Rebirth of the Useless Bastard Son

Setting aside all distracting thoughts, Li Tianyan quickly immersed himself in cultivation. The spiritual energy around him seemed drawn, flowing into his body. The absorbed energy circulated through his veins for eighty-one cycles before entering his Dantian. The spiritual energy washed over his limbs and meridians, providing a sensation akin to soaking in warm water.

Once in his Dantian, numerous colorful light spots appeared in his sea of consciousness, mixing and running rampant in his inner world. Having had a single fire spiritual root before, the fire element would automatically stand out, filtering out impurities to leave behind pure fire energy. This was Li Tianyan’s first encounter with such mixed spiritual energy.

Only then did he realize the difference between single spiritual roots and mixed spiritual roots. Sorting out these conflicting energy elements consumed a considerable amount of power. It was rare for his spiritual power be used up so quickly. Was he going to be defeated by these mixed roots?

If he gave up now, reintroducing Qi into his body next time would be even more challenging. Just when Li Tianyan was on the verge of giving in, he recalled an ancient cultivation technique he had read.

With no time to think further, Li Tianyan immediately initiated the “Five Elements Teachnique.” After making a few gestures, the originally mixed light spots began to slowly rotate.

Light points with different attributes automatically separated, following the law of mutually reinforcing and interfering elements. Those with the same elements attracted each other, moved closer, and eventually combined into larger light points.

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While Li Tianyan was immersed in cultivation, Cheng Qi and Xiao Liu had already finished cleaning the side room. Once Cheng Qi strored his small bag with belongings, Xiao Liu led him to the bathroom for a thorough cleaning.

“Young madam, please don’t move around. Be careful not to get water into your eyes.” Xiao Liu stood behind Cheng Qi, gently rubbing his hair with soap locust paste and combing through any knots with a comb.

Though Xiao Liu was two years older than Cheng Qi, the childishness on his face had faded, making his appear much more mature.

“Oh.” Cheng Qi always felt uncomfortable without his hair covering his face, but he sat down obediently. After a while, he tentatively asked, “Xiao Liu, can I call you that in the future?”

“Of course. If the young madam needs anything, just ask Xiao Liu.” Xiao Liu responded with a smile upon hearing the question.

Facing the young madam, Xiao Liu, who was also a shuanger, treated him like a younger brother.

After observing Cheng Qi’s experiences for over half a month, Xiao Liu wanted to help, but the young master kept the young madam locked in the room. As a servant, he couldn’t do anything until the young master fell ill and the young madam was taken away. Xiao Liu thought the young madam was in deep trouble at that time.

“Xiao Liu,” Cheng Qi muttered the name silently.

“Young madam, don’t be so nervous. I think the young master has changed his opinion of you today. The relationship can be cultivated, and it will gradually get better in the future.” In Xiao Liu’s view, the young master today showed genuine concern for Cheng Qi. Besides, after taking a good look, he found the young madam’s appearance wasn’t bad, just marred by a birthmark.

Perhaps the former young master couldn’t accept such a sudden change. After all, he had once genuinely liked the eldest daughter of the Cheng family. It was natural to feel unhappy upon discovering that the bride was replaced by someone else.

Cheng Qi also felt everything that happened today was like a dream. The man’s voice, smile, and gaze were deeply imprinted in his mind. Thinking of Li Tianyan, Cheng Qi’s face uncontrollably blushed slightly, only to fade away quickly.

Until his hair was dried and neatly taken care of by Xiao Liu, Cheng Qi was worried about Li Tianyan’s reaction when he saw his appearance. However, he didn’t see Li Tianyan come out of the room until dinner time.

“Young madam, please don’t wait; let’s eat first.” Xiao Liu followed Li Tianyan’s instructions to take care of Cheng Qi’s needs. As soon as mealtime arrived, he went to the backyard kitchen to bring the food on time.

“But he hasn’t come out yet.” Cheng Qi stared at the closed door, his eyes suddenly showing a hint of loneliness.

“The young master said not to go in and disturb him. I left food for the young master. Please eat some first, young madam,” Xiao Liu gently persuaded.

“Okay.” Although Cheng Qi was worried, he didn’t dare to go against Li Tianyan’s wishes. He could only return to his room with Xiao Liu first.

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Li Tianyan spent considerable effort to finally sort out all the spiritual energy. Five light groups of the same size formed a circle and settled in the Dantian. He noticed that the colors of these light groups were green, red, brown, gold, and blue, each representing wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Though the five light groups seemed independent, there was an invisible force pulling them together.

As soon as Li Tianyan woke up from his trance, he was almost overwhelmed by the scent of his own body.

His body, having successfully entered the Qi Condensation stage, had just completed a cleansing of essence and marrow. All the miasma and poisonous impurities in the mortal body were excreted. Considering his prior poisoning, the scent of the expelled impurities was both disgusting and terrible. Adding to his despair, his powerful nose was also aroused this time, intensifying the smell and torturing him.

Li Tianyan had lamented his awakened spiritual powers before. Others seemed to be born with spiritual eyes or ears, but he ended up with a heightened sense of smell, akin to a dog’s nose. Amplifying fragrances dozens of times couldn’t save his nose, and the smell usually always stronger than the fragrance.

The room had no light, indicating it was late at night. Li Tianyan grabbed clean clothes, opened the door, and rushed out, seeking a place to wash away the unpleasant odors.

Unexpectedly, upon opening the door, he saw a small figure lurking outside the room.

“Young master…”

In the moonlight, Cheng Qi stared at the dirt-covered and foul-smelling Li Tianyan.

Seeing Cheng Qi, Li Tianyan was momentarily stunned. The next moment, a bright yellow talisman appeared in his hand.

Cheng Qi watched Li Tianyan’s actions with an inexplicable expression. When the talisman lit up, panic flashed in his heart. Instinctively, he grabbed Li Tianyan’s arm, and the two of them vanished.

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Upon opening his eyes again, Cheng Qi found himself in a wilderness. Before he could comprehend why he was suddenly there, the sound of splashing water nearby reached his ears.

“Young master, are you there?” Cheng Qi called out in fear, searching for the sound of water in the dim moonlight. The suburban night echoed with the sounds of insects and frogs, making Cheng Qi uneasy in an unfamiliar environment.

“Why are you here?” Li Tianyan, planning to take a bath in the lake, was startled by Cheng Qi’s voice nearby.

This little shuanger was teleported with him. No wonder a short-distance teleportation almost depleted his spiritual power. Li Tianyan initially thought it was due to his inadequate cultivation.

As soon as he heard Li Tianyan’s response, Cheng Qi’s heart calmed down and his steps quickened. It wasn’t until he approached the lake and saw Li Tianyan bathing that his anxieties were relieved.

“I see you haven’t had dinner yet.” With no activity in Li Tianyan’s room, Cheng Qi became concerned and waited outside the door.

As for how he ended up here, Cheng Qi couldn’t explain. He was at the door of Li Tianyan’s room a moment ago, and then…

Li Tianyan was bemused by Cheng Qi’s bewildered expression. Why was this little shuanger so confused? It seemed he could be kidnapped one day and wouldn’t know it.

“That’s it; I’ll take you back after I cleaned myself.” Li Tianyan, undressing in the water, threw his clothes onto the shore and began scrubbing away the dirt from his body.

Cheng Qi was startled by Li Tianyan’s actions, quickly turning his head away. His face flushed with embarrassment from the scene, but he promptly went to the spot where Li Tianyan had tossed his clothes. He gathered the soaked, dirty garments, planning to take them back for washing later.