“Then I must congratulate your majesty ahead of time. After refining a heavenly corpse body, your majesty will no longer be confined to this tomb.” The woman said with a happy tone.
The middle-aged man chuckled and said, “When the time comes, I will be able to cast a technique to free your soul and the prince’s from this tomb.”
“Your majesty, you must also remember we still have to find that vajra relic,” the woman reminded, “It is a valuable treasure that will be capable of turning you invulnerable for a short amount of time. Don’t forget that old monk when released his crystal relic, it took your majesty three days of corpse fire before he could exhaust the relic’s golden light and kill the monk within. Now that the relic has been turned into a vajra barrier, I fear its might will be even greater.”
“Beloved concubine, are you confused? The vajra barrier is something that only corpse monarchs at the age of ten thousand years are able to refine. It isn’t possible for human cultivators. And besides me, the only other ten-thousand-year-old corpse monarch is the Myriad Demon Valley’s Primeval Corpse Xiong. Human cultivators wouldn’t dare to go there. So long as the Myriad Demon Flag is present in the valley, I fear that none of the great righteous and devilish sects would dare to go near it.” The middle-aged man sneered.
“That is true! However, that rare treasure is extremely suitable to us. After it is made clear who acquired this treasure, let’s send men to reclaim it.” The woman gloomily said.
“Yes, even if you didn’t say it, I would’ve done it regardless. But since that person noticed the prince’s thread of spiritual sense in the vajra barrier, they must be unordinary. Once the whereabouts of the treasure are found, I will send two of my incarnations to fetch it. So long as he isn’t a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“I... I also... want to go!” The tall silhouette wrapped in black Qi suddenly broke his silence.
“How are you supposed to go out?” The middle-aged man’s voice turned sullen and he coldly rebuked him, “You aren’t able to withdraw the corpse Qi in your body. Any cultivator will be able to see through your true nature. Speak less rubbish and quickly enter the coffin to cultivate.”
The large silhouette grew depressed after seeing this and simply waved his furry green arm into the distance before lying down, but his eyes then pierced through the black Qi as they glowed crimson as if out of anger.
The stone coffin lid then flew back from the ground and sealed the coffin once more.
...
Over a thousand kilometers away, Han Li couldn’t have known that killing that meager thread of spiritual sense would provoke such a large problem. He was currently staring at the Weeping Soul Beast inside of the golden bubble as his expression wavered.
And at that same moment as Jin Yuan returned to his own room, his entire body was ablaze in grey flames and instantly blew away into the air as ash. His primal soul remained unharmed inside the flames but it was clearly struck with terror. Soon, he felt as if he were dragged by something, and his primal soul was wrapped in a ball of grey flames before shooting through the half-open window in his room, only to completely disappear without a trace.
Chapter 910: Firesmelt Crystals
After a long while inside the Hidden Fortune Room, Han Li eventually decided to put the Weeping Soul Beast inside his storage pouch while it was still inside the golden bubble. Then, he walked out and shrunk the Hidden Fortune Room back to its original size.
After he went back to the main hall, he returned the room to the middle-aged woman before heading out to the plaza.
At that moment, it was already afternoon and there were nearly half as many cultivators as before. They were all heading in a peculiar stone building to participate in the auction. Without another thought, he moved to join them.
A white-robed cultivator standing at the entrance of the auction saw Han Li and greeted him with a salute, “Fellow Daoist, to prevent too many idle spectators, we are charging three spirit stones to participate in the auction.”
Han Li smiled and silently pressed his hand against his storage pouch before handing over three spirit stones to the white-robed cultivator. The cultivator smiled back and gave him a palm-sized jade plate, allowing him to enter.
Han Li glanced at the jade plate as he walked through the entrance of the building and saw that it had engraved “two hundred and forty-three” in silver letters. Aside from that, there was nothing else remarkable.
After walking through a sixty-meter-long passageway, he came across four cultivators guarding a door that shined with white light. When they saw Han Li arrive, they all silently examined him with expressionless faces.
Han Li ignored them and walked past them, opening the gate and entering the main hall.
He then heard a loud man’s voice saying, “Five-hundred-year-old Phoenix Tail Flower, seven hundred and ninety spirit stones. Is there anyone bidding any higher? No? Then this spirit herb goes to Fellow Daoist One Hundred Thirty. In a moment, please go to the back and pay the spirit stones for the medicine herb.”
Han Li clearly saw over two hundred people sitting in the hall. Each of them was sitting in front of a table and had placed down their jade plate on top of it, clearly revealing the shining silver numbers on top of it.
In front of the stone hall, there was a blue-robed middle-aged man with an imposing appearance. As he was speaking, he was holding open a jade box with a bright purple flower inside of it.
The one who purchased this medicine herb was a fat old man. When he saw the middle-aged man verify the winning bid, he stood up with a happy expression and walked over to the side door as if he couldn’t wait to acquire it.
Han Li looked at the scene with indifference and walked over to a nearby empty seat.
He sat down in a chair made of pure white stone. It’s jadelike appearance and its warm sensation had aroused a bit of interest from Han Li.
“This is...” Han Li pondered for a moment, recalling the stone materials in his memory only to find that he hadn’t seen this material before. His lips faintly curled from his surprise.
“Fellow Daoist, is this your first time seeing Warmstone?” He suddenly heard a woman’s voice with a faint giggle.
“Warmstone?” He turned his head to the side and saw two young female cultivators who resembled each other so strongly they could be sisters. One of them was wearing yellow clothes and the other green clothes, but both of them were indisputably outstanding beauties. The one who spoke was the closer of the two and was wearing green. She found it silly how Han Li touched the table.
“Little sister, don’t speak out of turn,” the yellow-clothed woman quickly said, “Fellow Daoist, please don’t take offense. My younger cousin had just come out from the clan and her words are still rash. I hope you’ll forgive her.”
‘Youngster cousin? They’re not sisters by blood?’ Han Li thought with surprise. But for the two to reach Foundation Establishment stage at such a young age, they clearly had exceptional aptitudes.
With that thought, he smiled and casually said, “It’s alright. I’ve only heard of Warmstone before but this is the first time I’ve seen it. Does Fellow Daoist know about this item in detail? It can’t be a common material or else I would’ve heard of it before, despite having cultivated in the wilderness all this time.”
“Warmstone is completely different from the material known as Warm Jade,” the yellow-clothed woman explained with a smile, “It isn’t strange for Fellow Daoist to not know of it as it is a material rarely found in other places. It is only present here because it is a specialty of the Snowmound Mountains. But apart from being warm to the touch and exceptionally white, there is nothing else notable about it. But of course, it is far more valuable that the common jade found in the mortal world.”
“So it was like that. Many thanks for your explanation.” Han Li nodded with understanding and then his expression blanked as he turned to look at the middle-aged man auctioning a top-gra
de magic tool.
His actions had caused the green-clothed woman to narrow her eyes and curl her lips, betraying a trace of disdain. Just as she was about to say something else, her older cousin shot her a stern glance, causing her to keep her mouth shut.
Han Li completely ignored this and was calmly looking up at the magic tools and spirit herbs being auctioned.
Although the auction was certain to be somewhat lacking considering that it was hosted by local clans, he paid particular attention to it as there was a vast difference in prices between the Great Jin and the Heavenly South. It would serve as preparation for when he would search for rare materials.
After some calm observation, he came to the conclusion that regardless of whether they were spiritual herbs or magic tools, they were significantly more expensive than they were in the Heavenly South. The rarer items were particularly costly.
He came to realize that although the Great Jin was over ten times larger than the Heavenly South, they attracted a far greater number of cultivators considering their complete legacies. This caused a severe lack of magic tools and medicines in comparison to the Heavenly South.
Conversely, it could also be said that the Great Jin was abundant with resources and would have many rare materials that would never be seen in the Heavenly South and even the Scattered Star Seas. In this auction alone, there were a few medicines and tool materials that he didn’t know of.
This was much to Han Li’s joy. It appeared that if he paid a visit to the many high-grade market cities in the Great Jin, there was the possibility of acquiring the few rare materials he needed.
Just as he thought this, the blue-robed middle-aged man on the stage called out to bring out the next item — a tray with three deep-red gems on it. The gems shined with a flicking light similar to a blazing flame. It was rather eye-catching.
“Three Firesmelt Crystals,” the middle-aged man announced with a smile, “An ideal material for refining top-grade fire-attribute magic tools. Fellow Daoists, the bid will now start at five hundred spirit stones.”
Han Li took a casual glance at them and was about to turn his eyes way, but the crystals then caught his eyes and he let out a yelp.
Monarch Soul Divergence’s voice lazily sounded out from the back of his mind, “Youngster Han, from your reaction, it seems those gems have caught your attention.”
“Gems? It seems there are times that even Senior can be mistaken.” Han Li sent out the voice transmission with a chuckle and announced a bid for six hundred spirit stones.
“What? There isn’t anything particular about these gems. Although my cultivation is gone, my spiritual sense remains. I don’t believe I’m mistaken.” Monarch Soul Divergence said with a doubtful tone.
With a strange voice, Han Li replied, “My experience may still be lacking, but I would dare to say there are few in this world that have more experience in demon beast cores than me.”
“This has something to do with demon cores?” Monarch Soul Divergence was stunned from hearing the confidence in Han Li’s voice. Were it not for the many years he spent with him, he would’ve believed Han Li to be confused.
After a moment of silence, Monarch Soul Divergence continued, “Since you’re certain, there must be some reasoning behind it, but I cannot bring myself to believe that there is something strange about those Firesmelt Crystals before I have the evidence. Needless to say, I’m not the only one who didn’t see anything strange about the gems, even the auction appraisers couldn’t find anything exceptional about them, and they are vastly experienced in dealing with rare items.”
After hearing Monarch Soul Divergence’s words of doubt, Han Li smiled and declared a higher bid, forcing the competing bidders to back down.
Happy that the gems were sold for a high price, the middle-aged man glanced at the number on Han Li’s jade plate and loudly shouted, “Eight hundred spirit stones! The three Firesmelt Crystals go to Fellow Daoist Two Hundred and Forty-Three! Please head to the back of the hall to pay for the item.”
