This demonic beast resembled a fierce tiger, its body the size of a bull. Its fur was long and sharp like a hedgehog's, and a pair of wicked wings grew from its back. Its large mouth was filled with bared fangs.
Although the beast's form was blurry at this moment, it gave off a sense of boundless ferocity, as if it could tear apart all things in the world.
Gong Chenying, however, was completely unaware of this. If she had seen this scene, she would have been extremely surprised, because she was very familiar with the appearance of this demonic beast. It was very similar to the statue of a demonic beast worshipped in her clan, one of the four peerless ferocious beasts of antiquity—the Qiongqi.
The moment the Qiongqi's figure appeared above her head, Gong Chenying's aura instantly soared, reaching the peak of the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm in almost an instant.
But even then, the aura on Gong Chenying's body did not stop, and it continued to climb upwards, though it became somewhat wild and turbulent.
Outside the chamber, Hong Yin's beautiful eyes suddenly snapped open.
"Her body cultivation technique is too domineering, and it's already approaching the Nascent Soul realm, but the magical power in her Dantian is somewhat weak and imbalanced. Now, under the cultivation of a new method, it's suddenly soaring uncontrollably. If this continues, she might trigger the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation, but now is definitely not a good time." Gong Chenying's years of slaughter had allowed her "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" to break through to the fifth layer ahead of schedule, but her state of mind had never caught up. This created a great disparity between her realm and her strength.
She was also a dual dharma-body cultivator, not like the vast majority of cultivators in the Tianli Clan who only practiced body refining techniques. As long as their body refining technique reached the fifth layer, they would step into the Nascent Soul realm.
Gong Chenying needed a balance between the two cultivation methods before she could finally set foot in the Nascent Soul stage. Just like Li Yan, if he had only cultivated the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art," then his cultivation would have been stuck at the Golden Core stage before obtaining the fifth layer of the cultivation method.
This was actually contrary to the advancement of the Five Immortal Sects' cultivation methods, but he had the "Wood Spirit Essence" of the Giant Wood Clan to temper his body, allowing his body refinement to improve. The key was that he had always been absorbing the "Undead Nether Phoenix" essence blood, which had long since made his physical body reach the Nascent Soul realm, so he could still continuously improve his realm.
Although the combat power of a dual dharma-body cultivator would be more heaven-defying in the later stages, at least before the Spirit Transformation stage, it was not as good as a single cultivation method. Their cultivation speed was not as fast, and their attack power was not necessarily able to suppress the other party.
It was just that Li Yan and Zhao Min both cultivated the divine skill treasure manuals of top-tier major sects, so they could easily display the situation of suppressing those of the same rank.
And although Wei Zhongran had also chosen a first-rate cultivation method for Gong Chenying, it could not be compared to the "Red Whisk Temple's" ultimate divine skill. As soon as she began to cultivate it, she felt a sense of ease, like a fish in water or a dragon in the sea.
Gong Chenying's true strength had long surpassed her current realm. She had been at a bottleneck for a long time, and this bottleneck had been suppressing her for a long time.
Now, after just a few days of cultivating the "Red Lotus Incinerating Fire Scripture," everything fell into place. Not only did she easily break through to the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm, but she also advanced triumphantly all the way to the peak of the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm.
Even so, her aura was still like a rainbow. If she continued to break through to the Nascent Soul realm at this time, once the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation arrived, in Hong Yin's view, it was ten out of ten certain that Gong Chenying would fail.
Her state of mind had not been tempered by the Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm at all. She might even fail to break through and, due to the instability of her current Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm, fall directly back to the Late-stage Golden Core, or even the Mid-stage Golden Core.
At that time, if Gong Chenying wanted to cultivate back, it would be harder than ascending to the heavens. She might even be stuck at the Golden Core stage from then on.
Hong Yin's figure blurred and she appeared silently in the cultivation chamber. Just as she raised her hand to strike, her movement paused, and a smile appeared on her face.
Because, Gong Chenying's soaring aura suddenly stopped and then rapidly declined. In just a breath, her aura had dropped to the peak state of the Pseudo-Nascent Soul.
Gong Chenying had already realized the danger and had immediately begun to forcibly suppress her soaring magical power, slowly compressing her realm back to the peak of the Pseudo-Nascent Soul.
Hong Yin had also had a detailed talk with Gong Chenying about cultivation matters, and she had analyzed all of Gong Chenying's previous cultivation methods one by one.
With Hong Yin's cultivation realm, she could see Gong Chenying's problem at a glance. Due to long-term slaughter, she had been tempering her "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" almost every day, which had caused her body refinement path to improve too quickly and become too powerful. And since she had chosen the path of dual dharma-body cultivation, what she lacked was a dharma cultivation method, one that could balance with the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art." And Hong Yin could also see that with Gong Chenying's current situation, if she had cultivated the "Red Lotus Incinerating Fire Scripture" earlier, she might have faced the Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation sixty years ago. Dual dharma-body cultivation required a person not only to have talent but also to put in twice the cultivation time of others.
