Chapter 1465: Just Because One is in This Mountain

Xiong Tianba’s round eyes were gazing at the ceiling. Feeling You Su Qianqian stir, he lowered his head, his eyes bright as he looked at the jade-like beauty in his arms. Looking at that graceful, flowing curve, a fiery passion once again appeared in Xiong Tianba’s eyes.

Although You Su Qianqian had long been possessed by him, and Xiong Tianba knew every inch of her skin like the back of his hand, she still felt shy and unbearable. She quickly lifted her waist slightly, grabbed the silk quilt from beneath her, and with a pull, covered herself.

“You… you shouldn’t look at me like that…”

After covering a corner of the brocade quilt over herself, You Su Qianqian rested her head on his strong chest again, tracing circles on Xiong Tianba’s chest with a long, slender finger.

“Who told you to become more and more alluring?” Xiong Tianba said in a low voice.

“But… but I can’t serve you well. Tianba, you are getting stronger and stronger!”

You Su Qianqian suddenly remembered that she had fainted again, and her eyes couldn’t help but turn red. Xiong Tianba was also a powerful Body Cultivator. With You Su Qianqian’s Nascent Soul realm cultivation, she couldn’t fully bear the favor of a Spirit Transformation cultivator and would often faint.

Xiong Tianba had several unofficial “Dao Companions” in the sect, but his favorite was You Su Qianqian of the Sky Fox Clan. This woman was naturally seductive, making him unable to resist.

Hearing You Su Qianqian’s mournful voice, Xiong Tianba reached out and gently patted the snow-white long leg exposed from under the silk quilt. He then lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead.

“My lord, there is actually still a chance to get that Mu Guyue!” You Su Qianqian sighed softly.

“Oh? I’m afraid that’s not possible. The person to whom that old wench gave the Soul Slave is definitely under her protection. It would be very difficult to use power to pressure them!”

Hearing You Su Qianqian’s words, Xiong Tianba’s eyes once again filled with anger. This reminded him of Mu Guyue again. Earlier, when he saw Grandmaster Lan’s message, his lungs had almost exploded with anger. It wasn’t that he wasn’t shrewd enough, but this was an agreement between two Void Refining cultivators, and it had been changed the very next day. Grandmaster Lan was completely unpredictable. He had already sent people out. This made him, who was full of anticipation, furious upon receiving such news. The anger he had vented in the main hall earlier was, of course, while he was thinking about how to handle this matter. But how could he touch someone with Grandmaster Lan as their backer? If he touched that old wench’s people, she would definitely not let him off the hook.

Now hearing You Su Qianqian say this, he regained some of his spirits, wanting to hear what advice she had.

“My lord, you can first find out to whom Grandmaster Lan bestowed Mu Guyue. Since it was a bestowment, it means that the other party’s status and position are not too high, at most a Spirit Transformation realm cultivator in the sect. As long as it’s not Grandmaster Lan herself, even if it’s her direct disciple, if you, my lord, personally send someone to their door to negotiate and offer conditions, with your status, the other party will definitely have some reservations. Those people are not like Grandmaster Lan, who is impervious to reason. And they may not even know what happened at the Soul Dueling Arena yesterday. It’s just that something else happened after Grandmaster Lan went back, which is why she bestowed Mu Guyue upon someone. Once they find out the situation, they will definitely think more about it and most likely will not want to offend you, my lord. I feel that this incident may not be a bad thing. It might be easier to get Mu Guyue than from Grandmaster Lan’s hands. Your exchange might not even require a treasure of the level of the Canghao Stone.”

You Su Qianqian’s charming, foxy eyes narrowed as she spoke softly.

In her heart, of course, she didn’t want anyone to compete with her for favor. Xiong Tianba had many women around him, but none of them posed a threat to her. Only this Mu Guyue was on par with her in terms of looks, and she had a unique aloofness that she didn’t have. Xiong Tianba had put a lot of thought into her. You Su Qianqian knew that she couldn’t stop Xiong Tianba from getting what he wanted, so she might as well be more obedient and help him get his wish. And this was what Xiong Tianba liked the most. In the end, even if Mu Guyue could enter, she couldn’t replace her position.

After hearing this, Xiong Tianba pondered for a moment and slowly nodded. Earlier, he had been so angry with that old wench’s actions that he couldn’t calm down and think about the matter carefully. Now that his anger had subsided and he had calmed down, what You Su Qianqian said made sense. The person who got Mu Guyue, as long as they were not a Void Refining cultivator, would have some reservations about him. And he was just politely negotiating a deal with them. The other party might very well agree. He wasn’t using coercion or threats, so even if that old wench found out, she would have no reason to trouble him.

