It was because Li Yan's aptitude was so poor that Wei Zhongran had always been worried about this youngest disciple of his. Of course, part of the reason was also due to Zhao Min. Zhao Min was willing to interact with very few people, even among women of her own gender. Her friends were extremely few, so it was rare that she was willing to exchange a few words with Li Yan.
Especially after Zhao Min returned from Li Yan's mortal hometown last time, she went into seclusion, and her cultivation, which had been stagnant, broke through successively. This made Wei Zhongran and his wife overjoyed. At the same time, they felt that Zhao Min's coldness had lessened a lot.
Li Yan's face was a little pale. He looked at the Ice Cloud Feather floating in front of him, his heart filled with joy, and he quickly said, "Disciple thanks Master!"
"Hmm, as for the Jade-Horned Serpent you mentioned, that creature does exist in our sect's Hundred Thousand Great Mountains . However, if you want to obtain a high-grade Jade-Horned Serpent, it will take some effort. I will keep an eye out.
Take this Ice Cloud Feather. It's just that you'll need to choose your artifact refiner carefully. Otherwise, they might be frozen to death before they can even refine this material."
As he spoke, Wei Zhongran gave Li Yan a meaningful look, telling him not to act on a whim and try to refine it himself according to the manual, lest he injure himself with his current cultivation.
He was also helpless with Li Yan's personality. After so many years, he rarely asked him about cultivation matters, as if he were always on guard against everyone. But this time, he had finally grown much closer, which could be seen as a sign of their master-disciple relationship beginning to harmonize.
Li Yan naturally agreed, but when it came to refining the magical treasure of the Gui Water Immortal Sect , how could he really find someone else?
After speaking, Wei Zhongran took the floating Ice Cloud Feather back into his hand. A bright light shone from his hand, and the chill in the cave greatly diminished. He had placed a seal on both Ice Cloud Feathers, for fear of injuring Li Yan again.
Then, with a gentle wave of his hand, the two Ice Cloud Feathers flew lightly towards Li Yan. Li Yan looked at the two feathers flying towards him with a puzzled expression. After catching them, he said respectfully, "Master, what is this? One feather is enough for me to refine my artifact, not to mention this is a material from a third-rank demonic beast!"
His initial thought was that getting just one second-rank Ice Cloud Feather would be enough. Although the power of the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike would be greatly reduced, its power would gradually increase through slow nurturing over time.
But this time, he didn't expect Wei Zhongran to give him both third-rank Ice Cloud Feathers. It should be known that third-rank demonic beast materials were very rare in the market.
These two third-rank Ice Cloud Feathers alone could sell for at least fifty to sixty thousand Spirit Stones , and that was in a situation where there was demand but no supply. Otherwise, how could Wei Zhongran have kept this item in his collection until now without selling it?
Wei Zhongran waved his hand. "You've been my disciple for so long, and I haven't helped you much. Just take it.
Alright, next, let's talk about the current situation in the cultivation world. How much do you know about the current demonic invasion?"
Wei Zhongran was unwilling to say more about the two Ice Cloud Feathers and immediately changed the subject, a topic that Li Yan was currently most eager to know about.
Seeing Wei Zhongran's nonchalant attitude, Li Yan no longer refused and put the two Ice Cloud Feathers into his Storage Pouch .
"Reporting to Master, the place I went to was the far northern lands of the Jingtu Sect. Moreover, I was seriously injured while searching for artifact refining materials.
I was in seclusion until a month ago. The news I know is all hearsay. I heard that this time the demons found the weakest barrier between the two realms in the South Sea. As for the details, I cannot guess the authenticity of the information.
Master, is it true that the headquarters of the Supreme Mystery Teachings has been breached and occupied by the demons?"
After some thought, Li Yan asked the question in his heart.
"What you heard about the demons breaking through the barrier between the two realms from the South Sea is true. Many cultivators on the Desolate Moon Continent now know about this. What you did at the Xuanqing Temple is closely related to this demonic invasion."
"You mean the eye of the Guluo Nine-Tailed Turtle ?" Li Yan naturally thought of the item Qin Chengyi had stolen.
"Hehe, it seems you've guessed it. That item's real name is the 'Realm-Breaking Pearl' . It is a heaven-defying heavy treasure that the Demon Realm spent enormous resources to refine in order to invade other realms outside the Demon Realm. It contains the power to easily destroy a main dimension, so it can be used to break through the spatial barrier between two realms.
Such a powerful magical treasure, but even with the full force of the Demon Clan, they were only able to refine a few 'Realm-Breaking Pearls.' I don't know the exact number, but I've heard it's no more than a handful.
But the spatial barrier between the two realms is incredibly sturdy; even a Spirit Transformation Almighty is powerless against it.
Therefore, even with the 'Realm-Breaking Pearl,' one must find the weakest point in the barrier between the two realms to have a chance of breaking through the spatial barrier with it.
Back then, to open a passage to the Desolate Moon Continent, the demons used three of them at the same time to break through the barrier between the Demon Realm and the Desolate Moon Continent."
Li Yan was horrified. It took the power of an entire realm to refine just a few "Realm-Breaking Pearls," and that item was the inconspicuous eye of the Guluo Nine-Tailed Turtle he had seen, which carried only a trace of strangeness. A magical treasure that could break through two realms could probably destroy half of the Desolate Moon Continent without a problem. What kind of power was that?
