Tang Yuniang was now the true manager of the Wood Flow Sect. Although she couldn't be said to know everything about the Malevolent Spirit Sect, she was still aware of ordinary matters and some major events. That two people had successfully formed their Nascent Souls in the Malevolent Spirit Sect was, of course, a huge piece of news she would have received.
When Bai Rou said it just now, she felt the name was somewhat familiar, but for a moment, with her cultivation and level, how could she have thought of a Nascent Soul cultivator? A few breaths later, she finally remembered who the name Li Yan belonged to!
'Could it be… could it be that the person just now was Li Yan, that Nascent Soul cultivator from Little Bamboo Peak? I… I was just talking to a Nascent Soul senior…'
Tang Yuniang immediately thought of the ordinary-looking young man in the green robe just now. Coupled with Bai Rou's sudden words, she was stunned in the courtyard for a moment…
Li Yan, who had flown away from the Wood Flow Sect, suddenly sneezed in mid-air. He looked around inexplicably, but everything was normal in his Divine Sense.
'Mother said this happens when someone is talking about you behind your back. Who's talking about me now?'
After a casual search and finding no one around, Li Yan's figure paused in the air. A light flashed in his hand, and an ancient, round rhomboid crystal appeared. The next moment, his mind connected with this object, and his figure rapidly faded!
In a secret chamber filled with rich, golden-yellow earth spiritual energy, Li Yan's figure appeared out of thin air. He first looked around, but did not find the giant face that would usually appear at the first moment. And just as he was feeling a little puzzled, a deep voice suddenly came from behind him.
"I was wondering which expert had snuck in here! In just a few years, you've actually broken through to the next realm!"
Li Yan immediately turned around. The familiar giant face was slowly shedding its cold and fierce aura.
A wisp of Ping Tu's Divine Will had suddenly sensed a rather strong aura appearing in the secret chamber. He hadn't expected it to be Li Yan. Because Li Yan had only left here a few years ago, and at that time, he had been unable to break through the bottleneck of his enlightenment for Nascent Soul formation.
What's more, Li Yan had said he was going out for training. It was most normal for such training to last for decades or even a hundred years.
Ping Tu thought that someone had discovered this place and snuck in. However, his main body was still in a deep sleep at this time, and the wisp of Divine Will outside had limited power. However, he still wanted to kill the other party directly and planned to use a sneak attack. When he saw the familiar figure, he realized it was Li Yan who had arrived here.
"Senior!" Li Yan immediately bowed. He had, of course, seen the killing intent fade from Ping Tu's eyes, but his attitude towards him had changed so quickly, which made his heart warm.
"Yes, your realm has already stabilized. It seems you've been a Nascent Soul for some time!"
"Senior's discerning eye is a torch…"
"Alright, alright, enough with the flattery!"
Hearing this, Li Yan could only scratch the back of his head.
"You should have also obtained the subsequent cultivation method for the 'True Scripture of Gui Water.' Are you planning to cultivate here?"
"Yes, I plan to study those new cultivation methods here next!"
"Then you can cultivate!"
After glancing at Li Yan, Ping Tu immediately shook his giant face, leaving only a voice behind as his Divine Will disappeared from the secret chamber. He didn't waste any words with Li Yan at all. Li Yan gave a helpless, bitter smile.
Ping Tu treated his own people like this. One could imagine that if he were dealing with outsiders, he would flip out and kill them at the slightest provocation.
Just as he was thinking this, the rich earth spiritual energy before his eyes suddenly fluctuated slightly, and Ping Tu's large face reappeared.
"Senior!"
"I remembered something. Take out that teleportation rhomboid crystal of yours!"
Upon hearing this, although Li Yan was strange as to why Ping Tu had returned and was asking for the teleportation item, he didn't hesitate. With a wave of his hand, an ancient, round rhomboid crystal appeared between the two of them.
Ping Tu looked at the rhomboid crystal floating in the air. The giant face shook, and his eyes suddenly turned a dazzling golden-yellow. Then a golden light shot out and hit the rhomboid crystal. The rhomboid crystal only trembled slightly in the air before returning to normal.
"Alright, you can put it away! I've imprinted some markings on it. As long as you are within the teleportation range, you can communicate with me at any time through the rhomboid crystal!
