Автор: sergey

Almost at the exact same moment, an azure arc of lightning flashed in the air above the jade carriage, upon which Han Li appeared out of thin air before immediately sweeping a sleeve through the air. Several tens of small golden swords shot forth from within, transforming into streaks of golden light that rained down from above.

Break! the middle-aged Daoist priest yelled as his expression changed drastically. As he did so, he pointed a finger toward the Yin Yang mirror overhead.

A pillar of black and white immediately shot forth from the surface of the mirror before transforming into clumps of thin threads that attempted to ensnare the golden streaks of light.

A string of resounding booms erupted as threads and the golden light clashed, and the black and white threads were severed with ease as if they were delicate strands of silk.

The Daoist priests heart jolted with shock, and before he had a chance to react, the flying sword had already struck the azure ball of light around the carriage.

The same thing happened again, the azure light was only able to withstand these streaks of golden light for a brief moment before being completely punctured, and the golden light continued onward, having barely been slowed down at all by the obstacles thrown at them.

The elderly man and the Daoits priest were truly petrified now.

The two of them rose into the air at the same time, abandoning the jade carriage beneath their feet as they fled through the air in different directions, one was an azure streak of light and the other as a white streak of light. In the blink of an eye, they were already over 100 feet away and had just barely managed to evade the small golden swords.

As the middle-aged Daoist priest hurtled into the distance, he patted one of the spirit beast pouches hanging from his waist, and a clear cry erupted from within as a snowy white bird around a foot in size emerged.

The bird had a pair of green eyes, a sharp crimson beak, and a pair of black talons.

The Daoist priest was feeling greatly reassured after summoning this bird, and he reached into his sleeve before producing a crimson badge. There was red light shimmering over the badge, and a dense bunch of runes could also be seen on its surface.

Before he had a chance to activate this badge, spatial fluctuations proliferated forth from the air above him, following which Han Li emerged from an arc of azure lightning.

He turned his gaze toward the Daoist priest down below and harrumphed coldly as brilliant blue eyes radiated from his eyes.

The Daoist priest was naturally greatly alarmed and immediately tried to activate the treasure in his hand. However, he suddenly felt as if his spiritual sense had been viciously pricked by a sharp object, and he was suddenly afflicted by a splitting headache. A cry of pain immediately escaped his mouth as blood began to trickle out from his ears and nostrils, and he almost dropped the badge in his hand in his agony.

Han Li took advantage of this opportunity to flick his five fingers in quick succession, sending five red threads flashing through the air. Meanwhile, green light flashed in his other hand and a green wooden ruler emerged, which he gently waved it toward the snowy white bird.

Crimson flames hurtled through the air, and threads punctured the middle-aged Daoist priests body. The threads then wound themselves around him, transforming into five thick fiery ropes that rendered him completely immobile.

Only then did the Daoist priest return to his senses in the aftermath of his excruciating headache, and his face immediately turned deathly pale as he realized the desperate situation that he was in. He was completely unable to move, and he hurriedly summoned his spirit bird to come and rescue him using his spiritual sense, but it completely ignored his orders.

The Daoist priest was feeling extremely alarmed as he turned his attention toward the spirit bird, only to find that a silver lotus flower had appeared above its head.

Seven-colored Buddhist light was emanating from the lotus flower, enshrouding the spirit birds entire body and completely immobilizing it as well.

A wave of shock and fury surged through the Daoist priests heart, and before he had a chance to think out of this dire situation, a gentle breeze swept over his head, and a streak of golden light came crashing down like lightning from above.

The Daoist priest could only cry out in despair before he was decapitated by the golden light.

Han Lis body reappeared amid the gust of wind, and he immediately raised both hands into the air at the same time. Loud thunderclaps rang out as a vast expanse of golden lightning arcs shot forth, interweaving with one another to form a golden net. The entire net was shimmering with golden light and creating a raucous commotion as it ensnared the Daoist priests headless body.

Han Li then began to chant something, and scorching flames suddenly erupted from the ropes binding the Daoist priests body. Bursts of crimson flames shot forth immediately thereafter, instantly reducing the body to a pile of ashes.

However, almost at the exact same moment, the Daoist priests Nascent Soul emerged from the flames within a ball of white light. It was holding a white scepter in its hands, and was desperately attempting to flee into the distance.

However, it crashed headfirst into the golden lightning net, upon which it was rebounded amid a string of rumbling thunderclaps. Brilliant golden light then radiated forth as the golden net exploded violently, and the Nascent Soul was instantly reduced to nothingness amid the devastating explosion.

Only then did Han Li exhale gently as he turned toward another direction with a cold light in his eyes.

At this moment, the elderly man had already fled to over 400 feet away, and he had pulled out a pair of azure bowls from a storage pouch hanging from his waist. He hadnt even made up his mind about whether he wanted to attack Han Li yet, and the Daoist priest was already dead.

The elderly mans heart immediately sank upon seeing this, and he felt as if his entire body had been plunged into a glacial pit.

As Han Li swept his gaze toward the elderly man, the latter suddenly raised an arm, and a burst of azure light flashed as he used the sharp edge of one of his bowls to dismember one of his own arms.

The amputated arm exploded amid a loud thump, and the resulting blood mist enshrouded the elderly mans entire body as a bloodcurdling shriek rang out!

The blood around the elderly mans body transformed him into a faint crimson shadow, which hurtled rapidly into the distance. Following just a few flashes, the crimson shadow had already covered a distance of over 1,000 feet, and the speed of its movement was rather astonishing, even to Han Li.

Han Lis eyes narrowed and a hint of hesitation appeared on his face. During that split-second delay, the crimson shadow completely disappeared into the distance.

Han Li stroked his chin and shook his head as a slightly forlorn look appeared on his face.

It appeared that this man had mastered a movement technique similar to the Bloodshadow Evasion Technique. In that case, Han Li was reluctant to expend the time and effort required to chase him down. His top priority was to get to Heavenly Star City as quickly as possible, after all.

With that in mind, he turned his attention to the spirit bird, which was still trapped under the silver lotus flower conjured up by the Eight Spirit Ruler. He flicked a finger through the air, and a golden sword shot forth, instantly slicing the bird in half and putting an end to its life.

This was a spirit beast that had been nurtured by the Daoist priests blood from birth, so there was no way for it to be tamed by anyone else. As such, Han Li naturally wasnt going to let it live.

After that, he transformed into a streak of azure light again as he flew directly toward Heavenly Star City.

On this occasion, he was flying at full speed, and it only took him around 10 minutes to pass through the Heavenly Windfire Formations restriction.

Han Lis body faltered slightly as he broke through the formation, and he paused in his flight as he looked on at Heavenly Star City from afar.

There in the distance, the citys gargantuan walls had been enshrouded under a dense barrier of faint blue light. In the air above the light barrier, there were large swaths of red and azure light striking down upon it relentlessly. As the lights of different colors intertwined with one another, earthshattering thunderclaps rang out incessantly. Upon seeing this, Han Li no longer hesitated any longer as he resumed his journey toward the Heavenly Star City.

After just a few flashes, the azure streak of light had reached one of the city gates, but his progress was stalled by that blue light barrier.

The Star Palace cultivator behind the light barrier had naturally also caught sight of Han Li, and a loud whistle rang out as a dozen or so Star Palace cultivators of different heights appeared above the city wall, all of whom were appraising Han Li with grave and bewildered expressions.

The Starfall Coalition had set up the Heavenly Windfire Formation to prevent people from being able to escape from Heavenly Star City, yet Han Li had gone to all this trouble to break through the restriction and enter from the outside, that was simply inexplicable to them.

Even though Han Li was still extremely far away from the city, he could clearly see the expressions on the faces of the Star Palace cultivators through the use of his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.

As such, he wasted no time with words, flipping over his palm, instead, to produce the Star Palace guest elder badge he had received from Wen Qing over a century ago. He raised his hand, and the badge slowly flew toward the light barrier, where it remained hovering in mid-air.

The sight of this badge created quite a stir among the cultivators above the city gates. Several of the more powerful cultivators were appraising the badge with their brows furrowed tightly in confusion when one of them suddenly seemed to have come to an abrupt realization. An enlightened expression abruptly appeared on his face as he turned to his companions and said something.

Expressions of surprise immediately appeared on the faces of the other cultivators, and one of them hurriedly pulled out a flag before waving it several times toward the blue light barrier.

The light barrier swayed, and the badge flew into the barrier as a streak of yellow light. Following a few flashes, it emerged on the other side of the barrier as if it had passed through nothing but empty air.

Han Li looked on with an aloof expression as he hovered before the light barrier.

At this point, all of the cultivators above the city gates had seen the guest elder badge, and expressions of surprise and elation had appeared on all of their faces. One of them pointed at Han Li and said something before pulling a voice transmission talisman out from his storage pouch. He swept a hand through the air, and the talisman transformed into a streak of light as it flew into the city.

He then produced a treasure that resembled a formation plate, and point his finger at it a few times before asking, Is that you, Senior Han? Please forgive us for our insolence, as you can see, were in a time of crisis here, and none of us have ever met you in person before, so we cant allow you into the city. However, Ive already sent a voice transmission talisman to our palace master, and shell arrive here shortly.

The mans words completely disregarded the blue light barrier and traveled directly into Han Lis ears.

Han Li raised his eyebrows upon hearing this, but he merely nodded in response and waited with his hands clasped behind his back.

Not long after that, three streaks of light flew out rapidly from within the city before stopping atop the city gates.

The trio was comprised of two men and a woman, and the woman was standing at the center, indicating that she was the leader of the group. The woman was extremely gorgeous, and her facial features struck Han Li with a sense of familiarity.

It was none other than Ling Yuling after reverting back to her female appearance.

Accompanying her were a yellow-robed man who appeared to be in his thirties, as well as an elderly man with a head of white hair and a white beard. The three of them all had their eyes trained firmly on Han Li. The cultivators guarding the city gates all stood off to the side with respectful expressions, not even daring to breathe too loudly.

An elated expression illuminated Ling Yulings beautiful features as she commanded, It really is Fellow Daoist Han! I thought that he wouldnt be able to get here! Hurry up and let Brother Han into the city!

Palace Master, is that a good idea? Is that man really reliable? Wed be in big trouble if he turned out to be a Starfall Coalition cultivator in disguise, the yellow-robed cultivator dissuaded with a hesitant look on his face.

Ling Yuling shook her head firmly, and replied, Dont worry, this guest elder badge is completely unique in this world, so theres no mistaking it. Furthermore, with his extraordinary powers, theres no one in the Scattered Star Seas who would be able to take the badge from him.

Upon hearing this, the yellow-robed cultivator could only nod in silence.

Thus, the cultivators guarding the city gates immediately sprang into action. All of them summoned either a formation flag or a formation plate before tossing them into the air in unison. Lights of various different colors appeared before the formation tools disappearing into the light barrier in front of the city gates.

These spirit boats were all positioned around three gargantuan pillars that extended over 1,000 feet up into the sky. Each pillar was entirely yellow in color with azure and red light rippling like water over their surfaces. These streams of azure and red light were pouring upward relentlessly, and they were clearly responsible for maintaining the veil of light enshrouding the entire island.

Han Li knew that these massive pillars were most definitely the legendary Windfire Pillars, and the Starfall Coalition cultivators in those spirit boats down below had clearly been deployed here to guard the pillars. From a rough visual estimation, Han Li determined that there were about 2,000 to 3,000 cultivators down below.

In order to avoid raising the alarm, he refrained from using his spiritual sense to ascertain their numbers. However, he was certain that there were definitely Nascent Soul cultivators among their ranks.

As for whether the Sect Master of the Myriad Gates of Enlightenment was also there, that was something that only the heavens knew.

However, there were a total of 108 Windfire Pillar, so surely he couldnt just happen to be situated near one of these three, right?

If this Sect Master Wan really were in the general vicinity and tried to stop him, Han Li didnt know whether that would count as bad luck for him or for Wan Tianming.

The Heavenly Windfire Formation was an extremely renowned and powerful formation, but according to Han Lis knowledge, this massive formation had been invented with the purpose of attacking large sects in mind. As such, it was extremely effective against large numbers of normal mid-grade and low-grade cultivators, but it wasnt particularly effective in the face of individual high-grade cultivators.

At his current power level, it would only be slightly troublesome at most for him to bypass this formation, and there was no way that it would actually be able to trap him.

Han Li stood in mid-air and hesitated for a long while. He then cast his gaze toward a certain direction in the distance, turning his attention away from the spirit boats and three pillars directly before him, and flying toward the veil of azure and red light instead.

At this moment, there was a three-story ship floating on the surface of the ocean at the foot of one of the pillars. The ship was extremely large and had been entirely crafted from beautiful green jade, thereby creating a spectacle of mesmerizing beauty to behold.

In the highest level of the ship, there were several cultivators seated around a square jade table, chatting about something with smiles on their faces. There were a few plates of rare spirit fruits placed on the jade table, and all of the cultivators seated around the table appeared to be quite carefree and relaxed.

