Chapter 1413: Vanished Like Smoke

Li Yan looked around and saw Jia Fugui and Donglin Tingyue indeed constantly scanning their surroundings. Donglin Tingyue’s expression was particularly focused; she would likely have to participate in this scramble again in the future.

‘Memorizing the terrain of the “Great Nothingness Tree” area is, as Chongyangzi said, a very rare opportunity for them. For outsiders who want to get the “Great Nothingness Fruit,” the most difficult part is finding the entrance from the desert lake. That is only known by Pure Yang Hall. Although it seems we can easily enter, it’s possible that there are Pure Yang Hall experts guarding the entrance, and I just haven’t discovered them. Spirit Subduing Manor and Heavenly Mountain Garden’s plan this time was to use the flying boat as cover. If they succeeded, they would fly out directly from the exit. If Pure Yang Hall had people guarding the entrance, they would have seen Chongyangzi on this flying boat when they arrived. When they left, they probably wouldn’t have investigated carefully again…’

In an instant, Li Yan thought of many things, and his guess was likely part of the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator’s plan.

Next, they traveled unimpeded, quickly passing through the desert and canyons.

Among the three of them, especially Jia Fugui, looking at the scenery before him, a strange feeling arose in his heart.

Once upon a time, in these places, they had all had to fight with all their might, day and night in a bloody battle, before they could pass through these areas.

Many people had even been unable to see the next day’s sun and had fallen on this road. Every moment, they had to rack their brains just to advance a little further.

No matter how hard he thought, he would never have imagined that there would be a day when he could pass through these areas so quickly and fly directly to the final destination…

When Li Yan looked down at the increasingly dense forest below, he knew that they were almost at their destination.

The so-called “Great Nothingness Tree” area actually referred to a large area after the “Bone-Melting Wind” had disappeared.

And there was only one real “Great Nothingness Tree.” Even including the distance of its outstretched branches, it was only about seven or eight zhang in size.

Looking at a large tree in front of them, on the edge of a cliff, extending diagonally like a lone sword, stabbing straight into the sky, Li Yan observed it carefully.

This large tree extended diagonally from the cliff. The surrounding area was a large expanse of smooth mountain rock and an endless abyss below.

It was rooted in the rock, with a large number of its roots exposed outside the cliff. Apart from two thick, gnarled roots that looked ancient, many of the fine rootlets even hung in mid-air, scattered like fine vines.

When a gust of wind blew, the entire tree swayed violently.

Seeing the large number of exposed roots, one got the feeling that they simply couldn’t support the huge, diagonally extending trunk.

It felt as if this large tree might be uprooted or broken by the wind at any moment.

Although the “Great Nothingness Tree” had many branches, its leaves were not very lush. Many of the branches were more than half bare.

When the mountain wind blew through the treetops, the swaying branches brought out either a heavy “whooshing” sound or a sharp “swishing” whistle.

Among some of the leaves, there were currently four fruits, the size of meatballs and with a greenish hue, constantly flashing with a green light.

Especially when the tree was blown by the mountain wind and the entire trunk shook violently, the green light flashing from these four green fruits became even more brilliant.

They were like four hanging green lanterns, constantly swaying and swinging in the wind.

And the more violently the four green fruits swayed, the brighter the green light they emitted became.

The moment Li Yan saw them, his mind was shaken.

Within the light of these green fruits, there were actually runes that he couldn’t understand, constantly flowing and wandering in the green light.

Even though he couldn’t understand these runes, the moment he looked at them, in the depths of Li Yan’s heart, it was as if a string of a qin had suddenly been plucked.

The moment the “qin string” in his mind trembled, Li Yan, in a certain moment, had a feeling of being deeply immersed in it and unable to extricate himself.

The circulation of the Magical Power in Li Yan’s body also suddenly slowed down, as if it was affected by some kind of rule.

The Nascent Soul small person in his Dantian also suddenly opened its eyes. Five-colored light flowed in its eyes, and the direction it was staring at was also one of the “Great Nothingness Fruits.”

