Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 178: Cultivation in the Tiansha Mountain Range (Long Chapter)

Lady She led Li An directly towards the south.

"To be honest, Fellow Daoist Lin, I used to cultivate on the 'Lingyun Mountain' in the south. Although the spiritual veins of Lingyun Mountain are also of the fourth grade, the malevolent energy there is the least among the fourth-grade spiritual veins."

As they walked, Lady She continued, "Recently, because I made some contributions, the mountain master allowed me to enter the third-grade spiritual veins for cultivation. The spiritual veins where I used to be temporarily became vacant."

Li An understood in his heart that if he hadn't performed well in front of the mountain master and Xiao Ying, Lady She wouldn't have brought him here.

For such a core interest as spiritual veins, the favor he gave was far from enough!

"This is Lingyun Mountain."

The two landed in front of several peaks. "The Lingyun Mountain spiritual veins involve a total of four peaks: the Lingdong Peak, the Lingjing Peak, the Lingyuan Peak, and the Lingsha Peak. Among them, the Lingsha Peak is where the malevolent energy gathers and is difficult to utilize, but the other three are all good."

Lady She spoke and then waved her spiritual power in front of the mountain, causing a formation ripple to appear.

Several rays of light flew out from the mountain.

"Sister She, why have you come back? Oh, who is this?"

The first to arrive was a beautiful woman. She had a full figure and a charming appearance, exuding a seductive charm.

When she asked the question, another ray of light had already descended. It was a man with a perpetually furrowed brow. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, but there was an inexplicable sense of hostility in his eyes as he said, "Fellow Daoist She—"

Lady She smiled and said, "I brought Fellow Daoist Lin An here. He has just joined the sect under Mountain Master Bai and gained his approval. He needs to find a fourth-grade spiritual vein for cultivation."

Both of them glanced at Li An, and the beautiful woman's eyes showed surprise.

"I am Lin An, a talisman master. I am new to this place, and I hope that both of you Fellow Daoists can take care of me."

Li An cupped his hands in greeting.

"He will live in my former Lingjing Peak for cultivation. What do you think?" Lady She asked.

"If Sister She brought him here, there is nothing we need to worry about. Fellow Daoist Lin, welcome," the beautiful woman said with a smile.

The middle-aged man nodded slightly.

...

Immediately, Li An entered the Lingyun Mountain and ascended the Lingjing Peak.

The four peaks of Lingyun Mountain were adjacent to each other, and the spiritual energy was not weak. Although there was some malevolent energy, it was indeed considered superior compared to what he had encountered along the way!

The main reason was that the terrain here was peculiar. Although the entire spiritual vein was polluted by malevolent energy, the Lingsha Peak concentrated a large amount of malevolent energy, relieving the other three peaks of a considerable burden.

Li An also knew that the beautiful woman's name was Zhou Libai, a third-rank puppet master who lived on the Lingdong Peak.

The middle-aged man was named Xiang Yuntian, a sword cultivator who lived on the Lingyuan Peak.

They were all True Dan cultivators!

In addition to the two of them, there was also Zhou Libai's husband, Baji Jian, a weapon refiner. He was in seclusion and had not come out to meet anyone.

There was also the cave left behind by Lady She on the Lingjing Peak. She familiarized Li An with the environment, gave some instructions, and then left.

...

On the peak of Lingjing Peak, only Li An remained.

Feeling the spiritual pulse around him, Li An felt quite delighted.

From today onwards, he could truly set foot in the Tian Sha Mountain Range.

First, he set up two sets of second-level formations on Lingjing Peak to conceal his presence. Then, he repaired and renovated Madam She's cave dwelling before setting up a third-level formation around it!

After completing all this, he entered the cave dwelling.

"The spiritual energy is not weak, and the malevolent energy is quite strong!"

Feeling it, Li An couldn't help but smile.

Here, he could simultaneously cultivate the Life-Nurturing Immortal Casting Technique and the Demon Technique!

