Chapter 2213: Preparation

By Wangyu

Volume 13

Collect good books, publish original works.

Volume 13

Welcome.

The stone gate rumbled open, and the Crab Daoist immediately sensed it. In a flash, he appeared before Han Li, his silver eyes flashing as he scrutinized him from head to toe.

At this moment, the Crab Daoist had already recovered his Grand Ascension stage power. His gaze was as sharp as a blade!

Upon contact with that gaze, Han Li couldn't help but feel a slight unease.

"Fellow Daoist Han is preparing to break through the Grand Ascension bottleneck!" The pseudo-immortal puppet, who rarely spoke, somehow discerned this from Han Li and slowly, proactively inquired.

"Brother Crab has seen through me. I do indeed intend to take this step," Han Li replied, unperturbed but with solemnity.

"Your spirit and body are currently in an excellent state. If you attempt to break through the Grand Ascension bottleneck, you should have more than a fifty percent chance of success. Such a high probability is quite rare, even in the Immortal Realm," the Crab Daoist said after his eyes flickered with a strange light.

"With Brother Crab's words, I feel much more at ease. However, the commotion during the breakthrough will be considerable and might attract some prying eyes. I hope fellow Daoist will lend a hand in guarding me then," Han Li said, greatly pleased, bowing his fists in request.

"Since you ask, I will naturally ensure your safety, but the energy consumed during this period will be accounted for in your offerings," the Crab Daoist stated, nodding and his expression returning to indifference.

"Of course. I'll be relying on fellow Daoist then," Han Li replied with a slight smile, agreeing without hesitation.

Just as he was about to leave, the door to another secret chamber nearby opened with a dull thud, and a graceful, somewhat stiff woman slowly emerged from it.

It was Yin Yue, who had also been in seclusion nearby.

Her face was slightly pale, but as soon as she appeared, her beautiful eyes turned to Han Li with a strange look. After a slight nod, she softly asked,

"Congratulations, Brother Han, on your great progress in cultivation. But isn't it a bit early to prepare for the Grand Ascension bottleneck breakthrough now? Perhaps Brother Han should consolidate his cultivation for a few more years."

Evidently, at this time, Yin Yue was not deeply affected by the Oblivion Art.

"Yin Yue, it's been years since we last met, and your cultivation has also advanced. It seems Senior Ao Xiao's cultivation method is indeed effective. My current state, both mentally and in terms of spirit-essence, is wonderfully balanced. If I cannot break through the Grand Ascension bottleneck now, then even a hundred or a thousand more years would likely not guarantee success," Han Li replied with a smile, his divine sense sweeping over Yin Yue.

"Brother Han's cultivation and insight are beyond my humble comparison. Since you say so, there must be a valid reason. Then, I, too, shall assist Brother Crab in guarding you, lest any villains disturb Brother Han," Yin Yue said resolutely after a moment's thought.

"If you are also willing to guard, I would naturally be delighted. By the way, where is Gu'er? She doesn't seem to be in the cave abode," Han Li expressed his gratitude with a joyful expression, but after sweeping his divine sense across the entire cave abode, he asked with some surprise.

"Gu'er recently encountered a bottleneck in her cultivation. She needs to absorb the essence of the rising sun daily to overcome it, so she moved out of the cave abode a few years ago and has been cultivating alone on another nearby mountaintop," Yin Yue explained, clearly aware of the situation.

"So that's it. The Cycle Cultivation Art is indeed somewhat unusual compared to ordinary methods. Since she has her own cultivation path, there's no need for us to interfere," Han Li nodded, feeling reassured.

Following this, Han Li, the Crab Daoist, and Yin Yue flew out of the cave abode. After circling high in the nearby sky as three streaks of light, they shot off in a certain direction.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, in a basin tens of thousands of miles away from Han Li's original cave abode, the three streaks of light descended, revealing their forms.

Han Li surveyed the unusually empty surroundings, with only a few faintly visible mountain peaks far in the distance, before nodding with satisfaction:

"This will do. Fellow Daoists, please wait aside for a moment while I set up a few large formations and make some preparations. Although these external forces cannot directly help me resist much of the heavenly tribulation, they can conceal some celestial phenomena during the breakthrough, delaying outsiders from finding this place."

Yin Yue and the Crab Daoist naturally had no objections. They immediately nodded, then transformed into two streaks of light and shot towards two nearby mountain peaks, landing on them in a flash.

Both found large boulders to sit upon, watching Han Li's every move from afar.

Han Li took a deep breath, then shook his large sleeve, causing over a dozen white lights to shoot out. They transformed into colossal ape puppets, each standing before him, holding stacks of formation flags, disks, and various other array-laying tools.

"Go!" Han Li commanded.

Immediately, all the puppets moved, rising into the air in all directions. A moment later, they began carefully arranging the array tools on the ground and in the nearby void.

Han Li himself flew around the edge of the basin, his hand flipping over to reveal translucent, top-grade spirit stones, which then shot down onto the ground like rain.

Before long, layers of formations began to subtly take shape within the basin!

