"Are you... talking to me?"
Heavens, she never knew sentient flames could talk!
"You're so dumb, there's only the two of us here. If I don't talk to you, am I supposed to talk to that fierce cultivator?"
Fierce cultivator? Must be referring to the ancestor.
"You mentioned there are three thousand sentient flames, what's that about?"
The abnormal fire flew around the box with a haughty air, saying proudly, "This box originally held three thousand sentient flames, all captured by that fierce cultivator. But now there's only me left, hehe."
"What happened to the other two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine?"
"I ate them all!"
Li Xing: ... Damn, it's like you were raising gu here.
Absorbing the energy of over two thousand sentient flames, no wonder its size was unusually large and it had developed intelligence.
"Why did you willingly form a contract with me?"
"Because I can't beat that fierce cultivator, and I don't want to be bound by him. You're the first person I saw after being trapped in the box. You looked somewhat pleasing to the eye, so I chose you! So, are you happy?"
Li Xing: The ancestor captured three thousand sentient flames for the Dan cultivators of the family, not to contract them himself, clearly you've overthought it.
Just because you fear the ancestor, you randomly chose someone to contract with, and you have the nerve to call her dumb!
Seeing the sentient flame float towards the Spirit Stone box, Li Xing hurriedly yelled, "Stop! You're not allowed to eat anything here!"
The sentient flame protested, "But I'm hungry!"
Li Xing stood her ground, "You swallowed over two thousand sentient flames, you won't be hungry for another ten thousand years!" You're just being greedy!
"I don't care, I want to eat!"
You're already so big, yet you still want to eat?
"Now that you've followed me, I won't treat you unfairly. I'll find other energy for you to devour, but you can't touch anything here." Li Xing thought for a moment and added, "Without my permission, you're not allowed to consume anything. Otherwise, I'll dissolve our contract and hand you over to the fierce cultivator!"
The sentient flame dimmed, and, pitiable, it murmured, "Oh."
Li Xing let the sentient flame drift in space and turned her attention to the last box.
This box was the smallest and most exquisite. Upon opening it, there were only dozens of Jade Scrolls inside. Li Xing checked with Divine Sense and found them filled with the ancestor's cultivation insights, alchemy notes, and body refining techniques he had practiced. These techniques weren't ordinary; they were ancient cultivation techniques capable of utilizing Chaos Qi before the transformation of chaos into spirit!
Holding these Jade Scrolls, Li Xing was beyond excited. Not mentioning the insights and notes, just the body refining techniques solved her urgent need. With her Dantian shattered, unable to be a magic cultivator, she could be a body cultivator instead, making use of Chaos Qi for body refinement!
At this moment, Li Xing felt a surge of pride. So what if her Dantian was shattered? So what if she was stranded in a foreign world? She had the resources left by the ancestor, cultivation techniques using Chaos Qi, a magic treasure, and Spirit Grass throughout the land. Compared to the ancestor who started with nothing, she was much better off!
Just like the ancestor, she would cultivate both elixir and body. Being of the same Li Family bloodline, if the ancestor could do it, she could too!
Placing the ancestor's notes carefully aside, Li Xing withdrew her Divine Sense from the Spiritual Pendant and knelt towards the void to perform the grand ceremony of three kneels and nine bows.
"To Ancestor Li Zhan above, Li Xing, the 367th generation descendant of the Li Family, was destined to open the Spiritual Pendant. Li Xing thanks the ancestor for his blessings! The ancestor cared deeply for the family and planned meticulously for the Li Family; the descendants are endlessly grateful. I accidentally entered this world, with my Dantian shattered, thinking that cultivating immortality was hopeless, feeling resentment and an urge to barely survive.
Fortunately, the ancestor's notes enlightened me. Since the heavens do not favor me, I shall go against the heavens, like the ancestor, cultivating both elixir and body. In the paths of the great Tao, there will be a place for this descendant. The ancestor's kindness is as deep as the sea, and I have nothing to repay it with except to diligently cultivate, aiming to achieve the true fruit and thank the ancestor in person. Should I one day return to the Li Family, I will surely hand over the ancestor's remaining resources for immortal cultivation to the family.
