Chapter 256: Trivial Matters

Soon, Han Li's figure appeared in the cave where the underground fire vein was located.

The air here was still filled with a scorching heat. In the underground magma lake, crimson liquid churned incessantly, with bubbles constantly rising and bursting, emitting a series of muffled thunder-like sounds.

The grand formation he had previously set up still hung quietly above the lake, but all the formation flags were dim, as if they had not been activated for some time, and the fiery red cocoon at the center of the formation had disappeared.

Seeing this, Han Li immediately contacted the Essence Fire Bird through his spiritual sense.

After a moment, a clear chirp sounded from the lake. A large bulge suddenly rose in the magma, and a silver shadow shot out from it, rushing swiftly toward Han Li.

Its speed was extremely fast, carrying an intensely hot aura, arriving in an instant.

With a "smack," it collided with Han Li, leaving a burning pain in his chest.

Before he could reach out, the silver shadow slightly deformed, transforming into a silver flame figure less than two feet tall. It moved nimbly, swiftly circling around Han Li.

Han Li looked closely and felt a surge of joy.

This silver flame figure was none other than his Essence Fire Bird transformed. It appeared delicate and handsome, resembling a child of five or six years.

Now, not only had its aura surpassed its peak state in the Spirit Realm, but even its eyes, condensed from flames, were full of intelligence, clearly greatly enhanced. If it continued to cultivate here, it seemed it could still make considerable progress.

After hopping around Han Li for a while, the silver flame figure suddenly transformed into a ball of fire, leaped up, and landed on Han Li's palm, reverting to its humanoid form.

Han Li gently stroked the head of the silver flame figure, which seemed to enjoy it, squinting its eyes and rubbing against his palm.

"This fire vein land is of great benefit to you, but I must leave for some time and don't know when I'll return, so I can't keep you here any longer," Han Li murmured, unsure whether he was speaking to himself or explaining to the Essence Fire Bird.

The latter seemed to understand his meaning, suddenly flying up and transforming into a silver flame bird, letting out a joyful chirp.

After making a loop in the air, it dove down and vanished into Han Li's body in a flash, as if to say, wherever you go, I'll follow.

Seeing this, a smile appeared on Han Li's face. He packed up all the formations he had set up here, erased all traces, and then turned to leave.

After leaving the cave, he did not return to his cave dwelling but instead went to Gourd Peak.

Having obtained the Flood Dragon Grass from the storage bracelet left by Ping Yaoxi, he had planned to attempt refining the Spring Rain Pill. Since he was leaving this place, he naturally needed to purchase the pill formula.

It was not until late at night that he silently returned to his cave dwelling, collected all the mature and usable spiritual herbs from the medicine garden, took the strange stone furnace given to him by the monkey king, and then hurriedly left Crimson Sun Peak and left Candle Dragon Sect.

…

Half a year later.

In the northern part of Gu Yun Continent, above a towering peak ten thousand zhang high, a green light plummeted from the sky. With a "boom," it crashed into the mountain summit, shaking half the peak into collapse and stirring up billowing dust.

Amid the flying dust, a stern-faced, cold-eyed middle-aged man stood atop the ruined peak. He wore an ancient-style green armor embroidered with golden patterns. Though the surface showed no luster, it gave an impression of rock-solid heaviness and stability.

Judging by his appearance, he was none other than Gu Jie!

Beneath his left green boot lay a fat man dressed in the robe of an outer elder of Candle Dragon Sect, his mouth bleeding, his face full of sorrow as he begged pitifully:

"Spare me, senior... spare me! I really don't know who you're looking for..."

A trace of impatience flickered across Gu Jie's face. He raised a finger and pointed it at the fat man's brow.

A flash of light appeared on his two fingers, and a wisp of green thread shot straight into the fat man's head.

The fat man let out a muffled groan and lost consciousness.

After a moment, Gu Jie withdrew his finger, let out a cold snort, and slapped the fat man's head. The head burst like a ripe watermelon, splattering red and white matter.

Inside the head, a golden infant, devoid of any spirituality, was tightly bound by green threads wrapped around it. Its golden light gradually dimmed until it completely lost its luster and turned to ashes.

Gu Jie stood still, his face shifting between overcast and clear, as if pondering something.

After a long while, he waved his hand. Light flashed before him, and seven or eight water-blue beast-head masks appeared in the void.

Then, he reached out and grabbed, and a green horse-face mask flew out from under the fat man's body, floating side by side with the other masks.

"It wasn't in vain that I lingered here so long. Finally dug up something useful. So it's indeed in Candle Dragon Sect..." Gu Jie said indifferently, looking at the masks before him.

With that, he clenched his hand in the void, and the masks floating before him burst into pieces, turning into powder.

Then, a green light flashed on the man's body, and his figure blurred before disappearing from the spot.

……

Several months later, in a hidden valley east of the Bell-Toll Mountains.

At the mouth of the valley, a massive chasm over ten zhang wide extended inward from the snow, reaching all the way to the valley's end.