The five-element spiritual energy on the Nascent Soul small person’s body seemed to have a breath, flashing with a rhythmic intensity.

“The runes in these green lights are the natural rules of heaven and earth. In these natural rules, you can find different runes of any attribute. Such a large number of different attribute runes, in their constant flow and wandering, have no conflict or mutual exclusion. On the surface, it doesn’t even look like they are arranged according to the five elements generating and restraining cycle, but are just squeezed together, yet they flow according to a certain route… There is a stronger power of rules in this fruit, which has bound these different attribute runes together. Great Nothingness Fruit… Great Nothingness… The Great Dao gives birth to all things, something from nothing!”

When Li Yan saw those runes, his body immediately had a reaction. He couldn’t help but think of the information he had read about the “Great Nothingness Fruit,” but it was not until he saw it with his own eyes that he was truly shocked.

“The green light also has extremely strong spiritual energy fluctuations. It is this green light that makes the fruit not easy to fall, and it also protects the fruit!”

When Li Yan’s Divine Sense probed one of the fruits, as soon as his Divine Sense reached the mountain, it was pushed away by a strong force.

The layer of green light outside the fruit was already extremely extraordinary. It could defend against the devouring of ordinary third-rank demonic beasts. This was a heavenly and earthly exotic fruit without spiritual intelligence, which was already extremely difficult to obtain.

But in the eyes of Pure Yang Hall, this kind of defense was obviously not enough.

Along the way, Li Yan could feel that there were many demonic beasts below, but there were no fourth-rank or higher existences.

But under the attraction of the “Great Nothingness Fruit,” the greed in the hearts of these demonic beasts would only arouse more ferocity. Under a desperate and crazy attack, it was still possible to break these green lights and pick the fruit.

But now, the mountain where the “Great Nothingness Fruit” grew was enveloped by a set of invisible formations. Although it could be seen, even a Spirit Transformation cultivator could not enter.

Needless to say, this was the work of Pure Yang Hall.

Li Yan actually knew about this set of formations. Each time the “Great Nothingness Fruit” scramble began, the participating cultivators would get a set of temporary opening manuals.

Therefore, if they really fought their way through, the danger they would encounter would not be in breaking this set of formations, but in the fierce collision with other cultivators.

Once the scramble was over, a notary like Chongyangzi would trigger the core formation to change, driving the large and small sub-formations to change and combine again.

To enter again, a new set of manuals would be needed to open it.

At this moment, as Chongyangzi’s hand seals scattered, an invisible ripple spread out from the mountain peak.

“Alright, you three, come with me and take a look!”

As Chongyangzi spoke, he had already soared up from the deck. Li Yan and the other three had no objection to this.

Even Jia Fugui, who had participated in the scramble before, had never seen the “Great Nothingness Fruit” up close. He had always prioritized saving his own life.

The closer to the “Great Nothingness Tree,” the more earth-shattering and full of killing intent the fighting there would be. Just the aftershocks of the Spirit Transformation cultivators’ fight, Jia Fugui would rather be a coward.

Soon, the four figures were standing on the cliff.

When Chongyangzi was on the flying boat before, the moment he saw the four “Great Nothingness Fruits,” he had heaved a sigh of relief.

This meant that the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator and the others did not have other ways to sneak in here. The defense of this area was still without loopholes.

With a wave of his hand, he had already collected the four green “Great Nothingness Fruits” before him. The eyes of Li Yan and the other three beside him were all fixed on these four fruits.

Just the runes in the green light made them feel an irresistible urge.

Everyone had a thought in their hearts: how wonderful it would be if these fruits belonged to them.

Unfortunately, all of this was just a thought. Even a meticulous person like Li Yan could not think of any way along the way.

“One cannot have both fish and bear’s paw.” Since he did not want to flee and had chosen to release Chongyangzi, the subsequent matters could only be in Chongyangzi’s control.

But this time, a few supreme-grade Spirit Stones should be indispensable. In addition, after killing people on the flying boat, he had also obtained a lot of things. Li Yan’s trip this time was already a case of “seeking riches amidst danger.”

However, the other rich man, apart from danger, could only hope that there would be no more trouble in the future and that he could keep his life.

Chongyangzi glanced at the four “Great Nothingness Fruits,” then looked into the distance again. There was no more scrambling and killing as in the past, no more jealousy and dissatisfaction. This place had become so quiet.

“Each of you take one. Although there was no scrambling among the sects this time, the result was even more dangerous. The three of you have all rendered meritorious service. Otherwise, the result would not have been like this. It is right that you get these three fruits. As for the others who died in battle, I will ask the sect to give them corresponding compensation when we go back.”

As Chongyangzi was gazing into the distance, he suddenly said such a thing.

Then, before the three shocked people could react, he gently flicked his sleeve, and three “Great Nothingness Fruits” trembled slightly and floated towards the three behind him.

And the last “Great Nothingness Fruit” was collected by him.

“Senior, this… this is for us?”

“This… this ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ is for us?”

Jia Fugui and Donglin Tingyue’s expressions were both stunned. Their faces and eyes were filled with shock, mixed with uncertainty.

Li Yan just stared at the “Great Nothingness Fruit” in front of him. His face also showed a look of surprise, but he did not ask.

“Yes, keep the ‘Great Nothingness Fruit’ well. I will report this matter to the Supreme Elder. And when you go back, you don’t have to hand these three ‘Great Nothingness Fruits’ over to the Blood Lantern Sect. The result of this trial, apart from me and the Supreme Elder of the sect, no one will know the whereabouts of these three ‘Great Nothingness Fruits,’ you understand? At that time, although other rewards will also be given to you on the surface, what you actually get will be reduced a lot!”

When Chongyangzi said this, he had already turned his head and then his gaze swept over the faces of the three one by one.

Li Yan was also stunned in his heart at this time.

At this point, all three of them understood. Chongyangzi had actually made an exception and rewarded the three “Great Nothingness Fruits” to a fourth-rate sect, which had never happened before.

And this time, it was obvious that Chongyangzi had deliberately rewarded the three of them. Letting the three of them survey the terrain here before was just a casual act.

And everything before them was Chongyangzi’s real reward for the three of them.

Li Yan took a deep breath. He had not expected Chongyangzi to be so generous in the end, giving him what he wanted.

And he had thought of it so thoroughly. Although Li Yan was not afraid of Shangguan Tianque and his sister knowing, it was of course the best result if the Blood Lantern Sect didn’t know.

Just as Li Yan reacted, the other two also reacted at the same time. Of course, they also understood Chongyangzi’s meaning.

This reward should not be known to outsiders, otherwise they would be responsible for the consequences.

At that time, if the Blood Lantern Sect knew about the real rewards the three of them had received, they might even take them away.

After all, their sect’s Spirit Transformation cultivator had died, and in the end, they didn’t even get a single ‘Great Nothingness Fruit.’ They would definitely not be willing.

And the other large and small sects, on the surface, might not say anything, but in the dark, it was very likely that they would attack these three small sects. This was a supreme treasure that could give people hope of advancing to the Void Refining Realm.

Chongyangzi had immediately stated the handling of this matter here. These fruits were really given to the three of them, and not for them to hand over to the Blood Lantern Sect after they went back, as the gains of this team this time.

Donglin Tingyue and Jia Fugui’s eyes were filled with shock and pleasant surprise. It was just that Li Yan had always been inscrutable, so he looked relatively calm.

None of the three studied the “Great Nothingness Fruit” in detail, but immediately put it into their storage space, because they could see that Chongyangzi had no intention of staying here.

After the three of them got the “Great Nothingness Fruit,” they could use it for future advancement to the Void Refining Realm. Even if there was no hope of advancing to the Spirit Transformation, they could also use it in advance.

