Chapter 61: Undercurrents

"Since that person has been named on the Ten Directions Tower's wanted list, his strength must be considerable. Even if suppressed by the laws of the lower realm, he shouldn't be something that just two or three Mahayana cultivators can handle," Bone Flame said calmly after a moment of deliberation.

"There's no need to worry about that, Daoist friend. According to the information I've gathered, this man is now severely wounded and greatly weakened. At best, he's only slightly stronger than an average Mahayana cultivator," Pure Brightness said with a slight wave of his hand.

"Having a sect from the lower realm deal with an immortal is still too risky. It would be safer to wait until he leaves the Linghuan Realm and handle it ourselves," Bone Flame said after a long silence.

"I believe this matter should be dealt with promptly; delay may lead to变故. The Ten Directions Tower has set such a high bounty, which suggests that this man must harbor some great secret. Even if not, the bounty alone is enough to make it worth our while," Pure Brightness said slowly, his words full of temptation.

Bone Flame was silent, his eyes flickering as if moved by Pure Brightness's words.

After a moment, he finally spoke slowly: "Very well, I'll keep this in mind. If everything is as you say, our two sects will join forces to accomplish this. As for the specifics, we'll decide after I return to Blackwater City and discuss it."

"Wise decision, Brother Yan," Pure Brightness said with a smile.

...

Several days later, in the Linghuan Realm, deep within the Jingyuan Temple, a great hall.

The hall was empty, save for a white jade platform in the center, upon which a teleportation formation over ten zhang in size hummed and emitted a dazzling white light.

He Shan Daoist stood before the formation, expressionless, staring at it as if waiting for something.

After a moment, the white light from the teleportation formation pulsed, and circles of runes emerged from within, swirling up and down, radiating brilliant light.

Within the light, two figures, one tall and one short, materialized, and as the light faded, their true forms appeared.

The shorter one was a black-robed, bald old man with his hands clasped behind his back, slightly hunched, not even reaching the other's shoulder. His face was dark as iron, and he exuded an indescribable aura of yin coldness.

The other was a middle-aged man in a black robe, with a refined countenance—none other than Duan Renli.

"Daoist friend Tong, and Daoist friend Duan, your esteemed presence truly honors our Jingyuan Temple today. It's been many years since we last met, and you both look as distinguished as ever. Especially you, Daoist friend Tong, it seems your cultivation has greatly advanced—truly a cause for celebration!" He Shan Daoist said, cupping his hands and smiling.

The bald old man was none other than Tong Ren'e, another Mahayana existence from the Heavenly Ghost Sect. Not only was he the highest cultivator in the sect, but he was also regarded as the number one cultivator in the entire Linghuan Realm.

However, this man was of a solitary disposition, rarely staying within the sect for years on end, and no one knew where he usually went into seclusion.

The old man merely gave a slight nod to the He Shan Daoist, as a greeting.

"Daoist He Shan, long time no see." Duan Renli returned the greeting to He Shan Daoist with a faint smile.

"Two fellow daoists, this is not a place for conversation. Please, move to the side hall." He Shan Daoist chuckled, made a gesture of invitation, and then led the way.

After a moment, the three arrived at a side hall and took their seats as host and guests.

"Daoist He Shan, where is that Han Li now?" Tong Ren'e got straight to the point as soon as he sat down.

His voice was hoarse and grating, like the scraping of iron sheets, as if he had not spoken to anyone for a long time.

"To be honest with you two fellow daoists, this True Immortal Han is currently in our sect's Star-Gathering Platform. Since entering, he has not left even once. Counting the time, it has been half a year now." He Shan Daoist stated frankly.

"As a dignified True Immortal, he must have some purpose in borrowing the Star-Gathering Platform. Daoist He Shan, do you know the details?" Duan Renli's expression shifted, and he asked cautiously.

"I have considered this as well. I have observed from afar late at night several times, and also had a Nascent Soul cultivator from our sect keep watch day and night under the pretext of guarding. From the way he cultivates and the celestial phenomena he triggers, it seems he is practicing a special body-tempering technique that requires the power of stars." He Shan Daoist pondered for a moment and then said.

"This man's physical body is already incredibly formidable, and he can use some strange secret technique to transform into the true spirit Mountain Ape and Azure Luan. Now he continues to train his body. Could it be that this man is a Mystic Immortal who escaped to the lower realm?" Duan Renli speculated with some realization.

"Perhaps. According to what Patriarch Jingming said, this man was severely injured and had already lost his immortal body. Now, in this realm, his strength is also greatly suppressed, so he can only be considered a half-immortal." He Shan Daoist nodded noncommittally and said.

"Even a half-immortal is far beyond an ordinary Mahayana cultivator. It is always right to be cautious." Tong Ren'e said in a deep voice.

"Fellow Daoist Tong is right. This matter is unusual and involves great stakes. We must come up with a foolproof plan. That is why I invited you two here today." He Shan Daoist nodded solemnly upon hearing this.

