On the White Jade Skiff, Gong Chenying was still sitting cross-legged in a corner, recovering with her eyes closed. But her face and jade-like neck were still flushed.
Li Yan was still standing at the bow, controlling the flying skiff. From time to time, his gaze would fall on the stunningly-figured jade-like person. But whenever his gaze fell on Gong Chenying, Gong Chenying's long eyelashes would clearly tremble once.
'He, how has he become like this? Is this affection? Bah...' Gong Chenying was secretly annoyed. With her cultivation, how could she not feel the gaze from the outside? But at this moment, she could only keep her eyes tightly shut, but she was unable to enter a meditative state for a long time. And to make matters worse, Li Yan seemed to be extremely bored, looking at her every so often. This made her heart race, and her mind began to wander.
With Gong Chenying's composure, once the shackles of emotion were broken, she was no different from an ordinary girl in the spring of her youth. Not to mention that she had already identified Li Yan as the only man in her life. She had become as sentimental as an ordinary girl. This situation would have been impossible for her in the past. Her goal had always been to fulfill that wish in her heart. Everything else had long since been shut out. As her mind wandered, for a time, she even forgot about whether there was anything between Li Yan and Zhao Min, leaving only a heart full of gains and losses.
How could she have known that at this moment, Li Yan had no other thoughts at all? His frequent turning back was to constantly confirm his position so that they could advance toward the center in as straight a line as possible. To move quickly and reduce their target profile, the White Jade Skiff had been shrunk to only about a zhang in size. Li Yan was at the front, Gong Chenying at the back. Seeing Gong Chenying meditating with her eyes closed, Li Yan naturally had to release his full Divine Sense and constantly scan the surroundings to prevent any sudden changes. Of course, after a while, he would also turn his head to look. With the two of them so close, it would have been strange if his gaze didn't sweep past Gong Chenying. But for Gong Chenying, who had already accepted the person designated by her clan's rules, this felt different.
As he controlled the flying skiff, Li Yan was thinking about what had just happened. The matter of attacking Wang Lang had been a sudden idea of his. After Wang Lang had discovered them, a flash of inspiration had come to Li Yan, and he had transmitted to Gong Chenying that he could hide in the dark, oppressive shadow behind them and wait for an opportunity to launch a sneak attack.
Hearing Li Yan's transmission, Gong Chenying had been startled. She had thought Li Yan had been possessed and was about to get up to check his body. Li Yan had promptly stopped her unusual behavior. He knew that Wang Lang's Divine Sense was firmly locked on the two of them. Li Yan had already prepared his excuse and had once again brought up his Fragmented Poison Body. Anyway, this excuse had worked every time. And he had implicitly shown his right arm to Gong Chenying. This had left Gong Chenying dumbfounded, a sense of unreality rising in her heart. But Li Yan had looked so certain, and the disappearance of the entire sleeve was indeed not like it had been torn off. But she really didn't know that the Fragmented Poison Body was so ridiculously powerful.
And Li Yan had, at the right time, as if unconsciously, controlled the White Jade Skiff to draw close to the dark shadow on one side. Under Li Yan's pointed gaze, Gong Chenying had seen him extend his left hand and point toward the center of the region, as if he were saying something. His right hand had quietly extended a finger. Then, he had suddenly made the White Jade Skiff swerve, as if in his emotional conversation with her, the skiff had accidentally gotten too close to the thick dark shadow under the sky, and he had to quickly avoid it. And to Gong Chenying's disbelief, as the White Jade Skiff had swerved, Li Yan's quietly extended finger had quickly reached into the dark shadow and then pulled back. This was done extremely covertly, and with the large gesture of Li Yan's other hand, he believed he had attracted Wang Lang's Divine Sense's attention.
It was this one reach and retreat that Gong Chenying had seen very clearly. In addition, with Wang Lang's rapid approach, Gong Chenying herself was not an indecisive person. Gritting her teeth, she had agreed to Li Yan's idea.
