As for the elderly man and the young woman, their cultivation bases were inferior to Chen Jing's, so he naturally made all of the executive decisions for their group. However, they were even more fearful when they looked at Han Li now.
After all, the disparity between Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul cultivators was simply massive!
Thus, Han Li was led by Chen Jing's trio away from this place. According to their description, this location was only about half a month's travel away from Green Spirit Island and on the way there, they would pass by the island on which the three of them inhabited.
They flew toward the eastern direction almost without any pause for rest and after flying for over 10 days, an unknown island finally appeared up ahead.
This island appeared to be quite large; several thousand kilometers in radius. The island had an undulating terrain filled with lush hills and mountains.
"This is Lightning Sky Island. I have a simple abode here, so I'm very familiar with the markets in this area. The market here is also one of the largest near Green Spirit Island, so I'm sure it won't disappoint you, Senior," Chen Jing explained with a smile on his face as he flew through the air.
"The spirit vein on this island is not bad. It's no wonder that so many cultivators are staying on this island." Han Li nodded as he looked into the distance.
"Not only is the spirit vein on Lightning Sky Island the best among the surrounding few islands, the island also produces several types of rare medicines. Both the Starfall Coalition and the Star Palace have set their eyes on the island before, but they were both wary of one another and allowed other powers to take joint ownership of the island instead," Chen Jing said in a slightly boastful manner.
"Those so-called other powers include your Azure Yang Sect, right?" Han Li chuckled.
"Ahem... Our Azure Yang Sect does have a few people living on this island, but we wouldn't dare to claim ownership over any part of it," Chen Jing chuckled drily. There seemed to be some hardships involved that he was reluctant to talk about.
Han Li naturally wasn't actually interested in the Azure Yang Sect. As such, he merely smiled and set the topic aside.
After that, Chen Jing began to introduce the powers on the island, as well as the several Nascent Soul cultivators here.
Han Li heard the name of a familiar person from Chen Jing's description, and he faltered lightly before exclaiming, "Daoist Master Swift Crane! The one from the Jade Cloud Sect? He's also on this island? I heard that he was severely wounded many years ago."
Chen Jing's heart stirred slightly, but he still gave an honest response. "You know about Senior Swift Crane as well, Senior? His body was once destroyed many years ago, but he was saved by the Jade Cloud Sect and managed to recover his cultivation base through possession. I heard that he had intentions of taking over the island for the Jade Cloud Sect, but he wasn't the only one with such intentions so in the end, the island was split among several powers."
"Hehe, I see!" Han Li replied in a neutral manner, making it impossible for Chen Jing to glean his thoughts.
Before they knew it, the four of them had reached the island and were flying directly toward the center of the island.
After flying for a short while longer, a small city nestled between several tall mountains appeared before their eyes.
It was quite clear that this city had only been constructed not long ago. It wasn't very large in area; only around a dozen or so square kilometers, and all of the buildings in the city were constructed from large grey-white stones, creating a pristine and orderly sight to behold. There appeared to be city gates on all four sides of the city, but only Qi Condensation cultivators used those gates. All of the more powerful cultivators capable of flight chose to take aerial routes. It appeared to be a lively and bustling city.
Han Li's eyes narrowed as he suddenly asked, "How many cultivators are there living on this island? Are they all here in this city?"
Chen Jing faltered slightly upon hearing this before replying after some contemplation, "There are no exact population figures, but if the Qi Condensation cultivators are taken into account as well, then there are probably 30,000 to 40,000 inhabitants. Most of them live in this city while others are distributed over other spots on the island. There are even some powerful cultivators who have blasted cave abodes for themselves into the faces of mountains."
"I see." Han Li nodded with a thoughtful expression and didn't raise any other questions. The three of them reached the city a short while later.
At their altitude, they were able to clearly see everything within the small city.
Han Li swept his gaze down below and developed a slight interest in the stone towers situated at the center of the city, which were extending into the sky like eight heavenly pillars.
The stone towers were circular in shape and each and every one of them appeared to be around 500 to 600 feet tall. Their surfaces were bumpy and uneven, with many mysterious runes and formation spells carved into the stone. These runes and formations were shimmering with feeble spiritual light and were extremely attention-grabbing.
Even Han Li couldn't help but take a few more glances at the towers.
"Those eight stone towers can activate the city's protective formation. They were designed by a renowned formation master in our Scattered Star Seas. Once activated, the formation's power is definitely not inferior to the protective formation of the major sects. The towers have Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed in them 24 hours a day in order to ensure that they can be activated at any moment. This formation has saved the city from destruction on several occasions and has proved to be extremely useful."
Han Li's heart stirred upon hearing this as he asked, "Oh? Are there demon beasts attacking this island?"
"Hehe, please be at ease, Senior; I'm referring to events that took place many years in the past. Ever since the mines on Green Spirit Island were split among us humans and demon beasts, those demon beasts have never attacked this island again. Let's get down now. The market is just over there and I happen to know a few shops that specialize in selling high-grade spirit stones. I can introduce them to you, Senior," Chen Hing replied with a smile before pointing toward the southern region of the city, awaiting further instructions from Han Li.
Chapter 1143: Imbuing Spiritual Sense
Han Li turned toward the direction that Chen Jing was pointing to find that there were some buildings there that were indeed different from others. All of them were remarkably tall and large, with the smallest pavilions being two or three levels tall, and the largest at four or five levels in height. There were steady streams of cultivators entering and exiting the doors of these pavilions, creating a much more lively scene than anywhere else in the city.
Han Li nodded but to the three cultivators' surprise, he said, "There's no need for an introduction. I'll get down there and have a look for myself. You three can go now."
"Yes!" Chen Jing was slightly taken aback, but he didn't dare to object as he bowed respectfully.
Han Li turned to the three of them and suddenly said in a cold voice, "I don't want anyone else to know about the fact that I came to this island. You know what you should do, right?"
"Please rest assured, Senior; we won't tell anyone anything!" Chen Jing's heart jolted with shock, but he still maintained a respectful expression.
"Hehe, I hope you're telling the truth!" Han Li chuckled in response, but he suddenly flicked a finger that was hidden in his sleeve. Immediately thereafter, his body swayed and he disappeared amid a flash of azure light.
The three cultivators' expressions changed drastically and they hurriedly looked around, only to find that Han Li was nowhere to be seen.
"Martial Uncle Chen, we..."
"Don't say anything! Let's go back first!"
The young woman wanted to say something, but Chen Jing cut her off with a dark expression. He then gestured for the two of them to follow him as he transformed into a streak of light traveling out o
f the city.
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators were still a little shell-shocked, but they could only follow their leader.
The two of them had flown over 50 kilometers before they knew it, and they descended on a nondescript little mountain.
At an obscure location at the foot of the mountain, there was a small cave abode.
Chen Jing led the two into the abode and activated all of the restrictions within before sitting down in the hall to meditate with his eyes closed.
The two Foundation Establishment cultivators glanced at once another, but neither of them dared to say anything.
A long while later, Chen Jing finally opened his eyes and exhaled as his expression eased slightly.
"I can confirm now that that man's spiritual sense isn't spying on us here. Even if his spiritual sense can reach this place, it won't be able to bypass the cave's restrictions. What did you want to say, Martial Niece Yan?" Cheng Jing turned to the young woman and asked.
"I just wanted to say that this Senior Han's origins are a little suspicious. He's a Nascent Soul cultivator, yet we've never heard of someone like him. That's really strange. Should we report this matter to our sect so they can investigate this man? Perhaps our patriarch will know who he is?" the young woman replied hesitantly.
The elderly man nodded in agreement with this proposal.
"Hmph, so what if we find out who that man is? Our patriarch is currently in seclusion to make a breakthrough to the late-Nascent Soul Stage. No matter who this man is, he's not important enough to disrupt our patriarch's seclusion. If our patriarch can't do anything to him, why would we risk irking him just to find out who he is? From what he said earlier, it appears that he has some knowledge about the Scattered Star Seas, so he's most likely just come out of an extended period of seclusion. This is certainly not unheard of in our Scattered Star Seas. He warned us not to reveal his location; do you think he wouldn't dare to do anything to us just because we're from the Azure Yang Sect? Even if he kills us, without our patriarch to stand up for us, the sect can't do anything to him. Why would we do something that incurs so much risk for no worthwhile reward?" Chen Jing harrumphed coldly.
A chill ran down the young woman's spine upon hearing this and she hurriedly agreed.
"Also, no matter who we reveal this information to, it doesn't benefit us in any way. Instead..." Chen Jing was getting slightly carried away and continued in his tirade. However, what he failed to notice was that a faint golden light was shimmering beneath one of his shoes. The golden light flashed before silently departing from the sole of the shoe, then disappearing soundlessly into the stone floor of the hall.
Moments later, the golden light reached deep into the ground, where an azure barrier of light abruptly stopped it in its tracks.
This was the cave abode's protective restriction.
The golden light faltered slightly before receding to reveal a thumb-sized golden beetle.
It was one of Han Li's Gold Devouring Beetles.
As soon as the beetle reverted back to its original form, it rushed toward the light barrier and began to take large bites out of it.
The restriction wasn't some sort of high-grade restriction. Instead, it was extremely crude and the beetle was able to pass through it almost instantly, appearing on the other side of the barrier.
The restriction wasn't triggered throughout the entire process. Chen Jing's trio was not alerted at all to this sequence of events.
The bug flashed before disappearing underground. A short while later, a flash of light suddenly appeared in the eyes of a tall and thin old man, who was walking along a certain street in the southern region of the city. A spot of golden light shot forth from the ground before silently disappearing into his sleeve.
The old man's expression remained completely unchanged, but the corners of his lips had turned upward ever so slightly.
This man was none other than Han Li, who had altered his appearance.
That spot of golden light was naturally the Gold Devouring Beetles, within which he had imbued a sliver of his spiritual sense.
After reaching the late-Nascent Soul Stage, even though his spiritual sense was still vastly inferior to that of a Deity Transformation cultivator, it was still far more powerful than that of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator.
As such, he was already capable of imbuing a wisp of his spiritual sense into an object. Of course, this wasn't a permanent arrangement. That wisp of spiritual sense could only maintain itself for a certain period of time, and it could only be imbued within a sentient living being.
Furthermore, the Gold Devouring Beetles were spirit insects that were connected to his soul, so he was able to use his spiritual sense to directly control them.
When Han Li separated from the three cultivators, he didn't immediately kill them to silence them, but he imbued a wisp of his spiritual sense onto one of his Gold Devouring Beetles, then snuck it onto Chen Jing's body for him to take back to his cave abode.
With Han Li's current power level in conjunction with the Gold Devouring Beetle's abilities, it naturally wasn't going to be noticed by a mere early-Core Formation cultivator.
Han Li had made up his mind; if these three people followed his instructions, then he would naturally leave them alone. However, if they decided to play tricks behind his back, then he would immediately use this Gold Devouring Beetle to kill all of them.
Gold Devouring Beetles that were yet to reach full maturity wouldn't be able to do much to Nascent Soul cultivators, but with their indestructibility and engulfment powers, it would be a very simple task for it to take care of an early-Core Formation cultivator and two Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Following the Gold Devouring Beetle's return, Han Li immediately withdrew that wisp of spiritual sense. The conversation between Chen Jing's trio was instantly replayed back to him and he smiled internally before paying no further heed to those three.
He turned his attention to the pavilions situated on either side of him.
He was clearly in the so-called market already. Not only were there many cultivators here, there were also some high-grade cultivators who rose up into the air or descended from above from time to time. There were also some cautious cultivators who rushed their way through the pavilions on high alert, seemingly constantly in fear of being identified.
Han Li was sizing up other cultivators with reckless abandon and his actions naturally attracted the attention of some cultivators. However, after detecting his cultivation base with their spiritual sense, all of the cultivators were immediately horrified. All of them either rushed away immediately or forced a smile onto their faces before turning away.
Han Li had restricted his cultivation base, feigning a late-Core Formation cultivator. Even so, that was already enough to scare off all of the other cultivators.
After taking a few more steps, Han Li suddenly faltered as his gaze fell on several pavilions, upon which a hint of surprise appeared on his face. These were six two-story pavilions lined up next to one another by the side of the street. There was a long and thin flag set up in front of each of the pavilions and there were different diagrams on those flags, comprising of a blue monster, a small golden sword, an azure spirit herb, and several other designs.
"Are those the Six United Palaces?" Han Li was surprised to see this.
If he recalled correctly, many of the powers in the Scattered Star Seas had already joined the Starfall Coalition. As such, it was very surprising to see another power set up a shop in such a bold manner on this island.
It appeared that the Starfall Coalition was indeed quite powerful. Even though they weren't able to dominate the entire Green Spirit Island, the other powers on the island still don't dare to set up shops in the city.
Han Li had been in conflict with many of the old Nascent Soul monsters in the Starfall Coalition, so he naturally wasn't going to seek them out. As such, he shook his head and decided to make his way toward the shop in front of him.
>
However, before he had even begun to approach the shop, several cultivators suddenly emerged from one of the Six United Palace pavilions. Han Li caught sight of the cultivator at the forefront of the group, upon which his expression changed slightly.
This was a yellow-robed old man who appeared to be over 50 years of age. There was a Daoist priest in a set of crane robes beside him. The latter appeared to be around just over 20 years old and both of them were early-Nascent Soul cultivators.
There were four Core Formation cultivators behind them, as well as a middle-aged manager wearing a set of attire from the Six United Palaces. The manager wore a fawning smile on his face and was clearly trying to curry favor.
That was to be expected. After all, Nascent Soul cultivators were revered beings everywhere and it was quite an occasion to have two of them visit the same shop at once.
What made Han Li's expression change slightly was none other than that young Daoist priest in the crane robes.
The man appeared to be very young but no matter how Han Li looked at him, he was clearly the very same Daoist priest who had hunted him down many years ago and almost taken his life, Daoist Master Swift Crane. It was just that he appeared to have reverted back to a far younger age. Despite that, his appearance hadn't changed much.
This was the Daoist Master Swift Crane who had been resurrected from the dead!
As for the fact that his appearance had remained largely unchanged, Han Li didn't find that be all that strange. There were countless secret techniques in the cultivation world that could allow one to permanently change their appearance and figure.
Most cultivators who were resurrected through possession would unconsciously revert back to their original appearance in order to make everyone forget the fact that they had secured a new body through possession.
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