Li Yan paid no mind to the Nascent Soul cultivators from Windy Cool Mountain who were watching him. He proceeded entirely according to his own plan.
...
Behind Windy Cool Mountain, a resonant voice echoed in the mind of Mo Qing, one of the other two cultivators present.
"Mo Qing, I have never even heard of these two cultivation methods from your Malevolent Spirit Sect for concealing one's presence and flying. If I didn't know he possessed such skills, I could have easily been deceived by him."
"Although the boy's mastery is still lacking, one can get a glimpse of the whole picture from this small part. Both are top-tier cultivation methods. To have invested so heavily in him at this stage, it's no wonder you all treat him like a treasure."
At that moment, Mo Qing had just retracted his Divine Sense, feeling a little puzzled himself about Li Yan's stealth technique.
He had come here at the request of Wei Zhongran; otherwise, he would never have involved himself in this matter. Preparatory tasks before a major battle like this were typically overseen by the Nascent Soul cultivators from the great families or first-rate sects.
Currently, Dacen was guarding the Malevolent Spirit Sect. The other two, Zhu Luan and Mo Gu, whose cultivation had reached the Late-stage Nascent Soul realm and who practiced two other types of poison bodies, were Great Cultivators who had already departed for the Devil's Cliff Crevice.
Among the four of them, only Mo Qing, with the shallowest cultivation, was assigned to the outside, essentially acting as a liaison officer, incredibly busy.
But today, he was contacted by Wei Zhongran through a secret communication channel of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, asking if he could do his utmost to ensure Li Yan's survival during this mission to destroy the enemy's magical treasure.
Mo Qing knew at once that Dacen's lineage was up to their old tricks. He reprimanded Wei Zhongran, telling him he shouldn't misuse such an important sect communication method and that, despite his position, his mind was solely focused on personal gain.
After being scolded, Wei Zhongran indeed dared not say more. It seemed he didn't even dare to reply, as if afraid of being berated a second time by Mo Qing, and fell completely silent.
Mo Qing, however, knew that Wei Zhongran was thick-skinned. The more silent Wei Zhongran became after his tirade, the more resentful he felt.
'Senior Brother, oh, Senior Brother, it's not like I owe you anything. Do I have to clean up your messes even for such trivial matters? I don't even treat my own kin this well. A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator being targeted by Nascent Soul cultivators... truly...'
As he pondered, Mo Qing, usually refined, found himself at a loss for words to express his dissatisfaction. In the end, he could only let out a long sigh to the heavens. Wei Zhongran was indeed far superior to his own two disappointing disciples. It was no wonder his Senior Brother had always let him have his way.
He still felt that if this matter wasn't handled properly, he wouldn't have a peaceful day before Senior Brother Dacen for the rest of his life. He would either be scolded to death or have to scurry away like a mouse whenever they met.
With a sigh, he had no choice but to use a large-scale teleportation formation to get to Windy Cool Mountain. If anyone knew he was using such a formation for a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, who knew if they would curse the heavens until the skies remained dark for months, wondering why a bolt of lightning didn't just strike Li Yan dead.
When Mo Qing gave an excuse, saying he wanted to participate in the mission to destroy the enemy's magical treasure, the few Nascent Soul cultivators there were surprised.
But they were all wily old foxes. They immediately seemed to understand something, and one of them promptly found an excuse to leave, giving his position to Mo Qing. For this kind of affair, more people was not necessarily better.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao Yaoyuan, whether this boy is a treasure or not is unimportant. How much information have we gathered on the Demonic General in that valley?"
Mo Qing was in a foul mood. Even his usually refined and gentle tone carried a trace of dissatisfaction. This Xiao Yaoyuan clearly knew the boy was the grand-disciple of that madman, Senior Brother Dacen, yet he still insisted on sending him to his death.
If Senior Brother Dacen found out, this old ghost would surely be in for a world of trouble. Although both were Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, if they were to truly duel, Xiao Yaoyuan would be far outmatched. Senior Brother Dacen's skill in scheming against others was second to none.
He had only heard that since entering the Mid-stage Nascent Soul realm, this Xiao Yaoyuan had sought out many people to spar with, apparently losing few and winning many. Could it be that he truly believed his cultivation was comparable to Senior Brother Dacen's?
'He probably thinks that even if he's no match, Senior Brother Dacen can't do anything to him, right?'
Mo Qing thought to himself. He hadn't had much contact with Xiao Yaoyuan but had heard that this man's fire-attribute divine abilities were incredibly fierce and domineering, and that ordinary Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators were no match for him.
Observing his aura and Spirit Power fluctuations today, he knew he would not be Xiao Yaoyuan's match in a direct confrontation. But if he were to employ other means—assassination, poisoning, and the like—Xiao Yaoyuan would likely not come out unscathed.
Once Senior Brother Dacen made a move, Xiao Yaoyuan would certainly suffer a great loss.
Seeing the other party didn't answer, Xiao Yaoyuan wasn't bothered. Mo Qing's arrival had revealed the little Foundation Establishment cultivator's status in the Malevolent Spirit Sect, which he had underestimated. But that was all.
Since the deed was done, Xiao Yaoyuan had no intention of retracting it. He gave a light laugh and began to recount the information he had.
Mo Qing and the others had no intention of directly following Li Yan for now. They were merely a thousand li away from the valley, a distance they could cross with a single instantaneous movement.
For now, they only needed to occasionally confirm Li Yan's position to avoid causing a commotion that might alert the demonic cultivators.
...
As evening approached, in a stretch of mountain wilderness southwest of Windy Cool Mountain, the wind blew, gently swaying the dense, sun-blocking leaves of the tall trees.
