A Record Of A Mortal's Journey To Immortality

by Srtyi

A poor and ordinary boy from a village joins a minor sect in Jiang Hu and becomes an Unofficial Disciple by chance. How will Han Li, a commoner by birth, establish a foothold for himself in his sect? With his mediocre aptitude, how will he successfully traverse the path of cultivation and become an immortal? This is a story of an ordinary mortal who, against all odds, clashes with

55. 1749

Read A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality - Chapter 1749: Spiritvoid Cauldron online free - Novel Full

"The situation is rather special right now, so I'll keep this short. As I'm sure you've all seen, this is the current state of Cloud City. It's quite simple; we fell into a trap sprung by the Jiao Chi Race. They lured our main frontline forces to a certain perilous place and temporarily trapped them in there. The Jiao Chi Race army took advantage of this to conquer 13 cities in succession, and they're now at Cloud City. Our city's main formation diagram has also been stolen by them, so we can't even use the formation to oppose their army. Hence, we'll have to abandon this city soon. All of you should also retreat to the nearest Concealed Wyrm City," the young man said in a calm manner.

"The situation's that horrible already? Surely with you here, the situation wouldn't warrant abandoning Cloud City, Senior." Fairy Yue was quite stunned to hear this, as was everyone else.

"Hehe, do you think the Jiao Chi Race didn't send any Grand Ascension Stage beings themselves? There are two grand elders of the Jiao Chi Race in this invading army, and they notified me in advance that if I don't participate in this battle, they won't do anything, either. Otherwise, the consequences would be very catastrophic. I won't be a match for two beings of the same caliber, but at the same time, they're not confident in their ability to kill me even after joining forces, which is why they gave me notification in advance at all," the young man explained.

"But there are several tens of holy-grade beings in the city; if all of them join in on the battle, surely we'll be able to turn the tables. On the way here, we didn't see a single holy-grade being. Could it be..." The middle-aged man's voice trailed off as the worst-case scenario sprang into his mind.

"Don't worry, they're not in the city because they're attending to other matters. I'm sure that you've also noticed that there are no holy-grade beings among the invading Jiao Chi beings, either, and that's all thanks to them. However, this situation won't last too long; the Jiao Chi beings will most likely react very quickly and directly send their holy-grade beings to participate in this battle. Seeing as my hands are tied, this city will inevitably fall, and that's why I've issued the order to abandon this city, so leave with Fellow Daoist Bing right away," the young man instructed as he waved a dismissive hand.

Fairy Yue and the middle-aged man exchanged a glance before accepting these orders, and everyone else also did the same. Only Han Li's brows were slightly furrowed in a display of hesitation.

"By the way, please stay behind, Fellow Daoist Han; I have something I need to discuss with you alone," the young man suddenly said as his gaze settled on Han Li.

Han Li's heart stirred upon hearing this, but he didn't dare to turn down the young man.

Everyone else was internally rather perplexed about this, but they were all ushered out of the hall by the burly man who had led them here.

Only then did the young man turn to Han Li with a hint of a smile on his face.

In the face of a Grand Ascension Stage being who seemed to harbor ulterior motives, Han Li was naturally feeling a little uneasy, but he still asked in a respectful manner, "What are your instructions, Senior? If there's something you need me to do, I'll be sure to complete your assigned tasks to the best of my abilities."

"I asked you to remain behind naturally because I want you to do something for me. Fellow Daoist Han, you hail from the human race of the Tian Yuan Continent, right?" The young man immediately asked a question that gave Han Li quite a fright.

"How did you know, Senior? Could it be that you've also visited the Tian Yuan Continent before?" Han Li's calm facade finally cracked as his heart thumped violently.

"Hehe, I haven't just been to the Tian Yuan Continent; I have a few friends among your human race whom I became acquainted with through battle. Overall, the human race isn't a very powerful one, but there are a few abilities that are passed down from generation to generation that are not to be looked down on. It's just that the conditions required to cultivate them are very rigorous, and are therefore beyond the reach of the average human," the young man chuckled.

"In that case, there's nothing for me to hide. I am indeed a human from the Tian Yuan Continent who ended up here completely by chance." Han Li could only admit the truth.

"Hehe, I'm glad you're coming clean, Fellow Daoist. What is your relationship with Fairy Ice Soul? Why do you have her Spiritvoid Cauldron within your body?" The young man smiled and asked another question that had Han Li feeling rather taken aback.

"Spiritvoid Cauldron? Could you be referring to this treasure?" Han Li blinked in a surprised manner before opening his mouth to expel a ball of azure light, within which was a miniature cauldron; it was none other than the Heavenvoid Cauldron.

"So you really do have it. I haven't seen this treasure for many years, but it still gives off about the same aura as it did back then," the young man said in a slow voice as he inspected the cauldron through narrowed eyes.

"I do indeed know of Fairy Ice Soul, but this is the Heavenvoid Cauldron, not the Spiritvoid Cauldron," Han Li corrected with a wry smile.

"Heavenvoid Cauldron?" The young man was rather taken aback to hear this, following which a thought suddenly seemed to have occurred to him, and he made a grabbing motion toward the miniature cauldron.

The cauldron's connection with Han Li was immediately severed before being drawn into the young man's hand in a flash.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, but it then quickly reverted back to normal.

The young man held the cauldron in his hand and began to carefully appraise it.

After a while, the young man's brows furrowed slightly, and he mused, "Upon closer inspection, this does appear to be somewhat different from the Spiritvoid Cauldron. The refinement method is a bit less sophisticated, but it's not a replica, either. If I had to give my verdict, I'd say that it's an experimental predecessor to the Spiritvoid Cauldron."

"An experimental cauldron?" A contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face.

"So be it. This may be the wrong treasure, but it definitely still came from Fellow Daoist Ice Soul, so I'm sure you're somehow related to her. I asked you to stay behind as I want you to track down Fairy Ice Soul when you get back to human territory and give her an item and a letter from me," the young man said as he released the miniature cauldron with a nonchalant smile.

"Truth be told, I only came across this treasure by chance, so I don't actually know Fairy Ice Soul personally, nor do I know if she's even still alive anymore," Han Li hurriedly countered as he drew the Heavenvoid Cauldron back into his body.

He had first heard about Fairy Ice Soul back in the human world, and if she had really ascended to the Spirit Realm and lived to this very day, then she would most likely be comparable in power to the young man before him already. As such, he didn't want to accept this potentially troublesome errand for no reason.

"It's alright even if you don't recognize her. With her significant reputation, I'm sure you'll be able to track her down once you return to the human race. If Fellow Daoist Ice Soul is indeed no longer of this world, then you can pass on these items to her descendants as well," the young man replied in a nonchalant manner. He then flipped a hand over to produce a jade box and a blue jade slip, which he tossed toward Han Li with a flick of his wrist.

Seeing as this was an unavoidable task, Han Li could only heave an internal sigh before catching the two items and taking a glance at them.

Each of the items had a shimmering golden talisman plastered over them to seal them tightly.

"I refined those two talismans myself, and aside from Fairy Ice Soul herself or a descendant of hers who bears her bloodline, anyone else who tries to tear off those talismans will make them explode on the spot, so please keep that in mind. I won't ask you to do this for me free of charge; here are some precious materials that can only be found on the Thunder Continent as repayment for your efforts.

"Also, Qian Jizi and the others have already promised you access to the super teleportation formation, but due to this ongoing battle, all of the teleportation formations in the nearby cities have been sealed. The super teleportation formation just so happens to be situated within a secret hall in Concealed Wyrm City, and it's also been sealed. I'll pass down an instruction for them to allow you to use the formation once. Of course, prior to this, I'll have you swear a vow on your inner demons that you'll carry out the duty I entrusted to you before I issue this instruction," the young man said.

"I hardly have any choice in the matter, do I?" Han Li could only concede with a wry smile before making a hand seal and swearing a vow as he was told, then placed the two items into his storage bracelet.

These vows weren't overly binding back in the human world, but ever since he had entered the Spirit Realm and reached the Spatial Tempering Stage, the effects of these vows had become so potent that the inner demons resulting from them would pose the most fearsome obstacle in one's breakthroughs.

Hence, these types of vows were extremely binding to high-grade cultivators.

After quickly assessing all of his other options, Han Li swore a vow as he was told, promising that he would deliver the two items to Fairy Ice Soul or one of her descendants.

The young man nodded in a pleased manner upon seeing this, then pulled out three more jade boxes before tossing them over to Han Li. These boxes naturally contained the aforementioned materials, and Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, accepting the boxes with a burst of azure light without even inspecting them.

"Alright, you may leave now," the young man instructed in an expressionless manner.

Han Li heaved an internal sigh of relief upon hearing this, and after extending a respectful salute, he also departed from the hall.

The young man looked on at Han Li's departing figure with a contemplative look on his face.

When Han Li emerged from the Sentient Hall again, he was rather surprised to find a giant silver flying carriage waiting outside.

The carriage was over 200 feet in length and was rectangular in shape. The patterns on its surface were extremely intricate, and it was being drawn by six massive praying-mantis-like spirit beasts.

Fairy Yue and the others were all standing on the carriage already, while the burly man with the dark complexion was standing patiently at the front of the carriage.

Everyone immediately turned their eyes toward Han Li as soon as he emerged, and they all wore different expressions on their faces, but they all seemed to be waiting for him.

"Get on the carriage, Fellow Daoist Han; we're about to set off," the burly man said with a smile.

"Thank you, Senior." Han Li cupped his fist in a grateful salute before his body swayed, and he instantly appeared on the carriage. He then made his way over to a corner and sat down with his legs crossed in a completely expressionless manner.

The burly man let loose a low cry, and the six giant beasts drawing the carriage suddenly revealed pairs of wings before flying into the sky with the carriage in tow.

In the instant that the flying carriage rose up into the air, a green light barrier appeared around it, and it flew away as a ball of green light.

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The Jiao Chi Race army had reached Cloud City, but the area beyond Cloud City was still devoid of Jiao Chi presence for now. As such, the flying carriage didn't encounter any mishaps as it flew away from the direction the battle was being waged at.

Over half a month later, Han Li caught sight of the other major city of the Heavenly Cloud Races, Concealed Wyrm City, in the distance.

In contrast with Cloud City, which hovered high up in the air, this city was nestled within a set of boundless mountain ranges.

Close to half of the city wall was constructed from a series of interconnected mountains, and there were also thousands of mountains of different sizes within the city.

There were buildings of different sizes littered all over the city, regardless of whether it was on or between the mountains, and a series of spiral paths could be seen winding down the mountains, creating quite an interesting sight to behold.

Concealed Wyrm City had clearly also been impacted by the Jiao Chi Race army, and even from several tens of kilometers away, one could sense a tense atmosphere from the city.

Not only were there bursts of restriction fluctuations proliferating from the city, there were also armored warriors who were constantly patrolling the nearby area, split up into groups raging from a dozen or so to over 100.

Even though the giant flying carriage that Han Li was on clearly bore the Heavenly Cloud crest, it was still stopped on several occasions to be checked by the armored warriors.

However, after verifying the authenticity of an identification badge that the burly man produced, all of them backed away and allowed the flying carriage passage into the city without any impediment.

Thus, the flying carriage landed in front of the city gate, and a Spatial Tempering Stage armored warrior conducting checks at the gate immediately identified the burly man, upon which he hurriedly greeted in a respectful manner, "Welcome, Senior Bing. These are the fellow Daoists who have just returned from the Vast Glacial Realm, right? The elders of Cloud City have already notified us of your arrival in advance, so I'll take you to the Starcloud Pavilion right away to see them."

The burly man wasn't surprised at all by this arrangement, and he nodded at the armored warrior before turning to Fairy Yue and the others. "In that case, all of you can enter the city. I still have some matters to attend to, so I'll be returning to Cloud City."

Everyone else naturally agreed, and after extending respectful words of gratitude toward the burly man, they all disembarked from the flying carriage.

The burly man let loose a low cry, and the six spirit beasts immediately rose up into the air before quickly vanishing into the distance along with the flying carriage.

After Han Li and the others entered through the city gates, they immediately discovered that the city was extremely lively and bustling, but everyone wore anxious and concerned expressions.

This made sense considering Concealed Wyrm City was the closest major city to Cloud City. Most of the Heavenly Cloud beings who had been evacuated from Cloud City had gathered here, thereby resulting in such high population density.

They hailed two snowy-white beast-drawn carriages on the street before instructing the drivers to take them to the Starcloud Pavilion, and the carriages quickly flew toward a certain spirit mountain in the city.

Han Li sat beside one of the windows of the beast-drawn carriage and looked out at the passersby and buildings on the streets in an expressionless manner, seemingly in deep thought about something.

All of a sudden, his expression changed slightly as he caught sight of a certain figure on the street.

This was a man in a set of grey robes with a head of white hair. He had a slightly sickly complexion about him, and he was currently speaking with someone in front of a materials shop.

The other person wore a set of yellow robes and his skin was of a light purple color. He had a menacing look on his face, and Han Li's brows furrowed slightly at the sight of him.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he suddenly said, "Stop the carriage. I have something that I need to do here; I'll join all of you at the Starcloud Pavilion soon."

Everyone else was rather taken aback to hear this, but they naturally had no excuse to stop him.

Thus, the coach driver stopped the carriage as he was told, and Han Li drifted down from it.

The two people on the side of the street were clearly arguing about something, and their argument was quite loud.

"You have to repay the spirit stones you owe me within three days. Otherwise, don't blame me for turning on you," the purple-faced man said in a threatening manner.

"I'm sure you know about my situation, Fellow Daoist Huang; there's no way I can gather so many spirit stones in three days." The elderly man with the sickly pallor shook his head in a troubled manner.

"I don't care. I'm sure you know what consequences await you if you don't repay the spirit stones. If I don't get my spirit stones in three days, hehe..." the purple-faced man chuckled coldly.

The elderly man's expression changed slightly, and he was just about to say something when a hint of bewilderment suddenly appeared in the eyes of the purple-faced man standing before him.

A calm male voice then rang out from behind the elderly man. "How many spirit stones does Senior Martial Brother Xiang owe you? I'll repay you in his stead."

The elderly man's heart jolted upon hearing this. The voice seemed to be coming from right behind him, but why couldn't he sense the person who had spoken when they were clearly so close to him?

He hurriedly turned around to find a young azure-robed man standing around 10 feet away from him. This was a man with a set of ordinary facial features, and he had a hint of a smile on his face. It was naturally none other than Han Li.

"Junior Martial Brother Han?" An elated look immediately appeared on the elderly man's face at the sight of Han Li.

"Long time no see, Senior Martial Brother Xiang!" Han Li said with a smile.

Indeed, it had been many years since Han Li had last seen Xiang Zhili in Cloud City.

"I see you've come to Concealed Wyrm City as well, Junior Martial Brother. Prior to leaving Cloud City, I tried to find you, but I was unable to find any information on your whereabouts," Xiang Zhili said with a smile.

"I've indeed been in a rather secretive place of late; my apologies for making you go through so much trouble, Senior Martial Brother Xiang. How many spirit stones do you owe him?" Han Li asked.

The purple-faced man was at around the same cultivation base as Xiang Zhili, so he was only at the Core Formation Stage, and his spiritual sense was completely unable to identify Han Li's unfathomable cultivation base. As such, his face immediately paled, and he hurriedly extended a deep respectful bow toward Han Li. "I wouldn't dare to ask for spirit stones from you, Senior! I didn't know that Fellow Daoist Xiang had such connections. Please accept those spirit stones as an offering from me to you, Senior."

"Hehe, do you take me for someone who threatens people into waiving debts? Tell me how many spirit stones he owes!" Han Li insisted in a cold voice.

"It's not much, only..." The purple-faced man's heart immediately jolted as he hurriedly revealed a number that was completely insubstantial to Han Li.

Thus, he flipped a hand over to summon a leather pouch, which he tossed toward the purple-faced man. "There's your spirit stones; you can leave now."

The purple-faced man hurriedly bowed several times in a panicked manner before fleeing the scene.

"I am truly embarrassed to show you such a sorry state and make you pay for my debts, Junior Martial Brother Han," Xiang Zhili said as he cupped his fist with a wry smile following the purple-faced man's departure.

Han Li raised a hand to conjure up a grey light barrier, then smiled as he said, "It's alright, those spirit stones aren't of any consequence to me. I'm truly surprised to see you here, Senior Martial Brother Xiang. I recall that you asked me to come and meet you before I return to the Tian Yuan Continent; you can tell me what you have to say now."

With the temporary restriction set up by the Divine Essencefused Light, no one would be able to eavesdrop on them.

Xiang Zhili was naturally unaware of what kind of ability Han Li was using, but he clearly had great confidence in it, so Xiang Zhili naturally knew that this was quite a powerful restriction. His eyes immediately lit up with excitement, and he asked, "Are you saying this because you can return to the Tian Yuan Continent, Junior Martial Brother?"

"Indeed. I did some things for the Heavenly Cloud Races not long ago, so they've granted me permission to use their super teleportation formation once. I'll be leaving the Thunder Continent soon," Han Li said in a calm manner.

"That's great to hear! However, the item I wanted to entrust to you isn't on me right now, and this isn't a suitable place to discuss these matters anyway. How about this? Can you go and wait for me on the Azure Wyrm Peak close to 100 kilometers outside of the city and wait for me there? We can discuss things in greater detail there," Xiang Zhili said in an elated manner.

A barely detectable hint of surprise flashed through Han Li's eyes upon hearing this before he nodded in response. "Azure Wyrm Peak? In that case, I'll meet you there."

"Then it's settled. By the way, you've made significant strides in your cultivation base again, haven't you? I can't identify your exact cultivation base, but from the pressure I'm sensing from you, you've clearly become more powerful than last time!" Xiang Zhili exclaimed.

"I only made a minor stride in my cultivation," Han Li replied with a nonchalant smile.

Thus, the two of them chatted for a while longer before the Divine Essencefused Light barrier was withdrawn, and Han Li departed on another beast-drawn carriage.

Meanwhile, Xiang Zhili remained standing on the spot, looking on at the departing carriage with a slightly unnatural smile on his face...

Concealed Wyrm City was quite a massive city, but it was still slightly smaller than Cloud City.

After only around an hour, the beast-drawn carriage that Han Li had taken arrived at the foot of a mountain, and on that mountain was a set of interconnected buildings that surrounded the entire mountain peak.

Han Li followed the coach driver's instructions and traveled up the mountain path, but many armored warriors suddenly emerged in a cautious manner halfway up the mountain.

Thankfully, Liu Shui'er and the others had clearly just traveled through the same point, so after Han Li revealed his identity to the armored warriors, they allowed him to pass through without any fuss.

After a short while, Han Li appeared outside a massive pavilion atop the mountain peak.

There was a golden plaque above the pavilion gate, upon which the words "Starcloud Pavilion" were inscribed in large shimmering silver ancient characters.

There were eight silver-robed beings with longswords on their backs standing on either side of the gate in an expressionless manner and to Han Li's surprise, there was a slightly chubby yellow-robed elderly man who was standing in front of the pavilion with his hands clasped behind his back.

As soon as Han Li appeared, the yellow-robed man immediately approached him with a smile. This elderly man was none other than Qian Jizi of the Myriad Ancient Race.

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Han Li extended a respectful greeting, in response to which Qian Jizi merely waved a hand with a smile. "No need for formalities, Fellow Daoist Han." He then swept his spiritual sense toward Han Li, upon which his expression suddenly changed slightly. "Hmm? You've already reached the ninth tier, Fellow Daoist Han?"

Han Li heaved an internal sigh, but his expression remained unchanged as he replied, "I encountered some minor opportunities that allowed me to make these breakthroughs."

Even though his cultivation base had progressed to the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, he had used a secret technique to conceal it, so Liu Shui'er and the others naturally failed to detect this.

As for Fairy Yue, she had progressed to the Body Integration Stage, but her progression was quite recent, so her spiritual sense was still inferior to Han Li's, and she naturally also failed to detect anything as a result.

As for the young man with the Weng surname, he was able to immediately identify Han Li's progression, but as a Grand Ascension Stage being, he naturally didn't pay much heed to this and didn't even bother to mention it.

As a late-Body Integration Stage being, Qian Jizi was also able to identify Han Li's progression.

The surprise on Qian Jizi's face quickly disappeared, and a calm smile returned. "Surely progressing two ranks in succession can't be referred to as a minor opportunity, hehe. In any case, I came here especially to see you, Fellow Daoist Han. Please come with me; there are two other people who would also like to see you."

"Two other people?" Han Li was naturally slightly taken aback to hear this.

"Indeed, but don't worry, these two are both acquaintances of yours, Fellow Daoist Han," Qian Jizi assured in a meaningful voice.

A series of thoughts rapidly raced through Han Li's mind upon hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged as he replied, "I'm naturally happy to comply with your wishes, Senior."

"Alright, then come with me." Qian Jizhi nodded in a pleased manner before turning and walking into the pavilion.

Han Li hesitated momentarily before also following along. He wasn't afraid that Qian Jizi would turn on him. After all, he was the elder of a race, and there were so many witnesses around, so he certainly wouldn't do something that would ruin his own reputation here in the Starcloud Pavilion.

With Qian Jizhi leading the way, the silver-robed guards on either side of the gate naturally granted them free passage.

Inside the pavilion was a large hall that was completely empty aside from a few small teleportation formations.

Qian Jizi led Han Li directly into one of the formations, and light flashed before Han Li found himself in another hall.

This hall was only just over 200 feet in size, and the teleportation formation underfoot lay at the direct center of the hall.

There were some tables and chairs positioned around the hall, and there were huge head-sized crystals embedded into the ceiling, releasing white light that illuminated the entire hall so that it was as bright as day.

Han Li cast his gaze around the hall, upon which his attention was immediately drawn to the four people in it.

There were two men and two women, two of whom were seated while the other two were standing. All of them were indeed acquaintances of his; they were Cai Liuying and Liu Shui'er, as well as Duan Tianren and Shi Kun.

Han Li was rather perplexed about why they would want to see him, but his expression remained unchanged as he extended a respectful salute. "Han Li pays his respects to Senior Cai and Senior Duan."

"Hehe, no need for formalities, Fellow Daoist Han. It was all thanks to you that Fellow Daoist Cai and I were able to secure the items we were looking for," Duan Tian replied as he appraised Han Li, upon which a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.

It was quite clear that he had also identified the startling progress Han Li had made.

Cai Liuying hadn't said anything yet, but a peculiar look also flashed through her eyes.

"I was only doing what was expected of me; I'm not worthy of your gratitude, seniors," Han Li replied with a modest smile.

However, he was feeling a little befuddled by this situation. Qian Jizi was standing right beside him, but he wasn't surprised at all by what Duan Tianren was saying. It seemed that he already knew of their agreement.

"There's no need to be so modest, Fellow Daoist Han. I heard from my disciple that you're far more powerful than even we had anticipated, and if it weren't for your efforts, we wouldn't have been able to secure the treasures from the Vast Glacial Realm anywhere near as smoothly as we did. Now that you've made such significant progress in your cultivation base, your powers are most likely no less inferior to those of a holy race being, so you can refer to us as equals," Cai Liuying said with a smile.

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before glancing at Qian Jizi and Duan Tianren, both of whom wore calm expressions and raised no objections to Cai Liuying's words.

A series of thoughts quickly raced through his mind, and he smiled as he asked, "I must've been called here for a reason right? Could it be that there are some difficulties surrounding the super teleportation formation, seniors?"

"We promised to let you use the formation, so we naturally won't go back on our word. Besides, Senior Weng has also spoken to us about this matter, and none of us would dare to go against his wishes," Qian Jizhi replied as he stroked his beard.

"Then..." Han Li could roughly deduce what he had been summoned here for, but he gave nothing away.

"Please don't misunderstand, Fellow Daoist. We heard from our disciples that you emptied the entire medicine garden within that restriction, and I'm sure many of the spirit medicines in there are extremely rare or even extinct in the Spirit Realm, and most of them would likely be very useful to holy-grade beings like us. You are indeed very powerful, but you haven't progressed to the holy race yet, so those spirit medicines won't be overly useful to you at the moment. As such, the three of us would like to propose a mutually beneficial exchange," Cai Liuying said with a smile.

"An exchange? What do you propose, seniors?" Han Li remained quite calm upon hearing this, and his calm demeanor came as a slight surprise to Qian Jizi and the others.

The three of them exchanged a glance before Duan Tianren cut straight to the chase. "All three of us have reputations to uphold, so we definitely won't force you into any unfair trades. The three of us each have some spirit pills that will assist in breaking through the holy-grade bottleneck, as well as some treasures and materials that will be of use to you, and we would like to use them to exchange for your spirit medicines. Those medicines must indeed be extremely precious, but I'm sure making a breakthrough to the holy grade is more important to you, Fellow Daoist Han."

"Pills that can assist in breaking the holy-grade bottleneck?" Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

"Indeed. We all prepared large quantities of such pills back when we made our breakthroughs, and even though most of them were consumed during that process, the three of us combined naturally still have quite a few of these pills left. With these pills, your chances of making a successful breakthrough will be increased by at least 20% to 30%," Duan Tianren said in a proud manner.

"Of course, the amount of pills and treasures we're willing to offer will depend on the types and quantity of spirit medicines you obtained from the medicine garden," Cai Liuying added.

Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun were naturally already aware of the reason why Duan Tianren and the others had summoned Han Li here, and both of them were appraising him with envy in their eyes.

They had also received immense benefits from Duan Tianren and Cai Liuying following their return from the Vast Glacial Realm, but those benefits still couldn't compare with what was currently being offered to Han Li.

A hesitant look appeared on Han Li's face as he pondered this proposal.

Qian Jizi and the others also fell silent to allow Han Li to process the situation.

After a long while, Han Li finally exhaled as he made a decision. "I did indeed secure a large quantity of spirit medicines in the restriction, but most of them are completely unrecognizable to me. It would naturally be fantastic for me if I could exchange them for the aforementioned pills, but I'm not sure if the spirit medicines will be of interest to you."

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Han, the three of us have some experience, and I'm sure we'll be able to identify most of the spirit medicines. Even if we can't identify some of them, we'll be sure to do our best to give you a fair price," Qian Jizi hurriedly reassured. He was ecstatic that Han Li was willing to proceed with the exchange, as were Duan Tianren and Cai Liuying, who also made similar promises.

"In that case, I'll bring out the spirit medicines for inspection."

Han Li nodded before flicking his wrist, and a loud buzzing sound rang out from his storage bracelet as a burst of azure light erupted forth.

The azure light flashed through the air, upon which hundreds of jade boxes of different styles appeared, and all of them were shimmering with faint spiritual light.

Duan Tianren's eyes lit up as he made a grabbing motion toward the nearest jade box to him, and the lid of the box flew off on its own to reveal a crimson coral-like spirit plan that was around a foot in length and emitting a faint glow.

"What a massive Flame Coral Herb!" Duan Tianren exclaimed with a stunned look on his face.

Han Li's pupils contracted ever so slightly upon hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged. This was one of the spirit medicines that he had been unable to identify, and if he recalled correctly, he had collected about six of them in total. Out of all of them, he had only brought out one. Cai Liuying and Qian Jizi exchanged an excited glance upon seeing this before also beginning to carefully inspect the contents of the jade boxes.

As expected of holy-grade beings who had lived for over 10,000 years; most of the spirit medicines that Han Li couldn't identify had been recognized by them, and judging from their elated reactions, these were clearly all extremely precious spirit medicines.

There were over 100 jade boxes that had been summoned, but the inspection of their contents was soon complete.

After Qian Jizi appraised the spirit flower in the final box, he put the flower back into the box in a slightly reluctant manner, then turned to Han Li with a smile. "These are indeed all spirit medicines that are very difficult to find in the Spirit Realm, but judging from the size of that medicine garden, I'm sure there would've been more spirit medicines in there. How much more do you have, Fellow Daoist Han? You can bring them all out for our inspection."

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Han Li wasn't surprised to hear this. He had already plundered the entire medicine garden before Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun had a chance to reach it, but from the size of the medicine garden, one could still roughly deduce the number of spirit medicines that had been planted in there, which was why Qian Jizi was convinced that there were more.

"I do indeed have some spirit medicines that I've yet to reveal, but shouldn't you show me some sincerity as well, Senior?" Han Li countered with a smile.

Qian Jizhi's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this. "Are you doubting our integrity, Fellow Daoist Han?"

"I wouldn't dare. It's just that I've already brought out all of the spirit medicines I've collected from the Vast Glacial Realm, and I only have repeats of the same spirit medicines left. Hence, I would like to see the spirit pills being offered to me in exchange; I'm sure that's not asking too much," Han Li replied in a slow voice, displaying no intention of backing down.

Duan Tianren was holding a thumbs-sized red fruit in his hand, and after engaging in a brief voice transmission conversation with Cai Liuying, he said, "Fellow Daoist Han's request is a reasonable one. Let's show him the spirit pills that we have as confirmation that we're serious about this exchange."

"Many of the spirit medicines that Fellow Daoist Han has brought out are ones that we need, so it is indeed only fair that we also show him what we have to offer. Hence, I'm willing to take the lead and show Fellow Daoist Han the spirit pills I have to offer first," Cai Liuying said with a smile.

Qian Jizi faltered slightly upon hearing this before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Seeing as neither of you has any objections, I would only be making myself look bad if I were to turn down this request."

"Thank you for your kindness, seniors!" Han Li immediately cupped his fist in a grateful salute.

Thus, Cai Liuying flipped a hand over, and spiritual light flashed, upon which three medicine vials appeared before being tossed to Han Li.

"These three types of spirit pills will all assist in breaking your bottleneck, and they're all quite renowned, so I'm sure you've heard of them. They are Silver Floss Pills, Myriad Wonder Pills, and Bitter Azure Pills. I had to expend countless time and effort to secure these pills, and I've used up half of them already, but the remaining half should be sufficient for your consumption. In particular, the three Myriad Wonder Pills will be extremely potent in assisting you in your breakthrough attempt..."

Han Li caught the medicine vials before carefully inspecting their contents while listening to Cai Liuying's introductions.

With Han Li's pill refinement prowess, he was able to easily identify the authenticity of these pills, and after confirming this, he gave a slight nod.

At this moment, Duan Tianren also produced two medicine vials, as well as two medicine boxes, while Qian Jizhi brought out two palm-sized gourds, one of which was red while the other was blue.

After a few minutes, Han Li had verified all of these pills. The pills that Duan Tianren was offering were not inferior to Cai Liuying's, while the two gourds brought out by Qian Jizi contained two types of precious spirit liquids that could only be found on the Thunder Continent.

Directly consuming the spirit liquids wouldn't do anything, but they were important ingredients for refining several types of spirit pills, and they were extremely rare in the Spirit Realm.

A pleased look appeared on Han Li's face, and he flicked his wrist again, upon which even more jade boxes were released from his storage bracelet.

"The spirit pills and spirit liquids that have been offered are indeed all priceless treasures, but just these alone won't be enough to exchange for all of my spirit medicines," Han Li said in a slow voice as he looked at the hundreds of jade boxes he had just summoned.

Duan Tianren was ecstatic at the sight of the hundreds of jade boxes in front of Han Li, and he chortled, "Haha, with our collective wealth, we'll be sure to have something that catches your fancy, Fellow Daoist Han. Go right ahead and tell us what you'd like."

"Indeed, we'll be taking all of these spirit medicines; please feel free to raise any conditions you have, Fellow Daoist Han."

Qian Jizhi was aware that Han Li had a vast quantity of spirit medicines, but he didn't expect Han Li to be willing to bring out so many at once, so he was also ecstatic.

"I don't need any treasures at the moment, but I'm in need of some rare materials. I have a list with me here, and I was wondering if you had any of the items on there. I've also heard that the Crystal Race's Crystal Moon Liquid was considered to be a holy medicine for body refinement, so I would like to secure a vial from Senior Cai if possible. On top of that, I'm also interested in the refinement methods for sentient puppets and Myriad Wonder Pills, and I was hoping to secure those as well." Han Li rattled off a list of many conditions.

Qian Jizi and the others couldn't help but exchange a glance upon hearing this.

"Aren't you going too far, Fellow Daoist Han? Setting aside the materials, only the pill refinement masters have the refinement method for Myriad Wonder Pills. Crystal Moon Liquid is also something that many holy-grade beings are desperately searching for..." Cai Liuying's brows furrowed in a display of displeasure.

"I don't think I'm asking for too much. These are almost all of the spirit medicines I obtained from the Vast Glacial Realm, and if any of them were to be presented to an auction house, countless holy-grade beings would undoubtedly fight to get their hands on them. There are hundreds of these spirit medicines here, and many of them are already extinct in the Spirit Realm. Furthermore, the ages of these medicines are also completely unfathomable, so I think I'm already making a huge concession by asking for such an exchange," Han Li countered in a calm manner.

"There's no way we can give you the refinement methods for Myriad Wonder Pills and sentient puppets. Those are fundamental to our Heavenly Cloud Races and can't be leaked to outsiders no matter what," Qian Jizhi refused in an implacable manner.

"Crystal Moon Liquid is also extremely precious, but I guess I can spare a vial," Cai Liuying said with a pained expression.

Duan Tianren's expression had also darkened slightly, but Han Li didn't pay this much heed. He had only been trying to probe the bottom lines of the three seniors with his proposed conditions, and even though Qian Jizi clearly wasn't open to negotiation, being able to secure a vial of Crystal Moon Liquid was still a massive victory.

Thus, after a brief pause, Han Li said in a calm voice, "Seeing as the refinement methods of the pills and sentient puppets can't be leaked to outsiders, then I won't force the issue. I'll simply ask for the other half of the spirit stones required to activate the super teleportation formation as well; that should be a far easier condition to fulfill."

Cai Liuying faltered slightly upon hearing this before replying with a smile. "Spirit stones? That's certainly no problem at all."

Qian Jizi and Duan Tianren also agreed to this arrangement as their expressions eased slightly.

Seeing as the conditions for the exchange had been established, Han Li summoned an azure jade slip before tossing it toward Cai Liuying.

Cai Liuying raised an eyebrow before catching the jade slip, then injected her spiritual sense into it to find that it was a list of many materials, quite a few of which were vastly renowned to her.

She glanced at Han Li with a hint of a smile on her face before flicking her wrist and tossing the jade slip to Duan Tianren. Meanwhile, she began to examine the spirit medicines Han Li had brought out.

Moments later, all three of them had examined the new spirit medicines, and after confirming that nothing was amiss, they each began to summon different containers such as wooden boxes and jade vials out of their storage bracelets.

Within mere moments, around 60% to 70% of the materials on the list had been assembled.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but he was actually extremely astonished.

This naturally wasn't a list of random materials; most of them were actually ones that Qing Yuanzi had requested, and even though most of these materials weren't the ones on the list that were of the utmost importance, they were still all extraordinary items.

As such, Han Li was naturally quite stunned that Qian Jizi and the others were able to assemble so many of them without even batting an eyelid.

However, this also indicated that these three Body Integration Stage beings had indeed made extensive preparations in advance, so they were sincere in their offer to trade with Han Li. Otherwise, they wouldn't be carrying so many precious items with them.

