Li Chang’an complained to himself.

Sure enough.

Xu Fugui soon announced that he would be holding his wedding banquet next month.

Li Chang’an secretly sent a Sound Transmission: "Fugui, are you short on money? Why hold the wedding banquet so soon? If you need money, I can lend you some."

"Brother, it’s not like that."

Xu Fugui hurriedly explained via sound transmission.

The reason for his haste was that his master, Wang Fu’an, didn’t have much time left.

"My master’s lifespan ran out long ago. He’s just been hanging on, waiting for me to reach Foundation Establishment. I want to hold this wedding banquet while he’s still here, so he can pass on happily."

"I see."

Li Chang’an knew he had misunderstood.

Xu Fugui asked via sound transmission, "Brother, your sixtieth birthday is in about ten days. Aren’t you going to hold a banquet?"

"Huh..."

Li Chang’an did a quick calculation and realized he was indeed about to turn sixty.

He had been so busy lately.

He hadn’t even noticed.

’To think I’m already sixty,’

Li Chang’an mused.

A cultivator loses all track of time.

He had awakened his past life’s memories at fifteen and set out on the path of cultivation.

Forty-five years had passed in the blink of an eye.

’It’s just sixty years. There’s no need for a banquet. We can talk about it when I turn one hundred.’

Li Chang’an shook his head slightly. With a lifespan of over five hundred years, he was quite indifferent to birthday banquets.

「That night.」

Li Chang’an returned to Changqing Mountain.

He took out all his cultivation Treasures and tossed them all into the Spirit Field.

The Evergreen Vine immediately conveyed a sense of delight as countless roots spread out, wrapping around all the Treasures and absorbing their essence.

It once again began to grow rapidly.

「A few days later.」

The Evergreen Vine’s aura grew increasingly powerful, and the number of Cyan Rattan reached eighteen!

For every new Cyan Rattan, it would feed back a wisp of Spirit Charm.

Li Chang’an now had twenty-nine wisps of Spirit Charm in his body.

According to the Spirit Ascension Technique,

eleven to twenty wisps of Spirit Charm equated to a Low Grade Spirit Root.

Twenty-one to forty wisps meant a Middle Grade Spirit Root.

With his twenty-nine wisps, Li Chang’an was already within the Middle Grade Spirit Root range.

’If I’d had this kind of talent back then, I wouldn’t have been rejected by the Cyan Cloud Sect.’

He activated his Cultivation Technique, and the surrounding Heaven and Earth Spiritual Power surged toward him. His cultivation speed was far greater than before!

With a Middle Grade Spirit Root, there was now a sliver of hope for reaching Core Formation.

’Before I reach Foundation Establishment Peak and prepare for Core Formation, it would be best to raise my Spiritual Root to Earth Grade.’

Li Chang’an pondered.

An Earth Spirit Root inherently came with a Core Formation success rate of over twenty percent.

A Celestial Spirit Root was even more incredible, with a success rate exceeding fifty percent!

However, Li Chang’an didn’t dare to hope for a Celestial Spirit Root right now, because the further it progressed, the more Treasures the Evergreen Vine would require to grow.

In the later stages, the amount of Spirit Stones needed for each new Cyan Rattan to grow would be astronomical.

Li Chang’an wasn’t sure he could obtain that many Spirit Stones.

’The twenty percent from an Earth Spirit Root is enough. The Ancient Wood Evergreen Technique also provides a thirty percent success rate on its own.’

When that time came, even without any external aid, Li Chang’an would have a Core Formation success rate of over fifty percent.

「Time flew by.」

Before he knew it, Li Chang’an’s sixtieth birthday had arrived.

He had used an Array ahead of time to conceal the Evergreen Vine and the Spirit Field, ensuring no one would discover them.

「On this day.」

Although he hadn’t deliberately publicized it, many friends still came.

Xu Fugui, Chu Daniu, and the others naturally arrived early.

The Peak Masters of the other three main peaks of Cui Ping Mountain also came, each presenting a valuable gift.

