Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 2: Only Uphill

After comforting the group of children, Master Houde brought Li Ji'an and Qingyun to the cemetery in the back mountain.

"This is the tomb of your great-grandmaster, and also the tomb of your father...your uncle's most beloved master. Go pay your respects." As Master Houde spoke, his expression suddenly enlightened.

He clearly remembered that when his master was buried here ten years ago, his junior fellow disciple Zhenzhen fainted from crying on the spot.

The hoarse crying, the wailing as if the sky was falling, the swollen eyes... only then did he realize how deep his junior brother's feelings for the master were!
"Dong, dong, dong!" Li Ji'an kowtowed three times solemnly.

This time, he didn't cry.

There is only remembrance and blessings on the young face.

His master passed away ten years ago when he was thirty years old. His ambition to be a time traveler, which had been extinguished, was rekindled after his master's death. This was especially true since his age was the same as the first time he became young, reminding him that he also had a golden finger.

The kindness of Master Shangshan took root in Li Ji'an's heart, making him willing to lend a helping hand to those suffering without any cause and effect when he was absolutely sure.

The evil of mutilation also made Li Ji'an not afraid to assume the worst of others.

So after his master passed away, he returned to secular life with the family fortune he had saved for more than ten years and bought a small courtyard near the Shangyi County government office at a high price. Because he was not sure when he would regain his youth, he actively prepared for the next time he would regain his youth.

In addition to his livelihood and safety after rejuvenation, he also moved the county martial arts academy with his sincerity of hundreds of taels of silver at the age of 30, dragging his frail body and enduring cold stares and ridicule, and patiently accumulated experience for the next rejuvenation.

In addition, he also worked as a helper in the exclusive pharmacy of the martial arts academy, learning pharmacology while gradually exploring various medicinal baths and medicinal supplements.

This wait lasted for ten years!
It was not until he was forty years old, five days ago, that he regained his youth.

The last time he regained his youth, he was just thirty years old.

But this time, he was already forty years old.

Fortunately, this time he was mentally prepared, lived a stable life, and was full of expectations.

I finally captured the information that I had overlooked during my first rejuvenation five days ago.

It turns out that his rejuvenation is not based on age, but on body functions and the condition of Qi and blood. Whenever the body functions decline, the Qi and blood begin to decay, and the body begins to go downhill, rejuvenation will occur.

Simply put, his body only goes uphill.

The first time he rejuvenated was when he was thirty, because those thirty years were too miserable, especially the despair after returning home in disgrace, which consumed his vitality day by day. Normally, his life span at that time would be around forty years old, but he started to go downhill at the age of thirty.

He lived a relatively comfortable life for the next twenty-seven years after the second time, especially the last ten years, when he was full of expectations and hopes. Even though he had experienced those five years of purgatory, he should have had no problem living to the age of fifty, so his health did not begin to decline until he was forty.

However, this "rejuvenation" of his is only effective for people whose body functions have declined. If he is killed in the middle of the process, he will die completely. However, illness or injury will deplete his vitality, causing him to rejuvenate early.

After regaining his youth five days ago, he returned to Zixiao Temple with his keepsake and letters as planned. Only here could he spend his early childhood in peace.

"This time, my body has returned to the age of eight, all negative effects have been eliminated, but my thoughts and memories have been preserved. With the money I prepared last time and the medicine and food I've taken to nourish my body since childhood, everything is full of hope..."

After paying homage to the ancestor, Li Ji'an followed Master Houde back to Qingxin Hall.

"Chang'an, your first question upon entering the monastery has not yet been answered by the Master. Please ask again."

"Master, are there immortals in this world?"

"Of course there is!" said Master Houde firmly.

"..." Li Ji'an was slightly stunned, and looked at Master Houde with some suspicion.

I still remember that Liu Deshan had always scoffed at the idea of immortals since he was a child, and he even said, "If there were immortals, why were you tortured so terribly, and no immortal came to save you, but it was the master who saved you instead?
If you ask me, if there really are immortals, then Master is the immortal."

"Did you change your mind because of your position? Or was it because of your elevated status that you were exposed to information that ordinary people couldn't?" Li Ji'an bowed respectfully.

