Chapter 880: Boundless Demonic Qi

"Happiness is a choice. Since unhappiness is also a choice, why not choose happiness every day?"

From "A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality," Volume 6, "Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasures," September 7, 2009, 4:30 PM.

Han Li was now known throughout the Heaven-Mending Cultivation World. After their initial surprise, the cultivators looked at him with reverence.

"If it's Senior Han, there's naturally no need to announce your arrival. Senior Zhiyang instructed us long ago that you may pass through as soon as you arrive. This junior will now escort you to Spirit Turtle Island," the woman in the palace dress said respectfully, not daring to show any delay.

Han Li nodded, his expression unreadable, and said nothing further. The woman in the palace dress gave a few instructions to the cultivators behind her, then led Han Li to fly away.

In the distance, a black dot gradually grew larger. It was indeed a small island, about twenty to thirty square kilometers in size.

"Senior Han, this is Spirit Phoenix Island, occupied by our Joyful Union Sect. Spirit Turtle Island, where the Grand Truth Sect is located, is adjacent to it," the woman carefully explained, seemingly aware that this was Han Li's first visit.

Han Li glanced in the direction the woman indicated, but due to the distance, he couldn't spot the other island. However, in the opposite direction, the astonishing spiritual energy fluctuations from the huge spiritual source became even clearer. Such strong spiritual energy undoubtedly originated from the rumored vortex that spewed large amounts of spiritual energy.

Han Li pondered this as he continued to fly with the woman in the palace dress.

It was an hour later when they finally saw the so-called Spirit Turtle Island.

This island was slightly larger than the Spirit Phoenix Island previously occupied by the Joyful Union Sect. From above, its outline bore a resemblance to a spiritual turtle.

Before approaching the island, the woman in the palace dress had already sent a voice transmission talisman. Thus, as soon as Han Li and she arrived at the edge of the island, a white light flew out from the island to greet them.

"Is that Fellow Daoist Zhiyang? I am humbled that you have come to greet me personally!" Han Li stopped immediately upon seeing the familiar escape light and transmitted his voice from afar.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Han is a man of his word. It's only natural for me to greet you from a distance," Grandmaster Zhiyang said with a hearty laugh, seemingly pleased to see Han Li, his voice carrying clearly.

The white light then flew to within ten *zhang* of Han Li before dimming, revealing the figure of a Taoist priest.

Han Li smiled faintly and cupped his hands toward the other party.

"Fellow Daoist, please come to my cave first. I have already notified Fellow Daoist Wei Wuya. As for that old monster from the Joyful Union Sect, he is currently occupied with an important matter and cannot spare the time to come here," Grandmaster Zhiyang instructed the woman in the palace dress to return, then turned and said to Han Li with a smile.

"Very well, I will follow your suggestion," Han Li showed no objection, and the two immediately flew towards the island.

En route, Han Li surveyed the entire island with his spiritual sense, and his brows subtly furrowed.

There was indeed an excellent small spiritual脉 on the island, about ten li in size. There were not many cultivators on the island, but they all appeared to be highly cultivated. Contrary to Han Li's expectations, no low-level cultivators were present on the island, which left Han Li somewhat puzzled.

Not long after, Han Li, led by the Taoist priest, entered a newly opened cave dwelling.

This cave was located in an unassuming stone mountain, yet it was spacious and tidy.

After Han Li followed Grandmaster Zhiyang into a large hall, they both took their seats. Two Taoist boys served them spiritual tea. After taking a sip of the tea, Han Li and Grandmaster Zhiyang began to converse quietly.

The old Taoist, one of the three great cultivators, seemed disinclined to immediately discuss the reason for inviting Han Li here. Instead, he unhurriedly introduced Han Li to the nearby sea areas and the sects occupying the Seven Spirit Islands, appearing somewhat evasive.

It seemed that this individual had no intention of revealing any information to Han Li before Wei Wuya's arrival.

Han Li felt a slight displeasure in his heart, but on his face, he feigned ignorance, engaging in seemingly casual conversation with Grandmaster Zhiyang.

However, after only the time it takes to eat a meal, Wei Wuya also arrived outside the cave. He then entered the hall, greeted by the Taoist priest.

Upon meeting Han Li, there was naturally another round of pleasantries. On the surface, Wei Wuya's skin was radiant, and his complexion was rosy, as if he had fully recovered from the severe loss of essence he suffered in the Battle of Falling Devil Valley. He appeared exceptionally full of vitality.

This left Han Li secretly astonished.

To his knowledge, during the last great battle in Falling Devil Valley, this Great Cultivator Wei had lost more than just a little bit of his true essence. To fully recover in such a short time, it seemed he must have consumed many miraculous elixirs.

Wei Wuya was quite direct. As soon as he took his seat, he immediately asked, "Brother Zhiyang, have you already informed Fellow Daoist Han of the situation?"

"Certainly not. For such matters, it is better to discuss them when two of us three are present. Since Brother Wei has arrived, why don't you inform Fellow Daoist Han about it? I will simply supplement your explanation," Grandmaster Zhiyang said with a normal expression.

"Very well, I will explain it then! This matter cannot be delayed any further. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe!" Wei Wuya agreed after a brief consideration.