After examining all of the materials, Han Li stowed them away into his storage bracelet in a pleased manner.

At this moment, Duan Tianren suddenly said, "Aside from a few of the materials that we can't track down, I'll get the rest delivered to you within 10 days. Will that be an issue, Fellow Daoist Han?"

"Of course not; I have full trust in your word, Senior," Han Li replied with a smile.

"These are the spirit stones and Crystal Moon Liquid that you asked for. You really are stripping us bare, Fellow Daoist Han; we might have to start borrowing from our friends to make ends meet," Cai Liuying chuckled as she swept a sleeve through the air.

A black leather pouch and a shimmering blue vial were immediately sent flying toward Han Li within a ball of five-colored light.

"Surely you jest, Senior," Han Li chuckled in response as a hint of elation flashed through his eyes, and he made a grabbing motion to draw the two items into his grasp.

He only gave the spirit stones within the leather pouch a rough examination with his spiritual sense before tossing it into his storage bracelet, but he was a lot more thorough in his inspection of the small blue vial.

Not only did he open the vial and use his spiritual sense to examine it several times, he even held it up to his nose and took a whiff of the contents. Only after that careful assessment did he stow the vial away.

Seeing as the exchange had been completed, Han Li naturally wasn't going to stick around any longer. Thus, after extending a bow to the three Body Integration Stage beings, he bade them farewell and departed.

The three Body Integration Stage beings clearly didn't want Han Li to stay any longer, either, so they also bade him farewell.

Spiritual light flashed from the teleportation formation, and Han Li instantly vanished.

"You two can go as well," Cai Liuying said to Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun.

"Yes..."

Liu Shui'er naturally accepted the instruction, whereas Shi Kun glanced at Duan Tianren before also doing as he was told after receiving a nod of confirmation from Duan Tianren.

Thus, the two of them also stepped onto the teleportation formation and disappeared in a flash.

When the two of them arrived in the hall on the first floor of the pavilion, Han Li was already nowhere to be found.

The two of them exchanged a glance with wry smiles on their faces.

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"Let's split these spirit medicines evenly as we agreed on," Duan Tianren said with undisguised excitement in his eyes as he looked at all of the jade boxes hovering in the air.

Cai Liuying was also very excited, but she shook her head, and countered, "Hold on! We did indeed agree to split these spirit medicines evenly, but the spirit stones and Crystal Moon Liquid at the end were all given by me, so I have to take 10% more than my share."

"10%? Are you planning to go back on your word, Fairy Cai? Fellow Daoist Duan and I will naturally reimburse you for your spirit stones. As for the Crystal Moon Liquid, that is indeed a holy medicine for body refinement, but how can it compare with 10% of all the precious True Immortal Realm spirit medicines here? You can have five or six extra spirit plants at most as compensation," Qian Jizi said in a cold voice as his expression darkened.

"Sure, I'll take five extra spirit plants, then," Cai Liuying eagerly agreed with a smile on her face.

Qian Jizi faltered slightly upon seeing before immediately realizing that he'd fallen for a trap, and an indignant look on his face, but he merely gave a cold harrumph before falling silent.

Meanwhile, Duan Tianren was inspecting the unfolding scenes with his arms crossed and a faint smile on his face.

Thus, the three of them immediately began to allocate the hundreds of spirit medicines between them, and after several rounds of intense bartering, they were finally able to split up all of the spirit medicines.

"Hehe, with these spirit medicines, the bottleneck that has troubled me all these years will surely be broken with ease," Duan Tianren said in a pleased manner as he stowed away his jade boxes.

"I'm sure he didn't bring out all of the spirit medicines, though; aren't you two interested in what he has left?" Qian Jizi suddenly asked as a sinister look flashed through his eyes.

Duan Tianren and Cai Liuying naturally immediately understood what he was implying, but after exchanging a glance with one another, wary looks appeared on both of their faces.

Duan Tianren contemplated the matter for a while before shaking his head in response. "The three of us will naturally be able to take him down with ease, but don't forget the order that Senior Weng issued to us a few days ago. He instructed us to allow that kid to access the teleportation formation, so he must be related to Senior Weng somehow. Also, I've heard my disciple describe the size of that medicine garden, and even if he's kept some spirit medicines in reserve, it definitely wouldn't be a lot. It's not worth risking Senior Weng's wrath to try and secure those remaining spirit medicines. On top of that, that kid is quite powerful in his own right, and he's been very cooperative, so there's no need to do something like this."

"I second Brother Duan's opinion. Even as holy race beings, we definitely don't want to risk incurring Senior Weng's wrath over something like this," Cai Liuying chimed in in a solemn manner.

"In that case, just pretend like I never said anything. It appears I was indeed a little too greedy." Qian Jizi glossed over the matter with a sheepish chuckle.

Without Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren's support, his scheme was naturally laid to rest.

At this point, Han Li had already arrived at the foot of the mountain. His robes were fluttering around him in the wind, and he had a calm and collected look on his face.

However, his mind was racing rapidly as he assessed the exchange that had just taken place.

On the surface, it seemed that he had ended up with the short end of the stick by exchanging so many True Immortal Realm spirit medicines for some materials and spirit pills. However, in his heart, he was well aware that he had actually profited greatly from the exchange.

He had naturally retained one of every type of spirit medicine that he had brought out earlier, and with the assistance of his mysterious small vial, he would be able to mass cultivate them given some time.

As such, all he was sacrificing in this exchange was actually time, and not a lot of it, at that.

With the Red Silk Fruits and Corrosive Poisonweed, he didn't know if his standard nurturing method would work, so he only handed over a few of those plants each and kept most of them for himself.

As for the unique spirit medicines and that mysterious silver lotus seed pod, he naturally hadn't handed them over either.

As such, Han Li had essentially received such immense benefits from Qian Jizi and the others at the cost of virtually nothing, so he was naturally in a very good mood.

After departing from the mountain, Han Li went to an inn on a different nearby mountain and temporarily settled there.

During the next three days, he either stayed in his room or traveled to all types of material shops in Concealed Wyrm City to purchase large amounts of materials.

These materials weren't necessarily all that precious, but they were all unique to the Thunder Continent. He was preparing to return to the Tian Yuan Continent, so he naturally had to purchase a vast quantity of these materials to ensure a sufficient supply.

On the morning of the fourth day, Han Li departed from the inn and left Concealed Wyrm City, traveling to Azure Wyrm Peak, which was a mountain that was close to 100 kilometers to the west of the city.

In this massive mountain range, this mountain was completely nondescript and didn't stand out in size, nor appearance. If it weren't for the fact that the mountain was filled with a type of tree that remained azure all year round and the shape of the mountain resembled an ascending wyrm, it would most likely completely escape one's notice.

Han Li flew over into the air above the mountain as a streak of azure light before the light faded to reveal him, and he cast his gaze downward.

With his immensely powerful spiritual sense, he was naturally able to instantly inspect the entire mountain. As a result, he discovered that the mountain was completely empty, so Xiang Zhili clearly still hadn't arrived yet.

Han Li wore a contemplative expression as he hovered in the air for a while, before suddenly sweeping a sleeve through the air, sending a dozen or so formation flags flying downward. The formation flags then vanished in a flash into the air surrounding the mountain, and only then did he descend onto its summit.

He found a clean mountain rock and sat down on it with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.

Time passed by quickly, and several hours flew by in a flash.

All of a sudden, Han Li's expression stirred slightly, and he abruptly opened his eyes as he cast his gaze toward Concealed Wyrm City.

Spiritual light flashed in the distant sky in that direction, and moments later, a streak of light appeared in the air above the mountain before descending onto it.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Junior Martial Brother Han, I had some things to take care of, which delayed my arrival." The light receded to reveal a yellow-robed elderly man, who cupped his fist in a salute toward Han Li in an apologetic manner.

It was none other than Xiang Zhili.

"That's alright, I only arrived not long ago as well. Can you tell me what you have to say now, Senior Martial Brother Xiang?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.

"Of course. However, before that, I have to show you something first." Xiang Zhili reached one of his hands out of his wide sleeve to reveal a shimmering green jade box before handing it over to Han Li with a smile on his face.

Han Li glanced at the jade box before sweeping his spiritual sense toward it, only for his spiritual sense to be immediately repelled. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, and he asked, "Is this the item that you want to give me, Senior Martial Brother Xiang? What is it? You're certainly being very secretive about this!"

An extremely profound restriction seemed to have been set up inside the jade box.

"Hehe, you'll know once you open it, Junior Martial Brother Han," Xiang Zhili encouraged with a mysterious smile.

Han Li nodded in response before accepting the green jade box to find that it was as light as air.

He then took another glance at Xiang Zhili with a peculiar look on his face before suddenly tossing the jade box into the air. A streak of azure sword Qi that was around 10 feet in length flew out of his sleeve before striking the box viciously in a flash.

"Argh!"

Xiang Zhili immediately let loose a cry of surprise upon seeing this, but it was too late for him to stop Han Li.

The jade box was sliced open by the sword Qi amid a faint crack, and an item drifted out of it.

Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly to inspect the item, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

This was a shimmering golden talisman with profound silver patterns all over its surface. On top of that, there were countless golden and silver runes surrounding the talisman, giving it an air of mystery.

A calm expression reappeared on Xiang Zhili's face, and he made no mention of how Han Li had sliced open the box. Instead, he said in an earnest manner, "This is a Giant Spirit Talisman that I obtained by chance in the human world, but it requires someone of the Deity Transformation Stage or above to be able to refine it. It's all thanks to this talisman that I was able to survive my tumultuous trip through the spatial node into this realm. However, my cultivation base has plummeted all the way to the Core Formation Stage, so I have no use for it anymore. As such, I decided to give it to you, but in exchange, I want you to do something for me once you return to the human race. Rest assured, this is something that's well within your capabilities."

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't immediately respond. Instead, he made a grabbing motion upward, and a burst of invisible force drew the golden talisman into his hand.

His heart stirred slightly as he sensed the pure spiritual power emanating from the Giant Spirit Talisman, and several thin translucent threads suddenly erupted out of his glabella before vanishing into the talisman in a flash.

"Spiritual sense crystallization!" Xiang Zhili couldn't help but exclaim as a hint of shock flashed through his eyes.

Right in the next instant, a startling turn of events suddenly unfolded.

The Giant Spirit Talisman suddenly began to release a faint buzzing sound while its golden color instantly turned black. At the same time, a burst of grey Qi appeared over its surface, and a plume of greyish-white thin threads erupted from the talisman.

The threads reached Han Li in a flash, but Han Li seemed to have anticipated that this would happen, and he remained completely unflustered. Spiritual light flashed, and a dense indestructible-looking golden light barrier appeared in front of him.

At Han Li's current cultivation base, the protective spiritual light formed by his Provenance True Devil Arts was completely impervious to the effects of normal treasures.

However, this proved not to be the case here! The greyish-white threads punctured through the golden light in a flash before vanishing into his body.

A bone-chilling sensation immediately spread through Han Li's body from the greyish-white threads, and within the span of a single breath, his body had become completely numb and immobilized.

At the same time, a sinister look suddenly appeared on Xiang Zhili's face. As soon as the greyish-white threads vanished into Han Li's body, he immediately made a hand seal, upon which his body abruptly exploded.

Blood and flesh flew in all directions, revealing a crimson shadow. Bright crimson light then erupted forth as the crimson shadow hurtled toward Han Li, leaving an overwhelming stench of blood and gore in its wake.

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All of a sudden, black Qi erupted from Han Li's body, and a suit of black armor appeared. Countless black runes surged forth from the suit of armor, and the crimson streak of light was instantly repelled by the runes and black Qi.

The crimson shadow was sent stumbling backward and was forced to reveal its true form.

Blue light flashed through Han Li's eyes, allowing him to better glean the true appearance of the crimson shadow, and in spite of everything he had been through, even he couldn't help but be startled by what he was beholding.

At first glance, the face of the crimson shadow appeared to be a sinister ghostly face, but after a faint flash, it turned into Xiang Zhili's face, and after another blur, it transformed into the face of another man.

This man was also familiar to Han Li; it was none other than Old Devil Hu, whom Xiang Zhili had entered the spatial node with.

The crimson shadow quickly transitioned between its three faces as if it were incapable of adopting a stable form.

The crimson shadow finally righted itself before exclaiming in a shocked and enraged manner, "Heavenly Devilish Armor? Impossible! How could you possess a suit of armor that should only belong to heavenly devils?"

The voice resembled that of Xiang Zhili, but it also gave Han Li a strange unfamiliar feeling.

Han Li harrumphed coldly as shimmering golden light appeared all over his body. At the same time, a suit of golden scale armor emerged over his skin.

"Do you think I can't do anything to you just because you have that suit of Heavenly Devilish Armor?" The crimson shadow's face changed several times in rapid succession before it let loose a strange cry and began to rotate on the spot.

In the blink of an eye, a crimson tornado had erupted from his body and risen up into the sky, reaching a height of over 100 feet.

Incessant rumbling rang out from within the tornado, and bolts of crimson lightning flashed violently, creating an extremely alarming sight to behold.

The crimson shadow then chanted a few strange incantations, and the tornado rapidly shrank, condensing itself into a head-sized crimson rune mere moments later. The rune hovered in front of the crimson figure, and a grim look immediately appeared on Han Li's face as he sensed the violent fluctuations proliferating from the rune.

A loud thunderclap rang out, and the crimson rune lashed out as an arc of crimson lightning.

The lightning struck the black runes up ahead amid a resounding boom, and after a few erratic flashes of light, the black runes were parted, thereby allowing the lightning to strike the surface of the black suit of armor.

A muffled thump rang out as the crimson arc of lightning vanished, revealing a palm-sized hole that had been blasted onto the surface of the suit of armor.

A sinister look reappeared on the crimson shadow's face, and after a burst of wicked cackling, it rushed forward as a rapid streak of crimson light again, reaching Han Li in a flash before pouncing toward the hole on his suit of armor.

However, right at this moment, spatial fluctuations erupted nearby, and a large golden hand appeared in front of the hole on the suit of armor. The hand spread open its five fingers and caught the oncoming crimson shadow like lightning.

The crimson light receded, and the crimson shadow reappeared in the golden hand with a horrified look on its face. However, it then abruptly opened its mouths to blast a burst of crimson flames directly toward Han Li's face.

This was an extremely vicious and unpredictable attack!

Han Li was completely immobilized right now, and the crimson flames had been unleashed at point-blank range, so there should've been no way for him to evade it.

However, a cold smile suddenly appeared on Han Li's face, and black light flashed on his glabella, following which an inky-black eye was abruptly opened.

Black light flashed, and a beam of black light shot forth before striking the crimson flames with unerring accuracy.

The nearby space warped, and the two intertwined before vanishing into thin air together.

The crimson shadow was quite startled to see this, and bright crimson light erupted from its body as it attempted to unleash some other type of ability, but it was already too late.

A layer of silver flames suddenly appeared over the golden hand that it had been caught in, and the crimson shadow was instantly inundated.

Bloodcurdling howls rang out from within the silver flames as the crimson shadow struggled with all its might, changing its size and form at will to try and escape. However, the large golden hand was like an inescapable vice that refused to let it get away.

After just the span of a few breaths, the bloodcurdling howls ceased, and the crimson shadow was incinerated into nothingness.

Come to think of it, this crimson shadow had been quite unlucky. With its formless body, normal treasures and abilities would've completely failed to trap or harm it.

However, that large golden hand belonged to the Provenance Golden Body, and after its multiple refinements and Han Li's vast improvement in cultivation base, it had attained incredible abilities, thereby allowing it to pluck the formless crimson shadow straight out of the air.

As for the Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames, it possessed the power to devour all types of energy in the first place, and after devouring many other types of flames, it had become extremely potent against devilish beings and evil Qi.

Only then was this vastly powerful crimson shadow destroyed so easily.

Han Li's expression eased slightly upon seeing this, and the Law Destruction Eye on his glabella slowly closed before fading away.

He then began to chant something, and golden light swirled around his body as he opened his mouth to expel a fist-sized ball of light.

The ball of light was enshrouded within a layer of golden light, and it was revealed to be a clump of greyish-white threads.

The strange threads that had infiltrated his body earlier were forcibly condensed by his true essential power before being expelled from his body.

This was also a result of his massive cultivation base improvement and the significant progress he'd made in his Provenance True Devil Arts. Otherwise, he still wouldn't have been able to accomplish this.

As soon as the greyish-white clump was expelled, he regained control over his body, following which he immediately pointed a finger at the silver flames.

The Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames instantly swept forth toward the large golden hand before encompassing the ball of greyish-white light.

Meanwhile, the golden hand vanished into thin air amid a flash of light, and the ball of light flashed a few times before disintegrating into nothingness within the silver flames.

Only then did Han Li turn around to appraise the mangled remnants of Xiang Zhili's body, and he couldn't help but heave a faint sigh.

He still couldn't figure out exactly what had happened to Xiang Zhili for such a sinister being like the crimson shadow to be lurking in his body, but this physical body definitely did belong to Xiang Zhili.

From the unsettling transitioning faces of the crimson shadow, it seemed to have already devoured Xiang Zhili and Old Devil Hu's souls before fusing them as one.

Thankfully, the hibernating Weeping Soul Beast had suddenly displayed a slightly restless and uneasy reaction when he had met Xiang Zhili in Cloud City for the first time, thereby alerting him to the fact that something was amiss. Otherwise, he would've failed to notice anything.

If this "Xiang Zhili" hadn't been attempting to plot against him, Han Li naturally wouldn't have gone out of his way to kill him. However, during their two previous encounters, "Xiang Zhili" had clearly been intent on making him fall for some kind of sinister trap, thereby igniting the killing intent in his heart, which was why he decided to meet him as planned.

However, he wasn't 100% sure that there was something wrong with this Xiang Zhili, which was why he had waited until the trap was sprung.

Following the huge strides Han Li had made in the Vast Glacial Realm and the seed of wariness that had already been sowed into his heart, he was confident that he wouldn't fall prey to the devious plot he was potentially walking into.

Even if he hadn't used his golden body and Spirit Engulfing Heavenly Flames, there were still many other ways for him to kill that crimson shadow with ease. After all, there was too much of a disparity between his and Xiang Zhili's powers.

The crimson shadow had detonated Xiang Zhili's body before absorbing most of the body's blood essence, but that still wasn't enough for it to unleash much of its power.

Han Li stood on the spot and heaved an internal sigh.

Xiang Zhili had once stood at the very pinnacle of the human world, yet he had fallen to such a tragic fate; it was truly a saddening sight.

Han Li didn't know if he and Old Devil Hu had fallen prey to that crimson shadow in the spatial node or after they had arrived in the Spirit Realm. If it were the latter, then that would be even more tragic.

Han Li heaved another faint sigh before gently sweeping a sleeve through the air, unleashing a wave of crimson flames that instantly incinerated the mangled set of remains into nothingness.

As for that so-called Giant Spirit Talisman, it had already crumbled into nothingness following the demise of the crimson shadow.

After that, Han Li didn't delay there any longer. He made a grabbing motion in the air around him, and barely detectable spatial fluctuations immediately erupted in the air around the mountain peak.

A dozen or so balls of light of different colors then emerged before vanishing up his sleeve in a flash; these were none other than the formation flags he had released earlier.

The formation flags had formed a simple formation that concealed spiritual Qi fluctuations.

In the instant that "Xiang Zhili" arrived on the mountain, Han Li had secretly activated the formation to conceal the energy fluctuations that had erupted from their battle. Otherwise, to some beings, they would've still been able to notice what was happening on this mountain, which was only less than 100 kilometers away from Concealed Wyrm City.

The formation wouldn't have been able to completely conceal the signs of their battle, but it wouldn't have been very noticeable even to high-grade beings.

Han Li rose up into the air as a streak of azure light before flying toward Concealed Wyrm City.

Not long after that, a group of patrolling armored warriors arrived on the scene from another direction. However, after searching around the mountain, they discovered nothing and could only return in a frustrated manner.

As for Han Li, as soon as he returned to Concealed Wyrm City, he went back to the inn and remained in his room.

During the next few days, Qian Jizi and the others sent the missing materials to Han Li in batches, and it seemed that they really were going to keep their promise.

Han Li naturally accepted them without any qualms.

A month later, Han Li finally emerged from the inn before flying toward the tallest mountain in Concealed Wyrm City.

It was said that the most important buildings in Concealed Wyrm City were situated on that peak, along with a few secrets that weren't known to outsiders.

Half a day later, the entire mountain suddenly shuddered before a massive pillar of light erupted into the heavens from a certain place within the belly of the mountain.

After just a few flashes, the huge pillar of light vanished. These events drew some attention from the nearby Heavenly Cloud beings and became the topic of conversations for a few days, but as time passed, everyone gradually forgot about this and carried on with their daily lives.

At the same time, a pillar of light also erupted from the heavens from an obscure location on another continent that was countless kilometers away from the Thunder Continent. Immediately thereafter, a humanoid figure appeared at the center of a giant formation while the pillar of light receded.

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In the primordial world of the Tian Yuan Continent, there were countless types of unidentifiable beasts and monsters. There were also some extremely perilous locations that were lethal to even high-grade cultivators, and countless beings of all races perished each year in the primordial world.

Even so, countless cultivators were still willing to enter the primordial world for its precious materials and potential opportunities.

The human race was situated in a secluded corner of the Tian Yuan Continent, and it was far weaker than the major races on the continent. It wasn't even much more powerful than its few neighboring races.

Thankfully, they were able to ally themselves with the demon race, which was roughly comparable in power. Furthermore, the three regions and seven territories had all been sealed away by a super restriction set up by the primordial mighty figures of the two races.

Aside from Deep Heaven City, there were no other entrances leading into the land of the two races, and this was what had allowed the two races to exist in the Spirit Realm to this very day.

Of course, Deep Heaven City was regarded as an extremely important place by the two races. Not only were there large numbers of powerful beings from both races constantly stationed there, the city itself had a panel of elders that was solely responsible for defending the city.

There were only 10 members in the panel of elders, but all of them had to be at the early-Body Integration Stage or above. If one of them were to perish, another Body Integration Stage being would immediately be elected from the two races to take the perished elder's place.

It was through these arrangements that Deep Heaven City had always remained an impregnable fortress.

At the same time, Deep Heaven City was the only exit available to the cultivators of the human and demon races if they wanted to access the primordial world.

Most cultivators didn't dare to venture too deep into the primordial realm and only scoured the area that was within a month's travel away from Deep Heaven City. If they were to encounter any powerful ancient beasts or other hazard, they would still have a chance to return to Deep Heaven City for refuge.

Of course, there were also many courageous characters who were confident in their own abilities and ventured much deeper into the primordial world, but the mortality rate among those beings naturally spiked dramatically.

In the air above a lake in the primordial world, there were currently several human cultivators who were in this type of imminent life-threatening danger.

This group consisted of four humans, two male and two female, and they had been trapped by a gargantuan ancient beast in the lake.

The giant beast had the body of a massive turtle, but there were a dozen or so tentacles on its back that were sweeping through the air, creating fierce gusts of wind and forming a giant net that trapped the four people within.

The four of them were all powerful Deity Transformation cultivators, and the treasures they were wielding also appeared to be quite powerful, but regardless of whether they were flying swords, flying daggers, huge wheels, or giant staves, all of them were instantly repelled by the tentacles, leaving the four cultivators completely trapped.

There was a scholarly middle-aged man among them wielding a particularly powerful silver scepter treasure that withstood most of the pressure being exerted on them by the huge net of tentacles. If it wasn't for that treasure, they would've already had their defenses breached and been killed by this giant beast.

Even so, all four of them were panting heavily and sweating profusely, clearly unable to last much longer.

"Brother Huo, release your Extreme Lightning Bead! We have to make one final roll of the dice now!" the scholarly man yelled in an urgent manner to the man beside him.

A crimson-armored man with a set of hideous facial features replied in a grim manner, "The Extreme Lightning Bead is indeed powerful, but I'm afraid that setting it off in such an enclosed space would harm us as well."

"I'm aware of that, but we'll just have to risk it. This Stone Origin Turtle possesses early-Spatial Tempering Stage powers, and my Hundred Spirit Scepter won't be able to last much longer against it. If we don't use the Extreme Lightning Bead now, we won't get another chance!" the scholarly man insisted in a decisive manner.

The crimson-armored man was still rather hesitant. Right at this moment, the ancient beast's tentacles began to accelerate, and the sound of howling winds and rumbling thunder rang out. The enormous power erupting from the giant net also increased significantly.

The countless streaks of white light conjured up by the scepter quickly dimmed significantly after a few more clashes, and the safe enclosed space around the four human cultivators shrank even further.

This turn of events finally prompted the crimson-armored man to make up his mind, and he gritted his teeth before flipping a hand over to produce an egg-sized bead.

The bead was shimmering with blue light and had blue patterns all over its surface, giving it a rather mysterious appearance.

The two female cultivators were quite alarmed at the sight of the blue bead, and one of them hurriedly changed something before waving both of her sleeves through the air, summoning a dozen or so high-grade talismans that formed layers of light barriers around all four of them.

Meanwhile, the other woman raised a hand to send a small black bell flying through the air.

The bell then expanded drastically before releasing a layer of black light amid a faint clang, and this black light also encompassed all four human cultivators.

A ferocious look appeared in the scholarly man's eyes as he expelled several mouthfuls of blood essence in succession. With each mouthful of blood essence expelled, his complexion would pale slightly, but that didn't stop him from pointing his finger rapidly into the air.

The blood essence vanished into the scepter up above in a flash, and the spiritual light that had dimmed slightly immediately brightened, manifesting into a dense barrier of white light.

Seeing as all of his companions had adopted defensive measures, the crimson-armored man didn't hesitate any longer as he tossed the blue bead forward.

As soon as the bead left his hand, it transformed into a ball of dazzling blue light.

The crimson-armored man made a hand seal, and the ball of blue light instantly expanded to the size of a wagon wheel, then crashed directly toward an oncoming tentacle.

An earth-shattering boom rang out, and the blue ball of light exploded as soon as it came into contact with the tentacle, sending bursts of blue shockwaves erupting forth in a frenzy.

The giant net formed by the dozen or so tentacles was instantly inundated by blue light, and the shockwaves spread to cover a radius of over 500 meters. Gale-force winds howled incessantly within the blue light amid a string of explosions, and four streaks of light rushed out of the blue light before linking up in a flash and fleeing into the distance.

The four human cultivators within the streaks of light were all in an extremely sorry state. The scholarly man had blood all over his body, and one of his arms had gone missing.

His three companions also had extremely pale complexions, and their clothes were in tatters, clearly having also sustained severe injuries.

Thankfully, none of them had lost their abilities to fly, and they were still able to flee at an astonishing speed.

Moments later, the shockwaves in the air dispersed, and the blue light faded as well.

Most of the ancient turtle beast's tentacles had been destroyed, and the remaining ones were also all charred and incomplete.

A thunderous roar of fury erupted from the ancient beast's mouth, and green light flashed from its mangled tentacles, upon which they began to rapidly regenerate. Turbulent waves then surged over the nearby surface of the lake, following which a vast amount of water was swept up before enveloping the giant turtle. The vast expanse of water then formed a giant cloud that was several acres in size before setting off in pursuit of the four human cultivators.

The four of them were naturally quite alarmed by this, and they fled as quickly as they could to try and shake off the cloud.

However, despite its enormous size, the giant cloud was able to keep up with the combined speed of the four human cultivators, and not long after that, the cloud and the human cultivators had flown for hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

As time passed the gap between the two gradually dwindled. This wasn't to say that the cloud had suddenly sped up; instead, the four human cultivators were slowing down.

They were all bearing severe injuries, and after fleeing as quickly as they could for so long, they were finally beginning to exhaust their supplies of magic power.

The four of them had naturally realized the perilous situation that they were in, but in the face of the almighty ancient beast behind them, they were powerless to do anything.

Finally, after flying for around another 100,000 kilometers, the distance between the ancient beast and its prey had been whittled down to just over 1,000 feet. Right at this moment, the ancient beast let loose a thunderous roar, and the cloud suddenly blurred before exploding on its own.

White water-attribute spiritual Qi surged before dissipating, but the giant turtle was nowhere to be seen.

The four human cultivators had naturally been keeping a constant eye on their pursuer, and the scholarly man's expression immediately changed drastically upon seeing this as he exclaimed, "Look out!"

However, before the four of them had a chance to do anything, spatial fluctuations suddenly erupted up above, and several black tentacles swept toward them like lightning.

Even before the tentacles reached, the massive wind pressure they were exerting was already causing the spiritual light around them to flicker violently and fluctuate in brightness.

The four of them let loose cries of surprise, and they reflexively dispersed, flying in different directions to avoid the attacks.

In doing so, they were able to evade the powerful tentacles, but they had also been split apart. The four of them looked at one another, and all of them had grim expressions on their faces.

Even their combined magic power had been unable to shake off the ancient beast; now that they had been forcibly dispersed, it would be impossible for them to escape.

A massive black shadow flashed up above, and the giant turtle emerged out of thin air before appraising the four cultivators with a frosty look in its green eyes.

The human cultivators' hearts sank, and they knew that there was a good chance this would be their final resting place.

However, the four of them had cultivated to their current powers and dared to venture deep into the primordial world, so they clearly possessed strong will and wouldn't just resign themselves to their fates.

Thus, they forcibly reinvigorated themselves before releasing their treasures again to prepare to make one final struggle.

The giant turtle beast let loose a low roar upon seeing this, and a humanized look of disdain flashed through its eyes. The dozen or so tentacles on its back swept forth again before transforming into black blurs, and it appeared that another battle was about to commence.

However, right at this moment, peculiar looks appeared on the faces of the four cultivators and the giant beast, and all of them abruptly looked up almost in unison.

A head-sized ball of lightning had appeared over 1,000 feet in the air above them, and the ball of lightning was flashing with countless thin arcs of silver lightning, but it was completely silent. The violently flashing lightning created a stark contrast with the complete lack of sound, creating an extremely unsettling sight to behold.

However, before the four cultivators and ancient beast had a chance to react, the lightning ball suddenly swelled to several times its original size amid a resounding boom.

A successive string of loud booms rang out immediately thereafter, and countless arcs of lightning sprang forth as the ball of lightning instantly formed a circular formation that was several tens of feet in diameter.

This was a formation that was comprised entirely of silver arcs of lightning, and countless silver runes appeared amid violent flashes of lightning.

An earth-shattering thunderclap rang out, and a bolt of lightning that was as thick as a water tank crashed down from above. The lightning faded, and a humanoid figure stumbled out onto the center of the lightning formation.

As soon as this humanoid figure steadied himself, he immediately delivered a crass tirade. "Lei Yunzi, you old bastard! Don't let me catch you again or I'll make sure you get what's coming to you!"

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The humanoid figure was an azure-robed young man with a pair of translucent wings on his back. His facial features were quite ordinary, but he wore an enraged look on his face.

The scholarly man swept his spiritual sense toward him, and he faltered momentarily before an elated look appeared on his face. He hurriedly yelled, "Be careful, Senior; that Stone Origin Turtle down below has already attained intelligence and is extremely fearsome!"

"Stone Origin Turtle?"

Only after hearing this did the young man seem to notice that there were beings below him, and he cast his gaze downward before immediately burst into laughter. "The four of you are humans! That must mean Deep Heaven City isn't far away from here, right?"

The young man didn't even bother to take a second glance at the giant turtle, and the ancient beast seemed to have also sensed that this man was quite a formidable being. It possessed quite a high level of intelligence, and it currently wore a hesitant look on its face, not daring to unleash any reckless attacks.

"This place is still some distance away from Deep Heaven City; if you don't mind, the four of us would be more than willing to act as your guides, Senior." The crimson-armored man had also discovered that the young man's cultivation base was completely unfathomable to his spiritual sense, and he was also immediately latched onto Han Li like a life raft.

The scholarly man and the two women eagerly agreed to this arrangement as well.

"I guess it can't hurt to have someone lead the way. However, you'll have to wait for a bit. This Stone Origin Turtle seems to be decently powerful; let me secure its inner core before we set off!" The young man turned to the ancient beast down below with a faint smile on his face.

The Stone Origin Turtle had no idea what they were saying, but it was immediately struck by a chilling sensation at the sight of the young man's menacing gaze. It immediately let loose a low roar and opened its mouth to blast forth a thick pillar of blue light. At the same time, the dozen or so tentacles lashed out in unison, sweeping toward the young man as countless black shadows.

The ancient beast had been struck by the feeling that its life was under severe threat, and it immediately went berserk.

The four human cultivators were quite alarmed by the giant turtle's violent outburst, and they hurriedly activated their treasures to form protective light barriers before quickly backing away.

However, the young man merely smiled at the sight of the rampaging giant turtle. He raised a sleeve, and a grey light barrier instantly appeared in front of him.

The blue pillar of light struck the light barrier, and the former instantly vanished into nothingness amid a flash of light.

The devastating attack had fizzled out like a candle in the wind!

The young man also remained completely unflustered at the sight of the giant tentacle net that came crashing down toward him. All of a sudden, he flapped his wings, and a loud thunderclap rang out as countless arcs of azure and white lightning appeared over his wings before erupting into the air in a frenzy.

At the same time, he extended an inky-black hand out of his sleeve before making a grabbing motion toward the giant net.

An astonishing scene then ensued.

In the instant that he made the grabbing motion, all of the arcs of azure and white lightning converged to a single spot, instantly forming a huge azure and white hand that was around 10 feet in size. The hand was completely comprised of thick bolts of lightning, and all of the tentacles that came into contact with it were torn apart as if they were mere papier-mâché structures.

In the next instant, a huge bolt of lightning appeared above the giant turtle before transforming into a massive palm again. The gargantuan hand swooped down at an alarming speed, and the giant turtle didn't even have a chance to react before the protective azure spiritual light around it was dispelled, and the hand locked itself tightly around the ancient beast's body.

A rumbling thunderclap erupted, and countless arcs of azure and white lightning appeared.

The arcs of lightning were clearly imbued with extremely devastating power as the Stone Origin Turtle's body was reduced to ashes after just a few flashes, and it didn't even get a chance to cry out prior to its demise.

After the lightning in the air vanished, only an egg-sized demon core remained, hovering in mid-air in a stationary manner.

The young man made a grabbing motion, and the demon core was immediately drawn into his grasp. He casually inspected the demon core a few times before stowing it away amid a flash of spiritual light, then turned to face the four human cultivators. "Alright, we can set off now."

The four human cultivators had already been completely rooted to the spot.

They had experienced the powers of that Spatial Tempering Stage Stone Origin Turtle for themselves, and it had almost brought about their demise. However, this young man had slain the giant beast as if it were nothing more than an ant!

This was simply incredible! Could it be his cultivation base was far superior even to what they had imagined?

The scholarly man took a deep breath before hurriedly extending a deep respectful bow. "May I have the honor of knowing your name, Senior? Could it be that you're a Body Integration Stage cultivator?"

"Body Integration Stage? I'm not quite there yet. As for my name, my surname is Han," the young man replied in a calm manner.

