At this moment, the fiery cloud was already almost upon them, but it suddenly faltered slightly as if its caster were also at a loss for what to do.
However, all of a sudden, an earthshattering boom erupted from within the white ball of light, sending tremors running through the massive palace. Spatial fluctuations immediately radiated forth and the palace disappeared amid a burst of piercing white light.
The azure pillar of light flashed wildly several times before also crumbling and disappearing, leaving only the man, the woman, and the massive cauldron hovering in the air.
The caster of the fiery cloud seemed to have sensed a hint of peril as the cloud immediately swerved around, flying away in the opposite direction amid a resounding boom.
However, the woman raised an eyebrow upon seeing this before waving a sleeve through the air.
Over 100 translucent swords shot forth from her sleeve, filling the entire sky with eerie glacial light, before sweeping directly toward the fiery cloud.
The swords were traveling at an incredible speed and caught up to the fiery cloud with ease before unleashing a violent bombardment.
A roar of shock and rage erupted from within the fiery cloud, following a frosty light flashed in its depths. The cultivator in the cloud seemed to have brought out some kind of treasure.
However, the translucent swords seemed to be the bane of the fiery cloud's existence as the latter quickly crumbled and dissipated. The treasures that had been summoned were also sliced in half before they could unleash any of their power, tumbling from the sky like pieces of scrap materials.
The cultivator within the fiery cloud was horrified to see this and he tried to unleash an evasion technique, but it was already far too late.
All of the translucent swords fell at once and a howl of anguish rang out as the cultivator body and soul were completely destroyed.
Clumps of blood and flesh came raining down from above as the cultivator was slain in what seemed to be the blink of an eye.
Not only were the Core Formation cultivators horrified to see this, a fearful expression had even crept onto the face of the perpetually calm middle-aged man.
The brawny man's lips trembled as he forced a smile onto his face, and said, "Martial Uncle, was the cultivator in the fiery cloud one of Old Devil Hun's disciples?"
The middle-aged man took a deep breath, and replied drily, "That was no disciple; that was none other than Old Devil Hun himself! Otherwise, who else would've been able to unleash such a powerful Scorching Flame Technique?"
Even though the three Core Formation cultivators had suspected this to be the case, they still couldn't help but draw a sharp breath in unison upon having the notion confirmed by the middle-aged man.
"But Old Devil Hun is a Nascent Soul cultivator just like you, Martial Uncle; how could he have been slain so easily? It looks like not even his Nascent Soul had a chance to escape!" The seductive woman was completely dumbfounded.
The azure-robed elderly man and the brawny man were also incredulous.
The middle-aged man didn't say anything in response. Instead, he was staring intently at the events unfolding in the distance.
At this moment, the man and the woman in the air seemed to have exchanged a few words, upon which the woman chuckled coldly in response. She then summoned all of her flying swords back to her before disappearing into the distance as a streak of light over 100 feet in length.
The man shook his head before turning his attention to the dock. He then transformed into a rather unremarkable streak of azure light as he flew toward the island, and the speed of his movement wasn't all that astonishing either.
However, the middle-aged man's expression changed upon seeing this, and he urgently instructed, "You three stay in here and keep your guard up. I'll be back soon!"
As soon as his voice fell, the middle-aged man shot forth out of the pavilion as a blue streak of light to meet the oncoming streak of azure light.
All of the people left in the pavilion began to look at one another.
They had just witnessed that woman slay a cultivator of the same caliber as their martial uncle as if she were crushing an ant. This man had accompanied her out of the Heavenvoid Hall, so his cultivation base was most likely nothing to scoff at either.
As such, all of them were feeling very nervous.
Not only them, but even the middle-aged man flying toward the azure streak of light was also feeling very uneasy.
However, after witnessing that woman in action from afar, he immediately made up his mind. That woman was most likely a late-Nascent Soul cultivator comparable to the likes of the Heavenly Star Sages and the Archsaint of the Six Paths. If they had harbored ill intentions toward them, then there was no way he would've been able to escape.
