The woman's smile faded upon hearing this, and she gave a response that was quite a shock for Han Li. "It is indeed going to be a very troublesome task, Brother Han. If we want to obtain the true blood, we'll most likely have to face a Sacred Ancestor."
Chapter 2078: Unexpected Assailant
"A Sacred Ancestor? Are you being serious? In that case, I'd rather abandon the true spirit blood!" Han Li said with a dark expression.
"Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions, Brother Han. If there really were a Sacred Ancestor situated in the Iron Sand Ridge, we wouldn't have chosen the Illusion Howl Desert route. According to my knowledge, there is a clone of a certain Sacred Ancestor Ling Yuan situated in the Iron Sand Ridge. It seems that this Sacred Ancestor owes the Azure Wing Race a great debt and sent one of his clones to the Iron Sand Ridge permanently. You once slew a Sacred Ancestor clone during the battle of Deep Heaven City, so I'm sure you'll have no trouble against this one. Besides, as long as we exercise caution, we may not even alert this Sacred Ancestor clone," the woman from the Ye Family said.
"Just a clone, eh? It still won't be that easy to handle. According to my knowledge, Sacred Ancestors have very close connections with their clones. If the true body of this Sacred Ancestor Ling Yuan resides not far away from the Iron Sand Ridge, then he could rush over to the valley as soon as we alert his clone; it's still too risky," Han Li said with a shake of his head.
"Rest assured, Brother Han; according to the information that I've gathered, not only does this Sacred Ancestor Ling Yuan reside very far away from the Iron Sand Ridge he's been in seclusion for over 10,000 years. On top of that, other clones of his have been killed in the past, but he's still never emerged from seclusion. There are even rumors going around that his true body has already perished, and only these clones are still left. Of course, no one would dare to disrupt a Sacred Ancestor that's in seclusion, so there's no way to verify whether this is true. In any case, all you have to worry about is the clone that's situated in the Iron Sand Ridge," the woman from the Ye Family said with a smile.
Han Li's expression eased slightly as he said, "I see, that does make things a lot more feasible. However, I was only able to kill that Sacred Ancestor clone in the Spirit Realm when there were other fellow daoists restricting the clone's movements. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to stop him on my own."
"I'm naturally aware of that, which is why I borrowed a Heavensphere Bead from one of my closest friends prior to departing from the Spirit Realm. This is a one-time disposable treasure that can create an entire small world. As long as you can briefly stall the Sacred Ancestor clone, I'll be able to use the treasure to trap him for close to half a day, which will be more than enough time for us to escape. As long as we don't reveal our identities as humans, I'm sure this Sacred Ancestor clone wouldn't come after us over some true spirit blood," the woman from the Ye Family said in a confident manner.
"Looks like you really have been plotting this for a very long time. If I only need to stall the Sacred Ancestor clone for a short while, then that should be within my capabilities," Han Li replied with a nod.
The woman from the Ye Family was ecstatic to hear this, and her smile became even more pronounced.
Even though she had been plotting this since before she had departed from the Spirit Realm, there was no way that she would be able to obtain the Azure Luan True Blood without Han Li's assistance, which was why she was willing to offer such a heavy price to recruit him.
After that, the two of them began to discuss a specific plan.
Shortly thereafter, a yellow line suddenly appeared on the ground in the distance, following which a vast plateau slowly emerged in the distance.
The plateau was extremely flat and stretched for as far as the eyes could see.
Han Li was conversing with the woman from the Ye Family as the boat was flying over a certain hill when his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he cast his gaze out the window.
"Did you discover something, Brother Han?" the woman from the Ye Family asked as she also released her spiritual sense through the surrounding area in a cautious manner.
"There is an interesting low-grade devilish beast hidden within the soil down below. It was able to completely integrate itself with the aura around it, and even I almost failed to detect it," Han Li replied in a calm voice.
"Oh? That is indeed quite intriguing. Having said that, the conditions in the Elder Devil Realm are far worse than that of the Spirit Realm, so most low-grade devilish beasts have some life-saving innate abilities up their sleeves. Otherwise, they would've been hunted into extinction by the high-grade devilish beasts already," the woman replied with a smile.
Han Li merely nodded and offered no response.
At this point, the boat had already flown over the small hill down below.
Around 15 minutes later, the soil on the hill suddenly parted to reveal a hedgehog-like devilish beast that was around a foot in size. The creature had sharp grey spikes all over its body, as well as several extremely long feelers on the top of its head. Its bulging eyes stared intently at the direction that the flying boat had disappeared in, and it seemed to possess some intelligence.
A month flew by in the blink of an eye. In a mountain range that neighbored the vast plateau, there was a small town that was close to 10 kilometers in size constructed in a small patch of low-lying land.
There were no walls around the town; only a symbolic yellow wooden fence.
There were streaks of light occasionally flying over the town, either departing from the town or landing on a small plaza in the town.
However, there were several tall platforms that had been erected in the corners of the town, each of which was over 100 feet tall. There was a giant glossy black flag standing on each platform, releasing faint black Qi that enshrouded the entirety of the platforms.
