Chapter 1415: Winds and Clouds of the Martial World
When Jia Fugui saw Li Yan speak immediately after he had finished, he showed no surprise.
Since he had offered to repay the other party, it was understandable for Li Yan, as a cultivator, to want to obtain some cultivation resources from him.
It was just that the request Li Yan made later stunned him. Li Yan had not asked for any treasures.
“‘Gui Qu Lai Xi’? And it’s a business name?”
Jia Fugui had not expected Li Yan’s final request to be just to inquire about a business name. His own promise was very significant, yet Li Yan had used it so lightly.
But since Li Yan had said so, it seemed that this matter was also of great importance to him. Jia Fugui did not answer immediately, but began to think carefully.
At the same time, Donglin Tingyue on the other side also had a flickering look in her eyes, as if she was also thinking about this name.
When Li Yan saw that Jia Fugui did not answer immediately, he sighed in his heart. The other party probably hadn’t heard of this name either. Could it be that “Gui Qu Lai Xi” was really not in this realm? Or was it not called this name?
Why was his luck so bad? Of the two sects and one shop he wanted to contact, one was confirmed not to be in this realm, and for the others, there was no news.
This time, Li Yan had originally planned to take a careful walk around the area near Pure Yang Hall after the “Great Nothingness Fruit” scramble. There were several larger markets nearby.
But what happened in the end had completely disrupted his plans.
For some time now, it was better for him to be less outside. Now was the time when things were at a critical point, and the chances of getting into trouble were very high.
Moreover, Pure Yang Hall had not given Li Yan a chance and had directly arranged for a teleportation array to send the three of them away. All of this was in coordination with their next plan.
However, before leaving Pure Yang Hall, when Li Yan was taken aside by Chongyangzi, after further understanding Chongyangzi’s character, before stepping onto the teleportation array, he had also asked Chongyangzi about “Gui Qu Lai Xi.”
And after Chongyangzi heard it, he quickly shook his head, indicating that he did not know this shop. With a cultivator’s memory, as long as he was reminded a little, if he had seen or heard it, he would definitely have an impression.
This made Li Yan immediately certain that the several large markets near Pure Yang Hall would probably not have a branch of “Gui Qu Lai Xi.”
Sure enough, after thinking for a while, Jia Fugui raised his head, a look of apology on his face.
“Fellow Daoist Li, I have really never heard of this business name. However, I will remember this matter! When I go back, I will immediately make inquiries from many sources. The Great Elder of my sect traveled far in his early years as a merchant, and he has reached the area near the center of the Northern Pastoral Realm. He knows more things and has seen more. Maybe he knows about this business! As soon as there is any news, I will immediately send a message to Fellow Daoist Li! However, this will require Fellow Daoist Li to wait for some time.”
Although Jia Fugui didn’t know why Li Yan was asking about this business, if he wanted to buy something, he was in this business himself. But he wouldn’t be so tactless as to inquire about the other party’s reasons.
After hearing this, Li Yan nodded.
Although he had been full of hope when he asked, the result was not beyond his expectations.
It was just that this kind of thing, when his own ability was not enough, once he had a chance, he could only inquire from many sources. Otherwise, if he missed the opportunity, he didn’t know how much he would regret it.
Next, Jia Fugui said a few more simple words to the two of them. After cupping his fists towards them, he immediately turned into a streak of light and flew away in one direction.
Watching the other party disappear into the horizon after a few flashes, Li Yan looked at Donglin Tingyue.
“Fairy Tingyue, then let’s go back too!”
After Donglin Tingyue heard Li Yan’s words, she also hummed in agreement. But when she heard the words “we go back,” the half of her pretty face exposed outside the silver mask also showed a hint of blush.
Li Yan did not notice this detail. From here, the directions of the Broken Army Sect and the Donglin Family were basically the same.
Now that he was familiar with the other party, he couldn’t possibly propose that the two of them separate and go back on their own.
Then, the two of them did not delay any longer and also set off on the road back!
Along the way, the situation was indeed different from when Li Yan had come. The number of cultivators they encountered had increased a lot.
Those were some of the sects along the way, led by one or two Nascent Soul cultivators, who had temporarily formed segmented patrol teams. When they saw the two of them, they would all come up to investigate.
Li Yan and Donglin Tingyue knew in their hearts that this was the beginning of that matter fermenting. The Blood Lantern Sect and its subordinate sects had already begun to operate.