After all, he was merely an early-Nascent Soul cultivator and there was simply too large a disparity between their power levels.
As such, the best course of action was for him to voluntarily greet them in person instead of trying to flee.
Thus, after making up his mind, this early-Nascent Soul cultivator mustered up his courage and flew toward Han Li.
The two streaks of light converged together in a few moments.
The azure light receded, and Han Li was revealed.
The middle-aged man also stopped over 100 feet away before turning his gaze toward Han Li.
He discovered that the person standing before him was a young man in a set of azure robes. His looks were average and his skin was slightly dark. He currently wore a hint of a smile on his face and was also looking back at the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man unleashed his spiritual sense to detect Han Li's cultivation base, upon which his pupils contracted minutely as he joined his hands together in a salute.
"I am Elder Gan Lin of the Yellow Sand Sect! May I ask for your esteemed name? And do you require any assistance from me?" Even though the middle-aged man was speaking to Han Li as equals, his tone and choice of words were extremely respectful.
Han Li examined the middle-aged man upon hearing this before smiling as he said, "My surname is Han. I recall hearing about the Yellow Sand Sect once, but it's been too long and I can't remember it too well. Is this island under the sect's ownership?"
"Our sect is merely a small insignificant sect in the Scattered Star Seas, so it's not strange for you to have not heard of it, fellow Daoist. If you'd like, you can come to visit our sect." The middle-aged man was very relieved to see that Han Li seemed to be quite benevolent and amicable. However, he still didn't dare to show any dissent.
He had just verified with his spiritual sense that Han Li was indeed a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, so he had to be extra careful.
Following an extended period of cultivation lasting more than 80 years, Han Li had finally escaped from the Heavenvoid Hall.
In the beginning, he had spent 60 years cultivating with the assistance of the spirit well to reach the pinnacle of the mid-Nascent Soul Stage. He then used the next 20 years to fortify his cultivation base in order to achieve the prerequisites for a breakthrough. After that, he had attempted to break through the bottleneck, hoping that he would get lucky.
The result left him rather speechless.
He discovered that his attempt to make a breakthrough encountered no impediment whatsoever, taking to the late-Nascent Soul Stage with ease.
Even after he had become a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, he was still in disbelief.
After all, it had been an extremely arduous process for him to make the breakthrough to the mid-Nascent Souls Stage and he had only succeeded after preparing all types of pills and medicines to assist him during the process.
For this attempt at breaking through to the late-Nascent Soul Stage, he had only prepared some ordinary pills and didn't really harbor any high hopes, but the process had been as simple as breathing air.
The ease with which he had made the breakthrough left him extremely perplexed. He pondered the process over and over again, bu
t still couldn't make sense of the situation.
Perhaps this was because the Great Development Technique he had cultivated in conjunction with the Nascent Cultivating Pill that he had consumed had finally taken effect; perhaps the rainbow bead manifested from his consumption of the Heavenmend Pill had improved the aptitude of his spiritual roots; perhaps the Azure Essence Sword Art he had cultivated made it much easier for him to progress to the late-Nascent Soul Stage; perhaps his cultivation base was simply far superior to other cultivators of the same level...
All of the aforementioned factors were plausible possibilities, and it could also be the case that a combination of those factors was the answer he was seeking. In the end, Han Li gave up on trying to identify the underlying reasons.
After all, it was impossible to replicate the conditions for any successful breakthrough to the late-Nascent Soul Stage. Otherwise, great cultivators would have been a lot more common in the human world.
After making his breakthrough, Han Li naturally refined his Eight Spirit Ruler and Heavenvoid Cauldron again, then easily mastered the second layer of the Artifact Imprint Technique before setting off in search of the silver-robed woman, who had also been cultivating in seclusion the entire time.
