Chapter 1523: White Clouds to Grey Dogs (Part One)

Inside Li Yan’s training chamber, invisible to the naked eye, streams of cold, clear power descended from the void, continuously entering Li Yan through the crown of his head.

At a certain moment, the meditating Li Yan suddenly opened his eyes.

The instant his eyes opened, two faint crescent moons appeared in his dark pupils, flashing past in an instant. It was as if a ray of moonlight had streaked through the chamber.

Opening his eyes, Li Yan slowly stood up. This was the first time he had moved his body in nearly seventy years.

As he rose, a series of cracking and popping sounds emanated from his joints.

‘Although less than a hundred years have passed, it should be a barely plausible explanation. According to a normal cultivation speed, it might only be truly reasonable to reach this level after four or five hundred years of cultivation.’

‘But I don’t have that much time. After so long, who knows what the lower realm has become? In any case, there are almost no precedents to refer to for cultivation after possessing the Power of the Cold Moon…’ Li Yan thought to himself.

Currently, the Power of the Cold Moon from his Saintly Soul Transformation Art had accumulated to sixty percent. In truth, he had reached this level over forty years ago.

With the complete cultivation method, Li Yan had deliberately delayed his progress and had reached this stage without even using a single Thousand-Year Soul Crystal Sprout.

In the following years, Li Yan dared not continue cultivating. If Elder Tang were to see through it, the suspicions surrounding him would only multiply.

For the next few decades, he continuously comprehended the Saintly Soul Transformation Art, because the method he had obtained was very mysterious.

Although he didn’t need to improve for the time being, he wanted to comprehend the deeper meanings of the Yin Huns and Yang Pos. This would have a significant impact on all the cultivation methods of his Dharma cultivation lineage…

And so, today, although Li Yan’s cultivation was still at the Initial-stage Spirit Transformation, his strength had increased by more than ten percent compared to sixty years ago.

One should not underestimate this ten-percent increase in strength. The higher one’s cultivation, the more difficult it becomes. After reaching the Late-stage Nascent Soul, progress becomes exceedingly slow.

To say nothing of the Spirit Transformation Realm, where thousands or even tens of thousands of years of arduous cultivation might not yield much improvement. And yet, Li Yan had achieved this in just a few decades.

…

After standing up, Li Yan opened the door to his training chamber. Outside, it was the dead of night.

He slowly walked into the courtyard and sensed the three rooms. They were all enveloped in formation restrictions; all three were still immersed in cultivation.

Li Yan looked up at the sky. It was overcast and gloomy, with a cold wind blowing ceaselessly from all directions.

‘Time flows like water. A Ying, Min’er, how are you now? Min’er should have succeeded in her Nascent Soul Formation long ago, right? Has A Ying also ascended to the Immortal Spirit Realm? Do they even know I’m still alive…’

Li Yan stood in the courtyard, his pair of dark eyes gazing quietly into the black night.

Calculating the time, with Gong Chenying’s Three Talents constitution, she might have already reached the Mid-stage or even Late-stage Nascent Soul.

If Gong Chenying was unwilling to stay in her clan, then she should have already been able to search for an ascension node.

However, Li Yan was also aware of Gong Chenying’s ambitions back then. She wanted to become a figure like the Great Elder in the Tianli Clan.

So, whether she was willing to ascend to the Immortal Spirit Realm before advancing to Spirit Transformation, or chose to stay in the clan and wait for the Tianli Clan to grow stronger before ascending, was all uncertain.

Especially concerning the Sword-Washing Sect, although he had taken Xue Longzi away with him into the chaotic flow space, Li Yan could not be certain if Xue Longzi was truly dead.

What he last saw was himself forcing the other to use the power of the Spirit Transformation Realm. But if Xue Longzi was only expelled from the Wind God Continent, then he still had a chance to return.

The Tianli Clan had to use that period of time to grow stronger. Otherwise, the future would be fraught with unpredictable fortunes and misfortunes.

The more this was the case, the less likely Gong Chenying would be to ascend so quickly, given her personality.

At the same time, what worried Li Yan was that there were many sects on the Wind God Continent as powerful as the Sword-Washing Sect. What would the attitudes of those sects be later on?

If they were also like the Sword-Washing Sect, coveting the cultivation methods and resources of the Tianli Clan, then the Tianli Clan might have already been annihilated by now.

Li Yan had no way of knowing any of this, which naturally made him all the more anxious.

Therefore, as soon as he felt the reason was barely plausible, he immediately chose to come out of seclusion. He could no longer continue cultivating in peace.

As for Zhao Min, Li Yan believed she had certainly succeeded in her Nascent Soul Formation. Zhao Min cultivated the Sacred Demon Palace’s clan-defining art, the Heavenly Demon White Jade Plate. Nascent Soul Formation would definitely not be a problem.

