'This is the cultivation of a mid-stage Golden Core!' This was Li Yan's last thought before he fell into unconsciousness. No matter how strong his physical body was, it was only infinitely close to that of an initial-stage Golden Core. In the end, it was still no match for the physical body of a Golden Core cultivator.
In a daze, Li Yan didn't know how much time had passed. He was awakened by a feeling of suffocation. In a daze, he opened his eyes. At first, he was a little confused. After shaking his head, he looked ahead blankly. It was a constantly enlarging golden figure. He was lying on his back, looking up. At this time, the golden figure was less than forty zhang away from him. A jolt went through Li Yan's mind, and he was so scared that his soul almost left his body. He immediately remembered where he was. He hurriedly circulated the spiritual energy in his body, making his body fall faster. For a moment, he didn't even have time to open his protective spirit shield.
But then Li Yan let out a muffled grunt. He felt as if his five internal organs were being torn apart by someone. The pain made cold sweat break out on his forehead. At this moment, he was already seriously injured. The circulation of spiritual energy in his body was sluggish, and his arms were difficult to move.
Li Yan didn't care about much at the moment. At the brink of life and death, he frantically circulated his spiritual energy in pain, his body turning upside down, like a sharp arrow, plunging straight into the endless abyss.
Li Yan was glad that he had made the right choice before. By using force to deflect force, he had been directly hit by the golden giant's great force and shot downwards like a cannonball, many times faster than his own falling speed. That was why he hadn't been caught by the golden giant during his brief period of unconsciousness. If he had taken the attack head-on like the first time, he might have exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
His arms were broken in several places, twisted at several strange angles. If it weren't for his tough physical body, even though he had deflected the force, the result would definitely not have been just a few broken arm bones. His arms would have first turned to powder in an instant, and then his body's bones and flesh would not have been able to withstand the aftershock, exploding into a splatter of blood and flesh.
Li Yan's five internal organs were also shaken. Although the injuries were not immediately fatal, if he couldn't meditate and recover after a while, this physical body would be done for. And he hadn't formed a core yet. Relying on his soul alone, how could he escape far?
And at this moment, he was on the run. His hands were useless. Although his Divine Sense could communicate with the "Earth-Spot" on his left wrist to take out medicinal pills, in the process of rapidly falling, he had to constantly adjust his angle to avoid the golden giant's linear pursuit. He didn't even have time to swallow the pills.
Li Yan could only forcefully circulate his spiritual energy, turning his body into a streak of light, dodging the golden giant's pursuit by turning left or right. After another five or six breaths of this chase, Li Yan felt a sharp pain in his dantian. He knew that if this continued, his Dantian's Purple Mansion would also crack, and even his ninth-rank Foundation Establishment might drop. Just as Li Yan was anxious, a familiar scene appeared again. The golden giant above him suddenly stopped, as if it had encountered an invisible barrier, and floated in the void. It let out a cold laugh at Li Yan. This cold laugh made Li Yan's heart instantly sink to the bottom. He had long seen that the golden giants here were probably formed from that fine sand. But just now, along with the cold laugh, Li Yan seemed to see a hint of mockery in the golden giant's blurry facial features.
And what made Li Yan feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave was that after experiencing these two pursuits, he had already guessed what he would be facing next.
The first golden giant he encountered had only the cultivation of an initial-stage Golden Core. The second one he met had already reached the mid-stage Golden Core. And each golden giant seemed to only guard a distance of about three hundred zhang in this abyss. The golden giants would never cross the section they were guarding, like layers of a pavilion. Thus, he had now reached the third section. As expected, a late-stage Golden Core golden giant would soon appear in this section. And here, with Li Yan's cultivation, he was powerless to go up. He could only go down. Even if he had the ability to fly up, in his current state, he would not be able to break back through the upper two layers.
Feeling the pressure from above his head, forcing his body to constantly descend, Li Yan already had the thought of death in his mind. Now, even if he were at his peak, even if he had dozens of "Ghost-Chariot Talismans," a late-stage Golden Core was not something he could face. As soon as they met, no matter how resourceful Li Yan was, it would ultimately be in vain.
Besides, what if he blocked the third wave of attacks? Li Yan sighed inwardly. It would only be a desperate struggle. As expected, with the means of that Spirit Transformation cultivator, there would be an initial-stage Nascent Soul golden giant, a mid-stage Nascent Soul golden giant, and even a late-stage Nascent Soul golden giant. They would only need to blow a breath to turn him into dust.
'No wonder they say the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" is a land of death. Even if an initial or mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator came, how far could they go if they fell here? There might even be a strike with the power of a Spirit Transformation stage giant here. After all, this was once a magical treasure used by an earth-element Spirit Transformation cultivator.'
Feeling his constantly sinking body, Li Yan took a deep breath. It wasn't the final step yet. He didn't want to give up just like that. With a thought, several bottles of medicinal pills flew out of his "Earth-Spot." Then, under the control of his Divine Sense, he swallowed the pills one by one.
After a short while, Li Yan opened his eyes. Although these medicinal pills had not been completely refined, they had alleviated his current injuries. At least the spiritual energy in his dantian had returned to normal circulation, and his arms were recovering at an extremely fast speed. It was estimated that they would be fully healed in another dozen or so breaths.
Mortals often say that it takes a hundred days to recover from an injury to the muscles and bones. But for cultivators, these are extremely common injuries. As long as the physical body is not completely destroyed, it can be restored, let alone a mere fracture. Unless it was like Ancestor Redfire's right arm, which had completely disappeared, which would require more precious medicinal pills and time to regenerate the severed limb.
