Chapter 61: Undercurrents
Layman Bone Flame pondered the proposal for a moment, then said in a calm manner, "The fact that this man is wanted by the Ubiquitous Pavilion indicates that he must be quite a formidable cultivator. Even if his powers will be suppressed in a lower realm, surely he's not someone that two or three Grand Ascension Stage beings can capture."
"There's no need to worry about that, Fellow Daoist. According to what I've heard, that man is currently severely injured and far from the peak of his powers, so he's only slightly more powerful than the average Grand Ascension Stage being," Daoist Clear Bright replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.
"Even so, it's still too risky to get our sects in the lower realm to deal with an immortal. I think it's much safer for us to wait until he leaves the Spirit Domain Realm, then capture him in person," Layman Bone Flame said after a brief silence.
"I feel like this is something that shouldn't be delayed. The fact that the Ubiquitous Pavilion is offering such a large reward for him indicates that he must be harboring some type of secret. Even if that isn't the case, the reward is still worth taking the risk for," Daoist Clear Bright said in a voice that was filled with temptation.
Layman Bone Flame fell silent upon hearing this, and it seemed that he really was tempted by the offer.
Only after some contemplation did he reply, "Alright, I will consider this. If everything is truly as you say, then I'm happy for our two sects to work together. As for the specific details, we'll establish everything once I return to Black Water City."
"I look forward to it," Daoist Clear Bright said with a smile.
……
Several days later, in a large hall deep within the Origin Realm Temple.
The hall was completely empty with the exception of a jade platform at the very center, upon which was a teleportation array that was over 100 feet in size.
The teleportation array was buzzing and glowing brightly with dazzling white light.
At this moment, Daoist Closed Mountain was standing in front of the array, watching it in an expressionless manner, seemingly waiting for something.
Moments later, the white light being released by the teleportation array swelled momentarily before shrinking, and circles of runes appeared within the array before releasing dazzling white radiance.
Once the light faded, two figures, one tall and one short, emerged.
The shorter of the two figures was a black-robed elderly man with a bald spot on his head. His hands were clasped behind his back, which was slightly hunched, and the top of his head wasn't even level with the shoulder of the person next to him. His face was as dark as unrefined iron, and he was giving off an extremely cold and sinister aura.
The other man was a refined black-robed figure, and it was none other than Duan Renli.
"Welcome, Fellow Daoist Tong, Fellow Daoist Duan. It is truly an honor for our Origin Realm Temple to be hosting both of you today. You two still look as fit as ever. In particular, I can sense that Fellow Daoist Tong has made significant strides in his cultivation base. This is truly worthy of celebration!" Daoist Closed Mountain said with a smile as he cupped his fist in a salute.
The hunch-backed elderly man was the other Grand Ascension Stage being of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, Tong Ren'e. Not only did he possess the most advanced cultivation base in the Heavenly Ghost Sect, he was also arguably the number one cultivator in the entire Spirit Domain Realm.
However, he had a very reclusive personality and was normally always away from the sect. No one knew exactly where he stayed in seclusion.
The elderly man merely nodded in Daoist Closed Mountain as a greeting, while Duan Renli returned Daoist Closed Mountain's salute with a faint smile. "Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Closed Mountain."
"This is not the place to talk, Fellow Daoists. Let's go to the side hall," Daoist Closed Mountain as he made an inviting hand gesture before leading the way.
Moments later, the three of them arrived in a side hall before taking their seats.
"Where is that Han Li right now, Fellow Daoist Closed Mountain?" Tong Ren'e immediately cut straight to the chase as soon as he sat down.
His voice was extremely coarse and piercing, like pieces of rusty metal scraping together, and it seemed as if he hadn't spoken with anyone in a long time.
"Truth be told, Han Li is currently on the Star Gathering Platform of our temple. He's already been here for half a year, and he hasn't left the platform even for a moment since his arrival," Daoist Closed Mountain replied.
"Why is an immortal like him using the Star Gathering Platform? Do you know the underlying reasons, Fellow Daoist Closed Mountain?" Duan Renli asked with a cautious expression.
"I've thought about this myself, and I've watched him cultivate from afar on many a night. On top of that, I assigned a Body Integration cultivator of our sect to constantly remain at the platform to oversee proceedings. Judging from the state of his cultivation and the phenomena being triggered, he's most likely practicing some type of special body refinement cultivation art," Daoist Closed Mountain replied after a moment of contemplation.
"That man's physical body is already incredibly powerful, and he's also able to transform into the Giant Mountain Ape and Azure Luan Bird true spirits using some type of strange secret technique, yet he's still continuing to refine his physical body? Could it be that he's a Profound Immortal who fled into our Spirit Domain Realm?" Duan Renli speculated as his brows furrowed slightly.
"Perhaps. According to what I was told by Patriarch Clear Bright, he was severely wounded and lost his immortal body. Now that he's in a lower realm, his powers will also be greatly suppressed, so he can only be considered to be a Faux Immortal at the moment," Daoist Closed Mountain said.
"Even a Faux Immortal is still far beyond the average Grand Ascension Stage being. It's always best to err on the side of caution," Tong Ren'e said in a wary voice.
"I fully agree, Fellow Daoist Tong. This is an extremely important matter, and we need to devise a thorough strategy, which is why I've invited the two of you here today," Daoist Closed Mountain said with a serious nod.
