Daily Divination From Market Rogue Cultivator To Immortal Venerable - Chapter 173

Chapter 173 Breaking through again, the affairs of the Mohist school (seeking follow-up)

The next day, noon.

Outside Huanghe Immortal City, near the Black Dragon Mountains, deep in a canyon,

Cao Hao arrived alone, intending to eliminate several Tribulation Cultivators hiding there.

“Unfortunately, it was just a few small fish. I never found that Li Fan,”

he said with a touch of regret, even feeling a bit bored.

Suddenly,

a faint light streaked across the sky.

“Boom!”

Cao Hao’s protective treasure was instantly shattered, and his head exploded!

He had no time to react and died instantly!

His headless body fell from the sky amidst a rain of blood.

The next moment,

talismans appeared, bringing with them a raging fire that consumed Cao Hao’s body and the blood.

Then, a cry of “Soul coming” was heard.

Cao Hao’s dazed spirit appeared.

Only then

did he finally react.

“I’m dead?”

His face was filled with horror and disbelief.

Death had happened so swiftly that his mind was still lingering on the moment before death, only now shifting to a state of panic as he stared around.

Who had killed him?

Before he could comprehend, his spirit flew uncontrollably into the ground, entering a revered soul banner.

The battle was over!

Kill, burn, and collect the soul, all in one seamless

process! From start to finish, it had taken less than three breaths.

Li Changan appeared and, with a wave of his hand, collected the scattered treasures and storage bag.

“Not bad, not bad!”

With his current strength, dealing with a Qi-refining cultivator like Cao Hao was a piece of cake.

Effortless!

…

Not long after,

Li Changan returned to the house.

He pulled out his storage bag, easily dispelled Cao Hao’s restrictions, and examined the treasures within.

A moment later,

with a thought, a strange spiritual flower appeared in his hand.

A dual-colored flower, twin-petaled, emanating the aura of crimson flame and soft water.

“Flower of water and fire!”

Li Changan’s face lit up with delight as he observed it closely.

This spiritual flower was in exceptional condition, perfectly preserved, as if freshly plucked, its surface untouched by a single scratch!

If such a precious, top-grade Foundation Establishment spiritual artifact were to appear in the outside world, countless cultivators would scramble for it, undoubtedly triggering a bloodbath.

Even master Foundation Establishment cultivators might fight for it for their disciples and future generations.

But now,

it lay quietly in Li Changan’s hands.

“From now on, no more worries about Foundation Establishment spiritual artifacts. Just focus on the Foundation Establishment Pill.”

Li Changan beamed.

Even with his great concentration, he felt a surge of excitement.

With a thought, he drew out the Soul-Exalting Banner and released Cao Hao’s spirit.

“Fellow Daoist Cao, where did you obtain this Water and Fire Flower?”

“It’s you! Li Changan!”

Cao Hao’s face changed drastically. He had assumed the one who had attacked him was a sinister Foundation Establishment cultivator. But

the one who appeared before

him was the supposed “coward” Li Changan!

Clearly,

Li Changan was more hidden than anyone had imagined.

This single Exalted Soul Banner alone was enough to shock even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, simply because it held two second-tier main souls!

At this point, Li Changan spoke again, “Fellow Daoist Cao, you haven’t answered my question yet. Are you trying to scatter your soul?”

“Fellow Daoist Li, spare me!”

Cao Hao’s face was filled with fear.

The trembling of the Exalted Soul Banner beside him terrified him.

If Li Changan destroyed his soul, he would lose even the chance of reincarnation.

“I discovered this Water and Fire Flower while exploring the Thousand Lakes Secret Realm not long ago. It was growing in a very unique area.”

“Oh? How unique?”

Li Changan piqued.

Cao Hao quickly replied, not daring to hide anything.

“In that area, there are two lakes. One is a soft, aquamarine lake, the other is filled with burning magma. Where the two lakes meet, this Water and Fire Flower grew.”

“Such a strange place exists. It truly deserves to be an ancient secret realm,”

Li Changan pondered.

Such a strange place might produce other water and fire treasures in the future.

But that had nothing to do with him.

He couldn’t possibly go and wait in the secret realm.

Cao Hao said cautiously, “Friend Li, in my storage bag, there is a map of the Thousand Lakes Secret Realm. My fellow disciples and I combined all the existing maps to compile it. If you want to explore the Thousand Lakes Secret Realm, that map should be helpful.”

“Okay, I understand.”

Li Changan casually searched in his storage bag and soon found the map.

Although the Thousand Lakes Secret Realm had only recently appeared,

over two hundred dangerous areas, large and small, were already marked on the map.

