Chapter 812: Single-directional Teleportation Array

Han Li was naturally somewhat surprised that Reverend Soul Shatterer of the Ghost Spirit Sect hadn't arrived; instead, an unfamiliar old man had come.

While deploying three Nascent Soul cultivators was certainly a rare and significant undertaking for a major sect, it seemed slightly insufficient given the dangers of the Fallen Devil Valley and the large number of treasure-seeking cultivators present. Han Li wondered if the Ghost Spirit Sect had another contingency plan.

Han Li pondered this as the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators became busy at the valley entrance, seemingly setting up a massive formation.

Naturally, none of the nearby cultivators disturbed them at this time; instead, they watched with detached interest from the shadows.

The Mulan spellcasters, meanwhile, gathered together, and the scholar surnamed Zhong, who was their leader, conversed in low tones with the woman surnamed Le.

Han Li stared at the formation, his gaze clear and his expression unperturbed.

After only a moment, however, Han Li's expression subtly changed, and he looked up at the sky with a hint of surprise and doubt.

Just then, a dazzling white rainbow suddenly appeared on the distant horizon, its light shimmering. It streaked forth with lightning speed, parting clouds and dispersing mist in its wake, an astonishing display of power.

At this point, other cultivators also noticed the anomaly and looked up in surprise.

The white rainbow instantly arrived above the valley entrance. Its dazzling light retracted, revealing an elder in green robes, his face expressionless.

"Wei Wuya!""Why is he here too?""Is the Nine-Nation Alliance so determined to claim the treasures of the Fallen Devil Valley?"

As soon as they clearly recognized the elder's face, the hidden cultivators around them stirred, most secretly alarmed. What was surprising, however, was that after Wei Wuya revealed himself, he merely glanced down indifferently and then slowly descended to land in front of the Ghost Spirit Sect members.

Seeing this, the grim-faced middle-aged man showed a hint of a smile on his somber face and clasped his hands in greeting as he went to meet him.

"Brother Wei, you're finally here. I thought something had delayed you. If that were the case, we would have had to postpone our entry into the valley by a day or two."

"Since I, Wei, have agreed to Fellow Daoist Wang, I won't easily change my mind. However, Fellow Daoist Wang, you'd best be true to your word. If the item you spoke of isn't in the valley, don't blame me for turning hostile."

Wei Wuya's expression remained cold, and he seemed to pay no attention to the middle-aged cultivator's smile.

This was hardly surprising, as there had never been any harmony between the Nine-Nation Alliance and the Demonic Dao.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. How dare I deceive Brother Wei?" The middle-aged cultivator seemed unbothered by Wei Wuya's bluntness. He spoke while respectfully ushering Wei Wuya forward.

This scene left the other cultivators nearby utterly stunned.

Wei Wuya, as the Grand Elder of the Nine-Nation Alliance, was unexpectedly collaborating with the Ghost Spirit Sect. No one would believe there wasn't something suspicious going on.

Seeing this, Han Li also frowned. If a conflict were to arise with the Ghost Spirit Sect inside the Fallen Devil Valley and Wei Wuya were to intervene, Han Li would have no choice but to flee in disarray. This was completely beyond his expectations.

After a moment's thought, Han Li couldn't help but look towards the scholar surnamed Zhong on the other side.

If no other late-Nascent Soul cultivators were to intervene, these two individuals would possess the highest cultivation in the Fallen Devil Valley.

The Mulan Divine Master stood with his hands clasped behind his back, calmly watching Wei Wuya, making it impossible to discern his thoughts. The woman surnamed Le, on the other hand, showed a hint of surprise in her eyes, seemingly quite taken aback by Wei Wuya's appearance.

Although Wei Wuya's appearance had indeed shocked many, all the cultivators still quietly watched as the Ghost Spirit Sect members slowly completed the formation.

It took a full half-day for a giant formation, over a hundred zhang wide, to gradually take shape before them.

Han Li observed the formation. From his initial indifference, his eyes gradually revealed a look of surprise and doubt.

This formation appeared to be part of an ancient teleportation array he had once studied. However, the subtle details were somewhat different; some parts seemed simplified, while others were more complex, clearly indicating significant modifications.

Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at the formation in silence.

Although his mastery of formations was already quite profound, he couldn't discern the secrets of this formation on such short notice. He simply frowned, lost in thought.

After another hour or so, the formation was finally completed. Some Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators began placing mid-grade spirit stones of various elements around the formation.

Wang Tiangu, who had been standing by and supervising the formation's setup, suddenly flickered and appeared at its center. With a slap of his hand on his storage pouch, he produced a jade box with a flick of his wrist.

The middle-aged cultivator and the elder with the chilling aura remained expressionless, seemingly aware of what Wang Tiangu was about to do.

He carefully opened the jade box, revealing a golden-yellow spirit stone inside.

The spirit stone sparkled translucently, and as soon as it was exposed, an astonishing wave of spiritual energy rippled outwards.

"A high-grade spirit stone!" An unknown voice exclaimed, recognizing the crystal in the box.

The other cultivators present were also greatly surprised upon hearing this.

Han Li's expression also subtly changed upon hearing the words.

