Chapter 941: Dark Currents

Volume 6: Heavenly Spiritual Treasures

"Heh heh! Fellow Daoist Sun, you arrived quite quickly, but I'm afraid you've got the wrong person. I, too, was drawn to your mountain range by mistake, following a demonic beast. I witnessed the commotion caused by the low-level demonic beasts just now, and I'm equally eager to find the culprit." The masked cultivator let out a dry chuckle, speaking with evident apprehension.

"Hmph! Chasing a demonic beast? Fellow Daoist Ma, do you take this old woman for a fool? You're a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, renowned throughout Great Jin for your evasion techniques. What kind of demonic beast could possibly lead you all the way to our Heavenly Peak Mountain Range? Besides, I've already searched everything within several hundred miles, and apart from you, I truly haven't found any other cultivator capable of such a feat." A purple glow emanated from the old woman's face as she spoke grimly.

"What happened? Did the demonic beast commotion just now cause any damage to Yueyang Palace? I've been polite to you only out of respect for your Late-Nascent Soul cultivation. But are you trying to frame me, Ma, by force? Though I may not be your match, it's not just one or two disciples in my sect who know I entered the Heavenly Peak Mountain Range. Moreover, if I were to fight to the death, I wouldn't be entirely without power to resist. Unless, Fellow Daoist, you deliberately wish to ignite another battle between the righteous and demonic factions!" A golden light flashed in the masked cultivator's eyes, and contrary to his previous apprehension, he became somewhat forceful.

"Are you certain it wasn't you?" she asked coldly after a moment.

"Fellow Daoist Sun, if you deem it necessary, I, Ma, can swear an oath upon my inner demons! From then until now, I truly have no idea what calamity has befallen your esteemed palace." Upon hearing this, the masked cultivator's heart relaxed. He also lowered his stance, showing a willingness to adapt to the situation.

"You needn't swear any dire oaths. It truly shouldn't be your doing. Given your standing in your esteemed sect, you surely wouldn't engage in such a disreputable act. Furthermore, this old woman has never heard of Fellow Daoist Ma possessing the ability to summon demonic beasts. However, for a single demonic beast, you came all the way to our Heavenly Peak Mountain Range. That beast must be quite extraordinary, wouldn't you say? Could you enlighten me a little?" The old woman's expression softened, and her words became a bit more polite.

"Speaking of this demonic beast, it is indeed extremely rare. Its importance to me, Ma, is probably no less than that of your esteemed palace's Hao Yang Bird. It's an Earth Armored Dragon that just advanced to Level Seven. I discovered it in Huangli Mountain, near the neighboring prefectural city. However, this beast is unusually cunning and skilled in earth-evasion techniques. I pursued it for six days and six nights before finally tracking it to this location. That's why I didn't have time to greet your esteemed palace before inadvertently intruding." The masked cultivator knew that without revealing something, he couldn't truly dispel the other party's suspicion, so he readily explained the situation regarding the beast he was chasing.

"A Level Seven Earth Armored Dragon? That truly is a rare demonic beast; I've never heard of one at such a high level. No wonder Fellow Daoist Ma was so eager. It seems you're about to leave now. Have you perhaps succeeded? I've only ever heard of this beast; I've never actually seen an Earth Armored Dragon. Fellow Daoist, would you be willing to grant this old woman a chance to witness it?" The old woman, surprised, became intrigued.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Fellow Daoist Ma. Just when the demonic beasts were causing a commotion, my secret technique suddenly failed, and I lost track of the beast. However..."

"However what?" A sharp glint flashed in the old woman's eyes.

"However, while searching for this beast, I suddenly saw a streak of azure light flying past in the sky. It was extremely fast, and it didn't seem like a cultivator from your esteemed palace. I suspect the recent anomaly in the mountain range must be related to this person. That's why I tried to give chase, hoping to discover who this remarkable individual was. Unfortunately, this person's escape light was too fast. I only pursued for a moment before they completely outdistanced me, vanishing without a trace. It was then that Fellow Daoist Sun intercepted me." The masked cultivator let out a wry, helpless chuckle.

"Azure light? So this person only left a short while ago! Where did they go?" The old woman's expression changed, and she couldn't help but ask.

"They went in the direction out of the mountain range. With your divine abilities, Fellow Daoist, you might still be able to catch up to them!" The masked cultivator's eyes darted around a few times as he spoke impassively.

"Thank you for the tip, Fellow Daoist Ma. This old woman will go and investigate immediately. Since that Earth Armored Dragon is missing, Fellow Daoist, you should also leave this mountain range. Our two factions, righteous and demonic, are distinct, and this is not your esteemed sect's Divine Wood Cliff. When this old woman returns, I do not wish to see you still lingering in these mountains." Having obtained the desired clue, the old woman immediately spoke words of dismissal. Without saying anything more to the masked cultivator, she abruptly transformed into a streak of golden light and shot towards the outside of the mountain range.

"Hmph! That old hag is indeed as difficult to deal with as the rumors say; she instantly turned hostile upon getting a lead. What 'righteous and demonic are distinct'? She just set her sights on the Earth Armored Dragon and wanted to claim it for herself. Heh heh, if my senses aren't mistaken, the disappearance of that Earth Armored Dragon should also be related to that azure light. That escape light was no slower than a Late-Nascent Soul cultivator's; catching that person won't be easy at all. Judging by her exasperated expression when she arrived, it seems that person caused Yueyang Palace a great loss, which is rather comforting." After the golden light vanished into the distance, the masked cultivator sneered a few times to himself.