This young man was naturally none other than Han Li.

Over 100 years had passed since he had teleported back to the Tian Yuan Continent. Back when he was teleported from the Thunder Continent, he had found himself in an extremely secluded part of the Tian Yuan continent. Aside from a few Heavenly Cloud beings who had been sent there to guard the teleportation formation, there were no other beings around.

After he displayed his identification jade slip to those Heavenly Cloud beings, he was able to depart without a hitch. However, even Han Li hadn't anticipated just how lengthy his journey back to the human race would prove to be.

With his current powers, even Body Integration Stage beings weren't all that formidable to him, but the Tian Yuan Continent was simply far too massive. On top of that, there were countless hazards that arose during his journey, and he also had to pass through the territories of some foreign races.

Even though Han Li had been extremely alert and cautious, he still almost perished on several occasions. There was one occasion where he had been chased for several months by multiple Body Integration Stage ancient beasts, and he had only managed to outlast them in a battle of stamina by relying on his abundant supply of spirit pills and spirit stones.

There was also one occasion where he had unwittingly stumbled into a glacial realm and was swept up by a type of strange glacial tide. On that occasion, if it hadn't been for his five-colored glacial flames' ability to absorb this strange glacial power, he would've remained there forever as an ice statue. Even so, it had still taken him around a year to escape from that perilous realm, but the one positive aspect to arise from that experience was that his five-colored glacial flames had evolved from the glacial power they had absorbed.

There was another occasion where he had encountered a group of high-grade foreign beings who thought he would be an easy target as he was traveling alone, and wanted to kill him for his treasures.

During the extremely intense battle that followed, he was forced to bring out even his Gold Devouring Beetles and Profound Heavenly blade segment, slaying eight Spatial Tempering Stage beings and severely wounding two Body Integration Stage beings. However, he had also been afflicted by an extremely troublesome type of poison and barely managed to escape with his life.

Following that battle, he was forced to go into seclusion in an obscure place for over 10 years before he cured himself of that poison and fully recovered.

After those experiences, he naturally became even more cautious, but much to his frustration, he was still regularly beset by perilous situations. He now finally understood why even Body Integration Stage beings were so averse to traveling across an entire continent.

Even with his powers, he had still almost perished on several occasions; a normal Body Integration Stage being would've most likely already died on the journey if they had been in his place.

This was why only the most powerful beings of all races, that couldn't improve any further with normal cultivation, would set off on journeys to explore entire continents. Only through such experiences could unfathomably powerful beings like them refine their mental state and secure an inkling of an opportunity for a breakthrough.

Similarly, even though Han Li had encountered so many ordeals along his journey, he had also reaped unimaginable benefits,

Setting aside all of the precious materials he had obtained from the depths of the primordial realm, just the cultivation arts and secret techniques he had learned in secret from the foreign races he had passed through had benefited him immensely.

In order to avoid being discovered by those foreign beings, he would always limit his activity to the outskirts of their territory and only enter the small cities that weren't guarded by any top-grade beings. In doing so, he was able to minimize the risk he was taking.

Even so, he wasn't always able to circumvent all risk entirely. As he was passing through a small city in the territory of the Ming Race, he encountered a foreign being who referred to himself as Lei Yunzi.

This was clearly only a mid-Spatial Tempering Stage being, but he was able to instantly see through Han Li's disguise, and thus, a fierce battle ensued between them.

Han Li had intended to kill Lei Yunzi in order to silence him, but much to his surprise, he was unable to do anything to this mere mid-Spatial Tempering Stage being.

This Lei Yunzi possessed the legendary Five Lightning Physique, which granted him the innate ability to control five completely different types of powers of lightning. Furthermore, he was also using a lightning cultivation art that had gone missing long ago, and this cultivation art allowed him to freely transition his body between a physical and lightning form at will. He was restricted by his cultivation base so he couldn't maintain the cultivation art for too long, but it was still enough for Han Li to be completely unable to do anything to him.

What was even more damning was that this Lei Yunzi was also a formation master of the Ming Race. He was able to integrate these skills with his lightning abilities to devise a unique lightning formation, which allowed him to transform the lightning within his body into any type of formation at will. These formations included trapping formations, as well as offensive and defensive formations, and their powers and versatility were truly astounding.

Of course, with Han Li's powers, Lei Yunzi also couldn't do anything to him either, and after battling for a month, the two of them eventually became friends of sorts.

Han Li was naturally extremely curious toward Lei Yunzi's lightning powers and lightning formations, while Lei Yunzi was very intrigued by Han Li's Divine Devilbane Lightning, as well as his lightning beads and lightning robe.

Thus, the two of them eventually negotiated a truce and began to exchange cultivation experiences.

As a result, Han Li learned a few very practical lightning formations, and Lei Yunzi also absorbed some Divine Devilbane Lightning from him.

Only then did the two of them part ways, having benefited mutually from one another.

However, either these lightning formations were extremely difficult to cultivate or Lei Yunzi had intentionally omitted some key details, but Han Li was never able to control them as he pleased. Furthermore, it was often the case that some minor issues would arise when he tried to use them, making him feel very frustrated.

After studying these formations in greater depth, Han Li was finally able to ascertain that it was most likely the case that Lei Yunzi had indeed omitted some key details. Han Li was naturally quite disgruntled by this, although he had also given Lei Yunzi a flawed version of the lightning symbol technique, so his success rate when attempting to manifest lightning beads would be less than 10%.

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As such, Han Li could only rely on his own knowledge and formation expertise to gradually rectify these lightning formations, expending a vast amount of time and effort in the process.

The lightning formation that he had just emerged out of was the one that he held in the highest regard.

This formation could draw upon the power of lightning to form a short-distance teleportation formation that worked within a range of around 5,000 kilometers.

Using this formation, Lei Yunzi was able to teleport himself to his desired destination accurate to the nearest 1,000 feet, and he could complete the entire teleportation process in the span of just a few breaths.

However, due to the fact that Han Li had received a flawed version of the technique, no matter how hard he tried, he could only randomly teleport within a range of 5,000 kilometers. Furthermore, the teleportation process took him over 10 times longer than it did for Lei Yunzi.

That last teleportation was another experiment conducted by Han Li following the latest improvements he had made, but the effect was still the same.

This made his resentment toward Lei Yunzi boil over, and he couldn't help but curse Lei Yunzi's name.

At this point, it had already taken him over 100 years to get to this place from the other side of the Tian Yuan Continent, and he was naturally ecstatic to see these human cultivators.

Referencing some rough maps of the continent, he knew that he was close to human territory, but there was no way to accurately gauge how much further he still had to go.

Furthermore, these were the first human brethren he had seen in many years, and their presence verified to him that Deep Heaven City was indeed not far away, so how could he not be ecstatic?

After wandering across multiple lands for countless years, he was constantly meeting different beasts and foreign beings, so he naturally missed being back in human company.

Most importantly, Han Li had always been concerned about whether Nangong Wan had ascended yet. He didn't know if this beloved wife of his had successfully ascended to the Spirit Realm, and whether she had also arrived at Deep Heaven City.

Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but there were many thoughts racing through his mind. He raised a hand, and a shimmering azure flying carriage was released.

The carriage was around 70 to 80 feet in length with many profound runes inscribed over its surface. There were also two winged giant wolf puppets that were hovering in mid-air in front of the carriage.

"All of you look to have sustained severe injuries that'll hamper your ability to travel over long distances, so you can rest in the carriage and just give me directions," Han Li said in a calm manner, before entering the carriage himself.

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior!"

The four human cultivators were quite elated to hear this and hurriedly expressed their gratitude.

Han Li had told them that he wasn't a Body Integration cultivator, but they knew that he was no ordinary Spatial Tempering cultivator either. Otherwise, how could he have managed to kill that Spatial Tempering Stage Stone Origin Turtle so easily? With that in mind, they naturally didn't dare to go against his wishes.

On top of that, they really were in dire need of rest and recuperation, so they were more than happy to follow this order. What was going to be an extremely treacherous journey back was virtually guaranteed to be a completely safe one now with the accompaniment of such a powerful being.

Thus, the four of them flew onto the flying carriage in quick succession, and Han Li made a hand seal, sending two azure incantation seals flying through the air, each of which flew into one of the two giant wolf puppets.

The stationary puppets immediately seemed to have sprung to life, and they let loose bursts of low roars before flapping their wings and flying through the air.

Meanwhile, an azure light barrier appeared around the flying carriage to shield the four human cultivators, and the carriage flew into the distance as a ball of azure light.

Han Li sat with his legs crossed at the center of the carriage, and asked, "Which region are you from, and how long has it been since you left Deep Heaven City?"

The scholarly man was clearly the leader of the four, and he replied in a respectful manner, "The four of us came from a sect in the Xuan Wu Region, and it's only been around half a year since we left the city."

"Half a year, eh? That means you should be quite familiar with recent events in Deep Heaven City, right?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

The scholarly man could sense where this conversation was going, and he replied in a cautious manner, "We stayed in Deep Heaven City for several years prior to embarking on our journey, so we do indeed know a thing or two about recent matters in the city. However, as you can see, our cultivation bases are far from exceptional, so we don't know any confidential information."

"Hehe, there's no need for you to be so tense. I also came from Deep Heaven City, but haven't been back for many years, so I just wanted to hear about the overall situation. Seeing as Deep Heaven City still stands, I presume the foreign beings from back then didn't manage to conquer it," Han Li chuckled.

The scholarly man was rather taken aback to hear this, but he immediately replied in a truthful manner, "Foreign beings? Was that when you left Deep Heaven City, Senior? At the time, a few of the nearby races joined forces to attack the city, but our human race and the demon race put up firm resistance, and both sides suffered severe casualties. I've heard that there were even Body Integration Stage beings who had perished during that battle. However, just as the battle reached its climax, the foreign army suddenly retreated without any warning, which was how Deep Heaven City managed to survive."

"They retreated?" Han Li stroked his chin as a contemplative look appeared on his face.

"Indeed. There were many different theories speculating the reason behind it. Some people say that our two races sent out our elite forces to attack the territories of these foreign races, thereby forcing them into retreat; there are also some people who say that a new Profound Heavenly Treasure appeared, so all of the foreign beings set off to search for the treasure," the crimson-armored man explained.

Han Li heart stirred slightly upon hearing this, but his expression remained unchanged as he asked, "What are the rumors about the Profound Heavenly Treasure?"

"This was something that created quite a stir back then. Some people say that the treasure was suddenly born within a certain foreign race, while others speculate that a foreign being of the Body Integration Stage or above carried this treasure to our continent. There's even a conspiracy speculating that someone ascended from one of the lower realms and carried such a treasure into this realm," the scholarly man replied with a wry smile.

"Hehe, someone ascended from a lower realm?" Han Li couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"You also find that quite absurd, right, Senior? Profound Heavenly Treasures are extraordinary items; how could someone from a lower realm possibly be in possession of such a treasure? We have no clue how such ridiculous rumors came into existence," one of the female cultivators said with a smile.

Han Li nodded in an ambiguous manner as he said, "It is indeed quite absurd. Alright, tell me about all of the major events that took place in the three regions and seven territories during the past 200 years."

"Many major events took place during the past 200 years that shook the three regions and seven territories, but it'll take a very long time for us to recount all of those events," the scholarly man said with a fawning smile.

"That's alright, we have such a long journey ahead anyway, so that should provide more than enough time for your stories," Han Li replied with a faint smile.

"In that case, we'll do our best to provide an accurate account of the timeline of events," the scholarly man replied in a respectful manner.

At this point, he had already taken some pills and was holding a spirit stone, which he was using to slowly replenish his energy.

Thus, the scholarly man began his recount. "The most important event to have taken place during the past 200 years was the death of the Heavenly Spirit Sovereign several decades ago. He passed away after failing to transcend his final heavenly tribulation, and a new spirit sovereign is about to be chosen in the human race. Second to that was the disappearance of the young daughter of one of the seven demon monarchs, the Nan Li Wyrm Monarch. His daughter mysteriously vanished from his lair, and for that, the wyrm monarch kicked up a massive fuss that almost tipped the three regions and seven territories onto its head."

Meanwhile, his three companions interjected to add details that he had missed from time to time.

Han Li's expression initially remained unchanged as he listened to these stories, but a hint of surprise gradually appeared in his eyes, only to be slowly replaced by a rather grim expression.

It seemed that a few earth-shattering events really had taken place in the human and demon races during the years that he had been away.

Only after close to half a day did the four human cultivators finally complete their recounts, and when their voices trailed off, Han Li fell into silent contemplation.

The four human cultivators naturally waited respectfully for Han Li to respond.

After a while, Han Li suddenly asked, "Has a female cultivator from a lower realm by the name of Nangong Wan appeared in Deep Heaven City during these years?"

"Nangong Wan? I've never heard of that name before. Lower realm cultivators who have ascended during these past 200 years have been exceedingly rare, so we should definitely be aware of all of them," the scholarly man gave a confident reply after pondering this question for a moment.

Han Li's eyes flashed, and a thought occurred to him as he continued, "Oh, perhaps she changed her name. Have there been any female cultivators who have ascended to Deep Heaven City of late?"

"Ascended female cultivators are even rarer, but there have been a few," the scholarly man replied in a slightly hesitant manner.

"Alright, thank you for disclosing all of this information to me. I'll leave you to rest and recuperate now." Han Li nodded with a pleased expression before closing his eyes and falling silent.

The four human cultivators also expressed their gratitude before closing their eyes to meditate.

Han Li's expression appeared to be quite placid, but his mind was filled with Nangong Wan's gentle voice and smile.

He had thought about her regularly for so many years, and after learning that there was a large chance that Nangong Wan had failed to ascend to the Spirit Realm, his heart began to throb with pain.

The azure flying carriage flew even faster than when the four human cultivators had combined their powers, and a journey that should've taken over two months was completed in only about one and a half months.

The flying carriage stopped high in the air above Deep Heaven City, and a complex look appeared on Han Li's face as he looked at the monolithic city walls in the distance.

After wandering in foreign territory for so many years, he had finally returned to a home of sorts.

"Should we teleport into the city now, Senior?" the scholarly man asked in a careful manner.

Not far away from the carriage stood a teleportation formation that was several tens of feet in size, and there were a dozen or so azure-armored Dark Azure Guard standing around the formation.

Light flashed from the formation, and several humanoid figures conversed with the Dark Azure Guards before entering the formation and vanishing on the spot.

This was none other than the teleportation formation that led into Deep Heaven City.

Due to the fact that this city directly faced the primordial world, it didn't have a normal city gate, so those who wanted to enter the primordial world had to do so through teleportation formations.

As for the guards in Deep Heaven City who have to complete missions from time to time, they had their own set of even more obscure teleportation formations.

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Han Li withdrew his gaze before stomping his foot gently down onto the flying carriage, and it immediately embarked on a slow descent.

The flying carriage was quite enormous, so the Dark Azure Guards down below naturally noticed it, and bursts of spiritual sense were immediately sent sweeping toward them.

Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, and azure light flashed, following which the flying carriage abruptly vanished. The five of them then descended near the teleportation formation.

"Captain? Is that you?" A cry of surprise suddenly rang out from one of the Dark Azure Guards.

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before casting his gaze toward that direction. In doing so he discovered that there was a burly green-eyed man standing among the Dark Azure Guards, and he was rather familiar to Han Li.

This was none other than Zhuo Chong, who was one of the guards that he had led back when he was last in Deep Heaven City.

At this point, he had already progressed from the late-Nascent Soul Stage to the early-Deity Transformation Stage, and he was staring at Han Li with a stunned expression.

"Oh? Long time no see, Fellow Daoist Zhuo. Congratulations on becoming a Dark Azure Guard," Han Li said with a smile.

"It really is you! Hmm? Have you already progressed to the Spatial Tempering Stage, Captain?" Zhuo Chong was initially elated to see Han Li before a shocked expression reappeared on his face.

He discovered that his spiritual sense was completely unable to glean Han Li's cultivation base, so he could only assume this to be the case.

"I did indeed manage to progress to the Spatial Tempering Stage during my travels; I didn't think that I'd meet you here even before I entered the city, Fellow Daoist Zhuo. How are all of the other fellow Daoists in our former group doing?" Han Li asked with a smile.

"Well, not long after you left, the foreign races attacked Deep Heaven City, and close to half of us perished during that battle. The rest then chose to leave Deep Heaven City, and Fairy Xu and myself are the only ones who decided to stay," Zhuo Chong replied.

"Fairy Xu is still in the city?" Han Li asked as a peculiar look flashed through his eyes.

This woman was a descendant of Fairy Ice Soul, which was someone he had to meet in order to complete the task that Senior Weng of the Heavenly Cloud Races had assigned to him, so he was naturally interested in hearing about her.

"Fairy Xu has also reached the Deity Transformation Stage, and she's now a mid-Deity Transformation cultivator. By the way, Fairy Xu regularly mentions you, and she's always saying that she wouldn't be where she is today without your guidance," Zhou Chong said with a suggestive smile, seemingly under the impression that there was something going on between the two of them.

"Hehe, I didn't do much; you can barely even refer to that as guidance. Fairy Xu has attained her current accomplishments due to her own outstanding aptitude," Han Li replied with an indifferent shake of his head.

Meanwhile, as Han Li spoke with Zhou Chong, the four human cultivators were quite relieved to see that Han Li was acquainted with one of the Dark Azure Guards.

It seemed that he had been telling the truth about coming from Deep Heaven City himself. As such, they no longer had to worry that he was a foreign being attempting to infiltrate the city in disguise.

Such occurrences were not exactly rare, after all.

The scholarly man also recognized Zhuo Chong, and he said, "I'm glad to see that Brother Zhuo is acquainted with Senior Han. We were only able to make it back here as Senior Han stepped in to save our lives from a perilous situation."

"Oh? Did the four of you encounter some danger?" Zhuo Chong was rather taken aback to hear this.

"That's an understatement; the four of us almost perished to a Spatial Tempering Stage Stone Origin Turtle," the scholarly man replied with a wry smile.

"Hehe, our captain was able to kill Spatial Tempering Stage foreign beings even as a Deity Transformation cultivator, so he'd certainly have no issues killing a mere Stone Origin Turtle now," Zhuo Chong chuckled.

The four human cultivators nodded emphatically to express their agreement to this sentiment.

"I'd love to chat with you some other time, Fellow Daoist Zhuo, but I have some matters to attend to and I would like to enter the city first," Han Li said with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Ah yes, how negligent of me; you must've traveled here from afar, so you must be quite exhausted." Zhuo Chong hurriedly stepped away to grant Han Li passage to the teleportation formation behind him.

Han Li nodded at Zhuo Chong before striding into the formation before vanishing amid a flash of spiritual light along with the four human cultivators who had accompanied him.

Zhuo Chong looked on at the empty formation with a slightly forlorn look on his face.

"Do you really know that Senior Han, Brother Zhuo?"

"Was he really your captain? Could he really kill Spatial Tempering Stage beings at just the Deity Transformation Stage?"

"Why were we unable to glean his cultivation base? Could it be that he's cultivated some kind of special ability?"

All of the other Dark Azure Guards couldn't help but express their curiosity.

"Of course it's true. Captain Han was a very renowned figure among the Dark Azure Guards back in the day, and with his abilities, even the average Heavenly Guard may not be a match for him. I also benefited greatly from his guidance back in the day. Otherwise, I may not even have been able to progress to the Deity Transformation stage. It seems that he's progressed to the Spatial Tempering Stage, so his powers are naturally even more unfathomable; it's no wonder that we can't glean his cultivation base," Zhuo Chong replied, and at the same time, he couldn't help but speculate internally about where Han Li had been during these past years.

Of course, never would he imagine that Han Li had gone on an epic trip that had spanned multiple different continents.

Meanwhile, spiritual light flashed within an ordinary-looking hall, and Han Li slowly emerged from the teleportation formation before casting his gaze around him.

The four human cultivators also emerged behind him.

"We're already at Deep Heaven City now, so it's time we parted ways, fellow Daoists," Han Li said to the four of them.

"Thank you for saving our lives, Senior. We'll be residing in the Spring Slumber Pavilion for now; if you have any need for our services, please don't hesitate to call on us," the scholarly man said with a respectful and earnest bow.

Without Han Li's intervention, all four of them would've almost definitely perished, so his words were genuine.

"Spring Slumber Pavilion? Alright, I'll keep that in mind. Perhaps I really will have to trouble you later." Han Li nodded as he gave the scholarly man a final meaningful glance, then departed from the hall.

The four human cultivators faltered slightly before extending respectful bows in unison.

After departing from the hall, Han Li emerged in another massive hall that had a radius of over 1,000 feet. There were other people who were also entering and exiting the other halls connected to this one, but there weren't very many of them.

Not far away from the exit of the giant hall stood two rows of Dark Azure Guards who were holding Foreign Spirit Discs, with which they were carefully assessing each and every cultivator entering and exiting the hall.

There was also a golden-armored Heavenly Guard who stood behind the Dark Azure Guards with his arms crossed, appraising everything within the hall with a cold expression.

Han Li immediately identified this Heavenly Guard as a mid-Spatial Tempering cultivator, and after a brief pause, he strode directly toward the guard.

The Dark Azure Guards outside the city were only responsible for guarding the teleportation formations so they didn't get damaged by foreign beings and beasts, while the guards here were truly responsible for verifying the identities of those looking to access the city.

In the past, Deep Heaven City gave out temporary transit badges to everyone who entered the primordial world. However, Han Li hadn't returned to Deep Heaven City for so many years, so he naturally didn't possess such an item, which could prove to be a little troublesome.

There weren't many people in the giant hall, and Han Li was the only Spatial Tempering cultivator.

The Heavenly Guard immediately cast his gaze toward him, and even though Han Li remained completely expressionless, he was using an aura concealment secret technique.

A surprised expression immediately appeared on the Heavenly Guard's face.

The Heavenly Guard's body swayed, and he appeared in front of all of the Dark Azure Guards in a wraith-like manner before cupping his fist in a polite salute. "I am Yu Lingzi. Your cultivation base is truly astounding, Fellow Daoist; may I ask your name and where you came from?"

"My name is Han Li, and as for where I came from, hehe, I was a Deep Heaven Guard over 300 years ago," Han Li replied.

The Heavenly Guard faltered momentarily before his expression darkened slightly. "A Deep Heaven Guard? Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist; I've been a Heavenly Guard for several hundred years; why have I never seen you before?"

Han Li merely chuckled and suddenly raised a hand to send a ball of azure light flying through the air.

The Heavenly Guard's pupils contracted as he made a grabbing motion to draw the ball of azure light into his hand, upon which he discovered that this was an azure jade pendant.

One side of the pendant was inscribed with some beveled silver runes, while the other side had the code "C56" written in golden characters.

This was none other than Han Li's Dark Azure Guard badge from centuries ago!

"You're a Dark Azure Guard?" The Heavenly Guard found this to be rather difficult to believe.

"Indeed, is there anything wrong?" Han Li asked.

"Not at all, but I'll need to verify this badge first," the Heavenly Guard replied in a cautious manner.

"No problem. Go ahead," Han Li said in a calm voice.

The Heavenly Guard nodded before rubbing his hands together, and the jade pendant immediately began to flash with faint azure light.

"This is indeed a Dark Azure Guard badge, but your Dark Azure Guard number was canceled over 100 years ago, so you're already a free man, Fellow Daoist," the Heavenly Guard said with a slightly peculiar look on his face.

"I completed an extremely perilous mission many years ago, and I was a free man from the moment I completed the mission," Han Li replied in a calm manner.

"An extremely perilous mission from over 300 years ago?" A thought seemed to have occurred to the Heavenly Guard, upon which a shocked look surfaced in his eyes.

"Looks like you also remember what happened back then," Han Li chuckled.

"So you were one of the members sent on those missions. Apologies for my rudeness; you may leave now. However, I'll have to take this Dark Azure Guard badge," the Heavenly Guard said as he cupped his fist in a respectful manner.

"Of course. I haven't returned to the city in many years, so I have no other proof of identity and had no choice but to bring out this item," Han Li said in a nonchalant manner.

The Heavenly Guard nodded before waving a hand, and the Dark Azure Guards immediately parted to grant Han Li passage.

Thus, Han Li emerged from the giant hall and flew away as a streak of azure light.

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The azure streak of light vanished into the distance after just a few flashes.

"Was there any reaction from the Foreign Spirit Discs?" the Heavenly Guard asked with a solemn expression.

"There was no reaction; that Senior Han really is a human," one of the Dark Azure Guards replied.

"He doesn't have a transit badge, and his Dark Azure Guard badge also expired so long ago. Could it be that he's lingered in the primordial world this entire time? It seems he must've encountered some miraculous opportunities. Otherwise, there's no way he could've progressed from the Deity Transformation Stage to the late-Spatial Tempering Stage in just over 300 years. But then again, he really is a human so there shouldn't be any issues; I really shouldn't stick my nose into this matter." The Heavenly Guard contemplated the situation for a while before shaking his head.

It was extremely rare to see someone make such extraordinary progress in just a few centuries, but there were countless opportunities in the primordial world, so it wasn't entirely unheard of. If he hadn't already been a Deep Heaven Guard before, perhaps he could've been recruited as a Heavenly Guard, but now that he was already a free man, he naturally wouldn't be willing to explore such a route.

Thus, the Heavenly Guard quickly set aside this matter and turned toward the scholarly man and his three companions, who had just emerged from the same hall.

Han Li was constantly inspecting his surroundings while flying through the air, and despite the fact that over 300 years had passed, none of the buildings in Deep Heaven City seemed to have changed at all.

There were still many black and white-armored guards patrolling the city at low altitudes, as well as many cultivators who were entering and exiting the buildings down below.

The entire city appeared to be quite lively and bustling, and there was no sign that it had been attacked by foreign beings before.

Han Li flew directly toward the Deep Heaven City market, and on this occasion, he didn't plan to stay in Deep Heaven City for too long.

He had consolidated his magic power during the past century, and his mental state had been refined through many near-death experiences, so he already satisfied all of the criteria to break through his Body Integration Stage bottleneck. As such, he could attempt a breakthrough after making a few more preparations.

With his vast array of abilities, even as an early-Body Integration cultivator, he should be powerful enough to contend with late-Body Integration Stage beings, so he could virtually do as he pleased in the human regions and demon territories.

As such, what he had to do next was to find an obscure place near Deep Heaven City and go into seclusion to attempt a breakthrough.

Prior to that however, he was going to set everything aside for now and first replenish his supplies. He had whittled down his supplies over the course of the past century, so he had to replenish everything in the nearby market

He was able to replenish some of his supplies on the territories of foreign races during these years, but he had only dared to venture into the outskirts of those territories, so he naturally wasn't able to replenish his supplies by much.

If he hadn't prepared many things in advance prior to departing from the Thunder Continent, he most likely wouldn't have been able to stop and study so many things that caught his interest along his journey.

With the scale of Deep Heaven City, he should be able to fully restock all of his supplies. With these materials, he'd be able to refine some treasures and pills that would assist him in his breakthrough attempt.

Han Li had visited the Deep Heaven City market countless times when he was last in the city, so he was quickly able to find his way there and descend in front of a massive light barrier around an hour later.

On the other side of the light barrier was the exchange center for the demonic beings in Deep Heaven City, while at the center of the light barrier stood a hall, which was the only venue where humans and demons could trade precious items with one another.

Han Li cast his gaze toward the massive hall in the distance, and his expression changed slightly as he caught sight of a demonic woman who was vaguely familiar to him.

He had traded with this demonic woman countless times in this hall in the past, and secured many precious demon race spirit medicine seeds from her.

If it weren't for her, he would've had to expend a lot more effort to gather those seeds on his own.

However, this woman seemed to have some rather important connections, as exemplified by the fact that she was aware that the foreign beings were going to attack Deep Heaven City in advance, so she was able to leave before the battle ensued.

Han Li withdrew his gaze and inspected his surroundings before entering one of the larger material shops nearby.

The shop had around five or six employees, and a handsome young man immediately strode over with a smile. "Our shop specializes in selling all types of pill and tool refinement materials. Feel free to tell me if you require any assistance, Senior."

Before Han Li had a chance to say anything, the shopkeeper, who was sitting on a bamboo chair, suddenly discovered that an item in his hand had begun to flash erratically with light. He was quite startled by this and immediately sprang up from his chair. "You can go do something else; I'll serve this senior in person."

This Core Formation Stage shopkeeper then rushed over to Han Li with a respectful look on his face. "Forgive me for not coming out to greet you sooner, Senior; I was unaware that you would be gracing my modest shop with your presence."

Han Li was rather taken aback by this.

He hadn't used any secret techniques to conceal his own cultivation base after entering the city, but a Core Formation Stage being definitely wouldn't be able to glean his cultivation base.

However, he then glanced at the treasured in the old shopkeeper's hand, and an enlightened look appeared on his face. "I see you have a Spiritual Pressure Disc; no wonder you were able to identify my cultivation base. I require a large batch of materials; prepare them for me as quickly as possible."

Han Li flipped a hand over to produce a white jade slip before tossing it toward the shopkeeper.

The elderly man hurriedly accepted the jade slip with both hands before injecting his spiritual sense into it, upon which an expression of surprise and glee appeared in his eyes.

"This is indeed quite a large batch of materials. My shop will be able to provide most of these materials, but I'll have to borrow the rest from other shops; would you be able to give me some time, Senior?"

"Sure, I'll give you 15 minutes," Han Li replied.

The shopkeeper was ecstatic and hurriedly led Han Li over to a chair, then instructed an employee to brew some spirit tea for him while ordering the rest of the employees to bring out the required materials from their storage room.

After that, he departed from the shop to visit the other nearby shops in order to gather the rest of the materials he couldn't supply.

Judging from the shopkeeper's reaction, it was naturally quite apparent that this senior was quite a powerful being, and they were all appraising him with awe and veneration in their eyes.

Han Li casually took a sip of the spirit tea that had been offered to him before closing his eyes to rest.

After about 15 minutes, the shopkeeper returned in an excited manner with a storage bracelet in his hand. At this point, the other employees in the shop had also brought out a bunch of different containers.

These materials were quite ordinary to Han Li, but they were very precious to this shop.

After sweeping his spiritual sense over the storage bracelet and these containers several times, Han Li asked for the final price, and the shopkeeper put on a fawning smile as he stated a price that would've been an astronomical amount to a normal cultivator.

However, Han Li didn't even bat an eyelid as he flicked a wrist to toss a leather pouch through the air.

The shopkeeper caught the leather pouch and injected his spiritual sense into it to find that the amount of spirit stones had even slightly exceeded the amount that he had asked for, and he immediately expressed his gratitude in an elated manner.

Han Li calmly stowed the items away before departing from the shop.

After that, he left the market altogether and flew toward another direction. Several hours later, he departed from Deep Heaven City before flying toward a boundless expanse of mountain ranges as a streak of azure light.

Half a month later, Han Li had left the territory under the jurisdiction of Deep Heaven City, but he continued onward without any intention of stopping.

Two months later, the azure streak of light finally landed on a lush mountain.

The light receded, and Han Li appeared on a massive rock. He briefly inspected his surroundings before closing his eyes and releasing his powerful spiritual sense.

Moments later, he nodded in a pleased manner.

This place had a decent spirit vein, and even though it wasn't very big, there was abundant spiritual Qi in a radius of several hundred kilometers, which was perfect for his needs.

However, it was impossible for such a spirit vein to be unoccupied, and through his spiritual sense, he detected that there were a dozen or so cave abodes of different sizes nearby.

The most densely populated of these cave abodes housed more than 10 people each, while some were inhabited by just a single person.

However, even the most powerful ones among them were only a pair of Nascent Soul cultivators, while the rest were only at the Core Formation and Foundation Establishment Stages.

This made sense as more powerful beings wouldn't be willing to establish their cave abodes in such a secluded place. There was no way that a cultivator at the Deity Transformation Stage or above would stray so far from the city just for a place to settle, so despite the abundance of spiritual Qi here, there definitely wouldn't be any overly powerful beings inhabiting this place.

However, Han Li wasn't planning to cultivate here for too long anyway, so he naturally wasn't concerned by the people already inhabiting this mountain.

Thus, he immediately made a hand seal, and golden light flashed from his body. His lips moved a few times, but no sound came out, so it seemed that he was transmitting his voice.

Within the belly of a mountain that was around 50 kilometers away from Han Li's location, there was a white-haired elderly man in a set of brocade robes. He was situated within a secret chamber that was sealed by multiple restrictions, and he was making a hand seal while appraising a cauldron in front of him in a tense manner.

Beneath the cauldron were bursts of blue flames, and a rich medicinal aroma was wafting out of the cauldron.

All of a sudden, an unfathomably powerful burst of spiritual sense completely disregarded all of the restrictions around the secret chamber and descended like a fiend celestial.

The elderly man didn't get any chance to react before he was completely flattened onto the ground by the enormous power accompanying this burst of spiritual sense, and he wasn't able to move so much as a single finger.

"Argh!"

The elderly man yelled out in shock and horror.

However, before he had a chance to do anything else, a cold male voice suddenly rang out from above the secret chamber.

"I need to borrow this place for something, and I don't want to be disrupted by anyone. All those who hear this voice transmission, leave this place right away. If you haven't left after a day, then you can remain here forever."

After that brief ultimatum, the burst of powerful spiritual sense abruptly vanished.

The elderly man immediately regained his mobility, and he rose to his feet in a shaky manner with a horrified look in his eyes.

After contemplating the situation for a moment, he stomped his foot onto the ground and instantly flew out of the secret chamber, not even taking a second glance at the cauldron that he had held in such high regard.

Two hours later, a streak of white light rose up from the mountain before flying into the distance.

The same scenes were unfolding in various places within a radius of several hundreds of kilometers.

One streak of light after another flew away from this place in a panicked manner, and after around half a day, the set of mountain ranges was completely devoid of cultivators, leaving behind only a series of empty cave abodes.

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Han Li swept his spiritual sense through the surrounding area, and after verifying that all of the cultivators had indeed departed, he flew toward a certain point on the mountain as a streak of azure light.

The azure light soon faded, and Han Li appeared in front of an azure rock face.

Blue light flashed through his eyes as he inspected the rock face before flicking his wrist, upon which several balls of azure light flew out of his storage bracelet, then transformed into several huge ape puppets in a flash.

Without even requiring any instructions from Han Li, the puppets raised their arms, and streaks of azure light that were around a foot in length each erupted from their fingers toward the rock face.

Azure light flashed, and the hard rocky surface of the mountain was sliced through like tofu. In the blink of an eye, a huge cave that was around 100 feet tall had appeared, and the ape puppets entered the cave.

Han Li then swept a sleeve through the air to expel a ball of golden light, which circled around before revealing itself to be a small beast that was around a foot in length.

This was a small leopard-like beast with shimmering golden fur; it was none other than the Leopard Kirin Beast!

Golden light flashed from its body, and it expanded rapidly to around 10 feet in size in the blink of an eye. There were peculiar black patterns all over its body, and a pair of short silver horns that were each several inches in length had appeared on its head.

