Chapter 1610: Unexpected Path of Immortality

When Donglin Tingyue spoke the word “migrated,” both Li Yan and Jia Fugui, with their sharp minds, immediately understood the key implication. Li Yan was especially shocked because he had heard a name he was all too familiar with: the Purple Divine Dragon Elephant!

He hadn’t expected this. He had once inquired about the Undead Nether Phoenix because of the Great-Winged Golden Roc, but he never imagined the Purple Divine Dragon Elephant tribe existed in the Heaven-Slaying Prairie. He didn’t think it was a coincidence. This was truly a stroke of luck. The Donglin family was a cultivation lineage that dealt with demon beasts for generations; they wouldn’t have mentioned this name out of nowhere. Li Yan thought of something Zi Kun had once said—his kin had been looking for a suitable place to live after their population dwindled, but they were unlucky and captured by humans, leading to Zi Kun’s birth.

“Fairy Tingyue, you said the Golden-Backed Demon Elephant’s backer is the Purple Divine Dragon Elephant. Do you know more about them?”

“The Purple Divine Dragon Elephant? Not much. According to the records, they are near the center of the prairie. Although the Donglin family knows many demon beasts, our strength limits us mostly to the outer regions. We cannot normally come into contact with the truly powerful tribes deep inside…” Donglin Tingyue shook her head, then looked at Li Yan.

“Fellow Daoist Li, although we’ve found a clue regarding the lower realm, you must think twice before risking the journey! Your cultivation is strong, but based on the location described, I can be certain that the Purple Divine Dragon Elephant tribe must have Stage 7 powerhouses. Compared to other tribes in the center, it’s just a matter of how many they have. At a conservative estimate, there should be one or two Stage 7 demon beasts!”

Worry appeared in her eyes. she knew Li Yan was from the lower realm, but she felt he was being too hasty in his quest to return. If one’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed, acting beyond one’s ability would lead to disaster.

“Thank you, Fairy Tingyue. I won’t go to the center of the prairie; I’m not that arrogant. My path to immortality has just begun, hahaha… I only asked to know more about the records of the Purple Divine Dragon Elephant. Since your family has no more, so be it.” Li Yan shook his head. He felt it was a pity he couldn’t get more information, but she was right—their family didn’t have that kind of power.

After the ceremony, the Broken Army Sect’s operations sped up, making everyone busier, except for Li Yan and Mu Guyue. Neither was good at managing a sect, so they simply closed their doors and entered seclusion.

Thirteen years passed in the blink of an eye. The Broken Army Sect was flourishing, with more disciples joining, though Shangguan Tianque kept the growth at a controlled pace to ensure quality. He continued to suppress the sect’s rising momentum to avoid being too ostentatious. Thus, the Broken Army Sect became the least conspicuous among the Grade 3 powers. During these thirteen years, the sect invited another Spirit Transformation cultivator to become the fifth Supreme Elder. He was a close friend Shangguan Tianque and Ren Yanyu had made during their earlier travels—a loose cultivator who joined after seeing their success.

In a cultivation chamber within his cave dwelling, a bare-chested Li Yan was performing a series of strange, awkward movements. His limbs would stretch and then fold at angles impossible for a normal person, accompanied by the tooth-aching sound of grinding bones. This was the seventh layer of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art: “Prison Break”!

As he moved, even slightly adjusting an angle would cause sweat to pour from his body. At his level, he was immune to heat and cold; making him sweat was incredibly difficult. After an hour and a half, he stood up and stretched. As he exhaled, a series of popping sounds erupted from his body. He clenched his fist toward the void.

“Boom!”

The air seemed to be squeezed to the point of explosion. A tiny black hole flickered near his fist before the space quickly returned to normal.

Li Yan shook his head at this. “Prison Break” was an ultimate method to destroy all restrictions with raw strength. For essence cultivators and talisman cultivators, it was a nightmare. If a true black hole formed, any restriction would be destroyed because the spatial cycle would be broken. However, he had only comprehended the first two lines of the technique’s chant. This progress was only possible because his cultivation had recently broken through.

His soul cultivation and Kui Water True Scripture had been growing steadily but hadn’t broken through in thirteen years. What surprised him most was the Qiongqi Purgatory Art—the last of his techniques to reach the Spirit Transformation realm—which had miraculously overtaken the others to reach the mid-stage. The reason was unexpected.

Because his body harmonized with Mu Guyue during the union of Yin and Yang, he naturally came into contact with Spirit Transformation-level Black Demon Qi. This made the circulation of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art incredibly smooth.

‘This kind of advancement is something only evil cultivators should experience…’ Li Yan was startled. Advancing through dual cultivation was the hallmark of wicked sects. He wondered why his normal intimacy with her produced such results. He recalled information about the Black and White Demon tribes—the Black Demon Qi was domineering and could accelerate cultivation. He worried about whether he was being demonized.

He didn’t tell Mu Guyue immediately but observed himself during their next union. He found that her demonic qi would enter his body and try to corrode his essence, but it was quickly neutralized by his Kui Water True Scripture. His essence, being rooted in his dantian, was like a source of living water that incorporated the demonic qi into the five-elements cycle. The domineering power within the demonic qi, however, remained and attached itself to his muscles and bones, strengthening them.

This was a balance of the five elements—where there is suppression, there is also creation. His Kui Water True Scripture possessed a complete internal five-elements rule that consumed anything disruptive and forged a new balance. Because he already possessed a monstrously strong body from the purgatory art, he hadn’t noticed this before.

Li Yan eventually told Mu Guyue about this, though he didn’t mention the Kui Water True Scripture. She was shocked and then embarrassed, realizing this man was getting benefits from her. She had never heard of Black Demon Qi having such an effect through dual cultivation. To Li Yan’s slight disappointment, she didn’t get any benefits from him in return, unlike Gong Chenying’s Three Talents Physique. Furthermore, as his body grew stronger, the effect of her demonic qi diminished. Still, this unexpected boost allowed him to advance a small sub-realm in body tempering, which was a cause for celebration.