Chapter 1271: Convincing Oneself
"Frostless Island would be perfect for your needs! The island is surrounded by sharp coral, and the sea around it is extremely turbulent and inhospitable. On top of that, the entire island is completely devoid of life, so the island itself and a huge area around it is completely uninhabited," Luo Feng said.
"I need you to help me set up an array on this island," Han Li requested in a direct and straightforward manner.
"I'm happy to be of service," Luo Feng said.
Han Li pulled out a set of blueprints and a black storage ring that he had already prepared earlier, then handed them to Luo Feng as he said, "These are the blueprints and materials required for the array. Get started as soon as possible, and make sure the array is complete within seven days."
Luo Feng inspected the contents of the blueprints and the storage ring briefly, then immediately said, "I'll have it arranged right away."
"There's no hurry. I have here some cultivation arts and spirit medicines for Dark Veil Island. You can take them as well," Han Li said as he tossed Luo Feng a white storage ring, who caught it before immediately kowtowing to the ground in gratitude without even first inspecting its contents.
Following Luo Feng's departure, Han Li turned his gaze to the Earthly Deity Avatar, and the latter also raised its head to look back at him.
A reminiscent look appeared in Han Li's eyes at the sight of his identical avatar.
The avatar had been born from a wisp of his soul in conjunction with a Soulbirth Flower, and it was a separate, sentient being from himself. With communication between them severed for all these years, it had become even more independent, so in a sense, it was both a part of him, but also not a part of him.
As long as this avatar existed, even if he were to meet an untimely demise, his presence in this world wouldn't be completely erased.
Due to the fact that the avatar had been born from a wisp of his soul, Han Li could seize back absolute control over it at any time.
Of course, that was an option that he would only turn to as a last resort as once the avatar lost its sense of self, it would be unable to continue presiding over Dark Veil Island in his stead.
"I have a request for you," Han Li said.
"Go ahead. We are one and the same, so just speak to me as if you were speaking to yourself," the Earthly Deity Avatar said.
After a brief hesitation, Han Li gently brushed a hand over his own face, removing his disguise to reveal his true appearance.
There was a strange, black rune emblazoned onto his glabella, and his were shimmering with crimson light, while a formidable, baleful aura was emanating from his body.
A chill instantly ran down the Earthly Deity Avatar's spine at the sight of the rune on his glabella, and it felt as if it were looking at a vicious beast that could tear its way out of the skin on Han Li's forehead at any moment.
"What happened to you?"
Given that they had lost contact with one another for such an extended period of time, it had no idea about Han Li's current condition.
Immediately thereafter, an even more astonished look appeared on its face as it exclaimed, "Your cultivation base!"
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Earlier, Han Li had concealed his true cultivation base, and only now had he fully revealed it.
"Right now, I'm at the pinnacle of the early-Great Encompassment Stage, and I must sever my wicked corpse soul," Han Li explained with a wry smile.
"You're already at the Great Encompassment Stage?"
Even as Han Li's Earthly Deity Avatar, it couldn't help but be completely flabbergasted to hear this.
As an Earthly Immortal, it was essentially taking a shortcut as far as cultivation was concerned, and as long as it had enough followers to supply it with the power of faith, its rate of progression should've been faster than that of the average cultivator.
Given the rapid expansion of Dark Veil Island's forces, the Earthly Deity Avatar had been gaining more and more followers at an unprecedented rate.
As a result, it had been progressing quite quickly in its cultivation, but Han Li had completely put it to shame.
"Do you need my help in your corpse soul severance?" the Earthly Deity Avatar asked.
"That's right. The three corpse souls arise from their host's attachments, and their power grows alongside that of their host, so they're extremely difficult to sever through the power of one's soul alone. I was fortunate enough to have obtained a corpse soul severance technique that can allow me to transfer my wicked corpse soul into your body as a medium, thereby significantly increasing my chances of success," Han Li explained.
"What are the risks involved?" the Earthly Deity Avatar asked.
"Corpse soul severance is an extremely perilous endeavor in itself, and in the process, my soul could easily be devoured by my wicked corpse soul, allowing it to take over my body. Even if I can successfully sever my wicked corpse soul and seal it into your body, there's a very good chance that it'll take over this body of yours," Han Li replied.
The Earthly Deity Avatar's brows furrowed slightly as it asked, "So essentially, I'm going to be used as a vessel for your corpse soul, is that right?"
