"Hehehe… You want to know who I am, Fellow Daoist? Then I'll tell you. I come from the Tianli Clan!"
The look of astonishment on "Yang Youxian's" face vanished in an instant, and his voice changed to one that was completely unfamiliar to "Venerable Green Sea."
The difficulty in plotting against a Nascent Soul cultivator like "Venerable Green Sea" lay in how to get close to him, how to make him let down his guard, and how to precisely control the dosage of the poison.
Therefore, the most troublesome part was the process, not the actual fatal blow.
Every cultivator had a life-saving trump card, and the divine abilities and secret arts of a Nascent Soul cultivator were even more unpredictable. A desperate counterattack was also something Li Yan could not foresee.
Li Yan had come to kill, not to die due to his own negligence.
He only needed to kill any one of their Nascent Soul cultivators to achieve the Tianli Clan's initial goal of revenge, to let the Qionglin Sect know the Tianli Clan's methods, to make them live on pins and needles in the future, and to lose their capital for a standoff with the Sea-Breaking Beasts.
But Li Yan could not kill him here. He had to poison him, then take him out of the Qionglin Sect. It would be best to capture him alive and offer him as a living sacrifice.
This was not Li Yan being vicious, but that this kind of person absolutely had a soul lamp or something similar in the sect. The moment he made a move here, the Qionglin Sect would know, and it would be difficult for him to get out again.
Li Yan always planned before he acted. Even if he decided to kill someone, he would think through the cause and effect and only act after confirming that the person was truly useless.
The current situation was just like with Yang Youxian; he could not be killed immediately.
Otherwise, he had already gained the other's trust, and they were so close. Li Yan would have long since killed him with a thunderous strike.
"You… you are from the Tianli Clan?"
A look of shock appeared on "Venerable Green Sea's" face. He hadn't expected that after such a short time, the Tianli Clan would once again infiltrate their sect, and this time they had actually succeeded and even poisoned him.
The last time, the aged figure with a cane, his formidable strength was still fresh in his memory today. Every time he thought of it, a boundless chill would rise in his heart. He was too strong.
One person dared to single-handedly break into a sect with two late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivators. In that battle, the four of them had besieged him, but he was as powerful as a peerless beast.
His and the Fourth Island Master's attacks hit him as if he felt nothing. Not only did he injure the Second Island Master, but he was even able to break out of the sect-protecting grand formation and fly away in the end.
Li Yan did not answer his question. With a single wave of his hand, a sheet of golden light immediately appeared and enveloped "Venerable Green Sea."
Now that things had come to this, Li Yan delayed no longer and immediately used the Sealing Demon Needle to seal his magical power and Nascent Soul.
But just as the golden light enveloped the pavilion, "Venerable Green Sea," who had been half-lying down, suddenly had a trace of black blood flow from the corner of his mouth, and then, he moved!
With a tap of his toes on the ground, his entire person slid out several zhang. In a flash of lightning, he had actually dodged the golden light of the Sealing Demon Needle.
At the same time, "Venerable Green Sea" raised his right hand, and two silver threads shot towards Li Yan's face.
The face of Li Yan, transformed into "Yang Youxian," grew even colder. He hadn't expected that he had been trying to stall for a bit more time to let the "Wood Flow Puppet" poison take full effect.
But the other party had also been thinking of stalling for time, using the time he was questioning him to secretly activate a secret art to restore his magical power.
If not for the fact that he disliked talking nonsense, and if he had relaxed thinking the situation was under his control, he really would have fallen for the other party's trick.
The two silver threads that shot over were two strange-looking fish demons. Their heads were round like small pinecones, glowing with a green light.
Their small eyes were like green beans, and a silver needle glowing with light protruded from their mouths. Their bodies, however, were flat like hairtail fish, only much thinner and narrower, and their speed was incredibly fast.
The two silver threads reached Li Yan's face in an instant, shooting straight for him. Li Yan could even see their silver tails whipping about like pinwheels, as if to propel them even faster.
Under the forceful activation of his secret art, "Venerable Green Sea" had managed to muster forty or fifty percent of his magical power. He had now shot out of the pavilion, and in a flash, he had reached the lotus pond in the courtyard in front.
The cave entrance was now in sight. Everything had happened in less than half a breath.
And Li Yan behind him was still standing in the same spot. A venomous look flashed in "Venerable Green Sea's" eyes. His most valued eldest disciple had probably already met his end at this person's hands.
And in the intelligence they had, the strongest in the Tianli Clan was the Great Elder, Gong Shengguang. He didn't know if the person who had come was Gong Shanhe or which elder it was. His realm was definitely not as good as Gong Shengguang's, but this stealth technique was truly remarkable.
As long as he opened the cave residence's restriction, he would see where he could run. Unless he was as formidable as Gong Shengguang, then he might have a slim chance of survival.
