Chapter 2140: Exploring the Pool

"Is that so? You shouldn't underestimate them. While the Qian and Ge clans are inconspicuous in the Spirit Realm, none of their past Mahayana cultivators were simple individuals. The fact that they could resist our Saint Clan's invasion many years ago without being at a significant disadvantage shows their capabilities. And that old monster from the Spirit Clan is no ordinary Mahayana being; I've always suspected that the successive Spirit Kings were actually manifestations of the same individual. It might even have some unclear connection with the True Immortal Realm. Otherwise, a pseudo-immortal treasure like that would never fall into the hands of a mere Mahayana cultivator from a small clan," the white-clad woman said, her expression returning to calm.

"We naturally considered these matters when planning this," Grand Ancestor Yuanye replied dismissively. "Regardless of what those clans possess, resisting the Saint Clan is wishful thinking. If I weren't afraid of attracting the attention of several super clans in the Spirit Realm, I would have long since unleashed the full power of our clan and utterly crushed them. Hmph, even if some of them do have connections with the Immortal Realm, it means nothing. Our Saint Clan also has powerful backing in the Upper Realm. Furthermore, according to the strict rules of the Immortal Realm, unless a few highly taboo events occur, those in the Upper Realm won't intervene, even if an entire realm is completely destroyed and vanishes. Why should we worry unnecessarily?"

"Since you are so confident, consider what I said earlier as unsaid. However, before coming here, I made a trip to the Land of Primordial Seal. Though I only took a quick glance from afar, the seal's gaps there have expanded several times since I was a Grand Ancestor. The creatures that rushed out from within have also significantly increased in power. In the two battles I witnessed, one Demon Venerable and over a dozen high-level Void Refinement cultivators fell, and thousands of ordinary seal guardians were killed or injured. This was even with the combined efforts of hundreds of puppets and demonic beasts. What's more concerning is that I didn't see Fellow Daoist Nirvana in either of these battles. Instead, a clone of Six Extremes appeared there." Baohua's tone shifted, and she suddenly said something that caused Yuanye's expression to subtly change.

"You didn't attack Six Extremes' clone, did you!"

"Of course not. Although I no longer hold the position of Grand Ancestor, I am still a member of the Saint Clan. The Land of Primordial Seal is where the Great Calamity erupts; how could I be so reckless as to act without proper consideration? However, if it had been Six Extremes' main body there, then it would be a different story. But from this perspective, the critical situation you mentioned earlier wasn't an exaggeration," the white-clad woman said, looking deeply at Grand Ancestor Yuanye.

"Hmph, at a time like this, would I mislead you on such a matter?" the black-robed youth retorted, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"But I'm also a little curious," Baohua asked with a cold laugh, "aren't you afraid that thing might suddenly awaken and use its main body to attack the seal? Even though there's a seal to block it, Six Extremes' mere clone wouldn't be enough; it could swallow it in one gulp."

Upon hearing this, the black-robed youth's expression turned strange. After a while, he replied with a wry smile:

"You're asking this a bit late. That thing's main body already woke up for the second time six thousand years ago, and the power it displayed was far more terrifying than when it first awoke."

"Six thousand years ago! It woke up again! That's much earlier than originally predicted." Baohua's expression changed, and a hint of fear flashed in her beautiful eyes.

"At that time, Six Extremes and I rushed there immediately after receiving news of its awakening. But by the time we arrived, Fellow Daoist Nirvana had already activated his Three Nirvana Transformation, fought that thing to a mutually destructive standstill, and barely forced it back. However, after this battle, Fellow Daoist Nirvana was gravely wounded and even had to recall all his clones, allowing his main body to enter a state of semi-hibernation. Feeling uneasy, I sacrificed a clone to enter the sealed land. I found that the accumulated power of that thing seemed to be largely depleted, and it too had fallen into slumber. In other words, Fellow Daoist Nirvana, much like you did the first time, bought our Saint Realm some crucial buffer time. During this period, having a clone of Six Extremes guard the seal in the Land of Primordial Seal is sufficient. After all, as long as its main body doesn't emerge, the others attacking the seal are merely its descendants, and even the strongest among them are not much more powerful than ordinary Demon Venerables. However, the seal has become even looser, and it's estimated that its next awakening will be even earlier than before." Grand Ancestor Yuanye sighed, a helpless expression on his face.

"The Nirvana Saint Body's Three Nirvana Transformation can temporarily rival true powerful spirits, yet it was still forced into a mutually destructive state by that thing. It was nowhere near this powerful when it first woke up." Baohua was visibly moved.

