Against one of the three greatest cultivators in the Heavenly South, even the arrogant Eccentric Jin couldn’t utter his complaints. Naturally, Eccentric Pyre didn’t wish to offend him either and he called out for the other cultivators to descend to the ground.
Senior Martial Brother Cheng and Lu Luo exchanged a glance before a trace of confusion appeared on their faces. But given that Senior Martial Brother Cheng had once witnessed Han Li’s abilities before, he felt no worry for Han Li and promptly descended.
Han Li looked at the cultivators that had landed on the ground before turning to Master Sunreach, “What does Brother Sunreach want to talk about? From how serious you appear, I am rather interested.”
Master Sunreach casually waved his hand, creating a soundproof barrier around them. Then after examining Han Li, he chuckled and said, “Before I talk about the matter, I must thank Fellow Daoist Han for dealing with the original soul of the Elder Devil in Devilfall Valley. If the two devil souls combined, I fear the entire Heavenly South would’ve been put at risk.”
Han Li smiled in response and asked, “Does Fellow Daoist Sunreach wish to ask about the whereabouts of the Elder Devil’s original soul?”
Master Sunreach was stunned for a moment and quickly regained his composure, saying, “Fellow Daoist Han is truly intelligent. Yes, that was precisely one of the things I wanted to ask.”
“Master Sunreach doesn’t have to worry about it,” Han Li quickly replied, “Through a matter of luck, the original soul of the Elder Devil was cleanly exterminated inside the spatial pocket.”
Master Sunreach let out a long sigh and said, “Then I am relieved. The soul fragment should’ve sensed that the original soul had perished and from the punishment it received in this land, it shouldn’t be returning.”
After hearing this, Han Li curiously asked with a tone of doubt, “Brother Sunreach, the soul fragment occupying the devil body was so powerful that even three late Nascent Soul cultivators weren’t able to slay it?”
“Didn’t Fellow Daoist already experience the true might of the Elder Devil’s abilities?”
“Yes, but I heard that the devil consumed many Nascent Souls after escaping the valley. Could it be the devil’s restored strength was so powerful?” Han Li asked with astonishment.
“So Fellow Daoist Han still doesn’t know about it.” Master Sunreach solemnly said, “When we fought the Elder Devil, it had three heads and six arms and its cultivation had increased to a whole new level, obtaining power comparable to an early Deity Transformation cultivator. Were it not for the fact we trapped it in a grand formation we had prepared beforehand and had a dozen of mid Nascent Soul cultivators supporting the formation, I fear we wouldn’t have been able to deal with the devil. And even with that support, we had suffered a massive loss in vitality. We had used a successive chain of secret techniques to slay two of its heads in a single breath as well as three of its arms, but in the end, it still managed to flee.”
When Han Li heard this, he felt his blood run cold. “Given the fearsomeness of the devil, it was no wonder you feared that it would fuse with its original soul. If it were any more powerful, there would be none in the Heavenly South that would be capable of stopping it.”
“But that won’t come to be! Fortunately, the devil ran to the Jin Empire. Now that devil is their to deal with!” Master Sunreach said with a beaming smile.
Han Li glanced at Master Sunreach and could faintly sense a trace of schadenfreude in his words. It appeared he didn’t have a very high opinion of the Jin Empire.
Han Li then changed the topic and said, “Since Master Sunreach mentioned the Elder Devil was only one of the things he wished to talk about, what other important matters do you want to talk about?”
“That’s right, the matter of the Elder Devil was only a passing question.” Master Sunreach looked at Han Li and happily said, “I had sought Fellow Daoist Han for a different matter altogether. But first let me congratulate you on your rise to mid-Nascent Soul stage.”
“Many thanks for your excessive praise. It was only a result of chance,” Han Li politely said.
“I heard from Fellow Daoist Wei that Brother Han possesses a magic treasure created from Gold Lightning Bamboo and is capable of producing the legendary Divine Devilbane Lightning. Is this true?” Once that was said, Master Sunreach’s expression turned solemn.
Han Li narrowed his eyes in alarm and suddenly turned silent. He didn’t know why he was asked this question but after a moment of thought, he decided that since the Divine Devilbane Lightning was no longer a secret, there was no further point in concealing it. He eventually nodded and said, “That’s right. I have several magic treasures created from Divine Devilbane Lightning. Please speak of the matter directly. I am not fond of speaking in circles!”
“Good!” Master Sunreach appeared overjoyed and said, “In that case, you were exactly who I was looking for. As for the reason why, I cannot speak of the matter here in order to avoid any unnecessary trouble. I can only tell Fellow Daoist Han that it involves the entire cultivation world of the Heavenly South, in particular the huge nameless whirlpool that had recently appeared in the Endless Seas.”
Han Li unconsciously raised his brow when he heard this. Although he didn’t know what Master Sunreach had meant, it definitely wasn’t anything good and he immediately grew suspicious. “I cannot make any sense of those words. Why is it that you wished to seek me out? And why do you need Divine Devilbane Lightning? ”
Master Sunreach glanced at the others down below and proposed, “I merely passed by the Dreamcloud Mountains on the way to something important. As a result, I cannot stay here for long. But how about Fellow Daoist Han make a trip to the Seven Spirit Islands in the near future? Wei Wuya, Devil Concord, and I will be there. We’ll all be able to give you a detailed explanation together.”
“The Seven Spirit Islands? Are those the seven islands that appeared near the whirlpool?” Han Li asked with a frown.
“That’s right, these seven islands surround the whirlpool and possess spirit veins of incredibly rare quality. As a result, we’ve resided on the islands these past few years.” Once that was said, he sighed and wore a helpless expression.
Han Li was stunned and his mind began to churn. From what Master Sunreach said, it seemed the three Great Heavenly South cultivators weren’t very willing to reside on the Seven Spirit Islands.
He wasn’t arrogant enough to bluntly decline Master Sunreach’s invitation at the very first mention of it. Let alone the three Great Heavenly South Cultivators themselves, he was even more unwilling to become enemies with the vast superpowers they represented. However, Han Li was unwilling to visit the Seven Spirit Islands while he was still ignorant of matters and he unconsciously hesitated.
“Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist Han.” Seeing Han Li’s hesitation, Master Sunreach offered an explanation, “There is no harmful intent with the invitation nor will we put you in any danger. We simply want to make use of your Divine Devilbane Lightning. Even if I didn’t invite you, in half a year, all the mid-Nascent Soul stage cultivators in the Heavenly South will receive invitations from the three Great Heavenly South cultivators to meet at the Seven Spirit Islands. If Fellow Daoist Han helps us with this, he won’t need to go later.”
After a moment of silence, Han Li answered with a reluctant tone, “Since Master Sunreach has said this, it seems the matter is truly important. In three months, I will pay a visit to the Seven Spirit Islands.”
Master Sunreach frowned and asked, “Three months? The matter is quite important. Could Fellow Daoist arrive sooner?”
“I fear that won’t do.” Han Li shook his head and said, “I’ve only just returned the Drifting Cloud Sect and I have my own important matters to attend to. I cannot immediately depart from the sect.”
After some hesitation, Master Sunreach agreed, “Fine. Three months will do, barely. My companions and I will be waiting for you when the time comes. And to tell the truth, you may even reap some profit for yourself and gain some benefits for your sect!”
Han Li’s eyes wandered. Before Han Li could make sense of what had Master Sunreach said, he had already bid his leave and loudly yelled a few words of farewell to the cultivators down below before flying out of the great restriction and leaving the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion.
Han Li felt somewhat confused about the last words he said about profit. However, he wasn't able to come up with an answer for the time being and tossed the matter to the back of his mind.
…
At that moment, Han Li was facing Eccentric Jin while floating above one of the mountains surrounding the Hundred Possibilities Pavilion. The rest of the cultivators were observing at a neighboring mountain peak.
“Must we truly compete in a battle? Fellow Daoist Jin should know your chances of victory aren’t very high.”
After hearing this, Eccentric Jin said with a solemn expression, “I am the Ancient Sword Sect’s Grand Elder. I cannot silently surrender my sect’s superior standing and our greater share of the mountain’s resources. It also stands to mention that I am rather curious about the abilities of the famous cultivator who only condensed a Nascent Soul a little over thirty years back. If I am defeated, there will be no future need for ranking contests between our sects. Our Ancient Sword Sect will yield to the Drifting Cloud Sect from then on.”
“Fine. Since this is what Brother Jin wants, I will respectfully comply.” Han Li smiled and without another word, he raised his hand, summoning a fist-sized ball of blue flames above his palm.
Eccentric Jin didn’t speak any further as well. He opened his mouth and spat out three streaks of golden light. They were three identical golden swords only about an inch long. In the blink of an eye they began to revolve around his body and suddenly extended to foot-long streaks of light.
When Han Li saw these flying swords, the blue fireball in his hand wavered before suddenly rupturing. A half-foot bird of blue flame burst out from the fireball and released a clear cry.
