Only after their backs had crashed into the walls of the pagoda did they manage to steady themselves, but their faces had turned completely pale, and their eyes were filled with astonishment.
As for the four devilish guards, they were instantly slammed onto the ground and completely immobilized by the devastating aura.
Han Li had made an effort to protect the yellow-robed young woman, so she remained unaffected, but she was also completely dumbstruck.
The aura emanating from Han Li's body continued to swell drastically, and it encompassed the entire pagoda.
All of the restrictions in the pagoda began to tremor in the face of his terrifying aura, and loud sirens had begun to blare.
Such a loud commotion naturally alerted the more powerful devilish beings in the pagoda.
There were two devilish elderly men meditating in a secret chamber on the highest level of the pagoda, and as soon as they sensed this aura, they immediately sprang up before flying out of the secret chamber as quickly as they could.
Moments later, a pair of Spatial Tempering Stage elderly men had appeared before Han Li, and they were respectfully referring to Han Li as a devilish lord right before the incredulous eyes of the two shopkeepers.
At this point, Han Li had already withdrawn his immense aura, and he appraised the two Spatial Tempering Stage elderly men coldly as he said, "I want to buy her; do you have any objections?"
"Of course not! It's an immense honor for her to catch the interest of an esteemed devilish lord like you, Senior. If you want her, you can have her free of charge," one of the elderly men said, and his companion nodded eagerly in agreement.
These two were naturally aware that all devilish lords were old monsters who had lived for countless years, and most of them had very peculiar personalities, so they certainly didn't dare to display any disrespect.
"Hehe, it wouldn't be right of me to take her for free; here are some devil stones. Aside from that, there's something else I want to discuss with you two," Han Li chuckled as he raised a sleeve to release a storage bracelet that was filled with devil stones.
One of the elderly men caught the storage bracelet, and he didn't dare to return it, so he could only stow it away. "What can we do for you, Senior? As long as it's within our capabilities, we definitely won't refuse!"
"I have something else I need to attend to for now, so we'll discuss this later. I hope your pagoda will satisfy me again when I return next time," Han Li said.
As soon as his voice trailed off, black light erupted from his body, sweeping up the yellow-robed young woman before flying toward one of the walls of the pagoda as a streak of light.
A resounding boom rang out, and the streak of light easily pierced through the restrictions on the wall before vanishing in a flash.
The two Spatial Tempering Stage elderly men could only exchange a wry smile upon seeing this.
Chapter 2054: Encountering the Maiden Cultivation Art Again
Even though the Myriad Slave Tower had no lack of devilish-lord-level elders, there wasn't such a powerful being in the Illusion Night City branch. As such, the two Spatial Tempering Stage elderly men naturally didn't dare to offend Han Li when they knew nothing about him.
In a sense, a devilish lord of unknown origins was even more worthy of fear in their eyes than the patriarchs of the four major families.
As soon as Han Li left, the brocade-robed elderly man hurriedly made his way toward the pair of Spatial Tempering Stage devilish beings. "Elders, the slave that was just taken was reserved by the master of the Zhao Family! If we let that senior take her away just like that, then I won't be able to answer to the Zhao Family!"
"She was reserved by Zhao Wenhao? That is indeed quite troublesome. Did you already take a deposit from him?" one of the elderly men asked as his brows furrowed slightly.
"No, but he came to our pagoda several months ago and specifically requested a young human female cultivator at the Core Formation Stage or above, and he expressed a willingness to issue a large batch of devil stones for such a slave. There are precedents of similar arrangements made in the past, so I agreed," the brocade-robed elderly man hurriedly explained.
"That may be the case, but no deposit was issued, so we're not obliged to sell her to the Zhao Family. If he insists on acquiring a slave of her specifications, then we'll just have to take some time and source another one for him," the other Spatial Tempering Stage elderly man said as he stroked his beard calmly.
"Indeed. We'll leave it to you to sort things out with the Zhao Family. Don't offend the Zhao Family, but definitely don't incur the wrath of that Senior Han, either. The two of us have to go back to meditate now; we'll leave everything to you two," the first Spatial Tempering Stage elderly man said before the two of them stepped into the nearby teleportation formation together.
"Yes, elders!" The brocade-robed elderly man's expression was quite strained, but the middle-aged man was taking great pleasure in his misfortune as both of them bowed in unison.
"By the way, if that Senior Han returns to our pagoda, then notify us right away so we can attend to him in person," one of the elders instructed right as the teleportation formation was about to be activated.
"Yes!"
The two shopkeepers extended respectful bows once again, following which the pair of Spatial Tempering Stage elders vanished from the formation amid a flash of white light.
"Hehe, looks like you'll have your hands full Brother Huang. Having said that, you have some strong ties with the Zhao Family, so I'm sure you'll be able to handle this," the middle-aged man chuckled before also teleporting away.
The brocade-robed elderly man's expression darkened even further, and he stood on the spot for a long while before grumbling to himself, "Looks like I'll have no choice but to pay the Zhao Family a visit to explain the situation and find another slave that fits his requirements, but that's not going to be easy!"
