Chapter 263: Bian Yanshan

Xiao Yuansi laughed heartily, shaking his head repeatedly. "Everyone talks about the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, how it connects the celestial and terrestrial realms—manifesting as various spiritual energies in the sky and as underground ley lines and fiery abysses on the ground. This isn't something that can be resolved by simply flying up to fight. The spiritual energy is intricately linked with the ley lines; touching one affects the whole system. If you've studied array formations, you'd know it's not that simple."

"Back when the Three Sects and Seven Gates besieged Li Jiangqun, they fought for three days and three nights. Li Jiangqun, a mere Purple Mansion cultivator, wielded a green saber that none dared oppose. Fighting against multiple adversaries, he still managed to sever the ley lines and spiritual energy flow in the northern foothills of Moon Lake, which only slowly recovered over nearly a century. This gives you a glimpse of his power. If Li Jiangqun's actions had such an impact, wouldn't cultivators at the Golden Core stage cause heaven and earth to tremble?"

Li Tongya nodded in sudden understanding, sighing, "Golden Core... I wonder how many people, how many lives, how many years it takes to cultivate that."

Xiao Yuansi let out a sarcastic chuckle, opening his mouth as if to speak but then silently swallowing his words. He simply replied, "The Golden Core stage is beyond our comprehension. As for the Dao Embryo realm above it, that can only exist in our imagination."

"Dao Embryo?" Li Tongya paused, slightly taken aback. The "Taiyin Qi Refining and Wheel Nurturing Scripture" he cultivated mentioned six cultivation realms: Embryonic Breath, Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul. There was no mention of a "Dao Embryo" realm, so he asked, puzzled.

Xiao Yuansi nodded, explaining, "It's a realm beyond the Golden Core. No one has achieved it for such a long time that the current cultivation world rarely mentions it. Not just in Jiangnan, but in regions like Mobei, Lingbei, and the various states of Jizhong, there's been no talk of the Dao Embryo. According to my ancestors, it's likely been five hundred years since anyone reached that stage in this realm."

Hearing this, Li Tongya mused, "Perhaps Nascent Soul is an ancient term for Dao Embryo... The 'Taiyin Qi Refining and Wheel Nurturing Scripture' was written so long ago that it's reasonable for some names to differ."

"We are enlightened!" Li Tongya replied respectfully. Xiao Yuansi smiled, waving his hand dismissively. "This is hardly enlightening; just some minor information."

He then stood up and said, "If you're going to Xu State, go as soon as possible. There's no need to discuss it further with me. I'll stay here on the mountain, reading my alchemy texts. A few days will feel like mere moments as I immerse myself in their profound mysteries."

Li Tongya thanked him, then bid farewell and ascended on the wind. Li Xuanfeng was already waiting in the air with his golden bow, alongside Li Xuanling. Shamoli, An Zheyin, and a few other non-clan cultivators stood to the side. Li Tongya glanced at them and said, "Come with me, north."

Everyone promptly agreed and followed him northward on the wind. Li Tongya pondered for a moment, then said, "We don't know how many subordinates this Yan Mountain demon general has. You all find a mountain to set up an ambush. I'll go ahead to scout and see how many Qi Refining demons he commands. Ideally, we can eliminate them all in one go."

The group assented. They traveled by wind through the mountains for a day, crossing deep blue lakes and dense dark forests, quickly passing through Yue State and arriving in Xu State.

The moment they entered, the scenery changed dramatically. Pale bones were scattered everywhere, and overgrown weeds obscured any trace of roads. There was no sign of human habitation. Occasionally, flashes of spiritual light would fly by, but upon seeing the group, they would immediately turn back and detour far away. The Li clan members had no opportunity to find anyone to inquire about the situation, so they simply continued flying.

On the ground, there were numerous traces of past battles: spiritual lights lingering with an eerie chill, or five-colored lights flowing everywhere. Occasionally, they would see consecrated bones and flesh, as well as starved jackals and tigers, which was truly an eye-opener.

The Li family did not wish to stir up trouble, so they made no attempt to investigate further, merely circling around areas with unusual phenomena. Yan Mountain was not far; soon the terrain grew higher and the mountain appeared in the distance.

Li Tongya observed carefully along the way, searching for a while until he finally found a small array formation in the mountains. He stopped before it and said softly, "This old man is passing through and has a question. Would fellow Daoist please open the formation?"

The formation was merely at the Embryonic Breath realm. When Li Tongya's Foundation Establishment aura surged, the person inside was terrified out of their wits. The formation melted away like ice and snow, revealing an old man with a full head of white hair, followed by a large group of young boys and girls. The old man hurriedly knelt, respectfully saying, "This humble cultivator of the mountains pays his respects to the Immortal!"

Li Tongya saw the numerous young boys and girls, each bearing marks of ritualistic refinement. They knelt silently, like mutes, not moving an inch. He coldly snorted and said in a deep voice, "You seem quite at ease. What kind of wicked demonic magic are you cultivating?"

The old man shook his head bitterly, repeatedly kowtowing with loud thuds. "Immortal, you misunderstand. These are all prepared for the great king of Yan Mountain. If this humble one did not do this, he would devour even more people. It's simply a matter of weighing pros and cons, to satisfy his bestial desires..."

Li Tongya raised an eyebrow and replied, "It seems I did misunderstand you. Does that great king possess any divine abilities? What demon soldiers does he command? Do you know?"

The old man suddenly looked up, a dawning realization on his face. He stared carefully at the group and said repeatedly, "Sirs... thank you, sirs... That... that demon creature has three Qi Refining subordinates, all at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining. Some of his earlier, more powerful ones were either killed by passing cultivators or captured and made into spirit beasts. These three have only recently grown strong."

"Only the demon creature itself is at the Foundation Establishment level. It stays secluded, hidden within a natural illusion formation in the mountains, only sending its subordinates out to collect blood offerings. It has been wreaking havoc for a long time... and no one has ever dealt with it."

"I understand," Li Tongya replied indifferently, waving his hand. "You won't be troubled anymore from now on."

The group instantly flew away on the wind, leaving the old man standing dumbfounded. He looked at the surrounding children, caught between a rock and a hard place, until a young cultivator walked up from below, saying excitedly, "Master, can we let them go now?"

The old man shook his head and simply said, "We still need to prepare this year's offerings. What if that group can't defeat the demon, and the wolf demon devours them all? If we have no tribute to offer, we'll still suffer."

"Besides, they've already been refined; these children are already useless."

The old man picked up a dazed and foolish child from the ground, his expression calm and matter-of-fact. "If that wolf demon dies, then we'll simply enjoy this batch of offerings ourselves, to prevent waste."

"Yes!" The young cultivator responded, finding nothing wrong with this, and turned to descend.

Yan Mountain was quite vast and distant, with strange peaks rising all around, subtly forming a large array. Thick fog billowed, faintly affecting even spiritual senses. The branches and leaves below were graceful and lush green, appearing quite eerie.

Holding his magical mirror, Li Tongya naturally saw through the illusions. Closing his eyes, he immediately sensed the wolf demon's lair: an ominous place filled with white bones. After ensuring the Qi Refining cultivators had concealed themselves, Li Tongya proceeded deeper into the mountain alone.

Watching Li Tongya slowly disappear into the distance, Li Xuanling exchanged a glance, having already prepared an excuse. He instructed, "Everyone, observe the battle. If it's evenly matched later, don't hold back. It would be best if we could capture a few Qi Refining demons alive! We have connections in Dali Mountain, where we can sell these demons to demon caves for a substantial profit. I'll give you a share."

At these words, everyone nodded repeatedly. While steady individuals like Chen Donghe remained patient, Shamoli, whose nature was greedy and who was already impoverished in the mountain Yue, nodded fervently, his thoughts already soaring into the mountain mist.