Stirring the Seas Abroad; The Fragment Map Reappears

Chapter 436: Stirring the Seas Abroad; The Fragment Map Reappears

“Since you’re unwilling to speak of these matters, then…”

The Profound Bone Saint shifted his tone, as if intending to change the subject. But at that moment, a clear chirping sound suddenly emanated from the old fiend’s body. The sound was crisp and extremely pleasant to the ear, causing Han Li to start in surprise.

Upon hearing this sound, the Profound Bone Saint was momentarily stunned, then revealed an expression of disbelief and pleasant surprise.

Ignoring Han Li, he abruptly struck his own chest with a fist.

“Pfft.” A small, clean white rib flew out from within his body, circled around the Profound Bone Saint once, and then fell back into his palm.

The clear chirping sound was actually coming from this rib.

Han Li blinked, a few traces of confusion appearing on his face. He couldn’t quite make heads or tails of the situation.

But the old fiend, holding the item, had a smile growing wider on his face.

“Bang.” The old fiend exerted a slight force with his five fingers, and the white bone crumbled into white powder. From within it floated out a white ball of light and a black insect that looked like a cricket.

This insect chirped incessantly as it circled the ball of light. But as soon as it saw the Profound Bone Saint, it immediately stopped its cries and flew into his body of its own accord.

Seeing this, the Profound Bone Saint let out a hearty laugh. He grabbed the ball of light in his hand. Then, as the white light faded, it revealed a slightly yellowed, old silk handkerchief.

When Han Li on the opposite side saw this object, his heart could not help but tremble.

This handkerchief looked so familiar. Wasn’t it extremely similar to the fragment map he had obtained from that Black Fiend Sect Leader? Could there be some connection between the two?

Han Li’s thoughts became active. He knew this might be the key to unlocking the secret of the fragment map. He couldn’t help but widen his eyes to carefully observe the other party’s every move.

But unfortunately, after a quick glance, the Profound Bone Saint nimbly stuffed the handkerchief into his robe. Then, with a calm expression, he said to Han Li:

“Since you have no relation to those two rebellious disciples, I have no more time to waste on you. I have other important matters to attend to, so let us each go our own way! Also, a word of advice: if you linger here any longer, that unfilial disciple of mine might get wind of it and come rushing over.” After saying this, the Profound Bone Saint, paying no heed to Han Li’s reaction, transformed into a flash of blood-red light with a cold sneer. He shot past Han Li’s side and flew out through the entrance, appearing to be in a great hurry.

Han Li was first stunned, then furrowed his brow.

However, he immediately moved. His body transformed into a streak of cyan light, circling the hall once to collect the magic treasures and storage pouches of Jin Qing and the others. He then incinerated the corpses with a few fireballs before flying out of the place himself as well.

He couldn’t spare the time to ponder the matter of the handkerchief. He was afraid that if he was too late in leaving, the old fiend might have set some trap at the cave entrance, which would be a huge problem.

He noticed that the old fiend hadn’t even glanced at the storage pouches of these few people. He didn’t know if it was because he looked down on the possessions of mere Core Formation cultivators or because he was in such a hurry that he carelessly overlooked them. Either way, it was Han Li’s gain.

However, the loss of his incarnation, Qu Hun, still gnawed at him and filled him with extreme frustration.

But if he were to actually fight that opponent, the odds were not in his favor. This once again filled Han Li with a sense of helplessness.

As he was thinking this, he emerged from underground onto the surface.

The old fiend was already nowhere to be seen, leaving Han Li inwardly shocked by the miraculous speed of his escape technique.

He looked at the silent surroundings and thought about how so many people had entered the underground, yet he was the only one who had come out. A fleeting feeling of loneliness and desolation inexplicably rose in Han Li’s heart.

But he quickly cast aside this negative emotion. After all, the path of immortal cultivation was still a long one; this was no time for him to be sighing.

Not daring to stay here any longer, he briefly identified his direction and immediately fled towards the island’s periphery. As he flew, he felt for something inside his own storage pouch.

A moment later, a ball of silk handkerchief, also emitting a white glow, appeared in his hand.

Looking at this object, Han Li’s heart pounded.

He already knew, without needing to look closely, that this handkerchief was definitely the same type of item as the one the Profound Bone Saint had. He wondered what secret it held, which could make such a scheming old fiend lose his composure as he had.

Thinking this, Han Li began to examine the handkerchief closely.

