After sweeping his divine sense across his chest and abdomen, Li Yan couldn't help but let out a soft "Eh?" He then expanded his divine sense to cover his entire body.
He had thought that the Fragmented Poison Body would split into at least forty-odd pieces this time, either separating towards his arms or becoming denser in his chest and abdomen.
But to his great surprise, while his Fragmented Poison Body had changed, it had only separated into a total of thirty-one pieces. Thinking he had seen wrong, Li Yan scanned himself again with his divine sense.
No mistake. It was thirty-one pieces. Just one extra piece had separated out in his chest.
"This... how is there no pattern to this at all..."
For a moment, Li Yan was completely clueless, unable to grasp the results brought about by each advancement of his Fragmented Poison Body.
The last time, during Foundation Establishment, he had thought it would separate into twenty-four pieces, but it ended up being thirty.
This time he had estimated on the lower side, but the result was far beyond his expectations, with only one piece separating.
"Does this mean that the next time I advance, not a single piece will separate?"
Li Yan thought to himself, but his hands did not slow down. Channeling his spirit power, he waved his hand, and a jet of energy shot out from his body. In the next moment, a faint white mist appeared before him.
Looking at the faint white mist, Li Yan thought for a moment, then took out a spirit artifact-grade wooden sword from his storage pouch and casually tossed it in.
This wooden sword was the same low-grade spirit artifact that Falling Star Valley had issued him back then. In the subsequent flurry of battles, Li Yan had barely had a chance to even throw it away.
As the wooden sword entered the faint white mist, his divine sense instantly locked onto it, carefully observing its every change.
But after a full ten breaths, not only was there not the slightest abnormality with the wooden sword in his divine sense, but a clear scan of the simple formation patterns within the sword showed no ripples whatsoever.
Li Yan wasn't in a hurry. He casually took out a spirit stone and threw it in as well. Another ten breaths passed, and the spirit stone was like a rock thrown into stagnant water; not a shred of its spirit qi had diminished.
"This rules out the most common types of potent poison effects."
Li Yan couldn't help but rub his nose.
This Fragmented Poison Body he had accidentally obtained was good, but every time a new "poison" separated, he had to spend a long time testing it to figure it all out.
Otherwise, he would have no idea what it was used for. Then he had to constantly experiment with the best timing, methods, and so on for its deployment, which was quite troublesome.
Evidently, this newly separated "poison" possessed neither the most common corrosive properties nor the ability to devour spirit qi.
Li Yan's eyes flickered. With a casual beckon, the wooden sword within flew back into his hand with ease, showing no signs of sluggishness.
"This faint white mist also lacks any entangling properties!"
Li Yan's test failed again, but he had a wealth of testing experience. With a thought, the main gate of his cultivation chamber suddenly swung open.
Then, as his divine sense swept outwards, a fluttering butterfly from the spirit plant garden behind his cave residence vanished. Li Yan simultaneously locked his divine sense onto every inch of the butterfly's body, both inside and out, observing it quietly.
Ten breaths later, the butterfly was still fluttering gracefully before Li Yan's eyes.
"Huh, not only is it not poisonous in any way, but it doesn't even show a hint of increased drowsiness or agitation."
Li Yan was even more puzzled. This was just a butterfly, not some demonic beast. It was an ordinary butterfly, at most one that had been nourished by spirit qi.
It might live a little longer than an ordinary butterfly, but it still hadn't practiced any methods of breathing and guiding spirit qi.
After it had flown in the faint white mist for ten breaths, he took it out. Still not convinced, Li Yan observed it with his naked eye for a while longer before reluctantly letting it fly away.
"It can't even poison an ordinary butterfly. How is this supposed to deal with cultivators and demonic beasts?"
Li Yan grew even more perplexed.
"Could it be that this new part of the Fragmented Poison Body is useless? Right, it must be a deeper level of harm." Li Yan thought for a moment. With a flicker of his divine sense, the essence soul of a Flying Sickle Blood Mantis appeared in the white mist. Ten breaths later, everything was as before.
The Flying Sickle Blood Mantis shook its head and wagged its tail at Li Yan, its eyes filled with confusion. It didn't know why Li Yan had summoned it.
Now Li Yan could communicate with it directly via divine sense. After a few breaths, Li Yan himself felt a headache coming on.
"No damage to the divine soul either. This mist is truly strange!"
The feedback from the Flying Sickle Blood Mantis was that its soul felt no discomfort whatsoever; everything was normal. One had to know that it was an essence soul itself and was most sensitive to soul-type damage.
With this, Li Yan was stumped for a moment.
"Whether inhaled or enveloped by the mist, there's no effect on the physical body or the divine soul..."
Just then, the Flying Sickle Blood Mantis sent another divine sense message, which made Li Yan pause.
"It says it felt very happy inside? It saw many of its own kind..."
He hadn't released any other Flying Sickle Blood Mantises just now, and its soul power hadn't surged or grown...
"I think I know what this ball of faint white mist is for."
Staring at the seemingly useless white mist before him, a thought flashed through Li Yan's mind. He immediately returned the Flying Sickle Blood Mantis to the Blood River.
Then, with another thought, a massive snow mosquito appeared before him. The moment it appeared, its eyes were dazed and lifeless.
It stared blankly at Li Yan for a good five or six breaths before suddenly crying out.
"Li... Li... Master? You're not dead..."
Li Yan's expression remained unchanged as he looked at the Snow Mosquito King, his tone calm.
"What? You were hoping I was dead."
Feeling Li Yan's emotionless gaze, the Snow Mosquito King's body trembled violently. It knew it had misspoken.
