Chapter 45: A Man in His Sixties Is Like a Flower

As it turns out, many things need not be rushed; time will resolve all problems. Of course, a decade is still too short—there is much that remains unsolved. However, the matter concerning Zheng Tianxiang that once caused worry had already faded into silence eight years before. It was said that he had secluded himself in pursuit of Foundation Establishment, shutting himself away to prevent any risk that might disrupt the Zheng family’s hopes of having four Foundation Establishment cultivators in one clan.

At the same time, the entire Zheng family had shed its former arrogance. Whether in their dealings with the other seven families or in the commercial rivalries within the marketplace, they now showed clear signs of concession and goodwill. This allowed the Yan family’s pill shop to expand its market share considerably in recent years. Naturally, this also had much to do with Yan Qingwan’s improved alchemical skills.

Li Jian’s share of the profits had steadily risen as well—from the initial one hundred and fifty spirit stones a year, up to three hundred and eighty. Not only did this fully meet the demand for the Body Tempering Thunderflame Crystals, but his investment in Guagua increased substantially, and he was even able to save.

Moreover, with the Yan and Wei families jointly developing new medicinal fields, the Yan family’s resources had begun to recover, and from what Yan Qingwan implied, the clan was now preparing to provide her with a Foundation Establishment Pill. Once Yan Qingwan succeeded in her advancement, the Yan family would have not just two Foundation Establishment cultivators, but also another second-tier alchemist.

The value of a second-tier alchemist in the Wilds was unparalleled, even surpassing that of a clan with three Foundation Establishment cultivators.

All of this painted a picture of flourishing prosperity, as if flowers bloomed upon brocade and oil boiled over a blazing fire.

Yet Li Jian remained wary. The more accommodating the Zheng family appeared, the clearer it was how greatly they valued Zheng Tianxiang. Regardless of whether his future potential would allow him to form a Golden Core, even just reaching four Foundation Establishment cultivators would upset the current balance among the Eight Great Families.

Although, on the surface, the jump from three to four Foundation Establishment cultivators did not seem to change the fact that the Zhengs could not resist the other seven families united, it was still possible that, once the fourth Foundation Establishment was achieved, some among the other families might feel powerless. At that point, seeing the Zheng family's unstoppable rise, someone might choose to betray their kin for the promise of future glory, becoming a turncoat in hopes of joining the victor’s side.

Thus, Li Jian was already preparing contingency plans. Should the situation turn chaotic after his “rejuvenation,” he would have to adapt. One must never put all one’s eggs in a single basket.

“Brother Li, you must come home today. If you keep refusing, I’ll send someone to fetch you,” Yan Qingwan was waiting for him as soon as he arrived at the pill shop that day.

Li Jian’s eyelids twitched.

He still remembered being forced into marriage in his previous life before crossing over. Who would have thought that, even in the world of cultivation, he would face the same predicament?

“Brother Li, you’re almost sixty now. In the blink of an eye you’ll be seventy! If you don’t marry soon, you might have no hope for children!”

Li Jian’s mouth twitched even more at these words—this was even more exaggerated than his mother had been in his first life. No wonder things in the cultivation world moved so rapidly: sixty to seventy in the blink of an eye.

Ever since he turned fifty seven years ago, the Yan family had started arranging matches for him. At first, they had not pressed him, treating it as a clan benefit and simply letting him pick among the clan’s women. By now, however, they were bordering on outright coercion.

This, naturally, was Yan Qingwan’s doing.

Half a year ago, they had spent two months together in the alchemy room, and after nearly a hundred failures, finally succeeded in refining a top-quality mid-grade Qi Supplementing Pill. Yan Qingwan had been so thrilled that she leapt up in excitement, and then, almost without reservation, she recounted all of Li Jian’s contributions—especially his talent and keen intellect in alchemy—to the clan’s elders.

Now, as a senior first-tier alchemist, Yan Qingwan’s voice carried greater weight within the family, and she no longer cared about the clan’s suspicions.

“Brother Li, this time it’s the Grand Elder’s granddaughter. She’s eighteen, lovely and full-figured, at the third level of Qi Refinement, with a spiritual resonance of seven strands. You should at least meet her—who knows, you might hit it off. I’m begging you!”

