Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Hidden Danger of the Divine Soul
Elder Li looked up at Lu An, and his heart was immediately startled.
"Mr. Lu, you've come out of seclusion?"
Lu An nodded, frowning slightly.
"I just came out. Elder, no need to be so formal; just call me Lu An."
Elder Li quickly shook his head, full of gratitude.
"How could that be? If it weren't for you introducing the Li family to the sect leader, our family might have faced annihilation."
He wasn't exaggerating. Half a year ago, the head of the Li family passed away. Without the sect leader's protection, with only two Foundation Establishment cultivators, the Li family wouldn't have been able to maintain its position, especially since they lacked a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, greatly weakening their strength.
Lu An shook his head, bid him farewell, and headed into the sect.
The disciples guarding the gate, seeing that he knew Elder Li, made way for him, not one of them blocking his path.
This scene terrified the burly man who had earlier stopped Lu An, leaving him uncertain and filled with doubt.
"He's from the Three Talents Dao Sect, but why does he seem to have no cultivation at all?"
"This is bad... I hope I don't fail the examination because of this. My parents are waiting for news back home..."
For a moment, he stood there in anxiety and uncertainty.
Lu An had no time to bother with him. He was following the map in his hand, heading toward the place where the sect leader cultivated.
"Who goes there? This is a restricted area of the sect; entry is forbidden!"
Before Lu An could explain, a burst of laughter echoed from inside the cave.
"Young Lu, you're finally out of seclusion."
"Congratulations on reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining. When do you plan to attempt the Foundation Establishment?"
The guards nearby trembled at these words.
Ninth level of Qi Refining?
How is it that he doesn't emit even the slightest aura?
Lu An paused slightly, then chuckled.
It seems my technique to suppress my cultivation still couldn't escape the eyes of a Core Formation cultivator.
"Senior Gu has sharp eyes. I've just come out of seclusion, and I have something I'd like to consult you about."
"No rush. Elder Mo will be arriving shortly. This isn't the place to talk; let's head to the council hall."
With a wave of his sleeve, a gust of wind suddenly arose, sweeping both of them toward a distant location.
Standing in the wind, Lu An clicked his tongue in amazement.
Inside the wind, he couldn't feel its presence at all. The flight was extremely steady.
He yearned for the day when he could enter the Foundation Establishment stage and soar through the sky like Gu Chuanfei.
"I wonder how Li Ziyou's Foundation Establishment pill is coming along. Once this matter is resolved, I should go check."
"But for now, I need to find out the cause of my headaches."
The two soon arrived at the council hall.
County Governor Mo didn't keep him waiting long. After just a short while, he arrived by flight.
"Greetings, Senior Mo."
"Young Lu, it's been three years since we last met. Your cultivation has grown ever deeper."
Lu An's expression remained calm as he said indifferently,
"Senior, I've come this time with a request. Could I trouble you both to take a look at my condition?"
He then explained his situation to them, though he didn't mention anything about soul cultivation.
After hearing him out, County Governor Mo became intrigued and immediately enveloped Lu An with his divine sense to inspect him.
After a while, he suddenly withdrew his divine sense and opened his eyes wide.
"Your divine sense is filled with a heavy killing intent, and there's also a trace of some unknown substance."
"Although my divine soul, being in the Core Formation stage, is much stronger than yours, when I faced your divine sense, I felt a natural suppression, as if my soul was trembling in fear."
Lu An's heart stirred, though he only said he didn't know why.
He hadn't mentioned anything about soul cultivation.
As far as he knew, the only person aware that he cultivated his soul was the old beggar.
Even the Ding family's patriarch only knew that the "Withered Tree Reborn" painting was in his possession, not that he had already merged three paintings into the "Yimu Soul Restoration Technique."
As for the extinction of soul cultivators in ancient times, that mystery remained unsolved to this day.
Especially since Lu An had seen the Soul Refining Sect inside the jade coffin, which seemed to be an ancient soul-cultivating sect, its tragic downfall made him even more cautious.
Gu Chuanfei also stepped forward to inspect for a long time, marveling in surprise.
