Chapter 90: Chapter 90: Promise, Name

From Daoist Ji’s account, Li Ping finally learned what had happened.

Two years ago, after receiving Li Ping’s reply, Daoist Ji had taken two rookies who had just entered the Immortal Dao and followed a merchant caravan toward the Immortal City.

But when they were halfway there, the caravan suddenly stopped.

After asking, Daoist Ji learned that the Foundation Establishment Cultivator leading the caravan had heard about a demon beast horde erupting in the Immortal City and decided to halt the journey out of fear of the danger.

This halt lasted for over half a year. The caravan only set out again after the demon beast horde had dispersed.

That was why the three of them took so long to arrive at the Immortal City.

Li Ping nodded repeatedly as he listened.

After recounting their journey, Daoist Ji had the two fourteen- or fifteen-year-old boys stand before him to introduce them to Li Ping.

As Li Ping listened to the introduction, his gaze fell upon the two boys.

The boy on the left, who looked robust and fearless, was named Yan Hengchuan. He was the grandson of his third senior brother, the one who possessed a Spiritual Root.

However, he possessed the worst kind of Five Spirit Roots. After stepping onto the path of the Immortal Dao at twelve, he was quickly brought along by Daoist Ji to the Immortal City. With no opportunity to cultivate on the road, he was now fifteen, but his Cultivation was only at the Qi Refining First Level.

The boy on the right, who had somewhat delicate features and a seemingly shy personality, was named Ji Shu Xuan. He was one of the younger members of Daoist Ji’s grandchildren’s generation.

He possessed Four Spirit Roots, was a year older than Yan Hengchuan, and had already cultivated to the Qi Refining Second Level.

Li Ping rewarded each of them with two bottles of Qi-Replenishing Pills, encouraging them to cultivate diligently.

Afterward, Daoist Ji told the overjoyed pair to go play in the courtyard while he continued chatting with Li Ping.

From their previous correspondence, Li Ping knew that the Ji family had produced a genius descendant with a Dual Spirit Root, who had already been sent by Daoist Ji to a Sect to cultivate.

Furthermore, the Ji family had also rented a plot of Tier One Spiritual Land, gaining a foothold for themselves.

As the two chatted, their conversation soon turned to these matters.

From Daoist Ji’s words, Li Ping learned that his genius granddaughter was named Ji Shuwen. She was seventeen this year and had been in the Sect for three years. She was doing quite well in the Immortal City; not long after joining, she was taken in as a disciple by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from the Sect.

Hearing this, Li Ping smiled and repeatedly congratulated Daoist Ji.

Daoist Ji chuckled happily upon hearing Li Ping’s congratulations, clearly pleased.

He then mentioned the Tier One Spiritual Land his family had rented—a hilltop about a hundred mu in area.

The few Cultivators in the Ji family had cultivated over forty mu of spiritual fields on the outskirts of the Spiritual Land to grow Spirit Rice, and had also carved out a five-mu Medicine Garden in the core area where the Spiritual Qi was abundant to grow Spirit Medicines.

With this Spiritual Land, Daoist Ji, his two sons, and the grandchildren with Spiritual Roots no longer had to live under someone else’s roof. They could stay within the family to manage their affairs steadily and slowly build up the family’s foundation.

Speaking of this, Daoist Ji sighed with emotion.

He had pursued the Immortal Dao his entire life, and now in his old age, with Li Ping’s help, he could finally leave something behind for his children and grandchildren.

Hearing this, Li Ping naturally offered words of comfort.

Li Ping then said that if Daoist Ji hadn’t led him to the Immortal Dao, he might still be struggling in the mortal world. Daoist Ji had done him the great favor of teaching him the way.

Therefore, he promised that in the future, when Ji Shuwen reached the Qi Refining Ninth Level and was preparing for Foundation Establishment, he would help her once.

As far as Li Ping knew, although it was easier for Sect Cultivators to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill than it was for Loose Cultivators, they still needed to exchange Sect Contributions earned through Sect missions. With the help of a master or elder, this process would undoubtedly be much easier.

