He hadn't blindly plunged into the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" just now. Instead, he had first used his Divine Sense to scan the situation inside. This was because the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" had a phenomenon that all cultivators knew about: the sandstorm inside would unpredictably turn into Astral Wind. The interval between two occurrences of Astral Wind could be a quarter of an hour, or it could be half an hour, with no fixed pattern.
Li Yan didn't know when the last Astral Wind had disappeared. Since he had happened to enter during a period when the Astral Wind had stopped, he couldn't guess when the next one would arrive.
Astral Wind, a terrifying substance that existed outside the continent, was usually found between two adjacent continents or in the spatial turbulence between the upper and lower realms. If a living being was blown by it, their flesh would be directly blown off their bones and dissolved, and their three huns and seven pos would be scattered along with it, without even a sliver of a chance to enter the cycle of reincarnation. (TN: The three huns and seven pos are components of the soul in Chinese folk religion and Daoism.)
But when a cultivator cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, with the power of their Nascent Soul, they would have the ability to resist the Astral Wind. This was also why only Nascent Soul cultivators had the ability to ascend to the upper realm, because the process of ascension required passing through the space between planes, and the Astral Wind within was a fatal obstacle.
The reason why Astral Wind was generated in the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves," according to the records, was because the heavenly tribulation that the Spirit Transformation great cultivator had resisted back then had contained a sliver of the power of space. The heavenly tribulations of Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators were no longer ordinary heavenly tribulations like those from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core, or Golden Core to Nascent Soul. If one could pass the heavenly tribulation after Spirit Transformation, not only would their cultivation increase greatly, but they might also take the opportunity to comprehend the power of space. This temptation was something all cultivators yearned for, but no one was willing to obtain the power of space in this way. The success rate of passing the tribulation was basically less than ten percent.
It was for this reason that the Spirit Transformation cultivator might have used his Natal Magical Treasure to defend against the heavenly tribulation, only to have it directly destroyed by the power of space, thus being tainted with a sliver of the power of space from the tribulation. After it collapsed and formed the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves," it caused a sliver of Astral Wind to be present here. But even if it was just a sliver, it was still Astral Wind. Any cultivator below the Nascent Soul stage would die on contact.
Although Li Yan had chosen to flee to this place, he didn't want to plunge headfirst into the Astral Wind. So just now, he had floated outside the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" for two breaths, precisely to probe with his Divine Sense. If the Astral Wind was raging inside, his Divine Sense would be instantly crushed, and he would have no choice but to think of another way.
But even without the Astral Wind, Li Yan was still facing a nine-deaths-one-life situation. He had no idea if the environment here would suddenly change the moment he stepped into the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves," and the sandstorm would instantly turn into a raging Astral Wind. But he had no other choice. The path of a cultivator was fraught with danger at every step. This was what Li Yan had often heard Li Wuyi tell him. But before, when Li Yan was in the Malevolent Spirit Sect, he had a big tree to shelter him and couldn't truly experience it. But this time, after less than half a month of venturing into the outside world, he had already experienced life-and-death situations several times. Now, at his wit's end, he could only take a gamble.
In cultivation, luck was also a kind of immortal fortune. Not wanting to be caught and have his soul extracted and refined, Li Yan could only choose to risk his life. Otherwise, if he fell into Ancestor Redfire's hands, even death would be a luxury.
Li Yan walked a hundred meters in at top speed, then bypassed a few ruined walls in front of him, so that he had several sand and rock walls behind him for cover. He had to at least get some distance from the entrance of the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" to avoid being caught by Ancestor Redfire the moment he stepped in.
Although there were three or four black holes in a row before him, like the gaping mouths of ferocious beasts, Li Yan had no time to choose. He took a step towards the nearest one. He had to enter a grotto-cave as quickly as possible while being as prepared as possible. As for what would happen after he entered, he could only figure it out then.
And just as Li Yan's foot stepped towards the black hole before him, looking at the rolling sand slowly flowing into the giant mouth-like black hole, his body was suddenly thrown back as if it had hit an invisible wall. Although Li Yan was always on guard against accidents, the visual normality of the scene still gave him a sense of misplaced force. He had directly hit an invisible, transparent wall. Unexpectedly, his body was thrown backwards.
In the sandstorm, Li Yan's figure flickered in and out of sight. He let out a soft "yi." It wasn't that he was careless. On the contrary, his Divine Sense was always on guard against his surroundings. But just now, whether visually or with his Divine Sense, he hadn't detected any abnormality at the entrance of the black hole. And he had clearly seen that even the yellow sand rolling in from a distance had turned into a stream of sand and entered the black hole without any obstruction.
Li Yan had no time to think carefully. Cautiously, he walked quickly towards the entrance of another black hole. He took another step, but this time he was on his guard, and his steps were extremely slow. But when his foot was halfway out, his toes kicked an invisible wall.
Li Yan's heart sank. This time, not only was he on his guard, but his leg was also imbued with some spiritual energy. For this to happen, it could only mean that the black hole grotto-caves here could not be entered at will. There should be some kind of protective restriction guarding them.
Li Yan didn't continue towards the next black hole grotto-cave. Instead, he stood in front of the one before him, his mind racing.
'This place was formed from the collapse of a Spirit Transformation cultivator's magical treasure. The magical treasure itself had a small world inside, so it's not surprising that there are restrictions. It's just that these restrictions are not everywhere inside the magical treasure, just like the mountain formed by the Huchen Ancestor's magical treasure. They only appear in the more critical parts of the magical treasure. In that case, this should be a formation restriction, not some abnormal phenomenon.' Li Yan quickly went over the cause and effect in his mind.
