Compared to neighboring races like humans and demons, the Spirit Tribe’s population was already exceptionally sparse.
Moreover, as Han Li and the others deliberately steered their flying vessel along extremely remote routes, encounters with Spirit Tribe members became even rarer.
These Spirit Tribe members showed not the slightest suspicion toward the altered Ink Spirit Holy Vessel or the crystalline puppets standing outside it.
In fact, several of the Spirit Tribe members even greeted these seemingly powerful “fellow tribesmen” with friendly words.
Under Han Li’s guidance, these illusory puppets easily handled the interactions with these “tribesmen.”
Two months later, the flying vessel finally arrived at the largest city in the central region of the Spirit Tribe—”Emerald Mist City.” About a hundred thousand miles away from this city lay the sacred land of the entire Spirit Tribe—”Spirit Taming Mountain.”
This mountain was home to the revered “Spirit King,” who held supreme prestige among the Spirit Tribe, as well as a group of sacred guards who had vowed never to leave the mountain.
According to the Spirit Tribe’s laws, the area within thirty thousand miles of the mountain was designated as a forbidden zone, strictly off-limits to any Spirit Tribe members below the Body Integration stage.
Even those above the Body Integration stage were prohibited from entering the upper half of Spirit Taming Mountain without the Spirit King’s explicit permission, only allowed to linger briefly near the mountain’s base.
In recent years, the Spirit King, who had previously summoned newly ascended sacred spirits frequently, suddenly announced his intention to seclude himself to cultivate a mysterious technique. After entrusting tribal affairs to a few trusted sacred spirits under his command, he completely sealed off the sacred land, refusing to meet anyone.
The sacred mountain had never before experienced such a lockdown, which naturally caused quite a stir among the Spirit Tribe. However, the appointed sacred spirits were highly respected figures, and under their joint suppression, the Spirit Tribe managed to avoid major chaos—though rumors still spread in secret.
During this time, an undercurrent of tension and unease pervaded the entire Spirit Tribe.
On their way here, Han Li and Mo Jianli had already gathered all the relevant information.
Though surprised by the unexpected changes in the Spirit Tribe, they had no intention of altering their plan to meet the Spirit King.
After all, since the Spirit King had recently traded the Thunderbolt Talisman with an alien Grand Ascension cultivator, it was clear he wasn’t truly in seclusion but was secretly scheming something else.
Regardless of the Spirit King’s hidden motives, Han Li and Mo Jianli, who were determined to obtain the Thunderbolt Talisman, had no intention of retreating.
After some discussion, they anchored the Ink Spirit Holy Vessel near Emerald Mist City, leaving Silvermoon and the crystalline puppets behind.
The two then flew together toward Spirit Taming Mountain.
With this arrangement, even if something unexpected happened during their meeting with the Spirit King, their Grand Ascension cultivation would ensure they could protect themselves without any hindrance.
Half a day later, Han Li and Mo Jianli arrived unnoticed near the sacred mountain of the Spirit Tribe.
Han Li raised his head and looked upward.
His gaze swept across a sky filled with multicolored rainbows, beneath which stood a towering emerald-green mountain, faintly shimmering with crystalline light.
Even though Han Li had concealed his presence with a secret technique, his pupils couldn’t help but contract slightly.
With his current strength, he could clearly sense that this legendary “Sacred Mountain” of the Spirit Tribe exuded an incredibly terrifying, invisible spiritual pressure—as if it were itself a treasure of immense power, no less formidable than his own Extreme Mountains.
“Interesting! The Spirit King has gone so far as to reveal the mountain’s true power and seal it off completely. There must be something fishy going on here,” Mo Jianli, who had also turned his body transparent, remarked with a chuckle.
Clearly, this human Grand Ascension cultivator had also discerned the mountain’s mysteries at a glance.
“Brother Mo, it seems the Spirit King has indeed set up formidable restrictions here. Should we still proceed?” Han Li asked calmly.
“Why not? No matter how extraordinary this mountain is, it can’t truly stop the two of us working together. Besides, if we don’t show some strength, the Spirit King might not even deign to meet us. Surely you’re not having second thoughts now, Fellow Daoist Han?” Mo Jianli replied with a sly grin.
“Since Brother Mo is confident, why would I hesitate? I’ll accompany you to the end,” Han Li said with a laugh, showing no surprise. After a brief discussion, they decided to split up.
