The old man didn’t mind how the man behaved. Instead, he lightly coughed and thought to say something else when the melodic sounds of a flute arrived from a distance away. A green streak of light twinkled in the distance, and streaked towards them.
The woman’s expression changed several times after hearing the flute sounds, but her face soon returned to normal.
Old man Zhao was initially stunned, but he soon thought of something and took another look at the woman with a baffled expression on his face.
As for the man by the woman’s side, a trace of anger appeared in his otherwise calm expression.
A short moment later, a green speck of light approached them, revealing a young man who was flying through the air as he held onto a flute in front of him. With his handsome appearance and fluttering white robes, he appeared confident and relaxed.
The white clothed man flew before the group of people and loudly spoke to the woman with high spirits, “I would’ve never guessed that Miss Mei had already arrived here.”
A trace of helplessness appeared on her face and she reluctantly replied, “Fellow Daoist Fu, you’ve also come.” She didn’t seem particularly happy to see him.
The woman’s elderly brother spoke with a hoarse, cold voice, “Why are you here? My little sister has already said that she is unwilling to become your Dao companion. Why do you continue to try and associate with her? Do you think that I won’t dare to drive you away just because you have a Core Formation cultivator as a master?”
“Regardless, I am sincerely enraptured with your younger sister. So long as she remains unmarried, I will always pursue her. Fellow Daoist Mei has captured my utter devotion!” The white-clothed man went into a daze as he glanced at the woman surnamed Mei.
When the woman heard this, her cheeks blushed and she turned around, no longer paying him any heed. As for her brother, he revealed a harsh expression. Combined with his monstrous, undead appearance, he appeared particularly frightful.
Still, the white-clothed man continued to stare at the woman from behind without paying any attention to anyone else.
Old man Zhao rolled his eyes and decided to alleviate the tension by changing the subject to the island. “Cough. There is no need for emotions to cloud your reason. In a short moment, I fear there were be far more Fellow Daoists so if any treasures truly appear on the island, then we had best act quickly. Otherwise, a Core Formation Senior could arrive, and we will be left helpless.”
The three were slightly shocked upon hearing that.
The white-clothed man casually took a look above him and his expression suddenly changed. “Yi! The heavenly omen has started to change.”
The old man and the Mei siblings couldn’t help but look up in shock upon hearing him.
Sure enough, the incessantly rolling black cloud had started to revolve around a center point, and the huge cloud of Yin Qi that gathered down below the island had suddenly started to expand, as if a black monster had suddenly emerged.
“What is that? Could it be that a treasure has suddenly entered this world?” The woman asked with a face pale from astonishment.
A strange expression appeared on her brother’s face as he gazed at the island and said, “Let’s go take a look regardless. Perhaps an opportunity will appear before us.”
When the woman heard her brother, she hesitantly said, “But what if it isn’t a treasure? What if it is an expert refining a top grade technique? Can we afford to provoke such an individual?”
Her brother impatiently said with a cold voice, “There is nothing in this world without risk, and there is always a level of danger associated with acquiring treasure. Additionally, if there truly is a Senior on the island, we will merely ask to be excused with some polite words.” Then without paying any further attention to the others, he stamped on the sword magic tool beneath his feet and flew in the direction of the small island.
The woman paused for a moment before rushing after him with a worried expression on her face. The white-robed man revealed some slight hesitation and looked in the direction of the old man. Seeing the the old man had yet to act, a trace of doubt appeared on his face. He frowned and asked, “Fellow Daoist Zhao doesn’t want find out what is happening? You were the first one to propose heading to the island, but you seemed to have changed your mind.”
The old man chuckled and twirled his beard as he calmly said, “This old man merely made a suggestion, I never said I’d be the one to go. Moreover, I’ve brought a group of juniors with me and I don’t want any harm to come their way. If there is truly any treasure, then you three Fellow Daoists may have it.”
“Humph! Brother Zhao’s words are quite pleasant to hear, but I suspect you merely wish for us to scout for you!” The white clothed man glared at the old man before staring in the direction of the Mei siblings and rushing after them with gritted teeth.
The old man watched as the white-clothed man flew into the distance, before faintly shaking his head and muttering, “Oh, beautiful women are truly a cause for calamity. Those emotions of yours will only bring you great trouble!”
When the disciples behind him heard this, they couldn’t help but look at each other in dismay.
As the three cultivators flew into the island and directly entered the area underneath the heavenly omen, the old man’s spirit shook as he stared at the island in nervous anticipation. However, he suddenly heard a cold voice from behind him, “Well aren’t you smart? You didn’t go to brave the danger. Well, even if there was a treasure, just how would you split it with your disciples?”
When old man Zhao heard this, his heart was greatly shaken. He and his disciples hurriedly turned around, but they couldn’t find even a trace of another person.
The old man grew fearful after spotting no one, but he hastily spoke with a hurried tone, “I don’t know which Senior has graced us with his presence, but I, the Grand Sun Sect’s Zhao Qiao, pay my respects to you.”
