Chapter 156: Unfathomable Immortal Path

Han Li felt his vision filled with white light, followed by a violent sensation of the world spinning, and a roaring sound of wind whistling past his ears, now distant, now near.

At the same time, fierce gales seemed to sweep in from all directions, but just before touching his body, they were blocked by some invisible force.

After an unknown duration, this strange feeling abruptly vanished, and his vision gradually cleared.

He swept his gaze around and found that they had been transported to a huge underground cavern. The walls and floor of the cavern were quite similar to those of the Celestial Star Pagoda, carved with the same runes and inlaid with the same spirit stones.

As for the talisman he had been holding in his hand, it had disappeared without his noticing when.

Seeing this, he couldn't help but smile wryly. He had intended to study it a bit, but he hadn't expected the centennial teleportation ceremony to be so swift—before he could react, it was all over.

At this moment, on the open ground outside the formation, an old loose immortal with a childlike face and white hair sat cross-legged. Behind him stood twenty or thirty people of various appearances, many of whom did not seem to be from the Black Wind Sea region.

As Han Li and the others stepped down from the formation at the center of the cavern, those people ascended the steps from their side.

In the instant they passed by each other, Han Li's heart inexplicably rose with a hint of vigilance, and he couldn't help but glance at a few of them out of the corner of his eye.

Among these people were both men and women, with ordinary appearances and very steady auras. Even their expressions showed nothing unusual, but for some reason, Han Li subconsciously felt a very dangerous aura emanating from them, causing his eyelids to twitch a few times.

At this moment, from the group that had teleported with them, a burly man with green skin stepped forward, came before the old loose immortal, made a slight bow, and said in a clear voice:

"Elder Yi, you've worked hard! For the next hundred years, I will take your place."

"Haha! I thought the island master would send someone else here, but I didn't expect it to be you, Brother Lu. Well then, I'll leave it to you. Enjoy a leisurely time, and I'll go back to report." The old man laughed heartily, stood up from the ground, flipped his hand to produce a round formation plate, and handed it over with a smile.

The burly man took the formation plate. After they exchanged farewells, the old loose immortal also stepped into the formation.

In a short while, the cavern was filled with a brilliant white light, and the people in the formation were teleported back to Black Wind Island.

Seeing those figures disappear, the hint of vigilance that had risen in Han Li's heart gradually subsided.

At this moment, the burly man with green skin put away the formation plate, turned his head, and said to the crowd:

"From today onward, the Black Wind Cave teleportation formation will be sealed for a hundred years. If you wish to return to the Black Wind Sea, you may come here again when it reopens a century later, provided you have enough immortal essence stones. Once you leave this cave, follow the coastline north for over ten thousand li to find a city by the sea called Linhai City. Fellow Daoists arriving for the first time on the Barren Continent may stop there to rest. I wish you all a smooth journey."

Upon hearing this, the crowd clasped their fists slightly toward him and then walked out of the cave.

Han Li followed the crowd out of the cave, and a slightly fishy air, carried by the sea breeze, rushed toward his face.

His figure flickered as he leaped into the air, hovering high above. His视野 suddenly opened up, and he found himself above a vast, boundless sea.

Directly ahead was a deep blue ocean with high winds and towering waves; behind him stretched a winding green coastline. The cave he had just been in was located on a hidden cliff jutting out from the coast.

Most of those who had come with him did not linger long, scattering in all directions as streaks of light. The woman in the red skirt had also disappeared.

After a moment's thought, Han Li's body lit up with light, and he turned to fly straight north along the coastline.

The area initially seemed somewhat desolate, but after flying for a while, a vast expanse of dense forest began to emerge inland.

The trees here were exceptionally tall, each nearly a hundred zhang high, standing like straight, towering peaks. A thick layer of fallen leaves covered the ground, and shrubs and weeds grew everywhere, presenting a wild, primeval scene, as if no one had ever set foot there since ancient times.

This wild forest stretched to the edge of sight, and from afar came one or two distant, prolonged roars, seemingly from some kind of demon beast.

Sensing this wild aura before him, Han Li felt a flicker of excitement he had not experienced in a long time.

After flying for another half hour, the outline of a coastal city gradually became clear ahead.

The city was not very large, only a few hundred li in circumference, covered by a thick, sand-yellow light barrier. At first glance, it looked like a bright yellow giant turtle shell enveloping the entire city. Above the city gate were three ancient characters: "Linhai City."

The yellow light barrier only opened an entrance passage at the city gate. The area was quite lively, with cultivators constantly walking out, either alone or in groups, flying into the forest ahead.

At the same time, some cultivators flew out of the forest heading toward the city. Though they looked travel-worn, with traces of blood on their clothes, most seemed quite excited.

