Chapter 593: An Act of Submission

The sea beast before them was three or four zhang long, with green scales, small sharp teeth, and a pair of large, bloated eyes, looking extremely ferocious. What was most eye-catching was that a pair of curved, sharp bone spurs grew under its gills, making it look even more hideous. (Net)

Han Li lowered his altitude and carefully examined the sea beast's corpse several times. Suddenly, a flash of green light appeared, and a sword radiance slashed across the middle of the corpse, instantly splitting it in two.

Han Li reached out and summoned something black, which flew into his hand. He didn't hesitate to bring it under his nose and sniff it, and a peculiar spicy scent wafted over, mixed with a faint, subtle fragrance.

"It really is a Xin Ya Beast," Han Li muttered, tossing the object aside with a strange look on his face.

"Xin Ya Beast?" Zi Ling couldn't help but be startled upon hearing this, and she exchanged a glance with Mei Ning.

A look of doubt appeared on both women's beautiful faces. It was their first time hearing this name.

"Of course you two wouldn't know this sea beast. They are a unique kind of deep-sea beast found only here; the Chaotic Star Sea doesn't have them," Han Li explained with a faint smile, having seen their surprise.

"Judging by Brother Han's tone, could it be that this is no longer the Chaotic Star Sea?" Zi Ling locked her beautiful brows and asked with a solemn expression.

"That's right, this is indeed not the Chaotic Star Sea. Although I haven't been to this sea, I have heard people mention it. If I am not mistaken, this should be the Boundless Sea," Han Li scanned the turbid sea surface, nodded with a bitter smile, and then looked up at the sky, lost in thought and silent, as if recalling something.

"Boundless Sea!" They had naturally never heard of this name before.

"Brother Han seems to have a certain understanding of this sea. I wonder if you could introduce this place to my sister and me," Zi Ling pondered for a moment, then asked gently with a smile.

"Of course, no problem," Han Li withdrew his inexplicable emotions and agreed calmly with a nod.

"The Boundless Sea is actually a common name used by people in Tiannan. As the name suggests, almost no one has been able to find its boundaries. It..." Han Li unhurriedly told them everything he knew about the rumors of the Boundless Sea. While explaining in great detail, he was also secretly pondering some questions that had been buried in his heart for a long time.

"Listening to Brother Han, this Boundless Sea should be at the northern end of this so-called Tiannan region, and not only are there very few fish and shrimp, but even islands are rarely found," Zi Ling asked in surprise.

"That's right, and the worst part is that without islands, it's impossible to determine our specific location, let alone how far we are from the Tiannan mainland," Han Li rubbed his nose and said calmly.

Upon hearing this, the two women couldn't help but look at each other.

"Regardless, we won't have to worry about a lack of spirit stones in the short term, so we should just fly south as much as possible. Hopefully, we won't be too far from the mainland," Han Li thought for a moment and said decisively.

"That's the only way. Hopefully, we will have good luck!" Zi Ling agreed with a look of helplessness on her fair, jade-like face. Mei Ning naturally had no objections.

Thus, after identifying the direction, the three of them immediately flew south.

A few days later, Mei Ning and Zi Ling completely believed Han Li's judgment.

Because along the way, it was indeed as Han Li had said; there were no islands at all, and the sea was dead and lifeless everywhere. Apart from a few ferocious sea beasts, they didn't even see a single demon beast.

This made the two women, who were seeing such a situation for the first time, marvel endlessly.

Perhaps because they had shared hardships, the three of them got along very harmoniously, chatting and laughing along the way. Facing the two beautiful women, Han Li sometimes couldn't help but feel his heart race.

However, after arriving at this Boundless Sea, the face of another cold and frosty woman began to surface in his mind.

"Nangong Wan." He didn't know how this woman from the Yanyue Sect, with whom he had shared a union, was doing. Whenever he thought of her, an inexplicable feeling would rise in his heart—he didn't know if it was infatuation, pity, or annoyance; it was as if a thousand flavors were intertwined. Even he himself couldn't quite explain it.

Just like that, the three of them flew for three or four months until, one day, a touch of green finally appeared on the horizon.

The three of them were naturally overjoyed. Their hearts, which had been hanging, were finally put at ease, and they flew toward the mainland with great excitement.

Xi Kingdom was the westernmost country in the Tiannan region. Its area was slightly smaller than the Yue Kingdom where Han Li originally belonged, only two-thirds of its size, but it was divided into seven prefectures.

Among them, Min Prefecture was a prefecture adjacent to the Boundless Sea and was also the largest of the seven prefectures in Xi Kingdom. Fengri City was not only the capital of Min Prefecture but also the largest city in Min Prefecture.

