Chapter 477: Anomaly

"Palace Master, according to the messages sent back by Lu Yue and the others, there seems to be no movement from Cangliu Palace either. They are still wandering around and haven't found the true location of the Taiyi Hall... As for Fuling Sect, we haven't received any news for now." Xueying said respectfully.

"Whenever a rare treasure appears, there must be heavenly signs to herald it. Calculating the time, there isn't much time left before the Heavenly Furnace opens. Soon, anomalies will begin to appear in the secret realm. Everyone is now actively searching for the Taiyi Hall, hoping to reach it before these anomalies occur, to conceal the heavenly signs and gain the upper hand." Xiao Jinhan said slowly.

"Lu Yue and the others are doing their utmost to investigate. I believe they will find it soon..." Xueying said.

"What about Ouyang Kuishan and his group?" Xiao Jinhan raised an eyebrow and asked.

"They are searching in the hilly area we passed earlier. The Taiyi Hall shouldn't be there." Xueying thought for a moment and said.

"If they behave themselves during this trip to the immortal mansion and don't do anything out of line, we can ease up on them for now. In the future, we only need to rein them in every five or six hundred years." Xiao Jinhan instructed.

Controlling people is like taming a hawk or fishing—it requires a balance of tension and relaxation, not just constant pressure. As the master of the North Cold Immortal Palace, he was well-versed in this.

"Yes." Xueying quickly responded.

"You may leave now. I wish to be alone here for a while." Xiao Jinhan's expression shifted slightly as he suddenly said.

Xueying naturally dared not disobey and quickly withdrew.

No sooner had she left the cliff than a figure shrouded in black smoke rose from the deep valley below and flew swiftly to Xiao Jinhan's side.

After bowing respectfully, he began to converse with Xiao Jinhan using secret sound transmission.

"Everything on our end has been arranged. You can rest assured, Palace Master." Finally, the black figure clasped his hands in salute and said.

Xiao Jinhan listened to him throughout, his expression unchanged. In the end, he merely nodded slightly and waved his hand to dismiss the figure.

The black figure immediately flew down, plunged into the deep valley, turned into a puff of black smoke, and vanished.

Xiao Jinhan glanced at the spot where it disappeared, pursed his lips, and seemed somewhat disinterested.

Just then, Xueying, who had left not long ago, suddenly returned, a hint of excitement flickering in her eyes.

"Found it?" Xiao Jinhan saw through her at once and asked directly.

"Ouyang Kuishan sent a message saying it's in their area." Xueying nodded and said.

"Let's go." A gleam of light flashed in Xiao Jinhan's eyes as he made a decisive decision.

With that, their figures turned into streaks of light and flew away, disappearing from the cliff.

...

Half a month later.

A mass of green light sped through the air, flying swiftly forward. It was the Green Kite Flying Boat.

The ground below was still red, and the terrain had hardly changed from the beginning—a desolate plain everywhere, devoid of life.

The only change was that clusters of red clouds had begun to appear in the sky, some large, some small, floating silently without moving with the wind across the plain, looking somewhat eerie.

On the flying boat, Han Li sat cross-legged, holding a jade slip pressed against his forehead.

This jade slip contained a map. He had drawn it from memory after seeing Lu Yuqing's map of the immortal mansion. Though it couldn't compare to the original, it was about seventy to eighty percent accurate.

He observed the surrounding terrain while comparing it to the map, trying to locate his current position. Unfortunately, after searching for days, he still couldn't find the red plain on the map.

He frowned and removed the jade slip from his forehead.

"What's the point of finding it? Not knowing anything makes it more interesting!" Gold童 lay listlessly to one side, yawned, and said.

Han Li ignored Gold童 and fell into thought.

He didn't share Gold童's mindset.

Although he had advanced to the mid-Golden Immortal stage and greatly increased his strength, he dared not be careless, as the secret realm still held unknown dangers.

After a moment's deliberation, he put away the jade slip and took out a crimson communication array disk, the one given to him by Hu Yan Dao Ren.

Han Li formed hand seals, and streams of spell formulas sank into the array disk.

The spiritual patterns on the surface of the crimson array disk lit up one by one, emitting bright red light that intertwined to form a miniature crimson formation.

He moved his lips and sent a message.

The crimson array disk rotated gently, the formation's light flickering, but there was no response.

Han Li frowned and put it away.

The communication array disk gave no response. Was there a problem with Hu Yan Dao Ren, or was the environment here special, preventing the use of the array disk?

Han Li fell silent for a moment, then stopped dwelling on it.

Since he still couldn't contact Hu Yan Dao Ren, he would travel alone for now. With his current strength, he could handle any danger that came his way.

