Starting My Immortal Life by Upgrading Buildings

Chapter 131: “Have you ever been beaten up by a physical cultivator?!”

In truth, even before Jian Zong shouted those words, Ji Yuan already felt something was wrong.

The space around him seemed to freeze, and an unprecedented sense of oppression surged into his heart.

He didn’t hesitate for a moment and immediately poured his spiritual energy into the talisman treasure “Sky‑Escape Shuttle.”

For a Qi-condensation stage cultivator to activate a talisman treasure basically meant exhausting all their mana—but what of it?

First, preserve your life.

But after he infused his spiritual energy into it, he realized that the talisman treasure didn’t move at all. Not a hint of any reaction. The talisman treasure that Li Changhe gave him was fake?!

No.

That was impossible.

He saved Li Changhe’s life; he wouldn’t do something so cruel. And with just this momentary delay, the surrounding spatial bonds tightened even more.

Recalling what Jian Zong had just said, Ji Yuan suddenly understood.

This talisman treasure—this must be the effect of Jian Zong’s talisman treasure!

His talisman treasure wasn’t meant to kill, but to escape.

And Jian Zong’s talisman treasure wasn’t meant to kill either—but to trap the opponent.

Just like now, even his escape talisman—the Sky‑Escape Shuttle—was locked, completely preventing his escape.

Wasn’t this exactly a natural counter?! Damn it, why was he such bad luck?!

But then he calmed down and thought differently.

He might be unlucky—but from another angle?

Dammit, his treasure can’t kill him, just trap him. If Jian Zong wants to kill him, he’d have to use some other method. And as a Foundation Establishment stage physical cultivator—was he afraid?

Not to mention he wasn’t going to passively submit!

Calm, calm—he still had a chance to turn things around.

Ji Yuan looked at the increasingly dense chains around him, then stopped trying to infuse any more energy into the Sky‑Escape Shuttle. He retracted it, holstered his Hundred‑Fish Shield in front of him, and pulled out a high-grade protective talisman seal, ready to stick it to his body at any time.

He also had the Mystery-Light Bracelet on his wrist, wore the Water Dragon Sect’s magic robe, and beneath it the bronze breastplate.

At the same time, he stuffed a handful of pills into his mouth: Recovery Spirit Pills to replenish his spiritual energy, Qi‑Blood Pills to heal his wounds.

He even swallowed numerous Detox Pills.

He truly threw every trick into play.

Outside the chains, Jian Zong looked at the shattered formation held together by the talisman treasure and finally showed a satisfied smile. He looked down at his hand, where another talisman seal appeared.

“Qiu Qianhai, if you can die beneath my talisman treasure ‘Thousandfold Chains,’ you deserve to,” he said.

As he spoke, he tossed this high-grade offensive talisman into the cramped space enclosed by the Thousandfold Chains, waiting for it to unleash havoc inside.

After a moment, the effects of the dozens of talisman seals showed, and light shimmered from within.

He continued to cast several more spells, hurling them in as well.

Amid booming rumbles, the entire mountain shook continuously.

Inside the Thousandfold Chains, the instant Jian Zong released his many talisman seals, Ji Yuan held his breath and focused all his might on activating his defensive artifacts.

The glow of talisman seals radiated from his body, layer upon layer overlapping.

He sat cross-legged within, motionless like a mountain.

With wide eyes, he watched the Hundred‑Fish Shield he had brought from Zengtou Market to the Water Dragon Sect being torn apart, the fish scales shredded into pieces.

He also watched as the protective talismans on his body burned one by one under the assault, and he quickly slapped seal after seal onto himself—seal after seal.

Yet the space was simply too small, and the lethal energy radiated back at him, compounding layer upon layer. His protective talismans couldn’t withstand it.

The Mystery‑Light Bracelet held only for an instant before cracking in two.

As he waited for the Water Dragon Sect’s magic robe to glow, the spells Jian Zong cast finally dissipated completely—he had endured another wave of attack.

He still wasn’t dead, and he wasn’t wounded.

Seeing this unfold, Jian Zong outside the talisman chains nearly popped his eyes. He had never expected this person to have so many tricks up his sleeve!

