Two months later.

Outside Dongshan City, in a roadside pavilion, Han Li and Shi Chuan Kong were sitting opposite each other on two long benches.

"Brother Shi, I've been thinking about it these past few days, and it's best if we don't use the teleportation array directly in Dongshan City," Han Li said after a moment of pondering.

"Why is that?" Shi Chuan Kong asked, puzzled.

"We need to avoid appearing in the same city multiple times as much as possible. There's no guarantee that there aren't any hidden high-level cultivators or informants of your elder brother lying in ambush in the city. So the less we show our faces, the safer we'll be," Han Li explained.

"Brother Li is right. Although my elder brother's intelligence network isn't as extensive as my third brother's, his information is still very accurate. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been the first to receive news that we had just returned to the Ten Affliction Mountains," Shi Chuan Kong nodded.

"According to the map you gave me earlier, the closest city to Dongshan City should be Lianfeng City. Let's fly there first, and then head straight to Qize City without stopping. Once we get there, we can rest for a while," Han Li said.

"Brother Li, are you trying to disrupt our rhythm so that my elder brother can't predict our movements?" Shi Chuan Kong raised an eyebrow and asked.

"The more confused they are, the safer we'll be," Han Li nodded.

"Haha, as expected of Brother Li! If it weren't for you this time, we wouldn't have been able to get past the Zhaogu Zhenren hurdle. I knew I didn't misjudge you! This time, I'll follow your advice as well," Shi Chuan Kong laughed.

After they finished discussing, the two of them steered the flying shuttle and turned into a streak of black light, shooting away.

……

Time flew by, and more than ten years had passed.

Above a hazy primeval forest shrouded in black mist, a black flying shuttle sped past.

Standing on the flying shuttle were a Confucian scholar in a blue robe and a man in blue armor. They were Han Li and Shi Chuan Kong, who had changed their appearances once again.

"I never thought that it would take a full ten years to get from Shanze Domain to the neighboring Chenqiu Domain," Shi Chuan Kong, clad in blue armor and piloting the flying shuttle, said.

"There's nothing we can do about it. The teleportation speed between two cities is certainly fast, but when we're not teleporting, we still have to fly, which naturally takes time. Plus, we encounter demon beasts from time to time. How fast can we go?" Han Li frowned slightly, but his expression was relaxed as he spoke.

"Haha, most of the demon beasts in the Sacred Domain are naturally fierce and have a strong sense of territory. Once outsiders intrude, they are often unafraid of death and will relentlessly drive the intruders out of their territory. If we encounter those that aren't good at flying, we can just avoid them. But like that Duan Gu Demonic Kite from before, it only had the cultivation of a Golden Immortal early stage, but it chased us for more than three months," Shi Chuan Kong said with a wry smile.

"If we weren't afraid that the commotion from fighting would attract attention, we would have killed that beast long ago. We should be more careful in the future and try to avoid the breeding grounds of those powerful demon beasts," Han Li smiled and said.

"Not far ahead is Fengqiu City. Once we teleport again there, we can reach Kuangjing Domain in the west-central part of the Sacred Domain. Most of that is my elder brother's territory, so we have to be even more careful," Shi Chuan Kong said solemnly.

"In that case, let's rest in Fengqiu City for a while," Han Li nodded.

"Good. Fengqiu City is the second largest city in Chenqiu Domain besides the main city. Commerce and trade are also quite prosperous, so we can replenish our resources," Shi Chuan Kong rubbed his hands together and said.

After agreeing, the two of them accelerated and sped toward Fengqiu City.

After entering the city, the two of them first found an immortal inn and rented two very ordinary, relatively inexpensive courtyards to stay in. Then, they separated and went to several well-known immortal commercial streets in the city to purchase items.

After all, this was the Demon Domain, and there were few things sold in the shops that Han Li could use. Fortunately, he didn't need to buy much, only some formation materials with the power of lightning, such as Julei Wood.

After walking through one of the commercial streets, he had almost purchased everything he needed.

"Now, all that's left is the last item, the 'Thunder Dust Orb,' but it's a bit difficult…" Han Li stood under a tall, carved, circular archway at the end of the street, with a contemplative expression on his face, muttering to himself.

After saying this, he left the street entrance and turned east, heading to another street.

It wasn't until dusk fell that Han Li returned to the inn in a beast-drawn carriage.

As soon as he returned to the rented small building, he activated all the restrictions and entered the Flower Branch Cave Abode.

Han Li didn't go to the Lotus Pond courtyard, but went directly to the brand-new bamboo building near the Spirit Medicine Garden.

Crab Daoren was already waiting outside the bamboo building. When he saw Han Li arrive, he took the initiative to greet him and asked:

"How is it? Have you gathered everything?"

"Except for the Thunder Dust Orb, I've found everything else," Han Li sighed and said.

"It is indeed very difficult to gather so many Immortal Realm items in the Demon Domain. However, the Thunder Dust Orb is an important material for stimulating and replenishing the lightning power of the bean soldiers, so it is really indispensable. Otherwise, the combat power of the Dao soldiers will probably not increase much," Crab Daoren said with some regret.

