Leikong Island was already quite sizable, but compared to Biling Island, it paled in significance.
Han Li hovered in the void dozens of miles away from Biling Island, gazing at the colossal landmass in the distance. To his surprise, the island appeared nearly as vast as Tianxing City.
Of course, the island lacked the dense clusters of buildings and towering sacred peaks of Tianxing, but it did boast several exceptionally high stone spires, each reaching nearly ten thousand zhang in height—an extraordinary sight.
Even more astonishing was the sheer steepness of these spires. Their smooth, barren surfaces stretched upward like colossal pillars piercing the heavens, their upper halves vanishing into the white clouds above.
Yet none of this caught Han Li’s attention. What intrigued him was the absence of any greenery—not just on the spires, but across the entire island. The landscape was dominated by a monotonous gray-white hue, and there was no trace of spiritual energy fluctuations.
The island seemed like a barren wasteland devoid of spiritual veins!
Observing this, Han Li couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
*Wasn’t this island supposed to harbor a massive spirit stone mine? How could there be no spiritual veins at all?*
Generally, spirit stone deposits were byproducts of spiritual veins. Where spiritual veins existed, spirit stones of varying quality would naturally form over time. Conversely, the presence of spirit stones usually indicated the existence of a spiritual vein.
Han Li had initially assumed that an island capable of producing high-grade spirit stones must possess an exceptionally rare spiritual vein, even by the standards of the human realm.
But the current situation left him speechless.
After a moment of contemplation, however, he chuckled to himself.
*If such a massive island also had a top-tier spiritual vein that was easily detectable, how could its high-grade spirit stone deposits have remained hidden until now? Ancient cultivators would have long since plundered them dry!*
Clearly, there was some unknown mechanism on the island that concealed the spiritual vein’s fluctuations.
With this realization, Han Li’s doubts dissipated. He glanced up at the blazing sun overhead.
It was still midday. Though confident in his evasion techniques, he knew nighttime would offer better cover. With a flicker of light, he circled the nearby sea before landing on a small exposed reef.
There, he sat cross-legged, meditating with closed eyes.
Several hours later, as night fell, Han Li abruptly opened his eyes, which gleamed with sharp light.
His figure shot forward in a streak of light, heading straight for the island.
Of course, he employed a secret technique to render his movement indistinct and nearly invisible—undetectable to ordinary cultivators in the darkness.
Within the time it took to finish a meal, he had already approached the colossal island.
Having extracted memories from Miao He and others, Han Li easily identified the area controlled by the Anti-Star Alliance. He stealthily infiltrated the island, making his way toward one of the towering stone spires.
Along the way, he encountered numerous hidden restrictions and, upon releasing his spiritual sense, discovered many concealed guards. The closer he got to the spire, the tighter the security became.
But with his current abilities, these restrictions and low-level cultivators were beneath his notice. He slipped past them effortlessly, leaving no trace of his passage.
A faint azure light, unimpeded, penetrated deep into the Anti-Star Alliance’s territory, finally stopping before the massive stone spire.
The light dissipated, revealing Han Li’s figure.
He didn’t rush forward immediately. Instead, he gazed upward at the spire’s upper reaches, his eyes flickering with blue light as he activated a special vision technique.
What had appeared as an ordinary stone surface now revealed a faint blue barrier enveloping the entire spire. The barrier’s surface was smooth as flowing water—a formidable restriction formed by a rare sealing formation.
Han Li frowned.
Such a massive formation couldn’t be bypassed with mere tricks.
Of course, this wouldn’t truly hinder him. With a flick of his wrist, a tri-colored flame materialized in his palm—the Three Flames Fan.
Though using it might alert the guards, Han Li didn’t care. If necessary, he’d simply eliminate them.
As long as he had a little time, locating the Venerable Jiyin wouldn’t be difficult. And once he dealt with Jiyin, who on the island could stop him from leaving?
With this in mind, he raised the fan, preparing to break the barrier. But just then, his expression shifted. The fan’s glow dimmed as he withdrew it into his sleeve, vanishing from sight.
Almost simultaneously, streaks of light appeared in the distant sky, heading boldly toward the spire.
Moments later, the lights arrived, revealing three figures.
The leader was a white-haired cultivator with disheveled hair, his face oddly youthful despite his age. His cultivation was at the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Behind him stood two pale-faced men in thin white robes, their expressions eerily blank.
The white-haired cultivator seemed familiar with the spire’s restrictions. He stopped before the blue barrier and sent a fiery transmission talisman into it.
Soon, the barrier shimmered, splitting open with a rumble.
Without hesitation, the three entered, the barrier sealing behind them.
Unnoticed, a faint azure shadow slipped in behind the last white-robed man, evading even the white-haired cultivator’s detection.
Inside the barrier, several respectful cultivators greeted the white-haired man.
“Senior Fei, you’ve arrived! Elder Tang is currently occupied and requests that you rest in the guest pavilion tonight. Tomorrow, you’ll meet with the other seniors in Mist Hall!”
A brawny Core Formation cultivator in his thirties spoke with utmost deference.
“What nonsense is this? You summoned me urgently, only to delay me now? Is Elder Tang mocking me?” The white-haired cultivator’s expression darkened.
“Not at all! Elder Tang truly cannot spare the time. He means no disrespect!” The brawny man paled, hastily explaining.
“Fine. I’ll settle this with Fei tomorrow. How many have arrived? Isn’t tomorrow the deadline?” The white-haired man snorted, changing the subject.
“Aside from Senior Miao He of Leikong Island and Senior Huang of Tianmang Island, all others are present.”
“Miao He? That coward has been timid ever since his body was destroyed. No surprise he’s late.” The white-haired man sneered.
The brawny man wisely remained silent, unwilling to comment on Nascent Soul cultivators.
Just then, one of the pale-faced men behind the white-haired cultivator suddenly twisted unnaturally, his upper body elongating like a serpent. He lunged at an unprepared Foundation Establishment guard, sinking fangs into his neck and greedily drinking his blood.
The other guards recoiled in horror, some hastily summoning defensive artifacts.
“Calm yourselves! My corpse puppet merely requires nourishment,” the white-haired man barked, glaring until the guards sheepishly withdrew their artifacts.
With a flick of his wrist, he produced a bloody pill from his storage pouch, tossing it to the other motionless white-robed figure, who swallowed it mechanically.
Meanwhile, the first puppet continued draining the guard, whose body shriveled rapidly, his skin turning as dry as bark.
The white-haired man watched coldly, making no move to intervene. Only when the victim had shrunk to a dwarf-like state did he send a blood-red spell into the feeding puppet, forcing it to release its grip.
A crimson flame then incinerated the shriveled guard, leaving no trace.
“Lead me to the guest pavilion,” the white-haired man ordered indifferently, as if nothing had happened.
The brawny man, though visibly shaken, quickly complied, guiding the white-haired man and his two puppets upward into the clouds.
The remaining guards exhaled in relief, their faces etched with lingering fear.
Unbeknownst to them, a concealed figure floating a hundred zhang above had witnessed everything.
“Yin Sha Blood Corpses! To think someone in the human realm would dare refine such demonic puppets. Does he not fear the backlash of Yin Sha energy?”
The murmurer was none other than Han Li, who had infiltrated the barrier unnoticed.
Arms crossed, he hovered silently, his voice barely audible.
*This complicates things…*
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage