Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 140: The Situation Begins to Emerge

Half a month later, Li An successfully returned to the main hall of the Treasure Pavilion.

On the way, he also made a detour to the location of the Crocodile Lake and retrieved several treasures he had buried there before. These included the third-grade spiritual medicine, Bi Guang Grass, the third-grade refining stone, and two second-grade refining materials.

When he came to the White Tiger City back then, Qin Xuan wanted to kill him, but Li An turned the tables and ended up with these things in his hands. He had been hiding them until now.

Now that Qin Xuan and Gu Cai'er were no longer around, it was safe to bring out these things, and no one would inquire about them.

Entering the Tianyang City, his residence remained the same. His "Left Mansion" had been managed by servants all these years and had never been occupied by anyone else.

Today, when he returned, many people in the city were aware of it and came to congratulate him.

As the chief appraiser of the Treasure Pavilion, Li An was considered a "big shot" in the entire Tianyang City. Many Foundation Building cultivators and other forces came to establish good relations.

Cai Chao, the owner of the Yundao Teahouse in the past, had passed away more than ten years ago. His son, Cai Bin, inherited the teahouse and also came to establish good relations.

Song Qingqing, the granddaughter of Song Mingzhang, had married into a Foundation Building family more than ten years ago. Although Li An was far away in the White Tiger City at that time, he still sent a congratulatory gift through someone. With Li An's strong relationship, Song Qingqing's position in her husband's family was high, and she was already considered a "young mistress" with virtuous and gentle qualities. If Song Mingzhang knew about this in the afterlife, he would surely be relieved.

Even Gu Hong came to visit. After many years of separation, her appearance remained the same, but there was a deeper sense of vicissitude in her eyes. She brought Li An a second-grade pill as a token of friendship.

Li An remained indifferent towards her and still did not reveal his identity.

After receiving many guests...

The next day, Li An went to the Treasure Pavilion.

"Master Zuo, we have been waiting for you for a long time."

Led by a steward, Li An entered the room of the new pavilion master. A young and beautiful woman sat behind the desk. When she saw Li An, she warmly stood up and said, "Please sit down."

She was the new pavilion master, Su Xiuwan.

Her beauty was no less than that of Qin Xuan in the past, and she was even younger, more enchanting, and more beautiful than Qin Xuan back then.

Moreover, according to what Li An knew, Su Xiuwan and the Third Princess were "best friends," but she had become the new "lover" of the King of Jingbei and gained the trust of the royal family.

She was undoubtedly a member of the Demon Cult.

One must be careful when dealing with her.

Li An respectfully saluted, "This old man pays his respects to the pavilion master!"

"Master Zuo, you are too polite."

Su Xiuwan smiled slightly, "By the way, before becoming the chief appraiser, there is a procedure that needs to be followed..."

"The royal family needs to conduct a check on the chief appraiser to ensure that the candidate is clean. Master Zuo, do you mind?"

Li An was aware of this.

For forces of this level, there were strict rules. Anyone in an important position needed to undergo a check to prevent infiltration by enemies.

"Alright."

Su Xiuwan clapped her hands, and immediately, an old man with white hair walked in. His face was kind and gentle. "Chief Zuo, please close your eyes and rest."

Li An glanced at the old man and obediently closed his eyes.

But he was already on guard because he had encountered this white-haired old man's life aura before!

He was the one who had infused the mysterious demonic energy into his body back then!

However, Li An remained calm and waited quietly.

He felt the old man's hand touch his dantian, sensing the aura within.

Li An activated the Life Cultivation and Immortal Refinement Technique, and under the guidance of his life seed, the demonic energy, and the blood and flesh energy in his dantian remained dormant and invisible.

But he deliberately did not conceal the mysterious demonic energy.

Because he had always tried to make the enemy believe that he was unaware of the existence of that mysterious demonic energy. If he were to conceal it now, it would be exposed.

Moreover, although he had refined most of the demonic energy, if he didn't actively control it, it would appear the same as before, and others wouldn't be able to detect it.

After the dantian was the Lingtai!

These two places were the most important and fundamental parts of a cultivator.