There were also four or five devilish guards standing expressionlessly on each platform, and there were some winding streets around the plaza, on either side of which were some shops and restaurants run by the devilish residents of the town.
Tens of thousands of devilish beings were entering and exiting these buildings, and it seemed to be quite a lively and bustling town.
In a nondescript restaurant on the edge of the plaza, there were two devilish beings seated at a table near one of the windows, and they were resting with their eyes closed.
There was only a green wine flagon and two pristine white cups placed on the table.
A rich aroma was emanating from the wine, and it resembled red nectar, clearly indicating that it was some type of rare premium wine.
The entire level of the restaurant seemed to have been booked by these two devilish beings, as evidenced by the fact that there was no one else around.
"They should be here soon, right?" a burly man with a pair of thick-brows and several small braids in his hair suddenly asked his companion with a hint of impatience in his eyes.
His companion was a refined middle-aged daoist priest, and he opened his eyes before replying, "According to Yan Mo, our suspected targets emerged from the Illusion Howl Desert around a month ago, but they split up and went their separate ways immediately thereafter, so we only have to take care of two of them. Judging by the length of the journey they have to make to get here, they should be here soon. This Earth Dragon Town is the only place in the nearby area where one can stay and rest. If they're coming in this direction, then they'll definitely stop at this town for a while."
"Hmph, what if they don't need to rest or replenish their supplies and simply fly over this town? Wouldn't we have waited all this time for nothing then?" the burly man harrumphed coldly.
"Hehe, rest assured, Brother Luo. This is the closest town to the Illusion Howl Desert in this area. If they really are our targets, then they would've spent several decades in the Illusion Howl Desert prior to this; how could they not stop at the nearest place where they could replenish their supplies? Even if they don't need to reple
nish their supplies, they still have to learn about what's been happening the past few decades, so they'll definitely make a stop here," the middle-aged scholar reassured in a confident manner.
"That makes sense, but I still don't believe you," the burly man said with a roll of his eyes.
"Oh? Then how about we make a bet?" the daoist priest asked with a smile.
"What do you want to bet?" the burly man asked as a cautious look appeared on his face.
"How about we bet the compensation we've been promised for this job? If it weren't for the hefty compensation we've been offered, we wouldn't have waited here for so long," the daoist priest chuckled.
"I'm not going to make such a foolish bet with you, Brother Leng. If you change the terms of the bet, perhaps I'd be interested," the burly man said as he shook his head vigorously.
"Then what do you want to bet?" the daoist priest asked.
"How about we bet on who will defeat their target first?" the burly man proposed.
"Hehe, my powers are far inferior to yours, so there's no need for such a bet," the daoist priest chuckled in response.
"Don't be so quick to refuse, Brother Leng; perhaps my opponent will just so happen to be far more powerful than yours," the burly man urged with a smile.
"I only ever believe in myself, never in luck," the daoist priest replied in an indifferent voice.
"You're still just as boring as ever! You never take any risks; where's the fun in that?" The burly man shook his head with a disappointed expression.
The daoist priest smiled and was just about to reply when his eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately cast his gaze toward a black flying boat that was slowly descending onto the plaza.
"That's it! That flying devilish treasure is identical to the image that we've been provided!" The burly man immediately sprang to his feet before cracking his knuckles violently.
Chapter 2079: Interception
"Calm down, Fellow Daoist Luo; our targets may have arrived, but it wouldn't be a good idea to attack them in this town. Let's wait for their departure before we strike. During this time, I'll get my Shadow Chasing Insect to keep an eye on them." The daoist priest flicked a finger as he spoke, and a speck of green light shot forth before vanishing into thin air.
"Alright, we'll do as you say, Brother Leng. I wonder if our targets really are devilish lords. If so, I'll be able to test out a powerful ability that I recently mastered," the burly man chuckled before taking a seat again.
"Don't underestimate our targets, Fellow Daoist Luo; the fact that we were offered such tremendous compensation indicates that our targets are no ordinary beings. As such, it would be unwise to grow complacent," the daoist priest cautioned with a smile.
The burly man nodded in response, but his nonchalant expression clearly indicated that he hadn't heeded these words of caution at all.
The daoist priest could only shake his head with a wry smile, then cast his gaze toward the black flying boat again.
All of a sudden, a ball of piercing black light erupted out of the boat, then suddenly vanished.
In its place, a man and a woman appeared, and both of them seemed to be extremely young.
Faint purple light flashed through the daoist priest's eyes as he carefully appraised the duo, following which his brows furrowed slightly with befuddlement.
The nonchalant expression on the burly man's face had also disappeared as he caught sight of the duo. "Interesting! One of them has intentionally concealed their cultivation base, while the other's cultivation base is completely unfathomable; these two really are worthy opponents!"
"These two are no ordinary beings; we'll have to use our second plan," the daoist priest decided after a brief moment of contemplation.
"That woman is nothing special; even though she used a secret technique to conceal her cultivation base, both of us can easily tell that she's just a normal devilish lord. In contrast, that man truly is rather unfathomable; let me test out his true powers before we make a decision." The burly man was still raring to go.
