Chapter 1932: Zhenmo Lock and Che Ji Gong

"That sounds fair enough. Feel free to ask, fellow Daoist," Han Li said without hesitation after a slight pause, though his tone had subtly changed.

This person was clearly deeply trapped within the Demon Suppressing Lock and unable to leave, so Han Li readily agreed.

"Good," the green-robed elder exclaimed, overjoyed at the reply. "First, I want to know from whom you obtained this Demon Suppressing Lock." He immediately asked the question most pressing to him.

"I obtained it from several venerable noblemen," Han Li replied at once, having anticipated the question.

"Two venerable noblemen..." The elder's eyes flashed as he murmured thoughtfully, "Could they be subordinates of that villain, Bloodlight? But how could he entrust such an item to others so casually?"

"I have already answered one question," Han Li stated, ignoring the elder's confusion. "May I ask for your name first, esteemed sir?"

"This Seat is Che Qigong!" the elder replied curtly. He then swiftly posed his second question: "You are a human; how did you encounter our Holy Race's venerables? Are you perhaps in our Holy Realm now?"

"Che Qigong... that name is certainly unfamiliar to me," Han Li replied with a faint smile. "It is now a time when your Ancient Demon Realm is once again infiltrating our Spirit Realm. What's so strange about me encountering one of your venerable nobles then?"

"What? It's the Day of Sacred Sacrifice!" the elder exclaimed, first startled, then his brows furrowed deeply. "I've been trapped for so many years! How long has the Sacred Sacrifice been underway? If it's in the initial stages, and that villain Bloodlight's true form cannot immediately descend to the Human Realm, could that be why he let this Demon Suppressing Lock out of his possession?"

"That seems to be your next question!" Han Li said, quickly regaining his composure after his expression subtly changed upon hearing the words "Sacred Sacrifice."

"Alright, ask your question then," the green-robed elder said, suppressing his indignation after his face flushed with anger once more, seemingly having recalled something.

"My next question is simple," Han Li asked gravely. "I wish to know if senior is one of the Holy Ancestors of the Ancient Demon Realm?"

"Since you've already guessed, why bother asking?" the green-robed elder stated coldly. "Not only is this old man a Holy Ancestor of the Holy Realm, but I am also one of the longest-existing Holy Ancestors! Throughout the entire Holy Realm, there are merely three or four others who can compare to my lifespan."

"Is that so? My apologies for the presumption," Han Li said, startled for a moment before letting out a faint chuckle.

Judging by the other party's tone and the astonishing divine abilities he had previously displayed, Han Li was not particularly surprised by this answer.

"What are you laughing at?" Che Qigong's expression darkened, and a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke. "Are you perhaps finding it amusing that this old man, a Holy Ancestor, has lived for such an immense age only to be trapped here?"

"How could I think such a thing?" Han Li's smile vanished, and he replied seemingly calmly. "No matter your divine abilities, they are beyond anything this junior can compare to. How could I possibly intend to mock you?"

However, he naturally muttered to himself inwardly, "This old demon truly has a volatile temperament; I need to be extra careful."

"You know this old man is a Holy Ancestor of the Holy Realm, yet you remain so calm," Che Qigong said viciously. "Do you truly believe this old man won't devour this wisp of your spiritual sense avatar?"

"If senior truly wished to act, you would have done so long ago," Han Li said, remaining composed. "Why would you wait until now?"

"You are quite clever," Che Qigong said with a huff, finally calming down again. "If I weren't trapped here, when I previously encountered a mere human cultivator like you, I would have naturally crushed you with a single grab. Alright, answer this old man's previous question: Has the Sacred Sacrifice only just begun, and have the Holy Ancestors not yet descended in their true forms?"

"The demon calamity has indeed only just begun," Han Li replied truthfully, having no intention of concealing this. "It is currently impossible for those Holy Ancestors to descend in their true forms."

"Is that truly so!" Upon hearing this, a flicker of excitement briefly crossed Che Qigong's face before he immediately fell into deep thought, seemingly pondering something intently.

Disregarding the elder's state, Han Li posed his next question: "Fellow Daoist, could you tell me a thing or two about the use of this Demon Suppressing Lock?"

"The Demon Suppressing Lock?" The elder was startled by the question, then swept his gaze over Han Li, suddenly revealing a mocking expression as he spoke. "You humans are utterly incapable of wielding such a thing. Your question is a complete waste of effort."

"Whether it's truly useless to me or not, I will judge for myself," Han Li persisted, remaining calm.

"Since you're so eager to know, there's no harm in telling you," the elder said coldly. "This Demon Suppressing Lock is actually an unfinished Profound Heavenly Treasure, secretly containing the Yin-Yang Qi of Chaos. Not only does it possess its own intrinsic space, but it also has thirteen layers of ancient restrictions imprinted upon it by a Grandmaster of Array Formations from the Holy Realm. Once someone is trapped inside, unless they possess immense divine abilities to personally break through the Qi of Chaos, even if external forces dismantle all thirteen layers of restrictions, it will be utterly useless. And how formidable is this Qi of Chaos? If this treasure were truly to evolve into a Profound Heavenly item, even a True Immortal from the heavens, if trapped within it without suitable means, would be helpless. However, even in its current semi-finished state, it is more than sufficient to trap Grand Ascension cultivators and Holy Ancestors like us."

