Chapter 464: A Prodigy

Han Li swept his gaze over and raised an eyebrow slightly.

Among these lifelike stone statues, one of an elderly Taoist and one of a woman in palace attire were the most exquisite.

The elderly Taoist had a gaunt face, a wispy goatee under his chin, and clear rippling folds in his robe, as if he were riding the wind, his sleeves fluttering, exuding an air of immortal elegance.

The woman in palace attire was tall, even surpassing a man; her face was quite attractive, but its lines were somewhat rigid, giving her a spirited bearing that clashed with the flowing ribbons of her palace dress.

Seeing this, Han Li shook his head slightly, thinking that if she were clad in a suit of armor, it might better suit her unique temperament.

As he pondered, he suddenly raised a palm and struck downward to his left.

Ouch...

With a groan, accompanied by a crisp cracking sound, a jade-white skeleton was sent flying backward by the blast of his released energy, slammed heavily against the wall, and fell apart.

"Who are you?" Han Li shouted sternly at the pile of shattered bones he had just destroyed.

From amidst the bones, faint specks of ghostly green light slowly rose, gathering like countless fireflies into a hazy silhouette of a gaunt old Daoist, which seemed to be a remnant soul.

Upon closer inspection, Han Li found that its appearance and form were exactly the same as that clay statue.

"Ha, you brat! With one slap, you've smashed my skeleton to dust. Where am I supposed to dwell now?" A rather loud voice rang out, coming from that remnant soul.

"Who exactly are you? If you don't tell the truth now, don't blame me for casually obliterating you," Han Li said with a frown, unmoved, continuing his questioning.

"Hmph, how old are you to have such a big mouth? Back when I roamed the Minghan Immortal Domain, you were still somewhere playing with fireballs..." The old Daoist's shadowy figure put his hands on his hips, showing no fear.

"Minghan Immortal Domain... Are you from the Minghan Immortal Mansion?" Han Li's heart stirred as he asked in a deep voice.

The old Daoist's remnant soul looked Han Li up and down, glanced at the long sword in his hand, and slowly said, "Since you use a sword, you must have heard of the name Wusheng Daoist, right?"

"The Wusheng Sword Sect is renowned far and wide, and to this day it remains a major sect in the Immortal Domain. Naturally, I know the name of its founding patriarch." Han Li replied, his expression unchanged.

"Bah! You think you can fool me, old man? After what happened at the Minghan Immortal Mansion, it's impossible for any legacy of my Wusheng Sword Sect to survive. It's probably long forgotten by outsiders." The old Daoist's remnant soul roared in fury.

But after speaking, he shook his head and muttered to himself, "Could it be that the collateral branch still has a legacy? No... impossible. What could those good-for-nothings accomplish? They'd only disgrace my reputation. Alas, what misfortune for the sect. Back in the day..."

The old Daoist's remnant soul seemed to be stirred by some unpleasant memory and began rambling on his own.

"Who exactly are you?" Han Li asked, his suspicion growing, interrupting the other's muttering.

"Listen up, boy. I am none other than the founding patriarch of the Wusheng Sword Sect you mentioned—the Wusheng Daoist." The old Daoist's remnant soul straightened up, as if trying to project an air of mastery, and declared loudly.

"You keep claiming to be the Wusheng Daoist. How can you prove it?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Prove it, my ass... Who am I? Why should I prove anything to a junior like you?" The old Daoist's remnant soul flew into a rage and retorted.

"You must understand the principle that might makes right, don't you?" Han Li chuckled, raising the longsword in his hand.

The old Daoist's remnant soul glanced at the longsword in Han Li's hand, seeming a bit intimidated, and softened his tone, saying:

"How do you want me to prove it? You've already shattered the skeleton I was inhabiting. You can't expect me, a remnant soul, to perform a sect sword technique for you, can you?"

"Besides the Ten Thousand Swords Mystic Command, does your Wusheng Sword Sect have any other inherited treasures?" Han Li pondered for a moment and asked.

Hearing this, the old Daoist's remnant soul glanced at him, a sneer of mockery appearing on his face, and said:

"You're a sly one, boy, always setting traps for me. Our Wusheng Sword Sect has two inherited items: one is the Ten Thousand Swords Iron Scroll, passed down through the orthodox lineage, and the other is the Wusheng Sword Gall, left to the outer collateral branch."

Han Li's expression eased slightly upon hearing this.

"Let me ask you, does the Wusheng Sword Sect still have any legacy now?" The old Daoist's remnant soul suddenly asked.

"The orthodox lineage has indeed been broken, and the collateral branch has also declined..." Han Li thought of Elder Qi Heng of the Sacred Puppet Sect, knowing that he was most likely a descendant of the Wusheng Sword Sect's collateral branch, and spoke frankly.

Hearing this, the old Daoist's remnant soul showed some disappointment, but soon regained his composure and asked, "And what about the reputation of me and the Wusheng Sword Sect? Have we been revered through the ages and praised by all?"

"Since you claim to be the Wusheng Daoist, why are you sealed here?" Han Li did not respond to the other's words, but asked instead.

