Chapter 1267: Nowhere is Safe

"Are you two alright?" Yue Mian asked.

"We're alright, but that was a really close call! Each successive illusion was more fearsome than the previous one, and if you hadn't flown out of the cloud when you did, I don't think I would've been able to maintain control over myself for much longer," Xiaobai said.

"This is why Heavenly Devil Clouds are the most potent hazards in the entire Extraheavensphere. That was a rather small cloud that we encountered just now. If we had run into a larger Heavenly Devil Cloud, then I wouldn't have been able to fly out of it so quickly," Yue Mian said.

"In that case, I think I'm going to stay out of the Extraheavensphere for now. Perhaps I won't be able to progress as quickly in my cultivation, but at the very least, it'll be a lot safer. How are you doing, Master?" Xiaobai asked as he turned his gaze to Han Li, who was currently seated in silence with his eyes closed and his brows slightly furrowed.

There was a burst of baleful qi swirling around his body, and as he opened his eyes in response to Xiaobai's question, it was revealed that they were glowing with faint, crimson light.

"Master, your eyes! Could it be that you've already been possessed by an Extrarealm Heavenly Devil? How dare you! Get out of my master's body!" Xiaobai yelled with a look of alarm and fury on his face.

"It's fine, I haven't been possessed, I've only been somewhat affected," Han Li reassured.

A hesitant look of skepticism appeared on Xiaobai's face upon hearing this.

"Very impressive! I thought that in your current state, there's no way you'd be able to remain impervious to the influence of the Extrarealm Heavenly Devils, but you've done very well. Having said that, I presume that you're struggling to contain the ill intent in your heart right now," Yue Mian said with a faint smile.

"That is indeed the case, Senior," Han Li confirmed with a wry smile.

No further ill intent had accumulated in his heart, but it hadn't abated, either. On top of that, the ill intent was proving impossible to suppress, despite his best efforts.

"One's three corpse souls are entities that have extremely profound connections to one's soul and psyche. I don't know how you managed to forcibly summon your wicked corpse soul without first reaching the pinnacle of the early-Great Encompassment Stage, and I can tell that you've suppressed it for now, but under the influence of the Heavenly Devil Cloud, it's only a matter of time before it breaks free, so you'll have to find a way to sever it as soon as possible.

“Otherwise, it'll inevitably take over your body in the near future," Yue Mian said.

A grim look appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this.

He was aware that he couldn't keep his wicked corpse soul restrained forever, and he also wanted to sever it as soon as possible, but given his lackluster cultivation base, his chances of a successful corpse soul severance were very slim.

Yue Mian spoke no further on the subject, and after flying for close to half a day longer, he suddenly swooped down in a gradual descent, passing through the Astralsphere and the Ethersphere again before descending upon a lush mountain range somewhere in the vast territory of the primordial land.

After flying for a while longer, the majestic Eight Plains Mountain appeared up ahead.

Han Li couldn't help but be astonished by Yue Mian's speed. It had taken him several decades to fly from Eight Plains Mountain to the greater Golden Origin Immortal Region, yet it had only taken Yue Mian less than a day to make the same return journey.

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him, and he jumped down from Yue Mian's back, then cupped his fist in a salute as he said, "Thank you for bringing me back to the primordial land, Senior Yue. However, given my status as a human, I most likely won't be welcome on Eight Plains Mountain, so I think we should part ways here."

Yue Mian reverted back to his human form amid a flash of azure light, then took a glance at Han Li as he replied, "Suit yourself."

All of a sudden, Bai Ze appeared out of thin air with a wide smile on his face as he interjected, "I can't allow that! It would reflect terribly upon our primordial tribes if you were shut out right on our doorstep!"

"Senior Bai Ze!" Han Li hurriedly greeted with a respectful bow, and Xiaobai immediately followed suit.

"You really stirred things up in the Nine Origins Temple, Fellow Daoist Han! It's not every day that I get to see someone of Li Yuanjiu's caliber falling flat on his face!" Bai Ze chuckled in amusement.

"Of course! Master and I were completely unstoppable in the Nine Origins Temple! We beat up two of their holy envoys so badly that they were forced to run for their lives!" Xiaobai declared in a triumphant manner.

"It was the Reincarnation Palace that did the vast majority of the work, I only happened to be in the right place at the right time," Han Li said in a modest manner.

"Be that as it may, it's still very impressive that you were able to emerge unscathed from the lion's den that is the Nine Origins Temple. Back when you left, you were only at the pinnacle of the High Zenith Stage, yet you're not even that far away from the mid-Great Encompassment Stage now. I don't think even I was able to make such rapid progress at the same stage of my cultivation journey!" Bai Ze praised.

"You're far too kind, Senior," Han Li said, maintaining a humble demeanor.

"You're still as modest as ever, Fellow Daoist Han. Thank you for looking after Xiaobai and ensuring his safe return," Bai Ze said as he pulled Xiaobai in for a closer examination.

"Xiaobai is my friend, so it's only right that I protect him. Besides, Xiaobai is more than capable of looking after himself, and I didn't really do anything. As for our safe return to the primordial land, that's all thanks to Senior Yue Mian," Han Li replied with a smile.

