At dusk, Li An finally returned to Qingyang Market.

He first disguised himself as another customer, wandering outside the shop for a long time to make sure there were no abnormalities, before returning inside.

Though he had been away for only a few months, the shop continued to run smoothly with the apprentices he had hired in charge.

Tan Qingxue had sent many letters, along with materials.

Everything Li An had asked her to look for in Liuyang River Market had been collected, and in the letter, she informed Li An not to send her Spirit Stones, as she no longer had a need for cultivation within the sect.

Li An remained silent for a long time after reading this.

He continued to maintain communication with Tan Qingxue, Wang Dazhu, and others, and regularly inquired for news at the market, keeping high vigilance against the Demon Sect.

Then he started to focus on making money and cultivating.

Previously, he was worried that too much output would attract attention from those with ill intentions, but now he realized that the Demon Sect might have already started to lay their plans, and time was running out.

Therefore, he decided to adjust the output of talismans, significantly increasing it.

Focusing primarily on the higher-priced Upper Grade Tier One talismans.

Disregarding costs, his monthly profit reached around two hundred blocks.

This level could only be achieved by the top Tier One Talisman Masters.

It was also the upper limit that could be achieved openly.

In private, every month he would sell many premium spirit talismans in the underground trade market, earning an additional fifty to sixty blocks.

One could say Li An had become a ruthless money-making machine.

He only slept two hours a day, but fortunately, the Life Nourishing Immortal Skill was extremely potent in replenishing vitality, so he didn't feel tired.

Apart from making Upper Grade Tier One spirit talismans and cultivating, he was also attempting to draw Tier Two spirit talismans.

The Soul-Calming Talisman and Thunder Shock Talisman belonged to special types which were actually not very applicable in life-or-death battles.

"At least need to make one Tier Two Lower Grade Wind Spirit Talisman, one Tier Two Lower Grade Mystic Shield Talisman, and one Bursting Talisman!"

He whispered, this was his goal.

Escape, defense, attack!

As for control-type talismans, he didn't dare hope for them yet; control-type talismans in Tier Two Lower Grade were truly premium, and with his current level, it would likely cost a fortune to make one.

Extremely uneconomical.

The cost to bear for other talismans was already very high.

Moreover, he also needed to accelerate cultivation in the Iron Tree Skill and the Cold Yin Finger.

All required money!

...

In the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

"Finally succeeded——"

Li An looked at the talisman in his hand, showing a look of relief.

Finally, two Tier Two Lower Grade Wind Spirit Talismans were made!

At the same time, his Iron Tree Skill was nearing perfection.

The toxicity of the Cold Yin Finger had also reached the level Li An desired.

Now, he could almost withstand the attack of an Upper Grade Tier One magical artifact just with his body!

And the poison on his hand could easily incapacitate a Qi Refining Stage cultivator at the seventh or eighth layer.

"It's time to go to the Cloud Illusion Mountain Range..."

He whispered, the things hidden there needed to be retrieved.

He hadn't gone there for a year, not only to avoid raising suspicion from Gusongxi and others but also mainly because, without Gu Hong by his side, he lacked support.

Wandering in the martial world alone still posed risks.

Now with the Tier Two Lower Grade Wind Spirit Talisman, his survival ability was greatly enhanced.

He stealthily left the market.

Two months later, he retrieved the storage bag from the Cloud Illusion Mountain Range and returned to the front of the Moon Tempering Valley.

Every half a year for the past three years, he would come here once to recharge the Tier Two array in the valley with Spirit Stones. Each time it was quite an expense, and even though Li An was making money like mad, he was still somewhat strapped for cash.

But he wasn't stingy; this money was well spent as it gave him a stable place for closed-door cultivation.

Moreover, he made slight adjustments to the activation method of the Tier Two array. If Gusongxi and his disciples returned, they could indeed activate the array, but would leave traces that Li An could observe from outside.

He carefully checked it over, confirming no one had entered, and then activated the array to enter the valley.

Closing the great array, he entered the closed-door cultivation chamber within.

Li An opened the storage bag and looked at the Primordial Soul Beast's body inside, feeling a little excited!

This item was extremely important to him...

The Primordial Soul Beast was naturally endowed with extremely strong soul power and divine sense, which could even crush a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator.

Moreover, Li An knew that if a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator could obtain the Primordial Soul Beast Crystal Core, it was possible to foster divine sense!

You should know, generally only Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators can possess divine sense.

The divine sense has many wonderful uses; just a sweep can sense the surrounding environment, much more precise than vision or hearing.

With this item, sensing opponents during battle, scouting the environment, etc., would all be much easier.

Yet, very few would use a Primordial Soul Beast Crystal Core to condense divine sense for a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator because it was too wasteful; the Primordial Soul Beast itself was invaluable and could be refined into Small Returning Pills coveted even by Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators, and if pure enough, it could be used as material for Foundation Establishment Pills...

But Li An didn't see it that way. Condensing divine sense in advance could, first, increase the life-preserving ability at the Qi Refining stage, and secondly, be greatly beneficial when breaking through to Foundation Establishment.

Moreover, he knew that some highly privileged geniuses would choose to condense divine sense during the Qi Refining Stage.

Ultimately, the ordinary people couldn't do this simply due to a lack of vision and resources.

Now, Li An was not lacking in understanding, and furthermore, he had obtained the Purple Soul Herbs needed to make the Foundation Establishment Pill, and he had no concern about lifespan, so the Crystal Core of the Primordial Soul Beast could be used for this purpose.

Busy with the Starbreeze Dagger the entire night, Li An finally finished dissecting the Primordial Soul Beast's body.

The tortoiseshell and horns were excellent materials for crafting Tier Two magical artifacts.

The tortoiseshell was so impenetrable that even the Starbreeze Dagger could barely leave a scratch on it, making it suitable for refining defense-type magical artifacts, while the horns contained soul power of the Primordial Soul Beast, making them suitable for crafting soul-attacking magical artifacts.

Even the meat of the Primordial Soul Beast was an extremely valuable Spiritual Food.

And seeing the pure crystal core extracted from the beast's abdomen, Li An was even more delighted.

The crystal core was the size of a fist, without the slightest impurity, crystal clear and perfectly round.

Li An carefully used the dagger to divide the crystal core into four parts.

He believed that with his experience, one part was enough to condense divine sense.

If everything went well, the remaining ones...

Would be for Gu Hong.

Li An had a steadfast Dao Heart but was not indifferent.

The reason for not telling Gu Hong about obtaining the crystal core was that he didn't want her to learn his secret.

These things couldn't be disclosed even to a soulmate sharing life and death.

But Gu Hong's sincerity was clear to him, and he was naturally not stingy with repayment.

He had set up multiple mental defenses but would not refuse genuine sincerity.

Moreover, when giving Gu Hong the crystal core in the future, he would still need to think of a way to ensure she wouldn't know its origin.

At that time, he had already seen that Gusongxi had another twenty or thirty years of life left, so getting the crystal core later would not delay in extending their life.

...

Grasping a portion of the crystal core, Li An began to meditate.

Completely calming down, concentrating all his senses on the crystal core.

Guiding the power within the crystal core into his body, like a wisp of air, like a strand of mist, all his focus concentrated solely on it...

...

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.