Chapter 1002: A Chance Encounter
Han Li slowly stood up and reached out to a nearby red cloud. Suddenly, a large azure hand materialized in the air and grabbed ahold of it.
He stared at the hand and suddenly formed a strange hand gesture before muttering an incantation.
The large hand trembled momentarily before closing a fist around the cloud.
Azure light brightly shined from the hand and it soon took the shape of a ball.
He then spat out a thread of blue Nascent flame and had it wrap around the ball before quickly submerging it in an inferno.
Han Li then ceased casting spell seals and expressionlessly looked at the ball of light in silence.
After an unknown amount of time, the corner of his mouth twitched and he shook his sleeve towards the blaze and swept it away, revealing a faint red pearl.
“So I was right! Such brilliant transformation concealment methods can only be accomplished by ancient cultivators. Even then, there could only be a few cultivators that knew how to do this even during ancient times. It is fortunate that Xin Ruyin[1] mentioned a similar restriction in the jade slip she gave me long ago or I would truly be at a loss. It seems I’ll have to continue reinforcing my spirit eyes in the future. If I continue to use the Brightsight Spirit Water for another hundred years, I should be able to see through even top grade illusion transformations.” Han Li sighed, feeling somewhat gloomy that he wasn’t able to see through it.
[1] Xin Ruyin was a female Qi Condensation cultivator that was introduced in Chapter 277. She was a spell formation master who later gave Han Li the accumulation of her knowledge in exchange for the vengeance of her deceased husband.
He no longer paid any attention to the red pearl floating in the air and looked around him before a blue cloud caught his eye. Then, he reached out for it and began to envelop it in Nascent flames.
This time, the cloud disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Han Li didn’t appear surprised and simply reached out for another one.
After two more failures, he eventually came into possession of a blue pearl.
Half a day later, he acquired a yellow, azure, and gold pearl.
He solemnly raised his hand to these pearls and had them fly high into the air.
He then pulled his hands at them and had them slowly revolve, gradually accelerating them until it formed a ring of rainbow light.
Han Li raised his brow at the sight and softly shouted, “Go!”
He stopped his fingers and the rainbow ring scattered, flying off in various directions at a profound trajectory.
In the blink of an eye, they flew to seemingly unrelated points and revolved in place, pulsing in size as they underwent a strange alteration.
He was forced to narrow his eyes from the blinding eruptions as the balls now were more akin to five blazing suns.
They converged together and the world began to blur around him. Soon, light surged and Han Li found himself back at the stone steps next to the huge boulder.
“Fellow Daoist Han!”
“Brother Han!”
Bai Yaoyi and Old Man Fu shouted out in alarm when they saw him. The two stood ten meters away, and the distress on their faces quickly turned to delight.
“So you two were also trapped?” Han Li asked.
“It must’ve been Brother Han who broke through that bizarre restriction. I’ve never seen such a fearsome spell formation before. I thought that I would be trapped in there until I perished,” Old Man Fu spoke with lingering fear.
It was clear he had suffered much in this time. Both his magic power and spirit had been damaged in his attempts to escape.
With a trace of appreciation on her face, Bai Yaoyi wryly chuckled, “My circumstances were about the same. Many thanks to Brother Han for breaking the restriction.”
Han Li smiled and said, “It was nothing. I have only heard about similar restrictions by chance and was able to dispel it. These types of ancient restrictions are truly rare. If I am correct, that spiritual herb Brother Fu grabbed should’ve been a transformed magic tool. I’m afraid you’ve been tricked.”
“That can’t be. It was clearly a- Yi! What’s this?” Old Man Fu doubtfully took out a jade box and opened it to reveal an ordinary jade scepter.
He was immediately dumbstruck by the sight.
“In truth, we were already in the illusions grasp when we approached the huge stone. Fellow Daoist had only activated the most fearsome of the restrictions upon grabbing the ‘spiritual herb.’ How about we take another look at it?” Han Li then pointed in the direction of the rock.
