Автор: sergey

As Archsaint Six Paths split into two, the two-headed serpent spat out a torrent of inky liquid beneath it, creating a toxic mist that enveloped everything thirty meters below it.

Explosions relentlessly exploded. Black light and the knife struck and erupted in a ball of blinding black light.

It was unknown what treasure Six Paths released, but it managed to block the Devil Essence Diamond knife.

Silver light flashed and the puppet strangely appeared at the old devils original position. The roiling toxic mist enveloped it completely.

Following its appearance, the two-headed snake rocked its head and dived at the puppet.

But in the next moment, a silver lotus appeared above the serpents head without warning. It was a foot-large and glowed brightly with seven-colored Buddhist light.

The black serpents movements immediately slowed as the Buddhist light trapped it and stopped it immediately. Only its two pairs of green eyes were moving.

Immediately after, two silver threads swiftly cut through the green mist and wrapped around the serpents two heads, only for them to topple off.

Then as the green mist roiled, the human puppet slowly flew out without displaying the slightest damage.

In truth, the serpent was actually an interesting animal. The toxic mist was on par with the Ten Absolute Poisons of the cultivation world. If common cultivators touched it, they would immediately perish.

But this wasnt the most vicious part of the poison. Rather, it is able to penetrate most elemental barriers without any warning or sensation. Any Nascent Soul cultivator that didnt guard against this would meet their end.

This was the reason the old devil labored over nurturing the spirit beast.

Contrary to expectations, the puppet didnt possess any flesh, thus making the poison ineffective no matter how powerful and allowing the serpent to be killed with ease.

One of Six Paths phantoms had a mental connection with the black serpent, Having immediately felt when the serpent died, he betrayed a trace of fear on his face.

Without even turning around, he pointed to the bone banner and then fled with all his might.

The banner trembled before black light brightly glowed as if about to take to the sky. freewenovl.co

It was at that moment, an arc of azure lightning flashed above the phantom as Han Li came into view.

With blue light flickering from his eyes, he looked down and waved his hand, creating a net of lightning underneath him. Then, he summoned a small azure cauldron with a flip of his other hand, releasing countless azure threads in a simultaneous barrage off.

Although the old devil had a miraculous doppelganger technique displaying hardly any difference in their spiritual sense, Han Lis Brightsight Spirit Eyes were able to see right through them and instantly recognized minute differences, as well as which was true Archsaint.

Both of the phantoms loudly yelled with trembling shoulders upon seeing Han Li launched an attack. The attack arrived right before one of the phantoms in an instant.

At this moment, the phantom appeared much dimmer and vague than just a moment before.

The true Archsaint shook his sleeve and summoned a blue jade umbrella over his head.

It quickly expanded several times its original size in an instant, protecting the old devil entirely from above.

Several thuds sounded as the cauldrons azure threads struck Six Paths phantom. The threads paused for only a second before piercing cleanly through.

Shortly after, arcs of golden lightning burst struck, immediately wiping away the phantom without any resistance.

Soon after, the lightning and threads fused together with dazzling flashes, and in a blur struck the top of the umbrella.

Following a bright storm of light, the umbrella remained unscathed. The umbrella hadnt moved the slightest inch from the atta

When Han Li saw this, his expression sank and he reached his hand out, summoning a golden meter-long sword in his grasp.

Soon after, the wings on his back stirred and dived down, disappearing in a white line.

The old devil was quick to react and attempted to dodge. But before he could act, golden light flashed from the surface of the umbrella. Zap, the center of the umbrella was cleaved through the center.

Ah! The old devil shouted. He immediately surrounded himself in black light as he fled.

But just as he took off, the space in front of him warped where a white thread appeared, coiling around the old devil like lightning.

His escape denied, the next thing he felt was a chill on his back. In a flash, a pale of purple flames broke through his barrier of devilish Qi and pierced through him from behind.

The treasure armor that wore close on his body wasnt able to block the attack in the slightest.

Apart from sharp pain, the old man could only hear a faint sigh from behind him. Then, he looked down to find a palm of purple flames jutting out from him, soon quickly spreading a layer of purple flames all around him. In the blink of an eye, it covered most of his body and sealed him in ice.

Despite having his face sealed in ice, he twisted it into a grimace and gritted his teeth.

A muffled boom sounded. The bottom half of his body that had yet to be frozen suddenly exploded.

As a cloud of blood and gore sprinkled the air, crimson light flashed. The blood ignited and charged towards Han Li.

At that same moment, a ball of green light shot out from the corpse and flickered over a hundred meters away.

The green light wrapped around a pitch-black Nascent Soul. Its hands were holding tightly onto a green jade bottle.

Han Li shook his sleeve, releasing a torrent of purple flames that promptly extinguished the devilish flames. However, he took no further actions to chase after the old devil.

Han Lis calm demeanor only caused the old devils Nascent Soul to flee in a panic.

After flickering from view several times, the Nascent Soul appeared hundreds of meters away and turned around, stunned to see that Han Li remained completely still. He couldnt help but stop.

At that moment, the air above the Nascent Soul flashed, followed by the silent appearance of a pitch-black knife.

It was only when the knife arrived right above its head did the Nascent Soul discover it.

By that time, it was already too late. A black streak flashed and the Nascent Soul was cleaved into two.

Then with a bright flourish of silver, Han Li leisurely made his way over.

When the human-like puppet disposed of the two-headed snake, Han Li had it remain in position nearby. Then with his command, it intercepted the Nascent Souls escape.

Following that, a strange scene followed.

The Nascent Soul hadnt disappeared after it was cleaved into two. Rather, it turned into clouds of roiling black Qi, separating into six lines that show off in different directions.

The puppet was alarmed and immediately flicked its fingers.

Suddenly, thunder clapped and a dozen fine arcs of lightning were quickly released, striking the black Qi in a flash.

Several muffled claps of thunder followed a chain of golden explosions.

The black Qi was evaporated.

The devil cultivator known to shake the Scattered Star Seas for hundred of years met his end.

The human puppet took a glance at the area of the explosions. After making certain there were no more remnants of the Nascent Soul, it promptly reached out summoned small bottle into its grasp.

It didnt immediately open the bottle, but instead slowly floated towards Han Li.

The old devil was truly out of luck.

The secret technique to turn a Nascent Soul into a ghost was incredibly rare. Against an ordinary cultivator, one of the ghosts formed from the Nascent Soul may have been able to escape, allowing him the opportunity to return again.

But as it so happened, Han Li experienced such a technique once before during his time in the Moulan Plains and was prepared for such a thing to happen. As such, the human-like puppet made use of the Divine Devilbane Lightning from the bamboo arrow to strike down all the ghost fragments.

If there was even a single moment of hesitation, it wouldve been greatly troublesome. After a ghost fragment hid itself, it will be incredibly difficult to find.

When the human-like puppet flew up to Han Li, it tossed the green bottle over to him.

Han Li caught it and examined it for a moment before revealing excitement on his face.

But before he opened the bottle, ghostly cries shrieked from the distance.

Han Li raised his head and looked over to the Unbreakable Cinque Devils.

Without the old devil controlling the bone banner, its power greatly decreased, allowing the cinque devils to regain the advantage. However, the three skulls embedded on the banner belonged to no ordinary cultivators. Although they were no match for the cinque devils, their desperate flaming rage appeared exceptionally brutal.

When Han Li saw this, he frowned and ordered the cinque devils with an incantation gesture.

Suddenly, three of Unbreakable Cinque Devils flew off, returning to their original skeletal form. The two devils that were fighting with the mist flood dragons also withdrew.

Before the flood dragons and the three skulls from the banner could resume their attack, the cinque devils all formed incantation gestures and opened their mouths.

Five differently-colored icy flames rushed out and fused together, creating a torrent of rainbow flames.

The flood dragon of black Qi was the first to meet the flame, and the result was as expected.

Under the rainbow flames, the black flood dragons movements slowed. In the blink of an eye, its movements gradually grew increasingly sluggish until it became nearly still.

The cinque devils then let out a long whistle. Countless palm-sized blades of rainbow ice leaped out from the flames, shredding the black flood dragon until it was only black Qi, only for it to be burned away by the flames.

The old devil then realized that a slender gap had been cut through his black winds.

He looked in the direction of the attack and his severed arm. There was no warning.

Frightened, he hastily pointed to the crimson shield in front of him with his remaining arm.

The shield flew high and enveloped him in a screen of crimson flame. Simultaneously, he released his spiritual sense around him, flusteredly searching anywhere for any sight of Han Li.

At that moment, the white line reappeared thirty meters behind the old devil. After circling once in the air, it paused and revealed a silhouette, Han Li.

He saw Han Li examining his own body. The two wings on his back were gently fluttering, and a purple light blade was still being held in his hand.

Although the Nine Gale Transformations possess great power, it places a burden too great on the body, Han Li muttered to himself, Even with the third layer of the Bright Jade Arts, I find it difficult to use it even once.

That is only natural, Han Li heard a boys voice with a careless tone, This technique was something that the bird-type demon cultivators founded. As a human, you wont be able to truly make use of this technique even with the aid of the thunderstorm wings. A far greater strain will be placed on your body than an ordinary demon bird cultivator after forcefully making use of this technique. As for the Bright Jade Arts, youre only able to use its third layer a few times at most. Forcing any more would cause your body to quickly fall into a state of collapse. If you plan on making full use of this technique, youd best cultivate the next layer of the Bright Jade Arts.

So it was like that! Han Li sighed, Although I made use of it several times when I was cultivating it, I hadnt felt the strain of distant use since I was in such limited space. He waved his hand and scattered the purple blade he held.

The child then chuckled and spoke no further.

Following Han Lis appearance, the old devil immediately discovered trace of him.

However, the Soaring Sky Beasts child form was undetectable to him, nor could he hear his voice transmissions. All he heard was Han Li softly muttering to himself.

Bewilderment flickering from his eyes, he quickly slapped a spirit beast pouch at his waist.

Black light suddenly flashed, summoning a jet-black two-headed python. Although it was only ten meters long, its trihorned head and the green Qi leaking out from its mouth displayed its incredibly venomous nature.

Then, Archsaint Six Paths opened his mouth and spat out an item wrapped in black light.

The item spun once in the air and the light faded away to reveal a small white flag. Following an incantation from the old devil, it massively expanded to three meters tall.

When Han Li saw the banner, he couldnt help but reveal his surprise.

The pole of the banner was forged from human bones with black mist across its surface. Grey talisman characters faintly glowed from it and there were three different skulls embedded in it, all of them wearing a sinister smile, showing their crooked wicked sharp fangs. Their laughs shook the blood of those of heard it.

With a soft shout, the old devil pressed his hand against the bone banner.

The three skulls trembled as black mist spouted out from their mouths. They fished up his severed hand, fighting each other as they devoured pieces of it.