A wild rabbit hopped lightly through the undergrowth, occasionally stopping to stand on its hind legs. It held its front paws to its chest, chewing on some unknown food.
Its three-lobed mouth twitched rapidly, its ruby-like eyes darting around. When a faint, unusual sound reached it, it would stop chewing.
Its pair of long ears perked up nervously, listening intently. Its upright body tilted forward slightly, ready to drop to all fours and bound away at the first sign of trouble.
But everything was normal; it detected nothing amiss. After pausing for a moment before a thicket, it suddenly lowered its body and ducked back under the bushes.
A soft rustling sound was heard, and a moment later, the mountain forest returned to its tranquility.
About a dozen breaths later, where the rabbit had been standing by the low bushes, a human figure silently materialized, appearing like a phantom.
As the figure slowly solidified, it was revealed to be Li Yan in his gray robes. He stared at the spot where the rabbit had disappeared, his eyes slowly narrowing. This was the sixteenth beast he had seen within the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, along with two low-level demonic beasts.
Along the way, he had also encountered some Demon Clan scouts. After all, the area five hundred li south of Windy Cool Mountain was now under the control of the Demon Clan's main army.
Perhaps because the fierce battles at many of Windy Cool Mountain's defensive points had just subsided, these scouts were only conducting routine patrols, setting up a defensive screen to gather intelligence while preventing raids from the Windy Cool Mountain cultivators.
These scout teams were not too densely packed, so it wasn't too difficult for Li Yan to avoid them. What worried him more was the sudden sweep of a Golden Core or even a Nascent Soul cultivator's Divine Sense.
Therefore, Li Yan spent even more time observing while in stealth. He would often stop and hide for a long time before moving forward into an area he had observed multiple times, then stop and hide again.
By moving in this stop-and-go manner, he had only covered a little over seven hundred li by evening.
Li Yan felt this was necessary. The plan to destroy the enemy's powerful magical treasure was something they could think of, which meant the enemy would be even more vigilant in that area after it had been used today.
Gazing at the scenery ahead, where the woods were gradually growing dark, Li Yan's heart grew even calmer. Although to a cultivator, there was little difference between day and night in terms of vision, human psychology was such that one always felt the night could better conceal activities that one didn't want others to know about.
Li Yan took out a jade slip and pressed it to his forehead. After a long while, he remained standing motionless in the same spot.
'I'm only about three hundred li from that nameless valley. At this rate, I'll only reach it when the sky is completely dark. But I must find a suitable spot to stop outside the valley.'
From a bird's-eye view, the valley where the demonic cultivators' powerful magical treasure was located looked nearly identical to countless others in the continuous mountain range.
If this were a mortal war, any spy who infiltrated would have long been lost in the vast jungle. It was only because cultivators possessed the divine ability to traverse heaven and earth that they could disregard such obstacles.
Li Yan hadn't yet decided where to stop and wait for the Nascent Soul cultivators to engage. This location was not easy to determine.
But he knew that even with their immensely powerful Divine Sense, Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't constantly keep it extended, endlessly scanning the entire area they could cover. No one could endure that.
Therefore, the Demonic General guarding the nameless valley would likely lock his Divine Sense onto a specific area, conducting sudden scans at irregular intervals. That area would be the Demonic General's final alert line.
Li Yan had to control this range carefully. As he approached the periphery of that warning line, he had to conceal himself and wait for the Windy Cool Mountain Nascent Soul cultivators to attack.
This position was difficult to grasp. He had to consider his own ability to sneak into the nameless valley as soon as the Nascent Soul cultivators engaged, without making a mistake in his haste and being discovered by the guards left behind.
This required him to be as fast as possible while ensuring his concealed presence remained stable. Li Yan never considered himself exceptionally strong; on the contrary, he was cautious in all matters.
He would not overlook any minor detail. This was perhaps the main reason he had survived until now. Otherwise, back when the power gap between him and Strategist Ji was so vast, he still managed to scheme the fox-like Strategist Ji to his death.
After thinking for a while, Li Yan felt it should be a hundred-li perimeter. The reason was simple: the valley was about one thousand five hundred li from Windy Cool Mountain.
For Nascent Soul cultivators, this distance was nothing. Whether by instantaneous movement or the descent of their Divine Sense, it was a matter of an instant.
But no matter what, spatial fluctuations propagated from far to near. It was a process, just one that was almost imperceptible due to the incredible speed of Nascent Soul cultivators.
However, between peers of the same rank, the abnormal spatial fluctuations appearing within a hundred-li radius were enough for another Nascent Soul cultivator to react.
Moreover, the Demonic General stationed in the nameless valley had to defend against attacks from all directions, not just from Windy Cool Mountain. This was precisely why cultivators preferred to have defensive formations.
In battles between cultivators, defense was the most difficult part. The enemy could appear from any direction, unlike in mortal armies where you could almost predict the enemy's necessary path and direction of attack based on treacherous terrain.
Within a hundred-li radius, a Nascent Soul cultivator could scout the surroundings without any rest and without fatiguing their Divine Sense. Relying on their own power, their just-dissipated Divine Sense could be restored with a single breath.
Another reason that led Li Yan to this judgment was that he was still over two hundred li from the nameless valley, yet he could still see many wild animals and low-level demonic beasts.
The survival environment for wild and demonic beasts was extremely harsh. They were naturally sensitive to abnormal auras and pressures, especially to powerful beings that reigned over them. Their senses were exceptionally keen.
Moreover, this was their long-term habitat. Like the rabbit that had just appeared, the fact that they were still active in this area meant that the beasts here had not sensed any dangerous presence.
After some contemplation, the forest grew darker. While the outside world was still in the evening twilight, the human figure once again merged into the vast black shadows of the forest, becoming indistinguishable...