A white-robed scholar at the table turned to the elderly man sitting across from him, and he smiled as he asked, Senior Long, I heard that if we can conquer the Star Palace this time, Coalition Leader Wan would agree to hand over one of the three spirit islands of the Myriad Gates of Enlightenment, the Heavenly Fortune Island, to your Golden Lotus Sect. Is that true?

The elderly man glared at the scholar out of the corners of his eyes, and replied, You sure are quite well-informed, Nephew Ning. Fellow Daoist Wan did indeed make that promise to me. The spirit vein on the Heavenly Fortune Island is superior to the one on the island Im currently residing on, so relocating there will be very beneficial for our sects future development.

A grey-robed middle-aged Daoist priest chuckled, Indeed, the Heavenly Fortune Island is quite renowned throughout the entire Scattered Star Seas for the quality of its spirit vein. On top of that, the island produces many types of rare spirit herbs as well, so itll only be a matter of time for your Golden Lotus Sect to rise to another level following the relocation.

Speak for yourself, Fellow Daoist Hua, werent you also given a dozen or so types of rare materials? Otherwise, why would an old reclusive monster like you decide to come out and offer Brother Wan your assistance? the elderly man replied with a nonchalant smile.

Among the three people on the top level of the ship, two were early-Nascent Soul cultivators. The white-robed scholar was only a late-Core Formation cultivator, but he was speaking to the other two in a manner that was neither haughty nor humble, so it was quite clear that he was not just some ordinary late-Core Formation cultivator, either.

The middle-aged man smiled upon hearing this, and was just about to say something again, when a low ringing sound rang out from the Windfire Pillar closest to them. The red and azure light that it was releasing also began to tremor violently, as if it were being struck by an invisible force.

Someones trying to break through the formation? the Daoist priest exclaimed as he immediately rose to his feet.

The elderly man and the scholar also stirred slightly as they also stood up and turned their attention toward the massive pillar.

The Daoist priest summoned a formation plate and made a hand seal before quickly pointing his finger several times in quick succession. The attack is coming from the southwestern direction! Wait a minute, its someone trying to come in rather than get out! Those guards are so useless!

Azure light flashed around the elderly mans body, following which an azure carriage suddenly appeared. A sinister smile appeared on his face as he said, Lets go, Fellow Daoist Hua! Seeing as the invader was able to bypass the guards and dares to try and break through the Heavenly Windfire Formation, theyre definitely no ordinary person. This place isnt very far away from where the attack is taking place, and with the power of the Windfire Formation standing in his way, theres no way that hell be able to immediately gain access to Heavenly Star City.

Ill be in your care, then Brother Long! The middle-aged Daoist priest immediately strode into the carriage without any hesitation.

The elderly man cast an incantation seal onto the carriage, and its entire structure was immediately enshrouded under a ball of azure light. The carriage shuddered before disappearing in the veil of red and azure light nearby, as if it had truly merged as one with the formation. The jade carriage was flashing through the red and azure light at an astonishing speed without any impediment, and the middle-aged Daoist priest standing in the carriage stroked his beard as he praised, Amazing! Ive heard many great things about your Heavenly Wind Carriage, but I didnt think it would attain such an incredible ability here in this Windfire Formation. Tsk tsk, it seems that Brother Wan mustve been aware of your carriages ability, which is why he organized for you to guard such an important location.

Perhaps thats indeed the case. Although ever since Fellow Daoist Wan progressed to the late-Nascent Soul Stage, his thoughts and intentions have become more and more unpredictable to the likes of you and me, the elderly man replied with a nonchalant smile.

The middle-aged Daoist priest smiled upon hearing this, but gave no reply.

The Heavenly Wind Carriage beneath their feet was traveling far faster than even a normal mid-Nascent Soul cultivator was capable of, and under the guidance of the tracking formation plate in the elderly mans hand, they had traveled several tens of kilometers in what seemed like just a few moments.

Take care now, that person is just up ahead. They seem to have broken through most of the formation already and are about to completely escape from the powers of fire and wind, so they must be quite powerful. The elderly man stared at the formation plate in his hand, and a grave expression appeared on his face for the very first time. Before the Daoist priest had a chance to respond, he immediately made a hand seal and began to chant something.

Brilliant azure spiritual light erupted from the jade carriage, making the entire carriage and its passengers blurry and indistinct. In the blink of an eye, they had completely disappeared into the veil of red and azure light.

The elderly man had unleashed a secret technique to conceal himself and the Daoist priest. As such, they would be able to survey the situation from the shadows before deciding whether they should attack or retreat. freewebnove.com

The middle-aged Daoist priest nodded in approval at this course of action. The two of them refrained from using their spiritual sense as the jade carriage rose into the air, decelerating significantly in the process.

After flying for a few more kilometers, the two of them finally caught sight of the person attempting to break through the formation in the distance, upon which expressions of surprise appeared on both of their faces.

The cultivator attacking the formation appeared to be absurdly young, he seemed to be a young man in his twenties! Furthermore, he hadnt summoned any treasures and had only manifested a layer of protective azure light around his body. Despite that, he was able to fly through the red and azure light at a consistent pace, and the process seemed as easy to him as if he were taking a stroll in the park.

Who is that? Could it be that hes a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator? the elderly man exclaimed.

If any other high-grade cultivators from the Starfall Coalition had been in the same position as these two, they wouldve immediately been able to identify Han Li. Due to the incident surrounding the Heavenvoid Cauldron, Han Lis portrait had been spread all over the Scattered Star Seas. Even though so many years had passed, all cultivators had astonishing memories, so there was no way that they wouldve failed to recognize him. However, unfortunately for these two, they were Nascent Soul cultivators whom Wan Tianming had recruited from outside the Starfall Coalition.

Even though the respective sects they belonged to were also quite powerful, they were almost constantly in seclusion, so they knew very little about what was happening in the Scattered Star Seas.

If it werent for the fact that Wan Tianming had offered them extremely lucrative remunerations, they most likely wouldve declined to participate in this battle. As such, the two of them were completely unfamiliar with Han Li, and were quite bewildered as a result.

Even so, the elderly man and the Daoist priest werent actually fearful toward Han Li. If they were to join forces, they would be able to put up a fight even against a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. Furthermore, their enemy may not even be a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.

No matter how little they kept up with current affairs, they were still aware of all of the old monsters on the Scattered Star Seas who were at the mid-Nascent Soul Stage above.

As such, rather deciding to retreat, the elderly man continued to approach Han Li, confident in his jade carriages ability to shield them from Han Lis detection.

When the two of them soundlessly reached a spot in the air around 300 feet above Han Li, the two cultivators carefully appraised him again.

They discovered that Han Li had a set of mundane facial features and was wearing a nondescript azure robe. Aside from the storage pouches and spirit beast pouches hanging from his waist, there was nothing about him that caught their eyes, and it was impossible to determine his origins.

The elderly mans brows furrowed as he turned toward the middle-aged Daoist priest with an inquisitive look.

The Daoist priest only hesitated momentarily before slowly nodding his head.

Thus, the two of them laid their hands on their respective storage pouches at the same time, taking a deep breath in unison as they prepared to unleash a devastating surprise attack.

However, right at this moment, Han Li suddenly raised his head and smiled up at them. A pair of white and azure wings appeared on his back, and he abruptly disappeared following a gentle flap of those wings.

The two cultivators were extremely alarmed by this sight. They were able to reach the Nascent Soul Stage, so they naturally werent ordinary cultivators, and the elderly man immediately decided to abort the attempt to unleash a surprise attack as he hurriedly stomped down upon the jade carriage underfoot, pouring his magic power into the carriage in a panicked frenzy.

The carriages concealment technique was immediately dispelled, while a ball of piercing azure light appeared, enshrouding both cultivators as well as the carriage.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged Daoist priest hurriedly pulled out a black and white Yin Yang mirror from his storage pouch before tossing it into the air.

Youre more likely not aware of this, Senior, but Coalition Leader Wan had set up 108 Windfire Copper Pillars, then gathered a few powerful formation spell masters to set up a Heavenly Windfire Formation around the island that Heavenly Star City is situated on, and hes using the boundless powers of fire and wind to attack the Star Palace. As long as the coalitions cultivators can guard the 108 Windfire Pillars, thatll be enough to trap the entirety of Heavenly Star City.

The hook-nosed man knew that he would be punished by the coalition for revealing this information, but the cold glare that Han Li had directed at him had tipped him over the edge, and in his horror, he blurted out this information without thinking.

As soon as those words escaped from his mouth, the hook-nosed man was sorely regretting his decision. However, even a Core Formation cultivator like him was aware of this information, so it clearly wasnt very confidential. With that in mind, he was feeling slightly more relieved.

A Heavenly Windfire Formation? Han Li stirred slightly upon hearing this.

He hadnt ever studied this formation in detail, but many of the formation spell tomes that he had read had mentioned this formation on quite a number of occasions. It was said that in ancient times, there was a restriction formation that could draw upon the powers of fire and wind within this world, and the staggering enormity of this formation was vastly renowned. If the Starfall Coalition had managed to set up such a formation, then there really was a possibility that they couldve used it to surround Heavenly Star City.

After all, with Wan Tianming guarding the formation core in person, even if the Star Palace cultivators managed to destroy a few Windfire Pillars, those pillars could be easily repaired. As long as the formation core remained intact, there was no way to truly destroy the formation.

A contemplative look appeared on Han Lis face. Meanwhile, tension was rolling off the bodies of the Starfall Coalition cultivators in almost palpable waves.

It didnt take a genius to be able to tell that Han Li was here to reinforce the Star Palace, so they were in a very perilous situation.

In contrast, the three White Water Sword Sect cultivators ensnared with the azure net were ecstatic. The elderly man hurriedly yelled, Senior, weve come here to reinforce the Star Palace, and those people are all cultivators from the Starfall Coalitions enforcement division. Theyve killed countless cultivators who have pledged their allegiance to the Star Palace, and they deserve to die countless deaths for their crimes! Dont let these people live, Senior!

All of the Starfall Coalition cultivators faces paled upon hearing this.

The two cultivators who were standing the farthest away from Han Li glanced at one another before flipping over their hands in unison, producing a small yellow flag each. They then immediately tossed those flags into the air, upon which they transformed into two yellow clouds that enshrouded the bodies of the two cultivators.

Within the blink of an eye, the two yellow clouds had completely vanished.

In the next instant, the yellow clouds appeared over 200 feet away before quickly disappearing again.

Teleportation? Han Lis pupils contracted minutely as a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

However, a cold chuckle then escaped his mouth as he abruptly raised a hand, feigning a grabbing motion toward the azure net that had ensnared the three White Water Sword Sect cultivators.

The two Starfall Coalition cultivators controlling the net felt as if a resounding boom had rung out directly in their heads, and they were struck by an intense spell of dizziness.

They lost control of the All-Encompassing Net as a result, and it reverted back into a ball of azure light, allowing the three ensnared cultivators to escape while the net landed in Han Lis hand.

Han Li paid no heed to the words of gratitude extended toward him by the three rescued cultivators as white and azure light flashed behind him, materializing a pair of wings on his back. The wings flapped gently, and Han Li disappeared amid a gust of wind. It was quite clear that he had set off in pursuit of the two cultivators who had just teleported away.

The remaining Starfall Coalition cultivators were both shocked and elated to see this, and they all glanced at one another before fleeing in different directions.

Han Li was an extremely fearsome enemy, so they were certainly not going to take a gamble with their lives and hope that Han Li would spare them out of the kindness in his heart.

However, the three White Water Sword Sect cultivators were naturally unwilling to allow their enemies get away. As such, all three of them let loose enraged roars as they also set off in pursuit of the Starfall Coalition cultivators. fгeeebove.cm

In the distance, two muffled thumps erupted in mid-air. Immediately thereafter, white light flashed, and two yellow clouds shot back as if they had been struck by some kind of immense force.

A gentle breeze blew past, and Han Li appeared out of thin air, appraising the two yellow clouds nearby with a cold deriding sneer on his lips.

A third inky-black eye had appeared over his glabella, and it disappeared again following a flash of black light.

The two Starfall Coalition cultivators within the yellow clouds were revealed again with bloodstained robes and extremely pale faces. They both appeared to have been severely wounded, and were in a state of shock and horror.

Ever since they had obtained these two Yellow Sand Buddhist Flags, they had managed to use them to escape from Nascent Soul cultivators on several occasions. As such, they were extremely confident in the ability of this pair of treasures. Otherwise, they wouldnt have dared to flee the scene even after witnessing Han Lis fearsome might.

However, Han Li had merely thrown two nonchalant punches through the air, and their confidence had been completely shattered. Only then did they realize that this young man was even more fearsome than they had anticipated.

Even so, the two of them certainly werent going to give up and allow themselves to be killed.

Thus, they immediately gritted their teeth and let loose loud cries in unison as they blasted mouthfuls of blood essence into the yellow clouds.

