Chapter 74: Bad News
In a cave abode on the Cloudrise Peak.
In the darkness of the night, the cold moonlight was spilling into a room through a window, shining upon a beautiful young woman in a palatial dress with skin as fair as snow.
At this moment, she was seated on the edge of her bed in the room with a faint smile on her face, but there were tears flowing silently down her delicate cheeks.
"Father, Big Brothers, the Heavenly Ghost Sect has been eradicated by Senior... by Brother Han. The Prosperous Nation has also returned to the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Ghost Sect, and our family has been avenged. Everyone is about to return to the Prosperous Nation and build a new life there. You can all rest easy in the heavens now," the young woman murmured as she wiped the tears from her face.
This young woman was naturally none other than Yu Menghan, and at this moment, she was crying tears of joy, but her heart was filled with countless emotions as the image of Han Li lingered stubbornly in her mind, refusing to be banished.
……
Close to half a month later, Han Li was standing on the Nine Palace Peak of the Origin Realm Temple, and he was in the process of inserting a final Starwash Stone into the ground.
A faint crack rang out, and the entire Star Gathering Platform instantly lit up.
A vast expanse of hazy silver light shone down from the heavens, enshrouding the entire platform like a fine mist.
In this instant, all of the star diagrams on the platform were illuminated.
Han Li raised his head to look up at the starry night sky, then slowly made his way up the staircase of the Star Gathering Platform with a calm expression.
……
In the Immortal Realm.
Next to a vast and nameless sea was a massive cliff that was over 10,000 feet tall, and it was hanging over the surface of the sea like the sharp beak of an eagle.
At the top of the cliff stood an enormous and majestic city.
The outer walls of the city were over 1,000 feet tall, and they were entirely constructed from some type of black rock material, allowing them to completely blend into the mountain.
The wall that was closest to the sea was riddled with marks and signs of erosion, which had been left behind by the countless waves that it had been struck by over the course of many years.
Inside the city were four straight and wide main roads, as well as many narrower roads that branched off these main roads, with countless shops and buildings interspersed throughout.
The city seemed to hold quite a large population, presenting a lively and bustling scene of activity.
In the southwestern area of the city was a narrow bluestone street that was complete with all types of shops, restaurants, and accommodation. The street was lined with different types of flags and bustling with activity, presenting a slightly noisy and rambunctious scene.
Beside a willow tree at the end of the bluestone street was a completely unremarkable-looking three-story building. It was an octagonal brick building with an azure flag hanging outside, bearing the word "medicine", and it could easily be missed on such a busy street.
Several employees were busy at work in the hall of the building, serving the customers who were there to purchase spirit medicines. Many of the customers were being led to the second floor by the shopkeeper.
At the top of the staircase on the second floor was an azure wooden door, sealing off the third floor.
There was a guest hall on the third floor, inside of which was a small rug. A purple tea table was placed on the rug, and the fragrance of sandalwood was wafting through the air from the tea table.
Two figures were seated on either side of the tea table across from one another, and each of them was holding a cup of tea.
One of the two was a handsome young man wearing a tight-fitting black robe with a set of defined facial features. It was none other than Fang Ban.
The other person was a slightly portly middle-aged man who appeared to be around 40 to 0 years of age. He was wearing a silken robe that was embroidered with golden threads, giving him the appearance of a wealthy merchant, and there was a benevolent smile on his face.
Fang Ban examined the room around him to find that there was a faint golden restriction light barrier enshrouding the surrounding area, and he remarked, "As the saying goes, the best place to hide something is in plain sight. It's an interesting idea for your Ubiquitous Pavilion to set up its branches in these cities inhabited by ordinary people."
"Our Ubiquitous Pavilion can't compare with all of those powerful sects out there. All we do is pass on information, so we naturally can't establish our branches in prestigious locations," the middle-aged man chuckled in response.
"You sent me a message earlier, telling me that you have news on that man. Is that true?" Fang Ban asked, quickly changing the subject.
"Of course. We asked you to come here for this sole purpose," the middle-aged man replied with a smile.
Fang Ban immediately flipped a hand over upon hearing this, producing a bulging azure storage bag that he placed onto the table.
The middle-aged man picked up the storage bag before briefly inspecting its contents with his spiritual sense, and the smile on his face grew even more pronounced as he revealed, "The man you are looking for is currently in the Spirit Domain Realm."
He swept a hand through the air as he spoke, and a round purplish-golden bowl that was filled with clear water appeared on the tea table.
He then reached out with a finger before gently tapping the edge of the bowl, and the water within the bowl instantly rippled as a burst of azure light flashed past.
Immediately thereafter, an image depicting a fierce battle between a massive ape and a golden giant appeared in the water.
Fang Ban's expression stiffened slightly at the sight of the mountainous golden ape, and a hint of ferocious killing intent appeared in his eyes.
The middle-aged man's expression remained completely unchanged upon seeing this, still maintaining a warm smile.
Moments later, he gently brushed a hand over the purplish-golden bowl, and the light within the bowl instantly faded, as did the image it was displaying.
"At the moment, that man is in a sect in the Spirit Domain Realm by the name of the Origin Realm Temple, and he most likely won't be leaving there anytime soon," the middle-aged man replied.
"Thank you for your efforts," Fang Ban replied in a rather absentminded manner, already pondering how he was going to travel to the Spirit Domain Realm.
