to ensure that Gua Gua would not be out of control before his reincarnation.

Focus your mind and let Gua Gua follow Xiao Changfeng closely so that he can provide some assistance in case of danger.

When Xiao Changfeng arrived here, he was shocked to see the tragedy not far away.

There are rules in Cangyun Province that prohibit the wanton slaughter of ordinary people in the territory. Such a large-scale slaughter of ordinary people has not occurred in at least a thousand years.

When Xiao Changfeng approached, he hid underground and sensed carefully.

After a moment, it broke out of the ground in the gathering area.

Looking at the corpses all over the street, at least half a month has passed and the blood has dried up and soaked into the ground.

He then searched for survivors in every corner of the gathering area.

Li Ji'an also ordered Gua Gua to search.

Unfortunately, no one was left alive.

Xiao Changfeng immediately sent a message to the sect, informing them of the matter, and then headed towards a nearby Qi training family.

That Qi training family occupied a first-grade, mid-grade spiritual vein a hundred miles away, and the highest-ranking elder in the family was a cultivator in the late Qi training stage.

Soon, the tragedy of the Qi training family was imprinted in the eyes of Xiao Changfeng and Li Ji'an at the same time.

The same mess, no one was left alive.

When Xiao Changfeng returned, the two reached a consensus that the tragedy here was probably caused by another group of wandering cultivators who had fled from Tianyuan Prefecture.

I'm afraid there will be quite a few people, and most of them are in the late stage of Qi training, and there may also be some casual cultivators in the foundation-building stage.

Otherwise, he would not have given up this first-grade, mid-quality spiritual vein.

When Xiao Changfeng reported the tragedy in detail, Li Ji'an had an idea and sent a message to Yan Qingwan to tell her about it.

It is said that the group of independent cultivators in Tianyuan Prefecture was led by a Jindan Zhenren, who called upon a large number of independent cultivators. In the end, the leader was killed by the Wanfa Palace with thunder-like means, and the group fled in all directions.

Half a year ago, a group of fleeing cultivators near the Biyun Sect's Immortal City were led by a Foundation Establishment Taoist.

This group is probably another group that fled here from the east of the Daze Mountains.

Further south from here is the Liu family, one of the five major families that tames beasts. After passing the Liu family, you will reach the border of the wasteland.

If there were no real people among this group of bandits, they would most likely bypass the Liu family and go straight into the wilderness.

The wasteland is far away from Tianyuan Prefecture and the situation is chaotic. If you advance, you can rob the second-level spiritual vein temples of the eight major families in the wasteland, or you can retreat deep into the Fallen Dragon Ridge.

Inform Yan Qingwan in advance so that she can be prepared.

"Not good! Brother Li, we have to speed up. I'm worried that if he goes east again, he will reach the family where my parents live." After Xiao Changfeng reported it, the sect said they knew about it and would send people to investigate and arrest him.

Xiao Changfeng thought of his family less than ten thousand miles to the east.

Both of his parents were casual cultivators who were able to enter a nearby family by virtue of their physical training skills and became the backbone of the family.

If this group of bandits continues to move eastward, they will certainly not be able to escape.

When recruiting to a sect, one needs to break away from past ties. In addition to fostering cohesion within the sect, one is also concerned that disciples may become involved in family feuds, leading to numerous factions within the sect, which is detrimental to unity.

But in reality, how can blood ties be truly severed?

One of the sect's methods is to forbid disciples from keeping in touch with their parents and families, intending to gradually alienate them over time, so that after a generation they will completely become members of the sect.

Li Ji'an nodded, but he didn't think it would be useful to rush over now.

Judging from the traces here, the group of bandits have been gone for half a month. If they really have any intentions towards the family that Xiao Changfeng's parents belong to, it's probably too late.

It is obvious that this group of bandits acted in a rough and brutal manner, and they probably had no intention of staying here. Their target should be the wasteland.

Of course, being able to confirm safety can also make Xiao Changfeng relax a little.

For the rest of the journey, Xiao Changfeng almost pushed forward at full speed, and arrived at the destination in only six days instead of ten days.

Fortunately, this place is safe and sound.

"Meet Fellow Daoist Xiao."

"Greetings, Senior Xiao."

"Changfeng, why are you back?"

……

As soon as he entered the clan, Xiao Changfeng breathed a sigh of relief, and the familiar Ma clan members came forward to greet him.

The Ma clan leader hurriedly led the clan elders to greet them.

The former outsider Xiao Changfeng is now wearing the uniform of an inner disciple of the Biyun Sect and is a big shot that they need to treat with respect.

