Even if the First Island Master survived and successfully performed a body seizure, his cultivation would be affected. It would be heaven-defying if he could retain even sixty percent of his strength.
When Li Yan and Gong Shanhe had first arrived here to escape, they had briefly analyzed the situation. In that battle, the escape of the Qionglin Sect's First Island Master's Nascent Soul had actually created the conditions for their own escape.
Their pursuers had given up after chasing them for only an hour. Besides the reasons they had already analyzed, another reason was likely that the First Island Master's Nascent Soul had become delirious after escaping. The Qionglin Sect naturally had to prioritize bringing him back for treatment as soon as possible.
With the Sea-Breaking Beasts also in pursuit, Li Yan felt that the Qionglin Sect wouldn't dare to linger outside with the First Island Master's Nascent Soul for too long. No matter how furious they were, they could only return early to devise a way to treat him.
If the First Island Master's Nascent Soul had also perished at that time, the remaining two Nascent Souls of the Qionglin Sect would have gone mad. It was obvious that with only the two of them left, they truly couldn't defend their sect.
Li Yan and the other man felt that if such a situation had occurred, their opponents might have abandoned everything to hunt them down. Therefore, it was highly likely that the First Island Master, with his heaven-defying cultivation, had not perished at that time.
Over a month later, Li Yan and Gong Shanhe's figures appeared in a market. After making a round in the market, they immediately flew out and headed towards a sect that had a long-distance teleportation formation.
"That Second Island Master of the Qionglin Sect was quite decisive. To think he moved the entire sect within a month of the incident, and left so quietly!"
As they flew, Gong Shanhe rubbed his chin. This was the news they had just gathered in the market. That sea region had now become a chaotic battlefield.
After the Qionglin Sect left, once their absence was discovered, several formidable factions emerged, all vying for that resource-rich area.
The Second Island Master that Gong Shanhe mentioned was the Nascent Soul cultivator whose arms had been severed by the First Elder. According to the news from the market, the Qionglin Sect had managed to avoid the disaster of being annihilated by the Sea-Breaking Beasts, which was also beyond their expectations.
What Li Yan and Gong Shanhe didn't know was that on that day, after the First Island Master's Nascent Soul escaped, he had a stroke of good luck. The first person he encountered was the Second Island Master, who had come out to search for him.
After sensing intense magical power fluctuations far to the northwest, the Second Island Master had then sensed that two fourth-rank Wind Beasts from the Sea-Breaking Beast side were flanking from the side.
His heart went cold, fearing that the First Island Master was being besieged. He had the Fourth Island Master fully activate the sect-protecting grand formation, sealing off all entry and exit for the disciples.
He then quietly flew in the northwest direction. Just as he was approaching the battle zone, a much more intense wave of magical power suddenly erupted in the distance, giving him a feeling that the heavens were collapsing and the earth was splitting apart.
This greatly alarmed the Second Island Master. He could sense how terrifying this power was; even his own all-out strike might not be able to match it.
'What on earth happened? Is it Big Brother fighting someone?'
Horrified, he summoned a transparent great cauldron to surround him and continued flying in that direction, but a bad feeling had already started to creep into his heart.
A short while later, he saw a flash of light that arrived before him in an instant.
As the light dissipated, a small golden figure was revealed. The little man's eyes were somewhat dull, and his golden light was faint, but his appearance was that of the First Island Master.
The First Island Master was holding on by a thread, teleporting without regard for anything else. On his way, he had sensed several powerful auras continuously approaching, one of which was very familiar to him.
At this time, the First Island Master's divine soul was already damaged, and the poison had taken effect, making him delirious. He didn't even recognize the Second Island Master at first.
But after more than a thousand years of companionship, he still subconsciously recognized the person before him as someone he could trust. Thus, he appeared from his teleportation.
Indeed, under the Second Island Master's astonished cry, he seemed to recognize him as well. Then, he let out a breath and immediately fell unconscious, without even having time to say a single word.
This greatly shocked the Second Island Master. He quickly examined him and found that the First Island Master's divine soul was fluctuating and his aura was unstable, especially due to the potent poison.
However, the Nascent Soul already had a medicinal pill in its mouth. Relying on his profound cultivation, the First Island Master had suppressed the further erosion of the poison, so at least it hadn't reached the worst-case scenario.
The Second Island Master hurriedly performed an immortal art, casting several magical seals to temporarily reinforce the seal on the poison, and then quickly put the First Island Master's Nascent Soul away.
He had sensed the approach of powerful experts from the Sea-Breaking Beasts. He immediately released his own powerful aura to deter them from getting closer, and at the same time, to prevent anyone from seeing the First Island Master's injuries.
He too was a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator. Although Li Yan's Fragmented Poison Body was formidable, others were not to be trifled with. Even if they couldn't immediately remove the poison, they had divine abilities to temporarily block and seal it.
Afterward, in a fit of rage, the Second Island Master flew directly towards the source of the magical power fluctuations. He had to see who had made a move that could cause even the First Island Master to lose his physical body.
However, since the First Island Master's Nascent Soul was able to escape, it meant the opponent was definitely not a Spirit Transformation cultivator. In that case, they must have also suffered heavy injuries, or even perished.
The Second Island Master's judgment was very accurate, and he made his decision in an extremely short time.
On the other side, the two fourth-rank Sea-Breaking Beasts had already arrived nearby. But because a Nascent Soul's instantaneous movement involves traveling through the void, it is basically impossible to track with divine sense, so they hadn't discovered the teleporting First Island Master at all.
Seeing the Second Island Master's caution, the two Sea-Breaking Beasts did not continue to approach. Instead, they also flew to the location of Li Yan's and the other man's battle to see what had happened.
What followed was what Li Yan and the others had sensed. When the Second Island Master and the others quickly arrived at the battlefield, the seawater had already fallen back to the sea surface, and the sky had basically returned to normal. The black hole had disappeared, and no bodies were seen at all.
The Second Island Master and the two Sea-Breaking Beasts also sensed Li Yan and the other man, discovering that they were two Nascent Soul cultivators. However, judging from their flying speed, they seemed to be uninjured.
This made the Second Island Master suspect that they were just passing cultivators. So, after chasing for a while, he found that their speed did not decrease at all, and it would probably be very difficult for him to catch up.
Moreover, there were two fourth-rank Wind Beasts on the other side. Although he was furious that the First Island Master had been beaten to the point of near-death, he rationally chose to return immediately.
He had to wake up the First Island Master first and ask what had happened.
The Second Island Master was an old, treacherous fox. He maintained a calm and composed expression throughout, as if he had just come out to see what was going on.
Even when he stopped, he still wore a hesitant expression and scanned the distance with his divine sense for a while before turning around and flying back.
This prevented the two Wind Beasts from noticing anything unusual. Afterward, feeling that they could not catch up with the two Nascent Souls ahead, they conferred briefly.
At the same time, they felt that even if they did catch up and fight, their side might not necessarily win completely, so they also withdrew.
But they didn't go back directly. Instead, they returned to the place where Li Yan and the others had fought before and conducted another careful investigation. In the end, they determined that either an exotic treasure had appeared, or a great battle between Nascent Soul cultivators had erupted.
However, the people who had fought with the two flying Nascent Souls had also vanished without a trace, which made the two Sea-Breaking Beasts even more suspicious and uncertain...
The Second Island Master no longer cared about any of this and flew back quickly.
Upon his return, he directly sought out the Fourth Island Master. The two of them then immediately began to treat the First Island Master. However, to their astonishment and horror, the First Island Master had fallen into a deep coma.
The poison afflicting the First Island Master was extremely potent; even they couldn't eradicate it immediately. Moreover, they were shocked to find that there seemed to be a problem with the First Island Master's divine soul as well.
At this point, both of them were filled with terror. They didn't know what kind of powerful enemy the Qionglin Sect had provoked.
In less than half a day, one Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator had perished, and one Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator was in a coma.
And from the looks of it, if the poison couldn't be removed soon, even if they used medicinal pills to wake the First Island Master, his strength would decline all the way down. It was hard to say if he could even maintain an Initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivation in the end.
Terrified, they now knew that the Qionglin Sect was finished, completely finished. With such a catastrophic change, they could no longer stay here.
Fortunately, all this had happened so quickly that no one knew yet, so they still had time to relocate quietly...
So, Li Yan and Gong Shanhe were not true immortals after all. They couldn't divine the future with a pinch of their fingers. Coupled with their heavy injuries, they had missed the chance to completely eradicate the Qionglin Sect.
Otherwise, if they had disregarded everything and returned to the vicinity of that sea region to spread the news of the First Island Master's injury and the Third Island Master's death.
Even if the Qionglin Sect wasn't attacked by the Sea-Breaking Beasts that very day, they would be constantly watched with suspicion, giving them no chance to escape.
Afterward, although the Second and Fourth Island Masters began to speculate about who the enemy was, including the Tianli Clan, they were too preoccupied with their urgent departure to spare it much thought for the time being...
As he flew, Li Yan's face was also grim. He had already thought of these things and was deeply annoyed.
"Leaving such a scourge out there, once they find out this matter is related to the Tianli Clan, they might choose to retaliate in various ways later. That Second Island Master is also a Late-stage Great Cultivator!"
He sent a voice transmission. Gong Shanhe thought for a moment, then broke into a smile.
"Since we came to kill them, why should we fear retaliation? Let's see if he has the ability to break into our clan-protecting grand formation. Once the First Elder recovers, we will carefully search for his new sect location and carry out another cleansing!"
