After hearing the other party's words, Gong Chenying agreed with a nod, almost without hesitation.
"No problem. Senior is not a wanton killer, so how could we be treacherous!
It's just, can we leave immediately after my junior brother arrives? Or must we continue to investigate this place first? The timing may be uncertain. As I just told Senior, we are here looking for someone!"
"I am of course aware of your purpose here, no need to repeat it. In fact, there is a human cultivator in this very cave, and a Nascent Soul stage one at that. It's just that his realm is on the verge of falling back to the Golden Core stage."
The clear-featured nun swung the crimson spear behind her back. The spear tip was half a head taller than her, but the words she spoke sent a jolt of surprise through Gong Chenying.
"Senior, where is that person?"
This time, Gong Chenying's expression finally wavered!
Somewhere in the cave, Gong Chenying stood there, staring blankly ahead. A person was leaning against the cave wall, sitting cross-legged with eyes tightly shut, his entire body as emaciated as a dried corpse.
Behind Gong Chenying, an illusory figure floated silently, like a specter.
"Sixth Elder!"
Gong Chenying gazed at the figure before her, whose features were vaguely familiar but who was now just skin and bones. She muttered his name, her heart a mix of excitement and disappointment.
Selfishly, she had not found her father!
Although Gong Chenying and the others were right in front of him, the Sixth Elder's eyes remained tightly closed, as if he were dead. Gong Chenying hurriedly took a few steps forward, her Divine Sense already sweeping over him.
"He's not dead. He must have had his qi and blood drained by a Yin Mountain Beast in the last few days and has now fallen into a coma.
But if he doesn't take pills to replenish his qi and blood soon, his realm will likely fall to the Pseudo-Core Realm before long. At that point, forming a Nascent Soul again will be incredibly difficult."
Hearing this, Gong Chenying immediately turned her head to look at the clear-featured nun.
"Senior is saying that the Sixth Elder had his qi and blood devoured by the ghostly beasts here?"
"Of course. This ghastly appearance is the result of massive qi and blood loss. The one who could drain his qi and blood would naturally be a more powerful existence. However, there's no need to worry for now. That beast is still in a deep slumber.
It must be his clone that periodically stimulates its master's Divine Will, causing it to attack subconsciously. Otherwise, if it were to actively drain him, no amount of qi and blood in this person's body would be enough. He would have been dead long ago."
The clear-featured nun certainly knew the situation here, but she had no intention of explaining in detail. Explaining this much was already a concession made in light of her future need for the other's help.
After getting her answer, Gong Chenying quickly knelt down, took out a bottle of qi and blood replenishing pills, and used her magical power to funnel them into the Sixth Elder's stomach.
Then, with a wave of her jade-like hand, the Sixth Elder's figure vanished, taken into her Spirit-Storing Pouch.
However, Gong Chenying, meticulous as ever, immediately took out a Jade Slip. After immersing her Divine Sense into it for a moment, she waved her hand again, and the Jade Slip disappeared as well.
Inside the Spirit-Storing Pouch, next to the Sixth Elder's prone body, a Jade Slip had appeared. Gong Chenying had left a simple message, fearing that the Sixth Elder would be confused about his whereabouts upon waking.
"Senior, can you confirm if there are any other human cultivators in this cave?"
"There are no more! The other person you are looking for is not here!"
The clear-featured nun answered quickly. She had already learned from Gong Chenying's earlier account that she was looking for two people.
A shadow of disappointment fell over Gong Chenying's eyes. Although the nun had only given a brief explanation of the Sixth Elder's condition, she could already imagine that her father had likely met a similar fate.
As for Gong Shanhe not being here, Gong Chenying's question was merely a formality. After all, when the Third Elder had performed his divination, Gong Shanhe and the other were not together; otherwise, the two would not have separated.
"Come, let's go to the entrance!"
The clear-featured nun twirled the crimson spear, and as she slung it behind her back, she was already floating in one direction. Seeing this, Gong Chenying said no more and immediately flew after her...
...
Li Yan and Gong Shanhe arrived at the cave entrance one after the other. Gazing at the thick black gas at the entrance, they exchanged a look and, with a flicker of their bodies, charged out.
At the same time, they sent out a strand of Divine Sense to lock onto the depths of the cave behind them. The terrifying yin wind Gong Shanhe had spoken of still had not appeared.
The moment they charged out, three figures suddenly materialized in the dense black gas. These three were identical in appearance and attire, each clad in a blood-drenched, number-one scholar's red robe.
The moment they appeared, they pushed back the surrounding black gas, revealing a space of several thousand zhang.
'Looks like our luck isn't great. You haven't fully recovered. I'll take on two, you handle one.'
As soon as Li Yan saw the three figures, he sighed inwardly and quickly sent a secret voice transmission. He had fought two of them before but was forced into the cave before he could unleash his full power. This time, he would have to face two at once again.
'Alright. Daoist Li, try to hold them off for as long as possible. I'll see if I can heavily injure that one beast first!'
Hearing Li Yan's transmission, Gong Shanhe glanced at him.
Both were at the Mid-stage Nascent Soul, but Gong Shanhe himself was no ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. His Qiongqi Purgatory Art, even when he wasn't at his peak, meant that ordinary Mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators were still no match for him.
However, since Li Yan had put it this way, Gong Shanhe believed he must have a certain degree of confidence.
The men in the blood-drenched scholar robes were at the peak of Mid-stage Nascent Soul. In his current state, Gong Shanhe could fight one, but he only had a twenty percent chance of injuring his opponent.
Therefore, Gong Shanhe believed Li Yan was creating an opportunity for him, which was the best strategy at the moment: injure one of them first.
'Give me ten... fifteen breaths. If you really can't hold on, regroup with me, and we'll form a combined defense!'
Gong Shanhe had wanted to say ten breaths but ended up adding five more. His condition was truly not good.
If he were to hold off two of the red-robed men, he would have to use a self-harming secret art. But in that case, Gong Shanhe would no longer have the strength to help Li Yan search for Gong Chenying and the Sixth Elder.
He couldn't rest easy leaving Li Yan to search here alone, so he immediately agreed to Li Yan's proposal.
As they communicated via voice transmission, the auras of the three men opposite them pressed down like a vast, cold current. Li Yan and Gong Shanhe simultaneously released their own auras, expanding them to resist the oppressive pressure.
As the three men stepped forward, Li Yan and Gong Shanhe continued to sweep their Divine Senses around.
Although their Divine Senses were suppressed, they were still making a final check to confirm if any other powerful beings were present. Neither side moved to attack immediately, simply closing the distance.
As the two sides drew closer, Li Yan and the others did not sense the presence of a fourth Nascent Soul-level creature within a few hundred zhang...
Within the Earthen Patch, by the river at the foot of the mountain, the green grass was lush!
Zi Kun sighed and shook his head. Not only was the Great Dragon-Elephant Formation of no use to Li Yan now, but even someone of his strength couldn't be of much help either; he could only follow along and assist.
He couldn't help but sigh repeatedly, while Qian Ji just stared blankly at the river...
Zi Kun was still muttering to himself when he saw Qian Ji suddenly fly up into the air without so much as a word.
"Hey, hey, hey... why did the mutt just up and leave!"
Watching the white-robed Qian Ji fly directly to the mountain's peak, Zi Kun grumbled with some dissatisfaction.
They had been cultivating continuously recently. They had just gone out not long ago, only to be forced to return and "hide" again upon receiving Li Yan's transmission.
Their strength was too weak. The master had to deal with several Nascent Soul cultivators, which left him feeling a bit dejected, so he wanted to talk to Qian Ji.
However, after entering this place, Qian Ji had a somewhat dazed look in his eyes. Contrary to his usual self, he hadn't said a word. After staring blankly for a moment, he flew directly to the mountaintop.
"He must have been provoked. Time to cultivate, cultivate! The master is already at Mid-stage Nascent Soul. Soon, I won't even be able to run errands for him!"
Zi Kun glanced at Qian Ji's back. Although a strange light flashed in his eyes, he also turned and flew towards the far west...
Outside the Earthen Patch, Li Yan and Gong Shanhe approached step by step, communicating secretly the entire time. The main reason they hadn't attacked immediately was that they were constantly on guard against the terrifying presence in the cave behind them.
They had already moved a considerable distance from the cave entrance without being attacked, which brought them some relief. Feeling the sharp, oppressive aura from ahead, they immediately exchanged a look.
"Attack!"
Li Yan and Gong Shanhe had no desire to wait any longer, transmitting their intent to each other almost simultaneously.
As Li Yan spoke, he had already flown towards the opposition. With a flick of his hands, two beams of light, one red and one black, shot out towards two of the red-robed men.
The magical treasures he had unleashed were a brush and an inkstone, the very ones he had obtained from Qi Jinghong.
