Chapter 1552: Training and the Journey Home (Part One)
This time, Li Yan had accompanied Elder Hao and the other for four years, exploring the head region of the Dream Return Ant. This exploration was led by a Body Integration Realm cultivator.
Otherwise, with Li Yan’s flying speed, he felt that he might not have been able to finish exploring it even in forty years, especially since there were many places he couldn’t go.
He estimated that as soon as he got close, he might have been killed countless times by various formless and shadowless strange and ferocious things.
In the end, they had roughly explored the entire head. The reason it took such a short time was that they only flew over places they could reach.
Once Elder Hao found that even he would have great difficulty entering a place, or estimated that the probability of him perishing after entering was high, he would only probe it briefly before quickly leaving with the two of them.
In this way, by only probing and leaving, and not having to break through various perilous lands, and the more dangerous the place, the faster they left, their exploration speed was naturally not slow.
They also confirmed that for now, there was only that one passage connecting to the outside world. The other places didn’t even need the Soul-Suppression Palace to set up any measures; they were naturally perilous and deadly lands.
Afterward, Elder Hao and the others returned to the Soul-Suppression Palace, but their mood was even heavier because, in four years, they had not found any trace of the old Sect Master and his group.
Elder Hao believed that if the old Sect Master and his group had passed through the throat area, when they felt the future was uncertain somewhere, they would definitely have left some marks before entering.
Just like at the throat, the old Sect Master had left a grand formation and some marks at the cave entrance.
When Elder Hao and the other two returned, the situation in the Soul-Suppression Palace was calm, without any disturbances.
This was because the matter of opening a passage to the outside world was only known to Xue Tieyi, a few core elders, and the special existence, Tang Feng.
The rest of the disciples knew nothing about it, and it was impossible for other forces to have gotten any wind of it.
After Xue Tieyi and the others learned of it, they had also been led out by Elder Tang several times to experience what the real Immortal Spirit Realm was like, which made each of them extremely excited.
Afterward, they began to continuously collect various formation-refining materials according to the contents of the jade slip given by Great Master Lan.
After Li Yan returned to the sect, he had long talks with Xue Tieyi and Tang Feng separately…
For the next six months, Li Yan was helping Great Master Lan and the others construct a formation in the yellow fog.
Only after the foundation of the grand formation was preliminarily established, and it was felt that Elder Tang Three alone was more than enough to handle the yellow fog, did he immediately bid farewell.
Afterward, Xue Tieyi and Elder Tang personally escorted Li Yan to the inside of the gorge at the head. The teleportation formation to the outside had not yet been formally constructed, so Li Yan still had to leave from here.
Great Master Lan was currently constructing the core of the formation, and Elder Hao had already gone out to find the location for the other end of the teleportation formation. They had no time to come.
In the future, after the formation was completed, it would directly teleport cultivators from the “Earth-True Domain” to a certain place in the Heavenly Demon Prairie.
However, Li Yan could still return through here because he still had his Soul-Suppression Palace token.
This gorge was the true entrance to the “Earth-True Domain.” Three Void Refining elders would be stationed here year-round, taking turns to guard it day and night.
Of course, the security of this place would not be guaranteed by just three Void Refining cultivators.
They would also have to build many interlocking formations in the fog and the silver desert. Among these formations, only one could teleport back to the yellow fog area.
There, one’s identity would need to be confirmed again before being teleported to outside the mountain crevice within the sect. And from there, to enter the “Earth-True Domain,” one still had to pass through the red desert and the side hall teleportation formation guarded by the Soul-Suppression Palace… Once all this was formed, it would be like locking the Soul-Suppression Palace in the innermost layer!
All the other formations in the silver desert area of the gorge, if anyone trespassed, they would basically be teleported to a dead end, a perilous land, or into the yellow fog.
Those desperate lands were marked by Elder Hao after his exploration. Even if he entered, he might not be able to come out…
However, these vicious formations were still under construction and would take many years to complete.
Once completed, the Soul-Suppression Palace would formally announce the news and then begin to send some forces from the “Earth-True Domain” out one by one.
Of course, they wouldn’t be sent out for free. A massive amount of resources would be required as a toll.
Li Yan had even heard Elder Hao say to Great Master Lan during one of their explorations.
“For those forces that, after screening, are still considered too great a threat, we can take their toll money and let them teleport away, but teleport them directly to a dead end…”
Li Yan’s hair stood on end when he heard this.
Elder Hao intended to completely wipe out any forces he felt were a threat. And he didn’t even want to do it himself. A single teleportation would settle the matter. He said it so simply.
In just the past six months, the Soul-Suppression Palace had already started establishing many formation foundations in the yellow fog area. As for teleportation formations, large and small, Li Yan knew that at least five prototypes had been established so far.
But of these five formations, only one would lead to a normal teleportation out. The rest would still lead to places within the “Earth-True Domain”…
After being escorted into the gorge, Xue Tieyi spoke a few more words with Li Yan, telling him to come back often when he had time.
He said that once the sect’s affairs were settled here, the sect’s cultivators would definitely go out to train, including Elder Hao and Elder Tang.
At that time, he might also go to find Li Yan. If there was an urgent matter, he would also send someone directly to find Li Yan.
Li Yan naturally nodded in agreement and told them the location of the Broken Army Sect. Then, Elder Tang pulled Li Yan aside and carefully instructed him on many matters.
He was actually helping to build the formation and had come here specially. Otherwise, he would have just let Xue Tieyi see Li Yan off alone.