Li An felt that his Lingtai was being scrutinized!

Just like when he was inspected by Senior White Tiger back then.

He couldn't help but think that this was probably the key point.

They were checking his elemental spirit, seeing if he had been possessed, and so on.

In the fire of his soul, Li An's own elemental spirit sat cross-legged, motionless.

After a long time.

"Alright,"

The old man smiled slightly, "No problem."

"Congratulations, Chief Zuo--"

After saying a sentence, the old man explained the situation to Su Xiuwan and left.

"Starting from today, Master Zuo will officially assume the position of Chief. Xiuwan is new here and not familiar with many things in the sect, so she will rely on Chief Zuo for guidance."

Su Xiuwan smiled and naturally walked in front of Li An, took out a badge, and helped Li An fasten it on his chest.

The badge was made of second-grade exotic gold and had the pattern of an eagle's head. Wearing it would enhance the clarity of a cultivator's mind.

It was an exclusive item for the Chief!

"Master Zuo has done his best!"

Li An gratefully spoke.

...

Back at home.

"Indeed, very cautious..."

The owner of the mysterious demonic aura clearly valued Li An.

He returned from Baihu City, and the owner of the mysterious demonic aura suspected that he might undergo some changes, so he personally made a move to test him.

"The target of Baihu Mountain is the Wang Mansion..."

"But the owner of the mysterious demonic aura is from the Sanjunzi lineage, and the Wang Mansion is unaware of the existence of the owner of the mysterious demonic aura."

Li An keenly sensed the opposition between them.

There were three forces secretly competing!

The first was the Baihu Mountain Demon Cult.

The second was the Wang Mansion Demon Cult.

The third was the Sanjunzi lineage's Demon Cult.

And according to Li An's current judgment, Baihu Mountain and the Wang Mansion were enemies to each other.

But it was very likely... that neither side knew about the Sanjunzi lineage's Demon Cult.

The owner of the mysterious demonic aura was the most sinister...

The Wang Mansion wanted to deal with Baihu Mountain, and Baihu Mountain also wanted to deal with the Wang Mansion. In this situation, the Sanjunzi lineage's Demon Cult was actually the most terrifying.

"I need to test the relationship between the Sanjunzi lineage and the Wang Mansion..."

Li An pondered.

He was now caught in the middle of several forces and had become a pawn.

He must understand the inclinations and interests of each party.

Only then could he develop himself with ease and seek benefits while avoiding harm.

...

And at this moment.

In a secret room in Tianyang City.

"Li An is meticulous and cautious. I have said before that even if he spent decades in Baihu City, he shouldn't be discovered by Baihu Mountain..."

The Horse-Faced Reaper respectfully said, "Now you can rest assured."

In front of him was a faint blood shadow, which seemed to resemble a woman. She calmly said,

"He indeed hasn't been discovered. His elemental spirit remains unchanged, and the qi I left in his body is growing stronger."

"It seems that my sister is still as foolishly cute as ever. The natural demonic body is right in front of her, but she missed it..."

There seemed to be a hint of mockery in her eyes. "But it's also good. If she found out about Li An's natural demonic body, it would bring a lot of trouble."

"If she knew that Li An is a natural demonic body, what would she do?" the Horse-Faced Reaper asked.

"She would directly seize Li An's elemental spirit with her Honglu Furnace technique," the woman calmly replied, "No one can resist the temptation of a natural demonic body..."

The Horse-Faced Reaper couldn't help but nod, "Next, we just need to wait for Li An to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage..."

A glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes.

He practiced two demonic arts, which put him in a very dangerous state.

Only when this senior gets the natural demonic body... can he be saved.

"Let Su Xiuwan keep a close eye on Li An, report to me his every move..."

The woman said, then suddenly added, "It's been about thirty years since Li Xiaoyuan obtained that Foundation Establishment female cultivator, right?"

"Calculating the days, he should be planning to break through to the Nascent Soul stage."

"My foolish sister will probably make a move against him, but she doesn't know that Jingbei Wang is just a bait I casually threw out."

"When the time comes... capture the demonic bodies, clean up the sect, and do it all at once."

...

(End of this chapter)