Chapter 2233: Feng Ling Treasure Disk

Xie Lian and Elder Greenstone couldn’t help but exchange glances.

“Fellow Daoist Xie Lian, what should we do? Should we follow them?” Elder Greenstone asked uneasily.

“Brother Han’s words make sense. Since the situation has changed, staying here would no longer be wise. Let’s go see what’s happening,” Xie Lian said, her expression shifting rapidly before she gritted her teeth in determination.

With that, she flicked her sleeve, and a floral shadow flashed behind her as she transformed into a blur and shot away.

Seeing this, Elder Greenstone sighed lightly, formed a hand seal, and rolled in green mist as he soared into the air to follow.

Meanwhile, Han Li, accompanied by Crab Daoist, was already speeding along a narrow passage toward the source of the violent tremors.

Despite the flight-restricting formations imposed by the ancient seal’s power, Han Li and the other Mahayana cultivators, unsparing of their mana, moved at considerable speed.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense across the passage and frowned. Though the walls appeared smooth, they were riddled with fine cracks that were visibly multiplying.

This underground palace wouldn’t last much longer.

A grim realization settled in Han Li’s heart as he quickly assessed the situation.

The tremors ahead grew increasingly violent, as if the entire palace might collapse at any moment.

Suddenly, a fork appeared ahead. Without hesitation, Han Li turned, his light vanishing into the new passage.

But then, a foul wind arose, and two black shadows lunged at him—two pitch-black human-faced insects.

These vicious insects seemed to have been lying in wait at the entrance of the new passage.

A cold glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes as he snorted. A green sword shadow flickered at his arm, and a three-foot-long dark green sword materialized in his hand. With a swing, he slashed at the two insects.

“Boom!” The surrounding spiritual energy roiled as an immense force of law descended upon the passage.

The two insects felt a strange ripple, and their bodies instantly went numb, unable to move. A flash of green light later, they lost all consciousness.

Han Li blurred past them, appearing behind the insects. With a flick of his wrist, the dark green sword vanished.

Only then did two “pfft” sounds echo as the insects split at the waist, their bodies instantly consumed by flames and reduced to ash.

Unwilling to waste time, Han Li hadn’t even asked Crab Daoist for help, directly wielding the Profound Heavenly Slaying Sword to dispatch the two insects.

At his current cultivation level, he didn’t need to activate his Nirvana Body to wield a fraction of the sword’s power. Dealing with two insects that hadn’t even reached Mahayana level was effortless.

Crab Daoist observed this with a slight change in expression but followed Han Li’s light without a word.

After eliminating the two insects, they encountered no further obstacles in the passage.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the scenery widened as they emerged from the passage into an enormous underground cavern.

The cavern’s floor was covered in pale silver sand, while the ceiling bristled with stalactite-like sharp stones. Near the passage exit, however, billowing gray-white mist filled the air, carrying a faint scent of sandalwood.

Before the mist stood several figures hovering in the low air. One of them had a giant pink flower shadow slowly revolving behind her—none other than Lady Bao Hua.

Her jade-like face was cold as she stared into the gray-white mist, though a trace of doubt flickered in her eyes.

Within the mist, a vague gray-white face floated, its lips moving silently as if conversing with her via sound transmission.

Behind Lady Bao Hua stood the treacherous Black Crocodile, along with several other vaguely familiar Mahayana cultivators from other realms.

Hearing the sound of approaching movement, they turned in alarm, but their expressions relaxed upon recognizing Han Li and Crab Daoist.

“Have none of the other fellow Daoists arrived yet? What exactly is happening here?” Han Li asked sternly after scanning the mist with his spiritual sense.

“So it’s Fellow Daoist Han and Brother Crab. We don’t know what’s happening either. Lady Bao Hua is currently communicating with the ancient seal’s spirit to uncover the truth. As for the others… you two are the first to arrive,” replied an elderly man with a golden circlet and a solemn expression.

“The ancient seal’s spirit—is that it?” Han Li’s gaze flickered toward the giant misty face, his expression thoughtful.

Just then, Lady Bao Hua seemed to conclude her conversation with the face.

The giant face churned before dissipating into the mist.