"There's no need to thank me, I was simply providing a paid service. If you require my services at any later point, don't forget to visit again," the middle-aged man replied as he cupped his fist in a salute.
Right as Fang Ban was about to say something else, a burst of golden light suddenly appeared on his waist, and it was pulsing insistently.
The middle-aged man immediately rose to his feet upon seeing this, then said in a respectful voice, "The restrictions that we've set up here are definitely reliable, so you can take a rest here if you like. I'll leave you to yourself now."
He then extended a parting salute before exiting the room.
Following the middle-aged man's departure, Fang Ban brushed a hand over his waist, and an extremely beautiful golden badge appeared in his grasp.
He looked at the golden light flashing from the badge, and after a moment of hesitation, he closed his eyes before injecting his spiritual sense into it.
In the next instant, he found himself standing in a resplendent hall. There were barely any furnishings in the hall, but its walls were riddled with intricate engravings depicting all types of flora and fauna.
Directly in front of the hall stood a woman in a palatial dress with a thin white veil over her face, and as soon as she caught sight of Fang Ban, she immediately said, "Recently, a tide of Veil Beasts of extremely massive proportions has erupted in the Driftcloud Realm. Hundreds of cities in the realm have already been slaughtered, and dozens of sects have been destroyed. You have been ordered to go to the Driftcloud Realm to take care of this matter."
Fang Ban's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this, and after a brief hesitation, he replied, "Esteemed Immortal Envoy, it's going to take at least several years to completely quell such a massive Veil Beast tide. I still have some urgent matters that I need to attend to right away. Would it be possible to have someone else carry out this mission instead?"
"Everyone else is currently busy with other missions. You are the only one who hasn't accepted a new mission after completing your previous one," the woman in white replied with a shake of her head.
"But..."
Fang Ban still wanted to say something, but he was immediately cut off by the woman. "Fang Ban, have you forgotten your duties and the rules of the Immortal Palace?"
"I wouldn't dare. I accept this mission," Fang Ban replied in a resigned manner despite his extreme reluctance to do so.
After withdrawing his spiritual sense from the badge, a dark look appeared on his face as he spat through gritted teeth, "Lucky bastard! Looks like you'll get to live a few more years."
……
Three years later, at the Origin Realm Temple.
It was nighttime, but the Nine Palace Peak was illuminated by such radiant silver light that it was as bright as day.
The entire Star Gathering Platform was enshrouded within seven extraordinarily thick pillars of silver light, and a massive tornado formed by starpower was raging around the pillars of light, forming what appeared to be an impregnable fortress.
At this moment, Han Li was seated with his legs crossed at the center of the platform, and his entire body seemed to have been filled with starlight, making him so bright that appeared to almost be transparent.
Six dazzling specks of blue light were glowing on his chest and abdomen, giving off scintillating radiance. The seventh speck of blue light at the tip of his spine was still a little hazy, but it was also clearly visible.
Right at this moment, Han Li's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and his eyes suddenly sprang open as he withdrew his hand seal. The seven pillars of light around the Star Gathering Platform instantly dimmed before gradually fading away.
Seven streaks of black light then descended from the sky, reverting back into seven Starmoon Mirrors before falling into Han Li's grasp.
He had detonated the original set of mirrors in order to escape from the domain that he had been trapped in, but he was able to refine a new set of seven Starmoon Mirrors after acquiring a large quantity of Yin Dawn Stones from the Heavenly Ghost Sect.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he murmured to himself, "I'm finally about to manifest my seventh profound aperture."
In reality, he didn't have much of a concept of Profound Immortals in the past. However, his battle against the golden giant three years ago and the insights that he had gleaned from cultivating the Big Dipper Origin Arts had given him a clearer understanding of the concept.
He was confident that once he attained a True Extreme Body, he wouldn't have to use his Holy Nirvana Physique against the likes of the golden giant. Instead, he would be able to defeat an opponent of that caliber with the power of his physical body alone.
With that in mind, a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he flipped a hand over to produce a walnut-sized yellow bean.
It was the exact same bean that he had pulled out of the golden giant's chest.
Ever since learning about the reward being offered for his capture in the Immortal Realm, he had been busy at work, cultivating to enhance his own powers, so he had never had the chance to examine the bean closely.
He held the bean in the palm of his hand, and after some careful examination, he discovered that there was nothing remarkable about it aside from the fact that it was several times larger than the soybean.
However, as he injected his spiritual sense into the bean, he was immediately stunned by what he felt.
The bean was filled with a burst of rich azure light, and if Han Li didn't know any better, he would think that he had been teleported into a vast forest that was filled with stunning exuberance and vitality.
"It's extraordinary that a bean of this size could hold such enormous life energy," Han Li couldn't help but praise after opening his eyes.
He had only seen this bean be used to give rise to the golden giant, but he had no idea how to use it. However, looking at the vitality imbued within the bean, perhaps it was going to come in very useful in the future.
After a moment of contemplation, he stowed the bean away with a flick of his wrist, then rose to his feet before making his way down the stone staircase on the side of the Star Gathering Platform.
Right at this moment, a large streak of light suddenly appeared in the night sky, then rapidly approached Han Li before landing beside him.
Daoist Closed Mountain was revealed from the streak of light with an urgent look on his face, and he hurriedly extended a respectful salute toward Han Li, then said, "Senior Han, I have bad news!"
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