Chapter 1777: The Vast Sky and Sea

Li Yan walked slowly along the wall. Despite his continuous investigation, he sensed no spatial ripples, meaning he found no possibility of an exit. This didn’t surprise him; the sisters had likely searched this area again not long ago.

However, judging by the traces, they had mostly used Divine Sense. Li Yan wanted to use other methods of perception to see if there were any unexpected discoveries. As he moved along the wall bit by bit, the explosions from the rear courtyard occurred at much longer intervals. Clearly, Ming Yu was spending more time in thought, still deeply immersed in the obsession.

When she flew back the last time, she was on the verge of a breakdown, yet she remained helpless against the scarecrow’s attacks. A trace of a helpless smile played on Li Yan’s lips. The answer Ming Yu had just given was so absurd that even he had almost failed to suppress a chuckle.

“Why have you come here?” “Are you freaking sick?” Whish! Boom! “Your mother! All you know is how to attack!” Ming Yu, at her wit’s end, had begun shouting profanities.

…

The slanting shadows of the bamboo branches fell upon the wall, flickering into faint phantoms as they swayed. Li Yan had already walked from one end of the southern wall to the other, reaching the southeastern corner. He looked at the thick layer of withered yellow bamboo leaves beneath his feet; they crunched as he stepped on them.

He planned to clear a small path between the eastern corner and the green bamboo to perform a similar check. He had used various forms of perception but found nothing unusual about the southern wall.

However, just as he was about to use a technique to clear the bamboo, he suddenly froze. His entire body seemed to turn to stone at that moment. Staring at the tangled bamboo branches tightly knit against the wall, then back at the withered leaves beneath him, he stood still for several breaths before suddenly crouching down.

He used his fingers to push aside the leaves. Beneath them was parched earth. The stone path only extended from the courtyard to the middle of the southern wall before ending abruptly. The rest of the ground under the bamboo was just dirt.

As Li Yan cleared away the leaves, he saw the various cracks—long, short, deep, shallow, thin, and thick. A similar scene emerged from his memories. It was a scene of him as a child in the mountain village, playing with Li Shan and Li Yu. They would often crouch under a large tree, remaining motionless for a long time as they watched ants crawl in and out of the cracks in the ground.

By the southern wall, Li Yan, still crouching, had cleared away a large patch of leaves. He suddenly looked up at the sky. The sun had risen high; it was a beautiful day with blue sky and white clouds. His Divine Sense reached out toward the distant sky, which was as clear as a mirror, with only the wind moving the clouds.

After several breaths, Li Yan retracted his Divine Sense. He turned his gaze toward the dense bamboo forest nearby. After staring at it for a moment longer, he suddenly stood up. He walked quickly to the western side of the rooms, where Ming Yu stood with her head lowered, lost in bitter thought.

A simple question and a constant glimmer of hope had acted like a poison, dragging her so deep she couldn’t pull herself out. Even when Li Yan arrived, she didn’t wake from her reverie. Li Yan didn’t look at her; he bypassed her and walked straight toward the rear courtyard.

Inside the Spirit Beast Rearing Room, Ming Qi turned her face slightly. Her beautiful, moving face showed little change as she continued her search for an exit. She planned to check the room Li Yan had occupied next. She agreed with him; this place shouldn’t be a dead end. Aside from breaking out forcibly, there should be a normal way to leave. She didn’t know if this trap was set by that ancient powerhouse of her clan, but looking at the surroundings, it seemed it was.

Because of their powerful bodies, the Undead Nether Phoenix clan needed equally sturdy magical treasures to fully utilize their strength. Otherwise, a magical treasure might be less effective than their own talons, making the effort of refining it pointless. The treasure they were currently in felt indestructible; otherwise, why would the grey-robed elder, with his Void Refining strength, be helpless?