“Fellow Daoist Han, Fellow Daoist Crab, you’ve arrived just in time to lend me your aid,” Lady Bao Hua said gravely as she turned to Han Li.

“Lady Bao Hua, you still haven’t told me what’s happening here. What’s causing those tremors?” Han Li countered, his eyes scanning the depths of the mist.

“The ancient seal’s power is out of control! Both the seal suppressing the Mother of Screaming Souls and the portion trapping Fellow Daoist Yuan Yan and the others have lost nearly half their strength. Not only is the Mother of Screaming Souls on the verge of awakening, but the other trapped fellow Daoists are now in grave danger. Without a doubt, the first thing that insect will do upon waking is eliminate Yuan Yan and the others. As for the tremors, they’re a sign of the ancient seal’s impending collapse. Having lost so much power, it can no longer sustain itself, and the entire underground palace is likely to crumble soon,” Lady Bao Hua sighed.

“What? The seal is out of control? How is that possible! We haven’t done anything. Could one of the groups repairing the formations have made a critical error?” a ruddy-faced man exclaimed in shock.

“Lady Bao Hua, didn’t you just communicate with the seal’s spirit? Surely it knows the details, being the embodiment of the seal itself,” the elderly man asked, taking a deep breath.

Clearly, these individuals had only just learned of the situation.

“Of course I asked, but even the seal’s spirit doesn’t know what happened. It only sensed its power being drained away by something. However, it has agreed to teleport us directly to where the Mother of Screaming Souls slumbers, allowing us to strike before it fully awakens. This way, we can delay the insect while giving the others time to rescue the trapped fellow Daoists. It seems fate has forced us to abandon our original plan,” Lady Bao Hua said with a bitter smile.

“What? Just the few of us against the Mother of Screaming Souls? Lady Bao Hua, you can’t be serious!” a black-robed woman cried out in disbelief.

The elderly man and the ruddy-faced man also paled at the suggestion.

Han Li merely frowned, refraining from immediate comment.

“Rest assured, I wouldn’t propose this without confidence. The seal’s spirit revealed that although the Mother of Screaming Souls trapped over a hundred Mahayana cultivators, including Yuan Yan, by manipulating the seal’s power, it paid a heavy price to do so. Coupled with its forced awakening now, its vitality is far from fully restored—nothing like its peak strength. The seal’s spirit has also promised to focus its remaining power on aiding us, and I’ve borrowed a Profound Heavenly Artifact specifically designed to counter insectoid beings. All things considered, we do stand a chance,” Lady Bao Hua quickly explained.

Her words eased the other three Mahayana cultivators’ minds slightly, but given the stakes, none immediately agreed.

Recognizing their hesitation, Lady Bao Hua steeled herself and forced a smile. “Even if you’re unwilling to take this risk, think of your trapped kin and allies. Fellow Daoist Bronze Crow and the others are near where Yuan Yan is trapped. Even if we can’t kill the insect mother outright, delaying it will buy time for the others to escape. Moreover, I have something to give each of you—with this, even if we’re outmatched, escaping will be effortless.”

With that, she flicked her sleeve, sending a red light toward each of them.

The others reflexively caught the objects.

Han Li examined his—a crimson array disk inscribed with intricate patterns.

Sensing the faint spatial fluctuations from the disk, he turned it over to find an exquisitely crafted feather pattern, lifelike in detail.

“This is…” Han Li murmured uncertainly.

“The Phoenix Spirit Treasure Disk—a teleportation array that can instantly transport one hundreds of thousands of miles away! Lady Bao Hua, how did you obtain such a treasure? This is truly a stroke of fortune!” the elderly man exclaimed in awe after inspecting his disk.

“What? The legendary Phoenix Spirit Disk, crafted from a true Heavenly Phoenix feather? They say possessing one is like gaining an extra life, as almost no formation can block its teleportation!” the black-robed woman gasped.

“No mistake. I once saw one at an auction—identical in design and Heavenly Phoenix aura,” the elderly man confirmed.

“Very well! Since Lady Bao Hua is offering such treasures, I’ll risk this venture. And if I don’t use it, I’m keeping it!” the ruddy-faced man declared, greed flashing in his eyes as he clutched the disk.