A long time later, a satisfied, charming laugh finally echoed from within the secret chamber.
"You've eaten me three times recently. Today, I finally got to eat you. Hee hee hee..." A woman's light laughter, enough to make one's bones go soft, rang out.
At that moment, the red vine canopy was lifted, and a beautiful woman with a naked, jade-like body, full hips, and a slender waist sat up. The strong man, however, lay motionless on her long, elegant legs. The beautiful woman gave a light push with her hand and flipped the man over. It was a bald man in his thirties, with three rows of ordination scars on his head—he was actually a monk. At this moment, the monk's face was ashen, his breath as faint as a gossamer thread. His fierce eyes were a grayish-yellow, staring deadly at the blood-stirring naked woman before him.
The beautiful woman gave a light laugh and stood barefoot on the ground. Her small, fair, jade-like feet were translucent and exquisite. With a single wave of her hand, a green gauze draped over her body. The snow-white skin, so delicate it looked like it could be broken by a puff of wind, was faintly visible beneath the gauze. She looked at the monk lying on his back and snorted softly through her delicate nose. "To make my sect lose three people without being able to take you down... No matter how careful you were, didn't you end up like this in the end? Just to have me come personally, the name of a Buddha is truly not for nothing. What a pity, your body is truly like vajra. I almost couldn't bear to part with it."
This woman was none other than the beautiful woman who had been speaking with Fairy Red Candle in the Red Chan Sect —a Golden Core elder of the Red Chan Sect.
As the beautiful woman from the Red Chan Sect spoke, she walked directly to a pile of clothes on the floor not far from the bed. She nudged the clothes a few times with her naked, jade-like foot and found a Storage Pouch within the pile. She extended a slender, scallion-like finger, and with a light hook, the Storage Pouch flew into her hand. She probed it with her Divine Sense, and her fine brows furrowed.
Then, she walked back to the bed under the hanging red vines. Looking into the eyes that were staring deadly at her, she leaned down and gave the monk a light kiss on the cheek, her chest a magnificent, snow-like mountain peak, utterly captivating.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Didn't I just tell you? The three women you killed in the past two months were all disciples of my sect. Such pitiful, lovely girls, and you had the heart to kill them. I had no choice but to come personally. Hee hee hee... but I thought your Buddhist heart was truly as firm as iron. Who knew you'd get addicted after just one taste? Your Buddhist cultivation methods can't withstand having your discipline broken. I wonder if you've heard of the art I cultivate? It's called the 'Seven Mysteries Yin Sha Art'." As she spoke, the beautiful woman sat on the edge of the bed, her beautiful eyes fixed on the monk, whose pupils were already a crimson-yellow.
The monk's already weak body, upon hearing the woman utter "Seven Mysteries Yin Sha Art," couldn't help but twitch. His vacant pupils contracted violently.
"Hee hee hee, it seems you've heard of it. To die under this art, you can be considered to have enjoyed the ultimate pleasure of the mortal world. And you truly will be ascending to the Land of Ultimate Bliss very soon. It's not that my cultivation is shallow, nor that my heart aches for you. I'm leaving you with a single breath so that your Soul Lamp in the Jingtu Sect won't extinguish immediately. But this way, I won't be able to open your Storage Pouch for a while. Otherwise, if I forcibly break the Divine Sense you left on it, with your current body, you'd immediately go to the Western Land of Ultimate Bliss. That would hurt my sincere feelings. I hope you have that thing with you in your Storage Pouch. Otherwise, I'll have to continue searching for other Buddhas, which would be so tiring!"
The beautiful woman let out a crisp laugh, then stood up and walked toward the secret door. "Well, I'm leaving now. Don't you miss me too much..." As she spoke, she disappeared from the secret chamber, taking the Jingtu Sect monk's Storage Pouch with her.
Half a day later, in the Jingtu Sect, over a hundred thousand li from Da Ning City, a monk on duty in the Soul Hall walked out in a panic, muttering to himself, "Disaster, disaster! How could Senior Brother Yiguang's Soul Lamp have gone out..."
