Chapter 2378: Blood Crane City

"How much does your esteemed alliance know about the ancient altars on the various continents?" Han Li finally asked.

The monk seemed a little surprised. "How much? What do you mean by that, fellow Daoist?"

"Approximately how many locations of these altars can your esteemed alliance track?" Han Li asked again.

"Regarding other continents, this old man isn't very clear," the monk replied, sounding somewhat puzzled. "But on the Blood Sky Continent, our alliance has already mapped quite a few locations of these ancient altars, probably seven or eight out of ten. Why, Brother Han, are you interested in these altars?"

This was understandable.

These ancient altars were essentially废弃之物 (discarded things). For powerful cultivators at the Mahayana stage, they were hardly worth paying attention to.

Han Li said, "I need more time to consider joining your esteemed alliance. I can't just agree to join so easily simply because you suggest it. However, I can agree to participate in the Battle of the Strong. But besides the initial rewards, I have one more condition."

"What condition?" The monk's expression grew serious.

Han Li replied calmly, "While I am on the Blood Sky Continent, I hope to use your alliance's information channels to obtain timely intelligence. As for the ancient altars, I want a detailed distribution map right now."

"That's simple. This old man agrees," the monk said, his expression relaxing as he readily accepted. "As for the information regarding the ancient altars, I will have someone deliver a copy to you immediately after you leave."

"Excellent. As long as your esteemed alliance honors its promise, I will definitely participate in the Battle of the Strong on time three years from now," Han Li said with a smile.

"Given your stature, since you've agreed, I, Bi, am naturally at ease," the monk said, flipping his hand to produce a spell disk. "Here's a token; please keep it safe. When the Battle of the Strong is about to begin, it will notify you. At that time, Brother Han, you can simply find any branch of our alliance, and they will arrange your passage to the small world entrance."

"I will take this item," Han Li said without ceremony, raising a hand to store the spell disk in his storage bracelet. "I will then rendezvous with all of you fellow Daoists."

Afterwards, the monk discussed some important points regarding the Battle of the Strong and provided a more detailed map of the Blood Sky Continent. Only then did he cast a spell to send Han Li out of that space.

Outside the scroll, the cool and elegant woman and others saw a blur before their eyes. Han Li's figure, enveloped in a ball of blood-red light, reappeared before everyone.

"Master Han!""Senior!"Everyone exclaimed in surprise, then rushed forward to greet him, some with shock, others with joy.

Han Li waved his hand and smiled faintly, telling them to rise. "Get up, I've made you worried."

At this moment, the cool and elegant woman, seemingly having received instructions from Biying, stepped forward and respectfully said:

"Senior Han, this junior has already sent a message regarding the information you requested. It will be delivered shortly. Please wait a little longer, Senior!"

Han Li calmly replied, "I've already waited this long; a little more time won't make a difference."

Hearing this, the cool and elegant woman dared not say more. After bowing again, she simply cast a spell to retrieve the Eight Ghosts Devouring Buddha Scroll and stepped aside to wait.

The round-faced youth remained respectfully silent, standing to the side after Han Li emerged.

A full hour later, a streak of spiritual light appeared on the horizon. A crimson long rainbow shot forth with incredible speed, reaching the crowd in just a few blinks, hovering and swirling above them.

The cool and elegant woman formed a hand seal and gestured towards the sky.

Instantly, the crimson rainbow transformed into a red flying sword that descended. On its blade was clearly a light yellow jade slip.

"Senior, the ancient altar information has arrived."

The cool and elegant woman quickly removed the jade slip and handed it to Han Li.

Han Li took the jade slip and, after scanning it with his divine sense for a moment, revealed a satisfied expression.

"It is indeed very detailed. My thanks to your esteemed alliance for this," Han Li said. "It's getting late. We should be on our way."

Without further words, Han Li put away the jade slip, then raised one hand, and a ball of black light shot out.

With a thunderous roar, violent winds whipped up in the sky, and a massive black ark, resembling a small mountain, suddenly appeared.

It was the Ink Spirit Sacred Ark.

Both the round-faced youth and the cool and elegant woman were startled at the sight of such a colossal vessel.

Han Li, meanwhile, had already flown aboard with Xupo, Old Ancestor Huashi, and others.

A moment later, the ark hummed, transformed into a streak of black light, and shot through the air.

In the blink of an eye, only the round-faced youth and the cool and elegant woman remained.

However, when the colossal ark finally vanished with a flash at the edge of the horizon, the cool and elegant woman suddenly turned, bowed deeply to the round-faced youth, and said with extreme reverence:

"Lord Biying, it seems Senior Han has agreed to help. Congratulations, my lord! With this, our alliance's chances of winning the Battle of the Strong have increased."