For the cultivators of the Wind God Continent, death seemed to be a common, everyday matter, something they spoke of casually. This was completely different from Li Yan, who was constantly afraid of being targeted.
"Alright. If I haven't left the Wind God Continent by then, I will go with you again!"
Li Yan was still uneasy. He felt that if there was a chance, he should also participate in the final cleanup.
Neither Gong Shanhe nor Li Yan mentioned seizing the Qionglin Sect's territory. Firstly, the Tianli Clan was too far from that sea region.
Secondly, if they participated in the scramble for resources, they might attract the attention of spies left behind by the Qionglin Sect.
Before the First Elder had fully recovered and before they had found the new location of the enemy's sect, it was best to avoid arousing their suspicion.
And so, their following days were spent in constant long-distance teleportation and continuous information gathering.
What started to lift their spirits was that they could no longer find any news about the Qionglin Sect. To some, this situation might seem even worse.
But Li Yan and the other man believed that being unable to find the new location of the relocated sect was, for the time being, a good thing.
The other party was frightened beyond measure, acting with extreme caution, not daring to leave a single trace behind. They would probably not show themselves easily for several decades.
Li Yan and the other man's speculation was correct. The Second and Fourth Island Masters of the Qionglin Sect were truly terrified. They hadn't found out who had made the move; they only had some suspects.
The Third Island Master's death was silent and traceless, which could only mean he was ambushed. But Yang Youxian had also disappeared. The Tianli Clan didn't have that kind of ability; otherwise, if the First Elder had infiltrated, it would have been a true massacre of the sect.
At the same time, although the First Island Master's life was ultimately saved, his divine soul, affected by the potent poison, was unable to heal itself.
Over time, even after consuming a large amount of the Qionglin Sect's heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and after the Second Island Master gave him a sixth-rank soul-nourishing medicinal pill to consume.
It was still not enough to allow him to fully recover. The First Island Master's Nascent Soul had been left with an incurable poisonous root, and his divine soul had become a remnant soul.
The Nascent Soul eventually regained consciousness, but he had lost many of his memories and was still somewhat muddled, unable to provide any coherent answers.
He could only utter words like "black-robed man" and "siege." If questioned further, the First Island Master would suffer a splitting headache and be on the verge of madness.
What terrified the remaining two Island Masters even more was that after the First Island Master's Nascent Soul regained consciousness, his strength continued to decline. In the end, this became a major reason for accelerating the sect's relocation.
From then on, the Qionglin Sect disappeared, until it was forgotten, until a very, very long time later...
More than two months later, in the northern, remote forest mountains of the Tianli Clan, on a mountaintop.
Gong Chenying, dressed in blue with fitted sleeves, sat cross-legged on the edge of a cliff. Before her was a vast, white sea of clouds. A sliver of golden sunlight was bursting forth from a distant layer of clouds that was spread out like a line.
The sunlight illuminated the top of the clouds, making them look like layers of golden scales, as if plated with a layer of gold. It transported one to the realm of the nine heavens, separated from the mortal world below.
Gong Chenying's beautiful eyes withdrew from the variously colored clouds in the distance and looked down through the constantly shifting clouds before her.
Through the occasional gaps in the drifting clouds, one could see small squares of yellow or green below.
Those were stretches of forest and barren land. Gong Chenying's aura was still at the Golden Core stage, but the feeling she gave off was completely different from before.
The fluctuations of magical power from her body carried a smooth, silky quality, a result of her nearly six years of diligent cultivation of the Red Lotus Incinerating Fire Scripture.
In these few years, she had not only completely stabilized her Pseudo-Nascent Soul Realm, but her state of mind had also improved tremendously. Like Zhao Min, she was now diligently searching for that spark of opportunity to welcome her Nascent Soul Heavenly Tribulation.
Half a year ago, she had awakened from her seclusion. Something stirred in her heart, and she felt that perhaps three years had passed. So, she sent a transmission talisman to Li Yan, but even after half an hour, she received no reply.
'Could he still be in seclusion?'
So, Gong Chenying decided to temporarily leave her seclusion. When she got outside, she flew directly towards Li Yan's residence.
On the way, she encountered several clan cultivators and immediately asked them for the current year.
Upon asking, although Gong Chenying's expression did not change on the surface, and she thanked them before bidding them farewell, her heart was filled with doubt.
Indeed, it was not three years after she had entered seclusion, but more than five years.
Afterward, when she flew to Li Yan's residential pavilion, she saw Qian Ji and Zi Kun.
Upon asking, she learned that Li Yan had left the Tianli Clan more than two years ago. He hadn't said where he was going, only that he would be back soon.
Although two years had passed and he hadn't returned, for a cultivator, this wasn't really a long time.
Gong Chenying then went to look for Gong Shanhe, but to her surprise, the restriction on Gong Shanhe's courtyard was fully activated. Her voice transmission also went unanswered for a long time!