Chapter 1051: Exposed?

Han Li's eyes flickered with understanding.

So Lan Yuanzi was using some secret technique to burn the laws of power within his body; no wonder he could suddenly erupt with such formidable strength.

Thinking this, his hands did not hesitate as he immediately formed hand seals and waved.

With a flash of golden light, the Wheel of Truth emerged behind him, spinning rapidly.

Countless golden ripples surged from the Wheel of Truth, instantly covering an area of a thousand zhang in radius.

The surrounding blue light spheres immediately froze. Lan Yuanzi was about to break free from the divine sense chains and flee, but the golden ripples were too fast. Before he could escape, he was also enveloped by the golden ripples, unable to move.

The blue light surging from the nearby void ceased, and everything around quickly returned to calm.

Han Li then moved, easily flying out of the blue light sphere. With a flicker, he appeared before Lan Yuanzi, pressing five fingers on his head. Just as he was about to crush it, he stopped.

He looked up in the direction where Lan Yan had fled, then glanced at Lan Yuanzi in his hand. The image of his younger sister surfaced in his mind. With a faint sigh, he raised his hand and struck Lan Yuanzi's lower abdomen at the dantian.

Instantly, five streams of time law power surged from his palm, spinning around to condense into a seal resembling a Five Elements spell formation, which sank into Lan Yuanzi's body.

The sealing secret technique of the Great Five Elements Illusion World Art could also seal others.

Han Li then removed Lan Yuanzi's storage ring and examined his entire body with divine sense, finding nothing hidden. Only then did he form hand seals to retract the Wheel of Truth, and the nearby golden ripples disappeared.

The blue light and law power on Lan Yuanzi's body melted like snow under the scorching sun, dissipating rapidly. His entire body no longer had any trace of immortal spiritual power, and he began to fall.

Han Li reached out and grabbed Lan Yuanzi, landing on the ground.

By now, Lan Yan had fled beyond his divine sense range, vanishing without a trace. Although some residual aura remained, the chance of catching up was slim.

Moreover, although this place seemed devoid of danger, Han Li felt a faint unease in his heart and did not rashly continue the pursuit.

"What a formidable sealing technique! No wonder you've escaped the pursuit of the Golden Source Immortal Palace time and again. I admit defeat," Lan Yuanzi said, looking around with a grin.

"You're quite bold, able to laugh even in this situation." Han Li said slowly, looking at Lan Yuanzi.

"My life and death are now in your hands, fellow Daoist. Whether I cry or laugh, I believe it won't affect your judgment. In that case, I'd rather find joy in misery." Lan Yuanzi said freely.

"Since you have self-awareness, I have a few questions for you. If you don't want me to search your soul, answer honestly." Han Li felt a trace of goodwill toward Lan Yuanzi, but his face showed nothing, still speaking in a cold tone.

"Please go ahead, Fellow Daoist Han." Lan Yuanzi immediately nodded, extremely cooperative.

"What was your purpose in coming to the Jinyuan Immortal Domain with your sister? To capture me?" Han Li asked, a hint of coldness appearing on his face.

"We were ordered by Venerable Miaofa to come to the Jinyuan Immortal Domain to capture you, Fellow Daoist Han, and also to seize a treasure belonging to the Nine Yuan Temple from you. It is said to be a time immortal artifact shaped like a dark green vial." Lan Yuanzi said without any hesitation.

Han Li's heart shook upon hearing this.

The Bottle Gourd had always been his deepest secret, known only to a few close ones, never to outsiders. Now it seemed this secret could no longer be hidden.

"How did the Nine Yuan Temple know that thing was on me?" Han Li asked after a moment of silence.

"I'm not very clear about that either. I heard it was deduced from a Creation Crystal Grain, which was obtained from you, Fellow Daoist." Lan Yuanzi shook his head and said.

"Creation Crystal Grain!" Han Li's eyes flickered, and the image of Time Crystal Grains appeared in his mind. He thought to himself, no wonder.

"Besides you siblings, did the Jinhan Immortal Palace send anyone else?" he continued asking.

"No. Venerable Miaofa only sent the two of us. We thought that together we could match a Da Luo existence and surely defeat you, Fellow Daoist Han. But we didn't expect your strength to be so great; even working together, we were no match for you." Lan Yuanzi said with a bitter smile.

Hearing this, Han Li felt a slight relief. He asked Lan Yuanzi a few more questions, and Lan Yuanzi answered them all honestly without any hesitation.

After asking all his questions, Han Li stood silently, gazing into the distant sky as if considering something.

Lan Yuanzi stood quietly by the side, not daring to disturb him.

After gazing into the distance for a while, Han Li suddenly raised his hand and tapped Lan Yuanzi's brow with his finger. A crystalline light flashed at his fingertip and vanished.

Lan Yuanzi was startled, but before he could react, his eyes rolled back and he fell unconscious.

