Cultivation Starts with Rejuvenation

After learning about Li Ji’an’s senior status as a top-class Pill Master, they showed even more respect, allowing the Ma family’s treasured daughter to personally attend to him.

This place is far from the Immortal City, situated in a remote area with scarce resources. Even the most common Pill Medicine in the Immortal City is not easily obtainable here, and traveling far to purchase them is not cost-effective considering the expenses and risks involved.

When Xiao Changfeng finished catching up with his parents, he learned that this place nearly encountered trouble half a month ago. Fortunately, a Loose Cultivator, who was friendly with the Ma family, immediately sent a Communication Talisman to the Ma Clan when the family settlement was destroyed.

The Ma Clan didn’t hesitate, packing up essential supplies and leading their members over a thousand miles eastward to hide in a Spirit Starved Land for several days. They only returned after sending people back to ensure no danger was present.

This made Li Ji’an admire the survival wisdom of bottom-tier families in the Cultivation Realm and also made him break into a cold sweat for them.

After staying with the Ma family for three days, Xiao Changfeng’s parents urged him to leave quickly, lest the Sect become dissatisfied with him.

Before leaving, Clan Leader Ma asked Xiao Changfeng if he could request Li Ji’an to sell them some late-period Qi Condensing Pills from his stock.

Li Ji’an was impressed by Clan Leader Ma’s social skills and agreed to the request.

Regrettably, before setting out for this journey, Li Ji’an had already exchanged Pill Medicine for possible travel expenses and for preparing Talismans. What remained were all top-quality Qi Condensing Pills.

Their value far exceeded Clan Leader Ma’s expectations.

In the end, he could only awkwardly laugh at himself and voluntarily gave up.

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Setting off again, a month and a half later, Li Ji’an finally arrived at the outskirts of the Flame Mountain Forbidden Land, where the traces of Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame were suspected to have been discovered.

This place was already at the eastern border of Cangyun State, and another ten thousand miles east would take them into the true range of the Flame Mountain Forbidden Land.

Compared to the Spirit Starved Land along the way, the Spiritual Qi here was even more scarce, almost undetectable.

Looking up at the sprawling lifeless red soil of bare rock, with hot steam blowing against his face, Li Ji’an’s Divine Sense was affected by the heat waves and could only exert eighty percent of its power.

His Dantian Magical Power was also continuously shrinking due to the lack of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

The reason Cultivators can’t stay long in the Spirit Starved Land is because if Dantian Magical Power goes without Qi replenishment for too long, it will gradually weaken, causing a regression in cultivation. If the Dantian Magical Power is exhausted for too long without replenishment, it can damage the Dantian and affect potential.

Therefore, Li Ji’an brought plenty of Spirit Supplement Pills for this journey.

Upon reaching the Flame Mountain’s outskirts, Xiao Changfeng put away the Flying Boat to minimize Magical Power consumption.

Li Ji’an activated a Magical Shield to protect himself and Xiaoqiao from discomfort caused by heat waves.

It’s worth mentioning that while this area is unsuitable for human Cultivators without Spiritual Qi, it attracts certain Fire-type Demon Beasts. Demon Beast advancement mainly relies on bloodline transformation and evolution. Besides Spiritual Qi, various special materials aid Demon Beast bloodline transformation.

For instance, in deep forests, violent and chaotic Spiritual Qi that human Cultivators can’t absorb and refine, and the Flame Spirit Mechanism diffused into the scorching heat waves near this Flame Mountain Forbidden Land.

However, Gugu didn’t like this environment and was somewhat affected. It’s more suitable for Earth and Water Spiritual Mechanisms.

After delving several hundred miles deeper, reaching the area the Loose Cultivator mentioned seeing Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame traces, Li Ji’an and Xiao Changfeng no longer hurried.

Li Ji’an had already shared with Xiao Changfeng the purpose of this journey, which was to try their luck.

Xiao Changfeng understood, as no Pill Master wouldn’t desire owning a Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame.

Although this chance is smaller than finding a Foundation Establishment opportunity, countless Pill Masters explore all over for it every year.

Along the way, they encountered three other Pill Masters seemingly trying their luck.

However, they might have been Beast Tamers looking to capture Fire-type Demon Beasts.

Li Ji’an and his company saw many Demon Beast traces, but on the surface, they were just low-level Fire Salamanders, which kept their distance upon encountering them.

After arriving, the two parted ways.

