Chapter 346: Wanted Fugitive
While Ouyang Kuishan and the dao lords were lamenting the circumstances, a grim look had also appeared on Xiao Jinhan's face inside the hall.
At this point, he had already stood up from his chair and was pacing back and forth with his brows tightly furrowed.
Moments later, a burst of white light suddenly rose up from his body, then transformed into a white light screen in front of him.
A white humanoid figure appeared on the screen with dazzling white light radiating from their entire body, giving them a rather blurry appearance, and one could only just barely make him out to be a middle-aged man.
Xiao Jinhan immediately ceased in his pacing as he forced a smile onto his own face. "Elder Tao."
"Xiao Jinhan, it's already been several months, have you found out who the killer of my son is?" the white figure asked in a cold voice.
"It was an inner sect elder of the Blaze Dragon Dao by the name of Li Feiyu. He has already fled from the Blaze Dragon Dao, and we've sent out people to apprehend him," Xiao Jinhan immediately replied.
"An inner sect elder? You're telling me a mere inner sect elder was able to kill Yu'er?" the white figure asked as a hint of fury crept into his voice.
"He's no ordinary elder," Xiao Jinhan hurriedly replied. "According to our investigation, he was only in the Blaze Dragon Dao for no more than 1,000 years, and when he first arrived, he was only at the early-True Immortal Stage, but we've since determined his cultivation base to have already reached the late-True Immortal, and he's cultivating the Blaze Dragon Dao's Mantra Axis Scripture. On top of that, he seems to be connected to Baili Yan as well. I have a feeling he most likely has some connection to the Reincarnation Palace."
"I don't care who he is! I entrusted my son to you, and now, he's been killed! Xiao Jinhan, you better provide me with a satisfactory outcome. Otherwise..."
The white figure's voice trailed off there, but the threat that he was making was already very clear.
Xiao Jinhan's expression stiffened slightly upon hearing this, and he lowered his head slightly as he replied, "Rest assured, Elder Tao, I'll be sure to get to the bottom of this."
The white figure gave another cold harrumph before vanishing amid a flash of light, following which Xiao Jinhan raised his head with a steely expression.
He then called out to someone outside the hall, and a golden-robed young man immediately flew in before falling to one knee.
"What are your instructions, Palace Master?"
......
Two years flew by in a flash.
Outside Thunderclap City, a giant boat slowly drew to a halt, and moments later, a series of figures flew out from within before descending onto a huge dock.
Han Li was among them, and a reminiscent look appeared in his eyes at the sight of Thunderclap City.
At this moment, his aura was restrained to the early-Grand Ascension Stage, so he didn't stand out among the cultivators around him.
He took a subtle glance at his surroundings, and upon verifying that there was nothing strange happening on the dock, his expression eased ever so slightly as he quickly made his way into the city.
Thunderclap City hadn't changed much since his last visit. The Urgent Lightning Trees were still as vast as ever, and the streets were just as packed and lively.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li made his way toward a certain direction, and it didn't take long before he arrived at the Thunderclap City Immortal Outlet.
Just like before, the Immortal Outlet was very lively and bustling with many cultivators inside, most of whom were gathered around the missions wall.
Han Li also arrived in front of the missions wall, then cast his gaze upward, and a grim look quickly appeared on his face.
Near the top of the wall was an extremely eye-catching mission that was presented in large golden text: "Apprehend Blaze Dragon Dao Elder Li Feiyu. Reward: 20,000 Immortal Origin Stones. Anyone who provides accurate information on him can also receive a reward of 2,000 Immortal Origin Stones."
After the mission was a portrait of Han Li.
"Looks like things have gotten quite troublesome. These Immortal Outlets are present on all continents, so you're most likely a fugitive all over the entire immortal region at the moment," Daoist Xie mused in Han Li's mind.
"20,000 Immortal Origin Stones, eh? The Immortal Palace sure does think highly of me!" Han Li chuckled coldly internally.
"Who is this Li Feiyu? 20,000 Immortal Origin Stones is a huge reward!"
"Haven't you heard? An internal conflict arose in the Blaze Dragon Dao several years ago, and it's said that their first dao lord was working with an evil organization to try and take over the entire immortal region. Fortunately, Palace Master Xiao of the Immortal Palace discovered the plot in time and put an end to it. I'm assuming this Li Feiyu must be an ally of the Blaze Dragon Dao's first dao lord."
"I see. He must've also committed some heinous crimes!"
"I'm sure he did. Otherwise, there's no way they'd be offering such a huge reward for his capture."
There was a spirited discussion taking place in the nearby crowd, and Han Li inspected the missions wall for a while longer, then walked around the Immortal Outlet for a bit before leaving in an unhurried manner.
Even though he was also confident that there was no way that the Immortal Palace would be able to track him down, he was currently being wanted everywhere, so he had to be careful. Otherwise, a single misstep could lead to his demise.
After leaving the Immortal Outlet, Han Li visited the materials shops in Thunderclap City.