However, they all had a yellow token given by Chongyangzi on them, so there was nothing to be afraid of.
For Li Yan and the other two Nascent Soul-level cultivators, the patrol teams formed by those small sects, although vigilant, were quite polite. They were not the Blood Lantern Sect.
As long as Li Yan and the other two took out the yellow token, in the end, in the respectful attitude of those people, they would be allowed to leave.
Some Nascent Soul cultivators did know Donglin Tingyue and would chat with them for a while.
Although they might not know that the two had participated in the “Great Nothingness Fruit” scramble, the Pure Yang Hall token held by Donglin Tingyue allowed them to guess a thing or two.
For the inquiries of these people, Donglin Tingyue would only give a brief answer before finding a reason to leave. The other party basically knew that they could not ask anymore.
On the contrary, no one knew Li Yan, and he often stood by the side, at leisure.
The Nascent Soul cultivators who did not know them thought that these were disciples sent out by Pure Yang Hall on some mission.
The token in Li Yan and the other two’s hands was issued by Pure Yang Hall and had a special imprint on it. It would self-destruct after two months. This was the time the other party had calculated.
Li Yan and Donglin Tingyue also smelled the impending storm from these continuous investigations.
This time, Pure Yang Hall would definitely not let the matter rest easily. Not only had they lost the Spirit Transformation cultivators of two sects, but also so many Nascent Soul cultivators, and they had also lost two third-rate sects.
And although Heart-Refining Valley had failed this time, in fact, the other party had not lost anything.
If you really calculated the losses, it might be that they had given Heavenly Mountain Garden and Spirit Subduing Manor a lot of resources in the early stage.
In the end, the mission failed and they did not get the “Great Nothingness Tree.” But in the end, Heavenly Mountain Garden and Spirit Subduing Manor still had so many cultivators who defected to them, so it was not a loss.
Li Yan and the other two walked and stopped along the way. With so many investigations, Li Yan and the other two felt much safer.
When Li Yan had come over by himself, he had to be careful to avoid being attacked by demonic beasts or other cultivators. Now, under the patrol of so many cultivators, many dangers had also disappeared.
More than a month later, when they were approaching the area under the jurisdiction of the Broken Army Sect, Donglin Tingyue also had to turn towards her family’s direction. Along the way, under Donglin Tingyue’s deliberate efforts to befriend him, the relationship between the two had also improved further.
The Donglin Family had a good relationship with the Broken Army Sect to begin with. Many of the words between the two could be said freely without too much scruple.
After Donglin Tingyue knew that there was such a fierce person as Li Yan, especially on this trip, Li Yan had really saved her life. Of course, Donglin Tingyue would be willing to maintain a good relationship with the other party.
“Fellow Daoist Li, we will part here. As for the matter of ‘Gui Qu Lai Xi’ that you mentioned to Fellow Daoist Jia, I will also make inquiries from many sources when I go back. As soon as there is any news, I will inform you immediately.”
Although Li Yan had not asked her to inquire, the other party had given up other requests and had asked Jia Fugui to inquire about this matter alone. Donglin Tingyue was not stupid. This matter was obviously very important to Li Yan.
Moreover, when Li Yan had said this, he had not avoided her. Of course, Donglin Tingyue would know what to do.
After hearing this, a smile also appeared on Li Yan’s face.
From his heart, he did not consider himself a benefactor. Everything he had done at that time was based on how to save his own life first.
“Oh? In that case, then I thank Fairy Yue for your trouble!”
Seeing Donglin Tingyue being so thoughtful, Li Yan immediately thanked her. This was like casting a wide net. Maybe one day he would be able to catch a fish.
In the sky, Donglin Tingyue, who was leaving alone, was thinking about things. She was constantly deliberating on how to narrate the events to her family after she returned.
She had to not go against Pure Yang Hall’s arrangements, and she must also reveal how powerful Li Yan was…
When Li Yan returned to the “Broken Army Sect,” he sensed two familiar Divine Senses sweeping over. Then, Shangguan Tianque’s voice came into his mind.
“Elder Li, you have finally returned safely. Please come to the back mountain.”
On the top of a mountain like an immortal mountain, the mountaintop pierced into the clouds. The surrounding area was filled with ethereal clouds and mist. Being here, it felt as if one could ride the wind and leave at any time…
Under a huge pine tree, on a long stone slab, three tea cups were placed. Shangguan Tianque, Ren Yanyu, and Li Yan sat opposite each other.
