Chapter 2248: True Immortal Descends Reentering the Demon Realm

Han Li's expression remained unchanged as he witnessed the scene. He simply flicked his sleeve towards the sky. Immediately, a golden light shot down, disappearing into his sleeve in a flash. Then, Han Li turned his hand, revealing a fist-sized golden beetle in his palm. It was one of the three 'pseudo-insect kings' Han Li had previously unleashed to hunt down the Black Owl King. Han Li stared at the golden beetle in his hand for a moment, his eyes flickering, then frowned slightly and murmured, "That Black Owl really did escape. However, nearly half of its body was devoured by these little creatures, so the injuries it sustained are far greater than initially expected. This can be considered a not-so-bad outcome."

After muttering to himself, Han Li put away the beetle with a movement of his palm. Then, a green light flashed in his hand, revealing a jade slip. Han Li glanced at the jade slip, a faint smile appearing on his face. Although he had witnessed many excellent secret arts during his trip to the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion, his true purpose was to acquire the latter half of the 'Lightning Sacrifice Art'. The Lightning Sacrifice Art he had previously obtained from the Abyss Demon King of the Feathered Race was only an incomplete activation method. While it wielded immense power in activating the Divine Thunder of Aversion, its casting process was incredibly slow, rendering it largely ineffective in real combat. When he learned from the Black Rain Sage that Saint Island still held the latter half of the Lightning Sacrifice Art incantation, he immediately committed it to memory, determined to master the art completely. Now that he had found the latter half of the Lightning Sacrifice Art in the Heavenly Scripture Pavilion, and after a brief examination, he discovered that its contents, when compared with what he had previously learned, could truly form a complete set. He was naturally overjoyed and unhesitatingly took out the jade slip recording the art. As for the dozens of other secret arts, they were merely incidental. However, among the other secret arts, a few had caught his eye, and he genuinely considered practicing one or two of them upon his return.

Han Li quickly scanned the Lightning Sacrifice Art within the jade slip. After confirming everything was in order, he put the slip away and strode towards the nearby teleportation array. Daoist Crab was quietly waiting there. Upon seeing Han Li approach, Daoist Crab calmly asked, "Daoist Han, you've returned." Han Li offered an apologetic smile and said, "I've kept you waiting, Brother Crab. Let's go meet the elders of Saint Island. I imagine they're growing a bit impatient." Daoist Crab naturally nodded in agreement. Then, as the two stepped back into the teleportation array, their figures vanished once more in a flash of light.

On this boat were Han Li, Daoist Crab, Silvermoon, and others, accompanied by the white-haired old man named Luo from the Saint Island Elder Council. Han Li stood at the very front of the jade boat, his brows slightly furrowed in deep thought, seemingly contemplating something important. Han Li's brow relaxed, and he addressed the old man in an instructive tone: "Daoist Luo, I have severely wounded the Black Owl King; he won't be able to plot against our two races for several centuries. As for the Shadow Race and other tribes, without a Grand Ascension stage cultivator to oversee them, I imagine they won't dare to act rashly. In any case, the news of my entry into the Demon Realm must be kept secret for now; not a single whisper should get out for at least a hundred years, to prevent any unforeseen circumstances." The old man responded, "I will respectfully obey your command, Senior Han. Regarding your temporary departure from the Spirit Realm, I will do my utmost to block all information and prevent outsiders from learning of it. However, Senior, do you truly intend to depart so soon? Senior Han has only recently advanced to the Grand Ascension stage. Wouldn't it be better to consolidate your cultivation and prepare for a longer period before entering the Demon Realm?" he added with some hesitation after agreeing.

"Mo Jianli and Ao Xiao have been trapped in the Demon Realm for quite some time; they might be in imminent danger right now. How could I possibly delay any longer? As for consolidating my realm, I don't particularly need to. My cultivation method differs from that of most fellow Daoists; a large part of my advancement to the Grand Ascension stage was achieved through body tempering techniques, so consolidating the Grand Ascension realm doesn't require much time," Han Li explained, shaking his head."Since Senior has made up his mind, this junior will no longer try to dissuade you. The spatial node we are heading to is the original spatial passage used by the demon army during their retreat. Although this passage has disappeared and transformed into a spatial node, according to reports from nearby cultivators, strong spatial fluctuations are occasionally emitted from the node. This clearly indicates that the interface barrier here is still somewhat weak, and the interface power has not fully formed yet. With Senior's Grand Ascension stage divine abilities and the assistance of the Star Disk, breaking through to the Demon Realm should not be too difficult."Han Li replied noncommittally, "As long as the node you mentioned poses no problem, entering the Demon Realm is indeed not too difficult for me now."This was Li Rong, who was standing nearby, interjecting, "Actually, if Senior were willing to wait a bit longer, other major races would probably send people into the Demon Realm to investigate. After all, they also have Grand Ascension cultivators trapped in the Demon Realm, and no news has come from them either."Han Li sneered, "Heh heh, even if those major races do send people into the Demon Realm, they will only care about their own Grand Ascension stage cultivators. Why would they bother with the lives of people from smaller races like ours? Besides, so much time has passed; perhaps these super races have already sent people into the Demon Realm again. I don't believe these major races would specially send someone to notify our few races of their actions."

