Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 125: Preparing for the Future

Time flies.

Three years later, on a bustling noon, Li An gently dug the last shovel of dirt along the dozens of meters deep underground passage.

A cool breeze blew in.

At the end of the underground passage was an ancient well, exuding a refreshing coolness.

Li An quietly retreated along the narrow tunnel.

In order to maintain secrecy, he dug the tunnel very small, only allowing him to crawl in a cramped position. After all, if the underground cavity was too large, it would be bad if someone noticed it.

Of course, the chances of that happening were slim. Li An was just being cautious. After all, there were large formations covering every inch of the Baihu Mountain. Who would have the leisure to scan the dozens of meters deep underground with their divine sense?

Currently, Li An was the only one who knew about the blind spots in the formations and how to utilize them.

With this underground passage, he felt much more at ease.

No matter where he was, it was always wise to leave himself an escape route.

Shortly after, Li An returned to his residence, changed his clothes, and began cultivating.

As he took a step forward, his figure disappeared in place, leaving only an afterimage, like a ghost, appearing in the garden.

"Seventy-two Steps of Earthly Demise, now at the minor completion!"

At the same time, with a thought, his wood-based spiritual power was released, instantly condensing into a green petal several meters away. The petal floated down, causing a giant landscape stone to instantly crack and explode into pieces.

The Five-Colored Flower Burst Technique, he had also mastered the "Green Flower Burst"!

Moreover, his spiritual power was extremely vigorous. Although he was only at the mid-stage of Foundation Building, he could almost compare to the late-stage of Foundation Building. If he added the Cold Yin Finger, talismans, and formations, even if someone at the late-stage of Foundation Building came, he had the confidence to win.

"In addition, it's time to cultivate the Divination Technique..."

The Divination Technique was a unique secret technique Li An obtained in his previous life. As the name suggests, with this technique, a formation master could explore the movements of the earth's qi.

This technique was of the Profound Rank, and it greatly benefited formation masters. By mobilizing the earth's veins, the power of formations could be greatly enhanced.

After arriving in Tianyang City, he had been unable to cultivate it. Now that he was in Baihu Mountain, he could observe the movements of Baihu Mountain through the earth's veins, allowing him to predict in advance and reduce risks.

Moreover, his divine sense was stronger than in his previous life, so he would be able to cultivate the Divination Technique faster.

Currently, everything was going smoothly. The only flaw was that there was still no progress in cultivating the Three Elements Slash and the Golden Treasury Technique.

The Three Elements Slash consisted of three moves in total, with the simplest being the "Elemental Slash." However, to achieve minor completion, it would probably take another twenty or thirty years.

"As for the Golden Treasury Technique, I have collected some materials..."

He opened his storage bag and took out a small black bottle.

Inside the bottle was a pool of white liquid called "Yang Iron Liquid," produced from rare iron mines, infused with the essence of the earth and mixed with iron essence. Its grade was between the second and third rank.

Just this small bottle cost Li An three thousand spirit stones!

If it weren't for the support of the Treasure Pavilion... Li An wouldn't even dare to dream of the Golden Treasury Technique.

He swallowed all the Yang Iron Liquid and began to refine it...

Refining it all into his kidneys.

Mainly because he had cultivated a kidney in his previous life, he had more experience in this aspect.

The Yang Iron Liquid moistened his kidneys, gradually strengthening them...

...

In the blink of an eye, thirteen more years had passed.

Li An had been in Baihu City for twenty-one years, and his age had reached 187.

Xu Qiuhui and Zhang Deyi were also on the verge of the final window period for Foundation Establishment.

They had finally gathered all the third-grade spiritual herbs needed to refine the Elemental Spirit Pill.

The three of them gathered at Li An's residence.

"The Azure Light Grass, Hidden Path Stone, and Dragon Blood Bone... we have gathered them all."

Li An took out the three spiritual herbs.

Among these three spiritual herbs, the Hidden Path Stone and Dragon Blood Bone were obtained from the Treasure Pavilion, at a sky-high price. Xu Qiuhui and Zhang Deyi were both wealthy, but they almost couldn't afford them. Li An had to spend around sixty thousand spirit stones, almost depleting his savings.

Foundation Establishment was truly a watershed, as difficult as reaching the heavens!

After reaching Foundation Establishment, one could establish their own sect, dominate a region, and truly become a powerful figure.

They were able to gather all the materials because of their extraordinary backgrounds. Xu Qiuhui had the support of Baihu Mountain, Zhang Deyi was a second-grade alchemist himself, and even in his previous life, he was a renowned alchemist. Li An was the deputy pavilion master of the Treasure Pavilion, with the support of his previous life's experience.

They had resources and strength.

Even so, if they counted from the time Xu Qiuhui and Zhang Deyi started planning for Foundation Building, it had been several decades.

