Chapter 270: Chapter 267: Lucky Yan Hengchuan

On Little Plum Mountain.

Li Ping leaped up, transformed into a rainbow streak of light, and vanished.

"What kind of technique was that? It’s incredible," Ji Shuchen said, his eyes filled with shock as he felt the vibrant life force surging through his body.

Uncle Li had only injected a few wisps of Magical Power into him, yet his condition had improved dramatically. His chronic, debilitating illnesses were all gone, and he might even live for several more years because of it.

As he marveled at Uncle Li’s abilities, Ji Shuchen recalled what he’d said before leaving. ’Uncle Li said he’d be back in a while to open the cave-dwelling beneath Little Plum Mountain. But didn’t he say before that it wasn’t a good idea to expose the Underground Spirit Vein without a Core Formation Cultivator to guard it? Then why...’

Numerous thoughts flashed through his mind, and Ji Shuchen soon guessed at one possibility.

A look of shock and delight appeared on his face. ’Could it be that Uncle Li is already a Core Formation Master?’

...

「A few hours later.」

In the ancestral hall of Sword Casting Manor, a figure in a blue robe stood tall and straight. He looked up at two specific spirit tablets among the dozens arranged in rows at the head of the hall, a hint of sorrow in his eyes.

’The Tablet of the Honored Deceased, Duke Yan Guike’!

’The Tablet of the Honored Deceased, Duke Yan Jingxing’!

One tablet was old, the other new, but both had incense burning before them. They were the spirit tablets of his master and third senior brother.

Li Ping remembered that when he had returned to the Jiang Kingdom nearly seventy years ago, his third senior brother’s health was already failing. He couldn’t even walk on his own and had to be supported by others.

Even then, he’d had a vague premonition that it would be the last time he would ever see him.

Afterward, he was inexplicably transported to the Land of the Far North. By the time he returned to the Jiang Kingdom, seventy years had passed. His third senior brother had been gone for a full sixty years.

Time flowed on.

The elders who had cared for him—Daoist Ji, his master, his third senior brother—were all gone. The people he knew had become cold names on spirit tablets.

Recalling his time with his elders, a lonely expression appeared on Li Ping’s face.

’This world is just so cruel.’

The Great Dao is merciless, and all mortals must face death.

Even Cultivators, if they could not advance bravely and diligently on the Immortal Dao, break through one great bottleneck after another, and gain more lifespan from the heavens and earth, would ultimately turn to a pile of dust.

’If I didn’t have a Spiritual Root, if I hadn’t met my master, if I hadn’t met Daoist Ji, if I hadn’t bought a Foundation Establishment Pill, if I hadn’t awakened the peerless talent within my body...’

’...I probably would have been buried long ago.’

Just as Li Ping was lost in his memories—

CREAK— The door to the ancestral hall was pushed open, and the sound of footsteps and conversation drifted in from outside.

"Sixth Senior Brother, when I use the ’Antelope Horn Hang’ move, it just doesn’t feel right. Did I miss some trick to it?" a soft, sweet female voice said, sounding a little frustrated.

"Little Junior Sister, you’ve only just started learning martial arts. Practice the Sword Skills more and you’ll get the hang of them. After we offer incense to the ancestors, let’s go to the training grounds. I’ll demonstrate the moves for you a few times," a rough, bold male voice followed.

"Oh, that would be great! Let’s hurry and offer incense to the ancestors," the junior sister said, her tone cheerful now that she’d heard her senior brother’s offer.

Soon, the two walked into the ancestral hall and began to offer incense to the ancestors, completely oblivious to Li Ping standing off to the side.

A small smile appeared on Li Ping’s face as he watched the young man and woman bustling about.

’Master may be gone, but Sword Casting Manor still stands, the Yan family endures, and I still live on in many people’s hearts.’

’Daoist Ji may have passed on, but the Cultivation Clan he founded has grown and prospered. Generations of Cultivators have risen, injecting new blood into the family.’

’In a way, isn’t this another form of immortality?’

At this thought, Li Ping felt a sense of peace.

He glanced at the young pair. They were carefully replacing the burnt-out incense sticks. Smiling, Li Ping shook his head and walked out of the hall, disappearing in just a few steps.

After he left—

"Huh? Sixth Senior Brother, what are these?" the junior sister asked curiously, noticing several cyan Jade Bottles placed on the table.

The sixth senior brother was confused. "What?"

When he followed her finger and looked, his eyes widened in shock. He clearly remembered that spot had been completely empty just a moment ago.

"What in the world are these?"

The sixth senior brother walked over, carefully opened one of the Jade Bottles, and discovered that they were all filled with incredibly precious sacred medicines for healing and strengthening one’s foundation.

"Grandmaster has returned! It must be him! He was just here," the sixth senior brother exclaimed, recalling a legend that had been passed down in Sword Casting Manor for nearly a hundred years.

According to the legend, the Yan family of Sword Casting Manor was originally just an ordinary martial arts faction.

But then, a disciple taken in by a former Manor Master became an Immortal. Under that Immortal’s protection, the Yan family rose to prominence, becoming an illustrious noble house in the Jiang Kingdom.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly searched the ancestral hall, repeatedly calling out, "Grandmaster!"

But Li Ping was long gone, so his actions were naturally in vain.

...

「Near the Spirit Island at the heart of Bifeng Lake.」

Li Ping stood in the void above. His vast Divine Sense instantly spread out, enveloping the entire Spirit Island and treating the Tier Two Upper Grade Array surrounding it as if it were nothing.

Under the sweep of his Divine Sense, he quickly found Yan Hengchuan leisurely drinking Spirit Tea in the island’s main hall.

A smile touched his eyes. Li Ping’s lips moved slightly, and then he waited quietly.

