榆神泪 第 6 章

The man clutched his bleeding belly, let out a miserable scream, and fell to the ground; his life faded rapidly.

Li Xian did not relax immediately but jumped back like a leopard. Only after ensuring the opponent was thoroughly dead did he lean against the wall, panting heavily. Intense pain surged in his chest like a tide. The jade pendant worn close to his body was flickering with a faint light. If it hadn't protected his body, that fireball would have killed him long ago.

In his daze, his mother's dying words echoed in his ears, every word filled with pain:

'Xiao Xian, you must remember. There are no good people in the cultivation world. Even those who have received your help will hesitate not for a moment to hurt you when faced with profit.'

'Do not trust anyone; you must live on well...'

Li Xian closed his eyes, and only after a long time did he suppress the fear in his heart.

When he opened his eyes again, the sun was already about to set.

Enduring the pain, he searched the man's corpse for a while. Since the opponent could use spells, he was at least a cultivator in the early Condensation Realm, so he must have valuable possessions on him.

Soon, several items were laid out in front of him:

A bronze short knife. When pulled out, it shone with a cold light and pressing spiritual energy, countless times stronger than that dull wood-chopping knife.

A white jade bottle containing pills of unknown names. Li Xian dared not eat them indiscriminately and put them away for now.

A token engraved with the five characters 'Ascending Immortal White Cloud Sect'. The material was neither metal nor wood, appearing quite strange.

Finally, there was a yellowed scroll with the five large characters 'Minor Five Elements Arts' written on it.

Li Xian's eyes lit up. Ignoring the bloodstains on his body, he hurriedly opened the scroll.

The first section was the technique the man had used just now—'Minor Fireball Art'.

Flipping further, there were 'Minor Earth Escape Art', 'Minor Golden Light Art', 'Minor Water Healing Art', and 'Minor Wood Spirit Art'.

'Summoning thunder and fire with a wave of the hand—this is the true method of immortals!'

Li Xian was very excited, his fingers touching those illustrations and texts as if he had encountered a new world. Unfortunately, the end of the scroll stated: To learn these five arts, one must reach the Condensation Realm and use the spiritual power of the Sea of Qi.

'I must condense Qi first.'

Li Xian took a deep breath and hid the scroll, short knife, and token close to his body. He went to the stream in the mountains, washed away the bloodstains, and under the cover of night, quietly returned home.

...

That night, Li Xian did not sleep.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, guiding Qi into his body. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth flowed along his meridians, constantly cleansing his injured internal organs. The mysterious jade pendant seemed to coordinate with his breathing, emitting a gentle flow of heat. By the next morning, the terrible burn on his chest had actually scabbed over, and most of the black dead skin had fallen off.

Between life and death, there is immense terror, but also immense opportunity.

His cultivation, originally stuck at a bottleneck, actually showed signs of breaking through after this life-and-death battle.

That was the most primitive desire for power.

'I need to stabilize it a bit more.'

Li Xian was not impatient. Guiding Qi to refine the body is like sharpening a knife; the longer you sharpen it, the sharper it is when drawn. If you sharpen forever without drawing, the edge will roll; if you don't sharpen enough, it won't be sharp enough to kill enemies.

And now, the time is not yet ripe.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed hurriedly.

The cold wind howled; it was already mid-November in the deep of winter.

The mountain forests had long been covered by heavy snow. Wild beasts had become unusually fierce to store fat for winter, making it impossible to stay there long. On the contrary, this small hut in the village became the safest haven.

Late at night on this day, snow fell silently outside.

Inside the room, Li Xian sat cross-legged, eyes tightly closed.

Today, he turned fifteen.

After two months of healing and settling, his spirit and physical strength had reached their peak, like a fully drawn strong bow.

'It is time.'

Li Xian cast aside distracting thoughts and focused his mind.

With his breathing, the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged frantically into his body. This time, the spiritual energy was no longer just simply cleansing his body, but under the powerful guidance of his spiritual root, it rushed straight to his Dantian like rivers returning to the sea!

The originally deathly silent Dantian began to tremble violently and twist.

An unprecedented sensation of expansion exploded in his belly.

He wanted to open the Sea of Qi and step into the Immortal Gate!