Chapter 1772: Seeking Benefit Amidst Twists
“I did obtain an immortal fortune regarding the Undead Nether Phoenix, but did I ever say I obtained it here?”
Li Yan turned his head, a half-smile appearing on his face.
“Ah! You… you didn’t get it here…”
Nether Yu spoke in shock, but she stopped halfway, her face immediately shifting to one of wariness.
“Senior, you wouldn’t be trying to use our strength to open this place and then kill us, would you?”
Nether Qi’s heart was pounding violently.
She almost wanted to ask him directly: If your fortune wasn’t found here, where did you find the Undead Nether Phoenix inheritance last time?
Any news regarding the Undead Nether Phoenix was exceptionally precious to them, but she knew she could absolutely not ask that question; the elder might turn hostile in an instant.
Even so, Nether Qi’s mind was flooded with waves of realization. The inheritance of this secret realm had not yet been taken by anyone else.
This was an unexpected joy. However, she immediately realized why the elder had kept them around…
This grey-robed elder must have arrived here some time ago but likely lacked the means to open the restriction.
Thus, when Yan Qingchen was breaking the formation, the elder had remained hidden in the shadows, hoping to use Yan Qingchen to open the path.
He likely intended to strike and kill Yan Qingchen once everything was opened. Yan Qingchen had probably been trying to break the restriction for some time without success.
Instead, the arrival of the sisters had inadvertently allowed the elder to recognize their true forms.
This person had immediately changed his mind, opting to join forces to kill Yan Qingchen so that the sisters could break the formation instead.
This suggested that the grey-robed elder was not entirely ignorant of this place; he might have known exactly what was inside for a long time!
He simply struggled to open it. But it made sense—since he had already benefited greatly from a previous Undead Nether Phoenix inheritance.
Then if he knew another one was here, his greed would only grow boundlessly; how could he possibly show restraint…
In a short span of time, Nether Qi felt she had seen through his thoughts. Although she wasn’t entirely correct, she had hit upon a part of it.
Li Yan was indeed not proficient in formations, but he had never intended to kill these two, especially after learning their bloodline was muddled and perhaps even inferior to his own.
Furthermore, their clan possessed Void Refining and Body Integration powerhouses; he had even less reason to kill them.
They were not an isolated clan; they had significant ties to the Green Phoenix clan at the very least.
Spatial Laws were highly effective for breaking certain restrictions.
Moreover, the Nether sisters had prepared methods far superior to his own. Time in the Inheritance Ancient Hall was limited; he had to save as much as possible.
“If that is what you think, you may leave now. I will break it myself.
Or, we can use another method: if you can break it quickly, we will split whatever we find inside equally!”
Li Yan had anticipated this. He wasn’t sure if his Heaven-Stealing Kerchief could break the formation here, and he wanted it opened as fast as possible.
An Undead Nether Phoenix essence blood was indeed attractive to him, but his primary goal for this trip was the Moon-Gazing Pure Immortal Grass. He could not lose sight of his priorities.
If it wasn’t here, he would have to search elsewhere, and the more time he saved, the better.
Furthermore, there was no telling when Yan Qingchen might return. That man was not simple; it was rare for Li Yan to fail a sneak attack.
Now that he knew the Nether sisters’ purpose, what about Yan Qingchen?
Why had he come here? Li Yan still hadn’t figured it out. Did they also want the Undead Nether Phoenix inheritance?
He wanted to deal with Yan Qingchen, but it had to be at the right time—he certainly couldn’t let it delay his search for the grass.
“What guarantee do we have, Senior?”
This time, Nether Qi was unwilling to act. She felt that even if she died, she couldn’t let him succeed so easily.
Although soul-searching could reveal some methods for breaking the formation from her memories, those were only possible methods.
Breaking formations required a combination of experience and technique, and some methods had to be channeled through her innate divine abilities.
If the stranger’s motives were foul, she would rather die and cause him trouble. Perhaps a small complication could lure him into the formation’s counterattack.
“We shall establish a Blood Covenant. We split the treasures inside equally—you two sisters take half, and I take half. Or if you cannot break this formation, the covenant is void.
If I break it later, I will not take you inside. Otherwise… there is nothing left to discuss. Leave within three breaths!”
Li Yan’s voice was icy. If they had no utility, it was better they left early. He could see if they had other uses later.
“Deal!”
Nether Qi’s eyes flashed with a sharp light when she heard his words.
She immediately agreed without hesitation, her mind spinning as she weighed all possibilities.
“Sister…”
Nether Yu whispered urgently through a voice transmission.
“Enough!”
Nether Qi cut her off. She knew her sister wanted to bargain for more benefits. But that was almost impossible.
The elder hadn’t killed them because he wanted to use them to break the restriction.
If they tried to leave, he would almost certainly kill them to silence them. Asking for more now would only provoke his murderous intent.
But establishing a Blood Covenant would place certain restrictions on him. Since he couldn’t kill them, they could act according to the situation later.
No one knew what was inside; the environment would be the same for both parties.
As long as they didn’t face him head-on, the final outcome was uncertain…
Soon, Li Yan refined a Blood Covenant. With a flick of his finger, it flew before Nether Qi and Nether Yu. The sisters browsed it carefully, repeatedly confirming he hadn’t tampered with it.
Only then did they relax. The covenant primarily stipulated that neither party could kill the other after breaking the restriction and that all treasures would be split equally.
Seeing no loopholes, Nether Yu and Nether Qi each flicked a drop of blood into the covenant. Seeing this, Li Yan also flicked a drop of blood onto the paper.
Upon sensing the three drops of blood, the Blood Covenant rippled, drifted upward, and merged into the river water, vanishing.
At the moment the covenant vanished, all three felt something enter their Sea of Consciousness, though it faded instantly.
With this done, Li Yan stepped aside. Nether Yu and Nether Qi did not immediately approach the purple cowry.
“Senior, we should set some traps nearby. The one who escaped will surely return, and he might even bring others here!”
Li Yan nodded without hesitation. However, he knew that once Yan Qingchen’s wounds healed, he would likely return alone.
Aside from a severely injured female cultivator, everyone else who could help him had already been sacrificed to the formation.
He had already set his own measures outside; Li Yan never left loopholes in his work. But if the sisters wanted to set more traps, he certainly wouldn’t object.
Half an hour later, when the three returned to the riverbed, their expressions were more relaxed. Each party had set their own formations.
For both sides, this served to defend against Yan Qingchen and as a hidden fallback for themselves.
This time, the sisters did not hesitate. They stood before the purple cowry and quickly began their investigation…
When the fifth hour arrived, a massive expanse of purple light suddenly erupted from the riverbed.
Yet, there was no sound, and the water flow remained largely unchanged. The area was simply filled with a shimmering purple glow.
Li Yan watched as a shimmering purple water curtain appeared on the river wall, completely obscuring the original stone.
“Shall Senior enter first, or the two of us?”
Nether Qi retracted her jade palm. Within her palm, a feather patterned with a single eye was quickly put away.
Her face was currently pale and bloodless. She and Nether Yu had taken turns breaking the formation, and during that time, they had mostly recovered their physical wounds.
As long as it wasn’t an injury to the divine soul or Sea of Consciousness, their bodies as demonic beasts were exceptionally resilient and recovered quickly, especially with the aid of medicinal pills.
Even if they weren’t true Undead Nether Phoenixes, the Green Phoenix clan was also a race with terrifying physical bodies, only appearing inferior when compared to the Undead Nether Phoenix.
“Is it completely broken, or can it only be maintained for a time? Either of us can enter first. Do you need a moment to recover?”
Li Yan did not approach immediately; he merely looked at them.
Nether Qi was startled. She hadn’t expected him to give them time to recover. Her magical power was currently quite depleted.
Although they had signed a Blood Covenant and the elder wouldn’t strike them directly, entering a place of unknown danger in this state was highly risky.
If she died by accident, the elder wouldn’t be violating the covenant.
“The one who set this restriction has a cultivation far beyond mine. I couldn’t break it completely; I only used a clan treasure to open a passage.
It can be maintained for about fifteen minutes. I will recover for that long and enter during the last hundred seconds!”
Fifteen minutes was short, but it was better than nothing. After taking her best pills, she could recover at least seventy percent of her strength…
Within a stone chamber about twenty feet wide—a fairly large space—a musty smell of decay lingered despite the protection of formations.
The tables and chairs were covered in dust, giving the impression that someone had been here not long ago. This was all due to the protection of the formation.
It was currently noon. Sunlight slanted in through the main door, and dust motes danced in the light, yet nothing could stir the deathly silence of this place…
Suddenly, a pattern on the hard stone ceiling began to ripple like water.
For an instant, the stone seemed to turn into a river. Amidst the ripples, three figures emerged.
Like falling from a celestial river, they detached from the ripples and dropped toward the ground.
While still in the air, the three instantly separated.
Li Yan landed and swept his Divine Sense across the surroundings. He was startled to find abundant sunlight here, which brightened his mood.
For many days, forget the riverbed, even the interior and exterior of the Inheritance Ancient Hall had been dark and gloomy.
‘Have we left the range of the Inheritance Ancient Hall, or is that place covered by a grand array we were unaware of? Have we now escaped that array…’
Li Yan wondered rapidly.
Beside him, the Nether sisters were also carefully observing the surroundings. The sudden noon sunlight made them squint.
They hadn’t expected such a drastic change in environment after so long without seeing the light of day.
The three had entered the formation together and hadn’t been attacked. Instead, they were instantly transported here. The formation was more like a small-scale teleportation array.
Li Yan scanned the area. It looked like a hall. Aside from a large table facing the door and ten large chairs around it.
The side walls were lined with empty wooden shelves. His Divine Sense detected no danger or discomfort.
After a quick scan, he knew nothing of value could be here. He walked toward the main door.
This hall was clearly the entrance. If there were treasures, they wouldn’t be left at the entrance. That would be no different from leaving the place wide open; why bother with the protection of a formation?
As Li Yan walked outside, the Nether sisters, sharing his thoughts, also did a quick scan before following him toward the main door.
There was no formation blocking the door. The three easily crossed the threshold and left the stone chamber.
What appeared before them was a courtyard. Green bamboo filled the front of the yard, with a stone path winding through the bamboo.
This scene reminded Li Yan of the view outside the vermillion walls after leaving the Inheritance Great Hall; they were very similar.
However, the bamboo here was much thicker. Unlike the stone path outside the vermillion walls, which was mostly visible due to passing cultivators.
The path here was obscured by crossed bamboo branches. This did not hinder their investigation, however.
Cultivators did not need to physically clear the branches; a sweep of Divine Sense passed directly through the bamboo.
The three didn’t speak. Upon leaving the stone chamber, they had judged this place to be a cave residence, with the stone chamber being the main hall.
Now in the yard, their Divine Sense followed the path. They discovered another courtyard wall blocking the way behind the bamboo.
The stone path ended there, but there was no gate. It felt like a dead end.
Furthermore, when their Divine Sense reached that point, it was repelled by a force.