Chapter 4: Ancient Trees Evergreen
The cultivation technique Lan Chang'an chose was called the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique.
This was from his second life. He obtained this ancient cultivation technique from the cave of the Nascent Soul cultivator Yan Donglai. At that time, he was already four or five hundred years old and nearly lost his life in a battle within the cave. The only gain was half of the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique, which could be cultivated up to the Nascent Soul Realm.
The characteristic of the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique was to temper one's character, extend lifespan, and cultivate a everlasting aura. The downside was that, as a longevity technique, its power was average, and the cultivation progress was slow.
In this life, he will cultivate this technique. Lan Chang'an only valued one thing about it, and that was longevity!
"The Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique must be cultivated from the Qi Refining stage, and it must be the primary cultivation technique in order to increase lifespan. Switching midway will render the lifespan extension ineffective!"
"The effect of lifespan extension is to increase the lifespan by half that of a cultivator from the same realm at each stage."
"In the Qi Refining stage, it extends lifespan by fifty to sixty years."
"In the Foundation Establishment stage, it extends lifespan by one hundred and twenty years."
"Normal Qi Refining stage cultivators have a lifespan of only around one hundred and twenty years."
"In the Foundation Establishment stage, it's two hundred and forty years."
"In the Core Formation stage, lifespan can reach up to five to six hundred years."
In other words, if Lan Chang'an could return to the Core Formation stage of his previous life, he would have a lifespan of nine hundred years as a baseline! If he could obtain some longevity treasures, a lifespan of a thousand years wouldn't be impossible.
Lan Chang'an didn't believe that, with nearly a thousand years of lifespan in this life, he couldn't steadily advance to the Nascent Soul stage by being cautious and progressing step by step. Having experienced two lifetimes, he deeply understood the significance of lifespan to cultivators. In the cultivation world, being able to live until the end is the true victory.
When cultivators suffer severe injuries in battles or use certain secret techniques, it often affects their lifespan and foundation. In his second life, Lan Chang'an aimed to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, but due to his limited lifespan, he had to vie for various opportunities, experience life-and-death battles, and inevitably damage his foundation along the way. This also affected his later attempts to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, ultimately falling victim to the Heavenly Tribulation.
"In my second life, my remaining lifespan was not much. I primarily cultivated a fire-based technique and my spiritual roots also leaned towards fire, so it wasn't suitable to switch to the wood-based Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique.
In this life, I have a medium-grade spiritual root, with high sensitivity to fire, wood, and metal spiritual energies. It's just right to cultivate the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique from the Qi Refining stage, gradually increasing my lifespan layer by layer."
Cultivators' aptitudes are divided into: Inferior Spiritual Roots, Low-grade Spiritual Roots, Medium-grade Spiritual Roots, High-grade Spiritual Roots, Earth-grade Spiritual Roots, and Heaven-grade Spiritual Roots. In addition, there are innate treasures outside of the spiritual root system, such as the Thunder Spirit Body, Qinglian Body, Dragon's Roar Body, etc. Innate treasures are extremely rare, and Lan Chang'an doesn't know much about them.
The grade of spiritual roots is determined based on their sensitivity to the spiritual energies of heaven and earth. Normal cultivators have a balance of all five elements. The grade of spiritual roots mainly depends on which type of spiritual energy they are most sensitive to.
A sensitivity level of ten is the minimum standard for Low-grade Spiritual Roots.
A sensitivity level of twenty is the minimum standard for Medium-grade Spiritual Roots.
Lan Chang'an's sensitivity to fire spiritual energy just passed twenty, reaching the minimum standard for Medium-grade Spiritual Roots.
Next is his sensitivity to wood spiritual energy, which is seventeen.
For metal spiritual energy, it's fifteen.
As for water and earth spiritual energies, the sensitivity level is less than ten, so they don't reach the standard. This means that it will be more difficult for him to cultivate techniques of these two attributes in the future.
...
That night, Lan Chang'an held the spiritual sand in his hand and began cultivating the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique.
After a month of traveling, Lan Chang'an's last grain of spiritual sand turned into powder.
"The first layer of the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique!"
Lan Chang'an circulated the fine threads of mana within his body, feeling a vigorous and evergreen aura. Even in the beginning stages, he felt that the vitality of the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique was inexhaustible. With an everlasting aura, his endurance and mana was strengthened!
Just this aspect alone made up for the mediocre power of the ancient longevity technique. In battles among cultivators of the same level, magical treasures and divine abilities are the most important. With continuous mana, one can better support magical treasures and divine abilities. Even when retreating, there were significant advantages to having better endurance.
"However, the cultivation speed of the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique is slower than I imagined, even slower than the Origin-Opening Scripture." This was the most obvious drawback that Lan Chang'an felt. Of course, the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique also had hidden surprises.
That is the ability to conceal one's aura!
When concealing one's breath, the practitioner seems to turn into an ancient tree, making it difficult for others to detect their true cultivation level. Many wood-based techniques have the ability to conceal one's aura, but none compare to the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique.
"Not bad, this aligns perfectly with my philosophy of low-key cultivation and steady operation in this life." Lan Chang'an nodded inwardly. Once he chose this technique, he wouldn't think about fighting or competing for opportunities in the future.
Avoid conflict and competition!
In this life, he aimed to steadily reach the Nascent Soul stage and uncover the true secrets of the Nine Seal Steles.
...
The spiritual sand in Lan Chang'an's hand was depleted. Before reaching the Mu family's residence, he decided to not bother with cultivating.
