A Name Shakes the Region / The Five Elements Spirit Infant

Chapter 677: A Name Shakes the Region / The Five Elements Spirit Infant

Just as the several Core Formation cultivators of the Ghost Spirit Sect were completely wiped out, the doors to the secluded cultivation chamber in the former territory of the Moon-Masking Sect opened once more. The black-robed cultivator, his face sunken like water, walked out.

Several of his capable disciples had fallen at the same time, making it impossible for this Nascent Soul old demon to remain in seclusion, feigning ignorance. Without a word, he fired off several communication talismans, sending orders to all Ghost Spirit Sect branch halls in the Yue Kingdom to immediately investigate the deaths of his disciples. He would personally go and see just who dared to lay a deadly hand on Soul-Fragment’s disciples.

But his actions were clearly a step too late.

Before the Ghost Spirit Sect’s demonic cultivators could launch a large-scale search, Han Li had already flown out of the Yue Kingdom and begun crossing Yuanwu.

Soul-Fragment True Man ultimately came up empty-handed. He only learned in broad strokes that his disciples had been eliminated by an unknown Nascent Soul cultivator. The opponent had already left the Yue Kingdom, so despite his raging fury, he could do nothing.

More than ten days later, Han Yunzhi, filled with trepidation, returned to the Qiling Mountains of the Tianluo Nation. She knelt before the pitch-black stone chamber and gave a rough account of the events, personally admitting her fault to the elder inside.

“You were detected from several hundred li away? Everyone else, the ghostly path cultivators included, were all wiped out, and you were the only one who escaped safely?” The old man’s voice carried a hint of strangeness.

“That’s right, Senior Uncle. Yunzhi and Junior Sister Liu fled in separate directions. I was the only one who managed to escape. The others’ whereabouts are unknown. Perhaps they haven’t met with misfortune yet.” For some reason, Han Yunzhi concealed the fact that the unknown Nascent Soul cultivator seemed to recognize her and had let her go, vaguely claiming she had escaped on her own.

“Since he was able to seal the Wood Spirit Infant, he is most likely a Nascent Soul cultivator. But to detect your presence from a hundred li away, that is truly terrifying. As far as I know, there are very few late-Nascent Soul cultivators in all of Tiannan. Could it be one of those old undying?” The old man’s voice dropped, carrying a deep wariness.

“This disciple wouldn’t know. The opponent’s divine sense was simply too powerful. I didn’t dare to track him at close range. I could only sense from afar that he left the Yue Kingdom and headed north through Yuanwu. Since going further would have put me in the territory of the Righteous Alliance and the Heavenly Dao Alliance, I didn’t dare to follow him any further. In the end, I couldn’t determine who he was and had to return to the sect. I beg Senior Uncle to forgive my failure.”

“You made no mistake, so what is there to forgive? If that person truly is a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, even my personal presence would have been useless. It’s already not easy that you managed to return alive. This was also my oversight; I thought that with your and Liu Yu’s tracking secret techniques, we could determine the opponent’s identity. I never expected the possibility that the opponent might be a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. Now that he has run so far, even your miraculous tracking arts can no longer sense the location of the Spirit Infant. Let this matter rest for now. Go and rest. Also, I hear that Fellow Disciple Han has emerged from seclusion. Go and see him.” The old man sighed from within the chamber and said slowly.

“Thank you for your magnanimity, Senior Uncle. Disciple will take my leave.” Han Yunzhi bowed, breathed a sigh of relief, and respectfully withdrew.

After watching Han Yunzhi’s figure gradually disappear into the distance, the old man in the chamber was silent for a moment. Then, as if speaking to empty air, he inexplicably spoke again.

“What do you think of what your junior sister said? Was it truly a late-Nascent Soul old monster who captured the Spirit Infant? Consider this: how could a cultivator of that level have allowed little Yunzhi to escape by chance?” The old man’s voice was utterly devoid of emotion, as if he had become a different person.

“Senior Uncle, I just used my secret technique to slightly probe Junior Sister Han’s state of mind. While it wasn’t completely normal, it was stable and calm for the most part. It was only when she spoke of the escape that her heart showed some disturbance. I suspect that whatever she is concealing is mostly related to that.” Following the old man’s inquiry, a figure flickered from behind the stone chamber. It was a middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and large eyes. He stepped forward and spoke to the old man respectfully.

“Hmph! I thought as much. If she weren’t Fellow Disciple Han’s descendant, would I have let her off so easily? I might have even used a Soul Search technique to see what she was hiding. But now, out of respect for that old face, and given our relationship with Fellow Disciple Han, I cannot casually use such a soul-damaging technique on her. After all, Fellow Disciple Han dotes on this sole descendant of his. He even exhausted a great deal of his own Origin Power to perform a heaven-defying great art just to give her a marrow-washing and bone-tempering to help her form a Core. Since what she is hiding isn’t anything critical, I won’t bother to pursue it further. But now that the Wood Spirit Infant has fallen into the hands of those old monsters, that is a real problem. Fortunately, we lost only the Wood Spirit Infant; the other two Spirit Infants remain safe. And I remember there is still a backup Wood Spirit Infant. Though its quality is slightly inferior, I’ll have to make do with cultivating it for now. I wonder if I’ll live to see the day when all Five Elements Spirit Infants are gathered.” The old man let out a long breath and spoke somewhat gloomily.

“This Five Elements Spirit Infant secret art was originally a lost great divine ability of our sect. If it weren’t for you, Senior Uncle, inadvertently refining the Earth Spirit Infant some years ago, I’m afraid our sect still wouldn’t be able to gather all five. Once all the Spirit Infants are prepared, we can use the secret art to fuse them with sect disciples. Before long, our Imperial Spirit Sect will effectively gain five additional Nascent Soul cultivators, enough to contend with the Blissful Union Sect for the position of demonic path leader. It’s a pity that while these cultivators will possess the divine abilities of a Nascent Soul cultivator, they won’t have a real Nascent Soul cultivator’s lifespan. As for the lost Wood Spirit Infant, it was the earliest and most ferocious of the Spirit Infants to be refined. I’ve heard it once devoured the Nascent Soul of one of our sect’s own cultivators. It was extremely violent and hard to tame. Fusing with it would have been very difficult to succeed. Its loss might actually be a fortunate thing.” The middle-aged man said steadily.

“Heh! Do you think I don’t know that? Over a thousand years ago, through some unknown coincidence, the Wood Spirit Infant developed its own intelligence and secretly infiltrated our Imperial Spirit Sect’s Scripture Depository, peeping at several secret techniques and cultivation arts. Its divine abilities grew tremendously, and it broke free from its restrictions. If it weren’t for the fact that our sect happened to have a late-Nascent Soul elder in residence at the time, who used a great divine ability to suppress it, a great disaster would have occurred. But for that reason, I estimated that if we could fuse with this Spirit Infant, the disciple who merged with it might even gain late-Nascent Soul divine abilities in one fell swoop. Naturally, I was unwilling to give it up easily. The funny thing is, before fusing with a Spirit Infant, we not only cannot increase its magical power, but must continuously weaken its cultivation. Only then can we ensure that the disciple’s primordial spirit isn’t devoured by the Spirit Infant during the fusion. Otherwise, why would I have taken the risk of sending people with the Wood Spirit Infant to the Gold-Dry Valley in Yuanwu to undergo the Gold Wind Body-Tempering?” The old man said calmly, but the regret in his words was still palpable.

The middle-aged man opened his mouth to say something more, but after a moment’s thought, he showed a wry smile and fell silent.

…

Over a month later, Han Li finally reached Xi Country and returned to his own cave dwelling.

He let out a long sigh of relief. He placed the woman named Liu in a quiet room and first went to the lower peak to check on Mu Peiling.

Seeing that she was still in secluded cultivation, he was greatly satisfied. He then went to pay separate visits to the two elders of the Falling Cloud Sect, letting them know he had returned.

The silver-haired elder and the other man were naturally delighted to see him. They briefly asked about his recent travels.

Han Li glossed over the details, merely mentioning that he had eliminated a few Core Formation disciples of the Ghost Spirit Sect and the Devil Flame Sect along the way.

Hearing this, the two elders showed no sign of worry but instead praised him loudly.

It seemed that they still harbored a grudge against the Heaven’s and Demon’s Paths for their scheming against them last time. The silver-haired elder, in particular, had been forced to use a life-preserving secret technique to stay alive, which had severely damaged his Origin Power, and he had still not fully recovered.

Han Li’s actions had, in a way, helped them vent some of their anger.

Seeing this, Han Li felt even more at ease. After chatting for half a day, he returned to his own cave dwelling.

Along the way, he had already begun to consider how to deal with the beautiful woman in white.

…

In a daze, the woman named Liu slowly awakened.

The moment she opened her bright eyes, she saw a face almost pressed directly against her own. Startled, she sat up with a jolt, scrambled back a few steps, and leaned against a stone wall.

Only then did she realize that the owner of the face was a charming young woman in her twenties, who was smiling at her. She was in a seemingly completely sealed secret chamber, empty save for a single round, woven cushion.

“You’re awake, Fellow Daoist. If you have no pressing matters, come with me to meet the master.” The young woman said to her with a grin.

“Master? Who is he? Where is this place?” Liu Yu, still disoriented and her mind in chaos, asked hesitantly.

“Once you come with me, you will know. As for this place… this is the Cloud Dream Mountain in Xi Country. I think you can figure out where you are now.” Silvermoon looked the tall woman up and down before speaking slowly.

“Xi Country, Cloud Dream Mountain? Are you people from the Heavenly Dao Alliance?” Liu Yu’s expression flickered as she quickly deduced their origins.