He soon discovered that the sparkling blue light marked an exit from this black expanse. Although it was only about three meters wide, it was more than enough for a person to pass through.
When the two saw this, they quickly walked through it with roused spirits.
In the instant they arrived at the opening, a white light flashed before Han Li and eight flawless swords quickly appeared against his neck. A hoarse voice coldly said, “Who are you? Where are Ah Hu and the others? Are you new arrivals?”
Han Li’s heart stirred upon seeing that he was surrounded by over twenty young men and woman. Each of whom held a strange sparkling white blade, and wore the same strange green robes as the men from before. They were all gazing at Han Li with differing expressions.
As for the beautiful woman following him, she had been surrounded as well and didn’t dare to move.
Han Li rubbed his nose and wryly smiled, “I imagine that we are what you consider to be new arrivals! Do outsiders often appear here?”
When the middle-aged man heard Han Li, his expression relaxed but his voice still remained cold, “I would’ve guessed it if you hadn’t said anything as your strange clothes are something only outsiders would wear. However, it’s quite fortunate for you to encounter us. After all, a majority of outsiders meet their ends in the stomach of the umbra beasts without ever realizing what was happening.”
He then waved his hand and the youths withdrew their swords.
Han Li rubbed his neck and glanced at the weapons with a trace of astonishment.
When those blades were touching his neck, he felt an astonishing burning sensation as if they were all made of scorching hot iron. It was a truly weird experience.
Han Li then swept his gaze around and discovered that they were in front of a small stone mountain. It appeared that they had just left the heart of the stone mountain. When he gazed into the distance, there was an endless yellow desert.
He then raised his head to the sky and felt an even greater shock.
He saw pitch-black clouds covering the sky. They appeared endless and continuously arced with deep blue lightning, causing the sky to shine with a faint blue light. It was all stranger than anything Han Li had imagined.
Before Han Li finished observing his surroundings, the lean middle-aged man frowned and asked, “Did you encounter anyone when you arrived? They would be my companions!”
Han Li immediately answered without hesitation, “I saw a group of men, however, they were chased down by a few beasts. They ran off in another direction.”
The lean man grew nervous and he unconsciously tightened his grasp on the blade, “Beasts? What kind?”
“I heard those men call them Firescale Beasts.”
The lean man relaxed and calmly said, “Firescale Beasts? That’s good. Ah Hu and the others should have no problem dealing with them. But just to be sure, Fan Li, bring a group of people inside and help them. Then take them through the nearest alternative exit.”
A towering dark man wordlessly brought a group of people into the cave.
Chapter 580: Tall Walls
The lean man turned his head toward Han Li and the woman and indifferently said, “I’m not sure whether I should say your luck is good or bad. You actually ran into an eruption of Spirit Extinguishing Qi! This causes far more tears in space to appear, and even experts are incapable of escaping them. But as a result, the umbra beasts that normally lay inside the mountain hollow had left. Otherwise, you would’ve immediately be torn apart upon falling inside.”
When Han Li heard this, his heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged. “I hope you’ll forgive me for being so bold, but could your esteemed self tell us exactly where we are? From your tone, it seems this place is quite dangerous.”
The lean man examined the two’s clothing and saw that they didn’t seem to be ordinary people and wryly smiled, “Dangerous? Hehe! That’s about right. Regardless of whatever identities or statuses you may have held on the outside, here in the Umbra Realm, you’re just people that need to struggle to survive. If you can’t move or make yourself useful, you will end up as umbra beast food.”
Han Li frowned and wanted to ask more questions but the lean mean impatiently waved his hand, “We’re pressed for time. The explanations will have to wait until after we return to the village. In just a moment, the umbra beasts will return to their nests and we’ll have to quickly block this secret entrance so that we can use it again in the future.” After he said this, he turned to the people behind him and started harshly giving them commands.
The men and women began to grab nearby stones and started to hurriedly stack them tightly against the hole.
The lean man gazed at the Yin clouds in the sky and his face darkened. “Let’s go. If everything goes smoothly, Ah Hu and the others will meet us on the way. But if we dawdle, the Yin winds will appear and we won’t be able to return.” After saying this, he turned around and left as the rest of people closely followed after him without a word. None of them ever called out to Han Li or the woman.
When Han Li saw this, an odd expression flickered through his eyes as he began to ponder over the current situation.
The beautiful woman beside Han Li watched as the group grew distant. Seeing that Han Li appeared pensive, she couldn’t help but worriedly ask, “Should we follow them?”
Without any magic power, she had turned into a frail and bewildered mortal. Since Han Li appeared calm this entire time, she had instinctively begun to rely on him.
Han Li raised his head and calmly said, “There’s no reason not to, so let’s go take a look at their so-called village. Perhaps we’ll think of something once we’re there and are able to recover our magic power.” He then headed in the direction the others had gone with large strides.
The woman let out a breath of relief and followed after him.
“Ah, yes. I still don’t know your name. My surname is Han, I am a vagrant cultivator.”