With his first move, Li Yan locked down two of them. Meanwhile, Gong Shanhe flickered and reappeared a hundred zhang in front of the remaining red-robed man.
He formed a blade with his hand, fingers held tightly together, and sliced downwards through the air. The slice was silent and without a trace, with even the slightest fluctuation of magical power.
But the red-robed man a hundred zhang away suddenly drifted to the side. At the same time, he pointed his long flute forward into the air.
He also let out a sharp whistle. The long flute in his hand suddenly erupted with a brilliant green light. Just as the whistle began, two bursts of light, one green and one gold, exploded in the empty space between them.
"Clang!"
A crisp metallic clang rang out. The body of the red-robed man trembled, and he had already taken several steps back.
In the void ahead, a massive wind blade materialized, slashing down on a green ghost claw that appeared at the same time. The green ghost claw now had one of its fingers severed.
On the other side, Li Yan saw this scene as well. Gong Shanhe's seemingly casual palm strike must have been a full-power attack. He had no intention of wasting time with the opponent and went all out from the start.
'Impressive! To still have such combat power after being trapped here for so many years!'
Li Yan thought to himself. He had clashed with the red-robed men before and knew their strength.
Li Yan even felt that someone like the Second Elder of the Tianli Clan would be no match for any of them and would likely be defeated within half an incense stick's time.
And if Gong Shanhe were at his peak, none of the red-robed men here would be his opponent, which was why two of them had to team up to suppress him.
Now facing a single enemy, although Gong Shanhe's combat power was diminished, he still held a slight advantage.
On Li Yan's side, the two red-robed men opposite him saw the attack coming. They waved their long flutes in unison, and immediately, numerous ghosts and yin creatures flew out from the holes of the flutes.
Layer upon layer, they swarmed towards the crimson brush and the black inkstone!
Li Yan now knew what those ghosts were. They were likely the low-to-mid-level ghostly beasts of this place.
They had been refined into the red-robed men's magical treasures, losing their spiritual intelligence and becoming mere walking corpses. The enemy was using their own kind to refine magical treasures, a truly vicious act.
"Boom!"
A sheet of red flame erupted from the crimson brush, and instantly, a cacophony of miserable screams rang out.
From the inkstone, streams of small black characters surged forth, flying through the air like talismans. The moment these ghostly creatures were touched by them, smoke rose from their bodies, and they too let out shrill, mournful howls.
"It's actually effective!"
Seeing this from a distance, a thought stirred in Li Yan's mind.
Indeed, Confucian magical treasures were highly effective against these yin and cold creatures. Although Li Yan couldn't unleash the full power of these two treasures, he had no problem wielding them normally.
After all, they were magical treasures refined by a Confucian scholar. During an attack, they would emit a certain amount of Righteous Qi, which ordinary ghosts and evil spirits would avoid at all costs.
Although these beasts were not true ghosts, their bodies were of the ultimate yin, so they naturally feared such things.
A cold glint flashed in the eyes of the two red-robed men, and they spoke in unison.
"Is that all!"
One of them formed a sword with his fingers and swiped them quickly down the length of his flute, as if trying to force something out.
Instantly, several black shadows shot out. This time, they didn't emerge from the flute's holes but were ejected from the other end.
The moment these black shadows flew out, they transformed into seven unclothed, enchanting women. Each was a peerless beauty of the world, a bewitching seductress. Compared to the surrounding ghosts, it was like the coexistence of demons and fairies.
As they flew out, their snow-white bodies twisted and writhed, letting out soft, sensual moans. These sounds reverberated, conjuring countless amorous scenes in the sea of consciousness. The interplay of sound and movement was enough to make one's face flush!
As these sounds were sent out, a pinkish gas began to permeate the area, instantly enveloping the crimson brush.
The surrounding ghosts, amidst the sensual moans and the boneless writhing of the snow-white waves, grew excited, as if they had regained their spiritual intelligence.
Each of the ghosts, now glowing with a pink light, once again charged madly at the crimson brush. At this moment, the brush's red flames were unable to harm them, only managing to keep them three feet at bay.
The two sides reached a brief stalemate, but as more and more ghosts entered the pink light and then charged the crimson brush, the flames outside the brush began to shrink at a rate visible to the naked eye.
Before long, the crimson brush would be submerged by these pink-glowing ghosts.
And the seven snow-white bodies, with their sensual moans, brought a sky full of pink as they rushed towards Li Yan. Their eyes were like silk, their forms unrestrained, their allure overflowing, their gasps coquettish.
Some people die, but not completely...