"Severe consequences?" Han Li's interest was piqued by this phrase. It seemed this matter was indeed not trivial.

"Fellow Daoist Han, I'll keep it short. This matter is related to the Ancient Devil," Wei Wuya's opening statement was astonishing, startling Han Li.

"Didn't that Ancient Devil escape after being severely wounded?" Han Li asked, surprised.

"That is correct. However, don't you find the timing of the Great Vortex's appearance too coincidental? Almost immediately after we drove away the Ancient Devil, this anomaly appeared in the Boundless Sea. Furthermore, we found concrete evidence near the vortex. Fellow Daoist should know that during the period when the Ancient Devil was cornered and attacked, it massacred several cultivation families and minor sects. The three of us later discovered that these families and sects were precisely those that possessed demonic artifacts or were rumored to possess them. Three demonic artifacts were indeed taken by this Ancient Devil. And in a hidden place near this Great Vortex, we found the remains of one of the missing demonic artifacts. It appeared to have been destroyed by immense power. Therefore, we suspect that the Ancient Devil first came to the Boundless Sea to tamper with something, and then it was trapped elsewhere by our Devil Extermination Team, severely wounded, and escaped from Tiannan," Wei Wuya said gravely.

"Is there something wrong with this mysteriously appearing vortex? Otherwise, even if the Ancient Devil tampered with something, the three of you wouldn't be taking it so seriously," Han Li mused for a moment, then probed.

"Brother Han, you've hit the nail on the head. If this vortex merely spewed out spiritual energy and caused seven small islands to emerge, why would the three of us care? The crucial issue is that we discovered this so-called Great Vortex is actually the eye of a colossal sealing formation from countless years ago. And these seven spirit islands are merely a part of this formation. Fellow Daoist must understand the gravity of this now," Grandmaster Zhiyang said with a bitter smile.

"Sealing formation? What is being sealed that requires such a colossal formation?" Han Li's expression finally changed drastically, showing some shock. Although he didn't know how large this formation truly was, just considering the vast distances between the seven islands allowed him to imagine its immense scale.

"That's what we want to know, too. But I have no clue. However, whatever is sealed must be related to the Ancient Devil World and the Ancient Devil. We need to ask Brother Zhiyang to explain this. After all, Brother Zhiyang was the first to dive to the bottom of the vortex and see the situation there," Wei Wuya slowly said.

"What is there for me to say? You two saw it later too. The bottom of this huge vortex is actually filled with boundless, unfathomably deep demonic energy. Its exact depth cannot be ascertained at all. It is entirely suppressed by the pure spiritual energy within the vortex, which prevents it from breaking out of the great formation. But if it erupts, it will certainly be a great calamity for our Heaven-Mending Cultivation World. The spiritual energy of the entire Heaven-Mending Cultivation World would immediately change. In fact, I even suspect that the Boundless Sea's terrifying state in the past might be related to this demonic energy at the bottom of the sea!" the Taoist priest said calmly.

"But as Fellow Daoist Han can see, the eye of the sealing formation here has been damaged. The spiritual energy in the Great Vortex is slowly leaking out, and one day it will truly be unable to suppress the demonic energy below. When that demonic energy breaks out, at least half of the Heaven-Mending Cultivation World will be deeply affected and no longer suitable for our cultivators to practice. And Brother Han's Falling Cloud Sect, being adjacent to the Boundless Sea, will certainly suffer greatly," Wei Wuya said helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Han Li was speechless.

"Since the three of you have called me here now, you must have a way to resolve this calamity, right? Otherwise, if even you three have no solution, I am even more helpless," Han Li said faintly, raising an eyebrow.

If the demonic energy erupted, his Falling Cloud Sect would certainly be in great trouble, but the Demonic Sect and the Righteous Dao Alliance would fare no better. Only the Nine Nations Alliance was far away, seemingly able to stay out of it. But if half of the Heaven-Mending Cultivation World truly lost its spiritual energy, how could the Nine Nations Alliance truly be at ease? The various sects and factions, having lost their cultivation grounds, would surely reignite wars to seize cultivation resources.

Therefore, Han Li calmed down at this moment.

"As soon as we discovered this great danger, the three of us immediately collected information everywhere, hoping to resolve this calamity. As it turns out, we actually found information related to this sealing formation. It's quite incredible, really. This matter actually ties into the Great Jin Cultivation World," Wei Wuya said, glancing at Grandmaster Zhiyang with a strange expression.

"Great Jin?" Han Li was genuinely stunned this time.

"Fellow Daoist, do you know where these ancient texts were found?" Grandmaster Zhiyang sighed bitterly, speaking with some helplessness.

"Grandmaster, you mean...?" Han Li vaguely guessed something, and his face also showed surprise.

"It seems Fellow Daoist has guessed it. The information regarding this ancient sealing formation was actually found in a secret text of our sect that had been shelved for countless years. Incidentally, it also clarified some of the origins of our Grand Truth Sect. Our sect, in ancient times, was actually a branch of one of the three great Taoist sects in the Great Jin Cultivation World, the True Extreme Sect. Furthermore, the reason we moved to the Heaven-Mending Cultivation World was precisely to guard this ancient sealing formation," the Taoist priest said with a wry smile.