At dusk, Li An finally returned to the Spirit Talisman Shop.

As he had expected, despite the reconstruction of the market, the ancient well he chose was indeed very hidden, and his storage bag remained untouched.

In the dead of night, he took stock.

Currently, just in terms of spirit medicines, he already had a Second Grade Glowing Lotus, a Second Grade Purple Soul Herbs, and two Second Grade Thousand Spirit Vines!

"Just two more spirit medicines, and I can gather all the ingredients for the Foundation Establishment Pill!"

He felt quite gratified!

This was also the reason he was willing to give away the one Foundation Establishment Pill from the sect.

"I'm only at the sixth layer of Qi Refining right now; it's still decades until Foundation Establishment... I'll take it slowly."

He wasn't in a hurry.

The only thing worrying him now was the possible invasion of the Profound Yang Sect by the Demon Sect.

After all, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the Profound Yang Sect might really have fallen for the Life-taking Horse-Faced's trap.

If Life-taking Horse-Faced had truly infiltrated the Profound Yang Sect, then its plot would be obvious!

In this regard, he had always prepared for the worst mentally.

"The Profound Yang Sect, after all, is deeply rooted. It's impossible for the Demon Sect to shake the Profound Yang Sect quietly, so there will definitely be some unusual movement before they act... So, one hand on the situation of the Demon Sect within Great Li, and the other on the news within the sect!"

"If anything abnormal happens, depart immediately!"

He made a decision.

"The days of peace may be few, I need to cultivate diligently..."

"The Thunderbolt Palm, it's also a good cultivation technique..."

He took out a scroll of cultivation technique.

It was the Yellow Rank High Grade cultivation technique rewarded by the sect.

This cultivation technique was upper grade within the Profound Yang Sect; usually, only elders could consult it. If Li An hadn't killed Life-taking Horse-Faced, he would never have gotten such a thing in his lifetime at the sect.

This level of cultivation technique, Li An also mastered several others, not much different from Thunderbolt Palm, but Thunderbolt Palm had an advantage: after cultivation, it could be openly used!

"First cultivate the 'Thunderbolt Palm,' then the 'Cold Yin Finger'..."

The Cold Yin Finger was another Yellow Rank High Grade technique he mastered, with properties diametrically opposed to the Thunderbolt Palm.

Thunderbolt Palm was fierce and violent, while Cold Yin Finger was insidious and sinister!

The greatest benefit of Cold Yin Finger was that it could also refine the Cold Yin Poison!

Li An chose this with intention; when facing opponents, he displayed the masculine and fierce Thunderbolt Palm. The enemies would certainly think he followed the yang path, who would think he could cultivate a diametrically opposite yin and poisonous skill?

Of course, the difficulty of cultivating this way would be great, ordinary cultivators would likely be exhausted mentally and achieve little.

But Li An possessed extraordinary spiritual power!

Immediately, Li An began practicing the Thunderbolt Palm.

"The Thunderbolt Palm consists of thirteen styles, each fiercer than the last, the difficulty of cultivation is not small..."

The first half of the night almost passed, yet Li An had only become familiar with the patterns of the palm technique, but still hadn't grasped the method of exertion.

Feeling tired, he didn't continue with Thunderbolt Palm, but instead moved to the wooden barrel and poured in fifty pounds of Melted Gold Liquid.

He stripped off completely and stepped in.

He began operating the Iron Tree Skill.

"Hiss—"

Even with his hardened silver flesh, the pain made him grit his teeth!

The Melted Gold Liquid seeped into his skin, through his flesh, and directly to his bones, which immediately felt like they were being pierced by needles.

...

Five years passed in the market life.

This year, Li An was already fifty-four years old.

He remained at the sixth layer of Qi Refining, yet after six years of hard cultivation, he had mastered five styles of Thunderbolt Palm, and three fingers of Cold Yin Finger.

"Golden Bone" had achieved small success.

At the same time, his talisman painting skills had further improved; with First Grade Upper Grade talismans, he could create them almost at will.

"If only my cultivation was sufficient, I could try for Second Tier talismans..."

He couldn't help but sigh regretfully.

Creating talismans required the cooperation of spiritual Qi and spiritual power; even though he cultivated the Life Nourishing Immortal Skill and his own spiritual Qi was far purer than others, attempting to inscribe Tier Two runes with mid-stage Qi Refining Qi was still extremely difficult.

He would at least have to reach late-stage Qi Refining to make an attempt.

"Li Lang,"

Tan Qingxue entered, eight years had passed, and there were already faint wrinkles on her face.

These years, she had taken a Beauty Pill, but it only delayed aging. She was nearly sixty, and the marks of time were hard to erase.

