Chapter 49: The Departure from the Clan

Seventeen years ago, when he first came to the market town, he followed Yan Qingwan, riding a spirit steed of the clan. Seventeen years later, as he left the market town for the first time, Li Ji’an summoned a flying sword, leaped onto it, and soared away, riding the blade.

This was a low-grade magical artifact, forged from flame iron and firecloud sand, augmenting fire-type magic. He had spent eighteen spirit stones to acquire it. Beyond the desire to fulfill his childhood fantasy of sword-flight, he sought above all to understand himself, to grasp the nuances of artifact flight, and to truly know his own strengths and limitations in the art of escape.

At the tranquil city gate, wandering cultivators came and went, but suddenly all were drawn to a streak of crimson fire, instinctively raising their eyes to the elegant figure suspended in midair. Many wore expressions of envy. To fly on an artifact required at least a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, and for long-distance flight, one needed to be in the late stage—a feat unattainable for the early-stage cultivators clustered at the gate.

Li Ji’an stood straight upon the sword, hands clasped behind his back, head slightly raised. As his magic poured into the blade beneath his feet, its speed quickly reached its limit; he ceased accelerating and began to ascend. The crowd below dwindled to mere dots, and the magical shield strained against the pressure until it could endure no more.

Moments later, under the admiring and puzzled gaze of the wandering cultivators below, Li Ji’an descended gently, put away his sword, untied his spirit steed tethered at the gate, and rode off.

Flight was forbidden within the market town. This was Li Ji’an’s first time mastering the flying sword, and he had gained a clear sense of his limits in speed and altitude. His maximum height surpassed that of his physical cultivation at peak blood force, but the ultimate speed was still inferior—and not sustainable.

Three hours later, the Yan family estate came into view.

“Guest Elder Li!”
“Master Li!”
“Little Li is back!”

Thanks to Yan Qingwan’s prior revelations, Li Ji’an’s reputation within the clan had soared. As he entered the estate, most he met greeted him cordially. Of course, those who greeted him were mostly male cultivators and married women; the unmarried women either ignored him entirely or glared at him with a hint of provocation.

Upon reaching the core spirit vein area, he learned that the clan was in council. Li Ji’an decided to visit Zhang Tiezhu’s home first.

“Little one, come here, let Papa be your steed…” Before he reached the door, a familiar yet strange voice rang out. Familiar, for it was Zhang Tiezhu’s voice; strange, for it now carried a note of ease and satisfaction.

Last year, Tiezhu wrote of the birth of his third son, who reminded him of his own childhood and whom he adored.

“Tiezhu.”

“Big brother, you… how come you’re back?” Zhang Tiezhu scooped up his youngest and strode quickly to Li Ji’an.

Though Tiezhu was ten years older and his cultivation higher, Li Ji’an, lean and tall, still radiated vigor and spirit despite the marks of time upon his face. In contrast, Tiezhu, clad in silk, had grown plump and prosperous, resembling a wealthy landlord more than a cultivator.

Li Ji’an had long anticipated this transformation. In earlier years, Zhang Tiezhu’s letters spoke mostly of his own cultivation, especially after his first child, when the clan showered him with resources. He was filled with resolve, aiming for the late stage of Qi Refining, even dreaming of Foundation Establishment. He once asked Li Ji’an whether he could return to the Celestial Dynasty to expose the truth.

As Yan Jue grew, Tiezhu’s letters increasingly discussed his children, with laughter and complaints alike. When Yan Jue was eight, after the elders predicted he would achieve a mid-grade spiritual root, Tiezhu was overjoyed. The clan rewarded him again, but this time he made no mention of it.

Li Ji’an later learned Tiezhu had passed these rewards to Yan Jue, not entirely by choice, pressured by his Dao companion. From then on, his letters rarely discussed his own cultivation, focusing instead on Yan Jue and his Dao companion, with frequent complaints.

