Li Yan looked at the blood-red grass on the back of his hand, still feeling a little apprehensive. Now that he had the map, he had to get far away from here. The methods of a Nascent Soul old monster were not something he could fathom.
Not long after, south of Yunguan City, two figures flew through the air toward the southeast. South of Yunguan City was a vast, endless primeval forest. It was precisely because of this geographical location that it formed a second line of defense against the Tianlan Clan cultivators. The forest was boundless, and it would take a long time even for a cultivator to fly through it. If one were to set up an ambush here, it would be an excellent battlefield.
The sun was blazing in the sky. It was still sultry at noon in early autumn. This was the fourth day since Li Yan had left Yunguan City. Along the way, Li Yan had not rested at all. He had resummoned the "Cloud-Piercing Willow" and had constantly changed direction midway. It wasn't until half a day ago that the blood-red grass on the back of his hand had completely disappeared. But he had still flown at top speed for another half a day, changing direction three more times along the way.
Only then did Li Yan stop. His Divine Sense was released again without reservation, sweeping across the surroundings. Below was a continuous stretch of treetops, like a large, colorful blanket. The red, green, and golden leaves formed a beautiful landscape. It was just that the accumulated rotten branches and leaves of many years, carried by the mountain wind, gave off a withered smell that lingered at the tip of the nose, giving people a sense of loneliness and emptiness.
Li Yan and his companion were suspended above the top of a tree. There were many demonic beasts in this forest. Li Yan could even sense the auras of several third-rank demonic beasts. Suspending so high in the air would easily make them a target for others. It was better to be more careful.
"The aura of the 'Life-Chasing Talisman' has completely dissipated. We are now about one hundred thousand li from Yunguan City. We should be fine!" Li Yan looked around. In these few days, he had been circling around, so the straight-line distance from Yunguan City was not actually that far.
Then, he waved his hand, and an old figure suddenly appeared in front of him. "Sen... Senior, where is this?" The old figure was a bit dazed at first, but then he subconsciously looked around vigilantly. When he saw Li Yan and Zhao Min in front of him, a respectful expression immediately appeared on his face. It was A Guxi.
However, after he secretly glanced around, he was a little stunned. The scenery here was something he had never seen in the first half of his life; it was so unique and unfamiliar. These Giant Wood Clan members had only ever seen large stretches of wild grass and some scattered trees since they were born. They turned green and then yellow, yellow and then green, year after year, day after day. Where had they ever seen such a dense, tall, and endless primeval forest? For a moment, his eyes were not enough to take it all in.
A Guxi even had a desire in his heart to run freely in the "big tree" jungle below, to shout and breathe to his heart's content. The moment this thought arose, he suppressed it with all his might.
"We have already reached the territory of the Tingyun Kingdom. It will be very difficult for Tianlan Clan cultivators to appear here again!" Li Yan explained simply.
"Thank you for your great kindness, Senior!" A Guxi had already guessed from the unfamiliar environment around him, but hearing Li Yan say it himself, he was still overjoyed.
"Alright, I've also obtained a map. Come and take a look!"
Not long after, A Guxi withdrew his Divine Sense from the jade slip map. A hint of a blush appeared on his wrinkled old face. "Senior, this is roughly the same as what the clan chief once said. Some of the place names in the Sparrow Plume Pagoda Domain were once mentioned by the clan chief. That place should be correct!"
"That's good. I let you out to confirm it, to avoid any mistakes and delays! By the way, is it possible that the 'Wood Essence Pool' you mentioned has dried up?" After putting away the jade slip, Li Yan suddenly asked again.
"Absolutely not. The 'Wood Essence Pool' is the most important place of inheritance of my Giant Wood Clan. According to the old clan chief, the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Wood is a sacred object of our clan. As long as the Giant Wood Clan exists, it will always survive. When the day comes that the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Wood withers, that will be the day the Giant Wood Clan falls apart!" When it came to the Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Wood, a very solemn expression appeared on A Guxi's face. Seeing this, Li Yan nodded.
"It seems that Ten-Thousand-Year Spirit Wood is a sacred object like a totem for the Giant Wood Clan!" He was a little more at ease with this, but at the same time, he was still prepared for the possibility of not being able to enter the "Wood Essence Pool."
Firstly, even if A Guxi and his people returned to the Giant Wood Clan, they might not be well-treated by the current clan members, let alone himself. Secondly, since A Guxi said that the "Wood Essence Pool" was effective even for Nascent Soul cultivators and was a sacred object of the Giant Wood Clan, its importance could be imagined. It would not be a simple matter for him and Zhao Min to enter.
However, as long as he could improve his cultivation, even if it was just a slight opportunity, Li Yan would strive for it. He now urgently needed to strengthen his own power. Thinking of the scene where a supreme-grade spirit stone was placed in front of him, but he could only return empty-handed from a mountain of treasures, a strong desire arose in Li Yan's heart.
Li Yan had already discussed it with Zhao Min before. Once they confirmed the "Wood Essence Pool" of the Giant Wood Clan still existed, if the other party hid it and refused to let them use it, as long as the other party did not have a Nascent Soul cultivator, they would snatch it even if they had to fight for it. But the chances of this were less than ten percent. After all, an item that could move even a Nascent Soul cultivator, even A Guxi knew about it. If there was no Nascent Soul cultivator guarding their own clan, it would have been snatched away long ago.
This was Li Yan's worst-case scenario. There was another possibility. It was unknown if the Giant Wood Clan had a Nascent Soul cultivator now, but they definitely had one in the past. When that Nascent Soul was ascending or about to pass away, seeing that the inheritance could not be protected, it was very likely that he had used an art to hide it. No one can predict the affairs of the world.
