As expected, upon hearing the Great Elder's words, Li Yan fell silent for a short while, but he soon spoke up.
"Which parts of the body will that stream of air enter?"
"Aside from the Sea of Consciousness and the Dantian, it will reach basically everywhere else!"
Li Yan felt a slight sense of relief upon hearing this. The Sea of Consciousness and the Dantian were a cultivator's absolute forbidden zones.
At this point, Li Yan had roughly guessed the testing method of that magical treasure. He looked again at Gong Chenying and saw her nod at him.
"I wonder if that magical treasure can only be activated by a Nascent Soul cultivator when in use?"
Li Yan turned to look at the Great Elder. This time, before the Great Elder could answer, the Third Elder's charming voice came through.
"Giggle... that's no problem. We'll just let A Ying activate it!"
A quarter of an hour later, Li Yan withdrew his arm from a strange box.
This box was about five feet long and emerald green in color. One end had a round hole the thickness of an adult's arm, while the other end had no exit.
On top of the other end was the open palm of a demonic beast. The palm gave off a sharp, powerful feeling.
If Li Yan wasn't mistaken, it should be the same as the limbs of the legendary peerless ferocious beast, the Qiongqi, that he had read about. The entire long box emitted a lustrous green light, which looked somewhat demonic to the eye.
What Li Yan had to do was extend an arm, stripped of its spiritual power, into it, and then have Gong Chenying cast a spell to activate it...
As Gong Chenying's hand seals fell, a large number of water-like runes appeared above the strange, emerald-green long box. Then, they flowed from the surface of the box into the round hole.
Li Yan felt a stream of yin-cold air with a hint of scorching heat enter his arm from his wrist. Then, that stream of air followed his arm into his body...
Li Yan lowered his sleeve and secretly circulated his profound art. The Gui Water True Qi quickly coursed through the eight extraordinary meridians in his body... and there was nothing unusual in his body.
The previous stream of yin-cold air containing scorching heat had disappeared along with his arm being removed from the strange, emerald-green long box. Li Yan was not afraid of the other party poisoning him, but of other methods.
Although it was Gong Chenying who activated it, the strange long box was produced by the Third Elder. That woman was most skilled in unpredictable witchcraft.
Li Yan trusted Gong Chenying very much, but he always maintained a sense of vigilance towards the others here, even though he knew that nine times out of ten, nothing would happen.
After circulating his magical power for a cycle without any issues, Li Yan completely relaxed. With his current cultivation, he was confident that even if a Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator wanted to leave some tricks in his body, he would be able to detect some traces.
Li Yan now also knew the other party's testing method. The path that the stream of air took should be the cultivation path of the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art," but the other party had deliberately scrambled the order.
Perhaps one moment it was following a certain meridian path from the first layer of cultivation, and the next moment it would switch to a certain meridian path from the third layer.
Therefore, the person being tested would not be able to obtain the cultivation paths of the other layers of the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" from this. What's more, you still didn't have the breathing method, the body postures, and so on.
And Li Yan also guessed that when the other party refined this magical treasure, they might have even included meridian paths that were not needed for the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" to confuse the user.
Therefore, it was absolutely impossible to learn it secretly.
Li Yan had been silently observing in his heart earlier. The stream of air had, in a chaotic manner, traveled through all the meridians cultivated in the first three layers of the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art."
As for the other meridians, if it couldn't pass through, it would immediately turn back and would not force its way through.
And during the whole process, the strange, emerald-green long box continuously had green runes drilling into the round hole like flowing water. As long as a single meridian in his body was passed through by this stream of air, a thin line would light up on the Qiongqi's palm on top of the other end of the strange long box, either on a certain finger or somewhere in the palm.
Li Yan knew that should be the result, showing how many meridians he had opened up with the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art." In the end, Li Yan found that he had opened up fifty meridians.
However, Li Yan was also a little puzzled about this. Couldn't other techniques also open up these meridians? What if it was a coincidence?
However, Li Yan then let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Any layer of the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" required opening up many meridians. Even if Li Yan happened to open up a certain meridian from the fourth layer of the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art" with another technique, it would be impossible to open up all the meridians of the fourth layer. From this, it could be seen that there was no problem with this testing method.
Gong Chenying looked at Li Yan as he withdrew his arm, a trace of gentleness flashing in her beautiful eyes. A cultivator would not casually let someone test them, especially since Li Yan was now a Nascent Soul cultivator.
If a Nascent Soul cultivator were to accidentally perish due to a moment of carelessness, it would be a huge joke if word got out. Although Li Yan had the intention of obtaining the subsequent techniques, his trust in her was absolute.
The other few people also quietly watched Li Yan circulate his technique. They knew that it was impossible for Li Yan to completely trust others in such a matter. They wouldn't either, if they were in his shoes.
Just a moment later, Li Yan raised his head.
"Let's go, we're going to the front lines!"
As he spoke, he had already stood up with extreme decisiveness.
