Chapter 1141: Walking Through the Void

Not far from the small courtyard of the Dharma Immortal Venerable stood a tavern.

In a private room of the tavern, a red-haired woman sat upright; it was none other than Chi Meng.

Before her were arranged over a dozen wine flasks, most already empty.

“It seems that flat-chested woman Miao Fa has already found Han Li’s whereabouts.” Chi Meng held a wine cup, gazing through the window at the distant blue light that was the Dharma Immortal Venerable, a faint smile curling at her lips.

“Lady Chi Meng, your foresight is divine. Did you perhaps already know that Liang Fa was a spy for the Nine Yuan Temple? Did you play along?” Another person stood in the private room—it was the hawk-nosed man from the golden pagoda.

“I did not know. But this is the Jinyuan Immortal Domain, the territory of the Nine Yuan Temple. No matter how thoroughly we reorganize our personnel, infiltration by the Nine Yuan Temple is inevitable. Rather than waste effort on futile tasks, it’s better to let things take their course. As long as we keep a close watch on that woman Miao Fa, she will naturally find Han Li for us.” Chi Meng drained the wine in her cup and said calmly.

“Your wisdom is great, my lady. But won’t this allow the Dharma Envoy Miao Fa to take the lead? If she captures Han Li with lightning speed, wouldn’t that be disastrous?” the hawk-nosed man said with concern.

“Rest assured. Since Han Li has evaded the Heavenly Court’s pursuit for so long and even destroyed Qi Mozi’s avatar, he is no simple character. He won’t be caught in a snap.” Chi Meng smiled faintly.

“Yes,” the hawk-nosed man replied, though still somewhat worried.

“Miao Fa has gone far. Let’s follow.” Chi Meng raised her hand, and a red light enveloped them both as they pursued the Dharma Immortal Venerable.

…

Above a green mountain range in the Jinyuan Immortal Domain, the void rippled, and a golden lightning array materialized. Within the array, the void flickered, and two figures emerged—Han Li and Lan Yan.

After leaving Jinyuan City, they first sped away on the Ink Dragon Flying Boat for some time, then Han Li put away the boat, used the Ten Thousand Apertures Void Stillness Technique to conceal all immortal spiritual power, and traveled purely by Mystic Immortal means for a stretch.

The spatial pressure and gravity in the Jinyuan Immortal Domain were far less than in the Jilin Void Realm. Traveling by Mystic Immortal means, his speed was considerable, not much slower than flying light.

After that, Han Li used lightning arrays to teleport over a dozen times before finally arriving here.

This place was already far from Jinyuan City, and he had done his utmost to eliminate any traces that could be tracked. It should be safe now.

Han Li gazed in the direction of Jinyuan City, a thoughtful expression on his face.

The Heavenly Court pursued him so relentlessly that attempting to use a cross-domain teleportation array to reach the Greater Jinyuan Immortal Domain was far too risky.

For now, the best course was to follow Jiao San’s advice and go into secluded cultivation for a while.

Han Li’s cultivation had already reached the peak of the Taiyi stage. All preparations for advancing to the Daluo stage were complete; it was time to make the attempt.

If he could advance to the Daluo stage, his strength would undergo a qualitative leap, greatly increasing his hope of going to the Nine Yuan Temple to rescue Gold童.

Han Li looked around and nodded to himself.

In previous years, he had carefully studied the map of the Jinyuan Immortal Domain. This place should be the Qingzhou Mountain Range in the northwestern part of the Jinyuan Mountains. It was remote, with no special spiritual materials or demon beasts inhabiting the mountains, and few people came here—ideal for secluded cultivation.

Han Li flew down and stopped at a hidden spot on a mountain peak. He waved his hand.

Sword qi shot out, quickly carving a cave into the mountain wall. With a little refinement, he built a cave dwelling.

Then he set up layer upon layer of restrictions throughout the cave, covering the entire dwelling and the surrounding mountains for dozens of li, making it as impregnable as an iron fortress before stopping.

These restrictions contained various laws, capable of holding off even a Daluo-level intruder for a time.

“Fellow Daoist Lan, I will be in secluded cultivation here for a while. You may also rest here for now,” Han Li said to Lan Yan.

“Yes,” Lan Yan hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Han Li nodded and turned to enter the secret chamber.

Lan Yan watched Han Li’s back, stood silently for a moment, then also entered a room and sat down.

Once inside the secret chamber, Han Li moved his hands, and a layer of crimson restrictions appeared around the chamber, protecting it thoroughly.

He then waved his hand again, and a ball of silver-white flame shot out from his sleeve, landing before him—it was the Essence Flame Boy.

Although the flames on the Essence Flame Boy were still predominantly silver, some had begun to turn white. The fluctuations of the fire law emanating from his body were also much stronger than before.

Seeing this, Han Li’s expression brightened slightly.

The Essence Flame Firebird had been secretly refining the white fire bead over the years; it seemed his power had increased again.

“I will be in secluded cultivation for a while and won’t have time to watch over Lan Yan outside. Keep an eye on her secretly. If she makes any improper move, kill her directly.” He then put away his smile, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

The Essence Flame Boy nodded, babbled an acknowledgment, and turned into a silver light that merged into the surrounding crimson restrictions.

