Han Li glanced around, his brow slightly raised.

Among these lifelike stone statues, the most exquisite were those of an old Taoist priest and a palace-dressed woman.

The old Taoist priest had a gaunt face and a wisp of goatee beard. The wrinkles and ripples of his Taoist robe were clearly defined, as if he were riding the wind. He had an ethereal, immortal demeanor.

The palace-dressed woman was taller than most men, and her face was quite remarkable, but her features were somewhat hard, giving her a heroic air, which was a bit incongruous with the flowing ribbons of her palace dress.

Han Li couldn't help but shake his head, thinking that a well-fitting suit of armor might better accentuate her unique temperament.

While pondering, he suddenly raised a palm and struck down to his left.

"Ouch..."

A groan was heard, accompanied by a crisp "crack." A skeleton, as white as jade, was sent flying by his forceful palm energy, crashing heavily against the wall and falling apart.

"Who are you?" Han Li asked sternly, looking at the pile of shattered bones.

Within the skeleton, specks of ghostly green light slowly rose, gathering together like countless fireflies to form a hazy phantom of a withered old Taoist, seemingly a remnant soul.

Upon closer inspection, Han Li found that its appearance and figure were exactly the same as the clay statue.

"Hey, you rascal, you shattered my skeleton with one slap. Where am I supposed to reside now?" A rather loud voice rang out, coming from the remnant soul.

"Who exactly are you? Speak truthfully, or I will obliterate you without hesitation," Han Li frowned, unmoved, and continued to question.

"Hmph, how old are you to be speaking with such bravado? Back when I, this Taoist priest, roamed the Underworld-Cold Immortal Domain, you were probably still playing with fireballs somewhere..." The old Taoist phantom put his hands on his hips, showing no fear.

"Underworld-Cold Immortal Domain... Are you from the Underworld-Cold Immortal Palace?" Han Li's heart stirred, and he asked in a deep voice.

The old Taoist remnant soul sized up Han Li, and, noticing the long sword in his hand, said slowly, "Since you use a sword, you must have heard of the name Wusheng Daoist, right?"

"Wusheng Sword Sect is renowned, and is still a major sect in the Immortal Domain. I naturally know the name of its founding ancestor," Han Li said, his expression unchanged.

"Bah! You little whelp, trying to deceive me. The Underworld-Cold Immortal Palace has undergone such upheaval that my Wusheng Sword Sect could not possibly have any remaining inheritance. I'm afraid it has long been unknown to outsiders," the old Taoist remnant soul said in a fit of anger.

However, after speaking, he shook his head to himself, saying, "Could it be that branch lineage still has an inheritance? No... Impossible, those guys have no ambition. They can only disgrace my name. Alas, what misfortune for the sect, back in the day..."

The old Taoist remnant soul seemed to be reminded of some unpleasant past events and began to mutter to himself.

"Who exactly are you?" Han Li, hearing this, became even more suspicious and interrupted the other party's soliloquy, asking.

"You listen carefully, kid. I am the founding ancestor of the Wusheng Sword Sect you speak of, Wusheng Daoren," the old Taoist remnant soul straightened his body, seemingly trying to display some master demeanor, and said loudly.

"You keep claiming to be Wusheng Daoren, how can you prove it?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Prove your grandpa... Who do you think I am that I need to prove myself to a junior like you?" The old Taoist remnant soul was enraged and retorted.

"You understand the principle that might makes right, don't you?" Han Li chuckled and raised the long sword in his hand.

The old Taoist remnant soul glanced at the long sword in Han Li's hand and seemed a little guilty. His tone softened, and he said, "How do you want me to prove it? The skeleton I was residing in has been shattered by you. You don't expect me, a remnant soul, to perform a sword technique for you, do you?"

"Apart from the Myriad Sword Profound Token, does your Wusheng Sword Sect have any other inherited treasures?" Han Li pondered for a moment and asked.

The old Taoist remnant soul, hearing this, glanced at him with a mocking smile on his face and said, "You little whelp are really cunning, setting traps for me everywhere. My Wusheng Sword Sect has two inherited items. One is the Myriad Sword Iron Certificate, inherited by the main lineage, and the other is the Wusheng Sword Essence, left to the outer branch."

Han Li's expression softened slightly upon hearing this.

"Let me ask you, does... the Wusheng Sword Sect still have an inheritance today?" The old Taoist remnant soul suddenly asked.

"The orthodox inheritance has indeed been cut off. As for the branch lineage, it has also declined..." Han Li, thinking of Elder Qi Heng of the Holy Puppet Sect, knew that this person was most likely a descendant of the branch lineage of the Wusheng Sword Sect, so he spoke frankly.

The old Taoist remnant soul also showed a hint of disappointment upon hearing this, but he quickly returned to his original state and asked, "How is the reputation of me and the Wusheng Sword Sect? Are we admired by the world and praised by all?"

"Since you claim to be Wusheng Daoren, why are you sealed in this place?" Han Li did not answer the other party's question and instead asked.

"Who told you that I, this Taoist priest, was sealed here?" The old Taoist glared and scolded.

