Chapter 39: Bidding Farewell to an Old Friend

"Welcome back, Senior Li, to your glorious return home!"

As the three figures high in the sky drew closer and closer, Yan Zongsheng led the entire clan in a deep, respectful bow of welcome.

Back then, Li Ji'an had neither taken the Yan surname nor accepted the clan's stipends. It was solely due to the lingering prestige and grace of his late father that Yan Zongsheng had managed to persuade the clan elders to grant him a remote, humble courtyard where he could barely scrape by with his cultivation.

As the patriarch, Yan Zongsheng could only do so much in that matter; after all, the Yan family was not his alone to command.

Even during the decade when Yan Qingwan, Yan Kongyi, and Yan Hongsheng showed special care and favor toward Li Ji'an, there had been quite a few murmurs of discontent among the clan members.

Therefore, he could not brazenly utter flattering words of "welcome home" today.

High in the sky, Li Ji'an looked down at the bowing crowd below and gave a slight wave of his hand. "There is no need for such elaborate courtesy, everyone."

Accompanied only by Yan Qingwan and Yan Zongsheng, Li Ji'an then proceeded to the courtyard of Yan Kongyi—the very place where he had once learned the art of talisman making.

"Great Elder!" Yan Kongyi's entire left side was utterly ruined. Relying solely on medicinal pills to prolong his breath, his aura and magical power were nearing exhaustion.

Had it not been for a lingering obsession in his heart, he probably could not have held on for so long.

Deprived of magical power and vital blood, Yan Kongyi was now withered and gaunt, his eye sockets deeply sunken, radiating an aura of impending death.

"You... you really have returned!" The moment he caught sight of Li Ji'an, a sudden flash of light ignited in Yan Kongyi's eyes. Overwhelmed by pleasant surprise and sheer disbelief, he even bit hard on the tip of his tongue to confirm he wasn't hallucinating.

In truth, he hadn't held out much hope.

"I am back." Li Ji'an sat down beside the bed and reached out to press his fingers against the old man's pulse gate.

"You... you have actually reached Foundation Establishment!" As Li Ji'an channeled his magical power into him to soothe his failing body, Yan Kongyi's eyes widened in shock.

Immediately after, tears of joy welled up in his eyes. He turned his hand over to grasp Li Ji'an's, his face filled with profound gratification.

"Do not experience such intense joy or sorrow!" Sensing the old man's life force draining away at a frantic pace, Li Ji'an quickly spoke to comfort him.

"Hahaha, it is enough, it is enough. I can die without any regrets now." Yan Kongyi cared not in the least. Experiencing a sudden flash of returning clarity before death, he tried to struggle into a sitting position.

Behind him, Yan Qingwan and Yan Zongsheng also sensed that his life force had now been completely spent. Amidst their sorrow, they felt a sliver of comfort—at the very least, he could pass away without regret.

"Leave us so that this old man may exchange a few words with the boy Fan." Yan Kongyi looked deeply at Yan Zongsheng, bidding a silent farewell to this lifelong brother of his.

Yan Zongsheng drew a deep breath, offered a profound bow to the elder, and retreated in silence.

"Boy Fan, set up a restrictive barrier." Yan Kongyi instructed Li Ji'an once more.

Li Ji'an smiled faintly. With his current divine sense, no one in the Yan family could possibly eavesdrop on them. Moreover, the two ancestors of the Yan family were both sensible individuals.

However, he fully understood Yan Kongyi's intention.

Sure enough, as soon as Li Ji'an waved his hand to cast a barrier of magical energy, Yan Kongyi spoke up with irrepressible urgency: "This old man is about to die. Can you... can you tell me the truth? Just how far has your skill in talisman making truly progressed?"

"..." Li Ji'an sighed internally. This stubborn old man still didn't trust him.

Understandable, of course, considering how tightly he had kept his secrets back then.

Under Yan Kongyi's expectant gaze, Li Ji'an shook his head without the slightest hesitation. "Rest assured, Senior. Now that I have attained Foundation Establishment, I will definitely devote more time to studying talismans in the future and unlock that ancient tomb's inheritance as soon as possible."

Without a trace of disappointment, Yan Kongyi nodded, his eyes actually brimming with hope.

This was precisely the reason he had wept tears of joy upon discovering that Li Ji'an had broken through to Foundation Establishment. Asking this question was merely a final probe, and he hadn't pinned much hope on it.

However, since Li Ji'an had now entered the Foundation Establishment stage, he would have ample time ahead of him. Given his middle-grade spiritual root aptitude—even with only slight connections in the immortal city—he could never harbor extravagant hopes of reaching the Golden Core stage. Yet, over the span of two hundred odd years, relying on his comprehension, his mastery of the Dao of talismans would surely advance, ensuring that the ancient talisman master's tomb would not go to waste.

"Good, good, good! This old man has one last request before I die: if there are any promising talents in the Dao of talismans within our clan in the future, I hope you might guide and nurture them a little." For the sake of the Yan family, Yan Kongyi made his final contribution.

"I agree." This time, Li Ji'an did not refuse.

