Chapter 413: Rumor
Han Li noticed this, and he raised a hand to summon his azure flying boat, then gestured for her to fly onboard.
Lu Yuqing offered him her gratitude, then flew onto the spirit boat, as did Han Li.
Immediately thereafter, he began to chant an incantation, then swept a sleeve through the air to release a ball of heavy water, which transformed into a layer of black light that quickly spread over the boat to envelop it in its entirety.
Enshrouded within the black light barrier, all of the spiritual power fluctuations emanating from the spirit boat instantly subsided, and it transformed into an undetectable shadow that wasn\'t giving off even the slightest aura.
Han Li gave a pleased nod upon seeing this. This was a concealment ability that he had invented by combining his heavy water and the laws of water that he had gleaned, and it seemed that it was quite effective.
As the flying boat continued onward, it didn\'t take long before it caught up to Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan, but Han Li made sure to stay out of their spiritual sensory range, trailing along behind them from afar.
"Why are we following them, Brother Liu?" Lu Yuqing asked.
She didn\'t dare to release her spiritual sense earlier for fear of being detected, so she didn\'t hear the conversation between Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan.
"Judging from their earlier conversation, they seemed to have discovered an interesting place the last time the immortal manor was opened, and they\'re revisiting that place now. This is our first time in the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor, so we don\'t know much about it at all, and this isn\'t one of the areas on your map, so as opposed to stumbling around without any direction, we may as well follow them," Han Li explained.
"It sounds like we\'re in luck. These two are quite formidable, but they\'re no match for you, Brother Liu. If they\'re going after some treasures, then we can just spring up on them at the last second and claim those treasures for ourselves!" Lu Yuqing said with a smile.
Han Li also smiled in response, then began to focus his attention on tracking Patriarch ColdFlame and Xiong Shan.
He wasn\'t concerned about Patriarch Cold Flame, but Xiong Shan possessed quite an advanced cultivation base and was also very cautious and alert, so he didn\'t dare to take him lightly.
Lu Yuqing could see that Han Li was trying to focus, so she fell silent in order to refrain from disturbing him, then sat down with her legs crossed on the spirit boat to meditate.
……
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the immortal manor.
There was a vast ice field that spread as far as the eyes could see in all directions, and aside from some small hills, there was only a lone snow-covered peak at the center of the ice field, extending all the way up into the clouds.
The area was very quiet aside from the sound of the occasional gusts of wind, and right at this moment, a semi-transparent white vortex emerged in front of the lone peak amid a burst of spatial fluctuations.
The vortex then faded to reveal a green jade flying carriage that was around 100 feet in length.
The carriage was long and sleek, and there were intricate engravings on its surface, much like what one would expect to see on a jade scepter. Standing on the carriage was a tall man, and there were also a pair of halberd-wielding puppets clad in golden armor on the carriage.
The man\'s entire body was enshrouded within a layer of white light, giving him a rather hazy appearance, but one could still just barely make out his facial features.
As soon as he appeared, he swept his gaze over the surrounding area before setting his sights on a certain direction.
"It looks like I\'m not too late," the man murmured to himself, following which the flying carriage beneath his feet shot forward as a ball of green light, vanishing into the distant sky shortly thereafter.
……
Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan continued in their travels without pause, and three or four days flew by in the blink of an eye.
At this point, the vast ice field down below had been replaced by a mountainous region that was covered in a thick layer of glistening ice and snow, presenting a spectacular sight to behold.
Occasionally, some clusters of palaces could be spotted among the snow-covered mountains, and some were even releasing hints of spiritual power fluctuations, indicating that they contained certain treasures.
However, Patriarch Cold Flame\'s duo didn\'t even bother to take a glance at any of these buildings as they continued to fly onward.
Han Li was rather intrigued and wanted to go down to take a look, but he had no opportunity to do so as he had to keep following the duo.
"Looks like they\'re going someplace very far away. I hope they won\'t disappoint us," Lu Yuqing sighed.
"Let\'s just wait and see," Han Li replied with a nod.
A few more days passed by in a flash, but even after flying for so long, they still didn\'t seem any closer to reaching the end of the Light Frost Region.
Han Li was quite taken aback to see this. He had thought that this was only an immortal manor, yet the Light Frost Region alone seemed to be comparable in size to the Black Wind Sea. With that in mind, the entirety of the immortal manor was most likely just as enormous as a small plane.
Patriarch Cold Flame showed no intention of stopping as they continued to fly onward, and a few more days passed by in the blink of an eye.
The snow-covered mountains below gradually faded away, and a boundless sea emerged up ahead.
The water in the sea was as black as inky and appeared to be extremely viscous, as evidenced by the fact that there weren\'t many waves sweeping over the surface of the sea despite the fierce wind.
The entire surface of the sea resembled an infinitely vast black mirror, presenting a rather unsettling sight to behold.
Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan flew directly onward without any hesitation, but Han Li stopped at the edge of the black sea with slightly furrowed brows.
Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan had been flying without pause this entire time, and he couldn\'t help but wonder if they had perhaps already noticed him and Lu Yuqing and were intentionally leading them into a trap.
In this unfamiliar environment that was fraught with peril, he couldn\'t afford to get complacent.
He cast his gaze toward the black sea up ahead, then turned to Lu Yuqing as he asked, "Do you know anything about this black sea?"
"I\'m afraid not, Brother Liu," Lu Yuqing replied with a shake of her head.
Han Li\'s brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, and he fell into deep thought.
Lu Yuqing took a glance at her surroundings, then asked, "Should we keep following them, Brother Liu?"
At this point, she was also beginning to grow a little uneasy.
Han Li was silent for a moment, then replied, "It would be a waste to stop here after following them for so long. I want to see this through to the end."
With that, he made a hand seal and spurred the azure flying boat onward.
At this point, Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan had already vanished out of sight, but that wasn\'t a cause for concern as Han Li could still follow the spiritual power traces that they had left behind.
It didn\'t take long for Han Li to catch up to the duo, and close to two more days passed by in a flash.
Han Li was standing atop his flying boat with slightly furrowed brows. He didn\'t know just how vast this black sea was, but after flying for so long, he was certain that they were already quite deep in the area.
They had already been following Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan for close to 10 days. If they had spent that time searching for treasures on their own, they would\'ve been sure to have reaped some spoils, yet they were still empty-handed right now, and they could only hope that the duo that they were following really was leading them to some exceptional treasures. Otherwise, the incurred opportunity cost would be quite significant.
All of a sudden, Han Li leaned forward slightly as if he had spotted something up ahead.
"What is it, Brother Liu?" Lu Yuqing asked.
As soon as her voice trailed off, clouds of white mist suddenly appeared over the sea up ahead.
Specks of white light were visible within the mist, presenting a rather peculiar sight to behold.
Wisps of bone-chilling glacial qi were emanating out of the white mist, significantly lowering the nearby air temperature.
A contemplative look appeared on Lu Yuqing\'s face upon hearing this.
Meanwhile, Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan stopped in their tracks, and they were ecstatic to see this white mist.
"We finally found it!" Patriarch Cold Flame exclaimed in an excited voice, and his elation was mirrored on Xiong Shan\'s face as well.
The two of them then inspected their surroundings momentarily to check if they were being followed.
At this point, Han Li\'s flying boat had also drawn to a halt, and his eyes instantly lit up as he heard the exchange between Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan.
It seemed that they had finally arrived at their destination.
As Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan began to scour their surroundings, Han Li hurriedly backtracked a little with his flying boat.
Thankfully, Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan didn\'t notice anything amiss, and they quickly continued onward, flying into the mist at a far faster speed than before.
Han Li\'s azure flying boat also accelerated at his behest, and as soon as it flew into the white mist, it was instantly infiltrated by bursts of glacial qi.
This glacial qi was quite peculiar in that it resembled needles, making it extremely penetrative, able to pierce through the heavy water barrier, and a layer of frost was slowly beginning to appear on the surface of the flying boat.
Han Li\'s brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he swept a sleeve through the air to release a set of several dozen small blue flags that flew to the edges of the flying boat before vanishing into it.
A blue light barrier instantly emerged to envelop the flying boat, keeping the glacial qi at bay.
Right at this moment, Lu Yuqing suddenly sprang to her feet.
Han Li was slightly alarmed, and he immediately asked, "What\'s wrong?"
"Brother Liu, I just recalled a rumor about the Light Frost Region. It\'s said that there\'s a sea of mist in the region that contains extremely formidable glacial qi, and within the sea of mist lies the Light Frost Palace, the premier treasure trove of the entire region! However, no one has ever been able to find it. Could it be..."
Han Li\'s eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this.
Thinking back to the excitement that Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan had displayed while discussing their destination, it was very likely that their objective was indeed to reach this Light Frost Palace.
With that in mind, Han Li immediately spurred on his flying boat to accelerate a little further.
The more they advanced through this area, the denser the white mist became until visibility was virtually zero.
However, Patriarch Cold Flame and Xiong Shan seemed to be very familiar with this place, and they were traversing through the mist without pause.
After flying for around three hours, the two of them abruptly drew to a halt.
Han Li had been keeping tabs on them this entire time, and he immediately stopped as well, concealing his flying boat in a cloud of white mist as he cast his gaze forward.
His eyes then instantly lit up as he spotted a black island situated in the sea up ahead. It was only a small island that was around 10 to 15 kilometers in size, and it was entirely enshrouded in a layer black light that looked as if it were formed by countless tiny black needles.
The black light was flowing like liquid, and beyond the black light barrier was the faint outline of a majestic palace.