Lijiawa mining subsidence zone.
Liu Zhijian looked at Li Chengxuan in surprise. "Little brother, why are you still here?!"
Li Chengxuan's expression remained calm as he answered, "I had nowhere else to go, so I came back to take a look."
Liu Zhijian nodded in understanding and refrained from probing further. Since fishing alone was boring anyway, he shifted the topic to chat casually.
After listening for a moment, Li Chengxuan gained a rough understanding of the first half of Liu Zhijian's life.
Liu Zhijian had originally been just an ordinary farmer from a southern province who had loved fishing since childhood.
He had never married or had children. After his parents passed away, he simply left his hometown to focus on traveling across the country to fish.
Liu Zhijian lamented, "Back in primary school, the teacher asked us about our life ambitions."
"Some wanted to be scientists, astronauts, police officers, teachers, and so on."
"Only me—my ambition was to be an angler for the rest of my life."
"Looking back now, I'm probably the only one in the whole class who actually achieved their life ambition."
Li Chengxuan nodded earnestly upon hearing this. "Among the living beings, those who realize what they wish to do with their lives at an early age are one in ten thousand."
Liu Zhijian laughed heartily, a look of pride and self-satisfaction on his face. Then he asked, "What about you, little brother? What was your life ambition, and have you achieved it?"
Li Chengxuan was taken aback for a moment before saying slowly, "My life ambition was to cultivate the Dao and achieve longevity. Although the path ahead is bleak right now, I suppose I have fulfilled my wish."
Liu Zhijian nodded, feeling a bit closer to him as a fellow pursuer of dreams. He could not help but chuckle. "Little brother, let me ask a nosy question... Are there really immortals in this world?"
Li Chengxuan pondered seriously for a moment and replied in earnest, "In this world, there should be no immortals. However, in other worlds, there are."
"Ah, I see."
Since it involved personal belief, Liu Zhijian did not dare question him further, merely joking, "Then take a look at me—do I have the aptitude for cultivating the Dao?"
Li Chengxuan swept two fingers across his eyes, causing a double flash of spiritual light to surge through them.
Liu Zhijian had only been joking, but seeing Li Chengxuan's solemn expression, strange gesture, and eyes suddenly glowing, he was startled.
"Did my eyes just trick me?"
"Or was that reflected sunlight?!"
The 【Qi Peering Technique】 was a spell for observing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
It could also be used to inspect a person's aura and destiny.
Li Chengxuan took one look and was stunned on the spot.
Surrounding Liu Zhijian was a striking aura of 【Water Virtue】.
Several winding, clear rivers encircled his body, flowing endlessly.
Within the rivers, fish and shrimp swam faintly while aquatic plants swayed.
What a dense aura of 【Kan Water】!
Li Chengxuan drew a deep breath, looked at Liu Zhijian, and said seriously, "You have the aptitude for cultivation, and an exceptionally good one at that!"
Hearing this, Liu Zhijian was not pleasantly surprised; instead, he felt rather embarrassed.
I just asked offhandedly as a joke, so why is this young Daoist taking it seriously?!
Could this guy be part of some scam organization?!
"Haha, really?"
Becoming somewhat vigilant, Liu Zhijian brushed it off casually, "What a pity. All I love in this life is fishing, so I'm afraid I have no affinity with the Dao."
Having entered the Dao with 【Mortal Turbid Qi】, Li Chengxuan naturally possessed the ability to peer into human hearts and discern likes and dislikes, allowing him to sense the shift in Liu Zhijian's thoughts.
However, Li Chengxuan did not care about such trivial details; instead, he faintly saw the key to his own Dao path.
With a stir of his heart, Li Chengxuan secretly sensed the 【Two-World Bead】.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, the grey bead bobbed up and down.
Li Chengxuan could faintly sense that he could truly bring Liu Zhijian back to Mount Taixuan!
"So this is the true use of the Two-World Bead!"
"The cultivation world has long approached an Age of End Law."
"It's getting harder and harder for cultivators to condense an aura and ingest Qi to enter the Dao."
"Yet Earth is precisely the opposite!"
"Among the billions of mortals here, cultivation geniuses like Liu Zhijian who have awakened their innate nature early and condensed an aura are probably far from few!"
