Given the speed at which the three traveled, they naturally arrived at the center of the massive island in the blink of an eye.
From afar, what appeared to be an ordinary mountain peak came into view.
Suddenly, a muffled boom echoed above the peak, and a milky-white pillar of light shot skyward.
Then the scenery ahead cracked open like a mirror, revealing two verdant mountain peaks and a valley brimming with spiritual energy.
The milky-white pillar of light was surging upward from within the valley.
"The Celestial Spirit Pillar!"
When Han Li saw the pillar of light, a look of surprise flickered across his face.
The last time he had visited, this spirit pillar had only appeared after its restrictions were broken through.
Now, before they had even arrived, the pillar had emerged from Bitter Spirit Valley on its own.
Han Li's thoughts raced as he pondered the meaning behind this. Just then, a buzzing sound resonated from his body, and a ball of green light shot out from his sleeve. After a brief blur, it transformed into a hazy phantom and hurtled toward the distant pillar of light.
Han Li's expression changed drastically. He thrust one large hand forward while an invisible force swept out, instantly freezing the green light several hundred zhang away.
Once the green light dimmed, it was none other than the small green bottle.
But at this moment, countless dark-green runes surfaced across the bottle's exterior, and the entire vessel trembled violently to the point of near-transparency, as though it were desperately trying to break free from its restraint.
Almost at the same time, a piercing shriek suddenly emanated from the nearby milky-white pillar of light. A ball of yellow light flashed within and shot toward Han Li like a meteor.
Han Li's heart clenched. Without a second thought, he thrust his other hand outward and grabbed toward the distance.
Immediately, the space above the yellow light rippled, and a golden giant hand several zhang tall materialized out of thin air. With just a slight spread of its five fingers, it seized the yellow light below in a flash.
A sudden hissing erupted from within the yellow light!
Countless cyan threads shot out from within, piercing the seemingly indestructible golden hand through with countless holes. After a final tremor, the hand dissolved into motes of spiritual light and vanished.
The ball of yellow light blurred again and crossed several li in an instant, appearing right beside the small green bottle.
After the yellow radiance swept away and dissipated, another small bottle of pale yellow emerged.
Its shape and design were identical to the small green bottle in every way—only its color was a pale yellow, and its entire body shimmered with flowing light, giving it an eerie sensation of not being entirely solid.
The moment it appeared, it rushed eagerly toward the small green bottle, seemingly intent on merging directly with it.
With a muffled "bang,"
the surface of the green bottle suddenly flared with light. A layer of dark-green light patterns materialized out of thin air and forcefully repelled the yellow bottle away.
The yellow bottle rolled several zhang away before its light consolidated and it steadied itself.
Two points of yellow light flashed on the bottle's body, and two black eyeballs the size of beans appeared in an eerily lifelike manner, showing an expression of unmistakable surprise.
The yellow bottle moved again, rushing frantically around the green bottle. But no matter what method it employed, it was forcefully repelled by the dark-green light patterns each time, unable to get anywhere near the green bottle.
The pair of black eyes on the yellow bottle flashed wildly in succession, gradually revealing an expression of extreme anxiety.
Meanwhile, not far away, Han Li—who had been forming some kind of Immortal Realm hand seals—saw this and let out a long sigh of relief.
Merging that replica into the Small Bottle's vessel and temporarily seizing control of it was indeed highly effective against the Bottle Spirit. No wonder the immortal Ma Liang had been bestowed a replica when descending to the lower realms. It was almost certain that the Nine Origin Dao Ancestor had harbored similar intentions.
These thoughts ran through Han Li's mind, but his face betrayed not a hint of expression. Instead, he swayed once and drifted slowly toward the two bottles.
The Saint Ancestor Yuan Yan, who had been following behind them, was also struck dumb by this unexpected scene.
He and the other two great Ancestors had been taking turns guarding Bitter Spirit Island for tens of thousands of years—how could he not have known that such a wondrous treasure existed on the island?
Although the yellow bottle had not yet truly taken physical form, it had clearly developed genuine spiritual awareness. Its value was surely no less than that of an ordinary Mystic Heaven treasure.
As for why Han Li knew this treasure was here, and that it shared such deep connections with another treasure in his possession—the Demon Ancestor had no desire to dwell further on the reasons.
Instead, his heart surged with heat, and he too wanted to follow Han Li a bit closer.
But just then, a thunderclap cracked nearby. The Crab Daoist had, at some unknown moment, positioned himself directly in his path. Countless silver arcs of lightning crackled around his body, and he stared coldly at Yuan Yan without a word.
Saint Ancestor Yuan Yan's heart clenched. He halted in his tracks, his violet eyes darting between Han Li's retreating figure in the distance and the Crab Daoist's expressionless face before him. A look of hesitation surfaced on his features, and for the moment, he could not decide whether to force his way through.
Although he had never fought Han Li since the latter's ascension to the Mahayana stage, the fact that Han Li had managed to survive his grasp back when he was merely at the Integration stage meant his strength after reaching Mahayana was likely far more terrifying than the rumors suggested. On top of that, there was this Pseudo-Immortal puppet of extraordinary Mahayana-level power watching him like a predator from the side.
Though he had always held himself in high regard, he absolutely did not believe he stood any real chance of defeating his opponent. Seizing the treasure was nothing but a daydream. If anything, a rash move would only infuriate Han Li greatly and earn himself a true mortal enemy.