At this moment, Li Yan didn't know the exact distance to Ancestor Redfire. His Divine Sense could only reach a maximum of seven hundred li. After he could no longer sense Ancestor Redfire's presence with his Divine Sense, he began to calculate silently in his mind. It was only when he estimated that he was about to fly nearly a thousand li that he began to relax a little. But at that moment, he suddenly felt a baseless palpitation. The feeling of being locked on, which had become faint, suddenly surged in his heart again, making his palpitation even stronger. Li Yan felt as if a ferocious beast behind him had instantly opened its blood-red pupils, making all the hairs on his body stand on end. The crisis of life and death loomed over him again.
Then, a voice filled with towering killing intent came to his ear. "Where do you think you're going?"
Li Yan's expression changed drastically. He had given it his all, but unexpectedly, the other party was like a lingering ghost. Li Yan hurriedly spread his Divine Sense behind him, but there was no trace of Ancestor Redfire. But after less than twenty breaths, cold sweat beaded on Li Yan's forehead.
He had spread his Divine Sense behind him and initially did not see Ancestor Redfire's figure. But in just less than twenty breaths, a blurry afterimage of red light appeared in his Divine Sense. This red light was as fast as lightning, covering ten li in a single breath. In just a dozen breaths, it had entered the seven-hundred-li range from nearly a thousand li away.
The speed of a Golden Core cultivator at full power was terrifyingly fast, making Li Yan feel a sense of powerlessness from the bottom of his heart. But how could Li Yan be willing to sit and wait for death? At this moment, his speed had already been pushed to the limit. He knew that if this continued, even though he was also flying forward with all his might, he would be caught in about a hundred breaths.
"Kid, in a moment, I'll let you know the pain of having your soul extracted and refined!" Ancestor Redfire's voice became clearer and clearer in Li Yan's ear.
Although cold sweat broke out on Li Yan, he paid no attention to Ancestor Redfire's threat. Instead, he flew at full speed with a blank expression, his Divine Sense constantly scanning in the other three directions, hoping to find an environment he could use.
As for the idea of hiding, in the vast desert, Li Yan had no hope of finding any place to hide. He could only create an opportunity for himself by setting up an ambush in a different environment. But after another ten breaths, Ancestor Redfire behind him was already about six hundred li away. Li Yan still hadn't found any suitable place to set up an ambush.
Suddenly, Li Yan looked in one direction, his face showing a look of hesitation. Feeling the increasingly strong and surging killing intent behind him, he gritted his teeth and veered to the left.
Ancestor Redfire, who was chasing closely behind Li Yan, had a bloodthirsty glint in his single eye. In his Divine Sense, Li Yan suddenly changed direction. This made Ancestor Redfire pause, his speed slowing down. Then, a look of surprise appeared on his face. 'Is that kid trying to go to the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves"?' In his Divine Sense, about two hundred li to his left, there was a vast area where sand and stones were constantly flying. The yellow sand blotted out the sun, and amidst the wind and sand, dilapidated walls stood, like black holes with their mouths wide open, swallowing the sandstorm.
In his Divine Sense, Li Yan was speeding towards that place. Ancestor Redfire couldn't help but be both furious and alarmed. He shouted via voice transmission, "Kid, are you tired of living?"
But no matter how he roared, Li Yan seemed not to hear, his face as cold as ice as he flew towards the vast area of flying sand and stones.
The "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" was one of the two great perilous lands in this desert. It had existed since ancient times. Its formation was said to be the result of a top-tier earth-element Spirit Transformation expert from the Mortal Realm failing his tribulation transcendence and perishing here. His body had turned into a vast eight-thousand-li desert gobi, and his Natal Magical Treasure was also destroyed under the heavenly tribulation, scattering all around, finally forming six large and small perilous lands. Among them, two places were believed to be where the artifact spirit of this Spirit Transformation cultivator's Natal Magical Treasure had fallen and scattered. One was called the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves," and the other was called the "Land of the Setting Sun." Even late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators dared not enter these two places easily. The mortality rate for those who entered was over eighty percent, let alone cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage.
But precisely because of this, it had attracted many Nascent Soul experts to explore. A place transformed from the Natal Magical Treasure of an ancient Spirit Transformation cultivator would surely contain heavenly materials and earthly treasures of the highest grade in this world. Just obtaining some of them would be of immense benefit. If one could also obtain some magical treasure fragments, it was possible to increase one's strength several times in an instant. Especially the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" and the "Land of the Setting Sun," which might be where the artifact spirit had perished. They were the core of a magical treasure, and their preciousness was imaginable.
From ancient times to the present, numerous Nascent Soul cultivators have entered in search of treasure. And some have indeed found many heavenly materials and earthly treasures in the other four perilous lands besides the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" and the "Land of the Setting Sun." Those things had long disappeared from this world for tens of thousands of years, and each one could be described as a rare treasure. After obtaining these heavenly materials and earthly treasures, they could either refine pills that would allow their cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds, or greatly increase the power of their magical treasures.
And the Nascent Soul cultivators who had obtained some of the magical treasure fragments of this Spirit Transformation cultivator had dominated the Mortal Realm in their respective eras. Although not invincible, they were all among the strongest of the Nascent Soul stage.
However, no one had ever obtained anything from the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" and the "Land of the Setting Sun." Very few of the Nascent Soul cultivators who entered ever came out. Even the few remaining Spirit Transformation cultivators in this world who had entered had come out with nothing, and they were tight-lipped about it afterwards.
