Before Tie Lianggu's laughter could fade, he suddenly felt a chill in his lower abdomen, followed by an intense pain that swept through his Sea of Consciousness. His laughter, still echoing, turned into a blood-curdling scream. Then, a cold voice sounded from behind him.
The voice was so close, as if it were whispering right in his ear, that it made the hair on the pain-wracked Tie Lianggu's body stand on end.
"You're finished!"
Just as these two words fell, before the horrified eyes of Wutu and the slender woman, the entire scene before them shattered like the moon in water or a flower in a mirror. Within the "Malevolent Spirits of the Eight Directions" art that Tie Lianggu had cast, there was no longer any trace of the enemy. The malevolent ghosts and resentful spirits were frantically tearing at and attacking an empty void.
"An illusionary realm attack!" Wutu, who had been calm all this time, suddenly cried out in shock.
And on the other side, a figure was now pressed tightly against Tie Lianggu's back. Tie Lianggu's eyes were wide open, his eyeballs bulging out of their sockets. His mouth was agape, the screams turning into unconscious hisses. A hand was protruding from the front of his lower abdomen. The hand was strong and large, with five fingers outstretched. There was not a trace of blood on it, but between the index and middle fingers, it held a small, golden-yellow object the size of a soybean.
A Golden Core. Tie Lianggu's Golden Core. A Late-stage Golden Core cultivator had his Golden Core plucked out without even realizing it.
"How dare you…"
"Senior Brother…"
Just as the two voices rang out, Li Yan's expressionless hand gently twisted. As he withdrew it, his magical power erupted with a roar. With a "boom," Tie Lianggu's body exploded into pieces without any warning, sending a rain of blood across the sky.
This exchange, from start to finish, had lasted only one and a half breaths, but the outcome was something these few Tianlan Clan cultivators had never anticipated.
At the same time, Li Yan's voice transmission sounded in Zhao Min's mind. "Desolate Moon!"
From the moment Li Yan had decided to act, he had been flying and informing Zhao Min of his plan. He felt that the arrogant youth must be someone of some standing in the Tianlan Clan. Just seeing that Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator acting like a bodyguard was enough to guess his status was not low. Moreover, the Golden Core cultivators who had started to encircle them from behind were likely summoned by him, further proving his high status.
Li Yan had thus decided to make him the main target. Li Yan had never liked to fight head-on with people; this style had always dominated his combat philosophy. So, he had begun to rapidly search for a suitable area with his Divine Sense while flying, silently calculating the distance between them and Tie Lianggu's group. At a certain point, he had secretly and quietly changed his flight direction, a move that had not attracted anyone's attention.
He soon flew into the designated area. Li Yan, with extreme speed, laid down the illusion poison from his Fragmented Poison Body, the same poison that had once trapped Dongli Qing. He told Zhao Min not to believe anything she saw afterward. Only when he transmitted the words "Desolate Moon" could she be certain that what she was seeing was real.
Zhao Min had once cooperated with Li Yan in Sacred Demon City to lure out Dongli Qing, so she was aware of Li Yan's illusion poison. Having experienced it firsthand, she trusted Li Yan's methods. When Li Yan saw Tie Lianggu and his group approaching the ambush area, he immediately turned back to attack with Zhao Min. In fact, even Zhao Min didn't know how large Li Yan's ambush area was; she didn't even realize that she herself had entered the illusionary realm.
Li Yan had used the Stealthy Night Art to quietly slip away, and she had been completely unaware, thinking the Li Yan by her side was still the real one. Even with Li Yan's prior warning, when she suddenly saw Li Yan being attacked by Tie Lianggu and unable to move, for a moment, she couldn't tell if it was real or fake. She even truly thought that Li Yan had fallen for the opponent's trick and was oblivious.
So, she had genuinely tried to rescue Li Yan. The more she acted this way, the more Tie Lianggu's group failed to see any flaws. After Li Yan used the Stealthy Night Art, seeing the enemy's position and reaction, his plan had changed. He had wanted to eliminate the gray-haired old man, who was the most threatening person there. But just as he got a little closer, the gray-haired old man seemed to sense something and moved, his Divine Sense sweeping around. This forced Li Yan to immediately stop his approach.
"That old fellow's senses are too sharp!" Li Yan had to give up the idea of assassinating the gray-haired old man and quickly approached Tie Lianggu's back…
Amidst the rain of blood, Li Yan's lips moved slightly. In the distance, Zhao Min finally let out a sigh of relief upon hearing Li Yan's voice transmission. "Junior Brother's illusion poison has become even more unpredictable compared to decades ago. It's impossible to distinguish reality from illusion. When did he even leave? I didn't notice a thing!"
Li Yan waved his large sleeve, dispersing the rain of blood. At this moment, a sharp voice came from his fingertips. "You… you… you dare to destroy my physical body! You have brought a great disaster upon yourself! Do… do you know who I am?"
Li Yan brought his fingers to his eyes. On the golden soybean-sized particle held between his index and middle fingers, bursts of power erupted, trying to break free. And on the surface of the golden soybean-like Golden Core, Tie Lianggu's exasperated face appeared.
"Release him quickly, and we can still discuss other matters!"
"Release my senior brother, quickly!"
Two more voices came from the sides. At the same time, an extremely strong pressure instantly enveloped Li Yan and Zhao Min.
Li Yan lifted his chin, a faint black light flickering around his body, resisting the pressure. He glanced at the gray-haired old man, whose face was now ashen with frost. He hadn't expected that even with their Golden Core in his hand, these three would still be so aggressive.
