As soon as he stepped out of his Cave Residence, Li Yan could sense from the scene before him that Windy Cool Mountain was different.
Firstly, the large-scale formation covering the sky was exuding a palpably thicker and heavier pressure than before, indicating that the power of the mountain-protecting grand formation had been enhanced.
Another difference was that Li Yan could sense that the cultivator auras on the various subsidiary peaks had diminished significantly, to less than thirty percent of what they were before.
Along the way, Li Yan encountered two patrol teams. Seeing him flying alone, even though he was wearing the uniform of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, they still stopped him for questioning. Only after confirming his identity did they let him go with strange looks on their faces.
Among these two patrol squads, Li Yan only recognized two as Male anvolent Spirit Sect cultivators. The rest were complete strangers, a clear sign that even the number of Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators had greatly decreased.
Soon, Li Yan arrived before Wei Zhongran's Cave Residence. As before, the moment he landed on the platform in front of the cave, the formation's clouds and mist churned, and the passage and gate to the Cave Residence opened.
Then, Wei Zhongran's voice came through. "Come in!"
The voice startled Li Yan, for it carried a tone of exhaustion, devoid of its usual gentleness and calm. Li Yan hurriedly walked inside.
Inside the Cave Residence, Wei Zhongran sat alone in the main seat, holding a cup of tea and sipping it carefully. When Li Yan entered, he didn't even raise his eyes, continuing to drink his tea as if lost in thought.
When Li Yan saw Wei Zhongran, he was shocked. Wei Zhongran's robes were spattered with blood, and a thick, metallic smell wafted from them.
Seeing this, Li Yan hurried forward to pay his respects. "Greetings, Master. You are..."
"Oh, we'll talk about this later. You must have entered a state of samadhi before, right? Things are urgent now, so I had to bring you out of seclusion early."
"However, after a month, your aura is already stable. Have your previous injuries all healed?" Wei Zhongran finally looked up, put down his teacup, waved his hand, and spoke with a smile.
"A month? Oh, thank you for your concern, Master. My injuries have fully healed. May I ask what matter you have summoned me for?"
Li Yan's expression faltered. He had thought at least a year had passed, but he never expected the time difference to be so vast. His thoughts couldn't help but drift to the matter of refining the essence blood.
'My previous guess was correct after all. The phrase "one rebirth for each layer"... after Nirvana Rebirth, refining the Undead Nether Phoenix's essence blood again became so fast. If I had enough time, I wonder how many more portions of the essence blood I could refine.'
But his thoughts were quickly interrupted by Wei Zhongran.
"Li Yan, the reason I summoned you is, of course, for the sect's affairs. But before that, I have a few questions for you. If you feel it's inconvenient to answer, you can just shake your head. There's no need to reply."
"We have been master and disciple for many years. In truth, it was Wuyi and your other senior brothers and sisters who taught you. During those years, I was preoccupied with my own secluded cultivation and didn't look after you as much as I should have."
Wei Zhongran looked at Li Yan's somewhat dazed expression, not knowing what he was thinking, and went straight to the point.
Li Yan immediately snapped out of his contemplation and replied respectfully again.
"Master, what are you saying? For me to be accepted into Little Bamboo Peak is already a great fortune. This kindness is always in my heart, and I wonder when I will ever be able to repay your grace for taking me in."
"Besides, my body is somewhat special due to various coincidences, and the path I walk is different from others. The fact that you went to the trouble of finding all the sect's classics for me and had my senior brothers and sisters teach me their skills was already the greatest care."
"Whatever Master wishes to ask, this disciple will certainly answer to the best of my knowledge."
An idea sparked in Li Yan's mind; he already had an inkling of what Wei Zhongran might ask. Some of his secrets could no longer be hidden. As his thoughts raced, he replied thus.
After asking the question, Wei Zhongran had been staring at Li Yan, observing him. Although he didn't want to pry into Li Yan's privacy, there were some things that, if left unknown, would be difficult to arrange, especially since they could involve his daughter, Zhao Min.
As a father, there was naturally a difference between his daughter and his direct disciple. This was the inevitable nature of parents everywhere. No matter how broad-minded Wei Zhongran was, he would not be careless in this matter.
"What level has your cultivation actually reached?"
Wei Zhongran wasted no more time and asked bluntly.
"A few months ago, I just broke through to the Pseudo-Core Realm." Li Yan's answer was just as direct, though he dated the breakthrough to the near past. His cultivation of the True Scripture of Gui Water was already unusual. Even if he said it was recent, this speed of cultivation was already terrifying.
Li Yan knew that if he said he had broken through to the Pseudo-Core Realm two years ago, it would be impossible to explain and would only draw heavy suspicion from Wei Zhongran, bringing him immense trouble.
After hearing this, Wei Zhongran carefully sized up Li Yan a few times and thought, 'His aura is still that of Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. He must also be cultivating a subtle technique for concealing his aura, to the point that even I have been kept in the dark all this time.'
'This confirms it. He is definitely not cultivating the Myriad Essence Art. But as far as I know, cultivation methods in the sect suitable for those with Miscellaneous Spirit Roots are as rare as a phoenix's feather. There is no second method that could achieve such a level, an astonishing level at that.'
'His few years away must have brought him some great opportunity. The world is full of wonders, a cultivation method that can allow a Miscellaneous Spirit Root to advance by leaps and bounds.'
Wei Zhongran was an outstanding figure of his generation, and his mind was even sharper than Li Yan's. It was just that he was inherently a bit lazy and preferred not to dwell on many matters.