His thoughts raced, but his actions did not stop at all.
The cave entrance was close at hand. A sharp pain came from "Venerable Green Sea's" abdomen, and another stream of black blood gushed from the corner of his mouth. He waved his hand, and a spell seal shot towards the cave entrance's restriction.
And in his other hand, a light flashed, and a voice transmission talisman appeared. With a surge of magical power, he was already poised to throw it out.
At this time, less than a breath had passed since he had flown out of the pavilion. The speed of a Nascent Soul cultivator fleeing for his life could not be judged by common sense.
But just as "Venerable Green Sea's" entire body surged with magical power, a human figure abruptly appeared in front of him, and another sheet of golden light rained down.
"You…"
Greatly horrified, "Venerable Green Sea's" divine sense immediately split into several streams. Only then did the two silver threads from behind pass through "Yang Youxian's" face and fly out from the back of his head.
But they did not bring out even a trace of blood. It was an afterimage. The movements of both sides were faster than the blink of an eye; the eyes still retained the afterimage of the previous moment.
And in another stream of "Venerable Green Sea's" divine sense, his familiar disciple "Yang Youxian" was already standing at the cave entrance. As he rushed over, the two were almost about to collide.
"Yang Youxian's" eyes were ice-cold as he waved both sleeves.
"How can he be so fast…"
"Venerable Green Sea" had no time for more thoughts. Because the movements of both sides were chasing the lightning, he only had time to summon two spirit beasts to block the other party. The voice transmission talisman was just being taken out as he fled.
This was also because his sea of consciousness was numb and somewhat sluggish. Otherwise, a Nascent Soul cultivator could use countless techniques in a single thought.
The golden light instantly enveloped "Venerable Green Sea's" body. "Venerable Green Sea's" strength was already inferior to Li Yan's, and his speed, under Li Yan's "Phoenix Soars to the Heavens," was even slower.
His counterattack while poisoned could only be a desperate attempt to rush out of the cave residence, then find reinforcements to slay this villain.
"Chichichi…" With a series of soft sounds, streaks of golden light struck "Venerable Green Sea's" body.
This time, with the two almost face to face, "Venerable Green Sea" could no longer cast a spell to counterattack in his haste. Besides, the magical power he could muster was not enough to contend with another Nascent Soul cultivator at their peak.
With a "thud," "Venerable Green Sea's" body fell heavily in the courtyard, but the voice transmission talisman in his hand had already been thrown out.
Li Yan's move was still the "Sealing Demon Needle," directly imprisoning all of "Venerable Green Sea's" magical power.
Only then did Li Yan's blurry figure quickly become clear. Seeing a streak of light shooting towards the cave residence gate, Li Yan shot out a hand like lightning. Curling his fingers into a claw, his five fingers fiercely clenched inward.
A powerful suction force was generated from the palm of his hand. The streak of light that was about to disappear into the cave residence gate's restriction suddenly paused, revealing its true form: a voice transmission talisman.
The voice transmission talisman was like a ferocious python in a cage, constantly twisting and struggling, trying to break free from its restraints.
And the moment Li Yan blocked the voice transmission talisman, two silver threads shot towards him from behind.
The speed of those two strange fish demons was also strange. After missing their first strike, they made a sharp turn, and in a flash of lightning, they had already caught up.
A cold light flashed in Li Yan's eyes. A fist extended from his other large sleeve, and he threw a punch into the empty space behind him. The two fish demons, shooting towards him like lightning, instantly felt as if they had been hit head-on by a giant hammer.
"Bang! Bang!"
With two sounds, two large patches of thick green liquid had already exploded behind Li Yan, scattering in the air.
All of this happened at almost the same time.
After throwing the punch, Li Yan's heart tightened, and he abruptly turned his head to the side. But his thoughts were faster than his reaction. A black light had already flown out from his body, flashing and disappearing.
"Chi!"
"Ah!"
A miserable scream echoed in the cave residence, a sound filled with unwillingness and despair.
Immediately, a brilliant light erupted from the restriction on the cave residence gate, followed by a "boom."
It was a "Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike" that had instantly pierced through a Nascent Soul and slammed heavily onto the restriction.
Only then did Li Yan's outstretched, suctioning palm fiercely clench.
"Bang!"
The voice transmission talisman finally turned into a shower of starlight and dissipated.
Li Yan's face instantly turned ugly. Assassinating a Nascent Soul cultivator was indeed not so easy. His plan was already extremely thorough, and he had smoothly approached the other party.
But "Venerable Green Sea" still had a trump card even after being poisoned. If the voice transmission talisman hadn't just been sent out, once it entered the void, Li Yan would not have been able to stop it.
He had been just a hair's breadth away from successfully sending the voice transmission, which would have made Li Yan a turtle in a jar.