An indescribably fearsome aura was emanating from its body, and Han Li instructed, "Patrol the surrounding area and don't let anyone come near this mountain."

The giant Leopard Kirin Beast roared in response before black Qi abruptly erupted from its paws, and it vanished into the ground.

As for Han Li, he merely sat down with his legs crossed on the spot and patiently awaited the completion of his cave abode.

He had been rather surprised by the current appearance of the Leopard Kirin Beast. The reason behind its transformation was the Dark Beast Monarch inner core it had consumed in the Vast Glacial Realm.

After consuming that inner core, it had hibernated for over 10 years before finally awakening, and its powers had increased significantly following that awakening. It was able to easily progress to the Spatial Tempering Stage, and it had also taken on this menacing appearance.

Han Li was naturally quite intrigued by this transformation, but this beast possessed a hint of the True Spirit Kirin's bloodline and had consumed the demon core of a Body Integration Stage Dark Beast Monarch, so it wasn't entirely implausible for it to have undergone such a transformation.

Furthermore, it seemed that there was still more latent potential for the Leopard Kirin Beast to tap into.

During the next few decades following its awakening, Han Li had fed it a large amount of spirit pills, and it had evolved again to the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage, and also attained several powerful abilities.

According to Han Li's estimations, even the average late-Spatial Tempering Stage being wouldn't be a match for this beast.

Despite this, it appeared that the Leopard Kirin Beast was only just beginning to reach maturity, so he was very much looking forward to seeing how this beast was going to develop.

He wasn't concerned for the safety of the beast in the slightest as only Body Integration Stage beings would be able to pose a threat to it, but it was virtually impossible that any Body Integration Stage being would visit this mountain.

With that in mind, Han Li closed his eyes, and several hours later, the giant ape puppets finally completed the cave abode before emerging one after another.

Han Li opened his eyes and swept a sleeve through the air to draw them up his sleeve as balls of azure light. He then stood up and flipped a hand over to produce a stack of formation flags.

He raised a hand, and several tens of balls of different-colored spiritual light shot forth into his surroundings before vanishing into thin air.

Countless bursts of white mist appeared before permeating through the area, and moments later, the entire mountain had transformed into a sea of mist along with the area in a radius of close to 100 kilometers around it, making it impossible to see what was happening on and around the mountain.

After that, Han Li made a hand seal before making a grabbing motion, and white light flashed as a palm-sized round formation plate appeared in his grasp.

Han Li pointed a finger at the formation plate before letting loose a low cry, upon which countless silver runes emerged within the mist, then abruptly vanished into nothingness.

Only then did Han Li withdraw the formation plate before striding toward the entrance of his new cave abode.

After he made his way into the cave abode, he swept a sleeve through the air to send an azure stone gate tumbling down from above, which completely sealed the entrance.

Spiritual light then flashed erratically from the surface of the stone gate, and it completely fused as one with the surrounding rock face as if it had always been a part of this mountain.

Due to the fact that Han Li had controlled his puppets to construct this cave abode, he was naturally extremely familiar with its structure.

The first thing he did was travel to the medicine garden to plant some spirit medicines, then set up a few small restrictions within the cave abode before heading straight to the secret chamber.

After making a few turns, he was greeted by the sight of the stone door of the secret chamber, and he suddenly patted something on his waist.

A faint white shadow flew out before transforming into a white-robed beauty that was emanating a frosty aura.

It was the sentient puppet, Doll

Doll was also different from its past appearance. Not only had a thumb-sized blue bead been embedded into its glabella, there also seemed to be a bit more life in its eyes.

This was naturally the effect of the Glazed Water Bead.

After being nurtured by this treasure for over 100 years, Doll's body had become extremely cold, and it seemed to truly be developing toward a Glazed Water Body.

The effect of this wasn't very pronounced at all, and it had taken over 100 years for this slight change to take place, but Han Li was still extremely pleased.

Furthermore, Doll's spiritual nature also seemed to be increasing, and this was naturally an unexpected yet positive side-effect of the Glazed Water Bead.

After issuing Doll some simple instructions, Han Li entered the secret chamber, then raised a hand to summon a yellow futon.

He sat down with his legs crossed on the futon and closed his eyes before falling completely still, with only a layer of translucent azure light shimmering around his body.

Han Li meditated like this for three days and three nights without opening his eyes even once during this time.

The mountain ranges that he was situated in had truly erupted into a frenzy.

After being forcibly evicted from this place. Many of the cultivators here packed up their things and left, while some went to seek refuge with their friends on the nearby mountain ranges.

As such, the cultivators in the neighboring areas were also made aware of the fact that an unfathomably powerful high-grade cultivator had appeared nearby. He was able to completely immobilize a Nascent Soul cultivator with just his spiritual sense alone, and he seemed to be a Spatial Tempering cultivator.

As such, many of the cultivators were feeling quite uneasy, praying that this senior didn't harbor any negative intentions.

Not long after that, they were made aware that Han Li had gone into seclusion in an area that was completely filled with white mist, and all of them were very relieved.

It was quite clear that this high-grade being had no intention of taking their territory and really did seem to only need to do something here.

As such, even though they were still a little uneasy, they didn't have to move out of their cave abodes.

On the morning of the fourth day, Han Li's body moved slightly, and the azure light around him faded as he opened his eyes.

Piercing blue light flashed within his pupils before immediately vanishing, and he slowly exhaled.

Following these past three days of rest, both his magic power and spiritual sense had been completely replenished, and the fatigue he'd accumulated from his travels had also been alleviated.

He was finally able to get down to business.

A contemplative look appeared on his face as he flipped a hand over to produce an intricate jade slip.

This jade slip was quite remarkable, not just because of the faint golden light that was emanating from it, but also because it was fluctuating erratically in size on his palm as if it possessed spiritual nature and would fly away if he weren't careful.

Han Li didn't pay any heed to this as he pressed the jade slip against his own forehead before closing his eyes again.

Time passed by slowly, and after an indeterminate period of time had trickled past, he heaved a faint sigh before removing the jade slip from his forehead.

He then opened his eyes as a contemplative look appeared on his face.

This jade slip was naturally none other than the one that contained the Spirit Refinement Technique.

This technique was split up into three stages, and even successful mastery of just the first stage alone would enhance his spiritual sense by at least twofold.

Han Li's spiritual sense was already far more powerful than other beings of the same cultivation race, and if he were to attain this incredible boost on top of that, it would become a lot easier for him to break through his Body Integration Stage bottleneck. The effect of that would be several times more potent than that of any spirit pill.

Thus, Han Li had immediately begun to study this cultivation art right after he had obtained it. He had been cultivating this technique ever since he had left the Thunder Continent, and during his century-long journey, he had dedicated most of his time and attention to this cultivation art.

One could say that mastering the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique was quite difficult, but it could also be argued that this was quite easy.

The difficult aspect naturally lay in the fact that there were almost no beings in the Spirit Realm that satisfied the prerequisites to cultivate this technique. There was no way for those who didn't satisfy those conditions to successfully cultivate this technique, and if they were to try and forcibly cultivate the technique anyway, they would be struck by enormous backlash force and self-detonate as a result.

However, Han Li's spiritual sense and physical constitution were both powerful enough to cultivate this first stage. As such, after over a century of cultivation, he had already completely figured out this first stage and was only one step away from mastering it.

The information in the cultivation art stated that due to the fact that this was a True Immortal Realm secret technique written in golden seal text, every time a stage was mastered, extraordinary phenomena would occur, which was why he decided to find an obscure place without any powerful beings around before he took this final step.

Han Li could've completed the cultivation of the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique long ago, but he had been situated in the primordial world back then, and if he were to draw the attention of some powerful ancient beasts, that could've spelled the end for him.

Now that he was on human territory and in such a secluded place, he could naturally complete his cultivation of the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique.

As for the forlorn sigh he had just heaved, this was due to the fact that the second stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique was far more profound than the first stage. As such, it would be extremely difficult to decipher it, which would take at least several centuries of dedicated effort, and this wasn't even taking into account the rigorous conditions that had to be fulfilled to cultivate the second stage of this technique.

All of a sudden, the jade slip in his hand abruptly vanished amid a flash of spiritual light, following which he began to pull out a series of jade vials of different sizes.

He tipped out some pills from each of the vials before consuming them, then swept a sleeve through the air to summon nine shimmering silver discs, which hovered around his body in a stationary manner.

A solemn look appeared on his face as he made a peculiar hand seal, following which bright golden light erupted from his body.

A golden projection with three heads and six arms emerged behind him in a flash.

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The Provenance Projection wasn't manifested into the golden body, but its six arms each made a different hand seal, and the lips on its two heads with clear facial features were moving slightly as if it were chanting something.

Moments later, Buddhist chants began to echo throughout the secret chamber, and at the same time, golden light swirled over Han Li's face while his skin and muscles squirmed, following which a series of golden scales appeared.

This was a clear indication that he had unleashed his Provenance True Devil Arts to its maximal extent.

The nine silver discs that were hovering around him tremored slightly before radiating piercing light and emitting a faint buzzing sound.

The sound resonated with the Buddhist chants and combined as one seamlessly without seemingly out of place or unpleasant to the ears at all; it was as if both of the sounds were originating from the same source.

All of a sudden, a golden halo appeared behind Han Li, and another appeared behind the Provenance Projection.

The halo behind the projection was clearly larger than the one behind Han Li, but it was nowhere near as dense.

Han Li let loose a low harrumph as he switched to another hand seal, and the two golden halos revolved on the spot before countless golden runes gushed out of their centers. All of these runes were shimmering with golden light and extremely dazzling to behold.

Upon closer inspection, one would discover that these were all golden seal runes.

The nine silver discs also began to display changes as if they were being influenced by the golden seal text. A faint buzzing sound rang out, and one fist-sized silver rune after another rapidly drifted out of the discs before hurtling toward the golden light.

These silver runes were clearly beveled silver text.

Thus, golden and silver runes appeared simultaneously within the golden light, and their numbers only continued to increase as they soon spread all throughout the light. However, there were still large numbers of runes that were gushing out relentlessly before surging into the light in a frenzy.

Han Li remained completely still, but a rather strained look appeared on his face, and this expression was only becoming more and more pronounced as the number of runes in the golden halo increased.

Not long after that, Han Li's eyes abruptly sprang open, and he let loose an almighty cry.

All nine of the silver discs exploded in unison amid a sharp screeching sound and vanished into balls of silver light.

Meanwhile, the golden halo behind Han Li also began to accelerate drastically in its rotation. At the same time, it began to blur and shrink, and the golden and silver runes within it also shrank alongside it.

Within the span of just a few breaths, the thousands of runes had been reduced to around the size of a grain of rice each.

The golden halo itself had also become a fist-sized ball of shimmering golden light.

The other golden halo that was higher up in the air also transformed into a golden ball of light at the Provenance Projection's behest before slowly descending.

Immediately thereafter, a flash of light appeared, and the giant projection vanished, leaving only the two balls of light hovering beside Han Li.

A solemn look appeared on his face as he pointed a finger at each of the balls of light, both of which then vanished into his glabella in a flash.

In the next instant, large droplets of sweat began to materialize on Han Li's forehead, and his body also expanded in size in an alarming manner. His entire body began to tremble, and thick worm-like veins were bulging through his scales.

It was as if there were something wreaking havoc within his body and putting him in extreme agony.

A short while later, spiritual light flashed from Han Li's head, and a layer of purplish-golden light abruptly enveloped it. The layer of light fluctuated erratically in size, and a series of golden and silver runes appeared over his face before instantly vanishing. It was as if there were something trying to escape, only to be forcibly dragged back, and this created a very peculiar sight to behold.

At this point, Han Li had already closed his eyes, and he was constantly making different hand seals as if he were desperately trying to activate something. The golden light around his body fluctuated in brightness and flashed erratically, and at the same time, astonishing scenes were also unfolding in the air above the mountain that his cave abode was situated within.

The clear blue sky was originally completely devoid of any clouds, but all of a sudden, howling winds were suddenly swept up, following which the entire sky dimmed as massive patches of dark clouds appeared, making the sky in a radius of around 50 feet as dark as the bottom of a charred pot.

Meanwhile, the fierce winds abruptly receded, and a burst of glacial air suddenly surged forth from somewhere before rampaging through the clouds.

Fist-sized blue hail began to fall in a frenzy alongside a fierce snowstorm, and moments later, the entire area had been transformed into a world of glacial snow and ice.

Before the snowstorm had even ceased, a gust of scorching wind suddenly swept forth from within the clouds in a ferocious manner.

The extremely dense dark clouds were instantly dispersed by these winds, and rays of sunlight began to spill down from above.

If anyone were still situated on the mountain to witness the phenomena taking place in the air above, they would most definitely be stunned by what they saw.

It was already noon at this point, so there should've been multiple suns in the sky, but at this moment, there was only a single scintillating sun while the rest had all vanished.

The single sun that remained was golden in color, and the clear blue sky had also taken on a faint silver hue. The golden and silver colors intertwined, making this entire area appear as if it were situated in another mysterious world.

However, if one were to fly a few hundred kilometers away from the mountain that Han Li was situated in, they would discover that these astonishing phenomena would gradually fade away. Beyond the vast sea of mist that Han Li had conjured up, there were still several suns hanging in the sky alongside one another, and the sky was still as blue as ever. However, faint silver light was flashing incessantly above the sea of mist, and the strange rumbling noise emanating from the same direction was quite alarming.

Many of the cultivators in the surrounding area were already feeling quite anxious and wary, and they immediately rushed out of their cave abodes. They either stood at the summit of the mountain or used flying treasures to fly to higher altitudes, and all of them cast their eyes toward the sea of mist with bewilderment etched on their faces.

In the air above a mountain that was close to 10 kilometers away from the sea of mist, there were a dozen or so people hovering at an altitude of over 10,000 feet, and they were also appraising the sea of mist in the distance.

One of them was a white-robed man who appeared to be in his thirties. He was clearly the undisputed leader of the group, and he stood at the forefront with a giant white sword beneath his feet.

the dozen or so other people in the group were all standing behind the white-robed man with respectful looks on their faces.

"Did this man really only take over the Sunrise Peak three days ago?", the white-robed man asked without even turning his head.

An elderly man with pristine white beard and hair bowed slightly in a respectful manner, and replied, "Indeed, Senior. This man descended upon the Sunrise Peak three days ago, and he evicted all of the nearby cultivators with his powerful spiritual sense. I have a good friend who's a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, and he just so happened to be in this area. According to his account, the spiritual sense was so vast that it flattened him to the ground and rendered him completely unable to circulate his magic power, which was why he had fled the scene without daring to offer any resistance."

"Oh? I can use the power of my spiritual sense to restrict a Nascent Soul cultivator from afar as well, albeit with some difficulty, but no ordinary Spatial Tempering cultivator can restrict all of the cultivators in a dozen or so cave abodes at once, not even someone at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage," the white-robed man mused with a slightly peculiar look on his face.

"Are you saying that man is a Body Integration cultivator, Senior?" the elderly man exclaimed as his expression changed drastically. Everyone else was also given a huge fright upon hearing this.

"That's very likely to be the case if we're judging from his spiritual sense alone, but I can't eliminate the possibility that he could've used some treasure or cultivated some particularly powerful secret technique to enhance his spiritual sense," the white-robed man replied after a brief pause.

"I see." The elderly man's heart eased slightly upon hearing this. It seemed that this was less daunting of a prospect to him.

"This is all just my speculation. Even if that man isn't a Body Integration cultivator, he's definitely at the Spatial Tempering Stage, and he's most likely already at the pinnacle of that state. Don't get on this man's bad side no matter what you do. Even true spirit families like ours would only do everything in our power to try and get on good terms with someone as powerful as him," the white-robed man instructed in a cold manner.

"I wouldn't dare to irk such a powerful senior! If it weren't for the fact that you were passing through the air, we were planning to evacuate this area and find another place to settle altogether," the elderly man said with a wry smile.

"There's no need to go that far. Seeing as he only used his spiritual sense to evict all of you, he's definitely not a cruel man who actively engages in senseless slaughter. Judging from the phenomena unfolding before us, that man is most likely only borrowing this place to cultivate some kind of powerful ability and doesn't have any sinister motives. Furthermore, the fact that he's chosen such a secluded place to cultivate indicates that he should be a vagrant cultivator without any ties to any major powers. If we can recruit him into our Gu Family as a guest elder, then that would be a significant boost to our overall power. With that in mind, I'm inclined to wait for a while and see if I can meet this man," the white-robed man mused.

"It would be nothing short of a blessing for us if you're willing to stay here for now, Senior," the elderly man immediately said in an ecstatic manner.

This senior was an early-Spatial Tempering cultivator, so if he could stay with them and instruct them in their cultivation, they would undoubtedly benefit immensely.

After all, even as a branch leader of the Gu Family, the elderly man was only a late-Nascent Soul cultivator.

The white-robed man was very pleased with the elderly man's attitude, and he nodded before casting his gaze toward the sea of mist again, wondering what kind of powerful ability could trigger such astonishing phenomena.

However, this was a rare secret technique even in the True Immortal Realm, so there was obviously no way that this man could guess what it was. Thankfully, the phenomena unfolding from this distance weren't all that astonishing; if he were situated at the center of the sea of mist, there was no way that he would remain so calm and collected.

There were some abilities in the Spirit Realm that could affect the world's origin Qi in the surrounding area, but none of them could create as astonishing an effect as the Spirit Refinement Technique.

However, just the phenomena that the white-robed man was currently witnessing had already convinced him that Han Li was no ordinary cultivator, and he was very keen to recruit such a powerful being.

After inspecting the sea of mist for a while longer, the white-robed man asked a young man to remain behind on the mountain before departing with everyone else into the cave adobe at the foot of the mountain.

The nearby cultivators were also quite stunned by these phenomena, but they couldn't just stand there and stare forever, so all of them eventually also returned to their cave abodes with heavy hearts.

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At the center of the sea of mist, the sky was still silver, and the sun was still golden. However, aside from that, there were no clouds or mist, nor any signs of wind blowing through the area.

There was no sound at all within a radius of around 50 kilometers; it was as if everything had been isolated by a type of mysterious energy.

Time slowly passed, and the strange phenomena within the sea of mist remained unchanged. However, on the second day, some shimmering black spots began to appear within the golden sun.

On the third day, those spots formed a black clump at the center of the sun.

On the fourth day, the black clump began to elongate and thin out in the process.

On the fifth day, a long and thin black line had taken shape on the surface of the sun, and from a distance, it looked as if it were a tightly-shut giant golden eye, creating a very peculiar sight to behold.

On the sixth day, everything remained unchanged except the golden light radiating from the sun was becoming more and more dazzling and bright.

At noon of the seventh day, Han Li suddenly opened his eyes as he sat inside his cave abode, and at the same time, the black light on the giant golden eye formed by the sun also slowly opened.

Within the black light, a seven-colored ball of light that resembled a pupil appeared. The surface of the ball of light was swirling in a dazzling manner, striking one with the incredible feeling that it was able to see through all things in this world.

Moments later, a long cry akin to a dragon's roar erupted from the mountain and directly into the heavens.

Within a certain space, there was a pristine white palace hovering in mid-air. Within it, several shimmering yet blurred humanoid figures, each of which was seated on a platform that was several hundred feet tall above the ground, were conversing with one another from afar.

The faces of these humanoid figures had all been concealed by spiritual light, and there were several disciple-like figures standing behind each of them, all of whom were acting in a very respectful manner.

At the center of the platforms was a black and white flower with a diameter of around 1,000 feet. The flower was emanating a fragrant scent and was very mysterious to behold.

All of a sudden, a blurry humanoid figure with seven-colored spiritual light revolving around him suddenly let loose a faint cry of surprise.

"What's going on, Fellow Daoist Xuan Ming?" a figure enshrouded in white light next to him asked.

After a brief hesitation, the rainbow figure replied in a truthful manner, "Someone's cultivating the Spirit Refinement Technique, and they've mastered the first stage. The phenomena that they triggered was detected by my immortal treasure."

"The Spirit Refinement Technique? That technique has already been listed as a restricted technique within all of the major immortal areas; how could someone still dare to take the risk to cultivate it? In any case, just send someone to detain them; why is this situation worthy of any alarm?" The white figure was still rather perplexed.

"I would naturally have sent someone already if things were as simple as that, but the phenomena my immortal treasure detected came from a certain lower realm, so it's not being cultivated by anyone in the immortal areas," the rainbow figure explained with a wry smile.

The white figure faltered momentarily before chuckling, "Someone from a lower realm? That is indeed rather surprising. Someone must've taken the technique to that realm on a visit. In that case, it doesn't really matter, then. The Spirit Refinement Technique is quite difficult to cultivate even for those in the True Immortal Realm like us, so there's no way someone from a lower realm can master the final stage."

"You're right. I've been assigned the task of overseeing these matters, but it's naturally beyond my realm of jurisdiction if someone outside of this immortal area cultivates this technique. Even if that man masters that technique, he won't be able to get past the people at the guidance platform when he ascends anyway," the rainbow figure replied with a smile.

The conversation between the two of them was quite brief, and the other people present paid some attention to it at first, but after hearing that this merely concerned someone from a lower realm, they also quickly brushed off the subject, and the matter was soon glossed over.

The rainbow figure also didn't mention this subject any further as if he had truly forgotten all about it.

Han Li exhaled, and his heart was filled with elation as he sensed the world around him with his vastly enhanced spiritual sense. He had finally mastered the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique, and even though he still hadn't reached the Body Integration Stage, the power of his spiritual sense was comparable to that of the average late-Body Integration Stage being.

His spiritual sense instantly spread out of his cave abode and emerged out of the mountain, upon which his brows furrowed slightly.

The phenomena in the sky had already vanished, and everything in the surrounding area had been severely ravaged.

The ice, snow, and winds had been extremely fierce, and not only had most of the plants in the area disappeared, the remaining ones looked as if they were all hanging by a thread.

The top half of the mountain was completely bare, presenting an extremely bleak and desolate sight to behold.

Han Li's spiritual sense scanned through the surrounding area a few times before extending outward, instantly sweeping through everything within a radius of hundreds of kilometers.

All of a sudden, his expression changed slightly, and his spiritual sense paused at a certain mountain on the border of the sea of mist before encompassing the entire mountain.

There were Spatial Tempering Stage spiritual sense fluctuations emanating from within a cave abode at the foot of that mountain, and even though several layers of restrictions had been set up around the cave abode, they were easily torn apart by Han Li's insanely powerful spiritual sense.

Thus, a wisp of his spiritual sense penetrated through several layers of restrictions before tracking down the Spatial Tempering cultivator.

Within a secret chamber sat none other than the white-robed man.

Han Li didn't bother to disguise his spiritual sense at all, and he had forcibly barged his way through the restrictions, so as soon as his spiritual sense appeared inside the secret chamber, it was immediately detected by the white-robed man.

Thus, he opened his eyes and smiled as he said, "Greetings, Fellow Daoist, I am Gu Yun from the Southmoon Mountain. Congratulations on mastering your new ability!"

"Southmoon Mountain? Is that the mountain near Chenwu City?" Han Li asked in a hesitant manner.

"Hehe, that is indeed the one. Do you know of our Gu Family, Fellow Daoist?" The white-robed man was rather taken aback.

"I don't know much about the Gu Family, but I have heard of the renowned Southmoon Mountain. The cultivators who are rumored to be residing on that mountain must be your Gu Family, right?" Han Li asked in a slow voice.

"Hehe, I'm sure you've heard of true spirit families, right, Fellow Daoist? Our Gu Family is a true spirit family, and in order to ensure the continuation of our bloodline, we very rarely interact with the outside world. Not many people know about this, but with your powers, it's only a matter of time before this information is revealed to you," the white-robed man chuckled.

"A true spirit family? Do you know of the Ye Family and the Long Family?" Han Li asked after a brief pause.

"The Ye Family and Long Family are two of the largest true spirit families. Our Gu Family is certainly not weak, but we're still inferior to those two families. Do you recognize people from those two families, Fellow Daoist?" the white-robed man asked in a hesitant manner.

"I have indeed encountered some people from those two families, but they were only fleeting encounters. Now then, why have you decided to stay in this place?" Han Li asked.

"Hehe, this is where one of the branches of our Gu Family is situated, and I just so happened to be passing by. Much to my surprise, you were also here cultivating your new ability, and I wanted to get to know you," the white-robed man replied with a smile.

"I see. I've already completed my cultivation now; if you don't mind, you can come and meet me at my cave abode. I'm also quite curious about the true spirit families, so I'm sure a meeting will be mutually beneficial for us," Han Li offered.

"That would be ideal! I'll come over right away," the white-robed man agreed in an elated manner.

"Alright, then I'll be awaiting your arrival in my cave abode."

Han Li's voice gradually faded away, and moments later, his spiritual sense disappeared from the secret chamber.

Around 15 minutes later, a streak of white light flew out of the mountain before reaching the border of the sea of mist in just a few flashes.

Several large silver runes flashed within the mist, and it suddenly parted to reveal a path that was several tens of feet wide, leading directly into its depths.

Gu Yun immediately flew down the path, and the white streak of light soon vanished into the distance.

At this moment, the mist closed over again, and the path disappeared.

By the time Gu Yun reached the mountain at the center of the sea of mist, Han Li had already emerged from his cave abode and was standing in front of the gate with a smile on his face.

Upon verifying that Han Li was indeed a cultivator at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, Gu Yun's smile widened even further.

After exchanging some pleasantries, they entered the cave abode one after another, and after staying in Han Li's cave abode for about half a day, the white-robed cultivator emerged from the sea of mist with a disappointed look on his face.

He then issued some instructions to the elderly man who was the leader of this Gu Family branch before departing.

Meanwhile, Han Li was situated within the secret chamber of his cave abode, appraising a white jade slip in his hand with a contemplative look on his face.

"So the Long Family is the number one true spirit family and has Body Integration cultivators among their ranks; I'll have to be careful of them in the future," Han Li murmured to himself, and the jade slip vanished amid a flash of light.

This jade slip had been given to him by Gu Yun, and there was some information about the true spirit families recorded in there, thereby giving Han Li a rough understanding of those families.

Of course, none of this was particularly confidential information, and all Spatial Tempering cultivators would eventually be able to learn all of this through alternative avenues, so Gu Yun had only done him a slight favor.

Han Li had invited Gu Yun to his cave abode as he wanted to learn more about the Long Family, which he had opposed alongside the Ye Family to foil their plans in the past.

Even though several centuries had already passed since then, this wasn't enough time for cultivators to forget their grudges.

Seeing as he had returned to the human race and planned to settle here permanently, he had to develop an understanding of his potential enemies so he could address them appropriately.

Thus, he was inclined to invite Gu Yun over for a conversation after learning that he was a member of a true spirit family.

Just as he had expected, after conversing for a while, Gu Yun invited him to join their Gu Family as a guest elder, an offer that Han Li naturally turned down in a euphemistic manner.

With his current powers and cultivation base, there was no way that he would bind himself to any family. On top of that, with his immense wealth, the conditions that Gu Yun offered, which he thought to be very alluring, couldn't tempt Han Li at all.

After contemplating the issue for a long while, Han Li shook his head to set the matter aside for now. He then flicked his wrist, and a scroll that was around a foot in length appeared before him.

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He pointed a finger at the scroll, and it slowly unfurled, upon which a burst of astonishing baleful Qi erupted into the heavens. The scroll was covered by a layer of golden light, making it impossible to see what was on the scroll.

Blue light flashed through Han Li's eyes, and with his spirit eye ability, he was able to immediately glean the contents of the scroll.

There were countless golden flying swords of different sizes all over the scroll, every single one of which was extremely life-like and possessed a unique aura.

Strangely enough, even though the artwork was only several feet in length and width, it struck one with the feeling that it contained countless flying swords.

These flying swords had been depicted in all sizes and positions, with the largest ones resembling gigantic heaven-splitting swords that struck him with the feeling that they were several hundred feet in length. In contrast, the smallest of these swords were only around an inch in length each, yet all of the patterns on the swords were extremely clear, as if they were right before his eyes.

This was none other than the myriad sword artwork that Han Li had obtained within the ruins inside the Vast Glacial Realm.

This artwork clearly contained an extremely powerful cultivation art, and aside from the Spirit Refinement Technique, Han Li had also spent a lot of time studying this artwork, an endeavor which really had allowed him to glean some things from it.

The things that he gleaned from the artwork naturally had something to do with sword arts, and they also had a strong relation to the utilization of spiritual sense.

At his current cultivation base, he could already cultivate the final Azure Coil Sword Formation enclosed with the Azure Essence Sword Art, and this sword formation was more powerful than the Spring Dawn Sword Formation.

However, after witnessing Body Integration Stage beings in action on many occasions, Han Li felt the sword formation to be rather lacking. Thus, he was struck by a moment of inspiration and decided to incorporate what he had gleaned from the myriad sword artwork into the Azure Coil Sword Formation.

Sure enough, the new sword formation became a lot more powerful as a result, and he was able to better control it as well.

Han Li stared at the myriad sword artwork in an intent unblinking manner.

The things he had gleaned from the artwork were collected and named the Sword Observation Art by him, but he knew that he had only gleaned a minuscule portion of what the artwork truly had to offer. It was just that the rest was too profound for a Spatial Tempering cultivator to comprehend.

After a long while, he heaved a faint sigh before sweeping his sleeve through the air, and azure light flashed before the artwork reverted back into its scroll form and vanished into thin air.

A contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face. He had reaped many rewards from the Vast Glacial Realm, and aside from the Spirit Refinement Technique and myriad sword artwork, the one that he held in the highest regard was the Spiritvoid Pill that he had swindled.

Even Body Integration Stage beings like Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren had plotted for tens of thousands of years to secure these pills, so they naturally had to be extremely valuable.

Unfortunately, this was the first time that he had heard of these pills, and they were presumably only useful for Body Integration Stage beings, so this pill wasn't going to be of any use to him before he made his breakthrough.

Aside from the Spiritvoid Pill, he had also obtained many other spirit medicines from the medicine garden within the ruins. However, most of these spirit medicines had been given to Qian Jizi and the others, and he had only retained one of each so he could nurture them to the point where they could produce seeds.

Even though he was still unable to identify those unique spirit flowers and spirit fruits, they were definitely all extremely difficult to find in the Spirit Realm.

The spirit medicine that he held in the highest regard among them was naturally none other than that silver lotus seed pod. This spirit medicine was most likely the most precious one in the entire medicine garden, but he had no idea what it was, so he couldn't do anything with it for now. He could only hope that he would be able to learn how to use these spirit medicines in the future.

Setting those aside, he could brew some Red Silk Heavenly Wine with the Red Silk Fruits. This wine could extend one's lifespan and enhance one's physical constitution, so it definitely couldn't hurt to drink it. Furthermore, the Red Silk Fruits that he had procured had been growing for countless years, so perhaps the spirit wine brewed with these fruits would have some additional positive effects.

As for the Corrosive Poisonweed, that was an important material for refining several types of pills that could improve a Body Integration Stage being's cultivation base, so he could begin refining those pills after he made his breakthroughs.

Aside from those, the completely depleted talismans and that starry sky diagram in the world within the screen were all items that were very much worthy of further examination. Han Li was sure that studying them would be greatly beneficial to his prowess in the areas of talismans and formations.

However, during the past century or so, he had primarily focused his time on cultivating the Spirit Refinement Technique and some other secret techniques, so he hadn't had much time to examine those things. As such, they had been sitting idly inside his storage bracelet this entire time.

After a long while, Han Li exhaled as he focused his attention on his Body Integration Stage bottleneck.

His spiritual sense had been vastly enhanced, and that, in conjunction with all of the spirit pills he had obtained from the Thunder Continent, would greatly increase his chances of making a successful breakthrough.

However, prior to that, he had to refine some spirit pills and treasures first. After all, the Body Integration Stage bottleneck was different from all of the major breakthroughs he had made in the past. Not only did he require a large number of pills to assist himself during the breakthrough process, he also had to set up a formation to draw upon the world's origin Qi to further increase his chances of success.

This formation was one that Han Li had obtained by chance while passing through the territory of a foreign race during his return journey.

It was said that this formation was an extremely closely guarded secret of their race, and if it weren't for a series of fortuitous events, he wouldn't have been able to learn the method to establish the formation.

This formation wasn't necessarily all that complex, but the thought process behind it was quite brilliant, and it required a few specific treasures to form the core of the formation. Han Li would naturally have to refine these treasures himself, which was why he had purchased so many materials from Deep Heaven City.

He flicked his wrist, and his storage bracelet flew through the air as a streak of black light before hovering in the air in a stationary manner.

He waved a hand toward the bracelet, and red light flashed as a crimson cauldron that was around an inch in height appeared below it.

A burst of azure light then swept forth from the storage bracelet, and spiritual light flashed on the ground, following which a series of containers appeared.

Han Li made a hand seal, and the cauldron quickly expanded to several feet in size. A faint smile appeared on his face, and he pointed a finger at the cauldron, upon which a wisp of azure flames erupted from his fingertip.

The flames revolved around the cauldron before abruptly swelling to several times its original size, upon which a scorching aura was released, drastically increasing the temperature within the secret chamber.

Meanwhile, Han Li made a grabbing motion toward one of the jade boxes on the ground, and the lid of the box flew off on its own before a piece of unknown metal emerged from within.

The surface of the metal was of a glossy black color, and there were wisps of spiritual Qi emanating from it; this was clearly a material that had already been roughly refined.

The black piece of metal vanished into the cauldron in a flash, and Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, upon which the azure flames swelled once again to encompass the entire cauldron.

After that, he added one material after another into the cauldron, and only after two months did he finally complete the refinement of all of the treasures and pills that he required.

He then spent another half month or so to carefully set up a huge formation with the mountain as the center.

After all of those preparations were made, Han Li went into seclusion and cultivated for half a year to prime himself into the best condition before finally beginning to attempt a breakthrough.

On this day, the white-haired elderly man from the Gu Family branch was meditating in a cave abode when the ground suddenly began to tremor, following which the entire secret chamber began to quake violently.

The elderly man opened his eyes and was just about to yell out to inquire what was happening when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

His expression immediately changed as he rushed out of the secret chamber as a streak of light, and after just a few flashes, he appeared on a giant rock on the mountain summit, then cast his gaze toward the sea of mist in the distance with a solemn expression.

Moments later, a few more streaks of light rushed over to join the elderly man, and they also directed their attention toward the sea of mist.

There were heavenly phenomena taking place again!

The same thought appeared in everyone's minds at the same time as a dozen or so giant silver pillars of light erupted from within the sea of mist.

Each and every pillar of light was over 1,000 feet tall with faint golden runes flashing erratically on their surfaces.

The sea of mist tumbled violently, and countless specks of lights of different colors were converging toward the center of the sea of mist from all directions.

The elderly man released his spiritual sense, and his face immediately paled. Within his sensory range, all of the world's origin Qi was surging toward the sea of mist in a frenzy. Enormous amounts of spiritual Qi was being released by the nearby spirit veins, and they seemed to have been stirred up by some kind of powerful force.

In the blink of an eye, massive five-colored spirit clouds had appeared above the sea of mist to cover the entire sky.

