After hearing Li Yan's instructions, Qian Ji immediately bowed, acknowledged, and withdrew. Of course, he also wanted to go shoot the breeze with Zi Kun, Li Wuyi, and Wei Chituo while working.
It was much better than staying here alone, unable to cultivate in peace. He had only volunteered to stay behind because he was afraid Li Yan would come out and have questions.
But just as Qian Ji had taken a few steps, Li Yan's voice came from behind him again.
"Wait a moment!"
Qian Ji immediately turned his head and looked at Li Yan with some confusion.
"Master, your orders!"
Li Yan pondered for a moment.
"Oh, I was in too much of a hurry when I came back last time and forgot something. Your clansmen have been in the hidden space all this time. The space is ultimately limited. Do you need to bring some of them out to see the outside world?"
"In any case, this courtyard is quite large, and the spiritual energy is dense. But you can only bring out a portion. There is no power of extreme cold here like in the space, so the impact on your clansmen will be quite significant."
The Snow Mosquito Clan members were not very large. Even after reaching the second rank, a single room could hold dozens or even hundreds without a problem.
First-rank Snow Mosquitos could even rest by the thousands with ease. If that wasn't enough, with Li Yan's current status, what difficulty was there in assigning a few subsidiary peaks on Little Bamboo Peak?
After Li Yan finished speaking, a look of hesitation appeared on Qian Ji's face. He did indeed want to spend some time with his clansmen every so often.
However, those clansmen needed a place of extreme cold. Before reaching the third rank, if they left the extreme cold for too long, not only would their cultivation be affected, but even their lifespan would be reduced.
This was also one of the main reasons he had been willing to stay in the "Earthen Patch" for so long in the past.
"This... Master, after tomorrow, could you please send me back into that space to take a look? Just bring me out again after some time has passed."
After considering for a few breaths, Qian Ji still shook his head and refused. With Li Yan's Nascent Soul ceremony at hand, he naturally couldn't miss it.
A faint, unreadable smile appeared on Li Yan's face. He suddenly extended a finger and pointed at Qian Ji. A speck of yellow light instantly sank into Qian Ji's head.
Qian Ji was stunned, not understanding what had happened.
Then, he felt as if something had been added to his Sea of Consciousness, but he truly didn't understand what had happened.
"Master, you... you are..."
"Hehehe, from now on, as long as you are within five hundred zhang of me, you can enter and exit that space on your own! I can now open a Divine Sense illusory entrance."
"You have a contract with me, so you can pass through that illusory entrance without obstruction. Just now, I placed the imprint of the entrance into your Sea of Consciousness."
"It is in the depths of your Sea of Consciousness. If you sense it carefully, you will find it."
"When Zi Kun returns, I will also place the entrance imprint into his Sea of Consciousness. That way, you won't have to worry about the trouble of entering and exiting the space in the future."
Li Yan said with a smile.
When his cultivation reached the Nascent Soul stage, his understanding of the "Earthen Patch" space had improved tremendously, and he had further refined the "Earthen Patch."
Although Li Yan had not cultivated the rules of space, his control over the power of the Five Elements and his Divine Sense had far surpassed what it was before.
He could use the power of the world's Five Elements as a framework and his own Divine Sense as a guiding path to project a passage from the space he had refined to the outside world.
This passage was normally in a closed state. When Qian Ji and Zi Kun communicated with the imprint using their Divine Sense, they were actually communicating with Li Yan's Divine Sense, and the passage could be opened in an instant.
With Li Yan's current power, he could only maintain this passage within a range of five hundred zhang around his own body. Any further, and it could not be projected.
After a few breaths, Qian Ji finally reacted. A flash of joyful surprise appeared in his eyes, and he immediately sent his Divine Sense deep into his Sea of Consciousness.
At this moment, Li Yan's lips moved slightly again. Following Li Yan's guidance, Qian Ji finally discovered an imprint emitting a faint yellow light in a hidden part of his Sea of Consciousness.
Although he was shocked by Li Yan's methods, he also knew there was another reason: the contract between Li Yan and himself.
The moment he saw the yellow light imprint, a wisp of his Divine Sense covered it.
In the next moment, Qian Ji felt his vision blur. Then, he found himself standing at the foot of that familiar great mountain, treading on a patch of lush green grass, with dense spiritual energy swirling around him.
After confirming his surroundings, he did not linger. His Divine Sense communicated with the imprint again, and his vision blurred once more. He was back in the courtyard.
He only glanced around for a moment before his figure disappeared once again.
Li Yan watched Qian Ji come and go in an instant, merely smiling as he lifted his teacup and took a sip.
Inside the "Earthen Patch," Qian Ji finally confirmed that he could truly enter and exit this mysterious space freely.
Looking at the place he hadn't returned to in over a decade, Qian Ji felt a strange, indescribable feeling in his heart.
At this moment, he actually felt that this was his true home, no longer just a temporary residence. Once upon a time, he had been trapped here for decades, once in despair...
A few breaths later, Qian Ji's loud voice came from within the "Earthen Patch."
"Hahaha, this king has returned!"
Li Yan paid it no more mind. He slowly finished the water in his cup, stood up, walked to the back of the courtyard, and then soared into the air, disappearing from sight!
Even if Qian Ji wanted to come out at any moment, and he happened to be talking to someone else, he could instantly send him to any location within a few li without affecting himself.
After all, that illusory passage still had to be guided by Li Yan's Divine Sense. The first to know of any movement in the "Earthen Patch" would still be himself.
If he were in a dangerous situation, Li Yan could choose to open or close the passage to ensure that Qian Ji and the others in the "Earthen Patch" did not disrupt his plans.
...
Lord Lao Peak—Junlin Pavilion. This was a vast expanse of pavilions and towers, with small bridges over flowing water, the fragrance of various spirit plants and flowers filling the air, and spirit cranes dancing in the sky, circling and crying out.
This was the place where the Malevolent Spirit Sect received its outside guests. The halls and buildings were built against the mountain, layer upon layer. At the mountainside, clouds and mist swirled, drifting through the windows of the buildings, like a dream, truly giving the feeling of a celestial paradise.
The Junlin Pavilion occupied a huge area. The higher up the mountain one went, the more distinguished the status of the guests residing there.
At this moment, in the hall of a courtyard near the lower part of the mountainside, more than thirty people were gathered. There were old and young, men and women, with varying looks.
These people were whispering to each other in the hall. They were all from various major sects or cultivation families.
After receiving the invitation from the Malevolent Spirit Sect, each sect and family had sent people to attend the Nascent Soul ceremony. These were the cultivators who had arrived a day or two in advance.
They were then arranged to stay in the "Junlin Pavilion," waiting for the start of the Nascent Soul ceremony.
Among them was Arhat Yiye from the Jingtu Sect, who had arrived early, along with the disciples he had brought. However, the three major sects were all arranged to live in better places higher up the mountain.
The cultivators in this hall were some of the cultivators living nearby who had gathered here.
Now that the Nascent Soul ceremony had not yet begun, someone had already taken the lead to start a small trade fair. This was something cultivators loved the most, and also the reason they had arrived early.
If they were late for some treasures, they might have already been traded away by others.
It was rare to have so many cultivators of the same rank gathered together. Everyone had the potential to find a treasure they had been searching for for a thousand years.
At the same time, they could also exchange items they no longer needed. It was truly killing two birds with one stone.
In fact, there were seven or eight such small trade fairs currently being held in the "Junlin Pavilion" area. Most were gatherings of acquaintances who had called each other over.
In the hall, a white-bearded old man was smiling and talking in a low voice with a burly man beside him.
"Fellow Daoist Wang, do you know anything about that Senior Li? I am only more familiar with Senior Li Yuyin, but I am quite unfamiliar with Senior Li."
"And strangely, there is very little information about this senior circulating in the outside world. I wonder if you could enlighten me!"
The burly man, addressed as Fellow Daoist Wang, glanced around. Seeing that the others were also gathered in small groups of two or three, talking, no one was paying too much attention to them.
The people had not yet all arrived, and there was still some time before the trade fair began, so everyone was finding acquaintances to chat with.
"Hehe... Old ghost Fan, I was wondering why you were so enthusiastic in inviting me over as soon as I arrived. So it was to ask for information, hehehe..."
As the burly man said this, he pointed at the old man with a finger as thick as a carrot.
The old man, surnamed Fan, also chuckled.
"Fellow Daoist Wang, our friendship is not just a day or two old. It is because we are so familiar that I can be thick-skinned enough to ask."
