Chapter 295: Great Universe Origin Arts
Before long, Han Li descended onto a plot of empty land in the forest, then looked around momentarily, following which a faint smile appeared on his face.
"You're quite a cunning fellow, aren't you? You're waiting for the battle in the secret area to be decided, ideally with both sides taking each other out so you can sneak back in and reap the spoils," Han Li mused as he cast his gaze toward a huge tree several thousand feet away.
As soon as his voice trailed off, an imposing figure slowly emerged from behind that tree, and it was none other than the True Immortal cultivator that had fled earlier.
"Isn't it rather unwise for you to have pursued me here on your own, Fellow Daoist?" the burly figure chuckled, following which his hands balled up into tight fists.
At the same time, a string of loud cracks and pops rang out from within his body, and he had suddenly grown noticeably taller.
"If I hadn't come on my own, you most likely wouldn't have revealed yourself so easily," Han Li chuckled.
He took a step back as he spoke, then adopted a casual fighting stance as he cast his gaze toward the burly figure.
"You sound very confident!"
The burly figure lunged forward like lightning, reaching no more than 1,000 feet away from Han Li in the blink of an eye before throwing a vicious punch.
Seven blue specks of starlight emerged on his chest and his abdomen, and his arm suddenly thickened significantly. His fist had also turned as translucent as jade, and it was hurtling through the air with tremendous force, leaving a trail of ripples that were visible even to the naked eye in the space in its wake.
Han Li raised an eyebrow as a layer of golden scales appeared over his arm, and the sound of metallic grating rang out from the joints of his fists as he met the burly figure's fist with a punch of his own.
A resounding boom rang out as a burst of tremendously violent power erupted in all directions, sweeping up ferocious gusts of wind that tore through many of the surrounding trees, sending them tumbling down onto the ground while countless wood scraps and branches flew through the air.
The burly figure was sent flying back, and after landing on the ground, he stumbled back around a dozen steps before steadying himself. Meanwhile, Han Li hadn't moved back even a single step, and a surprised look appeared in the burly figure's face as he exclaimed, "You're also a Profound Immortal?"
"Why do you sound so surprised?" Han Li asked with a smile.
"No wonder you dared to trade punches with me in such a casual manner. Looks like I was too careless," the burly figure mused.
A Profound Immortal would normally be able to gain a significant advantage if they could get close to a cultivator of the same cultivation base, but of course, that didn't apply if the other person was also a Profound Immortal.
"It seems like you didn't go all-out with that punch just now. How about you show me your full power?" Han Li asked.
Upon realizing that Han Li was also a Profound Immortal, the burly figure's overbearing attitude completely faded, and he replied in a softer tone, "If you wish to see my full power, then I'm happy to oblige."
As soon as his voice trailed off, the seven specks of blue starlight on his chest and abdomen appeared again, but right after that, more specks of blue light emerged on his shoulders, arms, and waist as well.
To his surprise, Han Li was able to count 18 specks of starlight on the burly man's body, and that wasn't even counting the ones that could've been present on his back.
His brows furrowed slightly, and this time, he didn't wait passively for the burly man's attack. Instead, he took a step forward, and a layer of golden scales appeared over his arm as seven specks of blue starlight appeared on his body as well.
"That's the Big Dipper Origin Arts!" the burly man exclaimed upon seeing this.
However, neither of them displayed any intention of stopping as they traded another punch with an earth-shattering boom.
An enormous cloud of dust swept through the air in all directions, and all of the trees in a radius of close to 10,000 feet were completely destroyed, opening up a huge, barren area around the two combatants.
Both Han Li and the burly man were sent flying back through the air with their feet plowing massive trenches into the ground, and only a distance of several thousand feet had been opened up between the two of them did they each draw to a halt.
Han Li sprang out of the trench beneath his feet, hovering in mid-air as he looked down at the burly man and asked, "Would you like to continue, Fellow Daoist?"
The burly man remained standing on the spot without making any moves, and a massive black wheel had appeared right above him, revolving rapidly while releasing formidable law fluctuations.
He took a glance up at Han Li, then heaved a faint sigh as he lowered his fists, and the specks of blue light all over his body also faded away.
"Who are you? How did you manage to obtain the Big Dipper Origin Arts?" the burly man asked with a perplexed expression.
"Before I answer that, why don't you tell me how you were able to open up so many profound acupoints with your Big Dipper Origin Arts?" Han Li asked with a smile.
Instead of answering Han Li's question, the burly man asked, "What do you plan to do to me?"
"What do you want me to do with you, Fellow Daoist Cold Flame?" Han Li countered through voice transmission.
The burly man shuddered upon hearing this and an incredulous look appeared on his face. Only after staring at Han Li for a long while did he ask through voice transmission, "Are you... Fellow Daoist Han Li?"
