The barrier disappeared to reveal six cultivators all clothed in green as well. They were sitting around a five-pointed spell formation about twenty meters wide at the entrance of the small valley. With one of the cultivators sitting cross-legged at each of the spell formation’s corners, it began to flicker with spirit light. The remaining cultivator was a long-bearded old man sitting at the center of the spell formation with his eyes closed.
Suddenly, the old man opened his eyes and looked up at the sky. There was a white light slowly descending onto them. A moment later, a green-robed woman appeared in front of the old man and saluted him as soon as she landed.
The green-robed woman lowered her head in respect and said, “This disciple greets her Martial Senior. The miasma on the mountain range has completely disappeared. There are many cultivators that have already gathered in front of Devilfall Valley.”
The long-bearded old man twirled his beard and slowly asked, “Has the Ghost Spirit Sect made an appearance yet?”
After a moment of thought, the woman carefully replied, “Apart from a few, a majority of the Ghost Spirit Sect have yet to take action.”
The long-bearded old man snorted and said, “Since the Ghost Spirit Sect have yet to take action, we must not move hastily either. So long as we pay attention to their elders, we won’t encounter any mishap. Martial Niece Han, continue monitoring their movements and as soon as there is a change, immediately report back.”
“Yes, this disciple will set off.” The green-robed woman accepted his orders without any opposition. After saluting the old man once more, she flew off on the spirit bird.
The old man watched as the green-robed woman left until she disappeared and his eyes brightly glinted as he momentarily sank into thought. The five cultivators sitting around the spell formation were completely unperturbed by the appearance of the woman surnamed Han. They all remained completely still as if they were made of wood.
The long-bearded old man didn’t find this out of the ordinary at all and closed his eyes once more.
...
On the top of a lofty mountain, there was a middle-aged, grey-robed Daoist priest standing on top of a boulder. He was staring in the direction of Devilfall Valley with a squint as raging winds blew against him.
The Daoist priest turned his head to look at two sinister puppets at his side with a trace of satisfaction. He muttered, “With these two Nascent Soul level ancient puppets, I’ll reap a great harvest from this journey to Devilfall Valley.”
With that said, the Daoist priest raised his arm and struck the puppets with a spell seal. In an instant, the puppets quickly shrunk and shot into his sleeve. Soon, the Daoist priest tore through the skies in the direction of Devilfall Valley as a streak of red light.
In another corner of the sky, there were three streaks of light arranged in a row, flying towards Devilfall Valley.
If Han Li were to see the trio, he would be greatly surprised as he would recognized two of them. One was a sallow-faced yellow-robed old man, Ancestor Linghu of Yellow Maple Valley. By his side was a white-robed woman with a pale complexion and a chilly expression, the grand elder of the Masked Moon Sect and Nangong Wan’s Senior Martial Sister.
The one that Han Li wouldn’t recognize was the old man, who had a steep brow and a lion’s nose.
The three were completely silent as they hurried on their way and soon disappeared into specks of light that faded from the sky without a trace.
At the same time, many cultivators began to appear near the Myriad Link Mountains, seeming completely confident in their abilities.
As of current, Han Li had already arrived nearby Devilfall Valley. He was sitting on a mound several kilometers away from its entrance, pensively looking in the direction of Devilfall Valley.
At that moment, Han Li used his spiritual sense to probe a radius of tensome kilometers nearby. He found that over a thousand cultivators had already gathered here with many Nascent Soul eccentrics hidden amongst them. While these cultivators weren’t characters on par with the Three Great Heavenly South cultivators, they were all exceptional individuals who wielded strange and troublesome secret abilities.
Han Li wasn’t so conceited as to believe that he had nothing to fear from cultivators that weren’t on the level of the Three Great Heavenly South Cultivators or the Moulan Divine Sages. It would only take a single mistake for him to lose his life in the valley.