The skulls flashed with crimson light, their stature immediately enlarged.

With this, most of the terror on Archsaint Six Paths face vanished and he sullenly turned to look at Han Li.

It appeared the old devil had regained his senses.

With the bizarre speed that Han Li displayed, he knew escape was no longer an option. He would be rushing to his death if he continued to flee. It would be better to struggle to the very end, hoping to find any chance of victory.

As a result, he revealed the last treasure he held in reserve, something that had never been seen by others.

Han Li frowned as the sight of this. Although he had never seen the treasure before, the banner carried astonishing Yin Qi. He didnt dare to underestimate it.

Han Li then heard an odd sound.

The Three Divine Souls Banner? I didnt expect someone in this world capable of refining such a wicked item. It is truly beyond belief!

It is quite famous in the spirit realm as one of the seven great wicked artifacts. Of course, this superficial copy possesses only a mere fraction of a true banner. The creation of it is exceptionally bloody, requiring each human or beast it is refined from to die a horrible death.

Although it isnt particularly powerful, it required the deaths of many cultivators. The child chuckled. Although he spoke highly of the banner, there was a hint of fear in his voice.

So it was like that! A brief moment of realization was followed with a sneer. Tch tch, it is no wonder he is the greatest devil cultivator in the Scattered Star Seas. There is nothing he shies away from. Since he has a wicked artifact of such repute, I may as well test its power. Han Li then reached at his waist and raised his hand, summoning forth a jet-black bottle.

The bottle spun in the air and its lid opened of its own accord.

Suddenly, grey Yin Qi shot out from within, releasing five white silhouettes leisurely floating in the air. They were the Unbreakable Cinque Devils.

As soon as the five devils appeared, Han Li formed an incantation gesture.

Suddenly, five skeletons climbed out from the ocean and instantly turned into wheel-sized ghost heads. With twisted horns and vicious fangs, they pounced directly at the banner.

Unbreakable Cinque Devils! As expected of his reputation as the greatest devil cultivator of the seas, Archsaint Six Paths immediately recognized the five devils and couldnt help but utter their name.

As the old devil didnt know how Han Li acquired the cinque devils rather than personally creating them, he believed Han Li to be a vicious devil cultivator like himself.

He immediately felt his heart sink.

This person was already difficult to deal with. If Han Li was also skilled in Devil Dao techniques, he mightve truly run into calamity.

With the cinque devils whistling towards him, he had no choice but to move the banner in front of him.

The bone banner trembled. Its three embedded skulls let out chilling cackles before opening their mouths and spouting out pitch-black Yin Qi.

As they continued their charge, the cinque devils opened their mouths, spouting out green Yin flames. For a time, black Qi and green devil flames roiled together and ruptured continuously.

In the following moment, the old devils cheek switched.

In the confrontation, the cinque devils Yin fire pushed back the black Qi with overwhelming force.

Archsaint Six Paths let out a string of curses in his mind.

To the best of his knowledge, the cinque devils should only have the abilities expected of the late-Core Formation stage, but the ghost heads before his eyes displayed a power far beyond that. They suppressed the three early Nascent Soul-stage devil skulls embedded in his banner. But it also stood to mention that a magic treasures power heavily depended on the wielders magic power and control.

The old devil gritted his teeth and formed an incantation gesture with a single hand, opening his mouth to spit out a mist of blood essence.

The bone banner loudly droned, absorbing all of it in an instant. Its talisman characters roiled with great intensity and countless fist-sized skulls began to appear around it.

These phantoms opened their mouths all at once, spitting out countless streams of black Qi, massing together to take the form of a black flood dragon. The dragon circled in the air once before pouncing towards the five ghost heads.

Two of the cinque devils faintly trembled, turning back from their ghost head forms to skeletons. They slapped their hands together and summoned a pair of meter-long bone sabers in their hands. Without any fear, they charged to meet the flood dragon in battle.

With two less ghost heads, the Yin fire released by the remaining three cinque devils greatly weakened, stabilizing the confrontation with the bone banners black Qi.

Black Qi and Yin flames were in deadlock.

The old devil felt a moment of relief, but when he looked at Han Li again, his heart trembled.

Han Li was looking at the battle with his hands behind his back, wearing a mysterious smile on his face. It was at that moment, he suddenly sensed something amiss and he returned his gaze to the battle.

He betrayed bafflement on his face and his heart dropped. Suddenly, a feeling of extreme danger appeared above his head.

Suddenly, the strange two-headed python spiraling above his head let out a noisy bewildering cry, catching the old devils attention.

He turned his head and to find an azure silhouette floating ten meters behind him. A black crystalline knife had cleaved through the black wind surrounding him and was slowly making its way to his crimson light barrier.

Had he not turned around, he feared his body would soon lack a head. Archsaint Six Paths face was drained of all blood.

When the second Nascent Soul inside the puppet saw that his ambush was exposed, he suddenly cast an incantation gesture. With the sound of tearing space, the knife blinked forward.

As for the puppet, silver light brightly glowed from its body before disappearing without a trace.

Meanwhile, Han Li finally took action after standing from a distance with his hands behind his back. With a cold glint lighting up in his eye, he raised his hand and green light flashed as the Eight Spirit Ruler strangely warped in front of him.

He grabbed the ruler and waved it at Six Paths. Then with a flutter of his wings and a clap of thunder, he vanished.

Incapable of paying attention to what Han Li was doing, the old devil saw the jet-black knife stop for just a moment before easily piercing his defensive barrier. In that instant, he let out a deafening shout.

His figure blurred and suddenly, a black streak flew out from the bottom of his chest to meet the saber. Following that, his body turned into two copies of itself and shot off in different directions.

The jet-black octagonal hammer simply emitted a thread of sparkling blue flame in response to being caught by the cauldron. The chilliness the flame emitted was downright eerie.

Although Han Li couldnt tell just how powerful the devil flames were, they were by no means ordinary.

Blue flame wrapped around the Heavenvoid Cauldron and rigidly trapped it in the air without the slightest show of effort. No matter how fiercely the cauldron flames burned, the blue thread was completely unaffected.

Han Li ignored what was happening above him and turned his sights on the four black streaks that were shooting towards him.

The Devil Sages? Han Li muttered silently. A trace of a smile appeared on his face and he shook his sleeve.

Suddenly, several rolls of thunder sounded out, followed by four dense bolts of lightning arcing out from his sleeve. In a flash, they accurately struck the four black streaks.

Several explosions sounded out as four blinding golden flashes ruptured, drowning out the black streaks in an instant. The devil phantoms seemed to have met their weakness and quickly evaporated like morning dew.

This had taken Han Li only a token effort.

In the mere blink of an eye, the azure silhouette behind Han Li raised its hand and produced a small crimson bow in its hand, drawing it back.

A deafening boom shook the air. Blinding red light and countless arrows of flame were released, filling the sky with its barrage.

At that moment, the spike-covered devil saw a skyful of arrows shooting towards it and looked on with fear. It let out a large shout and its body glowed with crimson light.

When the spiked devil finished taking its defensive actions, the barrage struck its barriers.

Countless arrows ruptured on impact and the devil was submerged in flames. Explosions shook the air for a long while, in a display of their terrifying power.

However, the devil within the flames remained unscathed inside its crimson barriers. It took a deep breath and it waved their silver arms, intending on cutting away the crimson flames that surrounded it.

Then, the sounds of thunder struck.

In the devils fright, it discovered that a green arrow was shooting towards them in an arc of lightning.

Although the devil didnt know the arrow was precisely, it blurred from sight in an attempt to dodge it.

But what the devil failed to sense while they were distracted by the arrow was the black crystal knife that strangely appeared above them. As silently as it appeared, it dropped down and slid itself toward its head.

The spiked devil hadnt noticed a thing.

Suddenly, the azure silhouette halted their attack and the endless barrage of flame arrows came to a halt.

Baffled by this change and still evading the green arrows, a black streak silently circled one of the devils necks like a bolt of lightning and its triangular head toppled of its neck.

The crimson light barrier may as well have been air.

This came as no surprise. The knife was refined from a Devil Essence Diamond, an extremely rare material condensed for countless years from pure devilish Qi. How could a barrier quickly formed from devil Qi hope to block it?

With Han Lis second Nascent Soul residing in the human-like puppet, it didnt require any instruction. In the instant, the dagger executed the devil, it rushed forward to the devils corpse.

It opened its mouth and a cloud of black light rushed out from it, enveloping the corpse.

Then, it dragged out a phantom from the body that had a striking resemblance to the devil. The phantom was so dim that it looked like it could disperse at any moment.

It was then dragged back into the puppets mouth in the cloud and absorbed by the second Nascent Soul residing inside of it.

The pure devilish Qi would prove to be significant to the cultivation of the Zenith Yin Arts.

With the phantom absorbed, the headless devil corpse dissolved into ash with a gentle wind.

Then in a blur, the puppet returned to Han Lis side with its arms behind its back.

From a distance, if it werent for the difference of their clothes, it would appear as if there were two of Han Li standing side by side.

At the moment, Han Li was fiddling with his Triflame Fan as he calmly looked across from him.

Han Li indifferently said, Fellow Daoist Six Paths, Ive already seen your Six Apex Devils technique. If you dont have any else to impress me with, I will be sending you off.

When Archsaint Six Paths heard this, his face grew pale and disbelief was betrayed from his eyes.

Two of the late Nascent Soul-stage demons he regarded as his trump cards were exterminated with ease. It was beyond belief.

Furthermore, his opponent was able to make use of the flame fan, the small azure cauldron, and the green wooden ruler, each of these treasures possessed an immense power. Let alone the famous Heavenvoid Cauldron and Han Lis use of the incarnation techniques, he didnt have the slightest information on the other two grand treasures. But what was particularly bizarre was that his unfathomable incarnation alone was able to slay one of his devils.

His heart dropped.

How was this possible? Han Li shouldve only been at late-Nascent Soul stage for about a hundred years at most. For him to master these profound techniques and acquire these grand treasures in such a short amount of time.

Although he had never seen a Deity Transformation-stage cultivator, he had no doubt that Han Lis current abilities were close to one.

When the old devil heard Han Lis words, his back trembled and his eyes narrowed. Then he opened his mouth and a scarf of black mist roiled out.

The object quickly blurred and immediately covered him in black wind.

The winds let out a shrieking whistle before letting out a tremble and kiting backwards, carrying the old devil with them.

The black wind became vague and flew at immense speed. Several blurs later, it left a chain of afterimages.

In an instant, the wind strangely appeared an even greater distance away. There even was a remnant of black wind in its original position.

As a result, there were several balls of black wind present, all capable of teleporting away. In the blink of an eye, they could travel over three hundred meters away. A normal late-Nascent Soul cultivator would feel helpless against such bizarre movements.

