Chapter 1931

Volume Ten, The War of the Demon Realm, Chapter 1905

This illusory figure was precisely a temporary avatar formed by Han Li splitting off a wisp of his spiritual sense. He intended to use a strange secret art of another race to send it into the wooden box, bypassing the thirteen layers of ancient restrictions.

However, the space here was clearly not inside the wooden box. This naturally surprised him greatly.

Although surprised, Han Li did not feel much fear.

After all, at worst, he would only lose this wisp of spiritual sense, which would not cause much damage to his main body.

Therefore, after Han Li surveyed his surroundings, he immediately moved, lightly drifting in a certain direction.

Along the way, apart from the hazy, thin mist, there was nothing else of any other color. After flying forward for several hours, the surrounding scenery strangely remained unchanged.

Han Li frowned slightly and immediately stopped his flight. After a brief thought, he suddenly changed direction, flying straight upwards.

Passing through layers of thin mist, the sky in this space also seemed boundless. Han Li flew for half a day, yet he still could not see its end.

Han Li's expression was somewhat somber, and he stopped once again, sweeping his gaze around.

Suddenly, his expression shifted, and he glanced in a certain direction, immediately letting out a low shout.

"Is there a fellow daoist hiding nearby? Please show yourself!"

Although his voice was not loud, it echoed continuously in the nearby void. However, it remained quiet all around, with no figure appearing.

Seeing this, Han Li raised his eyebrows, and after a cold snort, he suddenly sat down cross-legged and began to meditate in the void with his hands forming incantation gestures.

His eyes were tightly shut, his body unmoving. He sat like this for more than half a day, as if he intended never to rise again.

Just as the second day began, a cluster of green light suddenly emerged from a certain spot in the nearby void, and with a flash, it transformed into an old man wearing a dark green robe.

The old man had unusually long eyebrows and a gaunt face. His hair was tied into a triangular topknot with a several-inch-long yellow wooden hairpin stuck horizontally through it. His robe was even inscribed with a ferocious demon image featuring three heads and six arms. His appearance was extremely strange.

As soon as he appeared, he showed no intention of approaching, merely gazing at Han Li silently with a cold stare from where he stood, also without uttering a word.

Han Li seemed to ignore this, as if he hadn't noticed the old man's appearance at all, and continued to meditate with his eyes tightly shut.

Han Li sat while the old man stood, creating a strange standoff, as if neither wished to speak first.

And time flowed by rapidly, bit by bit.

After three days and three nights, both Han Li and the old man still maintained their original positions, without the slightest change.

However, upon closer inspection, one could notice that the ink-robed old man's pair of grayish-white eyes were now subtly moving as he looked at Han Li, revealing a hint of surprise.

After another three or four hours, the signs of the old man's eyes moving became even more apparent. Suddenly, his eyes closed, and then sharply opened again, revealing an unusual silver color in his pupils. Then, with a movement of his body, his form dissolved into nothingness like foam.

The next moment, several feet in front of where Han Li sat cross-legged, a ripple appeared, and the old man's figure bizarrely flickered into existence again.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged, not even lifting an eyelid.

Seeing this, the green-robed old man couldn't help but show a hint of anger on his face.

"Hmph, you've got quite some nerve, daring to sit so calmly in front of this old man." The old man finally spoke, but his voice was a grating screech, like metal rubbing together, making anyone who heard it feel greatly irritated and uneasy.

"From your tone, it seems you are also someone of great origin," Han Li said, slowly opening his eyes and calmly asking in return, "But how should I address you?"

"My name is something a mere human cultivator like you couldn't possibly know even if I told you," the old man said with a very imposing tone, as if he recognized at a glance that the Han Li before him was not his main body. "However, I am quite surprised that a spiritual sense avatar of a human cultivator has intruded into this place. It seems this item must have fallen into your main body's hands."

"Heh heh, it seems Senior is a powerful individual from the Ancient Demon Realm," Han Li replied calmly, his expression unchanged. "This box indeed fell into my hands, which is why I sent a wisp of my spiritual sense avatar here to investigate. However, this place is not the world within the box, but rather inside a certain restriction, isn't it?"

Although he, being merely a wisp of spiritual sense, could not discern the other party's true depth, he had already guessed that the other party was from the demon race. Therefore, he showed no expression on his face, but inwardly, he was naturally on high alert.

"This place is indeed not inside the box, but within the tenth layer's illusion restriction," the old man murmured with a frown upon hearing this. "If one can master the most crucial Dao of Illusions within this restriction, one can freely change the world at will. Speaking of which, the current Saint Race is truly useless, to have allowed this treasure to fall into human hands. From your tone, this treasure has now transformed into a box shape. That's not bad; it's much less conspicuous than its previous appearance." He then suddenly waved a sleeve into the air.