The clouds immediately tumbled and surged before turning into a crimson color. The two cultivators then began to join their voices in a chant, clearly preparing to unleash their final trump card.

A cold light immediately appeared in Han Lis eyes as he abruptly opened his mouth. Two piercing streaks of yellow light shot forth from within, appearing in front of the crimson clouds in the blink of an eye before instantly puncturing them.

Two anguished cries rang out from within the crimson clouds before the two cultivators plummeted toward the sea down below.

Right at this moment, Han Li pointed a finger at them expressionlessly.

The two small golden swords emerged from thin air again before revolving around the two Starfall Coalition cultivators. Balls of golden light erupted, instantly enshrouding the two cultivators within, following a vast expanse of blood began to rain down from above.

Han Li didnt even afford the two a chance to unleash their secret technique before putting an end to their lives.

Only then did he wave his hand toward the two crimson clouds.

The crimson light on those clouds quickly receded, and they reverted back into yellow clouds before flying toward him.

Han Li cast two incantation seals, both of which disappeared into the clouds.

As the yellow clouds approached him, they transformed into two yellow flags again before being stowed away up his sleeve.

These two ancient treasures were quite useful for fleeing from perilous situations. Of course, they served no purpose for him, but they would be extremely valuable for his disciples.

After stowing away his two flying swords, Han Li turned his attention toward the rest of the fleeing Starfall Coalition cultivators in a calm and collected manner.

During this brief delay, all of them had fled to over 1,000 feet away, and the fast cultivator among them had already become a black dot in the distance.

Han Li heaved a faint sigh before grabbing onto a spirit beast pouch hanging from his waist and tossing it into the air.

A loud burst of buzzing rang out as a swarm of golden beetles emerged from within. The beetles split up into five smaller swarms at Han Lis behest before hurtling toward different directions as fast as lightning.

Meanwhile, Han Li flipped his palm over and the two yellow flags appeared again for his inspection.

The swarms of golden beetles and the fleeing cultivators disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.

Not long after that, golden light flashed in the distance again as the swarms of beetles flew back from different directions one after the other. The three White Water Sword Sect also flew toward Han Li behind the swarms of beetles, but they were looking at the swarms with horrified and traumatized expressions.

It appeared that the three of them had just witnessed the Gold Devouring Beetles devouring living people, and had been greatly shaken by that gruesome visual experience.

After Han Li stowed away the beetles into his spirit beast pouch again, the elderly man stepped forward in a respectful manner, and said, Thank you for saving our lives, Senior. If it werent for your intervention, the three of us would most likely be dead by now.

Theres no need to thank me, I only saved the three of you because I just so happened to be passing by anyway. Now that Heavenly Star City has been surrounded, the three of you wont even be able to access the island at your cultivations bases. You should hurry up and go back. I have no interest in carrying useless baggage while I try to break through that Heavenly Windfire Formation, Han Li replied in an aloof voice.

The three cultivators knew that Han Li was right, and wry smiles appeared on their faces. As such, after extending some further words of gratitude to Han Li, the three of them returned the way they had come.

Han Li looked on with narrowed eyes for a while as the three cultivators departed before flying toward Heavenly Star City.

A journey of several tens of thousands of feet was naturally not a very lengthy one for Han Li. Along the way, he noticed several groups of Starfall Coalition cultivators hidden beneath large rocks or under the surface of the ocean.

Even though none of them as powerful as the first group he had encountered, which had seven or eight Core Formation cultivators among their ranks, there were still two or three high-grade cultivators in each group. These people were clearly stationed here to take care of anyone who managed to escape from the Heavenly Star City.

Han Li couldnt be bothered to pay any heed to these cultivators. He simply transformed into a faint azure shadow and glided soundlessly through the air above them.

None of these Starfall Coalition cultivators were alerted to the fact that they had just brushed shoulders with death.

When Han Li was only just over 50 kilometers away from Heavenly Star City, he finally saw some flashes of red light in the distance. After drawing even closer, he discovered that the entire island had been completely enshrouded under a veil-like layer of azure and red light.

Furthermore, he could hear the sound of indistinct rumbling akin to thunderclaps coming from the direction of the island.

Han Li raised his eyebrows upon making these observations, and he quickly made a series of hand seals, following which the barely visible streak of azure light he had transformed into was completely concealed.

At the same time, Han Li decelerated significantly, approaching the island at a much more leisurely pace.

After flying for several tens of kilometers, the situation around Heavenly Star City was finally completely revealed to Han Li.

There were countless black spots visible on the surface of the ocean in the extremely far distance. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that these were spirit boats of all types of different styles and models.

Some of them were as tall as pavilions with intricate carvings running along their hulls, while some were only around 20 feet in length with very crude and simple designs. There was also great diversity in the materials that these boats were constructed from, including light green spiritual wood, pristine and flawless jade, and even some completely pitch-black iron boats that glistened under the sunlight.

Youre more likely not aware of this, Senior, but Coalition Leader Wan had set up 108 Windfire Copper Pillars, then gathered a few powerful formation spell masters to set up a Heavenly Windfire Formation around the island that Heavenly Star City is situated on, and hes using the boundless powers of fire and wind to attack the Star Palace. As long as the coalitions cultivators can guard the 108 Windfire Pillars, thatll be enough to trap the entirety of Heavenly Star City.

The hook-nosed man knew that he would be punished by the coalition for revealing this information, but the cold glare that Han Li had directed at him had tipped him over the edge, and in his horror, he blurted out this information without thinking.

As soon as those words escaped from his mouth, the hook-nosed man was sorely regretting his decision. However, even a Core Formation cultivator like him was aware of this information, so it clearly wasnt very confidential. With that in mind, he was feeling slightly more relieved.

A Heavenly Windfire Formation? Han Li stirred slightly upon hearing this.

He hadnt ever studied this formation in detail, but many of the formation spell tomes that he had read had mentioned this formation on quite a number of occasions. It was said that in ancient times, there was a restriction formation that could draw upon the powers of fire and wind within this world, and the staggering enormity of this formation was vastly renowned. If the Starfall Coalition had managed to set up such a formation, then there really was a possibility that they couldve used it to surround Heavenly Star City.

After all, with Wan Tianming guarding the formation core in person, even if the Star Palace cultivators managed to destroy a few Windfire Pillars, those pillars could be easily repaired. As long as the formation core remained intact, there was no way to truly destroy the formation.

A contemplative look appeared on Han Lis face. Meanwhile, tension was rolling off the bodies of the Starfall Coalition cultivators in almost palpable waves.

It didnt take a genius to be able to tell that Han Li was here to reinforce the Star Palace, so they were in a very perilous situation.

In contrast, the three White Water Sword Sect cultivators ensnared with the azure net were ecstatic. The elderly man hurriedly yelled, Senior, weve come here to reinforce the Star Palace, and those people are all cultivators from the Starfall Coalitions enforcement division. Theyve killed countless cultivators who have pledged their allegiance to the Star Palace, and they deserve to die countless deaths for their crimes! Dont let these people live, Senior!

All of the Starfall Coalition cultivators faces paled upon hearing this.

The two cultivators who were standing the farthest away from Han Li glanced at one another before flipping over their hands in unison, producing a small yellow flag each. They then immediately tossed those flags into the air, upon which they transformed into two yellow clouds that enshrouded the bodies of the two cultivators.

Within the blink of an eye, the two yellow clouds had completely vanished.

In the next instant, the yellow clouds appeared over 200 feet away before quickly disappearing again.

Teleportation? Han Lis pupils contracted minutely as a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

However, a cold chuckle then escaped his mouth as he abruptly raised a hand, feigning a grabbing motion toward the azure net that had ensnared the three White Water Sword Sect cultivators.

The two Starfall Coalition cultivators controlling the net felt as if a resounding boom had rung out directly in their heads, and they were struck by an intense spell of dizziness.

They lost control of the All-Encompassing Net as a result, and it reverted back into a ball of azure light, allowing the three ensnared cultivators to escape while the net landed in Han Lis hand.

Han Li paid no heed to the words of gratitude extended toward him by the three rescued cultivators as white and azure light flashed behind him, materializing a pair of wings on his back. The wings flapped gently, and Han Li disappeared amid a gust of wind. It was quite clear that he had set off in pursuit of the two cultivators who had just teleported away.

The remaining Starfall Coalition cultivators were both shocked and elated to see this, and they all glanced at one another before fleeing in different directions.

Han Li was an extremely fearsome enemy, so they were certainly not going to take a gamble with their lives and hope that Han Li would spare them out of the kindness in his heart.

However, the three White Water Sword Sect cultivators were naturally unwilling to allow their enemies get away. As such, all three of them let loose enraged roars as they also set off in pursuit of the Starfall Coalition cultivators.

In the distance, two muffled thumps erupted in mid-air. Immediately thereafter, white light flashed, and two yellow clouds shot back as if they had been struck by some kind of immense force.

A gentle breeze blew past, and Han Li appeared out of thin air, appraising the two yellow clouds nearby with a cold deriding sneer on his lips.

A third inky-black eye had appeared over his glabella, and it disappeared again following a flash of black light.

The two Starfall Coalition cultivators within the yellow clouds were revealed again with bloodstained robes and extremely pale faces. They both appeared to have been severely wounded, and were in a state of shock and horror.

Ever since they had obtained these two Yellow Sand Buddhist Flags, they had managed to use them to escape from Nascent Soul cultivators on several occasions. As such, they were extremely confident in the ability of this pair of treasures. Otherwise, they wouldnt have dared to flee the scene even after witnessing Han Lis fearsome might.

However, Han Li had merely thrown two nonchalant punches through the air, and their confidence had been completely shattered. Only then did they realize that this young man was even more fearsome than they had anticipated.

Even so, the two of them certainly werent going to give up and allow themselves to be killed.

Thus, they immediately gritted their teeth and let loose loud cries in unison as they blasted mouthfuls of blood essence into the yellow clouds.

The clouds immediately tumbled and surged before turning into a crimson color. The two cultivators then began to join their voices in a chant, clearly preparing to unleash their final trump card.

A cold light immediately appeared in Han Lis eyes as he abruptly opened his mouth. Two piercing streaks of yellow light shot forth from within, appearing in front of the crimson clouds in the blink of an eye before instantly puncturing them.

Two anguished cries rang out from within the crimson clouds before the two cultivators plummeted toward the sea down below.

Right at this moment, Han Li pointed a finger at them expressionlessly.

The two small golden swords emerged from thin air again before revolving around the two Starfall Coalition cultivators. Balls of golden light erupted, instantly enshrouding the two cultivators within, following a vast expanse of blood began to rain down from above.

Han Li didnt even afford the two a chance to unleash their secret technique before putting an end to their lives.

Only then did he wave his hand toward the two crimson clouds.

The crimson light on those clouds quickly receded, and they reverted back into yellow clouds before flying toward him.

Han Li cast two incantation seals, both of which disappeared into the clouds.

As the yellow clouds approached him, they transformed into two yellow flags again before being stowed away up his sleeve.

These two ancient treasures were quite useful for fleeing from perilous situations. Of course, they served no purpose for him, but they would be extremely valuable for his disciples.

After stowing away his two flying swords, Han Li turned his attention toward the rest of the fleeing Starfall Coalition cultivators in a calm and collected manner.

During this brief delay, all of them had fled to over 1,000 feet away, and the fast cultivator among them had already become a black dot in the distance.

Han Li heaved a faint sigh before grabbing onto a spirit beast pouch hanging from his waist and tossing it into the air.

A loud burst of buzzing rang out as a swarm of golden beetles emerged from within. The beetles split up into five smaller swarms at Han Lis behest before hurtling toward different directions as fast as lightning.

Meanwhile, Han Li flipped his palm over and the two yellow flags appeared again for his inspection.

The swarms of golden beetles and the fleeing cultivators disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.

Not long after that, golden light flashed in the distance again as the swarms of beetles flew back from different directions one after the other. The three White Water Sword Sect also flew toward Han Li behind the swarms of beetles, but they were looking at the swarms with horrified and traumatized expressions.

It appeared that the three of them had just witnessed the Gold Devouring Beetles devouring living people, and had been greatly shaken by that gruesome visual experience.

After Han Li stowed away the beetles into his spirit beast pouch again, the elderly man stepped forward in a respectful manner, and said, Thank you for saving our lives, Senior. If it werent for your intervention, the three of us would most likely be dead by now.

Theres no need to thank me, I only saved the three of you because I just so happened to be passing by anyway. Now that Heavenly Star City has been surrounded, the three of you wont even be able to access the island at your cultivations bases. You should hurry up and go back. I have no interest in carrying useless baggage while I try to break through that Heavenly Windfire Formation, Han Li replied in an aloof voice.

The three cultivators knew that Han Li was right, and wry smiles appeared on their faces. As such, after extending some further words of gratitude to Han Li, the three of them returned the way they had come.

Han Li looked on with narrowed eyes for a while as the three cultivators departed before flying toward Heavenly Star City.

