Eternal Life by Daily Divination

Chapter 217: Chapter 178: A Great Opportunity, Ancient Wood Evergreen

She felt a mix of gratitude and some other, indescribable emotion.

“Brother Li, thank you for giving me this Spirit Contract. I have something to give you too, but I buried it in the Mortal Realm. Can you accompany me back there?”

“What is it?”

Li Chang’an asked casually.

With his current strength, ordinary Treasures were of little use to him.

He didn’t want to make a special trip back to the Mortal Realm for it.

Mu Qiuyan replied, “It’s an Ancient Map with the words ’Ancient Wood Evergreen’ on it.”

“Ancient Wood Evergreen?”

Li Chang’an’s spirits lifted.

When he had questioned the Evil Soul about the method for Spirit Root Ascension, the Evil Soul had occasionally uttered the phrase “Ancient Wood Evergreen.”

It seemed that phrase was closely related to Spirit Root Ascension.

“Qiuyan, where did you get that map?”

“The Ancient Wood Secret Realm.”

Mu Qiuyan answered truthfully, without any concealment.

Many years ago, to escape the pursuit of Cyan Cloud Sect disciples, she had fled into a dangerous area within the Secret Realm and discovered a Jade Scroll. Inside the Jade Scroll was that very Ancient Map.

At that time, she had a feeling that this was a heaven-sent opportunity.

However, the map pointed to the depths of the Ancient Wood Secret Realm. Her strength was insufficient back then, and she worried about encountering dangers she couldn’t handle deep within the Secret Realm, so she never went to explore, putting it off until now.

“Brother Li, are you willing to go back to the Mortal Realm with me?”

Mu Qiuyan looked at Li Chang’an, a hint of hope in her eyes.

Li Chang’an nodded slightly.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

A look of joy appeared on Mu Qiuyan’s face.

The two immediately set off for the Mortal Realm.

Along the way, Li Chang’an remained vigilant, on his guard against Mu Qiuyan.

…

「The next day.」

The two returned to the Mortal Realm.

Li Chang’an hadn’t been back in many years.

Looking at the somewhat desolate county town before him, he couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

’No wonder most Cultivators are unwilling to return. The Mortal Realm is truly too barren.’

After arriving in the Mortal Realm, Li Chang’an could barely sense the existence of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power.

It was impossible to cultivate here!

He had to lock away his own Magical Power to prevent it from dissipating.

To the Mortal Realm, he was now a walking, priceless Treasure. A single drop of his blood was comparable to a Spiritual Elixir.

Mu Qiuyan had clearly returned to the Mortal Realm often and quickly adapted to the situation.

“Brother Li, follow me.”

“Okay.”

One after the other, they sped across the towering mountains and jagged peaks of the Mortal Realm.

「A moment later.」

They arrived in a rather remote area.

“Brother Li, my home is just ahead.”

Mu Qiuyan slowed down, a touch of sorrow in her expression.

Hearing this, Li Chang’an looked ahead.

There should have been a village there, but now only rubble and ruins remained.

Overgrown with weeds and filled with the moaning of the wind, there was not a soul in sight.

Mu Qiuyan descended into the ruins and entered a dilapidated hut.

「A short while later.」

She walked out of the hut, holding a Jade Scroll.

“Brother Li, this is the Ancient Map.”

The Jade Scroll slowly flew over and hovered silently in front of Li Chang’an.

In that instant, the Magical Power within Li Chang’an’s body unexpectedly stirred, forming a faint connection with the Jade Scroll.

He was secretly astonished.

’Could it be that the Ancient Wood Health Cultivation Technique I practice is related to Ancient Wood Evergreen?’

At this thought, he immediately grabbed the Jade Scroll and began its Refinement.

Soon, a vast Ancient Map appeared within his Divine Sense.

On one side of the map, the large words “Ancient Wood Evergreen” materialized.

The moment he saw those words, the circulation of Magical Power in his body actually sped up slightly.

’It seems there really is a connection!’

