At that, Li Yan also said with a smile.
"I have only been to the Sacred Demon City once before. This time, I really will be staying for a while. If there are any people or items that need to be brought back, Senior Brother can just send a message."
Xing Ming was very satisfied with how decisive this new elder, Zhang Ming, was.
Although the man was an ascetic, he wasn't like his own second disciple, whose head was filled with nothing but cultivation, completely ignorant of worldly wisdom.
After settling these matters, the two chatted for a few more sentences. Just as Xing Ming was about to get up and leave, Li Yan thought for a moment, carefully choosing his words.
"Senior Brother, there is a matter I was wondering if you knew about?"
Xing Ming, who was about to rise, saw that Li Yan had a question. He sat back down and asked with a curious expression.
"Junior Brother Zhang, what is it? There's no need to be so polite with me. Please, feel free to speak. As long as I know, I will certainly tell you the truth!"
"Does Senior Brother know if there is a teleportation grand formation on this Forsaken Continent that connects to the outside world? And if so, where might this formation be?"
The smile on Xing Ming's face froze, his expression turning to one of shock and suspicion.
"What? Does Junior Brother intend to travel across realms?"
Facing Xing Ming's look of alarm, Li Yan had already prepared his words. He had only just become an elder of Falling Star Valley; he naturally wouldn't want to create any resentment.
"Oh, I have no such thoughts at present, but there are some things I wish to inquire about first."
"As Senior Brother may know, I have had no news of my master since we parted. Our lineage has very few people. I once heard my master say that he followed his own master here from another realm via teleportation. After staying on the Forsaken Continent for three hundred years, his master went on an ordinary trip and was never heard from again."
"To this day, my master clearly knows I am here, but he has never come to find me. I think, aside from some unfortunate outcomes, could it be that my master has used the teleportation grand formation to return to his former sect to search for his own master? His master also had a rather large sect to rely on in the other realm. And my master's enemy is very powerful. Without great confidence in dealing with this enemy, my master might have had such an idea."
"As for myself, I wish to go to the cross-realm teleportation grand formation to see if I can find any news of my master or his master. Perhaps there might be some clues..."
Having said this, Li Yan paused.
The expression on Xing Ming's face shifted from suspicion back to a smile.
'So it's not that he wants to use the formation, but just to look for news of his master. Junior Brother Zhang has never mentioned his own master's master before. A cultivator who can cross realms is, nine times out of ten, a Nascent Soul cultivator?'
For a moment, Xing Ming's heart was in turmoil. He was both shocked and frightened by the thought that Zhang Ming might have a Nascent Soul old monster for a martial grandfather. Zhang Ming's concealment in Falling Star Valley had been secretly instructed by his master.
If Zhang Ming had truly died here, and his martial grandfather came looking for him in the future, it would mean the destruction of the sect and the death of its people.
He forced himself to calm his inner turmoil, his facial muscles twitching slightly. He immediately picked up the conversation.
"To think Junior Brother Zhang's lineage was established by a cross-realm cultivator. Such sects often start with only a few people, most of whom come here to escape disaster or for other reasons. Therefore, they live in seclusion in remote mountains for years, little known to others. Of course, there are also some cultivators who cross realms specifically to conquer a piece of the world. It seems Junior Brother's lineage belongs to the former. No wonder when I inquired about you before, I could only find bits and pieces, haha!!"
Xing Ming did not hide the fact that the sect had investigated Zhang Ming's background. Instead, he spoke in a tone that suggested it was just as he had expected. This actually made him seem much more favorable, appearing quite open and honorable.
"It is true that there is a super teleportation formation on the Forsaken Continent that leads to the Verdant Continent. Perhaps even some of the primitive Black and White Demon Clan mortals know of it. But as for its specific location, it is understandable that Junior Brother's master did not tell you. Only some cultivators at the Golden Core stage and above know about that formation. But if one wishes to use this formation, I'm afraid only those Nascent Soul old monsters can. I estimate that even your esteemed master would not be able to use this grand formation."
Li Yan's heart jolted when he heard this. Only then did he understand that the look of alarm on Xing Ming's face just now was not because he was worried about him teleporting away, but because there was a problem with using the teleportation grand formation itself.
"Oh? What do you mean by that? Please enlighten me, Senior Brother!"
"That grand formation was built during the war between the ancient Primitive Demon Clan and the Verdant Continent. The Primitive Demon Clan spent countless spirit stones and heavenly materials and earthly treasures to construct it. It is a relatively stable, super-long-range teleportation grand formation. At that time, of course, the purpose of building this super teleportation grand formation was to invade the Verdant Continent. However, the Verdant Continent was full of powerful experts. The two realms fought for many long years, and in the end, the war could only conclude with both sides suffering heavy losses. But because the powerful experts from both sides needed to negotiate post-war matters and meet constantly, this teleportation grand formation was not dismantled, allowing for rapid communication between the two sides. However, after the negotiations were completed, they eventually realized that the benefits this grand formation could bring in the future might far outweigh the harm. In the end, they actually preserved it."
After saying this, Xing Ming saw Zhang Ming nod slightly and knew that he was indeed aware of such common information. All of this was just a prelude.
