Chapter 117: The Possessed Identity

Chapter 117: Chapter 117: The Possessed Identity

In a tavern somewhere in the Immortal City.

Ji Shu Xuan walked in cautiously and found Yan Hengchuan busy in the back kitchen.

He whispered, "Hengchuan, let’s go to Immortal Peach Mountain now to pay our respects to Elder Li."

Hearing this, Yan Hengchuan unhurriedly put down what he was doing. He called out boisterously to a somewhat short young man nearby, "Little He, I’m heading out for a bit. When Spirit Chef Mo gets back, let him know."

"Alright, Brother Yan." The short young man gave a somewhat forced smile.

Yan Hengchuan paid him no mind and left with Ji Shu Xuan.

Only after the two had left did a gloomy, vicious look appear in the short young man’s eyes. ’Juniors, how dare you act so impudently before this venerated one.’

What Yan Hengchuan didn’t know was that this short young man actually had another identity.

He was none other than the Core Formation Cultivator Yan Liming, who had undergone Possession.

Back then, he had fallen into a trap. Besieged by Mr. Yan and Fenglan Master, he had no choice but to expend a massive amount of his Origin to use the Blood Wing Escape Skill and flee.

After escaping his pursuers, he discovered that his Origin and lifespan were almost completely depleted, forcing him to choose Possession.

To Orthodox Cultivators, Possession was unequivocally an act of the Demon Dao. Once discovered, the perpetrator would be scorned by the entire Cultivation Realm.

But as a Demon Cultivator, Yan Liming naturally had no qualms about Possession.

The aftereffects of Demon Dao Cultivation Techniques were severe, and the slightest misstep could damage one’s Dharma Body. As a result, Possession was a very common practice among Demon Cultivators. It had even spawned industries like ’vessel cultivation and trading.’

However, Yan Liming knew full well that every Demon Cultivator was a selfish, insidious, and treacherous being who would disown their own family.

If his former sect-mates were to discover that he had fallen to the point of needing Possession and had lost his Core Formation Realm combat strength...

...those ’sincere and earnest’ sect-mates of the past would most likely tear off their masks and bare their fangs at him.

At that point, not only would the resources and Treasures he had accumulated over half his life be stolen, but he himself would probably be captured to have his Life Soul used for Refining Treasure.

Therefore, before his strength reached the Foundation Establishment realm, Yan Liming didn’t dare even consider returning to his sect.

After searching for some time near the Immortal City, he finally found a child with a Spiritual Root.

After hiding his own Dharma Body and Storage Bag, he unhesitatingly sent his soul out of his body to perform the Possession. With the soul strength of his Core Formation Realm, possessing a mere uncultivated child was naturally an effortless success.

However, before he could retrieve his Storage Bag, he was brought to the Immortal City to cultivate by an elder from the child’s village.

’This is fine too. With my current Cultivation, I can’t use the items in the Storage Bag anyway.’ Yan Liming thought to himself as a cold glint unconsciously flashed in his eyes. ’When this venerated one reaches the Qi Refining Ninth Level, I’ll go back for the Storage Bag. And at that time—’

A voice interrupted Yan Liming’s thoughts. "Little He, come out quick! Someone’s looking for you!"

’Courting death!’ A violent rage instantly surged in Yan Liming’s heart when someone dared to disturb him.

But he quickly remembered that he was no longer Yan Liming, the Core Formation Cultivator, but He Yunyi, a Qi Refining First Level Cultivator.

He immediately walked out of the back kitchen with a calm expression. In an instant, he saw the elder who had brought him to the Immortal City to cultivate standing in the main hall, waiting for him.

Gumu Sheng said with a cheerful smile, "Yun Yi, are you settling in well here?"

Feeling aggrieved, Yan Liming bowed to the Low-tier Cultivator before him. "Thank you for your concern, Elder. I am doing very well here."

’In the past, I can’t even remember how many of these Low-tier Cultivators—insects I could crush with a flick of my finger—I’ve killed.’

