Li Yan, of course, also felt the scan of the Divine Sense, but he couldn't recognize who it was. His Divine Sense spread out, but three hundred li away was beyond what he could currently detect. At this moment, a faint voice came over.
"It's Wang Lang. About three hundred and forty li behind us. He's discovered us."
"Oh, it's him." Although Li Yan was surprised to hear this, he did not show it. While Gong Chenying was recovering with her eyes closed just now, his own mindset had also calmed down. He had set aside matters of emotion and begun to ponder the strangeness of his back and arm after he had come into contact with the sky shadow. The first thing that came to his mind was the sentence Pingtu had said when he sent him out, and he seemed to have instructed him to remember it.
"The Five Elements conceal the workings of creation; from them, nothing is born, yet nothing cannot be born."
When Li Yan had first come out of the secret room, he had no idea what this nonsensical sentence meant. But after being assaulted by that strange dark shadow, now that he had calmed down to think about it, he began to have some understanding.
'Senior Pingtu said that this Wheel of Life and Death was transformed from True Lord Qianchong's personal magical treasure, the "Five Elements Dao-Defiance Pearl." Its main materials came from the precious treasures of the various branches of the Five Immortal Sects. And he mentioned that this giant dark shadow in the sky was transformed from the Gui Water Immortal Sect's Northern Abyss Shadow Water. "The Five Elements conceal the workings of creation; from them, nothing is born, yet nothing cannot be born." This means that nothing in the world can escape the Five Elements. Even the mutated wind, fire, lightning, and electricity are transformed from the Five Elements. All things generated by the Five Elements have a heavenly cycle. This Northern Abyss Shadow Water must be a supreme yin and supreme poison object born from the water attribute. To touch it is to be annihilated. But why is it only a great treasure of the Gui Water Immortal Sect? It must be extremely useful to the Gui Water Immortal Sect. It shouldn't be as simple as just for refining artifacts. Perhaps it can be refined or controlled with the True Scripture of Gui Water. So, an object that kills on contact... Therefore, the various raw materials of the "Five Elements Dao-Defiance Pearl" should be excellent artifact refining and cultivation materials for the people of the Five Immortal Sects. It can turn death into life. This is the principle behind what Senior Pingtu said in the end, "yet nothing cannot be born."
So, after I came into contact with the sky shadow, it was equivalent to directly contacting the Northern Abyss Shadow Water. Whether it was the spirit-artifact-quality clothes on my body or other ordinary items, they were directly turned into nothingness. But I only felt pain and was unharmed. In my urgency at that time, I had subconsciously circulated the True Scripture of Gui Water. It should be that the True Scripture of Gui Water had neutralized the destructive power of the Northern Abyss Shadow Water. Besides, Senior Pingtu also said he would only act when I was at the point of life and death. And when I was falling into the dark shadow, he did not act at all, which means that the Northern Abyss Shadow Water posed no fatal threat to me. This explains it.' As Li Yan thought, he became a little excited, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
After he had figured this out, he looked at the direction the White Jade Skiff was heading, and a plan had already formed in his mind.
Gong Chenying was in a meditative state, recovering. At this moment, they were following their previous plan, almost sticking to the edge of the giant sky shadow and slowly advancing toward the center, compressing their path. They would only occasionally change direction, but they would still maintain a certain distance from the sky shadow. Since Gong Chenying had entered a meditative state, she had given control of the White Jade Skiff to Li Yan. This flying magical artifact could be controlled as long as it was filled with Spirit Stones in advance.
Li Yan stood quietly at the front. Under the control of his Divine Sense, the speed of the White Jade Skiff slowed down and gradually drew closer to the pressing dark shadow on the right. But just as the White Jade Skiff approached the sky shadow, Gong Chenying's long eyelashes trembled, but in the end, she did not open her eyes. They had agreed beforehand that they would occasionally fly close to the edge of the sky shadow to avoid the enemy's scans, until she had recovered to about seventy percent of her strength, at which point they would dash straight for the center. It was just that this time, Li Yan was very close. The sense of life-and-death crisis directly assaulted Gong Chenying's heart. Her heart pounded wildly, but in the end, she still chose to trust Li Yan and did not open her eyes, forcing herself to calm down and continue to recover.
The White Jade Skiff was almost flying sideways, sticking to the dark shadow. Many wisps of black gas were only a few feet from the White Jade Skiff. If one were to roll over like a wave, Li Yan and the others wouldn't even have a chance to react.
