The brilliant light landed, and seven or eight figures slowly materialized. There were both men and women. The leader was a sinister-looking young man. He swept his gaze around, then stood silently in place. The others also stood in formation, coldly sizing up their surroundings. A few of them looked toward Li Yan's group. These few people, unlike the other Spirit Insect Peak disciples, did not release their spirit beasts.
"The leader is Wang Tian. I believe most of you junior brothers and sisters know him. He is the Eldest Senior Brother of Spirit Insect Peak, at the Pseudo-Core Realm. His magical power should be on par with mine. His companion spirit beast is the Divine Fire Crow, ranked 621st on the Poisonous Insect Index. Its fire, though not as powerful as a Golden Core's core fire, is extremely dangerous for a Foundation Establishment cultivator to resist with magical power. So, if you encounter him, try to engage in close combat as much as possible to prevent the Divine Fire Crow from launching indiscriminate attacks. Otherwise, it's better to admit defeat early, unless you have a top-grade defensive Spirit Treasure, then you still have a fighting chance. But even in close combat, Wang Tian's own cultivation is also astonishing. After all, he is only half a step away from entering the Golden Core realm," Li Wuyi's voice echoed in the ears of Li Yan's group.
"The woman beside him is his future Dao Companion, Zuo Shengyan, mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Her spirit beast is the Black Wood Scorpion, ranked 647th on the Poisonous Insect Index. Its fluid is extremely poisonous and has a strong corrosive effect on metals. If your spirit artifact is tainted by it, it might be scrapped after a long time. For a shorter time, it will probably need to be re-nurtured for a month or so to recover. If the poison touches your body, a spiritual power shield of an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator can probably last for fourteen or fifteen breaths before being breached. Be equally careful when you encounter her. Although a mid- to late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator can last longer, it probably won't exceed seventy breaths at most. And this is with her Black Wood Scorpion being only at the peak of the first tier, not yet having entered the second tier. However, this person's individual combat power is still considered mid-tier."
Li Yan followed his words and looked over. It was a young woman dressed in extremely revealing clothes. Her skin was as crystalline as jade, with a melon-seed-shaped face and a pair of bright eyes that darted around. Her upper body was clad in a tight, short garment that only covered the area above her navel, leaving her smooth abdomen exposed. On either side of her navel seemed to be a tattoo of a pair of ferocious purple-black scorpions, their tails raised high toward her ribs. Her lower body was a short skirt, revealing a pair of snow-white thighs and a pair of bare, jade-like feet.
As Li Yan looked over, the young woman seemed to sense it and also looked back. She then gave a brilliant smile, which was truly demonic and captivating. Li Yan suddenly felt as if he had been seen through, and his face turned red. He quickly lowered his head. And Wang Tian, who was in front of the woman, also heard her light laughter and followed her gaze toward Li Yan's side. He then swept a sinister glance in their direction. Even though they were separated by more than ten li, Li Yan felt a bone-chilling coldness wash over him. He was greatly alarmed and quickly circulated his cultivation to resist, but he still couldn't stop the chilling cold from invading his internal organs. He was both shocked and angry. He had only glanced in that direction and had provoked the other party. The coldness made his whole body feel chilled to the bone, and yet he couldn't dispel it. Just as he was about to mobilize all his spiritual power to force the cold qi out of his body, someone suddenly took a step across and stood in front of him. Then, a warmth spread through his body, and he returned to normal. When he looked up, he saw Li Wuyi standing to his side and front, also just giving Wang Tian a cold glance. The usual gentleness on his face was gone, and a murderous aura floated on his handsome face. Across from them, Wang Tian's figure swayed slightly for a moment, then he returned to normal, his face immediately turning three shades more sinister. This made the demonic young woman beside Wang Tian show a hint of surprise on her face, and she couldn't help but look at Li Wuyi a few more times.
With her powerful mid-stage Foundation Establishment strength, she had felt someone peeking at her just now. She followed the gaze and saw that it was a disciple of Little Bamboo Peak. Among them, there were even four Qi Condensation disciples looking at her. But three of them were standing at the back. One of them, however, was standing in the front with a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators, which was a bit strange. So she took another look. Who would have thought that this action would be discovered by the naturally suspicious Wang Tian. So he had the idea of teaching this junior a lesson, to let him know what it means to respect his elders in the future. He immediately infused his powerful Divine Sense into a casual strike. Although it wouldn't take Li Yan's life, it could make him lie in bed for a few days. This was also due to Li Yan's bad luck. Little Bamboo Peak had a total of eleven people, four in the Qi Condensation realm. He, the Little Martial Uncle, was of course standing in the front. The three disciples were respectfully standing at the back. So he became the one who stuck his neck out.
