Рубрика: Путешествие к бессмертию

Volume 4: Across the Sea

Chapter 364: An Isolated Island and a Huge Ship

My head feels heavy! This was the first thought that came to Han Lis mind upon waking up.

After Han Li and Crooked Soul started the transfer, he felt immense pressure from the yellow light enveloping him. But fortunately, the Greater Displacement Medallion promptly released a faint azure light, causing the pressure to immediately disappear at the cost of it wildly draining the spiritual power in his body.

However, Han Li was prepared and wasnt alarmed. This change caused by the Greater Displacement Medallion had been described in ancient records.

In an instant, the medallion stopped absorbing Spiritual Qi and the yellow light around him faded away. He and Crooked Soul had arrived in a dark, indistinct place.

As there was very little light, Han Li was unable to clearly see his surroundings. But based on the silence, there shouldnt be anyone nearby. Han Li felt relieved and walked out of the spell formation.

But he felt a sudden burst of dizziness after just a few steps. His legs grew soft and he fell on his behind, feeling the urge to vomit from his discomfort. Han Li knew that the long distance teleportation had left him feeling unwell, and the severity of his current discomfort was caused by his low cultivation.

However, now was not the time to deal with it. He quickly commanded Crooked Soul to destroy the transportation formation.

Crook Soul expressionlessly took out the huge silver sword he was previously given and chopped the spell formation into pieces.

When Han Li saw this, he finally relaxed. He then sat on the ground and rested for a moment, eventually adapting to the darkness of the cave.

He had a vague feeling that this room seemed to have been abandoned a long time ago. Not only was it pitch-black, there was also a dense smell of decay. He touched the floor to find a thick layer of dust.

This caused Han Li to feel more at ease. At the very least, nothing dangerous would appear for the time being.

A long while later, Han Lis feeling of discomfort eventually passed, and he stood up using his hand to support him.

After that, Han Li took out a moonlight stone from his storage pouch and was able to clearly see the room. Just as he had suspected, this place was a stone room that had been uninhabited for a long time. There was nothing of note except for a stone door across from him.

Han Li turned his head to glance at the destroyed transportation formation. After a moment of hesitation, he turned his attention to the door and attempted to forcefully push it open. Much to his surprise, Han Li was able to easily open it.

This is… Han Li was astonished.

A huge flight of limestone stairs appeared before him. He slowly turned his gaze upward and saw that there was no end. Just like the room, the stairs also had a layer of dust on them. It was clear that no one had came here for quite some time.

After taking another look back at the room behind him, he discovered that the stone room was actually a small mountain cave.

Han Li pondered for a moment before lightly shaking his head with ridicule. He then slowly climbed up the stairs with Crooked Soul following behind him.

The flight of stairs wasnt very long. After turning a corner, Han Li was already able to see the exit. A huge mountain rock was blocking the round exit.

Han Li wrinkled his brow and commanded Crooked Soul without the slightest hesitation, Split it open! Han Li then took a step to the side.

Crooked Soul moved forward with a large stride and grasped the silver sword above his head. He easily chopped the rock into pieces as if it were soft tofu, allowing blinding sunlight to seep in along with a burst of fresh air.

Han Li took a deep breath in and out.

Ever since he was teleported here, he had held his breath, unwilling to breathe due to the strange scent within the cave. The fresh air was a liberation from the suffocating atmosphere.

However, he was a bit confused as to why the air was moist and had a faintly salty taste. He had never smelled such a unique scent before.

With that question in mind, Han Li walked past Crooked Soul and took a look outside with eyes squinting from the blazing sun.

Han Li was left stunned by what he saw. As far as the eye could see, he saw endless expanse of dark-blue water.

Han Li was lost in amazement for a long while before finally waking up.

Could this be the legendary sea? Han Li thought with pleasant surprise.

The largest bodies of water Han Li had seen previously were the huge hundred-meter-wide rivers at the Lan Province. He had heard of such a vast, limitless ocean in books, but now that he saw it with his own eyes, he felt a huge shock unlike any other.

After gazing at the scene from above, Han Li lowered his head and thought about his location, revealing some confusion a few moments later.

He was located on a relatively tall cliff and while the bottom of the cliff wasnt far, it bordered a huge ocean. Waves from the huge ocean repeatedly struck against the reef below.

Stroking his chin, Han Li pondered for a while.

The color of this oceans water was entirely different from the description of the endless sea, as it appeared to be the color of a normal sea. It seemed that he had been transported from the Heavenly South Region to the coastline of some unknown region.

Nevertheless, there was nothing that he could recognize here. Being outside of the Heavenly South Region, he felt uncertain and wasnt able to make out any familiar features in this place.

With that in mind, Han Li didnt immediately set off on his magic tool. Instead, he closed his eyes and slowly released his spiritual sense to see whether there were any cultivators nearby.

After the time it took to make a cup of tea, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense and revealed a strange expression.

He wordlessly released his Divine Wind Boat. With a flash of light, he soared through the sky without the slightest effort at concealment. After he was about a hundred meters in the air, Han Li stopped and stood at the front of the boat, surveying the scenery around him.

Everything he saw was tinted with deep blue light. The sparkling light of the seas rippling waves blurred Han Lis vision.

He was above an isolated island about six kilometers wide. As for the cliff he flew out of, it was only a small protruding hill on the island.

Han Li stroked his nose and bitterly smiled.

This was truly troublesome! Although there seemed to be no danger here, he was unable to cultivate on this island. The islands Spiritual Qi was extremely thin.

If he wanted to mature spiritual herbs, he would require a place with adequate Spiritual Qi. Otherwise, the green liquid would be ineffective. In addition, due to the strong spiritual nature of precious spiritual herbs, abundant Spiritual Qi was required. This left Han Li feeling very helpless!

Han Li sailed around the island once through and found that there werent any other islands nearby. In addition, this small island had no life aside from mountainous trees and small snakes. rewebnol.cm

As a result, he could only sigh and return to the cave.

Once he returned, Han Li first slept off his headache without any interruptions. He had previously worked on restoring the formation over many days without sleeping, leaving him completely exhausted. These problems were best tackled after he had slept his fill!

With Crooked Soul guarding him, Han Li slept soundly for an entire day.

Once he woke up, Han Li stood alone atop the mountain and stared at the sea while lost in thought.

After an unknown amount of time, Han Li expressionlessly flew down the mountain and found a suitably sized stone to block the cave.

Then, with Crooked Soul on board, he circled the vicinity on his boat and confirmed the direction of the setting sun before flying off without hesitation.

Han Li guessed that since there was nobody on the island with the transportation formation, there must be some other island or land nearby. Otherwise, who would head out to the middle of nowhere and construct such an expensive Ancient Transportation Formation.

Naturally, Han Li didnt know which direction was correct. He had already decided to fly in this direction for several days. If there were no traces of any cultivators or mortals, he would go back and fly in a different direction.

Although this method was extremely clumsy, it was Han Lis only choice in this unfamiliar sea. In any case, he had plenty of spirit stones in his storage pouch, he didnt have to worry about running out of spiritual power.

Perhaps Han Lis luck was especially good that day, he only had to fly for half a day before finding a huge seafaring ship.

Han Li was delighted. After all, dealing with mortals would be much smoother compared to negotiating with cultivators!

But Han Li felt a bit baffled upon looking at the huge ship. The hull of the ship strangely had no mast or sails. At the ship bow, there were over ten huge fish quickly pulling the ship forward.

Although these fish had huge bodies and a mouth filled with sharp teeth, he felt that they didnt possess the slightest Spiritual Qi and werent demonic beasts by any measure. If this were not the case, Han Li wouldnt have dared to go near the ship.

Chapter 363: Transfer

Not long after that, Han Li walked out of the tree hollow and flew off.

Han Li was even more cautious this time around. During his entire journey, he used his spiritual sense to its greatest extent. Upon hearing even the wind rustling the grass, he would immediately go into hiding. After all, it would be extremely dangerous to negligently run into a cultivator with his current cultivation.

Thus with paranoid levels of carefulness, Han Li eventually arrived back at his underground cave after taking up nearly twice the time he had been away. Only after he entered his Five Elements Reversal Formation did he truly let out a breath of relief.

As for Crooked Soul, he was still obediently sitting at the side of the formation. When Han Li saw that Crooked Soul had remained in the exact same posture that he had left him in, he couldnt help but smile.

Han Li knew that restoring his cultivation wasnt a matter requiring merely three or four years. As such, he didnt meditate or take any pills to cultivate. Instead, he spent the following days wholeheartedly focused on restoring the ancient transportation formation.

Under his current circumstances, travelling to a country far away was much too dangerous. He could only hope that he would be able to use the ancient transportation formation after restoring it.

Although Han Lis cultivation had greatly declined, it did not obstruct his restoration work. After a sleepless week, he had completely finished its restoration.

Han Li, a normally cool-headed person, felt his heart stir as he looked at the completed ancient transportation formation.

He was at the most crucial step with regards to failure or success. He had to test whether another transportation formation was safely connected to his. If the other end of the transportation formation was damaged or if it no longer existed, then it would naturally be of no use. He could only bury his thoughts of using the transportation formation and find another path forward.

With that in mind, Han Li calmly placed down low-grade spirit stones one after another on the edge of the transportation formation.

When he finished placing the last spirit stones, Han Li hastily took several steps back and couldnt help but look on with bated breath.

This ancient formation that was created countless years ago suddenly hummed and flashed with yellow radiance before quickly fading away into darkness.

Han Lis heart dropped! Could it be that the ancient transportation formation on the other end was disabled? This would mean that everything he had done was a complete waste!

Han Li couldnt help but reveal complete disappointment. But still, he was unresigned. He began walking in circles around the transportation formation with hands behind his back while occasionally muttering to himself.

He suddenly stopped and tightly creased his brow as if he had thought of something. He then crouched down and picked up the low-grade spirit stone at the center of the formation.

Han Li took a close look at it and let out a breath of cold air. The spirit stone was spent and no longer held any trace of Spiritual Qi.

Han Li revealed a thoughtful expression before suddenly brightening up. Without the slightest hesitation, he took out several sparkling mid-grade spirit stones and exchanged them with the low-grade spirit stones he had placed down before.

If he had guessed correctly, the formation didnt activate because low-grade spirit stones provided an insufficient amount of Spiritual Qi.

