Chapter 821: Arctic Yuanlight

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume 6: Heavenly Spiritual Treasures

The moment Han Li produced the Two-Sided Ring, Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying immediately shifted, their faces serious, and retreated about ten feet behind him. This indicated that Han Li would now take the lead. Han Li held the ring, opened his mouth, and a cloud of azure essence energy spurted out, covering it.

Dark light flickered as the ring completely absorbed all the azure energy. Then, with a whoosh, it flew on its own to hover motionless above Han Li's head.

Han Li expressionlessly raised a hand and cast a spell formula onto the ring.

The Two-Sided Ring trembled slightly, then alternately shrank and expanded. In an instant, it transformed into a gigantic ring, several tens of feet in diameter.

"Go!" Han Li extended a fair finger, pointed at the ring, and softly commanded.

Emitting a strange, low hum, the giant ring shot forth.

The gazes of Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying instantly grew serious.

As the giant ring plunged into countless thousands of light threads, an incredible scene unfolded.

The straight light threads, like disturbed water, became chaotic the moment the giant ring entered. Amidst the continuous flickering of dark light, all the silver threads, upon touching the ring's outer surface, miraculously curved away, avoiding the ring and passing around it—as if sentient!

Seeing this, Han Li breathed a sigh of relief. Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying also smiled.

However, Han Li was still somewhat curious about the power of the Northern Extremity Primordial Light.

After a brief thought, he patted his storage pouch with one hand. A fist-sized blue orb appeared in his palm.

This was a high-grade defensive spiritual artifact he had obtained years ago.

Han Li held the orb and infused a small amount of spiritual power into it.

Instantly, a shimmering blue light barrier appeared on the orb's surface.

Han Li flicked his wrist, and the orb transformed into a ball of blue light, shooting forth.

This time, the moment the blue light orb entered the Northern Extremity Primordial Light, the silver threads, as if encountering delicious prey, trembled and immediately swarmed to surround it.

Numerous fine threads penetrated the blue orb from all sides, treating the light barrier as if it were nonexistent.

A moment later, the orb, pierced by the silver threads, flashed wildly a few times before spontaneously exploding from within, transforming into a dazzling, shimmering light that vanished amidst the numerous light threads.

Han Li's pupils constricted slightly, and the expressions of Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying also darkened.

Han Li's expression instantly returned to normal. He extended a hand and beckoned; the giant ring shot back to hover silently above his head, enclosing all three of them.

Next, a hazy dark light barrier appeared on the outer side of the ring, shielding Han Li and the others within it.

"Let's go!" Han Li said concisely, without further words, and began to walk. The Two-Sided Ring moved with them.

Inside the barrier, Marquis Nanlong and the old man surnamed Lu dared not be careless in the slightest and dutifully followed close behind. Although they had witnessed the ring's miraculous protective effect against the Northern Extremity Primordial Light, they dared not activate any of their own defenses or summon any magic treasures as they entered the Northern Extremity Primordial Light. Han Li appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, he still harbored a bit of worry.

But the next moment, inside the Northern Extremity Primordial Light, seeing that the light threads indeed bypassed the dark light barrier and dared not approach them, the worry Han Li had been holding finally quietly dissipated. He subtly glanced sideways and saw that Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying, walking beside him, also appeared to relax.

Han Li smiled faintly and slowly urged the Two-Sided Ring forward.

***

In another part of Demonfall Valley, in a snow-covered land near the inner valley, a group of Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators in black robes were braving the swirling snow, driving various magic treasures to battle a gigantic, gecko-like ancient beast.

In mid-air not far from the gecko-like beast, the pale-faced old man surnamed Zhong hovered, coldly watching the fierce battle between the ancient beast and the Core Formation stage cultivators.

After a while, seeing that six or seven disciples were still unable to subdue the ancient beast, he finally frowned and personally intervened.

He formed a spell seal with both hands, and countless ink-black dark energies emerged from his body. These yin energies instantly transformed and condensed, turning into two dark black flood dragons that ferociously pounced on the gecko-like ancient beast. Closely following them was a bright emerald green giant net that descended, containing countless fist-sized green fireballs that densely shot towards the ancient beast.

After a series of thunderous roars, black light and green flames intertwined. A short while later, the light faded, revealing a gigantic, charred beast corpse at the original spot.

The old man flicked his large sleeve, and a fierce wind swept through, carrying the ancient beast's corpse dozens of feet away.

In its place, a wide ice crevice was revealed. This ice crevice extended downwards, faintly emitting white light, its destination unknown.

"Go," the old man said in a low voice. Then, his figure moved, instantly transforming into a black light and disappearing into the crevice. The remaining Ghost Spirit Sect disciples also rushed in without hesitation.

Wang Chan and Yan Ruyan were among this group of disciples, but the Ghost Spirit Sect Master and Wang Tiangu were still nowhere to be seen.

Not long after the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators entered the ice crevice, the area regained its tranquility, with only snowflakes silently drifting down.

As for the ancient beast's corpse, it soon solidified with a layer of frost and was covered by pristine white snowflakes, becoming an inconspicuous snowdrift.

***

In the dense forest where the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators had previously been, Zi Ling stood somewhere, gazing blankly and somewhat dazed at a seemingly ordinary small dirt mound in front of her.

