Ch 224: Gentle And Graceful

Although the girl pleaded bitterly, she was still forcibly taken away by her family. The young man fared even worse; he was severely beaten and finally limped away from the Taoist Temple, his face bruised and swollen.

The Taoist Temple quickly fell silent.

Li Qian watched the scene of lovers forcibly separated without paying much attention.

Such things happened far too often.

He had just arrived in this world and didn’t want to stir up trouble.

The lack of powerful beings in this town didn’t mean that there weren’t any in the world?

If this is the Longevity World, there must be Longevity Secret Realms.

Perhaps there are even Longevity Secret Realm experts who have reached Return to Void several tens of steps.

And he was only at Return to Void ten steps.

His next plan was to quietly learn about this world while preparing to break through to the Longevity Secret Realm.

As for the Return to Void path, he could take his time.

In the following years, besides cultivating his Return to Void, Li Qian spent his time cultivating in this world. He gradually learned about this world from the town.

It truly was the Longevity World.

However, the Longevity World was extremely vast. This town called Yiling Town was located in a remote Gobi desert, at the border of the three top powers: the Eternal Dynasty, the Great Moon Empire, and the Golden Demon Court—a typical lawless zone.

This vast Tianquan Gobi land was a melting pot, with various forces coexisting: Human Race, Demon Race, Barbarian Race, Giant Race, Witch Race, and many other groups.

Moreover, these forces often fled from the territories of the three top powers for various reasons. For survival, they banded together, forming various city-states, tribes, and sects.

This town belonged to a typical small city-state, formed by the joint efforts of several clans and various incoming refugees.

On this Tianquan Gobi, strength was paramount; only those with sufficient strength had the right to occupy resource-rich areas.

Besides the threat from other city-states and tribes, wild beasts and demonic monsters were also a source of danger.

This small city-state didn’t even have a Supreme Saint; its strength was average at best.

In these years, he frequently sensed demonic beasts and monsters attacking the town, and even powerful bandit gangs conducting raids.

Occasionally, people would appear near his dilapidated Taoist Temple.

Moreover, he discovered that the Laws of Heaven and Earth in this Longevity World were vastly different from his original world. In his original world, Heavenly Human level cultivation allowed for flight, but in this Longevity World, only Martial Saint level cultivators could fly.

With the same attack, the destructive power was greatly reduced.

Additionally, the difficulty of mobilizing Heaven and Earth Essence was much greater.

This led to a huge difference in destructive power between the original world and the Longevity World for the same cultivation level.

Not only that, in the original world, Martial Saints could perform Astral Projection, and Great Saints could manifest Nascent Soul Avatars. However, it seemed impossible in this world.

He tried it himself. As a Supreme Saint, Astral Projection was no problem, but he couldn’t manifest a Nascent Soul Avatar. When he tried to mobilize Heaven and Earth Essence with his Primordial Spirit, he was clearly suppressed, resulting in the failure to condense a Nascent Soul Avatar.

He guessed it had to do with this world’s Heaven and Earth.

Perhaps only by entering a Longevity Secret Realm would it be possible to manifest a Nascent Soul Avatar.

Moreover, when he used Astral Projection outside the Chen Zhong Domain, he always felt an inexplicable and invisible threat, as if something was watching him.

After that, he never used Astral Projection in this world again.

Yiling Town.

Azure Sea Pavilion.

This was a very famous restaurant in town.

It was always full.

On a table by the window on the second floor, a figure in gray robes sat drinking wine.

Since drinking here a few years ago, Li Qian had been coming to drink at this establishment every so often.

The main reason was that the Pavilion’s signature wine had a unique taste. One taste was enough to make it unforgettable.

The Azure Sea Pavilion had a rule: wine could only be drunk in the Pavilion and could not be taken away.

It was also in limited supply.

A maximum of half a jin of wine per person per day.

Although this caused some dissatisfaction among the patrons, the owner of the Azure Sea Pavilion was the renowned Wine Maniac Mei Bisheng. Not only was his winemaking skill superb, but his cultivation was also extremely profound, already reaching the ranks of top Great Saints.

He was considered one of the strongest in Yiling Town.

Therefore, even the heads of the other families in Yiling Town had to abide by this rule when they came to drink.

Although Li Qian enjoyed this wine, he also respected the rules, only drinking half a jin each time.

After finishing the last sip of wine, Li Qian felt a slight regret. If only there were a little more, it wouldn’t have been enough.

Li Qian shook his head, dismissing the thought. If he couldn’t even control such cravings, how could he overcome the Inner Demon Tribulation?