As Han Li pondered, he would occasionally take the measure of the entrance to Devilfall Valley. If it weren't for the cultivators that were gathered there, Han Li wouldn’t have believed that such a common mountain opening would be the entrance to Devilfall Valley. However, there were roiling grey clouds above the entrance that surged with spiritual Qi. It was an odd omen that left a cold impression on those who saw it.
From the outside, the entrance appeared only thirty meters wide, but he was only able to see three hundred meters into the valley when he attempted to probe it with his spiritual sense. A restriction of the valley had blocked him from seeing any further and he was unable to personally witness the so-called spatial tears.
Although Han Li could forcefully puncture the restrictions with his spiritual sense, he hesitated to do so at an area as dangerous as Devilfall Valley and cautiously withdrew his spiritual sense. Soon after, Han Li sat cross-legged on the mound and he closed his eyes.
Time slowly passed by until half a day later when Han Li sensed a familiar aura amongst the increasing number of cultivators that gathered there.
After some thought, Han Li was able to identify them and he frowned.
During that moment, there was a nearby voice that shouted with alarm, “The Moulan have arrived. The Moulan spell warriors also wish to search for treasures in Devilfall Valley.”
Following that announcement, an uproar filled the entrance and Han Li felt his heart tremble. When he opened his eyes, he saw a strange flying carriage moving in their direction. The carriage’s body was round and over sixty meters in length. It sparkled with silver light and was engraved with talisman characters all over its body. There were over ten cultivators dressed in Moulan robes standing in the carriage, revealing them to be Moulan spell warriors without a doubt.
When Han Li saw this, he wore an astonished expression. Although he had heard rumors that the Moulan were going to arrive, he hadn’t believed it to be true.
After all, the Heavenly South may have made peace with the Moulan but the battle at the border had left both sides with vast injuries. The Moulan had formed a deep hatred between many sects and without the passage of several hundred years, this hatred wouldn’t easily disperse. Under such circumstances, it was rather inconceivable that the Moulan would dare to enter so deep into the heart of the Heavenly South to look for treasures in Devilfall Valley. Could it be that they had no fear that vengeful cultivators would plot against them from behind?
Just as Han Li thought this, the huge carriage arrived above the entrance to Devilfall Valley, clearly revealing the faces of the spell warriors it contained.
Han Li glanced at the two in the lead and came to a realization. With those two in charge, they had no fear of retaliation from common cultivators. However, it was something of a mystery as to Han Li why the Three Great Heavenly South cultivators would allow them entry.
The two spell warriors leading them were the scholarly Divine Sage surnamed Zhong and the woman surnamed Le who guarded the ancient lantern.
The flying carriage dropped on a small mountain not far from Han Li. After the spell warriors walked out of the carriage, Spell Warrior Le struck the chariot with a spell seal and it shrunk in size.
When the others at the entrance of Devilfall Valley saw this, they were astonished and felt the same surprise as Han Li.
Just as the cultivators watched the Moulan’s arrival with cold and hostile gazes, light flashed from the horizon to reveal over a hundred streaks of light flying towards Devilfall Valley.
“It’s the Ghost Spirit Sect!” Shouts ec
hoed from those who recognized them and the attention directed at the Moulan shifted toward the sky. As for Han Li, he also glanced upward with a cold snort.
The speed of these traveling lights couldn't be considered fast. They calmly arrived above the valley’s entrance and descended three hundred meters away from it.
The lights disappeared to reveal over a hundred black-clothed cultivators, all of them Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators. The three leading them caught Han Li’s attention. He recognized the one standing to the left, the Ghost Spirit Sect Master, Wang Tiangu. His heart stirred and he swept his gaze past the crowd only to spot Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan.
Wang Chan appeared to be in good health and still had all his limbs, but Yan Ruyan appeared somewhat sallow.
‘Could it be the Yin Devil Execution didn’t injure him? Or did he just restore his limb and hide it?’ As these thoughts quickly appeared in Han Li’s mind, he wasn’t able to come up with an answer. But given Han Li’s current abilities and reputation, Wang Chan could no longer be considered a threat. As a result, his attention turned to the other two Nascent Soul cultivators in the lead.
