Chapter 26: A Great Achievement

After five years in the cultivation world, Li Jian had gained a general understanding of its workings. The so-called eight great families of the Desolate Dragon Ridge were nothing more than the lowest rung within the broader world of cultivators—compared to his pursuit of eternal life across countless ages, this was merely the most humble of beginnings.

Yet he was also keenly aware of his own talent and position in this lifetime. To enter a family of this level was already the utmost he could achieve. If, in the next life, he could begin cultivating his spiritual roots in a second-grade spiritual vein here at the age of eight, perhaps he could reach the peak potential of his own spiritual constitution. But whether he would even start his next life here remained a mystery; whether he could leave things as he wished was even more uncertain.

The young lady of the Yan family before him was the key to whether his plans would unfold smoothly. If Yan Qingwan were to fall at this moment, his plans would most likely be ruined. Moreover, over the past three years, Yan Qingwan had shown him many favors, and he felt a certain fondness for her.

At this moment, both sides’ late-stage Qi Refining cultivators were fully engaged. The enemy was merely a fifth-level Wood-element Qi Refiner; Li Jian didn’t even need to reveal his true body-refining strength.

With a swift movement, he darted forward and swept Yan Qingwan into his arms just before the wooden spikes struck her.

“Hm?” The Wei family cultivator was stunned, staring at the fleeing Li Jian in disbelief, momentarily forgetting to give chase. He never expected these low-level Yan family juniors would dare snatch someone from the jaws of a tiger.

“Old Li!” Yan Tong and his son were dumbfounded. They had wanted to rescue her too, but hadn’t dared. As early-stage Qi Refiners, they stood no chance against a mid-stage opponent.

“Courting death!” The Wei family cultivator snapped back to his senses, his face turning cold as he gave chase. But how could he hope to be faster than Li Jian? Li Jian, carrying Yan Qingwan, swiftly crossed the valley and darted into a dense forest, forcing the Wei family cultivator to summon a staff and vault after them.

A fifth-level Qi Refiner controlling a magical instrument was not slow, and without Li Jian unleashing the full power of his body-refining cultivation, the pursuer was closing in fast. However, although mid-stage Qi Refiners could fly on instruments, it consumed immense spiritual power and could not be sustained for long—they could barely spare any energy to cast spells.

After another brief chase, the Wei family cultivator finally cornered Li Jian at a mountain stream.

“Run some more, then?” the Wei family cultivator sneered, preparing to put away his staff.

Yet, to his utter surprise, instead of cowering in terror, Li Jian’s spiritual power suddenly surged, and a fireball the size of a human head flared in his palm.

“Hmph! You dare strike at me with such—” He could clearly sense that Li Jian’s cultivation was only at the third level of Qi Refining and paid it no mind.

But before he could finish, the fireball shot out at a speed far beyond anything he’d imagined. The powerful impact, coupled with the instant explosion, shattered his protective aura before he could react.

A second fireball followed just as swiftly.

Li Jian frowned slightly as he watched the Wei family cultivator’s head explode. In a life-and-death struggle, how could someone waste time on so much talk? Clearly, these family clans hadn’t truly fought for years.

He quickly searched the corpse, pocketed a storage pouch, and hurried back toward the forest above the valley. From there, he could overlook the valley below.

To his surprise, as soon as he arrived, he saw the Wei family cultivators hastily retreating. Two more figures joined the fray, and by the time the Yan family’s three late-stage Qi Refiners returned, the outcome was already decided.

Only then did Li Jian carry the barely-breathing Yan Qingwan back down into the valley.

“Girl!” The third elder, catching sight of her from afar, flashed to his side and immediately began checking her injuries.

“Wei Huairen! I swear I’ll tear you to pieces!” Yan Hongsheng followed, his face contorted with rage.

Li Jian set Yan Qingwan down and quietly stepped aside, waiting patiently. It wasn’t until the group set out again that he and Yan Tong’s party climbed back onto the cart.

“Why didn’t you act with your seventh-level Qi Refining cultivation? If you’d joined hands with Qingwan, how could Wei Huairen have succeeded? Even three extra breaths might have made a difference!” Yan Hongsheng couldn’t help but lash out at Master Mo along the way.

Even the usually steady third elder, Yan Tailai, did not stop him this time.

Master Mo, however, remained silent from beginning to end.

“Old Li, you’ve performed a great deed this time!”

“Saving the young mistress—such merit will surely secure your place in the family.”

“Who knows, maybe you’ll even be granted the Yan surname like us? You’re set for life!” Several of the lower-ranking Yan clansmen on the cart were full of envy.

“If only I hadn’t been so far away, I’d have rescued her myself.”

“I just wasn’t in luck—the cart blocked my view and I didn’t see a thing,” others chimed in after the fact.

But most were more concerned about what happened to the Wei family’s mid-stage Qi Refiner who’d chased after Li Jian.

“He must have received a retreat order and fled far away,” Li Jian replied.

At once, several people beat their chests in regret, as if they’d missed out on a great opportunity.

Less than an hour later, the group finally arrived at the Yan family estate.

From a distance, a modest mountain range loomed ahead, its peak aglow with the setting sun, resembling a golden pearl embedded in the mountaintop.

“Brother Li, this is our Spirit Pearl Mountain. The ancestral vein runs right at the foot!” Having witnessed Li Jian rescue Yan Qingwan, Yan Tong’s attitude toward him had grown even warmer.

Even Yan Quan, who had previously disdained Li Jian, now offered compliments, guessing that Li Jian was about to have an incredible stroke of luck.

Li Jian, however, did not see it that way. After all, his main role was that of a servant to Master Mo, the mediator between the Yan family and their alchemist. If he were openly accepted by the Yan family, how could Master Mo trust him so easily?

Sure enough, that very night, Li Jian was assigned a room next to Master Mo’s small courtyard. For the next three months, not a single Yan clansman sought him out, nor was there any talk of his heroic deed—as if he had not saved the Yan family’s young mistress at all.

On the contrary, Master Mo, whether due to a new assignment from the clan leader or taking advantage of Yan Qingwan’s absence, began refining pills almost every five days for three months straight. Sometimes, when his energy flagged, he had Li Jian participate in the entire process, and even taught him key techniques so he could temporarily take over.

After three months, when Yan Qingwan had recovered, Master Mo’s pill refining slowed again. But those three months of full participation allowed Li Jian to grasp even more of Master Mo’s alchemical legacy, and he naturally memorized the recipes for three mid-stage Qi Refining pills.

Moreover, as Master Mo was a venerated guest of the Yan family, his residence was located just outside the core of the spiritual vein, with a first-grade upper-class spiritual energy concentration. Even the combined pill rooms of Yan Qingwan and the marketplace could not compare to the richness of the aura here.

This pleased Li Jian greatly.

One day, after Li Jian had finished his daily cultivation, a summons arrived from Yan Qingwan.

When he saw her again, she was visibly thinner, but her complexion had improved considerably.

“Li Chang’an, I owe you a great favor. If there’s something you want, speak your wish—I will do my utmost to fulfill it.” Yan Qingwan’s courtyard lay at the heart of the Yan family’s ancestral grounds. Pavilions and towers, rockeries and flowing water, all surrounded by a pure, elegant tranquility. The spiritual energy here was the richest Li Jian had sensed since arriving in this world.