A Record Of A Mortal's Journey To Immortality

by S.H.A aifu

A poor and ordinary boy from a village joins a minor sect in Jiang Hu and becomes an Unofficial Disciple by chance. How will Han Li, a commoner by birth, establish a foothold for himself in his sect? With his mediocre aptitude, how will he successfully traverse the path of cultivation and become an immortal? This is a story of an ordinary mortal who, against all odds, clashes with

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"You're calling for me, Master?" The elderly man by the name of Feng Zhi hesitated before confirming the situation, in fear that he had misheard.

"Yes, I'm calling for you! Hurry up and get over here! This senior has some things to ask you. Didn't you live in this place before we came here?" the scholar urged in a stern voice, in fear that Han Li would be irked by this slow disciple.

"Yes, I'm coming right away." After confirming that he hadn't misheard, the Foundation Establishment Stage elderly man could only muster up his courage and fly over to the scholar's side.

Han Li turned his attention to Feng Zhi, and asked, "You lived in this place before?"

"Yes, Senior. Prior to joining this sect, I did indeed live in this place, as had many generations of my forefathers," Feng Zhi replied in an uneasy manner.

Han Li nodded before raising a question that came as quite a surprise to everyone. "I see. How did you reach the Foundation Establishment Stage?"

Feng Zhi was also puzzled by this question, but he still hurriedly replied, "My mother encountered a powerful senior many years ago, and he gifted my mother a Foundation Establishment Pill, which allowed me to reach the Foundation Establishment Stage."

"So that means you're Xiao Mei's descendant." Han Li's expression eased slightly.

Feng Zhi faltered momentarily upon hearing this before a thought seemed to have occurred to him, and he exclaimed, "Xiao Mei? Could you be referring to my maternal grandmother, Senior? Are you the one who gifted my mother the Foundation Establishment Pill all those years ago, Senior?"

"You're pretty quick-witted, after all." Han Li confirmed this notion indirectly with a chuckle.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior! I've always wanted to meet you and thank you in person!" The elderly man hurriedly fell to his knees in mid-air with an expression of surprise and elation on his face.

Meanwhile, the scholar and the dark-skinned elderly man were completely stunned.

Han Li allowed the elderly man to extend a salute to him before continuing, "Back then, I was nowhere near as powerful as I am today, and I met your forefathers on several occasions. After that, I encountered your mother and gifted her a Foundation Establishment Pill. However, your cultivation base seems to have stalled at the mid-Foundation Establishment Stage, so it appears your aptitude isn't all that great. You've also reached quite an old age now, so your cultivation path will most likely end here."

"My apologies for disappointing you with my mediocre aptitude, Senior," Feng Zhi replied with a shameful blush on his face.

"Hehe, I have nothing to be disappointed about. By the way, how did this Wing Transformation Sect move into this place? This is the place where the master of your maternal grandmother once resided, are you not aware of this? The master of your maternal grandmother was once a good friend of mine." Han Li's expression suddenly darkened as his voice turned cold and forbidding.

The expressions on the faces of the scholar and the dark-skinned man immediately changed drastically.

Feng Zhi's heart jolted upon hearing this, and he hurriedly replied, "I am indeed aware of this, which is why I made sure to move the bamboo buildings that Senior Xin once resided in to the other side of the mountain. They've since been kept in their original condition, and I've allowed no harm to come to them. This is one of the conditions I stated before allowing the sect to settle here."

"Is that so?" Han Li turned to the two Core Formation cultivators with a cold light in his eyes.

The scholar seemed to have identified the reason for Han Li's displeasure, and he hurriedly explained, "That is indeed the case. This place is not where our Wing Transformation Sect is actually situated. Instead, it's only a temporary dwelling for us. The reason why so many of our disciples are here is because we have to take care of a few matters in the State of Yuan Wu, so we had no choice but to stay here for the time being. After transferring Fellow Daoist Xin's bamboo buildings to the other side of the mountain, we haven't touched them at all."

"I see. Regardless of all that, this is the past residence for an old friend of mine, and I don't want to see any other cultivators here. I trust the two of you are aware of what you should do next," Han Li said in a cold voice.

The dark-skinned man shuddered, and immediately said, "Of course. We'll move out of this place with our disciples right away."

The scholar nodded eagerly in agreement.

"That would be great. I'll leave you to it, then. Take me to Fellow Daoist Xin's bamboo buildings." Han Li turned his attention to Feng Zhi and asked him to lead the way.

"Right away, Senior." Feng Zhi naturally didn't dare to delay as he gave a respectful reply. He bowed toward the scholar before activating his treasure and flying toward the other side of the mountain.

Azure light erupted from Han Li's body, sweeping up Tian Qin'er within as he flew along behind Feng Zhi.

The scholar heaved a sigh of relief before transmitting his voice to the dark-skinned man as he asked, "Is that man really a late-Nascent Soul cultivator? We haven't made a mistake here, have we? Why is it that he doesn't look like any of the three legendary great cultivators?"

Even from so far away, he still didn't dare to communicate directly with words.

"That should be the case. The spiritual pressure he released just then was several times more terrifying than even our master's. That man is indeed not one of the three legendary great cultivators; perhaps a fourth great cultivator had finally appeared?" the dark-skinned man speculated.

"If that's really the case, then news of this man should've spread through the entire Heavenly South Region already," the scholar murmured.

"Forget about it. No matter who he is, he's definitely someone whom our master wouldn't even dare to mess with. Let's hurry up and evacuate this place. If we're too slow in moving out and he decides to change his mind, we'll be in big trouble," the dark-skinned man said with a grave expression.

"You're right, Senior Martial Brother. I'll start the evacuation process right away. What a pity that we have to give up such a fantastic dwelling, though," the scholar sighed reluctantly.

"Hmph, we're already extremely fortunate. Thank heavens you recruited Feng Zhi into our sect. Without him here, I feel like that man would've destroyed our sect in a fit of rage. How come I didn't know that this disciple of yours has ties with such a powerful senior? Were you aware of this, Junior Martial Brother? And who was the person that lived here in the past? To think that they were once the acquaintance of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator," the dark-skinned man sighed.

"You've stumped me there, Senior Martial Brother. You already know this; I accepted Feng Zhi as my disciple very early on, but that was only because he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. In terms of aptitude, his is very mediocre, so I didn't pay much attention to him and don't know a lot about him as a result. I did ask him about the former owner of the bamboo buildings here once. After all, the restrictions here are rather crude, but they're very practical and useful. However, Feng Zhi told me that this person was only a Qi Condensation cultivator, so I paid this matter no heed." The scholar was also becoming quite confused.

"A Qi Condensation cultivator and a late-Nascent Soul cultivator; even if this were many years in the past, surely the disparity between them is a little too large." The dark-skinned man was feeling rather speechless.

The scholar could only give a wry smile upon hearing this.

After that, the two of them didn't dare to delay any longer, and immediately led the other cultivators back to the buildings down below. At their behest, the 300 to 400 disciples present all began to pack up their belongings in preparation to vacate this site.

At this moment, Han Li had made his way into a green jade building with Tian Qin'er by his side.

The jade building was very clean and well-maintained, but its age was very apparent.

Feng Zhi led the way, and explained in a fawning manner, "After these bamboo buildings were transferred to this place, I did as I was told by my mother, and cast some spiritual light on them at regular intervals to prevent them from rotting, and also cleaned them regularly."

"That's good to hear." Han Li's lips twitched as he strode into the main hall of the jade building before surveying his surroundings.

If he recalled correctly, this pavilion was the one that Xin Ruyin had once resided in. Everything here was still the same, yet she had already passed away.

Han Li heaved an internal sigh as he turned his gaze toward Tian Qin'er, upon which his heart stirred slightly in response to what he saw.

Tian Qin'er's eyes were completely glazed over as she stroked the bamboo tables and chairs within the hall. As she began to slowly walk around the room, she appeared to have fallen into a trance.

A complex expression flashed through Han Li's eyes upon seeing this.

He was silent for a while before waving Feng Zhi away as he instructed, "Leave us alone in this place. I'm going to spend a day here with my disciple, and you can come back again tomorrow."

Han Li's voice was completely implacable, and Feng Zhi's heart stirred slightly as he nodded respectfully before departing. Han Li's body swayed and he appeared in a corner of the hall, where he sat down with his eyes closed and began to meditate, leaving Tian Qin'er to slowly wander Xin Ruyin's past residence.

The next morning, Feng Zhi came to the bamboo building uneasily to meet Han Li again, only to discover that he and his disciple were nowhere to be seen. However, there were two vials of unidentifiable pills left on the bamboo table.

Feng Zhi was ecstatic upon seeing this.

Pills left behind for him by a late-Nascent Soul cultivator were naturally prized treasures in his eyes.

He carefully stowed the pills away and at the same time, he had made up his mind; he was going to maintain these bamboo buildings to the best of his abilities. If this senior decided to visit this place again, perhaps more cultivation resources would be bestowed upon him for his efforts.

Han Li was, of course, oblivious to Feng Zhi's thoughts as he was already hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.

However, the entranced look in Tian Qin'er's eyes refused to fade. Instead, she was becoming even more absentminded and unsettled.

Tian Qin'er hadn't spoken a single word ever since they left that mountain, but she suddenly said, "Master, why did you take me to that place? Did those bamboo buildings have something to do with me?"

"I couldn't be sure whether they had something to do with you or not, but I can almost be certain now that they are indeed related to you," Han Li replied calmly.

"What do they - "

"Do you believe in reincarnation?"

Tian Qin'er was just about to ask another question, when Han Li cut her off with a question of his own.

Upon hearing this, Tian Qin'er's expression changed drastically.

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"Master, what do you mean by that?" Tian Qin'er was starting to feel a little unsettled.

"What did you feel during your time in the bamboo building?" Han Li answered her question with another question.

"I don't know, but it was a very strange feeling that I can't put into words," Tian Qin'er murmured in reply.

"That was the past residence of one of my old friends. She also possessed the Dragon Cry Physique and was a natural formation spell master. However, she passed away at a very young age," Han Li said in a slow voice.

Tian Qin'er faltered upon hearing this before asking, "Didn't you try to save her, Master?"

"I hadn't even reached the Core Formation Stage yet back then, how was I supposed to save her? Besides, her heart had already died due to other factors. The formation spell book I left to you was something that she had given me. I first came into contact with Fellow Daoist Xin Ruyin through another fellow Daoist by the name of Qi Yunxiao. Back then, I had only just reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, and attended an underground auction." Han Li began to give Tian Qin'er a recount of past events, from how he had encountered Qi Yunxiao by chance, then encountered Xin Ruyin, then the reasons for their eventual deaths.

His story only concluded after he told Tian Qin'er about he had met Xin Ruyin's servant following his departure.

However, by this point, Tian Qin'er was completely dumbstruck by the story. Only after a long while did she exhale as a complex look appeared on her face, and she said, "I see. So you think I'm a reincarnation of that person, Master?"

"I was rather skeptical initially, but after seeing your reaction in that bamboo building, I'm at least 50% sure that this is indeed the case, and that's enough for me. It appears that reincarnation most likely does exist, after all," Han Li chuckled.

"Then the reason why you accepted me as your disciple..." Tian Qin'er was becoming rather uneasy upon hearing that.

"Don't worry, I genuinely wish to take you under my wing. Fellow Daoist Xin was a good friend of mine, and I admired her greatly for her aptitude in formation spells. I accepted you as my disciple partly because you could very likely be the reincarnation of my old friend, but I also want to raise you to become a true formation spell master, as you could prove to be very useful to me in the future. Of course, if you change your mind and no longer wish to be my disciple, I can take you back to the Scattered Star Seas right away," Han Li said calmly.

"I don't know if I'm a reincarnation of Master's old friend, but even if that were the case, I can't remember anything about my past life. I am extremely fortunate that a great cultivator like Master has decided to accept a Qi Condensation Stage disciple like me; how could I possibly give up on such a brilliant opportunity?" Tian Qin'er hurriedly shook her head with a panicked expression, as if she really were afraid that Han Li would change his mind about taking her under his wing.

After all, no official disciple acceptance ceremony had been held yet, so she was only an in-name disciple of his.

"Good. I can't guarantee you much else at the moment, but at the very least, I'm confident in my abilities to get to you to progress safely to the Core Formation Stage," Han Li said with a smile.

"Qin'er is willing to serve her master wholeheartedly." Tian Qin'er immediately pledged her loyalty to Han Li.

"Alright, when we get back to the Drifting Cloud Sect, I'll officially take you as my disciple. I've never officially accepted any disciples in the past, but I do have an in-name disciple; you'll be able to see her at the sect," Han Li continued with a smile.

Tian Qin'er's heart stirred upon hearing this, and an elated smile appeared on her face.

After that, Han Li accelerated even further, and the two of them disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.

A few months later, Han Li and Tian Qin'er reached the State of Xi.

Several days after that, a streak of piercing azure light appeared near the Dreamcloud Mountains. When they were roughly 50 kilometers away from the mountain ranges, an earsplitting cry suddenly erupted from within the azure light.

The cry was like the roar of a dragon, but also like the cry of a phoenix, and even the nearby clouds were disturbed by the powerful resulting soundwaves.

The streak of azure light was traveling at an incredibly fast speed, and covered a distance of several tens of kilometers in just a few flashes. The immense spiritual power imbued within the cry had alerted all three of the major sects within the Dreamcloud Mountains.

Everyone within those sects, from ordinary Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment disciples, to Nascent Soul elders, were all stunned upon hearing this cry from afar.

All of the Nascent Soul cultivators sprang into action at once, emerging from their respective sects to see which powerful being was declaring his arrival at the Dreamcloud Mountains in such a reckless manner.

Thus, when Han Li was still close to 10 kilometers away from the mountain ranges, five streaks of light had already come out to meet him, and they appeared to be Nascent Soul cultivators from the three sects.

Han Li's heart stirred up seeing this. His emotions had been in a state of disarray at the thought of being able to see Nangong Wan again soon, but he was forced to calm himself down here.

The azure light receded and the loud cry subsided as Han Li revealed himself with Tian Qin'er by his side. He then turned his attention to the five streaks of light hurtling toward him.

Moments later, a rare smile joyful smile appeared on his face.

When the five streaks of light were around 300 to 400 feet away from him, the lights receded to reveal five cultivators, most of whom Han Li recognized.

A blue-robed middle-aged man identified Han Li from afar, and following a split second of stunned inactivity, he yelled with surprise and elation, "Junior Martial Brother Han!"

He was none other than Lü of the Drifting Cloud Sect, the very same Elder Lü who had invited Han Li to join the sect many years ago.

"You look well, Senior Martial Brother Lü!" Han Li's smile widened as he cupped his fist in a salute.

"So it's Fellow Daoist Han Li; I was wondering who would be capable of putting on such a mighty display of power. Huh? Brother Han, have you already reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage?" The next person to speak was a cultivator in a set of red robes. He was none other than Child Fire Dragon of the Ancient Sword Sect. At this moment, he wore an expression on his face that suggested that he had just seen a ghost.

Han Li took a glance at Child Fire Dragon as he said with a smile, "Brother Lan, you've also reached the mid-Nascent Soul Stage, haven't you?"

Child Fire Dragon gulped before replying drily, "Surely you jest, Brother Han. How can my progression to the mid-Nascent Soul Stage compare with your breakthrough to become a great cultivator?"

His words sent waves of shock surging through everyone else's hearts and they all swept their spiritual sense toward Han Li in unison, upon which the same dumbstruck expression appeared on their faces. Lü Luo's voice trembled as he asked, "Is that true? Have you reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage already, Junior Martial Brother?"

"My trip was quite bountiful and I managed to progress to the late-Nascent Soul Stage by chance," Han Li replied calmly.

Lü Luo was naturally ecstatic to hear this, and he was temporarily at a loss for words, but there was a beaming smile on his face.

"Congratulations, Brother Han. Who would have thought that after a mere century apart, Fellow Daoist Han would make such massive strides on your cultivation path? Looks like our Dreamcloud Mountains will also be a force to be reckoned with in the Heavenly South Region from now on." The man who had just spoken was none other than Elder Feng, the man whom Han Li had once encountered in the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion. Following a brief stunned stupor, the man immediately put on a warm and enthusiastic expression.

Han Li nodded with a smile, but didn't say anything in response.

Even though early-Nascent Soul cultivators and late-Nascent Soul cultivators were both Nascent Souls, and referred to one another as equals, both of them were well aware of the massive disparity between the two.

As such, everyone else was naturally struck by a sense of inferiority when standing before Han Li.

As for the other two unfamiliar men present, they were new elders of the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion.

In the presence of Han Li, these two were feeling even more uneasy, and after extending a greeting toward Han Li, both of them refrained from saying anything else.

"Brother Lan, Fellow Daoist Feng, you two can go back for now. I've been away from the sect for a long time, so I plan to stay there for a few days before visiting the Ancient Sword Sect the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion. How does that sound?" Han Li proposed.

Child Fire Dragon and Elder Feng immediately replied by expressing that there was no need for Han Li to visit their sects. Instead, they were going to gather their fellow elders to visit the Drifting Cloud Sect instead. They secured Han Li's agreement to pay the drifting cloud sect a visit in three days before taking their leave.

Thus, the only one that remained from the initial five was Lü Luo.

After the other four cultivators disappeared into the distance, Han Li turned to Lü Luo with furrowed brows, and asked, "Senior Martial Brother Lü, the other two sects have all recruited new Nascent Soul cultivators; does our sect still not have a new Nascent Soul elder? Why do you have to go to the trouble to come here and welcome me in person?"

"I'm quite ashamed to admit this, but with your resounding reputation, we were able to recruit many disciples with good aptitudes. However, their cultivation bases are all rather lacking, and there aren't that many who're even close to reaching the Nascent Soul Stage. However, I'm sure they'll all develop into pillars of our sect in the future. By the way, who's this?" An awkward expression appeared on Lü Luo's face at first, but that soon gave way to befuddlement as he turned his attention to Tian Qin'er.

"This is a disciple that I accepted during my travels. I haven't held an official disciple acceptance ceremony yet," Han Li replied with a smile.

Tian Qin'er was very clever and she immediately stepped forward before extending a respectful curtsey, "Tian Qin'er pays her respects to... Martial Uncle Lü." She was only a Qi Condensation cultivator, but after being accepted by Han Li as his disciple, she was naturally different from all of the other sect disciples, whose position in the sect hierarchy was determined by their cultivation base.

"Haha, I didn't think that Junior Martial Brother Han would be accepting disciples so quickly. As your martial uncle, I don't really have anything good to give you. Here's a protective treasure that I've used in the past." Lü Luo laughed heartily as he patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist, upon which a shimmering red crystal ball appeared in his hand, which he offered to Tian Qin'er.

Tian Qin'er faltered upon seeing this before extending another delighted curtsey, then accepted the treasure with a joyful expression.

Han Li smiled upon seeing this exchange before the two of them flew toward the Drifting Cloud Sect with Tian Qin'er in tow.

On the way there, Lü Luo gave Han Li a rough recount of what had happened in the Drifting Cloud Sect during the past century. However, the most important events were naturally the death of Senior Martial Brother Cheng, and Nangong Wan's perilous situation.

Han Li had anticipated that Senior Martial Brother Cheng was close to the end of his lifespan, but he was still struck by a hint of grief upon hearing about his demise.

After all, Han Li was once very close with this Senior Martial Brother Cheng.

Upon learning the fact that Nangong Wan was still afflicted by her seal, Han Li's heart sank as a tense look appeared on his face.

However, Lü Luo smiled, and explained, "Not to worry, Junior Martial Brother. Even though Sister Nangong's seal still hasn't been lifted, she's already woken up and she'll be fine. It's just that she's practicing a cultivation art in the ice wall, and if she were to break out from it now, her prior efforts would be wasted."

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Han Li's heart eased slightly upon hearing this.

It appeared that the situation was just as he had anticipated; even without lifting the seal on Nangong Wan's body, she would still be fine. However, seeing as he had already obtained the method to lift the seal, he was naturally not going to waste it. It would be best to alleviate Nangong Wan's condition in case she was to be afflicted by any unforeseen troubles in the future.

Thus, Han Li quickly made his decision.

While chatting with one another, the three of them had already reached the restriction formation around the Drifting Cloud Sect.

On the way there, Lü Luo had already released a voice transmission talisman, so as soon as the two of them reached the formation, the mist permeating throughout the entire restriction tumbled before slowly dissipating.

The entire formation around the sect was being deactivated.

Han Li stirred slightly upon seeing this, but before he had a chance to say anything, hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators had been led out of the mountain by a dozen or so Core Formation cultivators, and they arranged themselves into orderly rows as they yelled in unison, "The disciples of the Drifting Cloud Sect pay our respects to Elder Han, and extend our heartfelt congratulations to your progression to the late-Nascent Soul Stage."

All of the cultivators then bowed toward Han Li with excited expressions on their faces. It was quite clear that Lü Luo had already disclosed the news of Han Li's progression to the late-Nascent Soul Stage in the voice transmission talisman that he had just release.

That was why these disciples had gathered together to present such a grand welcome to this "Elder Han".

After all, all of the Drifting Cloud Sect disciples were well aware of what it meant for a great cultivator to emerge in their sect. Their sect would immediately become one of the few super sects in the Heavenly South Region and as a result, the cultivation resources they would be entitled to would be far superior to what they had received in the past. As such, how could they not be ecstatic?

Han Li turned to Lü Luo with a wry smile, and said, "Senior Martial Brother Lü, was there really a need to kick up such a big fuss?"

"Haha, of course, Junior Martial Brother Han. You've become a great cultivator, so the sect disciples naturally have to gather here to present a warm welcome. We're also planning to hold a grand ceremony to celebrate this event, and we're going to invite all of the elders from the other sects to attend. Otherwise, it would be an insult to your lofty status, Junior Martial Brother," Lü Luo chortled.

"Do whatever you want, then. Don't expect to me participate in preparing these events, though; the most I'm willing to do is to be in attendance on the day," Han Li sighed in a resigned manner.

As per convention in the Heavenly South Region, if a cultivator were to reach the late-Nascent Soul Stage, a grand celebration was mandatory in order to inform the entire region of this news. In doing so, all of the other sects would be alerted to this news, and the Drifting Cloud Sect would establish itself as a super sect.

Han Li wasn't opposed to bolstering the reputation of the sect, so he didn't state any objections.

Thus, Han Li descended upon the Drifting Cloud Sect right before the admiring eyes of countless disciples, and entered a spacious hall within the sect.

Han Li sat in the main seat within the hall and Lü Luo sat next to him, but his seat was positioned slightly off-center, thereby indicating that Han Li was the star of the show.

Han Li didn't make any remark upon seeing this.

He was the only late-Nascent Soul great cultivator in the sect and if he weren't willing to take up the mantle, then major problems would arise. Not only would the disciples of the sect be concerned about whether Han Li was abandoning the sect, the other sects would also become suspicious about the situation in their sect. Sooner or later, trouble was going to be brewed.

As such, Han Li willingly sat down in the main seat within the hall, but he refrained from saying anything.

After all, it had been many years since he had returned to the sect and he was completely unfamiliar with the situation within the sect, so it was best to leave the logistics to Senior Martial Brother Lü.

As it turned out, Lü Luo was nowhere near a standout among Nascent Soul cultivators, yet he was very good at managing the sect's internal affairs. He organized all of the new Core Formation disciples in the sect to pay their respects to Han Li one after the other, then officially announced the news of Han Li's progression to the late-Nascent Soul Stage again. Then, he began to hand down some missions to all of the ecstatic disciples in preparation for the upcoming celebration.

Han Li said in his seat with an indifferent expression as he swept his gaze nonchalantly over the disciples before him.

Most of the disciples who had the right to be here were Core Formation disciples, and the rare Foundation Establishment disciples among them were all responsible for important duties within the sect.

No matter which disciple he turned his attention to, the disciple would always lower their head in order to avoid Han Li's gaze as a sign of respect.

After a while, Han Li discovered that his in-name disciple, Liu Yu, and that woman with the Song surname weren't present.

Han Li stirred slightly with a peculiar look on his face upon arriving at this realization.

After Lü Luo had finally finished delivering a long list of instructions to everyone, all of the disciples exited the hall in a respectful manner to make preparations for the upcoming celebration.

"Senior Martial Brother Lü, I don't think I saw Martial Niece Song, there; has she gone out on a mission?" Han Li asked.

Lü Luo chuckled in reply, "Hehe, Martial Niece Song has gone to the Devilfall Valley. She's trying to refine a type of pill, but she's missing a rare herb. This herb is already extinct, yet someone has recently discovered some in the Devilfall Valley."

"She went to the Devilfall Valley?" Han Li's expression changed upon hearing this.

"Don't worry, Junior Martial Brother, this type of herb can be found in the outskirts of the Devilfall Valley. Also, due to some unknown reason, ever since you last visited the Devilfall Valley, the inner valley is still fraught with peril, yet the restrictions in the outer valley are growing weaker year by year, and almost all of the spatial rifts there have also disappeared. On the outskirts of the valley, there are only a few areas where demon beasts may be lurking, but overall, it's not very dangerous. Many cultivators have traveled there in the past several decades and emerged from within with bountiful hauls. By the way, Martial Niece Liu and that servant also went together with her. The three of them are all Core Formation cultivators, and they brought several powerful treasures with them, so they should be fine," Lü Luo hurriedly explained.

"Is that so? Liu Yu and Mu Peiling also went to the Devilfall Valley?" Han Li was rather surprised to hear this.

"Indeed. I don't know what kind of miracle pill you left behind, but your servant was able to reach the mid-Core Formation Stage in just a century. The rate of her cultivation was quite shocking, even to me. Perhaps she'll also have a chance to reach the Nascent Soul Stage." Lü Luo clicked his tongue in wonder.

"The pills I left behind was only a secondary factor; Peiling's attitude has always been exceptional," Han Li replied as he stroked his chin.

Back when he first left, he had thought that he would be able to return from the Great Jin in around a decade or so and as a result, he hadn't left behind all that many pills for her that would advance her cultivation base. Otherwise, if she had been given a larger supply of those pills, it was very much possible that she could've been able to reach the late-Core Formation Stage within a century.

However, he had now reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage and the Copulation Essence Arts were only effective for Nascent Soul cultivators, so he would have to think about what to do with this woman.

After all, everyone knew that this woman was his servant, so even if he were to release her right away, there would be very few male cultivators who would dare to risk irking a great cultivator just to take her for themselves.

After chatting with Lü Luo for a while longer, Han Li suddenly got up and took his leave so he could visit Nangong Wan.

Lü Luo naturally wasn't going to try and stop him.

Thus, Han Li left Tian Qin'er in the hall for now while he headed to the forbidden area within the sect.

A short while later, Han Li appeared in front of the stone chamber within the forbidden area. His emotions were feeling slightly unstable as he lifted the restriction and slowly pushed the stone door open.

The stone chamber had been maintained in a pristine condition, and looked completely identical to when he had last left it. The shimmering wall of ice was still situated directly across from the stone door.

The only thing that was different was that Nangong Wan had turned from a little girl into an exquisite beauty again. However, her eyes were shut, and she appeared to still be in a deep slumber.

Han Li's body swayed and he instantly appeared in front of the ice wall.

He stared intently at the woman within the ice with a complex expression on his face.

Right at this moment, Nangong Wan's eyelashes tremored and she slowly opened her eyes, meeting Han Li's gaze with her own.

The two of them stared at each other in silence.

A short while later, a faint smile appeared on the woman's face as she said in a gentle voice, "I'm glad to see that you're back."

Within the depths of the Devilfall Valley's inner valley, an earthshattering boom suddenly erupted halfway up an unidentifiable mountain.

A burst of dense black Qi emerged from a cave before tumbling erratically, and proliferating over an area of several thousand feet in the blink of an eye. Almost half of the entire sky had been obscured by this black Qi, and it was as if an almighty fiendcelestial were descending into this world.

"Hehe, through the use of the devil Qi left behind by that ancient devil, I was able to reach the mid-Nascent Soul Stage in just over a century. I've even mastered the last two layers of Profound Yin Devil Qi. It looks like it really was the correct decision to take such a big risk in coming to this Devilfall Valley. Next, I just have to find a few powerful treasures within the valley and I'll have nothing to fear, even if that man comes again. After that, I'll find a way to enter the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss, then draw upon the devilish Qi there to nurture this devilish corpse body. In that case, it won't be impossible for me to reach the late-Nascent Soul Stage. Haha, other devil cultivators are afraid of self-detonation from absorbing too much devilish Qi, but I have the body of a devilish corpse, so I have nothing to fear! When the time comes, I'll reach the late-Nascent Soul Stage and kill that man, then engulf his soul. I'll be only Han Li in this world, then, and that's how it should be..."

A coarse voice rang out from within the black Qi, followed by a burst of deranged laughter. All of a sudden, the black Qi surged violently toward a certain direction, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Within a bamboo forest on the outskirts of the Devilfall Valley, a ball of red light suddenly shot forth before fleeing rapidly into the distance.

However, a delicate cry erupted and three streaks of lights of different colors hurtled through the bamboo forest at an even more incredible speed, catching up to the red light after just a few flashes.

The three streaks of light flashed toward the ball of red light, and a peculiar cry erupted from within as a strange bird over 10 feet in size plummeted to the ground.

A white streak of light then flew through the bamboo forest, reaching the fallen bird in a flash before revealing a beautiful woman in a white dress.

The woman feigned a grabbing motion, and a purple herb rose up from the bird's carcass before landing in her hand.

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Another two streaks of light shot forth from within the bamboo forest, reaching the woman in white in the blink of an eye. Two other beautiful women were then revealed and one of them, a yellow-robed woman, asked, "Big Sister Liu, have you gotten the herb?"

"I did, but it's not what we're looking for; it's just a Purple Flame Flower!" the white-robed woman replied with a wry smile.

The final woman to complete the trio wore an azure palatial dress, and she smiled as she said, "There's no need to feel disheartened, Junior Martial Sister Mu. We've only searched through a small area of the outer valley; perhaps the Illusionary Spirit Herb we're looking for could simply be elsewhere!"

These three gorgeous women were naturally none other than Liu Yu, Mu Peiling, and the woman with the Song surname.

They had been scouring the outskirts of the Devilfall Valley for close to half a month and during the process, they had found some spiritual herbs that grew in obscure locations, but they Illusionary Spirit Herb that they were searching for continued to elude them. Liu Yu and Mu Peiling were starting to get quite impatient. In contrast, the woman with the Song surname appeared to have the patience of a saint.

"That's true, but if we venture into any other places, it's going to get dangerous. Those areas could have residual spatial rifts and if we fall into one, we'll be dead for sure." Liu Yu's brows furrowed with concern.

"Most of the spatial rifts in the outer valley have disappeared long ago. As long as we keep our guard up, there's no way we'd bump into one. Besides, this pill is very important to Core Formation cultivators like us, and cultivation is always a path that's fraught with peril. If we don't even dare to take risks like this, then we might as well just stay in constant seclusion at the sect and not go anywhere," the woman with the Song surname chuckled.

Mu Peiling was silent for a while before heaving a forlorn sigh, "Senior Martial Sister Song is right. I've reached the mid-Core Formation Stage bottleneck and without this pill, it's going to be very difficult for me to make a breakthrough."

