Chapter 273 - 195: A Dream of Ancient Times, The Fury of an Ant

...

As evening fell,

Li Chang’an returned to Changqing Mountain.

He took out the coffin, placed it inside his cave abode, and studied it for a long time, but he still couldn’t make heads or tails of it.

’The divination was auspicious. Nothing bad should happen.’

Li Chang’an mused.

After a while,

He still felt uneasy, so he performed another divination.

But the result of the divination was extremely vague, as if shrouded in mist and impossible to see through.

Li Chang’an had no choice but to summon Xiaohai and Dahuang and give them detailed instructions.

"Xiaohai, Dahuang, I’m about to lie down in this coffin. If anything unexpected happens, the two of you must pull me out immediately!"

The two Spirit Beasts nodded, indicating they understood.

Jiang Muyu looked nervous, her small face filled with worry.

"Young Master, are you going to die? Why are you getting into a coffin?"

"Don’t say such unlucky things!"

Li Chang’an patted her on the head and told her to go play outside.

After arranging everything,

He slowly backed away, activated the Multiple Array Formation to its fullest extent, and then sent out a surge of Magical Power to flip open the coffin lid.

BANG!

The coffin lid flew into the air and landed to the side.

Nothing unexpected happened.

The coffin was completely empty; there was nothing inside.

Li Chang’an took a deep breath, his expression grim, as he lowered himself into the coffin and slowly lay down.

In that instant,

A mysterious and profound aura of time suddenly emanated from the coffin.

Li Chang’an’s eyes closed, and he instantly fell into a deep sleep.

...

"Li the Kid, wake up!"

Faintly, it seemed someone was calling him.

Li Chang’an’s consciousness was clear and he wanted to wake up, but he couldn’t open his eyes at all.

He was astonished.

’What’s going on?’

After a long moment, his eyes slowly fluttered open.

Before him were several middle-aged men with weather-beaten faces.

"Li the Kid, are you all right?"

"You were covered in sweat, muttering things like ’Changqing’ and ’Qinghe.’ Were you having a nightmare?"

The men all spoke at once, their questions filled with concern.

"I’m fine, everyone. Don’t worry."

Li Chang’an replied aloud.

What surprised him even more was that he hadn’t spoken those words himself; they had come from the body he now occupied.

At this moment,

His state was very peculiar.

He seemed to have possessed someone.

He couldn’t actively control or change anything, only experience everything from this person’s first-person perspective.

From the ensuing conversation,

He learned.

This person’s name was Li Ping’an. Bent on seeking immortality, he had left his hometown and embarked on the path to find immortals.

The middle-aged men were all his companions on this quest.

"Li the Kid, what were you dreaming about? You were out for so long."

"I... I dreamed I became an immortal, able to fly through the sky and burrow through the earth, omnipotent..."

"Haha, that’s a good omen!"

After some more conversation,

The group set off once again on their path to find immortals.

Along the way, they all spoke of their visions of and longing for the Immortal Dao.

"In a few more months, we’ll reach the Immortal Sect of the Ten Thousand Arrays Sect. I’ve heard the Ten Thousand Arrays Sect is the best among the Nine Great Sects when it comes to Arrays..."

Hearing their conversation,

Li Chang’an grew even more surprised.

The Nine Great Sects were colossal powers that ruled the entire Cultivation Immortality Realm during the Ancient Times, but they had long since vanished into the river of time.

’Could it be...’

’That these people aren’t from the present day, but are figures from the Ancient Times?’

Their conversations along the journey continued to confirm Li Chang’an’s suspicions.

’According to the divination’s description, what I’m experiencing right now must be a dream.’

Li Chang’an never would have imagined that this dream would take him back to the Ancient Times.

Several months passed without him noticing.

The group drew closer and closer to the Immortal Sect, their party growing until it numbered over twenty people.

「On this day.」

They stopped to rest briefly in a prefectural city.

"First, let’s get a good meal and build up our strength. The mountain road ahead is the most difficult stretch. As long as we can get through it, we’ll reach the Immortal Sect!"

The leader of the group announced in a clear voice.

This man’s name was Lin Fan. He was the group’s "big brother" and leader, the one with the most resolute faith in finding immortals. He had shouldered countless hardships for the group along the way.

He took out a stack of silver notes and treated everyone to a fine meal at a restaurant in the city.

A moment later,

Someone found a bug in their food.

Furious, the man shouted for the chef to come and apologize.

Before long, a female cook with delicate features came over, her face full of apology. "I’m so sorry, valued customer. The kitchen helper in charge of washing the vegetables must have missed it."

The moment he saw her,

Most of the man’s anger dissipated.

"Haha, it’s nothing! Everyone makes mistakes!"

"I’m glad you understand, customer."

The cook breathed a sigh of relief, a smile on her face.

The man spoke again: "Young lady, there’s no future in being a cook here. Why don’t you come with us to seek immortality?"

Hearing this, the cook looked troubled.

"Customer, I’m still looking for someone. I have no interest in seeking immortality."

"Oh? Who are you looking for?"

"My husband. He’s a martial artist who went to participate in a Martial Arts tournament. He said he’d come back to marry me after he became the world’s number one, but he still hasn’t returned."

"These are chaotic times..."

The man thought for a moment but didn’t finish his sentence.

But everyone understood.

The cook’s husband had most likely died somewhere.

At this moment,

Li Chang’an was stunned. The cook’s voice and story were just too familiar—exactly the same as the cook from the Mortal Realm at the foot of Changqing Mountain!

But the body he was in currently had its back to the cook.

Though countless questions flooded his mind, he couldn’t control the body to turn around and see her face.

Not long after,

The group set off once again.

After several days of arduous trekking, they finally arrived before the Immortal Sect.