Chapter 430: Action, Part 2

Chapter 430: Chapter 323: Action, Part 2

Ling Yunzi saw Han Yuan awaken and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Palace Master Han, what did you just see…” Ling Yunzi asked softly.

“I… I saw the Source Seed.”

Han Yuan took a deep breath to calm himself.

He was still in a daze, caught in a disorienting illusion where fantasy and reality intertwined.

“The Source Seed… What exactly is that thing?”

Hearing that Han Yuan had seen the Source Seed, even Ling Yunzi couldn’t help but ask.

After all, the Source Seed was the origin of all that was eerie.

Even Ling Yunzi was very curious about what kind of existence the Source Seed truly was.

“It’s a tree… an indescribable Starry Tree.”

“Everyone who gets near that tree suffers from corruption and mutation.”

“Nirvana Martial Artists and Void Breaker Abnormal People can barely resist the corruption, but the price is sealing themselves away,” Han Yuan said softly.

“A tree…” Ling Yunzi frowned. “But back then, Li Qingxuan brought a small piece of Source Seed Flesh out of the Immortal Sect.”

“Then that means… the Starry Tree is alive,” Han Yuan said in a deep voice.

“A living tree… that is indeed bizarre.”

Ling Yunzi’s brows furrowed.

Then, he asked, “So you’re saying a fragment of your friend’s soul was left behind in the Immortal Sect?”

Han Yuan nodded. “That’s right… It seems the only way to make his soul whole is to enter the Immortal Sect… but right now, that looks too difficult.”

Ling Yunzi said softly, “I’ll go back and look through some Ancient Texts and try a soul-summoning Daoist Skill… Perhaps I can call his soul fragment back from the Immortal Sect.”

“But it’s best you don’t get your hopes up.”

Han Yuan understood what Ling Yunzi meant.

After all, the Fat Thief’s soul fragment was trapped in the Immortal Sect.

Even using a Summoning Soul Secret Technique would probably be useless.

But since Ling Yunzi was willing to try, it was a kind gesture.

Han Yuan immediately expressed his thanks, “Then thank you very much, Daoist Master!”

Ling Yunzi shook his head. “Compared to the information you’ve provided, this is nothing.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Han Yuan left with the Fat Thief in his arms.

‘After all, Ling Yunzi is the National Preceptor and likely has many matters to attend to. I shouldn’t disturb him for too long.’

He made his way out of the Great Li Imperial Palace and returned to the inn.

Looking at the Orange Cat, which was still snoring away, Han Yuan let out a soft sigh.

‘The Immortal Sect… that place is far too dangerous.’

‘Even just seeing it in a memory nearly made my head explode.’

‘If I were to truly encounter it in reality, my Divine Soul would surely suffer a massive impact. Then I’d be mentally corrupted, my body would mutate, and I’d turn into a Source Evil Seed.’

Only Nirvana Martial Artists and Void Breaker Abnormal People could barely resist the corruption emanating from the Source Seed.

But they were also trapped forever inside the Immortal Sect.

‘What kind of being created the Immortal Sect…’

‘And what is the meaning of its existence…’

Han Yuan fell into deep thought.

One could argue that the Starry Tree was simply born with an extremely corrupting nature.

But that Bronze Immortal Sect could not possibly have been formed naturally.

At this moment, Han Yuan suddenly thought of the Immortal Sect Organization.

‘Those guys are so obsessed with entering the Immortal Sect… they might know some secrets.’

‘Of course, they were also the ones who created the rumors that led to the start of the Chaotic Ancient Era.’

‘It’s a shame Situ Hui just joined the Immortal Sect Organization and doesn’t know anything…’

‘If I get the chance in the future, I must learn more about this.’

Han Yuan mused to himself.

After thinking through these matters, Han Yuan began to summarize the experience he’d gained from his “entry” into the Immortal Sect.

‘First, a Divine Sea Martial Artist or a Primordial Spirit Abnormal Person entering the Immortal Sect is just asking to die; they’ll be instantly corrupted and mutated… So if I absolutely must step into the Immortal Sect in the future… I must be a Nirvana Martial Artist.’

‘Beyond that, I also have to find a Cultivation Technique for my Divine Soul.’

‘The Five Emperors Great Demon Divine Skill, after all, focuses more on tempering the physical body and one’s own power.’

‘Its effect on tempering the Divine Soul is just a side benefit…’

‘To resist the corruption of the Starry Tree, my own Divine Soul must be powerful enough.’

