Chapter 637: Laying Low
With that in mind, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a fire-attribute immortal sword that circled around within the secret chamber before hurtling directly toward him.
At the same time, Han Li patted the underside of the Profound Heavenly Gourd, and it immediately turned so that its mouth was facing the oncoming sword, then released a burst of green light toward it.
As soon as the fiery sword was bound by the green light, the former instantly drew to a complete halt, while the flames on its surface were quickly snuffed out.
Han Li faltered slightly upon seeing this, then made a hand seal to try and extricate the flying sword out of the green light, but as soon as a layer of flames re-emerged over its surface, a beam of dark green light instantly shot out of the gourd to completely pulverize the sword.
The shattered fragments of the sword were then disintegrated even further within the green light before being sucked into the gourd.
All of this had taken place so quickly that Han Li was left a little dumbstruck by what he had seen, and he hurriedly extended his spiritual sense into the gourd, where he discovered the remnants of the fire-attribute immortal sword within the second space inside the Profound Heavenly Gourd.
Those remnants were currently adhered to the energy fluctuations around the green ball, and they were slowly revolving while releasing specks of translucent light.
The spiritual power that they contained was slowly being stripped away to reciprocate the gourd, and to Han Li's surprise, he noticed a tiny crimson speck of light hovering in the air outside of the green ball with faint fire law power fluctuations emanating from it.
Clearly, the law powers of the fire-attribute immortal sword hadn't been absorbed by the gourd. Instead, it had simply been stored away.
Han Li was becoming more curious by the second, and he wanted to see just how the Profound Heavenly Gourd's abilities had changed, but right at this moment, he suddenly raised an eyebrow as he withdrew his spiritual sense from the gourd, then turned to the door of his secret chamber.
After that, he stowed the Profound Heavenly Gourd away, them emerged from his secret chamber before making his way into the secret chamber previously occupied by Mo Guang.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw Yu Ziqi struggling to try and sit up on the bed, but it seemed that he was still too feeble and weak to do so.
"Don't be in a hurry to get up, Fellow Daoist Yu. You sustained very severe spiritual damage, so you must be feeling very dizzy right now," Han Li said as he made his way over to Yu Ziqi before gently lowering him back down onto the bed.
"You were the one who saved me, right, Fellow Daoist Li? I could sense that it was you, but I just wasn't able to wake up and thank you."
Yu Ziqi's speech was very smooth and steady, but his eyes were still looking a little dull, and he also seemed to be having difficulty focusing his gaze on Han Li.
"There's no need to thank me. Do you recall who it was that attacked you?" Han Li asked with a grim expression.
"I've been pondering this question ever since I regained my consciousness, but I can't recall who my attacker was. I only have a vague recollection of them interrogating me about someone in the valley, but I can't remember who exactly that person was, either," Yu Ziqi replied with a shake of his head, and it seemed that he couldn't even recall the horrific torment that he had been subjected to.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but wonder if the perpetrator had been trying to interrogate Yu Ziqi about him.
After all, not only was he on the Heavenly Court's Immortal Slaying List, he was also a member of the Reincarnation Palace and had cultivated the Spirit Refinement Technique, all of which were crimes punishable by death.
He had to go to great lengths to buy himself these past few centuries of peace and serenity, but he wasn't sure if he could continue to stay in the Leisure Valley at this rate.
"How long has it been since I was attacked?" Yu Ziqi asked.
Yu Ziqi was also among them, and he was looking a little pale. Mo Wuxue was standing beside him, and the two of them were speaking to each other in hushed voices.
Everyone stopped talking upon seeing Han Li, and Daoist Master Jingyang beckoned to him as he said, "You came at just the right time, Fellow Daoist Li. We were just about to go and look for you."
"What are all of you doing here?" Han Li asked as he made his way into the pavilion.
"The valley is becoming more and more dangerous. Three fellow daoists were attacked just last month alone, and one of them was even killed," Duan Yuzai said with a grim expression.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.
In order to avoid drawing attention to himself, Han Li had been in seclusion in his cave abode all these past years, and he had made no attempt to unearth the root cause behind the unrest in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.
It seemed that the situation was even more chaotic than before.
"Indeed. The Floating Cloud Mountain Range is no longer the place it once was, and we're all gathered here to discuss what we should do from here," Immortal Lord Hot Flame sighed.
"What are you planning to do, Fellow Daoist Hot Flame?" Han Li asked.
"What else can I do but return to the sect for now? At the very least, it should be a bit safer over there," Immortal Lord Hot Flame replied with a wry smile.
"I'm also planning to leave for a while and go to Auspicious Cloud City. I have some acquaintances there that I can live with for now," Duan Yuzai sighed.
"How about you, Fellow Daoist Li?" Daoist Master Jingyang asked.
"I really don't want to leave the Leisure Valley, but it is indeed no longer the place it once was, so I'm also planning to leave just like all of you," Han Li replied.
"Do you have a place to go, Fellow Daoist Li? If not, why don't you come to our Hundred Creations Mountain for now? Your safety will definitely be ensured there, and if you have any other requests, feel free to state them, and I'll do my best to satisfy you," Daoist Master Jingyang proposed.
At this point, Daoist Master Jingyang had already revealed his identity to Immortal Lord Hot Flame and the others, so they weren't perplexed to hear this offer.
"Thank you for the invitation, Fellow Daoist Jingyang, but I've already decided on where I want to go next," Han Li replied, turning down the offer in a tactful manner.
"I see. If you ever change your mind, feel free to come and find me at the Hundred Creations Mountain at any time," Daoist Master Jingyang said with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
"What are your plans, Fellow Daoist Yu?" Immortal Lord Hot Flame asked.
Yu Ziqi turned to look at Mo Wuxue with a hesitant expression, while the latter remained silent as she stared out into the distance.
"Fellow Daoist Yu, if you and Celestial Maiden Mo don't have anywhere to go for now, then you can also come to our Hundred Creations Mountain," Daoist Master Jingyang said as he turned to Mo Wuxue and Yu Ziqi with a smile.
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Jingyang, but I have no plans of leaving this place for now," Mo Wuxue replied with a shake of her head.
Everyone was quite surprised to hear this with the exception of Yu Ziqi, who seemed to have already been aware of her decision.