However, Han Li felt quite baffled that the Star Palace would choose to passively wait for the Starfall Coalition to attack. Were they so weak that they couldn’t counterattack or was the Star Palace merely stalling for time so the Heavenly Star Sages could have a chance to leave seclusion?
Han Li felt quite puzzled by this, but after some more thought, he broke out into laughter. Regardless of what plans and hidden intrigue the Star Palace and the Starfall Coalition may have in store, they had absolutely nothing to do with a rogue cultivator such as himself. So long as he went out of his way to be careful, there shouldn’t be any way for him to become wrapped up in their schemes.
With that thought, Han Li regained his calm once more.
After patiently waiting for four hours, the green-robed old man and three more Core Formation cultivators returned to the harbor.
As the old man floated in mid-air, he said with a clear voice, “Fellow Daoists, if you wish to leave the island, you merely have to either display a token of your identity or show us your cultivation art. If you do not wish to leave, then you may continue to stay here. So long as you possess no enmity with the Starfall Coalition, you will be treated fairly.”
After these words were said, there was a moment of uproar before silence returned. Although the words sounded polite, no one wished to reveal themselves.
Righteous Dao cultivators were particularly disinclined to reveal themselves to these Devil Dao cultivators as their previous relations weren’t particularly great. If they had made a previous indiscretion and caused offence, they would be damning themselves by moving forward! Although the possibility was quite small, they didn’t wish to test the waters themselves and would rather have others brave the risk instead.
Han Li also remained still as he wasn’t about to make himself stand out either. As the opposition was only Core Formation cultivators, he could remain concealed with ease as their spiritual sense was incapable of detecting him.
After a long moment of silence, when the green-robed man started to appear gloomy, a white streak of light eventually flew towards him.
A young man obediently flew before the old man and respectfully saluted him, “Junior is the Sky Opening Sect’s disciple Xin Ming. I’ve seen Senior before. This is my token of identification, a white water sword.” He then took out a sparkling white sword and handed it over to him.
After the old man examined the sword, his face relaxed and he handed it back to the young man. “Oh, the Sky Opening Sect! I’ve indeed met Esteemed Sect Master Daoist Liu before. This magic tool is held by all Sky Opening Sect disciples. You may go.”
The young man then smiled and respectfully bid his farewells before flying out of the harbor. Not a single cultivator from the Starfall Coalition blocked his way.
Seeing that the young man had managed to leave the island without any difficulties, others began to fly towards the old man and reveal themselves.
The old man seemed rich with experience. Regardless of what token or cultivation art they revealed, the old man was able to identify it at a glance, much to the surprise of Han Li.
When Han Li saw a Core Formation such as himself be allowed to leave, he began to feel impatient. He then revealed himself and flew towards the sky as a streak of azure light.
“Who might Fellow Daoist be?” When the old man saw that Han Li was a Core Formation cultivator, his tone became slightly more tactful.
“I am the guest elder of the Exquisite Sound Sect. This is my sect token. Please, have a look!” On the day that Fairy Violet Spirit had deemed him an elder, she had given him a badge. Han Li took it out and handed it over to the old man without hesitation.
The old man carefully examined the token and stared at Han Li as he said, “Exquisite Sound Sect? The guest elders of your sect should be named Han Li and Crooked Soul, both of whom are often in secluded cultivation and rarely seen. Which one of them are you?”
Han Li’s heart trembled, but he wore a calm smile instead, “My name is Han Li! I didn’t expect that Fellow Daoist would know the name of a fameless vagrant cultivator such as myself. Impressive!”
The old man chuckled and spoke with an unexpectedly polite tone, “Hehe, it was nothing. Your esteemed sect is famous throughout the Scattered Star Seas, especially your sect’s Fairy Violet Spirit. Our clan’s young master has long wished to see her exceptional beauty. I hope Fellow Daoist can pass those words along.”
Shock momentarily appeared on his face before he hesitantly asked, “Young master? Who might you be speaking of...?”
