Han Li had never heard the term "Grand Shift Token" before! But seeing how Lü Tianmeng and Xuan Le had unhesitatingly killed over it, he could tell just how precious this item was.
However, facing the eerie form of the five-colored skeleton, Han Li didn't dare act rashly.
He pulled out a golden blade and carefully prodded the skeleton. When nothing happened, he cautiously approached and examined the token more closely.
The token radiated a brilliant blue light, emitting a faint luminescence. From the ancient patterns and the archaic characters engraved upon it, it was clearly a relic of antiquity. As for anything else, Han Li couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary, and the spiritual energy it contained wasn't particularly high.
After some thought, he extended his golden blade and gently flicked the token. It came into his hand with no resistance.
Pinching it between his fingers, he found it wasn't metallic as he'd expected—instead, it had a slight softness with underlying firmness, as though it were made from some kind of wood.
Han Li toyed with it for a while, then attempted to channel some spiritual energy into it.
Immediately, a tremendous suction force surged from the token, pulling a massive amount of spiritual energy out of his body. Startled, Han Li hastily cut off the flow, and only then did the suction cease.
Having learned his lesson, Han Li didn't dare experiment further and carefully stored the token in his storage pouch.
He then circled the unknown teleportation array several times, greatly curious about where it might lead!
Of course, Han Li wouldn't recklessly step onto it to find out—and even if he'd been foolish enough to try, it wouldn't have worked. One corner of the array was damaged. Though the damage wasn't extensive, it was more than enough to render the array inoperable.
Han Li blinked, then suddenly pulled out a jade slip and began copying down the array's patterns and inscriptions, planning to find someone who could assess whether the array might be repaired. He was filled with anticipation about this!
After finishing that, Han Li searched the massive cavern once more to make sure he hadn't missed anything.
Behind a thick stone pillar, he discovered two perfectly round, crystal-clear eggs, each roughly the size of a fist.
The moment he saw them, Han Li was overjoyed. No guess was needed—they were the eggs of that spider demon beast.
Han Li had experienced the spider's terrifying power firsthand, and there was no way he'd pass up this opportunity. He immediately rummaged through a Spirit Beast Mountain cultivator's storage pouch and found a leather bag specifically designed for storing spirit beasts. He carefully placed the spider eggs inside and tucked it into his waist.
With this haul, Han Li thoroughly searched the remaining areas, but unfortunately found nothing else.
Still, he was already more than satisfied.
He returned to the white spider's corpse and unceremoniously dismembered it, storing the parts in his storage pouch. Then he reduced the bodies of Xuan Le, Lü Tianmeng, and the others to ashes with fireballs and buried them on the spot.
When he came to the five-colored skeleton, Han Li casually tossed several small fireballs at it, intending to burn it as well. After the flames did their work, the skeleton had actually condensed into seven or eight small five-colored beads. Surprised and curious, Han Li collected them.
Han Li was about to leave, but to prevent anyone else from discovering the teleportation array, he simply used his Green Yuan Sword Qi to smash the cave entrance to rubble as he departed, thoroughly sealing the entrance. Of course, he left some hidden markers nearby so he could find the place again later.
Following the airflow through the stalactite cave, after several hours Han Li found an extremely concealed exit and finally emerged onto the surface.
Fearing that the demonic faction cultivators might still be lurking nearby, Han Li didn't waste a moment. He mounted the Divine Wind Chariot and flew off toward Mount Taiyue.
The journey was uneventful!
Seven or eight days later, Han Li returned to Yellow Maple Valley. He gave the rotating duty manager an abridged account of his experiences, then went back to his cave dwelling to await orders.
By now, he'd learned that the second round of battle had already begun. In the initial stages, the seven sects—bolstered by substantial support from the other two countries—seemed to have the upper hand against the six sects. This had eased the atmosphere within Yellow Maple Valley considerably; it was no longer as grim as it had been at the start of the war.
Returning to find everything in his cave dwelling just as he'd left it, Han Li breathed a sigh of relief.
Although coming back to the sect wasn't exactly a wise move—he'd almost certainly be conscripted into service—the seven sects had become extremely strict in punishing disciples who tried to dodge their duties or make excuses to avoid deployment. The lightest punishment was a fine in spirit stones; the heaviest involved having one's magical power crippled. There was no mercy on this front!
And word had it that nearly a hundred people across the seven sects had already received punishments of varying severity.