In the main hall, Yan Hengchuan shot to his feet upon hearing Li Ping’s voice transmission, a look of disbelief and uncertainty in his eyes. He suspected he might be hearing things.

’Why would Grandmaster be calling for me?’

’Besides, even if Grandmaster had really returned, I’m inside the island’s protective Grand Array. How could Grandmaster possibly send a voice transmission to me through the Array?’

Filled with doubt, Yan Hengchuan went outside the island. He immediately saw the elegant, otherworldly figure standing in the void and his eyes widened in disbelief. "Grandmaster, it’s really you!"

Li Ping smiled and tapped him on the head. "Who else would it be? You little rascal, have you already forgotten me?"

Yan Hengchuan was the grandson of Li Ping’s third senior brother. Shortly after being found to possess a Spiritual Root, he had gone to Fenglan Immortal City to cultivate under Li Ping’s guidance.

Later, with Li Ping’s help, he used a foundation-seizing technique to take Yan Liming’s Dao Foundation and become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Li Ping had shown him such great kindness, and Yan Hengchuan had always held him in the highest esteem.

In his eyes, Li Ping wasn’t just a senior in the Cultivation Realm, but a caring elder who watched over and protected him.

Now, being tapped on the head by Li Ping, he chuckled sheepishly. "Hehe... I know it’s you now, Grandmaster. Please, come in."

Grinning, he led Li Ping to the main hall on the island, where an attendant served Spirit Tea.

At the same time, the other Foundation Establishment Cultivator on the island, Yan Hengchuan’s Daoist companion and Grand Elder of the Yu family, Yu Peiling, also came to pay her respects to Li Ping.

Yu Peiling wore a pale white ruqun and appeared as a beautiful young woman in her twenties. Upon seeing Li Ping, she immediately bowed respectfully. "Peiling greets Grandmaster."

Li Ping smiled and nodded, signaling for her to dispense with the formalities.

When Yan Hengchuan and Yu Peiling became Daoist companions, he had made a special trip from Fenglan Immortal City to attend their wedding banquet. Thus, Yu Peiling could also be considered his junior.

Li Ping took the seat of honor in the hall, while Yan Hengchuan and Yu Peiling sat respectfully to the side.

"Grandmaster, I sent people to Fenglan Immortal City to ask about you many times but never heard any news. Where have you been all these years?" Yan Hengchuan asked curiously.

His grandfather’s passing, the birth of his own children... for many major events, he had sent messengers to Fenglan Immortal City to inform his Grandmaster, but they always returned empty-handed.

This had once led Yan Hengchuan to worry that some accident had befallen his Grandmaster.

Fortunately, after so many years, his Grandmaster had returned safe and sound, finally putting Yan Hengchuan’s mind at ease.

But he couldn’t help but be curious about where his Grandmaster had been all this time.

Li Ping had no intention of hiding his experiences in the Land of the Far North.

Hearing Yan Hengchuan’s question, he smiled and shook his head. "I spent these past years in the Land of the Far North, not the Western Wilderness. It’s only normal that you couldn’t find me."

"The Land of the Far North," Yan Hengchuan and his wife repeated, their eyes wide.

They knew their Grandmaster had a cautious personality, but they never expected he would run so far just to avoid the chaos in the Cultivation Realm.

"I ran into Shu Xuan in the Land of the Far North. But before I returned, he had already passed on and reincarnated," Li Ping said, unaware of their thoughts, as he briefly explained Ji Shu Xuan’s situation to Yan Hengchuan.

Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shu Xuan had been friends since childhood and had later cultivated together in Fenglan Immortal City for nearly thirty years.

Though not blood brothers, their bond was deeper than that of many siblings.

Later, Ji Shu Xuan went to the Yan Kingdom to seek an opportunity for Foundation Establishment, but ended up disappearing.

Yan Hengchuan had blamed himself for a long time, believing that his own arrogance and lack of restraint after reaching Foundation Establishment had created a psychological gap for Ji Shu Xuan, leading to his unfortunate demise.

All these years, he had actually felt guilty about Ji Shu Xuan.

Now, hearing that Ji Shu Xuan had lived out his days in the Land of the Far North and that one of his descendants had even become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he finally felt at peace.

...

Next, Yan Hengchuan began to introduce his own situation with pride.

Li Ping learned that his and Yu Peiling’s second son possessed a Thunder Element Mutated Spiritual Root. Fifty years ago, upon joining the Crimson Flame Sect, he was immediately taken as a disciple by one of the sect’s Core Formation Masters.

He was now a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, his Cultivation even a step above his own parents.

Hearing this, Li Ping couldn’t help but shoot a glance at Yan Hengchuan.

’It’s one thing for someone with a five-elemental root to reach Foundation Establishment. But to have the young lady of the Yu family fall for him shortly after, and then to have a son with an Abnormal Spiritual Root after marriage... Why do I get the feeling this kid’s luck is a little too good?’

’Does he possess great fortune, or could it be... that the Hongyun Qi Tian Gu is on you, kid?’

...

As they chatted, Yan Hengchuan’s curiosity got the better of him. "By the way, Grandmaster, I was inside the Array just now. How did you send me a voice transmission? Don’t tell me there’s a loophole in the island’s Grand Array."

"Oh? So if there’s no loophole in the Array, I can’t send you a voice transmission?" Li Ping retorted with a smile.

"This protective island Array is a Tier Two Upper Grade Array that’s also capable of blocking Divine Sense." Yan Hengchuan shook his head like a rattle drum. "Without a loophole, even the Divine Sense of a Late-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator couldn’t possibly break through it, unless..."

As he said this, his eyes suddenly went wide.

Li Ping teased with a grin, "Unless what?"

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