The cultivator at the center was a middle-aged man wearing wide robes whose harsh expression possessed an uncommon air of authority. From a glance, one could tell he was in charge. To his right was an old man with a pale complexion that had peppered hair, sharp eyes and a sinister aura.
While they were both Nascent Soul cultivators they appeared unfamiliar to Han Li, as if they hadn’t participated at the battle at the border. However, the old man’s mid-Nascent Soul cultivation caught Han Li’s attention.
Chapter 806: One-Way Transportation Formation
The Ghost Spirit Sect’s Daoist Shattered Soul hadn’t come, to Han Li’s surprise. This unfamiliar old man came in his place.
However, mobilizing three Nascent Soul cultivators was quite a show of force even from a sect as large as the Ghost Spirit Sect. But considering that they were trying to oversee an area as dangerous as Devilfall Valley, it was still somewhat lacking. Could it be that the Ghost Spirit Sect had made other preparations?
Just as Han Li pondered this, the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators hurriedly scattered around the valley entrance, appearing to set up a huge spell formation. The nearby cultivators didn’t disturb them and simply watched from the side. As for the Moulan spell warriors, they were also gather together. Their leaders, the scholarly man surnamed Zhong and Spell Warrior Le, were currently discussing something with soft voices.
Han Li stared at the spell formation with clear eyes and a calm expression. But a short moment later, Han Li’s expression stirred and he looked to the sky with bewilderment.
At that moment, light flashed from the distance and a blinding streak of white light suddenly shot across the sky like a bolt of lightning, scattering any clouds that came across its path in a display of astonishing momentum. By then, the other cultivators also saw this shocking occurrence.
In an instant, the white light suddenly arrived above the valley entrance, fading away to reveal an azure-robed old man with an expressionless face.
“Wei Wuya!”
“He’s also come.”
“Could it be that the Nine Nations Union are also determined to acquire the treasures in Devilfall Valley?”
An uproar surged amongst the nearby cultivators when they clearly saw the old man’s face. But what was cause for even greater surprise was how Wei Wuya slowly descended in front of the Ghost Spirit Sect.
When the middle-aged Ghost Spirit Sect Elder with the unfriendly face saw this, he smiled and saluted Wei Wuya. “Brother Wei, you’ve finally arrived. I believed you had been delayed by other affairs. If that were the case, we would’ve had no choice but to postpone entering the valley.”
“Since I’ve made an agreement with Fellow Daoist Wang, I won’t rashly change my mind. But it will be best if you spoke honestly. If the valley doesn’t have the items that you’ve described, don’t blame me if I become hostile.” Wei Wuya ignored the middle-aged man’s smile. It came as no surprise; the Nine Nations Union didn’t have a good relationship with the Devil Dao.
“Be at ease Fellow Daoist. I wouldn’t dare to trick you.” The middle-aged man ignored Wei Wuya’s bold words and continued to welcome him.
The scene caused the nearby cultivators to watch with astonishment. Wei Wuya was the grand elder of the Nine Nations Union and apparently was now working with the Devil Dao. If one didn’t see it with their own eyes, how could they possibly believe it?
Han Li frowned at the sight of this. Now if he were to clash with the Ghost Spirit Sect inside Devilfall Valley, his only choice would be to flee given that Wei Wuya was sided with them. This was something beyond his expectations.
As Han Li pondered this, he couldn’t help but glance at the scholarly man surnamed Zhong. If no other late Nascent Soul cultivators were going to enter Devilfall Valley, then these two would have the strongest cultivations.
The Moulan Divine Sage was calmly staring at Wei Wuya with his arms held behind his back, and it was unknown what he was thinking. As for Spell Warrior Le, she seemed surprised to see Wei Wuya appear here.
Although Wei Wuya’s presence had come as a shock to many, the cultivators present were still watching the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples as they finished laying down their spell formation.
