Chapter 2298: True Immortal Descends Demon Cultivator Hua Shi

The purple-gold figure fell into a deep coma, unable to awaken for some time. A crystalline light flashed between Han Li's brows, and his black mystical eyes dissipated. He glanced at the purple-gold figure on the ground with a hint of surprise and let out a light breath.

“I knew that once this little creature evolved into an Insect King, the original restrictions I placed on it would likely be ineffective,” Han Li murmured. “Fortunately, I had planted other contingencies in the three quasi-Insect Kings before they devoured each other. Otherwise, subduing this advanced Insect King would truly be a headache. But to be safe, it seems I'll have to re-refine it with a secret technique.”

As Han Li finished muttering, he immediately shook his sleeve, and hundreds of densely packed banners flew out all at once. Flashing wildly, they formed a large formation, several zhang in size, within the secret chamber. At the center of the formation was precisely the unconscious purple-gold figure. Han Li chanted incantations while continuously casting several hand seals, all of which flashed and disappeared into the formation.

With several soft bursts, countless fine, five-colored threads shot out from around the formation. They quickly wrapped around the center, binding the purple-gold figure tightly. Then Han Li opened his mouth again, spitting out several clusters of vital blood, which spun and transformed into blood runes, shooting towards the purple-gold figure. At the same time, the entire formation buzzed loudly, and surges of light and flame erupted, sweeping towards the center.

After an unknown period, the secret chamber door opened, and Han Li emerged with a faint smile on his face. It was clear that the refinement of the Jin-eating Beetle King had been very successful.

A month later, Tool Spirit Child and Bai Guo'er bid farewell to Han Li and embarked on a journey to the Barren World. More than ten days later, Han Li, along with Silvermoon and Zhu Guo'er, also left Sacred Island and sped towards the demon territory on the Mo Ling Sacred Ark.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed. Along the way, the Mo Ling Sacred Ark naturally encountered many demon races. However, regardless of their rank, when these demons saw the Mo Ling Sacred Ark's mountain-like colossal body from a distance and the awe-inspiring demonic crystal puppets standing on its deck, they were naturally terrified and fled as far as they could.

Not long after, as Han Li's flying boat passed over an inland sea, it disturbed an unknown demon cultivator who was meditating deep within the sea. This aquatic demon cultivator was likely at the early Integration stage. Over ten thousand years ago, it had moved its cave dwelling here and forcibly driven away several other formidable demon clans. Since then, it had regarded this resource-rich inland sea as its personal territory. Although this demon was extraordinarily temperamental and possessed considerable power among the demon race, coupled with several extraordinary treasures, few other demons of the same rank dared to provoke it. Therefore, for the past ten thousand years, any demon wanting to operate in this sea usually had to greet it first.

One day, as this demon cultivator was refining a crucial batch of elixirs in the secret chamber of its underwater cave dwelling, a sharp alarm suddenly sounded from outside the chamber. Caught off guard, the demon's mind was disturbed, and it was startled. The green demonic flame it was channeling through the jade fan in its hand inadvertently grew by a third.

With a "boom"! The several-foot-tall white crystal jade cauldron in front of it flashed wildly a few times, and immediately a burnt smell emanated from it. Upon seeing this, the Integration-stage demon cultivator let out an angry growl. Its face contorted in a series of furious expressions. Without even bothering to examine the alarm formation outside the secret chamber, it shook its sleeve, transformed into a streak of white light, and shot out of the chamber, heading straight for the sea surface. The materials for that batch of elixirs were extremely rare; the demon had spent a tremendous amount of effort to gather them for this single refinement. Now that they were ruined like this, the demon felt immense regret and naturally directed its furious rage at the culprit responsible.

Although it hadn't seen who triggered the sea surface alarm, it already thought fiercely to itself: "If these people have some influence or background, fine, as long as they compensate for my losses, I can let this matter go. But if not, I'll have to grind them to dust to avenge the destruction of this batch of elixirs."

As an aquatic demon, its water escape technique was incredibly fast. In just a few flashes, it rode a green water python to the sea surface, and the moment it broke through, it first let out an angry roar: "Where do these youngsters come from, daring to ruin your Old Ancestor Huashi's good deed? Surrender yourselves quickly and await your ancestor's judgment! Ah, you are..."

The demon cultivator, clad in half-body fish scale armor, along with the green python beneath its feet, had just appeared high in the sky. It raised its head and glared fiercely forward, only to be instantly dumbfounded. Hundreds of zhang higher than its position, a massive black ark, like a mountain, was slowly flying towards them from afar. The densely packed armored puppets standing on the ark made its heart pound with fear. Among these puppets, several unmistakably emitted auras that seemed to surpass its own. The rest of the demon's harsh words, which had reached its throat, were immediately swallowed back down with a gulp.