A smile appeared on Liu Yu's face as she said, "Seeing as Senior Martial Sister Song and Junior Martial Sister Mu are both in support of this decision, I can only accompany you two."

Thus, a decision was reached the and the three women shot forth toward another area in the outer valley, disappearing in a flash.

At the same time, in the forbidden area of the Drifting Cloud Sect, the door to the stone chamber was opened again and Han Li emerged from within with a hint of elation in his heart. However, he immediately discovered that Lü Luo was waiting outside for him along with Tian Qin'er, and that discovery made him falter momentarily.

"Junior Martial Brother Han, how is Sister Nangong?"

"She's doing well. I used the curse dissolving method that I obtained in the Great Jin, and lifted the Soul Seal Curse on her again. There should be no further mishaps arising now. However, Wan'er is at a critical juncture in her cultivation of the Youthful Celestial Moon, so she won't be able to leave the ice wall for the time being. It's probably going to take several years for her to master the cultivation art. It's a pity that my cultivation art is of a different attribute to hers. Otherwise, I'd be able to lend her some assistance," Han Li sighed in a forlorn manner.

Lü Luo's expression eased as he joked, "There's no need to hurry, Junior Martial Brother. Sister Nangong is unable to come out of the ice wall right away, but she's already woken up on her own and it'll only be a matter of a few years until she regains her freedom. When that time comes, you have to make sure to invite me to your wedding!"

A rare blush appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this, but his expression quickly reverted back to normal.

Lü Luo hesitated momentarily before asking, "By the way, you're already a great cultivator now, so it's inappropriate for you to continue living on this mountain. How about you move back to the sect, and I'll construct a new cave abode for you on the main peak?"

Han Li contemplated this offer momentarily before shaking his head as he said, "There's no need for that. My cave abode isn't very large, but it's very peaceful. Even if Wan'er were to come out from the ice wall, it would be large enough to house the two of us."

A reluctant expression appeared on Lü Luo's face and he hesitated momentarily before continuing, "Alright, then we'll do as you say, Junior Martial Brother. Oh, right, I still have your Nascent Soul Stage puppet, I..."

"I've already reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage, so that puppet won't be very useful to me. I'll give to the sect as a present and you can continue using it," Han Li said with a nonchalant smile.

"Thank you, Junior Martial Brother!" Lü Luo was overjoyed to hear that. The puppet was slightly redundant for Han Li, but it was extremely useful for him.

Han Li's brows furrowed as he suddenly said, "Wan'er is at a critical juncture during her breakthrough; I don't want anything to disturb or disrupt her during this time."

"So what you're saying is..." Lü Luo was a little perplexed.

"My cave abode is rather far away from the forbidden area and even though I don't plan to go into seclusion for long periods of time in the near future, I do have some treasures that I have to refine, and I'll perhaps need to make a few trips. Hence, I want to enhance the restriction here so it's completely inaccessible to anyone else. What do you think, Senior Martial Brother?" Han Li asked with a serious expression.

"Haha, there's no need for you to ask my permission about that; just do whatever you please. I was planning to hand over the reins on this forbidden area to you after you came back anyway," Lü Luo replied with a smile.

A smile appeared on Han Li's face and a thought suddenly seemed to have occurred to him as he pointed to Tian Qin'er, and said, "Thank you, Senior Martial Brother. Also, I might have to trouble you to look after this disciple of mine from time to time."

He then divulged the information regarding Tian Qin'er's Dragon Cry Physique, as well as the fact that she could be a reincarnation of a good friend of his.

Lü Luo immediately understood Han Li's intentions, and he nodded without any hesitation as he promised, "Tsk tsk, so reincarnation truly does exist. Don't worry, if you're not around to administer timely treatment, I'll be sure to repress the Yang energy backlash in Martial Niece Tian's body."

"Hehe, then I'll have to trouble you, Senior Martial Brother Lü. In the meantime, I'll try to find some Yin-type spiritual pills and if they're potent enough, they'll also be able to temporarily repress her Dragon Cry Physique so you won't have to always step in," Han Li assured.

In response, Lü Luo waved his hands in a nonchalant manner.

Tian Qin'er was quite touched by Han Li's gesture. She had always been concerned about what would happen to her if her master were to go on a long journey or into extended periods of seclusion.

Who would've thought that Han Li already had everything planned in advance?

Lü Luo then spoke to Han Li about the upcoming celebration, and the potential visits from the Ancient Sword Sect and Hundred Possibilities Pavilion before departing.

As soon as Lü Luo exited the forbidden area, Han Li immediately pulled out several formation flags and formation plates from his storage pouch in order to alter the restriction around the entire stone chamber.

Han Li had slain many Nascent Soul cultivators in the Great Jin, and he had obtained many powerful formation tools from their storage pouches. As such, the restriction around this forbidden area was far too feeble in his eyes, so he decided to revamp the whole thing.

In that case, even if he weren't by Nangong Wan's side, he wouldn't have to constantly be fretting over her safety. He didn't want his companion to come to harm because he wasn't by her side.

With these ready-made formation tools available, setting up the formation was an extremely quick and easy task.

A short while later, all of the formation spells had been set, and Han Li turned to Tian Qin'er with a smile before dusting himself off and entering the stone chamber again. Only after spending a short while in there did he re-emerge with a smile on his face.

Han Li was in a rather good mood as he said, "Let's go. I'll take you to my cave abode, and I'll construct a separate one for you as well. I've also got many spell formation tomes in my collection, and you can take all of them as well."

Azure light then flashed over his body, sweeping up Tian Qin'er with him as he departed from the forbidden area, flying toward the interconnected mountains where he once lived.

A short while later, the azure streak of light flew out of the restriction formation around the Drifting Cloud Sect. Han Li traveled to the interconnected mountains to the east of the sect and circle around in the air before landing on one of the mountain peaks down below.

He swept a sleeve through the air and over ten golden flying swords shot forth, transforming into streaks of golden light that were over 100 feet in length, which disappeared in a flash.

Han Li then sat down with his legs crossed, making hand seals in silence. However, loud rumbling was erupting incessantly halfway up that mountain peak.

Tian Qin'er stood behind him with curiosity shimmering in her eyes as she surveyed her surroundings.

At Han Li's current power level, constructing a small cave abode naturally wouldn't take too much time. Less than 10 minutes had passed when he abruptly opened his eyes, and said, "Alright, the cave abode is complete. You can arrange the interior however you like. Let's go in first and if there's something you don't like, I can make some adjustments for you. If you're missing some things, you can take my elder badge to the sect and get everything you need. I'm going to be in my cave abode refining a few treasures in the next few days, so you can familiarize yourself with the sect first."

"Yes, Master!" A hint of excitement appeared on Tian Qin'er's face upon hearing this.

Han Li flipped his hand over, and several shiny objects appeared over his palm. There was a badge, a flag, a bead, a flying sword, a bronze mirror, as well as six or seven other treasures of remarkable appearance. "You should be able to use these treasures, and they're all pretty decent. Refine them and use them to protect yourself. That badge is a treasure to activate the restriction around these mountain peaks; refine that one first before you leave this place."

"Thank you, Master! Your kindness will not be forgotten!" Tian Qin'er's parents were both Core Formation cultivators, so she could immediately identify that these treasures were far better than "pretty decent". All of them appeared to be either high-grade or top-grade treasures, and she would definitely be able to make use of them even after reaching the Core Formation Stage. As such, she immediately expressed her gratitude before accepting the treasures with elation.

Han Li chuckled as he flew toward another mountain peak as an azure streak of light, flashing a few times through the air before disappearing from view.

Meanwhile, Tian Qin'er was extremely excited as she fiddled around with her treasures for a long while before joyfully heading to her own cave abode.

On the other side, Han Li had already returned to the cave abode that he had been absent from for close to a century.

Everything was still in an identical state to when he left them, and a strong sense of nostalgia welled up in his heart. He then pulled out the spiritual herbs, spiritual medicines, spirit beasts, and spirit insects from his storage pouch, planting the medicines and herbs in the medicine garden, then placing the beasts and insects into the appropriate rooms.

He then entered the secret chamber without any hesitation to refine his second batch of Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, preparing to infuse them with his newly obtained Auric Essence.

However, that was only the first step. Han Li was also planning to infuse the Myriad Year Profound Jade he had obtained from the North Night Palace into the swords as well. In that case, all of his flying swords would possess glacial powers, thereby making them even more formidable.

Han Li was very much looking forward to seeing how his magic treasures would turn out following this refinement process.

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Han Li was in seclusion in the secret chamber for four days and four nights.

When he finally emerged from the secret chamber with a pleased look on his face, he discovered that Lü Luo was sitting with his legs crossed outside the restriction of his cave abode, and it was unclear how long he had been waiting out there.

Han Li contemplated the situation for a moment, and he could roughly guess the purpose of Lü Luo's visit. As such, a faint smile appeared on his face as he opened the restriction outside his cave abode and strode out to meet him.

Lü Luo was ecstatic to see Han Li, and he hurriedly rose to his feet as he cupped his fist in a salute. "Junior Martial Brother Han, I heard from Martial Niece Tian that you went into seclusion to refine your treasures. I thought I'd have to wait a few more days, but you've come out already!"

"I obtained some things in the Great Jin, so I decided to refine my treasures again. I initially planned to be done in two or three days, but it took a little longer than I expected. My apologies for keeping you waiting, Senior Martial Brother. Have you come here to speak to me about the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion?" Han Li asked in an unhurried manner.

"That's right. Almost all of the elders from those two sects have been deployed, and it seems that some of them don't believe you've actually reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage," Lü Luo replied with a smile.

"Alright, then let me meet them to dispel their suspicions," Han Li said in a calm manner.

"That would be best." Lü Luo was naturally very pleased with this proposal.

As such, the two of them immediately flew toward the Drifting Cloud Sect.

A short while later, the two of them appeared outside the main hall on the main peak of the sect.

There were a dozen or so Foundation Establishment Stage disciples guarding the hall, and all of them immediately rushed forward to greet Han Li and Lü Luo in a respectful manner. However, there were a few of them who couldn't but steal a few glances at Han Li.

Han Li's brows furrowed in response, and he harrumphed lightly.

The harrumph could easily be construed as Han Li merely clearing his throat, but to the disciples who were stealing furtive glances at him, it felt as if a thunderclap had erupted right beside their ears, and shivers ran down their spines as they hurriedly buried their heads into their chests.

Lü Luo paid no heed to Han Li's gesture as he asked, "Are he fellow Daoists still in the hall?"

"Yes, the seniors from the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion have been meditating within the hall this entire time, and nothing has happened," one of the disciples quickly replied.

Lü Luo nodded in response.

Meanwhile, Han Li had already ascertained the cultivation bases of everyone in the hall with his spiritual sense.

There were two mid-Nascent Soul cultivators and three early-Nascent Soul cultivators in there. It appeared that the grand elders from both secs had arrived in person.

At his current power level, even a normal late-Nascent Soul cultivator would be no match for him, so he naturally didn't regard the cultivators in the hall as a threat.

Thus, he didn't say anything and strode directly toward the hall.

Lü Luo faltered slightly upon seeing this before hurriedly following along, making sure to walk a step behind Han Li as a gesture to highlight who the star of the show was.

Lü Luo had only taken a few steps when, to his surprise, he discovered that Han Li had "disappeared".

He could physically see Han Li, but if he were to use his spiritual sense to try and detect Han Li's presence, he would discover nothing but empty air.

Lü Luo immediately drew a sharp breath, yet at the same time, he was feeling slightly concerned.

This type of complete aura concealment technique could only be used by high-grade cultivators against cultivators of a lower caliber, whose spiritual sense were far inferior to their own.

As an early-Nascent Soul cultivator, even though he could clearly see Han Li walking right in front of him, he was still completely unable to sense his presence. This meant that if Han Li wanted to assassinate early-Nascent Soul cultivators like him, he could literally sneak up right next to them without drawing any attention to himself.

Of course, he was also rather concerned. After all, Han Li was unleashing this type of secret technique in order to intimidate the grand elders of the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion, but he had only recently reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage, while the two grand elders were both seasoned mid-Nascent Soul cultivators. If it turned out that his spiritual sense wasn't powerful enough, his concealment technique would be seen through, and far from being intimidated, the two grand elders would scoff at him for playing a childish trick. At times, there was only a fine line between stamping one's authority and making a fool out of oneself.

Of course, Lü Luo was aware that Han Li wouldn't dare to use such a technique unless he had a high degree of confidence in his ability to pull it off.

Even so, he was still feeling rather uneasy, and his emotions were quite conflicted.

There was only a short corridor leading up to the hall, and before long, Han Li and Lü Luo had arrived at their destination.

Everyone immediately turned their attention to Lü Luo, then turned to appraise Han Li with astonishment in their eyes.

Lü Luo was greatly relieved upon seeing this.

It appeared that none of the five Nascent Soul cultivators had been able to detect Han Li's presence, after all.

The five cultivators' expressions changed drastically as they rose to their feet in quick succession.

An elderly man with a head of messy hair stood up, and the astonishment on his face was replaced by a slightly grave smile as he said, "Fellow Daoist Han really has become a late-Nascent Soul great cultivator already. Even with my mid-Nascent Soul Stage cultivation base, I was unable to detect your presence."

This man was none other than the grand elder of the Ancient Sword Sect, Eccentric Jin!

A purple-robed man quickly came to his senses as well as he said, "Indeed. It's only been just over a century, yet Brother Han has already reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage. The rate of your cultivation is simply unheard of."

This man was Eccentric Pyre of the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion.

Han Li had encountered both of these men back when he was attending a ceremony at the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion, and he had even fought Eccentric Jin once before.

In response, Han Li merely smiled, and said, "I was only fortunate to have stumbled upon some opportunities during my journey. I was unaware that all of you will be visiting, and I apologize for making you wait so long, Fellow Daoists."

"Haha, don't mention it. To cultivators like us, days pass by in the blink of an eye," Eccentric Jin chuckled.

Han Li smiled upon hearing his as he turned his attention to the other three cultivators. Two of them were new Nascent Soul cultivators from the two sects, while the final one was a young woman with a set of gentle facial features. This was the female Ancient Sword Sect cultivator he had also encountered during the ceremony at the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion.

This was quite a haughty woman who had once attempted to use a rather profound secret technique on him, but completely failed to assess the limits of his abilities. However, it did leave Han Li with a rather deep impression of this woman.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward her, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face as he said, "You look well, Fairy Brightscent. I can see that you've already reached the early-Nascent Soul Stage bottleneck. You should be able to progress to the mid-Nascent Soul Stage in about a decade."

The young woman's expression was slightly strained at the sight of Han Li turning his gaze toward her, and her face paled significantly upon hearing Han Li diagnose her recent cultivation progression to a fault.

Prior to meeting Han Li, the most skeptical among the five Nascent Soul cultivators about Han Li's progression to the late-Nascent Soul Stage wasn't Eccentric Jin or the other mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. Instead, it was none other than this young woman.

Over a century ago, during the ceremony held at the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion, this young woman had also only recently reached the Nascent Soul Stage. However, she possessed a treasure that allowed her to cultivate at several times the speed of a normal cultivator. Through the use of this treasure, she had made several breakthroughs in a short period of time, thereby allowing her to reach the Nascent Soul Stage at such a young age, and she was lauded as an exceptional prodigy in the Ancient Sword Sect.

However, during the ceremony, she had encountered Han Li, who had apparently been cultivating for a shorter span of time than her, yet possessed a superior cultivation base. As such, she couldn't help but want to test out Han Li's abilities. In the end, she was completely unable to verify the extent of Han Li's power, but she still wasn't willing to concede and settle for second-best. She thought that with the assistance of her special treasure, it would only be a matter of time before she caught up to Han Li.

However, only a century had passed by, and Han Li had returned from his travels as a late-Nascent Soul cultivator.

Fairy Brightscent was stunned upon hearing this, and refused to believe it to be true.

However, Han Li had just displayed the might of his spiritual sense, and when he cast his gaze toward her, the young woman had been struck by a sense of asphyxiation. Furthermore, he was able to easily identify her cultivation situation with unerring accuracy.

All of this was extremely shocking to her, and only after a few seconds did she manage to force a smile onto her face.

"As expected of Brother Han, your assessment of my cultivation base is completely spot on. Looks like you really have become a late-Nascent Soul great cultivator. With Brother Han overseeing the Dreamcloud Mountains, no one would dare to offend our three sects."

"Haha, indeed, Fairy Brightscent. At Junior Martial Brother Han's current age, our Dreamcloud Mountains will be safe for at least 700 to 800 years. As for other forces offending our three sects? Hehe, on the contrary, I think it's time for our three sects to expand out of the Dreamcloud Mountains," Lü Luo suddenly said.

Everyone stirred upon hearing this.

Han Li remained silent with a smile on his face, but he slowly withdrew his secret technique, and his aura reappeared before becoming more and more powerful. He was most definitely displaying the spiritual pressure of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator!

The five cultivators in the hall were feeling rather unsteady on their feet in the face of such devastating spiritual pressure, and there was no doubt in their hearts that Han Li had indeed reached the late-Nascent Soul Sage.

After that, Lü Luo began to discuss his plans for expansion with the cultivators from the other two sects. At the very least, they were planning to take over the entire cultivation world in the State of Xi.

From his words and mannerisms, it was clear that he was already regarding the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion as subsidiaries to the Drifting Cloud.

Eccentric Jin and the purple-robed man looked at one another, and they could both see their own resignation mirrored in each other's eyes. Lü Luo pretended to be completely oblivious to their dismay.

Somewhere within the outer valley of the Devilfall Valley, Mu Peiling's trio emerged from a rather obscure cave, and all three women wore urgent expressions of concern on their faces.

Liu Yu's footsteps faltered as her brows furrowed, and she said, "This is already the last possible place where Illusionary Spirit Herbs could be growing, but we still haven't found any. Could it be that all of the Illusionary Spirit Herbs on the outskirts of the valley have been picked already?"

The woman with the Song surname was also finding it difficult to maintain her former composure, and she replied, "That's not entirely impossible. If we were to enter the inner valley, we should definitely be able to find some of this herb."

"No, we definitely venture into the inner valley. It would be far too dangerous for us with our cultivation bases." Mu Peiling's expression changed drastically upon hearing this.

Song Yu blinked with a contemplative look on her face, and said, "Not necessarily. I know and old friend of Martial Uncle Han's, and she gave me a map of a safe route into the inner valley. As long as we don't stray from that route, we should be able to minimize the risk of encountering spatial rifts in the inner valley."

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"Martial Uncle Han? You're referring to..." Mu Peiling faltered upon hearing this and was beginning to stutter a little.

"That's right, I mentioned him to you once before, Junior Martial Sister Mu. Fellow Daoist Violet Spirit once ventured into this valley with Martial Uncle Han, which is how they were able to map out this safe route," Song Yu replied with a gentle smile.

"I met Fellow Daoist Violet Spirit once several decades ago. She really was an exquisite beauty; even a woman like me was entranced by her beauty. I heard that many prominent male cultivators have pursued her and many intense battles have taken place as they've attempted to compete over her. She's even being referred to by some as the most beautiful female cultivator in the Heavenly South Region. However, this woman is rather mysterious and Master seemed to have made her acquaintance very early on, so she's kind of like a close confidant of his. You're going to have to be careful, Sister Mu!" Liu Yu giggled in a teasing manner.

A faint blush appeared on Mu Peiling's face as she scoffed, "What do I have to be careful about?"

Song Yu adopted a serious expression as she asked, "Stop teasing Junior Martial Sister Mu, Junior Martial Sister Liu, let's get back to business. Are we going to venture into the inner valley or not?"

Mu Peiling and Liu Yu's smiles faded and they looked at one another to find their own hesitant expression mirrored in each other's eyes.

"Senior Martial Sister Song, is the map that this Violet Spirit gave you really a map of the route that Master once took? If that's the case, then we could certainly try it. After all, the Illusionary Spirit Herb is very important for both of our upcoming breakthroughs, and I really don't want to go back emptyhanded," Liu Yu said with furrowed brows.

Mu Peiling was rather hesitant, but she succumbed to the temptation in the end, and sighed, "If we're only searching for the herb close to the entrance of the inner valley, then I can come along as well."

Song Yu nodded before extending words of caution. "Alright, now that that's settled, it looks like we'll be taking a risk. Let me make this clear in advance, though; we'll only be searching the area within several hundred kilometers of the entrance, and if we still can't find the Illusionary Spirit Herb there, then we'll immediately exit the inner valley. No one is allowed to venture in any further. The pill is important, but not as important as our lives."

"Of course. If we were to venture deeper into the inner valley, even with a map at our disposal, it would still be akin to suicide for mere Core Formation cultivators like us. I heard that there are some ancient beasts within the inner valley that even Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't dare to face in battle," Liu Yu said with a smile.

"Those ancient beasts normally lurk within the depths of the inner valley, so we should be fine if we stay near the entrance. Let's not waste any more time with words; we've already spent a lot of time here so we should make haste," Mu Peiling said in a decisive manner.

The other two women didn't want to delay any longer, either, and the three of them shot forth as streaks of light toward a certain direction.

Five days later, at the border of the inner valley, amid a world of ice and snow, three women appeared in the bone-chilling wind. Not far behind them was a massive ice crystal, and they were situated on the very same path that Han Li and Violet Spirit had taken with the other Ghost Spirit Sect disciples all those years ago.

The three women had already conjured up dense light barriers around their bodies, so they didn't have to fear these biting winds.

After discussing quietly among themselves for a while, the three women rose only several tens of feet above the ground before flying slowly toward the distance, not daring to speed up in the slightest.

This realm of ice and snow wasn't very large in area, so it only took the three of them less than half a day to fly out of this region, upon an extremely lush mountain appeared before their eyes.

The three of them were ecstatic upon seeing this, and they split up to search for the herb again.

A day and a night later, the three women gathered once again on the mountain's summit. After looking at once another, wry smiles appeared on all of their faces.

"There are many spiritual medicines here on the mountain that can't be found in the outer valley, but there are no Illusionary Spirit Herbs here," Liu Yu said in a gloomy voice.

"Same story on my end. I didn't find the Illusionary Spirit Herb, but I gathered all of the ingredients required for another pill that I'm trying to make. At the very least, I won't be leaving this place completely empty-handed." Mu Peiling didn't know whether she should laugh or cry.

"It looks like we won't be finding the Illusionary Spirit Herb on this trip. Let's return to the sect," Song Yu heaved a dejected sigh.

"Let's do another thorough search. Perhaps we might've missed some places." Liu Yu was unwilling to give up.

Song Yu shook her head as she said in an implacable voice, "Let it go. Don't try to force the issue. The inner valley is too dangerous and even if we only stick to an area near the entrance, accidents could still happen if we stay here for too long. We're leaving right away."

A hint of reluctance appeared on Liu Yu's face and just as she was about to say something, a loud rumbling thunderclap suddenly erupted in the distance.

The three women faltered upon hearing this and they all turned toward that direction in unison.

There, they discovered a shadowy mass of dark clouds that were rapidly flying toward them, moving at such an incredible speed that it was expanding in their field of vision at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye. The dark clouds were tumbling erratically and loud thunderclaps were erupting from within, creating a very intimidating sight to behold.

The three women were naturally able to identify that something was amiss with that mass of dark clouds, and Song Yu immediately exclaimed, "This is bad! There's something wrong with those clouds! It could be an ancient beast!"

Thus, the three of them leaped into the air and immediately flew toward the direction they had come in.

The rumbling creature within the dark clouds seemed to have caught sight of the three women, and it sped up even further as it hurtled toward them. At the same time, a burst of cold cackled rang out from within.

"It's not an ancient beast; it appears to be a Devil Dao cultivator!" Liu Yu's roots lay in the Devil Dao herself, so she immediately managed to identify what these dark clouds were upon hearing the cold cackling.

"Regardless of what it is, it definitely doesn't harbor any benevolence toward us. We can't engage it in a direct battle!" At the sight of the approaching dark clouds, Song Yu was starting to get quite flustered. She hurriedly patted the storage pouch hanging from her waist, and a white bead appeared in her hand.

She then began to chant something, and the bead swayed before transforming into a ball of white clouds and mist that enshrouded the three of them within.

The white cloud then shuddered before flying through the air like a shooting star, traveling at a speed that wasn't inferior to that of the dark clouds behind them.

"You dare to use these pitiful tricks against me?" An eerie voice sounded from within the dark clouds before they tumbled and materialized into a massive black hand.

The hand disappeared in a flash, transforming into a streak of black light over 100 feet in length. Its speed also increased drastically and just a few flashes later, it had already gained significantly on the three women.

"That's a Nascent Soul devil cultivator behind us! We have to think of a way to impede him," Song Yu's urgent voice sounded from within the white cloud.

"I'll release my spirit insects. Even if I have to sacrifice my centipedes, I'll make sure to stop him in his tracks for now," Liu Yu offered.

As soon as her voice fell, seven or eight snowy white centipedes that were around half a foot in length shot forth from within the white cloud before throwing themselves at the pursuing black light.

"Huh? Six-Winged Frost Centipedes! Haha, if it isn't Liu Yu, you little brat! Are you trying to use these little bugs to hold me off?" The man within the black light began to chortle with amusement.

Several thin pitch-black tendrils suddenly shot forth from within the black light, puncturing the bodies of the white centipedes in a flash. Meanwhile, the streak of black light itself simply skirted around the centipedes without any pause or hesitation.

The centipedes were completely stationary as they hovered in mid-air. Only after a short while were they completely engulfed in black flames and were incinerated into nothingness.

The Six-Winged Frost Centipedes were somehow completely unable to withstand these peculiar black flames.

The three women within the white cloud were horrified upon seeing this. In particular, Liu Yu was extremely stunned. She didn't know who this devil cultivator was and his voice sounded very unfamiliar to her, but he had somehow managed to glean her identity just from seeing her centipedes.

The black streak of light was simply far too fast and before the three women could think of any strategies to keep it at bay, it was already upon them.

It circled through the air before transforming into a massive black hand again, reaching out toward the white cloud without any inhibition.

The three women cried out in unison as three swords, a long halberd, and a scepter shot forth from within the white cloud at the same time.

Black light flashed over the surface of the massive hand and it grabbed ahold of all of those treasures. When it spread open its fingers again, all of the treasures had disappeared.

However, in that split second of delay, the white cloud suddenly exploded and three streaks of light hurtled toward different directions.

The three women were splitting up so that at the very least, not all of them would be doomed. However, an incredible sequence of events then unfolded!

A large swath of black light suddenly erupted from the massive hand, sweeping toward all three women at once, and dragging them back despite the fact that they were all flying in different directions. Thus, the massive black hand captured all three of them at once.

The three women were stunned and horrified, and protective spiritual light was flashing desperately over their bodies as they attempted to free themselves with all their might.

However, right at this moment, a cold harrumph sounded beside their ears.

Bursts of black Qi wafted out from the massive hand, spraying the three women directly in the face, upon which all three of them immediately fell unconscious.

Only then did the black hand release the three women and transform into a vast expanse of black Qi. The black Qi then converged toward the center to form a tall and broad humanoid figure.

The humanoid figure's entire body was pitch-black in color, yet its eyes were shimmering with a harrowing green light.

The black figure looked at the three women and cackled, "Who would've thought that it would be these three? This is good; if I can capture them, then that man will be even more wary of me. Hehe, all three of these women are closely related to you; you probably won't sacrifice yourself to save them, but I'm sure I'll be able to extort you a little."

After an indeterminate period of time, Song Yu, who was the most powerful among the three women, awakened first.

She looked around to find that she was lying on the cold hard ground with stone pillars that were shimmering with white light all around her. A jolt of shock ran through her heart and she immediately sat up. At the same time, she made a hand seal in an attempt to unleash her protective spiritual light.

However, a cry of surprise erupted, and Song Yu slumped to the ground once again.

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"I've already placed a restriction on you, so don't even think about using your magic power. You're now no different from a mortal." A lazy voice suddenly sounded, drawing the horrified gaze of Song Yu.

In the corner of a cave, there was a tall and broad shadowy figure sitting with his legs crossed. Due to the fact that he had been sitting completely still, Song Yu had failed to notice him initially.

Almost at the exact same moment, she discovered that she was indeed unable to draw upon any of her magic power. It appeared that a powerful restriction really had been placed upon her, and her heart sank upon making this discovery.

"Who are you? And why have you captured us?" Song Yu looked around to discover Mu Peiling and Liu Yu lying next to her. Even though they were both unconscious, they appeared to be largely unscathed, and she was very relieved to see this.

"Hehe, I didn't think that I would encounter the three of you in the inner valley. You can only blame your terrible luck for running into me, and doing so right at a juncture when the three of you could prove to be useful to me. Martial Niece Song, if the three of you stay here without trying to pull any shenanigans, I won't hurt any of you. However, if you try to escape, then don't blame me for hurting you," the humanoid figure threatened in a cold voice.

Song Yu faltered slightly upon hearing this. "Martial niece? I don't recall having a senior like you in our sect. You must have the wrong person, Senior."

"It's no surprise that you don't recognize me. All you have to know is that you're my martial niece. How's that little brat, Violet Spirit?" the humanoid figure asked.

"You know Violet Spirit?! Who are you?" Song Yu yelled with alarm.

"It's simple for me to show you who I am," the shadowy figure murmured before suddenly rising to his feet and making his way toward Song Yu.

After just a few steps, the humanoid figure had emerged from the darkness and revealed himself to Song Yu.

He wore a set of long black robes with a skeletal head on his shoulders. There was also a pair of large tusks protruding from his mouth, creating an extremely terrifying sight to behold. Furthermore, the man had an arm exposed, and that arm appeared to have been constructed from shimmering metal, which was also very unsettling.

Song Yu repressed the horror and disgust in her heart as she asked, "Who are you? I definitely haven't met you before."

"Really? In my current state, it's no surprise that you don't recognize me," the black-robed figure mused calmly. However, a peculiar look suddenly appeared in his eyes as he turned toward Song Yu.

As their eyes met, Song Yu was abruptly struck by a sense of familiarity, and a thought suddenly occurred to her.

"You... You're... That's impossible!" Song Yu exclaimed.

"You've finally recognized me. Don't be so alarmed; the current me isn't that man yet. However, it won't be long before I'll become him." The black-robed figure chuckled eerily before his body swayed, and he sat down in his original spot with his legs folded, no longer paying any heed to Song Yu.

Song Yu's eyes were filled with incredulity and waves of shock were surging through her heart. The figure of a youth appeared in her mind, combining with this black-robed figure, then separating into two again.

Could it be that this man really was Martial Uncle Han? But he clearly didn't look like this in the past. Could it be that something happened to him during his journey, so he had been forced to resurrect himself through possession? But that couldn't be the case, either. Even though this martial uncle of hers was only at the mid-Nascent Soul Stage, his combat prowess was not inferior to that of late-Nascent Soul cultivators, so how could he have been reduced to such a pitiful state? Furthermore, even if his body really had been destroyed and his Nascent Soul was forced to possess a new vessel, why didn't he return to the sect to rest and recover? Why would he hide in this Devilfall Valley instead, and why would he attack the three of them? "What do you mean by that?" Song Yu was an extremely intelligent woman, but even her brain was unable to keep up with what was happening.

