Chapter 1272: Preparations Complete

"Lord Liu, this ritual altar has been built exactly according to your requirements. The remaining spiritual materials that were not used are all here." As he spoke, Luo Feng handed over a black storage ring.

Han Li had already inspected the altar when he flew over; it was built neatly and without issue. He immediately waved his hand at Luo Feng and said, "Keep it."

"Thank you, Lord Liu." Luo Feng's heart rejoiced, and he quickly bowed in thanks.

"I have already taught you the method to operate the formation. Afterwards, I will have Gold童 stay here to guard the formation for you, so you can cultivate here with peace of mind. But the time I can give you is limited—only forty-nine days," Han Li said.

"If this formation is as powerful as you say, forty-nine days will be enough," the Earthly Incarnation said.

Luo Feng stood to the side, listening to their exchange, a flicker of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Han Li noticed it but said nothing, instead flying up and landing on the altar.

He walked around the altar, then with a twist of his wrist, took out round stones imbued with rich water-attribute law power and embedded them one by one into the grooves on the formation.

"Alright, you can enter the formation and begin," he said after finishing, returning to the ground.

The Earthly Incarnation nodded, then leaped and landed in the center of the altar, sitting cross-legged.

Soon, as a chanting sound arose, the entire altar shook violently. Pillars of light shot up into the sky, stirring the clouds and forming a massive funnel-shaped vortex.

Above the surrounding sea, clouds surged like torrents. Vast amounts of water-attribute spiritual energy gathered from all directions, converging into the vortex and then cascading down onto the altar.

Bathed in it, the Earthly Incarnation's body glowed with blue light, turning into a transparent crystalline form as it absorbed the celestial spiritual energy.

"Stay here and protect the formation for him for forty-nine days," Han Li said, patting Gold童 on the shoulder.

"Got it, Uncle," Gold童 said absentmindedly, nodding.

Han Li knew that apart from eating heavenly treasures, it was unrealistic to expect her to focus on one thing without distraction.

Fortunately, this place was remote, far from the Heavenly Court's influence, and relatively safe. If anyone tried to cause trouble, just a hint of Gold童's aura would be enough to make them back off.

"Luo Feng, come back with me to Wumeng Island," Han Li said, looking at Luo Feng.

The latter nodded and followed Han Li, flying away on the wind.

"I know you have doubts about what you saw, right?" After flying into midair, Han Li hovered and waited for Luo Feng to catch up before speaking.

Luo Feng didn't know how to answer, so he just nodded.

"I wasn't planning to hide it from you anyway. Here's what happened..." Han Li then told Luo Feng about altering the Earthly Incarnation, naturally omitting the matter of severing the corpse.

The two slowly flew back toward Wumeng Island. Luo Feng's expression was initially terrified, but when he heard that Han Li had already arranged everything for the aftermath, his expression gradually returned to normal.

"Lord Liu, Wumeng Island's survival and prosperity to this day are all thanks to your support and protection. You didn't have to tell me about this matter, but since you have made such thorough arrangements, I have no other thoughts. I will follow your arrangements completely," Luo Feng finally said, cupping his hands and bowing deeply to Han Li.

"Very good," Han Li said, nodding with satisfaction.

In the following days, Han Li stayed on Wumeng Island, secretly directing Luo Feng in arranging subsequent matters.

It was not easy to transform an island originally maintained by faith and blood ties.

So Han Li started from the basics, selecting a group of young children with excellent bone structure and talent from the island. Under the pretext of serving the ancestral god, he gathered them in the ancestral temple and taught them the basic methods of cultivation.

As long as the seeds of change were planted, with Luo Feng's covert guidance and support, it would only be a matter of time before Wumeng Island gradually evolved into a cultivation land similar to a sect or clan.

After forty-nine days, Han Li left Wumeng Island and returned to Tianshuang Island.

As soon as he returned to the island, Gold童 immediately came up to him.

"Uncle, you're finally back! Your incarnation came out of seclusion four days ago and has been sitting there in silence like a mute, not saying a word. I think he's about to turn into a stone," she complained.

"There was quite a commotion here these days. Did anyone come to spy?" Han Li asked.

"There were some the day after you left, and then several more groups came one after another. They were all sneaky and didn't dare get too close. I followed your instructions and sent them all away," Gold童 replied.

"How did you send them away?" Han Li asked suspiciously.

"Just as you said, I told them that the ancestral god of Wumeng Island was in seclusion here and that unauthorized persons were not allowed to approach," Gold童 said, avoiding Han Li's eyes.

"You didn't hit anyone?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"No... I hit one. That guy, I told him to scram, but he still had ill intentions and sneaked back to investigate. I flicked him on the forehead and sent him to the bottom of the sea. He didn't float up for half a day," Gold童 said with an awkward smile.

"You didn't kill anyone, did you?" Han Li asked.

"No, no... I didn't use any force. But ever since I hit him, no one else has come." Jintong quickly shook his head and said.

Han Li nodded, said nothing more, and with a leap, he arrived at the altar on the island.