After a brief recovery, Li Yan circulated his spiritual energy and wanted to fly up. Compared to below, there was a better chance of survival above. But the moment Li Yan's body made a move to go up, that irresistible force once again pressed down, making his body fall even faster.
This last effort was also hopeless. Li Yan looked around. At this moment, as long as a faint yellow light appeared, he would not be far from death. But Li Yan was not one to wait for death. After thinking carefully, he made a corresponding plan. But whether this plan would work, only heaven knew. Li Yan only hoped that there would be no Nascent Soul golden giant here. After this stretch of distance was the bottom of the abyss. By then, even if there was something more terrifying in front of him, he would feel more at ease with his feet on the ground. At least he would know the situation here before he died, which was much more reassuring than dying in this endless drift.
Li Yan felt the recovery of his arms, then wiped his left wrist. A black light appeared, and then a one-inch ancient ape wood carving was caught in his palm. Li Yan's plan was not complicated. His goal for this stage was to have this ancient ape puppet and himself withstand the blow of a late-stage Golden Core golden giant. Then he would use the ancient ape puppet as a shield, and he would use the force to fall further and escape.
Looking at the ancient ape wood carving in his hand, Li Yan smiled bitterly. 'Junior Sister Bai Rou, I'm at the brink of life and death. The hope you entrusted to me is gone. Heh heh, maybe I don't need to give you any explanation.'
As Li Yan thought, his hands did not stop. With a thought, three more magical treasures appeared by his side. It was the emerald abacus, the broken wolf-fang mace, and a folding fan. This was Li Yan's final backup. Next, he would mainly rely on the ancient ape puppet to take the blow of the golden giant, and he would use the force from under its body to escape far away. If the ancient ape puppet also couldn't completely take the blow of the golden giant, he would have no choice but to self-destruct a magical treasure first. If one was not enough, then two. If two were not enough, then three. As for the fourth section below, the initial-stage Nascent Soul section, Li Yan couldn't care about it now. He could only delay for as long as he could. Maybe after the late-stage Golden Core giant's attack, something would change. There had been too many changes today. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, Li Yan did not want to give up.
Li Yan had been thinking, but his hands had been continuously moving. After the three magical treasures came out, he threw the ancient ape wood carving in his hand into the air. He formed a hand seal, and the small wood carving immediately turned into an ancient ape puppet over a zhang tall. Its eighty spiritual energy slots had long been filled with spirit stones by Li Yan, ready for use at any time.
The moment the ancient ape puppet appeared, it extended its giant spiritual palms and beat its chest fiercely, letting out a long roar. Then it took a step and appeared directly by the side of the falling Li Yan.
Seeing the ancient ape puppet come to his side, as he continued to fall, Li Yan did not look at it again. Instead, his Divine Sense was fully released, constantly spreading out. After a while, Li Yan suddenly looked in one direction and said, "It's here!" The place he was looking at was still pitch black. But just as Li Yan's voice fell, a faint yellow light had already appeared there.
With a thought from Li Yan, his own falling speed increased a bit, and the ancient ape puppet appeared above his head. Then, its eighty spiritual energy slots all began to operate, causing its body to erupt with a sky-shaking spiritual energy, instantly reaching the realm of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator. And just as Li Yan was wholeheartedly preparing to receive the upcoming attack, his originally grave face instantly turned pale. For a moment, his heart was like dead ash, and sweat broke out on his forehead.
Because almost at the same instant the faint yellow light appeared, and the ancient ape puppet's spiritual energy erupted, Li Yan had actually felt a fluctuation from below. Then, a force as if to destroy the heavens and the earth came from under him.
Li Yan muttered, "So this third wave of attack is a simultaneous attack. Heh heh, I can't even dodge this third attack." Li Yan's mouth was filled with bitterness, and he let out a self-deprecating laugh. But a sharp glint also flashed in his eyes.
"Then come with me to the Hall of Yama." Li Yan immediately threw his hand, and the three magical treasures appeared below. The spiritual energy on them instantly became violent, and in an instant, a series of continuous explosions echoed through the entire void.
These explosions were not from Li Yan's magical treasures self-destructing. Because all the explosions came from below him, to be precise, from the bottom of the endless abyss. This stunned Li Yan, who had already decided to make a final stand. Amidst the explosions were roars that could shake the nine heavens. The moment the explosions and roars came, the entire void actually began to shake, and the shaking became more and more violent. In the end, it was as if the sky was falling and the earth was cracking, causing Li Yan's falling figure to sway from side to side. Even the golden giant that had already reached above his head stopped its attack. The facial features of this golden giant were already recognizable, and the skin on its body had a more lustrous and smooth feel. And at this moment, the golden giant's face actually showed a hint of fear. It floated in the air, no longer caring about the drifting and still falling Li Yan. Instead, it stared blankly at the abyss below. After a moment, it actually flew rapidly upwards and away.
Although Li Yan was shaken and didn't know what had happened, he still kept a wisp of his Divine Sense on the golden giant above. Suddenly seeing the golden giant turn and leave, and feeling the world-destroying power from below him, how could he not know that something had happened in this abyss, something that even the golden giant was afraid of and wanted to flee from?
And at this moment, he had already felt that world-destroying power rapidly rising. It would reach him in just a few breaths. In the face of this power, Li Yan felt as fragile as an ant. He estimated that the power wouldn't even need to touch him. Just a little closer, and he would be directly shaken into a pile of powder.