When Marquis Nanlong and Lu Weiying saw the demon core, they both felt slight temptation. After all, it was the demon core of an ancient beast with an immortal body. It was likely that it possessed some strange attributes. But when the two recalled the abilities Han Li had earlier displayed as well as his grand reputation, their temptation towards the core was completely stifled.
After all, they both clearly realized that with the abilities Han Li had displayed, their odds of victory against him would only be a coin toss. Additionally, it wasn’t worth becoming hostile over the core of an unknown ancient beast. There would be far more opportunities for treasure in Devilfall Valley.
Although Han Li didn’t possess any mind-reading techniques, he could guess what the other two were thinking. In the recent battle with the flame toad, neither of them had displayed their full might as if they were mostly relying on Han Li to slay the beast. As a result, Han Li had maintained a calm appearance, when in truth he grew even warier of the other two cultivators in case they were overcome with foolishness.
Now that he saw that they had regained their calm after a momentary change in expression, Han Li felt relieved. Although he wasn’t afraid of a fight, it would be better to avoid any risks altogether.
Han Li waved his hand toward the ice barrier and summoned the demon core into his palm. Then with a clear ring, the two huge flying swords broke down into over ten small swords before disappearing into his sleeve.
Han Li lowered his head as he glanced at the fire-red demon core in his hand and released a long sigh. He had finally fulfilled one of his objectives in Devilfall Valley.
Marquis Nanlong smiled and said, “It is quite fortunate that we had Fellow Daoist Han here to slay the Ancient Flame Toad. Let’s move into the nest and take a look. Surely Brother Han is also interested in taking a look at the treasures on the remains.”
“Of course.” Han Li put away the demon core and nodded.
Lu Weiying was happy to hear this and the three soon entered the mountain cave after putting away their spell formations.
To tell the truth, Han Li did think about secretly releasing Silvermoon so that she could seize the treasures in the cave first. But given that the other two cultivators were extremely cunning, had paid particularly close attention to Han Li and possessed cultivation superior to his own, it was very likely they would’ve noticed he had released Silvermoon.
It was also worth mentioning that there was something odd about the cultivator remains. Since Han Li felt that there was something amiss, he decided to leave the matter be.
The three turned into three streaks of light, entering the cave in an instant.
The Marquis and Lu Weiying were surprised when they saw the lava, but soon ignored it as they glanced around, spotting the stone platform where the ancient cultivator remains laid with expressions of delight.
Marquis Nanlong’s expression faded and he cooly said, “It seems this should be the remains that Master Cang Kun mentioned. Let’s go there together.”
Han Li and Lu Weiying raised no objections and they immediately moved towards the remains.
Floating over ten meters away from the stone platform, Han Li watched the remains with a trace of eager impatience.
The other two were also eager and showed little restraint as they immediately released their spiritual sense to search the remains for treasures. When Han Li saw this, he wore a mysterious smile and said nothing further. He had already discovered something odd about the ancient remains and decided it would be better for the two to experience it for themselves.
As a result, the two submerged the skeleton with their spiritual sense and green light burst from its robes. As a result, their spiritual sense was repelled before they were able to see anything, much to their alarm.
With a surprised expression, Wei Luying muttered, “Yi! There is something strange about those robes.”
Marquis Nanlong regained his calm and explained, “It is merely a gown made from the silk of an green silkworm. Ancient cultivators made robes from this material to prevent other cultivators from probing them with their spiritual sense. Although they’re rare in current times, it was a common item in ancient times.” He then swept his hand at the air and summoned the green robe into his hand.
As a result, the skeleton was revealed with a small black pouch wrapped around its waist.
“A storage pouch, as expected!” Lu Weiying shouted with joy. Marquis Nanlong also felt excitement and flung the green robes to the side as he stared at the black storage pouch with complete focus.
When Han Li heard the sound made by the azure robes dropping to the ground, his expression faintly changed for just a moment.