Otherwise, the elders guarding the gorge would not let anyone out.
Elder Tang’s main instruction for Li Yan was to pay more attention to ascended cultivators when he was in the outside world. They still had disciples of the Soul-Suppression Palace in the Lower Realm. Although they had withered, they still existed.
If he encountered them, after carefully verifying their identity, he should immediately send them back to the “Earth-True Domain.” This was also a form of protection for the disciples from the Lower Realm.
For the time being, he, Elder Hao, and the others would not be able to leave until the “Earth-True Domain” was made into an iron fortress.
But later, they would gradually send out some elders and core disciples to train. If Li Yan encountered them, he should help them as much as he could.
After all, to the outside world, these people were just fat sheep. Their experience could only be used in the “Earth-True Domain.” Outside, more than ninety percent of cultivators were risking their lives to train.
And this time, the main thing he instructed Li Yan on was to first take care of Tang Feng on this trip.
After discussing with Elder Tang and the others, Tang Feng still felt it was best to leave with Li Yan, so that Li Yan could also teach him many things.
In fact, after Li Yan returned to the sect, Tang Feng had been following him around, often humbly asking about various matters of the outside world. Li Yan also didn’t hold back much, telling Tang Feng everything he could.
Since Li Yan couldn’t be taken as a disciple, Elder Tang naturally cared more for Tang Feng, his blood descendant.
Thus, after some instructions from Elder Tang and Xue Tieyi, Li Yan and the other finally and truly left the “Earth-True Domain”…
In the dense forest, after Tang Feng exhaled, he subconsciously wanted to release his Soul Power, intending to scout the surroundings.
But the next moment, he realized something was wrong. He immediately forcibly suppressed his Soul Power, and only then did he clumsily release his Divine Sense, beginning to try and scan the surroundings. At the same time, he said to Li Yan.
“Elder Hao said that you two have already roughly scouted the surrounding environment and preliminarily determined that this location might be in the deeper part of the Heavenly Demon Prairie’s outer periphery, a transitional zone towards the center. So, on this journey out, I will have plenty of time to learn from Brother Li. I think by the time we leave the Heavenly Demon Prairie, I should be much more familiar with the outside world!”
Li Yan nodded after hearing this.
“Hahaha… Brother Tang, then you need to be careful now. Except when you are fighting, you must not use your Soul Power at any other time. Here, you must primarily use Divine Sense and Spirit Power. And the most important thing you need to do now is to first conceal your own aura. At the very least, you can’t be as unrestrained as you are now. With your aura radiating like this, in the outside world, you are like a bright lamp in the dark night. If someone notices this place from tens of thousands of li away, they will know your existence and cultivation level in an instant!”
Li Yan felt Tang Feng hide his Soul Power, but the powerful aura of his Mid-stage Spirit Transformation cultivation was still radiating out like a vast sea. He couldn’t help but smile.
In the “Earth-True Domain,” Tang Feng’s situation was completely fine. After all, in places where Soul Power couldn’t reach, one could basically only rely on their eyes.
No one could see a person behind an obstacle with their eyes, but here, he was a living target.
Tang Feng scratched his head.
Li Yan had told him about these things, but he had recently been living in the “Earth-True Domain,” so he was still in the habit of not concealing it. His Divine Sense also carefully scanned Li Yan.
“Hahaha… It’s really hard to get used to it at first. Should I be like you now, at the Late-stage Nascent Soul Realm! I clearly remember that when you were in the back hall of the Soul Palace, you had obviously broken through to Spirit Transformation, but you still liked to conceal even your Soul Power. This method is actually really insidious…”
Any cultivator knew of Li Yan’s method, but how many could be like him, engraving this matter into their very bones and doing it for hundreds of years as if it were second nature?
Watching Tang Feng circulate his cultivation method and quickly restrain his aura, Li Yan glanced at him again.
“Also, don’t casually scan others directly with your Divine Sense. Even if you accidentally scan them, just move it away quickly. Otherwise, you’ll have a fight on your hands!”
“Right, right, you mentioned that too!”
Only then did Tang Feng remember that he had just unscrupulously scanned Li Yan back and forth with his Divine Sense.
Li Yan looked at the sky. It was a vast blue, with white clouds and a gentle breeze. He chuckled lightly.
“Hehehe, then let’s go!”
…
Another five years later, Li Yan and Tang Feng, with cautious and vigilant expressions, finally walked out of the Heavenly Demon Prairie.
The location of the dense forest gorge leading to the “Earth-True Domain” was indeed in the outer periphery of the Heavenly Demon Prairie.
After carefully flying for half a month, Li Yan, relying on his experience and the distribution of demonic beasts he saw along the way, slowly confirmed this.
Afterward, the two of them adjusted their direction and flew toward the outside of the Heavenly Demon Prairie!
On this journey, Li Yan also got a taste of the vastness of the Heavenly Demon Prairie. He had never gone so deep before.
At the same time, he was also wondering how long it would take to reach the edge of the central part of the prairie if he flew inward from the dense forest gorge.
Li Yan knew that the further in you went, the vaster the area became. Compared to the central and inner regions, the outer periphery of the Heavenly Demon Prairie was actually the smallest area.
The deeper one went into the Heavenly Demon Prairie, the stronger the demonic beasts became, and the larger the clans that appeared. Their sense of territory was also much stronger.
Often, the range occupied by a single clan was unimaginably large!