Chapter 1275: Ghost Gate
Under Weeping Soul's guidance, Han Li set off after the wicked corpse soul at full speed.
With his current mid-Great Encompassment Stage powers, he was able to cover a distance of several million kilometers in the blink of an eye.
Even though he was now able to lock onto the wicked corpse soul with his spiritual sense, the latter was somehow able to give itself a burst of acceleration whenever he got close, and as a result, it remained frustratingly out of reach.
Before long, the two of them had reached the edge of the Black Wind Sea, and up ahead was a boundless wall of black yin wind that stretched as far as the eyes could see in all directions.
It's the Soul Stirring Winds!
A grim look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he immediately channeled his Reversal True Axis ability to grant himself a significant speed boost.
However, in the same instant, the wicked corpse soul also abruptly accelerated as a burst of golden light flashed over its body, and it was able to rush headfirst into the Soul Stirring Winds ahead of Han Li.
"Good luck catching me now!" the wicked corpse soul cackled as he plunged into the Soul Stirring Winds.
Han Li's expression darkened slightly as he instantly spread his spiritual sense into the Soul Stirring Winds, but somehow, the wicked corpse soul had managed to completely vanish without a trace.
After a brief hesitation, he decided not to charge in blindly.
Even though letting the wicked corpse soul run free was going to undoubtedly create future headaches, he was still yet to consolidate his cultivation base, so rushing in blindly after it was not a wise decision.
Right at this moment, Weeping Soul's voice rang out in his mind.
"Master, let me out for a second."
Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, and Weeping Soul appeared beside him.
Her eyes were glowing as she stared into the Soul Stirring Winds up ahead, Han Li was rather intrigued to see this.
"Have you discovered something, Weeping Soul?"
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"I detected a very familiar aura in these winds, and on top of that..."
Weeping Soul made a hand seal as she spoke to summon the Yama Cauldron.
The cauldron immediately began to glow, and it looked as if it were itching to fly into the Soul Stirring Winds.
"Get Song Chunshan out here!" Han Li hurriedly said, and Weeping Soul faltered slightly upon hearing this, then immediately nodded in response before sweeping a sleeve through the air, upon which Sun Chongshan appeared beside her out of thin air.
As soon as Sun Chongshan was summoned, he immediately scoured his gaze over his surroundings, and a surprised look appeared on his face upon catching sight of the Soul Stirring Winds up ahead.
"Have you been here before, Fellow Daoist Sun?" Han Li asked.
"The environment here is very similar to that of the Heavenfall Immortal Region where I found this Yama Cauldron," Sun Chongshan replied in a truthful manner.
Han Li nodded in response, then turned a contemplative gaze back to the Soul Stirring Winds.
"Have you been here before as well, Master?" Weeping Soul asked.
"I once ventured into these yin winds a very long time ago, but I didn't dare to venture too deep. These yin winds are called Soul Stirring Winds, and not only do they contain immense glacial qi, there are also creatures that are similar to yin beasts lurking deep within them. It's said that these Soul Stirring Winds come straight from the depths of the underworld," Han Li replied.
"Perhaps that rumor is true!" Weeping Soul exclaimed in an excited manner.
"You seem to be very interested in these Soul Stirring Winds," Han Li remarked.
"I want to go inside and take a look. Can we?" Weeping Soul asked as she put on a pitiable expression.
"Seeing as this place has something to do with the Yama Cauldron, I also want to go in and take a look. However, before that, I need to rest and recuperate for some time, so you'll need to keep a lookout for me," Han Li said.
"Not a problem!" Weeping Soul replied as she immediately cast Sun Chongshan back into the Yama Cauldron.
From there, Han Li and Weeping Soul settled on a small and obscured island nearby, and Han Li created a temporary cave abode before entering the Flower Branch domain to commence a stint of seclusion.
He was in seclusion for close to twenty years, but thanks to the space of accelerated time, only less than a day had passed by in the outside world.
Once again, Han Li and Weeping Soul were standing before the Soul Stirring Winds, and Sun Chongshan was summoned a second time.
As soon as he caught sight of Han Li, his jaw immediately dropped to the ground.
Just a day ago, Han Li had been in terrible condition, yet in such a short span of time, he had managed to completely recover.
Could it be that he had taken some type of unfathomably powerful pill that was extremely effective even on Great Encompassment cultivators?
Despite all of the questions in his mind, he knew better than to articulate any of them, and he waited obediently for further instructions from Han Li and Weeping Soul.
