The person the middle-aged man in the white robe addressed was a short, lean, and dark-skinned monk in a yellow robe. A humble smile was perpetually on his face.
"Amitabha, Fellow Daoist Xu, you flatter me. This old monk's cultivation is mediocre; otherwise, why would I need to enter this treasured pagoda so many times in search of fortune?"
"The cultivation method this person uses is indeed incomparably tyrannical, perhaps comparable to our sect's 'Great Vajra Body.' I, however, have never heard of it. This person should not be a cultivator from within the jurisdiction of our Jingtu Sect; otherwise, the sect would have records of his school. It's just..."
The monk called Yiming, who looked to be only in his thirties, spoke with the tone of an old man. Hearing the words of the cultivator surnamed Xu, he first gave a bitter smile and spoke as he thought, but his brow furrowed as he reached the end.
The cultivator surnamed Xu naturally knew what this Chan Master Yiming was thinking. Yiming was over one hundred and fifty years old and had been stuck at the Pseudo-Core realm for more than sixty years. He had one last chance to break through to the Golden Core; if he failed again, he could only pass away in meditation.
As a monk of the Jingtu Sect's "Yi" generation, he was naturally very experienced, yet he still couldn't discern the origin of that physically formidable cultivator.
"Is Senior Brother Yiming puzzled because the cultivation aura emanating from him was only at the Foundation Establishment stage? Compared to other cultivators of the same rank, the aura fluctuations of body cultivators are inherently less obvious because they disperse most of their Spirit Power throughout their physical body."
"Furthermore, in order to enter the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, he may have used an art to conceal his cultivation. This is not impossible. If he were truly a Golden Core cultivator using a concealment art, how could we possibly see through his true form?"
After hearing this, Chan Master Yiming slowly nodded. The Great Vajra Body he had just mentioned was something that could only be achieved upon reaching the Buddha realm. At the Chan Monk realm, one could only reach the stage of the Lesser Vajra Body.
However, based on the Spirit Power fluctuations emanating from Li Yan during the battle, his cultivation was only at the Foundation Establishment stage. He was unwilling to believe that the opponent was at the same realm as himself, yet possessed such an incredibly powerful physical body. That would implicitly mean the Jingtu Sect's Vajra Arhat Body had been surpassed.
The "Vajra Arhat Body" was the Jingtu Sect's supreme body tempering art. At the Foundation Establishment stage, also known as the Chan Monk realm, one could cultivate the Lesser Vajra Body. At the Golden Core stage, one could cultivate the Great Vajra Body. Only at the Nascent Soul stage could one cultivate the "Vajra Arhat Body." At the Spirit Transformation stage, it was the "Lesser Luo Golden Body," and so on.
The five of them were the first group to notice the fight in this area. But by the time they arrived, Li Yan had already fought the green shadow and was in the final battle with the Rhino-Horned Green Python's main body. So they hadn't seen the entire process. The Rhino-Horned Green Python was so formidable that even the five of them together would be unwilling to face it. Although they certainly wouldn't lose, they would suffer heavy casualties. Thus, they had avoided a direct confrontation and simply watched from a distance.
Chan Monk Yiming naturally wouldn't believe that the body tempering art Li Yan cultivated could be stronger than the "Vajra Arhat Body." He firmly believed that in this world, the Jingtu Sect was the strongest body tempering sect. But the aura Li Yan emitted made him uncertain. Now that the cultivator surnamed Xu had spoken again, his doubts were completely dispelled.
"What Fellow Daoist Xu says should be correct. It's just that this body tempering art is extremely profound. Although this old monk dare not claim to have read widely, I have flipped through the texts on body tempering in the temple countless times, yet I still cannot see the slightest hint of its origin."
"However, this person's body tempering art seems to start from flexibility, cultivated from the inside out. It's unlike the 'Vajra Arhat Body,' which first cultivates external skills. After the skin and tendons are tough, one moves on to cultivating the membranes and bones, and finally the internal organs. It is a method of cultivating from the outside in."
"There are many body tempering arts in this world that cultivate from the inside out, but like our sect's, they all lack a certain pliable power. Therefore, this person's cultivation method is something this old monk has never seen recorded." When it came to the art of body tempering, a brilliant light shone in Yiming's eyes.
"Could this person be from one of the other three domains? From a reclusive sect or family?" The cultivator surnamed Xu said with a nod. He somewhat agreed with Yiming's confidence. In the territory controlled by the Jingtu Sect, there were, of course, extremely secretive sects.
With the Jingtu Sect possessing a Spirit Transformation stage Saintly Monk, over tens of thousands of years, most of the hidden sects or families within its jurisdiction would have been investigated. But between the four domains, extremely secretive matters like this were tightly sealed off by the other party.
"Fellow Daoists, my sister and I have actually seen this person before." Just as the two were talking, apart from the young man in the white robe who had asked a question at the beginning, the other two women had been listening quietly. Now, one of them interrupted the conversation between the cultivator surnamed Xu and Yiming. The speaker was the taller of the two young women.
Except for the shorter young woman, whose face showed no surprise, the other three all looked at the two women with astonishment.
"Oh? Does the female benefactor recognize this person?" Yiming raised an eyebrow and asked with a smile.
The tall young woman shook her head. "I don't know him personally. It's just that more than ten days ago, when my sister and I were about to enter the Northern Abyss Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, this person happened to arrive. At that time, he had the appearance of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. We only had a fleeting glimpse and had no contact."
"After that, we entered the pagoda. I don't know if the two Buddha Martial Uncles outside later identified this person's identity and cultivation." The woman's voice was quite crisp and pleasant, and her figure was excellent, though her looks were somewhat ordinary.
These two women were the same ones who had entered the pagoda just before Li Yan arrived. For some reason, after entering, they had ended up with these three men. The two women had only given Li Yan a cursory glance at the time, but they had recognized him earlier. They were utterly shocked, thinking that the other party was actually a Golden Core cultivator.
"Oh, then the direction this person came from..." The cultivator surnamed Xu started to ask upon hearing this, but he stopped mid-sentence and looked up at a certain spot. Even before he looked up, Chan Master Yiming had already turned his head to look in that direction. This made the cultivator surnamed Xu feel a sense of admiration; he was indeed a veteran Foundation Establishment expert. His own Divine Sense was still inferior.
"Amitabha, we cannot stay here any longer. The battle just now has alerted many people. Several groups of cultivators and a few powerful demonic beasts are now heading this way. Let's leave and talk later."
Chan Master Yiming whispered, and his figure began to blur. The other three had been puzzled when the cultivator surnamed Xu had stopped talking, but upon hearing Chan Master Yiming's words, they exchanged a glance, nodded slightly, and their figures also began to fade.
Standing on the Cloud-Piercing Willow, Li Yan flew several hundred li in one breath. He changed direction several times along the way. Half an hour later, a short mountain appeared before him. The mountain was covered in jagged rocks, like a labyrinth. By this time, night had fallen. Li Yan soon arrived amidst a cluster of strange rocks on the mountain.
Looking at the strange rocks all around, Li Yan first put down the beautiful woman in his hands. Then, he opened his mouth and spat out a small purple flag. The flag unfurled in the wind. Li Yan clumsily formed a hand seal, and the purple flag immediately began to spin. Ancient formation patterns were flung from the small flag, landing in a circle about a hundred feet around Li Yan.
Then, this small area of space distorted slightly. In the dark night, it was almost imperceptible. After a few breaths, the short mountain returned to its silence. The area was empty, and Li Yan was nowhere to be seen, just as it had been before.
After performing the set of hand seals, a flush appeared on Li Yan's originally impassive face. He pursed his lips tightly, then first put the purple flag into his storage pouch. His standing figure swayed and he fell directly onto the ground among the chaotic rocks. His face turned from flushed to pale. He quickly took out several bottles of medicinal pills from his storage pouch and, without looking, swallowed several of them. After putting the porcelain bottles away, Li Yan closed his eyes and began to regulate his breath.
In the battle just now, Li Yan had given it his all. Relying on various schemes, he had finally managed to scare away the Rhino-Horned Green Python by a stroke of luck. Both sides had been injured.
The moment the Rhino-Horned Green Python's main body appeared, Li Yan had judged that this beast was absolutely not an enemy he could defeat. For it to be able to sneak to within a few feet of him before being detected—this was only because Li Yan's Divine Sense was far superior to his peers that he had barely managed to discover it.
The subsequent battle went just as Li Yan had guessed. The Rhino-Horned Green Python could also fight above its rank. Therefore, its cultivation was slightly higher than that of an initial-stage Golden Core, and even the beautiful woman in the green gauze was no match for it.
And although Li Yan's True Scripture of Gui Water was unparalleled in the world, his actual cultivation was three minor realms lower than the Rhino-Horned Green Python's: late-stage Foundation Establishment, peak Foundation Establishment, and Pseudo-Core. His first thought was to use poison to deal with the opponent, but the Rhino-Horned Green Python was clearly adept at using poison itself; otherwise, the beautiful woman wouldn't have been in such a state. So, Li Yan temporarily gave up the idea of using poison.
Facing a demonic beast that could also fight above its rank, Li Yan felt that his Spirit Power was far inferior to the opponent's after taking just one blow. How could he escape smoothly? And looking at the speed of the Rhino-Horned Green Python's main body, Li Yan estimated that even with the Cloud-Piercing Willow, he might not be able to pull away within a few hundred li. And that was assuming the python didn't have a flying magical treasure. But he had just destroyed the opponent's "avatar"-like green shadow, so it would inevitably be a life-or-death chase.
Li Yan thought for a moment. If he could make the opponent retreat out of fear, that would be a once-and-for-all solution. Otherwise, he still had to find the Crimson Mother Essence on the second level of the pagoda. Being constantly chased by such a terrifying demonic beast, he would have to keep running forever.
In that instant, the thought of using the "Blood-Amber Pill" or the "Melting Bamboo Shoot" came to Li Yan's mind. Both of these treasures had the effect of increasing one's cultivation for a short time. It was just that the "Blood-Amber Pill" burned essence blood and had severe side effects, and its value was much lower than the "Melting Bamboo Shoot."
Although the "Melting Bamboo Shoot" was precious, it was undoubtedly the most suitable item at the moment. This was a method of relying on an external object. Another method, which Li Yan also felt was feasible, was that when he had taken a blow from the Rhino-Horned Green Python just now, although his Spirit Power was clearly inferior, he felt that the opponent's physical strength was not as great as his own.
The opponent was a demonic beast and should have absolute confidence in the toughness of its own body. This could be seen from its attack style.
The Rhino-Horned Green Python, in the vast majority of situations, preferred to attack up close. This could be exploited. Li Yan came up with a plan in a short moment. He didn't want to rely on external objects unconditionally, using the "Melting Bamboo Shoot" the moment things went south. That would only make him weaker and weaker.
With a plan in mind, Li Yan began to feign weakness. He initially chose to fight with his magical treasure, using his own Spirit Power as little as possible and not clashing head-on with the opponent. After just a few moves, the Rhino-Horned Green Python had already judged that Li Yan's Spirit Power was too weak and he could only barely hold on by relying on his magical treasure. Just as Li Yan's two magical treasures were defeated by the opponent in succession, Li Yan knew the time was ripe.