Chapter 1396: The Insidious Li Yan
However, Li Yan had chosen his moment well. In the brief lull in the fighting, the old woman had indeed discovered Li Yan’s tracks.
Subsequently, Li Yan saw the old woman fly over and land not far from him, beginning her investigation.
But even then, Li Yan did not immediately launch a sneak attack. He needed to ascertain her true intentions—was she deliberately trying to lure him out, or had she genuinely not discovered his position?
Although he would have to fight her either way in the end, the two scenarios could lead to completely opposite outcomes.
Three breaths later, a fierce light suddenly erupted in Li Yan’s eyes. In that instant, he was like a peerless, ferocious beast awakening from a deep slumber.
Li Yan’s expression was grim. The True Scripture of Gui Water and the Five Elements Return to Primordial Genesis circulated simultaneously within his body. His physical strength was instantaneously raised to its peak.
A muffled, thunder-like grinding sound came from his bones, and streaks of silver light appeared on the surface of his skin.
Like an awakened beast, he stomped heavily on the ground. The “Phoenix Soars to the Heavens” movement skill was also activated at full power in an instant, and his entire body, leading with his shoulder, shot forward like a battering ram!
This strike was purely his speed and strongest physical power, launching himself forward with immense force.
At a distance of six feet, even without the “Phoenix Soars to the Heavens” movement skill, a Qi Condensation stage cultivator could cross it in the blink of an eye.
By the time the old woman surnamed He sensed something was wrong, it was already too late.
In her haste, she had only just raised her arm and summoned her magical treasure to her hand when Li Yan’s shoulder had already slammed heavily into her chest.
Only at this moment did the loud “bang” of Li Yan’s foot stomping the ground finally sound from behind him!
Then, with another “boom,” the sound of their bodies colliding finally followed, shaking the very air.
On the other side, in the old woman surnamed He’s Divine Sense, the figure in front of her was still in a forward-leaning posture from the charge.
One of his legs was raised and bent, the other was pushing off the ground, and a burst of powerful qi exploded from under his foot, spreading outwards…
And as his body leaned forward, his shoulder had already slammed heavily into her chest. Her body’s spiritual energy shield erupted in a dazzling green light, and a thick, black, eerie light rose from the opponent’s shoulder!
In that instant, the old woman’s Divine Sense also saw the person’s appearance clearly—a dark-skinned youth with a fierce light in his eyes.
His neck and half of his face, under the rapidly flashing and alternating reflections of her green light and the black, dark light erupting from his shoulder, flickered between light and dark, looking extremely strange.
And all of this was just a flash in her Divine Sense. The old woman felt as if her body had been hit head-on by an ancient ferocious beast.
The force was overwhelmingly powerful. Even with the protection of her spiritual energy shield, with a “boom,” her entire person was sent flying high into the air.
At the same time, a series of “kaka” sounds came from her sternum. Although it did not break, the impact had thrown her internal magical power into some disarray.
The magical treasure that had just appeared in her hand, caught off guard, was sent flying somewhere by the immense force of the collision.
“They… they’re cheating! This is a Spirit Transformation cultivator?”
The moment the old woman surnamed He was sent flying, a shocking and unbelievable thought appeared in her mind.
The old woman surnamed He was a little dazed. She didn’t know how there could be a Spirit Transformation cultivator here. Hadn’t everyone been checked at the Pure Yang Hall?
If not, how could a Nascent Soul cultivator possibly erupt with such formidable physical strength?
But the next moment this thought appeared, an boundless fear occupied her entire mind!
Her position during the fight with Li Yan was already at the edge of the giant skiff. After being hit by that powerful force, something the old woman surnamed He had never dreamed of happened!
Her body, suddenly in mid-air, was actually flying out of the skiff…
At this moment, the old woman surnamed He suddenly understood the intention of the person who had sneak-attacked her. The other party’s thoughts were truly insidious to the extreme.
She didn’t have time to think too much. Her face changed dramatically. She quickly mustered all her magical power, and at the same time, she exerted force from her waist, twisting violently, trying to slide to one side.
But once Li Yan started his attack, he never gave others a chance to live.
The moment he crashed into her, a fist that had long been cocked at his waist, seemingly slow yet fast, containing the power of a mountain, was directly thrust out.
In his fist, he held three drops of “Nine Cauldrons Gui Water.” This was the most powerful punch Li Yan could deliver without affecting his speed.
This old woman surnamed He was truly formidable. In an almost face-to-face situation, under his all-out attack, augmented by the speed of “Phoenix Soars to the Heavens,” he still had not achieved his desired result.
Li Yan’s follow-up attack arrived like a shadow. The old woman surnamed He, in mid-air, while forcefully twisting her waist, saw the other party’s fist coming. A fierce and sharp look also appeared in her eyes.
At this moment, she had been hit by Li Yan’s sudden sneak attack, and her internal magical power was in disarray.
After that collision, her chest was in severe pain, her bones felt as if they were about to break, and she was also a little dizzy.
The other party was actually an assassin-type cultivator. As long as she could catch her breath, she would definitely make him pay.
Although the old woman surnamed He was also filled with ferocity at this time, for a moment, she could only forcefully muster her magical power, her single hand forming a claw, and like a flash of lightning, she grabbed for Li Yan’s fist.
She wanted to seize the other party’s fist the moment they collided, and then use the force to “fling” herself back onto the flying skiff.
“Thud!”
Another muffled sound was heard.
“You…”
Amidst the short, muffled sound, the old woman surnamed He’s expression changed dramatically again. She had already sensed the other party’s strength. She was certain that the other party was a Spirit Transformation realm body cultivator.
Although his cultivation was not as high as hers, he should be an Initial-stage Spirit Transformation master.
But she had only just spoken two words before they came to an abrupt end, because although she had blocked Li Yan’s punch, she had not been able to successfully grab his fist.
Under the two immense forces, the power from Li Yan’s fist gushed out, like a peerless, ferocious beast roaring at the sky, a dragon’s roar and a tiger’s howl.
The old woman surnamed He felt the force on her five fingers being instantly pushed open and scattered by an irresistible force. Her entire arm was brought up high.
Then, the momentum from her arm being brought back made her body unable to stay afloat in mid-air any longer. Her entire person was like a stone from a catapult, instantly flung out of the giant skiff!
In the boundless desert, yellow sand was whipped up by the fierce wind. A giant skiff flashing with a faint blue light was speeding forward as if clearing all obstacles.
At a certain moment, a figure was suddenly thrown from the giant skiff with an unwilling cry!
And this giant skiff, flashing with a faint blue light, did not stop at all. With a flash, it had already rushed towards the horizon and disappeared.
The moment that figure appeared, it had already become a black dot the size of an ant, thrown into the raging sand and wind behind. And that voice, in the wind and sand, seemed so short and weak.
Then that figure was caught in the intersection of several wind pillars. In this vast wind and sand, only a faint sound was heard, and then only the whistling of the wind and sand remained…
On the giant skiff, from the appearance of Li Yan’s figure to the strange disappearance of the old woman surnamed He, only a little more than a breath of time had passed. Li Yan, at his full strength, had completed two consecutive strikes.
And the roar of their exchange, as well as the short, unwilling cry of the old woman surnamed He, were mostly drowned out by the roar of the attack on the formation on the other side.
Her twelve Nascent Soul cultivators on the deck behind her, after just gathering, were still in a daze when they saw the sudden scene.
They only saw the old woman surnamed He’s body being thrown up in a burst of light. Before they could see clearly, another burst of intertwined light flashed, and then the old woman surnamed He was outside the giant skiff.
And in about a breath’s time, they still didn’t know what kind of ghost Li Yan was. With the augmentation of “Phoenix Soars to the Heavens,” Li Yan’s speed was already faster than their Divine Senses!
Li Yan, who had long been planning this, did not stop his attack after his two strikes succeeded. He was best at sneak attacks.
And often, the result of a sneak attack was not only the death of the opponent, but also the confusion of the enemy, or a delay in their reaction.
Therefore, after sending the old woman flying with a punch, he raised his hands again and again. “Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh…” A series of sharp, piercing sounds rang out.
The Immortal-Striking Stone, the Copper Bell, and two Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spikes flew towards the group of Nascent Soul cultivators on the deck in the blink of an eye. These people were originally gathered behind the old woman surnamed He.
At this time, as the three magical treasures struck out, they had also reacted. In a state of chaos, they summoned their techniques and magical treasures one after another.
The three magical treasures arrived in a flash. When the two sides collided, and even after the three magical treasures were knocked away, the sound waves they emitted as they passed by the cultivators had varying degrees of impact on their seas of consciousness and souls.
It either made their minds slightly dizzy or their souls tremble with unease. This caused many of them to experience a short delay again.
And Li Yan’s purpose in summoning the three magical treasures was not to kill anyone. His purpose was only one: harassment!
At the same time as the magical treasures were sent out, his entire person transformed into a pouncing, ferocious beast, charging straight ahead. At the same time, the “Five Elements Disarray Mantle” was activated at full power.
The other side had a large number of people. Li Yan did not think he was invincible and could fight many at once. Therefore, he had to make use of the timing and terrain, not fight head-on.
But the feeling he gave people now was that of a reckless brute, a reckless brute who was desperately charging at the enemy alone. But this was exactly the terrain Li Yan wanted to make use of.
Li Yan transformed into a trail of afterimages, his momentum like a rushing thunder, whistling through the air. Wherever he passed, the power of the Five Elements rules in the surroundings had already become a tangled mess.
The twelve Nascent Soul cultivators, they themselves belonged to two sects, so even though they had been divided into three small groups before, out of a sense of belonging to the same sect, most of them were still gathered with people from the same sect.
The twelve people searching the deck were mostly Nascent Soul cultivators from the “Spirit Subduing Manor,” with only a few from the “Heavenly Mountain Garden.”
And at this moment, there were as many as seven Nascent Soul cultivators closer to the railing on the edge of the skiff.
Just as they were affected by Li Yan’s magical treasures and experienced a short delay, a trail of afterimages, like a meteor streaking across the sky, crashed straight into them.
By the time they wanted to dodge again, their seas of consciousness and souls were in a state of discomfort. And what terrified them even more was that the power of the rules of heaven and earth around them, for some unknown reason, was no longer under their control…
This distance, with Li Yan’s full movement skill, from the middle of the giant skiff to the stern, Li Yan’s figure drew a long straight line and passed through in one go!