Chapter 2266: Ziling

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Han Li appeared in the third-floor hall and sat down as a guest opposite the hemp-clad young woman.

"Brother Han—no, should I call you Senior now? To think that in just a few hundred years, you have actually become a Grand Ancestor of the Mahayana stage. Although I knew that with your aptitude, this day would come sooner or later, I never expected it to arrive so quickly." The hemp-clad young woman covered her mouth and chuckled, showing no signs of being overly formal.

"Miss Lan, there is no need for such formalities. Since we are old acquaintances, we should continue to address each other as we did in the past. However, it seems I don't need to say much; your Guangyuan Pavilion already knows almost everything about the matters in the Land of Originating Demons," Han Li said with a gentle smile.

Back then, this woman had done him a favor, so Han Li naturally would not use his status as a senior to pressure her.

"Since Fellow Daoist Han says so, then I won't stand on ceremony. The two great battles in the Land of Originating Demons shocked the entire Demon Realm. Our Guangyuan Pavilion claims to know everything, so we naturally received the relevant news immediately. But I never imagined that the Mother of Locusts, who had always been regarded as the great catastrophe of the Demon Realm, would actually be slain by Baohua, you, and the others working together. With this, I can continue to manage this pavilion with peace of mind," the hemp-clad young woman said with a playful glint in her eyes.

"The truth is, the ones who truly exerted the most effort in slaying that Mother of Locusts were others; Baohua and I only lent our names to the cause. Otherwise, given how terrifying that Mother of Locusts was, if we had truly faced her head-on, it would have been a stroke of luck just to keep our lives, let alone talk about slaying her. However, the details are somewhat inconvenient to disclose directly to your pavilion," Han Li replied calmly.

"So that's how it is. But I believe that even if the Mother of Locusts wasn't slain by you personally, Brother Han, you must have played a major role," Lan Ying said, not minding at all.

"Miss Lan, you flatter me. However, I have come this time to ask for your help in contacting Ziling. I intend to take her back to the Spirit Realm with me," Han Li said frankly, not hiding the purpose of his visit.

"Hehe, leave this matter to me. Actually, all these years, Ziling has been living in seclusion and cultivating in a secret location in the nearby region. If you want to see her, you can reach her in just a few days. How about this: Brother Han, why don't you stay here at the Guangyuan Pavilion for a few days?" Lan Ying agreed readily.

"Very well, then I shall trouble Miss Lan for a few days," Han Li thought for a moment and accepted without refusal.

Upon hearing this, Lan Ying naturally appeared even more delighted. She immediately asked about some non-confidential matters regarding the Land of Originating Demons, listening with great interest.

"By the way, I have one more matter that I fear will require the assistance of your pavilion," Han Li suddenly remembered something, paused, and said.

"If there is anything you need to entrust to us, Brother Han, just say the word," Lan Ying said without hesitation.

"I have a few items I would like you to take a look at first!" Han Li didn't say much more. With a flick of his sleeve, four balls of white light flew out, spun in the void, and immediately condensed into four palm-sized crystal bricks.

"This is..." Lan Ying swept her beautiful eyes over the items, her expression shifting slightly.

"They are inscribed with a secret map to a treasure left behind by the Qiling Sacred Ancestor of the Demon Realm. I obtained them by chance back then. Although I have this map, I lack understanding of the Demon Realm and have never gone to truly search for the location marked on them, so I must rely on the strength of your pavilion," Han Li said calmly.

"So it is the long-rumored Qiling Secret Treasure! Tsk tsk, I won't hide it from you, Brother Han; I once had designs on this treasure too. But unfortunately, I could never find any relevant clues. I didn't expect them to have fallen into your hands. Rest assured, Brother Han, as long as there is a map and the secret treasure is indeed in the Demon Realm, I will certainly not let you down," Lan Ying said, her face showing a trace of surprise before she immediately agreed with a smile.

Han Li nodded in satisfaction.

Five days later, in the same hall of the pavilion, Han Li finally met Ziling.

Seeing each other again, they were naturally filled with a mix of surprise and joy, with complex emotions hidden in their hearts...

Lan Ying had long since tactfully left the hall, leaving the two of them alone.

At this moment, Ziling had already learned from Lan Ying about his advancement to the Mahayana stage, but upon hearing from Han Li himself that Liu Ji had fallen, she was still stunned.

After all, this had happened only a few months ago, and Baohua and the others had deliberately kept the news from leaking, so very few people knew about it.

"So, I have finally regained my freedom and no longer need to fear being refined into someone else's avatar," Ziling murmured, her eyes filled with a touch of confusion.

"Naturally. Not only Liu Ji, but even her several major avatars didn't escape," Han Li stated with great certainty.

