Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation.

Chapter 348 Leaving the Business World
This resounding, majestic sound of the Great Dao completely sealed the deal.

Those who flocked from all over the Wanshang Domain to Feihong Immortal City to witness this miracle no longer had any doubts!
"A genius who has attained the Golden Core stage!"

Originally, everyone was just watching the tragedy unfold, expecting a pitiful person to be affected by the abnormality of the dojo and likely die from an explosion. But unexpectedly, they witnessed the birth of a Golden Core cultivator!
Most importantly, this person was not among the top three in the Flying Goose Forum, and had been living in obscurity in the Surabaya Chamber of Commerce with mediocre talent.

Anyone with a brain could guess that he must possess some extraordinary opportunity.

First, there's the extraordinary ability to deceive even a group of Core Formation cultivators and Master Tong; then there are the five superior Core Formation spiritual treasures that even the most talented members of various merchant guilds envy and are jealous of.

"Is he hiding his talent and strength, or does he possess some kind of ancient, special opportunity unknown to the world?"

"Could it be that we've unearthed a super opportunity for Core Formation from some ancient sacred land or immortal court?"

"If it is an opportunity from an ancient holy land or immortal court, it will certainly not stop at the Core Formation stage; it may even lead to the Nascent Soul stage."

……

Beyond envy, jealousy, and longing, there is more greed, covetousness, and ill intentions.
-
After carefully observing his Golden Core in this life and reviewing his journey to form the Golden Core, Li Ji'an gained a deeper understanding of the Golden Core formation process. He believed that if he formed the Golden Core again in his next life, he could achieve a slight improvement under the same circumstances.

At the same time, he also gained some insights into the higher quality Golden Core that had been rumored among the upper echelons of the cultivation world.

During his six years with the Sishui Chamber of Commerce, he consulted a large amount of information in pursuit of his dream of achieving the Golden Elixir in this world. Information about the Golden Elixir was almost non-existent in the Tiancang Domain. Apart from the occasional legends and stories, there was no real, factual information available.

It was then that Li Ji'an learned that there were different types of Golden Elixir.

When a cultivator forms a Golden Core, it is because of the blessing of Daoist rhyme. A cultivator's innate spiritual root is an affinity for the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, while Daoist rhyme is an affinity for the spiritual mechanism of heaven and earth.

With the blessing of Daoist principles, Golden Core cultivators have a greater advantage in being in harmony with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth during cultivation. Even in various cultivation arts such as alchemy and talisman making, they have a better chance of improving the quality and increasing the probability of producing top-grade items.

According to records, the highest level of Golden Elixir Daoist Rhyme can be nine levels.

The Nine-Patterned Golden Elixir is the ultimate in heaven and earth, immortal for all eternity!
Li Ji'an is now a Golden Core cultivator.

"That's enough!" He was already content with the Golden Core he had achieved in this world.

The Wanshang Domain records that the Dao of Heaven is influenced by the spiritual treasures used to form a Golden Core. To obtain a high-grade Golden Core, one should not consume too many spiritual treasures used to form a Golden Core. Ideally, one should only consume one type of spiritual treasure for forming a Golden Core and another for purifying a Golden Core.

His greatest desire in this world is the Golden Elixir, so he does not blindly pursue anything higher.

"Alright, put your golden core away now." After observing Guagua, Li Ji'an nodded.

He also compared the demon core of the gugua with the Daoist essence of the Golden Core. In comparison, there is still a considerable difference between the demon core of a demon beast and the magic core of a human. The demon core is more about the power of bloodline, while the magic core is more about the Dao principles.

"Whoosh~" Guagua put away its demon core, and the little fire spirit couldn't wait to fly to Li Ji'an's side.

I appreciate your kindness, but it's not necessary in this life. We can talk about it again in the next life.

At the last moment when Li Ji'an's Golden Core was being purified and formed, Little Fire Spirit wanted to imitate the method used to help Guagua form its Golden Core a few years ago, but Li Ji'an stopped her.