Loud thunderclaps rang out as bolts of purple lightning appeared within the clouds before intertwining violently like a series of purple lightning snakes.

All of a sudden, a long cry suddenly rang out from within the sea of mist, followed by a tremendous eruption of spiritual pressure.

The spiritual pressure was powerful beyond belief, and even though all of the spectating cultivators were situated hundreds of kilometers away, all of them felt a gargantuan weight crashing down upon them. Some of the cultivators with weaker cultivations bases blacked out on the spot and collapsed with blood trickling out of all of their orifices.

Even the more powerful beings like the white-haired elderly man also experienced momentary loss of vision before involuntarily falling to their knees.

These people were naturally extremely alarmed, yet before they had a chance to do anything, bursts of Buddhist chants suddenly rang out from within the five-colored spirit clouds, and runes of all different colors began to appear.

Right at this moment, an inhuman roar erupted from the center of the sea of mist, where the mountain was situated, and a streak of golden light shot forth. The light then receded to reveal a golden figure that was over 1,000 feet tall.

The golden figure had a pair of huge menacing eyes and was baring its fangs in a ferocious manner; it was a vicious-looking giant golden ape.

As soon as this ape appeared, loud thunderclaps immediately erupted from within the five-colored spirit clouds. Countless purple lightning arcs then converged toward the same spot in the clouds, forming a giant purple wyrm that was not inferior in size to the massive ape.

Another earth-shattering thunderclap erupted, and the purple wyrm came crashing down with devastating force.

The giant golden ape looked on with a ferocious expression and pounded its own chest with its huge fists before leaping up to meet the purple wyrm.

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The giant golden ape spread its massive arms before wrapping them around the neck of the purple wyrm, then tore the head off the huge wyrm with a ferocious roar.

The purple wyrm's body disintegrated into countless arcs of lightning amid a resounding boom, and the giant ape abruptly raised its head before taking a deep breath, then opened its mouth to expel a vast expanse of golden light.

All of the dispersing arcs of lightning were immediately captured by the golden light before being drawn into the golden ape's mouth. In the blink of an eye, all of the lightning had vanished.

However, the giant ape had no intention of stopping there. Spiritual light swirled around its body, and the golden light it had expelled from its mouth vanished into the five-colored spirit clouds as a pillar of light.

A string of dull thumps rang out in rapid succession within the spirit clouds, and they began to revolve around the golden pillar of light.

All of the runes within the clouds were drawn into the golden light in a frenzy by a burst of enormous suction force, and these runes were all devoured by the gargantuan ape.

Moments later, the surface of the golden pillar of light was riddled with runes of all different colors, which were surging downward in a frenzy.

The giant golden ape's mouth was like a bottomless pit that seemed to have an unlimited capacity for these runes.

All of the spectating cultivators around the sea of mist all looked on in a flabbergasted manner.

Meanwhile, the terms "Giant Mountain Ape" and "true spirit bloodline" reverberated within the white-haired elderly man's mind, and he was even more shocked than all of the other cultivators.

As a branch leader of a true spirit family, he was naturally far more knowledgeable and experienced than other cultivators of his caliber, and he immediately identified that gargantuan ape as the projection of a Giant Mountain Ape, a revelation that immediately had his jaw dropping straight to the ground.

"No wonder he was unwilling to join our Gu Family; he possesses a true spirit bloodline himself! But this projection is way too powerful! Even from this far away, its aura alone is enough to fell so many of us. On top of that, the phenomena taking place on this occasion are even more astonishing than those from last time. So much of the world's origin Qi is converging toward one place; could it be that he's attempting a breakthrough to the Body Integration Stage?" The elderly man wasn't all that powerful himself, but he was quite smart and managed to strike the nail on the head in just a short time.

At this moment, not only were the runes above the sea of mist being drawn into the golden light, even the five-colored spirit clouds themselves were being swept up.

A short while later, the spirit clouds in the sky had been warped and elongated to form a giant funnel-like structure with a wide top that tapered down to a narrow bottom.

Vast amounts of these spirit clouds were surging into the giant ape projection in a frenzy, and the slightly indistinct projection gradually became clearer during this process.

Not long after that, all of the five-colored spirit clouds had been sucked away, and the giant ape projection seemed to still be dissatisfied. It closed its huge mouth before thumping its own chest again, and piercing golden light erupted from its body.

A white tornado took shape around the giant ape projection before swelling rapidly in size, and in the blink of an eye, it had completely encompassed the giant projection within it.

At the same time, a burst of invisible fluctuations was rapidly spreading in all directions from the tornado, and the scope covered by these fluctuations was quite astounding.

All of the world's origin Qi in a radius of thousands of kilometers were stirred up into a frenzy, and they all surged toward the sea of mist as pea-sized specks of light.

These specks of light vanished into the tornado like moths to a flame, and the giant ape's roar rang out from within the tornado once again. On this occasion, the roar was slightly urgent and pained.

As the number of five-colored specks of light increased, the giant ape's roars gradually subsided before it fell completely silent in the end.

However, regardless of how many specks of light were converging toward the tornado, it seemed that the tornado would never be filled.

All of the cultivators around the sea of mist looked on in awe and astonishment. If a normal cultivator were to absorb so much of the world's origin Qi, they would've most likely self-detonated and perished already.

After a long while, a shrill cry suddenly rang out from within the white tornado, followed by an earth-shattering boom.

The tornado was then blown apart, and gusts of fierce winds erupted in all directions, dispersing all of the nearby specks of light.

The giant ape appeared once again, but its body was no longer golden in color. Instead, it was riddled with dazzling five-colored runes, presenting a very peculiar yet spectacular sight to behold.

The giant ape had its hands on its head, and its expression was changing rapidly, transitioning erratically between unspeakable agony, extreme fury, and a series of other emotions, making it appear as if it had gone insane.

At the same time, the runes on its body flashed violently, and its entire body was fluctuating in clarity in an extremely unstable manner.

All of the spectators were rather puzzled to see this, but a sense of horror welled up in the white-haired elderly man's heart.

This situation was a clear indication that the man had reached a critical juncture in his breakthrough and had been afflicted by inner demons.

If he were to succumb to his inner demons and lose control over himself, it was very possible that his inner demons would make him go on a senseless killing rampage.

With this man's astonishing powers, none of the spectating cultivators would be able to offer any resistance, and they'd be as good as dead.

Breaking through major cultivation bottlenecks was always an extremely perilous endeavor, and such events were far from uncommon.

With that in mind, the elderly man's horror was exacerbated even further, and in his desperation, he circulated his own magic power with all his might, trying to stand up against the enormous pressure so he could lead all of the other cultivators away from here, but he had only just risen to his feet before his legs gave out from under him, and he knelt down onto the ground again.

Even though the giant ape projection in the distance was clearly quite disoriented, the spiritual pressure it was releasing showed no signs of abating. As a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, he was completely immobilized, and even his magic power was completely unable to circulate, so he wasn't even able to alert the others of how perilous this situation was.

As such, the elderly man could only look on helplessly as his horror mounted.

Meanwhile, within the secret chamber in the mountain, Han Li was seated with his legs crossed inside a peculiar small formation. His body was completely still and lifeless, and there was a golden and azure Nascent Soul that was around half a foot tall hovering several feet above him. The Nascent Soul was staring at a corner of the secret chamber outside of the formation, and it was holding a golden blade segment in its arms.

There were 72 small azure swords around it, each of which was around an inch in length, forming a secure protective barrier.

Around the small swords were a short silver ruler, a small azure cauldron, and a huge black sword, all of which were slowly revolving around the Nascent Soul.

The Nascent Soul's current appearance was very unsettling as one of its eyes were of a shimmering blue color while the other was as red as blood, and the two halves of its face that were separated by the bridge of its nose wore completely contrasting expressions.

One side of the face was twisted with savagery and ferocity, while the other was calm and collected with a hint of a smile. It was as if there were two completely different Han Lis inside the Nascent Soul's body.

Han Li's physical body down below was making a hand seal with one hand and carrying an azure incense burner in the other. There were short black segments of incense sticks protruding from the burner, and they didn't seem to have been ignited yet.

There was a vast amount of five-colored runes drifting from the ceiling of the secret chamber, and regardless of whether they fell upon Han Li's Nascent Soul or physical body, they immediately disappeared in a flash.

In the corner that the Nascent Soul was staring into, there was a head-sized ball of black Qi that was churning erratically and letting loose strange howls.

Its howls were extremely unpleasant and made it very difficult for the listener to remain calm. Furthermore, it was tinged with an intense yearning for slaughter.

The calm side of the Nascent Soul's face remained completely unmoved by this ghastly noise, but the crimson light in the eye of the other side of the face was becoming darker and darker, and it seemed to be about to completely succumb to insanity at any moment.

A cold light flashed through the Nascent Soul's blue eye, and it raised a hand before pointing at the incense burner being held by Han Li's body down below.

A ball of silver flames shot forth from its fingertip before striking the incense sticks in the burner in a flash, and the incense was immediately ignited, sending a mysterious sandalwood scent wafting throughout the entire secret chamber.

Strangely enough, after inhaling this fragrance for only a short moment the deranged look on the twisted side of the Nascent Soul's face immediately began to abate, and the crimson light in its eye also gradually faded.

As soon as the ball of black Qi came into contact with this scent, it immediately let loose a howl of anguish before abruptly falling silent.

The black Qi then began to churn in a frenzy before gradually dissipating amid the fragrance, revealing a terrifying ghostly face with no nose and no eyes, and was twisted in agony.

The Nascent Soul immediately opened its mouth to expel a bolt of golden lightning upon seeing this, and the arc of lightning struck the ghostly face with unerring accuracy amid a resounding boom, causing it to shudder violently.

It gritted its teeth in a resentful manner before letting loose a sharp screech, and it suddenly became blurry and indistinct before vanishing into a burst of black Qi.

Only then did the Nascent Soul slowly close its eyes, and its twisted expression gradually faded. When it reopened its eyes, they had completely regained their clarity.

"A mere soul fragment of a Heavenly Devilish Monarch dares to try and disrupt me? Know your place!" the Nascent Soul chuckled coldly in a derisive manner.

It then tossed the blade segment in its arms up into the air, then rapidly made a hand seal before closing its eyes again.

The speed at which the five-colored runes were descending from the ceiling immediately increased by more than twofold, and the entire secret chamber was filled with vibrant spiritual light that was flashing incessantly.

At the same time, a peculiar fragrance was released by the physical body down below.

However, the Nascent Soul paid no heed to this as it continued to absorb the five-colored runes falling from above with all its might. As it did so, its body began to expand at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye.

After about seven or eight more minutes, the Nascent Soul had grown to around three to four feet tall and resembled a small child.

At this moment, the giant ape projection above the mountain abruptly shrank back into the belly of the mountain as a pillar of light.

An extremely enormous burst of the world's origin Qi immediately descended into the secret chamber before injecting itself into the Nascent Soul and physical body in a frenzy.

The physical body's skin began to take on a translucent quality, and the fragrance it released became even more potent.

Meanwhile, the Nascent Soul up above expanded to the same size as the physical body amid flashes of spiritual light within the span of just a few breaths. Its eyes were tightly shut, and it was hovering in mid-air with a seated manner while a pained expression appeared on its face.

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At this moment, Han Li's Nascent Soul felt as if it were being burned alive. There seemed to be lava churning within its entire body, and its mouth was completely dry while its limbs had turned into a scorching red color.

Right at this moment, a burst of enormous suction force erupted from the physical body down below, and the Nascent Soul was completely powerless to resist as it abruptly shrank down to less than a tenth of its size, then vanished into the top of Han Li's head in a flash.

The scorching energy permeating through the Nascent Soul's body then surged into the physical body in a frenzy as if it had found an outlet.

Han Li's body immediately became translucent, and with the influx of scorching energy, light swirled over the surface of his skin, instantly making his body semi-transparent.

Even the faint golden bones beyond his flesh and blood could just barely be made out.

At this moment, there were countless thin threads of light wrapped around his bones, and these threads were flashing with faint five-colored spiritual light.

At the same time, there were countless tiny streams of energy quickly following through all parts of his meridians from his dantian.

Han Li could only sense that this flow of energy was quickly combating the scorching sensation and replacing it with a cool and refreshing one that was extremely comfortable.

Moments later, all of the energy converged before flowing toward his head at once, and Han Li felt as if there were a massive figurative lock in his mind that was opened by this energy, following which a numb sensation that originated from deep within his soul spread through his entire body.

As a result, he involuntarily opened his mouth and let loose a long cry.

In the instant that the giant ape projection vanished, the astonishing aura that had restricted all of the nearby cultivators also disappeared, allowing all of them to rise to their feet with bewildered looks on their faces.

Some of them decided to stay and continued to appraise the sea of mist to see what was going to happen next, while others were petrified of this place and hurriedly fled the scene, encouraging their friends to do so as well.

In the instant that the white-haired elderly man regained his mobility, he immediately shot forth toward the cave abode as a streak of white light, preparing to gather everyone and leave right away.

However, everyone had only regained their mobility for a short while when the long cry that Han Li had let loose surged toward them. It was as if rumbling thunderclaps were erupting through the entire area, and the sea of mist was dispersed in all directions.

The cultivators near the border of the sea of mist were all alarmed by this development and attempted to flee the scene, but as soon as the sound traveled into their ears, they felt as if bolts of lightning had exploded in their heads, and they let loose cries of agony and alarm as they plummeted from the sky.

Even though these cultivators' magic power had been completely restricted, their physical bodies were still far more powerful than those of the average human, so even though falling from an altitude of several thousand feet was quite a painful experience, they didn't suffer any major injuries.

However, there seemed to be no end to the long cry erupting from the distance, and all of the cultivators were writhing in pain in response to this terrifying noise. They all clamped their hands over their ears in an attempt to lessen the pain, but the sound seemed to be able to pierce directly into their minds.

Some of them had even torn their clothes into rags to craft makeshift earplugs, but that still completely failed to keep out the torturous sound.

Mere moments felt like months to these cultivators, and if it weren't for the fact that these cultivators couldn't muster up any magic power, they would've most likely already self-detonated to put themselves out of their misery.

At this moment, the sea of mist had formed giant waves that were proliferating in all directions, and some cultivators were able to just barely turn their heads to appraise the situation, upon which their faces immediately turned completely pale.

Even though these massive waves had only been formed by mist, they still presented a very terrifying sight that petrified all of the onlookers.

After all, there was no way for them to muster up any magic power or use any treasures to defend themselves, and who knew whether there was some additional type of power imbued within the waves of mist?

The gargantuan waves of white mist continued to surge forth, and if they were to crash into the mountain, all of the spectating cultivators would be instantly inundated.

However, right at this moment, the long cry erupting from the center of the sea of mist suddenly ceased, and was followed by a cold harrumph.

Immediately thereafter, a string of loud thumps rang out, and the waves of mist instantly exploded into nothingness.

All of a sudden, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Only around 15 minutes had passed did all of the human cultivators rise to their feet. All of them were in an extremely sorry state, and they glanced at one another to find their own alarmed and horrified expressions mirrored in each other's eyes.

Without even uttering a single word, all of them rushed back into their cave abodes as streaks of light, and not long after that, one streak of light after another flew away from the mountain, fleeing in all directions.

They didn't pause even for a single moment in their flight, and only after flying for hundreds of thousands of kilometers did some of them hesitantly stop. However, most of them simply continued onward and completely left this area.

After all, it was simply far too terrifying for them to have a neighbor who could inflict such unspeakable agony upon them with just his voice alone.

However, from the astonishing phenomena and Han Li's display of unfathomable power, many people had already guessed what had just happened.

The white-haired elderly man traveled all the way to a small valley that was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away with his group, and after everyone had settled there, a male cultivator immediately separated from the group. This was the second most powerful cultivator in the group, and the elderly man had given him a jade slip and instructed him to deliver it to the Gu Family as quickly as he could.

Meanwhile, the rumor stating that a new Body Integration Stage powerful being had taken over the Sunrise Peak also began to spread toward other areas like wildfire.

At this moment, the sea of mist around the Sunrise Peak had reverted back to its original state, and peace and quiet resumed.

Three days later, Han Li slowly opened his eyes as he sat with his legs crossed in the secret chamber within the belly of the mountain. Blue light flashed through his eyes, but they returned to normal following a few blinks.

He had already successfully progressed to the Body Integration Stage several days ago, but in order to consolidate his cultivation base, he immediately meditated for a few days within his secret chamber. Now that he had finally quelled the potential negative effects that he could be afflicted by in the wake of such a major breakthrough, he was able to do other things.

Han Li slowly looked around, and a slightly peculiar look suddenly appeared on his face. Even without releasing his own spiritual sense, he could still detect the world's origin Qi in the air around him.

He gently exhaled before making a hand seal and chanting a simple incantation, upon which an astonishing turn of events unfolded.

A loud buzzing sound rang out in the air, following which specks of white light flashed erratically before forming a series of palm-sized blades of wind.

These blades of wind were extraordinarily thin and semi-transparent. They hovered in mid-air while trembling slightly, and they soon filled the entire secret chamber.

"The records on the tomes certainly weren't lying! After reaching the Body Integration Stage, my ability to sense and control the world's origin Qi is incomparable to back when I was at the Spatial Tempering Stage. I've barely expended any magic power, yet I'm able to directly control the world's origin Qi to form attacks," Han Li murmured to himself with an elated look on his face.

He swept a sleeve through the air, and the blades of wind vanished as balls of white light.

He then closed his eyes and began to assess his current bodily and magic power condition following his breakthrough to see if there was anything amiss.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, and the elation on his face had become even more pronounced.

After progressing to the Body Integration Stage, his physical constitution and magic power had both become far more powerful than he had imagined prior to the event. With his current powers, he was confident that he would most likely be able to defeat even a being at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage.

After a while, he forcibly repressed his elation and began to think about what he had to do next. It was undoubtedly the case that as a Body Integration cultivator, he would no longer have to fear anyone unless there were hidden Grand Ascension Stage beings among the human and demon races. As such, he would be able to do the things that he wanted without having to be as fearful of potential consequence as he had been in the past.

Of course, he was going to remain here for the next few years as he still needed to completely consolidate his cultivation base. After that, there were many things that he had to do, the most important of which was naturally to verify whether Nangong Wan had ascended to the Spirit Realm.

However, due to the fact that Nangong Wan may have also ascended to the Spirit Realm through a spatial node, she may not necessarily have ended up on human territory. If he couldn't find her in Deep Heaven City, then he would have to consider the possibility that she was somewhere else, perhaps even on demon territory.

That was certainly far from unlikely as the human and demon territories directly neighbored one another, after all.

As such, if he couldn't find any information about her in Deep Heaven City, then he would have to search for her elsewhere on the three regions and seven territories.

If Nangong Wan were still trapped in the human world due to a lack of power, then he would have to find a way to break into the human world and forcibly lend her his assistance.

Setting aside everything else, as long as he could get his hands on a few types of spirit pill and treasures and somehow deliver them to Nangong Wan across realms, then it definitely wouldn't be difficult for her to ascend to the Spirit Realm.

At the thought of his beloved wife, countless emotions immediately welled up in Han Li's heart, and he stared blankly into space for a long while, completely absorbed in his own memories.

In the end, he heaved a resigned sigh before focusing his attention on other matters. Aside from Nangong Wan, he also had to track down that Fairy Xu after he came out of seclusion.

She was Fairy Ice Soul's descendant, he had to deliver to her the items that the young man with the Weng surname had entrusted to him.

Aside from that, he also had to collect the materials stipulated by Qing Yuanzi.

Even though he had already collected most of the materials, he didn't travel to the Flying Spirit Race as he wanted to return to the human race and attain enough power to ensure self-preservation first.

In any case, Qing Yuanzi had given him a time limit of 1,000 years, so he still had 600 to 700 years left.

During this time, he was confident that he would be able to progress to the late-Body Integration Stage, following which he would meet Qing Yuanzi again to exchange for that Divine Infernal River Elixir.

This was definitely the safest course of action to take.

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Of course, during this time, he still needed to search for some materials to refine the Body Integration Stage pills with the Corrosive Poisonweed as the main ingredient.

Compared to the Corrosive Poisonweed, all of the other materials were barely worth mentioning, but they were still quite rare in the Spirit Realm. As such, he would have to expend some effort if he wanted to gather all of the materials required to refine the pills.

On top of that, in order to deal with the major heavenly tribulation that would strike him once every 3,000 years, he also had to refine the High Zenith Azure Mountain he had obtained in the Vast Glacial Realm into an extreme mountain.

Even though the combined effects of the two extreme mountains still wouldn't be able to compare with that of the true five extreme mountains, but it would still be somewhat effective against heavenly tribulations.

Furthermore, he also had to find the purpose of the Spiritvoid Pill somehow. Only then would he be able to consume it without any qualms, and also be aware of when the ideal time to consume it would be.

Now that he had progressed to the Body Integration Stage and mastered the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique, although he still couldn't release 10,000 Gold Devouring Beetles at once, he could release around 1,000 and sustain them for a while. Such a massive swarm of mature Gold Devouring Beetles was naturally going to be an extremely fearsome trump card of his that even the average Body Integration Stage being would be extremely fearful of.

With that in mind, it was also a priority of his to refine the legendary Rainbow Pills from the inner cores of the Flying Rainbow Fish. Those pills combined with the Golden Lightning Bamboo leaves would surely have a very good chance of making the mature Gold Devouring Beetles evolve again.

Many years ago, that strange stone block had already caused a mutation among a small portion of his Gold Devouring Beetles.

Unfortunately, this mutation didn't seem to have resulted in any special effects aside from making the Gold Devouring Beetles extremely heavy and giving them the minor stoneform ability, so he had been rather disappointed by this.

As for the Gold Devouring Beetles Monarchs that Qing Yuanzi proclaimed would pose a major threat even to true immortals, that was too far beyond his reach, and he had no idea how to even begin nurturing his beetles toward that direction, so there was no point in thinking about that for now.

However, regardless of whether he wanted to be able to control more Gold Devouring Beetles or prepare for his future breakthroughs, he had to cultivate the second stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique.

In his current state, he already satisfied the spiritual sense requirements. However, his physical constitution was slightly lacking, and he would only be able to barely satisfy those conditions once he reached the late-Body Integration Stage and completely mastered his Provenance True Devil Arts.

Prior to that, he could use some external items to bolster his own body. For example, that Red Silk Heavenly Wine could slowly enhance one's physical constitution, so he could brew some to drink over time.

Of course, he also needed to spend some time to study the talismans and mysterious starry sky diagram that he had obtained from the Vast Glacial Realm.

With that in mind, Han Li fell into a period of silent contemplation...

During the next year, Han Li didn't take so much as a single step out of his cave abode and focused all of his efforts on consolidating his magic power and mental state. However, in contrast with the peace and quiet inside his cave abode, the outside world had been stirred up into a frenzy by his breakthrough.

Many of the powers in the nearby area wanted to approach him, but all of these powers knew that cultivator had to go into seclusion for a year after breaking through a major bottleneck. As such, these powers had been very thoughtful in that they hadn't sent anyone to disrupt Han Li's cultivation.

However, as soon as one year passed, some of them immediately sprang into action.

On this day, a thin and tall elderly man appeared at the edge of the sea of mist. He wore a set of long azure robes with a green jade scepter hanging from his waist. He was standing on a nearby mountain and casting his gaze toward the center of the sea of mist in a completely expressionless manner.

All of a sudden, he turned and looked up into the air.

Spiritual light flashed in the distance in that direction, following which a streak of silver light that was over 100 feet long appeared.

The silver light was traveling at an astonishing speed, and after just a few flashes, it reached the nearby area, looking as if it were about to plunge headfirst into the sea of mist.

However, right at this moment, a faint cry of surprise rang out, and the elderly man's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

The silver streak of light circled around before abruptly descending onto the mountain that the man was situated on, and a slender humanoid figure appeared over 100 feet away from him after a flash of silver light.

This was a young beauty in a blue palatial dress. There was no aura emanating from her body whatsoever, and she had a pleasant smile on her face, making her appear as if she were an approachable mortal beauty.

The elderly man's pupils abruptly contracted at the sight of her. "Fairy Xiao Feng! I didn't think the esteemed leader of the Gu Family would come here in person."

"Oh? So it's Elder Qi of Deep Heaven City. Have you come for the man on Sunrise Peak?" the young woman asked as she extended a slight curtsey.

"Hehe, Deep Heaven City is only several month's travel away from here, so we were naturally made aware quite a while ago that a Body Integration Stage Fellow Daoist has appeared here. All of the other members on the panel of elders are either in seclusion or away doing something else, so I had to make this trip. Are you also here for the same purpose, Family Leader Gu?" the elderly man replied with a smile, and he was being quite polite to the young woman.

"Indeed, Senior. One of the elders of our Gu Family has already approached the senior on Sunrise Peak around a year ago, but never did I think that he would progress to the Body Integration Stage after just a single year. Hence, I naturally had to pay him a visit in person," the young woman said with a smile.

"If I recall correctly, the true spirit ceremony that's held between your true spirit families once every 3,000 years is coming up in a few more years, right? No wonder you're so eager to bolster the power of your Gu Family. However, if this man really has reached the Body Integration Stage, then I'm afraid I won't be able to hand him over to you. Back when the foreign races attacked our city, two of our elders had perished, and we also have two other elders who will most likely struggle to transcend their next major heavenly tribulations. Hence, we desperately need new Body Integration Stage fellow Daoists to supplement us," the elderly man said as he shook his head in an unyielding manner.

"Hehe, of course, a Body Integration cultivator isn't that easy to convince to join a certain power. Perhaps both of us will be going away empty-handed. Let's wait until we meet him before we discuss anything else," the elderly man said with a nonchalant chuckle.

"Indeed. In that case, I'll be visiting this senior together with you, Elder Qi." The woman nodded in agreement, and the elderly man also had no objection to this.

Thus, the two of them rose up into the air and instantly arrived at the edge of the sea of mist.

The elderly man took a deep breath before suddenly calling out, "Qi Xubing of Deep Heaven City and Fairy Xiao Feng of the Gu Family have come to pay a visit!"

The elderly man's voice transformed into a burst of profound spiritual power that spread through the entire sea of mist, causing it to ripple incessantly.

Han Li was meditating in his cave abode, and he immediately opened his eyes as a solemn look appeared on his face.

He abruptly made a grabbing motion, and a white formation plate appeared in his grasp. He pointed at the formation plate a few times in rapid succession, then said something into it, and at the same time, Han Li's voice also rang out from the sea of mist in response.

"I'm honored to be visited by such esteemed fellow Daoists. I'm currently in seclusion, so I won't be able to come out and greet you in person for now. Please enter my cave abode and take a seat, and I'll come out to meet you right away."

As soon as the voice trailed off, the sea of mist parted to reveal a path that was several tens of feet wide.

The elderly man and the woman exchanged a glance before flying on ahead one after another.

A short while later, the two of them descended in front of the cave abode halfway up the mountain, and at this point, the gate was already wide open.

The two of them made their way inside before taking a seat in a simple hall.

An expressionless white-robed woman then emerged with a tea platter and offered the two of them a cup of fragrant spirit tea each before standing off to the side in silence.

The elderly man and woman didn't pay any heed to this initially, but after casually casting their spiritual sense toward the white-robed woman, both of them were alarmed by what they found.

"Senior Qi, am I right in saying that this woman seems to be a puppet?" The young woman transmitted her voice in a bewildered manner.

"That is indeed a puppet, and judging from its aura, it seems to be a Spatial Tempering Stage puppet. What's strange is that it seems to be able to move on its own without being controlled by anyone." The elderly man had an even sharper discerning eye, and he was able to see some details that the woman had failed to notice.

The young woman was even more stunned to hear this. However, before they had a chance to inspect the white-robed woman any further, the sound of footsteps suddenly rang out from outside the hall, following which a young man who appeared to be in his twenties strode in in a calm manner.

The young woman immediately cast her gaze toward him, following which her expression stiffened slightly, and she hurriedly rose to her feet before extending a slight curtsey.

"As expected, you really have progressed to the Body Integration Stage, Senior. I congratulate you on behalf of our Gu Family."

The elderly man also rose to his feet and smiled as he cupped his fist in a salute.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist; I am Qi Xubing, an elder of Deep Heaven City."

"It's an honor to meet the two of you. Forgive me for not coming out to greet you in person, fellow Daoists," Han Li said with a smile as he also extended a salute in return.

"Haha, you've only recently reached the Body Integration Stage, so you must be consolidating your cultivation base; I certainly can't blame you for that," the elderly man replied with a stroke of his beard.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they each took a seat.

"Truth be told, I almost didn't believe it when I was informed that Senior Han had reached the Body Integration Stage. After all, Elder Gu Yun of our family had only just returned not long ago, and he had told me that you were at the Spatial Tempering Stage; who would've thought that you'd become a Body Integration cultivator after just a year?" the young woman said in a slightly awestruck manner.

"Hehe, I had actually already begun preparations to break through my bottleneck back then. However, as I'm sure the two of you are aware, the probability of reaching the Body Integration Stage is quite low, so I didn't think that I would succeed the first, which is why I withheld this information from Fellow Daoist Gu Yun; I hadn't intentionally omitted this detail to deceive him," Han Li explained in a slightly apologetic manner.

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"I wouldn't dare to accuse you of deceit, Senior. Breaking through the Body Integration Stage bottleneck is an extremely important matter, so it certainly makes sense to be more cautious," the young woman said with a smile.

"Back when I broke through my Body Integration Stage bottleneck, I also found an extremely secluded place to make my breakthrough, so it looks like we have something in common with our thought processes, Fellow Daoist Han," the elderly man chuckled.

Han Li merely smiled in response.

After that, the three of them moved on to some more casual topics of conversation.

Han Li had explored multiple continents in the past several centuries, so he naturally had a vast wealth of knowledge and experience. As for these two guests, one of them was the leader of a true spirit family while the other was a veteran Body Integration Stage cultivator, so they had naturally seen and experienced a lot themselves.

Thus, the three of them were having quite pleasant conversation, and the elderly man and young woman both felt as if their horizons were being significantly broadened.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you seem to know a lot about foreign races, and much of this information isn't recorded in the tomes of our human race; could it be that you've traveled to other continents in the past?" the elderly man couldn't help but ask.

"You have a sharp discerning eye, Fellow Daoist Qi! I did indeed just return from the primordial world, and I also traveled to other continents during my journey as well," Han Li replied in a truthful manner.

Both the elderly man and young woman drew sharp breaths upon hearing this.

Fairy Xiao Feng was silent for a moment before speaking again. "It's no wonder that I've never heard you despite your powers; it makes sense that you've been traveling elsewhere and have only just returned to our human race. However, I heard from Elder Gu Yun that you had mentioned the true spirit families, the Ye Family and Long Family to him. That reminds me of something, but I'm not sure if I should disclose it."

"Oh, what is it? Go right ahead, Fellow Daoist," Han Li prompted.

"Truth be told, after Elder Gu Yun informed me about you, I was very intrigued and sent out some of my people to investigate those with the same surname as you. Not much time has passed, so I haven't been able to find a lot of information, but I did hear about a certain Han Li who was a Dark Azure Guard of Deep Heaven City several centuries ago. Would that be you, Senior?" Fairy Xiao Feng said in a slightly timid manner.

The elderly man was quite surprised to hear this.

He was stunned, both by the fact that Han Li had lived in Deep Heaven City hundreds of years ago, and the fact that a Dark Azure Guard like him had become a Body Integration cultivator in just a few centuries.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but it immediately returned to normal thereafter, and he replied, "Hehe, true spirit families really are very resourceful; I didn't think you'd find out this information about me in just a year. I was indeed a Dark Azure Guard several hundred years ago, but I regained my freedom after completing a mission at the time."

"In that case, the one that the Long Family and Ye Family are searching for is also you, Senior Han," the young woman said with a slightly peculiar look in her eyes.

"The Ye Family and Long Family? They've been searching for me?" Han Li's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this.

"The Ye Family once searched for you for over 100 years but gave up after that. However, the Long Family still hasn't withdrawn their official search order. During these past years, the Ye Family and Long Family have been on very bad terms with one another. Their relationship isn't bad enough to lead to full-blown conflict, but they're often standing against one another, and this deterioration in their relationship seemed to have begun right around when they began to search for you," the young woman said in a meaningful manner.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't offer any reply and fell silent in contemplation.

"You were once a Dark Azure Guard of Deep Heaven City, Fellow Daoist? That's rather surprising to me, but this is a good thing; I can cut straight to the chase and won't have to go around in circles now. I'm sure you've already guessed the reason for my visit, right, Fellow Daoist Han?" the elderly man said after clearing his throat.

"Could you be here to invite me to join Deep Heaven City again?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed. I'm here on behalf of the panel of elders to officially invite you to join our city. With your Body Integration Stage cultivation base, you'll immediately become a member of the panel of elders if you decide to join our city. As for the benefits you'll receive, you've stayed in Deep Heaven City before, so I'm sure you'll be aware of those, and I won't waste any time by listing them," Qi Xubing said in a serious manner.

"Well..."

A contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face, and he didn't immediately agree or refuse.

The young woman's expression stirred slightly upon seeing this, and she also made her case. "Seeing as Senior Qi has opened up this topic for discussion, then I'll weigh in on the matter as well. As the leader of the Gu Family, I'm naturally also here to try and recruit you to join our Gu Family as our guest grand elder. Not only will we make sure to offer you satisfactory conditions, our Gu Family won't restrict you in any way unless our family is in grave danger." Her conditions seemed to be even more alluring.

The elderly man's expression darkened upon hearing this, but he couldn't do anything to stop her.

She may have only been a Spatial Tempering cultivator, but her status as a leader of a true spirit family made her a force to be reckoned with even in the eyes of a Body Integration cultivator.

After a brief pause, the elderly man continued, "There is currently a severe shortage of Body Integration cultivators within our human and demon races. Aside from this city, I'm sure there's nowhere else in the three regions and seven territories that's inhabited by so many Body Integration Stage beings at once. The members of our city's panel of elders will be able to regularly exchange cultivation experiences, and I'm sure that would greatly benefit your cultivation if you were to join us. Also, our panel of elders will often join forces to hunt for some powerful ancient beasts in the primordial world; these are conditions that can't be offered by any other please, so please consider my offer carefully, Fellow Daoist. This is truly a sincere offer for you to join our city."

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, as if he really had been tempted.

"Our Gu Family only has one Body Integration Stage grand elder, but as one of the true spirit families, we have some unique secret techniques for the utilization of true spirit blood. I heard that when you broke through your Body Integration Stage bottleneck, you summoned a Giant Mountain Ape projection. According to my knowledge, none of the true spirit families have inherited the bloodline of the Giant Mountain Ape, so I can only assume that you obtained this true spirit bloodline outside of the human race. If you're willing to join our Gu Family, I will pass on the method to refine and utilize true spirit blood to you. Also, if you wish to found another true spirit family yourself 10,000 years from now, our Gu Family definitely won't oppose you. On the contrary, we'll support you with all our power." The young woman was also laying down the most attractive conditions she had to offer.