If Li An had to gather everything by himself, even as the deputy pavilion master of the Treasure Pavilion, he wouldn't be able to afford such expenses. After all, to gather all the spiritual herbs, it would cost around four hundred thousand spirit stones!

Not to mention, some spiritual herbs were simply not available for purchase, and they had to resort to some means to obtain them.

Of course, the spirit stones Li An spent were not in vain. The order in which the three of them selected the pills had changed, and Xu Qiuhui and Zhang Deyi had both taken a step back. Now, Li An had the priority to choose.

"I wonder when Master Zhang can start refining the pills?"

Li An asked a question.

Xu Qiuhui was also eager, her eyes filled with longing.

Zhang Deyi, however, remained calm and composed, saying, "When refining the Yuan Ling Pill, we must not be hasty."

"First, we need to determine the location for refining. It must be supported by a third-grade spiritual vein. Secondly, I need to cultivate and prepare myself fully," Zhang Deyi continued.

Li An nodded, finding all of this reasonable.

"On the matter of the third-grade spiritual vein, I suggest refining it at the residence of the Left Chamber Master. Fellow Daoist Xu, do you agree?" Zhang Deyi then turned to Xu Qiuhui and asked.

Xu Qiuhui had a clear idea in her mind. In terms of spiritual energy, the best place would be Baihu Mountain! She could also apply for it.

However, Zhang Deyi was not at ease. After all, if they went to Baihu Mountain, they would be at the mercy of the mountain.

"Alright, let's refine it at the residence of the Left Chamber Master," she agreed.

Li An nodded silently. Originally, even if Zhang Deyi didn't mention it, he would have fought for refining it here. Zhang Deyi's directness actually saved him some trouble.

"Furthermore, I need three years. After three years, I should be at my peak state and can start refining—" Zhang Deyi continued.

Li An's heart stirred, but he didn't say anything and simply agreed.

The three of them each kept a portion of the spiritual medicine to prevent anyone from secretly taking it.

After they left, Li An thought to himself, "We must be on guard against Zhang Deyi..." He sensed something unusual when Zhang Deyi mentioned refining the pill three years later. Even if he needed to adjust his state, one year should have been enough. Why did he need three years? Was he trying to avoid something?

Li An couldn't help but think that according to the current situation at Baihu Mountain, in about three years, Baihu Zhenren might enter the most critical period. He sensed the fluctuations in the earth's aura and knew that Baihu Zhenren needed to consolidate his Gold Core cultivation. Apart from the pill, the earth's aura needed to be mobilized again.

Refining a third-grade pill intentionally during the most tense period at Baihu Mountain could have two possibilities. First, Zhang Deyi was wary of Baihu Mountain and afraid that they would interfere and snatch it. This was reasonable. Second, Zhang Deyi himself wanted to take action on the pill, which would reduce the pressure when he made his move.

Regardless, Li An felt the need to be cautious. After all, the other party was someone who had taken over someone else's body in a previous life. Anyone capable of such a thing was at least at the Foundation Establishment stage. After taking over someone's body, their own cultivation would be at the late Foundation Establishment stage, which was not the most important thing to guard against.

"Spiritual sense! Soul!" These were Zhang Deyi's strongest assets.

"I need to set up formations specifically targeting spiritual sense, and also collect spiritual artifacts that protect spiritual sense." In the following period, he carefully refined a second-tier formation specifically targeting spiritual sense, and then collected a large number of artifacts in the chamber to protect spiritual sense.

Although there were powerful Gold Core cultivators in Baihu Mountain, Zhang Deyi shouldn't have the courage to make a move. However, Li An always assumed the worst and made the worst preparations. This way, he wouldn't suffer any losses.

"Xu Qiuhui as well, when faced with the Yuan Ling Pill, who knows if she will join forces with Baihu Mountain to betray us..." This possibility was relatively small because Li An was, after all, a member of the Treasure Pavilion, and Zhang Deyi had a wide network of connections. Baihu Mountain probably wouldn't do such a thing directly. Moreover, Li An could tell that Xu Qiuhui didn't have a high status within Baihu Mountain. After all, she joined late and didn't receive enough resources for Foundation Establishment. If she cooperated with others from Baihu Mountain to betray Li An and the others, her own pill would also be at risk.

But people's hearts were unpredictable, and precautions had to be taken. He must make thorough preparations. After the pill was formed, if there were any abnormal movements at Baihu Mountain, he could immediately take the pill and escape through the underground passage.

The underground passage he dug was quite far away, about eight li from here, giving him enough room to maneuver.

In the following period, he focused on preparing for the alchemy two years later. At the same time, he had the people from the Treasure Pavilion closely monitor the recent activities of Zhang Deyi and Xu Qiuhui.

Everything seemed normal with Xu Qiuhui, while Zhang Deyi seemed to be having his disciples collect spiritual medicines related to the soul. But since he was consolidating his state, it was reasonable.

...

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

The agreed-upon time for alchemy among the three had arrived.

...

(End of this chapter)