“How could this be?” Han Li felt a surge of confusion, unsure who to ask.

He looked around for a long while before his mind gradually calmed down. With a focused expression, he slowly flew towards the river.

Although he had been here several times, this was the first time such a situation had occurred, and it felt quite peculiar.

As he pondered, Han Li arrived above the river, hovering in mid-air, his gaze fixed upon the flowing water.

He saw strange light spheres drifting past beneath him. Having learned from his previous experience, he didn't concentrate on any single sphere, but quickly glanced at the fleeting images within.

Just then, a particularly large sphere floated beneath Han Li, moving noticeably slower than the others.

A single glimpse of the image on it caused Han Li's heart to clench, and he couldn't help but focus his gaze.

However, as soon as his eyes locked on, he realized his mistake and cursed inwardly.

But it was too late. The water-drop sphere suddenly glowed brightly, releasing a tremendous suction force.

With a soft "whoosh!" sound,

Han Li was enveloped by a powerful force, abruptly pulled towards the water-drop sphere.

He felt a darkness engulf him and lost consciousness once more.

…

After an unknown length of time, Han Li's eyes snapped open. He found himself lying on a tall, protruding black reef, surrounded by the sound of waves crashing against the shore, sending up large sprays of water.

Han Li pushed himself up from the reef and sat up, scanning his surroundings. He discovered that he was in the middle of a vast, dark sea.

A slight ringing echoed in his ears, his breathing was heavy, and he felt an indescribable sense of unease.

The surrounding天地 seemed normal, the flow of spiritual Qi and demonic Qi were as usual, but he felt that something was different, and this discomfort grew with each breath, little by little.

However, each increase was like the accumulation of snowflakes, not very noticeable.

Normally, Han Li might have noticed such subtle changes but wouldn't have paid much attention. However, this situation felt peculiar, so he became extremely vigilant.

He calmed his mind, went to the edge of the reef, leaned out, and saw his own face reflected in the dark water.

This time, it wasn't a spiritual projection but a true physical translocation!

Han Li exhaled a long breath, unsure whether to be sad or happy, and sat back down.

He habitually looked upward, but the illusory shadow of the Mantra Treasure Wheel that he used to see during spiritual translocations was gone, replaced by a blurred golden ring covered in dense Time Dao patterns.

After a quick count, Han Li discovered that there were over sixteen hundred such patterns, seemingly the sum total of all the Dao patterns on the Mantra Treasure Wheel, Time Purification Bottle, East Yi Divine Wood, and the other five Time Law embodiments.

It seemed that the length of the time travel still depended on the rate of consumption of Time power. Thinking this, Han Li gently rubbed his brow.

Just then, his gaze caught sight of a large, decaying black corpse floating under the water not far behind the reef, emitting a foul odor.

Han Li frowned, flew over, and examined it closely. He discovered that it was a piece of a split-open Black Whale, and it looked somewhat familiar.

At the same time, he suddenly remembered the scene he had seen in the water-drop sphere, or rather, he suddenly remembered the figure he had seen in the water-drop sphere.

Han Li slowly released his brow, a huge question forming in his mind: could that situation have been caused by this strange translocation?

The thought sent a storm raging in his mind. The more he pondered it, the more he felt that his guess was likely true, and he immediately stood up again.

After checking his condition and finding nothing amiss, Han Li focused his mind. With a closing of his eyes, his divine sense was suddenly unleashed, enveloping all directions.

After a moment, Han Li slowly opened his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

"Whether my guess is right or not, I'll know soon enough."

With that, he put on a Reincarnation Temple mask and shot off in a certain direction.

…

Tens of thousands of miles away, in a black sea, a dark green figure floated on the water, drifting like a lotus leaf.

The figure was thin, and his dark green Daoist robe was very large, lying on the water like a spread-out lotus leaf. His face was gaunt, and his beard swayed, truly a sight of immortal elegance.

It was none other than Zhao Gu Zhenren!

Above his head, a fist-sized purple pearl was suspended, emitting purple mist and a hazy light, enveloping his head.

The purple pearl was an immortal artifact that could benefit the divine soul, but it was only a ninth-grade treasure.

Normally, Zhao Gu Zhenren would never have used this immortal artifact, but this time he had no choice.

