43: Shadow network, the elder who controls the lamp.
You have gained a powerful side effect through shadow sacrifice, and the side effect is currently being normalized for you.
You have stolen Blood Shadow Venerable's ability—Shadow Net.
The next moment, Li Yan's consciousness sank into a giant net.
What he saw before him was a black and white world.
A world woven from countless interconnected shadows.
Countless pieces of information and energy flowed through it, finally converging into Mi Mountain City.
"Hiss!"
"This net connects shadows within a radius of several hundred miles?"
And before Li Yan's eyes, several flashes of white light appeared.
When he reached out to touch them, text and voices appeared before him.
"Si Deng Elder: Prepare to surround the Su Family's flying boat."
"When dawn breaks, that's when Human Race Cultivators are most relaxed."
"Once they all start dozing off, capture Su Chongyue, the Su Family traitor, and turn him back into a Shadow Slave."
After Si Deng Elder gave this command, several other messages came from other directions of the Shadow Net.
"Ti Deng Troop: Understood!"
"Ti Deng Troop: We'll infiltrate the floating flying boat as soon as Elder gives the order!"
Li Yan watched the information constantly flowing through the Shadow Net before him.
He was secretly astonished; the Shadow Demons had actually woven a communication network out of shadows to transmit sound.
Outsiders would never detect their existence; who would have thought that sounds could travel through the shadows beneath their feet?
And Li Yan's access to this net meant he had infiltrated the Shadow Demon's internal network and could get their information at any time.
"I didn't expect to unlock another divine skill. Now, I can clearly see every move of the Shadow Demons in Mi Mountain City."
Li Yan was secretly delighted, and from their conversation, the Shadow Demons hadn't discovered his existence.
Their attention was all focused on the floating flying boat.
At this moment, another piece of information flashed through the Shadow Net.
"Si Deng Elder: Be careful not to cause a big commotion and avoid alarming the monks and Daoists in the city!"
"Ti Deng Troop: Don't worry, Elder, we are already well-versed in doing such things."
Watching their secret discussions being completely within his grasp,
Li Yan also realized a key point.
Si Deng and the Ti Deng Troop's attention was all drawn to Su Chongyue, the third Elder of the Su Family.
As long as Su Chongyue wasn't dead, they would only focus on catching the big fish and wouldn't bother with a small fish like Li Yan.
The Su Family flying boat was huge, suspended outside Mi Mountain City, making it a very conspicuous target.
The Shadow Demons were all drawn to it, leaving them no time to deal with Li Yan, the one who slipped through the net.
After much thought, Li Yan stroked his chin and muttered, "It was indeed correct for me to leave the Su Family's flying boat. Staying with them makes me too big and conspicuous a target."
"But I can't just watch Elder Su die. If they become Shadow Slaves, it will also expose my whereabouts."
"However, that Su Family flying boat is now completely surrounded by shadows, watertight. Any slight disturbance will attract their attention."
Li Yan stood inside the Daoist temple, looking up at the floating flying boat in the distance.
What to do?
Sending a message rashly would also expose his whereabouts.
How could he get the message to Elder Su without alarming Si Deng Elder, breaking through the heavy encirclement?
Just then, a buzzing sound rang in his ears.
At this time of year, when spring transitions to summer, in a Daoist temple outside in the wilderness, there were truly many mosquitoes.
"All things have spirits, except mosquitoes!"
Li Yan couldn't help but wave his hand, shooing away the surrounding mosquitoes.
He never expected to encounter mosquitoes after his Transmigration.
"Mosquitoes… Hmm? Mosquitoes!"
Li Yan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at the flying mosquitoes he had been shooing away.
Watching the buzzing mosquitoes, still stubbornly persistent, Li Yan conceived a plan.
As the saying goes, even a small mosquito is still meat.
Mosquitoes also have shadows. So, if Shadow Puppet Art were applied to a mosquito, wouldn't it be…
Thinking of this, Li Yan formed a hand seal with two fingers and pointed at the erratically flying mosquito!
"Shadow Puppet Art!"
Controlling the shadow of a single mosquito didn't even require much Qi.
Li Yan drew a circle in the air with his finger and silently chanted, "Shadow Puppet, obey my will!"
He watched as the mosquito buzzed over and landed in Li Yan's palm.
Looking at this tiny mosquito, almost imperceptible to others, Li Yan's lips curled into a smile, and he let it suck a small drop of his blood.
Then, Li Yan held up the mosquito in his palm: "Go, help me deliver a message to Elder Su!"
He watched as this tiny, insignificant mosquito flapped its wings and flew towards the floating flying boat.
There was still some time until sunrise. Although the small mosquito flew slowly, it was enough to reach its destination.
Li Yan controlled the mosquito like this, flying it into the Su Family's flying boat.
The floating flying boat was suspended over a dense forest, with mosquitoes flying everywhere, and no one noticed this tiny mosquito.
Through the gaps in doors and windows, the mosquito drilled into Elder Su's room.
At this time, Elder Su was sitting cross-legged on the bed, meditating. He dared not relax in the slightest, fearing a sneak attack.
Buzz, buzz, buzz.
The flying mosquito Li Yan controlled flew around Elder Su.
Elder Su, with his eyes closed, frowned slightly: "I clearly put out mosquito repellent grass, where are these flying mosquitoes coming from?"
He impatiently waved his hand, trying to shoo away the annoying mosquito to avoid it disturbing his meditation.
Little did he know, this mosquito was ignorant of its place and kept flying around him.
The buzzing sound went from left to right, from right to left, utterly annoying!
Elder Su, unable to bear it any longer, pinched with two fingers and directly crushed the annoying mosquito to death.
"Hmph."
After crushing the flying mosquito, Elder Su felt a sticky sensation on his fingers, as if he had gotten blood all over his hand when he popped the mosquito.
He looked down and saw that the blood in his hand was actually beginning to squirm.
"Hmm? What is this!?"
Looking again, the blood flowed, forming two large characters.
"Shadow Attack!"
Only upon seeing this did Elder Su's body tremble.
He never expected that the mosquito he casually crushed had blood in its belly that was actually a message delivered to him!
"Using a flying mosquito to deliver a message? He must be trying to bypass the Shadow Demons!"
"Who on earth could come up with using a flying mosquito to deliver a message? What a talent! Could it be that Li Yan is helping me in secret?"
Elder Su immediately thought of Li Yan, and he couldn't help but marvel at Li Yan's methods.
Feeding blood to a flying mosquito, letting the flying mosquito pass through heavy encirclement, and arrive before him.
"Using blood hidden in a mosquito to deliver a message, brilliant! It's just, Li Yan, my young friend, when did he learn insect Gu arts?"
"Could it be that he studied insect Gu arts in MiaoXinjiang?"
Although curious about how Li Yan managed it, Elder Su still quickly got up and walked out of the bedroom.
With quick strides, Elder Su swiftly came to the helm.
When the on-duty Su Family Disciples were all dozing, Elder Su shouted loudly.
"Hoist the sails immediately! We're going to North Mountain Village to buy some fresh meat and vegetables."
Elder Su intentionally shouted this out, clearly meant for the Shadow Demons to hear as well.
Watching the floating flying boat begin to move and fly north, the Shadow Demons ambushing on the ground were utterly bewildered.
In the Shadow Net, several messages instantly came through.
"Ti Deng Troop: The Su Family flying boat is gone, Elder, what should we do?"
"Si Deng Elder: Could it be that someone among you leaked the information!"