Their level of danger was no less than that of the Ancient Wood Secret Realm and the Bloodstone Secret Realm.

“Fellow Daoist Li, are you satisfied with this map?”

Cao Hao’s voice was cautious, with a hint of flattery.

Li Changan nodded slightly.

“Not bad.”

“In that case, could you please release me and let me travel the Path of Reincarnation?”

“Wait, maybe one day when I’m in a good mood, I’ll release you.”

Li Changan casually waved it and tossed it into the Soul-Respecting Banner.

He continued to search his storage bag.

But Cao Hao’s strength was average, and the remaining treasures in the bag were mediocre and nothing of value.

…

Half a month later,

Cao Shaolong finally noticed something was amiss.

As an elder, he had led many disciples down the mountain for training, and he had an obligation to protect the safety of every one of them.

Moreover, Cao Hao was a member of the Cao family.

However,

Cao Hao had not returned for many days, with no news or communication.

The last message left was to deal with a group of Tribulation Cultivators.

But those Tribulation Cultivators were still alive and well!

“Uncle Cao, Senior Brother Cao Hao must have had an accident.”

“I know!”

Cao Shaolong’s face was ashen.

A disciple had died inexplicably.

This was his dereliction of duty.

…

Time flew by, and months passed.

One morning,

the sun rose.

Li Changan’s house was filled with spiritual energy, mist and clouds billowed, like a celestial fairyland.

This was due to the excessive concentration of spiritual energy.

The entire house was covered with broken spiritual stones, like a newly excavated spiritual stone mine.

All the formations were activated to the utmost.

The Black Water Turtle and Da Huang each guarded one corner of the house, while two second-level main spirits guarded the other two corners.

A full four second-level forces guarding!

“That should be enough.”

Li Changan sat cross-legged in the center of the house, holding the spiritual eye in front of him.

He looked solemn and took a deep breath.

“Before building the foundation, this is the last Qi Refining breakthrough. Don’t be careless.”

Today, he planned to break through from the eighth to the ninth level of Qi Refining. He had felt signs of a breakthrough

months ago

, but he hadn’t forced it because he lacked the necessary accumulation.

Now the time has come!

After a moment of recuperation,

Li Changan closed his eyes and began to practice his cultivation techniques.   Instantly

, the dense mist of spiritual energy within the house surged towards his body. It flowed   continuously, transforming into a small vortex of spiritual energy in an instant.   His aura began to slowly rise, and the mana in his meridians rapidly flowed, ultimately converging into his dantian, serving as the foundation for his breakthrough.   After about a quarter of an hour,   the spiritual energy within the house gradually weakened.   Da Huang immediately took action, removing pieces of spiritual stones and crushing them. Among them were not only low-grade spiritual stones but also precious mid-grade spiritual stones.   After just a few breaths, the spiritual energy within the house became rich again.   ”Whoosh…”   Endless spiritual energy formed a vortex and rapidly flowed into Li Changan’s body.   Under his frantic absorption,   in less than a quarter of an hour, the spiritual energy once again became thin.   Da Huang moved again, his earthy yellow body transforming into a series of afterimages that appeared across the room, scattering countless shattered spirit stones.   A moment later,   he reached the side of the Black Water Turtle. The dog and the turtle exchanged glances, concern in both eyes.   Li Changan’s breakthrough   had consumed an incredible amount of spiritual energy.   How could a normal cultivator, advancing from the eighth to the ninth level of Qi Refining, devour so much spiritual energy?   They both wondered   if something had gone wrong.   Just then,   a voice suddenly rang out from the Zunhun Banner, hovering at the side of the house.   ”Continue… scattering spirit stones… The master’s cultivation method is unique… this breakthrough requires a great deal…”   Hearing this, Xiao Hei and Da Huang felt relieved for the time being.   The Zunhun Banner’s spirit likely existed in ancient times and possessed far more experience than they did. They could follow his lead without any problems.   For the next several hours,   Da Huang continued to scatter the shattered spirit stones.   The concentration of spiritual energy throughout the house remained at an astonishing level.   At its peak, the room was completely white, and one couldn’t see one’s hand in front of one’s face.   Time passed minute by minute.   Night gradually deepened.

After a long and frantic absorption,

a mysterious aura finally emanated from Li Changan.

He opened his eyes, a hint of joy in his eyes.

“Ninth level of Qi Refining, done!”

So far,

he has finally broken through the last level before building the foundation!

The cultivation level of the ninth level of Qi Refining has already stood at the pinnacle of the entire Qi Refining Realm!

Li Changan slowly stood up, a sense of power coming naturally.

