Several hours later, Han Li finally emerged from the ice crevice in the Inner Valley, but immediately halted his flight, suspending himself motionless in the cold wind.
Currently, the Inner Valley still imposed significant restrictions on spiritual sense. Relying solely on divine consciousness for a search would likely prove quite troublesome.
After a brief moment of thought, Han Li patted the spirit beast pouch at his waist.
A loud buzzing sound erupted as countless Gold Devouring Beetles swarmed out of the pouch, quickly forming a golden cloud of insects circling above his head.
With swift hand seals, he cast several spells into the insect cloud before sitting cross-legged on the ground and slowly closing his eyes.
With a *puff*, the golden insect cloud burst apart, scattering into tens of thousands of golden specks that shot off in all directions, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Han Li had employed the *Divine Sense Multiplicity* technique, beginning his search for the three women’s traces.
He reasoned that the three women—Song and her companions—were only at the Core Formation stage and were not reckless individuals. Even if they had entered the Inner Valley, they would not have ventured too deep. Thus, the search area was significantly narrowed.
With tens of thousands of Gold Devouring Beetles scouting simultaneously, vast swathes of land were combed repeatedly. Only after finding no leads did Han Li advance another hundred miles and dispatch the beetles anew.
Eventually, when he reached the mountain where the three women had gathered spiritual herbs, he easily discovered traces of their past activities.
Through the divine sense attached to the beetles, Han Li was overjoyed and personally inspected these areas in detail.
Sure enough, he found faint clues confirming that the three women had indeed entered the Inner Valley and lingered on this mountain.
However, expanding the search yielded no further traces of them.
In the end, Han Li had no choice but to return to the mountaintop, lost in thought.
After a moment, he suddenly let out a long whistle, summoning the scattered Gold Devouring Beetles back from dozens of miles away and returning them to the spirit beast pouch.
But then, he tossed out another pouch.
This time, twelve winged, snow-white centipedes emerged—none other than the Twelve Six-Winged Frost Centipedes!
With a series of hand seals and a mental command, the twelve centipedes dispersed in all directions, transforming into twelve gusts of icy wind before vanishing from sight.
Han Li remained motionless, waiting silently.
After an indeterminate amount of time, his expression shifted, and he shot off as a streak of azure light in the opposite direction.
Moments later, he spotted one of the snow-white centipedes circling in the air above a certain spot, emitting low, hissing sounds.
Lowering his gaze, Han Li spotted a slender, blackened object lying amidst a pile of scattered grass—so inconspicuous it resembled a withered twig. No wonder his earlier divine sense sweep had missed it.
Frowning, he raised a hand and summoned the object into his grasp.
Upon closer inspection, his expression darkened.
This was no twig but a small severed tentacle. Moreover, judging by the icy aura it emitted, it belonged to a Six-Winged Frost Centipede.
However, while such tentacles should have been snow-white, this one was pitch-black, exuding a sinister energy Han Li recognized all too well.
*Profound Yin Devil Qi*—and of an exceptionally pure grade, surpassing even that of the Extreme Yin Patriarch.
Running his fingers over the tentacle, Han Li’s mind churned with shock.
The Profound Yin Devil Qi originated from the *Profound Yin Great Method*, a demonic cultivation technique. The only known practitioners—Extreme Yin Patriarch and Wu Chou—had both perished by his hand. None of the Patriarch’s other disciples had likely inherited the true method, nor could they have cultivated such pure devil qi and traveled to the South Heaven Region.
Han Li’s expression flickered between dark and contemplative as he remained silent.
*”Wait—there’s one other entity that knows the complete Profound Yin Great Method and has cultivated its devil qi. It might even be capable of refining it to this level of purity.”*
A realization struck him, and his expression turned peculiar.
*”The Wood Spirit Nascent Soul… Could it have returned to the South Heaven Region?”* he murmured, raising his head to the sky.
This lost second Nascent Soul had always weighed on his mind.
Upon returning to the South Heaven Region, he had intended to search for it immediately. However, with Nangong Wan still trapped in the ice, he had been reluctant to depart.
