Chapter 999: Farewell, Never to Meet Again

Han Li watched Shi Pokong and the others until they disappeared into the distance, and after carefully scanning the vicinity with his divine sense to confirm there was nothing unusual, he turned and went back into the great hall.

Inside the hall, on the jade bed in the pool, the Heaven Devouring Beast was lying on her side, her already short body curled into a ball, her brows tightly knit, her face full of pain.

Han Li's mind stirred, and he immediately focused his divine sense to examine her.

After a moment, his expression relaxed, and he breathed a silent sigh of relief.

Although the Heaven Devouring Beast was still in deep slumber, the aura emanating from her had undergone a considerable change.

Especially in her dantian, that flickering wisp of primal power was like a bright lamp in a dark room; though the flame was still faint, it brought a sense of warmth.

With a splash of water, a sound came from behind the stone bed.

Han Li looked over and saw the figure of the High Priest slowly rising from the pool water. Grayish-white smoke rose from his body, and there was a smell like burning flesh.

When Han Li saw his face, his expression changed involuntarily, and he couldn't help asking:

"Your face..."

The High Priest touched his cheek with his hand, gave a bitter smile, and said, "To use the laws of reincarnation to recklessly probe the secrets of heaven, how could one not pay a price?"

From his neck upward to his cheeks, burn-like scars crawled, filled with pus that moved like magma, emitting a foul, scorching aura.

"And those scars on your body?" Han Li frowned and asked.

"Every time I pry into the secrets of heaven, these scars appear like heavenly punishment. No elixir or immortal medicine can cure them. At first, they are just festering sores, then they scab over into tumors. Over time, I've ended up like this, neither human nor ghost." The High Priest gave a bitter laugh, his voice hoarse.

Saying this, he cupped some pool water and poured it over the scars on his face, raising a puff of white smoke.

Hearing this, Han Li understood why the High Priest had been unwilling to treat the Heaven Devouring Beast earlier—besides the matter of the Great Prince, this was also a consideration.

One could say that when this heavenly punishment reached a certain level, no matter how high one's cultivation, one might not escape the calamity of falling. From the current situation, the man before him was already very close to that critical point.

"I owe you a debt for this, High Priest. If there is anything you need, as long as it is within my power, please speak freely." Han Li said after a moment's deliberation.

"For now, there is nothing I seek. But if the opportunity arises in the future, I may need Fellow Daoist Han's help with a matter." The High Priest stepped out of the pool and said.

"In the future... what kind of matter?" Han Li frowned and asked.

"The secrets of heaven cannot be revealed." The High Priest shook his head and said.

Han Li's gaze sharpened, and just as he was about to ask further, the Heaven Devouring Beast suddenly groaned softly, as if about to wake.

"Heaven Devouring Beast..." Han Li called softly.

However, the Heaven Devouring Beast only curled up again and did not actually awaken.

"Earlier, she had lost her primal power for too long, causing a great depletion of her divine sense. If you hadn't used other means to stabilize her soul, she would have already dissipated, leaving only an empty shell. So don't worry too much; she just needs time to nourish her soul and will wake on her own in a few days." The High Priest explained.

Han Li felt somewhat relieved, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "Now that you've helped me, how will you explain this to the Third Prince?"

"With those two as evidence, naturally I was coerced by you and had no choice but to help. If Fellow Daoist Han thinks it's not convincing enough, you can beat them up a bit more to make them look worse." The High Priest glanced at the two still unconscious by the hall door and said with a smile.

"If only the Third Prince were so easy to fool..." Han Li smiled and continued.

"So what? I am the High Priest of the Holy Race; he won't go too far. Besides, he just came personally and didn't gain any advantage, so what right does he have to blame me?" The High Priest said hoarsely.

"That makes sense." Han Li nodded.

Afterward, he brought the Heaven Devouring Beast back to the Flower Branch Cave Heaven and stayed by her side.

Until dawn the next day, the Heaven Devouring Beast had not awakened, but her aura had recovered somewhat. Han Li felt a bit more at ease, took his leave of the High Priest, and left the hall, heading toward the Demon Palace.

However, he had not gone far when he saw Shi Pokong already waiting in the square with over a dozen people.

Han Li swept his gaze over them and saw that besides the old man Qu who had appeared last night, there were three late Taiyi stage cultivators behind him, and seven or eight mid and early Taiyi stage cultivators.

"Third Prince, are you putting on such a grand display to intimidate me?" Han Li said with a calm smile.

"Fellow Daoist Li, you misunderstand. When you came to our Holy Race, you came as an honored guest. Now that you are leaving, it is only proper to see you off with due ceremony." Shi Pokong said with a smile, waving his folding fan.

"In that case, I won't stand on ceremony."

Han Li laughed freely, his figure flickered, and he shot past the crowd, landing ahead of them.

Shi Pokong's gaze darkened, and with a snap he closed his fan, then followed. The others kept a slight distance and trailed behind.