A journey of several tens of thousands of feet was naturally not a very lengthy one for Han Li. Along the way, he noticed several groups of Starfall Coalition cultivators hidden beneath large rocks or under the surface of the ocean.

Even though none of them as powerful as the first group he had encountered, which had seven or eight Core Formation cultivators among their ranks, there were still two or three high-grade cultivators in each group. These people were clearly stationed here to take care of anyone who managed to escape from the Heavenly Star City.

Han Li couldnt be bothered to pay any heed to these cultivators. He simply transformed into a faint azure shadow and glided soundlessly through the air above them.

None of these Starfall Coalition cultivators were alerted to the fact that they had just brushed shoulders with death.

When Han Li was only just over 50 kilometers away from Heavenly Star City, he finally saw some flashes of red light in the distance. After drawing even closer, he discovered that the entire island had been completely enshrouded under a veil-like layer of azure and red light.

Furthermore, he could hear the sound of indistinct rumbling akin to thunderclaps coming from the direction of the island.

Han Li raised his eyebrows upon making these observations, and he quickly made a series of hand seals, following which the barely visible streak of azure light he had transformed into was completely concealed.

At the same time, Han Li decelerated significantly, approaching the island at a much more leisurely pace.

After flying for several tens of kilometers, the situation around Heavenly Star City was finally completely revealed to Han Li.

There were countless black spots visible on the surface of the ocean in the extremely far distance. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that these were spirit boats of all types of different styles and models.

Some of them were as tall as pavilions with intricate carvings running along their hulls, while some were only around 20 feet in length with very crude and simple designs. There was also great diversity in the materials that these boats were constructed from, including light green spiritual wood, pristine and flawless jade, and even some completely pitch-black iron boats that glistened under the sunlight.

After hearing the information provided by the two Core Formation cultivators, Han Li was feeling a lot more assured.

It was quite clear that Ling Yuling had requested for his help through the use of the Myriad Distance Talisman so he could oppose the Sect Master of the Myriad Gates of Enlightenment. Speaking of this Wan Tianming, Han Li had actually seen him in the Heavenvoid Hall before.

This man had left him with a rather negative impression, and he always appeared as if he were plotting something. However, Han Li was quite surprised to hear that this man was able to reach the late-Nascent Soul Stage.

The Heavenly Star Sages, who had perished along with the Archsaint of the Six Paths and Wan Sangu, would clearly have been unable to anticipate this. In their minds, the Star Palace wouldve surely already defeated the Starfall Coalition and reigned supreme over the Scattered Star Seas again, so there would be no need to request any external assistance.

However, Han Li really didnt see this Wan Tianming as much of a threat.

This Sect Master Wan had progressed to the late-Nascent Soul Stage even later than he had, so there was no way that he was a match for Han Li. Following his period of seclusion, Han Li had further bolstered his cultivation base, and his spiritual sense had also become vastly more powerful. Even if he were to come up against a Deity Transformation cultivator, he had the resources to ensure self-preservation, albeit just barely.

With that in mind, Han Lis thoughts quickly turned to the Divine Essencefused Light, as well as that legendary Divine Essencefused Mountain.

The Divine Essencefused Light cultivation art wouldnt be difficult to obtain. Apparently, this cultivation art wasnt exactly a well-guarded secret, so he would most likely be able to find a copy somewhere in the Scattered Star Seas. Even without recruiting the assistance of the Star Palace, he would also be able to find it as long as he was willing to expend some time.

However, the Divine Essencefused Mountain was an extraordinary object, and it was difficult to say whether there would even be another mountain of a similar nature in the human world.

He didnt know whether this mountain was a mandatory element for cultivating the Divine Essencefused Light, but many high-grade cultivators in the Scattered Star Seas were aware that the Heavenly Star Sages had only begun using this cultivation art after discovering the Divine Essencefused Mountain. As such, this mountain was at least very helpful to those cultivating the Divine Essencefused Light. Otherwise, as aforementioned, this cultivation art was not that difficult to obtain, and far more people would be using it, but that was clearly not the case.

With these thoughts racing through his mind, Han Li nodded absentmindedly toward the two Core Formation cultivators and left some parting words of gratitude before flying away as a streak of azure light.

Throughout this entire process, he hadnt asked anything about why the two were fighting, nor which of the two sides they had pledged their allegiance toward.

The two of them stood on the spot and looked on with respectful expressions at Han Lis departing figure. Only after the azure streak of light truly disappeared into the distance did they turn to each other in unison, upon which hints of animosity reappeared in their eyes.

However, after Han Lis interruption, neither of the two were in the mood to fight anymore, and after trading a few verbal insults, both of them departed in a rather sheepish manner.

At this point, Han Li was already over 50 kilometers away.

…

Over the surface of the ocean several tens of thousands of kilometers away from the Heavenly Star City, there were a dozen or so streaks of light hurtling toward the city.

This group consisted of cultivators who varied in age, but all of them wore identical attire, so it was quite apparent that they belonged to the same sect or power.

Perhaps it was due to the fact that they had gotten close to Heavenly Star City, but hints of complacency had crept onto their faces, and some of them had even begun conversing through voice transmissions.

Right at this moment, a sudden turn of events abruptly unfolded.

Brilliant white light erupted from the surface of the ocean beneath the group of cultivators, following which a dozen or so pillars of white light shot forth from down below. Following a string of rumbling explosions, all of the cultivators were struck aside from the three Core Formation cultivators with the highest cultivation bases, who had barely managed to evade the surprise attack just in the nick of time.

Howls of anguish immediately erupted as these people were reduced to nothingness amid the pillars of white light.

The three remaining Core Formation cultivators were naturally shocked and infuriated upon seeing this, and they immediately summoned their respective treasures as they hurriedly cast their eyes downward.

Right at this moment, seven or eight streaks of light emerged from within the ocean, rising up into the air before surrounding the three Core Formation cultivators.

One of the remaining elderly cultivators seemed to have recognized one of the people that they had been surrounded by, and a resentful expression appeared on his face as he cussed, Starfall Coalition dogs!

A middle-aged man with a set of sinister features chuckled coldly as he asked, Hehe, If it isnt Brother Lu of the White Water Sword Sect? Going by your logic, doesnt that make the three of you Star Palace dogs? Also, hasnt your sect declared itself to be completely neutral? Why are you heading to the Heavenly Star Island?

Hmph, why do you insist on asking a question you already know the answer to? Our White Water Sword Sect has always been a branch of the Star Palace, so its naturally our duty to provide the Star Palace with our assistance during its time of need. Thats enough chit-chat, lets go! The elderly man aimed a vicious glare at the opposing middle-aged man before barking an instruction to the two Core Formation cultivators beside him.

The three cultivators then swayed and transformed into three streaks of light as they flew toward a certain direction. Furthermore, as they rushed away into the distance, the three streaks of light suddenly combined into one massive pillar of intertwining red, yellow, and white light several tens of feet in length, sweeping toward the opposing Starfall Coalition cultivators in that direction with astonishing.

It appeared that the elderly man knew that his trio would be no match for such a large number of enemies, and he immediately decided to escape.

However, the two Starfall Coalition cultivators situated in that direction werent flustered in the slightest at the sight of the oncoming three-colored pillar of light. Instead, they merely glanced at one another before raising their hands in unison.

A vast expanse of azure light suddenly erupted from their hands without any premonition, catching the three-colored pillar of light completely off guard before ensnaring them within the azure light.

The two of them then began to chant something, and azure light flashed as a massive azure net was revealed, trapping the three Core Formation cultivators. All three of them were attacking the net with all their might, but were still unable to break free.

Haha, cease your futile struggles, Brother Lu. This All-Encompassing Net was given to us by an elder of our sect. With your Core Formation Stage cultivation bases, theres no way that youd be able to break free from it. Besides, even if you did manage to escape, it wouldnt do you any good anyway. The entire Heavenly Star City has been surrounded by our Starfall Coalition, and itll only be a matter of time before its vanquished. Allow me to send you three on your way first! The middle-aged man chortled as he abruptly opened his mouth. A small white sword shot forth from within, flying directly toward the three Core Formation cultivators trapped within the net.

Oh? From the sounds of it, Heavenly Star City seems to have been surrounded for some time already. Can you tell me about the situation here? An unfamiliar male voice suddenly rang out nearby, and was clearly audible to everyone present.

Whos there?! The middle-aged mans heart jolted with shock as he hurriedly surveyed his surroundings with a wary expression.

The other Starfall Coalition cultivators also hurriedly released their spiritual sense, and they also began to look around with bewilderment and caution on their faces.

However, their search proved to be completely futile, and all of them could only look at one another with confusion in their eyes.

What are you all looking for? Im right here, arent I? The unfamiliar chuckled coldly, following which azure light flashed in front of the three ensnared White Water Sword Sect cultivators, and a humanoid figure was revealed.

This was an azure-robed young man who appeared to be in his twenties, and he was appraising the Starfall Coalition cultivators around him with an indifferent expression.

The two Starfall Coalition cultivators closest to the young man swept their spiritual sense toward him, upon which their expressions changed drastically, and they exclaimed in unison, A Nascent Soul cultivator?

Even though they couldnt ascertain Han Lis exact cultivation base, there was definitely no mistaking the fact that he was a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The middle-aged mans expression also changed upon hearing this. He carefully sized up the young man before him, and a look of astonishment and horror suddenly appeared on his face. Immediately thereafter, he made a hand seal without any hesitation and fled into the distance as a streak of white light. Following just a few flashes, he was already several hundred feet away.

Not only was Han Li slightly surprised to see this, the other Starfall Coalition cultivators were also quite flabbergasted.

Even if this young man were a Nascent Soul cultivator, with so many Core Formation cultivators present, they should still have been able to at least put up a fight. Furthermore, that middle-aged man was the leader of the group, and his cultivation base was the pinnacle of the late-Core Formation Stage, so why was he fleeing the scene before they had even verified whether this young man was friend or foe?

You recognize me?

This young man was naturally none other than Han Li, who had finally gotten here after over a month of intensive traveling.

His expression darkened as he casually flicked a finger toward the distance, upon which a red line immediately shot through the air amid a piercing whistling sound.

The red line swayed and completely disappeared. Meanwhile, an anguished cry suddenly rang out from within the streak of white light several hundred feet away.

The white light dissipated, and a humanoid ball of fire plummeted into the ocean, where it sank like a lead weight.

Han Li merely waved a hand through the air in a nonchalant manner, and that same sharp whistling sound erupted again as that red line flashed through the air, disappearing into the Han Lis hand in the blink of an eye.

Han Li turned his gaze toward the other cultivators, and asked, Are you willing to answer my questions now?

Even though Han Lis voice wasnt very loud nor deliberately menacing, all of the Starfall Coalition cultivators felt chills run down their spines.

Only then did they realize why the middle-aged man fled without so much as a second thought.

The man standing before them was clearly unfathomably powerful, and they didnt appear to have any chance of victory even if they were to attack all at once. Most importantly, he seemed to be harboring a lot of enmity toward their Starfall Coalition!

With the precedent of the middle-aged man being insta-killed, all of the other Starfall Coalition cultivators were feeling quite weak in the knees, and none of them dared to act recklessly.

After a while, a man with a hook nose cleared his throat and forced a smile onto his face as he asked, What questions do you have for us, Senior?

Didnt I already state my question? Do you want me to repeat myself? Han Li turned toward the man with a cold expression.

The hook-nosed mans heart jolted, and his smile stiffened even further as he hurriedly replied, My apologies, Senior, Ill answer your question right away. The Star Palace has indeed been surrounded by our coalition already. Otherwise, we wouldnt dare to appear in an are so close to the Star Palace.

I see. Looks like your Starfall Coalition decided to attack before the announced date to catch the Starfall Palace off guard. Youll also be able to kill all of the cultivators loyal to the Star Palace in the process. What a great ploy youve devised. A hint of a smile appeared on Han Lis face as he spoke.

Im not aware of the specific details. Our cultivation bases are not very high, and we only did as we were told, the hook-nosed man replied with a sheepish smile.

But even if the Starfall Coalition has gained the upper hand in this battle, Heavenly Star City is an extremely massive place, even with tens of thousands of cultivators gathered, theres no way that theyd be able to surround the entire city, right? Han Li asked.

Han Li traveled directly toward Heavenly Star City, passing by a few islands along the way, but he showed no intention of stopping at any of them.

However, he soon discovered that all of the cultivators that he encountered along his journey were also all in a rush.

If two groups of unfamiliar cultivators bumped into one another, both sides would immediately adopt wary expressions, and the atmosphere would become extremely tense.

This observation made Han Lis brows furrow, and he could sense the turmoil brewing within the Scattered Star Seas.

As he approached the massive island upon which the Heavenly Star City was situated, he saw more and more traveling cultivators. Aside from groups of cultivators locked in tense confrontations, there were even some who were engaged in fierce battles, and it was quite apparent that all of the participants in those battles were not holding back at all, clearly intent on killing their enemies.

