Eternal Life by Daily Divination

「Several days later.」

He suddenly noticed someone spying near Changqing Mountain.

Li Chang’an quickly caught a wisp of a familiar aura.

’The Saint Child of the Yellow Sand Sect, Qin Hong.’

The man had come not long ago, intending to attack Changqing Mountain, but had been forced to retreat, intimidated by Zi Xi’s power.

Now, he had returned.

This time, Qin Hong did not retreat.

His expression was stern as he observed Changqing Mountain for a while, finally reaching a conclusion.

’A Tier Three Top Grade Array. Its quality is high, but it won’t be enough to stop me.’

He himself was an Array Master with exceptional talent in the art, having also reached Tier Three Top Grade. Furthermore, he possessed a variety of Array-Breaking Treasures.

Soon, one Treasure after another flew out from his Storage Pouch, hovering in the air around Changqing Mountain.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he began the Array-Breaking process.

BOOM!

The entire Changqing Mountain trembled for a moment.

In the blink of an eye, a fissure opened in the Array.

Qin Hong inserted an Array he had prepared into the fissure to prevent it from closing. He then passed through the opening and entered Changqing Mountain.

He sneered and released his full aura without reservation.

"Li Chang’an! I am Qin Hong, Saint Child of the Yellow Sand Sect! I have come today to take your head!"

Sensing this aura, Xue Qiansi’s expression changed drastically inside the dwelling.

She couldn’t believe that Li Chang’an had provoked such a powerful enemy.

"Daoist Li, hurry and get out of here! I’ll hold him off!"

She knew well the power of these Saint Children from Nascent Soul Sects; they were far beyond what an ordinary Golden Core Cultivator could withstand.

Li Chang’an smiled faintly. "There’s no rush. He’s not that strong."

He walked out of his dwelling and into the courtyard.

"Daoist Qin, since you’ve come all this way, you’re a guest. Why not sit and have a cup of tea?"

"My time is precious! I have no time for tea with you!"

A Spiritual Light flashed in Qin Hong’s hand as he summoned his Magical Treasure.

Worried that Zi Xi might arrive, he didn’t dare waste a single moment and was about to unleash his Magical Treasure.

But in the next instant, he was shocked to find that he had somehow appeared in the courtyard, a cup of hot tea placed before him.

’What’s going on? I was clearly in mid-air. How did I end up in the courtyard in the blink of an eye?’

A sense of dread washed over Qin Hong.

What followed was the same powerlessness and despair that Wei Xu had once felt.

A moment later, he was Li Chang’an’s captive, sealed away in a Spirit Beast Bag.

’This man could be useful. He isn’t a disciple of Huang Sha True Monarch, so he doesn’t often meet with Nascent Soul Powerhouses. I can use Refinement to turn him into a Puppet and use him to lure out Gu Yunqi.’

Li Chang’an waved his hand and collected the Array-Breaking Treasures and the Array that Qin Hong had left behind.

In an instant, Changqing Mountain returned to normal.

The entire battle, from start to finish, had lasted only a few breaths.

Xue Qiansi stood to the side, watching it all unfold with a stunned, vacant expression.

She had originally planned to fight to the death to buy time for Li Chang’an to escape.

But what happened next was far beyond her expectations.

"Daoist Li... are you... some kind of extraordinary master wandering the world in disguise?"

Unable to suppress her shock, Xue Qiansi couldn’t help but ask.

She had heard that some powerful experts enjoyed disguising themselves as the weak to wander the world and experience life from a different perspective.

There were Cultivators who did this in the Mortal Realm, wandering among the common folk.

The same was true in the Cultivation Realm.

The ease with which Li Chang’an had just suppressed Qin Hong was so unbelievable that it led Xue Qiansi to this conclusion.

"I’m no extraordinary master. I’ve just hidden a few of my skills, that’s all."

Li Chang’an smiled but didn’t explain further, simply returning to his dwelling.

He interrogated Qin Hong, and after learning what he needed, he began the process of refining him into a Puppet. He then controlled the Puppet to discreetly leave Changqing Mountain and return to the Ancient Ruins Secret Realm.

From then on, this Puppet of Qin Hong became his eyes and ears at Gu Yunqi’s side.

After a few more days, Zi Xi arrived again.

This time, she brought Li Chang’an a Spirit Cloud Fruit, along with a message from her master, Zi Xia True Monarch.

"Daoist Li, my master says that a thumb-sized piece of Celestial Net Gold is more than enough to trade for one Spirit Cloud Fruit. She feels she got the better end of this deal, so if you ever run into trouble, you can seek her assistance."

Hearing this, Li Chang’an was delighted.

’She’s truly worthy of her reputation as Fairy Zi Xia. So generous!’

For just a single Tier Four Material, she had given him her promise.

