Chapter 1231: Venturing Through the Lion's Den

Around fifteen minutes later.

Han Li was seated with his legs crossed on an enormous tree in a secluded forest in the Nine Origins Temple, making sure to conceal himself under the tree's dense canopy.

The jade slip that had been given to him by Lu Chuanfeng was pressed tightly against his glabella, and moments later, he removed the jade slip from his own forehead, then contemplated his situation for a while longer before reopening his eyes.

The jade slip contained a map of the Nine Origins Temple, and the location where Jin Tong was possibly being imprisoned had been clearly marked out. It was a restricted area of the Nine Origins Temple that wasn't easily accessible even to the core disciples and elders of the sect.

After some contemplation, Han Li pulled out another jade slip, then examined its contents briefly before nodding to himself.

The map provided by the Reincarnation Palace isn't much different from Lan Yan's, so it looks like it hasn't been tampered with. The problem is that Jin Tong is being imprisoned in a very troublesome location...

Right at this moment, a resounding boom rang out in the distance, accompanied by the sounds of a fierce battle.

The Reincarnation Palace must've made a massive move to have stirred up this much chaos in a superpower like the Nine Origins Temple,

Han Li thought to himself as he observed the unfolding chaos in the distance from the top of the tree.

After taking a moment to gather his bearings, he sprang up into the air, but instead of ascending far into the heavens, he skipped from tree to tree, traveling toward a nearby mountain.

At the moment, the Nine Origins Temple had been infiltrated by large numbers of masked, black-robed figures, and what was once an immortal paradise was currently being ravaged by the flames of war.

As Han Li traveled deeper and deeper into the Nine Origins Temple, he passed by some important locations, all of which had been infiltrated by powerful Reincarnation Palace cultivators, and there were even some Great Encompassment cultivators among them.

The Nine Origins Temple had naturally also sent out hordes of elders and disciples to oppose the intruders, and all of the restrictions in the sect had also been activated.

However, it was clear that the Reincarnation Palace had prepared extensively for this invasion, and due to the mass unrest that had arisen across the entire greater Golden Origin Immortal Region, many powerful cultivators of the Nine Origins Temple had been sent out to fulfill various duties. As a result, the Nine Origins Temple had been caught completely off guard and was severely short-handed.

Then again, who could've possibly imagined that the almighty Nine Origins Temple would ever come under attack?

The Reincarnation Palace had to invest a tremendous amount of resources to stage this attack, and with that in mind, Han Li couldn't help but wonder what the Reincarnation Palace's true objective was.

Initially, the disciples of the Nine Origins Temple were caught off guard by the attack and were forced into retreat, but under the leadership of the sect's elders, they quickly rallied and took advantage of the arrays littered throughout the sect to retaliate against the intruders, resulting in a temporary impasse.

Han Li had no desire to take part in the conflict, and he was racing through the Nine Origins Temple under the guise of an unremarkable disciple.

Given the widespread pandemonium throughout the entire sect, no one paid any attention to him, and at his current cultivation base, no one below the Great Encompassment Stage could hope to delay him.

Before long, Han Li had ventured very deep into the Nine Origins Temple, and no Reincarnation Palace cultivators had been able to get this far yet.

He slowed down slightly as he activated his black mask's concealment ability, transforming him into a near-invisible shadow that wasn't giving off even the slightest bit of aura.

An elated look appeared on his face upon seeing this, and he continued to fly onward.

Even though no Reincarnation Palace cultivators had appeared here, the Nine Origins Temple was still taking no chances, having activated all of the defensive and detection restrictions in case of a potential Reincarnation Palace infiltration.

Fortunately, Han Li was able to sneak through undetected thanks to his tremendous spiritual sense and Infernal Devilish Eyes.

Close to half a day later, he descended near a mountain, then concealed himself in an obscure location before casting his gaze into the distance.

Up ahead were a pair of huge golden mountains that extended all the way up into the clouds like a pair of gargantuan pillars that were supporting the heavens, and the two mountains were connected by a passageway.

The pair of mountains were surrounded by a boundless expanse of golden mist that stretched as far as the eyes could see in either direction.

According to the map of the Nine Origins Temple given to him by Lan Yan, this was the Golden Jade Pass, the entrance to the inner temple.

There was a very clear divide between the inner and outer temples of the Nine Origins Temple, and the inner temple was the true center of the Nine Origins Temple, only accessible to the high-ranking members of the sect and a select few elite disciples.

According to the information given to him by the Reincarnation Palace, Jin Tong was currently being held captive in a restricted area in the inner temple.

This boundless expanse of golden mist was a super restriction in the Nine Origins Temple that was said to have been set up by the Nine Origins Dao Ancestor himself, and one had to pass through it in order to access the inner temple.