“My sect’s young master is the sole descendant of the great ancestor. Although few know of his name right now, it will later reverberate throughout the Scattered Star Seas.”
Han Li was inwardly flabbergasted, but he agreed, “Alright. If I come across the sect leader, I will be sure to pass those words on!”
The old man appeared quite satisfied with Han Li’s response. After fumbling with the token for a moment more, he gave the token back to Han Li and said, “Good! As there is nothing wrong with your token, you may go.”
After Han Li saluted him, he unhurriedly flew off.
The old man revealed a strange expression as he watched Han Li fly off towards the horizon.
Chapter 503: Another Clash
The burly man amongst the Core Formation cultivators saw the old man’s face and asked with surprise, “What is it? Was there something amiss? Was his identity false?”
The old man twirled his beard with his finger before revealing a green jade slip in his palm. “There is nothing wrong with his identity. We’ve long acquired the portraits of the two elders from our agents in the Exquisite Sound Sect. His appearance is an exact match for what we were given. There is no doubt that he is Elder Han. Even if he was a pretender using some sort of secret disguise technique, he won’t be able to escape Elder Wang’s discerning eye when he leaves the harbor.”
The burly man snorted with dissatisfaction, “Since there is no problem, why did you wear that expression?”
After muttering to himself for a second, the old man said, “The Exquisite Sound Sect’s Elder Han is no simple character. I fear that even if we were to both take him on, we would not be victorious.”
The burly man was stunned before shaking his head as if he were beating a drum with it. He doubtfully said, “What does that mean? Isn’t he an early Core Formation cultivator just like us? Moreover, he is a vagrant cultivator. How could he compare to the two of us who have received the frequent teachings of our Divine Ancestor?”
The old man wasn’t annoyed by his words in the slightest and calmly gave him an explanation, “Enforcer Liu should know that although our Seven Fiends Arts can’t be considered a top grade cultivation technique, we are extremely sensitive to the amount of baleful Qi one possesses. The baleful Qi that he possesses is the heaviest I’ve ever seen from a Core Formation cultivator. No small number of cultivators has died by his hand.”
The burly man objected, “That’s nothing. So what if he killed a few low grade cultivators? I could do that too.”
“It’s not the same. Although you can accumulate a bit of weak baleful Qi from that, it would last for but a short moment, and would easily disappear. As for this person, not only is his baleful Qi exceedingly dense, but it is also extremely cold. This is something that can only be developed by killing a great number of cultivators of similar rank or higher. Unless he uses a few specific secret techniques to rid himself of the baleful Qi, it will forever haunt his body.”
After a cold glint flickered from his eyes, he imposingly continued, “Furthermore, he seems to have comprehend a few miraculous sword Qi techniques, causing the span of his baleful Qi to be exceptionally large. It is truly astonishing. If an ordinary cultivator were to fight him, not only would their bewitchment and illusionary techniques be weakened, but if his baleful Qi were to be fully cultivated, his opponents could temporarily lose their will to fight if they do not protect against it. If he were to cultivate our Seve
n Fiend Arts, he would make rapid advancements.”
Of course, the old man didn’t know that Han Li had sparsely killed Core Formation cultivators, but instead killed several hundreds of their equivalent, grade five demon beasts. The reason for his heavy baleful Qi was completely different from what he had imagined.
The burly man blankly stared for a moment before puzzlingly asking, “Enforcer Cang, could it be that you wish to take him as a disciple? Regardless of his baleful Qi, he won’t become your disciple. Don’t forget that he is a Core Formation cultivator as well.”
The old man calmly said, “Take him in as a disciple? Of course not. I was merely interested in the method he used to accumulate such strong baleful Qi. He must have a secret.”
Having heard that, the burly man lost interest. He reckoned that in the entire Scattered Star Seas, any cultivation arts that draw on support from the baleful Qi to progress all belonged to renegade sects. As his own cultivation art was not one of them, he felt disinterested.
