Chapter 1340: Mutual Probing
After receiving Li Yan’s reply, Yu Banjiang had gone to inform his master.
When Shangguan Tianque heard his disciple’s account—that he had brought a heavily injured ascended cultivator back to the sect without his knowledge—he couldn’t help but immediately chide him a few times. He knew what his disciple was thinking.
But to bring back a Nascent Soul , or even Spirit Transformation level cultivator and only inform him after several days was still too reckless.
He knew that after Yu Banjiang had failed to break through to Nascent Soul twice, his state of mind had become increasingly depressed. Not only was his Dao heart wavering, but he had also developed thoughts of death.
This caused him to do things that were completely out of character compared to before.
Yu Banjiang himself knew that his condition was not right, and he wanted to do something truly meaningful for the sect before he perished.
To be precise, to do something for Shangguan Tianque.
Shangguan Tianque could only warn him a few times before turning his attention to Li Yan. After carefully questioning Yu Banjiang, he then came to meet with Li Yan.
‘Hm? What is his realm? He seems like an initial-stage Nascent Soul , yet also like a mid-stage Nascent Soul . Sometimes he even feels like a mortal?’
After the yellow-robed youth’s Divine Sense swept over Li Yan, he was unable to determine his state and couldn’t help but scan him several more times. He made no effort to conceal his actions.
However, he didn’t know that Li Yan only had a slight sense of his probing and couldn’t determine how he was being investigated.
Shangguan Tianque sensed that the other’s realm seemed very unstable, but looking at Li Yan’s complexion, his qi and blood did not seem to be depleted.
This was only because the Nascent Soul in Li Yan’s body was dormant. But his physical body was too formidable, so the circulation of magical power and qi and blood made his realm appear very unstable.
However, with just a single scan, the yellow-robed youth confirmed the issue he was concerned about. There was indeed a repulsive force between Li Yan’s soul and the laws of heaven and earth here. The other party was definitely an ascended cultivator from a lower realm.
“Greetings, Fellow Daoist Shangguan!”
Li Yan also cupped his hands. He had told Yu Banjiang earlier that his injuries were quite severe, but he would not mention that his Nascent Soul was in a deep slumber or that his Sea of Consciousness had problems.
Even if the other party had saved him, with Li Yan’s personality, he would never tell him his true injuries. That would undoubtedly be exposing his greatest weakness.
Before, he had been unconscious and had no control. Now that he could control some things, Li Yan would certainly strive to minimize his risks.
“Greetings, Fellow Daoist Li. I wonder which continent or realm you come from in the lower world?
Hahaha… I have no intention of prying into your privacy, I’m just a little curious. If it’s inconvenient for Fellow Daoist Li to say, then please consider my question unasked.”
The handsome face of the yellow-robed youth still held a smile. Although he said this, he was in fact probing into Li Yan’s origins.
Li Yan knew that if he said nothing at all, it would only make the other party uneasy.
“I am but a rogue cultivator , from the Wind God Continent.” Li Yan said.
“Wind God Continent? That is one of the more famous continents in the lower realms. Is it the one with the Wind Beasts?”
“Yes!”
“It seems not many cultivators ascend from there, reportedly due to the presence of the Wind Beasts!”
“Oh? Has Fellow Daoist Shangguan met other ascended cultivators?”
Li Yan’s heart stirred, and a flicker of emotion appeared in his eyes.
“Hahaha… I have met a few, but most were just passing acquaintances. I don’t know their specific origins.
As for my understanding of the lower realms, it’s just that I occasionally hear people talk about ascended cultivators. Besides admiring your great combat strength, I’ve also heard people mention some things about the Wind God Continent , so I know a little, but I don’t know if it’s accurate.”
Shangguan Tianque said with a smile.
“That is indeed the case. We fight with the Wind Beasts all year round, so the number of cultivators at Nascent Soul and above is actually not as high as on other continents. Fellow Daoist Shangguan, I wonder how many ascended cultivators come to this realm each year?”
“Each year? Fellow Daoist Li, you are mistaken. Although the Immortal Spirit Realm has only four realms, each realm is boundlessly vast.
It is a vastness that cultivators below the Great Ascension stage simply cannot measure!
When cultivators from the lower realms ascend, compared to the native cultivators of the Immortal Spirit Realm , it’s like a drop of water entering a great river. To be able to meet a cultivator like you, Fellow Daoist, is a great opportunity for my sect.
In the future, when you have been here longer, you will understand. In a sixty-year cycle, or even a hundred years, you might not encounter a single ascended cultivator in one area. The Immortal Spirit Realm is too big!”
Shangguan Tianque shook his head.
Next, the two talked for over an hour before Shangguan Tianque finally stood up to leave. Before leaving, he thought for a moment and then said to Li Yan again.
“Fellow Daoist Li, please stay here for a few days. Regarding the matter of the ‘Immortalization Liquid,’ I will give you a reply within three days!”
Li Yan also smiled and said it was no problem.
