Chapter 1192: Not Confident

Han Li did not linger there any longer. After glancing back at the thunder region that still roared incessantly, he turned and shot off in another direction.

Just then, his brow twitched slightly. He halted his遁光 and formed hand seals to activate a technique.

As red light flickered on his face, the Reincarnation Palace mask appeared, and then a screen of light emerged in the void before him.

He stared intently, his eyes revealing great joy—it was a response to the task he had posted seeking time-attribute materials.

Han Li quickly formed a seal to open the task, but then he suddenly froze.

Amidst the roiling red light in the void before him, a slender figure emerged, wearing a red mask on her face—it was none other than Jiao San.

“Fellow Daoist Jiao San, it’s you? Do you have materials containing the power of time law?” Han Li asked, his eyes flickering.

“Fellow Daoist Han, it’s been a long time. Since I’ve accepted your task, I naturally wouldn’t deceive you.” Jiao San seemed not to notice the doubt in Han Li’s eyes and chuckled softly. Then she flipped her hand and produced a half-foot-long piece of green ancient wood.

“Thank you, Fellow Daoist Jiao San. That material is exactly what I urgently need. How many immortal spirit stones do you want?” Han Li took a deep breath and asked.

The object in Jiao San’s hand was identical to the ancient wood that Miroku Patriarch had once intended to give him but failed to obtain—clearly the same material.

Among the five time law manifestations in his body, only the time law crystal threads on the Eastern Yi Divine Wood were lacking, and the green ancient wood in Jiao San’s hand was just right.

While Han Li’s heart raced with excitement, he also felt a secret wonder. The description of the required time-attribute material in his bounty task was very vague, not specifying which type of time law power, yet Jiao San had immediately produced exactly what he needed.

But at this moment, he couldn’t spare the thought to dwell on such trivial matters.

“Fellow Daoist Han, I haven’t yet thanked you for your help in the Taisui Immortal Mansion. A mere material is hardly worth mentioning. If you need it, just take it.” Jiao San said indifferently, then formed a hand seal and pointed.

A green light flashed in the transmission array on Han Li’s trading interface, and the piece of ancient wood materialized out of thin air.

Looking at the ancient wood before him, Han Li was taken aback and did not immediately take it.

“The matter of the Taisui Immortal Mansion has already been settled between us. Such a precious treasure, how could I take it for nothing? Please name a price, Fellow Daoist Jiao San, or we could trade item for item.” Han Li shook his head and said.

“Since Fellow Daoist Han insists, then let me propose a condition. After the Nine Yuan Temple mission begins, you do me one favor, and that will be considered payment for this material. How about it?” Jiao San smiled.

“May I ask what the matter is? Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist Jiao San.” Han Li was taken aback, paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said.

“Don’t worry, Fellow Daoist Han. It’s nothing difficult, nor will it put you in danger. But it’s not convenient to elaborate right now.” Jiao San shook her head and said.

“Very well, then. By the way, when will the Reincarnation Palace’s mission targeting the Nine Yuan Temple begin?” Han Li thought for a moment, nodded in agreement, put away the ancient wood, and then asked.

“There have been some complications; it will likely be delayed for a while. But I expect it won’t be too long—at most a hundred years.” Jiao San said.

Hearing this, Han Li felt slightly relieved.

Within a hundred years, Xiao Bai should still make it in time.

“Fellow Daoist Han, I don’t know where you are now, but the Great Jinyuan Immortal Domain is currently in turmoil. You’d better not go there for now. Find a place to cultivate in seclusion, and when the time comes, I will notify you.” Jiao San’s eyes revealed a grave expression as she cautioned.

Han Li merely nodded noncommittally.

The two chatted a bit more and then ended the transmission.

Han Li took out the piece of ancient wood and examined it, his eyes full of surprise and delight.

With this piece of ancient wood, the five time law powers in his body could be balanced, and advancing to the Great Luo stage would likely be a sure thing. However, this seclusion would cause quite a stir, so he needed to find a safe place to break through.

Han Li put away the ancient wood, pondered for a moment, then turned and flew deeper into the Wildlands.

Although the Wildlands were teeming with fierce beasts, it was much safer than the Great Jinyuan Immortal Domain. Moreover, Jiao San had just advised him not to enter the Great Jinyuan Immortal Domain for now.

Having just come from the Eight Desolations Mountain, Han Li was very familiar with the Wildlands. He soon found a safe spot deep within the Wildlands.

It was a stretch of rolling mountain ranges. Due to abundant water sources and ample geothermal fire deep underground, the mountains were filled with thick mist, making it extremely difficult to spot anything below when flying overhead.

Han Li carefully surveyed the area around the mountain range twice and found nothing unusual. He then excavated a temporary cave dwelling at the base of a peak and layered it with numerous restrictions.

He was already well-versed in such tasks and finished in less than half a day.

Han Li opened the Flower Branch Space and entered it.

His immortal spirit stones and the time law power within the Time Lamp were limited, so there was no time-differential space inside at the moment.

“Master, how is the refinement of that set of bamboo flying swords going?” Xiao Bai saw Han Li enter and immediately approached him.

"It went fairly smoothly," Han Li said.

"Excellent! With your strength greatly increased again, Master, why don't we seize the moment and head to the Great Golden Source Immortal Domain to find the boss now?" Xiao Bai was delighted and immediately spoke.

"Not yet. With my current cultivation, even with your help, the odds are still not great. However, I have just obtained a treasure that is quite beneficial for cultivation, so I plan to go into seclusion for a while and attempt to break through to the Da Luo stage." Han Li shook his head.

"Break through to Da Luo! Master, you cultivate the law of time. If you can break through to Da Luo, your strength will surely soar again, and we will definitely be able to rescue the boss! But advancing to Da Luo takes a considerable amount of time. Will it delay rescuing the boss? The king only gave me two hundred years..." Xiao Bai was overjoyed at first, then spoke with some concern.

"Even if I reach the Da Luo stage, I still wouldn't dare claim absolute certainty. I also need to consider the right time and place. In any case, I know what I'm doing." Han Li said thoughtfully.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Bai opened his mouth, wanting to say something more.

But Han Li turned his gaze to a white fireball on the other side of the Flower Branch Space and, without another word, formed a hand seal and waved.

A beam of golden light shot out, vanishing into the fireball in a flash.

The fireball rolled twice, then contracted and disappeared, revealing the figure of the Essence Flame Child, who flew to Han Li's side, babbling.

Through years of arduous cultivation, the law of fire origin within the Essence Flame Child had grown considerably.

"Xiao Bai, Child, I am about to attempt a breakthrough to Da Luo. Although I have set up defensive restrictions outside, it is still not safe if a powerful enemy comes. I'll trouble you two to keep watch outside." Han Li said to them.

"Rest assured, Master! Leave it to me!" Xiao Bai patted his chest.

The Essence Flame Child also cried out repeatedly, making a gesture of assurance, and then both flew out.

Han Li smiled, then first cast a spell to activate the Grand Time Axis Formation and urged the Jun Tian Sundial, causing the flow of time within the Flower Branch Space to change.

This attempt to advance to Da Luo would take an unknown amount of time. To be safe, he began to activate the time-differential space.

After doing this, Han Li flew into the pavilion and sat down, then flipped his hand to produce the section of green ancient wood.

He activated the Grand Five Elements Illusion World Art, condensing a golden ring that enveloped the green ancient wood.

With a "crack," the green ancient wood was instantly crushed. Countless golden specks flew out from within, merging into the golden ring, and then transformed into over fifty strands of time law crystal threads, which coiled around the Eastern B Wood.

Although the time law crystal threads on the Time-Breaking Torch were still a bit more numerous, the crystal threads on the five time law manifestations were basically balanced.

The five manifestations all lit up at once, rapidly spinning around Han Li.

Han Li's mind trembled, and a sense of enlightenment surged into his heart. The Da Luo bottleneck that had firmly blocked his path began to loosen.

"As the master said, balance is the most important thing in the 'Grand Five Elements Illusion World Art'!" He rejoiced inwardly, feeling grateful to Maitreya Ancestor once again.

Then Han Li took out many preparatory items for breaking through to Da Luo, especially the Profound True Pill, and placed them at hand.

Last time, when he attempted to break through to Da Luo, he stopped before the end, so he did not take this pill.

Han Li closed his eyes and sat quietly for half a day. Only after his mind had completely calmed did he slowly begin to circulate the Grand Five Elements Illusion World Art.

A dazzling golden light burst forth from his body, engulfing him.

Rumble!

An immensely powerful time law force churned within the pavilion, causing it to tremble loudly. The surrounding natural energy also stirred, slowly converging toward Han Li.

...

In the Northern Frost Immortal Domain, a sea area outside the Ancient Cloud Continent had been known since ancient times as the East Flowing Sea.

Within this sea area, perpetually frozen by extreme cold, there was a distinctive deep blue sea area that was not frozen.

Within that sea area lay a pitch-black trench ten thousand zhang deep, leading straight to the depths of the seabed.

There, an unremarkable gray-white stone tablet stood—the entrance to a cave heaven secret realm under the jurisdiction of the once-mighty Candle Dragon Sect. The secret realm it connected to was called the "Floating Mountain" Secret Realm.

This secret realm was rich in spiritual herbs and was originally an important resource production site within the Candle Dragon Sect. Han Li had once been stationed there on orders. However, as the Candle Dragon Sect declined, this cave heaven secret realm was taken over by the Northern Frost Immortal Palace and became their private property.

Inside the secret realm, on a white stone square atop a verdant mountain suspended in the void, a middle-aged man in a gray-white robe, with a stubbly face, held a white jade wine flask. He leaned unsteadily against the railing at the edge of the square, looking bleary-eyed and drunk.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he gazed desolately at the thousand-zhang solitary peaks floating everywhere in the void before him. Dense vegetation covered them, and green vines hung upside down everywhere. A mocking smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

He had once been one of the thirty-six deputy sect masters of the Candle Dragon Sect, wielding considerable power and influence within the entire sect. When the sect upheaval occurred back then, merely because he was a bit slow and did not immediately follow the rebels, he was subsequently sidelined from the sect's core.

After just over a hundred years, he was exiled here to manage this "Floating Mountain" Secret Realm.

Compared to his former glory and prestige, he now appeared utterly destitute.