Flames of desire had also been ignited in the middle-aged man's heart upon seeing those two ancient treasures, but he wasn't surprised at all in Han Li's ability to bring out treasures of this caliber so easily.
Seven or eight high-grade spirit stones? A peculiar look appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing that.
According to his knowledge, the shortage of spirit stones in the Scattered Star Seas was even more severe than in the Heavenly South Region. How could this Yellow Sand Sect alone possess so many high-grade spirit stones?
The middle-aged man was initially rather concerned to see the contemplative look on Han Li's face. However, a thought quickly occurred to him along with a sense of enlightenment.
"Haha, apologies for the confusion; it's my fault for neglecting to mention this to you. Over 100 years ago, someone discovered an extremely large spirit stone mine on an island in the outer sea. There were many high-grade spirit stones excavated from that mine so even though they're still quite rare, the shortage is nowhere near as severe as it was in the past. Almost all of the sects have a few in storage now."
"A high-grade spirit stone mine! A mine of that caliber exists in the human world?" Han Li was very surprised to hear this.
"Indeed. Everyone thought that these were merely fake rumors in the beginning. However, the Star Palace and the Starfall Coalition then engaged in a massive battle for ownership rights over the island. Only then did we realize that the news had been true. I heard that the mine had even drawn the attention of high-grade demons beast from the Outer Star Seas and they also joined in on the battle. Many cultivators and demon beasts perished as a result and now, the mine has been split between the two sides to accommodate a temporary truce." the middle-aged man explained.
Han Li nodded but didn't say anything.
This was good news for him. After using his humanoid puppet on the previous few occasions, his supply of high-grade spirit stones was about to run dry, and this presented a good opportunity to obtain some more.
Thankfully, this region wasn't very far away from the Heavenly Star City and he would be passing it on the way to his ultimate destination anyway. As such, it wouldn't take him too much time to make a detour and use the Star Palace's teleportation formation to travel directly to that mine.
Thus, Han Li immediately made up his mind.
He immediately pulled out a jade slip from his storage pouch and copied a list of required materials into it.
The brawny Core Formation cultivator then accepted the jade slip and went away to source those materials at the middle-aged man's behest.
After that, Han Li began to make small talk with this grand elder of the Yellow Sand Sect.
The middle-aged man was clearly trying to be respectful and hospitable, so Han Li naturally conversed with him in an amicable manner as well.
It was a rare occasion for the middle-aged man to encounter a late-Nascent Soul great cultivator, so he naturally raised a few questions about his own cultivation.
Han Li only just reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage, but he had seen a vast array of cultivation arts and had cultivated in both righteous and devilish secret techniques. As such, his experiences really were able to provide inspiration to the middle-aged man, which made him even more respectful toward Han Li.
As for the azure-robed elderly man and the seductive woman standing off to the sides, they were also listening intently to this conversation. This was an extremely rare opportunity for them as well, after all. Several hours later, a streak of light flashed into the room and the brawny man returned with a bulging storage pouch in his hand.
"Senior, there are a few materials on the list that are missing on this island, but I've gathered everything else. I've placed all of our high-grade spirit stones into the pouch as well."
The brawny man strode forward and offered the storage pouch to Han Li with both hands.
Han Li accepted the storage pouch and scanned through its contents with his spiritual sense, upon which a content look appeared on his face at what he saw.
"I still have some matters that I must attend to, so I won't stay any longer. I'll be taking my leave now." Han Li put away the storage pouch before nodding at the middle-aged cultivator sitting across from him. He had no interest in making further conversation with these Yellow Sand Sect cultivators, so he transformed into a streak of azure light and disappeared into the distance in a flash.
"That senior has finally left! I thought our Yellow Sand Sect was in big trouble this time! That Senior Han doesn't appear to be a bad person." After Han Li had disappeared into the distance, the seductive woman heaved a long sigh of relief and fanned her chest with an expression that suggested that she had just survived a perilous ordeal.
Chapter 1131: Rumors
The middle-aged man glared at the woman upon hearing this before transmitting his voice to all of the cultivators present.
"Don't speak nonsense like that! That man is a late-Nascent Soul cultivator and his spiritual sense encompasses a far greater area than you can imagine! What you say next could still be sensed by him."
The seductive woman was given a fright upon hearing this and immediately fell silent.
The brawny man and the azure-robed man exchanged a glance with one another and also remained silent.
The middle-aged man sat in his chair with his head lowered slightly and a cold light flashing indistinctly in his greyish-white eyes.
Ten minutes later, the light in his eyes receded as he said, "He should be over 500 kilometers away now, so he won't be able to detect what's going on here anymore. However, it's still better to be safe than sorry." As his voice fell, he flicked a finger and a spot of green light shot forth, disappearing into a thick pillar nearby.
The pillar emitted a rumbling sound as faint green light appeared over its surface. The pillars nearby also began to resonate with that pillar, creating a barrier of green light that encompassed the small area within which the four cultivators were situated.
"We can say whatever we want now!" The middle-aged man's expression finally eased after doing all that.