Of course, Han Li wasnt an ordinary late-Nascent Soul cultivator by any means. When he saw this, he wore an odd expression, So youre actually running away. Your bonded magic treasure seems quite good at it. If it were before, I fear I may have had some trouble. But now, ha…

Han Li took a deep sigh and the Thunderstorm Wings trembled behind his back, letting out a roll of thunder. Arcs of white and azure lightning appeared on the wings surface. Soon after, they formed balls of lightning in the surrounding air, spinning in place.

As he stretched out his wings, he floated in the air, drifting slightly to the side.

At the moment, he was looking in the distance at the black blur that was Archsaint Six Paths. He snorted and fanned his wings once.

Gales immediately erupted around him and the suspended balls of lightning raged, striking together.

Azure-white lightning erupted in deafening booms, only for the gales to gather all of it into the two wings.

Covered in a layer of lightning, the Thunderstorm Wings wildly flapped several times, followed by Han Li disappearing from his original location in a flash of azure-white lightning.

A breath later, lightning sparked a hundred meters away, and it happened again after a pause, each time, heading a hundred meters further out. Its speed was quite faster than the old devils black winds.

In several blinks, the lightning pursued the black wind until it was only thirty meters away.

As Han Li rode the lightning, he could clearly see the old devils face of terror within the black wind.

With another wave of his wings, another clap of thunder roared, and he arrived in front of the black wind in an azure-white flash.

The lightning faded to reveal Han Li blocking the old devils path.

The black gales came to a brief stop, only to quickly change direction.

At that moment, Han Li sneered and held his hands in an incantation gesture and lightning clapped from within him. His stature burst several inches in size, grew thicker, with four arms jutting out from his flesh. Golden light lit up on his skin only for a moment before disappearing.

In the blink of an eye, he turned into a large man of immense strength and stature. This was the transformation after making use of the third layer of the Brightjade Arts.

With this transformation done, he raised his hands, summoning purple flames in his hands, and he held them together to form a large purple saber of flame.

Afterward, the wings on his back strangely trembled and he shot forward.

But his body strangely warped the moment he set off and his wings trembled with inconceivable frequency, causing the nearby air to warp with its movements. He disappeared in a white line along the way.

When the old devil saw this, he knew things were turning out for the worst. Seeing that he could no longer flee, he concentrated the magic power in his body and caused the black wind surrounding him to surge in size. At the same time, he flipped his hand, producing a crimson shield in front of him.

Just as he was about to activate it, a white line appeared above him and vanished as soon as it had appeared.

Following that was the old devils loud yell.

The crimson shield now fell to the ground along with the part of his arm, the rest of his arm covered in purple ice.

The stump of an arm was smooth and sleek, leaving not a drop of blood behind.

Han Li turned his gaze and he looked at the face of the tall refined corpse. Then he looked at the man wearing Wan Tianmings clothes before letting out a long sigh.

Apart from their stature, their faces looked entirely the same.

Should I call you Wan Tianming or Archsaint Six Paths? Han Li blinked and wore a grave expression.

You figured out who I am? Wan Tianming coldly snorted. The movement of his body caused the six devil phantoms behind him to tremble.

To the best of my knowledge, the Six Apex Devils Art is the greatest Devil Dao art in the Scattered Star Seas, and only you could have cultivated it to this degree. It seems youve somehow managed to survive during that time, but there are a few things that I dont understand. How did you seize Wan Tianmings body, and how did you transform into his likeness? Why does this refined corpse resemble you? Could it be an incarnation you cultivated or did you refine your own body into a corpse devil? As Han Li slowly spoke, he regained his calm demeanor.

Archsaint Six Paths sinisterly laughed, Why should I answer a dead man? Soon after, his shoulders trembled and two of the six phantoms from behind him shot towards two of the refined corpses.

The two refined corpses suddenly trembled and they stiffly opened their eyes, revealing them completely stained dark green.

Archsaint Six Paths continued, chanting a cryptic and profound incantation, causing the somewhat shriveled corpses to be engulfed in grey devilish Qi.

The two corpses let out a piercing shriek and their bodies massively grew.

In the blink of an eye, their bodies expanded to fifteen meters in height as they groaned in agony.

One of the corpses had a body that was jet-black with large copper scales. It had a pair of sharp antelope horns and a long azure tail that slightly waved. The other corpse had its body covered in blood-red bone spokes. Silver light shined from its limbs as if cast from silver. Its triangular head bore a sinister appearance with four slender dark-green eyes.

After their transformation, the two refined corpses appeared completely similar to the two devil phantoms that entered their bodies. But shockingly, they now possessed a true physical form.

When Han Li saw this, his heart trembled.

Archsaint Six Paths wildly laughed, When the Six Apex Devils Art is cultivated to its peak, it can summon the true devil sages soul fragments to possess a body, rendering them abilities that could rival a Deity Transformation cultivator in battle. It was only there was never a human in the mortal world that ever cultivated to that stage. Even so, the two devils Ive summoned each possess the ability of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. Now that you are outnumbered, do you believe that you can keep your life? With a command of his spiritual sense, the two devils floating in front of him suddenly vanished from sight.

The space three meters in front of Han Li warped, followed by the bizarre appearance of the two devils. The horned devil shot towards Han Lis abdomen in an azure streak at lightning speed. The spiked devil remained still as its body trembled, the sounds of explosions echoing nearby.

Dense foot-long crimson bone spikes filled the air as they shot towards Han Li in an enveloping barrage. At such a close distance, such a momentous attack could not be avoided.

It appeared Archsaint Six Paths had the same plan in mind as Han Li: to destroy their opponent in a single blow with overwhelming force.

A trace of pride and confidence was written on the Archsaints face. He believed that even if Han Li managed to somehow survive this flawless joint attack, he wouldnt make it out unscathed.

But in that next moment, the old devils expression froze.

Just as the horned devils charge and the bone spike barrage was about to tear apart Han Li, the azure-white wings on Han Lis back flapped, summoning a huge gust.

Following that, his body faded from sight.

The azure streak and the bone spikes passed through empty space.

Startled, Archsaint Six Paths quickly looked around him.

But before he could release his spiritual sense around him, azure lightning flashed from above the horned devils head, followed by Han Lis reappearance.

He wordlessly raised his hand and released an azure ruler below him where it soon blurred.

A foot-wide silver lotus suddenly appeared beneath the horned devil.

The lotus simply spun once before seven-colored Buddhist light rushed out from the lotus, holding the horned devil rigidly in place and freezing the devilish Qi in its body.

Han Li expressionlessly raised his other hand, now summoning a fan covered in three-colored flame. Before he commanded it to take any action, its fearsome spiritual power pervaded the air.

At that moment, the other devil finally noticed Han Lis new location. It had no other thought but to attack. With a long shriek, all the bone spikes surrounding it circled in the air before shooting towards Han Lis new location. They traveled with speed that could overtake a dragon.

In the blink of an eye, countless bone spikes arrived near Han Li.

Han Li glanced at the attack without revealing the slightest fear.

Silver light flashed in front of him. A small shield appeared where there was nothing and created a layer of dense silver light around him.

The blood spikes then arrived before the silver light.

Fist-sized explosions burst as each spike struck, creating the clatter of heavy rain. The barrier soon rippled and began to violently sway as if it were on the verge of collapse.

The might of the bone spikes was far beyond imagination. Each one possessed the power of a top-grade magic treasure.

The Tailstar Essence Shield wasnt able to deflect the attacks.

Han Lis expression changed from the sight of this and chanted an incantation.

A thumb-sized golden ball appeared on his forehead, glowing with light as it created a layer of golden mist around him.

This was the vajra barrier Han Li nurtured within his body.

Having refined the vajra relic inside his body for countless years, its defensive power had far overtaken that of the Tailstar Essence Shield.

When the silver barrier eventually collapsed, the rest of the bone spikes fiercely struck, sounding metal clangs as they struck the vajra barrier.

Golden light directly flashed from its surface, blocking the barrage with ease.

Meanwhile, a phoenix cry sounded from the three colored flames in his hand. A flame bird with talisman characters suddenly flew out from it and unfolded its wings as it flew down.

It was clear it was making its way to the immobilized horned devil.

Although the devil couldnt move, a fierce expression appeared from its face. It opened its mouth and spat out a white wave to meet the flame bird.

A rumbling, deafening explosion shook the air as the white wave and the bird collided.

Although the soundwave was one of the devils strange innate abilities, its body was trapped and it was unable to circulate its devilish Qi, greatly weakening its power. The attack couldnt hope to compare with the Triflame Fan.

The confrontation only lasted for a brief moment and the firebird exploded.

A three colored halo suddenly appeared and spread out, engulfing the white wave underneath it.

Afterward, the halo quickly grew, sweeping past the horned devil in an instant and turning it into nothing.

While the scene may be described slowly, this took place in the mere span of several breaths. As for the Archsaint, his expression greatly changed when he saw this.

How could he have expected that Han Li wouldnt die from his two devils, but rather, he would kill one of the two he released?

At that moment, he realized he was dealing with no ordinary grand cultivator.

A furious alarm taking over him, he didnt dare to delay and hastily commanded his spiritual sense.

He spat out a black streak from his mouth, creating a cloud of black Qi that soon vanished.

As for the spiked devil, it let out a roar and its four eyes glinted before disappearing.

The space behind Han Li stirred and the devil stretched out its silver hands from nothing.

Crack. The two arms grew several times in size and claws burst out from its hands. They fiercely swiped at Han Lis head and back.

Meanwhile, black light flickered at that moment, where a black octagonal skull-sized hammer appeared ten meters above Han Lis head. Carrying sinister black Qi, it fiercely smashed down.

From its dreadful devilish Qi, one could tell it was a rarely seen devil artifact.

The Archsaint didnt stop his attack there. With a tremble of his shoulders, the other four devil phantoms appeared again behind him. They all opened their eyes and blurred, charging at Han Li in black streaks.

After killing one of the devils, Han Li faced a united front against the Archsaint and the other devils.

Han Li let out a sigh.

Before he took any further action, azure light flickered from his body and silver light lit up closely behind him. A silhouette suddenly appeared, taking the attack of the silver devil.

Two world-shaking explosions shook the air. Within the silver flashing light, the azure silhouette remained completely still. Rather, the devil reaching out from behind was completely shaken from the impact and fell back.

Meanwhile, light flickered from above Han Li. A small azure cauldron wrapped into the air and slowly spun in place.

Then, azure thread shot out from it as its lid opened, catching the black hammer that was smashing towards him and suspending it in midair.

Double the price? Fellow Daoist Wan is truly generous! Han Li laughed and wore a mysterious smile on his face.

Do you feel it isnt enough? Wan Tianming asked with a calm tone.