“I am Mei Ning. I was together with my brother when we were sucked into the ghost mist, but now he isn’t here.” A trace of worry appeared on her face when she mentioned her brother.
Han Li calmly said, “That’s to be expected. The black lightning appears to have the power of random teleportation. Your brother must’ve teleported elsewhere. Otherwise, why would only the two of us teleport there despite the many cultivators around the island? If you search for him, you’ll find him eventually.”
When the woman heard this, she felt relieved and her curiosity towards Han Li was piqued. His appearance was rather unfamiliar and she was certain that she had never seen him before. She tentatively guessed that he was a cultivator that had approached the island from a different direction.
She thought to ask more questions of Han Li, but she hesitated after realizing that they didn’t have a particularly close relationship, and ended up keeping silent.
As the two hurried after the group of green-robed people, she pondered about the pros and cons of inquiring about him further. Although they didn’t have any magic power, cultivators possessed bodies of purified essence that were far more capable than those of ordinary mortals.
Seeing that the two were able to follow after them without difficulty, a strange expression appeared in the lean man’s eyes, but instead of saying anything, he lowered his head and sped up.
The others behind him quickened their pace in response.
Han Li was somewhat surprised to see that these people were far more vigorous than ordinary mortals. Although their bodies didn’t seem to hold a superior level of inner strength, they clearly cultivated some shallow martial arts. It seemed that martial arts would prove quite useful here.
Nevertheless, Han Li still had misgivings from the ghost mist that had previously occurred.
From the records he had looked through, although the ghost fog was frightful, it had never been as disastrous as what had just occurred. There wasn’t even an opportunity for anyone to escape. Before he had even touched the
ghost mist, the entirety of his magic power had already been sealed. It had been truly terrifying.
If each appearance of the ghost mist was that disastrous, then even Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn’t be able to escape it. But in the previous appearances of the ghost mist, there were many cultivators who were able to escape from it, even low grade cultivators had.
However, Han Li felt somewhat suspicious about what the lean man had referred to as the so-called Spirit Extinguishing Qi. From its name, it was certain to have something to do with why his spiritual sense and magic power were currently restricted.
They were truly unlucky to have encountered such a particularly dreadful ghost mist that had managed to captured everyone present. He reckoned that those that survived the teleportation would be found scattered across the other corners of this land.
Just as Han Li thought this, the lean man suddenly stopped and turned his head in a different direction while the rest of his party had followed suit. Far off into the desert, a yellow dragon could be seen rushing towards them through surging clouds of sand.
“It’s Ah Hu and the others!” One of the youths shouted in delight as the others became excited. The lean man nodded his head and revealed a trace of relief, but his smile soon froze when he heard a series of sharp roars from the yellow dragon.
The lean man furiously yelled with a distorted expression, “Everyone, quickly go and help them! They are being pursued by umbra beasts.” He took out the long white blade at his waist and led the charge forward.
The rest of the party came to a sudden realization and each of them brandished their blades as they followed suit.
Han Li stood in place, and merely stared at the yellow dragon in the distance with an odd expression.
The lean man’s party had just reached the yellow dragon when it abruptly stopped and roared before bursting into clouds of yellow mist.
The party loudly yelled as they entered the dense smoke, and shouts of all pitches and tones were intertwined. After the time it took to finish a cup of tea, their voices eventually quieted down.
After a short moment, a series of cheers came from within the yellow mist, and the men and woman all emerged with their bodies splattered with beast blood. It was difficult to tell if any of them had sustained any injuries, but each of them wore a smile of pleasant surprise.
When they returned, they were joined by the burly men that Han Li had seen within the mountain. They were still carrying the huge bags on their back.
When they spotted Han Li and Mei Ning, they appeared somewhat confused, but after the lean man whispered something to them, their expression brightened and paid them no further mind.
The group quickly marched on with the new arrivals. Two hours later, they had reached an expanse of pitch-black stone that interrupted the desolate sandscape.
Just like the desert from before, Han Li was unable to see the end of this expanse of black stone. However, the black stones were all strangely shaped and their deep shade of black left Han Li with an eerie feeling of discomfort.
But when the others saw this place, they let out long breaths of relief and wore relaxed expressions.
At that moment, the Yin clouds in the sky had begun to restlessly move about and the blue flashes of lightning had become more frequent. Occasionally, they would directly strike an area nearby, causing a pit to appear among the stones.
Han Li and Mei Ning were startled by the sudden turn of events, but the others seemed accustomed to it. They simply walked into the stony areas with quick strides.
The lean man then shouted, “Everyone, quicken your pace! The village is about to close their doors. Let’s avoid being trapped outside!” Afterwards, the group of people dashed forward and ran with all their might.
Han Li and Mei Ning glanced at each other. Although they didn’t know what was going on, they didn’t dare to fall behind.
Following their lead, the made several turns throughout the expanse of stone before suddenly arriving at an open area.