When they met, her jaw dropped to the ground upon making the discovery that Han Li had become a late-Nascent Soul cultivator.
As a result, she completely relinquished any thoughts of attacking Han Li. Through the use of the secret technique that she provided, the two of them, in conjunction with the five devils and the humanoid puppet, really were able to activate the control formation, thereby forcing the Heavenvoid Hall to temporarily reveal itself over the Scattered Star Seas.
The two of them then used the control formation to teleport themselves out of the hall along with the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
As for the cultivator who had unleashed the fiery cloud, he was simply very unlucky. The Ice Phoenix had been trapped in the Heavenvoid Hall for close to a century and had been very flustered by Han Li's easy progression to the late-Nascent Soul Stage. Just as she was at the height of her frustration, Old Devil Hun delivered himself to her doorstep as a living punching bag, an offer which she naturally wasn't going to refuse. After that, she left Han Li behind to search for a way back to the Great Jin.
Even though Han Li's cultivation base had taken a significant stride forward, he still didn't like his chances in battle against her, so he let her leave.
Of course, he wasn't going to tell her about the ancient teleportation formation that led to the Heavenly South Region.
Chapter 1130: The Yellow Sand Sect
After Han Li separated with the Ice Phoenix, he stowed away the Heavenvoid Cauldron before flying toward the island.
He naturally wasn't going to cause trouble for the cultivators on the island. Instead, he simply wanted to gauge his current location and gain an understanding of the situation in the Scattered Star Seas. He would then figure out how to return to the Stalwart Star Island, where he would be able to find that ancient teleportation formation.
The fact that this middle-aged man was taking the initiative to come to him, and was extending such a warm invitation, was rather surprising to Han Li. However, his intention was to visit the island anyway, so he decided to accept this man's invitation.
At this current power level, he wasn't afraid of a mere early-Nascent Soul cultivator trying to plot against him.
The middle-aged man was both surprised and elated to see Han Li accept his invitation, and he hurriedly sent a message to his three juniors using his voice transmission talisman, before guiding Han Li toward the island in a respectful manner.
Han Li began to inquire about the surrounding area to discover that the island before them was named the Bitter Gate Island. It was quite a large island with several cities inhabited by mortals alone, and the entire island was completely under the Yellow Sand Sect's control.
Several million kilometers to the north of the Bitter Gate Island lay the Star Climb Island, one of the twelve Inner Star Islands.
Han Li's heart stirred upon hearing this.
With his exceptional memory, he still had a remarkably clear recollection of the map depicting the Scattered Star Seas. If he weren't mistaken, then the place he was currently situated at wasn't far away from the Heavenly Star City. However, it was quite a distance away from the Stalwart Star Island, and he would be passing by the Heavenly Star City on the way there.
The vast number of demon beasts in the Scattered Star Seas was completely incomparable to that of the Heavenly South Region and the Great Jin. However, Han Li wasn't interested in the demon cores of low-grade demon beasts anymore. In contrast, the demon cores of metamorphosis stage demon beasts at the eighth grade or above have all attained intelligence, so it would be impossible to lure them with the Rainbow Skirt Grass.
Otherwise, he wouldn't mind making another trip to the Outer Star Seas.
With that in mind, Han Li allowed himself to be led by the middle-aged cultivator over the dock. Then, after traveling several thousand kilometers into the island, they arrived in the air above a tall mountain with gorgeous scenery and an abundance of spiritual Qi.
At the mountain's peak was a series of grand and lavish palaces and pavilions. There were even a few unidentifiable, yet exceptionally beautiful creatures circling and dancing in the air above, creating a scene that resembled an immortal paradise.
Han Li turned to the middle-aged cultivator with a smile, and said, "Your sect seems to be thriving, Fellow Daoist Gan!"
"Haha, I'm glad you like it, Brother Han. We're just a bunch of nobodies setting up a base here," the middle-aged man chuckled with a wry smile.