Han Li felt his vision blur, and as the hazy surroundings slightly blurred, they shattered like glass. Immediately, he suddenly smelled the fresh fragrance of grass and plants and faintly heard the sound of a stream flowing.

His heart tightened, and he quickly focused his attention, looking around once more.

Everything around him had abruptly transformed into a completely different world.

Blue skies, white clouds, green mountains, and clear waters appeared before his eyes. Looking down, he and the old man were standing in a slowly flowing, clear stream. The water was not deep, just covering their calves. They could even see several half-foot-long green fish leisurely swimming past their feet, showing no fear of strangers.

Han Li's expression subtly changed, and without a word, he made a grabbing motion at the stream below.

"Whoosh!"

A lively green fish was immediately effortlessly drawn into his hand. With a squeeze of his fingers, he could clearly feel the unusually slippery sensation of the fish's struggling body.

A blue light flashed in Han Li's pupils. With a flick of his hand, he tossed the green fish back into the stream. Then, he brought his fingers near his nose, and a strong fishy smell immediately assailed him.

"What a powerful restriction," Han Li asked slowly after a slight pause for thought, "it has reached the point where things are created by thought. But regarding this matter, Senior, could you explain why you are here? Moreover, according to the effectiveness of the divine ability I used, this wisp of spiritual sense should have been directly sent into the box. Now that I am trapped here, it must have something to do with you, right?"

"Why should this old man answer your question?" the green-robed old man said, rolling his eyes upon hearing Han Li's words. "If you want to know something, you can go find the answer yourself."

"Heh, since Senior is willing to show yourself," Han Li replied with a strange smile, showing no anger, "you surely don't intend to just chat a bit and then leave, do you? Moreover, it seems Senior is not in your physical body, but also merely an embodiment of spiritual sense. Presumably, you are not here willingly either."

"Who exactly are you, what do you know, and was that scoundrel Xue Guang the one who sent you?"

A thunderous roar boomed in Han Li's ears, and a horrifying immense pressure descended upon him.

Immediately, a fierce wind rose. The green-robed old man merely moved his body and instantly grabbed Han Li's neck. His eyes, which had been glowing silver, now turned blood-red as he fiercely glared at Han Li and spoke.

A barbaric, bestial, bloody aura surged from him, rising to the sky. Behind him, a gigantic blood-red demonic shadow faintly flickered in and out of sight, as if it would tear Han Li into countless fragments the next moment.

"Xue Guang? I don't know anyone by that name," Han Li replied calmly, his expression unusually composed, though he was inwardly shocked.

"Nonsense!" A look of madness appeared on the green-robed old man's face. He spoke to Han Li word by word, "If you don't know that scoundrel Xue Guang, how did you get this Demon Suppressing Lock? Do you really think this old man believes your words just now? Hmph, this Demon Suppressing Lock has been passed down through countless Saint Ancestors of our Saint Race since ancient times. Yet, not one of them didn't keep it close to their person at all times. How could it have fallen into the hands of a mere human like you? Don't tell me you killed that scoundrel Xue Guang to obtain this item!" As he spoke, his withered fingers, clamping Han Li's neck, also shot out streaks of dazzling green light, as if he was ready to strike at any moment.

Han Li's avatar was merely a wisp of spiritual sense, naturally containing no divine abilities. He simply offered no resistance to the other party's actions, but instead, he smiled faintly and said:

"Demon Suppressing Lock? So that's what this item is called! Although I don't know who this so-called Xue Guang is, how could I possibly take orders from a demon? Furthermore, if I truly intended to scheme against you, I wouldn't have sent merely a wisp of spiritual sense here. Even if you destroy this spiritual sense avatar of mine, it would be completely insignificant to my main body. Perhaps out of fear, I might even find an unsearchable bottomless abyss and simply discard this item there. Perhaps after a million years, someone else might find it, or perhaps not."

"You dare to threaten this old man? Haha, it seems you truly don't know this old man's identity," the green-robed old man said, his expression suddenly changing. Upon hearing Han Li's words, an astonishing flush of red flashed across his face, and the anger on his face vanished without a trace. He suddenly loosened his grip and released Han Li, adding, "You weren't sent by that scoundrel Xue Guang after all. I apologize for any offense just now; I hope fellow daoist can be more forgiving!"

"Oh, it seems fellow daoist believes my words," Han Li said, asking seemingly casually after inwardly feeling a sense of relief and tidying his slightly wrinkled collar. "However, I'm still quite confused. Could you perhaps tell me a little about your origins?"

"Of course I can tell you," the green-robed old man said, stroking a few whiskers on his chin and speaking slowly with narrowed eyes. "But as you guessed, this old man has been trapped here for countless years, and I also have many things about the outside world that I'd like to know. I won't take advantage of you: you answer one question from me, and I will answer one of your doubts."