Daily Divination From Market Rogue Cultivator To Immortal Venerable - Chapter 281

Chapter 281 Illusion Reappears, A Comparison Between Past and Present (Please Subscribe)

Regarding this key,

Li Tai’an in the dream seemed very puzzled.

“What was Fellow Daoist Mu’s intention in entrusting it to me? Did he want me to keep it for him? But I am not a disciple of the Ancient Wood Sect.”

Unfortunately, Mu Hong was dead and could not answer his question.

Li Tai’an could only return to the Xuanqi Sect with this question in mind and put the key in his cave.

Afterwards,

he went to the medicine garden and took some healing herbs.

He was also seriously injured in this battle and almost lost his life along with Mu Hong.

The one guarding the medicine garden was his junior sister from his lineage.

Seeing that he was so badly injured , his

junior sister was full of worry and asked, “Senior brother, how did you get so injured?”

Li Tai’an replied, “I encountered a few demonic beasts, but I have already killed them all.”

“Senior brother, why don’t you come with me to guard the medicine garden? The medicine garden is very safe. It is protected by an array and the location is hidden. Even if outsiders break in, it will be difficult for them to find this place…” His

junior sister said with concern.

However, Li Tai’an wanted to do more for the sect and refused the suggestion.

After recovering from his injuries,

he continued to patrol the sect’s surroundings, clearing away various dangers near the sect.

Accompanying him on these patrols was his senior sister from his lineage.

Time flies.

More than ten years passed in the blink of an eye.

During these years, he and his senior sister often fought side by side, their relationship grew closer, and a subtle affection gradually developed between them.

However,

Li Tai’an noticed that his

junior sister seemed to have feelings for him. She often gave him treasures and found excuses to talk to him.

“Senior brother, this is Crimson Blood Bamboo that Master asked me to cultivate. I secretly cultivated a few extra. This precious herb is beneficial to qi and blood. Senior brother, please accept it.”

“This…”

Li Tai’an hesitated for a moment, wanting to refuse.

But looking at his junior sister’s expectant face, he couldn’t bear to refuse and had no choice but to accept the Crimson Blood Bamboo.

The junior sister’s face was beaming with joy, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons. She smiled and said, “Senior brother, the herb garden can’t be short-handed, so I’ll head back now.”

Li Tai’an nodded, “Alright, junior sister, go back early and don’t delay Master’s business.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve done everything Master instructed.”

The junior sister left with a smile.

Before leaving, she whispered, “Senior brother, come to the herb garden tomorrow. I have a secret to tell you.”

“A secret?”

Li Tai’an watched the junior sister’s departing figure, lost in thought.

A moment later,

he received his patrol token as usual and went out on patrol with his senior sister.

Midway through the patrol, his senior sister suddenly asked him, “Junior brother, the path to immortality is long and arduous; one cannot stand alone. Have you considered the matter of a Daoist partner?”

“A Daoist partner…”

Li Tai’an was silent for a moment, understanding his senior sister’s feelings.

He looked at his senior sister, and she looked back at him. Their eyes met, both filled with complex emotions.

Between them lay only a thin veil.

Just one more step.

They could become Daoist partners and walk the long path of immortality together.

However,

at that moment,

the entire secret realm suddenly trembled, and a loud explosion came from not far away.

“Boom!”

A long, narrow crack suddenly appeared in the sky ahead, as if it had been cleaved open by a peerless expert.

Immediately afterwards, countless murderous cultivators poured out of the crack.

“The remnants of the nine major sects are indeed hiding in this secret realm!”

“Kill! Kill everyone from the nine major sects!”

“Don’t let a single one escape!”

In an instant, blood and killing intent filled the air.

Li Tai’an and his companion had been discovered.

Countless cultivators rushed towards them, their faces filled with hatred and anger, as if they wanted to tear them to pieces on the spot.

“Not good!”

“Junior brother, come with me quickly!”

The eldest senior sister’s expression changed, and she led Li Tai’an to escape into the depths of the secret realm.

Li Tai’an asked anxiously, “Senior Sister, shouldn’t we go back to the sect?”

“The sect is undoubtedly their primary target. Going back would be like walking into a trap. There’s still a glimmer of hope if we go deeper into the secret realm!” For

the next few days,

the two constantly fled, narrowly escaping death, but they could never shake off their pursuers.

The various treasures in their storage bags gradually ran out, and their hope of survival grew increasingly slim.

Finally,

on this day,

the two reached the exit of a secret realm.

