Chapter 577: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

On this day, the blazing sun hung high in the sky.

On a barren mountain with sparse trees, fierce winds howled incessantly, yet they could not disperse the thin layer of mist lingering in the air.

Just then, a flash of green light appeared in the distance and shot toward them.

The green light converged, revealing a jade flying carriage that slowly descended from the air.

Han Li leaped down from the carriage, glanced around, found a large tree with only bare branches that would take two people to encircle, sat down with his back against it, took out a pill and swallowed it, then closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Golden童 followed closely, riding the white jade Pixiu down from the sky and landing beside him.

Both the adult and the child looked extremely weary; even the Pixiu had its head drooping, listless, lying prone on the ground.

After a long while, Han Li exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and opened his eyes again. The fatigue on his face had diminished somewhat, but deep in his eyes there was still a trace of worry.

"Uncle, it's been over half a year now, and that thing hasn't moved from its spot," Golden童 said after hesitating for a moment.

"It seems the person who sent me the message is indeed extraordinarily powerful, able to trap a late-Taiyi stage spirit insect for so long. Even if its divine sense is a weakness, it's still quite impressive. I'm afraid the twenty years he mentioned are likely true," Han Li nodded and said.

"Then is this person really helping us?" Golden童 blinked and asked.

"It's hard to say for now. After all, this is the Wildlands; anything is possible," Han Li said noncommittally.

"Yeah. Uncle, this is your first time in the Wildlands. Even the Northern Cold Immortal Domain is full of deceit and treachery; I don't believe there are any good people in the Wildlands!" Golden童 said with deep conviction.

"That's not necessarily true. Most of the true immortals in the various immortal domains think highly of themselves, appearing immortal and worldly-wise, but behind the scenes they engage in countless schemes and intrigues. Although the Wildlands also have constant conflicts, they are much clearer about right and wrong, gratitude and grudges," the Pixiu Xiao Bai suddenly raised its head and spoke.

"Xiao Bai, how dare you say that! Have you forgotten how the beast clans repaid kindness with enmity?" Golden童 reached out and patted down the Pixiu's just-raised head, saying angrily.

"Boss, you can't generalize! Those beast clans are just some small tribes on the edge of the Wildlands. The true great clans of the Wildlands place great importance on karma and retribution!" Xiao Bai argued.

"Great clans of the Wildlands..." Han Li's eyes brightened slightly as he murmured to himself.

"Uncle, have you thought of something?" Golden童, seeing this, stopped paying attention to Xiao Bai and asked hastily.

"That person can restrain the Devouring Gold Immortal for twenty years and can transmit sound directly into my sea of consciousness without me detecting a trace. This shows his cultivation is extremely high—at least late Taiyi... maybe even Taiyi peak or Da Luo level. I've never known anyone of such a level, but he might come from one of the great clans of the Wildlands that Xiao Bai mentioned," Han Li shook his head and said.

"It doesn't really matter. As long as they're helping us, whether they're from a great clan or a small clan. If only he could trap that Devouring Gold Immortal for two hundred years... no, two thousand years would be even better!" Golden童 said.

"Why two thousand years, not trap it forever?" Han Li was amused by Golden童's carefree attitude and rare teased him.

"With two thousand years, following Uncle around eating and drinking, maybe I'll become stronger than that thing. Then I'll just wait for it to come to me and swallow it, saving me the trouble of searching the whole world for it!" Golden童 perked up at the mention of eating.

"It didn't swallow you, and you're thinking of swallowing it instead?" Han Li found this somewhat speechless.

"Yeah! Although I don't know why, ever since I can remember, there's been an urge inside me driving me to devour all the same kind I can find. That feeling was especially strong when that thing was chasing us," Golden童 said seriously.

"Perhaps that is the mission of you Devouring Gold Insects," Han Li said thoughtfully.

Golden童 didn't quite understand Han Li's meaning and didn't dwell on it, continuing to ask, "So, Uncle, what should we do next? If it's really not possible, maybe we should take his advice and go back to the Northern Cold Immortal Domain?"

"There's no way back to the Northern Cold Immortal Domain. The Immortal Palace's wanted notice must have already been issued. Going back would be walking into a trap," Han Li said with a bitter smile.

"Then we keep going forward?" Golden童 nodded in agreement and asked again.

"Before, we were chased all over by your kind. Now we can only determine the general direction, and we've deviated from all our original routes by who knows how many tens of thousands of miles. With our current cultivation, if we keep blindly charging ahead like this, we're bound to run into trouble. After all, the words of someone who can easily trap a late-Taiyi stage existence should be taken seriously," Han Li said.

