Chapter 1343: Like a Fleeting Glimpse

“Junior Brother, this Xiao Yunzong isn’t dead. They’ve surely set other traps. I fear the other three sects have also fallen for it. They’ve plotted this with such deliberation; it’s truly perilous. However, we don’t need to return here immediately. After this battle, the other side will certainly have to re-plan. Besides, that Xiao Yunzong was badly injured by you and will need a good deal of time to recuperate. We still have time to handle our own matters first.”

True Lord Qianchong said with a smile, still maintaining his usual calm and unhurried demeanor. Even before, when he was trapped in that desperate situation without the five elements of spiritual energy, he had been just as calm when he saw Dong Fuyi and Pei Buchong.

“Of course, both you and I were deceived on this trip. I need to hurry back and check on that somewhat foolish blockhead. I hope he hasn’t kicked the bucket.”

Ever since escaping that desperate place, True Lord Qianchong had been sensing certain things in his mind. After a brief discussion with Dong Fuyi, he had immediately decided to leave. They simply tore open the void and flew straight towards the Desolate Moon Continent, a journey that had already taken several months.

But just then, the expression of the yellow-robed Daoist suddenly changed.

“Li Yan, was it? That wisp of divine will I left on the Forsaken Continent seems to have news of him. I couldn’t sense it before, being trapped in that desperate place. Now that I’m out and far from the North Ice Continent, I have a faint connection, though it’s still a bit blurry. We should head to the Forsaken Continent first. We might be able to get accurate news of him there. Judging by the time you met him, my divine will must have encountered him later, so the information will be more accurate!”

“Oh, there’s such a thing? So he’s still alive, and he can even cross realms? And he just so happened to run into your divine will clone?” Dong Fuyi’s flying form trembled slightly. This was unexpected news. And what reassured him most was that not only was Li Yan alive, but he should have already formed his Nascent Soul.

“This is harder than a woman giving birth! The sect finally has a successor!” Dong Fuyi’s heart settled slightly, and he was no longer as anxious as before.

“In any case, the distance between those two continents isn’t too far. How about I go and retrieve my divine will to get the real story on Li Yan? If he really is on the Forsaken Continent, we can find him there and not waste any more time. Otherwise, we’ll return to the Desolate Moon Continent, and you can look for Li Yan. I’ll also go find Ping Tu, and then we’ll all return to the Immortal Spirit Realm together. We’ll check on the situation of the others in the sect first and determine if the five sects have received any other strange news in these years, which might be other traps set by the Yin-Yang Chaos Sect. Then we can discuss with the others whether it’s necessary to first wipe out the known forces on the North Ice Continent.” True Lord Qianchong suggested.

“I also want to see this Junior Brother Li. I must get to know him properly, hahaha…” Pei Buchong, who was behind them, chuckled upon hearing this. At the same time, he greatly missed Ping Tu, the artifact spirit who was both a master and a friend to him.

“Excellent, let’s proceed with that plan. Let’s go!” Dong Fuyi trusted True Lord Qianchong completely and no longer dwelled on how Li Yan could have had such a coincidence. Before his words had even faded, the three of them had vanished into the distance in an instant.

…

Thirty years passed in a flash. In these thirty years, many things happened on the Wind God Continent. First was a world-shaking event that sent ripples throughout the entire cultivation world. The Sword-Washing Sect, taking advantage of the Tianli Clan’s loss of their Great Sacrificial Priest, had its Supreme Elder, the “Peerless Sword of Hua Tian” Xue Longzi, lead his final disciple, Wan Qingshe, to confront the Tianli Clan in an attempt to annex them.

But what no one expected, the result that shocked everyone beyond measure, was that despite a Spirit Transformation cultivator making a move, the final outcome was his disciple Wan Qingshe being killed, and he himself being dragged into a spatial crack by the contemporary “Qing A Wang” of the Tianli Clan, his whereabouts unknown ever since. As for whether Xue Longzi’s natal tablet was intact, the Sword-Washing Sect immediately declared that any cultivator spreading such rumors would be captured and executed by a thousand cuts. But the one who spread this news was none other than the Great Elder of the Tianli Clan. The moment the battle ended, he announced to the world that from that day on, the Tianli Clan and the Sword-Washing Sect would be locked in a feud until death.

