A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu’s Rebirth as the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor - Chapter 75

Chapter 75 I’ve tolerated you twice already

The first day in the forbidden area passed just like that.

The second day, the sky was still dark.

But just as Han Li had been waiting for so long, a large ball of light shot into the sky from the east of the forbidden area, like a small sun suddenly rising.

“It’s here.”

A large number of cultivators from the seven sects, who had been waiting for this moment, emerged from their hiding places.

They witnessed the rise of the small sun, saw it fly straight from east to west towards the depths of the central mountain range, and saw the scattered points of light falling down where it passed. They also noticed that the mist in the central area of the forbidden area immediately dissipated rapidly in clumps upon contact with those points of light.

Before long, the ring-shaped mountain range in the central area revealed its true form.

It was a huge mountain range, two to three hundred miles long, encircling the core area in a ring.

Some parts of the mountain range were only a few hundred feet high, like entrances to canyons.

Other peaks soared into the clouds, at least three thousand feet high.

From the mountain peaks, startled birds could be seen in the distance.

Hundreds upon hundreds, in large groups.

Any unlucky soul targeted by these flying demonic beasts would certainly not fare well.

The little sun came quickly and went quickly.

As its radiance dimmed, the mist within the crater also dissipated considerably.

“Let’s go.”

At this moment, all the cultivators from the seven sects who had entered the inner city walls moved.

They rushed towards the mountain path entrances they had planned in advance.

Han Li was no exception.

Fortunately, the mountain path entrance he chose was not a very good climbing route. This area had more demonic beasts than other places. As for the spiritual herbs, they were all seedlings that had been visited several times before and were still immature.

Therefore, there were not many people who appeared with him, only three in total.

The three who appeared were Han Li from Huangfeng Valley, a middle-aged Taoist from Qingxu Sect, and a young man from Tianque Fortress.

The middle-aged Taoist from Qingxu Sect had an unremarkable appearance, just like Han Li, but he possessed a special aura. This man carried a simple, sheathed longsword on his back, wore cloth boots with black trim, and held a string of beads imbued with spiritual energy in his left hand. He looked formidable.

This was none other than the seed-level expert of the Qingxu Sect.

The young man from Tianque Fortress, on the other hand, was handsome and refined, with an excellent appearance. He held a cyan flying fork in one hand and a yellow bead in the other. Both objects shone brightly with spiritual light, clearly top-tier magic weapons, and even among the finest and rarest of them.

He also looked formidable.

However, Han Li knew that although this man possessed many treasures, he was no match for him or the middle-aged man from the Qingxu Sect.

It was just that the young man had a good older brother, a genius with exceptional spiritual root aptitude, hailed as the most likely candidate for Core Formation in the Yue Kingdom in the last hundred years.

He also had the support of a powerful family. The Ma family, one of the major cultivation families of Tianque Fortress, had produced more than one Core Formation cultivator in their ancestors.

In other words, the young man was also not to be trifled with.

Upon realizing the other two were at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining, the young man abandoned his intention to attack. The

middle-aged Taoist priest, noticing the details of Han Li’s footsteps, narrowed his eyes, suddenly remembering a friend. His spirits lifted, and he dared not underestimate Han Li any longer

. He had discerned that Han Li possessed a top-tier mortal lightness skill, which he had combined with immortal techniques to create a system perfectly suited to him. Such individuals were one in a million, truly exceptional .

Facing them, one should be extremely cautious and attentive.

However, a hint of indifference and disdain flashed in his eyes towards the young man from Tianque Fortress: merely a second or third-generation member of a cultivation family, overly protected and inexperienced, still too naive.

Han Li, judging their identities from their attire, also abandoned any intention to attack.

“Fellow Daoist from Huangfeng Valley, please go first,”

the middle-aged Taoist priest from Qingxu Sect suddenly spoke.

He smiled slightly at Han Li, extending goodwill.

Han Li didn’t stand on ceremony, choosing a direction according to his plan and quickly disappearing ahead.

