Chapter 532: Underground Currents Surge

As soon as Grand Ancestor Jiyin heard the Taoist's words, he frowned inwardly and cursed "old fox" to himself, but his face remained completely impassive.

"Brother Qi, you've asked this question more than once," Grand Ancestor Jiyin said coldly, his expression turning stern. "I've already told you, the young man surnamed Han suddenly struck viciously in the Void Palace, secretly harming my grandson. That's why I must capture him alive, extract his soul, and refine his spirit."

"Hehe! When you first said that two years ago, Brother Niao, I naturally believed you without question," the Taoist said, shaking his head disapprovingly. "But so much time has passed since then. You've remained here, even neglecting Xuan Yin Island and the major war involving your alliance, unwilling to be distracted. If you claim this is merely for your grandson's revenge, do you honestly believe I'll accept that, Brother Niao?"

"Furthermore, in the past two years, besides your sudden arrival on this island, Brother Niao, an elder named Xuanji from the Myriad Law Sect has also quietly appeared here. In addition, at least two or three other unknown Nascent Soul stage cultivators have disguised themselves and infiltrated the sea area around our Strange Abyss Island. When did our island become so alluring as to attract the attention of so many powerful figures? It wasn't until two days ago that I received definitive news: these people, just like you, Brother Niao, are also searching for that young man surnamed Han, the insect controller. Don't tell me these fellow Taoists are also seeking revenge for some grandson's death!" The Taoist surnamed Qi stared directly at Grand Ancestor Jiyin, speaking slowly with a faint, unreadable smile, as if wanting to lay down his cards.

Grand Ancestor Jiyin's heart skipped a beat, and his face turned cold. He fell silent.

"Brother Niao, why continue to hide pointlessly? No matter what great secret the young man Han possesses, now that so many fellow cultivators know about it, my knowing makes little difference. If you tell me frankly, it might even be more beneficial! Moreover, in this sea area, besides your disciple appearing as the 'Insect Devil,' there are actually other cultivators impersonating this person everywhere, clearly trying to muddy the waters." The Taoist seemed to sense Grand Ancestor Jiyin's wavering resolve and continued to persuade him calmly.

"Hmph! Since you already know so much, Brother Qi, why don't you figure out the mystery yourself? Why bother asking me?" Grand Ancestor Jiyin finally replied in an unfriendly tone.

"I believe that even if you're unwilling to tell the truth, Brother Niao, I will at most need another half year to uncover the full story," the Taoist surnamed Qi said, showing no inclination to conceal his intentions. "But by then, I'm afraid the number of people who know about this won't be limited to just my Azure Cloud Sect. I don't wish to see that situation arise. If that's the case, it might be better for us to join forces and try our luck first."

Grand Ancestor Jiyin's expression remained uncertain for a while after hearing these words.

After lowering his head and pondering for a moment longer, he finally let out a long sigh and, with a bitter smile, conceded to the Taoist:

"Ahem! It's not that I deliberately wanted to deceive you. It's just that at the time, to prevent this secret from leaking, I and several other fellow Taoists swore on our inner demons never to tell outsiders. However, since Xuanji of the Myriad Law Sect has also tracked this place, no matter how much truth Wan Tianming revealed, the oath has already been more or less broken. So now, I have nothing more to be concerned about."

"Exactly! Brother Niao, do you truly care about such oaths? I, for one, never pay attention to such things. If inner demons were truly so effective, most of us cultivators of unorthodox and demonic arts would have probably died long ago." As soon as the Taoist heard Grand Ancestor Jiyin's words, his face lit up with joy, and he clapped his hands, laughing aloud.

"Although I also don't care about inner demons, if this matter becomes known to too many people, I'm afraid we won't even get a drop of the leftover soup," Grand Ancestor Jiyin said with a hint of helplessness.

Then, he straightened his face, and his lips moved slightly as he transmitted his voice.

The Taoist surnamed Qi saw how cautious Grand Ancestor Jiyin was. At first, he seemed indifferent, but after only hearing a few sentences, his expression suddenly changed drastically, and his eyes gleamed with a mixture of surprise and delight.

"Everything you said is true... that thing has really appeared?" The Taoist's face was filled with excitement, and his voice trembled slightly.

"If not for this treasure, do you think so many Nascent Soul cultivators would gather here?" Grand Ancestor Jiyin asked in a faint counter-question. "Indeed! It seems what Brother Niao said is true! Brother Niao has hidden this matter quite deeply! This item has been in the world for so long, yet there isn't a single rumor outside. I am truly somewhat impressed. However, if you had told me earlier, I would have certainly sent more people, and perhaps that young man would have been found long ago." Amidst his ecstasy, the Taoist couldn't help but express a hint of complaint.

