Starting with a Family System to Become an Immortal Official-Chapter 110: Closure

A year had passed in the Far-Reaching Continent like the turning of a single page in an ancient scroll.

The morning was covered in dawn when sacred light pierced the sky above the Li Clan settlement.

Three emissaries from the Exalted Sage School descended on beams of pure immortal qi in white robes embroidered with nine celestial stars fluttering without wind.

Each bore the aura of Nascent Soul experts yet they moved with profound respect.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a serene face and silver-threaded beard. He cupped his hands deeply toward the central palace where Li Qingmu resided.

"Young Lord Li Qingmu, by decree of Master Wen Jiuling and the Holy Court, your ascension papers are hereby approved. The Exalted Sage School awaits your arrival in the Four Regions. Master Wen urges haste as the path of the Nine Celestial Transformations cannot linger in the lower realms."

The three emissaries bowed as one then rose.

Without another word, they transformed into streaks of rainbow light and vanished toward the Eastern Sea horizon.

Li Qingmu stood atop the highest pavilion with hands clasped behind as he watched them depart.

A faint smile touched his lips.

Everything was ready.

Thanks to Song Yan’s deep connections and her family’s accumulated wealth, a grand fleet of magic airships now hovered above the peaks.

Dozens of them, hulls carved from thousand-year spirit wood, arrays glowing with protective runes, decks loaded with spirit stones, elixirs, and treasures.

Farewell gifts from various sects and families poured in through the night: jade boxes of rare herbs, immortal level artifacts, even whole spirit mines as tokens of goodwill. Servants and disciples hurried back and forth under lantern light as they tirelessly stacked crates and secured spirit beasts in the holds.

Not everyone would ascend today.

Time flowed far faster in the Lower Heaven Realm.

A decade could pass in the mortal world and it’d barely be a year up there!

Many Foundation Establishment disciples who had joined the Li Clan early chose to remain behind. They would cultivate diligently until at least Core Formation to gain enough lifespan before following.

Li Qingmu respected their decision.

The path was long and rushing blindly invited disaster.

Those ascending were the main branch.

Li Qingmu himself.

His three wives and 30+ children.

His twenty-six peerless concubines.

And a select group of loyal retainers.

Official Wong would remain as interim clan leader.

The position came with vast resources and authority so he accepted with genuine gratitude.

Head Concubine Huang walked across the loading platforms like a storm given form.

Her sharp voice cut through the dawn air as she directed disciples with ruthless efficiency.

"Faster! That spirit herb pavilion must be dismantled and loaded before the first light! You there—stop slacking or I’ll have you carry the entire archive on your back!"

Disciples groaned inwardly.

Huang Shiyue was infamous.

Head Wife Zhen Rou assigned gentle tasks like plucking flowers or tending gardens.

Even Chen Yuxuan and Chen Yuling sent them on light errands to pick one or two herbs.

But Huang Shiyue treated everyone like warhorses.

Old men, injured juniors, it mattered not.

If it saved time, she ordered it done.

Many avoided her gaze.

Work under her meant sweat and aching bones.

══════

Li Qingmu had slipped away before sunrise.

He sat quietly in a small, shabby courtyard on Sun Peak which was the very place given to him after his forced marriage to Zhen Rou.

The same courtyard where endless struggles started.

He remembered it all.

Nights of icing his aching body downstairs after Zhen Rou dominated him in bed.

The endless pills meant to mask that embarrassing fish smell of his private part.

Piles of teeth-cleaning twigs he used to brush his mouth after kissing her oily mouth.

"Heh."

Now he could only smile at those memories.

He took a sip from his jade cup then rose gracefully.

With a spin of sleeve, he floated upward and landed lightly on the tiled roof.

Dawn’s first rays kissed the horizon.

From here, he could see the Spirit Sun Stream where he had once shared a little boat ride with Big Sis Song and Gu Jiayue toward Three-Legged Crow Peak.

Memories flickered like fireflies. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Li Qingmu tucked his hands behind his back as his pristine robes rippled in the breeze.

"It’s not as if I’ll never return. Once I become an emissary of the Holy Court, I’ll walk these lands again from time to time. But still... this feels like goodbye."

The Far-Reaching Continent was all he’d ever known.

Before the Imperial Academy, before cultivation, he was just a simple village boy from Red Lantern Village who was poor and happy with parents who loved him.

A pang twisted in his chest.

"Father... Mother..."

He forced a composed smile.

