Chapter 1830: The Wilderness and the Monster’s Shadow

The young man was none other than Han Li, who had disappeared for several years after leaving the Ten Thousand Treasures Grand Assembly.

As for the little girl beside him, she was naturally Bai Guo’er, who possessed the Ice Marrow Physique.

Having been taken in by Han Li as a nominal disciple, she relied on his spiritual power to forcibly suppress the cold poison within her body to survive, which required his constant presence over the next century. Thus, it was no surprise that she had been following him closely these past few years.

When the Gu Family cultivators saw the figures appearing in the sky, a stir immediately ran through them. Many of them activated protective spiritual light, their eyes fixed warily on Han Li.

“Fellow Daoist Xiaofeng, I encountered a minor delay on the way and arrived slightly late. My apologies for keeping you waiting,” Han Li said with a faint smile as his gaze swept the ground and landed on the fair-skinned young woman.

With a flicker of movement, a layer of cyan light enveloped Bai Guo’er, and in the next instant, he appeared on the ground not far from the woman.

“Not at all. It is we who arrived early. We are deeply grateful that you, Senior, have honored your promise so punctually. This is our Gu Family’s Elder Xiao. The two of us will lead the delegation for this True Spirit Ceremony,” the young woman said with a pleased expression, quickly introducing the yellow-haired elder beside her to Han Li.

“Oh, so this is Elder Xiao!” Han Li, seeing that the elder’s cultivation was no weaker than Xiaofeng Fairy, the head of the Gu Family, did not dare to underestimate him and nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

“I dare not claim such familiarity. I have long heard of Senior Han’s reputation. Now that you have personally come to assist our Gu Family, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief,” the yellow-haired elder said respectfully, though inwardly he still harbored some doubts about Han Li’s strength.

At this point, the other Gu Family cultivators realized that Han Li was the powerful reinforcement they had been waiting for. However, his youthful appearance left them whispering in surprise.

“There is no need for such formalities, Fellow Daoists. My involvement is merely a mutually beneficial arrangement with the Gu Family. However, your family’s Supreme Elder, ‘Tianli Fairy,’ does not seem to be present. This contradicts what Fellow Daoist Xiaofeng previously mentioned. Has Tianli Fairy already departed ahead of us?” Han Li frowned slightly as his gaze swept over the other Gu Family cultivators.

“Ah… Regarding this, I regret to inform you that Supreme Elder Tianli will not be able to represent the Gu Family in this True Spirit Ceremony,” the fair-skinned woman replied with an awkward and helpless expression.

“What do you mean?” Han Li’s expression darkened slightly as he spoke slowly.

“Senior, please do not be angry. The Supreme Elder’s absence is due to unforeseen circumstances. Allow me to explain…” The yellow-haired elder, seeing Han Li’s displeasure, hurriedly began detailing the situation.

“Tianli Fairy was injured in the wilderness and is currently in seclusion? That explains it. For cultivators of our level, recovering from damaged vitality is no easy task. However, this complicates the original agreement regarding the ceremony’s rankings, does it not?” Han Li nodded, though his tone carried a hint of reluctance.

“Since the Supreme Elder cannot participate, our initial agreement to improve the Gu Family’s ranking naturally cannot be upheld. This time, as long as our ranking does not fall, we will consider the agreement fulfilled,” Xiaofeng Fairy said solemnly, as if she had already given the matter considerable thought.

“Even so, the difficulty remains considerable. After all, I have only recently advanced to the Body Integration stage and cannot make any guarantees,” Han Li replied, his expression softening slightly, though his words still carried a trace of hesitation.

“If Senior is willing to do your utmost, in addition to the originally promised rewards, our Gu Family has prepared an additional sum of top-grade spirit stones as compensation for the change in terms,” the fair-skinned woman said after a brief hesitation, retrieving a storage bracelet from her sleeve and offering it to Han Li.

Han Li’s heart stirred slightly as he took the bracelet and swept it with his spiritual sense. A flicker of surprise crossed his face.

