Chapter 1520: The Pillow for a Great Dream
The rewards presented by the Soul-Suppression Palace, just the one thousand Thousand-Year Soul Crystal Sprouts alone, were a massive windfall.
To a soul cultivator, this was undoubtedly like obtaining supreme-grade spirit stones. Thousand-Year Soul Crystal Sprouts could be used directly for cultivating soul power, and their replenishing effect was exceptionally pure.
Moreover, the uses for Thousand-Year Soul Crystal Sprouts were incredibly broad; they were top-grade materials for both artifact and pill refining.
For instance, refining a high-grade Shadow Space storage magical treasure required Thousand-Year Soul Crystal Sprouts as the main material, something that was absolutely priceless and unavailable on the market.
With just these one thousand soul crystal sprouts, Li Yan’s wealth had suddenly surpassed that of some ordinary Void Refining cultivators.
And then, Xue Tieyi even brought out a heaven-defying item like the “Soul-Returning Pill,” which nearly made Li Yan’s jaw drop.
‘An… an… an eighth-rank medicinal pill!’
Li Yan trembled inwardly.
He had obtained an eighth-rank medicinal pill back in the Qi Condensation stage, but at that time, although he knew it was valuable, he had no real concept of just how valuable it was.
The current Li Yan was crystal clear on what an eighth-rank medicinal pill meant to a cultivator.
Just thinking about how even someone of True Lord Qianchong’s realm was still using this kind of pill was enough to know how potent a pill of this level was.
Especially after Xue Tieyi went on to describe the effects of the “Soul-Returning Pill,” Li Yan stood there in a daze, a single voice echoing relentlessly in his mind.
‘This is a true immortal pill… a true immortal pill. It has reached the legendary level of bringing the dead back to life and regrowing flesh on white bones.’
‘Although it has no effect on the physical body, if this pill is used on a person after death, before their soul enters the Way of Reincarnation, then that person can be completely resurrected…’
Seeing the usually calm Li Yan suddenly turn blank, the three of them showed no surprise. This was well within their expectations.
Xue Tieyi paused for a moment before continuing.
“The uses of the soul crystal sprouts need no explanation; you can decide how to use them yourself. But for this ‘Soul-Returning Pill,’ I must add a word of caution.”
“First, the difficulty of refining this pill is beyond your imagination. It is a mid-grade eighth-rank pill. Although Great Master Lan can successfully refine it now, the success rate is not very high. This one was given to you by Elder Tang.”
“The main reason is that although the raw materials for this pill can still be found, gathering them all is extremely difficult.”
“Before, because of the matter with the two Supreme Elders, the sect did not have that much energy to search for materials. Now, if we want to refine it again, as long as we send out people and are not afraid of spending time, it can still be done.”
“It is for this reason that you were able to obtain this pill. Otherwise, even if Elder Tang were willing to give it, the sect would have tried to stop him and treasure it within the sect first!”
“You must remember this well. Currently, only five people know about this matter, including Elder Hao.”
“If you want to live a long life, before you reach the Void Refining Realm, you’d best keep this matter sealed in your heart. Don’t even tell Tang Feng. This is also Elder Tang’s opinion!”
By the time Xue Tieyi finished speaking, Li Yan had gradually come to his senses. He saw that the Elder Tang Three also nodded.
After calming his surging emotions, Li Yan immediately stood up and bowed deeply to Elder Tang.
“This disciple thanks the Supreme Elder for your generous gift! But I do not know what else the sect needs this disciple to do. As long as it is within my ability, I will certainly do my utmost!”
Hearing Li Yan’s words, a sharp glint flashed in the eyes of Elder Tang and the other two.
This Li Yan was indeed a person worth cultivating. He didn’t need to be prompted. Just by seeing these rewards, he knew that they had other things for him to do.
And at this moment, many thoughts also arose in Li Yan’s heart.
‘For them to bestow such a heaven-defying item, even though I have merit for rescuing the two Supreme Elders, absorbing me into the Soul Palace’s Rear Hall and rewarding me with some soul crystal sprouts or some core cultivation method would have been enough.’
