Chapter 1052: Conditions

“So, you recognize this corpse puppet?” Han Li said without turning his head.

“Let’s say I do,” Gui Ling hesitated before answering honestly.

“What do you mean?” Han Li’s eyes flickered, and he finally turned to look at her.

“Before it became a corpse puppet, it was also a spirit beast. Back then, it had some ties with us. Its master was also a human cultivator who descended from the Spirit Realm to the Human Realm. However, after we were sealed in Kun Mountain, we never saw it again. I don’t know how it turned into a corpse puppet,” Gui Ling explained.

“So, its original form was also a Spirit Realm demon beast?” Han Li’s expression shifted slightly.

“Indeed. Back then, cultivators descending from the Spirit Realm to the Human Realm couldn’t be too powerful, and the same restrictions applied to their spirit beasts. The few of us who descended together had our original memories erased before we were permitted to come down,” Gui Ling sighed.

“Erased memories? You remember nothing of the Spirit Realm?” Han Li felt a chill, followed by disappointment. He had originally hoped to learn something about the Spirit Realm from Gui Ling.

“Other than knowing I descended from the Spirit Realm, I have no memory of it whatsoever,” Gui Ling replied with a trace of melancholy.

Han Li fell silent, his thoughts turning to Silvermoon.

Silvermoon’s identity was far from simple—she likely retained some memories of the Spirit Realm. His mind stirred with possibilities, but he quickly suppressed the thought. Now was not the time to dwell on such matters. His gaze swept across the surroundings.

Since emerging from the barrier, this space had become eerily strange.

It was empty, devoid of any figures. Not only had the Eight Spirit Ruler, which had been floating above the palace, vanished, but even the Black Wind Banner that had trapped them was nowhere to be seen. No wonder they had broken free so easily.

The ground was littered with massive craters and claw marks several zhang long, as if gouged by some enormous beast. Nearly half of the palace had been reduced to ruins, clearly the aftermath of a brutal battle.

Han Li’s spiritual sense had already swept over the remnants of the palace, but the isolation barriers within remained intact, preventing him from detecting anything further.

This, however, eased his mind somewhat. After all, the pressure from the Yuancha Saint Ancestor had been overwhelming. If he had faced that demon head-on, he would have stood no chance.

But now, the only teleportation formation had been sealed within the Black Wind Banner’s barrier. If they wanted to leave, they’d have to find another way.

His eyes flickering, Han Li began contemplating an escape plan.

“Fellow Daoist Han, if you’re willing to assist Brother Xu and me, I, as the Holy Maiden, can take full responsibility for resolving the grievances between you and our Heavenly Grassland Temple,” Lin Yinping suddenly called out anxiously to Han Li, her voice filled with urgency.

“After being hunted by your Uptala people for so long, what grievances are left to resolve? I have no interest in helping,” Han Li replied coldly, his expression indifferent.

“Brother Han, don’t forget—it was because of this that we came to the Great Jin in the first place. If Xu and I perish here, do you think the other three Great Immortals will let this go?”

Han Li chuckled darkly and glanced at the sea of blood.

Lin Yinping was channeling her silver light with all her might, momentarily pushing back the Soul-Severing Threads. Her face was deathly pale—clearly, she had resorted to a secret technique to forcibly enhance her magic treasure’s power.

Xu, having been ambushed earlier and now trapped in the blood sea, was barely holding on with his two magic treasures, which were on the verge of collapse.

The only one faring relatively well was the Spirit Rhinoceros Peacock, its body shimmering with five-colored spiritual light. Though it couldn’t break free from the purple mist, the Lion Hawk Beast couldn’t harm it either. The peacock’s five-colored light seemed to counter the beast’s golden wave attacks, dispersing them effortlessly.

“Even if you spin the most eloquent tale, Holy Maiden Lin, I won’t intervene. Frankly, if the two of you weren’t already doomed, I might have even taken advantage of the situation. As for those three Great Immortals—if they come seeking trouble, I wouldn’t mind testing my skills against them,” Han Li replied calmly.

He wasn’t bluffing.

After his battle with the Ancient Demon, Han Li had a rough grasp of his current strength. With his nearly invisible humanoid puppet and the fully obedient Gui Ling, he could hold his own against three or four late-Nascent Soul cultivators.

Besides, it was unlikely all three Great Immortals of the Heavenly Grassland would leave their territory to hunt him down.

