Chapter 855: Demonic Shadow of Tiannan

While Huang Yuanming and the other cultivators were carefully facing Han Li, their gazes couldn't help but secretly glance toward the water pool.

It turned out that the small half-pool of spiritual spring water had been stirred up by Han Li falling in, and more than half of it was immediately gone. Only a pitifully thin layer of residual spring water remained in the pool.

Seeing this situation, the three old guys naturally felt a burst of heartache, but facing Han Li, whose cultivation base was unfathomable, they could only pretend not to see and force a smile. To avoid offending this senior expert and bringing disaster to their families.

The moment Han Li evaporated the water stains on his body, he also smelled the strange fragrance in the spiritual spring. At this moment, after the look of contemplation vanished, he subconsciously looked back at the water pool behind him.

This seemingly casual glance from Han Li made the three old men feel uneasy for a long time.

They had guarded this spiritual spring for so many years, could it be that it had been taken a fancy to by this person? If so, they could only offer it with both hands, not daring to refuse at all.

Han Li's gaze only swept past the water pool and didn't show any greed. Instead, he turned around and said indifferently to the three:

"I have been out of the world for a long time and am somewhat unfamiliar with the major events that have happened in Tiannan in recent years. Can the three Fellow Daoists introduce me to some major events that have happened in recent years?"

"Of course. If Senior doesn't mind, please come to our Huang family's main hall. Let this junior entertain Senior with tea. If Senior has any questions, this junior will definitely tell you everything I know." Seeing that Han Li had no intention of taking a fancy to their spiritual spring at all, Huang Yuanming felt greatly relieved and said respectfully.

The other two old men also felt a burst of relief in their hearts.

"Alright. I have quite a few things I want to ask. Then I will trouble the three Fellow Daoists." Han Li looked at the young disciples of the three families in the distance, pondered for a moment, and nodded in agreement.

"Where! It is the Huang family's honor to entertain such an expert as Senior!" Huang Yuanming was overjoyed and said with a face full of smiles. Then he gave a few instructions to several disciples, telling them to hurry and prepare, so as not to be unprepared and neglect Han Li.

Then he personally led the way for Han Li, left this place, and walked toward a group of pavilions in the middle of the mountain peak.

The other two old men also gave instructions to some clansmen before hurriedly chasing after them, respectfully staying close.

"The three of you living together in one place is quite rare?" On the way, Han Li asked a few questions, and after asking about the specific location of this place and the situation of the three old men, he said with some surprise.

"Senior is joking. We really couldn't find a foothold elsewhere, so we are trapped here." Huang Yuanming replied with a bitter smile.

"I see that the young disciples in your clan seem to have some good aptitude. Why didn't you send them to those large cultivation sects? With their aptitude, even if they couldn't become direct disciples, it wouldn't be impossible to become external affairs disciples." Han Li showed a trace of strange expression with great interest.

"Senior doesn't know. Although there are many cultivation sects in Eastern Yu Kingdom, most of them have fixed cultivation families supplying disciples to the sect. Or they are simply controlled by families together. Small sects like ours have no qualifications to enter the eyes of those sects. Even if one or two particularly outstanding disciples appear in the sect, we don't dare to easily let them join some sects. The clan still needs them to stay and support the facade." Among the two old men, a fat old man with a round face explained carefully to Han Li, with a look of helplessness on his face.

If these family elders had been willing to join large sects when they were young, their cultivation bases might have gone a step further today. But for the continuation of the family, they could only stay behind gloomily. This is also the helplessness of small families.

Han Li's gaze flickered a few times. He nodded indifferently and didn't continue to ask.

Because not far ahead, a group of pavilions stood out.

The old man led Han Li straight to the tallest pavilion among them.

A moment later, several people arrived at the entrance of the pavilion. There, two rows of young male and female disciples were already respectfully waiting there.

"Senior, please enter! Our Spirit Lin Mountain doesn't produce any spiritual medicines or spiritual fruits. We only have one kind of spiritual tea that is quite good. Senior can drink a few more cups." Huang Yuanming said, and let Han Li into the main hall of the pavilion.

Han Li didn't stand on ceremony and walked into the pavilion with big strides.

This hall was not very big, with an area of only twenty or thirty zhang, but it was more than enough for a small family.

Under the respectful gazes of the three, Han Li sat down in the upper seat calmly. The three old men stood in front of Han Li and didn't dare to sit with him.

The cultivation bases and identities of the two sides were too far apart, and Han Li didn't pretend to be humble.

At this time, a female disciple with beautiful eyes like paintings walked up, placed a tea tray in front of Han Li, brewed a cup of fragrant tea, and then retreated carefully.

Han Li picked up the teacup and tasted it casually. At first, it was somewhat bitter, but a moment later, his tongue was full of saliva, and it became incredibly fragrant.

"Not bad, it is indeed a rare spiritual tea." Han Li's mouth moved slightly, a smile appeared, and he praised it.

"Senior's cultivation base is unfathomable, but your face is somewhat unfamiliar. Senior is not from Eastern Yu Kingdom, right?" The fat old man with a round face couldn't help but ask about this.

"Han is indeed not a cultivator from Eastern Yu Kingdom. You don't need to worry about anything. After I ask clearly about some things, I will leave this place and return to my hometown immediately, and I won't stay here." Han Li didn't mean to tell his name, just glanced at the round-faced old man, showing a look of half-smile.

"Senior is overthinking. Being able to see Senior is already a great blessing for us. How could we have any disrespectful thoughts of driving Senior away." Huang Yuanming was startled, his face changed greatly, and he said respectfully.