For him, it was definitely a treasure trove.

But what he wanted to go to the most was the Ling Sha Peak.

The ratio of spiritual energy to malevolent energy on Lingjing Peak was roughly five to one.

In other words, for every five portions of spiritual energy absorbed, there would be one portion of malevolent energy.

On the other hand, Ling Sha Peak concentrated a large amount of malevolent energy. Just by sensing it from afar, the ratio of spiritual energy to malevolent energy was at least three to one!

But if he were to go there now, it would definitely seem abrupt and strange. Therefore, Li An was not in a hurry. He would wait patiently and plan carefully.

Moreover, besides Ling Sha Peak, there were many areas within Lord Bai's territory where the malevolent energy was even stronger, to the point where no one could cultivate the spiritual pulse!

He reviewed the current situation.

The spiritual pulse had already found a place, and both the Life-Nurturing Immortal Casting Technique and the Indestructible Demon Technique could be cultivated normally. The Yin Qi and Demon Qi could both grow simultaneously.

Among the main cultivation techniques, the Golden Treasury Art temporarily did not lack the necessary metal materials and could support him for a period of time.

The Three Elements Slash had already reached a preliminary stage. This was his main method of combat, and with his current level of spiritual power, its power was very strong, posing a threat to those in the Mid True Dan stage.

However, his talismans and formations were currently in a predicament.

As for formations, during his time in the Jiang family, he had not obtained the materials for a fourth-level formation. Fortunately, with his current level, he could only create third-level formations from the Demon Sect's formation inheritance, and the strength of the Demon Sect's third-level formations far exceeded that of ordinary third-level formations. For now, it was enough.

He just needed to pay attention and look for fourth-level materials.

But talismans...

He urgently needed a fourth-level talisman inheritance!

The talisman inheritances he had on hand only went up to the third level. Currently, third-level runes were no longer a challenge for him, and he could already attempt to break through to the fourth level.

"Do you have any fourth-level talisman inheritances within the Demon Sect?"

He couldn't help but ask Shangguan Xiaoxiao.

"Do you think our Demon Sect collects junk? Do we have everything?"

Shangguan Xiaoxiao disdainfully said, "Talismans are too low-level, they are just the introductory methods of the Celestial Master Dao... In the past, our sect destroyed several Celestial Master Dao inheritances, but I was too busy at the time and didn't have time to learn."

Li An: "..."

"Then alchemy, artifact forging, medical skills... all the various professions of cultivation, what else have you learned?"

He decided to completely empty Shangguan Xiaoxiao in one go!

"Only formations, formations that were only used as a reference when playing chess with my master back then... Cultivating immortality is a burden. If I can refine the Immortal Demon Technique to perfection, any formations or talismans can be broken with a single punch."

When mentioning the Immortal Demon Technique, she was extremely domineering, and at the same time, she became more and more helpless towards Li An.

The extremely domineering Immortal Demon Technique had to fall on someone like Li An!

This is so frustrating.

He's really too weak!

"Well... I've also learned some alchemy and have some basic techniques that I can give you."

Shangguan Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, waved her hand, and a message rushed into Li An's mind.

Li An hurriedly checked.

"Alchemy technique, up to the fourth rank!"

He was immediately filled with joy.

Just this fourth rank alchemy technique alone was invaluable.

Moreover, he had indeed planned to learn alchemy in the near future.

Previously, Li An didn't involve himself in this art mainly because his aptitude was too poor and his spiritual roots were not good enough.

After all, alchemy and artifact refining were the most sought-after professions in the cultivation world, but they also had the highest threshold. One must have sufficient spiritual root sensitivity. It was not like talismans, where as long as you were willing to work hard and had resources to invest, you would always gain something.

In fact, formations also required high comprehension and spiritual roots. Higher-level formations were often ever-changing and mysterious, and only geniuses could achieve them.

But low-level basic formations and talismans had similarities in that they had patterns to follow. So, at this stage, he had not encountered any difficulties in formations.