Where the chasm passed, ice and snow melted, revealing black rocks on which grew many damp mosses and low weeds.

On the cliff face at the deepest part of the valley, a gaunt figure was pressed against the rock, bound by clusters of green vines.

A dark red blood line ran from its head down through its torso; were it not for the vines, it would have long since split in two and fallen apart.

Its face was very ordinary, but it had a pair of small, rat-like eyes that were unforgettable.

Before it now floated a middle-aged man in green armor—none other than Gu Jie.

In his hand he held a miniature golden infant that radiated golden light, struggling wildly but to no avail.

"Speak. Who were the ones that killed Pingyaozi with you that day, and where are they now?" Gu Jie asked calmly.

"Even if you... you are a Golden Immortal elder of the Immortal Palace... you have no right... no right to trespass into Candao Sect... Our sect master will never let you off..." The golden infant's voice came in fragments, tinged with fear, but it still hoped to use the sect's influence to force him back.

"I know there are restrictions in your Nascent Soul, so I cannot forcibly probe it. But surely you have heard of the 'Soul-Planting Art'? I happen to have some fine Netherworld Evil Soil here. If I plant your Nascent Soul in it... it would be quite something to look forward to..." Gu Jie said with a cold laugh.

Hearing this, the golden infant shuddered, its face filled with terror.

The Soul-Planting Art was originally a method for repairing a damaged Nascent Soul by nurturing it with innate spiritual soil. But if the innate spiritual soil were replaced with innate evil soil, it would no longer be nurturing but a most vicious torture.

Once planted in evil soil, the Nascent Soul would be constantly eroded by it, experiencing the pain of soul-tearing, and gradually transform into part of the evil soil. This process would last for millions of years, was utterly irreversible, and would forfeit any chance of reincarnation.

"It seems you won't shed tears until you see the coffin..." Gu Jie said coldly when the infant remained silent for a long time.

With that, he turned his wrist, and a three-legged incense burner appeared in his palm.

Inside the burner there was no incense, only a full load of black soil like grease, which emitted the foul stench of rotting corpses, with glossy black bubbles rising on its surface.

At the sight of this, the golden infant was terrified, and the last shred of hope in its heart vanished. It could only cry out,

“I... I... I mean, those two...”

He actually did not know the true identities of Lin Jiu and the other, but under the absolute strength and terrifying coercion of the man in green armor, he had no choice but to tell him all the information and guesses he knew in detail.

After hearing this, a sinister smile appeared on the other's face, but then he clenched his hand and twisted it fiercely, crushing the Nascent Soul into powder.

He raised his hand and beckoned, and the storage bracelet on the gaunt figure's arm immediately detached and flew into his hand.

After a brief refinement, he swept his hand across the void, and a flash of light appeared before him, revealing a golden alchemy furnace and a cyan rat-head mask.

Gu Jie raised his hand and touched the golden alchemy furnace, and immediately a hidden rune emerged on its surface, emitting waves of cyan light and a secret fluctuation.

“Not bad, you managed to conceal most of the mark I left. No wonder I could only locate Guxia Continent but not the exact place.” The man raised an eyebrow slightly and said.

After speaking, he put away the furnace, mask, and other items, turned around, and flew swiftly toward the central part of the Candle Dragon Dao.

Over half a month later, above a vast snowy plain near the center of the Candle Dragon Dao, a cyan figure flew through the air, speeding across the sky like a blue kite.

In the void behind him, a huge white snow lotus was spinning and rushing forward, seemingly even faster.

Inside the snow lotus lay a woman in white robes, her figure delicate—neither too plump nor too thin.

A crimson fox mask covered her face, concealing her features but leaving more room for imagination and adding a touch of mystery.

At the center of the mask's forehead, a small character “three” was written in a strange script.

As the cyan light and the snow lotus drew closer, they suddenly stopped simultaneously when still several hundred zhang apart.

The woman in white lay sideways in the snow lotus, her slender and graceful body reclining, one hand propping up her temple, the other twirling a leafless white flower, her eyes gazing at Gu Jie like rippling water.

“I don’t want to fight you, but it’s not because I’m afraid of you. Don’t court death!” Gu Jie, clad in green armor, darkened his face and said coldly to the woman in white in the snow lotus.

“Hehe, I am no tiger, and I won’t eat you, fellow Daoist, so naturally you need not fear me. But as an elder of the North Cold Immortal Palace, you have broken into the Candle Dragon Dao and started a massacre. Do you think the Candle Dragon Dao is afraid of the Immortal Palace?” The woman in white chuckled.

“You are now wearing the mask of the Wuchang Alliance, yet you keep talking about the Candle Dragon Dao. Don’t you think you’re meddling too much?” Gu Jie sneered in response.

“I have indeed been so idle lately that my chest feels tight. And then you appeared, fellow Daoist, just at the right time.” The woman in white sighed softly and said faintly.

Her voice was melodious, like a spring breeze caressing the face, or raindrops pattering on a deep pool. To Gu Jie’s ears, it felt as if his mind grew heavy, and his soul became numb and tingling.