Li Yan was not shooting arrows without a target. He knew that Wang Lang behind them was also heavily injured. Otherwise, even with a hundred more guts, he would not have dared to launch a sneak attack on a Foundation Establishment master.
What Li Yan didn't know was that after he had made this decision, if he hadn't come out of the dark shadow again, Gong Chenying had decided to drag Wang Lang down with her to their deaths. As for the wish in her heart, she could only give it up. She couldn't achieve perfection in everything, so she would do what she thought she should do at the moment, according to her own heart's desire. Who knows what Li Yan would have felt if he knew Gong Chenying had had such thoughts.
The result was just as the two of them had expected. Wang Lang had thought the two of them had a conflict of opinion, and that in his pursuit, Gong Chenying had gotten angry and thrown the meddlesome Qi Condensation disciple into the giant dark shadow, and then was about to pilot the skiff and escape on her own. Then, Gong Chenying had first shown weakness, only using a portion of her strength. The moment Wang Lang had let his guard down, she had suddenly erupted with her full strength, forcing him toward Li Yan's position. All this was simple to say, but extremely difficult in practice. Gong Chenying had to hide her strength on the one hand, and ensure her own safety on the other. She also had to ensure that the battlefield did not get too far from the dark shadow during the fight. When Wang Lang had started to think about using brute force to defeat a body cultivator, Gong Chenying knew her chance had come. After a powerful strike, she had launched a continuous storm of attacks, with the aim of forcing Wang Lang, who had lost the initiative, to continuously retreat with her attacks. If Li Yan could really stay in the dark shadow, he would naturally be constantly adjusting his position to get closer. In the end, she had finally forced Wang Lang to within about ten meters of the dark shadow.
As her heart pounded, Li Yan had indeed, just as they had planned, launched a surprise attack from the dark shadow, unharmed. Only then did her racing heart calm down. If Wang Lang had retreated another step or two, he would have definitely been alerted to the dark shadow behind him. Even with his vigilance toward this terrifying dark shadow, he would have definitely moved sideways to avoid it. If Li Yan had not appeared then, Gong Chenying had planned to directly use a wide-open fighting style, forcing Wang Lang to be unable to advance, and in the end, she would have even used her own body to ram him into the dark shadow.
Thinking of these things, a smile appeared on Li Yan's lips. Then he thought of the red light that Wang Lang had swallowed when he fled. This medicine must be an extremely overpowering pill. It could instantly restore Wang Lang's aura to an excellent state. It was just that this pill probably couldn't last long. Otherwise, Wang Lang would have definitely turned back to kill Gong Chenying first. It seemed that Wang Lang had to pay a heavy price for such a pill, either a great loss of essence blood or a drop in his realm. This could be seen from the fact that Wang Lang, despite his heavy injuries before, had never taken this red light. Once he took it, he had to end the battle or escape in a short time. Otherwise, he would be so weak that even walking might be difficult.
'I just don't know if that red light was really a pill, and what kind of pill it was. If I could have such a red light, in a crisis, even if I had to pay a heavy price, it would be better than paying with my life. Heh heh, but so what if he did? Can he withstand the 'Maggot on the Bone' poison?' Thinking of this, a sinister smile appeared on Li Yan's face. It was just that this smile had a different meaning in someone's Divine Sense. It made her grind her silver teeth. If Li Yan knew what his smile would cause, he would surely have banged his head on the ground.
'This damned person, after looking at me, actually showed such an evil smile.' Gong Chenying couldn't help but associate it with Li Yan's evil gaze when he had looked at her when she was almost half-naked.
And the tragic Li Yan was still thinking about his own affairs. 'The 'Maggot on the Bone' poison I put on the sword, in the previous rain screen art, any spirit artifact or spirit treasure that came into contact with it would have its spiritual nature almost completely corroded. Lu Qiutong's six spirit beads also turned into six gray lumps in the end. Is Wang Lang's flesh and blood stronger than a spirit treasure?'
