Thinking of the demonic creatures from the Devil's Cliff Crevice, Li Yan couldn't help but connect it to the recent turmoil in the cultivation world. The purple elephant interrupted his thoughts.
"Until more than three hundred years ago, when the first disciple of the Dragon-Subduing Sect, He Baiyi, went out for training, the Dragon-Subduing Sect Master gave him the 'Great Dragon-Elephant Formation,' hoping that he might awaken the formation spirits by some stroke of luck. But He Baiyi's luck was poor. He was ambushed by four Snow Sprite Lords. Although he eventually killed them all, he ended up succumbing to his grievous injuries and perished in a 'Melting Cave'."
"In the end, I was forced to stay in that land of ice and snow for many years, unable to recover even a shred of my cultivation. I gradually lost consciousness, and it was only when I reached the vicinity of the 'Flame Palace' that I felt the possibility of my recovery…" the purple elephant said with a gloomy expression. As an ancient ferocious beast, even as a mere wisp of an essence soul, it possessed the pride of its bloodline. Under no circumstances did it want to be ordered around by others.
"You… Ma-… Master, when did you use the poison?" The purple elephant hesitated for a moment before finally asking. However, it still felt uncomfortable with this form of address.
Li Yan smiled faintly but did not answer. Instead, he continued to ask, "How much of the 'Great Dragon-Elephant Formation's' power can you wield now?" He didn't want to explain such a minor matter of poison administration; it was better to let the purple elephant harbor a sense of mystery and fear.
This purple elephant, despite having a considerable inheritance in its memories, had always been in a hidden state and had no real combat experience. Its whale-like absorption of the high temperatures here meant Li Yan didn't need to be deliberate with his poisoning; he just had to mix in a tiny bit of soul-damaging poison.
Seeing that Li Yan wasn't answering its question, disappointment flashed in the purple elephant's eyes, but it had to answer Li Yan's question. It was like an order that could not be disobeyed. It pondered for a moment before saying uncertainly.
"My soul power is currently less than forty percent recovered. If I can fully recover, I estimate the 'Great Dragon-Elephant Formation' could at most trap a Mid-stage Golden Core cultivator. It might be possible to trap a Late-stage Golden Core cultivator for three to five breaths."
"You're saying it can trap even Mid and Late-stage Golden Core cultivators?" Li Yan's heart tightened.
This was something he had never expected. In his view, even if the purple elephant fully recovered, it was still a juvenile elephant, not possessing the powerful soul of an adult Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant. But he soon understood.
The key to the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation" was the formation itself. Although the formation spirit was important, its power, when converted by the formation, could perhaps be magnified ten or even a hundred times. This was the terrifying aspect of formations.
Moreover, what made Li Yan feel helpless was that this little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant had only recovered less than forty percent of its strength, yet his own vaunted physical body had already found it very difficult to withstand.
'This must be the true might of a Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant,' Li Yan lamented inwardly.
"Do you only need the high temperatures here to recover, or do you need other heavenly materials and earthly treasures? What I mean is, can you be promoted in the future?"
Li Yan thought for a moment before asking. Although the "Great Dragon-Elephant Formation" only had one small Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant left, it was a great asset to him. Not only did the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant need to recover as soon as possible, but it would be best if its essence soul could continue to grow stronger.
Under Li Yan's expectant gaze, the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant's eyes slowly lit up. "The high temperatures here can only help me slowly recover to fifty percent. However, the magma below might allow me to solidify my soul. But if I want to advance, I will naturally need some other heavenly materials and earthly treasures that can nourish the soul. The temperature of the magma here is no longer sufficient to promote my advancement."
"Master, you are so formidable, a dual cultivator of body and magic, and a poison cultivator at that. You must have many such treasures. Let me think, for me to advance quickly, I only need a few types of herbs and demonic beasts, like Dragon Sun Tree Fruit, Precious Peach Nectar, White Wind Bird Bone, the blood of a Tiger-Headed Sparrow, the hook poison of a Ten-Tailed Dragon Scorpion…"
"Stop, stop, stop right there…" Li Yan felt like he had just asked an incredibly stupid question. Of the things the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant listed, there were several he had never even heard of. But he knew of the White Wind Bird and the Ten-Tailed Dragon Scorpion—they seemed to be ancient demonic beasts as well, now incredibly rare, if not extinct. From this, one could imagine what the Dragon Sun Tree and Tiger-Headed Sparrow were.
"What's wrong, Master? These are all common fire-attribute herbs and demonic beasts!" the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant said with some dissatisfaction.
Li Yan pressed a hand to his forehead. "Tell me, you've been in the Dragon-Subduing Sect for at least several thousand years, maybe even longer, right? Have you ever seen any of these things you mentioned?"
"Well… not really. But after the Dragon-Subduing Sect went into seclusion, it was located in a remote area and rarely ventured into the world. It's quite normal not to have seen them," the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant's expression faltered for a moment, then its eyes flashed with a fiery passion as it spoke. It had now completely lost its earlier pretentious, aged tone.
"Alright, I'll keep an eye out. The moment I find any, I'll give them to you. Are you going to continue recovering now?" Li Yan quickly changed the subject.
Seeing Li Yan's helpless expression, the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant, unwilling to give up, asked cautiously, "Master, do you really not have any of these? I have a few others here, maybe you have them in your storage pouch? Like a Nine Phoenix Feather…"
"No, I have none of them. To be honest with you, the things you're talking about have probably been extinct in this realm for ages. Some of them I've never even heard of. Are you going to cultivate or not? You look quite energetic to me. How about we refine you one more time to strengthen our bloodline connection, hmm?"
"N-No, please don't!" The little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant's heart filled with panic at the suggestion. Each refinement was an ordeal of torment for its mind.
"Then how long do you need to cultivate here to completely solidify your soul?" Li Yan finally breathed a long sigh of relief. He also finally understood the meaning behind the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant's earlier aged act—it was because it had no confidence and wanted to overwhelm him from the start. In reality, apart from some memories, it was ignorant of many things.
"I can now devour the high temperatures once every half hour, and each time I can take in more. I estimate that after two more times, the high temperatures here will no longer be enough for my cultivation. At that point, I will need to devour the magma below. As for how many times I need to devour the magma to solidify my soul, it's impossible to tell right now. I'll only know after devouring it once. But the temperature of the magma here should be enough to allow me to solidify my soul."
After sensing the situation outside the mountain, Li Yan said to the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant, "The high temperatures here can be fully supplied and replenished by the magma below, and all of this is within the 'Great Dragon-Elephant Formation,' so the cultivators outside won't be able to sense it. You can continue to devour the high temperatures to cultivate."
"However, when you need to devour the magma below, the commotion will be much greater. Right now, I can't completely seal off the entire cave with the 'Great Dragon-Elephant Formation.' You can only devour the magma below after the cultivators outside have dispersed."
After saying this, Li Yan didn't spare the little Purple Divine Dragon-Elephant another glance. He was now even beginning to doubt whether his decision to re-subdue this little elephant was truly correct.
Shaking his head lightly, he paid no more attention to the little purple elephant's dissatisfied gaze and finally turned his head to look at the still-unconscious Bu Luo.