"Is Master talking about the Devil's Cliff Crevice , or somewhere else?" Li Yan was shocked, but he quickly reacted. "It is the Devil's Cliff Crevice. Back then, three 'Realm-Breaking Pearls' were used in succession to blast open the passage there, destroying almost all the mountain peaks in a ten-thousand-li radius and forming the Devil's Cliff Crevice."
When Wei Zhongran spoke of the "Devil's Cliff Crevice," a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. For him, the Devil's Cliff Crevice was a period of hellish years.
Although the Devil's Cliff Crevice had long been sealed by the great powers of the past with great divine abilities, the fighting had continued unabated for many years. How many of his closest friends had fallen there, and how many times had he himself narrowly escaped death?
In an instant, Li Yan felt an extremely sharp pressure. But the pressure came and went quickly. Just as Li Yan's breath hitched, the pressure vanished without a trace. This made Li Yan, who had just calmed down, startled once again.
'What is my master's cultivation? At my current realm, I wouldn't be too afraid even when facing a Mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.
At least under Hua Siwang's aura lock, I still had some hope of escaping a certain range. Then, with the help of the 'Melting Bamboo Shoot' and the 'Phoenix Soaring to the Heavens' power, I might be able to shake him off.'
The aura Wei Zhongran had just inadvertently revealed felt like a heavy mountain on Li Yan. Li Yan thought back. If Wei Zhongran deliberately locked onto him, he would have absolutely no chance of escape, even if he unleashed all his power and the True Scripture of Gui Water, combined with the "Phoenix Soaring to the Heavens" movement skill.
This gave Li Yan a new understanding of Wei Zhongran in an instant. This master of his was definitely a deeply hidden expert. Even the Mid-stage Golden Core cultivation he had shown in the past was likely a feint.
In the flash of Li Yan's thoughts, Wei Zhongran had already continued, "After the Devil's Cliff Crevice was later sealed by several top cultivators of the Desolate Moon Continent, the seal still couldn't completely block attacks from the Demon Realm.
So, almost every day, many demon cultivators would desperately try to force their way through, attempting to constantly destroy the seal and infiltrate the Desolate Moon Continent to lie in wait.
Fortunately, the power of the seal greatly suppressed the size of the Devil's Cliff Crevice. Therefore, only Demon Lords and demon cultivators below that level could squeeze through, with few surviving the attempt. We just needed to guard the Devil's Cliff Crevice.
Over these tens of millions of years, with both sides fighting each other, the Desolate Moon Continent has been relatively peaceful.
I suppose you've heard about it. The Four Great Sects and the demonic beasts of the Secret Realm have joined forces and have Golden Core stage cultivators stationed there on rotation year-round." At this point, Wei Zhongran paused.
Li Yan asked calmly, "I heard that Master was also stationed at the Devil's Cliff Crevice back then."
Wei Zhongran just nodded and did not elaborate on this topic, then continued.
"After those three 'Realm-Breaking Pearls' opened the Devil's Cliff Crevice long ago, they disappeared on the Desolate Moon Continent. Because the power within the pearls was exhausted, they became ordinary.
Actually, that's not entirely correct. Even if the power within the pearls remained, they could not be activated without the corresponding magical incantation. And only the demons who refined them know this incantation.
At the same time, the world-destroying power of the 'Realm-Breaking Pearl' can be regenerated."
"A 'Realm-Breaking Pearl' that has been used once can be used again?" Li Yan couldn't help but exclaim, but then he cursed himself for being "stupid." If the "Realm-Breaking Pearl" couldn't be used again, why would anyone go to the Xuanqing Temple to steal it?
Wei Zhongran nodded. "There are two ways to restore the terrifying power inside the 'Realm-Breaking Pearl.' One is to use an unimaginable amount of heavenly materials and earthly treasures to re-refine it, which can quickly restore the terrifying power inside the pearl.
The other way is that the 'Realm-Breaking Pearl' itself can absorb the essence of heaven and earth over a long period of time and slowly re-accumulate a world-destroying power.
It's just that this process takes too long. Even ten thousand years is not enough. It might be a hundred thousand years, or even a million or ten million years."
At this point, Wei Zhongran looked at Li Yan, who had a look of realization on his face. "I suppose you've guessed what happened next."
Wei Zhongran had actually given Li Yan a lot of important information. If Li Yan connected the dots, he could of course guess a lot, including the matter of the Xuanqing Temple.
Seeing Li Yan nod, Wei Zhongran continued, "So, these three 'Realm-Breaking Pearls' were scattered across the Desolate Moon Continent. After tens of millions of years, the demons may have sensed their awakening or existence through some means and once again had the idea of opening a passage between the two realms.
It's just that the demons currently remaining on the Desolate Moon Continent, or the sects under their control, have been mostly wiped out by human cultivators over this long period. Even if they sensed the location of the 'Realm-Breaking Pearl,' they wouldn't dare to take it by force, for fear of leaking the news prematurely and attracting the attention of top human cultivators. That would expose their intentions too early.
Therefore, for the 'Realm-Breaking Pearl' that appeared in the Xuanqing Temple a few years ago, they sent people to steal it secretly, but you inadvertently foiled their plans. That's why I said Ancestor Mo Qing praised you highly. Otherwise, this time it might not have been just a problem of demons appearing in the South Sea."
Only then did Li Yan realize that he had inadvertently performed such a great service.