He first arrived at Xiaoqiao’s garden Dao Field.

As soon as he entered, his heart was moved.

The protective array here has been strengthened again, and there are at least five interconnected sets inside: defense, restriction, killing, trapping, and illusion, all in one. Ordinary cultivators at the middle stage of Core Formation would probably be unable to do anything but stare.

"Uncle Li!" Xiaoqiao had received Li Ji’an’s message in advance, and she opened all the arrays quietly without alerting anyone, waiting here.

Now seeing Li Ji’an, she quickly stepped forward, her concern apparent.

Compared to others, Xiaoqiao had experienced the Ancient Tomb incident with Li Ji’an, and over the years, she was genuinely worried that the Fiery Sun Sect might have discovered some clues.

She was even more worried that Li Ji’an, the culprit who personally killed True Man Fu, would be avenged by the Fiery Sun Sect.

Fortunately, everything has now faded away.

"Xiaoqiao, this is my new disciple, Zou Qi. I will trouble you with him in the future." Li Ji’an first introduced Zou Qi to Xiaoqiao.

At Xiaoqiao’s first glance at Zou Qi, she was struck with surprise. If she hadn’t sensed Zou Qi’s situation as a Tier Three Earth Spirit Master, she would have thought Uncle Li had found her a little junior sister.

This young man was too delicate.

"Uncle Li, you’re too courteous. Junior Brother Zou can follow me in the future." Xiaoqiao assumed the role of senior sister.

Zou Qi was very clever and courteous, immediately bowing to Xiaoqiao: "Zou Qi meets Senior Sister Qiao."

Afterward, Li Ji’an indicated for Xiaoqiao to find someone to settle Zou Qi and then went with Xiaoqiao to the secret room.

"This Essence of the Earth should be beneficial to your Earth Spirit Scripture." Li Ji’an said as he handed Xiaoqiao the Tai Chi Diagram he obtained in the Ancient Tomb years ago.

He had long seen Xiaoqiao’s eagerness for this item, but the time wasn’t right and had kept it until now.

"Thank you, Uncle Li!" Xiaoqiao accepted the Essence of the Earth with both hands, extremely delighted.

If she could refine this item, her Earth Spirit Scripture would surely make another breakthrough.

But before her smile could fade, Li Ji’an led her to the medicinal field in the courtyard.

"Gugu."

As soon as Gugu came out, it opened its mouth towards the medicinal field, and a piece of Spirit Field flew out.

A full twenty sections!

It was the Third Grade Spirit Field obtained from the tomb years ago.

Looking at her medicinal field, Xiaoqiao’s eyes widened. She had previously only collected one section of Spirit Soil.

And now, it was placed at the very core of the Treasure Field in the center of the entire medicinal field.

Moreover, on it, there was only the withered branch that Li Ji’an had obtained from the abyss.

But at this moment, her entire medicinal field now had the level of Third Grade Spirit Field.

Third Grade Spirit Field, theoretically, could grow Tier Three Upper Grade Spirit Plants.

Furthermore, the Earth Spirit Mechanism contained in the Third Grade Spirit Field was also beneficial to her Earth Spirit Scripture.

"See if you can cultivate these seeds." Li Ji’an took out a small bag of Spirit Plant seeds, most of which were dead seeds stripped from Crystal Condensing Pill’s medicinal materials, many already lifeless.

"Yes, Uncle Li, rest assured, I will do my utmost." Xiaoqiao carefully accepted the spirit seeds.

After finishing the main affairs, Li Ji’an asked Xiaoqiao about her past experiences. Back then, Qin Henian was first invited by Wu Weixiong and then learned that he needed an Array Master, which led him to bring Xiaoqiao.

According to Xiaoqiao, after she and Qin Henian returned to Cangyun State, Qin Henian gave her a considerable amount of spiritual resources.

After all, Qin Henian got what he wanted at that time, obtaining a wisp of Innate Mother Qi, giving hope for Qin Chuan’s attempt at True Pill formation, while Xiaoqiao was invited by him, ending up with nothing.

After a heartfelt conversation with Xiaoqiao, Li Ji’an left Gugu and the still somewhat confused Little Fire Spirit and returned to his Dao Field.

This Dao Field is publicly declared as Sect Leader Qiao’s retreat place, but in reality, it has always been reserved for Li Ji’an.

And as he approached the entrance, Ning Yutan’s figure was already waiting at his side.

With Ning Sujin’s Primordial Spirit covering it, the entire Odd Stone Forest Dao Field couldn’t escape her perception, as Li Ji’an had anticipated.

"Brother Li! You’re finally back, Yutan was so worried about you." Ning Yutan’s eyes were slightly red as she eagerly rushed forward to embrace him.

Li Ji’an lightly patted her back, uncertain whether it was genuine or a show, given Ning Yutan’s flirtatiousness during their time in the Immortal Dynasty.

