"You can identify the ailment that my daughter is suffering from? During my escape, I was struck by a secret technique unleashed by that enemy of mine, and even though I bore the brunt of the attack, a small portion of its power had fallen upon my daughter. Would you be able to cure her, Fellow Daoist?" the silver-robed man asked in an urgent manner.
"Have you not tried to cure her yourself?" Han Li asked.
"That secret technique used by my enemy conflicts with my abilities, so if I were to attempt to cure her, her condition would only get worse. If you agree to help me, I'll be indebted to you for the rest of my life," Tu Yao replied with a wry smile.
"Your daughter's condition isn't too difficult for me to cure, and I can even allow you to recover your Grand Ascension Stage powers. However, I have a condition," Han Li said in a calm voice.
The silver-robed man's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he then immediately prompted, "Go ahead and state your condition, Brother Han. As long as it's within my power, I'll be sure to satisfy you."
"There's no need to be so serious, Brother Tu. My condition is not very difficult to satisfy: all I want is for you to find a certain place on the nearby seabed for me," Han Li replied with a faint smile.
"That's it?" Tu Yao's expression immediately eased slightly upon hearing this.
"Hehe, what kind of condition did you think I was going to raise?" Han Li chuckled.
"It looks like I was overthinking things. With the power you just displayed, I would be no match for you even at my peak, so there would be no need for you to try and deceive me. If that's the only condition, then I'd be more than happy to accept it," the silver-robed man said.
"In that case, please come onto my ark, and I'll administer treatment to you and your daughter," Han Li replied with a nod.
The silver-robed man took a glance at the massive black ark and didn't hesitate as he drifted onto it with her daughter.
Thus, the Inkspirit Holy Ark returned to its original trajectory at Han Li's behest and continued to fly through the air.
The next day, the silver-robed man was conversing with Han Li in the cabin of the ark with a grateful expression, while his daughter was standing behind him, looking much better than she had the previous day.
Patriarch Hua Shi and Zhu Guo'er were also standing off to the side in a respectful manner.
"Your powers are truly unfathomable, Fellow Daoist. I had thought that it would take at least several months to cure me and my daughter; I never imagined that it would only take a single night for you. If the Sea Guardian Place dares to send anyone else after me, I'll be able to make sure they never return," the silver-robed man said in an elated manner.
"Don't mention it, Fellow Daoist. By the way, what is this Sea Guardian Palace? Those three elders of the palace aren't anything special in our eyes, but they're definitely more powerful than most Body Integration Stage beings," Han Li said as he stroked his own chin.
The silver-robed man's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he still replied truthfully, "The Sea Guardian Palace is a power founded by that enemy of mine. He is the main palace master, and aside from him, there are also two other Grand Ascension Stage palace masters, as well as over 100 elders comparable in power to the three you encountered the day before. As for other sea beasts under the palace's command, there's simply too many to count."
"Oh? This Sea Guardian Palace sounds like quite a formidable power. Why weren't any of its Grand Ascension Stage beings sent to hunt you down in your weakened state?" Han Li asked.
"The Sea Guardian Place is an enemy of mine, but I'm on good terms with another major power in this region of the sea, the Azure Wyrm Hall. After unleashing a secret technique to escape from my enemy, I sent out an SOS message, and my good friends at the Azure Wyrm Hall organized a large-scale attack on the Sea Guardian Palace, thereby preventing the other two Grand Ascension Stage palace masters from being able to come after me. However, the route to the Azure Wyrm Hall has been completely sealed off by the sea beasts of the Sea Guardian Palace, which is why I had to flee all the way here," the silver-robed man replied.
"I see. Judging by the Azure Wyrm Hall's name, I'm assuming its leaders are powerful beings of the Azure Wyrm Race," Han Li said.
"That's right, the two hall masters of the Azure Wyrm Hall are both Grand Ascension Stage beings of the Azure Wyrm Race, and they are close friends whom I'm willing to entrust my life to. Even though the Azure Wyrm Hall only has two Grand Ascension Stage beings, they're far more powerful than the three palace masters of the Sea Guardian Palace, so the two powers are evenly matched in terms of overall power. By the way, I recall you were only at the Spatial Tempering Stage when I last met you in Cloud City; how have you progressed to the Grand Ascension Stage in such a short time? Even throughout all of history, I'm not sure if there's anyone who can match your astonishing aptitude," Tu Yao said, clearly still stunned by Han Li's drastic transformation.
