Chapter 2437: Missing

Volume 11: The Advent of a True Immortal, Chapter 2398: Disappearance

"What's so strange about that?" the Horned-Chi man replied with a cold sneer. "Do you really think that madman couldn't see through our method of possessing bodies and spirits? It's just that he was already obsessed with blood sacrifices and extremely arrogant. Now that he has this convenient excuse, he naturally can't be bothered to distinguish between truth and falsehood. With his immortal abilities, how could an ordinary Grand Ascension cultivator resist him in the slightest?"

"That's true," the Horned-Chi woman said, still somewhat puzzled. "But I didn't realize you knew such a profound secret art for complete spiritual possession, and that it could temporarily evade the other party's surveillance. If I had known, we should have used this method earlier and wouldn't have been chased so frantically."

"What do you know?" the Horned-Chi man said, looking a bit frustrated. "This method is different from ordinary spiritual attachment or nascent soul appropriation. It involves completely attaching one's spirit to another's physical body, and the casting is extremely dangerous. I only had about a 70-80% chance of success. Furthermore, once it's cast, my main body falls into a temporary slumber and must be carried by the possessed body, with most of my abilities naturally sealed. I would never take such a huge risk unless I was truly desperate. As for why it can temporarily block the other party's surveillance, I suspect it's because this method is also a secret art from the Immortal Realm. That was something I hadn't anticipated beforehand. My other backup plan to escape during the chaos wasn't even needed."

Listening to their conversation, it was clear they were Six-Wing and Ice Phoenix.The two had used some unknown method to possess the spirits of two Horned-Chi cultivators, thus temporarily escaping Ma Liang's pursuit.

"An immortal secret art? How did you obtain such a cultivation technique?" Ice Phoenix asked, surprised.

"Years ago, I stumbled into an ancient cave dwelling of another race in the desolate lands," Six-Wing said with some annoyance. "I found a page from the 'Golden阙 Jade Book' there, which described an astonishing immortal secret art. Unfortunately, this art can only be fully executed by an immortal body. This method of spiritual possession is just a small part of it, the only part I could barely cultivate. It's truly a pity. This possession can only last for half a day; once that time is up, we'll have to return to our main bodies. Otherwise, if we could just escape like this indefinitely, there would be some hope."

"Never mind," Ice Phoenix said, her eyes glinting. "The fact that your immortal secret art can temporarily conceal us from spiritual tracking is already an unexpected bonus. Now, while this effect still lasts, we just need to quickly reach another Horned-Chi main city. That will be a success. Given the Horned-Chi clan's arrogance on the Thunder Continent, coupled with the previous blood sacrifice in Gailin City, I refuse to believe the two sides won't clash fiercely. As long as that madman is held up for a while, we can find another super-teleportation array and return directly to the Wind Yuan Continent. This time, unless he immediately follows us, it won't be easy for him to find us again. If all else fails, we can seek out Fellow Daoist Han. With Brother Han's heaven-defying abilities, having once slain the Mother of the Spirit Devourer Worms, he might have a way to remove the spiritual imprints on us."

"Look for Han Li? Dream on!" Six-Wing roared upon hearing this. "I'd rather die than take that step."

"Hmph, you've offended that mad True Immortal so deeply," Ice Phoenix said, unfazed, with a faint smile. "If he truly catches you, it might be more than just a simple death."

"There's no need to say more about this now; we'll deal with it when the time comes," Six-Wing replied, regaining his composure. "Perhaps once we return to the Wind Yuan Continent, we can easily shake off that mad True Immortal."

"Alright, if that's what you say, then we'll take things one step at a time," Ice Phoenix conceded, no longer mentioning Han Li. "Let's hurry to the next Horned-Chi main city. I can faintly sense that this body won't be able to sustain us much longer. That madman will soon know our location again."

With that, the two hastened their escape lights, transforming into two streaks of green light and swiftly piercing through the air.

Half a month later, the gaunt young man, who had been following like a shadow, arrived at another Horned-Chi main city. Just as he was about to unleash his blood river to sacrifice all living beings in the city, he finally ran head-on into the six Grand Ascension Patriarchs of the Horned-Chi clan, who had been lying in ambush nearby.

With so many of their kin sacrificed and two Grand Ascension Patriarchs already annihilated, the Horned-Chi clan naturally had no intention of negotiating with this formidable enemy. The moment he appeared, they immediately joined forces to activate a powerful restriction array they had prepared in advance.

This time, the True Immortal who had descended did not use the mysterious talisman to remove the chains of law from his body. Instead, he simply unleashed his innate divine abilities against the six Grand Ascension Patriarchs, initiating a world-shaking battle.

The six Grand Ascension Patriarchs of the Horned-Chi clan were clearly not ordinary Grand Ascension cultivators; they were all true powerhouses of their realm. With the six of them working together and aided by the restriction array, they were formidable enough to sweep across the entire Thunder Continent.

Ma Liang, the descending True Immortal, despite most of his power being restricted, naturally showed no fear whatsoever, aided by numerous immortal secret arts and several genuine immortal realm treasures.

