Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation

At this moment, Zhao Shuyao's thoughts were understandable to anyone with some life experience.

It was a self-satisfying feeling of an elder's contribution to a younger generation, a genuine desire to give without expecting anything in return, and a sense of accomplishment in successfully fulfilling the younger generation's needs.

She had already been satisfied the moment she accomplished this.

What she needed was not humility or repayment from the younger generation, but joyful acceptance.

"Thank you, Aunt Yao!" Although, with his personality, he would have preferred an equal exchange and didn't want to see Zhao Shuyao sacrifice her further advancement in body cultivation for him, what was done was done. Zhao Shuyao's current state of Qi and blood was severely declining, and there was no possibility of doing it again. Li Ji'an accepted this gift.

"Hehe, silly child, why are you saying such things to Aunt Yao?" Zhao Shuyao patted Li Ji'an's shoulder.

Tong Yaoyao stood up: "Take good care of Aunt Yao. I'll go see my mother first."

She didn't really have any feelings about the Foundation Establishment Pill materials. She hadn't used Foundation Establishment Pills herself back then. In her eyes, Foundation Establishment Pills weren't anything rare. Her only regret was for Zhao Shuyao.

But there was nothing she could do. As someone who relied on others without power or influence, she couldn't violate the rules of the Commerce Association.

After Tong Yaoyao left, Li Ji'an spent a lot of time talking with Zhao Shuyao. He had done this sort of thing to amuse old people many times, so he was very skilled at it, knowing what to say and what to ask to make her happy.

As they talked, Zhao Shuyao brought up his past life and his hometown again.

"Xiao Fan, do you know? Actually, your father's and my hometown is the Burial Ground of Immortals. The reason why there's no spiritual energy there and why it's surrounded by divine retribution is because immortals from the ancient times are buried there," Zhao Shuyao said slowly.

"Aunt Yao, how do you know this?" Li Ji'an treated it as just a story.

"I learned it this time when I went to the neighboring Myriad Commerce Cultivation Domain. An old senior told me that they had discovered some records from the ancient times near the Mirage Forest more than three thousand years ago.

In our Great Marsh Cultivation World, there are a total of nine true immortals buried, which formed nine forbidden zones.

These nine forbidden zones are not abandoned by the heavens, but were drained dry by these nine immortals!"

"A place where immortals are buried? Also, immortals who drained the spiritual energy?" Zhao Shuyao's words reminded Li Ji'an of his experience in the Immortal Bestowment Dynasty. Immortals? Just Qi Refining cultivators.

Moreover, in the sixty-seven years since he came to this world, he had consulted many materials. At least in the six thousand years since the ancient era, the entire Great Marsh Cultivation World had not even produced a Transformation God Heavenly Lord.

"Did anyone really ascend to immortality in the ancient times?"

"If they ascended to immortality, why would they die? Shouldn't immortals be immortal?" Although there were many legends from the ancient times.

Whether it was the diverse cultivation systems of that time or how complete the laws of heaven and earth were, most of it was just legend, without any substantial evidence.

As for "immortals," he remained skeptical.

"There should be, right? That old senior is a truly great person and wouldn't deceive us," Zhao Shuyao said with a faint smile.

"What exactly happened in the ancient times? There were even immortals, so why did they become extinct?"

Zhao Shuyao was speechless, shook her head with a smile, and then looked in the direction of the Immortal Bestowment Dynasty, as if muttering to herself:

"Sometimes I think, how wonderful would it be if we weren't born in the Immortal Burial Ground.

But then I think about the people here, the mortals with spiritual roots who can't cultivate are even more numerous. Their situation of seeing it but not being able to touch it seems even worse than the people in our place who can't see it at all.

How wonderful would it be if the cultivators of that family hadn't broken in."

As she spoke, Zhao Shuyao's eyes became moist.

When people get old, they always miss their hometown and want to return to their roots. She wanted to return to the place where she was born.

Li Ji'an wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and said softly, "I will take you back."

Hearing this, Zhao Shuyao smiled: "Silly child, the Immortal Burial Ground is very dangerous. Unless you find a loophole or a great opportunity, you can't get in or out. Even Golden Core True people can't do it. Sigh, how did that family find the loophole?"

