Chapter 1142: The Wondrous Dharma Arrives in Person

Within the cave dwelling in the green mountain range, Han Li was still in seclusion, striving to break through to the Great Luo realm.

Time flew like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, three years had passed.

The golden light in Han Li's secret chamber grew increasingly intense, and despite the restrictions, it began to seep outside.

Waves of powerful time law fluctuations rippled throughout the cave dwelling.

Disturbed by the power of the time law, Lan Yan had long since stopped cultivating and quietly waited for Han Li to emerge from seclusion.

She had vaguely guessed the purpose of Han Li's seclusion and felt quite conflicted.

If Han Li succeeded in advancing to Great Luo, his strength would greatly increase. Although she didn't know what he was plotting, it would certainly be detrimental to the Nine Yuan Temple.

However, with his increased strength, his personal safety would be greatly enhanced, and Lan Yan herself would be relatively much safer.

Moreover, if Han Li advanced to Great Luo, her usefulness to him would greatly diminish. Given Han Li's nature, he might soon release her.

If Han Li failed to advance to Great Luo, she would have to continue this precarious existence, constantly facing danger. Her time by Han Li's side would be greatly extended, and she had no idea when she would gain her freedom.

Lan Yan's feelings were complicated; she couldn't say whether she hoped Han Li would succeed or fail.

Just as she was agonizing over this, a loud crash came from Han Li's secret chamber.

Immediately, a huge wave of law fluctuations rumbled and spread, sweeping through the entire cave dwelling like a raging tide. The restrictions throughout the cave dwelling buzzed and trembled, with nearly half of them shattering.

Lan Yan was also knocked back by the time law fluctuations, only stopping when she hit the cave wall.

She looked toward Han Li's secret chamber, where the golden light had completely vanished. Knowing that Han Li's attempt to advance to Great Luo had failed, she couldn't help but sigh, as if somewhat regretful.

"It seems I still hoped he would succeed..." Lan Yan raised an eyebrow and murmured.

Inside the secret chamber, Han Li frowned deeply, his expression heavy.

As Lan Yan had guessed, his attempt to break through to the Great Luo realm had ended in failure.

The failure itself was not a big deal; his cultivation was not damaged. However, he could not find the reason for the failure.

Han Li now had over two hundred time law crystal threads within him. Ordinary Great Luo cultivators had only that many after comprehending and condensing their law crystal threads. His law power should be sufficient. He had also opened three hundred and fifty-nine immortal apertures, his physical body was extremely powerful, and his soul, thanks to his cultivation of the Soul Refining Art, was much stronger than that of an average peak Tai Yi cultivator. His mastery of the Grand Five Elements Illusion World Technique was also adequate.

All his conditions should have been met; there was no reason for failure.

Han Li pondered deeply, carefully recalling the process of his attempt to break through to Great Luo, and gradually determined that the problem likely lay with the law crystal threads.

During the breakthrough attempt, everything had been going well initially, but then the over two hundred law crystal threads suddenly became disordered, causing his immortal spiritual power to also fall into chaos, and everything failed at the last moment.

"Could it still be because there are too few law crystal threads?" Han Li speculated inwardly.

If the problem lay with the law crystal threads, he could think of no other reason besides their insufficient number.

This problem was not unsolvable. He could find treasures containing time law power and refine them using the Grand Five Elements Illusion World Technique.

However, items containing time law power were precious and not easy to find in a short time.

Moreover, he already had two hundred time law crystal threads, which were still insufficient. To meet the requirements for breaking through to Great Luo, he didn't know how many more he would need, and the time law items required would certainly not be few.

"Oh, how could I forget the Lamp of Time? This treasure contains a vast amount of time law power. If I extract just a small portion, it should certainly be enough." Han Li slapped his forehead and flipped his hand to take out the Lamp of Time he had obtained not long ago.

The lamp's flame was still extinguished.

Along the way, Han Li had repeatedly tried to relight the flame but had never succeeded.

Although the Lamp of Time could not be lit, it still emitted waves of powerful time law fluctuations.

Han Li immediately activated the Grand Five Elements Illusion World Technique, and the True Word Wheel and other objects materialized again.

He quickly formed hand seals with both hands, and the five streams of time law power intertwined, compressing toward one point to form a thick golden ring.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and pressed down with both hands in the void.

With a "boom," the thick golden ring shrank again, turning into a golden circlet that spun rapidly, emitting a powerful devouring force.

A hint of joy flickered across Han Li's face, but he quickly suppressed it and pointed with his finger.

The golden circlet shot out, enveloping the Lamp of Time and spinning rapidly.

A powerful devouring force enveloped the Lamp of Time, attempting to extract the time law power within it.

However, this time, the previously invincible Grand Five Elements Illusion World Technique failed. No matter how the golden circlet spun and extracted, the time law power within the Lamp of Time remained unmoved.

"Could it be because the Lamp of Time is of too high a grade?"

As Han Li pondered, he urged the golden circlet for a while longer, but it was still futile, so he stopped. He speculated inwardly but was not too surprised.

This situation had occurred before, with the golden disc he had obtained from the ruins of the True Word Sect.

