After flying for another half an incense stick's worth of time, Li Yan and his companion arrived above a densely wooded island. Without hesitation, the two descended directly.
At the same time, a token appeared in both of their hands. The moment they came into contact with the invisible grand formation's barrier , a light flowed into the tokens. Li Yan only felt a slight tremor from the token in his hand.
Inside the Earthen Patch , the unconscious Yang Youxian's face grew even paler; he had just lost another drop of essence blood .
With a soft "chi" sound, Li Yan and his companion passed directly through the invisible barrier. At the same time, several streams of divine sense swept towards them, and among them, Li Yan sensed a tyrannical divine sense power.
"As expected, there are Nascent Soul cultivators patrolling at all times. The defenses are extremely tight."
This was different from the sects on the Desolate Moon Continent . Many sects with Nascent Soul cultivators would only patrol irregularly and would not inspect everyone who arrived.
Even if there was a Nascent Soul cultivator on duty, they would mostly rely on their senses to catch abnormalities while in seated meditation.
"Whether it's fear of a sneak attack from the Wind Beasts or a visit from an enemy, these precautions are truly strict."
Though Li Yan's face was impassive, all his muscles were tensed. The moment he sensed something was wrong, he would immediately break out.
However, the situation where his tracks were exposed and he was immediately locked onto by several Nascent Soul cultivators, like what happened to the Great Elder, did not occur.
"The formation and the divine sense probably didn't detect that the disguise from the Verisimilitude Pill is fake..."
Li Yan quickly assessed the surrounding situation in his mind.
But even after the two of them entered the grand formation, although the few streams of divine sense had seen them clearly, they still continued to follow.
"Ten zhang, fifty zhang, a hundred zhang… two hundred zhang… three hundred zhang… five hundred zhang…"
As Li Yan silently calculated in his mind, he was getting farther and farther away from the invisible barrier behind him, yet the few streams of divine sense did not dissipate. They continued to follow closely, sweeping over his body again and again.
On the surface, Li Yan acted perfectly normal. With a flash of light, the token in his hand was put away, but his heart grew increasingly tense.
"This isn't going to be like catching a turtle in a jar , is it!"
The farther he was from the grand formation barrier behind him, the more danger he was in!
At this moment, Cao Lang began to speak to him.
"Senior Brother Yang, I'm going to hand in my task! Later, after you've registered that bottle of medicinal pills I mentioned on the way, I'll have to trouble you to pay more attention to it."
After speaking, Cao Lang cupped his hands in a salute.
Yang Youxian had been good this time, revealing the treasure he had obtained last month. Cao Lang had taken a liking to a bottle of medicinal pills, but these things weren't something they could get just by asking.
Otherwise, all the items acquired by the sect would be taken by them, and everyone else would only get leftovers. They could only rely on their special status to have a chance to get the first pick.
For the bottle of medicinal pills that Cao Lang had taken a fancy to, he needed to wait until it was registered, then have Yang Youxian speak with the internal affairs deacon. At that time, Cao Lang might get one or two pills from it, or perhaps the entire bottle.
As for the good things he saw in the market shop, Yang Youxian generally had to collude with Shopkeeper Wu in advance, but this could only happen once or twice every four or five years.
Any more and he would expose himself. They didn't dare to be too audacious, otherwise, even with a Nascent Soul cultivator as a backer, it wouldn't be enough, as the Qionglin Sect had more than one Nascent Soul cultivator.
Li Yan also nodded at him. He, of course, also had to hand in his task, but the place he was going was not the same as Cao Lang's; it was the Internal Affairs Hall.
After the two separated, Li Yan flew towards the place in his memory. At the same time, the streams of divine sense scanning him finally departed one by one, which finally allowed Li Yan to relax a little.
After Cao Lang and the divine senses left his perception, Li Yan did not immediately go to the Internal Affairs Hall. Instead, he flew directly towards the northwest.
By now, the sun was setting, and it was approaching dusk. As Li Yan flew, he could see the vast, deep blue surface of the sea outside the island through the transparent barrier.
Li Yan soon arrived before a cave residence facing the sea. In front of the cave was a platform made of huge stones, one side facing the sea and the other leaning against a mountain peak only a few dozen zhang high.
On both sides of the platform were several rows of tall bushes. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the sea shimmered with light. As the sea breeze blew, the evening coolness brought a sense of tranquility to the heart.
Li Yan landed on the platform and scanned his surroundings. At this moment, there were no other cultivators around, making it seem even more serene.
