txolops Chapter 156 The Demon's Trail
Chapter 156 The Demon's Trail
Several months later.
On the way from Xiancheng to Gaojishan.
A black shuttle sped across the sky.
As the shuttle flew by, Li Ping sat cross-legged, with Bai Lin and Ji Shuxuan sitting cross-legged beside him.
Li Ping's trip to Gaojishan was mainly to attend the foundation-building ceremony held by the Bai family for Bai Qing.
Cultivation families are different from independent cultivators, especially a cultivation family like the Bai family, whose patriarch is about to pass away.
Now that a Foundation Establishment cultivator has finally been born, of course we should hold a grand Foundation Establishment Ceremony for him.
Not only should it be a grand event, but the entire clan should also celebrate, and many people from Tongdao should be invited to attend. Li Ping was naturally among those invited.
Li Ping's gaze fell on Ji Shuxuan beside him.
Ji Shuxuan came to Fenglan Immortal City when he was sixteen years old. At that time, his cultivation level was only the second level of Qi Refining. Fourteen years later, he is now thirty years old and his cultivation level has broken through to the sixth level of Qi Refining. He is not far from advancing to the late stage of Qi Refining.
The reason Li Ping brought him along on this trip was because Ji Shuxuan was preparing to return to Jiang State soon to accompany Master Ji through the last period of his life.
This time, he came to Gaojishan specifically to say goodbye to Yan Hengchuan.
Li Ping had already given him a Qi Condensation Pill. After returning to Fenglan Immortal City from Gaoji Mountain, he would go into seclusion to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining before returning home.
Of course, in accordance with Master Ji's family development strategy of not putting all his eggs in one basket, he will eventually return to the Immortal City to cultivate.
In this way, even if the matter of the underground spiritual vein of Xiaomei Mountain is really exposed, the Ji family will still have a branch of blood outside, so the entire clan will not be wiped out.
Compared to Ji Shuxuan, Yan Hengchuan's cultivation speed is much faster.
His spiritual root aptitude was indeed inferior to Ji Shuxuan's, but he cultivated a top-tier demonic art. Although it had great potential for future troubles, his cultivation speed was much faster than that of ordinary cultivation techniques.
Yan Hengchuan is twenty-nine years old this year. Last year, he had already reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining. At that time, Li Ping gave him a Qi Condensation Pill.
More than half of the year has passed, and he guesses that Yan Hengchuan should have broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining!
It must be said that although demonic cultivators are hated, their demonic arts also have their merits.
If Yan Hengchuan had been practicing ordinary cultivation techniques, given his aptitude, he probably wouldn't even have reached the sixth level of Qi Refining by now, let alone the late stage of Qi Refining.
……
Arrive at Gaojishan.
Li Ping soon met with the Bai family patriarch and Bai Qing.
The old patriarch of the Bai family looked frail and aged, with dark energy gathering in his forehead, appearing and disappearing intermittently, clearly indicating that his time was not far off.
However, he was in good spirits. When Li Ping saw him a few years ago, he was also cheerful, but Li Ping could sense the lingering anxiety in his heart.
But now, the patriarch of the Bai family looked calm, with a genuine smile on his face, seemingly unconcerned about his impending death.
"Fellow Daoist Li."
He greeted Li Ping with a smile, and Li Ping smiled and nodded in return: "Fellow Daoist Bai looks quite well; you're still going strong for your age!"
"Not at all, not at all. I am old and frail. The future belongs to you young people. Please come in, please come in!" The Bai family patriarch chuckled as he invited Li Ping into Gaojishan.
Bai Qing stood beside the Bai family patriarch, nodded to Li Ping, but did not say anything more, following the patriarch's lead in everything.
Naturally, as one of only two Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Bai family, he would take charge of the entire Bai family after the Bai family patriarch passed away.
It is worth mentioning that he is different from Zhang Tie, Gu Musheng, and Cheng Yao.
The three of them purchased the Foundation Establishment Pill by participating in the Immortal City Auction. After successfully establishing their foundation, they would need to become disciples of True Person Fenglan and serve the Immortal City for life, without any freedom.