The cultivation effect in the mundane world was too poor, not to mention that the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique was inherently slow to progress. There were still two months of travel ahead. Lan Chang'an didn't cultivate but instead decided to practice some martial arts from the mundane world.
In his first life, as a wanderer in the world, he had spent some time in the mundane world, where he had killed several martial arts masters and collected some top-level martial arts manuals.
His memory was keen, and he knew that mundane martial arts masters posed a threat to Qi Refining stage cultivators. If one wasn't careful, Qi Refining stage cultivators could end up in trouble.
In this life, starting from the Qi Refining stage, with weak mana and no magical items or talismans for protection, and with the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique being mediocre in power, there was little to rely on for defense. For the journey ahead, Lan Chang'an wanted to practice martial arts to have more defensive skills.
This practice brought him a pleasant surprise!
Mundane martial arts required very little spiritual energy from heaven and earth. Lan Chang'an was already a second-rate martial artist in the mortal world, a martial arts prodigy. With the aid of the Nine Seal Steles, which enhanced his soul far beyond that of an ordinary person, the strength of his consciousness at the Qi Refining stage first stage was close to that of the seventh level.
A powerful soul was the cornerstone of a cultivator's wisdom, and practicing martial arts with such a soul felt like crossing a thousand miles in a single day. In less than two months, Lan Chang'an's martial arts cultivation progressed from second-rate to first-rate, then to surpassing first-rate, and finally advanced to the Martial Innate stage!
At this moment, Lan Chang'an had just turned eighteen years old.
"An eighteen-year-old Martial Innate, enough to shake the secular martial world." Lan Chang'an felt the surging innate true qi in his body and the robust physique he had developed. Of course, compared to the mana of cultivators, martial arts true qi was still lacking.
...
"Stay alert! We'll reach the Mu family's residence in half a day."
On the official road, the Mu family's spiritual horses led the way ahead, with a dozen or so horses following closely behind.
After two to three months of arduous journey, the new recruits were physically and mentally exhausted.
Only Lan Chang'an, who cultivated the Ancient Trees Evergreen Technique, had vigorous energy and strong resilience. During the journey, he also found time to practice martial arts. The head of the Mu family, Mu Maode, saw Lan Chang'an practicing martial arts but didn't say anything.
Lan Chang'an was originally a martial artist in the secular world, so practicing martial arts suited his character. As for whether it would affect his cultivation, Mu Maode didn't care at all. He didn't really intend to cultivate Lan Chang'an and the others, he only cared about how much spiritual root bloodline they could bring to the family. Whether Lan Chang'an was "neglecting his duty" or not, Mu Maode was even less concerned.
When the time came, if Lan Chang'an had no hope on the path of immortality, it would be even easier for him to stay in the Mu family and devote more effort to the family in the future.
...
"We've arrived! Feiyue Lake!"
A few days later, the several Mu family cultivators were revitalized. Lan Chang'an and the others looked into the distance, where the silhouette of a lake shimmered in the faint moonlight, giving off a jade and emerald-like luster.
"That's the spiritual lake controlled by the Mu family. It's said to produce spiritual fish..."
A gentle breeze brushed their faces, and they felt a hint of moisture in the air. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth in the surrounding area far exceeded that of the mundane world.
Feiyue Lake was not far away. They had almost reached the territory controlled by the Mu family. The Mu family cultivators, who had remained vigilant all the way, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The task of escorting the immortal seedlings was finally completed.
Just as everyone began to relax,
"Whoosh!"
A sharp whistle sounded, and a scorching heat swept over them.
Boom!
In an instant, dozens of lantern-sized fireballs smashed towards the Mu family's convoy escorting the immortal seedlings.
"Enemy attack!"
Mu Maode's face changed drastically, and he roared in anger.
Apart from his spiritual horses, the other horses were scared and neighed in fear, some even attempting to flee in terror. For a moment, chaos ensued, with people and horses tumbling, and dust flying everywhere.
"Protect the immortal seedlings!"
Shouting angrily, Mu Maode and four family cultivators each displayed their techniques. Water screens, golden light shields, earthen walls, magic weapons... they tried their best to protect the ten immortal seedlings. However, there were dozens of fireball clusters, and they couldn't create an airtight defense.
"Ah!"
A cry of despair rang out as one scholarly-looking youth was hit by a lantern-sized fireball, his body engulfed in flames. Soon, his body turned black, and his struggles ceased.
The other nine youths were trembling with fear, dodging in a panic. Although cultivators had stronger bodies than ordinary people, a few of them were still injured.
"Oh my god! The world of cultivation is too terrifying..." Li Ergou's face turned pale, almost peeing himself in fright.
Lan Chang'an grabbed his arm and swiftly drew a line on the ground, spanning seven to eight meters, carefully avoiding the explosion range of a fireball. Lan Chang'an's powerful consciousness and martial skills allowed him to remain relatively calm.
"Ha ha ha! Mu Maode! Want to take these immortal seedlings back? You'll have to get the consent of my Zheng family first!"
Seven cultivators flew out from the hills on the left, each holding a magical weapon. The leader was a burly man with dark skin, stepping on a crimson flaming broadsword. There was a centipede-like scar on his cheek, extending almost to his neck, giving him a fierce appearance.
The mana fluctuations on this person's body clearly reached the ninth level of Qi Refining!
"Zheng family cultivators! Zheng Wugong!"
Several Mu family cultivators couldn't help but exclaim.
End of Chapter 4