Chapter 1040: Servant's Devotion

Although Han Li could not hear the sound transmissions between Yu Kuohai and the others, with his many years of experience in scheming against others, he could roughly guess the content of their transmissions.

A thought flickered through his mind, but naturally he showed nothing on his face. He simply looked around, as if pondering something.

This scene naturally fell into the eyes of Elder Yang and Yu Kuohai. The two exchanged a knowing glance, then turned their gaze back to Han Li.

"Fellow Daoists, could you perhaps point me in a clear direction so I can leave? I actually have urgent matters to attend to back home," Han Li deliberately said.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Shi, why be in such a hurry? To be honest, your fortune has arrived. The place you have stumbled into is an immortal's secret realm, filled with countless treasures and opportunities. As long as you follow us, you are sure to gain something as well," Yu Kuohai said with a broad smile and a kind expression.

"What? An immortal's secret realm! You mean this place? No wonder it looks so extraordinary," Han Li's voice rose sharply, feigning great surprise.

"Indeed, this is the immortal mansion of the Tai Sui Immortal Venerable, a true Daluo-level immortal. Fellow Daoist Shi, by fate and coincidence, you have stumbled into this immortal mansion. Perhaps it is a destined great opportunity, and you must not miss it!" Yu Kuohai continued to encourage him earnestly.

"Yes! We come from all corners of the land, all fellow cultivators from reputable sects. Meeting here is fate. Why not explore this immortal mansion together? Who knows, we might find a great opportunity!" Valley Master Fu also said with a smile.

Han Li sneered inwardly at their words. If it were any other cultivator unaware of their malicious intentions, they might have been swept away by their flattery.

The others around seemed to stand scattered, but they had subtly formed an encirclement around Han Li. Though most wore smiles, they clearly would not let Han Li slip away easily.

"This..." Han Li deliberately put on a hesitant expression, rubbing his chin and muttering.

Seeing this, Yu Kuohai felt confident of success and shot a glance at Elder Yang.

Elder Yang understood and immediately spoke:

"Fellow Daoist Shi, since you have nowhere to go and are like a headless fly in this secret realm, why not explore with us? With more people, we are stronger and safer."

"Fellow Daoist Shi hesitates so much—could it be that you look down on the Lingxiao Sect, Lieguang City, and our Qingsuo Valley?" Valley Master Fu suddenly darkened his expression and said before Han Li could respond.

"Hehe, I am honored by your regard. Since that is the case, I am willing to accompany you all. I seek no rich reward, only to serve as your humble servant," Han Li said after a moment of contemplation, cupping his fist.

"Hey, this guy knows his place. If he can protect himself later, we might spare his life," Valley Master Fu said, somewhat surprised, transmitting to the other two.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Shi, rest assured. As long as you do your utmost to help us, we will not let you suffer losses," Yu Kuohai said with a hearty laugh.

Han Li nodded and smiled foolishly, his face full of gratitude and fear.

After the pleasantries, the group set off again, heading deeper into the secret realm.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, you came from a different direction. Did you not gain anything along the way?" Elder Yang suddenly asked.

"If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known I entered a secret realm. I didn't think to look for treasures. Soon after, I encountered that metal beast and was chased so badly I can't even remember how I got here," Han Li said with a look of shame.

"Enough, enough. From now on, we will act together, so you won't be in such a predicament," Yu Kuohai said, waving his hand.

"Then I thank you all," Han Li said, cupping his fist.

Seeing Han Li so cautious, Yu Kuohai and the others exchanged glances, feeling a growing contempt for him. They only thought of using this honest-looking middle-aged man as cannon fodder when needed.

Afterward, they exchanged names and pleasantries before setting off again.

The group advanced along a forest path. Han Li remained silent at first, listening to their sporadic conversation, and found that eight out of ten sentences were curses directed at those who had seized treasures earlier.

The remaining two sentences were no better, only the targets changed to the Tianshui Sect and the Tongtian Sword Sect.

"Fellow Daoist Yu, besides us, are there people from the Tianshui Sect and the Tongtian Sword Sect in this secret realm?" Han Li seized an opportunity to interject.

Yu Kuohai was reluctant to answer but, seeing Han Li's fearful expression, feared scaring him off, so he had to say:

"Fellow Daoist Shi, do not fear. This secret realm is vast. Although those two sects are powerful outside, they have few people here. They cannot monopolize everything. We still have our opportunities."

"Indeed! If conflicts arise later, we can ally with the Huangfeng Sect and the Moxiang Tower. United we stand, and even these two major sects will have to be cautious," Valley Master Fu added.

