None of them, Han Li included, had any objections to what Hehuan Lao Mo had said, and the group returned to Linggui Island first.
Han Li asked Zhiyang Shangren for a private chamber, intending to meditate and rest for the night, while Wei Wuya and the others went ahead to collect the formation disks from the formation masters.
Early the next morning, Han Li received Zhiyang Shangren's voice transmission while still inside his chamber and promptly made his way to the great hall.
Wei Wuya and the other two were already seated in chairs, huddled together and discussing something. Raising an eyebrow, Han Li walked over without ceremony.
"Fellow Daoist Han, please have a seat. These are the exact locations where the formation disks need to be buried, based on our study of the sealing formation. I hope you'll keep them on your person and memorize them thoroughly." As soon as Wei Wuya saw Han Li approach, he greeted him courteously, then flipped his palm to produce a pale-red jade slip, which he placed on the table before him.
"Oh? Let me take a look." Han Li said evenly.
With a casual gesture, the jade slip shot toward him with a soft whoosh, and he caught it in his hand. He then sat down in a nearby chair and submerged his spiritual sense into the slip.
After a while, Han Li's expression gradually changed. By the time he withdrew his spiritual sense from the jade slip, his face had turned completely grim.
"The three of you want me to go to such depths to place the formation disks. Are you perhaps only interested in ensuring I never return?" Han Li tossed the jade slip back onto the table, raised his head, and spoke coldly.
"How could you say such a thing, Fellow Daoist? Although the placement locations are quite deep, with your Evil-Warding Divine Lightning protecting you, reaching them should pose no problem whatsoever." Hehuan Lao Mo remained composed, his voice calm.
"Oh? Does Brother Hehuan believe that my Evil-Warding Divine Lightning will never be depleted? Or perhaps once the formation disks are placed, there's simply no need to worry about whether I make it back?" Han Li glanced at the old devil with a tone of barely suppressed irritation.
"If I'm hearing you correctly, your Evil-Warding Divine Lightning isn't sufficient for a round trip. But Wei here remembers that during the battle against the Ancient Devil in Devilfall Valley, you unleashed quite an impressive quantity of Evil-Warding Divine Lightning. It really shouldn't be a problem." Wei Wuya furrowed his brow and spoke slowly.
"Fellow Daoists, even if you've entered the demonic qi before, I suspect you haven't gone particularly deep." Han Li said with a strange look on his face.
"Indeed? Fellow Daoist Han, what do you mean by that…?" Wei Wuya was taken aback.
Hehuan Lao Mo's eyes flickered several times, but he said nothing. Zhiyang Shangren, meanwhile, lowered his head, seemingly deep in thought.
"If you've gone deep enough, you'd know very well that the deeper one descends into the abyss of demonic qi, the stronger the demonic nature within it becomes — and the faster the Evil-Warding Divine Lightning is consumed. That's a conclusion I reached only after descending two or three hundred zhang. I may possess a fair amount of Evil-Warding Divine Lightning, but in demonic qi several thousand zhang down, it would not sustain me for long." Han Li placed both hands over his chest, interlocked his ten fingers, and said with cold detachment.
"Is that so? Brother Zhiyang, of the three of us, you've penetrated the deepest into the demonic qi. Is this true?" Wei Wuya's brow furrowed even tighter as he turned to ask Zhiyang Shangren directly.
"That is indeed the case. When I used a secret technique to penetrate deeper into the demonic qi, I could clearly feel my Magical Power draining faster than it had when I first entered. I originally assumed Fellow Daoist Han hadn't noticed, and was actually about to warn him!" Zhiyang Shangren sighed and nodded in confirmation.
"If that's the case, then had we originally sent cultivators carrying demon-repelling treasures into the demonic qi, even if they were fine at first, once they ventured deeper, they would have faced the same risk of demonic corruption." Hehuan Lao Mo's expression shifted as well.
"Exactly. That is why I've never been particularly enthusiastic about the original plan. But before Fellow Daoist Han appeared, there was no alternative, so I did not object." A bitter smile crossed Zhiyang Shangren's face.
Han Li watched the conversation and the expressions of the three with cold eyes, though inwardly he felt a measure of exasperation.
He genuinely couldn't tell whether the three of them were truly ignorant of this matter or had deliberately conspired together with ill intentions. But regardless, this was their oversight. There was no way he would simply agree to this.
The great hall fell into a brief silence.
Asking someone to place formation disks when they knew full well it was a suicide mission — no one in their right mind would agree to it.
As for pressuring Han Li with talk of righteousness or the greater good, that was entirely out of the question.
Everyone present was a practical person. Cultivators who had reached their level of power would not sacrifice themselves for the sake of a minor region in the South, let alone for the entirety of the Tian Nan region — even if the whole of Tian Nan were to be destroyed, not a single person among them would do something so selfless. At worst, they would simply pack up and leave Tian Nan altogether.
For cultivators of their stature, establishing themselves in a new land would be effortless.
And the entire Tian Nan, apart from Han Li, had no one capable of entering the demonic qi to carry out the mission. The three great cultivators found themselves exchanging helpless glances.
Just then, Han Li's eyes flickered, and he spoke up in a suddenly gentler tone: "I understand. This matter is indeed of great importance, and it places all three of you in a difficult position. But I do have an idea that might work."
"Whatever it is, please speak freely, Fellow Daoist Han." Zhiyang Shangren said quickly.
Wei Wuya and Hehuan Lao Mo both perked up, turning to look at him with anticipation.
"It's quite simple. I'm confident that I can sustain my Evil-Warding Divine Lightning long enough to place the formation disks, but the return trip would be the real challenge. So the demon-repelling treasures you originally prepared — you'll need to lend them to me. That way, I could hold out for a longer period. Naturally, even with that, the danger would still be considerable…" At this point, Han Li's voice trailed off, as though he were having second thoughts.
"No problem at all! As long as the formation disks are placed, lending you the demon-repelling treasures is entirely acceptable." Wei Wuya's face brightened with relief, and he spoke hastily.