The elderly man was quite stunned to hear that Han Li possessed a true spirit bloodline, and his expression completely changed upon hearing the conditions offered by the young woman.

"A new true spirit family?" Han Li was also quite surprised to hear this.

"Indeed. With your powers and the true spirit bloodline you inherited, our Gu Family wouldn't dare to restrict you as our guest grand elder forever. As long as you're willing to undertake the role of guest grand elder in our Gu Family for 10,000 years, we'll offer you our wholehearted support if you decide to found another true spirit family after that. Otherwise, even with your powers, you'll definitely encounter a lot of opposition if you try to found a true spirit family on your own. After all, none of the true spirit families would wish to see a new competitor arise among them," the young woman said with a smile.

Han Li stroked his chin and fell silent upon hearing this.

A wry smile appeared on Qi Xubing's face. Han Li hadn't yet offered a response, but even if he were to join a certain power, it definitely wouldn't be here in Deep Heaven City.

In contrast, Fairy Xiao Feng appeared to be quite calm and collected, but she was also feeling rather uneasy as she didn't know if these conditions would be attractive to Han Li.

After all, many high-grade cultivators were interested in establishing their own major family or power, but there were also many who were only interested in cultivation and didn't want to have ties with any entity, even as just a guest.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so difficult for Deep Heaven City to source new Body Integration cultivators to replace the ones they had lost.

After a long pause, Han Li suddenly said something that caught both Qi Xubing and Fairy Xiao Feng off guard. "I heard that the Heavenly Spirit Sovereign among the three sovereigns passed away not long ago, and that a new spirit sovereign will be chosen in about 100 years; is that true?"

"That is indeed true. A Body Integration Stage fellow Daoist will be chosen to become the new spirit sovereign in a tournament to be held 100 years from now. Are you interested in that, Fellow Daoist Han?" the elderly man asked with a peculiar look on his face.

"Do you think I don't have what it takes to enter the tournament?" Han Li asked with a nonchalant smile.

"All human cultivators at or above the Body Integration Stage have the right to enter this tournament, but almost all of the three sovereigns of the past have been cultivators at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, and the only rare exceptions are mid-Body Integration cultivators with unfathomable abilities. According to my knowledge, there has never been an early-Body Integration cultivator who has managed to take on that role ever since the human race established itself in the Spirit Realm," the elderly man said with a wry smile.

"You do indeed possess a true spirit bloodline, which will grant you immense powers, but it's most likely still too early to be going after the position of spirit sovereign. 100 years will only just be enough for you to familiarize yourself with your new powers and abilities, and I'm afraid that you won't be able to compete with those at the mid and late-Body Integration Stages," the young woman also persuaded in a euphemistic manner.

"Hehe, I'm not arrogant enough to think that a new Body Integration cultivator like me can become the next spirit sovereign. However, I'm sure many other Body Integration cultivators will be participating in the tournament; I only want the opportunity to acquaint myself with and communicate with these fellow Daoists. As for your offers, I must decline as I don't like staying in a certain place for too long, and I don't like to be bound to too many people. However, I'm quite interested in the refinement and utilization method of true spirit bloodlines of your Gu Family; would you be willing to pass on this secret technique to me for any treasures or cultivation arts?" Han Li asked.

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The young woman was completely stumped by the direction this conversation had suddenly taken. Han Li hadn't agreed to join their Gu Family, yet he still wanted to obtain their most valuable true spirit bloodline refinement technique, rendering her completely speechless.

Her expression changed several times before she finally managed to force a smile onto her face, and she replied, "I'm afraid I won't be able to agree to that, Senior Han. The bloodline techniques of our Gu Family can't be passed on to outsiders, not even in exchange for treasures or cultivation arts. Of course, that all changes if you accept my initial offer."

Han Li wasn't surprised nor offended by her refusal, and he said in a calm manner, "In that case, our discussion can end here. I won't be joining the Gu Family, nor any other powers. It looks like both of you will have to return empty-handed."

The young woman could only heave a faint sigh before falling silent, and Qi Xubing's brows were also tightly furrowed as he sat in silence.

After that, the three of them discussed some cultivation experiences, and the awkward atmosphere was gradually alleviated.

Several hours later, the two of them decided to take their leave. Han Li naturally asked them to stay out of politeness, but the two insisted on departing, so he could only accompany them out of his cave abode.

Not long after that, two streaks of light emerged from the sea of mist before receding as the elderly man and young woman reappeared.

"Looks like we've both made fruitless trips, Senior Qi. I'll be going straight back to the Gu Family; will you also be returning to Deep Heaven City?" the young woman asked with a smile.

"I won't be returning to Deep Heaven City for now. I heard that there's also a new Body Integration cultivator in the Xuan Wu Region. Apparently, he's already accepted the Tyrant Sovereign's invitation, but I still want to pay him a visit just in case," the elderly man replied after a brief pause.

"In that case, I'll be taking my leave." The young woman nodded before extending a slight curtsey. Spiritual light then flashed from her body, and she flew away as a streak of silver light.

In the blink of an eye, the silver light had vanished into the distance.

The elderly man remained on the spot and looked in the direction that the young woman had disappeared in for a long while before finally heaving a faint sigh. He raised a hand to summon a green flying canoe, then flew onto it before making a hand seal, upon which the canoe flew away as a ball of green light.

Thus, the area was suddenly empty and quiet again. However, around an hour later, the silver streak of light suddenly reappeared before stopping once again at the edge of the sea of mist.

The light receded, and the young woman was revealed. She wore a calm expression and said something into the sea of mist, following which a path was opened up before her once more.

She immediately flew into the sea of mist, and the path was gradually closed.

Around four hours later, the path reappeared in the sea of the mist, and the silver streak of light flew away again.

Meanwhile, Han Li was seated in the hall of his cave abode, holding a silver jade badge in his hand. He was stroking the badge with his finger absentmindedly with a contemplative look on his face.

The jade badge was shimmering with silver light, and on one side of the badge was the character "Gu", while the other side of the badge held the image of a three-headed beast.

The beast had the body of a horse that was covered with crimson scales, and one of its heads was that of a unicorn. As for the other two heads, they consisted of a black tiger head and a blue lion head.

This was the appearance of the legendary true spirit Lihou.

It was said that this beast was only around the middle of the pack among true spirits, but its three heads controlled powers of three different attributes, and each of them possessed an incredibly powerful ability.

These abilities were not just extremely effective in battle, but also had miraculous effects in other areas.

This jade badge had been given to him by Fairy Xiao Feng during her second visit, and the true spirit bloodline that the Gu Family had inherited was none other than that of the Lihou.

Han Li had also been rather surprised by the young woman's return, and he was currently thinking back to what she had told him upon her arrival.

As soon as she entered the hall, she had tossed him that jade badge and offered him a deal that was very difficult for him to turn down.

She had told her that Han Li didn't need to be a guest member of the Gu Family for 10,000 years; all he had to do was lend the Gu Family his assistance during the true spirit ceremony that was going to be held between all of the true spirit families over 10 years from now.

As long as he could secure enough benefits for the Gu Family, she was willing to give her part of the Gu Family's bloodline secret technique. Of course, she made it very clear that this was only part of the secret technique, and it wasn't the most important part, but it was still something that none of the other true spirit families outside of the Gu Family would be willing to offer to him.

Han Li was quite tempted by this offer as it meant that he would only have to help the Gu Family once, rather than be bound to them for 10,000 years.

There was a bloodline refinement method enclosed with his 12 Awakening Transformations, but that was a technique designed for Flying Spirit beings, after all, so there were parts that weren't ideal for humans.

Prior to reaching the Body Integration Stage, he hadn't detected that anything was amiss, but during the past year where he had been consolidating his cultivation base, he finally discovered by chance that there were many mysterious residual components of the true spirit bloods he had refined inside his body. He had thought that the true spirit bloods had been completely refined, but these residual components were hidden extremely discreetly within his body, and he had been quite alarmed by this.

He immediately examined the situation in greater detail, and he discovered that there wouldn't be any issues for now as he could use his own magic power to restrict these residual true blood components. However, if he were to continue absorbing other true spirit bloods in the future, then major unforeseen issues could arise.

He would either suffer backlash from this true blood residue or be unable to use his 12 Awakening Transformations in the future.

As such, while he had been consolidating his cultivation base, he had also been pondering a solution to this, which was why he had been so interested in the true spirit bloodline refinement method that Fairy Xiao Feng had mentioned.

Even though the refinement techniques from these families wouldn't be able to help him completely refine the true blood residue, they would definitely be quite useful for him to reference.

If he hadn't mastered the 12 Awakening Transformations, then the refinement techniques would be completely useless to him, but in his current situation, all he had to do was find the differences between the human refinement techniques and the refinement techniques enclosed with the 12 Awakening Transformations to resolve this pressing issue.

However, it was just as he had stated before; he wasn't going to be bound to the Gu Family for 10,000 just for something like this.

Even if he couldn't obtain the Gu Family's refinement techniques, he would still be able to obtain similar refinement techniques from other true spirit families through alternative avenues. Of course, doing so could prove to be rather troublesome, and it was quite likely that he would be making enemies out of some of the true spirit families.

Hence, after hearing that all he had to do was spar with some cultivators from other true spirit families and secure some benefits for the Gu Family, he decided to accept this deal. Fairy Xiao Feng was naturally elated by this, and as for that jade badge, it would act as temporary proof that he was an elder of the Gu Family.

He reviewed the exchange several times, and after ascertaining that there seemed to be nothing amiss, he set aside the matter for now and returned to his secret chamber to continue consolidating his cultivation base.

Several more major powers came to visit him during this time, including even a messenger sent by the Heavenly Yuan Holy Sovereign, but Han Li had already made up his mind and politely refused all of their invitations.

Thus, several years passed by in the blink of an eye, and one day, three years later, Han Li emerged from his secret chamber before departing from his cave abode as a streak of azure light.

During this short period of seclusion, he had already completely mastered his own physical body and magic power, so it was naturally time for him to do some of the things that he had wanted to do.

His first destination was naturally Deep Heaven City, which was the closest to him.

He had a smooth journey, and after two months, he appeared in the air above the city walls of Deep Heaven City, then paused momentarily before flying toward a certain direction.

There was a rather renowned place in Deep Heaven City that offered temporary lodging for cultivators from outside the city. It consisted of a large cluster of pavilions that was situated between two massive stone towers.

Some of the cultivators with lower cultivation bases or were short on money had to share one pavilion between several or even over 10 people, while the more powerful and wealthy cultivators could have a pavilion to themselves.

One of the pavilions had been rented by a group of four Deity Transformation cultivators.

It was said that these four Deity Transformation cultivators were quite powerful, and they had lived here for over 100 years. On top of that, they had ventured into the primordial world on several occasions and returned with their lives, so they were rather renowned in Deep Heaven City.

However, during these past few years, these four had only left their pavilion very rarely, and spent most of their time in seclusion.

According to some of their neighbors, the four of them had ventured deep into the primordial world several years ago and encountered a perilous situation that had resulted in all of them sustaining rather severe injuries, which was why they had remained in seclusion all this time.

However, this was a very common occurrence in Deep Heaven City. It only served to make people even more aware of just how dangerous the primordial world was, and it soon became a forgotten matter.

However, on this day, the two men and two women who were cultivating in seclusion in the pavilion suddenly all heard a voice.

"Fellow Daoists, it's me, Han Li; would I be able to pay you a visit?"

The voice was able to completely disregard the layers of restrictions they had set up around the pavilion and was clearly audible to them.

The four of them were naturally quite startled by this, and a person immediately sprang into their mind, upon which their expressions changed drastically. All of them hurriedly rose to their feet before rushing down to the first floor of the pavilion.

The scholarly man who was the leader of the group had already completely recovered his lost arm, and upon appearing on the first floor, he immediately flung the doors of the pavilion open, revealing an azure-robed young man outside.

"We pay our respects to Senior Han! Forgive us for not coming out to greet you earlier; we were unaware that you were going to grace us with a visit!" A look of surprise and elation appeared on the scholarly man's face as he hurriedly extended a deep bow before inviting Han Li into the room.

Han Li nodded in response before walking into the pavilion.

At this point, the other three cultivators had also appeared on the first floor, and all of them also extended respectful bows at the sight of Han Li.

"No need for formalities; we're already old acquaintances," Han Li said as he waved a hand before calmly taking a seat, while the four cultivators stood respectfully before him.

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Han Li only had to take a brief glance at the four cultivators to ascertain their condition, and he calmly remarked, "It looks like the four of you still haven't quite recovered from the ordeal you suffered in the primordial world."

"Your discerning eye is truly unmatched, Senior! We suffered injuries that were quite severe back then, and our cultivation bases are quite mediocre, so we're only close to halfway recovered," the scholarly man replied in a truthful manner.

Following a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li flipped a hand over to produce four faint green jade vials, and said, "In that case, I have a few vials of pills here that the four of you can take. Refine the power of the pills and meditate for half a month or so, and you should be fully recovered."

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior!" The four cultivators hurriedly bowed again to express their gratitude.

They strode forward before taking a jade vial each, then removing the lids, and a strong medicinal fragrance immediately permeated throughout the entire hall. Even just a single whiff of this fragrance made them feel completely reinvigorated.

The four cultivators were even more ecstatic, and they knew that the spirit pills in the vials were quite extraordinary and were perhaps even more efficacious that Han Li had proclaimed.

The scholarly man knew that Han Li couldn't have come here just for a simple visit, so he stowed the spirit medicine away before asking, "Why have you graced us with a visit today, Senior? Is there something we can do for you?"

"I do indeed have something for you to do. It's quite a simple task, but it'll take a rather long time and requires you to stay in Deep Heaven City for a while. Will that be an issue? Of course, I won't ask you to do this for me free of charge," Han Li replied in a calm manner.

The task that Han Li had in mind for them didn't seem to be a dangerous one, and the scholarly man was quite relieved. He said, "Rest assured, Senior, the four of us have no plans to leave Deep Heaven City for the next century, so you can feel free to assign any task to us. If it's within our capabilities, we'll be sure to accept the task."

"In that case, I'll go right ahead, then. I'm not sure if you recall a female cultivator by the name of Nangong Wan that I mentioned to you before. Help me check if this woman is in Deep Heaven City. She's an ascended cultivator, so she may have changed her name. I'll be leaving you a jade slip that contains her portrait so you can identify her if you see her. If you can't find her in Deep Heaven City, then please keep an eye out for her for the next 100 years or so. If you can find her, I'll be sure to reward you handsomely," Han Li said with a faint smile.

"That's no problem at all. We have some friends here in Deep Heaven City; if this Nangong Wan appears in the city, we'll be sure to find her for you," the scholarly man replied in a respectful manner.

"Good. Aside from that, I also have another task that I need to entrust to you. I'm preparing to refine a batch of pills, but I require a lot of ingredients, most of which are rather uncommon and can't be gathered in a short time even in Deep Heaven City. I'm planning to take a long trip in the near future, so I can only ask the four of you to source those ingredients in my stead. Here are some spirit stones; they should be enough to cover the costs of the ingredients. On top of that, here are a few treasures that I obtained by chance; you can have them as well," Han Li said as he swept a sleeve over the table beside him.

Spiritual light of different colors flashed, and four jade boxes of different sizes appeared alongside a black leather pouch.

The four cultivators couldn't help but exchange a surprised glance, and after conversing briefly through voice transmission, they also accepted this task in a respectful manner.

After that, the scholarly man pardoned himself for the intrusion before approaching Han Li and picking up the leather pouch. He then swept his spiritual sense into it, upon which his expression changed drastically.

The other three cultivators faltered slightly upon seeing this before turning to Han Li with bewilderment in their eyes, but Han Li's expression remained unchanged as if he hadn't seen their reactions.

The scholarly man hurriedly smoothed out his own expression, and said, "Forgive me, Senior, I was stunned by the number of top-grade spirit stones in the pouch. It seems that the ingredients you're looking to purchase must indeed be quite rare. However, seeing as you're willing to entrust this duty to us, we'll be sure to do our best to complete this task."

The scholarly man then carefully stowed the leather pouch away, then hesitated momentarily before picking up one of the jade boxes on the table.

He removed the lid, and a burst of white light swept forth, revealing a white jade fan that was covered in runes and shimmering with spiritual light.

The scholarly man picked the fan up before waving it through the air, and a series of fan projections immediately emerged before him while a burst of astonishing spiritual pressure swept forth.

"This Mountain River Fan possesses both wind and earth attribute powers. It can strike your enemy with devastating invisible force even from over 1,000 feet away," Han Li said with a smile.

The scholarly man immediately extended another ecstatic bow of gratitude.

The other three cultivators also picked up a jade box each before opening them in an excited manner. As a result, they discovered that the boxes contained a pair of silver bracelets, a colorful handkerchief, and a profound ice flying dagger.

These four treasures were all useless to Han Li, but to these four Deity Transformation cultivators, these were treasures that they could only dream of, and all of them eagerly expressed their gratitude.

Of course, after taking Han Li's treasures, they had officially agreed to carry out Han Li's requests.

As for whether these four were going to simply take the spirit stones and run away without completing those tasks, Han Li wasn't worried about that at all. He had already conducted some research into these four, and they were relatively renowned in this city.

On top of that, none of them were vagrant cultivators; they each belonged to a certain family or sect, all of which would be quite easy to track down. As such, as long as these four weren't completely short-sighted idiots, they wouldn't do something so stupid. Otherwise, they'd be plunging those close to them into a world of trouble.

In order to further stamp his authority on these four cultivators, Han Li casually told them about how he had progressed to the Body Integration Stage recently, and demonstrated his ability to easily control the world's origin Qi, an ability that only Body Integration cultivators possessed.

The four cultivators were naturally completely stunned, and there was certainly no way that they'd try to plot against Han Li now.

After departing from the pavilion, Han Li flew away as a streak of azure light toward the massive stone towers that he had once lived in as a Deep Heaven Guard.

Not long after that, Han Li appeared near one of the stone towers, and he looked on at the guards entering and exiting the tower with a nostalgic look on his face.

This stone tower was none other than the one he had lived in as a Dark Azure Guard, and even though centuries had passed, everything was still the same as it had been back then.

Han Li took a deep breath, and the reminiscent look in his eyes faded as he flew toward the stone tower.

At the entrance of the stone tower were a dozen or so Black Iron Guards and two Dark Azure Guards. The approaching Han Li clearly wasn't a Deep Heaven Guard, and all of them turned toward him with suspicious looks in their eyes.

Han Li continued to approach these guards in a calm manner, but at the same time, he released his Body Integration Stage aura without making any attempt to conceal it.

Even though he had only released a wisp of his aura, the massive disparity in cultivation base still caused the two Dark Azure Guards to sway unsteadily on their feet. The Black Iron Guards fared even worse as all of them stumbled back several steps before steadying themselves.

"Body Integration!" a Dark Azure Guard exclaimed.

"Is that you, Fellow Daoist Han?" An astonished look appeared on the other Dark Azure Guard's face as he appraised Han Li.

This man clearly recognized Han Li.

Han Li was rather taken aback by this, and he focused his gaze on the elderly man to find that he was rather familiar.

After a brief pause for contemplation, he managed to identify the man. "You're Fellow Daoist Yue, right?"

"Fellow Dao... No, Senior Han, you..." The elderly man looked as if he had seen a ghost, and even he himself felt as if he were in a dream.

The other Dark Azure Guard was also quite stunned, but he hurriedly extended a respectful bow, and asked, "You don't seem to be an elder of Deep Heaven City, Senior. May I ask your name? And is there something we can do for you? Do you recognize this senior, Brother Yue?"

However, the elderly man was clearly still too astonished to muster up a response.

"Is Fairy Xu of the Dark Azure Guard in the tower right now?" Han Li asked.

The Dark Azure Guard was quite perplexed by the elderly man's flabbergasted reaction, but he still replied in a respectful manner, "Fellow Daoist Xu has just left the city to go on patrol duty, so it'll most likely be a few days before she returns."

Han Li's brows furrowed before his expression immediately returned to normal, and he said, "In that case, I won't go in, then. Please pass on a message to Fairy Xu for me when she comes back; tell her that I'll be waiting for her in the Immortal Gathering Pavilion. As for my identity, Fellow Daoist Yue knows all about it, so I won't waste any time with self-introductions."

He then cupped his fist in a salute toward the elderly man before flying away as a streak of azure light.

All of the guards bowed in a respectful manner as he departed.

"Who is that Senior Han, Brother Yue? Why are you so astonished?" After the azure streak of light vanished into the distance, the Dark Azure Guard turned around, only to discover that the elderly man was still completely rooted to the spot, and he was slightly displeased.

The elderly man finally managed to regain some semblance of composure, and replied, "He's here to look for Fairy Xu, so there's no mistaking it; it really is him. Forgive me for my lack of composure, Brother Ding, but 300 years ago, this Senior Han was still a Dark Azure Guard like us. Back when I last saw him, he was still only at the mid-Deity Transformation Stage."

"He was a Dark Azure Guard 300 years ago? Surely you jest, Brother Yue!" the Dark Azure Guard exclaimed in an incredulous manner.

"You only joined Deep Heaven City around 200 years ago, so it's no surprise that you don't recognize him. Back in the day, Senior Han and I were both Dark Azure Guards, and even though we weren't exactly close friends, I was saved by him once. This Senior Han was extremely renowned among us Dark Azure Guards 300 years ago as he had slain Spatial Tempering Stage foreign beings as a Deity Transformation cultivator. After that, he seemed to have been given some kind of mysterious mission and disappeared after entering the primordial world. I'm truly astonished that he's managed to progress all the way to the Body Integration Stage from the Deity Transformation Stage," the elderly man sighed with undisguised astonishment and envy in his voice.

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The Dark Azure Guard was left rooted to the spot upon hearing this, just as the elderly man had been a moment ago.

After departing from the stone tower, Han Li paused momentarily before flying toward the market. Even though he had assigned the four cultivators with the task of purchasing the spirit medicines he required, it certainly couldn't hurt to visit the market and purchase all of the ingredients that he could first.

Han Li had already made several trips to the Deep Heaven City market, and he went to the same shop as last time before asking the shopkeeper to source as many items on his list as he could.

After that, he departed from the shop and headed straight toward the giant hall at the center of the market.

There were people helping him on human territory, so he didn't have to concern himself with the matters here, but it was quite likely that there were going to be ingredients that he needed on demon territory as well.

Thus, he decided to take a trip there to see if he could reap any rewards. However, he was forced to visit the market on his own just to purchase some materials and ingredients, and that was one of the downsides of not being a part of a major power.

If he had joined one of those major powers, he could easily assign such menial tasks to someone else. Of course, the benefits that he would derive from this still couldn't outweigh the fact that his freedom would be restricted to a certain extent.

With his current abilities, he could easily establish his own power, but doing so would require a lot of time and effort that would severely hinder his own cultivation, so it simply wasn't worth it.

As such, it was a rather appealing option to become one of the spirit sovereigns. After all, the powers commanded by the three sovereigns were different from other sects and families and most of their powers arose from their status. Anyone who became one of the three sovereigns would immediately become a vastly influential figure in the human race.

As these thoughts ran through Han Li's mind, he arrived in front of the massive hall that facilitated exchanges between human and demon vendors.

Just as Han Li issued the spirit stones for the entrance fee and was about to step into the hall, a loud buzzing sound suddenly rang out from a certain massive formation that was quite far away from human territory. This formation was situated within a certain obscure underground cave, and it was being guarded by a dozen or so armored puppet warriors. All of a sudden, spiritual light of different colors began to flash from the formation, and red light immediately flashed from the eyes of the previously stationary puppets as they slowly pointed their giant blades toward the formation.

Almost at the exact same moment, spiritual light flashed at the entrance to the cave, and a blurry humanoid figure that was shimmering with silver light appeared.

In the next instant, two humanoid figures emerged in the teleportation formation amid a flash of scintillating white light.

After the spiritual light faded, the two humanoid figures were revealed to be a tall and broad black-robed man and a graceful white-robed woman.

The man appeared to be in his thirties and had a dark complexion with a set of hideous and ferocious facial features.

In contrast, the woman's complexion was as fair as snow, and her eyes were as black as night.

"Who are you? You two aren't Silver beings; why are you able to use our Silver Race's teleportation formation?" the humanoid figure enshrouded within silver light screeched in an astonished manner.

"Hmm? There's a Silver being guarding this place. Please let me eat him, Sacred Ancestor." The black-robed man turned to the silver figure with yearning in his eyes.

"That Silver being is no less powerful than you; you might chip a tooth if you try to eat him," the white-robed woman said in a calm manner.

"Hehe, a mere holy-grade Silver being won't be able to do anything in your presence, Sacred Ancestor," the black-robed man said with a fawning smile.

"How dare you!" The silver figure could naturally tell from their conversation that these were enemies, and he immediately let loose a screech of fury.

At the same time, the surrounding puppets slashed their giant blades toward the center of the formation in unison, and a dozen or so streaks of silver light flashed through the air.

"What a pitiful attack!" the black-robed man chuckled coldly before sweeping a sleeve through the air to conjure up a black light barrier.

A string of loud explosions rang out in rapid succession, and all of the streaks of silver light exploded in a flash upon striking the black light as if they had struck an impregnable fortress.

The black-robed man then did something that made the Silver being even more astonished.

He opened his mouth to expel a swath of black light, which swept up all of the silver light and drew it into his mouth.

A huge black shadow then abruptly appeared behind the man before lashing out, and a string of resounding booms rang out once again. All of the surroundings puppets were pulverized by the sweeping black shadow without being able to offer any resistance.

The Silver being was quite alarmed to see this, and he hurriedly focused his gaze on the black shadow, upon which he discovered that it was a massive black tail that was covered in thick and heavy scales.

The tail was over 100 feet in length and coiled around the man several times.

Right at this moment, the black-robed man chuckled in a sinister manner, and black light flashed from his body, upon which an enormous holy-grade aura erupted forth.

The silver figure was stunned by his power. He wasn't confident in his ability to defeat this black-robed man on his own, and the white-robed woman beside him seemed to be even more powerful.

The Silver being immediately concluded that he was no match for these two, and silver light swirled around him as his body gradually began to blur.

"You're not going anywhere!"

A vicious light flashed through the black-robed man's eyes, and the huge black tail around him shot forth like a giant python, crossing a distance of over 100 feet in a flash before instantly puncturing the silver figure.

However, the silver light then dissipated, and the blurry humanoid figure had vanished into thin air.

The Silver being had managed to escape before he was struck by the black-robed man.

However, right at this moment, a faint smile suddenly appeared on the white-robed woman's face, and she pointed a finger forward.

A pink spirit flower suddenly blossomed on her fingertip, then transformed into a massive projection in a flash that encompassed the entire cave.

Everything within a radius of several hundred feet was instantly basked in pink light and a peculiar fragrance.

All of a sudden, a silver thread of light emerged out of thin air without any warning amid a dull thump. It was none other than the Silver being who had just escaped.

"Impossible!" the Silver being yelled in shock and horror, and spiritual light flashed from his body as he attempted to escape again.

The white-robed woman's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and in the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted from beneath the silver figure's feet, following which a massive pink flower silently emerged.

The silver figure's body tightened, and he was completely immobilized.

His face was instantly drained of all color as the black-robed man burst into raucous laughter. Black Qi suddenly began to swirl around his body, and he pounced directly toward the Silver being.

Within the black Qi, a massive mouth that was around 10 feet in size spread open, and the overwhelming stench of blood and gore wafted forth from within.

The white-robed woman seemed to have lost interest in all of this, and she withdrew her gaze while summoning another pink spirit flower in her hand. She brought the flower to her nose before taking a slight whiff, and a hint of sorrow appeared in her eyes.

Meanwhile, the black Qi that the black-robed man had transformed into had already completely enshrouded the Silver being, and bloodcurdling cries could be heard.

Within a palace on a certain section of the seabed between the Tian Yuan Continent and Thunder Continent, there was a secret chamber that was enveloped by layers of black Qi. Within the secret chamber was a huge crimson cocoon-like object that was hanging in mid-air.

The surface of the cocoon was flashing incessantly with crimson light, and it was constantly fluctuating in size by minute degrees. It seemed that something was being nurtured within the cocoon.

Below the cocoon were 12 massive shadowy beasts. One of them had two heads and six eyes, one had four wings and three paws, and there was even a golden wyrm that possessed nine thin tails that were extremely eye-catching.

However, all of these beasts were currently lying on the ground in a completely stationary manner, and were completely devoid of any aura.

From the crimson light that was flashing above, one could see that the 12 beasts were all completely shriveled up as if all of their blood had been sucked away, and their bodies had shrunk significantly as a result.

Otherwise, with the original statures of these 12 beasts, there was no way that this secret chamber would've been able to contain them.

There were 12 ancient lamps situated in a corner of the secret chamber, but the flames on those lamps had already been snuffed out.

On the other side of the secret chamber was a short green jade table, atop which sat a fist-sized crystal ball that was flashing with faint spiritual light.

There was a clear image on the surface of the object, depicting an extremely life-like silver lotus pod that was shimmering with silver light.

In the exchange hall of Deep Heaven City, Han Li was appraising a demonic woman enshrouded in black Qi with a surprised look on his face.

"I didn't think I would encounter you again here, Fellow Daoist."

"Hehe, I also didn't think that I would ever see you again, Fellow Daoist Han. I had thought that you had already fled the city back when the foreign races had attacked. It seems that I underestimated your resourcefulness." The demonic woman within the black Qi was none other than the one whom Han Li had traded with many years ago, and she was appraising him with a faint smile.

Furthermore, she also seemed to be rather excited to see Han Li. Due to the restriction in this hall, Han Li was unable to identify whether this woman's cultivation base had improved or not, but he had given her many myriad-year spirit medicines back when they had last met, so theoretically, she should've become a lot more powerful.

Of course, the woman was completely oblivious to Han Li's extraordinary progression as well.

Thus, Han Li smiled, and said, "I actually didn't manage to escape in time. If it weren't for some fortuitous events that swung my way, I might not be standing here right now. I had thought that you would go into seclusion and cultivate for a long time after you obtained that batch of myriad-year spirit medicines from me."

"That would've naturally been ideal, but even though I obtained a lot of myriad-year spirit medicines from you, I couldn't use it on myself alone, and I've exhausted that supply a long time ago. However, I did obtain another batch of precious medicine seeds during these years; are you willing to continue trading with me?" the demonic woman sighed before asking in a hopeful manner.

"I certainly won't turn down any seeds that I currently don't have. However, during these years, I've gathered a lot of medicine seeds myself, so there most likely won't be much that I don't already have," Han Li replied.

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"In that case, the seeds I have may not be up to your standards," the demonic woman sighed as the excitement in her eyes faded.

"There's no need to be disheartened, Fellow Daoist; I'm not here just to exchange for medicine seeds this time. If you can gather some materials for me, I'll still be willing to trade myriad-year spirit medicines for them," Han Li said with a smile.

"Materials?"

"That's right. I have a list here; please track down as many items on the list as you can from your demon territory," Han Li said as he swept a sleeve through the air to toss her a white jade slip.

A fair white hand emerged from within the black Qi to catch the jade slip. After briefly injecting her spiritual sense into the jade slip, she immediately exclaimed, "A lot of these materials are spirit bones and inner cores of us demonic beings; you sure are quite bold to request for such things, Fellow Daoist. Are you planning to refine some treasures?"

"I am indeed planning to refine a few treasures. As for spirit bones and inner cores, aren't demonic beings like yourself often sourcing them as well?" Han Li countered.

"Hmph, that may be true, but even if we have to use spirit bones and inner cores to refine something, we make sure to use materials from other races and never turn on members of our own race. In contrast, such requests from a human like you are considered to be quite taboo in our demon race," the woman harrumphed coldly.

"If you ask me, it doesn't seem like you care too much about this. Otherwise, you wouldn't be telling me all this," Han Li chuckled in a nonchalant manner.

The woman hesitated momentarily upon hearing this before replying, "It doesn't matter to me as long as you don't request any materials secured from beings of our race. However, even in our demon territory, the items you've listed in your jade slip are very rare. As such, I'll only be able to gather most of the items on the list, and they'll all be quite expensive."

"That's alright, as long as the items are to my liking, I'll definitely offer you satisfactory myriad-year spirit medicines as compensation," Han Li replied in an elated manner.

"Alright, that's all I needed to hear. However, it won't be very convenient for me to take these items to Deep Heaven City to trade with you. If you're really interested, then let's trade on the Myriad Treasure Convention to be held several years from now. That's a large exchange convention that's held by our human and demon races once every 1,000 years, and the venue for this edition of the convention has already been decided; it'll be held on the Nine Immortals Mountain between the Xuan Wu Region and the Heavenly Fox Territory," the woman said.

"The Myriad Treasure Convention? I have heard about this. In that case, it looks like I'll be attending this convention in a few years." Han Li contemplated this offer momentarily before nodding in response.

"Alright, then it's decided. I'll bring out the spirit medicine seeds I have, and you can see if any of them catch your eye. After that, we can exchange items that we can use to identify one another so we don't have to waste time searching for each other during the convention." The woman smiled, and a hint of seduction had crept into her gentle and pleasant voice.

Han Li had no objection to this and agreed to that arrangement.

After a while, Han Li emerged from the hall with a faint smile on his face.

This trip to the market had reaped him many unexpected rewards.

The materials on the list enclosed in that jade slip that Han Li had given to that woman weren't just for pill and tool refinement; many of them were items he required to refine the High Zenith Azure Mountain. The refinement of this mountain was going to be far more troublesome than that of the Extreme Essencefused Mountain.

Not only did it require far more materials, many of those materials were extremely rare and difficult to find in the Spirit Realm. Thankfully, there were many other substitute materials listed in the refinement method, and many of these materials were spirit bones and demon cores.

There naturally weren't many materials of this nature to be found on human territory, so he didn't even bother giving this list to the four cultivators.

However, after encountering that demonic woman in the hall, he naturally decided to give her a list of those materials.

The demon race wasn't all that powerful, but it encompassed countless types of different beasts, and it had existed in the Spirit Realm for so many years, so they had to have a massive supply of materials such as spirit bones and inner cores.

If that woman could source most of those materials for him, she would be doing him a huge favor. If he were lucky, perhaps he would be able to track down even more of those materials during that Myriad Treasure Convention.

As for the rest, he would just have to slowly search for them over time.

With that in mind, Han Li returned to the first shop that he had visited in an unhurried manner. The shopkeeper had already prepared a storage bracelet and was respectfully awaiting his return.

Han Li took the storage bracelet and briefly examined its contents, upon which his brows furrowed slightly.

As he had expected, there weren't many materials in the storage bracelet; it seemed that he would have to rely quite heavily on the four cultivators to gather the rest of what he needed.

After issuing the spirit stones for the materials, Han Li departed from the shop and didn't go anywhere else. Instead, he rose up into the air as a streak of azure light and headed straight for the Immortal Gathering Pavilion, which was a place that was designated for high-grade cultivators to stay in Deep Heaven City.

