By the time evening fell, Li An finally returned to market.
First, he disguised himself as an ordinary customer, loitering around the shop for a long while. Only after confirming that nothing seemed out of the ordinary did he quietly slip back inside.
Though he'd been away for a few months, the store was still running smoothly under the care of the apprentice he had hired.
Several letters and materials had arrived from Tan Qingxue.
Everything Li An had asked her to find in Liuyang River Market, she had gathered and sent. In her letter, she mentioned that he didn’t need to send her any Spirit Stones—now that she was no longer cultivated within the sect, she had no further need for them.
Li An sat silently after reading the letter.
He maintained regular contact with Tan Qingxue, Wang Dazhu, and others while also continuing to monitor rumors and news around the market—keeping a particularly close eye on the activities of the Demonic Sect.
Then he buried himself in work—earning money and cultivating.
In the past, he’d worried that producing too many talismans might attract the wrong attention. But now, he believed the Demonic Sect had already begun laying its plans, and time was short.
So he adjusted his output—significantly increasing it.
He focused mainly on the more profitable High-Grade First Rank talismans.
After deducting costs, he was earning nearly two hundred Spirit Stones in net profit per month.
This level of income was on par with the best First Rank talisman masters—and it was the visible limit for what one could publicly achieve.
Privately, he made even more.
Each month, he visited the underground market to sell his finest talismans, which brought in an additional fifty to sixty Spirit Stones.
In short—Li An had become a relentless money-making machine.
He only slept two hours a day, but thanks to the Life-Nurturing Immortal Forging Art, his vitality remained high, and he never felt exhausted.
Besides refining High-Grade First Rank talismans and cultivating, he had also begun attempting to draw Second Rank talismans.
The Soul Suppression Talisman and Thunderstrike Talisman were special types and not very practical in direct combat or daily survival.
“At the very least,” he muttered to himself, “I need to produce one Second Rank Low-Grade Wind Spirit Talisman, one Second Rank Low-Grade Mystic Barrier Talisman, and one Explosive Talisman!”
Escape, defense, and offense.
As for control-type talismans, he didn’t dare consider them for now. Even within the Second Rank Low-Grade category, such talismans were elite—crafting them would require astronomical resources far beyond his means.
And the other talismans were already expensive enough to make.
He also had to continue pushing his training in Ironwood Art and Cold Yin Finger.
Everything required Spirit Stones.
Three years passed in a flash.
"Finally… it’s done."
Li An looked at the talisman in his hand, a rare smile of satisfaction appearing on his face.
He had finally succeeded in refining two Second Rank Low-Grade Wind Spirit Talismans.
At the same time, his Ironwood Art was nearing mastery, and the toxicity of his Cold Yin Finger had reached the level he’d aimed for.
With just his physical body alone, he could now withstand attacks from High-Grade First Rank magic tools.
As for his poison—it was potent enough to easily cripple cultivators at the Seventh or Eighth Layer of Qi Refining.
“It’s time to head back to the Cloud Mirage Mountains...”
He murmured to himself. The things he had hidden there—he could finally retrieve them.
He had waited a year before going back, not just to avoid raising suspicion from Gu Songxi and others, but also because he lacked a safety net without Gu Hong by his side.
Wandering the cultivation world alone was always a risk.
But now, with his newly forged Wind Spirit Talismans, his survivability had drastically improved.
He quietly left the market.
Two months later, Li An returned from the Cloud Mirage Mountains with the storage pouch in hand and stood once again at the entrance of Tempered Moon Valley.
For the past three years, he had visited the valley every six months to renew the Spirit Stones powering the Second Rank array. Each visit was a significant expense. Despite earning frantically, Li An often found himself stretched thin.
Still, he never hesitated—it was worth it.
With this place, he had a secure location for closed-door cultivation.
He had also made slight adjustments to the array’s activation mechanism. If Gu Songxi and Gu Hong ever returned, they could still open it, but doing so would leave clear traces. Li An would be able to detect their presence from outside.
After carefully checking the area and confirming no signs of intrusion, he activated the array and entered the valley.
He shut the barrier behind him and stepped into the secluded cultivation chamber.
Opening the storage pouch, he gazed at the corpse of the Soulcore Beast inside, his heart pounding with excitement.
To him, this was an invaluable treasure.
Soulcore Beasts were born with incredibly powerful spiritual and soul energy, often strong enough to overwhelm even Foundation Establishment cultivators.
More importantly, Li An knew this:
If a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator could acquire a Soulcore Beast’s core, they might be able to awaken Divine Sense.
Divine Sense was something only Foundation Establishment cultivators typically possessed.
Its utility was immeasurable—a simple sweep of Divine Sense could scan an area with far more accuracy than sight or hearing. In battle, it allowed for quicker responses and a better grasp of one’s surroundings.
However, very few ever used a Soulcore Beast’s core to help a Qi Refining cultivator develop Divine Sense. It was seen as an outrageous waste. A Soulcore Beast's body could be used to craft pills that even Foundation Establishment cultivators craved—and if the core was pure enough, it could even be used to refine Foundation Establishment Pills.
But Li An didn’t care about that.
To awaken Divine Sense early would drastically improve his survival chances. It would also provide a massive edge when the time came to break through to Foundation Establishment.
Moreover, he knew that geniuses from elite backgrounds often awakened Divine Sense while still at the Qi Refining stage.
In the end, the only difference between the elite and the ordinary was knowledge and resources.
Li An lacked neither.
He already had the Purple Soul Grass needed for Foundation Establishment Pills, and he wasn’t pressed for time due to any lifespan concerns.
That meant the Soulcore Beast’s core could be used for this purpose.
He worked tirelessly all night, using his Star Glow Dagger to dissect the Soulcore Beast’s body.
The shell and horn were top-tier materials for crafting Second Rank artifacts.
The shell was nearly indestructible—even the Star Glow Dagger could barely scratch it. It was ideal for defensive artifacts. The horn, rich with spiritual energy, could be used to craft soul-attacking magic tools.
Even the meat of the Soulcore Beast was an exquisite spiritual delicacy.
But what excited Li An most… was the pristine, glowing core extracted from the beast’s abdomen.
Roughly the size of a clenched fist, it was crystal-clear, flawless, and perfectly round.
Li An carefully used his dagger to divide the core into four equal parts.
He believed that based on his current experience, just one portion would be enough to awaken Divine Sense.
And if everything went smoothly… the rest—
He would give it to Gu Hong.
Li An’s heart was resolute, but he wasn’t emotionless.
The reason he hadn’t told Gu Hong about obtaining the core was because he didn’t want her to know his secrets.
Even someone you’d fought and bled beside—someone you trusted with your life—couldn’t be told everything.
But Gu Hong’s sincerity hadn’t gone unnoticed. Li An would not be stingy in return.
He guarded his heart—but he would never reject true kindness.
Still, when he gave the core to Gu Hong, he needed a good excuse. He couldn’t let her learn where it had come from.
Based on what he observed, Gu Songxi had another twenty to thirty years of life left. Even if he received the core a little later, it wouldn’t affect his chances of extending his lifespan.
Clutching a piece of the core, Li An sat down and began to meditate.
He stilled his heart, channeling all focus toward the energy radiating from the crystal.
He guided the soul energy into his body—like a mist, like a vapor—and concentrated his spirit on drawing it inward...
(End of Chapter)