As the atmosphere grew tenser, Marquis Nanlong smiled to his two party members and suggested, “If you two are not opposed, will it be fine if I look through the storage pouch first?”
“Of course you can. Brother Nanlong please go ahead.” Han Li glanced at the storage pouch and replied with a smile. As for Lu Weiying, he hesitated for a moment before nodding.
Marquis Nanlong then stepped forward and carefully took the storage pouch into his hand. He swept through the general contents of it with his spiritual sense and his face became stiff.
When Lu Weiying saw this, he couldn’t help but say, “Brother Nanlong, what is inside? You may as well let us take a look.”
Marquis Nanlong nodded and flipped the storage pouch, immediately pouring out its contents in a flash of white light, producing a pile of items on the floor.
“What in the world is this?!” Lu Weiying shouted in alarm.
A majority of the items that appeared were scarlet lumps of metal that were scorching hot. There were also a few items that were particularly eye-catching: a white jade box, a small purple mirror, a small yellow sword, a set of green flying needles, and two black medicine bottles.
Han Li narrowed his eyes when he saw those items and his expression stirred.
Excluding the jade box and the medicine bottles, the rest of these items were rare ancient treasures without a doubt. As for the jade box and medicine bottles, they particularly piqued Han Li’s interest. Both the box and the bottles were refined from a material that blocked him from seeing into them with his spiritual sense.
Han Li frowned and said, “I’ve never seen those materials before, but they seem to only be half finished.”
After some thought, Marquis Nanlong mused, “Half-finished? That does seem to be the case. If I’ve guessed correctly, these iron chunks should be the legendary spirit ores, extraordinary materials that ancient cultivators used to refine ancient treasures. It is said that the method to refine them is quite peculiar, needing a large number of rare materials and worldly energy for their creation. This ancient cultivator must’ve wanted to refine a particularly fearsome fire-attribute treasure to have so many of them.”
“Spirit ores!” When Han Li heard the name, he immediately recalled that they were mentioned in an ancient record he had read. After a moment of thought, he remembered it to be a material used to refine rare ancient treasures, just as Marquis Nanlong had said.
When Lu Weiying heard this, he revealed a trace of excitement before turning to look at the rest of the treasures and eventually staring at the jade box and medicine bottle.
At that moment, Marquis Nanlong raised his hand and tossed the storage pouch over to Han Li.
Han Li unconsciously caught it and was surprised for a moment before realizing what Marquis Nanlong intended. He bluntly weighed it in his hand and searched through it before tossing it over to Lu Weiying.
Lu Weiying examined it and nodded when he confirmed there was no problem.
“Let’s each divide these treasures. How about we have each person select two items?” Mentioning the most crucial question of the matter before them, Marquis Nanlong wore a solemn expression.
Chapter 822: The Sevenflame Fan
Han Li’s gaze flickered. Having seen Lu Weiying’s expression, he asked, “Could it be that Brot
her Lu is suggesting another method to split the treasures?”
“If the jade box and medicine bottles were also ancient treasures, it wouldn’t be a problem if we each got two items. But...”
“We still don’t know what is inside the jade box or medicine bottles. Naturally, we should first take a look inside and split them in accordance to value.” Marquis Nanlong interrupted him and said something that appeared fair.
Lu Weiying frowned after he heard this, but he soon nodded and said, “I also find those terms agreeable. How about you, Fellow Daoist Han?”
“I have no objections. Let’s do that then.” Han Li replied without any further thought.
“Fellow Daoist Han speaks quite frankly. I’ll be taking a look at what is inside.” Appearing quite satisfied at Han Li’s response, Marquis Nanlong swept his hand and summoned the white box into his grasp. With a slap from his other hand, he attempted to open the box.
White light shined the moment the box opened and a layer of white light appeared from it, repelling Marquis Nanlong’s hand. “Yi! The box is under a restriction.” After muttering to himself for a moment, golden light flashed from his hand and he grabbed the box once more.
