When Li Yan had retreated to a spot twenty zhang away from the black hole entrance he had attacked, he was already standing on the top of a relatively high grotto-cave's sand and rock wall. Looking at the python-like vortex circling unstably in the air, like a ferocious beast with its mouth open, roaring, Li Yan felt at this moment that his full-force blow just now had completely enraged the other party. It had actually begun to leave its designated area and actively attack him for the first time. But thankfully, it was only within a certain range. The python-like vortex stopped ten zhang in front of the attacked black hole entrance, only circling and roaring at Li Yan.
Li Yan sighed inwardly. Although he had been mentally prepared for his final blow, he hadn't expected to enrage the seemingly unintelligent python-like vortex. 'A place only a Nascent Soul cultivator can enter... if I could blast it open with force, I would really be overestimating myself. This kind of place can only be broken through with a formation-breaking technique. An ordinary cultivator would absolutely not be able to enter. Even the outermost edge is extremely dangerous.' Li Yan was filled with self-mockery, but no matter what, he would have tried. But at this time, another four breaths had passed.
'It seems my only choice is to use "Stealthy Night Art" to return to the edge of the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves." At the last moment, I'll use the Five Elements Return to Primordial Genesis art. My strength will instantly increase by fifty or sixty percent. At the same time, I'll launch a sneak attack with my physical body. I don't believe the other party's already collapsing, broken body can exert much strength.' At this thought, a resolute and ruthless look appeared in Li Yan's eyes. If he were to have a duel of divine abilities with Ancestor Redfire, it would be suicide. But now, Ancestor Redfire's greatest weakness was his severely damaged physical body. With a sneak attack and a direct confrontation, there might be a certain chance of success. Without a physical body, a Golden Core cultivator could no longer use many of their divine abilities.
Li Yan's greatest hope now was that no Astral Wind would arise here in the next short while. Judging from before, his "Stealthy Night Art" might have had some effect. But since it had been seen through by Ancestor Redfire, Li Yan was no longer sure if it was still useful. But at this moment, he couldn't care less. As soon as Ancestor Redfire entered, he would use the "Five Elements Return to Primordial Genesis" art with all his might, and at the same time, detonate all the magical treasures on his body. Then he would flee in one direction with his own tough physical body. With a close-range magical treasure self-destruction, no matter how much confidence Li Yan had in his Qiongqi Purgatory Art, he knew that his chances of survival were slim. So he didn't have much confidence that he could escape the blast radius. But he might be able to take a Golden Core cultivator down with him. Li Yan was usually silent, but he had a dormant ferocity in his bones. He never considered the possibility of being captured alive.
And Li Yan planned to release all thirty types of his Fragmented Poison toxins onto the magical treasures and the edge of the Flying Sand Grotto-Caves. By then, he believed that even if he couldn't kill the other party with the explosion, he would poison him to death to accompany him in burial.
Li Yan's face was as cold as ice. He only glanced in the direction of the Great Green Mountains and the Malevolent Spirit Sect, and his body simultaneously became ethereal and quickly floated towards the edge of the Flying Sand Grotto-Caves. At the same time, he wiped his "Earth-Spot," and the Giant Ape Puppet, the folding fan, the broken wolf-fang mace, and the emerald abacus followed him, floating forward.
Li Yan knew that he was probably doomed this time. He never thought that he would perish on his first training expedition. Since he had truly embarked on the path of cultivation and understood it, Li Yan knew that he might not live to a ripe old age. It was just that this moment had come too quickly, and he still felt a sense of attachment in his heart. Soon, Li Yan eliminated all distracting thoughts. His only hope now was that the Astral Wind would not appear at this time. Just half a cup of tea's time would be enough. He had to give it his all for the final blow.
As Li Yan was sneaking towards the edge, still taking things out of his "Earth-Spot," he had only flown a few zhang when his figure suddenly stopped. He even came out of his "Stealthy Night Art" state. This was because at this moment, his Divine Sense had discovered a kerchief in a corner of his "Earth-Spot." The kerchief emitted a very faint spiritual energy, and compared to the other few magical treasures, it was unremarkable, so that Li Yan hadn't even noticed it after taking out some magical treasures. It was only when he wanted to take out the spirit treasure with the greatest self-destruction power that he had carefully searched again with his Divine Sense.
