Chapter 664: Former Residence of the Spirit Spring

A day can be spent in happiness, or in sorrow; why not choose happiness every day?

“Junior Uncle Liu, Junior Aunt Han!” The four green-robed cultivators were startled upon seeing the two women in white. They immediately bowed in unison, their faces respectfully deferential.

“That’s enough, no need for excessive courtesy. My junior sister Liu and I overheard bits of your conversation. Please recount it to us again, the more detailed, the better!” The woman with large eyes and a pale, thin face spoke softly, her voice carrying a hint of worldly experience.

This woman was Han Yunzhi, whom Han Li had met on several occasions in the past. Although her face remained unchanged, her figure was far from its former slender and frail state, having become full and curvaceous. She had completely transformed into a captivating and beautiful female cultivator, and her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, seemingly reaching the early Core Formation stage.

“Thank you, Junior Aunt Han. Your nephew will respectfully obey your command.” The elder, who was the leader of the four green-robed cultivators, spoke reverently on behalf of the other three.

Han Yunzhi smiled and nodded, then stepped forward a few paces, casually found a clean spot, and sat down cross-legged.

“Your offense is quite significant. If you truly can’t recover the spiritual infant, I’m afraid your master won’t be able to plead for you!” The other young woman, with willow-like brows, phoenix eyes, and a somewhat languid appearance, chuckled softly.

She was the woman who had spoken first, startling these Spirit Controlling Sect disciples.

“Your nephew also knows that this time our fault is unavoidable. However, this time, a few of us are truly a bit wronged. We hope the two junior aunts can speak a few good words to our grandmaster.” The elder said with a bitter smile, a hint of plea in his voice.

“Oh! Then let’s discuss both matters at once. The person who sealed the spiritual infant is now tens of thousands of miles away; we won’t be able to catch up in a short while, so there’s no rush right now.” The woman stretched her graceful and alluring body, her red lips gleaming as she spoke.

“Yes, this begins when Junior Uncle Ning and a few of us were passing through Kunmu Mountain with the spiritual infant. At that time, Junior Uncle Ning made an excuse…” The elder respectfully and detailedly recounted how the spiritual infant escaped, how it was sealed, and how the entire Fu family was annihilated.

Han Yunzhi listened quietly, her face showing no unusual expression, as if she had already made up her mind.

As for the other woman, whose surname was Liu, her gaze flickered, and a curious expression occasionally appeared on her face, seemingly quite interested in what the elder was saying.

A flash of green light streaked across the border between the Guo and Yue states, entering the territory of Yue.

According to the news Han Li had received, the state of Yue was now entirely under the control of the Ghost Spirit Sect. Their main headquarters there was located where the Moon-Veiling Sect’s main gate had once been.

And the Taiyue Mountain Range, where the Yellow Maple Valley once stood, had become merely a branch hall of the Ghost Spirit Sect.

After Han Li entered the state of Yue, he immediately pinpointed the direction and headed straight for the Taiyue Mountain Range.

“Nothing has changed!” Han Li stood before a huge pile of rubble, his expression somewhat lonely and wistful.

On that day, fearing his cave dwelling would be discovered by demonic cultivators, he had deliberately destroyed the entire mountain peak. Now, many years later, the place looked completely desolate. Naturally, no one would have imagined that beneath this huge pile of rubble, another hidden cultivator’s cave dwelling existed.

Han Li murmured a few words to himself, then raised a hand. White light flashed before his eyes, and several giant ape puppets were released.

Under the control of his spiritual sense, these giant apes quickly began to clear the rubble pile before them. By “clearing,” it merely meant that the puppets continuously shot out beams of various colors from their fingers, shattering the large rocks blocking their path to create a passage leading to the deeply buried cave dwelling below.

In just a few moments, a straight passage was cleared.

Han Li ordered the puppets to guard the entrance, while he himself transformed into a streak of green light and flew inside.

The layout inside the cave dwelling was exactly as he had left it during his hasty departure, indicating that no one had entered the place. This bothered Han Li slightly.

He hadn't come here for nostalgia; he immediately headed towards the secret chamber where the Spirit Eye Spring was located. His purpose in coming this time was to take this spiritual spring with him.

Although Han Li already possessed Spirit Jade, formed from the Spirit Eye Stone, and the highest form of Spirit Eye material, the Spirit Eye Tree, no one would ever complain about having too many Spirit Eye treasures. Although this Spirit Eye Spring was smaller, since he had returned to the state of Yue, he naturally wanted to take it.

The spiritual spring remained perfectly intact in the secret chamber, emitting wisps of white spiritual energy. Han Li gazed at the spring source with a complex expression. He couldn't help but recall various past events, such as when he had just successfully formed his foundation and first discovered this spiritual spring after opening his cave dwelling.

All of this felt like it had happened just yesterday, bringing a rush of emotions to his heart.

After staring blankly for a long while, Han Li finally sighed, formed a hand seal, and shot several incantations of various colors from his hands into the spring source.

