Chapter 2289: True Immortal Emerges Hidden Secret Revealed

"Crippling your own cultivation! You would do such a thing?" Han Li's eyes flickered slightly, a hint of disbelief in his expression.

"If I hadn't crippled most of my cultivation, Baohua wouldn't have simply exiled me to the wasteland. After all, I was her most trusted confidante, yet I delivered a fatal blow from behind. That I managed to keep my life this time was already beyond expectation," Yuan Sha explained faintly.

"So that's how it is. It seems your relationship with Baohua back then was truly extraordinary, for her to spare you under such circumstances." Han Li nodded, a pensive look on his face.

"Fellow Daoist Han, I offended you in the past. My cultivation has also fallen, and I know I'm no match for you. Now that we've met again, how do you intend to deal with me? Do you seek revenge for what happened back then?" Yuan Sha finally asked slowly, a strange glint in her eyes.

"If Baohua hadn't already punished you, I might indeed have been interested in settling old scores. But now, that thought has faded considerably. Not only has your cultivation plummeted, but your spiritual state has also collapsed. It's a wonder you can maintain your current cultivation at all. There's no hope of you returning to the Mahayana realm in this lifetime. Considering your past status as a Mahayana Grand Ancestor, I won't do anything overly extreme to you. Just sever one of your arms. If you do that, I'll consider our past grievances completely settled," Han Li said in a deep voice after a moment of silence.

"Just an arm? So simple, that's no problem!" Yuan Sha was startled at first, but then replied with a bitter smile.

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly raised an arm, opened her mouth, and spat out a white light that coiled around it.

The entire arm silently detached at the shoulder, yet not a single drop of blood appeared at the wound. It was as smooth as a mirror.

With a soft 'thud', Yuan Sha pressed her other hand into the air. Under an invisible immense force, the severed arm instantly disintegrated into a mist of blood, vanishing completely.

"May I leave now?" Yuan Sha asked, her face looking even paler after severing her arm.

"Yes, you may go." Han Li nodded, showing no intention of troubling her further.

"I thank you for your generosity, Fellow Daoist. It's unlikely we will ever meet again." Yuan Sha's expression shifted slightly. After a slight bow towards Han Li from a distance, her form blurred, transforming into a shimmering blue streak of light that shot away through the air.

As she sped away, a faint black light emanated from her previously injured shoulder, and a new arm swiftly reformed amidst intertwining black mist. Although her arm could regenerate, the depletion of her vital energy was an unavoidable consequence.

"Brother Han, you truly let her go like that? Aren't you afraid she might seek revenge later?" Silvermoon had been standing quietly on the flying boat since the beginning. Now, she finally couldn't help but ask.

"Since Baohua was willing to grant her a path to survival, it wouldn't be right for me to overstep and truly kill her. Who knows how much of their old bond still remains? The fact that Baohua could so lightly dismiss what happened back then shows that their relationship is far beyond what outsiders can imagine. I'll be returning to the Demon Realm in the future, and it's best not to make relations with this Demon Ancestor too strained. As for revenge, Yuan Sha's hope of returning to the Mahayana realm is slim, and her spirit has become like dead ash; she probably won't even conceive of such a thought. And if her cultivation can't return to the Mahayana realm, her lifespan will also be limited, so I have no need to worry much," Han Li replied, shaking his head.

"That's true. Even if she did harbor such intentions, with Brother Han's capabilities, you wouldn't even bat an eye. Still, I can't help but feel a little emotional! Back in the Human Realm, a wisp of this woman's soul nearly caused both you and me to perish in Mount Kunwu, and now her true self has met such a fate." Silvermoon gazed in the direction where Yuan Sha's escape light had vanished, sighing softly.

Of course, she wasn't truly pitying the former Demon Ancestor; it was simply that the stark contrast between then and now evoked a complex mix of emotions within her.

"Yuan Sha poses no threat to us, so there's no need to dwell on it. Let's quickly retrieve the Crying Spirit Secret Treasure to avoid any further complications," Han Li said indifferently.

"Brother Han speaks wisely!" Baohua naturally had no objections.

With a hum, the flying boat turned around again and shot back in its original direction.

Half a day later, the flying boat carried the two of them over an unusually flat ice plain.

Strangely, right in the center of this ice plain, there was a small, light green lake that shouldn't have been there.

The lake appeared to be only a few thousand mu in size, but its surface was steaming, and bowl-sized bubbles occasionally emerged from its depths.

Along the lakeside, some low-lying dark green shrubs grew, as if showcasing a miraculous presence within the icy landscape.

The flying boat blurred and then appeared at a low altitude by the lake.

Standing at the front of the flying boat, Han Li surveyed the lake for a few moments, then suddenly smiled and said, "Quite interesting."