He knew that to a Nascent Soul cultivator, these illusions would be easily seen through.
Han Li smiled but didn't say anything. However, before the two of them could descend, heavenly music began to play from the mountain peak. Two groups of beautiful female cultivators wearing palatial dresses of all types of colors made their way out of the palaces down below. They were led by none other than the three Core Formation cultivators from earlier, all of whom were looking up at Han Li with awe and veneration in their eyes.
Han Li couldn't help but burst into laughter upon seeing this, but he still descended in front of the welcoming party down below.
Everyone made way to create a path for him leading to one of the main halls on the mountain peak. To Han Li's surprise, the decor inside was rather plain and simple, certainly not as lavish as he had expected.
The middle-aged man and Han Li sat down at the table, while the other three stood off to the sides.
Han Li cut straight to the chase and began to inquire about the recent situation in the Scattered Star Seas.
The middle-aged man was rather taken aback by these questions, but he merely regarded Han Li as a certain powerful being who had been in seclusion for many years, and naturally disclosed everything that he knew.
When Han Li heard that the Scattered Star Seas was in far more turmoil than when he had left, he couldn't help but fall silent to digest that information.
After contemplating for a long while, the middle-aged man finally decided that Han Li didn't seem to be a cruel and violent person. As such, he mustered up his courage, and asked, "Brother Han, was the place that you emerged from the legendary Heavenvoid Hall? How did you come out of that place?"
Han Li's expression changed upon hearing this and he was snapped out of his train of thought.
"You sure are knowledgeable to be able to recognize the Heavenvoid Hall from a single glance, Fellow Daoist Gan. I was trapped there for a period of time and have only just escaped," Han Li replied nonchalantly.
The middle-aged man could tell that Han Li didn't want to elaborate on this matter, so he didn't dare to pry any further. Instead, he changed the subject to the Ice Phoenix. "I see. May I ask who that woman with you was?"
"She was a fellow Daoist who had been trapped in the hall with me. She had some important matt
ers to attend to, so she had to leave," Han Li replied indifferently.
"I see! Was she also a late-Nascent Soul cultivator like you, Brother Han?" the middle-aged man asked carefully.
"Hehe, she reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage long ago! I cannot hope to compare with her," Han Li chuckled in response.
The middle-aged cultivator's heart stirred upon hearing this and his mind scrambled through the list of renowned female cultivators in the Scattered Star Seas. However, he simply wasn't able to identify that silver-robed woman.
As for Han Li, his appearance was far too plain, making it even more difficult to identify him.
However, that wasn't a cause for any alarm or confusion. It was very common for cultivators of their caliber to go into seclusion and cultivate for centuries at a time.
"Fellow Daoist Gan, I'm currently in dire need of a batch of mid-grade spirit stones and materials. Of course, it would be best if you had high-grade spirit stones. I currently have two treasures which I'm not using at the moment, and I'd be happy to offer them for exchange," Han Li suddenly said. He then swept a sleeve over the wooden table beside him, upon which a green light swept past and two items appeared on the table, one of which was silver while the other was yellow.
They were a silver ring and an ancient yellow halberd!
These were none other than the ancient treasures he had obtained after killing those high-grade demon beasts in the Spirit Void Hall.
Treasures of this caliber were naturally useless to Han Li, but in a place like the Scattered Star Seas, where refinement materials and treasures were very rare, these treasures would be extremely sought-after.
From the spiritual power emanating from the two treasures alone, one could determine that they were high-grade treasures that were rare even among ancient treasures.
"You're far too kind, Brother Han. We'll have no issues sourcing mid-grade spirit stones and materials for you. We have extensive stock on both here in the sect and even if there are some materials that we don't have, I can get people to source them from the markets on the island. As for high-grade spirit stones, I'm afraid there are only about seven or eight of them on the entire island. If you require them, we'd be happy to exchange them with you."
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 613