Even though it was referred to as a pavilion, the Immortal Gathering Pavilion was actually a cluster of a dozen or so pavilions.

Each pavilion was 13 levels tall, and all of them had been extremely intricately crafted. Every one of them was separated by over 10,000 feet, and there were formations and restrictions that isolated them from one another.

Not only was this place extremely expensive to live in, one didn't even have the right to live here unless they were at the Spatial Tempering Stage or above.

Of course, this Immortal Gather Pavilion mostly provided lodging for Spatial Tempering cultivators. There had been Body Integration cultivators who had lived here before, but they were extremely rare, and perhaps only one or two of them would turn up every several hundred years.

Thus, Han Li made no effort to conceal his Body Integration Stage aura and directly revealed it to the owner of the Immortal Gathering Pavilion.

The Deity Transformation Stage owner was naturally given a massive fright, and immediately chose the pavilion in the best location for Han Li, and also sent the most beautiful servants to his pavilion.

Han Li wasn't planning to stay here for too long anyway, so he accepted these arrangements.

After asking the servants to clean up the pavilion, he went to the top floor and began to meditate.

The next morning, Han Li was meditating atop a futon when he suddenly opened his eyes, and murmured to himself, "Looks like someone decided to come, after all. However, this aura is a little unfamiliar, and it's mid-Body Integration cultivator, so it looks like it's not Elder Qi from last time."

This was rather surprising to him, and moments later, the sound of gentle footsteps rang out from downstairs, following which the nervous voice of one of the servants sounded from down below.

"Esteemed senior, Buddhist Monk Jin Yue of our city has come to visit."

Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this name, and he replied, "Alright, I'll come down right away."

He wasn't overly familiar with the other elders of Deep Heaven City, but this Buddhist Monk Jin Yue was one of the two ascended Body Integration cultivators of Deep Heaven City, and Han Li had heard much about him.

However, it was said that this elder was constantly in seclusion within a secret area of the city, and almost no one ever got a chance to see him aside from members of the panel of elders.

It was no wonder that the servants of the pavilion were so nervous now that such an important figure had suddenly come to visit.

However, he had expected this visit as he had revealed his cultivation base to those two Dark Azure Guards, so even if this Buddhist Monk Jin Yue hadn't come to visit him, another elder of Deep Heaven City would've most likely been sent here in his stead anyway.

With that in mind, Han Li made a hand seal, and spiritual light flashed around him, following which his body suddenly became blurry and indistinct.

In the hall on the first floor of the pavilion, there was a monk with a golden kasaya draped over his body inspecting a piece of antique artwork hanging on the wall. There were several beautiful servants beside him who wore extremely excited expressions, and all of a sudden, the monk abruptly turned toward an empty corner of the hall.

In the next instant, azure light flashed in that corner, and a humanoid figure appeared. It was none other than Han Li.

"I hope you don't mind my unannounced visit, Fellow Daoist Han," the monk said as he extended a salute toward Han Li.

"Not at all. I've heard much about you, esteemed Buddhist monk." Han Li hurriedly cupped his fist to return the salute before focusing his gaze on the monk before him.

This was an elderly monk with a white beard that was around half a foot in length. His face resembled a pile of wrinkles, and his eyes were nothing more than narrow slits; it was as if he were so old that he couldn't even open his eyes properly.

"Hehe, I was made aware by you through a letter that Elder Qi sent to me not long ago. I heard that you've progressed from the Deity Transformation Stage to the Body Integration Stage in just a few hundred years, and you're also an ascended cultivator. On top of that, you've also been a Dark Azure Guard, is that all correct?" Buddhist Monk Jin Yue smiled as he cut straight to the chase.

Han Li faltered momentarily before smiling as he replied, "You sure are a straightforward man, Fellow Daoist Jin Yue. Indeed, that is all correct. I encountered many vastly fortunate opportunities during the past several centuries. Otherwise, there's no way I'd be at my current cultivation base."

"Hehe, all those who have reached our level have encountered their fair share of miraculous opportunities. However, even if your rate of progression isn't completely unheard of, there are definitely very few humans in history to have achieved what you have," the monk said in a benevolent manner.

Han Li naturally offered a modest response.

"I heard from Elder Qi that you have no intention of joining our Deep Heaven City. That's a real pity; if you had agreed, then I wouldn't be the only ascended cultivator left on the panel of elders," the monk said in a disappointed manner.

"The only ascended cultivator left? If I recall correctly, isn't Daoist Master Lei Luo on the panel of elders as well? Could it be..." Han Li's voice trailed off here.

"Fellow Daoist Lei Luo perished back when the foreign races attacked our city," the monk sighed as a wry smile appeared on his face.

"That's very unfortunate. I had only been aware that two elders had passed away, but I didn't think that Fellow Daoist Lei Luo would be one of them," Han Li replied in a surprised manner.

The monk uttered a few solemn Buddhist mantras before continuing, "Even though you've already declined Elder Qi's invitation, as a fellow ascended cultivator, I would still like to extend another invitation for you to join our city's panel of elders. As I'm sure you're aware, us ascended cultivators are different from native cultivators, and the vast majority of ascended human cultivators have gathered in Deep Heaven City."

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"If you and I were both on the panel of elders, I'm sure we'll be able to drastically improve the conditions for many ascended cultivators here," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said in a solemn manner.

A solemn look also appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this, but after a brief hesitation, he still shook his head in response. "As an ascended cultivator myself, I'm naturally aware of the circumstances surrounding us ascended cultivators. However, this is not something that you and I can change on our own. Even if I were to join the panel of elders, it wouldn't make much of a difference, and I would be swept up in undesirable conflicts. Ever since I embarked on my path of cultivation, I've been determined to walk this path to the point of immortality. Even though I've reached the Body Integration Stage, I'm still far from being able to ascend to the True Immortal Realm, so I can't divert my attention to other matters."

Buddhist Monk Jin Yue could tell that Han Li had made up his mind, and he heaved a faint sight as he said, "I am truly in awe and admiration of your ambition, Fellow Daoist. In that case, I won't try to persuade you any further. Do you have any important matters that you need to attend to here in Deep Heaven City? Perhaps I can lend you my assistance in some matters."

"Thank you for your kind offer, but I'm only here to complete some menial tasks such as purchasing some materials," Han Li replied in a polite manner.

"Hehe, I see. If you do need any help with anything, you can come and find me. I'm sure I'll be able to help you out with most things here in Deep Heaven City," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said.

Han Li naturally extended his gratitude upon hearing this.

After that, Han Li and this Buddhist Monk Jin Yue began to discuss some cultivation experiences, which was something that almost all Body Integration cultivators who were on good terms with one another did.

After all, this was the limit for most cultivators, and as for the legendary Grand Ascension Stage and Tribulation Transcendence Stage, those were virtually completely out of reach, and even the most powerful races in the Spirit Realm only had one or two such beings on average.

Hence, without anyone else available to offer them guidance, Body Integration cultivators could only attempt to resolve their own cultivation issues by communicating with others.

This Buddhist Monk Jin Yue was already a mid-Body Integration cultivator and was only one step away from reaching the late-Body Integration Stage, so he had a far greater wealth of cultivation experience than that early-Body Integration Stage Elder Qi.

In contrast, Han Li possessed several powerful abilities and was also using the Provenance True Devil Arts, which was a simultaneous cultivation art that no one had ever used before, so he naturally had many unique cultivation insights to offer as well.

Thus, both of them benefited greatly from their discussion, and they conversed for an entire day and night. Only on the next morning did Buddhist Monk Jin Yue depart in an elated manner.

After that, Han Li returned to the top floor and continued to meditate.

No more Body Integration cultivators came to visit him after that, so they had to be either busy or had already learned from Buddhist Monk Jin Yue that there was no way he would join the panel of elders.

Six days passed in a flash, and on the seventh day, the one that he was waiting for finally arrived.

Before the servants on the lower floors even had a chance to alert him, he abruptly rose to his feet from his futon and descended from the top floor.

The servants were chatting with one another in a bored manner, and they were all given a fright by Han Li's sudden emergence. They hurriedly approached him before extending respectful curtseys, in response to which Han Li waved a hand and said, "You can all wait outside for now. The one that I'm waiting for has already arrived, so you can invite her in."

The Foundation Establishment Stage servants all faltered momentarily upon hearing this before immediately doing as they were told.

Meanwhile, Han Li himself sat down in the main seat, and moments later, a woman with a complexion that was as fair as jade was led into the room by one of the servants.

This woman was tall and slender and wore a blue palatial dress; it was none other than Fairy Xue, who had already progressed to the Deity Transformation Stage.

"It really is you, Senior Han, and you really have progressed to the Body Integration Stage."

Han Li's appearance was almost identical to how it had been several centuries ago, so the woman was immediately able to identify him and hurriedly extended a respectful curtsey.

Seeing as she was a descendant of Fairy Ice Soul, Han Li had been quite benevolent toward her and occasionally gave her some guidance in cultivation, so her respect toward Han Li was also intermingled with gratitude.

As such, as soon as she returned to Deep Heaven City and heard that Han Li had reappeared in the city, she immediately came to the Immortal Gathering Pavilion to find him.

Upon hearing about how he had progressed to the Body Integration Stage, she had been just as astonished as the elderly man with the Yue surname.

However, this was simply too far-fetched, and even on her way here, she had still been rather skeptical.

Now that she was in Han Li's presence and could sense his powerful aura, she naturally had no further suspicions and was both surprised, but also elated for his progress.

"No need for formalities. You and I are old acquaintances, so take a seat," Han Li said with a smile.

"Thank you, Senior." Fairy Xu hesitated momentarily before doing as she was told and taking a seat beside Han Li.

At this moment, a servant strode in with a platter, upon which sat two cups of fragrant spirit tea.

"You can all go now. Don't come in unless I tell you to," Han Li instructed.

"Yes!" the servant replied before exiting the room.

Only then did Han Li sweep a sleeve toward the door, and it immediately swung shut on its own.

At the same time, a layer of blue light flashed, and the pavilion's built-in restriction was activated to isolate the entire hall.

Fairy Xu's heart stirred slightly upon seeing this, and a slightly solemn look appeared on her face. Han Li clearly wouldn't be doing this unless he had a secretive topic to discuss with her.

"Fairy Xu, I wanted to see you as I wanted to verify one thing. You're a descendant of Fairy Ice Soul, is that correct?" Han Li asked in a serious manner.

Fairy Xue faltered momentarily before replying, "Fairy Ice Soul is indeed an ancestor of mine; I wouldn't dare to lie to you about this, Senior."

"Alright, in that case, do you know where Fairy Ice Soul is? I would like to meet her," Han Li said in a slow voice.

"You want to meet her?" Fairy Xu was slightly stumped by this request.

"Do you not know where she is, either?" Han Li asked with furrowed brows.

"I am indeed a descendant of Fairy Ice Soul, but by the time I was born, she had already been missing for tens of thousands of years. However, I heard from the seniors of my family that at the time, she had also just reached the Body Integration Stage and had been invited to join Deep Heaven City. However, she seemed to have something to do at the time and turned down the offer. After that, she left the city and was never seen again," Fairy Xu replied with a wry smile.

"I see. Looks like there's no way to meet her, then. Aside from yourself, are there any other descendants of Fairy Ice Soul?" Han Li asked.

Han Li seemed to have some ties with Fairy Ice Soul, so after a brief pause for contemplation, Fairy Xu decided to give a truthful reply. "Truth be told, after so many years, Fairy Ice Soul's descendants have already split up into a dozen or so branches of different sizes. Some of them have even used the cultivation arts left behind my Fairy Ice Soul to found two small sects. However, from a bloodline perspective, our Xu Family is definitely the most direct lineal descendant branch of Fairy Ice Soul. Even our surname is the same as Fairy Ice Soul's."

"Who is the current leader of your Xu Family? Is it you, Fellow Daoist?" Han Li asked with a smile.

"Surely you jest, Senior. Our Xu Family may not be one of the legendary true spirit families, but we're still quite a renowned family in this region. The current leader of the family is my father, and there are also a few important seniors in our family as well," Fairy Xu replied after a brief hesitation.

Han Li stroked his chin with a smile before asking, "In that case, you wouldn't mind if I paid your father a visit, would you?"

The woman was quite taken aback to hear this, and she said in a hesitant manner, "It would naturally be an honor for our Xu Family to be graced with your esteemed presence, but would you be able to reveal the reason behind this, Senior Han?"

"Hehe, there's no need for you to worry. I was simply given a request to deliver an item to Fairy Ice Soul or one of her direct lineal descendants. Seeing as your Xu Family is the most direct lineal branch of Fairy Ice Soul's bloodline, then I'll just deliver this item to your father," Han Li explained in a truthful manner.

"I see. Would you be able to tell me who is asking for this item to be delivered? Would it happen to be someone I know of?" Fairy Xu asked in a rather surprised manner.

"Hehe, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't know this person. As for whether anyone else in your Xu Family knows of him, that's not something that I'm aware of," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

A hesitant look appeared on Fairy Xu's face upon hearing this, and only after a long while did she finally make a decision. "In that case, allow me to accompany you back to our Xu Family. I just returned from a patrol mission, so I have a six-month break. Our Xu Family is in the Tian Yuan Region, so the teleportation formations in the city should be able to take us there."

"Hehe, it would naturally be best if you could accompany me in person, Fairy Xu," Han Li said with a smile.

"Alright, then allow me to return to my cave abode to prepare for the trip. If it's alright with you, we can leave in two days." Fairy Xu rose to her feet as she spoke.

"I don't have to make any preparations, so I can go at any time. Departing in two days will be fine for me as well," Han Li agreed with a nod after a brief pause for contemplation.

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"Seeing as you have no objections, I'll be sure to meet you at the center of the city at the agreed time. Also, my real name is Xu Qianyu, and you can refer to me as such, Senior. I wouldn't dare to refer to myself as 'fairy' in your presence," Xu Qianyu said as she lowered her head in a respectful manner.

Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before shaking his head with a smile. "Haha, there's no need to be so subdued, Fellow Daoist Qianyu."

Not long after that, Xu Qianyu took her leave and departed. Even though she had two days and her cave abode was quite close to Deep Heaven City, the return trip would still be quite time-consuming, so she didn't dare to delay.

Han Li paid a visit to the scholarly man and the others again, and gave them another list, this time with the materials he had already purchased removed.

After that, he returned to the Immortal Gathering Pavilion and didn't go anywhere else.

Almost at the exact same time, there were five or six cultivators gathered within a mysterious hall, and they seemed to be discussing an extremely important and confidential matter.

A white-robed elderly man with a head of silver hair sat with his brows furrowed, and said, "So you're saying there's no chance at all that he'll join our Deep Heaven City."

"I've already done my best, Elder Gu. However, this Fellow Daoist Han is solely dedicated to pursuing the Heavenly Dao and has no intention of joining any power," an old monk in a golden kasaya sighed in response.

It was none other than that Buddhist Monk Jin Yue!

Everyone gathered here possessed very powerful auras, and they were clearly all Body Integration cultivators as well.

These people were naturally none other than the elders of Deep Heaven City.

"In that case, we'll still be unable to fill our quota of 10 members on the panel of elders, which will severely compromise the power of our city. Prior to the battle against the foreign races, not long did our panel of elders have 10 members, we even had Fellow Daoist Silver Light, the backup elder that no outsiders know about. In the city's current situation, once the devilish disaster strikes, we'll be in an extremely dire situation. It's not like this hasn't happened in the past," a burly man in a black leather robe said in a cold voice.

"It's no use. There's no way that the Tyrant Sovereign, Holy Sovereign, and the seven demon monarchs would release any of their Body Integration cultivators to join Deep Heaven City. Everyone knows that the devil realm's arrival is inevitable, and perhaps it'll happen within the next 1,000 years. Everyone's gathering forces to try and protect themselves. After all, the last devilish tribulation only lasted just over 100 years, but during that time, almost half of all of the three sovereigns and seven demon monarchs at the time perished. No one wants to suffer the same fate as them," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said in a resigned manner.

"Are you sure that the devil realm and the Spirit Realm will overlap once again within 1,000 years, Fellow Daoist Jin Yue?" a woman wearing a silver mask suddenly asked in a voice that was very pleasing to the ears.

"I'm absolutely sure that's the case. Not only have warning signs arisen on the holy island, Master Mo Jianli took a risk and used the star disc to make a trip to the Elder Devil Realm. There, he discovered that the elder devils of the devil realm are currently mobilizing troops on a widespread basis to prepare for battle, and it's clear that they're preparing to invade our Spirit Realm. Unfortunately, before Senior Mo had a chance to conduct any further investigation, he was discovered by a Sacred Ancestor of the devil realm and was forced to return to the Spirit Realm.

"From the current situation, it seems extremely likely that the devil realm will descend upon us, perhaps in only several hundred years. Our human and demon territories, as well as the territories of the neighboring few races, all constitute one of the regions where the devil realm will fuse into our spirit realm, so a massive tribulation is unavoidable," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue replied in a grim manner.

"If both the holy island and Master Mo have verified this, then it has to be true. In that case, the three sovereigns and seven demon monarchs, as well as the other major powers must've also received this information, so there's no way they'll be willing to replenish our panel of elders," the white-robed elderly man mused as he stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes.

"Indeed. At the same time, the neighboring foreign races will also be compressing their forces in anticipation for the upcoming devilish tribulation, so they definitely won't be attacking us during this time. The three sovereigns and seven demon monarchs were actually first established as a countermeasure to these devilish tribulations. In reality, not only have no Body Integration Stage elders joined our city since the attack from the foreign races, we haven't even managed to replenish many Spatial Tempering Stage and Deity Transformation Stage guards, and that was even after our panel of elders made a concerted recruitment effort," the masked woman said in a calm manner.

"Our Deep Heaven City suffered extensively at the hands of the foreign races during the previous battle. If we can't replenish our members, then we'll only be able to focus on self-preservation during the upcoming devilish tribulation, instead of sending people to actively slay the invading devilish beings like we did during the last tribulation," a man with a head of hair that resembled purple flames said with furrowed brows.

"There's not much we can do. These devilish tribulations are truly horrific ordeals for cultivators like us. It's a good thing that the devilish beings aren't interested in mortals without any spiritual power. They focus solely on plundering the resources of our Spirit Realm and slaughtering us cultivators, and they very rarely target mortals and ordinary beasts. Otherwise, our human and demon races would've most likely been wiped off the face of the Spirit Realm by these past devilish tribulations already," the white-robed elderly man said with a dark expression.

"Hmph, that's not because those devilish beings are kindhearted philanthropists; they're intentionally leaving the mortals behind like livestock so more cultivators like us can emerge from them, thereby giving them more targets to slaughter when they invade next. After all, the demon cores and Nascent Souls of cultivators like us are the best delicacies for devilish beings," Buddhist Monk Jin Yue said as a cold light flashed through his eyes.

"Furthermore, there are some resources that our two races can't relinquish. Otherwise, we could minimize casualties by gathering in one place and holding the fort until the devil realm separates from the Spirit Realm," the purple-haired man sighed in a resigned manner.

"Seeing as all of the other powers have already made other arrangements in anticipation for the upcoming devilish tribulation, we won't be able to force them to do anything. All we can do is protect Deep Heaven City as best as we can. From this day forth, let's withdraw the restrictions between this city and the neighboring cities so we can transfer the nearby normal people into Deep Heaven City en masse. On top of that, we'll send out some cultivators who are adept in earth-attribute cultivation arts to construct a few empty cities. All we can do is protect the mortals from the nearby area," the white-robed elderly man concluded.

"We still have some time before the devilish tribulation strikes, but it's a good idea to make some preparations in advance. Even though we have formations and restrictions to rely on, it would still be best to recruit as many high-grade cultivators as possible. After all, the most difficult parts of this ordeal to overcome will be the first few waves of attacks, which will be the most ferocious. If we can keep the devilish beings at bay, they'll most likely be forced to ease off to limit their casualties as well, thereby resulting in an impasse.

"It won't be possible for any beings of our human race to progress to the Body Integration Stage in the next few centuries, but I've heard that there are some beings in your demon race who are recently making breakthrough attempts to the Body Integration Stage, so I'll have to ask you to keep an eye on them, Fellow Daoist Bao," the white-robed elderly man suddenly said to the black-robed man.

"I'll be sure to do so. There are indeed a few exceptionally talented juniors who have recently appeared in our demon race, and there's a decent chance that one or more of them will be able to progress to the Body Integration Stage," the black-robed man replied with a nod.

Following a brief hesitation, the white-robed elderly man then turned to the masked woman. "Speaking of the demon race, there's something I would like to ask Fellow Daoist Silver Light, but I'm not sure if I should."

"We've been acquaintances for so many years; you can feel free to ask me anything, Brother Gu," the masked woman said in a rather curious manner.

"In that case, I'll go right ahead. Is Senior Ao Xiao of your demon race still alive and well?" the white-robed elderly man asked.

The masked woman faltered slightly before taking a glance at the black-robed man before chuckling, "Oh, so that's what you wanted to ask? That's certainly not a taboo topic. However, I'm not the only demonic elder here; why did you decide to ask me?"

"Why ask a question you already know the answer to, Fairy Silver Light? You may not be from the Silvermoon Wolf Race, but you possess part of the Silvermoon Wolf bloodline, and you had once stayed with Senior Ao Xiao for over 1,000 years. If anyone here were to know anything about Senior Ao Xiao's recent situation, then it can only be you," the black-robed man countered as he raised an eyebrow.

"That is indeed true. Senior Ao Xiao was sighted once on the Giant Cloud Mountain over 3,000 years ago, but no news of him has emerged since. Senior Ao Xiao is one of the two Grand Ascension Stage beings among our human and demon races, so we're naturally very eager to hear how he's doing in the face of the imminent devilish tribulation," the white-robed elderly man said in a solemn manner.

Everyone also turned to appraise the masked woman with concerned expressions upon hearing this.

A hint of hesitation flashed through the woman's eyes, and only after a long pause did she reply in a resigned manner, "I'm naturally aware of your concerns. Indeed, ever since our human and demon races were established in the Spirit Realm, no one has been able to transcend more than 20 major heavenly tribulations, and Senior Ao Xiao was approaching his 21st major heavenly tribulation all those years ago, so many fellow Daoists were quite concerned for him. After all, Senior Ao Xiao and Senior Mo are the two pillars who have ensured the safety of our two races for countless years. Rest assured, Patriarch Ao Xiao didn't perish during his last major heavenly tribulation. However, he had expended a lot of energy during the ordeal, so he's been in seclusion this entire time."

"Is that true?" An elated look immediately appeared on the black-robed man's face upon hearing this.

As a demonic elder, he was naturally more concerned than the human elders present about this Grand Ascension Stage patriarch of the demon race.

The white-robed elderly man and the others also heaved a collective sigh of relief.

"Several hundred years ago, I met Fairy Ling Long, who has been by the patriarch's side all these years, and according to her, the patriarch's recovery is going very smoothly, so he should be able to emerge from seclusion in full health soon," the masked woman assured.

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The purple-haired man was a human cultivator, but he also seemed to know about this, and he said in a slightly surprised manner. "Fairy Ling Long? Is that the concubine that returned with Divine Wolf Celestial Kui from the lower realm? I heard that not only is this Fellow Daoist Ling Long a direct lineal descendant of Senior Ao Xiao's, she's also extremely adored by Divine Wolf Celestial Kui."

"That's right. Back when Fellow Daoist Ling Long returned from the lower realm, she was only at the late-Deity Transformation Stage, yet last time we met, she had already reached the pinnacle of the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage and seems to be about to progress to the late-Spatial Tempering Stage soon. Perhaps she'll also be able to make a breakthrough before the devilish tribulation arrives. After all, that woman's aptitude was vastly renowned even in the Silvermoon Wolf Race. If it hadn't been for the fact that she had been trapped in the lower realm for so long, perhaps she would be one of us already," the masked woman sighed.

"No matter how outstanding her aptitude is, the fact that she was able to improve so drastically by staying by Senior Ao Xiao's side for just a few centuries is testament to Senior Ao Xiao's extraordinary powers. However, if she's the divine wolf's concubine, then why is she staying with Senior Ao Xiao? Does Senior Ao Xiao have some plans for her?" the purple-haired man asked in an intrigued manner.

The masked woman hesitated momentarily before speculating, "I'm not particularly sure about the details there. However, I heard from others in my race that some strain seems to have appeared in Fairy Ling Long's relationship with Fellow Daoist Celestial Kui after she emerged from the lower realm. Apparently, it was Senior Ao Xiao who stepped in to take her away. Perhaps it's because they're both displeased by how Divine Wolf Celestial Kui had left her in the lower realm for so many years."

"Alright, the important thing is that Senior Ao Xiao is alive and well; there's no need for us to speculate about others. Next, we should discuss the imminent arrival of the envoys from the Yaksha Tribe and the Wood Tribe. Those two tribes have most likely sent envoys to us with the devilish tribulation in their consideration." The white-robed elderly man suddenly moved on to another topic.

Everyone else's expressions stirred slightly, and they all began to listen with intent focus.

Thus, time slowly passed by, and the meeting between the elders of Deep Heaven City lasted for over half a day before it was adjourned.

Two days later, a certain teleportation formation within Deep Heaven City suddenly lit up, and two humanoid figures vanished from the center of the formation.

At the same time, a loud buzzing sound suddenly rang out from a certain formation within a large city that was far away from Deep Heaven City.

Bright white light suddenly erupted from a carefully guarded teleportation formation, and the chatting guards were all startled by this before immediately turning their attention to the teleportation formation.

This teleportation formation was deemed to be extremely important by the mid and high-grade cultivators in the city, and it was regularly maintained and tightly guarded. However, due to the astronomical teleportation fee required to use it, very few people actually make use of it at all. The teleportation formation would only be used a handful of times per year at most, and its users were naturally all powerful cultivators.

Thus, as two humanoid figures began to appear at the center of the formation, the Core Formation guards immediately stood up straight and put on respectful expressions.

A young man emerged from the teleportation formation first, and he looked around before asking one of the armored guards, "Is this Maple Forest City?"

"This is indeed Maple Forest City, Senior. We welcome you to our city!" the armored guard replied in a respectful manner.

The guards had already assessed these two with their spiritual sense, but were completely unable to ascertain their cultivation bases, so they naturally didn't dare to display any rudeness to the two of them.

"Good." The young man smiled before striding out of the hall with another woman with skin as fair as jade, who had just emerged from the formation as well.

These two were naturally none other than Han Li and Fairy Xu, who had just teleported here from Deep Heaven City.

Even though the Xu Family wasn't actually in Maple Forest City, this was the closest city to the one the Xu Family was in that was still accessible via teleportation.

After passing through several lines of guards, the two of them finally emerged from the hall, and they found themselves on a massive bluestone plaza.

The plaza was very plain and simple, and was constructed from massive azure tiles with no other eye-catching embellishments. However, there were some pavilions surrounding the plaza.

Aside from the several groups of armored guards patrolling the area, there were no other cultivators around.

Han Li spread his spiritual sense into the distance, and his expression changed ever so slightly.

The plaza was situated halfway up a mountain that was over 10,000 feet tall, and there were many buildings, as well as rows of orderly streets, surrounding the foot of the mountain.

Han Li turned toward the summit of the mountain to find that there was a small palace up there. Not only was the exterior of the palace quite lavish and grandiose, there were several auras within it that were of the Spatial Tempering Stage.

It seemed that those were the high-grade cultivators who were responsible for overseeing the city.

Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense before waving a sleeve through the air in an expressionless manner. A burst of azure light swept forth from his body, enveloping himself along with Fairy Xu, and the two of them instantly departed as a streak of azure light.

Within a certain room in the palace at the mountain summit, there were three Spatial Tempering cultivators sitting around a table that was filled with delicious dishes, and they seemed to be enjoying a very pleasant conversation.

All of a sudden, they abruptly fell silent before exchanging a few astonished glances with one another.

"What was that? That burst of spiritual sense was so powerful; could it be that a Body Integration Stage Senior suddenly came to our city?" an elderly man in a brocade robe murmured.

"Judging from how powerful that spiritual sense was, it seems that it really is a Body Integration cultivator. I wonder if it's one of the sovereigns or one of the elders of Deep Heaven City," a middle-aged man in a suit of white armor said in a bewildered manner.

The third cultivator was a young man wearing a shimmering golden headband, and he said, "From what I've heard, the sovereigns are all busy preparing for a major event in Deep Heaven City, so there's no way that they would have the spare time to come here; it should be one of the Deep Heaven City elders."

"Oh, if it's an elder of Deep Heaven City, then he must be merely passing through the city. He seems to be in quite a hurry, so there's no need for us to go and greet him." The brocade-robed elderly man heaved a sigh of relief as his expression eased slightly.

"That may be the case, but our Maple Forest City is quite a secluded place in the Tian Yan Region; what's an elder of Deep Heaven City doing here?" The white-armored middle-aged man was still a little concerned.

"Hehe, who knows? Those Body Integration Stage beings have always been mysterious and unpredictable anyway. As long as he's not here for us, why should we care what he's up to? I'm glad he's not sticking around in our city," the young man said as a slightly twisted look appeared on his face.

The elderly man was clearly quite careful and cautious, and after a brief pause for contemplation, he said in a solemn manner, "That's true. However, we should still tell all of our subordinates to be more careful during this time so they don't cause any trouble for us."

"Indeed. Our city isn't under the jurisdiction of Deep Heaven City, but that was still a Body Integration Stage being, so it can't hurt to be more careful," the white-armored man replied with a nod.

The conversation between the three of them seemed to suggest that they were trying to hide something deplorable they had done.

Unbeknownst to Han Li, his arrival had struck the three city lords with a strong sense of unease.

Under Xu Qianyu's guidance, they flew out of Maple Forest City before continuing southbound.

According to her, this was the nearest city to the Xu Family that was inhabited by cultivators, but it was still around a month's travel away from where the Xu Family was situated.

Thus, not long after this, Han Li released a flying carriage, and the two of them got on the carriage to continue in their journey.

This place was clearly quite secluded, and after flying a few hundred thousand kilometers away from Maple Forest City, there were barely any humans that could be seen on the ground below.

Even the occasional small towns they passed by were inhabited by both mortals and cultivators.

However, around half a month later, they had entered a hilly region, and there were no traces of any living beings other than some beasts that roamed the valleys.

What was rather surprising to Han Li was that although this hilly area wasn't completely devoid of spiritual Qi, the spiritual Qi here was clearly far more sparse than it was in other places.

As for spirit veins, that was something that they hadn't encountered a single one of even after flying for so many days.

"Why did your Xu Family decide to settle in a place like this?" Han Li couldn't help but ask.

"Please allow me to not answer that question for now, Senior. You'll find out the reason for yourself soon," Xu Qianyu said as a mysterious smile appeared on her face.

"Oh? That sounds very intriguing." Han Li truly was growing a little curious, but his expression remained unchanged.

After flying for another half a month or so, the yellow and green hills down below suddenly began to take on a red tinge. Regardless of whether it was the mountains, the soil, or the plains, all of them had become slightly red.

In the beginning, Han Li hadn't paid much heed to this. However, after flying for a few more days, the entire ground down below had completely turned into a reddish-yellow color, and he couldn't ignore this phenomenon any longer.

After carefully sweeping his spiritual sense over the ground a few times, a contemplative look appeared on his face.

"Looks like you've finally figured it out, Senior," Xu Qianyu chuckled.

"I see. So there's a large copper essence mine here; no wonder your family decided to settle here despite the lack of spiritual Qi in the area," Han Li said with a smile.

"Indeed. The seniors of our family had engaged in some heated arguments about whether the family should settle here when they first arrived in this place over 10,000 years ago. In the end, they decided to settle here, and our family has become quite wealthy as a result, but the cultivation of the members of our family has indeed been hampered. It's hard to say whether the benefits or the downsides outweigh the other," Xu Qianyu sighed in a slightly resigned manner.

Han Li nodded upon hearing this, but didn't say anything in response. Xu Qianyu also fell silent and left Han Li to his thoughts.

Several days later, a hint of lush greenery finally appeared in the sky in the distance, and the spiritual Qi surging toward them struck Han Li with a sense of reinvigoration. He knew that they were finally about to reach the Xu Family.

Sure enough, not long after that, a small lush mountain range appeared before his eyes. There was only an ordinary spirit vein in this mountain range, but the spiritual Qi here was still vastly more abundant than it was in the surrounding area.

There were all types of buildings on the dozen or so mountains in the mountain range, and there were some profound fluctuations between the mountains, clearly indicating that some powerful formations and restrictions had been set up.

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"We've arrived, Senior. Let me notify the members of my family so my father can greet you," Xu Qianyu said as the flying carriage circled around in the air near the mountain range.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense over the mountain range, and his expression changed slightly as he nodded in response. "So this is the Xu Family. As expected, you've really found a good place. Alright, then, I'll wait here for you."

Due to the fact that he had made no attempt to conceal his flying carriage, the Xu Family cultivators on guard duty had already noticed their presence, and a burst of restriction fluctuations erupted as a dozen or so streaks of light flew out of the mountain range down below, and they certainly didn't seem to be approaching with friendly intentions.

After securing permission from Han Li, Xu Qianyu flew toward the cultivators of her family as a streak of white light, and she reached them after just a few flashes.

All of those cultivators clearly recognized the daughter of their family leader, and the lights around them all faded to reveal a series of cultivators, all of whom had elated looks on their faces.

Xu Qianyu merely said something to them with a smile on her face, then descended with them toward the mountain range down below.

Meanwhile, Han Li patiently waited on his flying carriage, and a short while later, delightful music began to play within the mountain range.

Two groups of young women in white and red palatial dresses flew out of one of the mountains, and even though they were all only at the Core Formation and Foundation Establishment Stages, all of them were very beautiful and wore respectful expressions.

Behind these women were three people, one of which was none other than Xu Qianyu. The one at the center of the trio was a scholarly white-robed man, while the final person to complete the trio was a massive burly man with an unruly beard and a pair of large menacing intimidating eyes.

The two groups of women stopped several hundred feet away from the flying carriage, while the trio continued onward and only stopped after reaching Han Li.

"Junior Xu Jiao pays his respects to Senior Han. Please forgive me for not coming out to greet you sooner."

The white-robed man appeared to be around 30 years of age and had a set of ordinary facial features. However, he was at the late-Deity Transformation Stage, so he wasn't weak by any means. In the presence of Han Li, he hurriedly extended a deep bow with a respectful look on his face.

"Junior Xu Lu also pays his respects to Senior Han." The burly man was at the mid-Deity Transformation Stage, and he also extended a respectful bow.

"Are you the leader of the Xu Family, Fellow Daoist Xu Jiao?" Han Li asked in an indifferent manner as he appraised the white-robed man.

"Indeed. I've been the Xu Family Leader for around 1,000 years now," the white-robed man replied in a truthful manner.

Han Li nodded, and asked, "I'm sure Fellow Daoist Qianyu has informed you of the purpose of my visit, right?"

"She did, indeed. We are truly grateful that you've graced us with a visit for the sake of our matriarch. However, this is not a suitable place to talk; please follow me and we'll discuss these matters inside," the white-robed man said in a respectful manner.