"Brother Han, this is where the secret map indicates. It certainly looks very different from other places. But after so many years, haven't any passing demons discovered the existence of this secret treasure?" Baohua asked curiously.

"How could a secret treasure left by the Crying Spirit Ancestor, a Mahayana Demon, be discovered by ordinary high-level demons? Even if other Mahayana Demon cultivators came here in person, without that secret map, they likely wouldn't find anything either." Han Li chuckled, then flicked his sleeve towards the lake surface.

A whooshing sound filled the air!

Four crystal bricks shot out instantly, spun with dazzling five-colored light, and then hovered motionless above the lake surface.

Han Li formed a hand seal with one hand, while with a single finger of his other hand, he lightly pointed at the lake surface, simultaneously uttering the word "Open."

With a loud "boom"!

Countless runes surged forth from the four crystal bricks. As they swirled and danced, they suddenly coalesced into a five-colored light formation about an mu in size.

Without waiting for Han Li to activate anything further, the light formation began to spin rapidly. A muffled sound came from its center, and a greyish pillar of light shot out, disappearing into the lake water in a flash.

In an instant, spatial fluctuations rippled through the lake!

The lake surface, which had only been subtly rippling, began to churn wildly. Directly beneath the light formation, a dark vortex appeared out of thin air, from which countless black threads intermittently spiraled forth.

"This is the entrance to the Crying Spirit Secret Treasure; it's certainly well-hidden! However, truly obtaining the treasures inside will probably require some effort," Silvermoon said with a hint of excitement, witnessing all this.

"Let's go. Even if there are some restrictions inside, how could they truly stop us?" Han Li smiled faintly, speaking nonchalantly. Then, a flash of spiritual light beneath his feet, and the flying boat vanished without a trace.

The two figures then moved, floating directly down into the black hole on the lake surface.

As soon as their figures entered the vortex, the five-colored light formation that had been hovering over the lake roared, reverted into four crystal bricks, and also shot into the black hole.

After a fierce swirling of black energy within the lake's vortex, it transformed into a gale and vanished.

Time passed, bit by bit.

The lake surface remained utterly calm, as if it would continue to stay that way indefinitely.

After an unknown period, within an unidentified labyrinth beneath the lake, Han Li and Silvermoon walked side by by side.

All around them, thick, massive pillars stood densely.

These pillars were over a dozen zhang tall, enveloped in black mist, from which faint howls and wails emerged.

If ordinary cultivators heard these sounds, their spiritual sense would likely be suppressed on the spot, leaving them disoriented and dizzy.

However, a faint spiritual light merely flashed on Silvermoon's body, and her protective aura directly blocked these sounds.

As for Han Li, he remained completely unaffected, seemingly ignoring the pillars as if they weren't there.

Above the pillars, dense black mist obscured everything.

Suddenly, black mist condensed on several stone pillars near them, manifesting into several blurry phantom figures that lunged out. Their forms were clearly those of ferocious giant wolves.

Han Li's steps did not falter, but as soon as three of the giant wolf phantoms pounced towards him, a grey aura flashed,

and the three giant wolves were instantly enveloped and vanished.

On the other side, as two giant wolf phantoms lunged towards Silvermoon, a wolf's howl also echoed, and a huge silver wolf-beast materialized out of thin air.

With a mere open maw, the silver wolf-beast swallowed the two black wolf phantoms whole. After a single tremor, it too mysteriously vanished.

Their figures moved without pause, casually gliding past the pillars and gradually receding into the distance.

"Brother Han, how many batches have we dealt with now?" Silvermoon suddenly asked.

"This should be the seventh," Han Li replied calmly.

"The Crying Spirit Ancestor has such a great reputation; surely the restrictions she set up aren't just this simple? Those previous restrictions wouldn't even stop a Mahayana Grand Ancestor like you, Brother Han, and they probably wouldn't be much use against a Body Integration cultivator like me either," Silvermoon said with a sweet smile.

"If you think that, you might truly fall victim to the Crying Spirit Ancestor's hidden trap," Han Li replied leisurely after hearing her.

"What? Brother Han, what do you mean by that...?" Silvermoon was genuinely surprised and somewhat confused.

"Do you truly believe these pillars are placed here merely to release some insignificant evil sounds and conjure a few phantoms only at the Void Refinement stage?" Han Li said with a smile.

"Do these pillars have some other purpose then?" Silvermoon immediately understood Han Li's implication and asked, surprised.

"You'll know once you see this," Han Li said, a faint smile playing on his lips. He suddenly raised his arm and fiercely grasped at the nearby void with his five fingers.

With a 'bang'.

Silver spiritual flames immediately flared between his fingers, violently pulling something out of the void. His five fingers then closed, tightly grasping it in his palm.

Silvermoon's beautiful eyes widened, fixated on the palm enveloped in silver flames.

Han Li smiled faintly, then raised his palm and slowly loosened his grip.