But the burly man soon thought of something and asked with a puzzled expression, “You said that the young master was interested in the Exquisite Sound Sect’s Fairy Violet Spirit. Why haven’t I heard of this before? Could he have told you in private?”
“Hehe! The young master need not tell me anything. You should know the cultivation art that the young master cultivates. With the widespread fame of Fairy Violet Spirit’s beauty, if we are able to present the woman to our young master, there will be many rewards. The young master has just reached late Core Formation stage. With the Sacred Ancestor’s pointers and protection, I reckon that he will become a Nascent Soul cultivator in less than a hundred years!”
The burly man was rendered speechless for a moment before he excitedly nodded his head.
The burly man then rubbed his hands with a sinister smile and said, “Then when should we act? It appears that the young master is about to leave seclusion.”
The old man calmly said, “There is no need to rush. It would be best to do this after the next great battle. After all, it would be better to act after we have displayed the might of our Starfall Coalition. If they are unwilling to yield when the time comes, we’ll be able to seize her under the pretext of that she possesses secret ties to the Star Palace. As she established her sect in Heavenly Star City, she will have to obediently comply.”
The burly man rejoiced and laughed, “Good! Since they only have two early Core Formation elders, they won’t dare to stop our scheme. Fellow Daoist Cang is truly clever!”
The old man smiled upon hearing him. At the same time, he contentedly thought, ‘Like this, I will be able to pressure the Exquisite Sound Sect’s Elder Han into obediently handing over his secret for accumulating baleful Qi. Two birds with one stone!’
With that thought, the old man narrowed his eyes and wore a strange expression.
...
Han Li had now reached the end of the harbor. After taking a few glances at the bustling Starfall Coalition cultivators on the island, he decided to speed up.
But at that moment, a formidable spiritual sense suddenly enveloped him without restraint. Han Li was startled, but he soon stopped and remained floating in the sky.
This was something that he had earlier anticipated. How could the Starfall Coalition allow Core Formation cultivators to be released on something as simple as a token?
Han Li reckoned that the owner of the spiritual sense was their leader, a Nascent Soul eccentric, using his spiritual sense to examine him. It seemed this was a measure to prevent Core Formation cultivators from using secret techniques to alter their appearance and escape the island with a false identity.
Han Li’s expression was completely calm and didn’t reveal the slightest panic. He hadn’t even bothered to consider using a false identity from the very beginning. This was because these techniques could be seen through by those with formidable spiritual sense, unless one used a legendary technique from antiquity or an extremely precious magic treasure.
Had he superficially changed his appearance and used a false identity, he would appear quite suspicious were he to be caught, causing a huge backlash.
Instead, he would rather take advantage of his status as an elder of the Exquisite Sound Sect and take the risk of leaving a trail behind for Zenith Yin and the others. By the time the eccentrics tracked him down, he would already be in the Outer Star Seas, and be completely untouchable.
With that in mind, Han Li calmly allowed the Nascent Soul cultivator to examine him with his spiritual sense. As expected, the spiritual sense soon disappeared without leaving a mark on his body.
Han Li let out a long sigh and calmly flew towards the sea.
Not long after Han Li left the island, he began to fly at his top speed.
As the blood-red cloak would attract too much attention near the conflict, he could only fly through normal means.
Half a day later, Han Li was wondering how he should enter the city while he flew when he came to a sudden stop. He frowned and examined his surroundings with a puzzled gaze.
His expression suddenly stiffened as he gazed into the distance. He enveloped his body in a layer of faint azure light and motionlessly floated in place.
After a short moment, a blue and a red streak of light flew towards him with the speed of lightning. The lights arrived in front of Han Li in an instant, fading away to reveal two middle-aged cultivators wearing silver robes with gold lining.
Starfall Coalition cultivators!
Both of the men were early Core Formation cultivators. One of them appeared scholarly, possessing a pale face and no beard. The other was a rather robust man with tan skin.
Since they had both appeared, they just coldly stared at Han Li without a word. Their spiritual senses were obviously locked onto Han Li as if they were about to take action.