Li Yan suppressed his surprise and doubt and quietly extended his right hand. The sleeve of his robe on his right arm had already disappeared before. Li Yan had not yet changed his robe, so at this moment, he didn't have to worry about damaging it. The moment Li Yan's arm extended out of the skiff, the dark shadow, as if it had a mind of its own, actually had a small wisp of black smoke break free like a loosed shackle. It shot out from the vast dark shadow on the right like a long snake and wrapped around Li Yan's right hand. Li Yan only felt a sharp pain.
The White Jade Skiff continued to fly forward, but it always maintained a distance of about twenty meters from the dark shadow on the right. After Wang Lang's Divine Sense swept past, Gong Chenying opened her beautiful eyes, her expression still cold as she told Li Yan that Wang Lang had already discovered them.
Although her relationship with Li Yan was almost confirmed, her demeanor was still the same. This made Li Yan almost think that the nervous and shy girl in front of him before was just a dream. But how could he know the shackles and worries in Gong Chenying's heart? Previously, her loss of composure was only due to the clan rules that had been deeply ingrained in her soul since childhood.
Hearing this, a smile suddenly appeared on Li Yan's lips. Then his lips moved as he began to transmit a message to Gong Chenying. A moment later, Gong Chenying suddenly raised her head, her beautiful eyes staring at Li Yan, filled with disbelief. A moment later, her expression was filled with doubt as she transmitted back.
Wang Lang's Divine Sense was firmly locked on the White Jade Skiff. He was now flying rapidly toward Gong Chenying and the other person. If he could not kill a few people from the Malevolent Spirit Sect, his state of mind would definitely be greatly affected after he got out, and even his future cultivation would be a problem.
He was getting closer and closer to the White Jade Skiff. His Divine Sense was locked on without any scruples. In his Divine Sense, Gong Chenying on the White Jade Skiff had clearly also discovered him. So, she and the young man standing at the bow with his back to Wang Lang were transmitting messages to each other. But as they talked, the two of them seemed to get agitated. The young man's hand pointed fiercely in the direction of the center of the region, and then he kept shaking his head, as if he were very emotional. He didn't even notice that the White Jade Skiff he was controlling was approaching the dark, oppressive shadow on one side. This made Wang Lang a little stunned. Could it be that he didn't have to act himself? Just as the White Jade Skiff was about to charge into the dark shadow, it was clear that the young man had discovered the danger. Under his rapid control, the skiff shook violently, almost throwing the two on it off, and they narrowly avoided the dark shadow.
Gong Chenying's pretty face was as dark as water. She pointed a finger behind the young man in the direction Wang Lang was coming from, then pointed to the center, speaking anxiously. But the weariness in her expression was still there. Clearly, her injuries had not improved much. The young man, however, still shook his head after hearing her, looking unmoved. The White Jade Skiff continued to fly along the edge of the dark shadow at a leisurely pace.
Wang Lang's expression couldn't help but become strange. Gong Chenying had clearly discovered him and wanted to fly to the center at high speed, but the young man seemed unwilling. As he quickly approached, Gong Chenying had already stood up. The young man immediately looked a little nervous. Wang Lang saw his back trembling slightly, and even the White Jade Skiff he was controlling was swaying from side to side. Gong Chenying walked up to the young man with a somewhat shaky figure, as if she wanted to take over control of the White Jade Skiff's flight, but the young man just stood at the bow, completely unwilling to leave.
"Heh heh, low cultivation, low insight. He's probably relying on the merit of having saved Gong Chenying. I can catch up in about five more breaths," Wang Lang thought to himself with great joy. At the same time, he looked at the Qi Condensation cultivator from the Malevolent Spirit Sect with contempt. But the next scene was something Wang Lang would never forget for the rest of his life.
In his Divine Sense, Gong Chenying's pretty face was extremely gloomy. Suddenly, Gong Chenying extended her arm, and a green light blade directly struck the young man standing at the bow. The young man was caught off guard and was hit squarely. His body was immediately sent flying high. To Wang Lang's astonishment, the young man tumbled in the air and fell directly into the boundless black tide on the right. The moment the young man tumbled and fell, Wang Lang seemed to see a face filled with terror and disbelief. The person had fallen heavily into the boundless dark shadow amidst a shrill scream, stirring up a wave in the dark shadow before it returned to calm.
