After taking care of everything, Li Chang’an turned to the crowd of Jianghu Martial Artists behind him and said with a faint smile, "Everyone, you all heard what that old bastard just said, didn’t you?"
They couldn’t help but gulp.
Then, they all nodded.
To avoid any misunderstanding with Li Chang’an, one of the Jianghu Martial Artists stepped forward and said, "Alliance Leader Li, we never intended to betray you! That old woman told us she’d give us an Elixir if we came. We figured we had nothing to lose, so we showed up. If we had known she was going to spout such utter bullshit, we would have rather died than come here!"
Li Chang’an just smiled, paying the group no further mind.
He turned and entered Cyan Gate Mountain.
’Since these people are connected to Cultivators, the haul from this trip is bound to be substantial.’
...
Li Chang’an’s sudden strike had stunned many people.
When everyone learned that the Iron Back Sect and Cyan Gate Mountain were actually moles planted by the Cultivators, they all broke out in a cold sweat.
They had always thought of the Cultivators as a distant enemy.
Little did they know, the enemy was already in their midst. So many people had been deceived, nearly leaving them to face an attack from both front and rear.
Inside Cyan Gate Mountain and the Iron Back Sect, Li Chang’an found a large number of Elixirs.
He also found more detailed historical records.
According to the historical texts he found,
The two Major Sects were native to this world and had existed for over 5,900 years.
After all the other powers of their era were annihilated by the Cultivators, the two Major Sects made a deal with them just to survive.
The Cultivators gave the two Major Sects the refining methods for several Elixirs, as well as a Cultivation Technique called the "Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Skill."
The Elixir-refining methods were of little use to Cultivators, but to the people of the Lower Realm, the recipes were worth a fortune.
The Cultivation Technique called the "Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Skill," however, was rather interesting.
Although it was a Cultivation Technique from the Cultivation Realm, its core principle was to cultivate at the cost of damaging one’s own foundation.
In other words, no matter how talented one was, after practicing this Cultivation Technique, they could only ever reach a Realm specified beforehand by the Cultivators.
Beyond that Realm, the Cultivator’s Dao Foundation would be completely destroyed, preventing them from making even the slightest bit of progress for the rest of their lives.
But even so, the power of this Cultivation Technique was far beyond what any other technique in the Jianghu could hope to match.
In terms of both cultivation speed and post-cultivation combat strength, it completely crushed other techniques.
After that, the two Major Sects settled into their role as dogs for the Cultivators.
During that time, they experienced two more harvests by the Cultivators.
In other words, the Cultivators came to the Lower Realm roughly once every two thousand years.
Each time the Cultivators came to the Lower Realm, they would provide them with information, updating them on the world’s current situation.
’They toss their dogs a bone but keep them on an iron chain. It seems these Cultivators aren’t as terrifying as I imagined.’ Li Chang’an put away the elixir recipes and the Cultivation Technique, then returned to Kyoto.
[DING! You have successfully Defied Fate!]
[At age twenty-three, you commanded the world and successfully cleared the Cultivator gateways on Soul-Breaking Mountain and in other areas, making it impossible for Cultivators to enter the Lower Realm silently!]
[Rebirth Evaluation increased. You have received an additional 10,000 Rebirth Points!]
[At age twenty-five, you discovered the two "nails" the Cultivators had embedded in the Li Yang Continent and successfully removed them!]
[Rebirth Evaluation increased. You have received an additional 10,000 Rebirth Points!]
...
Although this was but a minor interlude, it allowed Li Chang’an to make a more accurate inference about the strength of the invading Cultivator.
’The World-Devouring Whale was probably right. The one who comes to this small world to perform the harvest is most likely a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Realm—stronger than this world’s Martial Artists, but not so strong that they can completely disregard them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have to go to such lengths to restrict this world’s development.’
This was good news for Li Chang’an. He began working through the night to deconstruct the "Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Skill" and absorb its essence.
The days passed, one by one.
This year, Li Chang’an turned thirty.
The Jianghu Martial Artists grew ever stronger. Thanks to the numerous exploration teams, the known territory of the Li Yang Continent had expanded significantly over the years. Some Martial Artists had even managed to draw a map of the world.
Vast numbers of Martial Artists gathered outside all the gateways where Cultivators had deployed their Arrays. There, they battled against fiends, Evil Spirits, and all sorts of other bizarre creatures.
They were constantly unearthing treasures from within these places.
Meanwhile in Kyoto, Li Chang’an’s years-long deconstruction of the "Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Skill" was finally nearing its end.
The "Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Skill" had severe limitations, but with the modifications from his Heaven-defying Comprehension, it no longer required one to damage their foundation.
But Li Chang’an was clearly not satisfied with just that.
He didn’t just want to make the Cultivation Technique harmless; he wanted to master it completely and integrate it into his "Martial Scripture."
As he was cultivating cross-legged, a boy of about ten years old peeked his head through the door.
Seeing Li Chang’an open his eyes, the boy broke into a mischievous smile, bounced over, and asked, "Father, I’ve finished all the lessons you gave me. Can you teach me Cultivation now?"
Li Chang’an smiled, reaching out to pat the boy’s head. "Of course," he said warmly. "Wait for Dad to modify the Cultivation Technique a little more, and then I’ll teach it to you."
Soon after, Li Chang’an distributed the fully modified "Heaven and Earth Profound Yellow Skill" throughout the world.
As for himself, he continued to cultivate the "Martial Scripture."