Chapter 1491: Deliberation (Part Three)

With such a disparity in strength, it would be a miracle if one or two of them managed to escape, let alone for so many to retreat unscathed.

Tang Feng no longer beat around the bush and began to recount in detail, once again, the process of how Li Yan had saved him. As he described how they had killed the three Late-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators, peculiar expressions appeared on the faces of both Xue Tieyi and Grandmaster Lan.

After Tang Feng had finished, it was still Grandmaster Lan who spoke again.

“You said he has more than one Soul Slave, not just Mu Guyue? He has another Late-stage Nascent Soul Soul Slave?”

Grandmaster Lan knew of Li Yan’s origins. He was formerly a rogue cultivator. Such individuals had difficulty even supporting themselves, yet he had a Soul Slave of the same rank. When Li Yan had entered the sect, his cultivation was only at the Initial-stage Nascent Soul. Tang Feng knew what Grandmaster Lan wanted to confirm, and he nodded his head.

“Yes, but it’s mainly his illusion formation. When combined with this Soul Slave’s covert attacks, it’s incredibly powerful. Once the two are combined, even a Spirit Transformation cultivator is hard-pressed to defend against it. I also inquired about this matter. Li Yan’s explanation was that back when he was a rogue cultivator, he once encountered a severely injured Evil Spirit Cultivator…”

Tang Feng then recounted Li Yan’s explanation once more. This time, he did not add any embellishments. It was imperative that the sect truly understood this matter.

After hearing this, Grandmaster Lan’s expression began to change uncertainly, while Xue Tieyi, having understood the gist, shifted his gaze to Grandmaster Lan.

“Elder Lan mentioned to me before that the progress on that formation set was all related to this person! A disciple who joined the sect with pre-existing skills at the Nascent Soul level, with innately and unusually strong soul power, and whose ancestors are from the Spirit-Slaying Sect? This can be investigated and confirmed!” Xue Tieyi said thoughtfully.

They were all incredibly astute individuals.

The reason Li Yan gave for obtaining the Soul Slave was plausible. There were still quite a few fugitive Evil Spirit Cultivators from outside the “True Earth Domain.” And once discovered, they would certainly engage in a life-or-death struggle with the Soul Cultivators. It was entirely possible for one to be severely injured. To be severely injured, escape, and fall unconscious, and then be coincidentally found by Li Yan who planted a soul seal, was also a possibility.

However, a person like Li Yan, with innately strong soul power and who had been hiding such a trump card, would naturally arouse their suspicion.

“Sect Master is saying this person might be an outside Soul Cultivator? Not one of our natives!” Tang Feng interjected. In fact, he had also grown suspicious of Li Yan.

However, their speculations were just speculations. They all had one thing in common: none of them doubted Li Yan’s identity as a Soul Cultivator. They only suspected his origins, that he might not be a native cultivator. On the very first day he entered the sect, Grandmaster Lan had personally tested his cultivation. Li Yan was, without a doubt, a true Soul Cultivator.

In the “True Earth Domain,” where soul-searching was impossible, the reason why those Evil Spirit Cultivators could never hide their identities was that they could not obtain Soul Cultivator techniques. This was the fundamental reason they were so confident that those Evil Spirit Cultivators could never impersonate a Soul Cultivator.

“I think there’s no need to investigate. This child has been dedicated in helping me research the formation, and it is a fact that he saved Tang Feng. Whatever his intentions were for entering the sect, he has shown no signs of betrayal. If he had any thoughts of betrayal, he could have chosen to defect to the nine major forces, especially when he was outside. That would have been a good opportunity. He had no reason to risk his life to save Tang Feng when their strengths were so disparate. The most crucial point here is that this Li Yan is not stupid; on the contrary, he is exceptionally shrewd. Although he didn’t know Tang Feng’s identity at first, did he not know that his trump card would be exposed the moment he acted? Of course, he knew. Once his methods were exposed, he would face unpredictable consequences. That person would not be so foolish.