"An unfinished Profound Heavenly Treasure!" Although Han Li had remained as calm as still water until now, his expression couldn't help but change dramatically upon hearing this.

The immense power of Profound Heavenly Treasures was naturally something few understood better than he, who possessed such an item himself. Even an unfinished, semi-complete version was enough to make his heart pound.

"Heh heh, unfortunately," Che Qigong said calmly, "this Demon Suppressing Lock was born within our Holy Realm. Unless a Holy Ancestor of our Ancient Demon Race, capable of communicating with the laws of heaven and earth in the Holy Realm, can barely manage to wield it, otherwise, even if an outsider obtains this treasure, they won't be able to activate it in the slightest. It would only be a dead object! If you hadn't found a way to let your spiritual sense penetrate the restrictions, and if this old man hadn't just managed to break through to this layer with immense effort using his primordial spirit and cast a spell to intercept you, your spiritual sense avatar would likely have been instantly reduced to nothingness by the Qi of Chaos upon reaching the depths of the box, gaining absolutely nothing."

"So that's how it is," Han Li murmured, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Only beings capable of communicating with the heaven and earth forces of the Ancient Demon Realm can use this treasure!"

"Don't even dream about it," Che Qigong said with deep meaning, seemingly having noticed something. "Even if you cultivate our Holy Race's cultivation methods and can activate some True Devil Qi, unless you cultivate your demonic arts to the level of a Holy Ancestor, you won't even be able to communicate with the heaven and earth forces of the Holy Realm. If you truly cultivate demonic arts to that level, you wouldn't be able to remain in the Spirit Realm anyway; you'd be forced to tear through space and fly to our Holy Realm, becoming one of us."

Han Li's facial muscles twitched slightly. After a long moment, he slowly said:

"According to what Fellow Daoist Che has said, this item truly has no use for me."

"Indeed," the green-robed elder said with another strange smile. "That's why I said your question about its use was utterly meaningless. Furthermore, because this treasure is not yet fully evolved, it has another fatal limitation, which makes it rather useless even among us Holy Ancestors."

"What limitation?" Han Li asked subconsciously, frowning.

"Haha, that point... this old man won't be telling you," Che Qigong said, bursting into laughter and flatly refusing.

"If Fellow Daoist Che is unwilling to say, then so be it." Han Li's expression subtly darkened, but he did not directly show dissatisfaction.

The elder chuckled, no longer pursuing the topic. Instead, after a brief moment of thought, he asked about something new.

"This old man still wishes to know one thing, and I hope you answer carefully," Che Qigong asked with a solemn expression. "Do you know if there are any spiritual lands formed by heaven and earth in the nearby regions, specifically 'Yin-Yang Nether Pools' or 'Underworld Earth-Flames'?"

"Yin-Yang Nether Pools, Underworld Earth-Flames? Why do you ask, esteemed sir?" Han Li's expression shifted. He did not directly answer the elder's question, but instead cautiously countered with one of his own.

"You certainly have many questions," the green-robed elder said, his expression immediately turning grim as he spoke each word with chilling frostiness. "You haven't even answered this Seat's question first!"

"Then let's consider that question to be my next one," Han Li replied without the slightest change in expression.

Upon hearing Han Li's reply, the elder's face flushed with anger once more. After a flicker of silver light in his eyes, they suddenly became blindingly brilliant.

"It seems you've forgotten," Han Li reminded him casually. "This junior here is merely an insignificant avatar."

"Hmph, if your true body were actually before this Seat, how would you have the qualifications to bargain with me!" Che Qigong snorted coldly, and as the silver light in his eyes receded, he forcefully suppressed his anger again as he spoke.

Han Li smiled faintly, but did not reply further.

After hesitating for a moment longer, the green-robed elder reluctantly explained:

"These two places are the only ones where the Demon Suppressing Lock can be refined again. If this treasure is placed within them and refined with a secret art of the Holy Race, some of the Qi of Chaos can be extracted from it. For us Holy Ancestors, whether we use the Qi of Chaos to refine artifacts or absorb it for our own cultivation, there are countless benefits. However, because the Holy Realm is entirely filled with True Devil Qi, these two locations can only be found in the Spirit Realm. If not for this, this Demon Suppressing Lock would never have left that villain Bloodlight's side for even an inch, let alone accidentally fall into the hands of a human cultivator like you."

"Placing the Demon Suppressing Lock in these two locations allows the extraction of the Qi of Chaos? Is that truly so?" Han Li asked, greatly surprised upon hearing this.

Some ancient texts also contained records regarding the Qi of Chaos and Yin-Yang. It indeed possessed various incredible and extraordinary effects, which filled him with pleasant surprise!

"Why would this old man deceive you about this?" Che Qigong said indifferently. "Since you can condense a spiritual sense avatar, I presume you are also an Integration Stage cultivator. If you could absorb even a tiny bit of this Qi of Chaos, you might even have a chance to advance to the Grand Ascension Stage in the future! At the very least, it could allow your cultivation to ascend one realm for no apparent reason. If you use the Qi of Chaos to refine treasures, even the most ordinary item could immediately become a spiritual treasure with immense divine abilities!"