Chapter 2404: Ming Zun"s Proposal
Ming Zun nodded in response. "That"s true, but have you heard about the latest news regarding that man from the Thunder Continent?"
Han Li"s expression changed slightly upon hearing this. "The Thunder Continent? Could it be that he"s done something there as well?"
"Indeed, he has. In fact, he"s created an even bigger stir on the Thunder Continent than on the Blood Sky Continent," Ming Zun said with a dark expression before tossing a jade slip toward Han Li.
Han Li drew the jade slip into his own grasp, then immediately pressed it against his own forehead before injecting his spiritual sense into it.
Moments later, his expression darkened further as he removed the jade slip from his forehead. "I didn"t think that he would target the Jiao Chi Race. What"s the deal with his disappearance?"
"It"s very simple: after battling those three ancient true spirits, he suddenly vanished from the Thunder Continent, and no one has been able to track him down," Ming Zun replied with a hint of concern in his eyes.
Han Li was instantly able to glean something from Ming Zun"s expression, and he asked, "Has your trade guild already discovered something?"
"Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Fellow Daoist. Indeed, following the conclusion of the battle, our guild sent out some people to investigate the battlefield, and there, they discovered very faint spatial fluctuations, as well as signs suggesting that the nearby s.p.a.ce had been recently torn apart. Unfortunately, no further leads were unearthed," Ming Zun replied.
"In that case, he"s most likely not dead; he"s merely gone into hiding using his spatial powers," Han Li mused.
"That"s most likely the case," Ming Zun replied.
"So what is your main concern, and why have you invited me here?" Han Li asked.
"Surely you already know the answer to those questions, Brother Han. That man has appeared on both the Blood Sky Continent and the Thunder Continent, so it wouldn"t be strange for him to come to our Tian Yuan Continent next. As one of the most powerful beings in this entire Spirit Realm, aren"t you planning to get involved in this? Aren"t you concerned that this disaster could befall your human race someday? Even the Jiao Chi Race has been significantly debilitated by that man; if he sets his sights on the smaller races on our Tian Yuan Continent, then those races will truly be in danger of being wiped out," Ming Zun replied with a smile.
"Hehe, there are so many races on the Tian Yuan Continent; why would that man just so happen to target a weak race like our human race? I think the larger races will attract his attention far more so than our human race," Han Li chuckled in response.
"Through our a.n.a.lysis of the blood sacrifices that man has performed, we"ve discovered that he doesn"t seem to have any clear targets, and any region with a large concentration of living beings could fall prey to him. Your human race isn"t all that renowned, but that"s only because it had been lacking a top-tier Grand Ascension Stage being in the past. In terms of absolute population and population density, your human race ranks quite high on the Tian Yuan Continent; are you sure that madman won"t set his sights there?" Ming Zun asked.
Han Li"s smile completely faded upon hearing this. "Are you threatening me?"
"Absolutely not, I"m merely telling you the truth. Come to think of it, that man does seem to have some ties with you, so the probability that he"ll target the human race isn"t as low as you think," Ming Zun said.
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this. "What do you mean by that?"
"Do you recognize the two people on these portraits, Fellow Daoist Han?" Ming Zun flipped a hand over as he spoke, producing a jade slip that released a burst of light at his behest.
Within the light was a pair of portraits depicting a man and a woman.
Han Li"s eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing this.
Ming Zun was completely unsurprised by Han Li"s reaction, and he said, "Looks like you really do recognize these two people. Would you be able to tell me who they are?"
"I only recognize one of them. That woman is an Ice Phoenix, and she"s not a human, but she does share some ties with me. How has she gotten involved in this matter, and who is that man?" Han Li asked as he appraised the pair of portraits.
"I"m not sure who that man is, either; all I know is that he"s most likely from the Tian Yuan Continent. Furthermore, according to our trade guild"s investigation, his true form is a Six-winged Frost Centipede, and even among Grand Ascension Stage beings, he can be considered to be quite powerful. He and the Ice Phoenix seemed to have irked that madman somehow, and they"ve been pursued all the way from the Blood Sky Continent to the Thunder Continent. I suspect the two of them may have even played a role in that man"s decision to target the Jiao Chi Race," Ming Zun replied with a serious expression.
