"..." Li Qiang opened his mouth, not knowing how to respond. Fu Shan saw Li Qiang's confusion and generously introduced himself, "My name is Fu Shan. I was born in the state of Chu, but just two years after my birth, I became a citizen of Qin. Finally, I became a Han. In between, I even returned to being a Chu for several years."
"When I left Earth, I was seventy-seven years old. At that time, I had just met the young Sima Tan, who was barely an adult. We became sworn friends, but sadly, we can never meet again. I don't even know where his tomb is," Fu Shan said with much emotion.
"You were born when the Qin Dynasty was just established, in 221 BC. It's now 2004 AD, so aren't you already 2225 years old this year!" Li Qiang exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, I should be around that age. I don't even remember precisely myself. After all, sometimes a casual cultivation session takes more than a decade... Time is no longer important for people like us!" Fu Shan sighed.
"People like us?" Li Qiang trembled upon hearing this.
"That's right. From now on, you, like me, are a cultivator!" Fu Shan smiled. "I am a cultivator from the Chongxuan Sect on Fengyuan Star. Back when I was in the Han Dynasty, my brother found me and led me into the world of cultivation!"
"And now it's my turn to find my brother. I'm a person with strong hometown sentiments, so I thought of returning to the place where I was born and raised to find a brother, and that brother is you!"
"By the way, our Chongxuan Sect is different from other cultivation sects. Other sects mainly have a master-disciple relationship, but our Chongxuan Sect has a brotherhood relationship. When we achieve success in cultivation, usually after reaching the Nascent Soul stage, we must find a brother to guide him into the Chongxuan Sect and pass down the legacy step by step!"
"The reason for this different rule is that our Chongxuan Sect was founded by eight brothers who were as close as family. This relationship has been passed down. The Chongxuan Sect always has eight lineages, the inheritance of eight brothers. Remember this, and when you achieve success in cultivation, you must also guide a brother into the sect in a timely manner!" Fu Shan said with a smile.
"Why me?" After listening to Fu Shan's explanation, Li Qiang couldn't help but ask curiously.
"Because of the Foundation Building artifact, the Purple Flame Heart, that I gave you earlier!" Fu Shan said. "Our Chongxuan Sect's inheritance is different from others. It requires us to wholeheartedly forge a Foundation Building artifact for our brother. This way, the brother can quickly overcome the weakest early stage, and also pave a smooth path for future cultivation. After all, among us cultivators, those who can eventually ascend to immortality are indeed one in a million."
"If a solid foundation is not laid in the early stage, then the later stages will be extremely difficult. However, with my Purple Flame Heart, you have at least a 1% chance of ascending to immortality, provided you don't encounter danger and die prematurely!" Fu Shan's expression turned somewhat serious as he said this.
"As for why it's you, it's because the Foundation Building artifacts refined by our Chongxuan Sect have different requirements for the user's physique due to the different refining methods and techniques. The more advanced the Foundation Building artifact, the more stringent the requirements for the physique."
"I'm not bragging, but the Purple Flame Heart I refined is definitely ranked among the top three Foundation Building artifacts in the history of our Chongxuan Sect. Therefore, the requirements for the physique are extremely strict. I searched all over Earth, and only you can use this artifact. There is no one else!"
"I see. So, I'm the chosen one!" Li Qiang said with a wry smile.
"Perhaps. But you, the chosen one, have already refused me once before!" Fu Shan said with dissatisfaction.
"Ah!" Li Qiang was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered. About a year ago, a seemingly mad person suddenly appeared before him and asked if he was willing to go with him. How could Li Qiang agree to such an outrageous request? So he refused without hesitation. He never expected that person to be the current Fu Shan.
"What happened today, was it you guys..." A terrible thought suddenly crossed Li Qiang's mind.
"You're thinking too much!" Fu Shan said with a smile. "Our Chongxuan Sect never forces anyone to become our brother. Moreover, I found you a year ago. If I wanted to force you, I would have done it then. There would be no need to cry around you for a year."
"What happened today was purely coincidental. I didn't expect you to rush forward and fight them, even at the risk of your life, to protect the child in your arms. However, this is exactly the kind of brother our Chongxuan Sect needs. To be honest, I was afraid you would refuse."
"But rules are rules, so I give you a choice! You can refuse me now, and I will send you back to your world, then erase the memories of everyone involved, allowing you to live a normal life."
