Feeling the silence around her and the growing chill from beneath her, the beautiful woman was frantic with anxiety, terrified that a figure would suddenly appear at the cave entrance.
But at that very moment, in her Dantian's Purple Mansion, the lake that had been as still as dead water suddenly rippled, just for an instant.
This sudden change left the woman stunned.
At first, she thought it was a hallucination caused by her turbulent state of mind. She hurriedly suppressed her wave-like emotions and began to sense quietly.
A moment later, a look of ecstatic joy appeared on her face.
Her Spirit Power, which had felt as if it had been sealed away for ages, had indeed shown a flicker of movement. It was like a single, almost imperceptible ripple on the mirror-smooth surface of a lake.
Although it was just a tiny ripple, it meant that under the autonomous operation of her body's Spirit Power, it had finally gained a slight upper hand in the stalemate.
As for why this happened, the woman naturally wouldn't think of other reasons. At that time, she had already absorbed a considerable amount of the other's primordial Yang and was in the process of refining it.
Although she had been poisoned, the "Seven Mysteries Yin Sha Art" could still continue to refine that primordial Yang, albeit at an abnormally slow pace. So this trace of Spirit Power might have just been refined.
This judgment of hers was likely something even Li Yan could not have predicted. He was only doing his best to implement his plan; as for the final outcome, he had no way of knowing.
The woman could no longer care about anything else. She lay on the ground and began to quietly breathe and circulate her energy.
As she did, she felt the Spirit Power in her body become more and more lively. At this time, her state of mind, contrary to her situation, became increasingly calm.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the woman slowly sat up, unconcerned as the white robe slipped off, revealing her naked, jade-like body.
First, with a thought, several small porcelain bottles flew out from her storage pouch on the ground. After a brief identification, she tipped a pill from several different bottles, opened her fragrant mouth, and sucked them into her abdomen.
Then she immediately sat cross-legged with her five centers facing the sky and increased the circulation of her breathing.
She wanted to leave this godforsaken place right now, but the bit of Spirit Power she had just recovered was not enough to support her flight for long. If she encountered even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, they could easily finish her off.
...
Back behind Windy Cool Mountain, Xiao Yaoyuan frowned and said, "What is he doing? How can he be so reckless? Who told him to meddle in such affairs?"
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, since the matter has been entrusted to Li Yan, he must have his own plan. Why are you so impatient?"
Mo Qing said with a frown. They had been about to set off, but unexpectedly, Li Yan had made a new move, one that even he couldn't understand at first.
The female Nascent Soul cultivator on the other side, though silent, had a piercing gaze, her thoughts unknown.
...
Nearly half an incense stick's time later, the beautiful woman, who was sitting cross-legged and circulating her energy, suddenly opened her mouth and spat out a gray substance, which splattered on the ground in front of her.
At this moment, the woman slowly opened her beautiful eyes and looked at the liquid on the ground. It was her own blood.
But at this moment, it could no longer be called "blood." It was a gray liquid. The moment the gray liquid appeared in the air, the surrounding spiritual energy swarmed towards it.
In the blink of an eye, it was completely absorbed by the gray liquid. This scene made the veins on the woman's forehead throb.
'This poison is too vicious. Just this little bit of venom I spat out... if it were a Foundation Establishment cultivator, their Spirit Power would be completely devoured in just five or six breaths, turning them into a cripple.'
Just now, when her Spirit Power had recovered to nearly forty percent, she had tried to force the poison out of her body. Unexpectedly, the unknown poison was like an old tree with deep roots, firmly entrenched in her Dantian's Purple Mansion.
She tried more than a dozen different methods but couldn't force out a single bit. In her desperation, she had resorted to forcefully expelling the poison.
But the poison seemed to have a spirit of its own. Sensing a threat, it, which had begun to calm down, suddenly erupted, instantly latching onto a main meridian near her Dantian and colliding with her Spirit Power.
Overpowered, the woman couldn't suppress it and spat out a mouthful of "blood."
'I was too hasty. I need to calm down, calm down!'
The woman stretched out her fair hand to wipe the gray liquid from the corner of her mouth, then closed her eyes again. This time, she would wait until her Spirit Power had recovered to over eighty percent before trying to force it out again.
But this time, less than half a cup of tea's time had passed before the woman opened her eyes again, a look of panic and confusion in them.
Her spirit power could no longer continue to recover. Moreover, after colliding with her Spirit Power, the poison seemed to have reawakened and was once again frantically devouring her Spirit Power.
In just a short moment, the forty percent of Spirit Power the woman had just recovered was rapidly disappearing. No matter how she circulated her arts, she was consistently losing ground in her resistance.
'This poison has already penetrated my internal organs... what... what kind of strange poison is this? What is this poison!'
The woman suddenly stood up, completely disregarding her exposed private parts. She had never even heard of such a poison. She felt her body turning cold, and the strength she had just recovered was continuously slipping away.
If she didn't get rid of this strange poison in her body soon, even if she could survive, the outcome would be extremely dire. It was possible she would become a cultivator with no Spirit Power at all.
Always calm and cunningly seductive, the thought of losing her great power had now shattered her composure.
She began to look around frantically. When she saw the scattered spirit stones on the ground, a thought moved her. With a beckoning gesture, a spirit stone flew into her hand.
