One Month

A month before, in his previous life, Li Qianqing had been assigned to Changqing Mountain.

Therefore, he had only heard accounts of what happened on Changle Mountain and had never personally come to inspect the scene.

On Changle Mountain, besides Li Ditu at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, there was also Li Cunlan at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer Peak.

The Cun generation was the Li Family's eighth generation.

Li Cunlan was the youngest of the Cun generation, and the current Patriarch was also of the Cun generation.

In another five years, Li Cunlan's lifespan would reach its end, and she would pass away on Changle Mountain. It was at that time that Li Qianbao secretly passed the news to a group of Loose Cultivators.

This band of robbers had previously had several conflicts with the Li Family.

If Li Ditu had not played every card in his hand and salvaged part of the situation, Changle Mountain would have been stripped clean.

As the battle neared its end, Li Qianbao wanted to leave with the Loose Cultivators, but the robbers had no intention of taking him with them. They directly kicked Li Qianbao back, buying themselves some time to escape.

It was also then that Li Qianbao was killed by Li Ditu—ground to dust and scattered to the winds.

From the moment he betrayed them, he had already been cast out of the Li Family.

In that battle, Li Ditu had overdrawn his strength and could no longer continue guarding Changle Mountain. He could only return to Changqing Mountain to retire.

That same year, Li Qianqing came into contact with alchemy.

In his previous life, Li Ditu had been the one to enlighten him on the path of alchemy. In this life, he would be as well, though the circumstances would be somewhat different.

As Li Qianqing recalled the rough outline of these events, he remained silent and had yet to draw Li Qianbao's attention.

He did not know when Li Qianbao's thoughts had changed, nor did he care. In any case, five years from now, Li Qianbao had to die.

When the forest grew large, every kind of bird could be found within it. The Li Family had produced one traitor in its fifth generation, and Li Qianbao of the eleventh generation was another—two in total.

Li Qianqing had a deep sense of belonging to the Lineage. In his previous life, when the family's upper ranks had perished, they had not forgotten to buy time for juniors like them to flee. Otherwise, he would not have had even the slightest chance to escape, much less achieve what he later did.

"You're Qianqing, right? Second Grandfather already told me about you. For the next month, these three mu of Spiritual Fields will still be under my care. You can watch from the side for now. If there's anything you don't understand about tending White Corn, feel free to ask me. My name is Qianbao—you can call me Brother Qianbao too."

After pulling weeds and straightening up, Li Qianbao noticed Li Qianqing coming out.

"Alright." Li Qianqing nodded, then quietly watched.

After confirming his name, he merely wore a faint smile.

Before long, he came to Li Qianbao's side.

"You..."

"What is it?" Li Qianqing asked knowingly. Li Qianbao had just been startled by his sudden approach.

"Qianqing, how come you walk without making a sound?"

"Perhaps you were too focused. I came closer so I could observe how to tend the White Corn at close range and be better prepared for the work later."

"That makes sense. Fine, then."

About half the morning had passed before Li Qianbao finished today's task of tending the three mu of White Corn.

When he was about to greet Li Qianqing and leave, he discovered that Li Qianqing had already vanished. He had probably returned to the Small Wooden House to cultivate.

"Having high talent really is nice, unlike me..."

Li Qianbao muttered before leaving.

His task was not as simple as tending three mu of Spiritual Fields. He had only completed one-third of his day's work.

After finishing his daily tasks, he had little time left for cultivation. With his already poor cultivation talent, his future accomplishments would be even more limited.

After returning to his residence, Li Qianqing began cultivating.

Through his observations, he found that Li Qianbao probably had not yet entertained thoughts of betraying the Li Family.

A change of heart often came after certain events took place.

Li Qianqing would not waste his thoughts on Li Qianbao now. Even if Li Qianbao were to betray them, it would only happen after Li Cunlan passed away.

Time flashed by, and half a month passed.

During this period, Li Qianqing and Li Qianbao had barely interacted.

If Li Qianbao had no such thoughts now, Li Qianqing would not consider saving him.

Those who would betray—even betray their own Lineage—would remain impossible to guard against a second time in the future, even if they were saved once.

What was more, he had no idea what event had caused Li Qianbao's change of heart.

Besides, even if he spent time and effort saving him once, it would not bring much short-term value to the Li Clan. After all, his talent was right there for all to see.

Li Qianqing could not find even the slightest reason to persuade himself.

Void God Needle has finally reached the entry level.

Li Qianqing opened his eyes, a trace of a smile appearing on his face.

After Void God Needle reached the entry level, his divine sense gained the ability to attack others.

As long as someone was within one zhang of him, weaker Late-Stage Qi Refining cultivators would become idiots. Those with stronger resistance would also lose focus briefly. During that window, killing them would be as easy as turning over one's hand.

Its only drawback was that one zhang was too short.

Qi Refining cultivators who favored close combat would become the opponents he most liked to face.

The Divine Sense Secret Technique Void God Needle was now one of his trump cards. It would surely be useful someday.

Over the next half month, besides cultivating the Rain Transformation Art and Geng Metal Art to roughly the same level as in his previous life, Li Qianqing planned to devote all his remaining time to cultivation.

Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation... having walked these realms in his previous life, now that he had experience, what he needed to do was optimize them better.

For example, he definitely had to cultivate Qi Refining to the tenth layer.

One could undergo Foundation Establishment upon reaching the Qi Refining Ninth Layer Peak, but Foundation Establishment would be better and easier after reaching the Qi Refining Tenth Layer.

There were not many cultivation methods in the Mortal Realm that could reach the Qi Refining Tenth Layer. They were generally held by major powers with Spirit Transformation stage cultivators. The cultivation method he practiced now could reach the Qi Refining Tenth Layer.

After he achieved Foundation Establishment, he would gradually begin optimizing the cultivation of the Lineage's cultivators.

He certainly could not say that his experience and methods came from being reborn. A high-level cultivator's leftover cave dwelling would be an excellent excuse.

Another half month passed.

As usual, nothing happened.

However, Li Ditu came to see him twice during this time and also inspected his cultivation results ahead of schedule.

Li Qianqing displayed entry-level mastery of the Rain Transformation Art, while the Geng Metal Art had just reached Minor Accomplishment.

Li Ditu was very satisfied with Li Qianqing's cultivation results and even praised him.

Starting today, the White Corn planted in the three mu of Rank 1 Low-Grade Spiritual Fields was officially entrusted to his care.

After coming to Changle Mountain for a month, Li Qianqing was somewhat surprised that Li Qianyin still had not arrived. He remembered that Li Qianyin's talent for cultivating spells should not have been terrible enough to this extent.

Taking one month to cultivate the Rain Transformation Art and Geng Metal Art to the entry level was not difficult. Even if Li Qianqing did not retain the slightest memory, he could still have done it.