As soon as the two sides clashed, they were evenly matched, which only made the subsequent struggle even more intense.

The battle ultimately raged for over half a day, concluding with four Horned-Chi Grand Ascension cultivators falling and two more severely wounded, forced to flee.

However, at the critical final moments of the battle, several Horned-Chi Grand Ascension cultivators simultaneously self-detonated several Heavenly Profound Artifact remnants, unexpectedly injuring Ma Liang.

Enraged, the descending True Immortal immediately went on a rampage, slaughtering and consecutively blood-sacrificing three more major Horned-Chi cities.

Under such circumstances, the remaining high-ranking members of the Horned-Chi clan, left with no choice, finally invoked the power of an ancient pact. In one go, they summoned three ancient true spirits—'Hoof Dragon,' 'Taique,' and 'Sun Deer'—that they had long worshipped from other dimensions, engaging Ma Liang in another world-shattering battle.

This fierce battle raged for several days, directly affecting an area spanning a million li in circumference.

Three days later, as soon as the battle's tremors ceased, the nearby Horned-Chi people rushed to the scene.

At the battle site, apart from the earth-shattering aftermath of the conflict, the three ancient true spirits had vanished without a trace, and Ma Liang had also disappeared into thin air.

Afterward, the Horned-Chi clan used various secret arts to contact the three ancient true spirits, but to no avail.

This left the entire high command of the Horned-Chi clan staring at each other in bewilderment.

At this time, news of the "Peerless Fiend Demon's" actions on the Blood-Heaven Continent finally reached the Thunder Continent.

With the fiend demon Ma Liang's whereabouts unknown, the various clans on the Thunder Continent suddenly grew terrified, speaking of the "demon" with trepidation.

Upon hearing the news of Ma Liang's disappearance, Six-Wing and Ice Phoenix were naturally overjoyed and, without hesitation, proceeded with their original plan.

Over a month later, the two entered the territory of another major clan. After offering some compensation, they finally used all the available cross-continental teleportation arrays to return to the Wind Yuan Continent.

At the same time, Han Li, along with Nangong Wan and others, suddenly appeared within a massive magic array in a corner of the Wind Yuan Continent, amidst swirling streaks of light.

The magic array was located within a grand hall. The dozens of guards stationed nearby showed no surprise at the sudden appearance of so many people before them.

One of the armored guards, who appeared to be the leader, quickly stepped forward after his gaze swept over Han Li, and respectfully said:

"This junior has been commanded to receive Senior Han. The Chief Steward has been waiting nearby for a long time, wishing to meet with Senior Han."

"Oh, so Fellow Daoist Ming Zun has invited me," Han Li said, his eyes subtly glinting, and nodded. "Of course, I must go and speak with him. Please lead the way. Wan'er, you and the others can rest nearby for now."

"Husband, please go ahead. I will arrange everything here," Nangong Wan said, her gaze shifting as she looked at the armored guard.

At Nangong Wan's signal, everyone exited the teleportation array and sat cross-legged in a certain area outside the grand hall.

Meanwhile, Han Li had already followed the armored guard toward a stone house near the hall, concealed by dense woods.

Before Han Li reached the stone house, the tightly closed stone door swung open from within on its own, and an aged voice emerged from inside:

"Fellow Daoist Han, you've finally arrived. Please come in; this old man has been waiting for you for a long time."

"My apologies for making you wait, Fellow Daoist," Han Li said, raising an eyebrow, and without hesitation, strode into the stone door.

Inside the stone house, there was nothing but a light yellow wooden table and several sandalwood chairs.

A red-haired old man was seated on one of the chairs, his head lowered as he idly fiddled with a smooth, jade-like white jade slip in his hand.

"Fellow Daoist Han, please sit," Ming Zun said, looking up with a smile as he saw Han Li enter. "I hope you don't mind that your information was leaked to Bi Ying last time."

"That's nothing," Han Li replied, shaking his head before confidently sitting opposite the old man. "Besides, Fellow Daoist Bi Ying has already perished, so there's no need to discuss the matter further."

"Indeed," Ming Zun said with a sigh. "I never imagined that Bi Ying would pass away before me. Now, on the Blood-Heaven Continent, our alliance has likely suffered a significant blow, and our influence must have shrunk considerably."

"Your alliance has indeed withdrawn some personnel from Blood-Heaven," Han Li replied noncommittally. "However, under the joint management of several elders, no major disturbances have occurred. My smooth return to Wind Yuan this time was largely thanks to the assistance of those elders."

"That's excellent then," Ming Zun finally said, his expression turning serious as he asked, "Fellow Daoist Han, how much do you know about that peerless fiend demon?"

"After my discussions with several of your alliance's elders, I wouldn't say I know too much, but certainly not too little," Han Li replied, his eye twitching as his expression grew solemn. "However, there's no doubt that this fiend demon is a heaven-defying existence, no less formidable than the Mother of the Spirit Devourer Worms."