This phenomenon would absolutely not have occurred in the past. Even if it was someone else's magical treasure, as long as the owner was dead, or if the person who obtained it had incomparably profound magical power, they could still operate it simply.
After trying a few more times, Li Yan stopped probing and quickly descended to the bottom of the deep pit.
He soon found the storage pouch left by the young woman. When he erased the residual Divine Sense on the storage pouch, inside were, besides a large number of spirit stones, some feminine items, and two magical treasures.
Li Yan ignored the rest and directly took out the two magical treasures. One was a jade comb, and the other was a purple rope. A single glance told him their ranks were quite high. Li Yan once again cast a series of hand seals and spiritual power on them, but the two items remained completely unresponsive.
Li Yan's expression turned serious. He quickly spread his Divine Sense and soon found the monstrous giant's storage pouch under a collapsed mountain peak. Since the monstrous giant had been dead for a longer time, the storage pouch was easily opened by Li Yan. He also found three magical treasures inside, including the black net.
The subsequent situation was just as Li Yan had expected. These magical treasures were also completely unresponsive. Li Yan stroked his chin, his eyes gradually narrowing.
After a long while, he put away the two storage pouches and muttered, "It seems it really is this thing. Then the familiar aura in the manor before must be that cultivator who was trapped here by this couple."
A cultivator's memory is astonishing. Once they have come into contact with something, it is very difficult to forget. Now that Li Yan thought back carefully, he finally remembered whose familiar aura it was.
This person was someone he had met by the lake at Red Maple Pool on the second floor of the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. It was one of the two leading Late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators in the five-person group that had stayed behind with Li Yan.
At that time, Li Yan hadn't paid much attention to the five, so he had only given them a cursory glance. That's why he had only felt the aura was familiar before but couldn't recall it at the moment.
After figuring out the other person's identity, a sharp glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes several times. Then, with a wave of his large sleeve, he collected the young woman's dismembered corpse and all the magical treasures from the ground into her storage pouch.
The spirit stones from the young woman's and the monstrous giant's original storage pouches all flew out and were directly put into the "Earth-Spot" by Li Yan.
The harvest this time was quite good. Besides a large number of low-grade spirit stones, the two of them together had over a hundred mid-grade spirit stones. This was simply an unexpected windfall.
So many mid-grade spirit stones were not something an ordinary Golden Core cultivator could possess. This made Li Yan even more certain of the couple's identity. As for the young woman's corpse, Li Yan naturally still had a use for it.
After looking around again and making sure nothing was missed, Li Yan flicked his sleeve, and his body soared into the air, heading in the direction of "Griefspirit Manor."
Now he was certain that there should be no Golden Core masters in the manor. From the fact that only four Foundation Establishment cultivators had flown out to help before, Li Yan could deduce that this couple was likely the strongest in the manor. Otherwise, with such a major event happening, how could any other masters remain hidden?
It wasn't until the morning of the next day that "Griefspirit Manor" appeared in Li Yan's Divine Sense again. When he fled, he had gone all out, consuming three drops of "Melting Bamboo Shoot" to escape desperately. Now, on his way back, although he had roughly figured some things out, Li Yan was unwilling to continue wasting "Melting Bamboo Shoot" for this. He naturally used spirit stones to power the Cloud-Piercing Willow, while he sat cross-legged on it, holding spirit stones, slowly meditating and recovering.
By this time, Li Yan had long since returned to his peak state. The moment he sensed "Griefspirit Manor," Li Yan's Divine Sense swept out unscrupulously. He controlled his Divine Sense to a subtle degree, one where only a Golden Core cultivator could detect that someone was scanning the manor.
In this situation, if he had really guessed wrong and there were still Golden Core cultivators in the manor, they would discover him after sensing his Divine Sense scan. They would then notice that the manor master and his wife were missing and would certainly not continue to hide.
After Li Yan's Divine Sense swept back and forth over the manor several times, he had carefully observed it again. There were only twenty-four cultivators, led by six Foundation Establishment cultivators, ranging from initial-stage to Pseudo-Core.
Among them was one Pseudo-Core cultivator. This Pseudo-Core cultivator was sitting cross-legged in front of a room, continuously casting hand seals. Behind him, the other twenty-three cultivators were all gathered, including, of course, the four Foundation Establishment cultivators who had flown into the sky yesterday.
At this moment, the light of the protective formation on that room was already flickering, bright one moment and dark the next, as if it could be extinguished at any time.
Li Yan judged from this Pseudo-Core cultivator's attack methods that he was a Formation Master. He estimated that the protective formation would be broken in at most another hour.
"This formation is indeed not weak. It should have been attacked by that couple before." In Li Yan's Divine Sense, there were several traces on the formation left by forceful attacks. A single glance told him it was not the work of the cultivators present.
Now Li Yan was even more certain that there were no masters in the manor. Otherwise, this formation would have been long gone.