"Fellow Daoist Li, if I said I now regret not having chosen to befriend you earlier, would it be too late?" Shi Pokong caught up and walked side by side with Han Li, asking.

"When does the Third Prince mean by 'earlier'? When I first arrived at Yeyang City, or when I was about to enter the Jilin Void?" Han Li asked with a smile.

"Is there a difference?" Shi Pokong asked.

"Not really. As long as it was before you gave me the Voidburst Talisman, it wouldn't be too late. Unfortunately... the Third Prince cannot turn back time, so there's no need for regret." Han Li shook his head.

"What a pity then..." Shi Pokong sighed.

Han Li showed a rare moment of hesitation and sighed, "Why has it come to this between you?"

Shi Pokong naturally knew that Han Li was referring to his relationship with Shi Chuankong, but some secrets were ultimately not for outsiders to know. So he only let out a long sigh and said nothing more, though a trace of loneliness appeared on his face.

Seeing this, Han Li said no more and continued walking ahead.

The group flew until they reached a square in the southern part of the Demon Palace, then descended.

Han Li's gaze swept over and saw not far ahead a strange, spire-like building shaped like a sharp cone, whose tiers were indistinguishable from the outside.

The tower's surface was covered with rings of circular patterns, interconnected to form an extremely complex network of runes that extended all the way to the ground.

The tower was only a hundred-odd zhang tall, with the base taking up a third of it. Around the base were embedded diamond-shaped transparent crystals that refracted sunlight, emitting a dazzling array of colors that made it hard to see clearly.

"Is this the legendary Voidcross Tower?" Han Li asked, frowning slightly.

"For Fellow Daoist Li to return directly to the Immortal Realm, ordinary teleportation arrays are insufficient. Only by using this Voidcross Tower to tear through the void can you cross realms and return." Shi Pokong nodded.

"Can this tower send me back to the Northern Cold Immortal Domain?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Cross-realm teleportation is extremely difficult and consumes vast resources. Tearing through the void for teleportation can only reach the nearest point in an adjacent domain." Shi Pokong said with a faint smile.

"Where is that?" Han Li asked.

"The Golden Origin Immortal Domain." Shi Pokong glanced at him and said.

"Where in the Golden Origin Immortal Domain?" Han Li frowned.

Although Han Li had never set foot in this immortal domain, he was not unfamiliar with it. After all, both the Nine Yuan Temple and the Hundred Creations Mountain's main sect were located there, and at present, Gold Devouring Beetle was likely still there.

"There are a few reception arrays in the Golden Origin Immortal Domain, such as those at the Nine Yuan Temple and Mount Shouyang, but they require sect tokens to teleport. If you don't have any, you'll have to rely on luck—you might be randomly teleported anywhere in the Golden Origin Immortal Domain." Shi Pokong laughed.

"Let's go." Han Li said decisively after a moment's thought.

With that, he stepped into the Voidcross Tower.

Shi Pokong watched his back, frowned, and followed.

Inside the tower, Han Li saw that the ground was covered with engraved formation patterns. In the center stood several snow-white stone pillars, also engraved with various strange patterns.

The four walls of the tower were inlaid with diamond-shaped transparent crystals, their dense prismatic surfaces reflecting overlapping layers of images.

Among the white stone pillars was a ten-zhang-square platform, on which was carved a lifelike relief of the Rahu true spirit.

Even before the great formation was activated, layers of flowing light seemed to ripple over it, like water patterns under sunlight, undulating across the platform, emitting strong spatial fluctuations.

"Fellow Daoist Li, after today's parting, I hope we won't meet again in this holy domain." Shi Pokong suddenly said.

"Rest assured, Third Prince, I always keep my word." Han Li said with a noncommittal smile.

"Good. Please enter the formation." Shi Pokong nodded.

Han Li swept his divine sense over the formation again, confirming that every detail matched what the High Priest had described the night before, then nodded and stepped onto the platform.

"Fellow Daoist Li, rest assured. This Voidcross Tower is extremely precious; I would never dare tamper with it. Damaging it would be almost as severe as destroying half of the Holy Race's imperial city." Shi Pokong said with a smile.

Han Li said nothing more, only glanced at Shi Pokong to signal that he could activate the formation.

The latter said nothing and simply waved his hand.

Several demon clan elders behind him immediately dispersed, took their seats around the formation, closed their eyes, formed hand seals, and began to activate the Voidcross Tower.

With a buzzing sound like a swarm of bees, the entire floor of the tower began to tremble slightly.

Then, a silver light lit up on the central platform, enveloping Han Li, and all the runes on the ground burst into dazzling radiance.

All the diamond-shaped crystals on the tower blazed with light, refracting countless spots that interwove into a blinding brilliance, so intense that even squinting made it impossible to look directly.

Han Li stood at the convergence of all the light, completely submerged, his form indistinguishable. Streams of increasingly powerful spatial force began to gather toward the center, building to a peak.

Just as the formation was about to activate, Han Li heard Shi Pokong's voice in his ear:

"Farewell, never to meet again, Fellow Daoist Han."