Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 26: Joining the Wrong Team

Mu Qingwan suddenly arrived, surprising Li An and the other two. Zhao Xianchuan, in particular, lowered his head, feeling extremely embarrassed.

"Qingwan, what brings you here to find us?" Wang Dazhu broke the awkward silence and asked.

"Well, at the end of next month, I will be holding a ceremony to become a couple... I hope you can come," Mu Qingwan's face was filled with the anticipation of a young girl about to get married. She took out three invitation cards from her storage bag and handed them to the three of them.

"Li An, I heard that you were injured in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range recently. Are you okay?" She asked with concern.

Li An took the invitation card and replied, "I've recovered, thanks for your concern, Fellow Daoist Mu."

There was a hint of complexity in Mu Qingwan's eyes. When she first joined the sect, she actually had a slight affection for Li An. But after six years, she and Li An were no longer in the same world, and those budding feelings had disappeared.

"Xianchuan, would you also come, please?" She turned to Zhao Xianchuan and asked.

Zhao Xianchuan blushed and could only lower his head and accept the invitation, saying, "Okay."

She seemed to want to talk to Li An and the others, but Chen Cheng reminded her, "Qingwan, we still need to visit Elder Wang."

The implication was that they couldn't waste too much time with Li An and the others.

Mu Qingwan bid farewell and left immediately.

Watching her figure, Li An pondered for a moment but ultimately shook his head and said nothing.

"Ange, don't think about it. She will be someone else's wife from now on..." Wang Dazhu expressed his concern, "Don't end up like Zhao Xianchuan and get into trouble again..."

After saying that, he immediately realized his mistake and hurriedly said, "Xianchuan, I didn't mean it..."

Zhao Xianchuan: "..."

"Big Zhuo is right. After marrying Chen Cheng, she will have a backing even in the inner sect," Zhao Xianchuan couldn't help but sigh.

But Li An just smiled.

Just now, when Mu Qingwan handed him the invitation card, he noticed the bracelet on her snow-white wrist.

That bracelet... looked a lot like the "Bodyguard Bracelet" used by demonic cultivators to nurture their cauldrons.

If they were really going to select a cauldron from the outer sect disciples, Mu Qingwan would indeed be the most suitable candidate, with the highest spiritual root level...

The cultivation world is not black and white, and the methods used by demonic cultivators can also be used by righteous cultivators, and sometimes even more ruthlessly. This is not a rare occurrence.

Unfortunately, Mu Qingwan was still immersed in the joy of her new marriage...

Li An didn't say anything. He didn't care about Mu Qingwan's fate.

...

After the gathering, Li An bought a hundred catties of silver sand from Wang Dazhu, spending twenty spiritual stones.

He also bought some medicine from Zhao Xianchuan, spending five spiritual stones. This was mainly to offset the large amount of miscellaneous spiritual herbs he had.

...

Back in the Symbol Hall, Li An began practicing diligently.

The cultivation of the Life-Nurturing Immortal Technique couldn't be rushed. His goal was the next stage of the Iron Tree Art - Flesh Training!

After cultivating the Iron Skin, the techniques of a Qi Refining early-stage cultivator and a low-grade first-tier attack talisman could hardly harm Li An.

Once he cultivated the "Silver Flesh" in the Flesh Training stage, Li An would be able to withstand the attacks of a Qi Refining mid-stage cultivator!

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

"There's too little silver sand..." Li An frowned.

The hundred catties of silver sand had been completely depleted. Currently, only a part of his right hand's flesh barely met the standard of "Silver Flesh"!

The consumption during the Flesh Training stage was even greater than during the Iron Skin stage.

...

During his cultivation, Mu Qingwan and Chen Cheng's ceremony was held as scheduled. Li An only sent a congratulatory gift through someone else and did not attend.

At the same time, some subtle changes occurred in the Symbol Hall during these three months.

Li An noticed that since Tan Qingxue's failure in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range, Cao Zhirou and Jiang You had been getting closer to Sun Lin.

It was normal for Tan Qingxue to fall behind in the competition with Sun Lin. Now, after suffering a major defeat and losing her trusted subordinates, it was only natural.

Li An was also considering whether or not to join Sun Lin.

If he joined, he would definitely offend Xu Qiuhui from the inner sect. But if he didn't, life in the Symbol Hall would not be easy in the future.

Just as he was hesitating, someone knocked on the door rudely.

Li An got up and opened the door, only to find that it was Feng Xi.

"Feng Senior Brother, why are you here?" Li An asked.

Feng Xi sneered, "What, can't I come?"