"Hehe, while Fellow Daoist Han's divine abilities are extraordinary, against powerful ghost kings like the Ten Kings of the Underworld, his chances of victory are merely fifty-fifty," the round-faced youth chuckled in response. His body suddenly expanded significantly, and his face blurred before transforming into a wizened old man with sallow features, cloudy eyes, and a green robe.

This round-faced youth was, in fact, Lord Biying's true form.

It was unknown what concealment technique he had used to change his appearance and suppress his cultivation to the Integration stage, or if he had truly managed to deceive Han Li.

... "Senior, did the people from the merchant alliance have something important to discuss with you? It won't affect our objective, will it?" Xupo asked with some concern at the bow of the ark.

"Don't worry, fellow Daoist," Han Li replied with a smile. "The Helian Merchant Alliance merely wants a small favor from me; it won't affect our original plans in the slightest."

"In that case, this junior is relieved," Xupo said, her expression relaxing.

Han Li smiled slightly, then suddenly flicked his wrist and said:

"Fairy Tian, you may show yourself now. My conversation with Fellow Daoist Biying earlier was quite confidential, so I hope you will keep it a secret and not reveal it."

"Hehe, don't worry, Brother Han, this junior is not a gossip," a pleasant chuckle suddenly rang out at the bow. "Besides, it's just a mere small world; our clan doesn't even consider it significant. If our clan wanted it, we could acquire as many as we wished, anytime. I swear on my inner demons that I will never tell anyone about this matter."

Then, a green light flashed on Han Li's wrist, and a graceful figure suddenly appeared before everyone.

She wore a light green robe, her skin was like congealed snow, and she had long black hair and exceptionally delicate features. She was clearly a stunning beauty radiating spiritual energy, with the only distinctive feature being a pair of short, emerald-green, jade-like horns amidst her dark hair.

It was Tian Feier, who had recovered her original appearance.

Xupo, Old Ancestor Huashi, and the others were greatly startled at the sight, but from Han Li's previous words, they knew the person was not an enemy. Therefore, despite their surprise, they did not mistakenly make any hostile moves.

"Given the wealth of your esteemed clan, I believe Fairy will not go against her inner demons, so I won't say more," Han Li nodded, seemingly very reassured by her words.

"This time, it's thanks to Brother Han's help that this junior was able to escape safely," Tian Feier said with a light chuckle, then promptly bid farewell. "When the Dao Fruit Assembly comes, this kindness will surely be repaid handsomely. I won't linger here any longer; I'll leave this realm and return to my clan first."

Han Li naturally did not try to keep her. After saying a few words like "Take care," the woman transformed into a ball of green light, left the ark, and shot off towards a certain direction.

As for how she would leave the Spirit Realm, Han Li wasn't overly concerned.

"Let's go," Han Li ordered as soon as Tian Feier was far away. "I've already obtained the approximate distribution of the ancient altars, and it seems there's one nearby. Let's go check it out first."

Old Ancestor Huashi immediately bowed in assent, then activated some puppets to slightly alter the ark's direction, proceeding at a faster escape velocity.

"Fellow Daoist Xupo, come with me to the main hall. I have something to discuss with you," Han Li instructed Xupo.

Xupo showed no surprise, respectfully agreed, and followed him.

A few moments later, the two were alone in the main hall, one seated and the other standing.

"Now that Fellow Daoist Xupo has set foot on the Blood Sky Continent, I wonder what your plans are," Han Li calmly said to her. "After all, in our original agreement, I only promised to offer you protection when you encounter powerful enemies. However, finding your main body will still depend on your own abilities."

"Senior, this junior has already thought it through," Xupo replied without hesitation. "I plan to return to Blood Crane City, where I originally found some clues. Although I discovered markings left by my main body there, unfortunately, I was being pursued by enemies and didn't have time to thoroughly investigate the nearby area. I could only hastily escape back to Fengyuan Continent. I believe that given enough time, I will definitely be able to find more clues."

"Blood Crane City..." Han Li's expression shifted slightly. With a flick of his wrist, he retrieved the jade slip he had put away earlier and scanned it with his divine sense. "Wait, let me check the city's location."

"It's surprisingly far away," Han Li said, having made a decision after reading. "Without using a teleportation array, it would take half a year just to fly to this city. However, fortunately, there are quite a few ancient altars along this route, so it won't delay my matters too much. We'll go to Blood Crane City then. But I must first inspect any ancient altars near the route we take, which will cause a slight delay."

"Of course, this junior would never dare to delay Senior's important business," Xupo replied, greatly pleased and bowing deeply. "However, Blood Crane City falls within the sphere of influence of the great Blood Dao sect with whom I have enmity, so we must be extra careful."