In any case, the Sea of the Northern Abyss was the most barren place on the Desolate Moon Continent. Apart from cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and above, no one else knew where its end was.
And in the absence of spiritual energy, even Nascent Soul cultivators rarely went to that place. This resulted in very few people being familiar with it.
So, it was indeed possible that something unknown had happened there. Besides, Li Yan and Zhao Min guessed that others probably wouldn't press too much for details.
"We didn't. We traveled stealthily the whole way!"
Li Yan gave a perfunctory answer.
Li Wuyi nodded. As long as Zhao Min and Li Yan hadn't suffered at the hands of those bald donkeys, it was fine.
After that, they talked for a while longer, and then Zhao Min left with Zhao Zhi. The mother and daughter naturally had countless secrets to share...
Li Yan was also called into a secret chamber by Wei Zhongran. The two talked for a full hour, and no one else knew what they had discussed...
Late at night, a golden, round moon hung high in the sky, casting down a vast expanse of pale yellow light that shone through the swaying bamboo leaves into a bamboo courtyard.
This was Li Yan's former residence. In the bamboo courtyard at this moment, apart from Zhang Que and the other junior disciples who were absent, Wei Zhongran and his wife, as well as Li Wuyi and the others, were all gathered here.
Among them, the voluptuous and alluring Li Changting had also appeared.
After receiving Zhao Min's voice transmission, Li Changting couldn't believe that Zhao Min had returned. After standing in a daze for a moment, she rushed over in a flurry.
She had once heard from Li Wuyi that Zhao Min and Li Yan had appeared on the Verdant Continent, but after several years, just like the past few decades, there was no further news of Zhao Min.
Upon hearing Zhao Min's voice in the transmission talisman, a series of charming laughs from this Peak Master echoed throughout Never-Parting Peak.
This left the elders and disciples of Never-Parting Peak wondering what had happened, but it was clear to everyone that the Peak Master was in high spirits.
This made them all tremble with fear. This Peak Master was not as reassuring as the old Peak Master; from time to to time, she would come up with some new tricks.
...
In Li Yan's bamboo courtyard, Wei Zhongran and his wife, breaking with tradition, were drinking and making merry with their disciples.
Li Yan's bamboo courtyard was still in the same place.
No one lived here, but outer sect disciples often came to clean it. Nearly a hundred years had passed, yet no one had suggested giving it to someone else.
Firstly, Little Bamboo Peak still didn't have many disciples;
Secondly, Li Yan had fallen into the Devil's Cliff Crevice along with Zhao Min. Giving his place to someone else would only mean that they believed Li Yan might have perished. And what about Zhao Min, who was with him?
Therefore, even after nearly a hundred years, Li Yan's courtyard remained almost exactly as it was.
This made Li Yan, upon returning to the courtyard, look at all the furnishings before him, and many memories surfaced one after another. Every little detail from the past welled up in his heart.
After a long while, he could only let out a sigh from the bottom of his heart. Everything was as it was, yet everything was no longer there.
Li Yan's appearance hadn't changed much, but he was no longer the youth he once was. The little mountain village he had cared for was no longer in his heart, and Gong Chenying's figure no longer appeared in this courtyard...
Gazing at the fine wine and delicacies on the stone table, Li Yan held a jade cup, his eyes sweeping over the familiar faces before him. Among his senior brothers and sisters, the figures of three people from the past were missing.
"Little Junior Brother, why are you always staring into space with your wine cup? What are you thinking about?"
A heavy slap landed on Li Yan's shoulder. Wei Chituo, his face slightly flushed, walked over with a wine cup.
Not far away, Li Changting and Zhao Min were whispering about something. Occasionally, Li Changting would look at Li Yan with a strange gaze, her eyes sizing him up and down, making Li Yan's hair stand on end.
He was also a bit reluctant to get involved with this Senior Sister Li. This person was eccentric and had many ways to play tricks on people. One could easily fall into her trap if not careful. The words she spoke were often unexpected and without restraint.