In addition, the friends he had made in Yellow Crane Immortal City, such as Mo Wenyuan of the Mo Family and Jin Ming of the Jin Family, all rushed over.

"Daoist Li, a sixtieth birthday is such an important occasion! Why didn’t you say anything sooner? I only found out from Daoist Xu."

Jin Ming said with a wide smile, presenting a celebratory gift.

Li Chang’an accepted the gift and replied with a smile.

"Foundation Establishment cultivators have a lifespan of two hundred and forty years. I was planning to wait until my one-hundredth birthday to hold a proper banquet."

"Haha, Daoist Li makes a good point!"

Zhou Sheng arrived with a loud laugh, also carrying a gift.

Before long, the gifts at the entrance to Li Chang’an’s cave residence had piled up into a small mountain.

The guests weren’t just Foundation Establishment cultivators; there were also many Qi Refining Clans and Sects from the surrounding area.

The three families from the Marketplace at the foot of the mountain also sent many gifts.

The symbolic meanings of these gifts were all quite auspicious, almost all of them related to longevity and peace.

"Everyone is too kind."

Li Chang’an wore a smile as he took note of all the gifts.

He would have to return the favor in the future.

Just then, a streak of light suddenly flew from the distant horizon.

The streak of light had an astonishing momentum, and without slowing down, it shot straight toward the peak of Changqing Mountain.

"Freeze!"

With a casual point of his finger, Li Chang’an stopped the streak of light in its tracks.

Only then did many people see clearly that the object was a large clock!

A clock!

At the banquet, the expressions of many people changed.

Who would be so tactless as to give a clock at a birthday banquet?

"That’s Chu Xiong’s aura."

Jin Ming stared for a moment before speaking slowly.

Mo Wenyuan also nodded slightly.

"Correct. It’s Chu Xiong, the twelfth disciple of Huang He Master. He must be the one who sent this clock."

"So it was him."

Many of the people present came to a sudden realization.

They had all attended Li Chang’an’s Foundation Establishment Ceremony and knew he had a feud with several of Huang He Master’s disciples. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

"It seems Chu Xiong hasn’t let go of his grudge and has been looking for a chance to target Daoist Li."

"That guy’s not right in the head, he’s a fool. Daoist Li, don’t let him ruin your mood!"

The many Foundation Establishment cultivators present spoke up one after another.

Li Chang’an laughed.

"Rest assured, everyone. I won’t stoop to the level of a fool."

Afterward, the birthday banquet continued as usual, with no further disruptions.

Three days later, the banquet ended, and the guests departed one by one.

Changqing Mountain returned to its usual tranquility.

Li Chang’an was tidying up all the gifts, intending to resume his cultivation.

Just then, a figure hurried over and called out from outside Changqing Mountain.

"Elder Li, this junior is the Patriarch of the Wang Family, a Qi Refining Clan from the Qinghe Region. Hearing of your sixtieth birthday, I have come specially to offer a Treasure."

"The Wang Family?"

When Li Chang’an had cultivated in the Qinghe Marketplace, he had heard of this Qi Refining Clan.

He turned around and looked toward the voice.

The visitor was a middle-aged man in a white robe. His face was full of reverence as he held up a Wooden Box carved from Spirit Wood.

There seemed to be a Treasure in the box.

It appeared that he had indeed come to offer birthday wishes and a Treasure.

Li Chang’an did not let his guard down. He activated his Pupil of Truth and discovered that the man’s appearance and aura were both concealed.

Although the Tier of his Pupil of Truth wasn’t high enough to see the man’s true face, he did sense a familiar aura.

’The Black Talisman Old Demon!’

’The old bastard finally showed up!’

Killing intent surged in Li Chang’an’s heart, but his expression remained unchanged.

He opened the Array and said with a gentle smile, "Wang, please come in."

"Yes!"

The Black Talisman Old Demon rejoiced inwardly as he stepped into the Array.

The reason he had waited so long to act was that he had been investigating Li Chang’an’s past connections and relationships.

In the end, he had found the perfect identity for himself.

’As long as I can get close to Li Chang’an,’

’I’m confident I can kill him in a single strike!’