Within the territory controlled by the Purple Mist Sect, this promise was practically a guarantee of his safety.

"Please thank Elder Zi Xia on my behalf, Saintess."

Li Chang’an accepted the Spirit Cloud Fruit and said sincerely.

The quality of this Spirit Cloud Fruit was extremely high, very suitable for Alchemy.

At this point, he was only missing one final ingredient for the Earth Cloud Yellow Sand Pill: a Treasure called Yellow Sand Star Crystal.

’Things are going pretty smoothly. I might be able to gather all the ingredients soon.’

Li Chang’an had a smile on his face, in a great mood.

After seeing Zi Xi off, he returned to his dwelling and resumed his cultivation.

「That night.」

Something else worth celebrating happened.

While cultivating, Li Chang’an suddenly sensed that he had faintly touched the threshold of the Middle Stage of Golden Core.

If he were to consume the Purple Spirit Pill and other Treasures that aided Tier Breakthroughs, he was fairly confident he could break through immediately and become a Middle Stage Golden Core Cultivator.

However, he wasn’t impatient. Suppressing his excitement, he continued to slowly accumulate Magical Power.

’In all my time cultivating, I’ve never relied on a Tier Breakthrough Elixir Pill for a minor realm breakthrough, so my potential remains completely undiminished. I should continue to let my breakthroughs happen as naturally as possible in the future.’

Li Chang’an’s mindset was remarkably steady.

With over a thousand years of lifespan remaining, he didn’t mind spending a few more years accumulating power.

...

Time flows differently in cultivation; in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.

「On this day.」

Aboard the Yellow Sand Sect’s Flying Ship, within the Ancient Ruins Secret Realm.

Gu Yunqi suddenly sought out Qin Hong. "Daoist Qin, why haven’t you taken care of that Li Chang’an yet? Did you run into some trouble?"

Li Chang’an, controlling Qin Hong, made him put on a troubled expression.

"Daoist Gu, I’m ashamed to say it, but that Li Chang’an has a Treasure given to him by Zi Xi. I was unable to defeat him."

"Zi Xi again!"

Gu Yunqi snorted coldly.

The other Saint Children and Saintesses looked as if they understood.

If Zi Xi had interfered, it was understandable that Qin Hong couldn’t defeat Li Chang’an.

At this moment, a young voice sounded out.

"Daoist Gu, who is this Li Chang’an you’re talking about? Do you have a grudge against him?"

The one who asked was a young man clad in white Armor.

His name was Cui Baihong, one of the Saint Children of the White Tiger Sect.

Gu Yunqi replied, "It’s not exactly a grudge, it’s just that Master has ordered..."

He then explained the situation regarding Li Chang’an.

After he finished, Cui Baihong laughed. "This is a simple matter. Why make it so complicated?"

"Oh? What brilliant plan does Daoist Cui have?"

"I have an Honored Guest Elder under my command who has mastered Tier Three Top Grade Curse Technique Skills. We can have him cast a spell on that Li Chang’an and kill him from afar with a curse!"

After saying that, he called the Honored Guest Elder up.

When he heard that Li Chang’an was merely an Early Stage Golden Core Cultivator, a confident look appeared on the Honored Guest Elder’s face.

"This matter is not difficult, but I need that Li Chang’an’s Qi, or an object stained with his Qi. Do any of you have one?"

"I do!"

Gu Yunqi waved his hand.

A piece of Jade Stone flew out of his Storage Pouch and flew before the Honored Guest Elder.

This Jade Stone came from the ruins of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, once part of the towering, several-thousand-foot-high palace at the very center of the site.

Later, the palace collapsed, and all the Treasures within disappeared.

But Gu Yunqi had found this piece of Jade Stone, stained with Li Chang’an’s Qi, in the rubble.

"Is the Qi on this enough?"

"It’s enough!"

The Honored Guest Elder smiled confidently. His hands formed a series of seals, and he extracted Li Chang’an’s Qi from the stone.

At the same time.

A seemingly ordinary scarecrow flew out of his Storage Pouch.

"Fuse!"

He pointed a finger, and the wisp of Qi flew into the scarecrow.

The scarecrow’s features shifted, taking on a faint resemblance to Li Chang’an.

Immediately after, seven flashes of cold light appeared, transforming into seven long, jet-black nail-like Magical Treasures that radiated a chilling aura as they hovered beside the scarecrow.

"Suppress!"

The Honored Guest Elder let out a cold shout.

One of the long nail Magical Treasures flashed with a ghostly light and abruptly pierced into the scarecrow’s head.

...

「At that very moment.」

Li Chang’an was sitting cross-legged deep within his dwelling, accumulating Golden Core Magical Power.

He felt a sharp pain between his brows and snapped his eyes open, his expression turning grave.

’What a bizarre Curse Killing Technique!’