Chapter 1226: The Hall of Heavenly Secrets

Han Li was currently transformed into a streak of dazzling light, swiftly flying toward the Mulan Grassland.

This time, his goal was naturally to return to the Great Jin Empire and find a way to obtain the Ghost Luo Banners from the Yin Luo Sect.

Although he had not successfully advanced to the Deity Transformation stage earlier, his cultivation had already reached the true peak of late Nascent Soul stage. This naturally increased his confidence for this journey.

If he remembered correctly, after the fall of Qian Laomo, the Yin Luo Sect should only have one late Nascent Soul cultivator left—their sect leader. As long as he didn’t foolishly engage in a direct confrontation, obtaining the Ghost Luo Banners shouldn’t be a problem.

Moreover, this Yin Luo Sect leader had once personally led a team to the Tiannan region and seemed to hold a deep grudge against Han Li for killing his wife.

If that was the case, taking this opportunity to eliminate him would be killing two birds with one stone. Otherwise, leaving him alive might bring endless trouble in the future.

In the past, Han Li had also considered dealing with this enemy, but at that time, he hadn’t yet reached the late stage of cultivation and could barely protect himself, let alone take such risks.

Now that his divine abilities had reached great heights and he needed to seize the Ghost Luo Banners, he naturally wouldn’t let this person go.

Otherwise, if he ever had to leave the Falling Cloud Sect for some reason, and this great cultivator, nearing the end of his lifespan, suddenly went mad with vengeance and sneaked into the sect to wreak havoc, Nangong Wan and the others would be in grave danger.

As Han Li pondered this, a surge of killing intent rose in his heart.

Speaking of which, although he had failed to break through to the Deity Transformation stage with the help of the Five Coldflame Demons, he wasn’t completely disheartened since he still had the backup plan of the Magnetic Divine Light.

This trip to the Great Jin Empire wasn’t just about seizing the Ghost Luo Banners—he also had two other matters to settle. Once he truly began cultivating the Magnetic Divine Light, he would be confined to a single location, unable to take action on anything else until he mastered it.

Naturally, he had to prepare everything while he was still free.

Among these tasks, finding the Sun Essence Fire and refining it with Cold Marrow to create the “Reviving Yang Water” was the most crucial.

Possessing the Reviving Yang Water would be equivalent to extending his lifespan by a quarter. Such an extraordinary treasure would be coveted by cultivators of any rank. For someone like Han Li, who was already at the pinnacle of the human world, the temptation was unparalleled.

From his soul search on Frost Li the Transcendent’s Nascent Soul of the Small Extreme Palace, he had learned clues about the Sun Essence Fire. With everything in place, he only needed the final push.

As for the other matter, it was relatively less important and could be handled along the way. Success would be fortunate, but failure wouldn’t have much impact. This was about visiting the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, which sold Heavenly Mechanism Residences, to request the secret technique for refining pocket dimensions.

Back when he attended the grand auction in Jinjing, he had heard the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion’s manager mention that spatial rifts could be refined into pocket dimensions. At the time, he had been intrigued by the idea of refining the remnants of what might have been the Spirit Garden in the Devilfall Valley into his own private space.

After all, most Nascent Soul cultivators, in addition to their main residences, had secret hideouts—some even had several—where they stored their most valuable treasures as a safeguard against unforeseen circumstances.

Han Li, however, had been too focused on cultivation to consider this before.

Now that he suddenly thought of it, it wasn’t really about leaving himself a way out. Instead, he believed that place would be an ideal location to cultivate the Magnetic Divine Light. If he could refine it into his own pocket dimension and only leave a hidden teleportation array connected to the outside world, he could control access to the space. Even if a Deity Transformation-level opponent found it, they would be helpless.

Even if an enemy destroyed the external teleportation array in anger, with his current abilities, tearing through space to escape wouldn’t be difficult. He wouldn’t be trapped inside.

On the other hand, even if someone outside the space could tear through space, without knowing the exact entry point, they wouldn’t be able to locate the already-sealed pocket dimension.

These insights were the result of Han Li’s meticulous research.