Oh, its enough, plenty enough. It is a pity that I am fighting this war due to a promise I made many years ago, and Im not fond of breaking my promises. But if you were to peacefully withdraw, Ill consider your offer for the next time. Han Li lazily replied with a clear mocking tone.

These words left the cultivators on both sides flabbergasted.

Wan Tianmings smile disappeared to be replaced with a gloomy expression.

Since Brother Han has made his decision, then we will have test our might. However, our battle will bring disaster to our juniors nearby. Wouldnt it be better to fight somewhere farther? Wan Tianming said icily.

Yes, I had that in mind as well. Han Li promptly agreed without the slightest consideration.

This had surprised Wan Tianming, but after he gloomily examined Han Li, he held his hands in an incantation gesture and turned into a purple streak, flying in the direction of Heavenly Star City.

Han Li turned around and took a glance at Ling Yuling and the others. He nodded with a smile and closely followed after him in an azure streak.

In the blink of an eye, the two late-Nascent Soul cultivators tore through the air and disappeared out of sight.

Ling Yuling and Old Man Chao exchanged a glance, both revealing a trace of worry from their faces.

Wan Tianming had already known about Han Lis existence and took the initiative to challenge him to a fight. Could it be he had another plan in mind? However, Han Li didnt hesitate in following him. This only added to their apprehension as dissuading him would only damage their morale.

The man from the Lan Devils extended a scarlet tongue and licked his lips before letting out a bewildering cackle. Hehe, since Fellow Daoist Wan is gone, its time to take action. Lets see how your abilities stand up, junior. Tch tch, its been several hundred years since Ive killed a Nascent Soul-grade cultivator.

Afterward, he held his hands in an incantation gesture and spouted out a white bone band. At that same time, a blood mist was released from his body, filling the nearby hundred meters in an instant. Ghost shrieks loudly wailed from within it as it moved to engulf the Star Palace cultivators.

Following that, the dainty woman at the large mans side let out a giggle of ecstasy and waved her sleeve, producing a fragrant pink fog. Those who smelled it would lose their sense of self.

Old Man Long and the old woman exchanged a glance before spitting out a golden ball and thirteen green blades respectively before sending it off in an attack.

When the Star Palace cultivators saw this, they didnt dare to delay and made use of their own abilities, releasing their light in return.

Several of the Star Palaces early Nascent Soul cultivators met the attacks of the mid-Nascent Soul stage Lan Devils. Various lights met the devilish Qi, followed by violent explosions. The attacks found themselves in a deadlock.

When the lower-grade cultivators saw this, they all shouted and rallied themselves, releasing their own magic tools and treasures as they charged forward, officially starting the melee.

Of course, these cultivators all kept their distance from the battles of the Nascent Soul-grade cultivators taking place at the center.

For a time, sounds of explosions and murder filled the air. The chaos prevented anyone from seeing which side had the advantage, and it was clear the battle wouldnt end anytime soon. frewebnovel.com

Meanwhile, Han Li and Wan Tianming turned to streaks of light and traveled nearly five hundred kilometers in a single breath before eventually coming to a stop.

Han Li appeared from the azure light and observed him with his hands behind his back, not the slightest expression betrayed from his face.

With his vast spiritual sense as of current, he could tell if there were any cultivators hiding nearby. He wouldnt have allowed Wan Tianming to lead him otherwise.

After sweeping his spiritual sense in a radius of fifty kilometers, he found nobody nor did he find any spell formation or restrictions. When he glanced again at Wan Tianming, he saw a calm expression on his face.

As thoughts churned in his mind, he found the situation quite funny.

It appeared Wan Tianming was the same as himself, with complete trust in their combat abilities.

Wan Tianming looked around him before turning his gaze back to Han Li. With a demeanor similar to an iceberg, he coldly said, This should be far enough. If we use this as your gravesite, it shouldnt disgrace your status as a grand cultivator.

My gravesite? Han Li remained unshaken and simply smiled.

Wan Tianming snorted and asked, What? Do you feel that I am talking too highly of myself?

Han Li chuckled unperturbed and leisurely said, No, I only feel that there is something amiss with your recent cultivation. You mightve progressed your magic power so quickly that you damaged your head.

Well see if my words hold true when I scatter your soul. But before that, there are two people I wish to introduce to you.

Han Li coldly smiled and replied with a blunt tone, Do you think I am a child? There is no one here apart from you and me. Ill have your head and give it to you as a gift.

Wan Tianming narrowed his eyes, Is that so? Then it is my mistake. These two arent considered people after all.

With that said, he didnt wait for Han Li to respond. He took a black leather pouch at his waist and tossed it into his air. Then with his hands in an incantation gesture, he began to chant.

Suddenly, the bag opened itself, spitting out a black mist. A tall and a skinny silhouette appeared there, drifting erratically in the mist as if they were ghosts.

Refined corpses? Han Li frowned. As experienced as he was, he immediately recognized the mist before him to be an extremely potent corpse Qi.

Wan Tianming coldly smiled when he heard it and cast a spell seal.

The two silhouettes raised their arms, absorbing the nearby corpse Qi in great force, turning the mist into snakes that burrowed into their bodies.

In the blink of an eye, the black corpse Qi disappeared and the corpses true faces were revealed.

Han Li glanced at the two corpses with indifference.

This was to be expected. He was rather unfamiliar with the appearance of these corpses.

Of the two corpses, one was tall and had a tense expression. It appeared over forty years of age, but its arms had an extra extension and reached down to its knees. Its palms were exceptionally large as well and they sparkled as if they were carved from fine white jade.

The smaller refined corpse was a woman of about thirty years. She had a slim face, deep eyes, and a rough brow. One of her shoulders had three differently styled swords nailed into it, creating a warped appearance.

When Wan Tianming saw Han Li disregard the two refined corpses, a harsh expression appeared on his face.

He took a deep breath and his hand gesture changed. Suddenly, frightful sounds of breaking bones snapped from his body and he promptly grew several inches. He then opened his mouth and violently spouted out mists of purple Qi, enveloping himself in a ten-meter-wide cloud in the blink of an eye.

Soon after, the cloud fiercely turned and began to shine of ever-changing colors.

When Han Li saw this, he stroked his chin and he broke into a smirk. He dropped his hands, summoning a three-colored fiery streak from one of them and a green light from the other.

Han Li remained indifferent. His plan was to use pure force and a full-powered assault to beat down the enemy, no matter what methods they used. First, he would use the Eight Spirit Ruler to trap him, and then approach closer to him, finishing him off with a full-powered attack of the Triflame Fan.

Having thought that, blue light flickered from his eyes and muffled thunder rang from his back, summoning a pair of azure-white wings.

Just as he thought to use his wings to approach him, he was stunned by what he witnessed!

His appearance completely changed within the cloud and the sounds of snapping bones came to a stop. Afterward, astonishing devilish Qi pressured the air and the cloud turned sinisterly grey and icy cold.

Han Lis pupils narrowed and his heart thumped.

Wasnt Wan Tianming the sect master of the Myriad Gates of Enlightenment? How could he cultivate Devil Dao Arts? Rather, this devilish Qi was quite familiar and was somewhat similar to the Elder Devils true devil Qi. Soon, something came to mind, but he couldnt fully recall as he wasnt in a position to take his time.

As Han Li was bewildered, a series of wild laughs echoed from the devilish Qi as a silhouette warped in front of him.

Behind this person was six distinct phantoms that appeared solid, each with a horn on their head or fangs. All of them were frightening to the eye and had scales on their body, appearing like the devils that once appeared in this world.

The Six Apex Devils Art! Han Li cried out.

Oh? You recognize this lords devil art? You arent so stupid after all! His laughter came to a stop and he coldly looked at Han Li with an attitude of complete arrogance, derision clear on his face.

He still wore Wan Tianmings clothes but his face was completely different.

When Han Li saw his face, he couldnt help but betray his shock.

Elder Swift Crane and Fire Dragon Islands Huang Kun? They didnt die from a demon beast ambush at Green Spirit Island? The old woman said with a start.

Wan Tianming coldly chuckled and slowly explained, That is what we say to outsiders. In truth, according to our cultivators on Green Spirit Island, the two elders never made an appearance on the island on the day of the demon beast invasion. Rather there were people from Lightning Sky Island that reported a sighting of Han Li on the same day that Swift Crane and Huang Kun mysteriously disappeared. Their lifesoul tokens in the alliances possession were also extinguished. As for the demon beast invasion of Green Spirit Island, that was an unrelated affair that occurred after.

The old woman remained stunned for a while and slowly said, Even if that is the case, those two were partners to the death. Would it have been a difficult task?

It is true, we have no evidence that he was the one who did it. But if the cultivator who broke through the formation was truly Han Li, and he possesses the ability of a grand cultivator, then that guess should mostly be correct. A cold light glinted from Wan Tianmings eyes and his voice turned gloomy.

If this person truly reached late-Nascent Soul stage and has the Heavenvoid Cauldron in his possession, and Brother Wan also only became a late-Nascent Soul cultivator recently… As Old Man Long muttered this, worry was betrayed on his face.

Wan Tianming chuckled and spoke unperturbed, Since I know this person, how could I not have a plan to respond? Be at ease. If he arrives, leave him to me. I wont say that I have complete certainty to kill him, but I am confident I will defeat him.

The two elders exchanged a glance and betrayed astonishment from their faces, but relief soon appeared on their faces.

Since this was said by the sect leader of a grand sect, his words should hold true.

If youre saying that, then we are assured. Well deal with the others. The old woman wore a sinister smile.

Wan Tianming eventually turned around and wore an odd expression on his face. I will feel at ease to hand over the ordinary problems and the formation core to you two Fellow Daoists. But do you plan on fighting with your backs against the wall? There will be many high-grade cultivators targeting the formation core. As such, I will request for assistance to help you two defend the formation core.

Startled, the old man yelped, Assistance? You mean…

Wan Tianming didnt directly reply, but rather raised his hand, releasing a giant fireball from his sleeve. It ruptured high in the air in a flourish of vermillion flame. This eye-catching scene was noticed by all the cultivators nearby the huge pillar, arousing some discussion amongst them.

As these people were bewildered, something happened above them. A charming voice spoke from a ten-meter-long that appeared. Brother, Fellow Daoist Wan has summoned us! It seems the time has come to make use of us. It was truly boring hiding here for such a long amount of time.

Time has little meaning to cultivators like ourselves. Since Brother Wan had us reveal ourselves, it seems the time for battle has come, and no small one by any means. We should be able to kill enough this time around. A deep mans voice spoke from the boat.

Soon after, two blinding white streaks shot off from the boat, circling once in the air and landing on top of the huge pillar.

The white light vanished in a flash, revealing a male and female cultivator in front of Wan Tianming and company. The man had round eyes, long hair drooped over his face, and a tall sturdy body. The woman had pale soft flesh and an exquisite body, the makings of a seductive appearance.