There was still plenty of time before the secret realm ended, and this area might be explored for the first time in many years. Who knew what gains he might make?

With this thought, he urged the flying boat with a spell, and the Green Kite Flying Boat brightened again, about to speed up.

Just then, a loud boom came from afar, shaking the entire heaven and earth within ten thousand li.

Han Li looked up sharply and gazed in the direction of the sound.

In the distant sky, dazzling white clouds of light appeared, rolling and churning, producing a thunderous roar like ten thousand horses galloping.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth trembled, surging like tidal waves. Beams of spiritual light rushed like giant waves, stirring up massive hurricanes that swept across the land.

An immense pressure emanated from that direction, startling even Han Li, who couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

With a wave of his hand, he stopped the Green Kite Flying Boat.

But just then, the clouds of light in the distant sky fluctuated again.

This time, instead of expanding outward, they contracted inward like a whale sucking in water.

In just a few breaths, all the clouds and light in the distant sky vanished without a trace.

The turbulent spiritual energy of heaven and earth quickly calmed, as if the astonishing anomaly had never occurred.

Han Li frowned.

Gold童 also jumped up, staring wide-eyed into the distance.

"What an astonishing celestial phenomenon! Could it be a rare treasure appearing? Han Li, let's go check it out!" Gold童's eyes rolled around as if an idea struck him.

"Judging by the commotion, it doesn't seem like a treasure appearing. Those clouds of light contain a lot of spatial energy. It looks more like another secret realm emerging." Han Li didn't move immediately but said cautiously.

"Whatever it is, if we don't go, someone else will beat us to it!" Gold童 clamored.

"Then let's go take a look. But one thing: don't act rashly. Also, don't call me by my real name in front of others." Han Li's eyes flickered as he nodded after a moment's thought.

Such an anomaly made him curious about what was happening there.

"Got it, Uncle. Let's go!" Gold童 beamed and replied.

Han Li was speechless. Shaking his head, he tapped the flying boat, and the Green Kite Flying Boat radiated brilliant light as it shot toward that direction.

...

Above a crimson hilly area, a mass of crystalline white light sped forward.

Standing on the white light was a group of people—the North Cold Immortal Palace team, including Xiao Jinhan, Xueying, and several other cultivators from the palace.

"Eh!" Xiao Jinhan's expression shifted as he waved his hand and cast a spell.

The crystalline white light suddenly stopped, and he looked toward a direction to his left front.

"Palace Master, what's wrong?" Xueying asked.

"There seems to be some disturbance in that direction just now." Xiao Jinhan said.

"Disturbance?" Xueying was taken aback; she hadn't sensed anything.

A layer of white light appeared in her eyes as she looked in that direction.

"The disturbance is too far away for someone of your cultivation level to detect. Moreover, it has already disappeared, lasting only a few breaths." Xiao Jinhan shook his head and said.

"Could it be... that the Taiyi Hall has finally emerged?" Xueying's eyes lit up as she said.

The others trembled at her words and looked at Xiao Jinhan.

Xiao Jinhan frowned, a hesitant look on his face.

Although he had sensed the distant anomaly, it was too far away for him to discern clearly.

Just then, a white light flickered on Xiao Jinhan's body and vanished in a flash.

He raised an eyebrow and pointed with one hand.

With a "whoosh," a mass of white light emerged—a communication array disk that radiated a circle of white light, forming a formation.

The formation rippled slightly, and a projection appeared—it was Ouyang Kuishan.

"Palace Master, we've found the entrance to the Taiyi Hall!" Ouyang Kuishan said with great joy.

"Oh? Where is it? How did you find it?" Xiao Jinhan showed little joy and instead asked.

"Just now, a burst of anomaly erupted at the entrance. I happened to be nearby and discovered it by chance. As for the location, it's here." Ouyang Kuishan said, waving his hand to send out a beam of light that formed a map.

On the map, a cyan light dot was blinking.

Xiao Jinhan's eyes flickered. According to the map, the entrance Ouyang Kuishan mentioned was exactly in the direction of the anomaly he had sensed.

"Good, I understand. Guard the entrance well. I'll be there shortly." Xiao Jinhan instructed.

"Palace Master, although the anomaly has disappeared now, it was quite noticeable just now. Please hurry over, or if other forces come here, we won't be able to hold them off." Ouyang Kuishan said.

"I know what I'm doing." Xiao Jinhan's expression turned slightly cold as he said.

"Yes." Ouyang Kuishan nodded.

Xiao Jinhan immediately formed hand seals to cut off the communication, and Ouyang Kuishan's figure trembled and disappeared.

He stood there, frowning in silence, as if pondering something.