She had sensed the elder leaving his room earlier to head for the southern wall. She had already searched that area thoroughly and found nothing, though she hadn’t gone as far as he had to clear a path and physically touch the wall. He had been tapping on the stones and even listening to them before crouching on the ground. Escape through the earth was also impossible; she had already tried.

Ming Qi only glanced over with her Divine Sense occasionally. But when the elder suddenly headed west, she paid closer attention. Ming Yu was trapped in deep thought, and Ming Qi wondered what he was doing. She watched as he ignored Ming Yu and walked straight into the rear courtyard.

She shook her head inwardly and retracted her attention. ‘Has he thought of another answer? He still hasn’t let go of that question; in truth, he hasn’t managed to pull himself out either…’ She thought to herself before looking away. Whenever she thought of that question, her Sea of Consciousness throbbed with pain. It might truly just be a pointless game of mockery!

Li Yan soon reached the moon gate in the rear courtyard. He stared at the gate and the scarecrows scattered in the fields beyond. He stopped, not yet taking that step. He carefully looked at the fields again, examining everything he could see. Then, he looked up at the sky. The clouds drifted, and sunlight spilled down. Li Yan took a deep breath and stepped through the moon gate.

“Why have you come here?”

The voice, which had been etched into his mind to the point of causing physical pain, rang out as expected. If he could defeat it, he truly wanted to shred this scarecrow.

Li Yan’s vision blurred as expected. A figure with outstretched arms, standing on a single leg, wearing a tattered straw hat and covered in blackened straw appeared. The all-too-familiar figure blocked his path once again.

This time, Li Yan didn’t hesitate. He immediately spoke the words he had prepared. As he spoke, he was like a cat with its fur standing on end, his magical power circulating rapidly. His lead foot only lightly touched the edge of the gate, his back arched, ready to flee at a moment’s notice!

But in the next heartbeat, there was no Whish! Whish! of an attack. The scarecrow blocking him seemed to freeze in place. Moreover, no other scarecrows appeared on the wall. Li Yan kept his magical power surging; while he had a guess, no one knew what might happen in the next instant.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths…

Li Yan and the scarecrow stood face-to-face. The creature’s tear-like gaze made the air feel frozen. Li Yan felt a chill run through him, his palms damp with sweat and his throat dry, but he forced himself not to move.

Three breaths later, the air before his Divine Sense suddenly blurred. Li Yan’s instincts made him float backward immediately. But he quickly realized something was different—the scarecrow at the moon gate had vanished!

Li Yan’s retreat came to an abrupt halt. After scanning again with his Divine Sense, he realized everything had returned to how it looked before he approached.

Thump, thump, thump…

Li Yan’s heart raced; he could hear the violent pounding in his chest. He looked around again and found everything remained the same. Ming Yu was still lost in thought at the western wall, and Ming Qi’s aura was still in the front rooms.

This time, Li Yan didn’t hesitate. He flew back to the moon gate and stepped onto its edge again.

“Why have you come here?” The figure blocked him again.

Li Yan gave the exact same answer as before without a moment’s pause. Three breaths later, the figure vanished. He was prepared this time, leaving the talismans he had stuck to himself earlier. With a thought, he activated a defensive shield that circled him, and his spiritual armor was fully engaged. He stepped forward rapidly!

Time felt slow. He seemed to pass through a thin, transparent film. After a slight resistance, his feet landed on solid ground. The scene before him blurred and shifted. Suddenly, his field of vision widened. A vast expanse of spirit fields filled with spiritual energy appeared.

These were the overgrown, abandoned fields he had seen from the courtyard. Most of the scene was exactly as it had appeared from within, but to Li Yan’s surprise, the dilapidated scarecrows were nowhere to be found.

Li Yan looked back at the courtyard. There was no anomaly; it looked as if he could enter and leave at will. Furthermore, his Divine Sense could clearly see everything inside.