The black-robed man suddenly opened his eyes, and harrumphed, "Hmph, you two are clearly already awake, so why do you continue to pretend to be unconscious."

Song Yu faltered slightly upon hearing this, and before she had a chance to look beside her with elation, Mu Peiling's voice sounded from behind her.

"You're not my Lord, you're his second Nascent Soul! How were you able to escape from my Lord's control and attain a sentient will of your own? Where is my Lord right now?"

Her words were extremely peculiar, and from the tone of her voice was filled with concern and horror.

"You're right, Junior Martial Sister Mu; this man is indeed the second avatar that Master refined!" Liu Yu suddenly chimed in in a startled voice. She also wore an incredulous look on her face.

Song Yu turned to discover that both of the women beside her had sat up, and Liu Yu had her hand pressed over her face, leaving only her astonished eyes visible.

Mu Peiling stared intently at the shadowy figure as she said, "I don't know the specifics, but I've heard that my Lord cultivated an extremely rare secret technique in our human world that can allow him to materialize a second Nascent Soul. However, this is an extremely perilous endeavor, and the one using this technique could easily suffer backslash from this second Nascent Soul after it attains sentient will of its own."

Song Yu and Liu Yu both looked at one another upon hearing this.

"I'm surprised you were able to recognize me. Oh, I remember now; you're the girl that Silvermoon once mentioned to me. In any case, I don't plan on hiding anything. I was indeed once that man's second Nascent Soul, but after I engulf his soul, he will be me, and I will be him. The three of you had better stay here and not try to escape. If everything goes smoothly, then I'll release all of you. This is an extremely obscure location in the inner valley and even if that man were to search for you in person, there's no way that he would be able to find this place," the black-robed man willingly admitted.

He was none other than Han Li's second Nascent Soul, which had gone missing during his battle with the Illustrious Grand Immortal of the Soaring Tribe.

At the time, the Nascent Soul had been severely wounded by an Illustrious Grand Immortal, and it should've been completely destroyed. However, the second Nascent Soul had cultivated in the Profound Yin Devilish Qi that Han Li had bestowed upon it, which activated the protective ability of the Ghost Sifting Banner, which had been injected with Myriad Depth Devilish Qi. As such, the Nascent Soul was sucked into the banner, where pure devilish Qi had been injected into it as part of emergency treatment.

If Han Li weren't too far away from the Nascent Soul, once the second Nascent Soul awakened, it would automatically return to Han Li's side.

However, Han Li had also been severely wounded at the time and was forced to seal himself in ice before drifting all the way to the Great Jin.

As such, after the second Nascent Soul as completely healed, it was unable to find Han Li, and began to roam the grasslands.

About two or three decades later, it finally developed a hint of sentient will and immediately returned to the Great Jin. It then traveled to the Devilfall Valley nad easily found the Sovereign Devil Corpse, which was stumbling around in the inner valley like a zombie.

Even though the devil corpse had been severely damaged by an ancient devil before, it was able to slowly recover to its former state.

However, it was moving around completely instinctively as it had lost Han Li's guidance. If several centuries were to pass, it wouldn't be impossible for the devil corpse to attain sentient will of its own.

However, after being discovered by the second Nascent Soul, it was able to use the restriction that Han Li had used in the past to easily take over the devil corpse and engulf the tiny hint of essence within.

This was why the second Nascent Soul hadn't possessed any other cultivator, and instead headed straight for the Devilfall Valley.

After all, it would be very difficult to possess a Nascent Soul cultivator's body, and there was a good chance that the roles would be reversed, and the prey would kill the hunter. This devil corpse had the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator, but it just so happened to not have any sentient will, so it was the ideal possession target.

Thus, the second Nascent Soul sought it out without any hesitation.

The Nascent Soul drew upon the residual devilish Qi left behind by the ancient devil's body in the spatial rift, then used the Sovereign Devil Corpse's corpse Qi as a foundation, and recruited the assistance of the Ghost Sifting Banner, allowing it to cultivate most of the Profound Yin Devilish Qi in just a short few decades. As such, it was able to reach the mid-Nascent Soul Stage.

After that, it discovered a few treasures within secret locations in the valley and refined them before preparing to exit the valley, and it just so happened to bump into Mu Peiling's trio.

Initially, he didn't know that it was these three women that he was hunting down. However, due to the fact that it had cultivated the Profound Yin Devilish Qi, then been injected with pure devilish Qi, and finally engulfed the Sovereign Devil Corpse's essence, the Nascent Soul had become completely different from Han Li. It was extremely aggressive and vicious, and it immediately attacked these three Core Formation cultivators. On the one hand, killing them would completely eradicate any possibility of them revealing its location to anyone, and on the other hand, it would be a good way to vent its ferocious tendencies. However, after sifting through Han Li's memories, the second Nascent Soul was able to identify the three women, and after a brief hesitation, it changed its mind. Instead of killing them, it captured the three women and set up a restriction to detain them here.

Mu Peiling was lamenting over her misfortune, but she still mustered up her courage, and asked, "How long do you plan on holding us captive?"

The reason why she was able to immediately recognize this second Nascent Soul was because when Silvermoon had been delivering pills to her, she had also given Mu Peiling a nameless jade pendant, which she had always carried with her since.

At the time, Silvermoon had hidden a wisp of the second Nascent Soul's aura in that jade pendant, thereby allowing the carrier of the pendant to detect the second Nascent Soul's presence at close quarters.

Mu Peiling had always been quite perplexed about why Silvermoon had done that, but she suddenly understood the reason behind this now.

She had most likely anticipated that there was a possibility that the second Nascent Soul would escape from Han Li's control, and she had given her this jade pendant to avoid any potential mishaps. As such, she was able to use this treasure to immediately identify who their captor was.

Upon hearing Mu Peiling's question, the black-robed figure glared coldly at her, and replied, "Of course it's when there's only one Han Li left in this world!"

After making sense of the situation, Song Yu had also recomposed herself, and she asked in a calm voice, "With Martial Uncle's abilities and rate of cultivation, do you really think you have a chance?"

"The current me is indeed no match for him, but I have a good chance of being able to escape with my life. Besides, with the three of you held captive, he's going to be a lot more wary, so that gives me even better chances. As for how I'm going to be able to bring him down, that's not something for you three to worry about," the black-robed figure chuckled, yet didn't reveal anything.

"Then..." Liu Yu was just about to say something, but the black-robed figure suddenly cut her off, "Alright, I know what you three are plotting, but don't even think about it. The only scenarios in which you three will be able to escape from here will be when I engulf that man's soul, or he wipes away my sentient will and reduces me to his second Nascent Soul again. For now, all three of you should just take a long nap."

The black-robed figure suddenly made a hand seal and began to chant something.

Spiritual light of all colors suddenly began to shimmer on the ground around the three women as large swaths of black Qi emerged.

Only then did the three of them discover that they were situated at the center of a massive formation.

The trio was inundated by black Qi, and fell unconscious again.

Only then did the black-robed figure sitting in the corner stop his chanting and undid his hand seal. However, there was a complex and indecisive light shimmering in its eyes as it looked at the black Qi.

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A month later, within the Xuan Wu Hall of the Great Truth Sect, which is the self-proclaimed number one righteous sect in the Heavenly South Region, there stood an elderly Daoist priest with a set of infantile facial features, yet hair and beard that were completely white. He was staring at the white jade slip in his hand with furrowed brows, and there was an indecisive look shimmering in his eyes.

A short while later, he heaved a long sigh and called out, "Come!"

As soon as his voice fell, two middle-aged Daoist priests walked in from outside the hall.

The two Foundation Establishment Daoists priests bowed, and asked, "What can we do for you, Sect Master?"

The Daoist priest handed over the jade slip with a grave expression, and instructed, "Send this invitation to the Golden Iridescent Valley. Tell them that a fourth great cultivator has appeared in the State of Xi, and that the Drifting Cloud Sect has extended invitations to their celebratory ceremony. As the grand elder if he's going to attend the ceremony in person or if other seniors will attending in his stead."

The two Daoist priests' expressions changed slightly upon hearing this before both of them said in a respectful manner, "Yes, Sect Master. We'll be sure to deliver the message."

The two of them then took the jade slip and left the hall as two streaks of light.

At the Heavenly Yang Pond, a renowned restricted area of the Harmonious Bond Sect. This was not a very large pond; only several thousand feet in size. However, the pond was enshrouded under dense mist all year-round, and no one was allowed to enter the mist without permission, even the Nascent Soul Stage elders of the sect. Normally, there would be barely any people around in a radius of 10 kilometers around the Heavenly Yang Pond. However, at this moment, there were five or six cultivators standing side by side over 100 feet away from the mist. All of them wore different attire, and there were both men and women among them, but the one thing they had in common was that all of them were looking at the mist before them in silence.

"The fourth great cultivator, eh? That Han brat sure is progressing quite fast in his cultivation. I knew that he would get to this point sooner or later, but I didn't think that he would ascend to the heights in just a century. Seeing as this is the case, it looks like I'll have to attend this celebratory ceremony in person," a faint sigh sounded from within the mist.

The cultivators outside the mist continued to stand rooted to the spot, and none of them dared to say anything in response.

On a certain island among the Seven Spirit Islands, there was an azure-robed elderly man with a set of plain features standing at the edge of a cliff. His hands were clasped behind his back and he had cast his gaze out calmly across the boundless ocean.

However, in one of his hands was a white jade slip that was shimmering with faint spiritual light.

Within a pavilion on the State of Beiliang's Gemcut Mountains, there was a man with a set of refined features sitting across from a portly elderly man, both of whom were seated in wooden chairs.

The elderly man wore a careful expression as he asked, "Senior Wu, will you be attending the Drifting Cloud Sect's celebratory ceremony in person? That man has reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage at such a young age and with his remaining lifespan, he'll be able to stand at the pinnacle of the Heavenly South Region for seven to eight more centuries. If we re-establish good relations with him, then our six sects have nothing to worry about."

"What do you suggest, Martial Niece Lei? You've taken over the sect, so you want to invite that man back to your valley?" the man asked in an indifferent voice.

"You're misunderstanding me, Senior. With his current lofty status, how would be willing to return to our measly Yellow Maple Valley? However, he does have some ties with our valley and if we can strengthen those bonds, it would undoubtedly be beneficial to our six sects."

The man was silent for a moment before saying expressionlessly, "Don't expect me to be able to contribute to this matter. I was once rather close with Junior Martial Sister Nangong, but I've never contacted her again ever since she left with that man. However, I'll be representing the Masked Moon Sect to attend this ceremony."

"It would be great if you'd be willing to make the trip in person, Senior Wu." The elderly man was ecstatic to hear this.

"Hmph, it's no wonder that your Yellow Maple Valley is so nervous about this man. Ever since Fellow Daoist Linghu passed away, no other Nascent Soul cultivator had appeared in your valley. If it weren't for the fact that Fellow Daoist Linghu once made an agreement with this man and notified our five sects about it, your Yellow Maple Valley would've most likely been banished from the Stage of Beiliang already," the man chuckled.

"I apologize for our incompetence, Senior." An awkward look appeared on the elderly man's face upon hearing this.

Within a span of two months, the entire Heavenly South Region had erupted into a frenzy.

All of the cultivation sects of decent scale in the entirety of the Heavenly South Region had received the invitations sent out by the Drifting Cloud Sect. They were claiming that one of their elders had reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage, and they were holding a grand ceremony to celebrate this event, which was why these invitations had been sent out.

It wasn't made clear on the invitation which elder they were referring to, but Han Li had established himself long ago as the number one cultivator in the Heavenly South Region beneath the late-Nascent Soul Stage, so it wasn't difficult to guess that Han Li had to have been the elder in question.

Thus, all of the sects were in a state of uproar.

Some of the sects were completely overawed and immediately agreed to attend the ceremony. Some of the larger sects were rather suspicious about the authenticity of this news, but they also all agreed to send at least an elder to attend the ceremony.

Thus, Han Li's name shook the entire Heavenly South Region once again. Regardless of whether one was an itinerant cultivator who had been dwelling in seclusion for many years or a member of a prominent cultivation sect, it was extremely likely that they had heard Han Li's name at one point or another.

Everyone was discussing spiritedly about the fourth great cultivator of the Heavenly South Region, who had ascended to the late-Nascent Soul Stage at such a young age.

Thus, three months passed, and the Drifting Cloud Sect's ceremony was held.

There were over 100 Nascent Soul cultivators in attendance, and several times that number in Core Formation cultivators who had also arrived at the Dreamcloud Mountains.

The star of the show, Han Li, only appeared for a short while on the first day of the ceremony and delivered a simple address before inviting the dozen or so elders from all of the sects, who were at the mid-Nascent Soul Stage or above, to a smaller gathering in an obscure hall within the Drifting Cloud Sect. Among them, there were two late-Nascent Soul great cultivators, namely Old Devil Concord of the Harmonious Bond Sect, and Wei Wuya of the Flowing Mind Sect.

After three days and three nights, all of these Nascent Soul cultivators finally re-emerged from the hall, all of them with horrified expressions on their pale faces. Wei Wuya and Old Devil Concord were also quite disheartened and wore strained expressions on their faces.

Some of the cultivators present at the ceremony naturally noticed this, and tried to inquire about what had happened during their gathering. However, the Nascent Soul cultivators being questions either remained silent with wry smiles on their faces, or shook their heads with fearful expressions, or completely ignored the questions being directed toward them in general.

That made all of the cultivators even more curious.

The ceremony lasted half a month, during which time Han Li made no further appearances. To everyone's surprise, the dozen or so most powerful Nascent Soul cultivators present took no offense to this whatsoever and as soon as the ceremony came to a conclusion, all of them fled the Drifting Cloud Sect as if they were escaping from something extremely fearsome.

Thus, all of the remaining cultivators were even more curious about what had taken place in that obscure hall. What could have possibly petrified so many powerful Nascent Soul cultivators to such an extent?

Even though none of the Nascent Soul cultivators in question were willing to disclose any information to those who had attended the ceremony, all of them had a few close friends and relatives whom they revealed the situation too. Thus, the news that everyone had been dying to hear was leaked in the end anyway.

However, the contents of the news shook the entire Heavenly South Region again.

It was revealed that this new great cultivator of the Drifting Cloud Sect had challenged Wei Wuya and Old Devil Concord to a sparring match during the small gathering. This was quite a normal request. After all, this Elder Han had just reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage, so he was taking this opportunity to test out his abilities as well as to intimidate all of the other mid-Nascent Soul cultivators.

However, what came as a surprise to everyone was that he had challenged both Wei Wuya and Old Devil Concord at once.

Furthermore, the result of the sparring match had everyone even more flabbergasted.

Han Li unleashed several incredible techniques and summoned a few absurdly powerful treasures to easily defeat the two great cultivators.

Wei Wuya and Old Devil Concord had stood at the pinnacle of the Heavenly South Region for several hundred years, yet even after joining forces, they were still swept aside with ease by Han Li, and both of them had sustained some injuries during the sparring match.

What was even more astonishing to everyone who had witnessed the match was that Han Li didn't even appear to have unleashed all of the tricks up his sleeve.

All of the Nascent Soul cultivators were completely speechless.

During the remaining time, Han Li held a discussion with all of the Nascent Soul cultivators about cultivation experiences and insights. However, all of them felt as if they were sitting on a bed of nails the entire time, and the last thing they wanted to was to remain in Han Li's presence for any longer.

Thus, all of them fled the obscure hall at the conclusion of the three days, looking as if they had just seen a ghost.

This astonishing news spread like wildfire and it was naturally the case that most people didn't believe this to be true. However, the news continued to spread and all of the Nascent Soul cultivators who had been present during the sparring match chose to remain silent, and not even a single one of them stepped forward to refute these claims.

Only then did everyone realize that this news could indeed be true, and the entire Heavenly South Region was completely stunned.

Thereafter, anyone who discussed any topic concerning Han Li spoke in hushed tones, regardless of where they were and to whom they were speaking, and they didn't dare to extend any disrespect toward Han Li with their words.

Thus, Han Li's reputation as the number one cultivator in the Heavenly South Region slowly began to spread.

In the air above the sea close to the Seven Spirit Islands, a middle-aged Daoist priest with pristine and translucent skin was facing an azure-robed elderly man from afar. Both of them wore dark expressions and remained completely silent.

After a long while, the azure-robed elderly man stirred as he broke the silence.

"Why have you suddenly come here and invited me to this place through voice transmission, Brother Sunreach? You're not here to challenge me to a staring contest, are you? If you have something to say, then just say it." This azure-robed elderly man was none other than one of the three great cultivators, Wei Wuya.

"Brother Wei, why are you asking a question that you already know the answer to? Can you not guess why I would invite you to meet me out here?" the middle-aged Daoist priest asked calmly.

"Hehe, looks like even you can't sit still any longer after hearing the news, Brother Sunreach!" A hint of a deriding sneer appeared on Wei Wuya's face.

A grave expression appeared on the Daoist priest's face as he asked, "Does that mean the rumors are true? You and Old Devil Concord really did fall to a disadvantage against that man?"

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Wei Wuya's eyes narrowed as he asked, "We fell to a disadvantage? Even you think that to be true?"

"What do you mean? Could it be that you and Concord really were unable to defeat that Han brat?" Master Sunreach exclaimed.

"You think far too highly of me, Brother Sunreach. Even after we joined forces, we were only able to last a short while before both of us were completely crushed," Wei Wuya replied with a wooden expression.

"That's impossible! No matter how powerful that Han brat is, he's still just a new late-Nascent Soul cultivator. It would already be extraordinary if his combat prowess were slightly superior to one of ours. How could it be the case that both of you combined were unable to defeat him?" Master Sunreach shook his head vehemently, refusing to believe this.

A fearful look flashed through Wei Wuya's eye as he said, "I take no pleasure in admitting mine and Concord's inability to match a new great cultivator; do you think there's any reason for me to lie to you? Also, you can laugh at me all you want, but I'm not afraid to tell you that this man is unfathomably powerful. On the surface, it appeared that we suffered a close defeat, but he hadn't even used his full power yet. I could sense that if he wanted to, he could've killed Concord and myself right there and then."

Master Sunreach was completely rooted to the spot upon hearing that.

"Of course, if you don't believe me, you're free to head to the Drifting Cloud Sect and challenge him for yourself. Hehe, you came all this way here from the Great Truth Sect, so I suppose that must be what you're planning to do already." A cold smile suddenly appeared on Wei Wuya's face.

Master Sunreach's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't refute that assumption, indicating that Wei Wuya had indeed been right.

"If I were you, I would save myself the humiliation. In any case, I'm about to reach the end of my lifespan anyway, so no matter how powerful that Han brat is, it doesn't matter to me. However, you and Old Devil Concord will most likely be around for many more years, so I'd advise you not to get on that man's bad side," Wei Wuya said calmly.

"What? You're about to reach the end of your lifespan, Brother Wei?" Master Sunreach faltered slightly before a shocked expression appeared on his face.

"Indeed. I reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage over 200 years earlier than you two did, so it's only natural that I'll be passing on ahead of you two. It'll probably happen sometime during the next few years. You and Concord still have some time and perhaps there's a chance for you two to reach the Deity Transformation Stage." A slightly dejected look appeared on Wei Wuya's face.

"Brother Wei, you..." Master Sunreach wanted to say something, but he didn't know what to say, and a complex expression appeared on his face.

"Regardless of how powerful we become, everything will come to an end as long as we haven't attained the Great Dao. Brother Sunreach, you and I have known each other for many years and I'd advise you to listen to me one last time; do not get involved in the affairs in the Heavenly South Region. Just focus on your own cultivation and think about nothing else. Don't become like me, a silly old man who can only await the embrace of death. After I pass away, even if you were to join forces with Old Devil Concord, you still wouldn't be a match for that Han brat. In that case, you may as well relinquish the title of the number one sect in the Heavenly South Region and completely bury the hatchet. In any case, it's only normal for a sect to have periods of prosperity punctuated by less glamorous stretches. If you do that, I'm sure that Han brat won't insist on hunting down you and Old Devil Concord. You'll be able to then focus wholeheartedly on reaching the Deity Transformation Stage," Wei Wuya urged.

"Thank you for your advice, Brother Wei, I'll be sure to consider it carefully." Wei Wuya's words were extremely genuine and heartfelt, and even Master Sunreach was slightly tempted to take his advice.

"Alright, I've said everything there is to be said, it's up to you whether you want to heed my advice or not. I'm returning to the island now. This will most likely be our final meeting." Wei Wuya cupped his fist in a salute and before Master Sunreach could say anything further, he was already flying back toward the Seven Spirit Islands.

As for Master Sunreach, he remained rooted to the spot with a contemplative look on his face.

After a long while, he finally heaved a faint sigh and also flew into the distance as a streak of white light. However, he was flying directly toward the State of Xi!

He still wanted to see Han Li's power with his own eyes before he made his decision.

If this new great cultivator really was as fearsome as the rumors suggested, then he would immediately heed Wei Wuya's advice and go into seclusion to try and reach the Deity Transformation Stage.

A month later, another piece of news began to circulate throughout the Heavenly South Region. It was said that Master Sunreach had visited the Drifting Cloud Sect in person, only to depart after only half a day. Following his return to the Great Truth Sect, he suddenly announced that he was going into seclusion for an indefinite period of time.

This piece of news naturally drew further speculation from the sects within the Heavenly South Region. However, at this point, even the most dimwitted cultivators could figure out that this grand elder of the Great Truth Sect had definitely no been able to come out on top against Han Li. Otherwise, why he put on such a display of weakness as soon as he returned to his sect?

As such, Han Li's reputation as the number one cultivator in the Heavenly South Region had well and truly been cemented. The Drifting Cloud Sect's influence also began to expand drastically and within the short span of a few months, they had taken over most of the State of Xi. All of the other cultivation sects in the State of Xi either had to concede to them, or re-establish their sects in another nation.

Due to the fact that the Ancient Sword Sect and the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion were also situated on the Dreamcloud Mountains, they were spared from this assimilation process and also managed to expand their forces as well. However, they had virtually become subsidiaries to the colossus that was the Drifting Cloud Sect, and they were constantly basking in a mixture of pain and pleasure.

In a cave abode within the interconnected peaks of the Drifting Cloud Sect, Han Li sat with his eyes tightly shut and his legs folded inside a secret chamber. There was a massive formation that had been carved onto the ground, at the very center of which a pair of snowy white wings was hovering in the air. There were arcs of silver lightning flashing incessantly over their surface, but at the same time, they had been enshrouded within a ball of azure and white flames.

With each and every revolution, immeasurable and dense layers of runes would emerge on the surface of the wings.

Han Li was making hand seals to activate the formation spell, which was unleashing azure and white pillars of fire that were constantly refining the wings.

After an indeterminate period of time, Han Li withdrew his hand seals and opened his eyes. He looked at the wings rotating slowly within the flames and pointed a finger toward it.

The wings immediately shuddered as azure light erupted from within. The silver arcs of lightning running along its surface also rumbled violently, creating an astonishing commotion.

However, Han Li's brows were slightly furrowed with discontentment.

After a brief pause, he suddenly opened his mouth and expelled a small azure cauldron from within. The cauldron spun around in the air before landing on the ground before him.

"What is it now? I've already elaborated on the refinement method for you on more than one occasion," a faint sight sounded from within the cauldron. The voice was clearly very tender, yet the tone being used was very mature and jaded, creating quite an amusing contrast.

However, Han Li was not amused at all as he said in a cold voice, "I've already infused the Kun Peng feather into the Thunderstorm Wings in accordance to your refinement method. It's able to use wind-attribute spiritual power now, but it's only about as powerful as a spirit treasure replica like the Triflame Fan; it's nowhere near as powerful as you had proclaimed it would be. Were you intentionally lying to me?"

Han Li's expression was extremely dark.

"That's impossible! The Kun Peng feather is an extraordinary treasure; how could it have only resulted in such a minimal enhancement effect? Let me see the Thunderstorm Wings you're refining first." Spiritual light shimmered on the lid of the cauldron and a faint humanoid figure emerged. It was none other than the projection materialized by the Endless Sky Beast.

Han Li didn't say anything as he waved a hand toward the wings.

The Thunderstorm Wings shot forth as a streak of azure and white light before hovering above the small child's head.

The small child looked up at the wings with an intense unblinking gaze. His expression changed from time to time as he made certain observations, and only after a long while did he close his eyes in deep thought.

The small child opened his eyes again, and remarked, "I know what happened. This Kun Peng feather is far more difficult to refine than I'd anticipated. We've infused it into the wings, but the power of the wind-related heavenly laws of the world within haven't been completely captured. As such, it only possesses the power of a spirit treasure replica and isn't even close to a Divine Spirit Treasure."

"Then how do I capture that power?" Han Li asked in a cold voice.

"If you want to activate the power, you'll have to either switch to a wind-attribute cultivation art, which you should be able to do at your current cultivation base, or find a top-grade wind-attribute spirit stone," the small child replied.

"Switching to a wind-attribute cultivation art or finding a wind-attribute top-grade spirit stone; I can do neither of those," Han Li immediately replied.

"Then there's nothing I can do. Perhaps there are other ways, but there's no way that those methods would be viable here in the human world, so it would only be a waste of time for me to elaborate on them," the small child said in a resigned manner.

"Hmph, so what you're saying is, my refinement method was correct, yet your predictions were wrong," Han Li accused.

"Er, that does appear to be the case." An awkward expression finally appeared on the small child's face.

A light flashed through Han Li's eyes, and his expression suddenly eased as he said, "So be it. I'm already satisfied with the Thunderstorm Wings' ability to activate the powers of wind and lightning at the same time. If it really did become as powerful as you proclaimed it would, I wouldn't be able to handle it with my current power level anyway."

The small child faltered upon hearing this before a suspicious look appeared in his eyes.

In terms of cultivation base, this human cultivator was nothing to him. However, he knew that this man was not the kind of person to so graciously accept the under-delivery of a promise to him.

The small child stared at Han Li for a short while before deciding to take the initiative. "If you have some conditions, then state them. I can consider doing you a favor or two to make up for this error in judgment."

"Seeing as you've already made the offer, I have no choice but to accept," Han Li replied with a smile.

The small child rolled his eyes upon hearing this.

Han Li patted his storage pouch and a burst of azure light erupted from within. After the light receded, a few strange objects had appeared before Han Li.

There was a fist-sized clump of transparent gluey substance, three shiny black crystals, one of which was big while the other two were smaller, a black and white bead, and pitch-black thumb-sized eyeball.

Han Li pointed at these items, and said, "These materials are all items that I've obtained my chance, but I'm unable to identify how they can be applied in practical usage. You're from a higher realm so you must be more knowledgeable and experienced than I am. I was hoping that you could provide me with some guidance."

"Huh? Where did you get these materials? The other ones aren't really all that noteworthy, but these two are quite rare even in the Spirit Realm." A hint of surprise appeared on the small child's face as he feigned a grabbing motion, upon which two objects immediately flew toward him.

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Han Li turned to discover that the Endless Sky Beast's attention had been drawn to the transparent substance and that inky-black eyeball.

"Do you recognize what they are?"

"Please tell me how you obtained these two items first, Fellow Daoist Han." The small child turned to Han Li with a hint of bewilderment in his eyes.

"I found one of them in a fire cauldron that had been burning for an indefinite number of years, while the other one is the third eye of a three-yed demon beast," Han Li replied.

"That makes sense; it's exactly as I thought, then." The small child nodded as if he had expected that response. He picked up the ball of transparent substance first, and introduced, "This thing from that fire cauldron is known as the Fire Spirit Threads, and they're an exceptional material for refining fire-attribute armor, which are quite rare even in the Spirit Realm. Its true form is an even rarer form of Yin-type ore and if it were to be constantly heated by scorching flames and melted as a result, it would form this type of substance."

"Fire Spirit Threads!" Han Li looked at the transparent substance in the small child's hands, and a peculiar look appeared on his face.

This was the first time that he had ever heard of this substance, but no matter how he looked at it, it didn't appear to be in a thread-like form at all.

A hesitant look then appeared on the small child's face as he said, "This is not the Fire Spirit Threads' final form. It's going to require a cultivator who specializes in fire-attribute cultivation arts to refine this substance into strands before it reaches that stage. Hehe, that's something that's going to be beyond you. Fire Spirit Threads are a rare treasure in itself, and it can either be used as a material or refined directly into weapons. If you were to refine them into weapons, their powers wouldn't be inferior to that of the average flying sword. However, what's rather strange is that this type of Fire Spirit Threads should be faint blue in color, yet your one here is semi-transparent. It seems to be a little different from how I remember it to be."

A thought occurred to Han Li, and his expression changed slightly as he asked, "Oh, I see. How long would it normally take for this kind of substance to form over flames?"

"The reason why this material is quite rare is precisely because it takes a long time to form. At a minimum, it'll take over 100 years and at most, it can even take up to several centuries. Normally speaking, the longer this process, the smaller the material's mass will become, but it'll also increase in purity," the small child explained.

"I see!" A flash of enlightenment appeared in Han Li's eyes.

"What is it? Have you thought of something?" The small child looked at Han Li with a curious expression.

"Nothing much. Tell me about the other thing." Han Li smiled and didn't reveal anything as he turned his attention to that eyeball.

The small child's expression darkened slightly, but he decided not to pry any further into the matter in the end. Instead, he cast his gaze toward the black eyeball and said, "This eyeball is an extraordinary treasure and even I'm quite drawn to it. It's a pity that only my avatar had descended into this world and this treasure's attributes aren't right for me, either. If I were to cultivate it, the benefits I would derive would be limited, yet it could damage my spiritual sense."

"Is this eyeball really such a big deal?" Han Li faltered upon hearing the small child's words and a skeptical look appeared on his face. Back when he had slain that three-eyed demon beast, he had felt that this eyeball was indeed rather special. However, he didn't think that it was anywhere near as important a treasure as the Endless Sky Beast was proclaiming it to be.

"Hmph, you don't know anything! You've heard about heavenly true spirits like dragons and Qilins, right?"

"Of course I've heard of them. Those heavenly spirit beasts have long ceased to exist in our human world, but there have been many stories passed down about them. Does this eyeball have something to do with them?" Han Li was very surprised to hear this.

The small child explained with a serious expression, "No, but it's close enough. This is the third eye of the Ci Lie Beast, the sworn enemies of the dragons, and this eye is the vastly renowned Law Destruction Eye in our Spirit Realm. This beast has three heads and five tails, and there's only one eye on its central head, which is the Law Destruction Eye. It's said that the Ci Lie Beast will never open this eye on normal occasions, but once it does, it'll be able to directly tear open space and slay enemies through the powers of the eye alone. Of course, this eye on its own won't be quite that powerful. However, if it were to be cultivated using some kind of secret technique, it can be used to unleash some strang techniques. It can be used to directly attack the enemy and see through the majority of illusionary techniques. Even movement and teleportation techniques can't escape the tracking abilities of this eye. This is why some cultivators who specialize in techniques like the Heaven's Eye Technique regard this eyeball as a revered treasure and would go to great lengths to try and obtained it."

Han Li drew a sharp breath upon hearing this. He stared blankly at the eyeball in the small child's hand and was momentarily at a loss for words.

