Chapter 386: Warning Signs
"Thank you, Senior!"
The bearded man was ecstatic, and he extended a respectful salute toward Han Li, then flew down before dismembering the Lightning Worm Beast's carcass in a well-rehearsed fashion.
He didn't dare to delay for too long, so he only harvested several important materials before flying back.
Han Li made a hand seal, and he was just about to spur the flying boat into action when the surrounding sea suddenly began to tremble.
He cast his gaze downward to discover massive waves sweeping over the nearby sea amid bursts of loud rumbling.
At the same time, dense smoke began to rise up from an uninhabited island hundreds of kilometers away, and a thick pillar of crimson magma erupted into the heavens.
Mu Xue's trio were quite alarmed to see this, but Han Li remained calm and collected, so they didn't dare to say anything.
Despite Han Li's lack of reaction, he was feeling rather intrigued.
On the way to Black Wind Island, he had run into disasters like tsunamis and earthquakes quite frequently. Such disasters had taken place in the Black Wind Sea in the past as well, but definitely not this frequently.
After observing the situation for a while, he withdrew his gaze before making a hand seal, and the flying boat began to radiate dazzling azure light, while the wings on either side of it swelled to several times their original size.
Immediately thereafter, the flying boat shot forth as a streak of azure light at an incredible speed, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
"Do you know what the situation on Black Wind Island is like at the moment? Is the conflict between Black Wind Island and Azure Feather Island still ongoing?" Han Li asked in a casual manner.
"Ever since these natural disasters began taking place all over the Black Wind Sea, a temporary truce was called between Black Wind Island and Azure Feather Island," Mu Xue replied.
"Are you referring to disasters like this tsunami?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"That's correct," Mu Xue replied with a nod.
Han Li nodded with a contemplative expression upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything, and Mu Xue's trio didn't dare to speak without being spoken to, so the four of them traveled in silence.
It didn't take long for them to reach Black Wind City, and they stopped somewhere outside the city.
"Thank you for saving our lives, Senior. May we have the honor of knowing your name? We'll be sure to remember it for as long as we live," Mu Xue said in a grateful manner on behalf of the trio as they disembarked from the flying boat.
"There's no need for that, I just so happened to be passing by, so I didn't have to go out of my way to save you. Cultivation is important, but always remember that you only have one life," Han Li said.
After that, he didn't wait for the trio to say anything before flying toward Black Wind City.
The three of them watched as Han Li departed, and after he had disappeared out of sight, the bearded man turned to Mu Xue as he said, "Fellow Daoist Mu, it was all thanks to those two talismans of yours that we were able to survive until that senior came to save us, so rest assured, we'll split the spirit stones from selling the Lightning Worm Beast's materials evenly among the three of us."
Mu Xue nodded in response, then cast his gaze in the direction that Han Li had departed in with a contemplative look in his eyes.
"What is it, Fellow Daoist Mu?" the red-robed young woman asked.
"It's nothing. Let's go," Mu Xue replied with a smile, then began flying toward the city.
At the same time, he was thinking to himself that the senior from earlier struck him with a sense of familiarity.
However, he was unable to recall where he had met this senior before.
The protective array of Black Wind City had already been activated, and Han Li was quickly granted entry into the city after submitting an entrance fee.
He didn't linger on the outskirts of the city, instead flying directly toward the center of the city.
He stopped on a main street in Black Wind City, at the end of which was a huge plaza where the Black Wind City teleportation pagoda was situated.
He cast his gaze toward the surrounding shops, upon which his brows furrowed slightly.
This was already the most prosperous area in Black Wind City, but there were still weren't many people on the streets. Business in the shops that lined the streets was also suffering as a result, and this was very different from how the city had been during his last visit.
He thought back to what Mu Xue had told him about the frequent occurrence of natural disasters of late, and with that in mind, he made his way into a nearby shop.
The shopkeeper immediately approached Han Li with a warm smile as he said, "Welcome, esteemed customer. How can we help you today? Our shop may not be very large, but we have a huge range of wares, and you definitely won't be disappointed."
The shopkeeper was a short and portly golden-robed man, and Han Li casually purchased several rare spirit plants from the shop.
After paying for the spirit plants, he struck up a conversation with the shopkeeper.
"I've been to Black Wind City several times in the past, and on those occasions, the city had been quite prosperous. Why is it that it seems to have fallen into a recession since then?"
"It's because of all of the recent natural disasters. For some reason, there's been a great deal of unrest in the entire Black Wind Sea of late, and I've heard that many islands have been destroyed outright.
“Nowadays, all islands are beginning to go into lockdown, and even though people are still free to come and go from Black Wind Island, business has naturally suffered as a result of the current social climate," the shopkeeper replied with a resigned expression.
"Why have the natural disasters suddenly become so frequent?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.
"No one seems to know the reason why. There are some rumors that say this is caused by unrest in the marine spirit veins, and some have also said that an astonishingly powerful treasure is about to emerge. There are even some who speculate that this is a sign that the Black Wind Sea is about to meet its destruction, but it's impossible to say if any of these theories have any degree of truth to them," the shopkeeper replied.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. All of these theories sounded quite absurd.
"Setting that aside for now, do you know when the teleportation array connected to the outside world will be running next?" Han Li asked.
His primary objective for coming to Black Wind City this time was to leave the Black Wind Sea and try his luck in the outside world. After all, he had determined that it appeared implausible for him to stay in the Black Wind Sea and wait for a way to reach the Golden Immortal Stage to fall onto his lap.
"If you want to go to the outside world, then I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed. After the last time the teleportation array was used over 10 years ago, Island Master Lu Jun declared that it was going to be closed to 1,000 years," the shopkeeper replied with a shake of his head.
"1,000 years? What is the reason for this?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.
"I don't know, but I'm sure Island Master Lu has his reasons," the shopkeeper replied with a resigned shrug.
"I see," Han Li mused as he cupped his fist in a parting salute toward the shopkeeper, then turned to make his way out of the shop.
After emerging from the shop, he walked along the street for a while before stepping into another shop.
There was no reason for the shopkeeper to lie to him, but he had to confirm that what he had been told was true.
Before long, he emerged from this shop as well with a grim expression, then made his way into another shop.
Close to an hour later, Han Li was standing on a certain street.
He had visited around a dozen shops of different sizes, and the information that he had received was identical. The teleportation array couldn't be used anytime soon, and Lu Jun had made this decision very abruptly without providing any explanation.
Han Li stood still for a moment with a dark look on his face before flying away in the direction of the island master's manor.
The island master's manor hadn't changed much compared with before, consisting of a series of black buildings that resembled a pack of giant black beasts.
All of the buildings were enshrouded within restrictions of different colors, and these restrictions were interconnected with one another.
These restrictions had become even more formidable than before, and together, they formed a giant ball of light that made it impossible to see what was inside from the outside.
The Talisman Letter Palace outside the manor was still standing, but at this moment, there were only several cultivators inside, in stark contrast with how lively and bustling it had previously been.
Han Li was standing at the entrance of the Talisman Letter Palace as he took a glance up at the island master's manor.
There didn't appear to have been anything out of the ordinary here, but Han Li could sense many pairs of eyes and bursts of spiritual sense constantly scouring the area, keeping close tabs on anyone approaching the scene.
Han Li was rather taken aback by this as he strode toward the Talisman Letter Palace.
The security here was tighter than ever, and it clearly wasn't just because of the increased frequency of natural disasters in the Black Wind Sea.
Right as he stepped into the palace, two more streaks of light approached from afar, then landed in front of the island master's manor in the blink of an eye to reveal a pair of figures.
One of them was a young woman who appeared to be around 30 years of age. She was wearing a daoist robe, but her head wasn't shaved.
She was accompanied by a white-robed man with a longsword on his back and a sharp look in his eyes.
Instead of immediately entering the manor, the white-robed man suddenly took an alert glance at his surroundings.
"What is it, Elder Lu?" the young woman asked.
"Nothing..." the man replied as he continued to sweep his gaze across the surrounding area with slightly furrowed brows.
Just now, his spiritual sense had detected that there seemed to be someone observing him from the shadows.
However, this feeling had only appeared for an instant before fading, and he couldn't be certain whether it was just a figment of his imagination.
In order to lay his suspicions to rest, he released his spiritual sense over the surrounding area, but was still unable to detect anything, and his brows furrowed even tighter.
"Let's go. Time is of the essence," the young woman urged in a low voice.
The man nodded in response, and the two of them made their way into the island master's manor together, encountering no resistance from the guards at the entrance.
Only after a long while did Han Li emerge from the Talisman Letter Palace before departing without even taking a glance at the island master's manor.
He appeared quite calm and collected on the outside, but he was reeling internally.
He didn't recognize that woman, but that white-robed man was familiar to him. It was one of the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace's Golden Immortals, Lu Yue.
Why is he here in the Black Wind Sea? Could it have something to do with me?
As soon as this thought occurred to him, his heart immediately sprang up into his throat. He continued to walk away in an unhurried manner, but his spiritual sense was focused firmly on the island master's manor behind him the entire time.
At the same time, he was discreetly channeling his immortal spiritual power, ready to unleash an all-out attack at the first sign of any disturbance.
Only after he was several dozen kilometers away from the island master's manor did he feel slightly more reassured, but he still didn't dare to let down his guard as he picked up the pace and continued onward into the distance.
Two hours later, a streak of azure light flew out of Black Wind City before hurtling toward the distant sea.
After flying for tens of thousands of kilometers, arcs of golden lightning abruptly emerged from the streak of azure light before forming a lightning array with countless golden runes flashing within it.
Before long, Han Li had vanished out of thin air alongside the lightning array.
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