Chapter 1283: Another One Comes

"Now that you have returned, as long as you gather the scattered followers and recuperate for a hundred thousand years, you will surely have a chance to take revenge on that Wheel-Turning King," Yin Luo said with a clasped fist.

"A hundred thousand years is too long; I only want to contend for the present. Besides... there may be opportunities now," Xue Li said coldly.

"What does Your Excellency mean?" Yin Luo asked in confusion.

"Among those you were pursuing earlier, didn't you find anyone familiar?" Xue Li asked.

Hearing this, Yin Luo frowned deeply, his face showing a contemplative expression.

"That black-clad girl, her divine abilities... somewhat resemble the Nether King!" After a moment, he realized with sudden understanding.

"Indeed, I am ninety percent certain that she is the reincarnation of the Nether King. To defeat the Wheel-Turning King and reclaim the Nether Realm, we must awaken her memories and cooperate with her," Xue Li said.

"In that case, should we stop pursuing them?" Yin Luo asked.

"No need to pursue, but we must not lose track of them," Xue Li said slowly.

"As you command. I will send men to track them immediately." Yin Luo stood up and clasped his fist.

"Leave this matter to you. My old wounds have not healed, so I will go into seclusion to recuperate for a while." With that, Xue Li's figure shot up into the sky and vanished in a flash.

...

Before a range of gloomy mountains flowed a winding river with reddish, turbid water.

The river poured out from the valley, stretching for ten thousand li until it reached here, where the current slowed, depositing a wide white river beach on the land.

At this moment, three figures descended from the sky and landed on the beach. They were none other than Han Li and his companions.

"Uncle, it seems that group hasn't caught up," Jin Tong said, looking back.

Han Li also glanced back, then cast a questioning look at Ti Hun.

"I can't sense any pursuers for now either. We should have shaken them off a bit," Ti Hun said.

Han Li nodded, let out a long breath, and scanned the surroundings.

At this sight, he couldn't help but frown slightly.

The white river beach beneath his feet was strewn with stark white bones—both human and beast—dense and piled layer upon layer, some as large as canopies, others as small as insects.

Han Li bent down, pushed aside the layers of bones, and grabbed a handful of white sand from the ground. He rubbed it gently, and fine white powder slipped through his fingers—it was all bone dust.

"So many bones, where could they have come from?" Ti Hun wondered.

"They must have been washed down from upstream. Over countless years, the bones at the bottom have completely decayed into bone dust," Han Li said.

As he spoke, a strange wind swept down from upstream, stirring up bone dust like sand. Within it flickered tiny sparks of green fire, as fine as beans.

Just as they were startled, they suddenly heard a strange "whoosh."

On the distant red river, a ball of green flame rose, drifting slowly downstream.

Puzzled, Han Li and the others approached the riverbank and saw that within the twisting, rising green flame, a blurry human face appeared, grinning at them eerily.

"What the hell is that?" Jin Tong asked in confusion.

Ti Hun wrinkled her nose, as if about to release a beam of light and suck it into her stomach.

"Wait, that thing seems to have something to say," Han Li said, stopping them.

As soon as he spoke, they heard a fragmented voice coming from the green flame:

"Go... to the... valley..."

The voice sounded weak and aged, like the last mutterings of a dying man before his final breath. It spoke only once and then fell silent.

Then the green flame swirled and sank into the water, disappearing.

Han Li frowned deeply, turned his gaze toward the gloomy mountains upstream.

There, the sky was thick with dark clouds, pressing down almost to the mountain peaks, making the black mountains below seem even more somber and deadly, as if perpetually shrouded in a layer of gloomy death qi.

"Uncle, should we go?" Jin Tong asked.

"That ghost fire was probably the remnant embers of a lingering soul. But why would it come to tell us this?" Han Li wondered.

"Could it be a trap?" Ti Hun asked.

"I don't think so. We've only just entered the Nether Realm, and even those ghost soldiers behind us were a sudden encounter. It's impossible for anyone, or any ghost, to have set a trap for us in advance," Han Li shook his head and said.

"Who cares? Let's just take a look and find out," Jin Tong said, frowning carelessly.

"Anyway, we don't know where to go. Since we have to go somewhere, we might as well see what's over there. Maybe we'll even find news about the Palace of Yama," Ti Hun agreed.

"Alright, let's go take a look. But we need to be careful on the way," Han Li said.

Having decided, the three soared into the air and sped toward the upstream river valley.

Before long, they arrived at the entrance of the valley.

