Chapter 1671: Futile Effort

"I did kill the 'Cave Spirit,' but do you two know anything about the true origin of the thing that possessed it?" Han Li's expression was calm; he didn't answer the man surnamed Gui's question directly, but instead asked a question in return.

Upon hearing Han Li ask this, the man surnamed Gui and Xianxian's expressions both changed slightly, and they couldn't help but look at each other.

"Does Brother Han have any doubts? You might as well tell us!" Xianxian was silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"Nothing much, it's just that when this thing was dying, it actually claimed to be a transformation of the Heavenly Demon Monarch. Regarding this, I wonder what views you two have?" Han Li revealed an indifferent look.

"Heavenly Demon Monarch!"

"Impossible!"

This time, Xianxian and the man surnamed Gui exclaimed simultaneously, and at the same time revealed expressions of fear.

"Oh, this is my first time hearing about the Heavenly Demon Monarch, but looking at you two, you seem to understand it exceptionally well. I wonder if you could 'resolve my confusion' a little." Han Li raised an eyebrow, his gaze pressing directly on the two.

The man surnamed Gui let out a cold snort, his expression uncertain, seemingly having no interest in saying anything.

And the crystal-race woman hesitated for a moment before explaining:

"Brother Han should know about Heavenly Demon Heads; the Heavenly Demon Monarch is the top-tier existence among Heavenly Demon Heads. They generally have thousands of transformations; even existences like True Spirits, when encountering such a high-tier monarch invading their heart and mind during Tribulation Crossing, could be demonized if they are not careful, thus becoming puppets."

"Even True Spirits cannot avoid it!" Han Li's gaze sank upon hearing this.

"It's not just True Spirits; it's said that even Immortals of the True Immortal World have the possibility of being demonized and controlled if they encounter a Heavenly Demon Monarch. Of course, this is just hearsay; no one has ever seen it. However, Brother Han says this 'Cave Spirit' was controlled and possessed by a Heavenly Demon Monarch; could it really be so?" Xianxian first gave a bitter smile, then couldn't help but confirm again.

"Why, does Fairy Xianxian think I am deceiving you with false words?" Han Li, upon hearing the true origin of the Heavenly Demon Monarch, was horrified, and naturally his thoughts turned rapidly, but he replied with his usual expression.

"How could this junior think so? It's just that this matter is of great importance, so I had to..."

"I, on the other hand, think that what he said is more than half likely to be true."

Before Xianxian could say anything else, the man surnamed Gui, who had been gloomy for a moment, spoke up expressionlessly.

"What does Brother Gui mean by this?" Not only was Han Li somewhat surprised, but Xianxian also narrowed her beautiful eyes and asked softly.

"Hmph, don't play dumb. I don't believe you didn't discover the strangeness of this 'Cave Spirit.' You should be very clear that Heaven and Earth spirits like the 'Cave Spirit' cannot be possessed and controlled by ordinary existences. Even our main bodies have absolutely no such possibility. Furthermore, what this thing said earlier about having killed several existences like us should also not be false." The man surnamed Gui replied coldly.

"Even so, how did it know about the True Spirit Cave and the True Qilin Origin, and lie in wait here?" Xianxian shook her head, refuting.

"This point is not easy to guess. It's possible that this Heavenly Demon Monarch transformation accidentally broke into this world and inadvertently swallowed an existence like you and me who escaped back then, thus knowing the location of this place. It's also possible it was truly a coincidence, first bumping into this place and controlling the 'Cave Spirit,' and then only knowing about our affairs after swallowing others who found this place." The man surnamed Gui said gloomily.

"If you put it that way, it does have a few possibilities. However, whether it is truly so, we will know if we check. If I remember correctly, the bodies of existences possessed by the Heavenly Demon Monarch will eventually thoroughly turn into demonic dust. This 'Cave Spirit,' although its main body is peculiar, also cannot be spared." Xianxian said, her beautiful eyes scanning downward.

Han Li heard this and looked down curiously.

As a result, after one look, he couldn't help but be startled.

The giant face that had clearly been like gray-white stone earlier had at some unknown time turned into a large pile of black ash, lying quietly on the ground below.

It took Han Li quite a bit of effort to finally see a few traces of the giant face's original appearance from these black ashes, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but twitch.

Such a situation was naturally seen by the other two as well.

The crystal-race woman didn't say anything, just sighed lightly, while the man surnamed Gui raised a hand and grabbed into the void below.

Instantly, a mass of black ash turned into a stream of black smoke and was captured into his hand, where he stared at it intently.

"Not bad, it is indeed Demonic Dust." The man surnamed Gui's gaze flickered unceasingly, and after a good while, he threw the black ash in his hand and said calmly.

"It seems Brother Han's words are not false; this 'Cave Spirit' was indeed controlled by a transformation of the Heavenly Demon Monarch, no wonder it was so difficult to deal with. Earlier, I and the other two didn't know and fell into its trap, almost losing our lives. Speaking of which, this junior truly wants to thank Brother Han for your help." Xianxian smiled lightly, her eyes flickering, and she thanked Han Li.

"It's nothing, I was just lucky to be able to kill this demon. This demon is truly bizarre in its divine abilities, truly difficult to deal with." Han Li recalled the scene of the black-robed man flickering and not dying in the giant face's body, and the corners of his mouth twitched, feeling a great deal of wariness in his heart.