"You sure are cautious, martial uncle." The seductive woman gave a wry smile.
"When dealing with such a fearsome being, you can never be too safe," the middle-aged man harrumphed coldly.
"Martial uncle is right. It's also often the case that cultivators of that level have rather peculiar personalities. If we unintentionally offend him with our words, then our entire sect could be destroyed in a fit of rage. Come to think of it, I can't seem to recall these two among the renowned Nascent Soul cultivators in our Scattered Star Seas, but that man seems to have extensive knowledge of our Scattered Star Seas, so he doesn't seem like a foreigner. Perhaps he really has been in seclusion for a long time," the brawny yellow-robed man mused hesitantly.
Meanwhile, the azure-robed man's brows were tightly furrowed and he remained completely silent with his head lowered.
The middle-aged man noticed this, and asked, "What are you thinking, Shi Xuan?"
"I have a feeling that this man is rather familiar, as if I've seen him somewhere before," the elderly man raised his head and said in a slow voice.
"You've seen him before?" Everyone turned to him with surprised expressions upon hearing this.
"His appearance was very ordinary; could it be that you're mistaking him for someone else?" the seductive woman asked.
"His looks are indeed quite plain, but I'm sure I've seen this man a long time ago. I've got it! His surname is Han and he was the man who was being hunted down by the Starfall Coalition all those years ago!" The elderly man finally managed to identify Han Li.
The middle-aged man was initially stunned to hear this before his expression darkened, and he asked, "The Starfall Coalition was hunting down a Nascent Soul cultivator? Why do I not know of this?"
"You're misunderstanding me, martial uncle! At the time, they were hunting down a Core Formation cultivator, not a Nascent Soul cultivator. You were away at the time,
while Junior Martial Brother Quan and Junior Martial Sister Jing hadn't yet reached the Core Formation Stage. As such, Senior Martial Brother Ma and I were responsible for looking after the sect. We didn't think this was an important matter at the time, so we didn't report it to you. This was close to 200 years ago; I still have the wanted jade slip with me," the elderly man was sweating profusely as he explained. He rummaged through his storage pouch before producing a jade slip, which he handed over to the middle-aged man.
"Nonsense! You're telling me this man went from the Core Formation Stage to the late-Nascent Soul Stage in less than 200 years?" The middle-aged man's expression only grew darker upon hearing this. However, he still accepted the jade slip and used his spiritual sense to scan through its contents, upon which an incredulous look immediately appeared on his face.
There was a projection hovering within the jade slip depicting a man in a set of azure robes with a faint smile on his face. It was completely identical to Han Li in every way, and there was absolutely no chance that it was someone who merely resembled Han Li.
Waves of shock immediately surged through the middle-aged man's heart. He read through the accompanying message in the jade slip before withdrawing his spiritual sense. A contemplative look appeared on his face as he sat in silence.
The three Core Formation cultivators also remained silent at the sight of the grave expression on the middle-aged man's face. They were waiting for a verdict from the latter.
A decisive look finally appeared on the middle-aged man's face as he instructed in a cold voice, "Looks like I really did aim a false accusation at you, martial nephew. The man wanted by the Starfall Coalition really is that man. Listen up; keep this matter strictly confidential. The Starfall Coalition is a colossal force, but this man isn't the Core Formation cultivator that he once was, either. I don't want our sect being swept up in their conflict. Otherwise, we could easily be crushed by either side."
"Yes!" the three Core Formation cultivators hurriedly replied.
The middle-aged cultivator seemed to have gone through a period of extensive contemplation before he delivered a series of instructions, "The three of you are prohibited from leaving the sect for 30 years. Go back and focus on cultivation. I have a really bad feeling about this. Two great cultivators have suddenly appeared and one of them has bad blood with the Starfall Coalition. The Scattered Star Seas is most likely going be plunged into even more chaos from now on. Tell all of the other disciples to exercise more restraint as well, and tell them not to leave the island unless they absolutely have to. Our sect has to go into hiding for now!"
The other three cultivators were stunned to hear this, but they could only do as they were told.
After that, the three of them left the hall to enact his orders.
The middle-aged man was the only one left sitting in the hall. His expression was extremely conflicted and indecisive, as if he were grappling with a difficult decision.
After a long while, a self-deprecating look appeared on his face as he sighed, "So be it. Even if he really is the cultivator who obtained the Heavenvoid Cauldron all those years ago, and that giant cauldron really is the Heavenvoid Cauldron, what does it have to do with me? There are perhaps people in this world who can take treasures from great cultivators, but I'm certainly not one of them. If I were to spread news of this, I would most likely be killed!"
He then swept his sleeve through the air and disappeared as a streak of blue light.
The hall was completely empty again.
At this point, Han Li had already left the island and he was naturally unaware of the fact that a mere Yellow Sand Sect had managed to identify who he was, and that the middle-aged cultivator had even managed to determine that he was in possession of the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
However, this made sense as the fact that the Heavenvoid Cauldron had been taken was not well-known among normal cultivators, but the news had spread like wildfire among Nascent Soul cultivators.