‘On this point, maybe I can ask Ling Yunzi…’

Of course, this was the worst-case scenario.

Unless it was absolutely necessary, Han Yuan didn’t want to enter the Immortal Sect so soon.

After all, the power the Starry Tree had displayed so far was no different from that of the Divine Demons in myths and legends.

Even an expert like Li Qingxuan could only take some Source Seed Flesh from the Starry Tree, and he himself never made it out of the Immortal Sect.

So Han Yuan planned to wait until he had broken through the limits of humanity before attempting to enter the Immortal Sect.

That limit meant breaking through Nirvana to reach an even stronger realm.

Because Han Yuan had great confidence in his Skill Proficiency Panel.

From the Chaotic Ancient Era until now, everyone believed that the Nirvana Realm and the Void Realm were the highest limits humanity could achieve.

But Han Yuan knew this was nowhere near the limit of his Skill Proficiency Panel.

Besides, he currently only had one reason to enter the Immortal Sect.

To make the Orange Cat’s soul whole again.

But even if he didn’t, the Orange Cat wasn’t in any immediate danger; it would just remain in a deep sleep.

‘It’s been asleep for so many years anyway.’

‘A few more days won’t hurt.’

Having sorted out these thoughts, Han Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed and began to regulate his breathing.

His Divine Soul had taken quite a beating this time in the Fat Thief’s Sea of Consciousness and needed some recovery.

…

「Three days later.」

Late at night, the Great Li Imperial City was completely silent, its streets patrolled only by the Divine Fire Forbidden Army.

A figure slipped silently into the inn, approached Han Yuan’s room, and knocked softly on the door.

“Who is it?”

Han Yuan, who had been meditating and regulating his breathing, was startled awake and opened his eyes.

“Palace Master Han, it’s me.”

It was Dong Fangqu’s voice.

CREAK~

The door was quickly pushed open.

Han Yuan looked at Dong Fangqu outside his room in surprise and confusion, frowning as he spoke, “What happened? Why are you looking for me so late?”

Dong Fangqu said in a low voice, “The Celestial Net Department has locked onto the position of an Immortal Sect High Priest. We’re moving tonight and would like to ask for your assistance, Palace Master Han.”

“You found one so quickly?” Han Yuan’s eyes showed his surprise.

“Yes… After all, the Immortal Sect Organization planned the attack on the National Preceptor, which interrupted his heaven-praying ritual. It’s only natural that we would begin to strike back,” Dong Fangqu said softly.

“Alright… I’ll go with you.”

Han Yuan nodded.

He followed Dong Fangqu out of the inn, made his way into the Capital Inner City, and entered a mansion.

“Quite a crowd,” Han Yuan muttered.

Cheng Xuan, Zhou Mingwu… and seven or eight powerful Divine Sea Experts were now gathered in the courtyard.

Seeing Han Yuan walk in, Zhou Mingwu laughed heartily. “We’ve been waiting for you, Brother Han!”

“With so many experts here, you wouldn’t miss me,” Han Yuan replied with a smile.

“The more experts, the more at ease we can be,” Zhou Mingwu replied flawlessly.

“Are you planning to move against Du Honghao this time?” Han Yuan asked.

“Yes… Ever since you mentioned you thought something was off with Du Honghao, we’ve been investigating him secretly for a few days.”

“It now seems there is an Immortal Sect High Priest within the Du Family,” Cheng Xuan explained.

“Do you know which one?” Han Yuan couldn’t help but ask.

“We’re not sure…” Cheng Xuan shook his head.

“Alright… So how are we proceeding?” Han Yuan asked directly.

“I was just about to get to that.”

“Everyone, gather around.”

Cheng Xuan gathered all the Divine Sea Experts participating in tonight’s operation.

A long table had already been set up in the courtyard, on which a map of the Du Mansion was spread.

The group converged around the long table.

“Shortly, the National Preceptor will personally take action, using a Barrier to isolate the Du Mansion from the outside world.”

“As long as the Barrier isn’t broken, the outside world won’t notice any of our movements.”

“We have a total of ten Divine Sea Experts participating tonight. We will each invade the Du Mansion from a different location and conduct a swift search. The moment you find Du Honghao or the Immortal Sect High Priest, signal immediately.”

Cheng Xuan had already planned the deployment and announced everyone’s entry point.

And Han Yuan was assigned to the back gate of the Du Mansion.

“Everyone, try to capture Du Honghao and the Immortal Sect High Priest alive.”

“Once we have them, we have our ways of making them talk,” Zhou Mingwu added.