Thunderclap City was an important city that connected the Primordial Wave Continent to the Ancient Cloud Continent, so it had an even more diverse array of materials than some of the large cities on the Ancient Cloud Continent.
After returning to the Black Wind Sea, it would become rather inconvenient to purchase things, and he couldn't make all of his purchases solely through the Transient Guild, so he had to buy some things here first in case certain unprecedented needs arose.
After doing all of that, he left Thunderclap City.
At this point, he had already adopted another disguise, transforming into a fair-skinned scholar, and his cultivation base had also been restrained down to the Body Integration Stage.
He lingered momentarily outside the city, then flew away in an unhurried manner as a mundane streak of azure light.
"Aren't there teleportation arrays in Thunderclap City?" Daoist Xie asked in his mind. "Why didn't you leave using one of them? That would've made things a lot easier."
"Thunderclap City is a very renowned city on the Primordial Wave Continent. If the Immortal Palace is searching for me, this is most likely one of the places that they'll be keeping a close eye on, and there may be some treasures here that can expose my true appearance, so it's better to proceed with caution," Han Li explained.
Not only was he going to refrain from using teleportation arrays in Thunderclap City, he was going to avoid them elsewhere as well.
At his current speed, it would only take him several years to cross the Primordial Wave Continent anyway.
"You sure are as cautious as ever. Even while buying things in the city, you adopted several disguises."
"It can't hurt to be careful."
At this point, Han Li had already flown a sufficient distance out of the city, and after confirming that he wasn't being followed, he immediately accelerated, flying into the distance at a far higher speed than before.
Unbeknownst to Han Li, the extra caution that he was exercising had indeed paid off.
In order to search for him, the Northern Glacial Immortal Region had invested a huge amount of effort and resources. Not only were they actively scouring the entire immortal region for him, special sensory restrictions had also been set up in the teleportation halls of all of the major cities.
The restriction had been set up in accordance with the aura that Han Li had left behind in the wake of his battle against Tao Yu, and it would raise the alarm if Han Li were in its vicinity.
All True Immortals had some ways through which they could alter their auras, so this was far from a foolproof method, but it was already the best that the Immortal Palace could do.
In order to set up these restrictions, not only had the Northern Glacial Immortal Palace invested a huge amount of Immortal Origin Stones, Xiao Jinhan was forced to give up a massive portion of his personal wealth as well.
As for why these restrictions had been set up in teleportation halls, this was because, generally speaking, one would reflexively activate their cultivation arts to protect oneself in the instant that they were teleported away, and that was the best opportunity for the sensory restrictions to detect Han Li.nOve(lb(1n
The population density near Thunderstorm City was quite high, so Han Li didn't fly at his full speed, only raising his speed to about the same level as the average True Immortal while also taking as secluded a route as possible.
Only after passing the areas of high population density did he gradually begin to accelerate.
The Primordial Wave Continent was a very perilous place, but given his current powers, he would have no trouble traversing through it.
After about three years of travel, he finally arrived at Seaside City.
Instead of entering the city, he hovered in mid-air, looking down at the small city from above.
A short while later, he cast his gaze toward another direction, where the teleportation array that led to the Black Wind Sea was situated.
"I'm finally back," Han Li murmured to himself, then flew in that direction as a faint azure shadow.
Even though many years had already passed by, he naturally hadn't forgotten where the teleportation array was situated, and it didn't take long before he was close to reaching the location.
All of a sudden, he stopped cold in his tracks as his brows furrowed ever so slightly.
As it turned out, the seaside cave had disappeared, and it had been replaced by a city.
The city wasn't very large, only less than 10 kilometers in size, and its walls were constructed from giant white bricks, standing at around 200 to 300 feet tall. The entire city was enshrouded under a dense light barrier that was giving off a gentle white glow, and through the light barrier, one could see a series of tall buildings.
At the center of the city was a white pagoda that was far taller than the surrounding city walls, presenting a magnificent sight to behold.
There was only a single city gate, above which was a plaque that read "Wave View City."
Han Li swept his spiritual sense through the surrounding area momentarily before landing outside the city gate, where there was already a long line of cultivators waiting to enter the city.
At this moment, Han Li had disguised himself into a young man with a yellow complexion, and his cultivation base had also been restrained down to the Body Integration Stage, so he didn't stand out at all.
As soon as Han Li joined the line, the slightly portly young man in front of him turned around with a friendly smile as he said, "I don't recall seeing you around these parts, Fellow Daoist. Is this your first time in Wave View City?"
"That's right," Han Li replied with an indifferent nod.
The young man seemed to have been completely oblivious to Han Li's rather cold demeanor, and his smile remained unchanged as he asked, "Where are you from, Fellow Daoist? Have you also come here because you want to go out to hunt for marine demon beasts?"
Han Li offered no response, merely taking a glance at the young man to discover that he was at the late-Body Integration Stage.
The young man's smile stiffened slightly at the sight of Han Li's slightly hostile gaze, and an awkward look appeared on his face as he said, "Please pardon my rudeness. My name is Qin Zhong, and I have a decent reputation in this city. If you want to form a demon beast hunting team, you can come to me at any time."