Cultivation begins with planting techniques

"I even prepared for someone to be waiting for him at Old Man Pan's place when he returned. It seems I overestimated his connections..."

Looking at the empty treehouse inside the barrier, without a single person in sight, Li Ye couldn't help but mutter a complaint.

In fact, he had considered the possibility that Old Man Pan might have a friend waiting for him in his cave when he came.

If Old Man Pan returns safely, everyone will be happy.

If Li Ye or other cultivators were to return, they could catch the newcomers off guard and avenge Old Man Pan.

But the fact that the place was completely empty clearly meant that Li Ye was overthinking things.

Is this the significance of a cultivator who, apart from the innate steward who comes regularly to collect spiritual herbs, doesn't see any other innate cultivators visiting?

As for the innate cultivator who arrived not long ago, they might have some acquaintance, but considering that not only Li Ye had not seen him in the years he had been here, but also other Lingnong disciples who had been here for more than ten or twenty years had not seen him either.

The person stayed with Old Man Pan for less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

I doubt they are the kind of close friends I could entrust with this kind of thing.

Since no one was guarding the place, Li Ye was happy to save himself the trouble.

He did not disturb the treehouse or anything around it, but instead used his divine sense to search the place again and again.

The only thing that caught Li Ye's attention was a portrait of a woman.

The woman above was a middle-aged woman, beautiful but lacking in gentleness; instead, she wore a tight-fitting outfit and held a pair of short swords, exuding a sharp and edgy aura.

This is most likely the junior sister Shao that Old Man Pan mentioned.

Next, if Li Ye wanted to find out more information, she finally had more references besides a surname.

Not only did they find no last words left by Old Man Pan, but they also found no hidden spiritual objects. Even the restrictions on this treehouse seemed to be of the sect standard, and it looked rather shabby inside and out.

"But it's also..."

Li Ye smiled and said, "This old man Pan is not that kind of cautious person. As a dignified innate cultivator, why would he need to be so serious and leave a will when he plots against a disciple who is only at the seventh level of the Gathering Yuan Realm..."

"It's normal that nothing superfluous was left behind!"

"After spending so many years in the herb garden... this is all the wealth he has...?"

There were no spiritual objects here, and Old Man Pan's wealth was not particularly substantial. Li Ye had already broken the mark on his bag and searched it before he set off.

In Li Ye's opinion, the only item of real value was a small bottle of Green Wood Demon.

That's right!

This guy wasn't lying to Li Ye; he really did possess a bit of murderous aura!
"Perhaps most of his original wealth was used to exchange for this malevolent energy."

Li Ye stroked his chin thoughtfully, "In this way, my breakthrough will be less abrupt, and the killing intent will have a concrete source..."

Thinking about this, he was a little puzzled as to why Old Man Pan didn't take out the Azure Wood Demon before making his move, but instead acted hastily after just talking about it.

Normally, anyone who intends to break through to the innate level should be attracted to the evil energy that matches their own, and it would be safer to make a move at that time.

It seems that this guy's plans were disrupted by his sudden opening of the door, and he couldn't think of that for a moment.

Acting so carelessly, without even a backup plan, it's no wonder they fell into the trap!

Since there were no other traces left, Li Ye was happy that he didn't need to do anything more. After making sure that he hadn't left any trace, he quietly left and returned to his valley.

Li Ye took out the useful items from Old Man Pan's storage bag and simply destroyed them along with the remaining items, leaving no trace.

Old Man Pan's cultivation level was probably not high when his foundation was damaged.

Among the cultivation techniques left behind, Li Ye didn't find any higher-level sword manuals that interested him. Instead, they were all techniques limited to the Innate Realm. For Li Ye, who was about to break through to the Innate Realm with the Green Wood Sword Art, they were only good for reference.

That left only one thing that interested him.

"The method of seizing the foundation..."

Li Ye looked at the distorted characters on the animal skin, his eyes flashing, and quickly deduced and understood them.

To use this method, one needs to use a matching evil energy as a guide to seize the magical power and lifespan of others to replenish oneself.

Ideally, the difference in cultivation level should not be too great. If one has a special physique, there will be an additional benefit, and one's own physique may even be improved.

But the magical power and lifespan gained through theft are ultimately foreign things.

Magic power that does not belong to oneself carries the aura of others, which will pollute one's own magical foundation to a certain extent, basically cutting off the path to further advancement. Lifespan will also be consumed at a rate far exceeding the normal speed, making it impossible to sustain for long.

It's a desperate measure, like drinking poison to quench thirst.

However, for someone like Old Man Pan, even drinking poison to quench his thirst was much better than dying of thirst.

Li Ye had seen many similar methods, but they were all cultivation techniques from the human realm. In comparison, this method was more suited to the conditions of this realm and had its own unique approach.

"It seems he wants to seize my magical foundation in order to restore his own cultivation and combat power so he can avenge that Junior Sister Shao..."

"And that bottle of Green Wood Fiend was prepared for this matter, not for my breakthrough to the Innate Realm..."

"But now it's all benefited me!"

Li Ye's gaze swept back and forth across the spread-out animal hide.

When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. Since Old Man Pan chose this path himself, there's no point in continuing to investigate his purpose.

However, this method of seizing the foundation was somewhat useful to him.

This body possesses the ability to transform between purity and impurity, naturally purifying impure and cleansing one's own magical power.

This method of seizing a foundation may taint the magical energy of others, but it may not be the case for him.

"If I were to seize the foundation of another's magical power, and then transform into the Purifying Willow Essence, using its supernatural abilities in conjunction with the nectar, I might be able to eliminate the vast majority of impurities on the spot..."

"While the remaining trace cannot be completely eliminated in a short time, it should be gradually and thoroughly eradicated during the subsequent cultivation of the Purifying Willow, leaving no hidden dangers..."

He has his reasons for this.

The blood pool that the nineteenth young master refined back then wasn't pure. After he used the Purifying Willow Transformation to absorb the power fed back from the Ironwood Staff, he also completely eliminated the impurities within it.

If it could be done then, it can certainly be done now!

Thinking of this, Li Ye couldn't help but frown slightly.

"It's a pity that we dealt with Old Man Pan so easily. Otherwise, after I broke through to the Innate Realm, I could have used him as a test subject!"

This would be a waste of experimental material!
After all, since that guy wanted to seize his foundation, it wasn't a big deal for him to return it according to the law.

This is simply giving them a taste of their own medicine!

But since we've already missed it, let it go.

The safest option for him right now is to resolve the issue decisively and leave no hidden dangers.

As for the experiment of this base-snatching method, there will be an opportunity to try it in the future.

If it works... with enough power, his search for the Ancient Tree of the Void Realm will be much sooner! (End of Chapter)