Chapter 991: Powerless

Han Li took the jade bottle, opened it, and found a mass of white light inside, slowly rotating within the bottle. With each rotation, the white light flickered and expanded, as if it were alive.

At the center of the light mass was a white pill, on which countless specks of light flickered faintly, appearing profoundly mysterious and emitting an immensely surging aura of life.

"This is..." Han Li's eyes flickered.

The aura emitted by this pill was quite similar to that of the Crab Immortal's heart.

"This pill is called the Xuanzhen Pill, refined by me using my primordial essence combined with various other precious materials. Although this pill is not used to condense true souls, it contains a significant amount of 'Xuanzhen Essence,' enough for your future advancement to the Da Luo realm," the Crab Immortal said slowly.

Han Li was both surprised and delighted upon hearing this. The name Xuanzhen Essence was something he had seen many times in ancient texts; it was a crucial substance for advancing to the Da Luo realm.

To advance to the Da Luo realm, besides having sufficient cultivation and opening all three hundred and sixty immortal apertures, the most important requirement was to undergo a soul transformation, converting an ordinary soul into a Da Luo true soul.

To complete this transformation, one needed Xuanzhen Essence.

Xuanzhen Essence was extremely precious. It was said that only by passing through the nine layers of celestial winds and entering the perilous outer void, in the highest and purest place of heaven and earth, could one find even a trace of it. It was truly a divine substance of the Xuan heavens.

At that moment, he finally understood why Shi Zhanfeng had entered the Scale Abyss Realm—it was likely to obtain enough Xuanzhen Essence for his future advancement to Da Luo.

"Then I thank Fellow Daoist Crab. This item is indeed what I need." Han Li did not stand on ceremony and accepted the jade bottle.

Seeing Han Li accept it, the Crab Immortal revealed a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Crab has bestowed such a treasure upon me. I am not an unfeeling person. When my cultivation is sufficient in the future, I will certainly return to lend you a hand," Han Li said solemnly.

"Then I, Shi, thank you in advance. This small Xuanzhen Pill is far from enough to repay Fellow Daoist Han's assistance. If there is anything you need from me, feel free to ask," the Crab Immortal said with a laugh.

"Since Fellow Daoist Crab says so, I do have a matter I would like to trouble you with," Han Li said, his mind stirring.

"Oh? What is it? Speak freely," the Crab Immortal said, slightly startled, then replied.

"It is still about Ti Hun. Now that Fellow Daoist Crab's divine abilities have greatly advanced, I hope you can examine and treat her," Han Li said.

Over a thousand years ago, the Crab Immortal had only taught him a sealing technique, and under the circumstances at that time, he could not have the Crab Immortal carefully examine Ti Hun.

"No problem." The Crab Immortal immediately nodded, then pointed with his finger.

A beam of golden light entered Han Li's body, transforming into a golden light sphere that spun slowly in his dantian.

As before, the spatial pressure around him instantly disappeared, and his immortal spiritual power resumed its flow. He immediately opened the Flower Branch Space.

The two then entered it and arrived at the pavilion.

Ti Hun lay on the bed, black patterns appearing on her body, forming a sealing spell formula that emitted waves of sealing aura.

This was precisely the sealing technique the Crab Immortal had taught him.

The Crab Immortal walked over to Ti Hun, examined her carefully, and suddenly frowned.

Seeing the Crab Immortal's expression, Han Li's heart sank, and his face darkened.

The Crab Immortal raised his hand and pointed at Ti Hun's brow, a black crystalline light appearing at his fingertip and rippling outward in circles.

Ti Hun's body trembled slightly, her brow furrowed a little, as if she were about to wake up.

Seeing this, Han Li's face lit up with joy.

But the next moment, Ti Hun's body fell silent again and stopped moving.

The Crab Immortal's expression changed slightly. He turned his hand over, and a beam of black light shot from his palm into Ti Hun's brow.

Ti Hun's body trembled slightly again, then immediately fell silent once more.

The Crab Immortal's face was grave. He slowly withdrew his hand, his brows tightly knit.

"Fellow Daoist Crab, how is Ti Hun?" Han Li asked nervously.

"Fellow Daoist Ti Hun's condition is quite peculiar. She seems to have been injured by some extremely powerful law power, causing her soul essence to continuously dissipate. I can only stabilize her condition, but I am powerless to cure her," the Crab Immortal said, shaking his head.

"Even with your cultivation as a Dao Ancestor, you cannot cure Ti Hun. Then who can heal her?" Han Li's heart turned cold as he spoke slowly.

Although the great shaman of the魔族 had not yet examined Ti Hun, since even the Crab Immortal, with his strength, was powerless, the great shaman's intervention would likely be useless as well.

"Fellow Daoist Li, do not be so disheartened. Dao Ancestors are not omnipotent. The puppet laws I cultivate specialize in manipulation and are not adept at healing. The laws of the world are countless, profound, and mysterious, far beyond your imagination. Although I cannot save Ti Hun, there is someone who can," the Crab Immortal said with a light laugh.

"Is that so? Who is this person?" Han Li was startled, then asked urgently.

"It is the great shaman of the Sacrificial Hall that Shi Chuankong told you about earlier. This person cultivates laws related to the soul and has already reached an extremely high level. He should be able to cure Ti Hun," the Crab Immortal said.

