Chapter 738: A Bumpy Journey

"I don't think I know you, do I?" Han Li said, his heart stirring at You Luo's words, though his expression remained unchanged.

He quickly searched his mind several times, but still had no recollection of the frail young woman before him.

In truth, ever since he first saw her, he had felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity that he couldn't quite place, but the situation at the time had left no room for such considerations.

But then, an unbelievable scene unfolded.

The young woman let out a tinkling laugh. Without moving, black light suddenly burst from her body, swirling and intertwining in the air, from which emerged the phantom of a giant ape with a strange horn on its head and three eyes.

"Weeping Soul, it's you!" Han Li's face twitched at the sight, and he stood frozen for a long moment before finally speaking.

"It seems we've been apart too long, and you've already forgotten me, Master..." Weeping Soul's eyes flickered with a trace of disappointment as she said softly.

"How could that be? I'm just too surprised. Weren't you summoned to ascend to the True Immortal Realm back then? How did you end up in the Grey Realm?" Han Li suppressed his shock and asked with a mix of surprise and delight.

On the other side, Shi Chuankong, Hu San, and Bai Liyan were stunned to see You Luo cut away the shackles on Han Li, but their expressions varied as they listened to the exchange between Han Li and Weeping Soul.

They were naturally full of questions about how Han Li had suddenly acquired a subordinate who could command the winds and rains in the Grey Realm, but they refrained from asking too many questions.

Nevertheless, in their eyes, Han Li had become even more unfathomable.

Only Mo Guang appeared quite calm, as if he had grown accustomed to the various surprises that befell Han Li.

"We can discuss this later. Master, first use this Golden Cleansing Thunder Pearl to break the禁制 in your dantian and restore your strength," Weeping Soul said, flipping her hand. A golden light flashed in her palm, revealing a golden orb the size of a chicken egg.

The orb was covered in lightning patterns, constantly emitting fine golden arcs of electricity in all directions.

These golden lightning bolts gave off a sense of extreme yang and hardness, somewhat similar to Han Li's Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning. As soon as the thunder pearl appeared, the surrounding baleful qi began to dissipate and vanish.

"Golden Cleansing Thunder Pearl... Could the lightning power within be Golden Cleansing Divine Lightning?" Han Li raised an eyebrow at the sight and asked.

"You know about Golden Cleansing Divine Lightning, Master? Indeed, this thunder pearl is condensed from Golden Cleansing Divine Lightning and is the bane of the Yin Gua Baleful Lightning Laws," Weeping Soul said with slight surprise, then flicked her finger.

The golden thunder pearl shot out, turning into a golden shadow that flashed and disappeared into Han Li's dantian.

Rumble!

Golden arcs of electricity immediately surged within his dantian, rapidly spreading outward until they permeated his entire body.

Han Li's heart stirred, and he immediately sat down cross-legged.

At that moment, streaks of black lightning rose from his lower abdomen, and the golden and black lights intertwined fiercely.

His whole body trembled violently, cold sweat pouring down his face, which alternated between pale and green. The muscles on his face twisted continuously, making him appear to be in great pain.

Inside his dantian, the golden thunder pearl spewed streams of golden arcs that clashed fiercely with the black lightning threads.

Wherever the black lightning threads touched the golden arcs, they immediately disintegrated and vanished. But there were too many black threads, and after some were destroyed by the golden arcs, they quickly coalesced with each other as if intelligent, forming thicker black lightning threads that charged at the golden arcs.

These thicker black threads were far more powerful, and the golden arcs could not quickly destroy them. The two sides became locked in a stalemate.

At that moment, brilliant golden light burst forth from within Han Li, emitting a fluctuation imbued with the laws of time. This power appeared and immediately merged with the golden lightning, surging toward the black lightning.

With the addition of time power, the golden lightning quickly gained the upper hand, overwhelming the black lightning.

Han Li felt several muffled sounds within his body, and then a stream of black qi surged out from his dantian, rapidly dissipating.

Golden light blazed from his entire body, spreading outward like a tide. The golden light was so intense and swift that the nearby void trembled and hummed.

Even Weeping Soul, standing nearby, was pushed back a few steps by the golden light.

Her beautiful eyes flickered with a hint of surprise.

Han Li suddenly stood up, and the golden light on his body flashed and withdrew.

"Master, I didn't expect your immortal spiritual power to be so profound. I'm afraid it's not far off from that of a Tai Yi realm cultivator," Weeping Soul praised.

"These baleful lightning禁制 were personally set by Yin Gua. Now that they've been broken, will he sense it?" Han Li asked with a grave expression, not engaging in small talk.

"Rest assured, Master. Yin Gua condensed five Nether Soul Worms in one go, greatly depleting his origin baleful qi. He's currently in seclusion to recover and won't notice," Weeping Soul said with a smile.

Han Li's expression relaxed, and then he opened his mouth and spat.

A ball of golden lightning shot out—it was the Golden Cleansing Thunder Pearl, now slightly smaller.

He flicked his finger, and four small green swords shot out like lightning, instantly piercing the禁制 on the prison doors of Shi Chuankong and the others, then spinning around the four of them.

With several crisp sounds, the shackles on the four were cut into pieces and fell to the ground. Joy appeared on their faces.

Han Li flicked his finger again, and the Golden Cleansing Thunder Pearl in his hand shot out, landing in the hands of Shi Chuankong, who was closest, as he said:

"Use this thunder pearl to remove the禁制 within your bodies first."