After placing down the final spirit stone, the transportation formation immediately started to emit a muffled hum before erupting with huge spiritual ripples. A blinding yellow light shot out from the center of the formation spell and shot outside the cave. The Five Elements Reversal Formation was unable to block it in the slightest.

When Han Li saw this, he was stunned. But something immediately came to mind, and his face turned deathly pale.

At nearly the same time, he suddenly heard huge rumbling sounds from outside the cave. Although he was protected by the huge formation, Han Li still felt the earth-quaking vibrations.

Han Lis expression grew tense, and he hastily beckoned Crooked Soul as he walked toward the transportation formation.

He couldnt help but hesitate. He truly had no idea where the transportation formation would take him. He had originally planned to verify what kind of place was at the other end. After confirming the absence of danger, he would then decide whether or not he should remain there. But now that the ancient transportation formation was exposed, this would be a trip of no return.

While Han Li was hesitating, he heard a frightening boom from above and looked up in fright.

He saw that the cave roof had been ripped away by some unknown magic tool and blinding sunlight shot through, clearly illuminating what was occurring in the cave. A large group of Devil Dao cultivators hovered above the now-exposed cave. They all revealed astonishment once they saw Han Li and the ancient transportation formation shining with yellow light.

You again? A furious yell came from the crowd of Devil Dao cultivators. Three people flew out.

The one in the middle wore a silver mask, the Ghost Spirit Sects Young Master Wang Chan. Two eccentrics stood beside him: a shriveled, white-haired old man and a young child with red lips and white teeth — the Li Brothers1. First introduced in chapter 254. They are Core Formation cultivators and the Ghost Spirit Sect Young Masters personal bodyguards. who previously appeared at Yan Ling Castle.

Ancient Transportation Formation! When the Li Brothers saw the origin of yellow radiance, they couldnt help but look at each other and shout out in pleasant surprise.

Wang Chan stared blankly for a moment. He then asked ecstatically, Did you see correctly? Is it really an Ancient Transportation Formation? Wang Chans voice trembled slightly. He clearly understood what an intact ancient transportation formation signified for ones sect.

The shriveled Li Brother chuckled. Just as he thought of saying something, his expression suddenly grew stricken, Not good! That brat is about to use it. Quickly, stop him! As he said this, he shot a streak of black light straight toward Han Li.

He knew that once the transportation formation was activated, there would be a moment of delay before it could be used. That delay was more than enough for him to kill any junior several times over.

But just as his magic treasure flew into the cave, a brilliant light erupted, and a rainbow barrier blocked the streak of black light.

The old man was surprised for a moment but immediately recovered. With a sinister expression, he yelled, Everyone, attack! This brat has laid down a formation spell. We must break through it as quickly as possible or else it will be too late!

Upon hearing the order from their sect elder, the Devil Dao cultivators promptly released their magic tools as if they had woken up from a dream. Even Wang Chan and the childlike Li Brother struck down upon the spell formation.

Han Lis Five Elements Reversal Formation was merely a simplified version of the grand formation. Under the attacks of two Core Formation cultivators and a crowd of Foundation Establishment cultivators, the rainbow light barrier immediately distorted and appeared as if it were about to collapse.

At that moment, Han Li had already brought Crooked Soul with him to the center of the formation. With a command medallion in hand and tightly shut eyes, he muttered under his breath, completely ignoring the attacks of the Devil Dao cultivators.

A Greater Displacement Medallion! That brat actually has such a magic tool? The old man snarled in a fluster upon clearly seeing the command medallion in Han Lis hand. He suddenly linked his hands together and a huge amount of black light threads surged, shooting down at the light barrier below.

The formation released several cries before finally reaching its limit and the rainbow light barrier exploded!

Without the strange rainbow light to protect him, the overbearing wave of attacks was about to engulf Han Li.

But at that very moment, Han Li opened his eyes and spouted out one word with an icy tone, Transfer!

The yellow light suddenly surged. Within the yellow radiance, Han Li and Crooked Soul disappeared without a trace. The wave of attacks had completely missed their mark.

The Devil Dao cultivators in the sky were left dumbstruck.

The complexions of Wang Chan and the Li Brothers were ashen. Since they didnt have a Greater Displacement Medallion, they were unable to chase after Han Li.

A moment later, the transportation formations yellow light suddenly faded away. Upon seeing this, Wang Chan and his guards grew incomparably furious.

Naturally, they knew that Han Li, the one who had just used this formation, had destroyed the other end. Even if they found a Greater Displacement Medallion, they would be unable to use the formation.

Wang Chan, with bitter resentment still fresh in his heart, was unwilling to give up. Using his status as the sects Young Master, he sent for several cultivators to guard the formation day and night for the mere purpose of preventing Han Li from escaping should he repair the formation and return. If that time came, he would make certain to capture Han Li alive and properly repay him for the great kindness of repeatly obstructing his plans.

But shortly afterwards, the Devil Dao would begin the next step of their expansion, and the Ghost Spirit Sects Young Master would start to oversee campaigns in other areas. As a result, this matter was quickly dropped to the back of his mind.

As for the cultivation world of the Heavenly South Region, it would remain in turmoil for a long time to come.

In the next two years, an alliance would be formed by the remaining countries to resist the powers of the Devil Dao and Righteous Dao Alliance, known as the Heavenly Dao Alliance, this created yet another superpower within the Heavenly South Region.

The three superpowers had near equal strength and campaigned against one another. After a short amount of time, it seemed that they had reached a stalemate.

As for the Six Sects, they eventually arrived at the Nine Nations Union. They contended with the local sects for natural resources such as spirit veins and spirit stone mines, managing to establish a new foothold. Naturally, if the Moulan Tribes Spell Soldiers were to invade the nine countries, the six sects would dispatch men to combat them. They no longer possessed the same leisure they had back at the State of Yue.

As a result, many Foundation Establishment cultivators and Core Formation experts perished in battle against the Spell Soldiers. Han Lis former master, Li Huayuan, was one such example, dying in an intense battle that took place over ten years later.

But in contrast, a new generation of Six Sect cultivators quickly matured. Many Core Formation cultivators eventually rose from the ranks of their Foundation Establishment cultivators…

Chapter 362: Nangong Bing

The woman appeared as gentle as always, but her words were as cold as a blades edge, causing Han Lis heart to tremble.

Han Li let out a long sigh, before saying something that left the woman somewhat surprised, Did Senior change her mind in the end?

It seems you arent completely useless! At the very least, you seem to have some brains. The woman calmly said.

If Senior truly wished to kill me, I never would have had the chance to open my eyes! Han Li chuckled.

I am called Nangong Bing. Dont call me Senior this or Senior that! It will make me seem old. The woman expressionlessly turned her head back and spoke with an unquestionable tone.

Han Li was stunned and inwardly insulted her, Since youre a Core Formation cultivator, doesnt that make you the age of an ancient woman in mortals years?

As Han Lis true essence had been absorbed by her, he naturally held a bellyful of stifled hate towards her. But since his life was currently in her hands, he could only inwardly curse at her.

Although I was mistaken for my elder cousin yesterday and was rescued under that presumption, in the end, you are still my savior! Furthermore, I unintentionally absorbed your true essence afterwards which did stabilize my injuries. The woman leisurely spoke with her back facing Han Li.

Lets leave it be. Since your esteemed self is Nangong Wans younger cousin, I was just out of luck! Han Li wrinkled his brow and spoke with a tone of helplessness. Afterwards, he stretched his arms and stood.

Papa. Han Li saw a white silhouette flash by, carrying a fragrant wind. The woman then gave him two heavy slaps, causing him to spin in place and fall to the floor.

You… Han Li covered his stinging cheeks in astonishment and looked at Nangong Bing in furious surprise.

Yesterday, you actually dared to touch my body with your hands without permission! Furthermore, you dared to lay… lay down on me while I was unconscious! Those two slaps were only to reprimand you! Nangong Bing spoke with a cold voice. But when she mentioned that Han Li had lain down on her, her face turned slightly red for just a moment.

Han Li was at a loss for words.

To give justifications for his breach of etiquette against a female Core Formation cultivator was simply asking for trouble. If he were to dispute it, it was likely hed be met with another two slaps! And now, with his cheeks feeling raw, there was absolutely no way he could do such a thing!

Furthermore, he faintly felt that the reason why she was treating him this way wasnt because of his actions yesterday. She was most likely venting her anger for what had happened between him and Nangong Wan.

With that in mind, Han Li strongly suppressed the fury in his heart and lightly caressed his swollen cheeks in silence.

Nangong Bing was somewhat surprised to see that Han Li had decided to tactfully let the matter go.

She had expected that Han Li would want to argue over yesterdays actions. In that event, she had planned to further embarrass Han Li without any explanation. But now that Han Li was tactfully silent, she had no excuse to further act.

As a result, she could only snort and speak bluntly, Since that matter has been resolved with the previous slaps, I must address the repayment of your great kindness. You have two choices. One is that I give you enough spirit stones to leave you at a loss for words. This would be payment for both your kind assistance and the loss of your cultivation.

As for the second choice, you could follow me back to my evacuated sect members. After our six sects restabilize, I can refine spirit pills and find a young female disciple from my sect for you to pair cultivate with, restoring your original cultivation at the quickest speed. As youve only lost your true essence, your recultivation will meet no bottlenecks. According to my estimates, you should be able to recover your original cultivation in less than twenty years. Naturally, I would be happy to perhaps repay you with a few of my own sects secret techniques during that time. Our Masked Moon Sect differs from the varied and disorganized techniques of your Yellow Maple Valley. Our sect has many secret techniques that are wondrous beyond imagination which cannot be divulged to outsiders. The technique I used to unintentionally absorb your cultivation yesterday is one of such techniques. After Nangong Bing said this with pride, she calmly stared at Han Li, waiting for his decision.

Han Li was lost in amazement. These two choices had a stunningly huge disparity!

One choice was to just leave him be with spirit stones. As for the other, not only would she assist him with restoring his cultivation, she would also find him a pair cultivation partner and willingly teach him a few secret techniques. As Han Li heard this, he became more convinced that this woman deliberately wanted him to choose the second option! This was truly strange. Could it be that she had arranged a trap for him?

He hesitantly glanced at Nangong Bing and saw an indistinct but complex expression as if she was both expectant and anxious.

Han Lis mind blanked in confusion. He gave his nose a firm rub and then folded his arms. With his right hand grasping his chin, he entered deep contemplation. rewebnol.cm

Han Li remained silent for no less than the time it took for a stick of incense to burn. But Nangong Bing could no longer wait and hastily asked, How about it? Have you come to a decision?