Gong Chenying had made an oath since she was a child to help her father and strengthen the Tianli Clan, so she chose a difficult path.
In fact, she could have chosen witchcraft in dharma cultivation like the Third Elder, but she felt that she did not like witchcraft, so she abandoned that path of dharma cultivation.
There are some things that are destined in the dark. Cultivators are more inclined to believe in such things. If they feel that something is not suitable for them, they will generally not force themselves to cultivate it. Nine times out of ten, it would just be a waste of time.
Hong Yin stood behind Gong Chenying again, watching quietly for a while. After sensing that her aura had truly stabilized, she disappeared from the cultivation chamber... In the pavilion, Li Yan had just returned from outside. After Hong Yin left, and after he had thought through his plan, he had gone out again to communicate with the Grand Elder.
He asked them to prepare the materials for refining the poison pills and poison liquid within half a month, and he would immediately begin to cast the spell.
The more materials, the better. He could refine some first to reinforce the already unstable defensive line. The rest of the materials could be delivered in succession, for a total of about five years' worth.
Because, after dealing with this matter, Li Yan would have to leave the Tianli Clan for a period of time. Although the Grand Elder had already guessed Li Yan's poison body constitution, he still readily agreed to his request for refining materials.
With Gong Chenying's relationship, and seeing the way Gong Shanhe looked at Li Yan like a "mother-in-law" looking at her son-in-law, happier the more she looked, the Grand Elder could basically guess that half of the raw materials Li Yan asked for would likely fall into the hands of the Gong clan in the future.
He was of course very happy to agree to this. He promised Li Yan that he would inform the several elders in a while and ask them to prepare as soon as possible. For so many materials, the Grand Elder certainly wouldn't make a decision by himself.
The materials listed in Li Yan's jade slip would have about twenty percent of the raw materials delivered to him in five days at the earliest, because the Tianli Clan had a lot of stock of them. And by urgently gathering some of the missing ones, they could meet the emergency needs.
Although some of those materials were also considered precious, fortunately, Li Yan had certainly taken that into consideration, so he did not ask for an exorbitant price, just a large quantity.
However, Li Yan's saying that he would be away for a period of time made the Grand Elder a little puzzled. But Li Yan only said that he would be away for a period of time, which meant he had a reason to leave. Currently, neither side had proposed when to hold the "Qing A Wang" ceremony. At present, the Tianli Clan was at a critical juncture, and none of the Nascent Soul cultivators had the heart to focus on this.
But the Grand Elder could still hear some things from Li Yan's words. Just from the fact that Li Yan asked for five years' worth of raw materials, he should be able to judge the approximate time he would be away.
But it could also be because Li Yan had made a deal with them to assist the Tianli Clan with their defense for five years, in which case he could get the sixth layer of the cultivation method.
The Grand Elder certainly wanted to know the reason for Li Yan's departure. He wanted Li Yan to stay in the Tianli Clan as much as possible. After all, the Tianli Clan needed Li Yan very much at this time, but he couldn't just say so.
So the Grand Elder decided in his heart that he would send a voice transmission to Gong Shanhe in a while to see if he was willing to sound Li Yan out.
After Li Yan returned in a hurry, he immediately sent a voice transmission to the two demons. In a few days, he would begin to deploy the poison defense line in front. The two demons and the Snow Mosquito clan still had to do a good job of defending for him.
And then he would leave here, but he did not plan to take the two demons with him, so he had some things to tell them.
Since returning to the Tianli Clan, the two demons had left the "Earthen Patch" and gone out. Li Yan had not seen them for many days, and he did not know where they had gone.
However, with the current status of the two demons, Li Yan was not worried that they would get into trouble in the Tianli Clan. The two demons had not only participated in that great battle, which had allowed many people in the Tianli Clan to see their ferocity, but also, when they later assisted Li Yan in deploying the defensive line, almost all the cultivators and warriors had gotten to know them.
The two demons were now also very popular in the Tianli Clan. Although there were factional disputes in the Tianli Clan, those were all at the middle and high levels. The mortal warriors and low-level cultivators below revered the strong.
They were more inclined to identify with the companions they had fought with, and these people were the most numerous group.
Soon, Zi Kun was the first to return to the pavilion. He had a smile on his face. It was clear that he was having a very pleasant time here. Anyone would be happy if they were greeted warmly wherever they went.
He first bowed to Li Yan. Li Yan just nodded and did not speak. Seeing this, Zi Kun found a chair and sat down.