On the barren mountain where Li Yan was, the sun came and went, rose and set. The moon set, and daylight returned. The green vegetation had already turned a withered yellow, swaying in the autumn wind in its final moment of splendor. The sunlight shone on the plants, making them glisten. Autumn insects hopped about in the grass. Some insects, seeing the few patches of wild grass on the rock wall swaying in the wind, made a great leap, trying to jump into the grassy crevices on the cliff to find some food. But when they were still some distance from the grass, they seemed to be pushed away by some invisible force, tumbling down one after another. After landing in the grass below, the insects paused for a moment, then, as if unwilling to give up, they continued to leap up and down, tirelessly.
Just then, the entire barren mountain suddenly began to shake. Instantly, the autumn insects either dove directly into the grass or leaped about frantically and aimlessly. Many wild beasts foraging nearby first pricked up their ears, their eyes darting around warily, before they scattered and fled.
Following the shaking of the barren mountain, a series of dull, loud rumbles came from within the mountain, as if a giant within the mountain's belly was desperate to break free.
At this moment, inside Li Yan's Cave Residence, Li Yan's eyes were tightly shut. A sound like thunder continuously emanated from his body, shaking the dust that had accumulated on his long robe over several months into the air, only to drift down again. His long hair moved without any wind, rising and falling with the drum-like thunderous rumbles from within him.
The sounds from within Li Yan's body grew louder and more urgent, like the continuous beat of war drums on a battlefield, urging the charge. A black aura on his face gradually thickened, and black qi also seeped out from all over his body. This black qi did not dissipate but gathered above Li Yan's head, gradually forming a churning black cloud, as if a heavy lead weight was pressing down, or as if a storm was about to break.
At this moment, Li Yan, who had been sitting motionlessly, suddenly raised his hands slowly from his chest. As his hands rose, the black cloud above his head seemed to be pushed apart by a pair of invisible giant hands and began to expand continuously. When Li Yan's hands reached his chin, in a dazzling display, his index fingers bent strangely, his middle fingers touched, and his thumbs tucked inward, forming a hand seal. He then pressed down sharply on the Shanzhong acupoint on his chest. At the same time his hands touched his chest, the black cloud above his head seemed to have expanded to its limit. It contracted sharply, and the entire cloud smashed down like a heavy hammer onto Li Yan's Celestial Crown.
Li Yan instantly opened his mouth and let out a great roar. Rolling black, watery qi gushed out with his breath. The abundant water Spirit Power made the entire cave moist. A series of popping sounds, like roasting beans, erupted from all his bones. His skin was instantly covered in a layer of fine, dark gray, greasy substance with an incredibly nauseating and foul stench.
And at this moment, inside Li Yan's body, he felt the Twelve-Storied Pagoda being blown through as if by a gale. He completed a full Heavenly Cycle circulation in less than five breaths. When the Spirit Power circulated to his Dantian's Purple Mansion, it was like a thousand rivers flowing into the sea, making a gurgling sound.
The dantian lake was now ten times larger than it had been months ago. The five Spirit Power cauldrons had grown by three full circles, floating on the dantian lake and shining brilliantly. The ancient runes on the cauldrons were more solid and profound, imbued with the weight of ages. From time to time, a pillar of watery Spirit Power would rise from a cauldron and fall into the next, creating a majestic sight.
After letting out a great roar, Li Yan fell silent. After a long while, the black mist around his body gradually receded back into him. Only then did Li Yan slowly open his eyes. His eyes no longer held the sharp glint they had when he first reached Foundation Establishment. Instead, they were surprisingly clear, like a stream of pure water, much more restrained. Looking at them was like feeling a gentle stream flowing through one's heart. The dark pupils stood out even more against the clear whites.
Li Yan's expression was neither happy nor sad. His Divine Sense first swept over the cave entrance. Then, with a wave of his sleeve, several flashes of light shot out, and the dazzling sunlight from outside pierced in. Li Yan's body surged with Spirit Power, and with a series of sizzling sounds, the clothes on his body turned to dust. He then formed a hand seal, and a "Cloud and Rain Art" descended from above his head, cleansing his body in a moment. He then took out a set of green robes from his Storage Pouch and put them on. With a flick of his sleeve, the foul air in the cave was swept out, and the cave entrance disappeared once more.
He performed these actions with great familiarity. Every breakthrough in his realm brought a cleansing to his body. However, the impurities in Li Yan's body were no longer black as before but had turned dark gray. As his cultivation continued to improve, his body would one day be pure and flawless.