Meanwhile, Han Li had already gotten onto a small beast-drawn carriage with the yellow-robed young woman, and the carriage was racing along the street.
Han Li sat at the center of the carriage, meditating with his eyes closed, while the yellow-robed young woman was cowering in a corner, surreptitiously appraising Han Li with a fearful expression.
Following what had happened in the Myriad Slave Tower, she was naturally already aware that Han Li was a devilish lord. However, Han Li's youthful and ordinary appearance struck her with a sense of bewilderment.
In any case, a Body Integration Stage being was something that she had never thought that she would encounter. With him as her master, the final trace of hope she had harbored for making an escape was completely dashed.
As such, she was plunged into a state of horror and despair, and she shuddered to imagine what unspeakable horrors awaited her.
Han Li didn't use any secret technique to glean the young woman's thoughts, but he could roughly guess what she was thinking.
He appeared to be quite calm and collected, but his emotions were also in a tumultuous state, and images of a white-robed beauty surfaced in his mind over and over again.
Some of the images were quite blurry and indistinct, while others were crystal clear, as if they had been captured just a day ago. Even with Han Li's mental fortitude, he couldn't help but have his emotions swayed by these images.
However, he didn't forcibly eradicate these images through the use of any secret techniques, and merely basked in the bittersweet sensation of missing a loved one.
After a long while, the carriage finally stopped, and the driver's respectful voice rang out from outside.
"Senior, we've arrived at your requested destination."
Han Li took a deep breath to repress his tumultuous emotions as he opened his eyes, then made his way out of the carriage in an unhurried manner.
Even though Han Li hadn't called out to her, the yellow-robed young woman still gritted her teeth and decided to follow along after a brief moment of hesitation.
She
was quite smart, and she knew that she was completely at Han Li's mercy, so it was in her best interest to act in an obedient manner. Otherwise, with Han Li's unfathomable cultivation base, there were countless ways for him to make her regret she had ever been born!
Han Li tossed a devil stone to the coach driver, then cast his gaze forward as a pleased look appeared on his face.
He was currently situated in front of a mountain face that was over 10,000 feet tall, and there were a series of pavilions and cave abodes constructed along the mountain face.
At the very front of these buildings was a massive entrance that was several hundred feet tall with a plaque that read "Holy Spirit Courtyard" in large silver characters.
Inside the pavilion was a black wooden table, upon which an elderly devilish man was taking a nap. There were several child servants standing in silence nearby, not daring to wake up the elderly devilish man.
Han Li cast a cold gaze toward the elderly man, and his lips tremored slightly.
In the next instant, the elderly sprang up from the table, and hurriedly yelled, "Please forgive me for my rudeness, Senior!"
He then immediately caught sight of Han Li and the yellow-robed young woman before rushing over to them with a wide smile.
Not long after that, Han Li and the young woman appeared in a pavilion that had been constructed along the mountain face.
Half of the pavilion was situated inside the stone face while the other half was protruding out of the mountain, and it had been constructed with a restriction that could completely isolate the pavilion from the outside world, making it very popular among high-grade beings who liked to travel alone.
This Holy Spirit Courtyard was specifically designated for high-grade devilish beings to reside in, but the rental fees here were significantly more expensive than other similar places, so there weren't many high-grade devilish beings living here.
Not long ago, Han Li had used his spiritual sense to roughly assess all of the levels and the structure of the pavilion, and he had been quite pleased with what he had seen. Thus, he issued some devil stones to the elderly devilish man and rented this pavilion for an entire year.
At this point, Han Li had activated all of the pavilion's restrictions and taken the young woman to the highest level, then sat down calmly onto a futon before indicating for the young woman to take a seat across from him.
The young woman was naturally still feeling extremely uneasy, but she didn't dare to disobey his instructions.
After that, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to release several tens of formation flags, all of which vanished into the nearby space in a flash.
In the next instant, an azure light barrier appeared to encompass the entire pavilion, and only then did Han Li turn toward the young woman with a smile before thrusting a palm toward her.
An immense burst of magic power erupted out of his palm and instantly destroyed the restrictions within the young woman's body.
As a result, the devilish symbols on her skin instantly vanished, and her magic power was free to circulate through her meridians again. She was naturally ecstatic to sense this, yet before she could say anything, Han Li asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Zhu Guo'er," the young woman replied after only a brief hesitation.
"I can see that you don't have any devilish Qi within your body; you're a pure human, right? Did you enter this realm of your own volition or were you captured and taken here from the Spirit Realm?" Han Li asked.
"I guess you can say I entered this realm on my own," the young woman replied.
Han Li was rather taken aback to hear this, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he asked, "How did you manage to do that? With your cultivation base, you don't possess the ability to traverse through space; did you enter this realm with someone else?"
"No, I entered this realm on my own."
"I see, that's rather interesting. Who taught you the Greater Incarnation Arts that you're using?" Han Li asked.
The yellow-robed young woman hesitated momentarily before replying, "I see you've heard of this cultivation art, Senior. It was taught to me by my mother."
