Chapter 354: Choosing a Location

Han Li looked at the Earthly Immortal incarnation before him without showing any surprise.

This incarnation had been cultivating by condensing heavy water with time crystals. Although there were occasional interruptions, its speed was not much slower than his own when taking various pills. It was only natural that it had reached the mid-stage True Immortal realm after so many years.

At that moment, a blue light flashed and vanished from the incarnation's body. Then it stood up, and the whirlpool in the sea slowly disappeared.

"You've worked hard over the years," Han Li said calmly.

"You and I are one and the same; why distinguish between us? Here is the heavy water condensed over these years." The Earthly Immortal incarnation spoke indifferently, flipped its hand, and produced a black pouch, which it handed over.

Han Li reached out to take it.

"Careful, it's very heavy!" The Earthly Immortal incarnation warned before letting go.

Han Li raised an eyebrow and exerted strength in his arm.

But the moment the incarnation released its grip, his arm suddenly dropped heavily. He could not hold the pouch and was nearly pulled downward.

"Up!"

Han Li gave a low shout. The muscles in his arm bulged, swelling to twice their size, and a layer of golden light appeared on his body. Only then did he barely manage to stop the pouch's descent.

Seeing this, a trace of surprise flickered in his eyes.

Heavy water required refinement before it could be manipulated freely, but with his current strength, he could not even lift this small pouch. How much heavy water was inside?

Han Li probed the pouch with his divine sense and felt a stir in his heart.

This pouch, called the Heavenly Water Pouch, had been purchased at a high price from the Wuchang Alliance a few years ago. Its interior was extremely spacious, enough to hold the water of a large lake. At the moment, the pouch was nearly full.

"Good!" Han Li took a deep breath and nodded.

"After advancing to the mid-stage True Immortal realm, especially after cultivating the Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture to the fourth layer, the refining speed has increased considerably. This pouch of heavy water is not far from the amount needed to refine a small stream's worth of fourth-layer heavy water to advance to the fifth layer," the Earthly Immortal incarnation said.

Han Li nodded. After putting away the Heavenly Water Pouch, he waved his hand and produced two identical small pouches, handing them to the incarnation. At the same time, he instructed, "Continue cultivating. I will provide time crystals as much as possible."

Without another word, the Earthly Immortal incarnation took the two pouches and sat down cross-legged again.

A blue light reappeared on its body. The law threads above its head trembled faintly, emitting a dazzling blue light that transformed into a small blue whirlpool.

The surrounding seawater surged again, forming a huge whirlpool centered on the Earthly Immortal incarnation, with water currents converging and flowing in.

Between the incarnation's hands, a speck of black heavy water gradually emerged and slowly grew larger at a visible rate.

"Wait, stop for a moment!" Han Li, seeing this, showed a trace of surprise and suddenly spoke.

The blue light emanating from the Earthly Immortal incarnation immediately dissipated. It stopped cultivating and stood up.

"Did you just say that after cultivating the Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture to the fourth layer, the speed of condensing heavy water has greatly increased?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"It has increased by about three times," the incarnation said woodenly, nodding.

"Three times! Did the speed of condensing heavy water also increase each time you advanced in the Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture before?" Han Li was first startled, then quickly asked.

"In the first three layers, each advancement did increase the condensation speed, but not by much. After mastering the fourth layer, the speed suddenly increased significantly, nearly three times faster," the incarnation said calmly.

Hearing this, Han Li's expression shifted slightly, and a hint of excitement flickered in his eyes.

The early stages of the Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture advanced extremely slowly, but he had not expected such a remarkable change later on.

The Earth Immortal who originally created the Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture had barely managed to master the third layer before finding the progress too slow to bear and switched to another cultivation method. He probably never anticipated this situation either.

However, he was now skeptical of the claim that the Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture was originally created by that Earth Immortal.

If the technique were truly his own creation, he should have foreseen this outcome. It was more likely that the technique was not his original work but obtained from elsewhere, and he merely claimed it as his own.

"Alright, that's all. Continue cultivating." Han Li nodded after a moment of thought.

He was now eager to know whether, if the technique could break through to the fifth layer, the condensation speed would undergo an even greater change.

If so, with the aid of time crystals, the speed of condensing heavy water would reach a terrifying level. In the future, even condensing eighth-layer or even ninth-layer heavy water would no longer be so unattainable.

The Earthly Immortal incarnation sat down cross-legged again. Blue light appeared on its body, and the huge whirlpool soon re-emerged.

Han Li watched the Earthly Immortal incarnation, his eyes flickering.

At that moment, he raised an eyebrow and looked toward the sea surface.

A streak of遁光 was flying from afar, stopping outside the blue light barrier. A person cupped his hands and said, "Luofeng pays respects to Lord Liushi!"

Inside the light barrier under the sea, Han Li's eyes flickered slightly. After a moment, he slowly spoke, "Luofeng, what is the matter?"