Seeing this, Han Li's eyes flickered, and he flew down to land.

He had long since concealed his aura, disguising himself as an ordinary cultivator at the Unity realm, mingling among the crowd entering the city.

At the city gate stood two rows of blue-robed guards, all at the Void Refinement realm, while their leader was a Unity realm cultivator.

However, these guards did not interrogate those entering the city; even a stranger like Han Li, after paying some spirit stones, easily entered the city.

Upon entering the city, there was a wide street stretching inward, flanked by various shops.

The city's population was not large, but most were cultivators, and their cultivation levels were not low; mortals were rarely seen.

The shop fronts along the street were not ornate, some even looked crude, but the goods inside were various raw materials such as spirit herbs, ores, and demon beast materials.

"Eh!" Han Li glanced around and let out a soft exclamation.

These shops appeared quite ordinary, but the quality of the items displayed seemed good, no less than the high-grade shops in Black Wind City.

This Seaside City was more like a supply outpost for cultivators than a proper city.

After pausing to observe on the street for a moment, he stepped toward a general store.

The shop had no business; only an ugly man with a pockmarked face sat behind the counter. Seeing Han Li enter, he quickly stood up.

"Senior, what would you like? Though my shop is small, it has a complete stock and will not disappoint you." The ugly man, only a Nascent Soul cultivator, sensed Han Li's Unity realm aura and spoke with great respect.

"Do you have maps for sale?" Han Li asked directly.

"Yes. I have the most complete map of the Lost Burial Forest. If Senior wishes to hunt demon beasts or gather spirit herbs, you can find them on this map." The ugly man rubbed his hands and replied with a smile, then produced a green jade slip.

"Lost Burial Forest..." Han Li's heart stirred, then he understood.

Lost Burial Forest should be the name of this wild forest outside Seaside City.

"I don't want a map of the Lost Burial Forest. Do you have a map of the Wasteland Continent? Also, if you have maps of other nearby continents, you can bring them out." Han Li shook his head and said.

Upon hearing this, the ugly man was taken aback, his gaze turning somewhat peculiar as he looked at Han Li.

"What, none?" Han Li frowned slightly.

"Yes, yes, there are." The ugly man quickly composed himself, flipped his hand, and produced two jade slips, one yellow and one blue.

Han Li reached out and picked up the yellow jade slip, extending his spiritual sense into it.

"This is a map of the Huanglan Continent, and that blue jade slip is a map of the nearby area. Senior has come to the right place to buy maps. My family has been in the jade slip map business for generations. Maps of the Huanglan Continent are easy enough to come by, but maps of the nearby continents are rare. Throughout the entire city of Linhai, I daresay only my shop has them." The ugly man said with some pride.

The ugly man was not boasting; the contents recorded in the yellow jade slip were far richer than ordinary maps. Not only did it clearly depict the various terrains of the Huanglan Continent, but some special regions also had detailed annotations.

Among them was the Mí Burial Forest outside Linhai City. This forest spanned tens of thousands of miles in circumference, teeming with various demon beasts. Deep within, it was even rumored to be inhabited by some true immortal-level demon beasts, making it an extremely dangerous place.

In addition, the forest was also home to various heavenly materials and earthly treasures, thus attracting many people from tens of thousands of miles around to come here to hunt demon beasts. Of course, once they entered the forest, whether they lived or died, whether they were killed by demon beasts or by others, no one cared.

There were many dangerous places on the Huanglan Continent, and the Mí Burial Forest was just one of them.

Compared to here, the Black Wind Sea could be considered a very safe area.

Han Li's spiritual sense quickly withdrew from the yellow jade slip, his expression uncertain.

Although he had been somewhat prepared, it now appeared that the immortal world beyond the Black Wind Sea was far more dangerous than he had imagined. With his current strength, he dared not claim to be able to safely traverse the Huanglan Continent; the road ahead was fraught with uncertainty.

Han Li's eyes flickered, and his spiritual sense delved into the blue jade slip.

A moment later, his spiritual sense withdrew, and he let out a long breath.

This map, though said to be a map of several nearby continents, was far less detailed than that of the Huanglan Continent, with annotations only on some key areas.

As he had anticipated, between the Huanglan Continent and the nearby continents lay some ocean regions. The Guyun Continent, where the Candle Dragon Sect was located, lay to the east of the Huanglan Continent, separated by a sea region called the Thunderstorm Ocean.

Linhai City, where he currently was, sat on the westernmost border of the Huanglan Continent. To reach the Guyun Continent, he would first have to traverse the entire Huanglan Continent and then cross the Thunderstorm Ocean.

According to the annotations on the map, the Thunderstorm Ocean was perpetually filled with violent thunder and lightning storms, making it an extremely dangerous natural hazard at sea.