In the beginning, Han Li paid them no heed. However, as the instances of such battles increased in regularity, Han Li knew that this most likely had something to do with the conflict between the Starfall Coalition and the Star Palace.

Even though it appeared that the Starfall Coalition was dominating the battle, the Star Palace had been ruling over the Scattered Star Seas for such a long time, so they had to have some trump cards up their sleeves. Furthermore, they also shared close ties with many of the large sects in the Scattered Star Seas. Those ties were not very apparent under normal circumstances, but those powers would definitely step in when the Star Palace was truly on the cusp of destruction.

The fact that there were cultivators who clearly belonged to neither the Star Palace nor the Starfall Coalition participating in the battles seemed to indicate that the Star Palace really was at the end of the road. After all, none of the other major powers would step in unless their intervention was absolutely mandatory.

Of course, Han Li wasnt just going to plunge headfirst into the conflict between the Star Palace and the Starfall Coalition without doing some research first. However, it was difficult to acquire any useful information from low-grade cultivators as they simply didnt know much themselves. As such, even though he encountered many Foundation Establishment cultivators along the way, he didnt stop to interrogate any of them.

On that day, he was hurtling through the air as a streak of azure light when all of a sudden, his expression changed slightly, and he turned toward a certain direction in the distance.

He stalled briefly in his flight before flying toward that direction.

With Han Lis current cultivation base, it only took him several flashes while flying at full speed to cover a distance of over five kilometers.

There, he cast his gaze downward, and a hint of a smile appeared on his face.

In the air at a lower altitude down below, there was a black-robed elderly man and an intimidating burly man locked in a fierce battle with one another, while manipulating a shimmering yellow flying sword and an azure ring treasure respectively.

Coincidentally, these two were both at the mid-Core Formation Stage, and their treasures seemed to be roughly comparable in power as well. As such, they were completely evenly matched.

If neither of them had any other treasures or trump cards up their sleeves to vanquish their opponent in one fell swoop, Han Li estimated that it would take them at least most of a day to reach a decisive result in their battle. Furthermore, it didnt appear as if either man would be capable of killing the other, so the battle would most likely conclude with one side fleeing following a close defeat.

Han Lis sudden arrival naturally came as quite a surprise to both the elderly man and the burly middle-aged man. They reflexively stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Han Li with wary expressions on their faces.

Both of them swept their spiritual sense toward Han Li, upon which their expressions changed drastically.

In order to draw less attention to himself, Han Li had concealed his cultivation base to only the early-Nascent Soul Stage. However, that was already enough to intimidate two Core Formation cultivators.

The two of them waved their hands through the air almost in unison to stow away their respective treasures, immediately following which the elderly man hurriedly extended a respectful bow toward Han Li, and said, I am Bi Xun of Fallen Spirit Island. May I have the honor of knowing your esteemed name, Senior?

The middle-aged man also extended a respectful bow to Han Li with a fawning expression on his face as he asked, Do you require our assistance, Senior?

Han Li crossed his arms with an indifferent expression, and said, You dont need to know who I am. I havent been here for many years, so I have some things to ask the two of you.

The two men were very relieved to hear that Han Li was merely coming to them for information, and the elderly immediately said, Well be sure to tell you everything we know, Senior!

Han Li nodded upon hearing this, and immediately began to inquire about the events that had taken place in the Scattered Star Seas during the past century.

The two men naturally regarded Han Li as a Nascent Soul Stage senior who had been in an extended period of seclusion, and they hurriedly offered launched into a recount of the past events.

Over 100 years ago, the demon beast of the outer seas took over many islands inhabited by humans, and delivered an ultimatum for all human cultivators to vacate themselves from the outer seas. A battle between the humans and the demon beast naturally erupted as a result.

Strangely enough, neither the Star Palace nor the Starfall Coalition deployed many cultivators to participate in this battle. Instead, many itinerant cultivators and disciples from smaller sects who were benefitting directly from those islands gathered on a large island where teleportation formations had been set up, and engaged in a fierce battle with the demon beasts.

To call it a battle would actually be inaccurate as in reality, it was just a bunch of human cultivators on a few islands, desperately trying to keep the demon beasts at bay by making use of some of the restrictions on the islands.

Cultivators who dared to participate in this battle possessed Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation bases at a minimum. It was said that tens of thousands of cultivators were gathered, and even when split up, there were still around 5,000 to 6,000 human cultivators on each island.

However, as soon as the battle began, all of the islands were completely surrounded by countless low-grade demon beasts, thereby severely denting the morale of the human cultivators, who had initially been brimming with confidence. In the end, the human cultivators only lasted about half a month before all of the islands were conquered by the demon beasts.

Apparently, not even a single high-grade metamorphosis stage demon beast had participated in the battle. All of the restrictions on the island had been vanquished by low-grade demon beasts, of which there seemed to be an almost infinite number, and just their efforts alone were enough to conquer all of the islands.

In the outer seas, the human cultivators were no match for the demon beasts, so they had no choice but to retreat back to the Inner Seas, then destroyed all of the teleportation formations leading to the outer seas, and temporarily relinquishing everything they had established there. At that point, the Outer Star Seas had once again become the domain of the demon beasts.

Of course, the human cultivators hadnt actually completely given up on the Outer Star Seas. After a few centuries or perhaps even a few millennia of recuperation, the humans were most likely going to return to the outer seas. After all, the countless demon beast in the outer seas provided a virtually endless supply of demon cores to be harvested, and that was simply far too important of a resource for the cultivators of the Scattered Star Seas to abandon.

Another piece of information that Han Li took note of was that the Heavenly Star Sages had passed away several decades ago.

However, prior to their deaths, they had invaded the main base of the Starfall Coalition, using the might of their Divine Essencefused Light to kill several Starfall Coalition Nascent Soul cultivators. The Archsaint of the Six Paths and Wan Sangu were in a secret chamber, discussing some important matters at the time, and they were forced to emerge and face the Heavenly Star Sages in battle.

The two of them had thought that the Heavenly Star Sages were bound to Heavenly Star City as they couldnt distance themselves from the Divine Essencefused Mountains, which was why they had been caught completely off guard by this surprise attack.

After that, a series of events that stunned the entire Scattered Star Seas unfolded.

The Heavenly Star Sages had no intention of engaging the Archsaint of the Six Paths and Wan Sangu in a prolonged battle. Instead, they unleashed some type of secret technique from the get-go, detonating all of the Divine Essencefused Light that they had arduously cultivated for several centuries at once, creating a doomsday-like explosion that had razed the entire main base of the Starfall Coalition to the ground.

The Archsaint of the Six Paths and Wan Sangu were situated closest to the epicenter of the explosion, and even their Nascent Souls didnt get a chance to escape before they were instantly reduced to nothingness.

As such, the most powerful beings of the Star Palace and the Starfall Coalition had been wiped off the face of the world in the blink of an eye. In comparison, the Starfall Coalition had been reduced to a far inferior state compared to the Star Palace.

After all, the Archsaint of the Six Paths and Wan Sangu werent the only ones who had perished during the attack. At the time, there were several elders and a high number of Core Formation cultivators present at the main base as well, and they had also been killed.

As expected, in the following two to three decades, Ling Yuling took over the Star Palace and forced the Starfall Coalition into a steady decline, making the latter lose a lot of territory in the process.

All of the sects that were a part of the Starfall Coalition had been placed on the Star Palaces hit list, so they had no choice but to grit their teeth and try to weather the storm. Otherwise, it was quite possible that the Starfall Coalition wouldve been disbanded a long time ago.

Just as it appeared as if the Starfall Coalition were about to be vanquished, an astonishing event suddenly took place, heralding the resurgence of the Starfall Coalition.

The Sect Master of the Myriad Gates of Enlightenment, Wan Tianming, progressed to the late-Nascent Soul Stage amid the crisis, becoming the newest great cultivator on the Scattered Star Seas.

As such, the Starfall Coalition was immediately able to turn the tables. As a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, Wan Tianming was able to unite the entire coalition, becoming the undisputed coalition leader. After that, he slew several Star Palace elders in battle, and forged a resounding reputation for himself.

In the following few decades, the Star Palace was no match for Wan Tianmings aggressive assaults as they had no great cultivators to stand against him. Thus, the Starfall Coalition stormed back with a vengeance, recovering all of their lost territories, then claiming some more. Soon, the Star Palace had been plunged into an even more perilous situation than when the Archsaint of the Six Paths and Wan Sangu were still alive. Not long ago, the Starfall Coalition had opened up a pathway into the Heavenly Star City, and sent out a batch of their Ghost Crests again. All sects and powers that received the crests had to confirm to whom they pledged their allegiance. If they didnt join the Starfall Coalition in their assault against the Star Palace, then they would be regarded as enemies of the Starfall Coalition, and would be eradicated as a result. The Starfall Coalition was all set to attack the Star Palace, and were taking no prisoners.

Sure enough, Wan Tianming backed up his threat by actually destroying a few sects that were allied with the Star Palace, and the entire Scattered Star Seas was completely riled up as a result.

The sects that had pledged their allegiance to the Star Palace and the Starfall Coalition, as well as the sect that simply wanted to take a neutral stance, were all forced to take action. Some of them completely shut off their sects and hid within their restrictions, some of them fled to the Heavenly Star City for refuge, and there were many that took this opportunity to expand by taking over abandon territories.

In any case, the Scattered Star Seas was in complete turmoil.

The Starfall Coalitions army of cultivators took this opportunity to gather on a few islands near the Heavenly Star City, and it appeared that they had deployed all of their most powerful cultivators in preparation for the final battle.

it appeared that Wan Tianming didnt want to prolong this battle any longer. He simply wanted to destroy the Star Palace and end this conflict once and for all.

However, when was the battle going to commence? And how many cultivators had been gathered on the islands near Heavenly Star City?

Neither the elderly man nor the middle-aged man could provide answers to those questions.

Most of the cultivators in the Scattered Star Seas wanted nothing better than to avoid this battle altogether, but many of them were simply unable to do so and were forced to take a side.

As for whether they had joined the Star Palace or the Starfall Coalition, that was only something that they themselves knew.

As such, there were spies all over the place trying to ascertain which side everyone was allied to, plunging the area around the Heavenly Star City into complete turmoil.

Furthermore, it only became more and more chaotic as one approached the Heavenly Star City.

Han Li had heard all of the information he wanted to hear, and he fell into deep thought, sparing the two Core Formation cultivators from further interrogation.

In the State of Yue, located in the center of the Heavenly South Region, there had been wars raging almost constantly among in the cultivation world, and rarely were there any prolonged periods of peace.

The six sects in the State of Yue were first vanquished by the Devil Dao, and following that was a war among the sects of the Devil Dao for supremacy and control over the State of Yue, a war that was won by the Ghost Spirit Sect in the end. However, around a century ago, the Ghost Spirit Sect had lost many of its high-grade cultivators during the battle in the Devilfall Valley, and the Controlling Spirit Sect took advantage of this opportunity, allying with the other sects to force the Ghost Spirit Sect out of the State of Yue.

As such, the State of Yue had since been split among the Devil Dao sects with the Controlling Spirit Sect as their new leader. The current might and influence of the Controlling Spirit Sect allowed them to take over close to half of the spirit veins and spirit mines in the State of Yue, and one of those spirit mines was situated underground beneath a certain large valley.

The spirit stone reserves here were initially quite abundant, but following relentless excavation for the past several centuries by the six sects of the State of Yue, then by the Ghost Spirit Sect and the Controlling Spirit Sect, the supply of spirit stones had finally begun to run dry, and the mine itself was in a semi-abandoned state.

Aside from two Qi Condensation disciples from the Controlling Spirit Sect, there were no other cultivators present to guard the spirit mine.

On that day, the two Controlling Spirit Sect disciples were standing at the underground entrance of the mine, chatting about some recent events that had taken place within the sect. Meanwhile, on the surface of the ground above their heads, an azure humanoid figure burrowed soundlessly into the earth using an earth movement technique, then appeared within a certain nondescript cave in the deepest part of the mine.

Throughout this entire process, the two Controlling Spirit Sect disciples were completely oblivious to his arrival.

Yellow light flashed, and the humanoid figure revealed himself to be a young man with a set of mundane features. He took a glance at an empty corner of the cave, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

This man was naturally none other than Han Li, who had traveled all the way from the State of Xi.

A month ago, after coming out of seclusion in the State of Xi, he hadnt encountered Nangong Wan.

Nangong Wan cultivated in a manner that was different from Han Li. During the past century, she had come out of seclusion on several occasions and traveled to all parts of the Heavenly South Region for extended periods of time in order to train her mind.

When Han Li had finally emerged from seclusion, Nangong Wan had re-entered her secret chamber several years prior to that, and was in the midst of her next spell of seclusion and cultivation.

