Chapter 724: Splitting Up

Han Li was quite surprised by what he was seeing in these fortresses.

It seemed that these unremarkable-looking fortresses were some type of puppet refinement facility for the Infernal Tribe. This was an extremely inhumane refinement process, so it was no wonder that it had to be kept hidden from the general public.

On top of that, the Infernal Tribe had already become so proficient in this strange puppet refinement process that they were able to produce these puppets in large batches.

Infernal beings were quite rare, but not only were they very powerful, they were also able to control Infernal Servants and mass-produce these puppets, so it was no wonder that they had become the ruling tribe of the Infernal Region.

After some further observation, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense back to the fortress that housed the basin, then released it in another direction, quickly arriving in another giant fortress.

This fortress contained a series of prisons of different sizes that were tightly packed together like a beehive.

Some of these prisons contained different types of gray beasts, while the rest housed different types of Gray Realm beings. All of them were completely nude with soulless looks in their eyes, and these prisons were intentionally designed to be very short, so these people were forced onto all fours, just like the gray beasts.

These were the "raw materials" used for the puppet refinement process, and there were thousands of them, some of which were even at the True Immortal and Golden Immortal Stages.

However, the prisons for these powerful beings were also specially designed to ensure that they wouldn't be able to escape.

Han Li had already spent quite some time inspecting these fortresses, and he quickly withdrew his spiritual sense.

Shi Chuankong and the others were naturally oblivious to what he had just seen, and having taken a brief rest, the group continued onward.

The five of them carefully advanced through the Hundred Treasure Area according to their map, and they quickly arrived at the area's northwestern border.

There was a massive turret hanging above the city wall not far away, and it was identical to the one drawn on the map.

The turret was enshrouded within a glowing black restriction, and there were many armorclad Infernal Servants standing on guard duty nearby.

Han Li's group was observing the city wall from a hidden location, and at this moment, all of them were feeling a little more relaxed.

They had already completed the most difficult segment of the journey, and all they had to do now was employ the same method as before to pass through this city wall.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, we'll have to count on you to get us through again," Han Li said as he turned to Shi Chuankong.

"Not a problem. However, I'll need Brother Fox to get us close to the city wall," Shi Chuankong replied with a nod.

"Leave it to me," Fox 3 declared, then flipped a hand over to produce another one of the round crystal balls from before.

A layer of rainbow light emerged over the crystal ball at his behest, then encompassed everyone in a flash, following which the entire group vanished on the spot.

Under the cover of the rainbow light, the group quickly arrived at the foot of the city wall, where Shi Chuankong began setting up another teleportation array.

With a sweep of his sleeve, a streak of silver light fell upon the teleportation array, while Mo Guang was also releasing plumes of baleful qi out of his sleeve, enshrouding the entire array within a cloud of black mist to conceal all of its aura fluctuations.

Everyone's expressions darkened slightly as this problem also dawned on them.

"It's fine. As long as we can find the core of the array, I'll have a way to take care of it," Shi Chuankong assured with a faint smile.

Han Li took a surprised glance at Shi Chuankong upon hearing this, but didn't say anything.

"In that case, we'll be counting on you, Fellow Daoist Shi."

After some further discussion, everyone split up and went their separate ways.

Han Li's trio made its way toward the city gates. There weren't many patrolling Infernal Servants near the city walls, so it didn't take them long to arrive at the city gates, which were tightly shut.

Constructed above the city gates was a three-story-tall black palace, on either side of which was a smaller turret, and the three buildings were connected by a stone path that was crawling with armorclad Infernal Servants.

There were also many armorclad Infernal Servants standing on either side of the city gates down below, and a grim look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.

They were about to sneak into a palace that was likely to be holding a Great Encompassment cultivator, and he couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

Even Fox 3 had adopted a serious expression as he turned to Shi Chuankong and asked, "Brother Shi, do you really have a way to avoid a Great Encompassment cultivator's detection?"

He had been captured by a Great Encompassment Stage being back at the Ring Shark Tribe, so he had firsthand experience of just how formidable such beings were.

"I can't say for sure, but at the very least, I have a great deal of confidence that it'll work," Shi Chuankong replied with a smile, then pulled three white talismans out of his sleeve.

The talismans were each three inches in length and around an inch wide, and they were riddled with thin black patterns to form an extremely complex design.

The talismans were flashing with black and white light, but they weren't giving off even the faintest of auras, and Han Li and Fox 3 were stunned to discover that they were completely unable to detect the talismans with their spiritual sense.

"These are concealment talismans refined by a Great Encompassment cultivator of our Vast Origin House. As long as there's no Great Encompassment cultivator directly scrutinizing us, these talismans should be sufficient for us to sneak through," Shi Chuankong said as he handed a talisman each to Han Li and Fox 3.

Both Fox 3 and Han Li were stunned to hear this.

"These talismans are far too precious, Fellow Daoist Shi. What would you like in exchange for them?" Han Li asked.

"There's no need to compensate me, Fellow Daoist Li. If it wasn't for you, I would already be dead and buried in the Gray Realm by now, so how can I ask for anything in exchange for a mere talisman? Right now, our top priority is to bypass this spatial restriction and enter the Soul Cleansing Area so we can find the Baleful Cleansing Pond," Shi Chuankong replied with a smile.

"Don't worry about him, Fellow Daoist Li. I've known him for a very long time, and he's ridiculously wealthy, so there's no need to feel guilty at all for taking things from him," Fox 3 said to Han Li as he grabbed a talisman without any hesitation.

"Fellow Daoist Li is a true gentleman. Not everyone is a shameless thief like you," Shi Chuankong scoffed as he glared at Fox 3, who remained completely unfazed.

"In that case, you have my thanks, Fellow Daoist Shi," Han Li said as he also took one of the talismans.