As for whether the two women would ascend to the Immortal Spirit Realm, Li Yan was of two minds.

If they could ascend to the Immortal Spirit Realm, it would mean that neither the Malevolent Spirit Sect nor the Tianli Clan had encountered any major disasters. If they could ascend, it would surely bring immeasurable benefits to their future immortal paths.

But Li Yan was also afraid that after they ascended, he wouldn’t know which domain they had ascended to. Finding them then might be even more difficult than going to the lower realm.

But if they didn’t ascend, the various complex factors that could arise would only make Li Yan even more worried…

On the Wind God Continent, within the manor of Qing A Wang, atop the high peak at the rear, Gong Chenying, dressed in blue martial attire, stood gracefully on the summit.

Her pair of serene, beautiful eyes stared at the churning sea of clouds before her, somewhat lost in a daze.

She had returned to the Wind God Continent several years ago. After staying at the Malevolent Spirit Sect for so long, she finally received a piece of news—news that both surprised and puzzled her.

A person suspected to be Li Yan had appeared in the Immortal Spirit Realm, but had subsequently vanished. Furthermore, the location of his appearance was relatively clear: a domain called the Northern Pastoral Realm.

However, the corresponding ascension node for this domain should not have appeared in the chaotic void outside the Wind God Continent. It had appeared near the Forsaken Continent in the past, but the number of nodes there was not very high.

Therefore, they only said it was possibly Li Yan!

The person who brought this news was someone both Gong Chenying and Zhao Min knew—Su Hong, the woman from the Gui Qu Lai Xi emporium with a particularly alluring appearance.

At that time, Su Hong herself did not go to the Desolate Moon Continent, but had someone deliver a Jade Slip to Zhao Min.

In the Jade Slip, she also indicated that she knew Gong Chenying was also at Little Bamboo Peak, so she asked Zhao Min to inform Gong Chenying of the matter as well.

Then she briefly mentioned some things about Li Yan, but it was all speculation, and she didn’t explain the reasons.

She said that in the Northern Pastoral Realm of the Immortal Spirit Realm, a person had appeared, asking about Gui Qu Lai Xi. However, the inquiries were all passed through many hands, so the news was secondhand many times over.

Su Hong had not been able to find the original person who was asking. The reason she suspected it might be Li Yan was because the people inquiring were, at the same time, also asking about methods to send messages to the lower realm.

She was still investigating the specific situation, but the Northern Pastoral Realm was too vast, and she needed to find people to help. Su Hong said no more about the other matters.

Just this news alone was enough to make Zhao Min and Gong Chenying’s beautiful eyes turn red after reading the Jade Slip. The two women had been bitterly waiting for Li Yan’s return, and now there was finally some news.

What was Su Hong’s business?

Both women knew, and they both vaguely guessed that the power behind Gui Qu Lai Xi very likely had connections to the Immortal Spirit Realm, though they had no proof.

Just the fact that the other party could so easily know Gong Chenying’s whereabouts were at the Malevolent Spirit Sect was enough to judge how well-informed they were.

Regarding the Jade Slip sent by Su Hong, after their initial shock, Zhao Min and Gong Chenying studied it carefully, which naturally led them to discuss Su Hong herself.

Why did she send the Jade Slip? No one had asked her to help inquire about Li Yan!

During their conversation, the two women were surprised to discover that this Su Hong had had some strange dealings with Li Yan back on the Verdant Continent, and was even some so-called “old acquaintance from the wind and snow.”

Moreover, on the Wind God Continent, she had even personally visited the Tianli Clan when Li Yan happened to be there, and later stayed to attend Li Yan’s wedding.

Both women were sharp individuals. Now that Su Hong had sent news about Li Yan, after confirming a few things, they came to a couple of conclusions.

First, they felt that some of the news sent by Su Hong was likely true.

Second, a strange feeling arose in their hearts. Su Hong actually knew about Li Yan’s disappearance and seemed to be actively searching for him as well.

However, the fact that she had taken it upon herself to send them the slightest clue about Li Yan was better than anything.

Afterward, they told the others at Little Bamboo Peak, which immediately got everyone excited.

Wei Zhongran immediately instructed Zhao Min to personally make a trip to the Gui Qu Lai Xi emporium and pass a message to Su Hong, asking her to do everything in her power to find Li Yan’s exact whereabouts, sparing no expense or manpower.

The Malevolent Spirit Sect would bear all the costs of the Spirit Stones spent.

Li Wuyi and the others also discussed it happily for a long, long time, becoming even more certain that Li Yan must have mistakenly entered an ascension node after entering the chaotic flow space.

Upon receiving this news, Zi Kun was also deeply stirred. Not long after, he flew away from Little Bamboo Peak; he had to tell this news to Qian Ji.