Han Li nodded in response. "Alright, lead the way."

Thus, Han Li withdrew his flying carriage, and drifted down from the sky.

The white-robed man and burly man accompanied Han Li on either side, while Xu Qianyu followed along a half step behind them.

After arriving in the air above the mountain range, Xu Jiao flipped a hand over to summon a green badge before gently sweeping it through the air.

A burst of violent spatial fluctuations suddenly erupted over the entire mountain range, and the dozen or so mountains twisted and warped like mirages before vanishing into nothingness.

The mountains were still the same mountains, but they were now in completely different locations to where they were situated before.

The dozen or so mountains had all shifted several kilometers in location, so presumably, if someone had tried to directly attack the Xu Family using a powerful ability, then they would completely miss all of the mountains and buildings.

Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly, and he suddenly remarked, "This is a mirage illusionary realm! I didn't think that you'd have access to such a legendary ancient restriction."

"Hehe, I'm sure it's nothing much in your eyes, Senior. Around 10,000 years ago, our Xu Family enlisted the service of an extremely talented formation master, and it took him his entire life to restore most of this ancient illusionary formation. It's a pity that his cultivation base was rather lackluster. Otherwise, if he had lived for some time longer, then perhaps he would've been able to completely restore the formation," Xu Jiao chuckled in response, seemingly also quite proud of this formation.

"Indeed, with this formation, the Xu Family will be very safe and secure," Han Li said with a faint smile before falling silent.

Xu Jiao was slightly disappointed to see this.

It was quite rare for a Body Integration cultivator to assess their formation, so he naturally hoped that Han Li would offer some more in-depth analysis.

"Senior, do you think this formation would be able to withstand a Body Integration cultivator's attack?" the burly man asked in a careful manner.

"A Body Integration cultivator's attack? Hehe..." A hint of a smile appeared on Han Li's face as he glanced at the burly man, but he didn't offer a direct response.

"Are you saying that this formation will be ineffective against a Body Integration cultivator, Senior?" the white-robed man asked in a hesitant manner.

After a brief pause, Han Li replied in a calm manner, "I don't know whether it would be effective or not, but there are indeed a few fallacies in the formation, presumably because it hasn't been completely restored. If a cultivator with lackluster prowess in the art of formations were to encounter this restriction, then they would certainly have some trouble trying to circumvent it. However, in the face of a Body Integration cultivator who's adept in the art of formations, this incomplete mirage illusionary realm really won't do much for you." He then casually pointed out the points on the mountain range where the restriction had been set up.

"You can identify the fallacies in this formation, Senior?" The white-robed man was quite surprised to hear this.

Xu Qianyu and the burly man exchanged a glance, and they could see their own astonishment mirrored in one another's eyes.

"I once read a tome with information regarding this formation, so I'm naturally able to identify the fallacies in this incomplete formation," Han Li said in a nonchalant manner.

This was indeed true. Even though this type of ancient formation had already been lost in the human race for countless years, he discovered a bunch of ancient formation tomes in a market while passing through the territory of a foreign race on his way back to Deep Heaven City.

These tomes had all been written in ancient human text, and that particular foreign race had very little interest in formations, so the tomes were being sold like trash among a bunch of miscellaneous items.

Han Li couldn't help but wonder which powerful human being had taken these ancient tomes out of the human race, only for them to end up on the territory of that foreign race.

Han Li naturally wasn't going to pass up this opportunity, and he purchased all of those ancient formation tomes for next to nothing.

During his journey over the territories of the other foreign races, Han Li had encountered many similar situations, so he didn't pay much heed to it.

However, he was now able to compare this incomplete formation with the complete version on the tome, which naturally allowed him to instantly identify its fallacies.

Xu Jiao was naturally unaware of this chapter of Han Li's past, but he was quite stunned to hear that Han Li had the complete method for setting up this mirage illusionary formation.

He didn't know how this Senior Han had gotten his hands on such an ancient formation tome that had been lost for so many years, but if that really were true, then wouldn't the formation guarding the Xu Family be as good as nonexistent in his eyes?

Furthermore, he was only making a few points about the formation, but all of them were extremely valid and applicable, so he certainly didn't seem to be lying.

Thus, the white-robed man still maintained a smile, but it had become slightly forced.

Han Li paid no heed to this and merely continued onward in an unhurried manner.

Han Li's group was led by the two groups of young beauties to a massive hall at the center of the mountain range.

There was a pair of elderly men who bore a strong resemblance to one another waiting for them there.

"Senior Han, let me introduce to you my two grand-uncles. They were originally in seclusion, but they came out to greet you upon hearing about your arrival," Xu Jiao immediately introduced to Han Li.

"Juniors Xu Huo and Xu Yan pay their respects to Senior Han!" The pair of elderly men hurriedly extended respectful salutes toward Han Li. One of them was at the early-Spatial Tempering Stage, while the other was at the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage, and it was quite astonishing to see two beings of this caliber in a normal family of cultivators.

After all, some of the smaller cultivation families could be established even with just a single Deity Transformation cultivator among their ranks.

It seemed that Xu Qianyu hadn't been exaggerating when she said that her Xu Family was relatively renowned in the Tian Yuan Region.

"There's no need for such formalities, fellow Daoists; I'm only here to fulfill a request assigned to me." Han Li waved a hand in response and was quite benevolent toward these two powerful Xu Family cultivators.

They then briefly exchanged some pleasantries before the two elderly men led Han Li into the massive hall.

After everyone had taken a seat, a group of Qi Condensation Stage servants immediately offered cups of spirit tea to everyone present.

Xu Jiao said, "Due to the time constraints, my daughter only briefly disclosed to me the purpose of your visit. I heard that Senior Han has something that needs to be passed on to Fairy Ice Soul or her descendants; is that correct?"

"Indeed. I agreed to run this errand as I owe someone a favor. However, I heard from Fellow Daoist Qianyu that Fairy Ice Soul's descendants aren't just limited to this branch alone. Hence, I'll need to verify your connection to Fairy Ice Soul before I hand over the items," Han Li said in a straightforward manner.

"How would you like us to prove this to you, Senior? All of the other nearby families are aware that we are descendants of Fairy Ice Soul," Xu Huo said after clearing his throat in a slightly stumped manner.

"That shouldn't be too difficult. Anything left behind by Fellow Daoist Ice Soul, such as cultivation arts or treasures that belonged to her, will be sufficient proof of her connection with the Xu Family," Han Li replied in a calm manner.

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Xu Jiao paused momentarily before replying, "Treasures? Prior to her disappearance, Fairy Ice Soul took all of her treasures with her and didn't leave any behind for her descendants. As for cultivation arts, our Xu Family does have a few secret techniques that our matriarch had once used during her days of dominance in the human race. However, the conditions required to cultivate these secret techniques are extremely stringent, and only several people in our family have been able to cultivate them. Thankfully, my granduncle, Xu Yan, is one of them. Granduncle, please demonstrate some of your abilities to Senior Han."

The elderly man hesitated momentarily before nodding in response. "In that case, I'll display some of my abilities as proof."

He then raised an arm to reach a thin and wrinkled hand out of his sleeve, then spread his five fingers slightly before turning his palm upward.

All of a sudden, a ball of blue flames appeared over the center of his palm before transforming into a translucent blue lotus flower. The lotus flower was extremely life-like, and it was as if a real flower had blossomed in his hand.

"Celestial Blue flames!" Han Li murmured to himself.

"Indeed, Senior. This glacial flame was our matriarch's signature ability, and full mastery of it would allow one to seal a vast area in ice within mere moments. Of course, I'm still far from reaching that level," Xu Yan said with a smile on his face. The blue ice lotus revolved within his hand before suddenly surging forward as a burst of blue light, and the space in its wake instantly began to twist and warp, as well as shimmer with blue light.

At this moment, Xu Huo tossed his teacup through the air, and it instantly flew into the shimmering blue space

As soon as the teacup came into contact with the blue light, it was transformed into an ice sculpture that hung within the light in a completely still manner.

Han Li's pupils contracted upon seeing this, and his expression remained unchanged, but a hint of surprise had surfaced in his eyes.

He didn't think that the Celestial Blue flames would possess such an ability. However, upon closer consideration, he decided that this made sense.

The Celestial Blue Flames he had obtained from the Heavenvoid Cauldron hadn't been cultivated by him. As such, the powers of those flames hadn't improved through his cultivation.

In contrast, Xu Yan's glacial flames had been developed purely through cultivation, and he also had the relevant cultivation art, so he would naturally be able to improve the power of these flames over time.

Both of these methods had their own sets of advantages and disadvantages.

Absorbing glacial flames that already existed allowed one to directly attain that ability without having to spend time to cultivate it. However, if they wanted to make the ability more powerful in the future, then they'd only be able to rely on the powers of external items or fuse other glacial flames into the existing one.

In the examples of Xu Yan and Fairy Ice Soul, who had attained these flames through cultivation, the process had taken them a very long time, but as long as they continued to cultivate according to the cultivation art, they would be able to eventually maximize the powers of these flames.

The Celestial Blue flames that Han Li had absorbed had been found by him back in the human world. The Celestial Blue flames that Fairy Ice Soul had left behind at the time were only at the Deity Transformation Stage at most, so they naturally couldn't compare with Xu Yan's glacial flames.

After quickly pondering the situation, Han Li understood everything, and the surprise in his eyes faded.

However, the blue light in front of Xu Yan only lingered for the span of a few breaths before shattering like glass, and the teacup that was suspended in mid-air began to fall.

Xu Huo was already prepared for this, and he immediately waved a hand to draw the frozen teacup back into his grasp.

At the same time, crimson light flashed from his hand, and the layer of blue ice around the teacup instantly melted away, returning it back to its original condition.

"What do you think, Senior Han? Does my granduncle's demonstration prove that we're direct lineal descendants of Fairy Ice Soul?" the white-robed man asked with a smile.

"Those are indeed Celestial Blue flames, and Fellow Daoist Xu Yan has mastered them to an exceptional degree. His ability to control the glacial power without allowing any of it to seep out is truly remarkable," Han Li replied with a smile and a nod.

Xu Jiao was quite pleased to hear this. "Then..."

"Hehe, rest assured, Fellow Daoist, seeing as you are indeed a directly lineal descendant of Fellow Daoist Ice Soul, I'll naturally hand the items over to you," Han Li chuckled before sweeping a sleeve over the table beside him, and azure light flashed, following which two items appeared on the table.

They consisted of a faint blue jade slip, and a pristine white jade box.

Both of the items were sealed tightly with a shimmering golden talisman each, and that was sufficient proof that Han Li hadn't examined these items at all.

The white-robed man glanced at the two items with a serious expression, but instead of reaching out for them right away, he asked in a cautious manner, "Would you be able to tell us who entrusted you with these items now, Senior?"

"It's not that I'm unwilling to tell you; it's just that even if I were to tell you, you wouldn't know who he is. All I can tell you is that this senior isn't from our human or demon race, and his powers are far beyond my own," Han Li said with slightly furrowed brows.

"So he's a foreign being with powers that far surpass even yours?" It was quite apparent that this reply came as quite a revelation to the members of the Xu Family present.

Bewildered looks appeared on all of their faces, and Han Li wasn't surprised by their reactions.

A contemplative look appeared in Xu Jiao's eyes, and he said, "Prior to Fairy Ice Soul's departure, she had only just progressed to the Body Integration Stage, so it's possible that she ventured into the primordial world to explore the entire Tian Yuan Continent. In that case, it certainly wouldn't be implausible for her to acquaint herself with a few seniors from foreign races. Could it be that these two items contain information regarding her whereabouts?"

Xu Yan and Xu Huo exchanged an elated glance, and they said, almost in unison, "It's certainly possible."

Xu Qianyu and the burly man were also quite excited at this prospect.

The white-robed man took a deep breath before drawing the two items on the table into his hands, then said, "I'm only making baseless assumptions here, so don't get too excited. Please wait here for a moment, Senior; I'll be back soon. In the meantime, I'll get Granduncle Yan and Yu'er to keep company."

"Go ahead, Fellow Daoist Xu," Han Li replied with a nod.

Thus, Xu Jiao departed with Xu Huo and the burly man while carrying the two items, leaving only Han Li, Xu Qianyu, and Xu Yan in the hall.

After chatting with Han Li for a while, Xu Yan cupped his fist in a salute, and said, "Senior Han, I heard from Yu'er that it was only thanks to your guidance back in Deep Heaven City that she was able to progress to the Deity Transformation Stage so quickly. I must thank you on behalf of Yu'er as a senior of hers."

"I didn't do much; Fellow Daoist Qianyu's outstanding aptitude is the main reason behind the speed of her progression. I merely looked out for her from time to time," Han Li replied in a calm manner.

"Speaking of which, I heard from Qu'er that you seem to have some kind of connection with our matriarch; is that true, Senior?" Xu Yan asked in a curious manner.

"I haven't ever seen Fairy Ice Soul before, but there is indeed a connection between us. Otherwise, that elder wouldn't have entrusted these items to me. If you still have some doubts, then I'm sure this will dispel them." Han Li pointed a finger upward as he spoke, and a burst of blue flames erupted from his fingertip, then transformed into a blue ice flower.

"Celestial Blue flames!" the elderly man exclaimed as he stared intently at the blue ice flower with astonishment in his eyes.

Xu Qianyu was also quite stunned to see this, and she murmured, "Could it be that you're also..."

"It's not what you think; I merely came across some of the glacial flames that your matriarch left in a lower realm," Han Li explained with a smile.

"I see!" An enlightened look appeared on Xu Yan's face, and there was still a slight hint of suspicion in his eyes, but it wouldn't be appropriate for him to ask any further questions.

After all, Han Li was a Body Integration cultivator, and was not someone to be interrogated by a Spatial Tempering cultivator like him.

Meanwhile, Xu Jiao, the burly man, and Xu Huo were situated in a secret chamber behind the hall. The secret chamber had many layers of restrictions around it, and all three of them were intently scrutinizing the two items on the stone table inside the chamber.

"These talismans truly are very profound; even with our powers, we're unable to force them to peel off. It seems that these items really have been passed onto Senior Han by a foreign Grand Ascension Stage being." Xu Huo seemed to have already attempted to remove the talismans, but the resigned look on his face clearly indicated that he had failed.

"If these really are talismans from a Grand Ascension Stage being, then it only makes sense that we're unable to remove them by force. If we use the power of certain treasures to forcibly destroy these two talismans, we'll most likely damage the two items as well. There has to be another way to do this," Xu Jiao mused as he stroked his chin with a contemplative look on his face.

"If you have an idea, then why not give it a try? We can just try something else if it doesn't work," Xu Huo urged. He was clearly quite eager to access the two items.

Only after a long while did Xu Jiao nod in response in a solemn manner. "You're right, Granduncle. Let me give this a try, then."

He then suddenly raised an arm before opening his mouth to expel a burst of white light.

The white light quickly revolved around his wrist before returning into his mouth in a flash.

However, in the next instant, a faint gash appeared around his wrist, and several drops of blood essence slowly dripped down onto the talisman that sealed the jade slip.

Crimson light flashed momentarily, and the blood essence almost instantly seeped into the talisman.

Immediately thereafter, bright golden light suddenly erupted from the talisman, following which golden runes of different sizes surged forth in a frenzy.

However, all of these golden runes then vanished in an instant. At the same time, the astonishing spiritual Qi erupting from the talisman receded, and the spiritual light also faded.

Xu Jiao was ecstatic to see this, and he knew that he had most likely guessed correctly. Sure enough, only those who had the inherited Fairy Ice Soul's bloodline could safely remove these talismans.

He took a deep breath before gently blowing on the jade slip, and the golden talisman shuddered before silently drifting off the jade slip.

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Xu Huo and the burly man were also ecstatic to see this.

Xu Jiao repressed his own excitement and replicated the same procedure to remove the talisman on the jade box as well.

After glancing hesitantly at the two items for a brief moment, he reached out and grabbed the blue jade slip, then gently pressed it against his forehead before closing his eyes.

Time slowly passed, and the white-robed man's initially calm expression gradually became tinged with a hint of confusion, then slowly transitioned toward astonishment.

Xu Huo and the elderly man glanced at one another upon seeing this, and they couldn't help but grow a little nervous.

Around 10 minutes later, Xu Jiao finally exhaled before removing the jade slip from his forehead in a rather forlorn manner.

"What does it say?" Xu Huo immediately asked.

An urgent look also appeared on the burly man's face.

Xu Jiao returned to his senses before tossing the jade slip over to Xu Huo, seemingly unwilling to say anything. "You should take a look for yourself, Granduncle Huo."

Xu Huo was naturally slightly bewildered as he caught the jade slip, but after a brief hesitation, he also injected his spiritual sense into it.

Meanwhile, Xu Jiao's gaze fell upon the jade box, and after a brief pause, he swept his sleeve over it, upon which the lid of the box flew off on its own.

A swath of black light was swirling within the jade box, and it contained a small red vial that was several inches tall.

There was a strange pattern on the surface of the vial, and it was releasing a faint odor of blood and gore.

Upon catching sight of the red vial, a hint of surprise appeared on the burly man's face, and he seemed to have been able to identify it. "Hmm? That seems to be our family's..."

"Indeed, this is the Blood Soul Vial that has been passed down in our Xu Family for generations. There was originally a pair of these treasures, but one of them was taken away by Fairy Ice Soul. I didn't think that the two treasures would have a chance to reunite someday," Xu Jiao said in a brooding manner.

"So it really is that treasure," the burly man murmured to himself.

Xu Jiao instructed, "Take my badge and mobilize all of the secret guards in our family right away. Surround the mountain that our ancestral shrine is situated on, and activate all of the nearby restrictions; make sure that not even a single fly is allowed to leave. After that, rouse our eldest granduncle from his seclusion and ask him to wait in the ancestral shrine for now."

"What? Mobilize the secret guards and rouse our eldest granduncle from seclusion?" The burly man was stunned to hear this.

The white-robed man gritted his teeth as if he were making a difficult decision, then confirmed in an implacable manner, "That's right. This is an extremely important matter that concerns our matriarch, so even if our eldest granduncle is at a critical juncture in his cultivation; he'll have to come out of seclusion to address this."

"Have you really found the whereabouts of our matriarch? I'll go right away!" The burly man was ecstatic to hear this, and he immediately rushed out of the secret chamber.

Following his departure, Xu Jiao's gaze returned to the small red vial, and a contemplative look appeared on his face.

Not long after that, Xu Huo exhaled as he finally finished reading the contents of the jade slip before also opening his eyes.

"I see. So our matriarch really did venture into the primordial world, and she even went to a foreign continent. However, something seems to have happened to her, and only a wisp of the blood soul that she refined was sent back to us," Xu Huo murmured with furrowed brows.

"Aside from that blood soul secret technique enclosed in the jade slip, all of the other information is very vague. We'll have to use the blood crystal to reawaken the wisp of blood soul before we can figure out what happened. It's a good thing that Fairy Ice Soul refined that Blood Soul Coffin and the pair of Blood Soul Vials prior to her disappearance. Otherwise, we would be at a complete loss right now," Xu Jiao said in a grim manner.

"Indeed. However, the jade slip says that once the talismans are removed, the awakening ceremony must be held within a few days. Otherwise, even the wisp of blood soul in the Blood Soul Vial will dissipate. After all, this blood soul has been sealed in the vial for far too long." A concerned look appeared on Xu Huo's face.

"Rest assured, the ceremony will be arranged tonight," the white-robed man said.

"Looks like we'll have to do that. By the way, what are we going to tell that Senior Han? According to Yu'er, he seems to have some kind of connection with our matriarch, and delivered her blood soul back to us, so he most likely doesn't harbor any ill will toward our Xu Family," Xu Huo analyzed.

"Indeed. This Senior Han has only just reached the Body Integration Stage, but he seems to be quite powerful and is very knowledgeable in ancient formations; perhaps he can become a powerful backer for our Xu Family in the future. We have to convince him to stay for a few days no matter what. After we awaken the blood soul through the ceremony, we'll have to find a way to befriend him," Xu Jiao decided after a brief pause for contemplation.

"Alright, then I'll go and make some preparations." Xu Huo nodded before turning to depart on his own.

However, the white-robed man faltered momentarily before stopping him. "Wait, I'll come out with you as a show of our sincerity."

Xu Huo thought about this for a moment before nodding in agreement. "That would be good. We certainly can't be too careful in our treatment of a Body Integration Stage being."

Thus, Xu Jiao carefully packed up the jade box containing the small red vial before exiting the secret chamber with Xu Huo.

Around two hours later, Han Li found himself seated atop a futon on the top floor of an extremely lavish and intricate pavilion. His brows were slightly furrowed, and he was rather bemused by this situation.

He had originally intended to leave the Xu Family after delivering the two items, but Xu Jiao had been extremely hospitable and insisted on asking him to stay for some time. Seeing as he was still determined to leave, he had even implied to Han Li that the items contained potential leads pertaining to Fairy Ice Soul's whereabouts, and that her current location could be revealed if he were to stay for a few more days.

This made Han Li rather hesitant. It was naturally impossible to say that he didn't care about Fairy Ice Soul at all.

Regardless of whether it was the Celestial Blue flames he had absorbed, his risky venture into the Heavenvoid Palace, the Heavenvoid Cauldron he had obtained, or his run-in with the North Night Palace in the Great Jin, all of this had something to do with Fairy Ice Soul.

As such, there were a few questions surrounding Fairy Ice Soul in his heart that he also really wanted to have answered. Thus, he certainly wouldn't mind staying for half a month or so if it meant that those mysteries could be resolved.

After all, with his current powers, he didn't have to worry that the Xu Family would try to plot against him. Aside from the legendary Grand Ascension cultivators, no one in the human and demon races could pose a threat to him.

Seeing as Xu Jiao and the other Xu Family cultivators were so eager to keep him, he decided to comply in the end.

However, he had decided that he would stay at the Xu Family for a month at most. If no news of Fairy Ice Soul arose even after a month had passed, then he would still leave anyway.

Of course, even if he did receive news of Fairy Ice Soul's whereabouts, it was still yet to be decided what he was going to do and whether he was going to spend the time to find her. Everything would have to depend on the information that comes to light.

All of a sudden, Han Li raised a hand, and spiritual light flashed, upon which a silver talisman appeared over his palm.

This talisman was none other than one of the True Immortal Realm talismans he had obtained from the ruins in the Vast Glacial Realm.

He still didn't have the ingredients required to refine the Body Integration Stage pills he desired, so he wasn't in a hurry to cultivate. Instead, he had focused most of his attention on studying these talismans.

These talismans were completely spent and devoid of spiritual power, but they were all written in beveled silver text, so they would naturally correspond greatly with the pages of the Golden Jade Tome that he had obtained in the past.

As such, studying them had proved to be very enlightening to Han Li, and he was even beginning to comprehend the Heavenly Halberd Talisman, which he had never managed to make any progress on in the past.

This talisman was the final beveled silver text talisman on that incomplete page of the Golden Jade Tome, and it was also the only offensive talisman on that incomplete page.

Setting aside how powerful the talisman was, just its complexity was far more extreme than other beveled silver text talismans like the High Zenith Invisibility Talisman.

Even though Han Li had progressed to the Body Integration Stage and had attained some insight regarding the laws of heaven and earth, he was still unable to completely comprehend this talisman, and that suggested that it was definitely something to look forward to.

Han Li stared intently at the silver talisman in his hand while constantly scribbling something in the air with the index finger of his other hand.

Most of the time, nothing resulted from this, but occasionally, a few silver runes of different sizes would emerge from his fingertip. These runes would either instantly explode, or linger in the air and shimmering erratically for a while before dissipating, creating quite a mystical sight to behold.

Time passed by slowly, and several pristine full moons soon appeared in the night sky over the mountain range that the Xu Family was situated on.

Han Li was still constantly scribbling with his finger when a peculiar look suddenly appeared on his face.

In the next instant, he rose to his feet before arriving in front of the window in a flash, then cast his gaze toward a certain mountain in the distance with a puzzled look in his eyes.

"What's going on? These restriction fluctuations are so strange. They're like..." All of a sudden, a thought seemed to have occurred to him, and he raised his head to look upward, only to be greeted by quite a startling sight.

The pristine white moons up above had turned into a crimson color, and presented a very unsettling sight to behold.

Han Li exhaled as he withdrew his gaze, then turned his attention toward the same mountain, scrutinizing it through narrowed eyes.

Blue light flashed incessantly within his pupils, and under the effect of his spirit eye ability, he was able to identify that a layer of crimson light had appeared over the seemingly ordinary mountain.

This crimson light surrounded the mountain and expanded and contracted in an erratic manner. The fluctuations that had alerted him were coming directly from that mountain.

He could clearly see that a certain type of profound restriction had already been set up around the mountain. However, that crimson light was truly quite abnormal, and there was some spiritual pressure that could puncture directly through the restriction.

Only after a long while did the blue light vanish from within his eyes, and a contemplative look appeared on his face as he murmured to himself, "Could it be that the Xu Family is holding some kind of blood sacrificial ceremony? But why would they choose to do this when an outsider is present? Could this have something to do with the items I passed on to them today?"

As intelligent as he was, he was able to roughly guess the truth after some quick deliberation.

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After determining a plausible reason behind this occurrence, Han Li's expression reverted back to normal as he continued to appraise the mountain in the distance.

A short while later, the restrictions in the distance finally vanished, and he left the window with a contemplative look on his face, then sat back down onto the futon before closing his eyes.

During the next few days, aside from Xu Qianyu's mandatory daily courtesy visits, none of the other members of the Xu Family came to disturb him.

However, from the hint of concern that was constantly in her eyes, it seemed that what the Xu Family had been doing hadn't progressed very smoothly.

Sure enough, the same fluctuations would erupt from that mountain every single night, and during Xu Qianyu's next few mandatory daily visits, Han Li could tell that she wanted to say something to him, but always decided against it.

Han Li didn't display any reaction to this, but none of it had escaped his detection.

On the fifth morning, Han Li was in the process of inspecting his talisman when his expression suddenly changed slightly, and he abruptly flipped his hand over, upon which the talisman vanished in a flash.

He could clearly sense that Xu Qianyu wasn't the only one who had come to visit him this morning; she had also been accompanied by Xu Jiao and another man who was unfamiliar to him.

This man possessed a very powerful aura and was a late-Spatial Tempering cultivator.

A hint of surprise flashed through his eyes. Who would've thought that there would be such a powerful cultivator in the Xu Family? They sure had hidden him quite well.

Just as these thoughts were running through Han Li's mind, Xu Jiao's respectful voice rang out from down below.

"Junior Xu Jiao pays his respects to Senior Han. May I have the honor of being granted an audience with you?"

"Of course. There's no need to be so polite and formal, Fellow Daoist Xu; please wait in the hall for a moment, and I'll come down right away," Han Li replied before rising to his feet and making his way downstairs.

Moments later, Han Li appeared in the hall on the first floor, and he immediately turned his attention toward the late-Spatial Tempering cultivator whom he was unfamiliar with.

The one standing next to Xu Jiao was a young man in a set of slightly worn-out grey robes. He appeared to only be around 27 to 28 years of age, and he was also appraising Han Li with a respectful smile.

Upon closer inspection, Han Li could see that this man bore a resemblance to Xu Jiao, and judging from outward appearances alone, he looked like a junior of Xu Jiao's.

Xu Jiao immediately extended a bow toward Han Li before making an introduction. "Senior Han, this is the grand elder of our Xu Family, Xu Yuan. He had reached a critical juncture in his cultivation a few days ago, so he was unable to come out of seclusion to greet you."

"Grand elder, eh? I can see that Fellow Daoist Xu Yuan has already reached the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage and can most likely attempt a breakthrough to the Body Integration Stage at any time now. Should you succeed, you and I will be equals," Han Li said with a smile as he examined the young man.

"Your discerning eye is truly unmatched, Senior. However, my chances of making a successful breakthrough are very slim," the young man sighed after also extending a respectful bow toward Han Li.

Han Li smiled upon hearing this, but didn't say anything in response. He sat down in the main seat, then motioned for everyone else to take a seat as well.

Xu Jiao and the others immediately expressed their gratitude before taking a seat on either side of Han Li.

"Have you decided to pay me a visit because you'd discovered news about Fairy Ice Soul, Family Leader Xu?" Han Li cut straight to the chase.

Xu Jiao was surprised by how straightforward Han Li was, and his lips twitched as a wry smile appeared on his face.

"If you had asked me this yesterday, then I wouldn't have been able to give you a conclusive answer, but I did indeed come to visit you for this matter, and I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?" Han Li raised an eyebrow in a slightly surprised manner.

"Truth be told, the two items that you passed on to us will indeed allow us to track down Fairy Ice Soul, but our powers are insufficient to make use of those items, and we'll require your power as well, Senior," Xu Jiao explained in a concise manner.

"Indeed. All three of our Xu Family's Spatial Tempering cultivators have made attempts, but ultimately failed as our magic power was lacking. Hence, we can only request for your help, Senior," Xu Yuan chimed in with a serious look on his face.

"I see. Would you two be able to explain the situation in greater detail first?" Han Li asked in a calm manner. With his current status and powers, he naturally wasn't going to be making any quick promises.

"Of course. Even if you hadn't asked, I would've disclosed the nature of the situation."

Xu Jiao paused momentarily to gather his thoughts, then continued, "It's actually not all that complex. Have you heard of the Great Blood Soul Technique, Senior?"

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly before he quickly recalled the relevant information, and his expression changed slightly as he said, "Great Blood Soul Technique? It does sound rather familiar. Hmm? Could this be the very same Great Blood Soul Technique that was cultivated by that Daoist Master Blood Crystal tens of thousands of years ago?"

"As expected, you really have heard of this cultivation art. This Daoist Master Blood Crystal was an extremely rare prodigy among our human race. Not only did he invent this Great Blood Soul Technique, he had even used it to slay foreign beings of the same cultivation base as him in the past. Truth be told, Daoist Master Blood Crystal has long since perished, but Fairy Ice Soul discovered what he had left behind many years ago.

"Even though this cultivation art was close to a devilish art, and there was no way that our matriarch would go to the trouble of completely altering the cultivation art to make it accessible to her, she was still able to cultivate some of the life-saving secret techniques in the cultivation art, and also refined several types of related life-saving treasures. Among the items that you passed on to us is a Blood Soul Vial, which our matriarch refined in the past, and the vial contains a wisp of her blood soul. All we need to do to track down our matriarch is to awaken this blood soul." As Xu Jiao was speaking, he was keeping an eye on Han Li's reaction this entire time.

However, aside from the slightest reaction that Han Li had displayed upon hearing about the Blood Soul Vial, he remained completely expressionless.

"The phenomenon that's been taking place these past few nights have arisen from your attempts to awaken the blood soul, right?" Han Li suddenly asked after a brief pause.

"Indeed, Senior. We didn't dare to delay and gathered everyone on the same night as you arrived to perform the awakening ceremony. Unfortunately..." Xu Jiao's voice trailed off here as a resigned look appeared on his face.

Xu Yuan sighed before continuing where Xu Jiao left off. "Unfortunately, we've failed the awakening ceremony several times in succession. Perhaps this is because the blood soul has been contained in the vial for too long or because our bloodlines aren't pure enough. In any case, the talisman sealing the blood soul has already been removed, so if we can't awaken the blood soul in two more days, it's going to completely dissipate."

"You want me to join in on the awakening ceremony?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.

"Indeed, Senior. We've tried everything during the past few days, all to no avail, so I can only turn to you now, Senior." Xu Jiao rose to his feet as he spoke before extending another earnest bow toward Han Li.

Han Li stroked his chin in contemplation, and only after a while did he reply, "If it really is just a lack of magic power, then I can certainly give you a hand, but if the blood soul or the awakening ceremony is fundamentally flawed, then I won't be able to do anything."

Xu Jiao immediately nodded in an elated manner in response. "Of course. Those issues are beyond our control, and if the issue truly lies in one of those areas, then we can only concede to our ill fortune."

Xu Yuan and Xu Qianyu were also ecstatic to hear this.

Seeing as Han Li had decided to agree to this matter, he wasn't going to sit around any longer. He immediately rose to his feet, and said, "Let's not delay this any longer. I'll go with you to see Fellow Daoist Ice Soul's blood soul right away and prepare the awakening ceremony with all of you."

Xu Jiao processed this request for a brief moment before deciding that there weren't any issues, and he nodded in response. "Alright. Even though this ceremony can only be performed at night, it would be a good idea for you to familiarize yourself with the blood soul first."

If they could truly track down Fairy Ice Soul, then the Xu Family would immediately be elevated to become a super family in the human race.

As such, Xu Jiao and the Xu Family elders were keen to do everything in their power to awaken this wisp of blood soul.

Thus, Han Li departed from his pavilion with the Xu Family trio, and the four of them flew directly toward the mountain where the fluctuations had erupted from during the past few nights.

Such a short distance was naturally covered in the blink of an eye, and they soon arrived at the mountain, which appeared to be quite ordinary in itself, but was surrounded by balls of spiritual light of different colors to form a restriction.

Between these balls of spiritual light were a series of azure-armored guards.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense over the area, and he discovered that most of these guards were at the Nascent Soul Stage, and there were over 100 of them.

This wouldn't be considered to be a formidable force in Deep Heaven City, but it was quite a force to be reckoned with for a single family.

These guards were all concealed within the restriction in a very discreet manner, and none of them made a single sound nor any false moves to blow their covers, clearly indicating that they had been very well-trained. This was even rarer to see in a family.

Xu Jiao seemed to have noticed Han Li's intrigue, and he explained, "These are our Xu Family's secret guards, and they're the most elite forces at our Xu Family's disposal. I'm sure they aren't anything special in your eyes, but if they were to join forces in groups of three or four, they would be able to combat even Deity Transformation cultivators."

"Oh? So these guards must be adept in combination secret techniques," Han Li remarked in an intrigued manner.

"Hehe, that is indeed the case. It would be very bad if the awakening ceremony were to be disrupted, so all of our family's secret guards have been gathered here as a safety precaution," Xu Jiao explained.

Han Li merely nodded in response and didn't offer a reply on this occasion.

Xu Jiao summoned a formation plate to part the restriction first, and the four of them landed in front of a massive building that resembled a shrine, situated halfway up the mountain.

Above the gate of the shrine was a large plaque with a single "Xu" character inscribed upon it in ancient silver text.

There were eight more secret guards standing near the gate in an expressionless manner.

What was rather strange was that the gate was tightly shut, and the only way to access the shrine was through a side entrance that could only allow a single person through at a time.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon seeing this.

"Please forgive me, Senior. This is our Xu Family's ancestral shrine, so we can only enter the underground secret hall through the side entrance," Xu Yuan said in an apologetic manner.

"It's alright, I understand." Han Li waved a hand in a nonchalant manner.

Both Xu Yuan and Xu Jiao heaved an internal sigh of relief upon hearing this.

If Han Li really did become displeased due to this small detail, then that would naturally be rather bad for them.

Thus, the four of them entered the ancestral shrine through the side entrance one after another.

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