‘In the entire sect, which disciple doesn’t know what it means to enter the Soul Palace’s Rear Hall?’
‘It means that once you successfully advance to the Void Refining Realm, you will have the possibility of entering that treasured land to cultivate and advance to the Body Integration Realm.’
‘Although advancing to the Body Integration Realm is too ethereal—so many people throughout history, and in the entire Soul-Suppression Palace, only three have succeeded—at least they will give you this chance. This is the true heaven-defying opportunity.’
‘And think about the nine major powers, and those sects willing to gamble with their lives. Why are they always thinking of rebelling against the Soul-Suppression Palace? Isn’t it just for a chance to advance to the Body Integration Realm?’
‘And the cultivators in the Soul Palace’s Rear Hall have this great opportunity. For this point alone, the matter of rescuing the two Supreme Elders can actually already be considered compensated.’
‘This is equivalent to what the nine major powers were desperately fighting for…’
Li Yan’s mind raced, and in a flash, he had thought through many things.
“Hehehe… Li Yan, you are indeed quick-witted. No wonder both Lan Feng and Tang Feng look at you in a different light!”
“You’ve guessed correctly. Actually, these rewards given to you are not at all excessive. By enabling us to come out, you have, after all, resolved the sect’s greatest crisis.”
“However, a so-called benefit should not be given to the extreme. That would make one even greedier next time. Everyone knows the principle of a snake trying to swallow an elephant!”
“But the sect really does have other things that need you to do. After comprehensive consideration, we have decided to give you what we can all at once.”
“This can also be considered the total reward for the subsequent missions added together. Regardless of success or failure, these will not be taken back.”
This time, it was Elder Tang Three who spoke personally.
“Please instruct me, seniors!”
Li Yan cupped his fists and saluted again.
“Alright, alright, no need for so many grand salutes. It’s not like you’re paying respects to a high relative. Bowing here and there, and I don’t even have a suitable female disciple to be your Dao companion!”
The youth in the green shirt waved his hand. A gentle force immediately arose and pressed Li Yan back into his chair.
He was quite satisfied with this Li Yan. Not only had he rescued the two of them, but his conduct was also very steady. He most disliked flamboyant people.
And in the entire sect, only he and Li Yan had cultivated the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art” to the stage of “The Stars Move and the Moon Appears.” Imperceptibly, he felt a sense of closeness.
Hearing such words come from a person who looked like a youth, both Xue Tieyi and Great Master Lan felt a strange sensation.
As for Li Yan, a look of embarrassment appeared on his face. He had not expected this Elder Tang Three to say such a thing.
But the green-shirted youth’s expression did not change. He continued.
“Originally, I was going to give you a hundred Thousand-Year Soul Crystal Sprouts and let you go to the Rear Hall’s Technique Transmission Pavilion to choose a cultivation method for free.”
“However, after discussing with the second elder, we decided to have you assist us in completing some matters. That’s why we changed our minds at the last minute and changed the rewards.”
“This matter, for you, is somewhat difficult, but also not difficult. That’s because it isn’t dangerous.”
“It is to ask that in the coming years, you do not cultivate any other cultivation methods, but focus your efforts solely on cultivating the ‘Saintly Soul Transformation Art’.”
“You have already cultivated the Power of the Cold Moon, but the accumulated power is only close to twenty percent. This is because you have just broken through.”
“In fact, for you to reach nearly twenty percent of the Power of the Cold Moon in the first few years is already much stronger than I was back then. This is not a compliment; it is indeed the truth.”
“Even with my current cultivation, the Power of the Cold Moon I have cultivated has only reached eighty percent.”
“Of course, this is also related to the fact that the ‘Saintly Soul Transformation Art’ is an incomplete version. I have also cultivated this art for a long time, and I can only cultivate it to the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm.”
“But in my continued cultivation, the Power of the Cold Moon is still slowly increasing. I guess that the peak of the Nascent Soul Realm should be able to support the cultivation of the Power of the Cold Moon to one hundred percent.”