But the situation changed with extreme abruptness. The Tianli Clan had just made their declaration to the world, and before they could even make a move, the Sword-Washing Sect was already destroyed, its members dead or scattered. That fifth-rank Skyfire Beast, upon confirming the news, immediately led its forces to attack the Sword-Washing Sect. This time, even with Xue Longzi’s clone detonating his physical body and all his magical treasures, most of the sect’s cultivators still died at the hands of the Wind Beasts. Only a small portion managed to escape, their whereabouts unknown.

These two events happened so quickly that they caught the entire Wind God Continent’s cultivators off guard, and the repercussions were immense. First was the Tianli Clan’s furious denunciation, accusing the Sword-Washing Sect of being shameless and bullying the weak. Did this mean that only sects with Spirit Transformation cultivators could survive in this world? This sent countless small sects into a state of panic, feeling that if even a once-colossal entity like the Tianli Clan, which possessed Spirit Transformation cultivators, would be personally dealt with by a Spirit Transformation cultivator, it was simply too shocking.

But at first, they didn’t believe it. Yet the few sects that did have Spirit Transformation cultivators all remained silent. And very soon, the Sword-Washing Sect was attacked by the Wind Beasts and annihilated with the ease of smashing rotten wood. This made many people realize that what the Tianli Clan had said was true. The Sword-Washing Sect’s strongest foundation had truly vanished, without Xue Longzi to confront the fifth-rank Wind Beast.

This plunged the entire Wind God Continent into a state of panic. Everyone felt they had no security whatsoever. But not long after the Sword-Washing Sect’s destruction, a world-enveloping, heaven-shaking aura spread across the Wind God Continent. It was the aura released by the other Spirit Transformation cultivators. And on the Wind Beast’s side, several equally ferocious auras shot into the sky. Although no one heard the rumbling of thunder, the “Skyfire” clan of Wind Beasts, after annihilating the Sword-Washing Sect, simply occupied their vast territory and did not expand any further.

After that, it took five years after the disappearance of the top-tier sect, the Sword-Washing Sect, for the Wind God Continent to finally return to its former state. But by this time, many cultivators knew of the Tianli Clan’s fearsome reputation. Three late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivators and a Wind Beast had fought against a Spirit Transformation cultivator—and a sword cultivator at that, one known for having the sharpest attacks. As the news continued to spread, they also learned of the ferocity of the contemporary “Qing A Wang,” who had launched a suicidal attack against a Spirit Transformation cultivator, with the final result being that the latter had very likely perished.

All of this became fodder for conversation. Out of curiosity, many inquired about whether Xue Longzi and Li Yan were dead, but no one could give a definitive answer. Most people believed Xue Longzi was likely still alive, just squeezed out of this world by its laws. As for Li Yan, since he had never returned, he must have already perished. It was said that the Tianli Clan had dispatched many people and finally captured a few sword cultivators who had escaped from the Sword-Washing Sect that day. After performing soul-searches, the intelligence they obtained was that Xue Longzi’s natal life tablet had shattered one after the other with Wan Qingshe’s on that day. This was secretly passed on by the cultivator guarding the life tablets. But this news was later refuted by others, who claimed that Xue Longzi was simply unable to return. There was also news that some of the cultivators who had escaped from the Sword-Washing Sect were secretly gathering forces, possibly to launch a counter-attack against the Tianli Clan. For a time, all sorts of rumors flew about, their authenticity unknown.

The Tianli Clan, however, suffered seven attacks in the twenty years following the destruction of the Sword-Washing Sect. The attackers were all sword cultivators, and each time, a battle between Nascent Soul cultivators erupted. These matters were kept secret from the outside world. For the Tianli Clan, battle was carved into their very bones. Telling others about such things wouldn’t help; they had to rely on themselves. However, in these seven attacks, Yan San’s Wind Beast faction also participated, always assisting the Tianli Clan. In the end, through these successive attacks, the Tianli Clan and the Wind Beasts lost many of their own, including a fourth-rank Wind Beast, and the Tianli Clan’s Fourth and Sixth Elders died in battle. They also killed three of the enemy’s Nascent Soul cultivators.

The combat power of sword cultivators was unparalleled. Even with the Tianli Clan holding the geographical advantage, the battles were practically a life-for-a-life exchange. However, among the enemy dead was a late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator, and several hundred Golden Core and Foundation Establishment sword cultivators also perished.

After twenty years, no more sword cultivators came to attack. Although this matter couldn’t be spread as widely as the great battle between Li Yan’s group and Xue Longzi, many major powers still received the news. Some expressed regret for the bravery of the sword cultivators, while others expressed admiration for the Tianli Clan’s unity and resilience. And in these successive attacks, the matter of the Wind Beasts participating in a human battle spread among the major sects and clans.

Thus, starting from the twenty-third year after Li Yan left the Wind God Continent, strange phenomena began to appear in many places on the continent. Humans and some other demon clans began to openly trade cultivation resources with the local Wind Beasts, and this trend grew stronger and stronger. Slowly, the figures of Wind Beast cultivators even began to appear in some of the more remote market towns.

In the twenty-fifth year after Li Yan left the Wind God Continent, the mortals of the continent were pleasantly surprised to find that when they went out now, they were very rarely attacked by Wind Beasts. At this time, Yan San’s faction, due to an abundance of cultivation resources, had already produced two new fourth-rank Wind Beasts. The Tianli Clan’s Third Elder broke through to the late-stage Nascent Soul, becoming one of the Tianli Clan’s strongest combatants.

Gong Shanhe, due to his long-term search for Li Yan, remained at the mid-stage Nascent Soul. But after his last return from the chaotic flow of space, he also entered a long period of seclusion. The Fifth Elder, after the successive deaths of the Second and Fourth Elders, was greatly stimulated. In the seventh battle against the enemy sword cultivators, he fought with a life-for-life mentality. In an exchange of injuries, he killed a early-stage Nascent Soul sword cultivator from the enemy’s side, but was himself gravely injured and on the brink of death. However, four years after the great battle, with the help of a large number of medicinal pills, the Fifth Elder woke up. A year later, after a breakthrough in his state of mind, he advanced his Qiongqi Purgatory Art to the mid-sixth layer, reaching the mid-stage Nascent Soul. In the same year, after the decline of the Second Elder’s branch, a disciple from that lineage, A Yuan, successfully formed his Nascent Soul, becoming the newest elder of the Tianli Clan.

In the twenty-seventh year after Li Yan left the Wind God Continent, after confirming that the Tianli Clan was flourishing and had not been attacked by external enemies for years, Hong Yin decided to leave. After a long talk with the Great Elder, she, along with Gong Chenying, Qian Ji, and Zi Kun, left the Tianli Clan. Tearing open the void, they headed for the Desolate Moon Continent. Hong Yin needed to find the answer to her question: why had the head of the Red Whisk Crimson Dragon Spear appeared on the Desolate Moon Continent? She had to know why the Red Whisk Temple had ultimately vanished. She had sealed the Yin Mountain Beast back then, so logically, her sect’s external enemies had disappeared, and no other Wind Beasts had occupied the Yin Mountain Beast’s territory in the end. Yet why did the Red Whisk Temple disappear? All of this was a mystery to her, a thousand knots in her heart.

Gong Chenying’s purpose on this trip was to go to the Malevolent Spirit Sect and check if the Soul Lamp Li Yan had left behind was safe. She had to see it with her own eyes to be at ease. Back when Li Yan and Zhao Min had fallen into the Devil’s Cliff Crevice, both of their Soul Lamps had remained lit. The final result was that they had returned alive, which meant that the Soul Lamp could indeed determine if Li Yan was alive or dead. What she didn’t know was that Li Yan had never told anyone about the Soul Lamp in the sect. In the entire world, only he and Ping Tu knew the truth. Moreover, before he came out, Li Yan had personally reinforced the Soul Lamp to prevent other Nascent Soul cultivators from seeing through the facade.

Over the years, Gong Chenying, Gong Shanhe, and the Great Elder had all entered the spatial cracks for long periods to search for Li Yan, but all had returned empty-handed.