The white light blocked him once more and intertwined with the light from Marquis Nanlong’s hand, but after a short moment, the golden light sparked and he managed to forcefully open the box before the white light completely disappeared. Han Li was blinded for a moment before clearly seeing a faintly yellow jade slip within the box.
Lu Weiying wore an odd expression and Marquis Nanlong hesitated for a moment before placing the jade slip on his forehead. After sweeping through the contents of the jade slip in an instant, he wore an odd expression.
“Fellow Daoists, have a look at it!” Preventing the others from growing suspicious of him, Marquis Nanlong quickly tossed it over to Han Li. Han Li caught the jade slip and placed it against his forehead. A frown unconsciously appeared on his face a moment later and he gave the jade slip to Lu Weiying, who also quickly read through it.
Before Lu Weiying even finished reading through it, he muttered, “The Sevenflame Fan? I’ve never heard of this ancient treasure. Is it powerful?”
Marquis Nanlong mused and said, “I’m not sure, but given the difficult refinement method listed in the jade slip and the fact that it requires spirit ore, it should be quite formidable.”
Lu Weiying shook his head and returned the jade slip to Marquis Nanlong. “Even if it is powerful, it is no use. Although it details the refinement method, it requires over eighty-one fire attribute spirit materials with just as many supplementary materials. Among these are items that were long extinct from this world. The jade slip is now of little value and can only be used for research.”
Marquis Nanlong smiled and carelessly slipped the jade slip back into the box.
Just as Han Li deemed the jade slip to be useless, he suddenly heard Silvermoon’s delighted voice in his head, “The Sevenflame Fan? Master, does that jade slip truly contain the method to refine it?”
Han Li’s expression stirred and he replied, “That’s right. Do you know of it?”
Silvermoon’s voice trembled and she excitedly said, “Master, if I remember correctly, the Sevenflame Fan is a Divine Spirit Treasure, but its ranking was rather low amongst Divine Spirit Treasures, ranked in the teens.”
“Divine Spirit Treasure!” When Han Li heard this, he couldn’t help but speak with surprise.
Before Han Li could continue, the Monarch of Soul Divergence also spoke with excitement, “What? A Divine Spirit Treasure? You must acquire the jade slip by all means. I wished to research Divine Spirit Treasures in the past, but their refinement methods are quite difficult to come by.”
Silvermoon’s tone turned harsh and she coldly said, “Old eccentric, what are you doing running your mouth?”
The Monarch of Soul Divergence chuckled and casually said, “Demon fox, you’re still holding the grudge from before? I only thought to do a bit of research on you because I’ve never heard of a tool spirit that was intelligent. Didn’t your master accept as well?”
“You...”
Han Li coldly said, “Enough, Silvermoon! The matter has already passed, don't cling onto it. However, it does come as a surprise that Senior knows of Divine Spirit Treasures. However, now isn’t the time to speak in detail. Let’s put it off for later.” Han Li then turned his gaze to the jade box and watched Marquis Nanlong open both of the black medicine bottles.
Silvermoon tactfully dropped the matter. Although she still felt unhappy towards the Monarch of Soul Divergence, she was still under the control of Han Li. With only a few simple words, he could order her to remain silent.
When Marquis Nanlong opened a black medicine bottle, Han Li felt his mind shake when he smelled the comforting fragrance that emerged.
Marquis Nanlong took out a glistening jade-green medicine pill from the bottle and held it in his palm. He hesitantly said, “This isn’t a common type of ancient medicine pill. While I’m not sure what it is, it shouldn’t be something harmful. I’ll have to identify it with records.”
With an entranced gaze, Lu Weiying slowly said, “How many pills are in the bottle?”
Marquis Nanlong faced Han Li and Lu Weiying and showed them the empty medicine bottle. “There is only the one pill, but it seems to be incredibly valuable.”