Without a body in sight, the cold voice fluctuated throughout the air without an obvious point of origin, “The Grand Sun Sect? Who is Bu Diankong to you?”
The old man trembled and hurriedly replied, “The Sect Master is my Senior Martial Uncle. Does Senior recognize him?”
After a moment’s pause, the voice spoke with a warmer tone, “Hehe! I’ve met him once. I had originally intended on killing you to reduce the irksome presences in the area, but since you are the disciples of my acquaintance’s sect, I will spare you! However, if you juniors are foolish enough and dare to move, don’t blame for being ruthless.”
“Of course, we absolutely won’t inconvenience Senior.” When the old man heard this, his face grew pale. However, he felt somewhat relieved and was inwardly praising his seniors for maintaining friendly relations.
At that moment, the white-clothed man had caught up to the Mei siblings and they had approached the nearby valley, but when they were about to enter, their surroundings trembled and they suddenly found themselves surrounded in a barrier of light.
The three simultaneously heard the a man’s calm voice, “Return. If you continue forward, my hand will be forced.”
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators glanced at each other with bewilderment.
The man surnamed Mei was unable to remain calm and loudly asked, “May I ask who this Fellow Daoist is and what brings him to this island?
“I will count to ten. If you are unwilling to leave, then your bodies will remain here forever! Ten, nine, eight...” Han Li ignored his question and bluntly started to count with a cold tone.
The faces of the three revealed doubt. From his tone, they couldn’t be sure if he were merely bluffing, or if he truly was a Core Formation cultivator.
During their moment of hesitation, Han Li had counted to five and more than ten huge ape puppets appeared within the light barrier with a flash. They were arranged in a semicircle and orderly approached the three cultivators.
“Not good! Quickly, leave! Those are high grade puppets. We
aren’t capable of fighting them.” The woman seemed to recognize the ferocity of the puppets and her face quickly paled.
She then grabbed her brother’s arm and flew away without any further explanation. The white-clothed man also perceived the fearsomeness of the puppets and felt his breath turn cold before quickly following after them.
After seeing the three turn tail, Han Li stopped counting, and the huge ape puppets ceased their pursuit after having only chased them for about a hundred meters. After all three had flown off without turning around, the ape puppets returned to the light barrier and disappeared without a trace.
Han Li was still sitting down cross-legged at the valley’s entrance and slowly opened his eyes, but he appeared completely solemn. In addition to a few low grade cultivators around the island, he had also noticed the presence of a Core Formation cultivator. Although the cultivator’s speed could be considered amazing, he was laid bare underneath Han Li’s spiritual sense.
He hoped that by scaring off the three of them, they would inform their fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators to flee as well. He had nothing to fear from cultivators of that grade, but he’d rather avoid a needless massacre.
However, this was only just the beginning.
He reckoned if any real troubles were to come, they would most likely arrive on the final day of the Soulrise Technique’s ritual. After all, with this much time remaining, the nearby high grade cultivators should’ve already received information.
Chapter 569: Infiltration
Han Li reckoned that there would be four Core Formation cultivators present on the last day at most. It was almost impossible for a Nascent Soul cultivator to just so happen to be nearby, this wasn’t the outer seas after all. In such a vast expanse of ocean, one would typically only find a few Core Formation cultivators at most, and at his current cultivation Han Li had nothing to fear from them. Although he didn’t wish to attract any attention, if those cultivators were unwilling to back down, he would have no choice but to act ruthlessly. Having come to that conclusion, Han Li’s face became expressionless, and he closed his eyes once more.
The three Foundation Establishment cultivators had already returned to where they had set off from, leaving Old Man Zhao quite baffled.
The old man probingly asked, “What happened? You three Fellow Daoists have already explored the island?”
A trace of fear appeared in the woman’s eyes and she shook her head, “We were too late. Another cultivator has already placed down restrictions near the area of the heavenly omen. The cultivator controls a few high level puppets, and spoke with a domineering tone. I reckon he was a Core Formation cultivator.”
The old man paused for a moment before saying, “A Core Formation cultivator? It seems there is more to this heavenly omen than meets the eye. It doesn’t seem to have been naturally formed. Could it be that a treasure has truly appeared?”
The white-clothed man stroked the flute in his hand and said, “Who knows? But it could be said that we were the first to arrive on the island. I suppose that the Core Formation cultivator was already on the island before the heavenly omen had occurred, and placed down spell formations beforehand. There appears to be a mystery there.”
Old Man Zhao muttered to himself for a moment and asked, “What did that Core Formation cultivator look like? Perhaps we might discover his identity from his appearance.”
The Mei siblings and the white-clothed man looked at each other in dismay.
The old man furrowed his brow and revealed a trace of doubt, “What? Did you not catch sight of his appearance?”
When the white-clothed man saw the old man’s expression, he recalled the matter from before and his face grew sullen. He said with obvious annoyance, “Humph! If Brother Zhao doubts our words, then he can go look for himself and see whether or not that Senior will treat you leniently. I don’t believe he will!”
The old man chuckled and replied, “Fellow Daoist misunderstands, it was but an impulsive question. Since the island already has a Core Formation Senior on it, then there is no place here for people of our cultivation, regardless of whether or not any treasures truly emerge.”