Li Ji'an smiled and didn't say much.

Everything will become clear.

However, the three of them may not be able to wait.

They chatted until late at night. When he left, Li Ji'an left several bottles of Qi and Blood Pills, instructing Zhao Shuyao to take them daily to replenish her Qi and blood.

After returning home, Li Ji'an adjusted his mood.

Then, he took out all the medicinal materials that Zhao Shuyao had given him.

There were a total of thirty-six kinds of medicinal materials. Among them, Nine-Star Tuckahoe was the most scarce main ingredient, and there were three other scarce auxiliary ingredients. The others were relatively easier to obtain.

He carefully examined each medicinal material. The age of each was sufficient, and there was no loss of medicinal effects, completely meeting the requirements for refining Foundation Establishment Pills.

This batch of medicinal materials had an upper limit of five pills, but only a Tier 2 Quasi-Pill King had such a perfect pill formation rate. After all, the refining difficulty of Foundation Establishment Pills was relatively high.

An ordinary Tier 2 Senior Pill Master could only produce a maximum of four pills.

The Tier 2 Pill Masters in Immortal City could produce at most two pills.

If one wanted to pursue the quality of the pills, they would further reduce the pill formation rate.

Li Ji'an calmed his mind and focused for three days. He finally decided to divide the main ingredient, Nine-Star Tuckahoe, into two.

He was very proficient in the theory, but it was his first time actually doing it. He was confident but not blindly so.

The pill formation rate of this batch of medicinal materials mainly depended on the main ingredient, Nine-Star Tuckahoe. If he divided it into two, with his pill refinement level, the upper limit of pill formation would only be two pills, but he would have a chance to try again.

In this way, the batch of auxiliary ingredients that had been collected could also be used.

After this period of recovery, the Fire Spirit had recovered from the consumption of helping Guagua refine Qi and blood.

Li Ji'an fed it with more mana for a few days to help it reach its peak.

On this day, everything was ready. He took all the medicinal materials and the pill furnace and went to the inner city to rent a Tier 2 spiritual vein cave.

Pill refinement required a high concentration of spiritual energy and spiritual pressure. As a Tier 2 special pill, the Foundation Establishment Pill had even higher requirements for spiritual energy, requiring at least a Tier 2 Low-Grade spiritual vein cave to guarantee it.

At this moment, Zhao Shuyao sent a message.

"Xiao Fan, have you found a Tier 2 Pill Master to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill? Do you need Aunt Yao to help you contact Pill Master Zou?"

Among the Tier 2 Pill Masters in Immortal City who accepted Foundation Establishment Pill refinement, Pill Master Zou was relatively easier to find. The other two were enshrined by the Commerce Association, and it was difficult to invite them without a certain status.

Although Pill Master Zou was not as good as those experienced Tier 2 Pill Masters, he had accumulated a lot of experience in refining Foundation Establishment Pills, and could at least guarantee one genuine Foundation Establishment Pill.

"Aunt Yao, you have already helped me too much with this matter. You don't need to worry about it anymore. Wait for my good news." After replying, Li Ji'an went to the Immortal City Management Office.

It had to be said that now that the Qi family was managing Immortal City, many aspects were indeed more convenient for customers.

In the past, when the Bi Yun Sect was in charge, no matter how many days you used it, all the caves, whether you were refining pills or breaking through bottlenecks, started at a minimum of one month.

But now, the shortest unit had been changed to days, starting from one day.

Although the unit price was nearly doubled, it was much more cost-effective for someone like Li Ji'an who was only renting it for pill refinement.

Foundation Establishment Pills were not easy to refine, and it would take three days to open the furnace.

“Eh, Pill Master Li is also renting a cave to refine pills today?” Qi Family’s steward naturally knew Li Ji’an as his name was within the scope of excellent pill masters.

Li Ji’an cupped his fist slightly: “Oh? Are there other pill masters refining pills today as well?”

“Haha, Pill Master Zou is helping someone refine Foundation Establishment Pills today, and he just finished the procedures. You might even run into him if you go over there,” the steward said with a smile.

Li Ji’an raised an eyebrow, it was indeed a coincidence.

Paying one hundred and fifty spiritual stones, Li Ji’an received the control jade token for the cave.