Immediately, the spiritual spring emitted a brilliant light, and the nearby ground began to tremble slightly.

Han Li sat down cross-legged, his expression unchanged, formed a strange hand seal with both hands, fixed his gaze on the spiritual spring, and chanted a low incantation.

An incredible scene unfolded.

The surface of the spring source began to boil without apparent cause, as if an invisible giant hand was continuously stirring the spring water, causing its surface to gradually spin and rise, forming a bottomless, profound black hole.

Then, a startling stream of white spiritual energy erupted from the hole in a flash, penetrating the roof and flying off to an unknown destination.

Upon seeing this, Han Li’s expression changed slightly. Clearly, this outward projection of spiritual energy was somewhat unexpected. However, after a brief moment of surprise, he calmly ignored it and instead accelerated his spellcasting speed.

At this moment, the nearby ground trembled even more violently, and a blinding circle of yellow light appeared around the spring source.

The yellow light contracted and deformed, and the spring source within the circle also similarly shrank. The light intensified, enveloping the entire spring source within it, becoming dazzlingly bright.

A moment later, Han Li let out a low cry, and the light receded, revealing a fist-sized, deep yellow spherical bead gently floating there.

Below it, a huge pit appeared, empty and bare; the Spirit Eye Spring had vanished.

Han Li smiled slightly at this, but suddenly his expression changed, and he tilted his head, his face turning grim.

He clearly felt that the giant ape puppets he had placed at the entrance were under attack. Although not immediately destroyed, they were clearly at a disadvantage and would soon collapse.

Without hesitation, Han Li swiftly took out a jade box, carefully placed the spherical bead inside, and then transformed into a streak of green light, directly escaping the way he came.

As soon as he flew out of the passage, he saw several black-robed cultivators fiercely attacking the giant ape puppets. Twenty to thirty zhang away from these individuals, a grim-faced man in gray robes, over thirty years old, was looking at the scene with a puzzled expression.

When Han Li's green light streak emerged, all the cultivators were startled. After the gray-robed man shouted "Stop!", the black-robed cultivators immediately ceased their attack and retreated to his side.

The green light streak flew into mid-air, where Han Li’s figure suddenly appeared and stopped. He then stared at the group with emotionless eyes, remaining silent. However, his aura gradually emanated, clearly revealing his Nascent Soul stage cultivation.

“Senior, please don’t misunderstand! This junior has no ill intentions. My disciples and I merely stumbled upon the anomaly in the spiritual energy here, and thus came to investigate out of curiosity. I am Yu Hong of the Ghost Spirit Sect, and my master is the Soul-Shattering True Man of the Ghost Spirit Sect. We absolutely do not intend to oppose you.” The gray-robed man’s gaze swept over Han Li, and his heart sank. He immediately offered a nervous smile, his face showing a hint of dread.

“Soul-Shattering True Man!” Han Li frowned, finding the name somewhat familiar. After a brief consideration, he recalled who the person was.

Wasn't this one of the old monsters of the Ghost Spirit Sect at the Nascent Soul stage? It seemed this person was ruthless, extremely protective of his own, and difficult to provoke. The white-haired elder of the Falling Cloud Sect had even mentioned him once, advising Han Li to be wary.

As Han Li pondered, the gray-robed man, noticing that Han Li seemed to have heard of his master’s name, felt somewhat relieved, but still forced a nervous smile:

“Senior also knows my master? Could you be an old acquaintance of his? Then this junior has been even more presumptuous. I truly did not know Senior was conducting business here, otherwise, I would never have dared disturb your leisure. Is there anything this junior can do for you? Senior, please just give the command. Or, I can take my leave now, and Senior can proceed at your convenience.” Although the gray-robed man had a frightening appearance, he was extremely smooth-tongued. After tentatively uttering these few sentences, he assumed a deferential posture. After all, facing an unknown Nascent Soul stage cultivator alone made cold sweat trickle down the great cultivator’s back.

Han Li stared expressionlessly at the gray-robed man, not intending to reply. However, he released his spiritual sense, confirming that there were no other cultivators’ auras within a hundred-mile radius.

It seemed that the group had indeed stumbled upon the activity here by chance and had come alone. In that case…

A murderous intent immediately arose in Han Li’s heart.

Regardless of his initial identity as a Yellow Maple Valley cultivator or his current status as an elder of the Falling Cloud Sect, there seemed to be no reason to let these Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators go. Moreover, the former young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect had nearly taken his life, leaving a deep-seated grudge in his heart.

Furthermore, having secretly infiltrated the state of Yue on this trip, he certainly didn't want those old monsters of the Ghost Spirit Sect to learn from these few individuals that another unfamiliar Nascent Soul stage cultivator had appeared in Yue. If he were targeted by these old monsters, it would be a huge problem.

He certainly didn't want to be chased out of the state of Yue by several Nascent Soul cultivators of the same rank.

“Eh? This person is…” Just as Han Li was about to strike without a word, one of the elders among the black-robed cultivators suddenly looked at Han Li with a soft gasp, his face filled with astonishment.