Chapter 1281: Entering the Node

Han Li stood beneath the light cluster, looking up at the sky with a solemn expression.

Nangong Wan stood silently beside him.

The others also remained silent, seemingly waiting for something. Among them were Tian Qin'er and Shi Jian, another disciple who had become the leader of the Nian Zhu Sect.

"Master, will Senior Phoenix truly arrive today? If we wait past noon to unseal it, there might be some trouble," Tian Qin'er, standing behind Han Li and Nangong Wan, whispered after an unknown period of time.

"Don't worry, Fairy Phoenix sent word a month ago. She will definitely arrive today," Han Li replied without turning his head.

Hearing Han Li's words, Tian Qin'er stopped speaking and simply continued to wait.

A little while later, Han Li's eyebrow twitched, and he suddenly turned his head to look at the sea mist to one side.

Seeing Han Li's action, the others couldn't help but stir.

Moments later, a melodious clear cry came from the direction Han Li was looking. Immediately, the sea mist churned, and a crystal-clear, snow-white ice phoenix, several meters long, flew out from within.

The phoenix's evasion speed was peculiar; with just a few beats of its wings, it instantly appeared above everyone. Then, a brilliant cold light erupted, and it transformed into a silver-robed woman, descending from the sky.

"I'm not too late, am I?" the woman said lightly, her gaze sweeping over everyone's faces before finally resting on Han Li.

"Of course not! Qin'er, begin the unsealing. Fellow Daoist Phoenix, let's go aside and place restrictions on each other!" Han Li turned to instruct, then said with a smile to the ice phoenix.

With a flash of escape light, he transformed into a streak of green rainbow and vanished into the dense mist to one side.

The silver-robed woman raised an eyebrow, similarly transforming into a silver rainbow and following him.

Nangong Wan stood in place, watching the direction where the two had vanished, a hint of worry flickering in her brows.

At this moment, Tian Qin'er directed a dozen or so cultivators to rise into the air. They flew to positions beneath the massive light cluster, forming a peculiar array. Then, spiritual light flashed in their hands, revealing various magical artifacts such as formation plates and banners.

As Tian Qin'er let out a soft cry, these cultivators simultaneously raised their formation banners and plates. A dazzling light erupted, emitting either beams of light or wisps of radiant mist, all disappearing into the light cluster.

With these cultivators, she began to unseal the node.

Time slowly passed. As the seal gradually loosened, the previously blurry light cluster began to become clear and dazzling. Its color also transformed from gray to a brilliant white, as if a scorching sun had emerged.

The blinding light was so intense that even a grand cultivator like Nangong Wan couldn't help but squint, daring not to look directly at it for too long.

As for the cultivators responsible for unsealing, including Tian Qin'er, they had long since closed their eyes, relying solely on their spiritual sense to manipulate the magical artifacts in their hands.

Just then, a large hand suddenly rested on Nangong Wan's shoulder, and a man's deep voice sounded in her ear:

"What's wrong? Still worried?"

Nangong Wan was startled at first, but then her body relaxed, and she turned back with a forced smile.

Behind her, Han Li was looking at her with a smile.

"Of course, there's worry. But pursuing the Grand Dao is inherently defying the heavens. Seeking that sliver of life between life and death leaves no room for regret. By the way, have you and Fellow Daoist Phoenix finished setting up the restrictions?" Nangong Wan first sighed softly, then asked with concern.

"The restrictions are all set. They are 'dead restrictions' that can't be lifted by anyone else unless the caster personally removes them. This way, she and I don't have to worry about each other playing any tricks," Han Li replied with a wry smile.

"Hmph, as long as you don't play tricks behind my back, why would I do anything?" A flash of white light behind Han Li, and the silver-robed woman tore directly out of thin air.

"Fellow Daoist Phoenix, it's not wise to use spatial abilities casually right now. It's better to conserve more magic power to deal with the dangers within the spatial node," Han Li said with a frown.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Perhaps due to the mutual restrictions, the ice phoenix did not speak coldly, and her expression was much softer than before.

Han Li smiled faintly, said nothing more, and stepped forward to stand with Nangong Wan, looking up at the unsealing in the air.

The silver-robed woman also fell silent.

A full fifteen minutes passed. When the light cluster in the sky reached its blinding peak, a low, muffled thunder echoed. The white light receded, and the light cluster instantly transformed into a pitch-black hole, as deep as ink. There wasn't a single ray of light within, as if it were the gaping maw of a monstrous beast waiting to devour people.

Han Li's heart tightened. The silver-robed woman, seeing this, also had a strange glint in her phoenix eyes, but she said without hesitation:

"Fellow Daoist Han, let us depart."

Immediately, silver light flickered around her body, and she slowly drifted towards the black hole.

Han Li's mouth twitched. He slapped his storage pouch with one hand, and with a flash of silver light, another "Han Li" appeared before him.

It was the humanoid puppet.

Without a word, Han Li raised one hand and swiftly slapped the humanoid puppet's head.

With a soft puff, a pitch-black Nascent Soul, as dark as ink, emerged from the puppet's head. With a flash of dark light, it shot into Han Li's body and disappeared.