Li Yan waited for a while longer, but still did not see Qian Ji return. He couldn't help but ask.
"Where's Qian Ji? Didn't he go out with you?" Hearing this, a hint of hesitation appeared on Zi Kun's face. Seeing his expression, Li Yan frowned.
"What's wrong? Did someone target you?" This was Li Yan's first thought. He always thought of the worst-case scenario first, even though Zi Kun still had a smile on his face just now.
Li Yan had heard from the Third Elder that the news of his being the "Qing A Wang" was now circulating in the clan. This made many of the younger generation of cultivators feel very unhappy. When Li Yan returned this time, he saw many people looking at him with strange eyes, with envy, joy, enthusiasm, and indifference... Of course, these people still had to be respectful to him on the surface. Mortal warriors were already in awe of immortals, and the seniority order among cultivators was even stricter. So even if some cultivators had indifference or even hostility in their eyes, they still had to bow to him on the surface and have a respectful attitude.
Now, even the Second and Fifth Elders had to be wary of Li Yan's role in the Tianli Clan, let alone the clansmen below.
So, Li Yan himself had not encountered any major problems so far, but it was not certain if someone was targeting the two demons.
Therefore, as soon as a hesitant look appeared on Zi Kun's face, Li Yan's first thought was, "Those people don't dare to do anything to me, so they're clashing with the two demons? Or have they attacked them verbally?" This was Li Yan's first reaction. From this, it could be seen that Li Yan was not a gentleman, but a true villain. He rarely thought well of others.
"No, Master. I feel that since we came back from the swamp last time, Qian Ji has become a little taciturn, looking preoccupied all day. I asked him a few times later, but he said nothing was wrong! Recently, after I went out with him, he would often find a deserted place to sit quietly. It looked like he was meditating, but I think he was just thinking about something." Since arriving at the Tianli Clan, Li Yan had been extremely busy, and the two demons did not dare to disturb him. Seeing Li Yan ask, Zi Kun immediately told him what he knew.
In this world, now, besides greatly respecting Li Yan and the two mistresses, Zi Kun also regarded them as family, including Qian Ji, who fought with him all day.
Now that Qian Ji was a little abnormal, he couldn't help but worry. But Qian Ji, who had always been outspoken, this time, no matter how he asked, just grinned at him and said nothing was wrong.
Li Yan was too busy to be bothered. For a time, Zi Kun could only make various guesses in his heart.
"Oh? There's such a thing!" After hearing this, a strange expression appeared on Li Yan's face. He really hadn't noticed Qian Ji's state.
"You said he became like this after returning from the swamp?" Li Yan directly grasped the key point in Zi Kun's words... After dozens of breaths, the white-robed Qian Ji flew back. Seeing the two in the room staring at him, he couldn't help but reach out and scratch the back of his head.
"Hehehe... Master, I was just in a deep meditation. After I felt something, I hurried back!"
"Are you sure you weren't looking for that girl named A Ling? I saw her looking for you a few times, and they were whispering on the side!" Zi Kun said with a seemingly dissatisfied look on his face.
There were really many beautiful girls in the Tianli Clan, but Li Yan had strictly forbidden them from fooling around, so they would only talk big.
However, that girl named A Ling had an absolutely first-rate, explosive figure. And after talking with the two demons a few times, she naturally had a better impression of the more glib Qian Ji.
So during the last time Li Yan was deploying the defensive line, A Ling had a heated chat with Qian Ji in private. The two often sat together alone, chatting like they were very familiar with each other.
Li Yan, on the other hand, waved his hand with a smile, interrupting Zi Kun's questioning, and then looked at Qian Ji.
"Is something on your mind?" Li Yan knew that something seemed to have happened to Qian Ji, so he naturally planned to get to the bottom of it. But he did not pull Qian Ji into another room alone, but did it in front of Zi Kun.
He knew that although the two demons sometimes fought like mortal enemies, they were actually as close as brothers. This was what Li Yan most wanted to see. It reminded him of his third brother, the third brother who had beaten him and scolded him since he was a child. But now, there was no longer anyone who could casually beat and scold him.
Hearing Li Yan's question, Qian Ji's hehe-ing expression froze. Then he glared fiercely at Zi Kun.
Zi Kun, on the other hand, had a mischievous smile on his face. He was just curious when this dog had become so "profound."
"Master, I... I just had an inexplicable feeling in my heart. My heart would feel inexplicably frustrated!"
"What feeling?"
"I'm not sure. In the cave at the bottom of the swamp, you asked us to protect you. At that time, I sensed various emotions from the thick black gas outside the cave. At first, I thought it was due to the environment, but later, in my heart, there appeared..." An hour later, in the pavilion, Li Yan stood up, walked slowly to a large window, and stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the lush greenery outside.