As for how far they could ultimately go, Li Yan didn't care. As long as they could benefit, that was enough. Even if the benefits stopped today, they had still gained something. One shouldn't be too greedy.
Li Yan was still in the dark about the situation ahead in the long alley.
Their Divine Sense could still only cover a range of fifty zhang from their current position. They still didn't know how long this alley was.
The "Soul Spirits" they were currently encountering were basically composed of mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, and their numbers had also increased significantly.
Half a month ago, the three of them had tried to charge through together. That time, they had advanced more than four hundred zhang before being surrounded by a dense swarm of "Soul Spirits" that attacked them frantically.
The attacks fell upon the three of them like a rain of arrows. Although they could easily slaughter these "Soul Spirits," they couldn't escape being attacked.
The "Soul Spirits'" attacks could only be located a moment before they hit their bodies. So, with the attacks coming from all directions, they basically all landed on the three of them.
If not for them recklessly using their magical power to put up a full defense, coupled with the fact that these "Soul Spirits" were of a lower level, they might have been trapped there.
In the end, after being hit an unknown number of times and using up eighty percent of their soul-healing pills, the three of them barely managed to retreat.
After that one battle, Li Yan had completely given up the idea of forcing his way through.
After this battle, the three of them had a careful discussion.
In the end, their views were surprisingly consistent. If the disciples of the Hellsoul Clan were undergoing this trial, there must be other ways to withdraw midway.
Otherwise, most cultivators who entered this place would basically be coming to die.
Now, after their souls had been tempered, the three of them could at most allow two attacks to enter their Sea of Consciousness at the same time, but this was already their limit.
Half a month later, when Shuang Qingqing returned to the Tianli Clan, Bai Rou was greeted only by her solitary figure.
"Grand-master, you couldn't find them either?"
Bai Rou's pretty face grew even paler, a sign of lost color.
"No, but I did get some news. After searching the divine souls of some cultivators, I found in their memories that Li Yan and the others did indeed enter the secret grotto. They were last seen about three months ago, near the river at the bottom of the secret grotto, seemingly looking for something. This matches what Li Yan once said about looking for the 'Howling Cold Stone'. After that, no one saw them again. I searched the entire river from head to tail but found no trace of them. The guards there also can't remember if Li Yan came out."
Shuang Qingqing paused here. She had actually searched the divine souls of at least twenty people in the underground grotto and had also killed quite a few in the process.
But the information she obtained was indeed not much.
The Golden Core cultivators guarding the underground grotto, due to the large and varied number of cultivators coming and going, simply couldn't remember if people like Li Yan and Zhao Min had left.
"Then they..."
A look of sorrow appeared in Bai Rou's eyes.
"Don't worry. Unless it's a place of certain death like the Devil's Cliff Crevice back then, it's very unlikely they'd have such luck again. But that kind of danger isn't something you just run into. If others wanted to defeat them based on skill alone when they were together, I'll say it again, it would be very difficult!"
Shuang Qingqing could only offer such comfort.
However, on her way back, a worry had already formed in her heart. There were many Golden Core cultivators in the underground grotto. If many of them joined forces, the worst-case scenario could perhaps occur.
"Alright, let's wait a little longer. Maybe we'll see them tomorrow!"
Shuang Qingqing looked at Bai Rou's slightly reddened eyes and said softly.
Just like Li Yan, Shuang Qingqing had not anticipated the subsequent developments. This wait turned into three years, and the two never returned.
In the third year, urged by Shuang Fengyan, Shuang Qingqing finally left with only Bai Rou, just as the two of them had arrived on the Verdant Continent together.
Except this time, Bai Rou's cultivation had greatly increased, and she could vaguely feel the opportunity for her Core Formation approaching.
Similarly, in the fourth year of Li Yan's disappearance, Su Hong also left the Verdant Continent with Mi'er.
"That man is so heartless. Even if you have the ability to leave this place, you should at least come and say something before you go. I still wanted to have a match with you. I haven't seen a ghost of you in four years, hmph!"
Su Hong was disgruntled as she left. It was after she received news that Shuang Qingqing had likely already left that she made her guess.
It was not easy to track the whereabouts of a Nascent Soul cultivator, unless "Return" truly sent out a powerhouse of the same rank to keep a close watch on them.
So, it wasn't until several months after Shuang Qingqing had left that they analyzed some clues and concluded that the Tianli Clan's Elder Shuang had already departed.
After receiving this news, Su Hong immediately determined that it was highly likely that Shuang Qingqing had taken Li Yan and the others with her.
She had helped Li Yan quite a lot, even helping him send a message to the Desolate Moon Continent. Yet that dark-skinned brat hadn't revealed a single piece of news to her when he left.
This made Su Hong very unhappy, and she could only leave resentfully with Mi'er.
Time does not change because of the addition or subtraction of one person in the world. It continues to flow, alternating with the changes of the sun and moon.
In the blink of an eye, it was the tenth year since Li Yan and the others had entered the underground grotto.
Gazing at the unchanging, dim alley ahead, Li Yan, who was standing to the side guarding the other two, sighed helplessly in his heart.
If not for the fact that both he and Zhao Min were people of resolute will, anyone who saw the same dark and unchanging scene every day, every hour, for ten years would probably have gone mad.
Like Zi Kun, whose temperament finally broke at certain moments, and he entered the "Earthen Patch." He wanted to see a bright world.
He would often stay in the "Earthen Patch" for a period of time before being willing to come out again.
Now, Li Yan and the others were already encountering initial and mid-stage Golden Core "Soul Spirits."
However, "Soul Spirits" of this level were extremely rare and no longer appeared in large swarms like a disturbed hornet's nest.
