Chapter 1316: Doing Good and Giving Alms

The stalwart old man was entangled by several bandits wielding long weapons and had no time to fend off the arrows flying toward him. It seemed he would soon be buried in a rain of arrows.

Just then, a fan-shaped golden lightning bolt descended from the sky, sweeping across those arrows.

With loud bangs, the steel arrows, upon contact with the golden lightning, all exploded, turning into wisps of green smoke.

The golden lightning then split apart, transforming into hundreds of tiny bolts that precisely struck each bandit without missing a single one.

A thunderous crack rang out!

All the bandits were sent flying, and after landing, they convulsed violently and screamed in agony, yet none died.

The stalwart old man, untouched by the lightning, stared blankly at the scene before him, unable to believe his eyes.

The golden lightning soon dissipated, and the fallen bandits struggled to their feet one after another, looking around in terror.

“Get lost! If I ever see you robbing others again, I will show no mercy!” a majestic voice rang out from the sky.

The bandits, who had just risen, were so frightened that they fell to the ground again, then scrambled away in panic.

The stalwart old man glared hatefully at the fleeing bandits but did not give chase.

He was already very old and severely injured, lacking the strength to do so.

A blur appeared in mid-air, and two figures emerged—Han Li and Zi Ling.

“Immortals…” the stalwart old man said, looking at the two standing in the void, his face filled with excitement.

“I see that you have a noble bearing and should not fall here. Our meeting is fate, so I have come to your aid,” Han Li said, glancing at the old man and flicking his finger.

A beam of green light shot out and entered the old man’s body.

The stalwart old man felt a vast warm current surge within him, sweeping away his fatigue, and his wounds healed at a visible rate. He was both surprised and overjoyed.

“Thank you, Immortals, for saving my life. I, Xiang Zong, am deeply grateful!” The stalwart old man regained his composure and bowed to Han Li and Zi Ling.

As the old man expressed his thanks, an invisible force descended upon Han Li.

He made a hand seal, and lightning flashed around them. By the time the old man straightened up, they had already vanished.

…

On a vast lake in the Feiyi Immortal Domain, a large ship sailed along.

But at that moment, the lake’s surface churned violently, and black tentacles emerged from the depths, tightly gripping the ship as if to crush it.

Fortunately, the ship was made of exceptionally sturdy materials; though it creaked, there was no sign of cracking.

Inside the ship’s cabin, dozens of people, apparently a group of travelers, huddled together, trembling.

The lake water surged violently, and a black giant beast surfaced—a monstrous octopus-like creature—opening its stinking maw to bite the ship.

Seeing this, the people on board burst into cries and screams.

With a thunderous boom, a golden lightning bolt struck down from the sky, hitting the giant octopus.

The skin near the octopus’s neck was torn open, arcs of electricity danced over its body, and it let out a terrified shriek, releasing its grip on the ship.

With a whoosh, the giant beast submerged into the lake and disappeared.

The people on the ship, having narrowly escaped death, wept for joy.

A blur appeared in mid-air, and Han Li and Zi Ling materialized. Han Li’s hands still crackled with golden arcs of lightning.

“Immortals! Immortals have saved us! Come out and thank them…” Someone on the ship spotted Han Li and Zi Ling and exclaimed, rushing out to bow to them.

Hearing this, the others hurried out and paid their respects to Han Li and Zi Ling.

Han Li smiled, golden lightning flickered around him, and he vanished again.

…

In the Beilu Prefecture’s Daqing Mountains, continuous heavy rains triggered a landslide, and a small village was about to be buried by a mudslide.

Suddenly, a blue light descended from the sky, freezing the entire collapsing mountain peak and the mudslide, leaving the village at the foot unharmed.

The villagers, having escaped disaster, were overjoyed but also exchanged puzzled glances, not knowing what had happened.

A blur appeared in mid-air, and Han Li and Zi Ling materialized.

“Immortals! The immortals have shown themselves! The immortals saved us…”

…

Han Li traveled throughout the Feiyi Immortal Domain, doing good and saving people. Twenty or thirty years passed in the blink of an eye.

He had saved countless people, and his fame gradually spread across the Feiyi Immortal Domain. In some places, mortals even built temples to worship him.

Through the oral accounts of many who had been fortunate enough to see Han Li’s true appearance, his likeness became clear and was cast into various statues enshrined in temples and halls, where incense burned continuously.

Some immortal cultivation sects in the Feiyi Immortal Domain also caught wind of this and sent people to investigate the frequent incidents of immortals saving people.

Unwilling to get entangled with the immortal cultivation forces of the Feiyi Immortal Domain, Han Li quietly left with Zi Ling and headed to a nearby immortal domain.

Above the desolate wilderness outside the Feiyi Immortal Domain, a flying boat sped forward. Han Li sat with his eyes closed, as if sensing something.

After a long while, he opened his eyes.

“Brother Han, how is the progress in sensing the Good Corpse?” Zi Ling, sitting nearby, asked when she saw Han Li awake.

