Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 158: Unexpected Disciple

Qingfeng Village, secluded in meditation.

After a struggle, the village chief Zhao Yi knelt before Li An, completely under Li An's control.

"If it weren't for my strong spiritual awareness, I'm afraid I would have been backlashed by him!" Li An couldn't help but feel fortunate.

Zhao Yi seemed to have some fortuitous encounters, progressing quickly and about to enter the mid-stage of Foundation Building.

What was once a casual move in the game of chess had grown beyond his expectations.

In reality, if Li An's cultivation progress was really surpassed by Zhao Yi, and his spiritual awareness was inferior to Zhao Yi's, then he would no longer be able to control Zhao Yi, and there was even a possibility of being influenced by Zhao Yi in turn!

Although demonic cultivation was domineering, it also required a strong foundation.

Li An easily read Zhao Yi's memories from these years.

"To think there was contact with Yan Kingdom—" Li An was quite surprised.

Zhao Yi had led the mountain stronghold to develop well over the years.

Ten years ago, he had even discovered a secret place in the Four Scenic Mountains and obtained a precious jade from there.

For safety reasons, Zhao Yi directly sold that jade to Yan Kingdom. After all, if he were to make a move in the Great Li Dynasty, he would likely be targeted by powerful forces such as the Beast Sect and the Sword Sect.

By then, not only would the secret place discovered by Zhao Yi be lost, but they themselves would probably be wiped out by the Sword Sect and others!

Zhao Yi was also cautious in his actions.

And it seemed that this jade of Zhao Yi's had caught the attention of a major buyer in Yan Kingdom.

They directly gave Zhao Yi a Foundation Building Pill.

This achievement became Zhao Yi's Foundation Building opportunity.

"But Zhao Yi is actually being controlled..." Li An carefully examined and discovered that there was a trace of poison in Zhao Yi's dantian.

Obviously, it came from the Foundation Building Pill.

The buyer from Yan Kingdom used this method to control Zhao Yi, making him continue to explore that secret place, seemingly very interested in the secret place in the Four Scenic Mountains.

For this reason, they spared no expense and continuously invested in Zhao Yi, allowing him to advance so quickly.

"The Abyss of Ten Thousand Zhang..." Li An learned about the situation of that secret place.

Deep in the Four Scenic Mountains, there was a misty abyss called the Abyss of Ten Thousand Zhang.

It was extremely dangerous, and unexpectedly, a light of treasure flew out during an accident. Zhao Yi obtained one of them, which was the jade he had obtained.

"Transcending Tribulation Jade!"

After meditating on the appearance of the jade in Zhao Yi's memory, Li An couldn't help but be intrigued.

The Transcending Tribulation Jade was very special. It was said to be formed when heavenly tribulation descended and could withstand all calamities in the world...

This kind of thing was rare, and its value was much higher than that of the Foundation Building Pill. If the grade was high enough, it might even be possible to exchange it for a Spirit Pill!

It was just that Zhao Yi clearly didn't recognize its worth, which was why he sold it.

But it also attracted the attention of Yan Kingdom.

"What kind of secret place would have a Transcending Tribulation Jade flying out?" Even Li An was a little envious.

It seemed that he had to go take a look!

...

A few months later.

Li An disguised himself as "Zhao Yi" and emerged from seclusion. He successfully broke through to the "Mid-Foundation Building" stage.

The real Zhao Yi, on the other hand, was arranged by Li An to leave Qingfeng Village and assume a different appearance. He went out to inquire about the upper echelons of the Da Li Dynasty and the aftermath of the battle in Tianyang City.

After that battle, why did Tianyang City become a ruin? What was the reaction of the Da Li Dynasty? Li An knows nothing about it now.

The leader of the village, Qingfeng Village, was overjoyed.

"Village leader, there is a letter from Yan Kingdom--"

Chen Gui, the second-in-command, a Qi Refining ninth-level cultivator, respectfully presented a letter.

Li An opened the letter and read:

The buyer from Yan Kingdom will personally come to Sijing Mountain in ten days.

"Zhao Yi" should be prepared to take them to Wanzhang Abyss.

Li An pondered slightly.

The buyer from Yan Kingdom who can give Zhao Yi a Foundation Building Pill is definitely not an ordinary person.

It should be a powerful force.

It's a good opportunity to make contact.

However, preparations need to be made in advance. After all, they will definitely not be ordinary people over there...

"By the way, village leader, there have been some changes in that secret place during your seclusion. However, we don't know if anything flew out because the people and horses guarding over there were wiped out by the Luo Sha and Jin Gang Villages," Chen Gui continued, "Since you were in seclusion, I didn't have the confidence to win, so I didn't take action."

