Chapter 1325: The Xuantian Sword Spirit

Han Li saw that the Thunder Kui Eye and the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had entered the Xuantian Gourd one after another. He waved a single hand to seal the gourd's mouth, then held the gourd in his other hand and gently shook it.

Rumble, rumble.

Immediately, a dull and chaotic sound of thunder rang out from within the gourd.

The talisman patterns on the gourd's surface flashed with light, and strands of golden electric threads shot out from the gourd's body. Han Li's palm holding the gourd emitted a puff of green smoke, which quickly dissipated as before.

Almost at the same instant, a crisp sound of "crack" came from the gourd, and a fine crack appeared on its surface.

Immediately after, a series of "crack, crack" sounds erupted from the gourd's surface, and cracks spread like a spider web, instantly covering the entire gourd body.

Seeing this, Han Li raised his hand without a word and tossed the gourd into the air.

Then, he formed hand seals with both hands and reached out toward the gourd, as if gathering a fire, encircling the gourd from left and right in the air. From the centers of his palms, strands of Time Law power condensed into extremely fine golden threads, winding around the gourd layer by layer.

Large patches of golden electric threads intertwined with the Time Law threads released by Han Li, but were soon overwhelmed by the Time Law, turning into a brilliant golden light on the gourd's surface, as if covering the gourd with a golden coat.

With the confinement and protection of the Time Law power, the Xuantian Gourd, whose surface had cracked like broken porcelain, did not immediately collapse. Instead, the talisman patterns inscribed on it grew brighter and brighter.

Han Li's eyes focused, and a faint purple light shone in them as he probed into the gourd.

He saw that the seventy-two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, transformed into golden small swords, were all pressed against the inner walls of the gourd, still maintaining the sword formation. The Thunder Kui Eye hovered in the center of the gourd, wrapped in a mass of dark green light.

The dark green light was originally a local power, and meeting the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords was like encountering an old acquaintance. But encountering the Thunder Kui Eye was like meeting a formidable newcomer; the two clashed fiercely, neither giving way.

In terms of power, the Thunder Kui Eye was naturally superior. The electric threads continuously splashing from it had already damaged the inner walls of the gourd. If not for Han Li's assistance with Time Law power, the gourd would have long been unable to hold on.

However, the dark green light had the help of the sword formation, narrowing the gap in strength between the two, making them evenly matched.

Inside the gourd, sometimes the dark green light blazed, sometimes the golden electric threads surged wildly, cycling back and forth, as if locked in a stalemate.

Boom...

After several hours, the Xuantian Gourd finally could not withstand the strain and burst apart with a violent roar.

A dark green light exploded from the gourd, blooming into a dark green sword light that split apart. In this thunderstorm sea area, the sky and sea, along with the void for hundreds of thousands of feet above and below, were split in two, left and right.

A deep rift spanning the void appeared, from which emanated space fluctuations that shook the mind.

Han Li's gaze focused as he looked toward both sides of the space rift. He saw that the Thunder Kui Eye had turned into a dazzling golden light in the explosion, with flickering shadows inside, as if Thunder Kui beasts were galloping endlessly.

The Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords hovering around immediately shone with great light and rushed toward the mass of dazzling golden light.

As the flying swords entered the golden light, the brightness inside instantly increased several times. Even with Han Li's eyesight, he could not clearly see what was happening inside. But vaguely, his mind suddenly stirred, and he sensed a different kind of fluctuation from within the light.

After a moment, a sharp sword cry came from the golden light, followed by beams of sword light shooting out, one after another, flying toward the surrounding void.

Han Li's gaze focused, and he saw one of the sword lights flying straight toward the slowly closing space rift, disappearing into it.

His brows raised. Without bothering to look at the other sword lights, he reached out with a hand covered in golden light, plunging it into the dark space rift and pulling outward with force.

With a soft sound of "rip,"

the sleeve of Han Li's right arm instantly turned to ash, but his arm was retrieved intact.

However, when he saw that what he held in his hand was not an Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Sword but a tiny, exquisite jade-green hand, his brows shot up, and his eyes were full of surprise.

"This is..."

Before he could finish his surprise, beams of light flew back one after another, all turning into jade-green little figures about a foot tall, landing on his body.

Some sat on his shoulders, some climbed onto his topknot, more hung from his arms swinging like on a swing, and one stood on the tip of his nose, staring at him with round eyes.

These little figures were entirely translucent emerald green, with only a tuft of hair on their heads and their eyes being golden. On their wrists and ankles, they each wore a pair of golden rings, on which fine golden thunder patterns could faintly be seen.

Han Li counted them one by one; exactly seventy-two, no more, no less.

"Could these be... sword spirit children born after the Xuantian Gourd refined the Thunder Kui Eye and the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords?" Han Li speculated with some doubt.

Those jade-green little figures seemed to sense his thoughts. The moment this idea arose in his mind, they all flew into the air, their bodies shimmering with green light, instantly transforming into seventy-two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.

