“Don’t worry,” Wei Wuya answered, “The method we’re using to restore the formation differs from the original used to create the sealing formation. Naturally, we won’t waste the islands by having them sink back into the ocean. And the cultivators occupying the islands will also be duty bound to look after the sealing formation.”
After muttering to himself, Han Li replied, “Since you three have made such heavy promises, I’ll have to give it a try, but after this matter is settled, I don't wish to be further involved in this.”
Wei Wuya heartily laughed and agreed, “Placing the formation plate is already considered a great service. Leave the rest to us.”
Although Master Sunreach and Devil Concord both had different ideas originally, they grew at ease for the time being.
At that moment, Wei Wuya took out a white circular object from his storage pouch and handed it over to Han Li.
Han Li took a glance at it. It was a palm-sized formation plate that was meticulously carved from white jade. It flickered with spiritual light and was engraved with several complex talisman characters.
Han Li’s hand glowed with azure light for a moment, transferring it into his storage pouch in the blink of an eye.
“Alright, now everything is ready except for one last thing,” Wei Wuya said with a pleased expression, “When does Brother Han plan on taking action?”
“Naturally, the quicker the better,” Han Li grimly answered, “I already rested the night and restored the magic power I earlier consumed. If you Fellow Daoists have the devil warding treasures on hand, I will place the formation plate right away. Who knows what could happen to the devilish Qi if we delay?”
The three great cultivators raised no objections to Han Li’s suggestion. As for the devil warding treasures they managed to difficulty acquire, they all carried them on hand and each took them out, giving them all to Han Li: a jade scepter with a flood dragon head, a fire-red trigram mirror, a set of sparkling gold armor and a small black flag.
Han Li promptly tested the efficacy of the four treasures and found that they were exceptional. Three of the treasures were Yang flame treasures and would prove very useful in dealing with the devilish Qi. As for the black flag, it was a famous Devil Dao treasure. According to Devil Concord, the flag was originally used to ghostly Yin winds, but it is also capable of absorbing devilish Qi. Han Li looked at the flag with doubt and fiddled with it before finally placing it in his storage pouch, much to the shock of Devil Concord.
After Han Li put away the treasures, the cultivators left Master Sunreach’s cave residence and head out in the direction of the giant whirlpool. Four hours later, Han Li appeared alone at the bottom of the whirlpool.
When Han Li looked at the devilish Qi below the light barrier, he silently made a fist and thunder rang out, instantly covering his body in several dense arcs of golden lightning, weaving a net of lightning around his light barrier.
As Han Li looked at the golden lightning, his mouth twitched, forming a trace of ridicule.
Despite how cunning the three great cultivators were, they couldn’t have imagined that he originally possessed seventy-two flying swords created from Gold Lightning Bamboo. According to his estimates, he would have enough to make two trips and still have enough to spare. This task didn’t pose the slightest danger to him at all.
On one hand, he had done this to haggle over the rewards as Master Sunreach had previously informed him that there were possible benefits. On the other hand, he had done this to avoid the three from realizing how much Divine Devilbane Lightning he possessed. In the future, the only things that could pose a threat against Han Li in the Heavenly South would be the three great cultivators and the Moulan Divine Sages; he had no choice but to deceive them.
[1] The strongest cultivator pair in the Heavenly Dao Alliance. They are mid-Nascent Soul stage Dao Companions that can match a late-Nascent Soul cultivator when joined together.
Chapter 877: Ruined Stone Tablet
Like the last time Han Li delved into the abyss of devilish Qi, he was protected in a net of Divine Devilbane Lightning. Soon, the rings of thunder grew softer as he delved deeper and soon the golden lightning could no longer be seen.
On the surface of the ocean, the three great cultivators were talking with one another as Han Li delved deeper.
“Brother Sunreach, do you feel that Fellow Daoist Han truly doesn’t have enough Divine Devilbane Lightning to make the entire trip? Will his lightning be consumed too quickly to have any remaining for the trip back?” Wei Wuya asked with his hands behind his back.