After half a day’s time, the spell formation had now reached over three hundred meters in width as it was being constructed. As Han Li saw it being set up, he slowly became completely bewildered.
The spell formation appeared to be a portion of an ancient transportation formation that he had studied once before, but there were a few minute differences where portions were either simplified or more complex. It had clearly been altered greatly.
Han Li squinted his eyes and stared at the spell formation in silence. Although his attainments in spell formations were great, he wasn’t unable to unravel the secrets of the spell formation in a short amount of time. He could only frown in thought.
Two hours later, the spell formation was finally complete and the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples began to place various mid-grade spirit stones around it. Originally standing to the side, Wang Tiangu suddenly stood at the center of the spell formation in a blur. He then slapped his storage pouch and took out a jade box.
The other two Ghost Spirit Sect elders didn’t appear surprised in the slightest by Wang Tiangu’s actions.
Wang Tiangu opened the jade box and revealed a golden-yellow spirit stone. The spirit stone shined magnificently and immediately released a wave of astonishing spiritual Qi upon leaving the jade box.
“A high-grade spirit stone!” Someone suddenly shouted with alarm, much to the surprise of the cultivators who heard this. Han Li’s expression changed upon hearing this as well.
The spiritual power of a high-grade spirit stone was only equivalent to about a hundred mid-grade spirit stones. But in truth, a hundred mid-grade spirit stones were far less valuable than a high-grade spirit stone. A high-grade spirit stone cost at least a thousand mid-grade spirit stones and were hardly ever purchased.
The reason for this was because high-grade spirit stone mines were easily detected. As a result, there were few that still existed. As of current, these spirit stones were only rarely found deep at the end of a mid-grade spirit stone mine.
Unfortunately, many ancient and formidable spell formations and restrictions all required the use of high-grade spirit stones. Even common spell formations were enhanced when activated with the power of these spirit stones. Additionally, a high-grade spirit stone is able to supply a Nascent Soul cultivator with a great amount of spiritual power. As a result, the price of high-grade spirit stones is incredibly high, and they only become rarer with the passage of time, nearly vanishing from the Heavenly South.
As for the peak-grade spirit stones from legend, they had already disappeared before the times of antiquity had come to an end. They now only remained in legends.
Han Li couldn’t h
elp but grow fervent as he saw Wang Tiangu solemnly place the gold attribute high-grade spirit stone at the center of the spell formation. Han Li had killed many cultivators but never once had he acquired a high-grade spirit stone.
Even if he attempted to find one at a market city or such, it would be a hopeless affair. After all, high-grade spirit stones were all stored away by few large sects in the cultivation world in case there was ever a need for them.
Now that the Ghost Spirit Sect had taken out a high-grade spirit stone, it appeared they viewed this matter with the utmost importance. Of course, it now made sense why they were selling Devilfall Medallions at such an incredible price.
After placing the high-grade spirit stone in the proper location, Wang Tiangu returned to the side of the middle-aged elder and whispered a few words. The middle-aged cultivator nodded and then gave the command for the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples to withdraw from the spell formation. The disciples each took out a faint yellow formation flag after withdrawing from the formation.
With great familiarity, they immediately raised the flags into the air and quickly assumed a strange formation. At that moment, the spell formation began to glow as if it were accumulating power.
‘Could it be that this person was the true sect lord? Why else would Wang Tiangu treat him with such respect despite their similarities in cultivation?’ Han Li stared at the middle-aged cultivator and his mind began to ponder as he examined the fierce looking man.
At that moment, black Qi suddenly wrapped around the middle-aged cultivator’s body and he slowly rose into the air. He swept his eyes across the ground and said, “I am the Ghost Spirit Sect’s Wang Tiansheng, the Ghost Spirit Sect’s master. I won’t speak any nonsense. The path to enter Devilfall Valley has already been established. With the spatial tears already shrunken and stabilized, we can now enter the valley. Our sect’s many spell formation masters have thought long and hard as to how to create a particular transportation formation that allows us to easily enter the valley.
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