If this was the true Law Destruction Eye of a Ci Lie Beast, then its value wouldn't be far off from the Golden Jade Tome. However, this Law Destruction Eye doesn't appear to be very pure. Looks like the three-eyed demon beast that you killed wasn't a true Ci Lie Beast, but was only a spirit beast that inherited a part of the Ci Lie Beast's bloodline. Also, it appears that you extracted the eyeball before it had a chance to grow into full maturity. Hehe, I don't know whether to congratulate you on your luck or lament your loss," the small child sighed with a shake of his head.

"What do you mean by that?" Han Li asked.

"It's very simple. If this were the eyeball of a mature Ci Lie Beast, then it would naturally be impossible for someone of your cultivation base to cultivate the Law Destruction Eye. However, seeing as it's not a fully mature eye, you can give it a try, but the Law Destruction Eye that you attain from cultivating this eye won't be anywhere near as powerful. Also, this eye isn't the eye of a true Ci Lie Beast, so the abilities that you'll attain from cultivating it will also be slightly different from those of the true Law Destruction Eye," the small child explained in a serious manner.

"So you're saying that the abilities of this eye will be far inferior compared to those of the Law Destruction Eye?" Han Li asked.

"Normally speaking, that would be the case, but this is not without exceptions. I recall that the Scorching Heaven Demon King of the Spirit Realm's Nine Spirit Mountains seemed to have inherited part of a Fire Qilin's bloodline, but the True Fire abilities he attained were quite fearsome even to a true Fire Qilin. However, these cases are extremely rare, but if I recall correctly, you seem to be planning on sneaking over to the Spirit Realm through a spatial node. In that case, you're going to have to cultivate this Law Destruction Eye." A hint of a smile appeared on the small child's face.

"Why's that?" Han Li raised his eyebrows in surprise.

He had inquired the Endless Sky Beast about spatial nodes a long time ago, but unfortunately, it was also the beast's first time descending into the human world, so it knew a very minimal amount on this topic. However, it was suddenly bringing up this subject again, and Han Li found that to be rather perplexing.

"The Ci Lie Beast can't forcibly travel through spatial rifts to other realms like the Heavenroaming Kun Peng or a Luo Mian Beast can, but it possesses abilities that can weaken the boundary between realms. As to how much the boundary would be weakened, that would naturally depend on the power of this eye," the small child replied calmly.

"Does this eye really have that kind of ability?" Han Li was truly tempted now.

"Hehe! Once you cultivate this eye, you'll naturally know whether it can grant you that ability or not. Why would I lie to you?" the small child chuckled.

Han Li fell into deep thought upon hearing this.

The small child merely smiled and continued to examine the two objects in his hands while Han Li mulled over the issue.

When Han Li raised his head again, he had already managed to compose himself, and he asked, "Setting these two items aside for now, do you recognize the other two materials?" It appeared that he had completely cast the matter about the Law Destruction Eye to the back of his mind.

A hint of surprise flashed through the small child's eyes upon seeing this, but he still replied nonchalantly, "Those three crystals are Dream Separation Crystals. They're a little noteworthy, but can only be used to refine disposable treasures that can unleash illusionary techniques on only one occasion, so it's not very useful to normal cultivators like us. However, I've heard of a Heavenly Illusion Sect in the Spirit Realm that once offered astronomical prices to purchase these crystals, but quickly repealed this order for some unknown reason. As for whether this crystal can serve some other purpose, that's beyond me. After all, these crystals are quite rare and as a result, their uses aren't very well-documented. As for that black and white demon core, I cannot identify it at all. However, its attributes seem to be very special. Would you be able to describe the appearance of the demon core that it belonged to?"

"That demon beast's appearance as very strange." Han Li's brows furrowed as he recalled that demon beast, which had the appearance of a pile of rotten flesh, that he had slain in the lake within the Devilfall Valley...

After hearing Han Li's description, the small child thought to himself for a while before finally shaking his head.

"I've never heard of any demon beast like it. I can only assume that it's some type of mutant demon beast. However, from your description, it appears that the demon beast wasn't very powerful, so its demon core most likely won't be very useful either," the small child analyzed.

"But this demon beast's ability to conceal its aura is very interesting. Perhaps this demon core can be used for tool-refinement purposes," Han Li mused. He feigned a grabbing motion and the black and white demon core immediately flew into his hand. After rotating over his palm for a while, wisps of black and white Qi began to emanate from it, but there was a clear separation between the two types of Qi, creating quite a stark contrast.

The small child turned his gaze to Han Li, and hesitated momentarily before offering, "How about this? As compensation for my error in judgment with regard to your Thunderstorm Wings, I can provide you with the methods to refine the Fire Spirit Threads and Law Destruction Eye. However, whether you'd like to refine these two items and whether you can succeed in doing so is completely up to you."

"Alright, we'll do as you say." Han Li accepted the offer without any hesitation, as if he had been waiting for the small child to make that offer all along.

The small child faltered momentarily upon seeing this, and a slightly gloomy expression appeared on his face as his body swayed and disappeared.

The two objects in his hands naturally fell toward the ground.

However, Han Li reached out and grabbed the transparent substance and the black eyeball before they could fall very far.

Almost at the exact same moment, the Endless Sky Beast began to transmit its voice to him, and the contents of the voice transmission were none other than the refinement methods for these two items.

Han Li's heart stirred and he immediately sat down with his eyes closed, paying close attention to the voice transmission.

Half a day later, several Foundation Establishment Stage stewards were gathered within a pavilion at the foot of a mountain within the Drifting Cloud Sect. They were sorting through a pile of materials in a storage pouch when a streak of red light suddenly flew into the pavilion. The red light circled through the air before landing in the hand of one of the blue-robed cultivators.

The red light transformed into a ball of flames, from within which a jade slip and a badge came falling out.

The blue-robed steward caught the two items and upon closer inspection of the badge, his expression changed drastically as he hurriedly reached both hands into the fireball.

Moments later, the fireball disappeared amid a loud explosion, yet the blue-robed cultivator's expression only became more grave.

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He looked at the badge, then at the bewildered expressions on the faces of the other stewards, and a wry smile appeared on his face as he said, "It's a voice transmission talisman from the grand elder commanding us to gather all of the materials stipulated in the jade slip within three days. From the sounds of it, it appears that the grand elder is going to be using these materials for tool-refinement purposes, and they seem to be rather uncommon. Senior Martial Brothers, it looks like we'll have to drop everything for now and fulfill the grand elder's orders first."

All of the other cultivators were startled to hear this.

"If this is an order from the grand elder, then we'll naturally have to prioritize it. Check the list of materials in the jade slip, and if we have them, bring them out of our storage unit right away. If not, immediately head to the Ancient Sword Sect and Hundred Possibilities Pavilion to see if they have them. In particular, the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion cultivators are very proficient in tool-refinement, so they should have any materials that we're missing. This must be rather urgent or the grand elder wouldn't be giving us only three days to gather everything," an elderly man in grey robes instructed in a decisive manner.

The other cultivators all nodded emphatically in response.

After delegating some duties among themselves, the Foundation Establishment stewards all leaped onto their treasures and flew out of the pavilion, hurrying away to gather the materials detailed in the jade slip.

Three days later, the blue-robed cultivator arrived at the interconnected peaks with a bulging storage pouch filled with the required materials, but was naturally kept out by the restriction around the peaks.

This Foundation Establishment disciple released a voice transmission talisman before waiting on the spot, holding the storage pouch in both hands in a respectful manner.

After roughly 10 minutes had passed, the mist that had been manifested from the restriction suddenly began to tumble and surge, immediately following which a burst of azure light shot forth from within.

Spiritual light flashed, and the storage pouch in the blue-robed cultivator's hands was swept away.

The blue-robed cultivator's heart stirred upon seeing this, and he hurriedly bowed several times toward the mist before flying away atop his treasure.

Peace and tranquility resumed over the interconnected peaks, as if nothing had ever happened.

In his cave abode, Han Li stowed away his humanoid puppet before using his spiritual sense to assess the contents of the storage pouch in his hand.

A short while later, a content expression appeared on Han Li's face as he murmured to himself, "Not bad; they really did manage to get everything. Looks like these sect stewards are quite capable."

"You're the grand elder of the Drifting Cloud Sect, so they naturally wouldn't dare to delay in executing your orders. I'm rather surprised that you asked them to bring you the materials required to refine the Fire Spirit Threads as well, though. You have to remember that you're not using a fire-attribute cultivation art." The small child's figure surfaced again, and he turned to Han Li with a perplexed look.

"I'm naturally aware of that. However, I have something that can refine the Fire Spirit Threads in my stead even though I don't have much fire-attribute spiritual power within my body. This thing originates from the treasure that gave rise to the Fire Spirit Threads, so it's very appropriate that I'm using it to refine the Fire Spirit Threads now," Han Li replied calmly as he patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist, upon which a small red cauldron flew out from within before hovering in front of him.

The small child's eyes narrowed as he examined the fire cauldron, and he didn't say anything, but he nodded slightly to himself.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he tipped over the storage pouch in his hand.

A flash of white light erupted, and about a dozen or so jade and wooden boxes of different sizes appeared on the ground.

Han Li raised a hand and pointed a finger at the fire cauldron.

The crimson lid of the cauldron flew soundlessly into the air, following which a ball of crimson flames emerged from within the cauldron amid a loud boom. In the blink of an eye, the flames had manifested into a dozen or so crimson Fire Ravens, all of which began to fly around the cauldron.

"Those flames have manifested a spirit! This treasure's power isn't all that remarkable, but it is indeed an extremely pure fire-attribute treasure, so it'll be quite suitable to refine the Fire Spirit Threads in your stead. Even so, these Fire Ravens were born from the cauldron and not created by your magic power, so it's going to rather difficult to accurately manipulate them. You're going to pay a lot of attention to this process; any lapse in concentration could result in all of your efforts going to waste," the small child warned.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky, I have nothing if not patience," Han Li chuckled nonchalantly.

The small child naturally wasn't going to try and dissuade Han Li any further after hearing that.

Thus, Han Li made a hand seal and cast an incantation seal onto the fire cauldron.

The cauldron revolved in the air before swelling drastically to several times its original size in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Han Li sweep his sleeve through the air, and a semi-transparent object shot forth from within, quickly disappearing into the cauldron.

A loud boom erupted within the cauldron and balls of crimson flames appeared on its surface while flames also rose into the air from within. The semi-transparent substance was barely discernible within the flames, and was soon pushed by a few Fire Ravens to the top of the fire.

A focused expression appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he flicked his 10 fingers in quick succession, blasting forth a dozen or so incantation seals of different colors onto the bodies of those Fire Ravens.

The ravens stirred as they blasted flames out of their beaks toward the semi-transparent object in a frenzy.

In contrast, that substance seemed to be able to absorb the flame of the Fire Ravens and as it was being scorched, its surface gradually reddened, and its shape began to change.

Han Li feigned a grabbing motion toward one of the jade boxes on the ground, and the lid flew off on its own, revealing a small blue paste-like substance within.

He pointed a finger at the box, and the substance immediately flew into the cauldron, transforming into blue liquid upon making contact with the flames before being completely absorbed by the semi-transparent substance.

Han Li was elated to see this as he withdrew his hand seals. Immediately thereafter, strands of azure threads shot forth from his fingertips and into the crimson flames.

The fire immediately rose by several feet and at the same time, a rumbling cry rang out from within the cauldron, in response to which Han Li's expression remained extremely serious and focused.

Two months later, a streak of azure light flew directly toward the main peak of the Drifting Cloud Sect. The azure light disappeared in a flash as it landed in front of the large hall at the foot of the mountain, upon which Han Li's figure was revealed.

The dozen or so Drifting Cloud Sect disciples guarding the hall were immediately overawed to be in Han Li's presence, and all of them rushed forward to extend respectful bows.

However, Han Li merely waved his hand and raised a leg, upon which he completely disappeared from the spot, reappearing in the next instant within the hall.

The disciples were naturally startled upon seeing this, and they all turned their attention toward the interior of the hall.

The could see that Han Li had clearly only taken a few steps, yet he had already disappeared from the corridor following a few flashes.

The disciples were stunned to see this, and their awe and veneration for this grand elder grew even further.

When Han Li appeared within the hall, Lü Luo was already there, and he was pacing back and forth with an urgent look on his face.

"You've finally come out of seclusion, Junior Martial Brother Han. Looks like you've received the voice transmission talisman I sent out as well." At the sight of Han Li, a joyful expression replaced the urgent one on Lü Luo's face.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face and his body swayed as he appeared in front of a wooden chair, sinking down into it calmly as he said, "The voice transmission talisman tells me that Martial Niece Song and the others have disappeared in the Devilfall Valley. This is quite suspicious and it involves Peiling and that in-name disciple of mine as well, so I naturally had to come and ask you for some details."

"This incident is indeed quite suspicious. It's been half a year since Marital Niece Song and the others have traveled to the Devilfally Valley, and they definitely should've returned to the sect by now. However, according to the disciples I sent out to search for them, there are only cultivators who have seen the three of them enter the valley, but none who saw them emerge from there. There were also some cultivators who encountered them in the outer valley, but they disappeared from the Devilfall Valley soon after that. I suspect that the three of them may have..." Lü Luo's voice suddenly cut off here.

"Could it be that the three of them have ventured into the inner valley and encountered some sort of dangerous situation or were trapped somewhere?" Han Li finished the sentence for him. As he did so, his expression remained very calm and it was impossible to glean his thoughts.

"That's exactly what I was thinking. The inner valley of the Devilfall Valley is still very dangerous, but you're a great cultivator now, and you've explored the inner valley once before, so it shouldn't be a problem for you to search for them in there, right?" Lü Luo asked in a rather hesitant manner.

"The spatial rifts in the Devilfall Valley's inner valley don't pose much of a threat to me and as long as I don't venture into any of the extremely dangerous locations, I should be fine. I've recently concluded my tool-refinement anyway, so I'll make a trip there," Han Li replied without any hesitation.

"That would be best. I'll leave it to you, then, Junior Martial Brother. However, keep in mind that you're the grand elder of the sect now the prosperity of our sect rests on your shoulders, so your safety is the number one priority," Lü Luo cautioned with a serious expression.

"Rest assured, Senior Martial Brother Lü. There should be no one in the Heavenly South Region who's capable of harming me, and I'll also do my best to stay out of harm's way," Han Li replied with a nonchalant smile, but his thoughts had strayed to the Sovereign Devil Corpse that he had lost many years ago in the Devilfall Valley.

Could it be that this devil corpse had something to do with the trio's disappearance? That thought abruptly occurred to Han Li for no reason whatsoever.

Even though he was feeling rather perplexed, Han Li's expression remained quite calm and he only left in an unhurried manner after chatting with Lü Luo for a while longer.

Two days later, Han Li visited Nangong Wan in the restricted area before leaving the Drifting Cloud Sect on his own and heading for the Devilfall Valley.

Over a month later, three streaks of light were flying extremely quickly through the air over the Chang Province in the State of Dongyu. All of a sudden, they circled around an unknown mountain before landing to reveal three brawny men. The three of them were all very tall and broad with two flying crosses of different colors strapped to each of their shoulders. Their physical appearances were also very similar, and they appeared to be triplets.

Meanwhile, there were three other cultivators already waiting on the summit of the mountain. One of them was an elderly man, another was a middle-aged scholar, and the final one was a young man with a smile on his face.

"Haha, I hope you didn't wait too long, Brother Hou! My brothers and I had some business to take care of on the way here, so please don't blame us for our tardiness! Huh? Are those two disciples of your sect as well?" The eldest among the three brawny men laughed heartily as he turned toward the elderly. However, as he swept his gaze across the young man and the middle-aged scholar, a hint if befuddlement flashed through his eyes.

He discovered that both the elderly man and the middle-aged scholar were standing on either side of the young man with respectful expressions on their faces. Even after the elderly man heard his greeting, he only responded with a subdued smile, and didn't dare to strike up a conversation with the three of them.

This naturally came as quite a surprise to the three brawny men. They swept their spiritual sense toward the young man, and waves of shock surged through their hearts as they discovered that the young man's body was seemingly made from illusionary mist, rendering their efforts to ascertain his cultivation base completely ineffective.

The three men's expressions changed drastically upon making this discovery!

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"So you three are the Zhao brothers of the Golden Sea Sect?" the young man asked with a smile.

"Who are you? What's going on here, Fellow Daoist Hou?" A wary expression appeared on the brawny man's face.

"Please don't be rude, Fellow Daoist Zhao. This is the grand elder of our sect, and the other person with us is Junior Martial Brother Lin." The elderly man's words gave the three brawny men quite a fright.

"Grand elder? Could it be that this is Senior Han?" the brawny man exclaimed with incredulity.

"That's right, I am indeed the grand elder of the Drifting Cloud Sect. My apologies for asking Martial Nephew Hou to invite you three to this place on such short notice." The young man smiled, revealing rows of pristine white teeth. He was none other than Han Li, who had traveled all the way from the Drifting Cloud Sect to the State of Dongyu.

"Not at all, Senior Han! It's our honor to be in your presence!" The brawny man examined Han Li carefully again to find that his physical appearance did indeed match that of the legendary figure in the Heavenly South Region, and he immediately extended a respectful bow.

His two brothers also hurriedly followed suit.

Han Li waved a hand, and asked in a calm manner, "There's no need for such formalities, fellow Daoists. The three of you aren't disciples of our sect, after all. I heard from Martial Nephew Hou that the three of you encountered three female disciples from our sect in the Devilfall Valley. Is that true?"

The brawny man faltered slightly upon hearing this before giving an honest reply. "That is indeed true. When my brothers and I were in the Devilfall Valley, we had a fleeting encounter with them."

"I see. Would you be able to tell me about the situation at the time?" Han Li asked in a warm voice.

"Of course. Several months ago, my brother required a rare material to refine a treasure of his, so we decided to venture into the Devilfall Valley to try our luck. However, we were unable to find the material we were looking for and just when we were about to leave the valley, we encountered the three female disciples from your sect. I was familiar with one of them as we had met once in the past, so I made some conversation with them. However, they seemed to be looking for something as well and were in quite a hurry, so my brothers and I left after only a brief conversation. After that, my brothers and I immediately departed from the valley, and we haven't seen the three women since," the brawny man carefully recounted.

Han Li was silent for a moment before waving a sleeve through the air, sending an azure jade slip that he had prepared earlier flying toward the man. "Fellow Daoist, would you be able to provide more specific details on where you encountered them? I have a map of the Devilfall Valley's outer valley with me here, would you be able to annotate the spot on the map where you encountered them?"

"The place where we encountered them was already somewhere quite deep into the outer valley." The man hurriedly caught the jade slip before injecting his spiritual sense into it. He then immediately withdrew his spiritual sense before offering the jade slip back to Han Li with both hands.

Han Li raised a hand, and the jade slip flew into his palm as a streak of azure light. He injected his spiritual sense into the slip, and he raised his eyebrows in response to what he saw.

Han Li stowed the jade slip away before giving the three brothers a smile, then turning to the elderly man and the middle-aged scholar as he said, "That place is indeed very close to the inner valley already. Thank you for your assistance, fellow Daoists. Martial Nephew Hou, Martial Nephew Wu, please keep our three fellow Daoists company; I have to be on my way now."

"Of course, Martial Uncle Han!" The scholar and the elderly man immediately bowed to bid Han Li farewell, and the three brawny men also hurriedly followed suit.

Brilliant azure light erupted from Han Li's body and he shot forth into the distance, disappearing from view in the blink of an eye.

Only after the streak of azure light had disappeared into the distance did one of the brawny men heave a long sigh, and he asked with an incredulous look on his face, "Brother Hou! Is that really the new great cultivator from your sect, Senior Han Li?"

"That man was indeed none other than Martial Uncle Han. The three of you are very fortunate to have been able to meet him! Martial Uncle Han has become an extremely renowned figure in the Heavenly South Region, yet he very rarely appears before our sect disciples, and even I've only met him on a handful of occasions," the elderly man said with a wry smile.

"Indeed. Martial Uncle Han doesn't interact much with the disciples of our sect. It's been several decades since I reached the Core Formation Stage, and I've only seen him once from afar during the recently concluded ceremony. If it weren't for the sake of our senior martial sisters this time, the grand elder would've most likely continued to stay in his cave abode," the scholar chimed in with a faint sigh.

One of the brawny men faltered slightly before a grim expression appeared on his face as he said, "So that means that the three female disciples in question really have disappeared in the Devilfall Valley? My brothers and I heard some rumors about this recently, but we thought that they were fabricated stories."

"With things as they are now, there's no point in hiding anything. My three junior martial sisters really do appear to be in some trouble," the elderly man sighed.

"But all three of them are Core Formation cultivators; how could they have disappeared like this? Could it be that they ventured into the inner valley?" The brawny man was very surprised to hear this.

"That's most likely the case. It would be best if they were merely trapped somewhere in the inner valley. In that case, Martial Uncle Han would definitely be able to save them," the scholar mused with a concerned look on his face.

"Could it be that these three female disciples have some kind of special relationship with Senior Han? Otherwise, from the sounds of it, Senior Han doesn't seem to be the type of person to willingly get involved in these matters," the brawny man speculated.

"Hehe, I heard that Senior Martial Sister Song has known Martial Uncle Han for a long time. However, I think the main factor behind Martial Uncle Han's decision to enter the Devilfall Valley is the other two senior martial sisters. I hear that Senior Martial Sister Liu is one of Senior Han's in-name disciples, and that Senior Martial Sister Mu Peiling was once Martial Uncle Han's servant. Now that all three of them have disappeared at the same time, Martial Uncle Han naturally can't just stand by and watch," the elderly man revealed with a smile.

The three brawny men were all enlightened upon hearing this.

As these Core Formation cultivators were discussing among themselves, Han Li was already traveling rapidly toward the Devilfall Valley.

He was holding a white jade badge with a contemplative look on his face as he flew through the air.

All of a sudden, the tender voice of a child sounded beside his ear. "Fellow Daoist Han, are you concerned about your disciple and your servant or are you fretting over your inability to glean the contents of this half-page of the Golden Jade Tome?"

Han Li glanced at one of his sleeves before replying calmly, "The three of them have most likely entered the Devilfall Valley's inner valley, and as long as nothing has happened to them, it shouldn't be too difficult to save them. As for the beveled silver text that you taught me, are you sure there aren't some things that you've neglected to mention? How could the contents in this half-page be so difficult to decipher? After all this time, I've only managed to confirm one thing, which is that the page does indeed contain a talisman-refinement method, but everything else is far too profound."

"Hehe, that's only to be expected. After all, this half-page contains a talisman-refinement method left behind by an immortal. If a human world cultivator like you could glean its contents so easily, then I'd be very skeptical toward the authenticity of this half-page. Furthermore, you've only got half of a page to reference, so it's naturally going to be even more difficult to comprehend its contents," the small child chuckled.

"You're right. I'll re-explore this half-page another time." Han Li nodded as the stowed the jade badge away.

After a brief silence, the small child calmly asked, "Fellow Daoist Han, I've already taught you the beveled silver text, and bestowed upon you the refinement methods for the Fire Spirit Threads and the Law Destruction Eye. Isn't it time for you to deliver on your promise to help me transcend my metamorphosis stage lightning tribulation?"

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky, I never go back on my word. Once I've taken care of this matter, I'll find an obscure location and help you succeed in reaching the metamorphosis stage," Han Li replied.

"Good, that's all I needed to hear." The small child seemed to be very satisfied with Han Li's answer, and it immediately fell silent thereafter.

Han Li also remained silent as he flew through the air at full-speed, disappearing from view after just several flashes.

Half a day later, at the entrance to the Devilfall Valley, the teleportation formation that the Ghost Spirit Sect erected still stood. However, there was a thick layer of dust over it, indicating that it hadn't been used for many years.

That made sense, seeing as most of the restrictions and countless spatial rifts around the outskirts of the Devilfall Valley had disappeared, and even the outermost layer of restrictions barely existed anymore. Anyone with a cultivation base at the Core Formation Stage or above could easily access the valley through the brittle patches of the restriction, and they wouldn't even have to enter through the designated entrance.

As such, the teleportation formation that the Ghost Spirit Sect was made completely redundant.

Of course, the entrance to the Devilfall Valley was still a place that most cultivators accessed when entering the Devilfall Valley. After all, this was a path that had been trodden by countless cultivators, so it was naturally a far safer path than any alternatives.

However, there were currently five or six cultivators standing near the teleportation formation, all of whom wore different attire, and they seemed to be discussing something.

They were all Core Formation cultivators, and one of them was even a late-Core Formation cultivator. All of them seemed to be preparing to enter the valley together through the entrance.

All of a sudden, the sound of something whizzing through the air rang out in the distance, and the group of cultivators was all startled by this sound as they hurriedly turned toward that direction.

There, they discovered a streak of azure light flashing rapidly through the air. When they tried to get a closer look, the azure light suddenly flashed and disappeared.

Their expressions change drastically, and they unleashed their spiritual sense when the same sound erupted just over 100 feet away from them!

Azure light flashed right in front of their eyes before disappearing into the valley.

Even with so many Core Formation cultivators present, not a single one of them had been able to catch a clear glimpse of what had just flown past them.

All of them looked at one another, only to find their own astonishment mirrored in everyone else's eyes.

That streak of azure light was naturally none other than Han Li in full flight. He had no time to waste with a few Core Formation cultivators, and sped directly into the Devilfall Valley, heading straight toward the spot that the man from the Golden Sea Sect had annotated on the jade slip.

If he recalled correctly, that spot seemed to not be far away from the place through which he had entered the inner valley on the previous occasion with Violet Spirit and the other Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators.

Furthermore, Song Yu was good friends with Violet Spirit, so it only made sense that she would know about that place. With that in mind, there wasn't much else for Han Li to consider as he headed toward that direction.

Most of the spatial rifts in the outer valley had disappeared, so Han Li was virtually able to fly at his full speed. At this rate, it took him only over half a day to reach the massive ice rift through which one could access the inner valley.

The streak of azure light revolved through the air before Han Li flew into the ice rift expressionlessly.

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Several hours later, Han Li finally emerged from the ice rift, but he immediately withdrew the azure light around him and hovered in mid-air amid the bone-chilling winds.

Within the inner valley, his spiritual sense was still quite significantly restricted, so it would be very difficult for him to search through the air with his spiritual sense alone.

After contemplating the situation for a short while, Han Li patted the spirit beast pouch hanging from his waist.

The sound of loud buzzing immediately rang out as countless Gold Devouring Beetles swarmed out of the pouch, forming a cloud of golden beetles that revolved in the air above his head.

He rapidly made a series of hand seals and cast several incantation seals into the swarm of beetles in the quick succession. He then sat onto the ground with his legs folded and slowly closed his eyes.

The cloud of golden beetles split up of their own accord, transforming into countless golden flowers that shot forth in all directions, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Han Li had divided his spiritual sense into countless strands to search for the three women.

Given that the three women were only at the Core Formation Stage, and none of them were rash individuals, Han Li's thought process was that even if they had ventured into the inner valley, they wouldn't have gone very far into its depths.

As such, he was only searching through a relatively small area initially. After failing to discover any leads within that area, Han Li flew several tens of kilometers further into the inner valley before releasing his Gold Devouring Beetles again.

As such, Han Li was naturally able to easily discover some traces left behind by the three women on the mountain where the three women had been searching for Illusionary Spirit Herbs. Upon making this discovery through the use of the Gold Devouring Beetles, Han Li was ecstatic and he immediately headed over to that place in person for a closer inspection.

As a result, he discovered some signs to verify that the three women had indeed entered the inner valley, and that they had stayed on this mountain for a substantial period of time.

However, when he expanded the scope of his search again, there were no further leads to be discovered. In the end, Han Li returned to the summit of the mountain and fell into deep thought.

After a period of contemplation, he suddenly let loose a long cry and all of the Gold Devouring Beetles in a radius of several tens of kilometers came flying back toward him before they were stored away into his spirit beast pouch again.

However, Han Li then immediately pulled out another pouch, from within which 12 snowy white centipedes flew out.

They were none other than his Six-Winged Frost Centipedes!

Han Li made a hand seal and the 12 centipedes dispersed at his behest, transforming into 12 gusts of glacial wind that disappeared in different directions in the blink of an eye.

Meanwhile, Han Li remained rooted to the spot.

After an indeterminate period of time, Han Li's stirred as he transformed into a streak of azure light and flew back in the direction that he had come from.

A short while later, he discovered a snowy white centipede circling over a certain spot in the air, uttering a low screeching sound as it did so.

Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he immediately flew over to the snowy white centipede.

He looked down toward the ground, only to discover a long and thin black object down below.

This object was lying in a patch of grass, making it appear as if it were a completely nondescript black branch, so it was no wonder that his Gold Devouring Beetles hadn't discovered it earlier.

Han Li's brows furrowed as he raised a hand, and the branch-like object was sucked into his hand.

He inspected the object carefully, upon which his expression changed minutely.

This wasn't some branch; it was clearly a small section of a feeler. Furthermore, from the glacial Qi that this object was exuding, it was none other than the feeler of a Six-Winged Frost Centipede.

However, Six-Winged Frost Centipedes had pristine white feelers, yet this one was as black as ink, and the dark aura emanating from it was also something that Han Li was very familiar with.

This was none other than Profound Yin Devilish Qi! Furthermore, this devilish Qi seemed to be even purer than that used by Zenith Yin.

Han Li stroked the small section of the feeler and waves of shock surged through his heart.

One had to realize that Profound Yin Devilish Qi could only be cultivated using the Profound Yin Arts, and aside from Zenith Yin and Wu Chou, both of whom had fallen by his hands, most of Zenith Yin's other disciples hadn't been given the entirety of this cultivation art. As such, there was no way that they would be able to cultivate such pure devilish Qi and travel to the Heavenly South Region.

Han Li's expression was quite befuddled as he fell into deep thought.

"Wait, there's something else that knows all of the mantras in the Profound Yin Arts and has cultivated the Profound Yin Devilish Qi! It seems like it would also be able to cultivate this devilish Qi to such a high degree of purity." A thought abruptly occurred to Han Li as a peculiar look appeared on his face.

"Could it be that the Wood Spirit Nascent has also returned to the Heavenly South Region?" Han Li murmured to himself as he looked up into the sky.

He had always hung up on this missing second Nascent Soul.

After returning to the Heavenly South Region, he should've set off immediately to search for this Nascent Soul, yet Nangong Wan was still yet to break out of the ice wall, and his concern for her dissuaded him from embarking on such a long journey.

Furthermore, so many years had already passed and if this second Nascent Soul was able to attain sentient will, then it would've done so long ago. As such, it didn't really matter when he set off to search for it.

As such, he had set this matter aside completely and decided to take a trip to the Moulan Plains several years down the track. However, it appeared that this second Nascent Soul had returned to the Heavenly South Region of its own accord, and was hiding within the Devilfall Valley.

In that case, it most likely had something to do with the disappearance of Mu Peiling's trio, which ironically meant that they were most likely still safe.

After all, the Nascent Soul had completely replicated his memories and emotions. Even if its personality had been altered after all these years, it was still very unlikely that it would kill those three women in cold blood.

Han Li wore a grave expression as he considered all of the possibilities involved.

