CHAPTER 357: CHAPTER 352: HUNDRED REINCARNATIONS

"What a pity, what a pity, Qingyun Sect, with eyes yet unseeing, actually missed out on two peerless talents like us!"

Li Quanqing walked on the path down the mountain, his steps unstable, still recalling the scenes on the Illusion Heart Platform just now.

Beside him, a boy with skin as dark as a dog’s, scrawny, kept chattering with a face full of regret.

Li Quanqing didn’t speak, just stopped by a misty lake, looking at the reflection on the water.

What met his eyes was a boy in coarse cloth, somewhat underdeveloped, looking about fourteen or fifteen, with ordinary looks.

"What’s up, Quanqing, are you hungry? I still have some buns given by an immortal earlier. Now that we’re wealthy, we can’t resort to drinking water to stave off hunger like when we were beggars!"

The dark-skinned boy beside him, though verbose, was quite honest, taking out two pale, tender meat buns from his pouch.

"Erhou, you really think ahead, I’ve long finished those buns in my belly."

Instinctively, Li Quanqing blurted out, calling the dark-skinned boy by name, his words coming naturally.

He grabbed the meat bun in his hand, although it had long gone cold, the soft texture and faint meat aroma were all so real.

"I told you, now call me Li Zhonghou, we are destined to become immortals one day, great figures who will be titled kings and marquises!"

Li Erhou continued his chatter, pulling his friend down towards the foot of the mountain, surrounded by boys and girls who had failed the trial.

Li Quanqing did not resist, his stomach churning with acid, growling with hunger, and he bit into the bun ferociously.

The cold meat bun was a bit greasy, but the fresh juice mixed with the fragrance of wheat bloomed in his mouth, it was so delicious he felt like biting his tongue off.

Li Quanqing finished the bun in a few bites, feeling he had never eaten anything so wonderful, his whole body warming up.

He completely recalled his origins.

His name was Li Quanqing, a transmigrator found all over the streets, fifteen years old this year.

The parents, who were tenants, died in the chaos of war, and he, with refugees, surged into the nation, reduced to a beggar, met the friend beside him, living together in the refugee slum, fighting stray dogs for food in alleys.

Since his Golden Finger had never awakened, just when Li Quanqing thought his life would be like this, an immortal suddenly descended on the capital, and all children of age could go for Spirit Root testing.

Fortunately, both of them were discovered to have Spirit Roots, and he in particular possessed a Middle Grade Spirit Root, thus sent to this Golden Core Sect for trial.

"Now, with sects being hard to enter, one must consider future Dao pursuits, perhaps becoming a Loose Cultivator, achieving worldly glory and wealth in the mortal dynasties wouldn’t be so bad?"

Li Quanqing pondered his path.

Erhou took out another bun, asking, "Was the meat bun delicious? You surely didn’t eat your fill, want another?"

"I’m full, but I’ll have another to save for Ao Qing, that fellow is the greediest."

Li Quanqing, already distracted thinking, almost subconsciously blurted out an unexpected name.

"Ao Qing, who’s that? A new friend you made during the trials?"

Li Quanqing gazed at his friend’s dark eyes, catching a hint of anger and inquiry from them, even the fragrant meat bun was taken back by the other.

His gaze turned confused, memories swirling in his mind, becoming hazy again, muttering, "Ao Qing, seems like a flood dragon I raised, or was it the legendary Golden Core Demon King..."

"Hahaha! Quanqing are you still not awake, immersed in that false illusion, the legendary Golden Core Great Demon could crush us with one breath, how could it possibly be your pet!"

Li Erhou laughed heartily, tears almost streaming out from laughter, making several funny faces at him.

"You... you stop laughing!"

Li Quanqing blushed with embarrassment, his cheeks heating up like tomatoes.

They chased and frolicked, running down from the mountain peak, brimming with youthful vitality.

Li Quanqing took one last look back, Qingyun Sect’s Spiritual Mountain was already shrouded in mist, with only a faintly discernible stone-paved path left, and the majestic mountain gate buildings hidden within the Array.

A few immortal cranes flapped their wings, letting out crisp and melodious cries, leaping out from the clouds, much like these youths with varied destinies.

Unexpectedly, the mountain foot wasn’t deserted, but rather had many cultivators gathered, all from various small families.

"Immortal Seeds! The Immortal Seeds have come down!"

"Honorable Immortal Seeds, I am from the Huangqi Zhang Family, proficient in Alchemy Technique, urgently in need of several Spirit Plants caretakers for the Medicine Field, is anyone..."

These Immortal Seeds, although they did not pass the sect’s assessment, still possessed Spirit Roots, remaining attractive to some small powers.

"Quanqing, should we join a family, though likely to become tenants in the Cultivation World, it’s better than a Loose Cultivator scraping by."

"Or perhaps try those Foundation Establishment Sects again, with your Middle Grade Spirit Root, there’s surely a good chance..."

Li Erhou looked at the small families that came from all corners, showing a bit of longing on his face.

"Family... Seems like I came from some Li Family Immortal Clan... and even became their ancestor..."

Li Quanqing sank back into confusion, memories stirring in his mind, almost breaking through some barrier, ready to surface.

"Two young friends, would you like to come to our Bibo Zhou family? We possess the hundred-mile Bibo Lake, abundant waters, fishing boats singing at sunset, it’s perfect for a family fisherman!"

A kind-looking middle-aged man came forward, his words very sincere, offering very tempting conditions.

Upon hearing "family fisherman," Li Quanqing finally seemed to trigger a keyword, lost memories breaking free, pouring out like a torrent.

He closed his eyes, and upon reopening them, all the confusion on his face vanished, leaving only an ocean-like depth.

"Erhou..."

Li Quanqing softly called his friend’s name.

"What is it, Quanqing?"

Li Erhou turned his head curiously, still inquiring with the middle-aged man, looking quite tempted.

"Thank you for your buns, if there’s a chance, I’ll treat you to big buns stuffed with flood dragon meat!"

Li Quanqing’s gaze was unprecedentedly clear, not waiting for his friend’s reply, pointed a finger down, and instantly the world stirred with wind and clouds.

As if time had stopped, Li Erhou’s face of confusion and astonishment froze completely, followed by a cracking sound as space shattered, and the illusion dispelled.

...

Li Quanqing blinked, as if waking from a dream, but the illusion was not dispelled, instead, he found himself in a more dangerous scene.

"Kehehehe! As expected of a Daoist of the Heavenly River once in a millennium, my meticulously crafted Heart Demon Illusion Realm couldn’t shake you even slightly..."

Li Quanqing gazed above at the still lingering Nascent Soul Thunder Tribulation, and heard the sound of the Heavenly Demon, the illusionary mist dispersing, disturbing the mind.

"Get lost!!"

He roared, not sinking into the illusion this time, his will firm as iron, his voice shaking the heavens and earth, even the terrifying tribulation crumbled into dust.

With a cracking sound, the illusion realm before him shattered again, revealing web-like cracks, and the extra-domain Heavenly Demon disintegrated in wails.

When Li Quanqing woke again, he found himself astonishingly returned to modern times, dressed in surgical attire, forced onto an operating table.