Today's outcome was not something Li An hadn't foreseen.
But he never sought out Sun Lin or switched alliances; in fact, Li An had other considerations.
Within the sect, there are two main advantages: one is a higher monthly stipend, and the other is easier access to core cultivation techniques and legacies, with more chances for promotion.
However, for Li An, neither of these advantages holds much appeal anymore.
He can now fluently craft Middle Grade Tier 1 runes, and it won't be long before he can challenge Upper Grade Tier 1 runes.
The income from the monthly stipend has lost its significance; relying on runes, he can live quite well.
Yet staying in the sect, he hardly dares to showcase his talent in runes, and even if crafted, they can only be hidden away, unsold.
Going to the market offers more freedom, with no one watching.
As for the core cultivation techniques and legacies of the Profound Yang Sect, most of them don't interest Li An. Truth be told, the Profound Yang Master's cultivation level is slightly weaker than his past life's.
Li An doesn't seek promotion, nor does he want to enter the inner sect; being too close to those Core Formation Stage experts is not a good thing.
Therefore, going to the market is actually beneficial, making it easier for him to earn spirit stones!
The only factor he considered was safety!
But in recent years, with the disputes over Middle Grade spiritual ores temporarily settled, the situation both inside and outside the Profound Yang Sect has been stable, and as a major site under its wing, the safety of the market is also assured.
Going there is not a bad choice.
Hence, Li An adopted a laissez-faire attitude.
In ten days, he will depart with Tan Qingxue, leaving the Talisman Hall.
In these few days, he visited Wang Dazhu and Zhao Xian's Story for a small gathering and learned more about the situation in Qingyang Market to be well-prepared.
Learning that Li An was being marginalized in the Talisman Hall, the two sighed endlessly, but they could not help.
...
The day before departure, Li An took time to make a trip to Spirit Plant Mountain.
Three years have passed, retracing the old path, Li An couldn't help but recall six years ago.
Back then, when he, Wang Zilin, and Zhang Susu were brought to Spirit Plant Mountain by Fan Jie, their moods were all different.
Now, the scenery remains, but some people are no longer here.
Entering Spirit Plant Mountain, many menial workers were working in the spirit fields, performing tasks like summoning clouds and rain, among them a man limping.
Wang Zilin.
"Li An? Why are you here!"
Seeing Li An, Wang Zilin was elated and hurriedly walked out of the spirit field, his pant legs still muddy, and came up to Li An.
"It's been years, came back to see you."
There was a trace of complexity in Li An's eyes; Wang Zilin's cultivation was still only at the Qi Refining First Layer, with a face full of weathered lines making him look like a man of middle age, well-worn by time.
Yet, his age is actually similar to Li An's, only in his twenties.
Wang Zilin was very excited, walking alongside Li An, chatting a lot.
After Li An left, the new steward of Spirit Plant Mountain indeed didn't give Wang Zilin a hard time, and the monthly stipends were mostly fully paid.
Anyway, there were other new menial workers without background to exploit.
Using the pretext of revisiting old places, Li An walked with Wang Zilin into the familiar old woods, then excused himself to relieve himself, retrieving the storage pouch he had buried in the stream's silt years ago.
Fan Jie's storage pouch, within which four crystallinely transparent Fire Spirit Fruits still remained.
Putting the Fire Spirit Fruits into his own storage pouch, he easily destroyed Fan Jie's storage pouch, erasing the last trace of Fan Jie from the world.
Returning to the forest, Wang Zilin was still waiting for him, and the two spoke once more of the times they kept watch together, surviving the accidental fall into a pit, Wang Zilin was in particularly high spirits, laughing loudly.
"Li An, I've been tending to Sister Susu's grave these past years, do you want to go see her…"
But as he spoke, Wang Zilin's eyes inexplicably turned a little red.
Li An sighed lightly in his heart, shook his head, and said, "No need. I'm going to Qingyang Market, this time back mainly to see you."
He took out two flame talismans and handed them to Wang Zilin, "This farewell, perhaps we won't see each other again in this life, take care."
And with that, Li An departed.
Wang Zilin held the flame talismans in his hand, watching Li An's retreating figure, tears silently falling from his eyes.
...
Back at the Talisman Hall the next day, by evening, Li An was in cultivation when the door was gently knocked.
Li An opened the door and saw a bright and beautiful face; the visitor wore a light yellow long skirt and was tall and statuesque. Upon seeing Li An, she smiled slightly, "Talisman Master Li, long time no see."
Xu Qiuhui!
It was actually her.
Along with her was Tan Qingxue; Tan Qingxue's expression was bleak, her mood visibly still poor.
"Senior Sister Xu, Senior Sister Tan, come in—"
Xu Qiuhui said, "How about we gather by Moon Lake?"
Not long after, the three of them sat in a pavilion by Moon Lake.
"The news I got from the inner sect was that half a year ago, Sun Lin had been in contact with the Zhang family, marrying his sister off there."
Xu Qiuhui got straight to the point: "The Zhang family is the largest cultivation clan under the Profound Yang Sect, with many Foundation Establishment Stage experts in the family. After the marriage alliance, they gave Sun Lin significant support."
"That's why Sun Lin could obtain so many contribution points."
Li An and Tan Qingxue both suddenly understood.
