Seeing Gong Chenying's dazed and absent-minded expression, Li Yan slowly approached, cleared his throat, and spoke softly, "A Ying , I seem to be late."
The slender, curvaceous figure started at the words. She withdrew her gaze from the sky, her pretty face slightly flushed. She lowered her head, her beautiful eyes first glancing around before finally looking at Li Yan.
Although Gong Chenying had been with Li Yan for some time, she still felt shy every time she heard him call her "A Ying," a name she herself had asked him to use.
"Oh, I just arrived a little while ago too."
"I got caught up in trivial matters this morning, and my estimation of the time was off. Next time, you can send me a message first so we can decide on a specific time," Li Yan said with some apology. It was clear Gong Chenying had been here for a while, yet she hadn't sent a message to hurry him.
"Mm," Gong Chenying said, having straightened up and was now walking gracefully toward Li Yan.
Li Yan smiled faintly, turned around, quickly took out his token, and waved it at the courtyard gate. The white mist swirled, and a path opened up, revealing the entrance to the bamboo courtyard.
As Gong Chenying walked slowly, she looked at the back of the figure in front of her. His black hair was draped over his shoulders, and he was already a head taller than her. A daze came over her. It was as if she were seeing again the young boy from several years ago who had been much shorter than her. Now, he already had a mountain-like presence.
"A Ying, let's go in and talk," Li Yan's voice sounded in her ear, startling Gong Chenying from her reverie. She quickly lowered her head to avoid Li Yan's dark eyes and walked straight past him into the bamboo courtyard. Seeing Gong Chenying ignore him with an evasive glance and walk straight in, Li Yan couldn't help but rub his nose. He then followed her into the bamboo courtyard. The white mist path instantly closed, concealing the gate.
The two sat down at the stone table in the courtyard as before. The giant ape puppet had already served two cups of fragrant tea. Gong Chenying already knew the origin of this puppet and had even fought with it before, praising it endlessly.
"Have you still not found any problems with this puppet?" Gong Chenying asked faintly.
"I've been in seclusion for this past year and a half. Where would I find the time to study it?" Li Yan said with a wry smile.
"Oh, has your cultivation stabilized now?" Gong Chenying, who had been staring blankly at the sky outside the courtyard, seemed to have only just woken up. She then remembered what Li Yan had said in his message about his cultivation. She raised her beautiful eyes to look at him. The impression Li Yan gave her was that his aura leaked very little. Only a small amount of spiritual energy fluctuation could be faintly seen, revealing the appearance of the early stage of Foundation Establishment. And this was only because Li Yan had not deliberately suppressed it.
"It has stabilized. And the Qiongqi Purgatory Art has also broken through to the mid-stage of the first layer at the same time," Li Yan said with a smile.
Hearing this, Gong Chenying's beautiful eyes suddenly widened. She looked Li Yan up and down several times. After Li Yan started laughing awkwardly under her gaze, she didn't say anything. She slowly stood up, then walked straight to the middle of the courtyard and stood there, staring at Li Yan without blinking. Li Yan smiled wryly in his heart. He knew what Gong Chenying wanted to do and had no choice but to stand up and walk to the middle of the courtyard, facing her from several zhang away.
The moment Li Yan stood still, Gong Chenying stomped fiercely on the ground. A loud boom echoed through the small courtyard, and the entire ground trembled. She had already shot into the air, her whole person turning into an afterimage, bringing with it a sharp whistling sound. In mid-air, Gong Chenying bent one knee and thrust it directly toward Li Yan's face.
And the moment Gong Chenying took to the air, Li Yan also stomped his right foot on the ground. Another loud boom sounded in the small courtyard. Fortunately, the formation restrictions here were very strong and greatly muffled the sound from leaking out. Not much of a disturbance could be heard outside; otherwise, it would have definitely attracted the attention of others.
As Li Yan's right foot stomped the ground, he shot into the air. His body twisted powerfully, and his left leg whipped fiercely toward the approaching figure. The moment the knee and leg collided, the figures of the two seemed to freeze in mid-air. A dazzling white light erupted at the point of impact. But as this dazzling white light, in the form of a shockwave, exploded outward to their sides, it also instantly froze. After a series of churns, the dazzling white light flashed a few times and finally slowly disappeared without a trace at their sides. After the white light disappeared, both Li Yan and Gong Chenying stumbled and fell from the air. With a boom, they landed on the ground at the same time. But the green stone ground under Li Yan's feet immediately cracked with fine lines, while the green stone under Gong Chenying's feet was completely fine.
Gong Chenying gently kicked her somewhat numb leg. Her gaze toward Li Yan was filled with disbelief, and her beautiful eyes shone with a strange light. Li Yan was a little embarrassed by Gong Chenying's somewhat fiery gaze and could only raise his right hand to scratch the back of his head.
"What's wrong?" Li Yan's other hand rubbed his slightly sore and swollen left calf. Gong Chenying's physical body was too terrifying. Even when suppressed to the mid-stage of the first layer of the Qiongqi Purgatory Art, the collision had still caused the blood and qi in his left leg to stagnate for a short time.
Gong Chenying did not answer Li Yan's question. Instead, she turned and walked back to the stone bench and sat down again. Only then did she slowly speak. "Have you had any uncomfortable symptoms during your cultivation?"
Li Yan was stunned upon hearing this. Gong Chenying's words clearly indicated that she had found something wrong. Could it be that something had gone wrong with his cultivation? But he had definitely cultivated according to the incantation in the jade slip. He couldn't help but shake his head in confusion.
Seeing Li Yan shake his head, Gong Chenying was even more surprised. A year ago, when she had sparred with Li Yan, she had already discovered that the Qiongqi Porgatory Art he cultivated seemed different from others'. Its power was surprisingly great at that time. Today, upon hearing that he had broken through again in his cultivation, she had wanted to test it. But the moment she took to the air, she had changed her mind. She had actually advanced her suppressed cultivation from the mid-stage of the first layer by a small realm, raising it to the late stage of the first layer of the Qiongqi Porgatory Art. With her current skill, having also broken through to the late stage of the third layer, her control over the power of the muscles and veins in her physical body had reached an incredible level. If she found something was wrong, she could definitely control her strength in the first instant.
What happened next shocked Gong Chenying greatly. She had already thought she had overestimated Li Yan a lot. But when Li Yan really took that knee strike, which was filled with the domineering power of the late stage of the first layer, he was actually able to control his own strength under extreme outburst, suppressing the shockwave produced by the collision at his side and preventing it from destroying the stone table, stone benches, and the spirit field in the corner of the courtyard. He had only leaked a little bit of qi when he landed, causing the green stone ground under his feet to crack. This made Gong Chenying feel that it was simply incredible.
In her mind, under this one blow, Li Yan would definitely be unable to control the force around his body, and it would rage violently. The green stone ground under his feet would also instantly turn into a large pit. She had already prepared to control the aftershocks of the force, but she found that Li Yan had also effortlessly controlled the spreading aftershocks. How could this not shock her?
"There are some aspects of the Qiongqi Porgatory Art you cultivate that don't match the normal realm. Just now, I controlled my strength at the late stage of the first layer of the Qiongqi Porgatory Art, yet you took it with ease. Could this also be related to the Fragmented Poison Body?" Gong Chenying thought for a moment and couldn't help but ask hesitantly. Now, she had a "panacea" feeling about this Fragmented Poison Body.
Li Yan was also a little bewildered upon hearing this. He never thought that this woman would quietly raise the level of the spar by a small realm without a sound, not afraid that she might lose control.
"This time, it really is related to the Fragmented Poison Body." Li Yan thought for a moment and then recounted the changes in his Fragmented Poison Body when he was breaking through to Foundation Establishment. He just still didn't mention which tier he had reached. Gong Chenying's beautiful brows furrowed tightly as she listened. The result of what Li Yan said was not as simple as being unable to break through to a higher level of Foundation Establishment. The Fragmented Poison Body was too bizarre; it was impossible to know what would happen next. But fortunately, he was fine.