"It's like this, Lord Liushi. Tomorrow is the once-in-fifty-years sacrificial ceremony of our Wumeng Island. Could you spare some time to attend?" Luofeng was taken aback, then a look of great joy appeared on his face as he spoke quickly.

He had come to pay respects several times before, but this Senior Liushi had never responded to him. This time, the situation was urgent, and he had come with some trepidation. He had not expected to receive a response. How could he not be overjoyed?

The whirlpool in the sea churned, and there was no response for a long time.

"I did not intend to disturb your cultivation, Lord Liushi. But recently, the Black Wind Sea region has been turbulent. The conflict between Black Wind Island and Qingyu Island has become increasingly fierce, and the scope of its impact has been expanding. Many clan members are quite uneasy. If you could appear, it would surely calm their hearts..." Luofeng, anxious, spoke again.

"Alright, I understand. I will appear at the ceremony tomorrow." Han Li's voice came from the seabed, interrupting Luofeng.

"Yes, I will make arrangements immediately!" Luofeng was overjoyed. He bowed toward the seabed, did not linger, and flew toward Wumeng Island.

...

Inside the light barrier, Han Li withdrew his gaze.

He did not take the matter of Wumeng Island to heart. Naturally, he would not go in person tomorrow; he would send the Earthly Immortal incarnation instead.

With his incarnation's current mid-stage True Immortal cultivation, it was more than enough to intimidate those scattered immortals whose cultivation was only at the early True Immortal stage.

He flipped his hand and produced a jade slip, which was a map of the Black Wind Sea region. He pressed it to his forehead.

Now that everything was settled, it was time to find a place for serious cultivation.

Although Wumeng Island was secluded and safe, it was not an ideal place for seclusion at the moment.

While his identity as Liushi might not be exposed, nothing was absolute. If someone traced him here, it would be troublesome...

Half an hour later, a barely perceptible blue light flew out of the sea and sped away into the distance.

He flew for three full days and nights before stopping.

This place was an even more remote sea area than Wumeng Island. As far as the eye could see, there was an endless expanse of sea and numerous barren islands.

The islands were covered in primeval forests, untouched by human feet, and uninhabited by mortals.

On the contrary, there were many demon beasts on the islands and in the sea, including quite a few at the Combined stage and even the Great Vehicle stage.

Han Li looked around. The spiritual veins on the islands here were quite good. Although they were not as good as those on the large islands like Wumeng Island, they were not far off, and the spiritual energy was quite rich.

This place was already very far from Wumeng Island, and few cultivators ever came here. It was an ideal location for a cave dwelling.

As for the demon beasts, he naturally paid them no heed.

As he pondered, his vast divine sense had already spread out in all directions.

Before long, his figure flickered and landed on a small island below.

The island was not large, only about a hundred li in circumference.

The terrain on the island was quite complex. In the center was a hundred-zhang-tall crimson mountain peak, with thick smoke billowing from its summit—a volcanic crater. Near the mountain, due to frequent volcanic eruptions, the ground was covered in red rock, barren of vegetation.

But a little farther from the mountain was a dense forest, and beyond that, scattered marshes and ponds, as well as a grassland of green grass.

Everywhere was full of vitality, with red and green flowers blooming, including many spiritual herbs and flowers.

Han Li's eyes flickered, and he nodded in satisfaction.

Although this island was not large, its spiritual vein was the best in the nearby area.

He went directly to a hidden small valley on the island. With a wave of his hand, he sent out a cyan sword light that cut into a cliff face. The rock shattered like tofu.

Before long, the rough outline of a cave dwelling emerged.

Han Li did not do much fine work; he only put some thought into opening up a medicinal garden. He tidied up the other areas briefly and stopped. Then he flipped his hand and took out a stack of formation flags and plates, arranging them near the new cave dwelling.

After the restrictions were activated, a gentle blue light appeared, and the cave dwelling vanished, turning into a lush forest that blended with the surrounding environment.

This restriction was the same as the one he had previously placed outside the teleportation lightning array at the bottom of the sea. It emitted no aura at all; even if a True Immortal used divine sense to probe, they might not detect anything amiss.

In the following time, Han Li took out several more stacks of formation tools, the same restrictions he had used to protect the cave dwelling at Red Cloud Peak. He arranged them further outside the cave dwelling, making it as secure as an iron bucket.

He even took out another set of grand formations and arranged them around the island, enveloping the entire small island.

However, he did not activate these restrictions; they were meant to deal with potential external enemies in the future.

After doing all this, Han Li turned and walked into the cave dwelling, heading to the medicinal garden.

He had deliberately made this garden quite spacious, even larger than the one in his previous cave dwelling at Red Cloud Peak.

After standing still for a moment, he suddenly waved his arm several times. Clumps of spiritual soil of various colors appeared and fell into the medicinal garden.

Some of these things he had prepared earlier, while others he had bought on the way back to the Black Wind Sea region.