After appraising the ball of lightning for a short while, Han Li suddenly hurled it through the air with a flick of his wrist, and it flew several tens of feet forward before exploding.

Bolts of purplish-golden lightning erupted forth in all directions, and a grey hole appeared in the air.

Even though the hole was only around the size of an egg, faint spatial fluctuations were emanating from it, and an elated look appeared on Han Li's face as he murmured to himself, "As expected, it's able to directly tear through space. This refined Divine Devilbane Lightning is far more powerful than I expected."

Right at this moment, a faint buzzing sound rang out within his sleeve, and Han Li faltered slightly before sweeping his sleeve through the air to release an azure talisman amid a flash of spiritual light.

As soon as it appeared, the talisman began to release a series of azure characters that quickly converged to form a message.

Han Li only took a brief look at the message before his expression changed slightly.

"As expected, that true immortal has arrived on the Tian Yuan Continent. In that case, I have no choice but to take action. It would be best if we could seal him or force him out of the Spirit Realm without the human race being harmed in the process." With that in mind, Han Li immediately pointed a finger at the azure message, then quickly swiped his finger through the air a few times.

The message immediately blurred before transforming into another message, which quickly vanished into the azure talisman.

After that, Han Li stowed the talisman away before rising to his feet and departing from the secret chamber.

Around an hour later, Han Li was sitting on the main seat in the hall of the Azure Origin Palace, issuing a series of instructions to everyone.

Nangong Wan was seated beside him with a calm expression, but there was clearly a hint of concern in her eyes.

As for Hai Yuetian, Lan Yao'er, and his other disciples, they were standing on his other side in a respectful manner.

Even Silvermoon, who was in seclusion prior to this, was present and sitting beside Nangong Wan.

"This trip is going to be a perilous one, but I'm fairly confident in my ability to keep myself safe. However, prior to my departure, there are some things that I have to make clear. During my absence, Wan'er will be managing the palace with the assistance of Yuetian and my other disciples. Silvermoon, you're currently at a critical juncture in your cultivation, so focus on that for now. If something were to happen to me, then activate this talisman. I left some instructions in the talisman, and all you have to do is do as it says," Han Li said as he flipped a hand over to summon a purplish-golden talisman with arcs of lightning surging over its surface.

The talisman was then hurled through the air, and it transformed into a bolt of purplish-golden lightning that hurtled directly toward a pillar in the hall.

A resounding boom rang out as the bolt of lightning transformed into a huge purplish-golden rune that embedded itself several inches deep into the pillar. The edges of the indentation were very clean and sharp, as if the rune had been engraved on the pillar all along.

Hai Yuetian and the other disciples naturally had no objections, and Nangong Wan and Silvermoon also exchanged a glance before nodding in agreement.

The next morning, Han Li departed from the Origin Integration Island alone and headed toward Deep Heaven City.

Similar scenes were also taking place in some other races on the Tian Yuan Continent.

The Grand Ascension Stage beings that were viewed as the pillars of those races had also been contacted by the He Lian Trade Guild, and after some contemplation, most of them decided to travel to Sky's Beyond as invited.

There were even some Grand Ascension Stage beings who were very confident in their own abilities and were embarking on this trip with excitement in their hearts.

After all, the opportunity to slay an immortal didn't come around every day. If they were lucky, perhaps this would be a massive opportunity for them.

......

Around half a month later, two humanoid figures were hovering in mid-air within the underground world of the He Lian Trade Guild headquarters.

Among the duo was a black-robed young man, and he was appraising the completely deserted surroundings with a dark expression.

He had already inspected this entire underground area several times using his enormous spiritual sense, and not a single living being could be found; it was as if they had all disappeared from the face of this realm.

Even the restrictions and formations here had been disassembled, leaving not even a single spirit stone behind.

"Master, it looks like the He Lian Trade Guild must've been tipped off in advance and evacuated," Yang Deer said in a respectful manner.

It was quite surprised that the vastly renowned He Lian Trade Guild had retreated without even putting up a fight.

"Hmph, I have to commend them on making a smart decision to run away from me. So be it, I'll track down those two insects first then. With my soul mark planted in their bodies, there's no way they'll ever be able to truly escape from me. Hehe, once I hunt them down, perhaps we'll even be greeted with a pleasant surprise," Ma Liang harrumphed coldly.

