As for the Soul Subjugation Talisman, it hadn’t been refined ever since the founding of the sect. As a result, only the Spiritform Talisman truly had any practical use.
Han Li was greatly interested in the other two talismans. The Spiritform Talisman in particular was an optimal life-saving measure as it would allow him to use sacrificial techniques.
Three days later, Han Li read through the last talisman of interest to him and had finally stood up. He swept his spiritual sense down below and found that Old Man Xiang was still there.
He frowned and mulled with worry. In these past few days, the old man had remained in peaceful cultivation and hadn’t taken a step outside of the building.
As for the circumstances outside, Han Li had found it to be quite laughable. Fearing that he would depart without warning,, the sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators had taken turns waiting outside.
After some further thought, he descended to the ground floor.
“Senior, are you finished reading?” When the old man saw Han Li appear, he immediately put away the jade slip in his hand and grinned.
Han Li smiled and said, “Yes, I’ve seen everything I wanted to. You may do as you please!” Afterwards, he made his way out.
A bright glint flashed from the old man's eyes as he watched Han Li depart, but his expression soon returned to normal.
When he left the building, he caught sight of the middle-aged man who brought him here. When the man saw Han Li, he hastily greeted him and respectfully requested that he make a trip to the main hall.
After perusing through their collection of records, Han Li agreed as it would be inappropriate for him to refuse. The middle-aged man happily sent a voice transmission talisman to the main hall.
Waiting there was the upper echelon of the Heavenly Talisman Sect and two unfamiliar middle-aged Core Formation cultivators, a man and a woman.
When the Heavenly Talisman Sect members saw Han Li, they saluted him. The Sect Elder Wen then gave an introduction, “These two are Fellow Daoist Chang of Gold Mist Mountain and Fellow Daoist Xie of Bright Yang Valley. When these two Fellow Daoist heard that Senior had graced us with his presence, they had come here to pay their respects and have been waiting ever since.”
“Ah! You two are quite considerate to have waited while I had spent the past few days researching talisman refinement techniques.” Han Li wore an indifferent expression that betrayed no emotion.
“Hardly, it is our honor to be able to see you.” After the two made certain of Han Li’s cultivation, they both saluted him. In truth, when the Heavenly Talisman Sect requested them to arrive, the two had doubted if they truly had a visitor who possessed Nascent Soul cultivation.
After all, the two were well aware of the Heavenly Talisman Sect’s current circumstances. Although they were all classified as small sects, the Heavenly Talisman Sect was the weakest of the three in their alliance, so it was rather surprising for a Nascent Soul cultivator to visit them. The benefits were obvious if it were true.
The two hadn’t remained idle when they heard this and rushed over to the sect overnight to verify this matter. