Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 230 Demon Hunter Squad
The top floor of Xianhe Garden.

While drinking with Li Ji'an, Qin Henian looked down over the entire Tianhe Immortal City.

"Sir, our Qin family will forever remember your great kindness. This is just a small token of our appreciation, and we hope you will accept it."

After several rounds of drinks, Qin Henian solemnly took out a small piece of bamboo root from his storage bag.

The moment the bamboo roots were revealed, Li Ji'an's heart stirred.

Its aura was very strong, undoubtedly at the third rank.

And it is clearly purple bamboo.

Li Ji'an was both delighted and surprised, never expecting that the Qin family would possess a third-tier spirit bamboo.

However, he maintained a calm demeanor on the surface: "Can Qin Zhenren's clan cultivate third-tier spirit bamboo?"

"Haha, sir, you flatter our Qin family. Third-grade spirit bamboo is extremely rare. If our Qin family could cultivate third-grade spirit bamboo, why would we have remained confined to Cangyun Prefecture?"

This was a mutated purple bamboo that I discovered by chance a few years ago. Unfortunately, the bamboo trunk had long since withered and died, leaving only this small section of bamboo root. Seeing the old man's calm demeanor, Qin Henian became even more certain of his judgment and lowered his posture even further.

Tier 3 talisman materials are almost exclusively found within the Holy Palace Sect throughout the entire Tiancang Domain, and are extremely rare on the market.

And the price is high.

But the old man remained calm, clearly having seen this many times before, and perhaps even been involved in it himself.

Thus, combined with some rumors he had heard in the Immortal City during this period, he could almost conclude that the third-order Heavenly Thunder Talisman that shocked this place a year ago was very likely created by this person.

He guessed that after Li Ji'an lured the corpse puppet away that day, the corpse puppet lost its mind and encountered an old man passing by, and was eventually defeated by the old man with a third-level talisman.

The old man was undoubtedly a third-tier talisman master!

"Mutated bamboo root?" Li Ji'an nodded slightly and examined it.

The wood element is extremely abundant, making it a top-tier material even among early-stage Tier 3 runes.

It is an excellent material for crafting the Azure Sword Talisman.

It can also use its wood-elemental spiritual energy to draw upon heavenly lightning and refine it into the Purple Heaven Thunder Talisman, which is even more powerful than the Heavenly Thunder Talisman.

The only shortcoming is that the bamboo root is too small to be used to refine a magic weapon; otherwise, its value would be greatly increased.

“This bamboo root is indeed of great use to me. I will remember Fellow Daoist Qin’s favor. However, I cannot take it for free. This bamboo root can be refined into two talismans. According to the market price in the Wanshang Domain, here is 10,000 spirit stones. Please do not refuse.” Li Ji’an did not want to take advantage of others. Moreover, he had a very good impression of Qin He’nian.

"Oh, no, no, sir, you have already done my family a great favor. I am here specifically to repay that debt of gratitude." Qin Henian hurriedly declined.

Li Ji'an smiled and shook his head, pushing the bamboo root forward: "If that's the case, then this old man has no choice but to give it up."

"Please wait, sir, I have another request," Qin Henian said hastily.

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."

"I, Qin, would also like to purchase two late-stage second-tier talismans." Qin Henian had originally planned to buy them after giving away the bamboo root, but now he had no choice but to propose an exchange.

"What kind of talisman does Fellow Daoist Qin wish to obtain?" Li Ji'an nodded with a smile.

“The Flame Talisman is a type of talisman that counters the Yin Sha attribute,” Qin Henian said decisively.

Li Ji'an's heart skipped a beat: "Could it be that you want to return that Flame Talisman to me?"

He nodded and said, "No problem."

Immediately afterwards, two late-stage second-tier spirit talismans were placed in front of Qin Henian: one a Blazing Flame Talisman and the other a Thunderclap Talisman.

"Hiss~" Qin Henian gasped the moment he saw the two talismans.

