Chapter 1757: Returning to Deep Heaven City
As such, Han Li could only rely on his own knowledge and formation expertise to gradually rectify these lightning formations, expending a vast amount of time and effort in the process.
The lightning formation that he had just emerged out of was the one that he held in the highest regard.
This formation could draw upon the power of lightning to form a short-distance teleportation formation that worked within a range of around 5,000 kilometers.
Using this formation, Lei Yunzi was able to teleport himself to his desired destination accurate to the nearest 1,000 feet, and he could complete the entire teleportation process in the span of just a few breaths.
However, due to the fact that Han Li had received a flawed version of the technique, no matter how hard he tried, he could only randomly teleport within a range of 5,000 kilometers. Furthermore, the teleportation process took him over 10 times longer than it did for Lei Yunzi.
That last teleportation was another experiment conducted by Han Li following the latest improvements he had made, but the effect was still the same.
This made his resentment toward Lei Yunzi boil over, and he couldn't help but curse Lei Yunzi's name.
At this point, it had already taken him over 100 years to get to this place from the other side of the Tian Yuan Continent, and he was naturally ecstatic to see these human cultivators.
Referencing some rough maps of the continent, he knew that he was close to human territory, but there was no way to accurately gauge how much further he still had to go.
Furthermore, these were the first human brethren he had seen in many years, and their presence verified to him that Deep Heaven City was indeed not far away, so how could he not be ecstatic?
After wandering across multiple lands for countless years, he was constantly meeting different beasts and foreign beings, so he naturally missed being back in human company.
Most importantly, Han Li had always been concerned about whether Nangong Wan had ascended yet. He didn't know if this beloved wife of his had successfully ascended to the Spirit Realm, and whether she had also arrived at Deep Heaven City.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but there were many thoughts racing through his mind. He raised a hand, and a shimmering azure flying carriage was released.
The carriage was around 70 to 80 feet in length with many profound runes inscribed over its surface. There were also two winged giant wolf puppets that were hovering in mid-air in front of the carriage.
"All of you look to have sustained severe injuries that'll hamper your ability to travel over long distances, so you can rest in the carriage and just give me directions," Han Li said in a calm manner, before entering the carriage himself.
"Thank you for your kindness, Senior!"
The four human cultivators were quite elated to hear this and hurriedly expressed their gratitude.
Han Li had told them that he wasn't a Body Integration cultivator, but they knew that he was no ordinary Spatial Tempering cultivator either. Otherwise, how could he have managed to kill that Spatial Tempering Stage Stone Origin Turtle so easily? With that in mind, they naturally didn't dare to go against his wishes.
On top of that, they really were in dire need of rest and recuperation, so they were more than happy to follow this order. What was going to be an extremely treacherous journey back was virtually guaranteed to be a completely safe one now with the accompaniment of such a powerful being.
Thus, the four of them flew onto the flying carriage in quick succession, and Han Li made a hand seal, sending two azure incantation seals flying through the air, each of which flew into one of the two giant wolf puppets.
The stationary puppets immediately seemed to have sprung to life, and they let loose bursts of low roars before flapping their wings and flying through the air.
Meanwhile, an azure light barrier appeared around the flying carriage to shield the four human cultivators, and the carriage flew into the distance as a ball of azure light.
Han Li sat with his legs crossed at the center of the carriage, and asked, "Which region are you from, and how long has it been since you left Deep Heaven City?"
The scholarly man was clearly the leader of the four, and he replied in a respectful manner, "The four of us came from a sect in the Xuan Wu Region, and it's only been around half a year since we left the city."
"Half a year, eh? That means you should be quite familiar with recent events in Deep Heaven City, right?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
The scholarly man could sense where this conversation was going, and he replied in a cautious manner, "We stayed in Deep Heaven City for several years prior to embarking on our journey, so we do indeed know a thing or two about recent matters in the city. However, as you can see, our cultivation bases are far from exceptional, so we don't know any confidential information."
"Hehe, there's no need for you to be so tense. I also came from Deep Heaven City, but haven't been back for many years, so I just wanted to hear about the overall situation. Seeing as Deep Heaven City still stands, I presume the foreign beings from back then didn't manage to conquer it," Han Li chuckled.
The scholarly man was rather taken aback to hear this, but he immediately replied in a truthful manner, "Foreign beings? Was that when you left Deep Heaven City, Senior? At the time, a few of the nearby races joined forces to attack the city, but our human race and the demon race put up firm resistance, and both sides suffered severe casualties. I've heard that there were even Body Integration Stage beings who had perished during that battle. However, just as the battle reached its climax, the foreign army suddenly retreated without any warning, which was how Deep Heaven City managed to survive."
"They retreated?" Han Li stroked his chin as a contemplative look appeared on his face.
"Indeed. There were many different theories speculating the reason behind it. Some people say that our two races sent out our elite forces to attack the territories of these foreign races, thereby forcing them into retreat; there are also some people who say that a new Profound Heavenly Treasure appeared, so all of the foreign beings set off to search for the treasure," the crimson-armored man explained.
Han Li heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged as he asked, "What are the rumors about the Profound Heavenly Treasure?"
"This was something that created quite a stir back then. Some people say that the treasure was suddenly born within a certain foreign race, while others speculate that a foreign being of the Body Integration Stage or above carried this treasure to our continent. There's even a conspiracy speculating that someone ascended from one of the lower realms and carried such a treasure into this realm," the scholarly man replied with a wry smile.
"Hehe, someone ascended from a lower realm?" Han Li couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this.
"You also find that quite absurd, right, Senior? Profound Heavenly Treasures are extraordinary items; how could someone from a lower realm possibly be in possession of such a treasure? We have no clue how such ridiculous rumors came into existence," one of the female cultivators said with a smile.
Han Li nodded in an ambiguous manner as he said, "It is indeed quite absurd. Alright, tell me about all of the major events that took place in the three regions and seven territories during the past 200 years."
"Many major events took place during the past 200 years that shook the three regions and seven territories, but it'll take a very long time for us to recount all of those events," the scholarly man said with a fawning smile.
"That's alright, we have such a long journey ahead anyway, so that should provide more than enough time for your stories," Han Li replied with a faint smile.
"In that case, we'll do our best to provide an accurate account of the timeline of events," the scholarly man replied in a respectful manner.
At this point, he had already taken some pills and was holding a spirit stone, which he was using to slowly replenish his energy.
Thus, the scholarly man began his recount. "The most important event to have taken place during the past 200 years was the death of the Heavenly Spirit Sovereign several decades ago. He passed away after failing to transcend his final heavenly tribulation, and a new spirit sovereign is about to be chosen in the human race. Second to that was the disappearance of the young daughter of one of the seven demon monarchs, the Nan Li Wyrm Monarch. His daughter mysteriously vanished from his lair, and for that, the wyrm monarch kicked up a massive fuss that almost tipped the three regions and seven territories onto its head."
Meanwhile, his three companions interjected to add details that he had missed from time to time.
Han Li's expression initially remained unchanged as he listened to these stories, but a hint of surprise gradually appeared in his eyes, only to be slowly replaced by a rather grim expression.
It seemed that a few earth-shattering events really had taken place in the human and demon races during the years that he had been away.
Only after close to half a day did the four human cultivators finally complete their recounts, and when their voices trailed off, Han Li fell into silent contemplation.
The four human cultivators naturally waited respectfully for Han Li to respond.
After a while, Han Li suddenly asked, "Has a female cultivator from a lower realm by the name of Nangong Wan appeared in Deep Heaven City during these years?"
"Nangong Wan? I've never heard of that name before. Lower realm cultivators who have ascended during these past 200 years have been exceedingly rare, so we should definitely be aware of all of them," the scholarly man gave a confident reply after pondering this question for a moment.
Han Li's eyes flashed, and a thought occurred to him as he continued, "Oh, perhaps she changed her name. Have there been any female cultivators who have ascended to Deep Heaven City of late?"
"Ascended female cultivators are even rarer, but there have been a few," the scholarly man replied in a slightly hesitant manner.
"Alright, thank you for disclosing all of this information to me. I'll leave you to rest and recuperate now." Han Li nodded with a pleased expression before closing his eyes and falling silent.
The four human cultivators also expressed their gratitude before closing their eyes to meditate.
Han Li's expression appeared to be quite placid, but his mind was filled with Nangong Wan's gentle voice and smile.
He had thought about her regularly for so many years, and after learning that there was a large chance that Nangong Wan had failed to ascend to the Spirit Realm, his heart began to throb with pain.
The azure flying carriage flew even faster than when the four human cultivators had combined their powers, and a journey that should've taken over two months was completed in only about one and a half months.
The flying carriage stopped high in the air above Deep Heaven City, and a complex look appeared on Han Li's face as he looked at the monolithic city walls in the distance.
After wandering in foreign territory for so many years, he had finally returned to a home of sorts.
"Should we teleport into the city now, Senior?" the scholarly man asked in a careful manner.
Not far away from the carriage stood a teleportation formation that was several tens of feet in size, and there were a dozen or so azure-armored Dark Azure Guard standing around the formation.
Light flashed from the formation, and several humanoid figures conversed with the Dark Azure Guards before entering the formation and vanishing on the spot.
This was none other than the teleportation formation that led into Deep Heaven City.
Due to the fact that this city directly faced the primordial world, it didn't have a normal city gate, so those who wanted to enter the primordial world had to do so through teleportation formations.
As for the guards in Deep Heaven City who have to complete missions from time to time, they had their own set of even more obscure teleportation formations.