After so many years had passed, the second Nascent Soul would've most likely possessed a body of its own already. Furthermore, from the moment that he had entered the inner valley, he hadn't sensed any trace of the Sovereign Devil Corpse, which he had planted a wisp of his spiritual sense into. With that in mind, it appeared that the devil corpse hadn't been subdued by the second Nascent Soul; it had to have been possessed instead.

Countless thoughts flashed through Han Li's mind as he placed himself in the second Nascent Soul's shoes, and the truth was soon made apparent to him.

He stroked his chin and heaved a long sigh.

Right at this moment, the remaining centipedes all flew toward him from different directions, and it didn't appear as if they had discovered anything.

Han Li wasn't very surprised to see this.

The reason why he withdrew the Gold Devouring Beetles and released the 12 Six-Winged Frost Centipedes instead was naturally because Liu Yu was carrying Six-Winged Frost Centipede with her as well. Even though her spirit insects were of a far inferior grade compared to his own, it was possible to find the three women through a connection between the spirit insects.

However, seeing as the perpetrator here was most likely his second Nascent Soul, it would definitely have taken measures to prevent this method from working.

Han Li stowed away the centipedes and contemplated the situation in silence with a dark expression on his face.

"It appears I'll have to use that method to track them. I attained this secret technique after it went missing, so there's no way for it to take measures against this technique. It's just that I'm going to have to expend some blood essence now," Han Li murmured to himself reluctantly, seemingly rather unwilling to resort to this method.

However, he still patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist in the end, upon which a white jade plate and a small crimson flag appeared in his hands at the same time. He tossed the two items into the air and they flew upward as two streaks of light, one white and one red, before hovering in front of him.

Han Li then opened his mouth and a ball of azure light enshrouded the formation plate. He then slit a finger over the wrist of his other arm, inflicting a thin gash following a flash of azure light. A few drops of blood essence then flowed out of the gash on his wrist.

Han Li blew on the drops of blood essence, and they immediately disappeared into the white jade plate.

Han Li then pointed a finger toward the small crimson flag, and it flew directly above the formation plate at his behest. The flag then tremored slightly before transforming into a ball of crimson mist that enshrouded the jade plate within.

Han Li began to chant something, and the jade plate also began to glow with a crimson light, following which bursts of crimson mist materialized from his blood essence began to emerge. The crimson mist then merged to form a single cloud of blood mist in the air.

At this point, Han Li suddenly let loose a low cry and azure light flashed from his eyes as he pointed a finger toward the jade plate.

Brilliant crimson light immediately radiated from the jade plate, giving it the appearance of a crimson full moon, and in just a few flashes, it had absorbed all of the blood mist wafting around it.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Han Li let loose a low cry as he stabbed his finger toward the jade plate again.

A pillar of green light then shot forth from his fingertip before disappearing into the center of the jade plate in a flash.

A loud ringing sound rang out from the blood moon and it began to tremor violently, as if it were going to rise into the air and flying away.

The light in Han Li's eyes dimmed slightly as a wry smile appeared on his face.

"This is the first time I'm using the Blood Moon Spirit Seeking secret technique from the Great Development Treasure Scriptures; I wonder if it's actually going to be as effective as the scriptures proclaim it to be. Only one way to find out, I guess. If it weren't for the fact that I kept a few drops of Mu Peiling's blood essence when I was setting up the spirit restriction in her, I wouldn't even be able to unleash this secret technique," Han Li murmured to himself as he swallowed a pill before sitting down on the spot with his legs crossed.

When Han Li opened his eyes again an hour later, he was back to his prime condition.

He immediately cast an incantation seal toward the jade plate, upon which the blood moon transformed into a piercing streak of crimson light as it flew into the distance.

Han Li's body swayed and his body also transformed into an azure streak of light, flying behind the crimson light in hot pursuit.

Within the blink of an eye, the two streaks of light had completely disappeared from view.

The crimson ball of light flew along at an even pace, and Han Li also followed closely behind it.

After flying for close to half a day, Han Li was led by the crimson ball of light into an extremely barren and secluded basin.

A burst of scorching heat immediately came rushing toward him.

Han Li's expression changed slightly, and he discovered that everything within the basin was either black or red. On the outskirts of the basin were spherical black rocks, while a crimson lake of lava was situated at its center. The scorching temperatures emanating from the lava lake was making even the air above the basin shimmer and warp, creating a rather twisted and ethereal scene to behold.

The ball of crimson light was revolving in the air above the lava lake, emitting a sharp screeching sound at the same time, looking as if it wanted to descend, but it didn't dare to do so.

Han Li stroked his chin and looked at the lava down below as a cold smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Hehe, it really does know how to find good hiding places. If it weren't for the guidance of the secret technique, I really wouldn't have been able to find this place. However, now that I know this is where they are, some lava isn't going to be able to stop me."

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Han Li raised a hand, and the crimson ball of light immediately whizzed through the air toward him before landing obediently in the center of his palm.

Han Li raised his other than, and a spluttering sound erupted as purple flames instantly surfaced along his entire arm, quickly encompassing his whole body.

Thus, a massive purple fireball came tumbling down directly from above.

The fireball that Han Li had transformed into was able to completely disregard the scorching crimson lava down below, landing with a loud thump before disappearing into the lava lake. A massive splash erupted over the surface of the lake, but it soon reverted back to its peaceful and tranquil state, as if nothing had ever happened.

At this point, Han Li had already reached a depth of over 100 feet down into the lava, and he continued to descend even further.

Even though he had been completely submerged in lava, his Purple Apex Flames, which were a glacial flame, were able to easily keep the scorching temperatures at bay.

After diving down for over 2,000 feet, Han Li finally reached the lakebed, and his feet landed on the ground, which was lined with solid black rocks.

He looked around and was unable to see anything aside from vast expanses of crimson in all directions.

Han Li's brows furrowed as he injected his spiritual power into his eyes, upon which a blue light flashed within the depths of his pupils. He had unleashed his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.

After surveying his surroundings once again, Han Li raised the crimson jade plate in his hand. The jade plate swayed before rattling incessantly toward a certain direction, as if it were attempting to break free from his grasp.

Han Li immediately flew toward that direction, and after flying for a certain distance, the jade plate suddenly stopped rattling, abruptly plummeting downward instead.

Han Li was able to react in time and caught the jade plate again. Only then was he able to prevent it from escaping the protective cocoon formed by the purple flames. At the same time, he also cast his gaze directly below himself.

His expression changed slightly as he raised a hand, upon which a piercing burst of golden light shot forth, heading directly toward the lakebed.

Following a resounding boom, a massive rift around 70 to 80 feet in length was sliced into the seemingly normal lakebed.

Blue light immediately radiated from within the rift, warding off all of the scorching lava.

There was a light barrier restriction beneath this lakebed.

Han Li was ecstatic upon seeing this, and he immediately dove toward the light barrier without any hesitation.

The blue light barrier clearly wasn't an extremely sophisticated restriction as his Purple Apex Flames were able to easily burn a large hole of around 10 feet in diameter into its surface.

Han Li immediately flashed through that hole and appeared on the other side of the light barrier.

The blue light barrier immediately sealed over, keeping the lava at bay again.

Han Li paid this no heed as he began to survey his surroundings again.

At this moment, he found himself in a secret underground tunnel. The ground and all of the walls were extremely bumpy and uneven, making it appear as if it were a naturally-forming tunnel rather than one that had been artificially created.

Han Li immediately tossed out his jade plate again.

The jade plate revolved in the air before transforming into a crimson moon again and hurtling deeper into the tunnel.

Han Li rose up into the air expressionlessly and followed closely behind the blood moon.

After flying for around two to three kilometers, the tunnel began to gradually slope upward. After advancing for a further 1,000 feet or so, Han Li finally saw light up ahead, indicating that he had arrived at the exit.

The blood moon immediately flew toward the light without any hesitation.

However, Han Li wore a rather wary expression as he flapped his sleeve soundlessly to summon a ball of three-colored flames. This was none other than his Triflame Fan.

Han Li grasped the fan in his hand and his body swayed, taking him to the exit of the tunnel in the next instant, where he stood, examining his surroundings cautiously.

His surroundings were very dark and dim, yet everything was extremely clear to his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.

This was a natural underground cave, and it appeared to be completely devoid of human presence.

Han Li raised an eyebrow as his gaze fell upon an exit at the end of the cave, which seemed to be leading to another cave.

At this moment, the blood moon was flying directly toward that exit. However, its momentum was arrested as soon as it reached the opening, and it began to emit a sharp buzzing sound.

A crisp crack then rang out and a dozen or so thin black cracks appeared over the surface of the blood moon. Following one final flash, the crimson moon disintegrated into specks of light.

As opposed to being alarmed upon seeing this, Han Li was, instead, ecstatic.

It only took him a few steps to reach the other cave connected to this one, and he found himself situated within an even larger cave than the previous one.

However, when he focused his gaze and looked around him, he faltered slightly at the sight that he beheld.

The entire cave was filled with tumbling pitch-black mist that encompassed almost every single inch of space within the area. However, as soon as some of this mist reached the exit of the cave, they were completely unable to progress any further, seemingly having been halted by an invisible barrier.

With his Brightsight Spirit Eyes to enhance his vision, the pitch-black cave that would render normal cultivators completely blind was as clear as air to Han Li. Thus, he was able to immediately catch sight of the three women lying completely stationary at the center of the cave.

They were none other than Mu Peiling's trio!

Beneath the three of them, there was a strange formation spell that was shimmering with faint spiritual light, and the black mist was being expelled incessantly from that formation.

Han Li didn't immediately rush in to save the three women. Instead, he examined every single inch of the cave with his spiritual sense and after verifying that his second Nascent Soul wasn't lurking in the shadows somewhere, he decisively feigned a grabbing motion toward the air at the opening of the cave.

Golden light flashed and the sound of something being ruptured rang out. The dense black mist immediately came surging out from within the other cave and tumbling straight toward Han Li.

However, Han Li merely made a hand seal, and a loud thunderclap erupted as a layer of golden lightning arcs surfaced over his body.

All of the black mist that came into contact with the arcs of lightning were immediately reduced to nothingness.

Han Li strode forward and waded directly into the black mist.

The golden arcs of lightning danced around him amid bursts fo erratic crackling, keeping all of the black mist firmly at bay. However, the black mist seemingly possessed intelligence as it converged to form a dozen or so black snakes of different sizes in the blink of an eye. The snakes circled around Han Li in a menacing manner, wanting to throw themselves at him, but not daring to do so.

Han Li's expression darkened upon seeing this, and the Triflame Fan in his hand disappeared in a flash. At the same time, the arcs of lightning that had surfaced over his body became even more dazzling.

He swept his sleeves through the air and two golden lightning wyrms shot forth, tearing through the black snakes with ease and reducing them to nothingness in the blink of an eye.

The two lightning wyrms then continued their assault, sweeping through the surrounding black mist with reckless abandon. Amid a series of rumbling booms, the black mist was completely eradicated, and Han Li was able to access the formation without any further impediment.

After taking just cursory glance at this formation, Han Li could already tell that this was merely an extremely simple illusionary formation.

It appeared that the three women's magic power must've been restricted. Otherwise, a formation of this caliber was nowhere near sufficient to trap three Core Formation cultivators.

With that in mind, Han Li immediately flicked his 10 fingers toward the formation in quick succession. A dozen or so burst of golden sword Qi struck the formation almost with complete synchronicity.

The formation was immediately destroyed as a result.

Almost at the exact same moment, within the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss on the Seven Spirit Islands, a tall and broad shadowy humanoid figure abruptly opened its eyes. The humanoid figure was seated on the platform that Han Li had used many years ago, and its entire body was enshrouded under devilish Qi as an extremely surprised look surfaced on its face.

It suddenly thrust its hand into its sleeve, and a blue bead immediately appeared over his palm.

However, there was a clear crack running right down the center of the bead's smooth surface.

"Impossible! The restriction was broken; how did that man manage to find that palace so quickly? If I were in his shoes, I would be completely powerless to do anything," the humanoid figure murmured in a coarse voice that was tinged with incredulity and a hint of dejection.

"So be it. I wasn't counting on those three to do much for me anyway. However, I can't stay in this place for much longer. I have to complete this process of injecting devilish Qi into my body, then find another obscure location to cultivate in," the humanoid figure murmured to itself before closing its eyes again, seemingly having managed to quickly compose itself.

At this moment, Han Li had already pulled out a green jade vial from his storage pouch and poured three fragrant pills out onto his palm. He fed the three women a pill each before standing silently off to the side with his hands clasped behind his back.

Only roughly 10 minutes had passed before Song Yu awakened first.

"Looks like your cultivation base has improved quite significantly, Martial Niece Song; you managed to wake up sooner than I expected." Before she had completely regained her consciousness, a familiar male voice suddenly sounded in her ears.

Song Yu shuddered as she immediately came to her senses. She opened her eyes, and the first thing that she saw was Han Li appraising her with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Martial Uncle Han! Wait, no, are you really Martial Uncle Han?" Song Yu exclaimed.

"Hehe, you're pretty alert, aren't you, Martial Niece Song. I had to go through quite a bit of trouble to find this place. As for whether I'm the real Han Li or not, do you think I'm an imposter?" Han Li chuckled calmly.

"So you really are Martial Uncle Han!" Song Yu was still slightly conflicted. She was around 70% sure that this was indeed the real Han Li, but she still didn't dare to completely trust her judgment.

Han Li smiled and didn't say anything. Instead, he merely waved a hand toward Song Yu.

A dozen of so silver needles suddenly shot forth from various locations all over Song Yu's body, and the needles all flew into Han Li's grasp.

Almost at the exact same moment, Song Yu could feel the magic power in her body resume free circulation.

An ecstatic expression immediately appeared on her face.

Right at this moment, Mu Peiling and Liu Yu also woke up one after the other.

They were also startled by the sight of Han Li.

However, Mu Peiling was able to immediately verify Han Li's identity through the use of the restriction in her spiritual sense, and she hurriedly rose to her feet before extending an elated curtsey toward Han Li.

Upon seeing this, Liu Yu and Song Yu were convinced that this was the real Han Li, and they also rose to their feet to extend respectful curtseys.

"Was it my missing second Nascent Soul who captured the three of you?" Han Li asked.

"Master, have you already encountered the Nascent Soul?" Liu Yu blurted out upon hearing this.

"If I'd encountered it already, would I still be asking you this question?" Han Li said in a calm voice as he also extracted the silver needles from Liu Yu and Mu Peiling's bodies.

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Han Li's were rather perplexing to Mu Peiling's trio.

If he hadn't encountered the black-robed figure from before, then how was he able to immediately identify the second Nascent Soul as the culprit?

In the end, Liu Yu repressed her confusion, and replied, "The one who captured us was indeed your missing second Nascent Soul, Master. Also, the Nascent Soul has possessed a body and possesses a mid-Nascent Soul Stage cultivation base."

A reminiscent look appeared on her face as she spoke.

"It possessed a body? Tell me what that body looks like." Han Li seemed to have been intrigued upon hearing this.

At this point, the two golden lightning wyrms had already cleared out the surrounding black mist, and they shot forth through the air before disappearing into Han Li's body.

The three women were stunned by Han Li's proficient mastery in manipulating lightning.

At their Core Formation Stage cultivation bases, they were already able to manifest their techniques into different forms. However, they were far from being able to manipulate those techniques as if it were second nature, as was clearly the case with Han Li.

After calming her emotions, Liu Yu began to describe the physical appearance of the black-robed figure.

Han Li only had to listen for a brief while to determine that the second Nascent Soul really had possessed that Sovereign Devil Corpse.

His expression remained calm, but he was feeling grave internally.

If it weren't for the Blood Moon Spirit Seeking Technique that he had mastered from the Great Development Treasure Scriptures, it really would've been very difficult for him to find Mu Peiling's trio. This second Nascent Soul knew him extremely well, so he definitely couldn't allow it to remain on the loose. Otherwise, it would surely come back to bite him someday.

With that in mind, after hearing Liu Yu's description, he immediately instructed, "The three of you, leave this place right away and return to the sect. Seeing as this second Nascent Soul has already returned to the Heavenly South Region, I'm definitely going to have to capture it. I have to search carefully through this inner valley, and it's best if I did that alone."

"Martial Uncle Han, that Nascent Soul's cultivation base is not inferior to yours. You should recruit some more assistance before you attempt to capture it. Otherwise... Huh? Martial Uncle Han, your cultivation base..." Song Yu had unconsciously swept her spiritual sense toward Han Li, and her expression immediately changed drastically

Upon hearing Song Yu's startled voice, Mu Peiling and Liu Yu also assessed Han Li's cultivation base with their spiritual sense, upon which they were also naturally given a massive surprise.

Only after a long while did Mu Peiling manage to somewhat recover from her shock, and she asked with an incredulous expression, "My Lord, you're already a great cultivator now?"

"I forgot that the three of you aren't yet aware of this. My great cultivator celebratory ceremony was held half a year ago, and I'm already the grand elder of the sect now, so taking care of a mid-Nascent Soul second Nascent Soul won't be an issue for me," Han Li explained with a faint smile.

The three women were naturally ecstatic upon hearing this, and they immediately offered their congratulatory words.

Han Li accepted their congratulations with a smile before urging them to leave again.

On this occasion, neither of the three female cultivators had any objections. After extending a final curtsey to Han Li, all three of them were on their way.

A short while later, three streaks of light shot forth from within the lava lake and departed from the inner valley.

Meanwhile, Han Li remained within the cave and decided to wait here for a few days.

This was such an obscure location, so if the second Nascent Soul was only temporarily away to do something, it would definitely return soon. Otherwise, it had to be residing elsewhere within the valley or had left the Devilfall Valley altogether.

In the end, Han Li waited in the cave for seven days, but the Wood Spirit Nascent didn't return.

Thus, he decided to conclude this waiting game and left the cave. He then released all of the tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles in his spirit beast pouch to scour through the entirety of the inner valley.

He was unable to find the second Nascent Soul through his efforts, yet he was able to discover many ancient treasures left behind by cultivators of the distant past.

Even though these treasures were completely useless to him and couldn't even compare to a spirit treasure replica like his Triflame Fan, they would still be considered to be very rare in a place like the Heavenly South Region.

However, Han Li couldn't bring himself to feel any joy over these discoveries. He had discovered traces of the second Nascent Soul's activity during this process, and many of the cave abodes left behind by ancient cultivators were already completely empty, having clearly been looted recently.

Han Li could now confirm that the second Nascent Soul had most likely departed from the inner valley with those treasures.

This was quite a troublesome prospect for him.

However, upon careful contemplation, he discovered that the second Nascent Soul wasn't actually completely untraceable.

The second Nascent Soul's ultimate objective was to devour his soul and take over his body, so it would clearly be fixated on improving its cultivation base until it became more powerful than Han Li.

According to the descriptions provided by the three women, after possessing the Sovereign Devil Corpse, the second Nascent Soul had been specializing in cultivating the Profound Yin Arts. If it wanted to cultivate the Profound Yin Devilish Qi to its maximal extent, it could use a shortcut like performing a blood sacrifice to drastically improve its cultivation base.

However, this method was not without its side-effects. In most cases, anyone who dabbled in such sinister secret techniques would experience the progression in their cultivation base tapering off following this initial spurt, then find them unable to progress altogether.

As such, the method described in the Profound Yin Arts during which one injected devilish Qi into their body to enhance cultivation progress was the best option for the second Nascent Soul. Using such a method to forcibly inject devilish Qi into one's body could allow a devil cultivator to break through bottlenecks in an extremely short time, thereby significantly enhancing their cultivation base.

However, this method also had accompanying repercussions. At best, the cultivator's body and appearance would be altered by the devilish Qi through a process known as devilfication, and at worst, one could completely lose their sanity and be reduced to a half-human, half-devil abomination of a creature. As such, this was an extremely perilous method to employ for normal cultivators.

However, this risk didn't apply to the second Nascent Soul.

It had possessed a devil corpse and it knew the cultivation method stipulated in the Great Development Technique, thereby allowing it to be able to much more effectively resist the repercussions that employing the method may have on its sanity Thus, the risk involved was significantly minimized.

Back when the second Nascent Soul had left him, it was still only at the early-Nascent Soul Stage, yet it had already progressed to the mid-Nascent Soul Stage in such a short time. Unless it had stumbled upon some other miraculous opportunity, it may have already employed this method. This Devilfall Valley was the place where the ancient devil had emerged from countless years ago, so it wouldn't be a surprise at all if some places had residual devilish Qi.

Han Li sat and meditated on the summit of a certain mountain for a day and a night, constantly considering the second Nascent Soul's situation and attempting to predict its next step. In the end, he really was able to strike the nail on the head...

"The Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss!"

Han Li abruptly opened his eyes as he murmured to himself in a cold voice.

Azure light then erupted over his body as he shot forth into the distance.

Two days later, Han Li had already departed from the Devilfall Valley and was heading toward the Seven Spirit Islands at an incredible speed.

According to the Profound Yin Arts, it would take around a year to complete the elementary stage of the process during which one injected devilish Qi into their body. He didn't want to get there too late and have the second Nascent Soul escape in advance.

Almost at the exact same time, the black-robed figure within the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss realized that Han Li may have predicted its whereabouts. However, it was at a crucial juncture in its cultivation and was unable to leave the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss.

Furthermore, due to the fact that the Nascent Soul was afraid of its location being leaked, it had concealed itself throughout the entire journey from the Devilfall Valley to the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss, interacting with no cultivators along the way.

As such, it had missed out on hearing an extremely important piece of information, and was still unaware of the fact that Han Li had reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage.

It was no surprise that the Nascent Soul had neglected to consider this possibility. After all, even Han Li himself had thought that it would take him at least 200 to 300 years to progress to the late-Nascent Soul Stage when he had traveled to the Great Jin.

The second Nascent Soul had clearly failed to predict that Han Li would suddenly miraculously advance to the late-Nascent Soul Stage.

As such, it was still calculating Han Li's speed based on what it would expect from a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.

According to its estimations, even if Han Li managed to immediately identify that it was in the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss, it would still take him two months to get to this place. Meanwhile, it was already at the final stage of injecting devilish Qi into its body, and it would only take just over a month for it to complete the process.

As such, the Nascent Soul was feeling very uneasy, but it still decided to take a risk and remain in the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss.

After all, if it were to fail on this occasion, it would be extremely difficult for it to return to the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss now that Han Li was aware of its plan.

Thus, the Nascent Soul had arrived at its final decision.

It was going to remain in the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss for one and a half months. By that point, regardless of whether it had succeeded or not, it was going to immediately depart from the abyss.

With half a month as a buffer, it would ensure that it would escape before Han Li's arrival.

With that in mind, the Nascent Soul managed to calm itself down and continued to absorb devilish Qi into its body.

However, after reaching the late-Nascent Soul Stage, Han Li was capable of traveling more than twice as fast as he did back at the mid-Nascent Soul Stage, thereby completing a journey that should've taken more than two months in just a month.

He had arrived at the Seven Spirit Islands.

In the past, Wei Wuya and the others had gifted him with one of these seven islands, Spirit Turtle Island, for his efforts in suppressing the devilish Qi, and he had passed the island directly onto the sect.

As such, there should be Drifting Cloud Sect disciples based on that island.

With that in mind, Han Li was no longer in a hurry to reach the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss. Instead, he headed straight for Spirit Turtle Island.

A streak of azure light flashed through the air, and he descended on a small mountain on the island.

He sat down with his legs crossed on a massive rock before releasing his immensely powerful spiritual sense.

The island, which was several hundred kilometers in size, was instantly entirely scanned through by his spiritual sense and at the same time, he had discovered two cultivator settlements.

Han Li's lips twitched and he said something in an extremely quiet voice before remaining expressionlessly on the spot.

Meanwhile, there were two locations on Spirit Turtle Island that had been cast into a complete frenzy.

A short while later, two groups of cultivators shot forth from two different directions directly toward the mountain that Han Li was resting on.

Han Li showed no intention of getting up, and merely looked up indifferently at these cultivators.

All of a sudden, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. At this moment, the two groups of cultivators had already reached the air above the mountain, and after identifying Han Li, all of them hurriedly descended from above.

We pay our respects to Grand Elder Han!"

All of the cultivators stepped forward and extended respectful bows. The two people leading the respective groups were both Core Formation cultivators, one of which was a yellow-robed man with small eyes and thick eyebrows, while the other was a woman who appeared to be just over 30 years of age. The dozen or so cultivators accompanying them were all also at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

"So it really is you! Long time no see; it seems like you're also reached the Core Formation Stage." Han Li suddenly turned to the yellow-robed cultivator with a smile.

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The yellow-robed man's face immediately paled after Han Li identified him, and he stuttered unsteadily, "I wasn't aware of your true identity during our previous encounter, so please forgive me if I offended you in any way, Grand Elder Han!"

The Core Formation Stage woman was quite surprised to see this.

This Senior Martial Brother Kui of hers was normally a very smooth talker, so why was it that he had been reduced to such a stuttering mess?

Furthermore, it sounded as if he had been acquainted with the grand elder since a long time ago.

The woman's heart was filled with confusion, but she didn't dare to ask any questions.

A hint of a smile appeared on Han Li's face.

"It's not your fault. I concealed my cultivation base back then for my own purposes, so I certainly don't plan to blame you for anything. However, I really am rather surprised that you were able to progress to the Core Formation Stage. How are your other martial brothers doing?"

This yellow-robed cultivator was none other than Kui Huan, the Drifting Cloud Sect cultivator who had invited Han Li to hunt for Snowcloud Foxes with him many years ago. The aptitude of his spiritual roots was very average, yet he had managed to progress all the way from the Qi Condensation Stage to the Core Formation Stage. As such, Han Li was naturally quite surprised to see this.

Han Li clearly recalled everything that had happened all those years ago, and a wry smile appeared on Kui Huan's face upon seeing this as he replied, "Senior Martial Brother Wang and the others weren't as lucky as I am; they were unable to even progress to the Foundation Establishment Stage, and passed away many years ago."

"I see. Their aptitude was quite mediocre, so it's no surprise that they were unable to progress to the Foundation Establishment Stage. Looks like you encountered some brilliant opportunities, Martial Nephew Kui," Han Li sighed.

"Over 100 years ago, I unintentionally consumed an unknown spirit herb, and my cultivation base progressed at a phenomenal rate thereafter," Kui Huan explained with a slightly sheepish smile.

"Hehe, you're quite a lucky man, Martial Nephew Kui. However, I'm not here to catch up and reminisce about old times today; I have some questions to ask you all!" Han Li suddenly adopted a serious expression.

"We'll be sure to tell you everything we know, Grand Elder Han," the woman replied obediently.

Even if Han Li wasn't the grand elder of the Drifting Cloud Sect, he was still the number one cultivator in the Heavenly South Region, so he had to be treated with the utmost respect.

"I just wanted as if any of you have noticed any abnormalities with the devilish abyss seal on the Seven Spirit Islands," Han Li inquired.

The woman faltered momentarily before replying, "The seal? It seems to be fine. Our patrol teams from the seven islands guard the seal in shifts, and no abnormalities have been reported to us. What do you mean by this, Martial Uncle Han?"

Han Li's brows furrowed upon hearing this.

"The seal is guarded in shifts? Doesn't that mean you won't know if something's amiss when patrol teams from other islands are on duty?" Han asked with a dark expression.

Kui Huan and the woman glanced at each other, and the former could only muster up his courage as he admitted, "Unless the other islands go to the trouble of reporting these matters to us, I'm afraid that this is indeed the case."

However, to their surprise, Han Li wasn't enraged upon hearing this. Instead, a hint of light flashed through his eyes as he suddenly patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist, producing a set of formation plates and formation flags of different colors.

"Take 36 disciples with you and head to the entrance of the abyss straight away, then set up this Malevolent Heavenly Formation. I'm going to be making a trip to the abyss. If anything tries to come out, make sure to trap it with this formation. I don't expect you to kill it; just make sure it doesn't get away," Han Li instructed calmly.

Kui Huan and the woman were very surprised to hear this, but they still immediately agreed.

"There's no time to waste! Pick your disciples quickly, then set up the formation as soon as you can. I'm going ahead to the abyss first. Hehe, hopefully, this is just a false alarm." Han Li delivered a final set of instructions before tossing the formation tools toward the two Core Formation cultivators and rising into the air.

Before the two of them had a chance to reply, azure light appeared over his body as he shot forth into the distance, heading directly for the seal on the devilish abyss.

The woman and Kui Huan hurriedly bowed in his direction before immediately pulling out their voice transmission talismans, instructing all of the disciples on the island to immediately assemble.

A short while later, 36 cultivators were picked out and the two Core Formation cultivators led them toward the abyss while carrying the formation tools.

As this was an instruction from Han Li, they didn't dare to delay in the slightest.

At this moment, Han Li had already reached the entrance of the abyss.

The massive vortex of the past had now been reduced to only around 500 to 600 feet wide. Furthermore, there were a dozen or so massive stone pillars distributed around the vortex. The pillars were constructed from an unknown material that was like metal, but also like wood, and were able to float in a completely stationary manner in the surrounding seawater.

Beams of white spiritual light were radiating from the stone pillars, creating a white light barrier that completely sealed the vortex within.

Han Li hovered above the light barrier and examined it with narrowed eyes.

There were seven or eight cultivators standing behind Han Li, one of which was a red-robed Core Formation cultivator, who asked tentatively, "Senior Han, as you can see, the seal is completely unscathed. Could it be that the information you received was perhaps incorrect? The cultivators from our seven islands have been constantly keeping an eye on this place, and we've never let our guards drop."

The remaining Foundation Establishment cultivators were standing even further away, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

"Hmph, I know at least half a dozen methods to infiltrate this seal without damaging it. It's not a difficult task to get past you guys," Han Li replied coldly without even turning his head.

The red-robed cultivator could only give a wry smile in response.

"Disciples from my Drifting Cloud Sect are going to arrive to set a formation soon in order to fortify the entrance. All you have to do is cooperate with them. There won't be any issues, will there?" Han Li asked coldly.

"Not at all! Senior, are you really going to enter through the seal?" the red-robed cultivator asked in a hesitant manner.

Han Li looked up into the sky, and replied without any hesitation, "Of course I'm going to be making a trip into the abyss. Otherwise, why would I come here in person? Now's the time when the devilish Qi is at its most feeble state, so it's the best time for me to enter the abyss."

The time was at exactly noon, and the scorching sun had reached its highest point in the sky.

The red-robed cultivator also looked up at the dazzling sun, and an enlightened expression appeared on his face.

"Alright, all of you can go back to what you were doing; I'm going to enter the abyss now." Han Li didn't wish to delay any longer. His sleeve rustled and a ball of three-colored flames appeared in his hand, transforming into the Triflame Fan.

Han Li then waved the fan gently through the air and runes began to appear on the fan as three-colored flames appeared over its surface.

Han Li's body swayed and he shot forth directly toward the light barrier as a streak of azure light. At the same time, he waved his Triflame Fan toward the light barrier, and the fan had seemingly transformed into a peerlessly sharp blade of fire amid a resounding boom. The blade of fire was able to easily tear a rift that was around 10 feet wide into the light barrier, and inky-black devilish Qi erupted from within before attempting to permeate through the air.

The red-robed cultivator's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, while all of the Foundation Establishment cultivators let loos involuntary cries of surprise.

However, Han Li was prepared well in advance as he vicious swatted his other sleeve downward.

