"Tian... Brother, don't do anything rash. Killing a fellow sect member is punishable by death," Zuo Shengyan said, her face pale with fright after hearing Wang Tian's words. She quickly glanced around and whispered.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't go that far. He's not worthy of my life, at least not yet. But if he were to be accidentally killed by an opponent, and my rescue was delayed, or if he was heavily injured and crippled, what has that to do with me? At the same time, when we enter the secret realm harvest, I'll have to have a chat with those few from Little Bamboo Peak."
Zuo Shengyan was relieved to hear the first half of Wang Tian's sentence. The Malevolent Spirit Sect's rules against harming fellow sect members were extremely strict. But when she heard the second half, her heart leaped into her throat again. She didn't think there would be any chance of a fortunate outcome if Wang Tian were to make a sinister move. But seeing how much Wang Tian cared for her, she couldn't bring herself to persuade him further.
In the following matches, Li Yan's luck was truly enviable. He actually drew another mid-stage tenth-layer Qi Condensation opponent. Logically speaking, at this final stage of the competition, those who remained were all very powerful opponents. The disciples below the late-stage of Qi Condensation were all disciples with unique techniques or astonishing talents. And of course, there was Li Yan, the only freak below the eighth layer of Qi Condensation.
After the two entered the stage, Li Yan still used that same annoying turtle-shell combination: the Water Screen Art plus "Maggot on the Bone," followed by the impossible-to-defend-against "Flirtatious Glance," and occasionally the silent, oxygen-depleting "Branches of the Same Breath." This made his opponent curse Li Yan for being shameless, but he just couldn't break through that rain screen. In the end, under a moment of carelessness, he was hit by "Flirtatious Glance," his eyes turning pure white as he madly attacked his own Gu-insects.
This made the cultivators who had slowly begun to learn the names of these deadly poisons like "Maggot on the Bone," "Flirtatious Glance," "Branches of the Same Breath," and "Lovesickness Under the Moon" gnash their teeth in hatred, and also slowly made these few poisons infamous.
After four days and five nights, the Qi Condensation competition finally came to a close. Li Yan, with three wins and one loss in the final round, entered the top one hundred and eight. As for his ranking, it was still not determined, but he figured he was likely near the bottom.
After everyone dispersed, Li Yan also returned to Little Bamboo Peak and resumed his diligent life of missions in the Spirit Plant Garden and cultivation. Of course, the so-called "feeding of moves" would no longer happen. Everyone had their own cultivation to attend to, and Li Yan also had many things from this competition to digest. Through this competition, Li Yan not only learned a lot about the practical application of immortal arts but also gained a small bit of fame. This made it so that whether he was accepting missions in the Little Bamboo Peak Mission Hall or doing missions in the Spirit Plant Garden, more people would greet him. Some called him "Martial Uncle," and many called him "Junior Brother." This allowed him to get to know a group of cultivators he had only passed by before. But he still did not leave Little Bamboo Peak, nor did he accept the other two types of missions on Little Bamboo Peak. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that there were only a few months left until the secret realm harvest. His cultivation took up a large amount of time, so for missions, he could only accept the ones he was most familiar with, the ones that were the most reliable for earning Spirit Stones.
The days flew by in this busy routine. One early morning, Li Yan was meditating with his eyes closed when he suddenly felt a change in the token at his waist. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down to see the token at his waist flashing with white light. He released his Divine Sense, and after a moment, he stood up. Amidst a roiling cloud of mist, he opened the formation of his small courtyard and walked out.
Walking on the small path, Li Yan thought as he walked, 'The secret realm harvest has finally arrived. The fortune or misfortune of this trip is hard to predict.' Although he hadn't been out for many days, when he had gone to accept a mission some time ago, he had clearly felt that there were far fewer people coming to do missions. This meant that many people had already entered their final seclusion to make a final push for the secret realm harvest and the Wheel of Life and Death. Just now, Li Wuyi had sent a voice transmission through the token asking him to gather at the main hall ahead. It was likely for this matter.
Before long, he arrived in front of the main hall. Li Yan walked in and looked up. At this time, Li Wuyi, Wei Chituo, Gong Chenying, and Miao Wangqing were already sitting there. Li Yan cupped his hands and bowed to them all. "Greetings, Senior Brothers and Sisters."
Li Wuyi smiled and nodded at him. Wei Chituo pointed to the empty seat beside him, motioning for Li Yan to sit. Gong Chenying remained as cold and beautiful as ever, just giving a slight nod. Miao Wangqing's large eyes, however, were darting around.
"Little Junior Brother, I haven't seen you in a few months. You've grown even more handsome," Miao Wangqing said.
"Fourth Senior Sister, you must be used to seeing dashing gentlemen, so you find my darkness unique," Li Yan said with a faint smile as he walked toward Wei Chituo, responding to Miao Wangqing's words. What did his ordinary appearance, which would be hard to find in a crowd, have to do with the word 'handsome'? If it were a comparison of darkness, probably only Second Senior Brother among all the senior brothers was somewhat similar to him. He now knew everyone's temperament, so he spoke much more casually.
"Little Junior Brother, I heard that Junior Sister Min sometimes comes to look for you. Is that true?" Miao Wangqing asked, not refuting Li Yan's words.
"Oh, Junior Sister... Min?" Li Yan's steps faltered. He tilted his head and thought for a moment, then looked at Miao Wangqing. "You mean Senior Sister Zhao Min? I have indeed seen her twice recently." As he said this, Li Yan felt his heart beat uncontrollably faster, and his face felt a little hot. He was no longer a young boy, and he liked the feeling of talking with Zhao Min under the moonlight. This made him, at times when he shouldn't have gone to the platform on the mountainside to practice immortal arts, still make a trip there as the sky was getting dark, hoping to run into that graceful figure.
With this, not only Miao Wangqing was looking at him, but the others also turned to stare at Li Yan. Fortunately, although Li Yan's skin was not as dark as when he first arrived, its essence was still there, and it hadn't changed too much. They didn't see the slightly flushed expression on Li Yan's face. In their eyes, Li Yan had just tilted his head and thought for a moment, then looked at Miao Wangqing with a calm expression.
"Oh, this is quite strange. Little Junior Brother usually rarely talks to people, and Junior Sister Min rarely interacts with men." Miao Wangqing still looked at Li Yan with a strange expression. Li Yan then noticed that even the usually cold and intimidating Sixth Senior Sister was also looking at him with a strange gaze, which made him feel a little flustered.
"What's wrong? She just wants to hear about some things from the mortal world, so she sometimes comes and asks me to tell her about them. Is there a problem?" Li Yan said.
"Oh, that does make some sense," Li Wuyi chimed in at this moment. The others also withdrew their gazes, half-convinced.
"Is there something wrong with this Senior Sister Min?" Li Yan looked at Li Wuyi. He had always wanted to know more about this somewhat mysterious and beautiful senior sister with an androgynous beauty, but he had been too embarrassed to ask directly. This matter had been weighing on his heart, and now was a good opportunity to ask.
"Oh, not at all. Junior Sister Min is very well. Since she is willing to talk to you, you should interact with her more in the future," Li Wuyi said, not answering Li Yan's question, but just giving a cryptic and encouraging-like statement.
Li Yan had already sat down, still feeling that these people's expressions were a bit strange. Before he could ask again, the light at the door darkened, and two more people walked in. One was tightly hugging the other's neck, while the other was trying hard to break free but couldn't. Li Yan could only close his mouth. He looked up and couldn't help but shake his head. Who else could it be but his Fifth Senior Brother Wen Xinliang hugging Lin Daqiao, who had an unwilling look on his face.
"Yo, all the senior brothers and sisters are here," Wen Xinliang said, looking up with a smile on his fair face. After not seeing him for a few months, Wen Xinliang had become even fairer, with a deeper trace of gloominess in his fairness. This was the first time Li Yan had seen this Fifth Senior Brother in several months. He had heard that he had been in seclusion. It seemed that this proud Fifth Senior Brother's spirit had been frustrated in the last Foundation Establishment battle, and he had become even more diligent. Now, the aura on his body was clearly much more solid. Although Li Yan couldn't tell if he was heading toward the peak of the early stage of Foundation Establishment, he could still feel that his aura was stronger than before.
"Little Junior Brother is here too. It was a bit improper of me not to go and cheer you on," Wen Xinliang said, his eyes narrowing when he saw Li Yan. Then he walked over, still hugging the struggling Lin Daqiao.
