Chapter 29: Born at Dawn, Gone by Dusk

At the bottom of the official gazette, among the columns of strange happenings and anecdotes.

“In the mundane quarters of the Azure Cloud Sect, a female cultivator at the third stage of Qi Refinement gave birth to a child at dawn. The newborn possessed innate knowledge, grew at an astonishing rate, reaching seven feet in height within half an hour; his spiritual root formed completely, causing local spiritual energy to spiral into chaos at the moment of its formation. A Core Formation master from the Azure Cloud Sect came to investigate, suspecting the child to possess a Heavenly Spiritual Root, and took him back to the sect.

It is said that before he was taught any Qi Refinement techniques, he suddenly sensed something and began cultivating on the spot, advancing with remarkable speed: half an hour to Qi Refinement, another hour to Foundation Establishment, then two more hours to Core Formation…

Yet, after the hour of Shen, his vitality rapidly declined, his body aged at an alarming pace. By the hour of You, his frame had shriveled, resembling that of an infant. Soon after, all life left him, perishing in body and spirit.

Some suspect this was an elaborate farce orchestrated by the Azure Cloud Sect, but the sect adamantly denies it, claiming instead that they encountered one favored by the gods…”

Having finished reading the entire account, Li Ji’an’s expression was strange.

“Born in the morning, dead by dusk… brilliant to the extreme… a fleeting splendor…”

Isn’t that a curse? How could it be called ‘divine favor’?

Who would wish for such a blessing from the gods?

“Are you astonished by that one favored by the gods?” Noticing Li Ji’an’s expression, Yan Qingwan smiled as she asked.

Li Ji’an came back to himself. “Is… is this true?”

Yan Qingwan shook her head, then nodded, “It may not be entirely true, but… those favored by the gods do exist, and their deeds are often beyond comprehension.”

“How so?”

“My own ancestor once witnessed one favored by the gods,” Yan Qingwan affirmed.

“What kind?”

“He could sense anything imbued with the mysteries of heaven and earth, or that resonated with the Dao, merely by approaching it. Moreover, this ability could grow, and its range of perception steadily increased.”

Li Ji’an’s eyelids shot up.

“A spiritual body attuned to treasure…”

This was much like Ning Sujin’s talent for seeking fortune and avoiding calamity.

“And what came of it?”

“The outcome… aren’t you curious what such an ability could achieve?” Yan Qingwan seemed surprised; most people, upon hearing such an incredible tale, would be curious about the ability itself, but Li Ji’an only asked about the result.

“I’ve heard Brother Chen mention a certain favored one whose ability was to foresee glimpses of the future, so it isn’t too surprising,” Li Ji’an explained.

Yan Qingwan nodded. “I see. As for the outcome, naturally he was accepted into the upper sect. Since then, that sect’s fortunes have only increased, and its disciples are all accompanied by treasures!”

“Are all those favored by the gods treated this way?” Li Ji’an instinctively pursued.

Yan Qingwan shook her head. “Of course not. Some are condemned by all.”

“Hmm?”

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“Legend has it that a thousand years ago, there was one favored by the gods born with myriad poisons within. Wherever he went, cities were destroyed; the world united to hunt him down!”

Li Ji’an nodded, his understanding of ‘those favored by the gods’ now clearer.

He was now almost certain Ning Sujin was one such favored one.

And the reason she was suddenly taken away by an ‘immortal master’ years ago was now basically confirmed.

Sixty-three years had passed…

He cast a distant glance toward the northwest, shook his head, and let the thought go.

After bidding Yan Qingwan farewell, Li Ji’an returned to his small courtyard and, as always, first attempted the Nine Yang Technique.

“Still the same… I wonder how much longer I must wait for transformation?”

For three years now, he had not ceased his cultivation.

He had expected that, upon arriving at the Yan family estate, with its proximity to the core spiritual vein area and nourished by the high-grade first-tier spiritual vein, his progress in magical cultivation would be greatly accelerated.

Yet, to expand his dantian for the third stage of Qi Refinement required double the magical power needed for the second stage.

Most frustrating of all, two years ago, as he neared completion of the third stage, he realized that transitioning from early to mid-stage Qi Refinement was a major hurdle: besides the quantity of magical power, it required a metamorphosis of the dantian, which itself demanded magical power to sustain.

With only two strands of spiritual resonance, his spiritual root’s refinement efficiency was low; originally, he could rely on time to match the daily magical power output of an ordinary inferior spiritual root.

But now, magical power to nourish the dantian was measured by each grand cycle, not by the day’s total.

This meant his efforts were futile; two hours of daily cultivation was the limit.

Here, the gap between his spiritual root and those with high resonance was truly evident—like Chen Qingling with her nine-strand fire spiritual root, who also cultivated two hours daily, yet could nourish her dantian with fifteen hundred units, while he managed only eleven hundred.

