‘Humph! If they discover us, at worst, we will just return into the ghost mist. Despite not being able to match Nascent Soul cultivators in direct battle, who can match the escape methods of us Ghost Dao cultivators?’ The resounding man’s voice spoke with rejection.

'What do you know? There are at least four Nascent Soul cultivators here, and they all have magic treasures and divine abilities that are particularly effective in restraining our Ghost Dao techniques. If you want to die, don’t involve me. Else, I’ll be forced to break our agreement and exterminate you here.” The youthful Bone Sage rebuked with an icy voice.

‘There is no need for Old Brother Bone Sage to be so angry! I won’t mention it again. However, you cannot renege on our agreement to find a suitable living body. Why else would I have given you a trace of my soul essence and willingly allowed you to leave the ghost mist!’ This person seemed fearful of the Bone Sage’s rage, but in the end, he couldn’t help but remind the Bone Sage of their agreement.

‘Don’t worry. Since I need your help to deal with my traitorous disciple Zenith Yin, I will get you a physical body before I act. Furthermore, as fellow sufferers that were forced to cultivate the Ghost Dao, how could I possibly renege on our agreement?’ The Bone Sage indifferently said.

‘Hehe! Your words have truly put me at ease.’ After that was said, the resounding voice disappeared from the Bone Sage’s mind.

The Bone Sage sighed with relief and and sat against a small tree before dozing off.

After some time had passed, an increasing number of cultivators left the ghost mist with increasingly heavier damage. Quite a number of them had even sustained great injuries to their Origin Qi that would require many years of dedicated treatment, else their cultivation level would suffer as a result. But even in this sorry state, they all wore expressions of unconcealable happiness. After all, so long as they passed the ghost mist trial, they would still be able to acquire a few rarely seen spiritual medicines.

After about seventy more cultivators arrived at the garden, the rate of new arrivals greatly decreased. In the coming day, only a sparse few cultivators had arrived.

The youth that had accompanied Fairy Violet Spirit at the beginning was amongst them. His clothes were damaged and his face was pale as if he had suffered through hardships on the way there.

Upon entering the garden, the youth swept his gaze past the garden and revealed worry upon seeing that Fairy Violet spirit wasn’t there. His expression was indecisive.

At that moment, Grandmaster Zenith Yin and the Bone Sage both became uneasy upon seeing that Han Li had yet to arrive.

The Bone Sage was the calmer of the two. Although he felt irritation, his face still maintained peacefulness. However, Grandmaster Zenith Yin was unable to endure. He occasionally opened his eyes and gloomily swept his gaze past the ghost mist, unable to calm down.

In truth, this person’s gloomy temperament would’ve normally prevented him from displaying his impatience. However, Han Li possessed something that was vital to his treasure hunt, leaving him in a hopeless situation.

A majority of people didn’t take notice of these actions, but the confucian-robed old man that was meditating nearby had opened his eyes. With a light cough, he slowly asked, “Could Fellow Daoist’s unease be due to concern for someone that has yet to arrive?”

The old man stared at Grandmaster Zenith Yin with doubt.

When Zenith Yin heard this, his expression became calm once more, and he indifferently replied, “It couldn’t be considered concern. It’s just a very interesting Junior that I’ve met once before!”

A strange glint flashed through the confucian-robed old man’s eyes. He said with a mysterious smile, “An interesting Junior? Fellow Daoist Wu must introduce me to him. I too am quite fond of guiding inexperienced Juniors that hold potential.”

‘Old bastard! He is far too suspicious.’ Zenith Yin was extremely annoyed that Han Li had yet to appear, and was unwilling to deal with the old man’s schemes. As such, he bluntly closed his eyes and forced himself to meditate.

At that same time, the resounding voice could be heard once more in the corner of the Bone Sage’s mind.

‘Bone Sage, your assistant still hasn’t arrived? Could he have been devoured by ghosts? Such an assistant would prove too weak to be useful.’ The voice’s tone contained a trace of schadenfreude.

The Bone Sage sighed. Given its temperament, it was truly impossible to keep him silent. It was also impossible for him to kill it as it would prove far too useful to him.

Until now, there also hadn’t been anyone that had glanced at him with a baffled gaze. It seemed that their short talks didn’t arouse any suspicion.