Damn, he still wouldn’t die.

Forget it. He had already used his talisman treasure. There was nothing left to hold back.

Then Jian Zong produced two water mines and, in addition, a second-grade lower-tier offensive talisman seal powerful enough to match a Foundation Establishment stage’s full-strength blow!

With these three things, he was certain that Qiu Qianhai would die!

Moreover, since the opponent had held out for so long, the talisman treasure’s effect was almost expired. If he didn’t go all out now, it might get even more troublesome later.

At that thought, he stopped hesitating.

He threw the talisman seal and the two water mines into the cramped space—and as soon as he released them, he rose his flying boat up a bit, afraid of being caught in the backlash.

“Boom!”

A deafening blast erupted, accompanied by countless sword lights rampaging within.

The nearly maxed-out talisman treasure, Thousandfold Chains, completely dissipated. Shockwaves swept the land, causing the earth to quake and mountains to tremble.

The ground sank nearly thirty feet, dust filled the air, and nothing was clearly visible anymore.

But the flow of spiritual energy was gone, and with it the aura—as Jian Zong finally exhaled in relief. It seemed this person did have limits.

Under normal circumstances, Jian Zong might have employed various means to fight him properly. But today’s timing was wrong.

And with Feng Yichen possibly arriving at any moment, he couldn’t afford to delay—so he had to use this killing method.

Seeing the dust lingering, Jian Zong didn’t wait any longer. He formed a simple wind talisman gesture, summoning a mountain breeze to disperse the dust.

As the dust gradually cleared, he discovered at its densest center the figure of someone with disheveled hair slowly standing up—

“This—how is this possible?!”

Once standing, Ji Yuan lowered his head to look. His body was drenched in blood, and nearly every inch of him was wounded. But fortunately, these were all superficial flesh wounds—Foundation Establishment stage physical cultivator bodies were tough. They might be unable to fight hard, but they sure could take a beating!

Two water mines and a second-grade talisman seal—

He actually endured them all with his Foundation Establishment body.

Even his protective artifacts were basically destroyed. If someone destroys them, then someone must repay that.

Ji Yuan casually tore off the last shred of his magic robe, revealing his blood-streaked sinewy muscles.

Now his qi and blood surged, his blood qi steaming fiercely, a violent aura spreading out.

He looked up at the stunned figure in midair, planted his legs, and suddenly leapt.

In an instant, he appeared in front of Jian Zong.

With one hand, he grabbed Jian Zong’s flying boat and violently slammed it to the ground.

The force was like holding up the sky—Jian Zong couldn’t resist even with maximum effort on the boat.

With that slam, Ji Yuan embedded the flying boat deep into the ground, then landed. By chance, he stepped on a fleeing escape light.

The light was crushed into a humanoid shape under his foot—it even happened to be stepping on Jian Zong’s forehead.

At this point Jian Zong was mentally panicking. If this was a Foundation Establishment practitioner, that might be explanation enough. But instead it was someone who hadn’t even reached peak Qi-condensation, just nine levels in Qi-condensation, a physical cultivator—

“Y‑you, who are you really?!”

Ji Yuan ignored him. He just lowered his head slightly, expressionless, and asked a single question:

“Have you—ever been beaten by a physical cultivator?!”

“Phy‑–physical cultivator?”

Jian Zong seemed to finally realize.

But Ji Yuan had already raised his right fist high—it came down forcefully.

“Crack—”

Blood and bone fragments fell and pooled everywhere.

One hour later.

A scarlet flying boat descended from the clouds; Feng Yichen stepped out. He looked over the ravaged mountainscape and approached the deep pit.

His divine sense swept back and forth across the ground. Eventually he found a shard of magic robe the size of a fingertip buried under some earth.

“Water Dragon Sect disciple—Ji Yuan or Dong Qian?”

He then floated to another spot.

If Ji Yuan had still been there, he'd realize: this was exactly the place where the blow that killed Jian Zong landed.

Feng Yichen stood where he stood, picked up a bit of dirt, infused spiritual energy, and a faint aura flickered past.

His expression turned alarmed.

“Jian Zong—dead?!”

