Chapter 28: Fulfilling the Promise

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Without paying further attention to Guagua, who was steadily consolidating his realm after advancing to the second tier, Li Jian prioritized picking up Xiao Qiao. When he first met Granny You back then, her bone age already exceeded one hundred and ten. Coupled with a failed foundation-building attempt that damaged her roots and injuries sustained during the Liu family’s internal strife, her lifespan was limited to begin with. Now, after four years of absence, the odds were grim—there was over a ninety percent chance she wouldn’t return. Li Jian had never told Xiao Qiao about this, yet over the years, she had grown somewhat aware of the situation. Strictly speaking, Xiao Qiao had no other relatives but him.

“This cultivation world truly holds wonders beyond imagination, splendid and diverse...” Li Jian mused as he looked at the unconscious girl in his arms, recalling the peculiar power of the earth just now. His expectations for her abilities grew even stronger.

He fed Xiao Qiao a calming pill and laid her carefully on the bed before turning to check on the Fire Spirit. Inside his dantian, the Fire Spirit appeared weak and depleted. After sensing it through his soul imprint, he confirmed it was merely temporary overexertion, not a loss, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Returning to the courtyard, Li Jian saw Guagua still covered in blood but in peak condition. He couldn’t help but grit his teeth. “Why do you feel more like the protagonist than I do?”

The resilience, willpower, and unwavering courage displayed during the recent breakthrough to the second tier—especially the miraculous reversal against all odds and the unwavering support from those around—fit the traits of a protagonist he had once envisioned.

Comparing it to his own experiences, Li Jian suddenly felt a twinge of helplessness.

Previously, Xiao Changfeng’s mindset and fortune made him feel like the protagonist of this story. Now, even his spirit pet seemed to share that role.

Shaking his head, Li Jian released his divine sense to carefully observe Guagua’s current state after the second-tier advancement.

“Hmm?” But to his surprise, despite Guagua’s successful breakthrough and retracted aura, his divine sense—comparable to that of a mid-foundation cultivator—couldn’t penetrate it at all. Even when sweeping over Guagua right before him, it was as if he was looking at nothing.

Especially now, with Guagua having shed his bloodstained skin to blend seamlessly with the murky pool water, it would be difficult to spot him without the spirit pet contract linking them.

Fortunately, the spirit pet contract remained, and Li Jian’s soul was far stronger than Guagua’s; otherwise, he might have worried about Guagua turning hostile.

“Gua~” Having just sensed his status through the contract, Guagua suddenly changed color, then returned to his original green. He opened his wide mouth and called to Li Jian, hopping over to his side and affectionately rubbing his frog head against Li Jian’s arm.

Having grown larger after advancing to the second tier, Guagua now stood nearly as tall as Li Jian when crouched. After a few more breakthroughs, he might even be able to carry someone on his back.

Patting his head with mixed emotions, Li Jian marveled that his spirit pet had advanced ahead of him. With the demon power Guagua’s demon core now held, even Li Jian at his peak first-tier body cultivation couldn’t withstand a single strike.

In the human cultivation system, the foundation and qi refinement stages mark a qualitative leap in dantian power, separated by an insurmountable gap that mere quantity cannot fill.

Guagua was now officially a second-tier demon beast, and with the aid of Xiao Qiao and the Fire Spirit, Li Jian felt his demon core’s power surpassed that of an ordinary early foundation cultivator.

“Go, stabilize well and don’t grow arrogant from success.” Tossing Guagua a beast pill, Li Jian turned back to the pill room to settle his mind.

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“It doesn’t matter; I will definitely build my foundation this year!”

With the recent upheaval in the Immortal City’s situation, acquiring primary materials for foundation pills was not difficult. Li Jian still had over five thousand spirit stones stored in his bag—enough to gather ingredients for multiple foundation pills. Buying a second-tier pill furnace was also no problem.

Five days later, while repeatedly simulating the method for refining foundation pills, Li Jian’s divine sense stirred. The divine sense imprint left on Master Mo Dan stirred and moved toward the city’s outskirts.

This kind of divine sense imprint was a small technique of foundation-stage cultivators—they condensed a thread of divine sense and left a mark on the other person. It only worked if the other’s divine sense was weaker; otherwise, it could be detected and easily erased. Moreover, it had time and distance limits—usually lasting no more than three days and ineffective beyond a hundred yards.

“Let’s see if there’s an opportunity,” Li Jian thought, storing Guagua in his spirit pet pouch and instructing Xiao Qiao not to activate the formation lightly. He then changed his appearance and quickly pursued.

Soon enough, Li Jian caught up with Master Mo Dan’s group of four just as they were about to leave the city gate.

From afar, they had disguised themselves again as four fierce, rugged cultivators, wearing old, low-level robes and each wielding a magic tool radiating deadly energy.