Han Li formed hand seals and tapped his fingers, crystalline light flickering at their tips. He cast another seal in Lan Yuanzi's mind, sealing his soul, and then stopped.

"Soul-Devouring, was this man lying just now?" he asked, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes, addressing the void.

"No. When he answered your questions, his soul fluctuations showed no abnormality. Everything he said was true—no lies or concealment," Soul-Devouring's voice rang out from the void.

Han Li nodded slowly upon hearing this.

Though he somewhat admired this Lan Yuanzi, if the man had uttered a single falsehood, he would not have hesitated to kill him and search his soul.

"Wouldn't it be more convenient to just kill him and let me search his soul? Why bother with all this questioning?" A silver light door rippled in the void behind Han Li, and Soul-Devouring's figure emerged from within.

"That Lan Yan escaped. Given their deep bond, Lan Yan will likely come looking for him. Then this Lan Yuanzi will still be useful." Han Li waved his hand, tossing the unconscious Lan Yuanzi into the Flower Branch Space, and said softly.

"That Lan Yan? Even the two siblings together were no match for you, Master. Now that only Lan Yan remains, what's there to worry about? If she dares to come, all the better—we can catch them all in one net." Soul-Devouring waved her small fist, speaking dismissively.

"Don't be careless. I truly don't worry about a single Lan Yan, but Qi Mozi is also in this Immortal Mansion. They are both members of the Celestial Court. If they join forces, it will be troublesome. Being cautious never hurts." Han Li shook his head and said.

"That's true." Soul-Devouring paused, then nodded.

Han Li did not dwell further on the Lan siblings. His gaze swept around.

Chasing Lan Yuanzi and the other had brought him deep into the crimson desert.

Now, the sand sea was dotted with towering dunes, like low mountains, no longer barren but covered with red thorny bushes.

Deep among the dunes, some sand lizards, sand scorpions, and other small creatures survived, but they were ordinary beings, not demon beasts.

Soul-Devouring also looked around, then suddenly let out a soft exclamation, a strange glint flashing in her eyes.

"Oh, have you noticed something?" Han Li looked over, his eyes brightening as he asked.

Soul-Devouring's constitution was unique, and her perspective on observing things differed from his, often leading to special discoveries.

"This place has a very strong aura of death and a heavy resentment. It seems to be no good place. Master, you must be extremely careful from now on." Soul-Devouring said with a grave expression.

"I also sense some danger here. It really doesn't seem like a good place. The stele standing before the entrance earlier bore the character 'two.' Could this be the second floor of the Time Tower?" Han Li's expression also turned serious.

"Very likely. Earlier, from the outside, this Time Tower appeared completely round with no obvious layers, but I observed carefully. The tower does have levels, seemingly seven. This place appears to be the second floor. I wonder what that Grandmaster Taisui built this tower for." Soul-Devouring said.

"Regardless, let's first explore around." Han Li shook his head, stopped overthinking, and waved his hand, sending out a beam of green light that smoothed over the traces of battle. Then he chose a direction and flew off.

As for Soul-Devouring, he did not send her back to the Flower Branch Space but kept her by his side.

In the blink of an eye, half a day passed.

The surroundings remained an unchanging crimson sand sea. This sea of sand was astonishingly vast, and no unusual occurrences had appeared.

Just as Han Li was growing puzzled, Soul-Devouring suddenly let out a soft exclamation and flew downward.

Han Li raised an eyebrow and followed. The two soon landed before a dune.

Soul-Devouring waved her hand, sending out a beam of black light that split the dune in two.

A gray-white skeleton several zhang long was revealed. It appeared to be the skeleton of a giant lizard, covered in weathered cracks and on the verge of shattering completely.

"What's wrong with this skeleton?" Han Li's divine sense had already detected this weathered skeleton, but he noticed nothing unusual, so he asked.

"Master, how many years do you think this skeleton has been here?" Soul-Devouring asked, lightly brushing her white, slender fingers over the weathered skeleton.

"Although the sand lizards here are not demon beasts, they are a special breed, much tougher than ordinary sand lizards. For a skeleton to be weathered like this, it must be at least several hundred years old. Why do you ask?" Han Li said, puzzled.

"This sand lizard died less than ten years ago." Soul-Devouring shook her head and said.

"What! How do you know?" Han Li's whole body trembled, and he asked in disbelief.

"Every living being has a soul within. After death, the soul dissipates, but some residual soul power fragments cling to the corpse, taking years to completely fade. This can be used to determine the time of death. The residual soul power fragments on this skeleton are still quite dense. It died less than ten years ago." Soul-Devouring explained.

"So there is such a method to determine the time of death." Han Li marveled inwardly upon hearing this.

But sensing the residual soul power fragments on a dead skeleton required extremely strong soul perception. Even with his powerful divine sense, he could not do it. It seemed Soul-Devouring's perception of souls was growing increasingly formidable.

"But if this sand lizard died less than ten years ago, how could its skeleton have weathered to such an extent?" Han Li then frowned and murmured to himself.