Hearing everything Li Yan said, even the usually stern and extremely rigid Elder Peng's face showed emotion. He asked in shock, if what Li Yan said was all true, then this disciple's actions this time were simply too astonishing.
Even Gong Chenying's expression was a bit dazed. Many of the things Li Yan spoke of were unknown to her. Li Yan had only briefly mentioned some of it after healing her, without going into detail.
However, Li Yan had still omitted some things. If he had let them know that he had also gravely injured a second-tier, peak-stage Skypiercing Celestial Bull and triggered the restrictions on the red wall to kill many first-tier demonic cultivators, one could only wonder what they would think.
Li Yan hadn't wanted to say anything, but the matter of Miao Zhengyi's death and Wang Lang's severe injuries had been personally witnessed by Gan Shi and Gong Chenying. Most importantly, Wang Lang himself was not yet dead. If he woke up, the matter of the sneak attack from the black shadow would be impossible to keep secret. These things were also related to why Gong Chenying had left Mei Bucai and the others behind, so it was better to just say it.
Considering the relationship between the Supreme Mystery Teachings and the Ten-Pace Courtyard , he decided to also reveal the matter of Wang Lang and Quan Jiuxing meeting up, along with the secrets they had disclosed at the time. The sect had to know what those two had said.
"And about the secret of the Wheel of Life and Death that you said Quan Jiuxing and Wang Lang discovered—this matter ends here. Do not spread it. Do you understand?" Before Li Yan could answer, Elder Peng thought for a moment and instructed Li Yan with a solemn expression.
After a short pause, Elder Peng continued, "Including the deaths of those Foundation Establishment cultivators, do not mention it to anyone besides Wei Zhongran . Otherwise, those three sects will definitely put you on their kill list. As for Wang Lang, even if he wakes up, the Ten-Pace Courtyard will likely keep the matter of you being able to enter that fatal black shadow in the sky a strict secret. They might even issue a gag order. Not even the Supreme Mystery Teachings and the Pure Land Sect will know about this. Besides, Wang Lang didn't even see clearly whether the one who ambushed him was a human, a demon, or some unknown creature."
Li Yan listened and nodded silently. How could he want to be constantly targeted by three colossal powers?
After speaking, Elder Peng also glanced at Gong Chenying. "You too. Do you understand?"
Gong Chenying was still in a state of astonishment. Hearing his words, she raised her beautiful head and nodded dazedly.
"Good. After Baili Yuan and Gan Shi's groups all come out, I will issue a gag order myself. But you said you could enter that fatal black shadow. How can you be so sure?" Elder Peng pondered for a moment before raising a question that could not be ignored. The other elders had been staring at Li Yan ever since he started speaking and had not interrupted Elder Peng. On this trip, they all deferred to Elder Peng's lead.
Li Yan had known this question would come. He could fudge some things about this trip, but other things were a bit of a stretch. However, Elder Peng's question was very easy to answer.
A look of fear and lingering terror appeared on Li Yan's face. He licked his lips. "How would your nephew dare to test those fatal black shadows? It was all discovered by accident. At that time, after I came out from Senior Brother Baili's side, I was drawn into the final trial and began searching for them. After searching for a while, I happened to see Wang Lang strike and send the injured Senior Sister Six flying. Seeing that Senior Sister Six was about to fall into that boundless black shadow, I wanted to block her momentum from the side. Who knew that the result would be me overestimating my own strength? Even an injured Wang Lang's strike was not something I could block. When I blocked Senior Sister Six's momentum, I myself was knocked back into the fatal black shadow first. My back was already touching the edge of the shadow. In extreme pain, I threw Senior Sister Six out, and then I poured all my strength into my right arm and struck the ground behind me. Using the rebound force, I managed to escape that black shadow. At the time, I thought I was dead for sure. Who knew that after I fell to the ground, apart from the clothes on my back and right arm disappearing into the shadow and a burst of intense pain, I was fine. Wang Lang didn't even notice this action." As Li Yan spoke, the fear on his face deepened.
After hearing Li Yan's account, Elder Peng and the others couldn't help but look at his clothes.
"Oh, those clothes are gone. Later, when I ambushed Wang Lang, I risked entering the black shadow again, and all my clothes were corroded away," Li Yan said. His dark face actually felt a little hot, but since his skin was dark, it wasn't obvious.
Elder Peng and the others had a sudden realization. Before, Gong Chenying had only glossed over her injuries without going into detail. Li Yuyin, however, let her captivating eyes roam over Gong Chenying, a strange smile on her face. From Gong Chenying's few simple words before and Li Yan's description now, she sensed a different meaning in it.
At this moment, Gong Chenying's expression was somewhat complicated. She hadn't known about this before. She only knew that Li Yan had saved her, and at the time, all her attention was on that miraculous pill and her navel ring . She really hadn't known that Li Yan had once touched that terrifying black shadow to save her. Only now did she remember Li Yan's tattered robe, his bare right arm and back. For a moment, a mix of emotions welled up in her heart. An inexplicable sense of being moved arose, and her nose tingled.
'If he didn't have the Fragmented Poison Body, he would have died then. And I would have been killed off by that Wang Lang while I was unconscious, and would never have known about this. He had already traded his life for mine once for my sake. Is this fate? The elders in my clan often say that the navel ring is one's life ring, that only the 'age' who comes singing a mountain song on a boat should see it. So those legends are true. This mountain song must be a love song of blood-fused affection.' For a moment, Gong Chenying's thoughts flew to her hometown, to the stories her grandmother often told her as a child, of an 'age' and an 'amei' standing amidst the clear waters and beautiful mountains, seeing through the dense mist as a melodious song came under the stars. (TN: 'age' and 'amei' are terms for young men and women, often used romantically, in some minority cultures.)