...
Wang Lang only felt his back begin to go numb, and slowly, he lost all feeling. The heart-rending pain from before had already begun to disappear. He was desperately pouring the last of his spiritual power into his flying sword, flying recklessly toward the central metal sphere. The red light that had shot into his mouth at the end was indeed a pill. It was just that this pill was something Wang Lang was completely unwilling to take. But the moment a sharp blade pierced his back, he felt a strong sense of life-and-death crisis wash over him. This was a feeling he had never had since he began to cultivate the Dao. It was as if if he hesitated for another moment, he would immediately be turned to ash and annihilated from this world. Under this strong sense of life-and-death crisis, he had, without any hesitation, taken out a pill that he had never thought he would use—the "Foundation-Borrowing Pill." The name of this pill was similar to the "Foundation Establishment Pill," but its efficacy was completely different. The "Foundation-Borrowing Pill" borrowed the power of life, transforming it into the foundation of the body as needed. For half an hour, it could prevent all harm. Unless one's head was cut off and their primordial spirit was destroyed, they would be safe. But all this was obtained at the cost of burning one's life.
At this moment, if anyone were to meet Wang Lang, they would not be able to recognize him at all. Where was the handsome, dashing, and elegant young master? In just the past half an incense stick's time, Wang Lang had transformed from a young man in his twenties to a weather-beaten middle-aged man in his forties. And his face was still rapidly aging at a visible rate. The skin on his body had also begun to turn from smooth to rough, and it was withering away.
The "Foundation-Borrowing Pill" he had taken was something he had obtained years ago when he had killed an evil cultivator from the Blood God Sect. He had wanted to sell it for Spirit Stones, but after some thought, he had kept it just in case. But he had never thought he would use this pill. With his talent, forming a Golden Core and a Nascent Soul in the future would be a smooth path. His strength would also soar. The chances of him encountering a life-and-death situation were extremely small. So, he had forgotten about this pill. It was only when he was organizing his storage bag before entering the secret realm this time that he had found this pill again and had brought it with him.
At this moment, the rapidly flying Wang Lang was still holding a longsword in one hand. It was just that the body of this sword had already turned a grayish-brown, without a trace of spiritual energy, as if it had entered its twilight years even earlier than Wang Lang. But Wang Lang was gripping this longsword tightly, the anger in his heart burning hotter and hotter. The moment he had pulled this longsword, which had been inserted a few inches into his back, out, he had recognized it at a glance. This longsword was something that his junior brother Miao Zhengyi had nurtured in his Sword Case.
'They actually killed Junior Brother Miao, and even took his Sword Case. The one who attacked from the dark shadow must be that Qi Condensation disciple from the Malevolent Spirit Sect. But how could they hide in the dark shadow? How did they do it? Could it be that Junior Brother Miao and the others were ambushed and killed in the same way, without realizing it?'
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration passed through Wang Lang's mind. He thought of the anomaly he and Quan Jiuxing had encountered in the trial, and his face changed drastically. 'Could it be that the Malevolent Spirit Sect has obtained more secrets of the secret realm than our three sects? Damn it, who was the one who ambushed me? What other secrets do the others have? All this must be reported to the sect.'
As he flew and thought, he only felt his body becoming more and more disobedient. And the life force borrowed by the "Foundation-Borrowing Pill" was also fading at an unbelievable speed. If this continued, he wouldn't even last half an hour. His life would come to an end. In his urgency, how could he have time to think about these things? He flew even more crazily toward the center. There was only one thought in his mind: to send this information out. It was just that his figure was becoming more and more shaky in the air. No matter what method Wang Lang used to suppress the deadly poison that had entered from his back, it was all in vain. He only felt that if not for the protection of the "Foundation-Borrowing Pill," his internal organs would have long since been corroded to ash by this poison. Even so, he felt that his organs were about to turn into gray stones.
'What in the world is this poison?'