"Since the Grand Elder has said so, it must be correct. As for that large man, I seemed to glimpse a vague shadow of a flood dragon within him, and he was secretly harboring exceptionally pure Devil Qi in his body. Could he have some connection to the True Devil Clan?" the Wood Clan woman said respectfully.
"Flood dragon, Devil Qi! He's unlikely to have any relation to the Demon Clan. Nowadays, there are countless cultivation techniques across the Spirit Realm that can harness Devil Qi. As for him being a flood dragon in his true form — that's even more impossible. The flood dragon clan and the True Devil Clan are mortal enemies. The moment they meet, only one side can survive." After a brief moment of contemplation, the green-robed old man slowly shook his head and dismissed the idea.
Though this Wood Clan Grand Elder was exceptionally well-informed, there was no way he could have guessed that the black-armored man's true form was actually the descendant of an evil dragon — a lineage that had been extinct in the Spirit Realm for untold ages.
Naturally, this led to a grave misjudgment on his part.
Meanwhile, high in the sky tens of thousands of miles away, the ugly large man was respectfully addressing the white-robed woman:
"Holy Ancestor, since this Black Spirit is useful to you, why not take it all? Why leave half behind? That Wood Clan Elder is merely a early-stage Mahayana existence — how could he possibly threaten you, Holy Ancestor? Your divine abilities rank among the top five of all Holy Ancestors in the Holy Realm, after all."
"What does a little crocodile like you know? Although I'm confident I can defeat that Wood Clan Grand Elder, I have no assurance that I can actually kill him. Besides, the Black Spirit's benefit for my recovery is limited — taking more than ten flowers yields no further effect. The gains would be far too disproportionate to the risk. Why would I take such an unwise gamble?" the white-robed woman said lightly.
"I see. But Holy Ancestor, we've already traversed more than half of the Wind Source Continent. If we have no further gains going forward, should we leave this continent? If this servant remembers correctly, the Holy War should be breaking out very soon. If we encounter other Holy Ancestors who have descended from the Holy Realm, things could become quite unfavorable." The large man hesitated briefly before asking cautiously.
"The Holy War! Hmm. Before I escaped the Holy Realm, we Holy Ancestors had predicted the timing and discussed related matters. This region is indeed one of the areas where the two realms intersect most densely. But don't you worry, little crocodile! Even if the Holy War breaks out immediately, the other Holy Ancestors won't be able to appear in the Spirit Realm right away — at most, their avatars could descend first. Moreover, I wasn't certain before, but once we arrived in this region I used a secret technique to divine the matter. The thing I'm searching for has a very great chance of being here. Under these circumstances, how could I leave immediately?" the white-robed woman replied with a light laugh.
"Then even if this servant must sacrifice his life, he will find that thing for the Holy Ancestor and restore your full divine abilities!" The black-armored man's heart tensed upon hearing this, and he immediately thumped his chest in renewed loyalty.
"It seems that my Ming Luo trained you well indeed. If you truly help me recover my powers, I will certainly not be stingy — great rewards will be yours," the white-robed woman said with a mysterious smile playing at the corner of her lips.
"Thank you, Holy Ancestor Baohua! This servant will exhaust himself without regret!" The large man was overjoyed and hastened to pledge his devotion once more.
The white-robed woman glanced at the man with an ambiguous half-smile but said nothing further.
But the direction of their escaping lights was unmistakably aimed toward the human territory.
…
Han Li stood atop a certain mountain peak, gazing at the colossal devil spot stretching over a dozen miles across the sky, his expression shifting between light and shadow.
Several zhang behind him, Bai Guo'er and the other two disciples stood respectfully with their hands at their sides.
"Let's go back. It seems the devil tribulation will definitely break out in half a year." After a deep breath, Han Li gave his order in an unquestionable tone.
"Yes, Master!"
The three disciples raised no objections whatsoever.
With a flick of his sleeve, Han Li released a swath of cyan radiance that swept up all four of them and shot back toward the cave dwelling at high speed.
Half an hour later, Han Li was already seated in the main hall of his cave dwelling. To one side sat a beautiful, delicate woman dressed in silver — none other than the Ice Phoenix, who had been cultivating under his protection for many years.
The Ice Phoenix had not only fully recovered her Magical Power but had even broken through to the late stage of Deity Transformation. Her rapid advance to this realm was clearly thanks in no small part to Han Li's generous support in pills.
Below the Ice Phoenix sat Bai Guo'er, Hai Dashao, and Qi Lingzi, the three disciples.
"Brother Han, the devil spot is now so close to our cave dwelling — clearly this is no longer a suitable place for cultivation. What are your plans? Should we immediately relocate our dwelling elsewhere?" the Ice Phoenix asked Han Li softly, a trace of worry visible between her brows.
These past several centuries had been the most satisfying period of her entire cultivation career. Not only had she been free from any concern for her safety, but she had also been supplied with a steady stream of pills to advance her cultivation. It was no wonder she felt such reluctance about the devil tribulation's arrival at this particular time.
"Indeed, the cave dwelling must be relocated. But there's no need to move it somewhere else entirely — we'll move directly into Heavenly Abyss City. Once the devil tribulation breaks out, nearly every sparsely populated area becomes extremely dangerous. Even if we don't go to Heavenly Abyss City, our only other option would be the Three Sovereign Cities," Han Li said slowly after a brief flicker of his gaze.
"Move to Heavenly Abyss City? Does Brother Han intend to join the Elder Council?" the Ice Phoenix asked in surprise.
"No. The ones who will reside long-term in Heavenly Abyss City are the rest of you. I'll help Heavenly Abyss City withstand the first few waves of the demon invasion, then I'll find a secluded place where the demons can't easily track me down and continue my cultivation," Han Li replied, shaking his head.
"Why is that? Could it be that Brother Han is..." The Ice Phoenix blinked her eyes suspiciously, but then she suddenly seemed to understand.
"That's right. Given another ten years, I'll be able to attempt breaking through the bottleneck of the late Body Integration stage. In that case, I naturally need to continue cultivating for a while longer." Han Li nodded.
"Very well. If that's the situation, this is certainly a wise course of action. As for assisting you in breaking through the late Body Integration bottleneck, that was part of our original agreement. I will be ready to heed your instructions at any time," the Ice Phoenix replied softly, a slight blush coloring her cheeks upon hearing Han Li's words.
"Good. Since Fairy Feng has no objections, the three of you are to immediately relay orders to all the disciples under your charge and have the dwelling packed up. We leave here in three days. Guo'er, since you don't wish to go to Heavenly Abyss City, after all the disciples have been settled, you should go to Black Tortoise City. Black Tortoise City has the Black Tortoise Sovereign and that old tortoise standing guard — it's a very safe place as well." Han Li gave his orders to the three disciples with decisive authority.