Han Li was rather disappointed, but nor was he going to disrupt Nangong Wans cultivation just to see her again. Instead, he merely sent her a voice transmission talisman, informing her of the fact that he was going to be embarking on a long journey, then visited L Luo and Liu Yu in the Drifting Cloud Sect.

The two of them were naturally ecstatic to see Han Li.

During the past century or so, the two had worked tirelessly to expand the Drifting Cloud Sect, and it had now become one of the handful of most renowned sects in the Heavenly South Region. During this time, Song Yu had already reached the Nascent Soul Stage, becoming the fourth Nascent Soul cultivator of the Drifting Cloud Sect.

Han Li was naturally quite pleased to hear this. What was surprising to him was that after many years of searching, Song Yu finally found a disciple who possessed an inherently powerful spiritual sense from birth over 10 years ago. However, due to the fact that Han Li was still in seclusion at the time, this disciple was left to cultivate in the sect on their own. Apparently, the disciple also possessed quite an exceptional spiritual root aptitude with a dual-attribute spiritual root.

Han Lis heart stirred upon hearing this, and he immediately requested to meet this disciple. He discovered that this disciple was a slightly thin and frail-looking 16 to 17-year-old young man with a set of delicate features.

Han Li examined the young man in person to find that he did indeed possess an inherently powerful spiritual sense from birth, one that was several times more powerful than cultivators of the same cultivation base. Most importantly, the young man had a very honest and steady personality, which Han Li was very pleased with.

Thus, he cut straight to the point and asked the young man if he were willing to become his disciple.

The young mans name was Shi Jian, and he was already aware of who Han Li was. As such, he was naturally overjoyed that the number one cultivator in the Heavenly South Region was willing to take him as his disciple. As such, he immediately fell to his knees and kowtowed to Han Li, officially becoming his disciple.

Han Li chortled heartily before taking the young man back to the interconnected peaks. He erected a new cave abode for the young man on one of the peaks, and also gave him a copy of the Great Development Treasure Scriptures.

He reinforced to the young man the importance of cultivating the Great Development Technique, but allowed him to choose any other cultivation art in the treasured scriptures that he wished to cultivate alongside the Great Development Technique. The Monarch of Soul Divergence was an extremely talented cultivator, so there were many cultivation arts enclosed in his treasured scriptures.

Shi Jian was still only a Qi Condensation Stage disciple, and Han Li left him a sufficient number of pills to support his cultivation. He also summoned his other disciple, Tian Qiner, to instruct Shi Jian in his cultivation while he was away.

Even though Tian Qiner possessed the Dragon Cry Physique, she was also able to cultivate her way to the mid-Foundation Establishment Stage during the past century with the assistance of the large number of pills given to her by the humanoid puppet. Just as Han Li had expected, it appeared that it wouldnt be impossible for her to reach the Core Formation Stage.

After accepting the young man as his disciple, Han Li felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

Before the Monarch of Soul Divergence had passed away, he had asked Han Li to find a disciple in his stead to pass the Great Development Treasured Scriptures onto. As soon as the young man reached the Core Formation Stage or above, Han Li was planning to bestow upon him several powerful treasures, then send him to the Far West so he could take over as the Thousand Bamboo Sect Master and receive the inheritance left behind by the Monarch of Soul Divergence.

As for Mu Peiling, who was also residing in a cave abode on one of the interconnected peaks, Nangong Wan had bestowed upon her a secret technique from the Masked Moon Sect, and she had been able to cultivate it to make great strides in her cultivation, reaching the late-Core Formation Stage. She was in seclusion day and night, arduously cultivating her magic power so she could attempt to break through to the Nascent Soul Stage.

However, Han Li wasnt very optimistic about her future prospects. Mu Peilings aptitude was far from mediocre, but almost every Nascent Soul cultivator had to encounter a miraculous opportunity that was unique to them before reaching the Nascent Soul Stage. Mu Peiling was working extremely hard in her cultivation, but if she didnt encounter such an opportunity, her chances of reaching the Nascent Soul Stage were quite abysmal.

After taking care of everything that required his attention in the sect as well as within his own cave abode, Han Li immediately departed from the Dreamcloud Mountains and headed straight for the State of Yue.

After all, from the message that Ling Yuling had sent him, the Star Palace was in a very perilous situation and was being completely dominated by the Starfall Coalition. Otherwise, she wouldnt have resorted to sending out a request for help using her Myriad Distance Talisman.

Han Li didnt want to delay for too long before getting to the Scattered Star Seas, only to find that Lin Yuling had already perished in battle.

Now, he was back in the underground cave that the ancient teleportation formation had been situated in.

Even though he had intentionally destroyed the teleportation formation on the previous occasion he had been here, he simply had to repair it before he could teleport to the Scattered Star Seas.

What came as quite a relief to Han Li was that there were only two Qi Condensation cultivators guarding this place. Even the most basic of concealment techniques could ensure that the two of them didnt notice that anything was amiss.

With that in mind, Han Li grabbed the storage pouch hanging from his waist before tossing it into the air.

The storage pouch spun in the air before the opening of the pouch turned upside-down, and a burst of white light erupted from within, heading directly toward the ground.

The white light receded, and a large pile of materials about half as tall as a grown man was revealed. The majority of the pile consisted of various types of strange rocks and stones.

Han Li waved a hand upward expressionlessly, and white light began to flash within the storage pouch again.

On this occasion, a dozen or so formation flags and several formation plates shot forth from within. All of the hovered in mid-air following their emergence, shimmering with spiritual light of all types of colors.

Han Li chanted something before gently sweeping his sleeve toward their formation tools.

All of a sudden, these treasures transformed into streaks of light of various different colors, flying in all directions before disappearing into the walls of the cave in a flash.

Large swathes of white mist then began to billow out from within the walls of the cave, concealing Han Li within in the blink of an eye.

If a cultivator were to walk past the cave at this moment, they would simply be greeted by the sight of an empty cave within which nothing was amiss.

The restriction created by the formation had completely concealed Han Li as well as that large pile of formation materials.

Meanwhile, Han Li was already busy at work.

With his current wealth of knowledge and experience, it was an extremely simple matter for Han Li to set up a small teleportation formation, provided that there were enough materials available.

As such, a brand new teleportation formation had been erected in the corner of the cave in just two days.

After examining the formation one last time, Han Li cast an incantation seal toward it.

White light flashed from the center of the formation, following which a burst of buzzing rang out. Immediately thereafter, spiritual light flashed over various spots on the teleportation formation before fading of their own accord.

It appeared that there were no issues with the teleportation formation, so Han Li could use it immediately.

Han Li was elated to see this, and his body swayed before appearing within the teleportation formation in the blink of an eye.

However, just as he was about to activate the formation, he cast his gaze around the cave, and a hesitant look appeared on his face. After a brief period of contemplation, he suddenly patted one of the spirit beast pouches hanging from his waist.

A hissing sound rang out, following which the pouchs opening widened, and a burst of white wind and snow erupted from within.

Immediately thereafter, 12 snowy white centipedes were revealed. Each of them had two pairs of wings on their backs, and they were all very menacing in appearance.

After releasing these Six-Winged Frost Centipede, Han Li chanted something before casting an incantation seal toward them.

All of these centipedes immediately shrank to around the size of a palm each at Han Lis behest. They then opened their mouths to blast out bursts of glacial Qi which enshrouded their bodies, sealing themselves in a block of ice.

Moments later, a series of remarkably translucent balls of ice appeared before Han Li.

Han Li flicked his 10 fingers toward the balls of ice in quick succession, and 12 azure threads shot forth, instantly disappearing into the balls of ice. The 12 ice balls then plummeted downward in unison, disappearing into the ground amid a flash of yellow light.

Only then did Han Li nod his head with a satisfied expression.

With 12 seventh grade demon beasts guarding this place, even a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldnt be able to easily destroy the teleportation formation here. As such, he was feeling a lot more reassured.

Han Li then immediately activated the teleportation formation beneath his feet, and disappeared amid a flash of white light.

Following a rush of dizziness, Han Li appeared on an island tens of millions of kilometers away.

He swept his gaze around him to find that everything remained the same as they had been during his last visit. It appeared that this place was quite obscure and hadnt been discovered by any other cultivators.

Han Li strode out of the teleportation formation, and slashed his hand through the air behind him without even turning his head.

A streak of golden flashed past, and the teleportation formation behind him was sliced in half amid a resounding boom.

Han Li then emerged expressionlessly from within the stone chamber.

Moments later, a streak of azure light rose up into the air from the island, then shot forth toward a certain direction and disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

Within the secret chamber on the main peak of the Dreamcloud Mountains, everything was enshrouded in a vast expanse of white mist. It seemed that a restriction had been set up within the entire secret chamber.

At the center of a chamber sat a man with his legs crossed and azure light shimmering all over his body. Around him were five pristine white jade-liked humanoid skeletons that were also seated with their legs crossed.

These skeletons were enveloped in a layer of greyish-white devilish Qi, yet all of their mouths were slightly agape, and there were respectively black, white, blue, yellow, and green flames shimmering within.

The azure humanoid figure sitting at the very center of the chamber had his palm almost joined together in front of his chest, and there was a ball of indistinct purple flames burning between his hands.

This humanoid figure was none other than Han Li, who had been seclusion for an indeterminate number of years.

All of a sudden, silver light flashed on the wall, and another azure humanoid figure appeared within the restriction, standing next to the wall in a completely stationary manner.

After a long while, Han Li suddenly opened his mouth, and the ball of purple fire was sucked into his mouth as a purple line of flames.

In contrast, the five skeletons nearby all closed their mouths, and the different-colored flames within disappeared in a flash. Immediately thereafter, the greyish-white devilish Qi over their bodies quickly receded to reveal the skeletons, which had turned into different colors that matched their respective flames.

At this moment, Han Li slowly opened his eyes, but they were still completely glazed over. Only after a long while did his pupils regain their clarity. He turned his gaze toward the azure humanoid figure off to the side, and his brows furrowed slightly.

That azure humanoid figure was naturally none other than the humanoid puppet, which Han Li had left outside the cave abode. During these past few years, Han Li would summon the humanoid puppet to him at regular intervals to assimilate it with the second Nascent Soul again, but aside from that, the puppet was left to look after the cave abode. Now that it had suddenly appeared here, something important that had to be brought to his attention mustve happened. reewebovel.com

Han Li felt this to be rather strange. After all, the second Nascent Soul paired with the humanoid puppet was not inferior in power to a normal great cultivator, so what couldve happened that even it wasnt able to take care of? With that in mind, he immediately swept his spiritual sense toward the humanoid puppet and began to assimilate with the second Nascent Souls spiritual sense.

After around 15 minutes had passed, a peculiar look appeared on Han Lis face. The stationary humanoid puppet suddenly raised a hand before pulling an item out of the storage pouch hanging from its waist, then calmly handing it over to Han Li. Han Li immediately accepted the item to find that it was a broken jade talisman around half the size of a palm.

After injecting his spiritual power into object, many tiny crimson characters began to appear on its surface.

Han Li only glanced at these characters for a short while before a contemplative look appeared on his face. Fellow Daoist Endless Sky, youre also awake now, right? It looks like weve been in seclusion for a long time. Han Lis voice was slightly raspy and stiff from not speaking for so long.

Its only been about 120 to 130 years, not really all that long. Why do you say that? Do you want to come out of seclusion now? Youve reached a critical juncture in combining your glacial flames and Unbroken Cinque Devils, itll only take another decade or so before the five devils will be able to successfully refine the five type of glacial flames. Wouldnt it be a pity if you left now?

Spiritual light flashed, and a small cauldron flew out from within Han Lis sleeve. The cauldron hovered before him, and the figure of a small child appeared above it. In its current state, the demon beast appeared to be two or three years older than it was when it had first gone into seclusion with Han Li.

Han Li shook his head, and said, Its not really a big deal, I can just continue the refinement process when I come back. Its just that this Myriad Distance Talisman is revealing to me some news from the Scattered Star Seas. I once made a deal with the Heavenly Star Sages, and it looks like Ling Yuling is in trouble now, so I cant just ignore the situation.

The Heavenly Star Sages? You mean that late-Nascent Soul Stage couple from the Scattered Star Seas? Back then, I used a secret technique to examine their bodily conditions. The did have an abundance of magic power within their bodies, but they appeared to be approaching the ends of their lifespans at the time. Even if they havent been killed, theyve most likely passed away already. Otherwise, with that couple looking after the Star Palace, why would this Ling Yuling request assistance from you? the small child speculated.

The message that Ling Yuling sent me has indeed neglected to mention the Heavenly Star Sages, so its most likely the case that they truly have passed away already. This is an opportunity for me as well, Ive always been very interested in the Star Palaces Divine Essencefused Light. Ive carefully studied the methods to progress to the Deity Transformation Stage that the Heavenly Star Sages provided me with, and the only viable one is to completely master the Divine Essencefused Light. During this trip, I can go and obtain that cultivation method, Han Li mused.