Han Li had previously tried to use the Grand Five Elements Illusion World Technique to extract the time law power from that golden disc, but it had ended in failure.

Now, with the Lamp of Time also failing, it seemed this lamp was a treasure of a similar level to that golden disc.

The golden disc might be of a slightly higher level, because Han Li could barely manipulate the Lamp of Time, but he could not budge the golden disc at all.

Han Li toyed with the Lamp of Time, smiled wryly to himself, and put it away.

He then fell silent for a moment, flipped his hand to take out the Reincarnation Temple mask, and posted a trading mission on it, offering a high price for treasures containing time law power.

Over the years, Han Li had killed many and seized their treasures, so he had a large number of immortal spirit stones and did not need to worry about that.

For now, apart from the Reincarnation Temple, he could not think of any other way to collect treasures containing time law power, so he could only wait patiently.

After doing this, Han Li closed his eyes and sat quietly for a moment, then once again activated the Grand Five Elements Illusion World Technique, trying to find other problems. Dazzling golden light enveloped his body.

Time passed little by little, and in the blink of an eye, another half year had gone by.

Inside the secret chamber, Han Li was sitting cross-legged in meditation, his body shrouded in a layer of golden light. Around him, the five manifestations of time law floated in the void, bobbing up and down, and the entire chamber rippled with time law fluctuations.

Just then, Han Li suddenly opened his eyes and frowned.

He stood up, and the five manifestations of time law flashed with light and vanished into his body. In an instant, his figure disappeared from the spot.

The next moment, Han Li had already arrived outside the secret chamber, standing behind Lan Yan.

Just as Lan Yan was startled, Han Li grabbed her by the neck. A golden rune, like a spiritual snake, coiled around her, instantly freezing her in place, unable to move.

"Forgive me, Fellow Daoist Lan..."

As soon as Han Li finished speaking, a violent roar sounded from all around.

The mountain peak where his cave dwelling was located was blasted open by a tremendous force, and nearly half of the peak was torn away. The entire cave dwelling was exposed under the bright sun.

Han Li still held Lan Yan by the neck with one hand and looked up into the sky.

In the high sky, a huge crystal throne floated, shaped like a lotus, crystal clear. On it sat a green-dressed woman with skin like congealed fat and a graceful figure. Naturally, it was the Wondrous Dharma Immortal Venerable who had been pursuing them.

She supported her left cheek with one hand, frowning slightly as she looked at Han Li, with a look of disgust in her eyes.

When Han Li sensed the aura of a mid-stage Great Luo cultivator emanating from her, his pupils involuntarily contracted. Although this person seemed to sit lazily and aloof, the pressure she gave him was even more terrifying than that of Qimo Zi and his ilk.

Behind her stood two twin maidservants in green gauze skirts, both around sixteen years old, with delicate features. One held a precious canopy umbrella, and the other held a peacock feather fan. Their auras were not weak, comparable to early-stage Tai Yi cultivators.

"Heh, I thought the one who made She Chan stumble would be some formidable character, but it turns out to be a despicable scoundrel who only uses a weak woman as a shield? How disappointing..." the Wondrous Dharma Immortal Venerable sneered.

"Senior, that's not quite fair. This Fellow Daoist Lan is no weak woman. No matter how I pressed her before, she refused to submit and even tried to kill herself several times. I had no choice but to place a restriction on her. As for using her as a shield, isn't that also forced by your prestige, Senior? I had no other choice." Han Li said with a feigned helplessness.

Hearing Han Li's nonsense, Lan Yan understood that he was trying to clear her of the suspicion of rebellion, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt.

"Captured by the enemy, why not die?" The Wondrous Dharma Immortal Venerable sat up slightly and glanced at Lan Yan expressionlessly.

The next moment, a layer of white frost formed on Lan Yan's fair cheeks, and with a series of "crackling" sounds, she was enveloped in a layer of pale blue ice crystals.

A silver light flickered on Han Li's fingertip, and a layer of silver flame surged out, barely blocking the frosty cold spreading from Lan Yan. His figure flashed and retreated.

However, he had only retreated a hundred zhang when he noticed the sky above him darken. The precious canopy umbrella had somehow flown overhead and was descending toward him.

Han Li tapped his toes in the void, and with a "bang" sound, his figure dodged swiftly.

The maidservant holding the umbrella stood on one foot on the umbrella's surface, her posture swaying and dancing, moving unpredictably like a whirling dance.

The precious canopy umbrella followed her steps, constantly changing position, always hanging over Han Li's head.

The other maidservant, holding the fan, flashed to Lan Yan's side, raised her hand and wiped over her. The layer of ice crystals enveloping her dissolved, and she was grabbed by the maidservant and casually thrown back to the side of the Wondrous Dharma Immortal Venerable.

"Disciple pays respects to the Wondrous Dharma Immortal Venerable." Lan Yan steadied herself and immediately knelt down.

"Where is Lan Yuanzi? Dead or alive?" The Wondrous Dharma Immortal Venerable did not look at her and asked casually.

"My brother..." As soon as Lan Yan mentioned Lan Yuanzi, her nose tingled with sadness.