When Han Li heard this, he took his jade plate and walked to the side hall.
There was a white-robed Qi Condensation cultivator waiting for him there. When he saw Han Li arrive, he immediately led Han Li to a small waiting room in the rear hall. A moment later, a servant girl brought him a cup of tea before departing.
Han Li glanced at the cup of tea and left it alone as he calmly examined the room.
Soon, a bald old Foundation Establishment cultivator walked in with a beaming smile.
“I am truly ashamed we kept you waiting for so long. Please take a look and see if this is the item you bidded on!” After he said this, he handed a jade box over to Han Li.
Han Li promptly opened the jade box and found three crystals blazing with red light.
With a calm expression, he carefully examined them and remained silent for a long while.
Chapter 911: Crystalized Demon Core
“What? Is there a problem with the Firesmelt Crystals?” The old man asked with a friendly chuckle.
“There’s nothing wrong. These were precisely what I bidded on.” Han Li nodded and calmly replied. Then, he handed over the spirit stones, took the gems, and took his leave with a salute.
As Han Li walked away, the old man took a glance at the empty jade box and frowned, his eyes revealing slight doubt.
Soon, Han Li returned to his seat at the auction and in a flash of light, a Firesmelt Crystal appeared in his hand. Han Li looked at the gem with a smile and obvious satisfaction.
The green-clothed woman next to Han Li saw his expression and said, “Fellow Daoist must be quite wealthy to spend eight hundred spirit stones on three Firesmelt Crystals!”
After calmly looking at the woman, Han Li replied, “That’s right. I’ve been wanting to buy those crystals for a while. Being able to buy these made this trip quite worth it.”
When the green-robed woman saw the glint in Han Li’s eye, her heart trembled and she suddenly became unable to say anything further. The yellow-robed woman at her side saw this and her expression changed as if she sensed something. She also said nothing.
After acquiring this unexpected harvest, Han Li began to look forward to the rest of the auction. But at that moment, Monarch Soul Divergence couldn’t help but ask, “Youngster Han, what do those Firesmelt Crystals have to do with demon cores? How about you give me an explanation?”
“Senior should’ve already guessed it,” Han Li calmly answered, “One of the Firesmelt Crystals is actually a grade seven demon core, but after the passage of countless years, its body had turned to that of complete crystal. It now appears no different from a Firesmelt Crystal. Even those with exceptionally powerful spiritual sense aren’t able to see the difference.”
“Grade seven demon core? Since one can’t tell the difference with spiritual sense or its exterior appearance, how were you able to see through it?” Monarch Soul Divergence wasn’t particularly shocked, but he still felt somewhat doubtful.
“Hehe, this has something to do with the baleful Qi on my body,” Han Li calmly explained, “In the past, I had personally slain thousands upon thousands of high-grade demon beasts, resulting in the dense baleful Qi on my body. As a result, the baleful Qi on my body began to stir when the grade seven demon core was taken out. Since I handled a great number of demon cores in the past, I acquired a particular method of detecting them.”
“So it was like that,” the old man chuckled, “If you truly killed so many demon beasts, then it makes sense to me why you have so much baleful Qi on your body. However, I am quite interested in how you were able to kill so many demon beasts. It seems you have many old tales that haven’t been revealed to me!”
“It’s nothing. I simply had an opportunity in the past. More importantly, I fear Senior doesn’t know the use of a crystalized demon core.” Not wanting to mention his years in the Scattered Star Seas, Han Li changed the topic to capture Monarch Soul Divergence’s attention.
“Oh! This is al
so the first time I’ve heard of a demon core turned to crystal,” Monarch Soul Divergence said with interest, “I do wonder what it can be used for.”
“The crystallized demon core can no longer be considered a true demon core,” Han Li said as he stroked his chin, “If it were used during pill concoction, it will turn into a poison that would kill ordinary cultivators when taken. As a matter of fact, this material is an optimal material for refining flying needles. It is said that when a flying needle if crafted from it, the needle’s speed will be so fast it’ll immediately strike the enemy as soon as it is released, and most fearsome of all is that a flying needle crafted from this material will be nearly invisible while in flight, allowing it to be an optimal weapon for sneak attacks. However, because it is extremely difficult for crystalized demon cores to be created and there are sparsely few cultivators that can recognize them so they are seldom ever found. If it weren’t for my baleful Qi, I wouldn’t have detected it myself.”
As it so happened, Han Li had once read through a jade slip that recorded the refinement method for a flying needle created from a demon core. When he killed Zenith Yin’s master in the Scattered Star Seas, he had taken a look at this jade slip out of interest and had only just remembered it after he acquired the crystalized demon core.
“I’ve never heard of this before. It seems there are countless bizarre things in the world. I fear there are no cultivators that have tread through all areas of the mortal world. According to what I know, there are at least six other cultivation worlds apart from our Heavenly South. There are few that can be safely ventured and others that will be dangerous to enter. During my lifetime, I visited two other areas apart from the Great Jin. Due to my decreasing lifespan, I returned to the Heavenly South and desperately researched techniques to extend my life.” Monarch Soul Divergence’s tone turned completely dim and listless.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 493