"Greetings, Fifth Senior Brother. What are you talking about? That was the best time to comprehend the insights after a battle. Although I am not talented, I can feel that Fifth Senior Brother's aura is indeed much stronger. Congratulations, Junior Brother."
Li Yan stood up unhurriedly, and as he spoke, he made a gesture of invitation with his hand, giving up his seat.
"Alright, sit down, sit down," Wen Xinliang said with a smile on his face, letting go of Lin Daqiao. Lin Daqiao quickly pulled Li Yan to the other side and sat down. Li Wuyi looked at this Fifth Senior Brother and shook his head. This Fifth Junior Brother was good to his fellow disciples, but he just had a roguish air about him.
Lin Daqiao pulled Li Yan to sit down, a bitter look on his face. "Little Junior Brother, when I entered the sect, it was Fifth Senior Brother who brought me in. He was already very mischievous then... I wanted to come quietly today, but as soon as I opened my courtyard gate, he was standing there..." He began to talk nonstop, while looking at Wen Xinliang with some dissatisfaction. At this time, Wen Xinliang was half-lying in his chair, not sitting properly at all, his head tilted as he chatted with Wei Chituo in a desultory manner.
Before long, Yun Chunqu also hurried over, looking travel-worn, with quite a few bloodstains on his clothes. It looked as if he had just rushed back from outside.
Seeing everyone had arrived, Li Wuyi gave Yun Chunqu an extra look but didn't ask much. He directly spoke, "I've called you all here this time. I believe you junior brothers and sisters have all guessed what it's about. The secret realm harvest begins today. But there is still no news from Teacher and Martial Mother's seclusion. So this time, Little Bamboo Peak will still be represented by me, Second Brother, Third Brother, Sixth Sister, and Eighth Brother. It should start in at most two hours. The affairs of the peak will be handled by Fourth Sister. The Mission Hall and mission sites will be looked after by Fifth Brother, Seventh Brother, and the three martial nephews. If there are no objections, let's set off now."
After Wuyi spoke a few brief sentences, he looked at the crowd. Miao Wangqing sighed. It seemed she would have to preside over the peak's affairs for a while again. She couldn't help but feel dissatisfied with their Teacher. Why not recruit a few more disciples? Wen Xinliang shrugged indifferently, and Lin Daqiao also nodded in agreement.
The secret realm harvest usually lasted for a month, and this time, the Wheel of Life and Death was added. Thus, someone naturally needed to stay behind to guard the peak. Seeing that the arrangements were in order, Li Wuyi immediately stood up. For such a major sect event, they couldn't be too late. This was also why he had gathered everyone in the morning. But it still took quite some time for everyone to assemble.
Actually, apart from Li Yan, everyone else already had a good idea of what was going on. They were not surprised that Wei Zhongran had not come out of seclusion. After reaching the Foundation Establishment realm, it was normal to be in seclusion for half a year or more. For Golden Core cultivators, it was calculated in years; three, five, or ten years were all possible. And they had also guessed who would be responsible for what in handling the peak's affairs.
With that, Li Wuyi led the way out. Li Yan and the other four followed, while Miao Wangqing and the other two stayed behind to discuss the peak's affairs. Outside, Li Wuyi waved his right hand, and the flying Great Scroll appeared. In a few breaths, it had grown to four or five zhang in size, floating quietly about two zhang off the ground. Li Wuyi beckoned to them and flew up first. Li Yan and the other four also took to the air. Although Li Yan couldn't fly in the Qi Condensation realm, a short glide was no problem.
Looking at the scenery flying by below, Li Yan was stunned. This Great Scroll was actually not flying toward Lord Lao Peak, but toward the summit of Little Bamboo Peak. The place they had just passed by was the location of the Mission Hall. But he immediately remembered what Lin Daqiao had said before. The secret realm harvest had two passages, one in the Ten-Pace Courtyard and one in the Malevolent Spirit Sect, and it was on the halfway point of Little Bamboo Peak, the place guarded by that bad-tempered stone stele. It seemed there was no need to gather at Lord Lao Peak.
As expected, after a dozen or so breaths, they landed on that spacious, wide platform. Li Yan looked over and was stunned to see that many people were already standing there, about one hundred and fifty of them. From their attire, they were all cultivators of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. There weren't many people, but it was clear that only the cultivators participating in the secret realm harvest and the Wheel of Life and Death, as well as some supervising elders, had come. Judging by the number of people here, they were late.