A hint of surprise appeared on Han Li"s face upon hearing this. "He"s a Six-winged Frost Centipede? And he"s being pursued by that man?"
"Oh? Have you recalled who this man could be, Fellow Daoist?" Ming Zun asked.
"If I"m not mistaken, this man seems to also be an acquaintance of mine, but I didn"t think that he would become like this," Han Li replied in a contemplative manner.
"So these two are both acquaintances of yours. In that case, your human race really is in grave peril. Once that madman learns about their ties with you, he"ll most likely pay your human race a visit," Ming Zun said.
"That"s a slight exaggeration, but it does seem that I won"t be able to remain uninvolved in this any longer. Where are the two of them right now? Are they still on the Thunder Continent?" Han Li asked as his brows furrowed slightly.
"According to our trade guild"s investigation, they seemed to have disappeared not long after that pursuer vanished. You"re familiar with the two of you; where do you think they could go?" Ming Zun asked.
"That"s hard to say. They are acquaintances of mine, but I haven"t met them in many years," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.
"Could they possibly return to the Tian Yuan Continent to find you?" Ming Zun asked.
"That is a possibility, and one that would be quite troublesome if it were to eventuate. By the way, how likely do you think it is that their pursuer is a true immortal?" Han Li suddenly asked.
"I think it"s virtually set in stone that he"s a true immortal," Ming Zun replied after a brief moment of contemplation.
"How are you so sure?" Han Li asked as he stroked his own chin.
"It"s simple; that man has unleashed several types of secret techniques and abilities from the True Immortal Realm. That is something that I can vouch of as my ancestors were direct lineal descendants to true immortals. Some of the cultivation arts and secret techniques of the True Immortal Realm have been pa.s.sed down to our realm, but there are some very detailed descriptions recorded," Ming Zun replied with a wry smile.
"I see. In that case, that man must be a true immortal. That"s certainly not a piece of good news. Surely you"re not expecting me to face a true immortal on my own," Han Li said.
"Of course not, Fellow Daoist Han; I only want to unite everyone for the sake of our Tian Yuan Continent. Our Spirit Realm has already been out of contact with the True Immortal Realm for countless years, and we don"t know what objective this true immortal has. If he"s going to continue this killing spree, then we have to join forces and force him to leave or completely seal him away. Otherwise, we"ll be picked off one by one eventually," Ming Zun said as a cold look flashed through his eyes.
"The Blood Dao sects of the Blood Sky Continent have already tried to join forces, but they were all vanquished anyway," Han Li said.
"That"s because they underestimated their opponent. Among the 14 Grand Ascension Stage beings they gathered, only a few of them can truly be considered to be quite formidable, so their defeat was inevitable. In contrast, I"m recruiting all of the most powerful beings on our Tian Yuan Continent for this cause, and our trade guild will even summon some powerful true spirits to a.s.sist us, so our victory will be a.s.sured. Regardless of how powerful that true immortal is, there"s no way he can contend with all of us with most of his power sealed away," Ming Zun replied.
"Will you really be able to a.s.semble such a formidable lineup? Who else has agreed to join this cause?" Han Li asked.
"Aside from yourself, most of the fellow daoists we"ve contacted have agreed to partic.i.p.ate in this cause if that true immortal sets foot on our Tian Yun Continent. As for the rest of them, I"m sure they"ll eventually also agree after weighing up their options. After all, no one wants to see a true immortal doing as he pleases on this continent," Ming Zun replied.
"In that case, I"ll agree to your offer for now. However, if you can"t find sufficient powerful beings to join this cause, then I"ll immediately turn you down," Han Li said after mulling over the proposal.
Ming Zun was ecstatic to hear this, and he replied, "Haha, rest a.s.sured, Brother Han; if I couldn"t gather enough people, I wouldn"t be willing to risk my own life, either. Take this transmission talisman; I"ll inform you if I receive any news about that true immortal."
He raised a hand as he spoke, releasing a silver talisman out of his sleeve, which was drawn into Han Li"s grasp before being stowed away.