"Ah, a misunderstanding. I, Hua, have mistaken you for others. I wouldn't dare disturb your journey. I'll take my leave now." The demon's reaction wasn't slow; after its eyes darted around twice, it immediately put on a smiling face and hastened to apologize, while the green giant python beneath its feet moved, silently retreating with it towards the sea below.

"Wait, so you are Old Ancestor Huashi! Excellent, we were just looking for a local expert familiar with this area. You'll stay with us for a while!" The voice was pleasant to hear; it was unmistakably Silvermoon's.

As soon as the words fell, a fluctuation appeared on the black ark, and four puppets, whose auras were no less powerful than the aquatic demon cultivator's, soared into the sky bare-handed, flying directly towards the demon. Seeing this, Old Ancestor Huashi's face changed drastically. He stomped on the green giant python with one foot, transforming into a ball of white light without hesitation and shooting downwards. At the same time, he released several protective magical treasures in one go.

But just then, the four demonic crystal puppets let out a long roar, and their eight palms simultaneously pressed towards Old Ancestor Huashi through the air. Several explosive sounds rang out! Under the surging invisible immense force, the demon cultivator's several protective magical treasures shattered into specks of luminous light. Old Ancestor Huashi and the green python, as the surrounding air tightened, immediately sank and became completely immobile, directly trapped in mid-air.

Old Ancestor Huashi's face turned ashen. He could only watch helplessly as the four puppets flew closer. One of the puppets moved its arm, simultaneously picking up both him and the green python, then turned and flew back towards the black ark from which they had come.

A moment later, in the main hall on the Mo Ling Sacred Ark's highest deck, he finally saw Han Li seated in the master's chair. Zhu Guo'er and Silvermoon naturally stood beside him. With a "thump," the puppet loosened its grip, heavily dropping Old Ancestor Huashi and the green python onto the deck, then expressionlessly exited the hall.

Although Old Ancestor Huashi's body regained its freedom for a moment, his internal true essence seemed to have been tampered with by the puppets; his spiritual power became sluggish and unresponsive. Furthermore, Silvermoon's aura was even stronger than his, and Han Li's spiritual pressure was so subtle yet profound that it gave him a feeling of unfathomable dread. As a result, despite his astonishment and anger, the aquatic demon cultivator dared not make any further attempts to resist. Instead, after a bitter smile, he bowed deeply to Han Li and honestly said: "I am Huashi. Greetings, fellow Daoists. I wonder if there is anything I can assist you with, now that you have brought me here."

Han Li observed the Integration-stage demon cultivator for a few moments, a faint, unreadable smile on his face, but did not immediately reply. It was Silvermoon, standing nearby, who, after her eyes shifted, asked with a light laugh: "You're quite sensible now. Why didn't you listen to us at first, and instead tried to run away?"

"Fellow Daoist is joking," Old Ancestor Huashi said somewhat awkwardly, discreetly glancing at Han Li now and then, appearing extremely cautious. "I was merely instinctively trying to protect myself. After all, you all appear exceedingly powerful, so naturally, I had to retreat quickly."

"Hmph, but the demeanor you displayed when you first appeared showed no hint of mere self-preservation. Could it be, Daoist, that you originally intended to cause trouble for us?" Silvermoon snorted, her face suddenly becoming stern, and her voice turned strangely cold.

"I absolutely had no intention of targeting any of you, only... only for a moment I was confused and mistakenly thought you were passing juniors, which is why I became somewhat presumptuous," Old Ancestor Huashi stammered, now sweating profusely, as he hastily explained.

Silvermoon chuckled, then said nothing more. Han Li, who had been sitting upright in the chair, finally spoke calmly: "I don't care what your original intentions were. But since you dared to provoke us first, you must now help me with one task before I release you. Otherwise, severe punishment will naturally be unavoidable."

Hearing this, Old Ancestor Huashi secretly groaned in his heart, but at this point, he dared not utter a single "no." He could only force a smile and say, "Please rest assured, esteemed ones! Whatever you wish for me to do, as long as I am capable, I will certainly do my utmost. But what is this matter you speak of?"

"You needn't worry; the task I ask of you is simple. It's merely to help me find a place. I heard there's a remnant ancient altar here that seems to move on its own, its location erratic. Is this true?" Han Li said with a faint smile.

"So you are looking for the Sizhou Compass Altar. Yes, I, Hua, do know something about it. However, finding this item largely depends on luck. All I can do is take you to a few places where this altar frequently appears," Old Ancestor Huashi replied quickly, feeling a sense of relief.

"Very well, then please lead us to these locations first," Han Li said without hesitation. Zhu Guo'er, standing nearby, couldn't help but have her eyes light up upon hearing this conversation.