Chapter 1368: The Donglin Family
Although Li Yan was disappointed, he thought that the other defensive formations were quite good and would be enough for his use for the time being. One shouldn’t be too greedy, so he let it go.
But just as he was about to look at other things, his movements suddenly stopped.
“No, this was obtained from Liu Huaigu’s storage space. He was a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator. Why would he collect such a meaningless formation…”
Li Yan immediately realized that something was wrong. He reached out his hand, and a section of a blue sheep’s horn flew out from the ground. The horn was seven inches long, and its blue light had become extremely dim, almost invisible.
When Li Yan first saw this object, he thought it was a magical treasure. Later, when he infused it with magical power, he couldn’t activate it. Even using the Myriad Arts Spirit-Communicating Art, he couldn’t command it.
Finally, after careful identification, Li Yan discovered that among the intricate patterns on its surface, which looked like accumulated wrinkles, there was actually a hidden spirit stone slot.
If Li Yan hadn’t observed it carefully and used his magical power to magnify it to seven or eight feet, he would have had a hard time discovering it.
It was only then that he knew that this object was actually a different kind of formation artifact, like a formation compass or plate.
It was just that this formation seemed too weak when he tested it.
Finally, when Li Yan realized that such an object would be collected by Liu Huaigu, he immediately knew something was wrong. But he had clearly shattered the formation restriction with a single punch. How could this be explained?
For a moment, he was lost in thought. At a certain moment, Li Yan’s eyes suddenly lit up. He then quickly took out five more spirit stones and placed them inside.
Then, after the formation was activated again, when Li Yan threw another punch, this time, under his attack, the formation suddenly burst with a great blue light and then blocked his blow.
Seeing this, he was overjoyed. He then immediately recalled the section of the blue sheep’s horn and quickly took out the embedded spirit stones.
The moment these spirit stones appeared, Li Yan saw that their light was dimmer than before, but they still emitted an extremely rich spiritual energy.
He finally knew the correct way to use this formation. Generally speaking, Nascent Soul-grade magical treasures could be fully activated with mid-grade spirit stones, and some could even be driven by low-grade spirit stones.
But this formation required, or rather, at least five high-grade spirit stones to activate its true power.
Using such a formation was an extremely expensive consumable, but it was also a testament to its high grade.
After a little more thought, Li Yan directly took this formation into the “Earthen Patch.”
Testing it in his cave residence, using sixty percent of his strength would already cause the cave to shake, but it could still be weakened layer by layer by the restrictions and blocked.
But if he wanted to test the true defensive power of this formation, he couldn’t do it in his cave residence.
About half a cup of tea’s time later, Li Yan’s Divine Sense withdrew from the “Earthen Patch,” his eyes flashing with a brilliant light. His physical body had not entered the “Earthen Patch,” so he had not used his physical strength to test it.
But within the “Earthen Patch,” Li Yan was like a god. With a single thought, he could change the world. Therefore, by borrowing the power of the five elements within it, Li Yan could easily kill a Spirit Transformation cultivator in the “Earthen Patch.”
“This formation should be able to withstand three blows from an initial-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator. This must be Liu Huaigu’s life-saving item. And this is with high-grade spirit stones. If I embed supreme-grade spirit stones, I don’t know how much of its power can be unleashed.”
Li Yan pondered in his heart. Although he had supreme-grade spirit stones, he wasn’t sure if this sheep’s horn could withstand the impact of their power.
A supreme-grade spirit stone would kill any cultivator below the Nascent Soul realm on contact, and that was just from the faint power it radiated. Until he fully understood this formation artifact, Li Yan certainly wouldn’t test it rashly.
If the sheep’s horn turned to ashes the moment it touched a supreme-grade spirit stone, Li Yan would have no tears left to cry.
On the other hand, Li Yan also marveled at the power of the Immortal Spirit Realm. As long as you had spirit stones, you could find good things that were simply unimaginable in the lower realms.
This item was Liu Huaigu’s strongest defense. Unfortunately for him, under Li Yan’s Five Elements Disarray Mantle, he had died a very frustrating death. Not only could he not use his various techniques, but he didn’t even have time to use this set of formations.