"Is the Thunder Dust Orb only used for this purpose?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"That's its main purpose. The others are minor details that can be ignored," Crab Daoren said.

"Oh, if that's the case, then I don't think we need the Thunder Dust Orb," Han Li suddenly laughed.

"Don't need it? Why is that!" Crab Daoren asked, puzzled.

Han Li smiled without saying a word. He flipped his palm and took out the Profound Heaven Gourd, gently tapping the bottom of the gourd.

A beam of purple-gold light shot out, turning into a golden bean and landing in front of Crab Daoren.

Crab Daoren frowned slightly and picked up the bean. He immediately felt a strong electric current flowing through him.

His mind flickered slightly, and the force with which he held the bean increased sharply. A burst of "crackling" sounds suddenly rang out.

A vast electric light mixed with purple and gold, like two huge lightning wings, erupted from the tiny bean in his fingers, releasing an incomparably powerful force from within.

"How could this be? Leize Breath Earth alone cannot nurture a bean soldier containing such intense lightning. Han Daoyou, what's going on?" Crab Daoren asked in surprise.

"Earlier, I absorbed all the beans into the Profound Heaven Gourd, originally thinking of using the gourd's special ability to improve their quality. But unexpectedly, the Azure Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords hidden in the Profound Heaven Gourd, after sensing the bean soldiers entering the gourd, the power of the lightning laws that they nurtured began to resonate with them faintly, and they actually transferred a portion of their lightning power to them. After ten years of accumulation, they have reached this state," Han Li explained.

"There's such a good thing? It's simply a godsend! In that case, we really don't need the Thunder Dust Orb," Crab Daoren laughed.

"It's not entirely a good thing, because the slow loss of lightning power has caused the refinement of my Azure Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords to seem to have a problem. The speed is much slower than before," Han Li shook his head and said.

"Han Daoyou, don't take advantage of the situation and act humble. Your Azure Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords contain the power of lightning laws. First, they fused with the Evil-warding Divine Lightning, and then they absorbed the Bone-Cleansing Golden Lightning. Those are all the most rigid and yang divine lightning in the world. The Dao soldiers only absorbed a little, and their power can be greatly enhanced. If you encounter a large-scale invasion of Yin and evil ghosts in the future, these Dao soldiers will be able to display their great power," Crab Daoren said to Han Li with a rare hint of teasing.

Han Li himself was also thinking that if he arranged the formation with such Dao soldiers, the power would only be stronger, and he couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth and smile.

"Now that everything is ready, I will begin to refine the Dao soldiers," Crab Daoren said.

"What do you need me to do?" Han Li asked.

"Not for the time being. The early stages of refining this batch of Dao soldiers will take at least three years. During this period, I can complete it all by myself. However, imprinting the runes later requires a powerful divine sense, so you will have to do it yourself," Crab Daoren thought for a moment and said.

"Then I'll have to trouble you," Han Li said sincerely.

With that, he took the gourd that was previously used to hold the bean soldiers from Crab Daoren's hand, and took out all the beans hidden in the Profound Heaven Gourd, pouring them into it.

Crab Daoren took the gourd back from Han Li, shook it gently, and nodded with satisfaction, feeling the rustling sounds coming from inside.

As he was about to turn around and return to the second floor of the bamboo building, he seemed to suddenly remember something, and stopped, turning around to say to Han Li:

"By the way, Han Daoyou, a few days ago I saw that the tree root in the Spirit Medicine Garden seemed to have sprouted."

"Tree root?"

Han Li was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then he suddenly realized, and quickly ran into the Spirit Medicine Garden.

In a clearing deep in the garden, Han Li saw a tender green shoot about the thickness of a finger sprouting from a dry tree root protruding no more than three feet above the ground, with two leaves branching out from it.

Under the reflection of the sky light, the fine veins on the leaves were as clear as human blood vessels, looking supple and fragile, but with a stubborn vitality of facing the sun and the sky.

Han Li stepped forward, squatted down and carefully examined the small sapling in front of him, a hint of a smile flashed in his eyes, and said:

"You little guy, after eating so many small bottles of green liquid from me, you are finally willing to sprout and be reborn?"

The small sapling in front of him was none other than the remnant root of the Two-Life Tree that he had obtained from the ruins of the True Word Sect.

Han Li stretched out his palm gently, wanting to stroke the leaves of the sapling.

As a result, as soon as his hand reached out, the two leaves suddenly swayed gently, approaching his fingers.

Han Li frowned and immediately released his divine sense to investigate. As a result, he found that the leaves were actually sensing the power of the law of time in his body, and were responding to it, moving closer to him.

His fingers touched the leaves of the Two-Life Tree, and Han Li stroked them gently twice, without any abnormality occurring.

He raised his hand and took out the dark green bottle from his chest, opened it, and dripped the newly condensed drop of green liquid directly onto the two leaves.