Chapter 642: Refusal

Han Li was immediately able to identify the two as Shi Chuankong and Silver Fox of the Reincarnation Palace, but he didn't lower his guard in the slightest.

Instead of saying anything, he turned his gaze to Immortal Lord Hot Flame as he noticed that both Shi Chuankong and Silver Fox were also looking at him.

Immortal Lord Hot Flame swept his gaze over Silver Fox, then turned to Shi Chuankong as he asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Shi Chuankong. You probably haven't heard of me, but that's not an issue. All you need to know is our objective for coming here to see you," Shi Chuankong replied with a smile.

As he was speaking, he took a quick glance at Han Li, and a hint of befuddlement appeared deep within his eyes.

"You were at the Jade Kun Pagoda auction, right? Considering all the bidding wars we were involved in, you must be a very wealthy man," Silver Fox remarked as he turned to Han Li.

"Surely the vastly renowned Silver Fox hasn't come all the way here to seek retribution over such a trivial matter," Han Li said with a composed smile.

"Rest assured, I'm not that petty. We're here today for Fellow Daoist Host Flame," Silver Fox replied with a smile of his own.

"What do you want from me?" Immortal Lord Hot Flame asked with a wary look in his eyes as he unconsciously shuffled a little closer to Han Li.

"Let's not waste time here, Fellow Daoist Hot Flame. I'm sure you know why we've come here to see you," Shi Chuankong said.

Han Li turned to Immortal Lord Hot Flame with an inquisitive expression upon hearing this.

"I don't know what you're talking about. There's no vendetta between us, so let's all go our separate ways. Come one, Fellow Daoist Li, we're leaving," Immortal Lord Hot Flame said.

"Do you not want to go back to visit our sect?" Silver Fox suddenly asked as he raised his voice a little.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Immortal Lord Hot Flame was silent for a moment upon hearing this, then asked, "What's the point? It's nothing more than a set of ruins anyway. I don't understand why you can't just let the past go."

Han Li was rather perplexed by this conversation, but he could see that Silver Fox and Shi Chuankong didn't harbor any animosity, so he stowed his longsword away.

"It's not that we're unwilling to let go of the past, Fellow Daoist Huo, it's the Heavenly Court that refuses to let bygones be bygones. Why is the Fire Leaf Sect under the Immortal Palace's surveillance? And why is there so much unrest in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range? I'm sure you're fully aware of the underlying reasons," Silver Fox sighed.

Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this.

It was no wonder that Immortal Lord Hot Flame had warned him not to use his identity as an elder of the Fire Leaf Sect. It seemed that there were some mysterious circumstances involved.

Even though Han Li had already guessed that this was the case, it was all but confirmed now that Yu Ziqi had been attacked because of Immortal Lord Hot Flame.

Immortal Lord Hot Flame was silent for a moment, then asked once again, "Who are you?"

"I am a member of the Reincarnation Palace, while Fellow Daoist Shi here comes from the Devil Realm," Silver Fox replied.

"What? Even the Devil Race has chosen to join forces with your Reincarnation Palace?" Immortal Lord Hot Flame asked with a surprised expression.

"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Hot Flame, I don't possess anywhere near the level of status or power required to represent the entire Devil Race. I'm here today as I was invited by Fellow Daoist Silver Fox, and I'm also curious about what happened to the True Mantra Sect. Would you be able to enlighten me, Fellow Daoist Hot Flame?" Shi Chuankong asked with a smile.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged upon hearing this, but internally, he was reeling upon hearing mention of the True Mantra Sect.

This was not a sect that he was unfamiliar with. Not only did the Mantra Axis Scripture come from this sect, one of his spiritual transmigrations had taken him to the sect.

On top of that, it was clear to him that Shi Chuankong was downplaying his own importance. He had mastery over the laws of space, which was one of the three paramount laws, so how could he possibly just be some insignificant no-name as he proclaimed?

"During the fall of the True Mantra Sect, I just so happened to be trapped in a set of ruins while out on a mission for my master. By the time I finally managed to free myself, close to a thousand years had already passed. All of the surviving members of our sect had become wanted fugitives of the Heavenly Court, so I had no choice but to alter my own appearance and leave.

“I also really want to find out what happened to our sect. Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken the risk to come to the Black Mountain Immortal Region and establish this Fire Leaf Sect," Immortal Lord Hot Flame sighed.

"So you've been residing in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range this entire time to evade the Heavenly Court?" Han Li asked.

"Not entirely. I spent most of my time in the Leisure Valley as I got along very well with Fellow Daoist Duan and the others, but ultimately, my troubled past followed me to the valley and brought disaster upon everyone," Immortal Lord Hot Flame replied with a guilty expression.

"There's no need to blame yourself, Fellow Daoist. The Immortal Palace has been aiming to target the Floating Cloud Mountain Range for quite some time now, and their primary objective is to eradicate the members of our Reincarnation Palace residing in the mountain range," Silver Fox consoled.