“You are right. I’ll have someone carefully investigate the situation later and see who that old wench bestowed the person to. Qianqian, among so many people, you are my sweetheart!”

As Xiong Tianba spoke these vicious and mushy words, his large hand slid down again, caressing the smooth thigh back and forth, and then continued to explore… His heart was burning with passion again.

Feeling the intense heat from the large hand, You Su Qianqian let out a moan, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.

“No… I haven’t yet…”

…

Li Yan rested at home for only one day before heading straight to the inner sect gate, the place where he had once challenged the trial, as instructed by Grandmaster Lan. During this one day, he hadn’t thought about the formation Grandmaster Lan had mentioned, because he didn’t need to familiarize himself with it at all. Instead, he was contemplating his own matters…

Thus, in the following days, Li Yan and Grandmaster Lan began testing the formation. Time flew by. The stars dwindled and the moon shone bright, the sun and moon set and rose. Another three years passed in a flash.

On this day, Li Yan, inside the formation, was standing in a dim, long alley. He was pressed against a wall, doing his utmost to fend off the attacks of three Soul Spirits. Outside the room, this place, which was originally for the entrance assessment, had long since been moved elsewhere. Grandmaster Lan had specifically cleared out a day before Li Yan arrived to requisition this place. She had also remodeled it. Now, apart from those permitted by Grandmaster Lan, no one else could easily enter.

Over the past few years, as she tested the formation, Grandmaster Lan had continuously modified and restructured it, and from time to time, she had to make adjustments based on Li Yan’s suggestions.

At this moment, Grandmaster Lan was standing outside the formation, her purple eyes staring intently at the battle within the grand formation.

“I never thought he actually cultivated the ‘Saintly Soul Transformation,’ and to such a degree. His star power is already very strong, and it only took him about thirty years! When I discussed the Dao with him, he did mention this cultivation method. I thought he had only brought it up again because of what I had said earlier, so we just discussed it a bit!”

A man’s voice, also low, reached Grandmaster Lan’s ears. At this moment, next to Grandmaster Lan, there was actually another person.

“That’s precisely why I asked you to come! As the testing progressed, I discovered that every time I changed the formation to the limit of his endurance, his soul power, though depleting faster, also recovered with increasing speed afterwards. At first, I didn’t pay much attention, I was just thinking about how to adjust the formation. But later, I noticed that within his soul power fluctuations, I could feel star power. That’s when I checked his cultivation method and found out it was the ‘Saintly Soul Transformation.’ His performance should be influenced by the ‘Soul Residence Star.’ I didn’t expect you to be familiar with this person too, and that he even inquired about this cultivation method from you. Didn’t you pay attention to him before?” Grandmaster Lan said slowly to the person.

If Li Yan were to see the appearance of the person next to Grandmaster Lan, he would definitely be very surprised. This person was not one of the four disciples of Grandmaster Lan he knew, but he was also very familiar to him. It was the exceptionally handsome Tang Feng. The Tang Feng that Li Yan knew had only entered the Soul Suppression Palace within the hundred years since Li Yan joined the sect, and he wasn’t familiar with the powerful figures in the sect. But at this moment, Tang Feng was standing next to Grandmaster Lan, and from the tone of their conversation, they were very familiar. Moreover, while standing next to Grandmaster Lan, Tang Feng, unlike other cultivators, was respectful but lacked the sense of humility others showed.

“This person keeps a low profile. I only happened to meet him twice when he first joined the sect. After that, he went into complete seclusion. It wasn’t until three years ago that he started contacting me, and I learned that he had been in seclusion all these years. Although I have communicated with him about cultivation methods, it was only a discussion of the Dao, and I didn’t ask for details. I was careless in this matter. At that time, I saw him in the Technique Transmission Pavilion showing interest in this cultivation method. I also went up and deliberately explained its drawbacks to him. But for a period of time after that, because I was busy investigating that clue, I neglected this matter!” Tang Feng said softly, his gaze fixed on the interior of the formation.

“Oh, so that’s how it is. I only noticed this after I discovered he was cultivating the ‘Saintly Soul Transformation’ and sensed that his star power had reached about seventy percent. I was afraid you were unaware of this person, so I notified you. However, he is still some distance from the ‘Stellar Shift and Lunar Advent’ stage and is at a difficult bottleneck. It won’t be easy to break through. Many people have been stuck here, unable to advance an inch. And just cultivating star power is still a long way from the realm we need. The hope that he can help is still very small.”

