Chapter 2354: True Immortal Descends Peeping

On that day, Han Li spent more than ten days and, without any major incidents, successfully helped Yue Long, a Mahayana expert of the Flying Spirit Race, refine the two types of Extreme Origin Crystals: gold and wood.

Overjoyed, Yue Long showed no regrets about the promised reward. He generously gave Han Li one of each of the newly refined Extreme Origin Crystals and strongly urged him to stay longer in his cave dwelling.

Han Li naturally declined, eager to continue his journey. Taking the others with him, he eventually reached the weakest point of the spatial barrier in the Abyssal Space. He then used the Profound Sky Spirit-Severing Sword to cut open the barrier and piloted the entire Demonic Spirit Sacred Ark through.

Now, hearing Han Li's words, Blood Essence replied with a gentle smile:

"This space is indeed remarkable. It seems your esteemed friend must also be an extraordinary being. Could they perhaps also be a Mahayana expert?"

"You've guessed incorrectly this time, Fairy. Although my close friend's cultivation is not weak, she was only at the Void Refinement stage when we last parted. She certainly hasn't reached the Mahayana realm yet. However, she might be at the Body Integration stage, as she is now a disciple of a Mahayana expert," Han Li calmly replied.

"A disciple of a Mahayana, and at the Body Integration stage – how truly enviable. To advance to the Body Integration stage and beyond, I endured countless hardships, and even now, my true body is sealed on another continent," Blood Essence said with a peculiar sigh.

"Heh heh, Fairy, there's no need to belittle yourself. You simply had a bit of bad luck back then. Once your true body is rescued, it won't be impossible to advance further," Han Li chuckled.

"I hope that truly comes to pass," Blood Essence said with a wry smile.

Han Li smiled faintly and said nothing more. With a flick of his wrist, a pale black jade slip suddenly appeared in his palm, which he then gently pressed against his forehead.

It was the map of the Abyssal Space he had acquired from Qing Yuanzi years ago.

Han Li's divine sense swiftly scanned the map several times. After sweeping over the terrain near the swamp, he pinpointed his location, discovering that he was surprisingly not far from Qing Yuanzi's cave dwelling.

Greatly pleased, he put away the jade slip and immediately urged the black giant ark forward. It roared as it shot away in a certain direction.

A day later, as the black giant ark neared the vicinity of Qing Yuanzi's cave dwelling, Han Li, who was sitting cross-legged at the bow, suddenly opened his eyes with a look of surprise.

"Such powerful fluctuations… This… this is the fluctuation of a Great Heavenly Tribulation. Is someone undergoing tribulation nearby? Considering the timing, it seems Qing Yuanzi should also be facing his Heavenly Tribulation around this time. Could it truly be him…?"

After muttering a few words, Han Li's expression became unsettled. He formed a hand seal, and the black giant ark beneath him hummed and then vibrated, coming to a halt high in the air.

The next moment, he stood up, stomped his foot, and a burst of light erupted from his body. He instantly transformed into a long azure rainbow and shot away through the air.

At that moment, a clear voice echoed from above the giant ark:

"You all remain here and guard the spirit ark. I will go ahead and investigate."

While his voice still reverberated high in the air, the azure rainbow vanished into the distance after a few flashes.

At that moment, Zhu Guo'er, Blood Essence, and the others hastily exited the cabin, looking with surprise in the direction Han Li had gone.

With Han Li's divine abilities, his speed, when fully activating his escape light, naturally reached an incredible level.

However, the source of the fluctuations he had sensed was quite distant. He flew for a good quarter of an hour before he could vaguely see the black tribulation clouds on the distant horizon and faintly hear rumbling sounds.

"No, there are other Mahayana experts present."

After flying forward for a moment, Han Li, still within his escape light, suddenly narrowed his eyes, a sense of alarm rising in his heart.

The azure rainbow circled once, and as the escape light retracted, his figure suddenly appeared in mid-air. He then gazed thoughtfully at the area beneath the distant tribulation clouds.

"One, two, three… there are actually so many Mahayana experts gathered there. From their undisguised auras, they clearly bear ill will toward the person undergoing tribulation. I just don't know if the one undergoing tribulation is Qing Yuanzi. If not, there's no need to get involved in this," Han Li muttered with a strange expression after watching for a moment.

After pondering for a moment with his head lowered, he suddenly slapped his forehead and opened his mouth, expelling a hazy green essence qi.

This essence qi spun in front of him before solidifying and transforming into a green crystal ball.

Meanwhile, Han Li formed a hand seal with one hand and closed his eyes. Suddenly, a bloody mark appeared between his eyebrows, and a mass of black mist emerged from thin air. Upon solidifying, a dark vertical eye appeared.

A black light flashed.

A thin black thread shot out from the vertical eye, instantly vanishing into the empty space ahead.

The next moment, a wave of shimmering light rolled across the surface of the green crystal ball, and an exceptionally clear image slowly appeared.

Han Li, who had kept his eyes tightly closed, now opened them and gazed carefully at the image on the crystal ball.