Fortunately, when Xiao Changfeng was found to have a top-grade spiritual root, the Ma clan leader and elders were very self-aware and knew that he would be extraordinary in the future. Not only did they give him many treasures from the clan, they also sponsored Xiao Changfeng to participate in the sect trial.

In the following years, Xiao Changfeng's parents were treated as servants.

After meeting everyone, Xiao Changfeng was arranged by the clan leader to reminisce with his parents alone.

The others entertained Li Ji'an and Xiao Qiao with generous gifts, treating them as important figures like Xiao Changfeng.

After learning that Li Ji'an was a senior and fine alchemist, he became even more respectful and asked Ma's beloved daughter to serve him personally on the spot.

This place is far away from the Immortal City and is located in a remote area, and resources are scarce. Even the most common elixirs in the Immortal City are not easy to buy here. If they go to the Immortal City to purchase them, the travel expenses and risks are not worth it.

After Xiao Changfeng finished reminiscing with his parents, he learned that something almost happened here half a month ago. Fortunately, there was a wandering cultivator who was on good terms with the Ma family in the gathering area of the destroyed family, and he immediately notified the Ma family.

Without any hesitation, the Ma family packed up the important supplies of the clan and led their people to run eastward. They ran for thousands of miles in one breath and hid in a barren spiritual place for several days. They sent people back a few days ago to check that there was no danger before returning to the clan.

This made Li Ji'an admire the survival wisdom of the lower-level families in the cultivation world, and he also felt worried for them.

After staying in the Ma family for three days, Xiao Changfeng's parents urged him to leave quickly so as not to let the sect become dissatisfied with him.

Before leaving, the head of the Ma family asked Xiao Changfeng for help, asking if Li Ji'an could sell some late-stage Qi Condensation Pills to their family.

Li Ji'an admired the Ma clan leader's sophistication and agreed to his request.

Unfortunately, Li Ji'an had already delivered a batch of pills before setting out in order to raise money for possible expenses along the way and prepare talismans, and all that was left on him were high-quality Qi Condensation Pills.

The value far exceeded Ma Clan Leader's expectations. In the end, he could only laugh awkwardly at himself and gave up on his own initiative.
-

After setting out again, a month and a half later, Li Ji'an finally arrived at the outer area of the Flame Mountain Jedi where traces of the spiritual flame of heaven and earth were suspected to have been found.

This is already the eastern border of Cangyun Prefecture. Ten thousand miles further east, we will truly enter the desolate area of ​​Huoyan Mountain.

Compared to the spiritual barren land along the way, the spiritual energy here is thinner and almost undetectable.

Looking up at the endless bare red soil with no grass growing and steam rising in his face, Li Ji'an's consciousness was affected by the heat wave and he could only exert 80% of his strength.

The magic power of Dantian is shrinking day by day due to the lack of replenishment of spiritual energy from heaven and earth.

The reason why cultivators in this world cannot stay in the spiritual barren land for a long time is that if the magic power in the dantian is not replenished with spiritual energy for a long time, it will gradually weaken, and eventually lead to a regression in cultivation. Even if the magic power in the dantian is exhausted for too long without being replenished, it will damage the dantian and affect potential.

So Li Ji'an prepared a lot of spiritual elixirs for this trip.

After reaching the outskirts of Flame Mountain, Xiao Changfeng put away the flying boat and tried to minimize the consumption of mana.

Li Ji'an released a magic shield to protect himself and Xiao Qiao to avoid the discomfort caused by the heat wave.

It is worth mentioning that although there is no spiritual energy here and it is not suitable for human cultivators, it is attractive to some fire-type monsters. The advancement of monsters mainly depends on the transformation and evolution of their bloodlines. In addition to spiritual energy, various special materials are also helpful to the transformation of monsters' bloodlines.

For example, in some deep mountains and old forests, there is a violent and chaotic spiritual energy that human cultivators cannot absorb and refine, as well as the flame spiritual energy contained in the rolling heat waves that overflow from the Jedi near the Flame Mountain.

However, Gua Gua doesn't like the environment here and is even a little affected by it. It is more suitable for earth and water-based spirits.

After going deeper for hundreds of miles, they arrived at the place where the wandering cultivator said he saw traces of the spiritual flame of heaven and earth. Li Ji'an and Xiao Changfeng were no longer in a hurry to continue their journey.

Li Ji'an had previously told Xiao Changfeng the purpose of this trip, which was to try his luck.

Xiao Changfeng understood this very well. There was no alchemist who had not dreamed of owning a spiritual flame of heaven and earth.

Although this opportunity is much smaller than finding a foundation-building opportunity, countless alchemists explore for it every year.

Along the way, we also met three alchemists who seemed to be trying their luck.

However, it could also be a beastmaster who wants to capture a fire-type monster.

