Oh, I remember now. There was a movie in my previous life where everyone was showing off, but one guy was the king of showing off. He said, "I learned inner strength before I learned to walk. At least I can hold out for two time periods."
At the thought, Li Changshou's face darkened.
"Of all the times, you still have to crack jokes?"
There was a scolding edge to Li Changshou's voice. "Is twenty-nine years a long time? Do you know you're about to die? Even with your exceptional talent, you became an immortal in ten years. But can you become a Golden Immortal in twenty-nine?"
Lan Ling'e also snapped out of her daze at Li Yang's joke, but she wasn't nearly as grief-stricken as Li Changshou. She was still young, after all, and had only known Li Yang for fourteen years. Twenty-nine years still seemed like a long time to her.
She understood what it meant to part with someone in death, but to her, at only twenty-two, twenty-nine years still felt very far away.
Li Yang had only cracked a joke because he understood that.
Otherwise, with Lan Ling'e acting like that, she might have cried her nose raw.
"Then, Senior Brother, why are you so sure I can't break through to Golden Immortal in twenty-nine years?"
Li Yang's retort made Li Changshou even angrier.
Advancing from Celestial Immortal to Golden Immortal was harder than advancing from Return to Dao to Origin Immortal—harder by an unknown number of times.
But when he remembered that Li Yang had been injured because of Master, the anger in Li Changshou's heart immediately dissipated.
"Alas! In the end, it's my fault."
In Li Changshou's eyes, his Junior Brother was willing to risk his life for Master. But what about him?
He didn't even dare to undergo Tribulation Transcendence and become an immortal.
Perhaps his Junior Brother really could become a Golden Immortal.
After thinking it through, Li Changshou felt deeply shaken, but he didn't want to let his Junior Brother outdo him.
They say the Dragon Palace is full of treasures. I have to go to this banquet at the Dragon Palace—for my Junior Brother, and for myself.
"Since that's the case, I'll believe in you, Junior Brother."
Li Changshou's sudden change of tone left Li Yang somewhat startled. He didn't know what his Senior Brother meant or what he planned to do, but this was a good thing.
"Thank you, Senior Brother!"
"Mm!"
Li Changshou gave a grunt and took Lan Ling'e with him.
"Junior Sister, let's go. Don't keep Junior Brother from resting."
Lan Ling'e hesitated and glanced at Li Yang, but he smiled at her.
"Go on. Work hard at your cultivation. My little Ling'e is a genius too, so you should become an immortal as soon as you can. I'll be fine here. I'm confident I can heal my injuries. Don't forget, I'm a super-genius who became an immortal in ten years!"
Lan Ling'e had an inexplicable trust in Li Yang, earned through fourteen years.
In all those fourteen years, he had never failed to keep a promise he'd made to her.
So Lan Ling'e believed this time would be no different.
"All right, Senior Brother. Ling'e will go cultivate now. Make sure you rest and recover!"
Lan Ling'e reluctantly said goodbye to Li Yang. But once she left his Thatched Cottage, she couldn't help bursting into tears. She looked at Senior Disciple Brother with tear-filled eyes and asked through her sobs, "Senior Disciple Brother, will Senior Brother...?"
"Junior Brother will be fine."
Li Changshou spoke with certainty. "Junior Brother will definitely be fine. After all these years, don't you trust him? He always keeps his word."
Lan Ling'e turned to look at Li Yang's Thatched Cottage, clenched her little fists, and silently swore to herself:
"I have to become an immortal. Only then might I be able to help Senior Brother."
Li Yang could naturally see this from inside the Thatched Cottage. Watching Lan Ling'e put on an act in front of him so he wouldn't worry, he couldn't help shaking his head.
"You people never believe me. I'm so pitiful."
Despite his words, the corners of Li Yang's mouth lifted, revealing how he really felt.
Then the gravely injured Li Yang vanished in a flash, replaced by a perfectly unharmed Li Yang whose aura was on the verge of breaking through.
Back in the Shelter Grotto-Heaven, Li Yang endured his injuries and adjusted the array formations within the grotto-heaven, making sure it was truly stable.
Only then did he begin treating his injuries.
As soon as he started, he immediately noticed something different.
It seems I'm a little quicker at treating them now. I still can't get rid of them completely, but the pain has eased a little. It looks like the Late Bloomer trait is kicking in.
No wonder I could vaguely sense some problems while adjusting the arrays just now.
Li Yang was delighted. This trait was simply absurd.
He was only a little over a hundred years old, yet it was already giving him such a boost. Who knew how powerful the boost would be three years from now, when he was over ten thousand?
Maybe he wouldn't even need to activate the Work-Life Balance trait to heal his injuries.
This is a Dao Wound. The Purple Firmament Divine Thunder isn't the only reason it caused such severe injuries. The Dao Force mixed into it is another factor.
It's also this Dao Force that has caused all sorts of problems with my body and kept the injuries from healing.
To heal them, I need a force that contains Dao Force.
There are the legendary Innate Spiritual Treasures, Nine-Turn Golden Pills, Innate Peaches, and Ginseng Fruits, but I can't get my hands on any of those. So the only solution is to comprehend Dao Force for myself and use it to counter the Dao Force in the wound.
After all, a Golden Immortal achieves that by attaining their own Dao.
So I can begin comprehending the Dao and forging my own path before becoming a Golden Immortal.
Though my Dao Force would be weak, it could still slow my injuries and extend my lifespan, buying me enough time to break through to Golden Immortal and completely resolve the Dao Wound.
Fortunately, the trait I received after becoming an immortal was Late Bloomer. Otherwise, I fear I would have had no choice but to perish.
The comprehension granted by Late Bloomer gave Li Yang a tremendous boost as he treated his injuries.
He could even vaguely comprehend the Dao contained within his wounds.
Once he understood his advantages, all Li Yang needed to do each day was read scriptures, study the Dao, and treat his injuries.
He put everything else aside—alchemy, artifact refinement, Array Formation, talismans, and the like—and simply used books and his enhanced comprehension to work things out.
A month passed in the blink of an eye. Master Qi Yuan had completely stabilized his cultivation, and his power had surged to the middle stage of Origin Immortal.
After emerging from seclusion, he checked on his second disciple, Li Yang, and found that he was still in seclusion. Then he gave Lan Ling'e some instructions.
"Ling'e, I'm going to attend a banquet with your Martial Uncles. Remember, don't leave the peak under any circumstances. Understand?"
Lan Ling'e stood straight and bowed. "Master, I understand."
After Old Daoist Qi Yuan left, Jiu Wu from Sky Breaking Peak suddenly came by.
"Ling'e, where's Li Yang?"
Lan Ling'e promptly bowed and respectfully replied, "Martial Uncle, my Second Senior Brother gained some insight while watching Master undergo Tribulation Transcendence, so he's in seclusion cultivating."
Jiu Wu was so startled he nearly plucked out his beard. "It's been a whole month, and he still hasn't come out? Just how terrifying is his talent?"
But then he thought of how Li Yang had reached the first stage of Refining Void after only ten years. Four years had passed since then, so surely his cultivation had risen even higher. In that case...
Jiu Wu extended his Immortal Sense and carefully sensed Li Yang's aura.
"Refining Void Sixth Stage, and his aura is still steadily growing. What kind of monster disciple has Junior Brother Qi Yuan taken in?"
Jiu Wu sighed in amazement, yet hesitated. For a moment, he didn't know what to do.
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