Chapter 1392: Searching for an Escape Opportunity

Li Yan had been contemplating countermeasures. Upon seeing another two rooms being breached, he had already made up his mind.

“Are you suggesting we go out and fight them? If we do that, besides dying faster, there will be no other outcome!” Jia Fugui immediately shook his head upon hearing this.

Li Yan’s meaning was to fight it out, but you had to have the capital to fight.

He did have a few magical treasures on him that could deal with Spirit Transformation cultivators, but those had to be used in specific environments with ample preparation, almost like a sneak attack, and even then, there was maybe only a ten or twenty percent chance of success.

Moreover, the few magical treasures he had were effective against ordinary Spirit Transformation cultivators, but the weakest of the Spirit Transformation cultivators here were all at the mid-stage.

Jia Fugui felt that Li Yan’s suggestion would only lead to a swift death.

‘What on earth is he planning?’

Jia Fugui didn’t know why Li Yan would propose such a brainless suggestion.

Among his magical treasures, he had one that was extremely fast for flying. This was why he had insisted on hiding all this time, looking for an opportunity to escape. He had no intention of throwing his life away.

At this, even Donglin Tingyue fell silent. It was clear she felt Jia Fugui’s approach was more reliable.

“I’ll go out and take a look first. You two stay here for now. If the need arises, I will send you a voice transmission. I hope I can get your assistance.”

“Of course, you can also decide whether to act based on the situation at the time,” Li Yan said, his eyes flashing.

It was not yet settled outside; they were still dealing with the remaining Blood Lantern Sect cultivators, and things were still in a state of disarray.

And with the old woman surnamed He having come down, the Spirit Transformation cultivators on the second level were no longer paying attention to what was below. This was an opportunity that could be exploited.

He had dared to sneak attack Nascent Soul cultivators when he was at the Golden Core stage, let alone now!

Although Li Yan was always cautious, it depended on the time. He was not one to sit and wait for death.

And his greatest reliance was the “Earthen Patch.” But if it came to that, he might be stuck in the desert of the “Bone-Melting Wind” for the rest of his life.

However, this was a little different from the blood mist space back then. The “Bone-Melting Wind” was constantly blowing. Who knew, one day, the “Earthen Patch” might be blown to a safe area.

But this might take a few days, or a few hundred years, or even more than a thousand years. But in the end, there was still a sliver of a chance, which was better than waiting here to be killed by others.

At this point, Li Yan steeled his heart and decided to go out and start looking for an opportunity to escape. His main target at the moment was the old woman surnamed He.

As he spoke, Li Yan had already taken out several voice transmission talismans and handed them to Donglin Tingyue and Jia Fugui. He, of course, also wanted to seek help, but it was highly likely that these two would not dare to expose themselves.

“You… you’re going out?”

“Fellow Daoist Li, your actions are improper!”

Upon hearing Li Yan’s words, the faces of the two opposite him changed instantly. They had not expected Li Yan to choose to go out. Was this man a madman?

Donglin Tingyue was utterly astonished, a look of disbelief in her eyes.

Jia Fugui’s face, on the other hand, turned grim. If Li Yan went out like this and died, that would be one thing, but he would be implicating them. Once he was captured, he would probably be soul-searched. Where else could they hide?

And what made him even more dissatisfied was that he didn’t think Li Yan was going out to deal with these people. Did he not know his own strength as a Nascent Soul cultivator?

He felt that Li Yan must have some magical treasure that could resist the “Bone-Melting Wind.” Was he trying to take this opportunity to escape alone?

He had taken out his magical treasure for everyone to take shelter together. The other party actually had such selfish thoughts. This was too insidious and shameless.

Seeing this, Li Yan’s expression remained unchanged. With a flip of his hand, he had already placed two voice transmission jade slips on the ground with his magical power, and then he glanced at Jia Fugui.

“Use these jade slips as you wish. If I had a magical treasure for escape on me, I would have flown away with Fellow Daoist Donglin long ago.”

“In any case, even a Spirit Transformation cultivator would not dare to enter the ‘Bone-Melting Wind’ zone. Why bother hiding here and constantly discussing with you?”

“I am going out now. When I say I’m leaving, you’d better release the restriction and not block me. This way, we can still avoid attracting the attention of others!”

After saying this, Li Yan had already turned and walked towards the door. He did not say what he intended to do next. He figured these two would naturally know what he would do.

If they blocked him, he would really turn hostile. He had to find a chance to escape before he was targeted by the old woman surnamed He.

Jia Fugui felt a shiver run down his spine from Li Yan’s glance just now. He actually had a feeling of being targeted by a peerless, ferocious beast.

An extremely dangerous sense of heart palpitation instantly rose from the bottom of his heart. This made Jia Fugui involuntarily avoid the other party’s gaze, and at the same time, he was horrified.