He shot his head upwards, incredulous as he looked over the nameless mountain range. He was certain—but also couldn’t quite believe it.

Who could have expected the renowned Jian Zong of Commercial East to die beneath this nameless hill, and no one yet knew whose hand did it. Feng Yichen instinctively ruled out Ji Yuan and Dong Qian.

He didn’t think either of them had that strength.

But the fragment of magic robe he just found clearly proved that a Water Dragon Sect disciple had been here fighting.

Fine—he’d return and ask Dong Qian and the others to find out.

Then Feng Yichen revived his flying boat and soared off. Looking at the battlefield, he cast two talisman seals.

One flipped the entire mountain slope as if plowed, the other set the ground ablaze, the fire lasting on and on.

Whoever that person was—since they were a Water Dragon Sect disciple—Feng Yichen was willing to shield and cover them.

After he erased any trace of the valley, he sped the boat directly toward the Water Dragon Sect.

By the time Dong Qian returned to Hatchling Dragon Island, it was already the evening of the fifth day.

On the way, she had remembered Ji Yuan’s orders—she didn’t dare to pause for a moment, traveling at full speed nonstop.

Only after entering the vicinity of the Water Dragon Sect did she relax a little—but just a little, because Ji Yuan hadn’t returned. Junior Brother Ji was still guarding at the rear!

After returning to her residence on Hatchling Dragon Island, she became even more anxious and restless.

She wanted to go look for someone, but she didn’t know who to look for.

She also wanted to go back and check the situation, but she was terrified of running into Jian Zong again, afraid that Ji Yuan would come back and not find her, and even more afraid—of seeing Ji Yuan’s corpse.

"It’s impossible. Junior Brother Ji is even more cautious than I am. Since he volunteered to stay behind, he must have a way to survive."

This thought had just arisen, but it was quickly overwhelmed by another.

"But that’s Jian Zong. Ordinary survival methods are useless against someone like him."

Dong Qian anxiously paced back and forth in the courtyard.

After waiting for about half an hour, someone suddenly knocked on her courtyard gate.

"Knock knock knock—"

She flashed to the door and pulled it open in one swift motion.

Looking outside with delight on her face, she was disappointed to see that it wasn’t Ji Yuan.

It was Han Feiyu.

"Junior Sister Dong, you’re finally back. Where have you been these past few days?" Han Feiyu still had that ever-cheerful demeanor no matter who he was speaking to.

"I—I took on a mission and went out for a bit. Why, Brother Han, is something the matter?"

Dong Qian’s expression calmed down.

But Han Feiyu still noticed her panic, as well as her travel-worn appearance.

"It’s nothing. Since you’ve just returned, we can talk in a few days. You should get some rest first."

"Alright, I did just get back."

Dong Qian replied while blocking the doorway, clearly not intending to let Han Feiyu into the house.

She was worried that Ji Yuan might return at any moment, and she didn’t want to risk exposing his secret.

She also considered asking Han Feiyu to check the situation—but while he was strong, he was still no match for Jian Zong.

"Mm, then I’ll take my leave for now."

After waiting a moment and seeing that Dong Qian had nothing more to say, Han Feiyu bid farewell and left.

After he left, Dong Qian looked out the door once more, but saw nothing, so she had no choice but to close it again.

Until late at night, she still stayed in the courtyard, not leaving even for a moment, when she suddenly heard a faint sound at the door. She rushed to open it.

This time, she saw Ji Yuan.

Compared to before, Ji Yuan was now wearing a different robe. His face was a bit pale, but his aura had clearly changed, giving off a distinct and sharp presence.

"Junior Brother Ji—you, you finally came back."

"Hurry inside."

Dong Qian stepped aside. Ji Yuan walked in and quickly said:

"I still need to return and tend to my injuries. Let me first explain a few things to you, Senior Sister."

"Okay, go ahead, I’m listening."

Just seeing that Ji Yuan had returned alive completely put Dong Qian at ease. Everything else was secondary.

"After we split up, I used a secret technique to entangle Jian Zong for a moment, but his strength was overwhelming—I couldn’t defeat him.

So I used a secret technique to fake my death and escape."

"I’ve just made it back."

"This is the truth of what happened. No matter who asks, this is what you say."

"Alright!"

Dong Qian nodded firmly. To her, this was the truth.

"Also, I managed to narrowly escape with my life, so I’ll be going into seclusion to recover. I won’t be coming out for the next few months. You don’t need to worry. If anyone comes looking for me, you can tell them that too."

Ji Yuan was worried that the incident of killing Jian Zong might reach Feng Yichen, who might then come to confront him.

"Okay, I will."

"That’s all. I’ll be going now. Take care, Senior Sister."

With a brief cupped-fist salute, Ji Yuan summoned the Thunder Falcon in Dong Qian’s courtyard. He was prepared to rush back to Misty Island at full speed and begin his seclusion.

"Junior Brother Ji."

Dong Qian instinctively called out to Ji Yuan.

Ji Yuan, who had already leapt onto the flying mount, turned his head back. "What is it?"

Looking at his handsome face, Dong Qian felt a softness in her heart. "It’s... it’s nothing."

When they first ran into Jian Zong, Ji Yuan had shielded her behind him just like this. Later, when they saw escape was impossible, Ji Yuan gave the chance to flee to her.

Indeed, Dong Qian felt that throughout her life, no one had ever treated her like this.

Ji Yuan came, and Ji Yuan left.

Dong Qian’s previously tense and anxious mood finally calmed down. First, she enjoyed a long, comfortable bath, washing away the weariness from the journey, and then she returned to her usual gentle demeanor.

By the next morning.

Feng Yichen sent someone to deliver a message, inviting her to meet at Mountain and Water Island.

Remembering Ji Yuan’s instructions clearly, Dong Qian went.

When Feng Yichen saw Dong Qian completely unharmed, he smiled and said, "The mission was successful. I was thinking of having a chat with you and Junior Brother Ji, but I couldn’t get in touch with him."

"He was injured and went into seclusion to recover."

Dong Qian still looked a bit shaken as she spoke.

"Injured?"

Feng Yichen seemed quite surprised.

"Yes, after we lit the fire and were escaping, we ran into Jian Zong. Junior Brother Ji stayed behind to cover our retreat and was seriously injured. He returned and is now in seclusion to heal."

"What? Jian Zong?!"

Feng Yichen was visibly shocked, but after his surprise passed, he said with emotion, "For Junior Brother Ji to escape from Jian Zong’s hands already says a lot about his strength."

"Yes, he said he used some secret technique. He was gravely wounded."

"Running into Jian Zong—there’s nothing you can do in that case... It’s my fault, really. I didn’t expect Jian Zong to appear mid-way."

Feng Yichen sighed.

Dong Qian slowly shook her head. "How could this be your fault, Senior Brother Feng? No one could have predicted this."

After they finished speaking, they both fell into a brief silence. Just as Dong Qian was about to excuse herself to return and cultivate, Feng Yichen suddenly said:

"Jian Zong is dead."

"What?! Jian Zong is dead?!"

Now it was Dong Qian’s turn to be shocked. "Senior Brother Feng—you—you killed him?"

In Dong Qian’s mind, only Feng Yichen had the strength to kill Jian Zong.

"It wasn’t me. I even suspected it was you two."

Feng Yichen chuckled.

"No way. We don’t have that kind of power."

Dong Qian forced a smile. "Just being able to come back alive is already a blessing."

As Feng Yichen spoke, his gaze never left Dong Qian’s expression.

He was trying to discern something from her reaction, but from what he could tell, Dong Qian also seemed to have just found out that Jian Zong was dead.

Judging from that, it probably wasn’t Ji Yuan who did it.

Most likely, Ji Yuan’s fight with Jian Zong attracted another cultivator. After Ji Yuan fled from defeat, that cultivator ambushed Jian Zong while he was worn out and killed him.

The only mystery was—who was that person? Who had such strength?

Meanwhile, after traveling continuously for a full day, Ji Yuan finally returned to the loyal Misty Island and saw the loyal Great Toad.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on that.

Because after going all out against Jian Zong, and practicing for several days on the way back...

It seemed he had grasped the opportunity for a breakthrough.

Was it finally... the peak of the Qi Refining stage?!