Li Yan could not help but give a bitter laugh. Ping Tu was right. On this entire continent, where else could one find a place with denser Earth Spiritual Energy or higher-grade Spirit Plants?
This was a space that True Lord Qianchong had forged by gathering countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures from across the Mortal Realm, transplanting many of this world's rarest Spirit Plants here.
'A hundred supreme-grade Spirit Stones?'
Li Yan dared not even entertain the thought. If even a single supreme-grade Spirit Stone were placed before him, he would not dare to touch it. The merest contact would mean death, let alone a hundred of them!
Even if he had the Immortal Fortune to find them, he lacked the ability to bring them here.
"Senior, this… this is beyond this junior's capabilities. I can only attempt to collect some supreme-grade Spirit Stones after reaching Nascent Soul Formation!"
"Fine, focus on reaching Nascent Soul Formation first. I see you've only just entered the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm. With the Five Elements Generating Cycle of the True Scripture of Gui Water, another seventeen or eighteen years of seclusion might be enough for you to attempt the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul Realm."
Ping Tu's insight was incredibly sharp. Moreover, he was deeply familiar with the marvels of the Five Immortal Sects' cultivation methods and saw Li Yan's true realm at a glance.
For so-called prodigies who had just entered the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm, it would be wishful thinking to reach the bottleneck period without at least two or three hundred years of arduous cultivation.
In the end, ninety-nine percent of them would likely get stuck there, their cultivation ceasing for a lifetime.
Take Li Yuyin, for instance. She had been stuck in the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm for over two hundred years. Her current seclusion alone had already lasted for decades, yet there was still no news of any progress.
In the entire, vast Malevolent Spirit Sect, even the Sect Master, Yan Longzi, and the others were all stuck at this stage, having also entered another round of closed-door cultivation.
In the last three hundred years, only Wei Zhongran had succeeded, a testament to the sheer difficulty of Nascent Soul Formation.
And this was one of the top sects on the continent, with cultivation resources that were exceedingly abundant by this world's standards. Even so, they could not simply pile up resources to create a Nascent Soul Cultivator.
"Oh, right. During the years you were away, about forty years ago, a black-robed Spirit Transformation Cultivator came to the outskirts of this Secret Realm, attempting to sneak in.
But he was discovered by that awakened old wolf. The two of them fought, but neither could gain the upper hand, and the black-robed Spirit Transformation Cultivator had to leave resentfully.
I observed the cultivation method used by that black-robed Spirit Transformation Cultivator, and it bore some resemblance to those people who fled into the Chaotic Flow Space, the ones I nearly wiped out.
Later, I heard from some of the high-level Demonic Cultivators in the Secret Realm that he was one of the Foreign Cultivators who invaded alongside the Demonic Cultivators. Although the old wolf informed the Four Great Sects, it seems they were never able to find any trace of him afterward.
Those people I failed to kill back then are still harboring malicious intent, having actually found their way back from the Chaotic Flow Space.
Unfortunately, my true form can no longer leave this place. Otherwise, I would have hunted this person down and killed him to prevent future trouble.
With such a person still lingering on the Desolate Moon Continent, you, as a disciple of the Four Great Sects, should not be too conspicuous. You don't want to be targeted by him. When that time comes, even your sect's Spirit Transformation Cultivator might not be able to save you in time."
Ping Tu recalled an incident.
Hearing this, Li Yan's face showed no surprise. When he had informed True Lord Qianchong about the events on the Desolate Moon Continent, his Martial Uncle had already deduced the origins of those Foreign Cultivators.
Li Yan now knew even more hidden details about that great war. Gu Jiuqi had not managed to kill the enemy's strongest expert. Who knew how many had actually escaped?
However, Ping Tu's reminder was valid. Although these people would not dare to show themselves easily, it would still be very dangerous if he were to be "singled out" by them, with the enemy hidden while he was in the open.
"Thank you, Senior!"
"Alright, if there is nothing else, I need to rest! Decide for yourself whether you want to stay here and cultivate or return!"
After speaking, Ping Tu saw that Li Yan had nothing else to report, and the giant face vanished from the stone chamber.
