Chapter 33: The Decade-Long Promise

"Ribbit, ribbit." The frog poked its head out to confirm Li Ji'an's presence, immediately leaping out of the pond. In a few quick hops, it landed at Li Ji'an's feet, rubbing its head against his thigh.

Two years ago, after the incident at the medicinal garden, an elder from the Hui clan on the frontline blamed this frog and offered Li Ji'an fifty spirit stones to buy it, intending to flay it alive to vent his anger.

Fifty spirit stones was already a generous price.

After all, this frog was merely a first-tier, early-stage spirit beast with thin bloodline and virtually no potential, possessing only the "Heaven-Swallowing" talent.

Aside from special circumstances—such as swallowing items like the medicinal garden, which were connected to the earth veins and difficult to separate yet required proper handling—this ability served a similar function to a storage pouch, its capacity comparable to a mid-grade storage pouch, with the unique advantage of being able to temporarily contain living creatures.

Yet spirit beasts required spirit food, beast pills for nourishment, and consumed spiritual energy for control and taming.

For cultivators at the bottom, it wasn't even as cost-effective as a storage pouch.

Even for those at the lower levels who pursued the path of beast-taming, a spirit mount was more valuable; at least, after research, one could hitch it to a cart to transport goods between mundane gathering places and markets.

Of course, spirit beasts with this bloodline touched upon the rudimentary laws of space and were said to be favored by high-level cultivators, but that only applied to those with superior bloodlines and the hope of advancing to higher tiers.

This frog, however, was most likely a niche, flawed product bred by beast-taming families.

Rare, but not precious.

The frog had been so terrified by that elder it nearly lost control, and Li Ji'an, who happened to be interested in studying beast-taming, intervened and rescued it with polite words.

Subsequent research revealed that the frog had just been acquired by that beast-tamer for the medicinal garden, never nurtured with care—merely controlled roughly with a beast soul stone, amounting to a tragic history.

Thus, it was exceedingly eager to please Li Ji'an.

"Go on, I haven't time to study you today," Li Ji'an waved his hand, ignoring its attentiveness.

He quickly returned to his room, calmed his mind, and focused inward on his dantian.

"Finally, the transformation is complete!"

When he saw that the inner wall of his dantian, once flesh-colored, had turned entirely white, he exhaled deeply.

This signaled that his dantian had fully transformed from the early to the middle stage of Qi Refining, reaching the peak of the third layer and ready to attempt the fourth.

"Five whole years!" He had spent five years solely on this transformation.

Such was the fundamental disadvantage of having only two strands of spiritual resonance.

The Qi Refining stage is the process of absorbing spiritual energy, refining it into one's own mana, and storing it in the dantian. Yet the dantian's space is limited; eventually, quantity must transform into quality. The Foundation Establishment stage marks the shift from gaseous to liquid mana, a gradual transition that begins in the middle stage of Qi Refining.

In the early stage, mana is thin; in the middle stage, it must become more condensed!

Having observed his dantian's transformation, Li Ji'an once again contemplated the essence of the middle stage of Qi Refining—and indeed the whole Qi Refining process.

Now that his third layer was perfected, to cross the threshold into the middle stage, the transformation of the dantian was merely the foundation. Next, he had to grasp the key to mana condensation, then use an increased volume of refined mana to compress it, achieving the desired solidity.

He had no worries about comprehension; his sole concern was whether his two strands of spiritual resonance could provide enough mana for compression!

At this stage, not only he but most members of the Yan family—and all cultivators with inferior spiritual roots—shared this concern. Of course, they had an additional worry regarding comprehension.

Nine out of ten cultivators with inferior spiritual roots in the early Qi Refining stage ultimately relied on Feiyun Pills to aid in mana condensation and compression.

Of the remaining tenth who advanced without the pill, most achieved it through life-and-death battles, gaining insight and refinement amid combat.

A few took the slow path, consolidating their foundation over time.

Naturally, those with great fortune might encounter celestial treasures to break through.

As for Li Ji'an, risking life in battle was out of the question.

Pinning hopes on luck and chance encounters was merely a gambler's mindset—unacceptable.

That left only the Feiyun Pill and slow, steady cultivation.

Two years ago, after the Yan clan leader returned, he publicly praised Li Ji'an and rewarded him generously.

Upon asking his preference, he promised Li Ji'an a Feiyun Pill and a Nourishment Pill.

The promise was necessary because he explained that the clan's resources were severely limited, and only frontline fighters could receive breakthrough pills—unless Li Ji'an was willing to go to the front.

Li Ji'an could tell Yan Zongsheng wanted him on the frontline; his early-stage, first-tier body cultivation talents and Yan Hongsheng's confirmation of his strength made him a strong candidate to confront the Wei clan's core, middle-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

After the medicinal garden incident, the frontlines saw heightened conflict, casualties every day, both sides blinded by bloodlust; the Yan clan truly lacked core, middle-stage Qi Refining warriors.

Li Ji'an refused without hesitation, so Yan Zongsheng turned the reward into a promise: if the clan's alchemist produced Feiyun and Nourishment Pills, Li Ji'an would receive them.

Li Ji'an accepted, but... who knew how long he would have to wait.

Currently, the clan's alchemist was naturally Yan Qingwan.

As for her skills... she barely qualified as a mid-tier, first-grade alchemist, able to make some pills needed by middle-stage Qi Refining cultivators. Over two years of tireless collaboration with Li Ji'an, her pill quality and yield had greatly improved, and profits were within reach.

But breakthrough pills and Nourishment Pills remained far out of reach.

At minimum, her spiritual awareness would need to reach the late stage of Qi Refining.

Still, it was at least a hope.

Moreover, since the medicinal garden incident two years ago, following several fierce battles between the Wei and Yan clans, the situation suddenly calmed for reasons unknown. Half a year ago, they even announced a partnership to jointly develop the medicinal field, stabilizing the situation completely.

Life in the Yan clan was now comfortable for Li Ji'an, so he felt no urgency.

Of note, according to Yan Hongsheng, the reason for the sudden cooperation between the two clans was the exposure of Wei Huairen.

Wei Huairen, born of a collateral branch of the Wei clan, possessed exceptional talent—a mid-grade gold spiritual root—and his cultivation journey had been smooth. The Wei clan hoped to groom him as the next Foundation Establishment ancestor.

Yet, for unknown reasons, when he reached the peak of Qi Refining and prepared to attempt Foundation Establishment, the clan failed to secure a Foundation Establishment Pill for him.

Resentful, he somehow met a mysterious master and was beguiled, seeking control of the Wei clan. The emergence of the medicinal field gave him an opportunity.

Two years ago, the mutual destruction of the two clan ancestors was not due to their direct confrontation, but rather the handiwork of the mysterious figure behind Wei Huairen, escalating the conflict to the extreme.

Afterward, the medicinal garden incident threatened to push both clans into a death match.

The two ancestors, for the sake of their clans' survival, met in secret and unraveled the plot.

Unfortunately, Wei Huairen, gravely wounded, escaped, while the mysterious figure behind him—rumored to have clashed with the two Foundation Establishment ancestors—remained a mystery, as neither ancestor spoke of the outcome.

"Brother Li, it's time to set off!" Just then, Zhang Tiezhu's voice rang from outside.

The ten-year pact had come due; they were returning to the starting point of this world.

As for how many of the five from back then would keep the appointment this time, Li Ji'an was unsure—and had no expectations.

His main purpose was to seek out Chen Zhaohu, for matters concerning the path of beast-taming.