Chapter 1: Starting Anew!

Rejuvenation would come tonight!

In the instant a flicker of spiritual light flashed by, Li Ji'an unleashed his full spiritual awareness, missing not a single detail.

The previous three times he had reverted to youth, he had always awoken to find himself young again, without any forewarning the night before. This time, perhaps because he had refined his spiritual sense, his perception was keener.

Tonight, he planned to remain alert throughout, hoping to uncover more secrets behind this mysterious “return to youth.”

While waiting for the crucial moment, he didn’t remain idle. First, he placed medicinal herbs into a wooden tub—herbs to nourish his muscles and bones and cleanse the meridians.

Compared to those he had used during the Celestial Dynasty, these herbs were more effective, having grown in a land rich with spiritual energy.

As a body cultivator, his innate physique was his greatest advantage at this stage and a trump card for the future—he would never give it up, and he hoped to progress further.

He then disguised himself as his elderly self and visited the outpost in the settlement, sending off a letter he had long prepared to the Yan family. If all went well, it would arrive by noon the next day.

Returning to his room, he summoned Gua Gua, moved it with his words and emotions, reminiscing about their first encounter and recalling thirty years of companionship. He spent half an hour in affectionate closeness and then fed it a premium late-stage first-tier beast pill, which he had saved for nine years.

This deeply touched Gua Gua.

Li Ji'an then instructed it to burrow underground and stand guard discreetly. If anyone tried to break in, it was to fight with all its might. He told it he was about to cultivate a marvelous new technique, and once successful, he would become unimaginably powerful.

Though he wasn’t sure how much Gua Gua understood, the dual safeguards of emotion and soul contract would suffice.

As the crucial moment approached, he activated a late-stage first-tier protective talisman, placed the queen ant—imbued with a fragment of his soul—beside him, set the medicinal bath to boil over alchemical fire, prepared his childhood clothes, and laid out a Marrow Cleansing Pill and a Source Nurturing Pill before him. He then sat in meditation, calming his mind and focusing his senses.

Time slipped by, minute after minute…

Suddenly, Li Ji'an’s eyes snapped open.

He examined his now youthful body, feeling the frailty of his physique—a wave of disorientation swept over him.

He hadn’t been sleepy at all and had maintained unwavering focus, yet he had still lost consciousness without realizing it. Upon waking, he found himself young once more.

“Roughly an hour must have passed…”

“This ‘return to youth’ is truly miraculous. What happened in that hour? I wonder if a Foundation Establishment cultivator’s spiritual sense could pierce the mystery.”

There was no time to ponder. He proceeded methodically, swallowing the Marrow Cleansing Pill and immersing himself in the herbal bath.

Once the medicine was fully absorbed, he swallowed the Source Nurturing Pill in one gulp.

The effects of the Marrow Cleansing Pill on his muscles and bones were something he’d experienced in his past life, but this was his first time with the Source Nurturing Pill. As its spiritual essence flowed into his dantian, his lower abdomen blazed as if a fire were burning there. Yet the heat quickly subsided, becoming a gentle warmth that slowly nourished his core.

Once he confirmed both pills were safe and effective, he put all other thoughts aside and focused on cultivating his soul refinement technique.

After yet another return to youth, his soul’s foundation had grown even stronger. As he practiced the soul refinement method taught by Yan Qingwan, his once illusory and indistinct soul began to condense, strand by strand, into spiritual sense.

By dawn, he finally completed the first stage of soul refinement, possessing spiritual sense comparable to an early-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

“If my soul grows even stronger in this life, I wonder if, once fully refined, I can break through to Foundation Establishment level spiritual sense?” He was hopeful but did not continue for now.

With spiritual sense, he could renew his soul contract.

At that moment, he had completely lost his connection to Gua Gua.

Fortunately, the fragment of his past-life soul remained within the queen ant’s consciousness, though it already felt foreign to him.

He held the beast control token, slowly infusing it with his spiritual sense.

An hour later, he finally erased the previous soul imprint and once more forged a contract with Gua Gua.

“Gua!” The instant the new contract formed, Gua Gua’s momentary confusion was palpable. In the next moment, it emerged from underground, poking its head out. Its eyes, possessing a glimmer of intelligence, gazed blankly at the unfamiliar Li Ji'an.

Yet Li Ji'an met its gaze with equal unfamiliarity. The contract was now in place; no matter what Gua Gua thought, it had no choice but to obey him.

To Gua Gua, the new soul contract clearly belonged to someone else. With its limited intellect, convincing it he was the same person would be difficult.

Li Ji'an then stored his belongings, including his storage pouch, in the space inside Gua Gua’s mouth and ordered it to take good care of the queen ant.

Once Gua Gua burrowed underground again, Li Ji'an let out a long breath.

The most critical step of this life had gone exactly as planned.

Though he now had the strength of a child and no magical power to protect him, with Gua Gua—a late-stage first-tier spirit beast adept at earth movement—by his side, he would be safe throughout the wilderness unless he encountered a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

He spent two more hours practicing the Qi sensing method he’d mastered in his previous life, soon able to sense the faint spiritual energy in the area.

“With the Source Nurturing Pill, the Qi sensing method, and a spiritual vein dojo… I wonder if my spiritual roots in this life can reach middle grade?”

When all was ready, Li Ji'an summoned Gua Gua, slipped quietly from his home using the space within its mouth, and reappeared in the central square of the settlement.

Everything looked as it had the day before. The only thing that had changed was himself.

“Hey there, little one—where are your parents? Want to have your talent tested? If you have potential, we’ll take you into the clan. You’ll never lack for food or clothing, and you might even have the hope of cultivation.”

Not long after he arrived, someone approached him—members of minor Qi Refining families lacking strong backgrounds.

Such things were common here. In the world of cultivators, orphans were plentiful—many never saw their parents return from a journey, while others were brought to the market by parents who couldn’t provide a path to cultivation, then left behind.

Still, most orphans had limited spiritual roots. These families were merely trying their luck.

Besides them, a female cultivator with the air of a brothel madam came forward, praising Li Ji'an’s delicate looks and declaring him a fine prospect, wishing to take him away.

There was also an old Daoist, claiming to be a rogue cultivator, seeking a disciple to pass his legacy to.

Li Ji'an politely distanced himself, claiming his parents would return soon.

During this time, he also encountered Chen Zhaohu, who had just returned from outside. Chen Zhaohu now showed clear signs of age, his vitality greatly diminished, the vigor of his youth gone.

By chance, their eyes met for a moment, but they passed each other like strangers.

As the sun dipped westward, people began returning from their errands.

Suddenly, a streak of light shot from the southeast part of the settlement.

A powerful spiritual pressure accompanied it.

“Li Chang’an!” In the next instant, a familiar gentle voice swept over the entire settlement.

At last, Li Ji'an let out a deep sigh, the last trace of worry melting away.

Moreover, seeing Yan Qingwan’s urgency, he was moved. A dignified Foundation Establishment cultivator had traveled eight hundred miles in response to a single letter—calling out his former name for all to hear.

This life, at last, was secure.