If it weren't for the fact that Han Li had teleported into the Umbra Realm and just so happened to return to the Heavenly South Region thereafter, he would have most likely been hunted down by a bunch of Nascent Soul cultivators had he remained in the Scattered Star Seas.
As for the Starfall Coalition's attempts to hunt down Han Li, that was simply borne from the frustration of Zenith Yin and the other old monsters following their fruitless search. They wanted to force Han Li to reveal himself, but he had already left the Scattered Star Seas, so their plans naturally concluded in failure. After the passage of so many years, the events surrounding the Heavenvoid Cauldron had already become myths and legends. The order to hunt down Han Li had never been withdrawn, but everyone had already forgotten about it.
However, news of the Heavenvoid Hall's appearance still quickly spread through the Scattered Star Seas.
It turned out that the vast majority of the cultivators who had witnessed the phenomenon on the Bitter Gate Island were nondescript low-grade cultivators, but there were two Core Formation cultivators who were passing by and just so happened to have seen a passage about the Heavenvoid Hall in a tome they had read. As such, they naturally spread this news.
As the rumors began to spread, the story naturally became a little shaky over time. For example, the story about the Ice Phoenix slaying the Nascent Soul cultivator in cold blood transformed into a version where Old Devil Hun had just endured a grueling battle before being slain by two Nascent Soul cultivators together.
Thus, this piece of news was still quite shocking, but nowhere near as impactful as the true sequence of events.
In contrast, Han Li attracted a lot of attention as he had been seen manipulating the giant cauldron that was suspected to be the Heavenvoid Cauldron, thereby influencing many people to draw a connection between him and the man from all those years ago.
As such, many Nascent Soul cultivators were itching to spring into action.
Han Li wasn't even aware that an order to hunt him down had been passed by the Starfall Coalition, nor did he know that most Nascent Soul cultivators possessed a portrait of him. Otherwise, he would've altered his appearance and traveled in a more secretive manner.
At his current power level, he naturally wasn't afraid of being attacked by ordinary cultivators, but he didn't want to draw any trouble to himself either as that would be a waste of his time.
At present, he was flying toward the Heavenly Star City as a streak of azure light according to the map in his hand.
Han Li passed by several islands along the way and on each occasion, he had exchanged for all of the high-grade spirit stones on the island using treasures or rare materials. In doing so, he had obtained over 20 high-grade spirit stones.
Han Li was naturally ecstatic and was even more eager to reach the spirit stone mine.
Han Li also encountered many cultivators along the way, but most of them were low-grade ones and none of them dared to get in his way, so he was granted free passage for the entire journey thus far.
Among those cultivators, there were only two or three of the more powerful ones casting confused glances toward Han Li. Aside from that, no one else paid him any heed. Most of them were oblivious to the fact that they had just flown past a late-Nascent Soul cultivator.
After flying for over a month, a black spot appeared on the horizon. After flying for a few more hours, Han Li finally saw the Heavenly Star city in the distance, extending all the way into the clouds, and a smile appeared on his face.
Right at this moment, a dozen or so streaks of light suddenly hurtled toward Han Li from the distance.
Han Li scanned through these approaching streaks of light with his spiritual sense, and he was rather surprised by what he discovered.
The streaks of light were all cultivators and in the oncoming group, there were four or five Core Formation cultivators and even an early-Nascent Soul cultivator. Furthermore, the aura of the Nascent Soul cultivator struck him with a sense of familiarity and a suspicious look immediately
appeared on his face. However, he chose to remain standing on the spot and didn't take any evasive measures.
Chapter 1132: Secret Message
The group of cultivators before him were clad in Star Palace attire, clearly indicating that they had just come from the Heavenly Star Island. Han Li was flying through the air without any intention of obscuring his own presence, so he was naturally spotted by this group of cultivators.
As such, they immediately flew toward Han Li.
However, Han Li had used a technique to completely obscure his cultivation base. Thus, regardless of whether a Foundation Establishment or Core Formation cultivator tried to ascertain his cultivation base with their divine sense, they were struck by the feeling that Han Li was like a ball of cloud and mist, thereby preventing them from being able to determine his cultivation base.
Right at this moment, a cry of surprise rang out from the group.
Han Li's expression changed as he turned toward the cultivator with the snowy white cloak obscuring their features. This cultivator's entire body was enshrouded in a massive cloak, making it impossible for Han Li to determine their gender. Furthermore, even Han Li's powerful spiritual sense was unable to see through the cloak.
This was quite a surprising discovery to him.
However, the aura emanating from this person was rather familiar to Han Li, and they were the only Nascent Soul cultivator in the group, so he was naturally determined to find out who this person was.
As such, a blue light flashed through his eyes as he attempted to use his Brightsight Spirit Eyes to forcibly see through the cloak.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Han. Long time no see; how have you been?"
However, right at this moment, an attractive chuckle sounded from beneath the cloak, following which the hood of the cloak was lifted to reveal a set of gorgeous porcelain-like features that carried a hint of a smile.
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