Upon the silver-white crescent-shaped spirit boat stood a three-story pavilion, its entire body sparkling white, like a sculpture of ice and jade. Exquisite patterns of various flowers, birds, fish, and insects were engraved upon it, along with all sorts of hidden runes.

"The first floor of the pavilion has quiet chambers. Fellow Daoists, please choose one yourselves. We will gather here again in three days. I will offer some explanation about this mission, though I do not know much about the specifics. We will have to wait until we arrive at the Holy Puppet Sect to learn more," Lin San instructed everyone simply, his figure floating up.

He stepped on the void, with layers of snow lotus flower phantoms blooming beneath his feet, as if ascending stairs, arriving at the third floor of the pavilion, and pushing the door open to enter.

Han Li gazed at the third floor of the pavilion, a hint of doubt appearing on his face.

The mask Lin San wore was also crimson in color, just like Jiao San's from back then. In the Unstable Alliance, he should belong to a higher level than the azure ones. Although he couldn't detect the other party's cultivation aura, he felt that there was a considerable possibility that he was a Golden Immortal realm cultivator.

If a Golden Immortal realm cultivator was truly leading the team, then the difficulty of this mission might not be small. He had to be extra careful.

At this moment, the tall Lin Jiu walked over from the side, smiling as he said, "Hehe! I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Jiao Fifteen to have taken on this mission as well. You and I are truly fated."

"The mission rewards are truly generous, and I couldn't help but be tempted," Han Li replied with a smile.

"This mission is quite special. I imagine you've noticed that too, Daoist Lin Jiu?" Lin Jiu asked.

"Daoist Lin Jiu, are you referring to the mission's posting situation and the unusually high reward?" Han Li nodded and said.

"Indeed. The puppets made by the Holy Puppet Sect have always been of excellent quality, possessing great spirituality. They are cherished by many sects and forces. Therefore, their relationship with many sects is extraordinary. It is said that the sect master of the Spiritual Tasting Sect and the master of伏甲 Mountain are also on fraternal terms with the sect master of the Holy Puppet Sect. As far as I know, they didn't seek out these sects to resist the foreign enemy this time, but instead came to the Unstable Alliance," Lin Jiu said, seemingly casually.

"Perhaps the trouble the Holy Puppet Sect has encountered this time is not small, and these small forces may not have the strength to help. But we don't need to worry about these things. We are simply taking people's money and helping them eliminate disasters," Han Li smiled, indifferently.

"That's right. No matter what, the Holy Puppet Sect is very wealthy, as long as the rewards are plentiful. I'm really short on immortal essence stones lately. Haha..." Lin Jiu then said with a smile.

The two had already made some guesses about each other's identities, but neither of them revealed it. They simply chatted casually, and even the storm caused by the last mission was tacitly unmentioned, as if the two had never carried out that mission at all.

After a moment, the crescent-shaped spirit boat vibrated slightly, runes flashing all over its body, and a sharp sound of tearing through the air rang out as it flew out of the ancient cloud continent coast, heading southwest.

The people on the spirit boat also entered the first floor of the pavilion, each finding a quiet chamber and closing the door.

Soon, Lin Jiu also returned to the pavilion, leaving only Han Li alone on the deck, leaning on the railing, gazing into the distance.

Below, near the coast, the slightly turbid seawater lapped against jagged, rugged rocks, stirring up patches of dense white foam.

...

Several months later.

The southeast corner of the冥寒 Continent, a vast expanse of azure sea, with sea breezes blowing and waves surging.

In the clear blue sky, a crescent-shaped spirit boat flew rapidly from afar. More than a dozen people stood on the deck, looking ahead. At the end of their gaze, where the water met the sky in the distance, they could see a faint gray shadow touching the sea horizon.

As the spirit boat continued to approach, the gray shadow began to enlarge continuously, eventually revealing its full appearance.

It was a very large oval island, covered with rocks and sparse trees. From a great distance, one could see stone殿 buildings scattered all over it.

Around the island, there were also seven or eight small islands distributed, like guards, arching it in the center.

After a moment, the crescent-shaped spirit boat flew to the periphery of the island, its body stagnating, hovering in the high sky.

Han Li, clad in a green robe, stood on the left side of the spirit boat, leaning on the railing, his eyes surging with blue light, looking towards the island, his eyebrows slightly raised.

Looking at the entire island, including the surrounding seven or eight small islands, they were all shrouded in a nearly transparent hemispherical light curtain, on which water-like纹路 slid continuously, transmitting bursts of ripple fluctuations from within.

On the island, huge rocks were cut neatly and stacked together in a seemingly chaotic but actually skillful manner, scattered along the coast.

If someone who didn't understand the formation saw this, they would probably think that this was just a defensive city wall that was not built properly. But Han Li knew that these huge stones were the foundation of the island protection formation, and the surrounding islands were several important formation hubs.

