Chapter 1365: A Heart-to-Heart Talk

“What… happened? Is he… a man, a ferocious beast, or a malevolent ghost…”

At this moment, aside from bewilderment, Liu Huaigu felt nothing but an icy terror. He felt that everything around him was no longer the familiar Immortal Spirit Realm.

Everything was so hostile toward him, making him feel completely unwell.

He even began to wonder if his opponent was a Void Refining cultivator. He had seen many Spirit Transformation cultivators, but he had never seen a divine ability that could control and influence another’s techniques to the point of preventing them from being cast…

And all of this, from Li Yan appearing to attack the masked cultivator in red, to the three strikes against Liu Huaigu, had taken a total of only four and a half breaths.

Ever since his battle with Xue Longzi, Li Yan’s understanding of his own techniques had reached a level that was incomprehensible and unbeatable for Nascent Soul cultivators.

This was a major reason why many cultivators liked to train on the edge of life and death. It was a kind of great enlightenment that could never be obtained through arduous cultivation alone.

When Li Yan’s Five Elements Disarray Mantle stirred the rules around a Spirit Transformation cultivator, because of the cultivator’s extremely strong control over the power of rules, his Sea of Consciousness would suffer a huge backlash every time he used it, injuring himself before he could injure his enemy.

But now, after gaining a deeper understanding of the rules of the Nascent Soul realm, he understood the patterns of the common five-element rules and saw the brief mixed gaps that appeared during their mutual transformations.

And when these mixed gaps in the five-element operations appeared under the extremely strong control of a Spirit Transformation cultivator, if Li Yan wanted to forcefully interrupt them, he would suffer not only the backlash from the laws of heaven and earth but also the counterattack from the Spirit Transformation cultivator’s control.

These were insights he had not known before, that he could not grasp. He had once thought that practicing the Five Elements Disarray Mantle was simply about disrupting the power of the five-element rules.

After having an indescribable enlightenment, he realized just how powerful and terrifying the Five Elements Disarray Mantle was. It seemed he had only just grasped a fraction of it.

With his Divine Sense strength far exceeding that of his peers, once this technique was used against cultivators below the Spirit Transformation Realm, the timing was so precise that it seemed to be an unsolvable problem.

This left his enemies, aside from being driven mad, in a state of complete bewilderment, not knowing what had happened.

This had severely shaken Liu Huaigu’s confidence. He was even beginning to doubt his own cultivation methods, wondering if his opponent had discovered some loophole…

The Immortal-Striking Stone, having lost its subsequent magical power support, was sent flying by the spinning silver runes on Shangguan Tianque’s shield in the next moment.

In the four and a half breaths that had passed, what Shangguan Tianque saw was a series of unbelievable scenes.

First, for some unknown reason, the masked man in red suddenly froze in place. Before Shangguan Tianque could react, he seemed to see a familiar scene again.

Liu Huaigu was being beaten by a savage and violent attack, sent tumbling and flying forward without any ability to resist.

What defensive counterattacks, what one-for-one exchanges—when Liu Huaigu faced Li Yan’s attacks, it was as if he had become a different person, with none of the composure he had when facing him.

Liu Huaigu was like a man facing a peerless, barbaric beast. It was complete and utter domination.

“This… this… this is the true strength of a cultivator from a lower realm? He slaughters those of the same rank like dogs, and he’s only at the Mid-stage Nascent Soul… If he were to advance to the Late-stage, could he even contend with a Spirit Transformation cultivator?”

The scene was too shocking. Shangguan Tianque couldn’t see the chaotic power of the rules, so the impact was even greater.

He only saw Liu Huaigu being beaten to a pulp. If it weren’t for the powerful golden light protecting him, he would have ended up just like Mang Yan.

“Swish, swish, swish!”

As he flew forward, Liu Huaigu turned his head and was met by Li Yan’s calm gaze, which made his whole body turn ice-cold, as if he had been plunged into the nine serenities of the underworld.

In his Divine Sense, Li Yan followed him as closely as a ghost, making his heart tremble with fear. It was as if his opponent was going to follow him like this forever, until the end of time, “never to be separated.”

How many years had it been since he had felt this way? This feeling of powerlessness, like he couldn’t win and couldn’t escape, only appeared when facing cultivators at the Spirit Transformation Realm or above.