That very day, Yan Kongyi passed away peacefully with a smile.

Seven days later, Yan Kongyi's funeral rites were successfully concluded.

During this period, Li Ji'an was accommodated in Yan Qingwan's Daoist retreat. The two did not discuss the Dao; instead, they simply reconnected and deepened their aunt-and-nephew bond.

It was not until after Yan Kongyi was laid to rest that, on that very night, Li Ji'an produced a vial containing a premium-grade youth-preserving pill.

The youth-preserving pill Yan Qingwan had taken previously was merely of middle grade, capable of preserving one's youth for twenty years.

However, after the northern wastelands descended into chaos, the Yan family's resources dwindled sharply, and external trade was completely cut off. The supply of youth-preserving pills had ceased several years ago, which was why Li Ji'an had noticed the subtle traces of weathering on her face when they met.

The gentle maiden in her early twenties from his memories now carried a touch of mature and tender elegance.

"Is this... a premium-grade youth-preserving pill?" Yan Qingwan stared fixedly at the pill in Li Ji'an's palm, her beautiful eyes shimmering with excitement.

A woman remains a maiden until the day she dies, and the love for beauty never fades.

The youth-preserving pill before her not only offered ten more years of youth preservation compared to the middle-grade one she had once taken, but it also possessed a slight rejuvenating effect, making it her dream treasure.

Never had she imagined...

"Fan'er, thank you." Accepting the pill, Yan Qingwan immediately retreated to her chambers to consume and refine it.

Half a day later, when Li Ji'an saw Yan Qingwan again, she appeared noticeably a few years younger. Even so, the rejuvenating effect was still insufficient to fully reverse the years she had gone without the pill.

That trace of mature and tender elegance had not vanished.

Yet, it was more than enough to fill Yan Qingwan with joy.

Before she could express her gratitude to Li Ji'an once again, however, Li Ji'an produced yet another item from his storage pouch.

Yan Qingwan's expression—initially joyful and slightly bashful—instantly froze.

"This... a Foundation Establishment Pill!"

With the wastelands in turmoil for a decade now, all clans had exhausted their foundations enormously. With resources only flowing out and none coming in, they had long since stopped daring to dream of a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Even if one could gather the financial resources to purchase such a pill, it was virtually impossible to leave the wastelands.

Let alone the fact that once a Foundation Establishment Pill was successfully won at an auction in the immortal city, one would never dare to carry such a divine pill out of the city; instead, one would be forced to rent a immortal cave within the city to undergo the breakthrough on the spot—an expense that rivaled the cost of the pill itself.

When she had achieved Foundation Establishment back then, apart from the nearly five thousand spirit stones spent on the pill itself, the expenses for renting the cave, acquiring life-saving meridian-protecting pills, spiritual materials to aid the breakthrough, and hiring senior elders to guard the process had totaled nearly ten thousand spirit stones.

Yet at this very moment... an authentic, pristine Foundation Establishment Pill had been placed right before her eyes!

Furthermore, he had traveled a full one hundred thousand miles completely alone, bringing it from the immortal city all the way into the wastelands.

If word ever leaked out that he was carrying a Foundation Establishment Pill, it would undoubtedly attract countless scoundrels and villains who would stop at nothing to ambush and kill him.

Could this really be the same "safety first" youth who, back then, had refused to become an inner sect disciple of the sect simply because he was afraid of executing sect missions and terrified of encountering dangers in secret realms?

The shock she felt at this moment far surpassed even the astonishment of seeing Li Ji'an successfully achieve Foundation Establishment.

"Wait a moment, Fan'er. Auntie cannot make the decision on this alone; I need to discuss it with the ancestor and the family head!" Before Li Ji'an could say anything, Yan Qingwan spoke up immediately.

She could accept the youth-preserving pill as a token of filial piety from a junior, feeling completely at ease because of the genuine affection she had always held for Li Ji'an.

However, a Foundation Establishment Pill was of monumental importance and possessed immense value. Even for a newly advanced Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was a staggering sum of wealth that could not be ignored. Regardless of Li Ji'an's intentions, she had to pay the appropriate price to accept it with a clear conscience.

"Auntie!" Li Ji'an immediately stopped her.

In the current post-ancient era, the higher the grade of a resource, the scarcer it became. For ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators, the greatest utility of spirit stones lay in purchasing auxiliary cultivation pills, acquiring magical instruments, renting immortal caves, and covering daily expenses.

As for materials that could truly substantially enhance a Foundation Establishment cultivator's strength and combat prowess, they were basically impossible to purchase with spirit stones. Across Cangyun Province and even the entire Heavenly Cang Domain, only low-tier Tier-2 items could barely be traded using spirit stones.

Magic treasures, talismans, and spirit beasts from the mid-Tier-2 and above were all traded solely through barter.

This included various medicinal herbs, talisman materials, array foundations, and even heavenly spiritual objects that aided in forming the Golden Core—all of which exceeded the scope of spirit stone transactions due to extreme scarcity, rendering them unbuyable no matter how many spirit stones one possessed.