Now, after three hundred years of nurturing his life seed, Li An's spiritual roots had reached the lower-grade Profound level!

Generally speaking, with lower-grade Profound level spiritual roots, one could easily build a Foundation and had a relatively high chance of forming a Nascent Soul. It could be considered as being a genius.

Alchemy naturally could also be involved.

This was the extraordinary aspect of the Life Nurturing and Immortal Casting Technique. As long as he kept enduring and living, after years of changes, he would eventually reap rewards!

He determined his next goals.

First, learn alchemy.

Second, find a fourth rank talisman inheritance.

Third, collect materials for fourth rank formations, various high-grade metal materials, etc.

Of course, the most important thing was to find an opportunity to cultivate in spiritual veins with even heavier spiritual energy, such as the Ling Sha Peak.

"Are you hungry?"

Little Qing flew out from his sleeve, Li An fed it spiritual food, then let it stay in the cave on its own. After that, Li An got up and went to visit his neighbors on the other two peaks.

He first went to Ling Yuan Peak.

"No need for pleasantries, I'm busy!"

The sword cultivator, Xiang Yuntian, didn't even open the protective formation for him. Standing on the mountainside, he frowned and said, "If you have something to say, say it!"

This sword cultivator has quite the temper... Li An said, "I'm just here to pay a visit to my neighbor..."

"Well, forget it then."

Xiang Yuntian turned around directly.

Li An was stunned.

This person, really... lacks empathy.

"Oh, by the way,"

But suddenly, Xiang Yuntian turned his head again, "What gift are you giving me?"

Li An said, "Um... it's just a small token of appreciation."

He presented a box, which flew out of the formation and was caught by Xiang Yuntian. He opened it in front of him, took a glance, and nodded, "Alright, not stingy."

"Since you're so generous, how about I give you a gift too?"

He suddenly stared at Li An with a menacing look, "Remember this, stay away from that woman from Lingdong Peak, or... you'll die!"

In his eyes, there seemed to be a flash of killing intent. He carried the box given by Li An and turned to enter the mountain, closing the formation.

Li An: "..."

"Killing intent attacking the heart, causing mental confusion?"

Li An narrowed his eyes.

It was obvious that Xiang Yuntian had some issues, and he was heavily tainted with killing intent.

According to what Xiang Yuntian said, could it be that he had an illicit affair with Zhou Libai from Lingdong Peak? So he didn't want Li An to get involved?

After pondering for a moment, Li An didn't pay much attention and turned around to fly towards Lingdong Peak.

Compared to Xiang Yuntian's coldness, Zhou Libai was very enthusiastic towards Li An. She seemed to dress more revealingly on ordinary days, her dress was like a light veil, faintly visible, her demeanor was elegant but carried a seductive charm. She personally brewed tea for Li An, and a fragrant breeze wafted over.

"I heard from Sister She that Fellow Daoist Lin has a bird that the Mountain Lord likes very much. I wonder if you brought your bird? Can I have a look?"

Zhou Libai curiously asked.

Li An said, "It's just an ordinary little bird, somewhat spiritual. I left it at home... If Fellow Daoist wants to see it, you're welcome to visit anytime."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Libai laughed, "Great, I also have a butterfly, but my Dao companion is currently in seclusion. If there's a chance, I'll let my butterfly get closer to your little bird~~"

If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be emotionally stirred, inevitably causing some ripples in their heart. After all, Zhou Libai was truly beautiful, a well-mannered young woman with a hint of coquettishness, which made her very charming.

But Li An was cautious and presented a gift, saying, "I won't disturb Fellow Daoist Lin any longer--"

He bid farewell and left.

Both of these neighbors are not easy to deal with.

Sword cultivator Xiang Yuntian, with killing intent in his body, is a dangerous person who might go berserk at any moment.

Zhou Libai is even more of a troublemaker. Her Dao companion is in seclusion, but who knows if she's secretly involved with Xiang Yuntian...

