Li Yan glanced around. They were on a sand dune, still within the desert. Under the moonlit night, the desert appeared exceptionally cold and desolate, with a bright moon and sparse stars. Seeing this scene, Li Yan couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. If this mysterious senior demonic cultivator had flown in the opposite direction of his intended destination after he had gone to so much trouble to teleport here, he would have been extremely frustrated.
Just as Li Yan was sizing up his surroundings, a voice even colder than the desert night sounded in his ear, sending a bone-deep chill through him.
Li Yan immediately stood up, patted the sand off his clothes, and looked at the ancient ape puppet's figure, which, even in its shrunken form, was still as imposing as a mountain, staring at him without blinking. Li Yan hurriedly bowed respectfully. At this point, he was basically certain that the reason the other party was asking about the ancient ape puppet was because she was afraid of killing the wrong person. It wasn't, as she had claimed, that she was giving him a chance to speak because he had indirectly saved her with the puppet. Li Yan knew that if he answered carelessly, he would, like Ancestor Redfire, have no need to say anything more in an instant.
But then again, since the other party valued this puppet so much, Li Yan considered his chances of survival to be extremely high. After all, he hadn't snatched the ancient ape puppet from anyone.
"Reporting to Senior, this junior did not speak a single false word before. This puppet was a gift from a senior sister in my sect. She was once a disciple of the Wood Flow Sect, named Bai Rou. Due to her great talent in the art of mechanisms and puppets, she was later recruited into my master's sect." How could Li Yan dare to delay? He went straight to the point, although his words sounded a bit convoluted.
"Huchen family? You're saying that Wood Flow Sect disciple named Bai Rou joined a poison cultivator family? Oh, that's not right. You said sect, not family. What are you trying to say?" The silver-bell-like voice came from the ancient ape's mouth, sounding somewhat strange, but anyone could hear the impatience in it.
Li Yan knew that the other party had misunderstood what he had said in the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves." He had also heard that Nascent Soul Old Monsters were eccentric. One moment they could be pleasant, the next they could turn hostile and kill. He couldn't help but show an embarrassed expression. "Ahem, this junior... this junior was chased after coming out of the Huchen family. This junior is a disciple of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, and Senior Sister Bai Rou is now also a disciple of the Malevolent Spirit Sect."
Li Yan felt the gaze on him freeze, and then came a charming laugh. "Giggle, you're a cunning little fellow. So you were trying to trick me with your words before. No, not trick, you were trying to run circles around me. If I hadn't been paying attention, I would have fallen for your trick. The reason that Golden Core cultivator was injured was mainly due to poisoning. Since you're from the Malevolent Spirit Sect, that makes sense. It's just... hehehe..." Li Yan didn't dare to look up. Hearing the words from the ancient ape puppet turn into a cold laugh at the end, he couldn't help but feel cold sweat break out on his back. Seeing Li Yan bowing, his back soaked with sweat, the ancient ape puppet snorted lightly, but she didn't want to get entangled in other matters at this moment.
"Malevolent Spirit Sect, Malevolent Spirit Sect. So many years have passed. Is it still a dominant power? Tell me, how is the Wood Flow Sect now? Is it still a top-tier, first-rate sect?" She first muttered to herself, then turned to ask Li Yan again.
Hearing the other party's light snort, and then silence, Li Yan finally relaxed. He knew that the other party was anxious to know about the ancient ape puppet. He immediately seized the opportunity. But the other party's next words made Li Yan look up in a daze. He saw a hopeful gaze coming from the ancient ape puppet's eyes. With Li Yan's intelligence, he was already certain that the other party was definitely a friend of the Wood Flow Sect, not an enemy. It wasn't the kind of person who had a grudge against the sect. But how had a sect gotten involved with a demonic cultivator of such terrifying cultivation? It was truly puzzling. And from her words, it seemed as if she didn't understand the current cultivation world. But these questions only flashed through Li Yan's mind. How could he dare to ask?
Li Yan continued to answer, "Perhaps Senior has been out of touch with the world for a long time. The Desolate Moon Continent is still governed by the four major sects: the Tai Xuan Sect, the Jingtu Sect, the Ten-Pace Courtyard, and the Malevolent Spirit Sect. As for... as for the Wood Flow Sect, the highest cultivation of the sect master and elders is now only at the Foundation Establishment stage. It has already been demoted to a third-rate sect..." Li Yan had heard Bai Rou say before that the Wood Flow Sect was once a first-rate sect, but he hadn't expected it to be a top-tier one. So he had a general idea of the sect.
But before Li Yan could finish, a dazzling light burst from the ancient ape puppet. "You, are, saying, the Wood Flow Sect has fallen to a... a third-rate sect? Little, fellow, I don't want to hear any jokes!" At this moment, that cold voice actually showed a trace of fluctuation. Then, she spoke to Li Yan word by word. Li Yan felt two tangible gazes that made his scalp tingle. An invisible heavy mountain seemed to press down on him, making it difficult to breathe.
"S-Senior, j-junior... junior rarely goes out, but... but these words came from Senior Sister Bai Rou's... own... mouth... she... said..." Li Yan said with difficulty. The ancient ape puppet seemed to have realized its emotional fluctuation, and the pressure suddenly disappeared. Li Yan couldn't help but gasp for air.
After calming down a little, Li Yan knew that the other party was still waiting for his answer. After taking a few deep breaths, he smiled bitterly. "Senior, what I know is all from Senior Sister Bai Rou. She once said that the Wood Flow Sect was a first-rate sect, but when she joined, it was already only a third-rate sect. Her grandmaster, that is, Senior Sister Bai Rou's master's master, was still a Golden Core cultivator, so it should have been a second-rate sect at that time. But by the time Senior Sister Bai Rou joined, her master was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Therefore, Senior Sister Bai Rou joined the Malevolent Spirit Sect with her skills to obtain more cultivation resources."