The so-called Inner Demon Tribulation was actually the desires from all aspects of one’s heart, gradually condensing into an Inner Demon after being activated by the Spirit Refining Method.

He felt he was almost ready and planned to overcome the Inner Demon Tribulation and break through to the Longevity Secret Realm in a while.

He got up and left the restaurant, walking down the street.

The town looked much more deserted than usual.

For several years, the town had been in conflict with a certain force over a small Essence Stone Mine, clashing repeatedly with casualties on both sides.

Returning to the outside of his dilapidated Taoist Temple, Li Qian suddenly froze, for there was a swaddled baby on the steps outside the temple.

It must be another family that preferred sons over daughters, abandoning their newborn baby.

Over the years, this wasn’t the first time he had found abandoned female infants; it had happened many times.

Li Qian looked at the sleeping infant, quite pretty and cute, wondering how anyone could bear to abandon it.

Over the years, he had taken all the infants he found back to the Divine Sword Sect and entrusted them to a special charitable hall for raising.

Because these infants were born in the Longevity World, their Innate Talent was relatively good.

Suddenly, his Spiritual Sense stirred; he sensed that the infant seemed to have a defect—both hands only had four fingers.

No wonder she was abandoned.

But at that moment, a rush of hurried footsteps came, followed by a woman who looked somewhat weak, arriving outside the Taoist Temple.

She seemed anxious, searching for something.

「Ling’er」

At this time, a man ran up from behind and tried to pull the woman back.

「I want to find Ling’er.」

The woman said firmly.

「She’s disabled, we can’t keep her.」

The man said.

「She’s our daughter. Are you so heartless?」

The woman pushed the man away.

「I don’t want to be laughed at.」

The man mumbled.

「For your own face, you don’t even want your daughter, Wang Qun! If you don’t want to raise her, I will.」

The woman said angrily.

「She’s gone. Maybe a wild beast took her. Let’s go home.」

The man said.

But the woman seemed not to hear, shaking off the man’s hand and searching inside and outside the Taoist Temple.

After watching, the man could only helplessly go down the mountain.

Li Qian, watching this scene and looking at the baby in his arms, immediately walked out and approached the woman.

The woman, seeing the suddenly appearing figure and the swaddled baby in his arms, which looked familiar, rushed over and took the baby from Li Qian’s hands.

「Ling’er, it’s Ling’er, my Ling’er. Mother will take good care of you.」

The woman was very excited.

When she thanked Li Qian, she found him gone.

So she could only hurriedly carry her daughter down the mountain.

Inside the dilapidated hall, Li Qian shook his head, then sat cross-legged on the Bell Platform and began to cultivate the Eight Hells Yama Refining Spirit Art.

Several hundred li outside Yiling Town, in the Gobi wilderness.

A thrilling and shocking slaughter was underway.

Streams of True Qi intertwined, blade light and sword qi crisscrossed, two figures moving incredibly fast.

But suddenly, with a loud bang, the two figures separated.

Thump!

One person had a large hole ripped open in their chest, spitting blood, staring fixedly at the other, 「You, you can’t escape.」

「Sigh, I’ve already chosen not to fight. Why do you insist on putting me to death?」

The other person was a woman in plain clothes, with several wounds on her body, blood seeping through. She wasn’t in good shape either.

She slowly sheathed her longsword, then turned and soared into the air, flying away into the distance.

And the person fell to the ground, dead.

Half an hour later, the woman in plain clothes arrived in Yiling Town.

She went straight to the hill behind the town and arrived outside the dilapidated Taoist Temple.

When she reached the hall of the Taoist Temple, she could no longer hold back, spitting out a mouthful of blood, then sat against the wall, swallowed a pill, closed her eyes, and seemed to be cultivating to heal her wounds.

Li Qian on the Bell Platform opened his eyes, looking at the woman in plain clothes with a surprised expression.

Because this woman in plain clothes was Wen Wan, Yang Lian’s mother.

Only, this Wen Wan didn’t look very well.

To Li Qian’s surprise, Wen Wan’s cultivation had actually reached Supreme Saint level.

No wonder when he first met Wen Wan, Li Qian hadn’t noticed her cultivation, thinking she was just an ordinary person.

Now it seemed that he simply couldn’t perceive her cultivation back then.

After all, he was only at the Great Saint level at that time, not even a top Great Saint. If Wen Wan was already a Supreme Saint at that time, naturally, he wouldn’t be able to perceive the cultivation aura of a Supreme Saint.

But he was a little puzzled. Wen Wan was a Supreme Saint, so why did she get together with Yang Fan?

That didn’t seem logical.