Now that Li Ji'an had ascended to the Foundation Establishment stage, relying on his alchemy skills, he only needed to ignite his cauldron seven or eight times a month—comparable to Alchemist Zou—to earn enough spirit stones to sustain his current cultivation through his high success rate and superior pill quality.

As long as he didn't try to establish a massive sect, sustain a large clan, or nurture countless disciples and descendants, his earnings were more than enough.

By simply opening his cauldron a few more times, he could even amass enough wealth to ensure his next life—and the life after that—could smoothly sail through the Qi Condensation stage.

Spirit stones, to him now and in the future, were akin to mere gold and silver during his mortal dynasties: enough was as good as a feast, and he didn't care for them obsessively.

Excessive utilitarianism wore down a person's lifespan and easily disrupted one's state of mind. Ever since he had "rejuvenated his youth" twice, his attachment to such worldly gains had become exceptionally faint.

However, as a family ancestor whose alchemy skills were ordinary, who had to support countless clansmen, and who bore the heavy responsibility of the family's prosperity, Yan Qingwan's perspective on spirit stones could not possibly align with Li Ji'an's.

"No matter what, Auntie cannot agree to this," Yan Qingwan said with a resolute attitude.

The more adamant she was, the more at ease Li Ji'an felt.

Some things simply could not be measured in spirit stones.

The peaceful, carefree, and well-nurtured childhood he had spent here during his early years was something money could never buy.

"Auntie, consider this pill a debt you owe me, and we can settle it in the future. However, I do have one condition: when you consider the junior candidates for Foundation Establishment within the clan, I hope you will give Yan Qing a chance." Li Ji'an cut straight to the point without dragging his feet.

Before leaving the wastelands, when he conversed with Zhao Shunyao, she had repeatedly expressed how difficult things had been for Zhang Tiezhu among the original five of them.

Of the original five, leaving aside Zhu Linxian and Li Ji'an, Zhao Shunyao had the easiest time among the remaining three. Dong Jiangling had also grown much more relaxed after his daughter was married into a nearby family. Only Zhang Tiezhu had worked himself to the bone for the sake of his son.

As for Yan Qing, who had shared several years of companionship with him during their childhood and had frequently visited to impart cultivation experience and bring him spiritual rice after they turned fifteen, Li Ji'an naturally wished to aid him.

"I have already said my piece. If Auntie still refuses, you truly are treating me as an outsider."

Yan Qingwan looked straight into Li Ji'an's eyes—clear as water, sincere and unblemished.

It was only then that she realized she had underestimated Li Ji'an.

Ultimately, she cautiously put away the Foundation Establishment Pill. Yet, when she faced Li Ji'an again afterward, her heart remained perpetually unsettled.

Especially during the following half month, when Li Ji'an voluntarily invited her to study the Dao of alchemy together, explaining the essence of Tier-2 alchemy in simple and profound terms, and even producing several portions of Tier-2 medicinal herbs to demonstrate the process right before her eyes.

The figure of the young man before her merged increasingly with the image of the Elder Brother Li from the past.

Until the day Li Ji'an took his leave half a month later, she still felt as though she were living in a dream.

Before departing the Yan family, Li Ji'an took the initiative to pay a visit to Yan Hongsheng.

Yan Hongsheng was getting on in years, and because he had failed to break through to Foundation Establishment using a pill in his youth, his foundation had been severely damaged, leaving him with little lifespan remaining. This was likely to be their final meeting in this lifetime.

Initially, he felt somewhat awkward in the presence of Li Ji'an, who was now a Foundation Establishment cultivator. It was only when Li Ji'an voluntarily lowered his stature to chat with him about those years when he had deliberately hidden his body-refinement cultivation that Yan Hongsheng regained a fraction of his former demeanor.

They conversed very pleasantly, sharing three cups of wine at parting as a premature farewell.

Finally, Li Ji'an went to Zhang Tiezhu's home and presented him with a few bottles of Blood-Qi Pills.

Standing nearby, Yan Qing opened his mouth to speak several times, hesitating, his gaze filled with deep reverence. Mimicking the way Yan Qing had once imparted Qi Condensation experience to him back then, Li Ji'an passed on the crucial insights of the three bottlenecks of Foundation Establishment along with his own personal comprehension.

However, sensing that Yan Qing's magical power and divine soul were both rather mediocre—with only his blood-qi being slightly stronger due to Zhang Tiezhu's strict urging—Li Ji'an knew that without a Foundation Establishment Pill, the youth's chance of success would be exceedingly slim.

After leaving the Yan family, Li Ji'an headed all the way south, galloping straight toward the hidden tomb marked by Yan Kongyi deep within the Fallen Dragon Ridge.

Half a year ago, following the incomplete inheritance Yan Kongyi had passed to him in their final years, he had already successfully drawn the special Enlightenment Talisman.

To say the least, this was the primary purpose of his trip back to the wastelands!

Once he acquired the Tier-2 talisman inheritance, he would finally possess his greatest protective art and trump card for the Foundation Establishment stage!