Senior Brother's Ascension

Ning Sujin, who had been maintaining her cool, aloof demeanor, furrowed her brows the instant she heard the words "a beauty who brings disaster."

"What do you mean, a beauty who brings disaster? Isn't it all just men bringing disaster with their lust?"

Old Ma stiffened at once. He hurriedly bent forward and cupped his hands. "Ah... yes, yes, yes. I was talking nonsense, talking nonsense."

"Speak! What exactly happened?"

Xiao Wu had left a deep impression on Ning Sujin. After all, during those five years at the Immortal Seeking Academy in Chong'an Prefecture, Xiao Wu had been the person closest to Li Ji'an. He often helped Li Ji'an deliver Spirit Beast meat. At first, that little vixen Ning Yutan had even tried to get closer to Li Ji'an by winning Xiao Wu over.

Ning Sujin also knew a bit about Xiao Wu. He was an upright man, content with what he had, and devoted to his duties.

"I..." Old Ma shrank his head, afraid to say the wrong thing and bring trouble down on himself. After all, he had been dismissed and demoted to guard the city gate for speaking up on Xiao Wu's behalf. He could only look pleadingly at Li Ji'an.

Li Ji'an nodded. "It's all right. This is the Duke Zhenguo's beloved daughter, and the current emperor's personally appointed Princess Wenjin. She's always ready to champion the cause of justice and stand up for the wronged!"

Before he could finish, Ning Sujin was already glaring at Li Ji'an as if she wanted to eat him alive.

Over the past two years, she had grown used to Li Ji'an piling on the praise.

He was forcing her to get involved and help save Uncle Xiao.

But... even though she knew he was using her, she didn't feel the least bit resistant. In fact, she rather enjoyed it. Somehow, hearing that fellow say things like that felt pretty good.

Li Ji'an smiled. Though he couldn't stand by and watch an old friend suffer, it was naturally better if he didn't have to get involved himself.

More importantly, the other party had been able to send the City Guard Division into action and had used such crude methods against Xiao Wu, a minor official in the prefectural yamen. Their influence couldn't be small. With his current status as a reserve Immortal Seed, he might not be able to handle the matter properly.

It was even possible that the other party had already learned he was a reserve Immortal Seed before making a move against Xiao Wu.

He was long past the age of wanting to prove himself. If he could lean on someone else's strength, he wasn't about to charge headfirst into trouble.

As for hiding Ning Sujin's identity and then bringing her out at the last moment to show off and slap faces, that hadn't crossed his mind at all. It would only create more trouble for no reason.

"This subordinate pays his respects to Your Highness, Princess!" Old Ma's eyes lit up instantly.

There was hope. His boss was saved.

If it were only Li Ji'an, he wouldn't have had much confidence. After all, the other party had too much power.

"Rise. Tell me everything truthfully." Ning Sujin lifted her chin slightly.

"Yes, yes. Half a month ago, on that day, the constable and I were patrolling as usual when we caught three refugees who had sneaked into the city. After questioning them, we determined they weren't criminals of the worst sort. The constable took pity on their plight and let them go.

"But the next day, the City Guard Division barged into the prefectural yamen and arrested the constable, claiming that the rebels had confessed and that the constable was a spy in the city. The three who'd confessed were the refugees we'd let go the day before. I'd stake my head on it: they absolutely weren't rebels.

"On the day the constable was imprisoned, a steward-looking man went to his home to threaten and tempt his sister-in-law. That was why I was demoted..."

After hearing him out, Ning Sujin's face filled with disdain and disgust. "Hmph! That lecherous scoundrel has some nerve, daring to abduct another man's wife by force. He thinks he can do whatever he wants. I'll see this through myself. To the prefectural yamen!"

In less than an hour, Xiao Wu walked out of the prison, battered from head to toe, and was restored to his former post.

At the same time, the steward who had gone to Xiao Wu's home to threaten and bribe his sister-in-law was beaten to death by his master in front of everyone. A lieutenant in the City Guard Division was demoted for embezzlement and abuse of power.

