Chapter 1353

"Brother Jin, you have been quietly following Brother Jin Mou all the way here—what is your intention? Could it be that Brother Weng has somehow offended you, Fellow Daoist?" The speaker was none other than the hooked-eyebrow man who had contended with Han Li for the spirit land, while the one facing him was none other than the gold-skinned fatty who had appeared together with him in the Jade Pavilion Tower before.

Though the two had originally seemed quite friendly, they now appeared ready to clash at a moment's notice, as if one wrong word would send them into open combat.

"What are you talking about, Brother Weng? Brother Jin Mou merely happened to pass by this place occasionally, saw you lingering here, and came over to say hello—nothing more." The gold-skinned fatty wore an innocent expression.

"Occasionally passing by? Saying hello? Brother Jin, do you take me for a fool? Who would run out of nowhere to such a remote place just to say hello, needing to employ concealment techniques and follow me for over ten thousand li?" The hooked-eyebrow man said coldly.

"Hah, this question puzzles even Brother Jin Mou. Why did Brother Weng not stay in his own cave to cultivate, but come here instead? If I recall correctly, this is precisely the spirit land you fought desperately to claim earlier." The gold-skinned fatty narrowed his eyes, a flash of cunning crossing his face.

"Hmph, do I need to explain to Brother Jin Mou where I go?" The hooked-eyebrow man's expression shifted, turning utterly grim.

"Why get angry, Brother Weng? This spirit land already has an owner, and as your elder brother, I am merely worried you might act rashly and stir up trouble you cannot resolve—that is why I followed you here. If you seek something in this land, why not tell me? Let Brother Jin Mou lend you a hand." The gold-skinned fatty laughed heartily, his tone implying he would not drop the matter.

The hooked-eyebrow man snorted, said nothing more, but a murderous light flickered in his eyes.

Suddenly, behind the gold-skinned fatty, a flash of emerald light appeared in the void, and a thin green thread materialized out of nowhere, trembling before transforming into a large emerald-colored net that descended upon him.

The entire process was silent and soundless, not even a whisper of wind, like a ghostly apparition.

The gold-skinned fatty seemed unaware, still wearing his false smile as he faced the hooked-eyebrow man.

The man's face showed no change, but inwardly he rejoiced; he moved his hand within his sleeve, and a crystalline blue flying knife suddenly appeared, ready to be unleashed the moment the fatty was bound by the silk net—he would then strike and kill him in one blow.

But as the silk net neared the top of the gold-skinned fatty's head by just a few feet, a startling scene suddenly unfolded.

With a muffled "Bang!", spiritual light burst forth from the fatty's hair bun, suddenly flying out as a sheet of golden light that condensed slightly before transforming into a golden hand, which seized the green net.

As the golden light and emerald light intertwined, they emitted a strange "crackling" sound.

"Old Devil Jin, is it you?"

"Qiong Laoguai Ming, you have indeed made a personal appearance."

Two utterly different voices spoke simultaneously from the emerald light and golden radiance—one sounded surprised, the other calm and assured.

Immediately, the golden hand and emerald net in the air simultaneously split and shot backward in opposite directions, their light retracting as they each transformed: one into a small emerald flood dragon, the other into a half-foot-tall tiny figure.

The small flood dragon was nothing remarkable—it was precisely an incarnation cultivated by the hooked-eyebrow man's master. The half-foot-tall figure, however, wore a pale golden Daoist robe, had a "confused" wooden sword slung on his back, and his face was shrouded in a hazy mist, making his features indistinct; one could only vaguely sense that he seemed quite aged.

"Soul-Separation Technique! Qiong Laoguai Ming, you have even dispatched the soul-separation you used to evade heavenly tribulation—are you not afraid of a mishap, that when the next great tribulation comes, you will be unable to pass it?" The emerald flood dragon fixed its eyes on the tiny figure opposite, speaking coldly.

"Hehe, there is no need for Fellow Daoist Ming to worry so much. Back then, Qianbao Shangren possessed such fame, his personal treasures shaking the two clans for tens of thousands of years—obtaining just two or three of them would ensure safe passage through the next tribulation. Fellow Daoist, you also sent an incarnation here, did you not?" The tiny figure gave a low chuckle, speaking nonchalantly.

"How do you know of 'Qianbao Shangren'?" The emerald flood dragon's heart startled, and he shouted sternly.

At this moment, the gold-skinned fatty and the hooked-eyebrow man stood motionless in place, their faces respectful, daring not to interject in the slightest.

"How I know this is none of your concern, Fellow Daoist. However, Fellow Daoist Ming, rest assured—only you and I know of this matter, and there will absolutely be no third party to catch wind of it. Why not join forces and seize the treasure together?" The tiny figure gave a hehe laugh, making this suggestion.

"Join forces to seize the treasure? If you truly possess specific clues, why would you still need cooperation?" The emerald flood dragon sneered.

"Indeed, Brother Jin Mou acted through his disciple, so the information obtained is somewhat vague—but as long as Brother Ming knows the specifics, that will suffice." The tiny figure spoke leisurely.

"You are threatening me!" The emerald flood dragon's voice turned icy cold.

"How dare Brother Jin Mou do such a thing? When I speak of cooperation, I naturally possess something to assist Fellow Daoist in seeking the treasure. When the treasure is found, we shall split it evenly, harming no harmony—would that not be splendid?" The tiny figure shook his head and waved his hands repeatedly.