"I see. Thank you for your guidance, Fellow Daoist Crab." Upon hearing this, Han Li's eyes lit up, and he cupped his hands in gratitude.

Now that the Great Prince was dead, asking the Great Priest to act would be much more troublesome, and might even escalate into a direct conflict with the Night Yang Dynasty. But for the sake of Ti Hun, he could not care about that.

"Fellow Daoist Crab, when will you open the spatial passage?" Han Li asked, his mind racing as he quickly made up his mind.

"Although I have now advanced to Dao Ancestor, opening a spatial passage to the outside still requires some preparation. Moreover, this passage is not just for you alone; I have other arrangements. We'll wait until Sha Xin and the others arrive. About half a year from now," said the Crab Daoist after a moment's deliberation.

Han Li slowly nodded, having no objection to this.

The two then left the Flower Branch Space and returned to the outside.

The Crab Daoist had to attend to the matter of opening the spatial passage and soon took his leave. Han Li returned to his previous meditation chamber.

After leaving the main hall, the Crab Daoist quickly arrived at a hidden secret chamber.

Inside the chamber, only an oil lamp was lit, its dim yellow light illuminating a small area while the rest remained pitch black.

At that moment, a hazy black figure stood beside the oil lamp, hands clasped behind its back.

The Crab Daoist showed no surprise upon seeing the black figure, as if he had expected it.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, after many years of hard work, you have finally succeeded in one fell swoop. Congratulations," said the black figure, turning around. Its face was indistinct, and its form was misty, as if it were not a physical entity but a projection.

"I must thank you, Senior, for your guidance back then. In my youthful arrogance, after severing two corpses, I rashly attempted to sever the third in one go. But my mind had flaws; even if that villain E Kuai hadn't summoned the Stone Void Fish, that severance would have inevitably failed. Fortunately, at the critical moment, you guided me to seal my soul and memories into a puppet, incarnating as a puppet to experience the Way of Puppets in the lower realm. Now, transforming from puppet back to human, I have finally fully understood the true meaning of the Puppet Law and succeeded in one stroke," said the Crab Daoist, bowing deeply with gratitude.

"It was merely a bit of cultivation experience. That you could comprehend it is due to your own extraordinary insight," the hazy figure said indifferently.

"Regardless, Senior's great kindness is unforgettable to me, Shi," the Crab Daoist said respectfully.

"I have no interest in such empty words of thanks. I came only to ask if the agreement from back then is still valid," the hazy figure said.

"Naturally. Shi Kongyu has harmed me so grievously; if I don't repay him properly, it would be too easy on him," the Crab Daoist said with a cold laugh.

"Shi Kongyu has long ruled the Demon Domain with formidable strength, far beyond what your small Accumulated Scale Void Realm can handle. Moreover, although you have now attained the Dao Ancestor position, in single combat you are still far inferior to Shi Kongyu. Do not rush for success; we will plan slowly and carefully," the hazy figure said, a glint of joy flashing in its eyes before it cautioned.

"I understand. I will not make the same mistake twice. Rest assured, Senior," the Crab Daoist nodded.

"Good. By the way, I have another matter that requires your help this time," the hazy figure said, nodding slightly before continuing.

"Please speak, Senior," the Crab Daoist said, startled for a moment, then quickly replied.

The hazy figure walked over to the Crab Daoist and moved its lips slightly.

Upon hearing this, the Crab Daoist involuntarily glanced in a certain direction, his expression shifting slightly.

……

Han Li's secluded meditation chamber.

The golden orb of energy within his dantian was now far more abundant than before, still spinning without dissipating.

Han Li sat cross-legged, circulating his immortal spiritual power, and a brilliant golden light immediately radiated from his body.

Since entering the Scale Lair Void Realm, he had not been able to circulate his immortal spiritual power so freely for over a thousand years, and now he felt an immense sense of relief.

The power of time law within Han Li, dormant for many years, was finally unbound today, surging like a raging tide through his body.

With a hum, a golden wheel appeared behind him, spinning continuously—it was the True Word Treasure Wheel.

Then, on the other side of his body, a flash of light revealed the Time Cleansing Vase, followed by successive flashes as the Illusory Time Hourglass, the Severing Time Flowing Fire, the Eastern Yi Divine Wood, and other objects emerged, revolving around his body on their own.

Han Li frowned. The True Word Treasure Wheel and the others had all appeared on their own, not activated by him.

"Could it be happening again..." he murmured to himself, startled.

At that moment, strands of time law crystal filaments shot out from these objects, coalescing into a golden circle that spun unceasingly.

All the power of time law within Han Li surged out, merging into the golden circle.

The golden circle rapidly expanded, soon doubling in size, radiating dazzling golden light and trembling sharply with a piercing whine.

With a whoosh, a ball of green light flew out from his chest. As the green light converged, it transformed into a small dark green bottle—the Heaven-Devouring Bottle.

The bottle's surface blazed with light, like a green sun, while emitting a powerful suction force.

With another whoosh.

The golden circle shot over, rapidly shrinking until it matched the mouth of the Heaven-Devouring Bottle in size, and then directly embedded itself into it.

The moment they made contact, a vast wave of time law power rippled out from the Heaven-Devouring Bottle.

The Heaven-Devouring Bottle then rapidly expanded, and countless green runes emerged within it, forming a rolling green cloud.

Next, green light flickered at the bottle's mouth, and a thick green beam shot out, plunging into the void ahead.