Since he knew the preciousness of the “Immortalization Liquid” and knew that the “Broken Army Sect” had two Nascent Soul cultivators, Li Yan understood that for the other party to say this, he needed to discuss it with the other Nascent Soul cultivator.
After all, the “Immortalization Liquid” was not something that could be taken out just like that. He estimated that the “Broken Army Sect” also had to carefully consider it.
Several hundred thousand high-grade spirit stones —if he could open the Earthen Patch , Li Yan’s wealth would shrink by more than half, and he would be pained to death by the loss.
After Shangguan Tianque left, Yu Banjiang spoke a few more words with Li Yan and then also took his leave.
But as he left, Li Yan saw Yu Banjiang casually pick up the broom leaning against the door again. His eyes had regained that weary look, and he walked downstairs step by step…
Watching Yu Banjiang’s departing figure, Li Yan stood by the railing, looking up at the sky. A crescent moon had appeared, accompanied by a sprinkling of countless stars.
The place Li Yan lived in was not a cave residence or a courtyard, but a ten-story octagonal pavilion. The pavilion’s eaves were adorned with wind chimes, and its glazed tiles and carved wood gave off a sense of age, just like Yu Banjiang himself.
Li Yan lived in a side room on the fifth floor. The doors and windows of the other rooms were all closed.
After nightfall, only the room Li Yan lived in and a side room on the first floor would light up with the soft glow of a formation.
With his Divine Sense unable to extend, Li Yan didn’t know what the other rooms were used for, but through many days of observation, he knew that only he and Yu Banjiang lived here.
‘This place should be something like a ‘Scripture-Storing Pavilion’.’ Li Yan thought to himself.
Every day, Yu Banjiang would open some of the rooms and go inside, seemingly to clean or tidy up. And after nightfall, he would even pick up a broom, like a monk guarding a pagoda, and sweep layer by layer from top to bottom…
‘Yu Banjiang seems to be cultivating his state of mind! This should be for Core Formation.’
Li Yan didn’t know much about Yu Banjiang’s situation, but he could see his intention. It was similar to when he himself had entered the mortal world to temper himself in search of that sliver of opportunity for Core Formation .
And the path Yu Banjiang had chosen was likely a kind of Chan Heart cultivation, similar to that of a monk, to settle his state of mind and wait for that sliver of opportunity to arrive.
Li Yan didn’t know that the other had already failed at Core Formation twice. His actions here were not just about waiting for an opportunity, but more about recuperating his quieted state of mind and healing his wounds.
Li Yan’s gaze shifted from Yu Banjiang’s back and remained fixed on the crescent moon in the sky, which was casting a silver glow. It was no longer the familiar, giant, full moon of his memories.
“In such a situation, and the Malevolent Spirit Sect is not in the Northern Pastoral Realm either. My luck this time has been a bit too good. Crossing realms… crossing realms…”
As he thought this, he let out a long breath. Helpless, his thoughts surged like a tide!
Looking up, Li Yan gradually thought of that distant place. On different continents, there were people waiting for him. In his heart, a feeling of a lone lamp and a silent man emerged like a shadow…
At the same moment, on a mountaintop, under the moonlight, the black shadows of pine trees scattered obliquely, reflected on the stone surface below. A gentle breeze stirred the coolness of the night sky!
Under the pine tree, on a smooth boulder, lay several wine jugs. To the side of the boulder, a person was reclining, a red robe spread on the ground. They leaned against the thick trunk of the pine tree, their back to the endless abyss behind.
A jade-like hand, glowing with a porcelain-like luster under the moonlight, was holding a wine jug and pouring it into their mouth. The sleeve slid down to the crook of their arm, revealing skin like suet jade.
Her upturned face was illuminated by the silvery moonlight, highlighting her delicate nose and jade-like face. Her long, dark hair fell in a messy cascade. Her foxy eyes were slightly hazy with intoxication, her brows like distant green mountains, her lips like smoke over water.
Just as she took a gulp of wine, a flash of light appeared on the clifftop, and a handsome, yellow-robed youth appeared before her. The woman seemed not to notice, the wine jug in her hand still tilted, a clear stream of wine gurgling down her throat.
Seeing this scene, a hint of softness appeared in the yellow-robed youth’s eyes.
“Junior Sister!”
Hearing this, the red-robed woman slowly lowered the wine jug in her hand but still held it in her white-lotus-like jade hand.
She glanced sideways at the yellow-robed youth, a hint of drunkenness in her eyes. This glance made her even more alluringly beautiful, captivating the soul.
“You’re back. How is he?”
The woman looked to be in her early twenties, and her voice was as pleasant as the gurgling of a spring. Hearing it was like a clear spring entering the heart.
“He is indeed an ascended cultivator from a lower realm, most likely from the Wind God Continent , but he probably isn’t a rogue cultivator . His realm is fluctuating greatly at the moment, and he seems to be heavily injured, but he is most likely a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.”
The yellow-robed youth answered quickly. He just stood there, his eyes filled with softness as he quietly looked at the beautiful red-robed woman.
