Chapter 1565: A Secret Discussion

When Li Yan had entered earlier, he had sensed that Chongyangzi had, in these few years, already broken through Spirit Transformation and reached the Void Refining Realm. Breakthroughs to higher Great Realms after Nascent Soul were increasingly difficult, as one could tell just by looking at Feng Hongyue. This showed that Chongyangzi’s immortal fortune and aptitude were one in ten thousand. Moreover, his status in the Pure Yang Hall had surely risen another level.

“Everlasting immortal path? Spare me the flattery. The path we walk is arduous every step of the way! The so-called enjoyment of immortal blessings is merely being able to retain one’s continuous memories, to know that one is still alive, and to continue watching the years change. Which day is not spent worrying about the next realm?” Chongyangzi waved his hand at Li Yan. At the same time, with a flick of his other large sleeve, a layer of restriction enveloped the two of them.

Li Yan allowed the restriction to surround them. Listening to Chongyangzi’s reply and seeing his still-solemn face, he couldn’t help but smile wryly in his heart. ‘This senior’s personality is a bit rigid, but he possesses a chivalrous spirit, so magnanimous it’s humbling. Perhaps this is the Great Dao he cultivates. As he walks this path, the sun and moon must accompany him!’

“Alright, I’ve already told you, Ting Lan is my only niece, so I must thank you, Martial Nephew Li, for your care over the years, which saved her from perishing elsewhere. Moreover, since we parted at the Blood Lantern Sect, there has been no news of you. I thought that after the Heart-Refining Valley incident had quieted down, and so much time had passed, you would have felt at ease to come find me at the Pure Yang Hall. But I waited and waited, and you never came. It turns out you had met with misfortune in the Heavenly Demon Prairie.”

Although Chongyangzi had thought well of Li Yan in the past, he had already said what needed to be said to him. That Li Yan hadn’t gone to the Pure Yang Hall later was his own choice. What’s more, he himself had spent a lot of time in seclusion over the years, constantly assailing his bottleneck. Coupled with Ting Lan’s disappearance, he had no spare mind to care about a junior disciple he had once thought well of.

“Senior, this matter is all in the past. Besides, before we emerged from the secret realm, Fellow Daoist Ting Lan kept her mouth shut. I had no idea of her background and always thought she was a rogue cultivator. We all shared weal and woe in there, just trying to survive. There was no question of who took care of whom,” Li Yan said quickly.

“Hehehe… but it is precisely because you did not know her background that you were able to maintain a heart of the upright and great Dao. That shows your mind-nature is all the more precious. Especially at the final moment, risking your life to save Ting Lan from the mouths of demonic beasts, this proves that I, this humble Daoist, did not misjudge you back then!” Hearing Li Yan’s words, Chongyangzi shook his head repeatedly.

Listening to Chongyangzi’s assessment of his character and his words, Li Yan was already sweating profusely in his heart. How could he be as the other man described? If not for Mu Guyue, he would never have brought Ting Lan out. And all of this was because he had altered her memories. What heart of an upright and great Dao? Li Yan felt he was so black-hearted that even with his thick skin, he was starting to blush.

“Senior, let’s not talk about these things. I wonder why Senior has asked me to stay behind. Is there anything you need to instruct me on?” Li Yan quickly changed the subject.

“I brought up the past just now only to let you know that I am truly grateful for your help! I am devoted to the Dao and have yet to meet a suitable Dao companion. Therefore, among the younger generation, Ting Lan is my only relative. Her mother was my elder sister, who cared for me since I was young. She is the person I respect the most. Unfortunately, my elder sister passed away early, and so after Ting Lan was left behind, her father doted on her too much, which led to her current character, where she doesn’t consider things thoroughly. Alright, let’s leave it at that! Have you also broken through to Spirit Transformation? I feel that you have concealed your cultivation.” Chongyangzi spoke a few simple sentences before changing the topic again.

Only then did Li Yan learn that Ting Lan’s mother had passed away long ago. No wonder her lively demeanor was tinged with a bit of willfulness. Then, he heard Chongyangzi’s next question. Although Chongyangzi couldn’t see Li Yan’s true cultivation, he could sense that Li Yan was like a hibernating beast. This was due to his clear Dao Heart. Although he hadn’t cultivated the Buddhist “Heavenly Eye Power,” his Dao Heart was spotless, especially now that he had reached the Void Refining Realm. So when he looked at Li Yan, he always felt that Li Yan’s realm didn’t quite match his aura. He felt as if Li Yan’s body contained a terrifying power that surpassed the Nascent Soul Realm.

And anyone who knew Li Yan, like Shangguan Tianque and the others, had already guessed that Li Yan was likely a Spirit Transformation Realm cultivator. It was just that they had guessed so before Li Yan entered the Earth-True Domain, and one couldn’t say they were completely wrong then. After Li Yan entered the Late-stage Nascent Soul, he had the strength to contend with some ordinary Initial-stage Spirit Transformation cultivators!

To Chongyangzi, it also seemed that Li Yan had hidden his cultivation. However, unlike Shangguan Tianque and the others, he asked directly.

Hearing this, Li Yan was immediately surprised. The other party could see through his cultivation. He thought that perhaps after entering the Void Refining Realm, Chongyangzi had cultivated some kind of divine ability that could see through auras. Li Yan had never been so arrogant as to think that his dual concealment method could fool a cultivator a Great Realm above him. There were far too many capable people in this world. It was precisely because of such people that he had been seen through by the woman from the Golden-Winged Great Peng clan back then. And just as he could obtain more advanced cultivation methods after each breakthrough, others certainly could as well. He immediately replied respectfully, “This junior has indeed had a breakthrough, but I have only just reached the Initial-stage of Spirit Transformation!”