"You're a smart man, Fellow Daoist Cold Flame."
Han Li made no attempt to deny his identity.
"Truth be told, the Big Dipper Origin Arts is a cultivation art that I obtained by chance in a set of ancient ruins, and I don't believe it's being passed down anywhere else. Hence, my chances of encountering someone else who's also using this cultivation art are slim to none.
“On top of that, I felt a sense of familiarity from you, and that led me to the conclusion that you were Fellow Daoist Han Li. However, I didn't think that you would reach the mid-True Immortal Stage so soon after your ascension. Your rate of progress is truly astounding," Patriarch Cold Flame sighed.
Instead of making small talk or catching up with Patriarch Cold Flame, Han Li said, "Indeed, it seems that we were fated to meet here, but before we talk about anything else, I'll have to ask you to answer my question about how you managed to open up so many immortal acupoints."
A slightly hesitant look appeared on Patriarch Cold Flame's face upon hearing this.
"I'm sure you're not considering trying to deceive me, are you? You've already seen how formidable my spiritual sense is, and we are acquaintances of sorts, so don't force me to use a soul search technique on you," Han Li warned in a meaningful voice.
Patriarch Cold Flame took a glance at the Heavy Water True Axis that was hanging above his head, then composed himself as he replied, "I wouldn't dare to try and deceive you, Fellow Daoist Han. Truth be told, the Big Dipper Origin Arts that you're cultivating is related to body refinement cultivation art that I obtained by chance from a set of ruins. After I mastered the cultivation art, I compiled it into a simplified version for the descendants of my sect to cultivate."
"Oh? In that case, what is the name of the complete cultivation art that you discovered?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"It's called the Great Universe Origin Arts. You can have a copy of it if you'd like."
Patriarch Cold Flame flipped a hand over to produce a gray stone slab as he spoke, then handed it to Han Li without any hesitation.
Han Li made a grabbing motion to release a burst of azure light, which enveloped the stone slab, and only after verifying that the slab hadn't been tampered with did he draw it to himself before carefully inspecting it.
The stone slab was only around the size of a human hand, and it was riddled with tiny antiquated text on both sides.
Han Li inspected the stone slab for a moment, following which his brows suddenly furrowed slightly as he asked, "If I'm not mistaken, the cultivation art recorded on this stone slab is incomplete, right?"
"I'm afraid that can't be helped, Fellow Daoist. I only managed to obtain half of the Great Universe Origin Arts at the risk of my own life in those ruins, and I don't have the other half," Patriarch Cold Flame hurriedly explained.
Han Li could tell that he didn't appear to have been lying, so he flipped a hand over to produce a jade slip, then pressed it against the stone slab before making a hand seal, and a few seconds later, a copy of the cultivation art had been made.
After that, he withdrew his Heavy Water True Axis with a wave of his hand, but instead of returning the stone slab to Patriarch Cold Flame, he tossed him the jade slip.
Patriarch Cold Flame's expression remained unchanged as he watched Han Li stow the stone slab into his storage bracelet while he caught the jade slip that was tossed at him.
"You've killed a bunch of people on the island, so I'm sure you must've already reaped some substantial spoils, right? I advise you to leave the island right away. The Holy Puppet Sect's defeat is already sealed, but there's no telling how ferocious its retaliation could be in its final moments, so it would be unwise for you to stay," Han Li advised.
"Thank you for your advice, Fellow Daoist, I was just about to leave," Patriarch Cold Flame said as he cupped his fist in a salute.
Indeed, he was planning to leave after this foray into the restricted area anyway.
Furthermore, once the Holy Puppet Sect was destroyed, the Ubiquitous Pavilion cultivators would've completed their mission, and they would've no longer been bound by the Ubiquitous Pavilion.
Even if a battle didn't immediately break out, there was inevitably going to infighting over treasures and resources, so leaving before that would spare Patriarch Cold Flame a great deal of trouble.
Han Li took a meaningful glance at Patriarch Cold Flame. Even back in the Spirit Domain Realm, he had felt Patriarch Cold Flame to have been quite a shrewd and cunning man who was more adaptable than the native immortals of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region.
That thought only flashed through his mind for a moment before he turned and flew back toward the restricted area.
Patriarch Cold Flame looked on at Han Li's departing figure, and he was holding onto the jade slip in his hand so tightly that the tips of his fingers were slightly pale.
Only after Han Li had completely disappeared out of sight did he heave a long sigh of relief before murmuring to himself, "That was way too close! Why did I have to run into him of all people? Thank heavens I managed to get out of that one unscathed! I really have to be more careful when taking on missions like this from now on."
After that, he stowed the jade slip away, then summoned a silver flying boat with a sweep of his sleeve before leaping onto it and flying away.
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