"It was all thanks to several miraculous opportunities that I encountered that I was able to reach my current cultivation base, but in terms of the stability of my foundation, there's no way I can compare with a veteran Grand Ascension Stage being like yourself," Han Li replied in a humble manner.
"You're far too modest, Fellow Daoist. Also, what is this place that you want me to help you look for? I can't say that I know every inch of this region like the back of my hand, but I've visited all of the special areas in this region," Tu Yao said.
"I'm searching for a set of underwater coordinates. As for the exact location… Hua Shi, come over here and tell Fellow Daoist Tu what we're looking for. Hua Shi is a sea beast himself, so I'm sure he'll be able to deliver a better report than me," Han Li said.
Hua Shi immediately did as he was told, making his way over to Tu Yao before providing a detailed explanation. "Senior Tu, the coordinates we're searching for were provided to us by an ancient altar, and the location's characteristics are…"
Even though they had learned the approximate coordinates of the Small Spirit Sky's entrance through the ancient altar, the sea was unfathomably massive, so even a slight margin of error could equate to countless kilometers.
Patriarch Hua Shi was adept in water-attribute abilities, but even with his help, it wouldn't be a simple task to find the entrance.
As such, Han Li was requesting the help of Tu Yao, who was both a Grand Ascension Stage being and very familiar with this region.
With his assistance, tracking down the correct location shouldn't be too difficult.
As for three Grand Ascension Stage beings of the Sea Guardian Palace, even if they were slightly more powerful than the average Grand Ascension Stage being, they would still pose no match to the current Han Li, so he wasn't concerned about them at all.
After some discussion, Tu Yao and Patriarch Hua Shi quickly ascertained an area of the seabed that fit the description of the Small Spirit Sky's entrance, and the Inkspirit Holy Ark immediately flew toward that direction at several times its original speed.
Two months later, the giant black ark was situated in the air above an area of the sea that was filled with rocks and coral.
Thousands of high-grade puppets were patrolling this area of the sea, while even more Devil Crystal Puppets were scouring the seabed in search for something.
Patriarch Hua Shi and Tu Yao had also joined the puppets, searching the seabed with their spiritual sense.
Meanwhile, Han Li sat on the deck of the ark, meditating with his eyes closed.
Zhu Guo'er seemed to be standing patiently by his side, but the occasional glances she was aiming at the sea outside the ark naturally hadn't escaped Han Li's notice.
"Why are you so agitated? This is the place that the two of them have determined to be the likeliest location of the entrance, so a verdict will definitely be delivered to us soon," Han Li said while his eyes remained closed.
"I'm just worried that this would be another fruitless trip. The two seniors said the same thing about the previous two locations we visited, but neither of them turned out to be the place we're looking for," Zhu Guo'er said.
"The sea is enormous, and the underwater world is extremely complex, so it's no surprise that mistakes will be made. However, I have a premonition that this is the place we're searching for," Han Li replied with a smile.
Zhu Guo'er was very elated to hear this. "With your powers, I'm sure your premonition is correct."
All of a sudden, Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he cast his gaze toward a certain direction. "It looks like I have to take care of some unwelcome guests."
Meanwhile, a group of sea beasts had appeared on the surface of the ocean hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.
These sea beasts varied drastically in size and appearance, and there were so many of them that they covered virtually every single inch of area within a radius of 100 kilometers.
At the very front of the group was a long-haired man wearing a jade crown seated atop a giant green turtle, and he was leading the army of sea beasts toward the direction where the Inkspirit Holy Ark was situated.
Directly behind the giant green turtle was a massive seahorse and a mountainous blue octopus.
"I can sense that that man is just up ahead. Hmph, how dare he foil our palace's plans? He must have a death wish! Prepare the myriad beast formation; I'm going to trap him here and wear him down until he's dead!" the long-haired man suddenly commanded in a cold voice.
A horn was immediately blown within the army of sea beasts, and all of the beasts sprang into action, quickly arranging themselves into a profound formation even as they continued to march onward.
Such a massive army of sea beasts naturally quickly attracted the attention of a group of armored puppets patrolling the nearby area, and they immediately flew over to the sea beast army.
This was a group of around a dozen puppets, and they were led by a silver puppet, which declared in a cold voice, "Stop! Our master is doing something up ahead; all outsiders must stop here or face death!"
The long-haired man's expression immediately darkened upon seeing this. "What insolence!"
As soon as his voice trailed off, around a dozen powerful sea beasts behind him opened their mouths in unison, releasing a string of powerful attacks that almost instantly blew the puppets into countless pieces.
