A bewildered look appeared on Han Li's face. "You're leaving this realm? What do you mean by that? Could it be…"
"Indeed, Master. After I devoured the spiritual sense of that Heavenly Devilish Sovereign in the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges, massive changes have occurred within my body, and I can sense the call from the other realm. Hence, I had to hibernate in the spirit beast bracelet to protect myself. Just now, I was roused by that creature, and I was unable to control myself as I instinctively acted to absorb the heavenly lightning power within its body. Now, my body is being completely rejected by the power of heaven and earth of this realm, and I'll most likely be teleported to the legendary True Immortal Realm soon," the Weeping Soul Beast replied in a slightly forlorn manner.
Han Li was rooted to the spot for a long while before a wry smile appeared on his face. "Are you sure the forces summoning you are from the True Immortal Realm?"
He had embarked on this tumultuous cultivation journey all for the chance to ascend to that legendary realm someday, yet he was still far, far away from achieving that goal, but the Weeping Soul Beast had already reached that objective, seemingly with ease.
This naturally struck him with a sense of indignation, as well as some suspicion.
"I don't know why, but I can sense that it is indeed the power of the True Immortal Realm that's calling out to me. Among the many things that have appeared in my mind, many of them are related to the True Immortal Realm," the Weeping Soul Beast replied.
Han Li's heart immediately jolted upon hearing this. "You have knowledge of the True Immortal Realm? Would you be able to tell me about it?"
"Of course, I would be more than happy to… It's coming now! I don't have any time left!" The Weeping Soul Beast initially nodded in agreement, but its expression suddenly changed drastically, and an alarmed look appeared in its eyes.
As soon as its voice trailed off, a dull rumbling sound suddenly rang out in the air above. The white mist overhead parted to reveal a vast expanse of five-colored light, which then transformed into a massive eyeball of light the size of a house.
The pupil of the eyeball was of a translucent crimson color, and its gaze immediately settled on the Weeping Soul Beast in an intent manner.
A devastatingly terrifying aura then descended from the heavens, and a chill ran down Han Li's spine, following which he was completely immobilized.
This wasn't due to a simple disparity in magic power; he had been rendered completely powerless as the eyeball was simply on a far higher plane of existence.
He could sense that the eyeball could destroy his body and soul in an instant if it pleased, and his expression became extremely strained. It had been countless years since he had last been this powerless.
He felt as if he had returned to his childhood and was facing Doctor Mo, who had been an insurmountable almighty figure in his eyes at the time.
Under the scrutiny of this eyeball, sweat began to pour down the Weeping Soul Beast's face, and its arm shuddered as it attempted to raise a hand, only for it to be forced to drop back down limply to its side.
A hint of mockery appeared in the giant eyeball, and a burst of Buddhist chants rang out from within it.
The eyeball then seemed to blink, following which an extraordinarily thick pillar of crimson light came crashing downward.
The Weeping Soul Beast was struck by the pillar of crimson light, and its body was instantly transported over 10,000 feet up into the air.
Han Li was completely unable to move, but he could still see that the Weeping Soul Beast had turned around with difficulty to take one final look at him from within the pillar of light. There was a very complex look on its face, and in the next instant, it disappeared into the giant eyeball.
The Buddhist chants ceased, and the eye fell shut before vanishing into nothingness.
The white mist converged overhead once again, and following the disappearance of the giant eyeball, that devastating aura also vanished.
Everything returned to normal, yet even though Han Li had regained his freedom, he still remained rooted to the spot, staring up into the heavens with a blank expression.
After a long while, he finally heaved a faint sigh and lowered his head in a slightly dejected manner.
The Weeping Soul Beast had been with him ever since his days in the Scattered Star Seas, and it had saved his life on countless occasions. Now that it had essentially been abducted, Han Li was naturally rather concerned for its future.
However, that giant eyeball was clearly something from the True Immortal Realm, and he was completely powerless in its presence, so he couldn't do anything except look on helplessly as the Weeping Soul Beast was taken away.
However, it seemed to have been quite calm when it was taken, so it most likely wasn't in any danger. If he could ascend to the True Immortal Realm someday, perhaps they could be reunited.
The only thing that he was rather disappointed about was that the Weeping Soul Beast had ascended before it could disclose to him any information about the True Immortal Realm. Otherwise, that information may have benefitted him in his future cultivation.
All of a sudden, Han Li's expression changed slightly as he abruptly turned toward a certain direction.
Faint golden light flashed from the distance in that direction, and a streak of golden light flew toward him before reaching him in just a few flashes.
Han Li focused his gaze on the person within the streak of light, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
The light faded to reveal an exquisite beauty with a lithe and graceful figure, and skin that was as fair as the finest jade.
"Long time no see, Fairy Yuan; how have you been?" Han Li greeted as he cupped his fist in a salute.
Yuan Yao was wearing a green palatial dress, and she was looking back at Han Li with an elated expression. "It really is you, Brother Han!"
Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward her to ascertain her cultivation base, upon which a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
"I see you've reached the late-Spatial Tempering Stage, Fairy Yuan; looks like Senior Qing Yuanzi had expended much effort to nurture you in your cultivation."
"Hmph, Yao'er is not just my disciple now, but also my foster daughter, so of course I'd do everything in my power to assist her in her cultivation." A cold harrumph suddenly rang out.
Immediately thereafter, six streaks of azure light flew out of one of Yuan Yao's sleeves, then converged to form a miniature azure humanoid figure.
The humanoid figure wore a set of grey robes and had a small green sword on its back. It was only around a foot tall, but aside from the size disparity, it was completely identical to Qing Yuanzi.
"Nascent Soul Substantiation!" Han Li couldn't help but exclaim at the sight of this miniature figure.
"Are you that surprised to see my Nascent Soul out of my body? Come to think of it, your surprise is justified; for those who've yet to reach the Grand Ascension Stage, it would indeed be very dangerous for them to release their Nascent Soul out of their body for an extended period of time. However, I've been at the Grand Ascension Stage for countless years and my Nascent Soul has been cultivated to a completely substantial form, so a physical body is no longer indispensable to me. You'll understand when you get to the Grand Ascension Stage as well. Besides, this is only one of my three Nascent Souls," Qing Yuanzi chuckled.
"Your powers are truly unfathomable, Senior!" Han Li said in a heartfelt manner as he extended a slight bow.
"This is nothing remarkable for Grand Ascension Stage beings like us. In comparison, your progress is far more incredible; it's only been a few centuries since we last met, yet you're already at the Body Integration Stage. Even I was progressing nowhere near as quickly at the same stage in my own cultivation journey. Looks like you've truly encountered some miraculous opportunities during these years," the miniature figure said with a hint of a smile on its face.
"You're far too kind, Senior; I was merely lucky and certainly can't be compared with someone of your prestige," Han Li said in a modest manner.
"I know full well whether my praise is warranted or not. By the way, were you involved in a battle before I came here? The residual aura here is very strange," Qing Yuanzi said with furrowed brows as he inspected his surroundings.
Han Li was rather surprised to hear this. The devastating aura of the five-colored giant eye should've been detectable to someone of Qing Yuanzi's powers, even if he were situated quite far away. However, it was quite clear that Qing Yuanzi had failed to sense anything. Could it be that the giant eye had unleashed some kind of ability that had masked its own aura?
In that case, then the five-colored giant eye would be even more fearsome than he had initially imagined.
Even with these thoughts racing through his mind, Han Li maintained a calm expression, and replied, "I was indeed involved in a battle earlier. When I was teleporting to this place, one of my enemies hitched a ride, but I've taken care of him now. He stemmed from some rather special origins, so it's no surprise that his residual aura is also rather peculiar."
"I see, looks like I was just overthinking things, then. Alright, let's not linger here any longer; come with me and we'll talk further when we get back to my cave abode. It'll take around half a day to get back to my abode and if it weren't for the fact that I just so happened to be testing a type of secret technique with Yao'er, I wouldn't have been able to get here so quickly," Qing Yuanzi said as he aimed a meaningful glance at Han Li.
Before Han Li had a chance to respond, Qing Yuanzi flew away as a streak of azure light, and Han Li could only follow along behind him.
As for Yuan Yao, she flew beside him within a streak of golden light with a smile on her face.
"I thought it would take a few more years before your return; after all, the items that Father asked you to search for are all extremely rare in the Spirit Realm" Yuan Yao transmitted her voice to Han Li as she flew alongside him.
"How are you so sure that I managed to gather the items Senior Jiang requested? Perhaps I returned for some other purpose?" Han Li also transmitted his voice in response, with a faint smile.
"I'm familiar with your personality, Brother Han; without a sufficient incentive, there's no way you would go through the effort of returning to this place, and the only thing here that could currently be of interest to you would naturally be the Divine Infernal River Elixir," Yuan Yao said with a gorgeous smile.
"You really do know me well, Fairy Yuan; I did indeed come here for the Divine Infernal River Elixir," Han Li conceded with a wry smile.