Feeling the rich spiritual energy around him, constantly jumping happily and drilling into his body, letting the gentle breeze caress his face, Li Yan felt a sense of exhilaration.
“Elder Li’s return is really both a surprise and a joy. The two of us can finally rest assured!”
After Shangguan Tianque saw Li Yan sit down, he picked up a tea cup and gestured to Li Yan.
Li Yan’s face was extremely calm. He also picked up a tea cup and nodded with a smile.
Ren Yanyu on the side saw this scene and couldn’t help but admire Li Yan’s temperament even more. This person seemed to always be like this, as if he would never be nervous or angry.
They had already received information transmitted through a special channel from the Blood Lantern Sect. There had been a major accident in the scramble for the Great Nothingness Fruit this time. In the end, Chongyangzi and the others had been ambushed, and many people had died.
However, the Blood Lantern Sect itself did not know who exactly had survived. Everything was arranged by Pure Yang Hall. The group of surviving cultivators had already begun to return to their respective sects from the Blood Lantern Sect…
After Ren Yanyu received this message, she immediately called out Shangguan Tianque, who was still in seclusion to recover from the great consumption of alchemy.
The two of them carefully read the message several times again, and their hearts were also very anxious, and they were thinking about how to inquire about the situation in detail.
However, the Blood Lantern Sect had requested in the message that they immediately organize their disciples to patrol like the several surrounding sects. And each sect had to be strictly guarded in the near future and carry out the mission according to the content of the letter.
And the Blood Lantern Sect also said in the message that those who survived were on their way back. Cultivators were not like mortals. From one place to another, they were basically limited to one or several accessible roads.
As long as they were going in the right general direction, they basically flew as they pleased. So even if Shangguan Tianque wanted to go and greet them, there was a high probability that he would miss them, so he could only wait in the sect.
“This time, I was lucky to have saved my life. I wonder what the situation is like in the sect now?”
Li Yan had already read the communiqué jade slip and knew what Pure Yang Hall had said to the outside world.
But he still wanted to hear about what had happened in the sect recently first, so that he could better cover up the things that Pure Yang Hall had forbidden him to say.
So, he took the lead and asked. When Shangguan Tianque and the other two heard this, they did not doubt him!
Calling Li Yan over was for both sides to exchange information. It was just that Li Yan was worried about the situation in the sect and had asked first.
Next, Shangguan Tianque began to speak. Li Yan listened carefully, and from time to time he would ask a question or two, and both of them would give a more detailed explanation.
Not long after, Li Yan knew the situation in the sect.
First of all, Shangguan Tianque had felt that his time was running out this time, and had actually erupted with all his potential, and in the end, he had really successfully refined two sixth-grade “Spirit-Communicating Pills.”
After the pills were refined, he was also greatly consumed in all aspects. After a simple notification to Ren Yanyu, he immediately began to go into seclusion to recover.
But not long after, Ren Yanyu called him out of seclusion. They had received a secret channel message from the upper sect that Heavenly Mountain Garden and Spirit Subduing Manor had rebelled.
There had been an accident in the “Great Nothingness Fruit” scramble. They were required to immediately organize people to patrol and distribute the information of some important cultivators in Heavenly Mountain Garden and Spirit Subduing Manor.
They were required to pay close attention to whether these people would appear in their jurisdiction. Once found, they must be captured immediately.
Those who were not capable were to notify other surrounding sects. Any sect that did not cooperate would be treated as a whole sect rebellion, and the punishment would be unprecedentedly harsh.
In fact, this was aimed at further clearing out the remnants of the two sects that were still in the Pure Yang Hall’s sphere of influence.
A small sect like the Broken Army Sect simply didn’t know that most of the disciples of these two sects had already been taken away by Spirit Transformation cultivators.
But because things had happened in a hurry, Heavenly Mountain Garden and Spirit Subduing Manor still had some core disciples of the sect who were out on business and had not been able to escape in time.
So, Shangguan Tianque personally sat in charge of the mountain gate. Outside, Yu Banjiang and Ren Yanyu took turns patrolling. They also had to contact other surrounding forces from time to to time, and the two sides would regularly exchange patrol information.
These few days, it was Yu Banjiang who was leading people to patrol outside, so Ren Yanyu had stayed in the sect.
In fact, Li Yan had already met Yu Banjiang leading a team of disciples on the road before. Yu Banjiang was overjoyed to see Li Yan return.