Although Lan Yan might not have any ill intentions, his advancement to Daluo was far too critical to allow any carelessness.

It was a pity that Ti Hun was still in seclusion in the Flower Branch Space, unable to fully refine the power of the Wuchao Ghost King within her. Otherwise, with her guarding him, he could rest even easier.

But with the Essence Flame Boy keeping watch, Han Li felt somewhat reassured. He set aside all distractions, closed his eyes, and sat down in meditation.

Time passed bit by bit. Half a day went by in the blink of an eye.

Han Li opened his eyes, having adjusted to his optimal state.

He waved his hand, and a white incense burner appeared before him, with a silver incense stick as thick as a finger and three inches long inserted inside.

After lighting it, a faint white smoke spread out, as pure as the morning mist in a mountain valley, and a captivating fragrance permeated the air.

This was Soul-Condensing Incense, extremely beneficial for regulating the soul and could increase the chances of successfully advancing to Daluo.

Han Li then took out three jade bottles and placed them beside him. One bottle contained a white pill—the Xuanzhen Pill given to him by Crab Daoist, the most important item for this advancement to Daluo.

The other two small bottles: one held a golden liquid, and the other contained three green pills.

These were treasures he had obtained with great effort, all beneficial for advancing to Daluo.

Han Li first took the jade bottle containing the milky golden liquid and dripped a few drops into his mouth.

Boom!

A dazzling golden light immediately radiated from his body. The power of the time law within him churned like boiling water. The True Word Wheel, Time-Breaking Torch, Radiance Pure Vase, East Yi Divine Tree, and Illusory Dust Hourglass all emerged, spinning rapidly around him.

Han Li’s eyes brightened. He quickly took the bottle with the green pills, swallowed one, then closed his eyes and began to circulate the *Great Five Elements Illusory World Technique*.

As for the Xuanzhen Pill, he did not take it immediately; it needed to be taken at the final critical moment.

Han Li soon closed his eyes. The golden light on his body grew stronger and stronger, gradually enveloping him completely.

A vast surge of time energy rolled within the secret chamber, causing it to tremble faintly.

In another room of the cave dwelling, Lan Yan suddenly opened her eyes and looked toward Han Li’s secret chamber, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. Then she closed them again.

At that moment, above a certain swamp in the Jinyuan Mountains.

A patch of blue light flew in from afar and stopped above the swamp, revealing the figures of the Dharma Immortal Venerable and her two green-clad maids.

“Envoy, Han Li flew to this point, and the traces of spiritual power fluctuations suddenly ceased,” said one maid, holding a blue crystal basin that reflected the surrounding scene.

Inside the basin, faint blue-green dots of light appeared in the void, extending from afar to this spot, but then abruptly vanished.

“It seems he concealed his aura and used other means to continue onward,” the Dharma Immortal Venerable said with a raised brow, her tone indifferent.

“The Mirror Water Basin can no longer detect his traces. You may need to investigate personally, Envoy,” the maid said.

“Withdraw,” the Dharma Immortal Venerable said, waving her hand dismissively. Then she opened her mouth and spat out a ball of blue light, her hands forming seals rapidly.

The blue light roiled, and countless blue crystal threads emerged within it, converging toward one spot. Soon, they formed a millstone-sized blue vertical eye that looked around.

Rings of blue light rippled within the eye, appearing extremely profound.

The Dharma Immortal Venerable formed hand seals, urging the blue vertical eye to scan the surroundings.

At first, she was full of confidence, but as time passed, her expression gradually darkened, and a look of disbelief appeared on her face.

“How is this possible? Even a Daluo mid-stage cultivator of the same level couldn’t escape my Water Emperor Divine Eye’s detection. Han Li’s concealment technique is so advanced? Impossible!” the Dharma Immortal Venerable muttered to herself. She increased the power of the blue eye and began searching nearby, moving around.

In truth, this time the Dharma Immortal Venerable overestimated Han Li. If he had continued to move using immortal spiritual power, no matter how well he concealed his spiritual power fluctuations, he could not have evaded her secret technique.

Han Li had simply used the Ten Thousand Apertures Void Stillness Technique here, hiding all his immortal spiritual power within his body, dormant and unused, and advanced purely with his physical strength. As for Lan Yan, he had placed her directly into the Flower Branch Space. How could any clues be left behind?

The Dharma Immortal Venerable had not anticipated that Han Li possessed such a high-level Mystic Immortal technique of walking through the void. She focused solely on finding traces of spiritual power, so naturally, she had little success.

However, the Dharma Immortal Venerable’s Water Emperor Divine Eye was truly formidable. After searching for the time it takes to eat a meal, she still managed to find traces of some immortal artifacts within Han Li’s body, such as faint remnants of spiritual power left by the Green Bamboo蜂 Cloud Swords.

But these traces were too faint and intermittent. Even with her abilities, she could only follow these traces of spiritual power and advance slowly, groping her way forward.

Chi Meng and the hawk-nosed man followed far behind. Although they were greatly impatient with the slow pace, neither was skilled in detection techniques, so they had to rely on the Dharma Immortal Venerable.