Chapter 1017: Casting Spirit Hall

The big man and his companions’ expressions subtly shifted. Immediately, the four huddled together, whispering.

At the same time, the old man surnamed Fu's voice transmission echoed in Han Li's ear:

“It seems that now this formation is broken, our alliance has dissolved. Brother Han, what are your plans now?”

Han Li glanced at the old man not far away. After a brief moment of thought, he too transmitted his voice, his lips barely moving.

“There are so many paths leading from here. I also plan to act alone now. As long as I avoid the particularly conspicuous locations, there shouldn't be any danger.”

“So that's how it is! But I dare not act alone. If secretly ambushed by the Silver-winged Yaksha and the Lion-Beast, I wouldn't be able to protect myself. Fellow Daoist Bai and I will choose the same stone staircase. Whether we find anything will depend on our individual fortunes.” After a brief silence, the old man replied with a bitter smile.

This elder of the Nine Nether Sect harbored no resentment. After all, with so many people seeking treasures, it was indeed impractical for multiple individuals to search the same area. Otherwise, if a rare treasure did appear, a fierce struggle would be inevitable.

And Han Li's divine abilities were clearly far superior to both his and Bai Yaoyi's. It was better to simply part ways here.

“Brother Fu, Fellow Daoist Han! We're off.” They seemed to have concluded their discussion on that side. The big man immediately called out to them, then, forming two pairs, they briefly circled several steles before dividing into two groups and flying towards two of the stone staircases.

Soon after, their figures vanished into the distant spiritual mist, disappearing from view.

At this point, the old man surnamed Fu and Bai Yaoyi concluded their private voice transmission. After bidding farewell to Han Li, they then chose a stone staircase no one had yet taken, and eagerly departed using their movement technique.

On the vast square, in moments, only Han Li remained.

Looking at the empty surroundings, Han Li's face showed a cold smile as his gaze swept across the steles.

Aside from the paths taken by previous groups and places like 'Kunwu Hall' and 'Demon Suppressing Pagoda,' which clearly indicated important Kunwu Mountain locations, the remaining destinations were all ambiguous, making it impossible to discern their true nature.

“Hui Ming Pavilion, Xiang Yun Hall, Gou Yu Pond... Spirit Forging Hall. Could it be related to artifact refining?” Han Li's gaze paused, settling on a particular stele.

Although he knew that places like Kunwu Hall and Spirit Treasure Pavilion were more likely to contain significant treasures, many cultivators would undoubtedly head there. He had no interest in risking his life for that.

Since he had already acquired the Spirit Nurturing Pill, safely escaping this place was now his top priority.

Han Li thought to himself. He figured there was a high probability no one would choose the Spirit Forging Hall, and he felt a certain interest in it. With a flicker of his figure, he stepped onto the stone staircase behind the stele and ascended the mountain.

Shortly after Han Li's figure vanished, a yellow light flickered in the center of the square, and the Silver-winged Yaksha, the Ugly Woman, and the Lion-Beast—three demonic beings—simultaneously materialized within the glow.

“The Earth Evasion Technique can only take us this far. Any further, and we'll trigger the underground restrictions.” The Silver-winged Yaksha retracted its aura. It turned its head to gaze at the stone staircase leading to Kunwu Hall and spoke slowly.

“The spiritual energy fluctuations lingering here are very strong. It seems those human cultivators have just breached those formations,” the Ugly Woman added, placing her hands on her hips.

Just then, the Lion-Beast suddenly let out two low growls. It then spread its wings, flew into the low sky, circled several steles consecutively a few times, and returned.

“Someone has already gone to these places! Tsk tsk, Fellow Daoist Lion-Beast, your sense of smell truly is keen.” The Silver-winged Yaksha was momentarily startled, then chuckled.

“This is perfect. Those human cultivators are acting separately. It will be easier for me to snatch their life-bound spirit tokens. However, if the cultivators entering Kunwu Hall aren't powerful enough, they might not be able to breach its restrictions.” The Ugly Woman's brow furrowed, and she grew worried again.

“Hmph, it doesn't matter. If these humans fail, I'll secretly assist them. As long as we avoid the few restrictions that specifically counter us, we are quite confident we can break the others,” the Silver-winged Yaksha declared with an air of certainty.

“In that case, let's go. First, let's see who chose this stone staircase. Brother Yaksha, among the three of us, your concealment art is the most profound. Please use it to obscure our forms,” the Ugly Woman said brazenly.

“Understood.” The Silver-winged Yaksha assented indifferently.

Then, with a slight tremor of the wings on its back, a surge of silver mist erupted. The three creatures were simultaneously enveloped. Then, with a flash of light, the demonic beings vanished from sight.

Meanwhile, at the stone pavilion halfway up Kunwu Mountain, a five-colored peacock had just emerged halfway from a light barrier...

Han Li, naturally, was unaware of any of this.

At this moment, he moved with light steps. His figure, as if weightless, drifted several tens of feet away. After turning a few corners, the white jade plaza was long out of sight.

On both sides of the stone staircase were some tall spiritual trees. Among them were some Han Li recognized and others he had never seen.

He observed them with a degree of interest.

These trees had grown on Kunwu Mountain for untold millennia. Even what were once ordinary spiritual woods had now become top-grade artifact refining materials.

However, Han Li naturally wouldn't slow his pace for these items. After walking for about a quarter of an hour, a scene suddenly opened up before him.

In the distance, he faintly discerned a vast expanse of pavilions.

Han Li's face lit up with a hint of joy, and he immediately accelerated his pace, reaching the end of the stone staircase in an instant. However, his expression shifted, and he promptly halted.

Because a layer of white light barrier stretched across his path. Looking through the barrier, he saw a colossal azure wall, six or seven zhang tall, which completely obscured what lay beyond. But facing the stone staircase was a tall stele building, through which he could faintly see a vast array of buildings behind the wall. And on the prominent top of the stele building, the characters 'Spirit Forging Hall' were inscribed in silver powder.

Han Li's gaze swept around. The light barrier was unusually vast, encompassing the entire manor-like Spirit Forging Hall, leaving no clever way to bypass it.

It seemed the ancient cultivators who sealed this mountain had activated all its restrictions before departing, safeguarding everything within. Perhaps they had hoped for a chance to return one day.

He thought indifferently, but he wasted no time. With a flick of his sleeve, a golden light shot forth, striking the light barrier with force.

With a crisp crackling sound, the light transformed from the flying sword, relying on its sharpness, forcibly cut about a foot deep into the light barrier, but was nevertheless forced to halt.

The temporarily breached barrier pulsed with bright white light and began to mend itself instantly.

He frowned, then raised a hand and pointed at the light barrier. With a 'whoosh,' the flying sword instantly shot back, and the breached light barrier sealed itself once more.

Gazing at the light barrier, which was at least a zhang thick, Han Li estimated that even attacking with the Grand Sword Art would likely be ineffective. After all, barrier-type restrictions like this, if not destroyed in a single strike, can almost instantly restore themselves.

Of course, if he were so inclined, he could also release his Gold Devouring Beetles to slowly consume the spiritual energy of the barrier. He estimated that, given a few days, they could also break this restriction.

But how could he afford to wait patiently for so long?

With a slight calculation, he immediately made up his mind. He patted his storage pouch at his waist, and a fist-sized ball of light shot out. After a single rotation, it revealed an ancient-looking feather fan, its surface constantly shimmering with gold, silver, and red spiritual light.

He beckoned to the air, and the fan descended with a phoenix cry, settling into Han Li's hand.

Then, without hesitation, he rubbed the fan with both hands. With a burst of light, it expanded to several feet in size.

Han Li held the treasure fan in one hand, his eyes coldly fixed on the light barrier before him, and gave the fan a slight shake.

With a 'poof,' with him deliberately controlling the spiritual energy within his body, although a surge of three-colored flames also gushed out from the fan, this time, the fire did not transform into a fire phoenix. Instead, it directly sprayed onto the light barrier. The result was that wherever the flames touched, it was like spring sunlight melting snow; the light barrier rapidly melted away at a visible pace, and in an instant, a large opening appeared in the barrier.

Han Li's eyes flashed. He retrieved the Three-Flame Fan, and his figure instantly transformed into a green rainbow, shooting directly through the light barrier.

The green rainbow's light faded, and Han Li materialized before the stele building, then turned to glance back.

He saw that in just that short time, the light barrier was already beginning to reseal itself.

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Han Li's mouth. It seemed he would have to expend more effort when leaving.

Thinking of this, he checked the spiritual energy within his body. Although he had prior experience using the Three-Flame Fan, and had only utilized a fraction of its power this time, he had still lost nearly one-third of his spiritual energy.

He shook his head, turned, and strode towards the bell tower pavilion behind the stone wall.

The few pavilions in front were of the same style: all were two-story structures, small buildings over ten zhang tall. Han Li casually walked into one near the entrance and found it was empty, with practically nothing inside apart from some tables and chairs. It appeared to be a place solely for resting.

It seemed that even if there had been any personal belongings, they had long since been cleared away when the ancient cultivators evacuated.

Though he had anticipated this, Han Li still let out a silent sigh.

As a result, he didn't hold much hope for the other pavilions either.

And indeed, after circling a few other identical pavilions, he found nothing.

The other stone houses below, which resembled warehouses, were also completely empty.

Neither the stone shelves nor the stone platforms inside, nor the massive metal chests, were anything but empty; not even a shadow of artifact refining materials could be seen. This left Han Li, who had explored a small portion of the area, feeling quite vexed.

When Han Li emerged from the last stone house, he found himself standing before a stone hall.

This stone hall didn't look very big; it seemed to be about a hundred zhang wide, but its entire structure was scarlet, as if a layer of flames perpetually burned across its surface.

“Spirit Transformation Hall.”

Han Li gazed at the fiery red plaque hanging above the hall's entrance and softly murmured its name.

Even from outside the stone hall, a scorching aura wafted out and enveloped him.

His heart stirred, and he promptly walked inside with his hands clasped behind his back.