“It’s going okay. I can now barely sense the existence of the Good Corpse,” Han Li said flatly, with little joy in his tone.

“Is there a problem?” Zi Ling keenly detected Han Li’s mood and asked softly.

“There is indeed a problem. Over the years, as I’ve done good deeds everywhere, the power of blessing I receive has been decreasing, especially in the past year, with almost no response at all,” Han Li said, frowning.

“How can that be?” Zi Ling’s pretty face changed.

“I’m not sure. But the Good Corpse within me can only be barely sensed now, far from the point of severing it. I must find a way to resolve this, or else I’ll be stuck again,” Han Li said solemnly.

Zi Ling nodded slowly and remained silent.

“I’m wondering if it’s because I’ve saved fewer people recently and accumulated insufficient merit, causing the sensing of the Good Corpse to stall,” Han Li said slowly.

“That’s possible, but there could be other reasons. By the way, Brother Han, which time did you receive the most feedback when helping others?” Zi Ling asked, her beautiful eyes flickering.

“The most feedback? That would be the first time I saved the storytelling grandfather and granddaughter. After that, none of the subsequent help was as much as the first, and some almost none at all,” Han Li said, startled, then after a moment’s thought.

“I recall that in many of your later rescues, the number of people saved far exceeded two, so it probably isn’t a matter of numbers,” Zi Ling shook her head.

“That makes sense. So what was different about that first time compared to all the later ones?” Han Li nodded slowly and fell into contemplation.

Zi Ling also remained silent. As clever as she was, she had no insight into this profound and obscure principle.

“Forget it. Since we can’t figure it out, there’s no use racking our brains. The gains so far are not insignificant. We’ll just continue as before and see what fate brings,” Han Li said after thinking for a long time without reaching a conclusion, deciding not to dwell on it.

Zi Ling nodded as well, ceasing her futile pondering.

Han Li made a hand seal and pointed, sending a golden light into the flying boat beneath them.

The spiritual patterns on the boat suddenly brightened tenfold, and its speed surged, as if it might tear through the surrounding void.

After flying continuously for over ten days, the two finally arrived at a new immortal domain.

This immortal domain was exceptionally lacking in spiritual qi, even more so than the North Cold Immortal Domain, almost on par with the Spirit Realm.

“Such a barren immortal domain…” Han Li spread his divine sense and soon frowned.

This immortal domain was very small, less than half the size of the Feiyi Immortal Domain, and his divine sense could cover it entirely.

Everywhere in the domain were traces of excavated mineral veins, scarred like a tattered rag. The underground spiritual veins had been destroyed, no wonder the spiritual qi was so scarce.

The population of this immortal domain was very small. Both cultivators and mortals were mostly concentrated in a few specific areas, where the spiritual vein terrain was not too badly damaged, and some residual spiritual qi remained, barely enough for cultivators to practice.

“What is the name of this immortal domain?” Han Li asked.

“This immortal domain is called the Hegang Immortal Domain. Long ago, it was a domain rich in spiritual energy and abundant in mineral veins. But later, the天庭 sent people to over-mine here, completely destroying the spiritual veins, leading to the current situation,” Zi Ling said, taking out a jade slip and probing it with her divine sense.

“The天庭…” Han Li frowned slightly and murmured.

“Brother Han, do you plan to continue helping people and doing good in this immortal domain? This domain is sparsely populated, so it might not be efficient,” Zi Ling looked at Han Li and asked.

“Let’s take a look first. It’s rare to see such a desolate immortal domain in the True Immortal Realm,” Han Li said, his eyes flickering slightly.

Zi Ling nodded silently and said nothing.

Han Li made a hand seal, and golden lightning enveloped them, forming a lightning array.

With a flash of golden light, the two vanished.

In the northwest of the Hegang Immortal Domain, there was a huge basin adjacent to a mountain, spanning several thousand li.

Inside the basin sat a massive city that almost filled the entire basin. Cultivators and mortals lived mixed together within.

Although the city covered a large area, it showed little signs of prosperity. Many places had fallen into disrepair, and a faint smell of rust hung in the air. Even on the main streets in the city center, few people were seen. The shops, large and small, had very few customers. Most people, whether cultivators or mortals, stayed indoors.

The entire city was steeped in a heavy atmosphere of decay, like a decrepit old man waiting only for death.

Outside the city, lightning flashed in mid-air, and Han Li and Zi Ling appeared.

The sky was hazy with gray mist, and no one noticed the lightning in the air.

Han Li looked at the city below and smiled slightly.

“Let’s go down and have a look,” Han Li said, flying down.

Zi Ling followed closely, and the two landed silently on a street.

Dusk was falling, and most of the city was plunged into darkness, with only sporadic lights indicating where people lived.

A few shops along the street still had their lights on, illuminating small areas around them.

Han Li strolled aimlessly along the street, his eyes slightly closed, as if sensing something.

Zi Ling was curious but asked nothing, silently following beside Han Li.