The yellow-robed elder instantly felt the extremely familiar, long-lost aura. This aura came from the world itself, not from him.
For many years, the yellow-robed elder had not felt this aura, which had caused his cultivation to stagnate. At this moment, tears faintly welled up in the corners of his eyes.
If those four people saw him like this, they would definitely think they were having a ridiculous illusion. How could the cold-blooded "Venerable Wan" shed tears?
The yellow-robed elder took a deep breath. Since he suppressed his cultivation and passed through the Devil's Cliff Crevice several thousand years ago, enduring nine deaths and one life to finally infiltrate the Desolate Moon Continent, he had never felt such pure demonic qi.
Although he could convert the spiritual energy of the Desolate Moon Continent into demonic qi, it was only enough to barely sustain his daily consumption and couldn't advance his cultivation one bit. He felt that if he continued to struggle like this, his realm might even drop.
Only after the dimensional passage was fully opened could they plant various demonic plants throughout the Desolate Moon Continent. After these demonic plants grew in large numbers, they would slowly devour the spiritual energy of this world and convert it into abundant demonic qi.
"That's right, this is one of the weakest points in the barrier between the two realms!"
The yellow-robed elder still couldn't suppress his excitement, a look of ecstatic joy still unconsciously showing on his face. This time, he didn't go to the other few places but chose this one alone. It seemed he had bet correctly.
Feeling the invisible black qi emanating from the bottom of the puddle, and watching the "Realm-Breaking Pearl" slowly enter the reef until it finally sank like a heavy stone into a swamp, the yellow-robed elder's anxious heart finally settled down a lot.
After more than half an hour had passed, seeing that the black qi at the puddle was getting denser, the yellow-robed elder sat cross-legged again, his figure fixed in the air.
He began to form a set of complex hand seals in front of his chest. Although he could no longer touch the activated "Realm-Breaking Pearl," he could use the spiritual energy of the world to help speed up the "Realm-Breaking Pearl's" arrival at the dimensional barrier.
...
This was a vast sea, boundless and endless. The sky was perennially dark, and the seawater below was a pitch-black color, like a black dragon stirring up storms, roaring and surging amidst the howling winds.
Very few humans came here. Even cultivators were rarely willing to come. Not only were the living conditions here extremely harsh, but there was also almost no spiritual energy in the world.
Under such an environment, ferocious Demonic Beasts still lived in the sea below, and it was even rumored that Tier-4 Demonic Beasts appeared.
It was almost unheard of for cultivators below the Golden Core realm to be able to fly across this vast, boundless sea. Even if they flew non-stop day and night, they might not be able to travel the entire Sea of the Northern Abyss in several decades.
And without spiritual energy replenishment, it was quite a headache even for Nascent Soul cultivators, who were also not confident they could cross this place.
This was the northernmost land of the Jingtu Sect—the Sea of the Northern Abyss.
As for what lay further north of the Sea of the Northern Abyss, few people knew. Perhaps only cultivators at the Nascent Soul level and above might know something about the situation, but they would not easily reveal such matters.
According to some ancient records, further north of the Sea of the Northern Abyss, there was a barrier with another continent. Even Nascent Soul cultivators might not be able to cross it. Only Nascent Soul cultivators who had cultivated the power of space might be able to cross between the two continents.
On this day, in a world that was like a splash of ink, a tiny black dot slowly appeared. Because the black dot was initially almost integrated with the inky world, and the black seawater below would from time to time surge up to a hundred zhang high, it was only as time passed that the black dot slowly revealed some difference from its surroundings.
Looking at the monotonous black and gray colors that had filled his vision for the past ten-odd days, Li Yan's face was as calm as still water, but his nerves were stretched extremely tight.
There was too little spiritual energy in this world. Li Yan had made thorough preparations long before coming to the Sea of the Northern Abyss, especially with pills to replenish spiritual energy, plus the large amount of Spirit Stones he had obtained from his opponents along the way.
Li Yan was confident that he could live here for several years. With his current wealth, he was comparable to a mid to late-stage Golden Core cultivator.
More than ten days ago, Li Yan had officially set foot in the Sea of the Northern Abyss. The moment he stepped over the sea, he felt the spiritual energy of the world suddenly disappear. The little spiritual energy that remained in the surroundings was almost imperceptible.
Moreover, the black seawater below seemed to have a certain pulling force. Although it wasn't strong, it definitely existed. In the short term, he couldn't feel any effect, but after a slightly longer time, a cultivator flying in the sky would feel as if they were constantly being pulled by a "gravity spell" from below, causing their spiritual power to drain faster without them realizing it. As time passed in the Sea of the Northern Abyss, this feeling became more and more obvious.
What made one feel mentally exhausted in this sea area was that Li Yan had been flying for more than ten days, but he had not found a single island, not even a small reef.
At the same time, he had also been attacked by sea Demonic Beasts hundreds of times. These Demonic Beasts were of varying ranks. Fortunately, the highest Li Yan had encountered so far was only an initial-stage Tier-2 Demonic Beast.