Earlier, when he was chasing the two murderers who had killed his disciple, he had been careless and was severely injured by the Taiyi cultivator's strange divine ability, causing serious damage to his divine soul, so much so that taking several Soul Nourishment Pills had no effect.

In desperation, he had used this immortal artifact, which was not intended to treat divine soul injuries.

"To be able to injure this old man with divine soul techniques, I bet you're not feeling too good either. Next time, next time I see you, I'll let you know what it means to be withered and lifeless, what it means to be ground to dust…" Zhao Gu Zhenren said with a grim expression, gritting his teeth.

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a streak of light shooting from the distant horizon, abruptly stopping a hundred zhang away.

The light landed, and a figure emerged, with a familiar appearance and a familiar aura, but feeling very different.

Zhao Gu Zhenren was shocked and hurriedly stood up, shouting, "How could it be you?"

"Just as I thought, haha…" Han Li was delighted and laughed heartily.

He had suspected that for some reason, his physical body had traveled to the Black Sea Domain where he had fought Zhao Gu Zhenren in the past. Now that he saw Zhao Gu Zhenren, all his guesses were confirmed.

It was now clear that the person who had severely injured Zhao Gu Zhenren before he killed him, almost completely destroying his divine soul, was none other than himself from the present, who had traveled back in time!

Zhao Gu Zhenren looked at Han Li, who was laughing to himself, his eyes filled with confusion. He felt that there was something strange about the other party.

This strangeness made him feel uneasy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

"Boy, you dare to be so arrogant, leaving Shi Chuan Kong behind and coming to chase after this old man alone?" Zhao Gu Zhenren steadied his mind and shouted in a low voice.

"Your divine soul damage hasn't been fully repaired, has it?" Han Li said with a smile.

"So what? This old man doesn't believe that you can launch that kind of divine soul secret technique again in such a short time?" Zhao Gu Zhenren said firmly, but he was drumming in his heart.

"Divine soul secret techniques consume the most divine sense power, and it is indeed impossible to recover in a short time. But how does Senior Zhao Gu know that this junior has no other means?" Han Li said with a playful smile, looking at Zhao Gu Zhenren.

Zhao Gu Zhenren didn't know why, but looking at his expression, he felt a chill.

But he soon mocked himself. How could a dignified Grand Luo cultivator be frightened by a Taiyi cultivator?

"Trying to be mysterious."

Zhao Gu Zhenren snorted coldly, waved his palm, and a layer of hazy white light expanded, instantly transforming into a Skeleton Spirit Domain, enveloping the surrounding area.

A thin layer of mist rippled, and eight huge white-bone 京观 reappeared, surrounding them.

Zhao Gu Zhenren exhaled a turbid breath, but he still felt sharp stabs of pain in his sea of consciousness. The operation of his divine sense was somewhat sluggish, so that the operation of the demonic Qi in his body became slow.

Han Li frowned slightly when he saw this, but he didn't look nervous.

He flipped his palm, and a strangely shaped glass lamp suddenly appeared in his palm.

"This… Soul-Devouring Lamp, how is it in your hands?" Zhao Gu Zhenren's expression changed suddenly, and he exclaimed in surprise.

"So Senior also recognizes this treasure, but I wonder if Senior has a way to deal with it?" Han Li raised his eyebrows and said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Li waved his palm, and the glass lamp spun towards Zhao Gu Zhenren.

The latter didn't hesitate and immediately turned his wrist, pinched out a purple-gold talisman, and stabbed it at the center of his brow.

The light on the purple-gold talisman flashed and burned to ashes in an instant, turning into a wisp of smoke and dissipating.

In the center of Zhao Gu Zhenren's brow, purple-gold lines intertwined, condensing into a complex rune pattern.

Han Li frowned slightly when he saw this, but his movements didn't stop at all, and he quickly pinched his fingers to form a magic seal.

The Soul-Devouring Lamp flew close to Zhao Gu Zhenren, and a purple-green light suddenly flashed on the wick, like two strange fire pythons twisting and intertwining with each other.

The purple-green flame in the lamp was not bright, but looked rather dim. Zhao Gu Zhenren's gaze involuntarily fell on it, and his eyes became a little hazy.

In a trance, he seemed to see two graceful, enchantingly beautiful girls in the lamp, snuggling together and dancing a soul-stirring dance.

In a moment, Zhao Gu Zhenren's gaze became a little dull.