Chapter 1393: As Urgent as a Shooting Star

The old woman surnamed He arranged for eighteen Nascent Soul cultivators to conduct a carpet search. She felt that they should be able to find that nest of rats.

And after she had searched the last two rooms she suspected, the remaining rooms would be handed over to the last group to be searched and cleared one by one.

If she came up empty-handed, she would focus on the area where the “Blood Lantern Sect” team had been standing on the deck before. This kind of speculation of hers was actually very reasonable.

And at this moment, Li Yan had already taken advantage of the few breaths of the most intense roar to slide a distance of several hundred zhang to the bow of the skiff. He then quickly stood in a corner to stabilize his aura to its optimal state.

With his current Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, under the “Stealthy Night Art,” he had almost perfectly merged with the surrounding space, his entire person having become the same as the void.

Li Yan believed that even if he were to cast “Phoenix Soars to the Heavens” in this state, a Spirit Transformation cultivator would have a hard time discovering him.

Ever since he had felt the transformation of the power of Yin and Yang in the “Fuxi Plate,” his visualization of the greater Five Elements of the external space seemed to be gradually able to see the trajectory of each type of elemental spiritual energy, from its birth to its demise.

Unfortunately, even after the flying skiff entered the “Great Nothingness Tree” area, he would not be able to escape with the help of “Stealthy Night Art.”

In the process of the flying skiff shrinking, the laws it activated were different. He would likewise no longer be able to perfectly merge with the surrounding aura, and would still be discovered by the abnormal fluctuations when he was squeezed out of the giant skiff. He could still be locked onto.

“Stealthy Night Art” was originally a concealment and stealth technique. Its greatest function was to use the power of the Five Elements to merge with the surrounding environment, thereby achieving a concealment effect.

It needed to borrow from the surrounding environment. This was the greatest flaw of this art, but this flaw would not be a problem more than eighty percent of the time in actual combat. Those were all real environments, not inside a magical treasure.

Just as Li Yan reached the bow of the skiff, his figure merged with the railings on the edge of the skiff. To an outsider, it was still just a row of railings.

Li Yan stabilized his state for a moment, and only then did he quietly sneak towards the staircase…

A few breaths later, Li Yan slowly retreated back to the deck of the bow.

“The restriction leading to the second level was opened, and then it was never completely closed again…”

The reason he said it wasn’t completely closed was that the white mist was gone. He could see the light from the staircase all the way to the entrance of the second level with his eyes.

But perhaps because they didn’t want the Divine Senses of the cultivators below to be able to probe the situation above, there was still a restriction here that blocked Divine Senses. He could only observe with his eyes.

With the strength of Li Yan’s Divine Sense, after a brief contact, he felt that he should still be able to break the restriction and enter to investigate. After thinking for a moment, he decided against doing that, so as not to alert the enemy.

He didn’t know if the Spirit Transformation cultivators above were healing or if they felt that the people below couldn’t cause any trouble. After the two voice transmissions, there had been no movement at all.

“This is definitely not the time to go up. I need to take advantage of the opportunity when they are separated and see if I can defeat them one by one…”

Li Yan had been thinking about a plan to save his life. He was unwilling to hide in the “Earthen Patch” in the end and fall into the “Bone-Melting Wind.” In that case, everything after that would be left to the unknown. Who knew what year and month he would be able to come out again?

And the first step he had to confirm was whether the restriction leading to the second level was open.

Whether it was closed or open, there were advantages and disadvantages for Li Yan. But he had to understand the current situation to be able to take precautions and make use of it.

If the restriction was open, if he succeeded below, he would be able to go up silently without breaking the restriction.

But at the same time, without the restriction blocking the way, it would be more convenient for the other party to investigate the first level.

Just as Li Yan was thinking, two teams of twelve people on the deck, in a single file line, had already started to investigate from the stern, where the battle had just ended, and were slowly approaching his side.

These Nascent Soul cultivators each used their divine abilities, magical treasures, talismans, and techniques. Although various colored lights once again flashed on every inch of the deck, there were no more explosions, only some low “buzzing” sounds.

It was as if countless hornets were densely packed, constantly pressing forward.

And the other team of six, along with the old woman surnamed He, were carefully inspecting each room, also carefully searching and clearing them one by one…

In the desert, a giant boat was sailing through it. The fierce wind rolled up the yellow sand and swept over, hitting the surface of the boat, causing flashes of blue light.

And the giant boat was like a lonely traveler, forging ahead with a whistling sound towards the depths of the desert.

In a flash, amidst the flying yellow sand, a dot of blue light was left behind. Finally, with a flash, it disappeared into the misty wind and sand…

On the first level of the flying skiff, the old woman surnamed He had at this time once again searched the room that she had previously found most suspicious. But this time, she had personally walked into the room. Her wrinkled face and a pair of cold eyes were even colder.

Just now, the female cultivator surnamed Yuan had sent a voice transmission to her, asking if she had cleaned up below. The old woman surnamed He, in her helplessness, could only say that there were still three people in hiding.