"In any case, I'm glad to see both of you safe and well. Come and take a seat on our Eight Plains Mountain," Bai Ze offered.

"Please forgive me, but I'm afraid I must turn down your kind invitation, Senior Bai. I'm currently in a rather precarious condition and would like to go into seclusion right away," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in an apologetic salute.

Bai Ze took a quick glance at Han Li, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes as he said, "I can see that there are indeed some rather pressing concerns for you to address. In that case, I won't keep you any longer. Around a hundred and fifty thousand kilometers east of here is a mountain range called the Jade Cloud Mountain Range.

“It's a place that's very abundant with the world's origin qi and isn't occupied by any primordial tribes, so you can go into seclusion there."

An elated look flashed through Han Li's eyes upon hearing this.

"Thank you, Senior Bai."

"I'll come with you, Master. Your Majesty, seeing as the Jade Cloud Mountain Range isn't far away from here, it makes no difference whether I stay here or go there to cultivate, right?" Xiaobai implored.

"You're not going anywhere! I've already made arrangements for your cultivation from this point onward, so you have to stay on Eight Plains Mountain," Bai Ze replied in an authoritative manner.

"Fine..." Xiaobai acquiesced in a reluctant manner.

"I'll be taking my leave now, Senior Bai Ze, Senior Yue Mian," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a parting salute, then flew away toward the east as a streak of golden light.

Bai Ze's trio observed his departing figure for a moment, then descended onto Eight Plains Mountain.

It didn't long for Han Li to reach the Jade Cloud Mountain Range, and just as Bai Ze had proclaimed, the world's origin qi here was extremely abundant, yet it wasn't as wild and unrestrained as the world's origin qi elsewhere in the primordial land, so it really was an ideal location for a stint of seclusion.

Han Li dug out a simple cave abode into a cliff face, then set up some restrictions around it.

After that, he conjured up a door of silver light and stepped into the Flower Branch domain through it.

Weeping Soul and Jin Tong seemed to have already been waiting at the entrance, and they immediately approached him upon his arrival.

"Weeping Soul, you already know what happened in that Heavenly Devil Cloud earlier. Right now, I need your help to see if I can suppress the ill intent in my body," Han Li said, then sat down on the spot with his legs crossed and closed his eyes.

Weeping Soul immediately sprang into action, resting a palm down onto Han Li's head to conjure up a dark red light barrier over his entire body.

Han Li gave a muffled groan as his immortal acupoints began to flash erratically, and bursts of black baleful qi surged out from within before swirling around his body.

As soon as the baleful qi came into contact with the dark red light barrier, it would immediately fade into nothingness with a loud sizzling sound.

However, more and more baleful qi continued to surge out of Han Li's body with no end in sight.

Jin Tong could sense the perilous condition that Han Li was in, and she remained standing off to the side in silence while staring intently at Han Li with an unblinking gaze.

Even after three days and three nights, the baleful qi surging out of Han Li's body hadn't abated in the slightest.

At this point, Jin Tong was already feeling very agitated, and her gaze was constantly roaming back and forth between Han Li and Weeping Soul. On several occasions, she was almost unable to resist the urge to speak, but she held her tongue each time.

She knew that Han Li couldn't afford any distractions in his current condition, and she was very frustrated at her own inability to help him in any way.

All of a sudden, Han Li's eyes sprang open as he said, "You can stop now, Weeping Soul."

Weeping Soul withdrew her hand and backed away, then said in a hesitant manner, "Master, the ill intent in your body seems to be different from before somehow."

"So you've noticed it as well," Han Li said with a wry smile, but he didn't elaborate any further as he raised a hand cut off Jin Tong right as she was about to speak.

He had tried to avert this crisis in a peaceful fashion, but a peaceful resolution proved out of reach. At this point, he had no choice but to sever his wicked corpse soul as soon as possible and progress to the mid-Great Encompassment Stage.

However, that was certainly not going to be an easy task.

He had no master that he could turn to for guidance, and due to the time constraints during his previous stint of transmigration, Patriarch Miro hadn't provided him with any instructions on the subject of corpse soul severance, so he would have to go into this completely blind.

With that in mind, Han Li turned to Weeping Soul and Jin Tong and said, "I'm going to go into seclusion in the space of accelerated time to try and cultivate to the pinnacle of the early-Great Encompassment Stage as quickly as possible.

“There's no need for you two to worry about me, just focus on your own cultivation. We may be safe for now in the primordial land, but we'll have to return to the immortal regions eventually, and the more power the three of us can attain, the better equipped we'll be to make our return."

Immediately thereafter, he summoned his spirit domain to encompass the surrounding space in a radius of close to two hundred feet.

With his Mantra Treasured Axis working in tandem with the Celestial Time Array, the flow of time within his spirit domain was instantly accelerated by roughly ten thousandfold.

Weeping Soul and Jin Tong were still a little concerned about Han Li's current condition, but ultimately, there was nothing that they could do to help him, so they sat down on either side of him and began to focus on their own cultivation.