The middle-aged man, seeing that Han Li’s chosen direction wasn’t the same as his planned one, breathed a sigh of relief and nodded slightly to himself. He then ignored the Tianque Fort youth and chose another direction.

The Ma family youth, lagging behind, felt ignored.

Indeed, he was ignored by both of them.

“Damn it.”

Slightly annoyed, he swung his throwing fork, instantly piercing a large hole in a nearby rock.

“That guy from Huangfeng Valley chose a direction that leads to a place I need to go…”

Therefore, after a moment’s thought, he gave chase.

…

The route Han Li chose was fraught with the presence of demonic beasts in the forests on both sides of the road, accompanied by strange insect chirps and fierce roars. Three low-to-mid-level demonic beasts even blocked his path.

He didn’t attack these beasts but instead had the Jade Mantis clear them out.

A mid-to-lower tier level 1 demonic beast is like a cultivator below the ninth level of Qi Refining facing an elite cultivator at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining.

He quickly collected the dead beasts into his medium-sized storage bag.

He soon reached the mountain ridge.

Looking ahead, the view was incredibly expansive, revealing numerous basins of varying sizes. This was the Ring Mountain Basin system.

Spanning hundreds of miles, countless treasure troves of opportunity appeared as small basins, each a hundred feet wide.

“Let’s go.”

He leaped down, disappearing into the sloping forest.

With the help of the Jade Mantis, Han Li fought his way through, overcoming all obstacles.

Any demonic beasts that blocked his path were swiftly harvested and stored in his storage bag.

Afterward, thanks to the Jade Mantis scouting ahead, he was rarely attacked by demonic beasts.

A stone house built along the mountainside, abandoned for many years, lay in ruins.

Inside the stone house, however, grows a spiritual herb called the Mingtan Flower. The Mingtan Flower matures after a hundred years of blooming, making it perfect for refining several ancient elixirs. It is a crucial auxiliary material in the refining of those ancient elixirs, and no substitute has been found in the outside world to date.

Therefore, a single mature flower is worth six hundred spirit stones. The older the flower, the greater its value. If it reaches five or six hundred years of age, it can even be used to refine elixirs suitable for Core Formation cultivators. At that time, the price per flower could reach an astonishing ten thousand spirit stones.

Entering the stone house, there is a pool three zhang long and wide inside. The pool is deep and bottomless, with two toad-like demonic beasts the size of washbasins floating in it.

“High-level demonic beasts, Yin Water Toads?”

Two of them have appeared at once.

Han Li stopped and did not approach any further, but continued to observe from a safe distance.

He discovered that the area behind the pool was an excellent location for the growth of Mingtan flowers.

At this moment, there were eight plants of various sizes with a total of thirty-seven Mingtan flowers in bloom in that area.

Twenty-five of them were white, which meant that the flowers were not yet mature.

However, two were pale yellow, with faint blue crystalline spots within the pale yellow. These two were mature, hundred-year-old Mingtan flowers.

“Good luck.”

Han Li was delighted.

He immediately ordered the Jade Mantis,

“Kill those two fat toads!”

The Jade Mantis, upon receiving the order, flapped its wings and flew out at incredible speed.

The Ice-Fire Wolf stood guard nearby, ready to protect them from any fools.

However, surprisingly, the two Yin Water Toads, several dozen feet away, didn’t seem inclined to fight Han Li’s group. Instead, they plunged into the bottomless pool with a splash.

“What’s going on?”

Han Li was taken aback.

He didn’t know much about Yin Water Toads, only a few words from ancient texts. Now, faced with the Yin Water Toads’ proactive retreat as guardian beasts of spiritual herbs, he found himself in a dilemma.

Going forward, he didn’t know if there were traps ahead.

Retreating was impossible.

He hadn’t even picked the two ripe Bright Pool Flowers yet.

Sending the Jade Mantis into the pool to hunt down the Yin Water Toads would be using his weakness against their strength. Even if he could win, how could he possibly squander his advantage from the start?

“You come here.”

