Chapter 375: The Second Half

"I didn't expect you to have such a treasure that can isolate the Desolate Wind of Despair." Han Li couldn't help but take another look at the black bead and said.

"It's just some minor ability to stabilize the wind and ward off cold, nothing worth mentioning. Let's go." Li Shiliu said casually, as if unwilling to explain the black bead.

With that, his figure moved, and he flew into the overwhelming yin wind ahead.

A flash of green light flickered on Han Li's body as he closely followed.

Not far ahead, the surrounding yin wind grew increasingly fierce, roaring toward them from all directions.

However, the black light emitted by the black bead remained unmoved within the yin wind. As soon as the surrounding yin wind touched the light, it weakened by more than half, at most causing slight ripples on the surface of the light.

With their abilities, they naturally easily withstood the greatly weakened Desolate Wind of Despair and advanced swiftly.

As the two delved deeper, the power of the surrounding Desolate Wind of Despair continued to increase, and the sound of ghostly wailing also grew louder, as if thousands of evil ghosts were shrieking in terror, making one's heart pound.

"Fellow Daoist Li Shiliu, do you know the origin of this Desolate Wind of Despair? I feel as if this wind is blowing from the underworld. Without a treasure like yours, I fear I wouldn't dare to venture so deep." Han Li looked at the surrounding black yin wind and suddenly said.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Hao Shiyi flatters me too much. This Desolate Wind of Despair has existed here for who knows how many years. How could I know its origin? However, there is a rumor in the Black Wind Sea that this place is connected to the legendary Netherworld, and this Desolate Wind of Despair is leaked from there." Li Shiliu chuckled and then changed the subject.

"Oh, does this so-called Netherworld really exist?" Han Li asked casually upon hearing this.

"The so-called Netherworld is nothing but an ethereal legend. No one knows if it truly exists. Let's just take it as hearsay." Li Shiliu shook his head and laughed.

"It is said that the Desolate Wind of Despair covers an extremely wide area, making it basically impossible to cross. Therefore, the Black Wind Sea can only communicate with the outside world through the teleportation array on Black Wind Island. I wonder if one could cross it upon reaching the Golden Immortal stage." Han Li said thoughtfully.

"As far as I know, there have been some powerful cultivators in the Black Wind Sea who attempted to cross the Desolate Wind of Despair, but none succeeded. Many years ago, a Golden Immortal senior tried to cross this boundless yin wind but was trapped for decades before finally retreating. According to him, the Desolate Wind of Despair at its deepest point is extremely powerful, and even a Golden Immortal's soul cannot withstand it." Li Shiliu shook his head.

"Even a Golden Immortal cannot cross it. I never expected the Desolate Wind of Despair to be so formidable..." Han Li murmured, his eyes flickering slightly.

Having comprehended the law of time, his strength had greatly increased. With Crab Daoist by his side, he had once considered that if his true identity were discovered, he would forcibly fly into the Desolate Wind of Despair and cross to the outside.

Now it seemed that this matter was not as simple as he had thought.

"If it weren't for this, this place wouldn't be called a natural moat. Perhaps only great beings like Taiyi Jade Immortals can fly over this Desolate Wind of Despair. But whether there are any Taiyi Jade Immortals in the Northern Cold Immortal Domain is still uncertain." Li Shiliu sighed lightly.

Han Li nodded slowly, his mind turning, and said nothing more.

Both fell silent and continued flying forward for a considerable distance.

For some reason, over a long stretch, the surrounding Desolate Wind of Despair did not show any signs of intensifying; it seemed to have stabilized.

Just as Han Li was speculating inwardly, Li Shiliu's flying figure moved and suddenly stopped.

"Are we there?" Han Li also halted his遁光 and asked.

Li Shiliu nodded, looked around with a serious expression, and then formed hand seals.

The black light emitted by the black bead immediately thickened, enveloping the two and flying toward the sea surface below, disappearing into it in a flash.

The seawater here had turned completely pitch-black, emitting an extremely heavy yin-cold aura, bitingly cold.

Even with the isolation of the black bead, it still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

Han Li waved his hand and casually gathered a handful of black seawater.

The seawater emitted an extremely rich yin qi, comparable to some yin-attribute true waters, but the qi within was chaotic and unusable.

The two soon sank to the seabed. Li Shiliu, familiar with the way, led Han Li around the seabed and arrived at a sea trench.

He flipped his hand and took out a black jade token, muttering incantations.

The jade token immediately emitted a large amount of black light, shining toward the seabed.

Rumble!

The seabed ground began to shake, and five black stone pillars slowly emerged, each as thick as a water vat, inscribed with countless array patterns and runes, emitting a dark luster.

Seeing this, Han Li merely stood aside with his hands behind his back, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Li Shiliu continued chanting incantations, and the black light on the five stone pillars grew brighter, connecting with each other to form a black light mass about ten zhang in size, slowly rotating.

The light mass rotated faster and faster, and suddenly flashed with a "crackling" sound, revealing a pitch-black circular spatial passage, leading to an unknown destination.

