Chapter 1287: At the Peak of the Mountain, I Am the Summit

Han Li stepped forward and parted the reeds. He saw that the stone tablet was covered in dark green moss, almost burying the engraved characters. Only two words, "之府," were faintly visible.

The fracture of the tablet was uneven, with a fist-sized gap in the middle.

"Uncle, look over there!" Jin Tong suddenly called out.

Han Li followed the sound and soon found the other half of the broken tablet in the grass nearby. After brushing away the surface dirt and weeds, the characters "阎罗" were clearly engraved on it.

"It seems this is the location of the Yanluo Mansion. Since there's no visible cave dwelling, there must be a secret realm or a formation," Ti Hun said, shifting her gaze from the tablet and looking around.

"It's right here," Han Li nodded and said.

"Here?" Jin Tong asked doubtfully.

Han Li smiled and raised his hand, grasping at the air. A stream of golden light surged from his palm, enveloping the half-broken tablet on the ground, lifting it telekinetically, and placing it onto the other half.

The fractures of the two halves matched perfectly, fitting together seamlessly.

"Why is there still a missing piece?" Jin Tong exclaimed softly.

In the center of the now-joined tablet, there was still a fist-sized gap, incomplete.

"It seems a key is missing," the voice of Gui Wu came from Han Li's waist.

"Daoist Gui Wu, do you know what the key is?" Han Li asked.

"This Yanluo Mansion is ancient. I don't even know who built it, so how would I know what the key is? But you, Daoist Han, since you came seeking this place, how is it that you don't know either?" Gui Wu said.

Han Li stiffened at this. When he had traversed spacetime and met Patriarch Mi Luo, the latter had told him to seek out the Yanluo Mansion if he had the chance, but had not mentioned its specific location or the key to its禁制. What was he to do now?

He stepped forward, crouched down, and carefully examined the tablet. He found no obvious fluctuations of law power or traces of spatial formations.

After a moment's deliberation, Han Li reached out and touched the hole. Suddenly, he felt that its size and shape looked familiar. He then inserted his finger into the hole and felt around. His eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face.

He withdrew his finger, brushed off the moss, and turned his palm over. Golden light flowed in his palm, revealing a golden inkstone carved with a reclining yellow ox in a deep sleep, its lines smooth and its posture naive.

This was the golden inkstone that Wu Yang had given him in Jiuyuan City.

As soon as the inkstone appeared, a golden light shone from it, emitting a dense earth-attribute law power.

In response, the broken tablet also lit up with dense runic patterns, and the hole in the center glowed with golden light, emitting a pulling force.

Han Li pushed his hand forward, and the golden inkstone flew up on its own, falling into the hole and fitting perfectly, eventually merging into one.

Instantly, the broken tablet blazed with runic light, and a golden vortex suddenly appeared within it.

"Hey, it's open..." Jin Tong exclaimed in surprise.

"Is this fate, or your arrangement, Patriarch?" Han Li wondered to himself.

"What's wrong, Uncle? The gate is open, why aren't you going in?" Jin Tong asked, noticing Han Li's strange expression.

Han Li shook his head, setting aside his stray thoughts. Just as he was about to enter, he suddenly remembered something and stopped, instructing Jin Tong and the others:

"Now that the禁制 on this isolated island are broken, enemies may pursue us at any time. You two should not enter; stay here and guard the entrance for me."

"Go ahead. We'll guard the outside," Ti Hun nodded and said.

Although Jin Tong was curious about what was inside the Yanluo Mansion, he reluctantly agreed after hearing Han Li's words.

"I'll leave Daoist Gui Wu in your care for now," Han Li said, taking the square box from his waist and handing it to Ti Hun.

"Rest assured, Master. I will take good care of it," Ti Hun immediately understood his intention and said.

The black square box remained silent.

After giving his instructions, Han Li turned to face the golden vortex and stepped across.

A powerful pulling force swept over him, and Han Li felt the world spin. When he steadied himself, he found himself on a lush green plain.

The plain was vast, stretching endlessly, with only the faint silhouettes of towering mountains visible in the distance.

A few hundred zhang away, on the seemingly boundless plain, stood a lone jujube tree over ten zhang tall, beneath which was a thatched cottage occupying no more than three fen of land.

Though small, the cottage was built very neatly, even the thatch on the eaves was arranged tidily.

"What are you looking at? Come over. I've been waiting for you for a long time," a familiar voice suddenly came from inside the cottage.

Then, a fat monk in a red robe holding prayer beads squeezed out through the door.

His earlobes were extremely long, hanging down to his shoulders. A warm smile hung on his face, narrowing his long, thin eyes into slits. Paired with his enormous belly, he was a joy to behold.