"That's good, that's good..." Han Li nodded quickly, letting out a sigh of relief.

Seeing this, Valley Master Fu couldn't help but curl his lips in a mocking smile, but he quickly hid it.

Little did he know that Han Li did not care about the Tianshui Sect or the Tongtian Sword Sect at all. What he was more concerned about was whether Qimozi and the Immortal Palace people were in this secret realm.

"May I ask, besides the Tianshui Sect and the Tongtian Sword Sect, are there any others? Which forces should I pay special attention to?" Han Li scratched his head, as if something had occurred to him, and asked again.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, why are you so long-winded? What use is knowing all this?" Master Fu said impatiently.

"Fellow Daoist Fu, I'm just afraid of not recognizing a true person. If I accidentally offend someone I shouldn't, I'd be causing trouble for everyone," Han Li said sheepishly.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, that's a good point. It's worth paying attention to. But aside from those from Tianshui Sect and Tongtian Sword Sect, as long as others don't provoke us, we can just ignore them," Elder Yang nodded and said.

Han Li sighed inwardly upon hearing this. It was as good as saying nothing.

But from their words, he could tell that whether or not Qimozi and the Immortal Palace people had come, at least they hadn't revealed their true identities. Otherwise, given their Daluo status, these people wouldn't be so calm.

He could only follow them and see how things played out.

Han Li stopped asking questions, and the others seemed preoccupied with their own thoughts, so the group fell silent.

They walked silently through the forest for several hours until a magnificent vermilion hall appeared ahead.

Yu Kuohai and the others didn't look pleased to see the hall; instead, they tensed up, fearing it was another useless hall that had been looted.

They approached the hall, and Yu Kuohai examined it for a moment before sighing in relief and saying,

"Fortunately, the restrictions are still intact..."

"Fellow Daoist Shi, aren't you skilled at breaking restrictions? Why not take a look and see what kind this is?" Elder Yang said with a smile, glancing at Han Li.

"Alright, I'll give it a try!"

Knowing this was another test, Han Li shook his sleeves and put on a show of being ready to display his skills.

He walked to the hall's door and looked it over. On the door was a round iron plate engraved with a pattern of two strange beasts biting each other's tails, surrounded by eight thunder true-word runes.

Han Li immediately recognized the eight runes as representing the legendary Eight Thunder Gods, and the two beasts in the center as the Two-Circuit Thunder Beasts.

But he didn't speak up immediately. Instead, he scratched his head and pondered, looking puzzled.

Yu Kuohai grew impatient and asked, "Fellow Daoist Shi, do you recognize it or not? Can you break it? If not, let me use force to break it open."

"Fellow Daoist Yu, well... I recognize the Two-Circuit Thunder Beasts on the iron plate, but I only have a partial understanding of the true-word runes around them. I know this restriction governs thunder magic. If we force it, it might trigger the restriction and blow up the entire hall with lightning, and then we'd get nothing," Han Li said hesitantly.

"Oh, is that so?" Yu Kuohai said skeptically.

"If you don't believe me, Fellow Daoist Yu, you can try a small force and see if it's thunder magic," Han Li said with a wry smile.

Yu Kuohai's expression changed several times before he suddenly smiled and said,

"Of course I'm willing to believe you, Fellow Daoist Shi. But do you have a good method to break this restriction?"

"We still need to test it first. Could any fellow daoist be willing to help?" Han Li said, glancing at the group.

They looked at each other, then all eyes turned to Han Li.

"Everyone..." Han Li said with a wry smile.

"Since Fellow Daoist Shi is the one breaking the restriction, it's best if you try it yourself," Elder Yang said with a chuckle.

The others nodded in agreement.

"In that case, please step back a bit. After all, this is an immortal restriction, and its power is hard to gauge..." Han Li said helplessly.

They immediately retreated over a hundred zhang.

With his back to the others, Han Li smiled faintly and began to work on breaking the restriction.

To him, breaking it wasn't difficult. In just a few dozen breaths, he connected his Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning with the restriction and opened it.

But he didn't announce it. Instead, he used his spiritual connection to awaken the Essence Fire Bird and quietly slipped it through the crack in the door.

After waiting a few dozen breaths, Han Li suddenly released a burst of silver lightning with a loud boom, and he was sent flying backward.

The others were startled, and no one noticed a flash of silver fire dart out from the lightning and disappear into Han Li's sleeve.

Han Li flew over a hundred zhang before crashing heavily to the ground, his clothes torn, looking as if he had taken a beating.

Elder Yang and the others only glanced at him, then, seeing the hall door wide open, they rushed inside without a second thought.

But moments later, a cacophony of curses erupted from within the hall.