But Li Yan knew that as he went deeper into the Sea of the Northern Abyss, the Demonic Beasts he encountered would become fewer and fewer, but their ranks would definitely get higher and higher. The higher the rank of a Demonic Beast, the larger its territory. The low-level Demonic Beasts within it would only gather in a certain area and would not dare to wander around, no longer scattered about without restraint.
As a result, Li Yan had almost nowhere to rest and could only fly non-stop day and night. Even when using Spirit Stones to drive the "Cloud-Piercing Willow," he still needed to check his direction from time to time.
Otherwise, on this vast sea, a single moment of carelessness could make him lose his sense of direction. One moment he could be flying normally, and the next he might be going in the opposite direction, which would be a huge joke.
Li Yan had no clear target for the possible location where the "Infinite Wanderer" tree grew. It was just a possible area that Ping Tu had given him back then.
However, this gave Li Yan some confidence; at least he wasn't searching aimlessly.
Li Yan sat cross-legged at the front of the Cloud-Piercing Willow, his eyes closed, releasing a wisp of divine sense to constantly observe his surroundings. Just then, Li Yan's eyes suddenly snapped open. With a thought, the Cloud-Piercing Willow immediately made a sharp turn in the air.
At the same time, a light flashed in Li Yan's hand, and a black water spike instantly condensed in his right hand. He threw it out without hesitation.
After flying for more than ten days, although the spiritual energy in the Sea of the Northern Abyss was thin, the water vapor in the world here was ridiculously dense. If not for the protection of his spiritual power shield, his clothes would be soaked through by the water vapor in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
And in his previous battles with Demonic Beasts, Li Yan found that using his strongest water spiritual power here had a multiplier effect.
Especially with the help of the dense water vapor in the world, condensing various spells was extremely easy.
Just as the black water spike was thrown, on the path Li Yan had just passed, a Nether Flame Eagle's pair of sharp, knife-like talons sliced straight down.
Because its speed was too fast, the sharp talons brought up the extremely thin water vapor in the air, making a continuous "hissing" sound and creating a thin wall of water visible to the naked eye on both sides.
Seeing that its sure-fire strike had missed, a cold light flashed in the eyes of this Tier-2 Nether Flame Eagle. But before it could continue its pursuit, a black water spike appeared below it.
The tip of the black water spike flashed with a devouring, dark light as it stabbed fiercely towards the Nether Flame Eagle's abdomen.
In the distance, Li Yan, who had just dodged the sneak attack, had not yet stabilized the Cloud-Piercing Willow when his brow suddenly furrowed. His figure, which had just become somewhat clear, once again turned into an afterimage and instantly blurred again.
A black shadow shot out like a ghost from the giant waves that were constantly rising from below. On top of the hundred-zhang-high giant wave, it rose another hundred zhang.
With a loud "crack," the dull sound of teeth clashing rang out. A giant mouth bit down solidly on Li Yan's afterimage.
But Li Yan's divine sense was powerful. Although the Demonic Beast that leaped out of the sea was skilled at hiding its tracks, Li Yan had instantly captured the trace of killing intent before the attack.
Li Yan had already raised his flight altitude to more than two hundred zhang to avoid attacks from sea Demonic Beasts. If he went any higher, the pulling force from the Sea of the Northern Abyss below would be even stronger, which would cause Li Yan to consume his spiritual power even faster.
This was a rare Storm Dragon Shark, its rank shockingly having reached the mid-stage of Tier-2. This was the most ferocious and cunning Demonic Beast Li Yan had encountered in these days. It should have been targeting Li Yan for a long time, just hiding in the waves, following Li Yan closely, not in a hurry to strike, but looking for a good opportunity to ambush.
It was only when the Nether Flame Eagle in the sky attacked Li Yan that it also launched a fatal blow. The Storm Dragon Shark's aura blended perfectly with this world.
It was confident in its strike, but because of Li Yan's powerful divine sense, which had captured the only trace of killing intent before the attack, the attack had failed.
This made the huge body of the Storm Dragon Shark, which was suspended in mid-air, stiffen. It had been staring at Li Yan for more than half a day, and after all its calculations, it did not expect this result.
And just as the Storm Dragon Shark was stunned, two clusters of red flames appeared below it. Li Yan had struck, releasing all the Li Fire from the Li Fire Profound Yellow Fan at once.
A sea of fire formed between the Storm Dragon Shark's body and the seawater below, sealing its escape route downwards. In an instant, being attacked by two Demonic Beasts, Li Yan's face was grim, but his hands moved like flowing water.
When the Nether Flame Eagle felt the bone-chilling coldness in its abdomen, its claws, which had just grabbed empty air, suddenly retracted, protecting its lower abdomen. At the same time, a layer of bone-white cold flames burned on its claws, forming a rotating Bagua light circle under its claws.
The next moment, the ambushing black water spike stabbed into the Bagua light circle. A shockwave of black and white immediately erupted from the Nether Flame Eagle's body. With an explosion, the black water spike shattered into pieces, turning back into the water vapor of the world and dissipating around the Nether Flame Eagle.
The Nether Flame Eagle shattered Li Yan's water spike with one blow and couldn't help but let out a high-pitched eagle cry that shook the area for dozens of li. Its wings, like iron halberds, cut through the air. With a turn, it charged at Li Yan again.