Greatly different from the previous Cloudswarm Swords, these flying swords were all inscribed with golden thunder patterns. The aura emanating from each sword was赫然 at the third-grade immortal artifact level, a full grade higher than Han Li had previously estimated!

Although the difference between a third-grade and a fourth-grade immortal artifact was only one grade, the gap in power was like a chasm, immeasurable, and there were seventy-two of them!

Han Li's brows slightly furrowed as he moved his mind.

The seventy-two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, without needing his careful control, flew off on their own, hovering high in the sky, arranging into sword formations of immense power.

"Rumble..."

With a series of rolling thunderclaps, a majestic ten-thousand-zhang celestial gate materialized high in the sky.

In that instant, golden clouds surged around it, a spectacle of myriad phenomena. From within the tightly shut gate, bursts of lightning energy leaked out uncontrollably, startling even Han Li—the power of these children's sword formation was even greater than his own had been before.

A thought arose in his mind, and the golden gate rumbled loudly. Within its golden ocean, countless lightning dragons of various colors could be faintly seen churning, waiting only for the command to charge out of the celestial gate.

The void oppressed by the gate's pressure trembled violently, and spatial fissures began to appear around it.

A faint smile curled at the corners of Han Li's mouth. With a slight shift of his mind, the golden gate in the sky slowly closed, vanishing as the surrounding golden clouds gradually dissipated.

The seventy-two flying swords flashed with light, transforming back into the form of the emerald boy, who flew back toward him.

Han Li opened his left sleeve and swept it in a wide arc; all the boys flew into it and disappeared.

Then, after a moment's deliberation, Han Li waved his hand and opened the Flower Branch Cave Heaven.

Inside the silver light gate, Zi Ling stood by the bamboo window, turning back to ask, "How did it go?"

"It's done. I..." Han Li hesitated.

"Go do what you need to do. If possible, I wish I could go with you," Zi Ling said with a gentle smile.

"The journey to the Heavenly Court is too dangerous. I can't take you," Han Li shook his head and said.

"I know. I'll wait for your safe return," Zi Ling said softly, as if she had expected this.

"Regardless, I'll take you back to the Nether Realm first. After that, whether you stay there or go to the Demon Realm, I will definitely come back for you," Han Li nodded and said.

"Alright," Zi Ling said.

After the two left the painting space, Han Li took Zi Ling's delicate hand with one hand and formed a hand seal with the other to cast a lightning array technique.

A crackling sound arose.

Within the thundercloud, which had shrunk to less than a hundred li, ten thousand golden bolts of lightning fell from the sky, flashed once, and vanished without a trace.

...

A hurried month passed.

In the Netherworld, on the island at the heart of the Yellow Spring Great Marsh, a woman in black paced back and forth on the stone steps before the great hall, her face full of anxiety.

Two ghost generals guarding the hall stood outside the door, exchanged a glance, and silently shook their heads.

The lady 'Jiao San' on the steps had been pacing here for over ten days, as if waiting for someone, but that person had yet to arrive.

After they had tried to persuade her twice to no avail, they had no choice but to give up.

Just then, amid the raging positive and negative cyclones in the void beyond the island, a streak of golden light suddenly shot through, completely unaffected by the cyclones, and landed on the island in an instant.

Jiao San sensed that aura, first startled, then beaming with joy. Just as she was about to fly over to greet them, she felt a blur before her eyes, and two people had already appeared in front of her—naturally, Han Li and Zi Ling.

"Where is the殿主?" Han Li let go of Zi Ling's hand, which he had been holding, and stepped forward to ask.

"Let's talk inside." Jiao San showed a troubled expression and said.

Han Li frowned slightly, then took Zi Ling's hand again and followed her into the hall.

After the hall door slowly closed, Jiao San did not beat around the bush and said directly, "Father has already departed for the Middle Earth Immortal Domain."

"What? He left first?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and said.

"Because of Mother's matter, Father was very remorseful. Also due to some other things, the Reincarnation Palace launched its offensive early. Now the entire True Immortal Realm will only become more chaotic." Jiao San said.

"Father said that although the Heavenly Court put out word that if he went to the Middle Earth Immortal Domain, they would release Mother, things certainly wouldn't be that simple. Earlier, he tried many methods to find out where Mother was imprisoned, but all came up empty. However, he unexpectedly learned who captured Mother." Jiao San said.

"Who?" Han Li immediately asked.

"Feng Qingshui. That name shouldn't be unfamiliar to you." Jiao San said.

"Him..." Han Li mused upon hearing this.

Back in the Gray Realm, Han Li had crossed paths with this man and knew he was a Dao Ancestor under the law of water.

"I need to obtain as much information about him as possible—his sect background, the location of his immortal mansion, his current whereabouts, and records of his past battles." Han Li said solemnly.

"You're going to find him?" Jiao San raised an eyebrow and asked.

"He told me about Feng Qingshui, wasn't that so I would go find him?" Han Li said calmly.