He then lowered his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over the spirit beast pouch at his waist. A faint hint of joy unexpectedly appeared in his eyes.

"Although I didn't get the Earth Armored Dragon this trip, I did manage to capture a Black Blood Spider, so it wasn't a wasted journey after all. That Earth Armored Dragon, however, ended up benefiting that fellow. I wonder what method that person used to make the demonic beasts so frantic," the masked cultivator muttered with a hint of vexation.

He then fell into contemplation.

"No, this won't do. That person has a method to lure demonic beasts, and this is no trivial matter. I must return and report it to Senior Martial Brother Mu as soon as possible." The masked cultivator suddenly raised his head and mumbled to himself. After looking around, a green light flashed around him, and he transformed into a streak of green light, breaking through the air and departing.

Meanwhile, the old woman surnamed Sun flew out for nearly half a day, sweeping her divine sense over tens of thousands of miles around, but found no suspicious individuals. She had no choice but to return to Yueyang Palace, where she immediately issued strict orders to the disciples who knew about the matter, forbidding them from spreading it. Otherwise, if the other major sects found out, it would undoubtedly become a laughingstock in the Great Jin cultivation world.

Fortunately, the person who attacked the Hao Yang Bird only took its fire feathers and did not kill the spiritual bird to extract its demonic core. As long as the bird is given more spiritual pills and elixirs, it should recover its vitality within a few decades.

Thus, the old woman could only sullenly swallow this silent loss. However, in private, she dispatched a small group of elite disciples from her sect to inquire whether any major powers or old monsters above the Nascent Soul stage had recently required the refinement of spiritual treasures, hoping to follow these clues and find the culprit.

Of course, the old woman was not the only one with such thoughts. Almost simultaneously, the Demonic Wood Sect, equally renowned as Yueyang Palace, also secretly dispatched many disciples to conduct overt and covert investigations throughout nearby Longzhou, searching for any newly arrived high-level cultivators whose faces were unfamiliar.

The secretive actions of Longzhou's two major powers made some of the influential aristocratic families and sects, who considered themselves well-informed, feel uneasy. They secretly speculated whether the balance in Longzhou was finally about to break, and if Yueyang Palace and the Demonic Wood Sect were going to war.

As the various minor powers panicked, some formed alliances, while others consolidated their forces, and the atmosphere throughout Longzhou Prefecture suddenly became tense.

Han Li naturally had no idea that his actions had stirred up so much trouble.

At this moment, he was in the belly of an unnamed desolate mountain.

In a temporarily excavated stone chamber, he examined the spoils of his recent battle—five dreamlike, fiery long feathers—while conversing with Grand Ascension God Monarch.

"The old woman who pursued you was likely the Late-Nascent Soul Grand Cultivator from Yueyang Palace. Her cultivation is indeed extraordinary. However, her divine sense was merely ordinary, and she didn't discover you, who had concealed your spiritual aura. Otherwise, you would have been in big trouble." Grand Ascension God Monarch seemed to be in good spirits, teasing Han Li with a relaxed tone.

"Heh heh! At worst, I would just use the Blood Shadow Evasion once more. I highly doubt there's another Upper Realm Saint Beast avatar in this world that I'd just happen to encounter. However, there was nothing else I could do. I don't know what evasion technique that old woman cultivated; although my speed isn't slow, I'm still slightly inferior to her. I could only hide for a while." Han Li said with a chuckle.

"That's true. However, despite the risks involved in this trip, the gains were quite good. Not only did you acquire so many fire feathers, but you also obtained a rare Earth Armored Dragon. If you can tame it, finding heavenly treasures in the future will be very promising." Grand Ascension God Monarch said with satisfaction.

"While that may be true," Han Li said, "adult demonic beasts cannot acknowledge a master; they are not easily tamed. Whether I succeed or not will depend solely on fate." He was also pleased but understood the difficulty involved.

"It doesn't matter; taming adult demonic beasts isn't as difficult as you might think," Grand Ascension God Monarch said dismissively, as if he had experience in this area. "Especially the higher a demonic beast's intelligence, the more easily it can be subdued."

"Oh, is that so!" Han Li raised his eyebrows, a hint of surprise on his face.

"You'll know soon enough. I observe that this Earth Armored Dragon's intelligence is quite high, so it shouldn't be too difficult to tame."

"I hope so. However, I should first temper this beast's nature. We can discuss this matter further later when I have time. For now, I need to simply process these fire feathers. Then I'll head to the Jinjing Auction to see what the place reputed as the number one city in Great Jin truly looks like," Han Li said thoughtfully.

"I also visited Jinjing once back then. Although it's merely a mortal city, it is indeed extraordinary and possesses an imposing aura," Grand Ascension God Monarch praised, a rare occurrence.

"Hearing Senior speak, this junior grows even more curious. Fortunately, Jinjing isn't too far from here. Give me a day to process these materials. Then we'll set off immediately. Three months' time is more than enough," Han Li said calmly.

Then, a green light flashed in his hand, leaving only one fire feather, the others having vanished.

Han Li tossed the fire feather into the air. With an open mouth, a ball of azure infant fire enveloped the feather, drawing out its inherent crimson essence fire.

Immediately, the long feather glowed azure on the outside and crimson within, shimmering with spiritual light—a truly dazzling sight!

Meanwhile, Han Li sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, forming hand seals as he entered a state of meditation.