Chapter 885: Repairing the Banner

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality, Volume Six: Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures

With a low hum, the light shield around Han Li suddenly expanded by roughly half. Then, something shot out from his sleeve, circled once, and landed before him.

It was precisely the snow-white fox cub that Silvermoon had transformed into.

"Time is too short; let's split up and search for that thing," Han Li said quickly. A pale golden electric orb, accompanied by the sound of thunder, appeared in his palm. Without hesitation, he tossed it out with a backhand.

With a 'boom,' the electric orb transformed into an electric net and attached itself to the white fox's body.

"Remember! This divine lightning won't last long. As soon as you see signs of it weakening, just return to the surface. I'll be back sooner," Han Li said solemnly.

"Yes, Master. But what does the Demonic Marrow Drill actually look like? This maidservant doesn't recognize it," an ethereal young woman's voice, melodious and pleasant, came from the white fox's mouth.

"The Demonic Marrow Drill is as black as ink, resembling a crystal. It contains astonishing demonic energy, making it easy to identify," Grandmaster Dayan replied before Han Li could speak.

"Since that's the case, it will be easy. Then this maidservant will go first." The white fox nodded, and with a flash of silver light, burrowed into the stone platform and disappeared from sight.

Han Li himself wasn't idle either. With a wave of the jade Ruyi in his hand, another faint yellow glow appeared on his light shield.

Then, both he and the shield sank beneath the platform, silently.

For a time, the massive platform was empty.

Time passed little by little. The surroundings were exceptionally quiet. However, the platform had completely become a realm of demonic energy. Puffs of pitch-black demonic energy made it impossible to see one's hand before one's face, like a netherworld hell.

After an unknown period, a sudden thunderclap echoed. Then, a golden light flashed, and Han Li, enveloped by his light shield, reappeared on the platform.

He looked around but saw no trace of Silvermoon. After a moment of surprise, a hint of worry appeared on Han Li's face.

However, he suddenly raised a tightly clenched fist and opened his fingers.

In his palm lay an additional jet-black, translucent crystal. It was only the size of a thumb, appearing delicate and exquisite.

"It really is as I expected. The Demonic Marrow Drill has truly formed here. Your fortune is truly good. This is something ancient demonic cultivators dreamed of; even in those times, it was a rare and highly sought-after treasure," Grandmaster Dayan said with a chuckle.

"Is that so? Is this thing really that precious?" Han Li picked up the crystal drill, held it before his eyes, and narrowed them.

Only now did he have time to examine the object.

The crystal drill emitted no light at all; instead, its profound darkness gave off an eerie sensation, as if it could absorb one's soul.

Han Li's heart was greatly alarmed, and he quickly retracted his gaze, not daring to look further.

Just then, silver light flickered on the stone platform beneath his feet. The white fox, carrying a faint golden glow, suddenly shot out from the stone platform and instantly plunged into Han Li's light shield.

"If you hadn't come back, I was going to call you myself! I originally thought you'd return before me. Did you also make a discovery?" Han Li beckoned to the small fox at his feet, and a patch of green light immediately enveloped the fox, bringing it directly before Han Li.

The white fox remained silent, opening its mouth to spit out three jet-black, crystal-clear objects. It was unclear if they were Demonic Marrow Drills or something else.

"Good, well done." Han Li was somewhat surprised, then his face showed delight.

The white fox gave a very human-like smile, then suddenly burrowed into his sleeve and disappeared from sight.

Han Li placed these three crystal drills together with his own, then took out a jade box from his storage pouch and arranged the four Demonic Marrow Drills side by side.

"This time, I must leave," Han Li said calmly. Then, the electric arcs outside his light shield pulsed, a great roar erupted, and Han Li, keeping his gaze on the shield, slowly flew upwards.

When he came down, Han Li's speed was very slow, and his ascent was not much faster.

After flying upwards for a full quarter of an hour, Han Li finally saw the hazy white light barrier again. He hadn't even needed to use the several demon-repelling treasures provided by Wei Wuya and others.

In an instant, Han Li passed through the light barrier, finally escaping the demonic energy.

He turned to look at the light barrier behind him. Han Li retracted the Demon-Expelling Divine Thunder, and the golden arcs immediately dissipated completely.

However, he didn't immediately fly into the sky. Instead, he calmly glanced at the light barrier, reached into his storage pouch, and an item appeared in his hand.

It was a damaged, emerald-green small banner.

"Eh! This... isn't this the Yin Luo Banner from that day?" Silvermoon let out a surprised gasp, speaking with a hint of astonishment.

"Although the demonic spirits and Yin ghosts attached to this banner were completely annihilated, the banner itself wasn't severely damaged and is still a rare demonic magic treasure. I once tested it, and it can absorb ghost qi to self-repair. The demonic flag that Old Demon Hehuan gave me earlier reminded me: demonic energy and ghost qi are both ultimate Yin energies of heaven and and earth, and to some extent, they are connected. Since there is so much pure demonic energy here, it's a perfect opportunity to see if I can repair this banner. Even if it doesn't work, it's no big deal," Han Li said calmly. Then, a burst of green light erupted from his hand, and a hazy layer of green spiritual light instantly enveloped the small banner, which then transformed into a green ray and shot into the demonic energy below.

The spiritual light enveloping the small banner was instantly and completely devoured by the demonic energy. The damaged Yin Luo Banner thus revealed its true form, then was immediately surrounded by numerous surges of demonic energy.

Seeing this, Han Li formed hand seals with both hands and then pointed a finger at the emerald-green small banner in the distance.

The originally lifeless Yin Luo Banner burst forth with green light. Then, under Han Li's activation of a magic spell, the banner's form rapidly expanded, and in an instant, it transformed into a massive object approximately ten feet long.

