Starting as a cowherd, he sought a way to cultivate immortality.

In the warm spring of March.

Chen Chi had thought he would have to fight Magistrate Lu for a long time, but unexpectedly, news from Lin'an, the capital of Yan, resolved his troubles.

The crown prince endured for thirty years, but finally lost his patience.

He failed in his coup in the palace and was imprisoned in the deep palace by Emperor Jinglong.

All members of the Crown Prince faction were killed, causing turmoil in the court and leaving officials in the capital in constant fear.

Magistrate Lu was implicated because of his good relationship with a member of the princeling faction and was dismissed from his post and sent back to his hometown.

Wang Hao, the county magistrate's assistant, will temporarily assume the position of county magistrate until the court is stable, at which point the new county magistrate of Changqing County will be appointed.

The Crown Prince's rebellion case finally came to an end in May.

After this incident, Emperor Jinglong was disheartened.

He entrusted all political affairs to the prime minister, An Degui, and spent his days in the inner palace, drinking and making merry with his concubines.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, An Degui completely eliminated the forces in the court that opposed him, and for a time he was in the limelight.

But outside Lin'an City, there was still a mortal enemy that An Degui was always worried about—Yang Jin, the governor of Youzhou.

For this reason, An Degui repeatedly reported to Emperor Jinglong that Yang Jin, the governor of Youzhou, intended to rebel, and there was both witness testimony and physical evidence.

"Yang Jin harbors wolfish ambitions; Your Majesty should make a decision as soon as possible!"

However, Emperor Jinglong simply laughed it off and did not believe An Degui's statement.

"If it weren't for Yang Qing risking his life, the Yan Kingdom would have lost Youzhou long ago."

I have treated Minister Yang as if he were my own brother; how could Minister Yang betray me?

Upon hearing the news, Yang Jin immediately submitted a memorial to Emperor Jinglong, impeaching An Degui for disrupting the government and falsely accusing loyal officials.

Emperor Jinglong ignored this and continued to indulge in wine and women.

During the sweltering heat, Wang Hao's promotion certificate arrived from Lin'an, officially making him the magistrate of Changqing County.

To celebrate, he hosted a banquet at his home, and all the prominent figures in Changqing County came to offer their congratulations.

Just as they were enjoying their drinks, an elderly man with white hair stormed into the Wang family home, injuring several servants and demanding to see Chen Chi.

Everyone stood up and looked at Chen Chi, who was standing next to Wang Hao.

Chen Chi remained silent and quietly stood behind Wang Hao.

Wang Hao cursed Chen Chi inwardly for his shamelessness at Chen Chi's actions.

As a martial artist at the Transformation Realm, he actually hid behind a scholar who was powerless to even kill a chicken!

"You audacious madman, how dare you run wild in Changqing County!" Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Wang Hao had no choice but to bite the bullet and shout.

The white-haired old man glared angrily, and a burst of energy shot out, causing the wine table in front of Wang Hao to collapse with a crash.

Magistrate Wang was so frightened that his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.

No one had ever seen such a scene before. In an instant, they all screamed and ran away, turning the banquet into chaos.

The white-haired old man snorted coldly, his gaze sweeping back and forth across the crowd before finally settling on a blue-clad man who was walking away with his face covered.

He darted forward and in a few steps reached the man in blue, grabbing his arm.

"Chen Chi, where are you going?"

The man in the blue shirt hurriedly said, "Sir, you've mistaken me for someone else."

He struggled and broke free from the white-haired old man's grip.

A hint of surprise flashed in the white-haired old man's eyes.

"As expected of the top scorer in the prefectural examination, he is indeed very capable."

With his Qi Sensing Realm strength, he was actually able to have his arm shaken off by the blue-robed man in front of him.

If you are not Chen Chi, then who is Chen Chi?

The white-haired old man's tone softened considerably:

"Chen Chi, if you run again, don't blame me for being impolite."

"I've come to see you simply to ask you a few questions."

Hearing the white-haired old man say this, Chen Chi stopped in his tracks.