Zi Kun had also successfully advanced to a fourth-rank Demonic Beast in these years. He had gone to find Qian Ji twice before, but the other was in closed-door death seclusion in the far north, and seemed to have reached a critical point in breaking through to the fourth rank.

So he did not disturb him and returned to the sect to continue waiting for news of Li Yan.

Although the news about Li Yan this time was only a guess, it was absolutely the best news possible. Zi Kun had to tell Qian Ji, no matter what.

Just like that, after another few years passed with no new information, Gong Chenying proposed to bid farewell to everyone. She wanted to return to the Tianli Clan and tell her father and the others about this matter.

Besides, she had many things of her own that she needed to go back and take care of.

When they parted, she made a pact with Zhao Min. After they had handled their own affairs, if Li Yan still hadn’t returned, they would choose to ascend to the Immortal Spirit Realm together and go to the Northern Pastoral Realm to find him.

After leaving the Malevolent Spirit Sect, Gong Chenying made another trip to the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. She first found the Nascent Soul monk who had arranged for Hong Yin to enter the pagoda back then.

The monk had met Gong Chenying when Zhao Min had brought the group over, and later, from news about the Malevolent Spirit Sect, he learned that this person was also a disciple of Little Bamboo Peak.

At that time, he couldn’t help but marvel at the abundance of talent in the Malevolent Spirit Sect. How could there be yet another Nascent Soul cultivator?

Therefore, when Gong Chenying arrived, he naturally treated her as a Nascent Soul ancestor. Besides, Gong Chenying was only asking about that nun, which wasn’t anything that needed to be concealed.

Gong Chenying learned that Hong Yin had never left the pagoda and was still on the fourth level or higher. They couldn’t easily traverse the levels inside, so the situation was unclear.

So if she wanted to find her, Gong Chenying would have to go in and search for her slowly herself.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Gong Chenying thanked him and chose to leave…

On a mountain peak in the Tianli Clan, Gong Chenying’s thoughts were heavy.

Ever since she returned, there had been no more news of Li Yan. She had gone to the market to find Gui Qu Lai Xi more than once and had also sent people to pass messages to Su Hong, hoping to get the latest information from her.

Only today did news from Su Hong finally reach her, saying that she still hadn’t found the person in the upper realm who was asking about Gui Qu Lai Xi, but that she now had some leads.

It was just that the source was a bit complicated. Several sects and even many shops were involved. She suspected that Li Yan, unable to get any information, had continuously entrusted more and more people with his inquiries.

And the Northern Pastoral Realm was too large, so it wasn’t easy to investigate. But she would continue her search. She also told Gong Chenying that she would pass this news on to Zhao Min’s side as well.

At the same time, she told Gong Chenying not to send any more messages to her. If there was any further news, she would be the first to inform both her and Zhao Min.

‘Is that person really you? Once I’ve handled the matters at hand, I will go with Min’er to find an ascension node. I hope to be reunited with you soon…’

Dressed in her blue martial attire, Gong Chenying gazed blankly at the sea of clouds.

She no longer planned to become the next clan head. Instead, she wanted to find Li Yan. The Tianli Clan was currently very stable and coexisted peacefully with the surrounding Wind Beasts.

More importantly, the Great Elder, her father, and the Third Elder had all entered long-term seclusion to try and break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm.

The Third Elder had always wanted to become the clan’s Great Sacrificial Priest, and she cultivated shamanic arts and body refining arts, which were prerequisites for the position.

Once she successfully reached Spirit Transformation, she would remain in the clan, waiting for the next Great Sacrificial Priest to appear. Otherwise, when she sensed her lifespan limit approaching, she would also ascend to the Immortal Spirit Realm as a Spirit Transformation cultivator.

When the Great Elder and her father also succeeded in their breakthroughs to Spirit Transformation, they had decided they would thoroughly stabilize the Tianli Clan’s power on the Wind God Continent, after which they would leave this place and ascend to the Immortal Spirit Realm.

What they called “stabilizing” meant that at least two of the three of them had to successfully advance to the Spirit Transformation Realm. Afterward, they would go out together.

They would go and put pressure on the powers that had targeted the Tianli Clan in the past, as well as every sect that was secretly spying on their clan.

They would use firm methods to make these sects fearful, even terrified, ensuring that for at least three to five thousand years, they would not dare to have any designs on the Tianli Clan again.

As for the next clan head, it would be the one with the ability to take the position. The Great Sacrificial Priest back then was able to put the entire clan first and hand over the position of clan head to Gong Shanhe.

Then Gong Shanhe would not treat the position of clan head as a legacy only for the Gong lineage. Only in this way could the various branch lineages of the Tianli Clan unite as one and flourish for a long time.