Li Tai’an glanced at the pursuers behind them and turned to say, “Senior Sister, you go first, I’ll hold them off.”

As soon as he finished speaking, his eldest sister suddenly struck him with a palm.

She gave him a deep look, her face full of determination.

“Go, don’t come back!”

The force of the palm strike was immense, sending him flying backward, out of the Ancient Wood Secret Realm.

The last thing he saw was his eldest sister using her magic to shatter the entire exit of the secret realm, blocking the pursuers for him.

This was the last time Li Tai’an saw her in his life.

In the days that followed,

he went into hiding throughout the cultivation world.

Years later, he encountered a senior member of the Xuanqi Sect who was also on the run.

The senior said to him, “Tai’an, running away like this is not a solution. You and I will eventually die at the hands of our pursuers. I have a treasure that can allow you to live into the future, but there is a certain risk involved. Are you willing to try?”

“Senior, what kind of treasure is it?”

“The Hidden World Coffin!”

The senior gently patted his storage bag, and a faint light flew out from it, landing in front of the two of them and transforming into an ordinary coffin.

He lifted the coffin lid and continued, “Over the years, I’ve been searching for a way to avoid calamity. What I most wanted to find was the legendary Ark of Salvation, but I couldn’t find it. Fortunately, I obtained this Coffin of Salvation.”

Li Tai’an was somewhat puzzled.

“Senior, I’ve heard of the Coffin of Salvation, but what is the Ark of Salvation?”

“The Ark of Salvation, this treasure is similar to the Coffin of Salvation, and it also has the effect of avoiding calamity. Legend has it that as long as one boards the Ark of Salvation, one can avoid the great calamity…”

The senior patiently told Li Tai’an what he knew.

Li Tai’an listened carefully.

Li Chang’an, through his perspective, also heard the description of the Ark of Salvation.

“The Ark of Salvation…”   Li Chang’an was no stranger

to this boat.   Years ago, before he established his foundation, he went to the Ancient Wood Secret Realm to find the key to the Evergreen Cave. He encountered a strange white mist halfway there.   A boat made entirely of bones was sailing in the mist.   A cultivator sat cross-legged on the boat, chanting “Ark of Salvation.”   Li Chang’an had spoken with that cultivator and learned that the spiritual roots of heaven and earth needed to be transformed through faith, not forcibly subdued.   At that time,   Li Chang’an thought he had encountered a special situation recorded in the ancient texts—a dialogue across time and space with an ancient cultivator.   Now, thinking back, perhaps it wasn’t about crossing time and space.   He had truly seen the legendary Ferry of Salvation! If   he   had boarded that Ferry of Salvation back then, he might have received a heaven-defying opportunity, or he might have faced mortal danger.   ”Fortunately, there is no great calamity descending upon the cultivation world now, so there is no need for calamity-avoiding treasures; it’s just that the world is becoming increasingly chaotic,”   Li Chang’an pondered silently.   Meanwhile,   the dream was coming to an end.   In the dream, Li Chang’an decided to enter the Coffin of Seclusion, taking a risk and hoping for a chance to awaken in the future.   He entered the coffin and slowly lay down.   The elder closed the coffin for him and instructed him, “Tai’an, if you truly awaken in the future, never forget to restore the Xuanqi Sect!”   ”I think there will be many others like you who, through various means of avoiding calamity, survived to the future.”   ”You can try to contact them and help them restore the glory of the nine major sects…”   ”…”   The voice in Li Tai’an’s ears gradually faded, and he himself fell into a deep sleep.   He didn’t know how much time had passed.   He slowly opened his eyes, a trace of confusion flashing within them.   ”Who am I? Where am I?”   He slowly sat up, looking around the secret chamber, feeling only chaos in his mind, countless jumbled and blurry memories constantly surfacing.   ”I…I seem to be a disciple of the ancient Xuanqi Sect, named Li Tai’an…”   ”No!”   ”I am Li Chang’an!”   ”The so-called Li Tai’an is just a figure in my dream!”   Li Chang’an suddenly awoke, his eyes no longer filled with confusion.   This time,   he didn’t need the help of divination. He   woke up on his own in just a few breaths.   The two halves of his memory were clearly distinct; he knew perfectly well that one of them was just a dream, not the real him.   ”Strange, why did I wake up so quickly this time? Is it because I’ve become stronger?”   Li Chang’an wondered, pondering for a moment.   Compared to last time, his biggest change was his own strength.   However,   for a mysterious treasure like the Hidden World Coffin, the difference between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core stages seemed negligible.   ”Perhaps it’s because I’ve already experienced it once.”