"You speak lightly, fellow Taoist. Can such matters be casually revealed?" Grand Ancestor Jiyin said ungraciously. "If it weren't that I felt this matter has been hidden for so long, and the other few might have leaked some hints, I wouldn't easily speak of it even now. The fewer people who know about this, the better, of course."

"What Brother Niao says is also true! If I had known this information, I definitely wouldn't want another person to share the treasure," the Taoist nodded, surprisingly agreeing without a trace of concern.

"However, it now seems this news cannot be kept secret for much longer. The news of this treasure appearing in the world will ultimately spread." Grand Ancestor Jiyin's face twitched slightly, revealing a hint of unwillingness.

"Hehe! Brother Niao should know there's no wall in this world that's impervious to wind. Well then, I'll take my leave now. I'll go and deploy more personnel immediately, striving to find this person before anyone else." The Taoist surnamed Qi offered a brief word of comfort, then stood up and took his leave, a hint of excitement faintly visible on his face.

Grand Ancestor Jiyin did not try to hold him back. After cupping his fist, he watched the Taoist leave the room and disappear.

Grand Ancestor Jiyin sat back down in his chair. His body remained motionless, but a cold smile appeared on his face.

It seemed that once "profit" took precedence, the other party became even more anxious and bustling than he was.

It seemed that choosing to tell the other party about the Void Sky Cauldron was the correct step.

As for that young man, Han Li, he's nowhere to be found; his whereabouts remain completely unknown.

If it weren't for the fact that he had previously killed those Azure Cloud Sect cultivators, he would have almost thought the other party had performed a 'cicada shedding its shell' trick and gone to another demon beast island.

Time waits for no one now. He could only rely on the local influence of the Azure Cloud Sect and proceed one step at a time.

After Grand Ancestor Jiyin secretly weighed the pros and cons, he let out a long breath. The room fell silent.

In a certain sea area, a young man in a green robe with an ordinary appearance was coldly watching several pale, low-level cultivators in front of him. Above his head, a large swarm of golden and silver insects buzzed.

"Insect Devil!" one of the middle-aged cultivators cried out, his face utterly pale, recognizing the other's identity.

The young man heard this and let out a few cold chuckles. Without a word, he pointed at the few people before him, and the swarm of insects above his head immediately roared, surging forward like a flood.

Although these low-level cultivators desperately used their protective spiritual artifacts to resist, they were completely engulfed by the flying insects in an instant. A short while later, these few individuals vanished from the world without a trace.

"With such little cultivation, they still tried to put up a dying struggle. Truly overestimating themselves!" The young man collected the storage bags left by the few people, muttering indifferently to himself.

Then, he casually glanced in a certain direction before transforming into a streak of green light and flying away from the spot.

After a while, a flash of white light suddenly appeared in the air, revealing a pale-faced cultivator in the early Core Formation stage. This person's expression was extremely grim.

Looking in the direction where the young man had disappeared, he stomped his foot, gritting his teeth, and flew off in the opposite direction.

Half a month later, Han Li finally returned to Fog Sea Isle.

Although he hadn't returned for several years, everything inside his cave abode was safe and sound. This allowed him to finally let go of the apprehension he had been carrying.

Han Li first rested for several days within his abode, then organized the various rare materials and demon cores he had obtained from his recent sea journey. He meticulously classified and stored them, preparing for future alchemy.

Over ten days later, Han Li, feeling all his physical and mental fatigue washed away, finally entered the alchemy room with all his materials.

In previous years, after refining a batch of pills in his cave abode in Heavenly Star City, he had a faint feeling that he had reached a certain bottleneck in alchemy. It was as if with just a little more effort, he could enter a different realm of alchemy.

Therefore, Han Li did not immediately intend to use Tier 6 or 7 demon cores. Instead, he first took out a batch of Tier 5 demon cores and placed them on the ground beside him.

According to Han Li's estimation, although his talent in alchemy was quite ordinary, his alchemy skills were not far from reaching the level of an alchemy master, even if not quite there yet.

After all, no one else could be so extravagant as to use so many demon cores for practice.

And the path of alchemy, most importantly, is a matter of experience and proficiency.

So he decided to start by practicing with Tier 5 demon cores to see if he could truly achieve a breakthrough in alchemy.

With this thought in mind, Han Li looked at the cauldron before him. With a wave of his hand, a Tier 5 demon core automatically flew onto the cauldron, and at the same time, the cauldron lid shifted open on its own.