Chapter 649: The Lost Sect

"If I were in your situation, Fellow Daoist, I would also want to find an ally." Han Li smiled and said noncommittally.

"Indeed, that was also my consideration when I wanted Fellow Daoist Li to accompany me earlier. But since you declined at the time, I didn't get a chance to mention this alliance." The Heavenly Fire Immortal shook his head and said somewhat helplessly.

"If I weren't already burdened with troubles, I might have agreed then... Regardless, now we are traveling together, just with the added identity of a Reincarnation Palace member." Han Li looked directly at him and said slowly.

The Heavenly Fire Immortal hesitated repeatedly, and after a long delay, said:

"Fellow Daoist Li, we met at Wild Crane Valley. Though we are not sworn brothers, we can be considered gentlemen friends. Can you tell me frankly what task the Reincarnation Palace assigned you? Is it related to the 'Grand Five Elements Illusory World Art'?"

"Fellow Daoist Heavenly Fire, to be honest, I am not a true core member of the Reincarnation Palace. The task I received is merely to assist Hu San in exploring the Truthful Word Sect ruins, but I truly do not know what he intends to do." Han Li said candidly.

"Since you say so, I have no reason not to believe you. I do not trust Hu San and Shi Chuankong, as each serves his own master and their intentions are unpredictable. As for whether we can form an alliance for this expedition, I hope to get a definite answer from you." The Heavenly Fire Immortal gritted his teeth and said.

"With the Reincarnation Palace task weighing on me, there are things I must do. But when it comes to matters involving your life, Fellow Daoist, I cannot guarantee I will do my utmost to save you, but I will certainly not stand idly by, nor will I kick you when you're down." Han Li said after a moment's thought.

"Good! With your words, I feel reassured. Once this matter is over, I will repay you handsomely." The Heavenly Fire Immortal clasped his hands slightly.

Han Li returned the gesture.

The two chatted for a while about old times at Cloudy Mountain before the Heavenly Fire Immortal took his leave.

...

More than ten days later, early in the morning.

Han Li and the Heavenly Fire Immortal arrived together at the battlement where the ferry was docked, only to find Hu San waiting there alone.

"Eh, where is Fellow Daoist Shi?" After exchanging greetings, Han Li asked with a slight surprise.

"Brother Shi probably has some matters to attend to and will be a bit late. Time really flies; I haven't had my fill yet." Hu San yawned and said lazily.

"It seems Fellow Daoist Hu San went to the arena again yesterday." Han Li said with a slight smile.

"Ah, don't mention it." Hu San waved his hand.

After waiting for about a quarter of an hour, Shi Chuankong and Manager Zhu arrived belatedly. After apologizing, they boarded the ship together.

Traveling with the ship were a Golden Immortal后期 guest elder of Guangyuan Hall and a True Immortal初期 steward. The former only showed himself briefly to exchange a few words before returning to his meditation room, while the latter stayed with them, arranging guest rooms one by one.

The ferry was enormous, thousands of zhang in size. Besides the cargo holds, it had over three hundred guest rooms, which were generally not rented out but reserved for the商会's own use.

Han Li chose a guest room in the lower deck. The conditions were slightly worse than those above, but it had the advantage of being far from other rooms, relatively secluded and quiet.

The True Immortal steward accompanied Han Li through the cargo hold to his guest room.

Passing through the cargo hold, Han Li saw neatly stacked black boxes about a zhang square, inscribed with special runes. A hint of doubt flickered in his eyes.

"Steward Hu, the spiritual power fluctuations on these black boxes feel familiar, somewhat like storage pouches?" Han Li asked with some confusion.

"You are right, Senior. These black boxes are indeed storage artifacts. They are actually simpler to make than storage pouches. Each can store goods about a hundred times its own volume, but the storage duration is not as long as that of storage pouches. Still, they are sufficient for transporting things like spiritual soil." The True Immortal steward explained.

"I see." Han Li nodded.

Continuing deeper into the cargo hold, Han Li also saw some specially made cages, some a hundred zhang tall, others only three chi in size, entwined with strands of electric light and sealed with talismans.

Inside the cages lay beasts and spirits, some covered in wounds, others listless.

"There are always people who like these oddities and are willing to pay high prices. See that Barbarian Sand Lion? The arena in Spirit Swamp City specifically requested it. We went to great lengths to get it from the border of the Barbarian Wilds." The True Immortal steward pointed to a cage and said unprompted.

Han Li frowned slightly but said nothing.

Seeing this, the True Immortal steward wisely shut his mouth and did not continue.

After escorting Han Li to the door of his guest room, he couldn't help but ask, "Senior, are you sure you don't want to change to a superior guest room?"

"No need. I prefer quiet places. I appreciate Steward Hu's kindness." Han Li said with a smile.

