Chapter 1521: Gathering Momentum
“Senior means… you mean, the sect has found a passage to the outside? And I am to assist with… with this matter?”
After a short pause, Li Yan seemed to have finally come to his senses, his demeanor a mix of nerves and excitement.
“Yes, that is the situation. As for how you will assist, we can discuss the details once you have cultivated and accumulated the Power of the Cold Moon to over fifty percent.”
“Therefore, Li Yan, your task is a heavy one, and the matter is urgent. Otherwise, the rebellion of the nine great powers would not have occurred.”
“Today it is nine powers, but next time it could be a rebellion of ten, or even a hundred. This matter has reached a point where it must be resolved.”
“Once the passage is opened, any cultivator here who wishes to leave will be allowed to do so. This will also conveniently conserve the cultivation resources of this place.”
“To advance this plan as soon as possible, the sect will not assign you any further tasks. If it is not necessary, you are not to appear in any other area of the sect. You may remain here in the rear hall and focus on your cultivation.”
“Furthermore, not a single word of what was said to you today is to be repeated to anyone else!”
“Even if others are already aware, you are to feign ignorance regarding the matter of the external passage to anyone besides the four of us, including Elder Hao.”
“Your purple token has already been marked with our insignias. If you achieve some success in your cultivation and we have not yet sought you out, you may use it to find any one of us and inform us!”
Having said this, Elder Tang had no intention of revealing more about the subsequent plans.
The reasoning was simple: if you haven’t reached that level, there’s no need for you to know in advance.
Hearing this, Li Yan’s heart skipped a beat.
‘His words are pleasant enough, but telling me not to appear in other areas of the sect is clearly a form of house arrest.’
‘What he calls “no tasks” is just a way of saying I can only stay here. First, it’s to ensure I cultivate to their required level.’
‘Second, although they only revealed a sliver of information, this matter is enough to drive anyone else to madness.’
‘The Soul-Suppression Palace may have found a passage to the outside world. This is a prize that people would pay any price to obtain, even more so than that treasured land that allows one to advance to the Body Integration Realm.’
‘From now on, I won’t be allowed to have much contact with people or things…’
Although Elder Tang’s tone remained calm and level, devoid of any stern warning, Li Yan knew that if he revealed even a single word to another person, he would be sentenced to death.
However, Elder Tang and Xue Tieyi would never have dreamed that even if they didn’t want Li Yan to participate, he would still find a way to worm his way in.
Li Yan’s sole purpose for entering the Soul-Suppression Palace was precisely for this matter. It was a goal he would stop at nothing to achieve.
Of course, this was a matter that no cultivator in the Earth-True Domain would refuse to participate in.
Any power that learned of it would break their heads fighting to get in. But that place was fundamentally unstable, and the Soul-Suppression Palace was unwilling to have others meddling with a single blade of grass or tree before they had figured it out themselves.
If something went wrong and the passage completely collapsed, they wouldn’t even have tears left to cry. Therefore, not a single hint could be revealed to the outside world before they succeeded.
As for the others, they were no fools. Many powers were likely already speculating, but all they could do was let them remain mired in suspicion.
“This junior understands!” Li Yan answered immediately.
A dozen or so breaths later, only Elder Tang and the other two remained in the grand hall. Li Yan had taken his things and departed swiftly.
“Elder Tang, you and the Second Elder have been quelling the rebellion recently. Could you tell us the detailed situation regarding that place? How is the old Sect Master doing?”
Seeing that the matter with Li Yan was settled and there would be no more interruptions, Xue Tieyi spoke up at once.
He and Great Master Lan had not left precisely because of this.
As the Sect Master, he naturally wanted to know more details about what lay behind the mountain in the Perilous Lands. Great Master Lan, on the other hand, had been assisting with this matter all along and also needed to be apprised of the situation within.
Moreover, Great Master Lan still had two formations in her possession, one of which was prepared specifically for the space behind the mountain in the Perilous Lands.
The reason they were able to make such preparations was based on some information left behind by the old Sect Master; they were simply proceeding according to those instructions.
“We will speak of that shortly. First, tell me, how have your preparations on the outside been progressing all these years?” Elder Tang did not answer immediately, asking a question of his own instead.