Moreover, if the second Nascent Soul had developed independent consciousness over the years, a few more years would make little difference.
Thus, he had postponed the matter, planning to journey to the Mulan Grasslands later. But now, it seemed the Wood Spirit Nascent Soul had returned on its own—and was hiding in the Fallen Devil Valley.
If so, the disappearance of Mu Peiling and the other two women was likely linked to it. And given its nature, they were probably still unharmed.
After all, the Nascent Soul’s memories and emotions were copied from his own. Even if its disposition had changed over time, it was unlikely to harm the three women.
Han Li pondered the possibilities with grave focus.
However, after so many years, the second Nascent Soul had likely acquired a body. Yet, since entering the Inner Valley, Han Li had sensed no trace of the Heaven Fiend Corpse he had once implanted with a wisp of his divine sense.
Putting the pieces together, it seemed the corpse had either been subdued or outright possessed by the Nascent Soul.
His thoughts raced, and in moments, he had deduced most of the truth.
Exhaling deeply, he stroked his chin.
Just then, the remaining centipedes returned from other directions, having found nothing.
Han Li was unsurprised.
He had recalled the Gold Devouring Beetles and released the Twelve Six-Winged Frost Centipedes precisely because Liu Yu carried larvae of the same species. Though her insects were far weaker, their mutual resonance might have led him to the women.
But if the perpetrator was indeed the second Nascent Soul, it would have anticipated this method.
With a grim expression, Han Li recalled the centipedes and stood silently in contemplation.
*”It seems I’ll have to resort to that method to track them. This technique, acquired later, is something he wouldn’t know to guard against. Though it will cost me some essence blood…”*
Reluctantly, he sighed and patted his storage pouch. A white jade disk and a crimson banner appeared in his hands. Tossing them into the air, they transformed into white and red orbs before hovering motionless before him.
Next, he exhaled a stream of azure essence onto the disk. With a flick of his finger, a thin green light sliced his wrist, drawing a few drops of essence blood.
With a breath, he guided the blood into the jade disk.
A tap of his finger sent the crimson banner floating above the disk. With a tremble, it dissolved into a bloody mist, enveloping the disk.
Under Han Li’s incantation, the disk glowed crimson, emitting its own bloody mist. The two merged seamlessly.
Suddenly, Han Li let out a low shout, his face flashing with green light as he pointed solemnly at the disk.
Instantly, the white jade disk radiated intense crimson light, resembling a blood moon. In a few pulses, it absorbed all the mist.
Seizing the moment, Han Li pointed decisively at the disk, unleashing a beam of emerald light from his fingertip that vanished into its center.
The blood moon trembled violently, as if yearning to take flight.
Han Li’s eyes dimmed slightly, and a wry smile touched his lips.
*”This Blood Moon Spirit-Seeking Art from the Great Development Treasure Scripture is my first attempt. I wonder if it’s truly as miraculous as claimed. But without the few drops of Mu Peiling’s essence blood from the divine restriction I placed on her, this technique would be impossible.”*
Muttering to himself, he swallowed a pill and meditated briefly.
Half an hour later, his vitality restored, he opened his eyes and cast a spell at the blood moon.
Transforming into a blinding crimson streak, it shot into the distance.
Han Li followed as a streak of azure light.
Soon, both vanished beyond the mountains.
The crimson orb maintained a steady speed, with Han Li trailing closely behind.
After half a day of flight, the blood orb led him to a vast, desolate basin.
A wave of scorching heat greeted him.
Han Li’s expression shifted as he took in the basin’s black and red hues. The edges were strewn with smooth black stones, while the center held a lake of molten lava. The intense heat distorted the air above, creating a hazy, surreal glow.
The blood orb hovered above the lava lake, buzzing frantically as if torn between diving in and retreating.
Han Li stroked his chin, studying the molten lake before letting out a cold laugh.
*”Heh, it certainly knows how to pick a hiding spot. Without this technique, I’d never have found it. But now that I’m here, a little lava won’t stop me!”*
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage