Longevity: Starting as a Sect Servant-Chapter 235 - 185: Li Gou Becomes a Disaster Cultivator, Demon Sect Utterly Disgraced (Long - )
...
While Li An was silently cultivating, the eastern range of the Celestial Killer Mountain Range was far from peaceful.
Zhou Libai, who had replaced Jiang Ribai, was actively planning the demonization of the Great Lizard.
Many times, teams were organized to excavate relics and search for the Demon Transformation Flower, among other things.
...
In the blink of an eye, another seven years passed.
"Early-Stage Golden Core Perfection! It’s time to prepare for breaking through to Mid-Stage Golden Core..."
Li An slowly opened his eyes. In fact, he had reached Early-Stage Golden Core Perfection four years ago, yet he continued to cultivate for another three years.
He did this for no other reason but to prepare for the Nascent Soul!
In his previous life, Li An had attempted to form a Nascent Soul and had quite a bit of experience.
The firmer the foundation in cultivation, the fewer the flaws, and the greater the hope for ultimate success.
The breakthrough to Nascent Soul requires excellent aptitude, pills, foundation, spirit veins, etc., all of which need to be perfectly prepared.
Now, although Li An is only at Early-Stage Golden Core Perfection, his strength makes him unafraid of facing others at Mid-Stage Golden Core.
The Divine Bird had broken through to Mid-Stage Golden Core three years ago, though its true combat strength remains unknown to Li An to this day.
Li An, the Divine Bird, along with a Mid-Stage True Core puppet named Wang Zhongxian, plus over a thousand Rank Three talismans in reserve, and with five or six sets of Rank Three demonic arrays on him... Li An felt that even facing a Late-Stage True Core opponent head-on, there was nothing that could harm him!
A tremendous sense of security!
But upon checking his cultivation resources, Li An sighed immediately.
When he left the Jiang Clan, he took with him a significant amount of resources, and he later acquired those from three major True Core cultivators... which were already quite ample.
Yet now, he’s nearing a state of poverty again.
Two Fourth Grade Spirit Medicines, which he cannot use, have to be kept.
All Second Grade and Third Grade Spirit Medicines have been used up.
Even the Tier Two and Rank Three Artifact Refining materials, and several Magical Artifacts he rarely used, have been used up as raw materials for his lungs in refining, though the results are remarkable; the lungs’ Golden Treasure Skill has finally reached fruition, now making it extremely difficult for Rank Three Magical Artifacts to harm him.
Only around fifty thousand Middle Grade Spirit Stones remain, barely enough to cover his expenses for about two years.
The main issue is that he is learning Third Grade Alchemy, which is expensive. Even though ten years have passed, he has not formally become a Third Grade Alchemist!
This barrier is not easy to overcome.
In fact, Li An’s progress in Alchemy Dao has been incredibly fast, far exceeding ordinary people. It took him only twenty to thirty years from becoming a First Grade Alchemist to attempting Third Grade.
The various ingredients for Purifying Evil Pill and Purifying Soul Pill are costly, especially the Purifying Soul Pill. He has made many Second Grade ones but cannot sell them, making it a purely money-losing investment.
Coupled with the annual Spirit Stone payment to the Mountain Master...
The consumption of alchemy cultivators is large, and Li An’s expenses are even more atypical...
Poor!
"Lin An, receive the orders--"
Outside the peak, Chen Yi’s voice was heard.
Li An immediately pretended to be afflicted by Evil Qi and walked out.
"The Mountain Master orders, to ensure the success of the Great Lizard spawn’s demonization, all cultivators are to follow orders immediately to the designated locations to guard, with no mistakes--"
As she spoke, she shot a jade token towards Li An.
Li An caught the jade token and accessed its information.
Thanks to Zhou Libai’s decade of effort, the items needed for the demonization of the Great Lizard spawn were finally gathered again.
Learning from past lessons, this time the defense is impenetrable, and all cultivators under Mountain Master Bai have been assigned tasks.
Li An’s task is to guard "Longyu Gorge."
"Understood."
Li An replied; this was a direct order from Mountain Master Bai, leaving him no option to refuse.
...
Studying the territory of Mountain Master Bai, Li An realized that this time the defensive line had been tightened!
Previously, the array was spread too widely, centered around the Demon Transformation Pool, with the array’s core even extending to Spirit Charm Mountain. But it was precisely because the battle line was too long that Mountain Master Jie’s people concentrated their assault, eventually breaching the defense and reaching the Demon Transformation Pool.
Concentrating forces around the Demon Transformation Pool for defense is more reliable.
Longyu Gorge, as the name suggests, is a winding gorge located downstream from the Demon Transformation Pool. The raging river within flows past the Demon Transformation Pool and then rushes down.
Upon reaching this location, Li An felt slightly relieved.
Based on the overall view, the enemy should not choose this place as a breakthrough point.
As long as an array is set up in Longyu Gorge, it can fend off a hundred by itself. If the enemy launches a strong attack, triggering the Evil Qi within Longyu Gorge, even a Nascent Soul cultivator would have to retreat.
Li An couldn’t help but smile. This demonstrates the difference between Zhou Libai and Jiang Ribai.
Faced with such situations, Jiang Ribai would think of taking the opportunity to eliminate dissidents, while Xiang Yuntian could say that Jiang Ribai had an aggressive personality.
However, Zhou Libai is the opposite; she doesn’t trust Li An, so she places him in such a desolate location to prevent him from interfering with her plans, thus showcasing her defensive personality.
When facing major events, these personality nuances would be magnified.
Besides Li An, there are two other Early-Stage True Core cultivators assigned to guard this place together with him, both of whom are obviously not valued.
The three of them set up the arrays as instructed by their superiors, then waited atop a cliff in the gorge.
Li An contemplated the possibilities of this upcoming battle.
In his perspective, the last incident involving Jiang Ribai was most likely due to an insider!
If the insider is still alive, what will happen this time?
If Mountain Master Bai’s plan remains undisclosed, it will likely hold off the attack.
But if it’s leaked, Mountain Master Bai might suffer significant losses!
Looking from this angle, there are too many possibilities. Given the scale of such a large setup, if Mountain Master Jie attacks, it would surely be with full force. Mountain Master Bai is not an ordinary figure; the impact of one insider may not be sufficient to sway the outcome of the battle.