Upon hearing Li Ping’s promise, Daoist Ji immediately stood up, so overcome with emotion that he gave Li Ping a formal bow, which Li Ping was unable to stop.

Next, the two discussed the arrangements for the two youngsters, Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shu Xuan.

Li Ping said with a smile, "Brother Ji, as the saying goes, ’a man must have a skill to get by in life,’ and Cultivators are no exception. Mastering one of the hundred arts of cultivation is like owning a Spirit Stone mine—it can earn you an endless supply of Spirit Stones! So, I plan to arrange for each of them to become an apprentice and learn a craft. What do you think?"

This was an idea he had carefully considered.

Yan Hengchuan has Five Spirit Roots; he would probably need five or more Foundation Establishment Pills to succeed in Foundation Establishment. Even if Li Ping wanted to look after him, he didn’t have the resources for that.

For him, the best option was to cultivate under Li Ping’s guidance for twenty or thirty years, learn one of the hundred arts of cultivation, and then, after reaching the Middle-stage Qi Refining, marry, have children, propagate his family line, and enjoy a peaceful life.

With Li Ping, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, looking out for him, he could live a very comfortable life.

As for Ji Shu Xuan, his Spiritual Root aptitude was slightly better than Yan Hengchuan’s. But since Daoist Ji had already tacitly agreed to use Li Ping’s favor to help Ji Shuwen, who had superior Spiritual Root aptitude, with her Foundation Establishment, Li Ping couldn’t possibly go and procure another Foundation Establishment opportunity for Ji Shu Xuan.

And based on Ji Shu Xuan’s own abilities, without some great fortuitous encounter, he would likely remain in the Qi Refining Stage for his entire life.

Therefore, the same arrangement as Yan Hengchuan’s was the most suitable for him.

Daoist Ji nodded in agreement with Li Ping’s arrangement. "You’re right, Brother Li. If they learn one of the hundred arts of cultivation, they won’t have to worry about earning cultivation resources no matter where they go in the future."

Li Ping nodded. "Don’t worry, Brother Ji. I have some standing in the Immortal City. As long as they are willing to learn, I will definitely arrange the best learning conditions for them."

Immediately, Daoist Ji called Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shu Xuan over to ask their thoughts.

Yan Hengchuan blinked his large eyes and said firmly, "I want to learn Artifact Refining."

Ji Shu Xuan was more hesitant. "I... I want to learn Alchemy."

Hearing their answers, Daoist Ji’s face hardened. "Nonsense! Do you think those two skills are so easy to learn? Wanting to learn Alchemy and Artifact Refining without the talent for them? Not a chance!"

After hearing Daoist Ji’s words, Ji Shu Xuan became even more hesitant about his choice.

But Yan Hengchuan wasn’t scared at all. Instead, he held his head high and said, "Grandpa Ji, how do you know Shu Xuan and I don’t have the talent? Maybe we’re the kind of Alchemy and Artifact Refining geniuses that only appear once in a century!"

Li Ping couldn’t help but be amused. He saw a bit of his third senior brother in the young boy.

Daoist Ji was about to say more, but Li Ping cut in with a chuckle. "The kid has a point. Maybe you really are geniuses."

He turned to Daoist Ji and said, "Brother Ji, just let them try it first. If they really can’t learn it, they can always switch to something else."

Since Li Ping had spoken, Daoist Ji could only nod helplessly.

It wasn’t that he was certain the two boys had no talent. He was a kind-hearted man and knew that Alchemy and Artifact Refining were two crafts that consumed an incredible amount of resources.

To achieve anything in these two crafts, one had to burn through an unknown amount of Spirit Stones. He just didn’t want Li Ping to expend too many resources on his grandson.

...

That night, Li Ping had a restaurant in the Immortal City deliver a celestial feast.

The Spiritual Food, perfect in color, aroma, and taste, and the mouth-watering Spirit Wine left Daoist Ji and the others utterly amazed.

