Wang Dazhu and Zhao Xianchuan took their leave one after another.
Chen Cheng, overjoyed with the Foundation Establishment Pill in hand, also prepared to leave. But Mu Qingwan said, “Husband, go on ahead. I have a few words to say to Fellow Daoist Li.”
Chen Cheng frowned slightly but turned to leave without argument.
Only Mu Qingwan and Li An were left in the room.
Li An calmly looked at Mu Qingwan, whose belly was clearly swollen with child.
Mu Qingwan gently placed her slender jade hand on her bulging stomach, then struggled to rise and bowed to Li An with difficulty.
“Fellow Daoist Mu, there's no need for such courtesy. You’ll put me to shame,” Li An said.
But Mu Qingwan’s eyes held a complicated look, tinged with deep remorse. “Fellow Daoist Li, regarding what happened this time... My husband and I owe you an apology.”
“To be honest, Fellow Daoist Li, back when my husband married me, it was because he intended to use me as a Furnace to improve his spiritual roots.”
She suddenly brought this up, and Li An simply listened in silence.
“My husband may be Elder Yu Hui’s grandson, but his spiritual roots were only slightly better than those of a mixed root—barely a low-grade Metal Root. Over the years we’ve been married, his roots did slowly improve. They’ve even begun approaching the level of a Mid-Grade Yellow Root.”
As she spoke, her beautiful eyes seemed to flash with gratitude. “But at that point, he stopped. He told me everything about his roots…”
“If he had been selfish, I might already be dead, and his roots would have advanced further…”
“That was when I truly realized how deeply he loved me.”
“But later, he failed twice in attempting Foundation Establishment, and I began to feel immense guilt. If he hadn’t cared for me so much, and had continued improving his roots, breaking through would not have been so difficult.”
Her voice choked up a little. “Fellow Daoist Li, I’m sure you’ve noticed—my husband is showing signs of decline. His qi and blood are deteriorating. If he can’t break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, his lifespan will likely be much shorter than most cultivators—he may not even live to be a hundred.”
“When that time comes, the child and I will truly be left alone, with no one to rely on…”
Li An finally spoke, “Fellow Daoist Chen is blessed. I’m sure he’ll achieve Foundation Establishment.”
Mu Qingwan looked at him with a deep, wistful gaze. “Fellow Daoist Li, the reason I’m telling you all this… is to ask that you don’t hold a grudge against Chen Cheng.”
“For my sake, and for the sake of the child in my womb… please, don’t hold it against him.”
Li An suddenly said, “Why talk of grudges, Fellow Daoist Mu? You think too highly of me. My aptitude is worse than that of Fellow Daoist Chen. In this lifetime, it’s doubtful I’ll even reach the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining, let alone achieve Foundation Establishment…”
“Besides, I’m going back to Bright Sun Market District. I probably won’t return to the inner sect again.”
Mu Qingwan was momentarily stunned but then gave a soft sigh.
“Fellow Daoist Li, please don’t blame me for being heartless. If your beloved’s life were on the line, and I held the one thing that could save her… perhaps you would have made the same choice I did.”
With that, she finally turned and left.
Everyone had now departed.
Li An’s expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, a trace of cold mockery surfaced in his heart.
"Don’t hold a grudge," she said. Hah, this was just the gesture of someone in a higher position toward someone beneath them.
So what if the love story between Chen Cheng and Mu Qingwan was touching? So what if her words were sweet?
Because she had a story, because she had someone she loved, she had the right to seize another’s opportunity—just to give Chen Cheng one more slim chance.
But had anyone ever cared about what Li An loved or desired?
The dreams of the weak weren’t worth a damn. The strong could strip them away with a single word.
That was the cold, hard truth.
“Yu Hui, Chen Cheng…”
He silently spoke their names in his heart and remembered them.
Yu Hui was merely a Fake Core cultivator. She probably only had a few decades left to live. He could outlive her just by enduring.
…
Li An spent a few more days recovering in the sect. During that time, he kept to his room, refusing all visitors.
The matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill had spread throughout the sect, and the rumors naturally painted it as a fortunate event—how Li An had a deep friendship with the Mu couple, and they had exchanged favors with a simple trade.
On the surface, no traces of coercion from Yu Hui remained.
This was her way—she only had to make a few remarks, and her juniors would handle the rest.
On the third day, Li An bid farewell to the sect.
He was hailed as the hero who had slain the Horse Face of Death. The sect earnestly tried to retain him, even offering to make him a outer disciple, but Li An politely declined, saying he wished only to grow old together with Tan Qingxue in the market district.