Li Wuyi was also at the Pseudo-Core Realm, but he hadn't expected this Wang Tian to be so sinister as to directly attack a junior brother. He hadn't expected it and was a step too late, which made him angry. So he flashed in front of Li Yan and released his Divine Sense to disperse Wang Tian's Divine Sense. This time, it made Wang Tian suffer a small loss. First, it was a casual strike from him. Second, he had never expected that Li Wuyi would be so protective of a Qi Condensation disciple.
This time, only a few people knew about the secret exchange. On Little Bamboo Peak's side, several people saw it clearly. On Spirit Insect Peak's side, only a few people around Wang Tian knew. Wang Tian took a breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and swept another glance at Li Wuyi before turning his head away. He knew that this Li Wuyi, who seemed gentle and humble, was actually a vicious wolf that ate people without spitting out the bones. He had also fought him a few times, but was always slightly inferior. He had heard that Li Wuyi was not participating in the secret realm harvest this time, which was a bit of a pity. He had wanted to test his skills against him again. His progress in these years had been divine, and he had long wanted to fight against the prodigies of the various peaks. Since Li Wuyi was not participating in the competition, he would first take down the prodigies of the other peaks and then directly challenge Li Wuyi in the future.
"If you don't have the ability, don't provoke others. Wang Tian, is it? We can have a match," a cold voice said. Li Yan was stunned. He looked up and saw it was Gong Chenying. But her voice became softer and softer, until it was as if she were muttering to herself.
And among the others, besides Third Senior Brother who also looked to the side with disdain, the others were smiling at him.
Li Yan was extremely frustrated. He wasn't the only one looking over there. Fourth Senior Sister, Fifth Senior Brother, Seventh Senior Brother, and the three martial nephews had all looked over. Why did they only attack him?
"Little Junior Brother, don't mind it. That flower has thorns. Next time, I'll find you a gentle one," Miao Wangqing said with a light laugh, blinking her big eyes.
"I say, Little Junior Brother, when you reach Foundation Establishment, find a chance to screw him over," Fifth Senior Brother said lazily.
Everyone looked at Wen Xinliang with unfriendly eyes. "What are you looking at? I was talking about Wang Tian," Wen Xinliang said with a roguish look.
"Are you alright, Little Junior Brother?" Li Wuyi turned his head and asked Li Yan.
"Oh, I'm fine. Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother," Li Yan said with a smile.
"Little Junior Brother, Fifth Senior Brother is right. When you reach Foundation Establishment, screw him over in the future," Lin Daqiao came over and patted Li Yan, then also glared fiercely in the direction of Spirit Insect Peak.
"When I meet him in the competition later, I'll test how much he's improved in these few years," Wei Chituo said, crossing his arms and looking across.
A warmth spread through Li Yan's heart. He was a million li from home, but at this moment, he felt as if his Third Brother and Fourth Sister were right beside him. At the same time, his spirit sharpened. Being with a group of Foundation Establishment cultivators every day, he didn't feel much difference between them and himself. Now he knew that just a single strike of their Divine Sense could take his life. So, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, one realm higher, was this powerful.
"Alright, the other Spirit Insect Peak mid- to late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators behind Wang Tian, like Ma Shun, Li Zhi, and Zhang Cailian, you should also be careful."
Li Wuyi paused, perhaps considering that the competition was about to begin, and spoke briefly. Then he turned his gaze to the central area.
"Lord Lao Peak, this is a group of sinister people. They are good at saving people, and even better at ambushing people. They have countless strange and bizarre medicinal pills, medicinal powders, and strange mists, making them impossible to guard against. The one in the front row is the Eldest Senior Brother of that peak, Baili Yuan. He is an expert in using poison. This person is at the late-stage of Foundation Establishment, but looking at his aura today, it seems he has also broken through to the Pseudo-Core Realm. He is skilled in refining pills and using poison. I have suffered at his hands before." Everyone looked toward the central area. The group of people there were all sitting quietly in meditation, their eyes closed to rest their minds. It seemed very quiet. At the very front was a young man with thick eyebrows and large eyes, thick lips and a square face, a righteous look on his face, looking to be twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with an extremely honest and simple appearance. This reminded Li Yan of Li Shan. But hearing Li Wuyi say that he had suffered at his hands before, he couldn't help but be surprised. Because since the introductions began today, everyone their Eldest Senior Brother had mentioned was described as powerful or difficult to deal with, but he had never said how he had fared against them, which suggested either a draw or that those people were not his match. But for this person alone, he said he had suffered a loss, which showed that this person was not as honest and simple as he appeared.
Similarly, when their gazes turned to the central area, that Baili Yuan also seemed to have sensed it, but his eyelids only trembled, and he did not open his eyes.
This made Li Yan place even more weight on this person in his heart.
"Of course, Lord Lao Peak also has many masters. They are all masters of making poison and are skilled in mixing toxins. Some deadly poisons may have never appeared before and may have just been refined in recent years. Like Dongyang Ling, Ning Qingqing, Zhang Tai, and Cheng Liulong beside Baili Yuan..."
Perhaps seeing that the competition was about to start, Li Wuyi quickened his pace and began to give a brief introduction. In fact, he was saying these things for the newcomers like Li Yan and Lin Daqiao. It was clear that the other veteran Foundation Establishment cultivators were extremely familiar with these people.
After the introduction, he looked at the sky, then calculated the time, feeling that it should be about time. Logically, as Wei Zhongran's substitute, he should go to the floating pavilion to take his seat. But Li Wuyi, of course, knew his place. He wouldn't go and sit with a group of Golden Core cultivators. He could stand at the very bottom of the main hall and report on the situation of Little Bamboo Peak during normal business, but for a major competition like this, with tens of thousands of people watching, although he could represent them and sit in the sky, he wouldn't go. That would only invite trouble.
"Eldest Senior Brother, although we can't see Never-Parting Peak diagonally opposite, you should still tell Little Junior Brother and the others about them," just as everyone was waiting, the arms-crossed Wei Chituo suddenly said in a simple-minded tone.
Just as he finished speaking, Li Wuyi, who had been looking up at the sky, froze. Behind him, a few people started to giggle. Even the usually indifferent Yun Chunqu looked at Wei Chituo with a strange expression. Only Miao Wangqing frowned and glared fiercely at Wei Chituo.
"Second Brother, after your cultivation has recently improved, your intelligence has also improved. How about after you come out of the secret realm harvest, I'll have a match with you? If you lose, you'll be in charge of the main hall for the next two years," Li Wuyi said to Wei Chituo with a kind smile on his handsome face, his tone unusually calm.
Wei Chituo's originally honest and simple expression, after hearing these words, immediately made his head shake like a rattle drum. The wrinkles on his face piled up, and the next moment, an expression Li Yan had never seen since entering the sect appeared—a fawning, sycophantic look, completely devoid of his usual honest and simple appearance.
"Boss, you're my dear father, you're my dear father. I was just afraid that Seventh Junior Brother and the others aren't familiar with Never-Parting Peak. After all, they are also participating in the competition, and Little Junior Brother also needs to broaden his horizons. That's why I blurted it out without thinking. Don't lower yourself to my level, old man. Just pretend I just farted, a smelly fart. Never-Parting Peak is just a bunch of people playing with little insects. What's there to talk about," Wei Chituo said fawningly, his tone becoming more and more righteous, as if Never-Parting Peak was just an insignificant little hill.
He was a famous cultivation maniac, always looking for people to fight on Little Bamboo Peak, whether they were veterans or newcomers. Before Little Bamboo Peak closed its doors, there were hundreds of disciples, big and small, and every one of them was beaten by him until they cried out in misery. In the end, his self-confidence swelled so much that he wanted to test his skills against his own Eldest Senior Brother. The result was that he lay in his bamboo courtyard for more than three months, unable to get out of bed. He finally knew what a smiling tiger was, what a fake good person was. The blows were truly ruthless, each one feeling like it struck deep into his soul. But this Eldest Senior Brother even cast a spell to seal his mouth, so he couldn't even let out a single scream. Then he threw the half-dead him back to his bamboo courtyard and appeared on Little Bamboo Peak with a smile, waving away the junior brothers and sisters who wanted to watch the excitement. At first, everyone thought the two hadn't fought, until three months later when they saw this Second Senior Brother limping out, they seemed to have understood something.
Now, hearing that Li Wuyi wanted to fight him, although he was already at the perfected late-stage of Foundation Establishment, that villain was already at the Pseudo-Core Realm. So it would be nothing but being tormented, and then he would have to guard the main hall for two years. How could he accept that?
Li Yan looked at the unfamiliar Second Senior Brother before him; it was a bear trying to smile.