The pinnacle of the mountain was quite vast and spacious, but there weren't many buildings there. Aside from a few sporadic halls and pavilions, there were only large stretches of empty land.
That was only to be expected. There were many high-grade cultivators on the island, but almost no low-grade cultivators below the Foundation Establishment Stage. As such, there was only a total of around 500 to 600 Starfall Coalition cultivators on the island. Such a large number of cultivators at or above the Foundation Establishment Stage was already quite a force to be reckoned with, and that wasn't even taking into account the fact that there were also several Nascent Soul cultivators on the island.
Han Li concealed himself and continued soundlessly toward a certain massive pavilion.
This pavilion was quite a spectacular building with five levels, which tapered upward to form a pyramid, and the first level took up an area of several thousand feet. However, the entire building was constructed from a strange type of pitch-black rocks which exuded dark Yin Qi, striking one with a very dark and gloomy feeling.
Han Li took a glance at the building before him, which had almost been entirely enshrouded in dark Yin Qi, and a cold smile appeared on his face as he swept a hand through the air. A massive blade of purple flames hurtled through the air, slicing open a path in the tumbling Yin Qi.
Han Li transformed into a streak of azure light and shot forth into that makeshift passageway without any hesitation.
"Who's there?" As soon as Han Li entered through the doors of the pavilion, an alarmed voice sounded, and a streak of black light came flying toward him. The light seemed to contain a middle-aged cultivator.
This man wasn't Zenith Yin, so Han Li completely ignored him and swept a sleeve toward him, summoning a sword that was over 10 feet in length which suddenly disappeared as it flashed through the air.
The middle-aged cultivator's heart jolted with shock upon seeing this and he opened his mouth to try and expel some sort of magic treasure. However, it was already too late. Golden light flashed through the air and the sword reappeared above his head before shooting downward like a bolt of lightning.
A howl of anguish rang out as the cultivator body was instantly sliced into several pieces. Even his soul had been pulverized by the golden light and not even a single shred of it was able to escape.
Han Li glanced expressionlessly at the mutilated body.
This was clearly a Core Formation cultivator and judging from the cultivation art that he had unleashed, he appeared to be one of Zenith Yin's disciples.
He flicked a finger and a crimson fireball shot forth. Scorching heatwaves radiated through the air as the sections of the body were burned into nothingness.
Han Li turned toward the staircase and a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.
It was rather strange that Zenith Yin still hadn't been alerted to the fact that something was amiss at this point.
He immediately unleashed his spiritual sense and sent it sweeping up into the higher levels of the pavilions.
A short while later, a peculiar look appeared on his face.
He discovered that the higher levels of the pavilion were completely empty with not a single person to be found. It was as if that Core Formation cultivator had been the only one guarding this entire pavilion.
Could it be that Zenith Yin had already left the pavilion and wasn't staying in his residence?
Han Li was feeling slightly disappointed.
He stroked his chin and a contemplative look appeared on his face. All of a sudden, a thought seemed to have occurred to him as he sent his spiritual sense sweeping into the ground below.
Immediately thereafter, a smile appeared on his face.
He immediately patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist to summon two red and yellow jade scepters. He gently waved the scepters through the air, upon which a yellow barrier of light appeared, encompassing his body within. He then twisted his body and somehow burrowed into the ground. The first level of the pavilion was immediately empty again.
After traveling over 100 feet underground, a grey barrier of light and a pitch-black stone wall appeared before Han Li.
Han Li immediately summoned a layer of purple flames over his hand before swiping it toward the light barrier.
A small gash was immediately torn into the grey barrier of light.
Han Li twisted his body and transformed into an azure thread, thus allowing him to insert himself through the gash that was only around half a foot wide.
When he set foot on a pristine stone step, he discovered that he was situated on a stone staircase that was leading downward with smooth black rocks in all directions around him.
Han Li looked downward with a cold expression before narrowing his eyes as he released his spiritual sense. He was going to assess the situation down below first before deciding on a course of action. However, he then immediately raised an eyebrow as he uttered a sound of surprise.
After traveling downward for several hundred feet, his spiritual sense was rebounded by an invisible force. Someone had set up a spiritual-sense-repelling restriction at the bottom of the passageway.
Han Li was a little surprised and also quite curious upon making this discovery.
Not only were spiritual sense formations extremely complex, they were also very expensive to set up. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator wouldn't erect one for no good reason. This place should only have been a temporary abode for Zenith Yin, so why would he set up a restriction of this caliber? That was very strange!
With a hint of surprise in his heart, Han Li immediately went drifting downward.
The length of this stone staircase far exceeded Han Li's expectations. After making his way all the way downward for several thousand feet, he still hadn't reached the bottom, and it was as if he were descended into a bottomless pit.
Han Li's brows furrowed as a sense of confusion welled up in his heart.
After drifting down for a while longer, a powerful burst of spiritual Qi suddenly came rushing toward him.
His heart jolted with shock in response and his footsteps reflexively came to an abrupt halt.
This was indeed spiritual Qi of the utmost purity, far superior to the caliber of spiritual Qi found in normal top-grade spirit veins.