The Golden Core has been formed and the purification level has reached its limit. The life essence of the Little Fire Spirit is also mainly focused on purification, so the improvement effect will not be significant.

Compared to this slight improvement, sacrificing a drop of life essence requires a much longer recovery time and may even affect its potential to advance to the third-tier fire spirit.

Before Guagua formed its core, the little fire spirit already showed signs of advancing to the third rank. However, because it sacrificed a drop of precious essence for Guagua at that time, it has not yet advanced.

Moreover, the reason why he was able to form his Golden Core so smoothly in this life was because his dantian was nourished and fed back by the Little Fire Spirit. As a result, he exceeded his expectations when he was able to absorb the vastness of the ocean in the first stage. Therefore, in the next life and the life after that, he will still rely on the nourishing and feeding effect of the Little Fire Spirit.

He learned about the Little Fire Spirit's effect on refining magic power somewhat late in this life, and he was separated from it before Foundation Establishment, so he didn't make good use of it. If he can start from the very beginning in the next life, the strength of his dantian when he forms his core will definitely be greatly improved, and his future is promising.

After calming the two little ones, Li Ji'an finally focused his mind and began to steadily stabilize his newly formed golden core.

A year has flown by.

Once the Golden Core is formed, its affinity for spiritual energy is nearly ten times greater than that of the false Golden Core in the previous life.

In the previous life, the affinity of the fake elixir for spiritual energy already surpassed that of a cultivator's innate spiritual root.

Furthermore, with the blessing of a Daoist aura, his golden core was completely stabilized within a year, allowing him to emerge from seclusion.

However, normally, even if a cultivator's Golden Core is stable, they wouldn't emerge from seclusion so early, since they are only at the stage of Golden Core stability and their early Core Formation stage is not yet fully stable.

Once you leave this training ground, it will be difficult to find such a favorable environment for seclusion and consolidation of your cultivation level throughout the entire Wanshang Domain.

Anyway, the latest deadline for Feihong Dojo is about two years. Li Ji'an has only had a year and a half since he entered the dojo and his golden core has been stable. He can still use it for at least another six months.

However, Li Ji'an decisively left the pass on this day.

As the restrictions on Cave No. 3 suddenly opened, everyone in the dojo looked over immediately.

Before Li Ji'an could even emerge, Alliance Leader Tong and Venerable Chun Yuan had already arrived.

Following closely behind, senior executives from several of the most powerful chambers of commerce in the business alliance, as well as several patrons from various chambers of commerce, all rushed over.

"Congratulations to Master Huang on achieving the Golden Elixir!" A chorus of congratulations echoed throughout the temple grounds.

Li Ji'an ascended into the air and was somewhat surprised by the scene before him. Although he knew that his actions had indeed been a bit too drastic, this was, after all, the Fei Hong Dojo, with the Merchant Alliance in charge. Even if someone had ulterior motives or covetousness, they should have kept quiet.

However, when he scanned the area with his divine sense, he instantly noticed the greedy expressions on the faces of no fewer than ten Core Formation cultivators, and countless others with covetous looks.

The way these people came forward to congratulate him effectively blocked all his options.

To think you could escape using magic is nothing short of a pipe dream; you'd first have to get past the powerful figure at the very front.

"Young friend Huang has truly created a miracle this time, which is the envy of many. Congratulations! As the host, I have prepared a spiritual banquet in my mansion to celebrate with you. I hope you will do me the honor of attending." Alliance Leader Tong was the first to extend an invitation.

"Master Huang, our Fierce Tiger Merchant Guild has also prepared a spiritual feast in the city, awaiting your esteemed presence."

“Young friend, I am a guest elder of the Wuzhong Domain in the Central Ten Domains. My duty period is about to end, so I can take you to the Wuzhong Domain to go further.”

……

Before Li Ji'an could speak, a group of people were already vying to invite him.

