This phantom was none other than an temporary avatar condensed from a thread of divine sense that Han Li had split off, intending to use a bizarre secret technique of another race to deliver it past the thirteen layers of ancient restrictions and into the wooden box.
But the space around him was clearly not inside that wooden box. This naturally caught him quite off guard!
Although somewhat surprised, Han Li felt no real fear.
After all, at worst he would merely lose this wisp of divided sense — it would not cause much harm to his main body.
Having surveyed everything in his surroundings, Han Li moved without hesitation, drifting lightly toward a certain direction.
Along the way, aside from the hazy gray mist, there was nothing else of any color. He flew onward for several hours, yet the scenery around him remained utterly unchanged.
Han Li's brow furrowed slightly. He halted his movement abruptly, considered for a moment, then suddenly changed direction and shot straight upward.
Passing through layer upon layer of thin mist, the sky of this space seemed to stretch on without end as well. Even after Han Li flew for half a day's worth of time, he still could not see any sign of a boundary.
His expression growing somewhat grim, Han Li stopped once more and swept his gaze in all directions.
Suddenly, his expression shifted. He looked toward a certain direction and let out a low shout:
"Which fellow Daoist is hiding nearby? Please show yourself!"
Though his voice was not loud, it echoed endlessly through the surrounding void. Yet all was quiet — not a single figure emerged.
Seeing this, Han Li raised both brows, gave a cold snort, then simply sat down cross-legged and formed hand seals in the air, entering a seated meditation.
His eyes were shut tight, his body perfectly still. He sat there for the better part of a day, as though he intended never to rise again.
When the second day had just begun, suddenly a burst of green light materialized from a stretch of nearby void. With a flash, it transformed into an elderly man clad in a dark green robe.
The old man had extraordinarily long eyebrows, a gaunt face, and his hair was gathered in a triangular topknot secured by a yellow wooden hairpin several inches long. A three-headed, six-armed demonic figure was emblazoned upon his robe — his appearance was thoroughly bizarre.
The moment he appeared, he showed no intention of approaching. He simply stood where he was, gazing at Han Li with cold, quiet eyes, equally silent.
Han Li paid him no mind whatsoever, as though he had not even noticed the old man's arrival. His eyes remained closed, and he continued his motionless meditation.
Han Li seated, the old man standing — the two of them locked in an odd stalemate, neither willing to be the first to speak.
Time trickled past, one moment at a time.
After three days and three nights, both Han Li and the old man had maintained their original postures without the slightest change.
However, a closer look would have revealed that the old man's ashen-white eyeballs were now shifting subtly. As he regarded Han Li, a faint glimmer of surprise crept into his gaze.
After another three or four hours, the movement in the old man's eyes grew even more pronounced. Suddenly both eyes snapped shut — then snapped open again, and his irises had taken on a peculiar silver sheen. With a flicker of his body, he vanished from his spot like a burst of foam.
The next instant, the void several zhang in front of where Han Li sat rippled, and the old man's figure materialized eerily once more.
Yet Han Li's expression did not change in the slightest. He did not so much as lift an eyelid.
A flash of irritation crossed the green-robed old man's face!
"Hmph, you've got quite the nerve — sitting there in brazen composure right before me." The old man finally spoke, his voice a harsh, grating screech like metal scraping against metal, setting anyone who heard it on edge.
"Judging by your tone, you seem to be someone of considerable standing. Might I ask how to address you?" Han Li slowly opened his eyes and replied with perfect calm.