Chapter 938: Yueyang Palace

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VIP Volume 6: Heavenly Spiritual Treasures - A Mortal's Journey to Immortality

Longzhou is a large province located at the border of Jin's central and western regions. Known for its abundant high mountains and poisonous snakes, it is famous for producing various venomous insects and spiritual beasts.

Unlike other provinces and prefectures, this vast province is solely controlled by the renowned Yueyang Palace, a righteous sect, and the Demonic Wood Sect, one of the Ten Great Demonic Sects. External forces are utterly unable to interfere with anything within Longzhou. Other local cultivation forces within the province are negligible small sects and factions, posing no threat whatsoever to these two super sects. They are compelled to align themselves with one of these two powers to seek protection.

The entire Longzhou is completely under the control of these two powers, forming a dual-power dynamic with forces in the east and west.

Yueyang Palace is situated in the Tianyue Mountain Range within Xichuan Prefecture. This mountain range, spanning hundreds of thousands of square miles, consists entirely of continuous, boundless barren mountains and wilderness. Yueyang Palace itself is located on a colossal peak named Nantian Peak, at the heart of the mountain range. Tens of thousands of Yueyang Palace disciples are scattered across the surrounding mountains, large and small, managing the central area of the Tianyue Mountain Range like an impenetrable fortress. Not only does no cultivator dare to harbor designs on Yueyang Palace, but even the rare audacious individual cannot breach the formidable thirteen-layered forbidden array barrier set up from the inside out around Nantian Peak.

However, on this particular day, as a team of Yueyang Palace disciples, having just departed from an uninhabited hilltop on the edge of the mountain range, flew away on their artifacts, a blue light suddenly flashed on the previously empty summit. Subsequently, a young man in a blue robe stood with his hands clasped behind his back on a massive boulder, silently watching the retreating figures of the Yueyang Palace disciples, his face expressionless.

It was none other than Han Li!

"Han boy, are you really going to target Yueyang Palace? I don't think that's a good idea. Even among the Ten Great Righteous Sects, Yueyang Palace can rank within the top five; it's not something to be provoked lightly," Great Divination Sage transmitted via divine sense.

"I'm well aware of that. However, we've gathered most of the materials for the Three Flames Fan, both openly and discreetly. All that's left are the long feathers of the Hao Yang Bird and the scales of the Scarlet Fire Flood Dragon. The Scarlet Fire Flood Dragon isn't too bad; we've already received news from the market that several formidable evil flood dragons have come ashore in eastern Jin, devouring cultivators. One of them seems to be a red flood dragon; even if it's not a Scarlet Fire Flood Dragon, it's still a fire-attributed flood dragon, so we can go try our luck. As for the Hao Yang Bird, we've inquired at all the markets in the south, and only Yueyang Palace keeps this kind of spiritual bird. If we don't come here, where else can we go? Even if Yueyang Palace is difficult to deal with, we have no choice but to face it head-on," Han Li said calmly.

"I'm not telling you to avoid Yueyang Palace, but why don't you just go directly and ask for it instead of resorting to stealth? With your current mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivation, and if you bring out a few rare treasures, they might just give you face," Great Divination Sage chuckled.

"Senior, please don't jest. Exchanges can only happen when both sides have comparable strength. I am merely a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, while Yueyang Palace has a powerful late-Nascent Soul cultivator presiding over it. How could they possibly regard my meager cultivation? Furthermore, Yueyang Palace clearly regards the two Hao Yang Birds as ancestral spiritual birds of their sect; they would certainly not allow us to pluck their feathers, which would greatly harm the birds' cultivation. If the treasures I offer in exchange are too low in value, Yueyang Palace will surely dismiss them. If I offer something too rare, it might provoke their greed and desire to kill and seize treasures. As an itinerant cultivator operating within their territory, Yueyang Palace has no need to show any consideration. I also have no interest in entrusting my safety to their whim. If I had late-Nascent Soul stage cultivation, I might indeed try as Senior suggests," Han Li said with a sneer.

"What you say makes sense. But you've been lingering around the edge of the mountain range for over ten days now. Are you just going to wait for the Hao Yang Bird to fly out on its own? And from your actions, it looks like you're searching for some place. What exactly are you scheming?"

Great Divination Sage fell silent for a moment. He had to admit that Han Li's words had some merit. However, he became curious about Han Li's recent actions.

"Nothing much. Just looking for a suitable place to set up a trap," Han Li said with a slight smile, his eyes glinting.

"Set up a trap? I knew that since you dared to scheme against Yueyang Palace, you must have some tricks up your sleeve. Tell me about it first," Great Divination Sage chuckled.

"Hehe. Once I find a suitable spot, Senior will know the details. As for Yueyang Palace having two Hao Yang Birds, one large and one small, which one would be better to target?" Han Li mumbled, glancing in the direction of the mountain range's center.