And with "Venerable Green Sea" solely focused on escaping, his own "Sealing Demon Spike" had actually been dodged before it could seal his physical body. He had decisively abandoned his physical body.
At the same time, he had strangely dodged the large sheet of golden light and reached the cave entrance's restriction. In less than half a breath, he would have been able to break the restriction and escape.
If not for the fact that the other party's Nascent Soul was poisoned first, and that Li Yan's divine sense was powerful enough to rival a Great Cultivator's, and that he was so close to the other party's Nascent Soul, allowing him to sense the almost imperceptible fluctuation in space in front of the cave entrance, he really would have let the other party escape the restriction.
In his urgency, Li Yan had no choice but to act with all his might. The "Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike" directly pierced through the Nascent Soul's head.
At this time, a small, inch-sized, dark golden figure that looked exactly like "Venerable Green Sea" was lying on the ground. There was a small hole in the back of its head, and the front half of its forehead had already exploded and collapsed.
The Nascent Soul itself had also been poisoned by the "Wood Flow Puppet," and its protective spirit light was weakened by at least fifty percent. How could it withstand a blow from an enraged Li Yan? It had been killed in a single strike.
Fortunately, the restriction had not yet been opened, and the sky-shattering scream could not get out. But Li Yan knew he was in danger.
Without a word, he made a beckoning gesture and grabbed "Venerable Green Sea's" corpse. At the same time, the other party's Nascent Soul figure and the black inkstone in the pavilion flew up. With a flash of light, they had all disappeared.
Only a storage ring was left in Li Yan's hand. Li Yan's tyrannical divine sense swept towards the ring. At the same time, he was not idle.
Li Yan was now multitasking. With a flash of light in his other hand, a silk kerchief appeared. In a flash, it had already reached the cave entrance's restriction.
Li Yan knew he didn't have much time. He had to leave as soon as possible. He didn't even have time to check if there were any other living beings in the cave residence.
"I must leave this place immediately!"
An extremely dangerous feeling had already risen in Li Yan's heart.
But to open the restriction of this cave residence, he could either blast it open, which would take a certain amount of time.
Or, he could find the other party's cave residence token, which might be able to open the restriction. But the divine sense imprint left on the other party's storage ring might take several breaths, or even longer, to erase.
After all, the other party had just died and was a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. And these few breaths were fatal for Li Yan.
Third, Li Yan could directly try to open it with the "Heaven-Stealing Kerchief," but Li Yan had no confidence that it would succeed.
So, he could only use the latter two methods at the same time, multitasking.
The moment Li Yan's divine sense came into contact with the storage ring in his hand, a hole suddenly appeared in front of him. Li Yan's heart leaped with joy.
"Success!"
The "Heaven-Stealing Kerchief" had actually opened the other party's restriction in an instant. Li Yan had no other thoughts. Grabbing the "Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike," he had already dived in.
The "Heaven-Stealing Kerchief" and the "Blood River" had always been two mysterious magical treasures that Li Yan could not figure out. He suspected that these two items might have come from the Immortal Spirit Realm, or even fragments of magical treasures from the True Immortal Realm.
Li Yan still couldn't determine their power. For example, he had once tested the "Heaven-Stealing Kerchief" to open the "Vital Qi Grand Clarity Formation."
Although it could be opened in the end, it took a full five hours and even caused the "Vital Qi Grand Clarity Formation" to emit a "rumbling" warning sound.
This effect could only be used to forcibly break a formation; otherwise, it would alert the enemy. Therefore, the "Heaven-Stealing Kerchief" definitely had its limitations and was not a "one kerchief breaks all" item.
…
Deep beneath the central island of the Qionglin Sect, tens of thousands of zhang down, in a spacious and magnificent hall, streaks of brilliant light lit up. It was the light emitted by the formation-covered restrictions, illuminating the place with a riot of colors.
There were only two Golden Core cultivators sitting cross-legged on prayer mats . In front of them was a colorful grand formation, overflowing with light, with streaks of brilliant light constantly flowing over it.
The grand formation was semi-transparent, and within it were layers of steps. On these steps were enshrined rows of memorial tablets, like an ancestral shrine in the mortal realm.
It was just that these memorial tablets were not black with white characters, but presented in various different colors: red, light red, yellow, golden yellow, emerald green, cyan, azure blue… and so on.
At the same time, ancient seal characters faintly flickered on the memorial tablets, but they were obscured by the grand formation, making them impossible to see clearly.
Just then, a roar suddenly erupted from the colorful grand formation. Following the roar, a memorial tablet flashing with an azure blue color suddenly flew up and shot out of the grand formation.
The two cultivators sitting cross-legged below were immediately startled awake. With looks of astonishment, they looked up at the grand formation…