“Does Brother Wei mean to say that my previous words were false?” Master Sunreach’s expression sank and he appeared displeased.
Wei Wuya chuckled and said, “Please don’t misunderstand me, I didn’t mean that at all. I simply asked because I felt that Fellow Daoist Han agreed far too easily.”
Master Sunreach’s expression relaxed and he said, “If that’s the case, I’m not too sure myself. However, I consumed greater amounts of magic power the deeper I delved into the abyss of devilish Qi. I imagine one would need an astonishing amount of Divine Devilbane Lightning if they wish to make a whole round trip. I don’t believe Fellow Daoist Han can accomplish this with his lightning alone. Perhaps he has something else that can withstand the devilish Qi for a time.”
“That is quite possible. After all, there are an endless number of mysteries and wonders in the cultivation world. But regardless of how it is said, it will be good if this calamity could be smoothly resolved.” Wei Wuya spoke with a smile and took a glance at Devil Concord. The large black-robed man had his arms crossed as he glanced down at the whirlpool, his face emotionless as he remained silent.
For the time being, silence filled the air.
...
Ten kilometers deep into the devilish Qi, a light barrier surging with golden lightning was floating motionlessly. Han Li was inside it, solemnly reading through the jade slip that detailed where the formation plate should be placed.
A short moment later, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense from the jade slip and looked around. His surroundings were completely devoid of light, not surprising as he already reached the farthest depths of the devilish Qi abyss.
Han Li frowned and opened his mouth, spitting out an inch-long golden sword.
In a flicker of golden light, the small sword flew out of the light barrier with a layer of thin lightning covering the body of the blade. It circled around him before revolving above his head, turning into a strange inch-large golden ring of light.
Han Li formed an incantation gesture and pointed at the ring of light above his head, ordering it to suddenly stop and shoot out in a streak of golden light. He then closely followed after it in a blur.
He flew a meter across the abyss before the small golden sword suddenly shot downward and released a muffled bang. The flying sword had pierced into something.
A trace of joy appeared on Han Li’s face and arrived three meters above where the sword had landed. In the pitch black darkness, all he could see was the faint light of the small sword flickering with lightning. It had pierced into a huge flat rock.
Han Li muttered to himself for a moment and pressed one of his hands against his light barrier. The net of lightning surrounding the barrier suddenly surged with blinding light and released several dense bolts of golden lightning that quickly revolved in the nearby area, turning into several golden pythons. As a result, the golden pythons cleanly swept away all the devilish Qi in the nearby area, illuminating the huge rock underneath.
Han Li examined it for a moment and revealed shock. This wasn’t a rock, but rather the floor of an altar. It appeared to stretch beyond the range of the golden lightning.
He was amazed. The area that the formation masters wished to bury the formation plate was unexpectedly remarkable.
Han Li commanded the golden pythons to quickly envelop the rest of the altar, revealing its general appearance.
It was a square
building that stretched out about a hundred meters. All of the characteristics and engravings on the stone walls illustrated that it was a building created by cultivators from antiquity.
After Han Li viewed his surroundings, he waved to the sword embedded in the floor and it returned to his sleeve in a golden streak. He then flew towards the center of the building and after a short moment, it began to flicker with white light.
His heart stirred at the sight and he sped up, eventually clearly seeing what laid at its center. It was a shattered stone tablet. Only a small portion of its foundation remained standing upright with the rest of its fragments scattered around.
Han Li’s eyes wandered around the stone tablet as he observed it. Although it was shattered, he was able to see a few worn talisman characters that he couldn’t understand. It was unknown what kind of material it was carved from as it would only occasionally sparkle with a faint white light.
‘Could it be a rare material on par with the Gold Lightning Bamboo?’ Han Li thought. Soon, he reached out towards a fist-sized piece of the stone tablet and his hand glowed with azure light before summoning it into his grasp.
