Somewhere in the western part of the Ancient Cloud Continent.
This place was close to the Thunderstorm Sea. Dark clouds covered the sky, and flashes of lightning could be seen shuttling through the clouds.
However, compared to the depths of the Thunderstorm Sea, these lightning bolts were much weaker. Occasionally, one or two lightning bolts would strike down from the sky, but for ordinary cultivators, as long as they paid a little attention, their lives would not be in danger.
The seawater here was extremely turbid, looking like mud. The surface of the sea was filled with a thick grey mist, covering the sky and the earth, giving the impression that it was connecting the earth to the sky.
The mist was mixed with strange howling winds, as if people were sobbing.
This sea was called the Whimpering Mist Sea. It was very famous in the western part of the Ancient Cloud Continent, but not in a good way.
Underneath this sea was an incomparably huge Limestone Crystal Vein. After it was mined, the seawater became turbid, and the grey mist rose from the surface.
The turbid seawater and mist were harmless to human cultivators, but the Monster Beasts in the sea seemed to dislike them. Most of the Monster Beasts that originally lived here had moved away, causing the number of cultivators to decrease year by year, making this place more and more desolate.
In the depths of the Sea of Fog, there was a black island.
The island was not large, only a dozen or so miles in circumference. The central area was a black mountain that was hundreds of feet high. There were rugged rocks everywhere, and almost no vegetation could be seen. It was an extremely desolate place.
At this moment, a hidden cave at the foot of the black mountain suddenly lit up, and a faint golden lightning light leaked out, causing the entire mountain to rumble.
The golden lightning light flickered twice, and suddenly, the surrounding black rocks were illuminated with golden light, and a huge aura gushed out from the cave.
But at this moment, the void near the cave flashed, and a layer of blue light curtain emerged. Countless blue runes flickered on its surface, intercepting this eruption of aura.
Although the aura was intercepted, the entire island shook violently, and the nearby sea fog also tumbled.
"Ga …"
At this moment, a clear cry came from afar, and a blue shadow flew out at an incomparably fast speed, landing near the black island, and revealing its body. It was a strange blue bird.
The bird was huge, with a wingspan of two to three hundred feet. It had a large head and a thin neck, and its entire body was covered in arrow-like azure feathers. There was also a large pouch hanging from its chest, making it look rather ugly.
A white-robed young lady stood on the back of the strange bird. She had delicate features and a graceful figure. She was Meng Qianqian, and the strange green bird was naturally Nian Yu.
Meng Qianqian looked at the golden lightning in the cave and her beautiful eyes revealed a look of surprise.
Rumble!
The golden lightning in the mountain cave flourished once more, becoming ten times brighter than before. Thick golden arcs of lightning appeared as well.
Wherever the golden lightning struck, the black rocks would shatter like tofu. Soon, the entire black mountain peak collapsed, revealing a sphere of golden lightning that was several hundred feet in size.
Within the ball of light, one could vaguely see the shadow of a huge thunder array.
Bolts of golden lightning bombarded the surrounding green light barrier, causing it to tremble violently like boiling water. However, it still didn't shatter.
Suddenly, the golden lightning sphere shone again, and an extremely thick golden pillar of light tore through the green light barrier, shooting up into the sky.
The spiritual Qi of heaven and earth within a radius of several hundred miles stirred violently, and the nearby sea of fog rippled violently. With the pillar of lightning as the center, a huge vortex was formed.
The golden pillar of lightning lasted for a few breaths, then slowly dissipated, and the golden lightning sphere on the island also disappeared.
After the golden light faded, three figures appeared where the thunder array had been. They were Han Li and Meng Xiong.
Seeing this, Meng Qianqian immediately flew over from Nian Yu's back happily, and was about to say something.
"Now is not the time to talk. Follow me first!" Han Li said, then waved his hand.
With a flash of green light, a green flying boat appeared. As the green light flickered, it grew to several hundred feet in size.
Two rows of green spiritual feathers appeared on both sides of the flying boat. They weren't physical objects, but illusions formed from spiritual energy.
He had obtained this Green Yuan Boat from a Perfected Immortal when he was carrying out a mission a few years ago. Its grade wasn't high, but it was fast.
Han Li flew onto it, and Meng Xiong and Meng Guang hurriedly followed.
Meng Qianqian was slightly stunned, but she immediately landed on the flying boat as well. With a wave of her hand, she made a hand seal and kept Nian Yu in her spiritual beast pouch.
Han Li pointed with a finger, and a dozen thick green sword Qi shot out, fiercely bombarding the black island below.
Rumble!
The remaining black island immediately collapsed and sank into the sea, leaving not a single trace behind.
At the same time, Han Li made a hand seal with his other hand.
The green flying boat under his feet immediately shone with green light, and it turned into a green phantom as it flew into the distance, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Not long after they left, two streaks of light flew over from afar, and two figures appeared.
One of them was a middle-aged Daoist with a black crown on his head. The other was a grey-robed old man with a pair of long and thin eyes that flickered with light from time to time.
"It should be here. The ripples of spiritual Qi have yet to completely disperse," the black-crowned Daoist said with a hint of excitement.
