Chapter 698: The Agreement

Time passed, and seven days and seven nights went by.

Han Li sat cross-legged on the stone beach, waiting. During this time, he noticed that regardless of day or night, the sky was always covered by a layer of dark clouds that pressed down extremely low.

During the day, three suns hung in the sky, and at night, six moons were aligned in a row. No matter the time, the six moons were always full, never waxing or waning.

But in any case, the dark clouds never dispersed, so he had no way to try to condense green liquid with the small bottle.

Sometimes at night, muffled thunder-like sounds came from deep within the clouds, one after another, leading him to suspect that some fierce beast was hiding there. He would concentrate and be on guard, but in the end, everything was calm and nothing happened.

One morning, thick fog rose from the ground, making the surrounding baleful aura even denser.

While Han Li was meditating with his eyes closed, he suddenly heard a light cough. He slowly opened his eyes and saw that Shi Chuankong had awakened.

Shi Chuankong propped himself up and sat up. He first glanced at Han Li, then unhurriedly checked his storage magic tools. His eyes were full of doubt, and he asked somewhat abruptly, “Why?”

“Why save you? Or why not kill you?” Han Li asked expressionlessly.

Shi Chuankong rubbed his brow heavily, his memory gradually returning completely. He said, “Earlier, just after arriving here, I was attacked by something—whether a demon beast or something else. Did you save me?”

“It shouldn’t be a demon beast, or at least not in the usual sense. It’s a creature unique to this area,” Han Li said noncommittally.

“Where is this place?” Shi Chuankong looked around and asked.

“If I’m not mistaken, we were swallowed by a spatial vortex in the ruins of the Truthful Word Sect and came to the Gray Realm,” Han Li said calmly.

Although he had suspected this before and obtained some clues from Mo Guang, he hadn’t been completely certain that this was the so-called Gray Realm. But now, after observing various conditions over time, combined with his past understanding of the Gray Realm, he was able to make a judgment.

“What? You say we’ve arrived in the Gray Realm?” Shi Chuankong said incredulously.

After saying this, he quickly examined the surrounding situation. His expression changed several times, and only after a long while did he calm down.

“I never thought we would come to the Gray Realm in this way…” Shi Chuankong said with a bitter smile.

“Earlier, you were eroded by the baleful aura here. I used a Purifying Baleful Pill to remove part of it. It seems there is still some residual poison. Now that you’re awake, you should be able to handle it yourself,” Han Li said slowly.

“Purifying Baleful Pill… Why were you willing to use it to save me? In my view, letting that monster kill me, or killing me yourself and taking my treasures, would have been more advantageous…” Shi Chuankong looked at Han Li and asked.

“If I’m not mistaken, you are not an ordinary demon, and you have a deep connection with the Guangyuan Pavilion, right?” Han Li countered.

“You saved me because of my identity? Fellow Daoist Li, you don’t seem like that kind of person, do you?” Shi Chuankong was first stunned, then sneered.

“No matter what you think, you now owe me your life. After we return to the Immortal Realm, I want you to use the resources of the Guangyuan Pavilion to the fullest to help me search for someone. That shouldn’t be too difficult for you, should it?” Han Li said with a focused gaze.

Shi Chuankong stared into Han Li’s eyes, seeing his calm expression, not seeming fake, and felt somewhat uncertain.

“Is that really all you want?” he asked, somewhat incredulous.

“It’s useless to say more now. You’ll know when we return to the Immortal Domain. The Guangyuan Pavilion is in business; I believe you value integrity more than I do, right?” Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

“I can agree to the matter of finding someone, and I can even promise that if you encounter difficulties in the future, I will do my best to help you once,” Shi Chuankong finally believed Han Li’s words and nodded.

“What are the conditions?” Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly and asked.

“No conditions at all; otherwise, my life, Shi Chuankong’s life, would be too cheap,” Shi Chuankong said with a slight smile.

“Rest for a few more days. When your injuries recover, we must leave here. First, we need to figure out exactly where we are, and then find a way to return to the Immortal Realm,” Han Li said, then closed his eyes.

Shi Chuankong said nothing more, only took a deep look at Han Li, still feeling unable to see through this person. He shook his head, took out a pill, swallowed it, and then sat cross-legged with eyes closed, quietly regulating his breath.

After a few more days like this, the two chose a direction and drove the jade-green flying chariot together, leaving the stone beach and flying far away.

After flying for several days, the surroundings remained monotonous black and white, and the terrain below had hardly changed.

Han Li stood at the front of the flying chariot, watching the scenery flash by, his eyes flickering.

Although this place looked monotonous in color, it was not truly desolate. The ground was covered with vegetation, as well as some insects and small beasts, and even some small exotic beasts.

These exotic beasts survived in an environment full of baleful aura without being affected at all, which was somewhat similar to the relationship between the creatures of the Immortal Realm and the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

“It seems this really is the Gray Realm. That could be troublesome,” Shi Chuankong frowned and said worriedly.