Han Li, hearing this, did not speak, but he felt a little puzzled in his heart. It would be unreasonable to go to such great lengths for a remnant soul.

"Can't you tell? I, this Taoist priest, have self-sealed my intact soul here," the old Taoist straightened his body and said leisurely.

"Then why did you hide here?" Han Li raised an eyebrow and asked.

The old Taoist was about to blow his beard and glare when he heard the word "hide," but he quickly sighed and said faintly, "Isn't it all to deal with that woman..."

"Woman... Who is she?" Han Li, hearing this, looked at the tall, palace-dressed woman and asked.

"She's not human..." The old Taoist remnant soul widened his eyes and said irritably.

After a moment of pause, the old Taoist glanced at the palace-dressed woman again and said, "She comes from the Grey Realm. By calculation, she should be a Grand Yi Grey Immortal..."

"Grey Realm? Grey Immortal?" Han Li became even more puzzled upon hearing this.

"Alas... the Heavenly Court has been deliberately concealing the existence of the Grey Realm, so that you juniors don't even know of such a realm's existence. I don't know if it's a blessing or a curse," the old Taoist sighed.

"May I ask, what exactly is the Grey Realm?" Han Li asked in a slightly gentler tone.

"It's fine, it's fine. No one has spoken to me for so many years. I, this Taoist priest, am in a good mood today, so I'll tell you a little about it. The Grey Realm is actually like our True Immortal Realm, a boundless realm where all kinds of Grey Realm creatures live. They can become Grey Immortals through cultivation. As for the Grand Yi Grey Immortal, that is naturally a Grey Immortal at the Grand Yi Jade Immortal level," the old Taoist sighed first, then shook his head and explained.

Grand Yi level... The weight of these words caused Han Li's heart to tremble slightly. He frowned and asked, "Is the change in the Underworld-Cold Immortal Palace related to this woman?"

"Why are you so interested in the affairs of the Immortal Palace?" The old Taoist did not answer, but changed the subject and suddenly asked.

"It's simple. I don't trust you yet. So, you should tell me more about the events of that year, and then I will make my own judgment," Han Li sneered and said slowly.

The old Taoist remnant soul stiffened upon hearing this and seemed ready to blow his beard and glare again, but seeing Han Li's unyielding attitude, he had no choice but to give up.

After sighing, he seemed to be lost in distant memories.

After a long silence, he began to recount that past, "Back in the day, I, this Taoist priest, had just become the master of the Underworld-Cold Immortal Palace and was full of vigor when this woman..."

As a result, he was interrupted by Han Li as soon as he opened his mouth.

"What did you say? Became the master of the Immortal Palace... Then aren't you the Underworld-Cold Immortal Sovereign?"

"Why, who told you that Wusheng Daoren can't be the Underworld-Cold Immortal Sovereign?" The old Taoist seemed quite dissatisfied with Han Li's interruption and retorted, raising his eyebrows.

Han Li frowned upon hearing this, with a look of suspicion on his face.

"Hmph, how can you mortals understand my talent that surpasses all others? Alright, don't interrupt me again. Young people these days have less and less respect for rules!" The old Taoist remnant soul said disdainfully.

"Please continue," Han Li shrugged, appearing indifferent.

Seeing Han Li's appearance, the old Taoist remnant soul snorted, then cleared his throat and began to ramble about his experiences.

According to the old Taoist, his original surname was Lu, with the given name Yun. He was originally a concubine's son from a mid-level cultivation family on the Underworld-Cold Continent. His aptitude was also average, so he was not valued by the family and did not receive the family's orthodox cultivation methods.

Therefore, being short on cash, he selected some of the cultivation manuals stored in the family that no one wanted to practice and began to cultivate on his own.

By a twist of fate, he embarked on the path of body refinement and found that these body refinement methods were quite suitable for him. The more he practiced, the smoother it went. After trying countless methods of body refinement, he suddenly had a feeling while gazing at the stars in the night sky. He actually created a method of using starlight to refine his body, and eventually combined them to create the *Great Zhou Stellar Essence Art*. With this, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds, and he cultivated all the way to the Golden Immortal level.

Later, he fought with a Golden Immortal swordsman who was half a realm higher than him using his Mysterious Immortal cultivation. As a result, they fought to a draw, which he considered a lifelong disgrace. Therefore, he angrily changed his identity and began to cultivate the sword path again.

After three thousand years of silence, he eventually stood at the pinnacle of the sword cultivators of the Underworld-Cold Immortal Domain under the identity of Wusheng Daoren, and founded the Wusheng Sword Sect.

Later, due to his outstanding strength and many opportunities, he eventually cultivated to the Grand Yi Jade Immortal level, and he dominated the entire Underworld-Cold Immortal Domain. Thus, without joining the Heavenly Court, he became the master of the Immortal Palace of the Underworld-Cold Continent.

The old Taoist remnant soul spoke with great enthusiasm. If he had a physical body, he would probably be spraying saliva everywhere.

Han Li's face remained calm, but his heart was shocked.

If what this remnant soul said was true, then he could not be described by the simple phrase "a genius of unsurpassed talent."