At the beginning, I cleaned the Sutra Library and completed the incomplete skills.

Chapter 192: Golden Core Stage from Seven Hundred Years Ago

After completing all this,

Li Lan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

These days, he dared not stay in one place for long.

Every incense stick's worth of time, he would change his hiding spot,

fearing that Grandpa Liang would find him.

Although he couldn't be absolutely sure he was 100% safe now,

after this layer of disguise,

it would be significantly harder for other cultivators to find him in the vast sea of people in the Cultivation World.

After pondering for a moment,

Li Lan summoned another Spirit Bean Soldier.

He placed his hand on the other's shoulder and silently activated the Bone Shrinking Technique, changing its appearance to his original look.

This Spirit Bean Soldier was refined from an eighty-year-old Purple Sandalwood Spiritual Bean.

Its skin and appearance were no different from a normal human.

Even Li Lan felt a moment of daze after changing its appearance.

It was so similar, truly too similar.

Ignoring the cultivation realm, this Spirit Bean Soldier was enough to pass for the real thing.

He hadn't expected that the complete version of the Bone Shrinking Technique could achieve such a degree; he had previously underestimated this technique.

This technique might seem useless, but it could prove to be of great use in the future.

Li Lan thought for a while,

put away the Spirit Bean Soldier,

and again changed his hiding place to another underground cave.

After setting up numerous formations and restrictions,

Li Lan finally began to take stock of the gains from this trip.

Encountering that Grandpa Liang so unexpectedly this time,

although he only exchanged blows with him for one or two rounds,

his losses were indeed significant.

The power of the Half-Moon Ring Blade Talisman Treasure was already running low.

Previously, in order to escape from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, Li Lan had activated all of its remaining power to protect himself.

At this moment, this Talisman Treasure had turned into a piece of废纸 (waste paper), with no trace of spiritual power fluctuation coming from it.

With its power exhausted,

it was difficult to restore it into a magical treasure, even by consuming lifespan.

Furthermore,

the two Judge Cui's Pens, as well as the prayer beads that saved his life, were also destroyed by Grandpa Liang.

In a moment of urgency,

Li Lan also used forty-four years of lifespan to complete the Qinghong Duan Shui Sword magical treasure for self-protection.

From this perspective alone, he could be said to have suffered a great loss at the opponent's hands.

However,

since ancient times,

victory and defeat are common occurrences in warfare.

Li Lan didn't dwell too much on these gains and losses.

It was already not easy to escape from a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with early-stage Foundation Establishment strength and luckily preserve his life.

Naturally, he wouldn't be overly greedy and ask for more.

Moreover,

Li Lan was not without any gains this time.

Only now,

did he have time to take out the stone coffin and examine it carefully.

As soon as the stone coffin appeared, one could clearly feel that the concentration of spiritual energy in the surroundings instantly increased by more than one level.

This object, of unknown grade, actually had the heaven-defying effect of changing the environment.

This stone coffin was about seven feet high, and its entire body seemed to be made of both stone and jade.

Its surface exuded an ancient and mysterious aura of vicissitude.

Its front was covered with cracks of varying widths,

most of these cracks had been blocked by Li Lan using wood-attributed magical artifacts, exploiting the principle of elemental counteraction.

Only two smaller cracks were left.

At this moment,

from these cracks, pure spiritual energy resembling liquid was still continuously seeping out.

Having learned from the previous experience,

Li Lan dared not rashly try to block these cracks again and could only let them flow.

In the following period of time,

he used the Spirit Bean Soldier to carefully study this stone coffin.

Apart from the cracks that flowed out with tangible spiritual energy and the fact that blocking all the cracks would trigger a celestial phenomenon, Li Lan did not find any other special features of this stone coffin.

He also didn't know if there was any deeper meaning behind this object being called the Eternal Life Coffin.

In any case, he tried for a long time and did not find any increase in his lifespan.

Perhaps, the secret of this stone coffin could only be known after it was opened.

But with Li Lan's current strength,

let alone fully opening this Eternal Life Coffin.

He fully activated the Qinghong Duan Shui Sword magical treasure, used all his might, and couldn't even widen the existing cracks on the surface of the stone coffin by a fraction.

The hardness of this object was evident.

Although he couldn't open the stone coffin,

this didn't mean that Li Lan had gained absolutely nothing.

The tangible spiritual energy flowing out from the cracks of the Eternal Life Coffin was even better than middle-grade spirit stones.

This was naturally of great benefit to cultivation.

Besides helping himself cultivate faster,

he could also soak the Spirit Bean Soldiers in this tangible spiritual energy.

Originally, after all the spiritual power within these bean soldiers was drained by Li Lan, it would take a considerable amount of time for them to recover on their own through breathing and absorbing. But by soaking them in tangible spiritual energy,

the speed at which these Spirit Bean Soldiers recovered their spiritual power suddenly increased dramatically.

A forty-year-old bean soldier recovered to the Qi Refining Fourth Level in just one month.

If left to absorb and recover on their own, it would likely take one or two years to achieve this level.

For Li Lan, this was undoubtedly a great piece of good news.

The faster the Spirit Bean Soldiers recovered their spiritual power, the more frequently he could use the Devouring Yuan Grand Method, shortening the time required for his own cultivation.

Of course,

besides the Spirit Bean Soldiers,

the five-hundred-year-old purple sandalwood tree core also had a significant reaction to this tangible spiritual energy.

