Chapter 990

Han Li did not pursue the Silver-Winged Night Demon either, partly because the opponent was no longer trapped in one place, and the Three Flame Fan alone could not easily kill it, and partly because…

He turned his gaze to the Ti Hun Beast and smiled faintly.

In one of its large hands, it was waving a white, fluffy object incessantly.

Upon closer inspection, it was a small, snow-white horse, its eyes emerald green, about half a foot in length.

It was clearly the ultimate target of his expedition—the elusive Yin Zhi Horse.

Ironically, this spirit creature had been unlucky: at the start of the teleportation, it had returned to hiding on the Corpse Wolf’s body. As a result, when the Ti Hun Beast swept away the corpse qi with its nasal yellow mist, the Yin Zhi Horse was swept out along with it.

Had Han Li not spotted it in time and shouted a stop, the spirit creature would almost certainly have been swallowed whole by the Ti Hun Beast.

As for the two flying swords Han Li had originally been trapped with, he had recalled them by mental command during the teleportation, when the Silver-Winged Night Demon was distracted. But the black-clad woman’s Nascent Soul, likewise bound by the Evil Soul Threads, had been swallowed by the Silver-Winged Night Demon just before it was teleported away.

The only thing that troubled him was his crystallized flying needle, which the Silver-Winged Night Demon had seized and taken away.

Fortunately, though not a life-linked magic treasure, it had still been refined by him. The opponent could not strip its spiritual nature away in a short time—there was still a chance to reclaim it.

At this moment, Han Li scanned the surroundings. The place resembled the former underground cave, but no cold winds lingered; instead, spiritual energy was astonishingly abundant, suggesting a vast cavern, seemingly situated atop a supreme spirit vein.

This surprised him.

Han Li looked down at the teleportation array beneath his feet.

With his array expertise, he instantly recognized that although this massive teleportation array differed greatly from any he had seen before, it was clearly a one-way receiving array. That meant he had been teleported here—but could not use this array to return to his original location.

Realizing this, Han Li frowned slightly, then glanced toward the two giant cocoons.

Strong spiritual energy signatures still emanated from within—indicating that the old man surnamed Fu and Bai Yaoyi were still alive.

After a brief hesitation, he gestured to the Ti Hun Beast, drawing the Yin Zhi Horse to his hand, then sealed it with several restraining talismans and tossed it into a spirit beast pouch.

Having done this, Han Li raised both hands, and two thick golden arcs shot out, striking the gray cocoons.

Instantly, with a thunderous boom, the golden arcs transformed into two golden lightning nets, enveloping the cocoons.

Golden light blazed blindingly; thunder roared continuously.

Without the Silver-Winged Night Demon’s control, the Evil Soul Threads began to unravel layer by layer within the golden radiance.

Finally, with two loud bangs, the two cocoons burst open one after the other. A man and a woman flew out—Fu and Bai Yaoyi.

But both were pale-faced and looked extremely distressed.

Anyone trapped by Evil Soul Threads that drained spiritual power for so long would suffer terribly—loss of cultivation base was inevitable.

“Thank you, Brother Han, for saving us!” Fu’s expression eased, and he clasped his fists in gratitude.

“Had it not been for Brother Han’s extraordinary prowess, we would surely have perished. Who could have imagined that the Yin-Yang Cave concealed a Silver-Winged Night Demon? We and Yuan Daoist were caught off guard, ambushed and trapped by this monster hiding underground. Yuan Daoist was even crushed into nothingness by its first strike—his Nascent Soul shattered, his life lost.” Bai Yaoyi also bowed respectfully to Han Li, then smiled bitterly.

Han Li merely smiled faintly at these words.

Though these two appeared deeply grateful, Han Li still sensed profound wariness deep within their gazes.

After all, though trapped within the cocoons, they had clearly sensed every detail of Han Li’s battle against the Silver-Winged Night Demon.

Han Li had resisted the Silver-Winged Night Demon—and even driven off this flying corpse with his power. Even if they combined forces, they would be no match. Added to being teleported to this unknown, mysterious place with only three people present, how could they not feel deeply uneasy?

If Han Li now harbored malicious intent, they knew they were certain to perish.

But Han Li merely tossed the spirit beast pouch containing the Yin Zhi Horse toward Fu, and said calmly:

“The Yin Zhi Horse is inside. I won’t say more. If you manage to refine more Pei Ying Pills, just set aside two for me. Can you agree?”

“Two? No problem! If there are any extras, I will certainly reserve them for you, Daoist.” Fu relaxed visibly and agreed at once.

“I have no objections either. I’m ashamed—I contributed nothing this time. It was all thanks to Brother Han’s efforts. You deserve more. I agree.” Bai Yaoyi smiled lightly and accepted without hesitation.

