Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 190 Closing the Net (Long Chapter)

Inside a restaurant, in a secret private room.

Three people have already sat down.

Apart from Li An and Lu Tong, the third person is an old man with white hair, yellowish complexion, and a heavy aura of turbidity in his eyes. Obviously, he is the symbol master who was affected by the Soul Devouring Curse that Li An knows.

After waiting for many years, they finally managed to lure this old guy out!

In fact, Li An has been planning for today for many years and has invested a lot.

Several years ago, he started refining the second-grade Clear Soul Pill and even sold a top-grade Clear Soul Pill.

At that time, it was all to lure this person!

After all, this person was affected by the Soul Devouring Curse and needed a third-grade Clear Soul Pill to be effective.

But the collection of medicinal materials for the third-grade Clear Soul Pill is very difficult, and even if all the medicinal materials are gathered, it is not easy to refine it. Few alchemists specialize in refining Clear Soul Pills, and their alchemy experience also needs to be considered.

Therefore, Li An, who had his own medicinal materials and an experienced alchemist, would naturally become the other party's only choice!

"This is Guo Jisheng, Fellow Daoist Guo. He is a symbol master, and the third-grade Clear Spirit Grass you want is in his hands."

Lu Tong introduced Li An, and at the same time introduced Guo Jisheng to him, "Brother Guo, this is the Wood Stone Fellow Daoist I told you about. He is a third-grade alchemist and is preparing to refine the third-grade Clear Soul Pill!"

Li An and Guo Jisheng both clasped their hands and exchanged greetings.

"I wonder what is the success rate of Fellow Daoist in refining the third-grade Clear Soul Pill?" Guo Jisheng went straight to the point and asked Li An.

What he cared most about was the success rate, after all, he had consulted some familiar alchemists over the years, and the answers they gave were only around thirty to forty percent!

This means that even if he prepared enough medicinal materials, he might not be able to obtain the Clear Soul Pill. He might need to prepare three or four sets...

That's too difficult!

Li An said, "I have been studying the Clear Soul Pill for many years and have about fifty to sixty percent experience. If I can find a suitable place to refine it, the success rate can reach eighty percent."

In fact, he had just become a third-grade alchemist not long ago, and his experience was not enough to have fifty to sixty percent!

But with Xu Xiaoxiao's help, he had more confidence, and most importantly, it was enough for the other party to believe him.

Guo Jisheng nodded. An eighty percent chance was indeed worth a try.

"I heard from Fellow Daoist Lu that Fellow Daoist Wood has been searching for the Clear Spirit Grass for many years. It seems that this thing is very important to you..." He smiled slightly, "In that case, how about we cooperate? I will give you the Clear Spirit Grass, and in the end, we will split the pills in half."

Li An laughed, "Fellow Daoist Guo is good at doing business! You only provide one Clear Spirit Grass but want to take half of the pills?"

"Don't forget, the Clear Soul Pill consists of seven medicinal ingredients, with four main ingredients. You only provide the Clear Spirit Grass, and I will be the one refining it..."

Guo Jisheng's face was slightly embarrassed, but he still said, "In addition to the Clear Spirit Grass, I have also found the Cold Soul Grass and the Root of Dispersion. I can also provide them..."

Li An shook his head, "These two ingredients are just auxiliary herbs. I have already collected them."

Guo Jisheng said, "Then what does Fellow Daoist mean?"

"If Fellow Daoist Guo insists on taking half of the Clear Soul Pill, then you must compensate me with something else..."

Li An was very direct.

"Okay, I'm willing to offer spirit stones!" Guo Jisheng nodded.

Li An smiled, "Fellow Daoist thinks I lack spirit stones?"

"What does Fellow Daoist want then?" Guo Jisheng became somewhat uneasy.

Li An said, "Four Golden Grass, Azure Falling Flower, and Mother Earth's Milk will do."

Guo Jisheng shook his head, "These are all ingredients for the Infant Transformation Pill, very precious, and I don't have them."

Even if he did, he wouldn't be able to give them!

Li An said, "Apart from these, there are not many things that interest me about Brother Guo..."

After a moment of thought, he said, "I am quite curious about talismans. I am preparing to practice them recently. How about Fellow Daoist Guo teach me all the talismans you know?"