“What do you mean by that, Fellow Daoist Shi?” Han Li glanced at Shi Chuankong and asked.

“Although I have never been to the Gray Realm, I have heard that many forces in this realm are hostile to both you Immortal Realm cultivators and us demons. If our identities are discovered, the trouble will be considerable,” Shi Chuankong said gravely.

“I have heard something about that too. In that case, it’s better to make some disguises,” Han Li said after a moment’s thought. He formed hand seals and stomped hard on the flying chariot.

A black light surged from his body, quickly enveloping the entire flying chariot.

Han Li muttered incantations and continuously formed hand seals.

Strands of black light shot out, wrapping around the flying chariot. From time to time, black runes flew out and merged into the chariot.

The emerald-green flying chariot quickly turned gray-black, and the green light on its surface turned into black light, emitting waves of baleful aura.

“I didn’t expect Fellow Daoist Li to have such skill in artifact refining, transforming this flying chariot in an instant,” Shi Chuankong praised.

“It’s just a simple disguise. Changing the chariot is easy, but changing our own auras is more difficult,” Han Li said, glancing at Shi Chuankong.

He was now covered in baleful aura, especially with Mo Guang present, so disguising himself as a Gray Immortal would be easy. The key was whether Shi Chuankong could do it.

“Fellow Daoist Li need not worry about me; I have my own methods,” Shi Chuankong said with a faint smile.

Han Li nodded and said nothing more, continuing to control the flying chariot forward.

Shi Chuankong lowered his head in thought. After a moment, he waved his hand, and a white light flashed in his palm, revealing a thumb-sized white bead.

He formed hand seals and pointed at the white bead.

The bead immediately emitted strands of white light. Inside the bead, a white vortex appeared, spinning rapidly.

The baleful aura in the nearby air immediately converged toward it. The white vortex inside the bead quickly turned gray, and the light it emitted also turned gray.

Han Li watched this scene with a hint of surprise in his eyes. He glanced at the bead but quickly looked away and continued to focus on controlling the flying chariot.

After flying for another half day, the terrain below finally began to change. The ground became flat, covered with large patches of wheat-like plants over one zhang tall, dark gray in color, resembling a vast grassland.

Wind blew across the grassland, and the gray plants undulated like rolling waves, quite spectacular.

After flying for a while longer, Han Li’s brow suddenly twitched. He formed a hand seal and waved, and the flying chariot immediately stopped.

He looked toward the left front, and Shi Chuankong also looked in that direction.

About a thousand li away, a long procession was winding forward. At the front were over a dozen large carts, pulled by rhinoceros-like giant beasts.

Near the carts were tall figures, numbering three to four thousand.

These figures had human-like lower bodies but lizard-like beast heads, and their skin was covered with gray scales.

At the rear of the procession was a herd of gray elk-like exotic beasts, with coral-like antlers that had a crystalline sheen. There were tens of thousands of them, being driven forward slowly.

This procession looked very much like a nomadic tribe migrating with the grassland.

These lizard-men were clearly intelligent beings, and their auras were quite powerful. One of them had even reached the Mahayana level, and their internal aura was also surging with baleful qi.

Han Li and Shi Chuankong exchanged glances, both showing a hint of joy.

Finally, they could find out about the situation here.

Han Li put away the flying chariot. Gray light flickered on his body, and a large amount of gray mist surged from within him. In an instant, his entire aura changed dramatically, emitting surging baleful qi, and his eyes became a hazy gray.

Shi Chuankong saw Han Li transform into a different person in an instant, his aura almost identical to the Gray Immortals they had encountered in the Truthful Word Sect ruins, and he was secretly shocked.

But he also took out the bead and swallowed it.

Immediately, streams of gray qi surged from his body as well, and his whole person changed greatly, emitting a cold feeling, and his eyes also turned gray.

Although Shi Chuankong’s transformation was not as perfect as Han Li’s, it simulated about sixty to seventy percent.

Just as the two had completed their transformations and were about to fly over, a rumbling sound suddenly came from ahead.

“It seems our luck is good,” Han Li raised an eyebrow and said with a light laugh.

As his words fell, his figure shot forward and disappeared in a flash.

Shi Chuankong’s eyes also lit up slightly, then he turned into a gray light, following closely behind Han Li, breaking through the air ahead.

The lizard-man procession was suddenly in chaos, the cause being seven gray strange birds flying from deep within the grassland.

These birds were over ten zhang in size, shaped like giant bats, without a single feather. Their heads were like dragon heads, with jagged teeth that flashed with cold light. Their lower limbs had a pair of black sharp claws, several feet long, looking like black swords, enough to make one’s heart tremble.

Several gray strange birds had excited expressions on their faces, making cackling sounds. They extended their claws and swooped down toward the deer herd at the rear of the procession.