As Li Yan finished speaking, his face had become extremely gloomy, and his tone grew colder. He had gathered from Feng Tao's words that she wasn't just asking him to help; others were likely involved as well. But for her to come and ask a cultivator with a very low cultivation level for help, the meaning behind it was thought-provoking.
Li Yan's first reaction was to wonder if she suspected his identity. Had he revealed some flaw? But considering Feng Tao's cultivation, Li Yan felt it was unlikely he had misjudged her. This was a product of Li Yan's suspicious nature; whenever something was slightly disadvantageous to him, he would immediately think of many possibilities.
Seeing Zhang Ming's increasingly cold expression, Feng Tao began to panic. For the first time, she felt that rushing into a stranger's territory had been far too reckless. But since she was asking for a favor, she naturally had to continue with her purpose. She composed herself.
"Senior Brother Zhang, your questions are all very valid. If I were in your shoes, I would definitely be very suspicious as well. But I absolutely have no other ulterior motives. Everything I've said is the truth. I've genuinely come to ask for your help, Senior Brother. First of all, my family does not have any Golden Core cultivators. There are only my grandfather and my third grand-uncle, who are both Foundation Establishment cultivators. Anyone who knows my Feng family is aware of this; it's impossible to hide. This crisis was caused by the appearance of a large number of Underworld Ghost Creatures in the area where my family is located, not because some enemy came seeking revenge. The land where my Feng family resides is a place with extremely dense Yin energy. This is also known to outsiders. Because of the special cultivation method my family practices, occupying this land is considered quite suitable. But this is also an important reason why I left my family to join Falling Star Valley."
At this point, Feng Tao paused, a trace of bitterness on her face. The Feng family's cultivation method was one of extreme yin and cold. Ninety percent of the family's disciples possessed a Yin Vein Extreme Cold Constitution. Through the cultivation of the family method, the Feng family's bloodline had long been established, with spirit roots primarily of the water, wood, and earth types. But when Feng Tao was born, it brought both joy and sorrow to the Feng family.
The joy was that the Feng family had produced a one-in-ten-thousand cultivation genius with a Heaven Spirit Root. The sorrow that came from their hearts was that something seemed to be wrong with Feng Tao's bloodline. She had a constitution of extreme yang, and her body was dominated by a fire spirit root, supplemented by an earth spirit root. It was as if the heavens were playing a massive joke on the Feng family.
Although Feng Tao could cultivate her family's ancestral cultivation method, she could only treat it as an ordinary immortal art. It was fine for starting out, but the further she cultivated, the slower her progress became. The Feng family's ancestor doted on this junior, so he stubbornly wanted Feng Tao to try cultivating the family method. Perhaps in the extreme repulsion between water and fire, a "harmonious blend" might appear. It wasn't unheard of in the cultivation world for extremes to reverse; it was a rule of the Heavenly Dao.
Feng Tao was truly a child of heaven. Even with a cultivation method and constitution that were completely incompatible, she managed to break through to the fifth layer of Qi Condensation at around the age of ten. This was comparable to the top-tier disciples in the family, which gave the Feng family's ancestor a glimmer of hope.
But Feng Tao persisted bitterly, cultivating day and night, yet the final "harmonious blend" never appeared. Instead, her body began to show signs of rejection, and after another four years of bitter cultivation, she could no longer advance a single step. After repeatedly examining Feng Tao's body, the Feng family ancestor had to accept this fact. After standing in the darkness for a long time, he could only look up to the sky with a long sigh. Left with no choice, he could only let Feng Tao seek another reputable sect.
"This crisis comes from the mountain behind my family's estate. It is an ancient, unnamed cluster of tombs. Two nights ago, the Yin energy within suddenly erupted, and a large number of Underworld Ghost Creatures broke out of the ground. This kind of situation has happened before, but it was always within a controllable range. I don't know why, but this time, three Foundation Establishment stage ghost creatures appeared among them, two of which have already reached the late stage. Underworld Ghost Creatures are inherently ferocious and abnormal, their bodies as tough as vajra. Against ordinary cultivators, they can often fight one against two. This time, just the two late-stage Foundation Establishment Underworld Ghost Creatures have forced my grandfather and third grand-uncle to their limits, unable to spare any attention. The remaining initial-stage Foundation Establishment ghost creature led the other Underworld Ghost Creatures and began to slaughter my clansmen. Fortunately, my grandfather, disregarding everything, managed to break free from his opponent's entanglement and activate the family's formation, which has kept the clan temporarily safe. But the three Underworld Ghost Creatures are leading dozens of other ghosts to continuously bombard the formation from the outside. The formation won't be able to hold for long. Left with no choice, we had to use a Ten-Thousand-Li Voice Transmission Talisman, hoping Falling Star Valley could come to the rescue. After all, the Feng family is a vassal of Falling Star Valley. Yesterday, the martial uncle on duty in the sect informed me of this matter. But the sect is also short on manpower right now and can't send too many people. The senior brothers and sisters at the seventh layer of Qi Condensation and above are all out on patrol with the martial uncles. So, even the Qi Condensation experts within the valley are few. In the end, the sect sent Martial Uncle Fang to handle it. I wanted to go back with him, especially since the roads are not safe now. The Feng family is about six thousand li from the sect. Not long ago, didn't a martial uncle perish? It wouldn't be too safe for Martial Uncle Fang to go alone, so I wanted to recruit more helpers."
"Martial Uncle Fang? Are you talking about Martial Uncle Fang Guangjun, who just joined the sect a year ago? He should be at the initial-stage Foundation Establishment, right? Are there so few seniors left in the sect now?"
Although Li Yan had heard some things from the Hall of Deacons, due to his low cultivation and not being a disciple of anyone, the deacons wouldn't tell him everything. He only knew that the Foundation Establishment cultivators in the valley had taken many people out on patrol. With that Golden Core Great Elder standing guard, Li Yan didn't dare to use his Divine Sense to probe around. He really didn't know the details Feng Tao was talking about.
Of course, Li Yan knew of this Foundation Establishment cultivator named Fang Guangjun. A cultivator of this level was enough to warrant Li Yan's attention. Fang Guangjun had arrived not much earlier than them. He was a rogue cultivator who had roamed the world and only succeeded in Foundation Establishment in his fifties. Perhaps he had understood the hardships of being a rogue cultivator, or perhaps he wanted to find a sect to rely on to see if he could make any further progress. In the end, he joined Falling Star Valley and became a Deacon Elder.
"It is indeed this Martial Uncle Fang. There are indeed only three Foundation Establishment martial uncles left in the sect now. Of course, the main thing is that we have the Supreme Ancestor holding down the fort against those petty villains in the dark."
Li Yan didn't speak, just listened quietly, pondering inwardly.
'The Foundation Establishment cultivators left in Falling Star Valley are either skilled in alchemy and artifact refining, or their cultivation is not yet enough to stand on their own. So, being able to send out an initial-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator is already not easy. However, from this, it seems this cultivator surnamed Fang has decent combat power, at least better at fighting than those Foundation Establishment cultivators who only know alchemy and artifact refining.'
It seemed reasonable at first glance for Falling Star Valley to send this person. The main problem on the Feng family's side was the extra Underworld Ghost Creature. As long as Fang Guangjun could tie up the opponent, the situation might be reversed. But it was still not ideal. Just as Feng Tao said, Underworld Ghost Creatures were not easy to deal with. Among those of the same rank, a cultivator might not necessarily be their opponent. Not to mention, there were dozens of other ghost creatures. They could easily tie up Fang Guangjun and the others for a short while. The best course of action would be to send at least a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"If Martial Uncle Fang goes alone and encounters trouble on the way, it might be easier for him to escape by himself. For you to insist on going back, to put it bluntly, you'd just be a burden. Even if you recruit a few more Qi Condensation disciples to go back, the help you can provide will be extremely limited," Li Yan said coldly.
This time, Feng Tao quickly gave an answer.
"Senior Brother, there is actually one thing I haven't mentioned. This matter should not have been told to outsiders, so please, Senior Brother, keep it a secret for me. But since I have come to ask for your help, I naturally intended to tell you the truth. The cultivation method of the Feng family is special, following a path of extreme yin and cold. So, we inevitably have to deal with things like Underworld Ghost Creatures and extreme-yin demonic beasts all year round. Therefore, our ancestors passed down a magical artifact that specifically counters yin and evil things. When combined with our family's cultivation method, it has a certain restraining effect against some powerful ghost creatures. It's just that my magical power is too shallow, and my cultivation of the family method is not refined, so I can't bring out its full effect. However, this magical artifact can also be used as an ordinary magical artifact, and it is much more powerful than ordinary spirit artifacts. This time, because I was joining Falling Star Valley, my grandfather was afraid something might happen to me on the way. With him and my third grand-uncle holding down the fort at home, this magical artifact wouldn't be of much help to them given their cultivation level, so he gave it to me. But now, the enemy has an extra powerful Underworld Ghost Creature. If this magical artifact was still in my grandfather's hands, we would have a better chance of dealing with those Underworld Ghost Creatures. With Martial Uncle Fang joining in, our victory would be basically guaranteed. This item, of course, cannot be entrusted to an outsider to bring back. I believe you can understand this, Senior Brother. Therefore, besides you, Senior Brother Zhang, I have also asked Junior Brother Tian Denghu, as well as my fellow disciples from the same master, Senior Brother Tang Tian and Senior Sister Wu Yizhen, who are also willing to help. Senior Brother Tang is already at the Great Perfection of Qi Condensation, and Senior Sister Yizhen has reached the tenth layer of Qi Condensation. They just returned from patrol yesterday and happened to have a day to rest. After hearing about this, they took the initiative to help me. After getting permission from the martial uncle on duty in the sect, he agreed to let them temporarily skip their patrol and go to assist the Feng family. With your help, we will have more people to tie up the ghost creatures that are equivalent to the Qi Condensation stage, so that we can free up time for Martial Uncle Fang and my grandfather to kill the three Foundation Establishment ghost creatures. Secondly, if we encounter an ambush on the way, the magical artifact on me can still assist Martial Uncle Fang a little. But as I said before, my cultivation is too low, and it takes a certain amount of time to activate the magical artifact. So, we need someone to delay the enemy for a bit. If something happens to Martial Uncle Fang on the way, it's hard to say if my Feng family can wait for the next wave of aid, especially since the sect itself is in a crisis now. Otherwise, I would just need to ask my master for help; why would it come to this? As for why I came to find you, Senior Brother Zhang, it's really because I've just entered the sect and don't know many disciples. And although your realm is slightly lower than mine, Senior Brother Zhang, I can feel that your magical power is much more condensed than mine. I've also heard that you have traveled and trained outside with your former master. In a real fight, I'm afraid neither I nor Junior Brother Tian Denghu would be your match. That's the reason."
Feng Tao quickly explained the whole story. As Li Yan listened, his eyes began to narrow, a hint of ill intent in his gaze. He hadn't expected this girl to have noticed him even though he had kept such a low profile. He had lowered his realm and cultivation level, but he hadn't adjusted his spirit power to a state of being superficial and unstable. Because everyone's cultivation method was different, the final manifestation was also different. Without a detailed inspection, it wouldn't be noticed. Therefore, Li Yan didn't think it was necessary to do so. He didn't expect this girl named Feng Tao to have noticed the condensation of his spirit power.
"Are you investigating me?" Li Yan's fingers tapped lightly on the stone table again as he spoke with a deadpan expression.