Although the total spiritual energy contained in a high-grade spirit stone was only equivalent to that of a little over a hundred mid-grade spirit stones, in reality, it was priceless in the cultivation world. Even exchanging thousands of mid-grade spirit stones for one high-grade spirit stone was practically impossible, as they were extremely rare.

This strange situation arose because pure high-grade spirit stone mines, with their astonishing spiritual energy, were too easy to discover and had long been completely exploited in this realm. The high-grade spirit stones still in existence were only sporadically found in low and mid-grade spirit stone mines, making them extremely scarce.

Yet, many powerful ancient formations and restrictions could only be activated using high-grade spirit stones. Even ordinary formations, when powered by high-grade spirit stones, would inexplicably gain a third more power. Furthermore, holding a high-grade spirit stone during combat allowed even Nascent Soul cultivators to replenish a significant amount of spiritual power.

As a result, high-grade spirit stones were naturally extremely valuable and became increasingly rare with the passage of time, almost disappearing entirely from the Heavenly South cultivation world.

As for the legendary top-grade spirit stones, they had vanished without a trace from this realm since the late ancient times and now existed only in legends.

As he watched Wang Tiangu carefully place the gold-element high-grade spirit stone in the center of the formation, Han Li couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy. Despite having killed so many cultivators, he had never obtained a single high-grade spirit stone, which truly demonstrated their rarity.

Even when he later deliberately sought them out, hoping to trade for one or two in various marketplaces, it was like fishing for the moon in the water – a completely futile effort.

After all, any high-grade spirit stones still existing in Heavenly South were surely collected and stored by the major sects and factions, kept for emergencies.

Now that the Ghost Spirit Sect had unexpectedly produced such a spirit stone, it seemed they truly attached unusual importance to the Fallen Devil Valley matter. Then again, they had already obtained a large sum of spirit stones by selling the Fallen Devil Tokens this time, so spending a little now seemed insignificant.

After Wang Tiangu properly placed the high-grade spirit stone, he walked over to the middle-aged cultivator and whispered a few words.

The middle-aged cultivator nodded, and immediately, with his command, all the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators retreated outside the formation. With a flip of their palms, each produced a pale yellow formation flag. These individuals, who had seemingly trained countless times, immediately rose into the air, quickly forming a strange queue above the formation. At the same time, their flags emitted a faint spiritual light, ready for action.

"Could this person be the Ghost Spirit Sect's Sect Master?" Han Li wondered. "Otherwise, why would Wang Tiangu, whose cultivation is similar, be so respectful towards him?"

Han Li looked at the grim middle-aged cultivator, noticing something in the subtle details, and couldn't help but murmur to himself.

Just then, black qi suddenly coiled around the middle-aged cultivator's body, and he slowly rose into the air. After sweeping his cold gaze around, he spoke.

"I am Wang Tiansheng of the Ghost Spirit Sect, currently holding the position of Sect Master. I have no desire to waste words. The path to enter the valley has been properly arranged. The spatial rifts have been greatly reduced and stabilized, allowing entry into the valley.

"This formation is a specialized teleportation array developed by several formation masters of our Ghost Spirit Sect after years of contemplation. It can directly transport individuals from the valley entrance to a certain location in the outer Fallen Devil Valley, proving extremely convenient. However, due to its unique nature, this formation requires activation by a gold-element high-grade spirit stone. Our Ghost Spirit Sect went to immense trouble to finally acquire such a spirit stone. Therefore, the number of people who can be transported is limited. Only fellow daoists possessing a Fallen Devil Token, regardless of their righteous or demonic affiliation, may use this formation to teleport inside. For any other fellow daoists, our sect will not be held responsible.

"However, there is something I must clarify for everyone. This teleportation array is one-way, and therefore, the teleportation location is not fixed. Although the possibility is very small, it is still possible for someone to be teleported into a spatial rift within the valley. Should this occur, one can only blame the individual's insufficient fortune; our sect will not be held responsible. After all, this method of teleportation has not yet been fully developed, having been hastily completed to save time. Some risks are inevitable. Fellow daoists unwilling to take such risks are welcome to not use our sect's teleportation array."

After saying this, the middle-aged cultivator rudely crossed his arms in the air, but then immediately added another sentence.

"Fellow daoists without Fallen Devil Tokens, do not attempt to exploit the situation. Our sect will only teleport everyone in at the very end, and the formation will be destroyed simultaneously."

These words, though not loud, reached the ears of everyone at the valley entrance with exceptional clarity, causing a flurry of quiet discussion among the surrounding cultivators. Some even resorted to sound transmission techniques to deliberate carefully.

"Since entry requires a teleportation array, how do we get out? Are we expected to wait for your esteemed sect to set up another formation inside?" a younger voice asked from somewhere in the forest, filled with doubt.

As soon as this question was asked, many secretly nodded, harboring the same doubt. However, Han Li, upon hearing it, chuckled coldly to himself, seemingly unconcerned. "This fellow daoist's concern is entirely unnecessary," Wang Tiansheng replied dispassionately. "As far as I know, many ancient restrictions in the Fallen Devil Valley are outward-facing, not inward-facing. Entering the valley is difficult, but there are many loopholes for exiting. Furthermore, there are even several perfectly intact ancient teleportation arrays within the valley that can directly transport people out. Exiting the valley is a very simple matter."