Below, the cultivators in the manor looked up at the sky from time to time, their hearts filled with anxiety. These people had accidentally snuck into the manor. Fortunately, the manor master and his wife had returned in time and exposed the enemies' tracks.
But these enemies were also decisive. They had also brought a Formation Master. When discovered, knowing they couldn't escape from a Golden Core cultivator, they immediately set up a small formation on the spot. And as it happened, this formation's defensive power was extremely astonishing.
These foreign cultivators had all fled into the formation the moment they sensed the rolling killing intent from afar. But at the moment of entering, they were still hit by the manor master's attack from dozens of li away. Three were killed on the spot, and several were severely injured, but the opponent ultimately managed to activate the formation and escape inside.
Originally, after the manor master and his wife returned, another two attacks had left the formation shaking and on the verge of collapse. But at that moment, the manor master and his wife had both stopped, ordering the manor's Formation Master to continue attacking the formation, while the two of them and the young manor master flew out again.
But what happened next was something none of them could believe. Not long after, a Foundation Establishment cultivator arrived in the sky. This surprised the manor's cultivators. Why would the manor master and his wife treat a Foundation Establishment cultivator so cautiously?
But these manor cultivators only found it strange. Except for the Pseudo-Core cultivator who was focused on breaking the formation and paid no attention to the outside world, the other cultivators all stopped to watch.
Then, they witnessed an incredible scene. The young manor master was instantly burned to death. Subsequently, the enraged manor master was also poisoned. And after that, the actions of the Foundation Establishment cultivator made them feel as if they were dreaming. When outmatched, he actually escaped from the joint hands of the manor master and his wife, and even now, the manor master had not returned.
If the manor master and his wife returned to see the formation still not broken, under the shadow of the young manor master's death, they themselves might all be slaughtered. Although they knew they might have to face an unbearable wrath, none of them dared to flee.
Amidst the anxiety of the manor's cultivators, they did not notice that someone had already hidden his tracks a certain distance from Griefspirit Manor and had now quietly walked in through the manor's courtyard gate.
"The Manor Master and Madam have been gone for more than a day. They should have been back long ago," said a thin cultivator in a long robe, one of the five Foundation Establishment cultivators standing behind the Pseudo-Core cultivator, as he withdrew his gaze from the sky.
"Brother Nian, could you tell that kid's cultivation? I estimate he's also a Golden Core cultivator. Otherwise, how could he force the Manor Master and Madam to join forces? In a battle between Golden Core masters like this, defeating them is easy, but killing them is several times more difficult. So in this chase, they might not settle it for tens of thousands of li."
A Daoist nun-like Foundation Establishment cultivator beside the thin, long-robed cultivator spoke crisply. This woman was about thirty years old, and her beautiful eyes were captivating, making one's heart itch.
"Fairy Miao is absolutely right. Fellow Daoist Nian, you are overthinking. You've been here for nearly twenty years. There have been Golden Core cultivators passing by before, but which one didn't fall for the Manor Master's tricks? The Manor Master once fought a Mid-stage Golden Core cultivator to a standstill."
Another short, green-robed Foundation Establishment cultivator in his twenties glanced at the beautiful Daoist nun, a flash of fiery desire deep in his eyes. Only then did he look at the thin, long-robed cultivator, agreeing with the Daoist nun's words.
The thin, long-robed cultivator nodded, seeming to agree with their view. The strength of the manor master and his wife was plain to see. They had led them in hiding for so long and had never had an accident.
As for Li Yan being a Golden Core, that had already become a consensus in their previous discussions. If he weren't a Golden Core cultivator, how could he have fought with their manor master and then easily escaped?
But at the same time, he sneered inwardly. How could they not know what the short, green-robed cultivator was thinking? The thin, long-robed cultivator then gently raised his eyelids and glanced at the back of the Pseudo-Core cultivator sitting cross-legged in front.
'You fool who doesn't know life from death. Fairy Miao is now Mi Heng's exclusive possession. This Mi Heng is only a step away from forming his core. You, with your Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation, dare to have ideas about her? If that Mi Heng finds out, you won't even know how you died. Although the Manor Master strictly forbids infighting, Mi Heng is a Formation Master. His status is far different from ours. If he kills you, he'll probably just get a few scoldings from the Manor Master.'
The short, green-robed cultivator had been here for less than ten years. The thin, long-robed cultivator and the other two Foundation Establishment cultivators had been here much longer. They knew in their hearts that although this Fairy Miao seemed to be a loner, never interacting with any men, she was secretly involved with Mi Heng. And Mi Heng was a selfish and extremely possessive person. The moment he saw someone interacting with Fairy Miao, that person's death was sealed. It wasn't as if Mi Heng hadn't done this before. It was just that the manor master valued him, so at most, he would be punished with a scolding but not killed.