Chapter 1448: No Time to Waste

Li Yan had just asked the other party for the location of the Technique Transmission Pavilion. Such shared places were generally located in a public area to the north, accessible to cultivators from the three halls and one palace.

In his haste, Li Yan didn’t even want to go to the residential courtyard he had previously selected.

“Since there’s nothing else, this matter is concluded. Fellow Daoist Li, you may…”

Seeing that the business was finished, the fat middle-aged cultivator naturally didn’t want to be disturbed any longer. He wanted to use his free time to meditate and cultivate. He was just about to send Li Yan away.

But just then, with a loud bang, the door behind Li Yan was forcefully slammed open, exceptionally savage and brutal.

The fat middle-aged cultivator’s expression changed. Who dared to be so audacious, rushing in so rudely? This was the deacon’s main hall of the Strange Sparrow Hall.

Even those ill-mannered people from the Arc Arrow Hall wouldn’t dare to be so presumptuous. Could it be that an external enemy had broken into the Soul-Suppression Palace?

The fat middle-aged cultivator’s face instantly darkened. As he looked up towards the door, he was about to erupt in anger.

Li Yan, with his back to the door, had no warning. The sudden loud noise also gave him a fright.

His figure instinctively blurred and he dodged to the side wall. As his Spirit Power shield flared to life, he turned his head to look at the door.

“Good, good, I’m not late. Otherwise, I would have had to search all over for you…”

As soon as the person entered the room, their gaze swept across the interior. The moment they saw Li Yan, they immediately spoke.

At this moment, the fat middle-aged cultivator also saw clearly who had burst in. The anger that was about to explode instantly vanished without a trace.

Like a change of face, in a mere instant, it was replaced by a sycophantic smile.

“Great… Great Master Lan, why have you come?”

Upon seeing the newcomer, the fat middle-aged cultivator was utterly astonished. It was actually a cultivator from the Subduing Stars Hall, and a Void Refining realm expert at that—”Great Master Lan.”

Although he addressed her this way, her true attainments in artifact refining had long reached the level of a Great Grandmaster.

It was just that since her Foundation Establishment stage, she had shown supreme aptitude in artifact refining and formations, with almost no one in the same realm being her equal.

Therefore, she was already called “Great Master Lan” during her Golden Core stage.

And she had truly advanced triumphantly along this path, never letting her fame wane. Thus, people had continued to call her “Great Master Lan” all along.

Even after her artifact refining attainments reached the levels of Grandmaster and Great Grandmaster, people still called her “Great Master Lan” out of habit.

She herself had long grown accustomed to this title, so she didn’t mind how others addressed her. In fact, it highlighted her illustrious fame from a young age.

The Subduing Stars Hall was the hall that cultivators from the other two halls were most willing to befriend. This way, if they needed to refine any magical treasures or medicinal pills, they could take advantage of their proximity and find someone to help.

And Great Master Lan was one of the few Great Grandmaster-level figures in artifact refining. Furthermore, her alchemy attainments were at the Grandmaster realm, and she was also a top-tier expert in the Subduing Stars Hall.

Normally, let alone being able to speak a word to her, just a glance from her would make you feel overwhelmed with favor and honored.

The fat middle-aged cultivator never imagined that the person who entered would be Great Master Lan. This was a great Buddha visiting his small temple.

He instantly lost all his temper. To put it bluntly, even if she killed him, she would probably only receive a few warnings from the sect.

This Great Master Lan was someone who even dared to talk back to the Sect Master. He, of course, should just tuck his tail between his legs.

Although Great Master Lan heard the fat middle-aged cultivator’s words, after seeing Li Yan, she didn’t even bother to spare him a glance from the corner of her eye.

Li Yan now also saw the newcomer’s appearance clearly. It was a tall, thin old woman dressed in a black robe.

She looked to be around sixty years old. Although her face had many wrinkles, one could tell from her features that she must have been a beauty in her youth.

The old woman had a head of snow-white hair, each silver strand glowing with a lustrous sheen. It was styled in a simple courtly bun on top of her head, held in place by a phoenix hairpin, giving her an air of complete vitality.

Her eyes were particularly peculiar, being a pale purple. At this moment, they were fixed firmly on him.

A chill ran down Li Yan’s spine. The old woman made no attempt to conceal her aura. At such a close distance, being stared at by those pale purple eyes, Li Yan instantly felt as if he couldn’t breathe.

Faced with this immense pressure washing over him, Li Yan was already horrified.

‘This… this is a Void Refining realm expert?’

Li Yan couldn’t sense her specific realm, but such a powerful pressure was definitely beyond that of a Spirit Transformation cultivator. He didn’t know who she was or why she had burst in so rudely and was now staring at him so intently.

From the moment the old woman broke down the door to the three of them staring at each other, it all happened in an instant.

“It’s you. I saw the recording of you breaking the formation during the assessment. Li Yan!”

Great Master Lan looked at Li Yan with a strange expression, still thinking about the recording she had seen of him breaking the formation.

“Sen… Senior, what are your instructions?”

Li Yan now also heard the words of the fat middle-aged cultivator and this terrifyingly strong female cultivator.

The expert before him was surnamed “Lan,” and she had come looking for him, seemingly because she had seen the recording of his assessment?

“The entire process of my assessment was recorded?”

This was the information Li Yan had gathered in a short time. He also didn’t understand why the Soul-Suppression Palace would record the process of the entrance assessment.

He had just left the assessment area at the mountain gate, and she had come looking for him right after. What for? Had he already exposed himself?

In a flash, Li Yan thought of a possibility, and cold sweat broke out on his body. He never would have imagined that the Soul-Suppression Palace’s assessment would be reviewed by a Void Refining cultivator.

This was something he couldn’t have anticipated even in his wildest dreams. Was the Soul-Suppression Palace so cautious with new disciples? There were only so many Void Refining cultivators in a sect; did they not need to go into seclusion and cultivate?

“This is bad, things are about to get ugly…”

As Li Yan was thinking, under the pressure of her aura, he still respectfully asked while enduring it. In the eyes of others, he looked like he was sweating but still trying to maintain his composure.

Only then did Great Master Lan seem to snap back to reality. She quickly retracted the pressure she was emitting. In her excitement just now, she had directly locked her aura onto him.

This was just a little Nascent Soul cultivator. To not have collapsed in a heap under her locked aura, but to only break out in a sweat while resisting and still be able to speak, made her feel even more that this dark-skinned boy had some tricks up his sleeve.

Great Master Lan hadn’t considered that Li Yan was actually terrified because a Void Refining cultivator had sought him out without any psychological preparation, and his guilty conscience was making him sweat.

“It’s good that I found you. I have a few questions for you. That… who, you go out for a moment.”

As soon as Great Master Lan retracted her aura, she immediately spoke to Li Yan. But halfway through her words, she suddenly remembered something.

She then turned her head slightly to look at the puzzled fat middle-aged cultivator and gave him a direct order without any ceremony.

“Yes!”

Although the fat middle-aged cultivator was particularly eager to know why Great Master Lan had suddenly come here, she immediately sent him out. Despite this, the fat middle-aged cultivator remained respectful and didn’t dare to disobey her, even though this was his territory.

So, he quickly walked out without the slightest hesitation. Before leaving, he even respectfully closed the door.

But in the instant he closed the door, the way he looked at Li Yan had changed slightly. Great Master Lan had appeared here to find a newly entered disciple.

If this Li Yan had offended Great Master Lan, then he would definitely not be kind to him in the future and might even kick him while he’s down.

But looking at Great Master Lan’s gaze towards Li Yan, it didn’t seem to hold any dissatisfaction or hatred, but rather a puzzled expression similar to his own.

Inside the room, seeing the fat middle-aged cultivator leave, Great Master Lan turned her gaze back to Li Yan.

“Young friend, I would like to ask a few questions. I wonder if you would be able to answer me? Don’t worry, they are all things within your ability!”

There was no sternness on Great Master Lan’s face, only a serious expression, but Li Yan’s heart was still pounding.

‘What flaw did she see in me through the recording? This is really going to kill me. One wrong answer and I’ll be exposed…’

Although Li Yan thought this, things had already come to this point, and he could only brace himself and answer.