"With you saying that, I am relieved. Then, Brother Han, why did you want to see me this time?" Ziling asked, her beautiful eyes fixed on Han Li's face with some hesitation.

"Didn't you once say that you wanted to regain your human body so you could return to the Spirit Realm and see where humans live? This time, I have specifically sought out several secret techniques that should be able to purge the True Demon Qi from your body, allowing you to restore your original constitution. This way, you can resume cultivating human techniques in the Spirit Realm," Han Li said with a smile.

Ziling's expression shifted slightly. Instead of showing joy, she fell silent for a moment before asking slowly:

"Brother Han, I want to ask you something, and I hope to hear your honest answer."

"Given our relationship, why be so formal? If you have something to ask, just say it." Seeing Ziling's expression, Han Li's heart sank, and he felt a faint sense of unease.

"I want to know, Brother Han, how much confidence do you have in ascending to the Immortal Realm and becoming a true immortal?" Ziling asked solemnly.

"What? Why would you think to ask about this?" Han Li looked surprised; clearly, this question was far beyond his expectations.

"I only want to hear your honest answer," Ziling said, looking at Han Li with great persistence.

Seeing this, Han Li hesitated for a moment, but after a while, he replied calmly:

"If anyone else asked me this, I would certainly not speak a word of truth. But for Ziling, there is naturally no need for such reservations. If it were before, I would have had only about a twenty percent chance of surviving the Ascension Tribulation. But this trip to the Land of Originating Demons has brought me other opportunities. Although I don't know if these opportunities will be a blessing or a curse for my future, they should have increased my chances of ascending to the Immortal Realm by another twenty percent or so," Han Li said, his expression also turning solemn.

"So, Brother Han has a fifty percent chance of ascending to the Immortal Realm. Although I knew that after your advancement, you were definitely not comparable to an ordinary Mahayana cultivator, I didn't expect you to have such a high chance," Ziling murmured to herself, her expression moved.

"Ziling, why did you suddenly ask me this?" Han Li still looked somewhat puzzled.

"Brother Han, since you answered honestly, I will ask one more thing. If I truly purge the demonic energy from my body and return to a human body, will my original cultivation base be greatly damaged, and will I immediately drop several realms?" Ziling didn't answer Han Li's question but instead asked another solemn one.

"If it had been shortly after you were infused with the demonic body, I would have been confident in keeping your cultivation base intact. But you have cultivated Liu Ji's demonic arts for so many years; purging the demonic energy now will indeed carry the risk of dropping realms. However, rest assured, with my current strength, it is not difficult to restore your original cultivation base, and I will ensure that your future cultivation will not be hindered," Han Li replied slowly after a moment of silence, having faintly guessed what she was thinking, his face showing a trace of complexity.

"Only that my future cultivation won't be hindered? Since we parted last time, I have thought carefully about returning to the Spirit Realm. But no matter how I think about it, I find that if I truly want to achieve something on the Great Dao, staying in the Demon Realm is actually the best choice. Just as Liu Ji told me back then, my constitution is best suited for cultivating Demon Realm techniques. If I return to the Spirit Realm, even with your protection and help, I might barely reach the Mahayana stage, but when it comes time to ascend, it will likely become incredibly difficult. I don't want Brother Han to succeed in ascending to the Immortal Realm and become a True Immortal, while I am left behind in the lower realm, waiting for death under successive heavenly tribulations," Ziling said, her stunningly beautiful face gradually becoming very firm.

Han Li was stunned for a long while after hearing these words, but finally, he sighed and said:

"Have you truly thought this through? Are you sure about this decision? You must know that with your current cultivation base, I still have a way to restore your constitution to its original state. But as your cultivation realm deepens, this will become increasingly difficult. Once you reach the Mahayana stage in the Demon Realm, you will never be able to reverse your demonic body."

"Rest assured, Brother Han. I have long since considered this; it is not a hasty decision. Even if I only have a one percent chance of ascending to the Immortal Realm, I am unwilling to give it up easily," Ziling said with great determination.

Han Li looked at the firm, beautiful face of the stunning woman before him. After a long while, he nodded, a trace of contemplation flashing across his eyes:

"Since you have such determination, Ziling, I naturally will not force you. However, during my two trips into the Demon Realm, I did obtain some secret techniques and pills that are highly beneficial for cultivating demonic arts. I will leave them all to you."

"Thank you, Brother Han. Don't worry too much about this. With your current divine abilities, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to tear through the void and enter the Sacred Realm, right? We will naturally have plenty of opportunities to meet again in the future," Ziling said, her heart filled with joy, though her beautiful face flushed slightly as she spoke the last sentence.