‘Isn’t he at the Mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm?’

He himself was at the Late-stage Nascent Soul Realm, yet under the other party’s single glance, he could not muster the slightest will to resist. This feeling immediately made Jia Fugui think of some things.

Their sect had also received information about this Elder Li of the “Broken Army Sect.” He had killed the Late-stage Nascent Soul Mang Yan in a single blow, but the analysis concluded that it was the result of an ambush set up by the insidious Shangguan Tianque.

But at this moment, he actually had a feeling that this was how it should be.

After walking to the door, Li Yan stopped. He even kept his back to the two of them and then began to listen to the commotion outside.

Donglin Tingyue, on the other hand, felt a sense of disregard for life from Li Yan’s sudden indifference. In that instant, the Li Yan opposite her had become extremely unfamiliar, as if he were a different person from before.

He was not the taciturn person she knew, who would occasionally smile and speak softly with her. In an instant, it was as if he had lost all emotion, as cold as ice.

“The family synthesized his various performances, and the Grand Elder said that the two masked, blood-robed men might have already died at this person’s hands.”

“Otherwise, with his understanding of Shangguan Tianque, he still had a rough idea of how many tricks the other party had.”

“And, on her trip to the market that time, the pursuit of Liu Huaigu had never appeared again. Since they were going to kill the three of them, how could they have let them escape so easily?”

“In the Donglin Family’s subsequent inquiries, Liu Huaigu had actually gone missing?”

“And, this person Li Yan’s appearance in the ‘Broken Army Sect’ was so abrupt. If the result that time was just as the Grand Elder had speculated, it was enough to see how strong this person’s combat strength was.”

“For such a powerful cultivator to suddenly appear made the Grand Elder suspect that this person, Li Yan, was very likely a cultivator who had ascended from the lower realm. Could he really be from the lower realm…”

All sorts of thoughts flooded Donglin Tingyue’s mind, and she couldn’t help but think of the Grand Elder’s analysis of this person. It was just that at the time, she hadn’t believed that Li Yan could be so formidable.

Li Yan’s sudden tough demeanor at this moment did indeed have the air of a desperado, which was very similar to some descriptions of ascended cultivators from the lower realm.

“Fellow Daoist Li, what are your chances of not being discovered immediately after you go out?”

Although Jia Fugui was scared by Li Yan’s gaze, for the sake of his own life, he still asked.

“Fifty-fifty!”

Li Yan’s reply was also very brief. Jia Fugui was worried that the moment he showed his head, he would be caught, thus exposing this place.

Jia Fugui fell silent for a moment and did not reply to Li Yan. He was wary of the other party, but that didn’t mean he was afraid of Li Yan.

He was already thinking about his plan for later.

He was thinking that once Li Yan was captured, he would have to take the risk of moving immediately. The “Illusion Tail Feather” above his head was not something that couldn’t be moved once it was cast.

This was a magical treasure, not a formation. It was just that when it moved, there would be fluctuations in its aura, revealing a flaw. That would also be quite dangerous.

However, if it really came to that point, the one who would soul-search Li Yan would most likely be the old woman surnamed He.

In that case, her attention would be focused on the soul-searching. Jia Fugui felt that there might still be a chance.

But how to quickly move the “Illusion Tail Feather” away from here, and how far? To hide the two of them somewhere else, this would require a good grasp of the situation.

As his thoughts raced, he finally felt that it was not worth confronting Li Yan at this time.

Another seven breaths later.

“Boom!”

Another earth-shattering roar made the entire giant skiff tremble. Then several roars shot into the sky, among which was a sharp female voice, filled with deep resentment and unwillingness.

“Fellow Daoist Jia, open the restriction!”

At this moment, Li Yan said urgently to Jia Fugui.

Jia Fugui, as if he knew Li Yan was waiting for this moment, formed a hand seal, and a slight spatial distortion appeared in front of Li Yan.

Li Yan did not hesitate at all. The moment he sensed Jia Fugui forming the hand seal, he had already taken a step forward.

The moment he stepped out, his aura once again dropped rapidly. At the same time, a black light flashed across his body. And when he stepped out of the room, his entire person had actually vanished into thin air.

At this moment, Li Yan no longer cared about exposing his cultivation method. He activated “Stealthy Night Art” and “Tidefall” at the same time, turning him into nothingness in an instant.

The moment Li Yan stepped into the distorted space, Jia Fugui instantly withdrew his hand seal. He didn’t even have time to get a clear look at Li Yan.

All of this had happened in less than half a breath, and in an instant, a large amount of sweat had appeared on his forehead. His heart was almost pounding out of his chest.

