In his dizziness, Li Yan felt as if different bizarre and motley scenes were flashing before his eyes, like a series of shattered, twisted images rapidly passing by. The process seemed to last for a very long time, yet also seemed very brief. Li Yan felt his spirit in a trance. The flashing images made him dizzy and nauseous. Just as he closed his eyes, his body had already fallen somewhere. He only felt something soft beneath him, and no pain.
Li Yan shook his head, forced his eyes open, and sat up straight. But all he could see was a field of golden yellow, making it impossible to see the surroundings clearly. But when he observed carefully, his expression became extremely colorful. Before him was a expanse of golden gas, and it was spiritual energy that had condensed to the point of being substantial—heaven and earth earth-attribute spiritual energy so pure it lacked even a single trace of impurity. Li Yan was extremely shocked. For spiritual energy to be this dense, it was as if he could reach out and grab it in his palm. Could this be a place with a top-grade spirit vein?
He slowly stood up from the ground, having already held his breath. Although he had inhaled a mouthful of the spiritual energy here when he fell, and had felt no problems so far, Li Yan was not sure if it was because of his Fragmented Poison Body or if the spiritual energy here was genuinely fine. What he needed to do was to figure out where he was and what had happened.
Li Yan stood in place without moving and cautiously released his Divine Sense. His Divine Sense passed through this spiritual energy and only felt a thick, dense spiritual energy, with nothing amiss. A moment later, his Divine Sense easily touched a wall ahead.
A short while later, Li Yan withdrew his scattered Divine Sense, his expression solemn. He seemed to be in a sealed room right now. The space was about twenty zhang in size. In all directions, besides cold, hard walls, there were no doors or windows. This was what made him stand there, hesitating.
'No doors or windows? Then where did I come in from? There should be a hidden restriction or a very concealed door or window here.' Just as Li Yan was thinking, an ancient voice suddenly reverberated in this space.
"Little fellow, no need to look. You won't be able to find the exit here with your current abilities."
The voice came abruptly, and it was as loud as a great bell. But after an initial jolt, the surprise in Li Yan's eyes slowly faded. He looked ahead calmly, without making any move. Although he was shocked, he knew clearly that if the other party could bring him here so easily, they wouldn't kill him, at least not for now. So, the best move was to make no move at all.
Seeing Li Yan just stand there motionless, looking ahead, the ancient voice spoke again. "Little fellow, your composure is truly not weak. But you don't need to worry. I have sensed a familiar aura from you. Don't you feel the same way? Whether in the secret realm or the Wheel of Life and Death, don't you also have a sense of familiarity?"
Li Yan's eyelids lifted slightly, as if he were thinking, or perhaps in silent contemplation. He naturally knew what the other party was talking about, but with his cautious nature, how could he speak so easily? Dong Fuyi had repeatedly stressed the importance of the Five Immortal Sects. Since ancient times, countless people had coveted their cultivation manuals. In this unclear situation, he could only wait, wait for the other party to speak, so he could find some clues.
At the same time, Li Yan quietly spread his Divine Sense in all directions. But even as the voice sounded, he still couldn't lock onto the other party's position. It was as if this person were everywhere and yet nowhere, which made his heart race.
"Heh heh, little fellow, you're quite cunning. My awakening is because of your appearance. I have been here for endless years, perhaps a million years, perhaps three million, or even more. I fell into a deep sleep a hundred years after True Lord Qianchong left this place. It was your arrival that allowed me to sense the aura of the Gui Water Immortal Sect," the ancient voice said slowly, as if seeing through Li Yan's thoughts.
"Is this the Ji Earth Immortal Sect in the Mortal Realm?" Hearing the other party mention the Gui Water Immortal Sect, Li Yan knew they had already seen through his origins. Based on a guess he had long held, he responded with a question instead of an answer.
After Li Yan asked this question, the ancient voice fell silent. After a long while, it slowly replied, "Yes, and no. At least, about four hundred thousand years after True Lord Qianchong left, this was no longer the Ji Earth Immortal Sect."
