Chapter 590: Final Preparations


    In the sky above the azure mountain range, the ball of white light began shing erratically as countless white runes surged out of it.


    A dull thump then rang out as the ball of light abruptly exploded, scattering into countless specks of white spiritual light.


    The Gold Devouring Immortal shuddered as a hint of lucidity slowly returned to its zed-over eyes, and the white vortexes deep within its pupils faded as it looked around with a bewildered expression.


    "What happened? Haven''t I already returned to the Insect Race and progressed to the Great Epassment Stage? What am I doing here?" it roared in an rmed and furious voice.


    All of a sudden, its expression stiffened as it cast its gaze forward.


    It had detected the aura of its target, the target that it was already supposed to have captured and devoured, and its aura had be significantly more powerful than before!


    <em>Could it be that I fell prey to some type of illusion? </em>


    The fury in the Gold Devouring Immortal''s eyes gradually faded as it turned to inspect its surroundings.


    It was a calm and pleasant day with a warm breeze blowing over the azure mountain range, and there didn''t appear to be anything amiss.


    The Gold Devouring Immortal quickly withdrew its gaze as a hesitant look appeared on its face.


    It raised one of its front limbs before extending it forward, and the golden light radiating from its body suddenly converged in front of it to form a circr golden array.


    There were countless golden runes dancing within the array, and it seemed that some type of secret technique was being used.


    All of a sudden, a stunned look appeared in the Gold Devouring Immortal''s eyes as it eximed, "I''ve already been here for 20 years!"


    A fearful look then appeared on its face as it hurriedly began scanning its surroundings again.


    The Gold Devouring Immortal had been residing in the primordialnd for countless years, so it was naturally far more familiar with the primordialnd than an outsider like Han Li.


    The Insect Race and the Beast Race were nothing more than insignificant races situated on the outskirts of the primordialnd, while the true rulers of thend were the four monarch races.


    All of the four monarch races were extremely powerful and presided over enormous territories, iming all of the regions of the primordialnd with the most abundant spiritual qi.


    Furthermore, there were countless powerful beings among their ranks, including a whole host of Golden Immortals and Jade Immortals, and each of the four races was led by a Great Epassment Stage patriarch, the four of whom were collectively known as the four sages.


    The Gold Devouring Immortal was already at thete-High Zenith Stage, so it didn''t fear the four monarch races, but it was very much apprehensive of the four primordial sages.


    At this point, it had already entered the territory of one of the four monarch races, namely the Almighty Rat Race.


    The Gold Devouring Immortal hade all this way in pursuit of Han Li and Jin Tong, but it had been inexplicably trapped here in an illusion for 20 years.


    20 years was not a very long time, but the Gold Devouring Immortal knew that the only ones in the primordialnd capable of trapping it in an illusion for this duration were the four sages.


    With that in mind, a contemtive look appeared in its eyes.


    It was said that Patriarch Gu of the Almighty Rat Race was a mysterious figure who was barely ever in the primordialnd, and he wasn''t supposed to be particrly adept in illusions, either. Instead, the Heavenly Fox Race, which directly neighbored the Almighty Rat Race, was far more skilled in casting illusions.


    Could it be that the Great Epassment Stage patriarch of the Heavenly Fox Race did this to me? But why? Is he trying to warn me not to set foot in the territory of the four monarch races?


    Countless thoughts were racing through the Gold Devouring Immortal''s mind, but in the end, its greed won out over its caution, and it continued onward as a giant ball of golden light.


    ......


    Above the sheer cliff at the entrance of the dark ravine, two balls of light, one golden and one white, were hovering in mid-air, giving off tremendous auras.


    The balls of light contained none other than Jin Tong and Xiao Bai.


    Even though both of them had be significantly more powerful than before, they were still unable to limate themselves to the baleful qi at the bottom of the ravine, so they hade up to the surface to cultivate.


    Right at this moment, the ball of golden light suddenly faded to reveal Jin Tong, and she turned to a certain direction with a grim look on her face.


    Deep within the ravine, Han Li was seated with his legs crossed on arge rock, channeling his immortal spiritual power while assessing the state of the baleful qi in his own body.


    Mo Guang was also seated with his legs crossed nearby, and ck light was shing over his body as he continued to absorb the baleful qi in the surrounding area.


    Even though he had sessfully taken over this body, further consolidation was still required toplete the integration process.


    At this moment, the body was looking even more supple than before. Its skin had be clean and smooth, while its previously wizened muscles had beenpletely filled out. Dressed in a ck robe, it appeared no different from a normal person.


    All of a sudden, Han Li''s eyes sprang open, and Jin Tong''s voice rang out within his mind.


    "We''ve got trouble, Uncle! That guy must''ve woken up and ising after us right now!"


    Han Li immediately rose to his feet upon hearing this, then took a moment to calcte the time, following which he murmured to himself, "It''s been 20 years on the dot... Looks like that voice wasn''t lying to me."


    He then turned to take a nce at Mo Guang, and he decided not to disturb Mo Guang from his cultivation as he began to ascend up the ravine as a streak of azure light.