And the icy aura emanating from his opponent was like a shadow that followed him everywhere. The pressure in Liu Huaigu’s heart had brought him to the brink of collapse.

Just as his eyes filled with fear and he tried desperately to avoid his opponent’s entanglement, Li Yan, with his calm gaze, closed in again and raised his hand.

“Fellow Daoist, Fellow Daoist…”

Liu Huaigu was scared out of his wits, his voice mixed with the blood in his mouth.

But what drove him to the brink of madness was that he no longer wanted to fight back. He just wanted to use a flight technique to escape, but even that wouldn’t work. He couldn’t draw on the power of heaven and earth.

All in all, the distance he had supposedly “escaped” had actually been created by being beaten back by his opponent.

He was so scared that he quickly turned his head and shouted at Li Yan, his voice filled with terror.

But Li Yan had already seen that the golden light on his opponent’s body had dimmed considerably. His last blow had used ninety percent of his strength, and the power of that jade ring was finally about to be exhausted.

Li Yan felt that his pure physical strength could rival that of a Spirit Transformation cultivator, which meant that the jade ring had withstood several consecutive blows from a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

The cultivators of the Immortal Spirit Realm were truly wealthy. The grade of a Nascent Soul cultivator’s defensive magical treasure was so high. Unfortunately, this jade ring was now useless.

Li Yan completely ignored Liu Huaigu’s shouts. In the other’s desperate and terrified eyes, he had already raised his left fist. But this time, his left fist was also covered in specks of golden light.

Upon closer inspection, the golden light looked like golden bone spurs growing from his knuckles.

“No!”

Amidst Liu Huaigu’s terrified screams, Li Yan’s fourth punch came crashing down.

“Boom!”

Another solid punch landed on Liu Huaigu’s back, in almost the exact same spot as the previous ones.

“Buzz!”

The golden light on Liu Huaigu’s body could no longer bear the strain. After a seemingly unwilling low hum, it, along with the protective light shield that had little magical power left to support it, shattered into a sky full of golden light.

Then, Li Yan’s fist slammed into his opponent’s flesh. The golden bone spurs pierced directly into his body.

Liu Huaigu’s body trembled violently. He opened his mouth wide, and amidst a rainbow of blood, there were also some dark, blackish things. He spat it all out toward the distance, and the light in his eyes instantly dimmed.

This time, the magical power in his body, which had only been chaotic, was now severed section by section starting from the Du meridian on his back. He could no longer form a heavenly cycle circulation.

And a dignified Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator didn’t even have the ability to launch a single attack against his opponent…

“Trying to run?”

In the distance, Shangguan Tianque suddenly turned around. The Blood Jade Spider-Snake on the side had also reacted by now. It instantly retracted the spider silk wrapped around the silver spear and fled into the distance at extreme speed, not even caring about the masked cultivator in red.

Its overall strength was still a notch below Shangguan Tianque’s. Shangguan Tianque had just been pushed to the brink by the two men and one beast, and his heart was filled with frustration. How could he let it escape now?

With a flicker, Shangguan Tianque had disappeared from his original spot, leaving behind two stunned people in the void, as well as Li Yan, who had stopped his attack.

Li Yan’s eyes flickered a few times, but he ultimately did not pursue. Instead, he turned his gaze back to Liu Huaigu. In the other’s terrified eyes, he placed his palm directly on the crown of his head.

In Liu Huaigu’s heart, it wasn’t just the fear of the impending soul-search. It was the terrifying means the other possessed to seal his Nascent Soul’s escape.

At the most critical moment just now, Liu Huaigu knew his physical body was lost. Even if he escaped this time, his strength would surely plummet. So, he had planned to have his Nascent Soul escape into the void.

But just as his Nascent Soul was about to leave his body, he was horrified to discover that the golden light that had entered his body from his back had, in an instant, formed golden bars around his body…

His Nascent Soul crashed into them and was knocked back. His Nascent Soul had actually been imprisoned by his opponent.