"This won't do, that won't do. Uncle, you're not thinking of finding a place to go into seclusion here, are you?" Golden童 was startled and asked.

"Exactly," Han Li nodded.

At these words, both Golden童 and the Pixiu were shocked.

"Going into seclusion in the Wildlands? Uncle, you're not joking, are you? Besides, cultivation levels can't be raised in a short time," Golden童 said worriedly.

"It's a last resort... Since we're already here and stuck between a rock and a hard place, unable to advance or retreat, we might as well take a gamble and use these twenty years to improve our cultivation. Maybe we can find a glimmer of hope," Han Li said slowly, his gaze firming.

"Alright. Since you say so, Uncle, I'm willing to believe you. Go ahead and go into seclusion; I'll take care of guarding you," Golden童 took a deep breath and puffed out his chest.

Hearing Golden童's confident declaration, the white jade Pixiu silently buried its head between its front paws.

"No rush. I wasn't just traveling these past six months; I was also looking for a suitable place for seclusion. I've already chosen one, but it's not here," Han Li said with a hint of a smile.

"Not here? This barren mountain area has no strange beasts; isn't it a good place for seclusion?" Golden童 asked, puzzled.

"Do you remember the abyss we passed a few days ago?" Han Li's eyes flickered as he asked calmly.

"I remember. It's not far from the valley where that tree demon was. It's pitch black inside, and from far away you could smell a stench and baleful aura... Uncle, you're not planning to go into seclusion there, are you?" Golden童 exclaimed in surprise.

"Exactly. In the Wildlands, fierce beasts and strange creatures each have their own territories and usually don't invade each other's. That tree demon has considerable cultivation, which is why the beast chasing us before voluntarily retreated when it reached its territory. If we stay in the tree demon's territory, we won't be disturbed by other fierce beasts," Han Li explained.

"That makes sense, but how can that tree demon allow us to go into seclusion in its territory?" Golden童 still didn't understand.

"Did you notice that the tree demon's roots spread throughout that valley and a large area outside, but didn't extend into that abyss? Do you know why?" Han Li changed the subject and asked.

Golden童 hadn't noticed that at all, so he naturally didn't know and could only shake his head blankly.

"Trees and plants mostly rely on rainwater and sunlight, so they prefer warm, moist environments, even after they become demons. That abyss is extremely dark with almost no sunlight, so the tree demon is unwilling to extend its roots there," Han Li continued to explain.

"So that's it," Golden童 said, suddenly understanding.

"More importantly, the baleful aura in that abyss is very dense, which is exactly what I need... Alright, we've rested enough. Let's head there now," Han Li said slowly.

With that, he swept his sleeve to envelop Golden童 and the white jade Pixiu, and together they boarded the flying carriage, which turned into a beam of green light and sped toward the abyss.

More than ten days later, the jade flying carriage stopped above a surface fissure that was only tens of miles long and a few hundred zhang wide.

Han Li stood at the front of the carriage, looking down at the abyss below, a hesitant expression on his face.

In fact, what he had told Golden童 earlier was mostly based on his guesses. Entering this abyss also involved considerable risk.

In the Wildlands, teeming with fierce beasts, who could guarantee that there wasn't something inside this abyss comparable to that tree demon or true spirits? Perhaps what kept the tree demon from setting foot there wasn't the lack of sunlight, but some powerful being within that it feared?

Han Li shook his head, deciding not to borrow trouble. Given the current situation, he couldn't afford any more concerns.

The next moment, he leaped downward and descended into the abyss.

As soon as he entered the abyss, the surrounding light immediately dimmed, and from all directions came a nauseating stench, accompanied by an extremely dense baleful aura.

Han Li remained unmoved, a layer of green light shield forming around him. He descended nearly a thousand zhang before suddenly releasing his divine sense to probe the abyss.

Upon probing, he discovered that the abyss was much deeper than he had imagined, seemingly bottomless, yet for some reason, he sensed no trace of any living creature inside.

Han Li pressed close to one side of the abyss wall and sped downward. The deeper he went, the more astonished he became.

On both sides of the cliff walls were rugged, protruding rocks, interspersed with some relatively flat stone ledges—some only a zhang square, others dozens of zhang wide.

On these strange protruding rocks, in the cracks of the stone walls, and on the cliff ledges, piles of bones glowing with faint green phosphorescent fire were scattered everywhere. Some were oddly shaped, some were enormous, and there were a great many of them.

Seeing this, Han Li couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Could it be that the baleful aura here was so dense because the tree demon had discarded the corpses of many strange beasts it had killed here, and after countless years of accumulation, it had become like this?