Chapter 725: Diversion

"By the way, these talismans can only last an hour, so we have to complete our search of this place within that span of time," Shi Chuankong said, then opened his mouth to swallow his talisman.

Immediately thereafter, black and white light began to ripple over his body, following which he slowly faded into the surrounding space.

Han Li and Fox 3 followed suit, and both of them quickly vanished as well.

Due to the fact that they were using the same talisman, they were able to sense one another, so they weren't completely in the dark.

"Let's go. The core of the spatial restriction could be in this palace or either of the two turrets, so let's search through them one by one," Shi Chuankong said as he flew toward the turret on the left.

There were many armorclad Infernal Servants stationed near the turret, but their cultivation bases were all quite lackluster, so there was no way that they would be able to detect Han Li's trio.

The three of them flew into the turret, and it wasn't very large, so it didn't take them long to complete their inspection.

Inside were several residential rooms that were all empty at the moment, but judging from the items within them, they seemed to be occupied by the leaders of the guards.

Han Li's trio quickly emerged from the turret, and Shi Chuankong said through voice transmission, "It's probably a similar story in the other turret, so let's not waste any time and head straight to the palace."

Han Li and Fox 3 were of the same opinion, and thus, the three of them quickly flew over to the entrance of the black palace.

Looking at the palace up ahead, Han Li's pupils contracted ever so slightly.

The interior of the palace was dimly lit, and it resembled a terrifying devilish mouth threatening to devour everything that ventured into it.

However, it then occurred to him that this was most likely an illusion that had arisen from the pressure of potentially having to face a Great Encompassment Stage Infernal being, and he took a deep breath to stifle his apprehension.

Shi Chuankong seemed to have also entered a brief daze, and after returning to his senses, he led the way toward the palace.

"Let's go."

The three of them flew into the palace, and they entered a huge cylindrical hall that was around forty to fifty feet tall with a diameter of around four hundred to five hundred feet. The walls and ground were all pitch black, and there were several black crystals the size of human heads embedded into the walls, giving off a faint black glow.

There were three paths deep in the hall, with the left and right ones each leading to a side hall, while the one in the middle extended up toward the second floor.

Instead of immediately making their way up to the second floor, the group split up to examine the two side halls.

However, they quickly came together again and arrived on the path leading to the second floor.

Both of the side halls were warehouses that were laden with things like armor and weapons, and they clearly didn't contain what Han Li's trio was searching for.

"It looks like it must be up there. Great Encompassment Stage beings are far more sensitive than we can imagine, so proceed with the utmost caution," Shi Chuankong cautioned in a solemn voice.

Both Han Li and Fox 3 nodded in response, and the trio quickly arrived on the second floor.

Just like the first floor, the second floor was also a cylindrical hall, but there were several thick stone pillars on this floor, all of which were engraved with demonic dragons that were roaring to the heavens.

There were also three passageways deep within the hall, leading to a pair of side halls and the third floor, respectively.

The black-robed Infernal Servant faltered slightly at the sight of the pale middle-aged man, following which he fell to his knees and offered up a black voice transmission talisman with both hands as he said in a respectful voice, "Master Gui Mu, I bring a message from the esteemed regional monarch."

The little white beast observed the Infernal Servant for a moment, following which the white ripples surging out of its eyes faded, and it flew into Gui Mu's arms.

Gui Mu held the little beast in his arms, gently stroking its soft fur with one hand while accepting the talisman with the other before injecting his spiritual sense into it.

Shortly thereafter, he crushed the talisman in his hand, then said in a coarse and grating voice, "Tell the regional monarch that the preparations in the puppet fortresses are already complete."

The Infernal Servant gave an affirmative response, then flew away as a black shadow, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Gui Mu paced back and forth in the hall with the little beast in his arms for a while, seemingly contemplating something, then returned to the third floor.

A short while later, Han Li's trio re-emerged from the wall of the passageway.

Instead of making their way up to the second floor again, they snuck back down to the first floor and hid themselves in one of the side halls.

Only then did they allow themselves a sigh of relief.

"That was way too close! What was that thing just now? It detected us right away!" Fox 3 said with a hint of lingering fear in his eyes.

"I'm assuming it must be some type of special gray beast. Looks like we were too complacent," Han Li said, then quickly swallowed a pill.

"As expected, Great Encompassment cultivators are not to be underestimated. Just a spirit pet of his was almost enough to blow our cover," Shi Chuankong sighed.

The three of them were all looking rather grim. They had thought that the concealment talismans would've been enough for them to get to the core of the array without too much trouble, but it seemed that they had been overly optimistic.

"By the way, what happened to the talismans in our bodies, Fellow Daoist Shi? Mine seems to have shattered," Han Li suddenly asked.

"The situation was quite urgent, so I completely unleashed the power of the talismans to enhance its concealment effect. However, now that I've done that, the amount of time that the talismans will be able to last has been reduced by half, so they'll probably fail after around fifteen more minutes," Shi Chuankong replied in a grim voice.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, while Fox 3 said in an urgent voice, "In that case, we have to hurry! That little beast was carried away by Gui Mu just now, should we give it another crack?"

If they were to lose the cover of the concealment talismans, there would be no chance for them to make any further progress.

"We can't do that, it's too dangerous," Shi Chuankong immediately said.

"Indeed. It seems like our only option is to divert Gui Mu away," Han Li mused.

"Divert him away? Do you have a plan to do that, Fellow Daoist Li?" Shi Chuankong hurriedly asked, and Fox 3 also turned to him.

"The plan is very simple. The black fortresses that we passed by on the way here are actually the Infernal Tribe's puppet refinement facility, and they contain some secrets that can't be displayed to the general public. All we have to do is think of a way to cause a disturbance there, and Gui Mu will most likely leave right away," Han Li explained.

"You were able to see into those fortresses?" Fox 3 asked with a surprised expression. "I was really curious about what was inside, but my spiritual sense wasn't able to breach their walls."

"That sounds like a plan, but right now, we're a little far away from that area, and I don't think we'll have enough time to go there and back," Shi Chuankong said with slightly furrowed brows.

"Get Fellow Daoist Mo Guang and Fellow Daoist Baili to go. They're closer to that area, and once they're done, just get them back to us using that teleportation array plate of yours," Han Li said.