“It seems your family places great importance on this True Spirit Ceremony, to be willing to part with such a fortune. Very well, I shall do my utmost as a guest elder of the Gu Family during the ceremony.” After a moment’s consideration, Han Li unceremoniously stored the bracelet in his sleeve.

Seeing Han Li accept the spirit stones, the young woman relaxed visibly and smiled. “With Senior’s support, our Gu Family can finally face the ceremony with some confidence. The venue, the Ten Thousand Spirit Platform, is still about a month’s journey from here, so we should not delay any longer. Let us set off now. Fellow Daoist Xiao and I will explain the details of the ceremony to you along the way.”

“That would be best,” Han Li agreed without objection.

With Han Li now part of the group, the Gu Family cultivators rose into the air, transforming into streaks of multicolored light as they flew toward the horizon.

The “Sky Horse Wasteland” was an endless expanse of yellow earth located at the border between the Tianyuan and Wanmiao regions.

It was said to be so vast that even a Nascent Soul cultivator would need to fly day and night for over a month to cross it.

Moreover, the area was plagued by swirling yellow winds and flying sand, devoid of any vegetation—a notorious wasteland of spiritual energy that rarely saw any cultivators pass through.

Even those who had no choice but to traverse the wasteland would do so swiftly, never lingering for a moment.

Yet on this day, deep within the wasteland, a group of over a dozen human cultivators stood in a circular formation, floating just above the ground.

They had summoned all their magical treasures, forming layers of protective light around themselves, yet their faces were filled with terror.

Among them, the highest in cultivation was a mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivator in brocade robes, holding a blue orb in one hand and a white banner in the other. Though positioned at the center of the formation, his expression was even more alarmed and furious than the others, his eyes darting around incessantly.

Suddenly, a gust of yellow wind swept past a male cultivator.

The man instinctively blinked—and in that instant, a jade-white hand shot out from the wind like lightning.

With a *ripping* sound, the man’s protective light was torn apart like paper, and the white hand pierced effortlessly through his chest.

Before he could even scream, a white ice flower bloomed over his torso, instantly freezing him into a crystalline statue.

The white hand then vanished as quickly as it had appeared. The nearby cultivators, witnessing this, cried out in alarm and unleashed a barrage of attacks toward the spot.

But all they succeeded in doing was shattering the frozen man into pieces—there was no trace of the enemy.

At that moment, the brocade-robed Deity Transformation cultivator roared in anger, the blue orb in his hand flaring brightly as a beam of blue light shot forth.

The beam struck a seemingly empty spot in the yellow wind, and with a flash of white light, a blurry shadow was revealed, trapped within the blue radiance.

Seizing the opportunity, the other cultivators rallied, directing a storm of multicolored light toward the shadow.

With a muffled *thud*, the shadow was torn apart without resistance, eliciting cheers of triumph from the group.

Only the brocade-robed man remained wary. He snatched a fragment of the shadow—a piece of jade-white shell, icy to the touch—which quickly melted into water in his palm.

“Damn it, that beast isn’t dead yet!” he bellowed, his face paling as he raised the white banner to shield himself.

But it was too late.

A piercing screech filled his ears, followed by a cold sensation at his neck—before his head was severed by two sickle-like white fangs.

Behind his headless body, the phantom of a massive white centipede materialized without warning.

The creature was over fifty feet long, with six translucent crystalline wings on its back and eyes as red as blood, gleaming with malice.

The moment it appeared, it opened its maw and exhaled a blast of freezing white mist.

Five or six nearby cultivators, caught off guard, were instantly encased in ice, their bodies and treasures frozen solid.

The remaining cultivators, terrified beyond reason, scattered in all directions, fleeing as streaks of light.

The white centipede paid them no mind. With a flutter of its six wings, it vanished—only to reappear moments later, slicing the fleeing cultivators in half with ease.

Their remains, along with their nascent souls, were obliterated in a flurry of white light.

Satisfied, the centipede’s phantom shuddered, its six wings retracting as it began to shrink rapidly.

When the light faded, a white-robed man with gold and silver markings on his face stood in its place, his expression cold.

After a sweeping glance, he raised a hand and sent a tendril of white mist toward the brocade-robed man’s severed head, ensnaring it effortlessly.