"Alright! I also walked out from low-tier cultivators in the past. I naturally know some of the taboos and expectations in your hearts. As long as your answers satisfy me, I don't mind giving you some benefits. After all, being able to see me can be considered a bit of an opportunity for you." Han Li looked at the round-faced old man who also wanted to explain something with a face full of fear, waved his hand, and said calmly.

"If Senior has anything you want to know, just ask. Although our family is not big, our news is quite well-informed. It will definitely satisfy Senior!" Hearing this, Huang Yuanming was overjoyed and became even more respectful.

Han Li smiled slightly. Although he estimated that these people wouldn't dare to deceive him with lies even if he didn't give any benefits, but with some benefits, they would naturally answer more wholeheartedly, and some things that could be told or couldn't be told would probably be told voluntarily.

"Tell me about the events of the Fallen Demon Valley opening last time, and the group of cultivators entering the valley to seek treasures. Since you are so close to Chang Prefecture, you should know something. Tell me the general process of this matter first." Han Li glanced at the three, and said calmly.

"Fallen Demon Valley? This junior naturally knows about this." Huang Yuanming heard Han Li ask this. Although he was somewhat surprised, he said it immediately without thinking. Then he organized the related matters and continued to tell:

"A large number of cultivators entering the Fallen Demon Valley to seek treasures happened more than twenty years ago. Because the Ghost Spirit Sect found a safe way to enter the valley, hundreds of cultivators above the Core Formation stage broke into the valley to seek the treasures left by ancient cultivators. But the Fallen Demon Valley is indeed incredibly dangerous, and so many high-tier cultivators entered the valley, most of them only wandered in the outer valley. Still, a large number of cultivators died in the restrictions and space rifts of the outer valley. Less than half of the cultivators who left the valley alive remained. And what's worse is that the Ghost Spirit Sect group entered the inner valley and actually accidentally released two Ancient Demons that could devour Nascent Souls. The Ghost Spirit Sect Master and others died on the spot. And these two demons were truly incredibly powerful. It is said that the Nascent Soul cultivators who entered the inner valley joined forces and fought a battle with them, and even the Great Cultivator Wei and the Divine Master of the Mulan people took action one after another to eliminate the demons, only then barely eliminating one. And let the other one escape from the Fallen Demon Valley safely. The cultivators who participated in the siege suffered heavy casualties, and many famous seniors died in this battle. However, the Fallen Demon Valley is worthy of being the tomb of ancient cultivators. It is said that the cultivators who finally left the valley alive all had some gains. Some seniors even found spiritual pills and cultivation techniques in it that could extend their lifespan and break through their cultivation base. It shocked the entire Tiannan cultivation world at that time. As a result, many cultivators were incredibly jealous and simply ignored the danger of the unstable space rifts in the valley and borrowed the Ghost Spirit Sect's teleportation array to enter the Fallen Demon Valley again. But this batch of nearly a hundred cultivators entered the valley, and not a single one came out. This scared away other cultivators who were already eager to move. The Fallen Demon Valley became a forbidden land again, and no one dared to break in."

"Another demon escaped from the Fallen Demon Valley. What happened to this demon later?" When Han Li heard this, his heart sank, and his face instantly became gloomy.

"This demon's matter, I was going to tell Senior even if you didn't ask. Because it was this demon that almost brought another catastrophe to the entire Tiannan cultivation world." Huang Yuanming said with a changed face when he heard Han Li ask this.

Han Li frowned, but didn't say a word, waiting for the other party to continue.

"Originally, when this demon first escaped, some seniors once expressed that this kind of demon could not exist in our mortal world for long, and would return to the alien world in time. Therefore, at first, no one took this to heart. But I didn't expect that this demon would actually attack high-tier cultivators everywhere unscrupulously, madly devouring cultivators' Nascent Souls to recover its vitality. In just a year or so, six or seven Nascent Soul cultivators had been poisoned by it one after another. There was still no sign of returning. Only then did other cultivators know. This demon didn't know what method it used, but it actually had a way to stay in this world for a long time. As a result, the three Great Cultivators came forward together, specifically gathered more than ten mid-stage Nascent Soul seniors, and organized a demon-suppression team to encircle and suppress this demon. However, this demon was incredibly cunning and didn't fight head-on with the demon-suppression team at all. Instead, it specifically picked on lone cultivators. It even attacked the Mulan people. As a result, it provoked the Mulan people to send a batch of Great Masters to participate in the demon-suppression team. From then on, this demon could no longer get rid of the joint siege of cultivators and Dharma practitioners, and was forced to flee everywhere, looking incredibly miserable. But this result made this demon even crazier. Finally, it not only attacked high-tier cultivators but also frequently attacked low-tier cultivators madly. It is said that in the last few months, it washed more than ten cultivation families and several small cultivation sects with blood. These families and sects couldn't stop this demon at all. But because of this, it was finally planted with a secret technique by a dying elder of a demonic sect, and was finally tracked down by the demon-suppression team. It was surrounded in Falling Soul Mountain in Fengdu Kingdom. It is said that this demon, whose vitality had completely recovered, had a cultivation base close to that of a Spirit Transformation stage cultivator. Two Great Cultivators and one Mulan Divine Master took action together to deal with this demon. That battle was earth-shattering, and other cultivators couldn't intervene at all. The entire main peak of Falling Soul Mountain was flattened." When saying this, Huang Yuanming paused, and a look of terror still appeared on his face.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 856 =====