Li An raised an eyebrow.

Luo Sha and Jin Gang Villages are two other bandit forces in Sijing Mountain.

That secret place is definitely not simple if these two bandit forces found out...

Then they should be wiped out!

"Take action, wipe them out first!" Li An said directly.

Chen Gui was overjoyed. He had been waiting for Li An to say this.

...

Soon.

Li An personally led the elite of Qingfeng Village and arrived at Luo Sha Village.

The leader of Luo Sha Village, Li Luo Sha, is at the Initial-Foundation Building stage!

But what surprised Li An was that Luo Sha Village was easily broken through, and there were cries of misery throughout the village.

"Zhao, you wanted this piece of jade, right... Hahaha, a jade of calamity, I'll give it to you, I'll give it to you!"

Li Luo Sha, an Initial-Foundation Building cultivator, rushed out of the village with a dying breath and threw a piece of mottled yellow ancient jade at Li An.

That ancient jade emitted a strong aura of malevolence, and everyone around Li An avoided it.

Li An was also surprised. This was indeed a Transcending Tribulation Jade.

But it contained a powerful malevolent aura. When ordinary cultivators touched it, their cultivation would go awry, and their blood and qi would be reversed, leading to great calamity.

Luo Sha Village was destroyed by this jade.

Li An had the Qi of Life Essence, so he was not afraid at all. Even without using the Qi of Life Essence, his demonic cultivation could effectively suppress and refine the malevolent aura.

But he casually handed out a jade box to a lackey beside him and said, "Go pick it up and put it in the jade box."

This is more in line with the style of bandits.

The jade box can effectively block the malevolent aura to a certain extent. Moreover, the buyer from Yan Kingdom had previously given Zhao Yi some talismans to suppress malevolent auras, and Li An now stuck them on the jade box.

The lackey's face turned ugly, but he still stepped forward. Just as he put the Transcending Tribulation Jade into the jade box, he dropped dead on the spot.

"The invincible village leader!"

The crowd shouted loudly.

Li An accepted the Transcending Tribulation jade and ordered the slaughter of the village before continuing on to the Golden Gang Village.

When he rushed into the Golden Gang Village, he encountered some resistance. Surprisingly, the village chief, Song Jingang, was not as severely injured as Li Luo. Li An had to put in some effort before killing him.

"Village chief, what should we do with these villagers? Should we slaughter them all or take a few good-looking ones back to the village to warm our beds?"

Chen Gui led a group of villagers over and said, "That damn Song Jingang is quite cunning. He actually captured the people from this village and used their blood to absorb the evil energy..."

Li An glanced at these villagers and was prepared to slaughter them all.

These villagers were already in a hopeless situation. Li An wouldn't risk exposing himself for them. Not humiliating them before they died was already the greatest mercy.

But suddenly, one of the bound and beautiful young girls whistled, and a falcon flew down from the sky and pounced on Chen Gui. Chen Gui was caught off guard and narrowly avoided being injured on the face. However, he was at the ninth level of Qi Refining, so he swung his sword and cut the falcon in half!

"Witch, I'll cut you with my sword..."

Chen Gui roared angrily and was about to kill the young girl, but his sword stopped in mid-air and couldn't strike down.

Li An had already stopped him.

"Why kill innocent villagers? What's the point?"

Li An said coldly.

Chen Gui looked puzzled.

Li An continued, "Innocents should not be indiscriminately killed. You go deal with the other bandits, and I'll talk to them."

After saying that, Li An dismounted and personally went over to untie the villagers, saying, "Fellow villagers, you have suffered. Rest assured, you are safe now."

Li An smiled kindly.

Because the young girl from earlier had surprised him...

It seemed like she was using beast control techniques?

But the key was that the young girl was clearly just an ordinary person without any cultivation!

This was getting interesting...

Seeing Li An's kindness, this group of villagers all knelt down, begging for mercy and crying.

The young girl who controlled the beasts also knelt down with them.

Li An helped each of them up one by one, ordered food to be given to them, and the villagers treated him like a living Buddha, expressing their gratitude profusely.

Li An sat down on the spot and chatted with them. With Li An's warm and gentle guidance, this group of villagers treated him as a good person and savior, telling him everything without reservation.

Li An effortlessly learned everything he wanted to know.

These villagers came from Tianning Village at the foot of Sijing Mountain. They were all ordinary people. Because Song Jingang somehow obtained a method to remove evil energy, he captured them all with the intention of beheading them and using their fresh blood.

Fortunately, Li An arrived.

"What's this girl's name? It seems like she can communicate with eagles?" Li An looked at the young girl with a smile.