The sect then arranged for someone to escort him back to Bright Sun Market District.
…
Over the past ten days, Bright Sun Market District had already been rebuilt.
The collapsed buildings now stood tall once again—more lively than ever.
The Horse Face of Death, who had plagued the area for years, had perished here, bringing newfound fame to the district. The number of visitors soared, and there was even a growing sense that it might surpass the other two districts to become the top market under the Clear Sun Sect.
Li An’s return stirred up quite the buzz.
“That Black-Hearted Talisman Master is incredible…”
“What do you mean, Black-Hearted Talisman Master? He’s the Demon-Slaying Hero!”
“Master Li is unbeatable!”
Many people shouted excitedly.
Li An only smiled and cupped his fists to them, saying a few polite words about being lucky, then returned to the talisman shop.
The talisman shop had also been rebuilt—now twice its original size. The signboard had been changed as well. What once read “Clear Sun Talismans” now read “Clear Sun Li An Talismans.”
This surprised Li An.
“Li Lang, you’re finally back!”
Tan Qingxue rushed out to greet him, tears of joy in her eyes as she threw herself into his arms. “I thought I’d never see you again…”
Li An gently patted her shoulder, and the two of them naturally talked at length.
It turned out that after Xu Qiuhui had taken Tan Qingxue away that day, she had settled her down dozens of miles away from the market and forbidden her from leaving. Only after the battle ended had she rushed back.
Li An didn’t care to ask whether it was truly Xu Qiuhui who had held her back or if she had chosen to stay there herself.
It didn’t matter.
Having lived two lives, he knew human nature couldn’t withstand much testing.
Husbands and wives were like birds of the same forest—when disaster struck, they flew their separate ways. Living and dying together was often just a beautiful illusion.
“Li Lang, your name has spread throughout the market district. Everyone insisted we put your name on the shop. Even the new Foundation Establishment expert stationed here, Zhang Zhong, said it was a good idea—that it would showcase your heroic deeds to the world… You don’t mind, do you?”
Tan Qingxue’s tears had dried. As she spoke, her face glowed with pride. Li An’s fame greatly satisfied her vanity.
“It’s fine.”
Li An didn’t mind at all. In fact, it helped clear his name as the Black-Hearted Talisman Master and would be good for business.
“Li Lang, I heard all about what happened in the sect. You didn’t want to stay and instead chose to spend your life with me here… I truly have nothing with which to repay you.”
As she spoke, she suddenly knelt gently at his knees. Looking up at him with worship and deep affection in her eyes, her beautiful, mature face bloomed like a peach blossom.
Then, she lowered her head.
…
In the blink of an eye,
A year passed.
In that year, Li An finally broke through to the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining!
Even before the great battle, he had already been at the peak of the Fifth Layer. And it still took him a whole year to break through.
Afterward, he spent two more years consolidating his cultivation.
In the third year—
“The Flesh Training part of the Iron Tree Art is complete!”
Li An was quite pleased.
At present, he had achieved Iron Skin and Silver Flesh. His body alone could withstand the strike of a First Mid-Grade Magical Artifact.
The next step was Bone Training!
That day, he finally walked out of the talisman shop.
For the past three years, Li An had rarely gone out. The fervor of the great battle had gradually faded over time.
Though many people still recognized him when he went out, he no longer drew the crowds he once had.
After all, in the world of cultivation, new events happened every day. Li An had merely been a momentary sensation.
He strolled about casually, visiting several magical treasure shops, purchasing the "Molten Gold Liquid" he needed. This was an essential item for the Bone Training stage and quite rare. Even though he had asked several shops to search for it three years ago, he had only managed to buy about fifty jin.
It cost nearly a thousand spirit stones!
The expense pained him deeply. The path of body cultivation was difficult precisely because of the cost of refining materials!
Many of the items were too rare—and extremely expensive.
The later stages only got worse.
Still, Li An didn’t intend to be stingy. The body was the foundation of cultivation. In fact, during that battle three years ago, if not for his body being tougher than most and his life seed assisting him, the Horse Face of Death’s palm strike might not have knocked him out—but killed him outright!
As dusk fell and the market quieted down, Li An finally found a secluded place, activated his Yin-Yang Demonic Qi, altered his appearance, and quickly arrived at the ancient well on the edge of the market!
For three years, to avoid attracting attention, he had never visited it once. Today, he had finally come to retrieve it!
…
(End of Chapter)