“Be careful, don’t spill the medicinal herbs.”

Han Li recalled the Jade Mantis, then looked at the Icefire Wolf.

Understanding Han Li’s meaning, the Icefire Wolf began to prepare its signature ice-type spell. Its entire body changed from its initial blue and red to pure snow white, its white hair no longer smooth, but hard and cold, like ice needles.

The next moment, a chilling breath spewed from its large mouth, heading straight for the pool.

In an instant, the three-zhang-long and wide surface of water was frozen solid.

“Continue, don’t stop.”

Han Li instructed the Icefire Wolf to continue, while he and the Jade Mantis leaped across the pool and began looting.

Their focus was on the two mature, hundred-year-old Mingtan Flowers.

Meanwhile

, beneath the ice, a dozen Yin Water Toads were furious.

They were spitting out bubbles, seemingly trying to make some kind of monstrous sound.

The three leading, higher-ranking toads continuously launched their three-foot-long tongues, striking the ice surface above and smashing off chunks of ice.

However, the Ice-Fire Wolves continued their spellcasting, freezing the water three to five feet below the surface. Every

time the Yin Water Toads knocked down a shard of ice, the pool water would immediately freeze over it,

creating a vicious cycle .

Originally, the pool was the Yin Water Toads’ domain, their advantage against other demonic beasts. It was an ideal trap to ambush human cultivators who entered the forbidden area to gather spiritual herbs. But now, Han Li, through the Ice-Fire Wolves, had turned the tables. “

You like to hide below and launch sneak attacks?

Fine, then don’t come up yet.

Just watch him pick the ripe Bright Pool Flowers.

” “Croak, croak…”

After Han Li left, the ice on the pool lost its momentum and was quickly shattered by the Yin Water Toads. One by one, the frogs leaped from the water onto the shore, and upon seeing that their herb garden had been robbed, they all jumped ten feet high in anger.

“Croak, croak…”

they cursed incessantly.

It’s likely that the next herb gatherer will be targeted by these toads and suffer a severe revenge.

However,

the Yin Water Toads quickly quieted down after noticing some fragments of water-attribute spirit stones around the Bright Pool Flower bushes.

It turned out that before leaving, Han Li had deliberately taken a low-grade water-attribute spirit stone from his storage bag, crushed it, and tossed it into the flower bushes. This was a sustainable development strategy.

Another cave.

This was a production area of Jade Marrow Ganoderma, one of the three main ingredients of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Inside the cave was a mature Jade Marrow Ganoderma.

Seven others were not yet mature.

Beneath the Jade Marrow Ganoderma, a six-foot-long high-grade centipede was resting.

Han Li appeared, luring the centipede out of the cave. He then used the Icefire Wolf’s icy breath technique to briefly freeze the high-ranking centipede. He unceremoniously took the mature Jade Marrow Ganoderma from the cave.

Afterward, instead of killing the centipede demon beast, he quietly continued deeper into the crater basin.

Along the way, the traces of demon beasts decreased, but the danger gradually increased.

For example, the first underground stone palace he encountered after venturing twenty miles into the crater.

This underground stone palace contained six mature spiritual herbs, but also a top-tier Level 1 Azure Water Crocodile.

The Azure Water Crocodile was no ordinary top-tier Level 1 demon beast; its thick hide made it extremely difficult to kill, its underwater speed was incredibly fast, and its leap was like an arrow released from a bow. Its attack power was also extremely high; a mere Qi Refining cultivator could be easily bitten and killed without a sound. Even a light barrier formed by a low-level high-grade defensive talisman might not be able to withstand its bite force.

Compared to human cultivators, the Azure Water Crocodile, whether in the water or near the water’s edge, can be considered a formidable opponent.

Of course,

the Azure Water Crocodile is not adept at land combat.

If lured ashore, it loses its speed and agility in the water, becoming a sitting duck.

This is the main reason why Han Li didn’t choose to rent a spirit beast initially.

Originally, he planned to lure this Azure Water Crocodile ashore before attacking.

However, the beast was cunning and refused to come ashore.

Furthermore, the location of the spiritual herbs was on an island in the lake within the underground river near the stone palace where the Azure Water Crocodile was situated. It was situated around a pavilion on the island, twenty or thirty feet away from the shore, making it extremely difficult to reach. Moreover, once the Azure Water Crocodile disappeared underwater, it only needed to slightly disturb the surface of the water, making it difficult for a Qi Refining stage cultivator’s divine sense to track it.

After weighing his options, he retreated.

Admittedly, six spiritual herbs over a hundred years old were worth at least several thousand spirit stones, possibly even several thousand or tens of thousands. There was also an iron box placed on the floor in the pavilion on the island, its surface shimmering with spiritual light, likely containing items left behind by ancient cultivators.

The temptation was considerable.

However, he didn’t want his forces to decline too much or be forced to suffer casualties before reaching their true destination.

Therefore, he withdrew.

Without looking back.

Just an hour after he left, two disciples of the Qingxu Sect at the thirteenth level of Qi Refining arrived.

“Junior brother, I’ll hold off this beast here. You go and pick those spiritual herbs on the island, how about that? As agreed, we’ll split them equally afterwards.”

“Okay.” The junior brother readily agreed.

This plan was indeed the best.

“With senior brother holding that beast back, it won’t take long, just a few breaths will suffice. By then, I’ll have already picked all the herbs.”

Soon, the senior brother, a master from the Qingxu Sect, made his move, luring the Azure Water Crocodile out of the water.

The two fought on the shore.

The Azure Water Crocodile didn’t come ashore, and the senior brother didn’t go into the water.

The junior brother, however, used a high-level concealment talisman to skim lightly onto the island in the middle of the lake.

Seeing several precious mature spiritual herbs right in front of him, how could the junior brother resist?

He picked the first one in less than a breath.

And when he finished picking it, it didn’t seem to attract the attention of the Azure Water Crocodile that was fighting with his senior brother.

Seeing this, the junior brother felt even more at ease.

Reflected in the water, his right hand reached for the next spiritual herb on the stone wall behind him.

However, he didn’t notice that beneath the sand of the beach he had stepped on, the scales of a Azure Water Crocodile were exposed. Just as he was about to pick the second herb, the beach suddenly exploded, and a second Azure Water Crocodile sprang out,

its aura even stronger than the first.

It was also a top-tier level 1 crocodile.

Caught off guard, and wanting to avoid attracting the attention of the fighting crocodile, the junior brother hadn’t donned any defensive talismans.

Therefore,

a dark shadow flashed across the stone wall reflected in the water, and half of the Qingxu Sect junior brother’s body vanished from the spot.

“Junior brother!”

the senior brother cried out in alarm, not expecting the demonic beast to have prepared such a trap.

He wanted to avenge his close junior brother, but his strength was insufficient. Previously, restraining even one top-tier Azure Water Crocodile was a struggle; to deal with two, and even more importantly, to kill both, would be impossible even for top-tier experts from various sects. Unless they cooperated effectively.

Let’s go.

We can’t stay

here any longer. He put away the top-tier magic weapon he had previously used, showing no reluctance to leave.

…

Thirty miles deeper into the ring-shaped mountain.

In a small canyon.

A small patch of Purple Monkey Flowers grew there.

There were at least thirty or so flowers. The vast majority were pale blue and immature, but two were over three hundred years old, their petals a vibrant, dazzling purple, emitting a very strong, exotic fragrance.

In front of these two mature purple monkey flowers lay a strange deer with a single, fiery red horn, its head severed and body separated, lying in a pool of blood. It was the infamous Blazing Horned Deer, a demonic beast from the forbidden area.

Although this one in the pool of blood was only a high-ranking Blazing Horned Deer, it was only a hair’s breadth away from becoming a top-tier level 1 demonic beast. It

was comparable to the twelfth level of Qi Refining among human Qi Refining cultivators.

This was why this beast could guard this patch of purple monkey flowers.

The young man who killed this Blazing Horned Deer was Han Li.

Just as Han Li, panting heavily and seemingly exhausted, was about to crouch down to pick two mature purple monkey flowers, a blurry figure silently darted out from the bushes beside him, heading straight for his back.

In the figure’s right hand, he gripped a gleaming throwing fork.

In his left hand, he held a bead emitting a pale yellow light.

Approaching Han Li from behind, the fork mercilessly pierced him, intending to pierce Han Li’s heart from behind. At this moment, the figure’s face beamed with smug satisfaction.

“Following you all this way, I’ve finally caught my chance,”

he thought to himself .

However, the next moment, his smug smile froze.

His throwing fork had clearly struck the man from Huangfeng Valley in the back, but the feel was completely wrong.

Before he could think further, the yellow bead in his hand suddenly activated its protective mechanism! It swiftly erected a nine-foot diameter light shield, protecting him within.

This was a top-tier, rare magic artifact, the “Dust-Falling Bead,” containing three Wind Feather Bird spirits that could automatically activate and protect their master when attacked.

Originally, this was the signature magic artifact of Ma Yunlong, a pseudo-core stage genius from Tianque Fortress.

Before the Crimson Trial, he entrusted it to his most trusted and closest younger brother—

this young man from Tianque Fortress.

“Do you know? I’ve already spared you twice, but once, twice, but not a third time.” Han Li’s faint voice came from behind the young man.

Before him, Han Li’s figure had already vanished.

In other words, what the young man had just pierced with the top-grade magic weapon, the flying fork, was merely an afterimage left behind by Han Li.

Why did he speak up now?

Because the battle was over!

A section of the gray sword tip, dripping blood, protruded from the young man’s chest.

It was the gray sword talisman treasure that had been concealed by the fragment of the silk handkerchief magic weapon.

“I actually…died here? My brother is…”

The young man from the Ma family slumped to the ground, barely clinging to life.

The sound of the Falling Dust Pearl and the flying fork hitting the ground together was so utterly devastating.

He could clearly feel the sword energy of the gray sword talisman ravaging his body, his life force being rapidly extinguished, yet he could do nothing.

A yearning for life gradually appeared in his eyes.

His gaze towards Han Li was filled with hope, longing, and pleading.

He wanted treatment; he didn’t want to die.

“I know your brother is Ma Yunlong, so I tolerated you twice,”

the boy said, his eyes widening slightly.

“The first time, you ambushed me outside a stone house, but you saw a top-tier demonic beast beside me, so you didn’t act.” “

The second time, by that underground river, you wanted to wait until I was locked in a fierce battle with the Azure Water Crocodile before launching a sneak attack, right? Unfortunately, I didn’t even engage the Azure Water Crocodile in a fight, and your little scheme failed again.”

“This third time, however, I, Han, am not going to tolerate it!”

Han Li said coldly.

If this guy hadn’t been following him, he would have already gone to the underground stone palace where the Black Scale Python was.

Upon hearing this, the young man from the Ma family looked utterly desperate: This person had deliberately retrieved the Jade Mantis into his spirit beast pouch? Was he intentionally trying to lure him into attacking?

“I don’t know how I offended you, or why you hold a grudge against me. But since you’ve decided to kill me, letting you leave the forbidden area would be a major threat. Therefore, I won’t hold back. I can only ask you to die,”

Han Li sighed.

He ignored the regret and pleading in the young man’s eyes, and after taking his treasures and storage pouch and picking the ripe Purple Monkey Flower, he casually unleashed a Fireball Technique.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about the Ma family and Ma Rulong. On the

contrary, it was precisely because of their concerns that he had to kill them

to silence them and destroy the evidence.

He wouldn’t be like the old man surnamed Li from Huadaowu and the middle-aged man from Qingxu Sect in the original timeline, who, despite offending this young man from Tianque Fortress, still let him go, claiming they didn’t want to provoke Ma Yunlong.

To be honest, that young man wiped out the two of you after he reached Foundation Establishment, why would he wait for Ma Yunlong to make a move?

If you want to learn, you should learn from Feng Yue.

He took off immediately after ambushing Duobao Girl.

Feng Yue is a bit arrogant, but his thinking is the clearest.

If he hadn’t run into the original owner of this body and been caught off guard, Feng Yue would definitely be a figure of note.

His temperament and strength, especially his temperament, far surpass those of the so-called seed-level masters like the eldest son of the Chen family, Han Tianya, Zhong Wu, the old man surnamed Li, the middle-aged man of Qingxu Sect, the barefoot giant, and the Twin Prodigies of Yanyue.

“By the way, you thought you did a good job of tracking and hiding along the way, right?”

Han Li took out a soul tablet and whistled. In the distance, a Wind Howling Eagle let out a long cry and spread its wings to take flight from the edge of a cliff. In a few breaths, it flew to the flower bushes and finally landed on Han Li’s shoulder.

“I am indeed a cultivator from Yellow Maple Valley, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know the ways of Spirit Beast Mountain.”

His decision to revert to wearing the yellow silk robes of a Yellow Maple Valley disciple was partly intended to distract his opponents from the possibility that he possessed a top-tier spirit beast.

Members of the Seven Sects, upon seeing an opponent dressed in Spirit Beast Mountain attire, would instinctively pay attention to the surrounding demonic beasts, lest those beasts belong to a Spirit Beast Mountain disciple and lead to their own schemes.

Han Li, by specifically changing back into the yellow silk robes, made it immediately clear he was a Yellow Maple Valley disciple, thus

reducing the likelihood of anyone noticing the surrounding demonic beasts.

This is what is commonly known as “stereotypes.”

Indeed, the young man from the Ma family of Tianque Fort didn’t notice the Wind Howling Eagle that had been wandering nearby.

Of course, those seasoned veterans who had repeatedly entered forbidden areas and interacted with cultivators from various sects would likely not have missed this detail.

Unfortunately, there are no “what ifs.” The young man was ultimately an inexperienced newcomer.

“Go in peace.”

The fire died down, leaving only a pile of ashes.

A gust of wind scattered them, leaving only faint outlines.

…

The rare top-tier magic artifact, the Dust-Falling Pearl, could easily fetch 1500 spirit stones at an auction house in another country.

The fine top-tier magic artifact, the Breeze Fork, could easily sell for 500 spirit stones at a discount.

A spare ordinary top-tier magic ring, three spare fine upper-tier magic artifacts, and some other magic artifacts gathering dust in a corner. The total value would be around 700-800 spirit stones.

Three intermediate-level talismans, eight basic high-tier talismans, and over thirty basic lower-middle-tier talismans. These could be kept for personal use.

Five mid-grade spirit stones and dozens of low-grade spirit stones.

Pills and other miscellaneous items could also be worth some spirit stones.

The total profit would be no less than 3500 spirit stones.

“Tsk tsk, a little fat sheep.”

Only “little fat sheep” could describe him.

Compared to the true fat sheep like the Twin Heroes of the Hidden Moon, the young man from the Ma family’s wealth was undoubtedly inferior.

The Twin Heroes of the Hidden Moon, Duobao and Diaowang, both possessed a top-grade Qingning Mirror, a supreme-level magic artifact. A single Qingning Mirror was enough to equal everything the young man from the Ma family.

“It’s getting late; I should go check out the Black Scale Python’s lair.”

One of the three Black Scale Python lairs in his plan was nearby.

He could reach it by continuing seven or eight miles deeper into the crater.

…

Half an hour later.

At an underground stone palace marked in red on the map where Black Scale Pythons were said to roam, Han Li killed the level 1 top-grade Black Scale Python there and took an iron box from a pavilion, as well as four mature spiritual herbs from around the pavilion.

Another half hour passed, and he arrived at a crater basin densely covered with stone forests.

Having arrived here with utmost caution, he passed through the outer stone forest and, upon seeing a massive stone palace within the basin, his eyes lit up with amazement:

“Is this it?”

In the center of this basin, spanning over a hundred feet, stood a colossal, ancient stone palace.

Upon closer inspection, he could see faint spiritual light flowing across the palace walls, clearly indicating that ancient cultivators had inscribed arrays and restrictions upon it, which were still functioning even after sixty to seventy thousand years. These arrays could not only block the divine sense of Qi Refining cultivators but also easily impede the divine sense of Nangong Wan, a Core Formation cultivator.

This was another major reason why this place had remained untouched by high-level cultivators until now.

Only by seeing it could one confirm that this small basin contained a stone palace capable of even sifting through the divine sense of high-level cultivators.

The palace reached an astonishing height of over twenty feet.

Using “feet” might not be enough to describe it vividly; using seventy or eighty meters would surely convey its overwhelming grandeur.

The stone hall was magnificent and imposing, but its entrance was pitifully small, only about ten feet wide.

It seemed the ancient cultivators intended to use the entrance to prevent any large entity from entering, or perhaps to restrict the exit of something massive within.

Following the stone steps, long since unmarked and dusty, Han Li slowly and steadily descended over a hundred feet underground. The damp, sweltering underground swamp gas blew against his face, but he remained silent throughout. To avoid leaving any trace of his presence, he even used a green leaf magic artifact to float in the air, then patiently moved almost close to the stone steps.

His strategy was slow and steady.

Finally, all light disappeared ahead.

Darkness enveloped him.

He activated his spiritual eye technique, and the darkness dissipated, revealing a clear view through his spiritual eye.

At the end of the passage was an underground swamp.

The swamp was three or four miles in size.

In the center of the swamp stood an ancient, simple white jade pavilion.

Inside the pavilion, a wooden box about ten feet long, emitting a faint golden light, floated in the air.

“This is it!”

It must be this!

Proceeding according to plan,

he, who had been maintaining invisibility and concealment talismans, took out the fragment of the silk handkerchief magic weapon, the gray sword talisman, and the only mid-grade talisman in his hand: the Golden Thread Talisman.

Then, he placed the fragment of the magic weapon on top of the gray sword talisman and began to activate it.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths…

By the third breath, the gray sword talisman had grown to a foot long, far exceeding the concealment limit of the silk handkerchief magic weapon fragment.

But even then, the underground swamp remained completely still.

“Is it still asleep, or is it preparing a big surprise for me?”

Han Li murmured.

This underground stone palace was too special; the surrounding walls had faint, restrictive spiritual light. It was used not only to isolate external divine sense probes but also to prevent the escape of the demonic beasts inside.

Although the restrictions on the walls weren’t strong, they were extremely troublesome for cultivators whose cultivation was only at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages. Even powerful talismans would need to attack continuously for several hours to break through the hundred-zhang-high stone wall above and create a passage.

“Come out, Ink Dragon.”

Since the giant mudfish didn’t want to come out, he had to create some noise to attract it.

A dozen or so low-level fireballs were immediately launched, hitting the surface of the swamp ahead. This caused quite a commotion. To be on the safe side, he also summoned the Jade Mantis from his spirit beast pouch as a guard. However, as soon as the Jade Mantis appeared, it felt inexplicably uneasy. But Han Li, who was not bound by a blood pact, couldn’t sense this emotion.

In addition, he removed the invisibility talisman and the concealment talisman, replacing them with a defensive talisman.

The next moment, the surrounding air suddenly became strange.

Han Li also stopped throwing fireballs.

A dozen breaths later, a swamp a hundred zhang away to the side began to churn, then bulged, the affected area growing larger and larger, and the height of the bulge increasing.

Immediately following, a jet-black python, three or four zhang long, emerged from the swamp with its triangular head.

Its entire body was black, covered in glossy black scales, with a slight bulge on its forehead and two small protrusions on its upper abdomen. This python, mistakenly identified as a top-tier Level 1 Black Scale Python, was in fact a top-tier Level 1 Ink Dragon, evolved from a python.

“Compared to those Black Scale Pythons, this thing has scales all over its body, a tendency to grow horns on its forehead, and a tendency to grow claws on its abdomen…”

“Good, good, good, it really is an Ink Dragon.”

“Judging from its form, it hasn’t entered the second stage yet! It hasn’t reached level 2!”

Han Li was secretly overjoyed.

As long as it wasn’t level 2, he had a great chance of subduing it. Of course, even if it was level 2, with the forced contract item bestowed by Fairy Hong Fu, he could still subdue the bound Ink Dragon.

The prerequisite was that the Ink Dragon had to be controlled.

The Ink Dragon, on the other hand, was extremely displeased, letting out a roar full of foul breath:

“Roar…”

It was awakened from its sweet dream and was very grumpy.

“Come on, come here if you dare.”

Come here.

Han Li stood firmly on the ground and shouted loudly.

However, he was also prepared to escape into the passage behind him at any time if he was not defeated.

Although the width of the passage was enough for the Ink Dragon to chase, the passage was narrow. If the Ink Dragon squeezed in, it would definitely be restricted by the surrounding walls and suffer great resistance. At that time, even the fastest speed might not be as fast as him.

The Ink Dragon didn’t understand Han Li’s words, but it did understand Han Li’s provocative gesture of turning around and slapping his rear end left and right.

How could a mighty Ink Dragon tolerate this?

It immediately narrowed its vertical eyes and flew over.

Black demonic clouds swirled around its body—the Ink Dragon’s protective Ink Cloud, an innate divine ability of its bloodline. It could defend against all kinds of attacks below the Foundation Establishment stage. The protective Ink Cloud also served as a support during its flight. It was precisely because of the existence of the protective Ink Cloud that the Ink Dragon, with its level 1 cultivation, could achieve flight capabilities usually reserved for level 2 non-avian demonic beasts.

Two hundred zhang, one hundred zhang, fifty zhang…

The Ink Dragon rapidly approached, while the Jade Mantis beside it began to flap its wings uneasily.

Both being top-tier level 1 demonic beasts, there was a clear difference between them.

If it weren’t for the Soul Tablet forcibly controlling the Jade Mantis, the little guy would probably have abandoned it and run away long ago.

“Buzz buzz buzz…”

The sound of the Jade Mantis flapping its wings grew stronger as the Ink Dragon approached.

At this moment, Han Li could no longer hold back.

Seeing the Ink Dragon closing to within thirty feet, it would be risky for him not to act soon.

So, he removed the fragment of his silk handkerchief magic weapon, revealing the already activated mid-level control talisman beneath: the Golden Thread Talisman.

According to Tian Buli, the manager of Wanbaolou, this talisman was created by a Core Formation stage talisman master.

It was a masterpiece of his craft.

“Lock it down!”

A finger imbued with magical power touched the back of the Golden Thread Talisman.

The next moment, a sudden change occurred. Countless golden threads shot out from the floating talisman, rushing towards the Level 1 Ink Dragon, which had approached to about fifteen feet. The speed of each golden thread was so fast that the approaching Ink Dragon was completely caught off guard and unable to dodge.

In just a few breaths, energy golden threads hung everywhere within a radius of several dozen feet ahead.

The black dragon, partially stained with golden threads, was spontaneously entangled, bound, and restricted by the threads, becoming immobile in the blink of an eye.

The dragon tried to struggle, but the sheer number of golden threads binding it was overwhelming, with more piling up to further restrict its movement. Each thread, as thin as a cow’s hair, seemed to possess the immense force of a thousand pounds.

And indeed, it was.

“Success?”

Han Li, always ready to flee, narrowed his eyes, glancing at the golden thread talisman exerting its power in mid-air, then at the struggling but futile dragon. His eyes gradually brightened.

Taking a deep breath, he sent the Jade Mantis forward to probe. As expected, the dragon could only take the beating, unable to retaliate.

It could only stare helplessly, unable to make any other counterattack.

Not even a single cry could escape its grasp.

(End of Chapter)