Han Li took a deep breath and his expression changed slightly as he backtracked for over 100 feet.
Once he scaled back up a few steps, the spiritual Qi suddenly ceased to exist.
"There really is something interesting going on here!" Han Li mused to himself as he reverted back to his normal expression.
He then surveyed his surroundings and suddenly raised a hand without any warning, grabbing viciously toward the stone wall beside him.
Glacial light shimmered on his fingertips and the black stone gave away like tofu, allowing his fingers to sink into the stone before gouging out a large chunk.
Behind the black stone wall was a type of faint azure stone.
Han Li withdrew his hand and looked down at the large chunk of azure stone in his hand.
The stone didn't appear to be any different compared to normal azure stone.
Han Li raised an eyebrow as his five fingers converged.
The chunk of stone was immediately crushed into a fine powder before spilling down onto the stone steps.
Almost at the exact same moment, blue light flashed in Han Li's eyes as he unleashed his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.
"What's this?" He had finally noticed something peculiar.
Within the powdered azure stone, there was a faint silver granule that was flashing incessantly. Of course, this type of flashing was only perceivable to Han Li after he had injected his spiritual power into his eyes.
He was unable to identify what kind of strange material this silver granule was, but Han Li knew that this substance was most likely what had sealed the spiritual Qi deep within this mountain.
That also explained why the spirit stone mines on this island had never been discovere
d by ancient cultivators or the demon beasts in the sea.
After ascertaining the reason for this, Han Li didn't delay any longer as he drifted down the stone steps again.
Seeing as spiritual Qi of such a high level of purity had already appeared, Han Li estimated that he couldn't be far away from Zenith Yin.
As expected, after traveling downward for about 500 to 600 more feet, a ray of white light appeared around a corner up ahead. Furthermore, the sound of a conversation could be indistinctly heard.
Could it be that Zenith Yin wasn't alone?
Han Li's eyes narrowed as a peculiar feeling welled up in his heart.
However, at his current power level, even if the people that Zenith Yin was conversing with were the legendary Archsaint of the Six Paths and Wan Sangu, he would still have nothing to fear.
Thus, he immediately rushed forward and rounded the corner in a flash.
After doing so, he appeared at the entrance to a stone chamber. The stone door of the chamber was left ajar and faint white light was emanating from within.
Han Li chuckled coldly as he flicked a finger toward the stone door. Two thick bolts of golden lightning shot forth, soundlessly dividing the stone door into four portions.
Han Li's body then swayed as he appeared directly within the stone chamber. At the same time, he turned his gaze toward a certain corner of the stone chamber.
There was a black-robed cultivator with long and narrow eyes standing in that corner. He had his hands clasped behind his back and he was staring at Han Li with his mouth gaped wide open and an astonished look on his face.
This man was none other than Zenith Yin.
A ball of black Yin flames was hovering over the stone table in front of Zenith Yin, within which was a faint golden Nascent Soul.
Zenith Yin was using his Yin flames to torture the Nascent Soul and there was no one else in the stone chamber.
"Han Li!" After a brief moment of stunned inactivity, Zenith Yin immediately identified Han Li, upon which an ecstatic expression appeared on his face.
He had been yearning for the Heavenvoid Cauldron fo a long time.
Thus, Zenith Yin immediately swept a sleeve through the air, sending a burst of black devilish Qi surging forth violently. The devilish Qi transformed into a pitch-black giant python before pouncing toward Han Li.
Han Li chuckled coldly upon seeing this as he raised a single hand.
A thunderclap erupted from his arm as a thick arc of dazzling golden lightning appeared!
Chapter 1149: Capturing the Devil!
He spread open his fingers and a golden lightning wyrm shot forth from his arm, clashing directly with the oncoming black python.
"Divine Devilbane Lightning!"
Zenith Yin's heart jolted with shock upon seeing this. He immediately tried to make another hand seal, but it was already too late.
The golden wyrm threw itself at the black python, creating a resounding boom.
Golden light flashed and the black python's body was enshrouded by countless arcs of golden lightning before being reduced to nothingness in the blink of an eye.
The Divine Devilbane Lightning's efficacy against devilish Qi was no joke.
A hint of rage appeared on Zenith Yin's face as he patted the storage pouch hanging from his waist.
A loud cry erupted as a streak of crimson light around a foot in length shot forth from the storage pouch. It flashed through the air before arriving directly above Han Li's head, where it transformed into a long crimson saber and came crashing downward.
Before the saber had even begun its descent, the pungent odor of blood and gore came rushing toward Han Li first.
Han Li's expression darkened as he tilted his head back and abruptly opened his mouth, sending a small golden sword flying upward.
A loud clang rang out as golden and crimson light became interwoven with one another. The crimson saber then let loose a cry of anguish before being sliced in half by the golden flying sword, following which its two halves came plummeting straight down toward the ground. "Impossible!"
Zenith Yin's expression changed drastically upon seeing this and the ecstasy that was clouding his judgment was immediately dispelled.
Within the stone chamber, the restriction on one's spiritual sense didn't have any effect, so he immediately sent his spiritual sense sweeping toward Han Li.