Li Jian sighed inwardly. This was a pit he had dug for himself—something to avoid in his next life. Years ago, he had learned that the Yan family suffered from a surplus of women and a shortage of men, leaving many female cultivators unable to marry unless they had performed great deeds. So, he often whispered in Yan Qingwan’s ear, laying the groundwork for his next life.

And yet… he had not expected Yan Qingwan to push him so publicly, turning him into the clan’s most eligible bachelor overnight.

According to Zhang Tiezhu’s letter, many of the clan’s female cultivators were now interested in him, believing that any children born to him would inherit his extraordinary talent for alchemy and his remarkable intelligence—bringing glory to their mothers.

“Where is Xiao Li? I’ve come to invite you myself—surely that will suffice?” Just as Li Jian was pondering how to refuse once and for all, a hearty, aged voice rang out in the pill shop.

The next moment, Yan Kongyi, the Grand Elder who had once crossed paths with Li Jian in the Yan clan’s herbal garden twenty-one years ago, entered.

“Xiao Li, I hear you haven’t dared leave the market for seventeen years. Today I’ll personally escort you. Don’t worry—unless those other Foundation Establishment old fellows lose all shame, I’ll guarantee your safety.”

“Greetings, Grand Elder!” Li Jian and the others in the shop bowed.

“Uncle, what brings you here?” Yan Qingwan asked.

Yan Kongyi waved a hand dismissively. “No need for you all—go about your business. Xiao Li, come with me, we’ll talk inside.”

Li Jian followed him into the inner chamber.

As soon as they entered, Li Jian was stunned by what happened next.

The always aloof Yan Kongyi, as soon as the door closed, turned to Li Jian with a smile and clasped his hands together. “Xiao Li, there were too many people outside just now… About that incident—old as I am, I truly had no way to save you. It was all my fault, one mistake after another. To make it up to you, if you marry my granddaughter, I’ll pass on my entire life’s work in talisman crafting to you. What do you say?”

Four months earlier, when Yan Qingwan revealed Li Jian’s talent and perception in alchemy during a clan meeting, everyone except for Yan Zongsheng and a few others who already knew, had been amazed, though more were skeptical.

Soon after, several elders came to watch Li Jian refine pills in person.

After seeing his sixty percent success rate for top-grade entry-level pills, they finally believed Yan Qingwan's words.

At that time, the Grand Elder had been in seclusion and missed the demonstration, but when he heard of it later, his heart was moved.

His own specialty was talisman crafting.

In the myriad arts of cultivation, talismans ranked among the top, but the entry barrier was low. Anyone with spiritual power could attempt to draw talismans, and those with slightly deeper reserves could produce low-level ones—like Cleaning Charms, Dust Dispelling Charms, Meditation Charms—such low-level talismans had long been overproduced, their prices so low that selling the raw materials was more profitable for talisman makers.

On the other hand, the upper limits were extremely high, but achieving anything significant in talisman crafting was exceedingly difficult.

Even crafting a mid-level first-tier talisman required immense spiritual power and a powerful soul, but most importantly, talisman crafting demanded even greater perception than alchemy.

The key difference between pill making and talisman crafting was that, in alchemy, one could always follow a formula—what herbs, in what sequence, how much heat, what cauldron to use.

But in talisman crafting, no two strokes were ever exactly the same, and unlike pills, which relied on the properties of the herbs, talismans depended entirely on the soul’s connection to the world’s hidden energies, imparted into the talisman material.

A lack of perception in pill making might still allow some success, even if the quality or rate was low.

But in talisman crafting, without innate perception, success was impossible.

Yan Kongyi had spent his life drawing talismans, initially to help his clan break into the talisman market, but to this day, he could not guarantee that making a high-level first-tier talisman would not result in a loss.

On good days, he might succeed once in five attempts; on bad days, it might take ten tries and still fail.

He had long since accepted that he lacked the necessary perception and saw no hope for himself, but he still hoped the clan would one day produce a true genius in talisman crafting to succeed him.

Thus, he insisted his granddaughter be wed to Li Jian.