After years and years of exploration, the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" and the "Land of the Setting Sun" slowly became known as lands of death. Nascent Soul cultivators were no longer keen on entering. After all, the strong who had perished within over tens of thousands of years served as a good warning. The "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" and the "Land of the Setting Sun" thus became forbidden lands. They were located in the northernmost part of the Malevolent Spirit Sect's territory, but the sect never stationed anyone to guard their surroundings. Anyone could enter to explore, as long as they didn't think their life was too long.
Since Li Yan was going to the Jingtu Sect, he had, of course, studied the map on the jade slip and knew about the existence of these two perilous, forbidden lands. This was also one of the reasons why there was no teleportation formation continuing north from here. The spiritual energy in this area was somewhat chaotic, and setting up a teleportation formation would require passing through this desert. Some sects had tried to set up teleportation formations through here before, but the results could not guarantee the safety of every teleportation. Half the time, the people in the teleportation channel would be inexplicably teleported to other areas, or even directly into spatial turbulence. In the end, all teleportation formations passing through this area had to be canceled.
Although this desert was dangerous, as long as one avoided the six perilous lands when flying, there were basically no accidents. Li Yan was, of course, the same. The other reason he had been constantly changing direction while fleeing was to avoid the six perilous lands, especially the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" and the "Land of the Setting Sun." He was now located between these two places. Flying straight ahead would get him through here, but it wasn't a straight line. The two perilous lands were irregularly shaped, and he had to constantly adjust his direction while flying, or he might fly right into one.
Li Yan's current position was closer to the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves," about two hundred li away. After looking around, he felt that only by entering the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" could he possibly set up an ambush or escape. Otherwise, he would just have to wait to be caught by Ancestor Redfire in a few dozen breaths. Although Ancestor Redfire looked miserable now, judging from the pressure emanating from him, Li Yan was no match for him at all.
Gritting his teeth, Li Yan also went all out. It was death either way. He might as well enter the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" and take a gamble. At least it was uncertain whether Ancestor Redfire would dare to enter. If there was a chance, he would set up an ambush. If not, he could only leave it to fate. The outcome couldn't be worse than falling into Ancestor Redfire's hands. If he could escape this time, Li Yan had firmly remembered the fourth branch of the Huchen family, and the people of the Ye Family.
Seeing Li Yan flying directly towards the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" without any regard for his life, Ancestor Redfire was already furious. He no longer cared how Li Yan died, but he had to get the magical treasure and cultivation method on him.
"Kid, you don't have to be so desperate to die. As long as you hand over your storage pouch and the cultivation method you practice, this old man will let bygones be bygones. How about it? This old man is a Golden Core cultivator and will not go back on his word," Ancestor Redfire said anxiously, trying to stabilize Li Yan with his words. From his distance to the edge of the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves," he was definitely not as fast as Li Yan.
But Li Yan seemed not to have heard. His figure even sped up a little, leaving Ancestor Redfire with no other choice. At this moment, he had also pushed his speed to the limit. He kept speaking in a pleasant tone, interspersed with confusing spells, trying to make Li Yan lose his mind for a moment.
But Li Yan was already on guard. He simply closed his six senses. Since Ancestor Redfire's Divine Sense couldn't overwhelm him with an absolute advantage, Li Yan's figure would only occasionally stagnate slightly, then speed up again and plunge towards the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves." Even so, Ancestor Redfire had successfully slowed Li Yan down by at least five breaths.
Li Yan was only a little over two hundred li away from the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves." Although Ancestor Redfire tried his best to stop him, with Li Yan going all out, in less than forty breaths, he was already floating at the edge of the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves."
Looking at the world of flying sand and stones before him, which was like a different world from where he stood, Li Yan's Divine Sense probed inside. At the same time, he turned his face to look in another direction. A red light as fine as a firefly had already appeared there, and it was constantly enlarging at a speed visible to the naked eye. Two breaths later, Li Yan turned his head back with a wooden expression and took a step directly into it. His entire figure then disappeared behind the curtain of yellow sand.
Ancestor Redfire, who was rapidly approaching from a distance, let out a series of unwilling roars. Not only had he gotten nothing, but this physical body had also been destroyed in this hunt. He could only watch helplessly as the kid entered the forbidden land without any hesitation. This time, his losses were so heavy that he couldn't bear them.
The moment Li Yan stepped in, a spiritual energy shield and a "Ghost-Chariot Talisman" appeared on his body at the same time. Although he had never been here before, he had a specific understanding of it.
In his eyes appeared patches of crisscrossing black holes. These black holes were embedded in the earthy yellow sand and rock walls like a honeycomb, some high, some low, some large, some small. The sand and rock walls before him were like a large area of dilapidated ruins. Some were half-buried, while others only had their tops exposed.
Some of the black holes on the sand and rock walls were half-buried in yellow sand, like a giant mouth from which a waterfall was flowing. Then, a gust of wind came, and the yellow sand at the edge of the black hole was instantly swept into the sky.
Some black holes were like bottomless pits, with yellow sand constantly pouring in, as if it would never stop.
Li Yan didn't feel any pain on his body. After feeling the surrounding wind and sand, he relaxed a little.
'I guess my bet paid off. I happened to arrive when the Astral Wind had stopped. So this is the so-called "Grotto-Cave." It's said that the sandstorm here will turn into a life-threatening Astral Wind every once in a while. Only by entering a certain grotto-cave can one avoid being attacked by this sandstorm. But the danger inside the grotto-caves is even greater. Almost all who enter die. And when the Astral Wind outside will rise again, one can only take a gamble.' Li Yan's steps did not stop. His face was as cold as iron as he walked directly towards a grotto-cave. He didn't dare to delay here at all.