Chapter 1021: Report
An alarmed look appeared on Dongfang Bai's face upon seeing this, and in the next instant, he withdrew his azure spirit domain without any hesitation, then grabbed onto Tao Ji and Lü Yun before launching himself up into the sky.
In the absence of his spirit domain, the water in the lake instantly gushed back in to fill the vortex.
A layer of radiant, azure light appeared around Dongfang Bai's trio, warding off the majority of the time law powers in Han Li's golden spirit domain as Dongfang Bai sped away into the distance.
"None of you are getting away today!" Han Li roared as he channeled his Reversal True Axis ability, appearing above the trio in the blink of an eye.
A look of resolve appeared in Dongfang Bai's eyes upon seeing this, and he thrust his palms into Tao Ji and Lü Yun's backs, sending one of them flying toward Han Li, while the other was launched at Weeping Soul down below.
Only then did Tao Ji and Lü Yun discover, much to their shock and horror, that they were completely immobilized, and they couldn't even open their mouths to speak.
Han Li thrust a palm at the oncoming Tao Ji, but right at this moment, the latter's lower abdomen suddenly began to swell rapidly. Immediately thereafter, a tiny seedling emerged from his belly button.
Before Han Li was able to reach him, his stomach swelled up like a balloon, following which his entire body exploded violently.
His nascent soul had been detonated within his dantian, generating such tremendous power that even Han Li was sent flying back by the explosion, while his outstretched hand had also been severely mutilated.
However, he had no time to attend to his own injuries as Lü Yun was currently hurtling toward Weeping Soul.
He simultaneously channeled his Reversal True Axis ability and his Lightning Bird bloodline before plunging into the lake to swoop up Weeping Soul, and a resounding explosion rang out behind him before he had a chance to get away.
The explosion was so powerful that all of the water abodes on the lakebed were destroyed, and enormous waves that were over ten thousand feet tall erupted out of the lake before crashing toward the neighboring Comb Grate Mountain.
A few moments later, Han Li and Weeping Soul shot out of the lake before hovering in the sky above.
"That Dongfang Bai is truly a terrible man, Master! He sacrificed his own companions just so he could get away!" Weeping Soul spat through gritted teeth.
"The fact that a man like him is serving as the palace master of such an important immortal region is a clear indication that the Heavenly Court is already rotten to the core. No matter, he can run for now, but he can't run forever. His past crimes will eventually catch up to him," Han Li said.
"What should we do now, Master?" Weeping Soul asked.
"You take some time to rest, I'll devise a plan for what we do from here onward," Han Li replied, then conjured up an entrance to the Flower Branch domain for Weeping Soul.
Once she had entered the Flower Branch domain, Han Li flew away as a streak of light, instantly vanishing into the distance.
......
There was a cluster of palaces situated somewhere in the western region of the Golden Origin Mountain Range. The palaces stretched as far as the eyes could see, and some were situated in cols, some were built on mountains, and some were even hovering in mid-air.
Dongfang Bai was very relieved to see this, and he hurriedly replied, "I've sent out some people to search for him, but the search hasn't yielded any results yet. However, I've already issued orders for all of the teleportation arrays in the Golden Origin Immortal Region to be shut down, so I'm certain he must still be near the Golden Origin Mountain Range."
"You did well. You may have made a significant contribution in uncovering these leads on the Creation Crystals, but you also made a grave transgression in your inappropriate handling of the matter. For now, your contributions and transgressions cancel each other out, so whether you're going to be punished or rewarded will depend on what you do from here onward.
“If you can capture Han Li and secure the Heaven Controlling Vial, I'll let your past transgressions slide and even personally request a reward for you from our temple master. However, if you let him escape from the Golden Origin Immortal Region, I'm sure I don't need to tell you what's going to become of you, right?" Immortal Lord Miao Fa asked in a threatening tone.
"I'll do everything in my power to capture Han Li. However, I'm afraid that my Golden Origin Immortal Palace simply doesn't possess the power required to accomplish such a feat," Dongfang Bai replied in a hesitant manner.
"Rest assured, I'll send the Lan siblings of the Vast Golden Immortal Palace to help you. Keep searching for Han Li's whereabouts, but make sure to be careful and don't scare him into hiding," Immortal Lord Miao Fa warned.
"Yes, I understand!" Dongfang Bai replied in an ecstatic manner.
The Lan siblings of the Vast Golden Immortal Palace were a vastly renowned brother-and-sister duo. Even though both of them were only at the late-High Zenith Stage, they had a secret technique that allowed them to temporarily combine their cultivation bases to reach the Great Encompassment Stage.
The two of them had made a name for themselves after fighting a Great Encompassment cultivator of the Reincarnation Palace for three days and three nights without suffering a defeat.
With the Lan siblings on his side, Han Li would essentially have to face two Great Encompassment cultivators at once, and there was no way he could overcome such fearsome opposition.
With that in mind, Dongfang Bai was feeling much more reassured.
Immortal Lord Miao Fa issued a few more instructions to him, then cut off their communication, and Dongfang Bai heaved a long sigh of relief as he retrieved the purple badge from within the communication array.
......
In a certain pink palace somewhere in the Heavenly Court.
The entire palace was filled with a soft, pink glow, as well as a delicate, feminine aroma.
Deep within the palace was an ornate bed surrounded by a pink veil canopy. There was a young woman seated on the bed, and it was none other than Immortal Lord Miao Fa.
At this moment, there was a yellow toad that was far larger than the bed resting beside it. Its earthy yellow skin was riddled with hard lumps, and what was most peculiar about the creature was that there were six large eyes on its face, giving it a rather unsettling sight to behold.
Even though the yellow toad was merely resting beside the bed, it was giving off an enormous aura that wasn't inferior to Immortal Lord Miao Fa's by much, and its cavernous mouth perked up slightly at the corners as if it were smiling as it said, "Congratulations, Mistress. If you can secure the Heaven Controlling Vial, the temple master will be sure to reward you handsomely. The post of deputy temple master has always been vacant, and it'll be yours for the taking."
"I don't really care for that. All I'm hoping is that in exchange for my efforts, the temple master will provide me with some guidance in how to sever my second corpse soul," Immortal Lord Miao Fa replied.
"Indeed, power is always paramount," the yellow toad chimed in in agreement.
"She Chan, relay my orders to the Vast Golden Immortal Palace. Also, make a trip to the Golden Origin Immortal Region," Immortal Lord Miao Fa instructed after a brief silence.