An enlightened look appeared on Yang Deer's face upon hearing this, "You don't mean..."

"That's right. Last time, those people used those two as a lure, and that obviously didn't end well for them, but it seems like someone else is trying to repeat this ploy," Ma Liang said as a cold look flashed through his eyes.

After a brief pause, he continued, "Let's go. Those two aren't particularly impressive when it comes to their cultivation, but they possess a special movement technique that makes it rather troublesome to hunt them down. Having said that, they should be on the verge of running out of energy; even with spirit pills at their disposal, they won't be able to recover much in a short time. This time, I'm going to make sure they don't get away."

Immediately thereafter, he made a hand seal, and a rainbow cloud appeared beneath his feet before carrying him up into the air.

Yang Deer hurriedly followed along as a streak of light.

......

Meanwhile, the Six-winged Frost Centipede and the Ice Phoenix were situated in a branch of the He Lian Trade Guild countless kilometers away, listening carefully to what Ming Zun was currently telling them.

"With this Divine Wind Boat and these talismans, there's no way that true immortal will be able to catch up to you in a short time. Our trade guild's request is very simple: lead the true immortal on a wild goose chase, then lead him to Sky's Beyond at Baleful Cry Point, and you'll have made a significant contribution to our cause," Ming Zun said with a serious expression.

"I don't care about your cause; just don't forget what you promised me," the Six-winged Frost Centipede replied in a cold voice.

After hearing about the treasures described by Ming Zun, he was confident that he would be able to succeed in this task. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so compliant.

"Haha, rest assured, I'll speak to Fellow Daoist Han to ensure that he doesn't target you within the next 1,000 years; I'm sure Fellow Daoist Han would be willing to do me that favor. As for the items requested by Fellow Daoist Ice Phoenix, I'm afraid we don't have all of them at the moment, but we'll do our best to gather everything after the event," Ming Zun said with a smile.

"Just do your best, Senior," the Ice Phoenix replied with a wry smile.

"If that's all you have to say, then we'll be setting off now. With that true immortal's speed, it'll most likely only take him a day or two to find this place," the Six-winged Frost Centipede said.

"Go ahead, fellow daoists; this branch will also be evacuated following your departure," Ming Zun replied with a nod.

Thus, around an hour later, an azure flying boat emerged outside the branch amid a dull thump, then flew away as a streak of azure light.

Shortly thereafter, around 100 more streaks of light shot out of the branch before splitting up into several groups and flying away in different directions.

Two days later, a rainbow cloud appeared above the branch, and after a short pause, a cold harrumph rang out from within the cloud, following which a thick pillar of lightning crashed down from above, instantly incinerating the entire branch into ashes.

After that, the cloud quickly departed.

......

Close to a month later, an event that shook the entire continent took place.

The Thin Reed Race was renowned as the race that was most adept in illusion techniques on the entire Tian Yuan Continent. Recently, the population of over 10,000,000 Thin Reed beings in the race's main city had been wiped out in a blood sacrifice.

The two Grand Ascension Stage elders guarding the city were tipped off in advance and immediately fled, thus making them the only two survivors.

As a result, the nightmare of the bloodthirsty true immortal officially descended upon the Tian Yuan Continent.

Many of the races near the Thin Reed Race were horrified by this news, and they all sent out people to verify its authenticity.

Meanwhile, close to 20 of the most powerful beings on the Tian Yuan Continent had arrived at Baleful Cry Point one after another.

......

"So this is Baleful Cry Point; the density of Baleful Yin Qi here truly astounding," Han Li murmured to himself as he looked on at the boundless blackish-green landscape up ahead.

Even with his vast wealth of experience, such dense Baleful Yin Qi still came as quite a surprise to him. The Baleful Yin Qi here was virtually visible to the naked eye, and it would be enough to drive the average cultivator insane.

Baleful Cry Point was a vastly renowned restricted area in this region, and just as Han Li was about to fly on ahead, his expression suddenly changed slightly as he cast his gaze toward another direction.

Moments later, a burst of rumbling rang out in that direction, and it was steadily becoming louder, as if there were some type of gigantic creature approaching from afar.