"Now the situation is set, there is no way to change it. You two can only first go to the market. If there's an opportunity in the future, I'll help bring you back to the sect."
Xu Qiuhui's words were calm, but they carried a promise.
She indeed had the confidence to speak like this. Now she was already at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, with hopes of reaching Foundation Establishment!
Once she became a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, she would have significant influence within the sect. By then, it wouldn't be hard to pull some strings within the inner sect.
"I've called you here today to talk about the situation in the market."
Her voice was serious: "The fight among the three major sects for the Middle Grade spiritual ore has settled down, and the upper echelons are negotiating, but within the Great Li Dynasty's borders, the Demon Sect is making a comeback, affecting many areas."
"A year ago, a demon cultivator even brazenly kidnapped a female cultivator outside the Liuyang River market. That female cultivator's master is a Second Grade Alchemist, so the sect took it seriously, but they still haven't caught those fiends."
"According to the information I received, this group of demon cultivators came from the former Yin Yang Demon Sect... The Yin Yang Demon Sect is known for the Yin Yang Demon Furnace Skill, specifically capturing cultivators with excellent Spirit Roots to use for cultivation."
She paused and stared at Tan Qingxue: "If you go there, the one thing you must be careful of is this. Demon cultivators are cunning in many ways, so consult with Talisman Master Li in case of any troubles, understood?"
Obviously, Xu Qiuhui had a deep bond with Tan Qingxue, or she wouldn't have said so much.
Tan Qingxue felt both grateful and disheartened about the future, so she just nodded her head.
"Talisman Master Li, Qingxue is young and ignorant, if she has offended you in Talisman Hall in any way, please don't mind."
"After heading over, please take good care of her."
Saying this, she took out a snow-white talisman pen from her hand, handed it to Li An, and said, "This Upper Grade First Order talisman pen is a token of Qiu Hui's sincerity."
Li An was taken aback and quickly said, "Such a generous gift, I am unworthy, please take it back, Senior Sister Xu!"
Tan Qingxue was also stunned, wasn't this talisman pen intended for her by Xu Qiuhui? Why was it given to Li An instead?
Xu Qiuhui just smiled and said, "Talisman Master Li, you and I will have a lasting friendship in the future. Please don't mind this small gift."
Hearing this, Li An was moved in his heart.
Xu Qiuhui was bound to become a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator in the future, this friendship... he could only accept.
"Then I would be impolite to refuse, thank you!"
He accepted the talisman pen with both hands.
"Talisman Master Li likely has things to pack, Qingxue and I will chat a bit more..."
Li An tactfully took his leave.
After he left.
"Sister, have you gone crazy?"
Tan Qingxue immediately asked, her face full of confusion.
Li An's aptitude was average, only at Qi Refining Third Layer, without much achievement in the art of talismans, why did Xu Qiuhui value him so much?
Could it be Xu Qiuhui... also liked Li An?
This thought flashed through her mind, and she immediately dismissed it, impossible!
"Qingxue, when will you finally grow up."
Xu Qiuhui couldn't help but sigh, "When he was at Spirit Plant Mountain, I gave him some information, you could say I am half his lifesaver."
"At the Spirit Beast Mountain Range, he saved you once, already repaying my favor. With your attitude towards him, when you go to the market, he will surely distance himself from you and no longer care for your life or death."
"Whether this talisman pen will change his impression of you, keep some of the favor... I do not know."
Tan Qingxue's mouth opened wide as if she had seen a ghost: "What? He saved me at the Spirit Beast Mountain Range?"
"Sister, what are you saying? What does this have to do with him..."
Her eyes seemed as if she had seen a ghost.
Xu Qiuhui said, "Qingxue, you are still too naive."
"Don't you think, why did he accidentally fall off the cliff? Why did the Black Needle Giant Ape that was relentlessly chasing you suddenly turn back..."
Tan Qingxue looked confused.
Was there a causal relationship between the two?
"I visited the Spirit Beast Mountain Range once and found this on a mountain not far from the Black Needle Giant Ape's habitat."
In her snow-white palm appeared some fragments of a bottle.
"This is... the fragments of a Poison Transformation Pill bottle?!"
Tan Qingxue was shocked.
"Yes, the location where this bottle fragment was found does not match the place where you said you threw the Poison Transformation Pill's bottle."
Xu Qiuhui didn't continue and instead said:
"The Black Needle Giant Ape's spirit medicine was not lost, and there was nothing missing in Qing Yuan and the others' storage bags. This is enough to show that he did not do this for robbery, so why did he take such a risk, don't you understand?"
"He is a man of great sentiment."
After Tan Qingxue heard this, her heart felt like it was struck heavily.
So it was Li An who saved her?
She recalled everything in the past, and her heart was filled with various emotions, touched, relieved, guilty...
It turned out, Li An was always hiding his talents.
Enduring neglect and grievances without a word of complaint, even after being abandoned by herself and Cao Zhirou, he still repaid evil with good, silently doing such a great thing...
Being young after all, she was moved to tears instantly!
Li An's image in her heart completely changed in an instant.
How could there be such a sincere and kind person in the world?
At the same time, she couldn't help but feel a little envious of Xu Qiuhui, Li An did all this for her because he liked Sister Xu...
Unfortunately, Li An's aptitude was lacking, otherwise, maybe he and Sister Xu could be a match made in heaven?
Sister Xu... is really blessed!
...