"They're all top-quality items!"

He became even more certain that Li Ji'an had purchased the item from this person a year ago.

"Thank you, sir! However, these two talismans are too valuable. I cannot let you suffer a loss. Please accept them." Qin Henian was shocked and hurriedly placed the spirit stones he had prepared in advance next to the spirit bamboo root, his attitude respectful.

Second-tier late-stage spirit talismans cost two to three thousand spirit stones for mid-to-high-grade ones, but high-quality ones are priceless and unavailable. These are high-level strategic resources that pose a threat even to pseudo-core cultivators, and under normal circumstances, they are very difficult to obtain.

Li Ji'an smiled nonchalantly and no longer declined.

"Then I'll gladly accept it!"

After a night of revelry, Li Ji'an bid farewell to Qin He'nian and left Tianhe Immortal City ahead of schedule the next day.

Guagua stayed outside the Immortal City for a day and a night. The blood spirit mark that Li Ji'an left on it constantly sensed its location. Without the control of the spirit contract, it did not run away.

A month after Li Ji'an returned to Lingfeng, Qin He'nian arrived unexpectedly.

As expected, Qin Henian returned the Flame Talisman to him, fulfilling his promise.

He was also given a second-tier ancient elixir formula, plus a gold medal bearing the character "Qin".

In the days that followed, Li Ji'an almost completely secluded Lingfeng Peak, focusing on cultivation and talisman making. Apart from going to Tianhe Immortal City once a year to deliver the talismans, he almost never left the peak.

Five years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, as a mirage-like phantom appeared in the sky above Lingfeng, Li Ji'an stopped writing and focused his mind.

A talisman shimmering with multicolored light took shape on the table.

Quasi-third-tier illusionary rune!
Illusion is a great art that conceals the five senses, confuses the mind, and manipulates the soul. Because it involves the mind and soul, it is much more difficult than ordinary killing, defense, and escape techniques.

Whether it's illusion magic among spells of the same level or illusion arrays among formations, both are considered high-difficulty among spells of the same level.

Similarly, in talismans, illusionary talismans not only need to connect the five elements and their spiritual energy into one, but also need to draw upon the dual souls of heaven and earth; otherwise, they will be unable to achieve the effect of bewitching the mind and soul.

Even when Li Ji'an had a 50% success rate in drawing exquisite talismans, he still struggled to draw illusionary talismans.

After five years of honing his skills with a massive amount of late-stage second-tier talisman materials, Li Ji'an's talisman skills have improved even further. For him, second-tier spirit talismans can be considered the pinnacle.

Even those who are near-third-tier illusionary talismans or have no special spiritual essence can fall into them.

Of course, the reason why Li Ji'an was able to successfully draw a quasi-third-order illusionary talisman is that his magical power cultivation finally broke through to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage half a year ago, becoming a true late-Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Looking across Cangyun Prefecture, he could barely be considered a great cultivator.

Since entering the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment at the age of fifty-two, twenty-three years have passed, and he has finally made another step forward.

With his magical power becoming much stronger, and with the help of the mana-replenishing pill, he was finally able to successfully draw a near-third-tier illusionary rune.

"Unfortunately, my late-stage Foundation Establishment mana is still insufficient to draw a true third-tier talisman!" After putting away the near-third-tier illusion talisman, Li Ji'an slowly adjusted his breathing.

He had third-tier talisman materials and had planned to try drawing true third-tier spirit talismans when he broke through to the late Foundation Establishment stage, but now it seems that he still lacks them.

However, he had already taken two Blood Burning Pills, which had advanced his rejuvenation by more than twenty years. He did not want to consume any more unless absolutely necessary.

Fortunately, the Tiancang Domain has been relatively peaceful for the past five years, and no one has come looking for him again.

However, Du Haizang's life force has now reached its limit, and even with his second-level physician skills, he can no longer sustain it.