"Yet Earth completely lacks spiritual energy, making cultivation impossible!"
"If I could search Earth for cultivation seeds and bring them back to Mount Taixuan..."
Li Chengxuan let out a long breath.
Having ingested Qi to enter the Dao and possessing a supreme treasure, he had nevertheless been forced to guard Mount Taixuan in isolation.
Now, he finally saw a glimmer of hope to break free.
Seeing the shifting expressions on Li Chengxuan's face, Liu Zhijian stood up and said, "Little Daoist, I'll go back to fishing now. Let's chat again when you have time."
Li Chengxuan smiled faintly.
This angler was quite vigilant.
As expected of someone who had traveled far and wide, fishing across the entire country.
However, since it concerned his own Dao path, how could he possibly allow him to refuse?
Li Chengxuan pointed a finger at Liu Zhijian and said softly, "Come back."
Liu Zhijian had already taken a step away toward his fishing spot, yet his body moved backward uncontrollably, returning right in front of Li Chengxuan.
"Huh?!"
Liu Zhijian was gripped by intense panic.
"Rest assured, I harbor no malice."
Li Chengxuan's expression was serene as he said softly, "You indeed possess the aptitude for cultivation and have an affinity with the Dao."
"I cannot bear to watch you sink into the mortal realm and intend to guide you onto the path of the Dao. Are you willing?!"
The more Liu Zhijian heard, the more terrified he became, pleading, "Master, I'm just an angler. I have no money. Besides, fishing year-round has ruined my health; even if you harvested my organs, they wouldn't be worth a dime."
"Please let me go."
Li Chengxuan did not wish to make things unpleasant either. After a moment's thought, he pulled out a turquoise pill and flicked his finger, sending it straight into Liu Zhijian's mouth.
Liu Zhijian swallowed it involuntarily, startled out of his wits. "What was that?!"
It was a pill produced by Spring Return Valley that could aid the cultivation of Embryonic Breathing cultivators.
Liu Zhijian only felt as though he had swallowed a ball of fire.
Then, the ball of fire exploded violently, burning across his entire body.
Even his consciousness grew blurry.
Who knew how much time had passed.
Liu Zhijian slowly woke up. Seeing Li Chengxuan nearby holding his fishing rod and gazing at the water, he was about to burst into profanity when he suddenly felt something strange.
His body, which had accumulated countless ailments from years of outdoor fishing in the wind and rain,
was now completely cleared of them. Sharp of hearing and keen of sight, he felt thoroughly reborn and immensely refreshed, as if he had returned to twenty years ago!
Taking a look at his arm, he was even more stunned.
Upon his skin lay a layer of black grime, giving off a faint foul odor.
Having read many wuxia novels since childhood, a thought suddenly flashed through Liu Zhijian's mind.
"This is... the legendary cleansing of the marrow and scouring of the tendons!"
"Could it be that I really ran into a reclusive immortal!"
Liu Zhijian's facial expression shifted erratically.
In the end, he decided to take a gamble, kneeling directly on the ground: "Old Liu failed to recognize your greatness. I beg Master for forgiveness!"
Li Chengxuan did not turn back, still watching the float on the water. "Go wash yourself first."
"Yes."
Hearing this, Liu Zhijian immediately scrambled up, ran to another area of clean water, quickly washed himself clean, changed clothes, and walked back nervously.
Fishing was of course his lifelong love.
But was there any Chinese person who had never dreamed of cultivating immortals?!
Though there had been a few twists and turns, his objective was finally achieved.
Li Chengxuan decided to take the angler today to see if they could travel back to the cultivation world. He spoke, "Close your eyes; I'll take you somewhere."
"This is sounding more and more like a novel plot!"
Liu Zhijian's heart quaked violently as he closed his eyes with boundless anticipation.
A palm rested upon his shoulder.
Then, his feet suddenly lost their footing, as if he had fallen into a deep cavern.
Who knew how much time passed before his feet touched solid ground once more, and he heard a voice say, "You can open your eyes now."
Liu Zhijian opened his eyes, his face instantly turning pale with shock. "This place is..."
Just as Li Chengxuan was about to explain, he suddenly heard a crash of thunder.
Across all of Nanya Province, the winds and clouds suddenly churned as rolling thunder crashed down violently!
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