Chapter 1461: The Uninformed Li Yan
At the same time, it would allow Soul Cultivators to train and advance rapidly from the Qi Condensation stage. They might even be able to, at any cost, raise Soul Spirits to the peak of Void Refining, or even the Body Integration Realm, to assist the two Supreme Elders.
However, this was all just speculation, so Grandmaster Lan couldn’t be certain. Thus, she adopted another, more reliable approach.
“Yes, this junior believes he can cooperate with Grandmaster Lan in researching that formation set in the future, but the duration will not be fifty years…”
Having said this, Li Yan paused, his gaze fixed on Grandmaster Lan.
“Not fifty years? How much time do you wish to reduce it by?”
Upon hearing this, Grandmaster Lan’s eyes, which had just been shining with brilliance, narrowed slightly.
Of course, she did not enjoy haggling with a junior. The terms she had offered were by no means low. Five tasks over a hundred years in exchange for fifty years of his time—in the entire Soul Suppression Palace, if anyone else were to be chosen by her, they wouldn’t just refrain from setting conditions, they would be fighting for the opportunity.
Any fool could see that if she were to ask a junior for help, she would never let them get the short end of the stick. In the process, the other party would surely learn a great deal from her, and if she were pleased, she might even offer pointers on their cultivation. A few casual words from a Void Refining cultivator could save them hundreds, or even thousands, of years of cultivation.
There was another, more important point: by working for her, the other party would form an Immortal Fortune with her. Even if they didn’t actively publicize this relationship within the Soul Suppression Palace, others, upon finding out, would have to treat them with greater respect.
Yet Li Yan seemed oblivious to the growing indifference in Grandmaster Lan’s tone as he continued.
“This junior said it wouldn’t be fifty years, but he is willing to assist Grandmaster Lan in researching this formation set indefinitely. However, the time would not be continuous. For example, it could be a few months out of the year, or perhaps three to five consecutive years. After all, this junior must still cultivate. The moment senior feels this formation no longer requires this junior’s assistance for testing, this junior can leave.”
Li Yan spoke in a calm, unhurried manner, though he added a sentence in his mind.
‘Of course, all this is contingent on me not having found a way out and still being stuck here…’
If he couldn’t leave, assisting this person had another benefit: Grandmaster Lan’s status was transcendent. After spending the last few days gathering information, Li Yan had already sensed many things. Aside from the publicly known secrets that were of some use to him as an outsider cultivator, most of that information was trivial to the Soul Cultivators here. But if he wanted to obtain more secretive information, he had to get close to the core cultivators of the Soul Suppression Palace, and this Grandmaster Lan was just such an opportunity.
Li Yan was no longer as naive as he had been. He now understood Grandmaster Lan’s rather special position in the palace. Compared to other Void Refining cultivators, Grandmaster Lan was more favored by the adept on that solitary peak in the back, and even the Sect Master treated her with great courtesy.
Since he couldn’t get out, it was naturally better to have more opportunities to interact with this person. So, fifty years was not enough; the more time, the better. Of course, Li Yan would definitely have to set aside time for his own cultivation.
“You… you mean to say? You can test this formation set indefinitely?”
Upon hearing Li Yan’s words, Grandmaster Lan was now somewhat stunned. He had actually proposed such a condition. For her, this was nothing but beneficial, with no drawbacks. Although she had agreed to a fifty-year term with Li Yan, she too would be delayed by other matters during this period. Especially in recent years, she had a more important matter on her hands that required her to frequently divide her attention. It was naturally impossible for her to spend fifty consecutive years testing that formation.
However, the matter of the two Supreme Elders’ breakthrough was being handled by the Sect Master himself, but he was already extremely anxious. They had to try every possibility. Thus, this matter was also pressing, yet there had been no progress for a long time. This boy had an extremely keen, innate sensitivity to that formation, making him a viable backup plan.
“How could I dare to jest with senior about such a matter!” Li Yan replied respectfully from below.
This time, upon hearing Li Yan’s response, Grandmaster Lan did not immediately show her delight. Instead, she leaned back in her chair. She was as shrewd as they come; for him to make such an offer, it was impossible that he had no request of his own.
