Chapter 1562: Would Murderous Intent Stir

The moment the green fruit was sealed by Spirit Power, Mu Guyue awoke from her trance.

“This… What is this fruit?”

Looking at the hand extended before her, Mu Guyue’s phoenix eyes shimmered with an intense light, but she didn’t take it. Instead, she looked up at Li Yan. For it to cause such a strange fluctuation in her senses, this fruit, without a doubt, had to be some kind of heavenly material or earthly treasure, and an extremely precious one at that.

“A Great Nothingness Fruit. Have you heard of it?” Li Yan’s voice was calm.

“This is the Great Nothingness Fruit? The Great Nothingness Fruit that gives one a chance to break through the shackles of the Void Refining Realm?”

Though Mu Guyue had been shocked by the fruit’s power before, she had managed to maintain her composure. But upon hearing Li Yan’s words, her entire being was struck as if by lightning. She had been in the Immortal Spirit Realm for many years and naturally had some knowledge of its heavenly materials and earthly treasures. There were even rumors that the Great Nothingness Fruit might appear in a certain market at some point in time. However, those were only rumors of past appearances; Mu Guyue had never seen one. Treasures of this caliber could only be purchased by cultivators at or above the Spirit Transformation Realm. How could she possibly have such power?

She also knew the function of the Great Nothingness Fruit was primarily for Spirit Transformation cultivators breaking through to Void Refining, but it also had an astonishing effect on breakthroughs at any realm below Spirit Transformation.

“Yes. Since you know of it, that saves me the trouble of explaining further. I said I would help you break through to the Spirit Transformation Realm. This Great Nothingness Fruit should have some effect!” Li Yan slowly withdrew his hand, letting the fruit, still enveloped in Spirit Power, float in front of Mu Guyue.

Mu Guyue gazed at the object before her, her heart in utter turmoil. After a moment, she took a deep breath and shook her head. “I can’t accept this. I’m confident I can break through on my own. It’s just that I’ve been delayed these past few years. As long as I continue to seek enlightenment, I’ll be able to regain my understanding of the rules of the Great Dao. This item is too precious. It would be better for you to keep it for your breakthrough to the Void Refining Realm. To use it for a mere Spirit Transformation breakthrough is simply too wasteful!”

She then gave a gentle push through the air, sending the Great Nothingness Fruit back. Li Yan, hearing her words, also shook his head but didn’t reach out to take it.

“There’s no need to be polite. Although this item is precious, I am more eager to cross the Heavenly Demon Prairie sooner. I have many things to do and cannot be trapped here. Since I said I would help you break through as soon as possible, I will not go back on my word. Besides, I have more Great Nothingness Fruits. You can just take this one. According to what you said, you’ve been in the Immortal Spirit Realm for quite some time now. Perhaps… perhaps Mu Sha is also close to ascending to the Immortal Spirit Realm. Do you really want to be delayed here? However, I must say, in one month, there will still be a simple ceremony for your induction into the sect. For this month, you should calm your state of mind! After that is done, you can fully quiet your heart and comprehend this fruit!”

Li Yan refused to take back the Great Nothingness Fruit, and his words even mentioned Mu Sha. This made Mu Guyue startle slightly, and a blush appeared on her face. Her usually cold visage now showed a hint of hesitation. She did indeed want to return to the Black Demon Clan as soon as possible, and even to see Mu Sha ascend.

“Do not speak of the Great Nothingness Fruit to anyone else. Senior Brother Shangguan and the others don’t know about it. But… I really do have another one. However, wealth should not be flaunted, so I can’t let you see it, lest you be moved by murderous intent!” Seeing the blush on Mu Guyue’s face, yet still her hesitation, Li Yan turned and walked towards the exit. Just as he was about to leave the Cave Residence, he added this last sentence.

Who was Li Yan? Family was his obsession. Now that he knew of Mu Sha’s existence, he also hoped to meet him as soon as possible. After all, he himself now had an heir.

“You… you, who’s moved by murderous intent!” Mu Guyue bit her full lip, the blush on her beautiful face vanishing, replaced by a look of annoyance. But Li Yan’s figure had already disappeared through the doorway.