It's best to avoid contact with them in the future.

...

In the blink of an eye, a year has passed.

"The Yin Qi has finally condensed into a strand!" Li An was delighted. He had absorbed a considerable amount of Yin Qi during his time in the Jiang family, and after a year of arduous cultivation, he had finally condensed a tangible strand of Yin Qi in his dantian.

The Qi was like moonlight, cold and profound, but it formed the foundation of the Purple Mansion.

If it weren't for the assistance of demonic cultivation, obtaining such a strand of Yin Qi would require at least seven to eight thousand high-grade spirit stones and the purchase of three to five rare and expensive spiritual herbs.

Seven to eight thousand high-grade spirit stones was not a small amount even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator like Li An. Without additional expenses specifically for cultivation, he only needed four to five hundred high-grade spirit stones per month.

He only had a little over sixty thousand high-grade spirit stones in total, and if he spent money on purchasing spiritual herbs to absorb Yin Qi, it wouldn't last long.

Foundation Establishment was already extremely difficult, and for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to attempt to break through to Nascent Soul was even more remote.

Even if one had sufficient aptitude, the required expenses were unimaginably exorbitant.

Nurturing the Purple Mansion and achieving Nascent Soul required the accumulation of resources at every step.

It could be said that the Undying Demonic Technique saved Li An a massive amount of spirit stones. At the very least, he didn't need to spend money to buy spiritual herbs to absorb Yin Qi.

However, absorbing from spiritual veins would be slower. While others could absorb a strand of Yin Qi in a day using spiritual herbs, Li An needed several years to obtain it from spiritual veins.

At the current rate, it would take at least two hundred years to achieve perfection in the Purple Mansion.

But Li An wasn't in a hurry!

"The accumulation of demonic Qi is relatively slow..." With a thought, a black demonic Qi was released from his lungs, intermingled with a metallic luster, covering his entire body densely.

The Undying Demonic Armor.

Li An was confident that a second-grade magical treasure would be completely unable to break his defense.

He had already made some progress.

The accumulation of demonic Qi was also important. In addition to the Undying Demonic Technique, if Li An wanted to cultivate other demonic Divine Abilities or spells in the future, he would also need to accumulate demonic Qi.

"The mastery of first-grade alchemy technique is complete..." He took out a bottle of recently refined pill - the Pure Malevolent Pill!

The Pure Malevolent Pill had a glossy and smooth appearance, worthy of being called a top-grade pill.

He was very satisfied. With his current divine sense, cultivation base, and spiritual roots as a foundation, his progress in learning alchemy was rapid. He became a first-grade alchemist in just one year, which was considered extremely fast.

And his main focus on refining the Pure Malevolent Pill was also deliberate.

In the Tian Sha Mountain Range, the Pure Malevolent Pill could be considered a hard currency! This was because most cultivators who cultivated here were practicing in the fourth-grade spiritual veins and would be contaminated by malevolent Qi. The Pure Malevolent Pill was the most useful item for purifying malevolent Qi.

After Li An could refine the Pure Malevolent Pill, he would have two benefits: firstly, he could sell it to increase his income, and secondly, he could conceal his own demonic cultivation.

After all, if Li An practiced in fourth-grade spiritual veins but had never purchased the Pure Malevolent Pill, it would definitely raise suspicions.

In addition, Li An is now completely familiar with the rules of the Tian Sha Mountain Range: tenants not only have to pay spiritual stones to the mountain lord, but they also have to maintain a certain "contribution". Otherwise, the grade of the spiritual vein they reside in will be downgraded, and if it can't be downgraded any further, they will be driven away.

There are two ways to obtain contributions: 1. Undertake tasks issued by the mountain lord. 2. Submit specific materials.

Among these materials is the Qing Sha Pill!

After all, the mountain lord wants to control the cultivators in the jurisdiction, so he will definitely control the essential materials they need. That's how Madam She was promoted to the third-grade spiritual vein.

