Han Li accepted the jade vial, then removed the stopper to discover a ball of white light slowly circling around within the jade vial while pulsing rhythmically as if it were a living creature.

At the center of the ball of light was a white pill that was riddled with countless specks of light, and it was giving off bursts of tremendous life energy.

The aura emanating from the pill was rather similar to that of Daoist Xie's heart, and Daoist Xie explained, "This is a True Profound Pill, which I refined using my own essential energy in conjunction with many other types of precious ingredients. The pill contains a great deal of True Profound Essence, a sufficient amount to support your future progression to the Great Encompassment Stage."

Han Li was both stunned and ecstatic to hear this. He had seen the term "True Profound Essence" brought up many times in scriptures, and it was vital for a breakthrough to the Great Encompassment Stage.

In order to progress to the Great Encompassment Stage, not only did one have to open three hundred and sixty immortal acupoints, most importantly, one had to undergo a process to evolve their soul into a Great Encompassment True Soul, and True Profound Essence was required for this evolutionary process.

True Profound Essence was extremely precious, and it was said that only after passing through heavenly astral winds to reach the extrarealm space would one be able to find small amounts of this essence in the purest and loftiest place in all of heaven and earth.

It was only now that Han Li finally realized that Shi Zhanfeng had most likely entered the Scalptia Spatial Domain in order to obtain sufficient True Profound Essence to facilitate his future Great Encompassment Stage breakthrough.

"You have my thanks, Fellow Daoist Xie," Han Li said as he accepted the jade vial, and Daoist Xie was quite pleased to see this.

"Rest assured, I won't accept something so precious from you free of charge. Once I attain sufficient power, I'll be sure to return and assist you," Han Li promised with a serious expression.

"I'll have to thank you in advance then, Fellow Daoist Han. This True Profound Pill alone is nowhere near enough to make up for everything that you've already done for me, so feel free to call upon me if you need my help with anything in the future," Daoist Xie replied with a smile.

A thought occurred to Han Li upon hearing this, and he said, "Now that you mention it, I really do have something that I require your assistance with."

"Oh? What is it?" Daoist Xie asked.

"I was hoping that you would be able to treat Weeping Soul's condition now that you've become a Dao Ancestor," Han Li replied.

"That's not a problem," Daoist Xie replied with a nod, following which he flicked a finger through the air, releasing a burst of golden light that vanished into Han Li's body before forming a ball of golden light in his dantian.

The surrounding spatial pressure instantly faded, and Han Li's immortal spiritual power circulation was restored once again, allowing him to open the Flower Branch domain.

The two of them immediately made their way to the bamboo pavilion, where Weeping Soul was laying on the bed on the second floor with her entire body riddled with black patterns that formed a seal.

The seal had been placed upon her by Han Li in accordance with a sealing secret technique taught to him by Daoist Xie over a thousand years ago.

Daoist Xie strode over to Weeping Soul's side, and after closely examining her condition for some time, a grim look suddenly appeared on his face.

Han Li's heart immediately sank slightly upon seeing this.

Daoist Xie pressed a finger against Weeping Soul's glabella, and a burst of black light emerged from his fingertip before spreading outward in a series of black ripples.

Weeping Soul instantly shuddered slightly, and it looked as if she were about to awaken.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Han Li was ecstatic to see this, but in the next instant, her body became completely motionless once again.

Daoist Xie's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he pressed the palm of his hand flat against Weeping Soul's forehead before releasing another burst of black light, and her body shuddered slightly once again before falling still.

Daoist Xie withdrew his hand with tightly furrowed brows.

"How is she, Fellow Daoist Xie?" Han Li asked in an uneasy manner.

"Her condition is very unique. She seems to have been affected by some type of extremely formidable law powers, causing her soul to constantly dissipate. All I can do is stabilize her condition, but I'm afraid I can't cure her," Daoist Xie replied with a shake of his head.

"If even a Dao Ancestor like yourself can't cure her, doesn't that mean she's a lost cause?" Han Li asked as a hint of despair began to set in.

If even Daoist Xie was powerless to treat Weeping Soul's condition, then even if he could recruit the grand priest's assistance, it most likely wasn't going to amount to anything.

"There's no need to be so disheartened, Fellow Daoist Han. You have to understand that even Dao Ancestors aren't omnipotent. My laws of puppetry do not fare well when it comes to healing. There are countless types of laws in this world, and they're far more profound than you can imagine. Even though I can't save Weeping Soul, I know someone who can," Daoist Xie said with a faint smile.

"Who is it?" Han Li hurriedly asked.

"The grand priest that Shi Chuankong told you about. His law powers specifically target the soul, and he's already reached a very advanced stage of mastery over this law power, so he should be able to cure Weeping Soul," Daoist Xie replied.

