"Finally out, though it seems we're still within the Wanyue Mountain Range." Han Li stepped out of the light formation, surveyed the surroundings, and said calmly.
"Han, when I controlled the teleportation, I did my best to send us as far as possible. Even if we're still in the Wanyue Mountain Range, we should at least be near the edge now." Fairy Ice Soul similarly looked around, unable to conceal the trace of excitement on her face.
Anyone trapped in a place for so many years would naturally feel intensely stirred upon finally seeing the light of day again.
"Now that we're here, even if the others realize something's wrong, they won't be able to catch up in time. Let me summon Zhu Guo'er and the others. Fairy Ice Soul, what are your plans going forward? Do you intend to return to your clan immediately?" Han Li nodded and asked her with a serious expression.
"I've only just broken through to the Mahayana stage. I need to properly consolidate my realm and also refine the several powerful treasures I've newly obtained. So I plan to first find a secluded location nearby, cultivate in peace for a few years, and then return to my clan." Fairy Ice Soul answered without hesitation, as though she had already given this matter considerable thought.
"That sounds like a sound plan. However, since Xiao Ming and the others know you've obtained the inheritance of Celestial Tripod True Immortal, this news will likely spread quickly. Fairy Ice Soul should take extra care." Han Li nodded, quite approving of her idea, though he added a brief word of caution.
"Brother Han, rest assured. I am a Mahayana existence now after all. Even if I encounter a powerful enemy, as long as I'm not trapped in a desperate place, I'll always have the means to protect myself." Fairy Ice Soul said with a charming smile.
"If Fairy Ice Soul has that confidence, then that's for the best. I'll be remaining in Blood Sky for a while longer, and I may even make a trip to the Thunder Continent. The next time we meet could be quite some time from now. Take care of yourself!" Han Li smiled and cupped his fists toward her.
Fairy Ice Soul hurriedly returned the salute, exchanged a few parting words of farewell, and finally took her leave, transforming into a streak of crystalline light that pierced through the sky and vanished.
The moment Han Li saw her escape light disappear over the horizon, he reached out and grabbed at the void with one hand. A faint silver talisman appeared in his palm with a flash. He pinched it between his fingers, and with a wave in the wind, the talisman transformed into a wisp of azure smoke and vanished into the void.
After that, Han Li's escape light descended, and he landed on a mountain peak below. He sat cross-legged beneath an enormous tree and quietly awaited the arrival of Zhu Guo'er and the others.
A full half-day later, a flash of spiritual light appeared at the edge of the sky, and a triangular flying chariot shot toward them, upon which stood a man and a woman.
They were none other than Zhu Guo'er and Stone Ancestor.
Han Li opened his eyes once more, a faint smile on his face, and rose to his feet from beneath the tree.
Before long, word spread from the Blood Bone Gate that during the battle in the Wanyue Mountain Range, all the puppets transformed from the Five Blood Unity had been destroyed, and the mysterious cultivator who practiced the Blood God Technique had been slain.
However, Tian Que and Di Meng, two Mahayana elders, had been gravely injured in the battle, and even among the sect disciples they had brought along, only a small fraction had managed to return.
And the renowned formation grandmaster of Blood Sky, "the man surnamed Feng," had perished outright in that battle.
At the same time, rumors that the inheritance of Celestial Tripod True Immortal had fallen to a female Mahayana cultivator from another continent spread across the entire land, stirring quite a bit of restless ambition among those with eyes and ears.
But strangely, there was not a single mention of Han Li, as if no such person had ever appeared in the Wanyue Mountain Range at all.
……
A year and a half later, above a deeply hidden valley in the Qiyun Mountain Range, two Mahayana cultivators of Blood Sky in mismatched attire stared with faces full of shock and fury at a rather thin, pale youth standing across from them.
The youth wore a black robe, his eyes narrow and long, lending him a bizarrely ethereal air.
But what was truly terrifying was that he held in one hand a severed head with disheveled hair, while beneath his feet flowed a river of blood that stretched beyond sight, gurgling as it went.
The head's face was refined and scholarly, yet abnormally pale, still bearing the expression of disbelief it had worn at the moment of decapitation.
The blood river was some thirty or forty zhang wide. The water appeared incredibly viscous, yet carried no scent of blood. Instead, it gave off an aroma reminiscent of sandalwood, which invigorated anyone who inhaled it.
Near the black-robed youth's feet, several dismembered pieces of what clearly belonged to the same person floated quietly in the current.
The youth's bare calves were sunk more than halfway into the blood river, yet his body remained perfectly steady, as though he stood on solid ground. He regarded the two most exalted Mahayana existences of the Spirit Realm with a gaze that bordered on mockery.
"What did you do to us? How did our cultivation suddenly drop by nearly half? Otherwise, Rain Mist True Immortal could never have been beheaded so easily. Do you know that Rain Mist True Immortal is one of the elders of the Merchant Alliance — and the Merchant Alliance is one of the greatest powers in the entire Spirit Realm? You've killed a core member of the Merchant Alliance. Even with your formidable abilities, you'll never find a foothold in the Spirit Realm again!" One of the two Mahayana cultivators — an enormously built man in purple armor — seemed to have finally overcome his fear and suddenly roared at the black-robed youth.