Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 198 Retracing the Path

The other three families in the wasteland were able to completely surrender, not only because of the Yan family's hard power, but also because of the official recognition of the Yan family by the Biyun Sect five years ago.

In fact, it was more because the three families knew about Li Ji'an's ability as an alchemist and his connections and status in the Immortal City.

After all, if it is just the attitude of the sect, it may not be impossible to operate. If it recognizes the Yan family today, it may also recognize the Zheng family tomorrow.

However, the personal relationship between the Yan family and Master Li Dan was something they could not change no matter what.

Now, Master Li Dan even went to Yan Qingwan’s 100th birthday celebration in person as a guest official of the clan, which further consolidated the Yan family’s status in the wilderness.

After a grand welcome ceremony, Li Ji'an was welcomed into the core dojo of the Yan family.

"Congratulations to Aunt on her 100th birthday. May you have a long and prosperous life and a bright future." Li Ji'an, acting as a junior, presented the gift he had prepared in advance.

Yan Qingwan remains youthful and beautiful, still wearing a moon-white dress, elegant and refined. The only slight change is that her gentleness has been replaced by a distinct attitude of superiority.

During these years, the older generation of ancestors lived to be over 200 years old and had been injured before, so most of them were in seclusion to recuperate.

As a new generation of foundation-building clan member, Yan Xiao is quite ambitious. He is not satisfied with the achievements in the early stage of foundation-building and is interested in the middle and late stages of foundation-building. He seldom participates in clan affairs.

The Yan family’s major affairs, as well as the negotiations with the other three families, and the overall situation of the wilderness almost all fell on Yan Qingwan’s shoulders.

"Fan'er." Seeing Li Ji'an's attitude and sincere affection as before, Yan Qingwan pursed her plump lips and trembled slightly.

In the world of cultivation, those who are more accomplished come first and strength is respected. Even between biological father and son, once the son's cultivation level and status far exceeds that of his father, there will be more or less estrangement.

Even after she had established a solid foundation, her relationship with Yan Zongsheng had become one of hierarchy. Although she was unwilling, that was the prevailing trend, and with the pressure from her clansmen, she had no choice but to acquiesce.

Yan Xiao, who had just established his foundation in the clan, was even worse.

Li Ji'an is now a guest official of the upper clan. His magical power is obviously greater than hers, and he has so many connections, but he still treats her, his aunt who is not related by blood, the same as before.

He was very curious about how Brother Li taught him such character and broad-mindedness.

With Yan Qingwan holding his hands, Li Ji'an was also carefully sensing Yan Qingwan's situation.

He has been building his foundation for nearly sixty years, but he is still at the second level of foundation building. I am afraid he cannot fulfill his wish in his previous life to protect the Dharma in this life.

Li Ji'an could understand.

After all, he has only a low-grade spiritual root, and lacks sufficient second-level elixirs for cultivation. His energy is also occupied by clan affairs and alchemy.

In Cangyun Province, only the core descendants of the five major families and the true disciples of Biyun Sect have a better chance of achieving the Jindan stage, while the hope for other cultivators is slim.

For foundation-building families like Huangyuan, only when the entire family supports a foundation-building ancestor can they reach the stage of breaking through to the Jindan stage.

Success or failure depends entirely on God's will.

After all, it is almost impossible for them to own a spiritual treasure that can form a pill. At most, they can only collect a few spiritual pills and magical tools that are of little use, and rely on their own magic power and soul to forcibly form a pill.

The best result is just a fake pill.

But if that were the case, once they failed, the clan's foundation-building ancestors would probably be extinct, and then the family's second-level spiritual veins would not be preserved, and they would eventually become a Qi-training family.

Unless the Yan family occupies all the other three families and uses the entire wasteland as a support, it may be possible.

Li Ji'an understood Yan Qingwan's condition and said nothing more. He was still preparing for the breakthrough to the Jindan stage and had no spare energy.

What's more, he would not easily interfere with the life trajectory of others. If it was a critical moment and he happened to have the spare time and the feelings were right, he would not mind doing it.

"Xiao Fan, is there anything that makes you unhappy in the sect?" After staring at Li Ji'an's face for a long time, Yan Qingwan smiled. Now she didn't need to worry about Li Ji'an's cultivation or his safety. She was only worried about whether he was living well in the sect.

After all, the disciples in the sect are not simple. In addition, because of his past of youthful recklessness, the people in the sect may not respect him as much as the cultivators outside.

"Aunt, I'm doing well in the sect, and the elders and disciples are all very polite..." Li Ji'an told the truth about his situation in the sect.

Yan Qingwan was so distracted by what she heard that she was filled with envy.

Alone, with an entire sacred peak to himself, he grows flowers and plants, living a carefree life. It really feels like the life of a god.