Yang Fan was only a Celestial Being.

And they were from two different worlds.

After a long time, Wen Wan suddenly opened her eyes, took out a small wooden figurine from her bosom, and stroked it with her fingers, seemingly lost in reminiscence.

Suddenly, she seemed to sense something and looked towards the Bell Platform, noticing a figure sitting cross-legged there.

She stood up abruptly, her expression vigilant, her sword seeming ready to be drawn at any moment.

「Such a fierce Sword Intent.」

Li Qian immediately felt the terrifying Sword Intent emanating from Wen Wan, as if it could threaten his Primordial Spirit.

Although it was just an illusion, it showed that Wen Wan’s strength was truly formidable.

But suddenly, Wen Wan recognized Li Qian, stunned for a moment, showing an expression of disbelief, 「Senior, how are you here?」

Here, Li Qian showed his true face.

「It seems I wasn’t wrong. You are indeed Wen Wan.」

Li Qian said with a smile.

「Did Senior enter the Longevity Secret Realm?」

Wen Wan, seeming to have thought of something, showed a shocked expression.

Since her last visit to the Divine Sword Sect, only fifty years had passed. At that time, she could sense that Li Qian’s cultivation level was only at the Great Saint level.

To transcend Supreme Saint and enter the Longevity Secret Realm in fifty years?

Li Qian just smiled, not answering her question, and instead asked: 「In the Longevity World, Yang Fan is in the Human Realm. How did the two of you meet?」

He had an even bigger question: the time between their meeting and the child’s birth didn’t seem to match.

After all, the time flow rate in the Longevity World was the same as in the original world.

「Senior, we didn’t meet in the Longevity World or the Human Realm, but in the Dream Realm.」

Wen Wan shook her head and said.

「Dream Realm?」

Li Qian showed a shocked expression.

「Senior not knowing about the Dream Realm is normal. Only a very small number of people can sense the existence of the Dream Realm and enter it. Even those who enter, if their cultivation level is not high enough, will only consider it a dream upon exiting. But in reality, the Dream Realm is real. The time flow rate in the Dream Realm is very slow, so cultivation there can save a lot of time. Sometimes a year passes in the Dream Realm, while only a day might pass in the outside world.」

Wen Wan explained.

Li Qian was greatly shocked. There was actually such a miraculous place as the Dream Realm. No wonder he had found Yang Fan’s cultivation speed to have improved significantly in recent years.

It was probably related to his cultivation in the Dream Realm.

「Since you and Yang Fan can meet in the Dream Realm, why are you here, and why are you injured?」

Li Qian asked.

「Senior, my Primordial Spirit is damaged, and I can’t enter the Dream Realm for the time being. Besides, I was being chased and escaped here. I planned to rest here before going to Tian Yuan City.」

Wen Wan shook her head and said.

「Who was chasing you?」

Li Qian asked.

After a moment of silence, Wen Wan said: 「Senior, I was originally the princess of the Spirit King Mansion of the Eternal Dynasty. In the competition for the Spirit King’s throne, I failed.」

Li Qian immediately understood.

The competition for the throne was bound to be fierce and cruel.

It was normal for the loser to be hunted down.

No wonder Wen Wan had sent Yang Lian to the Divine Sword Sect; it was probably to secure her position in the competition for the throne.

「Wen Wan, if you want to be with Yang Fan, I can send you to the Divine Sword Sect.」

Li Qian said after some thought.

Because of the Chen Zhong Domain, he could not only travel freely between the two worlds but also bring other living things, including people.

He couldn’t just watch Wen Wan get hunted down.

「Senior, can you send me to the Human Realm?」

Wen Wan was very surprised.

Normally, even Longevity Secret Realm cultivators couldn’t travel between the two worlds.

Only through very specific Teleportation Arrays or certain Space Nodes.

And the cost of travel was very high.

「Of course.」

Li Qian nodded.

「Senior, forget it. If I go to the Human Realm, I’m afraid I’ll bring trouble to Yang Fan.」

Wen Wan shook her head.

As long as she lived, the pursuit from the Spirit King Mansion would not stop.

After all, she was the rightful heir to the Spirit King’s throne.

If she didn’t die, the other party wouldn’t be able to rest easy.

Even if she entered the Human Realm, the other party would probably send people to the Human Realm, bringing great disaster to Yang Fan and even the Divine Sword Sect.

The reason why they hadn’t sent Longevity Secret Realm experts to hunt her down yet was probably because they had some reservations and hadn’t officially inherited the throne, unable to truly command the Longevity Secret Realm.

But once they inherited the throne, it would be completely different.

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