Chapter 838: Illusory Peak

"I naturally have some confidence in doing this. Besides, if you're seeking the Spirit Fruit, Miss Zi Ling, can you truly not risk this much?" Han Li said with a faint, knowing smile, the corner of his mouth curving slightly.

After a moment of surprise, Zi Ling's bright eyes shifted for a bit before she chuckled softly. "From what I know of you, Brother Han, you would never take risks unless you were absolutely certain. It seems Fellow Daoist Han must have some secret technique to avoid those invisible spatial rifts. In that case, I shall respectfully obey."

Then, with a flash of white, she gracefully stepped onto the Wind Chariot.

Han Li glanced at her with a hint of surprise but then flew into the chariot without a word.

Instantly, under Han Li's urging, the Wind Chariot transformed into a dazzling white streak and shot through the air.

Evidently, Han Li's deduction was correct. After only half a day of pursuit, near an endless expanse of desolate land, Han Li and Zi Ling finally caught up with the Ghost Spirit Sect group.

Elder Zhong and his companions were in a frantic scramble to save themselves, as a momentary error by one of the Ghost Spirit Sect disciples had triggered a minor ancient restriction nearby.

Given Han Li's caution and his fully unleashed spiritual sense, he naturally didn't allow Elder Zhong to discover their tracks. Instead, relying on his powerful spiritual sense, he surreptitiously scanned the area from a distance. Han Li clearly sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations of the ancient restriction; they weren't very strong. It seemed it could only entangle the Ghost Spirit Sect members for a while and wouldn't truly trap Elder Zhong, who had a Mid Nascent Soul cultivation, for long.

However, this slight delay presented a rare opportunity for Han Li—enough time to shake them off.

Han Li hardened his resolve as he steered the Wind Chariot. He risked deviating from their original route, taking a wide detour.

Before long, after bypassing several spatial rifts along the way, Han Li finally left the Ghost Spirit Sect far behind and, with Zi Ling, approached a lush, verdant mountain range.

Upon seeing the mountain range, Han Li's thoughts stirred, and the Wind Chariot slowly came to a halt.

"Yes, this is it! Look at that peak resembling a flying bird. That's the correct marker," Zi Ling exclaimed, recognizing a mountain shaped like a large bird among the peaks at a glance. She spoke with some excitement, involuntarily glancing at Han Li.

To be honest, although Zi Ling had spoken with full confidence earlier, seemingly trusting Han Li completely, her heart had been in her throat as she truly witnessed Han Li driving the Wind Chariot at breakneck speed.

She hadn't expected the route Han Li led them on to be utterly safe. Not only were all spatial rifts avoided, but not a single ancient restriction was triggered either. They had flown straight to this location in one go.

Naturally, Zi Ling didn't know that Han Li was also secretly congratulating himself on their luck.

While avoiding the spatial rifts was thanks to the miraculous effect of his Bright-Sight Spirit Eyes, the fact that no hidden ancient restrictions were triggered after deviating from the path was genuinely good fortune.

Han Li thought this to himself, but his face remained impassive. He merely narrowed his eyes, silently staring at the peculiar distant peak.

The direction pointed by the bird's beak should be the location of the final marker.

"Brother Han, aren't we setting off yet? Or should we destroy this mountain peak before we go?" After waiting a moment and seeing Han Li lost in thought, Zi Ling suggested with a hint of anxiety.

"According to the jade slip, the last marker should be in a desert area, and it should be within a thousand li of this mountain peak, correct?" Han Li suddenly asked.

"Yes, that's right. Brother Han, do you mean..." Zi Ling began to understand.

"It's simple. If we deal with this mountain peak, when the other party sees the newly destroyed peak, they'll naturally know that this is where the next marker is. And since the final marker is in a desert, such a conspicuous place means they'll find it nearby if they just spend a little more time, just as we found this location. The only way to delay them further is to set up an illusion array to obscure this mountain peak, to see if we can trick them and make the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators miss this marker," Han Li calmly explained.

"What Brother Han says makes sense, but what kind of illusion array could cover an entire mountain of this size and fool the spiritual sense of Nascent Soul cultivators? Are you also proficient in illusionary arts, Fellow Daoist?" Zi Ling asked, a little surprised and uncertain.

"Heh heh, I'm not proficient in illusionary arts, but someone else is," Han Li replied calmly with a smile.

Then, Han Li flicked his sleeve, and a white light shot out, flashing dazzlingly upon hitting the ground. From within the spiritual light, an elegant and beautiful young woman in white was revealed.

"Greetings, Master!" The woman curtsied to Han Li; it was Silvermoon.

"Who is she?" Zi Ling exclaimed in shock upon seeing Silvermoon.

"This is Silvermoon, consider her one of my subordinates for now. Silvermoon, can you set up an illusion array to obscure that mountain peak in a short amount of time?" Han Li briefly explained in an understated manner, then pointed to the nearby mountain and asked about the illusion array.