"A Ying, does he really have that many mid- to high-grade medicinal pills? Or the rare raw materials for refining them?"
Just as everyone was standing up, the Third Elder's voice echoed in Gong Chenying's mind.
The Third Elder might believe that Li Yan was a high-level alchemist of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, or even an alchemy grandmaster, but she still didn't believe that Li Yan could produce so many mid- to high-grade poison pills and liquids at once.
"Third Elder, there are some deadly poisons in the Malevolent Spirit Sect that can turn a ten-thousand-li radius into a land of absolute death, where not a blade of grass grows, with just a single drop of poison liquid!"
The Third Elder's beautiful face changed slightly, and she was shocked in her heart.
'So this person actually has at least a seventh-rank poison pill or poison liquid in his possession. That's right, the entire battle line might not even use up a single drop.'
'It seems those insect demonic beasts are truly precious. He would rather take out such a high-grade deadly poison than use his own spirit beasts. The foundation of the Malevolent Spirit Sect is unfathomable.'
At this moment, the Third Elder finally began to believe Li Yan's words a little. She had never thought that there would be poison pills and liquids of the seventh rank or higher in this lower realm.
Gong Chenying's expression remained normal. She would not reveal the secret of the Fragmented Poison Body.
And soon, a strange look also appeared on the faces of the Great Elder and the Second Elder as they walked out. It was the Third Elder who had transmitted a message to them...
On the front lines of the Tianli Clan's battlefield, it was still a mountain of bones and blood. Li Yan's figure appeared silently in the air. At this moment, a major battle had just ended, and the Wind Beasts were retreating like a tide.
The Tianli Clan warriors, dragging their weary bodies, began to search for surviving clansmen and collect their corpses.
Every warrior was covered in blood, their expressions somewhat numb.
The long-term, endless slaughter had long since numbed them. But for the sake of their clansmen behind them, they had no choice but to fight endlessly.
These people all knew that this was their final destination. With the Wind Beasts now attacking recklessly, they had no way to retreat. Death here was only a matter of sooner or later.
They walked on the hillside, their feet stepping on the muddy mixture of blood and flesh, making a "splat, splat" sound that rose and fell.
Recently, after losing the support of the "Grey Cloud Eagles," the "Bone-Shattering Spikes," which were most effective against the rampaging "Wind Iron Beasts" and "Wind Elephant Beasts" on the ground, were often wiped out by the "Wind Goose Beasts" from the sky after just one volley.
This forced the warriors firing the "Bone-Shattering Spikes" to change locations after each shot, making it impossible to form an effective, large-area coverage of "Bone-Shattering Spikes." This made the tide of "Wind Iron Beasts" and "Wind Elephant Beasts" even more frantic...
Li Yan appeared alone in the sky above the battlefield. His arrival did not alert anyone.
Li Yan used the "Stealthy Night Art." He just wanted to quietly set up a defensive formation first and then let the Tianli Clan see the effect, so he did not have the three clan elders accompany him.
Once the three of them showed up, the fourth-rank Wind Beasts of the other side would definitely appear, and it would instantly turn into a major battle. Gong Chenying was also asked by Li Yan to go back and continue her meditation to recover.
Looking at the mortal warriors below, Li Yan sighed in his heart. Mortals were like ants. In a great battle like this, they could die so easily.
He had agreed to help the Tianli Clan set up a defensive line not just for himself to obtain the "Qiongqi Purgatory Art," but also out of admiration for the bloody spirit of the Tianli Clan warriors.
Men and women, young and old, all had an unparalleled fierceness born from their bones for the sake of their kin. No one is born fierce and brave, unless the entire Tianli Clan were brutes.
It was because they had something to care for in their hearts that they had boundless courage. No one is not afraid of death, but it depends on how one faces it.
Li Yan felt no guilt, because he was not a god. The number of suffering mortals in the world was countless, and he could not save them all.
But out of admiration, even if the Second Elder had insisted on only giving him the fourth layer of the technique after completing the mission, he would have still acted in the end.
He was a cultivator, after all. Of course, he had to fight for himself as much as possible...
Li Yan now also understood the geographical location of the Tianli Clan and the Wind Beasts.
The Tianli Clan was semi-encircled by the three Wind Beast clans from the due south to the southwest and west. This was an excellent location chosen by the ancestors of the Tianli Clan.
The Tianli Clan's large and small stockades were scattered throughout the dense forests of the lofty mountains, covering an area of about seventeen thousand li. The other sides—southeast, east, north, and northwest—were all steep cliffs and perilous mountains that soared into the clouds, with ten-thousand-zhang abysses below.
Those mountain peaks, one after another, formed a natural barrier. And those areas had almost all become barren lands. That was because generations of the Tianli Clan's Great Sacrificial Priests had used the natural dangers to set up layers of barrier formations.
In those directions, there were also Tianli Clan warriors defending the mountains. Even the "Wind Goose Beasts" would have a hard time breaking through.