Then, a look of joy appeared on her face. "The spiritual energy contained in the spirit stone can indeed greatly delay the poison's onset."
Just now, when she saw the scattered spirit stones, she immediately realized she had lost her composure and judgment. The spiritual energy in the spirit stones was several times denser than the surrounding spiritual energy. Thus, as soon as the spirit stone was in her hand, incomparably pure spiritual energy entered her body, instantly refilling her shriveling meridians. Although she still couldn't use it to recover her cultivation or remove the poison, it could temporarily keep the Spirit Power in her body from being extinguished.
But in just a few breaths, the spirit stone in her hand had turned into a gray rock, completely devoid of spiritual energy.
The woman immediately made another grabbing motion, and two more spirit stones flew up from the ground into her hands. The green gauze and other clothes on the ground also flew up at the same time and were on her body in the next instant.
Then, with a sweep of her hand, she collected her storage pouch and all of Zheng Xingfan's belongings that the man in gray hadn't had time to take, which were piled on the ground.
She even collected the formation flags that Zheng Xingfan had set up in the cave.
Only then did she look at the human-skin lantern on the ground, which still had a faint red glow burning within its body. Without any pity, she shot out a fireball, truly and completely erasing Zheng Xingfan from this world.
She didn't want anyone to know about her tryst with Zheng Xingfan here.
When the time came, she would just say that she and Zheng Xingfan had seen a suspicious cultivator and, in the ensuing fight, one of them was killed and the other injured. The potent poison in her body was proof enough.
Immediately, the woman in the green gauze released her Divine Sense to scan the outside, then hurriedly departed...
...
A long time after the woman had left, on the dark cave wall just outside the entrance, a section of the wall squirmed a few times, and then a dark gray figure appeared.
By the moonlight, one could see that it was Li Yan.
At this moment, he turned his head to look in the direction the woman had fled, a corner of his mouth curling into a smile.
And on his shoulder was a crystal-clear demonic beast, the Snow Mosquito King, which had not appeared for a long time.
"Master, wasn't my performance just now beautiful?"
The Snow Mosquito King's voice sounded in Li Yan's mind. Although there might be patrolling cultivators in this area, the Snow Mosquito King couldn't contain its pride and praised itself first.
"It was alright. But your realm is still a bit low. There's not much you can help with. You should go back to the 'Earthen Patch' and cultivate properly."
Li Yan replied in his mind.
"This... I have to go back already? Master, although the spiritual energy there is dense and I have many concubines, it gets really boring after a while."
"I am now advancing towards the realm of a third-rank demonic beast, but without a great opportunity, I'm afraid I can't break through by relying on bitter cultivation alone."
"Look at that little elephant, he gets to stay by Master's side from time to time, and his cultivation grows so fast. I want to be like that too."
"This way I can listen to Master's teachings at any time. Who knows, one of Master's words might give me a sudden epiphany, a moment of clarity, a great awakening, a sudden enlightenment..."
"Fine, you can follow me if you want. This time, we're not just dealing with Golden Core cultivators. The main thing is to get close to the area near a Nascent Soul demonic cultivator..."
Li Yan's indifferent voice sounded in the Snow Mosquito King's mind, and its voice immediately cut off.
It was indeed bored to death in the "Earthen Patch," but that mysterious space could only be entered and exited with the help of this damned, life-grinding star in front of it. It couldn't break out on its own no matter what.
Hearing the four words "Nascent Soul demonic cultivator," the Snow Mosquito King shivered violently. It had only felt that coming out would be safe because it knew this person had some means to contend with Golden Core cultivators for a short while.
At least last time, when dealing with a Mid-stage Golden Core demonic cultivator, Li Yan had only sent its subjects out. Although the casualties were heavy, he had not made it charge to its death.
From this, it could be seen that the other party still cared about its life. It thought that as long as it didn't encounter a strong Golden Core cultivator, Li Yan would have time to protect it.
But hearing that there would be a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Snow Mosquito King was terrified.
'Has this baleful star been kicked in the head by a donkey? Although his cultivation methods are not bad, he wouldn't fare well even against a Mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.'
'No, wait, the two Golden Core cultivators he just ambushed were both mid-stage. But he shouldn't be so reckless as to provoke a Nascent Soul cultivator.'
As it thought this, before Li Yan could finish speaking, it had already transmitted its hesitant voice.
"Hehe, I still think Master is far-sighted, wise, and mighty. My cultivation is indeed too low, and I still need to continue cultivating diligently. So, Master should send me back immediately. I will immediately devote myself to cultivation, turning a deaf ear to..."
Li Yan couldn't be bothered to say more. With a wave of his hand, the Snow Mosquito King disappeared from his shoulder. The last thing that echoed in his mind was the Snow Mosquito King's plea.
"Master, you must be careful! I have a large family now, and I don't want to see them all become orphans and widows..."
Li Yan's cheek twitched. This damn thing was afraid that if he died, it would perish along with him.
Immediately, Li Yan paid no more attention to the Snow Mosquito King. He scanned the situation inside the cave with his Divine Sense again. Although he already knew the situation, he cautiously confirmed it one more time.
After carefully observing the situation in the cave, he looked at the male cultivator who had been reduced to a pile of ashes on the ground.
Then he looked back in the direction the woman in the green gauze had fled. The corners of Li Yan's mouth twitched, forming a barely perceptible smile.
"I hope everything goes smoothly!"