“Finally I have reached this step.”

Feeling his own aura, he couldn’t help but feel emotional.

Looking back,

this journey has been too difficult.

Cultivating immortals is difficult, and the path of independent cultivation is even more difficult.

The vast majority of independent cultivators will never reach the peak of the Qi Refining Realm in their lifetime, and most of them die at the foot of the mountain or on the mountainside.

Li Changan has stepped on countless corpses to get to this point today.

“The road to cultivating immortals is littered with bones.”

He sighed deeply.

Fortunately, he hadn’t become one of those corpses.

“The amount of spirit stones consumed for this breakthrough was somewhat unexpected,”

Li Chang’an glanced around.

The entire house was filled with shattered spirit stones.

After absorbing the spiritual energy, these spirit stones had become ordinary stones, only gleaming with a shimmer that could be considered gems in the mortal world.

Li Chang’an casually gathered all the shattered spirit stones.

“The reason I consumed so many spirit stones must be related to my practice of the Ancient Wood Health-Preserving Technique.”

The better the technique, the more spiritual energy required for each breakthrough, and the deeper the accumulation.

If Li Chang’an had still practiced the Green Wood Technique,

he wouldn’t have needed so much spiritual energy.

“My aura is still a little unstable; I need to consolidate it.”

Li Chang’an sat down again, practicing the technique and continuing to absorb spiritual energy.

…

Time flew by, and half a month passed.

One day,

Li Chang’an finally emerged from seclusion. His

cultivation at the ninth level of Qi Refining had been completely consolidated.

He walked out of the room, stood in the sunlight in the courtyard, and slowly stretched his body.

A moment later,

he smiled and waved.

“Xiao Hei, come and merge!”

The Black Water Turtle immediately took a short, swift step and ran over, unleashing the technique of borrowing magic.

Man and turtle merged, their

magical powers combined. Li Changan’s aura rose steadily, instantly breaking free from the constraints of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

After a few breaths,

he once again entered a pseudo-foundation building state.

This wasn’t over yet; his strength continued to rise, ever closer to the true foundation building threshold.

But…

in the end,

there was still a tiny gap.

Li Changan could sense that his current state was only a hair’s breadth away from true foundation building.

It seemed as if a single leap would allow him to cross the threshold.

He patted the Black Water Turtle’s head.

“Xiao Hei, haven’t you been practicing hard enough lately? Have you been a little slack? The borrowed mana doesn’t seem to have increased much.”

The Black Water Turtle rolled its eyes, indicating that it had done its best.

Li Changan smiled and didn’t ask further questions.

He understood that

the path to breakthroughs beyond the second level was more difficult, and the time it took to increase strength was measured in years.

…

For the next few months,

Li Changan remained as usual. He

frequently visited trading areas, major stores, and the black market, picking up treasures at bargain prices many times.

During this period,

he adjusted the aura he displayed to the outside world to that of the eighth level of Qi Refining.

This strength, even in the inner city of Huanghe Immortal City, was considered quite impressive.

Many of Li Changan’s friends realized that he probably had a chance to break through to the foundation-building stage.

This was exactly Li Changan’s goal. He

would slowly reveal some of his strength

so that when he finally reached the foundation-building stage, it wouldn’t cause too much of a stir.

One night,

Li Changan soaked in a medicinal bath, continuing to temper his body.

“The breakthrough to the second-level physique is slower than I expected, but it’s relatively stable. As long as there are no unexpected events, it’ll be fine.”

The Demon Dragon Body Tempering Technique is the same as the Demon Blood Body Tempering Technique.

Although it has no side effects,

each time the body is tempered, it will produce excruciating pain that ordinary people cannot bear.

The pain Li Changan is enduring now is no less than being cut into pieces, but fortunately, he has long been accustomed to it.

“I haven’t been to the black market in a while. I’ll go tomorrow and see if I can find any bargains. I’ll also learn about second-tier demon cores.”

He pondered silently, enduring the excruciating pain.

Soon,

it was midnight.

A new hexagram appeared.

[Hexagram Updated]

[Today’s Hexagram: Auspicious]

[You travel to the black market and discover Mo Feng and Mo Wanwan being hunted by Mo Clan disciples. You rescue them and receive the second-tier puppet inheritance as a reward.]

“Second-tier puppet inheritance!”

Li Changan’s eyes lit up.

He had long coveted this inheritance, but never had a good opportunity.

Although Luo Baitong had offered him several possible channels, the thresholds to entry were too high.

Now ,

at last, a suitable opportunity had arrived.

…

The next day, at dawn,

Li Changan left Yellow Crane Immortal City, transforming into a streak of light and speeding towards the black market.