Ive never heard of a cultivation art known as the Divine Essencefused Light in the Spirit Realm before, so this is most likely something created by a cultivator of this world. Wont you be dabbling in too many different areas if you use this cultivation art? Take care that you dont let these things distract you from your pursuit of the Great Dao, the small child cautioned.

Im aware of this. Prior to cultivating the Divine Essencefused Light, Ill make sure to progress to the pinnacle of the late-Nascent Soul Stage first, then try to use my glacial flames to try and break through the Deity Transformation Stage bottleneck. If I can succeed in doing that, then there would be no need to cultivate the Divine Essencefused Light. Otherwise, I have no choice in this matter, Han Li said with a grave expression.

If thats the case, then I dont really have anything else to say. I also know many methods that can help once progress to the Deity Transformation Stage, but its a shame that they would be ineffective in this world due to the sparse spiritual Qi here. By the way, how have you been cultivating for the past century? The magic power within your body seems to have grown a lot more abundant, the small child asked after assessing Han Lis bodily condition.That may be true, but Im still far away from reaching the pinnacle of the late-Nascent Soul Stage. Its going to take me at least another 50 to 60 years of cultivation to get there, and thats only through constantly taking all types of pills as well. If I were to cultivate through meditation alone, I most likely wouldnt be able to reach that point even after an entire century, Han Li heaved a forlorn sigh.

At this moment, Han Li suddenly thought of the Fuschia Cloud Pill that he had refined in that mysterious medicine garden. If he had a sufficient number of such pills, he would be able to accelerate his rate of cultivation by severalfold.

It was a pity that certain types of spirit herbs required to refine the Fuschia Cloud Pill had already gone extinct, and it was impossible to take those spirit herbs out of the medicine garden and plant them in the outside world. At his current cultivation base, the pills that he was taking had a very limited enhancement effect for him, and he was rather dissatisfied with their efficacy.

Furthermore, he hadnt been wasting the green liquid in that mysterious vial during these past years, either. After setting aside a sufficient amount to satisfy his pill refinement requirements, the rest of that liquid had all been used to cleanse his spirit eyes and mature his spirit insects.

However, he stopped cleansing his spirit eyes after just over 20 years over. This was because after cleansing his spirit eyes countless times, the Brightsight Spirit Water no longer provided any benefits to him. As such, it wouldve been simply wasteful to continue cleansing his eyes with the spirit water.

Despite that, Han Lis spirit eyes had already undergone a drastic transformation.

After injecting spiritual power into his eyes, not only was Han Li able to see through clouds and mist, he could see objects that were 10,000 feet away as clearly as if they were right before his eyes. In that case, unless he found himself confined within a restriction that cut off ones spiritual sense, his spirit eyes would prove to be extremely pragmatic and useful to him.

After maturing for over 100 years, the Six-Winged Frost Centipede finally grew their second pairs of wings. As such, they had ascended straight from fifth grade demon beasts to become seventh grade demon beasts, and at the same time, they had attained the power to control wind and snow. If all 12 centipedes were to unleash their full power in unison, they could instantly transform an area with a radius of over five kilometers into a glacial land.

In contrast, the Gold Devouring Beetles showed no signs of imminent evolution yet. He had obtained a method from Saintess Tianlan to mature these beetles through the use of five-elemental spiritual Qi, but it was clearly not the right time to employ such a technique. It appeared that he was going to have to nurture these spirit insects for many more years before that course of action became applicable.

As for the Armored Earth Dragon that he had found in the Great Jin, which was only proficient in searching for heavenly materials and earthly treasures, it was also very content to cultivate by itself in the cave abode. However, judging from its cultivation base, it was still very far away from reaching the eight grade metamorphosis stage.

In terms of cultivation arts, Han Li was cultivating the Azure Essence Sword Art and the Great Development Technique at the same time.

Perhaps it was due to the changes in his spiritual root aptitude or perhaps it was because he really did have exceptional aptitude in spiritual sense cultivation, in any case, he was able to cultivate up to the final layer of the Great Development Technique in one fell swoop, and the process seemed to have gone even smoother than when he was cultivating the first few layers.

As such, his spiritual sense had become several times more powerful than it once was. If he could also cultivate the final layer of the Great Development Technique, then his spiritual sense wouldnt be inferior even to that of the average Deity Transformation cultivator.

Aside from the remarkable improvements in his spiritual sense, Han Lis current body was also powerful beyond belief.

In order to facilitate the cultivation of the Nine Gale Transformations, he cultivated the third layer of the Brightjade Arts. Even though it didnt take him much time to do so, the level of difficulty and the excruciating pain involved almost made Han Li give up midway. It was no wonder that very people reached the third layer or above, even in the Spirit Realm.

However, after cultivating the third layer of the Brightjade Arts, Han Lis had even surprised himself with how powerful his body had become.

At present, he was able to remain completely unscathed in the face of attacks from normal treasures without even having to unleash his protective spiritual layer.

As for the Nine Gale Transformations, that cultivation art had been extremely easy to progress in, and he had completely mastered it within the short span of a few years.

During his seclusion, Han Li had also refined a few treasures.

He naturally prioritized the refinement of the Wood Birth Bead, which would grant him the immortal body ability on one occasion. Coincidentally, the most important supplementary materials required to refine this bead were the Soul Nurturing Tree and the Spirit Well Tree, two of the three divine woods.

To others, these items were extremely difficult to find in the human world, but this was not an issue for Han Li.

As such, he was able to easily refine the Wood Birth Bead before absorbing it into his body.

Aside from this bead, he also refined the pair of poisonous hooks he had obtained from the Twin-Tailed Human Face Scorpion, as well as the fire dragon pillars he had sourced from the Kunwu Mountains into two sets of powerful treasures.

Han Li was tallying the rewards he had reaped during this period of seclusion when he suddenly waved a sleeve through the air, tossing out a black jade vial as he began to chant something.

The five skeletons nearby immediately shuddered as greyish-white devilish Qi abruptly surfaced over their bodies, transforming them into ghostly heads each around the size of a wagon-wheel. There were also devilish flames blasting out from the mouths of the ghostly heads, creating an extremely sinister sight to behold.

Han Li raised a hand and cast an incantation seal toward the ghostly heads, upon which they quickly shrank down to around the size of human fists. A burst of light then erupted from the black jade vials, sucking in all five ghostly heads.

Han Li stowed the jade vial away before rising to his feet.

He swept his sleeve toward a patch of white light on the wall of the secret chamber, and spiritual light flashed as the restriction within the chamber quickly receded, revealing the stone door at its entrance.

Han Li made his way over to the stone door expressionlessly, while the humanoid puppet disappeared on the spot amid a flash of silver light.

As for the white-robed Dong Xuaner, her vibrant red lips moved a few times, but she didnt say anything in the end. However, the expression on her face was slightly complex, seemingly a mixture of excitement and joy, as well as hints of distance and resentment.

Im overjoyed to see you here, Fellow Daoist Han, its certainly not too much trouble for me at all. You dont need to refer to me as senior this or senior that, either, just call me Big Brother Han. You seem to have reached the mid-Core Formation Stage already, looks like it wont be long before you progress to the late-Core Formation Stage, Han Li greeted with a smile.

The yellow-robed woman blushed slightly before nodding her head with elation upon hearing this.

Weve come here to thank Big Brother Han for sparing my life on two separate occasions. If another cultivator had been in your shoes, I wouldve most likely died twice already, Han Yunzhi said in a grateful voice.

Han Li faltered initially upon hearing before bursting into laughter. Looks like youve recovered all of your memories surrounding the Trial by Blood and Fire, and youre aware that I was responsible for what happened next.

Han Li was unconsciously regarding this woman as something like his little sister, and Han Yunzhi also harbored similar feelings toward Han Li. As such, they were only a few sentences into their conversation, but she had already forgotten Han Lis current lofty status and was speaking to him in an intimate manner as if he really were her elder brother.

As their conversation progressed, the two of them began to talk about the Great South Meeting and the Trial by Blood and Fire, and both of them were filled with nostalgia. Back when they had attended this meeting, neither of them couldve imagined that they would be standing where they stood today, 200 to 300 years down the track.

At the time, they had to look up to even Foundation Establishment cultivators.

All of a sudden, a thought seemed to have occurred to Han Yunzhi, and she abruptly turned to Dong Xuaner with a smile as she said, By the way, I met this Big Sister Dong during the ceremony. I heard that she was once a member of the same sect as Big Brother Han, and she has something she wants to speak to you about.

Fairy Dong and I did indeed once both cultivate in Yellow Maple Valley. However, it appears that your cultivation base hasnt progressed in the slightest since I last saw you, Fellow Daoist Dong. Only after hearing Han Yunzhis words did Han Li turn to Dong Xuaner with an indifferent expression.

Dong Xuaners face suddenly became quite flush, and she gritted her teeth with fury as she retorted, Its all because of you that I became like this!

Han Li was completely bemused.

Han Yunzhi also blinked with befuddlement in her eyes.

Han Li soon came to his senses, and was naturally unhappy to hear this. As such, his expression darkened as he asked, What do you mean by that, Fairy Dong? How could your stalling cultivation base have anything to do with me?

If it werent for the fact that you became an inner demon of mine, how could I have tried and failed to make breakthroughs on so many occasions? Its all because of you that Im still stuck at the mid-Core Formation Stage even after all these years! Dong Xuaners rage seemed to have also made her forget Han Lis current identity, and she began to vent all of her fury and frustration.

Inner demon? Han Li murmured to himself with a hint of bewilderment on his face.

Back when I was at the Yan Clan fortress, I was abducted by Tian Buque, and forcibly taken to back to the Harmonious Bond Sect. Only then did I discover my true lineage. It turns out that Im a directly lineal descendant of the Harmonious Bond Sects Old Devil Cloudpart. It was only through an accident that I ended up becoming a disciple of the Yellow Maple Sect. Before I was even born, Old Devil Cloudpart used a secret technique known as the Graceful Dream Art on me, which is a cultivation art related to cultivation and bewitching charming techniques. The cultivation art would significantly enhance my rate of cultivation, yet the easiest, but also the most difficult obstacle for cultivators using this cultivation art would be the trial of the inner demons. If it turned out to be easy, then the obstacle would be virtually non-existent and Id progress as easily as eating food or drinking water. However, if it proved to be difficult, then I could be impeded by my inner demons for the rest of my life, in which case my cultivation base would never progress. In fact, there have even been precedents in other cultivators using this cultivation art, where their inner demons have been too strong and their cultivation base had even been forced to regress as a result, Dong Xuaner spat through gritted teeth.

After a prolonged flabbergasted silence, a peculiar look appeared on Han Lis face as he asked, Even so, how did I become an inner demon of yours? Ive barely even met you before.

How would I know?! As soon as I reached the Core Formation Stage, you began to appear in my cultivation as my inner demon. Even though I was able to barely make a breakthrough to the mid-Core Formation Stage by recruiting some external assistance, I havent been able to progress ever since. I have to overcome the obstacles posed by my inner demons before I can continue to make progress. I also asked Old Devil Cloudpart about this, and he told me that the reason you became my inner demon was most likely because you used some kind of special cultivation arts in the past, and was immune to my bewitching charming techniques as a result. After that, when I was abducted and suffered backlash from my own bewitching charming technique, you left too strong of an impression in my heart, thereby becoming my inner demon.

Han Li was completely speechless.

Han Yunzhi was also completely bewildered.

After a long while, Han Li finally managed to compose himself. A cold light flashed through his eyes as he asked, I heard that you once deployed some people to search for me right after you progressed to the Core Formation Stage. If you had found me, how were you going to take care of your inner demons?

How else does anyone overcome their inner demons? They either have to do so by sheer force of will or destroy the subject responsible for the manifestation of their inner demons. Alternatively… At the time, I wanted to employ the latter of those two methods. Dong Xuaner was stuttering slightly as she spoke, and a blush suddenly appeared on her face, further enhancing her seductive charm.

Han Lis eyes narrowed initially upon hearing Dong Xuaners words, but after listening to everything she had to say, a surprised look appeared in his eyes. A thought then seemed to have occurred to him, and a slightly awkward expression surfaced on his face.

He was silent for a moment before asking, I know why youre here now. You want me to use my spiritual sense to pass my secret technique onto so you can overcome your inner demons, right?

Dong Xuaner had also recomposed herself as she willingly admitted, Thats right. I wanted to request for your help during the Moulan invasion, but at the time, youd already progressed to the Nascent Soul Stage, and I hesitated to approach you, thus missing out on that opportunity.

What makes you so sure that I would help you, Fellow Daoist Dong? Han Li asked with a faint smile on his face.

Youre already the number one cultivator in the Heavenly South Region, so I dont know if youd be willing to help a lowly Core Formation cultivator like me, either. However, if I want to have any chance of reaching the Nascent Soul Stage, then this is my only hope, Dong Xuaner replied with an indignant look in her eyes.

