Chapter 712: Twin-Headed Fox Blade

Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Late one night, inside the cabin of the tower ship, Han Li emerged from the Flower Branch space with a flicker.

Crab Daoist, who had been sitting cross-legged, immediately stood up upon seeing Han Li appear.

"Brother Crab, continue guarding here. If anyone approaches, send me a message," Han Li said to Crab Daoist, then formed a hand seal.

A faint light flickered on his body, and he instantly transformed into a blurry shadow, flying outward.

The restrictions in the room automatically split open a gap, and the shadow shot out through it, arriving outside.

Outside, it was pitch black. A few white fluorescent stones embedded in the corridor of the tower ship emitted a faint white light, barely illuminating the surrounding darkness.

There was no one on the corridor, except for the gray-robed man standing at the bow, controlling the tower ship as it sped forward.

A layer of black restrictions enveloped the tower ship, shimmering with smoky black light.

Han Li glanced at the gray-robed man, then quickly averted his gaze and looked at the black restrictions outside. After a flicker of thought, he immediately shot outward.

The moment the shadow he had transformed into touched the black restrictions, it suddenly expanded, turning into a faint, indistinct dark mist that swiftly passed through the black restrictions without causing any disturbance.

The dark mist coalesced again into a shadow, which rapidly descended and soon landed on the ground.

Below was a vast grassland; this place was still within the June Grassland, with the ground slightly undulating like waves.

Han Li flipped his hand to take out the map, while simultaneously unleashing his divine sense to its fullest. Soon, a look of joy appeared on his face, and he flew off in a certain direction.

After about half an hour, a swampy area appeared ahead, filled with black mud bubbling with water. Chilly, icy winds occasionally emerged from underground, swirling above the swamp.

The air was thick with grayish-white mist, emitting a pungent, sulfur-like odor.

"Black mud, grayish-white mist, and this smell—it's indeed..." Han Li muttered to himself, not pausing in his flight as he headed deeper into the swamp.

This swamp was precisely the Endless Swamp in the June Grassland, the habitat of the Kuluo Flower.

The route from Youhe City to Heichi City happened to pass near the Endless Swamp, so he could take the opportunity to gather some Kuluo Flowers.

Once he started refining the Susa Dan, it would take two or three years to complete, so Han Li had not yet begun the alchemy process.

He took a deep breath, increased his flying speed a bit more, and soon flew deep into the Endless Swamp.

The baleful aura here was exceptionally dense, and the air carried an extremely icy chill.

Han Li slowly spread his divine sense, probing the surroundings. Soon, his eyes lit up, and he flew toward a direction, landing before a small mound a few breaths later.

Near the mound grew three translucent plants about a foot tall, with leaves as thin and delicate as ice crystals, their veins clearly visible and emitting a faint glow—they were indeed Kuluo Flowers.

Han Li curled his lips into a smile, waved his hand to emit a green light that enveloped the three Kuluo Flowers, and was about to uproot them.

Suddenly, a black shadow shot out from the side, incredibly fast, aiming for Han Li's left foot.

With a dull thud, a green light appeared on Han Li's foot, instantly forming a green light shield that blocked the shadow and bounced it back.

Then, with a sharp whistle, a green sword light shot from Han Li's hand, cutting the shadow in two.

It turned out to be a pitch-black snake, with a triangular black tumor on its head and a mouth full of barbed teeth, looking quite ferocious. Even after being cut in half, it did not die immediately but writhed and twisted on the ground.

Han Li paid no attention to the black snake, waved his hand to uproot the three Kuluo Flowers, and stored them away.

After collecting the three Kuluo Flowers, he did not linger but continued flying forward.

After flying for about half an hour, his eyes lit up again, and he changed direction, soon stopping in a low-lying area.

In the depression, there were also two Kuluo Flowers growing.

He immediately dug them up, stored them away, and continued searching forward.

In the blink of an eye, most of the day had passed, and the sky began to lighten.

Han Li flew out from a huge pit several hundred zhang wide deep in the swamp, a hint of fatigue on his face, but even more excitement.

After searching most of the night, he had collected nearly a hundred Kuluo Flowers—a tremendous harvest.

With so many Kuluo Flowers, he would never have to worry about alchemy again, and bringing them back to the True Immortal Realm would be a substantial fortune.

Although there were still many Kuluo Flowers in the swamp, he had already spent most of the night and could not continue searching.

Han Li took a long breath, his fatigue slightly easing. He closed his eyes to sense the location of the tower ship, then shot toward it like lightning.

Before he had flown far, a sudden "boom" sounded in Han Li's mind, and his entire body trembled involuntarily.