“Mm, that’s right!” Chongyangzi nodded. His feeling had been correct after all. Otherwise, his dustless Dao Heart had always felt that something was strange. “That’s even better. I came here for another matter besides Ting Lan’s. It’s the proposal I once made to you about going to the Pure Yang Hall. The great war has long since subsided, and the Heart-Refining Valley is no longer making inquiries about that matter. Are you willing to go there with me? With your current strength, you are even more suitable now.”

Hearing this, Li Yan couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his heart. This elder was indeed worthy of respect. After some thought, he still said, “After coming here today, Senior should have also seen how sincere Senior Brother Shangguan and the others are to me. This junior feels it would be inappropriate to leave the sect, so I can only accept Senior’s kind intentions with gratitude.”

After hearing Li Yan’s reply, Chongyangzi’s face showed disappointment. He truly wanted to bring Li Yan into the Pure Yang Hall and use its resources to help Li Yan’s cultivation advance another level. However, seeing Li Yan’s devotion made Chongyangzi all the more satisfied with him.

“I don’t have anything like the Great Nothingness Fruit on me right now. So, as thanks for Ting Lan, if you have any requests, you can make them yourself, and I’ll see if I can help you. As for that Mu Guyue, I’ve already sent a voice transmission to Ting Lan to ask what she needs. I will do my best to satisfy her as well.”

Chongyangzi had originally intended to bring Li Yan into the Pure Yang Hall, after which he would arrange a good position for him within the sect. The benefits Li Yan would have received then would have been continuous, which would have been the greatest reward for him. But seeing Li Yan refuse again, he offered to have Li Yan state his needs, which he would do his best to fulfill.

After thinking for a moment, Li Yan no longer stood on ceremony. “Senior, you also know that I am a cultivator who ascended from a lower realm. So, I wonder if you could help me find a way to communicate with the lower realm. Also, I have previously asked Senior for help in finding a shop called ‘Gui Qu Lai Xi’. These two matters are very important to this junior.”

Chongyangzi heard that Li Yan wasn’t asking for heavenly materials, earthly treasures, or cultivation manuals, but for two pieces of information. These were the same two things Li Yan had briefly asked him about before they left the Pure Yang Hall together back then. It seemed the other party had truly not forgotten about these two matters.

He thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. “Alright! After I return this time, I will make inquiries from various sources, but I don’t know how much time it will take! As for a path to the lower realm, I have heard a senior from the Upper Sect mention it before. But he only brought it up in passing during a lecture when he was discussing the laws of heaven and earth. According to him, our bodies’ auras have integrated with the rules of heaven and earth of the upper realm. Therefore, even if we were to lower our cultivation to the Spirit Transformation Realm or below, we would first need a way to conceal these auras. However, such a method involves extremely profound laws of heaven and earth, which are inherently difficult to comprehend. So this path is actually very difficult to achieve. But that senior said that it is also possible to conceal oneself from heaven and earth through certain magical treasures. However, obtaining such treasures is probably no easier than comprehending the laws of heaven and earth. He only mentioned this briefly. As for any other methods, I truly do not know. And the most important thing here is to find the node that leads to the lower realm. The nodes you all ascended from have a very strong upward pulling force, which is why they are called ascension nodes. At the same time, it’s very difficult to detect such nodes again in the chaotic flow space of the Immortal Spirit Realm. This is because the pulling force in those nodes has become the same as that of the Immortal Spirit Realm, and the nodes are practically in a state of disappearance. When you reach the Great Ascension Realm, the ones you can detect again should be ascension nodes, and those are very likely the nodes that lead to the True Immortal Realm. As for the nodes leading to the lower realm, personally, I have never thought of going to a lower realm, so I have never paid attention to such matters. I will ask some fellow Daoists or seniors about this later.”

Chongyangzi agreed and then proceeded to tell Li Yan some information about the paths leading to the lower realm, although it was only some hearsay. Li Yan was shocked upon hearing this. In fact, he had also heard before about cultivators from the upper and lower realms needing to assimilate their auras and allow their souls to merge with the rules of heaven and earth of their respective locations after entering each other’s space. It was more or less the same as what Chongyangzi had said. However, the fact that he mentioned there were such magical treasures that could conceal one from heaven’s secrets was indeed a viable method.

What he said about the nodes was especially detailed this time. This was because he had once thought about whether he could find the node he came from in the sky above the Heavenly Demon Prairie where he had fallen. He had even asked Yu Banjiang about his approximate location when he was unconscious. Later, he had gone to search for it himself. But after entering that area and tearing through the void into the chaotic flow space, he couldn’t find it at all. The reason was exactly as Chongyangzi had said today: the power emanating from many nodes was the same as that of the Immortal Realm, making it impossible to determine what kind of node it was.

Although he had spent a lot of time searching in many more places and found possible spatial nodes, there was no pulling force there at all. So Li Yan couldn’t determine where those nodes led. Under such circumstances, Li Yan didn’t even dare to try. And what Chongyangzi had said earlier was also key: even if you found a node leading to the lower realm, you would have to be able to eliminate your Immortal Spirit Realm aura before entering. Otherwise, being too powerful and unable to integrate into the lower realm, you would surely be transported to who knows where under the clash of the two different realms’ forces! And with a high probability, you would end up in a black hole or a fragmented space, which would be courting death.