Guo Jisheng's eyebrows furrowed, and a hint of alertness flashed in his eyes, "That's impossible!"

Li An immediately stood up and bowed, "Since Brother Guo is unwilling, then forget it. I, Mu, don't like to force others."

"Lu, thank you for providing the information. I will repay you in the future."

After speaking, he was about to leave.

Both Lu Tong and Guo Jisheng's expressions changed slightly. Guo Jisheng glanced at Lu Tong, and Lu Tong quickly stood up and said, "Brother Mu, why are you in such a hurry! This matter is of great importance, and Brother Guo is also sincere. Let's talk more..."

Li An said, "To be honest, although the Clear Spirit Grass is difficult to find, I do have some clues. It will only take a few more years of effort... But since Brother Guo doesn't have the medicinal materials I want for the Infant Transformation Pill and is unwilling to pass on the talisman to me, then there is nothing else that interests me."

"Furthermore, Fellow Daoist Guo should understand that it was not I, Mu, who exchanged your talisman inheritance for a Clear Soul Pill. It was you who exchanged your talisman inheritance for your life--"

Guo Jisheng asked, "What do you mean?"

"Fellow Daoist Guo, there's no need to ask knowingly. With the Soul Calamity afflicting your body, if you don't receive a Clear Soul Pill to save your life within the next two years, you will undoubtedly die. At that time, will you be able to take your talisman inheritance with you into the grave?"

Li An was very direct!

Just upon meeting, he had already figured out that Guo Jisheng's Soul Calamity was severe. If he didn't get relief from a Clear Soul Pill, he would undoubtedly die within five years.

Therefore, he now held complete control!

If Guo Jisheng didn't come to him, who else could he turn to?

He also believed that Guo Jisheng would make the right choice.

After all, one's life is fundamental, everything else is secondary.

Guo Jisheng's face was extremely unsightly. Li An had indeed hit his weak spot.

Initially, he had planned to gather medicinal materials and seek help from other familiar alchemists, but he hadn't expected his condition to deteriorate so rapidly in the past two years. There was simply no way...

Now, he was being manipulated by Li An!

He pondered repeatedly in his heart and finally raised his head, saying, "Alright, I agree--"

"As long as you help me successfully refine the Clear Soul Pill, I will give you the talisman inheritance."

Li An smiled, "Fellow Daoist, Mu is not a child. Please give me the inheritance first--"

Guo Jisheng furrowed his brow and said, "That's not in accordance with the rules. It's a simultaneous exchange of money and goods... How about this, I'll give you a partial inheritance as a down payment!"

After speaking, he directly took out a jade slip and handed it to Li An.

Li An glanced at it, and it was only a second-grade talisman inheritance.

"After the pill is successfully refined, I will give you my third-grade talisman inheritance. How about that?"

Li An sneered in his heart. This old fox clearly possessed a fourth-grade inheritance, but he refused to bring it out, wanting to deceive Li An...

But Li An understood that forcing the issue now would be useless.

"Brother Mu, I think Fellow Daoist Guo has shown sincerity--"

Lu Tong also spoke up.

Li An pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, that's settled then. Brother Guo, please give me the Spirit Cleansing Grass as well. After I successfully refine the pill, I will bring it back to Fellow Daoist Guo."

However, Guo Jisheng shook his head and said, "No, Brother Mu, you refine the pill, and I will protect you."

He didn't trust him!

After all, if Li An obtained the Spirit Cleansing Grass and the second-grade talisman inheritance and then turned around to escape from the Tianya Mountain Range, who would he turn to?

He had to keep watch!

Li An furrowed his brow slightly, "Alright then, in that case, let's go to my cave dwelling. My cave dwelling has the assistance of the earth veins, which can increase the chances of successful refinement."

"That's not appropriate," Guo Jisheng shook his head.

Going to Li An's cave dwelling, who knew if it was a dangerous place? It might be a place where one would never return from.

"Fine... Since that's the case, we can only refine the pill within the Tianya City. I know of a few spiritual veins within the city that can be utilized."

But Guo Jisheng was lost in thought. Within the city? That meant more unrelated people would be involved... It wasn't appropriate either.

"Does Fellow Daoist Guo want me to find a random place? Without the assistance of spiritual veins, the chances of successful pill refinement will be greatly reduced..."