Han Li lifted his head and saw that she wore an impatient expression. After taking a thoughtful glance at her, he unhurriedly said, Ive decided. I choose the first option! Senior only has to give me the spirit stones. Senior need not worry further about me. I will think about how to recover my cultivation on my own! Han Li wore an indifferent expression.

When Nangong Bing heard Han Lis decision, she stared blankly before revealing a somewhat odd expression. She stared at Han Lis face for a moment before suddenly raising her hand, throwing over a red storage pouch.

The spirit stones are in there. There are also a few commonly used materials inside. Nangong Bings tone was gloomy and cold.

Han Li didnt pay her tone any mind and caught the storage pouch without formality, sweeping his spiritual sense through it. Although he had prepared himself, he was still astounded upon seeing the many tens of mid-grade spirit stones in the bag as well as an assortment of all kinds of materials.

Han Li suddenly revealed some joy and raised his head, eagerly asking, Does Senior have any more pieces of origin jade that she can spare?

The womans eyes flashed with surprise. After wordlessly searching her body for a moment, she handed Han Li several pieces of white jade, much to his delight.

He had now acquired the materials needed for restoring the transportation formation. He no longer had to go out and search for them.

Nangong Bing coldly stared at Han Li before expressionlessly saying, Is there anything else? If not, then I will take my leave.

Oh… There is nothing left to trouble Senior with! Han Li shook his head after correcting his expression.

Nangong Bing then gave a charming snort before turning around and leaving the tree hollow.

But before she walked outside, she turned her head over and calmly said, Han Li, I dont know whether your choice was made out of stupidity or because you think yourself to be clever! A jade sword flew out from her sleeve. Her white silhouette blurred before appearing on the sword.

At that moment, Han Li lazily said something from behind her, Senior, please dont forget to send my regards to Nangong Wan!

Nangong Bing froze for a moment before wordlessly turning into a streak of white light, leaving the tree hollow far behind. It was unknown whether she had agreed or if she had completely ignored him.

Han Li bitterly laughed and rubbed his nose, simply dropping down to sit on the ground. He blankly stared outside the entrance and became lost in thought.

He still didnt understand how his cultivation was absorbed by that woman. Could it be that the techniques of the Masked Moon Sect were truly so overbearing? Was it even more strange than the Black Fiend Schools blood sacrifice?

However, Han Li believed that this cultivation art that absorbed others cultivation was certain to have many restrictions and flaws. Otherwise, the Masked Moon Sects cultivators would have long been at war with the cultivation world.

Han Lis presumption was somewhat correct.

It was a complete coincidence that Nangong Bing was able to absorb his true essence. After having made full use of her secret technique earlier, her own true essence had been greatly damaged. Had nothing happened, her cultivation wouldve faced a great decline. Although it wasnt enough to make her descend back into Foundation Establishment, she was certain to face a loss of several tens of years of bitter cultivation.

In addition, she believed that she wouldve fallen into the hands of the Devil Dao cultivators once her secret technique lost its effect. As a result, she clenched her teeth and activated the divine ability of her cultivation art, the True Art of Reincarnation.

Once this divine ability was used, anybody who used spiritual power to probe her body would have their true essence forcefully absorbed by the true essence whirlpool formed inside her body. Had she not awoken early and halted her technique, she wouldve absorbed every last shred of Han Lis cultivation.

Naturally, the restrictions of this strange divine ability were extremely demanding.

First of all, it required that her true essence was in a state of great deficiency.

Secondly, if she didnt absorb anybodys true essence during the duration of this technique, her true essence would explode, causing her to die. It could be said that this technique was partially suicidal.

But what made this technique the most undesirable was the fact that even if the user absorbed someone elses true essence, they would only be able to recover a fraction of their lost cultivation. This technique was unable to be used to increase ones magic power or cultivation.

Chapter 361: Mishap

As Han Li stomped on his Divine Wind Boat with one arm wrapped around the masked woman, Dong Xuaner blocked his way while covered in pink light.

Junior Martial Sister Dong, must you act? Han Li lightly sighed and spoke grudgingly.

Her eyes coldly glinted as she glanced down at the unconscious masked woman in Han Lis embrace. Dong Xuaner expressionlessly said, Han Li, if you wish to leave, you must first pass through me! I have always been curious as to why my Master Hong Fu had insisted on marrying me to you!

Also, did you really expect me to allow a Masked Moon Core Formation cultivator to easily escape? Dong Xuaners refined brow gradually frowned, and she wore a baleful expression.

Once she finished, Han Li didnt reply with words regarding old affection or other such nonsense. After all, he had used formation flags to hastily trap the other two within a simple illusion formation. It wouldnt keep them trapped for long.

Han Lis expression sunk and he said, Since its like this, then dont blame me for being ruthless, Young Lady Dong!

Han Li then loudly yelled and waved his hand, releasing two black lights and five streaks of white light. In addition, a tortoise shell appeared beside him and blocked his front. Afterwards, four puppet beasts appeared at both his sides. With gaping mouths, they shot out light beams as thick as a bowl.

He took action with the entirety of his power. He didnt have any notion of going easy on the fairer sex.

Once Dong Xuaner saw Han Lis ferocious offensive, her expression underwent great change.

She grit her teeth and waved her flawless hand, summoning a pink muslin cloth. Her hands then emitted a red-orange glow which combined with her muslin cloth to form a huge barrier of sparkling red light surrounding herself.

Dong Xuaner was convinced that even if Han Lis attack was more overbearing, it still wouldnt be able to break through the powerful barrier created from her Fire Phoenix Cloth and devilish arts.

As Dong Xuaner was basking in confidence, Han Lis Divine Wind Boat flashed with white light and streaked past her with a woosh.

Likewise, the magic tools that were in an overbearing attack made an immediate turn and quickly flew after Han Li.

Without fighting for even a moment, Han Li had instead used his attack as a misdirection, allowing for an immediately escape.

This was completely out of Dong Xuaners expectations! She blankly stood in place before her face deeply blushed. Just as she thought to furiously pursue Han Li, the four puppet beasts fired light beams on her.

Dong Xuaner could only wait until after the light beams faded away before hastily withdrawing her light barrier. But by that time, Han Li had already turned into a black dot in the distance and was about to disappear from sight.

Naturally, Dong Xuaner was unwilling to allow Han Lis trickery succeed. By making use of her wondrous movement technique, she ignored the four puppet beasts and set off in hot pursuit.

But a short moment later, that black dot in the sky flashed several more times and disappeared without a trace.

With a furious expression, Dong Xuaner swept the vicinity without finding a single trace of Han Li. She had no choice but to give up her pursuit of them and dejectedly return.

……

At this moment, Han Li was hiding in a loose earth mound to rest. A yellow barrier of light covered Han Li from all sides, but it didnt feel stuffy at all. It was quite fantastic.

Han Li hadnt thought that this low grade Earthsink Talisman, would prove to be useful someday. It seems that keeping all the talismans he possessed on his body was a correct decision.

A moment later, he felt that Dong Xuaner had left. Without leaving concealment, he carefully used his spiritual sense and confirmed that Dong Xuaner truly wasnt there before leaving the earth mound and speedily flying away.

……

Many hours later, Han Li carried the masked woman into the dry hollow of a large tree. The tree hollows previous master, a huge bear, was lying dismembered outside the cave.

Han Li gently lowered the masked woman to the ground and gripped her flawless wrist with deep concern, slowly releasing spiritual power into her blood vessels to take a look at her injuries. freewebnvel.cm

However, Han Li regretted having done such a rash action immediately afterwards.

Upon pouring just a slight amount of spiritual power into her body, a huge attractive force suddenly appeared and caused Han Lis spiritual power to wildly flood into her like a dam had broken.

Han Li was greatly alarmed and attempted to let go, but he found that his hands were firmly stuck and was unable to break free. Unexpectedly, his other hand was also helplessly caught by this attractive force, causing his magic power to flow out at double the speed.

Han Li was aghast as he felt every drop of his bitterly cultivated true essence forcefully sucked out by the masked woman. To make matters worse, the attractive force only grew stronger as time passed, making Han Li lose his head from panic!

Not daring to repeat the same mistake by trying to by pushing her off with his legs, Han Li was at his wits end as his hands continued to be rigidly stuck.

Han Li could only helplessly stare on as his mid Foundation Establishment cultivation degraded to early Foundation Establishment, and then as early Foundation Establishment fell into Qi Condensation, and…

As he felt his heart bleed, Han Li found that he could not longer endure and his gaze blackened before he fainted and fell onto the body of the masked woman.

Fragrant… and soft! Before Han Li lost consciousness, this single lustful thought flashed through his mind.

As such, a man and a woman were intimately tangled with one another in a quiet cave. But since both of them were were unconscious, Han Lis spiritual power still continued to slowly and uncontrollably flow into the womans body.

……

After an unknown amount of time, Han Li eventually woke up in a daze.

But just as he drowsily opened his eyes, Han Li found himself looking at an attractive, slender silhouette standing outside the tree cave, surveying the scene outside with her back facing Han Li.

Han Li blankly looked on for a moment before feeling a severe headache. After holding back his voice with great difficulty, he recalled the event before he passed out. Fearful, Han Li hastily used his spiritual sense to examine his body.

His felt his heart drop to the deepest depths. Not only did his cultivation revert back to Qi Condensation, it had dropped to the third layer. He was left completely dumbfounded as if he had been struck by lightning.

While Han Li was at a loss, the slender woman softly asked without turning her head, Youre awake?

Han Li woke from his stupor, and with an unsightly expression, he couldnt help but furiously ask, Nangong Wan, what happened? I saved you with good intentions yet you absorbed my magic power.

Nangong Wan? You know my elder cousin? The woman finally turned around. She had already taken off her hood, allowing Han Li to clearly see her face.

Han Li was shocked!

Although her extremely beautiful appearance was quite similar to Nangong Wan, her delicate oval face along with her delicate eyebrows were completely unfamiliar to Han Li.

Who are you? How is this possible? I clearly heard the Devil Dao cultivators called you Senior Nangong! And your voice… Han Li blankly murmured to himself in complete confusion.

But suddenly, his complexion turned deathly pale and couldnt bring himself to speak further.