After the two said a few words, because Li Yan was already very close to the sect and was heading straight for the sect, and Yu Banjiang had to continue patrolling, he did not send a message back to the sect.
After finishing speaking about the situation in the sect, Shangguan Tianque also hurriedly asked.
“Elder Li, what on earth happened on your side?”
Hearing this, Li Yan shook his head slightly, and after a sigh, he also recounted the “situation” he had encountered.
It was just that the story he told was very different from the truth. He said that Heavenly Mountain Garden and Spirit Subduing Manor had rebelled halfway through the journey.
They had first suddenly sneak-attacked Chongyangzi, intending to kill him first, and then control the entire flying boat.
But they had still underestimated the restrictions on that flying boat. At the critical moment, Chongyangzi had used the powerful restrictions of the flying boat to escape, but he was also injured.
However, Chongyangzi had taken the opportunity to successfully transmit a message out. After Chen Xingshan of the Blood Lantern Sect and the big man of the Seven Tigers Alliance received the message, they immediately charged out, and a fierce battle broke out between the two sides.
In the end, it was said that five Spirit Transformation cultivators had died or were injured. But as for the specific situation, because Li Yan and the others were also fighting on the first floor, they did not know the situation above.
But the two Spirit Transformation cultivators from Heavenly Mountain Garden and Spirit Subduing Manor had definitely perished.
Li Yan’s statement, Shangguan Tianque and the other two did not doubt him. They had also participated in the “Great Nothingness Fruit” scramble before, and of course they knew that the second floor of the flying boat was a place they could not go up to at all.
Then, Li Yan said that they had also fought very fiercely below, but in the end, after Chongyangzi appeared, he had quickly killed all the Nascent Soul cultivators from Heavenly Mountain Garden and Spirit Subduing Manor.
And they had only survived with a few people. This “Great Nothingness Fruit” scramble had thus been aborted.
After Shangguan Tianque and Ren Yanyu finished listening, the two of them were silent for a long time. They knew that these two sects had rebelled, and the higher-ups had also given the theory that the other party might have defected to Heart-Refining Valley.
But the tragic situation on the flying boat that Li Yan had described made the two of them feel shocked. Even a Spirit Transformation cultivator had perished.
Although they didn’t know how many of their own Spirit Transformation cultivators had survived in the end, they knew the Yuan-surnamed female cultivator and the old woman surnamed He. With such formidable cultivation, they had died just like that.
Of the dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators, only a few had survived. If Ren Yanyu had gone this time, Shangguan Tianque felt that she would have had a fifty percent chance of perishing there.
After that time dealing with Liu Huaigu, after Ren Yanyu heard Shangguan Tianque’s account of the process, she herself felt that she was a long way from Li Yan’s strength.
The tragic events that Li Yan had described, just thinking about them made the two of them feel a lingering fear.
It was just that how could the two of them know that the real situation on the flying boat was several times more tragic than this? In fact, only one Spirit Transformation cultivator had survived, and the Nascent Soul cultivators were almost all dead.
With Ren Yanyu’s cultivation, if she had gone this time, where would she have had a fifty percent chance of survival? She would have been certain to die, and Chongyangzi would have also perished.
“With the other party being so calculating, did the ‘Great Nothingness Tree’ also have an accident?”
Shangguan Tianque was indeed a sect master. He quickly thought of a key question. If this treasure was lost, then Pure Yang Hall had really suffered a heavy loss this time.
“That’s not the case. Heart-Refining Valley should not be able to find another way to the ‘Great Nothingness Tree’ area. I heard about this when I was at Pure Yang Hall.”
Li Yan replied.
Shangguan Tianque nodded. Then he and Ren Yanyu quickly exchanged a glance, and then they did not ask how Pure Yang Hall had compensated Li Yan this time.
In their view, for Li Yan and the others to survive, Pure Yang should have rewarded them with treasures similar to supreme-grade Spirit Stones. But thinking that this was something Li Yan had exchanged his life for, they could not ask.
As for how the four “Great Nothingness Fruits” were handled, they didn’t even consider it. They had participated in this kind of scramble time and time again. When would it be their turn, a fourth-rate sect, to get this treasure?
What’s more, in the hearts of the two of them, they thought that Chen Xingshan of the Blood Lantern Sect, as well as some other Nascent Soul cultivators, were still alive.
With so many people, how could the four “Great Nothingness Fruits” be divided? Weren’t they still rewarded to the Blood Lantern Sect and the Seven Tigers Alliance?