They would often appear one or two at a time, hundreds of zhang apart, but they were much more difficult to deal with.
"Let's continue. This time, Zi Kun will stand guard!"
A voice as pleasant and crisp as clinking ice cubes sounded.
In ten years, Zhao Min's appearance had not changed in the slightest. On the contrary, because her soul had become stronger, her qi and blood were extremely vigorous.
Her originally snow-white skin was even smoother, rosy and fair, stunningly beautiful, making one want to pull her into an embrace and cherish her.
And Li Yan still had his short hair. The muscles under his black robe would occasionally tense with the slight turn of his body, making the robe seem to be filled with lively, jumping muscles.
With his short hair, Li Yan looked more like a guardian vajra. When he didn't conceal his aura, his presence was fierce and domineering.
In just ten short years, both their divine souls had grown at an astonishing rate. Of course, this was in comparison to the previous strength of their own souls.
If one looked at the overall progress of their souls, it had probably improved by twenty to thirty percent compared to before.
If this had been pure magical power cultivation, with such training conditions for ten years, the progress in magical power would have been at least double what it was before.
Li Yan's cultivation had also reached the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm, and Zhao Min was on the verge of breaking through the bottleneck to the late-stage of Golden Core, not far from the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm herself.
But Zi Kun, who was originally a divine soul body and whose soul was already powerful, had made the slowest progress of the three.
There was still some way to go before he broke through to the mid-stage of Golden Core, but he was not without gains. His current combat power was far beyond what an ordinary mid-stage Golden Core cultivator could match.
The Crossbow Worm King's soul had also improved greatly. Although it was still a second-rank demonic beast, the attack speed and power of the crossbow worm swarm it controlled had more than doubled.
If the crossbow worm swarm were to face an initial-stage Golden Core cultivator like An Die now, although it couldn't kill them, it would definitely be able to wear them down until they were severely injured.
And in ten years, both Li Yan and Zhao Min had simultaneously cultivated the concealment art "Tide-Returning Art" and had both reached the entry level.
Now, when the two of them suppressed their cultivation, it was very difficult for any Golden Core cultivator to see through their true strength.
Especially Li Yan, who also had the "True Scripture of Gui Water" to conceal his aura. Li Yan felt that even a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like Shuang Qingqing might not be able to see his true realm now.
"Alright, let's continue!"
Li Yan repeated the words he had said countless times.
Immediately, he and Zhao Min shot out. Soon, a huge illusory shadow drifted out in front of them. It was a third-rank "Ghost-Faced Bone-Melting Scorpion"...
Three years later!
Li Yan and the other two allowed the opponent's attacks to land on them. Although the pain in their Sea of Consciousness was still enough to make them tremble, it was no longer a huge obstacle preventing them from acting.
A sky full of ice arrows, wind blades, and claw shadows overlapped. Half an incense stick later, the last three Golden Core-level "Soul Spirits" in front of them were shattered into fragments and soon drifted away.
Seeing this, the three of them immediately sat down cross-legged on the spot and began to repair the damage in their Sea of Consciousness.
More than half an hour later, Li Yan was the first to get up, shaking out his clothes. Several more years had passed, and the level of the "Soul Spirits" was still increasing.
The souls of the three of them were also constantly growing stronger. Now, the number of Golden Core-level "Soul Spirits" was even scarcer. Unless you deliberately attracted them, more than one would not gather.
Therefore, after killing their opponents now, they no longer deliberately left someone to stand guard but cultivated together.
"It's been almost half a year, and quite a few Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm 'Soul Spirits' have already appeared. If we had encountered such an existence at the beginning, there would have been a seventy percent chance we would have been instantly killed in a state of blurred consciousness."
Li Yan thought to himself. As their souls grew stronger, their Sea of Consciousness also became exceptionally resilient.
Now, if they encountered those Foundation Establishment "Soul Spirits" from before, they could stand still and let them attack. At most, their Sea of Consciousness would be constantly shaken, like an ant trying to shake a tree!
Now, the three of them were also very familiar with the attack methods of the "Soul Spirits." The ghostly attacks of "Soul Spirits" of the same rank also found it very difficult to break through the defenses of the three.
The "Soul Spirits," without physical bodies, had very fragile defenses. This was another difference from true Soul Cultivators who possessed physical bodies. It was relatively easy for Li Yan and the others to kill them.
But once Zi Kun encountered a "Soul Spirit" of a higher level than himself, he needed to spend more time.
"If the flow of time here is the same as in the outside world, it should have been another three years. Further on, Nascent Soul-level 'Soul Spirits' might appear. How should we deal with them then?"
Li Yan gazed at the unchanging, dim alley ahead, his heart already numb. The lack of change day after day had become an eternally identical scene before his eyes.
Even someone as mentally tough as him felt an incomparable sense of frustration and helplessness in the depths of his heart. But now, the problem he had worried about most had finally appeared.
While Li Yan was lost in thought, Zhao Min, dressed in white, also stood up.
"Thinking about the road ahead?"
Now, the two of them could be said to be of one mind. A single glance was basically enough to know what the other was thinking.
This was not only because they were always together, but also because of the pair of "Heart-Entangling Twin Gu" in their bodies.
They had already become more and more attuned to the bloodlines of the two, and their mutual induction was more sensitive and understanding.
"Today, my feeling of unease is getting stronger and stronger. Later, you two will use a spirit power rope to pull me, and maintain a distance of fifty zhang from me. The moment I sense even a hint of a problem with the appearing 'Soul Spirit', I will actively withdraw. You will pull me back at the fastest speed!"