Li Yan merely raised an eyelid, swept his gaze over the few people, and then said faintly, "That was just something to disrupt the mind. Fellow Daoist Wang only needs to circulate her Spirit Power to expel it. If you want a full recovery, just take some Spirit-Calming and Mind-Clearing pills."
The poison mist that Li Yan had mixed into his Quicksand Art was indeed one of the weaker toxins from his Fragmented Poison Body. Its only effect was to cause hallucinations and fainting, and it didn't cause significant harm to the body.
Moreover, after Wang Ning had inhaled two mouthfuls, Li Yan had already cast a spell to retract the Quicksand Art, preventing her from inhaling any more of the poison mist. It was nothing more than a bit of dizziness and nausea.
As expected, Wang Ning had already raised her wrist and waved her hand at the few people. After Li Yan had cleared away the yellow mist, she could already feel the Spirit Power in her body slowly beginning to circulate again.
After signaling to them, Wang Ning ignored everyone else and sat down cross-legged. She took out a few emerald-green pills, swallowed them, and immediately began to meditate.
At this point, the two groups of people in the air had once again landed in the courtyard. However, their gazes toward Wang Ning had become extremely suspicious. They had clearly seen her holding the upper hand the entire time, constantly on the offensive, only to be defeated so inexplicably.
Even when Wang Ning was surrounded by the explosion of Li Yan's Quicksand Art, common sense dictated that her cultivation realm was higher than Li Yan's, and she had been on guard from the start.
The potent poison contained in Li Yan's Quicksand Art shouldn't have been able to poison Wang Ning and force her to concede in the mere two breaths it took for it to explode into a yellow mist.
Especially after Li Yan's explanation, suspicion grew even stronger in the hearts of those around. Some even began to wonder if Wang Ning knew Li Yan from before and was deliberately helping him.
Otherwise, for a hallucinogenic poison of this type, which needed to invade silently and thus usually lacked strong corrosive properties, a Spirit Power shield should have provided decent protection. How could Wang Ning have so easily fallen for his trick?
Standing in the distance, Gong Yuantai remained silent, turning a deaf ear to the discussions of those around him.
He also hadn't seen clearly how Wang Ning was poisoned. He too was an expert in poison. If it were him, after Wang Ning had taken precautions, he would have had to find another opportunity or use a more virulent poison to have a chance of success.
Standing in the air just now, he had keenly sensed that there was something wrong with the rising yellow mist in the courtyard and had secretly used his Spirit Power to draw a wisp of it over.
Just as he had imagined, there was indeed a problem with the yellow mist, but it was merely something that could confuse a cultivator's mind. A Spirit Power shield could protect against it.
At that moment, Gong Yuantai was rather disappointed with Li Yan's methods, even feeling that it was laughable to consider him an opponent. But the result was a great shock to him. He, a poison expert, had failed to understand how Li Yan had schemed against Wang Ning.
Gong Yuantai showed none of this, but in his mind, he replayed the scene over and over, wondering how he would have acted if he were in that situation.
On the other side, Qiao Baiye and the others looked at Li Yan with complicated expressions—a mix of caution, bewilderment, and surprise.
Bu Luo, however, adjusted the wicker basket on his shoulders and thought to himself, 'He's just as the Young Master said back then. This person is by no means as ordinary as he appears. He's still as inscrutable as ever.'
Li Yan, on the other hand, watched the detoxifying Wang Ning with a placid expression. He had given some thought to the poison he used against her just now. The reason was that Li Yan himself was not proficient at dispelling the toxins of his Fragmented Poison Body.
He only had three types of antidotes, which he had painstakingly researched back at the sect. One wrong move, and he might have killed the female cultivator before him.
So, his method was very simple. Amidst the explosion of the yellow mist, he had secretly executed both the "Stealthy Night Art" and "Phoenix Soars to the Heavens." For Wang Ning to force Li Yan to use both these trump cards at the same time, among cultivators of the same rank, she could be considered unlucky.
Ever since he had refined another trace of the Undead Nether Phoenix's Essence Blood, the speed of Li Yan's "Phoenix Soars to the Heavens" had increased again, reaching an incredible level.
Li Yan believed that if he encountered that Mid-stage Golden Core demonic cultivator again now, he could approach and launch a surprise attack before the other party could even detect the spatial fluctuations. This could be said to be the greatest leap in Li Yan's strength from this period of closed-door cultivation.
The actual distance between him and Wang Ning just now was only about thirty zhang. With the cover of the yellow mist, Li Yan's attack was even more stealthy and silent.
The instant Wang Ning launched her attack, Li Yan had already arrived at her side. Wang Ning was completely unaware. Her Spirit Power shield was useful against ordinary attacks, but against Li Yan's current, inhumanly strong body, it was as fragile as paper.
But Li Yan only extended a finger, a slash and a dot. First, he caused the fish-like sword to stagnate for a moment, revealing a slight gap, and then he gently poked her shoulder.
He had pierced a small hole in her Spirit Power shield, and the yellow mist entered through it.
Then, Li Yan's figure flashed, and he returned to his original spot.
By the time he had done all this, the afterimage at his original location was still in a solid state. When his real body had already returned to its position, the Divine Senses of the nearby cultivators couldn't keep up with Li Yan's speed. It was as if he had never left at all.
In the Divine Senses of all the cultivators present, Li Yan had been standing dozens of zhang away, detonating the "Quicksand Art," while Wang Ning had been mysteriously poisoned and become dizzy.
"Fellow Daoist Wei's disciple is truly extraordinary."
"The victor was decided in just seven or eight breaths. That disciple from the Yingshui Sect is extremely strong. This Li Yan's methods are truly remarkable!"
In the cave, several Golden Core cultivators spoke one after another. Although they had all gathered, they still wanted to watch this duel from the "Green Bat Battalion."
After all, everyone knew that Wei Zhongran's magic power was unfathomably deep. Seeing is believing, so they naturally wanted to see how he taught his disciples. But this duel was decided in an instant, so quickly that the few Golden Core cultivators who knew of the Yingshui Sect found it somewhat unreal.
After some brief discussion, some in the cave offered congratulations, some smiled, and some remained silent, but their gazes toward Wei Zhongran now glittered with a sharp light.
Many of these people were already at the Mid-stage or Late-stage Golden Core. They too had only vaguely sensed Li Yan move just now. His figure had just become illusory for a moment, then solidified again. On Wang Ning's side, there was a fluctuation of Spirit Power, and then she was hit. Even with their cultivation, they couldn't see any other flaws.
There were two Initial-stage Golden Core cultivators in the cave whose faces were clearly a little unnatural. Their hearts were in turmoil, because they hadn't even sensed anything unusual about Li Yan.
These two were Golden Core cultivators from ordinary sects. To be able to cultivate to this level, they were already on a different plane from other cultivators of the same generation who had not yet formed a Golden Core, standing high above.
The more they came into contact with cultivators from major sects, the more inadequate they felt. The cultivation methods they practiced were so inferior, and the gap in their foundations was too large.
Wei Zhongran's face was calm, betraying nothing, as if everything was under his control. However, his heart was equally astonished.
This was the first time he had truly seen Li Yan fight.
'This is a phenomenon that only occurs when a certain type of movement skill reaches its peak. If Li Yan hadn't wanted to attack his opponent, which would cause his Spirit Power to leak out during the attack, and if he was only trying to hide and escape, just by the fact that his figure can turn from illusory to solid in a single thought, he would have been able to deceive all the cultivators here. Whether I could have detected it is another question.'
'No wonder Li Yan could hold off that demonic cultivator for nearly twenty breaths. Just with this movement skill, he could have evaded and contended with the opponent. Who taught him this movement skill?'
'This… is definitely not something from my Malevolent Spirit Sect. But how come I've never heard of a cultivation method for this kind of movement skill… Could it be…'
Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Wei Zhongran's mind. He remembered what Li Yan had once said about the Essence Blood of the Undead Nether Phoenix, and in an instant, he understood many things.
'This is the only explanation. But it's not as if refining a certain type of Essence Blood guarantees one will inherit its legacy. The luck of this disciple of mine is just too heaven-defying.'
By this point, Wei Zhongran was even more convinced that Li Yan had not practiced the Qiongqi Purgatory Art.
The few cultivators looking at Wei Zhongran were all highly cultivated individuals. The reason they didn't point out that Li Yan might have cultivated some kind of movement skill divine ability was twofold.
One, they didn't want the two Golden Core cultivators to lose face, as they were seniors after all.
Two, since Wei Zhongran didn't want to point it out, it was possibly a secret art taught by him, so they were naturally unwilling to say more.
There was another point: although Li Yan's movement skill was incredibly fast, they didn't feel it posed much of a threat to them. If Li Yan got too close with killing intent, they would likely sense it immediately. Li Yan's attack would just be walking into a trap.
Of course, they didn't know that Li Yan had been holding back. They would probably only realize it when Li Yan's attack actually landed on them.
The principle of always holding back thirty percent was Li Yan's rule, and with so many Golden Core cultivators' Divine Senses in the air, he was even more careful.
'Wei Zhongran is indeed a formidable figure of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. Just by looking at his soaring baleful aura on the battlefield, one knows his methods are bloody and vicious. The disciples he teaches are equally astounding.'
This thought crossed the minds of several people.
In the courtyard of the Sixteenth Squad, in just over a dozen breaths, Wang Ning had already stood up. She took another deep look at Li Yan. To the few who came over to ask about her condition with concern, she just lightly shook her head and didn't explain much.
Because, even though her mind was clear again, she still couldn't figure out what kind of art Li Yan had used to defeat her so utterly.
Wang Ning felt a little dejected. She had always believed that she was not inferior to any cultivator of the same rank from the Four Great Sects, and even slightly superior to them.
Therefore, for some of the competitions between the Four Great Sects, even if the Yingshui Sect participated, she was never very interested, focusing all her efforts on cultivation, hoping to form her Golden Core as soon as possible. That would be the time for her to truly shine.
After all, below the Golden Core, all were ants. Those competitions were just games of mutual flattery among a group of low-level cultivators.
This time, since she was conscripted, she naturally didn't want to be ordered around by others, so she had made a rare move. But the result left her in low spirits.
Li Yan, on the other hand, didn't pay much attention to Wang Ning. He looked again at the three people, Qiao Baiye and the others.
"Fellow Daoists, who's next for the next round? Let's continue!"
The three of them looked at each other. Qiao Baiye was hesitant, and Bu Luo shrank back, his eyes darting around.
The purple-robed youth who had been silent all this time took a step forward and said in a deep voice, "Then I shall be the one to experience Fellow Daoist Li's divine abilities. Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist Li!"
With that, he had already slowly walked to the center of the field.
"Wuye, a rogue cultivator!"
The moment Wuye's voice fell, a buzz of conversation erupted in the field. Even Wang Ning looked up from her contemplation. She had felt before that this taciturn man gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.
"So it's him!" Wang Ning muttered to herself, a look of surprise in her eyes. She hadn't expected this person to be in her team. She had heard that very few people had ever seen Wuye's true face. Even among the cultivators in the jurisdiction of the Ten-Pace Courtyard, he was a very mysterious existence among Foundation Establishment cultivators.