In the Jiang Kingdom, Daoist Ji was a bottom-tier Loose Cultivator who had to split every Spirit Stone in half to make it last. He would never normally be willing to spend Spirit Stones on such extravagant food and drink.

As for the two boys, they had never eaten such delicacies in their entire lives.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shu Xuan whispered amongst themselves for a while. Finally, Yan Hengchuan walked up to Li Ping and said, a little embarrassedly, "Grandmaster, Shu Xuan and I don’t want to learn Alchemy or Artifact Refining anymore."

"What’s wrong?" Li Ping was puzzled.

Yan Hengchuan gritted his teeth and declared loudly, "I want to learn how to be a spiritual chef, and Shu Xuan wants to learn how to brew Spirit Wine!"

Hearing this, Li Ping and Daoist Ji looked at each other and burst into laughter at the same time.

...

At night, after arranging for Daoist Ji and the two boys to stay in the adjacent guest rooms, Li Ping went to the Alchemy Room himself to continue practicing the scripture’s First Level of Body Refining.

First, he took out a Storage Bag and laid out the hundreds of precious Spiritual Materials from within it before him, a glint of determination flashing in his eyes.

CLANG!

An Alchemy Furnace appeared before him.

FWOOSH!

Li Ping opened his mouth slightly, and a straight line of fire shot out, landing precisely beneath the Pill Furnace. This was the Innate True Flame that only a Foundation Establishment Cultivator could wield!

Under the heat of the Innate True Flame, the temperature in the entire Alchemy Room began to rise slowly. The temperature inside the Pill Furnace grew so intense that the surrounding air began to distort.

’Now!’

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!...

Several types of Spiritual Materials, controlled by Li Ping’s Magical Power, flew into the Pill Furnace. When the time was right, several more types followed... As Li Ping busied himself, the pile of Spiritual Materials before him dwindled, and a strange aroma began to waft from the Pill Furnace.

Li Ping knew the refining process had reached a critical stage. He carefully controlled the Pill Furnace’s temperature as he guided the final Spiritual Material into it.

Half an hour later—

BOOM!

The lid of the Pill Furnace was blown open, revealing a pool of deep red liquid inside. Li Ping quickly took out a Jade Bottle and collected all of the liquid inside it!

...

In the training room, Li Ping sat cross-legged with the Jade Bottle placed beside him.

Picking up the Jade Bottle and looking at the deep red liquid inside, Li Ping couldn’t help but wonder, ’Is it really okay to drink this?’

But then he remembered that he cultivated the Nourishing Life Skill and possessed a pseudo-indestructible body, making him virtually impervious to all poisons. Even if these Tier One Spiritual Materials were toxic, they couldn’t harm him.

With that, Li Ping made up his mind. Using his Magical Power, he drew out a portion of the liquid from the Jade Bottle, weighing about two qian.

He swallowed it in one gulp, then immediately circulated the scripture’s Spell and began to silently refine it.

...

「In a secret space, within a vast and endless world.」

A suit of exquisite, blood-colored armor, radiating a terrifying Spiritual Pressure, floated in the center of the secret space. Upon closer inspection, one could see that this blood-colored armor was actually formed by interlocking Blood-Colored Armor Fragments!

Tens of millions of Blood-Colored Armor Fragments made up this mountain-like suit of blood-colored armor.

But looking even more closely, it was clear that not every Armor Plate making up the blood-colored armor was solid; in some places, there was only a phantom image!

And just as Li Ping began to cultivate the Nine Tribulations True Spirit Scripture...

...on one of the phantom Armor Plate positions, the text that was profound enough to explain the Great Dao of heaven and earth suddenly blurred, and the name ’Yan Kun’ changed into ’Li Ping’!

At the same moment the name changed, a phantom figure appeared on each of the solid Armor Plates of the blood-colored armor. Millions of phantoms—humans, Demon Beasts, giants...—roared madly, trying to break free from the armor’s restraints.

But in the end... it was all in vain.

The armor trembled slightly, and all the revealed phantoms retracted in agony.

The mysterious space gradually fell silent once more.

...

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