Even when the front line was so tight, the rear defenses were still heavily fortified, leaving a large force to make the defenses on several sides impregnable. This was a lesson the Tianli Clan had learned with countless lives.
Li Yan's Divine Sense swept into the distance. Even though the Tianli Clan was constantly compressing its lines, it always maintained a buffer zone of several tens of li with the Wind Beasts.
In the buffer zone, there were high mountains and rivers. It was just that some of the mountain peaks had been pierced through the middle. That was because the Wind Beasts, for the convenience of attack, had directly hollowed out the mountains after occupying them, forming channels for the massive low-rank Wind Beasts to pass through.
Li Yan soon focused his gaze on a basin. The basin was originally surrounded by high mountain peaks, completely enclosed.
But now, the basin had two huge gaps on the southeast and north sides, which were the two directions the Wind Beasts used to attack and pass through.
In the next moment, Li Yan's gaze was firmly locked there.
With just a flicker, Li Yan had already floated into the sky above the basin and then silently descended.
In order not to attract the attention of the fourth-rank Wind Beasts, he did not stand still and cast spells to control and set up these formation materials.
Instead, as soon as he landed, his figure did not pause at all. He quickly circled the basin and had already placed several pieces of formation materials around it.
He wasn't setting up some kind of grand enemy-killing formation. This kind of formation could be set up with ease.
Then, Li Yan formed a hand seal, and a circle of invisible ripples faintly rose from the ground around the basin. Seeing the ripples rise, Li Yan's body once again turned into a wisp of light smoke and quickly moved around in the basin.
Wherever he passed, a very faint, almost invisible afterimage was left behind. There were no other abnormalities. But unseen by anyone, as Li Yan moved, his hands within his large sleeves scattered streams of invisible qi.
The invisible qi either rose or fell. The falling ones sank into the ground, while the rising ones were confined to the sky above the basin under the control of the formation, formless and colorless.
Just a dozen or so breaths later, Li Yan had already returned to the rear of the Tianli Clan's battlefield, to the peak of a mountain several thousand li away. Here, the three elders were sitting cross-legged on the mountain top.
As soon as Li Yan's figure appeared, the three of them opened their eyes at the same time.
"Fellow Daoist Li, you're done already?"
The Great Elder's voice immediately came over. At the same time, the Second and Third Elders also looked up at Li Yan. Their gazes constantly sized him up, and they were already very surprised in their hearts.
When Li Yan had left just now, it seemed that something in his hand had lit up, and then his aura had rapidly dropped. Soon, even the three of them would have had a hard time detecting Li Yan's presence if they weren't paying attention.
"A high-grade concealment-type magical treasure!"
This thought flashed through the minds of all three at the same time. This magical treasure of Li Yan's that concealed his aura was truly extraordinary. At the very least, a cultivator at the Initial-stage Nascent Soul level would not be able to discover him.
Little did they know that the light that had flashed in Li Yan's hand was something he had deliberately created. He didn't want the other party to know his trump cards.
So, he didn't even use the "Stealthy Night Art" to its fullest, let alone use the "Tidefall" technique at the same time.
Li Yan had guessed that since a battle between low-rank Wind Beasts and mortal warriors had just ended here, those fourth-rank Wind Beasts wouldn't be paying too much attention to this place. So, as long as he was careful, he wouldn't attract the attention of the fourth-rank Wind Beasts.
The result was just as he had guessed. This was a mortal's battlefield, and the various auras were too mixed. So, a cultivator's Divine Sense would not stay here for long, but would only scan this place from time to time.
With Li Yan's powerful Divine Sense, he believed he could sense if any fourth-rank demonic beasts were probing over.
"Yes, it's done. We'll know the effect when the Wind Beasts launch their next wave of attack!"
Li Yan nodded.
"This... the deadly poison is already set up?"
The Second Elder asked almost the same question as the Great Elder, showing his strong doubt.
Li Yan had only been gone for a little over twenty breaths, and that included the time he had spent searching for a location to apply the poison at the front.
The area of that basin was not small. According to the normal procedure for applying poison, one would have to observe the terrain and then apply the poison in the main areas where the Wind Beasts would pass.
If they were to use their methods, setting up a simple formation would of course not even take this much time. But to also set up deadly poison within the formation, one would need to adjust the balance of fusion between the formation and the deadly poison, and so on.
It wasn't as simple as just throwing out a few bottles of poison liquid. That way, the poison's toxicity would spread in all directions instead of being confined within the formation. Not only would it affect the Tianli Clan, but it would also continuously weaken as it dissipated.
And just now, Li Yan had only circled the basin once. They had neither seen him take out a porcelain bottle nor seen him deploy anything. Then he had flown back. The three of them had not discovered how Li Yan had applied the poison at all.
"Let's wait and see!"
Li Yan only said this and then also sat down cross-legged on the mountain peak.