Devil Concord snorted and coldly said, “Why is Fellow Daoist Wei asking when you already know the answer? Don’t tell me you don’t fear what he could become? Since he’s already entered mid-Nascent Soul stage at such a young age and possesses such mighty abilities, by the time he reaches late-Nascent Soul stage we will no longer have our current standing in the Heavenly South.”

Wei Wuya glanced at Devil Concord and mysteriously smiled. “Hehe! My point of view is a bit different from yours.” 

“So you’re of a different opinion? You may as well say it. Could it be you have the confidence to suppress him after he reaches late-Nascent Soul stage?”

“Suppress? Why would I want to do that? I am the oldest of the three great cultivators of the Heavenly South. I only have over a hundred years more to live before I perish. Even if he were the reincarnation of a true immortal, he wouldn’t be able to reach late Nascent Soul stage in a hundred years. And even if that’s the case and he suppresses the entirely Heavenly South, what does that have to do with me?”

After hearing this, Devil Concord said, “Brother Wei is willing to allow one person to forcibly wrest away the power you took such effort and care to obtain? If you were to make an alliance with me, I may even make a few concessions to you.”

“I’m not interested,” Wei Wuya bluntly responded with a smile, “Doesn’t Brother Concord feel that it is a bit too late to take action? I might be tempted if you made this offer while he was at early-Nascent Soul stage, but now, his abilities are no weaker than ours despite not being at the same stage as us. I have no interest in making an enemy of a cultivator on the same level as my own, neither do I wish to doom my sect to disaster. Brother Concord had best remember that existences on our level are very difficult to extinguish. Even with an ambush and assistance, it still won't be enough. Of course, if you were able to create an entrapment similar to what we used to deal with the Elder Devil, that would be a different story.”

Wei Wuya then added on, “But from the way I see it, you should avoid doing any underhanded tricks and provoking his wrath. After all, this person could potentially unify the Heavenly South in the future. Don’t forget the mighty Deity Transformation stage cultivators that had unified the Heavenly South in the past.”  

When Devil Concord heard him, he sank into thought and said nothing else.

Meanwhile, Han Li and Master Sunreach delved about ten kilometers deep into the whirlpool. Under the heavy pressure of the spiritual Qi, the two were unable to quickly fly to the bottom and could only slowly descend.

Han Li already took out his Bluelight Shield and had it cover his body in a layer of blue light. At that moment, over thirty streaks of golden light began to quickly swirl around his body, taking him even deeper into the whirlpool.

As for Master Sunreach, he delved down with ease. By depending on a single white flying sword to revolve around his body, he was able to easily cut through the layers of white spiritual Qi in the whirlpool and followed at Han Li’s side.

Han Li felt a trace of admiration when he saw this. As he expected, late Nascent Soul eccentrics were unique existences. 

With that thought, Han Li then swept his surroundings with his spiritual sense. He was only able to spread it about forty meters below before being repelled, preventing him from seeing any further.

As for his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, they were able to see a little over a hundred meters below, but  all he saw was white mist. However, his Brightsight Spirit Eyes would occasionally spot any spiritual Qi whirlpools when they appeared, allowing him to avoid them with ease.

Of course, Master Sunreach noticed how nimbly Han Li avoided these hidden whirlpools of spiritual Qi prior to their appearance, causing him to feel rather impressed and even more strongly about winning Han Li over to his side. As for the possible unification of the Heavenly South under Han Li when he potentially reached late Nascent Soul stage, Master Sunreach didn’t care much for it.

If he wasn’t mistaken, Han Li was a cultivator who wholeheartedly pursued the Heavenly Dao. So long as there was nothing that concerned him personally, he would simply continue to silently cultivate, rather than pursue anything that would cause him unnecessary trouble. Were this not the case, Han Li would’ve seized control over the State of Xi with ease. According to the Righteous Dao’s reports on the State of Xi, when Han Li was an early Nascent Soul stage and later entered mid-Nascent Soul stage, he didn’t reveal any power-hungry tendencies, much to the relief of Master Sunreach.

After the time it took to finish a meal, Han Li reckoned that he had already delved over thirty kilometers deep and he couldn’t help but take a look up above. There was a white mist of spiritual Qi that he was unable to see through, separating him from the outside world.

Given the immense pressure that Han Li’s flying swords were subjected to, he reckoned that only mid-Nascent Soul cultivators were able to sink this deep into the whirlpool. Were it not for the fact that his Azure Essence Sword Arts provided a deeper magic power than similarly ranked cultivators, he would find the pressure quite strenuous.

Just as Han Li sank into his thoughts, Master Sunreach called out to him, “Fellow Daoist Han! We’re about to arrive at the bottom. Be careful!”