“At the same time, we don’t have the time or energy now to investigate whether he is a descendant of the Spirit-Slaying Sect! Even if we find out he is not from the Spirit-Slaying Sect, since he saved Tang Feng, how should we deal with him?”

Grandmaster Lan waved her hand. She felt there was no need to delve further into Li Yan’s background. As long as they knew he held no enmity towards the sect and had saved Tang Feng, that was enough. Moreover, they had bigger problems to solve now. There was no need to rack their brains trying to find flaws in a reason that was already plausible. Who knows, maybe his ancestors were indeed cultivators of the Spirit-Slaying Sect, and everything he said was true.

“I also agree with Grandmaster Lan’s suggestion. I revealed my identity later on. If he had regretted it at that time, he could have completely annihilated me and those Golden Core cultivators. Afterwards, whatever his plans were, he could have still returned to the sect with a suitable reason!” Tang Feng said.

“Since you both feel there is no problem with this person, then let’s drop it. Next, Grandmaster Lan must continue to try and contact the two Supreme Elders. We only have three to four years. If we cannot find the Supreme Elders, given the current situation, we might be in a very critical situation. We have already imprisoned three Void Refining elders whose attitudes are unclear, and the remaining experts are actually no longer more than the nine major forces. For now, I can still suppress several of them at the same time. But that is only enough to maintain this situation. It will be very difficult for us to annihilate the nine major forces. They have been plotting for a long time and have accumulated a great deal of power.

“What is most worrying now are those forces that are still watching from the sidelines. They have actually already seen that we are at a disadvantage, but they are afraid of the sudden appearance of our sect’s Supreme Elders, so they have chosen to temporarily not help either side. After we sent people to issue orders to them, they agreed to act on the surface, but they have been perfunctory all along. That is because they are afraid of us settling accounts later. Who knows, they might have also secretly agreed with the nine major forces and are just putting on a show for us. Otherwise, the situation would have been different long ago.

“There is another reason here: which top-tier force does not covet that treasured land? In the depths of their hearts, they all hope for our early demise!” Xue Tieyi said slowly.

He had already set aside the matter of Li Yan. Compared to other matters, this was nothing. And that treasured land was the source of all hatred in the “True Earth Domain,” and also a great worry for their Soul Suppression Palace. They had once thought of sharing that treasured land with some sects that had good relations with the Soul Suppression Palace. But once more Body Integration realm cultivators appeared, the subsequent results could almost be predicted: the entire “True Earth Domain” would fall into even greater chaos. It wouldn’t just be a matter of the world being divided into two or three parts; a situation of rival warlords would soon emerge.

The “True Earth Domain” was not the true Immortal Spirit Realm. The territory was only so large, and the cultivation resources were limited. It simply couldn’t support so many Body Integration realm cultivators. Since it couldn’t support them, the only result would be everyone fighting for resources based on their own abilities.

And one of the Soul Suppression Palace’s plans was to gather the best resources here to allow the Supreme Elders to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage, in order to open a passage between here and the outside world. Once it was opened, this place could serve as a true hidden world, difficult for outsiders to enter. They could also go out to obtain more cultivation resources, and in terms of cultivation realm, they could also advance all the way up. This was the best use of the “True Earth Domain.”

Therefore, that treasured land could not be given to other sects. Even if it attracted endless hatred, the Soul Suppression Palace had to rule here with absolute tyranny.

“Since the great chaos began, I have used all the various methods I have researched over the years, whether they had hope or not. But I have been unable to get rid of the problem of being lost and in chaos. Since Li Yan has also returned, I feel that the greatest possibility is still through the Void-Breaking Formation. In my perception, this formation has already been sixty to seventy percent researched. Perhaps in three to four years, the research will reach the bottom of the long alley, and the method for the Void-Breaking Formation will appear. This is the most hopeful method. Trying other methods again should just be a waste of time!” Grandmaster Lan said.

“Oh? Does Elder Lan truly have this feeling? For us cultivators, our senses are often very effective. Does that Li Yan you mentioned really have such an ability? If that’s the case, Elder Lan, you shouldn’t have sent him out on a mission before!” Xue Tieyi’s eyes held a peculiar light.