Bai Qing obtained the Foundation Establishment Pill by entering the Qingyun Secret Realm to collect herbs. Even after achieving Foundation Establishment, he remained free.
At Bai Qing's age, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he could easily remain in charge of Gaojishan for two hundred years.
This is probably the reason for the change in the mindset of the Bai family patriarch. He has lived for more than two hundred years and no longer cares about his own life and death. The only thing he cares about is the future of the family.
Now that Bai Qing has broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, he no longer has any worries and can go with peace of mind.
After exchanging pleasantries with the Bai family patriarch for a few moments, a Bai family Qi Refining cultivator led Li Ping to the VIP room to rest.
Li Ping finally had time to meet Yan Hengchuan.
Speaking of which, since he handed the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations True Scripture to Yan Hengchuan last time, Yan Hengchuan has been cultivating outside the city, and he has not seen this little guy for more than ten years.
Upon seeing Li Ping, Yan Hengchuan immediately bowed respectfully: "Grandmaster!"
Upon seeing Yan Hengchuan again, Li Ping couldn't help but be secretly alarmed by his transformation.
The once chubby-cheeked boy has now grown into a burly, fierce-looking man with several scars on his face, seemingly left by some kind of demonic beast. He exudes a faint aura of malevolence, clearly indicating that he has killed many people over the years.
Cultivating the "Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations True Scripture" requires essence blood as an auxiliary material, so Yan Hengchuan's killing spree is quite normal.
Previously, Li Ping had worried that Yan Hengchuan would target human cultivators, but over the years, he hadn't heard of any demonic cultivators appearing near the Immortal City. Clearly, Yan Hengchuan had been restraining himself, using only the essence blood of demonic beasts for his cultivation. Highly recommend "Immortality Begins with Inheriting the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation"! Click to enter the story world.
Previously, Li Ping was worried that Yan Hengchuan would target human cultivators, but over the years, he had not heard of any demonic cultivators appearing near the Immortal City. Clearly, Yan Hengchuan had been restraining himself and had been using the essence blood of demonic beasts to practice his skills.
"You've reached the late stage of Qi Refining, not bad." Li Ping nodded slightly.
Ji Shuxuan, standing nearby, leaned closer to Yan Hengchuan and couldn't help but ask, "Hengchuan, how did you train? How come your cultivation speed is faster than mine?"
Yan Hengchuan, of course, would not reveal that he practiced demonic arts. He smiled and explained, "Shuxuan, I once had the opportunity to consume a Jade Spirit Fruit in the wild, which is why my cultivation level surpassed yours."
"Tsk tsk...you're so lucky." Ji Shuxuan's words were tinged with envy.
After receiving Li Ping's permission, the two childhood friends left the room and began to share their recent experiences.
Upon hearing that Ji Shuxuan was about to return to Jiang State, Yan Hengchuan took out paper and pen, wrote a letter home, and gave it to him to take back.
After he finished everything, he went back inside to pay his respects to Li Ping.
Li Ping waved his hand and released a spell that isolated sound and divine sense.
Yan Hengchuan then solemnly said, "Grandmaster, through the connection of our shared magical power, I can sense that the aura of that old demon Yan Liming has suddenly disappeared."
"The aura has disappeared?" A thoughtful look appeared in Li Ping's eyes.
After Yan Hengchuan cultivated the "Foundation-Seizing Method", he was able to roughly determine Yan Liming's location by refining Yan Liming's Blood God Seed into his magic power.
Of course, this perception is one-sided.
Yan Liming was unable to sense Yan Hengchuan in reverse through this, and he probably didn't even know that Yan Hengchuan had also cultivated the "Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations True Scripture".
Prior to this, Yan Hengchuan had been able to contact Yan Liming through his magic and sense that Yan Liming was still cultivating deep in the Cloud and Mist Mountains.
But recently, he suddenly couldn't sense the other person's presence anymore.