“Senior, I wonder what you need? If there’s anything this junior can do for you, please give your instructions!”

“During your assessment today, when you were breaking through the long alley trial, why were you able to sense the location where the soul spirits would appear in advance? I’ve checked your records, you’ve never come to the sect for an assessment before!

That formation was refined by me. I believe that even a Spirit Transformation cultivator, if…”

Great Master Lan spoke.

He never would have imagined that she wouldn’t ask about his identity, which he was most worried about, but rather such a question.

The various excuses he had prepared were suddenly useless, leaving him momentarily unable to react.

How did he know where the soul spirits would appear? Of course he knew. He just knew, and he had to know!

He had been through every part of that damn long alley countless times. In endless rounds of painful torment, they had to try again and again to break through just one spot.

He had etched into his mind where the soul cultivators would appear. Those were memories carved out by a group of soul spirits. If he didn’t remember, he would be carved up until he was charred on the outside and tender on the inside.

Moreover, in order for those soul spirits to exert their maximum attack power, the positions and angles they appeared at were the most advantageous in the long alley, but the most awkward for him to exert force.

This led to him, Zhao Min, and Zi Kun eventually being able to, even when encountering a location they hadn’t been to before, often judge with fifty to sixty percent certainty where the next wave of soul spirits would appear just by looking at it.

Although the soul spirits in this long alley today were of a higher level, the formation the other party had refined was exactly the same as the scene in the Underground Long Alley.

When he was breaking through, every time he saw those places in the alley, he would subconsciously think about where an attack would appear. But… but how could he explain this?

After instantly understanding her question, under the scorching gaze of a Void Refining cultivator, Li Yan couldn’t come up with a perfect explanation for a moment.

“Senior, I can’t sense the aura of those soul spirits either. But as I was advancing, at a certain moment, my soul would suddenly feel fear.

And… and there would be a relatively clear feedback of direction. That’s why I would attack a certain spot in advance without hesitation!”

Li Yan could only answer this way, but his heart was extremely nervous.

Only now did he realize something. When he was breaking through this trial, he was so preoccupied with thinking about why this long alley would appear here. Later, he also thought about controlling the distance he advanced.

But the instinct carved into his bones made him subconsciously attack the place where the soul spirits might appear in advance. This was an instinctive reaction upon seeing the long alley, a counterattack carved into his bones over more than ten years.

Moreover, Li Yan would never have thought that a simple entrance assessment could alert a Void Refining cultivator.

In his mind, wasn’t the entrance assessment formation always just there? Did Void Refining cultivators have nothing better to do than to watch a little Nascent Soul cultivator’s assessment?

Otherwise, he would have thought more about it and might have really been able to avoid this situation.

However, after hearing Li Yan’s explanation, Great Master Lan’s face showed no surprise. In her heart, she was already somewhat disappointed.

The answer she had hoped to hear was that this boy had heard about or even seen this formation in some ancient text or from an outsider cultivator.

Great Master Lan had also read Li Yan’s registration information and knew that his ancestors came from the Soul-Slaying Sect. And from the very beginning, the Soul-Slaying Sect had maintained good relations with some outsider soul cultivators.

Those…

Outsider soul cultivators all had their own secrets and would not easily share them with others.

As a sect of the same origin, the Soul-Suppression Palace would not go so far as to exterminate other soul cultivation sects. Instead, they wanted to use these soul cultivators to continuously strengthen the power of soul cultivators.

Even in the future, if they could get out, they could appear openly in the outside world and compete with other forces.

Of course, a more important reason for not suppressing other sects’ soul cultivators was to give them some hope, to let them unearth their own various secret arts, and to break the shackles of this world together.

After the Soul-Slaying Sect came into contact with those outsider soul cultivators, perhaps they had obtained some very secret things. This was the result Great Master Lan wanted to get, but Li Yan’s answer was also within her considerations.

“Then when I watched you attack, it seemed like you knew the order in which those groups of soul spirits would attack. How did you manage that?”

When Li Yan heard her ask this…

How had he not noticed these things at the time? He had only considered holding back on the distance he advanced, but hadn’t thought about other aspects.