"Master?" Han Li raised an eyebrow, overjoyed.

However, he soon realized that the monk before him was merely a remnant soul of Patriarch Mi Luo.

"You look a bit disappointed, haha..." Patriarch Mi Luo said, unbothered and teasing.

"At first glance, I thought you were still alive, Master. I can't help but feel... a little regretful," Han Li's eyes dimmed as he sighed.

"Your being here is enough to make this long wait worthwhile for me. I have no regrets," Patriarch Mi Luo said with a carefree smile.

"To be able to hear your teachings again, disciple has no regrets either," Han Li also smiled and said.

"This secret realm was built with my remaining power and has not been consumed over the years of sealing. Now that the seal is broken, my power will soon fade. Let's not waste time. Let me see your cultivation achievements first," Patriarch Mi Luo said.

Han Li nodded and immediately activated the "Great Five Elements Illusory World Technique" within him.

Then, he casually snapped his fingers, and his Time Domain unfolded, enveloping an area of over ten li around the cottage.

Han Li frowned slightly, a bit surprised.

"Don't be surprised. This space is only this large. The distant mountains and plains are all illusions," Patriarch Mi Luo said with a smile.

Han Li found this unexpected. When he first entered the secret realm, with his eyesight, he hadn't noticed.

However, he didn't dwell on it and instead fully activated his time technique.

Instantly, a full moon hung in the sky, peaks rose, rivers meandered, and forests grew—the Five Elements Illusory World emerged.

Patriarch Mi Luo glanced around and nodded with satisfaction, praising:

"Not bad, not bad. For not all five time law manifestations to have materialized, yet to achieve such a scene, it's truly remarkable. When the five elements are complete, the power of this Five Elements Illusory World will reach a higher level."

"I had intended to work on that earlier, but some变故 occurred, and I was troubled by the evil corpse for a while, so it's been delayed until now," Han Li said sheepishly.

"You've already severed one corpse..." Patriarch Mi Luo frowned slightly, pondering.

"What is it, Master? Is something wrong?" Han Li asked.

After thinking for a moment, Patriarch Mi Luo replied, "It's not that something is wrong, but since you've cultivated the time law power to such an extent, Gu Huojin must have noticed you by now, right?"

Han Li naturally knew that Gu Huojin was the name of the Time Dao Ancestor, but hearing this great figure of the Heavenly Court mentioned by Patriarch Mi Luo still made his heart skip a beat.

"Disciple has long been on the Heavenly Court's Execution List. As for whether the Time Dao Ancestor has noticed me, I'm not sure," Han Li said with a bitter smile.

"The struggle for the Dao is extremely perilous. Back then, I had no intention of contending with Gu Huojin for the position of Dao Ancestor; I was merely fascinated by the wonders of the time law, yet I still suffered his suppression. And you, with talent in time law cultivation surpassing mine, cannot avoid attracting attention," Patriarch Mi Luo said.

"Master didn't want to contend for the position of Dao Ancestor? Why?" Han Li asked in confusion.

"Hehe, do you know why a Dao Ancestor is called a Dao Ancestor?" Patriarch Mi Luo asked with a smile.

"One who reaches the summit of the Great Dao can be called an ancestor, hence Dao Ancestor," Han Li quickly replied.

"Well said. But do you know what summit this 'summit of the Great Dao' refers to?" Patriarch Mi Luo said.

"This..." Han Li thought for a moment and found the question difficult to answer.

"At the peak of the mountain, I am the summit—that is the realm of a Dao Ancestor. Yet above this peak, there is always a sky. This sky is none other than the 'Dao' that cultivators tirelessly seek, that is, the various laws themselves. When one resides beneath the 'Dao,' the施展 of all laws and techniques relies on the support of the 'Dao' and is also constrained by it. But when you become a Dao Ancestor and truly align with the Great Dao, you become one with the Dao. What happens then?" Patriarch Mi Luo asked.

"Could it be... that after becoming a Dao Ancestor, one merges with the Great Dao and becomes part of it?" Han Li asked, cold sweat trickling down his forehead.

"As far as I know, becoming a Dao Ancestor does not immediately lead to being devoured by the Great Dao. However, once a Dao Ancestor uses law power, it draws upon the power of the Great Dao, unleashing immense might while also accelerating the Dao's assimilation of them," Patriarch Mi Luo said.

"So that's it. I suppose that's why we rarely see Dao Ancestors take action in the world?" Han Li realized.

"Exactly. But when a threat to their position as Dao Ancestor arises, they will still act, and they also have some means to delay their complete fusion with the Great Dao. Gu Huojin is such an existence," Patriarch Mi Luo said, looking at Han Li.

Hearing this, Han Li understood what Patriarch Mi Luo was worried about.