And when his Nascent Soul touched the golden light, some strange power began to seep into it, causing the power within his Nascent Soul, which could move mountains and overturn seas, to rapidly drain away…

This kind of technique could generally only be used by someone a full major realm higher, who could forcefully seal it with their powerful cultivation. Among the Nascent Soul realm, such techniques were extremely rare. Liu Huaigu had only ever heard of them, never seen one.

In the next moment, a force that stirred his soul came from the crown of his head, and his face twisted in extreme pain…

Nearly a hundred breaths later, the void rippled slightly, and Shangguan Tianque appeared where they had just fought. He saw Li Yan standing quietly, suspended in the air.

He was holding Liu Huaigu’s Immortal-Striking Stone and examining it carefully, looking quite interested.

At this point, Li Yan raised his head.

“These two are still alive. I’ve already searched Liu Huaigu’s soul, but I haven’t searched the masked man in red. Sect Master, you can try again, but it’s possible he will self-destruct.”

Li Yan said faintly. He knew Shangguan Tianque would definitely want to know more about his opponent, so he had spared their lives.

But he had unceremoniously taken all the storage magical treasures from these two. When he had time later, he would examine them one by one.

As he spoke, he also put away Liu Huaigu’s Immortal-Striking Stone. This magical treasure was quite peculiar, and its power was extraordinary. It could force a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator into such a sorry state, which showed its remarkableness.

Li Yan naturally wouldn’t be polite about it. He didn’t have many good magical treasures, and most of his battles relied on his own divine abilities.

At the same time, Li Yan’s usual caution was once again on display. Not only did he search Liu Huaigu’s memory and obtain a lot of information, but he also smoothly erased some of his recent memories.

That included memories of the sudden chaos of the power of rules around him, and the memories of the golden light in his body related to the Demon-Sealing Needle. Those were things Li Yan absolutely did not want others to see.

Therefore, what Shangguan Tianque saw was still Li Yan’s wild and unrestrained attack style. He still believed he was a Body Cultivator.

As for the masked cultivator in red not far away, Li Yan had just probed him slightly before immediately withdrawing his magical power.

He could be sure that, like the other masked cultivator in red, a restriction had been placed on his Sea of Consciousness that he could not break. Combined with Liu Huaigu’s memories, he decided not to search his soul.

“Elder Li, if it weren’t for you today, even if I could have escaped, I probably would have had to abandon this physical body and use instantaneous movement to flee!”

After killing the Blood Jade Spider-Snake, Shangguan Tianque immediately rushed back. Seeing the scene before him, he was completely won over by Li Yan.

Moreover, any lingering worries he had about Li Yan had now completely vanished. He expressed his gratitude with great sincerity, and even openly admitted how he had planned to escape.

Li Yan’s combat power was too formidable. He now suspected that he might be a Spirit Transformation cultivator who was deliberately concealing his cultivation.

After all, the highest realm for a cultivator from a lower realm was the Spirit Transformation Realm.

“It’s nothing. I just caught them off guard with a surprise attack. In a real fight, I wouldn’t be so confident,” Li Yan said faintly.

At this time, Shangguan Tianque no longer believed Li Yan’s “modest” words.

As for the “surprise attack” he mentioned, Shangguan Tianque would have to be a ghost to believe it.

He knew very well what it meant to capture a Nascent Soul cultivator alive. It was several times more difficult than killing one. Even if he tried a surprise attack, it would be extremely difficult to succeed.

And from Li Yan’s words, he should have captured three people in total. If this was a coincidence, Shangguan Tianque would be an idiot.

He hesitated for a moment, then said no more. He first waved his hand and collected Liu Huaigu.

He didn’t even bother to check what kind of seal was on Liu Huaigu, nor did he doubt for a moment that Li Yan’s seal was not secure. He just took him like that.

Then, he flew toward the masked man in red. Seeing this, Li Yan immediately flickered and quickly floated into the distance.

Not long after, with a loud “Boom!”, a monstrous wave of destructive aura spread out directly from behind Li Yan.

Soon, a figure flashed, appearing at Li Yan’s side before the destructive aura from behind could reach them. It was Shangguan Tianque. He gave Li Yan a deep look.

His aura was a bit unstable. Although Li Yan had warned him, the self-destruction of the restriction in the opponent’s Sea of Consciousness was much faster than he had imagined, and he was still affected by it.

In the depths of Shangguan Tianque’s eyes, there was an even stronger light. He was now certain that the other masked man in red had definitely died at Li Yan’s hands.

His heart was even more determined to keep Li Yan in the Broken Army Sect. Not only was Li Yan a person who clearly distinguished between kindness and enmity, but once he made a promise, he was so trustworthy.

He didn’t have much time left in this world. If Li Yan could stay, his junior sister would have a much greater chance of breaking through to the Spirit Transformation Realm than he did.

At that time, with Li Yan’s assistance, the Broken Army Sect would be safe from any problems for at least a thousand years, with a seventy percent certainty.

Then, after blocking the aftershock from behind, Shangguan Tianque waved his sleeve, and Liu Huaigu appeared before him. Having lost his magical power, Liu Huaigu had already reverted to his original appearance.

Without any pause, Shangguan Tianque began his soul-search again. For the time being, neither of them proposed going to help Donglin Tingyue. She had already fled beyond the range of their Divine Sense, who knows how many tens of thousands of li away.

They could only go to the agreed-upon meeting point to find her. Besides, both of them were extremely intelligent and could see that Donglin Tingyue had intended to escape on her own.

After all, there were three Late-stage Great Cultivators attacking them. No matter how you looked at it, their chances of survival were slim. Since that was the case, they naturally had no intention of immediately going to help her.

Liu Huaigu’s originally handsome face twisted as Shangguan Tianque’s magical power poured into him. His eyes were bloodshot, and his eyeballs bulged.

When searching the soul of someone like this, neither of them would show any mercy. It was just that Li Yan had considered that he needed to leave him for Shangguan Tianque to search, so he had been a little gentle.

If he had fallen into their hands, he would probably have suffered the same fate, and possibly even worse. So, he didn’t want to consider the other’s feelings.

Fortunately, Liu Huaigu’s mouth had been sealed, so no matter how much pain he was in, he couldn’t make a sound. Even his body, which wanted to struggle desperately, was held firmly in place by a magical force.

Time passed bit by bit. Li Yan stood not far away, his hands behind his back, looking into the distance. At the same time, he spread his Divine Sense, observing the surroundings for any other cultivators or demonic beasts approaching.

Seventy or eighty breaths later.

“Bang!”

Liu Huaigu’s head first exploded like a watermelon. Then, starting from his neck, his body exploded inch by inch into a bloody mist, like a rapidly melting pillar of blood, finally ending his time of living death…

In the void, the White Jade Skiff flew at extreme speed. On it stood Shangguan Tianque and Li Yan. They were discussing something in low voices, their expressions very harmonious.

At this time, Shangguan Tianque no longer had any reservations. He began to discuss all his doubts with Li Yan one by one.

The information they had just obtained from the soul-search made Shangguan Tianque feel that an unknown trouble was quietly approaching him, or rather, someone was targeting the Broken Army Sect.

As for Liu Huaigu himself, he had ambushed them for the sake of the female Nascent Soul cultivator from the Dragon-Catching Sect. He had had an illicit affair with her.

And that female Nascent Soul cultivator had also had a relationship with Mang Yan. In the end, Mang Yan and Liu Huaigu had not fought each other but had shared that female Nascent Soul cultivator.

It turned out that the female Nascent Soul cultivator was skilled in a Dragon and Phoenix Union Art. Every time someone had an affair with her, they would be unable to stop themselves, and afterward, they would often recall the lingering pleasure.

Perhaps it was for her cultivation method or some other reason, but that female cultivator was unwilling to become Dao Companions with any one person. This meant that Liu Huaigu could only go to her once in a while.

But no one had expected that although this female cultivator’s cultivation method was somewhat unorthodox and evil, her personality was the complete opposite. In the end, she had sworn to live and die with the Dragon-Catching Sect, truly embodying the demeanor of a sect elder.

From this point of view, some people’s character and behavior had no connection with the cultivation methods they practiced.

Thus, when Liu Huaigu learned that his beautiful confidante had perished at the hands of the Broken Army Sect, and that it was because Shangguan Tianque and his junior sister had personally come to their door, his hatred was deeply engraved in his bones. He only wanted to kill them as quickly as possible.

So, after continuously gathering various pieces of information, he had finally traced them to the market.