With that, he suddenly sensed a glimmer of hope.
He seems he would have to find the white-robed young woman. Now, how would he find her?
Han Li’s face stirred and a strange smile appeared on his face.
His sleeve trembled and a transparent ball shot out. It circled him and turned into a palm-sized leopard.
It was the Leopard Kirin Beast.
The beast glanced at Han Li with its adorable green eyes and let out a soft purr.
Without speaking, a light flashed from his hand and he summoned an azure spell plate. He chanted a few words and he swiped the plate through the air.
Suddenly, a pea-sized white light flew out from the plate. It floated half a foot high from the plate and silently kept still.
Han Li whistled and waved his hand at the small beast.
The Leopard Kirin yawned and remained still as if it were lazy.
Han Li was dumbfounded. On the way to the wood forest, he let the beast mingle with the Weeping Soul beast for a few days. Could it be that it adopted the Weeping Soul Beast’s sleepy nature?
However, now was not the time to bother with this. He stroked his hand past his storage bracelet and took out a small green bottle. He poured out a scarlet medicine pill and tossed it at the leopard.
The lethargic leopard kirin immediately felt its spirit roused and it left an afterimage as it pounced into the air and swallowed the medicine pill. It wagged its tail as it purred and fawned over Han Li as if to get another.
Without speaking, Han Li pointed at the spell plate’s white light.
Without needing to speak, he passed over his thoughts to the beast through spiritual sense.
The small beast stirred without any further hesitation. In a moment, it strangely appeared on top of the spell plate and looked at the white dot several times. It tilted its head and then swallowed it.
Chapter 1379: Wood Phoenix
The Leopard Kirin Beast shut its green eyes for a while before opening them again. It then let out a soft growl.
Han Li smiled.
Ever since he acquired the small beast, he discovered in addition to its quick speed and durable body, it also had extraordinary tracking abilities.
So long as the beast sensed something, no matter if the target was alive, dead, or behind a myriad of restrictions, it could find the item accurately.
This kind of tracking doesn’t merely use the physical senses; it was an inconceivable ability related to spiritual sense.
At the very least, the beast was able to track Han Li down while he used the High Zenith Invisibility Talisman and stood still.
As for the spell plate and the speck of white light, it was obviously linked to the young white-robed woman. He also had a speck of pure spiritual Qi for the other cultivators as well.
The small beast looked all around and tilted its head as if in thought. Soon, it stirred and shot off into a faint yellow blur.
Han Li didn’t immediately chase after it. Instead, he formed an incantation gesture and suddenly struck an azure light at the ground.
As a result, a faint ring sounded from the ground. A ball of silver flame suddenly burst from the ground. A faint flame raven fluttered around it.
Originally inside Black Leaves Forest, he had concealed a Spirit Engulfing Flame raven in the ground.
For the sake of carefulness, when Han Li escaped, he hadn’t taken back the flame. Fortunately, the flame was already completely refined. Even at the speed he was traveling, he was still able to command it to follow him.
Of course, the flame raven wasn’t a true spirit beast. It needed to use a bit of magic power to maintain its shape. However, it was such a little amount to his current cultivation that he didn’t mind.
When he saw there was no problem with his flame raven, Han Li nodded. Then he pointed and the bird disappeared into the ground.
It was still quite dangerous there. He may as well keep it prepared just in case.
With that done, Han Li summoned light around himself and flew off in an azure streak. With a few blinks, he quickly chased after the Leopard Kirin Beast.
The small beast was heading north. After a long while, it eventually changed direction.
Han Li was startled, but he kept silent and changed direction with it.
Afterwards, the Leopard Kirin Beast changed directions several more times.
This caused Han Li’s face to turn solemn.
This illustrated that the white-robed woman, Ye Ying, was continuously shifting movements, likely because she was still being pursued. She wouldn’t have sharply changed direction so many times if this were not the case.
However, this wouldn’t stop him.
With his current abilities, so long as he wasn’t heavily surrounded or faced an opponent with vastly superior cultivation, he was confident he’d be able to preserve his life.
As he needed this woman to acquire his Earth Cleansing Pills, he couldn't leave her alone.
Expressionless, Han Li closely followed the Leopard Kirin and chased after it like azure lightning.
The chase continued for three entire days, but Han Li had yet to catch sight of her.
But on the morning of the fourth day, he arrived at the edge of vast blue waters with no end in sight. The Leopard Kirin Beast suddenly stopped.
With roused spirits, Han Li arrived at the beast’s side in a flash of azure light.
The beast turned its raggy head and softly whimpered as if it were trying to say something.
If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t be able to understand, but Han Li happily said, “You mean they aren’t far away? We’ve arrived? You can have this. Go ahead and return.”
Han Li flicked his finger and tossed another scarlet medicine pill.
The small beast blurred with delight and caught the medicine pill in midair. It spat out a white speck of light and flew back into Han Li’s sleeve in a chain of afterimages.
Han Li flipped his hand and took out a spell plate, absorbing back the white speck. Then, light flashed from his hand and he summoned a High Zenith Invisibility Talisman.
When Han Li saw its dim light, he frowned and hesitated. He then summoned an identical talisman with a flip of his hand.
However, the purple talisman he produced was brimming with dazzling light.
For his trip into the wilderness, he spent great effort to refine an additional two High Zenith Invisibility Talismans.
He had already spent most of the power of the first talisman. For the sake of carefulness in the face of unknown danger, Han Li had best used the fresh talisman.
After putting away the dim talisman, his new talisman blurred and silver characters flashed. His body disappeared.
Soon after, he formed an incantation gesture and his body blurred. He easily flew in the direction that the Leopard Kirin pointed at.
It was unknown if the water belonged to a huge lake, or if it were the edge of a sea. After he flew for over six hundred kilometers, he didn’t spot any land. He did eventually come across a small unremarkable island.
The island was five kilometers long and was dense with vegetation. It appeared to be entirely uninhabited.
Han Li glanced at the island and then raised his head, looking around. He quietly flew towards the center of the island.
According to what the Leopard Kirin said, it should be the island.
There was a small basin at the heart of the island with a few grey-white stones stacked on top of one another.
A white-robed young woman with a pale complexion sat on a huge stone cross-legged. There was a wood tribe woman respectfully standing at attention in front of her.
When Han Li saw this, he was alarmed and he came to a sudden stop. He examined the unfamiliar woman with narrow eyes.
The woman’s flesh was exactly the same as a common wood spirit, a shallow green. Also, she wore an orange-yellow belt, revealing herself to be a tree spirit at Spatial Tempering stage. But under closer examination, Han Li discovered the wo
man appeared much different compared to an ordinary wood spirit.
When the tree spirit faced the white-robed woman, she wore a dignified and respectful expression different from the wooden expressions of other wood spirits. Furthermore, Han Li was able to sense a vastly powerful fire spiritual power from the woman’s body, despite not releasing his spiritual sense. Only pure wood spiritual Qi should be present in a wood tribe being.
This person wasn’t a wood spirit!
Han Li quickly came to this conclusion. Afterwards, he looked at the young woman.
He discovered in addition to the young woman’s deathly pale complexion, there was a fist-sized bloodstain on the young woman’s chest. It was as if a blood flower had blossomed, a clear indication of a wound.
When he saw this, Han Li hesitated, considering whether he should reveal himself.
At that moment, the young woman raised her head and smiled at him. “Brother Han, since you’re here, how about you join me and rest?”
Han Li felt deeply shocked when he heard this.
How was it possible for her to see through his invisibility.
The High Zenith Invisibility Talisman might not be effective against Body Integration-stage cultivators, but it could definitely hide him from Spatial Tempering-stage individuals. Could it be the woman was pretending? But the woman smiled in his direction, clearly showing his position.