Similarly, as long as you release the restrictions on the rhomboid crystal, I can even see the scene around you through this bit of marking. If you encounter a problem you can't solve, either teleport back directly. Otherwise, let's see what solution I can give you," Ping Tu said lightly.
"Senior… you… you're saying I can contact you from the outside world?"
"Didn't I say, it's still within the teleportation range! Before, because this was originally two separate spaces, and my strength was greatly reduced, even if I had left a marking, I couldn't have contacted you forcibly. Your bit of Divine Sense was also too weak to sense it. Now that you've reached the Nascent Soul, you can barely make contact."
A warm feeling rose in Li Yan's heart again.
Ping Tu knew that once he was far away and exceeded the teleportation range, it would be useless, but he was still like a worried elder, protecting him with his greatest ability.
"Thank you, Senior!" Li Yan bowed deeply to the giant face.
"Yes!" This time, Ping Tu was no longer polite. After a grunt, he disappeared again.
Following that, after Li Yan put away the rhomboid crystal, he slowly calmed his mind and then sat down cross-legged, pulling his long robe over his legs.
Not long after Li Yan had formed his Nascent Soul, all the sects and cultivation families with some status in the entire Desolate Moon Continent's cultivation world received a shocking piece of news.
The Malevolent Spirit Sect, which dominated this continent, had, after Wei Zhongran's Nascent Soul formation several decades ago, actually had two more people successfully form their Nascent Souls on the same day.
When this news first spread, it was sneered at by many, who called it nonsense. No one believed it. For a sect to have one person form a Nascent Soul in several hundred or even a thousand years was already considered extremely lucky. Otherwise, why would the world be divided into first-rate, second-rate, and unranked sects? If everyone produced a Nascent Soul every few decades or a hundred years, they would all be top-tier sects.
To even say that two people formed their Nascent Souls in one day was simply the biggest joke in the world. It was most likely someone trying to create a powerful enemy for the Malevolent Spirit Sect behind their backs.
But in the time that followed, as one piece of news after another continued to spread, and some people began to confirm that they had indeed seen the Heavenly Tribulation descend near the Malevolent Spirit Sect, and some even said they had really seen two waves of Heavenly Tribulations fall, an uproar erupted…
In the east, tens of thousands of li away from the Malevolent Spirit Sect, within the Ten-Pace Courtyard, pavilions and towers were scattered in an orderly fashion, with flowing water gurgling, spirit birds flying, and spiritual energy gathering…
In a secret chamber, a middle-aged scholar in a green robe was holding a jade slip and contemplating. After a long time, he finally raised his head. The middle-aged scholar was about forty years old, with a square face and sword-like eyebrows. He had a righteous air about him, and his whole person appeared refined and upright.
This person was none other than the Sword King of the Nether Spring of the Inner Sword Courtyard of the Ten-Pace Courtyard. Compared to over a hundred years ago, he had also become a powerful initial-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
The Nether Spring was a powerful Sword Cultivator of the same generation as Wei Zhongran. In the hundred years after the great war with the Demon Clan, it was not just Wei Zhongran of the Malevolent Spirit Sect who had advanced to the Nascent Soul stage. The other three sects also had Golden Core cultivators who had successfully condensed their Nascent Souls. The Sword King of the Nether Spring of the Ten-Pace Courtyard and Immortal Elder Hanglin of the Supreme Mystery Teachings were among them.
And the Jingtu Sect even had Buddha Yiye and Buddha Yisong who had also reached the Arhat realm one after another. For a time, a hundred schools of thought contended on the Desolate Moon Continent.
'For two people to advance to the Nascent Soul in one day. Li Yuyin is one thing, but that Li Yan is just a junior… The information in this jade slip says that person has only cultivated for about a hundred years. That's too short a time. For the youngest disciple of Little Bamboo Peak to be able to successfully form a Nascent Soul, while the cultivators of his generation in our sect are still struggling in the Golden Core stage, and not even one has reached the Pseudo-Nascent Soul realm.