“It’s just that because of the deficiencies in this cultivation method, the speed of cultivating the Power of the Cold Moon becomes more and more difficult later on.”
“I require that in the days to come, you can accumulate the Power of the Cold Moon in your body to over fifty percent. Then, you can assist us in completing some matters.”
“This way, it will require you to completely dedicate yourself to cultivating this art in the coming years in order to improve as quickly as possible.”
“You can no longer be like me back then, just treating it as a supplementary cultivation method and only cultivating it when I had time.”
“However, once you do this, it will be much more difficult for your overall cultivation realm to improve. So, the sect has given you such a generous reward as a kind of compensation.”
“But if you can cultivate fifty percent of the Power of the Cold Moon, then with those Thousand-Year Soul Crystal Sprouts, if you switch to cultivating other arts, it will definitely let you advance a thousand li in a day. You won’t be at too much of a disadvantage.”
“And by having you only cultivate the ‘Saintly Soul Transformation Art,’ you are not without gains. You should have already deeply experienced the power of this art. It can increase the power of your spiritual arts by several times.”
“As your Power of the Cold Moon continues to increase, even if you are still in the initial-stage Spirit Transformation, your combat power will definitely increase all the way.”
“Another point, although your realm will be difficult to increase for the time being while cultivating the ‘Saintly Soul Transformation Art,’ this art will make your soul foundation more and more unbreakable.”
“I can tell you this: with this art as your foundation, you will find it much easier to cultivate other cultivation methods in the future.”
Elder Tang spoke at length this time. In short, it was to assign Li Yan a task, analyze the pros and cons, and dispel Li Yan’s concerns, letting him focus on cultivating the Saintly Soul Transformation Art.
After he finished speaking, the few of them stared intently at Li Yan.
Li Yan pondered for a moment. The other party said it was a discussion with him, but in fact, it was already decided that he had to do this.
Otherwise, there would have been no need to take out these things first. They would have asked for his opinion first. Now, although the things were not yet in his hands, they would definitely be given to him soon.
How could he dare to refuse? At the same time, when he heard the other party ask him to continue cultivating the “Saintly Soul Transformation Art,” a bolt of lightning struck his Sea of Consciousness in a flash of thought.
‘He… he still wants to… enter the space behind the mountain?’
Li Yan felt that he might have encountered some kind of opportunity.
But his usual personality made him immediately suppress the excitement in his heart. If that were really the case, this was exactly what he had been hoping for.
He had been thinking about this matter all along. As the saying goes, to be given a pillow during a great dream.
But on the surface, Li Yan still acted as if he had thought about it for a while before slowly speaking.
“Senior, may this disciple know how I am to assist the sect later?”
“Of course, you can. The reason you were allowed to enter the Soul Palace’s Rear Hall, apart from rescuing me and the second elder, is another reason. It is something you will participate in in the future.”
“So, your status must be sufficient!”
“Actually, this matter is no longer a secret to the entire ‘Earth-True Domain.’ Everyone has a desire to open a passage to the outside world!”
“This is the only way to completely resolve the shackles and suppression of the rules of heaven and earth on cultivation here, and to step onto the true Great Dao of immortal cultivation!”
“All the sects here are looking for this passage, but so far, no one has been able to find it. And we seem to… have this hope!”
Elder Tang stared at Li Yan, his voice grave.
The next moment, as expected, he first saw Li Yan’s body tremble violently. Then, the man just sat there in a daze, his gaze becoming somewhat vacant.
Not only Elder Tang, but even Xue Tieyi and Great Master Lan were not surprised by Li Yan’s reaction. In fact, they were quite satisfied in their hearts.
No one, after hearing this news, would remain calm and not feel shocked.
This was the wish of all the cultivators in the “Earth-True Domain.” This also included those cultivators who were born and raised in the “Earth-True Domain.” Every one of them was the same.
Since they could step onto the Great Dao of immortal cultivation, every cultivator would think of reaching for eternal life.
But when you learn that you can at most only cultivate to the Void Refining Realm, and that even Body Integration is a delusion, what would you think?