Han Li's heart stirred slightly at these words, but he merely nodded without saying anything more. He gave his sleeve a shake and stashed the incomplete jade token away.
The items within the golden storage bracelet naturally weren't limited to just these. In addition to seven or eight mysterious treasures shaped like magical artifacts, there was also a stack of gold-and-silver talismans and a large pile of pale golden crystals.
However, since he wasn't currently in his own cave abode, it naturally wasn't convenient to take these items out one by one for a closer inspection.
And so, Han Li quietly waited where he was.
After roughly the time it took to eat a meal, a sudden ripple of fluctuation arose in the nearby void. The Gold Devouring Beetle King shot out as a beam of golden light, and after a single flicker, it vanished into one of Han Li's sleeves without a trace.
After his gaze flickered several times, Han Li listened carefully to the few faint voice transmissions the Gold Devouring Beetle King had sent him, and the tension on his face eased considerably.
Just then, a sharp "chi chi" sound rang out from the distant horizon as a black streak and a ball of crimson light tore through the sky. After a few flickers, they arrived right in front of Han Li.
The light faded, and within it, the figures of Mo Guang and Huo Xuzi appeared.
"You two have returned so quickly — it seems you didn't come back empty-handed." Han Li glanced at the two of them and asked with a faint smile.
"Heh heh, of course. That brat may have had a few tricks up his sleeve, but there was no way he could truly escape from our grasp." Huo Xuzi chuckled and flicked two items toward Han Li.
Han Li's gaze sharpened. He gave his sleeve a shake, and an invisible wave of force surged forth, catching the two items and holding them steady in the empty air before him.
They were a shriveled and withered Nascent Soul husk, and a faintly black storage ring.
"I've drawn out all the essence and vitality of this man's Nascent Soul. He probably won't even qualify to enter the cycle of reincarnation. As for the things he left behind, the two of us have no use for them, so they're all yours, Fellow Daoist." Mo Guang spoke in an unhurried manner.
"Then I, Han, won't stand on ceremony. You two have worked hard this time — this is no place to linger. Let's leave now." Han Li swept his gaze over the shriveled Nascent Soul husk, and though the face was badly twisted and deformed, the features were unmistakably identical to those of Ming Zun. He nodded at once.
The moment his words fell, one hand reached out and drew the black storage ring toward him in a blur, stowing it away. With his other hand, he flicked a finger, and a ball of crimson flame shot forth, striking the Nascent Soul husk of Ming Zun and reducing it to ashes in an instant.
Mo Guang and Huo Xuzi naturally had no objections.
Han Li raised his hand again and released what appeared to be an ordinary azure flying chariot. The three of them moved, and all appeared upon it.
Below, Daoist Xie formed a hand seal with one hand. With a thunderous hum, she transformed into a bolt of arc lightning and plunged directly into Han Li's sleeve.
The azure flying chariot was over ten zhang long. After a slight tremor, it transformed into a ball of azure light and shot off through the sky.
A full three days later, some of the higher-ranking figures of the merchant alliance who had been stationed outside the Mingsha Territory, along with the disciples of other powerful cultivators, finally crept their way into the Mingsha Territory, all wearing expressions of nervous caution.
Naturally, aside from the earth-shattering upheaval across the entire landscape, they found not a single living cultivator.
When Ming Zun had originally mobilized to deal with the True Immortal Ma Liang, he had not left behind a single person beyond the essential personnel required to operate the formation and those Mahayana cultivators.
These latecomers, not yet knowing whether their target had survived, didn't dare linger in the Mingsha Territory. After a hasty sweep of the area, they scattered and rushed off to report back to their respective factions.
Several months later, reports emerged from every race that the life-bound treasures of their respective experts had shattered — all of them had perished in the battle at the Mingsha Territory.
This news spread like wildfire across the entire Feng Yuan Continent. Before long, even the races on other continents had heard of it.
As for whether the descending True Immortal had also perished within, there was little solid evidence to confirm it.
As a result, the races of the Spirit Realm grew even more anxious, terrified that this immortal might suddenly resurface and unleash a massacre upon some unsuspecting race.
It wasn't until a full year had passed that news finally emerged — from the unremarkable Human Race, no less — that this descending immortal had perished in the self-destruction of the Two-Pole Dust Annihilation Formation.
The news specifically pointed out that Ming Zun, the former chief steward of the merchant alliance, had deliberately sacrificed several powerful cultivators to the formation, bolstering the power of its self-destruction to perish together with the True Immortal.
Once this half-true, half-false news spread, it naturally caused an uproar throughout the entire Spirit Realm.
After a hurried investigation, the major powers confirmed that there had indeed been a human cultivator who participated in the Battle of the Mingsha Territory — and that this cultivator appeared to be very much alive and well within his own race.
Once this news was verified, it naturally stirred up yet another wave of commotion among many races. Numerous Mahayana cultivators from major races immediately dropped their cultivation and personal affairs, and rushed toward the Human Race.
Among them, some genuinely wished to confirm what had transpired during the great battle at the Mingsha Territory, but the majority were after the relics left behind by the True Immortal.
All the other powerful cultivators had perished in the battle. Only Han Li had returned safely to his race. That the immortal's relics had fallen into his hands was beyond any doubt.
The various races on the Feng Yuan Continent were at least somewhat restrained. Most of their true powerhouses had already perished, and while they burned with desire for the immortal's treasures, they knew they were no match for a top-tier existence like Han Li. All they could do was hold their positions and watch for the time being.