"I see," Han Li mused as a spark of renewed hope was ignited in his eyes.

Now that Shi Zhanfeng was dead, it was going to be a lot more difficult to recruit the services of the grand priest. In fact, he would perhaps even have to pit himself directly against the Night Sun Empire, but he had no choice but to do this for Weeping Soul's sake.

With that in mind, Han Li asked, "When can I return to the Devil Realm, Fellow Daoist Xie?"

"Even though I'm not a Dao Ancestor, some preparations still need to be made before I can open a spatial passageway connected to the outside world. On top of that, you're not the only one that I'm opening this spatial passageway for, so let's wait until Sha Xin and the others arrive, which will take roughly half a year," Daoist Xie replied.

Han Li raised no objections to this, and the two of them departed from the Flower Branch domain.

From there, the two of them promptly parted ways, with Daoist Xie departing to make preparations for the opening of the spatial passageway, while Han Li returned to the seclusion side palace.

Before long, Daoist Xie arrived in a hidden secret chamber.

There was only a single oil lamp lit in the secret chamber, basking a small area in dim, yellow light, while the rest of the room remained shrouded in complete darkness.

At this moment, there was a hazy black figure standing beside the oil lamp with their hands clasped behind their back.

Daoist Xie wasn't surprised to see this black figure, and the latter turned around to reveal a set of blurry facial features.

Their body was also rather indistinct in appearance, as if they were nothing more than a projection.

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Shi."

"Thank you, Senior. I was too hasty in the past and thought that I could sever all three corpse souls in succession, thereby resulting in an imperfection in my mental state. Even if it weren't for E Kuai's betrayal, I would've surely failed back then. It's all thanks to your guidance that I was able to seal my soul and memories in that puppet to experience the dao of puppetry in a lower realm.

“Now that I've completed the journey from puppet to human, I've finally completely grasped the true meaning behind the laws of puppetry, thereby allowing me to succeed where I previously failed," Daoist Xie said as he extended a grateful bow.

"There's no need to thank me. It's your own aptitude and hard work that have carried you to this point," the hazy figure replied.

"In any case, I'll never forget what you've done for me, Senior," Daoist Xie said in a respectful manner.

"I'm not interested in hearing such empty words of gratitude from you. I've come here this time because I want to ask you if our agreement from all those years ago is still in effect," the hazy figure said.

"Of course. I have no plans of letting Shi Kongyu off the hook after what he did to me," Daoist Xie replied in a cold voice.

A pleased look appeared in the hazy figure's eyes upon hearing this, and he said, "Shi Kongyu has already been ruling over the Devil Realm for a very long time, and he's far too powerful for you to contend with right now. Don't be in a hurry to make any moves, let's take things slowly, one step at a time."

"I understand. Rest assured, Senior, I won't make the same mistake twice," Daoist Xie replied with a nod.

"Good. Also, there's something that I require your assistance with," the hazy figure said.

"What is it, Senior?" Daoist Xie asked.

The hazy figure strode over to Daoist Xie before communicating something to him through voice transmission, and Daoist Xie reflexively cast his gaze toward a certain direction as his expression changed ever so slightly.

......

The ball of golden light inside Han Li's dantian contained far more abundant immortal spiritual power than before, and it hadn't run out yet.

Han Li was seated in the side palace with his legs crossed, channeling his immortal spiritual power.

It had been over a thousand years since he had been able to channel his immortal spiritual power so freely, and it was certainly a feeling that he missed greatly.

After remaining dormant in his body for so many years, his time law powers had finally been set free, and his Mantra Treasured Axis instantly appeared behind him.

Immediately thereafter, the Clear Time Vial, the Illusory Dawn Hourglass, the Time Severing Flowing Fire, and the Eastern Vicissitudes Divine Tree all appeared one after another before revolving around him.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this. All of these time-attribute treasures had appeared on their own outside of his control.

Am I about to transmigrate again?

Right at this moment, flurries of time law threads shot out of the time-attribute treasures, forming a golden ring that began revolving incessantly.

The time law powers within Han Li's body instantly surged into the golden ring, causing it to rapidly expand while simultaneously radiating dazzling golden light and vibrating at a high frequency.

All of a sudden, the Heaven Controlling Vial flew out of the front of his robe as a ball of green light, and it began glowing like a radiant, green sun while releasing a burst of tremendous suction force.

The golden ring began flying toward the vial while rapidly shrinking, and in the end, it shrank down to the same size as the opening of the vial before adhering itself to it.

As soon as contact was established between the two, a burst of formidable time law powers instantly erupted out of the Heaven Controlling Vial.

At the same time, the vial swelled rapidly in size, and countless green runes appeared within it, forming a churning green cloud.

Immediately thereafter, a thick beam of green light shot out of the mouth of the vial before vanishing into the space up ahead.