This time, he rented a Tier 2 High-Grade cave, which was specially built for pill refinement. In addition to the usual spiritual gathering, mind-calming, and restriction formations, there were also special temperature control, humidification, and mirroring formations.

The mirroring formation was specially arranged so that people outside could directly see the pill refinement situation inside.

It was aimed at pill masters like Pill Master Zou who helped people refine pills.

However, only the pill seeker was allowed to watch from the outside.

Of course, whether these formations were activated was determined by the pill master holding the control jade token.

“Pill Master Li, are you here to refine pills too?” Arriving at the cave rental area in the inner city, he indeed encountered Pill Master Zou.

He was accompanied by three people, one of whom was very familiar to him, and was the first place winner among Tier 1 Pill Masters over the years, and also Pill Master Zou’s closed disciple, Xie Gui.

The other two looked like the people who were looking for Pill Master Zou to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.

“Pill Master Xie, nice to meet you, I had a flash of inspiration today and am just trying it out,” Li Ji’an replied with a smile.

Then, he cupped his fist towards Pill Master Zou to greet him: “Greetings, Pill Master Zou.”

Pill Master Zou frowned slightly when he saw the jade token in Li Ji’an’s hand, and glanced at him sideways.

“Little Li, since you and Little Xie are on the same list, I’ll give you a few words of advice. We pill masters must not be too ambitious. It’s better to lay a good foundation before climbing up. You are still young and have plenty of time, so don’t be impatient. Top-grade pills don’t just rely on rich spiritual energy,” A Tier 1 Pill Master came here to rent a cave, and the purpose was self-evident.

It was nothing more than wanting to try refining top-grade pills.

But how easy were top-grade pills to refine? Ninety-nine point nine nine percent of pill masters couldn’t produce a top-grade pill in their lifetime.

At least Pill Master Zou had been refining pills for nearly two hundred years and had not yet refined a top-grade pill.

Li Ji’an nodded in agreement and thanked him for his teachings.

Li Ji’an knew something about Pill Master Zou. It couldn’t be said that he had many bad intentions, but he only liked to act old and sell old, showing his sense of existence.

His ability to show his face in public at the auction was a clear example.

Without staying any longer, Li Ji’an entered the cave he rented on his own.

Pill Master Zou glared at Xie Gui as he watched Li Ji’an’s back: “Don’t learn from him.”

“Disciple knows,” Xie Gui quickly replied.

“Pill Master Zou is kind and willing to guide juniors who have no relationship with him, which is truly a model for us,” One of the people who asked him to refine pills hurriedly complimented.

“Yes, with Pill Master Zou’s reputation in Immortal City, which loose cultivator pill master wouldn’t want to get your guidance,” The other person also hurriedly echoed.

Pill Master Zou waved his hand with a smile: “I also came from that time, a loose cultivator without any support. Without the guidance of a master, it’s always easy to make mistakes. When I meet them, I’ll give them a few words of advice. Whether they can listen to it depends on their own good fortune.”

Then Pill Master Zou entered the cave alone.

Xie Gui looked at the slightly nervous two people and comforted them: “You two don’t need to worry. My master has refined no less than fifty furnaces of Foundation Establishment Pills. Although he didn’t guarantee you success in pill formation, it was also to avoid disputes. The actual pill formation rate is guaranteed.”

“Yes, yes, we are naturally convinced that we can find Pill Master Zou. We don’t ask for top-grade pills, as long as two genuine pills are enough,” The two hurriedly said.

—

“Little Fire, I’m counting on you this time.” Inside the Tier 2 High-Grade cave, Li Ji’an activated all the formations except for the mirroring one, and then activated a restriction talisman. Then, he looked inside at the Fire Spirit in his dantian and transmitted his divine sense.

The little Fire Spirit nodded frequently in Li Ji’an’s dantian.

Then, Li Ji’an stopped thinking and swallowed a Mind-Replenishing Pill, and then took a Qi-Replenishing Pill.

After adjusting his breath for a moment, the Tier 2 High-Grade pill furnace that Pill Master Zou couldn’t even get to show his face appeared in the cave.

Immediately afterwards, two sets of Foundation Establishment Pill medicinal materials were laid out in order.

“Let’s begin!”