"Since I returned, the Second Elder and his faction have wanted me to become the Dao Companion of one of their members, so your appearance has definitely affected his plans."
"If you had revealed that you had cultivated the 'Qiongqi Purgatory Art' before, it would have been exposed, and while it would have had an impact on your arrival, I would have handled it."
"However, you probably had some reservations, so you did not use that technique. Therefore, I temporarily concealed it from the Great Elder and the others, so we could discuss it and then decide what to say."
"For all the reasons above, plus your current high cultivation level, the impact on the Second Elder and his faction will not be small. He will definitely not let you obtain the position of 'Qing A Wang' smoothly."
"Right now, even the Great Elder cannot forcefully interfere in this matter. He has more things to consider."
"Just from the fact that the Fourth and Fifth Elders, who are close to the Second Elder, have been successively and severely injured in the great battle against the Wind Beasts, the Great Elder cannot act arbitrarily."
"After all, although these people have disagreements on internal interests, when it comes to fighting the Wind Beasts, they are all good men of the Tianli Clan. If this is not handled well, the result will be the disintegration of the Tianli Clan!"
Gong Chenying quickly explained the matter.
"This matter is not urgent. What do you plan to do about Clan Head Gong and the Sixth Elder? According to you, they have been missing for over ten years, but you seem to have a way of knowing that they have not yet perished?"
Li Yan could feel that when Gong Chenying spoke of Gong Shanhe and the Sixth Elder, there was no sorrow in her eyes. Li Yan guessed if they also had something similar to a "Soul Lamp" left in the clan.
Gong Chenying's slender figure was half-leaning on the table, the scenery of her chest magnificent, stretching her clothes taut and round. A few inches below the magnificent peaks, the clothes clung tightly to her toned abdomen.
Her legs were crossed and extended at an angle, straight and slender. Her short hair was as cold and stunning as ever, giving off an unhurried feeling.
Although she was narrating past events, it seemed as if all of this had little to do with her, with no discernible emotion in her voice.
But seeing Li Yan immediately change the subject after understanding her situation, the subsequent question he asked caused a slight change on Gong Chenying's consistently cold and beautiful face.
But this change was fleeting. She raised her peerless face and looked at Li Yan again.
"The Tianli Clan does not like to keep the souls of others. We revere freedom and strength, so we don't have things like 'Soul Lamps' left in the clan. We don't like to be restrained."
"The reason we can be sure that Father and the Sixth Elder are fine is because the Third Elder is skilled in the 'Divination Art' of witchcraft. This art can predict fortune and misfortune, but it also has a powerful backlash on the caster."
"By revealing heavenly secrets, the Third Elder's lifespan will also be reduced. However, this is divided into light and heavy. Just divining Father's fortune is considered light. It mainly uses a drop of my Essence Blood to divine whether the faint connection in the unseen world has been severed."
"If one were to forcefully pry into heavenly secrets, to specifically probe Father's current situation and so on, it would consume at least a hundred years or more of lifespan at once. That price is also extremely great."
Gong Chenying stopped there. She was not a woman of many words to begin with, so being able to explain so much to Li Yan was already a rare occurrence.
"Did Clan Head Gong and the others leave any word of where they were going before they left, or can the 'Divination Art' find their specific location?"
Li Yan tapped his finger lightly on the table, his eyes narrowing slightly. Gong Chenying's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this, but then she shook her head again.
"What, you can't determine where they went?"
Seeing Gong Chenying shake her head, Li Yan showed a slightly puzzled expression.
If he remembered correctly, Gong Chenying had said before that the Tianli Clan's Great Elder wanted to go out and find Gong Shanhe and the other. If there wasn't a single clue, then that proposal would be nonsense.
"No, we generally know where Father and the others are. Although it's just a rough location, there is still a range. But I want to know your true cultivation level!"
Gong Chenying was no fool. From Li Yan's words, she had already guessed his intention.
Her own father was already a peak Mid-stage Nascent Soul expert. Coupled with the help of the Initial-stage Nascent Soul Sixth Elder, such a duo would have a certain chance of escaping even from the hands of a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator.
With the two of them working together, the chances of them encountering danger on this continent were not very high.
What kind of danger could trap them? So, the Great Elder had actually wanted to go personally, but if he left, that Yan San would definitely attack immediately, and the Tianli Clan would fall into a state of eternal damnation.
"So you're worried about my strength. Well... you don't need to worry about that! Let's put it this way, I have a certain degree of confidence in escaping from a Late-stage Nascent Soul Great Cultivator."
"Besides, I may not necessarily have to go over. I'm just getting a clear picture first, and we can discuss it in detail later."
"It seems you know their location. How many times have you performed divination over the years, and has their position moved over a large area?"
Li Yan's words conveyed a strong sense of confidence to Gong Chenying. She had not expected Li Yan's strength to be so great.
After Li Yan's last move, the Great Elder and the others had already judged him to be a Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. This had already been unbelievable for Gong Chenying, which was why she had been wanting to know Li Yan's true strength.
From her understanding of Li Yan, he never spoke empty words, let alone exaggerated his cultivation.