The man surnamed Mei curled his lips and indignantly said, “That might not be true! Even if he is a Core Formation cultivator, if we were to join hands with a dozen fellow Foundation Establishment Daoists, perhaps we may be able to match him.”
The white-clothed man shook his head and said, “Brother Mei must be joking. Not to mention that we don’t have that many Foundation Establishment cultivators, we don’t even know if there is truly a treasure on that island or how valuable that treasure could be. Who would be willing to blindly offend a Core Formation cultivator over potentially nothing?”
When the siblings heard his words, they grimaced and opened their mouths, but they couldn’t think of anything to refute him with. As a result, they could only sigh and silently close their mouths.
The woman surnamed Mei turned to her side and gently said, “Elder brother, since there is too much uncertainty, we should leave! There is little point in involving ourselves any further!”
Her brother was clearly hesitating due to the uncertainty. Although he knew that a Core Formation cultivator had taken action and that it would be impossible to acquire any gains, it also wasn’t common to come across a rare treasure appearing in the world. As such, he was reluctant to leave. After all, to vagrant cultivators like him and his sister, this was a very rare opportunity.
“Leave? In your dreams! No one is leaving until I give them permission!” Before the brother could finish his thoughts, a cold voice suddenly arrived from varying directions.
The Mei siblings and the white-clothed man were shocked and immediately grabbed onto their storage pouches as they vigilantly looked all around. However, they were unable to find a single trace of the speaker.
With his spiritual sense continuously sweeping his surroundings, the man surnamed Mei asked the old man in a chilling tone, “Fellow Daoist Zhao, what is going on?”
The old man bitterly smiled in a helpless manner and said, “Don’t ask me, I’m not allowed to leave either.”
When the other three heard this, they instantly pondered over whether or not to believe the old man. However, their musings were interrupted by a flash of yellow light light thirty meters away, that revealed a white silhouette. White Qi was wrapped around the figure, and it appeared blurry like a mirage.
When the three saw this, they were immediately frightened, and reflexively released their magic tools in front of them as they vigilantly watch the silhouette.
The white figure spoke with an icy voice and an irritated tone, “Humph! Could it be that you Juniors wish to attack me?”
Although the woman surnamed Mei was incapable of seeing the true appearance of the white silhouette, from his spiritual Qi fluctuations, she recognized him to be a Core Formation cultivator. Her face paled and she tactfully explained, “We don’t dare to. It was only that we don’t know how we offended Senior and why he won’t allow us siblings to depart.”
“Offend me? No, I merely don't wish to allow any word of this to spread outside. And until I figure out whether or not a treasure has emerged on the island, no one is allowed to move even a step. Otherwise, I’ll end you immediately.” The white silhouette spoke with tremendous arrogance.
When the three heard this, they were shocked.
The white clothed man took a deep breath and slowly asked, “Since that is the case, then how about Senior go and take a look?”
The white silhouette snorted and said, “Relax, I’ll leave right now, but before that, give me a detailed explanation of what you saw on the island.”
When the three heard this, they couldn’t help but glance at one another. The woman frowned and calmly said, “Actually, we don’t have much to say. We fled after many puppets were unleashed on us. At the time...” The woman then gave an detailed narration of what had occurred on the island.
After a moment of
silence, the white silhouette chuckled and said, “Controlling that many high grade puppets is beyond what a Foundation Establishment cultivator is capable of. It seems you three are somewhat intelligent. Had you delayed, you would’ve surely died!”
Soon after, the white silhouette blurred and streaked towards the small island.
The others grew elated at having seen a potential opportunity for escape. However, they heard the silhouette’s voice slowly speak from a distance, “I’ve already told you once, if you dare to leave before I have returned, don’t blame me if I head off to kill you. I am not a forgiving person!” His words gradually grew softer as he grew more distant.
With the white light now so far away, they had originally planned on slipping away. But after some consideration of the consequences, no one dared to leave and provoke the Core Formation cultivator.
At nearly the same time, Han Li opened his eyes and wore a sullen expression.
Han Li muttered in a seemingly irritated voice, “I thought that he’d come tomorrow. I didn’t expect him to be the impatient sort.”
Han Li’s expression then stirred, and he glanced in another direction with a pensive expression.
He turned his head to the sky and sighed, “There is yet another one. It seems I’ll have to deal with them one at a time. It’s impossible for me to just scare Core Formation cultivators away.” With that said, Han Li patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist and released a large cloud of buzzing, black-tainted Gold Devouring Beetles. After revolving once around his head, they condensed into a huge tri-colored lance.
“Since you’re courting death, don’t blame me for killing you!” Han Li stared at the lance for a moment and shouted, “Go!” The lance then immediately trembled and shot off without a trace. As Han Li gazed in direction of the huge lance, a trace of murderous intent appeared within his eyes.
The white silhouette approached the small island and stopped at its edge as the white Qi then disappeared to reveal a middle-aged cultivator that appeared bloodlessly pale.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 307