A burst of azure light was immediately sent sweeping downward, instantly repressing the leaking devilish Qi with his immense spiritual pressure.

Immediately thereafter, a burst of azure light flashed as Han Li flew into the abyss. The white light barrier quickly sealed over again, and not even so much as a single wisp of devilish Qi managed to escape.

The red-robed cultivator heaved an internal sigh of relief and at the same time, a self-deprecating smile appeared on his face.

With the number one great cultivator of the Heavenly South Region present, there was no need for him to be so nervous.

Right at this moment, one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators standing behind him suddenly yelled, "Martial Uncle, look!"

The red-robed cultivator faltered upon hearing this before turning toward the direction that the disciple was pointing toward.

There in the distance, several tens of streaks of light were hurtling toward them.

"They're Drifting Cloud Sect cultivators! Looks like Senior Han is quite serious about this. Could it be that there really has been some powerful devil that has snuck into the abyss?" the red-robed cultivator murmured with a complex expression on his face.

Amid the vast expanse of pitch-black devilish Qi within the abyss, Han Li had already summoned his Divine Devilbane Lightning to shield himself.

At this moment, he was advancing toward the deepest point in the abyss amid a series of rumbling thunderclaps.

The golden arcs of lightning around his body intertwined incessantly with the devilish Qi in the air, and the latter was constantly being eradicated in Han Li's wake.

Han Li paid this no heed as he made a series of hand seals over and over again, unleashing a secret technique from the Profound Nascent Formation Arts.

10,000 feet, 20,000 feet, 30,000 feet...

Han Li maintained the output of the secret technique without pause, but he detected nothing within his spiritual sense. As he delved deeper and deeper into the abyss, his expression gradually darkened.

After reaching depths of around 70,000 to 80,000 feet, even he was beginning to doubt his own judgment.

Could it be that his prediction had been incorrect? Could it be that the second Nascent Soul had never come here, and had instead gone elsewhere to cultivate?

Just as these thoughts were flashing through Han Li's mind, his expression suddenly changed as he came to an abrupt halt.

A grave expression appeared on his face as he made an alternate hand seal. At the same time, he began to chant something in a low voice, and he looked directly stared directly up ahead with an unblinking gaze and a blue light shimmering in his eyes.

All of a sudden, a peculiar look appeared on his face, and he appeared to be rather uncertain.

After a brief hesitation, he sprang into action again.

However, on this occasion, Han Li seemed to be very clear on where his target was, and his movements were a lot more decisive and purposeful.

He descended a further 3,000 to 4,000 feet, upon he heard a low feral snarl.

He pursed his lips and slowed down significantly in his descent. At the same time, he tightened his grip around his Triflame Fan.

The blue light shimmering within Han Li's eyes became even more dazzling as he stared intently into the devilish Qi down below with an unblinking gaze.

At Han Li's current cultivation base, if he were to unleash his Brightsight Spirit Eyes with all his might, he would already be able to see up to 1,000 feet away in the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss.

However, things became rather blurry at a distance of more than 500 feet away.

Around 1,000 feet below Han Li, there was a tall and broad black figure that was unleashing an almighty roar.

Han Li looked down with his spirit eyes, and stared directly into the black figure's vicious crimson eyes.

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A chill ran down Han Li's spine.

The crimson eyes down below were filled with violence and brutality, and they were not the eyes of a normal human being. Instead, those eyes belonged to a crazed and bloodthirsty wild beast.

Han Li was still wondering whether the crazed being down below was the target for his trip when the thunderous roar came to an abrupt halt, and the black figure down below swayed before disappearing into the surround devilish Qi.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, but he merely drew a silver shield from within his sleeve in a calm and unhurried manner. The shield then transformed into a silver light barrier that enshrouded his entire body within.

Just as he had set up those defensive measures, the devilish Qi behind him suddenly began to surge as a hirsute black devilish arm shot forth like lightning, crashing straight into the light barrier.

A thunderous boom erupted, and the devilish claws embedded themselves over a half a foot into the silver light barrier.

Han Li felt the barrier of light around him tremor violently as a burst of immense force came sweeping toward him.

His expression changed slightly, and only after striding forward two small steps was he able to absorb the force of this fearsome impact.

At the same time, he waved a hand through the air and a golden sword that was several feet in length appeared. He wrapped his fingers firmly around the hilt of the sword before lashing out rapidly behind him without even turning his head.

Golden light flashed, and half of a hirsute arm was severed by the golden sword.

The black figure roared as it stumbled backward a few steps before righting itself. However, it continued to glower at Han Li with crazed ferocity in its crimson eyes.

Han Li turned around and examined the black figure before heaving a faint sigh. "So it really is you. It appears you failed in your attempt to inject devilish Qi into your body, and have lost your sanity from devilfication."

The black figure was only around 100 feet away from him, so he was naturally able to catch a clear glimpse of it.

The devilish creature bore a strong resemblance to Han Li's Sovereign Devil Corpse, but most of its black robes had been torn away, revealing large swaths for long corpse fur. There were also inky-black fist-sized scales that had grown over some of his vital regions, and those scales were shimmering with a sinister light amid the darkness. The skull-like face of the Sovereign Devil Corpse had been enshrouded under a thin layer of black Qi, and he could indistinctly make out a set of extremely twisted features beyond the veil of devilish Qi.

Not a single drop of blood was dripping from the devil corpse's severed arm, and it appeared that it had no blood within its body at all.

It was emitting a low snarl from its mouth and staring intently at the golden sword in Han Li's hand, but it didn't charge toward Han Li again.

Han Li's powerful sword strike had planted the seed of wariness in its heart. Hence, even though it wanted nothing better than to tear Han Li into shreds with its bare hands, its self-preservation instincts were preventing it from attacking. There was a storage pouch hanging from its waist, but it appeared to have completely lost its intelligence due to its devilfication, to the extent that it didn't even have the mental capacity to summon weapons to use in battle.

It turned out that even though the devilish Qi in the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss wasn't as potent as that which was sealed within the Kunwu Mountain, its degree of devilfication was still far beyond the second Nascent Soul's anticipation. Furthermore, the second Nascent Soul had predicted that Han Li would be arriving at the abyss soon, and in its urgency, it increased the influx of devilish Qi into its body during the final stage of its cultivation.

The second Nascent Soul did indeed possess the Great Development Technique, yet it was too busy cultivating the Profound Yin Arts, and had only reached the second layer of the Great Development Technique. As such, even though its spiritual sense was more powerful than other cultivators of the same cultivation base, it was still quite a stretch to expect it to be able to withstand the prolonged influx of devilish Qi.

As a result, the devil corpse was able to withstand the devilfication process, yet the Nascent Soul was unable to do so and succumbed in the end, thereby losing its sanity and intelligence.

At this point, the devil corpse was nothing but a half-devil creature that was ruled over solely by its instincts and propensity for slaughter. It was not that much superior compared to a demon beast that yet to attain intelligence.

Han Li carefully examined his opponent, and was finally able to verify that it had indeed lost all of its intelligence. He heaved a long sigh of relief upon making his observation, but at the same time, he found this development to be rather amusing.

He had regarded the second Nascent Soul to be an extremely powerful enemy, and had flown for a consecutive month without rest to get here, only to be faced with such a farcical scenario, one that left him rather speechless.

However, it would undoubtedly be a lot easier to subdue such a buffoon of an opponent, and capturing it should be a piece of cake.

With that in mind, Han Li immediately lifted his hand without any hesitation, raising the Triflame Fan high in the air.

Seeing as his opponent had lost all of its intelligence, there was no need for him to hold back. All he had to do was forcibly incinerate its body with his Triflame Fan. Without a body, his second Nascent Soul would naturally be forced to surrender.

Just as three-colored flames were appearing over the surface of the Triflame Fan, the devil corpse suddenly let loose an almighty roar. Gusts of devilish wind were swept up around it, following which extremely pure devilish Qi abruptly converged toward its severed arm before rapidly taking shape.

An incredible scene then unfolded; the devil corpse's severed arm was completely healed in the blink of an eye, and it was as if Han Li had never even struck it.

"Instantaneous regeneration!"

Han Li faltered upon seeing this, but a cold smile then appeared on his face as he injected even more spiritual power into his Triflame Fan.

Instantaneous regeneration was a rare ability, but he had killed more than one or two demon beasts with that inherent ability.

As long as he could completely destroy its body with overwhelming power, there would be nothing left for it to regenerate.

A sharp cry rang out as a Fire Raven that was several feet in size flew out from the fan. There were three-colored runes revolving around its body as it hurtled directly toward the devil corpse. In the face of these devastating three-colored flames, all of the surrounding devilish Qi was instantly reduced to nothingness.

The devil corpse also seemed to have sensed that something was amiss. If the second Nascent Soul had retained its intelligence, it would definitely be unwilling to face such an immensely powerful attack head-on.

However, the devil corpse's killing intent only seemed to have been intensified by the sight of these fearsome flames, and it let loose an almighty roar as the surrounding devilish Qi surged toward it in a frenzy.

The devil corpse immediately grew several feet in height. It then opened its mouth and blasted forth a pillar of inky-black light, heading directly toward the three-colored Fire Raven.

An earthshattering boom erupted. Within the depths of the devilish abyss, a three-colored ball of light and a ball of black light exploded in unison, and both sides seemed to be evenly matched in power, thereby resulting in an intense impasse.

"Hmm?" A hint of surprise appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.

The Triflame Fan was so powerful that even Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn't dare to take its attack head-on.

Even though he was only unleashing a portion of the Triflame Fan's power, it still came as quite a surprise to him that the mid-Nascent Soul Stage devil corpse was able to stand up against ist.

He looked on at the clash taking place nearby, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

The three-colored runes revolved around the flames flashed violently before the flames were finally able to overpower the black ball of light, slowly engulfing it before surging toward the devil corpse.

A vicious light appeared in the devil corpse's eyes upon seeing this, and it sucked the nearby devilish Qi into its mouth in preparation to blast forth another black pillar of light.

Han Li's expression darkened upon seeing this, and a pair of azure and white wings appeared on his back following a loud thunderclap.

These were his recently refined Thunderstorm Wings.

The wings on his back flapped gently, and his entire body disappeared amid a light breeze.

In the next instant, an azure arc of lightning flashed behind the devil corpse. Han Li emerged soundlessly from within the arc of lightning before aiming a devastating punch toward the devil corpse's back.

A massive shimmering azure fist appeared in the air before hurtling toward the devil corpse from behind.

The devil corpse was completely caught off guard and sent flying amid a loud thump, flying headfirst into the vast expanse of three-colored flames up ahead.

The devil immediately let loose a roar of fury and the utmost horror as bursts of inky-black devilish Qi surfaced over its body in an attempt to keep the flames at bay.

However, the three-colored flames enshrouded the devil corpse's body right before Han Li's expressionless eyes, rapidly brushing aside the black Qi before forcing the devil corpse to disintegrate while it was completely powerless to resist.

The three-colored runes flashed and the devil corpse was completely engulfed.

A cold light flashed through Han Li's eyes as he prepared himself to snuff out the three-colored flames and capture the second Nascent Soul within.

However, right at this moment, the three colored flames suddenly shuddered violently. A ball of crimson light suddenly exploded within, forcibly blasting a hole into the flames.

A streak of black light then shot forth from within, reaching a height of over 300 feet above Han Li after just a few flashes.

Han Li's heart jolted with surprise as he focused his gaze upward. He discovered that there was a green Nascent Soul enshrouded within the black light, holding an inky black flag within its little hand. It was none other than Han Li's second Nascent Soul.

The Nascent Soul looked back at Han Li with a cold expression, and the clarity in its eyes suggested that it had completely recovered its intelligence.

Han Li harrumphed coldly as he immediately flapped his Thunderstorm wings, upon which he abruptly disappeared from the spot.

The second Nascent Soul's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and it tossed the small black flag down below. As it did so, it made a hand seal before stabbing a finger toward the flag.

The Ghost Sifting Banner that Han Li had repaired many years ago revolved through the air as black light flashed violently over its surface. It then self-detonated amid a resounding boom.

Countless strands of black light shot forth to create a dense net, encompassing an area with a radius of several kilometers below the Nascent Soul.

The second Nascent Soul then let loose a long cry as it turned and flew upward with all its might.

Beneath the black net, an arc of azure lightning suddenly appeared out of thin air, following which Han Li's figure was revealed.

He looked at the descending black net, then up at the second Nascent Soul, which had almost disappeared from his line of sight, and a cold expression flashed through his eyes.

He abruptly flapped a sleeve through the air, sending a streak of dazzling golden light slashing into the black net. However, the black net merely wobbled slightly, yet showed no sign of unraveling.

Han Li's brows furrowed as he pointed a finger toward the golden light.

The golden light swayed, and a layer of golden lightning arcs appeared slashing toward the black net again.

Following a thunderous boom, a large hole was finally blasted into the net.

Han Li immediately hurtled through the hole, transforming into a streak of azure light as he rushed directly toward the second Nascent Soul.

Meanwhile, at the entrance to the Myriad Depth Devilish Abyss, there were several tens of cultivators standing around the seal with formation flags and formation plates in their hands.

All of them wore expressions of rapt focus as spiritual light of different colors shimmered from their respective formation tools, indicating that the formation had already been activated.

All of a sudden, a resounding boom erupted from within the white seal, followed by a violent tremor. A massive inky-black sword that was several tens of feet in length punctured through the seal before inflicting a gash upon it that was over 100 feet in length.

A ball of black light then shot forth from within.

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"Activate the formation!" Kui Huan and the women were focusing intently on the seal, and they were able to react immediately as soon as the second Nascent Soul threatened to escape.

The 36 Drifting Cloud Sect disciples tossed their formation plates and formation flags into the air in unison.

Brilliant spiritual light immediately radiated from those formation tools as layers of five-colored light emerged before sweeping downward.

The ball of black light was completely caught off guard and before it knew it, it had been ensnared within the light.

It was naturally none other than the second Nascent Soul that was situated within the black light.

When it had been engulfed by the flames of the Triflame Fan, it had unconsciously expelled all of the devilish it had absorbed into its body as a defensive measure to save itself. As such, the devilish Qi was reduced to nothingness by the flames and even more of the devil corpse had been incinerated. As a result, however, the Nascent Soul was able to unintentionally reverse its devilfication and return to its senses.

With Han Li's memories to guide it, it immediately detonated the devilish tool, the Crimson Blood Sword, to break through the three-colored flames. At the sight of Han Li unleashing his Thunderstorm Wings, the second Nascent Soul could only grit its teeth and detonate the Ghost Sifting Banner as well.

As expected, the detonation of these two treasures worked extremely well and due to the fact that Han Li was taken by surprise, the second Nascent Soul really was able to sneak away.

However, it knew that these tactics wouldn't be able to impede Han Li for very long, so it had already made up its mind; as soon as it escaped from the devilish abyss, it was going to unleash its Nascent Soul teleportation technique and escape to one of the Seven Spirit Islands.

In preparation for this exact situation, it had set up an obscure hiding spot on that island well in advance. It had even used several special treasures to set up an extremely advanced formation that would conceal its aura, and it was confident that the formation would be undetectable to Han Li's spiritual sense.

However, never would the second Nascent Soul have thought that the lone wolf, Han Li, would recruit the assistance of others on this occasion. Even though the formation outside had only been set up by low-grade cultivators, the formation itself was extremely powerful, and it had run right into the trap!

The second Nascent Soul was ensnared within the light, and was naturally extremely shocked and enraged.

It swung its little arms wildly at the light around it, unleashing streaks of black sword Qi that fanned out around it.

However, this five-colored light was very troublesome in that it would be torn apart easily by the sword Qi, but those gashes would seal over extremely quickly, affording the second Nascent Soul no opportunity for escape. The second Nascent Soul's expression changed drastically upon making this discovery, and it abruptly rubbed its hands together before flinging them outward at the same time.

Two pillars of black light immediately erupted forth before transforming into two massive swords that were each over 10 feet in length, both of which came crashing downward with devastating might.

The cultivators that were desperately holding the formation together were finally unable to withstand the assault any longer.

Following two rumbling booms, a hole that was several feet in diameters was blasted into the five-colored light. Spiritual light flashed around the hole as it attempted to seal itself over again, but the hole was simply too large and there was insufficient magic power flowing into the formation from all of the cultivators, so it wasn't able to immediately close.

The second Nascent Soul was ecstatic upon seeing this, and its body swayed as it immediately disappeared after unleashing its teleportation technique.

In the next instant, black light flashed and the green Nascent Soul had appeared outside the five-colored light.

It aimed a vicious glare at the cultivators around it before making a hand seal to teleport away from this place.

However, right at this moment, a gentle breeze suddenly blew past it, following which a humanoid figure appeared.

"Crap!" The second Nascent Soul immediately teleported away without any hesitation.

The humanoid figure that had appeared was naturally none other than Han Li, who had just emerged from the devilish abyss with his Thunderstorm Wings spread wide open.

His expression darkened as the second Nascent Soul attempted to flee, and a cold harrumph escaped from his mouth.

A thin gash suddenly appeared on his glabella, following which a cloud of black Qi rapidly billowed out from within. The black Qi then materialized into an unsettling pitch-black eyeball that was staring into the distance.

A streak of black light shot forth, striking a certain spot in the air over 200 feet away in a flash. The black light then exploded, and the stumbling figure of the second Nascent Soul appeared out of thin air. It raised its head to look up at Han Li, and there was incredulity and horror etched all over its little face.

Han Li chuckled coldly as he opened his mouth to expel a small azure cauldron. The cauldron was clasped in his hand, following which the white and azure wings on his back flapped gently, and his entire body disappeared like a mild breeze.

The second Nascent Soul knew that it was in a heap of trouble upon seeing this, and it immediately attempted to flee the scene as a streak of black light.

However, right at this moment, a clump of azure threads suddenly shot from thin air, as if they had been waiting for the second Nascent Soul this entire time, and the second Nascent Soul was immediately bound in a tight azure cocoon.

The second Nascent Soul was greatly startled by this development, and it unleashed countless streaks of black sword Qi from all over its body to try and escape its cocoon.

However, following a string of explosions and flashing black light, those azure threads remained completely unscathed.

The second Nascent Soul was truly horrified now. Just as it was about to unleash another secret technique to try and escape, an azure arc of lightning flashed, and Han Li appeared out of thin air with the small cauldron hovering over his palm.

The sight of the second Nascent Soul's desperate attempts to escape brought a cold expression onto his face, and he gently flicked a finger toward the small cauldron.

A faint sound rang out as the cauldron's lid flew off on its own, and a burst of azure light erupted into the sky.

The azure light resonated with the azure threads that had bound the second Nascent Soul, and those threads also began to emanate intense light. As they did so, the second Nascent Soul felt the cocoon tighten around its body, following which it was rendered completely unable to use its spiritual power.

Following another flash of azure light, the azure cocoon shot forth and swept the powerless Nascent Soul into the small cauldron in the blink of an eye. Han Li then pointed at the cauldron and the lid came flying down as a streak of azure light, sealing up the cauldron's opening again.

Han Li heaved an internal sigh of relief upon seeing this, and a smile finally appeared on his face.

Even a late-Nascent Soul great cultivator wouldn't be able to escape from within the Heavenvoid Cauldron.

"Congratulations on completing your objective, Martial Uncle Han!"

Kui Huan and the women immediately approached Han Li to offer congratulatory words with fawning expressions on their faces.

Han Li smiled and patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist to produce two white jade vials. He tossed the vials to Kui Huan, and cautioned, "Hehe, you guys also contributed quite significantly during this process. There are some pills in this vial that'll be very helpful to your cultivation. Take them and split them up among yourself. Also, the security around the entrance of this devilish abyss must be tightened up. Otherwise, other devils could also sneak into it in the future."Kui Huan was ecstatic after catching the jade vials, and he offered, "Yes, I'll be sure to discuss this matter with the other sects and dedicate more effort into guarding this place. Martial Uncle, would you like to rest on Spirit Turtle Island for a couple of days before returning to the sect?"

"There's no need for that. This place isn't very far away from the sect and I have other matters to attend to, so I won't remain here any longer." Han Li shook his head before stowing his small cauldron away, then flying into the distance as a streak of azure light.

Kui Huan and the woman bowed toward the direction that Han Li had departed in, and only after a long while did they stand up straight again."What kind of pills did Senior Han leave for you two? Any pills left behind by Senior Han must be quite potent, right?" The red-robed cultivator approached them with his accompanying sect disciples, and he was looking at the jade vials in Kui Huan's hands with an envious expression on his face. "I'm not sure of that myself, but I'm sure these pills are indeed quite extraordinary. I think we should focus on fortifying the seal here." Kui Huan gave a dry chuckle as white light flashed from his hand, and the two vials were stowed away. He was clearly unwilling to speak much about this matter.

Even though the massive gash inflicted on the seal had been repaired, the spiritual light shimmering over its surface had clearly dimmed slightly.

As such, the Drifting Cloud Sect cultivators immediately flew toward the nearby stone pillars to fortify the seal again.

The red-robed cultivator really wanted to know what pills were in those vials, yet he knew that it wouldn't be smart to press the issue. As such, he merely chuckled and also instructed the disciples behind him to assist in fortifying the seal as well.

A ringing sound rang out from the dozen or so stone pillars in unison, and a layer of white spiritual light appeared over the surface of the seal as part of a gradual fortification process. Around half a month later, Han Li returned to the Dreamcloud Mountains.

However, he didn't immediately return to the Drifting Cloud Sect. Instead, he returned directly to the interconnected peaks.

However, when he opened the restriction and landed in front of the cave abode on the main peak, there was already a woman standing outside, waiting for him.

Han Li faltered slightly upon seeing this white-robed woman.

"Liu Yu pays her respects to her master!" The beautiful woman extended a respectful bow toward him with a serious look on her face. This woman was none other than his in-name disciple, Liu Yu.

Han Li's brows furrowed as he asked, "You've been here this entire time?"

Liu Yu cast a surreptitious glance at Han Li as she replied, "I'm not the only one here. Senior Martial Sister Song and Senior Martial Sister Mu are also here. We were slightly concerned about you, so we decided to take shifts waiting here for your return. My senior martial sisters are currently with my junior martial sister in her cave abode."

"Hehe, it's just capturing my second Nascent Soul. With my current cultivation base, there's nothing to be concerned about. Does that mean all of you have met Qin'er already?" Han Li asked in a seemingly casual manner.

"Yes, we've all met Junior Martial Sister Tian. She's a very clever girl; it's no wonder that you would decide to take her under your wing, Master," Liu Yu replied with a dainty smile.

Han Li raised an eyebrow, and said in a nonchalant manner, "Qin'er isn't the same as you three. She possesses the Dragon Cry Physique, so she doesn't have much of a future in cultivation. I made her my disciple for another reason, and there's no need for you to try and probe me for answers."

"I wouldn't dare to do that, Master!" Liu Yu was elated to hear this, but an awkward expression appeared on her face from having her ploy exposed. Han Li stroked his chin, and suddenly instructed in a serious voice, "Seeing as you're all here, gather the other three and come to my cave abode. I have something to say to all of you."

"Yes, Master!" Liu Yu's heart stirred slightly in response.

Han Li nodded before waving a sleeve through the air, sending a burst of azure light sweeping toward the closed gate of his cave abode.

A loud rumbling erupted as the stone gate slowly rose up, and Han Li's body swayed before he entered the cave abode.

Meanwhile, Liu Yu transformed into a streak of white light and headed straight for Tian Qin'er's cave abode.

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A short while later, Han Li sat on the main seat within the hall of his cave abode, and he was surrounded by four beauties, all of whom wore extremely respectful expressions and didn't dare to many a single sound.

Only after Mu Peiling's trio returned to the cave abode did they learn that not only had Han Li progressed to the late-Nascent Soul Stage, he was also the undisputed number one cultivator of the Heavenly South Region. The three women were quite shocked to hear these, and their awe and veneration toward Han Li were only compounded as a result.

Han Li wore a cold expression on his face, and was scolding Mu Peiling's trio. "There's no need to worry about the second Nascent Soul; it's already been captured, and I'm going to erase its sentient will soon, then refine it into my second Nascent Soul again. However, the three of you sure are quite brave; don't you know that the inner valley is an extremely dangerous place even for Nascent Soul cultivators?"

"Martial Uncle Han, we only took the risk to venture into the inner valley as the Illusionary Spirit Herb was of the utmost importance to us. We won't do something so reckless ever again," Song Yu explained with her hands clasped behind her back. Han Li had been acquainted with Song Yu even prior to reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, so he couldn't bring himself to scold her any further. Instead, his brows furrowed as he asked, "Illusionary Spirit Herb? Are you trying to refine the Illusionary Destruction Pill to assist in a breakthrough?"

"Indeed, Master, that was our objective," Liu Yu replied in a truthful manner.

"If that's the case, you don't need to go searching for the Illusionary Spirit Herb anymore. I just so happen to have a vial of Illusionary Destruction Pills with me. Excessive consumption of pills during breakthroughs isn't advisable, so two pills for each of you will be enough." Han Li patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist, and a small green vial appeared in his hand, which he casually tossed toward Liu Yu.

This vial of pills was something that he had obtained from a certain Nascent Soul cultivator he had slain in the past. They served no use for him, so he decided to sell the three women a favor by giving it to them.

Only after Liu Yu had reflexively caught the vial did Han Li's words register in her mind, and she immediately extended a gesture of gratitude toward Han Li in a shocked and elated manner.

Song Yu and Mu Peiling were also ecstatic as they extended grateful salutes.

"There's no need for formalities; its just a vial of pills. I called all of you here because I have a few things to tell you," Han Li said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"We'll be sure to listen carefully, Martial Uncle Han," Song Yu replied in a respectful voice.

The other two women also adopted serious expressions in preparation to hear what Han Li had to say.

"The three of you should know that I've never liked to meddle in the sect's affairs. However, as the grand elder of the sect now, it wouldn't be appropriate for me to continue in this manner. I've left all of the troublesome matters for our Martial Uncle Lü to take care of, but I'll need a disciple to correspond with and assist him in overseeing the matters within the sect during my periods of seclusion. Liu Yu, would you be willing to take care of some matters within the sect in my place? Of course, I won't ask you to do this for me free of charge. I'll teach you some secret technique mantras and also reward you with a few treasures, all of which will make you one of the most powerful cultivators at your cultivation base. Hehe, even though you were forced to become an in-name disciple of mine in the beginning, if you agree to undertake this duty, I can officially make you my disciple," Han Li offered with a meaningful look in his eyes.

"Is that true, Master?" Liu Yu blurted out as her eyes lit up.

Han Li smiled and answered her question with one of his own. "Would I lie to you at my current status?"

"If that's the case, then I would be honored to accept this task!" Liu Yu replied without any hesitation.

Perhaps it was the prospect of attaining more power and influence within the Drifting Cloud Sect that was alluring to her, or perhaps it was the idea of officially becoming Han Li's disciple that was that appealed to her. Maybe it was a combination of those two factors that prompted her to so readily agree to this arrangement. In any case, Han Li had achieved his first objective, and he nodded with a content expression.

He waved his sleeve through the air, and a white jade slip appeared in his hand. He then pulled out a pair of green bracelets, a fiery ruler, and a shiny golden flying sword from his storage pouch, and bestowed all of those items upon her.

Liu Yu accepted the jade slip and the treasures with both hands, and she bowed over and over again to express her gratitude with an overjoyed expression on her face.

She didn't know that techniques were recorded within the jade slip, but just these ancient treasures alone were unimaginable treasures to her, and were more than enough to satisfy her.

"Go and pay a visit to Senior Martial Brother Lü. I'll inform him of this arrangement right away through a voice transmission," Han Li instructed.

Liu Yu immediately nodded before departing following a final respectful salute.

After she had left, Han Li flipped over his palm, and a voice transmission talisman appeared in his hand.

He spoke a few words into the talisman before sending it on its way, and it disappeared into the distance in a flash as a streak of light. Everyone else looked on in silence, and no one dared to disrupt Han Li during this process.

"Martial Niece Song, I also have something for you to do," Han Li said as he slowly turned to Song Yu.

"Please enlighten me, Martial Uncle Han," Song Yu immediately replied.

Han Li paused for a moment before continuing, "It's not actually an extremely important matter; I was only hoping that you'd be able to keep an eye out for cultivators with inherently powerful spiritual sense from birth among the disciples recruited by the sect during the next few years. I want to take one as my disciple and instruct them in person."

"An inherently powerful spiritual sense from birth? Disciples of that nature are extremely rare so I can't make any guarantees, but I'll do my best." Song Yu was a little hesitant after hearing this request.

"It's alright, this is not an urgent matter. It's just something for you to keep in the back of your mind. I can see that you've already reached the peak of the mid-Core Formation Stage. In that case, your chances of making a breakthrough by taking the Illusionary Destruction Pill alone won't be very high. I also have a vial of Yin Essence Pills here, which aren't as renowned, but they're extremely potent for female cultivators. You can try taking a few when attempting your breakthrough, Martial Niece Song." Han Li raised a hand as he spoke, and a small black vial appeared in his hand amid a flash of azure light, then flew soundlessly toward Song Yu.

As expected, Song Yu had never heard of this obscure Yin Essence Pill, but she certainly wasn't going to ignore a recommendation from a great cultivator like Han Li.

Thus, an elated look appeared on her face, and she accepted the jade vial with words of gratitude.

Han Li spoke with Song Yu for a bit longer before sending her on her way. He then turned his gaze toward Mu Peiling.

Mu Peiling's body stiffened slightly in response, and she reflexively lowered her head as a faint blush appeared on porcelain-like skin.

A complex expression appeared in Han Li's eyes as he asked in a gentle voice, "You've been my concubine for over a century now, right?"

Mu Peiling raised her head in the end, and quietly replied, "That's right, my Lord. Back when you first accepted me as your concubine, you had only just reached the Nascent Soul Stage, but you're already a late-Nascent Soul great cultivator now."

"Back when I had accepted you as my concubine, I had planned to use your virgin body to cultivate the Copulation Essence Arts in order to assist me in my breakthroughs. However, I've since progressed at a rate that has been extraordinary, even to me, reaching the mid-Nascent Soul Stage, then the late-Nascent Soul Stage through alternative avenues, yet the Copulation Essence Arts are only effective during Nascent Soul Stage breakthroughs." "My Lord, are you banishing me from the interconnected peaks?" Mu Peiling's features immediately paled.

"Banish you? Of course not. However, you chose to become my concubine in the beginning mostly because you were forced to do so by your family. You're already a Core Formation cultivator now, so no one will be able to force you to do anything against your will. I also don't want to keep you by my side in such an ambiguous manner any longer. On one hand, it would be a waste of the best years of your life; on the other hand, Wan'er is about to break free from the ice wall in the next few years, and I have to be able to give her a proper explanation of what's going on between us." Han Li's words faltered here.

"So what do you plan on doing with me, my Lord?" Mu Peiling asked as she bit down on her lower lip.

"It's quite simple; I'll give you two options, just like I did back then, and you can choose one of them. The first option is that I'll give you a materialistic reward for your efforts in cultivating the Copulation Essence Arts for these past years. I'll then release you from the interconnected peaks, and you'll be completely free to marry anyone you like. In that case, we would be cutting all ties with one another!"

