Chapter 2299: The Ancient Altar

Two months later, the colossal Demonic Spirit Sacred Ark suddenly appeared above a forest filled with towering ancient trees.

On the deck at the front of the massive ark, Han Li stood with Yin Yue and Zhu Guo'er.

Patriarch Huashi, an Integration-stage demon cultivator, stood a respectful distance behind the three.

By now, this high-level demon had learned of Han Li's identity as a newly advanced Mahayana human patriarch. After his initial shock, any lingering hidden agendas he might have harbored were naturally cast aside.

During this time, he had dutifully guided Han Li and his companions through a significant portion of the surrounding region, even visiting several locations where the ancient altar was rumored to have appeared.

Unfortunately, however, Han Li and the others had yet to locate the altar, coming up empty-handed each time.

"Is this the next location you spoke of?" Han Li asked without turning.

"Yes, Senior! This Dense Cloud Fierce Forest is quite infamous even among our demon race, known as a death trap for cultivators below the Spirit Transformation stage. Only those above the Void Refinement stage can barely protect themselves here; those with lower cultivation who enter are highly likely to lose their lives. This is because the Dense Cloud Fierce Forest contains not only extremely treacherous natural traps but also some incredibly powerful, unawakened demonic beasts, and several types of unique, formidable venomous insects. Of course, none of this is worth mentioning for an existence like Senior." Patriarch Huashi replied, then respectfully explained.

"Has that Quadrant Compass Altar truly appeared here?" Han Li nodded, his expression unreadable, and asked again.

"To answer you, Senior, some fellow cultivators have indeed sighted that ancient altar from a distance several times in the center of the swamp below. However, the altar itself is incomplete. Aside from some ancient runes on its surface that might hold reference value for array masters, it's generally not very useful to others. Thus, no one has truly gone to examine it up close." Patriarch Huashi replied.

"Hehe, in that case, let's descend. I have a strong premonition that the altar is very likely here, perhaps a seventy or eighty percent chance." Han Li chuckled.

Zhu Guo'er and Yin Yue, standing nearby, were both visibly pleased to hear his words.

The group immediately descended from the immense ark, flying directly towards a vast swamp located within the dense forest below.

A layer of light green poisonous mist enveloped the swamp. Cultivators below the Void Refinement stage would not be able to remain within it for long unless protected by a rare spiritual treasure.

Furthermore, the mist harbored tiny, leech-like venomous insects that, if inadvertently inhaled, would be incredibly difficult to expel from the body.

Thus, for typical demon cultivators, this was undeniably a perilous location.

Yet for Han Li, these dangers were as negligible as walking on flat ground.

From his body, several clusters of silver flames whistled forth, instantly unleashing waves of intense heat that swept in all directions, clearing all the poisonous mist within an acre's radius. The venomous insects and other similar creatures were incinerated by the silver flames in mere moments, unable to approach Han Li and his companions by even half a step.

When a few foolish demonic beasts occasionally appeared, Han Li didn't even need to act; Yin Yue effortlessly dispatched them herself.

In short order, the group reached an inconspicuous corner of the swamp.

Han Li's eyes suddenly gleamed. From several miles away, he spotted an ancient, rustic altar, approximately a hundred zhang tall, suspended over a pool of water.

"We found it! Huashi, you may stay here. We will proceed first." Han Li commanded with a faint smile.

Patriarch Huashi, naturally having no objections, quickly bowed in assent.

Meanwhile, Yin Yue and Zhu Guo'er excitedly followed Han Li directly towards the towering altar.

A short time later, the group arrived simultaneously at the altar.

Han Li paused, raising his head to carefully scrutinize the tall structure before him.

The altar was quadrangular, divided into three tiers from base to top. Its surface was covered with unknown ancient script, though most of it was obscured by a layer of pale green moss.

Furthermore, all four corners of the altar were collapsed and missing, giving it an exceptionally ancient appearance.

"Indeed, this is it! It truly is the ancient Compass Altar passed down from antiquity! According to Baohua, if activated with a secret technique at a specific time, it can calculate the spatial coordinates she mentioned, thereby revealing the entrance to the Minor Spirit Realm."

"Guo'er, you were born in the Minor Spirit Realm, and your soul naturally carries some of its essence. I will need a wisp of your spiritual sense shortly, as it will make the calculated location even more precise." Han Li turned to Zhu Guo'er and said.

"Yes. This junior will certainly do her best to assist!" Zhu Guo'er promptly replied.

Judging by her unreservedly joyful expression, she was clearly extremely eager to return to the Minor Spirit Realm.

Yin Yue, standing nearby, simply smiled without speaking.

Han Li had already informed his confidante, Yin Yue, about the possibility of Nangong Wan being in the Minor Spirit Realm.