"Didn't Fairy Qin go with Fan'er?" Yan Qingwan only felt that she was missing a partner, otherwise it would really be the life of a fairy couple.

"Fairy Qin may have gone far away and it is unlikely that we will see her again in this life." Li Ji'an said casually.

Yan Qingwan frowned slightly: "Then Fan'er has never thought about finding a Taoist partner?"

Li Ji'an smiled and shook his head. "The situation is unstable right now, and the road ahead is unclear. If I want to make further progress, I'll have to give it my all. I don't have any such thoughts for now."

"Hmm? One step further..." Yan Qingwan was stunned when she heard that.

Although Li Ji'an's spiritual roots are close to the top grade and he has no problem in building his foundation, if he wants to break through to the Core Formation stage... a lot of resources are required. From the initial stage of foundation building to the completion of foundation building, if he only relies on his spiritual roots to absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, he probably won't be able to achieve it before he is 180 years old. By then, he will have passed the best age to break through to the Core Formation stage.

However, if one wants to be nourished by elixirs and be blessed by spiritual creatures from heaven and earth, the resources required are no less than those required to build a foundation.

In her heart, although Li Ji'an had climbed up to the upper sect, he was only a guest official after all, and it was impossible for him to get support from the upper sect. It was almost hopeless for him to form a pill in this lifetime.

"Xiao Fan, cultivation during the Foundation Establishment stage is different from Qi training. Although you are now a guest alchemist, you still need to work hard to refine pills to obtain resources...

Not to mention that if you don't have a Jindan spiritual treasure, the chance of failure in your attempt to form a pill will be 99%. Even if you practice to the perfection of foundation building, it will probably be extremely difficult.

Instead of working so hard, why not relax and enjoy your life?

Or, if Faner really has great ambitions, he should also face reality and not be like your father.

Make more accumulations, and with your current relationship with the clan, seek benefits for the next generation and pave the way for them.

If the next generation can have top-grade spiritual roots and receive support from the sect, perhaps they will have the opportunity to form a pill." After pondering for a moment, Yan Qingwan advised earnestly.

Only close elders like her would be willing to say this. No matter what others think in their hearts, they will definitely flatter and agree on the surface.

Moreover, in her opinion, Li Ji'an's achievements in this life have far exceeded expectations and can be considered a success.

You can live a carefree and worry-free life for the remaining two hundred years of your life.

Li Ji'an nodded slightly, understanding his good intentions, but did not explain anything.

That night, Li Ji'an passed on some of his insights and experiences in alchemy over the years to Yan Qingwan.

However, it is obvious that Yan Qingwan's understanding of alchemy has reached its limit.

Yan Qingwan had not had enough second-level spiritual medicine to practice with for many years, and was distracted by clan affairs. In fact, since she brought up several apprentices with talent in alchemy, she rarely made pills herself.

Occasionally making elixirs is just a way to relieve stress.

And tonight, I took the initiative to study alchemy with Li Ji'an, which was just a memory and nostalgia.

The next day, Yan Qingwan was busy and could no longer accompany Li Ji'an.

Li Ji'an restrained his aura and wandered around the clan.

When I walked outside Zhang Tiezhu's house, I happened to hear laughter and chatter inside.

Today, Zhang Tiezhu has three generations living under the same roof.

His eldest son, Yan Jue, was promoted to the late stage of Qi training in the battle for supremacy in the wilderness a few years ago. Since then, he has been holding a powerful position in the clan. Now that the Yan family is doing well as a whole, he is living a very good life.

"Ruofan, this was given to your father by your grandfather Li, and then to you by your father. You must cherish it." Listening to Zhang Tiezhu's admonition to his eldest grandson Yan Ruofan, Li Ji'an swept his spiritual sense and saw a familiar object.

It’s a jade token for nourishing qi!
That was when he and Yan Qingwan returned to Lianhe Market in his previous life to open a pill shop. He heard that Zhang Tiezhu had a son, so he spent a spirit stone to buy it and gave it to Yan Jue.

"You unfilial son, if you dare to lose this jade token, I will beat you to death! This was given to me by the father of Master Li Dan, a guest official of the sect who is in the foundation-building stage." Yan Jue was not as easy to talk to as Zhang Tiezhu, and threatened him directly.

Li Ji'an stood outside the house with a smile on his face.

When the topic changed inside, Li Ji'an knocked on the door and entered.

"Uncle Zhang, Brother Jue, please sit down."

Zhang Tiezhu was originally from the Xianci Dynasty, so he could accept Li Ji'an's attitude after his identity change, but Yan Jue was just like Yan Qing, and he really couldn't accept it.

Li Ji'an felt uncomfortable seeing Yan Ruofan's uncomfortable look. After hurriedly asking Zhang Tiezhu about the information of Chishi Sanren, he called the four or five-year-old Yan Ruofan into his arms.