The only explanation he could think of was that she had a spiritual sense equivalent to a Body Integration cultivator.
Han Li felt bewildered. After some thought, silver talisman characters flickered from his body and his body slowly came into view.
Soon after, he slapped his body and summoned a purple talisman into the air and then his hand.
With a calm appearance, Han Li descended to the ground.“Fellow Daoist Ye, who is this Fellow Daoist? Could you introduce me to her?”
“Sure. This is the spy that the humans and demons placed in the wood tribe, Fellow Daoist Ye Chu. It appears Fellow Daoist had escaped the wood tribe’s pursuit.” The young woman said with a smile. She then examined Han Li with a smile. When she saw that Han Li was in good health, she couldn't help but betray her surprise.
“Ye Chu? Is she a human or a demon?” Han Li glanced at the green-skinned woman and narrowed his eyes.
The woman calmly glanced at Han Li and said, “Your eyes are quite sharp. I am a human, but my body possesses Wood Phoenix Spirit Blood. I can be considered half-demon.” Her voice was somewhat hoarse.
“A Wood Phoenix? Yi! You have Spatial Tempering cultivation!” When he heard her name, he swept his spiritual sense past her and his face changed.
Ye Ying answered with bright eyes, “Older Sister Chu comes from our Ye Clan. She possessed early Spatial Tempering cultivation when she was sent to spy on the wood tribe. After many years had passed, she has completed the cycle of Spatial Tempering and is bordering the Body Integration stage.”
“This is thanks to a few benefits I acquired from the wood tribe, or else I wouldn’t have reached this stage. However, I didn’t expect that the young master would personally come here.” Ye Chu spoke with a modest tone and stood in front of the young woman with a helpless appearance.
Han Li felt a chill facing a person with such fearsome cultivation. With a respectful expression, he said, “So it was like that. If Senior hadn’t come to rescue us, I fear we would’ve been completely wiped out.”
“Let’s get to that later.” Ye Ying’s smile faded and her face turned serious, “Because I was chased too quickly, I have yet to ask what happened. Older Sister Chu, why did we fall into the wood tribe’s trap. Where are the others?”
The green-skinned woman answered, “Apart from me, all the others were killed. About a hundred years before, the wood tribe acquired information on our spies. It was only because of my Wood Phoenix blood that I was able to escape detection. The others were caught and tried to escape, but they were caught one by one.”
Chapter 1380: Mission Complete
The green-skinned woman continued her answer, “As for why you were ambushed, it was because the wood tribe’s higher echelon altered the scope of the Dream Sifting Tree’s detection. I fear they detected you as soon as you entered. Fortunately, the upper echelon of the wood tribe doesn’t view Black Leaves Forest with much importance. It only sent a single lower silver-tier wood spirit to oversee it. Otherwise, it would’ve been difficult for you to escape them.”
The young white-robed woman, Ye Ying, slowly said, “So it was like that! Older Sister Chu, these last thousand years must’ve been hard on you.”
“It’s nothing. These past few years in the wood tribe haven’t been spent in vain. I’ve grasped many of their secrets. I’ve even made connections in the tribe, but I am certain I am now exposed. I cannot continue to stay here.”
Han Li felt his heart stir.
Ye Ying smiled, “Deep Heaven City is possible on the brink of another war. Even if nothing happens, the clan master plans on calling you back. With your current cultivation, there is no point in continuing to hide here.”
However, her smile seemed to provoke her injuries and she coughed several times, causing her face to turn paler.
“Is the young master alright? How about you take another Phoenix Spirit Pill?” Ye Chu proposed with a tense expression.
“No need! There aren’t many left. I’ll leave them for something else.” Ye Ying shook her head.
“What? Is Lady Ye heavily injured?” Han Li blinked.
Ye Ying curled her lip and unhappily said, “That silver-tier tree spirit landed a clean blow. Would you say the injury is grave?”
