Chapter 1124: Heavenly Omen

To be honest, Han Li had no desire to linger here at all and wanted to return immediately to Tiannan to lift the soul-sealing curse on Nan Nangong Wan. WM net

But lending the Xu Tian Ding to the silver-clad woman was essentially courting death—that ice phoenix was equivalent to a late-stage great cultivator, capable of mastering the Tongbao Jue to the second layer, and with this cauldron aiding her, he might not be a match even if he teamed up with puppets and the Five Demons.

He naturally would not do such a foolish thing of submitting to others.

Fortunately, Nan Nangong Wan had already taken the inner dan of the fire toad ancient beast; even if she couldn't completely lift the seal, delaying the onset of the soul-sealing curse was absolutely no problem, and her life would be safe for two or three hundred years.

Thus, he could only change his original intention and quietly cultivate here for now.

Now Han Li had his eyes tightly shut; aside from a faint rise and fall of his chest, he was utterly still, like a dead object.

But the milky-white mist emanating from the spiritual eye spring before him drifted toward him in a strangely sentient, slow manner, making Han Li seem to flicker in and out of the clouds, eventually forming a milky-white mist ball that completely engulfed his figure.

Day by day, month by month, year by year, time passed slowly; the milky-white spiritual mist continuously gathered gently at the pool's edge, yet the white mist ball remained motionless, showing no change whatsoever, as if it had existed since the birth of heaven and earth.

Cultivation knows no years; in the blink of an eye, eighty full years had passed!

On this day, at a certain island harbor in the chaotic Star Sea, various-sized ships were coming and going, and some accomplished cultivators were likewise flying in and out through the air; aside from this sole exit, the sizable island was shrouded in restrictions on all four sides.

This also contributed to the harbor's prosperous scene.

Near the shore inland, several small hills of varying sizes stood scattered and sparse, and atop the highest one stood a pavilion of pale white color, not particularly refined or elegant, entirely built from massive rough stones, yet possessing a unique rugged and uncouth style.

On the topmost floor of this three-story pavilion, a blue-robed Daoist priest and a white-robed scholar wearing a Confucian cap were gazing at the harbor scene while discussing something.

"Senior Brother Ming, I heard the Nixing Alliance and the Star Palace clashed again near Falling Star Island. This time, a Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Nixing Alliance fell in battle—it seems the Nixing Alliance suffered a minor loss," said the scholar leisurely.

"Cough, in recent years, conflicts between the Star Palace and the Nixing Alliance have flared up again. It seems another major battle is not far off. Strangely, though the Nixing Alliance clearly holds the advantage in power—occupying over twenty of the thirty-six islands in the Inner Sea—the Star Palace actually wins more often in terms of battle outcomes," sighed the blue-robed Daoist priest.

"Hehe, what's so strange about that? The Twin Saints of Tianxing, having cultivated the Yuan Ci Divine Light, are nearly invincible as long as they don't stray far from Tianxing Island. Haven't you heard that in the previous great battle, the Six Dao Ultimate Saints and Wan San Gu joined forces, yet were defeated by the Twin Saints of Tianxing near Tianxing Island? However, the Twin Saints dare not stay away from Tianxing Island for long, or their cultivation would drastically decline. Thus, both sides have their reservations, leaving us minor sects to bear the brunt," the scholar sneered.

"That's true enough—being frequently caught between these two powers isn't a big deal; we can just send a few low-level disciples to handle it. But before, paying tribute to one side sufficed, whereas now we must pay double, making life difficult," said the blue-robed Daoist priest, pursing his lips with a look of resentment.

"Haha, Senior Brother Ming, you're truly overly sentimental—matters like this are hardly for us two Foundation Establishment disciples to concern ourselves with; naturally, our uncles and grand-uncles consider such things. As long as our grand-uncle is present, these two powers won't press too hard on our sect. And once we survive these two years of service duty, we can return to our cave dwellings and cultivate in peace. Speaking of which, since emerging from this retreat, I've faintly felt a breakthrough into the early stage is imminent—I seem ready to enter mid-Foundation Establishment!" the scholar suddenly said, a hint of pride showing on his face.

"What? If Junior Brother can advance to mid-stage within a hundred years, that's extraordinary talent. I, as his senior, have been stuck at mid-stage for dozens of years with no sign of breakthrough," said the blue-robed Daoist priest, startled, then his face showed an envious expression.

"Senior Brother Ming is joking. Who doesn't know the early-stage bottleneck and mid-stage bottleneck are worlds apart? Even if I enter mid-stage, I'll likely still be inferior to you, Senior Brother!" the scholar waved his hands repeatedly.

Upon hearing this, the blue-robed Daoist priest gave a bitter laugh, about to speak further, when a thunderous roar like heavenly divine thunder echoed, causing the entire pavilion to tremble and then shake violently.

The two started, exchanged a glance, and hurriedly looked toward the distant harbor.

In the high sky over ten li from the harbor, a vast expanse of gorgeous clouds resembling evening glow rolled turbulently, followed by rumbling like ten thousand horses galloping, and as the sound resonated, the nearby sea surface suddenly surged into waves over a hundred zhang high, a silver-white streak flying swiftly from afar toward the harbor.