“Then tell me, what are your conditions? The agreement of five tasks per century is certainly out. How about I waive a thousand years of your tasks directly? I imagine that if this formation set cannot be figured out within a thousand years, there’s no need to waste any more time on it!” Grandmaster Lan said meaningfully.
“Senior’s perception is truly like a torch. This junior’s petty thoughts could naturally not escape senior’s notice. This junior would like to boldly make a request, though I am unsure if it can be fulfilled…”
As he spoke, a hesitant look appeared on Li Yan’s face.
“Speak. No need to dither!” Grandmaster Lan waved her hand, showing her dislike for indecisive people.
“This junior wishes… to have that female cultivator of the Demonic Clan… as… as his Soul Slave!”
Li Yan seemed to have made up his mind, speaking in a soft voice, yet it was so faint it was almost ephemeral, as if he lacked confidence.
“You want the Soul Slave, Mu Guyue? You men, truly not a single one of you isn’t a lecher!”
Upon hearing this, Grandmaster Lan’s brows furrowed instantly, and displeasure flashed in her eyes. The request Li Yan had made was actually for a female Soul Slave. This immediately displeased her, but fortunately, she did not erupt in anger right away.
Li Yan, hearing this, showed a look of astonishment and immediately began waving his hands frantically.
“Senior misunderstands, you misunderstand! This junior is wholeheartedly dedicated to the Dao and harbors no untoward thoughts. This junior has been researching a type of talisman and collecting various runes. The innate demonic markings of the Demonic Clan possess extremely strong defensive properties, capable of providing considerable defense even against the attacks of us Soul Cultivators. Therefore, this junior wants this Demonic Clan cultivator solely to study the demonic markings on her body. If there were a male Demonic Clan cultivator available, that would be acceptable as well!”
Before coming here, while in his own courtyard, Li Yan had been constantly pondering his justification. He had fought against the Demonic Clan before and was quite familiar with them. Furthermore, through the White Demon Clan cultivation method that Zhao Min practiced, he had known since their time in the underground passage that her technique could resist a portion of soul attacks. After their marriage, he became even more familiar with the demonic markings on Zhao Min’s body, gaining a deeper understanding. Thus, he guessed that the innate demonic markings of these Black Demon Clan members should have a similar function.
As Li Yan hastily explained, he thought to himself, ‘So her name is Mu Guyue… The Moon Demon, it must be her!’
“Oh? Is that so?”
After listening, Grandmaster Lan’s pair of purple eyes stared unblinkingly at Li Yan, making him feel as if he were sitting on pins and needles. He quickly spoke again.
“Please, senior, see the truth in this. Since entering the sect, this junior has been in closed-door cultivation and has not had any other thoughts!”
This time, Grandmaster Lan did not reprimand him but nodded noncommittally. She wasn’t clear on what Li Yan had been like during his decades in the sect, but she imagined he wouldn’t dare deceive her. Moreover, Mu Guyue’s situation was indeed as Li Yan described. When subjected to a soul attack, Mu Guyue’s body would automatically generate demonic markings to defend herself.
However, she wouldn’t completely believe Li Yan’s words. That Mu Guyue was devastatingly beautiful, a true femme fatale. Even she was envious of the woman’s figure and appearance. Fortunately, she had never placed much importance on looks; otherwise, she would have long ago cultivated an appearance-preserving technique or consumed appearance-preserving pills. It was only this that stopped her from killing the woman out of jealousy.
After several breaths of time, just as Li Yan was feeling increasingly oppressed, Grandmaster Lan finally, slowly withdrew her gaze from him. She shifted her eyes to the ceiling, making no comment for a time, as if pondering whether to agree to his condition.
Li Yan felt a little strange. He had considered it for a long time, constantly weighing the conditions he would propose to exchange for that female demonic general. Generally speaking, Grandmaster Lan shouldn’t have any objections. After all, it was just a Nascent Soul Realm Soul Slave. If he had asked for a Spirit Transformation level Soul Slave, that might have seemed like an outrageous demand.