The other two looked over and saw a plant with purple berries growing on it.
“Those ancient cultivators are truly devious to put such a trap here. What were they thinking?” The old man flusteredly said.
Bai Yaoyi curled her lips in amazement.
“There’s no need to be so amazed,” Han Li indifferently spoke, “This ancient restriction needed to be activated by those who entered it. It is only natural for its appearance to change. However, it was only dissolved and not completely destroyed. We only have a limited amount of time.”
“This mountain is unlike its reputation as the Immortal spirit mountain. It’s more like a dragon’s lair!” Old Man Fu appeared resentful at having been tricked.
Han Li’s eyes flickered and he said with a deep voice, “Let’s be more careful. This place isn’t just an old ruin. I only managed to dispel that restriction out of luck. I’m not certain I’ll be able to next time, so let's avoid stirring up any calamity.”
Old Man Fu let out an embarrassed laugh, “I’ll be sure not to act so rashly in the future.”
Bai Yaoyi pensively nodded.
“Since Fellow Daoists understand, let’s head on our way. The noise ahead has already come to a stop. Over the past few days, they might’ve already arrived at the top.” Han Li looked at the top of the mountain and set off up the stairs.
The other two closely followed suit.
Several hours later, the three flew past several huge cliffs, eventually arriving at the stone pavilion where the Ye Clan had rested previously, and where Xiang Zhili had disappeared.
When they saw the site, Han Li sighed and the three stopped, looking at the pavilion from a distance.
Old Man Fu and Bai Yaoyi both couldn't help but look over, having also noticed something off.
There were shallow footsteps in the loose dirt surrounding the area. If someone wasn’t paying attention, they could’ve easily missed it.
Bai Yaoyi tensed her brow and said, “Others have been here already.”
Old Man Fu muttered to himself for a moment and pointed to an object at the side of the pavilion, “Take a look at that stone as well!”
There was a deep, narrow groove scathed the surface that was ten meters long. One could easily tell it was the mark of an incredibly sharp sword Qi. It had been unintentionally left behind by the Ye Clan’s Seventh Uncle during their battle with the Lion Hawk.
Bai Yaoyi’s eyes lit up, “This mark is new. It seems that something else had attacked them. Could it have been the Silver-winged Nightfiend?”
With exceptional calm, Han Li said, “Perhaps, but in any case, they made their way up. It should save us some trouble.”
When Old Man Fu heard this, he smiled and thought to say something, but was interrupted by a sudden flash of white nearby, followed by the appearance of a colorless screen. A bleached silhouette emerged and could clearly see the three.
Han Li and Bai Yaoyi both rejoiced as they had found the exit they longed for.
However, Old Man Fu lost all the blood in his face when he saw the figure, shouting, “The Unbreakable Cinque Devils? Those are Old Devil Qian’s incarnations!”
When Han Li heard this, he was stunned. He felt as though he had heard of them before and of the name Old Devil Qian, but before anything came to mind, he noticed Bai Yaoyi’s face had blanched as well.
With several puffs, five similar white silhouettes emerged.
These indistinct silhouettes appeared abreast in a line. Their statue gazes all focused on Han Li and then his companions.
‘The Grand Elder of the Yin Sifting Sect!’ When Han Li finally recognized the five strange beings, his expression instantly turned unsightly.
“So it was Fellow Daoist Fu, what a coincidence! It is no wonder why I wasn’t able to find you! So it turned out you had entered here first. And from this woman’s strange attire, she should be a cultivator from North Night Palace. I can be considered old friends with your palace’s Madam Liu. As for this last Fellow Daoist, tch tch, could it be Brother Han from the Heavenly South? You’ve had both my sect and the Endless Sky Temple search long and hard for you!” Old Devil Qian’s voice was amazed at first, but then it slowly broke out into wild laughter.