"Let's go in. Hopefully, we can still catch him," Han Li said, then swept a sleeve through the air to conjure up a golden light barrier to encompass the trio before the three of them flew collectively into the Soul Stirring Winds as a streak of golden light.
The Soul Stirring Winds were still as hostile as ever, but Han Li was countless times more powerful since he last ventured into them, so he was able to traverse through them with ease on this occasion, and it didn't take long for him to travel a considerable distance into the Soul Stirring Winds.
However, he was disappointed to discover that the wicked corpse soul remained elusive, and even Weeping Soul wasn't able to detect it at all.
Additionally, what also came as a surprise to Han Li was that they hadn't encountered any of the yin beasts residing in the Soul Stirring Winds thus far.
Right at this moment, the Yama Cauldron in Weeping Soul's hands began to tremble slightly before pointing downward, and Han Li's trio immediately embarked on a descent.
Last time, Han Li had been focused solely on flying through the Soul Stirring Winds, and he had never explored in the downward direction. As a result, only now did he discover that the sea down below had disappeared, with more gusts of yin wind taking its place.
As they continued to descend, the glacial qi in the surrounding area became more and more potent, to the point that even the golden light barrier released by Han Li wasn't able to keep it at bay.
Sun Chongshan had begun shivering uncontrollably, and he was just about to say something when a black trident that was aimed at his back suddenly shot out of the yin winds behind him.
A metallic clang rang out as the trident was repelled by the golden light barrier around the trio, and a flash of recognition appeared in Han Li's eyes at the sight of it.
He had encountered this thing during his previous crossing of the Soul Stirring Winds.
At his lowly cultivation base at the time, he had only been able to force the creature into retreat, and he wasn't expecting to encounter another one here.
However, this one was far more powerful than the previous one, and it was at least at the Golden Immortal Stage.
Han Li lashed out without any hesitation, releasing an arc of golden lightning out of his fingertip to strike the black trident.
The trident exploded, all of the Soul Stirring Winds within a radius of several hundred feet were also torn apart by the eruption of golden lightning, revealing a black, humanoid creature.
The creature was roughly the same stature as an adult human, but its entire body was covered in black scales, and there was a tail dragging along behind it.
At this moment, there was a stunned look on the creature's face, and it let loose a sharp screech before turning to flee.
Right as Han Li was about to put an end to its life, it was swept up by a streak of black light that had flown out of Weeping Soul's hand.
The creature was powerless to resist, and it was sucked into Weeping Soul's mouth in a flash before being devoured whole.
A blissful look appeared on Weeping Soul's face, while a layer of black light began flashing over her body, and it lingered for a long time before finally fading away.
"It's been a long time since I had such a delicious meal," Weeping Soul remarked as she smacked her lips in a joyful manner.
"That was nothing more than a Golden Immortal Stage ghostly creature, was there something unique about it?" Han Li asked.
"There wasn't much yin soul power in its body, but it was of a very high caliber, and this type of yin soul power is very compatible with my body," Weeping Soul explained with an excited expression.
"Is that right?" Han Li mused in a contemplative manner.
Right at this moment, Sun Chongshan suddenly interjected, "Senior Han, Senior Weeping Soul, I can't endure the glacial qi here for much longer..."
His face had turned blue from the cold, and his shivering had grown even worse.
Han Li took a glance at him, then turned to Weeping Soul, and the latter cast him back into the Yama Cauldron as she scoffed, "How useless!"
"Let's keep going down," Han Li said with a hint of intrigue in his eyes.
Thus, the two of them continued on their descent, and half a day flew by in the blink of an eye, but there was still no bottom in sight.
The glacial qi here was so potent that even Han Li was beginning to feel some slight discomfort, but Weeping Soul seemed very much at home here.
After descending for a while longer, the surrounding yin winds suddenly began to recede, and it seemed that they had finally reached the bottom.
The two of them immediately accelerated in their descent upon seeing this, but right at this moment, an enormous, crimson vortex suddenly appeared before them without any warning.
A burst of tremendous suction force surged out of the vortex, catching the two of them completely off guard, and they were sucked in before they had a chance to react.
In the next instant, they found themselves in a crimson space, within which was a giant, crimson lake that was rippling faintly.
The water in the lake very much resembled blood, but it gave off no bloody odor, only a biting chill.
Beyond the crimson lake was a huge, crimson city that was very majestic in appearance, and directly above its gaze were emblazoned the words "Ghost Gate".
Han Li and Weeping Soul exchanged an astonished glance upon seeing this.