Chapter 155: Chapter 155: Concealed Demonic Traces

「Several months later.」

On the way from the Immortal City to Gaoji Mountain.

A black Flying Shuttle streaked across the sky.

Inside the Flying Shuttle, Li Ping sat cross-legged. Beside him, Bai Lin and Ji Shu Xuan were also seated cross-legged.

Li Ping’s trip to Gaoji Mountain was mainly to attend the Foundation Establishment ceremony the Bai family was holding for Bai Qing.

Cultivation Clans were different from Loose Cultivators, especially a Cultivation Clan like the Bai family, whose Old Ancestor was about to pass away.

Now that a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator had finally appeared, they naturally had to throw a grand Foundation Establishment ceremony for him.

Not only did they have to hold a grand event, but the entire clan would celebrate. They would also broadly invite fellow cultivators to witness the ceremony, and Li Ping had naturally received an invitation.

Li Ping’s gaze fell on Ji Shu Xuan beside him.

Ji Shu Xuan had come to Fenglan Immortal City at the age of sixteen. At that time, his Cultivation was only at the Qi Refining Second Level. Now, fourteen years later, he was thirty years old, and his Cultivation had broken through to the Qi Refining Sixth Level, not far from advancing to Late-stage Qi Refining.

The reason Li Ping had brought him on this trip was because Ji Shu Xuan was preparing to return to the Jiang Kingdom soon to accompany Daoist Ji through the final period of his life.

This time, he had come to Gaoji Mountain specifically to bid farewell to Yan Hengchuan.

Li Ping had already bestowed a Qi Condensing Pill upon him. After returning to Fenglan Immortal City from Gaoji Mountain, he would enter seclusion to break through to Late-stage Qi Refining, and then go home.

Of course, in accordance with Daoist Ji’s family development strategy of not putting all one’s eggs in one basket, he would still return to the Immortal City to cultivate afterward.

This way, even if the matter of the Underground Spirit Vein at Little Plum Mountain was truly exposed, the Ji family would still have a bloodline outside, ensuring the entire clan wouldn’t be wiped out.

Compared to Ji Shu Xuan, Yan Hengchuan’s cultivation speed was even faster.

His Spiritual Root aptitude was indeed inferior to Ji Shu Xuan’s, but he practiced a top-tier demonic technique. Although it came with great future troubles, its Cultivation growth speed was also much faster than that of ordinary Cultivation Techniques.

Yan Hengchuan was twenty-nine this year. Last year, he had already cultivated to the peak of the Qi Refining Sixth Level, at which point Li Ping had given him a Qi Condensing Pill.

More than half the year had passed, and Li Ping guessed that Yan Hengchuan should have already broken through to Late-stage Qi Refining!

’One has to admit, while Demon Cultivators are despised, demonic techniques have their merits.’

’If Yan Hengchuan were practicing a normal Cultivation Technique, with his aptitude, he probably wouldn’t even have reached the Qi Refining Sixth Level by now, let alone Late-stage Qi Refining.’

...

「Upon arriving at Gaoji Mountain.」

Li Ping soon met with the Bai family’s Old Ancestor and Bai Qing.

The Bai family’s Old Ancestor looked ancient and decrepit. The black qi lingering between his brows had coalesced into a faint, looming mass, a clear sign that his end was near.

However, his spirits were high. When Li Ping had seen him in previous years, although he had also been cheerful, Li Ping could sense the lingering anxiety in his heart.

But now, the Bai family’s Old Ancestor had a serene expression, and a genuine smile graced his face, as if he were completely unconcerned about his impending death.

"Fellow Daoist Li."

He greeted Li Ping with a smile. Li Ping also smiled and nodded slightly. "Fellow Daoist Bai, you look well. Still hale and hearty!"

"Not at all, not at all. This old man is getting on. The future belongs to you young people. Please, come in, come in!" The Bai family’s Old Ancestor chuckled as he invited Li Ping into Gaoji Mountain.

Bai Qing stood beside the Bai family’s Old Ancestor and nodded to Li Ping, but he didn’t say much, deferring completely to the Old Ancestor.

