Chapter 1479: Despair and Hope

“You should thank me for not planting a Slave Seal on you at the same time. Otherwise, when you see me now, you should instinctively be calling me master. You should thank me even more for not refining you into a puppet. Otherwise, you would no longer have any consciousness of your own!”

The short-haired, black-robed youth in the air looked at him with an indifferent expression.

“Who… who are you? What exactly do you want? One moment you seal my cultivation, the next you release it. Little friend… name your price. I can meet your demands, anything is fine, as long as you let me leave this place.”

After seeing the other party’s face clearly, the green-robed elder’s body trembled again, but feeling the recovery of his magical power, he still had some confidence. Although he already knew that this place was likely a space refined by this person, and he was no match for him, he still suppressed the fear in his heart and began to ask.

“Little… friend?”

A smile suddenly appeared on the face of the short-haired, black-robed youth in the air. But this smile, in the eyes of the green-robed elder, gave him a bad feeling. And before he could react and figure out what was wrong, he suddenly let out a great cry, clasped his head with both hands, and fell to the ground.

“Ahhh… what have… you… done… to me… ahh!!”

Shrill screams continuously came from the green-robed elder’s mouth. As he writhed in pain on the ground, he frantically circulated all his magical power to resist. But to his despair, these intense pains seemed to come from the depths of his divine soul. The pain was clearly inside his body, but when his magical power defended against it, it was like scratching an itch through a boot. It gave him a feeling of wanting to grasp it but being unable to, yet faintly being able to touch the source of the pain. This made him feel as if he could defend, but couldn’t defend properly.

This not only caused the green-robed elder extreme pain, but also gave rise to an even greater fear in his heart. When the other party reappeared after a long time, his methods of torture had actually been upgraded again.

And Li Yan in the air, with just a thought, stood there indifferently, watching coldly and mercilessly as the green-robed elder writhed below, kicking up a large cloud of yellow sand.

Releasing the restriction on the other party’s magical power was something he had done deliberately. He had not completely controlled the other party’s soul. Li Yan just wanted the other party to have a full cultivation, but still feel helpless and powerless.

After several tens of breaths, just as the green-robed elder was on the verge of fainting, the pain in his body that was about to make his soul fly and scatter, in just an instant, receded completely like a tide. The speed was so fast, as if it had never appeared at all. In an instant, not a trace was left.

This made the green-robed elder’s mind, which was on the verge of breaking, instantly relax. And at this moment, his entire body was already soaked in sweat. His face, body, hair, and beard were all covered in yellow sand! The water stains on his face, it was impossible to tell if it was sweat, tears of pain, or even saliva.

The green-robed elder was also like a dead dog, lying on the ground and not wanting to move again, just gasping for breath. He gave the impression that he was constantly inhaling, without even exhaling, like a fish that had been thrown onto the shore and was being baked by the scorching sun.

“This is not a Blood Contract, nor is it a Slave Seal. You have your own normal thoughts, and it will not affect your cultivation or judgment. This is a Soul Seal. Your cultivation is higher than mine, but your soul power is far lower than mine. You cannot possibly remove the Soul Seal in your body. Therefore, you must obey my orders! If I die, your soul will also fly and scatter!”

Li Yan’s voice was chilling, and his eyes were emotionless.

“Hah… hah… you… you are a soul… Soul Cultivator…”

The green-robed elder lying on the ground was gasping for breath impatiently. He looked up at Li Yan with difficulty, but before he could finish his sentence.

“Ahhh!!”

His just-relaxed body suddenly bent into a shrimp on the sand, and another shrill scream came from his mouth. His soul was like a naked baby exposed in the air, suddenly grabbed by a giant claw covered in sharp thorns. The baby’s tender skin was instantly covered in blood…

This made the green-robed elder feel a pain worse than death again. But no matter how he mobilized his magical power, his magical power and the pain were still in two different spaces, only able to watch from a distance.

But this time, his screams did not last for too long. Soon, the pain receded again like a tide.

“You only need to obey orders!”

The green-robed elder looked up in terror at the black-robed youth in the sky, whose face was as cold as ice. He no longer dared to speak rashly. He felt that the other party must have come from the Nine Serenities Underworld…

…

In the dense forest, the dark night was like thick ink, dyeing the areas of varying heights and lows into different shades of deep and shallow colors. The black shadows formed by the giant trees were of various shapes, like giant, pitch-black monsters crouching on the ground.

The phantom formed by Li Yan’s divine sense was still in the “Earthen Patch.” But in the outside world, he had already put away the soul slip. Taking advantage of the brief moment of putting away the soul slip, he immediately swallowed a pill to restore his divine sense. Then, with a leap, his entire person was like a black arrow, flying rapidly towards the high sky in the dark night.

“I need to get my bearings!”

As he passed the branch where Mu Guyue was standing, Li Yan said in a low voice.

Mu Guyue’s expression did not change much. Li Yan had put away the soul slip, which obviously meant he had already determined a new route. And without the function of divine sense, a cultivator could only fly to a high place to determine the specific direction. So, she just had to wait here quietly!

In the dark night, Li Yan’s figure flew higher and higher, but it was silent, like a phantom. If he were alone here, he would basically not have to worry about his safety. He would use the “Stealthy Night Art” and sneak all the way back to the Soul Suppression Palace. However, there were dozens of Golden Core cultivators under him here, which made it so that Li Yan could not do that unless it was the most dangerous moment.