This was because he finally recalled the clear but subtle difference between this womans voice and Nangong Wans voice. Her voice was more hoarse. At the time, he had believed that Nangong Wan was severely injured, causing her voice to change as a result. However, this oversight had caused this mishap to occur. Not only did he mistakenly rescue someone, but his cultivation had been sucked dry by the person he rescued.

Over ten years of bitter cultivation had completely disappeared in a day!

As Han Li felt both dismay and dejection, his complexion alternated between red and white.

This female cultivator, who claimed to be Nangong Wans younger cousin, gave Han Li a dignified smile and said something that left him stunned. Are you Yellow Maple Valleys Han Li?

How does Senior know my name? Han Lis spirit strongly shook. Since he saw that this woman had no intentions of killing him and with reassuring thoughts of the Three Essence Revolutions Technique, he managed to calm down.

Elder Cousin and I are as close as sisters. We hide nothing from each other. She had spoken to me about your previous incident! The womans expression was indifferent, neither joy nor anger could be made out.

Han Li was speechless.

Did you know? When I found out about this incident, my first thought was to run over to Yellow Maple Valley and dismember you into eight pieces, feeding your corpse to the dogs! The womans eyes suddenly flashed with cold light. Her words were filled with a murderous tone, leaving Han Li pale.

Chapter 360: Halfway to Calamity

Dong Xuaner, who was standing by the side of the gorgeous man, was also enveloped by the mans rainbow barrier. In an instant, the three had hastily flown back.

A spiteful strike from a Core Formation cultivator was not something the three of them could endure!

The swordlight filled the sky and closely pursued them for about forty meters before suddenly vanishing without a trace. At the same time, the womans slender body swayed as if she were about to fall.

The Ghost Spirit Sects Young Master and the gorgeous man grew elated upon seeing this and turned their retreat into a charge.

As Han Li watched on from below, his face stiffened and he subconsciously patted his storage pouch. The thirteen Redline Shadowchaser Needles flew out, and he quickly drew them back with his hands.

Even if he were to put himself in danger, Han Li couldnt allow Nangong Wan to wilt before his eyes.

No matter how self-centered and cold-hearted he may be, regardless of whether or not he could contend with the Ghost Spirit Sects Young Master and the others, the entirety of his heart and soul urged him to act!

Just as Han Li was about to act and release the flying needles to save the masked woman, the sky abruptly underwent a massive change.

The previously wavering woman that was standing on the sword suddenly regained her bearings, and her eyes glinted with cold light.

Wang Chan and the gorgeous man grew pale. They immediately knew that they had fallen for her ruse, but by the time they wanted to run away, it was already too late.

The woman raised her hands and countless streaks of swordlight soared through the air and completely enveloped the three in blinding white light.

When Han Li saw this, he felt relieved and loosened his grip on his flying needles.

The sky shone with gray light from the masked womans swordlight. A bloody cloud and pink light tottered within it like a small boat in a surging storm. However, they still managed to painfully endure. In particular, within the pink light, the gorgeous man and Dong Xuaner released a strange azure-red light from their hands, offsetting the swordlights attack.

Han Li lightly wrinkled his brow and lowered his head in contemplation before silently disappearing.

Meanwhile, the masked woman felt great worry.

She was truly surprised to see that even though she had used a ruse to press the Devil Dao cultivators, her current attack was still unable to deal with the three.

Not long ago, she had fought a great battle against a Devil Dao Core Formation cultivator. Her opponent had nearly succeeded in ending the battle in mutual destruction, depleting her magic power. Although she managed to escape further entanglements afterwards, her heavy injuries had been a cause for great concern.

Even worse, her magic treasure which was inseparably bonded to her soul had suffered serious damage during the previous battle, leaving it unusable for the time being.

Furthermore, because she was being pursued, she was forced to use a secret technique that greatly damaged her vitality to escape, forcefully drawing out a portion of her bodys potential to produce a sliver of spiritual power.

Although she had managed to throw off the majority of her pursuers, she hadnt expected that these three, who possessed exceptional Devilish Arts, would continue to pursue her relentlessly.

Thus, she could only attempt to eliminate them. Otherwise, even if she were a Core Formation cultivator, she would be at their mercy once the effects of her secret technique subsided.

The reason why she had stopped here was because her spiritual awareness had felt that there was a cultivator here. Although she didnt know who it was, it was an undeniable fact that this person lacked the devilish aura possessed by those who used the techniques of the Devil Dao.

Furthermore, this person was a mid Foundation Establishment cultivator. Were he not a cultivator from a large clan, then he should be a cultivator from the other five allied sects. With nowhere to go and in a hopeless situation, she flew here with the intention of dragging that cultivator into this mess and possibly turning the situation for the better.

But she absolutely didnt expect that this persons spiritual sense would be so strong. This person had concealed himself from far away without any intention of involving himself.

As such, the masked woman could only confront the enemy alone and grit her teeth with aching resentment.

But once again, a frightening development had unfolded before her. These three Devil Dao cultivators were extremely tenacious, and they possessed immensely powerful defensive magic tools. Even if she were to use the entirety of her remaining spiritual power, she wouldnt be able to kill them quickly.

With regard to her high-grade talismans and impressive magic tools, they had been thoroughly exhausted in the battles many days earlier.

Her heart sank as she felt her last remnants of magic power about to disappear.

The Devil Dao cultivators that were bitterly enduring the swordlight felt its enormous suffocating pressure gradually weaken until it had completely disappeared. The three were stunned and immediately turned their gazes towards the masked woman. She blankly stood on top of her flying sword with dim, emotionless eyes while her body pitifully trembled.

Wang Chan and the beautiful man looked at each other with feelings of pleasant surprise. But as they had just suffered from her clever ploy, they hesitated and didnt dare to act rashly.

But at this moment, a streak of white light flew out from below like a bolt of lightning. In the blink of an eye, the white light had appeared in front of the masked woman. The silhouette within the white light embraced her waist before suddenly descending back down from where it came.

This scene left Wang Chan and the gorgeous man bursting with anger.

How could the two let such a rich prize be snatched out of their mouths? They reacted by immediately chasing after the white light with the full capabilities of their movement techniques.

However, Dong Xuaner stood at her original location with an expression of shock. This was because that silhouette had appeared extremely familiar and caused her to unconsciously hesitate.

About forty meters below, the white light shot towards a dense forest. After it entered the forest, the light faded away to reveal an unremarkable male youth.

As he tightly embraced the masked woman in one arm, he raised his head and expressionlessly looked at Wang Chan and the gorgeous man chasing after them.

Although the masked woman lacked the strength to struggle from his embrace, her eyes were filled with humiliation and resentment as if she was scolding him. However, the youth paid this no mind.

So it turned out to be you!

Its you!

Once they clearly saw the male youths appearance, Wang Chen and the gorgeous man simultaneously yelled out.

They had both recognized Han Li, whom they had each attempted to kill before. After glancing at each other in surprise, they charged toward Han Li while using their abilities to the fullest extent without any further hesitation.

Wang Chans blood cloud swelled and expanded to forty meters wide in an instant. At the same time, its bloody scent grew much more intense and its pressure became astonishingly stronger.

The gorgeous man coldly laughed, and a jade flute suddenly appeared in his hand. With a wave, a clear whistle sounded out, transforming his rainbow streak of light into a pink peacock. As he shot toward Han Li, Wang Chan closely followed behind him, unwilling to be second.

Seeing that the two were so aggressively chasing him, Han Li finally revealed a trace of panic.

He suddenly stomped on his small boat, causing it to release a blinding white light. It lightly trembled as if it were strung on a bow.

With the Devil Dao cultivators astonishing offensive, they had already arrived in front of Han Li and blocked off his path of escape. They now clearly saw that the masked woman had given up her struggle and that her eyes were filled with despair.

This caused the two to feel much more at ease. It seemed that the female Core Formation cultivator no longer had the power to resist!

In that moment, Han Lis panicked expression underwent a sudden change, and he revealed a faint, strange smile.

When the two outstanding Devil Dao cultivators saw Han Lis expression, their hearts thumped heavily.

The scene before them suddenly changed as Han Li and the masked woman turned into a cool breeze as if they no longer existed. Then, two huge stones appeared in front of the Devil Dao cultivators, causing them to dodge away in alarm. They couldnt help but look around in astonishment.

What they saw caused their complexions to pale. They were surrounded by some kind of forest with countless towering trees similar to stone obelisks. They had been trapped inside of an illusory formation. freewbne.com

Wang Chan and the gorgeous man were furious.

Although the might of this illusory formation wasnt great, they would have to spend a good amount of time to break through it, giving their prey more than enough time to escape. As a result, these two young masters of the Devil Dao developed a bone-deep hatred for Han Li.

Senior Brother Wang, lets quickly break out of this formation. Dont forget that my Junior Martial Sister Dong is still outside! With her cultivation, she can stall them for a short while. She will give us all the time that we will need. The gorgeous man suddenly thought of something and coldly smiled.

Wang Chans face grew cheerful for a moment, but then he spoke with doubt, Ah, thats right. It seems this young master has forgotten something! That girl was once a Yellow Maple Valley disciple. Will she really block them?

The gorgeous man then revealed some hesitation and replied with uncertainty, She will definitely act! After all, Dong Xuaner has a high position in my Harmonious Bond Sect, far greater than the status of an ordinary disciple that she had within Yellow Maple Valley! Furthermore, I, this father, treat her quite well!

Chapter 359: A Surprising Encounter with an Acquaintance

Having come to a decision, Han Li silently flew off the mountain.

Later on, when the White Pond Mountains meeting convened, those Qi Condensation cultivators that had spoken with Han Li would be left baffled by his absence.

Han Li first went to the Heavenly Star Sects market city to purchase the list of items that he would need to restore the ancient transportation formation. Then, he hurried off to the State of Yue.

This time, Han Li didnt take the direct route to enter the State of Yue. Instead, he circled around to a remote part of the border between the State of Yuanwu and Yue and stealthily entered through there. Now that the State of Yue belonged to the Devil Dao, he took steps to avoid entering dangerous territories to prevent having enemies pursuing him the entire way.

But Han Li didnt know that because of this precaution, he had unexpectedly avoided a crisis.

Currently, the majority of the State of Yues borders were heavily patrolled. If Han Li had recklessly returned using his original path, he would have been unable to escape their attention, most likely leading to an unavoidable pursuit and battle!