“Good. Then rest here and meditate. I’ll go see where exactly this place is.” Han Li glanced at the only exit, then narrowed his eyes.

“Brother Han, go ahead. Our spiritual power is indeed greatly depleted—we’ll meditate for now.” Fu had no objections.

Bai Yaoyi nodded and immediately sat cross-legged.

Han Li smiled, and a green light enveloped his body as he shot off in a streak of emerald light, releasing his full spiritual sense to guard against any ambush from the Silver-Winged Night Demon lurking nearby.

He wasn’t worried they’d steal the Yin Zhi Horse and flee. The spiritual markers he’d left within them still remained—they’d take several days to dissipate.

Any slight movement from them would be instantly detected by him.

Han Li was no saint—the thought of killing them and seizing their treasures had flashed through his mind just now.

But he knew little about the Pei Ying Pills. Even if he obtained the formula and tried refining them himself, his success rate would be extremely low. And these two, despite everything, had left him with a decent impression so far—he couldn’t muster strong murderous intent.

Hence, after brief consideration, he had chosen to rescue them.

Beyond the chamber-like entrance lay a flight of green stone steps, slanting upward endlessly, stretching beyond sight.

Were they deep within the mountain’s belly?

Though surprised, Han Li did not pause his flight—he ascended steadily.

But soon, Han Li grew astonished.

For so long, the steps ahead remained unchanged—this was simply unbelievable.

Though he had flown only a short time, at his speed, the distance covered was already terrifying. Had his spiritual sense not repeatedly scanned the surroundings and detected no array fluctuations, he would have thought himself trapped in another binding array.

Who would build a passage this long?

Carrying his confusion, Han Li flew several more miles before finally seeing a glow ahead—his tension eased.

As he flew out of the tunnel, he felt his vision brighten—he stood on a vast platform. The ground was paved with smooth green stone slabs, stretching over a thousand zhang in width. He inhaled deeply—the scent of grass, trees, and flowers filled his lungs.

The spiritual energy here seemed even more abundant than at the teleportation array.

He glanced forward—and his expression grew even more stunned.

At the platform’s end stood a sheer cliff rising straight upward. As he looked up along the cliff, he realized the sky was merely a thin, pale white line. He spun around and looked back toward the tunnel entrance.

Behind him stood an identical towering cliff, front and back, trapping him between them.

The massive platform was built within an abyss of unimaginable depth.

Han Li stared upward for a long while, then turned to look left and right.

Aside from winding, twisting cliffs, he found nothing of note.

Han Li did not dwell on it—he immediately transformed into a streak of green light and shot straight upward.

After flying several thousand zhang, he finally emerged from the gorge—but upon glancing around, his expression turned incredulous. He swiftly flew off in all directions, circling for half a day, then returned to his original spot.

His face was filled with unmistakable horror.

There was only one word in Han Li’s mind: “big.”

Han Li had seen many enormous mountains before. The largest was probably the Sacred Mountain in Tianxing City of the Chaos Star Sea.

That mountain soared like a pillar holding up the heavens, divided into eighty-one tiers, housing countless cultivators’ caves—its size was evident.

Now he stood at the foot of another mountain that seemed no less immense than that Sacred Mountain. Perhaps this one was even larger—but he could not judge precisely.

For when he looked up, all he saw was lush greenery—no summit in sight. The gorge he had emerged from was merely a negligible crack at the mountain’s base.

But even this alone did not shock him so profoundly. What left him speechless was that this colossal mountain was enclosed within a vast binding array.

Whenever he turned his gaze outward, he immediately saw a white, misty curtain descending from the heavens, boundless and endless, as if completely enclosing the entire mountain.

Such a grand undertaking—even imagining it filled Han Li with dread. This was surely the work of ancient cultivators.

Gazing at the distant, seemingly infinite curtain, Han Li hesitated, then directed his light toward it.

After flying for the duration of a cup of tea, he reached the white barrier.

His light, against such a vast expanse, appeared utterly insignificant.

As he drew near, he studied the thick, seemingly insubstantial barrier for a long while—then suddenly turned and flew back without a word.

He did not need to test it—he could feel the terrifying spiritual power contained within.

Not even a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator could break through such an absolute barrier by brute force—let alone a Soul Transformation cultivator.

On his return flight toward the mountain, Han Li gazed from afar, still unable to gauge its true scale, but noticed the mountain remained utterly silent—no bird calls, no beast roars—as if it were a dead mountain.

Yet the vibrant spiritual energy within was undeniably real. This eerie contradiction filled Han Li with a profound sense of danger.

In the end, Han Li flew back to the gorge, his face grim, and returned to the original teleportation cave.

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