After a brief moment of alarm, Old Man Long recognized the two that appeared and couldnt help but cry out in terror, The Twin Lan Devils? Even the overbearing old womans complexion turned pale.

The dainty woman glanced at Old Man Long and gorgeously smiled, Oh? I didnt think that there were still people that recognized us in the Scattered Star Seas. Weve lived in seclusion at Devil Sin Island for many years.

The old woman briefly hesitated and spoke with a fearful expression, Werent you two exterminated by the Heavenly Star Sages? How can you be here?

It is true that in the past we were nearly done in by those two old bastards, but through some luck, were managed to make it out here today. What? You dont mean to say you have some sort of grudge against us? The large man swept a cold gaze past the two elders. Strangely enough, his lips moved, but his voice came from his abdomen, revealing a set of glinting white teeth from there as if there were a man embedded inside.

The old womans heart trembled at the sight of this and she unconsciously took a step back. Soon after, she realized she was showing weakness and couldnt help but step back forward, letting out a resentful snort.

The large man sinisterly grinned in response and released waves of baleful Qi from his body, covering his face in a layer of faint blood Qi.

Wan Tianming snorted and sullenly said, Enough, our enemy has arrived. Fellow Daoists, I had you remain hidden until today for this very battle. Humph, did you think I didnt notice that the Star Palace had a spy infiltrate the higher ranks of our alliance? Now lets see who has fallen into our trap.

The others startled and quickly turned their heads in the direction of the spell formation.

They saw a violent storm of windfire in wide the azure-red mist. Inside it was a huge carriage being pulled by four green flood dragons. Countless cultivators followed after it and in a blink of an eye, several thousand cultivators could be seen.

The Star Defying Alliance cultivators nearby the pillar had long prepared for this moment. When they saw enemies approach, they flew into the air on their flying tools. Soon, the two sides found themselves in confrontation at the huge pillar of windflame.

The old woman and Old Man Long paid no further heed to the Lan Devils, focusing instead on the Star Palace cultivators in front of them, particularly on the four cultivators riding the carriage.

When the old man saw this, his heart trembled and mouth turned dry.

He saw a confidently posed Han Li inside the carriage.

At that moment, Han Li hadnt taken notice of the old man. Rather, his eyes immediately fell on Wan Tianming and examined him with a sharp gaze.

The Twin Lan Devils! The large purple-robed man let out a yelp similar to Old Man Long.

Han Li didnt react to the name, but Ling Yuling and Old Man Chao were strongly startled.

Ling Yuling asked with an urgent tone, Elder Ma, are you not mistaken? Werent the Lan Devils exterminated long ago by my esteemed mother and father?

How could I be mistaken? I followed the two palace lords when they personally pursued the two devils after such a long period of time. After that, the two palace lords jointly advanced to late-Nascent Soul stage.

Absolutely baffling! If the two devils truly managed to survive, they shouldve already reached the end of their lifespans. How could they have survived until now. However, their cultivation was about the same as in the past, in the realm of mid-Nascent Soul stage. Obvious confusion appeared on the large mans face.

That isnt anything strange, Han Li explained, I know of several medicines that can extend ones lifespan well over two hundred years. It is possible for them to have consumed one if they were lucky.

That is the only possibility! In any case, the two devils were just as famous as the Star Palace lords in the past. The sheer mention of their name could turn people pale. The man is fond of killing and once slaughtered two small islands overnight, laying waste to a thousand cultivators and over a hundred thousand mortals. The woman cultivates the renown Womanly Yang Pilfering Art. She is particularly fond of extracting the life essence of young male cultivators and sadistically killing them. After the two reached mid-Nascent Soul stage, they became inseparable. United, they can survive against even late-Nascent Soul cultivators. Were it not for the Star Palace Lords taking the risk to fight them, I fear they would be running rampant today. With gloomy complexion, Elder Chao gave Han Li a rough explanation.

Han Li stroked his chin and said, So it was like that! It seems theyve prepared this for a while. Even if I battle with Wan Tianming, you dont have a high chance of victory with those two present.

Ling Yuling grimaced, In truth, I originally thought to suppress them with overwhelming force with the elders that Ive brought with me. But now that these two fearsome characters appeared, I fear it will take all our power to not be defeated. A stalemate would be a good result.

Han Li smiled, but before he could speak, a person from the giant pillar began to slowly fly towards them.

As soon as he saw him, he shut his mouth and coldly glared at him.

The person flying towards them was Wan Tianming!

Wan Tianming flew to the middle before he paused and smiled at Han Li, Fellow Daoist Han, I didnt think that your cultivation would make such progress in becoming a grand cultivator since we last met in Heavenvoid Hall. And if Im correct, you arent a person from the Scattered Star Seas. Why are you taking part in the battle between our alliance and the Star Palace? How about this? Regardless of what that girl pledged you, I will double whatever price. And I wont even need you to do anything, so long as you agree not to fight in this war.

When those from the Star Palace heard this, their expressions massively changed. Han Li was shocked.

When Han Li heard Ling Yuling, he swept his spiritual sense past the carriage beasts and nodded, saying little else.

Its driver was a bald two-meter-tall giant drove it. Although he only possessed Foundation Establishment cultivation, his upper body was bare and revealed steel-like muscles, giving him a menacing aura.

When everyone boarded the carriage, the large man raised a white whip and cracked it.

The green flood dragons that were lazily resting in front of the stone hall quickly raised themselves and began to slither in the air. The carriage then launched into the air in a white streak, traveling at a speed that rivaled an early-Nascent Soul cultivator.

A quarter-hour later, Han Li and company arrived above a gate at Heavenly Star City.

At that moment, the power of windfire was bombarding the blue light barrier relentlessly.

Even with the protection of the light barrier, the muffled explosions trembled throughout the city, startling mortals and low-grade vagrant cultivators alike.

Although the light barrier appeared quite durable, under the sustained attack of the grand formation outside, it was only a matter of time before the barrier broke.

As Han Li stood outside a desolate city gate, he examined the situation on the outside of the island.

The situation appeared far from good. It was about the same as when he entered. All he could see was azure and red. Even with his vast abilities, he couldnt see far past it.

He indifferently glanced down at the city and saw thousands of low-grade cultivators hiding behind the other city gates nearby. They were either meditating while sitting cross-legged or preparing magic tools and talismans, making their final preparations.

Old Man Zhao and the large purple-robed man then walked out of the carriage. They were talking with the other elders with a grave expression.

Footsteps sounded from behind him, and before he turned his head, he heard a sweet voice speak to him. Brother Han, I have a request for you. I dont know if you would be willing to accept.

What is it? Han Li turned around, showing not the slightest surprise on his face.

Ling Yuling stood behind him wearing faint green palace robes. Her beautiful face wore an unclear expression and her brow was tensed as if she were discussing something of great importance.

Ling Yuling gritted her teeth and produced a faint blue jade slip, handing it towards Han Li with a hopeful gaze. The next battle will decide the life and death of our Star Palace. To tell the truth, the Starfall Coalition attracted a few cultivators that previously remained hidden in bitter cultivation. Even with Brother Hans assistance, our chances of victory are only half. If we win this battle, we wont further trouble you, but if we were to suffer a grand defeat, I hope you will be able to take the people listed in the jade slip away from the Scattered Star Seas. I hope youll consider it.

What do you mean by that? Han Li frowned.

Its nothing much. The people I listed are closely related to me. Although I am confident no one knows the relationships between us, there is still a possibility the Starfall Coalition will exterminate them if we are defeated. It would be much better if you were to take them with you. You arent a cultivator from the Scattered Star Seas. You should be capable of doing this. Ling Yuling spoke with a tone of complete trust.

Han Li looked at her in silence.

As his silence continued, she misunderstood. She smiled and said, Of course, if you do this for me, it will fulfill your agreement with my father to act three times.

Youve already fulfilled a part of the agreement by dealing with Wan Tianming. If you agree to this matter, the agreement will be fulfilled even if we win and you dont have to take action.

After another moment of silence, an odd gaze appeared in Han Lis eyes and he said, Fellow Daoist Ling, please consider this carefully. My agreement with your father was to save you three times when your life was in danger. Dont you think that using one of these requests like this is against the intentions of the two sages?

I am well aware, but I am the Star Palace Lord now. If we are truly defeated in this battle, the Star Palaces ancient legacy will be extinguished as a result. What use are two extra chances at life? It would be better for my close relatives to be saved. As for my own protection, my mid-Nascent Soul cultivation should be enough.

Han Li looked at her lovely pitiful expression for a long while before replying with an emotionless tone, Fine. In that case, I will accept your request. If you lose this battle, I will bring them away from the Scattered Star Seas.

With beauty blossoming from her face, Ling Yuling charmingly said, Your words leave me without worry for the future. With your amazing abilities, you will be able to make it out safely no matter how badly this war turns out.

Han Li smiled and then turned his gaze to outside the city.

With Ling Yuling acquiring Han Lis agreement, she tactfully left him alone and withdrew.

Several hours later, voice transmission talismans were sent out notifying that preparations were complete and the gates to Heavenly Star City were opened. Tens of thousands of cultivators rushed out at the same time, quickly leaving the citys blue barrier and disappearing into the azure and red mist formed from windfire.

Heavenly Star Palaces massive deployment was instantly discovered by the Starfall Coalition cultivators that were assigned to protect the formation.

The Starfall Coalition immediately deployed large numbers of cultivators to fight and had their retainers immediately control the grand formation, fully activating the formations might.

Although the spell formation didnt have any effect on cultivators above Foundation Establishment, it could produce grave injuries to anyone at Foundation Establishment and below.

After the various Windfire Pillars were activated, the azure red mist that was slowly floating in the air began to violently turn, condensing into azure-red balls of light and promptly exploding.

For a time, light flashed within the grand formation, followed by sounds of unceasing explosions.

If common Foundation Establishment cultivators were to enter the formation without any preparations, they wouldve been immediately torn apart by the power of windfire.

But for this battle, the Star Palace made meticulous preparations. Each and every cultivator had various-colored light barriers appearing on their bodies, warding off the attacks of windfire and preventing any significant injuries to the low-grade Star Palace cultivators.

At that moment, the Starfall Coalition cultivators guarding the pillars met the Star Palace cultivators head-on. The sounds of battle and death immediately sounded from the formation.

At nearly the same time at the edge of the grand formation, at the very top of a giant kilometer-tall pillar of windflame, several cultivators were staring into the distance.

Their leader, a middle-aged man with a tense squarish face, wore a purple robe and a jade band. He held his hands behind his back. He was Wan Tianming. His current calm demeanor was far different from when Han Li had seen him last.

Standing not far behind him was an old man with dark skin and an old woman with red and green clothing. The two wore similarly grave expressions.

