Chapter 2320: True Immortal Descends Prelude to Battle

“You mean Ying'er. Absolutely not. She’s cultivating at a critical juncture, and the success of our endeavor hinges on it. We must not disturb her.” Upon hearing this, the Matriarch of the Asura Spiders cried out, her expression changing drastically, as if Elder Yi had touched a raw nerve.

“Of course, I understand the importance of Fairy Ying’s cultivation and enlightenment,” Elder Yi said, his expression unchanged. “But don’t forget, if we truly can’t withstand the attacks of these foreign Mahayana cultivators, how could she continue cultivating peacefully? Breaking through her seclusion would only be a matter of time. All we need to do is warn her in advance. If these foreign Mahayana cultivators aren’t targeting our city, perhaps we can simply drive them away, and then Fairy Ying won’t need to emerge from seclusion.”

“Before Ying’er went into seclusion, she said this cultivation and enlightenment was extraordinary. She told us not to disturb her, no matter what happened, lest all her efforts be wasted! So, I need to think carefully before making a decision. After all, even just informing her might affect her state of mind,” the Matriarch of the Asura Spiders said, shaking her head after a brief hesitation.

“Alright, I only suggested this as a contingency. However, these next few days, we must first activate all the restrictions your clan has painstakingly maintained, and also use the levitation restriction to move the city elsewhere. Although the restrictions prevent us from flying too far, it might buy us some time…” Although Elder Yi was somewhat displeased, he understood the importance of Fairy Ying to the Matriarch of the Asura Spiders. After a few more words, he moved on to other matters.

An hour later, layers of shimmering light suddenly erupted from the battlements of the Asura Spider Stone City in the mountain range, completely enveloping the entire city.

Immediately after, the ground for hundreds of miles around shook violently.

The stone city actually lifted itself from the earth, and with a booming sound, slowly flew towards the other side of the sky.

Before long, the entire city vanished without a trace, leaving only a massive, dark pit where it once stood.

Not far from the giant pit, an unremarkable large tree suddenly glowed with a circulating green light, transforming into a young man in a green robe with pale green skin.

His face bore a striking resemblance to Han Li’s, about seventy to eighty percent similar!

After glancing up at the direction where the stone city had disappeared in the distance, a strange smile appeared on his lips.

Then, the young man performed a hand seal with one hand, and with another flash of green light, he vanished into the earth.

At the same time, high above a grassland an unknown distance from the mountain range, a white flying boat cut through the air.

Han Li and Mo Jianli were seated cross-legged at the bow of the boat, deep in meditation with their eyes closed.

Xue Ran and Hei Lin stood side-by-side at the stern, silently conversing using a sound transmission technique.

Suddenly, Han Li’s expression stirred, and he slowly opened his closed eyes. A hint of something unusual appeared at the corner of his mouth.

“Fellow Daoist Han, is something wrong?” Mo Jianli sensed Han Li’s unusual state at once, and with surprise, he also opened his eyes and asked.

“Nothing much, just that soon, we might need to slightly adjust our course,” Han Li replied casually.

“Oh, it seems you left some preparations over there!” Mo Jianli was startled at first, but then realized and smiled faintly.

“I merely left a clone there. Even if they temporarily moved their lair, they wouldn’t be able to go very far. Now that our escape speed is at full throttle, we should reach that location in at most a day,” Han Li said, his expression remaining as usual.

“It seems Fellow Daoist Han has everything planned. If that’s the case, then I truly feel at ease,” Mo Jianli said, nodding after a moment of silence.

“I wouldn’t say ‘everything planned,’ but with the help of Brother Mo and others, defeating those Asura Spiders shouldn’t be a problem,” Han Li replied with a faint smile. “Once we obtain the Threads of Time, Brother Mo and Brother Ao should have a better chance of overcoming their tribulations.”

“Heh heh, I hope so,” Mo Jianli said with a wry smile after hesitating slightly, finally voicing what had been bothering him. “However, this battle will certainly be a tough one. And even if the Asura Spiders are no match for us, if they are intent on fleeing, capturing them might not be an easy task.”

“If that’s the case, it would indeed be a bit troublesome. How about this: I still have a few fearless Integration-stage puppets. Their strength isn’t weak. While they might be useless against a powerful enemy like the Asura Spider Matriarch, they should be somewhat effective against adult Asura Spiders who haven’t reached the Mahayana stage yet. I believe they will be somewhat effective,” Han Li said after thinking for a moment.

“Integration-stage puppets!” Upon hearing this, Mo Jianli was immediately delighted. “If such powerful puppets assist us, I might truly be able to keep a good number of those adult Asura Spiders from escaping. I won’t bother with words of gratitude. If we truly achieve something on this trip, I will certainly repay you generously afterwards.”

“We are both of the same race; these puppets are nothing. Brother Mo, please don’t dwell on it,” Han Li chuckled, then with a flip of his hand, a dark circular ring appeared, which he directly handed to Mo Jianli.