The first-grade Qing Sha Pill is not very useful and has no effect on true pill cultivators. But when he becomes a second-grade alchemist, he can exchange Qing Sha Pills for contribution points.

...

Stretching and yawning, Xiao Qing stood on his shoulder like a stone statue.

The divine bird and he seemed to be symbiotic. In addition to spiritual stones and spiritual food, it had been relying on his life essence to cultivate.

The cultivation of the divine bird is faster than Li An's. It is about to break through to the mid-stage of the Gold Core realm.

In fact, this is already a situation where its progress has inexplicably slowed down after absorbing Li An's life essence. Otherwise, it should be even faster!

"Is Fellow Daoist Lin here?"

At this time, a voice came from outside.

Li An walked out and activated the second-level protective formation of the mountain, only to see a man and a woman walking up.

Zhou Libai, and her partner, the artifact refiner Ba Jijian.

Zhou Libai is still beautiful, charming, and well-proportioned, but Ba Jijian is thin and has sunken eye sockets, as if malnourished, giving off a heavy aura.

Li An was quite curious. He could tell that Zhou Libai had not practiced any Yin-Yang demonic techniques or similar methods, so why did she make a true pill cultivator look so emaciated?

Could it be that there really is an indestructible field in this world that even true pill cultivators can't handle?

"Fellow Daoists, please come in quickly—"

"Fellow Daoist Lin, we have come to invite you to join us."

Ba Jijian was silent, but Zhou Libai spoke, "We are planning to go to the Ghost Sha Valley to seek some opportunities. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Lin would like to come along?"

Li An also knew about the Ghost Sha Valley.

It is said that the reason why the Tian Sha Mountain Range is so full of malevolent energy is because there was once a bloody battle between humans and demons here, resulting in many cultivators' deaths.

Therefore, there are also many opportunities buried in the Tian Sha Mountain Range, including demon pills, demon flowers, and demon treasures. If you can obtain them and give them to the mountain lord, it counts as a contribution.

The contributions of Zhou Libai and her husband should be enough to exchange for a spiritual vein soon.

"Sorry, I am currently preparing to seclude myself for cultivation—"

Li An refused. In the first three years of entering the Tian Sha Mountain Range, he doesn't have to submit contributions, so he is not in a hurry.

Besides, he already has a method to exchange for contribution points in the future.

He doesn't want to go to dangerous places at all.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, you only have two years left. Won't you consider it? If you don't have enough contributions after two years, you may not even be able to stay in this fourth-grade spiritual vein..."

Zhou Libai reminded with a smile, "Even if you have a bird, it's useless. The rules are strict."

"Also... this trip to the Ghost Sha Valley was initiated by Fellow Daoist Bai Jiang. He sent us all invitations, but you were in seclusion and didn't receive it."

She took out an invitation and handed it to Li An. It turns out the invitation was for him.

"White Jiang is nurturing a talented spiritual beast. This time, he went to the Ghost Valley in search of an opportunity for the spiritual beast to transform into a demon. Once successful, White Jiang will be able to become an official subordinate of the White Mountain Lord along with the demon beast. At that time... Fellow Daoist Lin won't have to worry about offending him, right?"

Li An pondered.

He already understood that this White Jiang was actually Jiang Ribai!

Jiang Ribai came to pay respects to the White Mountain Lord and was almost killed. But he was smart enough to disable his ability to control beasts, exhaust all his resources, and heal a spiritual beast favored by the White Mountain Lord.

From then on, he received favor.

In the Tian Sha Mountain Range, if one can nurture a spiritual beast and help it transform into a demon, the nurturer's status will also rise.

It is said that there is a chance to enter the demon race!

The demon race, as the oldest power, has immeasurable heritage. Having the demon race as a backer is definitely more comfortable than being a lone cultivator.

For example, White Jiang, if he really succeeds, he can obtain all the resources within the jurisdiction of the White Mountain Lord.

The main resources of the White Mountain Lord are for the demon race, which is not very useful for most human cultivators!