With that thought, the Bone Sage unhappily said, ‘This person is exceptionally mysterious. Although he is young and his cultivation is only at early Core Formation, it is absolutely impossible for him to have fallen to any fierce ghosts. Even if you came across him, you’d turn tail and flee if your soul didn’t scatter first. Do not underestimate him.’

‘Early Core Formation? Isn’t Bone Sage underestimating me too greatly? Against such a cultivator, I’d only have to opened my mouth, and his blood essence would already be absorbed.’ The deep voice spoke with disbelief.

‘Did you enjoy my Devil Extinguishing Arrow? What would you do if he possessed flying swords also made from Golden Lightning Bamboo?’

The deep voice grew silent for a moment before speaking with great skepticism, ‘Flying Swords made of Gold Lightning Bamboo? Are you joking? There was only ever one stalk of Gold Lightning Bamboo, and you refined it into the Devil Extinguishing Arrow. How can there be other Gold Lightning Bamboo magic treasures?’

‘Hehe! You’ll find out whether or not this is true sooner or later. And before you say I didn’t warn you, apart from his Gold Lightning Bamboo magic treasure, he also possesses a few other troublesome techniques. Why else would I, the Bone Sage, join hands with an early Core Formation cultivator?’ With that said, the Bone Sage didn’t pay any further attention to the voice and closed his eyes into oblivious meditation.

The deep voice tactfully kept silent and was pondering whether or not the Bone Sage had spoken truthfully.

Six hours later, the Bone Sage now appeared irritated and wondered why Han Li was taking so long to arrive. At that moment, an area of the ghost mist rolled away and made a path, revealing three people walking side by side.

The three were Han Li’s party. As for the gorgeous woman Yuan Yao, she was back to concealing her breathtaking beauty with her black robes.

Han Li was stunned for a moment after having seen that there were so many people present. He soon glanced at the scene and walked towards an uninhabited area without hesitation. Fairy Violet Spirit and Yuan Yao then gave each other a tacit glance before going their own ways.

At that moment, a silhouette appeared with a blur. A handsome, azure-jacketed youth had rushed over and earnestly spoke to Fairy Violet Spirit, “Great! Violet Spirit, you’re safe! I was so worried.” After this was said, he hastily approached her and carefully examined her for any injuries.

“Brother Li, I’m fine.” When Fairy Violet Spirit saw him, she stopped and forced a smile. Her expression continuously shifted.

After Yuan Yao took a deep look at those two, she went to another location with fluttering clothes.

Han Li, who had found a lone place to stand, turned around to see Yuan Yao following him. With slight surprise, he immediately frowned and said, “Lady Yuan, we’ve already left the ghost mist. For what matter have you followed me?”

Although this woman’s breathtaking beauty had touched his heart, he didn’t have any plans to work together with any strangers and immediately spoke with a cold intent of rejection.

Han Li’s blunt words didn’t cause Yun Yao to become angry. Instead, she sighed and said, “Please don’t take offense, Brother Han. I’ve only followed you because I have no choice! Fellow Daoist should know that my magic treasure had suffered great damage in the fight against the ghost king, and I am not capable of using it any further. And with the great dangers in the Heavenvoid Hall, this woman only knows of Brother Han. Coming here was a stupid decision. Please do not leave me here to die!”

With that said, the black-robed woman’s eyes turned slightly red as if she were about to weep tears. The scene caused Han Li to intensely frown.

“Lady Yuan! Since you’ve said this, I will need to ask some questions. But first, I’d like to make it known that I am not an upright gentleman, nor is my heart filled with benevolence. I am especially unwilling to be ignorantly used in vain.” Han Li calmly spoke as if he hadn’t seen the woman’s sad expression.

“Fellow Daoist Han, please don’t hesitate to ask. So long as the questions don’t touch on any secrets, I will definitely give a satisfactory answer.” This woman felt somewhat annoyed that Han Li hadn’t revealed any pity or sympathy towards the fairer sex. However, there were items that she must acquire and she had no choice but to agree.

After placing his hands behind his back, Han Li unhurriedly asked the woman without blinking, “My questions are quite simple. What is Fellow Daoist Yuan’s objective? Up to which trial do you intend to challenge? Also, from the panic you had shown earlier, it seems you’re hiding something. Do you carry any great troubles on you? I don’t wish to be involved in any of your quarrels by association.”

Preach.