The descendant bows thrice again, respectfully wishing the ancestor celestial longevity, inseparable from the heavens!"
Amid the celestial palaces, saturated with Immortal Energy, a kirin carries herbs, a colorful phoenix sings in harmony, and flocks of spirit cranes dance among the immortal mountains.
In an octagonal pavilion made of Immortal Spirit Jade, two men were playing a game. The one dressed in blue was about to make a move, the white stone nearly touching the board when his slender fingers halted abruptly. The handsome man in white sitting opposite was displeased, snapping his folded fan shut with a crack and shouting, "Li Zhan, no backing out of the move!"
The man in blue narrowed his phoenix eyes and snorted, "Do I look like I would?"
With a clack, the white stone landed, capturing a large area of black stones.
"Useless player, you lost again." Li Zhan was in a good mood, rare to see a smile appear on his face, leaving the man in white momentarily stunned.
"Does winning against me make you that happy? If that's the case, I'll let you win every day from now on."
Li Zhan was speechless. This useless player consistently lost and continued to play despite defeats; what was there to be so happy about winning against him that it seemed as if it was on purpose? Shameless.
"Just now, a junior of mine wished me celestial longevity, inseparable from the heavens."
"Oh?" Bai Fengming's eyes lit up. "Usually, someone whose wishes can reach the immortal realm possesses excellent aptitude and fortune. If they don't fall prematurely, they're sure to ascend. That junior's quite impressive; the Li Family finally produced someone notable, not in vain for your painstaking efforts to nurture them. What cultivation level are they at? How long before they can ascend?"
"Golden Core, I guess?"
"Guess?"
Bai Fengming frowned; given the strength of barriers between realms, it should still be easy for someone like Immortal Monarch Li Zhan to sense a bloodline junior's cultivation level, so why was he unsure!
"Her Dantian is shattered, so I can't sense her cultivation level. Her Divine Sense is at the early Golden Core stage."
Bai Fengming: (￣ェ￣;)
The Li Family truly seems cursed, with all the familial luck for hundreds of generations concentrated on Li Zhan alone. Since his ascension, no Li Family member has ever entered the immortal realm again. Now, there was finally a descendant with a good aptitude, whose wishes could be sensed by beings in the immortal realm, and yet she had her Golden Core shattered.
This Li Zhan, his heart is certainly carefree. With a junior in such a state, why is he smiling so much?
"I have an Immortal Fate Rebirth Pill; how about..."
Li Zhan waved him off, saying, "I appreciate the thought, but where she currently is, having her Dantian shattered might actually be a good thing."
"Is that so? Where is she then?"
"In a fragment of a major world."
"A fragment of a major world?"
In the universe, there are three thousand major worlds, three thousand intermediate worlds, and innumerable minor worlds. Minor worlds are the most susceptible to the cosmic gales' influence and can get fragmented. Intermediate worlds form fewer fragments, while major worlds have stable barriers, almost never fragmenting.
Bai Fengming said, "As far as I know, among the three thousand major worlds, only the Qianyuan world collapsed ten thousand years ago due to inter-realm disturbances by external demons, destroying its barriers and subsequently disappearing. Could it be this descendant of yours ended up in the Qianyuan world?"
Qianyuan world's environment and climate are exceptionally suited for the growth of Spirit Plants and Immortal Herbs. It used to supply medicinal materials to the immortal realm before its collapse. With ten thousand years having passed, if the Qianyuan Fragment still exists, who knows how many fierce beasts guarding the Spirit Grass have multiplied. Can that junior survive without her cultivation?
"Li Zhan, Qianyuan world is quite dangerous. Aren't you going to rescue her?"
Li Zhan smiled slightly and said, "Why would I rescue her? She possesses my top-grade Spiritual Pendant, and if she can make good use of its resources, they'll be sufficient for her to undergo tribulation and ascend. If she chooses to cultivate both elixir and body like me, the Qianyuan world is indeed her place of opportunity; rescuing her would actually harm her."
Li Zhan flicked his fingers, sending a ray of spiritual light into the void.
"Once her cultivation reaches a certain level, I will appear."