"Alternatively, you can choose to come with me to another mysterious world and climb the path to immortality, which is a one-in-a-million chance. Make your choice!" Fu Shan said solemnly.
"Didn't I already die?" Li Qiang smiled slightly and said without any hesitation, "I think it's good to leave as a hero like this. There's no need to forcibly revive me!"
"Besides, I also want to return to Earth after 2,000 years and tell the brothers of that time what interesting stories happened 2,000 years ago, and what interesting people there were!"
"Good!" Fu Shan let out a hearty laugh and handed a small piece of jade to Li Qiang.
"What is this? A decoration?" Li Qiang asked curiously.
"This is called a jade slip. We cultivators leave various information inside using our spiritual sense. You just need to probe it with your own spiritual sense to obtain all the information within!"
"This is a cultivation technique of our Chongxuan Sect, but it's only for before the Nascent Soul stage. The later stages require you to go to our sect's stronghold to obtain them, as these important techniques cannot be leaked out, otherwise, there's a risk of others learning them!" Fu Shan explained.
"Do I have spiritual sense?" Li Qiang couldn't help but ask. He had never known what spiritual sense was.
"Originally, this would require decades of meditation to comprehend. But since you received my Purple Flame Heart, that's not a problem. You can try to touch it with your intention!" After Fu Shan finished speaking, Li Qiang stood there stiffly, as if he were dead, apparently already reading the technique.
Soon, after more than ten seconds, Li Qiang returned to normal and couldn't help but say, "Big Brother, can I cultivate now?"
"You can! But you need to prepare..." Before Fu Shan could finish speaking, Li Qiang immediately began to meditate. Fu Shan could only shake his head with a wry smile. "You need to prepare a set of clothes and bathwater, otherwise, you'll be very smelly!"
As these words fell, something magical happened.
At this moment, the camera on the television began to zoom in on Li Qiang, closer and closer, until Li Qiang's entire face filled the screen.
Then, the audience was horrified to see countless dark things emerging from Li Qiang's pores. These things were not just black, but black mixed with yellow, and the whole thing looked very greasy, like solid lubricant.
Watching these things continuously seep out of his pores, everyone felt a chill down their spines.
As these dark things increased, they eventually completely encased Li Qiang, transforming him into a cocoon, making him completely invisible, leaving only a black mass.
With a shift in light and shadow, the motionless Li Qiang suddenly moved and discovered his anomaly, asking in surprise, "Big Brother, what's going on?"
"This is the process of expelling the acquired external toxins from your body!" Fu Shan explained calmly. "When humans are still in the womb, they are in a congenital state. Their bodies are pure and untainted, without a trace of toxins."
"However, once humans leave the womb and begin to interact with the outside world, breathing the external air and eating external food, they are naturally contaminated by various toxins from the outside world. These toxins gradually accumulate in the body."
"Eventually, when these toxins accumulate more and more, completely squeezing out all the vitality in your body, you will reach the end of your natural lifespan!"
"And Foundation Building is precisely to help a person expel these acquired external toxins from the body, allowing the human body to return to the congenital state, just like in the mother's womb. Once successful, it is called achieving Foundation Building!"
"This layer of black grime wrapped around your body is all the acquired external toxins from your body! This is the first time you are running the Foundation Building stage cultivation technique, so the accumulated external toxins are naturally the most. Therefore, the acquired external toxins expelled through the technique are also the most, to the point of completely encasing you."
"Afterward, as the acquired external toxins in your body decrease, the amount of black mud expelled will naturally decrease. When you can no longer expel any black mud, you can enter the next stage of cultivation!"
"I see!" Li Qiang nodded excitedly and then leaped out of the black mud cocoon.
Indeed, Li Qiang had turned into a "white boiled chicken." His clothes had become tattered due to the corrosion of these toxins, leaving only a few pieces to cover the vital parts of his body, to avoid the scene being deemed inappropriate.
But through the exposed skin, the audience was astonished to find that Li Qiang's previously dark skin had completely disappeared.
In its place was crystal-clear, jade-like skin, as if he were an infant's.
Moreover, even his height had changed. His previously short stature had transformed into a tall physique of about 1.8 meters.
And when Li Qiang finally revealed his face, it was even more astonishing. Pan Changjiang had transformed into Li Xiaoyao!