Chapter 1322: Extortion

In the Crane Ridge Immortal Region.

The cave abode hidden in that nameless mountain range had already been sealed for several hundred years.

Violet Spirit was seated with her legs crossed in meditation on a stone bed in one of the rooms of the cave abode.

Right at this moment, her eyes sprang open, and she cast her gaze forward with an elated look on her face.

Immediately thereafter, the door of the secret chamber across from her room was opened, and Han Li emerged from within before giving her a warm smile.

Violet Spirit stood up from her bed, and a hint of incredulity flashed through her eyes at the sight of Han Li.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Your aura..." she exclaimed.

"I've only just come out of seclusion, so my aura fluctuations are still a little unstable, but everything will be back to normal after a few days," Han Li reassured with a smile.

"I'm referring to your cultivation base," Violet Spirit said with a concerned look in her eyes.

"You're not mistaken, I have indeed reached the pinnacle of the Great Encompassment Stage. However, I can assure you that I haven't taken any extreme measures to get here. It's just that my cultivation arts are rather special, and that has allowed me to make rapid progress without compromising on the stability of my cultivation foundation," Han Li said.

"That's good to hear," Violet Spirit replied with a nod, following which a hint of dejection appeared on her face.

Now that Han Li had reached the pinnacle of the Great Encompassment Stage, he was most likely going to return to the underworld soon.

Right at this moment, Han Li's expression suddenly changed slightly as he flipped a hand over to produce his black Reincarnation Palace mask.

After putting on the mask, he tapped a finger against his own glabella, and a beam of light instantly shot out of the mask to form a projection of a male figure.

It was the Reincarnation Palace Master, and Han Li immediately knew that something had to have gone wrong for the Reincarnation Palace Master to have contacted him.

"What happened?"

"Rushuang was abducted by the Heavenly Court," the Reincarnation Palace Master replied after a brief hesitation.

"What did you just say?" Han Li exclaimed, and Violet Spirit's expression also changed drastically upon hearing this.

At some point, Han Li had chosen to reveal the truth to her, so she was aware of the Reincarnation Palace Master's identity, as well as the fact that Gan Rushuang and Nangong Wan were one and the same.

"Rushuang woke up not long after you left the underworld, and in the end, she decided that she wanted to return to being Nangong Wan as opposed to being my wife," the Reincarnation Palace Master said.

"How was she abducted by the Heavenly Court? Didn't you tell me that you could keep her safe?" Han Li snapped in a furious manner.

"After she chose you, she wanted to immediately leave to find you, but she was worried about becoming a burden to you, and I was also worried for her safety, so I never let her leave. However, after that, it was as if you had disappeared off the face of the Immortal Realm, and I wasn't even able to contact you through your mask.

“Not long ago, she left the underworld on her own to search for you while I was in seclusion, and the Heavenly Court pounced on the opportunity to capture her," the Reincarnation Palace Master revealed.

"Have you managed to find out where she is?" Han Li asked.

"No. The Heavenly Court has taken extensive measures to ensure that she remains hidden. However, not long after she was abducted, I received a message from Gu Huojin, demanding that I go to the Middle Earth Immortal Region. He has promised me that they won't hurt her as long as I do as he says, and that they'll immediately release her once I've reached the Middle Earth Immortal Region," the Reincarnation Palace Master replied.

Han Li fell silent upon hearing this.

Given how sorely the Heavenly Court resented the Reincarnation Palace Master, it didn't exactly take a genius to predict what would become of him if he were to fall into their grasp.

"I've already agreed to travel to the Middle Earth Immortal Region," the Reincarnation Palace Master declared.

"When will you be setting off?" Han Li asked.

"I still have to make some preparations. Otherwise, not only will I not be able to save Rushuang, all of my other plans will also be thrown into disarray," the Reincarnation Palace Master replied.

"I'm going with you," Han Li said without any hesitation.

The Reincarnation Palace Master hesitated momentarily upon hearing this, then replied, "I suppose that would be for the best. That way, you can take Rushuang to safety while I confront Gu Huojin."

"The person that I'll be taking with me is Nangong Wan, not Gan Rushuang. I also have some matters to attend to, and I'll meet up with you in the underworld once I'm ready," Han Li said.

"Alright, I'll be waiting," the Reincarnation Palace Master replied.

"Also, the Heavenly Court is not to be trusted, so it would be best if you could find out where Wan'er is being kept in case they go back on their word and refuse to release her," Heavenly Court continued.

"I'll notify you if I find out anything," the Reincarnation Palace Master promised.

With that, the projection from Han Li's Reincarnation Palace mask faded away, while Violet Spirit turned to him with a concerned gaze.

Before Han Li had a chance to say anything, Violet Spirit beat him to the punch.

"Go and save her."

"Let's go back for now," Han Li replied with a nod.