Li Ji’an fully disclosed possible traces of Heaven and Earth Spirit Flames to Xiao Changfeng, also handing him another bottle of Spirit Supplement Pills.

As Xiao Changfeng’s figure faded from sight, Li Ji’an reluctantly released Gugu.

”Push through. If we capture a Heaven and Earth Spirit Flame this time, my Foundation Establishment will be guaranteed, and I can plan for your Blood Pill advancement. You definitely can do it!”

Although Xiaoqiao was the main hope of this trip, Li Ji’an habitually encouraged Gugu, also feeding it a Beast Pill with Fireproofing properties.

”Gugu darling, I’ll make you delicious food when we get back,” Xiaoqiao gently stroked the frog’s head in encouragement.

”Gua~” Gugu’s enthusiasm immediately rose, diving into the ground to search.

”Xiaoqiao, help uncle look underground for the kind of flame I showed you before,” Li Ji’an said to Xiaoqiao again.

Before setting out, Li Ji’an had used Magical Power to create the forms of Heaven and Earth Spirit Flames seen in ancient texts.

Although Spirit Flame shapes vary, and their colors differ by level, they still resemble flames in essence.

”Okay,” Xiaoqiao nodded, beginning to look underground.

Since his Divine Sense was affected and using it here consumed Divine Soul power, Li Ji’an didn’t bother looking underground himself and focused on surface traces instead.

After half a month of searching, they found nothing.

”Uncle Li, there’s a Fire Snake over there.” One day, Xiaoqiao pointed not far off.

Li Ji’an immediately instructed Gugu to avoid it.

These days, Gugu was quite battered, attacked several times by local Demon Beasts, bearing many scars now.

Primarily, there were many Tier One late-period Demon Beasts deep underground here, holding the geographical advantage, attacking Gugu when it inadvertently intruded their territories. Although most eventually succumbed to Gugu’s tongue, it was a case of mutual destruction.

Therefore, Xiaoqiao not only looked for Spirit Flames, but also helped Gugu avoid hazards.

”Uncle Li, there’s also a little grass over there.”

Soon after, Gugu surfaced with a ”Three-Flame Grass” in its mouth.

Li Ji’an nodded in satisfaction, storing it in Gugu’s mouth within his dimensional storage.

This is a Tier One late-period Spirit Grass, a supplementary herb for many late-period Pill Medicines, even Second Tier Pills.

This was another unexpected surprise Xiaoqiao brought Li Ji’an, as it could ”see” underground living things and objects with Spiritual Qi.

After testing for a long time, Li Ji’an had gained a deeper understanding of Xiaoqiao’s ability.

It seemed to be some form of sensing, but only applicable underground.

He tested it by having Gugu place an ordinary stone underground, which Xiaoqiao couldn’t ”see.”

Thus, he ruled out abilities like a ”Spiritual Eye.”

However, Xiaoqiao herself didn’t understand her own ability.

Li Ji’an thought it might be some connection to the Earth Spirit Mechanism.

He couldn’t confirm whether it was a Divine Ability of a Divine Favored.

The more he understood the Cultivation Realm, the more he realized how vast and strange it is. Besides Divine Favored with Heaven and Earth Laws fragments attached after the extinction of the Tao, numerous incomprehensible mystical phenomena existed in ancient times.

”Brother Li, come quickly!” Suddenly, a slightly anxious urging came from Xiao Changfeng through the Communication Talisman.

Li Ji’an raised an eyebrow; could it be that Xiao Changfeng found something?

He immediately picked up Xiaoqiao, summoned Gugu, and headed toward Xiao Changfeng’s direction.

Soon, at a pile of disorderly stones reddened by prolonged steaming heat waves, Li Ji’an saw Xiao Changfeng with an excited expression.

”Brother Xiao!”

”Brother Li, look quickly. This winding scorch mark, could it be the Spirit Flame trace you mentioned?” Xiao Changfeng pointed and asked.

Li Ji’an focused his gaze, his eyes lighting up: ”Brother Xiao truly is fortuitous. Though we each searched for half a month, you actually found it.”

He spoke sincerely, for compared to Xiao Changfeng, he had Xiaoqiao’s Divine Ability and Gugu’s underground cooperation.

Yet Xiao Changfeng’s Spiritual Sense was nearly ineffective here, relying solely on his eyes, and he still discovered it.

The traces were indeed faint and hidden.

However, as Xiao Changfeng said, the mark was precisely one of the significant clues for Spirit Flame detection Li Ji’an had learned from studying numerous ancient texts.