"I stayed on the Blood Sky Continent for quite some time, so I do indeed have some knowledge on it. Blood Dao devilish arts are the most common cultivation arts on the Blood Sky Continent; almost four or five out of every 10 cultivators on that continent are using cultivation arts of this nature. The Blood Dao sects on the continent are also extremely powerful and can be referred to as the supreme powers on the continent. As for the mysterious inheritances you mentioned, they do exist, and many people have cultivated them in secret.
"However, these cultivators are sworn enemies of the Blood Dao sects, and most of them are extremely secretive, so they're extremely hard to encounter. I once encountered a mysterious cultivator who claimed that he had cultivated witchcraft, and he had a few wooden puppets that were able to easily destroy many powerful enemies of his," the blood soul replied.
"Witchcraft, eh? This type of inheritance has appeared on several occasions on our Tian Yuan Continent in ancient times, but they seem to have been immediately destroyed in unified efforts by the powerful beings on the continent at the time. I didn't think that such inheritances would still exist on the Blood Sky Continent; it looks like we'll have to be careful during our trip. By the way, which power did you make enemies out of during your time on the Blood Sky Continent?" Han Li asked.
"That would be the Blood Bone Sect, one of the major Blood Dao sects. However, I'm only at the Spatial Tempering Stage, and the enemy that I made was only one of the elders of the Blood Bone Sect. So many years have already passed; perhaps they've already given up on me. Even in the worst-case scenario, I can just alter my appearance slightly, and that should avoid any unnecessary trouble," the blood soul replied.
"There's no need for you to alter your appearance. The Blood Sky Continent isn't as vast as the two continents, but it'll still be very difficult for you to encounter your enemies. Even if you do, I'll take care of them for you," Han Li said in a nonchalant manner.
The blood soul was ecstatic to hear this. "I'll be thanking you in advance then, Senior."
Just as the blood soul was communicating with Han Li, the woman in purple was also delivering a report to the red-haired elderly man by the name of Ming Zun.
"So he accepted the fragrant maidens, but refused all of the other presents," the elderly man confirmed.
"That's right," the woman in purple replied.
"Interesting. It seems that it won't be that easy to appease him, but he's not entirely refusing our guild, either. Fei Yun, if Fellow Daoist Han makes any requests to you, then do your best to fulfill them; there's no need to report back to me any further," the elderly man said with a faint smile.
"Master Ming Zun, may I ask why we're trying to recruit this senior? Even if he's more powerful than the average Grand Ascension Stage being, there's never been any other Grand Ascension Stage guest that has received this level of treatment." Fei Yun was rather perplexed.
"If he's an ordinary Grand Ascension Stage being, then there's naturally no need for all of this, but have you seen the information regarding his exploits?" Ming Zun asked with a smile.
"I did, but the information is very undetailed. All it mentions is that he progressed to the Grand Ascension Stage in an extraordinarily short time, and that he had entered the Elder Devil Realm before," Fei Yun replied in a respectful manner.
"That's because Fellow Daoist Han rose up so quickly that our trade guild still hasn't even had enough time to collect many pieces of important information about him. All you need to know is that if a ranking for the 10 most powerful beings of the Spirit Realm is created, he'll most likely take up one of those spots," Ming Zun explained with a serious expression.
"What? Is he really that powerful?" Fei Yun was truly stunned to hear this.
"Hmph, why else do you think I would do all this to try and appease him?" Ming Zun harrumphed with a roll of his eyes.
The woman's heart jolted upon hearing this, and she hurriedly lowered her head in a submissive manner.
Ming Zun didn't say anything further and merely waved a hand to dismiss her.
After that, he hesitated momentarily before sweeping a sleeve through the air to release a burst of vibrant light that instantly vanished into the stone wall beside him.
A loud buzzing sound immediately rang out, following which an indistinct figure was manifested within a cloud of white mist.
The figure turned to Ming Zun, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes as he asked, "Ming Zun? Aren't you preparing for the auction over on the Tian Yuan Continent? Why have you suddenly contacted me?"
