Chapter 375: The Second Half
"I didn't think that you would have a treasure that could keep out the Soul Stirring Winds," Han Li said as he took an intrigued glance at the black bead.
"It's not that remarkable a treasure. Let's go," Wildcat 16 said in a casual manner, seemingly not wanting to explain too much about the black bead.
With that, he led the way forward, flying into the vast expanse of yin winds up ahead, followed closely by Han Li.
As they flew onward, the surrounding yin winds became more and more ferocious, encompassing the entire space around Han Li's duo.
However, the ring of black light released by the black bead remained resilient against the yin wind, and at most, the Soul Stirring Winds were only able to create some ripples on the surface of the ring of light.
With their powers, they were naturally able to ward off the effects of this significantly weakened Soul Stirring Wind, and they quickly continued onward.
All the while, the surrounding Soul Stirring Winds continued to become more and more formidable, and it was as if there were tens of thousands of evil spirits wailing around them.
"Do you know the origins of this Soul Stirring Wind, Fellow Daoist Wildcat 16? It feels as if these winds are blowing straight out of the depths of hell, and without that treasure of yours, I wouldn't have dared to venture so far into this area at all," Han Li suddenly said as he inspected the surrounding gusts of yin wind.
"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Raccoon 11. These Soul Stirring Winds have already existed here for countless years, so I'm afraid I do not know their origins. However, there's a rumor in the Black Wind Sea that this place is connected to the Infernal Realm, and that's where the Soul Stirring Wind is leaking out from," Wildcat 16 replied.
"Does the Infernal Realm really exist?" Han Li asked.
"The so-called Infernal Realm is nothing more than an unsubstantiated legend, and no one knows for sure whether it actually exists, so take these stories with a grain of salt," Wildcat 16 replied with a smile.
"I've heard that these Soul Stirring Winds encompass a massive area, and it's virtually impossible to pass directly through them. That's why the Black Wind Sea is only connected to the outside world through the teleportation array on Black Wind Island. I wonder if it's possible for a Golden Immortal to pass through these winds," Han Li mused with a contemplative look on his face.
"According to my knowledge, some powerful cultivators from the Black Wind Sea have previously attempted to pass through these Soul Stirring Winds, but none have succeeded. Many years ago, a Golden Immortal Stage senior attempted this feat, and he was trapped inside for several decades before being forced to come back out.
“According to him, the Soul Stirring Wind in the deepest part of this area is extremely formidable, so much so that even a Golden Immortal Stage soul isn't able to withstand it," Wildcat 16 replied with a shake of their head.
"I didn't think that these Soul Stirring Winds would be too formidable even for a Golden Immortal cultivator to pass through," Han Li mused with a contemplative expression.
Now that he had mastered the laws of time and had Daoist Xie by his side, he was wondering if it would be possible to force his way through these Soul Stirring Winds to leave the Black Wind Sea if his true identity were ever exposed, but it seemed that this was not a feasible course of action.
"This is why this place is known as an impregnable natural barrier. Perhaps only cultivators at or above the High Zenith Stage would be able to pass through these Soul Stirring Winds, but it's yet to be seen whether there are even any High Zenith Stage Jade Immortals at all in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region," Wildcat 16 said.
Han Li nodded in response and didn't speak any further on the subject.
Both of them flew onward in silence for some time, yet for some reason, past a certain point, the surrounding Soul Stirring Winds seemed to have reached a stable state and wasn't growing any more formidable.
Right as Han Li was speculating about why this could be the case, Wildcat 16 suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"Have we arrived?" Han Li asked as he also drew to a halt.
Wildcat 16 nodded in response, and after taking a couple of cautious glances at his surroundings he made a hand seal, upon which the black light radiating from the black bead instantly swelled, encompassing the two of them as they descended into the sea down below.
The seawater here had already turned as black as ink, and it was giving off a bone-chilling glacial aura that was quite uncomfortable for Han Li's duo even with the protection of the black bead.
Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to draw a ball of seawater into his grasp, and he discovered that it was giving off extremely abundant yin qi that was not inferior to that of some yin-attribute true waters, but the energy that this seawater contained was extremely chaotic, rendering it unusable.
The two of them quickly sank down to the seabed, and Wildcat 16 was clearly very familiar with this place, leading Han Li into a marine trench.
There, he flipped a hand over to produce a black jade badge, then chanted an incantation, and the badge immediately began radiating a vast expanse of black light that illuminated the seabed, causing it to tremble as five black stone pillars slowly emerged.
Each pillar was as thick as a water vat with countless runes that were radiating faint black light inscribed upon them.
Han Li stood off to the side with his hands clasped behind his back as he observed the proceedings through narrowed eyes.
Wildcat 16 continued to chant his incantation, and the black light radiating from the five stone pillars grew brighter and brighter before connecting together to form a ball of black light that was over 100 feet in size.
The ball of light began to revolve, picking up more and more speed as it did so, and all of a sudden, a faint crack rang out as an inky black cylindrical spatial passageway appeared.