I know that we arent exactly on good terms with one another, but we were once both disciples of the same sect, and your inner demon did stem from me. Helping you out here wont be a difficult task for me, so I can lend you my assistance on this occasion, Han Li said in a slow voice.

Really? Dong Xuaner was elated to hear this.

It would be easy for my current self to help you overcome your inner demon, why would I lie to you? However, after this, the two of us will no longer have anything to do with one another. Dont expect me to lend you any further assistance in your cultivation, Han Li warned.

Dong Xuaners face paled upon hearing this, and she was silent for a moment before replying expressionlessly, Im already extremely grateful that youre willing to help me just this once, I wouldnt dare to dream of troubling you any further.

Alright, take a rest here for three days, Fellow Daoist Dong. Three days later, Ill come back here and help you overcome your inner demon, Han Li replied calmly.

Dong Xuaner nodded in an aloof manner and refrained from speaking any further.

After that, Han Li and Han Yunzhi chatted for a while longer before he departed from the pavilion.

Five days later, Dong Xuaner and Han Yunzhi departed from the Drifting Cloud Sect one after the other, returning to their respective Controlling Spirit Sect and Harmonious Bond Sect.

After receiving Han Lis help in overcoming her inner demons, Dong Xuaner would encounter no further impediment during her attempt to progress to the late-Core Formation Stage. Meanwhile, Han Yunzhi received many treasures and pills from Han Li, and he also entrusted her with a letter addressed to the grand elder of the Controlling Spirit Sect.

When Han Li descended in front of his cave abode as an azure streak of light, there was a young woman in a white palatial dress waiting for him with a smile on her face. As soon as Han Li arrived, she asked in a gentle voice, Why did Little Sister Yunzhi leave so soon? You couldve asked her to stay for a few more days.

Theres no need for that. Spending a few days here with me is enough for her. Han Li shook his head with a smile.

By the way, I just received some news about your other soulmate, that Violet Spirit woman, she reached the Nascent Soul Stage several years ago, and has since embarked on a journey to the Great Jin. You probably wont be able to see her for a while, Nangong Wan said with a hint of a smile on her face.

Han Li smiled, and replied, With Violet Spirits aptitude, its no surprise that she was able to progress to the Nascent Soul Stage. As for whether shes here in the Heavenly South Region or not, thats completely inconsequential. Well naturally meet again if were fated to do so. Also, Im getting some tool refinement materials sent here in a few days, and I plan to go into seclusion after that. I want to get to the pinnacle of the late-Nascent Soul Stage as quickly as possible, then completely master the Great Development Technique. After that, Ill fuse the five types of glacial flames with the Unbroken Cinque Devils.

Sure. I was just thinking about making a breakthrough to the late-Nascent Soul Stage as well. Hopefully, well both have achieved our objectives when we come out of seclusion. Nangong Wan nodded with a gentle smile.

Haha, I certainly hope that would prove to be the case. However, in the days before I go into seclusion, youll have to keep me company in my lonely nights. A sinister look suddenly appeared in Han Lis eyes as his eyes roamed over Nangong Wans sensitive regions.

When did you become such a smooth talker? Nangong Wan scoffed with a deep blush on her face, but the amusement in her eyes was quite apparent.

This is the first time anyone has called me a smooth talker in my life. Youre probably the only one wholl get to see my smooth-talking side. Han Li threw his head back and chortled heartily as his laughter echoed throughout the interconnected peaks.

Within the cave abode on another peak, a young girl was reading a jade slip in her hand, and her concentration was broken by Han Lis raucous laughter.

A sweet smile also appeared on her face before she turned her attention back to her jade slip.

Han Li sat within the guest pavilion and fiddled around with the Wood Spirit Bead for a while. Just as he was about to stow it away along with the other two treasures, the voice of a small child suddenly rang out. Fellow Daoist Han, are you really planning to keep this bead?

Han Li faltered slightly before his brows furrowed, and he asked, Why do you ask? Is there something wrong with this Spirit Gathering Bead?

Hehe, theres nothing wrong with the bead itself, but dont you know that Spirit Gathering Beads are inherently flawed treasures? If you use this bead to cultivate, your cultivation base and magic power will indeed progress at a phenomenal rate, but once you reach a bottleneck, youll know what the inherent flaw in this treasure is. High-grade cultivators who use this bead to cultivate will find it many times harder to break through bottlenecks than other cultivators. This is because while the bead does increase your rate of spiritual Qi absorption, it also blunts your sensitivity toward the other types of spiritual Qi. For cultivators below the Nascent Soul Stage, the negative effects stemming from that wont be very apparent. However, for a cultivator like you, who will need to sense all types of the worlds origin Qi in order to make a breakthrough, this bead is more trouble than its worth. As such, the Spirit Gathering Bead is indeed a treasure thats very tempting to use, but in the Spirit Realm, its only given to low-grade cultivators with mediocre aptitudes. No high-grade cultivator would ever use something like this, the small child explained in detail.

Is that so? So what youre saying is that this treasure is completely useless to me.

Thats not necessarily the case. If you can find a few rare wood-attribute materials, youll be able to convert this bead into another type of treasure known as the Wood Birth Bead. That bead wont be able to accelerate your cultivation, but after you completely refine it, youll able to attain the immortal body ability. Even though youll only be able to use that ability once, itll save your life in a perilous situation, the small child replied.

Immortal body? Han Li was very surprised to hear this.

He had been yearning for such an ability for a long time. However, he had only seen this ability present in extremely powerful demon beasts, elder devils, and devilish corpses that had undergone devilfication. He had never heard of any human cultivator who had managed to attain this ability.

Thats right. Each Wood Birth Bead will allow you to unleash immortal body ability once. Following the abilitys activation, even if you get decapitated or your entire body gets cut in half, youll be able to make a full recovery, the small child replied with a chuckle.

Really, now? But if I can only use it once, doesnt that make it a disposable treasure? Han Li was quite tempted, but also a little skeptical.

Being able to unleash the immortal body ability once will be enough to save your life under some circumstances, why do you still look so dissatisfied? In any case, the other wood-attribute ingredients required to craft the Wood Birth Bead will be very difficult to find in the human world, and its yet to be seen whether youll even be able to refine the treasure, the small child harrumphed with a hint of displeasure on his face.

What other materials do I need? I have a pretty big collection of wood-attribute materials, Han Li replied with an unfazed smile.

Ill give you a copy of the list of required materials, but if you want me to tell you the refinement method, youll have to give me some things in return, the small child said in a straight forward manner.

Sure. Feel free to tell me what you need, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky. The fact that the small child was making demands came as quite a relief to Han Li. If the Endless Sky Beast were willing to tell him the refinement method free of charge, he wouldve been feeling quite uneasy instead.

After all, even though the two of them had built up a certain level of camaraderie following the lightning tribulation, it was still quite a stretch for them to refer to one another as friends. Thus, Han Li remained rather cautious of the Endless Sky Beast.

He wasnt naive enough to think that they were best friends after just a few mutually-beneficial deals and exchanges. The Endless Sky Beast was mostly helping him because he was the owner of the Heavenvoid Cauldron, and the demon beast was unable to escape from the cauldron, so he had no choice but to appease Han Li to a certain extent.

Even though Ive successfully reached the metamorphosis stage, I still require some medicines to fortify my cultivation base. Im sure youll be able to easily secure those medicines for me, Brother Han, the small child proposed.

No problem. Give me a list of what you need along with the refinement method, Han Li replied without any hesitation.

Alright, when you get back to the cave abode, Ill give you the list of required materials, the refinement method, and a list of the medicines Im looking for. The small child was very pleased with Han Lis straightforward reply.

Han Li smiled upon hearing this before placing the Wood Spirit Bead back into its wooden box, then flipping his hand over to stow all three treasures away into his storage pouch.

All of a sudden, a cold light flashed through Han Lis eyes as he asked, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky, do you think the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators were aware of the Wood Spirit Beads inherent flaw?

Thats hard to say. From the sounds of it, this bead was abandoned long ago by ancient cultivators, and information about its inherent flaw doesnt appear to have been passed down. If a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Ghost Spirit Sect specializing in wood-attribute cultivation arts had used bead before, then they would definitely have been able to identify its flaws. Otherwise, theres no way to tell detect anything wrong just from the bead itself. Are you suspecting that those three are trying to prevent you from reaching the Deity Transformation Stage? the small child asked.

Han Li stroked his chin, and deduced, That was my initial thought process, but then, I realized that theres no motive for the Ghost Spirit Sect to do such a thing. After all, even if I cant reach the Deity Transformation Stage, Im already a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, and Ill still be the number one cultivator in the Heavenly South Region. Arent they afraid that Ill identify the flaw in the bead and destroy the entire Ghost Spirit Sect in a fit of rage? There must be more to this story than meets the eye. Let me think about this, the mastermind behind all this whos trying to use the Ghost Spirit Sect against me is most likely a cultivator from the Heavenly South Region, but why would it benefit them to prevent me from reaching the Deity Transformation Stage? Even if I dont reach that level, theres still no one in the Heavenly South Region whos a match for me. The only downside to this is that I wont be able to lengthen my lifespan, and Ill pass away after reaching around 1,000 years of age. As such, the period of time during which our Drifting Cloud Sect will be able to exert dominance over the other sects of the Heavenly South Region will be significantly curtailed. However, to normal sects, it doesnt really matter which sect reigns supreme in the Heavenly South Region. There are only a handful of sects who can contend for this position, and its most likely one of the Flowing Mind Sect, the Harmonious Bond Sect, or the High Zenith Sect. Alternatively, it could be all three of those sects joining forces to plot against me.

The small child was quite stunned by Han Lis analytical prowess, and only after a long while did a wry smile appeared on his face as he said, Now that you put it that way, things have been made a lot clearer. So you think that the other three late-Nascent Soul great cultivators are behind all this?

Han Li rose to his feet, and paced a few steps within the hall. He then looked up at the ceiling, and a cold smile appeared on his face as he said, Perhaps. In any case, this is all just speculation, who knows what could really be going on behind the scenes? Im not sure if Im right, either.

Its easy if you want to find out the truth, just capture one of those three, then use a soul search technique on them, the small child suggested with a low chuckle.

A sharp light flashed through his eyes, but he shook his head after a moment of contemplation as he said, It would be indeed simple to capture one of them, but thats beside the point. Even if Ive hit the nail on the head here, it would be inappropriate for me to attack any of those three sects without any concrete evidence. Otherwise, Ill be viewed as a public enemy. All other cultivators fear and revere me as the number one cultivator in the Heavenly South Region, but if I were to abuse that title, then more people would become resentful and fearful toward me. Maybe someone will take advantage of this opportunity to turn the entire Heavenly South Region against me. No matter how powerful I am, I wont be able to stand against the entire cultivation world of the Heavenly South Region, and there have been previous instances of something like this happening before.

Youre way too much of a coward, Han brat. If someone tried to plot against me like this in the Spirit Realm, hehe…, whatever, its up to you in the end. As long as you can keep yourself from getting killed, I wont try to influence your decisions, the small child said in a lazy voice.

Dont worry, now that I know there are people plotting against me, Ill be sure to be careful. As for this incident, Ill pretend to be oblivious to it for now. If whoevers behind this doesnt try any more little trick, then Ill let them be, but if they try something else, Im sure Ill be able to catch them next time. As soon as I find some concrete evidence, hmph! Theyll learn what it means to wish they were dead. Han Lis expression remained quite calm, but the menacing threat in his voice was quite apparent.

The small child merely chuckled without saying anything this time.

Han Li remained within the hall for a while longer before finally exiting the guest pavilion. He then turned his gaze toward another nearby pavilion, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He could understand Han Yunzhi coming to find him, but what business did Dong Xuaner have with him? He was not on good terms with the latter of these two women. Dong Xuaner was extremely beautiful, but she had left him with quite a negative impression.

However, there was also something else that Han Li was confused about. He had once heard from a Harmonious Bond Sect disciple that after Dong Xuaner had reached the Core Formation Stage, she had deployed people to search for him for a period of time. Why was that?

Han Li looked at the pavilion with a hesitant look, but still decided to make his way toward it in the end.

After entering the pavilion, he was greeted by the sight of two beautiful female cultivators, one of whom was standing while the other was seated in a chair, and both of them were completely silent.

The one in the chair was a yellow-robed woman with a set of gentle features, making her appear very warm and approachable. The one who was standing was an extremely seductive white-robed woman who gave off an air of frailty. However, that sense of fragile vulnerability evoked within the onlooker the urge to protect her, thereby further contributing to her allure. гeewenvel.com

Han Lis arrival immediately drew the attention of the two female cultivators.

Im quite surprised that you two came to visit me, Fellow Daoists. Were all old acquaintances and seeing you two evokes many past memories in me.

Han Li approached the two women with a faint smile on his face.

A hint of elation appeared in the yellow-robed womans eyes at the sight of Han Li. She hurriedly rose to her feet, but was seemingly at a loss for what to do as she said, Brother Han! No… Senior Han, I hope my visit isnt causing any trouble for you.