Li Yan didn't even know how someone with Zhao Min's personality could be as close as sisters with Li Changting. She was the one who most hated people chattering in her ear.
Li Wuyi, on the other hand, was being pulled by Miao Wangqing to drink. Several times he tried to stand up, but was angrily kicked back down by Miao Wangqing.
Li Wuyi wore a placating smile, not angry at all.
Only Yun Chunqu sat there alone, occasionally taking a sip of wine, remaining silent, looking as if he had a lot on his mind.
Wei Zhongran and Zhao Zhi watched all of this with beaming smiles.
"Second Senior Brother, what kind of sect cultivation method have you been practicing? Your strength should be able to contend with a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, right?"
Li Yan shifted his body slightly, raised his cup to clink with Wei Chituo's, then took a light sip.
If his senses weren't mistaken, Wei Chituo had definitely cultivated some kind of powerful body refining art. His aura had a consistently magnificent and fierce feeling.
Li Yan thought about the body refining arts of the Malevolent Spirit Sect that he knew of, but for a moment, he couldn't think of any that matched. He felt that Wei Chituo might have had some kind of personal fortuitous encounter.
"Hehehe, this is a fortuitous opportunity I obtained during the great war with the Demon Clan. I got it from the storage ring of a dead monk!"
Wei Chituo chuckled.
"A cultivation method from the Jingtu Sect? How dare you practice it, Senior Brother?"
Li Yan was slightly surprised. No wonder he felt that his Second Senior Brother's aura was magnificent and powerful; it turned out he was practicing a Buddhist body refining art.
But practicing the cultivation methods of other sects was a major taboo, especially between the Four Great Sects. If one practiced the other's secret cultivation methods, it could trigger a war between the sects.
"Little Junior Brother can tell? Hehehe... But don't worry, this wasn't a big deal a few decades ago. As long as you don't openly advertise it, no one will pursue the matter."
"In that great war, not to mention the countless casualties among the first- and second-rate sects, even the Four Great Sects lost innumerable disciples. The magical treasures and cultivation methods in their storage pouches have fallen into the hands of countless outsiders."
"In addition, after the war, the entire cultivation world of the Desolate Moon Continent was in a state of depression, and it was precisely the time when strength needed to be increased."
"So, as long as you're not practicing their top-tier secret arts and you're not too ostentatious, every family will turn a blind eye."
"Just like our Malevolent Spirit Sect, many of our cultivation methods have also been circulated outside. The sect has also sent out elders to investigate, and after killing those who practiced the top-tier secret arts and recovering the cultivation methods, they didn't overly implicate their disciples or clansmen."
"Although the cultivation method I'm practicing is not weak, in the Jingtu Sect, it can only be considered a method for ordinary core disciples, not the top-tier cultivation method that only elite disciples can obtain..."
Wei Chituo explained simply, and only then did Li Yan understand. However, he also noticed a phrase Wei Chituo had used.
"This was the case several decades ago..."
This meant that now, as the strength of the Desolate Moon Continent's cultivation world recovered, if someone wanted to easily practice another sect's cultivation method, it might be like a hundred years ago—hunted down relentlessly until death.
"Little Junior Brother, why are you still nursing that one cup of wine?"
Wei Chituo's dissatisfied voice came over.
Li Yan's cheek twitched. Ever since he had personally poured a cup of clear white wine at the beginning, he had been holding it in his hand.
Because, right after that, Li Changting and Zhao Min had arrived. Dressed in a fiery red long dress, with skin fairer than snow, Li Changting waved her jade hand, and wine vats of all sizes appeared on the ground around the stone table.
And the few jars of white wine brewed from spirit plants were instantly swept away by Wei Zhongran, reserved for him and Zhao Zhi to enjoy slowly.
Wei Zhongran's movements were familiar and natural. It all happened before Li Yan could even react. Next, the others actually started drinking the wine Li Changting brought out very naturally. What made Li Yan's facial muscles twitch even more was that...
Apart from him and Zhao Min, everyone else, including Miao Wangqing, seemed completely unfazed by the wine being poured out, whether it was black, red, green, or multicolored.
Everyone was able to pick it up and drink, as if they had long been accustomed to it.
This left Li Yan with only the clear wine in his cup. When he looked at Wei Zhongran, Wei Zhongran had locked the few jars of spirit plant white wine with his aura, encircling them around himself.
It was clear at a glance that no one should even think of taking them from him. Wei Zhongran even ignored Li Yan's gaze.
Li Yan could only hold his cup, fearing that some thoughtless senior brother would pour Li Changting's wine into it.
'They must have drunk a lot of Senior Sister Li's concoctions over the years!'
Li Yan had been thinking about the reason earlier. This was completely different from the situation back then, when everyone wished they could drive Li Changting away, the farther the better.
Li Yan didn't know that during the great war with the Demon Clan, the people of Little Bamboo Peak had all been injured quite a bit.
Especially with internal injuries, they would often suffer great losses of vital qi, even a deficiency of both qi and blood, after encountering strong enemies.
Although they had some high-quality medicinal pills, even Li Wuyi, the Eldest Senior Brother, couldn't afford to use those that could most quickly heal internal injuries, only using them once or twice occasionally.
So, Li Changting would bring out some Gu wine for Li Wuyi and the others to drink, saying it was excellent for healing.
They had long known the effects of Gu wine, but in the past, only disciples of Never-Parting Peak would use it in their daily cultivation. Disciples from the other peaks simply didn't dare to drink it.
The sight of those colorful Gu-insects, the thought of swallowing them, even for cultivators, would make their hearts tremble. It was nowhere near as convenient as medicinal pills.
However, at that time, Li Wuyi and the others were short on medicinal pills. In order to heal their injuries sooner, they pinched their noses and drank it.
Facts proved that Li Changting was right. The Gu wines she brought out were all carefully selected and concocted for different injuries.
Although the effects were not as good as top-grade medicinal pills, they were much better than most pills. It was more reasonable for Li Wuyi and the others to save their high-quality pills for critical life-saving moments.
So, after a while, Li Wuyi, Wei Chituo, and the others gradually no longer feared the Gu wine. Instead, they slowly began to hope that Li Changting would give them more.
The only exception here was Miao Wangqing. She had always stayed on Little Bamboo Peak.
After the great war ended and the disciples of Little Bamboo Peak returned, when they occasionally gathered, the others would drink the Gu wine brought out by Li Changting without hesitation. Only she would still be pale with fear.
But under Li Changting's disdainful gaze, Miao Wangqing finally summoned all her courage. As Li Yan had said, when the Fourth Senior Sister got ruthless, she was truly "fierce."
Whatever Lin Daqiao and the others dared to drink, she would grit her teeth and drink it down without retreating a single step. After a while, she actually integrated into the group.
"Oh, Second Senior Brother, I'm still not used to drinking that Gu wine. This white wine in my cup is enough for me!"
Li Yan whispered to Wei Chituo, a look of difficulty on his face.
"Eh? Little Junior Brother still doesn't dare to drink Gu wine? We're all Golden Core cultivators now!"
Wei Chituo's large eyes rolled. He immediately puffed out his chest and slapped it loudly, staring at Li Yan as if he had never been afraid of these Gu wines.
"Oh, Little Junior Brother still doesn't like the wine I made?"
Just as Li Yan was about to quickly cover Wei Chituo's mouth, a voice as enchanting as bone marrow drifted over.
Li Yan couldn't help but cry out in his heart. This Second Senior Brother was definitely doing it on purpose. He wasn't speaking out of any kind of forthrightness.
As this voice sounded, sure enough, Li Changting looked over. Then she was seen letting go of Zhao Min's jade hand and gracefully standing up!