“For that formation, we have successively obtained the main materials, like the Canghao Stone. We are currently still missing the Yueyang Grass and the Cloudless Mud.”
“We have a lead on the former, but there has been no trace of the latter. I’m beginning to doubt whether such an item truly exists in the Earth-True Domain.”
“However, this disciple is still researching to see if other materials or treasures can be used to replace the function of the Cloudless Mud.”
“Moreover, during these years, we discovered the use of another formation. There should be a Void-Breaking Formation within, but we have not been able to complete our research on it.”
“We originally intended to use this formation to enter the space behind the mountain and begin setting it up, bit by bit, to see if we could rescue the two elders. In the end, it was of no use.”
“However, I feel that this formation might also be effective for that passage, and its power might even be greater!”
“It’s just that during the initial stages, this formation also required that Li Yan’s assistance to make any progress. But given the current situation, it seems he will be unable to assist with this matter for a long time to come.”
Great Master Lan replied immediately.
“Oh? The main materials for that formation haven’t all been found? And there’s another similar formation that Li Yan also helped research? Tell me in detail!”
Upon hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Elder Tang’s eyes.
‘How is it that this little cultivator Li Yan also has a hand in the other matter I’m concerned about?’
Great Master Lan then recounted the story of how Li Yan had cooperated with her in researching the formation. As she narrated, Elder Tang would occasionally interject with a few questions.
Several hundred breaths later, Supreme Elder Tang San fell into deep thought. He now understood why Great Master Lan and the others had not tried to stop him or explain the reason beforehand, even though they knew he was looking for Li Yan.
“Mm, both matters are important, but Li Yan cultivating the Saintly Soul Transformation Art is fundamental to the future. He must complete this task first. Let him focus on his cultivation for now.”
“Regarding that Long Alley Formation, Lan Feng, you continue your research on your own. At the same time, Tieyi, dispatch more people to carefully search for the last two main materials. You can focus your primary efforts on this now.”
“Mm… and after that, for all those who currently have some minor success in cultivating the Saintly Soul Transformation Art, Tieyi, you arrange for them to continue cultivating this art as well. If they can be arranged to enter the Civil and Martial Hall, then arrange for them all to go in.”
“But don’t treat them the same way you treated Li Yan. You can find other reasons, just say that the sect intends to perfect this cultivation method.”
“So, for anyone who can cultivate the Power of the Cold Moon, the sect will grant a certain reward or something of that sort. In any case, just find a very reasonable excuse. Don’t let people speculate too much.”
“We cannot place all our hopes on Li Yan alone. If someone else cultivates the Power of the Cold Moon, we must follow up on them as quickly as possible.”
“Hehehe… Who would have thought that little cultivator has quite a few secrets on him…”
Elder Tang was initially giving instructions to Great Master Lan and the other, but his thoughts soon returned to Li Yan, and a sharp glint began to flicker in his eyes.
“There is nothing wrong with Li Yan’s background; we have already investigated it. Moreover, his actions have always been on the side of the sect…”
Seeing this, Great Master Lan quickly spoke up. The moment she did, even Sect Master Xue Tieyi cast a strange glance at her.
But before Great Master Lan could finish, Supreme Elder Tang San waved his hand.
“That’s enough. You don’t have to worry about what I might do to this boy. Since he was able to guide me and Elder Hao out, it proves he has a clear conscience. Otherwise, who knows what state the Soul-Suppression Palace would be in right now?”
Both Elder Tang and Xue Tieyi could see that Great Master Lan seemed quite concerned about the young cultivator, even taking the initiative to speak well of him. This was a rare sight for Great Master Lan.
Seeing this, Great Master Lan felt relieved.
Li Yan acted with prudence and had a quick and agile mind. In the process of using Li Yan, Great Master Lan had come to feel that this young man was a talent worth nurturing.
Coupled with the matter of Tang Feng and the two Supreme Elders, Great Master Lan had actually entertained the thought of taking another disciple.
She had only refrained from mentioning it so as not to affect Li Yan’s cultivation. After clarifying the matters he was concerned about, Elder Tang directly began to speak about the details regarding that place.
“In the space behind the mountain, there are of course no other cultivators. Otherwise, we would have brought them out with us!”