"Alright then, we should be able to reach there in at most six more days. You can stay outside!" Li Yan could see A Guxi's endless desire for the surrounding scenery, so he didn't put him back into the Spirit-Storing Pouch. At the same time, Li Yan would not be flying at full speed for the rest of the journey. He also needed to rest well. However, even so, with the speed of the "Cloud-Piercing Willow," they should be able to reach the Sparrow Plume Pagoda Domain in six days, even at a slower pace.
Upon hearing this, a big smile appeared on A Guxi's face. He had never had such a relaxing time, nor had he ever seen such beautiful scenery. Everything around him made him unwilling to look away for a moment. He just wanted to greedily possess it all. However, after hearing Li Yan's words, he first struggled to look away from the side, a hint of hesitation on his face.
"Senior, could you also inform Ai Sang and the others? I'm afraid they have been worried…" As he spoke, his gaze turned to the two Spirit-Storing Pouches at Li Yan's waist.
"How about this, I'll open the Spirit-Storing Pouches, and you can go in and inform your clansmen that they are safe. They will certainly believe your words more. In addition, I will also bring out Ai Sang and Ai Ni in a moment, but only the three of you. The others will have to endure it for another five or six days inside. It's not good for a large number of mortals and low-level cultivators to appear here."
As Li Yan spoke, the mouths of the two Spirit-Storing Pouches at his waist shone brightly and had already opened on their own. These two Spirit-Storing Pouches of his were not comparable to the ancient spirit-storing pouch at Zhao Min's waist. If all the Giant Wood Clan members were put into one of them, it would be very crowded. Li Yan would certainly not expose those two Spirit-Storing Pouches.
A smile immediately piled up on A Guxi's face. His Divine Sense then sank into one of the Spirit-Storing Pouches. After more than ten breaths, the figures of Ai Ni and Ai Sang also appeared on the "Cloud-Piercing Willow." It had only taken A Guxi a very short time to comfort his clansmen. They were all already weeping with joy. Those clansmen had walked on the edge of life and death for many years and had long since developed the habit of not questioning A Guxi's words at all. They followed orders without question and never asked another word. Otherwise, the next moment, they would be directly abandoned by their clansmen to face the ruthless slaughter of the Tianlan Clan cultivators.
Traces of surprise and tears still remained on Ai Ni and Ai Sang's faces. It was just that when the two of them saw the autumn scenery around them, they could no longer look away. They didn't even glance at Li Yan and Zhao Min again, as if even if a steel saber were held to their necks at this moment, they would only deeply cherish this last glance.
Li Yan didn't mind this, because after A Guxi had bowed deeply to the two of them, he had also turned his gaze to the surroundings. "Let's go!"
Li Yan smiled slightly at Zhao Min. A hint of gentleness appeared on Zhao Min's face. She looked at Ai Ni and the others' dazed expressions and then nodded. Li Yan gently tapped the "Cloud-Piercing Willow" with his foot, and with a flicker, it had already shot through the air. At the same time, a purple and a white light flashed successively by his side. Zi Kun and Qian Ji also appeared. Li Yan had not forgotten his promise to the two demons.
It was just that now, Zi Kun's cultivation was hidden at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. As long as a Late-stage Golden Core cultivator did not carefully examine him, it would be very difficult to discover his true cultivation. This was Li Yan's requirement for Zi Kun, precisely to keep a trump card. Zi Kun, of course, could not achieve the heaven-defying effect of the "True Scripture of Gui Water," but with Li Yan and Zhao Min by his side, how could they easily let others carefully scan them?
"Mosquito Lord is out! Damn, why is there still a stench! Eh, why do these few people look like beggars…" The moment Qian Ji came out, he took a deep breath. Now, he had also learned some habits from Zi Kun. As long as he was not within his own clan, he would transform into a white-robed youth. He felt that that little egg had been able to communicate more easily with his master because he had transformed into a human form. He, of course, had to do the same. So that his master would feel closer to him after seeing a similar race.
The moment he came out, he took a deep breath into his body. Instantly, the tip of his nose was filled with the freshness of the space~~~ and a stench. He immediately swept his eyes over and saw the three people standing not far away, who were tall and thin, like long bamboo poles. The clothes on these three people were ragged, and the blood and dirt on them had already formed a thick layer, from which waves of stench slowly came.
These three people turned a deaf ear to his words and were staring deadly at the dense forest that was constantly flying past below. Qian Ji followed their gazes and saw nothing amiss. Below were just some low-level demonic beasts roaring, and then these roars were left far behind. Those demonic beasts were very afraid of the pressure emanating from Li Yan and Zhao Min. At most, they would just cry out a few times and did not dare to attack from a distance, posing no threat to them at all.
After watching for a short while, Qian Ji turned his head in confusion. "Hey, Lord Kun, what are they doing? Where did Master and Martial Mother find these few beggars?" As he said these words, he secretly glanced at Li Yan and Zhao Min in front. The two also turned a deaf ear to his words. It was just that when Zhao Min heard the words "Martial Mother," her feet under her long skirt couldn't help but move slightly.
She had still concealed her country-toppling beauty and had the appearance of an ordinary woman, so she would not attract too much attention. But these two demons had seen her true face. In Qian Ji's inward scoffing words, "Master has once again, again, again, and again ruined a good woman!" Seeing that Li Yan and his companion had no intention of explaining, he could only turn his gaze back to Zi Kun.
"I don't know either. The last time we came out to fight, we didn't see these few people! Is there any threat or strangeness below now? It's really strange!"