In fact, Li Yan was not very clear about the reason for preserving this super teleportation grand formation. He just didn't show any surprise on his face. Now, after hearing Xing Ming's supplement, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
'This is the confidence of a powerful cultivation world. The Verdant Continent does not worry about foreign cultivators invading like the Desolate Moon Continent does. The Desolate Moon Continent has cut off almost all contact with outside cultivators. Unless a cultivator reaches the Nascent Soul stage and can cross realms with their own formidable strength, the cultivation world of the Desolate Moon Continent has become very monolithic. It's hard to say whether this approach is good or bad.'
'I imagine that when the proposal to preserve this super teleportation grand formation was made, the powerful experts of the Verdant Continent must have believed that with them guarding the other end of the formation, they had nothing to fear. Even a powerful race like the Demon Clan could not cause them any harm. And indeed, that was the case. In that ancient war, even with the appearance of a formidable army like the Xiahou Family, they still could not cross the line. The powerful experts of the Verdant Continent firmly guarded their own pure land.'
Xing Ming continued.
"This teleportation grand formation is actually located on a sub-peak within the Sacred Demon City. Three Nascent Soul cultivators guard it every day. And it is said that even those two Supreme Elders of the Sacred Demon Palace, who do not concern themselves with worldly affairs, will occasionally monitor it with their divine sense."
After saying this, Xing Ming picked up his teacup and took a light sip.
"The super teleportation grand formation is inside the Sacred Demon Palace?"
Now Li Yan was truly a little surprised.
"Not in the Sacred Demon Palace, but on a sub-peak within the city. Junior Brother may not know how large the Sacred Demon City is. It could be said to span a hundred thousand li. And what's so strange about that? This formation was originally built by the Primitive Demon Clan in ancient times, back when they were not divided into Black and White Demon Clans. It was built near the main camp of the Primitive Demon Clan. Later, although they split into the Black and White Demon Clans, the White Demon Clan inherited most of the Primitive Demon Clan's foundation and established themselves in the west. The Xiahou Family, on the other hand, opened up their own territory and chose the east of the Forsaken Continent. Naturally, most of the Primitive Demon Clan's foundation went to the White Demon Clan, including that super teleportation grand formation."
"Fortunately, this teleportation grand formation is not on the territory of the Black Demon Clan. Otherwise, the powerful experts of the Verdant Continent would have long since destroyed the other end. The Black Demon Clan is even more belligerent than the Primitive Demon Clan of old. With such a teleportation node, they would try every means possible to get through."
"Doesn't the Sacred Demon Palace occupy more than half of the Sacred Demon City?"
Li Yan had been to the Sacred Demon City before. It was a massive city with rolling mountain ranges within. The Sacred Demon Palace was said to be located above the halfway point of the main mountain range.
"It seems Junior Brother is still not very familiar with the Sacred Demon City. The Sacred Demon Palace is only built on the main peak. The other sub-peaks, although they also belong to the Sacred Demon Palace, are located in more remote areas and have relatively more freedom. They are not guarded by armies everywhere like the Sacred Demon Palace; that would only cause problems and conflicts. Take the super teleportation grand formation, for example. If a cultivator teleports over from the other side, would they be willing to directly enter the heartland of the Sacred Demon Palace? By the same token, would they themselves feel at ease with a teleportation grand formation that can cross realms leading directly into the heartland of the Sacred Demon Palace? So, they only keep the core main peak of the Sacred Demon Palace firmly under their control. As for other key places in the city, they just send some powerful experts to guard them. On the surface, it doesn't look so heavily guarded."
Li Yan thought for a moment and felt that this made sense. If he were to cross realms and teleport directly into some powerful sect, surrounded by experts, he would probably hesitate before teleporting.
Furthermore, if he were a powerful expert at the Nascent Soul stage or above who teleported over, and if he truly had malicious intentions, then he could wreak havoc in the heart of the Sacred Demon Palace.
Even if surrounded by powerful experts, with a well-thought-out plan, he could still inflict severe damage on the enemy's heartland, even if it cost him his life.
"The first condition for using the cross-realm teleportation grand formation is that no Spirit Transformation stage cultivator can use it. Otherwise, once detected by the restriction within, the entire formation will be automatically destroyed, including everything inside..."
At this point, Xing Ming looked at Li Yan with a smile in his eyes, directly stating the first condition for using the grand formation. Li Yan's eyes flickered a few times.
"Even with an extremely clever concealment technique, it's no use. This teleportation grand formation even specifically used a type of 'Divine Wood' that only exists in the Immortal Spirit Realm. It is said to be able to sense the true cultivation of all cultivators below the Void Refining realm. As for what this small piece of 'Divine Wood' is, that is not for me to know. But this matter is absolutely true. Since this teleportation grand formation was preserved, no cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage or above has dared to step into the cross-realm grand formation."
His words clearly showed that he had seen through Li Yan's thoughts—that some cultivators with supreme concealment techniques might be able to secretly use the teleportation grand formation.
"Not allowing cultivators at the Spirit Transformation stage or above to cross realms is a means for both sides to protect their own continents, and also a final bottom line. However, once one reaches that level of cultivation, those old monsters already have the ability to tear space. As long as they can find a suitable spatial node and break through the barrier, they can already cross realms on their own. But the spatial fluctuations caused by that would also be detected in advance by the Spirit Transformation cultivators here."
Li Yan quickly analyzed the information he received.
"Apart from this condition, all cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and below can use this teleportation formation. But in reality, only Nascent Soul cultivators can use it. There are actually three reasons for this restriction. After all, preserving this teleportation grand formation is for the purpose of interaction between the cultivators of the two realms. I believe Junior Brother Zhang can also guess the first reason."