A look of surprise appeared on Han Li's face. The inside of the black passage seemed to be a space similar to the secret realm of Wumeng Island.

He moved his mind and probed inside with his divine sense, but it was immediately blocked by a gentle force.

"This is the place I mentioned earlier. Fellow Daoist Hao Shiyi, please." Li Shiliu gestured with his hand, making a welcoming motion.

Han Li nodded, and without any hesitation, stepped forward and flew in.

Seeing this, a trace of surprise flashed in Li Shiliu's eyes, and he followed.

Although Han Li's face was calm, he was quite helpless inside.

According to his usual cautious style, he would never easily step into such an unknown place.

But for the sake of the Soul Refining Art, even though the situation here was unclear, he had to grit his teeth and go in. After all, since he had come this far, could he back out?

Of course, the reason he dared to be so bold was that he had some backing.

Apart from his mastery of the law of time and the True Word Wheel, there was also the Golden Immortal-level puppet, Crab Daoist. If anything went wrong, he could launch a thunderous strike in an extremely short time, subdue Li Shiliu, seize the bead, and escape.

As soon as Han Li stepped into the spatial passage, his body was immediately wrapped by a force, and the scenery before him began to change rapidly.

He tensed inwardly, and his immortal spiritual power began to circulate slowly, while many treasures within his body also stirred restlessly.

Fortunately, the situation Han Li feared did not occur.

Soon, his vision blurred, and he appeared in a space.

This space was not large, only a few dozen li in radius, covered with lush vegetation, somewhat similar to the secret realm space of Wumeng Island.

In the center of the secret realm stood a black mountain peak, thousands of zhang high, with several cave entrances on it, suggesting that caves had been carved inside.

However, the entire secret realm seemed to have been enchanted with some restriction, preventing divine sense from extending outside the body.

Han Li scanned the surroundings with his gaze, while his immortal spiritual power circulated, and a flash of golden lightning flickered extremely quickly on his body surface.

The next moment, a barely noticeable hint of joy flashed in his eyes.

He had just secretly communicated with the teleportation lightning array he had set up earlier in the Black Wind Sea, and the connection was still there, allowing him to teleport away at any time.

After leaving his cave dwelling a few days ago, he had deliberately gone to the teleportation lightning array. The array was normal, apparently undiscovered over the years.

He had readjusted and reinforced the array. Only with this escape method did he feel somewhat safe.

At that moment, a figure flickered beside Han Li, and Li Shiliu's figure also appeared.

"Fellow Daoist Hao Shiyi, please. That friend is waiting for you ahead." Li Shiliu said, and without waiting for Han Li's reply, he flew toward the black mountain peak.

Han Li moved and followed. The two soon arrived at a cave entrance and flew straight in.

After walking along the passage for a distance, they came to a hall.

The furnishings in the hall were also very simple, with only a green stone square table and a few stone chairs. The only special thing was a black screen placed in the hall, flickering with black light, occasionally forming various patterns.

A tall man in a red robe stood with his back to the two, his hands behind his back, in front of the screen.

Han Li looked at the red-robed man and slowed his pace slightly.

This silhouette gave him a very familiar feeling.

Hearing the footsteps, the red-robed man turned around and looked over.

Han Li was slightly startled. The red-robed man wore a red dragon-head mask with the number 'three' written on it.

This person was none other than Jiao San.

"Fellow Daoist Hao Shiyi, this is Fellow Daoist Jiao San. He is the one who actually accepted your task." Li Shiliu said to Han Li.

Jiao San glanced at Han Li twice, sat down on a seat, and extended his hand, saying, "Fellow Daoist Hao Shiyi, please sit."

Han Li's mind turned, and he sat down opposite Jiao San.

"You two take your time chatting. I'll take my leave." Li Shiliu bowed to Jiao San and then turned to walk out.

Han Li watched Li Shiliu's retreating figure, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

At that moment, Jiao San slowly spoke:

"Fellow Daoist Hao Shiyi, don't mind him. I will explain the matters you care about."

"Very well, I won't beat around the bush. Does Fellow Daoist Jiao San have the second half of the Soul Refining Art?" Han Li's heart stirred, and he said directly.

From his earlier observations, although Li Shiliu had said Jiao San was his friend, their current behavior suggested more of a superior-subordinate relationship.

"Of course." Jiao San laughed, and waved his hand.

A faint light flickered in his palm, and a gray jade slip appeared, then shot out, landing in front of Han Li.

Han Li instinctively took the jade slip, while looking at Jiao San with a surprised expression.

Jiao San extended his hand, making a welcoming gesture.

Han Li's mind turned, and he pressed the jade slip to his forehead.

Due to the restriction here preventing divine sense from extending outside the body, he had to do this, barely driving his divine sense into the jade slip.

Inside the jade slip was indeed a cultivation technique, but only the first few lines were visible; the rest was obscured by a restriction.

However, from those first few lines, Han Li could immediately determine that the technique in the jade slip was exactly the second half of the Soul Refining Art he had been dreaming of!