On this day, a frantic voice transmission from the Snow Mosquito King suddenly sounded in Li Yan's mind within the Earthen Patch.
"Master, someone is coming!"
Li Yan, already prepared, willed it, and his physical body appeared in the room. He snatched the Snow Mosquito King and tossed it back into the Earthen Patch.
"Alright, you don't need to come out for a while!"
Then, ignoring whatever else the Snow Mosquito King wanted to say, he immediately withdrew his Divine Sense. At the same time, he activated the Fragmented Poison Body throughout his form and pushed the door open, walking into the courtyard.
Li Yan had already sensed the aura of the person outside the gate, which surprised him greatly, as he did not recognize them.
When Li Yan opened the courtyard gate, the person was standing with their hands behind their back, looking around.
The courtyard Li Yan had chosen was remote, and the Spirit Qi was extremely thin, so it was common for no one to appear nearby for half a day.
Even at such a close distance, Li Yan couldn't sense the other party's cultivation realm.
Li Yan's attitude immediately became more respectful. He first bowed deeply to the other party.
"Senior, may I ask if there is anything this disciple can assist you with?"
At this moment, the white-robed elder opposite Li Yan was carefully sizing him up and down. Then his gaze fell upon the several Spirit Beast Pouches at Li Yan's waist.
After a glance, the white-robed elder's right hand suddenly formed a claw and diagonally clasped at Li Yan's left shoulder.
Li Yan was greatly alarmed. He had no time to think. His body blurred on the spot, and the white-robed elder's right hand only felt his fingertips touch empty air.
He couldn't help but let out a soft "Eh?" and his left hand shot out as swiftly as a venomous snake.
But as this strike was launched, his right hand once again drew a circle, enclosing a radius of several dozen yards within a cage of Spirit Power.
Li Yan, who was rapidly retreating, felt his body stagnate. The surrounding Spirit Qi suddenly became as thick as liquid, and his speed instantly slowed.
Li Yan had instinctively used the Phoenix Soars to the Heavens movement skill. His actions were far faster than his thoughts, but he reacted in the instant he flashed away and immediately gave up on using his full strength.
Li Yan had lost count of the number of battles, big and small, he had experienced. His combat experience was now extremely honed.
By the time his mind caught up, he hadn't sensed any killing intent in the white-robed elder's attack. A thought flashed through his mind like lightning, and he quickly made a bold judgment.
Otherwise, he would have already escaped a hundred yards away while the white-robed elder was still misjudging his strength.
But with just that moment of hesitation, it was impossible for Li Yan to dodge again. The white-robed elder's left palm had solidly struck Li Yan's right chest as he was rapidly retreating.
With a muffled thump, Li Yan was sent retreating at an even faster speed.
At the same time, the muscles under his robes rippled like waves, undulating continuously at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The next moment, Li Yan's figure was knocked back into his own courtyard. With a series of stumbles, the stone bricks beneath his feet continuously shattered.
As his muscles rippled like waves, he had already redirected the force from his chest into the ground, finally steadying himself.
The white-robed elder also took a step into the courtyard, but he did not follow up with another attack. Instead, he nodded lightly and looked at the tense Li Yan.
In truth, Li Yan was not as flustered as he appeared. The moment the other party attacked, he had realized that they were likely testing him.
His combat prowess displayed during the great battle half a month ago was a huge surprise to everyone. And to this day, Tianxingzi had never spoken to him in detail about it. All of this was unusual in itself.
No high-level member of any sect would allow a person who suddenly appeared with impressive combat strength to linger for so long. The best way to handle it would be to find out their true origins and personally test their strength.
Half a month had passed. The other party had surely gathered all the information they could about him, and today was the day to test his strength.
However, this was all Li Yan's own speculation, but he could only take this gamble now. He had already waited for so long.
If the other party really intended to turn hostile, wasn't Li Yan already prepared to perish together with them? But that was the result Li Yan least wanted to see. The distant Zhao Min would perish along with him.
The white-robed elder was also surprised in his heart. His first strike had actually been dodged by the opponent. He had then increased his magical power for the next strike, but the opponent still managed to dissipate all the force while retreating.
'He really is a very strong Body Cultivator. I used sixty percent of my strength just now, a blow that only the physical body of a Golden Core cultivator could withstand. And this child seems to have specifically trained in some kind of movement technique; his speed was so fast that even I almost failed to react. His Spirit Power is about thirty percent higher than his peers, which is a common trait of prodigies.'
The white-robed elder was, of course, confident in the results of his two probing attacks. He also knew that there were cultivation methods in the world that could conceal one's aura and magical power. He himself knew no fewer than ten such techniques.
However, he would never have imagined that a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator would possess a top-tier concealment technique that even he couldn't see through. It wasn't that the white-robed elder was arrogant, but how could someone who possessed such a supreme cultivation method come to a second-rate sect?
Encountering such a thing was as fantastical as the white-robed elder claiming he would meet a Spirit Transformation cultivator just by stepping outside. Therefore, the white-robed elder had no intention of continuing his attack.
After this test, the solidity of Li Yan's Spirit Power had confirmed to the white-robed elder that this kid was indeed a Foundation Establishment cultivator. This meant that what Zhu Luomu and the others had said was true.
Although this level of strength was already formidable among Foundation Establishment cultivators, it would, of course, be as easy as turning his hand over for him to kill him.
"You're Zhang Ming, right? This old man is Xing Ming, currently in charge of all affairs in Falling Star Valley. By order of the Grand Elder, I have come today specifically to take you to the underground 'Shattered Star Grotto' for artifact refining."
