This was the first time Li Yan had faced an opponent of the same rank where his Fragmented Poison Body and "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" body refining attacks were ineffective. Even after using "The Five Elements Return to Primordial Genesis" and the soul-attacking Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike, he had failed to keep the opponent. Finally, even Zi Kun and Qian Ji were also exposed. In such a situation, how could Li Yan be willing to give chase? He had no other trump cards to play and was no longer confident that he could quickly kill the black-robed middle-aged man.
What Li Yan did not know was that it was precisely because the other party had escaped this battle that he had exposed the characteristics of his cultivation method, which would bring him endless trouble after he ascended to the Immortal Spirit Realm.
After flying a thousand li, the black-robed middle-aged man did not sense the other party chasing him, and his body fell directly into the forest below. Then, a series of muffled roars continuously came out, and layers of cold qi continuously overflowed from the forest. In an instant, it seemed as if this small area had welcomed the depths of winter. Some of the low-level demonic beasts in the vicinity had long since fled in a panic, quickly moving away from this place. Those that were slow to escape were actually frozen in place, their life status unknown.
The black-robed middle-aged man's soul was once again injured by the other party's strange and inexplicable magical treasure. The uncontrollable pain from the depths of his soul continuously came, and the magical power in his body was also frozen stiff and urgently needed to be restored.
Just before, when the black-robed middle-aged man was being sealed by the internal and external cold qi, he knew that the other party would likely take the opportunity to launch a fatal blow in the next moment. But he did not immediately counterattack; instead, he chose to wait for an opportunity.
Sure enough, when Li Yan saw that his aura was rapidly declining after being frozen, he immediately used the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike again, wanting to end the other party's life with one blow. The black-robed middle-aged man mustered the last of the magical power gathered in his body, and several cloud-like spaces fiercely swallowed those "Fly Ice Gu." Instantly, the coldness in his body greatly diminished, and his magical power was instantly restored by a small half.
After leaping up, he dodged Li Yan's fatal blow to his head and used the force of the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike to instantly shatter the ice layer on the outside of his body. The moment the ice layer shattered, his magical power increased again, and he immediately wanted to launch an attack on Li Yan and the others. This time, he would definitely go all out.
Unfortunately, he had not calculated that Li Yan's last strike would be with the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike. Although it helped him shatter the ice layer and the coldness was greatly reduced, he had only dodged the attack to his head; he still couldn't avoid the Gui-Yi Water-Parting Spike piercing through his left and right shoulder blades.
The killing intent that had just arisen in the black-robed middle-aged man was instantly extinguished. He once again felt the intense pain from the depths of his soul. And this time, the pain was several times stronger than before. He almost fell directly from the sky. His consciousness became blurry in an instant. Between life and death, he used his last strength and fled into the distance without hesitation.
It was also because his various reactions were all in a single thought, giving people the impression that he was not too weak, that Li Yan did not dare to give chase.
Just as the black-robed middle-aged man was in the forest of the Yunlan Mountain Range, enduring the pain in his soul while trying to force out the "Fly Ice Gu" in his body, the purple-robed middle-aged man in the secret chamber beneath the prairie suddenly opened his eyes. "They actually let them escape!"
Just as this thought came to his mind, his figure had already vanished from the secret chamber. A few breaths later, the purple-robed middle-aged man's figure appeared in the Yunlan Mountain Range. And just as he was approaching the sky above the forest where his clone was, the purple-robed middle-aged man's body suddenly paused in the air. He looked at a certain spot in the southern void, and his face instantly became very grim.
"You're watching closely, aren't you? Are those few juniors your people?" As his voice fell, a blurry phantom slowly appeared in the sky where he was looking.
"Amu'er, we had an agreement before. High-level cultivators are not allowed to enter the Tianlan Mountain Range. Everything is to be done and fought by the people below. Even your clone is not allowed. Not only have you broken your promise, but now your main body has also appeared here. What are you trying to do?"
Amu'er's eyes were fixed on the blurry phantom. It was just a condensation of Divine Sense. For a moment, he was at a loss for words. "Those few people nearly killed my disciple. If they are not from your Tingyun Kingdom, I hope you will let me pass this time. Next time, you can also break the promise and enter here once!"
"That won't do. I never break my promises! If you had come a step later, I would have killed this clone of yours as well. However, since you've put it this way, then I'll give you face this once. Take your clone and get out of the Yunlan Mountain Range. Just this once. If you dare to let your clone enter here again next time, either the two sides will go to war again, or I will personally act and directly destroy your clone!"
"Hmph, are you threatening me? So what if we start a great war? Do you think you can gain any advantage?" Amu'er's voice also grew colder. He already suspected that those few young cultivators were sent by the other party. As long as they were familiar with Tie Lianggu's character, they could naturally set up an ambush to plot against him.
This time, the blurry phantom did not speak again. It just stood there quietly, silently watching Amu'er. For a time, this part of the world became silent, oppressive, and heavy.
After a long while, Amu'er let out a heavy breath. Then, he reached out a hand into the void. Instantly, a materialized large hand scooped down below, and the frost-covered black-robed middle-aged man was lifted up. After snorting heavily through his nose, Amu'er flew north without looking back.
It wasn't that he, Amu'er, was afraid of the other party. The other party was just a phantom formed by Divine Sense, which he could easily crush. But after doing so, the other party's main body would arrive in an instant. At that time, not to mention having time to catch those few young cultivators, the great war with the Tingyun Kingdom might break out immediately. And more importantly, the soul of the clone he had spent countless efforts to create was seriously injured, and the gu-insects in its body needed to be removed immediately. Otherwise, with the Water-Cloud Beast's soul injured, it would be impossible to heal itself further, and its physical body might suffer irreversible damage.
