Chapter 72: Subduing the Mahayana

In the Immortal Realm, on a certain open terrace in the inner city of Blackwater City.

Bone Flame Scattered Man and Pure Brightness True Man stood side by side, silent.

The former's already withered and sallow face now had his brows twisted into a knot, exuding a fierce and murderous aura as if he wanted to devour someone.

The latter's expression was no better. After a long while, he slowly said, "I wonder who this person really is. Not only is my Spirit Infant Talisman Sword powerless against him, but even you, Brother Yan..."

He sighed and did not continue.

"I never expected that my Yellow Turban Dao General, whose strength is close to that of a Mystic Immortal, would be defeated by a mere banished immortal!" Bone Flame Scattered Man first showed a pained expression, then gritted his teeth.

This time, he had spared no effort to break the spatial barrier and forcibly open a temporary passage to send down a mother bean, but soon after, he lost contact with it, almost spitting blood from grief.

"From the looks of it, either the information from the Ten Directions Tower was wrong, or Han Li had some special opportunity and regained his strength. But if so, our two sects in the lower realm will be in trouble. We must find a way as soon as possible." Pure Brightness True Man's eyes flickered as he mused.

"Hmph, this matter will not end so easily!" Bone Flame Scattered Man's gaze grew even darker.

...

In the Spirit Huan Realm, at the Jingyuan Temple.

He Shan Daoist watched Han Li, who was expressionlessly walking toward him step by step, and his body tensed, his fat trembling slightly.

If not for being trapped by the restriction, he might have fled long ago like those elders and disciples, or even faster than them.

Han Li stopped in front of him, stared at him expressionlessly for a moment, then suddenly raised his arm and pointed directly at the center of his brow.

"Senior Han, spare me! All of this, I was just following orders. I had no choice!" He Shan Daoist cried out, his back drenched in cold sweat, speaking rapidly.

"Oh? Then tell me, whose orders were you following?" Han Li raised an eyebrow, paused his action, and asked with a faint smile.

"Everything here was done on the orders of the ancestral master of the upper realm. Otherwise, how would I dare to commit such treason?" He Shan Daoist answered without hesitation.

"Why did your Jingyuan Sect's founder give such an order? Does he know me?" Han Li continued to ask.

"This... According to the founder, there is a secretive vast organization in the immortal realm that issued a bounty for you, senior. The reward is so high that it is beyond the imagination of a lowly cultivator like me in the lower realm. After receiving the bounty, Bone Flame Ancestor of the Heavenly Ghost Sect came to persuade and bribe our founder, hence this... discourteous act." Heshan Daoist replied hurriedly, his eyes darting around.

"Discourteous act? You make it sound so easy! If Bone Flame Sanren received the bounty, did Jingming Zhenren of your Jingyuan Sect not receive it?" Han Li sneered coldly, mocking him.

Heshan Daoist's face stiffened, but he still answered cautiously: "Perhaps it was a plan jointly decided by the two founders. As a junior disciple, I am truly unaware of the details. Since the founder gave the order, even if I was unwilling to oppose you, senior, I had no choice but to obey."

Han Li did not say much more upon hearing this. After a moment of contemplation, he had a vague guess in his mind.

Seeing Han Li silent for a long time, Heshan Daoist thought he was hesitating whether to take his life, and his fear grew. He gritted his teeth and said:

"Senior, your divine powers are unmatched. From now on, I, Heshan, am willing to serve you as my master. All materials and elixirs can be offered to you. Henceforth, the entire Jingyuan Sect will revere you as its sovereign, ready to be at your command..."

"Serve me as your master... You certainly know how to adapt." Han Li was slightly taken aback and couldn't help but feel a bit amused.

Given his nature, since things had come to this point, he had not intended to spare the other's life. But before he could perform a soul search, the man had honestly confessed everything and now voluntarily offered to serve him as master. This would save him a lot of trouble.

After all, his original intention was not to cause too great a commotion in this small Linghuan Realm.

That said, in the past, he had encountered many Mahayana cultivators in the Spirit Realm, but none like this Heshan Daoist before him. This reminded him of an old acquaintance, 'Sun Ergou.'

"Thank you for your great kindness, senior!" Heshan Daoist, seeing that Han Li did not refuse, immediately spoke respectfully.

"I have no interest in your Jingyuan Sect, nor am I inclined to usurp another's nest. In the future, you only need to listen to my orders and do some things for me. But before that, I must place some restrictions on you." Han Li waved his hand and said.

With that, he raised one palm and silently chanted a few incantations. The tips of his five fingers all lit up with a glow, and slender crystalline threads extended from his fingertips, drifting in the air like water plants.

As Han Li's fingers slightly bent, those crystalline threads immediately became exceptionally straight.

Seeing this, Heshan Daoist's body trembled slightly, and his face turned somewhat pale, but he still assumed a posture of submission.

A hint of satisfaction flashed in Han Li's eyes. He reached out his hand, and the five crystalline threads immediately shot out, straight toward the other's head.