This made her blush. Sure enough, the female cultivator surnamed Yuan on the other side fell into a short silence. After a while, a voice transmission came over, her voice still calm.

She was currently controlling the giant skiff at full speed and estimated that in about seven hours, she would be able to enter the “Great Nothingness Tree” area.

Therefore, she asked the old woman surnamed He to quickly finish cleaning up below, and then go up to help her control the flying skiff together.

Otherwise, under such control, her own Divine Sense power might not be able to last for too long, and she would also need someone to take over to recover.

Although the old woman surnamed He did not hear the other party’s dissatisfaction, from the other party’s period of silence, she seemed to have seen a sneer flash across the female cultivator surnamed Yuan’s face.

And, through the other party’s voice transmission with her, she could also see that the female cultivator surnamed Yuan was also on guard against her. Therefore, she did not let the “Netherworld Demon Vine” help control the flying skiff, but let it maintain its peak combat strength.

But if she consumed too much, would the other party not attack her? She did not have a fifth-rank demon plant to protect her.

So, the old woman surnamed He only replied that she would clear all obstacles here as soon as possible and explained that the other party must be carrying a supreme treasure to conceal themselves.

In her heart, however, she was thinking that even if she found these three people, she would have to drag out the killing process a little longer.

When she went up to control the flying skiff later, she would finally demand that the other party take over when her own cultivation had been consumed to only sixty percent…

The old woman surnamed He stood at the door of the room, her gaze sweeping over every corner of the room bit by bit.

After a moment, she began to measure from the door, using an extremely slow walking pace, while her Divine Sense moved continuously with her footsteps.

While she was deliberately delaying time, she was also extremely angry in her heart. The three rooms she had suspected before had also yielded nothing.

The concealment magical treasure or formation the other party was using was of a very high level, and even she could not easily find it.

The old woman surnamed He certainly did not think that the other party was proficient in any concealment secret techniques. There were secret techniques at the Nascent Soul realm that were comparable to the Spirit Transformation realm, but the magical power consumed every moment by such a technique that was cast across realms was quite astonishing.

She had been here for a while, and had been investigating all this time. If the other party wanted to hide from her, they would have to use their cultivation method to the extreme, which was simply impossible to sustain for too long.

As long as the other party’s magical power was slightly insufficient, or when they were replenishing their magical power, there would be fluctuations in their aura. With her having locked onto the fact that three people were missing, she would definitely have discovered the abnormality.

She was a Mid-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator, and the strength of her Divine Sense was simply unimaginable for a Nascent Soul cultivator.

And at this moment, in this room, Donglin Tingyue was standing on the bed, pressed against the wall, watching with wide eyes as the old woman surnamed He approached step by step.

Although she knew that under the isolation of the magical treasure’s restriction, even if the other party stood in front of her, she should not be able to see her, but she still held her breath nervously.

As the old woman surnamed He approached step by step, the faint sound of her footsteps seemed to roar in her mind…

And Jia Fugui was the same. He was like a gecko, clinging to a window lattice in mid-air. Outside this window was a sky full of yellow sand, rolling like a coiled dragon and making everything a hazy yellow.

His fat body, with his limbs pressed against the wall, made him look both comical and ridiculous.

But at this time, Donglin Tingyue didn’t care about the other party at all. In her eyes, there was only the terrifying old woman who was constantly approaching.

If she could see the fat face facing the window, she would be able to see that Jia Fugui was also on the verge of tears. He had never expected that he would be the first to be targeted, not Li Yan who had gone out.

He was already constantly cursing Li Yan for being shameless in his heart. The other party’s despicable thoughts were now laid bare.

Li Yan must have some great treasure, but was afraid that carrying the two of them to escape would expose his whereabouts.

Therefore, he had used various reasons to paralyze the two of them before, but as soon as he left here, he had immediately disappeared. The old woman surnamed He had already entered the room, and the other party had no further message of discussion.

What voice transmission talismans, they were all bullshit!

“To think that this old man even let you in to take refuge, and in the end, you ran away yourself. You… you’re really not a good person. You spoke so passionately before, making this old man think you were going to find a way to fight to the death, bah!”

Jia Fugui constantly cursed Li Yan in his heart, wishing him a terrible death.

However, he couldn’t be entirely blamed for being so easily convinced by Li Yan. Li Yan and Donglin Tingyue had acted very familiar with each other during this period.

In the same dangerous situation before, Li Yan had been able to take Donglin Tingyue out with him, and their actions had been somewhat ambiguous. Although Donglin Tingyue had been a little shy and angry, she had not turned hostile.

But how could it be that in the end, Li Yan didn’t want that woman anymore?

“Truly, when disaster strikes, everyone flies their own way!”

Although he hated Li Yan, he also knew that at this time, even if he wanted to drag the other party down with him, it was impossible. He had no idea where that damned Li Yan was.

Unlike the other party, who, on the contrary, knew his own location.

The old woman surnamed He walked slowly, looking around from time to time. The entire room seemed to have frozen, with only the old woman surnamed He’s cold gaze constantly scanning…

A dozen breaths later, the scene that Jia Fugui and Donglin Tingyue were most unwilling to see finally happened!