After weighing the pros and cons, Amu'er still chose to forbear for the time being. However, he already had a plan in his heart. After he returned this time, he would launch his revenge, sending people to infiltrate the Tingyun Kingdom, and no matter if it took ten years or several decades, he would hunt down a few of their core disciples.
After Amu'er left, the blurry phantom in the sky did not immediately disappear but continued to linger there. 'That old ghost, without a sound, has actually refined a clone. He almost managed to hide it. With the growth of this clone's strength, his main body's strength will definitely advance by leaps and bounds. At that time, under a surprise attack, I will definitely suffer a great loss. This time, this clone has suffered a heavy blow, and its soul is in turmoil, which was how I detected a familiar aura. Otherwise, I really would not have known about this matter. I should have come with my main body just now. There was a great hope of preventing him from taking away this clone. This time, I really miscalculated…'
The blurry phantom pondered, a sense of regret arising in his heart. He had missed such a good opportunity. His wisp of Divine Sense alone was no match for Amu'er's main body. By the time his main body arrived, the other party would have already left with his clone.
Then, his gaze turned to a spot in the south, which was the direction Li Yan had left. "Human cultivators, to be able to heavily injure Amu'er's clone, and with a third-rank demonic beast as a spirit pet, these are not disciples that some small sect can cultivate. This time, it was really thanks to them that I discovered that old ghost Amu'er's secret. Since you are also enemies of the Tianlan Clan, I will not delve into your origins…" After thinking for a short while, he still shook his head, and his figure dispersed.
The cultivators who came to the Yunlan Mountain Range for training were very complex. Most of them came for the various rich alchemy and artifact refining materials in the Yunlan Mountain Range and on the prairie. There would be many disciples from large sects or large families here, and the Tingyun Kingdom also did not want to cause trouble for itself. As long as the other party was not purposefully killing their own cultivators, and they killed each other in occasional conflicts, they did not want to pursue the matter. Having one powerful opponent was already enough of a headache; why go and add more enemies?
Li Yan and his companions were completely unaware of what had happened behind them. After flying at full speed for three full days, they still did not sense anyone chasing them, and only then did Li Yan let out a sigh of relief. And at this time, they were less than a day's journey from the southern edge of the Yunlan Mountain Range.
Li Yan finally slowed down. In these few days, flying so desperately, it wasn't that he hadn't encountered cultivators and demonic beasts; he had encountered many. It was just that when those cultivators sensed that there were actually three Golden Core cultivators on the flying magical treasure, most of them gave up the idea of robbing or stopping them.
The other small teams that considered themselves stronger than Li Yan's group of three did give chase, but after chasing for a while, they could only give up helplessly. They simply didn't have a flying magical treasure like the "Cloud-Piercing Willow." Under Li Yan's powerful Divine Sense, most of them were avoided from a distance. The rest were also passed through by Li Yan, who flew at full speed.
Occasionally, a single cultivator who was good at flying might be able to catch up, but being alone, to want to defeat three Golden Core cultivators, even if they won, it was possible that they would just be setting the stage for others. Therefore, they also gave up the chase.
Along the way, Zi Kun and Qian Ji did not return to the "Earthen Patch." The two demons' Divine Senses constantly scanned the surroundings. They had not seen the outside world for decades, especially since this was a strange foreign continent. The two demons had been whispering to each other, with excited expressions on their faces.
"They haven't caught up after so long. We should be fine!" Li Yan still did not let his guard down. After flying at full speed for three consecutive days like this, he was already exhausted.
"The black-robed middle-aged man's main body should be one of the two Nascent Soul cultivators of the Tianlan Clan. According to the information obtained from the soul-search, they and the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Tingyun Kingdom are not allowed to enter the Yunlan Mountain Range. That's why there are so many low- and mid-level cultivators fighting here," Zhao Min stood by Li Yan's side like a jade statue, still exuding a boundless coolness.
"Mm, although that's the case, we can only be at ease after entering the Tingyun Kingdom!" Li Yan gave a bitter smile and shook his head. At this time, he was even more careful. With his disposition, the closer he got to this point, the less he would let his guard down.
"What should we do next?"
"After entering the Tingyun Kingdom, let's first see if they are too hostile to foreign cultivators. If they are not as difficult to deal with as on the Tianlan Prairie, then we will find a market to buy a map and inquire about the way to leave the Verdant Continent. Otherwise, we will need to leave the Tingyun Kingdom quickly! As for whether to send the Giant Wood Clan back, or let them go back on their own like Meng Zhiyuan, let's wait and see."
Li Yan thought for a moment. Their purpose in coming here was to find the way back, but at the same time, they also wanted to obtain the "Wood Essence Pool" that A Guxi had mentioned. A pool formed from the essence of a ten-thousand-year-old spirit wood, the other party had said that even Nascent Soul cultivators would be moved by it. It was only for this that Li Yan had risked bringing them out of the Tianlan Prairie.
Later, Li Yan would have to consider whether to personally escort A Guxi's group back, lest these old, weak, and crippled soldiers be killed on the way, and all his hard work would be in vain. He also thought of the last words A Guxi had said. A Guxi wanted to return to his clan to ask why, after so many long years, no one had gone to inquire about their seven clans. To be so disregarded was in itself strange, especially since it was unlikely that all seven races were the same.
A Guxi's words also served as a wake-up call for Li Yan. Even if the Giant Wood Clan was not far from here, he would have to inquire about some news first.