Chapter 13: The Second Life Cultivation

In that fleeting moment, the concentration of spiritual awareness resonated with heaven and earth, a profound state as if merging with the great Dao itself. Not only did it break through the shielding and restrictions of the meditation chamber, but even Master Jia Dan and Yan Qingwan remained completely unaware.

Now outside the main hall, Yan Qingwan could no longer hold back. “Fan’er, aren’t you satisfied with being a mere ordinary inner disciple?”

Li Jian, unable to contain himself any longer, staggered and immediately sat cross-legged on the ground, solidifying the spiritual sea that he had just gathered. This was, after all, the greatest gain of this trip.

After a moment, once his spiritual sea stabilized, Li Jian smiled gently and responded, “Aunt, after communicating with the others, I realized that just being an ordinary inner disciple means not only missing out on the sect's sacred teachings but also having to frequently carry out sect missions. They are even forced to enter secret realm trials, which are fraught with danger. It’s said that every year there are casualties in these trials.

Father once said: ‘To pursue the immortals’ path and endure, safety must come first.’”

Yan Qingwan was momentarily stunned. Although she didn’t expect Li Jian to have known about the elders’ subtle temptations in the meditation chamber, she never imagined he would give up for such a reason.

“Big Brother Li… he never wanted to take risks in his life, so it’s one thing not to compete; but to teach Fan’er like this?”

In the cultivation world, resources reign supreme, and opportunities must be seized by one’s own hands. If one is unwilling to take even the slightest risk, can they really expect resources and chances to fall into their lap?

Moreover, sect trials are meant to temper one’s magical power; life-and-death struggles increase insight, helping to break through bottlenecks. Even those from wild clans, who seldom have the chance to enter secret realms, would leap at such an opportunity, despite a fifty percent mortality rate. Cultivation is like crossing a narrow bridge with thousands of soldiers; if you don’t fight and compete, how can you succeed?

Even she, as the core scion of her family, had been striving to seize every chance, willing to take the necessary risks to obtain cultivation resources, become a master alchemist, and receive foundational support from the clan.

After a brief frown, Yan Qingwan relaxed. As a father without the burden of family responsibilities or the pressure of inheritance, not demanding outstanding achievements from his children but only their safety and happiness is also a form of love—perhaps even purer than the desire for one’s child to become extraordinary.

At least, she confessed to herself, if she had children, she probably couldn’t achieve that.

After all, her grandfather had high hopes for her father, and her father had high hopes for her—expecting her to become a phoenix. To suddenly not demand anything from the next generation would be very difficult.

“Alright! Auntie finally understands.” Yan Qingwan looked at Li Jian with newfound clarity, realizing that her previous decisions on his behalf were based solely on her own understanding and thoughts.

Perhaps Big Brother Li sent him into the clan not expecting him to travel far on the Dao, but simply hoping for his peace and happiness.

Without further words, the two left the Azure Cloud Sect.

Back in Golden Radiance Immortal City again, Zhao Shuyao learned the outcome and felt slightly regretful but still encouraged him not to be discouraged. “Take it step by step; the future is uncertain.” She left behind a communication jade talisman so Li Jian would not lose contact.

She refrained from saying anything that might cause misunderstanding from Yan Qingwan, since returning to the Yan family was still the best outcome for Li Jian, at least ensuring relative stability during the early Qi Refining stage.

That day, Yan Qingwan accompanied Li Jian back home.

Four months ago, when Li Jian’s spirit test shocked the clan and he set out, many clansmen were envious and full of expectations.

Now, returning, the results seemed somewhat disappointing.

---

Nevertheless, both Yan Qingwan and Li Jian himself understood the true reason and were at peace within.

It was not that the Azure Cloud Sect looked down on Li Jian; rather, Li Jian had given up on the sect.

Yan Qingwan could not reveal the sect's poaching, as it would cause suspicion within the clan.

Li Jian, on the other hand, had thought it through clearly and had a steady plan.

His greatest hope in this life, compared to the last, was simply that his spiritual roots might be a little better and that he could start cultivation in the Yan family without worrying about making a living.

Now, that had been achieved.

The sect journey was not without gains either; at least three days of aptitude trials unexpectedly allowed him to break through the spiritual shackles of his previous life.

His spiritual awareness at the early Foundation Establishment stage now ensured almost absolute safety in the wildlands.

Four months later, Yan Qingwan brought Li Jian back to the clan.

Aside from some regrets, gossip was inevitable. After all, the moment Li Jian took part in the sect trials, it was as if he had severed ties with the family.

Returning now, it was normal for the lower clansfolk to harbor some resentment.

A non-family member occupying shared clan resources infringed on their vital interests.

That night, the clan head Yan Zongsheng came to see him.

He first represented the family to discuss future development.

If Li Jian were willing to change his surname and swear a solemn vow never to leave the Yan family in this lifetime, the clan would treat him as a core disciple and nurture him accordingly, allocating resources based on his future achievements—but they made it clear, no hopes for Foundation Establishment.

This condition was Yan Zongsheng’s natural thought before Li Jian’s spirit test. At that time, he believed Li Jian’s entry with the Ascension Token meant he was there to become a Yan family member, and changing his surname was an honor.

But the spirit test results made him realize he could no longer be so one-sided.

Li Jian had long anticipated this and never hoped to be nurtured as a core family member. He only wished to honor his previous life's promise to cultivate in the clan’s Dao chamber.