"This is, after all, Daoist He Shan's territory. You must have already considered the plan for this operation. I would like to hear your opinion." Tong Ren'e looked at He Shan Daoist and said with a meaningful tone.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Tong is too kind. I do have some humble opinions, but they still need to be discussed with you two." He Shan Daoist chuckled.

...

Late at night.

Within the Jingyuan Temple, all was silent. Every pavilion and tower was shrouded in a hazy night, except for the peak of Jiugong Peak, which was brightly lit as if it were daytime.

Six enormous, thick beams of light descended from the starry sky, flickering with white light as they gradually faded, dissolving into specks of silver light.

The entire Star-Gathering Platform was filled with a mist of silver light motes.

On the platform's surface, Han Li sat cross-legged with eyes closed, his entire body translucent, with shimmering silver light flowing over his skin. The sharply defined muscles on his body emitted a faint silvery metallic luster, each sinew seeming as tough and resilient as refined gold.

On his chest and abdomen, six blue light points arranged like a colander flickered irregularly, strikingly conspicuous.

At that moment, six black lights flew out from the nearly dissipating beams of light, coalescing into six palm-sized ancient black mirrors, which flew into his body and vanished.

After a long while, Han Li slowly opened his eyes and let out a long breath.

With the aid of the two treasures, the Star-Gathering Platform and the Star-Moon Treasure Mirror, the sixth layer of the Little Dipper Stellar Primordial Art had finally reached great completion.

"One step remains."

Han Li murmured to himself, then stood up and took a step forward.

With a loud "boom,"

the entire Star-Gathering Platform shook, and his body stumbled. He had actually stepped a hole into the stone platform, embedding half his calf into it.

Seeing this, Han Li couldn't help but feel amused and exasperated. He hadn't expected such a dramatic change in his physical body after reaching great completion of the sixth layer.

He had merely failed to control the force of his step, not done it deliberately, yet it already possessed such astonishing destructive power.

Fortunately, the spot he had broken through was not inscribed with any star chart formations, so it would not affect the use of the Star-Gathering Platform. Otherwise, it would have been somewhat difficult to explain.

With this thought, he couldn't help but touch his nose.

Several elders of the Jingyuan Temple around the platform were startled by the intense vibration, then the other three looked toward the white-bearded old man in a brown robe, who was at the Body Integration stage.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." The white-bearded old man merely glanced upward briefly, then transmitted his voice to the other three, his lips moving slightly.

Since Han Li had come here to cultivate, he had almost grown accustomed to the actions of this high-level physical cultivator whose strength rivaled that of a Mahayana cultivator. For someone who could cultivate calmly under the cover of such vast and immense stellar power, what was there that he could not accomplish?

The order from the Supreme Grand Elder was merely to closely monitor this person's movements and avoid contact with him as much as possible.

On the Star-Gathering Platform, Han Li took a deep breath, flipped his wrist, and produced a gray shield about two feet long.

This shield was also a defensive treasure he had casually picked up during the earlier chaotic battle at the Heavenly Ghost Sect, seemingly obtained from some unlucky Deity Transformation cultivator. It was made entirely of flowing-light iron, with some refining crystals mixed in, and its surface was engraved with many profound runes, over which faint light flowed, clearly indicating its high grade.

He injected a bit of magical power into the shield, causing its surface to flicker with spiritual light as all the reinforcing restrictions within were activated. Then, grasping both ends of the shield, he applied some force with his hands.

With a "puff" sound, the spiritual light on the shield's surface dimmed, followed by a series of "clang" sounds. The entire black shield twisted and deformed under his kneading, like clay, being compressed into a ball.

Seeing this, Han Li was overjoyed.

According to his estimation, his current strength and physical toughness had nearly doubled compared to before.

He looked up at the brilliant stars in the sky, gradually calmed his mind, and sat back down on the image of the Big Dipper, closing his eyes to regulate his breathing.

About an hour later.

Han Li formed hand seals and began to chant the seventh-layer incantation of the Minor Big Dipper Star Origin Art.

The seven stars of the Big Dipper deep in the sky suddenly blazed with light, emitting a blue-silver radiance completely different from the surrounding stars, flickering violently on and off.

This time, seven immensely thick silver light pillars, as if solid, abruptly descended from the night sky and slammed onto the Star-Gathering Platform.

All the star charts engraved on the platform simultaneously burst with silver light, glowing brilliantly.

From afar, the entire platform appeared as if it had been cast in molten silver.

A thunderous boom was heard.

The entire Nine Peaks Mountain shook violently, and a vast expanse of silver light swept and flowed. A silver light vortex, ten times more powerful than before, surged forth and spun madly on the platform.

The protective light barrier that had originally enveloped the Star-Gathering Platform was caught in the狂暴 stellar force, torn into shreds, and dissipated as specks of golden light.

The four elders guarding the place were caught off guard and swept by the vortex's aftermath. Three of them, at the Deity Transformation stage, were involuntarily blasted backward.

The remaining elder, at the Body Integration stage, sensing something amiss, hastily offered several defensive treasures, barely withstanding the impact of the stellar force. After stabilizing himself in the void over a hundred zhang away, he looked at the Nine Peaks Mountain with a gaze full of shock and horror.