Along the way,

he adopted the identity of Li Fan, a

persona with which he had crossed paths with Mo Feng and Mo Wanwan several times.

Although he was wanted by the Blood Beast Valley, he didn’t care.

It wasn’t long before

he arrived at the black market.

“Huh? Did I arrive too early? Why didn’t I see those two being hunted?”

Li Chang’an wondered. He

had no choice

but to leave the black market.

For over an hour, he wandered back and forth between the black market and Yellow Crane Immortal City, leaving dozens of puppets behind to act as his eyes.

Finally,

one of the puppets noticed something unusual.

Several figures were engaged in a battle in a forest not far from Li Chang’an.

“Eureka!”

Li Chang’an’s mind raced, and he immediately approached the area.

A moment later,

the two warring factions came into view.

Just as the hexagram had indicated, it was the Mohist disciples besieging the siblings, Mo Feng and Mo Wanwan.

To Li Chang’an’s surprise, he recognized the leading Mohist disciple.

“Mo Xi!”

This woman had appeared at Tang Suran’s birthday party, at the time at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

After so much time,

she remained at the ninth level, but her aura was even more powerful, her cultivation profound, having reached the pinnacle of this realm.

At this moment,

the situation was dire for the Mo Feng siblings.

Although Mo Feng possessed a second-level puppet,

Mo Xi had also brought a second-level puppet from the clan, negating his puppet advantage.

“Mo Feng, Mo Wanwan, you two, surrender immediately and follow me back to the clan to face justice!”

Mo Xi shouted with overwhelming force.

Mo Feng’s face darkened, his breathing erratic.

“Don’t even think about it! I will never set foot in that disgusting place again!”

“Looks like I can only take your bodies back,”

Mo Xi snorted, her attacks becoming increasingly ferocious.

Under her leadership,

more than a dozen other Mo Clan disciples coordinated in perfect harmony, gradually dividing the battlefield in two.

Mo Xi and the majority of the disciples surrounded Mo Feng, while a smaller number surrounded Mo Wanwan.

Li Changan watched from afar, forming a silent judgment.

“These two can hold out for a while.”

He did not intervene directly to save them.

After all, Mo Feng and Mo Wanwan were only experiencing a shaky breath.

Li Chang’an planned to wait until the two siblings were at their wit’s end, severely injured, at their most critical moment, before he intervened.

“Action at this moment is most effective!”

And so,

he waited silently.

Everything unfolded as he had anticipated.

A moment later, Mo Wanwan was the first to collapse, struck hard, her face turning pale.

Boom!

The puppets she was controlling were shattered one after another.

The situation was dire.

Mo Feng, not far away, looked pale and called out, “Little sister, are you okay?”

“I’m fine!”

Mo Wanwan’s voice trembled, and she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing her like this,

Mo Feng became even more anxious, charging forward, trying to break free from the encirclement of Mo Xi and the others.

Mo Xi sneered, “Mo Feng, you’re already struggling to save your sister?”

Her face was cold, and her attacks grew increasingly ruthless.

Mo Feng, however, distracted by his concern for Mo Wanwan, found himself increasingly vulnerable.

After about ten breaths,

he was unable to react and suffered a severe blow.

With a loud bang, his armor was shattered, and a horrific wound appeared on his body, deep enough to reveal the bone.

“It should be almost there,”

Li Changan began to approach quietly, very slowly.

A moment later,

the situation of Mo Feng and his sister was even worse.

Both were seriously injured, covered in blood, their lives in danger, and their breath was falling.

“I didn’t expect that I couldn’t escape the shadow of my family after all.”

Mo Feng laughed bitterly, knowing that he was doomed.

But at this moment,

a dark wind suddenly blew between heaven and earth.

A thick black fog rose from the earth, eerie and gloomy, as if it came from a dark abyss, and countless screams and wails could be heard faintly from it.

Seeing this scene,

Mo Feng’s pale face suddenly showed surprise.

He had seen Li Changan take action before, so how could he not know who was coming?

“Fellow Daoist Li, we are all members of the Three Tribulations Alliance. Please save my brother and sister!”

“Okay!”

A cold voice rang out from within the black fog.

Then

, the black fog suddenly expanded, surging and rising, instantly engulfing everyone present on both sides.

“Li Fan?”

Mo Xi’s eyebrows raised, anger rising.

She had certainly heard of this name.

But she had never imagined that she would run into this person today.

“How dare a mere Qi Refining cultivator interfere in the affairs of my Mo family? Li Fan, I think you are tired of living!”

(End of this chapter)