Mu Guyue stood where she was, her phoenix eyes gazing wistfully at the entrance of the Cave Residence! It was a long while before she finally raised her slender, jade-like hand and cradled the Great Nothingness Fruit, then quietly stared at it in her palm…

Li Yan quickly arrived back at his own Cave Residence. With a wave of the token in his hand, the gate opened, and he flew inside in that same instant. The interior was still very clean, clearly having been tended to regularly, but the arrangement of everything was not much different from when he had left. Li Yan was very satisfied with this. The Broken Army Sect hadn’t reclaimed his Cave Residence despite his long absence; on the contrary, they had arranged for it to be meticulously cleaned.

After walking a circuit around the cave, Li Yan once again set up the few sets of formations he had taken down before. Afterward, he washed up and fell directly onto his bed, sleeping soundly. Ever since he began assisting Elder Hao and the others in their attempt to open the passage, he had been constantly burdened by mental and physical exhaustion. Especially at the very beginning, he had to reveal his trump cards in front of Body Integration Realm cultivators. He had racked his brains, constantly simulating in his mind the various outcomes he might face. One wrong step, and he would have truly enraged them. Even with a thousand contingency plans, if they became furious, what chance would they give him to explain? They could have taken his life with a mere flick of a wrist, rendering all his detailed plans utterly useless.

Therefore, Li Yan had to grasp the measure of things perfectly. Whether it was his words or the timing of his actions, he had wrung his mind dry to ensure he could survive with the greatest possible odds! All of this, in the eyes of outsiders, might seem like he succeeded due to opportunity and luck. But every confrontation was steeped in Li Yan’s countless efforts. It wasn’t that he enjoyed lying to people, but there were many things he could not and would not say. So, he could only operate on a sixty to seventy percent certainty of truth, while still having to patch up the remaining loopholes.

After coming out, he had fought his way back from the Heavenly Demon Prairie with Tang Feng. On top of that, he had unexpectedly learned that he already had an heir, and one of demonic descent at that. Because of this, Mu Guyue could no longer sever ties with him. Li Yan was, in truth, quite mentally exhausted by all of this. But as a father, he could not shirk any responsibility, not even a single word of doubt was permissible. Knowing Mu Guyue’s character, the dignity of a Demonic General was paramount. And if he hadn’t saved her several times and she hadn’t witnessed his methods, coupled with her own bizarre experiences, she would have realized that anything is possible in this world. Otherwise, that woman might never have spoken up. Perhaps one day, if he encountered a Demon Clan cultivator who wasn’t Mu Guyue, he would have no psychological burden. Then, if there was any disagreement, Li Yan would genuinely cut down the other party without hesitation.

And he had to do all this while not provoking this proud woman, Mu Guyue, making her accept his help. All these various matters, to outsiders, seemed as if Li Yan could resolve them one by one with ease, but he himself was already physically and mentally exhausted.

Li Yan slept for three days and four nights. When he awoke again, it was late in the night. Li Yan sat up, feeling refreshed all over. He then went to the cultivation chamber. Upon entering, he immediately sat cross-legged and began to ponder his future plans.

Now that he had emerged from the Earth-True Domain, regardless of the relationship between the Soul-Suppression Palace and the Hellsoul Clan, for now, he could only temporarily set it aside. That was, after all, a matter of the lower realm, and for him now, it was beyond his reach.

Elder Hao and the others, after dealing with the affairs of the Earth-True Domain, would also try to find a way back to the lower realm. Given their strength, once they re-familiarized themselves with the Immortal Spirit Realm, there was a high probability they would find a way before he did. But before that, Elder Hao and his group had many matters to attend to. They certainly had to secure the Earth-True Domain first, lest someone enter their old nest and wipe them out completely. All of this required time and certainly couldn’t be accomplished in a short period.

But Li Yan couldn’t just wait here indefinitely; he also had to actively prepare.

After pondering for a short while, Li Yan released a thread of Divine Sense, which quietly entered the Earthen Patch space. He then quickly found Feng Hongyue…

A short time later, Li Yan’s Divine Sense withdrew from the Earthen Patch space. In the far eastern part of the Earthen Patch, he had opened up a vast forest region. He had also altered the Rules of Heaven and Earth there, gathering extremely pure Wood Spirit Qi, and then moved Feng Hongyue there. After taking out a large number of Spirit Stones, he told him that they were currently trying to open a passage to the outside world. If they didn’t encounter any major dangers, they wouldn’t ask for his help. He should cultivate well inside and see if he could break through to the Void Refining Realm soon.

