Chapter 2013: Yellow Cloth Puppet
Loud Buddhist chants rang out as countless silver runes surged out of the net in a frenzy, forming a massive starry projection in an instant before plummeting straight down from above.
A rumbling boom erupted as everything within a radius of close to 10 kilometers was inundated by piercing silver light.
The world's origin Qi in the surrounding area instantly became extremely violent, and grey tornadoes were swept up without any warning, destroying everything in their wake.
The occasional earth-shattering boom rang out within the giant silver net, the dazzling silver light made it impossible to see what was happening inside.
The golden-robed young man controlled the entire giant net with one hand while his other hand was clasped behind his back in a nonchalant manner, seemingly completely unconcerned that the three Holy Spirits would escape.
Only after around 10 minutes had passed did the commotion taking place within the silver net gradually die down, and in the end, everything fell silent. The golden-robed young man swept his spiritual sense downward, upon which a cold smile appeared on his face, and he made a grabbing motion toward the giant net.
The massive silver net instantly crumbled away at his behest, alongside the grey tornados and silver light. It was as if everything had been a mere illusion.
However, the huge mountain down below was clearly significantly shorter than before, and there were three glowing items hovering in the air above the rubble on the mountain summit.
These consisted of an antiquated silver mirror that was around 10 feet in size, a section of bamboo that was over 10 feet tall, and an azure ball of light.
A hint of elation appeared on the golden-robed young man's face upon seeing this, and he swept a sleeve downward to release a burst of silver light that drew the items to him in a flash.
"Not bad. After I refine these treasures, they'll be of some use to me," the golden-robed young man murmured to himself with a pleased expression as he carefully appraised the three items.
"However, this isn't going to be enough. If I can get a few more of these, then I'll be able to use more of my powers. Having said, it seems that there are Grand Ascension Stage beings in this Spirit Race, and they'll be quite troublesome for me to face in my current state," the young man mused after stowing the items away.
After pondering the situation for a while, he seemed to have arrived at a decision, and he flew away as a streak of dazzling golden light.
Thus, peace and quiet returned to the surrounding area. However, around an hour following the young man's departure, a ball of red light suddenly flew out from beneath the rubble down below amid a faint buzzing sound.
This was a fist-sized ball of light that contained a purple eyeball-like object, and it hovered in mid-air before turning toward the direction that the golden-robed young man had flown away in.
This was clearly a treasure that was being controlled by someone, and it was clearly quite a remarkable treasure considering it had completely escaped the golden-robed young man's detection.
All of a sudden, the purple eyeball began to rotate on the spot, following which the light shimmering around it began to fluctuate in brightness, but it didn't make so much as a single sound.
Almost at the exact same moment, there was an elderly man with a remarkably youthful set of facial features appraising a white crystal ball with a dark expression. The elderly man was seated on a black wooden chair in a golden palace within a sea of clouds, and a series of images were slowly unfolding on the surface of the crystal ball. The images depicted the golden-robed young man defeating the three Holy Spirits, and there were some accompanying voices that could be heard as well.
When the elderly man heard the young man utter the term "spirit servant", his expression immediately changed slightly, but then quickly returned to normal.
However, as soon as the golden-robed young man released that giant silver net, the elderly man instantly rose to his feet, and exclaimed, "That's a Spirit Capturing Heavenly Net! That's impossible! Even someone who's descended from the True Immortal Realm definitely won't be able to bring such a treasure into this realm."
The elderly man's face immediately became twisted with fury and resentment at the mention of the Spirit Capturing Heavenly Net.
After watching the battle for a while longer, the elderly man seemed to have discovered something, and his expression eased significantly. He began to pace around the room with his hands clasped behind his back as he murmured to himself, "No, this has to the replica. Otherwise, a true Spirit Capturing Heavenly Net wouldn't have taken so long to defeat those three. Even so, it seems to still be extremely potent against us Spirit beings and can't be ignored. I don't care if this man really did descend from the True Immortal Realm; we can't allow him to leave our Spirit Race alive! However, if he really is a true immortal, then it's very unlikely that we'll be able to kill him. It looks like we'll have to use that thing to completely seal him away."After pacing around the room a few more times, the elderly man suddenly stopped before sitting back in his chair as a contemplative look appeared on his face.
