Published at 19th of March 2025 5:10 pm

Chapter 1233: Search

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

Right after Han Li and Lan Yan passed through the restriction, a burst of dark red light suddenly shot out of thin air outside the entrance of the Golden Jade Pass, and it flew through the opening in the golden light barrier before anyone had a chance to react.

"Close the entrance! Hurry!" Elder Qi called out in an alarmed voice upon seeing this, and a streak of golden light shot out of the badge in his hand before vanishing into the golden light barrier.

At the same time, the eight golden-robed cultivators frantically swept their flags through the air, and the opening in the light barrier was instantly closed.

Simultaneously, Elder Qi opened his mouth to release two streaks of white light, which transformed into a pair of giant, white swords that flew through the air at an astonishing speed, catching up to the streak of dark red light in the blink of an eye.

However, right as it was about to be struck by the pair of swords, waves of dark red light suddenly erupted out of the streak of red light.

The white light emanating from the two swords instantly melted away upon contact with the waves of dark red light, while the swords themselves were sent flying back through the air.

Immediately thereafter, Wyrm 3 emerged from the streak of dark red light.

A stunned look appeared on Lan Yan's face at this abrupt turn of events, but Han Li remained as composed and steadfast as ever, as if he had already anticipated this.

Wyrm 3 took a glance in Han Li's direction, and an imperceptible smile appeared on her face as she swept a sleeve through the air to conjure up a door of silver light.

A rapid stream of Reincarnation Palace cultivators came pouring out of the door of light, and in the blink of an eye, there were already hundreds of them, with more still to come.

"Seize control of the Golden Jade Pass!" Wyrm 3 instructed, and the Reincarnation Palace cultivators immediately began attacking Elder Qi and the other Golden Vein Guards.

Elder Qi was furious to see this, but he had no choice but to engage the enemy in battle.

Thankfully, there were over a thousand Golden Vein Guards stationed at the Golden Jade Pass, so they held a numbers advantage.

In the blink of an eye, a ferocious battle had broken out, and Han Li grabbed onto the stunned Lan Yan before flying away into the distance.

"Thanks for your help, Fellow Daoist Han. I'll be sure to compensate you once the mission is over."

Han Li paid no heed to the gleeful voice of Wyrm 3 that had rung out in his mind as he flew away with Lan Yan in tow, slipping away unnoticed by everyone else.

"Fellow Daoist Han, did you already know that those Reincarnation Palace cultivators were going to appear?" Lan Yan asked.

"Sometimes, knowing too much can be a curse rather than a blessing, Fellow Daoist Lan," Han Li replied in a cold voice, and he was also feeling a little dismayed.

It seemed like Wyrm 3 had been following them in secret all along. She knew that he had to travel into the inner temple in order to rescue Jin Tong, and she had used that to her advantage to seize the Golden Jade Pass. With that in mind, it was clear that his black mask had to have been tampered with, allowing Wyrm 3 to track him.

Lan Yan could sense Han Li's displeasure at the situation, and she hurriedly changed the subject as she said, "Let's go and save Jin Tong. Do you know where she's being held?"

"According to the information that was given to me, Jin Tong is currently being imprisoned in the Ghost Valley," Han Li replied as he offered Lan Yan the jade slip that contained the map of the inner temple.

"The Ghost Valley? That's the place where Holy Envoy Gui Lingzi cultivates!" Lan Yan exclaimed in an alarmed manner.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but it wasn't all that surprising a revelation to him.

Jin Tong had been captured by Gui Lingzi, so it made sense that she was being held captive on Gui Lingzi's territory.

"Gui Lingzi is a mid-Great Encompassment cultivator, and the ghostly law powers that he's mastered make him very difficult to deal with, so he's ranked at the very top among the four holy envoys. There's a decent chance that he's currently not in the Ghost Valley, given the Reincarnation Palace invasion, but we still have to plan for the worst," Lan Yan cautioned in a concerned manner.

"Of course. Rest assured, I am not taking Gui Lingzi lightly at all," Han Li reassured as he raised a hand to release a plume of black mist that encompassed both of them.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them transformed into a pair of invisible shadows before continuing onward.

Not only could Han Li use the powers of his black mask on himself, he could also use them on others as long as they were in sufficiently close proximity to him.

An intrigued look appeared in Lan Yan's eyes upon seeing this, but she then quickly refocused her attention on the task at hand.

In contrast with the dense clusters of grand and majestic buildings in the outer temple, there were far fewer buildings in the inner inner temple, the preservation of nature seemingly taking higher priority, but the world's origin qi here was far more abundant than in the outer temple.

Some restrictions had been activated in the inner temple, but not as many as there were in the outer temple, perhaps because the cultivators of the Nine Origins Temple felt like all of the restrictions in the outer temple would've been enough to keep the inner temple safe from infiltration.

This suited Han Li and Lan Yan just fine, and they were able to make rapid progress.