"You chased and tried to kill us for no reason, and now you want me to release him? Utterly ridiculous. Why should I release him?" Li Yan's face was impassive. He raised his hand, black qi swirling around the fingers holding the Golden Core, ready to crush it at any moment.
"He is Tie Lianggu!" the gray-haired old man said, enunciating each word. Li Yan was startled. 'What does he mean by that? Is he telling me this person's name is Tie Lianggu, and that his status is significant? It seems I was right to make him the target!' Li Yan thought quickly.
"Brat, did you hear me? Release me quickly! I can pretend this never happened. Before, I was just inspecting foreign cultivators entering the Tianlan Clan's territory. Now it's clear you're not a spy from the Tingyun Kingdom; they don't have Golden Core cultivators as strong as you!"
While Li Yan was thinking, Tie Lianggu's voice came from the Golden Core again. 'This person named Tie Lianggu is not truly arrogant. He knows how to assess a situation!' Li Yan immediately judged him. Although Tie Lianggu was still acting arrogant, Li Yan saw another side to him.
Tie Lianggu's arrogance made it easy for people to underestimate him, but his words were not truly foolish and reckless. He gave a reason for chasing Li Yan and said things like he wouldn't seek revenge later. If it were a cultivator who knew Tie Lianggu's identity and was really just here for training, they might consider de-escalating the situation. At the very least, they would want to ensure their own safe departure. Knowing Tie Lianggu's identity, there was probably a fifty percent chance they wouldn't destroy his Golden Core, to avoid being endlessly hunted by the other party.
However, Tie Lianggu and his group had run into Li Yan and Zhao Min, who knew little about the Tianlan Clan. These two had the same attitude toward their enemies: they hated leaving behind foes who would hold a grudge.
"So according to you, this was all a misunderstanding? Hehe, sorry, but I can't release you now. I'll have to wait until we are out of the Tianlan Prairie and have confirmed our safety!"
"You want to take me to the Tingyun Kingdom? That means you have no intention of letting me go at all!" Tie Lianggu's voice came from the Golden Core again, filled with extreme dissatisfaction.
If he were taken out of the Tianlan Prairie by the other party, especially into the territory of the Tingyun Kingdom, he couldn't even imagine what awaited him. The thought alone filled his heart with boundless fear. The cultivators of the Tingyun Kingdom hated him so much they would want to eat his flesh. This was also why he had a Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator assigned to follow him. It wasn't as if he hadn't been assassinated by the Tingyun Kingdom before. The reason he was still safe and sound was that he basically kept his activities within the prairie. With his own cultivation, it was almost impossible to capture him on the Tianlan Prairie. What's more, with Wutu by his side, only a Nascent Soul-level cultivator could enter the prairie and kill him in one blow.
Both sides had long-standing legacies and had their own methods for detecting the auras of Nascent Soul cultivators. It was not an easy matter for a Nascent Soul cultivator to enter the other's territory. Furthermore, those Nascent Soul old monsters, even while in seclusion, would send out a wisp of their Divine Sense or a clone to constantly monitor the movements of the other side's Nascent Soul cultivators.
"Release him, and I guarantee you can leave here safely!" Wutu stared at Li Yan.
"Your guarantee? I don't believe it. I only believe my own eyes!" Li Yan slowly shook his head. As he spoke, he had already started to fly south, completely ignoring Wutu and the woman behind him, whose auras were already surging with instability and rising anger.
"If you attract any more cultivators, Tie Lianggu will die!" Li Yan had no intention of getting entangled with them. As he flew, a spiritual light flashed in his hand, and he had already sealed the magical power and voice of Tie Lianggu's Golden Core, stopping his shouting.
Seeing that the other party did not immediately crush Tie Lianggu's Golden Core, Wutu quickly used his eyes to stop the woman, who was about to try and snatch the Golden Core. "Don't! This person acts decisively, without even giving time for any negotiation. Don't provoke him. We'll follow them!"
Tie Lianggu's junior sister was anxious. Although she disliked her senior brother's actions, her master had told her to keep an eye on him before entering seclusion. Now that this had happened, if Tie Lianggu truly died, how would she explain it to her master? She had never imagined that in just a few breaths, Tie Lianggu would fall into someone else's hands, his physical body destroyed. It had all happened too suddenly.
Fortunately, Tie Lianggu had never performed a Body Seizure before, so he still had a chance. He would just have to honestly cultivate in seclusion for the next hundred years. "This is good too. After this lesson, Senior Brother will remember this tribulation and will be able to calm his mind and cultivate properly!" she thought, her figure flashing as she quickly followed.
At the southern border of the prairie, Bate glanced at the northern sky. He said to Balu, "Didn't Tie Lianggu say they would appear soon? There's still no movement. Why don't you ask!"
Balu immediately took out a small red grass. Just as he was about to send a message, he suddenly froze. "Someone is flying over!"
"Hmm? Why doesn't it look like a pursuit? There are four people in total. That fellow Nasen is probably hiding somewhere. Where's Tie Lianggu?" The two looked at each other, their faces filled with shock and uncertainty.
The four people approaching rapidly in their Divine Senses were flying fast, but it didn't look like a pursuit at all. It was more like both sides were on guard, deliberately keeping some distance. What surprised them most was that Tie Lianggu was not among them. In their previous communications, Tie Lianggu had always been the one in charge.
Bate immediately placed the small red grass to his lips, which moved rapidly without a sound. Soon, the small red grass trembled slightly. After Bate swept it with his Divine Sense, he looked up with a stunned expression. "We don't need to ambush them. Tie Lianggu has been taken hostage by the other party!"