In recent years, aside from news of his sons, Tiezhu wrote mostly of clan affairs and gossip, seeming ever more like a member of the Yan clan. Li Ji’an sensed his friend’s growing ease and satisfaction with life. Before the third son was born, Tiezhu had even taken up fishing.

“The clan master called me,” Li Ji’an explained with a smile.

“Huh? The clan master wants you? That…” Zhang Tiezhu’s demeanor shifted; he recalled the previous incident.

Li Ji’an, seeing his reaction, suspected Tiezhu might know something.
“Tiezhu, what do you know?”

Zhang Tiezhu faltered, nearly blurting out the truth, but as the words reached his lips, he remembered the elders’ warnings and his family’s dependence on the Yan clan. He himself cared little, but his sons were his weakness; he did not want to jeopardize their future.

Seeing his friend’s hesitation, Li Ji’an grew alert. He had analyzed the Yan clan, even considered the possibility that they were outwardly righteous but inwardly demonic, yet found no evidence they would harm him. On his first visit, he had worried they would discover his talent for alchemy and imprison him as a slave, forced to refine pills day and night—a fate that had occurred in the history of cultivation, making alchemists wary of unfamiliar clans.

He abandoned this fear once he failed to break through to mid-stage Qi Refining, his alchemy fire insufficient, and Yan Qingwan had matured. Even after Yan Qingwan revealed his talent, he did not believe the Yan clan would harm him.

After thinking calmly, Li Ji’an found no reason the Yan clan would be against him.

“Ah, Big Brother Li, let me tell you, some time ago, the Grand Elder…” After a struggle, Zhang Tiezhu finally revealed the events of that day.

“!!!” Upon hearing this, Li Ji’an’s eyes widened. The revelation was wholly unexpected. Yet, after a moment’s thought, he set it aside. It was, after all, a colossal misunderstanding. Besides, if the Yan clan truly wished him ill, they would not have summoned him back—they could have dealt with him outside the clan. Yan Qingwan surely knew nothing of it.

After a brief chat, Yan Zongsheng sent for him.

Li Ji’an gifted Zhang Tiezhu’s youngest, Yan Qing, a bottle of Marrow Cleansing Pill, regarded as a celestial elixir in the Celestial Dynasty, and took his leave.

Thanks to Zhang Tiezhu’s confession, Li Ji’an found Yan Zongsheng's strange behavior and words normal. After commending Li Ji’an’s achievements and emphasizing Yan Qingwan’s importance to the clan’s future, Yan Zongsheng finally revealed his purpose.

“Chang’an, it is not that our Yan clan cannot accommodate you, nor are we ungrateful. But… for the prosperity of the clan, and for Qingwan’s ascension, we must ask you to leave. If you have any requests, do not hesitate to ask!”

Li Ji’an had already thought it through on his way from Tiezhu’s home. Though being driven out was unpleasant, he understood. Now was perhaps the perfect time to leave; he would likely undergo rejuvenation within the next decade, and even if not pushed out now, he would find a reason to leave within a year or two.

In fact, being driven out now was preferable. Still, he sincerely explained the misunderstanding: he regarded Yan Qingwan as a younger sister, and was certain she viewed him only as an elder brother, with nothing for the clan to fear.

To avoid suspicion, he agreed to Yan Zongsheng’s decision.

His conditions were simple: first, he wanted a Nourishment Pill. Second, if possible in the future, he hoped the clan would accept his descendants.

Yan Zongsheng, struck by Li Ji’an’s magnanimity, doubted himself, questioning whether his actions were right. In the end, he not only agreed to Li Ji’an’s requests, but also gifted him three hundred spirit stones as compensation.

An hour later, Li Ji’an collected the Yan clan’s Ascension Token and the Nourishment Pill, and quietly left the clan, heading alone toward the southern Fallen Dragon Ridge mountains…

Atop the Yan clan’s main building, Yan Zongsheng stood on the roof, gazing at the solitary figure in white who never looked back, holding the “Li Family Alchemy Records” that Li Ji’an had given him, and sighed deeply.