After doing all this, Li Yan sat down cross-legged again. His previous actions were merely to expel the nauseating odor from the cave; he had no intention of leaving immediately. Feeling the surging Spirit Power within him, Li Yan felt as if he could shatter this mountain with a single punch.
He had been in seclusion for nearly three months, during which he had faced several life-threatening situations. The reason was that this was his first time using external force to break through. This kind of power was not something he could control at will. The intensity and attributes of the various poisons varied, and the most difficult part was balancing the relationship between the five elements. The cultivation methods of the Five Immortal Sects emphasized the successive generation of the five elements to form the self-sustaining cycle of the Heavenly Dao. Li Yan's primary attribute was water. If the other attributes' Spirit Power surpassed his water attribute, it would be fine for a short time or with deliberate conversion. But the refined and integrated Spirit Power was like an intruder, forcefully disrupting the circulation established by the True Scripture of Gui Water, which would become dangerous.
The first time Li Yan refined external power for his own use, he encountered such a situation. Several times, the Spirit Power in his body became chaotic, almost beyond his control, causing inner demons to arise, and he fell into an illusion. In the end, it was his extraordinary willpower that allowed him to wake up at the critical moment, thus avoiding having his body explode from the rampaging Spirit Power.
What woke Li Yan up was the image of his parents' reluctant gazes in the illusion. Demonic thoughts arise from the heart, a manifestation or unconscious extension of a cultivator's most profound memories. When he saw his parents' reluctant gazes, Li Yan felt the threat from Strategist Ji, who wanted to cut off all his hopes, and he fought desperately to regain his senses.
There were two more times after that. Although they still made his mind wander, with the experience of the first time, Li Yan had already partitioned a part of his Divine Sense to firmly guard his mind platform, which allowed him to pass through without any real danger.
'It's best not to use the method of breaking through with external force in the future. The risk is too great,' Li Yan thought. Although he had known of the danger before, without personally experiencing it, he had felt he could accomplish it. Even after having truly gone through it, Li Yan felt a lingering fear just thinking about it.
In fact, this was the difference between being taught by someone and the cultivation of a Rogue Cultivator with no one to guide them. Apart from the cultivation resources guaranteed by the sect, Li Yan's actual cultivation was undoubtedly similar to that of a Rogue Cultivator. Everything had to be figured out on his own.
Putting aside his fearful thoughts, he carefully felt the immense changes in his body. 'Mid-stage Foundation Establishment is so much more powerful than the initial stage. I could easily defeat several versions of my past self from a few months ago now. If I were to face a cultivator of Ancestor Redfire's level again, although I would still only be able to flee, with the help of my Physical Body's strength, I would have the power to resist for a moment or two. My chances of survival have reached at least twenty percent. This probability may seem equally slim, but it is already extremely precious.' Although Li Yan's expression was calm, his heart was turbulent. The feeling of weakness had recently brought him close to death several times. Before, he had relied on the "Ghost-Chariot Talisman," the Qiongqi Purgatory Art, and pre-applied poisons, but even with all those methods combined, he was like an infant before a single strike from Ancestor Redfire. Now, if he were to launch a sneak attack, Li Yan felt it was possible to directly injure Ancestor Redfire.
After calming his mind, Li Yan's Divine Sense erupted in the next moment. After only a short while, a satisfied look appeared on his perpetually calm face.
'My Divine Sense has now reached over eleven hundred li. This is already on par with an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, maybe even slightly better. But no matter how powerful the True Scripture of Gui Water is, Foundation Establishment is still Foundation Establishment. Abundant magical power only allows one to surpass those of the same rank; how can it possibly compare to a Golden Core?'
A moment ago, when his Divine Sense spread out, every blade of grass, every tree, every bird, and every beast within a thousand li was captured in his mind. Previously, at around seven hundred li, his Divine Sense was at its limit, and he could only see a rough, blurry image. Now, it appeared with perfect clarity in his mind. If he focused his gaze, he could even see the ants crawling on the ground with perfect clarity.
After retracting his Divine Sense, Li Yan pondered his next steps. 'Without any advanced Immortal Arts, I don't even have a decent Magical Treasure. Next, I need to refine that Folding Fan. At least before I can craft my own Natal Magical Treasure, I'll have something to defeat my enemies with. The Cloud-Piercing Willow Magical Treasure also needs to be re-refined.'