Cultivating Immortality Begins with Rejuvenation

The north wind howled, and winter was approaching.

The sights and sounds of this return to his old home further strengthened Li Ji'an's determination to stay in the Immortal Palace and not take another step out.

With his current Blood Exchange completion, mastery of the enhanced version of the "Drifting Duckweed Step" movement technique, and a few rudimentary Qi and Blood activation methods he had researched, he could be considered a first-class martial artist in the world. However, facing the impending turmoil, it was difficult to guarantee that he would not be swept up by the general trend.

The Immortal Palace was still the safest.

No matter how chaotic it was outside, the Immortal Palace was always peaceful, and the supply of resources was sufficient. Most people were working hard to become Immortal Seedlings, except for Li Ji'an.

After completing the Blood Exchange, his internal energy cultivation had clearly slowed down, and he was more focused on the external Qi and Blood-activated killing methods.

He was afraid that there would be another problem with the Immortal Seedling in the next Immortal Ceremony, and he would be forced into it.

Not to mention being fully prepared, at least he had to do his best to maximize his armament before he could enter the cultivation world.

"Old Shi, same as usual, best two out of three, how about it?" This day, Li Ji'an came to the Immortal Palace's Sutra Depository again.

This place was built by the emperor to collect martial arts from all over the world, and only reserve Immortal Seedlings who ultimately failed to ascend to the Immortal Realm were qualified to enter, with the aim of cultivating martial arts power for the dynasty.

In theory, one could only enter after the age of thirty, when they had completely lost the possibility of becoming an Immortal Seedling. However, over the past hundred years, only ten people were able to ascend with the Immortal Master every ten years. The ultimate fate of many reserve Immortal Seedlings was failure, so this rule had long been changed. As long as one did not ascend in the first Immortal Ceremony, one could enter.

The only shortcoming was that the permissions were limited to the lower three levels.

If one wanted to go higher, one had to join the imperial court and accumulate meritorious service.

Moreover, these lower three levels corresponded to Blood Exchange, Marrow Cleansing, and Viscera Refining.

Li Ji'an had just entered Marrow Cleansing and was progressing slowly, so theoretically he could only enter the first level and practice second-rate martial arts.

Fortunately, in the past three years, Li Ji'an, who knew how to tease the old man, had already become close to Old Shi, the Sutra Depository's caretaker.

In the early days, he patiently taught him to play chess, which gradually made Old Shi, who lacked entertainment and was just waiting to die, addicted.

Later, he was able to freely enter and exit the lower three levels as he wished.

"Hey, kid, you've come at the right time. This old man has been working hard for three nights, specifically researching ways to deal with you. See if I don't leave you in tatters today!" When Old Shi heard Li Ji'an's voice, he immediately put down the messy chess score he was drawing, and a pair of old eyes gleamed.

"Oh? Since you're so confident, why not raise the stakes?" Li Ji'an took the opportunity to push back.

Old Shi was just about to agree, then vigilantly glared at Li Ji'an: "What? Don't tell me you want to go to the middle three levels? No, no, this old man still wants to retire here."

"Heh~ I thought you were so confident, Old Man. In that case, I know what to expect. Come on, take black and go first." Li Ji'an smiled and provoked him.

The result was without a doubt, Li Ji'an won narrowly in two consecutive games.

"Old Shi, your moves this time are indeed remarkable, you almost beat me. The only thing lacking is the courage and confidence to go forward, thank you for the concession!"

Leaving Old Shi still staring at the chessboard, unwilling to give up, Li Ji'an stepped onto the third floor of the Sutra Depository.

"Long-distance lightness skill, agility movement, fist techniques, palm techniques, saber techniques, staff techniques, sword techniques... Hmm, still lacking hidden weapons and defense..."

Coming almost once a month, he had studied a lot of popular martial arts in the past three years.

Although the power of the martial arts on the lower three levels to stimulate Qi and Blood was only about 30%, not worth Li Ji'an's painstaking study, it could be used as a basic knowledge reserve to accumulate a database for his Qi and Blood stimulation.