“Enough, thinking too much is useless. Let’s organize our gains first.”

Li Chang’an shook his head slightly, no longer dwelling on the matter, temporarily putting his doubts aside.

He rose from the coffin, landed outside, took out a few calming pills and swallowed them, then casually asked the guard dog, Da Huang, who was watching over the cave.

“Da Huang, while I was lying in the coffin, did any outsiders come to visit?”

“Master, no one came, and no one was spying around Changqing Mountain.”

“That’s good.”

Li Chang’an went to the depths of the cave, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to ponder.

The biggest gain this time

was naturally the clue to the subsequent cultivation method of the Ancient Wood Evergreen Technique.

“Since the divination gave a hint, the key should still be in Li Tai’an’s cave. We just need to find his cave.”

As for the location of the cave, Li Chang’an already knew.

It was the Ancient Wood Secret Realm!

Many years ago, he had accompanied Su Yuyan’s disciple, Su Qingxue, to the secret realm for training.

Su Qingxue’s training goal was to obtain the Earthly Cold Qi from a Cold Fiend Well.

That Cold Fiend Well was located within an ancient sect’s ruins.

“That sect ruins are the branch sects of the Xuanqi Sect and the Ancient Wood Sect that I saw in my dream!”

However, the towering palaces and pavilions in his dream had all turned into ruins, covered by time and desolation, their former glory long gone.

Besides the clues to the   cultivation technique ,

Li Chang’an had another good gain: weapon crafting skills!   In his dream, Li Tai’an was a disciple of the Xuanqi Sect, quite talented in weapon crafting, reaching the third-tier high-grade level.   Li Chang’an had fully acquired this skill, and with a little practice, he could become a third-tier high-grade weapon crafter.   This weapon crafting skill would save him a lot of trouble.   In the past, after killing enemies and obtaining their magical treasures, he dared not use them openly, fearing being recognized by outsiders.   He either used them secretly or sold them.   Now,   he could remelt and forge his enemies’ magical treasures without worrying about being recognized.   ”This skill is quite a good match for me.”   Li Chang’an was very satisfied with this.   That secluded coffin had given him a second “one-night enlightenment,” making him a top weapon crafting master in the entire Southern Region.   ”First, I’ll retrieve the key from the secret realm, then return to practice my weapon-refining techniques.”   With this thought in mind,   Li Chang’an immediately transformed into a streak of light, leaving the Changqing Mountain cave and heading towards the Ancient Wood Secret Realm.   On the way,   he suddenly remembered the senior   in his dream who had instructed him not to forget to restore the Xuanqi Sect in future generations.   If Li Chang’an successfully awakened, would he follow this advice?   The ancient texts of the Southern Region recorded many people whose personalities drastically changed after “enlightenment overnight.”   Clearly,   those people were no longer the original individuals; they had all been replaced by awakened ancient cultivators.   ”Could they be secretly rebuilding the nine ancient sects?”   Li Chang’an couldn’t help but think of the Yin Soul Sect.   The Yin Soul Sect was a branch of the Nascent Soul Demonic Sect,   the Minghun Sect. Many of the Minghun Sect’s methods originated from the Mingyu Sect, one of the nine ancient sects.   Li Chang’an suspected   that the person who founded the Minghun Sect back then was very likely an awakened ancient Mingyu Sect cultivator.   ”If I encounter an awakened ancient cultivator in the future, perhaps I can use my identities from these two dreams,”   Li Chang’an thought to himself.   Right now, he could completely impersonate Li Tai’an and Li Ping’an without revealing any flaws.   Just then, the entrance to the Ancient Wood Secret Realm arrived.   Without hesitation, Li Chang’an entered the Ancient Wood Secret Realm again.   He was about to head towards the sect ruins   when   a familiar female voice suddenly rang in his ears.   ”Didn’t I tell you to leave? Why are you back?”   Hearing this, Li Chang’an was stunned.   He subconsciously called out, “Senior Sister?”   The voice was exactly the same as the Senior Sister’s voice in his dream.   But he looked around and didn’t see that familiar figure.   The surroundings were empty; there was no one there, as if the voice he heard was just an illusion.   Li Chang’an spread his golden core divine sense, searching around, but found nothing.   He couldn’t help but recall that he   had also heard those words when he first entered the Ancient Wood Secret Realm.   At that time,   he thought it was an illusion.   Such things are not uncommon in the Ancient Tree Secret Realm; many cultivators have seen illusions or heard strange sounds.   But he heard them twice, which cannot be explained by illusions.   ”What’s going on?”   Li Chang’an stopped, his mind filled with various questions.   In his dream, his senior sister knocked him out of the secret realm with a palm strike, telling him not to come back.   If his senior sister were still alive, it would be normal for her to ask such a question upon seeing Li Chang’an return.   But he was not Li Chang’an.   His senior sister couldn’t possibly still be alive.   ”It shouldn’t be an illusion, nor a coincidence…”   After pondering for a moment, Li Chang’an soared into the sky, arriving beneath the vast heavens, overlooking the expansive secret realm below.   He could see countless towering ancient trees on the ground.   The branches of each ancient tree were abnormally twisted, at first glance resembling thousands of figures struggling in pain.   It was because of these ancient trees that   the secret realm was named the Ancient Tree Secret Realm.   But Li Chang’an remembered that the secret realm in his dream, although it also had many dangers, did not have these twisted trees.   He stood before an ancient tree, gazing at it for a long time, but could not discern anything unusual.   ”Never mind, the secret realm is full of strange things, which I cannot see through for now. When my strength is sufficient, I will naturally understand everything.”