Having safely entered the State of Yue, Han Li hastily journeyed on routes through the most desolate areas he could find, allowing him to arrive at the spirit stone mine near the transportation formation unnoticed.

Han Li stealthily observed the spirit stone mine from far away, as it had now fallen into the hands of the Devil Dao. He saw Devil Dao disciples wearing green and white clothing with either a dark green ghost skull or a pink peach blossom tucked within the corners of their sleeves. It seemed they were cultivators from the Ghost Spirit Sect and the Harmonious Bond Sect.

Now knowing that the spirit stone mine was being guarded, Han Li stealthily slipped away and entered a nearby secret underground entrance.

He was able to easily find the concealed cave he had previously collapsed. After using his magic tools to tear the stone away, Han Li was able to take another look at the damaged ancient transportation formation. He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the ancient transportation formation safe and sound.

During the following day, Han Li first used his newly acquired illusion formation flags to thoroughly conceal the secret location. Afterwards, he laid down the formation flags and formation plates of the Five Elements Reversal Formation, laying out a thorough defense for the cave containing the ancient transportation formation.

This way, he would have enough time to easily escape, even if he was discovered by the Devil Dao cultivators.

Freed from worry, Han Li started the transportation formations restoration.

The jade talisman clearly stated that restoring the ancient transportation formation required the utmost precision. Even the slightest slant of an unremarkable talisman line could result in an error in the transportation formation.

After spending an entire seven days, Han Li had only managed to complete less than half of the restoration. But that night, Han Li encountered a huge problem: he had already ran out of the supplies he had bought earlier.

Han Li was flabbergasted! He had originally bought a bit more than what was mentioned on the item list, but he hadnt accounted for the wasted materials from the mistakes he would make while repairing the formation.

He was neither a tool refinement nor a formation spell master. As he was lacking in skill, he had wasted over half of his materials from errors and didnt have enough left to finish.

Han Li sighed. It seemed hed have to go on another trip.

However, he remembered that a small market town of some cultivator clan lay several days east of the spirit stone mine. Although it wasnt large, items such as source iron and crystal jade could be found there. Since the core of the transportation formation wasnt ruined, he would only require a few common materials to repair it.

His only worry was that given the current chaos of the cultivation world, this clans market city might no longer exist! If this were the case, hed have to travel to a more dangerous area.

Under the cover of night, Han Li flew out of the cave and headed directly toward the market city.

He had already decided that if the market city no longer existed, it would be best to return to the State of Yuanwu. He couldnt afford to just ignore the fact that the ancient formation was only half repaired.

To be safe, Han Li planned to only travel during the night. During the day he would find areas to rest and recover, keeping the danger to a minimum.

In this way, Han Li continued to fly east under the cover of night. Whenever rays of sunlight began to appear off the horizon, he would search for a place to rest.

But while he was gazing down from above, his expression suddenly changed, and he quickly turned his head in another direction. Han Li faintly felt as if someone was quickly flying toward him and that they werent alone.

Han Li reacted instantly by stomping on his Divine Wind Boat and flew downward. In the blink of an eye, he had disappeared into the darkness of night.

Just as he concealed himself and restrained his Spiritual Qi, a blinding light silently flashed by him like a bolt of lightning.

Then a bloody cloud about ten meters wide relentlessly chased after it, releasing unending ghostly wails and howls as it flew past. A bit behind the cloud was a pink ray of light that released soft, clear cries which seemed to also be in relentless pursuit.

Han Li, who was hidden in the mountain forest below, didnt pay attention to the white light, focusing on the bloody cloud instead. He felt that the bloody cloud seemed extremely familiar! Wasnt that the demonic art which had protected the young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect?

Having remembered the Ghost Spirit Sects Young Masters ferociousness and the hardships he had been put through, Han Lis expression became gloomy.

While Han Li was still in thought, those in the sky had hastily descended, and the white light in front suddenly stopped. The brilliant light then quickly faded away, revealing a white-clothed woman standing on a flying sword.

This woman had a slender body and was wearing a cloak. As soon as she appeared, she coldly spoke to her pursuers, Juniors, it appears you are unwilling to let me go. Could it be that you have a death wish? The womans voice was cold and beautiful. When Han Li heard it, he nearly jumped in surprise.

Greatly shocked, Han Li thought to himself, Is… Is this Fairy Nangongs voice? Is it really her?

Although he had barely spoken with this woman, after he had slept with her, she had become the most important woman in Han Lis life. The memory of her had always remained clear in his heart. Also, while the voice sounded very much like Nangong Wan, its hoarseness left him slightly doubtful.

While Han Li was lost in astonishment, the bloody mist and that pink light had both stopped about forty meters away in response to her threats. The bloody and pink lights then faded away, revealing the people inside.

The bloody cloud revealed the Ghost Spirit Sects Young Master Wang Chan as expected, and the pink light revealed a man and woman that left Han Li dumbstruck.

He had last seen both at Yan Ling Castle, one was a demonic man as beautiful as a woman. As for the woman, she had been missing for a long time and was assumed to have fallen into the grasp of the Devil Dao, Dong Xuaner1.Martial Aunt Hong Fu is her Great Aunt. She appears in chapter 244 and is with Han Li throughout the Yan Clan Castles arc..

Dong Xuaner wore a cold expression and appeared rather dignified. Her originally seductive appearance had completely disappeared at some point in the past. But what surprised Han Li more was that she had already cultivated to mid Foundation Establishment from early Foundation Establishment.

When Han Li saw Dong Xuaner standing by the demonic mans side, he couldnt help but tightly crease his brow.

At the moment, the Ghost Spirit Sects Young Master and the gorgeous man were coldly staring at the masked woman and revealed a trace of hesitation.

Although Fairy Nangong had already fought with a Ghost Spirit Sect Core Formation expert and should be lacking in power, she had killed countless Devil Dao Core Formation cultivators while fighting for the Masked Moon Sect before. It wouldnt be worth it if she were to go all out and end them all in mutual destruction.

With that in mind, the two couldnt help but look at each other, neither willing to act first.

That strange, gorgeous man gazed at the masked woman with a slight smile, If this were the past, both Senior Brother Wang and I would naturally flee at the mere sight of Fairy Nangong. But now… even if I wanted to let you go in consideration of the previous relationship between the Masked Moon Sect and the Harmonious Bond Sect, my Senior Brother Wang from the Ghost Spirit Sect would still be unwilling to let the matter go!

The gorgeous man spoke as if they were all on extremely familiar terms with one another and as if this were a matter they had already discussed, but he unapologetically pushed the Ghost Spirit Sects Young Master in front of him to act as a shield.

When Wang Chan heard this, he grew furious.

But he wasnt someone who showed emotion. He only coldly glanced at her before speaking calmly, I heard that the Harmonious Bond Sect has a secret technique, the Art of Darkmoon Yin Absorption. A male cultivator can use it to forcefully absorb a portion of a womans Origin Yin through pair cultivation techniques. Although it doesnt absorb much, with Seniors Core Formation cultivation, it will be enough for this Young Master Tian to breakthrough his current bottleneck and reach late Foundation Establishment.

The gorgeous mans expression paled slightly. He hadnt expected that his reason for bitterly pursuing this woman without end had been seen through by Wang Chan. He couldnt help but feel angered from the humiliation.

At that moment, the masked woman shot them a resentful glare. She gritted her perfect teeth and spat out, Youre all as bad as each other. Die! She raised her hand and an earth-shattering white mist of swordlight shot toward them.

When Wang Chen and the gorgeous man saw this, they both turned pale from fright. The next instant, they had turned into a bloody cloud and a ray of light, respectively, in an attempt to hastily evade the attack.

Chapter 358: The Endless Sea, The Moulan

Han Li then suddenly spoke with a gentle smile, Well then, knowing that the the State of Yue is currently in turmoil is enough for me!

These incomprehensible words left the four with a feeling of profound mystery. They could only force themselves to give him a smile in return.

Han Li stood up and said amiably, You can all go ahead and continue chatting! I am going to go to a different room.

As you please, Senior!

Best wishes, Senior!

……

The four hastily saw off Han Li with respect.

Han Li casually beckoned with his arm and called out to Crooked Soul who had stood outside throughout the conversation. They then walked together to another stone kiosk.

……

Four hours later, Han Li stood at a corner of the mountain peak and lowered his head in contemplation.

He had participated in many discussions about the current affairs of the State of Yue. As a result, he had come to the conclusion that the current situation in the State of Yue could only be described as chaotic.

Under these circumstances, he only had two options.

One was to use a flying magic tool and fly to a country far away from the State of Yue, in order to find a place suitable for cultivation.

The other option was to restore the ancient transportation formation and take a gamble to see where the transportation formation would take him. After all, this precious ancient transportation formation was built underground for a reason. It was certain to be linked to a distant location.

At first glance, he felt that he should obviously choose the first option as it was more reliable. But after some consideration, Han Li felt that it was just as risky.

To the east and west of the State of Yue were the Devil Daos State of Tianluo and the Righteous Dao Alliances State of Fengdou. As a result, he would only be able to head north or south.

If he were to flee north of Yuanwu, there would be several tens of small and mid ranked countries, but Han Li knew that their cultivators wouldnt be able to resist the attacks of either the Devil or Righteous Dao. Some of them had even attached themselves to the two great powers, becoming their puppets and occasionally engaging in both open and covert struggles with the other side. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the State of Tianluo and Fengdou to conduct a wide-scale turf war, especially since they originally only had a small stretch of common border with one other.

Those countries would soon be turned into battlefields by the Devil Dao and Righteous Dao Alliance, and Han Li naturally wouldnt be able to stay there.

But if he were to brave the dangers of travelling through these countries and continue north, he would arrive at the Heavenly South Regions northmost area, the Endless Seas, where few cultivators dared to travel.

Not only was this sea extremely dark, it was also limitless and had many rare species of fishes living within. The fishes were extremely violent and were no less vicious than their high-grade demon beast counterparts on land. Even Core Formation cultivators would find themselves in extreme danger if they fell into the sea.

The thought of flying across the sea was but a mere fantasy! There was once a Nascent Soul cultivator who was curious about the end of the sea. After preparing fully, he then flew over the ocean water. After flying for over a year, he was still unable to see any end of the sea and hadnt seen the slightest hint of land.

At that point, over half of his medicine pills and spirit stones had been exhausted, and he could only resentfully turn back. Otherwise, he would only be able to die at sea when he ran out of spiritual power, even if he was a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Naturally, Han Li wouldnt indulge himself in the fantasy of crossing the sea. His only thoughts were to head down south.

South of the State of Yue, after passing through the State of Zijin and then another six countries, one would arrive at the Nine Nations Union, an inseparably close alliance of nine countries of various sizes.

This alliance between the nine countries was formed mostly for the purpose of combating their fearsome invaders, the Moulan Races Spell Soldiers.

When speaking of the Moulan Race and their magic soldiers, one wouldnt be able to avoid mentioning the Moulan Prairies, home of the Moulan Tribes and a close neighbor of the Nine Nations Union.

The Moulan Race were completely different from the Yan people of the States of Yuanwu and Yue. Their people were completely nomadic, possessing a culture of fearlessness and a love for brandishing their sabers and spears. The Moulan Race were made up of countless tribes of various sizes, where small tribes would consist of several hundred thousand people and the large tribes would number several tens of millions.

Cultivators also existed within these tribes, but they were called Spell Warriors instead of cultivators. It is said that they are indistinguishable from common cultivators, and the divisions of cultivation as well as the cultivation techniques are extremely similar. The only thing that differed were that the Spell Warriors of Core Formation rank and higher didnt care much about external items such as magic tools and talismans. Instead, they were focused on mastering their elemental Daoist magics to perfection. They even had secret earthborn techniques where they merged with the prairie. Their research had produced a variety of extremely strange and formidable magic techniques, and in turn created a new school of magic techniques that distinguished the Moulan, which they called Spirit Techniques.

By relying on these incisive Spirit Techniques, the Moulan Races spell warriors were able to contend and even gain the upper hand against cultivators of equivalent rank.

As the Moulan Races spell warriors grew increasingly numerous, their need for spirit vein locations and spirit stones intensified to the point of significantly worsening the depletion of cultivation resources. This shortage was further exacerbated by the extreme lack of natural cultivation resources in the Moulan Prairie.

As a result, the Moulan Races spell warriors had their gazes set upon the abundant Spiritual Qi and resources of the nine countries for as long as anybody could remember. They had often launched attacks against these countries in order to seize their spirit veins, spirit stone mines, and other such resources vital to cultivators.

Naturally, the cultivation world of the nine countries were unwilling to allow their resources to be seized by these savage cultivators. In the end, a bloody war of magic had erupted.

In the beginning, the nine countries had individually resisted, but they had quickly suffered defeat at the hands of the united armies of the Moulan Tribes, surrendering a large portion of their resources and land.

Having now experienced the ferociousness of the Moulan, they learned from their defeat and hastily formed the Nine Nations Union. By using underhanded and deplorable methods, they were able to gradually defeat the Moulan Races spell warriors and retake their land.

But having just tasted victory, the Moulan Tribes were naturally unwilling to simply give up. After endless years of strife and warfare, mutual hatred had bloomed within both sides. The death toll had grown to such a degree that even the mortals of Moulan and Yan had been influenced.

As of now, the people of Moulan didnt dare to set foot within the borders of the Nine Countries. Likewise, those of Yan didnt dare to travel too deeply into the Moulan Prairies.

As for how many people there are in the Moulan Tribes, nobody truly knows. The Moulan Prairie was far too large, and the Nine Nations Union had only tangled with a small portion of the Moulan Tribes.

Although the Moulan Prairie wasnt endless like the Black Devil Sea, it was said to require five years for someone to travel from one end of the prairie to the other end. Furthermore, Moulan Prairies was just a name given by the Moulan tribes. At the other end of the prairie lay the Moulan Tribes true enemy: the Soaring Tribes.

The Soaring Tribes were another nomadic tribe, who called these grasslands the Heaventide Prairies. This was due to their long-held beliefs in their patron God, the Heaventide Beast.

There was no reason for two nomadic tribes to live on the same prairie, and the two ethnicities had formed a relationship of fatal enmity. It was unknown for how long their soldiers and cultivators had been fighting one another.

In any case, a huge battle was certain to take place every hundred years or so at the center of the prairie. Ten million mortal soldiers would fight, while tens of thousands of cultivators battled throughout the sky. Naturally, the ultimate victor would be decided by the battle in the sky.

Han Li had learned all of this from rumors and ancient records of all kinds.

It was said that at the other end of the Moulan Prairie existed an incredibly huge Great Empire. The entire Heavenly South Region wasnt even as large as a tenth of it.

Han Li found those rumors hard to believe and had difficulty imagining a country that was over ten times larger than the entire Heavenly South Region.

Of course, all this had nothing to do with Han Lis current plans. They were just random thoughts that had rushed through his mind.

After he set aside his wandering thoughts, he eventually came to the conclusion that the Six Sects evacuation wouldnt end within the nearby countries. They would definitely make a detour to the Nine Nations Union. After all, the cultivators of the nine countries had battles with the Moulan spell warriors every other year and a war every ten years. They would definitely welcome the Six Sects and provide them with great assistance.

Naturally, the spirit veins and other such locations of value allocated to them would depend on their abilities.

If Han Li were to return to Yellow Maple Valley, he would just continue to be cannon fodder. This meant he definitely couldnt head south.

Although he had already come to a clear answer on what he should do, he received a great headache once he thought about it again. First, he would see whether or not he could restore the transportation formation. If he managed to successfully repair it, he would then reconsider whether or not he would use it.

At best, I could return if Im dissatisfied. At worst… Well, this option did hold a certain degree of danger after all! Han Li thought with a bitter smile.

Chapter 357: White Pond Mountain

The west peak of White Pond Mountain was slightly larger than Han Li had imagined.

Not only was there an ancient Buddhist temple on the mountain peak, there were also more than ten stone kiosks of varying sizes, each with a group of several cultivators chatting around them.

Naturally, there were a few straggling cultivators that wandered about the kiosks and the temple.

It seemed that they were those who had impatiently arrived early for the White Pond Mountains meeting.

Han Li observed the mountain peak from the air for a moment before spiralling down and landing in an obscure corner.

Soon after, Han Li walked to the nearby stone kiosks with Crooked Soul in tow.

Because of Han Lis powerful spiritual sense, he was soon able to clearly hear the whispered discussions of the cultivators within the kiosks.

One of the whispered conversations in particular captured Han Lis attention.

Han Li focused on this four-person conversation and discovered that they were talking about the war situation between the Seven Sects of Yue and the Devil Dao. His interest was roused, and he walked over without further hesitation.

This was a great victory for the Devil Dao. Not only were the Six Sects of the State of Yue forced to flee from their homeland, catastrophe will also befall the State of Zijin and our very own State of Yuanwu! A pale middle-aged man sighed deeply after speaking.

Thats right. In the last great battle, the Six Sects power had suffered great losses. The two countries that had fought alongside them also lost sixty percent of their forces as well! The Heavenly Star Sect and the other sects are now facing great pressure! A youth about twenty years old spoke with schadenfreude.

Among the other three in the discussion, two old men had unchanged expressions and didnt reply. As for the middle-aged man who had just spoken, he couldnt help but bitterly laugh, wanting to say something in response.

But at that moment, he was interrupted by someones voice from the side.

While it is true that the Heavenly Star Sect finds itself in a dilemma along with the other great sects, the lives of us rogue cultivators and those from cultivator clans will also soon take a turn for the worse. Those of the Devil Dao espouse the belief that the strong should feed on the weak. When that time comes, we definitely wont be able to enjoy free and easy-going lives. Han Li slowly walked in and spoke the words that the middle-aged man intended to say.

When the four realised that an outsider was nearby, they were startled and immediately grew silent.

But when they were unable to perceive Han Lis cultivation, they all revealed a trace of worry and respectfully saluted Han Li. The middle-aged man then hurriedly rushed to exonerate the youth, Senior, my honorable nephew spoke without thinking. He doesnt hold the slightest disrespect toward the sects. I hope Senior wont take offense!

These people had unexpectedly presumed Han Li to be a high-grade cultivator from the State of Yuanwus cultivation clans. The youth who had just spoken appeared especially nervous.

Hehe, Fellow Daoists are mistaken. I am but a rogue cultivator. I was only casually adding onto the conversation. Han Li smiled and warmly explained.

The four relaxed upon hearing Han Lis words. Although they didnt know whether Han Li was truly a rogue cultivator, they clearly understood he wouldnt be pursuing the rash words that had been previously spoken.

Thus, they gave Han Li a respectful welcome. Han Li then took a seat next to the stone table within the kiosk.

Us Juniors are truly honored to have Senior here. However, why would Senior partake in such a lowly exchange of this degree? An old man with a red-flushed face cautiously asked.

It was obvious why this man was amazed. A small meeting place like White Pond Mountain would normally find it difficult to attract Foundation Establishment cultivators. If such high-grade cultivators wanted to converse, they would normally seek out a higher class gathering spot.

First was due to time as I came here from a desolate mountain where I was cultivating. Recently, Ive heard news that the cultivators from my country, the State of Yue, had suffered a huge loss. I felt that the cultivation world was about to undergo great changes, so I thought Id discreetly look for information. Do you Fellow Daoists have the latest information on the Devil Dao and the State of Yue? Han Li gave a simplified explanation.

The four looked at each other for a moment before three of them focused their attention on the shriveled old man among them.

The most well informed is naturally our Eldest Brother Ding. After all, the Ding Clan possesses many secular properties in the State of Yue! The red-faced old man quickly said.

The other two simultaneously agreed, causing Han Lis eyes to flash with a queer expression.

Old Man Ding expressed some embarrassment in response. He helplessly said, Our Ding Clan members in the State of Yue have indeed given us information on recent circumstances. Of course, the clan doesnt wish for this information to spread but since you are all my close friends and this Senior also wishes to know, I can talk about it. However, I hope you all wont easily make this information known.

The other three couldnt help but grow excited and repeatedly praise him. Even Han Li gently nodded his head.

The old man lightly sighed and slowly spoke, Ive just received this information a few days ago. Currently, the State of Yue is in great turmoil. Although the Devil Dao had defeated the Six Sects allied armies, a large amount of the Six Sects cultivators have broken off from their retreat out of the State of Yue and have been incessantly launching guerilla raids utilizing their familiarity of the terrain. Ive heard that there were also a few Core Formation cultivators who havent retreated, thus keeping the Devil Dao busy. After all, Core Formation cultivators arent so easily dealt with. In addition, as the Six Sects have existed in the State of Yue for so many years, they possessed a lot of hidden power and have been causing the Devil Daos takeover of the State of Yue to be rather troublesome.

As for the State of Yues cultivation clans, they have divided into three factions. One faction turned traitor once the Six Sects were defeated, they took the initiative to surrender and pay allegiance to the Devil Dao. Another faction consisted of those that were too closely tied with the Six Sects. Fearing that the Devil Dao would want to take revenge, they fled the State of Yue as the Six Sects had. As for the last faction, they are waiting to see how things will develop before taking action.

As for the Six Sects long-established key locations, those from the Masked Moon Sect and Giant Sword Sect have yet to be broken through by the Devil Dao. The other four sects have been completely broken through, but it was said that very little had been obtained from the attacks. A majority of the rare items had already been removed by the six sects disciples.

The way I see it, every day the Devil Dao isnt able to pacify the State of Yue is another day where the State of Yuanwu or Zijin isnt attacked. After all, their numbers are great and they were able to simultaneously take down two small countries and a mid rank country in one fell swoop. Since it is only a matter of time before they will fall upon us, they have no problem dealing with the disruptive Six Sect cultivators for the time being. The old mans slowly spoken words had revealed his own take on the matter.

The red-faced old man couldnt help but interrupt and ask, Eldest Brother Ding, why do you think that the Devil Dao has given us time to breathe, allowing for our countrys sects to prepare for their attack?

This is hard to say. After all, I am only aware of the surface information. As for the absolute truth of the matter, Im afraid that only the highest echelons of the sects know. Old Man Ding slowly shook his head and stole a glance at Han Li.

It was obvious that he believed Han Li to be a cultivator from a sect of his own country and had refrained from speaking of certain matters.

Old Man Ding didnt wish to continue speaking of that issue and suddenly said something with a smile that left Han Li shocked instead.

Because the Six Sects of the State of Yue wished for a hasty retreat, they used the strategy of cutting off their own tail. They only brought along their talented elite disciples while leaving behind the rest of their many disciples as ignorant sacrifices. It is said that the ones who most effectively applied this cruel tactic were the highest echelons of Yellow Maple Valleys disciples. They had their trusted elite make a smooth escape from the State of Yue while sacrificing two whole groups of disciplesnearly all of their cultivators apart from those that escaped. Tsk tsk. Their methods are truly impressive!

Although the old man said this indifferently, Han Lis heart suddenly sunk, and his face became faintly twisted. But fortunately, the others didnt dare to stare at Han Li for long, so none of them noticed this change.

Strongly suppressing his astonishment, Han Li calmly asked, Fellow Daoist Ding, you said that Yellow Maple Valley sacrificed two batches of disciples. How did this happen? I am quite interested!

Hehe, since Senior is asking, Junior will naturally answer truthfully. I heard that when the upper echelon of the State of Yue received the news of their frontlines defeat, Yellow Maple Valley immediately plotted to make a crafty escape. They would first have a group of disciples rush to evacuate but secretly divulge this information to the spies of the Devil Dao, claiming that the group contained their elite disciples. This group would also bring along a large amount of spirit stones and materials, completely attracting the attention of the Devil Dao soldiers. At the same time, they left behind another group of ignorant disciples and had them use the great formation to confront the Devil Dao. With these two groups drawing the enemys full attention, Yellow Maple Valleys highest echelon then had the true trusted elite disciples retreat in the opposite direction with the sects thousand years worth of savings.

I heard that although the number of people to safely retreat from Yellow Maple Valley was the fewest, they had the smoothest retreat. As for the other five sects, although they retreated en masse, they encountered repeated attacks and had to fight for their lives on many occasions. Much of their valuables have fallen into the Devil Daos hands as a result. This matter then became widely spread throughout the State of Yue by the Devil Dao. Not daring to slight Han Li, the old man gave him a complete explanation.

Han Lis expression remained unchanged as he spoke unhurriedly with a soft voice, Oh, so it was like that! Those abandoned Yellow Maple Valley disciples sure were foolish!

Chapter 356: Disaster and Fortune Come Hand in Hand

Han Li calmly walked out from the Stardust Pavilion a quarter hour later.

He turned his head to look at the huge pavilion with a faint, mysterious smile on his face before continuing on with long strides.

Han Li currently had the Redthread Shadowchaser Needles and a jade slip containing the True Essence Pill formula inside his storage pouch.

Moments ago, he had casually asked about the selling price of thousand-year-old spiritual medicine. Instead of taking out any herbs, he took out two boxes each containing a Face Setting Pill created from thousand-year-old herbs and handed it over to the young woman.

Han Li vividly remembered the fervent expression of the usually aloof woman when he told her about the Face Setting Pills miraculous effect of an unchanging appearance. The sharp contrast with her usual expression had surprised him by no small measure.

Soon after, the young woman called over a pill refinement expert from the Stardust Pavilion to personally confirm the claims. However, none of them had refined such a pill before.

In the end, she brought the two medicine pills to the fifth floors Madam Lan to verify the legitimacy of the Face Setting Pills as well as their miraculous effect of preserving ones appearance.

After a whispered discussion, the women decided that Han Li could pay for the pill formula and the magic tool set with the two Face Setting Pills along with a thousand spirit stones.

Now that he thought about it, he felt it was quite funny.

Being able to eternally preserve ones appearance was a matter that proved extremely enticing and irresistible to women. Even such a clever schemer with such deep cultivation as Madam Lan revealed the same fervent expression as the young woman upon hearing Han Li say the words Face Setting Pill. As a result, Han Li came to a complete understanding about how greatly women cared about their appearance.

However, the amount that Han Li had acquired for the Face Setting Pills had far exceeded his estimations.

He had originally believed that the pills would get him two thousand spirit stones at most. Therefore, their offer had left Han Li completely satisfied. Naturally, he didnt attempt to haggle over the price and ignore their generous offer. It was quite fortunate that the two shopkeepers were women. Were it a male shopkeeper, he would have been quite lucky to get a few hundred spirit stones for them.

After he finished the trade, Madam Lan couldnt help but ask about the medicine pills origin after recovering from her earlier fervor. Han Li thoughtlessly replied, It was an unintentional discovery, before making himself scarce.

As Han Li walked out of the Stardust Pavilion, he felt some reluctance.

He knew that since the Stardust Pavilion was able to take out such rarities as pill formulas and the Redthread Shadowchaser Needles, they were certain to have even more precious items. It was a pity that he wasnt able to take out more medicine pills and spiritual herbs for trade as Han Li clearly understood the dangers of openly revealing ones wealth.

With regret lingering in his heart, Han Li found an inn that accommodated cultivators and decided to stay there.

For the remainder of the day, Han Li started to meditate and refine Qi, preparing for the next day when he would have Store Owner Xu refine his magic tools.

On the morning of the second day, Han Li arrived at the Tool Refinement store in accordance with the appointed time.

Store Owner Xu had been waiting for him for quite a while. Once he saw Han Li, he immediately called out to him in excitement, urging him to enter the rear courtyard. Han Li gave a slight smile and entered.

……

Half a month later, Han Li finally emerged from the store.

But this time, he appeared to be the opposite of how he entered and wore a darkened expression as if he were in an exceptionally foul mood.

Store Owner Xu closely followed behind him with a face full of shame. He was muttering something to Han Li as he followed him.

Han Li then released a long and heavy sigh, which somewhat alleviated his foul mood. Soon after, he spoke to Store Owner Xu in an amiable tone before slowly walking out of the market city, leaving behind the old man in a daze.

A short while later, Han Li had left the territory of the market city and flew toward Xin Ruyins small, nameless mountain.

While Han Li stood on the Divine Wind Boat, his expression became sullen once more as he thought of the repeated tool refinement failures in the past half month.

He had overestimated the tool refinement technique of that Shop Owner Xu, resulting in the almost complete destruction of those precious materials just to make one magic tool set. As for the mantis materials that he had valued the greatest, they had been entirely lost in the refining process.

Han Li became extremely regretful after the fact and felt an urge to ruthlessly strike down Shop Owner Xu.

But in the end, when he saw the old mans great display of shame, he decided to let the matter drop. Even when he departed, he had consoled the old man in an amiable manner.

Sighing from what had happened, Han Li patted his storage pouch. Five white, flawless flying knives flew out from the storage pouch and continuously spiralled around Han Li.

After seeing the five knives magic tool set that was refined from the white spiders legs, Han Lis mood improved slightly.

Not only were three of the legs destroyed, but the white spiders shell that he intended to refine into armor had also been lost. But what he truly hadnt expected was that the entirety of the huge mantis materials would be completely wasted. This could be considered a great misfortune borne from great fortune. Han Li could only think about this with a bitter smile.

But this experience taught Han Li that the rarer and more superior the materials, the greater the skill that was required to refine them into magic tools. Even the same person who had refined the Inky Flood Dragons materials with great success was not enough!

During his flight, Han Li appeared to have entered deep contemplation.

Several days later, he had once again arrived above a small, nameless mountain.

This time, Han Li didnt need to use a voice transmission talisman. The formation spell had automatically opened a passage for Han Li.

Han Li smiled. It seemed that Xin Ruyin had been waiting for his return. After all, the agreed date had nearly arrived.

After a short moment, Han Li was sitting down in a chair in a bamboo room. Wearing plain clothes, Xin Ruyin sat across from him with a smile. reeebnovel.om

Xin Ruyin took out a jade slip and handed it to Han Li. With a gentle expression, she said, Senior Han, your arrival is quite timely. Yesterday, I just finished restoring the ancient transportation formation. So long as Senior restores the formation in accordance with the design, the ancient transportation formation will be functional.

From her point of view, restoring the ancient transportation formation proved to be quite challenging, and she was quite happy with her recent success.

Han Li reached out for the jade talisman. He was extremely happy and had even revealed a rarely seen undisguised smile.

Although he didnt intend to immediately make use of the transportation formation, it was bound to be a good backup plan.

Han Li submerged his spiritual sense into the jade slip to take a look. As he expected, he saw detailed and complete instructions on the ancient formations restoration.

Thank you for your trouble, Young Lady Xin! Han Li didnt drag his thanks into a long-winded speech. Instead, he sincerely said a few words of thanks and carefully put the jade slip away.

It was nothing. I personally held much interest in this ancient transportation formation. Xin Ruyin replied with a faint smile.