"I have heard that you once stayed in the 'Green Bat Battalion' on Fengliang Mountain. I hope you will not be stingy with your teachings!"
The old man, surnamed Fan, did not hide his intentions. Which sect or family would not want to connect with a Nascent Soul cultivator? But Nascent Soul cultivators were mostly solitary in nature and disliked being disturbed.
Of course, one needed to know more detailed information about the other party to strike the right chord and cater to their tastes.
However, since learning of this Senior Li's Nascent Soul formation, the information the old man, surnamed Fan, had managed to gather about Li Yan was extremely scarce.
This person, Li Yan, had always been very low-key. Few cultivators outside knew him, and even portraits of him were rarely circulated.
The information the old man, surnamed Fan, had obtained was that Li Yan had also participated in the great battle of Fengliang Mountain and had stayed in the "Green Bat Battalion."
Upon seeing the Wang-surnamed cultivator today, he immediately remembered that this friend of his seemed to have joined the "Green Bat Battalion." At that time, he happened to have been transferred to another region, so he immediately called him over.
The two of them were already on good terms, and they had even cooperated briefly in the great war against the demons in the beginning. They could be considered to have shared some hardships together.
After hearing this, the burly Wang-surnamed man nodded, but he had already switched to voice transmission.
"Alright, it's just for you. If it were anyone else, I really wouldn't be willing to say it. Although what I'm about to say is no secret, it concerns a Nascent Soul senior. Saying too much will only bring harm, no good."
"I was indeed fortunate enough to have met this Senior Li at that time. He was the captain of our Green Sixteen Squad. He led us in defending 'Mutual Destruction Ridge'..."
The burly Wang-surnamed man quickly recounted the great battle at Mutual Destruction Ridge. In fact, even now, when he recalled that fierce battle, he still felt a lingering fear.
So many people had died that time. It was extremely fortunate that he had survived.
And in that battle, Li Yan had turned the tide with his own strength, killing eleven Demonic Soldiers of the same rank by himself, which had made everyone in their squad's jaws drop in shock.
Li Yan had even simultaneously drawn the attention of many other fierce Demonic Soldiers, holding out until the reinforcements from the rear arrived.
If not for Li Yan's divine courage in that battle, their Green Sixteen Squad would have been completely annihilated.
At the same time, among the low-voiced conversations of others, they were also more or less inquiring about this obscure Nascent Soul cultivator.
They all wanted to know what the other party liked, so as to better cater to their tastes.
"You're saying that the sudden backstabbing attack by the South Sea Nascent Soul cultivators from the rear was due to Senior Li's efforts? This... this... it's not that I doubt Senior Li's strength."
"But at that time, he was indeed just a Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could he influence the direction of such a major situation?"
"Believe it or not. You know I'm from the South Sea. Would I attribute such a good deed to a cultivator from another sect? Wouldn't it be better to place it on the Supreme Mystery Teachings?"
...
Elsewhere.
"...Do you all know about the demons' 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder'?"
"Of course we know about that. I've heard that thing can even kill Nascent Soul cultivators. But what does that have to do with Senior Li?"
"Hehehe... then do you know why, after using the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder' at the very beginning, the demons didn't use those life-taking weapons again until the very final battle, even when they were defeated and fleeing?"
"What you're implying is that it's related to Senior Li, isn't it? He stole the 'Heaven-Shaking Thunder'?"
"That kind of treasure must be heavily guarded. It would be an understatement to have a large number of Demonic Lords guarding it. There should be a Demonic General-level expert guarding it. Senior Li should have only been a low-level cultivator at that time..."
"You might not believe it if I tell you. He didn't steal it, but it was indeed Senior Li who blew it to pieces with 'Mie Linglong'..."
"Are you talking about the 'Mie Linglong' refined by Senior Qian? Senior Li used this item alone to blow up the treasure storage place, hehehe... a bit too fantastic..."
"..."
"Even if Senior Li had the 'Mie Linglong,' you still can't explain how he got close to such a heavily guarded demon stronghold. Just the Demonic Lords alone would probably..."
...
Yet another place.
"This Senior Li fell into the Devil's Cliff Crevice back then. For nearly a hundred years after that, there was no news of him. It wasn't until Li Wuyi's wedding ceremony that he suddenly reappeared..."
For a time, many people in the hall were whispering about Li Yan. On the contrary, there was less talk about Li Yuyin.