Naturally, as one of only two Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the Bai family, he would take charge of the entire clan after the Old Ancestor passed away.

It was worth noting that he was different from the trio of Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, and Cheng Yao.

The three of them had obtained their Foundation Establishment Pills by participating in the Immortal City’s auction. After successfully reaching Foundation Establishment, they had to take Fenglan Master as their master and serve the Immortal City for the rest of their lives, without any personal freedom.

Bai Qing, on the other hand, had obtained his Foundation Establishment Pill through Medicinal Collection in the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm. Even after reaching Foundation Establishment, he remained a free agent.

At Bai Qing’s age, barring any accidents, he could watch over Gaoji Mountain for two hundred years.

This was likely the reason for the change in the Bai family’s Old Ancestor’s mentality. Having lived for over two hundred years, he no longer cared about his own life and death; his only concern was the future of his clan.

Now that Bai Qing had broken through to Foundation Establishment, he had no more worries and could pass on in peace.

After exchanging pleasantries with the Bai family’s Old Ancestor for a short while, a Qi Refining Cultivator from the Bai family led Li Ping to a guest room to rest.

Li Ping finally had a chance to see Yan Hengchuan.

Speaking of which, ever since giving the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture to Yan Hengchuan, Li Ping hadn’t seen the little guy in about ten years, as Yan Hengchuan had been cultivating outside the city.

The moment he saw Li Ping, Yan Hengchuan immediately bowed respectfully. "Grandmaster!"

Seeing Yan Hengchuan again, Li Ping couldn’t help but be secretly shocked by his transformation.

The once chubby-cheeked, tiger-like boy had grown into a burly, fierce-looking man. His face bore several scars, apparently left by some kind of Demon Beast. A faint Evil Qi emanated from his entire body, a clear sign that he had killed many things over the years.

Cultivating the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture required essence blood as a supplementary material, so it was normal for Yan Hengchuan to have killed.

Previously, Li Ping had worried that he might target human Cultivators. But over the years, he hadn’t heard any news of Demon Cultivators appearing near the Immortal City. Evidently, Yan Hengchuan had been restraining himself, using only Demon Beast Essence Blood for his practice.

"You’ve reached Late-stage Qi Refining. Not bad." Li Ping nodded slightly.

Ji Shu Xuan, who was at the side, moved closer to Yan Hengchuan and couldn’t help but ask, "Hengchuan, how did you do it? How is your cultivation speed even faster than mine?"

Yan Hengchuan, of course, wouldn’t reveal that he was practicing a demonic technique. He smiled and explained, "Shu Xuan, I had a fortuitous encounter once and consumed a Jade Spirit Fruit in the wild. That’s why my Cultivation surpassed yours."

"Tsk tsk... you and your luck." There was envy in Ji Shu Xuan’s voice.

After receiving Li Ping’s permission, the two childhood friends left the room and began catching up on each other’s recent experiences.

And upon hearing that Ji Shu Xuan was returning to the Jiang Kingdom soon, Yan Hengchuan also took out a brush and paper, wrote a letter home, and gave it to him to take back.

Only after everything was taken care of did he enter the room alone again to see Li Ping.

Li Ping waved his hand, casting a spell that blocked out both sound and Divine Sense.

Only then did Yan Hengchuan speak with a solemn expression. "Grandmaster, through the connection of our homologous Magical Power, I can sense that the old demon Yan Liming’s aura has suddenly vanished."

"His aura vanished?" A contemplative look appeared in Li Ping’s eyes.

After cultivating the ’Dao Foundation Seizure Method’, because he had refined Yan Liming’s Blood God Seed into his Magical Power, Yan Hengchuan could vaguely determine Yan Liming’s location through the homologous Magical Power in his body.

Of course, this connection was one-sided.

Yan Liming couldn’t use it to sense Yan Hengchuan in return. In fact, he most likely didn’t even know that Yan Hengchuan was also cultivating the Blood Spirit Hundred Transformations Scripture.

Before this, Yan Hengchuan had always been able to sense, through their Magical Power connection, that Yan Liming was still cultivating deep within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.