At the moment the threads entered his body, Heshan Daoist felt a stabbing pain in his sea of consciousness, like needles piercing. He couldn't help but let out a low, hoarse wail, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

But from beginning to end, he offered no resistance or struggle.

"These crystal threads are formed from my divine sense and have been deeply implanted into your soul. If you ever harbor the slightest disloyalty in the future, I can scatter your soul with a single thought. Do you understand?" Han Li waved a hand, withdrawing the silver flames he had placed on him, and spoke slowly.

"This junior understands. From now on, I will serve with utmost devotion and dare not have any second thoughts!" Heshan Daoist rose from the ground, bowing his head in response.

"There's no need for vows of loyalty. Tell me, where are the formations in the temple that communicate with the immortal realm?" Han Li asked bluntly.

"There is one on the back mountain of Jingtian Peak and another on Kuishan Peak. I will take you there immediately, Senior." Heshan Daoist answered without hesitation.

High in the sky, two rainbow lights shot up and flew one after the other into the distance.

Before long, within the now-silent territory of Jingyuan Temple, two booming sounds rang out, less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick apart.

This scene startled many of the elders and disciples who had just returned to the sect, still shaken, but when they found no other anomalies besides the two sounds, they calmed down somewhat.

After all, too many things had happened in this single night—nearly a third of Jingyuan Temple was unrecognizable, the supreme grand elder was missing—what strange event could not occur?

About half an hour later, on a deep mountain within Jingyuan Temple, two figures, one fat and one thin, flew in from afar and entered a great hall directly.

In the center of the hall was a white jade platform engraved with layers of complex inscriptions, clearly a formation.

"Is this the teleportation formation to the Heavenly Ghost Sect?" Han Li asked without turning around, looking at the formation before him.

"Yes. This connects to the Heiming Peak of the Heavenly Ghost Sect. Although it does not lead directly to their core area, it is still within the mountain gate." Heshan Daoist immediately replied.

"Perfect. You will accompany me there." Han Li said with a smile.

"Yes!"

With that, the two stepped into the formation, and a dazzling white light rose from the ground, instantly swallowing them.

...

Heavenly Ghost Sect, Sacrificial Nether Peak.

In a deep and secluded hall, a middle-aged man dressed in a red brocade robe sat in the seat of honor. He had peach-blossom eyes, soft facial contours, and a sickly pale complexion, giving him a somewhat feminine beauty.

However, his expression at the moment was extremely grim. Clenching the armrest of his chair with one hand, he said in a hoarse voice, "Half a day ago, the soul tablets of the two Supreme Grand Elders enshrined in the Soul Hall shattered one after another, and there was no response through secret techniques to contact them. What do you all make of this?"

On both sides below the hall, more than a dozen people sat, all of whom were at the Unity stage. Yet now, they all wore solemn expressions and remained silent.

The hall was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard, falling into a dead silence.

After a long silence, a burly man with a curly beard finally couldn't help but stand up and said, "Sect Master, it must be a problem with the soul tablets. Grand Elder Tong is the number one cultivator in the Spirit Realm. In this realm, who could possibly make him fall?"

"That's right, there must be some mistake..." someone in the hall immediately agreed.

"Elder Fu, soul tablets are refined from a cultivator's strand of soul and a drop of essence blood, supplemented by secret techniques. In the past tens of thousands of years, have there ever been any errors?" A woman dressed in a red gauze skirt, with a beautiful face, stood up and asked with furrowed brows.

The burly man was taken aback, opened his mouth to retort, but didn't know what to say.

"Soul tablets don't make mistakes, but it's also impossible for Grand Elder Tong and the other to fall so easily. Could it be that they are trapped by some special formation, cutting off their connection with the soul tablets?" A hunchbacked old man among the elders also spoke up.

"Sect Leader, regardless of what has happened, the two Grand Elders have gone to the Jingyuan Temple and are now completely out of contact. To be safe, we should activate all defensive restrictions within the sect and contact the upper-realm patriarch as soon as possible." A middle-aged man with a square face and a ring of short purple beard beneath his chin stood up and addressed the man in a red robe seated in the main seat.

The man released his hand from rubbing his brow and said, "I was thinking the same. Leave the activation of the restrictions to you, Elder Lu. As for the patriarch, I will..."

Before he could finish, a thunderous boom rang out, and the entire hall shook violently.

"What's going on?"

Everyone was startled. Over a dozen streaks of rainbow light flashed simultaneously and shot straight to the square outside the hall.

At that moment, in the sky outside the hall, a black light curtain covering an area hundreds of li in radius appeared. It was one of the protective grand arrays of the Heavenly Ghost Sect.

Dozens of peaks shrouded beneath the light curtain formed the core area of the entire Heavenly Ghost Sect, where nearly all the sect's vital locations were situated.

The black light curtain now flickered with ghostly light everywhere, and runes trembled chaotically, appearing extremely unstable.

Beyond the light curtain, a golden-furred giant ape dozens of zhang tall was raising its arm high, poised to smash down onto the already tottering black light curtain.