Li Yan was shocked to hear this and took a small step back. He didn't know where this white-robed elder who called himself "Xing Ming" came from; he had never heard of him.
However, he was still certain in his heart that the other party had no ill intentions. But Li Yan had always been cautious and would naturally not put himself in a dangerous situation.
'From his aura, I can tell he is indeed a human cultivator. Why have I never seen this person before? Xing Ming, Xing Ming... Lin Xinghe, Tianxingzi. The names sound like he's a Falling Star Valley cultivator...'
After the great battle, although Li Yan had stayed behind closed doors, he still knew that the Sect Master, Lin Xinghe, was in seclusion due to injuries, and some affairs were being handled personally by Tianxingzi.
But this person claimed to be in charge of all sect affairs. Of course, Li Yan didn't know that Xing Ming had only re-emerged a few days ago, so he became confused.
He suddenly thought of the middle-aged Daoist from before.
'Green Wind Sect?'
The moment this thought arose, he immediately dismissed it. Although they were both human cultivators, Falling Star Valley would absolutely not hand over its authority to a Green Wind Sect cultivator.
Furthermore, for something like taking him to the Shattered Star Grotto, Tianxingzi could have just sent anyone with a token.
'Could it be just to test me specifically?'
Many thoughts flashed through his mind, and the Spirit Power in his body began to circulate erratically again. Seeing that Zhang Ming didn't answer him and his expression turned cloudy and uncertain, Xing Ming's face took on a semblance of a smile.
"It seems you truly pay no mind to the world outside. This old man naturally didn't need to come personally for this matter. I could have just had someone take you to the Shattered Star Grotto. However, given that you have repeatedly saved the lives of my three useless disciples and my two grand-disciples, this old man had to come and meet you in person, no matter what."
As he said this, he saw the confusion in Zhang Ming's eyes grow even thicker. He smiled silently.
"Your strength is formidable; this old man has finally confirmed it. My three disciples are Zhu Luomu, Zhang Huo, and Shen Yitong. You've heard of these three, haven't you?"
Speaking of this, Xing Ming's tone became much lighter.
Because Falling Star Valley's powerful enemies were all gone, although his Martial Uncle and Junior Brother were seriously injured, their lives were not in danger.
Compared to the losses, Falling Star Valley had gained much more this time.
Therefore, although he had been busy negotiating the distribution of resources with the Green Wind Sect and the Six Plates Hall recently, Xing Ming was in a particularly good mood.
He couldn't help but say a few more words to Zhang Ming, who had saved his direct disciples.
His purpose in coming here was firstly to test Zhang Ming, and secondly to warn him that Falling Star Valley was a dragon's den and a tiger's lair, with plenty of trump cards.
Thirdly, it was to show an attitude. Since Zhang Ming had truly done a great service for Falling Star Valley, then Falling Star Valley would not go back on its word.
After hearing that Zhu Luomu and the others were this person's disciples, something immediately came to Li Yan's mind.
Many people in the valley had said that the master of these few was a Golden Core expert in the sect, supposedly the previous Sect Master. It was just that after he went out to travel, he never returned.
But some people also said that these three had taken a Foundation Establishment cultivator as their master when they were in the Qi Condensation stage, and that person had long since perished.
"Senior is Feng Tao's Martial Grandfather?"
Li Yan still asked this question. Wasn't this person said to have perished outside?
"You're talking about that little girl who entered the sect with you, right? I suppose I am."
"Can there really be such a coincidence in the world?"
Li Yan looked at the other party in disbelief, and at the same time, he felt it was somewhat incredible. The few times he had taken action, he had really saved the disciples of this one lineage.
Zhu Luomu's trio, Feng Qiyuan, and he had also indirectly saved Tang Tian and Wu Yizhen at the Feng family's place. He had admitted this to Tianxingzi and Lin Xinghe before.
"Although you told the Grand Elder about your origins before, you will now have to say it again."
Xing Ming mentioned this before changing the subject, once again demanding it of Li Yan.
Li Yan didn't hesitate and repeated the story he had fabricated before. Fortunately, cultivators had extraordinary memories and could remember the lies they told clearly.
Otherwise, after some time had passed, it would really be difficult to justify himself.
"There are untruths in your words, Zhang Ming!"
Xing Ming, who had been quite amiable, suddenly turned gloomy, his tone becoming severe. Li Yan's heart sank. He didn't know where he had slipped up.
He had repeatedly screened this lie with the small family that had vouched for him, weighing it over and over. There shouldn't have been any loopholes.
He was just a young cultivator who had been in arduous training in the deep mountains with his master. However, Li Yan also thought of a possible flaw in an instant.
What he hadn't included here were the small village of Shan Yiyuan, Mingdu City, and Sacred Demon City, where Li Yan had once appeared.
And in Mingdu City and Shan Yiyuan's small village, it would be easiest to find out that what Li Yan was saying was not true. At the very least, he hadn't mentioned that he had a senior sister, and that his master had long since perished.
None of these things could be reconciled.
The urge to flee immediately surged in Li Yan's heart, but he forcefully suppressed it. This Falling Star Valley was becoming more and more terrifying.
Not only was the Grand Elder Tianxingzi's strength unfathomable, but now another existence more powerful than the original Sect Master Lin Xinghe had appeared.
After witnessing the Sect-Protecting Grand Formation of Falling Star Valley, he was now in the core of their sect. Wanting to leave was undoubtedly a fool's dream.