"That's right," Han Li replied with a nod.
A peculiar look appeared on the Earthly Deity Avatar's face as it asked, "If you were in my place, would you agree to something like this?"
"This is not an entirely detrimental arrangement for you. Ultimately, there are only so many people residing in this region of the Black Wind Sea. I presume that the biggest reason why you haven't been able to reach the High Zenith Stage all this time is because there's only so much power of faith that you can receive from your followers, and that's not enough to bring about a breakthrough, isn't that right?" Han Li asked.
"That's right," the Earthly Deity Avatar replied with a nod.
"I have a way to help you break free from the restrictions of your Earthly Immortal body so that you'll no longer have to rely on the power of faith," Han Li said.
The Earthly Deity Avatar shook its head in a skeptical manner as it said, "I'm sure you understand the nature of the connection between this Earthly Immortal body of mine and Dark Veil Island better than anyone else, how could this connection possibly be severed?"
"I understand that over the years, the connection between your Earthly Immortal body and Dark Veil Island will only have become more and more deeply ingrained. However, you have no idea how much power my wicked corpse soul possesses. Once it enters your body, it'll be sure to make modifications to better suit itself, and with its Great Encompassment Stage power, severing your reliance on the power of faith will be an easy task," Han Li explained.
The Earthly Deity Avatar fell into deep thought upon hearing this, and only after a long silence did it ask, "Is this really feasible?"
"I would say that I'm at least 70% to 80% confident that it can be done," Han Li replied with a nod.
"What will become of the residents of Dark Veil Island then?" the Earthly Deity Avatar asked.
"Even if we set aside the fact that Luo Feng has already reached the True Immortal Stage, if you wish to protect the island, then you can remain here for as long as you please. With the resources and treasures that I left behind for them, they won't have to fear anyone in the Black Wind Sea. Also, severing their ties to their Ancestral God can be a good thing for them as well," Han Li replied.
The Earthly Deity Avatar nodded in response, seemingly swayed by Han Li's words.
"It may sound like this is going to be a simple process, but in reality, it won't be easy. Firstly, your current body may not be able to withstand the tremendous influx of power brought into it by the wicked corpse soul. Secondly, if your soul is unprotected, then it will most definitely be devoured by the wicked corpse soul," Han Li continued.
"I'm sure you already have some solutions in mind, right?" the Earthly Deity Avatar asked.
"That's right. The array that I instructed Luo Feng to set up is designed to refine your Earthly Immortal body. As for your soul, I will seal it away using a secret technique, placing you into a state of complete slumber. The wicked corpse soul won't be able to detect your existence, so it naturally won't be able to devour you," Han Li replied.
A hesitant look appeared on the Earthly Deity Avatar's face upon hearing this.
"Rest assured, prior to commencing my corpse soul severance, I will bind your body to Frostless Island. Only after taking over your body and completing the modifications on it will the wicked corpse soul be able to break free, and by then, I will have already successfully consolidated my mid-Great Encompassment Stage cultivation base, so I'll be able to capture it with ease.
“After that, all I'll have to do is extract it out of your body and seal it away again," Han Li reassured.
"So you'll have to consolidate your mid-Great Encompassment Stage cultivation base before it completely takes over my body, is that right?" the Earthly Deity Avatar asked with slightly furrowed brows.
"Compared with the rest of the process, that should be the easy part," Han Li replied in a confident manner.
"In that case, it seems like this is a feasible plan," the Earthly Deity Avatar said after some further contemplation.
Han Li heaved an internal sigh of relief upon hearing this.
It had not been an easy task to convince himself, but only with the full cooperation of the Earthly Deity Avatar would he be able to use his corpse soul severance technique to the best effect.
......
Seven days flew by in a flash.
There was an inhospitable region of the Black Wind Sea that was filled with islands of sharp coral, some of which were visible above the surface, while others were lurking just below the waves.
At the center of the area was a strange, gray island, and whenever the surrounding, turbulent waves crashed into the island, they would immediately rise up to form vast walls of water over a thousand feet tall.
This was the uninhabited Frostless Island, and right at this moment, a group of four figures descended onto the island from above, and they were none other than Han Li and his Earthly Deity Avatar, as well as Luo Feng and Jin Tong.
The group descended onto the center of the island, and the mountain there had already been completely shaved away to create a flat plaza, upon which a hexagonal, blue altar that was several hundred feet tall had been constructed.