Han Li then gently pointed at the puppet, and immediately, the puppet radiated silver light, its form shrinking rapidly.

Almost simultaneously, he flicked his other sleeve, and two blue cauldrons and a cluster of three-colored Qi flames also flew out, hovering in front of him.

"Wan'er, these treasures won't be of much use to me for passing through the spatial node. You don't know what tribulations you might face in the Human Realm; these things can help you. Keep them safe," Han Li said, sweeping his long sleeve. A wave of green mist surged out, pushing the four treasures towards Nangong Wan.

Having spoken, Han Li's figure soared into the sky, transforming into a green rainbow and swiftly pursuing the ice phoenix.

Nangong Wan gritted her teeth, waved her slender hand, and collected the humanoid puppet and the other treasures. Then, she looked up at Han Li's disappearing back, her face somewhat pale.

At this moment, the ice phoenix stopped in front of the unfathomable black hole. Only after Han Li's green light dissipated and he reappeared behind her, did she ask without turning her head:

"What, not going to say a few more words to Fellow Daoist Nangong? I'm not in a rush to enter right away; I can give you two a bit more time."

Could it be that this Spirit Transformation demonic cultivator could actually speak with such human understanding?

"No need! Whatever words there were, Wan'er and I already said them beforehand. Now, we just need to focus on passing through the node," Han Li replied calmly, taking a deep breath.

Then, he slapped the top of his head with one hand. With a flash of green light, a small green cauldron appeared. He then lightly stomped his foot; amidst flashing emerald light, a peculiar green ruler manifested, and with a slight turn, a silver lotus shadow appeared beneath his feet.

With another casual flick of his sleeve, a silver talisman shot out. Amidst a roar, it transformed into a three-colored battle armor clinging tightly to his body. Then, seventy-two small golden swords shot out from him, turning into streaks of golden light that hovered erratically nearby.

At the same time, Han Li flipped his hands, and a gleaming golden ring and a jade umbrella several inches in size were clutched in his palms.

The silver-robed woman saw this. A hint of surprise flashed across her face, but without rushing, she shrugged her shoulder, sending out over a dozen streaks of white light. After a slight pause in the air, they revealed themselves to be sharp, crystal-clear long feathers.

They hovered briefly at a low altitude, then plunged down, forming a white curtain that protected the ice phoenix. Simultaneously, spiritual light flowed over the woman's silver robes, magically forming the pattern of "a thousand birds paying homage to the phoenix." Most astonishingly, she opened her mouth and spat out a translucent ice boat.

The boat, initially only a few inches in size upon exiting her mouth, rapidly expanded against the wind in the blink of an eye, becoming over ten meters long and stopping in front of the two.

"This Cavernous Sky Boat of mine is a top-tier defensive magical treasure, formed after tens of thousands of years of refining my own cold elemental energy. It should be able to protect us for a while at the beginning, saving us a lot of trouble," the silver-robed woman said faintly, her figure swaying as she lightly floated onto the ice boat before turning her head.

Han Li didn't stand on ceremony. With one step, he was on the ice boat, standing behind the silver-robed woman, and then spoke in a deep voice:

"Since fellow Daoist possesses such a treasure, Han will also lend a hand."

After saying this, a large expanse of gray light mist emerged from behind Han Li. Then, a dark shadow flashed within it, and a miniature mountain, about a meter in size, appeared. It was completely black and unremarkable.

The ice phoenix was startled. Before she could understand what treasure this was, the mountain spun out of the gray mist, hovered briefly, and then settled firmly onto the ice boat.

Then, Han Li formed a hand seal and activated it. The mountain emitted a large expanse of gray light, covering the entire ice boat.

Although the silver-robed woman didn't know what was peculiar about the gray light mist, she could tell it was certainly extraordinary. Without a word, she activated her spiritual sense. A layer of silver light barrier also rose from the ice boat beneath her feet, enveloped by the gray mist. Then, with a whoosh, it vanished into the black hole in an instant.

The crowd below the black hole stirred.

Everyone's eyes were wide open, fixed intently on the sky, not blinking once.

But not long after, most people grew somewhat disappointed. The black hole remained as it was at the beginning, showing no abnormalities whatsoever, calm and undisturbed.

"Qin'er, leave two disciples to guard this place. The others can go; staying here any longer is pointless," Nangong Wan finally said, withdrawing her gaze and calmly instructing Tian Qin'er.

"As you command!" Tian Qin'er respectfully responded, then raised her hand to summon two Core Formation cultivators to remain there, while the others followed Nangong Wan back to the island.

A month later, with no anomalies appearing at the node's entrance, Nangong Wan once again instructed Tian Qin'er to seal the entrance with a formation, then left several disciples to guard it, while the rest returned with her to the Scattered Stars Seas.

Han Li had not left a soul lamp for anyone, so no one, including Nangong Wan, knew whether he had successfully passed through the node and was now in the Spirit Realm, or if he had met the same fate as Xiang Zhili and the others, ultimately failing to withstand the spatial storms and cross-realm forces, perishing within the node.

This was also one of Han Li's reasons for not wanting to leave a soul lamp; after all, for those close to him, a glimmer of hope was better than none.