At the center of the entrance was a narrow gorge, flanked by two natural plank roads suspended on the cliffs.

Han Li and the others took the left path upward and reached the plank road on the left cliff.

Standing at the edge of the plank road, they heard the thunderous roar of water.

The red river surged out from the valley, and at the narrow gorge, the current became even more violent, like ten thousand red dragons fighting, roaring incessantly.

After watching for a while, Han Li and the others followed the cliffside plank road and entered the valley.

Once inside, they discovered that the valley was gourd-shaped: narrow at the entrance, widening further in, with the river surface growing broader and the current gradually slowing.

When they reached the middle of the valley, Han Li and the others stopped.

Here, the river was several hundred zhang wide, and at its center lay a small sandbar.

The sandbar was pure white, and from a distance, they could see some golden powder mixed in, reflecting faint golden specks.

In the middle of the sandbar stood a black withered tree, three or four zhang tall. It looked as if it had been scorched by fire, completely carbonized, with even crystalline carbon formations visible on it.

Strangest of all, on the highest branch of the black withered tree hung a charred black corpse, seemingly human, with its chest pierced by the branch, clutching a square black box about a foot in size.

"That corpse has residual soul fluctuations, very faint. It seems to be the one that contacted us through the river earlier," Ti Hun said, her gaze fixed on the sandbar.

Han Li released his divine sense and carefully examined the area for a hundred li around. Finding nothing unusual, he said:

"Let's go take a look."

With that, he flew up first and landed on the sandbar.

Ti Hun and Jin Tong followed closely.

As Han Li's feet touched the ground, a rustling sound came from beneath him; the sandbar was quite soft underfoot.

Ti Hun couldn't help but bend down, grab a handful of sand, bring it to her nose to sniff, and examine it closely, a look of surprise on her face.

"Is there something wrong with the bone dust?" Han Li asked.

"The bone dust is fine. The problem is the golden sand mixed in," Ti Hun said, straightening up.

"Golden sand?" Han Li asked in confusion.

"That is Soul-Dispersing Sand, which can disperse spirits. It is a favorite material for ghost cultivators who practice soul arts," a sinister voice suddenly sounded from the corpse on the tree.

Han Li and the others looked up simultaneously.

A wisp of white smoke rose from the charred corpse, engulfing the entire skeleton.

After a moment, a thin, kindly-looking old Daoist in a golden feathered robe appeared in midair.

Around him clustered a cloud of mist, and behind him shone a five-colored light. All he lacked was a crane and an incense burner to look exactly like a celestial immortal.

However, the old Daoist's posture was rather odd, as the branch from the ancient tree still pierced through his illusory robe, appearing somewhat awkwardly before Han Li and the others.

"Blessings and boundless Heavenly Honored One..."

The old Daoist revealed a mysterious smile like a reclusive sage, made a bow, and chanted slowly.

Han Li and the others exchanged glances, saying nothing, just looking at the old Daoist as if he were a fool.

"Ahem... I am Tian Ganzi, Supreme Elder of the Taiyi Dao Sect in the Qian Yuan Immortal Domain of the True Immortal Realm. A million years ago, I was framed by villains and ended up here. Meeting you young friends today is fate. If you can help me escape, I will surely reward you handsomely," the old Daoist said, coughing awkwardly when they didn't respond.

As he spoke, he stole a glance at Ti Hun, as if very concerned about her reaction.

"Uncle, doesn't this sound familiar?" Jin Tong frowned, feigning surprise.

"That's what Xue Li said earlier. Now here's another one," Ti Hun replied.

"Are all the deceptive ghost words in your Nether Realm pre-scripted? No creativity at all?" Jin Tong said scornfully, looking at the old Daoist.

Hearing this, the old Daoist's expression changed drastically. No longer pretending to be profound, he quickly asked:

"You've already met Xue Li?"

"We have. And we were tricked by his nonsense. Looks like you know him well?" Han Li said with a playful smile, glancing at the old Daoist.

"Not well, not well. We are mortal enemies," the old Daoist quickly shrank his neck and shook his head.

"Oh? Aren't you from the True Immortal Realm? How are you mortal enemies with someone from the Netherworld? I'd like to know how that enmity was formed across two realms," Han Li sneered.

The old Daoist realized he had misspoken and looked dejected, clearly frustrated.

"I knew you True Immortal Realm folks are all sharper than ghosts. Can't fool you..." With a sigh, his body once again erupted in white smoke.