Without a word, Shi Chuankong pressed the thunder pearl against his lower abdomen.

The golden thunder pearl flashed and disappeared into his body. Golden arcs of electricity immediately appeared on him, and he quickly sat down cross-legged.

Hu San and the others each walked out of their cells and gathered around Shi Chuankong, waiting quietly.

"By the way, Master, these are your things. These nine Green Bamboo蜂云 Swords are your lifebound treasures. I collected them for you back then. Take them back," Weeping Soul said, waving her hand. Green light flashed before her, revealing the nine Green Bamboo蜂云 Swords and Han Li's storage device.

Joy flashed in Han Li's eyes. He waved his hand, sending out a stream of green light that absorbed the nine Green Bamboo蜂云 Swords into his body, and also put on the storage device.

After doing all this, he turned to Weeping Soul and sighed:

"Weeping Soul, this time I truly owe it all to you. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

"Master, between us, why say such things? If it weren't for your guidance and support all those years, I wouldn't have reached my current level," Weeping Soul shook her head and said.

"Alright, let's not talk about that. By the way, what about the Nether Soul Worm in my mind? It seems to be sealed by some force?" Han Li smiled, but then thought of something and asked seriously.

"The Nether Soul Worm is a innate divine ability of the Netherworld Clan and is extremely troublesome. But I haven't been idle in the city these past few days. Finally, my efforts paid off, and I found a special cloud glue substance that can temporarily seal the Nether Soul Worm. I mixed it into the Heavenly Yin Soothing Soul Pill and took the opportunity to seal the Nether Soul Worms in your minds," Weeping Soul said gravely.

"I see. Weeping Soul, you were not born in the Grey Realm, yet here in the Netherworld Domain, you can make the native Netherworld Clan fear you. Is there some hidden story behind this?" Han Li nodded slowly, then changed the subject.

"It's a long story. Back then, when I was summoned from the Spirit Realm, I did ascend to the True Immortal Realm. The one who summoned me was a Tai Luo realm cultivator from the Heavenly Court," Weeping Soul said, a complex expression crossing her face. After a long pause, she spoke slowly.

Han Li recalled the scene of Weeping Soul's ascension from the Spirit Realm and felt a stir in his heart, but he did not interrupt.

"That person summoned me to the True Immortal Realm, but his intentions were not good. He only valued my ability to devour souls to help him cultivate a certain divine ability. I studied under him for over five thousand years, and my cultivation did improve considerably, reaching the Golden Immortal level. His cultivation also advanced, and he began to sever his Three Corpses. But the process went awry. The severed Corpse Soul clone escaped, and it took me captive, eventually bringing me to the Grey Realm," Weeping Soul said slowly, her expression complex.

"I see. But logically, a Three Corpses Immortal who comes to the Grey Realm should go to the Cycle Domain. How did you end up in the Netherworld Domain?" Han Li nodded slowly, then pressed further.

"After that Corpse Soul clone brought me to the Grey Realm, it had no good intentions toward me either. So I seized an opportunity to escape, and then I came to the Netherworld Domain and joined the Netherworld Clan," Weeping Soul said flatly.

Though she spoke simply, Han Li could guess that the journey must have been fraught with countless twists and turns.

Given the time constraints, he did not press for details.

"My constitution is yin-oriented, so coming to the Grey Realm didn't cause me any discomfort. On the contrary, the environment here unexpectedly suited my cultivation. Moreover, due to my unique background, I mastered a law related to soul-devouring. This law is quite rare, and because of it, the Netherworld Domain Lord took a liking to me and accepted me as his disciple. I have been cultivating here ever since," Weeping Soul continued.

"It seems you've turned misfortune into fortune. What level has your cultivation reached now?" Han Li asked after a moment's thought.

"The Netherworld Domain Lord treated me quite well and bestowed many cultivation resources. I just advanced to the Tai Yi realm a little over a hundred years ago. By the way, there are some things I've been meaning to ask you, Master. How did you end up in the Grey Realm, and how did you infiltrate Rakshasa City?" Weeping Soul asked, black light flickering on her body as a vast Tai Yi realm pressure briefly appeared and then vanished.

"...We came for the Cleansing Baleful Pool. You should be able to sense that I am currently at the peak of Golden Immortal, undergoing the Baleful Decline. I want to use the Cleansing Baleful Pool here," Han Li briefly recounted their journey into the Grey Realm, then said.

"So it's the Cleansing Baleful Pool. But that won't be easy. The Cleansing Baleful Pool is located in the Soul Cleansing Zone, which is the sacred ground of Rakshasa City. Right now, the Three Domain Alliance is underway outside, and the number of outsiders in the city has surged. The defenses there are likely even tighter," Weeping Soul said with a frown.

Han Li's expression darkened at her words. Before he could say anything more, Shi Chuankong and the others approached.

The four of them had surging auras, clearly having broken the禁制 within their bodies.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Weeping Soul, for saving us. We will never forget this kindness and grace," Shi Chuankong and the others bowed to Weeping Soul.

"Since you are friends of my master, there's no need for formalities. These are your things; I'll return them to you now," Weeping Soul said, waving her hand. Light flashed before the four, and the immortal tools and storage devices that had been taken from them earlier all appeared.

"Thank you!"

Shi Chuankong and the others were overjoyed and quickly collected their belongings.