A society without the rule of law had one advantage: as long as you held power, you could do whatever you pleased.

After this, neither of them felt like staying overnight in Chong'an Prefecture. They continued their journey at a gallop, arriving two days later at Purple Heaven Temple in Shangyi County.

Seven years had passed, but Purple Heaven Temple remained just as Li Ji'an remembered it.

The moment he stepped inside, he felt as if his whole body had relaxed.

Then he saw his senior brother, Liu Deshan, frail and elderly on his sickbed.

The round figure he remembered from childhood was now much thinner. His eyes were sunken, and his face was covered in wrinkles.

"Chang'an... you're back." His cloudy eyes struggled to open, and he laboriously raised one hand.

Li Ji'an knelt beside the bed and clasped his withered hand in both of his, slowly channeling qi and blood into him to warm his heart meridians. "Master, Chang'an is back."

"Good, good, good..." Liu Deshan looked Li Ji'an over with all his strength, repeating the word again and again.

"I'll go down and tell Junior Brother the good news right away. The things he couldn't accomplish, you did, Chang'an. An Immortal Seed... Junior Brother will be so gratified when he hears."

Looking at the senior brother who seemed almost like a different person, scenes from Li Ji'an's past life flickered through his mind like a lantern show.

Images of his senior brother from childhood to adulthood, and then middle age, passed before his eyes.

Flowers bloomed and withered; clouds gathered and scattered... A whole life had gone by in a flash.

That night, Li Ji'an stayed by Liu Deshan's bedside, listening to him reminisce for half the night.

There were no last wishes or requests, only encouragement and comfort.

As he neared death, his senior brother seemed at peace. He had none of the deluded desperation some people felt as they clung to life and feared death.

Li Ji'an couldn't tell whether it was because his senior brother had no regrets or desires left, because he believed life was simply meant to be this way, or because he didn't know cultivators truly existed in this world—that a person's lifespan could really break its limits.

Three days later, Houde Zhenren ascended.

Now, the only two people from his past life who had been closest to Li Ji'an were both gone.

Qingyun also matured in an instant and took up Liu Deshan's mantle.

At the same time, after seven years apart and communicating only through letters, Qingyun's distance from Li Ji'an was plain to see.

He felt more awe than affection.

Several times, he looked at Ning Sujin's lovely figure as if he wanted to ask Li Ji'an something, but never got the words out.

In the end, Li Ji'an deliberately teased him a few times, and Qingyun managed to regain a little of their childhood closeness. But things were still far from how they had been.

After taking care of his senior brother's funeral, Li Ji'an once again left the safe haven of his past life.

This time, he looked back for a long while. He really was leaving for good.

On the way back to the Imperial City Immortal Palace, Li Ji'an returned to his usual calm and easygoing manner. Aside from occasionally teasing Ning Sujin to relieve the tedium of the road, he also actively discussed insights into qi-and-blood activation with her.

Ever since he had seen an "immortal" two years ago and gained a clear plan for the future, he had been studying external martial arts that activated qi and blood in his spare time away from cultivating internal energy.

After all, since that "immortal" was a cultivator, there had to be strong and weak ones among them. Ordinary martial arts might well pose a threat to weaker cultivators.

And over these two years of study, he had been delighted to discover that his accumulated insight from four lifetimes gave him an extraordinary knack for methods of activating qi and blood in external martial arts.

Ning Sujin had claimed she could master the top-tier movement technique, Floating Duckweed Steps, in a month. He had reached the threshold of mastery in just half that time—not only fully grasping its core principles and the key to circulating qi and blood, but even making three adjustments that improved the technique.

Internal cultivation relied heavily on Root Bone and meridians, especially in the first few minor realms. External arts, however, had almost nothing to do with the body's natural aptitude. They depended entirely on how one harnessed the qi and blood within, how one circulated it, and how one made the most of it. Of all things, they relied most on insight.

This gave Li Ji'an a solid foundation for planning his next life.