Cultivation Starts with Rejuvenation

”Quite bold!”

After reading the relevant information, Li Ji’an continued toward the cliff where Guo Wanzhi was previously besieged. Below it were some disciples of the Dongli Sect whose magical power had been sealed.

Along the way, his thoughts spun.

”Is it the Ten Thousand Laws Palace or the Demon Sect of the Boundless Domain?” After understanding Yuan Ting’s purpose this time, he felt somewhat uncertain.

With Zou Yan’s divination forecast, Li Ji’an had insight into the upcoming changes of the Ten Thousand Laws Palace, thus he had some predictions about their actions.

Previously, the act of destroying the Fiery Sun Sect out of hatred was definitely not the will of Pure Yang True Man alone.

If the True Monarch of Ten Thousand Laws were unharmed, under such circumstances, at most the Fiery Sun Sect would apologize, Pure Yang True Man would vent his anger, and eventually, they would jointly hunt down Fu Xiaochen, rather than brutally exterminating the Fiery Sun Sect.

After all, the Ten Thousand Laws Palace also needs sects to serve as a backbone force against the Demon Realm.

It is only when the Ten Thousand Laws Palace lacks confidence in its own dominance that it would ignore the threat from the Demon Realm and take fierce action to intimidate the sects within the domain.

To the ruling class, internal strife is always more fearful than external threats.

With external threats, at worst, they lose territory, which would still only affect the lower-level cultivators within the domain. They remain the rulers.

But with internal strife, they may lose their ruling power.

Moreover, when the Fiery Sun Sect was exterminated, no Nascent Soul True Monarch from the Ten Thousand Laws Palace acted, only Core Formation True Men from the Holy Palace took action, making a statement to intimidate the other six sects, making it clear that even without a Nascent Soul True Monarch, the Ten Thousand Laws Palace remains the domain’s overlord.

Nonetheless, merely exterminating one Fiery Sun Sect may not fully put the Ten Thousand Laws Palace at ease.

Perhaps this so-called All Living Beings Sect is actually fostered or tacitly allowed by the Ten Thousand Laws Palace.

The purpose is still to incite internal strife within the six major sects, preventing them from uniting and threatening the Holy Palace.

Thinking about this possibility, Li Ji’an’s interest in the Squad Leader’s soul cultivation secret skill abruptly decreased.

Until he rescued and sent away the few trapped disciples of the Dongli Sect, Li Ji’an turned the flying boat around and returned to the sect with the remaining ten members of the All Living Beings Sect.

This sort of matter is best left to the sect to decide.

”Ah~” During the journey, as Li Ji’an was contemplating reporting back to the sect, a sudden flash of insight struck him.

”The area Zhao Qi is responsible for is precisely that one. How did he not discover a church of this scale?”

”Impossible! This guy definitely has issues!” Combining fragments of Yuan Ting’s memories, Li Ji’an suddenly raised his eyebrows and immediately stopped the returning flying boat.

”Could it be that the True Pill opportunity he yearns for lies here?”

A moment later, Li Ji’an once again turned the flying boat toward the direction of the Ma Clan.

As for the ten followers of the All Living Beings Sect he was thinking of bringing back to the sect for interrogation, he casually incinerated them.

Thinking about the area Zhao Qi was responsible for, he also suddenly realized he was currently the responsible elder of the Law Enforcement Hall.

Who would he report to in the sect?

The Sect Leader’s group was busy seizing opportunities in the ancient tomb, unless there’s a calamity destroying the sect, they would hardly send a True Core Cultivator back.

Ultimately, he would have to investigate himself.

In short, given the current situation, there’s no one above him; he’s already the tall one who has to hold up the sky if it falls.

In that case, everyone in the world would know he was responsible for this matter. If he fails to discover the circumstances of the All Living Beings Sect or fails to resolve it, he would inevitably bear the blame later.

But if he resolves it, he might become a thorn in the side of the Ten Thousand Laws Palace, laying down a hidden threat for the next life.

Instead of that, he might as well sneak away now, hoping to pass the buck.

Two months later, Li Ji’an landed several thousand miles away from the Ma Clan and activated Yuan Ting’s essence blood.

From the fragments of Yuan Ting’s memories, Li Ji’an already knew that the hideout did not preserve soul lamps, and the secret technique the Squad Leader left within the followers’ sea of consciousness prevented soul searches and had a bewitching effect, but could not monitor thousands of followers in real-time.

Before long, retracing his steps, Li Ji’an was seen by some hidden sentries from outside the Ma Clan as he stepped into their territory.

It had been exactly ninety years since he first entered the Ma Clan; he was thirty-four years old then, at the Qi Cultivation 9th Layer, and had come here to capture a spirit flame.

Now he was one hundred twenty-four years old, a Fake Pill True Man.

”Young Master, you’re back. The Patriarch has been thinking of you.” As soon as he entered the inner courtyard, a servant from the Ma Clan greeted him respectfully.

Li Ji’an frowned: ”How many times have I told you, refer to my position!”

”Yes, yes, Hall Master.” The servant quickly apologized.

It’s no wonder Yuan Ting was like this, simply because his real surname was Ma; his father was a cultivator who married into the family. He always resented this identity, and upon joining the All Living Beings Sect and successfully establishing his foundation, he decisively changed his surname.

”Ting’er, you’re back. Did you get hurt?” At this moment, an elderly woman walked briskly over.

Li Ji’an shot her a glance, his face gloomy.

The elderly woman was considered an acquaintance of Li Ji’an; she had even served him before.

When he first came to the Ma Clan, the Ma Family Patriarch had this Ma family eldest daughter personally attend to Li Ji’an, the Pill Master.

She was also Yuan Ting’s biological mother and agreed to have the entire Ma clan join the All Living Beings Sect to assist Yuan Ting in foundation establishment, setting it as a stronghold.

Nonetheless, Yuan Ting always resented her for harshly criticizing his biological father and causing his father’s death.

Ultimately, during those youthful times, he had witnessed the unsurpassable elegance of Xiao Changfeng and Li Ji’an and found it difficult to give rise to affection for ordinary loose cultivators, agreeing to marriage only for the sake of the family.

”I’m going to see the Squad Leader!” Li Ji’an, following Yuan Ting’s disposition, brushed past the elderly woman, leaving her in sorrow.

Following the memories, Li Ji’an easily found his way to the ancestral secret chamber of the Ma Clan.

Inside, it had long been transformed into an underground hall, equipped with several protective arrays and a spirit-storage array consuming spirit stones as its material.