But now it seemed that the female demonic general was very important to Grandmaster Lan, and she appeared unwilling to use her as a bargaining chip. This caused Li Yan’s heart to be in turmoil. The woman’s cultivation was far beyond his own. He had thought long and hard before deciding this plan was feasible. If she didn’t agree and insisted on exchanging for other conditions, should he still persist?
‘Would that arouse her suspicion? However, she herself can offer generous terms to research a formation. For the sake of researching runes, can I not also stand firm on my conditions…’
Li Yan’s mind raced, planning how to deal with the ensuing situation.
And so, for a time, the reception hall was silent. One person was quiet, the other awaited a result.
After a hundred breaths of time had passed, Grandmaster Lan finally brought her gaze back from the ceiling and looked at Li Yan again. However, her eyes still held a trace of hesitation.
“Fine, as you wish!”
Grandmaster Lan’s voice was like heavenly music to Li Yan’s ears.
But in her heart, Grandmaster Lan sighed. She hadn’t seen Li Yan go to the Soul Dueling Arena today, but the moment she heard his condition, suspicion arose in her heart. She had just made an agreement with Xiong Tianba today, and the bargaining chip was this very Soul Slave, Mu Guyue. Why had this boy come over today of all days, and why was he also asking for Mu Guyue?
However, after pondering this thought, she felt it was unlikely. The news might be spread by some people today, but Li Yan should not have found out so quickly. Moreover, if he knew that the condition he proposed was part of a verbal agreement between her and another Void Refining cultivator, and that the bargaining chip was Mu Guyue, he wouldn’t dare try to snatch a woman from a Void Refining cultivator, not even if he had ten thousand times the courage. Did he have a death wish? Or did he think that as a cultivator of the Soul Suppression Palace, no one would dare to kill him?
Grandmaster Lan’s guess was correct. The cultivators in other areas could not hear the content of their conversations in the Soul Dueling Arena. And those who could enter that area were at least at the Spirit Transformation realm. Such a matter certainly wouldn’t reach the ears of a mere Nascent Soul cultivator like him so quickly. As for the Soul Slaves those people brought with them, they acted as if they were deaf and blind on a daily basis. How would they dare to spread rumors? That would truly be not knowing how the character for ‘death’ was written.
Compared to the Canghao Stone in Xiong Tianba’s possession, Grandmaster Lan thought it over carefully again. She felt she should place more importance on the progress of her research into this ancient formation. Although it was just a backup plan, it had always been a weight on the Sect Master’s mind, a matter known only to her, the Sect Master, and a few trusted confidants.
The Canghao Stone was, of course, very important, as it was related to another one of their plans. But the most crucial point was that she already had a piece of Canghao Stone in her possession. Moreover, the size of this piece was already sufficient for two uses. The reason she still wanted to trade with Xiong Tianba was that a Soul Slave was just a Soul Slave; it naturally couldn’t compare to a Canghao Stone. If she could obtain another piece of Canghao Stone, it would serve as an extra backup should the plan fail, allowing her to gather the other refining materials later and refine it again.
Comparing the two, Grandmaster Lan weighed her options again and again and still felt that the ancient formation was more useful at this time. Because at the very least, she had already refined it, and its effects were quite good. What she lacked now was to research the complete formation. The other plan, however, was still missing materials. At most, all she could do for now was refine the Canghao Stone into a rough form in advance, which would still take a certain amount of time.
In truth, there was another reason here, one that Grandmaster Lan was reluctant to think about. She herself was a female cultivator and had never had a favorable impression of Xiong Tianba. Even though Mu Guyue was a Soul Slave, he was taking her for his own pleasure. Once she had other options for a trade, she was unwilling to deal with him.
“Many thanks, senior!”
A faint smile appeared on Li Yan’s face, and he quickly bowed again. But then, he hurriedly added another sentence.
“Senior, after you remove the soul seal from her body, please seal her powers as well, so she has no ability to resist. This junior’s cultivation has only just entered the Late-stage Nascent Soul realm. Planting a soul seal on a cultivator of the same rank is best done while she is sealed and unconscious!”