Chapter 363: Transmission

Not long after, Han Li emerged from the tree hollow and took to the skies on his artifact.

However, on his way back, Han Li was even more cautious. He kept his spiritual sense fully extended at all times, ready to conceal himself at the slightest sign of movement. After all, given his current level of cultivation, encountering any other cultivator would likely be extremely dangerous.

Thus, Han Li remained on high alert throughout the journey, taking nearly half again as long as it had taken him to get there before finally returning to the underground cavern. Only when he stepped into the “Inverse Five Elements Formation” did he truly let out a sigh of relief.

Qu Hun was still sitting cross-legged beside the teleportation formation, motionless, in the exact same posture as when Han Li had left. Seeing this, Han Li couldn’t help but smile.

Han Li knew that restoring his cultivation wouldn’t be accomplished in just three or four years, so he wasn’t in a hurry to take medicine and meditate. Instead, in the days that followed, he continued to devote himself wholeheartedly to repairing the ancient teleportation formation.

Given his current situation, attempting to travel long distances to another country through the chaotic world of cultivation was far too risky. His only hope was that the ancient teleportation formation would actually work once it was repaired.

Although Han Li’s cultivation had greatly diminished, it didn’t hinder his repair work. After six or seven days of working day and night without rest, all the repairs were completed.

Gazing at the fully restored ancient teleportation formation, even someone as calm as Han Li couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

What he had to do next was the most critical step, one that would determine success or failure: testing whether the corresponding teleportation formation on the other end was still intact. If the other end was also damaged or no longer existed, then this ancient teleportation formation would still be unusable, and he would have to abandon the idea of teleportation and seek another way out.

With this in mind, Han Li placed several low-grade spirit stones around the teleportation formation.

When the last spirit stone was in place, Han Li quickly stepped back a few paces and involuntarily held his breath.

The ancient formation, built who knows how many years ago, suddenly emitted a low hum. A flash of yellow light appeared on its surface but then faded almost immediately, like a flower that blooms briefly, returning to stillness.

Han Li’s heart sank. Could it be that the other end of the ancient teleportation formation was truly abandoned? Had all his efforts been in vain?

A look of deep disappointment crossed Han Li’s face, but unwilling to give up completely, he clasped his hands behind his back and began circling the formation, his expression thoughtful.

Suddenly, he stopped, his brows furrowing tightly as if he had remembered something. He bent down and pulled out one of the low-grade spirit stones he had just inserted.

Upon seeing it, Han Li gasped. The spirit stone was pale and devoid of any spiritual energy.

A thoughtful expression appeared on Han Li’s face, followed by a flicker of joy. Without hesitation, he retrieved several gleaming mid-grade spirit stones from his storage pouch and replaced the low-grade ones.

If his guess was correct, the problem wasn’t that the teleportation formation was unusable, but that the low-grade spirit stones lacked sufficient spiritual energy to power this ancient formation.

As soon as the last spirit stone was replaced, the teleportation formation immediately began humming again, emitting a powerful spiritual wave. A blinding yellow light shot out from the center of the formation, piercing straight through the top of the cavern. The restrictions of the “Inverse Five Elements Formation” couldn’t hinder it in the slightest.

Seeing this, Han Li was stunned for a moment before remembering something, his face instantly turning deathly pale.

Almost simultaneously, a deafening roar came from above the cavern. Even with the protection of the formation, Han Li felt as if the earth were shaking and the mountains trembling.

Han Li grew even more tense. He quickly gestured to Qu Hun, who was nearby, and moved to the edge of the teleportation formation.

But now, he hesitated. He truly had no idea what awaited him on the other end of the teleportation. His original plan had been to first scout out the other end, determine what place it was and whether there were any dangers, before deciding whether to stay there. But now that the ancient teleportation formation had been exposed, this journey would surely be a one-way trip with no return.

Just as Han Li was hesitating, a thunderous crash, frighteningly close, made him jerk his head up in alarm.

He saw that the entire roof of the cavern had been completely torn off by some kind of magical instrument. Blinding sunlight poured down without mercy, illuminating the interior of the cavern clearly. Outside the exposed cavern, a large group of Devil Dao cultivators hovered in the air, staring in equal shock at Han Li and the ancient teleportation formation glowing with yellow light.

“It’s you again?” an enraged voice came from among the Devil Dao cultivators. The crowd parted, and three figures flew out.

The one in the middle wore a silver mask—it was Wang Chan, the young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect. Behind him were two strange individuals, one old and one young. The old man had white hair and a wrinkled face, while the young one had pearly white teeth and red lips, looking like a young child. They were the Li brothers who had appeared at Yanling Castle.