"Who is Immortal Lord Qianchong?" Li Yan asked calmly. (TN: The voice used 真君 (Zhēnjūn - True Lord) but Li Yan uses 仙君 (Xiān Jūn - Immortal Lord). This is likely a mistake by the character, not the author.)
"Haha, little fellow, you're not simple. As expected of a disciple of Immortal Lord Heishui, none are easy to deal with." The ancient voice let out a sky-shaking laugh, but as the laughter faded, it let out a soft "eh". Because Li Yan was still standing there expressionlessly, seemingly unmoved by his words.
"What? You don't know the Gui Water Immortal Sect and Immortal Lord Heishui? Could it be that I was mistaken? Are you not cultivating the True Scripture of Gui Water?" As the ancient voice sounded, a powerful Divine Sense, so strong it made Li Yan tremble, an unimaginable power, swept toward Li Yan. And this Divine Sense was tinged with killing intent.
Li Yan's heart tightened, but hearing the other party mention the True Scripture of Gui Water, he had already confirmed their probable identity. The moment the Divine Sense washed over him, he felt as if a mountain of immense weight was pressing down on him. He managed to force out, "Senior, I just don't know who True Lord Qianchong and True Lord Heishui are." But that powerful Divine Sense pierced straight through, entering his body directly. Li Yan could not muster even the slightest resistance.
That incomparably sharp Divine Sense just swept over him and then withdrew. The mountain-like pressure on Li Yan's body instantly vanished. But at this moment, Li Yan was already soaked in sweat. That invincible Divine Sense had just swept past like a gentle breeze and then disappeared without a trace, as if it had never appeared.
"The five spiritual power vats in your body are indeed condensed from the True Scripture of Gui Water. For you not to know True Lord Heishui, that doesn't make sense. Even if time has passed and Immortal Lord Heishui is no longer around, you should still know of him." Just as Li Yan felt the pressure lift, the golden spiritual energy in front of him churned violently. A moment later, it formed a giant, middle-aged face. Its eyes glowed with an even more dazzling golden light as it stared at Li Yan, but its voice was still ancient and filled with a hint of reminiscence.
"Then where did you obtain the cultivation method for the True Scripture of Gui Water?" After the giant middle-aged face fell silent for a moment, a golden light flickered in its pupils, and Li Yan's mind was instantly lost. His consciousness faded.
"Taught by Dong Fuyi," Li Yan said with a blank expression.
"Dong Fuyi? So it was Dong Fuyi. You don't know True Lord Heishui?" The giant middle-aged face's tone softened after hearing what Li Yan said.
"I only met a wisp of Dong Fuyi's divine will. He searched for two million years before he found me. He did not mention True Lord Heishui," Li Yan said woodenly.
"So the Gui Water Immortal Sect also came to the Mortal Realm in search of disciples." The giant middle-aged face nodded, and the golden light in its eyes slowly faded.
Li Yan's mind immediately cleared, and he was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. He knew clearly what he had just said, but it was not of his own volition. It was as if he had been compelled to say it.
'What kind of divine art is this? To capture my mind with just a conjured face. Truly terrifying. If he wanted to kill me, it would only take a single thought.' Thinking of this, the slight arrogance Li Yan had developed from his recent successive increases in strength instantly vanished. His back was completely soaked with sweat.
'It seems that due to the special spatial power of this secret realm, I've advanced too quickly, and my mental state has become unstable. This bit of ability is worthless in the face of great divine arts. Whatever he wants me to do, I can only do.' As this thought raced through his mind, a sense of unwillingness rose in Li Yan's heart, which only strengthened his resolve for bitter cultivation.
"Senior is acquainted with Sect Master Dong Fuyi?" Li Yan sorted out his thoughts. Seeing that this conjured giant face seemed to know Dong Fuyi, he couldn't help but ask.
"Dong Fuyi is the Sect Master? Then could it be that True Lord Heishui has already..." The giant conjured face also seemed to have been startled out of its reminiscence by Li Yan's words. The first half was a question to Li Yan, the second half seemed to be muttered to himself.