“From the Wind God Continent , mid-stage Nascent Soul? The cultivators there fight with the Wind Beasts all year round, so their combat power is also extremely strong.
A typical mid-stage Nascent Soul from there can easily defeat our native mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. I just wonder if he can fight against a late-stage Great Cultivator?”
The pleasant, spring-like voice sounded again. As the red-robed woman spoke, she raised her hand and another clear stream of wine flowed down her throat.
“Fighting a late-stage Great Cultivator is not a given. Ascended cultivators from the lower realms are strong, but those who can fight against late-stage Great Cultivators with mid or initial stage strength are as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.
After all, the Power of Rules comprehended by a late-stage Great Cultivator simply cannot be spoken of in the same breath as the first two levels!”
The yellow-robed youth said thoughtfully.
He could see that Li Yan was not lightly injured, so he couldn’t come to a final conclusion based on his Divine Sense observation just now, but he still gave his objective opinion.
“If he’s willing to stay, then that settles it. Anyway, our sect’s main enemies have no dealings with those sects that established their legacies in the lower realms.
After he stays, we can just observe him in secret. In the beginning, don’t give him any special authority. Just make him a nominal disciple.”
After the pleasant voice sounded, another gulp of clear wine was heard. The yellow-robed youth’s eyes flickered.
“But he is heavily injured and will need to go into seclusion for a long time afterward! At the same time, we have to provide the ‘Immortalization Liquid.’ I’m just afraid that once his injuries heal, he’ll just up and leave. That would be a loss that’s not worth the gain.
After all, if we sign a contract with him about this, he will also hold a grudge. At a critical moment, he may not genuinely help.”
“Then what do you suggest? This kind of thing naturally requires observation. Given the sect’s current situation, can it get any worse than this?”
As the woman’s pleasant voice reached this point, it suddenly became much deeper. Her pair of foxy, alluring eyes now looked at the yellow-robed youth again.
The yellow-robed youth gently walked to the tree and then also sat down cross-legged, sitting beside the beautiful woman. He casually picked up a wine jug from the boulder but found it very light; it was already empty. When he picked up another one, it was also empty.
He couldn’t help but shake his head. Just then, a hand as white as jade held out a wine jug to him.
“Here, there’s still some!”
The yellow-robed youth smiled and took it, then also drank directly from the jug. Seeing this, a blush appeared on the beautiful woman’s face.
After finishing the drink in one gulp, the yellow-robed youth held the wine jug with both hands, like an old man cradling a pot, and then let out a long breath.
“Junior Sister, if… I mean if, if I don’t succeed this time, and you find it too hard to carry on alone, then just disband the sect!
With your cultivation, finding a third-rate sect will be no problem! That way… that way you can cultivate in peace without any distractions. Breaking through to Spirit Transformation won’t be difficult.”
The yellow-robed youth said softly, his voice very gentle.
But after he spoke, the surroundings suddenly became even quieter, as if a cold sword had appeared in the dark night, its cold light suddenly reflecting, and a sense of coldness appeared.
“Nonsense!”
After a few more breaths, the red-robed woman suddenly sat up straight from her leaning position against the tree. The expression on her beautiful face also changed from alluring to furious.
“Junior Sister, this sect had no foundation to begin with. It was built by you and me from scratch. There’s really no need to have any burden of inheritance.
As for the disciples below, we have protected them for so many years and taught them the cultivation methods we should. We can’t protect them for their entire lives.
If they can produce a Nascent Soul within three hundred years, then they can assist the sect. Otherwise, it’s time for them to fly high…”
“I say you’re talking nonsense. What three hundred years? Then how many years do I have left? We fought through a sea of corpses and a mountain of blood to preserve this place to this day. I will not give up.”
The red-robed woman’s face turned cold. The yellow-robed youth was not angered by this, a smile still on his face. He knew that his junior sister simply couldn’t bear to part with this place.
This place held too many memories of them going through life and death together, memories she was unwilling to let go of.
“Junior Sister, your situation is different from mine. You have been accumulating your strength all this time. As long as you have the pills…”
“You’re still talking!”
The red-robed woman snatched the wine jug from Shangguan Tianque’s hand, her aura already beginning to surge.
“Hahaha… then let’s do as you say. But we need to observe this Li Yan carefully for a few years, otherwise we’ll suffer a great loss. That bottle of ‘Immortalization Liquid’ is too expensive…”
A wry smile appeared on Shangguan Tianque’s face, and he could only drop the subject.
“Didn’t you say his injuries haven’t healed? If he goes into seclusion for a few dozen or a hundred years, what’s the point of observing!”
“He also told me that he should be able to recover his cultivation within a sixty-year cycle. Otherwise, he will compensate with the corresponding spirit stones in the future, including the cost of renting the cave residence.”
“Oh? He said that? He proposed it himself?”
“He proposed it and was willing to make a contract, but I rejected it on the spot.”
“Then this cultivator is very interesting. He seems like someone who is unwilling to take advantage of others!”
The anger on the red-robed woman’s face finally dissipated. She was quite surprised by Li Yan’s proposal.