It seems the Star Palace is truly launching a full-force attack. They used so many mid-grade talismans in this very attack that it could bankrupt an ordinary clan. The dark old man muttered. This was the cultivator surnamed Long, who escaped in a panic when Han Li rushed the formation.

They must be staking it all in one throw. This must be related to the person who rushed into the city! Wan Tianming calmly said.

I see it as a desperate move! However, Fellow Daoist Long, is the cultivator who killed Fellow Daoist Hua so fearsome? Even with you two united, this fellow was still able to kill one of you in an instant? Green light flashed from the old womans eyes as she looked at the old man. She possessed mid-Nascent Soul cultivation.

When Old Man Long heard the woman mention Han Li, his face turned pale and stroked the new arm he produced from a secret technique. A long while later, he replied with a wry smile, More than just fearsome. Fellow Daoist Hua was by no means weak, but he wasnt able to put up much resistance. Had I been any slower in escaping, I feared I wouldnt be standing here today. He most likely isnt a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, but a late-Nascent Soul grand cultivator.

A sneer appeared on the old womans face and she bluntly said, A grand cultivator? I see that Fellow Daoist Long has been frightened to the extent where his mind became muddled. Apart from Fellow Daoist Mo, how can there be other late-Nascent Soul cultivators from the inner seas? The Star Palace wouldve already recruited them otherwise, and whittle away at our alliance after such a long period of time.

Old Man Longs face grimaced as a result.

Wan Tianming faintly smiled, That isnt certain. The image of the cultivator that Fellow Daoist Long produced for me is somewhat familiar. After several days, I came to recognize the person. It is someone that Fellow Daoist Qiu should know as well.

Oh? Could Brother Mo explain? The old woman asked in astonishment.

Do you remember when the Heavenvoid Cauldron emerged into the world several hundreds of years ago? When our alliance issued a kill order on a cultivator named Han Li? Wan Tianming leisurely asked.

After a short moment of thought, she came to an instant realization, The Heavenvoid Cauldron? That Han Li!? Was that the person who broke through the formation? Yi! They do bear a strong resemblance, but how can this be possible? That person was a Core Formation cultivator in the past! She shook her head, wearing an expression of disbelief.

Wan Tianming looked in the direction of the grand formation and indifferently said, You dont need to be so surprised. Over a hundred years ago, before the death of the Heavenly Star Sages, I acquired a secret report that Han Li appeared near the Yellow Sand Sect as a Nascent Soul cultivator. Then, he used a Star Palace teleportation formation to the outer seas. At that time, the Star Palace Sages attempted to recruit him, but to little success. I suspect that the disappearance of Swift Crane and other elders of our alliance are largely related to him.

The higher-ups of the Star Palace were almost sure that this had something to do with Han Li. After all, they had all seen the interaction between Elder Ximen and Han Li in the stone palace.

Anyone could tell that this great cultivator had a vendetta against Elder Ximen.

However, despite their suspicions, all of the Star Palace elders simply pretended to not suspect anything and none of them went to interrogate Han Li.

He was a great cultivator whom no one wanted to mess with, and most importantly, they couldnt find any evidence that Han Li was the culprit behind all this. Instead, there was strong evidence suggesting that he hadnt actually been responsible for this incident.

During the time period in which Elder Ximen had perished, Han Li had been discussing cultivation insights and experiences with Elder Zhao the entire time. Of course, it wasnt difficult to tell that this was a smokescreen intentionally set up by Han Li to prevent anyone from being able to aim a convincing accusation against him.

Despite knowing the truth, it was still an extremely harrowing notion to all of the Star Palace elders that Han Li could wipe a Nascent Soul cultivator off the face of the world without even having to go after him in person.

If he were a normal cultivator, they could naturally disregard all evidence and capture him before using a soul search technique to confirm everything. However, who would dare to do that to a late-Nascent Soul great cultivator? Even the elders who had been quite close with Elder Ximent knew better than to kick up a fuss.

Furthermore, the Star Palace had to rely on Han Lis powers to carry them through this crisis, so they absolutely couldnt afford to get on his bad side. Thus, Ling Yuling and all of the Star Palace elders could only pretend that they had no idea who the culprit could be.

After discussing cultivation experiences and insights with Elder Zhao for about half a day, Han Li returned to his silent cultivation chamber. Almost immediately thereafter, Elder Zhao received news that Elder Ximen had passed away, and he was rooted to the spot for a long while. In the end, he could only give a wry smile with a resigned expression on his face.

After that, he departed from the cave abode and left two Core Formation disciples there in his place.

Han Li could kill a Nascent Soul cultivator even without leaving the cave abode, so it was just a waste of time for him to remain behind and keep an eye on Han Li anyway. It was much wiser to for him to get out of there as soon as possible in case Han Li decided to kill him as well.

As such, a peculiar sequence of events unfolded.

A Star Palace elder had clearly just perished, yet this incident was completely glossed over, and it seemed that none of the higher-ups of the Star Palace wanted to mention anything about it. Even the words Elder Ximen had become a taboo phrase that could only be mentioned in hushed whispers. Instead, everyone was focusing their attention on making preparations for the upcoming battle.

Five days later, Han Li emerged from the silent cultivation chamber and arrived at the sacred palace again. On this occasion, there were more than 30 Core Formation cultivators also gathered here on top of the Star Palace elders.

Most of these cultivators were at the late-Core Formation Stage, so their powers were only just below that of the Star Palace elders.

When Han Li slowly made his way into the hall, all of the cultivators turned their attention to him in unison. Most of them wore expressions of awe and veneration, while some were quite fearful of his arrival. However, one thing remained constant, and that was no matter which direction Han Li cast his gaze toward, all of the cultivators gathered there would immediately lower their heads and avoid his gaze.

Using his humanoid puppet to take care of an early-Nascent Soul cultivator was an extremely simple task for Han Li, but in doing so, he had intimidated the entire Star Palace.

In the past, all of these Star Palace cultivators only knew that Han Li was a great cultivator, but no one had seen him in action, so they couldnt help but be skeptical about whether he would actually be able to hold off Wan Tianming.

After all, Wan Tianming had slain many Star Palace elders in the past several decades, and his reputation was second to none in the Scattered Star Seas. Ironically, Han Lis assassination of a Nascent Soul elder instilled everyone with a lot more confidence in his abilities. That was something that neither Han Li nor Ling Yuling hand anticipated.

Of course, Ling Yuling was naturally very glad that their morale had been boosted, while Han Li simply didnt care.

Please take a seat, Fellow Daoist Han. Ill start organizing the preparations for the upcoming battle right away, Ling Yuling said in a respectful voice.

Han Li nodded as he took a seat before producing a white jade slip to read, completely ignoring everyone else in the process.

Ling Yuling merely smiled upon seeing this, but her expression instantly became quite grave after turning to the rest of the cultivators and delivering a series of instructions.

Even though most of Han Lis attention was focused on the jade slip, he wouldnt actually completely ignore what Ling Yuling was saying.

The Star Palaces plan was very simple. Even though the Heavenly Windfire Formation was comprised of 108 Windfire Pillars, they were only planning to attack the 36 Windfire Pillars surrounding Heavenly Star City.

According to the analysis from several of the Star Palaces formation spell masters, these 36 pillars were the most important ones, and as long as they could destroy most of those pillars, the formation would be vanquished as a result. Of course, the formation core that Wan Tianming was guarding had to be conquered by the Star Palace before that.

Thus, one Nascent Soul Stage elder and Core Formation cultivator after another rose to their feet at Ling Yulings behest, and all of them wore serious expressions as they listened to the duties being delegated to them. A sense of fierce killing intent had spread through the entire hall.

Before long, all of the cultivators present had been assigned to attack a certain Windfire Pillar. However, the distribution of high-grade cultivators was rather uneven, there were two or three Nascent Soul cultivators in some groups while in others, there wasnt even a single Nascent Soul cultivator.

Han Li was rather surprised by this arrangement. However, he quickly understood why such arrangements had been made.

There were most likely Star Palace spies in the Starfall Coalition as well, so they mustve already ascertained the forces guarding each individual Windfire Pillar, and were delegating troops accordingly.

Even though Han Li continued to focus his attention on his jade slip, a faint smile had appeared on his face.

Ling Yuling delegated duties very quickly, and after just a short while, almost all of the cultivators in the hall had been assigned with specific roles.

Finally, her voice faltered as she turned to Han Li, and a smile appeared on her face as she said, Fellow Daoist Han, you, Elder Zhao, Elder Ma, and I will be responsible for attacking the formation core thats being guarded by Wan Tianming, is that alright?

Han Li raised his head and replied nonchalantly, Sure. However, Im only responsible for taking on Wan Tianming. I wont attack any other cultivators unless they attack me.

A hint of surprise appeared in her eyes at the sight of Han Lis carefree expression, but she was naturally quite glad that Han Li had accepted her arrangement.

Even though she had heard some things about Han Li from the Heavenly Star Sages, she didnt actually know if Han Li was all that powerful among late-Nascent Soul cultivators. She was really worried that Han Li would underestimate his enemy and fall on his own sword, so she elaborated on some of Wan Tianmings signature abilities and treasures in order to help Han Li prepare for the upcoming battle.

Han Lis expression remained quite nonchalant as he listened to her description.

Ling Yuling could only heave an internal sigh upon seeing this, and she repressed the urge to ask Han Li what chance he thought he had of victory. In any case, defeat was not an option for the Star Palace.

Lets go! After one final instruction, all of the cultivators in the palace instantly rushed out from within.

All of the low-grade Foundation Establishment disciples had already gathered at all four of Heavenly Star Citys gates, and they were primed to attack as soon as the Core Formation cultivators arrived to lead them into battle.

Han Li glanced at the jade slip in his hand before closing his palms together, upon which the jade slip abruptly disappeared.

The jade slip contained the cultivation art for the Divine Essencefused Light, and it was indeed quite profound and complex, even after several days of arduous observation, he had only made a little progress. He was very curious about just what kind of extraordinary existence the Divine Essencefused Mountain was to be able to assist in the mastery of this cultivation art.

Han Li was considering these matters in a rather absentminded manner as he also exited the stone palace along with the other elders.

Much to Han Lis surprise, there was a massive carriage over 100 feet in length parked outside the palace.

The entire carriage had been constructed from some type of unidentifiable green wood, and all types of runes had been carved onto its surface. It was quite apparent that this was an extremely intricately and painstakingly crafted carriage. However, what was even more noteworthy was that the carriage was being drawn by four demon beasts several tens of feet in length, all of which were of the same green color as the carriage itself.

This was the first time that Han Li had been flabbergasted following his arrival in Heavenly Star City.

The four green demon beasts only appeared to be at the fifth or sixth grade, but they were most definitely flood dragons.