"With a few sets of the Master's illusion array tools and my illusionary arts complementing them, it's not impossible to cast a spell to obscure this mountain. However, whether the array's effectiveness can truly deceive the spiritual sense of Nascent Soul cultivators, this humble servant cannot be certain. Moreover, my illusionary arts are not true formation restrictions; they can only last for two days before dissipating on their own," Silvermoon respectfully replied.

"Good, then go ahead and do it. Achieve whatever extent you can. Two days is enough time." Han Li pondered for a moment, then, having made up his mind, slapped his storage pouch at his waist. Two sets of array tools, shimmering with various spiritual lights, appeared in his hand. Han Li casually handed them to the young woman.

"Yes, Master!" Silvermoon took the array tools and promptly assented.

At this moment, Han Li looked at the nearby bird-shaped mountain peak, a cold glint in his eyes. He suddenly rubbed his hands together, then raised a single hand.

A ten-zhang-long azure sword qi, like a coiling dragon, shot forth from his palm. After circling the mountain peak, it returned with a long cry, vanishing into Han Li's body.

The bird-shaped mountain peak then emitted a sudden humming sound. In an instant, the bird's head and wings collapsed and crumbled. The mountain peak now looked no different from an ordinary mountain.

Zi Ling stared, her eyes wide with disbelief. Although she knew Han Li's current divine abilities were beyond what a Core Formation cultivator like herself could fathom, she was utterly startled that he could wield such immense power from thin air, solely with sword qi, without even drawing a magic treasure.

Previously, she had often heard people say how formidable Han Li, the newly advanced Nascent Soul cultivator, was, almost on par with the Three Great Cultivators. But Zi Ling had always been somewhat skeptical.

After all, Han Li was once a Core Formation cultivator just like her. How long had it been since he advanced to Nascent Soul, and yet he immediately garnered such a great reputation? It was truly unbelievable to Zi Ling. She had originally thought that Han Li had probably used some opportunistic method to achieve his fame through sheer luck.

While Zi Ling was secretly startled, Silvermoon had already taken the two sets of array tools and flown to the mountain peak, which was now missing nearly half its mass, to begin setting up the formation.

Silvermoon worked quickly, completing the setup of both illusion arrays in the time it takes to eat a meal. Instantly, wisps of white mountain mist slowly rose, obscuring most of the peak. Only the very summit remained exposed.

After finishing all of this, Silvermoon suddenly transformed into a ball of silver light and ascended into the air above the mountain peak. Then, facing the mountain below, she suddenly opened her cherry-red mouth, and large swathes of pink mist poured out.

These pink mists became invisible the moment they left her mouth, yet Silvermoon continued to spray them endlessly. Before long, an astonishing scene unfolded.

The entire vicinity of the mountain peak suddenly twisted and distorted. The mountain vanished into thin air without a trace, replaced instead by dense patches of forest.

Seeing this, Han Li nodded with satisfaction.

Hundreds of thousands of li away, deep underground in a cavernous hall, Lord Nanlong and Lu Weiying were sitting cross-legged in a corner, directing their magic treasures to fiercely attack the golden light barrier. This barrier had now shrunk to a thin layer but was even more dazzling and blinding.

The Buddhist script on the light barrier, which was originally pea-sized, had now transformed into fist-sized silver runes, continuously flowing across the surface of the barrier, appearing exceptionally solemn.

Outside the golden barrier, a white wind dragon, a dazzling golden streak, two blue ice pythons, and a verdant giant ring were continuously attacking the barrier's surface. Each attack made the barrier tremble slightly, causing spiritual light to flicker wildly.

Lord Nanlong and the old man surnamed Lu both looked pale, completely devoid of color.

This was understandable; anyone who continuously expended spiritual power day and night, even overdrawing their essence to urge their magic treasures, would end up in such a state. The two, who had long cursed the Small Sumeru Vajra Array as abnormal, had truly fought with all their might to break through this Buddhist formation. Although both were now significantly depleted of energy, the Vajra Barrier was also at its last gasp, clearly on the verge of being breached at any moment. This allowed the two, who were secretly enduring immense hardship, to finally grit their teeth and persevere.

Amidst the rumbling explosions of attacks, after an unknown period, a colossal earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted. Immediately afterward, the old man's voice, filled with extreme joy, rang out loudly.

"It's broken! We've breached it! All our efforts weren't in vain after all!"

The old man, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly stood up, shouting with an expression of wild ecstasy.

Near the offering table opposite them, the golden light barrier that had obstructed them for nearly two days was now completely gone. The runes subtly shimmering on the surrounding walls also vanished in an instant.

Lord Nanlong, sitting cross-legged in the other corner, looked extremely ill, but a flash of extreme excitement also flickered in his eyes.

Their gazes then simultaneously fell upon the spiritual medicines, the round alms bowl, and other treasures that were now unprotected and completely exposed before them.

Even for these two cunning and experienced individuals, their heartbeats suddenly quickened.