The moment Li Yan discovered the kerchief, he was stunned. His body felt as if it had been struck by lightning. Because that was also a magical treasure. He had just obtained this item a while ago. It was not an offensive magical treasure, and he had never used it again. In the sudden chase today, he had also forgotten about this treasure.
"Heaven-Stealing Kerchief." The moment he saw it, Li Yan remembered its incredible formation-breaking effect. At this moment, Li Yan was overjoyed. How could he care to think in detail? With one hand, he drew the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief into his hand. With the other, he waved his sleeve, and the few magical treasures floating by his side were directly put away. At the same time, Li Yan's figure sank and fell to the ground. There were many black hole grotto-cave entrances here; he didn't need to specifically go back to find the one from before.
And at this moment, a sinister voice sounded in Li Yan's ear. "Kid, do you think you can hide by entering the 'Flying Sand Grotto-Caves'? Without figuring out the situation first, it's useless for you to come in." As the voice sounded, Ancestor Redfire's figure had already appeared at the edge of the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves."
In the end, Ancestor Redfire had still caught up. He had first used his Divine Sense to repeatedly probe the outside of the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" several times. Seeing that there was no Astral Wind inside, and Li Yan was still wandering around the edge, he couldn't help but relax. As a cultivation family near this area, the Ye Family was extremely familiar with this desert. As a stipended Guest Elder of the Ye Family, Ancestor Redfire was of course familiar with everything here.
So when his Divine Sense swept over Li Yan and saw that he was still inside, he knew that there would be no Astral Wind change in the next few dozen breaths. Otherwise, Li Yan would only be a pile of white bones. But in an instant, it also made Ancestor Redfire hesitate. Because he was afraid that the moment he entered, the Astral Wind would happen to be generated. Then his Golden Core would not be able to escape, and he would have to be buried with Li Yan.
He weighed the pros and cons and felt that he could still take a gamble. Fortunately, Li Yan had only entered a few dozen zhang. As long as he quickly captured Li Yan and rushed back, he wouldn't waste too much time. In that case, the overall time he spent in the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" would still be relatively short. Thinking of Li Yan's magical treasure and the cultivation method he practiced, this risk was worth taking. He didn't believe his luck would be that bad. At this time, the more decisive he was, the more advantageous it would be for him.
Ancestor Redfire was also a decisive person. Once he had thought it through, he gritted his teeth and immediately entered. With a cold laugh, he pounced towards Li Yan. As Ancestor Redfire pounced towards him, Li Yan was terrified. Although he was only a few steps away from the black hole grotto-cave entrance diagonally in front of him, Ancestor Redfire was faster. In a flash of thought, Li Yan also made his own reaction.
With one hand, Li Yan poured his spiritual energy into the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief. His body simultaneously fell sharply from the air. With the other hand, he waved his fingers like the wind. Seventy percent of the spiritual energy in his body was turned into streams of "Ice Spike Art" from his hand, flying out with a sharp sound. The moment the dozen or so ice spikes appeared, this originally hot and suffocating world felt as if a cold, ninth-level wind had blown past. But facing the chilling ice spikes, although Ancestor Redfire also felt a coldness on his body, there was a look of disdain on his face.
But in the next moment, Ancestor Redfire's expression suddenly changed. Because the "Ice Spike Art" that Li Yan had attacked with was not aimed at him, but at the black holes on the left and right sides of his path. No matter how fast he was, he was not as fast as Li Yan attacking the black holes in front of him. In an instant, the yellow sand here filled the sky, and several python-like vortexes rose into the air. At this moment, Ancestor Redfire had just pounced to the spot, just in time to crash into them.
All of this took a long time to describe, but it all happened in a flash. Li Yan's reaction was extremely swift.
The few black hole grotto-caves that Li Yan had attacked were not far from each other. If he had only attacked one or two of them, Ancestor Redfire could have easily bypassed them from the side with a turn. But Li Yan had attacked seven or eight cave entrances at the same time. These cave entrances were very close to him. Ancestor Redfire had let out a sinister laugh as soon as he entered the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves," which had given Li Yan a warning in advance.
At this moment, a crisscrossing formation of python-like vortexes had formed in front of Li Yan. It was already impossible for Ancestor Redfire to avoid them. These python-like vortexes were originally supposed to follow the source of the spiritual energy back to attack Li Yan. But the spiritual pressure from Ancestor Redfire was even more overwhelming, and he had plunged right into them. In an instant, eight python-like vortexes opened their mouths and bit towards Ancestor Redfire.
