A dark green sword projection swept forth, and an earth-shattering boom rang out deep within the canyon, following which a white spatial rift appeared amid a burst of violent spatial fluctuations.

Han Li made a hand seal, and the black ark shrank down into a ball of black light before vanishing into his body, following which he and Daoist Xie flew into the spatial rift down below.

Immediately thereafter, the rift slowly sealed itself, and everything returned to normal.

Moments later, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air above the spot where the black ark had just been situated, and a huge golden lotus flower appeared, atop which stood a man and a woman.

These two were none other than the devilish patriarchs, Nie Pan and Bao Hua, and the former had a rather sickly appearance.

"Looks like he really did only come to our holy realm for that treasure that Yuan Yan told us about. However, that spatial rift doesn't seem to lead back to the Spirit Realm; it should take him to the Mohe Realm instead. That realm is far more powerful than our holy realm; I wonder why he's going there," Nie Pan mused in a slightly raspy voice.

"That doesn't really matter as long as he doesn't linger in our holy realm. Otherwise, with such an unfathomably powerful being around, there's no way we'd be able to focus on our cultivation," Bao Hua replied.

"That's true. Speaking of which, I wonder if the news we received from the Spirit Realm is correct. That man has clearly only recently reached the Grand Ascension Stage, yet he was able to kill a true immortal. Granted, that true immortal was restricted by the power of the realm, but this is still an incredible feat," Nie Pan said with a serious expression.

"I'm sure there wouldn't be any mistake surrounding such an important piece of information. I heard that he was only able to kill that immortal after he had been severely wounded by many other powerful beings of the Spirit Realm," Bao Hua replied.

"Even so, it's still a testament to his power. The more powerful someone is, the more life-saving trump cards they'll have up their sleeves. A true immortal would definitely possess trump cards that are unimaginable to us, yet he was still slain in the end. On top of that, I heard that Han Li had obtained some True Soul Pills from that immortal; if it weren't for the fact that True Soul pills are useless to devilish beings like ourselves, I would be tempted to bring him down at all costs," Nie Pan mused.

"Of course. If those were True Devil Pills in his possession instead, then there's no way we would've allowed him to leave our holy realm so easily. Come to think of it, you're not far away from your ascension tribulation, right? How much of a chance do you think you'll have of succeeding?" Bao Hua asked.

"With the power of my Holy Nirvana Physique, perhaps I would've had a 10% to 20% chance of success had I not been severely wounded in that battle against the Stemborer Queen. Even though I've fully recovered from my injuries, too much of my essential power has been expended, so my chances have dwindled to next to zero," Nie Pan sighed in a forlorn manner.

"Don't be so pessimistic, Brother Nie Pan; your Holy Nirvana Physique is one of the top three body refinement methods across all realms, so it's not impossible that it could help you transcend your ascension tribulation. By the way, Han Li seems to have cultivated the Holy Nirvana Physique as well. His Holy Nirvana Physique is slightly different from yours, but there's no mistaking the fact that it's the same cultivation art; I wonder how he managed to attain this physique," Bao Hua said with a befuddled look in her eyes.

"The Holy Nirvana Physique stems from the most basic devilish arts, and devilish cultivation arts are prevalent throughout all realms, so it's no surprise that someone else was able to find a way to attain the physique. However, it's virtually impossible to actually attain the physique from a practical perspective. I was only able to succeed due to a string of many opportunities; if I had to do it all again, I'm not confident that I would be able to. As such, it truly is astonishing that someone from a foreign race was able to master the physique to such an advanced level," Nie Pan replied with a wry smile.

"I was just as astonished as you were when I saw him unleash the Holy Nirvana Physique for the first time; it seems that he really is a man of immense fortune. Alright, that's enough about him. When we go back, I'm planning to go into seclusion to try and ascend to the True Devil Realm as soon as possible," Bao Hua said with a serious expression.

"Alright, we'll let Yuan Yan take care of everything during our seclusion. Among the two of us, I think you have better chances of ascension. You suffered a major ordeal, but you've emerged on the other side even more powerful than you had been in the past, and you've even attained a spirit domain, which I'm sure will increase your chances of success," Nie Pan said with a hint of envy in his voice.

"Hehe, I certainly hope so. I'll be taking my leave now, Brother Nie Pan," Bao Hua chuckled in response, and the lotus flower gently ejected Nie Pan at her behest before its petals quickly closed, and it flew away as a golden projection.

Nie Pan heaved a faint sigh before departing toward another direction as a streak of golden light, and thus, peace and quiet returned to the canyon.

......

A month later, Han Li was seated beside a tall maple on a small hill, and Daoist Xie suddenly asked, "Fellow Daoist Han, did you already notice the two devilish Grand Ascension Stage beings that had been following us?" 

Han Li was rather taken aback by this question. As a Faux Immortal Puppet, Daoist Xie possessed a certain level of spiritual nature, but he very rarely initiated conversations. "Of course I did, and one of them is an acquaintance whom I've interacted with on multiple past occasions. However, they didn't get in my way, so there was no need for me to acknowledge them."

"I see," Daoist Xie replied with a nod before falling silent again.

A contemplative look appeared in Han Li's eyes upon seeing this, and he said, "If I recall correctly, Ma Liang referred to you as an Immortal Puppet, rather than a Faux Immortal Puppet, is that correct? Have you been hiding some things from me?"

"I'm not sure if what he said was accurate, and I've never hidden anything from you," Daoist Xie replied in an expressionless manner.

"I find that very hard to believe," Han Li said as his brows furrowed slightly.

"There is a restriction planted on my body, and I'm only able to access a part of my memories. Only after you gather all of the materials I requested will I be able to access all of my memories and give you more information," Daoist Xie explained.

"Alright, you've been a great ally of mine for a long time, so I'll believe you, but please tell me the truth once I gather all of the materials," Han Li said.

Daoist Xie nodded in response before falling still again.

Han Li cast his gaze toward the distance, then suddenly flipped a hand over to summon a silver scale.

A message that was different from the previous one appeared on the surface of the scale, and Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he read the message.

"So the envoy of the True Dragon Island will meet me in this realm within a week of activating the scale. Why didn't they make this clear from the very beginning instead of separating the message into sections? Come to think of it, it's about time that the envoy arrived," Han Li murmured to himself.

Right at this moment, a pleasant voice suddenly rang out nearby. "That's because our True Dragon Race has sent out close to half of all of its members to welcome the guests that are attending the Dao Fruit Convention."

Immediately thereafter, spatial fluctuations erupted overhead, and a green five-clawed dragon appeared before transforming into a fair-skinned green-robed woman with a short horn on her head.

Han Li faltered slightly at the sight of the woman. "Fairy Tian, could it be that you're the envoy assigned to meet me?" 

"Are you disappointed to see me here, Brother Han?" Tian Fei'er asked with a faint smile.

"Hehe, of course not, it's just that you had told me that you're one of the overseers of the Dao Fruit Convention, so I didn't think that you would be greeting guests in person," Han Li replied as he cupped his fist in a salute.

"Us overseers are just glorified attendants. Our True Dragon Race has always had a very small population, so all of the overseers have overlapping envoy duties as well," Tian Fei'er replied as she pursed her lips.

Immediately thereafter, she made her way over to Han Li before appraising him with an intrigued expression.

"What is it, Fairy Tian? Are you suspicious that I'm an imposter?" Han Li asked with a perplexed expression.

"No, it's just that your powers don't seem to have increased by much, so I'm wondering how you were able to kill that true immortal. By the way, many powerful beings have already been made aware that you may possess True Soul Pills, so some of them may target you for that reason," Tian Fei'er replied with a smile.