Chapter 47 Probing

It was still the dead of night, and all was silent.

Han Li left his cave dwelling, and with a flash of遁光, he shot into the air, heading in a certain direction.

But he had not flown far when the sky before him suddenly darkened, and a vast, hazy white palm materialized silently out of nowhere, descending.

A loud “hissing” sound arose as countless white fire lotuses appeared like scattered blossoms, spinning swiftly and shooting out countless petals that instantly covered an area over a hundred zhang in radius, leaving Han Li no room to dodge.

The temperature of the nearby air plummeted under a wave of extreme cold, and even the ground on the nearby mountain peaks became covered in a layer of crystalline frost.

Han Li was momentarily startled, then raised his hand and punched the air, sending a surge of invisible force rushing forth.

A series of chaotic “bang bang bang” sounds rang out!

Almost all the white fire lotuses burst like bubbles, scattering into shimmering specks of light that dissipated.

The white giant palm also seemed pressed by this immense force, its surface spiritual light trembling wildly, and the nearby void twisted slightly before erupting into a rumbling hum.

The owner of the giant palm seemed somewhat caught off guard and hastily withdrew it, vanishing into the void.

Then, not far away, the void rippled, and a figure shrouded in white light, its face indistinguishable, emerged, holding a crystalline blue jade ruler inscribed with spiral-like mysterious patterns.

As soon as the figure appeared, it flipped its hand and tossed the jade ruler high into the air.

The ruler spun swiftly, growing to over a hundred zhang in size as it caught the wind, its surface spiritual patterns lighting up in succession, emitting a dazzling blue radiance.

The white figure raised its hand.

A loud tearing sound filled the air!

With a long cry, the giant ruler descended toward Han Li with the sound of wind and thunder.

Han Li’s eyes flickered, and his sleeve moved as a hand with five fingers spread reached out and grasped the void.

Before he even gripped it, a force that seemed to solidify the air surged like a tidal wave toward the giant ruler, causing its surface spiritual light to tremble wildly as it spun in the air, unable to descend.

At that moment, the spiritual patterns on the giant ruler blazed brightly, faintly revealing the phantom of a beast with an ox’s head and a dragon’s body, which opened its mouth and let out a strange cry like an ox’s bellow.

The blue giant ruler buzzed and trembled, about to press down again.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and activated the Little Dipper Star Art within his body. Five blue lights flashed at his chest and abdomen, faintly revealing a clear pattern of the Big Dipper, but only five major stars were dazzlingly bright, while the other two were dim.

The five fingers he had extended suddenly closed, and the nearby void twisted and shook violently!

The strange dragon phantom on the blue giant ruler let out a mournful cry and burst apart with a “bang.”

“Fellow Daoist Han, I am Sima Jingming. Please show mercy!” the white figure hurriedly called out upon seeing this.

As his words fell, the white light around him faded, revealing a purple-robed man with white hair.

Han Li’s eyes flickered, and his fist, which was about to clench completely, paused.

Sima Jingming formed hand seals with lightning speed, and the blue giant ruler shrank a hundredfold, flashing as it returned to his hand.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Through this spiritual treasure, he could clearly feel how terrifying that grasp was. If he had hesitated even a moment longer, the treasure would have been destroyed or at least lost much of its spiritual nature.

Although he had not used his full strength, seeing the other party’s casual demeanor, it was clear that he too had held back.

“What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist Sima?” Han Li asked with an expressionless face, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Please don’t take offense, Fellow Daoist Han. I meant no harm; I only wanted to test your true strength. After all, your agreement with the Ancestor is extremely important to our sect. I had to see what our sect’s million years of accumulated resources could buy.” Sima Jingming put away the jade ruler with a smile.

“And what do you think now?” Han Li raised an eyebrow, a faint, ambiguous smile on his face.

“Brother Han’s strength far exceeds my expectations, and to have cultivated the Little Dipper Star Art to such a level in such a short time is truly eye-opening. Our sect has had cultivators practice this technique before, but they only scratched the surface.” Sima Jingming sighed and praised sincerely.

“You flatter me, Fellow Daoist Sima,” Han Li said with a slight smile.

After a pause, he continued, “As for the lost scriptures from your sect’s藏经阁, I can copy them out after I finish my current business.”

“You are too kind, Fellow Daoist Han. Our sect has other copies of the missing texts. I only ask that you not forget what you promised the Ancestor.” Sima Jingming cupped his hands in a distant salute.

“I never go back on my word,” Han Li said frankly.

“Good. With that assurance, I am relieved. It seems Brother Han has matters to attend to, so I will not disturb you further.” Sima Jingming tactfully cupped his hands again.

Han Li said nothing more, and with a flash of azure spiritual light, he flew off into the distance, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

…

The Immortal Realm, Northern Frost Immortal Domain.

A verdant mountain peak over a thousand zhang high was shrouded in mist formed by dense spiritual energy. At its summit stood a magnificent golden hall, gleaming brilliantly in the morning sun.

At that moment, inside the hall, an old man with a long beard, wearing a purple-gold Daoist robe and a lotus crown, sat on a large rosewood chair. Holding a crystal-clear jade teacup, he took a slow sip before looking up at the person before him.

That person, who appeared to be in his twenties or thirties and dressed in black, bowed respectfully to the old man and said, “Revered Immortal Tongxu, I am Fang Pan. I have come today to ask you to use your celestial secret arts to help me find someone.”

“I have no interest in who you are, but you should know the rules of this Tongxu Pavilion, shouldn’t you?” the old man said calmly, setting down the teacup on the side table.

“One ten-thousand-year-old Void Sea Sunflower, two top-grade Golden Pupil Dragon Eye Stones, and a bottle of Boyang Return Yin Water. Are you satisfied, Reverend?” the black-clad youth immediately stepped forward and said.

As he spoke, two exquisite purple boxes and a white jade bottle materialized in the void before him, their lids and stoppers opening to reveal the contents.

The old man glanced over them, his eyes brightening slightly, and nodded. “Somewhat sincere. Tell me, who are you looking for?”

“This person was a formidable enemy I once encountered. I thought he had died at my hands three hundred years ago, but I recently learned he may still be alive. I do not know his current whereabouts, so I ask the Reverend to help me find him,” the black-clad youth said, frowning slightly.

“Do you have anything related to his bloodline, such as hair or scales?” the old man asked.

The black-clad youth hesitated for a moment, then produced a white porcelain bottle and handed it over, saying,

“This person’s bloodline is somewhat special. When I fought him back then, I managed to obtain this drop of essence blood. Reverend, see if it is usable.”

The old man took the bottle and shook it, finding it quite heavy. He opened the lid and sniffed it, his expression changing.

“How strange! What kind of person is this? His blood contains so many types of true spirit power?” Tongxu exclaimed in surprise.

“Well… to be honest, Reverend, this person is a lower-realm ascendant. He possesses many strange techniques and formidable strength. I was only able to defeat him by luck back then,” the black-clad youth said after a slight hesitation.

“A lower-realm ascendant… Enough, follow me.”

Tongxu pondered for a moment, then stood up and walked toward the back hall with one hand behind his back.

The black-clad youth followed him around an exquisite gold-lacquered screen in the main hall, through the back hall, and into a secret chamber.

The chamber was quite spacious, with three concentric rings of dense patterns carved into the floor, clearly some extremely complex array. There were no tables or chairs, only a large bronze urn placed in the center.

The urn was about three feet high, its surface also covered in ancient, strange patterns that seamlessly connected with the floor patterns, forming a unified whole.

The black-clad youth followed Tongxu to the urn and looked down to see it filled with black liquid, on which the two figures were faintly reflected.

The old man opened the porcelain bottle, turned his wrist, and poured the drop of essence blood inside.

“Ding dong.”

A drop of pale golden blood slid from the bottle, fell into the urn with a soft sound, and sent out circular ripples that spread outward.

Immediately, Fang Pan saw the pitch-black liquid in the urn recede with the ripples, turning clear in the blink of an eye.

Through the liquid surface, he could see that the bottom of the urn was also engraved with circular patterns.

Seeing this, Tongxu began to silently chant an obscure incantation, his lips moving.

“Open!”

After a while, he shouted sharply, pointed two fingers at his own brow, and then pointed at the bronze urn.

A dull “hum” sounded.

As his two fingers touched the rim of the urn, it shook violently, and the patterns on its surface emitted a strong green light.

Then, the light spread along the runes, quickly lighting up the entire array on the floor.

Before Fang Pan could react, he was enveloped in a green glow.

In a daze, he found himself standing on a vast expanse of water. Looking around, he saw a ring of green mountains surrounding him.

“This is… inside the urn!” After a moment, the black-clad youth murmured in realization.