Even the free alchemical pills provided by the clan, to be honest, he would not take in this lifetime. From his past experience, non-premium pills that accelerate cultivation tend to dilute magical power and have side effects. If he took pills, he would only use his own finely crafted ones.

After politely refusing this condition, Yan Zongsheng personally reached a consensus with him: based solely on the alchemical legacy from his past life and his help in making Yan Qingwan a senior alchemist, he could remain in the clan to cultivate but without extra resources or restrictions.

The next day, Yan Qingwan personally taught him the upper-grade Flame Dragon Art, signing a soul contract preventing him from sharing it with others. She also hired him as a pill apprentice under the clan’s alchemists, without salary but with guidance in alchemy.

Later, Yan Kongyi recruited him as a talisman apprentice, paying one spirit stone per month.

Yan Hongsheng was more straightforward: “My spirit stones are mine. I can give them to whoever I want. The previous generation planted trees, the next generation enjoys the shade. I planted trees for you, so you should enjoy them. I’m going to teach Li Jian body refinement.”

Furthermore, they moved him out of Qingwan Ancestor’s Dao chamber and gave him a small courtyard at the edge of a spiritual vein.

Though it was only a mid-grade spiritual vein with moderate spiritual energy, it was enough for his Qi Refining cultivation. More importantly, it was secluded and undisturbed, giving Guagua a stable home after years of wandering.

Thus, at least the clan’s mouths were silenced; openly, there was no more gossip.

Li Jian finally embarked on a steady cultivation path in this life—far ahead compared to his last life.

---

Three years passed in the blink of an eye.

“Qi Refining, fourth layer!” During these three years, Li Jian prioritized refining his magical power, temporarily postponing the requests from Yan Qingwan, Yan Kongyi, and Yan Hongsheng to focus entirely on cultivation.

With his robust physique and strong spiritual awareness, he still trained five times more daily than a typical early Qi Refining stage cultivator.

In his previous life, it took three years just to reach the third layer of Qi Refining, and that was partly due to taking many novice pills from Yan Qingwan. In this life, three years had brought him directly to the mid-stage of Qi Refining.

Three months ago, he had completed the third layer perfectly.

Having experienced the bottleneck at mid-Qi Refining in his past life, he understood the principle clearly: poor spiritual roots mean insufficient spiritual pressure from absorbing spiritual energy at once, preventing the Dantian from transforming, thus requiring breakthrough pills.

But this life, with nineteen strands of fire spiritual roots, absorbed spiritual energy nearly ten times more efficiently than before. Spiritual pressure was no issue. Once he comprehended the Dantian transformation and the condensation of Qi into a mist-like magical power, the breakthrough was almost effortless.

He took three months to advance only to be cautious; in reality, the bottleneck never existed.

“Compared to the peak of my previous life, my magical power is more refined and dense. This way, the refined alchemical fire can be used directly for mid-stage pills, and my talisman crafting should be adequate,” Li Jian felt a surge of joy as he meditated.

“Did you break through?” Just as he finished, a shout came from outside the courtyard—it was Yan Qing, the youngest son of Zhang Tiezhu.

Yan Qing had often come to see him over these three years, sharing some insights each time.

Yan Qing was two years older, possessed an eleven-strand mid-grade spiritual root, and had also advanced to Qi Refining fourth layer half a year ago without breakthrough pills.

“Just lucky,” Li Jian invited him in.

“Your father was right—you really are a prodigy like him!” Yan Qing exclaimed.

“Uncle Tiezhu flatters me.”

“Hey, have you really thought about joining the Yan family? You don’t even have to change your surname. Just marry a Yan wife like my father,” Yan Qing urged again.

Li Jian hurriedly waved his hand. “Qing, stop persuading me. Everyone has their own will. I have my own plans.”

“What? You really hope for Foundation Establishment? It’s not easy out there,” Yan Qing shook his head.

Li Jian said no more.

After seeing Yan Qing off, Li Jian’s spiritual awareness stirred. A frog’s head popped out of the pond by the courtyard.

“Hang in there a bit longer. Polishing your skills isn't a bad thing. Once I reach Foundation Establishment, I’ll definitely make you a Blood Condensing Pill to help you break through the second rank,” Guagua had already reached the late first rank five years ago, but his lower-grade bloodline made it nearly impossible to break through to the second rank without assistance from the Blood Condensing Pill.

But the Blood Condensing Pill was no less difficult to make than the Foundation Establishment Pill, so Li Jian could not provide one yet.

He could only keep encouraging him.

Since returning to the Yan family as a child in this second life, Guagua had mostly lived wild in the mountains for seven years, self-sufficient.

Li Jian felt that if not for the Beast Control Token, Guagua might have left him long ago. So over these three years, he often took time to cultivate intimacy, and their relationship had warmed.

After spending some time bonding with Guagua, his body suddenly trembled.

He took out a communication talisman and raised an eyebrow.

It was Xiao Changfeng.

A year ago, after Xiao Changfeng learned Li Jian had voluntarily withdrawn, he had taken his place as an inner disciple, grateful for Li Jian’s kindness. He sent a communication talisman to keep in touch.

The last time he contacted Li Jian, Li Jian had asked him to inquire about Zhu Linxian’s whereabouts. After all, among the five who entered the cultivation world together, Zhu Linxian was the only one with no news.

Now, finally, there was a clue.