He casually walked into Li An's room, "What's this? After all these years, you're still living in this shabby place. Now you want to follow Tan Qingxue?"

Li An understood the hidden meaning and couldn't help but say, "Please enlighten me, Senior Brother Feng."

Feng Xi smiled. This kid had become more sensible. He immediately said, "Do you have any spiritual stones? Give me a hundred, and I'll help you talk to Senior Brother Sun Lin."

"Furthermore, if you succeed, I will take half of your monthly allowance in the future."

Upon hearing this, Li An's mouth twitched. He had been called "Li Skinflint" by others, but he had never been this stingy himself.

"Senior Feng, can I put it on credit? I incurred a large debt when I was injured recently... How about a six-month credit?"

Li An hesitantly spoke.

"Get lost!"

Feng Xi's face immediately changed. He stood up and walked out of the door.

"Kid, this is what you chose!"

After he left, Li An's brow furrowed even deeper.

He was not unwilling to join Sun Lin.

But not through Feng Xi!

If he paid one hundred yuan, Feng Xi might take fifty yuan of spirit stones from it, and he wouldn't be able to escape exploitation in the future.

If he were to truly join, he would have to go find Sun Lin himself and communicate with him.

"No matter, I'll focus on breaking through to the fourth level of Qi Refining first. Even if I have to negotiate with Sun Lin, being at the fourth level of Qi Refining will be more valuable!"

After handing in the next month's talisman quantity in advance, he began to seclude himself and strive to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining!

...

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

"I failed..."

Li An walked out of his residence with a complicated expression on his face.

Indeed, the disadvantage of his spiritual roots had finally become apparent.

He had been relatively smooth in the early stage of Qi Refining, but the small threshold from the early stage to the middle stage of Qi Refining made him feel extremely difficult.

His spiritual root sensitivity was too low.

Even though he had reached the third level of Qi Refining, it would probably take many more years of attempts to successfully enter the fourth level of Qi Refining.

"Li An, come to the main hall immediately!"

At this moment, a disciple notified him.

Li An hurriedly ran into the main hall, where many disciples had already stood in position.

In front of the main hall, there was an old man with white hair and a black robe. He was none other than the hall master, Guo Xiao.

He spoke, "One year and nine months, Sun Lin has successfully completed the tasks of the Talisman Hall!"

"From today onwards, Sun Lin will receive the inheritance of the second-level talisman!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the sound of applause resounded throughout the Talisman Hall.

Li An was somewhat astonished. How did Sun Lin manage to do it?

According to his estimation, for Sun Lin to obtain ten thousand contribution points, it would take at least four or five years.

This guy must have some other means.

Li An couldn't help but feel regretful. He had wasted time in seclusion for this month. If he wanted to join Sun Lin now, it was probably too late...

"Furthermore, Li Daozhu, the chief of Qingyang District, is old and the sect has agreed to let him return to the sect for cultivation. Qingyang District urgently needs a capable disciple to take charge."

Guo Xiao continued, his gaze falling on a girl in the crowd.

"Qingxue, you should go out and gain some experience—"

Tan Qingxue's face turned extremely ugly, and tears welled up in her eyes uncontrollably.

Failing to obtain the second-level talisman inheritance meant that she was also eliminated from the competition for the next hall master.

For the losers, they were usually sent to the external market to take charge of external affairs, thus being far away from the core of the Talisman Hall.

"Sun Lin, Qingxue is inexperienced. Help her choose a few disciples from the Talisman Hall to go with her."

Guo Xiao gave a simple instruction and then turned and left.

The crowd dispersed, and everyone gathered around Sun Lin, flattering and congratulating him, needless to say.

"Junior Sister Tan, Qingyang District is also an important place for the sect. The Talisman Hall has a shop there with high profits..."

Sun Lin pretended to console her, but there was a hint of mockery in his eyes.

"No need for your fake sympathy!"

Tan Qingxue bit her lip lightly and said, "I'll take Cao Zhirou and Jiang You with me."

In her heart, she had long had a premonition of this outcome, so although she felt uncomfortable... she could only accept it.

Sun Lin shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, they both told me that they want to stay in the sect..."

"How about this, Li An will accompany you, how about that?"

Tan Qingxue's face became even uglier.

During today's gathering in the main hall, Cao Zhirou and Jiang You didn't come for some reason. It turned out that they didn't dare to come and see her...

She couldn't help but smile bitterly.

The old feelings of the past were ultimately no match for the interests of reality...

She turned her head and looked at Li An beside her, saying, "Are you willing to accompany me?"

Li An let out a sigh, remained silent for a moment, and nodded.

...

(End of this chapter)