"Does that even need to be asked? The larger Hao Yang Bird is said to have cultivation equivalent to an eighth-level demonic beast. Do you think you can deal with it in a short amount of time?" Great Divination Sage said dismissively.

"That's true. If it weren't so incredibly difficult for these ancient spiritual birds to develop sentience and transform into human form in the Human Realm, why would they willingly be controlled by Yueyang Palace? I'm not confident in dealing with a spiritual bird of such great power. As for the smaller one, I heard it's slightly weaker, only at a seventh-level standard. It should be manageable," Han Li mused, nodding in agreement.

"However, if the Three Flames Fan were refined using the long feathers of an eighth-level Hao Yang Bird, its power would definitely be greater," Great Divination Sage said with some regret.

"Forget it. There's nothing perfectly ideal in this world. Dealing with an eighth-level Hao Yang Bird isn't impossible, but the risk is too great. Even a slight delay might alert the cultivators of Yueyang Palace. I don't want a repeat of being chased and severely wounded in the Heavenly Lan Grasslands, do I? It's safer to deal with the smaller Hao Yang Bird!" Han Li said, shaking his head.

"Hmm. What you're thinking is not bad. However, both Hao Yang Birds, regardless of size, spend most of their time inside Yueyang Palace. They only occasionally come out to move around within a hundred miles outside Yueyang Palace, rarely leaving the mountain range's central area. To succeed, it will depend on your methods now," Great Divination Sage said with a low chuckle, somewhat expectantly.

"Don't worry about that. I already used the Dream Guiding Art earlier to extract the Hao Yang Birds' release schedule from a Yueyang Palace disciple. The people of Yueyang Palace, fearing that the two spiritual birds would be difficult to manage if kept together, deliberately release them at staggered times each month for exercise. This is our opportunity," Han Li said with a sneer, full of confidence.

"Since you understand the gravity of the situation, I don't need to instruct you further. But whatever you do, don't miss the Jinjing trade fair. Several materials I still need for my puppet should be found there," Great Divination Sage remembered something and instructed.

"The Jinjing Auction, as one of Jin's three major auctions, only happens once every ten years, so I naturally won't miss it. Once this matter is concluded, we'll head to Jinjing, and then go to eastern Jin to search for those evil flood dragons," Han Li said composedly, having already planned everything in his mind.

"That works. But seriously, your actions during this period have truly impressed me. I originally thought it would take you at least three or four years to gather so many materials, but you managed to employ both overt and covert methods without hesitation. In just one year, you've almost collected all the necessary materials. Tsk, tsk, such decisiveness is truly beyond what I expected," Great Divination Sage exclaimed in wonder, a hint of laughter in his voice, clearly very pleased with Han Li's approach.

"I also wanted to search for materials slowly and safely, but time waits for no one. Although Senior's primordial spirit is nourished by the Soul Nourishing Wood, it's clearly much weaker than before. If I want to personally witness Senior's Nascent Soul-level puppet, I can only seize the moment," Han Li said calmly after a slight pause, his expression shifting.

"You're truly thoughtful. I knew I couldn't hide it from your divine sense. At most, I can hold on for another three or four years before my primordial spirit truly dissipates. However, given your speed in collecting materials, it's quite hopeful that the puppet can be refined before my reincarnation," Great Divination Sage said with a wry, helpless smile.

"Ever since we met, Senior has helped this junior countless times. Han is not one to be ungrateful; I've always kept these kindnesses in mind. I will do my utmost to help Senior achieve your wish," Han Li said solemnly, exhaling a long breath.

"Hmph. In truth, I only helped you for my own self-preservation. After all, if I fell into the hands of outsiders, my fate probably wouldn't be any better," Great Divination Sage said, somewhat emotionally, stating a harsh truth.

Han Li smiled, then his figure flickered. As a blue light shimmered, he seemed to dissolve into invisibility with the wind, once again concealing himself...

Two days later, Han Li appeared in another small valley.

This valley was covered by a vast peach forest, casting a pink hue everywhere, with peach blossoms carpeting the ground. It was indeed a beautiful scenic spot.

Han Li hovered above the valley, observing everything within, and then released his divine sense to scan the surrounding hundred miles. A satisfied expression finally appeared on his face.

"Excellent. This place is very secluded, with no Yueyang Palace cultivators nearby, and the valley is also very suitable for setting up formations. This is it," Han Li murmured to himself a few times, then transformed into a green rainbow and descended in the center of the peach forest.

Without another word, Han Li immediately began to busy himself in the valley.

In one go, he set up as many as seven or eight sets of various formations using formation flags and disks. Most of these were restrictive formations designed to block aura and isolate spiritual energy. Only two or three true entrapment formations were included. Additionally, above these formations, he set up a separate illusion array, largely concealing the true appearance of the peach forest.

Great Divination Sage, seeing this, was naturally curious but managed to restrain himself from asking, continuing to observe dispassionately.

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