Eternal Life by Daily Divination

"Alright, I understand."

Li Chang’an nodded slightly, information about the entire Mandarin Duck Valley instantly surfacing in his mind.

He knew of this Fan Yunfei.

His actual strength was comparable to that of Ou Lingshan, who had once challenged the Mu Family. Both were outstanding among the Golden Core Seeds.

Fan Zhou, whom Li Chang’an had killed previously, was this man’s uncle.

As Li Chang’an sized up Fan Yunfei, the other man was doing the same to him.

"You’re Li Chang’an? That Turtle?"

Hearing this, Li Chang’an was a little surprised.

’When did that nickname of mine spread to the Western Domain?’

Fan Yunfei continued, "Li Chang’an, cut off the head of the man beside you and present it to me! I can let you serve under my Mandarin Duck Valley. Once the valley takes control of this place, you can continue being the Turtle!"

His words were very clear.

As long as Li Chang’an killed Xiao Haoran, he could become a member of the Western Domain’s faction.

The Western Domain’s army was about to attack. A true Turtle, in order to save his own skin, might actually have done it.

But Li Chang’an just smiled.

"Daoist Fan, you underestimate me."

As he spoke, nine Tier Two Peak Spiritual Swords flew out from his Storage Pouch, forming a Sword Array of astonishing power.

Seeing this, a murderous glint flashed in Fan Yunfei’s eyes.

"In that case, I’ll just have to kill you, you old Turtle!"

He formed a hand seal, and a Water Magic Technique instantly took shape, about to strike Li Chang’an.

But at that very moment, the Sword Array had already torn through the sky and arrived before him!

Although this was only a Tier Two Nine Swords Array, its power had already surpassed the Foundation Establishment Limit. An ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator couldn’t possibly block it.

"So you do have some skill."

Fan Yunfei snorted coldly, blocking the Sword Array with his own Spiritual Artifact.

"But this little bit of skill is not enough to face me—"

Before he could finish his sentence, there was a soft CRACK.

Fan Yunfei’s head was severed by a strange power, flying into the air as blood splattered across the sky.

What killed him wasn’t the Sword Array, but the Evil Soul hidden within it.

Using the brilliant sword light as cover, Li Chang’an had used Magical Power comparable to the Middle Stage of Golden Core to easily take Fan Yunfei’s head, sucking his Soul into the Venerable Soul Banner.

"Come!"

Li Chang’an beckoned with his hand, and the man’s Storage Pouch flew into his grasp.

He erased the restriction on it and opened it to take a look.

He quickly found his target.

"The Spirit Cloud Pearl!"

The pearl was about the size of a fist, with a shell like a translucent, pure white Jade Treasure. A hazy white mist swirled within it.

Simply integrating it into a Spirit Vein could temporarily raise the Spirit Vein’s Tier.

Besides the Spirit Cloud Pearl, the Storage Pouch also contained several other Treasures that were quite good for Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

Li Chang’an gave them a cursory glance, put the Storage Pouch away, and threw out a few Talismans, burning Fan Yunfei’s corpse to ashes.

Nearby, Xiao Haoran watched, completely dumbfounded.

He had thought Li Chang’an would use the Array to block Fan Yunfei.

But in the blink of an eye, Fan Yunfei was nothing but a pile of ash!

Xiao Haoran swallowed hard and couldn’t help but ask, "Daoist Li, your... your Sword Dao is so astonishing. Could it be you’ve obtained the legacy of an Ancient Sword Cultivator?"

Li Chang’an smiled. "What legacy? I just picked it up."

"’I just picked it up...’"

Xiao Haoran’s expression stiffened, those four words echoing endlessly in his mind.

Compared to Li Chang’an, his own title of "genius" was an absolute joke.

After a long moment, he finally recovered and followed Li Chang’an down into a courtyard on Changqing Mountain.

Li Chang’an took out a pot of Spirit Tea and asked, "Daoist Xiao, when we first met, you were already at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. Why haven’t you tried for Core Formation after all this time? Does the Xiao Family not have enough Core Formation Treasures?"

"That’s not it."

Xiao Haoran sighed deeply and began to explain the reason to Li Chang’an.

The Xiao Family was an Alchemy Clan, after all, with deep reserves. The Core Formation Treasures within the clan were more than enough to support his attempt at Core Formation.

The reason he hadn’t attempted Core Formation was that he had developed a Heart Demon.

Hearing this, Li Chang’an was slightly intrigued.

"A Heart Demon?"

"Yes."

A melancholy look appeared on Xiao Haoran’s face as he spoke of the past.

He had planned to attempt Core Formation long before the war between the Two Domains began.

Back then, he had left the Xiao Family and headed to the Ancient Ruins Secret Realm, planning to explore it as a final trial before attempting Core Formation.

He considered himself a genius, unrivaled among his peers, but he encountered an enemy in the Ancient Ruins Secret Realm. That person grievously wounded him, forcing him to flee from the Ancient Wood Secret Realm in a sorry state.

From that day on, that person became his Heart Demon.

If he couldn’t kill them, something would most likely go terribly wrong during his Core Formation.

"All these years, I have been tempering myself, pushing my limits even further. I finally killed that person in a fair fight, but I nearly exhausted myself in the process. On my way back, I was targeted by Fan Yunfei..."

If he had been at his peak, he naturally wouldn’t have feared Fan Yunfei.

Unfortunately, he was seriously injured and had nearly exhausted his Magical Power, leaving him with no choice but to come to Changqing Mountain for help.

"I see. So it was a Heart Demon at work."

Li Chang’an couldn’t help but think of Cao Shaolong.

Back then, the reason Cao Shaolong had shamelessly used his status as a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to bully him, a mere Qi Refining Cultivator, was also because of a Heart Demon.

If one didn’t slay their Heart Demon, advancing on the path of cultivation would become impossible.

One might even suffer a backlash from the Heart Demon and go insane.

Now, Xiao Haoran had successfully slain his Heart Demon.

He should be attempting Core Formation as soon as he returned.

But with the Southern Domain in turmoil and the Western Domain’s army bearing down, he faced the same predicament as Li Chang’an.

"Do the heavens not wish for me to reach Core Formation?"

Speaking of this, Xiao Haoran couldn’t help but feel dejected.

His path to Core Formation had been truly tortuous.

Now, he could only hope for the war to stabilize, giving him a safe environment to attempt Core Formation.

He said to Li Chang’an, "Daoist Li, I originally thought that with your talent of a Low Grade Spirit Root, you would likely never make it to the Core Formation stage. But now, it seems my perspective was too narrow."