Mo Jianli formed a hand seal and began chanting an incantation.
A bizarre scene unfolded—his transparent body began glowing with a milky-white halo.
Then, his form melted away like liquid, transforming into an inconspicuous transparent blob before vanishing into the ground.
Han Li’s eyes flickered with surprise, but he quickly regained his composure and flicked his sleeve.
With a *bang*, a talisman shot out, exploding into countless purple runes that enveloped him before dissolving into mist.
When the mist dissipated, Han Li had vanished without a trace.
The talisman was none other than the recently refined Taiyi Concealment Talisman.
Though Han Li had rarely used it since reaching the Body Integration stage, this didn’t mean the talisman had lost its effectiveness.
On the contrary, as it was crafted using an immortal technique, its power had grown alongside Han Li’s cultivation. However, the materials required for its creation were exceedingly rare, and the few he had made earlier had long been exhausted.
Even after his cultivation advanced significantly, he had only managed to refine a handful more, making each one precious.
Given Han Li’s current abilities, situations requiring stealth were few and far between.
But infiltrating Spirit Taming Mountain to secretly meet the enigmatic Spirit King—whose intentions were unclear—was the perfect opportunity to use it.
Feeling his body turn incorporeal, Han Li lightly stepped forward, floating toward the distant mountain.
The moment his ethereal form entered Spirit Taming Mountain, he distinctly sensed several layers of unusual energy sweep over him before passing by as if he didn’t exist.
Han Li smiled faintly.
He could clearly tell that these energy waves were far from ordinary restrictions, yet they failed to detect him entirely. This only confirmed how remarkably potent the Taiyi Concealment Talisman had become after his advancement to Grand Ascension.
Without hesitation, Han Li flew upward.
Along the way, through a faint spiritual connection, he sensed Mo Jianli using some unknown method to infiltrate the mountain as well, moving unimpeded through the rocks not far from him.
The two advanced silently, one above and one below, perfectly coordinated.
Periodically, patrols of Spirit Tribe guards appeared.
Clad in colorful armor, some radiated strange auras, while others bore bizarre, demonic appearances—yet all exuded formidable power, most at the Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation stages.
Such strength marked them as high-ranking figures even among the Spirit Tribe, yet here they were mere guards.
It seemed this sacred mountain was indeed heavily fortified, nearly impenetrable to ordinary beings.
But how could such defenses truly stop Grand Ascension cultivators like Han Li and Mo Jianli?
Han Li flew unhindered along a mountain path, soon reaching the mountainside where a towering crimson archway stood.
Beneath it sat two white-robed middle-aged men in meditation.
One was bald yet refined and scholarly in appearance.
The other had a pockmarked, grotesque face, but his head shimmered with a blazing red flame, resembling fiery hair.
What caught Han Li’s attention, however, wasn’t their appearances but their cultivation—both were at the Body Integration stage, one mid-stage and the other late-stage.
*Could these two be among the sacred spirits rumored to oversee the sacred mountain?* Han Li mused, but his form drifted past the archway without pause, appearing dozens of feet beyond it.
The two Spirit Tribe Body Integration cultivators remained motionless, eyes closed, seemingly unaware.
Just as Han Li was about to continue, the archway suddenly erupted in violet light, humming loudly.
“Audacious!”
“Who dares lurk here unseen?”
The two Spirit Tribe members sprang to action almost simultaneously.
The bald man’s back shimmered as a crystalline, four-armed Buddha statue emerged, holding a seven-colored token that it swung downward.
A *whoosh* of seven-colored light shot into the ground, penetrating hundreds of feet deep.
Meanwhile, the other man’s fiery hair flared, weaving into a crimson net that unfurled toward the spot where the light struck.
The seven-colored beam reached deep underground, where it unexpectedly illuminated a transparent figure—Mo Jianli, now revealed.
Before the human Grand Ascension cultivator could react, the crimson net descended, transforming into rolling flames.
Mo Jianli’s expression darkened. With a cold snort, he flicked his sleeve, releasing a surge of white energy that swallowed the flames effortlessly.
Yet just as a smirk touched his lips, a crimson talisman shot from the fire, dispersing into countless threads.
In an instant, Mo Jianli’s body was bound by fiery chains, materializing out of nowhere and coiling tightly around him.
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