In the days that followed, more people from the Malevolent Spirit Sect came to Little Bamboo Peak. They were, naturally, the Golden Core Elders from the various peaks. However, the Sect Master Yan Longzi, with whom Li Yan was relatively familiar, was in seclusion and did not come.
When these people saw that Li Yan and Zhao Min had truly both reached the Golden Core realm, and at the mid-stage no less, they were all utterly astonished.
Zhao Min only met the first few visitors before disappearing completely, never showing her face again.
Li Yan knew she wanted to relax and ease her mind for a while, so she was either seeking out Li Changting or staying by Zhao Zhi's side.
Li Yan, on the other hand, had to deal with each of these visitors. He also agreed to him and Zhao Min becoming Sect Elders but did not want any kind of ceremony.
Li Yan only consented to having the Acting Sect Master—the Vice Peak Master of Lord Lao Peak—change their token statuses.
After trying to persuade him, the Acting Sect Master saw that Li Yan was insistent and that Zhao Min was unwilling to appear at all, so he had no choice but to let the matter go.
Meanwhile, Zi Kun's name became famous within the sect. With his strength, he was considered a powerhouse in the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
Coupled with his handsome appearance and exceptional eloquence, he quickly became acquainted with many people in the sect.
Even the Acting Sect Master and the various Peak Masters and Elders learned that Li Yan had such a third-rank Companion Spirit Beast, and they were all overcome with envy.
Zi Kun exchanged flirtatious glances with many female cultivators, but he understood his limits. Knowing this was Li Yan's true sect, he dared not act recklessly, at most engaging in some verbal flirtation.
Most of the time, he was hanging around with Wei Chituo. Both followed the path of Body Cultivation. After a few drinking sessions with Wei Chituo, the two began to call each other brothers, constantly seen with their arms slung over each other's shoulders.
This led to the scene of the two of them dueling from time to time in the skies above Little Bamboo Peak and in the back mountains. The sounds of their clashes, a constant "pinging and pang-ing," echoed through the area, causing the Demonic Beasts on the peak to crane their necks and roar. The two, however, seemed to derive endless joy from it.
This left even Li Wuyi feeling helpless. Little Bamboo Peak had lost its long-held tranquility. However, not even Wei Zhongran, who also resided there, came forward to reprimand them. With Zhao Min's return, he was now in high spirits, feeling that Little Bamboo Peak ought to have a bit more of this kind of liveliness.
Li Yan also felt that Zi Kun needed to unwind for a while. After observing him for a few days and finding no outrageous behavior, he stopped paying him any mind.
Besides, his Second Senior Brother was around. Although that fellow tended to act on a whim, he was extremely wary of the sect rules and had seemingly never been to the Disciplinary Hall.
The worst that could happen was being caught by his Eldest Senior Brother and getting a beating according to Little Bamboo Peak's own rules.
Li Yan entered the Earthen Patch once more to check on Qian Ji. Seeing him sealed within a massive block of ice, his aura long and steady, he felt relieved.
Subsequently, after a long talk with Zhao Min, he announced that he was entering closed-door seclusion and would not be seeing any more visitors.
…
Within the Secret Realm's stone chamber, Li Yan sat cross-legged, allowing the dense Earth Spiritual Energy to envelop his body layer by layer.
At this moment, he did not immediately enter a state of cultivation. Instead, he held a sinister-looking spearhead that flashed with a red light. The gloomy Spirit Power in his palm sizzled as it was scorched by the red spearhead.
This red-glowing spearhead was the very item Li Yan had obtained in the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, a damaged magical treasure of extreme Yang alignment whose name was unknown.
However, Li Yan's main cultivation method was a water-attribute one, which was completely at odds with it, preventing him from wielding it at will.
Even if Li Yan could convert all his Five Elements into Fire Spirit Power, it was only a temporary borrowing of the power of the other elements.
Moreover, his Natal Magical Treasure had long been decided. Therefore, this red spearhead was originally intended for Gong Chenying.
It was just that before his fall from the cliff, he only had time to give her a fourth-rank Dustless Pill, while this item had remained with him all along.
Li Yan had studied this red spearhead repeatedly many times but had never discovered its origin, nor could he analyze what material it was forged from.
Before calming the distracting thoughts in his mind, he thought of Gong Chenying and thus took the item out.
After looking at it for a while, Li Yan's palm relaxed. The red spearhead, like a searing hot branding iron, plunged into ice and snow. A conical hole immediately appeared on the hard bluestone floor of the chamber.
But the red spearhead did not stop, continuing to plummet downward. In a flash, it had already descended more than thirty zhang underground, its speed undiminished, as if it could fall endlessly.
At that moment, a suction force suddenly emerged from Li Yan's palm, drilling directly into the conical hole. With another exertion of force, a red light flashed, and the spearhead was yanked back, landing in his palm once more.
'Even within the Secret Realm, it is still so sharp. The earth of the Secret Realm was refined by Martial Uncle Qianchong. Although he couldn't have possibly purified every part of it, both the soil and stones are at least five times tougher than those outside, yet they still can't stop this item from piercing through. If this item were to be reforged and integrated into a finished magical treasure, a successful fusion would elevate that magical treasure's rank to mid-grade or higher. Even just using this spearhead as a damaged magical treasure, it's still something a water-attribute cultivator would be unwilling to face. I really don't know who forged this spearhead back then, and how such a treasure ended up in the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. If this were given to A Ying, it would surely boost her strength considerably…'
It was unknown how many years the red spearhead had spent in the Flame Palace. It had been ejected along with the lava and subsequently collected by Li Yan.
Li Yan played with the red spearhead for a while, his thoughts drifting. Only after a long time did he slowly calm the thoughts in his mind.
Then, Li Yan stored the red spearhead in the Earthen Patch. With another flash of light in his hand, a thin booklet appeared.
The booklet was made from the hide of some unknown Demonic Beast. In the upper left corner was a dark green maple leaf pattern. It was the gift from Shuang Qingqing.
It recorded many of the insights she and her Master, Shen Yuhuan, had gained during the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm and at the time of Nascent Soul Formation.
During their leisure time in the Underground Secret Grotto, Li Yan and Zhao Min would often take out this book to study together. Both had benefited greatly, which was why they had both managed to break through in just over a decade.
However, these were the cultivation insights of the Human Clan and were not of great use to Zi Kun. After reading a section, he felt it contradicted his own innate cultivation habits and took the initiative to give up on it.
This was the advantage of powerful Demonic Beasts. The more powerful the Demonic Beast, the simpler their cultivation method might be. Some could even continuously advance just by eating and sleeping, though of course, this was not without its limits.
Li Yan quickly immersed his Divine Sense into the book. Now that he had entered the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm, many of the phrases he had previously found vague or incomprehensible yielded new feelings and understanding as he calmed his mind and studied them carefully.
He read for twenty-one days straight!
On this day, Li Yan closed the booklet and placed it on the ground beside him. He slowly closed his eyes, and at the same time, the black, gloomy light on his body began to fluctuate, growing stronger and weaker…
In cultivation, there is no sense of time. Autumn passed and spring came, summer grew and the cold faded. The years slipped by, one after another, and the return of Li Yan and Zhao Min was no longer a topic of special mention.
The giant beast that was the Malevolent Spirit Sect never stopped breathing. As it ceaselessly nurtured cultivator after cultivator, it also continued to grow stronger.
Fifteen years passed in a flash. One day during these fifteen years, Shuang Qingqing returned to the Desolate Moon Continent with Bai Rou. She, of course, had not received the message Li Yan had asked someone to deliver to the Tianli Clan.
When she learned that Li Yan and Zhao Min had long since returned, she came to Little Bamboo Peak, but unfortunately, both Li Yan and Zhao Min were in long-term seclusion.
After a private, secret talk with Wei Zhongran, Shuang Qingqing departed gracefully.
From then on, no one on the Desolate Moon Continent ever saw Shuang Qingqing again.
She did not even go to see Bai Rou one last time before she left. This woman of peerless elegance became just another powerful passerby in the occasional tales of the great war against the Demon Clan…