"As for why this ancient ape puppet ended up in my hands, it's because I once helped Senior Sister Bai Rou by chance, so she gave this ancient ape puppet to me."
"The Wood Flow Sect has actually fallen to the point where a Foundation Establishment cultivator is in charge... to this point..." The ancient ape's eyes dimmed, and she muttered to herself.
"Are you and Bai Rou from the same branch? Are you from the Four Symbols Peak?"
"Senior, this junior doesn't know the art of mechanisms, and only has a superficial knowledge of formations. This is my token."
With that, Li Yan slapped his waist, and the Malevolent Spirit Sect token appeared in his hand. Then, without waiting for the other party to speak, he gently tapped it with his finger. The token let out a light "buzz," and above the dark green halo, a golden bamboo branch slowly emerged.
In fact, the mysterious demonic cultivator had already had a rough look at the things in Li Yan's storage pouch when she had taken the spirit stones before. But she hadn't checked carefully. One, the battle was fierce at that time, and there was no time. Two, Li Yan's storage pouch contained four tokens: one from the Blood Leaf Sect, one from Bloodhand Flying Sickle, and the Netherworld Order. It was quite a mix, so the mysterious demonic cultivator had only given it a quick sweep with her Divine Sense.
Looking at the flashing golden bamboo branch, the ancient ape puppet said softly, "Little Bamboo Peak!" Her words only paused for a moment, but then became cold again. "Kid, do you really think I won't perform a Soul-Search just because you're a Malevolent Spirit Sect disciple? Hurry up and tell me how you got this puppet. If you say it was a gift from that Bai Rou again, then you don't need to say anything. I don't want to be deceived by you a second time. You should understand what I mean."
Li Yan's heart tightened. With his intelligence, he of course knew what the other party meant. For the time being, she had not performed a Soul-Search on him out of consideration for the Wood Flow Sect or Bai Rou, not because of his identity as a Malevolent Spirit Sect disciple.
The reason he had said it was a gift from Bai Rou was because this ancient ape puppet might hide a secret of the Wood Flow Sect, which required his help to solve. He hadn't wanted to reveal it so easily. Bai Rou had trusted him and given it to him. But now it seemed that this person was by no means easy to fool, and she was already on the verge of an outburst. Li Yan believed that in the next moment, if he couldn't give her a convincing reason, his fate would be countless times more tragic than Ancestor Redfire's. It was just that the other party was a demonic cultivator, which made it impossible for him to be sure of her thoughts. He had never heard from Bai Rou that there was a demonic cultivator in the Wood Flow Sect. But this person's familiarity with the ancient ape puppet was by no means just a matter of being able to control it.
At this time, Li Yan couldn't use the same trick he had used on the Huchen Ancestor to bluff his way out of a Soul-Search. It was obvious that this person had been in seclusion for many years, or had been trapped in the "Flying Sand Grotto-Caves" for some time, and seemed to have no idea about the outside world. What he had said about being on a sect mission and the soul lamp would not make her the slightest bit wary.
Li Yan looked up and stared into the ancient ape's eyes. "It's not that this junior deliberately concealed it, but I once promised Senior Sister Bai Rou, so I couldn't say it. Now it seems I have no choice. This ancient ape puppet holds a secret of the Wood Flow Sect. But even the Wood Flow Sect doesn't know what this secret is. Senior Sister Bai Rou and her master studied it for many years without any result. But when I helped Senior Sister Bai Rou last time, she said that when my Divine Sense appeared, this puppet showed a slight fluctuation. So she suspected that I might be able to unlock the secret of the ancient ape puppet. But afterwards, no matter how we tested, we didn't find anything different. However, Senior Sister Bai Rou still gave this puppet to me, hoping that I might be able to solve the mystery by chance."
Then, Li Yan roughly recounted how he had met Bai Rou and how he had helped her solve her troubles. But the focus was on a detailed account of his clash of Divine Senses with Sun Guoshu in the free market.
In the face of absolute power, Li Yan had no intention of keeping secrets for others. He told her without hesitation. In any case, the other party was definitely deeply related to the Wood Flow Sect. She might even already know the secret of the ancient ape puppet. Besides, what he had said was as good as saying nothing. A secret that was unknown was, at most, just letting others know that this puppet was extraordinary.
Li Yan had also tried his best to keep the secret for Bai Rou. But he was too weak and had no choice. Li Yan didn't want to perish now.
After Li Yan finished speaking, he looked at the ancient ape puppet calmly. Although his expression was calm, he was extremely nervous inside. He had laid all his cards on the table. But if the other party still didn't believe him, his fate would be tragic.
Li Yan felt as if a long, long time had passed, and yet it was only an instant. The ancient ape puppet once again let out a silver-bell-like laugh. "Giggle, you're a sensible kid. I was wondering how a Thousand Luo Ancient Ape could be so easily given away. They're not that stupid. Even if the Wood Flow Sect has lost many of its legacies, at least some of the ancestral teachings should have been preserved. Alright, you've passed this test."
At this, Li Yan finally breathed a huge sigh of relief. But just as he relaxed, the ancient ape puppet's figure flickered and appeared in front of him, grabbing his shoulder. This happened suddenly, and it was a sneak attack by a Nascent Soul demonic cultivator. Li Yan had no defense at all and was caught. Then he felt a surging spiritual energy rush into his body.