In Han Li's eyes, Zenith Yin was already a dead man, so there was no need for him to hide his cultivation base. As such, he circulated his magic power with reckless abandon throughout his body.
After detecting Han Li's cultivation base, a series of spectacular expressions flashed through Zenith Yin's face.
He initially faltered before a confused look appeared on his face, followed by incredulity and a hint of horror. When he used his spiritual sense to verify Han Li's cultivation base again, his face immediately turned deathly pale.
"You've already reached the late-Nascent Soul Stage?"
Zenith Yin spat through gritted teeth as his entire body instantly became drenched in cold sweat!
Han Li began to recall events of the past and intense killing intent welled up in his heart as he said in a cold voice, "Hmph, what good will that knowledge do you? It's actually better to die as a fool. Seeing as you pursued me relentlessly to try and take my Heavenvoid Cauldron, it's only fitting that I kill you with this cauldron."
He then opened his mouth and a ball of azure light shot forth, spinning on the spot before revealing itself to be a small antiquated cauldron.
It was none other than the Heavenvoid Cauldron!
Zenith Yin was astonished by the fact that Han Li had progressed to the late-Nascent Soul Stage and even now, he still felt as if he were in a dream. However, he knew that he was in an extremely perilous situation after witnessing Han Li summon the Heavenvoid Cauldron, and he certainly wasn't going to surrender.
Thus, he gritted his teeth and abruptly spun on the spot. Bursts of inky-black Yin Qi exuded from his body, encompassing most of the stone chamber in the blink of an eye. At the same time, intimidating ghostly figures began to emerge in the black mist amid bursts of ghastly screeching.
Zenith Yin unleashed his Profound Yin Devilish Arts with all his might, while also releasing the 18 Heavenwide Corpses that he had been refining for several centuries. However, he didn't dare to attack Han Li with devilish Qi, which made him rather hesitant with regard to how to proceed.
In response, Han Li merely chuckled coldly.
Even though almost the entire stone chamber had been enshrouded in Profound Yin Devilish Qi, he could still see everything with great clarity using his spirit eyes.
Thus, he didn't waste any time with words as a pointed a finger toward the Heavenvoid Cauldron in front of him.
Azure light flashed over the surface of the cauldron as clumps of azure threads shot forth. There seemed to be no end to the azure threads and they formed a massive azure net in the blink of an eye before hovering in the air.
Zenith Yin's heart sank upon seeing this and he immediately began to chant an incantation.
The devilish projections nearby flashed and 18 Heavenwide Corpses rushed out of the cloud of Yin Qi, heading directly upward while flailing their arms in an attempt to tear through the azure net.
Han Li looked on expressionlessly as he flicked a finger toward the small cauldron before him.
A faint clang rang out and dazzling light suddenly erupted from the azure net. A layer of blue glacial flames abruptly appeared beneath the net before transforming into a dozen or so shiny blue fire-birds, all of which flew toward the oncoming corpses.
The Heavenwide Corpses didn't even get the chance to utter a single sound before they were reduced to 18 sinister ice sculptures by the blue flames. The ice sculptures then fell from above and were shattered into countless pieces.
At this moment, the threads on the azure net suddenly shuddered as countless fist-sized blue fireballs hurtled toward the devilish QI down below. The black mist tumbled a
nd surged violently before transforming into countless black pythons that rose up to meet the descending fireballs.
As soon as the two came into contact with one another, the blue fireballs exploded on impact, sending a vast expanse of blue glacial mist spreading through the entire stone chamber.
The temperatures in the stone chamber immediately plummeted as thick layers of ice materialized on the walls, floor, and ceiling.
In the blink of an eye, the stone chamber had been completely transformed into a glacial realm.
The black pythons were powerless in the face of the blue glacial mist and were reduced to countless ice sculptures, which then crumbled into countless fragments. The might of the blue glacial mist then vanquished all of the remaining devilish Qi, revealing the indistinct figure of Zenith Yin underneath. Under such circumstances, Zenith Yin definitely wouldn't be able to last long at all.
He was also aware of this himself and he immediately let loose a shrill cry and he blasted an inky-black bead out of his mouth.
As soon as the bead emerged, Zenith Yin bit through the tip of his tongue and threw up a mouthful of blood essence onto the bead.
The bead immediately shuddered before transforming into a ball of devilish flames. The fireball revolved in a circle around Zenith Yin before transforming into a layer of pitch-black flames that enshrouded him within.
This was none other than Zenith Yin's trump card, his Heavenwide Corpsefire.
After unleashing these flames, Zenith Yin's confidence was restored slightly. He swept up his remaining devilish Qi before transforming into a ball of black flames and rushing toward the entrance of the stone chamber, appearing as if he were fleeing for his life.
The Heavenwide Corpsefire really was a force to be reckoned with; after coming into contact with these flames, the blue glacial mist emitted a dull thump and was unable to freeze Zenith Yin. After a few flashes, he managed to fly out of the blue glacial mist and instantly appeared near the entrance.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged upon seeing this, but he internally activated his Artifact Imprint Technique.
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