"There's nothing strange about it! Do you really think that's all there is to its true power? As the seal weakens, its true power is slowly recovering. The next time it awakens, its strength will likely rival that of a True Immortal from the Upper Realm. We will absolutely be unable to prevent it from breaking the seal. And once it breaks out of the Land of Primordial Seal with its numerous descendants, given their terrifying reproductive speed, where will there be a place for us in the Saint Realm? The most critical point is that this thing can directly devour both spirit energy and demonic energy, combined with its terrifying ability to reproduce without restraint. Who knows how many realms have been forcibly destroyed by them in this manner. Otherwise, in ancient times, the Immortal Realm wouldn't have personally sent people down to contain it in the Saint Realm and seal it within the Glory of Primordial Seal. It's a pity that after such a long time, this seal is finally starting to fail. Therefore, we must establish a territory in the Spirit Realm before the seal is broken, so that the Saint Clan has a place to reside. To prevent chaos, currently only we and a few other Grand Ancestors know about this; everyone else is still in the dark, though it likely can't be kept secret for many more years," the black-robed youth said with a bitter tone.

"I'm already surprised it's been sealed for this long," the white-clad woman said, appearing completely unsurprised. "Moreover, the Saint Realm is so vast; some individuals probably aren't on the same page as you."

"Hmph, indeed. The ones making the most noise are those supported by the Beast Venerable Hall," Grand Ancestor Yuanye snorted coldly, seemingly having full knowledge of the situation.

"Oh, that's a bit strange," Baohua asked, a hint of curiosity flashing in her eyes. "Although Nirvana is in recovery, you and Six Extremes aren't pushovers. Would you just watch them disregard the bigger picture like that? Have you become so indecisive after not seeing each other for a few years?"

"If they were ordinary Grand Ancestors, Six Extremes and I could naturally suppress them," the black-robed youth said slowly after a moment, a hint of peculiarity on his face. "However, among the Grand Ancestors supporting the Beast Venerable Hall are those two old fellows, Tianqi and Heyan. You know best how formidable their divine abilities are, as they once contended with you for the position of Grand Ancestor. Six Extremes and I are also unwilling to confront them head-on."

"Tianqi, Heyan!" Baohua's expression immediately darkened upon hearing these two names.

Seeing the white-clad woman's expression, Grand Ancestor Yuanye chuckled, saying nothing further.

At the same time, Han Li was in a space roughly a hundred miles in circumference, his body floating motionless above a pond a hundred zhang in diameter.

Towering trees hundreds of zhang tall grew everywhere throughout the space.

Each tree was vividly green, emitting threads of light of various colors that were almost visible to the naked eye. The ground was covered everywhere with unknown low shrubs and various flowers and grasses, filling the spaces between the large trees and also emitting faint five-colored halos.

As for the void, thumb-sized five-colored light orbs drifted faintly throughout the sky, almost giving one the feeling of being in a perilous situation.

In the pond below Han Li, the motionless water surface was a pale silver color and appeared viscous, like mercury, giving off an extremely heavy sensation.

Han Li gazed at the silver water surface below, his expression unchanged, but inwardly he was secretly astonished.

He could clearly sense that the pond water below was simply pure spiritual energy directly condensed and liquefied. It faintly contained several kinds of mysterious energy that were impossible to distinguish. Perhaps this was the true key to the Cleansing Spirit Pond's ability to fundamentally transform them.

Although the Cleansing Spirit Pond was easily found, where was the Pure Spirit Lotus?

After Han Li's gaze quickly swept across the small pond, he found nothing floating on the shimmering silver surface.

"Could it be at the bottom of the pond!" Han Li murmured, his gaze once again looking into the depths of the pond.

His spiritual sense had already swept through the entire pond, but it was forcibly cut off by an unknown force in the water just a zhang below the surface.

After a slight contemplation, a dazzling blue light flashed in Han Li's pupils, and at the same time, his entire body's magical power surged into his eyes.

However, after penetrating more than ten zhang into the water, his Brightsight Spirit Eyes were also completely obscured by a sheet of white light, unable to delve any deeper.

Han Li frowned, but showed no panic. With a flick of his sleeve, a ball of green light shot out, hovered, and then settled steadily in front of him.

It was actually a puppet green wolf, a zhang tall, lifelike in appearance, but clearly not of a very high rank.

Without a word, Han Li pointed a finger at its forehead.

A wisp of white mist flew out from it, and after a slight flicker, it transformed into a pale white face. It was somewhat blurry, but faintly resembled Han Li.

The face flickered and vanished, swiftly merging into the puppet wolf's body, disappearing without a trace.

Without hesitation, Han Li flicked his sleeve at the water below and gave a command.

The giant wolf let out a low growl, and with a movement of its four limbs, it instantly transformed into a streak of green light and plunged downwards. After a ripple that was almost imperceptible, the pale silver water surface returned to calm.

Only then did Han Li let out a soft breath. With his hands clasped behind his back, he quietly waited in mid-air.