Meanwhile, in the human race, there was an azure streak of light flying over a mountain range that lay on the border of the Holy Sovereign City and Deep Heaven City. The streak of light was flying at an incredible speed, and it suddenly changed directions before flying down into a secluded valley.
After just a single flash, the streak of azure light landed on a giant grey rock, then faded to reveal the azure-robed Han Li.
Han Li cast his gaze throughout the surrounding area with a calm expression, then suddenly focused his attention on an ordinary-looking tree with an unblinking gaze.
"Heehee, I knew this little trick of mine wouldn't be able to fool Fellow Daoist Han." A giggling female voice rang out from within the huge tree, following which it blurred and warped before transforming into a burly yellow-robed that was several tens of feet tall.
Standing beside the burly man was a beautiful young woman in a five-colored feather dress, and she was appraising Han Li with a wide smile, but there was clearly a hint of astonishment in her eyes.
"Greetings, Fairy Ye; sorry to keep you waiting," Han Li said with a smile as he cupped his fist in a salute.
This woman was none other than the matriarch of the Ye Family, and Han Li had met her once during the Myriad Spirit Platform gathering. Her powers seemed to be no less formidable than those of the Long Family patriarch, so Han Li naturally had to afford her some respect.
"I only arrived a few hours before you, so I didn't have to wait too long. I was trying to play a little prank on you using this Yellow Cloth Puppet I recently obtained, but you saw through it right away. It looks like there are some issues with this puppet," the woman said with a smile as she patted the burly yellow-robed man beside her, creating a hollow thumping sound.
The burly man was identical to a real human, but it was only a humanoid puppet.
"Surely you jest, Fairy Ye. There are no inherent flaws with this puppet; it's simply not of a high enough caliber to fool the likes of me and you," Han Li said with a smile.
"Don't underestimate this puppet; it was created by Old Man Mu Gu, and he assured me that there was a good chance it would be able to fool even Body Integration cultivators. I didn't think that you would see through it right away; it seems that he was exaggerating. In contrast, it seems the tales that I've heard about your rapid rate of progression certainly weren't exaggerations, Fellow Daoist Han," the woman said with a smile.
"I encountered some opportunities and was very lucky to have progressed to the late-Body Integration Stage, but my powers can't even begin to compare with those of a veteran late-Body Integration cultivator like you, Fairy Ye," Han Li replied in an indifferent manner.
"Hmph, you're still trying to placate me by saying something like this. I heard that a Sacred Ancestor clone and a late-Body Integration Stage devilish lord fell by your hands during the same battle; don't you think you're being too pretentious by saying something like that?" The woman pouted as she rolled her eyes in an unconvinced manner.
"Those are just exaggerated stories; I was only able to kill those powerful opponents as I had received assistance from other fellow daoists. Otherwise, my powers wouldn't have been anywhere near enough to achieve such a feat," Han Li chuckled in an ambiguous manner.
The woman's pout became even more pronounced upon hearing this. "Hmph, do you think I'll believe you?"
Han Li merely smiled and remained silent.
Seeing as Han Li didn't want to continue on this subject, the woman withdrew her Yellow Cloth Puppet before moving on to a different topic. "Back when I last met you, you had only just reached the Body Integration Stage, yet in just a few centuries, you've progressed to the late-Body Integration Stage; this rate of progression is almost unheard of! If it weren't for this devilish tribulation, the holy island would've most likely invited you to join them already."
"I've heard that the holy island has the purest spirit veins in our human and demon territories, and that countless precious ingredients and medicines are planted on the island; it would indeed benefit me immensely if I could join the island," Han Li replied.
The woman paused momentarily before asking, "Brother Han, did you know that the holy island itself is half of a Profound Heavenly Treasure and is the last resort for our two races to continue our heritage?"