He turned around, a calm smile on his face.

"Please feel free to ask, senior. I will answer to the best of my knowledge."

……

In the blink of an eye, it was already the thirty-ninth year of Jinglong.

Late at night, Chen Chi sat upright on his bed.

He focused his mind and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

The next instant, the octagonal jade seal in my mind, representing "accumulated knowledge and skills, ready to be unleashed," began to spin rapidly.

[The Complete Method of Gathering and Exhaling Qi]

[Accumulated strength unleashed, five times the power]

Chen Chi immediately felt the invisible and intangible pure energy of heaven and earth rapidly gathering towards him and merging into his body.

A surge of pure energy gathered in the dantian, then began to flow slowly, coursing through the meridians and throughout the body, bringing a tingling, pleasant sensation.

Chen Chi couldn't help but groan.

This feeling of increased strength is truly exhilarating.

After a long while, Chen Chi opened his eyes, his pupils shining brightly in the darkness.

A slight smile appeared on Chen Chi's lips.

According to Ling Dongnan's master, Xie Yidao, the white-haired old man who caused a scene at Magistrate Wang's banquet last year, he should have already entered the Innate Realm.

That night, Xie Yidao was convinced that there was something fishy about his disciple Ling Dongnan's tragic death in the desolate mountains, so he came to ask Chen Chi about it.

Chen Chi subtly mentioned that Ling Dongnan seemed to have offended Yang Jin, which made Xie Yidao's eyes burn with anger.

In return, Xie Yidao explained the difference between the two realms of Qi Sensing and Innate to Chen Chi before heading to Youzhou Prefecture to seek revenge.

"Martial artists at the Qi Sensing Realm can sense and utilize the Qi in the world, while those at the Innate Realm can gather Qi within their bodies."

Chen Chi now understood that the "qi" Xie Yidao spoke of was the pure qi of heaven and earth.

With a thought, Chen Chi flicked his fingers, and a stream of pure energy surged out along the meridians of his arm, shooting towards the oil lamp on the table.

With a "thud," the oil lamp was knocked over by the fresh air, rolled twice off the table, and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

A look of surprise appeared in Chen Chi's eyes. His current skills had already transcended the realm of ordinary martial artists.

"With the completion of the Qi Concealing and Breathing Technique, my path to immortality has officially begun."

Fang Yong's urgent voice rang out from outside the door.

"Young master, are you alright?"

Chen Chi chuckled softly and called out loudly towards the door:

"I'm fine, the oil lamp just fell to the ground."

Fang Yong, who was outside the door, breathed a sigh of relief and then yawned.

"It's alright, I'm going back to sleep now."

The next morning, Fang Yong stared at Chen Chi as he walked out of the house, a look of suspicion on his face.

"What's wrong?" Chen Chi frowned slightly.

Fang Yong circled around Chen Chi and scratched his head.

"Young master, you seem a little different from yesterday, but I'm not good with words and can't quite put my finger on it."

Chen Chi said calmly:

"If you can't explain it, then don't bother. Let's eat quickly. I still have to go to the county camp outside the city today."

"Okay." Fang Yong hurriedly went to the kitchen and brought up the breakfast that the cook had prepared.

"Fan Erniang's cooking skills are superb. Fang Yong, you've really found me a great cook this time," Chen Chi said with a smile, taking a sip of the fragrant rice porridge.

Fang Yong chuckled:

"The Sun family has fallen, and all the servants who have worked in the mansion for many years are looking for new jobs. I only mentioned it briefly, and Madam Fan immediately agreed."

Chen Chi nodded.

It's truly lamentable that Sun Yuanwai's son squandered the entire Sun family's vast fortune just a few years after his death.

Li Youcai, however, seized the opportunity to take over most of the Sun family's land, instantly becoming a prominent family in Changqing County.

"Young master, should I hire a few more servants?" Fang Yong suggested.

"No need," Chen Chi said without hesitation. "If it weren't for the fact that we're both terrible cooks, I wouldn't even bother having you bring Fan Erniang in."