"My Lord, with your current reputation, even if you were to release me and vouch for my purity in person, which cultivator in the Heavenly South Region would dare to marry me?" Mu Peiling murmured with a wry smile on her face.

Han Li's brows also furrowed upon hearing this, but he continued, "The second option is quite simple as well; if you're truly serious about cultivation and would be willing to dedicate your life to it, I can allow you to continue to stay on the interconnected peaks. Officially, you'll still be known as my concubine, but I can treat you as a disciple and provide you some guidance in your cultivation path. Of course, your cultivation aptitude is actually quite good, so I can also get Wan'er to make you an official disciple of hers. After all, Wan'er's cultivation art is more suitable for female cultivators anyway, so perhaps you'll benefit more from her guidance."

Han Li looked at Mu Peiling with a calm expression, and concluded, "Of course, there may still be some negative rumors spread about you, but this course of action will keep that to a minimum."

Mu Peiling fell silent after hearing the options presented by Han Li.

Han Li didn't try to hurry her, either, and merely waited patiently for her decision.

After a prolonged silence, she suddenly asked, "Can I choose neither of those options?"

"What do you mean by that?" Han Li's brows furrowed slightly.

Following another brief silence, a decisive look appeared on Mu Peiling's face as she said, "I want to become a true concubine of yours, my Lord! I want to stay with you for the rest of my life!"

"You want to become my concubine? That won't work." Han Li's expression changed slightly as he shook his head.

"Why? Do you despise me for my lowly cultivation base or find me unsightly to look at, my Lord?" Mu Peiling's face paled even further.

"That's not the case. You already possess a mid-Core Formation Stage cultivation base, which isn't lowly by any means. Your beauty also ranks in the top 10 among all female cultivators that I've ever seen," Han Li sighed.

"Then why are you rejecting me? Are you afraid that Elder Nangong won't agree to this arrangement?" Mu Peiling asked.

After a brief silence, Han Li heaved a resigned sigh, and said, "That's only one factor of consideration. The most concerning thing to me is that I'm completely dedicated to my pursuit of the Great Dao, and going into seclusion for several decades at a time will be a regular occurrence for me in the future. It would be fine if you could reach the Nascent Soul Stage and attain a lifespan of over 1,000 years, but if you can't, then you'll most likely only be able to see me a few times in between my bouts of seclusion before you pass away. That would be a waste of your life, and I don't want to see that."

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Even with a vast quantity of pills at one's disposal, it was still not a simple matter to reach the Nascent Soul Stage. There really wasn't a good chance for Mu Peiling to reach the Nascent Soul Stage.

Upon hearing Han Li's words, Mu Peiling faltered slightly before she opened her mouth to say something again.

However, Han Li raised her hand to cut her off as he said, "That's enough. I'm not asking you to make a decision immediately; you can mull this over for a few years. I also have to go into seclusion now and during this time, I'll give you some pills for you to attempt a breakthrough to the late-Core Formation Stage. Also, I'll have to trouble you to guide Qin'er in her cultivation in my stead."

"Yes, my Lord!" Mu Peiling was unwilling to settle for this result, but she could only accept this arrangement in a resigned manner at the sight of Han Li's stern expression.

Han Li nodded and gave her a few pills, then spoke with Tian Qin'er for a while before also sending the two of them on their way.

Thus, Han Li was the only one left within the cave abode, and he slowly closed his eyes as he heaved a long sigh. It seemed that there was more turmoil in his heart than he had let on.

He sat in silence for a full 15 minutes, and when he opened his eyes again, an expression of tranquility had reappeared on his face. It appeared that he had been able to settle his internal conflict.

He suddenly patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist, and a flash of silver light immediately appeared before him. The humanoid puppet emerged, and stood in front of him in a completely stationary manner.

Han Li examined the humanoid puppet for a while, and a layer of silver light suddenly surfaced over the humanoid puppet's face at his behest. Its middle-aged features blurred and when they regained clarity again, those facial features had become completely identical to Han Li's, making it appear as if the puppet were none other than Han Li himself.

Almost at the exact same moment, the humanoid puppet's body tremored, and it suddenly grew a few inches, making it identical to Han Li in height as well.

Han Li examined the puppet again before nodding with a content expression, and waving a hand toward it.

The humanoid puppet's expressionless figure swayed, and it immediately disappeared amid a flash of silver light.

Han Li lowered his head in contemplation for a while before exiting the hall of the cave abode, heading directly for the secret chamber.

Along the way, he suddenly said without any premonition, "My second Nascent Soul hasn't been causing any trouble for you in the cauldron, has it, Fellow Daoist?"

The voice of a small child replied from within the Heavenvoid Cauldron in Han Li's sleeve, "Hehe, it's just a mid-Nascent Soul without a body; how will it pose any trouble to me? It's just that with this guy in here, the cauldron is feeling a little cramped."

"Please bear with it for a while longer, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky. I'll assimilate this second Nascent Soul right away, then withdraw it from the cauldron so you won't be troubled by its presence any longer. After that, I'll assist you during your metamorphosis stage lightning tribulation so you can manifest a human form. Do you have any objections to this arrangement, Fellow Daoist?"

"Of course not. I'm glad that you still remember this, Fellow Daoist Han." The Endless Sky Beast was elated upon hearing Han Li's words.

Han Li smiled and didn't converse with the Endless Sky Beast any further as he made his way into the secret chamber in a flash.

The stone door behind him closed soundlessly.

Han Li slowly made his way over to the center of the secret chamber before waving his sleeve through the air.

A bust of azure light shot forth before spinning in the air, then transforming into a small azure cauldron that hovered before him.

Azure light flashed over the surface of the cauldron as the indistinct figure of a small child appeared. The small child was sitting on the lid of the cauldron with his legs crossed, wearing an expectant smile on his face, as if he were preparing to watch an enthralling show.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged, and he completely disregarded the small child as he patted his storage pouch to summon a stack of formation flags.

He raised a hand and a dozen or so formation flags flew toward all directions within the secret chamber in a flash. A faint yellow light barrier then appeared, enshrouding the entire secret chamber within.

Han Li made a hand seal expressionlessly before pointing a finger gently at the Heavenvoid Cauldron.

The cauldron lid immediately flew into the air at his behest.

However, the small child had reacted in advance, flying off to the side while continuing to appraise the small cauldron with a smile on his face.

A burst of rumbling erupted from within the cauldron, but nothing else happened aside from that.

Han Li's expression darkened as he chanted something and cast an incantation seal onto the cauldron.

The Heavenvoid Cauldron immediately tremored slightly as something emerged from within. It was an azure cocoon around half a foot in length, constructed from countless azure threads.

"Break!" Han Li let loose a low cry.

A peculiar scene unfolded.

All of the azure threads that the cocoon was comprised of snapped before dissipating into the specks of light in the blink of an eye.

The second Nascent Soul was immediately revealed.

It current had its eyes tightly shut and was hovering in the air in a completely still manner, seemingly yet to regain consciousness.

Han Li's eyes narrowed upon seeing this, and he immediately feigned a grabbing motion without any hesitation.

Several shiny silver needles abruptly appeared between his fingertips, and he aimed a cold glance at the Nascent Soul in the air before sweeping his hand through the air.

Black light suddenly flashed around the seemingly unconscious Nascent Soul, upon which it disappeared into thin air.

The silver needles naturally struck empty space as a result.

Han Li was not startled by this turn of events. Instead, a cold smile appeared on his face as he pointed toward the Heavenvoid Cauldron, upon which a clump of azure threads suddenly shot forth from a corner of the secret chamber.

Brilliant azure light erupted, enshrouding a certain patch of space.

A muffled groan rang out as the second Nascent Soul appeared once again within the flashing azure threads. At this point, its neck and limbs had already been tightly bound by the azure threads, rendering it completely immobile.

At this moment, the dozen or so silver needles that had missed their target earlier flashed through the air again.

The silver needles shot forth at a rapid speed, embedding themselves into various parts of the Nascent Soul's body in the blink of an eye. The Nascent Soul's body tremored, and it immediately lost its ability to summon any magic power.

A look of despair appeared on its little face.

"You won't be getting away. All of your thought processes are replicas of mine, so how are you going to fool me with your tricks? I don't plan to destroy you; I merely intend to assimilate you again, so why do you continue to resist?" Han Li asked in a gentle voice, as if he were conversing with a close friend.

The second Nascent Soul knew that there was no way for it to escape, so it relinquished any efforts to resist as it roared in a resentful manner, "You won't destroy me? After losing my sentient will, will I still be me? What's the difference?"

"That's true! However, you're supposed to be my second Nascent Soul, so you shouldn't have sentient will of your own to begin with. You have nothing to complain about as I'm merely taking away a privilege from you, not a right. You can only blame yourself for manifesting something that shouldn't exist." Han Li gave a cold reply, and he didn't want to waste any more time with words. As such, he made a hand seal, and brilliant azure light erupted from the threads that were binding the second Nascent Soul. The second Nascent Soul felt its vision go dark before it fell truly unconscious.

Only then did Han Li's expression ease slightly. However, a thought then suddenly occurred to him as he turned his gaze toward the small child beside him.

In response to Han Li's cold glare, the small child obediently dissipated into nothingness without a word.

Han Li nodded to himself upon seeing this before pointing a finger at the cauldron hovering in the air.

Azure light flashed over the surface of the cauldron before the lid was replaced.

Almost at the exact same moment, Han Li opened his mouth to blast forth a burst of azure light, which swept the small cauldron up within. The cauldron then rapidly shrank within the azure light, flashing a few times before being swallowed by Han Li.

Han Li heaved a faint sigh before sitting down with his legs crossed. At the same time, he feigned a grabbing motion toward the second Nascent Soul in what seemed to a casual manner.

The Nascent Soul was immediately drawn to him by an immense suction force, and it was forced to hover around 10 feet in front of Han Li.

Han Li used his spiritual sense to carefully examine the Nascent Soul's condition, and after verifying that its spiritual sense was indeed far inferior to his, he closed his eyes in a content manner before patting the top of his own head.

Azure light immediately flashed over the top of his head as an azure Nascent Soul that was only a few inches in size silently emerged. The Nascent Soul was standing on a small azure cauldron and carrying a green wooden ruler in both hands. There was a white bead circling above its head, and a ball of indistinct black Qi on its glabella, as well as several tens of miniature golden swords flying around its body.

This was none other than the main Nascent Soul that Han Li had been arduously cultivating for over a century.

The Nascent Soul wore a completely neutral expression as it glanced toward the second Nascent Soul in a calm manner. Azure light flashed from the small cauldron beneath its feet, carrying it directly over to the second Nascent Soul.

When it was only about a foot away from the second Nascent Soul, Han Li's Nascent Soul suddenly halted in its flight. It glanced at the azure threads around its counterpart's body, and suddenly stamped its little foot gently onto the small cauldron.

The small cauldron emitted a ringing sound, and the azure threads around the second Nascent Soul's body disappeared in a flash, leaving only the Nascent Soul itself hovering in mid-air.

The Heavenvoid Cauldron beneath Han Li's Nascent Soul suddenly began to slowly expand. The Nascent Soul sat atop the cauldron with its little legs crossed in a calm and collected manner. It then tossed its green ruler into the air, then made a hand seal and chanted something in an unintelligibly quiet voice.

Brilliant azure light erupted from the body of Han Li's Nascent Soul, and it slowly closed its eyes. However, the ball of black Qi on its glabella suddenly materialized to form a third inky-black eye. The eye was shimmering with an unsettling light, and it stared intently at the second Nascent Soul with an unblinking gaze.

Right at this moment, Han Li's Nascent Soul suddenly stopped its chanting as a burst of black light suddenly shot forth from its third eye, directly striking the second Nascent Soul's body.

The second Nascent Soul shuddered as it opened its eyes, but its pupils were completely blank, as if it were delirious.

Right at this moment, Han Li's Nascent Soul also opened its eyes. Two pillars of azure light erupted from its pupils, shooting directly into the eyes of the second Nascent Soul, as if it were forcibly injecting something into the second Nascent Soul's body.

The second Nascent Soul's limbs hung limply by his sides, yet its body was trembling uncontrollably. At the same time, an expression of excruciating pain suddenly appeared on its blank face, as if it wanted to cry out, but was unable to do so.

Han Li's Nascent Soul remained completely expressionless throughout this entire process. It merely continued to blast the azure pillars of light out of its eyes, and completely ignored the second Nascent Soul's suffering.

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Half a month later, the stone door of the secret chamber opened by itself, and Han Li emerged from within with a tranquil expression.

Silver light flashed outside the door, and the humanoid puppet, which was now completely identical to Han Li, appeared before him.

Han Li glanced at the puppet, and a smile appeared on his face. He stroked his own forehead, upon which the second Nascent Soul immediately appeared.

The Nascent Soul wore a completely blank expression as its body swayed before flying through the air as a streak of black light, disappearing into the humanoid puppet's body.

Moments later, the puppet suddenly blinked its dead eyes, and it was suddenly filled with vitality, as if it were an actual living person.

Han Li rubbed his hands together with a smile upon seeing this. "Not bad. This is exactly how I envisioned this go. Using the secret technique on the Great Development Treasure Scriptures to inject the second Nascent Soul into the humanoid puppet's body allows it to control the puppet. From now on, I won't have to worry about being unable to control the puppet due to distance constraints. As long as I don't go on excessively lengthy journeys in the future, the humanoid puppet can remain in this cave abode along with the second Nascent Soul."

"This is indeed a very creative masterstroke, Fellow Daoist Han, but aren't you worried that mishaps could occur if the second Nascent Soul develops sentient will again? In that case, it would possess a late-Nascent Soul Stage vessel in the form of this humanoid puppet. It'll be extremely difficult for you to recover the second Nascent Soul again after that," the unimpressed voice of a small child suddenly sounded from within Han Li's sleeve.

"I'm well aware of that potential risk, Fellow Daoist, which is why on this occasion, I'll be using a few restriction secret techniques that I recently mastered as a late-Nascent Soul cultivator on the second Nascent Soul, and I'll also be tinkering with the humanoid puppet a bit as well. Unless the second Nascent Soul's spiritual sense really becomes more powerful than that of my main Nascent Soul, I'll be able to completely immobilize at any time I want," Han Li replied confidently.

"Hehe, looks like you've planned things out well in advance, Fellow Daoist Han. It appears that my concerns were unwarranted," the small child chuckled.

"Regardless, I must still thank you for your kind intentions. Now then, would you like to transcend your lightning tribulation here on the interconnected peaks or go somewhere else during this process?" Han Li asked.

The small child hesitated momentarily before suggesting in a euphemistic manner, "These interconnected peaks most likely won't be a good place for tribulation transcendence. After all, even the restriction here won't be able to conceal the metamorphosis stage lightning tribulation. I have full trust in your abilities, but I think it's best to find a more secluded place."

"Alright, I'll go and see Wan'er first, then take you somewhere else." Han Li had no intention of arguing with the Endless Sky Beast on this manner.

He then exited the cave abode and traveled to the Drifting Cloud Sect to visit Nangong Wan in order to check on her cultivation progress.

A day later, Han Li left the Drifting Cloud Sect again, and flew toward the west as a streak of azure light.

Five days later, Han Li appeared above an extremely barren and desolate set of plains.

There was not a single blade of grass growing on this land, and there were only yellow soil as well as greyish-white rocks of different sizes stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions.

Han Li unleashed his spiritual sense to survey the area in a radius of tens of thousands of kilometers, upon which he discovered that there wasn't so much as a single cultivator or mortal around.

Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, and a small cauldron enshrouded in a ball of azure light shot forth from within. He then said, "How about this place? This is a vast expanse of dead land on the border between our State of Xi and the State of Huayu. There's no one around for hundreds of thousands of kilometers, so it'll be a lot safer for you to transcend your metamorphosis stage lightning tribulation here."

The small child inside the cauldron gave an elated reply, "This is indeed a good place for tribulation transcendence! Please release my true body from the cauldron and let me meditate for three days. After that, I'll be ready for the tribulation transcendence."

"No problem!" Han Li nodded before flicking a finger toward the small cauldron in the air.

A light thud rang out as the cauldron lid flew into the air of its own accord. The small cauldron then tipped itself over, and a burst of azure light swept forth, revealing a demon beast that was about half a foot in size with the head of a cow and the body of a wyrm.

Upon emerging from the azure light, the demon beast's body instantly swelled drastically to several tens of feet in size, and its entire body was shimmering with azure light.

"I'll have to trouble you to protect me for a while here, Fellow Daoist," the demon beast said in the voice of a small child. Its wyrm body then coiled up, and it descended onto a large white rock down below, where it sat in a completely stationary manner.

Han Li didn't say anything as he looked on from above. However, his body then swayed, and he also descended onto a nearby rock, where he sat with his eyes closed and his legs crossed.

Thus, the two of them sat for three days and three nights.

Just as the sun began to rise on the fourth day, both of them opened their eyes in unison.

"The magic power within my body is now in its most optimal state, so I have at least a 60%to 70% chance of being able to successfully transcend this lightning tribulation. You don't have to help me in the initial phase; if I encounter any difficulty, it should be in the later phases. If you can defend me from the final three waves of lightning strikes, I'd be extremely grateful to you," the Endless Sky Beast said with a serious expression.

"I see. I'll do as you say. I suggest you take a drop of this before you transcend your tribulation." Han Li suddenly flipped his hand over to summon a small profound ice vial that was emanating bursts of glacial Qi, and he tossed the vial to the demon beast before him.

"What's this?" The demon beast caught the vial with a slightly bewildered expression, then opened the lid on the vial and assessed its contents with its spiritual sense.

"Glacial Quintessence? I didn't think you would have something like this, Fellow Daoist," the Endless Sky Beast exclaimed with shock and elation.

"I happened to obtain some during my time in the Great Jin. Seeing as you taught me the beveled silver text, I can offer a drop of this Glacial Quintessence to you. I hope that's enough for you," Han Li said as he stroked his chin.

"Haha, it's definitely enough! Glacial Quintessence is something that's extremely rare, even in the Spirit Realm. Some would occasionally be discovered, but they would quickly be taken by my demon race brethren." The Endless Sky Beast was very excited as he turned to Han Li, and said, "Just a single drop of this is enough for me. I'll remember this and be sure to repay you handsomely for this in the future."

The demon beast's final sentence was very earnest.

Han Li smiled upon hearing this, but didn't reply. Instead, he patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist, and a stack of formation flags and formation plates abruptly appeared in his hand.

He then began setting up a relatively complex restriction formation in the surrounding area.

Around 10 minutes, Han Li's body swayed, and he returned to his original spot. Layers of white mist had appeared nearby, concealing the entire area.

Han Li turned to the demon beast, and said, "This formation should be able to prevent any unforeseen mishaps from taking place. I'll be assisting you from outside the formation, and I'll leave the initial waves of lightning tribulation to you, Fellow Daoist."

"Of course. Metamorphosis stage tribulation lightning is true heavenly lightning, so there's no way that a normal restriction in the human world would be able to keep it at bay. By the way, my lightning tribulation can perhaps benefit you as well." A thought seemed to have suddenly occurred to the demon beast, and a peculiar light flashed through its eyes.

"Your lightning tribulation can benefit me?" Han Li was quite surprised to hear this.

"Indeed. This is a little-known fact in the human world, but something that is common knowledge in the Spirit Realm." The Endless Sky Beast chuckled before its lips tremored, and it began to transmit its voice to Han Li.

Han Li listened within a hint of bewilderment on his face, which was gradually replaced by excitement.

"If that really is true, then this is indeed a rare opportunity. I just so happen to be carrying a treasure that fits this description, so I can give it a try," Han Li said with a nod.

"Haha, I wouldn't lie to you about something like this, Fellow Daoist. However, make sure you strike only when the moment is right. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, it could harm you rather than benefit you," the demon beast cautioned.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, I won't act recklessly," Han Li replied with a smile.

"I can see that you're not a rash individual, Fellow Daoist Han. Now then, I'm going to draw the heavenly lightning to me and prepare to transcend my tribulation. If it weren't for the fact that I'm proficient in some concealment secret techniques, the lightning tribulation would've descended from the moment that I emerged from the cauldron." The Endless Sky Beast heaved a faint sigh before slowly hovering up into the air.

Han Li's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he immediately flew out of the formation he had just set up as a streak of azure light.

Blue light then flashed within his eyes as he stared intently at the demon beast through the layers of dense white mist.

After rising to an altitude of over 300 feet, the demon beast stopped and looked up into the sky. All of a sudden, a dull sound rang out from its nostrils, and azure light began to flash violently all over its body. At the same time, gusts of grey demonic winds were swept up around it, concealing its body within.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon seeing this.

An earth-shattering roar then erupted from within the gusts of demonic wings, and a burst of powerful demonic Qi erupted into the heavens. The Endless Sky Beast seemed to have unleashed some type of secret technique that had made its body swell drastically to several times its original size.

It was putting its demonic Qi as an eighth grade demon beast on full display.

Within the span of a breath, a clap of thunder suddenly exploded in the cloudless sky. Immediately thereafter, gale-force winds were swept up in a radius of thousands of kilometers as dark clouds appeared from thin air, giving the sky an extremely dark and sinister appearance. At the same time, rain began to pelt down amid the rumbling thunderclaps.

Han Li couldn't help but click his tongue in wonder upon seeing this.

As far as he was aware, this barren land was known as the dead land as it had always been an extremely dry place. It was often the case that this land would experience no rainfall for stretches of several decades. However, as soon a the Endless Sky Beast had unleashed its demonic Qi, the climate here had been completely transformed. It appeared that its metamorphosis stage lightning tribulation really wasn't something to be scoffed at.

The dark clouds in the air before tumble and surged drastically as arcs of lightning as thick as human arms surfaced within the dark clouds. Each and every flash of lightning was followed by an astonishing clap of thunder. A series of massive lightning nets gradually took shape.

Han Li pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes as he looked on from below.

Right at this moment, the demon beast within the formation let loose an almighty roar.

As a result, the grey demonic winds became several times more powerful, transforming into a greyish-white hurricane that rose straight up into the sky, as if it were threatening to plunge into the dark clouds and eradicate the lightning within.

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A thunderous boom erupted as an arc of lightning descended from the dark cloud like a gargantuan sword, directly striking the apex of the demonic hurricane.

Silver light flashed, and the greyish-white hurricane tremored violently before it was sliced apart down the middle.

The lightning and the hurricane disappeared in unison, and the demon beast's figure was revealed again.

At this moment, it had coiled its body up into a ball, and its appearance was also slightly different from before as it had grown a pair of purple fleshy wings and muscular green arms on the sides of the body.

Han Li stared at it for a long while, but was still unable to draw any connection with this beast and any of the legendary heavenly spirit beasts.

The Endless Sky Beast looked up at the thick bolts of lightning in the sky as it gently flapped its new purple wings. With each and every flap of its wings, a ball of demonic Qi would appear around it, and its body was completely enshrouded within grey Qi in the blink of an eye.

The bolts of lightning in the sky seemed to have finally reached a point where there was no going back, and arcs of lightning that were each over a foot in size descended from above amid deafening thunderclaps. The lightning fell in dense waves, enshrouding the entire area in a radius of over five kilometers. Even the spectating Han Li wasn't exempt from the scope of the lightning strikes.

Han Li exhaled lightly as he made a hand seal. A dull thunderclap erupted as a golden net of lightning appeared. The net then expanded drastically, transforming into a massive golden net that shielded Han Li's entire body beneath it.

An arc of lightning struck the golden next from above, upon which golden and silver light flashed before instantly vanishing. In the aftermath of that lightning strike, the golden net tremored gently, but remained completely unscathed.

Han Li paid no heed to this as he continued to look up at the ball of greyish white demonic Qi through narrowed eyes.

Even though he had been swept up in the scope of the lightning strike, the majority of the lightning arcs were still crashing down toward the Han Li. The demon beast was at the very center of the blast area, and the bolts of lightning striking down upon it was many times that of the lightning that Han Li had to deal with.

With Han Li's spirit eyes, he was able to see that the cloud of greyish-white Qi had been completely inundated by silver light. The arcs of lightning were falling like rain, and there was simply no way to evade them.

Han Li's face remained expressionless, but he was quite surprised internally.

He had witnessed a metamorphosis stage lightning tribulation once before in the Scattered Star Seas, which was when that demonic tortoise that he had slain was transcending its tribulation. However, the commotion from that tribulation couldn't even compare to this one and at the time, the demonic tortoise had already reached the final stages of its tribulation transcendence, whereas the Endless Sky Beast was only just getting started. It was difficult to imagine just how insane this tribulation would become in its final stages.

Could it be that different demon beasts were afflicted by completely different levels of lightning tribulations?

When Han Li thought about the subject, he realized that there really weren't many books or tomes in the human world that described demon beast tribulations. On the rare instances that this topic was mentioned, the descriptions were always very brief and revealed very little information. Metamorphosis stage lightning tribulations were exclusive to demon beasts and had nothing to do with human cultivators, so it was no surprise that there were barely any records on the subject.

Even if there were human cultivators who were curious about this topic, it was an extremely rare opportunity to be able to witness the tribulation transcendence of a high-grade demon beast. After all, demon beasts were in their most feeble state right after their tribulation transcendence, so there was no way that they would allow a human cultivator to spectate from nearby.

Even though Han Li was rather perplexed, but he didn't think much of this matter. After all, at his current power level, this lightning tribulation wasn't a big deal to him.

Following a sustained assault from the arcs of lightning for a short period of time, the thunderclaps in the sky temporarily subsided.

Han Li looked on from below to find that the greyish-white demonic Qi within the formation was already in tatters, and only an extremely thin layer of it remained. The Endless Sky Beast took advantage of this temporary respite to make a series of hand seals as its fleshy wings flapped rapidly. At the same time, it opened its massive mouth and also blasted forth bursts of grey demonic Qi.

Thus, a ball of demonic Qi that was several times denser than the one before took shape in the blink of an eye, encapsulating the demon beast within again.

The Endless Sky Beast's expression remained quite calm and it wasn't flustered in the slightest, appearing as if it had already anticipated the ferocity of this lightning tribulation.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.

It appeared that the demon beast would be able to withstand the earlier stages of the lightning tribulation, so he wouldn't have to step in anytime soon.

However, the opportunity that it had disclosed to him earlier was quite important, so he had to focus and make sure he didn't miss out on it.

With that in mind, Han Li patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist, and several treasures of different colors immediately shot forth, landing on the ground before Han Li in a single horizontal line.

The treasures consisted of a yellow gourd, a pristine white bow, and an azure jade vial, all of which were container treasures.

At this moment, loud thunderclaps erupted in the air again as the second wave of lightning came crashing down from above.

On this occasion, the wave of lightning was clearly far denser than the last wave, and the individual arcs of lightning were also a lot larger, thereby creating an even more formidable sight to behold.

After summoning those container treasures from his storage pouch, Han Li no longer paid any heed to the Endless Sky Beast. Instead, he sat down with his legs folded and his eyes closed, seemingly priming himself for an important upcoming task.

Two hours passed, and the Endless Sky Beast endured six successive waves of lightning strikes, each of which was more fearsome than the previous wave. When the third wave arrived, the arcs of lightning had grown to five feet in size, and were cascading down like a silver river of light. Even the restriction that Han Li had set up earlier had been damaged in many places by that wave of lightning.

In contrast, the net materialized from Han Li's Divine Devilbane Lightning remained completely unscathed, and shielded him securely within.

Meanwhile, the Endless Sky Beast was unable to withstand the assault commencing from the fourth wave of lightning strikes, and it was forced to unleash another technique to further expand its body, taking it to over 100 feet in size.

The demonic Qi erupting from its mouth had also changed from its original greyish-white color into a silvery-white hue that was similar to the color of the lightning.

What was peculiar about this demonic Qi was that as it came into contact with the lightning crashing down from above, the sound of clashing metal rang out. Most of the arcs of lightning were repelled as a result of the clashes, so the demonic Qi only had to withstand less than half of the lightning being directed toward it.

Han Li was originally sitting down on the ground below with his eyes closed, yet even he couldn't help but open his eyes and look on in surprise

Only then did he discover that this silvery-white demonic Qi was shimmering with a piercing light and was giving off an extremely frosty appearance.

Hmm? That seems to have something to do with the Glacial Quintessence I gave it. Could it be that it's already refined the Glacial Quintessence in such a short time? Han Li thought to himself.

After expelling this peculiar demonic Qi, the pressure on the Endless Sky Beast was eased significantly, and it was able to withstand another wave of lightning strikes.

However, as soon as the seventh wave of lightning strikes commenced, the demon beast's expression became extremely grave and tense.

The dark clouds in the sky also began to surge and roared violently, and all of the massive nets of lightning in the sky began to plummet in unison. All of a sudden, the entire sky was illuminated by silver light, and the deafening thunderclaps drowned out all sounds in the surrounding area.

It was as if there was nothing else in this world aside from the dazzling arcs of silver lightning.

Right at this moment, the Endless Sky Beast transmitted his voice to Han Li. "Fellow Daoist Han, the lightning tribulation in the human world seems to be more powerful than I expected; I'm only going to be able to withstand two more waves of lightning strikes on my own, so I'll need your help to transcend the final three waves."

"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky, I'll lend you my assistance when the time comes."

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Han, I won't forget what you've done for me." The Endless Sky Beast was very relieved to hear Han Li's promise.

After all, with a great cultivator assisting it, it should be able to transcend this lightning tribulation no matter how powerful it was.

The silver nets of lightning enshrouded the demon beast down below one after the other, and countless arcs of lightning erupted from the nets in unison, striking at the silver demonic Qi with all their might. Even though most of the lightning had been repelled by the demonic Qi, the remaining arcs that snuck through were still an astonishing number of lightning arcs that managed to sneak through.

The silver demonic Qi was being whittled down by the arcs of lighting at a rate that was perceptible to the naked eye and following the seventh wave of lightning strikes, half of it had been eradicated.

However, there seemed to be no end to this demonic Qi as the Endless Sky Beast merely blasted more silvery-white demonic Qi out of its mouth following the conclusion of the seventh wave.

At this moment, the eighth wave of lightning strikes arrived.

Nets of lightning that were twice the size of the ones in the seventh wave began to descend with devastating force.

Earthshattering booms erupted, and the surface of the demonic Qi was immediately tinged golden as the surrounding earth began to tremor.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly at the sight of such fearsome lightning, but his expression quickly reverted back normal.

However, he slowly stood up and began to survey the sky as if he were looking for something.

All of a sudden, Han Li's expression changed as he abruptly lowered his head. He cast his gaze toward a certain spot in the distance, and a peculiar look appeared in his eyes.

"That's interesting; I didn't think such a creature existed in the Heavenly South Region," Han Li murmured to himself before abruptly flicking his 10 fingers toward the ground in quick succession. Ten thin red threads short forth before disappearing into the ground in a flash.

Han Li looked down at the ground below him, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

All of a sudden, the earth tremored violently, and a bloodcurdling howl erupted as large clumps of soil exploded into the sky.

Within the yellow soil and sand, a gargantuan creature emerged from the ground. The upper half of its massive body had been bound by a thin thread that was emanating crimson flames. The thread had wound itself around its body seven or eight times, charring its skin and making it howl with agony.