"This is your territory, so I'm sure you've already considered what the best strategy is for this operation. Please go ahead and tell us what you think," Tong Ren'e said as he turned to Daoist Closed Mountain with a meaningful expression.
"Hehe, I do indeed have some ideas, but I'll be requiring your expert input," Daoist Closed Mountain chuckled in a modest manner.
……
That night.
Under the night sky, the entire Origin Realm Temple was enshrouded under a blanket of silence and darkness, but the pinnacle of the Nine Palace was still as bright as day.
Six enormous pillars of light were cascading down from the starry sky, and the white light was flashing incessantly before gradually disintegrating into specks of silver light.
A silver mist of light was permeating over the entire Star Gathering Platform.
On the top level of the platform, Han Li was seated with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. His entire body was brightly illuminated, and silver radiance was surging over his skin. His well-defined muscles were also giving off a metallic silver gleam, and it was as if every single fiber and sinew in his body had become as resolute as refined steel essence.
On his chest and abdomen were six specks of blue light that were particularly eye-catching, even amid all the silver and white radiance.
Right at this moment, six pillars of black light erupted out of the six existing pillars of light, then reverted back into six palm-sized black mirrors before flying into Han Li's body, vanishing in a flash.
A short while later, Han Li exhaled as he slowly opened his eyes.
With the assistance of the Star Gathering Platform and the Starmoon Mirrors, he had finally mastered the sixth level of the Big Dipper Origin Arts.
"I'm only one step away now," Han Li murmured to himself, then rose to his feet before taking a step forward, upon which a resounding boom suddenly rang out.
The entire Star Gathering Platform shuddered violently, and Han Li involuntarily stumbled forward. His foot had plunged straight into the stone platform, and half of his calf was embedded into its surface.
A mixture of amusement and exasperation appeared on his face. He had failed to anticipate just how significantly his body had been enhanced by the sixth level of the Big Dipper Origin Arts.
He had done nothing more than take a step, and his only mistake was that he had failed to tread lightly, yet this was the result.
Thankfully, the section of the platform that he had stomped into had no constellation arrays engraved onto it, so there weren't going to be any detrimental effects to the function of the platform. Otherwise, he would've been in a rather awkward situation.
With that in mind, he couldn't help but rub his own nose in a slightly sheepish manner.
The Origin Realm Temple elders around the platform all faltered slightly upon feeling the violent tremors, then turned in unison toward the Body Integration Stage brown-robed elderly man.
The elderly man briefly inspected the platform, then transmitted his voice to the other three brown-robed figures. "It's alright, everything is fine."
Ever since Han Li came here to cultivate, the Body Integration Stage elder had slowly become so accustomed to everything that Han Li did that he felt like nothing could surprise him anymore. This was a man who was able to cultivate under such vast starpower with incredible ease and poise, what could he possibly not be capable of?
The instruction that he had received from the supreme elder was only to keep a close eye on Han Li at all times, but to minimize interaction with him as much as possible.
On the Star Gathering Platform, Han Li took a deep breath, then flipped a hand over to produce a gray shield that was around two feet in length.
This was a shield that he had picked up during the rampage that he had gone on in the Heavenly Ghost Sect, and it belonged to one of the unlucky Spatial Tempering cultivators that he had swatted away like flies. The shield was entirely forged from Flowing Light Metal, and there were also some refined crystals thrown in the mix. There were many profound runes engraved on the surface of the shield, and it was clearly a treasure of quite a high caliber.
He injected some magic power into the shield, and spiritual light flashed on its surface. The bolstering restrictions within the shield were all activated, following which he grabbed onto the two sides of the shield before exerting some slight force through his hands.
The spiritual light on the surface of the shield was instantly snuffed out, following which the black shield was quickly massaged into a ball in Han Li's hands as if it were made from soft clay.
A hint of elation welled up in Han Li's heart upon seeing this.
By his estimates, his strength and physical resistance had almost doubled.
He raised his head to look up at the bright stars in the sky, and the excitement in his heart gradually subsided as he sat back down onto the Big Dipper constellation diagram, then closed his eyes to meditate.
Around two hours later, Han Li made a hand seal and began to chant the incantation for the seventh level of the Big Dipper Origin Arts.
The Big Dipper in the sky instantly began to glow brightly, but in contrast with all of the stars around it, it was giving off a bluish-silver radiance that was fluctuating erratically in brightness.
This time, seven incredibly thick pillars of silver light came crashing down from the night sky before striking the Star Gathering Platform.
All of the constellation diagrams engraved on the platform instantly began to glow with dazzling silver radiance.
From afar, it looked as if the entire platform had been doused in molten silver.
All of a sudden, a resounding boom rang out, and the entire mountain peak shuddered violently.
A vast expanse of silver light swept over the area as a silver vortex of light that was over 10 times more powerful than the previous one appeared above the platform.
The protective light barrier that previously hung over the Star Gathering Platform was swept up by the incredibly violent starpower, and it was instantly torn to shreds before dissipating into specks of golden light.
The four elders guarding the platform were completely caught off guard and struck by the shockwaves released by the vortex, and the three Spatial Tempering Stage elders were instantly sent flying.
Thankfully, the Body Integration Stage elder was able to react very quickly, summoning several defensive treasures at once to just barely withstand the eruption of starpower. Even so, he was also blown back by over 1,000 feet, and after steadying himself, he immediately cast an astonished gaze toward the pinnacle of the Nine Palace Peak.
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