Chapter 397: Preparedness Ensures Success

Han Li pondered as he touched the water pouch at his waist.

He still had a considerable amount of first-layer heavy water on him; so far, only about thirty percent had been converted into second-layer heavy water and absorbed by the Heavy Water True Wheel.

He just didn't know how much second-layer heavy water the Heavy Water True Wheel could absorb...

Han Li shook his head, raised his hand to put away the True Wheel, and then flipped his hand to produce another item—a crimson array disk, the communication array disk given to him by Hu Yan Daoist.

He frowned slightly. Three years had already passed. According to what Hu Yan Daoist had said back then, the Immortal Mansion would open in three to four years, so it should be near now, but the other party had shown no sign of contacting him.

"Could something have changed?" Han Li couldn't help but speculate inwardly.

In truth, he hadn't cared much about going to the Immortal Mansion, given that many forces, including the North Cold Immortal Mansion, were involved, and there were many Golden Immortal cultivators far stronger than him. The risks were unpredictable, and even if there were benefits, his own life was naturally more important.

But after learning that the True Speech Wheel Sutra had subsequent techniques and that they depended on Hu Yan Daoist, he had to take it seriously. Especially after witnessing the immense power of time law—just the tip of the iceberg, yet enough to overturn heaven and earth—he was deeply shaken and yearning.

His mind churned as he looked at the array disk in his hand, considering whether to send a message to inquire.

But after a second thought, Han Li shook his head and abandoned the idea.

Regardless of whether Hu Yan Daoist and Yun Ni were having success finding the entrance to the Immortal Mansion, he couldn't help. So it was better not to disturb them and wait for the outcome.

Although the Black Wind Sea was not very safe now, with the combined abilities of those two, as long as they didn't encounter an opponent like Xiao Jinhan, they would likely be fine.

Han Li put away the crimson array disk, looked ahead, and fell into contemplation.

Thinking of the Minghan Immortal Mansion, the figure of Jiao San involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Looking back now, Jiao San and the previous actions of the Reincarnation Hall were probably also for the Minghan Immortal Mansion.

Han Li suddenly raised his right hand, and a storage pouch appeared in his palm, containing several sets of materials for Void Essence Pills.

His eyes flickered twice. After putting away the Celestial Bottle, his body shimmered with spiritual light, and he transformed into a beam of light, flying off in a distant direction, disappearing over the horizon in an instant.

Han Li flew in that direction for several days before stopping on a desolate island, countless miles away from Wumeng Island.

This place was close to the Luotuo Jingfeng region, where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was violently turbulent, with howling gales and huge raging waves on the sea.

Ignoring the harsh environment around him, he expanded his divine sense, sweeping it outward. Sensing no unusual activity, he nodded in satisfaction and withdrew his divine sense.

Then, Han Li waved his sleeve, and a thick stack of array flags and array disks appeared.

He muttered incantations, and the array flags and disks turned into streaks of light, shooting toward the surroundings of the island and sinking into them.

After a moment, a layer of restriction light resembling yellow clouds emerged, covering the entire desolate island.

Everything inside the desolate island was immediately and completely isolated from the outside world—not only sounds but even the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was cut off, as if they were two separate spaces.

Soon, outside the yellow cloud restriction, the void fluctuated again, and a thick layer of cyan restriction emerged.

Outside the cyan restriction, countless white rays appeared, quickly condensing into a white restriction.

Just as the white restriction formed, the void further out fluctuated once more.

In the blink of an eye, seven or eight restrictions emerged, layering over the island. The outermost was a blue restriction like a water curtain. After covering the island, countless blue ripples appeared on the restriction, and the entire island slowly vanished, merging with the surrounding sea.

These restrictions were the ones Han Li had used to guard his temporary cave dwelling back then; now, setting them up on the desolate island was a familiar task.

Han Li glanced around, nodded slightly, and sat cross-legged on a flat area in the center of the island. He raised one hand.

A silver light flashed, and a silver beam flew from his hand, transforming into a silver alchemy furnace that landed before him.

Then another silver light flashed—it was the Essence Fire Child, which landed at the base of the furnace and turned into a ball of silver flame...

After quickly and efficiently preparing everything, Han Li flipped his hand to produce the storage artifact. With a wave, a large number of Void Essence Pill materials emerged and landed beside him.

He regulated his breathing briefly, and once his mind was completely calm, he immediately picked up a material beside him and threw it into the alchemy furnace.

He planned to use this last period of time and the few sets of spiritual materials for refining Void Essence Pills that he had set aside earlier to refine again. Although he didn't know the specific use of this pill, from Jiao San's behavior, it was likely to be used in the Immortal Mansion.

He had originally been merely curious about this pill, but since he was now going to enter the Immortal Mansion, he might as well refine one. As the saying goes, preparedness ensures success; perhaps it could bring him some opportunity.