He saw that the previously blurry map had now completely disappeared. In its place, on the now empty silk, was a single golden miniature light sword pattern. No matter how Han Li turned the handkerchief, this light sword would slowly point straight towards the northwest. At the tip of the sword, a single red thread extended straight to the edge of the handkerchief, emitting a faint fluorescence.

Han Li frowned. Although he didn’t know the specific function of this item, if he couldn’t understand such a simple illustration, he would be an utter fool.

This was clearly instructing the holder to go to a certain place in the direction indicated by the small sword. Presumably, at the end of the red line, some kind of opportunity awaited the holder of the map.

Han Li gripped the map, falling into deep thought.

Seeing how frantic the Profound Bone Saint was, it was clear that the map’s effectiveness should have some sort of time limit. Moreover, from the look of joy on his face, the benefits involved were definitely substantial.

If he wanted to get to the bottom of it, he would have to set off immediately in the direction the map indicated. Otherwise, either the map’s effect would expire, or the benefits would be snatched away by someone else first.

After pondering for a while and hesitating for some time, Han Li made a resolute decision, adjusted his direction, and his cyan rainbow streak cut across the sky, leaving the desolate island behind in the blink of an eye.

About a quarter of an hour later, a large, gloomy mass of black fog rushed over from afar and arrived at the island. It hovered briefly near the wide-open cave entrance. The dense fog dissipated, revealing a middle-aged man with pale, bloodless skin.

This man looked at the magic formation and prohibition that had been completely destroyed, and the Sealing Spirit Pillar that had been pushed aside. His brows immediately shot up. He entered the underground chamber without delay.

A moment later, an extremely furious roar came from underground, making the ground nearby tremble incessantly.

Then, wrapped in a ball of black light, the middle-aged man flew out of the cave and shot straight into the sky.

A look of anxiety on his face, he looked left and right. Suddenly, his body spun rapidly. Dozens of beams of black light shot out from him, transforming into enormous black birds that flew in all directions, quickly scouring the area for over a hundred li.

But when all the giant birds returned once more, they had found nothing.

The middle-aged man’s expression was extremely unpleasant!

He tilted his head back to look at the sky and had no other moves for a long time.

No one knew how much time passed, but he suddenly let out a series of cold sneers.

“Old fiend, so what if you can escape this place? You are no longer the Profound Bone Demon Ancestor of yore, and I am no longer your mere Core Formation disciple under your command. Once I finish my business in the Heavenvoid Hall, I will search the entire Chaotic Star Sea and drag you out.” After saying this, he hesitated no longer. He rose into the air, once again transforming into a large mass of black mist.

Then, as if to vent the fury in his heart, a thick black light pillar, as wide as a bucket, shot out from the mist. The area around the cave entrance collapsed, turning into a stretch of ruins.

Afterwards, the black mist fled far away like a shooting star chasing the moon.

Han Li, of course, knew nothing of what had happened on the island. At this moment, he was faithfully following the direction indicated on the map, controlling his magic treasure as he flew through the sky.

Afraid of running into that Profound Bone Saint, Han Li had been extremely vigilant the entire way. From time to time, he would fully extend his spiritual sense to guard against a sneak attack.

As a result, several days passed without any unexpected incidents, allowing Han Li to breathe a slight sigh of relief.

But on this day, while Han Li was engrossed in his journey, the sounds of battle suddenly came from up ahead. There were faint explosion sounds and dazzling flashes of light, clearly indicating that cultivators were fighting there.

Han Li frowned. Relying on his powerful spiritual sense, he focused his gaze from a distance.

It was a man and a woman, along with three evil-looking men in finery, engaged in a lively battle.

However, their skill level was pitifully low; they were only at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and the couple seemed to be on the losing side.

Han Li rubbed his nose.

Since he knew these people posed no threat, he couldn’t be bothered to take a detour. He prepared to simply drive his magic treasure past them from the side.

As for the cultivators in the middle of the fight, he wouldn’t interfere. It was best to hurry on his way.

Thinking this, Han Li accelerated slightly, turning into a green rainbow that shot forward. In the blink of an eye, he was before the group.

The fighting cultivators were greatly alarmed. As if by prior agreement, they stopped and retreated, each recalling their magic tools.

As Han Li passed by them, his sword-light paused for a moment. He casually swept a glance over them and couldn’t help but let out a surprised “Eh?”

At the same time, the female cultivator among the man and woman, upon seeing Han Li’s face clearly, called out with great joy:

“Elder Han, I am a personal disciple of the Right Envoy of the Sublime Sound Sect. I implore Elder Han to lend us your aid. These three men are from the Venom Dragon Society, a great enemy of our sect.”