If he recalled correctly, flood dragons were extremely protective of their brethren. The Star Palace was indeed very powerful, but how could they use actual flood dragons to draw their carriages? Werent they afraid of drawing the ire of the entire flood dragon race and bringing disaster to the Star Palace?

At the sight of rare expression of surprise that had appeared on Han Lis face, Ling Yuling smiled, and asked, Is there really a need to be so surprised by a few low-grade demon beasts, Fellow Daoist Han?

A blue light flashed through Han Lis eyes, and he suddenly said, Wait, these demon beasts possess the bodies of true flood dragons, but their souls seem to be rather strange.

A hint of admiration appeared in Ling Yulings eye as she explained, You really do have a good eye, Brother Han! The souls in the bodies of these demon beasts are indeed not the souls of flood dragons. Many years ago, when my father was traveling through the outer seas, he won a few low-grade green flood dragon carcasses from the Golden Wyrm King in a bet, then used a secret technique to inject the souls of Marine Spirit Pythons into their bodies, thereby creating these demon beasts.

I see, but why have you placed this carriage here? Will we be using it in our attack? Han Lis brows were still furrowed with confusion.

Hehe, you wont be aware of this, Brother Han, but this carriage was personally crafted by my father. Aside from these demon beasts, the carriage itself is also very special and will be quite effective against our enemies. If it werent for the importance of this battle, I wouldnt even be using such a precious treasure. Ling Yuling raised her eyebrows as a mysterious look appeared on her face.

If the Star Palace falls, do you think I can remain safe, Fellow Daoist Han? Besides, Im not asking you to fight Wan Tianming to the death, Im simply asking you to hold him off while I lead the Star Palace in a retaliation against the Starfall Coalition. Surely thats within your capabilities, Brother Han, Ling Yuling said in a slow voice as her brows furrowed.

That is indeed something Im capable of doing. However, Wan Tianming is a great cultivator as well, and I wont be able to predict whether hell try to engage me in a battle to the death. If you agree that I can flee the battle should he unleash some type of powerful trump card, I can consider stepping in on this occasion. Then again, the welfare of the Star Palace and your safety are two completely different matters. Even if the Star Palace ceases to exist, Im confident in my ability to keep you alive, and thatll be enough to fulfill the promise I made to the former palace leaders. Otherwise, its really not worth it for me to take this risk just for the benefits that the sages offered me in return. Han Lis calm reply highlighted the crux of the matter.

Ling Yulings expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

Meanwhile, Elder Zhao had read between the lines, and his brows furrowed as he stroked his beard. Fellow Daoist Han, from what youre saying, it sounds like you wont necessarily refuse to help us, but we have to pay a sufficient price in exchange for your assistance, right?

Of course, nothing in this world comes without a price. If your Star Palace offers me sufficiently tempting remuneration, I can consider taking a risk, Han Li admitted with a faint smile.

What do you want from our Star Palace, Fellow Daoist Han? It was Elder Ma who had spoken on this occasion.

Its not a matter of what I want. Instead, its a matter of what your Star Palace is planning to offer to me, Han Li replied expressionlessly.

Different expressions appeared on the faces of the Star Palace elders, and some of them were beginning to converse through voice transmission.

In reality, none of them were overly surprised by Han Lis rejection. If someone were to ask them to fight a cultivator of the same cultivation base to the death for no reward, they certainly wouldnt agree to do so, either. Furthermore, this was going to be a clash between two great cultivators, beings who stood at the pinnacle of the human world, so the risks involved would undoubtedly be more severe than in a battle between cultivators of a lesser caliber.

However, it wouldnt be an easy task to offer a reward that could tempt Han Li. After all, a great cultivator like him would most likely simply scoff at normal treasures, materials, and cultivation arts.

Ling Yuling sat in the main seat and looked on with a contemplative expression as the elders conversed among themselves.

After a while, she broke the silence, and said, Your proposal is quite reasonable, Brother Han. However, ordinary items clearly wont be able to catch your eye, so Im willing to offer the cultivation art of our Star Palaces Divine Essencefused Light and our Divine Essencefused Mountain as a reward, will that be satisfactory to you, Fellow Daoist Han? The Divine Essencefused Light is an extremely powerful cultivation art, and only a man of Brother Hans extraordinary talent deserves to cultivate it.

The reward that Ling Yuling was offering was none other than Han Lis objective for this trip, and this turn of events came as quite a surprise to Han Li. His expression faltered slightly before he appraised Ling Yuling through narrowed eyes and fell into deep thought.

All of the other Star Palace elders were startled to hear this, but after exchanging glances with one another, none of the stated any objections.

The Divine Essencefused Light was indeed an extremely powerful cultivation art that had been used by the late Heavenly Star Sages. However, it was also quite renowned to be very difficult to cultivate, and its disadvantages were also quite apparent. As such, for normal Nascent Soul cultivators, this was certainly a tempting prospect, but it wasnt actually one that held much practical value. As such, no one had any objections to Ling Yulings proposal. Instead, they were all worried about whether Han Li would actually agree to this deal.

Much to their surprise, Han Li only contemplated the offer for a short while before nodding with a meaningful expression.

It seems that Fairy Ling already knew what I wanted. Im not a greedy person, so I wont ask for any more than that. Im happy to accept this offer. When the time comes, Ill help your Star Palace hold off Wan Tianming. I cant guarantee that Ill be able to kill him, but Ill make sure that he wont be able to attack any of you.

Alright, our Star Palace has full trust in you, Brother Han. Ill get someone to give you the cultivation art for the Divine Essencefused Light, and once this battle concludes, Ill present the Divine Essencefused Mountain to you. A smile had reappeared on Ling Yulings beautiful features.

Seeing as he had achieved his objective, Han Li didnt wish to stay here any longer, and he rose to his feet as he said, In that case, Ill be awaiting further instructions from you on how to proceed, Fellow Daoist Ling. Its been a rather tiring journey for me, so Im going to take my leave and have some rest.

Ling Yuling immediately nodded as she turned to Elder Zhao with an amicable expression, and instructed, Of course! Elder Zhao, organize a silent cultivation chamber for Fellow Daoist Han so he can rest and recuperate. Fellow Daoist Han is an esteemed guest of ours, so Ill have to trouble you to look after him, Elder Zhao.

Elder Zhao nodded and extended a bow toward Ling Yuling before leading Han Li out of the hall.

Han Li nodded toward Ling Yuling, but didnt immediately follow Elder Zhao out of the room. Instead, he suddenly turned his gaze to Elder Ximent, upon which a faint blue light shimmered through his eyes, and only then did he make his way out of the hall in an unhurried manner.

A chill ran down Elder Ximens spine at the sight of Han Lis cold gaze and at the same time, he felt a sharp pain in his spiritual sense, which almost made him jump up from his seat.

However, after Han Li turned and left, the sharp pain in his spiritual sense completely disappeared, as if it had just been a figment of his imagination.

Elder Ximen was naturally very alarmed and he hurriedly conducted a thorough examination of his own body with his spiritual sense, only to find that nothing was amiss. Elder Ximen was greatly relieved after making that discovery. It appeared that he had been excessively paranoid.

After all, they were situated in the Star Palace right now, and even a great cultivator wouldnt dare to attack him. However, at the same time, he had made up his mind, as soon as this conference was over, he was going to find an obscure location to hide in and only emerge when the battle began. During this time, he was going to take extra care not to bump into Han Li in order to ensure his own safety.

After all, that attack he had unleashed in the Heavenvoid Hall all those years ago had almost taken Han Lis life, and now that Han Li was far more powerful than he was, it was very unlikely that he would simply be willing to let bygones be bygones.

If he had known that Han Li would become so powerful, he wouldve either refrained from attacking him or made absolute sure that he was dead.

Elder Ximens heart was filled with remorse as he heaved an internal sigh.

As soon as Han Li and Elder Zhao had left, Elder Ma turned to Ling Yuling with a skeptical expression, and asked, Palace Master, is that Han Li really going to be able to hold off Wan Tianming? And are we sure that he can be trusted? What if this man is actually allied with the Starfall Coalition, and he lends his assistance to them during the battle instead? If that happens, well be completely lost. Wouldnt it be safer to continue to guard Heavenly Star City through the use of our restriction?

Dont worry, Elder Ma, Ive known Fellow Daoist Han even before he made the deal with my late parents. Even though were not close friends, I know that he has a lot of bad blood with the Starfall Coalition due to the incidents surrounding the Heavenvoid Cauldron many years ago, so theres no way that he would pledge his allegiance to them. As for whether he can actually hold off Wan Tianming, Im confident in his ability to do so. After all, Fellow Daoist Han reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage even earlier than Wan Tianming did, and he also has the Heavenvoid Cauldron to assist him, so he should be the more powerful of the two great cultivators no matter how we look at it. Besides, do any of you have any better ideas? The restriction around our Heavenly Star City is indeed quite powerful, but it definitely wont be able to last for too long under the constant bombardment from the Heavenly Windfire Formation. We cant just take a passive approach and hope for the best. A decisive result has to be reached, and either the Starfall Coalition has to fall or our Star Palace will cease to exist, Ling Yuling replied in a firm voice.

Elder Ma contemplated the situation for a while but was unable to provide any alternative tactics, so he could only reluctantly concede, If thats the case, then it seems we can only rely on that man.

Elder Ma was the most disobedient and uncouth Star Palace elder by far, so Ling Yuling was quite pleased that even he had no objections to her proposed course of action. As such, she continued, Lets discuss how were going to attack the Starfall Coalition, and also how were going to break their Heavenly Windfire Formation…

Within a peaceful silent cultivation chamber, Han Li sat with his knees crossed and his eyes closed as he made a strange hand seal.

After a long while, he suddenly stirred as he slowly opened his eyes.

Are you going to find that Elder Ximen now? The Endless Sky Beasts tender voice sounded beside his ears.

You know what Im up to? Han Li remained expressionless, but his voice had become more grim.

I dont know exactly what secret technique you used, but you clearly used your spiritual sense to place a spiritual marker on that man before you left the hall. Even though that secret technique was nothing special, the power of your spiritual sense ensures that none of the cultivators in the palace wouldve been able to detect what you were doing. Im assuming you didnt place the spiritual marker on that man so you could invite him out for a meal, right? the demon beast chuckled.

Seeing as you already know everything, then theres nothing for me to deny. That man almost took my life in the Heavenvoid Hall. Im not a petty person, but I cant just forgive a man who tried to kill me. It wouldve been difficult for me to kill him in that stone palace, but hes left the palace now, so its time for me to strike, Han Li admitted with a cold smile. He patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist and silver light flashed as the humanoid puppet soundlessly appeared. It then hovered toward a nearby wall before disappearing in a flash.

After that, Han Li rose to his feet and pushed open the door of the silent cultivation chamber before making his way outside.