"Haha, thank you all for your hospitality, seniors. However, my cultivation level is not yet stable, so it is inconvenient for the time being. Farewell." Li Ji'an said with a sneer. Before he finished speaking, his figure began to show signs of becoming ethereal.

"Oh no, a teleportation talisman!"

"This kid has a guilty conscience; he must have done something shady. We mustn't let him get away!"

"Our Tai'an Chamber of Commerce previously lost several Core Formation Spiritual Treasures, which must have been stolen by this petty thief. We must not let him get away with it."

The people on the peak of this realm, who had been all smiles just moments before, instantly changed their expressions.

In an instant, several magical treasures were activated.

Unfortunately, what Li Ji'an activated was not an ordinary teleportation talisman, but a great teleportation talisman, a true third-tier high-level spatial talisman, which could not be retained by anyone other than a Nascent Soul True Monarch or a third-grade spatial magic treasure.

The next moment, Li Ji'an vanished without a trace before everyone's eyes. "Chase!" Several Core Formation cultivators, and even elders and guests above the mid-stage of True Core, immediately dispersed.

However, since they were unsure of Li Ji'an's location, they could only rely on luck to chase after him in one direction.

The once bustling dojo instantly became deserted.

However, those who witnessed this event outside the temple were even more excited, and became even more certain of their previous guesses that there must be an extraordinary opportunity.

Master Yuxiao stared at the empty sky where Li Ji'an was no longer visible, remaining silent for a long time. In the end, he could only sigh inwardly and lead the merchants away in silence.
-
Thousands of miles away, Li Ji'an's figure reappeared.

This distance is completely beyond the range of the Core Formation cultivator's divine sense.

However, there are still twenty-one divine soul imprints attached to his body at this moment.

As soon as he stood still, the little fire spirit circled around him and burned him, erasing all the marks.

Immediately afterwards, another mid-stage third-tier Divine Escape Talisman was activated, causing it to rapidly disappear into the distance.

The direction he chose was the Central Ten Domains, which is also the place that Golden Core cultivators would generally go to if they wanted to advance further.

He did not conceal his magical aura along the way.

It wasn't until a day later that he activated the essence and soul of the fake sword cultivator inside the Formless Mask, and his appearance, aura, and even soul all underwent a complete transformation.

On his back, he carried the Flowing Light Sword, as thin as a cicada's wing.

He then changed direction and headed north.

At this point, the newly promoted Golden Core cultivator "Huang Jie" completely disappeared from everyone's sight.

One year later, on the northeastern border of the Wanshang Domain, in Fuyun City.

This is the first prefecture city where Li Ji'an settled after arriving in the Wanshang Domain seven years ago aboard a spirit ship. It belongs to the Wufu Chamber of Commerce.

"As expected, the records in the classics are accurate. Sword cultivators and magic cultivators are essentially the same. The only difference is that they can comprehend sword intent, which is similar to the method of natal magic treasures."

Inside the Immortal Pavilion in Floating Cloud City, Li Ji'an lay supine on a warm bed, his eyes closed as he studied the fragments of the sword cultivator's memories, while the three fairies beside him were already limp as mud.

With his consciousness withdrawing from his sea of ​​consciousness, Li Ji'an gently patted a buttock beside him and slowly exhaled, the influence on his mind finally almost completely gone.

Previously, while waiting to achieve the Golden Core stage at the Surabaya Chamber of Commerce, he played the role of "Huang Jie" for nearly three years. When he stopped playing "Huang Jie" a year ago, he felt a strong sense of discomfort.

Huang Jie's personality caused him great anxiety.

So for the past six months, he has simply stayed in the Qunxianfang, a business under the Yaochi Chamber of Commerce, to eliminate the influence of "Huang Jie" on his mind every day.

At this moment, my mind is finally clear again.

At the same time, he also became somewhat wary of the negative effects of the Faceless Mask.

Playing someone else for an extended period of time carries the risk of assimilation.

