Chapter 1632: Qi Shadow

"Are you certain that place will open within these two years? Don't miscalculate the dates. If it's off by a few years," Xianxian asked the Kirin phantom, her expression unusually serious, "I'd have risked everything for nothing and might miss out on a massive opportunity."

"What, you still don't trust me? Have I ever steered you wrong with my guidance before? If you hadn't gained immense benefits from that other ruin I told you about, you probably wouldn't have achieved what you have now. With the innate talent of your Crystal Race, reaching your current realm in just a mere hundred years makes you a heaven-sent genius in your kinsmen's eyes," the Kirin phantom said, raising its head with a smug air.

"Since the day I was born, you and I have been in a symbiotic state. If something were to happen to me, your soul would also scatter, so how could I not trust you? But you are, after all, merely a wisp of divine sense from that true spirit Kirin. It's not impossible for you to misremember or omit something. I just feel a little unsettled," the Crystal Race woman said, staring at the miniature Kirin without any sign of anger.

"Precisely! I am just one of the hundred thousand portions of divine sense from that true spirit Kirin's self-detonation. But back then, it was on the verge of perishing, forced to its demise by a powerful enemy. Even without self-detonating its primordial spirit, it couldn't have escaped death. Although it ultimately employed a heaven-defying divine ability to split its primordial spirit into one hundred thousand fragments, it did so to court death for a chance at rebirth, hoping for a future opportunity to re-cultivate. Therefore, it meticulously duplicated the most crucial information into every fragment. This True Spirit Den is one of the most important pieces of information. Rest assured, there will be no mistake," the miniature Kirin chuckled.

"Indeed. My cultivation to this current realm is largely thanks to you possessing me when I was still a fetus. However, when you did that, Kirin Shadow, you originally intended to use my fetal body for reincarnation. Though I don't know why you ultimately failed and instead became bound to my soul, your intentions toward me back then were hardly benevolent," Xianxian said, her eyes flashing as she pursed her lips into a smile.

"Why bring that up again! Didn't I ultimately fail? It was my bad luck that I ended up possessing you; otherwise, if I had found someone else, I might have found true freedom much sooner," the mini Kirin's spiritual light flickered wildly upon hearing this, its mood seemingly turning exceptionally foul.

"Let's not dwell on it. Do you really think I didn't know the situation back then? I was the only unborn fetus in my small Crystal Race village. You merely thought it would be easier to occupy this body since my soul and consciousness hadn't truly formed yet—that's the real truth," Xianxian said, chuckling a few times.

"At the time, when I escaped, my divine sense power was almost exhausted. Otherwise, even one ten-thousandth of a true spirit's divine sense could easily possess an adult Crystal Race member. How else would I have found you?" the mini Kirin grumbled helplessly.

"Enough. Neither of us needs to mention what happened back then. Although you didn't successfully reincarnate, you did preserve your life. This entry into the True Spirit Den will greatly benefit both of us. There can be absolutely no mishaps. Otherwise, I feel my cultivation has reached a bottleneck, and even hundreds of years from now, I might not make significant progress. I could wait until my cultivation advances considerably before seeking out the True Spirit Den. While it would mean waiting for a long time, it's better than entering the Mojin Mountain Range now with two beings whose cultivation is higher than mine," the Crystal Race woman said thoughtfully.

"The innate talent of your Crystal Race is truly not high. Even with my guidance and having consumed many elixirs and miracle drugs previously, it's still quite unlikely to make rapid progress as before. If you were to delay for such a long time, it would be more loss than gain. But then again, if the True Spirit Den hadn't been occupied by that injured Saint-tier demonic beast, you might have been better off acting alone, even with some risks," the Kirin phantom paused, then continued, "Don't worry. Haven't you already prepared several countermeasures against those two? If they have no ill intentions, that's best. But if they do, those methods, when unleashed, would be difficult to resist even for ordinary beings several ranks higher than you, especially if caught off guard."

"Ordinary beings! Do you mean one of these two is not ordinary? Surely these methods won't fail, will they?" The intelligent Crystal Race woman immediately sensed something amiss, her expression turning stern.

"You've only interacted with these two twice. Although I reside within you, I can still sense some things. Yue Zong's aura is sometimes strong, sometimes weak, as if present yet absent. When approached closely, a faint malevolent aura subtly emanates from between his brows. If I'm not mistaken, he seems to cultivate an overbearing technique primarily focused on stealth and instant kills. Of course, he must also cultivate other divine abilities and secret arts, otherwise he couldn't move so freely within the Mojin Mountain Range. However, Yue Zong is only slightly special compared to that fellow named Han Li; he's not a major concern. The latter's cultivation not only far surpasses Yue Zong's, but his cultivation techniques and divine abilities are also far from simple; even I feel a sense of danger from him. However, the methods I've given you to counter them are the most powerful ones usable at this stage. Especially the life-saving methods, they are unpredictable. Even if you can't kill your opponent during a fight, self-preservation and escape will be more than sufficient," the miniature Kirin said with a confident tone.