He immediately strode towards the cave entrance. After walking only a dozen or so zhang on the platform, he was blocked by an invisible force. The cave entrance, so close, was now unreachable.
Just then, a calm voice came from thin air, drifting in the evening wind.
"What brings you here?"
"Reporting to Master , your disciple has just returned from the market!"
Li Yan bowed in a salute, his attitude extremely respectful. After hearing his words, the voice fell silent for a short while.
"Then come in?"
As the voice fell, Li Yan felt the invisible force blocking him suddenly disappear, and the gate of the cave in front of him also opened slowly with a slight tremor.
Without hesitation, Li Yan flashed and entered the cave.
The inside of the cave was very large. What entered Li Yan's vision was a quiet courtyard, complete with rockeries and a fish pond. In the pond were many golden water lilies exuding a delicate fragrance.
On one side of the mountain wall, clear spring water flowed down, making a pleasant sound as it entered the pond. The entire cave was filled with the cool clarity of summer, which further cleared one's mind.
Li Yan familiarly wound his way past the rockeries and ponds, continuously moving forward on the winding pebble-paved path.
He didn't know what kind of formation was used on the ceiling of the cave, but it perfectly reflected the sky outside. Under the setting sun, half of the sky was a golden yellow, magnificent and dazzling.
Li Yan knew it was not an illusion, but the real sky outside. When it was bright outside, it was bright here; when it was night outside, it was dark here. This was a very impressive protective grand formation.
After walking along the stone path towards the back for about three hundred breaths, and after winding past rockeries and emerald green banana leaves, a pavilion connected to a corridor appeared ahead.
At this moment, a middle-aged man in a green robe was sitting in the pavilion. He was seated at a stone table, holding a teacup, and leaning back in a large chair, as if deep in thought with his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of Li Yan's approach.
Li Yan walked to the front of the pavilion, outside the corridor. He stood with his hands clasped, silent.
Time passed bit by bit. Only when the green-robed middle-aged man slowly opened his eyes, took another sip of tea, and placed the cup on the stone table did he look at Li Yan.
He was very appreciative of this eldest disciple's disposition; he was steady and acted with seasoned experience.
"Youxian, what did you discover at the market?"
The green-robed middle-aged man was none other than Yang Youxian's master, "Venerable Green Sea." When he heard Yang Youxian say he had returned from the market, he knew what his intentions were.
Anything that could catch Yang Youxian's eye should be of some value.
"Master, your disciple saw a damaged magical treasure in the market and felt it was likely refined by a Confucian Nascent Soul cultivator, so I acquired it at a high price and would like to ask Master to appraise it!"
As Li Yan spoke, he patted a storage pouch, and with a flash of black light, a black inkstone appeared in the air. It was his own magical treasure.
Normally, the treasures Yang Youxian brought back had to be registered at the Internal Affairs Hall first. And for overly valuable items, he had to report back to "Venerable Green Sea" and get his written order before he could take them out of the Internal Affairs Hall.
But occasionally, Yang Youxian would also bring treasures here first, though not too often. Just as Cao Lang knew about the inkstone, he would also go and inform his own master, which could cause trouble later.
Of course, if Yang Youxian and Shopkeeper Wu colluded in advance, this item would have been pocketed by him.
But Li Yan had no intention of letting his magical treasure end up in the Internal Affairs Hall. He wouldn't go to the Internal Affairs Hall for the so-called task handover. In any case, he just needed some time to make his move after meeting "Venerable Green Sea."
And Cao Lang was probably still handing over his own things at this time. The amount of things he purchased was not small and needed to be counted one by one, which just happened to give Li Yan a window of opportunity.
"A Nascent Soul level magical treasure from a Confucian? That's not easy to come by in the market!"
"Venerable Green Sea" was immediately interested, and his sharp eyes swept over.
Nascent Soul level magical treasures were, of course, available in the market, but if one wanted to find something of a truly high grade, one would probably have to go to an auction house. However, one could occasionally find a good deal in some shops.
This depended on luck and one's eye. He felt that Yang Youxian's eye was still decent.
Li Yan quickly stepped forward. Although he did not enter the pavilion, he respectfully handed over the black inkstone across the railing.
"Venerable Green Sea" reached out and took it. He naturally had no defenses against this eldest disciple of his. After taking the black inkstone, "Venerable Green Sea's" divine sense immediately swept over it.
His expression immediately froze. It indeed contained the Righteous Qi of a Confucian, and it seemed quite strong.