"I wish I could go back sometimes. Not because I hate this power or this path... but because I miss you both so much. Everyone back home."

He lowered his head and sighed softly.

Then he noticed a figure in the courtyard below

They leaned on a cane, cloth tied over both eyes.

A blind young man?

Li Qingmu raised a brow and floated down gently.

"Bi Haitao?"

The young man turned his head toward the voice and his lips curved in a weak smile.

"Senior Li."

Li Qingmu felt a stab of guilt.

"I... I’m sorry. I meant to visit you sooner. I forgot."

Bi Haitao shook his head.

"It’s fine. Tomorrow I shall return to my small village in the Western Expanse."

"A break, or...?"

Bi Haitao’s smile turned bitter.

"My eyes... the damage from Hai Tung Wan was too severe. Lower realm pills lack the power to regenerate them. The pain is constant. I’ve decided to give up cultivation. I’ll live out my remaining years humbly."

He placed a hand over his chest.

"During the exams... so many candidates died because of me. I thought I was better than you. I made foolish choices. The cultivation world is vast—most lives feel shallow unless you’re truly special. But you, Li Qingmu... I see it now. You’ll become one of the greatest to ever walk the path. I only hope I’m still alive to hear the tales, even without eyes."

Li Qingmu stood silent.

The blind man’s quiet smile hurt more than any blade.

He knew Bi Haitao once despised him.

There are many like him who believe Li Qingmu is in this position due to nepotism.

Time to set it straight.

"Bi Haitao, I know you are still convinced I never suffered for this position. That everything I have and I am was handed to me. But you’re wrong."

He paused as his gaze turned distant.

"My parents and entire village starved under crushing taxes from the previous Western Expanse State Head. Instead of punishment, that man was promoted to the Lower Heaven Realm. My parents poured everything into sending me to school so I become an immortal official. Even now... I feel I haven’t done enough to honor them."

He lowered his head and frowned.

Bi Haitao nodded slowly.

"I see..."

"And..."

Li Qingmu continued gently.

"A disability has never stopped anyone from cultivating and fighting forward. Endure this moment of suffering. Don’t let it end your path."

Bi Haitao clasped his hands and bowed deeply.

"Take care, Senior Li."

Then he turned and walked away with his cane.

Li Qingmu remained rooted in place.

"..."

He has no words.

══════

Elsewhere, Chen Yuxuan and Gao Yue prepared to depart but Yuxuan insisted on one last visit.

Fragrant Flower Peak.

She was banned from there.

But as former grand elder, the female disciples allowed her passage out of lingering respect.

Gao Yue glanced around the familiar grounds.

"Is there any point? Chen Jingshu probably doesn’t want to see you."

Yuxuan shook her head.

"I know. But I’m still her mother. Before I follow my husband to the Four Regions... I need to try. The distance will be too great otherwise. I want closure."

Gao Yue nodded.

"I understand."

They reached the palace where Jingshu resided.

The doors were locked tight.

Yuxuan knocked gently.

"Jingshu... Mother knows you’re inside."

She knocked harder.

"Please... open the door."

Silence answered her.

She knocked again.

"Daughter, I’m sorry. I chose love for your stepfather over the beliefs I raised you with. I’m sorry I dragged Yuling into this too. But that doesn’t mean we should become strangers all of a sudden. Mother and daughter... please..."

Still nothing.

Yuxuan begged again and again as apologies tumbled out of her fragile voice.

Tears finally spilled down her porcelain cheeks.

Gao Yue stepped forward quickly to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"Madam... enough. Come."

Chen Yuxuan wept quietly as they left.

══════

At the airship fleet.

Zhen Rou stood gazing up at the hovering vessels with a solemn expression.

"Rou’er."

She turned.

Patriarch Zhen approached, face warm with pride.

"Father."

She bowed deeply.

The old man smiled.

"Six years married to that boy, and look how you’ve grown. Who would’ve thought a former peasant would bring such fortune to my daughter?"

Zhen Rou clasped her hands and bowed lower.

"I’ll be forever grateful to Husband."

Patriarch Zhen nodded.

"The best gratitude is diligence in cultivation. Become strong enough to stand at his side as a true head wife. Don’t let any other woman surpass you. If you fail... just know you’ve completely failed as a wife."

Zhen Rou nodded firmly.

"I won’t fail, Father."

The old man smiled and patted her shoulder.

High above, the first airships hummed with power.

The great ascension was about to begin.

The Far-Reaching Continent would soon be a memory.

The Four Regions awaited.