"What powerful ripples of spiritual energy. I used the Ten-thousand-kilometer Eye technique to take a look just now. I could vaguely see a huge pillar of golden light rising into the sky. Is some sort of treasure about to appear?" The grey-robed old man nodded with joy on his face.
As he spoke, he had already silently spread out his Divine Sense and probed the surroundings.
"It's possible. This region of the sea has always been very mysterious, so it wouldn't be strange for anything to appear."
The black-crowned Daoist replied noncommittally. With a wave of his hand, he produced a yellow, circular magic treasure that was covered in dense inscriptions.
Streams of wave-like yellow light darted out from the disc-shaped magical treasure, enveloping an area of several miles in the vicinity.
"Fellow Daoist Myriad, did you discover anything?" The grey-robed old man asked.
The black-crowned Daoist remained silent and only used hand seals to control the disk, causing it to constantly release yellow waves of light.
A short moment later, he pointed at the disk and stopped.
"How is it?" The grey-robed old man had already grown impatient and asked.
"That pillar of light wasn't the birth of a magic treasure, but the result of someone using some sort of ability." The black-crowned Daoist sighed.
"Are you sure?" The grey-robed old man's expression darkened and he asked.
"I've activated all nine layers of the disk's restrictions. How could I be wrong?" The black-crowned Daoist rolled his eyes and bluntly said.
"It seems we've rejoiced for nothing.
By the way, did you discover anything about that person's cultivation? "The grey-robed old man shook his head with a wry smile, but he soon changed the topic.
"Judging from the residual spiritual Qi fluctuations here, he should be at the Body Integration stage or above," the black-crowned Daoist said.
"Body Integration stage!
It's a good thing we came late. If we came a step earlier and angered that senior, it would be very bad. "The grey-robed old man's expression changed slightly and he said with some lingering fear.
The black-crowned Daoist's eyes flashed a few times and he said calmly, "It's not good to stay here for long, lest someone else misunderstand."
"Fellow Daoist Myriad is right." The grey-robed old man immediately nodded.
Not long after, two streaks of light rose from the island and flew away at a speed faster than when they came.
… …
At this moment, the culprits, Han Li, and the others were already hundreds of thousands of kilometers away.
Han Li circled the sea and came to another coastal city in the western region of the Ancient Cloud Continent.
This city was called Heavenly Cloud City, and it was the capital of the Heavenly Cloud Nation. It covered a large area and was next to a spirit vein with rich spiritual Qi.
Because this city was not only close to the Thunderstorm Ocean, but it was also located in a critical location, many cultivators nearby would choose to rest here for a while and replenish their supplies on the way.
Some high-grade cultivators who explored the Thunderstorm Ocean would also bring their gains to this city to sell and exchange.
As a result, the Heavenly Cloud City became increasingly prosperous and had become one of the few large cities within a radius of tens of thousands of kilometers.
Han Li quietly entered the city with a few people and came to a remote medium-sized inn in the city to settle down for the time being.
With his current magical power, he naturally wouldn't be discovered by anyone. After all, the strongest cultivator stationed in the city was only at the Body Integration stage.
It was night, in the living room.
Han Li was sitting on the main seat, Meng Xiong and Meng Guang were standing on one side, and Meng Qianqian was standing on the other side.
After Han Li put up a layer of soundproof restriction around him, he roughly told Meng Qianqian and the others about what happened in the Fire Dragon Path.
Although this woman's current cultivation was not low, she was still a little inexperienced after all. How could she expect such a drastic change in the sect? For a moment, she was dumbfounded.
Although Meng Xiong and Meng Guang had chosen to follow Han Li before, they only knew a little about what happened in the Fire Dragon Path that day. Now that they heard Han Li's words, they were also shocked.
"Qianqian, just like Meng Xiong and the others, I'll also give you two choices. The conditions are the same as theirs. Make your decision." After speaking, Han Li said to Meng Qianqian.
Meng Qianqian seemed to be still in a daze and didn't speak for a while.
"If you need to discuss with Yungui before making a decision …" Seeing this, Han Li said again.
"No, I was just a little surprised just now, and I didn't hesitate.
Elder Li, no matter what my brother chose, Qianqian was willing to continue to chase after him. Qianqian said without hesitation.
"I'm no longer an elder of the Fire Dragon Path now, and I can't address you as an elder in the future. Do you understand?" Han Li nodded and said again.
"Yes, Elder Li." The other three immediately changed the way they addressed him.
Han Li didn't say anything more. He stood up, turned around, and walked to the window. His eyes gazed at the Thunderstorm Sea in the distance. His eyes flashed, and no one knew what he was thinking.
"Elder Li, what's your plan now?"
After a while, as Han Li didn't say anything, Meng Qianqian asked timidly after hesitating for a while.
Han Li didn't answer her. He was still gazing into the distance as if he was considering something.
Meng Qianqian and the other two exchanged looks. Of course, they didn't dare to disturb him, so they just stood aside quietly.
"I want to leave the Ancient Cloud Continent for a while." After an unknown time, Han Li said slowly.