After hearing Li Yan mention Dong Fuyi, he had already confirmed Li Yan's identity. The Five Immortal Sects had very few members, and the sects themselves were mysterious and unusual. When they went out for training, they never used their real names, making it extremely difficult for outsiders to know their names. This also confirmed what Li Yan had said. As for Li Yan having chanced upon and stolen the True Scripture of Gui Water, the probability of that was simply harder than convincing an immortal to commit suicide. Not to mention that it was impossible for the True Scripture of Gui Water to be circulating outside, even finding someone with Li Yan's constitution was something the Five Immortal Sects had to search for tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of years, or more, to find. For Li Yan, with his constitution, to coincidentally obtain the True Scripture of Gui Water and also know the name of someone from the Five Immortal Sects—the combination of coincidences was far more difficult than making an immortal give up on eternal life and have suicidal thoughts.
"Senior, this junior does not know True Lord Heishui. Even Senior Dong Fuyi was just a wisp of divine will that searched for two million years before finding this junior," Li Yan said, scratching his head. He then gave a rough account of how Dong Fuyi had found him.
"Two million years. Judging by your bone age, he found you only a few years ago. So Dong Fuyi has already become the Sect Master. He also searched for millions of years for the sake of the inheritance. Heh heh, the Five Immortal Sects." After hearing Li Yan's words, the giant middle-aged face fell silent for a moment, the golden light in its eyes dimming slightly. He could tell that Li Yan was not yet twenty years old. In the cultivation world, age was rarely judged by appearance. Someone like Li Wuyi, who was seventy or eighty years old, looked to be only in his twenties. So, they all judged by bone age. However, this required the person doing the judging to have a much higher cultivation level than the other party. Otherwise, they would have to rely on certain magical artifacts or magical treasures to judge.
After saying this, the middle-aged face fell silent again, and the space became quiet. This person seemed to have fallen into deep thought. Seeing this, Li Yan could only wait. In the end, he simply sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate. He would not miss the opportunity to cultivate with such dense spiritual energy here. Although it was not the water-attribute spiritual energy best suited for him, he only needed to convert it.
Time passed slowly. It was unknown how long it had been. Li Yan only felt his body brimming with spiritual energy, and even the bottleneck of the early stage of the tenth level of Qi Condensation felt loose, when the ancient voice sounded again.
"Little fellow, you can cultivate later. There will be benefits for you later on." Li Yan was immediately startled out of his cultivation and opened his eyes somewhat reluctantly. He believed that with the purity and richness of the spiritual energy here, if he were given just one more hour, he would definitely be able to break through the early stage of the tenth level of Qi Condensation and advance to the mid-stage. But it was clear that he was not the one in charge here.
"What is your name?" the giant conjured face in the air asked Li Yan, its voice carrying an irresistible authority.
After waking from his cultivation state, Li Yan was worried about Gong Chenying's situation outside.
"Senior, this junior's name is Li Yan. But there is one matter I must ask Senior to inform me of first," Li Yan said, looking up, neither servile nor overbearing.
"You want to ask about your fellow disciples, don't you? Their losses are not small, but the three little Foundation Establishment cultivators are still alive. This Malevolent Spirit Sect is not bad. You joined it for the cultivation resources, I presume." The conjured giant face now seemed to have a hint of a smile in its eyes as it looked at Li Yan.
Li Yan nodded and didn't press further. He just thought to himself, 'Dong Fuyi did want me to join a cultivation sect to obtain resources, but I was actually captured and made a disciple.'
At this moment, the golden spiritual energy in front of Li Yan churned violently, and a middle-aged man appeared before him. This man had simple features, but he exuded a sense of vicissitude that Li Yan couldn't quite describe.
"Li Yan, your arrival here is also a great fortune for you. The Five Immortal Sects have always been ethereal and mysterious. For people from different branches to meet can only be said to be fate. In that case, I shall grant you a great fortune."