"That's a good idea. I'll take on the woman, but make sure not to escalate this into a full-on battle," the daoist priest agreed after a brief pause.
The burly man nodded as a hint of ferocity appeared in his eyes.
The duo on the plaza were naturally none other than Han Li and the woman from the Ye Family.
All of a sudden, Han Li cast his gaze toward the restaurant as if he had sensed something.
He could clearly see the devilish beings dining on the other few levels, but the level that the daoist priest and burly man were situated on was concealed behind an extremely profound restriction that managed to keep out both Han Li's spirit eyes and spiritual sense.
Han Li's expression darkened slightly upon seeing this.
"Did you discover something, Brother Han?" the woman from the Ye Family asked.
"It seems that we're being scrutinized by a powerful being," Han Li replied as he slowly withdrew his gaze.
The woman from the Ye Family faltered slightly upon hearing this. "Oh? Could it be that there are devilish lords in this town?"
Her surprise was quite warranted as the probability of devilish lords appearing in such a small town really wasn't very high.
"Perhaps so. We should be able to find out soon enough if they're here to target us or not," Han Li replied calmly.
"Now that you mention it, I'm also getting a slightly uneasy feeling like I'm being watched by someone," the woman from the Ye Family said as she also cast her gaze toward the restaurant.
"Who knows? Perhaps they're not here for us. Let's replenish some Azure Devil Crystals in this town first. That flying boat of yours is indeed quite fast, but it certainly goes through a lot of these crystals," Han Li said.
"Let's leave this place as soon as we purchase the crystals. Truth be told, this is also my first time using this devilish treasure, and I didn't expect it to consume so much energy. No wonder the devilish being who sold it to me offered such a low price; this is not a very practical devilish treasure," the woman from the Ye Family replied with furrowed brows.
Han Li merely nodded and remained silent.
He didn't have any better flying devilish treasures than her. Otherwise, perhaps they wouldn’t have had to stop at this town.
After that, Han Li's duo made their way toward the shops lining the nearby streets.
Not long after that, they purchased a sufficient number of Azure Devil Crystals in one of the larger shops, then immediately summoned the flying boat before departing from the town.
Meanwhile, the daoist priest and the burly man had also disappeared without a trace, leaving only the two cups and wine flagon still sitting on the table.
Several hours later, the black flying boat stopped in mid-air hundreds of thousands of kilometers away from the town.
It had been stopped in its tracks by a burly man and a daoist priest who were standing several thousand feet in front of the boat, one of whom wore an excited expression, while the other was a lot more calm and tranquil.
Han Li and the woman from the Ye Family had also emerged from the boat and were appraising the pair of devilish beings in an expressionless manner.
"May I ask why you've stopped us, fellow daoists?" Han Li asked.
The daoist priest gave a completely farcical alibi in response. "We just so happen to be looking for some powerful sparring partners; would you care to entertain us, Fellow Daoist?"
"Are you serious? You stopped us because you wanted some sparring partners?" The eyes of the woman from the Ye Family widened slightly with rage upon hearing this.
"That's right. I can sense that you're not just a Spatial Tempering Stage being, right? I've been a devilish lord for quite some time as well; perhaps we'll both benefit from a sparring match. As for the fellow daoist accompanying you, my companion here is rather interested in him as well," the daoist priest said in a nonchalant manner.
It was clear that the daoist priest wasn't telling the t
ruth, and the woman from the Ye Family reflexively cast her gaze toward Han Li.
"You two were the ones spying on us in that town, right?" Han Li asked in a calm manner as one of his hands suddenly shot forth like lightning, grabbing onto space before pulling a pea-sized semi-transparent green spirit insect out of thin air.
The daoist priest's eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this, but he continued in a nonchalant manner, "Looks like you really do possess remarkable powers, fellow daoist; I had only sent out that spirit insect as I was afraid that we would lose you."
"Hmph, you want us to fight you over such a disingenuous alibi? Do you think this is child's play?" A cold look flashed through Han Li's eyes as a burst of crimson flames erupted out of his hand, instantly incinerating the spirit insect into ashes.
"You have no choice in the matter!" the burly man chortled in response.
The woman from the Ye Family stepped forward with an enraged expression and was just about to say something, but Han Li raised a hand to stop her before continuing in a cold voice, "I'm fine with a sparring match, but if you lose, you have to tell us the real reason why you're targeting us. Otherwise, this will become a battle to the death, and you'll regret ever having crossed me."
Both the burly man and the daoist priest's expressions changed slightly upon hearing this.
They could tell that Han Li was being serious from the baleful aura that was emanating from his body.
The middle-aged daoist priest was quite decisive, and he only contemplated the matter for a brief moment before agreeing, "Sure, if you two can defeat us, then we'll come clean."
"Alright, then please enlighten me, fellow daoists. Fairy Ye, please keep a lookout so no one can interrupt our battle," Han Li instructed.
"Brother Han, you..." The woman was quite surprised to hear this, and she was just about to say something in response when Han Li transmitted his voice to her.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1197