However, he didn’t mind; even if it was a performance, if she could act for a lifetime, it would count as genuine affection.

After exchanging tender moments, he dismissed her, but this time without letting her absorb him, as he was now low on Essence Blood.

That night, his awaited figure, Ning Sujin, arrived, and many of Li Ji’an’s expectations could finally be realized.

Ning Sujin’s concern for him was genuine and sincere, and after indulgent moments into the night, they finally got to the main topic.

Li Ji’an first took out the Ancient Puppet obtained from the tomb.

"This is..." Ning Sujin exclaimed in surprise and quickly rose from Li Ji’an’s embrace.

After sensing it for a moment, her expression turned solemn: "Li Lang, this is a Tier Five Puppet! However... its spiritual power is greatly diminished. In its current state, it should be comparable to a Tier Four peak Puppet." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Can Sister Jin remove the Divine Soul Mark inside it?" Li Ji’an asked eagerly.

Ning Sujin’s face lit up with joy, instantly understanding Li Ji’an’s intent.

If the Puppet could truly protect her as a Tier Four peak, she might be able to reclaim her body from the Ten Thousand Laws Palace.

However, after examining it for a while, Ning Sujin slowly shook her head: "Even though the Divine Soul Mark inside has been eroded by time, it’s still quite strong. With my current Primordial Spirit, it would take a considerable effort to remove it, unless my Primordial Spirit could advance further."

"Good, as long as there’s hope!" Li Ji’an was overjoyed.

Without hesitation, he handed over the piece of Spirit Marrow to Ning Sujin: "As long as Sister Jin can erase the Divine Soul Mark inside, make it your contract. When I’m not around, it can protect you well."

"Li Lang!" Ning Sujin’s eyes turned misty, deeply moved.

A Tier Five Puppet, nearly the pinnacle of this Cultivation Realm, invaluable, yet Li Ji’an was willing to give it to her for protection, showing his true feelings.

Li Ji’an gently caressed her cheek: "Sister Jin, in this world, only you and I truly understand and accompany each other. If it were just me alone, even if I achieved eternal longevity, wouldn’t it be incredibly lonely?"

Ning Sujin instantly smiled, her desire for eternal life never before so firm!

After another round of delightful entanglements, Li Ji’an took out the Zou family’s divination heritage.

To Li Ji’an’s surprise, after researching for half a year, it was only with Zou Qi’s oral retelling of Zou Yan’s explanations that he gained a little clarity, yet Ning Sujin almost immediately understood.

"Could it be that Sister Jin’s ability to seek fortune and avoid calamity is some sort of innate talent in the divination path?" Li Ji’an looked at Ning Sujin incredulously.

Ning Sujin looked puzzled: "Talent? But... it’s clearly described, requiring the comprehension of the Celestial Dao’s mysteries. Everyone and everything have Celestial Dao Qi accompanying them. I can only understand it, but I don’t have the ability described here to sense the Celestial Dao’s mysteries."

Li Ji’an felt embarrassed; these things Ning Sujin saw at a glance were things he hadn’t figured out in six months.

"Sister Jin, you need to study this divination heritage well in the future. If I’m confused, I’ll ask you for guidance."

"Okay." Ning Sujin instantly developed a great interest and motivation for this divination heritage.

Over the next year, Li Ji’an mostly stayed at the Odd Stone Forest.

Daily, he continued to refine puppets, practice the ’Taigu Demon-Suppressing Fist,’ cultivate the ’Divine Grinding Divine Technique,’ tempering his Divine Soul, and additionally comprehending the divination heritage.

With Ning Sujin accompanying him every night, life was quite pleasant.

Until a year later, Master Jade Pill sent a message that he had returned to the sect. Only then did Li Ji’an bid farewell to the old acquaintances at the Odd Stone Forest and returned to the Biyun Sect, which he had been away from for years.

Master Jade Pill had been called to the Black Water Swamp’s ancient tomb previously.

Reportedly, in the fourth tomb chamber, a large alchemy room was found. Many ancient elixirs were inside, but most had already decayed; once a jade bottle was opened, the elixir would quickly turn to ashes.

Thus, all sects called their Pill Masters to research those ancient elixirs.

Upon returning to the sect, Li Ji’an first met with Master Jade Pill and immediately exchanged two Tier Three Spirit Medicines for Crystal Condensing Pill from him.

From this point, the materials for the next world’s Crystal Condensing Pill were fully prepared, just waiting for alchemy.

Simultaneously, Master Jade Pill informed him that the more they excavated the ancient tomb in Black Water Swamp, the more extraordinary it felt. In the coming years, the sect’s high-ranking members were likely to focus their efforts there, as Sect Leader hoped Li Ji’an would have the courage to venture into it.