Han Li, now with Mei Ning and Zi Ling, was sitting in a private room of a restaurant in a small town near the sea in Min Prefecture, chatting softly.

"Brother Han, I said you could speak the language of this place; it turns out you are from the Tiannan region. You really kept my sister and me in the dark for so long," Zi Ling said with a coquettish glare at Han Li.

Not long ago, Han Li had slightly revealed his general background to the two women, which naturally surprised them.

However, fortunately, the two had already faintly guessed it because they had seen Han Li's familiarity with the Boundless Sea earlier, so there was no excessive astonishment on their faces.

"There's nothing much to say. I originally ran to your Chaotic Star Sea by accident, and I didn't expect to return to Tiannan so quickly myself," Han Li said with a dumbfounded smile, looking as if he was in a good mood.

"Since Brother Han is a local, you must treat my sister and me well!" Zi Ling pursed her lips and joked. At this moment, because she was afraid her stunning appearance would cause trouble, she had already restored the delicate look she had when she first met Han Li. However, Han Li, who had seen her true face, naturally felt that every smile and frown was still soul-stirring and extremely charming.

"Hehe! Back then, I was chased to the Chaotic Star Sea and had lost contact with my sect for many years. How can I be considered a local? However, this jade slip is a translation of Tiannan's language and characters that I specially made for you two fellow Daoists. Since you two cannot return to the Chaotic Star Sea for the time being, why not learn it? It will be much more convenient in the future," Han Li took out two white jade slips he had made overnight from his storage pouch and handed them to the two women.

"Hee hee! Many thanks, Brother Han!" Zi Ling was startled at first, but then thanked him with a giggle and reached out to take the jade slip.

Mei Ning also revealed a look of gratitude and thanked him in a low voice.

"However, do you two fellow Daoists have any plans for the future? I am planning to find a cave dwelling to close-door cultivate after I have clearly investigated the changes in Tiannan over the past hundred years. Because I faintly feel that I have reached the peak of the late Core Formation stage and seem to be preparing to condense a Nascent Soul," Han Li said, then picked up the fragrant tea before him, took a light sip, and calmly observed the reactions of the two women opposite him.

"I actually haven't been in the Core Formation stage for long, and my realm is not very stable, so I also plan to find a cave dwelling to cultivate for a period of time. I wonder what plans Sister Mei Ning has?" Zi Ling pondered for a moment before saying with flowing autumn eyes.

"I... I don't know. I am only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage. In terms of aptitude alone, the hope of forming a Core is very slim. Unless I can find some heaven-defying spirit pills, otherwise, I can only find a high-level cultivator to be a concubine. Perhaps through dual cultivation, there is still hope of forming a Golden Core!" Mei Ning hesitated for a moment and murmured words that made Han Li and Zi Ling startle.

"Being a concubine, wouldn't that be too aggrieved for you, Sister? How can that be?" Zi Ling shook her head and objected.

Upon hearing this, Han Li frowned but didn't open his mouth to say anything.

"The status of a concubine is not much better than those cultivation cauldrons. If you happen to run into a high-level cultivator with evil intentions, it is not impossible for them to treat you as a cultivation cauldron for harvesting. It is really too unsafe."

Hearing this, Mei Ning bit her red lips with her white teeth and fell silent, her face full of desolation.

"If you really want to use dual cultivation to become a concubine, you should find someone reliable you are familiar with. For example, someone like Brother Han, who I think is very reliable. He shouldn't let you suffer any grievances," Zi Ling saw Mei Ning's expression, rolled her eyes slightly, and then said this with a covered-mouth smile.

These words made Han Li startle, and he then rubbed his nose as if nothing had happened. As for Mei Ning, she let out an "ah" and blushed, looking extremely beautiful and alluring. But afterward, she lowered her head and didn't speak. It seemed she didn't oppose Zi Ling's matchmaking.

After all, Han Li's cultivation was high, already at the late Core Formation stage, and he was preparing to condense a Nascent Soul. As for his character, she had also faintly understood it after sharing hardships in the Yin Underworld, knowing that he was not a cruel or vicious person.

In this way, even if she didn't have the qualifications to be his dual cultivation partner, she would be satisfied and relieved to be Han Li's concubine.

After all, beautiful female cultivators like her with a certain level of cultivation would sooner or later have to rely on a powerful male cultivator; otherwise, they would find it difficult to move an inch in the cultivation world and could easily be abducted and subjected to all kinds of torture.

Especially since her brother had already met with disaster and she was alone, such a terrifying encounter was even more likely to occur.

The atmosphere in the private room, through Zi Ling's words, suddenly became extremely ambiguous.

(Net) ===== CHAPTER 594 =====