Chapter 490: I Believe

"Daoist Hu Yan, let's follow them." Han Li's heart stirred, and he immediately transmitted his voice to Hu Yan.

"What, did you find something?" Hu Yan was taken aback, speaking hesitantly.

Under such circumstances, actively following others could easily be seen as ill-intentioned or provocative.

And for now, he didn't want to provoke that old fox, Luo Qinghai.

In fact, Bai Liyan had told him many years ago that although Luo Qinghai seemed to be kind to everyone, he was actually the most calculating; it was better to offend Qi Tianxiao, the Vulture Emperor, than to provoke him.

"I suspect that Luo Qinghai's disciple has a special eye ability that can locate the Taiyi Hall, but I'm not sure. However, from Luo Qinghai's actions, there must be something odd about the two of them," Han Li explained.

"Given that old fox's nature, it would be normal for him to let others take the risk first. Taking the initiative to delve into the mist like this is indeed suspicious... Alright, let's follow them as you say." Hu Yan thought it over and made up his mind.

Han Li and Hu Yan moved, their figures flickering as they vanished into the white mist, following from afar.

Ouyang Kuishan glanced at the golden-haired man from the same Candragon Sect; they exchanged a look and flew off in a different direction to the left.

The two from the Nanli tribe also did not linger, choosing a direction and flying away.

Before long, of the ten who had entered together, only Feng Tiandu and Qi Tianxiao remained.

They watched the others leave one by one, their expressions unchanged, and said nothing.

"It's about time. Let's follow them too," Feng Tiandu suddenly spoke after a moment.

Then, with a wave of his hand, a layer of black light enveloped him and Qi Tianxiao, and they pursued the direction Han Li had taken.

Deep in the mist, Luo Qinghai and his disciple Nan Kemeng flew forward at a steady pace.

Suddenly, Nan Kemeng stopped, looked back into the mist for a moment, and said, "Great Palace Master, someone is following us..."

"Heh, that's not surprising. Tell me, who is it?" Luo Qinghai smiled and asked.

"Everyone." Nan Kemeng frowned slightly.

Hearing this answer, Luo Qinghai was momentarily taken aback, then revealed a mocking smile.

"The closest are the old and young from the True Flame Sect. Those from Candragon Sect and Nanli tribe chose detours, but they're still following our trajectory. The Vulture Sect is farther away, seemingly... following the two from True Flame Sect." Nan Kemeng glanced back and reported in detail.

"True Flame Sect, my foot! That black-bearded old man is Hu Yan from Candragon Sect. The dark-skinned man beside him is somewhat strange; I don't recall such a figure in our North Cold Immortal Domain... He seems to have popped out of nowhere; I can't see his origins for now." Luo Qinghai cursed with a laugh, then frowned.

"What should we do?" Nan Kemeng raised an eyebrow.

"The Taiyi Pill is about to be refined; we don't have time to waste with them. Let's go." Luo Qinghai's expression turned serious.

With that, he formed a hand seal, and a blue light rippled from his body, enveloping Nan Kemeng as well.

With a soft "pop,"

their figures instantly turned into a patch of colorful bubbles and dissipated into the mist.

Moments later, Han Li and Hu Yan arrived swiftly and hovered in that area.

"What happened?" Hu Yan asked in a deep voice.

"No wonder they weren't afraid of us following; they had a backup plan." Han Li's expression remained unchanged as he spoke slowly.

"That old fox! Now we're like headless flies again..." Hu Yan sighed.

"It's fine. I have another method to try, but I need you to release your domain to conceal me for a moment." Han Li hesitated briefly, then spoke.

"Alright. Go ahead." Hu Yan's expression turned serious, and he quickly agreed.

With that, a red light flashed on his body, and a layer of flame domain expanded, covering an area of several hundred zhang.

"I can't expand it further, or I can't guarantee to fully conceal your spell fluctuations." Hu Yan explained.

"Mm, this is enough. Any larger would attract attention." Han Li nodded.

Then, he formed hand seals before him, golden light surged behind him, and the Truthful Wheel of Time emerged.

Seeing the dense patterns on the gleaming golden wheel and feeling the strong time law fluctuations emanating from it, even the experienced Hu Yan was shocked.

"This, this..." His mouth hung open, unable to close for a long time.

Han Li ignored his astonishment and activated his Truthful Eye to examine the surroundings.

Soon, he noticed rippling spatial fluctuations deep in the white mist to his right front.

"Found it."

Han Li called out softly, withdrew his hand seals, and the Truthful Wheel of Time retracted its golden light and returned to his body.