"Then it seems it really might be related to the Fragmented Poison Body. But this is too bizarre. You still have to pay attention to it at all times when you cultivate in the future," Gong Chenying instructed worriedly. Then, as if she had remembered something, she hesitated for a moment but still asked, "That... that, which tier did you reach in your Foundation Establishment? I only reached the sixth tier back then. Min'er was also sixth tier."
Li Yan was stunned upon hearing this. It wasn't because he was surprised that Gong Chenying was asking him which tier of Foundation Establishment he had reached, but that she had mentioned Zhao Min again. This was quite unexpected.
Asking about another's cultivation, even among the closest of relatives, was something to be cautious about. So Gong Chenying, afraid that Li Yan would get angry, first said that she was a sixth-tier Foundation Establishment. But for some reason, after saying it, she also mentioned Zhao Min's Foundation Establishment tier. But after saying it and seeing Li Yan's somewhat dazed expression, she immediately felt that it was inappropriate.
"Oh, oh, I... I was a bit luckier than you two, a little higher," Li Yan said, feeling that Gong Chenying's gaze was a little evasive after she had spoken. He coughed dryly, then rubbed his nose and said somewhat awkwardly.
"That... that, that is already very good," Gong Chenying said, regretting her question just now. She couldn't help but add, her heart thinking, 'No wonder his combat strength is so formidable right after establishing his foundation. This is not just the performance of the Qiongqi Porgatory Art. Seventh-tier Foundation Establishment, this is a talent on par with Senior Brother.'
Seeing the atmosphere become a little strange, Li Yan quickly put on a serious expression. "A Ying, I asked you to come this time for one matter. I have now successfully established my foundation. You knew before that I was going back for a trip to see my parents. Then I will go to find some refining materials to craft a natal Magical Treasure for myself. This trip will take at least a year, and at most several years. So I had to inform you of this." After speaking, Li Yan looked at Gong Chenying with a burning gaze.
Gong Chenying had actually already guessed this before she came. That was why when she was waiting outside Li Yan's courtyard, she had thought of her hometown, her father, and her own future, and had been lost in thought. At this moment, seeing Li Yan really bring up this matter, she already knew what he meant.
"Oh, I know. Then... then... then I will go with you... go with you... go with you to pay respects to your parents." As she said this, her voice became lower and lower, until it was almost inaudible. She had long since lowered her beautiful head to her high, full chest, her jade-like neck a shade of pink.
"Then good. Let's pack up. I'll inform Master tonight, and we'll set off tomorrow morning. How about it?" Li Yan's eyes revealed a smile upon hearing this.
Hearing Li Yan's words "let's pack up," Gong Chenying was even more speechless, her face flushing with waves of red.
After a short pause, Li Yan's expression became serious again. "A Ying, for such a long time, there is one thing I have been unable to grasp. This time we are going together, so the matter must be made clear. Actually, you also know that Third Senior Brother has a deep affection for you, and the matter between you and me has never been made clear. This trip together, I imagine that whether it is Master or Third Senior Brother, they will have their own speculations."
Gong Chenying slowly raised her head, the blush still there, but her expression had slowly returned to calm. "I have long been aware of Third Senior Brother's feelings. And to be honest with you, if it weren't for the... the... the accident that happened in the Secret Realm, I probably would not have married in this life. And I had already expressed this to Third Senior Brother a few years ago. After returning from the Secret Realm, I also didn't speak directly for fear of hurting the friendship between senior and junior brothers for a while. This matter will eventually be known, but so what?"
Li Yan looked at Gong Chenying without blinking. Gradually, a smile filled his face. What Gong Chenying had said was also what he had thought. After coming out of the Secret Realm, he had also had these concerns, and he was also focused on breaking through to Foundation Establishment, so he hadn't made the matter between him and Gong Chenying too obvious. Only three people knew about it.
In this matter, Li Yan was not concerned about Yun Chunqu himself, but also about the friendship between the senior and junior brothers. After all, he now had feelings for Little Bamboo Peak. Moreover, he was not the one who had forced his way in. If Third Senior Brother and Gong Chenying had been in love with each other at the beginning, and the incident in the Secret Realm had happened, he would really have a hard time defending himself. A one-sided burden would eventually have to be resolved.
"In that case, we will set off tomorrow."