"Bi Ying, if I recall correctly, you're still in need of powerful allies for the plan that you're about to carry out, right?" Ming Zun asked.
"Why do you ask? Could it be that you've changed your mind and are willing to come and help me?" the indistinct figure asked in a cold voice.
"Of course not; it's not like you don't know about the vow I swore to never set foot on the Blood Sky Continent again," Ming Zun replied.
"In that case, why are you suddenly asking about this?" A hint of impatience had crept into the blurry figure's voice.
"I can't help you, but I've found someone who should be able to assist you," Ming Zun explained in an unhurried manner.
The indistinct figure's voice cooled even further upon hearing this. "Are you saying you've revealed our plan to someone else?"
"Of course not. This is an extremely important matter; I wouldn't reveal it to anyone without your agreement," Ming Zun replied.
The tone of the indistinct figure's voice mellowed out slightly as he said, "Good. Who is this person that you're referring to? As I'm sure you're already aware, the average Grand Ascension Stage being won't be of much help to me, and if too many people are made aware of what we're doing, the secret could quickly spread."
"Hehe, why don't you take a look for yourself?" Ming Zun chuckled as he made a hand seal before pointing a finger forward, and a ball of light emerged from his fingertip before transforming into a humanoid projection of none other than Han Li.
"Who's that? I don't recall ever seeing someone like him before. Is he a new Grand Ascension Stage being of your continent?" the indistinct figure asked in a befuddled voice.
"That's right, Fellow Daoist Han has only recently become a Grand Ascension Stage being, but he possesses unfathomable power and will definitely be an extremely useful ally," Ming Zun replied.
"Oh? It's rare to see you give someone such high praise; this man really must be quite powerful. Why is it that I've never heard of someone of this caliber? Has he done anything noteworthy in the past?" the indistinct figure asked.
"There aren't many notable exploits of his, but there's one that's enough to make him known throughout the entire Spirit Realm. Have you heard about the recent death of the Stemborer Queen in the Elder Devil Realm?" Ming Zun asked.
"Of course I am. The matter about the Stemborer Queen was a huge crisis, and even some of my fellow daoists from the Blood Sky Continent ventured into the Elder Devil Realm for it. I heard that the Stemborer Queen was slain by one of the patriarchs of the Elder Devil Realm, Bao Hua, as well as some other people; could it be that he was one of the people involved?" The indistinct figure immediately developed a rough idea of who Han Li was.
"That's right. From what I heard, this Fellow Daoist Han is the person who truly killed the Stemborer Queen, while Bao Hua and the others only played minor roles," Ming Zun replied.
The indistinct figure's heart jolted upon hearing this. "Is that so? In that case, wouldn't this fellow daoist be among a handful of the most powerful beings in the entire Spirit Realm?"
"Hehe, I can't confirm whether he's actually that formidable, but he definitely possesses unfathomable power. I've already been made aware that he's attending this auction for an intercontinental teleportation spot, so he should be going to your Blood Sky Continent soon. I'm only providing you with this information; it'll be up to you to recruit him," Ming Zun chuckled.
"Alright, if this works out, then I'll owe you a favor. If that's all, then let's end our communication here; intercontinental communication requires far too much spiritual power expenditure."
The indistinct figure made a hand seal as he spoke, and the image on the stone wall immediately disintegrated into specks of spiritual light amid a dull thump.
Ming Zun was unbothered by this, and a faint smile appeared on his face as he closed his eyes to rest.
One day passed by after another, and the date for the auction's commencement drew closer and closer.
During this time, Han Li hadn't set foot once outside of the pavilion, whereas the blood soul and the others frequently visited all of the shops in the town, purchasing many materials and treasures that were very rare in the outside world.
Those items naturally weren't enough to catch Han Li's attention, and he displayed no intention to visit the shops in the town, choosing instead to meditate and await the commencement of the auction.
On this day, Han Li was in the process of meditating when he finally received a transmission talisman from the woman in purple.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he rose to his feet before departing from the secret chamber.