"Since Kirin Shadow puts it that way, I feel a little more at ease. However, compared to this, I've always been more worried about something else," Xianxian exhaled lightly, her eyes flickering as she spoke.

"Oh, what's the matter?" The miniature Kirin wagged its tail, growing curious.

"When that Kirin's primordial spirit self-detonated, its remnant soul could split into tens of thousands of fragments to escape. You weren't the only one who escaped, were you? Those others would also know the location of the True Spirit Den. Hundreds of years have passed. That place might have already been opened. And its benefits might have already been claimed. Let's not end up toiling for nothing," Xianxian said, choosing her words carefully.

"Although the divine senses that split back then were exceptionally numerous, very few truly managed to escape. After removing those who failed to possess a body or met other accidents, whether there are other divine senses still in existence is truly hard to say. So many years have passed; even if they do exist, they would have developed their own personalities, just like me. No one would be easily assimilated or devoured. However, until the True Spirit Den is truly opened, no one knows what the situation inside is like. But I think it's unlikely!" The Kirin phantom's voice changed, speaking gravely.

"I hope so. As long as we can obtain the benefits from the True Spirit Den, my future cultivation should progress by leaps and bounds," Xianxian muttered to herself.

"Heh heh, that's true. Otherwise, why would I have kept this information so clear?" the Kirin Shadow reminded her. This time, Xianxian simply smiled faintly and did not reply.

After hovering and circling around the woman for a while, the solitary miniature Kirin phantom suddenly spoke quickly again:

"Alright. That being named Han Li has a strong divine sense. When you travel with him in the future, try not to contact me unnecessarily, lest he discern something. The next time I reappear, it would be best if we are already inside the True Spirit Den."

With that, the Kirin phantom pounced onto the Crystal Race woman's body and instantly vanished.

The woman sighed lightly, and with a movement of her figure, she too stepped into the teleportation formation.

With a flick of the formation plate in her hand, her graceful figure vanished amidst flickering spiritual light.

Three days later, on a small mountain near Cloud City, an ordinary-looking youth in a green robe stood with his hands clasped behind his back on a large boulder atop the peak, gazing down at the emerald green scenery before him.

He remained motionless, his expression serene.

It was Han Li, who had arrived as agreed.

He had been there for some time, and the sky had only recently brightened. It seemed he had arrived a little early.

However, he rarely had such leisure time. After taking a few deep breaths of fresh air, his mood seemed to brighten.

Han Li didn't wait too long. After another half an hour, his expression shifted, and he turned his head to look up at the sky.

Moments later, a sound of tearing air echoed from the horizon, and a blood-red rainbow shot forth. After a few flashes, it landed beside Han Li. A figure emerged as its sharp light diminished. It was Yue Zong!

"Greetings, Senior Han. I apologize for the wait," Yue Zong said politely, cupping his fist to Han Li.

"It's fine. I deliberately arrived a bit early," Han Li replied, shaking his head, his expression betraying no unusual emotions.

Hearing Han Li's words, Yue Zong smiled, then casually found a clean spot nearby and sat down cross-legged.

Han Li, however, remained standing on the large boulder, gazing into the distance, with no intention of coming down.

After a short while, Xianxian also arrived.

As she descended from the sky as a ball of white light, Han Li's eyebrow twitched slightly.

And Yue Zong also immediately stood up.

"Fairy Xian has arrived as well. Everyone is here. Let's depart," Han Li said directly and without hesitation once the Crystal Race woman's figure appeared.

Then, with a flicker of his body, he transformed into a green rainbow and soared into the sky.

Seeing this, Yue Zong and Xianxian naturally followed closely without a word.

The journey was a month long, neither too long nor too short, plus another month inside the Mojin Mountain Range.

Therefore, if the trip went smoothly, they could return to Cloud City after three months.

Han Li pondered this silently as he activated his escape light and swiftly sped forward.

The journey was uneventful.

A month later, after Han Li and the other two flew over a sprawling, unnamed mountain range, a boundless sea of azure mist suddenly appeared before them.

"This is the Azure Spirit Cloud Sea that restricts the Mojin Mountain Range," Yue Zong said, his eyes flickering with a hint of excitement as he looked at the mist sea. "It's also the only entrance into the Mojin Mountain Range. Heh, if anyone tries to force their way in from other places, that's naturally a dead end."