Taoist Houde looked at little Qingyun again: "Qingyun, you two brothers should practice martial arts well in the future. I will help you enter the county martial arts academy. If you can pass the martial arts examination, you can directly enter the city's immortal envoy. Once you become an immortal seedling, you will have the hope of meeting the immortal master and seeking immortality." Little Qingyun lowered his head and pouted, sneering at what his father said, and just secretly tickled the soles of Li Ji'an's feet.

"Of course, there are only ten immortal seedlings in the world every ten years, so you can't force it or be stubborn. As long as you learn martial arts, you can come back to the Taoist temple in the future and protect one side." Liu Deshan changed the subject.

"Yes, Master." Li Ji'an took the opportunity to thank him again and suddenly lowered his body, exposing Xiao Qingyun's naughty little movements to Liu Deshan's eyes.

"You rebellious...disciple, you are making trouble again." Liu Deshan frowned and walked over with a ruler in hand.

Li Ji'an felt relieved when he heard Xiao Qingyun begging for mercy.

The Immortal-Bestowed Dynasty, according to legend, was a dynasty bestowed with divine power by an immortal, who unified the entire continent.

Immortal Seedlings, every ten years, are selected from martial arts academies across the country through martial arts examinations, from counties to prefectures, and then to the imperial city. Finally, ten geniuses under the age of thirty are selected to wait for the arrival of the Immortal Master to take them to the Immortal World.

As for why the immortal seedlings were selected based on martial arts strength rather than the spiritual roots in the novels he read in his previous life, Li Ji'an had no idea.

I am not entirely sure whether this so-called fairy seedling is real or fake.

After all, in feudal imperial society, the tactic of "being appointed by heaven" to fool the people and consolidate the regime was very common.

But... at least there's hope.

If one could really become an immortal, there would be hope for eternal life, and one would no longer have to worry about the possibility of suffering in purgatory every time one rejuvenated.

In this kind of society, it is very difficult for an eight-year-old child with no relatives to survive safely to adulthood.

This time I was rejuvenated because of the presence of a senior brother who knew me well. Also, because I was dismembered in my previous life, my physical development was stunted and my mind affected my appearance. My appearance at the age of thirteen was quite different from that at the age of eight, so I came back here.

But this can only happen once. Next time, my senior brother will definitely be gone, and my current appearance will have been remembered by others. If it happens again, I can't guarantee that I won't be imprisoned and interrogated about the secret of rejuvenation, or even forced to drink blood and eat flesh, and tortured for thousands of years.

And even if he doesn't become an immortal in the end, practicing martial arts is his hope to have enough strength to completely eradicate this evil in the world.

Those who kidnap and sell children, or who engage in sexual activity and mutilation, shall be put to death and sent to the eighteen levels of hell, where they shall endure torment and suffer forever without pardon.

After Liu Deshan and his son calmed down, Li Ji'an took out an envelope from his arms.

"Master, this is what my uncle asked me to give you."

When Liu Deshan heard that it was given to him by his junior fellow apprentice, he hurriedly took it, full of anticipation.

Although my junior brother is physically disabled, he is determined, intelligent, quick-witted, and thoughtful, and he always has brilliant ideas.

Sure enough, I opened the envelope and took a look.

It contains a recipe for a medicinal bath to cleanse the tendons. It has the effect of cleansing the tendons and nourishing the meridians for children under the age of thirteen, the best age for practicing martial arts, whose tendons and bones are not fully developed.

This kind of recipe is passed down from one martial arts school to another. It is a cash cow and will never be easily passed on to outsiders.

If Zixiao Temple had this recipe, its financial resources would be even greater.

In addition to the medicinal bath recipe, there is also a bone-nourishing recipe that can help children's bones develop better. This recipe is also priceless.

These two prescriptions were developed bit by bit by Li Ji'an over the past ten years with great effort and means. They are slightly different from the prescriptions of Shangyi County Martial Arts Academy, but they also combine the strengths of prescriptions from several other martial arts schools.

"Good! Good! Good! My junior brother...hahaha..." After reading the prescription, Liu Deshan laughed and ran towards the Jade Emperor Palace impatiently.

Xiao Qingyun looked at his father who had lost his composure for who knows how many times today, and sighed sadly: It seems that my father is not as capable as my junior brother's father.

"Junior brother, your father is so powerful, I will follow you from now on!"

(End of this chapter)