Upon entering the forest, Feng Hongyue was immediately captivated by the pure Wood Spirit Qi. Even though he had long guessed that Li Yan’s magical treasure was a top-tier spatial artifact—he had, after all, experienced the extremely pure Fire Spirit Power here that had beaten him senseless—he was still greatly surprised to see this level of Wood Spirit Qi in a lush, green forest. He was a knowledgeable individual, especially since he was a spirit plant from the Immortal Spirit Realm. Any place that could nurture a spirit plant was basically a place that gathered the essence of heaven and earth’s Spiritual Energy.

To be honest, the Spiritual Energy in this forest wasn’t necessarily denser than many places he had seen, but to have such a pure, singular Wood Spirit Qi in one area of the world—this was the first time he had seen it. This made Feng Hongyue feel, in that first instant, as if his body and mind had undergone some kind of sublimation and enlightenment. So, right after Li Yan finished explaining things to him, he plunged into the forest, transformed into a towering tree, and began to carefully comprehend.

This space had evolved from the Five Elements, and every change within it contained the supreme Great Dao. With the absence of the other four types of Spiritual Energy, the characteristics of the wood attribute became even more prominent, making it easier for a cultivator with a wood spirit root to achieve a breakthrough while cultivating here. And this was exactly what Feng Hongyue needed most at the moment. He had been stuck at the Late-stage of Spirit Transformation for too long and needed any kind of opportunity that could help him, even if it was just a little, he would treat it like a precious treasure.

This was the first significant reward Li Yan had given Feng Hongyue. Merely giving him Spirit Stones for cultivation was, of course, far from enough. Li Yan was now in the Spirit Transformation Realm, and cultivators of the same realm posed little to no fatal threat to him. What he needed was a soul slave who could contend with Void Refining Realm cultivators.

Seeing Feng Hongyue transform into a great tree and eagerly begin cultivating, the illusory figure in the air smiled faintly and withdrew.

In the cultivation chamber, Li Yan opened his eyes again. This was the first thing he had to do: resettle Feng Hongyue. He could even release Ting Lan, but he could not release Feng Hongyue. He was, after all, a foundational existence of the Heavenly Mountain Garden. If people knew he was by Li Yan’s side, many troublesome matters would be suspected of him. The Heavenly Mountain Garden, in particular, might even continuously send people to infiltrate the Broken Army Sect. That would not only endanger himself but also bring great disaster upon the Broken Army Sect.

As for removing the Soul Imprint and letting him go, that was even more impossible. Feng Hongyue was still a powerful enemy to Li Yan at present. This was an existence infinitely close to the Void Refining Realm. Without control, Li Yan might not necessarily be able to defeat him. Feng Hongyue was probably not very friendly towards him in his heart. So, before he himself grew stronger, Feng Hongyue had to be kept under control, no matter what.

And there was another, more crucial reason. In the future, when Li Yan crossed the Heavenly Demon Prairie, relying on just him and Mu Guyue would still be very dangerous. But with a peak Spirit Transformation existence, it would be a different story. If that person broke through to the Void Refining Realm, the assistance would be even greater. To put it bluntly, if they faced the most dangerous life-and-death crisis, Li Yan might even use him as a shield to save himself and Mu Guyue. Of course, unless he was at the end of his rope, Li Yan wouldn’t do such a thing; he wasn’t a monstrously evil person.

Li Yan was now a Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator. As long as the other party didn’t cultivate a soul cultivation method, then even a Void Refining Realm’s soul strength couldn’t surpass Li Yan’s, so they naturally couldn’t break the Soul Imprint. This was one of the main reasons why soul cultivators were so terrifying and feared in the eyes of normal cultivators. They didn’t need to go through normal realm cultivation to place a restriction on you; they only needed to control your soul.

Furthermore, opening up a wood-elemental world for Feng Hongyue this time was also a specially given benefit. To better control someone, making them willing was, of course, the best strategy.