With a flicker, Han Li returned to the center of the basin. He took out various glimmering, glazed treasures from his person and tossed them towards different parts of the formations.

Most of these treasures were obtained by Han Li from slaying numerous Demon Venerables and Saint Ancestor avatars. Each one was extraordinary and of great origin. If they fell into the hands of ordinary Body Integration cultivators, each piece would likely be enough to send them into ecstasy and be cherished as a supreme treasure.

But here, Han Li took out as many as fifty or sixty pieces at once, merely using them as ordinary magical artifacts to suppress the array's core, thereby increasing the formation's power by a small margin.

Having completed all this, Han Li then shook his wrist, releasing a mountain-like pile of array-laying materials from his storage bracelet, before sitting down cross-legged on the spot.

Once the dozen or so colossal ape puppets used up the formation flags and disks in their hands, they immediately fetched other array-laying materials, then flew back one by one to continue arranging the formations.

These grand formations were clearly not ordinary ones. Even with the aid of array-laying tools for replication, it took a good half a day for them to be completed one by one.

All the colossal apes then bounded back to stand before Han Li, motionless and at attention.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged. With a flick of his sleeve, a wave of azure light swept forth, retracting all the puppets. Simultaneously, a faint yellow light flashed on his body, and he formed a hand seal with one hand, striking a profound magical incantation towards the ground below.

As the incantation flashed and vanished into the soil, Han Li let out a solemn, low roar.

"Rise!"

Instantly, the ground below rumbled and trembled. A square earth platform, about an *mu* in area, actually rose from the soil, quickly ascending to a height of thirty *zhang*, like a small mountain.

Han Li's hand seals changed, and with an unmoving expression, he opened his mouth again and spewed out a ball of silver flame.

The silver fireball spun, transforming into a silver firebird about a *chi* in size. With a spread of its wings, it swelled against the wind, becoming a colossal creature over a dozen *zhang* tall.

Under Han Li's urging divine sense, the giant firebird let out a clear cry, soaring into the sky. After circling once, it suddenly plunged towards the earth platform below.

With a "poof"!

When the silver firebird was still several *zhang* above the platform, it suddenly transformed into a raging swirl of silver flames, engulfing Han Li and the platform.

Han Li stood upright within the silver flames, his eyelids not even twitching. The silver flames blurred upon contact with his body, passing directly through without causing him the slightest harm.

The earth platform, however, rapidly melted and deformed in the flames, its surface quickly dissolving and beginning to crystallize.

After a few breaths, Han Li's eyes flashed with a sharp glint. With a flick of his sleeve, a loud whistling sound arose, and a hurricane roared forth.

With a "sizzle", the silver flames vanished without a trace in the wind.

At this point, the earth platform had become dazzlingly translucent, its entire surface covered by a layer of white jade-like crystals. Under the sunlight, it shimmered with blinding brilliance, appearing like a jade pavilion or a celestial platform from afar.

What was originally just ordinary soil and rock, after being slightly refined by the spirit flame, its material hardness was no less than that of common artifact refining materials.

On the crystalline platform, sword cries resounded loudly!

Seventy-two small azure swords flew out from Han Li. After circling once in the high sky, they transformed into seventy-two streaks of misty azure sword light.

With a slight point of his finger towards the sword lights in the air, all the sword lights immediately swayed, then shot down with extreme agility towards the platform below.

A loud "whooshing" sound arose!

Streaks of azure light could be seen moving erratically around the crystalline platform, scattering countless crystal fragments downwards and leaving behind numerous spiritual patterns.

These sword lights were as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, they swept across the entire surface of the crystalline platform, then collectively chimed, soared into the sky, and reverted into seventy-two small azure swords, hovering high above.

The crystalline platform's surface was now covered with countless dense spiritual patterns, which appeared profoundly mysterious. Upon prolonged observation, one would even experience a strange, slight dizziness.

After Han Li swept his divine sense over these spiritual patterns, a satisfied expression flashed across his face. With a flip of his hand, a spiritual light shimmered, and four small banners, about an inch high and flickering with strange light, appeared. They then suddenly swayed and vanished into thin air.

The next moment, a surge of mist rose from each of the crystalline platform's four corners. Upon condensing, they transformed into four colossal banner flags, over ten *zhang* tall, in red, green, yellow, and purple. Each banner was inscribed with an unknown monstrous beast, all baring their fangs and claws, lifelike.

"The Sky-Overturning Platform is finally complete. I hope Senior Mo's method truly offers some assistance for my breakthrough," Han Li murmured in a barely audible voice after glancing at the four banners, a strange look flashing across his face.

However, he then suddenly sent a magical incantation towards the numerous flying swords high in the sky.

All the flying swords blurred, then transformed into over a thousand identical streaks of azure sword light. With a hum, they dispersed in all directions, vanishing into the void.

However, at this point, should anyone approach within a hundred *zhang* of the crystalline platform, they would immediately feel an astonishingly chilling aura, causing their hair to stand on end!

Welcome.