After about fifteen minutes, she looked up at the giant trees around her, then lowered her gaze back to the dirt mound. Suddenly, she flicked a jade-like finger, and a white light projectile shot out.

After a muffled "bang," a dirt pit about ten feet in diameter appeared in front of her.

The pit was filled with swirling gray-black ashes, and in the middle of the large pit, a small, charred section of tree root was revealed.

"This should be it," Zi Ling muttered with a joyful expression. "The Ghost Spirit Sect has many people and great power; finding it must have been much easier for them than for me. However, they seemed not to have expected that someone else was also looking for the markers. They hurried so much that they left so many traces."

She then flicked her fragrant sleeve, refilling the pit. She took out a cyan talisman from her hand, circled a few large trees nearby, and then suddenly pressed the talisman onto one of the giant trees.

Instantly, a cyan light flashed, and the talisman vanished into the tree's surface.

Only then did she carefully discern the direction, transforming into a streak of rainbow light and soaring into the sky.

***

At a huge canyon, an old Daoist priest gazed at the various prohibitions at the canyon entrance, his face showing a pensive expression.

Behind him, two devilish-looking puppets stood motionless.

Looking far into the other end of the canyon, large swathes of bloody light flickered faintly and continuously. This was indeed one of the passages leading to the inner valley. However, this not-so-long section of the canyon was covered with several extremely powerful ancient prohibitions.

Although the old Daoist priest prided himself on his mastery of array formations, whether he could dismantle these prohibitions in a short time was only a fifty-fifty chance.

He didn't know whether he should spend some time looking for an easier entrance or immediately start attempting to dismantle the prohibitions without wasting a moment. Therefore, he hesitated here for a moment.

"What's wrong, Fellow Daoist Tian Jing? Do you feel you lack confidence in breaking the prohibition alone? How about we join forces once?" A sinister, cold voice suddenly came from behind the old Daoist priest.

He was True Monarch Tian Jing, who had previously traded soul stones with Han Li. The devilish puppets behind him were two ancient puppets he had refined using soul stones. Each possessed the strength of an early Nascent Soul cultivator, and even True Monarch Tian Jing himself would find it difficult to deal with just one. With such trump cards in hand, he had dared to come to Demonfall Valley to seek treasures.

At this moment, upon hearing someone speak behind him, he was startled and quickly turned around, hurriedly focusing his gaze.

He saw that about five hundred feet behind him, several green-robed cultivators were silently hovering in mid-air, looking towards him. The speaker was an old man in green robes, his expression grim, with a long beard.

As True Monarch Tian Jing assessed the cultivation of these individuals, his heart skipped a beat and sank.

These people were all Nascent Soul cultivators!

"So it's Fellow Daoist Dongmen of the Spirit Control Sect," True Monarch Tian Jing said with a forced smile, suppressing the shock in his heart. "These few fellow Daoists seem unfamiliar; are they also elders of your esteemed sect?"

"You could say that," Dongmen Tu of the Spirit Control Sect said, his eyes flickering after glancing at the two devilish puppets. "However, these two puppets behind you, Fellow Daoist, don't seem to be ordinary items. It seems they shouldn't be underestimated."

"Fellow Daoist, you jest," True Monarch Tian Jing said cautiously. "How could two small puppets be worth Fellow Daoist Dongmen's attention? But why would Fellow Daoist think of joining forces with this humble Daoist?"

"Although I have resided in the Spirit Control Sect for a long time and don't interact much with others," Dongmen Tu slowly said, staring at the old Daoist priest, "I have heard of Fellow Daoist Tian Jing's reputation as a master of array formations. As for myself, though not particularly talented, I also have some research into array formations. If either of us were to break the array alone, we might not have much confidence. But if we join forces, we can naturally achieve twice the result with half the effort and be quite confident."

Upon hearing this, True Monarch Tian Jing slightly furrowed his brow, pondered in silence, and became somewhat hesitant.

"What's wrong? Is Fellow Daoist Tian Jing afraid that I might harm you?" Dongmen Tu's expression slightly darkened, but he continued to persuade patiently. "Alright then. Our cooperation, Fellow Daoist, will be limited to the period of dismantling the prohibitions and jointly entering the inner valley. If there are no conflicts of interest, I would never make trouble for Fellow Daoist without reason. Furthermore, Fellow Daoist, don't forget that even if you can break the prohibition alone, if the time to break it runs out, the most easily accessible treasures inside will likely fall into the hands of others. And from what I know, quite a few fellow cultivators entering the valley this time are quite knowledgeable about array formations."

Upon hearing this, True Monarch Tian Jing's heart stirred. After glancing at the five green-robed cultivators behind the other party, he finally nodded.

"Since Fellow Daoist Dongmen has said so," True Monarch Tian Jing replied, "this humble Daoist will respectfully comply. Let us join forces to dismantle the prohibitions here. However, once we enter the inner valley, we shall go our separate ways and need not stick together."

"Haha! That's right!" The old man in green robes immediately broke into a smile upon hearing this and quickly offered his assurance. "Fellow Daoist Tian Jing, rest assured. Your two puppets are also extraordinary. How could I force Fellow Daoist to do something you don't wish? After entering the valley, we shall each rely on our own luck to seek treasures!"