Chapter 1182: Volume 7, Across the Human World, Chapter 1178: Return to the Fallen Demon

“Are you the Zhao Brothers from the Jinhai Sect?” The young man at the center suddenly smiled at the three of them and asked.

“Who might you be? Fellow Daoist Hou, what is going on here?” The large man’s face showed a look of vigilance.

“Fellow Daoist Zhao, don’t be impolite. This person is the Great Elder of our sect! The other is Junior Martial Brother Lin.” The elder also spoke up, but his words gave the three of them quite a start.

“The Great Elder, could it be Elder Han from your honored sect!” The leading large man exclaimed in disbelief.

“Indeed, I currently serve as the Great Elder of the Drifting Cloud Sect. Han Li sent Martial Nephew Hou to invite a few fellow daoists here, which may have been a bit presumptuous.” The young man smiled with a flash of pearly white teeth.

It was none other than Han Li who had hurried all the way from the Drifting Cloud Sect to the State of Dongyu.

“We dare not. Since it is the elder who summoned us, it is an honor for my brothers and me!” The leading large man took another careful look at Han Li after being shocked and, seeing that the other party indeed resembled the person from the rumors, quickly and respectfully bowed without delay.

The other two also followed suit with their hurried bows.

“It’s nothing. Since the three fellow daoists are not disciples of our sect, there’s no need for such formalities. Martial Nephew Hou mentioned that the three of you had seen a female disciple of our sect in the valley. Is this true?” Han Li said, gesturing with his hand, and then asked calmly.

“Are you referring to Fairy Bai and the others, elder? My brothers did indeed catch a brief glimpse of them in Devilfall Valley.” The leading large man was startled when Han Li mentioned this but immediately responded honestly.

“Oh, could the three fellow daoists elaborate on the situation at that time for Han Li?” Han Li asked gently.

“Of course, there’s no problem with that. A few months ago, my brothers needed a rare material for artifact refining, so we ventured into Devilfall Valley to try our luck. However, we found nothing in the outer valley, and right as we were about to leave, we encountered Fairy Bai and her two companions on our way. Due to some past events, I had several encounters with Fairy Bai, so I approached and chatted with them briefly. However, they seemed a bit anxious, as if they were also searching for something, and did not say much to my brothers before quickly departing. We then immediately left the valley and haven’t seen the three Celestial Maidens since.” The large man recounted the events cautiously.

“Can you tell me more about where you encountered Martial Nephew Bai? I have here a map of the outer valley of Devilfall Valley. Can you mark the approximate location where you met the three of them on it?” Han Li pondered for a moment, then with a flick of his sleeve, a prepared jade slip flew toward the large man.

“The place where we met Fairy Bai was deep into the outer valley.” The large man quickly caught the jade slip, explained a few sentences first, and then immersed his thoughts into the jade slip. But in just a moment, he withdrew his consciousness and respectfully offered the jade slip back to Han Li with both hands.

Han Li raised his hand and the jade slip turned into a streak of green light that entered his palm. He scanned it with his Divine Sense and his eyebrows raised slightly.

“Indeed, it’s very close to the inner valley. I appreciate the effort of the three fellow daoists this time. Martial Nephew Hou, Martial Nephew Wu, you two keep the three fellow daoists company for a while. I’ll take my leave first.” After putting away the jade slip, Han Li smiled at the three large men, then casually instructed the elder and the scholar before leaving.

“We respectfully see off Elder Han!” The scholar and elder immediately bent at the waist, while the three large men also hurriedly made a gesture of seeing him off with respect.

With a burst of green light around him, Han Li turned into a dazzling green rainbow and soared into the sky, disappearing on the horizon in the blink of an eye.

“Brother Hou! Is he really the great cultivator Han Li from your sect who has advanced?” It was only after the green rainbow vanished into the sky that another large man, who had not spoken until then, let out a long breath, seemingly still in disbelief, and asked.

“If not for Elder Han Li, then who else? It’s a small but significant opportunity for the three of you to have met him! You must know that Elder Han Li has a great reputation but rarely meets with disciples of the sect. I have only seen him a few times myself.” The elder surnamed Hou also relaxed and said with a wry smile.

“Indeed, Elder Han doesn’t interact much with disciples within the sect. Although I have formed my Golden Core for many years, I have only seen him from a distance at a major ceremony before. If it weren’t for the matter concerning Martial Nephew Bai and the others, I fear the Great Elder would not have left his cave dwelling.” The scholar said similarly.

“So Fairy Bai and the others really disappeared in Devilfall Valley. Before, my brothers heard some rumors, but we thought they were groundless.” The leading large man pondered for a while before asking gravely.

“Given the circumstances, there is nothing left to hide. Indeed, there has been a problem with Martial Nephew Bai and the others.” The elder sighed.

“All three of Fairy Bai are at the Core Formation Stage. How could they disappear so easily? Could it be that they ventured into the inner valley?” The large man was somewhat surprised.

“I’m afraid it’s so. Hopefully, they are just trapped somewhere in the inner valley. If that’s the case, with Elder Han personally involved, there should be no problem rescuing them.” The scholar expressed his concern.

“Could it be that Fairy Bai has some kind of connection with Elder Han? Otherwise, according to what the two fellow daoists said earlier, Elder Han does not seem to be the type to attend to such matters.” The leading large man sensed something else.