Grandmaster Lan nodded.

“Grandmaster Lan, you said before that you personally tested his soul power, and he reached the Spirit Transformation realm thirty years ago? Then if he can advance to the Spirit Transformation realm again, and his soul power can continue to grow beyond his realm, doesn’t that mean he can be of some help?”

Tang Feng thought for a moment and spoke again after some deliberation.

“Theoretically, yes. But for those with naturally strong souls, there’s a limit to how much their souls can grow. They can’t just keep improving indefinitely. And from my observations over the past year, his soul defense is still at the Initial-stage Spirit Transformation level. Although the ‘Saintly Soul Transformation’ has a strengthening effect on the soul, this effect becomes insignificant after reaching the Nascent Soul realm. This is due to the incompleteness of the cultivation method. His soul had already reached the Spirit Transformation realm. Although he cultivated the ‘Saintly Soul Transformation,’ it can only temper his soul more, making it easier for star power to appear and his soul power to recover faster. But in terms of further strengthening the soul, this stage of the cultivation method is rather disappointing. He may never be able to cultivate the power of the cold moon in his lifetime.”

As Grandmaster Lan spoke, Tang Feng also nodded in agreement.

“We should pay more attention to this person later. We can’t help much with this cultivation method, so let him cultivate on his own for now. By the way, the other two matters are more important. At the end of this formation, there should be a Void-Breaking Formation. Grandmaster Lan should put more effort into this. If you can research the things at the end sooner, perhaps you can use the void-breaking power of this formation to directly break through the obstruction there.”

As Tang Feng spoke, his face was already showing anxiety.

Seeing his expression, Grandmaster Lan also sighed in her heart. She was actually very anxious too, otherwise she wouldn’t have asked Li Yan to come over. In the “True Earth Domain,” one could fly and enter the void, but one couldn’t shatter the void layer. This was also one of the reasons why they couldn’t leave this place. Because they were trapped by an unbreakable restriction. But the formation in front of them was recorded to have a set of Void-Breaking Formations, and it was said that the void-breaking power was very strong, capable of traversing large spatial barriers. But researching it was not so simple.

“This old one can only say I will do my best. The records in that classic are obscure and difficult to understand. I can only decipher it sentence by sentence. But to this day, the sentences I have painstakingly deciphered still describe extending the construction of the long alley forward. I have not seen any records related to the Void-Breaking Formation. However, the construction of the long alley now is different from the previous long alley’s construction method. This can be considered progress in the research. I can only continue to extend the long alley. This formation gives me the feeling that the construction method for the Void-Breaking Formation might appear only when this long alley is completely built. I have also tried to decipher it backwards from the end of the classic, but I have made no progress at all. The reverse method is not applicable.”

“Continuously extending the construction of the long alley, and only at the end will the Void-Breaking Formation appear? Grandmaster Lan, I don’t understand. I have also entered this long alley many times. I feel that as I keep moving forward, apart from the Soul Spirits becoming stronger and more numerous, the long alley itself doesn’t change at all. Its greatest function is that one cannot break out in any direction, firmly trapping the cultivator inside, forcing them to break through the trials! My understanding of this formation is that the long alley is for tempering cultivators of different realms in stages and levels. And that Void-Breaking Formation can actually be established anywhere in the long alley. It’s just that this Void-Breaking Formation seems to be a secret art, it should be concealed, and finally hidden somewhere at the end of the trial.”

Hearing Grandmaster Lan’s answer today, Tang Feng knew that this was a new insight she had gained about this formation. But her explanation left him very puzzled. Although he was not the best at artifact refining among his peers, his skill in the Dao of formations was top-notch among them. Even Grandmaster Lan had always praised him. Moreover, he had also studied that ancient book non-stop. His research results on this formation might not have much to do with the long alley. As he said, the main purpose of this formation was to temper the soul, and it was the most ancient and purest of ancient methods. If every cultivator could pinch a certain hand seal when they couldn’t hold on any longer inside, they could instantly go to the end of the trial and leave through the normal exit. The construction of the normal exit was recorded at the beginning of the classic, and you could build it anywhere in the long alley. And that Void-Breaking Formation was said to be hidden at the exit. It should have been deliberately placed at the end of the book by the person who wrote the classic to hide this formation.