"Are you sure that place will be opening within these two years? Make sure you haven't miscalculated the date. If you're off even by just a few years, I'll be taking this risk for nothing, and I'll be missing out on a brilliant opportunity," Xian Xian asked in a serious voice as she appraised the Kirin projection before her.
"Do you still not believe me even now? When have I provided you with false guidance? If it weren't for the rewards that you reaped from the other set of ruins I told you about, you wouldn't even be at where you are today. With the limited cultivation aptitude of you Crystal beings, you can already be considered to be a supreme prodigy by reaching this point after just a few centuries of cultivation," the Kirin projection replied as it raised its head in a lazy manner.
"From the day that I was born, you were born with me, and if I were to die, you would suffer the same fate, so of course I believe you. It's just you're merely a wisp of the soul of the true spirit Kirin from back then, so it wouldn't be impossible that your memory's been jumbled or rearranged; I'm simply feeling a little uneasy," Xian Xian said as she appraised the miniature Kirin.
"I am indeed only a hundred-thousandths of that true spirit Kirin's spiritual sense after it had self-detonated, but back then, it had been forced to the brink of death by its sworn enemies, and it wouldn't have been able to escape had it not detonated its own soul. Even though it unleashed an ability that defied the natural order to split its soul into 100,000 fragments, it has implanted a few extremely important pieces of information into every single fragment of its soul so it can have a chance of returning to its former power. I can assure you that the information regarding that true spirit cave is most definitely one of those pieces of information, so there's no way that I'll miscalculate," the miniature Kirin chuckled.
"Indeed, it's all thanks to you that I was able to reach my current cultivation base. However, you only adhered to my infant self to try and take over my body and reincarnate yourself. I don't know why you failed to do so in the end, but you certainly didn't harbor good intentions toward me in the beginning," Xian Xian countered with a faint smile.
Spiritual light flashed erratically around the miniature Kirin upon hearing this, and its mood seemed to have soured significantly. "Why are you still mentioning that? I failed in the end, didn't I? It's a stroke of terrible luck that I decided to adhere to your body. Otherwise, if I had chosen someone else at the time, perhaps I'd have been freed long ago!"
"Hmph, do you really think I don't know what happened back then? At the time in the village that I was born, I was the only baby that was yet to be born. You must've thought that an unborn baby with cognitive functions that were yet to be fully developed would've been an easy vessel for you to take over," Xian Xian chuckled.
"At the time, I had used up almost all of my power just to escape, so of course I was going to choose the easiest target to try and possess. Otherwise, even just a hundred-thousandths of a true spirit being's spiritual sense is more than powerful enough to take over the body of a mature Crystal being," the miniature Kirin grumbled in a resigned manner.
"Alright, let's not bicker about this any longer. Even though you weren't able to successfully reincarnate yourself, the fact of the matter is that you did manage to survive. Entering the true spirit cave will be extremely beneficial for both of us, so we have to ensure that nothing goes wrong. It's unfortunate that I've reached a bottleneck in my cultivation and may not be able to make any progress even in the next few centuries. Otherwise, I would've waited until I was powerful enough before setting off in search of that true spirit cave. That would undoubtedly take a long time, but it would certainly be safer than entering the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges with these two beings who are both far more powerful than I am," Xian Xian mused in a contemplative manner.
"You Crystal beings really do possess very ordinary cultivation aptitude. Even with my guidance and after taking so many precious pills, it would still be impossible for you to progress at the miraculous rate you enjoyed in the past. As such, it wouldn't do you any good to delay for so much longer. Then again, if it weren't for the fact that the true spirit cave just so happened to have been occupied by that wounded holy-grade devilish beast, it would've definitely been better for you to go there alone," the Kirin projection paused momentarily before continuing, "But rest assured, you've already prepared measures to counteract those beings, haven't you? It would be best if they didn't try to plot against you, but if they did, then you could unleash those measures, and even ordinary beings who are far more powerful than you would be susceptible."
"Ordinary beings? Are you implying that one of them isn't an ordinary being? Does that mean there's a chance that those measures won't work on them?" The Crystal woman was extremely intelligent, and was immediately able to read between the lines.