The various water-attribute immortal essence stones embedded around the altar had all turned a grayish-white color, and the immortal spiritual power contained within them had naturally all converged into the Earthly Deity incarnation's body.

At this moment, the Earthly Deity incarnation was sitting cross-legged in place, his entire body still maintaining a nearly transparent crystalline blue color. The forms of his internal organs were all visible, and strands of immortal spiritual power transformed from faith power could be seen flowing through them, yet it still could not give one the unique vibrant aura of a living creature.

Within the incarnation's head, a water-blue illusory light figure could be seen, resembling the nascent soul of an ordinary cultivator, but far less agile and clear, looking more like a wisp of smoke.

"The spirit has returned and gathered, the body is pure and refined—it has reached the expected state." Han Li nodded and said.

At that moment, the illusory light figure suddenly scattered its light, flowing apart like smoke and spreading throughout the entire body.

The translucent quality on its body vanished, and its form then returned to normal.

"I am ready. What should I do next?" The Earthly Deity incarnation suddenly opened both eyes and said.

Han Li smiled faintly, said nothing, and merely waved his hand. A silver light door immediately appeared beside him.

Immediately after, light flashed within the light door, and a young woman dressed in a black dress walked out—it was Ti Hun.

After a long period of recuperation, her injuries had fully healed, and her cultivation had returned to its peak state.

"This is Ti Hun. She will now perform a secret soul technique to seal your divine sense and spirit. You may have to sleep for some time." Han Li said.

The Earthly Deity incarnation looked Ti Hun up and down, opened his mouth as if to speak, but said nothing, only nodding.

Then, he closed his eyes and waited quietly for Ti Hun to perform the spell.

Seeing this, Han Li nodded at Ti Hun.

Ti Hun then stepped forward and came before the Earthly Deity incarnation.

She raised her hand, pressed her middle and index fingers together, and pointed at the center of the Earthly Deity incarnation's brow. A dark red light the size of a bean immediately lit up on her fingertip, from which ripples of circular fluctuations emanated.

Waves of powerful soul fluctuations then spread out from it.

Han Li watched for a moment, then turned and walked down the altar.

With a twist of his wrist, light flashed in his palm, and one after another, array flags and array plates appeared. As he walked, he placed them one by one into crevices in the rocks on the island.

After about two hours, Han Li had walked over almost every inch of the entire island, placing all the 1,800-plus array flags and array plates he had prepared in advance.

By the time he returned to the altar, Ti Hun had also finished her work. The Earthly Deity incarnation had returned to its original blue crystal-like body, but the smoky illusory light figure in its head had disappeared.

Han Li released his divine sense and carefully examined the Earthly Deity incarnation. His brow involuntarily lifted slightly, showing considerable surprise.

"With my divine sense power and the soul connection between me and the incarnation, I can't even detect his soul's location. Could it be that you extracted it from the body?" Han Li asked in confusion.

"Didn't you say, Master, that the Ancestral God's soul cannot leave the Earth Immortal body for long? How could I do that?" Ti Hun smiled and said.

"Then it seems your soul-sealing secret technique is truly formidable, so much so that even I can't see through it." Han Li praised.

Hearing this, Ti Hun covered her mouth with a smile, raised her hand, and pointed at the Earthly Deity incarnation's palm.

Light immediately shone in the center of its palm, and a blurry figure the size of a dragon's eye emerged. With a flash, it then vanished again.

"This way, even if the Evil Corpse takes over the Earth Immortal body, it won't be able to detect the incarnation's soul." Han Li said.

Having said that, he twisted his wrist, and a Green Bamboo蜂云 Sword appeared in his palm. He began to carve a talisman array on the ground.

The complexity of this talisman array far exceeded any formation Han Li had ever seen before. The array diagram alone was stacked in three layers.

The innermost layer was a yin-yang double fish pattern array pattern; the next layer outward was a loop of回-shaped talisman patterns; and the outermost layer was a ring of circular talisman patterns.

Each layer of talisman patterns was filled with thumb-sized talisman characters, densely packed and countless.

After carving the talisman patterns, Han Li twisted his wrist again and took out over a dozen immortal essence stones and seven or eight treasures containing different spiritual power auras, placing them at each array eye and array pivot.

By the time everything was arranged, the setting sun was already touching the distant sea surface, dyeing the entire ocean orange-red.

"Alright... Jintong has gone to play in the storms of the distant sea. Go and call her back. The two of you will guard the north and south ends of the island to suppress the formation for me." Han Li put away the Green Bamboo蜂云 Sword and said to Ti Hun.

"Okay." Ti Hun nodded and turned to leave.

"Once the altar formation is activated, you two will simultaneously open the barrier I set up on the island. After that, no matter what happens on the altar, do not interfere. Just guard the island barrier and allow no one to enter or leave. Remember?" Han Li's expression turned serious as he instructed.

"I remember." Ti Hun nodded and said.

With that, she leaped up and, under Han Li's watchful gaze, vanished into the sky above Tianshuang Island in an instant.