Having been under Li Yan's oppressive power for so many years, that fear was deeply etched into its bones.
Even though decades had passed, upon seeing Li Yan, a primal instinct awakened from the depths of its being.
The fantasies it had entertained in its free time within the Earthen Patch space—of how it would strike back and humiliate Li Yan if they ever met again—instantly vanished into thin air.
Its eyes quickly regained their liveliness, and at the same time, its divine sense quietly swept over Li Yan.
'Still the same as before, I can't see through him. That means his cultivation is about the same as it was!'
In its divine sense, the aura on Li Yan was just as it had always been, giving it the same feeling of being unable to discern his specific realm.
This was originally due to the disparity in their strength, but this very aura made the Snow Mosquito King feel as if it had returned to the old days.
As it thought this, it had already thrown itself at Li Yan's feet, its words fawning.
"Master, your appearance is like the rising sun in the east, the high-hanging moon, the brilliant river of stars... In short, I have missed you so dearly. For so many years, you have paid me no mind. How many times have I called out to you with deep emotion, yet you..."
Li Yan seemed oblivious to the Snow Mosquito King's divine sense scan, but as its string of words poured out, dark lines appeared on his forehead.
He frowned and cut the Snow Mosquito King off.
"That's enough. I've been in seclusion these years as well. I've called you out this time to have you do something for me!"
As the Snow Mosquito King listened to Li Yan, it continuously scanned him with its divine sense, and thoughts began to stir in its mind.
'Right, still the same aura. It seems his decades of seclusion haven't brought much progress.'
'That's not surprising. If one could greatly increase their power just through seclusion, then wouldn't the cultivation world be overrun with Golden Core cultivators?'
'Besides, how many geniuses with exceptional talent like me are there...'
When it heard Li Yan say he needed something done, the Snow Mosquito King's eyes darted around, and it immediately chimed in.
"Master, just give the word. For all these years, I have been racking my brains, cultivating bitterly day after day. My cultivation has progressed by leaps and bounds. Now, for me, there is nothing that cannot be done. If you don't believe me, you can test my cultivation. Has it not become unfathomably deep..."
As it spoke, it stood up, the fawning attitude from just now completely gone. A dark, gloomy energy emanated from its body, and its eyes stared unblinkingly at Li Yan.
Li Yan watched the Snow Mosquito King quietly, a hint of a smile playing on his lips.
"Oh? So you're saying that even I can't fathom your cultivation now?"
"Master, you'll know once you try. I never lie!"
The Snow Mosquito King's long proboscis gleamed with a cold light. With a beat of its wings, it slowly flew up in front of Li Yan. Its form of address had also changed from the respectful "your honor" to the simple "you."
Li Yan quietly watched the Snow Mosquito King as it slowly flew up to eye level with him.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course!"
Black patterns flowed across the Snow Mosquito King's body. It cockily twisted its neck and waved its proboscis a few times in front of Li Yan's forehead.
But in the next moment, Li Yan suddenly raised a hand. Then, to the Snow Mosquito King's disbelief, he slapped it across the face.
It had clearly seen Li Yan raise his hand and swing it gently. Its body had already begun to dodge rapidly to the side.
Yet, it felt a great force envelop it, and then... a slap landed on the side of its cheek.
And then... the Snow Mosquito King's already massive body fell to the ground with a thwack.
The Snow Mosquito King was momentarily stunned. Half of its cheek was already red and swollen, and its long, indestructible proboscis had been rendered soft and limp by the slap.
It took a full three breaths before it snapped back to reality, mumbling indistinctly.
"You... you... sneak attack, doesn't... count!"
As it spoke, its figure flickered and vanished from its spot, reappearing in the next moment at the nape of Li Yan's neck.
The previously limp proboscis snapped straight, dripping with a dark, thick fluid, and thrust viciously towards the back of Li Yan's neck.
At that moment, Li Yan seemed not to have reacted, still sitting cross-legged, facing forward. A glint shone in the Snow Mosquito King's eyes. Channeling its spirit power, its speed became as fast as lightning.
The tip of its proboscis could already feel the heat from Li Yan's skin, and a wave of excitement surged through its heart.
Just then, two fingers suddenly appeared at the tip of its proboscis and... gripped it tightly.
The Snow Mosquito King felt a foul stench rush through its mouth straight to the crown of its head. The poisonous juices were instantly squeezed back by a great force, choking it and causing intense pain in its brain.
Before it could even resist, it was thrown to the ground by a powerful force. The Snow Mosquito King felt as if its organs had been turned upside down, and the scene before its eyes began to blur and sway.
There wasn't a single spot on its body that didn't ache, a pain that pierced its very bones. With its current cultivation, it shouldn't have felt any pain from a fall.
But the moment the Snow Mosquito King's body hit the ground, Li Yan had sealed the spirit power in its body before quickly releasing his control.
In that instant of sealing and releasing, the Snow Mosquito King's body slammed solidly onto the ground, leaving it completely dazed. It lay paralyzed on the ground for a long while before it finally came to its senses.
Only then did the Snow Mosquito King remember to circulate its spirit power throughout its body. A short while later, it finally returned to normal.
When it raised its head again, it was met with an icy gaze. A shiver ran down the Snow Mosquito King's entire body.
How could it not understand by now that this baleful star's cultivation had also increased dramatically, likely to a level it couldn't even imagine.
"Could it be that he has already formed a Golden Core..."
An unbelievable thought flashed through its mind. It was both shocked and terrified, but its face immediately switched to a fawning smile.