Ancestor Redfire knew better than Li Yan how terrifying the python-like vortexes here were. If it were a head-on fight, only a Nascent Soul cultivator could directly kill them. He could not possibly take them on head-on. He never thought that Li Yan could use this thing to deal with him in a desperate situation.
With a series of angry roars, Ancestor Redfire hurriedly retreated, avoiding the attacks of these python-like vortexes. He planned to retreat some more distance and then use a spell from a distance to capture Li Yan. Although he saw Li Yan's figure falling like a thousand-jin weight directly towards the entrance of a black hole grotto-cave a few steps away, he didn't believe Li Yan could enter it. Otherwise, he would have entered long ago.
And in the next moment, Ancestor Redfire's single eye almost popped out. Because he watched helplessly as a kerchief in Li Yan's hand rapidly enlarged and covered the entrance of the black hole grotto-cave. Then Li Yan plunged right in.
"A-Ancient Treasure! That's an Ancient Treasure!" Ancestor Redfire's breath came in short gasps, and he couldn't help but exclaim.
Holding the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief, with his spiritual energy surging, Li Yan directly covered the invisible membrane at the mouth of the cave. He only felt his hand lighten, as if the previous obstruction was gone. Without even having time to be happy, he had subconsciously dived in. And the moment he entered, he heard Ancestor Redfire's cry of alarm.
Seeing Li Yan's figure disappear into the black hole grotto-cave with a flicker, Ancestor Redfire finally reacted from his own exclamation. If his remaining eye was filled with bloodshot veins before, now it was completely blood-red. Even his black pupil was blood-red. The flames outside his body soared into the sky, rising more than ten zhang before slowly falling. Accompanied by heavy breathing, streams of fire spewed from his large nostrils.
After a moment, Ancestor Redfire roared and, as a giant of flame, pounced directly towards the entrance of the black hole grotto-cave that Li Yan had just entered.
"Kid, I'm going to flay you alive! Ancient Treasure, that's my Ancient Treasure..." Ancestor Redfire let out an unconscious roar.
But what followed was a shrill scream from Ancestor Redfire, and then a figure, or rather, the upper half of a flame giant, fled outwards.
Outside the Flying Sand Grotto-Caves, the flames on Ancestor Redfire's body had already dissipated. At this moment, he was in an even more miserable state than before. Both of his legs were gone from the calf down. The sharp or concave fragments on his remaining pant legs looked as if they had been bitten off by the sharp teeth of some ferocious beast.
Ancestor Redfire's face was even paler. Just now, when he saw Li Yan take out and use the Heaven-Stealing Kerchief, he had completely lost his mind and had actually tried to force his way into the black hole grotto-cave. His attack, fueled by anger and in the state of the "Fiery Bloodbath Art," was far more powerful than Li Yan's. But the consequences were also more terrifying. The restriction he triggered formed a python-like vortex ten times the size of the one Li Yan had triggered before. Its counterattack was even more ferocious. In a single encounter, it had bitten off both of Ancestor Redfire's legs from the calf down.
Under the excruciating pain, Ancestor Redfire instantly regained his senses and fled outwards with all his might.
Feeling this already shattered body, the now calm Ancestor Redfire looked at the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves," gritted his teeth, and slapped his storage pouch. A small porcelain bottle immediately appeared. A ruthless look appeared in his eyes, and he poured out a blood-colored pill from the bottle. This pill was semi-transparent, and as he held it, streams of blood-red patterns could be seen constantly moving on its surface. Ancestor Redfire swallowed the pill in one gulp and then sat down on the ground, circulating his energy to meditate.
At this moment, after using the "Fiery Bloodbath Art," not only was Ancestor Redfire's physical body on the verge of collapse, but he had also burned nearly half of his blood qi. He could no longer maintain this state. If his Golden Core were to escape now and return to the sect, he would only need to find a suitable body for seizure, and after about ten years of recuperation, he would be able to recover his current cultivation.
But he had chosen another path: to continue maintaining this broken physical body, using a "Fire Bath Pill" to replenish the burned essence blood. However, in this way, to maintain the function of this body, his Golden Core would inevitably have to bear a greater burden, and it would face the possibility of collapsing. By then, his cultivation would directly drop to the Foundation Establishment stage.
But at this moment, Ancestor Redfire no longer cared about that much.