He silently nurtured the Qi-nourishing Plate with wood magic power, and then injected a wisp of spiritual flame power into it, increasing its Qi-nourishing ability while also adding a protective effect.

Then, before leaving, he used wood magic to heal some hidden injuries in Zhang Tiezhu's body.

"Amnesia?" After bidding farewell to Zhang Tiezhu, Li Ji'an returned to the core dojo and raised his eyebrows slightly.

According to Zhang Tiezhu, Chishi Sanren claimed that he had lost his memory and could not remember anything from the past.

"I still owe him five second-level forbidden-breaking talismans. I wonder if he still remembers it?" Li Ji'an didn't quite believe it. It is not easy for a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Stage to lose his memory.

Fortunately, Zhang Tiezhu claimed that he had a good relationship with Chishi Sanren now, and they had communication talismans with each other. They agreed to invite Yan Qingwan out for a meeting after her birthday.

A few days later, Yan Qingwan's 100th birthday banquet was held. Li Ji'an and Xiao Qiao were seated at the head of the table.

It was also on this day that Li Ji'an met Yan Xiao, the newcomer of the Yan family who was building his foundation, for the first time.

"Younger student Yan Xiao meets Master Li Dan."

Yan Xiao is the great-grandson of Yan Kongyi, but he is only a dozen years younger than Li Ji'an in this life. He is tall and strong, with dark skin, a murderous aura, and a sharp look in his eyes.

Even when he was greeting Li Ji'an, his emotions didn't change much.

"You're welcome, Brother Yan. Please take a seat." Li Ji'an smiled and nodded.

In the spiritual banquet that followed, the foundation-building ancestors of the other three families in the wasteland frequently came to toast Li Ji'an, and their words were full of the intention of making friends.

Yan Xiao, on the other hand, was relatively cold, not only towards Li Ji'an, but also towards the others.

After congratulating Yan Qingwan, he apologized to Li Ji'an and left early.

He had been practicing in the spiritual vein land of the Li family in Qingshui River. He had just left the Yan family land when the old generation of the Yan family's foundation-building ancestor caught up with him.

"Yan Xiao, I gave you so many instructions when you came here, why are you still like this?" The old ancestor looked unhappy.

Yan Xiao said sternly, "Old Ancestor, I have done what I should do and have greeted him as you requested. Do you think I should kneel down and bow to him?"

"Hey, why don't you understand? Do you know when you were building your foundation..." The old ancestor was a little exasperated.

Yan Xiao interrupted him directly: "Old Ancestor, please don't say that again. We traded that Foundation Establishment Pill for Spiritual Stones, and there was even a premium. It can only be considered a transaction at most.

Besides, if my Yan family had not taken him in, how could he have grown a mid-grade spiritual root?

If it weren't for the inheritance of the Dao of Alchemy from my Yan family, how could he have achieved his current Dao of Alchemy?"

In this life, after Li Jian returned from the trial in Biyun Sect, many people in the Yan family were indeed dissatisfied with Yan Zongsheng's decision at that time.

After all, he has already expressed his unwillingness to join the Yan family as an outsider, and yet they provide him with a training ground and allow him to practice within the clan. In particular, the obvious behavior of Yan Qingwan, Yan Kongyi and Yan Hongsheng giving him special training is not in the family's interest.

Yan Xiao's parents were the opposition back then.

"Shut up!" The old ancestor was instantly frightened.

Yan Xiao smiled and shook his head: "Ancestor, our Yan family can be what it is today because of the hard work and dedication of the clan members. Moreover, I firmly believe that people must rely on themselves. Strength is the foundation of everything. When I advance to the middle or even late stage of foundation building, the status of the Yan family will be more stable."

After saying this, Yan Xiao didn't want to argue anymore and hurried away.

Li Ji'an had no idea what Yan Xiao was thinking, and he never cared about what others thought.

After Yan Qingwan's birthday party was over, he said goodbye and left.

Afterwards, he and Zhang Tiezhu came to the secular gathering area where they had first entered in their previous life.

Now that the situation in the wasteland has stabilized, the secular gathering areas are prosperous again.

Moreover, because the number of calamity cultivators outside has increased, the number of ordinary people here is even greater than before.

"Xiao Fan, it will probably take a few days for Senior Chi Shi to arrive." Zhang Tiezhu said to Li Ji'an after receiving the latest message.

"It's okay, then we'll just wait here for a while." Li Ji'an waved his hand and said indifferently.

Afterwards, Zhang Tiezhu and Li Ji'an walked around freely in the secular area.

"Xiao Fan, did Brother Li tell you that the five of us entered this place from here back then?" Zhang Tiezhu said to Li Ji'an while standing at the entrance of the gathering area.

“This is the way we came here!”

