Most cultivators value their descendants highly.

Even those who didn’t would never go so far as the Five Poison Wanderer, who treated his own descendants as tools for nurturing Poisonous Insects.

’This old poisoner is truly vicious, living up to his name as the Five Poison Wanderer.’

Wu Ming’s expression was guarded as he thought to himself.

He cupped his fists and said in a low voice, "Five Poison Daoist, I truly know nothing about Tang Yuan’s death. I hope you can understand."

"My son came to see you before he died, yet you claim to know nothing?"

The Five Poison Wanderer’s gaze was icy, his jade-green eyes fixed on Wu Ming as a sinister light flickered within them.

A faint, almost imperceptible pressure slowly descended upon Wu Ming.

Wu Ming’s face turned pale.

He had a strong suspicion that the killer was Li Chang’an.

However, Li Chang’an was his great benefactor, having practically saved his life.

Even though he was a Tribulation Cultivator, he refused to sell out the man who had saved his life.

Just then,

the Black Talisman Old Demon suddenly let out a strange laugh.

"Five Poison old fiend, your son Tang Yuan most likely coveted Li Fan’s treasure and was killed by him for it!"

"Li Fan?"

The Five Poison Wanderer’s brow furrowed slightly. He had, of course, heard the name Li Fan before.

But in his memory,

Li Fan was just a mere Qi Refining Junior Cultivator.

"Has that brat reached Foundation Establishment?"

"Correct!"

The Black Talisman Old Demon held nothing back, publicly recounting the conversation between Tang Yuan and Li Chang’an in the secret chamber.

Wu Ming and Jiang Yunsheng both frowned at him.

Regarding what happened in the secret chamber,

although they had no explicit agreement, they had all tacitly agreed to take the secret to their graves.

But the Black Talisman Old Demon, without any regard for this, had blurted it all out.

Although Wu Ming and Jiang Yunsheng were displeased, there was nothing they could do. The two of them were only at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment; they weren’t qualified to order around a Late Stage of Foundation Establishment Cultivator like the Black Talisman Old Demon.

After listening to the Black Talisman Old Demon’s account,

the Five Poison Wanderer stated coldly,

"Tell that Li Fan to come and see me within a month. If he truly did kill my son, he need only return the Poisonous Insect to me. Otherwise, he can pay with his life."

With that, he turned and left.

...

「At this moment.」

Li Chang’an was still oblivious to all of this.

Even if he had known, it would have been pointless. The Tier Two Poisonous Insect had already been devoured by the Ten Thousand Poison Gu!

There was no way he was going to hand over the Ten Thousand Poison Gu.

「Not long after.」

Li Chang’an returned to Yellow Crane Immortal City.

He first went to ask Xu Fugui about the date of the Foundation Establishment Ceremony and learned that it was a month away.

Afterward, he made a trip to the Ten Thousand Treasures Tower and purchased a large number of treasures for cultivating Spirit Plants.

According to the description in the Spirit Ascension Technique,

the more powerful a Heaven and Earth Spirit Root is cultivated, the more Spirit Charm it will give back in return!

’Time to head back!’

Li Chang’an glanced at his Storage Pouch, which was now filled to the brim with cultivation treasures. Satisfied, he flew off.

His mind was now completely consumed with the thought of improving his Spiritual Root; he didn’t even think to seek out Zheng Qingqing to discuss their cultivation.

...

「Two hours later.」

Li Chang’an returned to Changqing Mountain.

He pushed the Array to its limits, ensuring no outsiders could disturb him.

Then, he took out the emerald-like seed.

"The Eternal Green Vine!"

Li Chang’an’s spirits soared. His eyes shone brightly as he stared at the seed without blinking.

This was his hope for ascending his Spiritual Root!

He immediately began circulating the Spirit Ascension Technique.

Wisps of Magical Power flowed from his Meridians, materializing before him as a brilliant golden Symbiotic Spirit Contract.

With a mere thought, Li Chang’an placed his spiritual imprint upon the Spirit Contract.

The seed, in turn, emitted a pulse, leaving its own imprint on the contract.

With that,

the contract was sealed!

Li Chang’an immediately sensed a faint, almost imperceptible connection form between himself and the Evergreen Vine Seed.

With a wave of his hand, he sent out a blast of Spiritual Power to clear a small Spirit Field outside his cave residence. He then took out the vast quantities of precious Spiritual Earth he had purchased in Yellow Crane Immortal City.

After he spread the Spiritual Earth, the entire Spirit Field instantly began to glow with myriad colors, shrouded in a swirling Spiritual Mist.

Growing in a place like this,

even a common roadside weed could quickly transform into a Spirit Medicine!

’The Spiritual Earth for this Spirit Field cost me a total of fifty thousand Spirit Stones.’

"Little one, you’d better grow well."

Li Chang’an buried the Evergreen Vine Seed in the soil and waited quietly.

After a dozen breaths,

the Evergreen Vine Seed trembled and split open.

Immediately after, pale white roots emerged, spreading throughout the Spiritual Earth and rapidly absorbing the abundant Spiritual Power.

Because of the Symbiotic Spirit Contract between them,

Li Chang’an could soon feel its cheerful and joyous emotions.

A few more breaths passed.

A hint of green appeared within the roiling Spiritual Mist of the Spirit Field.

"It sprouted!"

A smile spread across Li Chang’an’s face.

Before his very eyes, that hint of green rapidly grew into a chopstick-sized Cyan Rattan.

The Cyan Rattan was a vibrant cyan-green, just as Li Chang’an had seen in his dream, only much, much smaller.

It swayed gently, radiating feelings of fondness and trust.

After a moment,

a hint of craving for treasures appeared within those feelings.

Li Chang’an was prepared. He took out a large number of cultivation treasures from his Storage Pouch, including the Cyan Wood Elemental Crystal, and tossed them all into the Spirit Field.

These treasures had cost him more than one hundred thousand Spirit Stones in total!

Now, his Storage Pouch was practically empty.

The Spirit Stones he had accumulated over many years were nearly gone. All that remained were some treasures he had no use for and hadn’t sold yet, most of which came from his enemies, like Cao Shaolong and his junior martial brothers.

Of course,

as long as he could ascend his Spiritual Root, no cost was too great.

With his current abilities, Li Chang’an had plenty of ways to earn money.

"Eat up. Grow as fast as you can."

The Evergreen Vine swayed, transmitting a joyous feeling.

It sent out countless pale roots, like strands of silk, which wrapped around all the cultivation treasures and began to rapidly absorb their essence.