Li Yan felt the distance to the ground below rapidly increasing. It was not until he was out of Mu Guyue’s sight that he stopped. And the divine sense that remained in the “Earthen Patch” immediately pulled, and with a flash of black shadow at his side, the figure of an old man appeared there.

It was the green-clothed old man transformed from the “Netherworld Demon Vine.” The moment the old man came out, he subconsciously wanted to spread his divine sense, but he immediately felt an invisible force forcibly press his divine sense back into his body.

“This place is truly bizarre!”

The green-robed elder’s face had now returned to calm. Although his heart was desolate, he dared not show it on his face. Li Yan had already promised him that as long as he cultivated to the Late-stage Spirit Transformation realm, he would remove his Soul Seal and let him go. Although he didn’t know how long he would have to wait for that day, what else could he do? He couldn’t go against the obedience in his soul. Even if the other party were to control him forever, he couldn’t resist.

He still couldn’t figure out the problem. Why would such a terrifying Soul Cultivator appear on Chongyangzi’s giant boat? If he had known in advance, he would never have helped that female cultivator surnamed Yuan. The shadow Li Yan had left on him was too great.

“Alright, you go in and hide for now!”

Li Yan didn’t give the other party any time. The moment the green-robed elder appeared, soul power was already surging from his body. The Void Shadow ring he had snatched from the tall, thin man also poured out a large amount of soul power. This was an extremely expensive living being’s Void Shadow ring with a space that could accommodate four adults. Li Yan, of course, used it without hesitation. Of course, you could also transform into a shorter person, then the space inside would naturally accommodate more people.

After subduing the “Netherworld Demon Vine,” Li Yan certainly couldn’t let it stay in the “Earthen Patch” all the time. It was too difficult for him to communicate with it that way. Li Yan immediately thought of the Void Shadow ring he had obtained that could store living beings. As long as he let the “Netherworld Demon Vine” enter, he could summon it out at any time.

Hearing Li Yan’s words, the green-robed elder, who was about to greedily breathe in the outside air again, was already wrapped in Li Yan’s soul power. Although he was not willing to be locked up again so quickly, he did not dare to go against Li Yan’s will and could only let himself be rolled up and directly sucked into the Void Shadow.

“There are Spirit Stones and medicinal pills inside. After you recover from your injuries, you can cultivate in peace first.”

Just as the green-robed elder entered the Void Shadow space and landed, he heard Li Yan’s voice. Then, he saw several pill bottles and a large pile of Spirit Stones appear on the ground. A sweep of his divine sense revealed that those Spirit Stones were all high-grade Spirit Stones.

The green-robed elder took the medicinal pills into his hand and opened them one by one. They were all high-grade healing pills, enough for him to quickly recover from his injuries.

“Sigh!”

The green-robed elder sighed. Li Yan’s heart was truly ruthless, but he was not stingy. For a Spirit Transformation cultivator, he had given him high-grade Spirit Stones for his cultivation. But he would not be grateful to Li Yan for this. Li Yan had tortured him miserably for these years. Although he had been planted with a Soul Seal, as long as he retained his intelligence, it would be absolutely impossible for him not to hate Li Yan.

The green-robed elder’s name was Feng Hongyue. He was the foundation of a third-rate sect. It was also acceptable to say that he was an ancestor of a generation. Now, being ordered around by a Nascent Soul cultivator, how could he possibly be willing to submit from the bottom of his heart?

It was just that Li Yan would not let him die easily. Even after he recovered his cultivation, he could no longer have the thought of committing suicide or killing Li Yan. A person’s soul was the pillar and root of life. This was also the terrifying aspect of Soul Cultivators. Their control over the soul was too perverse, which was why they were coveted by many sects.

Li Yan looked around and then quickly descended!

Now that he had the green-robed elder under his control and could also summon him out at any time, he would naturally not stay here for long.

A short while later, Li Yan and his group continued to gallop towards the sect. Of course, they were not taking a straight line, but were detouring around the locations of some sects or cultivation families. And they had been flying close to the ground all the way, trying to avoid any places where they might be ambushed.

Li Yan now basically no longer used the “Cloud-Piercing Willow.” He had many better flying magical treasures in his hands. Basically, these magical treasures were all obtained in that one battle on the giant flying boat when he was picking the “Great Nothingness Fruit.” It was just that the flying magical treasures of those Nascent Soul cultivators, although there were a few that were not bad, were only at the speed of a Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator flying at full strength, which was not as fast as Li Yan using “Quaking Cosmos.”

However, Li Yan had obtained a good flying magical treasure from the female cultivator surnamed Yuan. He had never dared to use it in the outside world. After entering the “True Earth Domain,” Li Yan had only used it occasionally. It was a plum blossom. When flying, the petals would constantly rotate, giving off a feeling of flowing light and color. Its speed was much faster than Li Yan flying on his own.

As for the flying object used by the big man from the Seven Tigers Alliance at that time, it was like Chongyangzi’s, also relying on a demonic beast, which was also killed by the female cultivator surnamed Yuan.

Although the plum blossom magical treasure was fast, if Li Yan were alone, he would still dare to take it out and use it. But leading so many Soul Suppression Palace cultivators, he would not take it out. Although a Nascent Soul cultivator could also afford a flying magical treasure of a Spirit Transformation cultivator, his past here had always been that of a rogue cultivator. If he were to take it out and use it, it would be a bit unreasonable. Although he could find other reasons to explain it, that would clearly be putting the cart before the horse.

What’s more, the situation was different now. After considering the most crucial factor of concealment, they simply traveled at night in plain clothes, but their speed was much slower.