But when several gazes landed on her, she instantly became much more clear-headed. Her heart raced, and with a blush on her face, she quickly nodded and said in a voice so low it was almost inaudible, "Yes. After he pushed me out, the back of his robe and his entire right arm were corroded away."
But when this expression fell into the eyes of the elders, they couldn't help but smile knowingly, a strange thought arising in their hearts. 'No wonder this girl spoke so briefly about her fight with Wang Lang and her injuries. So this was the reason. It really is a bit difficult to talk about.' They all thought of the same thing: when Li Yan was blocking Gong Chenying's momentum, the two of them must have had skin-to-skin contact. How could an unmarried woman speak of such a thing? No wonder the girl's face turned beet red when Li Yan mentioned it.
These elders were all cunning old foxes. How could they continue to press on this matter? With a slight nod, Elder Yi of Four Symbols Peak spoke again, "Li Yan, when you touched that fatal black shadow, besides the intense pain, did you feel anything else?" He took this matter very seriously. In his view, this was even more useful than the three sects' green gourds. Who knew if the Wheel of Life and Death would be opened again in the future.
"I'm curious too. That fatal black shadow devours all things. All the records preserved by the sect state this without exception," Li Yuyin said, batting her large eyes at Li Yan, which only added to his pressure.
The others were, of course, also very concerned about this and all looked at Li Yan with burning gazes.
But at this moment, Li Yan's face showed a blank expression. He first shook his head, then, as if remembering something, he nodded again. "I remember now. After touching the black shadow, the intense pain shot directly into my body and churned. The Fragmented Poison Body inside me seemed to become very active, uncontrollably roaming throughout my body. Thinking back now, it seems that wherever it went, the intense pain eased a lot."
How could Li Yan not be clever? On this matter, he couldn't feign complete ignorance, nor could he seem to understand it too well. He had to ultimately push the reason onto his Fragmented Poison Body . Otherwise, if he knew nothing, it would be hard to justify, and it wasn't out of the question that these people would cut him open to have a look when they got back.
As soon as Li Yan said these words, Elder Yi and the others nodded, not at all surprised. They had had some suspicions before. If there was any secret about this Li Yan, it was his Fragmented Poison Body .
"Your Fragmented Poison Body is truly remarkable. Not only is it so incredible, but even your cultivation actually..." Just as Elder Yi was about to press further, a dazzling five-colored light flared up from the central spherical mountain, instantly interrupting their conversation. They all looked through the light shield toward it.
At the same time, the crowds on the surrounding peaks once again erupted.
"They're coming out! They're coming out! More people are coming out!"
"I wonder who will come out this time?"
"It's been almost half an hour since the last group came out. I don't know if it's the top three, or other teams from behind."
"Not a single person from the demonic cultivators or the Pure Land Sect came out just now. If there's still no one this time, it'll be embarrassing," someone said with schadenfreude.
On the peak where the Malevolent Spirit Sect stood, Elder Peng had already removed the light shield, and everyone's gaze was fixed on the patch of five-colored light at the center.
That mass of five-colored light was extremely dazzling. After the light slowly dissipated, a large team of demonic cultivators appeared before everyone's eyes. In the lead were none other than Jin Chuiyan and Wu Wu'an . Behind each of them were more than a dozen first-tier demonic beasts. But at this moment, the two demons' faces were incomparably grim. The moment the light dissipated, their gazes immediately swept their surroundings. Seeing no one else on the spherical mountain, the two demons were stunned. Then, they immediately turned their gazes to the peak where the Malevolent Spirit Sect stood, their eyes filled with anger. But to their disappointment, they did not see the people they wanted to see. This discovery only made the two demons' eyes gleam with ferocity. They had been teleported out first. It seemed the teleportation was in ascending order, from lowest to highest rank.
Seeing no one, the two demons shot another fierce glare at the Malevolent Spirit Sect's side. Without speaking to each other, they each led their team of demonic cultivators and flew toward their respective clans. But as they ascended, both demons left behind a sentence.
"Has Baili Yuan of the Malevolent Spirit Sect not come out yet? When there is time, I, Jin, would like to test my skills against him again."
"I, Wu, would also like to ask for some pointers from Brother Baili and Brother Gan."
After speaking, the two demons departed directly, but anyone could hear the hatred in their words.
"Why did these two teams of demonic cultivators come out at the same time? And it seems the Malevolent Spirit Sect made a great enemy of these two demons inside."
"To be hated by two clans of demonic cultivators at the same time, what on earth did Baili Yuan and Gan Shi of the Malevolent Spirit Sect do? Did they kill their close junior relatives?"
"Hey, hey, hey, did you hear that? The meaning behind their words is clearly that Baili Yuan and Gan Shi of the Malevolent Spirit Sect are still alive."
"That's right! That's exactly what it means! But these two demonic cultivator teams came out at the same time. Does this teleportation mean they got a rank, or not?"
"In my opinion, this probably isn't the teleportation for the top three. Otherwise, how could two teams be teleported out at the same time?" The appearance of the two demons had only caused a brief silence. After they left, the discussions around them started up again.
The Malevolent Spirit Sect cultivators, however, had joyful expressions. They had, of course, also heard the other meaning in the two demons' words. As for asking for pointers and the like, they didn't take it to heart at all.