Therefore, for the past six months since he arrived in Fuyun City, he has presented himself to the public as "Li Ping'an" in this life.

However, he dared not reveal even a trace of his Golden Core aura, and could only rely on the sandalwood box artifact he had seized when he killed Tong Liang.

He stored a portion of his magical energy within it.

However, because of the reminder of the mind-body assimilation of the Formless Mask, he became wary of all Dao artifacts and did not store too many.

Currently, he is only displaying the power of the early stage of True Core, which is merely the level of a mid-stage True Core cultivator.

However, there was still some concern about storing aura in a Dao artifact for a long time. Fortunately, when activating the essence blood of the fake Dan sword cultivator, he accidentally discovered a mysterious breath-concealing technique in the fragments of his memory.

In the past six months, besides eliminating the influence of "Huang Jie" on his mindset, he has been reading the memory fragments of the fake Dan sword cultivator and studying the secret technique called "Deceiving Heaven".

This secret technique was the trump card of that fake Core Formation sword cultivator. He was able to advance to the Earth-level assassin level with his fake Core Formation cultivation and also ambush True Core Formation cultivators, all thanks to this secret technique.

This secret technique was discovered by chance from an ancient fragment, and its first level is invisibility.

When cultivated to perfection, one can perfectly conceal oneself, exhibiting characteristics of the Five Elements Escape Technique.

The second level is Qi Concealment. When cultivated to perfection, one can control one's own Qi at will, freely controlling it.

The third level is the realm of divine concealment, where that fake Core Formation sword cultivator had not yet entered the realm.

After that, there were even supernatural occurrences that concealed traces of a person's existence in the world.

Ultimately, the marks of reincarnation will disappear.

"Again? Still not giving up?" Just as I was about to get up, another extremely strong divine sense swept over me.

Since Huang Jie disappeared without a trace a year ago, the entire Wanshangyu (万商域) has undergone a thorough search.

Rumors about "Huang Zhenren" have been rampant, with various versions emerging one after another.

The most convincing story is that an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator accidentally stumbled into the treasure vault of an ancient immortal sect, where the sect happened to have a Core Formation treasure prepared for immortal seeds, which thus benefited True Man Huang.

This also gave rise to a certain divine pill from ancient times that could enhance a cultivator's dantian.

The most outlandish rumor is that Master Huang was a visitor from outside the Great Swamp Cultivation Realm, who taught him divine-level techniques that were incomprehensible in this world, as well as countless rare treasures of heaven and earth.

However, regardless of the specific rumors, they all point to the idea that "finding Huang Jie will bring an incredible opportunity."

Therefore, the entire Wanshang Domain is now extremely sensitive to and attentive to the aura of the "Golden Core".

Ignoring the sweeping gaze, Li Ji'an dressed neatly and finally stepped out of the Immortal Pavilion.

That same day, he arrived at the Five Blessings Merchant Guild's spirit ship in Floating Cloud City.

Since the Heavenly Azure Domain was completely controlled by the Golden Puppet Saint Monarch three years ago, the situation within the domain has changed drastically. It is no longer closed off as it was when the Myriad Laws Palace was in charge, but instead the domain gates are wide open, with no restrictions on coming and going.

After observing for three years, Wanshangyu finally decided to restart its business.

Li Ji'an is currently in the early stage of the Golden Core realm and needs to stabilize his cultivation. He needs at least a mid-grade third-level Daoist temple for long-term seclusion.

Given his current true identity, if he wants to operate within the Myriad Merchants Domain, he will inevitably have to deal with the issue of spirit contracts.

However, if he were to return to the Azure Cloud Sect in the Heavenly Azure Domain, with his current mid-level True Core cultivation and his original status as the chief disciple, he would have no pressure or worries whatsoever.

Another pressing issue is the Nascent Soul of the Myriad Laws True Lord mentioned by Guagua. Only Ning Sujin, whose primordial spirit is no weaker than his, has any hope.

(End of this chapter)