"I knew you cultivated the Truthful Wheel Sutra, but I didn't expect you to have reached such a level with time law." Hu Yan, still not fully recovered, exclaimed in admiration.

"I've had some opportunities, so I've progressed quickly in this technique." Han Li smiled.

"Youngster Li, tell me honestly, have you been hiding your true cultivation level, or have you also cultivated the reincarnation law? Otherwise, how could you have advanced to mid-stage Golden Immortal in such a short time?" Hu Yan asked solemnly.

Han Li sighed and said helplessly, "What I told you before was no lie. Not long ago, I entered a peculiar secret realm and cultivated there for tens of thousands of years to reach mid-stage Golden Immortal. When I came out, I found that time inside was not equivalent to the outside; not even a moment had passed outside."

Hu Yan was silent for a long time after hearing this, then finally forced a smile and sighed, "Comparisons are odious. Youngster, your fortune is too good."

Han Li rolled his eyes but didn't explain.

How could he be considered fortunate? Every time he gained an opportunity, he was chased all over the world and barely escaped with his life.

Hu Yan suddenly stepped closer and extended his hand, palm open, revealing two snow-white jade slips inlaid with golden patterns.

Seeing this, Han Li raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Daoist Hu Yan, what are you doing?" he asked, puzzled.

"These are the fifth and sixth volumes of the Truthful Wheel Sutra. I can give them to you now, but I have a request." Hu Yan said solemnly.

"Tell me first." Han Li frowned.

"After entering the Taiyi Hall, do your best to help me obtain a Taiyi Pill, just one." Hu Yan spoke slowly.

"As long as it doesn't endanger my own life, I will do my best to help you." Han Li didn't agree outright but said this.

Hu Yan smiled and said, "I knew you'd say that... Take the techniques!"

Han Li took the two jade slips from his palm, briefly examined them, and stored them in his storage bracelet.

"Why not give them to me when we leave the immortal mansion? Or give me only one volume first? With that as a stake, I would still agree to help you." Han Li hesitated for a moment and asked.

"What if I said that seeing your cultivation skyrocket, I find you a rare commodity and want to befriend you—would you believe me?" Hu Yan raised an eyebrow and asked.

"I believe." Han Li nodded seriously.

Hu Yan was momentarily taken aback, then couldn't help but laugh and curse, "You little rascal..."

A smile also appeared on Han Li's face as he flew swiftly toward the right front.

Hu Yan shook his head with a smile and followed.

However, after flying for just a moment, he saw Han Li, who had been speeding ahead, suddenly flicker and disappear into the void.

Startled, Hu Yan quickly rushed forward, and his figure also vanished into the white mist.

An instant later, Han Li and he appeared one after the other in another realm.

"This is..."

Looking at the astonishing scene before him, Han Li couldn't help but murmur in admiration.

Below them, hundreds of zhang away in the void, floated a small landmass several hundred li in circumference, covered with lush trees of varying heights, with exquisite pavilions and towers nestled among them.

Several rivers like jade belts wound through it, flowing gently, cascading down at the edge of the land into continuous silver waterfalls, a scene of exquisite beauty.

On a relatively open area at the edge of the land, there was a lush green spirit beast enclosure, divided into hundreds of small sections, housing hundreds of strange beasts of various forms.

Opposite that, from the flat edge extending to the central hills, there was an extensive spirit herb garden, filled with all kinds of spirit herbs and immortal plants, from which medicinal vapors rose like smoke into the air.

"The bloodlines of the Rouge Horse and the Azure Bamboo Lion have been extinct in the North Cold Immortal Domain for tens of thousands of years. I never thought they'd be here, and so pure..." Hu Yan pointed at several fiery red tall horses and several azure-green lion-like beasts in the enclosure, exclaiming in admiration.

"That spirit herb garden must contain many high-grade immortal herbs over hundreds of thousands of years old, otherwise there wouldn't be purple smoke rising." Han Li couldn't help but say.

Meanwhile, the spirit beast enclosure and the spirit herb garden were dotted with servants dressed in black robes.

They held various tools, busy in the fields—some feeding spirit beasts, some irrigating herb fields, some harvesting horns and fur from rare beasts, and some picking fruits and leaves from spirit herbs. Their tasks were clearly divided and orderly.

In the center of the two areas, there was a white stone path, along which some black-clad servants were transporting the collected spirit beast materials and spirit herbs to the top of the path.

Han Li and Hu Yan looked at each other, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.