"This is naturally certain. This is still because the 'Cave Spirit' had no physical body and couldn't truly demonize to unleash one-tenth of its divine abilities. Otherwise, the Heavenly Demon Monarch's divine abilities are almost no less than those of a True Immortal in the Spirit World. Even an existence possessed and demonized by it can be terrifying to the extreme, absolutely not something we can deal with now. However, its transformation was killed by Brother Han, so I'm afraid it won't let it go easily. If you truly cross that Ascension Tribulation in the future, this demon will likely interfere personally." The man surnamed Gui's eyes flashed with cold light, but he said such words.

"Ascension Tribulation! Hehe, such a distant matter, I absolutely won't think about it." Han Li laughed, appearing not to take it to heart at all.

"Alright. Since I and Fairy Xianxian have already 'resolved the confusion' for you, shouldn't we mention the matter of the True Qilin Origin?" The man surnamed Gui laughed coldly and mentioned the final purpose of this trip again.

"Regardless of what the True Qilin Origin looks like, I didn't see a trace of it inside the 'Cave Spirit'." This time, Han Li replied exceptionally straightforwardly.

But upon hearing Han Li's words, the man surnamed Gui's expression instantly turned gloomy. Xianxian's beautiful eyebrows frowned, and she also revealed a look of contemplation.

Strangely, neither of them revealed expressions of shock, anger, or suspicion.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, feeling somewhat strange in his heart.

"What does Brother Gui think?" The crystal-race woman suddenly smiled and asked the man surnamed Gui.

"Brother Han indeed has no aura of the True Qilin Origin on him; this item and we were originally one body, so it's impossible to hide it from our senses with treasures or restrictions, so he naturally didn't lie. However, when we were fighting the 'Cave Spirit' earlier, we all sensed the existence of the origin on the 'Cave Spirit'." The man surnamed Gui spat out word by word.

"So to speak, Brother Gui's judgment is the same as mine." Xianxian's expression turned pale.

"Not bad. Since Brother Han didn't obtain the True Qilin Origin, then following the death of the 'Cave Spirit,' the origin existence either dissipated on its own, returning to the earth, or it returned to the original True Spirit Cave, and we will only be able to obtain this item again after the birth of the next 'Cave Spirit'." The man surnamed Gui's expression was exceptionally sinister.

"If it's the first case, we naturally have no more chances. But if it's the second case, it's just waiting for another few hundred years." The crystal-race woman murmured.

"Oh, there is such a thing. Do you two have any way of knowing which case it is?" Han Li felt a stir in his heart, crossed his arms, touched his chin, and couldn't help but ask.

"Naturally, there is no way. The first case is untraceable, and the second case is simply 'no door to enter the earth'." The crystal-race woman murmured.

Han Li felt great disappointment upon hearing this. After all, that origin power could possibly help him advance to the Body Integration stage. Now that they said this, didn't it mean that even if the True Qilin Origin still existed, he would have to wait another few hundred years to have hope of obtaining it?

However, although this pair of man and woman didn't look like they were lying, he naturally wouldn't believe them completely.

He immediately flashed blue light in his eyes, released his spiritual sense, and began to investigate everything in the vicinity while circling in his escape light.

As a result, after searching everything within a radius of several miles carefully, he didn't find a single clue, so he could only fly back depressed and land his escape light beside the other two.

Seeing Han Li also looking so unwilling, Xianxian and the man surnamed Gui naturally became even more convinced of Han Li's earlier words, and all three fell silent, pondering their own matters with different expressions.

For Xianxian, this trip was naturally a complete failure, and the frustration in her heart was imaginable.

The man surnamed Gui was still calm, but his gaze flickered unceasingly, pondering something.

"Hehe, it seems this trip was a wasted effort. Fortunately, my parasitized body is a silver dragon, so I can naturally afford to wait a few hundred years." The man surnamed Gui seemed to have figured something out and suddenly laughed lowly.

"You are a silver dragon body, so even if you wait for so many years, you can still charge toward the Saint-tier and higher existences. But if I wait for a few hundred years, even if I obtain the True Qilin Origin, I might not have the time to thoroughly refine it and use it for cultivation." Xianxian's expression was complex.

"Merging divine senses with you is naturally possible. But if you give up your consciousness and let my consciousness be the main one, I can agree immediately." Xianxian raised her eyebrows, and her beautiful face suddenly sank.

"Hmph, refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" The man surnamed Gui heard this, and a ferocious look appeared on his face; he clenched his two hands, and a faint bloody smell radiated from his body.

"Why, does Brother Gui think you can deal with Brother Han and me joining forces alone?" Xianxian felt a chill in her heart, but a murderous aura appeared on her beautiful face.

"Brother Han, do you want to 'stick a foot in' this matter? If you are willing to turn around and leave now, I will definitely reward you heavily when I return!" The man surnamed Gui's eyes flashed with cold light as he scanned Han Li and spoke suddenly.

"Fellow Daoist Han, do you intend to meddle in this matter? If you are willing to turn around and leave right now, Gui will certainly reward you handsomely later!" The man surnamed Gui said abruptly after his eyes flickered with cold light and swept over Han Li.

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