    Mere moments following Han Li''s departure, Mo Guang opened his eyes as he cast his gaze upward with a contemtive look in his eyes.


    It didn''t take long before Han Li arrived on the cliff where Jin Tong was, and both Jin Tong and Xiao Bai were standing before him.


    "Uncle..." Jin Tong began in a nervous voice, but didn''t seem to know what to say.


    "Jin Tong, are you Gold Devouring Immortal fearful of baleful qi?" Han Li suddenly asked as he nced at the dense baleful qi in the ravine.


    "Not really, but we definitely don''t like baleful qi, either," Jin Tong replied.


    "If it was possible for us to get away, we would''ve escaped from that Gold Devouring Immortal long ago. Seeing as we can''t get away, we may as well just wait here for it and spare it the trouble of having to keep chasing after us!" Han Li said with an amused smile.


    "My thoughts exactly! Both of us have be way more powerful than before, and we''ve got that phony, Mo Guang, as well! With all of our powersbined, I''m sure we''ll be able to win!" Jin Tong replied as her eyes lit up with excitement.


    "Don''t forget about me!" Xiao Bai protested in an unconvincing voice.


    "Oh yeah, we''ve got Xiao Bai as well... You should be able to withstand at least one attack..." Jin Tong said as she patted Xiao Bai on the head.


    "While it''s true that all of us have be a lot more powerful, we can''t afford to growcent in the face of ate-High Zenith Stage Gold Devouring Immortal. Jin Tong, how much longer will it take to get here?" Han Li asked with a grim expression.


    "At its current speed, it should be able to get here in about a month," Jin Tong replied.


    "That should be enough time," Han Li murmured to himself upon hearing this.


    Jin Tong and Xiao Bai could tell that Han Li had a n, and both of them were feeling much more reassured.


    "Continue cultivating here in the meantime. Jin Tong, make sure to keep constant tabs on the Gold Devouring Immortal, and tell me right away if anything changes," Han Li instructed.


    "You can count on me, Uncle!" Jin Tong replied.


    After that, Han Li flew back into the ravine, and he quickly reached the bottom.


    Mo Guang had already gotten up from his cultivation, and upon spotting Han Li, he immediately rose to his feet before cupping his fist in a salute.


    Han Li briefly ryed what he had been told by Jin Tong to Mo Guang, then added, "We''ll be requiring your power to oppose the Gold Devouring Immortal, Fellow Daoist Mo Guang."


    "I''m happy to help. I''ll begin preparing right away. I can''t promise too much, but at the very least, I should be able to maintain my High Zenith Stage powers for 15 minutes when ites time to battle," Mo Guang replied.


    "That''s good to hear," Han Li said with a smile, while Mo Guang returned to his seated cultivation.


    A contemtive look appeared on Han Li''s face, and swept a sleeve through the air to summon arge stack of array tools of different colors, while Daoist Xie also appeared beside him amid a sh of golden light.


    "Daoist Xie, please help me set up these arrays here," Han Li said.


    Daoist Xie nodded in response, then took some of the array tools from Han Li, and the two of them


    The two of them were busy at work for close to half a month beforepleting the arrays.


    At this moment, Han Li was hovering in mid-air while chanting an incantation, and specks of light were shing incessantly throughout the entire ravine.


    Bursts of tremendous power were also surging through the area, some of which were extremely hard and strong, while others were more soft and resilient, and they were all working together to stir up the surrounding baleful qi.


    All of a sudden, all of the specks of light and the bursts of power faded, leaving no trace behind, and the unrest in the baleful qi also quickly subsided.


    Han Li gave a pleased nod upon seeing this, then descended to the bottom of the ravine, where he sat down with his legs crossed before sweeping a sleeve through the air, summoning a series of immortal treasures, all of which were glowing radiantly while giving off bursts ofw power fluctuations.


    Han Li picked up these immortal treasures before examining them one by one, making some final preparations for the uing battle.


    He had already done everything that he could to brace himself for the imminent storm, but the opponent was going to be ate-High Zenith Stage Gold Devouring Immortal, so he had to be extra meticulous.


    After carefully examining all of the immortal treasures, he stowed them away again, and all that was left on the ground at this moment was the Profound Heavenly Gourd.


    Han Li observed the gourd for a moment, then picked it up and began to examine its opening.


    That part was still lighter in coloration than the rest of the gourd, but it had be a lot darker than before, and the green light emanating from the gourd had also be brighter.


    A faint smile appeared on Han Li''s face upon seeing this.


    Even though he had been fleeing from the Gold Devouring Immortal this entire time, he had made sure to consistently water the gourd using the spirit liquid from the Heaven Controlling Vial, and it was clearly working.


    At this rate, it should be able to reach full maturity in no more than a century.


    Han Li examined the gourd for a moment longer, then opened his mouth to release a burst of azure light that vanished into it.


    Ayer of countless tiny runes instantly emerged over its surface, and the runes were constantly flowing like water while releasing bursts ofw power fluctuations that kept all of the baleful qi within a radius of several dozen feet at bay.