The Spirit Race's population had always been remarkably sparse compared to the nearby human and demon beast tribes.
What's more, Han Li and his group had deliberately piloted the flying vessel along exceptionally remote routes, so the Spirit Race members they encountered grew ever fewer.
The Spirit Race inhabitants harbored not the slightest suspicion toward the Dark Holy Vessel, whose appearance had been completely altered, or the demonic crystal puppets standing on its exterior.
In fact, several Artifact Spirit Clan members even went out of their way to call out greetings to these "fellow clansmen" of considerable cultivation.
Under Han Li's signal, these illusory puppets dispatched the "relatives" with ease.
Two months later, the flying vessel finally arrived at Emerald Mist City — the largest metropolis in the heart of Spirit Race territory — and beyond that city, some hundred thousand li away, lay Fuling Mountain, the sacred site of the entire Spirit Race.
It was within this mountain that the "Spirit King," whose supreme authority commanded reverence throughout the Spirit Race, resided, along with a cadre of Holy Guards who had sworn never to leave the mountain for the rest of their lives.
According to the Spirit Race's prohibitions, the area within thirty thousand li of the mountain had been designated a restricted zone, and no Spirit Race member below the Fusion stage was permitted to approach.
As for those at the Fusion stage and above, without a personal decree from the Spirit King, they too were forbidden from entering the upper half of Fuling Mountain — they could only linger briefly along the lower slopes.
In recent years, the Spirit King — who had previously held frequent audiences with newly ascended Holy Spirits on the Sacred Mountain — had suddenly announced he was entering seclusion to cultivate a mysterious technique. After entrusting the clan's affairs to several trusted Holy Spirits under his command, he sealed off the entire sacred grounds entirely, refusing to see anyone from the outside.
Such a mountain seal had never occurred in the ten thousand years since the Spirit Race's founding, and naturally it sent shockwaves through the entire clan. However, those several Holy Spirits were all figures of great standing and authority, and under their combined suppression, no major unrest truly erupted within the Spirit Race — though whispered rumors, of course, could not be avoided.
During this period, a strange atmosphere of hidden undercurrents pervaded the entire Spirit Race without anyone quite noticing it.
On their way here, Han Li, Mo Jianli, and the others had already gathered all the relevant intelligence.
Though they were surprised by the unexpected changes within the Spirit Race, it did not alter their intention to meet with the Spirit King.
After all, since the Spirit King had been able to trade a Thundercloud Talisman with a foreign race's Mahayana cultivator not long ago, he could not truly be in seclusion cultivating — he must be secretly scheming something else.
But regardless of what undisclosed plans this Spirit Race Mahayona harbored, Han Li and Mo Jianli, who were both determined to obtain the Thundercloud Talisman at any cost, would naturally not retreat even slightly because of this.
After a brief discussion, the two parked the Mo Spirit Holy Ship near Emerald Smoke City and left Yinyue and the rest of the group, along with a contingent of Devil Crystal puppets, behind.
The pair then flew together toward Fuling Mountain.
With this arrangement, should anything go wrong during their audience with the Spirit King, the two of them — both Mahayana cultivators — would have more than enough ability to protect themselves without any encumbrances to worry about.
Half a day later, Han Li and Mo Jianli arrived unnoticed near the Spirit Race's Holy Mountain.
Han Li raised his head to gaze upward.
As far as his vision reached, five-colored rainbows arched across the sky. Beneath these radiant bridges, a towering emerald peak of over ten thousand zhang flickered faintly with crystalline light.
Even though Han Li had concealed his body with a secret technique, his pupils contracted involuntarily.
With his current strength, he could easily discern that this rumored Spirit Race "Holy Mountain" emanated an incredibly terrifying invisible spiritual pressure. It seemed to be an extraordinary treasure of immense power in its own right, not inferior at all to his own Extreme Mountains.
"How interesting! The Spirit King is willing to reveal the Holy Mountain's true power and fully seal off this place. It seems there really is something suspicious here." Mo Jianli, who had also rendered his body transparent, clicked his tongue in admiration.
This human Mahayana cultivator had evidently also perceived some of the mountain's mysteries at a glance.
"Brother Mo, the Spirit King has apparently set up extremely powerful restrictions here. Should we still approach voluntarily?" Han Li asked calmly.
"Why not? No matter how extraordinary this mountain is, it can't truly stop the two of us working together. Besides, if we don't show some of our capabilities first, the Spirit King might not be willing to meet us at all. Surely Fellow Daoist Han hasn't suddenly changed his mind now that we're here?" Mo Jianli chuckled.
"Since Brother Mo is confident, how could Han Li have any intention of backing down? I will naturally accompany you to the end." Han Li replied with a hearty laugh, showing no surprise at this response.
After exchanging a few more words, the two immediately decided to split up and act separately.
Mo Jianli formed a seal with one hand and began chanting an incantation under his breath.
An eerie sight appeared! The translucent body of this Human Race Mahayana cultivator began to emit a ring of milky-white luminescence amid the chanting.
Then he softened and melted away, ultimately transforming into an unremarkable globule of transparent liquid. With a single undulation, it burrowed eerily into the ground and vanished without a trace.
Seeing this, a flicker of surprise crossed Han Li's face. After recovering his composure, he immediately flicked his sleeve.
With a muffled bang, a talisman shot outward from his sleeve and detonated, manifesting into countless purple runes that surged over and engulfed Han Li's entire body before dissolving into billowing clouds of mist.
And when the mist cleared, the spot where he had stood was completely empty—Han Li had vanished without a trace.
That talisman was none other than a Taiyi Purification Talisman that Han Li had recently reforged.
Although he had seldom used this talisman since advancing to the Body Integration stage, it was not to say that the Taiyi Purification Talisman was of little use to him now.
Quite the opposite! Because this talisman was forged using a secret technique from the Immortal World, its power grew in lockstep with every increment of Han Li's cultivation. The unfortunate truth, however, was that the several rare materials required to forge this talisman were exceedingly scarce, and the few he had previously crafted had long since been utterly spent.