At this, the various-sized vessels in the harbor fell into great chaos, desperately scrambling toward the docks; countless mortals fled the ships and surged wildly ashore.

Before such terrifying waves, anyone could see that remaining on the ships was pure suicide.

As for the ships and their cargo, they were left to fate.

The blue-robed Daoist priest and the scholar paid no heed to this once-in-a-century giant wave, instead wearing tense expressions as they stared fixedly at the rolling clouds in the distant sky.

After only a short while, both broke into heavy sweats.

Not just them—the cultivators coming and going at the harbor also turned pale; some with low cultivation could not even drive their magical treasures or escape lights, and drifted down from the air in panic.

The spiritual pressure emanating from those gorgeous clouds was truly astonishing!

Even at such a distance, they were all shaken by the spiritual aura fluctuations, hearts pounding with fear, as if some ancient demon beast were about to descend upon the world.

At this moment, not only did the buildings near the harbor tremble, but the entire giant island seemed to begin a faint tremor.

The blue-robed Daoist priest and the scholar were already parched and unable to utter a word.

At this moment, three astonishing long rainbows shot from the island's interior, arriving above the pavilion in an instant; after circling once, each plunged into the top floor.

The light faded, revealing a woman and two men.

Specifically, a burly man in yellow robes, a sorrowful-faced old man in green robes, and an alluring woman.

"Greetings, three Uncle Masters!" Upon seeing them, the Daoist priest and scholar finally regained some composure, hastily stepping forward to pay respects.

"What exactly is happening?" the yellow-robed burly man asked, his face solemn.

"Uncle Nephew also doesn't know what occurred—the sky over there suddenly displayed this heavenly phenomenon, and we two were about to send sound transmission talismans to several Uncle Masters!" the blue-robed Daoist priest replied respectfully and swiftly.

Actually, no need for the Daoist priest to say so—the three newly arrived Core Formation cultivators had already been staring fixedly at the distant sky, silent.

"What is this? Could some high-level demon beast be swallowing clouds and spitting mist up there?" the alluring woman asked, frowning her beautiful brows.

"No. There is no demonic aura in the mist—it's not a demon beast. And a demon beast with such power would at minimum be of transformation stage or higher—utterly impossible to appear in the Inner Sea," said the green-robed old man, narrowing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Could it be a senior Nascent Soul cultivator performing magic there?" the burly man asked, doubtful.

"Seems unlikely too! As far as I know, aside from a few demonic cultivation experts among Nascent Soul old demons, I've never heard of anyone practicing such heretical arts as swallowing clouds and spitting mist! It looks more like an omen of a treasure's emergence!" After taking a deep breath, the old man spoke solemnly.

"If that's truly the case, such a mighty omen means this treasure is certainly no trifle—our sect must not let it slip easily!" the alluring woman exclaimed, her eyes lighting up upon hearing this.

Upon hearing this, the burly man's face also showed a restless, eager expression.

"What treasure's emergence? I think you few are just tired of living!" Suddenly, an aged voice echoed continuously throughout the room.

Upon hearing this, the three elders were startled and hastily stood with hands clasped.

Immediately, a blue light flashed in this level of the pavilion, then blazed brightly, and a thin, middle-aged man appeared in the room.

"Greetings, Uncle!" the three called out in unison.

The blue-robed Daoist priest and the scholar, startled, then performed great bows, repeatedly calling out "Uncle Grandmaster!"

Only now could one clearly see: this middle-aged man had a sallow complexion, grayish-white eyes, and was essentially a blind man.

"Hmph, you've got guts, I'll give you that—even if it truly is a treasure's emergence, such a great treasure is not for you to meddle with. Even if you luckily obtain it, you'll only invite disaster upon yourselves! As I know, Hun Hehuan Lao Mo happens to be nearby; with such a heavenly phenomenon, he certainly wouldn't fail to come take a look." The sallow-faced middle-aged man spoke coldly without expression, his grayish-white eyes immediately turning toward the distant rolling clouds of color, his face showing solemnity.

Upon hearing the three words "Hun Hehuan Lao Mo," the burly man and the two others turned pale, their faces instantly becoming extremely ugly.

"Even if we, Uncle Nephew, cannot obtain this treasure, surely you, Uncle, cannot take it either?" the alluring woman said, still unwilling to concede.

"If it truly is a treasure, I will naturally try for it—others fear Hun Hehuan Lao Mo, but Gan Mou would welcome a duel. Unfortunately, this is very likely not an omen of a treasure's emergence," the middle-aged man said woodenly.

The others in the pavilion were startled!

At this moment, a blinding white light shot from the distant sky, instantly turning those colored clouds into nothing; everyone in the pavilion except the middle-aged man couldn't help but close their eyes.

And at that very instant, a spatial distortion spanning half the sky appeared, followed by an immensely stronger spiritual pressure—several times stronger than before—suddenly erupting, and a pure white edifice resembling a corner of a palace mysteriously appeared in the white light, flawless and indistinct, still emitting a faint luster.

This sight caused the burly man and others in the pavilion, who had just reopened their eyes, to stare agape in astonishment!

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