Han Li’s expression stirred for a moment. He then asked them with a deep voice, “What business do you two have? I am in a hurry. If you have nothing to say, then I will take my leave.”
“Wrong! You will be coming with us!” The robust man icily spoke with a commanding tone.
Han Li scowled and his eyes coldly glinted. “Have I offended you two? Or has the Starfall Coalition taken to tyrannically arresting people as they please?”
“Fellow Daoist, please do not be angry. We are under orders to pursue and eliminate any Star Palace remnants. We managed to wound a Star Palace cultivator just recently, but he managed to escape in this direction using a strange technique. It just so happened we found you while in pursuit of him. According to our knowledge, the Star Palace cultivators possesses face changing techniques. As we are unable to tell if your appearance is genuine, we must ask you to accompany us until we find the cultivator that escaped.” The scholarly middle-aged man spoke quite politely, but he obviously had no intention of letting Han Li go.
Chapter 504: The Might of Ancient Treasures
Han Li grew silent in response to the scholarly man’s words, and his expression continuously shifted as he considered his options.
The two Righteous Dao cultivators tacitly glanced at each other before vigilantly watching Han Li.
Han Li smiled and serenely said, “Alright, since I have no immediate affairs, I will accompany you two!”
The two men’s expressions immediately relaxed. A trace of satisfaction appeared on the scholarly man’s face as he opened his mouth to say something.
At that moment, Han Li struck.
His right hand suddenly emerged from his sleeve, silently shooting six streaks of azure light towards the large man. At the same time, he waved his left hand, summoning a chain of five-colored copper bands in his palm. It started to release a muffled hum.
“You dare to attack?” The scholarly man quickly reacted. Upon seeing Han Li attack, he immediately spat out a square magic treasure several inches wide. It was flat and pitch-black, appearing to be an inkstone of sorts.
The robust man quickly moved as well and released a white jade stamp
that glowed with white light. The magic treasure immediately increased several times in size as it met the six streaks of azure light.
At that moment, the scholarly man saw the copper bands in Han Li’s hand and shouted out a warning, “Be careful of the copper bands!”
The large man was unable to utter a response. The six streaks of azure light had released a clear ring before splitting into twelve identical swordlights. Six of the twelve lights then suddenly merged into a huge sword and fiercely cut down upon the white jade stamp.
The other six streaks of swordlight then changed direction and swiftly arced off to the side.
The large man was greatly alarmed. Without the time to think, he hastily formed an incantation gesture. Bursts of blue light with vivid talisman characters contained within them flourished around him. The flourishes of blue light wildly expanded and formed a barrier of blue light around the large man. The large man intended to directly receive the attack of Han Li’s Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.
Of course, the scholarly man didn’t stay still as all of this happened. After he had initially shouted, he hastily pointed to the inkstone floating in front of him. It quickly swiveled and released a black fog. In a second, the fog had already reached the span of ten meters, flooding the nearby surroundings with the smell of ink.
Then without hesitation, the scholarly man cast an incantation seal, causing the black fog to rapidly condense into a flock of thirty pitch-black birds that were each about half a foot long. Then with a monstrous cry, they shot towards Han Li with a flicker of red light.
Han Li turned a blind eye to the attack, and had his copper bands sway several times before disappearing with a shimmer. He then summoned his ancient flower basket with a flip of his hand.
Seeing that Han Li was completely unconcerned with his attack, the scholarly man rejoiced rather than becoming angry. His Bewildering Inkstone was created from ancient refinement methods; it was only through sheer luck and tremendous effort that he had been able to successfully create it. He had nearly used up half of his life to save up for it, but he had no regrets. Ever since he acquired the Bewildering Inkstone, he had rarely met a cultivator of the same grade that could pose a threat to him. Even mid Core Formation cultivators found it troublesome. So long as the target’s cultivation wasn’t vastly superior to his own, they would be immediately trapped in an inescapable illusion after becoming enveloped by the ink fog.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 272