Han Li was quite intrigued to find that this black spatial passageway was very similar to the one leading to that secret area on Dark Veil Island.
He attempted to release his spiritual sense into the spatial passageway, only for it to be kept at bay by a burst of gentle force.
"This is the place that I mentioned earlier, Fellow Daoist Raccoon 11. After you."
Wildcat 16 stepped away to the side and made an inviting hand gesture as he spoke.
Han Li nodded in response, then flew into the spatial passageway without any hesitation.
Wildcat 16 was a little surprised by Han Li's willingness to cooperate, but he immediately followed along.
On the surface, Han Li appeared quite calm and collected, but deep down, he was feeling rather resigned.
Given how careful and cautious he had always been, he definitely wouldn't have entered an unknown place like this so easily under normal circumstances.
However, for the sake of the Spirit Refinement Technique, he had no choice but to cooperate. He had already made it to this point, and it was too late to turn back.
However, that didn't mean that he was completely at the mercy of whoever was waiting for him in the secret area.
Aside from his laws of time and Mantra Treasured Axis, Daoist Xie now possessed Golden Immortal Stage power, so if anything were to go awry, then he was confident that he would be able to strike down Wildcat 16 in a very short time and take his bead treasure before fleeing the scene.
As soon as Han Li stepped into the spatial passageway, his body was immediately enveloped by a burst of power, and his surroundings transformed into a complete blur.
He immediately drew upon the immortal spiritual power in his body, preparing to unleash his most powerful treasures at a moment's notice, but thankfully, he didn't have to.
Shortly thereafter, he found himself in a space with a radius of several dozen kilometers, and the entire area was filled with lush vegetation, similar to the environment in the secret area on Dark Veil Island.
At the center of this secret area stood a black mountain that was tens of thousands of feet tall, and there were several cave entrances on the mountain, indicating that there were cave abodes inside.
Furthermore, there was some type of restriction in this secret area that rendered Han Li unable to release his spiritual sense out of his body at all.
Han Li inspected his surroundings while drawing upon his immortal spiritual power, and a burst of golden lightning emerged over his body before fading in a flash, following which an elated look flashed through his eyes.
He had just discreetly examined his connection with the lightning teleportation array that he had set up in the Black Wind Sea, and the connection was still intact, so he could teleport out of this place at any moment.
Right after he left his cave abode on that secluded island, he had made a trip to the lightning teleportation array to find that it was completely untouched.
After that, he had taken some time to bolster the array, and with this life-saving trump card up his sleeve, he was feeling a bit safer.
Right at this moment, Wildcat 16 emerged beside Han Li.
"My friend is waiting for you up ahead, Fellow Daoist Raccoon 11," Wildcat 16 said, then flew directly toward the black mountain before Han Li had a chance to reply.
Han Li trailed along behind Wildcat 16, and the two of them quickly flew into one of the cave entrances.
After traveling along a passageway for a while, a hall appeared up ahead.
The furnishings in the hall were quite minimalistic, with only a stone table, several stone chairs, and a black screen that was shimmering with black light and had different designs occasionally taking shape on its surface.
A tall red-robed man was standing in front of the screen with his back facing Han Li's duo, and Han Li was struck by a sense of familiarity at the sight of the man.
The red-robed man turned around upon hearing the sound of footsteps, and Han Li was rather taken aback to discover that he was none other than Wyrm 3.
"Fellow Daoist Raccoon 11, this is Fellow Daoist Wyrm 3, and he's the one who's actually taken on your mission," Wildcat 16 said.
Wyrm 3 took a glance at Han Li, then sat down on one of the chairs as he made an inviting hand gesture and said, "Take a seat, Fellow Daoist Raccoon 11."
Han Li did as he was told, while Wildcat 16 cupped his fist in a salute toward Wyrm 3 before turning to depart.
"I'll leave you two to speak in private."
Han Li turned to look at the departing Wildcat 16 with a peculiar look in his eyes, while Wyrm 3 said, "Don't mind him, Fellow Daoist Raccoon 11, I can explain the situation to you."
"Alright, in that case, I won't waste any time with idle chatter. Do you have the second half of the Spirit Refinement Technique, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 3," Han Li asked in a direct and straightforward fashion.
While Wildcat 16 had referred to Wyrm 3 as a friend of his, from Han Li's observation, it appeared that they were more like superior and subordinate.
"Of course," Wyrm 3 replied with a smile, then swept a sleeve through the air to send a gray jade slip flying toward Han Li.
Han Li caught the jade slip, then cast an inquisitive gaze toward Wyrm 3.
In response, Wyrm 3 made an inviting hand gesture, and Han Li pressed the jade slip to his own forehead.
The restrictions here prevented him from releasing his spiritual sense out of his body, so he had no choice but to examine the jade slip through direct contact.
The jade slip contained a cultivation art, but only the first few lines were visible, while the rest were enshrouded in a concealment restriction.
However, the first few visible lines alone were enough to tell Han Li that this was indeed the second half of the Spirit Refinement Technique that he had been searching for.
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