‘This is still a trap. If someone came from this direction and saw the courtyard, they would likely want to investigate it, and they would be able to enter easily. Since Divine Sense cannot detect any issues here, anyone unaware would enter the courtyard, only to face the same trouble I’ve had for the last few days…’

Li Yan thought about this as his Divine Sense found the Ming sisters. They hadn’t yet realized he had left the courtyard. Li Yan didn’t know if they could still sense his aura. After all, from within the courtyard, the fields were filled with scarecrows, yet here, not a single one remained.

At the same time, Li Yan’s expression changed slightly. In the distant fields, he sensed spirit plants emitting significant spiritual energy.

‘Medicinal herbs!’ Li Yan’s heart stirred, and his Divine Sense swept through the fields. There weren’t many herbs; most of the area was covered in weeds. He recognized some of the herbs, had seen others in records, and didn’t know some at all. They were all mixed in with the grass.

Soon, disappointment followed. He found no trace of the Moon-Gazing Pure Immortal Grass. These herbs had likely been unharvested for a long time; Li Yan estimated they were at least five thousand years old, though he’d need to check each one to be sure. Herbs of such age were rare even in Huangqi Valley.

In the next moment, Li Yan’s figure vanished…

When he reappeared outside the gate, the few herbs in the spirit fields had all vanished. Li Yan had unceremoniously collected every herb, whether he knew them or not, into the Earthen Patch. He could give these to Senior Uncle and Martial Aunt Ning Ke when he returned; perhaps they could be transplanted and kept alive. He only studied alchemy temporarily to save Bai Rou; he didn’t intend to follow this path permanently.

Afterward, Li Yan stood outside the courtyard and looked back. He had moved very quickly; the two sisters were still lost in their own attempts to break the trap and hadn’t noticed anything.

“Fellow Daoists, please come to the rear!” Li Yan’s voice suddenly rang out in the minds of Ming Qi and Ming Yu…

A few breaths later, a startled Ming Qi and Ming Yu looked through the gate at Li Yan. Their faces filled with disbelief. After being jolted awake by the transmission, they searched for him and were stunned to find the grey-robed elder standing outside the moon gate, his hands behind his back, looking back into the courtyard with a calm expression.

“You… Se… Senior, how did you get out?” Ming Yu, standing inside, spoke with total shock. Though she had been shocked before, her words were now jumbled. She hadn’t even fully regained her senses; she was just asking out of pure disbelief.

“I managed to solve the question by chance. I will tell you the answer now; just come out first!” Li Yan said flatly, not wasting words.

“Senior…” Ming Qi, though also shocked, was much more composed. She looked at him, her mind racing. Why would the elder call for them after getting out alone? Their purpose was to find treasure. Now that he had escaped the trap, he could have explored alone. Everything he found would belong to him. What did it have to do with them? It wasn’t even covered by the Blood Covenant. In the cultivation world, not kicking someone when they’re down was already considered kind. If she were in his shoes, she might not have thought about letting him out.

‘Did he call us just to make us feel despair…’ That was the first thought that crossed Ming Qi’s complicated mind. Why else would he call them over?

But the next words Li Yan spoke made Ming Qi exclaim in wonder. By now, Ming Yu had realized the possibility as well, but she had been thinking about the puzzle for so long that her mind was a mess, making her slower than her sister.

Before Ming Qi could finish her sentence, Li Yan cut her off.

“If you don’t believe me, then stay inside. The answer is…” Li Yan had no intention of explaining. An explanation would only make them think more and potentially suspect his motives. Remaining silent would only make him more inscrutable.

He could meet the Undead Nether Phoenix clan here, and even if their bloodline wasn’t pure, it was a good opportunity for him… Thus, he spoke with a touch of impatience and switched to voice transmission. He didn’t know if saying the answer aloud would cause an anomaly, so he preferred secrecy. This showed the level of meticulousness in his thoughts.

Hearing the answer Li Yan provided, Ming Qi and Ming Yu quickly calmed down, yet they still didn’t understand why the elder was doing this.