However, its surface was tattered and torn, a truly dreadful sight.

These were all damages incurred during the battle that day, destroyed by the power of the Great Shift Sword Formation.

Han Li had searched the divine consciousness of the Yin Luo Sect elder who was killed, so he naturally knew how to activate this banner. For such treasures, akin to those passed down through generations in the Yin Luo Sect, there naturally wouldn't be any blood-binding recognition. Therefore, although this banner belonged to the category of magic treasures, it was a powerful one that couldn't be bound by a master. Essentially, anyone who acquired it could refine it slightly and use it.

At this moment, with Han Li's incantations, a large hole several feet in diameter appeared on the banner's surface, from which gusts of Yin wind emanated.

At this moment, the dense demonic energy that had already packed the surroundings instantly found an outlet, all of it surging frantically and continuously into the opening that had appeared.

Han Li was overjoyed at this sight, realizing the banner could indeed absorb demonic energy.

As a result, after the Yin Luo Banner absorbed a large amount of demonic energy, it rapidly repaired its surface at a visibly fast speed. Before long, the entire banner looked brand new. However, its original emerald green color had changed into a strange half-green, half-black hue.

Han Li watched with flickering eyes as the banner devoured the surrounding demonic energy, feeling a bit surprised.

He had originally thought that once repaired, the banner would immediately stop devouring. But to his surprise, the Yin Luo Banner was now like a bottomless pit, continuously devouring without pause.

However, he also observed that the green on the banner's surface was gradually diminishing, while the black light became dazzlingly bright.

Seeing this, a hint of hesitation appeared on Han Li's face, but he remained in place, merely watching from a distance, unmoving.

After an unknown period, having devoured countless demonic energies, the Yin Luo Banner finally emitted a humming sound. The hole on its surface suddenly vanished, and it returned to tranquility.

By this time, the entire banner was gleaming jet-black, and its dazzling black light felt almost substantial.

Then Han Li, without hesitation, pointed a finger at the banner. Immediately, it rapidly shrank amidst the black light, re-transformed into a black ray, shot out from the demonic energy, and landed in Han Li's palm.

He carefully examined the palm-sized object in his hand. Han Li nodded with satisfaction and put it away.

He would find an opportunity to test its power later.

Because a lot of time had already passed, Han Li dared not delay any longer. He immediately spat out dozens of flying swords, which broke through the spiritual energy above him and ascended into the sky.

When Han Li transformed into a green rainbow and shot out from the great vortex, Wei Wuya and the others still appeared calm and composed, but their occasionally revealed gazes faintly contained anxiety, fearing that something unforeseen had happened to Han Li and that the formation disc hadn't been properly set up.

As a result, upon seeing the green rainbow fly out, the three couldn't help but let out a great sigh of relief, knowing that it was most likely a success.

"Fellow Daoist Han, how was it? Was this trip smooth?" Reverend Zhiyang asked with a smile.

"Fortunately, I did not fail in my mission! It has been set up," Han Li replied with a slight smile.

"Good. Let me, Wei, give it a try." Wei Wuya swept his hand over a pouch, and another roughly identical formation disc appeared in his palm.

Wei Wuya held the formation disc in one hand, while his other hand formed hand seals, and several unintelligible incantations escaped his lips.

The white spiritual light on the formation disc in his hand flickered continuously. Then, wisps of five-colored radiant light, exceptionally vibrant, shot out from it.

"Good, the formation disc has indeed been set up. We can immediately send invitations to other cultivators, asking them to repair this magic formation. After setting up this formation disc, at the very least, we no longer need to worry about the demonic energy suddenly erupting. Fellow Daoist Han, your merits on this trip are not small!" Wei Wuya said with a hearty laugh, seemingly in a very good mood.

"Since matters here are concluded, I shall take my leave and return first. I still have some important matters to attend to. I'm returning these treasures to the three fellow Daoists," Han Li said calmly as he tossed the four demon-repelling treasures to the three of them one by one.

Hearing Han Li's words, Wei Wuya and the other two, who had received the treasures, couldn't help but exchange glances.

"Fellow Daoist Han, why are you in such a hurry? Why not stay two more days on our Seven Spirit Island? It wouldn't be too late to leave then," Reverend Zhiyang offered.

"Thank you, Brother Zhiyang, for your kindness. However, I truly have important matters to attend to and cannot delay," Han Li shook his head, a hint of apology on his face.

"Since Brother Han truly has matters to attend to, the three of us won't insist on you staying. Fellow Daoist, may you have a safe journey!" Wei Wuya said, clasping his fist.

"Then I shall take my leave!"

After Han Li calmly cupped his hands to each of the three, he said no more, and a brilliant green light erupted from his body. Transforming into a dazzling, startling rainbow, he soared through the air and departed into the distance.

Half a month later, Han Li returned to the Falling Cloud Sect. After informing Senior Brother Cheng and the other about a spirit island being allocated to their sect, he prepared to enter secluded cultivation once more.

This time, Han Li was not cultivating his magic power, but rather aiming to fully cultivate his second Nascent Soul.

After all, with a second Nascent Soul, his divine abilities would greatly increase, almost equivalent to gaining an extra life.

The Supreme Wood Spirit Infant, which was to be used for the second Nascent Soul's possession, had already assimilated to its final stage. Once the last few steps were completed, it would be considered fully accomplished.

For this, after Han Li checked on Nangong Wan's condition, he immediately entered his secret chamber and began several years of secluded cultivation.

After experiencing a series of major events, the Southern Sky Cultivation World also entered a period of stability. All sects and factions did their best to cultivate their disciples, entering a phase of accumulating energy and nurturing strength.

If you like *A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality*, please add it to your bookshelf and recommend *Fantasy City* to your friends!