Chapter 1243: Fortune and Misfortune Intertwined

"Master, your aura..." Ti Hun looked Han Li up and down, then suddenly changed expression and transmitted again.

"You noticed too. My aura is very unstable. The Corpse Severing Immortal Talisman wasn't just for splitting the evil corpse's soul; it also promoted my cultivation to some extent. But my current state is strange... Besides the four hundred and sixty immortal apertures I had already opened, there are now three hundred and eighty more that are half-open, half-closed." Han Li sighed and replied.

He himself was unclear about the current situation, only vaguely feeling that the power of the Corpse Severing Immortal Talisman had barely raised his immortal apertures to eight hundred and forty.

Because connecting eight hundred and forty immortal apertures was the threshold for entering the mid-stage of the Great Luo realm, and also the foundation for separating the evil corpse. But his current state was like having one leg across the threshold while the other was still firmly stuck outside—a rather awkward position.

"But Master, your cultivation now seems even higher than before," Ti Hun said.

Lan Yan had just been feeling panicked, but now seeing Han Li awake and hearing him speak, her heart inexplicably calmed down.

"Master, what do we do next? That Qu Lin seems to want to find Gold Boy too. Do we chase him, or..." Ti Hun hesitated slightly and asked.

Han Li was also hesitant, his face showing a contemplative expression.

"Master, I sense Big Brother's aura. Let me out," Xiao Bai's voice suddenly rang in Han Li's mind.

Han Li's face lit up with joy. He raised his hand and released Xiao Bai.

Xiao Bai had now transformed into a Pixiu form about ten feet in size. As soon as it appeared, it immediately sniffed the air fiercely with its nose.

"This way." It galloped with four hooves flying toward the depths of the collapsed underground space, quickly arriving at the stone door at the deepest part.

The stone door was now half shattered and collapsed, perhaps damaged during the fierce battle just now.

With a "whoosh," Xiao Bai shot through the half-open stone door.

Han Li quickly followed with Ti Hun and Lan Yan.

Behind the stone door was another passage, but not very long. They soon reached the end.

At the end of the passage was another tightly closed stone door.

The stone door emitted a dark metallic luster, giving a sense of indestructibility. On the door was a thick layer of black light, with countless earthworm-like runes writhing within, forming a complex formation.

Xiao Bai opened its mouth and spat out a beam of white light, with countless runes tumbling within, which struck the stone door fiercely.

With a loud "bang," a dazzling white light exploded on the stone door.

The stone door rumbled and trembled, and the black formation on it became severely disordered, emitting rippling black light like water waves, but it tenaciously withstood the impact of the white light.

Xiao Bai frowned and was about to strike again.

At that moment, Han Li had already arrived from behind and, without thinking, flicked several fingers in succession.

Seven or eight golden sword beams shot out, with golden arcs of electricity flickering on them, bursting with astonishing lightning laws, and slashing at the stone door like meteors.

A series of loud "bang, bang, bang" sounds followed, and clusters of golden light exploded on the stone door, easily tearing apart the formation on it.

Rumble!

Golden arcs of electricity flickered, and the stone door behind them also shattered, turning into a pile of rubble.

Seeing this, Han Li felt a slight joy in his heart.

Now, with those three hundred-plus immortal apertures half-open and half-closed, the amplitude of absorbing heaven and earth's primordial energy had surged, and the power of the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had also greatly increased. This could be considered a blessing in disguise.

"Let's go." Han Li called to the others to continue forward.

The space ahead opened up, and another green-black stone chamber appeared.

Although this stone chamber was smaller than the previous underground space, it was furnished with many things and was not empty.

In the center of the green-black stone chamber was a giant formation in the shape of a nine-palace grid. At the center of the formation was a black jade crystal coffin, its purpose unknown.

Around the stone chamber were seven or eight smaller rooms, arranged in a pleasing layout, looking very much like a cave dwelling.

"Could this be Gui Lingzi's cave dwelling?" Han Li's gaze swept around, speculating inwardly.

Ti Hun, however, ignored everything else, staring at the black crystal coffin within the formation, a strange light flickering in her eyes.

"Big Brother's scent came from here." Xiao Bai flew to the door of a room and pushed it with its paw.

With a "rumble," the stone door opened easily; there were no restrictions placed on it.

Han Li and Lan Yan quickly flew over and landed in front of the room.

The room inside was quite spacious. In the very center was a huge cage, pure white all over, apparently made of some special jade.

The cage was inscribed with spiritual patterns and pasted with many talismans, clearly used to imprison something.

However, one corner of the cage was broken with a large hole, the edges jagged, as if it had been bitten open.

"This..." Xiao Bai was stunned at the sight.

Han Li frowned, bent down beside the broken hole of the cage, and wiped his finger across the edge.