“No matter, inferior spiritual roots are a fact of this world, and must be accepted!” He felt little emotion about this; recognizing his own limits was a solid foundation.

He did not slacken, either; after his routine two hours refining magical power for his dantian, all remaining time was devoted to body cultivation.

In this realm, physical cultivation was not widely practiced: aside from only slowing the decline of vital energies and offering a maximum lifespan of a hundred years, as Chen Zhaohu had said, the resources needed for mid-stage first-tier body cultivation exceeded those for magical cultivation and were even harder to obtain.

Had Chen Zhaohu not had that stroke of fortune, he would have reached only early mid-stage, first-tier body cultivation.

As for Li Ji’an, a grand master of vital energy at the peak of the Immortal Dynasty, he was equivalent to a perfected first-tier body cultivator here, and later, thanks to Chen Zhaohu’s transmission of the Hundredfold Golden Body Technique, he advanced further.

With his own foundation, and the innate root of the Dragon and Tiger aspect, he succeeded in stepping into mid-stage first-tier body cultivation that year.

Later, years of magical cultivation nourished his flesh, pushing his vital energy to the peak of mid-stage first-tier body cultivation.

But that was without relying on body-refining spiritual materials; without them, no further progress could be made.

Two years ago, after meeting Yan Hongsheng, whose innate root was poor and body cultivation difficult, Li Ji’an began using body-refining spiritual materials for entry; over time, he received many gifts from Yan Hongsheng.

Confirming his dantian had yet to complete its metamorphosis, Li Ji’an entered his room, took out the Thunderfire Crystals he had accumulated over the past two years, and continued his physical cultivation.

A month prior, he had successfully advanced to late-stage first-tier body cultivation, and had since been consolidating his gains.

After advancing, his vital energy began to transform: from its former mist-like gaseous state, it showed signs of condensing into liquid.

Moreover, its contained energy was more than double that of the gaseous form.

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He once compared his strength to Yan Hongsheng’s peak Qi Refinement magical shield; at early-stage body cultivation, even full-force strikes could not budge it.

However, after repeated trials, he judged that with the full force of mid-stage body cultivation, there was now a possibility.

Upon reaching late-stage body cultivation—even if only just entering it—he was confident he could shatter the protective shield with three punches.

Combined with spiritual sense rivaling the peak of Qi Refinement and a speed akin to instantaneous movement when his vital energy was stimulated, he feared no one in the Yan family except the Foundation Establishment ancestor.

Of course, that excluded being beset by many.

Sadly, Yan Hongsheng had now fully recognized his poor innate root, giving up body cultivation, so there would be no more Thunderfire Crystals.

In the days that followed, during the truce between the two clans, Zhang Tiezhu came to find Li Ji’an daily, his attitude nearly restored to what it had been in the Immortal Dynasty.

“Brother Li, two years and it will be ten years. I wonder how Zhu Linxian and Dong Jiangling are now—perhaps they found some great opportunity and flourished in the immortal path, and will return at the ten-year mark. All these years, there’s been no news at all.”

Li Ji’an held little hope. After all, the five of them came from the forsaken lands; though their innate roots were one in ten thousand, their spiritual roots were woefully poor.

Without reincarnation, their prospects were bleak.

Many things cannot be overcome by resolve alone.

Still, he dared not be too certain—who could guarantee others would not encounter some miraculous fortune?

Such things were not rare in the cultivation world; in the past half-year alone, he’d seen several cases in the official gazette.

Relatively speaking, Zhu Linxian was most likely to go furthest among the four.

Another half month passed in this way.

One day, as Zhang Tiezhu came as usual to discuss cultivation, their conversation drifted to future plans.

A shocking message arrived in the clan.

“The Zhang and Yan families’ ancestors have fought fiercely, both suffering heavy injuries!”

Just moments before, the two had been discussing future plans. Zhang Tiezhu’s first reaction was excitement—chaos breeds heroes, and only in clan turmoil could he be valued and seize opportunities.

Li Ji’an, however, frowned: danger!

Originally, his purpose in coming to the Yan family’s territory was solely for the spiritual vein and the protection offered by the Foundation Establishment ancestor.

Now, with the ancestor injured, the safety of the area had greatly diminished.

This outcome was unexpected. His decision to enter the Yan family despite the conflict was not made lightly; he had investigated the eight major families ahead of time.

The eight families of the wasteland had long agreed: no matter the dispute, Foundation Establishment cultivators would not intervene, and all conflicts would be resolved by negotiation.

“How could this happen?”

“Wait and see. If the Yan family’s Foundation Establishment ancestor truly cannot hold on, we must leave.”

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