“Hehe, I heard that Martial Sister Bai and Elder Han have known each other for a long time. But I think the main concern is for the other two Martial Sisters. It’s said that Martial Sister Liu Yu’er is a former Unofficial Disciple of Elder Han, and the other, Martial Sister Mu Peiling, is actually a concubine of Elder Han. With all three of them running into trouble simultaneously, how could Elder Han not take action in this matter?” The elder replied with a slight smile.

That explains it, the three large men nodded in realization.

While these Core Formation cultivators were discussing, Han Li had already streaked towards Devilfall Valley at great speed.

Enshrouded in a streak of light, he fiddled with a milky-white jade medallion in his hand, his face deep in thought.

“What’s the matter, Fellow Daoist Han? Are you worried about your disciple and concubine, or is it because you have not comprehended the secrets of this Golden Palace Jade Book in your hand?” A low voice of a child suddenly reached Han Li’s ears.

Han Li’s gaze flickered as he glanced at one of his sleeves before replying indifferently:

“The three of them have most likely entered the inner valley of Devilfall Valley. As long as nothing truly dire has occurred, rescuing them won’t require much effort. What concerns me more is whether the Silver Toad Script you’ve imparted to me is somehow incomplete. The contents of the Jade Book are exceedingly obscure and difficult to understand. However, I am sure that it records a formula for refining Daoist paper talismans. The specific contents, though, are indeed quite profound.”

Hehe, that is only to be expected. The Dao of talismans recorded on this Jade Book was originally meant for Immortals’ cultivation. If a cultivator from the human world like you could easily comprehend it, I’d start doubting the authenticity of this Jade Book. Moreover, what you have is merely half a page of the Jade Book; it’s naturally going to be more challenging to decipher,” the child said with a light chuckle, not at all surprised.

“You make some sense. There’s plenty of time ahead. When I find the time, I’ll reflect on it more thoroughly,” Han Li nodded, and then put away the jade medallion once again.

“Fellow Daoist Han, I have taught you the Silver Toad Script, and I have also passed on to you the refining formula for Fire Spirit Silk and the Annihilation Technique. Isn’t it time for you to assist me in resisting the Metamorphosis Tribulation?” the child fell silent for a moment, then asked calmly.

“Rest assured, Daoist Tian Lan. If Han Li has promised you something, I naturally will not go back on my word. Once the matters here are resolved, I will find a secluded place to help you succeed in your transformation,” Han Li responded reassuringly.

“Good, that’s all I needed to hear from you,” the child seemed very content with Han Li’s answer and immediately fell silent.

As for Han Li, he too said no more, simply putting all his effort into accelerating the streak of light. After a few flashes, he disappeared from the vicinity without a trace.

Half a day later, at the entrance of Devilfall Valley in the Ten Thousand Ridges Mountain Range, where the Ghost Spirit Sect once built a transportation formation, it still stood outside the valley mouth, but was covered with a thick layer of dust, seemingly unused for many years.

It was not surprising. In the past, the exterior of Devilfall Valley was surrounded by densely packed restrictive formations and numerous tears in space. But now, not only have most of the spatial tears vanished without a trace, but even the outer layer of the restrictive formations had weakened significantly. Any cultivator above Core Formation could easily sneak into the valley from a few weak spots in the formations, not needing to pass through the original valley entrance.

The transportation formation built by the Ghost Spirit Sect had naturally become useless.

Of course, the entrance to Devilfall Valley is still the necessary path for most cultivators to enter the valley, as this place has been traversed by countless cultivators over the years, ensuring its safety which by far outweighs that of other places.

But now, near the transportation formation, there were five or six cultivators in various attire, discussing something.

All of them were Core Formation cultivators, and one of them was even a cultivator in late Core Formation, seemingly preparing to enter the valley through the entrance.

Suddenly, a few faint sounds of air being torn apart came from the distant sky, which shocked these cultivators into hurriedly looking up.

All they saw was a flash of azure light on the horizon, seemingly a streak of light shooting towards them. Just as they were about to pay close attention, the azure light flickered a few times before vanishing mysteriously.

The cultivators’ expressions changed drastically. They all released their spiritual senses cautiously, but just ten-odd zhang away in the low sky, the sound of air being torn apart sounded again!

With a flash of green light, a streak of azure rainbow swept past right under their eyelids, and after a few flashes, it disappeared into the entrance of the valley without a trace!

So many cultivators, yet not a single one could see clearly who the figure within the azure light was.

The group looked at each other with shocked expressions, all seeing a look of astonishment on each other’s faces.

The master of this azure rainbow was naturally Han Li. He paid no attention to these mere Core Formation cultivators and went straight into Devilfall Valley.

Following the location marked by the large man from the Jinhai Sect within the valley, Han Li, without saying a word, shot straight towards it.

If he remembered correctly, that area was not far from the entrance to the inner valley that he and Fairy Violet Spirit followed the Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators into years ago.

Furthermore, considering that the female cultivator surnamed Song and Fairy Violet Spirit were good friends, Han Li naturally did not need to think much; he first headed there to search for the traces of the three ladies.

With Han Li’s current speed and the fact that most of the spatial tears in the outer valley were gone, there was no danger to restrict his speed, and it took him just half a day to arrive above the huge icy crevice that led to the inner valley.

After circling in green light, Han Li entered the icy crevice with an expressionless face. (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.wuxiaworld.site, there are more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)