"You……, eh, someone is coming!" The emerald flood dragon flared with anger, about to say more, when his expression suddenly changed and he abruptly lifted his head to gaze toward a certain point in the sky.

Not only the emerald flood dragon, but the golden tiny figure also flashed his eyes in the same direction, his expression likewise turning grim.

"It seems the master of this place has returned, and the timing is about right. Fellow Daoist, whether you cooperate or not, a decision must be made quickly. Otherwise, if things truly erupt and alarm those old monsters in Tianyan City, we may both end up with nothing but empty baskets. According to Tianyan City's regulations, any treasure discovered by the spirit land's owner within his own spirit land belongs entirely to the owner." The golden tiny figure spoke carelessly, yet his tone suddenly turned solemn.

The emerald flood dragon's eyes flickered several times, he exhaled a long breath, and then spoke somewhat helplessly:

"Very well, I, Ming Mou, can temporarily agree to cooperation, but equal division is absolutely out of the question. As for the specific terms of cooperation, let us find a place to discuss them properly. We cannot remain here any longer. According to my disciple, this person may only be a Soul Transformation cultivator, but his spiritual sense is not weak—we must not let him discover our presence."

"Hah, with those words from Fellow Daoist, that is enough! Let us go."

The golden tiny figure nodded in satisfaction, reached out with one hand into the void, and suddenly a purple small umbrella appeared in his grasp.

With a light shake, the small umbrella instantly transformed into a ring of purple light, which enveloped both him and the gold-skinned fatty below, then flashed—both vanished into thin air.

"Purple Maple Umbrella! Old Devil Jin actually brought out such a spiritual treasure—he truly came prepared! We shall go as well." Seeing the purple small umbrella, the emerald flood dragon startled, inwardly feeling great displeasure as he greeted the hooked-eyebrow man, then opened his mouth and spat out a small five-colored, misty banner.

After the banner spun around, it transformed into five-colored clouds that wrapped the two of them and dragged them underground, vanishing without a trace.

This place instantly became utterly silent, as if no one had ever come here before.

After the time it takes to eat a meal, a flash of green light streaked from the distant sky and shot forward, within the escape light a youth with an ordinary face.

It was indeed Han Li.

When the green light reached the air above the depression, it paused, circling the nearby void several times, then the light retracted, and Han Li's form hovered in midair, his gaze sweeping around before a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

He had faintly sensed that there was a trace of spiritual energy fluctuation from a battle here, though extremely weak and fleeting, but he would not mistake it.

Though the tiny figure and emerald flood dragon who had confronted him here were Void Refinement cultivators, one was merely a soul-separation incarnation and the other a manifested body, while Han Li cultivated the Great Expansion Decision, his spiritual sense being powerful—even surpassing that of an early-stage accomplished Soul Transformation cultivator, only slightly inferior to an early-stage Void Refinement cultivator.

Thus, though they acted swiftly, they were still detected by Han Li due to the abnormality here, prompting him to immediately increase his escape speed severalfold—but it seems he still arrived a step too late.

Han Li then extended his spiritual sense to rapidly and thoroughly search the surrounding area for hundreds of li, yet found nothing at all.

His expression immediately darkened.

After silently pondering in midair for an unknown duration, Han Li suddenly let out a cold laugh, his entire body glowing with green light, which suddenly transformed into a green rainbow that shot straight toward his own cave dwelling.

At this time, the emerald flood dragon and golden tiny figure, who had long since fled tens of thousands of li away, naturally did not know their trail had already been exposed; they were now gathered on another desolate small mountain, beginning to discuss joining forces to seize the treasure.

Meanwhile, upon Han Li's return to his cave dwelling, he immediately opened the restrictions around it, tidied up a bit, and then entered the artifact-refining chamber within his cave.

Upon entering, he remained there for three days and three nights; when he emerged again, he held in his hand an octagonal strange artifact plate, its silver light shining brightly, while his storage pouch also simultaneously contained countless bean-sized beads of various colors.

These beads had surfaces warm, moist, and smooth, each bearing one or several silver-colored runes—indeed, they were the Yinke Wen runes of this immortal realm.

These were precisely what Han Li, during his time in the mortal realm, had comprehended from the symbols on the remaining pages of the Golden Pavilion Jade Book, then evolved from one such symbol set, creating himself a special artifact called the "Wanlong Zhu."

Though this artifact is not difficult to refine and possesses neither offensive nor defensive power, when combined with the symbolism of the Jade Book, it can monitor a vast area of tens of li radius around each bead. As long as any spiritual energy fluctuation occurs within the monitoring range, even if separated by millions of li, Han Li can immediately detect its approximate location through the artifact plate.

Of course, this monitoring does not work simply by burying the beads randomly in the ground.

It requires not only placing the artifact plate within a special formation, but also that the burial sites of the Wanlong Zhu beads must center on the artifact plate, mutually responding, needing to form a complex and abnormal super** formation to function.

The size of this formation naturally depends on how many mountain-river beads Han Li has buried.

Generally speaking, if one seeks to bring an entire spirit land under control, the spirit stone consumption alone would be beyond what an ordinary person could afford.

Even with Han Li's wealth, once this monitoring formation is activated and does not cease, it would drain all his spirit stones within a few years.

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