This needs to be resolved.

On that day, Li Ji'an re-established the spirit pet contract for Guagua and instructed Guagua to swallow Du Haizang into its mouth before fleeing far away towards the Daze Mountains.

More than a month later, Guagua emerged from a dense forest on the western side of the Daze Mountains.

The eastern part of the Daze Mountains has been almost completely flattened by cultivators from the Tiancang Domain, and the demonic beasts within it have long since disappeared, with most of them fleeing to the western side of the mountains.

This place is densely forested and rarely visited by humans; traces of monsters can be found everywhere.

However, in order to match Du Haizang's strength, Guagua continued to venture deeper into the area after appearing, until half a month later, when it finally arrived at the territory of a late-stage second-tier Blood Wolf King.

Although the Wolf King is only at the late stage of the second tier, it travels in packs, and ordinary late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators who are targeted by it have little chance of survival.

Guagua spat out Du Haizang and placed the three items from his storage bag—half a skeleton, a black jade bottle, and a black jade—around him before disappearing underground to wait quietly.

Before long, the Blood Wolf followed the scent and found Du Haizang, and immediately devoured him.

Only after confirming through Guagua's sensory abilities that Du Haizang was beyond dead did Li Ji'an recall Guagua.

From then on, Li Ji'an visited Dan Ding Peak more frequently.

At the same time, the number of times he communicated with Qin Henian also gradually increased.

A month later, more bad news came from the main peak of the Biyun Sect: another true disciple's soul lamp had been extinguished.

Moreover, it is said that several disciples from the other major sects, and even the Wanfa Palace, have also perished.

Later, he learned from Jade Pill True Man that the border situation had changed again. The cause was that a month ago, the Golden Puppet Saint Monarch of the Corpse Puppet Sect suddenly entered the Heavenly Azure Domain. Fortunately, he was sensed by the Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Myriad Laws Palace. The two sides were locked in a standoff for several days, and in the end, the Myriad Laws Palace did not back down. Li Ji'an breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

During this month, he actually kept the Blood Burning Pill with him at all times. Once he sensed any signs in his mind, he would not hesitate to devour the Blood Burning Pill and rejuvenate himself on the spot.

At the same time, referring to the principle of the Blood Burning Pill, he has also created a small method in recent years that can quickly consume his own life essence and blood to achieve the goal of rejuvenating prematurely.

A little over a month later, some anonymous bounties appeared in the Tiancang Domain, all of which were issued through intelligence organizations.

The bounty is quite generous, starting at a minimum of 10,000 spirit stones.

The target was also clear: all the demonic cultivators within the Heavenly Azure Domain.

Subsequently, numerous demon-hunting teams were formed, searching far and wide for traces of demonic cultivators.

The area suddenly became lively.

Within just one year, five late-stage Foundation Establishment demonic cultivators were killed.

The intelligence organization made the bounty public, which aroused envy among many people.

The initial demon-hunting teams were mostly composed of late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. However, a year later, demon-hunting teams emerged that were mainly composed of mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and included more than a dozen early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, attempting to win by sheer numbers.

Moreover, during this year, cultivators within the region gradually discovered that the Wanfa Palace and the law enforcement cultivators of various sects were also giving the green light in this regard.

However, participation is still strictly prohibited within the sect.

Moreover, almost no one from the major pseudo-core families participated; it was mostly independent cultivators.

Li Ji'an lived alone in Lingfeng and often read the official gazette. As the situation outside the city escalated, he couldn't help but feel worried.

He possesses the supernatural ability to reverse aging, which he can accumulate life after life. The most suitable environment for him is a prosperous and stable one.

If the overall environment becomes turbulent, the risk of him reverting to a younger age increases.

However, the matter of Du Hai's burial was unavoidable, and postponing it for five years was already the best they could do.

In the days that followed, Li Ji'an further reduced the number of times he went out, and even the delivery of the spirit talismans by the Sishui Chamber of Commerce was extended from the initial one year to three years.

