"Your strength is lacking, and your speed is still too slow. Are you going to wait until they've all run away?"
Just as the Snow Mosquito King was feeling excited, Li Yan's voice suddenly entered its ear. This made the Snow Mosquito King shiver and snap back to reality, realizing it was still in the middle of a battle.
The other four men, meanwhile, were already whistling away, fleeing for their lives in four different directions. In less than two breaths, two cultivators had died. Especially "Senior Brother Min," who had the highest cultivation; they hadn't even seen how he had fallen. They only saw the gray-robed youth holding "Senior Brother Min," who was like a dead fish, bent at the waist with limbs dangling. He was likely more dead than alive.
On this side, that demonic beast had merely spat out a small ball of purple water, and their companion had only blocked it for a moment before screaming twice and tumbling down. At a time like this, if they didn't flee, were they supposed to wait here to die?
The Snow Mosquito King shouted in one direction.
"Hey, that fish, don't run! I'm going to boil you, fry you, braise you, steam you..."
As it spoke, it had already transformed into a streak of white light and shot off.
On the other side, Li Yan was holding the talisman that the cultivator surnamed Min had been holding just now, examining it repeatedly. He glanced up slightly at the Snow Mosquito King.
'It has refined a poison from the Fragmented Poison Body. It's already quite formidable!'
Li Yan's eyes flickered. The poison the Snow Mosquito King had refined was precisely the "Triumphant March," a corrosive poison that could dissolve all things, which Li Yan had used consecutively in the sect's minor competition. It now seemed the Snow Mosquito King had achieved some minor success with it.
If Li Yan had acted himself just now, when that cultivator blocked with his three-pronged fork, both the man and the weapon would have been completely dissolved into nothing within a few breaths. On one hand, this was because Li Yan's current physical body was growing stronger, which had increased the toxicity of the Fragmented Poison by severalfold. On the other hand, the cultivation gap between that cultivator and Li Yan was too large.
Li Yan quickly turned his attention back to the talisman in his hand. Of the remaining four fish-headed cultivators, the highest cultivation was at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment. The Snow Mosquito King was now close to the peak of Rank 2, equivalent to a powerful Foundation Establishment cultivator infinitely close to the Pseudo-Core Realm. Furthermore, it had the aid of the "Thousand Beasts Devouring the Dao" poison art it had cultivated, and as a flying insect-type demonic beast, its speed was incredibly swift. If it couldn't even kill those four cultivators under these circumstances, then it would have to suffer for it and continue its closed-door cultivation for a few more years.
The Snow Mosquito King might not be able to reunite with its beloved consort and clan for several years, or even decades.
In the distance, the Snow Mosquito King was first using a ring of purple water to surround one cultivator, and was then rapidly pouncing toward another direction, when it suddenly felt a chill in its heart and shivered involuntarily.
'Who, who's talking about me!'
It immediately looked around. With its cultivation and its own inherently icy-cold nature as a species, it had actually felt a chill rise from the bottom of its heart for a moment just now. This puzzled it. When its Divine Sense seemed to catch Li Yan glancing in its direction, it couldn't help but shudder again.
'Damn it, what is he planning now? Why do I have a bad feeling? I'd better finish off these small fries quickly.'
Although the Snow Mosquito King was confident it could kill these few Cangyu Sect cultivators, they were fleeing for their lives, and their speed was not slow. It could only use its greater speed to trap them first, buying itself more time, and then kill them one by one.
Looking at a streak of light ahead, the Snow Mosquito King let out a strange cry.
"Yeehaw... hehe... yo!"
With a slash of a single wing, an ice blade reflecting the sunlight shot down from above toward that streak of light. In an instant, the cultivator within the streak of light felt as if the world around him had been frozen. As his body moved forward, the sound of ice forming, "kaka-kaka," came from outside his body, and his speed abruptly dropped...
Li Yan looked at the talisman in his hand. This was the last thing the fish-headed Pseudo-Core cultivator had intended to use in a desperate counterattack. As soon as the talisman paper entered his hand, Li Yan felt a surging aura.
"A high-grade Spirit Treasure-level talisman! This is quite a good treasure."
A faint black Spirit Power emerged from Li Yan's hand. The talisman suddenly lit up, and then a picture of a golden brick appeared on its surface. Li Yan did not continue to increase his Spirit Power, just maintaining it like this, while his Divine Sense had already extended out, scanning the golden brick on the talisman.
A moment later, Li Yan withdrew his magic power, and the talisman returned to its original appearance.
"So it's called the 'God-Shattering Talisman.' It's specifically for attacking the Sea of Consciousness. This is a good thing. Although it's only effective against Foundation Establishment and below cultivators, it's definitely a nightmare for ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators."
After investigating for a while, Li Yan immediately put away the talisman. This item couldn't harm him much, but it was still a decent thing. Now that Li Yan's cultivation far surpassed those of the same rank, this kind of item that specifically targeted the Divine Sense of Foundation Establishment and Qi Condensation stage cultivators was actually extremely extraordinary. The cultivator surnamed Min had also paid a great price to obtain this one life-saving item that attacked the Divine Sense.
Immediately, Li Yan flew into the mountain forest below, carrying the unconscious cultivator surnamed Min.
Half a cup of tea's time later, amidst the terrified and pleading eyes of the cultivator surnamed Min, Li Yan struck the top of his head with his palm. A ball of black mist instantly enveloped the cultivator. Not even a single scream was heard. The next moment, the black mist dispersed, leaving nothing in front of Li Yan.
Regarding interrogation, although Li Yan couldn't perform Soul-Searching, he had dozens of methods to make the other party wish for death, only hoping that Li Yan would let him die quickly. Any secrets would basically be spilled like beans from a bamboo tube. What's more, what Li Yan was asking wasn't even much of a secret, but something that almost every cultivator on the Forsaken Continent knew.
When Li Yan had remained silent just now, merely looking coldly into the other party's eyes while his other hand drew a "Saintly" character in the air with Spirit Power, the fish-headed cultivator surnamed Min had already cried out in alarm.
"You are from the Sacred Demon Palace! No, you are a human cultivator..."
Li Yan didn't answer, but had already begun to plant a potent poison on his body, while also sealing his voice, making it impossible for him to scream. As the other party continued to suffer in agony, his body twisting and blood beginning to seep from his eyes, Li Yan remained silent. His other hand continued to use Spirit Power to draw a heroic, armored man astride a dragon-like creature, holding a single spear...
Finally, after Li Yan slowly finished the drawing, he released the seal on the cultivator surnamed Min's voice. But he still set up a small restriction around the two of them, preventing any possibility of a cry for help from being heard.
The moment Li Yan released the seal on his voice, the cultivator surnamed Min, while screaming incessantly, continuously pleaded with Li Yan.
"My lord, my... lord, I beg... I beg you to spare... spare this lowly one... We... we did not know you were a... a cultivator from the 'Sacred Demon... Palace's' upper... upper sect... We... we had eyes but failed to see. I... I am willing to offer..."
Although he still didn't understand how the "Sacred Demon Palace" could have a human disciple, he thought that this person before him must have some connection to the "Sacred Demon Palace." Otherwise, why would he just keep carving the "Sacred Demon Palace" token in front of him? This was torturing him while warning him that he had provoked someone he shouldn't have.
The "Sacred Demon Palace" had always had an ambiguous relationship with the human race. At this moment, how could the cultivator surnamed Min care about much else? The other party neither showed an identity token nor spoke, just torturing him while continuously drawing characters. He looked like a cruel, bloodthirsty, and twisted person. All this was very similar to some legends about the "Sacred Demon Palace"; they were very ruthless towards foreign cultivators who provoked them. The only explanation he could come up with was, 'I am from the Sacred Demon Palace. Don't you recognize this symbol? Today, I will make you remember it slowly!'