The once delicate and lively symbol hall beauty was now a mature lady; though her beauty persisted, it showed signs of fading.

"Qiu Hui has sent another letter, urging me to return to the sect."

As she served a bowl of spirit rice porridge to Li An, there was a touch of melancholy in her eyes.

"It's a good thing, you should go back."

Li An picked up the warm porridge and took a sip.

After Xu Qiuhui had established her foundation, she naturally had influence in the sect, making it easy to summon Tan Qingxue back.

Li An had always known about this matter. Initially, considering the future dangers of the sect, he had subtly tried to dissuade Tan Qingxue.

But Tan Qingxue's heart seemed to grow more resolute, unwilling to remain in Qingyang Market.

Therefore, he did not further hinder her.

Tan Qingxue looked at the man in front of her, whom she had known for decades. After all these years, he was still so young, his appearance hardly changed.

His expression remained as serene as ever, as if he cared for nothing.

"Li Lang, I'm almost sixty. If I don't have children now, I'll never have them in this life..."

There seemed to be a hint of pleading in her eyes as she looked at Li An.

"I'm sorry."

Li An finished his porridge, put down the bowl, and merely said these words.

Sadness and sorrow appeared in Tan Qingxue's eyes, "You hate me, don't you? Hate me for not saving you in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range back then, hate me for leaving you eight years ago."

"You don't love me, you love Sister Qiu Hui..."

Li An suddenly said, "Qingxue."

He gazed into Tan Qingxue's eyes, "I don't hate you."

"Nor have I ever loved her."

"Truly."

Tan Qingxue also looked into Li An's eyes. After so many years, she suddenly felt she saw sincerity in his eyes for the first time.

Her heart was incredibly complex, standing silently for a long time. She suddenly stepped forward, hugged Li An, and kissed his forehead.

"Li Lang, I'm leaving."

"I understand now, more than anything else this time."

"I hope that when you ascend higher on the immortal path, you'll remember that a woman named Qingxue once accompanied you."

After saying this, she turned and left.

The next morning, Li An quietly folded her daily clothes along with a brand new high-tier talisman brush, a piece of soft armor for protection, and a pair of cloud boots, placing them all in a bag.

These three items were magical artifacts he had carefully selected in the market, costing him sixteen hundred spirit stones.

"Be cautious after returning, I'll write to you often."

Handing the bag to Tan Qingxue, Li An advised.

Tan Qingxue took the bag, placed it into her storage pouch, and standing outside the Spirit Talisman Shop, she suddenly smiled sweetly, saying:

"Farewell, Junior Brother Li."

This morning, she had put on light makeup and wore the most beautiful dress, just as years ago.

It seemed she wanted Li An to see her most beautiful self before parting.

She turned and left, disappearing into the crowd.

...

Watching Tan Qingxue's figure disappear in the crowd on the street, Li An turned calmly to meticulously clean the Spirit Talisman Shop, placing the spirit talismans for sale today, just as usual.

...

In the days that followed, he wrote to Tan Qingxue two or three times a month, maintaining frequent contact.

In the letters, he would inquire about many recent matters of the sect, and Tan Qingxue answered carefully.

For now, the sect remained stable.

But Li An's worries grew deeper; it's just that the cultivation of the Life Nourishing Immortal Skill was indeed slow and could not be forced, so he had to diligently practice the Iron Tree Skill, Thunderbolt Palm, Cold Yin Finger, and others.

In the blink of an eye, another five years had passed.

Li An was already fifty-nine years old, only a step away from the sixty-year threshold.

Almost all of his peers had families and careers, but Li An was alone, seemingly destined for solitude in his old age, and at his age, it was somewhat late to have children.

But Li An remained steady, with no ripples in his heart, and his cultivation reached the sixth layer of Qi Refining in perfection, ready to break through to the late stage of Qi Refining.

On this day, he was in his room, cultivating the Cold Yin Finger.

All ten fingers were immersed in a blue medicinal liquid, and the poison seeped into his skin and bones; soon, the small basin of poison water became exceedingly clear.

"The Cold Yin Finger has reached a minor achievement!"

He was quite pleased.

"Talisman Master Li, Talisman Master Li... Someone is looking for you outside!"

At this moment, the shop apprentice he had hired knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" Li An opened the door, puzzled.

"It's a female guest, she insists on seeing you."

Li An was suspicious, instantly grabbing a dozen spirit talismans, ready to blast them if the situation was not right.

But when he saw the visitor in the store, he was instantly somewhat surprised.

The visitor was none other than Gu Hong, whom he had saved over a decade ago!

"Talisman Master Li, it's been years!"

Gu Hong smiled faintly, her appearance had not aged, and her aura was even more impressive...

She had successfully reached Foundation Establishment!

...

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