Chapter 1177: Hua Yu Sect

Volume 6: Heavenly Spiritual Treasures

"So, Elder Cheng has already returned."

Han Li murmured to himself, then looked up at the ceiling of the cave, seemingly lost in thought.

The ceiling of the cave had apparently been pierced by cultivators from the Ghost Spirit Sect, but after a hundred years, there was no sign of repair.

Seeing Han Li's distracted look, the burly man surnamed Meng dared not show any unusual reaction, maintaining a respectful demeanor on his face.

Suddenly, without any warning, Han Li flicked his sleeve, and a wave of pure light swept towards the big man's head.

The big man shivered, but before he could even think, his eyes went black, and he fell unconscious.

Han Li looked at the unconscious big man on the ground, then suddenly turned his hand and pointed repeatedly at the magical formation behind him. Several golden sword streaks shot out instantly.

With a loud boom, the formation shattered into pieces amidst the sword light, then vanished without a trace, leaving a large pit in the ground.

Since the formation on the Scattered Star Seas side had been repaired by him, there was no need for this teleportation formation to exist anymore. Otherwise, if anyone else had a Great Teleportation Talisman, they could also teleport to the Scattered Star Seas.

Han Li intended to keep this shortcut under his own control and had no intention of sharing it with others. He now understood the structure of this teleportation formation perfectly and could re-establish it at the original location whenever necessary.

Anyway, with his current financial resources, the materials required to set up a teleportation formation, which had once seemed an astronomical sum to him, were no longer an issue.

After completing all of this, Han Li extended a single hand towards the fallen big man.

A powerful suction force pulled the man's head into his grasp. Then, with a glint in his eyes, Han Li began to perform a secret technique.

After a while, Han Li loosened his five fingers, dropping the big man surnamed Meng to the ground. He spoke to himself with a blank expression:

"Consider yourself lucky. I never go back on my word. Although I won't kill you, the memory of you seeing me emerge from the teleportation formation must naturally be erased."

Han Li had instantly cast a spell to alter the man's memory, making him only remember that an unknown high-level cultivator had suddenly descended, instantly killing the others, and that the ancient teleportation formation had been accidentally destroyed in the aftermath of the attack.

With Han Li's current cultivation, unless a Spirit Transformation cultivator intervened, it would be utterly impossible for anyone to undo the restrictions he had placed, so he was completely at ease. After finishing all this, Han Li released a few fireballs, reducing the corpses of the Demonic Flame Sect cultivators to ashes. Then, a dazzling azure light erupted from his body, enveloping the young girl behind him. They transformed into a streak of azure rainbow and shot skyward.

With an earth-shattering boom, the cave ceiling, repaired by the Ghost Spirit Sect, was pierced through. The azure rainbow flashed and soared to the surface. Then, the escape light spiraled once, flickered a few times, and vanished without a trace. While the other Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators were greatly alarmed, scrambling to find the unconscious big man surnamed Meng in the cave, and a chaotic sneak attack by the Demonic Flame Sect was inadvertently thwarted, Han Li had already flown swiftly towards the State of Xi.

With Han Li's current cultivation, his escape light was incredibly fast. Even without using his full power, its speed was astonishing.

The cultivators he occasionally encountered on his journey usually saw a flash of azure light in the distance one moment, and the next moment, that same azure light incredibly appeared far behind them. Only then would a faint sound of air being torn reach their ears.

These cultivators were all startled. Those with higher cultivation naturally knew they had encountered a senior expert with great divine abilities, and their hearts were filled with awe. Those with lower cultivation were suspicious, thinking they had encountered some demons or ghosts in broad daylight.

Several days later, Han Li flew out of the State of Yue and entered the territory of the State of Yuanwu.

After flying for two days in the State of Yuanwu, Han Li suddenly remembered something. After a slight hesitation, his escape light changed direction, and he shot off in another direction with Tian Qin'er, temporarily altering his itinerary.

Near an isolated peak in a remote part of the State of Yuanwu, an azure light flashed in the sky. A dazzling azure rainbow, over ten zhang long, pierced through the air. In the blink of an eye, it arrived above the mountain. The spiritual light converged, and the figures of Han Li and Tian Qin'er appeared. Han Li glanced down at the solitary peak, a look of emotion on his face. Then, his divine sense swept downwards, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

This was the mountain peak where Xin Ruoyin had once lived in seclusion. Although it looked as if nothing had changed, Xin Ruoyin’s former hermitage was now filled with the auras of many cultivators, mostly at the Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment stages, but there were also two Core Formation cultivators.

However, some of the formations and restrictions Xin Ruoyin had set up still existed. The area below was covered in thick white mist, making it impossible to see the situation inside clearly.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, falling into silent contemplation.

"Master, is something wrong?" Tian Qin'er blinked her eyes and asked cautiously from the side.

"Nothing. It's only been a few years, but I didn't expect this place to have so many uninvited guests," Han Li replied blandly. However, the young girl vaguely saw a hint of displeasure on Han Li's face, and she wisely refrained from asking further questions.

However, Han Li turned to look at the young girl and then unexpectedly asked her:

"What do you think of this mountain?"