The image showed nothing but dense black mist and pulsating clusters of purple-gold lightning; no other objects were visible.

Han Li frowned slightly and subtly activated a spell with his hand.

Instantly, the image in the crystal ball began to rotate rapidly. After a moment, trees, mountain peaks, and other scenery started to appear, as if someone were quickly scanning the surroundings.

Han Li's expression suddenly shifted, and as he paused his hand seal, the rotating image in the crystal ball also stopped abruptly.

What appeared in the image was an endless sea of blood-red mist.

Within this sea of mist, above a shimmering giant archway, stood three men, each dressed differently.

Han Li's gaze sharpened, and he immediately recognized that the three Mahayana auras he had sensed were emanating from these three men.

Of the three, only the two-zhang-tall giant stood still with his arms crossed. The other two included one who was activating the giant archway, using it to charge through the blood mist.

Wherever they passed, five-colored runes surged, forcing the strange mist to continuously retreat.

The last person, dressed as a young Daoist priest, had three colossal python head phantoms emerging from his back. Each head spewed out red, yellow, and green rays of light, and as soon as the blood mist touched these three-colored rays, it vanished into thin air as if melting.

Deep within the boundless sea of blood-red mist, countless massive dark figures flickered faintly, and masses of bloody energy surged out from them, seemingly resisting the power of the archway and the three-colored rays of light.

As Han Li watched intently, the giant man suddenly sensed something. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he raised his head, sweeping his gaze to one side, while simultaneously shouting loudly:

"Who's there, secretly spying on me?!"

As soon as his voice fell, the giant man's arm moved, and a massive black hand slapped fiercely in the direction he was looking.

"Boom!" A loud bang echoed.

The empty space, spanning about an acre to one side, twisted and then exploded.

Subsequently, rolling black mist, mixed with gusts of hot wind, swept outwards in all directions, forcibly shattering the nearby blood mist.

With such a large commotion, Huang Yuanzi and San Quan Daoist naturally couldn't have failed to notice, and their gazes swept over with surprise.

"What's happening, Fellow Daoist Immortal? Have you discovered something?" Huang Yuanzi asked grimly after taking a deep breath and halting the archway.

After two days and nights of continuous efforts to break through, nearly half of the restrictions on this grand formation had been removed. He certainly didn't want any accidents at this crucial moment.

"Someone was secretly spying on us. I shattered their secret technique with a single punch," the giant man calmly replied.

"Was it that young girl who was previously controlling the formation?" Huang Yuanzi asked slowly, his expression shifting.

"It shouldn't be. That junior was only at the Void Refinement stage, and I seized the opportunity to strike her from a distance earlier. Even if she isn't dead, she should be severely injured. How could she dare to use magic to spy on us again?" The giant man shook his head, speaking with certainty.

"So, it's a new arrival then. What's their cultivation level? Can you sense anything?" Huang Yuanzi asked, frowning as he pressed for more information.

"I merely broke their spell; how could I detect their specific cultivation level? However, the secret technique they employed was very profound, far superior to anything that young girl could manage. Their realm is likely not low," the giant man said with a hint of gravity.

"In that case, we have trouble. This person might also be a Mahayana expert. Could they be a helper invited by that villain, Qing Yuanzi?" San Quan Daoist couldn't help but interject upon hearing this.

"A helper... Hmm, it shouldn't be," Huang Yuanzi's expression subtly changed, but after a brief contemplation, he shook his head and replied.

"Oh, how can you be so certain, my friend?" San Quan Daoist asked, raising an eyebrow with some doubt.

"It's simple. If we were helpers invited by Qing Yuanzi, would we only appear now?" Huang Yuanzi slowly explained.

"That's true. If they were truly Qing Yuanzi's helper, they would have either directly controlled this Eighteen Heavenly Fiend Formation against us from the start, or they would have remained hidden, waiting until we had broken the formation and our true essence was most depleted before ambushing us." San Quan Daoist tilted his head in thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

"Then could this person be one of the other few Mahayana experts residing in seclusion within this Abyssal Space?" San Quan Daoist asked, his eyes darting around.

"Heh heh, it shouldn't be the other Mahayana experts of the Abyssal Space either. Qing Yuanzi chose to undergo tribulation at this time precisely because he seized the opportunity when all other Mahayana experts were absent from the Abyssal Space. Those fellows were all lured out of the Abyssal Space by Qing Yuanzi with various excuses half a year ago, and no one will return to this space for another year or two," Huang Yuanzi replied with a cold laugh.

"If that's the case, it's truly hard to say whether the newcomer is friend or foe. And with us currently trapped in this formation, our situation isn't looking good," the giant man said expressionlessly.

"Indeed. I had intended to delay for another two days before using the Mother-Child Corpse Yin Thunder, but it seems we must use it now. Fellow Daoist San Quan, prepare yourself. We will forcefully break this formation immediately. Let's first ascertain the newcomer's purpose, and then we'll decide what to do next," Huang Yuanzi said grimly, exhaling a long breath.