"Who is your mother, and how did she obtain this Greater Incarnation Arts?" Han Li asked as his expression changed slightly.
The yellow-robed young woman was clearly quite reluctant to answer this question.
Chapter 2055: Small Spirit Sky
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he continued, "You're currently in the reincarnation phase, so your true cultivation base isn't at the Core Formation Stage, is it?"
"I should've known that you'd be able to identify this considering you're aware of the existence of the Greater Incarnation Arts," Zhu Guo'er conceded as her expression darkened slightly.
"What's your original cultivation base? Nascent Soul Stage or Deity Transformation Stage?" Han Li asked.
Zhu Guo'er bit down on her lower lip for a moment before replying, "I am at the Nascent Soul Stage. If I hadn't been stuck in the reincarnation phase, then I wouldn't have been captured."
"I can see that you're truly quite young, yet you've already cultivated the Greater Incarnation Arts to quite an impressive degree. Aside from your brilliant aptitude, I assume you must be receiving guidance from someone who's extremely adept at using the same cultivation art. Your mother must be at quite an advanced stage in this cultivation art as well, right?" Han Li asked.
Zhu Guo'er's expression changed a few times before she finally gritted her teeth, and said, "If you want to ask about me, then I can tell you anything you want to know, but if you want to ask about my mother, then I have nothing to say."
"Oh? You're a very good daughter, but do you think I won't be able to find out just because you refuse to tell me?" Han Li asked with a faint smile.
A thought immediately occurred to the young woman upon hearing this, and her face turned deathly pale as she drastically sped up the circulation of her own true essence, as if she really were planning to self-detonate at any moment. "If you're going to use a soul search technique on me, then I'd sooner detonate my own Nascent Soul than let you have your way!"
However, Han Li merely chuckled, "You'll have to ask for my permission if you want to self-detonate in my presence!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, he swept a sleeve toward the young woman in a nonchalant manner, releasing a burst of grey light that encompassed her entire body.
As a result, Zhu Guo'er was instantly immobilized and rendered completely unable to muster up any magic power. The true essence that she had gathered in her dantian had also completely faded, so self-detonation was completely out of her grasp.
"What did you do to me?" Zhu Guo'er yelled in rage and horror.
"Nothing, all I want is for you to answer my questions truthfully. Now then, look into my eyes," Han Li said in a calm voice.
"What? Your eyes..." Zhu Guo'er was quite young, but she still knew that she definitely shouldn't follow Han Li's instructions. However, she found herself completely unable to resist his wishes as she raised her head to meet his gaze.
All of a sudden, blue light flashed through Han Li's eyes, and Zhu Guo'ers consciousness immediately began to fade as her eyelids suddenly became extraordinarily heavy.
However, before she could do anything, she had already fallen unconscious.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged upon seeing this, and he cast an incantation seal toward Zhu Guo'er while the blue light in his eyes became even brighter.
If one could peer into Zhu Guo'er's body right now, they would discover that her Nascent Soul had been completely bound by layers of grey light threads, and it was also in an unconscious state.
In the instant that the azure incantation seal vanished into Zhu Guo'er's body, her eyelids fluttered as she opened her eyes again, but they were completely glazed over and as lifeless as those of a puppet.
"Where did you learn your Greater Incarnation Arts from?" Han Li asked in a compelling voice as blue light flickered within his eyes.
"From my mother," Zhu Guo'er replied in a clear voice despite her wooden expression.
"Who normally instructs you in your cultivation? Is your mother using the same cultivation art?"
"My mother instructs me, but she cultivates the Clear Qi Arts instead."
Han Li was rather surprised to hear this, but his tone remained unchanged as he asked, "Clear Qi Arts? That's quite common among Buddhist cultivators. What cultivation base is your mother at? She must possess quite an advanced cultivation base for her to be able to instruct you in the Greater Incarnation Arts even without cultivating it herself."
"My mother is only at the Nascent Soul Stage. As for her ability to guide me..." Zhu Guo'er's voice suddenly trailed off here as a slightly lost look appeared on her face.
Han Li's heart stirred upon seeing this, and he immediately asked, "Is there something out of the ordinary about the way that your mother is instructing you?"
"Indeed. Everything was quite normal before I reached the Nascent Soul Stage, but after that, my mother is often unable to answer my cultivation questions on the spot and can only provide answers several days later. I suspect that there's a master of the Greater Incarnation Arts behind my mother."Han Li's heart rate immediately began to speed up upon hearing this. "Have you asked your mother whether this is the case?"
"I have on many occasions, but my mother always denied it."
"What is your mother's name, and what does she look like?" Han Li asked with furrowed brows.
"My mother is Ling Feixian, and she bears a strong resemblance to me," Zhu Guo'er replied.
Han Li fell into silent contemplation for a long while upon hearing this before finally shaking his head as he murmured something to himself. After a while, a thought occurred to him, and he asked, "How did you enter the Elder Devil Realm, and where did you come from before you came here?"
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1184