The illusory image of the Confucian scholar materialized for barely a single instant before vanishing once more from before everyone's eyes.
"Sect Master
"In a manner of speaking, this person could be considered Sovereign Cangkun, and yet also not be Sovereign Cangkun. But yes, the matter of the Ethereal Spirit Garden was indeed learned from his lips." Upon learning that the spatial rift had only appeared recently, the Ghost Spirit Gate Master's expression visibly relaxed. He answered Wei Wuya's questions in his usual calm manner.
"What do you mean by that? There's no need to keep us in suspense." Wei Wuya's face darkened slightly, a look of displeasure crossing his features.
"Brother Wei misunderstands. The spirit of the painted scroll you just witnessed was in fact nothing more than the remnant soul of one of Sovereign Cangkun's former incarnations. That incarnation was injured by restrictions while exploring the Demon-Falling Valley, its physical form destroyed. It was then that Sovereign Cangkun placed it within this painted scroll artifact — crafted from Soul-Nourishing Wood shavings — to allow it to rest and recover. But the true Sovereign Cangkun perished long ago, countless years since. This wisp of remnant soul, beyond retaining certain memories, has already gained its own autonomous existence. So calling it an entirely different person would not be inaccurate." The Ghost Spirit Gate Master spoke at an unhurried pace, his tone leisurely.
Wei Wuya appeared somewhat surprised upon hearing this.
Wang Tiangu pressed his lips together, a bitter smile forming inwardly. He couldn't tell whether it was because he had failed to uncover the secret of the painted scroll, or because he had guessed wrong yet again, but either way, he felt a measure of dejection.
"So that's how it is. It seems you struck some sort of agreement with this remnant soul, and that's why it revealed the Ethereal Spirit Garden to you. But none of that matters — it has nothing to do with me. As long as I can enter the Ethereal Spirit Garden, I won't concern myself with whatever agreement you may have reached with it. At my age, all I want is to break through to the Spirit Transformation stage and ascend to the Spirit World." Wei Wuya nodded and said coldly.
"Brother Wei is indeed a man of reason. That is for the best. Now then — since this spatial rift appeared only by chance, let us be on our way!" The Ghost Spirit Gate Master offered a faint smile, then signaled a disciple to step forward and clear the path once more.
That Ghost Spirit Gate disciple's face was somewhat pale, but without a word he skirted the spatial rift ahead and pressed onward.
Wei Wuya walked forward with an impassive expression, his pace measured. The rest of the Ghost Spirit Gate party followed close behind.
The group continued onward toward the massive altar that was clearly visible in the distance.
...
"What's going on? Your flying mouse has lost control!" Standing upon a glacier blanketed in thick ice,
Not far behind him, a massive ice crevasse over twenty zhang wide had torn open. Han Li had just descended through this crevasse, returning once more to the inner valley.
Looking around, the landscape was entirely blanketed in ice and snow. Biting, bone-piercing winds howled past in gusts. Yet Han Li stood motionless in a thin green robe, seemingly paying the freezing gales no mind whatsoever.
"I don't know. My flying mouse was perfectly fine on the outside, but the moment it emerged from the ice crevasse, it suddenly went berserk. Fortunately, I managed to store it in time, or who knows what sort of chaos it might have caused. Even now, locked inside the spirit beast pouch, it's still in a wild frenzy." Zi Ling's delicate brows were tightly knit, equally unable to fathom the phenomenon.
Han Li mused for a moment, then abruptly patted his storage pouch with one hand. A small swarm of
With a silent pulse of his divine sense, the cloud of beetles obediently returned to the spirit beast pouch, showing no signs whatsoever of losing control.
Han Li stroked his chin, his gaze flickering uncertainly, but immediately patted open another spirit beast pouch. A streak of black light shot out, spiraled once, and landed a few feet in front of him.
The glow faded, and a tiny black monkey no more than several inches tall appeared before him — the Crying Soul Beast.
At that moment, it yawned and blinked, staring at Han Li with a somewhat dazed expression, looking for all the world like it had just woken up.
Han Li regarded the creature for a long while, then swept his wide sleeve forward without a trace of expression on his face. A wave of azure light surged outward.
A moment later, the azure light flickered and the Crying Soul Beast vanished without a trace.
"Since your flying mouse has lost control, no matter the reason, we'll have to find the Ghost Spirit Gate people on our own. Fortunately, now that we've entered the inner valley, we can't be far from them. Let me use my abilities to search and see if I can pick up their trail. Keep watch for me in the meantime." After a brief deliberation, Han Li reached a decision and addressed Zi Ling.
The Gold Devouring Beetles and the Crying Soul Beast had both shown no anomalies in the inner valley, which eased his mind somewhat. After all, one was a top-grade extraordinary insect, and the other was a mutated beast of great ferocity — naturally, they were nothing like ordinary spirit beasts.
Of course, Han Li had no way of knowing that the Thousand-Li Oriole
The underlying reason, naturally, had to do with certain secrets of the inner valley.
"In that case, we'll have to rely entirely on Brother Han's abilities." Zi Ling lightly bit her lower lip, seeing no other option.
Han Li nodded, sat down cross-legged in calm composure, and gently closed his eyes.