But recently, he had suddenly lost the ability to sense the other’s aura.

The ’Dao Foundation Seizure Method’ was a path of no return. Once one cultivated this method, there was no way to reach Foundation Establishment through orthodox means, other than by seizing a Dao Foundation.

Therefore, Yan Liming’s fate was now directly tied to Yan Hengchuan’s own path of cultivation. If something had really happened to him, Yan Hengchuan would never have a chance to reach Foundation Establishment in his lifetime.

He was naturally anxious.

"Yes, I can’t sense his aura at all. Given the domineering nature of the Dao Foundation Seizure Method, even if he fled a hundred thousand li away in one breath, I should still have a faint sense of him." Yan Hengchuan’s expression was a little grim. "Unless... he died in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range."

Li Ping shook his head. "That old demon Yan Liming is cruel and extremely cunning. Since he dared to venture deep into the Cloud Mist Mountain Range to attempt his Foundation Establishment, he wouldn’t be so careless as to die easily to a Demon Beast."

"But..." Yan Hengchuan was interrupted by Li Ping before he could finish.

"Hengchuan, don’t let your anxiety cloud your judgment. The prerequisite for using the Dao Foundation Seizure Method is that your Cultivation must reach at least the Qi Refining Ninth Level," Li Ping reminded him. "Your own Cultivation is the foundation of everything. Focus on raising your Cultivation first. Otherwise, even if Yan Liming reappears, you won’t be able to seize his Dao Foundation."

Yan Hengchuan took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, Grandmaster!"

...

Li Ping stayed at Gaoji Mountain for several days.

The day of Bai Qing’s Foundation Establishment ceremony arrived. On this day, the invited trio of Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, and Cheng Yao also came to Gaoji Mountain.

Among them, the married couple Cheng Yao and Wang Xingwei arrived together.

Under Cheng Yao’s management, the Wang family was now diligently managing Mist and Smoke Mountain, and things were gradually getting on the right track.

Normally, Cheng Yao served in the Immortal City, while Wang Xingwei oversaw Mist and Smoke Mountain.

On the occasion of Bai Qing’s Foundation Establishment ceremony, Li Ping and four other Foundation Establishment Cultivators simultaneously arrived at Gaoji Mountain, giving immense face to both Bai Qing and the Bai family!

The seats for the five of them were all specially arranged by the Bai family in the most conspicuous part of the main hall, to show off their powerful connections.

And this move indeed had its intended effect.

The guests invited by the Bai family to attend Bai Qing’s Foundation Establishment ceremony were mainly Cultivation Clans from near the Immortal City, including more than ten Foundation Establishment Clans and the Qi Refining clans under the Bai family’s rule.

Those invited guests were naturally stunned to see that the Bai family’s newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivator was actually able to invite five of his peers to attend his own Foundation Establishment ceremony.

Even those who had previously harbored designs on Gaoji Mountain obediently put away their schemes.

Meanwhile, the Bai family’s Old Ancestor secretly observed the changes in their expressions, a satisfied smile appearing in his eyes.

After he passed away, the Bai family would only have Bai Qing to support the clan.

As a newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he alone would not be able to fend off the gazes of prying eyes, and might not be able to protect the blessed land of Gaoji Mountain.

But now, after a Foundation Establishment ceremony that showcased their network of connections, the Gaoji Mountain Bai family could be said to be as steady as Mount Tai for at least the next two hundred years.

By surviving the transitional period after his passing where the Bai family’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators were scarce, and with a two-hundred-year buffer, it would be enough time for the Bai family to cultivate another Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

As the Bai family’s Old Ancestor pondered, his gaze fell on the delicate-featured youth following behind him, and a sigh escaped him. ’It’s a pity that during this trip to the secret realm, we couldn’t gather enough merit for a Foundation Establishment Pill. Otherwise, with Zheng Heng’s Dual Spirit Root, his chances of reaching Foundation Establishment would be very high if he had a Pill in hand.’

’If the Bai family really had two Foundation Establishment Cultivators at the same time, they would no longer be content to just sit and guard Gaoji Mountain.’

’They would expand outward and occupy more Spirit Veins.’

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