Close to a day later, they descended near a valley, all of the soil and rocks around which were completely black in color.

There was also a dense blanket of dark clouds hanging in the sky above the valley, and not only were they as viscous as water, their black coloration indicated that they most likely contained lethal poison as well.

Bone-chilling gusts of yin wind were sweeping out of the valley, producing a piercing, screeching sound that fluctuated in pitch and volume, striking fear and unease into the heart of the listener. At the same time, there were also bursts of violent intent churning within the gusts of yin wind, and it was as if this place had been taken straight from the depths of hell.

Even from very far away, Han Li and Lan Yan could still feel the malicious, ghostly qi emanating from the valley, threatening to pierce into their bodies like countless glacial needles, but thankfully, the hostile conditions were still not too much to bear for them.

"So this is the Ghost Valley?" Han Li asked as he swept his gaze over the surrounding area.

"That's right. I've never been here before, but I've heard stories about this place, and this is also the precise location marked out on the map," Lan Yan confirmed in a confident manner.

Han Li nodded in response, then closed his eyes to try and detect Jin Tong's presence.

A long while later, he reopened his eyes with his brows tightly furrowed.

"Are you unable to sense her?" Lan Yan asked.

Han Li nodded with a dark expression.

He had chalked up his inability to sense Jin Tong back in Gilded City to distance, but the fact that he was still unable to detect Jin Tong's presence even at such close proximity was very strange.

Could it be that Jin Tong was currently trapped within a seal that made her undetectable to others, or had the Reincarnation Palace fed him false information?

This valley was quite a foreboding place, even to him, and the possibility of an enemy mid-Great Encompassment cultivator lurking inside was even more cause for apprehension.

"Master, let's confirm if Jin Tong is actually in this Ghost Valley before we go in. There's no guarantee that the Reincarnation Palace's information is correct," Weeping Soul communicated to Han Li through voice transmission, and Han Li nodded in agreement.

"Let me out, Master. I was with Boss for a very long time, so I may be able to sense her," Xiaobai suddenly said, and Han Li duly obliged, releasing him from the Flower Branch domain.

As soon as he emerged from the domain, Xiaobai immediately sat down with his eyes closed, and a layer of faint, white light surfaced over his body.

A short while later, he reopened his eyes with a deflated expression as he shook his head and sighed, "I can't sense her, either."

Han Li wasn't surprised by this outcome. He had nurtured Jin Tong from a tiny Gold Devouring Beetle, so if even he couldn't sense her, then Xiaobai had no chance.

"What do we do now, Master?" Xiaobai asked in an agitated manner.

"It's alright, we may not be able to sense her, but there's someone who definitely can," Han Li replied with a faint smile, then made a hand seal, and the restrictions around the bamboo pavilion in the Flower Branch domain quickly dissipated.

A figure flew out from within, and it was none other than Qu Lin.

With a sweep of his sleeve, Han Li summoned Qu Lin directly out of the domain.

Qu Lin was far from pleased at the way that he had been treated, and he said in a disgruntled manner, "I agreed to accompany you on your travels, not to be held captive as your prisoner!"

"It appears Weeping Soul was excessively cautious in her treatment of you. Please allow me to apologize on her behalf," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in an apologetic salute.

Qu Lin gave a cold harrumph, but spoke no further on the matter as he inspected his surroundings before asking, "Where are we right now?"

"We are currently in the Nine Origins Temple, so if you don't wish to be detected, I suggest you don't release your spiritual sense," Han Li replied.

Qu Lin raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

"If I recall correctly, aren't you currently a wanted fugitive of the Nine Origins Temple? How courageous of you to have ventured into the Nine Origins Temple given your wanted status!"

"I had some matters that I had to attend to here," Han Li said with a faint smile, making no mention of the Reincarnation Palace invasion.

"So why have you chosen to set me free at a time like this?" Qu Lin asked.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Fellow Daoist Qu. According to my sources, there may be a Gold Devouring Immortal in the valley up ahead. However, the valley is riddled with restrictions, and I'm unable to detect its aura. As a fellow Gold Devouring Immortal, I was hoping that you would have better luck in the endeavor," Han Li replied, keeping his ties with Jin Tong a secret.

Qu Lin's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this, following which a hint of suspicion appeared on his face as he asked, "Are you planning to capture this Gold Devouring Immortal?"

"Not at all. It's just that I once had a run-in with this Gold Devouring Immortal, and it took something very important from me, so I'm here to recover it," Han Li replied.

"I see. It should be a simple task for me to see if there's a Gold Devouring Immortal in the valley up ahead," Qu Lin replied, then closed his eyes momentarily as a layer of golden light began flashing over his body.

A brief moment later, his eyes sprang open as a hint of elation flashed through them.

"There is indeed a Gold Devouring Immortal in the valley up ahead, but it's underground," Qu Lin said.

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