“I suspect that the old Sect Master led those elders and ultimately entered that place. But the Second Elder and I have explored it time and again, only to encounter repeated dangers.”
“The power there is too tyrannical and bizarre. The two of us nearly died inside several times. We have already used every method we could think of.”
“In the end, we could only advance a certain distance before being forced to retreat.”
“I feel that apart from using a formation, or perhaps having a heaven-defying magical treasure to aid in exploration, there is currently no other way, even with my cultivation and the Second Elder’s.”
“The grand formation there now only has a portion remaining, and the area it can cover is not very large!”
“The old Sect Master must have utilized the power of the grand formation he laid down. As for the true result after using the grand formation, it is impossible to know.”
“We speculate there are two possibilities. One is that after the power of the grand formation erupted, it had an effect, or rather, a partial effect, and so the old Sect Master led his people in.”
“The other is that the grand formation had little effect and wasted most of its power. Without the grand formation, they lost their bearings and were unable to come out.”
“The old Sect Master and his group may have tried for a long time, and since they could not return in this direction, after some consideration, they still led their people into that place, attempting to break through using the residual power of the formation.”
“So under both scenarios, they must have entered. But the result is either they all perished inside, or they passed through and went out.”
“If they did get out, perhaps due to the influence and suppression of different rules, the Soul Lamps they left in the sect could no longer sense them the moment they left, which is why they were extinguished.”
“This situation is, of course, the best one. But if they could get out, they would surely find a way to come back and open the passage, yet we have been waiting all this time…”
“Moreover, through this exploration, we discovered that the bizarre power there has…”
Following this, the three of them began to converse in the great hall.
At this moment, Li Yan had already returned to his Cave Residence on the mountain peak.
Li Yan sensed that the three people he had left in the Cave Residence were each in the middle of their own cultivation, so he went directly into his own training chamber.
Then, he activated all the formation restrictions, sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, and fell into deep contemplation.
First, he carefully replayed the entire sequence of events from earlier that day in his mind. After confirming that his performance had not revealed any flaws, he finally felt at ease.
Afterward, he rubbed his brow with one hand and began to consider his future plans.
Elder Tang wanted him to cultivate over fifty percent of the Power of the Cold Moon. This might be extremely difficult for others, but Li Yan now possessed a relatively complete cultivation method.
During his cultivation in the recent period, he had noticed that the Power of the Cold Moon was increasing quite rapidly. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for his accumulation to reach around twenty percent in such a short time.
Of course, this was also related to the fact that his realm had already reached the Spirit Transformation stage. Although Li Yan wanted to get out as soon as possible, there were some things he could not be too hasty about.
He had too many secrets. If he managed to cultivate over fifty percent of the Power of the Cold Moon in just a few years, Elder Tang, who had also cultivated it before, would surely become suspicious, wouldn’t he? The answer was almost certainly yes.
Therefore, Li Yan had to consider carefully just how long he should take to cultivate over fifty percent of the Power of the Cold Moon to make it more appropriate.
From the looks of it, Elder Tang’s minimum requirement was no less than fifty percent.
But if he were to merely meet this limit, only to find that he fell short at the final moment, he could always come back and continue cultivating. The question was, how many such chances would he get?
The most crucial point here was that Elder Tang and the others had not let Li Yan know exactly how he was supposed to assist in the end, which left Li Yan unable to grasp the situation for a time.
He had to consider many factors, such as whether he should cultivate an extra portion of the Power of the Cold Moon as a backup. He was one to plan before acting; the greater the matter, the more detailed he would be with every step, every point.
After a long while, Li Yan finally had a plan. Having made his decision, he immediately went out.
He first called out Mu Guyue, who was in the middle of cultivating, and handed her a Storage Ring, telling her that he might be entering seclusion for a period of time, possibly not emerging for over a decade.
The Spirit Stones and medicinal pills inside the Storage Ring were for her and Ting Lan’s cultivation!
Mu Guyue remained silent for a moment, then looked at Li Yan with her pair of dark phoenix eyes.
“Are you planning to undergo Spirit Transformation?”
Li Yan just smiled.
“I’m just going to give it a try. It might not work!”