Chapter 520: Sneaky Infiltration
Several days later, a streak of light descended outside Black Wind City, then faded to reveal Han Li in a disguised form.
He took a glance at the tall and wide city gate, then made his way into the throngs of people in the city.
The last time he tried to leave the Black Wind Sea, he had attempted to do so by crossing the Soul Stirring Winds, which had proven to be a very arduous experience. Even though his cultivation base had advanced significantly since then, he still had no intention of attempting the same thing again. Instead, he was planning to take the safer approach of using the teleportation array in the city.
After submitting the entrance fee, Han Li made his way into Black Wind City before making his way directly toward the island master's manor.
On the way there, he suddenly stopped in his tracks as he took a glance at the center of the city, then flew in that direction before landing in front of the teleportation plaza.
Bursts of white light were flashing over the teleportation pagoda on the plaza, and it was giving off bursts of tremendous spiritual power fluctuations interspersed with spatial fluctuations.
Han Li knew that this was a sign that the teleportation array had already been activated, and that teleportation was about to be initiated.
After a brief moment of contemplation, he raised a hand to stop a middle-aged Nascent Soul cultivator who was passing by beside him, then said, "Excuse me, Fellow Daoist, I heard that the Black Wind Island Master had declared that the teleportation array was going to be shut down for 1,000 years, so why is it suddenly running again."
The man was just about to fly into a rage at being stopped by Han Li, but as soon as he detected Han Li's unfathomable aura, he hurriedly put on a fawning smile as he cupped his fist in a salute and replied, "You've must've only recently arrived at Black Wind City, right, Senior? The Black Wind Island Master suddenly declared that the teleportation array was going to be in use again just yesterday, and the teleportation will be initiated at noon today."
"I see. Would you happen to know why the island master suddenly changed his mind?" Han Li asked with a contemplative expression.
"That... I'm afraid not," the middle-aged man replied with a shake of his head.
"Thank you," Han Li replied with a nod, and the middle-aged man cupped his fist in a parting salute before quickly departing.
Han Li cast his gaze toward the teleportation pagoda with a contemplative look on his face, then raised his head to look up at the sun for a moment. All of a sudden, he abruptly vanished from the spot, flying toward the teleportation pagoda as a faint shadow before landing in front of the pagoda's entrance.
The gates of the pagoda were tightly shut, and there were two Black Wind Island cultivators standing guard on either side of them.
Han Li didn't pause even for a moment as he flew straight through the gates in a wraith-like manner. There were several layers of restrictions behind the gates, but none of them were triggered by his intrusion.
At this moment, there were as many as 80 to 90 people inside the pagoda, waiting for the teleportation to be initiated.
Han Li's gaze was immediately drawn to several blue-robed cultivators standing at the forefront of the crowd, and they were none other than Luo Qinghai and the Vast Flow Palace cultivators, while Island Master Lu Jun was standing beside them in a respectful manner.
It seemed that Luo Qinghai had left the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor before him, and he was also trying to leave the Black Wind Sea.
In the next instant, Han Li appeared behind everyone without attracting any attention, then tapped the back of a white-robed young man in front of him with his finger.
A glazed-over look instantly appeared in the young man's eyes, and he turned around before handing a blue talisman over to Han Li, then made his way to the side.
Aside from Luo Qinghai and a few others, no one else in the hall noticed what had just happened.
Luo Qinghai turned to examine Han Li, and a hint of befuddlement flashed through his eyes, but his expression remained completely unchanged.
Meanwhile, Han Li stood on the spot with a calm expression, not shying away from Luo Qinghai's scrutiny at all.
He wasn't hoping to avoid detection from Luo Qinghai and the others in the first place, and it didn't matter to him even if they did notice him.
With his understanding of Luo Qinghai's personality, he knew that he wouldn't make any rash moves in this situation.
Sure enough, Luo Qinghai only inspected Han Li briefly before looking away again, making no effort to expose Han Li.
However, right at this moment, Han Li suddenly turned to another direction, where a group of people were gathered, chatting quietly among themselves.
Han Li's brows furrowed ever so slightly.
Just now, he had detected someone scrutinizing him from that direction, but they had immediately looked away, so he was unable to tell who it was.
However, the fact that they had managed to detect what he had just done indicated that they were definitely also at the Golden Immortal Stage.
A hint of befuddlement flashed through Han Li's eyes upon arriving at this conclusion. Could it be Daoist Hu Yan and Yun Ni? Or was it someone else?
Before he had a chance to ponder the matter any further, a black-robed elderly man standing beside the teleportation array suddenly stepped forward as he declared, "Sorry to keep you waiting, fellow daoists. It's time, please enter the array."
Everyone that was holding a blue talisman filed into the teleportation array one after another, while the white-robed young man remained rooted to the spot with a dazed look on his face.
Lu Jun's gaze flashed over Han Li momentarily upon seeing this, but he didn't say anything.
The black-robed elderly man flipped a hand over to produce a white array plate, then made a quick string of hand seals, upon which the array plate instantly began to glow with radiant white light.
The teleportation array also began to glow bright, and the dazzling white spiritual light inundated everyone inside the array, following which all of them vanished without a trace.
A hint of relief appeared on Lu Jun's face upon seeing this.
In the instant that everyone was teleported away, the clarity returned to the white-robed young man's eyes, and a panicked look appeared on his face as he exclaimed, "What just happened? Why am I standing here?"
"Get him out of here and return his spirit stones to him," Lu Jun instructed with a dismissive wave of his hand.
A pair of Black Wind Island cultivators instantly heeded his call, escorting the white-robed young man out of the teleportation pagoda.
The black-robed elderly man made his way over to Lu Jun's side as he sighed, "Thank heavens they're finally gone, Island Master!"
"I'm afraid we may not be out of the woods yet," Lu Jun replied with a grim expression.
The black-robed elderly man faltered slightly upon hearing this, while Lu Jun elaborated, "It wasn't just the Vast Flow Palace that entered the immortal manor, yet they're the only ones who have appeared here. What does that entail? To this day, the Immortal Palace cultivators are still nowhere to be found, and on top of that, everyone from the Dawn Fall Sect and the Blaze Dragon Dao has also seemingly vanished into thin air.
“I'm sure something must've happened in the immortal manor. Luo Qinghai claims that he knows nothing, but I highly doubt that. Regardless of what happened, it happened in our Black Wind Sea, so there could still be much more trouble to come."
"I thought that they must've already left the Black Wind Sea through some other avenues. After all, those people are all extremely powerful, and some of them didn't arrive in our Black Wind Sea through the teleportation array in the first place," the black-robed elderly man said in a hesitant manner.
"You're referring to the Soul Stirring Winds, right? We can only pray that they've already left our Black Wind Sea through the Soul Stirring Winds," Lu Jun mused with a wry smile.
"By the way, have you received any news about Young Mistress Yuqing from the people of the Vast Flow Palace?" the black-robed elderly man asked.
"I'm afraid not, but I don't know if they really didn't know anything, or if they were just hiding what they knew from me," Lu Jun replied with a hint of concern in his eyes.
"Young Mistress Yuqing's Origin Soul Lamp is still lit, so she's definitely still alive. Perhaps she's merely trapped somewhere at the moment, and she could be back soon, so don't be too concerned, Island Master," the black-robed elderly man consoled,
Lu Jun offered no response to this, merely heaving a forlorn sigh with tightly furrowed brows.
The black-robed elderly man didn't know what else he could say, so he could only remain silent as well.
Lu Jun stood beside the teleportation array for a moment longer, then heaved another long sigh before turning to depart, but right as he did so, he suddenly spotted a white jade slip on the ground beside the array.
His brows furrowed slightly as he drew the jade slip into his hand, then injected his spiritual sense into it, and he found a short message inside:
"Fellow Daoist Lu Yuqing has encountered an opportunity in the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor, and she's perfectly safe, so do not be concerned."
An ecstatic look immediately appeared on Lu Jun's face upon seeing this, and all of the concern in his eyes was erased.
He stowed the jade slip away, then extended a deep bow toward the teleportation array, while the black-robed elderly man looked on with a perplexed expression.
......
Han Li's entire field of view was filled with white radiance, and the entire world spun around him in a blur.
Some time later, his vision was restored, and he appeared in another white hall.
Han Li took a glance at his surroundings, and he identified this place to the teleportation hall in Wave View City.
At this moment, there was another group of people standing in a corner of the hall, and they were clearly waiting to be teleported into the Black Wind Sea.
Han Li filed out of the teleportation array with everyone else, then quickly exited the teleportation pagoda.
After that, he promptly departed, quickly vanishing into the crowd on the street outside.
Luo Qinghai and the other Vast Flow Palace cultivators were gathered in a nearby pavilion, and all of them were looking in the direction where Han Li had just faded into the cloud.
"Do you know who he is, Palace Master?" the fair-skinned scholar asked as he withdrew his gaze.
A contemplative look appeared on Luo Qinghai's face as he replied, "I'm not sure, but judging from what he managed to pull off earlier, he has to be a Golden Immortal. I presume that he's currently using a disguise conjured up by a Transient Guild mask, so that's not his true appearance. Were you able to identify him, Meng'er?"
Nan Kemeng was still looking a little weary and frail, and he merely shook his head in response to the question.
"If he's using a Transient Guild mask, then perhaps a member of the Reincarnation Palace," one of the Vast Flow Palace Golden Immortals speculated.
"Perhaps, but he could also be from the Blaze Dragon Dao, the Dawn Fall Sect, or some other power. Quite a few cultivators entered the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor on this occasion, and we weren't able to meet all of them," Luo Qinghai said.
"If he's a Golden Immortal, then why is he sneaking around like this? I'm concerned that he may be harboring some ill intentions. Should I send someone to investigate him?" another Golden Immortal asked.
"There's no need to do that. We've already completed our objective for this trip, so it doesn't matter who that man is and what his intentions are. In the wake of everything that had happened here, the Northern Glacial Immortal Region is sure to undergo a period of turmoil, so we have to return to the Vast Flow Palace and make some preparations," Luo Qinghai replied with a shake of his head.
The Golden Immortal was rather disappointed to hear this, but he still nodded in response.
With that, the group continued onward, and Nan Kemeng followed them for a few steps before a layer of peculiar blue light suddenly appeared over his face, then transformed into a thin layer of blue ice crystals.
She immediately swayed momentarily before tipping over, and Luo Qinghai hurriedly swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a burst of blue light to catch him, while everyone else gathered around to see what had happened.
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