"Young Lu's divine soul resembles the legendary battle soul. But battle souls exist solely for slaughter, devoid of any intelligence. How did you come to possess such a thing?"
After discussing the matter for a while, they couldn't arrive at a conclusion.
Lu An's heart grew cold. If even Core Formation cultivators couldn't identify his problem, he wondered if it would affect his future cultivation.
He stroked his chin in deep thought before finally making a decision.
"Forget it. Thinking too much won't help. Maybe once I reach Foundation Establishment, the headaches will disappear."
With that thought, he stood up to leave, intending to ask Li Ziyou about the Foundation Establishment pill.
But Gu Chuanfei stopped him, taking out an object and handing it over.
Lu An took a closer look. It was a token, divided into three sections: red, blue, and gold, standing in balance.
On the back were carved the words "Three Talents Dao Sect," while the front bore only one character: "Lu."
"This is the elder's token of the Three Talents Dao Sect. Red represents my fire technique, blue represents the County Governor's water technique, and gold, of course, represents your talismanic arts."
"As they say, 'The Three Talents represent heaven, earth, and man,'—that's you, me, and him. Keep it safe; it will make your movements more convenient in the future."
Lu An smiled slightly. The token's design was quite thoughtful.
He put it away, cupped his fists toward the two, and headed to the Li family.
Three days later, in the Li family hall, Li Ziyou pulled Lu An aside.
"Brother Lu, I've been keeping an eye out for the Foundation Establishment pill you requested. Over the years, I even traveled to other cities to attend auctions and have reaped quite a bit."
He took out a jade bottle from his storage bag and handed it to Lu An.
Lu An's mind moved slightly, and he instantly counted the number of pills in the bottle.
"Thank you, Brother Li, for finding seven Foundation Establishment pills in just three years."
"But..."
"Brother Li, you're already at the ninth level of Qi Refinement. You probably need these Foundation Establishment pills as well."
In the three years that passed, Li Ziyou had also reached the ninth level of Qi Refinement. He was originally ahead of Lu An in cultivation, but now he had been caught up.
Li Ziyou waved his hand nonchalantly and said:
"It's no problem. I promised Brother Lu before, and I always keep my word. I can always find more pills later."
"Besides, with your talent, Brother Lu, you probably won't even need all seven of these. You might end up leaving me quite a few."
Lu An shook his head. Since Li Ziyou also needed the pills, he couldn't take them all. He took three from the bottle and put them in his storage bag, then pushed the rest back.
"We are brothers, no need for such formality. I'm looking forward to the day we both break through to Foundation Establishment together and share a drink."
Lu An had his own considerations. He believed his foundation was incredibly solid, even stronger than when Brother Ying Chang had broken through. If Ying could succeed with one Foundation Establishment pill, having three should be more than enough for him, even if something went wrong.
Seeing Lu An's firm stance, Li Ziyou had no choice but to accept, feeling quite moved in his heart.
After catching up for a while, Lu An returned to the Lingfu Residence.
Just before entering, he saw a familiar figure he'd been searching for. The person was ragged and filthy—it was the same old beggar who had crashed through the window of the Baixiang Pavilion.
Meanwhile, Zhao Wenliang was glaring at the beggar, fiercely arguing.
"You old beggar! How dare you come to Lingfu Residence and harass the ladies?"
The beggar didn't care, calling out:
"I saw this young lady looking all fresh and just said a few words. You're the one who doesn't know good from bad."
Lu An shook his head slightly. This old beggar still hadn't changed his mischievous ways. He'd been like that back at the Baixiang Pavilion too. However, from his actions, Lu An knew the beggar was all talk and meant no real harm.
He stepped forward, positioning himself between the two and said aloud:
"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding! Senior, why are you here? I've been looking for you all these years."
The old beggar glanced casually at Lu An but then his expression turned serious. His eyes widened, and his face grew tense as he examined Lu An closely. After a while, he relaxed and spoke gravely:
"I was just here to get some free food, but it seems I might as well prepare for your funeral."
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