Chapter 39: Decree

Chapter 39: Decree

Patriarch Cold Flame swept a hand through the air, releasing a burst of golden light that swept up all of the powder in front of Han Li, forming a ball of faint golden light that hovered before him.

"These are all jade slips that contain cultivation arts and secret techniques of our sect. Why are they all in your possession? Could it be that you broke into the inner library and stole them?" Patriarch Cold Flame asked in a cold voice.

Even though the jade slips had been reduced to powder by Han Li, even the slightest trace of what they had once been was enough for Patriarch Cold Flame to identify them.

A resigned look appeared on Han Li's face, and he sighed, "I can explain, Fellow Daoist Cold Flame."

"How dare you refer to me as an equal to yourself!"

Patriarch Cold Flame was furious, and dazzling golden light abruptly erupted out of his glabella. Countless rippling circles of light swept through the air, instantly forming a golden flower projection that was around 10 feet in size.

As the golden flower slowly revolved, light flashed from its bud, and a near-transparent pillar of golden light was released, hurtling toward Han Li at an incredible speed.

The space in the wake of the pillar of light rippled like water.

Han Li remained on the spot, making no attempt to take evasive action. Instead, he merely raised his head slightly, and a burst of invisible ripples erupted out of his glabella as well to oppose the pillar of golden light.

A dull thump rang out, and the space shuddered violently as ripples surged through the air.

It seemed that the golden pillar of light had crashed into something, and it quickly disintegrated, while the invisible ripples also faded.

All of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and Han Li remained completely unscathed as he stood with a faint smile on his face.

Patriarch Cold Flame shuddered as he exclaimed in an incredulous voice, "Impossible! Are you also an immortal?"

Even though this was only a projection manifested by his spiritual sense, and that wasn't an all-out attack, even a Grand Ascension cultivator definitely wouldn't have been able to withstand the attack so easily, let alone a Nascent Soul cultivator.

This indicated that Han Li's spiritual sense wasn't inferior to his own!

"Will you listen to me now, Fellow Daoist Cold Flame?" Han Li asked in a calm voice.

Patriarch Cold Flame was silent for a moment, and even though he was still rather displeased, he was clearly willing to listen. "Fine. Why don't you tell me why you're here stealing the scriptures of our sect when you've already ascended to become an immortal."

"Due to some unforeseen circumstances, I fell into the Spirit Domain Realm by chance. I bear no ill will toward your sect, but I currently have some injuries, and I do not have the suitable pills to treat those injuries, so I decided to take some of the scriptures of your sect to conduct some research," Han Li explained.

"I see. May I ask which Immortal Region you were originally from, Fellow Daoist?" Despite what he was saying, it was clear from the look in Patriarch Cold Flame's eyes that he didn't completely believe Han Li's story.

"I'm only staying here for now, and I can assure you that I won't do anything detrimental to your sect. As for where I've come from, that's something that I'd rather not share," Han Li replied with a hint of a smile on his face.

Patriarch Cold Flame gave a cold harrumph upon hearing this. An immortal had suddenly appeared in the Spirit Domain Realm, so he was naturally inclined to find out as much about this immortal as possible. However, this was only an avatar formed by a wisp of his spiritual sense, so he couldn't really do anything if Han Li were unwilling to answer his questions.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist. I owe you a favor for this, and in exchange, I can promise you here and now that if the Cold Flame Sect encounters any trouble in the future, I can step in one time to resolve the sect's troubles," Han Li continued in an unhurried voice.

Patriarch Cold Flame was greatly moved by this. "I'll be holding you to that promise, Fellow Daoist."

Even though he had already ascended to the Immortal Realm, he still greatly cherished the Cold Flame Sect, which he had built up from nothing. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to send resources down to the sect.

It seemed that the Cold Flame Sect was a dominant powerhouse in the Spirit Domain Realm with a bright future ahead, but the sect was not truly without its concerns.

Unfortunately, he was in the Immortal Realm, so there wasn't much that he could do to help the sect. However, if he could recruit the assistance of Han Li, then a whole host of possibilities would be opened up.

……

Two days later, on the Holy Fire Peak of the Cold Flame Sect.

There was an elegant tile courtyard situated deep in a misty purple bamboo forest.

The purple bamboo trees in the forest were neatly organized, and the arrangement didn't seem to be remarkable in any way, but in reality, there was a hidden purpose to how everything was positioned.

The position of every single purple bamboo tree corresponded with a node of an array, and this vast sea of purple bamboo formed a unique array.

The purple bamboo planted here also wasn't just bamboo of the ordinary variety. Instead, it was Lungfire Bamboo that was capable of absorbing the power of earthly fire. If one were to inspect these bamboo trees closely, they would discover that there were dark red patterns spread along the surface of the bamboo.

It was exactly because of the existence of this array that this area had the most abundant spiritual qi in the entire Spirit Flame Mountain Range, and it was also the area with the highest concentration of earthly fire.

The small tile courtyard was situated right on the core of the array.

At this moment, there was a purple-robed man seated with his legs crossed and his eyes closed, cultivating in the main room inside the courtyard.

The man had a head of shoulder-length hair that was as white as snow, and there was a purple flame insignia on his glabella. There was purple qi revolving all around him, and he appeared to be no more than 30 years of age, but he was giving off an extremely powerful aura.

On a small rosewood table not far in front of him was a gold-plated copper incense burner, protruding out of which were several sticks of lit incense that were releasing wisps of smoke.

The table was situated right next to the wall, upon which a portrait of a middle-aged man that was over three feet in length was hanging.

The lines of the portrait weren't particularly intricate, but they were extremely effective in conveying the aura of the subject. The portrait depicted a man with a square face and a pair of bright and piercing eyes. The man had a very strong build, and even his visage alone was giving off a strong sense of authority and righteousness.

Right at this moment, the white-haired man's eyes suddenly sprang open, and he cast a surprised gaze toward the portrait on the wall.

A burst of peculiar fluctuations suddenly erupted out of the portrait, and a series of ripples spread over its surface. It was as if the subject of the portrait had suddenly sprung to life, and he stepped out of the portrait as if it were a portal leading to another realm.

The white-haired man hurriedly rose to his feet, then fell to his knees, trembling slightly with emotion as he greeted in a respectful voice, "Welcome, Patriarch."

"No need for formalities. I've come to you today with some instructions," Patriarch Cold Flame said with a wave of his hand.

Only then did the white-haired man return to his feet, and he waited with a respectful expression for further instructions.

"I've already heard about the incident that took place at the scripture library some days ago," Patriarch Cold Flame said.

The white-haired man's heart jolted upon hearing this, and cold sweat instantly began to appear on his forehead. He was just about to offer an explanation, but he was cut off by Patriarch Cold Flame. "Leave this matter and do not investigate it any further."

The white-haired man faltered slightly upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but protest, "But Patriarch..."

However, Patriarch Cold Flame raised a hand to cut him off, then communicated something to him through voice transmission.

The white-haired man's expression changed once again upon hearing this, first turning to surprise before switching to elation.