He focused his attention and carefully examined the entire Ancient Map.

Just as Mu Qiuyan had said, this map pointed to the depths of the Ancient Wood Secret Realm.

To reach that area, one would have to pass through at least a hundred dangerous places!

If Li Chang’an were just an ordinary Qi Refining Cultivator, he naturally wouldn’t go.

But his current strength was already on par with the Foundation Establishment stage.

As long as he was careful, there should be almost no problems.

“Qiuyan, your feeling was right. This map is indeed a great opportunity and a huge help to me. Thank you.”

Li Chang’an put away the Jade Scroll and said solemnly.

Mu Qiuyan replied, “I’m glad it’s useful. But the Secret Realm is fraught with danger. You must be careful, Brother Li.”

“I know.”

With that, Li Chang’an looked around.

The surrounding scene of devastation made him understand what Mu Qiuyan had meant before when she said she “had no home to return to.”

This village seemed to have been destroyed in some kind of accident.

“Qiuyan, why are you so determined to be an enemy of the Cyan Cloud Sect? Could it be that they destroyed this place?”

Hearing this, the sorrow in Mu Qiuyan’s expression deepened.

She sighed softly.

“Brother Li, it’s a bit complicated. Can I go pay respects to my mother first?”

“Alright.”

Li Chang’an wasn’t in a hurry anyway.

「Not long after.」

The two arrived at a low mound.

Her spirits low, Mu Qiuyan walked to a small grave and took out some paper money to burn.

In the flickering firelight, she began to explain.

This region was extremely poor, and every household was plagued by poverty.

Her father had been a hunter, but he later died in the mountains, leaving her and her mother to fend for themselves.

Growing up, she had almost never known the feeling of a full stomach.

One year, during a famine, she nearly starved to death.

Later, a benefactor from the county came to hand out grain. Her mother managed to get a few steamed buns, but she was targeted by the village bully. To protect the buns, she was beaten until she was covered in blood.

Thanks to those blood-stained buns, she and her mother survived the most difficult of times.

“Brother Li, the reason I followed you to seek immortality back then wasn’t because I truly yearned for the Immortal Dao. It was just because I could get a full meal by following you.”

“So that’s how it was.”

Li Chang’an recalled the past, and some of the questions in his heart were finally answered.

Later on, Mu Qiuyan was also rejected by the Immortal Sect.

But she didn’t choose to become a Loose Cultivator. Instead, she returned to the Mortal Realm to take care of her mother.

“My mother was poor her whole life and never experienced what it was like to be well-off. She always told me that when I grew up, I had to marry into a good family so I could afford to eat steamed buns at every meal.”

Mu Qiuyan murmured.

At that time, after being taught by Li Chang’an, she was already considered a second-rate master in the Mortal Realm.

With her martial skills, she could have easily provided a comfortable life for herself and her mother.

However, when she returned to this region, she stumbled upon a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering battle.

Two Cyan Cloud Sect disciples were fighting here over a Treasure.

The village was instantly destroyed, reduced to rubble and ruins.

Everyone in the village, including her mother, was turned to withered bones in an instant. Not a single person survived!

At the time, even though Mu Qiuyan was far away, she was still knocked unconscious by the shockwave of the battle.

When she woke up, only a dead silence remained before her.

Everything was gone.

Grief and hatred drove her back to the Cultivation Immortality Realm to embark on the path of cultivation.

In the years that followed, she was covered in scars. She faced death countless times.

A mere Loose Cultivator, she contended with a massive Sect like the Cyan Cloud Sect.

Eventually, she identified the two Cyan Cloud Sect disciples.

As she said this, Mu Qiuyan took two blood-stained human heads from her Storage Pouch and slowly placed them before the gravestone.

Her great vengeance was exacted, and she had also become a high and mighty Immortal, capable of changing the fates of countless mortals with a single thought.

Unfortunately, times had changed, and things were no longer the same.

Her eyes reddened as she spoke softly to the grave.

“Mother, I can afford to eat steamed buns at every meal now.”