After realizing that there might be a formation restriction in front of him, Li Yan didn't delay any longer. Fifteen breaths had already passed since he entered the "Flying Sand Grotto-Coves." Ancestor Redfire would be arriving soon. And what worried Li Yan the most was that the Astral Wind here could appear at any time.
Li Yan first retreated seven or eight zhang, away from the black hole. Then he extended a finger, and a stream of spiritual energy shot out from his fingertip towards the entrance of the black hole. Soon, the spiritual energy touched a layer of something like an invisible, soft membrane.
Li Yan changed his art, and the spiritual energy at his fingertip immediately turned into a sharp needle and stabbed down. In the next moment, Li Yan first felt a jolt from the spiritual energy at his fingertip, then a great force easily broke the spiritual energy needle. Then, a scene that made Li Yan's heart palpitate appeared. The sand on the ground at the mouth of the black hole, which was slowly flowing in, suddenly began to spin, instantly turning into a vortex half the size of a person. Under Li Yan's wary gaze, the sand at the edge of the vortex formed sharp teeth. The vortex, with its interlocking sharp teeth, was like a flexible python. The moment it formed, it had already soared up, and its giant mouth swallowed Li Yan's spiritual energy. As Li Yan's spiritual energy entered the giant mouth of the vortex, the interlocking sharp teeth spun rapidly like a wheel, instantly grinding that stream of spiritual energy into fine crystal specks.
Li Yan shuddered and hurriedly withdrew his connection with that stream of spiritual energy, because he had already sensed that the python-like vortex rising from the ground had a tendency to attack along the path of his spiritual energy.
The moment Li Yan's spiritual energy was cut off, the python-like vortex seemed to have lost its target. After circling a few times at the mouth of the black hole, it scattered back to the ground, turning into a patch of yellow sand, which then slowly gathered back into a stream and flowed towards the mouth of the black hole.
Li Yan's expression was wooden. His body retreated some more distance. He formed a hand seal, and a three-colored spiritual light shot towards the mouth of the black hole. The moment the three-colored spiritual light touched the invisible membrane at the mouth of the cave, a vortex immediately appeared on the ground at the mouth of the cave. With a whoosh, the interlocking sharp teeth inside the vortex spun rapidly and once again swallowed the three-colored spiritual light.
Li Yan immediately cut off his control of the three-colored spiritual light. After losing its target, the python-like vortex circled a few times, then scattered back to the ground, turning into a patch of yellow sand, which then slowly gathered into a stream.
This time, Li Yan did not retreat. Instead, he raised his hand again and pointed gently. A stream of spiritual energy also shot towards the mouth of the black hole. But this time, the mouth of the black hole did not react at all.
'The invisible restriction at the entrance of the black hole grotto-cave is defensive and does not actively attack. Its appearance depends on the strength of the intruder. As long as the invading force reaches a certain level, or if a formation-breaking technique is used, it will be attacked.'
The first two times, Li Yan had only taken a single step. Although he had imbued his foot with spiritual energy the second time, it was only a cautious probe, and the force was small. The third time, when the spiritual energy was turned into a needle, he had used forty percent of his spiritual energy, which had instantly triggered the restriction at the entrance of the black hole. If he hadn't cautiously moved away from the mouth of the cave, he might have been swallowed by the interlocking sharp teeth of the vortex. The fourth time, Li Yan's three-colored spiritual light was a type of formation-breaking technique, which had also triggered an attack. The fifth time, Li Yan had reduced the strength of his spiritual energy again. He felt that the spiritual energy was only repelled, and there was no other abnormality.
The giant mouth formed by the vortex was definitely different from the black hole. The giant mouth of the vortex would kill anyone who was swallowed in the first instance. It was definitely not a place to hide from pursuers.
Li Yan silently calculated the time in his mind. Another eight breaths had passed. His probing just now was extremely fast.
After making an initial judgment, Li Yan's hands did not stop. He sent one after another formation-breaking technique towards the mouth of the cave. For a time, rumbling sounds were continuous, and five-colored spiritual lights constantly exploded. The python-like vortex circled around the mouth of the cave, taking on Li Yan's attacks one after another.
Li Yan's expression grew uglier and uglier. He had already used more than twenty types of formation-breaking techniques, but none of them had any effect. Instead, after the python-like vortex swallowed his spiritual energy, its body grew several times larger, and its power became more and more ferocious. Fortunately, this was only a defensive restriction. If it were an active attacker, Li Yan would have had to run as far as he could.
Sweat began to seep from Li Yan's previously expressionless face. He had already used all the formation-breaking techniques he knew. At this time, forty breaths had passed since he entered the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves." There were less than ten breaths left of the safe time he had calculated. Ancestor Redfire was about to arrive, and the most fatal Astral Wind could also appear at any time.
A sharp glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes. His entire cultivation suddenly erupted. The five spiritual energy cauldrons in his body were like boiling water. A towering pressure, carrying the momentum of heaven and earth, was thrown out by Li Yan in a flat punch. Li Yan's long hair fluttered wildly, and his green robe rustled. As he threw the punch, a straight, twenty-zhang-deep trench was plowed into the ground in front of him, kicking up a cloud of yellow sand. Then came a world-shaking explosion. The entire "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" seemed to shake.
And in the yellow sand, Li Yan's expression suddenly changed. He hurriedly waved his sleeve, brushing away the sand and dust before him. A python-like vortex, as thick as two people's waists, was drilling through the yellow sand curtain and biting towards him. Li Yan hurriedly crossed his arms, and a five-colored spiritual light shone brightly. A block, and another loud explosion erupted between the giant mouth of the python-like vortex and his arms. Li Yan took the opportunity to do a backflip and float backwards.