This young man was naturally none other than Han Li. He had used the Thousand Transformation Faces to adopt the appearance of a demonic ape and infiltrated the fortress. After that, he was discovered by the Long Family patriarch, and he was forced to use his 12 Awakening Transformations, adopting his Giant Mountain Ape form to clash with him.
With his immensely powerful physical constitution, coupled with the enhancements he received from his 12 Awakening Transformations, he was naturally able to hold his own against the Long Family patriarch, but at the same time, he was quite stunned by his opponent after the latter had adopted his half-dragon transformation. However, Han Li had only used around 50% to 60% of his power during the battle, and the Long Family patriarch had also clearly held back. Otherwise, it was very likely that their battle would've demolished the entire Immortal Welcome Palace.
Han Li didn't know why the Long Family patriarch had held back, but he was certainly more than happy to be allowed an easy escape.
At this point, he was already too far away, and with the vast number of human and demonic beings on Nine Immortal Mountain, there was no way the Long Family would be able to track him down.
After reverting back to his true form, Han Li turned toward Qi Lingzi, who was still standing still on the spot like a wooden puppet, and he heaved a faint sigh. He then made a hand seal, and a streak of azure light shot forth before vanishing into Qi Lingzi's body in a flash.
Qi Lingzi shuddered, and his wooden expression twisted before he let loose an involuntary moan. He then suddenly opened his mouth to expel a clump of black Qi enveloped by a ball of azure light.
A few moments later, Qi Lingzi's eyes regained their clarity, and as soon as he caught sight of Han Li, he asked in an elated manner, "Master, what are you doing here? Wasn't I abducted by some old woman?"
It was quite clear that he recalled nothing of the ordeal that he had just suffered through.
“Hmph, if I hadn't come after you, you would've ended up disabled and probably dead. I'll tell you what happened on the way back; let's leave this place first.” Han Li had no intention of disclosing too much here, and he swept a sleeve through the air to release a vast expanse of azure light, which swept up Qi Lingzi before Han Li flew away into the distance.
As promised, Han Li gave Qi Lingzi a recount of everything that took place on their way back, and after learning about the extremely perilous ordeal that he had just suffered, Qi Lingzi fell completely silent, in stark contrast to his normal talkative and energetic nature.
Han Li was rather surprised by this, yet just as he was wondering whether this disciple of his had finally learned the meaning of fear, he suddenly began to scream profanities at the top of his lungs, cursing the elderly woman and the Long Family. He was so worked up that his cheeks had turned bright red and spittle was flying from his mouth, looking as he had such a vendetta against the Long Family that neither could live while the other survived.
Han Li faltered initially upon seeing this before bursting into laughter. In the end, he said, "Alright, that's enough. If you want to seek vengeance on the Long Family, I won't stop you, but you have to become powerful enough to do so first. At this point, you're nothing more than a mere ant in the eyes of the Long Family, and they can crush you with ease, so you have no right to challenge them. If you really want to stand up for yourself, then progress to the Body Integration Stage first."
"Also, I don't want you to show your face in public anymore. After we get back, I'll teach you some cultivation arts and give you some treasures and pills. After this incident dies down, I'll send you and Hai Yuetian away from this place, and you two have to go to Deep Heaven City as quickly as possible. Once you get there, join the city guards for a few years first as training. The Long Family is indeed quite powerful, but they're still wary of Deep Heaven City. After a few years, I'll go there to reunite with the two of you."
"Are you sending me away, Master? The Myriad Treasure Convention only commenced not long ago, and I came all this way, but I've barely even had a chance to see anything yet!" Qi Lingzi complained.
"Hmph, is the Myriad Treasure Convention more important or is your life more important? I don't fear the Long Family, but I certainly don't want to have to constantly worry about being attacked by them. What if you get abducted again? Do you expect me to save you from the Long Family a second time?" Han Li scolded.
Qi Lingzi recoiled slightly at the sight of Han Li's stern expression before reluctantly accepting this arrangement. "Alright, I'll do as you say, then, Master."
Han Li naturally wasn't going to concern himself with whether his disciple was pleased with this decision or not. His expression eased slightly, and he gave a slight nod before falling silent.
During the rest of the trip, Han Li didn't say anything further, and after over two hours, they returned to the Immortal Welcome Palace, where Hai Yuetian was eagerly awaiting their return.
He was naturally ecstatic to see that Qi Lingzi had been recovered safe and sound, and he hurriedly rushed toward Han Li before extending a deep bow.