The spacious area had lofty stone walls that were as black as could be. Not only were these stone walls all carved out of massive boulders that were at least three meters wide and ten meters tall, but they extended out for several kilometers. Additionally, about every ten meters along the walls, a sharp spike of hardwood struck out from the wall, making for a sinister appearance.
Currently, the group of people were heading in the direction of an imposing wooden gate with over ten men with white pikes standing guard on either side.
When these guards saw the lean man’s party approach, they loudly yelled at them with excitement.
With a huge rumble, the gate slowly opened, allowing them inside.
Chapters 581: A Huge Beast Attacks
Although Han Li and Mei Ning were new arrivals, the guards merely glanced at them without asking any questions. Instead, they surrounded the returnees and excitedly asked them a few questions. As a result, the large men gave them a glance at the fish and prawn in their bags before the guards cried out in surprise.
Han Li furrowed his brows at the sight. It seemed that food was a scarce resource here.
Soon after, Han Li swept his eyes across the entire village.
The entire village was within the protection of the tall stone walls, and all of its buildings were crudely carved cubes made from the same pitch-black stone as the walls. There was also a small stone platform built at the center of the village that was several times taller than the other buildings. Additionally, the top of the platform seem to emit a faint purple fog that permeated through the entire village. It seemed to completely absorb any of the blue lightning that happened to strike the village. The purple fog was undoubtedly some kind of spell formation, but Han Li was unable to perceive the slightest spiritual Qi inside the stone walls. Instead, he only felt a cold Yin energy lingering in the air.
Although his spiritual sense was still trapped within his body, he could still keenly sense spiritual Qi. Han Li was bewildered as to why this was the case.
The lean man’s group had entered the village and already arrived at a large hall near the platform. There were a group of people outside the hall that were gesturing and whispering with the lean man’s group when one of them looked in Han Li’s direction with a deep gaze.
Han Li felt his heart tremble. That person possessed the deepest inner strength of anyone he had encountered in this land.
Were it in the outside world, Han Li could’ve easily killed him with a twirl of his finger and ignored him. But as Han Li was now, he would have to strive his hardest to deal with him. At that moment, the lean man had approached the group of people and said something to them before turning around and pointing at Han Li and Mei Ning. The group then turned their gazes to Han Li.
Han Li remained silent and revealed no fear, but to his side, Mei Ning revealed nervousness from not knowing what they had in mind for them.
The lean man beckoned to the two and said, “You two, come over. The village elders have some questions for you.”
Han Li nodded his head and calmly walked over with Mei Ning in tow.
The group of people that had been standing outside had already turned around and entered the hall, and Han Li soon followed.
A plump old man that sat at the center of the hall gazed at them with a kind expression and said, “Please, sit. Since we are all human, we will naturally do our best to aid one another. However, there is much that is different in this world from the outside. How about you two first introduce yourselves before I start introducing you to this land?”
The others sat down at his side, and the one who had glared at Han Li outside the hall were among them as well. He had narrow eyes, a hostile expression and pale skin. At that moment, his spirited eyes had swept across Han Li and the beautiful Mei Ning behind him. Although he was silent, a peculiar expression flickered through his eyes.
Han Li casually smiled and calmly replied, “There isn’t much to say about us. We encountered the ghost mist a
t sea and were drawn here by it. As for my previous identity, what use is it here? There is no point in talking about it.”
The old man smiled upon hearing Han Li’s vague answer.
He examined the two with narrowed eyes before saying, “You two must be cultivators, so there is no point in concealing this.” With that said, the old man’s gaze dropped down to the bulging storage pouch at Han Li’s waist.
Han Li’s expression remained unchanged but he was inwardly shocked. As for Mei Ning, her expression grew pale with worry.
“You two don’t need to be scared. Although there aren’t many cultivators among us, we are far more happy to have you join this village than we would be with ordinary people. However, you two will be incapable of using magic or spiritual power in the Umbra Realm. The only powers you’ll be able to use are a few crude martial arts and umbra energy.”
“Umbra energy?” Han Li asked with a bewildered expression.
The old man twirled his beard and slowly said, “That’s right. It is somewhat similar to magic power, but it cannot be used to cast magic techniques. However, cultivators are able to use the inner cores of umbra beasts to deploy a few small scale spell formations. We have much use for them in our village. And even if you aren’t proficient in spell formations, cultivators’ bodies are far stronger than those of ordinary men. They will certainly be great helpers.”
After a moment of thought, Han Li asked, “Your esteemed self seems to understand much about us cultivators. Are there other cultivators in the village?”
The plump old man smirked and said, “Of course there are, but they only number about six. This old man happens to be one of them. When I was sucked into the ghost mist, I was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator.”
A trace of astonishment flickered through Han Li’s eyes, but when he thought to ask more questions, the entire hall violently rumbled. In the distance, there seemed to be a huge monster charging at the village.
The expressions of the people inside the hall had greatly changed, and they no longer paid any attention to Han Li. They all immediately walked out and Han Li soon followed after them with a hesitant expression. The village elders were commanding several hundred robust youths to all rush up the thick walls with pikes in most of their hands, while a few of them carried crude bows.
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