But now, he was a dragon stranded in shallow waters, forced to lower his head.

Gumu Sheng was an exceptionally shrewd man. How could the faint hint of unnaturalness in Yan Liming’s bow escape his eyes?

But he just assumed the little fellow was nervous, having just arrived in the Immortal City, and didn’t pay it too much mind.

Gumu Sheng smiled and said, "It’s good that you’re adapting. I have some Spirit Stones here that an elder from your village entrusted to me. You’re the only Cultivator from your village, so I’ve decided to give them all to you. When you achieve success in your cultivation, you must remember to give back to the village."

Hearing Gumu Sheng’s words, Yan Liming couldn’t help but be taken aback.

After all, if something like this happened in a demonic sect, forget about returning the Spirit Stones left by the village elder—they would have been completely pocketed. Gumu Sheng should have then paid a visit to the village, rounded everyone up, and used Soul Searching and torture to find out if the elder had left any other Treasures.

"Oh... oh." Still stunned, Yan Liming accepted the cloth bag Gumu Sheng handed him.

"Alright. If you run into any trouble in the future, remember to find me." After giving the Spirit Stones to Yan Liming, Gumu Sheng offered a few more words of advice before turning to leave.

Yan Liming weighed the cloth bag in his hand. It contained over a hundred Low-Tier Spirit Stones.

’Indeed, it was the right decision for this venerated one to stay in the territory of the Righteous Dao to recover my Cultivation.’ A smile appeared on his face. ’Junior, for the sake of these Spirit Stones, I’ll spare your life when this venerated one recovers my power.’

Just then, another voice rang out, "What are you grinning foolishly for? Get back to work!"

Yan Liming turned to see that Spirit Chef Mo had returned. He snorted coldly in his heart. ’Junior, you dare shout at this venerated one? Once I recover my Cultivation, I’ll make sure you learn the meaning of a fate worse than death.’

But despite his inner cold snort, Yan Liming showed no reaction and obediently went back to work.

"Eh? Where did that brat Yan go?" Spirit Chef Mo asked.

When he learned from Yan Liming that Yan Hengchuan had gone to see his own grandmaster, Spirit Chef Mo immediately shut his mouth.

He had long known that Yan Hengchuan’s grandmaster was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, someone he could not afford to offend.

...

When Li Ping heard that Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shu Xuan had come to see him, he received them with a cheerful smile.

As soon as they saw Li Ping, they hurriedly bowed. "Greetings, Grandmaster!" "Greetings, Elder!"

Li Ping waved his hand, gesturing for them to rise. As they straightened up, his Divine Sense swept over them, and he discovered that Yan Hengchuan had also broken through to the Qi Refining Second Level, putting his Cultivation on par with Ji Shu Xuan’s.

He immediately had them describe the problems they had encountered in their cultivation, and he gave them guidance one by one.

After guiding their cultivation, he took out four bottles of Qi-Replenishing Pills and divided them between the two before sending the delighted pair on their way.

...

Shortly after the new year, Zhang Tie’s wedding was held as scheduled.

Li Ping met his wife. She was not exceptionally beautiful, but she had a gentle and graceful temperament, looking like she had the potential to be a good wife and loving mother.

When the couple came to pay their respects to him, he offered the newlyweds his heartfelt blessings and also gave them some special Pills, the nature of which was not for others to know.

...

More than half a year passed peacefully.

Qi Hanmo came to Immortal Peach Mountain to bid farewell to Li Ping.

Li Ping personally gifted him five hundred Spirit Stones and five Tier Two Lower Grade Spirit Talismans.

Qi Hanmo hastily tried to refuse, as this amount was even more than the Spirit Stones he had contributed to the Foundation Establishment Fund.

However, with Li Ping’s firm insistence, he ultimately had no choice but to accept them.

Watching Qi Hanmo’s departing figure, Li Ping nodded slightly.

The reason he had given Qi Hanmo the Spirit Stones and Spirit Talismans was, first, that such things were of little consequence to him and easy to part with.

