Chapter 815: Mountain-bearing Ape

"I'm certain. That man is not a devilish being. Instead, his true form is that of a fearsome beast in the Immortal Realm known as the Mountain-bearing Ape. These creatures like to carry mountains on their backs, and the more powerful they become, the larger the mountain that they carry. For them, that's their cultivation, and some can even carry entire mountain ranges," Han Li replied.

"No wonder he didn't come out even once during the earthquakes, but then immediately came out after the tremors subsided," Shi Chuankong mused.

"There's a story in the Azure Leaf Immortal Region about how an elder of an immortal sect once slew a juvenile Mountain-bearing Ape in order to refine an immortal treasure, and during the few attempts that the mature Mountain-bearing Ape came for revenge, it was wounded and forced into retreat by the sect.

“After its final retreat, everyone thought that the saga was over, but ten thousand years after that, the foundation of the entire mountain range that the sect was situated in was destroyed by the Mountain-bearing Ape, and it then carried the sect straight into the sea," Han Li said.

"That sounds almost too fantastical to be true, even in the cultivation world," Shi Chuankong mused as he took a glance back in the direction of the small town.

"It looked like the people of the town had already been living there for generations and grown accustomed to the frequent earthquakes. That Mountain-bearing Ape has already reached the Great Encompassment Stage, and it seems that its wild and vicious nature has already been smoothed over by the passage of time," Han Li said.

"I'm assuming he doesn't wish to be recognized, considering he's living in such a secluded place. In any case, I hope he doesn't come after us," Shi Chuankong replied with a nod.

However, as soon as his voice trailed off, a figure suddenly appeared on the mountain path up ahead, and it was none other than the hunch-backed elderly man from before.

"You really have a knack for speaking misfortune into existence, don't you, Brother Shi?" Han Li sighed with a wry smile.

Shi Chuankong was flabbergasted to see this, and he was struck by the urge to slap himself.

After a brief hesitation, Han Li took a step forward, then cupped his fist toward the hunch-backed elderly man in a salute as he asked, "Can we help you, Senior?"

Shi Chuankong remained silent, but he also cupped his fist in a salute.

"Rest assured, I mean you no harm," the hunch-backed elderly man replied with his hands clasped behind his back, and his voice was very coarse and raspy.

"Do you have any instructions for us, Senior?" Han Li asked in a careful manner.

"No, it's just that I haven't seen anyone from the Immortal Realm for a very long time, and I wanted to ask you some questions," the elderly man replied.

"Please go ahead, Senior. I'll tell you everything I know, but I can't guarantee that I'll be able to answer all of your questions," Han Li said.

"Where are you from?" the elderly man asked.

"I am from the Black Mountain Immortal Region," Han Li replied.

A reminiscent look flashed through the elderly man's eyes upon hearing this, and he said, "I stayed in the Black Mountain Immortal Region for some time in the past. It was a very rough time in my life, but I do miss the place, nonetheless. By the way, have you ever been to a place called the Floating Cloud Mountain Range?"

"Indeed, I have. In fact, I stayed there for a while. Have you been there too, Senior?" Han Li asked.

"I stayed there for some time too, but I can't recall how long ago that was. All I remember is that in the beginning, the mountain range had very few residents, but more and more people began to move in, and it was no longer as peaceful as it once was, so I left," the elderly man replied.

"I'm afraid the Floating Cloud Mountain Range is no longer the same place that it once was. It has a very large number of residents, and it's almost an independent, autonomous region. However, back when I left, the Heavenly Court seemed to have strengthened its control over the area, and many people were driven out. As for how the mountain range is faring now, I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that," Han Li sighed.

"It's fine, it's all in the distant past anyway. I presume you've managed to see through my true form, right?" the elderly man asked.

Han Li immediately tensed up a little upon hearing this, and after carefully selecting his words, he replied, "I wouldn't dare to speculate on what your true form is, but I can tell that your cultivation base is extremely advanced."

The hunch-backed elderly man nodded as he said, "I overheard you talking about needing to find a place to refine Dao Warriors, is that right? There are many uninhabited valleys in this mountain range that you can use for that purpose if you'd like."