"That's right. From the residual aura on this edge, it's Gold Boy's... It seems she was imprisoned here before. But judging from the situation, Gold Boy must have bitten through the cage and escaped on her own. Moreover, the bite marks on this edge are very fresh, likely from recently." Han Li placed his finger on his brow and sensed, then said with a frown.

"Since Gold Boy has already escaped and we can't track her..." Lan Yan said with some concern.

"We can't sense Gold Boy, but we can track that Qu Lin," Han Li said slowly.

"That's right. Qu Lin just left; there should be traces left behind. Let's go after him quickly." Xiao Bai's face lit up with excitement, and it turned to fly back the way it came.

"Wait a moment. This place looks like Gui Lingzi's cave dwelling. Since we're here, we shouldn't leave empty-handed." Han Li reached out and pulled Xiao Bai back, looking at the other rooms in the stone chamber with a smile.

"Master is clever. That Gui Lingzi dared to capture Big Brother; we'll ransack his lair." Hearing this, Xiao Bai laughed heartily with ill intent.

Before the words faded, it immediately flew toward a nearby room and kicked the door hard.

The stone door of this room had restrictions, but they were not strong. Apparently, Gui Lingzi had not anticipated that someone would dare to openly cause trouble in his cave dwelling. With a loud "boom," the stone door was kicked open by Xiao Bai.

Lan Yan also flew to a room and shot a beam of blue light at the door.

Meanwhile, Han Li flashed to another room and flicked his finger.

A golden sword beam shot out like lightning, breaking through the door of the room.

This room was also quite spacious, about twenty to thirty zhang in size. Inside were wooden shelves displaying various ore materials.

"Gold-Silver Pattern Stone, Blood-Transforming Crystal, Guangling Jade..." Han Li's gaze swept over the shelves, his eyes brightening slightly.

These materials were of extremely high quality, even surpassing his own collection, and the quantity was considerable. For him, who was now worried about how to obtain a large number of immortal spirit stones, this was just right.

Han Li waved both hands, and two streams of green light shot out, wrapping around these materials and even the shelves, collecting them into the Flower Branch Space.

Time was pressing, so he collected quickly. In a few breaths, he had taken all the materials in the room, then turned to another room and waved his hand to break open the door.

Inside this room was a golden alchemy furnace over one zhang tall, octagonal in shape. Although the furnace was not activated, it still emitted an astonishing spiritual energy fluctuation.

Apart from the furnace, there was nothing else in the room; it seemed to be an alchemy room.

Gui Lingzi had nearly killed him, so Han Li naturally would not be polite to this person. Moreover, this furnace looked quite extraordinary and could fetch a good number of immortal spirit stones if sold.

Han Li again waved his hand, sending out a stream of green light that wrapped around the furnace and collected it into the Flower Branch Space. Then he went to the third room.

This room was not large, with only a stone table covered by a black light barrier.

On the table were a dozen or so black crystal balls the size of fists, each filled with dancing black flames. Even through the light barrier, one could feel the astonishing fluctuation of soul power within.

"Profound Yin Divine Thunder! There are over a dozen of them!" A voice sounded behind Han Li. It was Lan Yan, who had walked over with a face full of surprise.

"Profound Yin Divine Thunder?" Han Li glanced at Lan Yan.

"Profound Yin Divine Thunder is a unique Yin thunder technique refined by Gui Lingzi. Its power is immense, enough to threaten early Great Luo cultivators. Fortunately, Gui Lingzi didn't carry these Yin thunders on him, or we would have been in real danger just now." Lan Yan looked still shaken.

Han Li's eyes lit up at this, and he flicked his finger.

A golden lightning bolt struck the black barrier near the stone table, easily shattering it.

But at that moment, the dozen or so black crystal balls suddenly emitted a dazzling black light, and the black flames inside showed signs of erupting.

Han Li's expression changed slightly, and he was about to cast a spell to suppress them.

Just then, a black light shot from behind, spread out with a whoosh, and covered the dozen or so black crystal balls.

A law power rippled within the black light, and the black flames inside the crystal balls immediately stabilized.

"These Yin thunders are not fully refined yet. Master's Capital Heaven Divine Thunder is the bane of all Yin-type powers, easily stimulating these Yin thunders to erupt," Ti Hun said, having come over at some point.

"In that case, I'll leave these Profound Yin Divine Thunders in your care," Han Li said indifferently.

Hearing this, Ti Hun's body trembled slightly, and then her face showed excitement: "Thank you, Master."

With that, she quickly formed hand seals with both hands, and the black light wrapped around the Profound Yin Divine Thunders, flying back in front of her.

Ti Hun muttered incantations, her hands forming seals like wheels.

A layer of bright black light appeared around the dozen or so black crystal balls, as if coated with thick paint. Only then did the black flames inside the balls completely stabilize, and they flew into her sleeve.

Xiao Bai also flew over at this moment, having transformed into human form, his face full of smiles.

The doors of the other rooms in the stone chamber were broken, and the contents inside had clearly been thoroughly looted.