"Yuetian, I recall that you found the person I'm looking for; where is she right now?" Han Li asked as soon as he sat down on the main seat, and the sudden question caught Hai Yuetian and Qi Lingzi slightly off guard.
"Master, we found that demonic senior at a place known as the Heavenly Captivation Pavilion, and she invited you to meet her tomorrow at noon," Hai Yuetian replied in a respectful manner.
"Alright, you two stay here and don't go anywhere for the next few days. I'll set up a powerful restriction formation nearby that'll stall even Body Integration cultivators who try to infiltrate this place. From tomorrow onward, you two can come visit me every night, and I'll give you some instructions in your cultivation. After things die down a little, you two can set off," Han Li said before departing and leaving his two disciples in the hall.
"Set off? What does Master mean by that?" Hai Yuetian was rather perplexed.
"It's a long story. I got screwed over by the Long Family!" Qi Lingzi's face puckered up as if he had lost his most beloved treasure, while Hai Yuetian was still completely in the dark.
The next day, Han Li spent an entire morning setting up an extremely powerful illusionary formation, then set off for the Heavenly Captivation Pavilion.
According to Hai Yuetian, this pavilion was situated at the center of a cluster of small markets, all of which were temporary markets that had been set up by the major and minor powers of the human and demon races.
The markets were all quite small, but one would often be surprised by what they could find there. There were all types of the most commonplace shops in each market, and some markets even had some specialty shops that specialize in selling wares unavailable in other stores.
This Heavenly Captivation Pavilion was none other than one of those shops, and the only thing that it sold was a type of material known as Heavenly Captivation Stones.
These stones weren't particularly rare or precious, but they were mandatory for setting up some illusionary formations, and it was often the case that a vast quantity of them would need to be used at once.
Of course, these stones were split up into different grades, and the more powerful the formation, the higher the grade of the stones that was required.
The Heavenly Captivation Pavilion was the only shop that sold top-grade Heavenly Captivation Stones in bulk, so it was often frequented by many human and demonic cultivators.
"So this is the Heavenly Captivation Pavilion?"
Han Li stood in front of a row of bungalows and looked up at the sign hanging above one of them with a slightly speechless look on his face.
Even so, Han Li naturally still strode directly into the building. As the exterior suggested, the interior wasn't very large, but it was very neat and tidy.
Aside from two tables, a few chairs, and a long storage shelf, there were no other pieces of furniture.
On top of that, there were no other wares being sold on the storage shelf aside from some mundane-looking pieces of ore of different sizes.
Behind one of the tables in front of the storage shelf sat a little girl with a pair of braids pointing directly upward. She appeared to be around 11 to 12 years of age, and was very adorable. She was in the process of playing around with her own little fingers in a bored manner when Han Li strode into the room.
"Ah, a customer! Would you like to buy some Heavenly Captivation Stones, Senior? Which grade would you like, and how many? We have all your Heavenly Captivation Stone needs here at the Heavenly Captivation Pavilion!" The little girl immediately rose to her feet at the sight of Han Li before greeting him with a smile.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the little girl, upon which a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.
The faint demonic Qi emanating from this little girl's body indicated that she was clearly a demonic cultivator, and from her spiritual pressure fluctuations, he could tell that she was at the Deity Transformation Stage. If anyone were to actually be fooled by her childish appearance, they were in for a huge surprise.
"I'm not here to buy stones; I'm here to meet someone," Han Li replied.
The little girl faltered slightly upon hearing this before immediately extending a curtsey toward Han Li. "Ah, it's Senior Han, right? My sister has been waiting for you in the backyard for a long time."
"Oh? You're her sister?" Han Li asked in a slightly surprised voice.
"That's right. My name is Qin Mei'er, and I'm Su'er's twin sister! I'll take you to see her right away," the little girl replied in an obedient manner.
"Please lead the way." Han Li nodded in response.
Thus, Han Li was led into a side room, where there was a stone staircase that led underground.
Not long after that, a hint of surprise appeared in Han Li's eyes as he discovered that there were several underground levels here, each of which was quite different from the other levels, and there were even some demonic men and women walking around on those levels.
It was no wonder that the building was so small; most of it was underground!
As Han Li was marveling at the sight around him, he was led to a certain hall on the lowest underground level, where an exquisite beauty in a white dress was waiting for him with a smile on her face.
As soon as Han Li saw this woman, he felt as if his head had been struck by a bolt of lightning, and he exclaimed, "Wan'er? How did you end up here?"