But that would be too wasteful. After all, the further one went in cultivation, each advancement was countless times more difficult than before. They all understood the principle of using good steel on the cutting edge of the blade.

Chongyangzi’s actions, even the sects where Li Yan and the other three belonged would not know. Then the “Great Nothingness Fruit” could be completely kept by the three of them.

After confirming that the “Great Nothingness Tree” was fine, the four of them immediately stepped onto the flying boat again. And before leaving, Chongyangzi added another layer of restriction to the outside of this mountain peak.

Chongyangzi knew that this time, due to the rebellion of Heavenly Mountain Garden and Spirit Subduing Manor, this place might not be opened for a thousand years.

Before he reported back to the sect, this place naturally needed another layer of protection.

More than ten days later, when Li Yan and the others flew out of a void, they once again saw the lake in the desert.

And this time, the flying boat did not leave immediately, but hovered above the lake.

Then, Chongyangzi gave an order, telling the three of them not to wander around outside the boat, and then he flew away alone.

And he was gone for more than half an hour. Until he came back, his expression was still solemn, and his joy or anger could not be seen.

After just a brief meeting with the three of them, he flew alone to the second floor of the flying boat.

His Purple-Gold Flood Dragon Python, even Li Yan had not found it on the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator’s body. It should be that the demonic beast and Chongyangzi had something similar to a blood contract.

So, it would be very difficult to refine it again. It should have been killed by the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator in the spirit-storing pouch.

So, they still drove this flying boat and flew quickly towards Pure Yang Hall!

More than ten days later, Li Yan and the others arrived at Pure Yang Hall again. Then, as soon as Li Yan and the other three got off the flying boat, they were taken away separately by several cultivators who were waiting here.

Chongyangzi was really good to the three of them. He had secretly transmitted a message to the three of them. He had already sent the news back to the sect. Li Yan might be personally questioned by a Supreme Elder, while Donglin Tingyue and the other two had to accept the “Bright Refining Mind-Inquiry.”

As long as they didn’t lie, there was nothing to be afraid of…

Two days later, in front of a teleportation formation in Pure Yang Hall, Chongyangzi’s figure appeared again. Beside him were Li Yan and the other three.

Li Yan’s face was calm. Although he had not accepted the “Bright Refining Mind-Inquiry,” being questioned by a Void Refining Realm expert was actually even more dangerous.

But fortunately, Chongyangzi really kept his word. He should have said many good words for him, and he must have also used himself as a condition to guarantee for Li Yan.

In the end, Li Yan was only carefully questioned by the Void Refining Realm youth who looked to be only in his twenties for an hour before he was allowed to go back.

However, in the process, Li Yan’s own information was also carefully read several times by Pure Yang Hall. Among them, Li Yan’s identity as an ascended cultivator from the lower realm, as well as his formidable Body Cultivator combat power, were also confirmed.

Only then did Chongyangzi’s guarantee not be questioned by others.

It was not until this morning that Li Yan was brought here, and then he saw Chongyangzi’s figure.

Chongyangzi immediately nodded and smiled at him, but did not speak to him.

The moment Li Yan saw the teleportation formation in front of him, he understood that he could leave.

But why was Chongyangzi here? He did not understand. The other party’s favor had already been returned. Logically speaking, he should have just sent him away. This was like seeing him off.

It was just that the other party did not speak, nor did he let him enter the teleportation formation immediately. Li Yan also stood to one side, but he also had other guesses in his heart.

Sure enough, just a few dozen breaths later, Donglin Tingyue and Jia Fugui were also brought over separately.

The faces of the two were also quite normal, but Li Yan could still sense that their auras were a little unstable, as if there was still some fear in their hearts. He immediately thought of the “Bright Refining Mind-Inquiry.”

Li Yan guessed that these two, after experiencing the “Bright Refining Mind-Inquiry,” once they woke up afterwards, would remember many terrifying processes.

Now, probably every time these two thought about it again, they should still have a great fear of the “Bright Refining Mind-Inquiry.”