Chapter 240: Chapter 145: Secrets of the Cultivation Realm

“That’s why the Immortal Palace has been searching everywhere for the World-Devouring Whale all these years!”

“When I came to this world, I accidentally discovered an injured World-Devouring Whale hiding here. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to capture it, which is why I’ve returned so many times!”

If not for his attempts to capture that World-Devouring Whale, he likely never would have returned to this world, and he certainly wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state.

Li Chang’an was curious. “Since the Immortal Palace is hunting for it, why didn’t you just report the news to them in exchange for a reward instead of trying to capture it yourself?”

The Cultivator gave a bitter laugh. “A World-Devouring Whale is a chance encounter, not something you can just go out and find. If I could capture one myself, I might be able to bypass the Immortal Palace and sneak into smaller worlds in the future. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How could I casually trade it for some worthless reward?”

Li Chang’an nodded in admiration. “It seems you’re a man who can get things done!”

Hearing this, the Cultivator’s spirits instantly lifted, and his face lit up with joy. “So, what do you say? If you don’t trust me, we can cooperate. We can go to the Cultivation Realm, trick some Cultivators into coming down here, and slaughter them together!”

This Cultivator was incredibly audacious.

He was now nothing but a soul, yet he still wanted to negotiate a partnership with Li Chang’an, even daring to turn on his own kind.

But the more he acted this way, the less likely Li Chang’an was to let him go. “Your proposal is indeed excellent. I’ll give it some serious thought. But first, please spend some time inside the Ten Thousand Souls Banner you personally refined. Atone for the common people of the Lower Realm you slaughtered with your own hands. When I feel you’ve fully repented for your sins, I’ll let you go!”

Before the words had even faded, he gave the Cultivator no time to react. With a wave of the Banner, he once again pulled the Cultivator’s soul into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

The bold eat until they burst; the timid starve to death.

Martial Artists must strive.

Cultivators must also strive.

Those who could climb to the peak all stood upon a mountain of corpses.

Li Chang’an could tolerate someone using any means necessary to grow stronger, but he drew the line at slaughtering innocent people to do so.

…

After returning the Cultivator to the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, Li Chang’an sorted through the information he had just obtained and began to contemplate his next steps.

’Traveling to the Cultivation Realm through the opening of the Immortal Sect is definitely not an option.’

’The Rebirth Mark had already warned me: as someone from the Lower Realm who had killed a Cultivator, going to the Immortal Palace would be a suicide mission, with no chance of survival.’

’Should I continue to develop, accumulate power, and wait for the next wave of Cultivators?’

’Although the upper limits of the Martial Dao aren’t low, this world’s level is clearly not high enough. As I progress, further improvement will likely become extremely difficult.’

’After thinking it over and over, I feel my only real option is to find a chance to ask the World-Devouring Whale and see if it can offer a better solution.’

Having made up his mind, Li Chang’an stopped agonizing over it and began to use his Heaven-defying Comprehension to digest all the knowledge he had obtained from the Cultivator.

’Without a doubt, Cultivators are terrifying.’

’But as long as I don’t fall into the hands of the unfathomable Immortal Palace, ordinary Cultivators pose no threat to a Reincarnator like me, who can come and go as he pleases.’

’Besides, with my current gains, even if I did nothing else and returned to the Rebirth Space right away, it would still be a massive profit.’

Now, apart from himself, Li Chang’an was more concerned with what to do about Empress Su Ying, his son Li Hongying, and his female confidantes like Leng Yanran and Ran Qingqiu.

’Even if it isn’t for my goal of Defying Fate, I have to find a path forward for them, and for the entire Li Yang Continent.’

’Otherwise, if I just take what I want and leave this mess behind, it’s only a matter of time before the Cultivators wipe out everything I know and love.’

…

After the Cultivator was annihilated, the Martial Artists of the Li Yang Martial World found that time seemed to pass very slowly.

Aside from their daily training, they kept a close watch on the events in Li Yang, hoping the Martial Arts God would point them toward a new path of cultivation.

In his fiftieth year, Li Chang’an fully comprehended the Evergreen Skill. By combining several techniques, he eliminated its side effects.

In other words, as long as a Martial Artist could cultivate the Evergreen Skill to the third level, their lifespan would exceed three thousand years.

While this was still no match for a Cultivator’s lifespan, one must remember that the Lower Realm possessed no Spiritual Qi or Spiritual Objects. The fact that Li Chang’an could modify a Cultivation Technique to this degree would cause an uproar even in the Cultivation Realm.

The Jianghu Martial Artists were ecstatic.

Not only did people proclaim that Li Chang’an was a god sent from the heavens to save them and the Martial Dao, but some Martial Artists even took the initiative to build temples in his honor.

It was a sincere tribute to Li Chang’an’s contributions!

It was no wonder they were so excited.

When ordinary people embarked on the path of cultivation, wasn’t a longer lifespan what they sought, aside from power and status?

Now, the Evergreen Skill created by the Martial Arts God could extend their lives by three thousand years, which was already six times the lifespan of a Martial Arts Mythology of the past!

But Li Chang’an felt little joy over this.

’This Jianghu, this world… they all rely on me too much.’

’The many Martial Artists have become useless, merely craning their necks and waiting for me to spoon-feed them.’

’I hadn’t considered this before because I was in a hurry to fight the Cultivator. I’d had no choice but to forcefully elevate the world’s level of Martial Dao, unable to wait for other Martial Artists to develop at their own pace.’

’But now that the Cultivator is dead, if I don’t correct this trend soon, the Martial Artists and the Martial Dao, both now devoid of creativity, will be ruined by my own hand.’

…

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