“Many thanks, Brother Sunreach!” Han Li quickly recollected himself and gazed downward.

As a result, he saw a blinding white radiance flooding his view as if there were layers upon layers of light below him. When Han Li saw this, he slowed his descent. A short moment later, Han Li  and Master Sunreach stopped about twenty meters above the white light barrier. With his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, Han Li was able to clearly see countless threads of Devilish Qi squirm 

Staring at the light barrier, Han Li muttered, “So this is suppressing the Devilish Qi. It will prove quite troublesome.”

Master Sunreach explained, “That’s right, the amount of devilish Qi has turned it into an abyss. It is unknown how far deep it goes. I won’t conceal this from you. My own cultivation art possess some evil warding properties and I attempted to go in. But I was only able to reach about three hundred meters deep before I was unable to further persist. In matters of both its devilish nature and quantity, it isn’t something that common cultivators can touch. Devil cultivators that practice ancient devilish arts will have a massive spike in cultivation if they were to touch it, but conversely, their souls will become corrupt and be lost.”

Han Li nodded as he listened and stared at the devilish Qi behind the light barrier as he silently mulled over the matter.

After a short moment of thought, Han Li said, “Brother Sunreach, wait here for a moment. I’m going to take a look and see how formidable this devilish Qi is.”

“Be careful, Brother Han!” Master Sunreach wasn’t surprised in the slightest by Han Li’s action.

Han Li didn’t say anything further and his silhouette blurred several times before appearing with the tip of his foot touching the light barrier. Then a foot-long streak of azure sword Qi shot down and instantly pierced through the light barrier and traveled into the devilish Qi before disappearing without a trace.

Han Li revealed a bit of surprise, but he soon realized something. The light barrier was only effective against devilish Qi; he wouldn’t need to expend any effort to make an opening through it.

With that thought, the golden swordstreaks revolving around him began to sing with thunder and began to spark with arcs of golden lightning, creating a giant net of lightning around him.

As of current, his understanding and grasp of Divine Devilbane Lightning had reached a realm beyond comprehension. With his hands forming an incantation gesture, the net of lightning quickly shrank and wrapped around his blue light barrier in the blink of an eye, creating a huge ball of lightning around him. As for his flying swords, they shrank to the size of several inches under his command and quickly flew into his sleeve.

With that done, Han Li silently sank through the light barrier and entered the devilish Qi without any resistance.

Thunder loudly rang out and black devilish Qi began to lash out around him, but the rings of thunder dispersed the devilish Qi as they continuously swarmed around him. 

Han Li made no immediately movements. He simply stood in place as he observed the Divine Devilbane Lightning disperse the clouds of devilish Qi. As a result, the devilish Qi quickly restored its original form and rushed around him once more.

Han Li frowned and his heart sank after he saw the rate at which the Divine Devilbane Lightning was being consumed. He tilted his head in thought before delving deeper into the devilish Qi.

As of current, Han Li had no mind to spread his spiritual sense past the light barrier. The concentrated devilish essence of the Qi below could corrupt a cultivator’s spiritual sense, inflicting immense harm on anyone foolish enough to do so.

His only option for the time being was to use the Brightsight Spirit Eyes to gaze into the pitch-black depths. However, they were only able to look about ten meters deep before he could see no more.

After sinking about six hundred meters deep, Han Li paused and looked around him. Then a short moment later, he immediately returned up.

When Master Sunreach saw Han Li appear, he smiled at him and said, “The Divine Devilbane Lightning is clearly powerful. You were able to stay inside for such a large period of time without the slightest damage. It is deserving of its grand reputation.

“It wasn’t much,” Han Li calmly replied, “Since the devilish Qi isn’t under anyone’s control, it is easily scattered. Let’s return and have the discussion up above.”

Master Sunreach promptly nodded in agreement. Then, Han Li withdrew his golden lightning and summoned his flying sword before flying back to the surface.

...

When the two arrived at the surface, Wei Wuya calmly asked them, “How was it? With Fellow Daoist Han’s Divine Devilbane Lightning, you should be free to move inside the devilish Qi!” 

After a moment of thought, Han Li answered, “I already gave it a try, but before I agree, I have to first ask you where you want the formation plate. If the location is too deep inside the devilish Qi, I fear that my Divine Devilbane Lightning will not be able to last.”

Devil Concord then proposed, “Let us return to the cave residence to discuss the specific location. The formation plate is still in the hands of those formation masters. Let us first go retrieve the plate and then have the discussion then. After all, the formation plate wasn’t easily created so we cannot lose it in the process.”