Gong Chenying's clear eyes only flickered slightly. With her personality, even in the face of death, her face would not show much change.
"There have been a total of three divinations for Father. The most recent one was four months ago. Father's position is roughly in the same area as the previous two divinations."
She understood Li Yan's meaning. He was trying to determine whether Gong Shanhe was being hunted or trapped somewhere. Obviously, the result was the latter.
Although the "Divination Art" used Gong Chenying's Essence Blood, it also affected the Third Elder's lifespan. Each time, it would consume about thirty years of lifespan, so it could not be performed frequently.
Moreover, for Gong Chenying to consume a drop of Essence Blood, even if she took the clan's best pills, she would need at least several months to recover.
For all these reasons, they had only performed divination four times in over ten years, three of which were for Gong Shanhe.
As for the Sixth Elder, they had only used his clansman's Essence Blood for divination once at the very beginning. After discovering he was not far from Gong Shanhe, they had not performed it again.
"How much do you know about the situation at that location?"
"It's at the border between the 'Wind Goose Beast' and 'Wind Iron Beast' territories. There's a boundless swamp there. Father and the Sixth Elder should have entered it."
This time, Gong Chenying answered quickly.
"A boundless swamp? How many Wind Beasts frequent there? Is it one clan or two clans that patrol the territory together?"
"That is the border between the two clans. Relatively speaking, the possibility of Wind Beasts appearing there is much lower. Logically, the danger level should be greatly reduced."
Gong Chenying said slowly, her face calm.
Upon hearing this, Li Yan's eyes flashed a few times with a sharp light.
"So, it's likely that there's a restriction in this swamp that even Nascent Soul cultivators cannot break through!"
Li Yan muttered to himself. Then, his gaze fixed on Gong Chenying's beautiful eyes.
"I plan to go and take a look in a few days. Don't worry, I have my own means of self-preservation. And with Clan Head Gong's experience as a lesson, I will only be more careful."
"Otherwise, waiting like this is not a long-term solution. Perhaps Clan Head Gong and the others have already reached the brink of their endurance."
After hearing this, Gong Chenying's beautiful eyebrows furrowed slightly.
"This matter, should we discuss it with the Great Elder and Third Elder before you make a decision?"
"That swamp, the Great Elder said he had been there to see it three hundred years ago. Although he didn't go deep, he did conduct some investigation and knows a little about the situation there."
"And, according to the Great Elder's original intention, at least two Nascent Soul cultivators are needed to go together, so they can look out for each other. And one of them must be himself."
Gong Chenying said softly.
Li Yan did not answer immediately, but instead rubbed his chin with one hand, lost in thought.
For a moment, the room fell into a long silence. Gong Chenying did not want Li Yan to go on such a risky adventure without being fully informed.
After forty breaths, Li Yan let out a soft laugh.
"The Great Elder definitely can't get away. That Yan San is constantly watching him. And now, within the Tianli Clan, the Fourth Elder has also been severely injured by the enemy, leaving only the Second Elder and Third Elder who can fight at any time."
"Even based on the number of fourth-rank demonic beasts from the three clans that escaped last time, you are still at a slight disadvantage."
"Not to mention the Second Elder. He himself advocates for a defensive strategy and not dispersing forces. How could he be willing to send out another expert?"
"Now that the Wind Beasts are continuously attacking, once a discussion starts, the Second Elder's suggestion will surely be approved by the majority of the clansmen."
"Therefore, there is no point in you bringing this up. It might even cause turmoil within the clan. I think it's better for me to just ask the Great Elder for information about that swamp alone."
Li Yan didn't come here just for the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art," but also to help Gong Chenying.
He had thought it through these past few days. After his sudden appearance and disruption last time, the balance of high-end combat power between the Wind Beasts and the Tianli Clan had slowly started to equalize.
And currently, the most pressing issue for the Tianli Clan to resolve was to rescue Gong Shanhe and the other. This would not only boost morale but also re-stabilize their high-end combat power at once.
If planned well, they might even be able to launch a desperate counterattack and break the strange, continuous joint attack of the three Wind Beast clans this time.
Although Li Yan did not think he could solve the opponent in one go, with the return of Gong Shanhe and the Sixth Elder, plus his own ability to perhaps further cripple the opponent, they might be rendered powerless to attack again.
"You..."
Regarding Li Yan's proposal, hesitation finally appeared on Gong Chenying's consistently cold and stunning face. She was still worried that there was a problem with Li Yan's decision.
For a moment, she also felt that what Li Yan said made sense. Among her fellow disciples, Li Yan had always been the most steady-minded. This was another reason why she trusted him.
Back during the Secret Realm Plucking, Li Yan had displayed an ability completely inconsistent with his own cultivation level. So, Gong Chenying also wanted to borrow Li Yan's strength to rescue her father and the Sixth Elder.
But on the other hand, she was still worried about the degree of danger Li Yan would face. Things were not as simple as just talking and analyzing.
After all, the danger there was such that it had trapped two Nascent Soul cultivators for over ten years, unable to escape.