Unless they wanted to doom their entire clan. Without a Great Immortal guarding the Heavenly Grassland, the moment the Molan people caught wind of it, the Uptala people would face annihilation.

Fully aware of this, Han Li dismissed Lin Yinping’s threats outright.

The white-haired corpse puppet, initially somewhat wary, relaxed upon hearing this and let out a series of eerie chuckles. “Fellow Daoist Han is truly a man of reason. Since I’ve made no move against him, why would he fall for your petty tricks? Just surrender quietly.”

Han Li’s face remained expressionless, but inwardly, he sneered.

Back in the barrier, this creature—disguised as the Four Scattered True Person—had somehow revealed a trace of its corpse puppet nature, which his Soul-Crying Beast had immediately detected. Startled, he had also overheard part of its communication with the Silver-Winged Night Yaksha.

Thanks to his spiritual sense, slightly stronger than that of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, he had eavesdropped discreetly.

To avoid detection, he hadn’t probed deeply, catching only fragments. But even those vague snippets revealed that this white-haired corpse puppet had planned to team up with the Silver-Winged Night Yaksha to ambush the human cultivators emerging from the valley the moment the barrier broke, when their guard was lowest.

Whether it was the Uptala people or Han Li’s group made no difference to them. Han Li had deliberately delayed his exit, leaving Xu and Lin Yinping to bear the brunt.

Naturally, Han Li had no goodwill toward this creature.

Though he had never met this white-haired corpse puppet before, a late-Nascent Soul corpse demon with such features could only be the Ten-Thousand-Year Corpse Bear of the Ten-Thousand Demons Valley.

Long reputed to have gained sentience tens of thousands of years ago, this demon was a notorious figure among the Great Jin’s demonic forces. As the deputy valley master of the Ten-Thousand Demons Valley—a faction on par with the Taiyi Sect and the Heavenly Demon Sect—its appearance here in human guise was deeply suspicious.

Whether the Four Scattered True Person was a real rogue cultivator it had killed and impersonated or simply one of its human avatars was unclear.

Its concealment technique was extraordinarily refined—even Han Li hadn’t detected its true nature. But this likely meant its power was severely restricted. Otherwise, when it ambushed the black-robed elder of the Yin Luo Sect with the blood blade, the elder’s Nascent Soul wouldn’t have escaped so easily.

Han Li stared coldly at the Ten-Thousand-Year Corpse Bear standing amidst the blood sea, its corpse energy towering into the sky. A glint of frost flashed in his eyes.

While he had no intention of rescuing his former enemies, he wouldn’t stand by and let the blood blade devour a late-Nascent Soul cultivator’s flesh and soul, only to turn on them afterward. The moment Xu perished, he would seize the blood blade.

No matter how quickly the blood blade transformed, there would inevitably be a brief delay—his best chance to claim it.

Such a sinister treasure was far safer in his own hands. Han Li had already made his decision.

Without a change in expression, his lips moved slightly.

Beside him, Gui Ling’s eyes flickered, but her face remained neutral.

“Brother Han, if you’re willing to help, I’ll share the final secret to maturing the Gold Devouring Beetles. Surely that’s enough to sway you,” Xu suddenly spoke up, his voice sharp with desperation.

“Gold Devouring Beetles?” Han Li blinked, looking puzzled.

“No! The method to mature the Gold Devouring Beetles is a sacred secret of our temple—it cannot be leaked to outsiders!” Lin Yinping protested vehemently.

“If we die, what use are secrets? Would you rather be devoured by that blood blade, losing even the chance for reincarnation? And if we fall, the Molan people will seize the chance to invade the grassland. Compared to our clan’s survival, a mere secret means nothing,” Xu cut her off, his face ashen.

Lin Yinping paled further but said nothing more.

Seeing Han Li’s thoughtful expression, the Ten-Thousand-Year Corpse Bear sensed trouble.

Without hesitation, it poured its remaining mana into the blood blade. The crimson light flared, transforming into a massive ghostly face that lunged toward Xu in the blood sea.

Simultaneously, the blood mist churned violently, forming a whirlpool that trapped Xu, leaving him no escape.

Xu’s heart sank. Desperate, he channeled all his power into his azure orb and silver hook, hurling them at the ghostly face.

But the face spewed a net of blood threads, ensnaring the treasures and swallowing them whole. Xu’s face twisted in horror.

The ghostly face grinned savagely, its fangs glinting, and dove toward the defenseless Xu.

With no other choice, Xu gritted his teeth, and his Nascent Soul prepared to flee his body.