Chapter 1052

Upon hearing Xuanzǐzi's words, Yinping Lin glanced at the spirit-aware peacock, then stole two looks at Han Li, her face showing a hint of hesitation.

But just then, a white light flashed atop the spirit-aware peacock's head, and the face of the Qing-surnamed youth reappeared; amid the scholar's and the old man's astonished gazes, he first gave a bitter laugh, then said:

"Fellow Daoists, there's no need to seek me out—I am now physically destroyed, and only my nascent soul remains, dwelling within this spirit bird."

"Impossible! Xu-xiong is a late-stage cultivator—how could his body be so easily destroyed? Could the ancient demon sage ancestor imprisoned here have already broken free?" Xuanzǐzi exclaimed in shock, his face losing all color.

"From your tone, Fellow Daoist, it seems you already knew what demonic entity dwells in this demon-suppressing tower." The Qing-surnamed youth's face darkened.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, please don't misunderstand—I myself didn't know earlier. Only after receiving word from my master did I gain a slight understanding of the situation here. The matter of the ancient demon sage ancestor is of great importance; I hope Fellow Daoist will enlighten us both a little." Xuanzǐzi chuckled vaguely.

The Qing-surnamed youth naturally didn't believe this, but now being merely a nascent soul, he couldn't press too hard; he sighed and replied:

"That ancient demon sage ancestor has indeed broken free, but my body wasn't destroyed by him—I was ambushed by the ten-thousand-year corpse bear of Myriad Beasts Valley."

"Myriad Beasts Valley? Impossible—I've been guarding the outside; how could that bear master have slipped in? Perhaps it entered this mountain before us." Xuanzǐzi blinked, then immediately considered a possibility.

"Indeed, that corpse bear not only entered before you and I, but also used some unknown secret technique to transform into a cultivator-like appearance, revealing not a trace of corpse qi; otherwise, how could Xu have been ambushed by it?" The Qing-surnamed youth, recalling his body being devoured by the blood blade, felt a sharp pain in his heart.

"If it was that corpse bear who ambushed Fellow Daoist, this is quite plausible—the valley lord possesses a 'Transformation Pearl' treasure; swallowing it allows one to freely change appearance and conceal demonic and corpse qi, undetectable to ordinary cultivators. Even my Marvelous Sound Treasure Mirror cannot dispel this divine ability." Qimiao True Person frowned as he spoke.

"With your words, I recall—Myriad Beasts Valley does indeed have such a treasure, though I've heard that consuming the pearl greatly restricts one's magic power, otherwise the pearl's power would be lost. Xu-xiong, when that corpse bear ambushed you, had it already revealed its true form?" Xuanzǐzi, the old Daoist, also suddenly understood.

"After these two Fellow Daoists said this, it seems true—the corpse bear indeed revealed its corpse-refining form only after ambushing me." The Qing-surnamed youth's face was full of resentful color.

"To escape the nascent soul from the corpse bear's ambush is already a great fortune amid misfortune. Moreover, Fellow Daoist hasn't yet seized a body—if he returns to find a suitable vessel and undergoes another century or more of arduous cultivation, his cultivation should surely be fully restored." The middle-aged scholar glanced at the spirit-aware peacock, unsure what he saw, and smiled.

"Qimiao Brother truly has piercing insight. Although I can now temporarily dwell within the spirit bird's body, this is not a long-term solution—I must still seek a suitable body as soon as possible." The Qing-surnamed youth softly sighed and replied.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged scholar said nothing more, but his gaze shifted to Guiling, his face showing a hint of solemnity.

"This Fellow Daoist, your face is unfamiliar—how should we address you?" Qimiao True Person asked slowly. The old Daoist beside him likewise blinked repeatedly, carefully scrutinizing the ugly 'woman'.

After all, Guiling is a tenth-level demon beast—its cultivation cannot be hidden from these two fellow cultivators of the same rank.

The ugly 'woman' showed no expression on her face, but Han Li suddenly smiled and spoke.

"This is Fellow Daoist Guiling, like Han Mou, who was mistakenly transmitted into this mountain after triggering a restriction."

"Being transmitted here by triggering a restriction—this is indeed very rare. I don't know which sect Fellow Daoist Han belongs to; I seem never to have seen your likeness before." Xuanzǐzi saw the ugly 'woman' silent, appearing to take Han Li as his leader, a flash of surprise in his eyes; his earlier nonchalance toward Han Li immediately changed, and he replied with a smile.

"Han Mou is merely a loose cultivator—it's no surprise Fellow Daoist doesn't know him. However, being able to stand alongside Qimiao True Person of the Tianmo Sect suggests Fellow Daoist's status is no small matter. I dare ask: how did the two Fellow Daoists enter the eighth layer? As far as I know, the transmission array there seems unable to be activated due to some mishap." Han Li had never met Xuanzǐzi, but having just heard their words, he vaguely knew the other was likely an elder of one of the top ten sects, and thus straightened up to respond.

"I am truly muddle-headed—I haven't even introduced myself yet. I am Xuanzǐzi of the Taiyi Sect. As for how we came in—we didn't use any transmission array, but rather employed our Taiyi Sect's Boundary-Breaking Talismans to shatter the eighth layer's barrier and force our way in." Xuanzǐzi said indifferently.

"Boundary-Breaking Talisman? Can this talisman really break spatial barriers?" Han Li startled at the name, then immediately showed a doubtful expression.

"Of course, talismans alone won't do—one must also match them with a special secret technique and our sect's Tian'a Divine Sword. But I never expected that upon entering this place, we would again be trapped in another space." The old Daoist glanced back at the space where the black wind banner restriction had once been, then chuckled.