Han Li was able to take this opportunity to catch a clear glimpse of this creature's appearance.

It was a huge yellow creature that appeared to be a gargantuan worm, yet there were countless fleshy feelers of different sizes growing all over the upper half of its body, all of which were thrashing about violently. However, its most eye-catching feature was the massive golden horn on its head, which was shimmering with a dazzling light.

What was even more astonishing was that when the nets of lightning in the sky descended and landed near this creature, the horn on its head would flash erratically, and all of the lightning would be sucked toward the horn before disappearing into it.

"It's a Narwhal Worm! By how could it be so big? And if I recall correctly, the horns of these demon beasts should be white in color." A perplexed look appeared in Han Li's eyes as he looked at the enraged colossus before him.

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The massive Narwhal Worm let loose a howl of agony, and a gruesome cavernous mouth suddenly split open on its smooth head. The mouth was filled with sharp vicious fangs, and silver light flashed, upon which a remarkably thick arc of lightning shot forth from within.

The heavenly lightning that had been absorbed by the golden horn like a lightning rod was now being expelled by the demon beast as an attack, and the attack was aimed at none other than Han Li.

"Hmm? It's even attained intelligence? Tsk tsk, looks like this is some kind of mutant spirit beast." As opposed to being alarmed, Han Li was overjoyed to see this.

He rubbed his hands together before raising them at once, and two arcs of lightning as thick as his arm shot forth, crashing into the thick arcs of silver lightning in the blink of an eye.

Following a thunderous boom, the golden and silver lightning intertwined with one another like giant pythons. Thin arcs of electricity flew in all directions and balls of lightning exploded between Han Li and the massive worm, following which all of the lightning completely nullified each other and ceased to exist.

The massive worm seemed to have become even more enraged upon seeing this. Scintillating light radiated from the golden horn on its head, drawing a vast expanse of the heavenly lightning nearby toward it. The lightning was then absorbed into its horn in a frenzy, as if it were accumulating power in preparation for its next attack.

However, Han Li suddenly chuckled coldly before opening his mouth. A small golden sword flew out from within before elongating into a streak of light roughly 10 feet in length, following which it continued to hurtle directly toward the massive worm's head.

The worm seemed to be able to identify this as an extremely powerful attack, and brilliant yellow light emanated from its body as it attempted to squirm back underground. However, the Fire Spirit Thread that had bound its body suddenly flashed with red light and abruptly thickened to form a length of crimson rope.

The rope was as thick as a small tree trunk, and waves of fire surged from the rope, engulfing most of the upper half of the worm's body in the blink of an eye.

The massive worm was plunged into a state of shock and horror as its golden horn suddenly stopped absorbing lightning, blasting out a vast expanse of golden light toward the waves of fire engulfing its body instead.

As the golden light flashed past, large swathes of flames were swept up and also absorbed into the golden horn.

Not only could this giant Narwhal Worm absorb heavenly lightning, it could even do the same to flames.

However, when most of the flames had been absorbed by the giant worm, the golden streak of light that Han Li had unleashed earlier was already upon it. The golden light transformed into a massive sword before crashing down with ferocious might.

The huge worm whipped its head, and its golden horn expanded to more than twice its original size as it met the giant sword.

A loud clang rang out as the sword and the horn came into the contact with one another. Piercing golden light radiated forth, and the giant sword was repelled by the golden horn, while the latter remained completely unscathed.

However, right at this moment, an azure arc of lightning flashed above the massive worm's head, and Han Li emerged out of thin air with the Thunderstorm Wings on his back. He swept a hand through the air, and another burst of golden sword Qi shot forth at an incredible speed, puncturing a large hole with the diameter of a bowl into the beast's body before it could even react.

Green blood began to gush out of the wound, but the worm was simply too massive; a wound that would've proven to be lethal had it been inflicted on a normal cultivator was completely inconsequential to this demon beast, and the pain only made it even more enraged.

The worm let loose an almighty roar as the feelers on the upper half of its body squirmed before transforming into countless long whips, which swept directly toward Han Li up above.

Han Li's expression darkened as he immediately made a hand seal. A dozen or so small golden swords immediately surfaced over various parts of his body before circling through the air, creating a sword barrier that shielded Han Li securely within.

As soon as the feelers came into contact with this sword barrier, they were shredded into mangled flesh intermingled with green blood, and none of them were able to even get close to Han Li.

At this moment, Han Li began to chant something and pointed a finger downward.

The dozen or so small golden swords down below shuddered, and each and every one of them manifested six identical streaks of golden light. The several tens of resulting streaks of light then swept downward in unison at Han Li's behest.

The worm was stunned upon seeing this, and it immediately opened its cavernous mouth to blast out silver arcs of lightning and balls of crimson flames in a frenzy, desperately trying to keep the golden streaks of light at bay.

Loud thumps rang out in quick succession, and a small proportion of the golden streaks of light were eradicated by the lightning arcs and fireballs. However, the rest managed to puncture through the obstructions and reached the worm in a flash.

Before the massive worm could do anything, a loud ringing sound erupted as the streaks of golden light converged, and a golden sword that was over 100 feet in length took shape in the blink of an eye. Golden light then flashed, and the giant sword flew like lightning in a circle around the worm's waist.

An earthshattering howl of anguish erupted from the worm's mouth as an immense quantity of green blood came crashing down like a waterfall.

The worm's massive body had been sliced cleanly in half.

Just as Han Li was about to withdraw his attacks, an incredible turn of events unfolded.

Right after the massive worm was sliced in half, the upper half of its body suddenly flung itself into the air, opening its cavernous mouth as it flew toward Han Li. At the same time, yellow light flashed from the lower half of the worm's body, and countless feelers grew from the surface of its skin, instantly making it completely identical in appearance to the upper half of its body. A loud boom then rang out as the lower half of the worm's body plunged headfirst into the soil and disappeared.

Han Li faltered initially upon seeing this, but he quickly raised his eyebrows as he made a hand seal. At the same time, he quickly uttered the word "explode".

Red light immediately flashed from the thick fiery rope binding the worm's body before it self-detonated.

Following a burst of rumbling, a gigantic mushroom cloud appeared, completely engulfing the upper half of the worm's body, and a burst of bloodcurdling screeching escaped its massive mouth. The golden horn on its head simply wasn't able to absorb such ferocious flames in a short period of time.

At the same time, the massive sword down below circled through the air, slashing past the mushroom cloud like lightning.

The screeching within the mushroom cloud immediately came to a halt as green blood fell from the sky like rain.

Two massive charred chunks of flesh emanating a foul acrid odor also came plummeting from the sky before crashing heavily onto the ground.

Only then did Han Li sweep his spiritual sense toward the ground in an unhurried manner. Upon doing so, he discovered that the other half of the worm wasn't traveling very quickly, having only burrowed itself several kilometers into the ground.

As for whether this was the worm's normal speed or if its speed had been drastically hampered due to its injuries, Han Li didn't know.

However, there wasn't really any point in pondering this matter. Seeing as it hadn't managed to get very far away, it would be quite convenient for Han Li to hunt it down.

Thus, he patted the spirit beast pouch hanging from his waist, and countless bursts of golden light shot forth from within. Amid a loud and insistent buzzing sound, a cloud of golden beetles appeared above his head.

Han Li pointed toward the ground expressionlessly.

The cloud of beetles immediately flew downward and just when they were about to make contact with the ground, they split up into countless spots of golden light amid a dull thump, and those spots of golden light all disappeared into the soil down below.

Han Li turned his attention away from the ground, and pointed to the mushroom cloud nearby.

The massive mushroom cloud abruptly began to shrink at a rapid rate, reverting back into a thick fiery rope in the end.

However, it was apparent that the fire shimmering along the rope had dimmed compared to its former brightness.

Han Li waved a hand toward the length of rope, and fiery light flashed as it split up into ten thin fiery threads, each of which was around 20 feet in length, and they gently hovered in the air.

Han Li opened his mouth to expel a burst of azure light, which swept the ten Fire Spirit Threads within. He then gently inhaled, and the Fire Spirit Threads were drawn into his mouth along with the azure light.

Only then did Han Li look down at the charred body on the ground below with furrowed brows, and he waved a hand through the air.

A streak of golden light flew out from the charred carcass down below, whizzing directly toward Han Li.

However, the streak of golden light suddenly came to an abrupt halt when it was only about 10 feet away from Han Li. This was none other than the strange golden horn on the worm's head.

The horn didn't appear to be very large when compared to the size of the massive worm's body, but it was actually around five to six feet in length. The horn was shimmering with golden light and there were some mysterious runes that were indistinctly visible on its surface.

Han Li examined the horn through narrowed eyes. Even though he was very curious about this object, he knew that this wasn't the time to be conducting a close and thorough examination. As such, he thought about it briefly before casting a few incantation seals onto the object.

Spiritual light flashed over the surface of the golden horn, and it shrank down to roughly half a foot in length in the blink of an eye.

Han Li then plastered a restriction talisman to the golden horn and placed it into a wooden box, which he stowed away into his storage pouch.

After doing all that, Han Li clapped his hands together with a pleased look on his face.

Just as he was about to turn his attention toward the Gold Devouring Beetles, a certain patch of earth over five kilometers away suddenly began to tremor violently. The half of the massive worm that had escaped shot forth from the ground, but there were countless spots of golden light all over its body. There were thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles crawling all over its skin, and they were rapidly devouring the worm's body.

The half of the worm cried out in agony as its massive body crashed heavily onto the ground, where it rolled and writhed violently desperately trying to remove the beetles from its body.

However, the golden beetles seemed to have taken root on the surface of its body and were proving to be irremovable. They began to tear open the hard skin on the surface of the worm before quickly squirming into its body.

As a result, the massive worm was struck by inexplicably excruciating pain, aking to have thousands of tiny blades slicing through its body.

It was driven insane by its agony, squirming into the ground before flying into the air over and over again. However, no matter how much it struggled, it was unable to shake off the golden beetles.

A short while later, just as it had flown into the air and was convulsing spasmodically, its body suddenly completely stiffened before crashing onto the ground, where it lay, completely stationary.

Han Li heaved a faint sigh upon seeing this before directing his gaze toward the Endless Sky Beast.

Arcs of heavenly lightning were still falling incessantly for the sky above, and Han Li's Thunderstorm Wings were also flashing relentlessly with arcs of azure lightning. Any lightning nets that drew close would be swatted aside by the Thunderstorm Wings, so none of them could come into contact with Han Li's body.

Compared to the beginning of the eighth wave of lightning strikes, there were significantly fewer lightning nets in the sky. The Endless Sky Beast had finally withstood the eighth wave on its own, and it seemed to be time for Han Li to step in.

However, prior to doing so, Han Li hurriedly raised his head as blue light flashed within his eyes. He was staring up into the sky with an intense unblinking gaze, as if he were searching for something.

When the lightning strikes completely ceased, a peculiar fragrant scent came wafting from within the dark clouds. Immediately thereafter, the dark clouds tumbled and surged, and a massive full moon with the appearance of a jade plate suddenly appeared.

The full moon was extremely pristine and was emanating a faint white light. That fragrant scent also seemed to be emitting from none other than that moon.

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Han Li took a deep breath upon seeing this, and the Thunderstorm Wings on his back flapped gently as he abruptly disappeared on the spot.

In the next instant, he appeared on the border of where the formation once was, then immediately waved a hand toward the three container treasures on the ground below.

The gourd, jade vial, and round bowl immediately flew into the air before circling in the air above Han Li's head.

Right at this moment, the full moon in the sky tilted slightly, and a burst of peculiar silver light shone down directly upon the Endless Sky Beast from the moon.

The fragrant scent in the air became even more pronounced as a layer of rippling watery light suddenly appeared o the surface of the moon. It was as if something were about to drip down from the moon.

Han Li's body immediately swayed without hesitation as he rose up into the sky as a streak of azure light with his three container treasures in accompaniment.

At this moment, a fist-sized ball of white liquid finally came dripping down from the moon. However, as soon as it detached itself from the moon's surface, it transformed into specks of white light, which slowly flowed toward the Endless Sky Beast along the ray of silver light. What was peculiar was that those specks of light could only exist within the ray of silver light; as soon as they left that area and drifted into the outside world, they would instantly cease to exist.

The white spots of light immediately disappeared one by one after coming into contact with the demon beast's body.

The Endless Sky Beast was in a rather feeble state from withstanding the lightning tribulation, but as soon as it absorbed a few spots of white light, it was immediately completely reinvigorated. A burst of demonic Qi was expelled from its mouth, catching all of the specks of white light falling from above before sucking them into its mouth. This process seemed to be providing some form of stimulus for the demon beast as its body was expanding drastically once again.

The light over the surface of the moon rippled, and another ball of liquid slowly dripped down before also transforming into countless specks of white light.

At this moment, a streak of azure light hurtled toward the full moon within the dark clouds. However, when it was still over 1,000 feet away, the silver light in the surrounding air suddenly flashed, and countless arcs of silver lightning abruptly appeared within the clouds amid a burst of loud rumbling. The silver lightning arcs flashed wildly as they came crashing down toward Han Li in unison.

All of a sudden, it was as if countless silver snakes were throwing themselves at Han Li at once, creating quite a formidable sight to behold.

Despite all of the tumultuous storms that Han Li had weathered in the past, he was still given a fright by the scenes unfolding before his eyes.

Thankfully, the Endless Sky Beast had mentioned such a phenomenon during its voice transmission, so even though he was rather surprised by the ferocity of the attacks being directed at him, he was prepared well in advance. He flipped a hand over and a shimmering green object appeared over his palm; it was none other than his spirit treasure, the Eight Spirit Ruler!

Just as the countless arcs of silver lightning were about to strike him, Han Li waved his wooden ruler through the air.

Silver lotus flowers began to appear all around him, each of which was roughly the size of a palm, creating a watertight barrier around him.

The silver arcs of lightning struck the lotus flowers amid booming thunderclaps as countless thin arcs of electricity flashed over the surface of the barrier.

The lotus flowers were vanquished in quick succession by the vast number of lightning arcs, but another barrier of silver lotus flowers immediately surged forth in its place. It was as if there was no end to these lotus flowers, and they really were able to keep the fearsome lightning strikes at bay.

The azure streak of light flashed through the air, and was only over 100 feet away from the full moon.

As the second ball of white liquid dripped down from the moon, Han Li suddenly faltered for an instant, as if he had abruptly found himself in a restricted area, and countless lightning arcs came surging toward him from all directions.

This wave of lightning strikes seemed to be even more concentrated than the previous one.

However, Han Li's entire body was enshrouded by countless silver lotus flowers, and he paid the lightning arcs no heed as he pointed toward the three container treasures before him.

The gourd, the jade vial, and the bowl immediately flew toward the silver moon as three balls of spiritual light.

As soon as they shot forth through the air, countless arcs of lightning surrounded Han Li.

On this occasion, the lightning strikes were even more ferocious and as they exploded around him, Han Li was like a small raft caught within a turbulent sea. Despite the seemingly limitless supply of lotus flowers being churned out by the Eight Spirit Ruler, the barrier surrounding Han Li's body was struggling to keep the fierce barrage at bay.

The area that the lotus flowers encapsulated was quickly shrinking while countless arcs of silver lightning were rapidly converging toward Han Li.

However, he paid his perilous situation no heed as he focused his attention entirely on his three container treasures and flew slowly toward the full moon.

That's right, he was flying slowly toward the moon!

For some reason, as soon as the three container treasures reached a distance within 30 feet away from the moon, all of them became impossibly heavy, as if they had triggered some kind of restriction. As such, they could approach the moon at an agonizing snail's pace.

At this point, the full moon had already secreted its second drop of liquid, yet it was slowly becoming blurry and indistinct, as if it were about to disappear at any moment.

At the same time, the dark clouds in the sky began to tumble and surge again as a burst of spiritual pressure that was quite astonishing, even to Han Li, was slowly taking shape. This was clearly a precursor for the ninth wave of lightning strikes.

The container treasures were still several feet away from the full moon, yet they were still moving as if they were trudging through a swamp, and Han Li knew that he had to do something.

He suddenly let loose a loud cry as he gathered his spiritual sense, and abruptly unleashed a Spirit Stun Thorn toward the full moon.

A burst of enormous power swept toward the full moon, carving a rift into the watery light shimmering over its surface. The three container treasures just so happened to pass through the rift, and immediately sped up appreciably.

Han Li opened his mouth without any hesitation upon seeing this, expelling a mouthful of blood essence, then flicking his 10 fingers toward the blood essence in quick succession.

The blood essence instantly transformed into a cloud of blood mist before disappearing in a flash.

A peculiar scene then ensued!

The three container treasures were originally of different colors, yet as soon as the blood mist disappeared, all three began to emit a crimson glow.

They tremored and broke through the restriction in unison, disappearing into the full moon in a flash.

Almost at the exact same moment, the indistinct moon completely vanished, leaving only the three container treasures hovering in mid-air.

Even Han Li wasn't sure whether the treasures had managed to store something from the moon or were still empty.

A booming thunderclap erupted, and all of the lightning arcs that were attacking Han Li in a maddened frenzy disappeared into the dark clouds in a flash.

As opposed to becoming more relaxed and relieved upon seeing this, Han Li adopted a grim expression instead.

He waved a hand through the air and the three container treasures immediately flew back toward him. Azure light radiated from Han Li's body, and the treasures appeared before him the blink of an eye. His hand shot forth like lightning as he grabbed onto the yellow gourd hovering in the air. He took a glance inside the gourd before flipping his hand over, upon which the gourd abruptly disappeared.

As for the other two treasures, he didn't even inspect them before stowing them away into his storage pouch.

Throughout this entire process, Han Li's expression remained completely unchanged. However, the faint fragrance emanating from within the container treasures indicated that his efforts had not been in vain.

The Endless Sky Beast paid no heed to what Han Li was doing. At this moment, its attention was entirely focused on the lightning tribulation in the air above. The erratic arcs of lightning in the sky had completely disappeared, but the demon beast could sense immensely powerful fluctuations proliferating from the spot in the dark clouds directly above it, and it didn't dare to let its focus waver in the slightest.

The silver demonic Qi around its body had completely disappeared, leaving it standing at the center of the formation in a completely vulnerable manner. It wasn't even emitting any more of its original greyish-white demonic Qi as it seemed to be certain that none of this would help it in the slightest in the face of the upcoming lightning tribulation.

A smile appeared on Han Li's face, and he was just about to say something to the demon beast when an extremely dull thunderclap rang out from above.

A gigantic arc of silver lightning as thick as a water tank surfaced beneath the dark clouds. The arc of lightning was over 200 feet in length and following several flashes of silver light in quick succession, it came crashing down violently toward the Endless Sky Beast like a massive silver wyrm. The incandescent silver light radiating from the giant wyrm's body had virtually illuminated the entire sky, and it was descending with truly astonishing might.

The Endless Sky Beast's expression changed drastically upon seeing this, and it opened its mouth without any hesitation. A grey bead shot forth from within before rotating incessantly above the demon beasts head. That bead was none other than its demon core!

However, before the silver wyrm managed to strike the demon beast, Han Li finally sprang into action.

He raised a hand, and a small silver shield flew through the air before transforming into a silver barrier of light that encapsulated the Endless Sky Beast within. Han Li then looked on from down below with a calm smile on his face.

The Endless Sky Beast immediately heaved a long sigh of relief upon seeing this.

The silver wyrm crashed into the silver light barrier amid a burst of thunderous rumbling as piercing silver light radiated in all directions. However, the silver light barrier beneath it merely tremored erratically before settling again, as if nothing had happened.

The silver lightning wyrm's attack had been thwarted, yet it didn't immediately dissipate. Instead, it began to circle around the light barrier.

Rumbling thunderclaps erupted over and over again, yet with each passing strike, the silver wyrm's body would shrink a little. Following a dozen or so consecutive attacks, the silver wyrm had been reduced to around half of its original size.

"That's enough, Fellow Daoist Han. You can withdraw your treasure; I can handle this on my own now," the Endless Sky Beast suddenly yelled.

Han Li pointed a finger toward the center of the formation upon hearing this, and the silver light barrier disappeared in a flash.

Prior to coming here, the Endless Sky Beast had told Han Li that external assistance could be recruited by a demon beast during their metamorphosis stage lightning tribulation, and they could even request for help in partially nullifying the power of the lightning tribulation. However, they still had to withstand close to half of the power of each wave of lightning tribulation on their own.

Otherwise, the waves of lightning strikes would continue to repeat themselves. As such, the Endless Sky Beast was only asking Han Li to nullify most of the power from the final three waves of lightning tribulation.

As such, Han Li wasn't surprised by the demon beast's request, and immediately withdrew his silver shield.

Without the protection of the silver light barrier, the lightning wyrm immediately pounced toward the Endless Sky Beast, only to be kept at bay again by that greyish-white demon core.

The enormous arc of lightning struck the core, causing it to tremor slightly, but it remained firm and resolute, easily withstanding most of the power from the lightning strike.

After that, no matter which angle the silver wyrm attempted to attack the Endless Sky Beast from, the demon core was always one step ahead. Thus, the silver wyrm continued to be whittled down following a string of loud explosions.

Han Li stroked up his chin as he looked on from below.

It appeared that it would be no issue for him to buffer the remaining two waves of lightning tribulation. After all, this was only the tribulation for an eighth grade demon beast, and no matter how fearsome it was to the demon beast itself, the tribulation ultimately wasn't all that formidable in his eyes. The key would lie in whether the demon beast would be able to withstand the remaining might of the lightning strikes.

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The final two waves of lightning strikes progressed as Han Li had expected; after nullifying most of their power with his silver shield, the Endless Sky Beast's demon core was able to take care of the rest, albeit with a certain degree of difficulty.

Following the conclusion of the final wave of lightning tribulation, the dark clouds in the sky disappeared just as quickly as they had first materialized, and the light of the sun came seeping through in the blink of an eye. Before long, there was not a single cloud to be seen in the sky.

At this moment, the Endless Sky Beast's was situated at the center of the formation, enshrouded within layers of greyish-white demonic Qi. It was as if the demon beast had been encapsulated within a massive cocoon, and the surface of the cocoon was squirming and writhing gently.

Han Li was not surprised to see this at all.

After withstanding the lightning tribulation, the Endless Sky Beast was reconstructing its body and adopting a human form. Generally speaking, this transformation was outside of the demon beast's control. It was just like the birth of a human; no one could determine their looks from birth as that was predetermined by genetics.

However, the appearance of a demon beast's human form was somewhat dependent on their true form. For example, demon beasts like demonic foxes would usually undergo metamorphosis to become handsome men and beautiful women, while demon beasts with hideous forms to begin with usually had ugly human forms as well. A thought suddenly occurred to Han Li, and he cast his gave toward the distance. There, the carcass of the mutated Narwhal Worm had been completely engulfed into nothingness by the Gold Devouring Beetles. At this moment, the swarm of beetles was buzzing incessantly as they hovered in mid-air.

Han Li let loose a long cry, and the golden swarm of beetles immediately flew toward him before being stored away in his spirit beast pouch.

He then sat down with his legs crossed and closed his eyes as he awaited the conclusion of the Endless Sky Beast's metamorphosis.

A day and a night passed.

When Han Li opened his eyes again, a dull thump suddenly erupted from within the gigantic cocoon. A fair and tender arm punched through the surface of the cocoon, and the familiar voice of a small child sounded from within. "I've finally succeeded. Thank you for your efforts, Fellow Daoist Han."

Han Li smiled upon hearing this before slowly rising to his feet...

Several days later, Han Li returned to the interconnected peaks on the Dreamcloud Mountains. At present, he was situated within the secret chamber of his cave abode, holding the shimmering golden horn in his hand with the three container treasures placed before him. A large azure cauldron that was around 10 feet in size was hovering in the air before him, and a small child in yellow robes was sitting atop the cauldron. The small child was currently reading an aged hide book in his hands that it was holding in its hands.

This child was naturally none other than the Endless Sky Beast in its human form. It wasn't exactly identical to the projection that it had manifested in the past, but it bore a strong resemblance to that projection.

That made sense, seeing as the demon beast's true body in the Spirit Realm had already undergone metamorphosis once, so it would naturally have a rough idea of what its human form would look like. That was why it was able to manifest a projection with roughly the same appearance.

Han Li stroked the bumpy patterns on the surface of the golden horn with his finger, and after a while, he suddenly said, "After some experimentation, I've discovered that this horn can absorb almost all types of spiritual power, and also release it. The only flaws are that it's only able to absorb a limited amount of spiritual power at once, and the rate of absorption is also rather slow."

The small child put down the book in his hands and turned to Han Li with a vibrant smile as he said, "As expected of a material from a mutated demon beast; spiritual absorption is a very rare ability. There are countless cultivators even in the Spirit Realm who are dying for a material with such an extraordinary ability. It's the ideal material for refining defensive-type treasures, and many renowned defensive-type spirit treasures have incorporated this type of material."

"Defensive-type treasures? Can this be used to refine battle armor?" Han Li asked.

"Hehe, you really are very smart, Fellow Daoist Han. You should be able to use this horn and your Fire Spirit Threads to refine a powerful suit of battle armor. Even if it won't be a spirit treasure, it won't be too far away from that level, either. However, my advice is that you should refrain from doing that," the small child said with a serious expression.

"Why's that? I'm in need of a suit of battle armor at the moment." A hint of confusion flashed through Han Li's eyes.

"If you want to spend the rest of your life here in this human world and regard safety as your number one priority, then refining a suit of battle armor is naturally your best option. However, if you want to sneak into the Spirit Realm through a spatial node, hehe, it's best to keep this item to refine another type of treasure," the small child explained.

"What other types of treasure can be refined using this thing?" Han Li asked.

"The Realm Transcending Bead, of course. That treasure will assist you greatly in your attempt to pass through a spatial node," the small child replied.

"A Realm Transcending Bead? If I recall correctly, you seemed to have used something known as a Realm Transcending Stone when your avatar descended into the human world. What is the relationship between those two treasures? Are they the same thing?" Han Li asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.

The small child thought about this question carefully before replying, "Their names are very similar, and they are indeed related. The Realm Transcending Stone is a disposable naturally-occurring treasure that is only found in the Spirit Realm, whereas a Realm Transcending Bead is a refined treasure that can be used more than once. The two serve a similar purpose, but the difference in their levels of potency is like that of night and day. I'll put it this way for you; a Realm Transcending Bead only has about one percent of a Realm Transcending Stone's power."

"One percent?" Han Li was slightly speechless upon hearing this.

"Don't look down on the Realm Transcending Bead just because of that, Fellow Daoist Han. You have to realize that Realm Transcending Stones are exceedingly rare, even in the Spirit Realm, and it ranks alongside the Star Defying Plate as one of the three most sought-after realm transcending treasures. The Realm Transcending Bead obviously can't compare to those two treasures, but it's still very renowned for its ability to break through some spatial restrictions. The fact that it requires a spiritual absorption material to refine makes it just as rare. Driven by my curiosity, I entered a spatial node in the Spirit Realm once, and even though I immediately returned, I'm still struck by a lingering sense of fear whenever I recall the fearsome power of the spatial storm and the boundary between realms within that spatial node. Even if you can cultivate your Law Destruction Eye to its maximal extent, there's still only an infinitesimal chance that you'll be able to pass through a spatial node. Otherwise, there would be countless cultivators in the Spirit Realm who have snuck over from lower realms. Don't even try to pass through a spatial node without a Realm Transcending Bead; it'll be the last thing you ever do. I was going to wait until you reached the Deity Transformation Stage before I warned you about this, but seeing as you have a spiritual absorption material now, this is something that you should be made aware of," the small child warned

"Looks like I have no choice but to refine this Realm Transcending Bead, then." A wry smile appeared on Han Li's face.

"Hehe, if it weren't for the fact that you already have the Law Destruction Eye, I wouldn't even bother mentioning this treasure to you. Only with both on your side would you have the slightest sliver of a chance to pass through a spatial node. I'll give you the refinement method for this bead in return for the Glacial Quintessence you gave me," the small child chuckled. Han Li suddenly changed the subject, and said, "You sure don't like to owe people favors. By the way, I wanted to ask you something; I witnessed the tribulation transcendence of an eighth grade demonic tortoise in the past, but its lightning tribulation was very different compared to yours. Your lightning tribulation seemed to have been far more powerful than the one I witnessed."

"That's not anything to be surprised about. Different demon beasts naturally have to withstand different lightning tribulations. The more powerful a demon beast is, the more formidable their lightning tribulation becomes. It's rumored that heavenly spirit beasts like dragon and phoenixes have to withstand 13 waves of lightning strikes during their metamorphosis stage lightning tribulations. I'm already quite lucky that I only had to withstand 11 waves," the small child revealed.

"I see!" Han Li was enlightened upon hearing this.

The small child held up the aged hide book with a hint of a smile on his face, and asked, "This demon cultivation art, the Nine Gale Transformations, is rather interesting, but why are you showing it to me? Could it be that you're interested in cultivation arts from our demon race?"

It turned out that the book the small child was reading was none other than the aged hide book that Han Li had obtained from Xiao Cui'er. Within the book, there was a nameless aura concealment technique, as well as a demonic cultivation art written in demon script. Only after learning the demon script did Han Li discover that this was a cultivation art known as the Nine Gale Transformations. It was a very powerful cultivation art, but it had been designed exclusively for demon beasts. Unless one was born with a pair of wings and possessed the powerful body of a demon beast, they wouldn't be able to use this cultivation art. However, he was now giving it to the small child for examination for some reason.

"This Nine Gale Transformations is quite a powerful cultivation art, and I just so happen to be missing a cultivation art that corresponds with my Thunderstorm Wings. It would be a waste to discard such a powerful technique, so I was hoping to modify this cultivation art so that it can be used by me. You're a demon beast, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky, so it shouldn't be too difficult for you to modify this cultivation art for my usage, right? In return, I can lend you that half-page of the Golden Jade Tome for examination and research. The page may be a prized treasure, but it's too profound for me comprehend for now," Han Li proposed.

"This cultivation art is indeed quite difficult to come by for the demon beasts of your human world, and it does correspond nicely with your Thunderstorm Wings. However, there's a major problem here, one that I'm sure you're aware of already; in order to unleash this technique, you must possess the powerful body of a demon beast. You've cultivated in a body refinement art before, so your body is far more powerful than that of the average human cultivator, but it's still not enough if your goal is to use this cultivation art," the small child mused with furrowed brows.

Han Li contemplated the issue for a while before replying, "As long as the gap I have to bridge isn't too large, this shouldn't be an unreachable goal for me. I have a Buddhist cultivation art known as the Brightjade Arts, and with each layer I reach in that cultivation art, my body becomes a lot powerful than it was before. I've already reached the second layer now and once I get to the third layer, I should be able to satisfy the conditions required to cultivate the Nine Gale Transformations."The small child faltered slightly before a surprised look appeared on his face. "The Brightjade Arts? a Buddhist cultivation art?"

"What is it? Is there something wrong with this cultivation art?" Han Li asked with furrowed brows.

The small child replied with a question of his own. "How many layers is your cultivation art split into?"

Han Li was rather perplexed by this line of questioning, but he still replied truthfully, "Seven."

A peculiar smile appeared on the small child's face as he exclaimed, "What a coincidence! I also have a Buddhist body refinement art that's split up into seven layers!"

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