The young girl was eating a piece of meat and seemed a bit uneasy at his words.

"She's called Li Hua. She's quite amazing. She's the number one hunter in our village. Her hunting skills are heaven-sent, and she can understand the language of wild beasts..."

An old man smiled and introduced Li Hua's situation.

Through detailed questioning by Li An, he learned that Li Hua's grandfather was not from Tianning Village but an outsider.

It was said that when her grandfather arrived, he seemed lost and absent-minded. Fortunately, he was kind and able to work, so he married a widow in the village, and their bloodline was passed down, resulting in Li Hua.

"It must be her grandfather's blessing. Various birds and beasts often come to his grave... and Li Hua learned to communicate with wild beasts like this."

Li An became even more curious. With a thought, he stood up and said, "Old man, let me escort you back to the village..."

He decided to go and see Tianning Village.

There was a secret place deep in Sijing Mountain that even the major forces of Yan Country coveted. And now, there was such a strange occurrence in Tianning Village at the foot of the mountain... which gave Li An some associations.

Li An gave a few instructions to Chen Gui and then led the villagers back to the village. He also took a lot of good things from the storeroom in the Golden Gang Village for them.

These villagers are extremely grateful, with tears in their eyes, each one saying they have encountered a good person.

After arriving at the village, Li An's divine sense swept through and immediately noticed the grave that the elderly people in the village were talking about.

The grave of Li Hua's grandfather.

Indeed, there were many birds gathering, and Li An's divine sense had already detected something unusual everywhere.

Under Li Hua's grandfather's tombstone...

There was a bone.

Extraordinary!

Li An instantly determined that Li Hua's grandfather was definitely not an ordinary person.

And Li Hua should have awakened some kind of talent.

"The bone of a fourth-order spirit beast, containing the technique of controlling beasts at the Earth Rank."

In his sea of consciousness, the voice of Shangguan Xiaoxiao sounded, "It does have some origin, but it's not very valuable."

After being sealed by Li An for more than half a year, she learned to keep quiet and only spoke a few words at critical moments. That's why Li An lifted her seal. With Li An's permission, she could perceive the outside world through Li An.

Upon hearing this, Li An's heart pounded.

Earth-ranked techniques...

It should be noted that in his previous life as a Foundation Establishment expert, he had never obtained techniques of this level!

Moreover, this technique of controlling beasts was hidden in the bone of a fourth-order spirit beast, which was enough to show that it had a great background!

He also immediately had a thought, could this... have something to do with the Jiang family, who controlled beasts in Qingzhou, Yan Kingdom?

From Zhao Yi's memories, he also had a rough understanding of Yan Kingdom.

Yan Kingdom's overall strength was much stronger than the Great Li Dynasty, and the bordering region was Qingzhou.

And the largest family in Qingzhou was the Jiang family, rumored to be a Nascent Soul-level family!

This was very possible.

In any case, it now seemed that Li Hua should be a successor of a master of controlling beasts, with the talent to communicate with birds and beasts.

But she did not receive the inheritance of this place.

"Not very valuable? Do you have a better technique of controlling beasts?" Li An asked Shangguan Xiaoxiao.

Shangguan Xiaoxiao was stunned for a moment, "The Demon Sect doesn't need to control beasts! The Demonic Art can directly turn people and beasts into puppets!"

Li An couldn't help but laugh, in the end, there wasn't any!

He had decided on the inheritance here!

In addition, Li Hua was also worth cultivating. If she really was a bloodline of some big family that had fallen outside, then through her, he might be able to solve the problem of his third-order spiritual veins when he broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Thinking of this, Li An immediately spoke, "Elder, I intend to choose two children from the village to follow me in cultivation, how about it?"

"In the future, if their cultivation is successful, they can also return to the village and protect everyone."

After Li An said this, the villagers were even more excited and happy.

"Thank you, Chief Zhao!"

"Chief Zhao is such a good person, willing to take disciples, it's a great blessing for the children in the village!"

Li An glanced around and smiled, "Hmm, Li Hua, Er Niu, how about the two of you come with me to the mountain to cultivate?"

He had already observed that Li Hua had a great talent for controlling beasts, and the other child, Er Niu, who was more robust, should have barely acceptable spiritual roots.

Choosing only Li Hua would inevitably lead to speculation, so he decided to take Er Niu as well, making it clear that he was staying true to his original intention.

Li Hua and Er Niu were both children from the mountains, and at this moment, they were naturally overjoyed. The elderly person beside them reminded them, and the two children hurriedly bowed before Li An...

"Greetings, Master!"

...

(End of this chapter)