Chapter 1607: Just Around the Corner

Upon hearing this transmission, Li Yan looked toward a figure in the Mingyan Sect before flying away. There stood Han Zhumei, her pearly white teeth biting her lower lip, her beautiful eyes looking at Li Yan with confusion. Even now, she couldn’t understand where she had slipped up to allow Li Yan to find her so easily. However, she now realized that the tracks Li Yan had left in the wasteland were likely another trap. This man was as cunning as a fox and incredibly bold, repeatedly exposing himself as bait.

Even so, she had lost in the end! After exiting, she had been pondering what his final trap was. The result was clear—Li Yan had correctly locked onto her position! This left her wondering when and where she had revealed a flaw. She was certain Li Yan hadn’t relied on his actual cultivation to see through her; he must have used something else. But if he had the ability, why didn’t he use it the first two times? Wouldn’t that have seen through her hiding long ago?

Han Zhumei reviewed the final confrontation dozens of times, certain that Li Yan hadn’t even had time to sacrifice any magical treasures under her high-speed pursuit. The only suspicious point was Li Yan’s final act of self-harm to block her attack, but what did that have to do with finding her tracks?

Seeing Li Yan look at her as he flew away, Han Zhumei met his gaze without flinching. After a brief thought, Li Yan sent a transmission in return.

“This, you might not believe, but I used a method common among mortal hunters!”

After saying this, Li Yan offered no further explanation. Giving her this hint was his way of acknowledging that she hadn’t expressed any dissatisfaction or murderous intent toward the Broken Army Sect after exiting the diagram. She had simply been lost in thought. Li Yan was a good judge of character; Han Zhumei was a pure cultivator. Furthermore, encountering such an opponent made the trip worthwhile for Li Yan, as it gave him a thrilling duel of ambush and assassination.

Since entering the path of cultivation, Li Yan had never met such an expert in stealth. This battle had taught him much and helped him recognize the methods of variant spirit root cultivators. Thus, he casually shared that sentence. As for the specific method, he would never reveal it. His words seemed to say everything yet nothing at all. It was like if she had killed him and he had asked her how—she might have said, “I used a wind-attribute technique!” Such a statement was practically nonsense, yet it narrowed the scope of thought, which counted as some assistance.

Sure enough, Han Zhumei’s eyes flashed with light after hearing this, but she soon fell into a daze. “Mortal hunter methods… Mortals?” she murmured to herself.

What Li Yan didn’t know was that because of this single sentence, Han Zhumei would spend many years studying mortal hunters just to find the reason. Li Yan didn’t care, for if he met her again in the outside world, he believed she shouldn’t dream of having three chances to appear as she did in the diagram. A single opening would be enough for him to end her life. Furthermore, the hunter’s method he mentioned could be adapted more flexibly—for instance, using his specialty, the Splintering Poison Body, to mark his prey. That would make the hunt even more sophisticated and hidden. Han Zhumei likely wouldn’t even know what the Splintering Poison Body was upon her death.

A month later, when Shangguan Tianque and the others returned to the sect, the entire place erupted like boiling oil, filled with joy. This was followed by an official announcement from the Pure Yang Hall, reassigning better territories to the Broken Army Sect and the Mingyan Sect. Various Grade 4 sects and smaller forces in those areas were placed under their jurisdiction. The Blood Lantern Sect would reclaim the Pure Yang Hall’s original territory. Now that things had reached this point, someone as clever as Wu Gouzi would naturally not target the Broken Army Sect openly. This was the peak of the Pure Yang Hall’s attention; how could he run straight into it? Instead, he sent word that the Broken Army Sect could relocate in ten years, giving them plenty of time to prepare.

In response, Shangguan Tianque expressed his gratitude and sent a grand gift to the Blood Lantern Sect. However, he finished packing everything in three months and led the disciples directly to the new sect site. During those three months, he announced that the sect’s promotion ceremony would be held after the relocation. Thus, while some came to congratulate them, only nearby forces did so.

Because of this, Li Yan had to leave the sect early and alone, once again stealthily entering the Heaven-Slaying Prairie. He had to notify Elder Hao and the others of the new sect’s address. As for Tang Feng, he was easier to deal with; though he couldn’t be found, Tang Feng used the Wind Messengers to transmit messages. Those brokers relied on such news to survive, so they certainly knew about the Broken Army Sect’s promotion and relocation.

If Elder Hao and the others were to look for Li Yan, they would likely go to his old address. Although they could eventually find him, Li Yan didn’t want soul cultivators running around in the outside world. Aside from Elder Hao and a few old-timers who were familiar with the Immortal Realm, ninety percent of the Soul Suppression Palace’s cultivators—including experts like Master Blue—might cause slips if they went around asking for information. Given Li Yan’s personality, he didn’t want the Soul Suppression Palace exposed, so he decided to make the trip himself. He told Shangguan Tianque and Ren Yanyu he had urgent business.

Even to Mu Guyue, Li Yan didn’t tell the full truth. He knew she hated the Soul Suppression Palace, and that was not a hatred that could be easily eased just because of him. Furthermore, it involved the Soul Prison Race, which would be too complicated to explain. Thus, he simply said he was looking for information about going to the lower realm and needed to be away for a few months. Mu Guyue didn’t suspect anything, only asking if he wanted her to accompany him. After he declined, she didn’t insist. Shangguan Tianque and the others also confirmed his return time, as the promotion ceremony was approaching, and Li Yan, as a Supreme Elder, had to be present.

Before he left, the four of them gathered to discuss the rewards from the Pure Yang Hall: one hundred top-grade spirit stones and two Grand Void Fruits. Shangguan Tianque suggested dividing the spirit stones equally, but the Grand Void Fruits were difficult since there were only two. He explicitly stated he wouldn’t keep one for himself and asked for their opinions.

Before Li Yan could speak, Mu Guyue, usually the most silent, spoke first. “I do not need this fruit. You three may distribute them.” She then glanced at Li Yan.

Ren Yanyu giggled, and Shangguan Tianque, being quick-witted, also chuckled. “In that case, it’s easy. My junior sister and I will keep one, and the other goes to Junior Brother Li!” They had long seen the chemistry between the two, making this arrangement much simpler. Giving the fruits was like giving them to two couples; Shangguan Tianque and Ren Yanyu could decide who needed theirs, and Li Yan could do the same with Mu Guyue.

Li Yan could only give a dry laugh. He wouldn’t refuse the spirit stones or the Grand Void Fruit. He thought that with two Grand Void Fruits in his possession (including his previous one), he could eventually give them to Zhao Min and Gong Chenying when the opportunity arose. To ease any potential friction between them, he even thought of an excuse—he could say one of the fruits fell into his hands because Mu Guyue was unwilling to accept it. Once they knew the fruit’s effects, they might not change their view of the Demon Clan, but they might at least have a bit of goodwill toward Mu Guyue.

Through the distribution of resources, even someone like Mu Guyue, who had deep-seated racial prejudices, began to feel true goodwill toward the Broken Army Sect. She felt the sect Li Yan chose was truly good—not cold and heartless like the Demon Clan. This gave her a strange thought: ‘Isn’t cultivation about the survival of the fittest? Why does such a sect exist, and how has it survived?’

Though she had stayed in the Broken Army Sect for a few years, most of it was in seclusion, and she hadn’t spent much time with Shangguan Tianque and the others. She only came here for Li Yan’s sake. Now, seeing that Shangguan Tianque and Ren Yanyu had no desire to hoard the top-tier resources for themselves, she felt very comfortable staying in the sect. Since ascending to the Immortal Realm, she had never joined a sect, preferring to be a loose cultivator. In her heart, she felt that aside from her own Black Demon kin, joining any power brought no benefit, as everyone just used each other. She preferred her freedom… until now.