Guo Jisheng suddenly said, "Fellow Daoist Lu Tong, I remember there are several unclaimed earth veins outside of Tianya City, right?"

Lu Tong was taken aback, "Yes, Blue Moon Valley, Spirit Communication Lake, and Broken Dragon Mountain, but they all have heavy malevolent energy."

"Heavy malevolent energy can be avoided with a Malevolent Energy Barrier...," Guo Jisheng smiled faintly, "What does Fellow Daoist Mu think?"

Mu Shi furrowed his brow, "The Malevolent Energy Barrier is a third-grade formation, and it also consumes a lot of resources. In that case, wouldn't the cost be too high?"

In reality, there were many methods to temporarily suppress malevolent energy, and the Malevolent Energy Barrier was one of them.

However, generally, no one would use it. A third-grade formation required dozens of high-grade spirit stones, and in a place like the Tianya Mountain Range, it could last for three to six months at most, which was simply not worth it.

The time for pill refinement, on the other hand, was sufficient.

"You don't need to worry about that, Fellow Daoist Mu. I will prepare the Malevolent Energy Barrier."

Guo Jisheng asked, "Which location does Fellow Daoist think is more suitable?"

Li An pondered for a moment, "I'm not familiar with any of these three locations... Let's go with Blue Moon Valley!"

Guo Jisheng smiled faintly, "Fellow Daoist Lu Tong, I heard that Spirit Communication Lake has the strongest earth veins, right?"

He deliberately didn't choose the location Li An suggested.

In this way, all risks are avoided!

It can be said that at the level of True Dan, nothing is simple. They are all cunning individuals.

Lu Tong also nodded with a smile.

...

Guo Jisheng prepared a barrier in Tian Sha City and then the three of them set off.

On the way, he suddenly proposed to go to the Broken Dragon Mountain, changing his mind again.

Li An became increasingly displeased, his face darkened, but Guo Jisheng secretly laughed in his heart.

Shortly after.

They arrived at the Broken Dragon Mountain.

"The malevolent aura here is so strong..."

Li An frowned, and Lu Tong set up a barrier where Li An pointed to the veins of the earth, and only then did Li An prepare to start refining the pill.

The medicinal materials were quickly thrown into the third-grade alchemy furnace by Li An. His techniques were skilled, his movements were smooth and graceful, and had a great sense of beauty.

The Clear Soul Pill, he had indeed researched it for a long, long time.

It can be said that he had invested too much for this time.

Not far away, Lu Tong and Guo Jisheng stood guard. In Guo Jisheng's eyes, a hint of coldness appeared as he glanced at Lu Tong.

Lu Tong nodded imperceptibly.

...

Three days later.

Li An was drenched in sweat, looking extremely exhausted.

"The pill is complete--"

He let out a long sigh.

Immediately, Guo Jisheng and Lu Tong were overjoyed and walked over.

"Guo Fellow Daoist, please--"

Li An spoke to Guo Jisheng.

Guo Jisheng was extremely excited and opened the lid of the furnace. A rich and fragrant scent immediately spread out. It was indeed four Clear Soul Pills, a total of four.

"It's done--"

He was ecstatic, then suddenly took all four pills and said, "Lu Tong, take action--"

However, as soon as he turned around, he saw that Lu Tong was actually standing still, motionless.

In his chest, there was already an arrow--

Thump!

Lu Tong fell directly to the ground, dead.

"What?!"

Guo Jisheng's face changed drastically. He knew that Li An had made a move.

Moreover, he was able to silently kill Lu Tong, a mid-stage True Dan cultivator?

"You motherfucker--"

He suddenly felt fear, turned around and tried to escape. But at this moment, there was a violent fluctuation in the surrounding formation.

"How could there be a formation?"

He was shocked on the spot.

Did Mu Shi arrange it here in advance?

Impossible, this place wasn't chosen by him at random, and he even made last-minute adjustments. Yet, he still fell into Li An's trap?

"You plotted against me, just you wait, I dare you to plot against me--"

He suddenly took out a fourth-grade Breaking Prohibition Talisman and detonated the third-grade formation set up by Li An. It tore a corner of the formation, and he was about to escape.

But there were already dozens of third-grade talismans exploding in front of him.

"You dare!"

Guo Jisheng was burning with anger. He activated another fourth-grade talisman, and a shield suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the attacks of dozens of talismans.