A nauseating feeling surged from his internal organs, rushing to his mind, while his blood instantly reversed flow, surging toward his heart.

His expression changed, and he quickly activated his cultivation to suppress it, intending to probe the surroundings, but the nausea suddenly vanished completely, and his blood flow returned to normal.

Everything that had just happened seemed like an illusion.

Han Li was momentarily stunned. Green light flickered on his body, and he halted his flight. He probed the surroundings with his divine sense but found nothing unusual.

With a contemplative expression, his eyes flickered, and he slowly turned back, flying in the direction he had come from.

After flying back a certain distance, the nauseating feeling returned.

Han Li frowned, forcibly enduring it, and directed his gaze and divine sense toward the ground ahead. His eyes soon fell on a pool of water.

The force that caused his blood to reverse and his organs to twist emanated from this pool.

Han Li flew around the pool, a look of realization dawning on his face.

The strange force from the pool only covered an area of about twenty to thirty zhang around; beyond that range, the nausea disappeared.

He looked at the still, mirror-like pool, hesitated, but ultimately could not suppress his curiosity. He flew into the pool and dove downward.

The pool was not deep, and he soon reached the bottom. The bottom was a relatively flat area, with a pile of scattered rocks.

These stones varied in size and shape, but all were pitch black, with ice-crack-like patterns on them, seemingly not ordinary objects.

Han Li looked at the pile of black stones, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.

Now at the bottom of the pool, the nauseating feeling was even stronger, and it clearly came from the pile of black stones.

He suddenly raised his foot and swept it, sending a crescent-shaped green light shooting from his foot, striking the pile of black stones and pushing them aside, revealing what lay beneath.

Han Li's gaze focused. Beneath the stone pile, a black long blade was stuck diagonally into the ground.

The blade was entirely pitch black, resembling charred wood, and its material was hard to identify. The guard of the blade bore a ferocious twin-headed fox relief, looking quite menacing.

The blade was ancient, broad, and slightly curved. A dark red line extended from the hilt all the way down the blade, seemingly reaching the tip.

An immense, nauseatingly eerie aura emanated from the black ancient blade, several times stronger than when it had been covered by the black stones.

Han Li's face turned pale, and he stepped back. Then, with a low shout, he burst into dazzling golden light, wrapping it around his entire body, and his complexion returned to normal.

He looked at the black ancient blade, his brow slightly furrowed.

Ever since coming to the Gray Realm, everything here was in monotone colors like black, white, and gray, with no exceptions.

The red pattern on this ancient blade was the first different color he had seen in the Gray Realm.

He looked at the black ancient blade, and with a thought, he extended a strand of divine sense to touch it.

The moment the divine sense touched the blade, before it could penetrate, it was devoured by a cold, sinister force.

Han Li's face turned pale, and a sharp pain shot through his mind, as if a piece of his flesh had been bitten off.

Moreover, the black light on the blade brightened sharply, and within the black light, countless twisted human faces emerged, letting out frenzied roars.

An extremely evil force seeped out from the blade, following the strand of divine sense, and invaded Han Li's mind.

His originally pure divine sense suddenly turned murky and churned violently and chaotically. The light of his soul in his mind dimmed momentarily, and faint black light appeared around it, encroaching upon his soul.

An intense, nauseating feeling rose from his heart, his internal organs seemed to turn upside down, and his five senses and six consciousnesses became completely disordered.

"Ugh..." Han Li retched dryly, then, with a drastic change in expression, he quickly retreated, while golden light flashed wildly on his body, and the power of time法则 surged forth, forming a barrier in front of him.

The power of time法则 was immensely potent, blocking the invasion of the evil force, and soon his divine sense and soul returned to normal.

Han Li panted heavily, retreating all the way to the farthest end of the pool bottom before stopping.

The evil force let out an unwilling roar before slowly retreating back into the black ancient blade.

"What kind of terrifying thing is this black blade? It can not only devour divine sense but also attack the soul..." Han Li looked at the black ancient blade with lingering fear, deeply shocked.

With his current strength, he had barely managed to withstand that evil force.

"Oh? The power of time法则! Someone in the Gray Realm has actually comprehended this law..." At that moment, the black ancient blade suddenly hummed, and a white light lit up from the twin-headed fox relief on the blade, instantly spreading across the entire blade.

The black light emitted by the blade struggled unwillingly a few times but was ultimately suppressed by the white light, sinking entirely into the blade and disappearing.

A white shadow flickered on the twin-headed fox relief, and a blurry white figure emerged, appearing to be a middle-aged man, looking at Han Li with some curiosity.

This man was dressed in a white robe, with thick eyebrows and somewhat disheveled hair, looking quite slovenly, but one could still discern his handsome face through the gaps in his hair.