"The great reputation of the Taiyi Sect's Boundary-Breaking Talisman and Tian'a Divine Sword—even I have long heard of it. Your spatial barriers, which leave us helpless, are treated as nothing by you two Fellow Daoists. The Taiyi Sect and Tianmo Sect truly deserve to be the foremost righteous and demonic sects of Great Jin." Yinping Lin softly sighed.

"Fairy Lin jests—your Tianlan Holy Palace's treasures are also numerous; it's merely that our sect's divine sword happens to possess some spatial-shattering ability." Xuanzǐzi stroked his beard, speaking politely.

Upon hearing the old Daoist's humble words, Yinping Lin couldn't help but bitterly smile.

Though the Tianlan Holy Palace may not fall short of the two great sects in high-level cultivators, when it comes to treasures, how could it compare to the two sects whose lineages stretch back to ancient times?

"By the way, where is Gan Hehuan Lao Mo? I heard Fellow Daoist Xuanzǐzi say this old demon also entered this mountain." The middle-aged scholar suddenly swept his gaze around, his expression shifting as he asked.

Gan Hehuan Lao Mo!

Upon hearing this, the Qing-surnamed youth and Yinping Lin couldn't help but glance toward Han Li.

After all, back then, the Wood Lady of the Huaxian Sect had once said Han Li and Gan Hehuan Lao Mo had clashed in battle. Originally, they didn't believe the old demon would fall by Han Li's hand, but after witnessing Han Li's divine powers, they now couldn't help but feel a hint of doubt.

Seeing this expression, Xuanzǐzi and Qimiao True Person naturally felt great surprise, exchanged a glance, and likewise fixed their eyes on Han Li's face.

Han Li inwardly sighed, but outwardly remained calm and said:

"After parting ways with Fellow Daoist Gan in the Kunwu Hall, I lost track of him—perhaps he went elsewhere to seek treasures. Speaking of which, I too have not seen anyone else from the Yinuo Sect."

"Fellow Daoist Han means Fellow Daoist Ge and his companions, right? Han Brother, don't overthink it—Ge Fellow Daoist and his group were ambushed on the way here by the Great Elder of the Ye Family, and have already perished. Even their nascent souls have been reduced to nothing." The Qing-surnamed youth said woodenly.

"Ah, so that's it!" Han Li, somewhat enlightened.

"This Kunwu Mountain is truly perilous beyond measure—so many cultivators have fallen here." Xuanzǐzi seemed to sense something, stared at Han Li with a strange expression, then sighed.

"It's better that the Yinuo Sect people aren't here—saves us the hindrance. Fellow Daoists, let's first discuss the matter of the ancient demon sage ancestor." The middle-aged scholar swept his gaze over the distant palace ruins, his expression turning solemn.

"What Qimiao said with his fierce expression is correct! Don't conceal it from Fellow Daoists—we actually came here for the Ye Family and that ancient demon sage ancestor; this matter concerns the entire cultivation world, and I hope Fellow Daoists will cooperate." Xuanzǐzi likewise smiled at Han Li and the others.

Upon hearing this, the Qing-surnamed youth and Yinping Lin did not immediately respond, but their expressions turned strange. Now that they've been implanted with a restriction, they dare not speak recklessly before knowing Han Li's intentions. For a time, Yinping Lin and the ever-changing face of the Qing-surnamed youth both appeared uncertain.

Guiling remained silent from beginning to end.

Thus, Han Li's unnaturally calm expression, in the eyes of these two great cultivators, naturally appeared somewhat abrupt.

Xuanzǐzi and Qimiao True Person exchanged a glance, their faces both flashing a hint of surprise—evidently they noticed that the Qing-surnamed youth and this Tianlan Holy Maiden seemed to harbor a few points of wariness toward Han Li.

This made their hearts tighten.

"Since the two Fellow Daoists wish to know about the ancient demon, let Han Mou be the one to speak." Han Li's eyes moved, and he spoke calmly.

"Good, Fellow Daoist Han since——"

Xuanzǐzi the old Daoist was laughing, just about to say something, when suddenly a heaven-shaking, earth-rumbling roar erupted from the palace direction, and from within the palace burst forth more than ten pillars of 'milky' white light.

The old Daoist's face instantly changed, his words cut off abruptly.

Immediately, the entire eighth-layer space underwent a violent tremor, a humming sound rose, the ground slowly cracked, spatial white light flickered, and everything began to twist and deform.

"Not good! The ancient demon sage ancestor is breaking the seal of the ninth layer! How could he do this? This is impossible!" Qimiao True Person, seeing this, cried out in alarm, his face simultaneously flashing with fear.

Ninth layer seal?

Upon hearing this, Han Li felt great surprise, but seeing the entire space seemed on the verge of collapse, his spirit light flashed—his Ganguan Shield flew from his hand, transforming into a silver-colored light shield that protected him beneath it.

But before he could take any further action, the more than ten pillars of light spraying from the palace direction suddenly changed color, turning black as ink; then the light pillars swelled and distorted, and in an instant bent and shot outward in all directions. Wherever they passed, space tore and split apart, white light and black radiance intertwining and flickering.

"Spatial rift!"

Upon seeing this, Han Li could no longer remain composed—his expression changed abruptly.

Without a thought, he flipped his palm, a fiery red talisman appearing in his hand; he slapped it onto himself, and a crimson flood dragon shadow appeared on his body, then instantly faded away.

In the blink of an eye, Han Li transformed into a half-human, half-flood-dragon form!

And just then, amid Yinping Lin's startled cry, a black rift instantly appeared before everyone.

Han Li only felt a flash of black light before his eyes, and endless darkness swallowed him whole, leaving him nowhere to escape.

Net