In the blink of an eye, another six years have passed.

On this day, Li Ji'an sorted and collected the spirit talismans that needed to be delivered and went to the Sishui Chamber of Commerce again.

Once they left the Biyun Sect, they encountered many demon-hunting teams along the way.

The number of demon hunter squads is now enormous, and according to the official gazette, after these years of development, the former demon hunter squads have changed somewhat.

Many of them use the guise of demon hunting to commit acts of oppression.

In recent years, demonic cultivators have died every year, and small teams have received bounties.

Li Ji'an had previously learned from Du Haizang that a total of forty-nine demonic cultivators had entered the area. Now, counting Xue Ling'er and Du Haizang, there are thirty-two demonic cultivators who have died, leaving seventeen demonic cultivators remaining.

"Halt!" Just as they were about to reach Tianhe Immortal City, Li Ji'an saw a demon-hunting team blocking a male and female cultivator.

The demon-hunting team consisted of twelve people, with the leader being a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, the rest mostly early-Foundation Establishment cultivators, and two or three Qi Refining cultivators.

The two people who were stopped were a man and a woman; the man was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and the woman was in the early-Foundation Establishment stage.

"What is the meaning of this, fellow cultivator?" The male cultivator stopped and looked at the other party.

"What do you mean?" The leader looked the two up and down, then sneered, "Hmph, I suspect you are demonic cultivators!"

The male cultivator was immediately flustered when this accusation was leveled against him.

In recent years, there have been quite a few reports of cultivators within the domain being mistakenly killed by demon-hunting teams.

In the end, the Wanfa Palace's law enforcement team was determined to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path. It was impossible to avoid bloodshed. It was all because the demonic cultivators were cunning and many of them were good at impersonating other cultivators. The demon-hunting team could not be blamed.

It also comforted the families of the deceased, assuring them that the blood would not have been shed in vain and that the demonic cultivators would atone for their sins.

Over time, the demon hunter team became more confident.

"Fellow Daoist, you misunderstand. My Daoist partner and I are cultivators from the Wu family of the Jinsha River. We are native to this place and are definitely not demonic cultivators." The male cultivator was not weaker than his opponent, but he had no choice but to put on a smile.

At the same time, he secretly handed the other party a bag of spirit stones.

"Hmph! If he's not a demonic cultivator, why would he bribe me? He must be a demonic cultivator, prepare to die!" But the leader, after receiving the spirit stones, suddenly attacked, taking advantage of the male cultivator's belief that he had avoided disaster by spending money.

"Pfft~" The male cultivator's protective magic shield was broken. Fortunately, his magic robe protected him, but he was still injured in the lungs by the opponent's full-force attack.

In an instant, as if they had planned it in advance, everyone behind them took action, coordinating perfectly.

In just a moment, the two were knocked to the ground and rendered powerless to resist.

"You audacious demonic cultivator, daring to impersonate someone else! Hmph, kill the man, and take the woman back for interrogation." The leader immediately snatched the two's storage bags and gave the order.

"Stop!" Li Ji'an, who originally did not want to get involved, was unable to remain uninvolved when he saw this scene.

The man and woman possessed balanced and peaceful magical powers, without any trace of the sinister aura found in Xue Ling'er and Du Haizang.

Upon hearing this, the demon hunter team immediately looked up into the air.

Seeing that the other party was only one person and was piloting a top-quality flying boat, he immediately perked up: "Hmph, another demonic cultivator accomplice?"

Li Ji'an narrowed his eyes slightly, and his pseudo-core-level divine sense suddenly pressed down with pressure.

"A fake Core Formation cultivator?" The group below tensed up instantly.

"Boss, we've lured out a big demon!" a not-so-bright Qi Refining cultivator suddenly exclaimed excitedly.