It was just that this treasure looked as if it had been corroded by some extremely potent yin poison. He could feel a surge of yin-cold blood qi from its surface.
"It truly is a fine Confucian magical treasure. If I can remove this yin-cold blood qi, and if I can then activate the Righteous Qi within it, its power would be much better than the few magical treasures in my hands…"
As he thought, he immersed his divine sense into the magical treasure and began to inspect it carefully!
And Li Yan stood just a few horizontal railings away, with his hands clasped respectfully, his head bowed in a subservient manner.
After more than a hundred breaths, "Venerable Green Sea" finally withdrew his divine sense. He turned his head to look at Li Yan.
"This should be a set of magical treasures. If your master is not mistaken, it might be the Four Treasures of the Study—brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. They were a set of magical treasures refined together. Did you only get this one piece?"
"Or perhaps you only saw this one magical treasure in the market, and the other three magical treasures…"
Just as he was speaking, his face, which had been calm all along, suddenly changed drastically. The black inkstone in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud."
Then, "Venerable Green Sea" turned his head back with difficulty. It was a face filled with utter shock, his eyes filled with disbelief, staring intently at "Yang Youxian" standing outside the railing.
"You… why did you plot against your master?"
"Venerable Green Sea" felt his entire body go numb. This numbness had first spread from his hands, and almost in the next instant, this symptom appeared in other parts of his body.
Before, he had felt nothing at all. It had all come so suddenly.
Just now, the Nascent Soul in his dantian had suddenly stood up, and then the magical power in his body, like his skin, had taken on a hint of "numbness" in its circulation.
There was a sense of unfamiliarity between his own perception and the magical power in his body. He was poisoned. The "unfamiliarity" of his magical power was a disconnect from his consciousness after being poisoned.
"Venerable Green Sea" instantly figured everything out. The "Yang Youxian" outside the railing also had a look of astonishment on his face. He was about to take a step forward, but under "Venerable Green Sea's" sharp gaze, he immediately stopped in his tracks.
"Master, you… what's wrong with you?"
This expression of his made "Venerable Green Sea," who was staring at him, wonder for a moment if his disciple also didn't know what had happened. Could this poison be inherent to the magical treasure itself? But he quickly reacted.
"You are not Youxian. Where is he? Who on earth are you?"
This magical treasure was poisonous, but it was this "Yang Youxian" who had taken it out. He must have also carefully inspected it bit by bit. Why was he fine?
In an instant, "Venerable Green Sea" knew there was a problem with the person before him.
"Mas… Master, of… of course it's me. What are you talking about? You can't be joking!"
The astonished expression on "Yang Youxian's" face had now been replaced by one of panic. He looked helpless, giving off a feeling of great fear.
Li Yan did not admit it immediately but deliberately continued to act. He always strived for stability in his actions. His goal was to stall for a little more time.
The poison he had placed on the inkstone magical treasure, he called it "Wood Flow Puppet." He had named this poison after seeing the puppets refined by the Wood Flow Sect.
The onset of this poison was somewhat slow, and it seeped in silently. The toxins would adhere to the flesh and the walls of the meridians , slowly forming a membrane.
This would make a cultivator's control over their own magical power increasingly "unfamiliar," creating a sense of uncontrollable disconnect, until they could no longer sense their magical power at all.
After a period of time, the "Wood Flow Puppet" poison would also disappear on its own, leaving no lasting damage to the body.
As for the duration of the poison's onset, Li Yan had to control it personally. He had to decide the amount of poison to use based on the opponent's cultivation.
All of this required Li Yan to test it bit by bit himself. Therefore, although the "Fragmented Poison Body" was formidable, every time he divided and advanced, it was a time of great pain for Li Yan.
He had to test them one by one. And this testing was not as simple as taking a demonic beast and putting the poison on it. He needed to carefully observe its various reactions, constantly recording and speculating.
At the same time, he also had to judge based on the opponent's cultivation, and even different environments, to finally determine the method of application for this poison.
Seeing "Venerable Green Sea" take the black inkstone and inspect it with his divine sense, Li Yan finally relaxed a little…
"Who… are you? What deep-seated hatred do I have with Your Excellency? To go to such great lengths to plot against me!"
"Venerable Green Sea" spoke almost word by word. At the same time, even his seated body swayed a few times. The aura that had just erupted from his body quickly weakened.
Looking at "Venerable Green Sea's" fierce gaze and rapidly receding aura, Li Yan finally swept his divine sense over. What he had to do was to not allow the other party any means or opportunity to resist.