"This... this... this... crazy... woman." Wang Lang's advance immediately slowed, and at the same time, his mouth fell open. He could not believe that a Foundation Establishment master would actually sneak attack a Qi Condensation disciple, and one who had saved her at that. He, of course, knew what that dark shadow was. It was an existence that could swallow everything. Even the texts in his sect had records of it. A Nascent Soul senior who was leading a team had once been accidentally knocked into it by an opponent. He had had no room to struggle at all and had been turned into nothingness in an instant. And he had seen it more than once since entering the Wheel of Life and Death this time. Whether it was a spirit treasure or a magical treasure, the moment it touched the dark shadow, it would be turned into nothing without even a speck left.
"Vicious... vicious!" Wang Lang only felt his mouth was a bit dry. He involuntarily swallowed his saliva and muttered as he looked at the young woman who had already taken over the White Jade Skiff and didn't even glance in the direction the young man had disappeared.
At this moment, the speed of the White Jade Skiff suddenly accelerated. Just as it was about to turn and fly toward the center of the region, Wang Lang had already come to his senses. He grit his teeth, fiercely poured spiritual power into the flying sword beneath his feet, and the flying sword turned into a streak of light and shot directly over.
Although the White Jade Skiff ahead had sped up, Gong Chenying was clearly heavily injured. Her control was shaky. In just about two breaths' time, Wang Lang was already close behind the White Jade Skiff.
"Gong Chenying, you can't escape! I never thought you could be so vicious to your own sect members. If I remember correctly, killing a fellow sect member in your Malevolent Spirit Sect is punishable by extreme torture, right? It seems you're in luck. You won't have to suffer that pain anymore. I will send you on your way. Haha..." Amidst a burst of boisterous laughter, Wang Lang had already arrived.
Gong Chenying's figure paused. She slowly turned her jade-like head, her face devoid of any expression. She directly stopped the White Jade Skiff, slapped her waist, and two pieces of a broken halberd appeared in her hands. Her figure bent slightly as if her injuries were acting up. Then she looked at Wang Lang coldly, still not speaking.
"This is the tragedy of you body cultivators. You even lack attack talismans. Your weapon has already been broken by me and has lost its spiritual nature. To take it out now is just a dying struggle." Wang Lang looked at the pretty girl. In his few clashes with her today, this girl had always stood as tall as a mountain. Now, she was actually stooped over. She was already unable to support her body.
Just as the two were facing each other, Gong Chenying suddenly stomped heavily on the White Jade Skiff. With a "boom," her figure had already leaped high into the air. With her two halberds crossed, she came crashing down on Wang Lang from the sky. Wang Lang looked at the figure rapidly descending from the air and couldn't help but let out a sneer. Although Gong Chenying's attack seemed ferocious, the moment she had stomped and leaped, her figure had still paused, and a look of pain had flashed across her face before disappearing. All this had happened in a flash, but Wang Lang had seen every bit of it.
"An arrow at the end of its flight." A ruthless look appeared on Wang Lang's lips. He would not show mercy just because the opponent was a heavily injured girl. He had been searching for so long, waiting for this moment to kill.
He neither retreated nor advanced. He took a step into the void, and his step actually produced a "boom." With a beckoning gesture, a sword was already in his hand. Wang Lang's eyes flashed with a bloodthirsty light. The flying sword in his hand suddenly grew, transforming into a giant sword the size of a door panel. A golden light flowed along its body. Then it shot directly toward the sky. At the same time, he slapped his storage bag with his other hand, and a crystal-clear green teacup flew into the air with a spin. The lid of the teacup was half-open. After flying out, the cup tilted, and a stream of tea, carrying a fresh fragrance, shot directly toward Gong Chenying.
Seeing this, Gong Chenying was startled. It was the "Moon-Formed Shadow" cup. She had long heard that this was something Wang Lang had obtained from an ancient cultivator's cave abode. The tea inside contained the power of time. If a mortal were to be touched by half a drop, they would instantly live out their entire life and turn into a pile of dry bones. Even if a cultivator were touched by this water, they would not be able to escape the power of time. Their beauty would fade, and their body would decay. It was said that only at the Golden Core Realm could one use the power of the Golden Core to suppress it and then find a medicine to dispel it. Otherwise, after a month, they would still not be able to escape death.