Based on these first and second-rate martial arts on the lower three levels, he had barely created half a set of fist techniques in three years, with Qi and Blood stimulation power comparable to that of a super-first-class technique, at least 50%.

The evening drum sounded, and Li Ji'an left the Sutra Depository.

"The hidden weapon martial arts are all a bit lacking, it's a pity that Ning Sujin hasn't learned the 'Rainstorm Pear Blossom Needle' yet... No hurry, after the Immortal Ceremony in five years, there will be plenty of time to plan."

Muttering Ning Sujin's name all the way, he returned to the courtyard and saw that Ning Sujin had been waiting for a long time.

"I have recently felt a sudden change in my destiny," Ning Sujin said without wasting words, with a calm expression.

Only with Li Ji'an could she communicate about this kind of vague feeling.

"How is it? Is it good or bad?" Li Ji'an instantly became serious.

Ning Sujin shook her head: "It's different from usual, neither good nor bad, unpredictable."

"In the past, when people around me were about to do something, I could sense the fortune, misfortune, good or bad of their actions. As for myself, I would also have a sense of good or bad when I was about to do something. But this time, I have not done anything to change things, but I suddenly sensed a change."

Li Ji'an frowned for a moment: "Someone wants to do something to you?"

"Most likely," Ning Sujin echoed.

"However, no matter how I deduce it, I cannot resolve it."

"Escaping the imperial city won't work either?"

"All possibilities have been tried, but none can be changed."

In these five years, Ning Sujin had been diligently cultivating and was about to complete Marrow Cleansing. If there were no accidents, she should be able to achieve Viscera Refining in the Immortal Ceremony five years later, and have a chance to become an Immortal Seedling.

The sudden change at this moment made her feel quite powerless.

"Now that the Duke's power is at its peak, and there's also Uncle Chen and your maternal grandfather, you still can't change it... Could it be, the Immortal Master?" Li Ji'an reasonably speculated.

"Immortal Master?" Ning Sujin's expression turned grave.

"There are still five years until the Immortal Ceremony, and since the Immortal Master descended a hundred years ago, the once-a-decade Immortal Master's descent has never changed..."

But other than the Immortal Master, Li Ji'an couldn't think of anyone who could forcibly influence her fate with Ning Sujin's current status and background, someone she couldn't even avoid.

Even if the emperor wanted to execute the Duke's entire family, she could hide in the mortal world in advance to avoid it.

"What about me?"

Ning Sujin shook her head, there was no change.

"What about the Duke?"

She also shook her head.

…

So this was really aimed at Ning Sujin.

After a long silence, Ning Sujin let out a long breath.

"Ji'an, did you really refuse Aunt's intention because of your desire to seek immortality?"

In fact, she had this feeling five days ago. Coming to Li Ji'an today was not to find a solution, but to truly accept her fate after losing control of her destiny.

But at the same time as accepting her fate, the ten years of interaction, five years in Chong'an Prefecture plus five years in the Immortal Palace, had unknowingly taken root in the depths of Li Ji'an's heart. Even today, after calmly reflecting on herself, she realized that Li Ji'an's position in her heart had almost suppressed her brother, whom she had been obsessed with since childhood.

She didn't know if there would be a future after this change in destiny.

Li Ji'an saw through Ning Sujin's thoughts, smiled wryly, and nodded firmly.

"Nonsense! You've only just entered Marrow Cleansing, and your progress has been slow in the past three years. There's no hope for the Immortal Ceremony in five years. You should give up the thought of becoming an immortal in this life." Ning Sujin suddenly became a little anxious.

But I still have a next life.

Li Ji'an could only smile awkwardly.

"So, you don't want to hold me back, because you understand me? Right?" Ning Sujin suddenly stood up, staring at Li Ji'an with fiery eyes.

"Is there really no way to resolve it?"

"No!"