Li Ji'an and his companions also saw many monsters, but they were all primary fire lizards, so they avoided them when they met them.

After arriving here, the two of them acted separately.

Li Ji'an told him all the possible traces of the Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame and handed him another bottle of Spirit Replenishing Pill.

When Xiao Changfeng disappeared from his sight, Li Ji'an released Gua Gua reluctantly.

"Get over it. If you can capture a Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame this time, I will have no worries about building my foundation. Then I can plan a Blood Pill upgrade for you. You can do it!"

Although Xiao Qiao was the biggest hope on this trip, Li Ji'an still encouraged Guagua out of habit and fed it a beast pill with fire-proof effect.

"Quack, be good. I'll make you something delicious when I get home." Xiao Qiao also stroked the frog's head to encourage him.

"Quack~" Guagua's enthusiasm was immediately aroused, and he dived into the ground and started searching everywhere.

"Xiao Qiao, help your uncle look underground for the flame I showed you before." Li Ji'an said to Xiao Qiao again.

Long before setting out, Li Ji'an used his magical powers to transform into the appearance of the spiritual flame of heaven and earth that he had seen in ancient books.

Although the shapes of spiritual flames are different and the colors vary according to their levels, they all look like flames.

"Yeah." Xiao Qiao nodded and began to look at the ground.

Because Li Ji'an's spiritual sense was affected, and using spiritual sense to explore in such a place was extremely exhausting, he simply didn't look underground, but focused on some traces on the surface.

After searching for half a month, they found nothing.

"Uncle Li, there is a fire snake over there." That day, Xiao Qiao pointed to the ground not far away and said again.

Li Ji'an immediately notified Gua Gua to get out of the way.

These days, Gua Gua has been in a really bad state. He has been attacked several times by local monsters and now has many scars on his body.

The main reason is that there are many first-stage late-stage monsters deep underground here, and they have a geographical advantage. If Gua Gua accidentally breaks into their territory, he will be attacked. Although most of them are eventually defeated by Gua Gua's tongue, it is still a case of killing one thousand enemies and losing eight hundred of his own.

So now, in addition to looking for the spiritual flame, Xiao Qiao also has to help Gua Gua clear the mines in advance.

"Uncle Li, there is still a small grass there."

Soon, Guagua emerged from the ground with a "Three Flame Grass" in its mouth.

Li Ji'an nodded with satisfaction and kept it in his mind.

This is a late first-stage spiritual herb, and is an auxiliary medicine for many late-stage elixirs, and even second-stage elixirs.

This was another unexpected surprise that Xiao Qiao brought to Li Ji'an. In addition to being able to "see" living things underground, she could also "see" things with spiritual energy.

After such a long period of testing, Li Ji'an has a deeper understanding of Xiao Qiao's ability.

It should be a kind of induction, but it only senses the underground.

He also tried to ask Gua Gua to put an ordinary stone underground, but Xiao Qiao couldn't "see" it.

Therefore, things like “spiritual eyes” are ruled out.

However, Xiao Qiao himself does not understand his own abilities.

Li Ji'an felt that it should be some kind of ability to connect with the earth's spiritual inspiration.

He couldn't be sure whether it was some kind of magical power from a person favored by God.

After all, the more you learn about the world of cultivation, the more you feel that it is vast and full of wonders. In addition to the gods who are possessed by the fragments of the laws of heaven and earth after the death of the Taoist, it is said that in ancient times there were many special wonders that ordinary cultivators could hardly understand.

"Brother Li, come quickly!" Suddenly, a communication talisman came from Xiao Changfeng's slightly anxious urging.

Li Ji'an raised his eyebrows, wondering if Xiao Changfeng had found it.

He immediately picked up Xiao Qiao and called Gua Gua to rush towards Xiao Changfeng.

Not long after, in front of a pile of rocks that had been steamed red by the heat wave for a long time, Li Ji'an saw Xiao Changfeng with a surprised look on his face.

"Brother Xiao!"

"Brother Li, look quickly. Is this winding and burning area the trace of spiritual flame that you mentioned?" Xiao Changfeng said, pointing in front of him.

Li Ji'an examined it intently, his eyes lighting up. "Brother Xiao, you are truly blessed. You and I have each been searching for half a month, and you have truly discovered it."

He was speaking from his heart. Compared to Xiao Changfeng, he had Xiao Qiao's magical powers and Gua Gua's cooperation underground.

However, Xiao Changfeng's spiritual awareness had little effect here, and he was able to discover it with just his eyes.

The traces before my eyes are still so dim and hidden.

However, just as Xiao Changfeng said, the traces here are one of the iconic clues for exploring the spiritual flame that Li Ji'an obtained after reading many ancient books.

(End of this chapter)