Two months later.
In a pavilion outside Dongshan City, Han Li and Shi Chuankong sat opposite each other on two benches.
"Brother Shi, I've been thinking about it for the past few days. It's best if we don't use the teleportation array in Dongshan City," said Han Li.
"Why is that?" Shi Chuankong was puzzled.
"We need to avoid appearing in the same city as much as possible. It's hard to say if there aren't any high level cultivators hiding in the city, or if there are spies lying in ambush for your big brother. It'll be safer if we don't show ourselves," explained Han Li.
"Brother Li's words make sense. Although big brother's intelligence network isn't as good as third brother's, he's still well-informed. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been the first to receive the news not long after we returned to Shihuan Mountain Range." Shi Chuankong nodded.
"According to the map you gave me, the closest city to Eastern Mountain City should be Lian Feng City. Let's fly there first. Afterwards, we won't stop and will directly head for Seven Lake City. When we arrive there, we'll rest for a while," Han Li said.
"Brother Li, are you trying to disrupt our rhythm so that big brother can't predict our movements?" Shi Chuankong raised an eyebrow and asked.
"The more confused they are, the safer we will be." Han Li nodded.
"Haha, as expected of Brother Li. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have been able to get past Dao Master Reflecting Bone. I was right about you. This time, we'll do as you say." Shi Chuankong laughed.
After the discussion, the two of them drove the flying shuttle and flew away in a black streak of light.
Ten years passed in the blink of an eye.
In the sky above a primordial forest covered in black mist, a black flying shuttle flew past.
On the flying shuttle stood a Confucian scholar in green robes and a man in green armor. They were Han Li and Shi Chuankong, who had changed their appearances again.
"I didn't expect it to take ten years to travel from Mountain Lake Region to the neighboring Chenqiu Region," said the green-armored Shi Chuankong as he drove the flying shuttle.
"There's nothing we can do about it. Although the speed of teleportation between two cities is fast, we still have to fly. Naturally, it takes some time.
On top of that, we'll encounter attacks from devilish beasts from time to time, so how fast can we possibly be? "Han Li's brows furrowed slightly, but his expression was quite relaxed.
"Haha, most demonic beasts in the Sacred Region are fierce and territorial. Once an outsider invades their territory, they are not afraid of death and will chase the invader away.
If we encounter one that can't fly, we can just avoid it. Take the Bonebreaker Demon Kite for example. It was only an early-stage Golden Immortal, but it chased us for three months. "Shi Chuankong smiled bitterly.
Han Li smiled and said, "If we weren't afraid of attracting too much attention, we would've killed that livestock long ago. Let's be careful and avoid the breeding areas of powerful devilish beasts as much as possible."
"Fengqiu City is not far ahead. Once we get there, we can teleport to the Wilderness Region in the western region of the Holy Region. Most of that region is my big brother's territory, so we have to be more careful," Shi Chuankong said seriously.
"Since that's the case, let's rest in Feng Qiu City for a while." Han Li nodded.
"Alright, Feng Qiu City is the second largest city in the Chenqiu Region after the main city. The merchant trade there is also flourishing, so we can replenish our resources." Shi Chuankong rubbed his hands.
After the agreement, the two sped up towards Feng Qiu City.
After entering the city, the two of them first went to find an Immortal Inn and asked for two very ordinary and relatively cheap courtyards to stay in. After that, they went their separate ways and went to a few famous Immortal Merchant Streets in the city to buy things.
After all, they were in the Devil Region, so there were very few things that could be used by Han Li. Fortunately, he didn't need to buy many things, just some things like the Lightning-Bind Wood, which could be used to set up formations.
After walking through one of the commercial streets, he was almost done with his shopping.
"Now, there's only one thing left, the Thunderdust Bead. That's going to be a little difficult." Han Li stood in front of a tall, carved arch at the end of the street and murmured to himself.
So saying, he went out of the corner of the street, turned east, and went to another street.
When night fell, Han Li returned to the inn in the beast-drawn carriage.
As soon as he returned to the small building, he opened all of the restrictions and entered the Flower Branch Paradise.
Han Li didn't go to the small courtyard by the lotus pond. Instead, he went to the new bamboo building near the spirit herb garden.
Daoist Xie was already waiting outside the bamboo building, and as soon as he saw Han Li, he came up to him and asked, "How is it?
"How is it? Is everything ready?"
"Aside from the Thunderdust Bead, I've gathered everything else," Han Li sighed.