“If it is an ordinary internal injury, I have several medicine pills for that. Perhaps they’ll be useful.” Han Li said with a calm tone. He then waved his sleeve and summoned several medicine pills in her direction.
Ye Ying raised her brow. She reached out for the air and summoned them into her grasp. She then opened them and took a few whiffs.
Having some medicinal knowledge, she wore an astonished expression and immediately uttered their names, “Wondrous Grass Pill, Hundred Blessings Pill, Returning Spirit Water... Brother Han is quite generous to present these sacred medicines to me. In that case, I won’t hold back.”
With her status, Ye Ying could’ve prepared a few of them, but she felt disbelief that a Deity Transformation cultivator could take out so many of them in a single breath.
The young woman blinked and promptly opened the bottles, swallowing several of the pills, revealing her trust in Han Li.
Han Li felt some admiration for her decisive actions.
Of course, she most likely had some sort of secret technique, so she had no fear there was something wrong with the medicine pills.
After she swallowed the pills, color returned to Ye Ying’s face. Then, she glanced at Han Li and asked, “Ah yes, how did you find me? If I’m not mistaken, your invisibility talisman seems to be a silver rune talisman. Might I know its name? This is the first time I’ve seen such a high-grade silver rune talisman.”
“I have a bit of experience with tracking techniques. As for the talisman, it is called the High Zenith Invisibility Talisman. It is something I unintentionally came across. Its effects are truly marvelous. I was quite astonished when you were able to see through it. May I know how you did it? I fear even a Spatial Tempering cultivator would have trouble seeing through it.” Han Li smiled and returned her question with a question.
“I cultivate a technique that happens to penetrate most concealment techniques. It wasn’t odd that I could see through it. Brother Han need not take it to heart.” Ye Ying pursed her lips into a mysterious smile.
When Han Li heard this, he could only wryly laugh.
Although he knew her answer was false, it was difficult to continue asking her about it.
Ye Ying then said, “There is still another matter! Older Sister Chu, you should be carrying the information on the Wood Tribe. We should take advantage of this moment to s
end it over to Deep Heaven City in case of any surprises.”
“Yes, Young Master.” The green-skinned woman promptly replied.
Han Li wore a calm expression, but he felt slight.
Ye Ying reached for her storage bracelet and took out a sparkling silver square plate. The green-skinned woman then opened her mouth and spat out an emerald jade slip.
Han Li also possessed a plate. It could transport exquisite objects to Deep Heaven City. After a single use, the spell plate would be destroyed.
Since Ye Ying used her own teleportation plate, Han Li didn’t need to do anything else. According to the tool refinement masters of Deep Heaven City, it was something that had been recently developed. Otherwise, if Ye Chu originally brought one, Han Li and the others wouldn’t have needed to make the journey.
Ye Ying waved her hand and struck the spell plate with a white spell seal. Suddenly, it brightly shined white.
She then tossed the spell plate in front of her and it turned into a foot-large spell formation. It spun throughout the air and began to hum.
“Let’s be quick. Although it is only a small-scale spell formation, it can alert the Wood Tribe,” Ye Ying quickly said.
Ye Chu tossed the jade slip without another thought. When it landed inside the light formation, it floated in midair.
Ye Ying then struck the plate with another spell seal.
Silver talisman characters suddenly appeared from the spell formation and it roiled. The jade slip then disappeared with a clear ring.
Soon after, the light formation vanished and the silver plate returned to normal.
However, the plate’s engravings had completely disappeared and the plate was thoroughly cracked.
Han Li felt joy and he flipped his hand to produce an azure jade talisman. He stared at it with complete attention.
It was the Myriad Distance Talisman that Deep Heaven City’s higher echelon had given him before he set off for the mission.
Ye Ying smiled when she saw this and put away the destroyed plate. Then she took out her own Myriad Distance Talisman and attentively looked at it.
Ye Chu remained expressionless and stood still.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 771