But before he could finish his words, the gray-robed youth struck him on the head with his palm. A ball of black mist quickly isolated everything, and all sounds came to an abrupt end...
Li Yan's expression was constantly changing. The thing he was most unwilling to see happen had happened after all.
"It's really the 'Sacred Demon Palace'!"
Li Yan muttered to himself. Although he had anticipated this result, when he finally confirmed it, he still felt a sense of powerlessness.
At this moment, a streak of white light flew over quickly. It was the Snow Mosquito King. But Li Yan remained standing where he was, motionless, his expression somewhat desolate.
...
Two months later, outside a large city stretching over four thousand li in the western part of the Forsaken Continent, a gray-robed person wearing a conical bamboo hat was slowly leaving from the city gate, gradually leaving the huge city behind.
This massive city was the largest and most magnificent city in the entire west, heavily guarded, with countless cultivators. It was the main city of the White Demon Clan—"Sacred Demon City." The "Sacred Demon Palace," the only force on the entire Forsaken Continent capable of confronting the Black Demon Clan, was located within it.
To call it a city was an understatement; it was actually a vast main peak and its subsidiary mountain ranges, surrounded by a towering city wall a hundred zhang high. Upon entering the city, starting from the foot of the mountain, streets, interconnected market squares, pavilions, and halls were built all around.
From the main peak upwards, the area below the halfway point of the mountain was occupied by various major and minor cultivation sects and families attached to the "Sacred Demon Palace." These sects and families all had intricate connections with the "Sacred Demon Palace." They did not choose other spirit mountains to reside on, but instead lived adjacent to the "Sacred Demon Palace." Here, they could obtain rich cultivation resources and protection provided by the "Sacred Demon Palace."
What was important was that with so many cultivation sects and families here, the exchange of various resources was more convenient and abundant. A range of four thousand li might seem vast, but in the eyes of a cultivator, it was normal for a large sect to occupy over a thousand li. So, in fact, "Sacred Demon City" was not that large. Amidst the clusters of numerous sects and families, even the surrounding subsidiary mountain ranges were densely occupied.
However, there were no truly first-rate major sects within "Sacred Demon City." Those first-rate major sects had numerous disciples and would naturally choose other spirit mountains to reside on. There were also some small sects that were unwilling to compete for territory in "Sacred Demon City" and had their own territories.
The main mountain peak in the city rose straight into the clouds, its top out of sight. The "Sacred Demon Palace" stipulated that the area below the halfway point of the mountain was divided among various forces, while the area above the halfway point was the main core region of the "Sacred Demon Palace," which was the original territory of the White Demon Clan. The places with the densest Spiritual Energy and the best and most expansive terrain were designated as restricted areas by the White Demon Clan.
Any first-time visitor to "Sacred Demon City" would be awestruck by the dense, star-and-chess-board-like arrangement of large and small buildings upon entering the city gate. Starting from the foot of the mountain and going all the way up, layers upon layers of pavilions and terraces intertwined, creating a dense tapestry of shadows.
"Sacred Demon City" was a gathering place for cultivators of all races. There were cultivators of various races who came here to trade and those who settled in the city. The number of human cultivators was also quite large, bustling about within.
The "Sacred Demon Palace" and the giant city were gradually receding behind him. Li Yan's expression in the air was numb, silent as water. He had stayed in "Sacred Demon City" for a total of five days. In the end, let alone seeing Zhao Min, he couldn't even stay at the halfway point of the mountain for a moment. He was stopped by fully armored White Demon Clan guards when he was still more than ten li away from the main gate of the "Sacred Demon Palace." After learning that this human cultivator had just come up to take a look out of curiosity, they unceremoniously chased him down.
Although Li Yan was still more than ten li from the gate of the "Sacred Demon Palace," he had already sensed an extremely dangerous aura. The "Sacred Demon Palace" gave him the feeling of a dormant, ancient, peerless ferocious beast.