The "Method of Seizing the Foundation" is a path of no return. Once you have practiced this method, you will no longer be able to build a foundation through orthodox methods except by seizing the foundation.
Therefore, Yan Liming is now actually involved in Yan Hengchuan's path to enlightenment. If something really happens to him, then Yan Hengchuan will never have the chance to establish his foundation in this lifetime.
Of course he would feel anxious.
"Yes, I can't sense his presence at all. With the domineering nature of the Foundation Seizure Technique, even if he escapes ten thousand miles away in one breath, I can still vaguely sense a trace of him." Yan Hengchuan's expression was slightly grim: "Unless he died in the Cloud Mist Mountains."
Li Ping shook his head: "That old devil Yan Liming is cruel and extremely cunning. Since he dared to venture deep into the Cloud Mist Mountains in an attempt to cultivate and establish his foundation there, he shouldn't die so easily in the mouths of demonic beasts."
"But..." Yan Hengchuan was interrupted by Li Ping before he could finish speaking.
"Hengchuan, don't let your concern cloud your judgment. The prerequisite for using the Foundation Seizure Technique is that your cultivation level must reach at least the ninth level of Qi Refining," Li Ping reminded him. "Your own cultivation level is fundamental. You should improve your cultivation level first, otherwise even if Yan Liming reappears, you will not be able to seize his foundation."
Yan Hengchuan took a deep breath and nodded, saying, "Yes, Grandmaster!"
……
Li Ping stayed at Gaojishan for several days.
The day of Bai Qing's Foundation Building Ceremony arrived, and on this day, Zhang Tie, Gu Musheng, and Cheng Yao, who had been invited, also came to Gaojishan.
Among them, Cheng Yao and her husband Wang Xingwei came together.
Under Cheng Yao's management, the Wang family is now honestly running Yanxia Mountain and is gradually getting on the right track.
Normally, Cheng Yao works in Xiancheng, while Wang Xingwei is stationed at Yanxia Mountain.
On the occasion of Bai Qing's Foundation Establishment Ceremony, the simultaneous arrival of five Foundation Establishment cultivators, including Li Ping, at Gaoji Mountain can be said to have given Bai Qing and the Bai family a great deal of face!
The Bai family had deliberately arranged for all five of them to be in the most prominent positions in the main hall, in order to demonstrate their powerful network of connections.
And this tactic worked.
Those invited by the Bai family to attend the Bai Qing Foundation Establishment Ceremony were mainly cultivation families near the Immortal City, including the dozen or so Foundation Establishment families and the Qi Refining families under the rule of the Bai family.
The invited guests were naturally shocked to see that the newly promoted Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Bai family had managed to invite five fellow cultivators of the same level to his Foundation Establishment ceremony.
Even those who had secretly harbored designs on Gaojishan before now obediently put away their plans.
Meanwhile, the Bai family patriarch secretly observed the changes in their expressions, and a satisfied smile appeared in his eyes.
After his death, only Bai Qing remained to support the Bai family.
As a newly established Foundation Establishment cultivator, he cannot escape the gaze of those prying eyes, and he may not be able to protect the blessed land of Gaojishan.
But now, after a foundation-building ceremony showcasing their network of connections, the Bai family of Gaojishan can be said to be as stable as Mount Tai for at least the next two hundred years.
After his passing, the Bai family will face a shortage of Foundation Establishment cultivators. With another two hundred years to prepare, the Bai family will have enough time to cultivate another Foundation Establishment cultivator.
As the Bai family patriarch pondered, his gaze fell upon the handsome young man following behind him, and a sigh appeared in his eyes: "It's a pity that we couldn't gather enough merit points for a Foundation Establishment Pill during this trip to the secret realm. Otherwise, Zheng Heng, being a dual-elemental root, would have had a very high success rate in establishing his foundation if he had a Foundation Establishment Pill."
If the Bai family truly possessed two Foundation Establishment cultivators simultaneously, they would not be content to remain confined to Gaoji Mountain.
They will expand outwards and occupy more spiritual veins.