Of course, if this plan failed, he could always find another secluded place to cultivate. It just wouldn’t be as secure as a pocket dimension.

However, the method for refining pocket dimensions was unique to the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, and obtaining it would likely be troublesome. That said, when a great cultivator demanded something from any faction, no matter how unwilling they were, they would likely comply.

After all, even if a faction had its own late Nascent Soul cultivator, no one would want to provoke such a formidable enemy.

As for why the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion had managed to keep this technique secret for so long, it was probably because the method was too niche to attract the interest of major factions like the Ten Great Sects. Otherwise, Han Li doubted a mere Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion could have safeguarded such an important secret for so long.

Naturally, he would need to be tactful in how he made his request.

With a cold smirk, Han Li’s flying light flickered a few times before vanishing into the horizon.

—

Over half a year later, in a small mountain town in Yu Province of the Great Jin Empire, millions of miles away from Tiannan, a light drizzle fell.

The rain-slicked bluestone streets were nearly empty, with only a few pedestrians hurrying by under cloth umbrellas, none lingering for long.

A man in a yellow robe, holding a white oil-paper umbrella, stepped onto the street.

His movements were unhurried, as if he were taking a leisurely stroll in the countryside. The umbrella tilted slightly forward, obscuring most of his face from view.

From the slender, pale hand gripping the umbrella, it was clear he was neither elderly nor a common laborer.

Passersby who noticed his odd behavior couldn’t help but glance at him curiously, but the man remained indifferent, maintaining his steady pace.

When he reached an inconspicuous alley, he turned abruptly and entered.

Though the alley appeared deep, after a few dozen steps, it became obvious it was a dead end, flanked by towering walls with no doors. Yet the yellow-robed man walked forward as if oblivious.

Just as he was about to collide with the seemingly solid stone wall at the alley’s end, a flash of white light enveloped him, and he vanished into the wall like a ghost.

Any mortal witnessing this would surely cry out in terror, believing they had seen a ghost. A cultivator, however, would merely scoff—it was just a simple illusion technique, nothing extraordinary.

But if that same cultivator followed him through the wall and past several layers of intricate restrictions, they would be utterly stunned.

Beyond those restrictions stood a towering jade gate, over a hundred zhang tall, reaching into the clouds. Behind it, floating white jade steps led upward to an emerald-green palace suspended in the air.

Around the palace, milky-white spiritual mist swirled, and rare spirit birds circled leisurely overhead. The ground was adorned with exotic flowers and plants, making the place resemble a celestial paradise.

Yet a sweep with divine sense would reveal that this seemingly vast space was actually a confined area of only about ten li in size, though its height stretched hundreds of zhang—enough to accommodate such an extraordinary floating palace.

At the entrance beneath the jade gate stood two rows of golden-armored warriors, each two zhang tall, motionless and expressionless.

Among them, a burly man in armor with a dark complexion sat lazily on a stone stool beside a pillar, chatting idly with the umbrella-wielding newcomer.

“Not a chance. No matter how important it is, you can’t disturb the Pavilion Master while he’s meeting an honored guest. If he gets angry, I’ll be in deep trouble. Why don’t you wait here with me for half a day? I’ve been stuck guarding this Heavenly Mechanism Hall with these wooden puppets for months—it’s driving me mad,” the armored man said with a grin.

Surprisingly, this man was a late Core Formation cultivator, yet here he was, merely a gatekeeper. The towering warriors beside him were nothing more than mechanical puppets, though their lifelike appearance made them hard to distinguish from real people.

The umbrella-wielding cultivator had already folded his white umbrella, revealing a stern face with delicate eyebrows.

“Cao Fengwei! This is no joke. I have an urgent matter that requires the Pavilion Master’s immediate attention. And even if I can wait, that person might not. If we delay and bring disaster upon our sect, neither of us can bear the consequences,” the middle-aged man said angrily.

“That person? Who are you talking about?” the dark-faced man asked, startled.

“Simple. He’s talking about me,” a strange male voice suddenly echoed above them, clear and cold.