"Then... if you have any instructions, Senior, please feel free to mention them. I'll take my leave now." The True Immortal steward withdrew.

After he left, Han Li opened the door and entered, only to find that the guest room was quite spacious, with a quiet chamber and a reception hall in addition to the bedroom.

The quiet chamber and the reception hall were adjacent to the side of the ship, each with a small window that offered a view of a patch of sky outside.

After surveying the room, Han Li began to take out array instruments one by one and set up a formation throughout the guest room.

Only after completing the setup did he come to the quiet chamber, sit down cross-legged, close his eyes, and regulate his breathing.

Night fell, and the cold moonlight streamed through the porthole, casting a white patch about a foot in size.

Han Li took off the dark green vial from his chest and placed it in the white patch of light. After gazing at it for a moment, he turned his wrist and took out a jade slip recording the fifth layer of the Divine Refining Art, pressing it against his brow to delve into comprehension.

...

The ferry sailed through the void, time flowing quietly, and thirty years passed in a flash.

By alternately using teleportation arrays and taking ferries, Han Li and the others traveled safely through the Wulong Continent and entered the central part of the Fuqiu Continent.

One day, after Han Li had been in seclusion for a long time, Hu San knocked on the door of his guest room.

"Brother Li, don't get so absorbed in seclusion that you forget the important matters. We're almost at Yanbo City, and we need to disembark here." Hu San looked Han Li up and down and said with a smile.

"I would like to forget about this matter, but Brother Hu San certainly wouldn't allow it. Haha... Brother, go ahead. I'll pack up and join you all on the deck shortly." Han Li also joked in return.

Hu San nodded and then left.

Han Li closed the door, gathered all the array flags and plates in the room, erased all traces of his own aura left behind, and then left for the deck.

Half an hour later, Han Li and his three companions left the ferry, flew down to the official road outside Yanbo City, and walked slowly toward the city.

"Hu San, why didn't we disembark at Huan Yan City as previously agreed? I had already arranged everything there, but you insisted on getting off here." Shi Chuankong seemed somewhat dissatisfied with this and asked.

"Brother Shi, you wouldn't know this. Everyone knows that the appearance of the Illusory Smoke is a sign of the True Word Sect ruins emerging, but do they know where the Illusory Smoke originates?" Hu San said with a look of disdain.

"You mean the Illusory Smoke originates near Yanbo City?" Shi Chuankong said skeptically.

"Although Yanbo City, Huan Yan City, Fenghui City, and Liuyan City are all distributed along the coast of the Illusory Smoke Swamp, the previous observations of the Illusory Smoke's appearance almost always started with Yanbo City. This shows that its origin must be closest to Yanbo City. According to my speculation, it is very likely near Youfu Island." Hu San chuckled but still explained a few sentences.

"Brother Hu San, what is this Illusory Smoke you're talking about?" Han Li asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Let me explain this matter... After the True Word Sect was destroyed, for some reason, almost the entire sect was lost except for a few fragments. Since then, every 3,600 years, when a pink mist rises over the Illusory Smoke Swamp, some ruins of the True Word Sect appear, but most of the time they are like mirages—fleeting, visible but unattainable." The Re He Immortal Venerable said slowly, his gaze focused.

"It seems Brother Re He has done quite a bit of research on the True Word Sect ruins." Shi Chuankong raised an eyebrow and said.

"Just some scattered rumors." The Re He Immortal Venerable laughed it off.

"In fact, there were no True Word Sect ruins in the past, and the Illusory Smoke Swamp was not originally called by this name." Hu San changed the subject and said.

"No ruins?" Han Li was somewhat surprised and raised an eyebrow.

"Correct. About tens of thousands of years ago, the Illusory Smoke first appeared on this swamp, and the True Word Sect ruins gradually emerged. It was only from then on that this place was renamed the Illusory Smoke Swamp." Hu San nodded and said.

"So the True Word Sect ruins appeared suddenly? How could that be?" Han Li frowned and asked.

"As for the reason... there is still no conclusion. However, Brother Shi speculated that the battle that destroyed the True Word Sect was so earth-shattering that the entire sect fell into a spatial rift, hence it vanished without a trace. It was only tens of thousands of years ago, by some chance, that it re-emerged." Hu San explained.

"I was just guessing casually, not to be taken seriously. Don't mislead Brother Li." Shi Chuankong waved his hand with a smile.

"Brother Shi is too modest. I think this is very likely the truth." Han Li said solemnly.

The group walked and talked, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the city gate of Yanbo City. At the entrance, there was only a team led by an early True Immortal cultivator checking the identities of those entering the city, and the inspection was not strict.

After paying a small fee, Han Li and the others easily entered the city.