"You've come into those two beings twice already, and even though I've been hiding in your body on those occasions, I was still able to sense some things. That Yue Zong's aura fluctuates in power, and upon closer inspection, I can sense some baleful Qi lurking within his body. If I'm not mistaken, he must be using some kind of cultivation art that specializes in concealment and unleashing lethal attacks with the aim of killing his target with a single strike. Of course, he must've cultivated some other abilities and secret techniques as well. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to venture into the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges so many times and still remain unscathed. However, in contrast, that Han Li is a lot more unsettling. Not only does his cultivation base far outstrip that of Yue Zong, his cultivation arts and abilities are all very profound. Even I'm struck by a sense of peril in his presence, but the measures I've prepared for you are all the most effective ones that you can use at your current cultivation base. In particular, the life-saving measures are extremely profound and unpredictable, so even if you can't kill the two of them on the spot, you'll still be able to escape with ease," the Kirin projection replied in a confident manner.
"In that case, I'm feeling quite reassured. However, there's something else that I'm more worried about," Xian Xian sighed as a peculiar look flashed through her eyes."Oh? What is it?" the miniature Kirin asked.
"When that Kirin self-detonated its soul all those years ago, it was split into 100,000 fragments, so surely you're not the only one that managed to escape and is aware of the location of the true spirit cave. Hundreds of years have passed since then, so perhaps someone's already accessed the cave and taken all of the benefits for themselves, thereby rendering our efforts completely futile," Xian Xian speculated.
"The Krin's soul was indeed split up into many fragments, but very few of them actually managed to escape. Among those, a large proportion would've failed to possess a host or encountered some other kind of mishap, so it really is rather difficult to say whether other soul fragments like me still exist. As such, I think it's quite unlikely that someone would've already accessed the cave," the Kirin projection replied in a solemn voice.
"I hope that's the case. If we can secure the benefits in the true spirit cave, then I'll be able to progress at a rapid rate in my cultivation," Xian Xian murmured to herself.
"Hehe, that would indeed be the case. Otherwise, I wouldn't have retained this piece of information so clearly," the Kirin projection chuckled.
Xian Xian merely smiled upon hearing this, but didn't offer any reply.
After revolving around her for a while, the miniature Kirin suddenly said, "That Han Li possesses quite a powerful spiritual sense, so when you're with him, try not to contact me if you can avoid it. Otherwise, there's a chance that he may discover that something's amiss. Ideally, the next time that I appear would be when we're already situated in the true spirit cave."
After that, the Kirin projection flew toward the Xian Xian's body and abruptly disappeared.
Xian Xian heaved a faint sigh before also making her way into the teleportation formation. She waved the formation plate in her hand, and disappeared amid a flash of spiritual light.
…
Three days later, on the summit of a small mountain near Cloud City, an azure-robed young man stood with his hands clasped his back, inspecting the scenery below him.
He was completely motionless, and he wore a placid expression on his face.
This man was naturally none other than Han Li, who had arrived at the designated location as agreed upon.
He had already been here for some time, yet the sun was only just beginning to rise up over the horizon. It appeared that he was a little early.
However, it was quite rare for him to have some leisurely downtime, so his mood was quite good as he breathed in some fresh air and inspected the surrounding scenery.
Less than an hour later, Han Li stirred slightly before turning toward a certain direction, and a few moments later, a streak of crimson light came hurtling toward him before also landing on the mountain summit after just a few flashes.
The crimson light faded to reveal a humanoid figure, and it was none other than Yue Zong."Greetings, Senior Han. Sorry to keep you waiting." Yue Zong cupped his fist in a respectful salute. "It's alright, I intentionally came here a little earlier." Han Li shook his head in an indifferent manner.
Yue Zong gave him a polite smile upon hearing this before finding a clean patch of ground nearby and sitting down in a cross-legged manner.
Meanwhile, Han Li continued to cast his gaze into the distance.
Not long after that, Xian Xian also arrived.
Han Li raised his eyebrows slightly as she descended from above as a ball of white light, and Yue Zong also rose to his feet.
"Seeing as everyone's here, let's set off right away," Han Li suggested in a straightforward manner following her arrival.
He then rose up into the air as a streak of azure light, leaving Yue Zong and Xian Xian to follow along behind him.
A month wasn't exactly a long time, but it wasn't a short time, either. Adding to that the month or so that they were projected to spend in the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges, they'd be able to return to Cloud City around three months later if everything were to progress smoothly.
Han Li continued to forge ahead as he contemplated these thoughts, and the journey proved to be quite smooth and uneventful.
A month later, after flying over a long set of nameless mountain ranges, a boundless sea of azure mist appeared up ahead.
"That's the Azure Spirit Cloud Sea, which is the restriction around the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges. It's also the only entrance to the mountain ranges, and attempting to barge into the mountain ranges from anywhere else would spell certain death." A hint of excitement flashed through Yue Zong's eyes at the sight of the sea of mist.