Given the power of the pill tribulation this pill had shown earlier, which was not inferior to that of a Dao Pill, refining it near Wumeng Island might attract attention. Hence, he had traveled thousands of miles to come here.

Thanks to Jiao San, he was already quite skilled in refining Void Essence Pills. He began forming hand seals rapidly with both hands, quickly activating the alchemy furnace...

While Han Li was focused on refining the Void Essence Pill, above another nameless island countless miles away, a middle-aged man in a blue robe stood with his hands behind his back in the void.

This man was none other than Luo Qinghai, the Palace Master of the Cangliu Palace.

He was frowning deeply, with a hint of irritation on his face, a stark contrast to his usual calm and composed image of having everything under control.

Behind Luo Qinghai stood a person—the delicate, woman-like young man Nan Ke Meng.

His expression was also unpleasant, his delicate brows tightly knit.

Neither spoke, and the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

At that moment, a blue streak of light appeared on the distant horizon.

The two immediately sensed it and turned to look.

The blue streak flickered and appeared before Luo Qinghai and the others. The light converged to reveal a burly middle-aged man with a full beard.

As soon as the man appeared, he was about to clasp his fist in greeting, but Luo Qinghai waved his hand to stop him.

"No need for formalities. Any findings?"

"Reporting to Palace Master, the seven of us have searched our respective areas several times, but still found nothing." The bearded man hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

Luo Qinghai's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but Nan Ke Meng clearly felt the temperature of the surrounding air drop a few degrees.

"Palace Master, should we continue..." the bearded man asked hesitantly.

"Continue. Expand the search area; don't miss a single trace." Luo Qinghai's gaze sharpened as he ordered solemnly.

"Yes." The bearded man agreed, turned into a streak of light, and flew away.

"Master, could it be that the information we received is inaccurate, and the Minghan Immortal Mansion is not descending in the Black Wind Sea?" Nan Ke Meng walked over and said.

"No. The various signs in the Black Wind Sea have become increasingly evident in recent years, undoubtedly indicating the emergence of the Immortal Mansion. Moreover, the Minghan Mountains and Rivers Diagram has responded here; the Immortal Mansion is definitely descending in this area." Luo Qinghai shook his head.

"Then why can't we find the entrance? According to records, in previous appearances of the Immortal Mansion, following the map should have made it easy to find." Nan Ke Meng said with some confusion.

"There's only one possibility..." Luo Qinghai's eyes flashed with a sharp light.

"What..." Nan Ke Meng was startled.

Luo Qinghai didn't answer him. Instead, he flipped his hand to produce a small blue mirror and formed hand seals to activate it.

The small mirror immediately enlarged several times, emitting rings of dazzling blue light.

On the mirror's surface, indistinct images appeared, rapidly changing. After a while, they stabilized, revealing a middle-aged man with a purple-red face, wearing a feathered crown, looking imposing.

"Junior Brother Fan, how is the situation?" Luo Qinghai asked, his tone much gentler than when he had spoken to the bearded man earlier.

"Nothing. The people from the North Cold Immortal Palace and some key figures from Black Wind Island suddenly disappeared from Black Wind Island some time ago. The three of us have searched extensively but can't find any trace of them." The feathered-crown man in the mirror shook his head.

Hearing this, Luo Qinghai's expression darkened further.

Nan Ke Meng, hearing this, also understood. He said, "Master, do you think the current situation is due to some trick by the North Cold Immortal Palace?"

"It's very likely that Xiao Jinhan used some secret technique to seal the entrance. Otherwise, with less than a year until the Immortal Mansion opens, the entrance should have appeared by now." Luo Qinghai said thoughtfully.

"Although I don't know much about the Minghan Immortal Mansion, I understand that the entrance is actually a point where the spatial interfaces of two realms intersect. Sealing it would not be possible in a short time, and the commotion would be huge. We couldn't have been completely unaware." Nan Ke Meng frowned.

"Heh, perhaps this time he has some special means to predict the entrance's location in advance and set up sealing restrictions beforehand." Luo Qinghai snorted coldly.

Nan Ke Meng opened his mouth, seemingly finding it hard to believe.

"Palace Master, there isn't much time left before the Immortal Mansion opens. What should we do now?" the feathered-crown man in the mirror asked.

"We must find the entrance to the Immortal Mansion by any means. Continue searching for the whereabouts of the North Cold Immortal Palace members and the Black Wind Island Lord. So many people cannot vanish into thin air; following the clues will eventually yield something. If necessary, extreme measures are acceptable." Luo Qinghai said slowly after a moment's thought, with a meaningful tone.

"Yes." The feathered-crown man agreed, his figure flickered, and disappeared from the mirror.

Luo Qinghai formed a hand seal and pointed, and the blue mirror quickly shrank, flying into his sleeve.

He stood there for a moment, then suddenly waved his hand, emitting a blue light that enveloped himself and Nan Ke Meng, transforming into a streak of light and flying into the distance.