Li Ji'an didn't reply, and Zhang Tiezhu continued to walk forward, introducing things as he walked. He still remembered everything that happened in the past like the back of his hand.

Finally, we arrived at the residence of Chen Zhaohu.

But now a family of five lives here.

Zhang Tiezhu turned around inadvertently and saw Li Ji'an's side profile. In a trance, he seemed to see the big brother Li from the past.

"Oh! What a ridiculous dream of seeking immortality!"

Coming back to his senses, feeling his own decayed state, Zhang Tiezhu sighed heavily.

Li Ji'an stretched out his hand and passed the wood element magic power to him to calm his mind.

Then, not wanting him to fall into the memories of the past, Li Ji'an took Zhang Tiezhu to find an inn to stay.

And with the power of magic, the message spread throughout the city, which can repair the spiritual veins and help the spiritual roots of children.

A master at the foundation-building level personally repaired the spiritual vein and only charged one or two ounces of spiritual sand per person, which instantly attracted half of the children in the gathering area.

Doctor Bai taught Li Ji'an the method of using wood-based magic to nourish the Dantian and promote the secondary development of the delayed Dantian spiritual veins.

Guo Qi's medical skills also happened to include techniques for replenishing spiritual veins.

Combining the two, Li Ji'an now has a new idea.

It is activated with wood-type spiritual energy, and then continuously exerted with the meridian-nourishing pill containing meridian-nourishing medicinal effects. In theory, it is similar to Doctor Bai's simple daily nourishment.

However, whether it will work, how long the effect will last, and whether it will cause drug dependence still require practice.

In the end, Li Ji'an selected ten children aged between eight and ten.

It’s not that he doesn’t want to select more test specimens, but the main reason is that the cost of the Yangmai Pill that can continuously exert its medicinal effect is not low, and the quantity required is not low, and he does not have enough financial resources to support it.

Among the ten children, five were born in spiritual veins and were initially nourished by spiritual energy. However, later their parents had accidents or could not afford to live in the market town, so they had to come to the secular area. Since then, the spiritual veins have no spiritual energy to nourish them.

Li Ji'an sensed the origin of his Dantian and could feel that his spiritual veins were not well developed.

The other five children were born in the mortal world and had never been nourished by spiritual energy, so the development of their spiritual veins was almost stagnant.

He recorded the initial conditions of the ten children in a jade talisman, then used wood-type spiritual energy to activate the spiritual veins of the ten people, and then distributed the meridian-nourishing pills, asking them to take them in person, and carefully observed the effects of the meridian-nourishing pills on each of them.

Before leaving, he distributed some spiritual nourishing pills to each person to provide spiritual nourishment.

"Xiao Fan, can the spiritual roots that have been underdeveloped due to lack of spiritual nourishment be repaired?" After the crowd dispersed, Zhang Tiezhu looked at Li Ji'an excitedly.

Isn't that why the five of them struggled in the world of cultivation back then?
Later, their respective descendants proved that these five people with extraordinary talents in the Xianci Dynasty must have had good spiritual roots, but they were underdeveloped because they stayed in the Absolute Spiritual Land for too long and their spiritual roots were not nourished by spiritual energy.

If there had been such a method to help them repair their underdeveloped spiritual roots, they would definitely have had a different life.

Seeing Zhang Tiezhu's thoughts, Li Ji'an shook his head helplessly: "Uncle Zhang, this method can only be used for those whose spiritual roots are not yet fully formed."

Zhang Tiezhu was stunned for a moment, then he burst out laughing.

So what if it is possible?

I am already old and cannot regain my youth.

In the following half month, Li Ji'an checked the spiritual roots of the ten children every day.

It was not until the arrival of Chishi Sanren that Li Ji'an entrusted Zhang Tiezhu to take the ten children to the market town, rent a yard, and have them take the Yangmai Pill as required so that he could check on them from time to time.

When he saw Chishi Sanren again, Li Ji'an couldn't help but be stunned.

"What does this Taoist friend want from me?"

Looking at the unfamiliar expression on Chishi Sanren's face, Li Ji'an secretly activated the rattle with his mind.

"Fellow Daoist, do you really not recognize Li?"

Chishi Sanren shook his head and said, "Fellow Daoist, please forgive me. I seem to have lost some of my memories. I really can't remember."

The rattle didn't sound.

"Do you remember Chen Qingling?"

Chishi Sanren shook his head again.

The rattle still didn't sound.

"Do you remember when you lost your memory?"

Chishi Sanren frowned and said, "I suddenly woke up thirteen years ago and have forgotten everything that happened in the past."

The rattle still didn't sound.

Thirteen years ago, Li Ji'an and Chishi Sanren met, and together they entered the Fallen Dragon Ridge Mountains to capture the Golden Armored Beast, and finally Chishi Sanren went deep into the Yinsha Culvert.

(End of this chapter)