"Slap! Fool, all demonic cultivators are at the Foundation Establishment stage, there are no fake Core Formation cultivators." The leader slapped his subordinate and immediately put on a smiling face.

"Greetings, senior. We are the Demon Hunting Team, currently apprehending a demonic cultivator. May we ask what brings you here?"

Li Ji'an coldly swept his gaze across the man and woman, lingering for a moment before finally settling on the leader: "If I ever see you behaving so despicably again, I will kill you without mercy. Get out!"

Facing this small team of more than ten people, Li Ji'an could only kill them all by using talismans, but he currently only had late-stage second-tier talismans on him, so the cost was too high and not worth it.

Moreover, this group may have powerful backers, and they might even be members of the Wanfa Palace.

In addition, eradicating demonic cultivators is now politically correct, and if he gets too involved, he could easily end up in jail.

"This... Senior, please calm down. We... we may have misjudged them. These two are not demonic cultivators. This junior will take his leave." The leader's eyes darted around a few times before he finally made the right choice, releasing the control over the two men and hurriedly leaving.

Sensing that the blood spirit mark left in the other person's body was getting farther and farther away and did not stop, Li Ji'an nodded to the two people below who were bowing to him in gratitude, and then headed straight for Tianhe Immortal City.

After delivering the spirit talismans to the Sishui Chamber of Commerce, Yuan Shunyi brought Li Ji'an a piece of news: the great war between good and evil had broken out in the central part of the Great Swamp cultivation world, and the six sects of the Northern Demon Realm had gathered the power of the seven domains to launch an invasion against the righteous cultivators of the nine domains where the nine great Xuanmen sects were located. The demand for spirit talismans would increase further.

In addition, the demonic cultivators in the Huangtian Domain and Wuya Domain to the north of Tiancang Domain were once part of the Northern Demonic Sect. They may be summoned by the Northern Demonic Sect, and a war between good and evil may break out in this area.

Li Ji'an was not surprised by this news. Ever since he came to this cultivation world and learned about the decisive role of the spiritual vein dojo, he knew that there would definitely be conflicts over the spiritual vein dojo, whether it was families, lineages, or factions.

Moreover, the conflict between the righteous and the demonic factions had already erupted thousands of years ago.

History is a cycle. Today, the East Wind prevails over the West Wind, and tomorrow the West Wind will prevail over the East Wind. This is all about the redistribution of limited resources.

For Li Ji'an, in the short term, with the outbreak of the war between the righteous and the demonic forces, the Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Corpse Puppet Sect will inevitably be targeted by the Myriad Laws Palace and will have no chance to come to the depths of the Heavenly Azure Domain, thus posing a much smaller threat to him.

However, in the long run, the turmoil in the cultivation world is not conducive to cultivators like him who accumulate experience slowly and seek stability.

Of course, this situation is a chance to defy fate for ordinary, helpless, and powerless cultivators at the bottom of society.

After completing the delivery, Li Ji'an returned to the Biyun Sect.

That day, just as he crossed the Daze Mountains, an unexpected message made him pause slightly.

A communication talisman in the storage bag, which hadn't been used for over a decade, began to vibrate slightly.

It turned out to be Xiao Changfeng, who had been deep in the Boundless Domain for thirteen years.

Its message consisted of only two weak words: Save me.

Li Ji'an sensed the direction of the message and found it was in the direction of the Flaming Mountain where he had captured the little fire spirit years ago.

After that, no matter how many messages were sent, there was no response.

“The Boundless Domain is located northeast of the Heavenly Azure Domain, just north of the Flame Mountain. Could it be that he escaped from the Boundless Domain from the Flame Mountain?” Li Ji’an was both surprised and delighted.

In recent years, with the rampant extermination of demonic cultivators in the Tiancang Domain, the disciples of various sects who have entered the Wuya Domain will certainly not have an easy time, and may even be worse off.

Li Ji'an has been paying close attention to the situation of the Soul Lamp within the sect.

(End of this chapter)