The stone piece was grey and unremarkable. If it weren’t for the traces of spiritual light, Han Li wouldn’t have found anything particular about it.
Han Li looked at it several more times and his brow stirred before he suddenly exerted great strength into his grasp.
As a result, a strange scene occurred. The stone wasn’t crushed to powder as Han Li thought. Instead, it flickered with white light and suddenly turned soft, allowing his fingers to sink deep into the stone.
Han Li felt his heart jump. He frowned and asked Monarch Soul Divergence, “Senior Soul Divergence, do you know what this is?”
“No, I’ve never seen it before,” Monarch Soul Divergence said with a lazy tone, “But this is no surprise. There were so many rare materials used during ancient times, it is impossible for someone to know them all. You may as well let me research that piece. I am idle and have little better to do.” Then without another thought, Han Li tossed the stone piece into the bamboo tube behind him.
Light flashed from the bamboo tube and a mist of white light sucked the strange stone inside of it.
Han Li quickly turned his attention to the shattered stone tablet. It hadn't been long since it was shattered, and it appeared that when the spell formation was damaged, the stone tablet had shattered as well.
With that thought, Han Li collected the rest of the stone fragments in a sweep of azure light. He then flicked his fingers and launched over ten streaks of azure sword light at the stone foundation, wishing to take the rest of it with him.
A series of booms sounded out and to Han Li’s surprise, the sword Qi wasn’t able to cut through the stone. It didn’t seem to have any effect.
“How strange!” Han Li yelped in alarm and hesitated for a moment. He no longer paid attention to the rest of the stone tablet and launched several streaks of sword Qi in a different direction.
Although he had enough Divine Devilbane Lightning to sustain for a while longer, Han Li didn’t dare to linger too long in such a dangerous place and began to place down the formation plate.
A series of muffled explosions sounded out, followed by the appearance of a three-meter-deep hole at the side of the stone tablet.
With a wave of his hand, white light flickered and an exquisite formation plate appeared. Han Li shook his hand without the slightest hesitation and sent the formation plate into the hole in a streak of light.
Grimly staring at the formation plate, his two hands then formed a hand incantation and the formation plate began to shine with even greater light.
Soon, the formation plate released a clear ring and a thick beam of white light shot out towards the sky, only to disappear without a trace.
Han Li felt at ease. Since the formation plate was functioning as expected, he had clearly found the right place.
With that thought, Han Li swept up an azure gale with a wave of his sleeve, completely burying the hole with rocks. He then released a spell seal and muttered an incantation before melting the pile of rocks to seal the hole completely in a smooth layer. The hole now appeared as if it never existed.
Han Li walked around the large hole to make sure that nothing appeared out of the ordinary and he nodded with a satisfied expression.
With that done, he released several spell seals, striking the nearby golden lightning pythons. With pangs of thunder, the lightning pythons faded away into specks of light and the devilish Qi began to quickly roil as there was no longer anything holding it back.
Han Li pondered to himself before the lightning flashed around his light barrier, preparing to rush back up to the ocean surface.
At that moment, Monarch Soul Divergence’s voice echoed through his spiritual sense, “Youngster, wait a moment!”
Han Li stopped in surprise and asked, “What does Senior have to say?”
“Since this is the center of the sealing formation, it is also the densest area of devilish Qi, and since it has been suppressed since ancient times, it is possible several Devil Essence Diamonds have formed here. According to ancient records, they were a material used to refine precious Devil Dao treasures. You should see if you can find them nearby.”
“Devil Essence Diamonds?” An odd expression appeared on his face. Then after some thought, he slapped his storage pouch and took out a yellow jade scepter with a wolf’s head.
This was the ancient treasure that originally housed Silvermoon. Although its artifact spirit was missing, it was still capable of using simple earth movement techniques, but not to the superb skill that Silvermoon was capable of.
Chapter 878: Restoring the Banner
With a soft shout, Han Li’s light barrier doubled in size and a streak of white light flew out from his sleeve. It circled around him and turned into a small white fox.