A fourth-grade protective talisman!

However, just as this fourth-level protective talisman burned out, dozens of other talismans came crashing towards him.

At the same time, a clear chirping bird cry suddenly sounded, and a giant blue bird swooped down, its claws like knives grabbing towards Guo Jisheng.

Guo Jisheng hurriedly ignited another fourth-level talisman, which turned into a long sword and slashed towards the divine bird. The blue flame phoenix spewed out a flame, directly blocking the long sword drawn by the talisman, but also retreating several hundred meters.

"A Gold Core-level spirit beast?"

Guo Jisheng was greatly surprised.

And at this moment, an even more terrifying aura had already been released from behind him. Li An directly approached with one step and unleashed the Three Elements Slash.

The surging spiritual power was unstoppable. Guo Jisheng, who was in the late True Dan stage, tried his best to resist but was directly sent flying!

"Mid Gold Core?!"

Guo Jisheng spat out a mouthful of blood and his eyes were filled with extreme shock.

This wooden stone was actually a cultivator in the mid Gold Core stage, and his spiritual pet was also the same!

At this moment, he was truly terrified.

Originally, he planned to obtain the Clear Soul Pill and join forces with Lu Tong to kill Li An.

Moreover, they were very confident. With his late True Dan stage and Lu Tong's mid True Dan stage, they seemed to have a stable victory.

If he had known that they were not facing a mid True Dan stage alchemist, but two mid Gold Core cultivators...

He would never have dared to have such thoughts!

Even if two fully powered late True Dan stage cultivators came, they might not necessarily gain any advantage against two mid Gold Core cultivators.

Not to mention, he was also afflicted with Soul Devouring Poison, so he couldn't fully unleash his strength.

At this critical moment, without hesitation, he turned around and once again sacrificed a talisman, transforming into an afterimage as he tried to escape...

A fourth-level Divine Movement Talisman!

This was the most precious talisman in his hand, and he wouldn't use it easily unless it was a last resort.

It was only after Li An and the divine bird revealed their strength that he completely despaired and made up his mind to escape.

But, at this moment, the second layer of the third-level grand formation... erupted!

"There's more?!"

Guo Jisheng was dumbfounded. Damn, who is this person?

A dignified mid Gold Core cultivator, hiding his cultivation was one thing, but even the bird was hiding with him. Not only that, he ambushed him, a True Dan cultivator with a disease, and set up two layers of super powerful third-level formations?

And, this place was randomly chosen by him. Could it be that this guy arranged things in three different locations?

Sinister, really sinister!

He couldn't escape anymore. He gritted his teeth and exerted all his strength to sacrifice two third-level treasures, attacking Li An. But Li An came straight at him, wearing a layer of black golden armor, and actually withstood the attack of the third-level treasures. Then, he punched...

Guo Jisheng was directly sent flying!

The blue flame phoenix in the air had already swooped down, its claws directly piercing into Guo Jisheng's shoulders, grabbing him and falling to the ground.

Guo Jisheng wanted to resist, but felt his body stiff and unable to move. He looked down and saw that two small swords were already inserted into his body...

It was all a sinister trick...

"You... shameless!"

He couldn't help but curse.

In fact, even if Li An had directly faced him head-on, he still wouldn't stand a chance...

But this guy, Li An, used talismans, formations, poison, and spiritual pets... all of them.

Really, too ruthless!

And Li An had already approached, sighing, "A person without harmful intentions, but a tiger with intentions to harm others. Fellow Daoist, I apologize for wanting to kill you."

Hearing these words, Guo Jisheng really wanted to curse. This was the first time he had met Li An, but the other party had already arranged formations and everything. This was called a person without harmful intentions?

He already understood. This damn guy probably planned this several years ago when he sold that second-grade top-quality Clear Soul Pill to Lu Tong... His target must be the fourth-level talisman inheritance on his body, because he could tell that Li An was a third-level talisman master!

"Planning to kill me for so many years, you...!"

He wanted to angrily curse, but he no longer had the opportunity. Li An had already caught him and began to activate his demonic cultivation technique!

Li An didn't directly kill Guo Jisheng with a fourth-level crossbow arrow because he wanted to capture him alive.

Only by capturing him alive could he use his demonic cultivation technique to extract his memories and obtain what Li An wanted.

... (End of this chapter)