Hearing Han Li's words, Li Rong and the old man naturally had nothing more to say. At this moment, Han Li seemed to recall something and said lightly, "You don't need to worry too much. I'll have Brother Crab accompanying me to the Demon Realm this time, and Silvermoon will also go with me. Even if we encounter any issues, we'll be able to protect ourselves. It's just that this girl, Zhu Guo'er, has too low a cultivation level, so it's not suitable for her to go with me. I'll need a few of you fellow Daoists to temporarily look after her." The old man, hearing this, immediately bowed and assented, "Senior, rest assured! After you enter the Demon Realm, this junior and the others will bring Miss Zhu back to Saint Island and ensure she cultivates in peace." Zhu Guo'er pouted slightly upon hearing these words, looking vaguely displeased, yet not daring to genuinely object. Seeing this, Han Li smiled nonchalantly, and after moving his lips a few times, he directly transmitted a message to Zhu Guo'er: "The time to enter the Minor Spirit Heaven has not yet arrived; you'll have to wait several more years before there's an opportunity to find its entrance. For now, cultivate peacefully on Saint Island and raise your cultivation level. Only then, when we search for the Minor Spirit Heaven, will you be able to come with me and protect yourself." After hearing this, Zhu Guo'er's heart trembled, and she immediately nodded repeatedly, saying nothing more. As for Silvermoon, she was deeply concerned about Ancestor Ao Xiao's safety, and given that she could enter the Demon Realm with Han Li, she naturally had no objections whatsoever. And so, the jade boat shot towards the demon territory. After half a month of uneventful flight, it arrived at a lush green grassland.

After two more days and nights of flying deep into the grassland, the jade boat finally came to a halt above the ruins of a fortress. Holding an array disk, the old man carefully examined it for a long while before confirming, "According to the information we have, this is the place. There used to be a demon army stationed here, but it has been abandoned for a long time now." Hearing this, Han Li looked up at the sky and asked, "Here?" In the sky, apart from a grey cloud covering most of it, everything else appeared quite ordinary, with no anomalies. Seeing this, Han Li's expression subtly changed, and he suddenly pointed a finger at his glabella. With a "poof," a cloud of black mist emerged from his glabella, transforming into a third vertical eye. As this eye slowly opened, a black light instantly shot out, vanishing into the sky in a flash. The next moment, a rumbling sound came from within the grey cloud, followed by a faint ripple that everyone on the jade boat immediately sensed. The old man and the others showed expressions of delight upon seeing this. Han Li nodded, and after retracting his third vertical eye, he flicked his large sleeve around him. Immediately, countless array flags and disks surged out as five-colored streaks of light, flickering and disappearing into the void. A moment later, Han Li rubbed his hands together and flicked them downwards. A thunderous crack! A thick golden arc shot out, disappearing in a flash. The next moment, a rumble came from below, and a massive light array, about an acre in size, suddenly appeared, with countless golden arcs flickering and leaping within it. Han Li flicked his sleeve downwards again, and another ball of white light shot out, faintly revealing a disc-shaped magical artifact about a foot in size. It was precisely the "Reverse Star Disk," a famous realm-breaking artifact in the Spirit Realm. As soon as this disk was released, it spun ceaselessly above the giant light array, eventually transforming into a silver moon suspended in the void. Han Li raised his eyebrows and said without looking back, "Brother Crab, Silvermoon, let's go." Following that, he took a step, and his figure blurred and vanished from his spot. With a muffled sound below, Han Li reappeared at the center of the light array, his body wreathed in electric arcs. Daoist Crab and Silvermoon, seeing this, also flew down without a word, appearing behind Han Li. Han Li glanced at the old man and Li Rong on the jade boat, then formed a hand seal with one hand and slowly pointed upwards with the other. Immediately, the silver moon above the light array emitted a clear chime, and with a tremor, a five-colored pillar of light shot out, plunging directly into the grey cloud. At the same time, the light array beneath Han Li also thundered loudly, and six black and white pillars of light, wreathed in electric arcs, shot out, closely following the five-colored pillar of light and striking the same point in the grey cloud. After an earth-shattering roar, a dazzling silver light flashed and disappeared within the grey cloud, and a dark, gaping hole appeared out of thin air. Han Li took a deep breath, and golden light suddenly flared from his body. With a flash, he enveloped the two people beside him, and after a long roar, transformed into a golden rainbow that shot skyward. After a burst of intense spatial fluctuations, the golden rainbow instantly vanished into the black hole.