Inside were several Integration-stage demon crystal puppets he had obtained from the Demon Realm.

Half of these puppets he had left on the Spirit Realm’s Demonic Spirit Holy Boat, while the other half he carried with him as spares.

Mo Jianli took the storage bracelet with a worried expression. After carefully scanning its contents with his spiritual sense, he repeatedly expressed his thanks.

With these fearless puppets to tie down the adult Asura Spiders, he finally felt he had the confidence to calmly employ his various hidden techniques.

In the following time, Mo Jianli began to study the control methods for the demon crystal puppets within the storage bracelet.

Han Li, meanwhile, once again closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.

A day later, at the edge of the mountain range where the stone city had originally been, a flash of white light appeared, and Han Li and his companions, aboard the flying boat, materialized in the sky.

However, the flying boat did not linger at the edge; after a few blinks, it continued to shoot forward.

A short while later, the flying boat traversed the center of the mountain range and once again disappeared into the horizon.

Below, in a hidden tree hollow, a figure whose features were indistinct watched all of this with raised head.

He waited until the flying boat had completely flown away, then, as a light breeze stirred around his body, his clear form emerged.

It was a handsome young man dressed in silver.

With a grave expression, he gazed at the sky for a long time before letting out a soft sigh, then transformed into a wisp of breeze and vanished again.

On the other side, after the flying boat flew over a lake and several dense forests, an endless loess plateau appeared ahead.

At this moment, Han Li, at the bow, opened his eyes again and calmly stated, “We’re almost there. Fellow Daoists, you can prepare yourselves.”

As soon as his words fell, Han Li’s figure blurred, and he stood up straight.

Mo Jianli and the two in front, Xue Ran and Hei Lin, heard this and dared not be slow. They likewise opened their eyes, stood up, and looked towards the front of the flying boat.

However, apart from gusts of yellow wind, there was no sign of any city.

“Fellow Daoist Han, where is the Asura Spiders’ lair?” Xue Ran frowned and asked.

“No need to worry, Brother Xue. You’ll see it about ten thousand li further ahead,” Han Li said unhurriedly.

“Ten thousand li, you say.” Upon hearing this, Hei Lin, without hesitation, tapped a finger between his eyebrows and unleashed his vast spiritual sense.

A moment later, the foreign Mahayana cultivator burst into laughter: “Indeed, there’s a sandy area over there, and a city is indeed hidden beneath the sand.”

“Good, then there’s no problem. Prepare to act!” Xue Ran nodded subtly upon hearing this.

Then he opened his mouth and spat out a ball of black light.

Within the black light was a fist-sized black censer, with a slender, blood-red incense stick, an inch long, inserted into it.

Xue Ran formed a hand seal with one hand and pointed a finger at the empty space ahead.

Immediately, the censer spun rapidly, then swelled enormously, growing to a height of about ten feet.

Xue Ran opened his mouth and exhaled again; a wisp of crimson flame brushed past it, instantly igniting the incense stick, from which an eerie, pungent odor emanated.

Then, Xue Ran began muttering incantations, standing motionless in place.

However, from the censer before him, sounds of ghostly wails could be heard, and specks of green light flickered faintly above it.

At the same time, eight blood-red orbs of light flew out from Xue Ran’s body. Inside each orb was a motionless, seated infant, its pale skin covered in blood-white runes, and displaying an extremely eerie smile.

Seeing this, Hei Lin, who stood nearby, chuckled. He suddenly slapped a leather pouch hanging from his waist with one hand.

With a ‘bang,’ the pouch’s opening flew open, and a streak of black qi rushed out. After condensing in mid-air, it transformed into a black cloud about an acre in size.

Continuous hissing sounds came from within, as if something was vaguely hidden inside.

Then Hei Lin shook both his sleeves, and over a dozen black banners flew out, flashing once before disappearing into the nearby void.

At this moment, Mo Jianli also took out two spirit beast rings. After tossing them around the flying boat, a snow-white flying tiger and a crimson firebird leaped out from them, circling and dancing overhead.

Both emanated unusually powerful auras, seemingly possessing Integration-stage cultivation.

Then Mo Jianli formed another hand seal with one hand, and several exotic treasures of various designs also flew out from him.

Han Li quietly watched all of this, his hands tucked into his sleeves, making no move at all.

For Han Li and the others, a distance of over ten thousand li was naturally covered in mere moments.

When they appeared in the center of a reddish-yellow desert, Han Li tapped the magical artifact beneath his foot with one foot, and the flying boat immediately shuddered to a halt in the nearby void.

Xue Ran glanced at the sandy terrain below, covered in dunes, a cold smile appearing on his face. He activated a spell in his mind, and at the same time, uttered the word “Break.”

Immediately, the infants within the eight blood-red orbs floating around his body abruptly lost their smiles and collectively aimed their small, gaping mouths downwards.

With a series of thunderous roars, eight blood-red beams of light shot down from the flying boat, tearing through the air.