There were a total of three entrances like the Golden Jade Pass in the Nine Origins Temple, and Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he observed the Golden Jade Pass.

At this moment, the passageway of the Golden Jade Pass was tightly shut behind a thick, golden, light barrier, beyond which stood a horde of cultivators clad in suits of golden armor.

Why has the entrance been closed? Is it because of the Reincarnation Palace invasion?

After some contemplation, he released his spiritual sense into his Flower Branch domain to contact Lan Yan and inform her of the current state of the Golden Jade Pass.

"Given the current situation, it's no surprise that the Golden Jade Pass has been closed. All of the important locations in the Nine Origins Temple are in the inner sect, so it naturally has to be protected with extra vigilance," Lan Yan explained.

"Do you have a way to get me through this place?" Han Li asked.

A hesitant look appeared on Lan Yan's face.

She had revealed a great deal of information about the Nine Origins Temple to Han Li in order to save Lan Yuanzi, but none of those pieces of information had been of particular importance.

However, the Golden Jade Pass was different in that it concerned the core secrets of the Nine Origins Temple, and if it were to come to light that she had revealed such secrets to an outsider, then that would be regarded as an unforgivable transgression by the Nine Origins Temple.

Han Li could sense Lan Yan's reservations, and he smiled as he said, "Right now, the entire Nine Origins Temple is in a state of pandemonium, so no one is going to notice anything that happens here. On top of that, you won't even have to reveal yourself, so how could anyone possibly suspect you?"

Lan Yan still appeared rather hesitant, but she quickly made up her mind as she said, "That may be the case, but there are countless cultivators with unfathomable abilities in the Nine Origins Temple, even some who are adept in the art of divination, so no matter what precautions I take, there's no guarantee that my involvement won't be exposed. I can tell you everything that I know about the Nine Origins Temple, but on two conditions."

"What are your conditions?" Han Li asked.

"My first condition is that you have to ask Fellow Daoist Weeping Soul to save my brother," Lan Yan said.

At this moment, both Weeping Soul and Xiaobai were with Lan Yan in the Flower Branch domain, while Qu Lin was cultivating in the pavilion, around which Weeping Soul had set up numerous layers of restrictions.

Weeping Soul was still rather apprehensive when it came to Qu Lin.

Weeping Soul communicated with Han Li briefly through voice transmission, then nodded as she said, "I can do that."

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Weeping Soul," Lan Yan said in an excited manner as she extended a grateful bow toward Weeping Soul.

"What's your second condition?" Han Li asked.

"After exposing so many of the Nine Origins Temple's secrets, I can't stay here any longer, so I want you to take my brother and I under your wing," Lan Yan requested, and Han Li was rather taken aback to hear this.

"You want me to take you in?" Han Li asked in a surprised manner, and Weeping Soul and Xiaobai were clearly quite surprised as well.

"That's right. Over time, I've developed a decent understanding of your powers and personality, and I'm confident that you can protect me and my brother. Only with this guarantee from you can I reveal more secrets of the Nine Origins Temple to you without any reservations," Lan Yan replied in a calm manner.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he offered no response.

After a brief moment of contemplation, he decided, "I'm willing to take you and your brother under my protection, but I'll have to plant certain restrictions into your souls as a safety precaution. Of course, if I deem the two of you to be trustworthy at some point, then I'll remove the restrictions. On top of that, I won't provide any assistance to your future cultivation, so you'll have to take care of that yourselves."

"That's fine," Lan Yan immediately agreed without any hesitation.

Han Li was rather surprised by her willingness to agree to these terms, but he didn't think anything of it as he instructed Weeping Soul to carry out the necessary procedure.

Weeping Soul began to chant an incantation, and a ball of black light flew out of her hand, then quickly transformed into a black ring with countless tiny, black runes dancing around inside.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

In the blink of an eye, the ring transformed into a streak of black light that vanished into Lan Yan's glabella at her behest.

Lan Yan shuddered as her complexion noticeably paled, but she remained calm and accepted the restrictions placed upon her soul.

"You've definitely made the right decision by choosing to follow Master, Fellow Daoist Lan," Weeping Soul said with a warm smile, and Xiaobai also chimed in in agreement and encouragement.

"Alright, now that I've agreed to your conditions, please tell me everything you know about the Golden Jade Pass, Fellow Daoist Lan," Han Li said.

"The Golden Jade Pass is an important checkpoint that one must pass through en route to the inner temple. Only with the permission of the abbot, the two assistant abbots, and the four holy envoys can one enter through it, but given the special state of emergency that the temple is currently in, perhaps things will be different. With an appropriate reason, perhaps the guards inside will be willing to open the pass for us," Lan Yan replied.