He was not only worried that the fluctuation here would be discovered, but he was even more worried that the moment Li Yan went out, he would be locked onto by the old woman. In that case, he could only hope that Li Yan could hold on for a few more breaths, so that he could quickly leave this room.

The moment Li Yan had chosen was precisely the moment when the three “Blood Lantern Sect” cultivators, when their formation restrictions were broken, had rushed out in a desperate, life-and-death struggle.

At this time, on the deck, techniques whistled through the air, their sounds shaking the four directions. Even the old woman surnamed He, who was investigating a room, had her attention drawn over.

Jia Fugui, on the other hand, focused all his mind on controlling the “Illusion Tail Feather.” The next moment, all the shouts and desperate screams on the deck seemed to have drifted far away from him.

And in his Divine Sense, Li Yan had disappeared in that one step!

And his mind was also tense to the extreme. He immediately looked in the direction the old woman surnamed He had gone.

The old woman surnamed He had indeed come out of a room. She seemed to be completely unaware of what was happening here, and was looking at the three struggling to the death on the other side with a cold gaze.

She still wanted to confirm the death of every single person here!

Another few breaths later, Jia Fugui finally relaxed. The sound of explosions, like a tidal wave, once again flooded his mind.

Only then did he realize that Donglin Tingyue was staring blankly at the door, and Li Yan was long gone.

“What… what kind of magical treasure is that!” Jia Fugui couldn’t help but breathe rapidly.

Only then did he react. Li Yan had disappeared too quickly. This was far beyond his expectations.

This kind of magical treasure that could be moved with him, and could conceal him to the point that he couldn’t even detect a trace of his aura, he had heard of it, but had never seen it before.

He was a businessman, and he knew more clearly than anyone the preciousness of this kind of magical treasure. His first reaction was that Li Yan was wearing a magical treasure, not casting some secret art.

In his opinion, to be able to instantly disappear from his Divine Sense without any trace of aura leaking out could only be caused by a magical treasure.

He did not believe that among cultivators of the same rank, someone could suddenly disappear after being locked onto by his Divine Sense.

The moment Donglin Tingyue heard Li Yan ask to open the restriction, the palms of her jade hands were already covered in a large amount of sweat. She didn’t know whether to stop him or what to do.

The feeling the old woman surnamed He gave her was that of an unshakeable mountain. Apart from fear, she had already lost the will to resist.

Just as she was afraid and at a loss, she suddenly ignored the final, tragic battle on the deck and stood there in a daze.

“Disappeared… disappeared?”

The moment Li Yan stepped out of the room, he had already quickly slid towards the bow of the skiff. The fight at the stern had ended in just three breaths, and everything had returned to a state of calm.

On the entire deck, there were only the residual fluctuations of techniques, which were still weakening, emitting some echoing roars that made the surrounding air rumble.

The three “Blood Lantern Sect” cultivators, in the end, had not been able to hold on for too long. In the instant their restrictions were broken, amidst their desperate curses and grief, they had rushed out to fight to the death.

Then, what welcomed them were eighteen Nascent Soul cultivators, their attacks covering the sky and the earth. If this giant skiff had not been specially refined, the entire body of the skiff might have already been shattered into pieces.

The three “Blood Lantern Sect” cultivators, after rushing out of the room, had not even managed to rush out five zhang before they were drowned in the sky-high roar.

In the end, not even the storage rings on their bodies were left behind. Not even their bones remained. The attack of eighteen Nascent Soul cultivators was something that even a Spirit Transformation cultivator might not be willing to take head-on.

It was only at this time that the old woman surnamed He’s gloomy voice finally came out.

“You six, form a group. One group will search from the rooms at the stern. The other two groups will search the deck from the stern to the bow, carefully, with a focus on detecting illusion-type concealments.”

“Use all the detection methods you can. There are still three ‘Blood Lantern Sect’ cultivators in hiding!”

The old woman surnamed He did not feel the slightest bit of happiness for having killed the last few cultivators who had tried to defend themselves. She had just searched two rooms and still had not found the other party.

This made her heart extremely angry. She had only come down to kill some Nascent Soul cultivators, yet even now, there were still people alive.

If the female cultivator surnamed Yuan above found out, she would definitely sneer at her incompetence in her heart. If this matter reached the ears of the “Heart-Refining Valley,” it would make her seem even more useless in this trip.

She thought it over carefully again. Could it be that because she had appeared on the first level alone, it had aroused the suspicion of the three “Blood Lantern Sect” disciples?

And at that time, they should have had no time to escape. It was highly likely that they had taken advantage of the crowd and the confusion. They happened to be at the back of the team, so they had hidden themselves nearby on the spot.

This meant that these people had not entered their rooms, but had been hiding on the deck all along.

“I’ve been busy with work again lately and can’t write for long periods of time!” (TN: This is an author’s note from the source text.)