"Go back where?" Violet Spirit asked.

"The Northern Glacial Immortal Region," Han Li replied.

......

Meanwhile, in a palace in the underworld.

The Reincarnation Palace Master had just finished his communication with Han Li, and he made his way down from a raised platform.

Right at this moment, a black-robed figure hurriedly made their way into the palace. Their neck and face were covered in a thick layer of bandages, upon which were inscribed a series of golden runes, presenting a peculiar sight to behold.

"Palace Master, I've just conducted some divination to track down Immortal Lord Huang Lu of the Sky Mound Immortal Region, and he'll be arriving on the Kind Sun Continent soon," the black-robed figure reported in a hoarse voice.

"The Sky Mound Immortal Region has no teleportation array that leads directly to the Middle Earth Immortal Region, so he most likely intends to travel to the Dark Heavens Immortal Region from the Kind Sun Continent so that he can get to the Middle Earth Immortal Region from there. Send a message to Fang Hui and Wu Jiang, instruct them to intercept him on the Kind Sun Continent and kill him and his entourage," the Reincarnation Palace Master said.

The black-robed man gave an affirmative response before preparing to depart, only for the Reincarnation Palace Master to suddenly ask, "How long have you been with me, Yuan Chunfeng?"

The black-robed man stopped in his tracks, then pondered the question for a moment before replying, "It's been too long, so I can't clearly recall, but it has to have been a few million years at this point."

"Conduct a heavenly divination to see what my chances of victory are if I go to the Heavenly Court early," the Reincarnation Palace Master requested.

"Are you sure, Palace Master? If I conduct one more heavenly divination, I'll be reduced to a disabled man by divine punishment. On top of that, this matter concerns the Time Dao Ancestor, so I may not be able to glean an outcome even if I tried," Yuan Chunfeng said.

"In that case, forget about it. I still have to rely on you to predict the routes that all of the Great Encompassment cultivators are going to take to reach the Bodhi Banquet. Otherwise, it'll become next to impossible to intercept them," the Reincarnation Palace Master said.

Yuan Chunfeng didn't say anything further before preparing to depart again, but once again, he was stopped by a sudden remark from the Reincarnation Palace Master.

"I must say, it's quite smart of your Heavenmend Sect to have hedged your bets on both the Heavenly Court and my Reincarnation Palace."

"I'm afraid that's more borne out of necessity than anything else. Both you and the Time Dao Ancestor stand at the very pinnacle of the True Immortal Realm, and the conflict between you two has completely stirred up even the Heavenly Dao. As a result, our Heavenmend Sect is unable to predict the outcome, so we had no choice but to split our eggs and put them in both baskets," Yuan Chunfeng said.

"Patriarch Chen Tuan has chosen to place his bets on Gu Huojin, yet as his first-ever disciple, you've chosen to side with me. In light of that, it looks like your Heavenmend Sect still likes the Heavenly Court's chances better than ours. Regardless of the outcome, you'll be able to ensure that your sect survives to tell the tale," the Reincarnation Palace Master remarked.

"That may be the case, but if the Heavenly Court wins, then I will meet my demise with the Reincarnation Palace, so please do come out on top, both for your sake and mine," Yuan Chunfeng said.

The Reincarnation Palace Master nodded in response as he gestured for Yuan Chunfeng to leave, and before long, he was the only one left standing in the empty palace.

......

Over two years flew by in a flash.

A streak of light descended out of the heavens outside a border city on the Ancient Cloud Continent of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region.

Within the streak of light were none other than Han Li and Violet Spirit, and the two of them had arrived beside a dilapidated stone pergola outside the city.

The layer of faint, golden light around them kept out the surrounding, gray mist, and a hint of reminiscence appeared in Han Li's eyes as he mused, "I stayed in this city for a short time on my way to the Blaze Dragon Dao. It certainly has changed quite a bit since then."

"The Northern Glacial Immortal Region and all of the nearby immortal regions have already been taken over by the Gray Realm, so of course things have changed drastically," Violet Spirit replied.

"Most of the Northern Glacial Immortal Region has already been modified by the Gray Realm, forcing the native cultivators to cower in the cities. I don't think it'll be long before this city falls as well," Han Li sighed.

"There's not much that can be done. Not only has the Heavenly Court not sent any reinforcements, they've done everything in their power to keep this matter a secret, so there aren't many people that are even aware of the Gray Realm invasion. Thankfully, the Gray Realm hasn't been too aggressive with its expansion. Otherwise, even the Heavenly Court may not be able to keep everything under wraps," Violet Spirit said.

"It appears that there's some type of unspoken agreement between the Heavenly Court and the Gray Realm. As long as one doesn't overpress, the other won't retaliate," Han Li said with a cold smile.

"Why is that?" Violet Spirit asked.