From what he had witnessed happening to Li Yan recently, and with Li Yan's admission of being in the Pseudo-Core Realm, he had already pieced together eighty to ninety percent of the truth. However, no matter how clever he was, he would never know that Li Yan had obtained the cultivation method of the Gui Water Immortal Sect before acquiring the Fragmented Poison Body, not the other way around as he imagined.
But he didn't press further on this matter. He only needed to know Li Yan's realm. That way, when he arranged things later, he would have a better idea of what to do.
"You survived a great disaster this time. The strength of your physical body played a huge part, protecting your vital organs. You are cultivating some kind of body refining art, aren't you?"
After saying this, Wei Zhongran's calm eyes fixed on Li Yan's face, but a dark tide surged in their depths. The Qiongqi Purgatory Art had been brought to the Desolate Moon Continent by his family. He could not let Zhao Min and the others act recklessly, lest they be unable to bear the wrath of the Tianli Clan.
A trace of hesitation immediately appeared on Li Yan's face. This time, he did not answer right away. Wei Zhongran did not urge him, but instead picked up his teacup again and began to drink slowly.
For a time, the Cave Residence fell exceptionally quiet. After a long while, his heart sank further and further. He did not know what kind of decision Li Yan's answer would force him to make.
After a long while, Li Yan seemed to grit his teeth and finally answered.
"Reporting to Master, this disciple has never cultivated any body refining art."
Wei Zhongran's originally calm face creased into an inadvertent frown. 'Is Li Yan trying to deceive me? Or does he already know something and can only brazen it out?'
But Li Yan immediately continued, "However, during my experiences outside these past few years, I had a fortunate encounter. Inside the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, I obtained what might be a sliver of 'Undead Nether Phoenix' essence blood. After refining it, I felt that my body was vastly different from before."
"You said you obtained a sliver of 'Undead Nether Phoenix' essence blood?"
Wei Zhongran's hand, holding the teacup, couldn't help but tremble. A look of astonishment appeared on his face, and his entire body leaned forward. Even with his composure, his heart was now pounding wildly as he hurriedly asked.
"Disciple cannot be certain. But that sliver of essence blood was exceptionally difficult to refine and nearly cost me my life. Its color and behavior were somewhat similar to the descriptions in the classics."
"It's also possible that I guessed wrong. Perhaps it was the essence blood of some other demonic beast, but it was definitely left behind by some ancient or primordial beast."
Li Yan said with an uncertain expression, scratching the back of his head as if embarrassed.
In order not to let Wei Zhongran know that he was cultivating the Qiongqi Purgatory Art and to avoid bringing trouble to himself and Gong Chenying's group, he had really gone all out this time. He still revealed the news about the "Undead Nether Phoenix" essence blood. Li Yan's heart was still somewhat anxious. Although he tried his best to say he had only obtained "a sliver of Undead Nether Phoenix essence blood," this type of essence blood was enough to bring him a "fatal disaster."
As expected, Wei Zhongran sized Li Yan up and down for a good while. Li Yan clearly felt that besides the pair of eyes staring at him, there was also a very subtle Divine Sense resting upon him. If not for his own equally powerful Divine Sense, he wouldn't have been able to sense this sliver of Divine Sense at all. Thus, he could only pretend not to know.
This was also because Wei Zhongran didn't think Li Yan would be able to sense him probing with his Divine Sense, so he hadn't concealed it too much. Otherwise, with the vast difference between their Divine Senses, Li Yan would not have sensed anything at all.
"So that's it. I was wondering how your body, which was on the verge of collapse, could suddenly repair itself. 'Undead Nether Phoenix'... what does 'undead' mean? This time, I've truly broadened my horizons."
Wei Zhongran suddenly regained his composure, looking at Li Yan with a strange expression. In fact, he still had doubts in his heart. He was quite familiar with the Qiongqi Purgatory Art. When Li Yan was severely injured, he had been completely defenseless, and Wei Zhongran had examined him very thoroughly. He always felt that his observation was not wrong.
"Your body has recovered now. Can you show me?" Wei Zhongran smiled at Li Yan.
Without any further hesitation, Li Yan extended a hand, clenched his fist, and casually swung it at the empty space to his side.
The moment he threw the punch, his entire fist instantly changed, as if plated with a layer of silver light, shining brilliantly.
Then, a dull "thump" echoed in the space beside Li Yan, and the entire Cave Residence shook. After the punch, Li Yan retracted his fist, and his skin returned to its original state.
Seeing this, Wei Zhongran's expression also changed. He thought, 'What a powerful physical attack. This boy clearly didn't use his full strength in that punch, but it's definitely not something a Foundation Establishment cultivator could take.'
'I'm afraid even Chenying, who cultivates the Qiongqi Purgatory Art, would have an extremely difficult time taking that punch, and Chenying should have already cultivated the Qiongqi Purgatory Art to the peak of the third layer's late stage.'
'No wonder Li Yan's cultivation could advance by leaps and bounds in just over two years. So this is the reason.'
How could he know that Li Yan's punch still contained the power of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art? The traces of this art's cultivation were already firmly carved into his flesh and blood; how could he discard it? It was just that the majority of the force in Li Yan's punch indeed came from refining the "Undead Nether Phoenix" essence blood. Coupled with the cover of the silver glow, it appeared different.
There was another important reason: even if Li Yan had cultivated the Qiongqi Purgatory Art from a young age, it would be impossible for him to achieve such power. Gong Chenying had been cultivating for many years, yet her physical body was far inferior to Li Yan's now.
With this, and the matter of Li Yan's body self-repairing a month ago, Wei Zhongran was now more than ninety percent convinced.