“This… this junior really doesn’t know. I just reacted chaotically based on the oppressive feeling of the surrounding soul power!”

“Oh? Is that the only reason? In that case, young friend, could you allow this old one to sense your soul power?”

Great Master Lan’s brows furrowed. Li Yan’s answer was of no use to her at all, leaving her very dissatisfied.

“This… that’s not a problem!”

Li Yan’s face showed some hesitation, but he quickly agreed. This was the most normal reaction for a cultivator.

You were not their master. Just because you were a senior, it didn’t mean others would casually let you probe their bodies.

At the same time, Li Yan’s heart was truly in a turmoil. He had concealed his soul power before.

But at this moment, facing such a request from this cultivator, Li Yan had no reason to refuse. He had just entered the Soul-Suppression Palace and had just been assessed.

If he refused, not only would it show that he might have something to hide, but the other party could just change her approach and say lightly, “The sect has some doubts about your assessment!”

He would have no choice but to cooperate!

Just a dozen breaths later, Great Master Lan withdrew her soul power. She looked at Li Yan with a strange expression, which made Li Yan’s hair stand on end even more.

“Nascent Soul realm cultivation, but your soul power has reached the Spirit Transformation stage. Your soul’s condensation has actually reached such a degree. I’ve only seen records of similar situations in some ancient texts.

And the purity of your soul is truly rare, truly rare! To think that there are really people in this world born with such excellent natural aptitude!”

Every word Great Master Lan spoke made Li Yan’s mind tremble. A Void Refining cultivator was a Void Refining cultivator. Had he been so easily exposed?

But fortunately, she had only released her soul power to probe and had not forcefully used her divine sense or magical power to probe the thickness of the magical power in his body or the aura of his Nascent Soul.

If she discovered that his Nascent Soul’s magical power fluctuations had reached the Late-stage Nascent Soul realm, instead of the Initial-stage Nascent Soul of a soul cultivator, the trouble would only be greater.

However, Li Yan was still confident about this.

With divine sense so restricted in the “Earth-True Domain,” a Void Refining cultivator’s divine sense could probably only extend about one and a half inches outside their body and could not travel within his.

Without making a move, it was almost impossible to ascertain his Dharma-body cultivation realm. What’s more, Li Yan had been secretly circulating the “Tidefall” technique all along.

Seeing that Li Yan’s gaze had become dazed after being seen through by her, Great Master Lan gave him a sidelong glance.

“Your true cultivation is still at the Nascent Soul realm, but when you truly erupt, you might be able to display the combat power of a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator by relying on your formidable soul power.

But due to the restrictions of the major realm, you are unable to unleash Spirit Transformation-level soul art attacks.

So, on this point, you haven’t deceived the sect. No wonder you wanted to join the sect. It seems you were already well aware of your own condition. The cultivation resources of a rogue cultivator are truly scarce. It’s a bit of a waste for you to be outside.

However, this is each person’s privacy. You don’t need to worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

After thinking for a moment, Great Master Lan did not dwell on this issue. Li Yan had not concealed his cultivation from the sect.

Moreover, she had never been very concerned about other matters. She only cared about alchemy, artifact refining, and how to improve her own attainments.

After probing Li Yan’s soul power, Great Master Lan came up with her own answer. Although Li Yan’s soul power had reached the Spirit Transformation level, it was completely different from a Spirit Transformation realm soul that had been cultivated all the way up.

Spirit Transformation realm cultivators could not sense the location of the soul spirits in her formation because their souls were entirely cultivated postnatally.

But people like Li Yan had superior innate aptitude. To put it bluntly, their souls were mutated from birth, giving them a perception of some unknown things that surpassed others.

Only this could explain why he could have such strange reactions without ever having seen this formation before.

After hearing Great Master Lan’s words, Li Yan’s face showed undisguised relaxation.

This was also Li Yan’s true feeling. She was a Void Refining expert; there was no need to deceive him. If she wanted to capture him, she could do so at any time.

In the face of absolute strength, what need was there for schemes?

“However, I still have some questions that you need to explain!”

Just as Li Yan had relaxed, Great Master Lan stared into his eyes, a faint purple light flickering within them as she spoke slowly!