Infinite Save: I Cultivate Immortality Through Reincarnation

Yong’an Prefecture.

Wearing Yuanhua Mountain daoist robes and with two long swords hanging at his waist, Li Haowen stood before several Kongshan Sect disciples, issuing orders for the upcoming operation.

Two days ago, he had his first clash with Ding Qiu in the deep mountains eighty li from Yong’an Prefecture.

That encounter made Li Haowen clear just how strong this Spirit Connection realm cultivator he had hunted for over two years really was.

Unsteady foundation, crude techniques.

Exactly matching Li Haowen’s stereotype of rogue cultivators.

But for a rogue cultivator to reach the Spirit Connection realm, talent and opportunity cannot be lacking.

Based on the facts, Ding Qiu was simply no match for Li Haowen.

The gap between a rogue cultivator and the prodigies of the Five Great Sects was larger than imagined.

Yet Li Haowen still failed to kill Ding Qiu.

Ding Qiu relied on a cicada-shell treasure he had somehow acquired to ultimately escape by a hair.

However, most of his close followers had already been wiped out by Li Haowen and the Kongshan Sect cultivators he led.

No one was surprised by that outcome.

Because for Ding Qiu and his motley crew to attempt to challenge the prestige of the Kongshan Sect was like an ant trying to stop a carriage.

Cornered and desperate, that was Ding Qiu’s situation.

This chase that had lasted more than two years was finally nearing its end.

Now Li Haowen only needed to finish the final arrangements, then capture Ding Qiu and his few remaining remnants in one net, and everything would be over.

Footsteps sounded on the steps. Li Haowen and the few Kongshan Sect disciples beside him all turned their gazes toward the direction of the sound.

The newcomer was Chen Yan.

“Ready?” Chen Yan asked as he strolled toward Li Haowen and the others.

“Junior Brother Chen, there are eleven days left until the time we agreed on…” Li Haowen frowned.

“There’s no time to wait any longer.” Chen Yan said.

Hearing that, Li Haowen fell silent for a moment, then fixed his gaze on the simple token Chen Yan wore at his waist, which was engraved with the five characters “Kongshan Pivot Court.”

“Give me one more day.” Li Haowen said. “Today I will finish this once and for all.”

One of the Kongshan Sect disciples behind him hurriedly shook his head.

“Manager Li, don’t act rashly. If we move now, some of Ding Bandits’ remnants will definitely escape!”

Li Haowen waved his hand to refuse.

“As long as Ding Qiu is killed, that remaining rabble is nothing to worry about.”

Then his eyes returned to Chen Yan in front of him.

“Junior Brother Chen, what do you think?”

Chen Yan, with his hands clasped behind his back, said nothing, only nodding.

…

Wind slipped through the bamboo grove, making a rustling sound.

Inside the grove, a man in coarse black cloth sat on the ground, a heavy, dark-black greatsword standing beside him. Stubble dotted his chin and his hair was streaked with white.

Ding Qiu.

His face was more weathered than before, and his body bore many new wounds.

A beast trapped in a cage.

That was Ding Qiu’s assessment of his current predicament.

The greatest difference between a Spirit Connection realm cultivator and a Martial Spring realm cultivator lies in spiritual sense and the precision of true qi control.

In a one-on-one duel, a Spirit Connection cultivator can undoubtedly utterly crush a Martial Spring cultivator.

Facing multiple opponents, a Spirit Connection cultivator can, through rich combat experience, use the reading ability of their spiritual sense and their far-superior precision in using true qi to quickly split the battlefield into brief one-on-one encounters, then easily defeat them one by one.

The premise is sufficient experience.

But as a rogue cultivator, Ding Qiu’s understanding of the Spirit Connection realm was apparently not that deep.

And as Li Haowen had said, his foundation was unstable and his techniques crude.

Therefore, the dozen or so Martial Spring cultivators Li Haowen had stationed outside the bamboo grove would indeed be a serious problem for him.

Ding Qiu closed his eyes, nourishing and preserving his life force.

He clearly already knew the fate that awaited him.

“Long time no see.” Suddenly, a calm young voice came from behind.

Ding Qiu snapped his eyes open, horrified.

He, a Spirit Connection cultivator, had not perceived the other person’s presence at all before the voice sounded!

Reacting swiftly, Ding Qiu grabbed the greatsword standing on the ground and swung it behind him.

A humming sound rang out.

In an instant, all the bamboo within dozens of zhang were cut by the sword qi.

Then, a blunt force came from the dark-black greatsword he held.

Ding Qiu looked back in even greater astonishment.

A youth in white daoist robes stood quietly there, the sleeves of his robe embroidered with gilded cloud crane patterns, a single finger raised to stop the sword’s edge.

Those were Kongyuan Mountain robes; Ding Qiu recognized them.

His gaze slowly rose to the newcomer’s face.

“…Chief Disciple Chen.” Ding Qiu said.

“You’re no longer Chief Disciple.” Chen Yan smiled, gently pushing the finger that held back the dark greatsword forward. That heavy sword, tombstone-like, seemed no different from a scrap of paper in his eyes.

“About twenty years ago, after the Outer Court Cataclysm of the Kongshan Sect, I tried to inquire about Chief Disciple Chen’s whereabouts.” Ding Qiu sheathed his greatsword and said, “They all said you were dead.”

“So how does it feel to see me alive and standing before you now?” Chen Yan asked.

“Very gratifying.” The man who had been through wind and frost and been tempered by hatred—no longer the bold manager of the Gambling Den he once was—smiled at Chen Yan. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes gathered into a knot.

“If you hadn’t spared me back then, I would have died at the hands of the Kongshan Sect long ago. I always remembered that I owe Chief Disciple Chen a favor.” Ding Qiu said.

“You’re mistaken. Back then in Taiyun City I was only a small Martial Spring cultivator. It should have been Manager Ding who spared me, so Manager Ding doesn’t owe me anything.” Chen Yan replied calmly.

The implication was that he owed Ding Qiu nothing either.

Ding Qiu immediately understood Chen Yan’s meaning and only smiled.

“So, Chief Disciple Chen, are you here today to take my life?”

Chen Yan merely shook his head.

“I don’t care about any grievances between you and the Kongshan Sect. I came here today simply to see you.”

He paused for a moment, then added,

“Brother Ding, the Heavenly Way stands tall, and cause and effect are ruthless.”

A flash of bewilderment crossed Ding Qiu’s face when Chen Yan called him “Brother Ding.”

He could not understand it.

But he had no time to unravel Chen Yan’s words.

Because another white-clad figure slowly stepped out from behind Chen Yan, two long swords hung at his waist—one black, one white.

“The time has come—”

The figure in the Yuanhua Mountain robes smoothly drew the two swords at his waist and pointed them at the man in coarse cloth opposite him.

“Please go to the Yellow Springs.”