Soaking it in the tangible spiritual energy,

this wooden stump seemed to have been reborn.

The purple patterns on its surface became deeper,

and delicate green sprouts even grew at the top.

Perhaps after soaking for a hundred years,

this purple sandalwood tree core could regrow its bark, return to the Foundation Establishment Stage strength, and even regain sentience.

Of course,

besides cultivation,

Li Lan also made considerable progress with the Qinghong Duan Shui Sword magical treasure.

Magical treasures are fundamentally different from magical artifacts, treasured artifacts, and pseudo-treasured artifacts.

The former does not require the trouble of needing to be held in hand at all times for refining like the latter.

This Qinghong Duan Shui Sword magical treasure can be stored inside the body at any time,

placed in the dantian and continuously tempered day and night using abundant spiritual power and the True Essence flames that even Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators can generate.

The strength of a magical treasure's power is greatly related to the length of time a cultivator refines it.

Although Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators can never refine a magical treasure into a Natal Magical Treasure like those in the Golden Core Stage, achieving perfect mind-soul connection,

refining it to a certain extent can enable it to automatically protect its master.

If Li Lan had refined the magical treasure to such an extent beforehand,

when fighting against the late-stage Foundation Establishment Grandpa Liang,

even if he couldn't react in time, with the magical treasure automatically protecting him, it wouldn't have allowed the opponent to so easily shatter the seventeen prayer beads with a single strike.

Of course,

refining a magical treasure to the point of automatic protection is by no means something that can be accomplished overnight.

Li Lan didn't expect to be able to do it in a short time.

Therefore, besides refining it himself, he didn't pay too much attention to this matter.

Compared to refining the magical treasure to the point where it could protect its master, it was clearly easier to continue cultivating diligently and improve his own strength for self-preservation.

What Li Lan didn't know was that,

while he was hiding and cultivating during this time,

the entire Jiuhua County Cultivation World had undergone earth-shattering changes.

Deep within the Chongshan Region.

This was the most important area of the entire Guangji Sect, and also where the Sect Master had been in secluded cultivation for years.

At this moment,

the usual quiet atmosphere was broken by a strong spiritual energy fluctuation.

Deep within the sect's important area,

the secret chamber that had been closed for many years slowly opened.

An old man in a plain white robe walked out of it.

Although his face was slightly haggard, his eyes shone with a baptized light, as if they could see through the soul.

An Elder guarding beside the secret chamber, hearing the commotion,

although surprised, still respectfully stood up to greet him.

"Greetings, Sect Master. Didn't you say before that you wouldn't easily come out of seclusion until your cultivation advanced further? May I ask why this time?"

The Guangji Sect Sect Master didn't say much,

and solemnly waved his hand, saying:

"Immediately summon all Elders above the middle-stage Foundation Establishment to gather in the Council Hall."

That Elder hesitated for a moment, asking hesitantly:

"Most of the middle-stage Foundation Establishment Elders are in secluded cultivation in the Medium-Grade Spirit Vein. Are they included?

Would it be... to abruptly interrupt these Elders' cultivation?"

The Guangji Sect Sect Master glanced at him sideways and said coldly:

"Didn't you hear what this Sect Master said? It's all Elders above the middle-stage Foundation Establishment. Go quickly!

If anyone is dissatisfied, tell them to come find me personally.

Any Elder who fails to arrive at the Council Hall on time within one day will bear the consequences!"

After speaking,

the Guangji Sect Sect Master flicked his sleeve and turned into a streak of light, departing.

The remaining Elder clicked his tongue,

seeming to have also realized the seriousness of the matter, and dared not delay.

He quickly went to inform the various Elders of this command.

Guangji Sect Council Hall.

Many inner sect Elders arrived one after another,

their expressions quite displeased,

clearly very dissatisfied with their secluded cultivation being suddenly interrupted.

However, after entering the hall,

their dissatisfaction temporarily disappeared, replaced by extreme astonishment.

These inner sect Elders found that,

sitting on the main seat in the hall was not the Sect Master,

but a boy in his teens.

There was no spiritual power emanating from him, making him appear no different from a mortal.

His face was handsome, with distinct features,

but there was an arrogant pride between his brows,

and a slight smile on the corner of his lips, revealing an elusive expression.

The Guangji Sect Sect Master, who had late-stage Foundation Establishment strength,

was now standing respectfully to his right, like a well-behaved sparrow,

not daring to even breathe loudly.

And to his left was Elder Chi from the Logistics Peak.

This scene was truly bizarre,

causing all the Elders present to break out in cold sweat.

Before they could figure out the situation,

they could only suppress the dissatisfaction in their hearts.

The arrogant young man on the main seat casually surveyed the Elders, occasionally commenting.

When all the Elders had arrived,

he smiled and tapped the jade armrest.

The Guangji Sect Sect Master immediately understood,

faced the crowd,

and introduced in a shocking and deep voice:

"Esteemed Elders, this is the Yun Que Old Ancestor of our Guangji Sect. He was already in the Golden Core Stage seven hundred years ago.

Now that he has returned to the sect, he has important matters to announce.

Before that, all Guangji Sect Elders, listen to my command and pay respects to the Yun Que Old Ancestor!"

Upon hearing this, the Elders present,

all widened their eyes,

and their hearts immediately surged with turbulent waves, their faces filled with shock.