Soon after, she thought of something and took out a small, exquisite storage pouch and handed it over to Han Li. She unhurriedly spoke, I only have another year or two to live at most. These are sets of formation flags and plates that Elder Brother Qi and I refined together. Since I wont be able to use them, Ill give them to Senior Han as a present! I hope it proves useful in assisting Senior Han with his future cultivation!

Seeing that Xin Ruyin had given such an impressive gift with such light words, Han Li was left stunned.

At that point, he took a deep look at her. After a short moment of silence, he took the storage pouch into his hands and solemnly said, Although I, Han Li, am not an honorable, kindhearted, or chivalrous hero, I will promise Xin Ruyin once more that as long as I have the strength, I will thoroughly extinguish the Fu Clan from the cultivation world without doubt!

Xin Ruyin smiled in response. The purpose of her large gift had been achieved.

The more reluctant someone was to make a pledge, the more sincerely they would attempt to uphold it.

If Senior doesnt have any pressing matters, he can stay at my humble abode for a few days. I do hope to have a chat with Senior Han about the Dao of Formation Spells.

……

Three days later, Han Li left the nameless mountain on his Divine Wind Boat and arrived at White Pond Mountain, a nearby gathering place for cultivators.

Rogue cultivators and cultivator clan members would often gather here to exchange information of the cultivation world and conduct trade as well.

Han Li came in order to hear how much the situation had deteriorated in the State of Yue and whether or not the Seven Sects were able to make a turnaround.

Only after acquiring this information would Han Li be able to decide on his next plan of action.

The day of the next cultivator gathering had nearly arrived.

White Pond Mountain wasnt far from Xin Ruyins nameless mountain, and she and Qi Yunxiao had previously went there several times. Naturally, a small meeting such as this would mostly have Qi Condensation cultivators. Only rarely would Foundation Establishment cultivators appear here.

One day later, Han Li arrived at the base of the so-called White Pond Mountain.

This mountain was quite large and had three peaks. The tallest and most rugged location, the west peak, was where the meeting would be hosted.

Han Li turned into a streak of white light as he shot toward the mountain peak.

Chapter 355: Redthread Shadowchaser Needles

To tell the truth, Han Li was quite curious about the sixth floors shopkeeper. The fifth floor shopkeeper was a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. Could the sixth floor cultivator be a Core Formation expert?

Han Li felt slightly excited.

Then Han Li glanced at the young, seventeen-year-old woman that stood behind Madam Lan and was left dumbfounded.

The young woman was dressed rather simply, and her beauty was merely above average. However, for this young mortal woman who was lacking even the slightest magic power to be the sixth floor shopkeeper was truly beyond Han Lis expectations.

But what was particularly unusual was what happened when the young woman saw Madam Lan climb to the sixth floor. She continously called out, Aunty Lan! Aunty Lan! with much intimacy. At the same time, she completely overlooked Han Li, causing him to feel sullen.

Thats enough, Xiuer! There is a guest here! Although Madam Lans words were harsh, her tone was filled with obvious affection.

Guest? The young woman indifferently glanced at Han Li without the slightest of care.

Yes. This Fellow Daoist Han wishes to buy pill formulas and the set of magic tools we previously acquired. Thus, I am bringing him to the sixth floor and having you receive him. I have to go back down. There may be more guests arriving at the fifth floor! Madam Lan spoke with great warmth.

So its like that. But the next time Aunty Lan is free, she must definitely come up and keep me company. The young woman spoke with reluctance.

Madam Lan gave a kind smile in response before heading back down. The young woman gazed at her as she descended.

She eventually turned her head to glance at Han Li and spoke coldly, What sort of pill formulas does your esteemed self want? We possess eight pill formulas, but only two are useful to Foundation Establishment cultivators. In addition, the prices for them are astonishingly high. It wont just cost several hundred spirit stones.

When Han Li heard the tone of her voice, he smiled instead of becoming angry.

So long as the pill formulas are genuine, price is of no concern. Han Lis tone was exceptionally grand. The young woman was surprised by his response and earnestly sized him up.

Then please wait a moment. I will call for people to bring out the pill formulas and the set of magic tools. The young womans expression softened. It was only natural that she acted more pleasantly around a magnanimous guest.

She merely took out a small bell and lightly tapped it with a rhythm. Then, she casually sat in her chair without the slightest intention of entertaining Han Li.

Han Li felt somewhat amazed at this. Still, he calmly pulled out a chair and sat across from the young woman. The only thing separating the two was a wooden table.

Han Lis action caused the young womans graceful brow to lightly crease. Although her expression wasnt very happy, she ultimately didnt say anything.

A short moment later, a young female cultivator walked in, grasping two jade boxes: one large and one small.

Place them there. The young woman spoke indifferently as she pointed to the side of the table.

Yes, Young Madam! The female cultivator respectfully replied before placing the jade boxes down on the table. She then took the initiative to withdraw.

Han Lis eyes flashed with surprise upon seeing the female cultivator speak so respectfully to a young female mortal.

The pill formulas and the magic tools are here. Your esteemed self should have a look. If they are to your satisfaction, then I will tell you the price. The young woman lightly pushed the jade boxes toward Han Li.

Since she insisted, Han Li didnt act with the slightest politeness. He took the small jade box and opened the lid, revealing a red and white jade talisman.

Han Li touched the two jade talismans and closed his eyes, slowly submerging his spiritual sense within them.

When the young woman saw that Han Li was inspecting the pill formulas, she took out a thin, white book and started to read through it without the slightest of concern.

After the time it took to finish a cup of tea, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense and wore an expression of contemplation.

One of the formulas was similar to the Qi Gathering Pill that Lei Wanhe had previously given him. It was useless to him. As for the other, it wasnt an ancient pill formula. It was for a pill called the True Essence Pill. Apart from the required age of the ingredients used, it was rather easy to refine. It was very suitable for his use.

However, the cost of this pill formula was unexpectedly several times greater than the Qi Gathering Pill formula. Even Han Li understood the difference in value between ancient formulas and ordinary formulas that were currently used in the cultivation world.

With that thought, Han Li returned the jade slips to their boxes with an indifferent expression. Then he took the larger box and opened it.

The magic tools in the box caused Han Li to become stunned from a single glance. The jade box actually contained a set of thirteen fine needles sparkling with red light. Each of the needles were only about an inch long, but their fire-red bodies emitted a fluctuating glow.

Flying needle magic tools? Han Li couldnt help but mutter in astonishment.

Even with Han Lis vast experience with magic tools, this was the first time he had seen flying needle magic tools such as these. He suddenly grew very excited. He previously hadnt seen anyone make full use of them either.

When the young woman heard Han Lis murmurs, she couldnt help but turn her head to look at him with a trace of displeasure. She then continued to read the book without paying him any further attention.

At that moment, Han Li was carefully examining one of the red needles as he held it in a pinch without paying any attention to the young womans displeasure. Naturally, he was aware of her displeasure, but he wasnt about to accommodate her aloof, arrogant attitude.

He was now staring at the needle with squinted eyes and a serious expression.

Although Han Li hadnt seen any needle-type magic tools previously, he had heard many rumors with regards to the stealthy viciousness of flying needles.

He had heard that while their offensive power were slightly inferior to ordinary magic tools, their bodies were small, and their flight was quick, thereby being the most suitable weapon to launch an ambush with. As such, many cultivators praised the flying needles to be a hidden weapon, causing flying needles to possess quite the reputation in the cultivation world.

Naturally, there were many reasons as to why flying needle magic tools were so thin. Not only were they refined using peculiar materials, they were also several times more difficult to refine. Because of this, they were rarely seen in the cultivation world. In addition, users of flying needles would often only use them as a last resort since they were unwilling to allow others to know of their existence.

This was why Han Li received such a shock when he saw a set of thirteen such magic tools unexpectedly appear before him.

Young Miss, does this set of flying needles have a name? Han Li felt very pleasantly surprised, but his expression remained calm when he asked the young woman.

When the young woman heard Han Li, she put down the book and indifferently said, The Redthread Shadowchaser Needles!

Good. I wish to acquire the True Essence Pill along with the set of flying needles! Han Li spoke without the slightest hesitation.

The young woman revealed a strange expression as she asked with disbelief, Yi! You truly want that set of magic tools?

What is it? Does this set of magic tools have some sort of defect or is your esteemed pavilion unwilling to sell it? Han Li raised his eyebrows in dissatisfaction.

Your esteemed self is mistaken. Although the Redthread Shadowchaser Needles are extremely precious, our Stardust Pavilion does not wish to keep it. I merely ask this because there is something I must first tell you. This set of flying needles is substantially different from ordinary sets of magic tools. There is no origin controller, nor any child-mother pieces. If you wish to activate them, you must simultaneously control all thirteen needles. Otherwise, they would be useless. The young womans eyes and tone were both ice-cold.

I must simultaneously control them? Han Li came to a suddenly realization. It was no wonder that these rare flying needles had yet to be purchased. It held such a high requirement for ones spiritual sense.

The young woman continued without the slightest of humor, Thats right. Originally, Aunt Lan and a few others fancied this set of magic tools, but because they were only able to control up to nine needles, they have given up on it.

So, all thirteen needles then? Han Li chuckled before suddenly raising his hand, beckoning to the rest of the needles in the box. With a flash of red light, all of the flying needles simultaneously floated. The red needles quickly revolved around Han Li, transforming into thirteen red threads that were difficult for the naked eye to see, creating a finely woven red net in an instant.

The young womans small mouth gaped, revealing an appearance of surprise to Han Li for the first time.

Han Li soon waved his hand once more, returning the red threads to the jade box which once again revealed their original appearance as needles.

With an unchanged expression, Han Li asked with a deep voice, Am I able to purchase these magic tools now?

Since your esteemed self is able to use them, of course you can! Together with the True Essence Pill Formula, it will come to a total of four thousand spirit stones. The young woman regained her calm and once again spoke without the slightest humor.

Four thousand spirit stones! Han Li looked at the young woman while rubbing his nose. That price had exceeded his expectations.

The pill formula is one thousand five hundred spirit stones! The flying needles are two thousand five hundred! The young woman listed the price without the slightest hesitation.

To tell the truth, the woman didnt see the four thousand spirit stones as overly expensive. After all, these items were rarely seen within the cultivation world. Were it not for the defeat of the three allied countries against the Devil Dao, they wouldve never sold such valuable items!

At that moment, Han Li suddenly took a seat and assumed a solemn expression, At what price does your esteemed pavilion purchase thousand-year-old spiritual medicine?