Given Yin Yue's current state of mind, she naturally harbored no mundane feelings of jealousy. Instead, she was glad to accompany him to the Minor Spirit Realm to search for Nangong Wan.

While Han Li was confident that Baohua would not deceive him in this matter, it was genuinely his first time attempting to use an ancient altar to calculate the entrance to another realm.

It was uncertain whether any unforeseen incidents would occur during the spell casting or how significant the margin of error in the calculation results might be.

Thus, while Han Li appeared outwardly calm, a subtle sense of gravity weighed on his heart as the critical moment approached.

If not for Baohua's explanation that using this ancient altar to pinpoint the Minor Spirit Realm's location required a specific time and hour, he would have initiated the process long ago, rather than waiting until today.

As Han Li gazed at the altar, various thoughts raced through his mind. He suddenly flicked his wide sleeve, and a burst of golden light swept sideways, engulfing both himself and Zhu Guo'er, causing them to vanish.

The next moment, a ripple appeared at the altar's highest level, and the two materialized there simultaneously.

Yin Yue, however, remained at the very base of the altar, looking up at Han Li's every movement with a trace of concern on her face.

Han Li's gaze swept across the area.

The top of the altar was empty, completely devoid of any objects.

However, as his gaze fell upon the ground, he immediately noticed a circular array pattern marked with various scales around its edges.

The entire array pattern, spanning over ten zhang, covered nearly every inch of the altar's topmost layer. However, some of the runes in the corners showed signs of wear, appearing extremely faded and indistinct.

Han Li's expression shifted slightly, though he did not appear overly surprised.

He had already confirmed that as long as the array pattern was mostly intact, minor imperfections would not significantly affect its spell-casting capabilities for calculation.

Taking a deep breath, Han Li formed a hand seal, and a magical incantation immediately struck the array pattern.

With a resounding "boom,"

the ancient array pattern, whose age was unknown, flashed wildly several times before activating. Simultaneously, colorful points of light began to appear above the altar, streaming down onto it.

Observing this, Han Li's brow subtly twitched. He flicked his ten fingers continuously, sending out even more incantations.

The array pattern's hum intensified, and gradually the entire altar began to vibrate gently. Simultaneously, ribbons of soft light began to condense nearby, spiraling and dancing upwards.

The spectacle was truly astonishing!

At that moment, Han Li let out a low cry, paused his hand seal, and pressed his splayed fingers onto the ground.

With a soft *whoosh*!

A column of misty green essence light erupted from his palm, channeling furiously into the entire altar through the array pattern.

As it absorbed this pure spiritual power, the altar's roar grew even louder.

This process continued for the duration of a meal, during which Han Li injected nearly a quarter of his total true essence into the altar.

Yet, the subtle suction emanating from the array pattern showed no signs of abating.

Han Li took a sharp breath at the sight.

No wonder, then, that while many were aware of such ancient altars, few genuinely took an interest in them.

The sheer amount of spiritual power required to activate this altar was clearly beyond the means of any being below the Mahayana stage.

Of course, with the aid of some top-tier spirit stones, a powerful Integration-stage cultivator might manage to activate some of the altar's functions. However, the true efficacy of such an activation would remain highly uncertain.

Furthermore, the functions of these ancient altars were primarily minor auxiliary ones. Mahayana cultivators, having no real need for them, likely wouldn't bother with such a thankless task.

As Han Li pondered, the array pattern below suddenly emitted a blinding flash of light, and the suction force vanished.

Immediately after, the array pattern emitted a "bang," and countless multicolored runes burst forth, swirling to form a gigantic, shimmering disc that appeared above the altar.

Concentric circles of symbols, similar to the markings on the array pattern, covered nearly every part of the disc. Some glowed dazzlingly bright, while others were exceedingly dim.

Witnessing this, Han Li's face lit up with undisguised joy. He straightened his posture, his palm lifting directly from the array pattern. With a flick of his other sleeve, an object suddenly flew out.

It was a misty green ancient mirror!

Without a word, Han Li repeatedly pointed a finger at the circular disc in the air.

A whooshing sound filled the air.

Several crystalline threads shot forth from his fingertips. After a momentary flash, they vanished into several widely spaced scale symbols on the disc.

With a few soft *puffs*, these previously dim symbols immediately brightened considerably and began to slowly rotate on their own.

"Guo'er, now's the time," Han Li commanded, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Yes, Senior!" Zhu Guo'er replied without hesitation, simply touching a finger to her forehead.

Instantly, a wisp of spiritual sense shot forth from between her brows, vanishing into the center of the massive disc.

In that instant, the previously slowly rotating scale symbols simultaneously quivered, then began to spin wildly at an incredible speed.