“Since time is limited, let’s split up to find the Devil Essence Diamonds.” Han Li quickly spoke and tossed a ball of golden lightning towards the small fox. With a ring of thunder, the ball of lightning wrapped around the fox in a net.
“Keep in mind that the lightning will not last long!” Han Li solemnly warned, “Once it shows signs of weakening, immediately return and then we’ll head back up.”
“Yes, Master,” Silvermoon replied in her usual bright voice, “However, I do not know what Devil Essence Diamonds look like.”
Before Han Li could reply, Monarch Soul Divergence answered, “Devil Essence Diamonds are pitch-black gems that contain astonishing devilish Qi. They will be easily recognized.”
“That will do then. I’m heading off.” Silvermoon nodded and her fox body flashed with silver light before disappearing into the ground.
Han Li didn’t remain still either. With a wave of the jade scepter, a layer of yellow light appeared around his light barrier and he sank into the floor without a trace. For a time, no one could be seen above ground.
Time slowly passed by and the platform was completely quiet, but was now shrouded in pitch-black devilish Qi. The endless darkness resembled what one would imagine of the underworld.
Not long after, golden light flashed as Han Li emerged from the ground. He looked around him and a trace of worry appeared on his face when he saw that Silvermoon wasn’t there.
Then, he turned his attention to his hand and relaxed his grasp, revealing an exquisite pitch-black gem. It appeared to be the size of his thumb.
Monarch Soul Divergence chuckled and said, “As I expected, there are truly Devil Essence Diamonds here. Your luck is quite good. This was an item that ancient Devil Dao cultivators could only dream of. It was incredibly rare even during times of antiquity.”
“Is that so? This item is so precious?” Han Li took a closer look at the gem and narrowed his eyes to examine it.
The gem didn’t shine with even the slightest light. Instead, its serene darkness gave a bewildering sensation to Han Li as if his consciousness was being sucked i
nside it. Han Li felt his heart tremble and quickly withdrew his gaze, not daring to look any longer.
At that moment, silver light shined from underneath him. A silver fox wrapped in faint golden light shot out from the ground and quickly entered Han Li’s light barrier.
“If you took any longer, I was going to personally come and find you! I expected that you would’ve returned earlier than I did. Could it be that you found something?” With a wave of his hand, he swept up the small fox into his arm.
Without saying a word, Silvermoon spat out three pitch-black gems, undoubtedly Devil Essence Diamonds.
“Good, good.” Delight appeared on Han Li’s face and Silvermoon gave what appeared to be a smile before disappearing into his sleeve.
Han Li took the three gems along with his own and placed them into a single jade box.
“We can’t stay any longer,” Han Li muttered. Soon, the golden lightning around him trembled and a large boom sounded out. He began to slowly rise to the surface.
Han Li’s speed was slow throughout his ascent. After a quarter hour, he finally arrived at the barrier of white light. During his entire journey, he hadn’t made use of any of the devil warding treasures that the three great cultivators had given him.
Han Li eventually passed through the light barrier suppressing the devilish Qi and withdrew his Divine Devilbane Lightning entirely. But then, Han Li didn’t immediately return to the surface. Instead, he looked down and slapped his storage pouch, taking out a damaged dark-green flag.
Silvermoon yelped and said with amazement, “Yi! This... Isn’t this the Ghost Sifting Banner[1]?”
“Although the devil heads and Yin ghosts attached to the banner were cleanly destroyed, the banner itself is a rare Devil Dao treasure and is still intact. From what I’ve heard, it is able to absorb ghost Qi in order to restore itself. Devil Concord’s flag had reminded me of this. Devilish and ghostly Qi are both worldly Yin Qi and have a certain level of similarity. And given the pure devilish Qi here, it is perfect to test whether or not the flag can be restored. It doesn’t matter if it fails.” Han Li spoke calmly and blue light began to brightly glow around his hands, wrapping around the small flag. Afterwards, the flag flew into the devilish Qi in an azure streak.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 474