“An ancient teleportation formation!” the Li brothers exclaimed in unison, their voices filled with surprise and delight upon seeing the object within the yellow light.

Hearing this, Wang Chan was first stunned, then ecstatic. “Elders, are you sure? Is it really that thing?” Wang Chan’s voice trembled. He knew all too well what a fully intact ancient teleportation formation meant for a sect.

The elder Li brother chuckled darkly, about to say something, when his expression suddenly changed drastically. “Not good! This brat is trying to use the formation! Capture him, quickly!” As he spoke, the old man opened his mouth and shot a streak of black light straight at Han Li.

He knew there was a certain delay between the activation of a teleportation formation and the actual teleportation—enough time for him to kill this junior several times over.

But as soon as his magical treasure flew into the cavern, it erupted in a blaze of light. A five-colored light barrier actually blocked the black light.

Seeing this, the old man was taken aback for a moment before his face twisted into a ferocious snarl. “Everyone, attack together! This brat has set up a formation! We must break it immediately, or it will be too late!”

Hearing the elder’s words, the Devil Dao cultivators behind him snapped out of their daze. Various magical instruments were immediately summoned forth. Even the child-like Li brother and Wang Chan didn’t idle, releasing their own magical instruments and treasures to fiercely assault the area below.

Han Li’s “Inverse Five Elements Formation” was only a simplified, temporary version. Under the combined assault of two Core Formation stage cultivators and so many others, the five-colored light barrier immediately began to waver, showing signs of collapse.

By this time, Han Li had already pulled Qu Hun onto the center of the teleportation formation. He held a token-shaped magical instrument aloft, his eyes tightly shut, muttering incantations under his breath, completely ignoring the attacks from the Devil Dao cultivators.

“The Great Shift Token! This brat actually has that artifact?!” the elder roared, furious, after clearly seeing the shape of the token in Han Li’s hand. He then rubbed his hands together violently, and a large mass of black light threads surged from his palms, shooting towards the light barrier below.

After emitting several mournful cries, the formation finally collapsed under the overwhelming pressure of this final assault. The five-colored light barrier shattered!

Unimpeded, the myriad strange lights swept towards Han Li without pause, their momentum fierce and overwhelming!

At that moment, Han Li opened his tightly shut eyes and spat out two ice-cold words: “Teleport!”

Instantly, the yellow light intensified. Han Li and Qu Hun’s figures vanished within the radiance. All the attacks struck empty air.

Above the cavern, the Devil Dao cultivators stood dumbfounded.

Wang Chan and the Li brothers’ faces were ashen. None of them possessed a Great Shift Token, so naturally, they couldn’t follow Han Li.

A moment later, the yellow light on the teleportation formation flickered and died. Seeing this, Wang Chan and the others, who had been waiting nearby, were filled with extreme fury!

They knew, of course, that this surely meant Han Li, after teleporting, had destroyed the formation on the other end. Even if they managed to find a Great Shift Token now, they could no longer use this ancient teleportation formation.

But Wang Chan, harboring deep resentment, was still unwilling to give up. Using his authority as the young sect master, he stationed several cultivators to keep watch day and night, fearing that the escaped Han Li might repair the formation and teleport back. If that happened, he was determined to capture Han Li alive and properly repay him for repeatedly ruining his plans.

However, not long after, as the Devil Dao’s expansion efforts resumed, this young master of the Ghost Spirit Sect once again embarked on a life of constant campaigning and soon forgot about the matter.

The Tian Nan cultivation world, now without Han Li, remained in a state of prolonged chaos.

Because a year or two later, to counter the growing power of the Devil Dao and the Righteous Alliance, the remaining countries finally united, forming the “Way of Heaven League,” creating a three-way balance of power.

With the three forces being roughly equal in strength, warfare was incessant, and it seemed no victor would be decided in the short term.

The cultivators of the six sects, who had fled to distant countries, finally settled within the Nine Nations Alliance. However, conflicts over resources like spirit veins and spirit mines reignited with local sects as they fought to secure territories for themselves. Of course, if the Mulan Tribe’s spell warriors invaded the nine nations, they would also have to contribute manpower and resources, no longer able to live as carefreely as they had in Yue Country.

As a result, many Foundation Establishment cultivators and even Core Formation experts from the six sects died in battles against the “spell warriors.” Han Li’s master, Li Huayuan, also fell in battle over a decade later during an extremely fierce fight.

However, a new generation of cultivators within the six sects rapidly grew up. Even among the Foundation Establishment cultivators, some finally advanced to the Core Formation stage…