"Sure enough..." Ding Yan retracted his spiritual awareness and said.
During the six months of seclusion, Ding Yan carefully studied the process of tribulation in this world and discovered that all cultivators transformed themselves by absorbing the heavenly tribulation during the thunder tribulation. This kind of transformation, like a ladder, progresses step by step, constantly moving upwards.
In the world Ding Yan lived in in his previous life, cultivators below the tribulation period did not have heavenly tribulations. Only when their cultivation reached the tribulation period would they trigger the heavenly tribulation.
In this world, however, each step a cultivator takes invites the baptism of heavenly tribulations, one after another, until ascension. If we were to use a ladder as a metaphor, the method of cultivation in Ding Yan's previous life was like a high wall; once overcome, one would become an immortal! In contrast, the cultivation system in this world is like a ladder, with each step forward being immensely difficult. But compared to the cultivation method in Ding Yan's previous life, the likelihood of becoming an immortal in this world's cultivation system is clearly greater.
Before secluding himself, Ding Yan had once thought that the tiger demon's strength was comparable to the Qi Refinement stage in his original world, a level at which spiritual wisdom should not have been generated. Yet the tiger demon possessed intelligence. Upon further reflection, he realized that something seemed lacking. Now, after investigating, he finally understood what was missing from the tiger demon’s intelligence.
Compared to the transformed demon cultivators he encountered in his previous life, the tiger demon clearly had more animalistic traits and simpler thoughts relative to humans. The only explanation was that the demon beasts in this world, like the cultivators, also cultivated step by step. From this, Ding Yan speculated that the demon beasts in this world also faced numerous tribulations on their cultivation path.
"I originally wanted to kill you, but considering your difficult cultivation, I will only seal you for a month. After a month, the runic script on your body will automatically dissipate, and then you will be able to regain your freedom." Ding Yan tapped the tiger demon's head and stood up. "However, if I catch you harming the villagers again, there will be no mercy."
With that, Ding Yan left without paying any attention to the tiger demon.
Inside the small village, it was as calm as it was six months ago.
As Ding Yan descended the mountain, he saw Xu Zhengyang and his son waiting anxiously at the village entrance.
"Brother Ding, you've finally come down. If you had waited any longer, I would have gone back to redeem you myself," Xu Zhengyang said, hurrying over to inspect Ding Yan for injuries.
Though Xu Zhengyang wanted to return home, he was willing to use himself as a ransom for Ding Yan. Compared to the simple-hearted villagers, the outside world was like a massive vat, extremely corrupt.
Ding Yan had been cultivating for nearly a thousand years, counting his previous life. During this time, he had lived in a world that mortals saw as celestial, seemingly high and mighty but actually as precarious as walking on thin ice, filled with intrigue and calculations. Even after transitioning to a new life, the memories he had encountered were no different; there was no pure land anywhere.
"You don't need to worry, Mr. Xu. I have already subdued the tiger demon, so he won't descend the mountain again in the future," Ding Yan said with emotion.
"Uncle Ding, you subdued that tiger demon!" A young man ran up to Ding Yan, looking at him with admiration.
Ding Yan was taken aback, only recovering after a while. The young man was called Gou'er.
When he first entered the village, Gou'er was only nine years old. At the time, Gou'er was still a child. Unknowingly, six years had passed, and the once young Gou'er had grown into a fifteen-year-old young man. At this age, in the small village, he could build a family and establish himself in just another year.
"Has it really been six years..." Ding Yan patted Gou'er on the head and smiled, not saying anything.
"Brother Ding, come on, let's go to my house and have a couple of drinks. You brewed that wine for us, and it's been sitting untouched at home during my half-year up on the mountain," Xu Zhengyang urged, eager for company.
...
After nightfall.
Ding Yan bid farewell to the hospitable Xu Zhengyang's family and returned to his simple thatched hut.
Having been away for six months, the hut was covered in dust, and some spiders and insects were active in the corners. Ding Yan frowned, waved his sleeve, and a gentle breeze flew out from his cuff, carrying away the dust and insects outside the window.
This was not a supernatural ability, but rather a form of utilizing power. In his previous life, Ding Yan had cultivated to the pinnacle of the Tribulation Crossing stage for over a thousand years, making such simple use of power effortless for him.
After cleaning the house, Ding Yan went over to the fire stove and sat down.
The stove looked the same as when he left, with no change in temperature. As for the pot on the stove, it had long turned to molten iron, flowing down the stove's sides.
"Iron is iron after all. Even sealed underground, ordinary iron cannot withstand the temperature of sealed lava," Ding Yan said. As he spoke, he extended his sleeve.
A pile of medicinal ingredients flew out from his sleeve and landed to the side.
This ability to store items in his sleeve was something Ding Yan had discovered in an ancient ruin. It was said to be modeled after an ancient power called the 'Qiankun Sleeve'. After obtaining this ability, Ding Yan had practiced it for nearly a hundred years, only to realize that it was not as powerful as he had imagined. At best, it was merely a small spell similar to a storage bag. It was almost impossible to reach the extent of grabbing an opponent.
Because of his cultivation in his previous life, Ding Yan was able to use this ability easily after being reborn. However, its power was much weaker compared to his previous life, as his current strength was vastly inferior.
Ding Yan reached out, took out a primary medicinal ingredient from the pile, and consecutively imprinted a series of complex handprints on the stove.
The stove trembled slightly, and suddenly, a red flame burst out from it. A strong fire element rose from the stove, filling the entire thatched hut. Under the surging fire, the chill of the night was immediately dispelled, and the grass on the roof of the hut withered instantly.
"Suppressed for half a year, the fire is even fiercer now," Ding Yan wrinkled his brow.
For an alchemist, controlling the heat was the most difficult thing. Sometimes it required burning the impurities from the medicinal ingredients with fierce heat, and sometimes nurturing the spiritual energy within the medicinal ingredients with gentle heat. Many cultivators would not engage in alchemy until they could control spiritual fire. Though the earth fire was robust, it was difficult to control, and carelessness could easily destroy the medicinal ingredients.
Ding Yan closed his eyes, his consciousness spreading out. With a flick of his right hand, the main medicine flew out and landed above the furnace.
The fire on the ground burned. The medicinal materials instantly turned into a light blue liquid, enveloped by Ding Yan's elemental force to form a semi-transparent small sphere, emitting a medicinal fragrance.
Even though it was difficult to control the ground fire, for Ding Yan, a former tribulation-crossing cultivator, it was a negligible problem. With over a thousand years of cultivation, his experiences and knowledge persisted despite his rebirth.
Time passed by minute by minute. At midnight, the ground fire reached its peak, the red flames shooting out of the furnace like a roaring beast, attempting to incinerate the liquid above it.
"Go!" Ding Yan's eyes snapped open, and with a wave of his right hand, the surrounding prepared medicines flew and surrounded the liquid sphere formed by the main medicine.
High temperature burned everything into liquid. After about an hour or so, the liquid from the prepared medicines merged into the main medicine.
After so much preparation, the sphere began to change color and emit a strong elixir fragrance.
"Is it going to form an elixir?" Ding Yan observed the elixir above the furnace and spoke.
With Ding Yan's skill, making this kind of elixir would naturally not be wasteful. According to his estimate, a cultivator at the fifth level of qi cultivation would be enough to refine the Base-Building Pill, whereas he was currently at the ninth level of qi cultivation, making the process particularly easy.