Li Chang’an suppressed all his worries, transformed into a streak of light, and headed straight for the ancient sect ruins.

Several days later,

he arrived at the location of the Frostfire Well.

Since the opportunity within the well had been taken, and it would take thirty years for new Frostfire Qi to be generated, the area was deserted, with no cultivators waiting.

Li Chang’an used his escape technique to enter the depths of the ruins and quickly saw the collapsed underground palace.

Following the scene from his dream, he headed towards Li Tai’an’s cave.

On the way,

Li Chang’an passed a medicinal garden.

This garden was very secluded and had not been discovered by outsiders. Years ago, he had obtained near-fourth-grade spiritual soil and several Crimson Blood Bamboo plants there.

Furthermore, there was a legacy left by a senior.

On the table in front of that senior, a line of very elegant characters was engraved:

【Senior Brother, will we ever meet again?】

Now, thinking back,

that senior must have been the junior sister from his dream. The senior

brother she couldn’t forget was naturally Li Tai’an.

“This herb garden is extremely well-hidden, and the concealment array is quite ingenious. Since Junior Sister was able to leave behind her legacy, it means the herb garden hasn’t been discovered by the enemy. But why doesn’t she leave? Is she waiting for Li Tai’an to return to her?”

Li Chang’an recalled the contents of his dream.

Junior Sister had found Li Tai’an and asked him to go to the herb garden to hear a secret she wanted to hear.

However, the enemy’s arrival was too sudden.

She was destined not to wait for Li Tai’an to come to her.

“Could it be that she waited in vain for a lifetime?”

Li Chang’an thought of the withered skeleton sitting cross-legged under the Crimson Blood Bamboo.

Perhaps influenced by Li Tai’an’s memories, he felt a strange sense of melancholy.

He moved swiftly, leaving the place, suppressing his various emotions, no longer thinking about the herb garden, and headed straight for Li Tai’an’s cave.

Not long after,

he arrived at a ruin.

This was the location of Li Tai’an’s cave.

Li Chang’an slipped into it, carefully searching among the countless rubble and tiles, and soon found his purpose.

A blue brick!

The key was hidden by Li Tai’an in a special blue brick.

“This should be it.”

Li Chang’an used his third-tier physique power to crush the blue brick, and a wooden key fell out.

His eyes lit up, and with lightning speed, he grabbed the key and examined it closely. On

the front of the key

was a clearly engraved character “古” (Ancient).

It was the key that Li Tai’an had obtained in his dream!

If nothing unexpected happened, there would be three more keys, corresponding to the characters “木” (Wood), “长” (Long), and “青” (Green).

Just then, the Evergreen Magic Power within Li Chang’an’s body rapidly circulated, surging wildly into the key, making it slightly hot.

In an instant

, he sensed the location of the second key.

“That is…”

Following his senses, Li Chang’an compared it with the map of the Zhao Kingdom’s cultivation world in his mind and quickly determined its exact location.

The original border between the Western and Southern Regions!

Now, due to the Southern Region’s repeated defeats, this border area had been annexed by the Western Region and become part of it.

If Li Chang’an wanted to go there, he naturally couldn’t go as a Southern Region cultivator; he had to disguise himself as a Western Region cultivator.

Perfect.

He was quite adept at disguise.

(End of Chapter)