Half a day later, Han Li put away the Hidden Fortune Mansion and flew off to the mainland in a streak of light . He rapidly reached land after a few undisturbed weeks .
He didn’t revisit the Heavenly Talisman Sect and instead rushed to Nanjiang, the southern border . He intermittently stopped throughout the journey to refine the portion of the Triflame Fan that required human flames . Han Li was gloomy that he wasn’t able to encounter a thunderstorm along the way .
He wasn’t worried, rather the opposite, the dense jungles of the southern border had a rainy climate with lightning often mixed in . It would only be a matter of time before he could refine the heaven flame .
Four months had passed before Han Li arrived at the Nanjiang[1] Region, having to go through multiple provinces along the way .
[1] The Nanjiang Region is a name that literally translates to the southern border . Not only is this territory is on the southern border, but its name literally translates to this as well .
The region was one of the few places that weren’t under the rule of a large sect . Rather, the region’s resources were split up between a dozen or so mid-grade sects . Although there would commonly be strife in between these sects, if an external power were to invade, they would immediately unite . Even the great ten righteous and devilish sects haven’t been able to subject the territory under their rule, assuming an almost independent position in the Jin Empire .
Under such conditions, these sects were distrusting of outsiders and cultivated closely related techniques that were born of themselves .
They mostly cultivated rare Yin Poison techniques that were rarely seen . Not only were they skilled in using poison and insects, their skills in curses had reached perfection . If one fought with a Nanjiang cultivator, a single moment of carelessness would result in a vicious, unblockable blow .
The Chaoyun Prefecture was placed west in Nanjiang, with Twin Scorpion Mountain located in one of its desolate mountain ranges . It was covered in miasma hundreds of kilometers wide yearlong . Unless one had high enough cultivation or took medicine for the miasma, they would be unable to enter .
The mountain range was actually somewhat famous in Nanjiang . As a result of its miasma, the mountain grew many valuable poisonous plants and is the home to two types of venomous scorpions that were ideal for low-grade cultivators using insect techniques .
When Han Li arrived near this mountain, it was during the yearly eruption of miasma . Many cultivators were gathered nearby as the two breeds of venomous scorpions would emerge from their burrows during this time .
However, a majority of these cultivators were at Qi Condensation stage with a few Foundation Establishment cultivators mixed in . Since the mountain range was of little interest to high-grade cultivators, not even a single Core Formation cultivator was present .
If a mid-Nascent Soul eccentric like Han Li was discovered in the area, it would be cause for a great commotion . As such, he hadn’t stayed in the mountain’s surroundings and instead flew into the dense, pink miasma . The azure light protecting his body easily blocked it and the venomous insects that lurked inside .
After making sure of his bearings, he directly made his way to the heart of the mountain .
Although Elder Wei had originally mentioned the name of the Twin Scorpion Mountain, he hadn’t given a specific point . As such, Han Li decided to visit the main peak first .
While he flew and pondered about the purpose behind Elder Wei’s request, he suddenly heard a miserable scream from far away .
“It’s a Scorpion King, an Iron Tail Scorpion variant! Everyone, run!” A hoarse man’s voice shouted out in terror, followed by the nearby sounds of explosions and a strange insect’s cry .
Han Li glanced in their direction with blue light flickering from his eyes .
With sounds of tearing wind, a group of men and women began to appear within the miasma as they rushed in his direction . They were running with pointed feet and were sweeping across the ground in a clear display of body lightening techniques .
One of the women in the group caused Han Li to suddenly yelp in surprise when he saw her .
Soon after, he swept his sleeve and an azure mist spread out, clearing the miasma in the area, clearing an area of a hundred meters . The group came to a sudden stop when they entered the clearing .
Before they could react, Han Li pointed to the area behind them and made a fist . A hand of azure light appeared and captured something black in its grasp . Then, it flew in a circle and returned to Han Li .
The hand held a foot-long scorpion with a shiny jet-black shell, its half-foot-long tail was barbed and glowed with a purple light . This was the Iron Tail Scorpion variant that was pursuing these low-grade cultivators .
The scorpion was only a grade-two spirit beast, and was firmly confined by the hand of light, only capable of snarling in its capture . These cultivators were all dumbstruck when they saw Han Li in the air and were at a complete loss .
The light around him scattered and he asked one of the women, “I didn’t think I’d see Fellow Daoist Wang here after I left the Jin Capital . Is Young Miss Cao doing well?”
“It’s Fellow Da- No, Senior Han! Junior Martial Sister Cao is still in the Jin Capital . I’ve only come here with a few comrades in search of spirit medicines . ” Lady Wang hurriedly took the initiative to respectfully salute him . Ever since Han Li took off after he was attracted by the sword cry, she had come to realize Han Li’s identity as a high-grade cultivator and didn’t dare to act casually with him .
When the others saw that Lady Wang recognized this great cultivator, they felt relieved and all stepped forward and saluted Han Li in thanks . However, they all believed Han Li to be at Core Formation stage as Nascent Soul cultivators were far beyond the possibility of contact .
Han Li nodded in acknowledgment and then turned to look at the confined scorpion with a frown . “As the niece of the South Pillar General, you shouldn’t need to brave the risk of looking for spiritual herbs . ”
Lady Wang’s expression blanked and then she wryly smiled, “Although my clan is rich and has provided me with a few spirit stones, my aptitude is only average . How could they possibly afford so many spirit stones on me?”
“Hmm . In truth, your aptitude is quite good; Foundation Establishment stage isn’t out of reach for you . Since we had the fate to meet again, I’ll hand this over to you . I have business to attend to soon, take care of yourselves . ” After that was said, Han Li casually pointed to the hand of light .
With a soft bang, the hand scattered into specks of light and the large scorpion trembled before falling to the ground, completely immobile .
“Senior, I . . . ” Just as Lady Wang was about to utter words of thanks, Han Li disappeared in a flash and her words came to a sudden stop .
The other cultivators looked at the large scorpion variant with envy .
However, since the scorpion was something a high-grade cultivator had given her, none of them dared to rob her . They could only watch as the woman stuck several talismans on it and happily placed it in her spirit beast pouch .
Moments later, an explosion sounded out and the miasma covering the sky began to coil . Then, a furious wind scattered some of the miasma to reveal a black storm cloud floating in the air .
At that moment, Han Li glanced at the black mountain in the distance and muttered, “The time has finally come . ” He then flew towards in the mountain in a streak .
Rolls of thunder sounded out and heavy rain pelted the surrounding miasma, causing it to shrink down to several meters off the ground . On the mountain in the distance, a storm began to reveal itself .
Han Li descended onto a large boulder on the mountaintop, remaining dry with the aid of a barrier of light surrounding him . However, there were eight cultivators already gathered: two at Foundation Establishment and the rest at Qi Condensation .
The group all had their hair wrapped in a bun and wore native outfits . When they saw Han Li appear, they all looked at each other in dismay .
Han Li swept his gaze at the cultivators and released a flood of astonishing spiritual Qi . After waving his arm at the cultivators, he coldly shouted, “Get lost!” as wind wildly blew around him, a mist of azure mist surged .
In their alarm, a few of the cultivators released protective barriers and hastily flew off on their magic tools . However, all of them were engulfed by azure mist and flung a hundred meters away . This made for a sorry sight as they wore faces of terror .
At that moment, they wordlessly rushed off the mountain now that they knew Han Li was a high-grade cultivator .
As Han Li watched them disappear from the mountaintop, he expressionlessly turned his gaze to the sky .
Lightning roared and danced in the black clouds above him .
[1] The green-robed woman Han Li spoke to was Cao Mengrong’s Senior Martial Sister Wang who he had earlier met on his way to the Jin Capital .
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login