However, even if his opponent had summoned this section of the horn, it wouldn’t have prevented his death.
Because this item was not a magical treasure, it couldn’t be moved at all. It could only passively defend in one place. Li Yan’s physical strength could still break it.
And activating the formation also required a certain amount of time. How could Li Yan give his opponent time to set up a formation?
So, even if it was a defensive formation, a formation was still a formation. It could not replace a defensive magical treasure.
Li Yan also stored the blue sheep’s horn in the “Earthen Patch,” and he soon gave names to the illusion formation and the blue sheep’s horn.
The illusion formation was named “Mirror Flower,” and the blue sheep’s horn was named “Do Not Open.”
Li Yan had little interest in the remaining miscellaneous items.
This time, he had also obtained a considerable number of mid-grade and high-grade spirit stones. Li Yan roughly estimated that if they were all converted to high-grade spirit stones, there would be about sixty thousand of them.
Most of the spirit stones came from Liu Huaigu. As an elder of the Green Goat Temple, it was normal for him to have tens of thousands of high-grade spirit stones. And this time, he might not even have brought all his wealth with him.
This time, Li Yan’s gains were not insignificant. After collecting these things, Li Yan still marveled at the wealth of the Immortal Spirit Realm.
He was also accumulating more and more magical treasures. Similarly, Li Yan had become more and more picky. Killing people and taking their treasures was truly the fastest way to increase one’s wealth. …
The next day, Li Yan went to find Donglin Tingyue at dawn. He wanted to get his hands on those ice sands as soon as possible. After that, he might go to a more distant place to find a way to leave here, or to find a “Gui Qu Lai Xi” shop.
He could no longer easily return to the Mortal Realm, but he definitely had to send news of his situation here, especially the fact that he was still alive, down as soon as possible.
When Donglin Tingyue saw Li Yan coming to find her, her original appearance had been restored, and a smile appeared in her eyes behind the mask.
She liked Li Yan’s style of doing things—no dilly-dallying. She had thought he would rest in the sect for a few more days.
So, the two of them left the Broken Army Sect immediately and flew towards the Donglin Family. Shangguan Tianque and the other had already been informed of this matter, so there was no need to specifically notify them.
Li Yan had calculated the time on his way back. If everything went smoothly, he could probably be back within ten to fifteen days.
The Donglin Family was also a power under the jurisdiction of the Blood Lantern Sect, not too far from the Broken Army Sect. The most uncertain factor here was the time it would take for the healing.
On a translucent flying magical treasure shaped like a white jade coral, the two sat cross-legged. Most of the time, it was Donglin Tingyue who spoke, while Li Yan would only occasionally open his mouth.
Without Shangguan Tianque by her side, Donglin Tingyue had many curious questions about the origins of this suddenly emerged elder of the Broken Army Sect, and she felt that now was a good time to try to ask.
She was especially curious about how Li Yan and Shangguan Tianque had escaped from the hands of four Nascent Soul cultivators, considering they were besieged by three Late-stage Great Cultivators.
That Shangguan Tianque could escape was somewhat possible, but Li Yan was just a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, yet he was also completely unharmed, not even injured, or at least not seriously.
Donglin Tingyue had seen two people chasing after Li Yan, and one of them was a Late-stage Great Cultivator.
Li Yan was, of course, well aware of this. But if Donglin Tingyue thought she could get anything out of him, she had clearly underestimated his abilities.
With a mix of deflection and misdirection, Li Yan repeatedly led Donglin Tingyue astray from her original question. By the time she realized it, she found that he had led her off track again, and could only fume in silence.
Li Yan, on the other hand, discovered that when Donglin Tingyue was in a crowd, especially with the silver mask on, she appeared very cold and aloof. But her personality was not actually like that; she was rather cheerful.
It was probably due to her cultivation realm that she had to appear cold.
It was no wonder. In a fourth-rate cultivation family, her cultivation level was already at the ancestor level. Of course, she couldn’t be too casual with her words and laughter.
Just like that, as they flew, most of the time between them was spent in silence.
Looking at Li Yan, who was constantly meditating, Donglin Tingyue felt that even with her mask on, her outstanding beauty was still visible. But he always maintained a calm and composed demeanor.
This was different from the other male cultivators she had come into contact with. When those people saw her, every one of them couldn’t wait to say a few more words to her.
Finally, she also lost interest in prying and began to cultivate as well.
Just a few hours later, Donglin Tingyue, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, suddenly opened her beautiful eyes. Her long, dark, and glossy eyelashes fluttered. The moment she looked at Li Yan, he seemed to sense it and also opened his eyes.
“We’ve arrived?” Li Yan’s voice was calm.
“Yes. After we enter the clan, I will first take you to your residence. Then, I will go and explain this matter to my younger brother before I can invite you to come with me. Please don’t take offense, Fellow Daoist!”
Upon hearing this, Li Yan let out a soft laugh. He had already stood up. Dressed in a green robe, he nodded slightly.
“It should be so.”
“Then thank you, Fellow Daoist Li!”
A smile also appeared in Donglin Tingyue’s eyes. Seeing that he didn’t mind, she let out a sigh of relief.
When Li Yan looked around, he saw that they were flying over a sea area, and below them were islands.
On those islands, the faint light of formations was flickering.
The Donglin Family was located in the sea area south of the Broken Army Sect. The white jade coral began to dive down from the high altitude.
The dense white clouds quickly turned into thin layers of gauze, which were pierced through by the white jade coral one by one.
What rushed to meet them was a cool sea breeze, and in their line of sight, a vast, azure sea surface rapidly became clear.
Li Yan noticed that the direction Donglin Tingyue was flying towards was the largest island below, which covered at least five hundred li.
It was surrounded by sparkling waves. Even through the formation, one could clearly see the scenery on the island. There were large patches of lush green trees everywhere.
Soon, they flew over the island. But just as they were about to fly in, someone suddenly shouted.
“Who dares to barge into my Donglin Family… Oh, we greet Elder Yue!”
Before the shout could fade, seven or eight cultivators suddenly flew out from within the grand formation.
When Donglin Tingyue had charged down, she had not concealed her approach. It was just that her speed was too fast. The patrolling cultivators below only saw a streak of white light rushing down and couldn’t help but shout to stop it.
It was only when Donglin Tingyue had reached the top of the formation that she immediately slowed down, revealing her and Li Yan’s figures on the flying magical treasure.
The few patrolling cultivators had not yet seen the newcomers clearly, but they had already recognized this flying magical treasure at a glance. After a sweep of their Divine Sense, they immediately bowed in salute.
“Yes, you may continue your patrol,” Donglin Tingyue’s voice had returned to that of an orchid in a secluded valley, devoid of any worldly dust. It was completely different from her curious demeanor earlier.
This caused Li Yan, who was at her side, to glance at her.
After speaking, Donglin Tingyue had already taken Li Yan and whistled away, leaving only the few people still standing in the air.
“That… that person has never been to our family before, right?”
Looking at the departing figures, one of the Donglin family cultivators said. He had just swept his Divine Sense over them and had not been able to sense Li Yan’s cultivation level.
“I have not seen him before. He should also be a Nascent Soul senior!”
“Elder Yue has been out for some time. I heard she went to buy pills to break through to the Late-stage Great Cultivator realm…”
“All of you, shut up! Are you trying to get me into trouble? It seems that the peace in the family these days has made you all too comfortable!”
The leading cultivator’s face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot. His eyes flashed with a man-eating light as he glared fiercely at the few of them. The few of them immediately became as silent as cicadas in winter.
Elder Yue was the fairy in the dreams of many family cultivators, but her heart was set on cultivation. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to reach such a terrifying realm at such a young age.
Even within the clan, Elder Yue rarely interacted with other young male cultivators, let alone bringing a man back. This was truly a rare occurrence.
It was just that although Elder Yue was aloof, she rarely lost her temper with the disciples. Therefore, the disciples who saw this scene found it novel and whispered a few words.