The cultivators they passed mostly avoided them, as these four late-stage qi refinement cultivators were formidable in Cangyun Prefecture, where most scattered cultivators were only early to mid-stage.

Once outside the city, they mounted their magic tools and sped southward.

The auction event in Immortal City had just concluded, and many cultivators were leaving daily, many heading south. Li Jian, disguised as a bearded, burly man, followed at a distance.

Near Immortal City, patrol cultivators dressed in golden Immortal City guard uniforms occasionally appeared, giving passing cultivators some sense of security.

However, manpower was insufficient, and within just five days, the patrol cultivators vanished entirely.

From then on, cultivators became cautious and kept their distance from anyone powerful and suspicious. The weaker ones began traveling in groups for safety.

“Fellow cultivator, we are legitimate cultivators from the Tang Family Village in the south. May we travel together?” one day, a pale-faced, beardless cultivator with a bone age under thirty, at the fifth level of qi refinement, approached from afar.

Li Jian was somewhat surprised. His rugged disguise was not only to avoid being singled out as easy prey by robbers but also to avoid unnecessary trouble.

His original plan following Master Mo Dan was not necessarily to take action. He intended to let things unfold naturally and, if the chance arose, help Mo Dan fulfill a promise from a past life. Otherwise, he would not force it.

Of course, this was before Guagua’s breakthrough.

Now, he felt the opportunity was very promising.

Not exaggerating, with a second-tier Guagua, apart from a few major powers in Cangyun Prefecture, he feared no one.

Understanding oneself correctly means recognizing your weaknesses and staying low-key when necessary, but also acknowledging your strengths and maintaining a proper mindset.

If one is clearly strong but lives in constant fear, that too shows a failure to recognize oneself.

“Hmm?” Li Jian’s expression darkened, and he stared coldly at the young man.

“Please don’t misunderstand, fellow cultivator. We mean no harm,” the youth replied cautiously. “We heard a few days ago that the area ahead, spanning thousands of miles, is unsafe. The Sacred Sect has gone to the Great Swamp Mountains to seize opportunities and cannot maintain security within the prefecture. Not only have the true robbers returned, but many powerful amateur robbers have appeared. Traveling together means more safety.”

“Hmph, aren’t you afraid I might be one of those robbers?” Li Jian asked sharply, frowning.

The youth broke into a carefree smile. “You jest, fellow cultivator. Robbers don’t dress like this.”

“Is this your first time? How amusing,” Li Jian slightly released his pressure.

The youth’s face instantly changed color. He hurriedly bowed in apology. “Forgive me, fellow cultivator. I will leave immediately.”

With that, he quickly departed.

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“Eh?”

A few days later, Li Jian noticed that Master Mo Dan’s group had stopped about a hundred miles ahead. Sharing vision with Guagua, he clearly saw the four change their appearances again, this time into four well-dressed young gentlemen.

Moreover, they retracted their aura, only releasing power equivalent to mid-stage qi refinement.

“Could it be... they’re trying to bait law enforcement?” Li Jian guessed, glancing at occasional passing cultivators.

Near Immortal City, foundation-stage cultivators sometimes appeared, along with powerful qi refinement robbers, many of whom operated in gangs. They avoided attracting attention.

Now, far from northern Cangyun Prefecture, the overall strength of cultivators was much lower. Among returning cultivators, these four ranked among the strongest.

They sought to make some extra profit but feared being trapped by law enforcement, so they disguised themselves as easy prey to lure others into their net.

“If there are no rules, the law of the jungle prevails!” Li Jian smiled calmly and continued to follow from afar.

After half a month and several dispersals, the number of traveling cultivators dwindled.

One day, Mo Dan’s group’s plan finally succeeded.

Two mid-stage qi refinement cultivators flying past them days before had gathered three late-stage qi refinement cultivators somewhere and ambushed Mo Dan’s group along their route.

The five thought they had found easy prey, but upon engaging, they immediately discerned the problem.

Before they could plead for mercy, they were swiftly killed and looted.

A passing cultivator witnessed the entire scene, fled in panic, and kept the memory for warning others in their tribe’s teachings.

However, just as the witness fled, Mo Dan suddenly panicked while counting the spoils—three of his companions’ auras vanished from his senses in an instant.

Turning, he met Guagua’s long tongue.

“Pfft~” The tongue pierced through his heart.

Mo Dan’s pupils dilated, staring in disbelief at the frog before him.

Then, a familiar figure appeared beside Guagua.

“You... you... Xiao Li?” Memories from over sixty years ago suddenly surfaced.

The man and the frog before him felt so familiar.

“Master Mo Dan, my father said you promised me a great opportunity. I’m here today to claim that promise.”