"Thank you for the kind offer, Senior, but we won't trouble you with these trivial matters. I'll find some other place to refine my Dao Warriors, and I assure you that we won't disturb you," Han Li hurriedly replied.

"In that case, I'll treat this encounter as if it never happened," the elderly man said in a meaningful voice.

"Rest assured, Senior, as far as we're concerned, we never met you here," Han Li immediately replied as he cupped his fist in a salute.

"That's right. In fact, we've never even been here," Shi Chuankong hurriedly chimed in.

The hunch-backed elderly man took a long glance at Shi Chuankong, then remarked, "You certainly chose some good parents. Alright, you can go now."

Han Li and Shi Chuankong immediately extended a parting salute toward the elderly man upon hearing this, then flew away as two streaks of light.

Only after they had flown out of the mountain range did they allow themselves a faint sigh of relief, and they looked back in the direction of the small town to find that the entire mountain range had begun trembling violently.

Han Li activated his Infernal Devilish Eyes as he cast his gaze toward the foundation of the mountain range, and he was just barely able to make out a giant hunch-backed figure, carrying the entire mountain range on its back.

The hunch-backed figure was crawling on all fours, and if blended in with the mountain range so well that Han Li wouldn't have been able to tell them apart at all had it not been for his Infernal Devilish Eyes.

Right at this moment, a giant mountain at the forefront of the mountain range suddenly began to slowly turn toward him, and the vegetation and rocks on the mountain were torn apart as a pair of gargantuan eyes appeared.

There was a cold in the eyes' golden pupils, and Han Li immediately withdrew his Infernal Devilish Eyes upon seeing this before flying away with Shi Chuankong.

The two of them flew for three days without rest before finally stopping on a nearby mountain.

They hadn't stopped here because they felt like they were already a safe distance away. Instead, it was because the refinement of the Dao Warriors had reached its most crucial juncture, and Han Li had to inscribe runes on them without delay.

After descending onto the mountain, Han Li didn't even have the time to make a temporary cave abode, and he could only request Shi Chuankong to stand on lookout duty for him while he hurriedly entered the Flower Branch domain.

Thunderclaps were ringing out incessantly from the second floor of the bamboo building beside the pond, and the entire room was filled with purplish-golden lightning. As soon as Han Li entered the room, he felt as if he had stepped into the Bone Rinsing Lightning Pond again.

However, the feeling only lasted for a fleeting moment as the purplish-golden lightning in the room only possessed a similar aura to the Bone Rinsing Lightning Pond, but didn't possess anywhere near the same level of power.

Even so, such a fearsome lightning aura would be sufficient to quell countless ghosts and spirits.

"Thank heavens you're here, Fellow Daoist Han. I wasn't going to be able to contain this lightning pond for much longer," Daoist Xie said in a relieved voice.

"Apologies for the delay, you can leave the rest to me now," Han Li said, then quickly made hsi way into the array.

Daoist Xie immediately stepped out of the array so that Han Li could take his place, then stood by the entrance of the room in silent observation.

Han Li was already well aware of what runes had to be inscribed, so he required no instructions from Daoist Xie.

He began to chant an incantation, and the patterns of the array on the ground began to grow clearer and clearer before gradually peeling off from the ground to hover in mid-air.

At the same time, all of the golden beans also rose up into the air, and they were connected together by Han Li's spiritual sense threads, forming a giant tree of golden radiance.

Meanwhile, the lightning array rose all the way up to the ceiling of the room, where it encompassed the entire tree of golden light.

Han Li immediately switched to a different hand seal upon seeing this, and blue light surged out of his eyes, while the spiritual sense threads flowing out of his glabella glowed brighter and brighter.

He was rapidly cycling through a string of hand seals in an extremely well-rehearsed fashion, and indeed, he had practiced this sequence hundreds of times to ensure that he could execute it smoothly in this exact scenario.

However, this was an extremely slow process, but Han Li had more than enough patience to spare.

Three months flew by in the blink of an eye, and the process was complete, giving rise to thousands of new Dao Warriors.

Han Li handed over the Dao Warriors to Daoist Xie, then immediately left the Flower Branch domain to resume his journey with Shi Chuankong.