"It's not easy to gather so many items from the Immortal Realm in the Devil Region, but the Thunderdust Bead is an important material for activating and replenishing the power of lightning in the bean soldiers. Otherwise, the power of the Dao soldiers most likely wouldn't increase by much," Daoist Xie sighed in a slightly disappointed manner.
"Is that the only function of the Thunderdust Bead?" Han Li raised an eyebrow.
"That's the main function. The rest are just minor details, so don't worry about them," Daoist Xie replied.
"Oh, in that case, I don't think there's a need for the Thunderdust Bead," Han Li suddenly said with a smile.
"There's no need for that. Why?" Daoist Xie was perplexed.
Han Li smiled and flipped a hand over to summon the Profound Heavenly Gourd, then gently patted the bottom of the gourd.
A streak of purplish-golden light shot forth, transforming into a shimmering golden pea that landed in front of Daoist Xie.
Daoist Xie's brows furrowed slightly as he picked up the pea, and he immediately felt a burst of powerful electricity flow through his body.
With a single thought, he abruptly increased the force he was using to pick up the pea, and a series of thunderclaps immediately rang out.
A vast expanse of purplish-golden lightning erupted from the pea between his fingers like a pair of giant lightning wings, releasing an extremely powerful burst of power.
"How could the Thunder Loch Resting Soil not nurture such a powerful bean soldier?
What's going on, Friend Han? "Daoist Xie asked in a surprised manner.
"I sucked all of the pea into the Profound Heavenly Gourd in order to use the gourd's special ability to enhance the quality of the pea soldier, but who would've thought that the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords within the Profound Heavenly Gourd would begin to resonate with the power of laws of lightning within them, thereby transferring a portion of their own lightning power over to the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. After 10 years of accumulation, they've become what they are today," Han Li explained.
"What a great thing! It's as if the heavens are on our side. In that case, we really don't need the Thunderdust Bead anymore," Daoist Xie said with a smile.
"That's not entirely a good thing. Due to the slow loss of lightning power, there seems to be an issue with the refinement of my Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, and they've become much slower than before," Han Li said with a shake of his head.
"Friend Han, your Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords contain the power of laws of lightning, and they've fused with the Divine Devilbane Lightning before absorbing the Bone Scrubbing Golden Lightning. Those are the most powerful types of Yang lightning in this world.
Just by absorbing a little bit of it, the power of the Dao soldiers will be significantly enhanced. If we encounter large-scale attacks in the future, these Dao soldiers will be able to unleash their full potential, "Daoist Xie said to Han Li in a rare mocking tone.
Han Li was also thinking that if he were to use these Dao soldiers to set up formations, they would only be more powerful, and he couldn't help but smile.
"In that case, it's time for me to start refining the Dao soldiers," Daoist Xie said.
"What do you need me to do?" Han Li asked.
"Not for now. The initial refinement process will take at least three years, and I'll be able to complete it on my own during that time.
However, the engraving of the runes will require a powerful spiritual sense, so you'll have to do it yourself, "Daoist Xie replied.
"Thank you," Han Li said in a sincere manner.
After that, he took the gourd that Daoist Xie had used to store the bean soldiers, then poured all of the beans into the gourd.
Daoist Xie took the gourd from Han Li's hand and gently shook it, upon which he nodded with a pleased expression.
Just as he was about to return to the second floor of the bamboo building, a thought suddenly occurred to him, and he turned to Han Li.
"By the way, Friend Han, I saw that the tree root in the Spirit Medicine Garden seems to have sprouted a few days ago."
"Tree root?"
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before coming to a sudden realization, and he hurriedly ran into the Spirit Medicine Garden.
In the depths of the garden, Han Li saw a withered tree root that protruded no more than a meter out of the ground. There was a finger-thick, tender green sprout poking out from it, with two leaves growing from it.
Under the illumination of the sky, the thin veins on the leaves were as clear as a human's blood vessels. They looked soft and fragile, but they had a stubborn life force that was rising towards the sun and the sky.
Han Li made his way forward and squatted down to inspect the weak sprout before him with a hint of a smile in his eyes.
"Little guy, you've finally decided to sprout after eating so many of my bottles of green liquid."
This little sprout was none other than the remnant of the Twin-Life Tree that he had obtained from the Truth Sect ruins.
Han Li lightly extended his hand, wanting to caress the tender sprout's leaf.
However, he had only just extended his hand when the two leaves suddenly began to sway and approach his fingers.
Han Li's brows furrowed as he immediately released his spiritual sense to inspect the leaf petal. As a result, he discovered that the leaf petal had sensed the power of the law of time within his body, and was resonating with it as it approached him.
Han Li gently stroked the leaves of the Twin-Life Tree, but nothing happened.