Moreover, his status will also be very high.

Therefore, White Jiang's invitation can be accepted or not, but if not, one must consider whether it will offend him...

Li An pondered for a moment, "What about Fellow Daoist Xiang Yuntian?"

"He's just a piece of smelly stone in a pit, poor and stingy. He can't even afford the Qing Sha Pill, and he's already filled with demonic energy and almost dead. So naturally, he doesn't consider these things."

Zhou Libai mentioned Xiang Yuntian with disdain.

Li An couldn't help but be surprised. He used to think that Xiang Yuntian and Zhou Libai had a relationship...

But after thinking about it, Li An said, "Thank you for the reminder, but Lin An currently doesn't want to go."

Firstly, under the White Mountain Lord, not everyone gives face to Jiang Ribai. Li An is not alone.

Secondly, Li An has some relationship with the White Mountain Lord's side—Xiao Ying.

"Well, since that's the case, my husband and I won't insist."

Zhou Libai didn't say anything more and they left immediately.

After they left, Li An got up and prepared to go to Tian Sha City.

Just after leaving the Dong Mai Mountain area, he found a secluded place, changed his appearance, transformed into an old man, and headed straight for Tian Sha City.

He entered a stone temple.

Waited for a long time.

The true pill cultivators who came to participate in the trade gradually arrived, a total of four people, each exchanging what they needed.

Li An sold some things and then spoke up, "I would like to purchase a fourth-grade Town Demon Talisman."

The Town Demon Talisman is also a scarce item in the Tian Sha Mountain Range, and most cultivators will buy some. It is normal to buy this.

"Is a third-grade one okay?" one cultivator asked.

"No, I must use a fourth-grade one for the ruins I want to explore!" Li An shook his head. Seeing that none of the true pill cultivators had it, he compromised, "If you can provide information about a fourth-grade talisman master, that would also be acceptable—"

But in the end, he gained nothing.

Li An didn't give up. In the following period, he occasionally came out, and finally, one day, he heard a piece of information from a true pill cultivator:

"I do know one. Under the jurisdiction of Jie Shan, the master of the Nan Mai, there is a fourth-grade talisman master, but I haven't heard much about him in the past two years. Maybe he's in seclusion."

"This talisman master's surname is Cao, and he lives in the hidden Tai Valley of the Xi Mai."

Li An readily gave a reward.

"A fourth-grade talisman master..."

Now that he had a direction, he could start preparing slowly.

After returning to the White Mountain Lord's territory, he brought Xiao Qing to visit Miss Xiao Ying and presented her with many precious spiritual foods.

No matter where you are, cultivating relationships is very important!

"Why aren't you going to the Ghost Valley?" Xiao Ying ate the spiritual food he gave her, played with the little red bird, and said, "Although White Jiang's little lizard is ugly, the Lord really likes it..."

"It should be about to transform."

"You have to work hard and let Little Red transform quickly so that I can have a companion of the same kind to play with..."

Obviously, Xiao Ying liked the little red bird simply because it was of the same kind as her, both birds!

"Lin An will definitely work hard!"

Li An smiled faintly, but his heart trembled.

It seems that this Jiang Ribai... is really going to make a comeback?

...

More than ten days later, Zhou Libai and her husband returned.

They gained a lot!

"Fellow Daoist Lin, if you had gone, you would have earned enough contributions to stay here for ten years!"

Zhou Libai was excited, but Li An noticed that her husband, Baji Jian, looked extremely tired and had become thinner and more decadent.

"Congratulations," Li An only smiled and continued to cultivate.

But in the second month after Zhou Libai and her husband returned, one day, a voice came:

"Open the formation—"

This voice was familiar to Li An. After the Ling Yun Mountain Guardian Formation was activated, a white-robed old man arrived in mid-air and arrogantly said, "All the cultivators here, come out and see me!"

This person was none other than... Jiang Ribai!

Li An couldn't help but frown. What is he doing here?

(End of this chapter)