Weeping Soul's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and she replied, "Your instincts have always been quite accurate, so it looks like I'll need to go into seclusion as well. I may not be able to advance my cultivation base any further, but at the very least, I have to recover to my former peak."

Han Li didn't waste any more time with words as he began to set up some restrictions around the courtyard.

After that, he set up some more restrictions inside the courtyard and in his and Weeping Soul's rooms. Only after ensuring that all of the appropriate preparations had been completed did the two of them go into seclusion in their respective rooms.

Han Li entered the secret chamber in his room before sitting down with his legs crossed, and after meditating for half a day to prime himself into the best possible condition, he flipped a hand over to summon his silver cauldron.

After that, he swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of azure light, which swept over the ground to produce all of the ingredients required to refine Cerulean Pills.

He then opened his mouth to release a Essence Fire Raven, which transformed into a silver flame beneath the cauldron, and from there, he began tossing ingredients into the cauldron one after another.

......

At this moment, Ye Luo, Ye Qiu, and Ye Susu were gathered in a conference hall in Azure Fox City.

"Are you really going to allow that human cultivator to take up residence in our city, Chief? I don't think that's a good idea. We don't know where he came from, and he's a human cultivator. Most of our brethren harbor deep animosity toward humans, so the decision to allow him to stay in the city will inevitably be met with resistance," Ye Qiu said with tightly furrowed brows.

"Rest assured, Elder Qiu, Fellow Daoist Han is only staying in our city to cultivate in seclusion, so he won't be out and about much. On top of that, he asked me to keep his presence in our city a secret, so we can just declare to everyone that he's already left our city," Ye Luo replied.

"But he's still a human, and an extremely powerful one at that! Keeping him in our city is like allowing a sword to constantly hang over our heads!" Ye Qiu protested.

"Fellow Daoist Han has helped us so much, and all he's asking is to stay in our city to cultivate in peace. It would be far too petty of us to refuse such a small request," Ye Luo said.

"I don't think Senior Han and Fellow Daoist Weeping Soul are bad people, Elder Qiu. On top of that, our Azure Fox Tribe has been in constant danger in recent years, so we could really use a powerful ally like him," Ye Susu chimed in.

"In that case, I suppose I have no choice but to agree. However, his origins are still unclear, so I think we should arrange for some people to conduct surveillance on him in secret," Ye Qiu acquiesced.

"Alright, I'll leave that to you then, Elder Qiu. Don't forget that Fellow Daoist Han is adept in detection secret techniques, so make sure to be extra careful that you don't let him find out what you're doing," Ye Luo replied with a nod.

"You can count on me," Ye Qiu replied before quickly departing.

......

Three years later.

Han Li remained seated in his secret chamber, and right at this moment, the lid of his silver cauldron flew up to hover in mid-air at his behest.

Immediately thereafter, five blue pills flew out from within before landing in a jade vial.

Each pill was around the size of a longan, and they were as blue as the sky, giving off a rich medicinal aroma.

At this point, there were already dozens of jade vials placed beside him, and a strong medicinal aroma could be smelled even through the vials.

A pleased look appeared on Han Li's face at the sight of these jade vials.

These Cerulean Pills were the first High Zenith Stage pills that he had refined, and in the beginning, he had experienced much difficulty, but thanks to his Mantra Treasured Axis and his past pill refinement experience, the success rate quickly began to climb.

He swept a sleeve through the air to stow his cauldron and Essence Fire Raven away, following which he tipped a Cerulean Pill out of one of the jade vials before devouring it.

Radiant golden light rose up from his body, illuminating the entire secret chamber a bright, golden color.

......

Over a hundred flew in the blink of an eye.

A white-robed middle-aged man was seated on a golden dragon throne in a majestic palace in the Golden Origin Immortal Palace.

It was none other than Palace Master Dongfang Bai, and at this moment, his gaze was focused on a figure standing before him in the palace. Even though there was no trace of anger on his face, the person being observed was still feeling extremely tense and uneasy.

The figure standing in the palace wasn't particularly tall, but he was quite handsome. It was a young boy dressed in a colorful robe, and he appeared to be no more than fourteen to fifteen years of age, but he possessed a pair of eyes that looked as if they had seen far more than just a decade and a half in this world would allow.

"Elder Tao, I didn't acquire this body for you so you can sit around and do nothing. Why is it that you still haven't tracked down that Han Li even though it's already been over a century?" Dongfang Bai asked.

"Ever since Han Li left the Heavenly Pine Temple, he immediately went into hiding, seemingly aware that we would go after him. He hasn't appeared in any of the major cities in the immortal region, so he must be hiding in some secluded place, making it very difficult to track him down," the young boy hurriedly explained.

It hadn't been long since Tao Ji possessed this new body, and he was still rather unaccustomed to his own tender and child-like voice.

Dongfang Bai's expression darkened slightly upon hearing, making Tao Ji feel even more uneasy, and he hurriedly continued, "The fact that he hasn't appeared in any major cities means that he won't have been able to access any long-distance teleportation arrays. Hence, he must still be in our Golden Origin Immortal Region. Just give me some more time, and I'll be sure to track him down."

Dongfang Bai's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he was just about to say something when his expression changed ever so slightly.

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Right at this moment, a servant rushed into the palace, informing Dongfang Bai that some visitors had come to see him.

Dongfang Bai instructed them to come in, and the palace gates were opened, following which a thin, gray-haired elderly man and a black-robed man with a fearsome-looking blade on his back stepped inside.

The two of them made their way over to Tao Ji's side, then bowed in unison as they greeted, "We pay our respects to Palace Master Dongfang."

"No need for formalities. How did the investigation go?" Dongfang Bai asked.

The black-robed man and the elderly man exchanged a glance with each other, and the latter gestured for the former to deliver his report first.

Hence, the black-robed man reported, "Upon arriving at the Heavenly Pine Temple, I discovered that all signs of battle had already been intentionally destroyed, and the residual law power fluctuations in the area had also been erased."

"Does that mean you weren't able to find out anything, Hei Dao?" Dongfang Bai asked as his brows furrowed slightly.

"Even though all signs of battle had been erased, the same didn't apply to the residual souls of the Immortal Palace cultivators who had perished on that day. Hence I was able to use some ghostly secret techniques to harvest some soul fragments, and from their memory snippets, I was able to piece together the battle.

“What's particularly worthy of note is that he's an extremely accomplished bodily refinement cultivator, having already opened over nine hundred profound acupoints," Hei Dao replied.

"Over nine hundred profound acupoints... No wonder the Bipolar Yin Yang Array completely failed to contain him..." Tao Ji murmured to himself.

"You were the one who gathered everyone to hunt him down, were you not, Elder Tao? How did you not know about this in advance? Incompetent fool!" Dongfang Bai spat through gritted teeth.

"That was... indeed an oversight on my part," Tao Ji stammered.

He had underestimated Han LI from the very beginning, and by the time that he realized just how powerful Han Li was, he was too busy running for his life to make an assessment of Han Li's powers.

"Were you able to find out anything else?" Dongfang Bai asked.

"I also found out that he possesses at least three types of true spirit bloodlines, namely that of the Giant Mountain Ape, the True Immortal, and the Kun Peng. That's what granted him the power to overcome the Bipolar Yin Yang Array so easily. By my estimates, his physical prowess is on par with that of a Great Encompassment Profound Immortal," Hei Dao replied.

"Now that I think about it, I recall detecting the power of the Lightning Bird in his body while he was pursuing me. That must've been another true spirit bloodline," Tao Ji hurriedly said.

"Interesting. So he's a human with four true spirit bloodlines in his body, all of which belong to top-tier true spirits... How has he been able to avoid bloodline backlash?" Dongfang Bai mused with slightly furrowed brows.

While listening to Hei Dao's report, the gray-haired elderly man was constantly looking back and forth through a collection of around a dozen jade slips in his hands, seemingly trying to pick out something.

"He's also using a time-attribute cultivation art that can conjure up a golden wheel capable of slowing his targets down to a crawl. It was an extremely terrible feeling, like even my thoughts had slowed down," Tao Ji added.

"So he's essentially a Great Encompassment Stage Profound Immortal with a High Zenith Stage cultivation base, and he possesses multiple true spirit bloodlines and time law powers... How is it possible that a single person can possess all four of these traits? It's downright incredible!

“Such a man should've been vastly renowned across the entire immortal region, how is it possible that he's managed to keep such a low profile? Are you sure the information that you have on him is accurate?" Dongfang Bai asked.

If he really was in possession of that vial, then there was a chance that he could make such rapid progress in his cultivation base in such a short time, but there should've been no way for him to have become such a multi-faceted powerhouse!

Right at this moment, the gray-haired elderly man suddenly looked up from the jade slips in his hands.

"Do you have something to offer, Elder Lü Yun?" Dongfang Bai asked.

"I've found some interesting things during my travels over all these years. Perhaps they can help you gain a better understanding of this Han Li, Palace Master Dongfang," the elderly man replied, then respectfully offered up seven or eight jade slips that he had selected.