"This mountain? Although the spiritual energy here is a bit thin, the scenery is quite good," Tian Qin'er, completely confused, carefully observed for a moment, then hesitated and replied.

"Oh! This was the residence of an old acquaintance of mine from years ago!" A trace of disappointment flashed across Han Li's face, but it quickly returned to normal. Then, he raised a single hand.

With a soft pop, a crimson fireball suddenly appeared.

Then, with an impassive expression, the fireball spun rapidly in Han Li's palm, its size expanding at an incredible speed. In almost a single breath, it grew to the size of a washbasin, truly astonishing.

Han Li coldly glanced below, then, with a wave of his hand, the fireball transformed into a rolling ball of red light, descending like a shooting star from the sky. It flashed and instantly crashed into the mist.

The surrounding mist churned violently. With a "boom," a cloud of fire erupted within the white mist. The fire waves rolled outwards, forcefully blasting a hole over ten zhang wide through the restriction, and it was still rapidly expanding as the white mist rapidly dissipated.

The entire restriction was actually broken by Han Li's single fireball with such ease.

As the white mist cleared, everything below gradually became visible. Rows of pavilions and palaces were densely packed below, and the bamboo house Xin Ruoyin had built back then was completely gone.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression darkened.

However, the immense commotion caused by Han Li naturally startled all the cultivators in the area, and they instantly discovered the two figures of Han Li suspended motionless in the high air.

Immediately, more than a dozen cultivators instantly rode their artifacts into the sky, heading straight for Han Li.

But at that moment, a clear voice suddenly came from a mountain wall below:

"Which esteemed senior has graced our Huayu Sect with their presence? This one, Guan Qing, apologizes for not welcoming you sooner." As the voice faded, a red light flashed out from the mountain wall, surprisingly arriving before Han Li ahead of the Foundation Establishment cultivators below. The spiritual light converged, revealing a middle-aged cultivator dressed in scholarly robes. This was one of the Core Formation cultivators Han Li had sensed.

And from the top of the highest pavilion below, another mass of yellow light simultaneously flew out. Its speed was no slower, and after a few flashes, it followed closely behind the red light. It was a thick-legged old man with dark skin, whose physique was unusually robust.

This was naturally the other Core Formation cultivator.

By this time, the Foundation Establishment cultivators had flown closer, standing behind the two with extreme solemnity, clearly taking the scholar and the old man as their leaders.

"Huayu Sect? Never heard of it. Is it a newly established sect?" Han Li's eyebrow twitched as he said blandly, suddenly releasing astonishing spiritual pressure, and a soaring aura pressed down on the two opposite him.

The scholar and the old man were startled, then their expressions changed drastically as they retreated several steps, only then regaining their footing.

"Nascent Soul cultivator?" The scholar cried out in a choked voice.

"Senior is a late-stage Grand Cultivator?" The black-skinned old man swept his divine sense over Han Li, and an incredibly shocked expression appeared on his face as he cried out even more alarmingly.

His divine sense was indeed strong enough to instantly discern Han Li's cultivation, which was not concealed, causing him to turn pale with fright.

"Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator?" The scholar was equally startled and also swept his divine sense over.

Han Li stood with his hands behind his back, expressionlessly observing the two.

When the scholar had also swept his divine sense, his face was certainly no better than the old man's. The two immediately exchanged glances, then almost simultaneously stepped forward and bowed deeply. Then, the old man spoke with extreme reverence:

"Junior pays respects to Senior! Our sect was only recently established. May I ask if Senior has any instructions for our sect's presence here? Whatever Senior commands, our sect will do its utmost to achieve." The scholar also wore a respectful expression. Facing a Grand Cultivator who could annihilate their entire sect with a mere gesture, the two were truly terrified and deeply uneasy.

After all, Han Li's action of breaking the restriction earlier was not a very good omen.

And the group of Foundation Establishment cultivators behind them, seeing their masters and senior martial brothers suddenly become like this, and hearing the words "late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator" and so on, also stirred before everyone became so quiet they dared not breathe, all showing expressions of extreme nervousness.

After all, for these low-level cultivators, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator was almost the limit of the human world, a realm everyone dreamed of cultivating to.

"Since it's a newly established sect, there should be another Nascent Soul cultivator. Where is your master?" Han Li swept his gaze over the cultivators and asked coldly.

"My master, True Person Huang Yao, left to visit a friend a month ago. My senior brother and I are currently in charge of the sect," the old man replied, steeling himself.

"Not here, that's fine. When did you move here? What happened to the people who originally lived here?" Han Li asked, his eyes flickering a few times.

"Our sect moved here seventy years ago. As for the people who originally lived here..." The old man froze upon hearing this, and couldn't help but glance at the scholar.

The scholar was equally startled by Han Li's question, but immediately shouted without turning his head:

"Feng Zhi! Come here, Senior has a question for you!" As his words fell, the group of Foundation Establishment cultivators' gazes instantly, with a swoosh, all fell upon one of their members.

It was a scholarly-looking old man in his sixties.

And this cultivator named "Feng Zhi" also had a look of surprise on his face at this moment.