This matter must be communicated with the Jingtu Sect and the Supreme Mystery Teachings to confirm the subsequent joint matters…'
The Sword King of the Nether Spring frowned in thought. Now, it was not just the Malevolent Spirit Sect that had Spirit Transformation and Nascent Soul experts leaving the sect to ascend; their three sects were also the same. What cultivators sought was to continuously strengthen themselves. They had already repaid the grace of their sects and naturally had to find a way out for themselves next. And the Sword King of the Nether Spring, like Wei Zhongran, had been left behind to guard the sect according to the sect's rules after advancing to the Nascent Soul realm.
Now, the Ten-Pace Courtyard had a total of three Nascent Soul cultivators: two from the Inner Sword Courtyard and one from the Outer Sword Courtyard. Such strength was undoubtedly more than enough to deal with any sect other than the other three great sects. But the Malevolent Spirit Sect had suddenly "received a windfall from heaven."
This had disrupted the balance of power. The Sword King of the Nether Spring felt the urgency of the matter. The news in the jade slip in his hand was absolutely not wrong…
In the northern part of the Desolate Moon Continent, in a temple with grand temples and the lingering sound of bells, in a meditation chamber, a young monk was sitting cross-legged on a prayer mat. His face was like still water, with clear eyebrows and beautiful eyes. His eyes were black and white, and he wore a gray monk's robe. If not for the spacious and solemn meditation chamber he was sitting in, anyone would have thought he was just the lowest-ranking novice monk in the temple.
The young monk was staring blankly at a yellow jade slip placed on his crossed knees. But after only a few breaths, he put his hands together and recited a Buddhist chant. "Amitabha, the Malevolent Spirit Sect's fortune is deep. They had just gained a slight lead, but they have been pulled back again!"
After speaking, he closed his eyes again. The jade slip had been sent back by his junior brother Yisong, who was traveling outside. In a few days, he would also rush back to the Jingtu Sect. At that time, this matter would need to be discussed properly.
Originally, the Nascent Soul cultivators left behind by the three sects, plus the newly advanced ones, had firmly suppressed the Malevolent Spirit Sect in terms of numbers. But such a good situation had been changed in an instant. For two new Nascent Souls to appear in the Malevolent Spirit Sect in one day made the heart of Arhat Yiye, which was as calm as still water, stir with waves. For a moment, he had a considerable headache.
In the South Sea, on a coastal mountain peak near the main altar of the Supreme Mystery Teachings, an old Daoist in a Daoist robe was looking at the raging waves crashing against the cliffs below, rolling up thousands of piles of snow. The sea wind whistled in his ears…
The old Daoist was thin, with a head of crane-white hair that was extremely smooth and faintly shimmering with a silver light. It was tied in a Daoist knot on top of his head, with a wooden hairpin stuck through it. His face was ruddy, and his small eyes were flashing with an incredible light. And in his wide sleeve, a Voice Transmission Talisman was crushed by him.
"Damn it, two Nascent Souls! How can a sect in such a gloomy place have such good fortune? No, I must go to the Ten-Pace Courtyard!"
After thinking for a while, the old Daoist's body suddenly became blurry. Then, an escape light that was undetectable by others' Divine Sense sped towards the northeast, in the direction of the Ten-Pace Courtyard!
In the northern part of the area under the jurisdiction of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, there was a continuous mountain range. This mountain range was rarely visited by people all year round. In the mountain range was a vast expanse of swamps, filled with miasma all year round. Even cultivators were unwilling to enter.
This place was called "Marshgaze Ridge," and in this land of rampant miasma, there was a hidden cultivation family—the Huchen Family. A first-rate cultivation and alchemy family, especially with its own lineage of inheritance in the way of poison. The poison pills they refined were sought after by the major sects, and they were also a family that many cultivation sects were willing to befriend.
In a refining chamber, the slender and handsome Huchen Wuding sat cross-legged next to a cauldron that was more than half a person's height. His hands were constantly forming one hand seal after another. As his hand seals were formed, complex and mysterious runes of various colors flew towards the top of the cauldron and then fell like rain.
Huchen Wuding had a serious expression. After more than a hundred years, his aura had become much sharper, and his demeanor had also become colder. The hand seals he formed were sometimes fast and sometimes slow, appearing extremely regular. Now, for him, alchemy had already shed its immaturity. Everything appeared very stable, and his movements were not rushed.