After passing through a short corridor, Han Li arrived in a large hall. Elder Zhao was seated and sipping on some tea, and he was rather surprised to Han Li emerge from the chamber.

A faint smile appeared on Han Lis face as he said, Elder Zhao, youre using a wood-attribute cultivation art as well, right? If you dont mind, would you be willing to discuss cultivation experiences and insights with me?

Half a day later, a certain soul lamp in a restricted area of the Star Palace was suddenly snuffed out. The Star Palace disciple looking after the lamps was given a massive fright and he hurriedly reported this matter to the higher-ups of the sect.

The entire Star Palace plunged into turmoil, and not long after that, several Star Palace elders broke into a secret chamber in Elder Ximens cave abode.

Several hours ago, there were disciples who had personally witnessed Elder Ximen entering that secret chamber.

However, the chamber was now completely empty.

Even if he had actually passed away, as the dimming of the soul lamp suggested, there was no body to be found.

The brightness of the blue light barrier immediately increased, following which a circular passageway around 10 feet in diameter appeared.

Han Li briefly examined the passageway that had opened up in front of him before flying into it as a streak of azure light, appeared on the other side in the blink of an eye.

The light barrier shuddered again, and the passageway disappeared.

Ling Yuling turned to Han Li with an elated smile on her face as she said, Fellow Daoist Han, youre finally here.

I made a promise to your parents, so I certainly couldnt ignore your request for help in your time of need, Han Li replied with a smile.

Im extremely grateful for your assistance, Brother Han. With you here, theres no need for us to fear those Starfall Coalition clowns. This is not the place to talk, come with me to the sacred mountain, Fellow Daoist Han. Elder Sun, inform all of the elders who arent currently on duty to gather at the sacred palace, I have important matters to discuss with them. Ling Yuling extended an invitation to Han Li before issuing some instructions to the yellow-robed cultivator beside her.

Yes, Palace Master!

The yellow-robed cultivator was an early-Nascent Soul cultivator, and as soon as Han Li had passed through the light barrier, he had tried to ascertain Han Lis cultivation base using his spiritual sense. What he discovered was that Han Lis cultivation base was completely unfathomable to him, and a hint of awe and veneration intermingled with shock appeared on his face. After hearing Ling Yulings orders, he immediate cupped his fist in a salute before pulling out a stack of voice transmission talisman to inform the Star Palace elders of the palace masters instructions.

At this moment, Han Li turned toward the white-haired elderly man, and said, Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Zhao, youre looking quite well. Not only that, but your cultivation base has also improved drastically. I must congratulate you.

The elderly man was none other than the very same Elder Zhao who had approached Han Li with that dual cultivation proposal on Silver Shark Island. It had been more than a century since Han Li had last seen him, and he had reached the mid-Nascent Soul Stage as well, just as Ling Yuling had.

However, a wry smile appeared on Elder Zhaos face upon hearing this, indicating that there were some hidden circumstances involved behind his breakthrough. Hehe, I wouldnt have been able to take this step by myself. Its all thanks to the two former palace masters that I was able to take another strike in my cultivation base.

Oh, I see. A contemplative look appeared on Han Lis face after hearing this.

So you and Elder Zhao are old acquaintances as well, Im glad to see that. Lets head to the sacred palace first, and well continue our conversation there, Ling Yuling suggested with a smile.

Han Li naturally had no objections to this, and he nodded in response.

Thus, the group rose into the air and flew toward the sacred mountain at the center of Heavenly Star City.

Under the guidance of Ling Yuling and the others, Han Li flew directly toward the highest level of the sacred mountain before descending in front of what appeared to be a very nondescript bluestone palace.

Han Li appraised the stone palace with a hint of surprise on his face.

Do you find our sacred palace to be too mundane, Brother Han? Ling Yuling turned to Han Li with a dainty smile.

Its indeed not what I was expecting. Han Li made no effort to deny this.

It does indeed look quite ordinary, but all of our past palace masters have cultivated here before, so it was preserved and is regarded as one of the most important places in our Star Palace. We normally wouldnt let outsiders set foot into this palace, but you came from afar to help us in our time of need, so youre naturally exempt from this rule, Brother Han, Ling Yuling explained with a smile.

The palace itself does look quite mundane, but theres a remarkable abundance of spiritual Qi in the surrounding area, so its an exceptional place to cultivate in. I doubt there would be many islands on the Inner Star Seas that could provide a cultivation environment comparable to this one. Han Li nodded in response.

Ling Yulings smile widened upon hearing this, and she immediately led Han Li toward the gates of the stone palace.

The dozen or so Star Palace disciples guarding the gate hurriedly extended respectful bows toward their group, and all of them wore rather curious expressions at the sight of Han Li.

Ling Yuling naturally wasnt going to waste time providing an explanation to these guards as she led Han Li into the palace. Their group filed into a short corridor before arriving in an antiquated hall, where all of them took a seat.

Brother Han, you mustve learned about our Star Palaces situation on your way here, right? Ling Yuling cut straight to the point.

Of course. It appears that the Star Palace is in a rather perilous situation, Han Li replied calmly. гeewenvel.com

Then I suppose youre also aware of the fact that our Star Palace had initially gained the upper hand, and weve only been plunged into this situation because that Wan Tianming suddenly reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage. Only after he became a great cultivator did the Starfall Coalition manage to turn the tables, so he is the key in this battle. Brother Han, as long as you can hold off that man, Im confident that our Star Palace would be able to destroy the Starfall Coalition again! A cold look appeared in Ling Yulings eyes as she spoke.

So you want me to fight that Sect Master Wan? Han Li asked.

Ling Yuling faltered slightly, and a hesitant look appeared on her face as she asked, Are you unhappy with that arrangement, Brother Han?

Han Li raised an eyebrow, and replied, Its not that, I just think there seems to be a misunderstanding here, Fairy Ling.

A misunderstanding? Could it be that youre not here to help me, Brother Han? Ling Yulings expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

Of course Im here to help you, its just that… Han Li was just about to explain when his words came to a halt, and he suddenly turned toward the entrance of the hall.

Ling Yuling naturally also cast her gaze toward the same direction.

Moments later, three cultivators strode into palace, one of which was a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, while the other two were at the early-Nascent Soul Stage.

The mid-Nascent Soul cultivator was a purple-robed man with a pockmarked face. After entering the hall, he refrained from extending a salute toward Ling Yuling, and instead turned toward Han Li with an unfriendly expression, giving off a rather uncouth and antagonistic demeanor.

However, his pupils immediately contracted as he swept his spiritual sense toward Han Li, and his expression became quite strained.

At this moment, Ling Yuling smiled, and said, Elder Ma, I didnt think youd get here so quickly. Have a seat. When all of the other elders get here as well, Ill introduce to everyone an esteemed guest of our Star Palace!

Indeed, I can sense that this fellow Daoist possesses an unfathomable cultivation base, so a warm welcome is very much necessary. The purple-robed man quickly composed himself before giving Han Li a forced smile and taking a seat. After assessing Han Lis cultivation base, he was clearly a lot more subdued than he was just a second ago.

The other two Star Palace elders were naturally unable to identify Han Lis cultivation base, but the purple-robed mans reaction told them everything they needed to know. As such, they exchanged an astonished glance with one another before cupping their fists in a salute toward Ling Yuling and also taking a seat.

However, in response to this, Ling Yuling merely tucked a few stray strands of hair behind her ear as a cold light flashed through her eyes.

Han Li was observing all of these minor details, and a hint of a smile appeared on her face.

It was quite clear that this Elder Ma wasnt content to serve this new master of the Star Palace, and Ling Yuling was using him to intimidate these elders and keep them in check. Han Li was feeling both rather amused and a little speechless.

However, Ling Yuling was an old acquaintance of his, so he didnt take this to heart. After all, what she was doing wasnt causing harm to him in any way.

Following the arrival of Elder Mas trio, the rest of the Star Palace elders also began to arrive at the sacred palace one after the other. All of them were immediately given quite a surprise by the sight of the unfamiliar great cultivator present among their ranks.

Even though none of these Nascent Soul Stage elders could ascertain Han Lis true cultivation base, all of them turned to Elder Ma as a litmus test for Han Lis power, and all of them were quite stunned by what they saw.

Before long, over 20 Star Palace elders had gathered in the hall. Aside from three mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, Elder Zhao, Elder Ma, and Ling Yuling, all of the rest were at the early-Nascent Soul Stage.

Ling Yuling slowly rose to her feet and pointed at Han Li with a smile as she announced, Seeing as everyones here, let me introduce to you all an esteemed guest. This is the guest elder appointed by the former palace masters, Han Li!

All of the elders present had naturally heard of Han Li before, and Ling Yulings announcement created quite a stir among them, to the extent that one of them couldnt help but exclaim, Han Li?!Han Li turned toward the Star Palace elder who had spoken to find that it was a benevolent-looking white-robed elderly man.

Han Lis eyes narrowed as a contemplative look appeared in his eyes. All of a sudden, a thought seemed to have occurred to him as his expression darkened.

It appears that weve met in the Heavenvoid Hall before. I recall that there were two fellow Daoists responsible for opening the Heavenvoid Hall back then, may I ask where he is? Han Lis voice had become rather cold and unforgiving.

Meanwhile, the white-robed elders face had turned deathly pale.

This man was none other than the Star Palace enforcement elder who had almost stabbed Han Li through the heart in the Heavenvoid Hall. Back when he had just entered the hall, he had found Han Li to be rather familiar, but he failed to immediately identify him. However, Ling Yulings introduction made him recall the memories of the events that had taken place in the Heavenvoid Hall, and he naturally managed to identify Han Li.

Ling Yuling could naturally glean the cold look in Han Lis eyes, and her heart sank in response, but she could only muster up her courage, and ask, Do you recognize Elder Ximen, Brother Han?

A series of emotions quickly flashed through Han Lis eyes, and he seemed to have arrived at some sort of decision as he reverted back to his normal calm expression, and replied, Im not very familiar with him. Its just that Fellow Daoist Ximen had caused some trouble for me back when I hadnt reached the Nascent Soul Stage.

Ling Yuling was quite relieved that Han Li was making light of the matter, and she hurriedly changed the subject as she said, I see. If Elder Ximen caused you any offense in the past, I hope you may forgive him, Brother Han. Lets get back to our discussion about Wan Tianming, shall we? After all, the top priority for our Star Palace is to eradicate the Starfall Coalition!

The white-robed elder was also slightly relieved after hearing Han Lis words, but he was still unable to completely quell the fear in his heart.

I dont know what the late sages told you, Fellow Daoist Ling, but the promise I made to them was that I would only step in if and when your life is under direct threat, and Ill do everything in my power to save you. I didnt promise them that I would fight for the Star Palace against a cultivator of the same cultivation base as mine to the death, Han Li said in a slow voice.

His words were met with complete silence.