“Let’s look at the other medicine bottle!” Lu Weiying impatiently said.
Marquis Nanlong nodded and sealed the medicine pill in his hand up in the bottle before opening the other bottle to reveal an identical green medicine pill. As a result, the Marquis and the old man exchanged a glance of apprehension.
Han Li smiled and calmly asked, “It seems this harvest has been quite good. There are three ancient treasures, two unknown medicine pills, and the refinement method for an ancient treasure. How do you think we should divide it?”
Marquis Nanlong looked at the two medicine bottles in his hand and calmly said, “Although we don’t know what these spirit pills are, Fellow Daoist Han should know that we entered the valley in order to look for spiritual medicines. Fellow Daoist Lu and I plan on splitting them between us as a share of the treasure. Since this is the case, Fellow Daoist Han can have first pick of the other ancient treasures. We hope you don’t have any problem with this.”
When Han Li heard this, he frowned and glanced at the several treasures on the ground.
Han Li stroked his chin and shook his head, “You two Fellow Daoists should know the value of those ancient pills without me saying. To tell the truth, I might rather have one of those pills and increase my cultivation than take an ancient treasure.”
When the other two heard Han Li, their expressions grew tense. Marquis Nanlong’s expression stirred for a moment before forcing a smile, “Fellow Daoist Han’s age is still young. There should be no need to fight against two people at the end of their lifespans for the two medicine pills. In only a short time, you have entered the early Nascent Soul stage. It should be quite easy for you to reach the tallest heights of cultivation.”
Han Li softly said, “My age and wanting the medicine pill are two different matters. With such an opportunity before me, it is only natural for me to want to seize it will all my might. However, I am willing to renounce all the other treasures for those two medicine pills. To tell the truth, I have no lack of ordinary ancient treasures.”
Lu Weiying grew nervous at Han Li’s determined display and he gritted his teeth, saying, “Fellow Daoist Han must be joking. How could we possibly give up the two medicine pills? How about this, so long as Brother Han relinquishes his claim on the two medicine pills, we’ll give him priority on picking the entire his share of treasures. Brother Nanlong, what do you think?”
When Marquis Nanlong heard this, he grimaced but soon wore a bitter smile and said, “So long as he renounces his claim on the spirit pills, let’s have Fellow Daoist Han have first pick on two treasures.”
A trace of reluctant appeare
d on Marquis Nanlong’s face. After all, most of his ancient treasures had been destroyed when the Ghost Spirit Sect besieged him in the Moulan Plains. With so many ancient treasures before him, he felt unwilling to let them go. However, he knew those ancient spirit pills were far more valuable to him.
At that moment, Han Li revealed a trace of hesitation on his face as if tempted by their proposal.
When Lu Weiying saw this, he hastily took the opportunity to add on, “Fellow Daoist Han’s lifespan is still very long. There will be time to look for other pills later. In comparison, you should find those ancient treasures to be useful to you now. Having another ancient treasure in your possession will be sure to save your life in any future battles.”
Han Li couldn’t help but smile and said, “It seems that unless I give up on the spirit pills, it will be hard to distribute the treasures. Fine, since you two were so sincere, I will agree to give the spirit pills to you. I also don’t need two ancient treasures, only the mirror. Also, give the treasure refinement method and spirit ore over to me. I am quite interested in tool refinement.” Han Li reached out with his hand and summoned the purple mirror into his hand.
The two glanced at each other for a moment and promptly responded, “Then let’s do as you say, Brother Han.”
Although they felt puzzled that Han Li would want that instead of an ancient treasure, they were disinclined to further investigate the matter since they already had the ancient pills in hand.
When Han Li heard their responses, he nodded with a calm expression and put the mirror away in a flash of light. Soon, he flung his sleeve and swept up the jade box and the crafting materials in a cloud of green light, causing them to disappear from sight.
Chapter 823: Blood Curse Gate
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 443