He moved his gaze down, focusing on the small island closest to him for a moment, and saw that around a central round tower-shaped building, wide roads were built, interconnected to form a whole, which was precisely a formation diagram.

At this moment, above the island, there was a sudden loud "嗡" sound, and it vibrated violently.

Seeing this, a trace of vigilance flashed in the eyes of the people on the spirit boat, looking down, they saw that the seawater around the island was boiling like boiling water, surging up dozens of feet of towering waves.

Han Li's expression did not change, seeing that the originally clear seawater had become turbid under this shock.

He saw that the island below split open into neat cracks several feet wide, and continued to expand. The entire island slowly opened like a treasure box.

In a series of rumbling sounds, many large areas on the island slowly rose from the ground, floating in the void, shifting sideways slightly, revealing the areas below them.

The entire island immediately expanded a lot, and even the areas suspended in the air turned into three layers.

Unlike the bare gray-brown color of the top layer, the bottom two layers were much more verdant and the environment was more beautiful.

Trees were everywhere, rivers flowed through, and there was also a waterfall falling vertically from the second layer to the first layer, creating a unique charm.

Although the people on the spirit boat were not ordinary people, when they saw this scene, a hint of surprise couldn't help but appear in their eyes. They were obviously amazed at the mechanism arrangement on this island.

At this time, a slight sound came from the sky above the island. The island protection formation flashed with light, separating an opening just enough for the spirit boat to pass through.

The crescent-shaped spirit boat passed through the formation and slowly flew down to a white stone square on the first layer of the island.

After everyone disembarked, Lin San immediately waved his hand and put away the spirit boat.

On the square, more than a dozen people were already waiting. Leading them was a woman dressed in a water-blue palace dress. She was not tall, but her figure was exquisite and well-proportioned. A layer of light veil covered her face, but one could vaguely see a beautiful outline, which made people yearn.

Han Li looked her up and down, and found that this woman was a True Immortal realm late-stage cultivator, her aura was solid and thick, and she had obviously been in this realm for many years.

The dozen or so people behind the woman were also True Immortal realm cultivators, but most of them were in the early stages.

Although these people did not show any unusual expressions on their faces, the depths of their eyes seemed to carry some anxiety, appearing somewhat worried.

"Fellow Daoists have traveled far and wide, you have worked hard. Please rest in the hall for a while, and allow me to inform you of the detailed matters," the palace-dressed woman slightly bowed to everyone and said.

Lin San nodded to her upon hearing this.

Seeing this, the palace-dressed woman walked ahead with Lin San, leading everyone towards the hall.

The terrain around the square was undulating, and one could see gray-white stone pillars, either round or square, engraved with various hidden runes and strange lines. The ground was also covered with many complex formation patterns.

Even on the simple buildings hidden among some trees, Han Li could feel some formation fluctuations.

He was not surprised by this, because monks who were skilled in puppetry were mostly quite accomplished in formations. After all, the refinement of puppets requires precise carving and reasonable use of formations.

Speaking of which, he was quite knowledgeable in the art of puppets and mechanisms when he was in the lower realm, but since coming to this Northern Cold Immortal Region, he had been busy with cultivation matters, and had not delved into this path for a long time.

Now that he had come to the Holy Puppet Sect, which was quite famous in the Northern Cold Immortal Region, if he had the opportunity, he could inquire about how to re-refine a suitable body for the Crab Daoren.

But for now, let's help this sect overcome this crisis first.

I wonder what kind of deity is coming to invade?

The group walked along the square for a while before arriving at a slightly old vermilion hall.

During this time, Han Li inadvertently noticed one thing. It seemed that the palace-dressed woman had turned her head several times, and each time her gaze seemed to intentionally or unintentionally look at Bai Suyu, who was wearing a rabbit head mask.

Entering the hall, the palace-dressed woman and Lin San took their seats on the two main seats on the left and right sides of the hall, while the elders of the Holy Puppet Sect and the people from the Unstable Alliance sat on either side.

The attendants standing at the door had already brewed spiritual tea, and as soon as everyone was seated, they immediately served it.

The translucent emerald green tea was poured into the teacups, and a wisp of white hot air rose up, spreading a refreshing fragrance throughout the entire hall.

Han Li raised his eyebrows slightly and looked down into his teacup. He saw that jade-like tea leaves were unfurling in the water, exuding a rather strong spiritual energy from them. It was obviously a high-quality superior spiritual tea.

Just as he was about to pick up his teacup, the corner of his eye caught sight of the attendant pouring tea for him. There were faint golden纹路 on the fingers of the hand holding the pot. Feeling slightly strange, he immediately looked up.

Only then did he notice that although the attendant moved smoothly, had the same appearance as ordinary people, and even exuded fluctuations that matched a low-level cultivator, he was actually not a person, but a lifelike puppet.

Seeing the big from the small, Han Li felt that the Holy Puppet Sect did indeed have some unique skills in the art of puppets.

As a result, he became more curious about the puppet mechanism techniques of this sect.