Second, Qi Hanmo had left without ever receiving a Foundation Establishment opportunity from the Friends Association, and he hadn’t asked for his contributed Spirit Stones back.

Although the reason was that he had found a better option and no longer had to worry about his Foundation Establishment opportunity...

...Li Ping still felt slightly indebted to him. So he personally compensated him with five hundred Spirit Stones and five Spirit Talismans to ensure he could arrive safely in Jixia and have a smoother start.

Not long after, Li Ping learned that Qi Hanmo had bid farewell to everyone else and had already set off for Jixia with a merchant caravan.

"The great war between the Righteous and Demon Daos has broken out, so the situation over in Jixia isn’t as good as one might imagine," he sighed. "I hope everything goes smoothly for you in Jixia and that you succeed in your Foundation Establishment."

...

It was hard to say whether it was Zhang Tie’s own impressive accuracy or the Pills Li Ping had given him that did the trick.

Not long after Qi Hanmo’s departure, Zhang Tie came running over, flushed with joy, to tell him that his wife was pregnant.

Seeing Zhang Tie looking completely overwhelmed with happiness, Li Ping also smiled and congratulated him, casually reminding him that he’d have to exercise some restraint for a while.

Zhang Tie accepted Li Ping’s blessings and left, beaming.

Seeing Zhang Tie’s blissful expression, Bai Lin, who was standing beside Li Ping, couldn’t help but feel envious. She linked her arm with his and said coquettishly, "Young Master, I want a child too."

But Li Ping just shook his head. "Having a child will divide your focus. Right now, you should be putting all your energy into cultivation. That way, you might have a sliver of a chance at Foundation Establishment in the future."

Bai Lin had Four Spirit Roots, so her aptitude could only be described as average.

However, she was cultivating on a Tier Two Upper Grade Spiritual Land and had a large supply of Pills to advance her Cultivation.

Not yet twenty-four, she had already broken through to the Qi Refining Fifth Level.

At this rate of cultivation, she had a good chance of reaching the Peak of Qi Refining before the age of fifty and attempting to break through to Foundation Establishment.

Li Ping had always been generous to his own people. How could he possibly mistreat Bai Lin after she had been with him for so long?

When the time came, he would definitely find a way to get a Foundation Establishment Pill and protect her while she made her attempt.

Of course, Bai Lin had Four Spirit Roots, so her chances of successfully reaching Foundation Establishment were not high to begin with.

Furthermore, she had already lost her Primordial Yin Body, making her success rate even lower than that of an ordinary Cultivator with Four Spirit Roots.

But that wasn’t to say she had no chance at all.

Bai Lin understood the meaning behind Li Ping’s words. A look of pleasant surprise appeared in her eyes, and she no longer mentioned having a child, busying herself with her own tasks instead.

As for Li Ping, he returned to the Alchemy Room to continue his Alchemy, absorbing the Innate Spiritual Mechanism from the Pills to strengthen his Nourishing Life Skill Power.

The Tier Two Lower Grade Pill he was currently refining, the Peiyuan Pill, required Spirit Medicines that were all over a hundred years old. Both purification and extraction were exceptionally troublesome.

Refining a single furnace of Tier Two Pills took at least ten-odd days.

Fortunately, he possessed a Tier Two Peak Grade Pill Furnace, his alchemy skill had reached Tier Three, and he had the blessing of the Legacy Tree, which guaranteed a 100% success rate in alchemy.

Therefore, when performing Alchemy, he could skip some of the more tedious steps, shortening the time to form the Pills to about seven or eight days.

This way, Alchemy didn’t interfere with his own cultivation.

Aside from Alchemy, the egg he had obtained from Zhang Tie was being continuously infused with his Nourishing Life Skill Power. The life force within it was burgeoning, and its Origin had become almost overwhelmingly powerful.

Li Ping estimated that in less than a year, this Spirit Bird with an atavistic bloodline would finally hatch.