The old woman surnamed He, who had already walked to the middle of the house, suddenly stopped. She seemed to sense that her Divine Sense and her body were a little detached at this moment.

To be precise, it was like they were not in the same space. It was just that this feeling was almost negligible.

Afterward, she took a step back, carefully sensed it for a moment, and then took another step forward.

Suddenly, a cruel smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

“Hmph, so it’s a formation within a formation!”

She snorted coldly in her heart. She had only broken through the outer layers of formation restrictions here before, and only now did she realize that there were still restrictions inside.

It was just that this set of restrictions inside was too exquisite. She couldn’t even see the problem with her own Divine Sense until she had come here personally.

In the process of investigating bit by bit, a slight and almost imperceptible sense of dislocation between her body and Divine Sense had appeared, which was what had allowed her to discover the clue.

The old woman surnamed He suddenly raised a withered hand, her five fingers like a hook, and she fiercely clawed at a certain spot in the empty space above her head.

As her five fingers passed, five faint white lights suddenly appeared in the empty space above her head. The white lights flashed and then disappeared.

Immediately, the entire room returned to normal.

Inside the formation restriction, Donglin Tingyue, who was standing in the corner of the bed, saw the old woman surnamed He approaching step by step. The other party would close her eyes from time to time, or tilt her head slightly, as if she were listening.

Every step the old woman took seemed to step on her heart. It made her feel her heart beating violently, as if it were about to jump out of her body. Sweat was constantly sliding down her forehead.

Her pair of jade palms were pressed against the wall, as if she wanted to squeeze herself into the wall. But obviously, in this flying skiff with its overall protective restrictions, she was unable to do so.

“He… he really left!”

At this time, Donglin Tingyue subconsciously thought of the other person who had been in the room before, and her mind was in a state of panic.

Although she had thought of this possibility, she did not feel too much hatred for Li Yan.

She had only had one transaction with the other party. Moreover, Li Yan had saved her once before, which could be considered benevolent.

Guessing that Li Yan had left alone, Donglin Tingyue felt a kind of bitterness in her heart, as well as more fear that was breeding and spreading.

She even hoped that Li Yan’s figure would suddenly appear at the door, even if the other party was just a Nascent Soul cultivator like herself…

And just as her mind was filled with wild thoughts, at a certain moment, she saw the old woman surnamed He’s slowly approaching body suddenly pause.

Then, the old woman surnamed He stopped where she was, but there was no look of surprise on her face, but a look of doubt.

Donglin Tingyue’s heart “thumped,” and her curvaceous body, which was leaning against the wall, subconsciously squeezed back again.

Although she was still in the same place, in her heart, it seemed to be able to ease the pressure…

And at this moment, the old woman surnamed He took a step back. She closed her eyes and paused for a moment, then quickly stepped forward again.

Then, Donglin Tingyue saw the corner of the old woman’s mouth suddenly lift, and one of her palms, like a flash of lightning, suddenly swung out!

That claw was aimed at the “Illusion Tail Feather” in mid-air. But in fact, the direction the old woman was clawing was still a distance away from the “Illusion Tail Feather’s” position. She was just attacking the empty space near its side.

“Not good, she’s discovered us!”

This was Donglin Tingyue’s first reaction.

Immediately, she saw the “Illusion Tail Feather” floating in the air immediately erupt with a dazzling white light, actually blocking the other party’s attack.

And at the same time, Donglin Tingyue heard a “thud,” and a tragic scream came from the side.

She then saw Jia Fugui fall from the wall, at the same time holding his head with both hands, groaning in pain on the ground. And blood was seeping out from his mouth, eyes, nose, and ears.

The “Illusion Tail Feather” in the air also flickered and arrived not far from Jia Fugui’s side.

The old woman’s claw just now had affected Jia Fugui, who was controlling the magical treasure. He had hastily moved the “Illusion Tail Feather” itself.

But his movements were still a little slow. The attack of a Spirit Transformation cultivator, although it did not directly hit the main body, still caused that area of space to be affected by a strong diffusion wave.

Although Jia Fugui was not seriously injured in one blow, he was also injured.

In fact, Jia Fugui had a defensive magical treasure on him, but in the concealed state of another magical treasure, he did not dare to summon more magical treasures.

Magical treasures had conflicting attributes. If something went wrong, it would cause his aura to leak out.

So, to be on the safe side, Jia Fugui still chose to let the “Illusion Tail Feather” exert its maximum concealment power.

“Hmph, let’s see where you can run this time!”

The old woman surnamed He let out an extremely cold laugh.

She struck out with her palm again, but this time, there was no white light flashing, and she hit empty air.

“Oh? Not a formation, but a concealment-type magical treasure!”

The old woman surnamed He found that she had hit empty air this time. This was definitely not a formation. A formation could not be moved at will, but the main body of a magical treasure could.

“Hehehe… just a turtle in a jar. I hope you can take the next blow!”

The old woman surnamed He did not get angry but laughed instead. But her laughter was filled with violence and killing intent!