"I have a question. Some time ago, one of the fellow daoists living in our valley was attacked. Was the perpetrator someone from your Reincarnation Palace or from the Immortal Palace?" Han Li asked.

"Are you talking about the one that was left on that cliff to die? He was attacked by some guy who dressed up like a woman and had a red umbrella. He looked more like the subordinate of an immortal envoy than someone from the Black Mountain Immortal Palace to me," Silver Fox replied.

"Does that mean you were the one who saved him?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"He detonated his own consciousness rather than allow his own soul to be searched, and I was impressed with his courage, so I decided to help him out. Having said that, I didn't think you would actually be able to save his life. That was also very impressive," Silver Fox praised.

"We're going off on too much of a tangent, Silver Fox. Let's finish discussing the matter at hand first," Shi Chuankong interjected.

"Sorry, I do tend to get distracted. So how about it, Fellow Daoist Huo? The Heavenly Court has already tracked you down, so you'll have to go back on the run anyway. Why don't you become our ally and we'll search for the ruins of the True Mantra Sect together? After that, I can submit a recommendation for you to join our Reincarnation Palace, and you'll receive protection in exchange," Silver Fox said.

A hesitant look appeared on Immortal Lord Hot Flame's face upon hearing this, and he didn't immediately reply.

"The ruins of the True Mantra Sect will be hard to find, but you don't necessarily have to join us to find it. If you don't wish to join us, then we won't force you to do so, but in that case, you'll have to face the Heavenly Court on your own," Shi Chuankong said with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Shi is right. The Heavenly Court won't let you off the hook, and you may not be able to get away next time. Are you not interested in uncovering the mysteries behind the True Mantra Sect's demise? Working with us will be a win-win situation for everyone," Silver Fox chimed in.

Han Li watched in silence as the two took turns trying to convince Immortal Lord Hot Flame, and he didn't interject as this had nothing to do with him anyway.

"Besides, surely you don't want the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra left behind by Patriarch Miro to be taken by the Heavenly Court," Silver Fox, and Immortal Lord Hot Flame immediately shuddered slightly upon hearing this.

"There's no need to be so surprised, our Reincarnation Palace has some very good sources. One of the main reasons why the Heavenly Court has always wanted to enter the ruins of the True Mantra Sect is precisely for the Great Five Elemental Illusion Mantra," Shi Chuankong said with a smile.

"Does the same not apply to you?" Immortal Lord Hot Flame asked with a cold sneer.

"As opposed to saying that our objective is to obtain this cultivation art, it's better to say that we want to avoid having the cultivation art fall into the hands of the Heavenly Court. In that regard, we have a common objective," Silver Fox replied with a smile.

Immortal Lord Hot Flame was silent for a long time upon hearing this, following which he finally arrived at a decision.

"Alright, I agree to your proposal."

"You won't regret the decision, Fellow Daoist Huo! This is why I love working with smart people," Silver Fox said with a gleeful expression.

"Hold on a second! If you want me to join you, then you have to agree to a condition of mine," Immortal Lord Hot Flame suddenly said.

"Go ahead," Silver Fox prompted.

"In order to save me, Fellow Daoist Li has killed cultivators of the Immortal Palace, so he needs to go on the run as well. Hence, you have to bring him along as well," Immortal Lord Hot Flame said as he took a glance at Han Li.

A slightly hesitant look appeared on Silver Fox's face upon hearing this.

"I think that's fine. We've been observing Fellow Daoist Li for a few days now, and I can tell that he's not a member of the Heavenly Court, so why don't we have him come along?" Shi Chuankong said.

"In that case, I'll extend the invitation to Fellow Daoist Li as well," Silver Fox replied with a nod.

"I appreciate the kind offer, but I only saved Fellow Daoist Hot Flame as he's a friend of mine, and I wanted to repay some favors that he had done for me in the past. I don't have much interest in these True Mantra Sect ruins that you speak of, so I think we should go our separate ways," Han Li said.

Everyone was quite surprised to hear this.

"Fellow Daoist Li, perhaps you're unaware of just how powerful the Reincarnation Palace is. If you go with them, you'll be able to use their power and resources, and that'll save you a lot of trouble. Even if you don't want to go to the True Mantra Sect ruins, at least accompany us until we get to a safe place before going off on your own," Immortal Lord Hot Flame hurriedly said to Han Li through voice transmission.

"As you're aware, I'm currently dealing with my baleful decay, and that's already taking up all of my time and energy, so I really don't have the spare capacity to pursue anything else. No one from the Immortal Palace was there to bear witness to the part that I played in that battle, so as long as I proceed with caution, I should be alright," Han Li replied, doing so openly instead of through voice transmission.

He was well aware of just how powerful the Reincarnation Palace was, and he could tell that Immortal Lord Hot Flame was genuinely thinking for his benefit, but at the moment, his sole focus was to overcome his baleful decay, so he had no interest in exploring any ruins.