"Who told you that I, the Daoist, am sealed here?" The old Daoist glared and retorted.

Han Li said nothing upon hearing this, but felt somewhat puzzled; it did seem unreasonable to go to such trouble for just a wisp of remnant soul.

"Can't you see? This complete soul of mine is self-sealed and hidden here." The old Daoist straightened up and said leisurely.

"Then why are you hiding here?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

Upon hearing the word 'hiding,' the old Daoist immediately bristled, but soon sighed and said gloomily, "All for the sake of dealing with this woman..."

"Woman... who is she?" Han Li glanced at the tall palace-dressed woman and asked.

"She is not human..." The old Daoist's remnant soul glared and said irritably.

After a pause, the old Daoist glanced at the palace-dressed woman again and said, "She came from the Gray Realm; counting it, she should be a Taiyi Gray Immortal..."

"Gray Realm? Gray Immortal?" Han Li grew even more puzzled.

"Alas... the Heavenly Court has always deliberately concealed the existence of the Gray Realm, so much so that you junior cultivators don't even know of such a realm's existence. Whether that is a blessing or a curse, I wonder." The old Daoist sighed deeply.

"May I ask, sir, what exactly is the Gray Realm?" Han Li asked in a slightly milder tone.

"Alright, alright. No one has spoken to me for so many years, and today I, the Daoist, am in a fairly good mood, so I'll tell you a bit. The Gray Realm, you see, is just like our True Immortal Realm—a boundless realm where all kinds of Gray Realm creatures live. When they cultivate and attain the Dao, they become Gray Immortals. As for the Taiyi Gray Immortal, naturally, that is a Gray Immortal at the Taiyi Jade Immortal level." The old Daoist first sighed, then explained with a shake of his head.

Taiyi level... The weight of these words made Han Li's heart tremble slightly. He frowned and asked:

"Is the upheaval in the Minghan Immortal Palace related to this woman?"

"Why are you so interested in the affairs of the Immortal Palace?" The old Daoist did not answer but changed the subject and asked instead.

"Simply put, I still don't trust you, sir. So, you'd better tell me more about those events from back then, and then I'll make my own judgment." Han Li sneered and said slowly.

The old Daoist's remnant soul stiffened at this, and again looked as if he wanted to bristle, but seeing Han Li's unyielding attitude, he had to give up.

He sighed, as if sinking into distant memories.

After a long silence, he began to recount that past: "Back in the day, when I, the Daoist, had just become the master of the Minghan Immortal Palace, I was full of ambition. This woman then..."

But as soon as he started, he was interrupted by Han Li.

"What did you say? Become the master of the Immortal Palace... Then you are the Minghan Immortal Lord?"

"What? Who told you, boy, that the Wusheng Daoist cannot be the Minghan Immortal Lord?" The old Daoist seemed quite displeased at being interrupted, raising his eyebrows and retorting.

Han Li frowned deeply upon hearing this, his face full of suspicion.

"Hmph, how could a mortal like you understand a genius of unparalleled brilliance like me? Alright, don't interrupt me when I'm speaking. Young people these days have no manners!" The old Daoist's remnant soul said disdainfully.

"Please go on, sir." Han Li shrugged, looking noncommittal.

Seeing Han Li like this, the old Daoist's remnant soul snorted, then cleared his throat and began to ramble on about his experiences.

According to the old Daoist, his surname was Lu, given name Yun. He was originally a concubine-born son of a collateral branch of a mid-sized immortal cultivation clan in the Minghan Continent. His talent was mediocre, and he was not valued by the clan, thus he did not receive any of the clan's orthodox cultivation techniques.

So, with limited resources, he picked some body-refining texts from the clan's collection—texts no one else was willing to cultivate—and began to practice on his own.

By a twist of fate, he embarked on the path of the Mystic Immortal and found that these body-refining methods suited him well. The more he practiced, the smoother it went. After trying countless methods of body refinement, he happened to look up at the starry night sky one time and suddenly had an insight. He created a method of refining the body using starlight, eventually culminating in the creation of the "Great Cycle Stellar Origin Art." With this, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, all the way to the Golden Immortal level.

Later, as a Mystic Immortal, he fought a Golden Immortal swordsman half a realm higher than himself and ended in a draw, which he considered a great shame. So he changed his appearance and began to study the way of the sword.

After more than three thousand years of obscurity, he eventually, under the identity of the Wusheng Daoist, stood at the pinnacle of swordsmanship in the Minghan Immortal Domain and founded the Wusheng Sword Sect.

Later, due to his exceptional strength and many fortuitous opportunities, he finally cultivated to become a Taiyi Jade Immortal, dominating the entire Minghan Immortal Domain. Thus, without joining the Heavenly Court, he became the master of the Immortal Palace of the Minghan Continent.

The old Daoist's remnant soul narrated with great enthusiasm; if he had a physical body, he would probably be spraying spittle everywhere.

Han Li's face remained calm, but inwardly he was greatly shocked.

If what this remnant soul said was true, then he could not be simply described by the four words 'heavenly genius.'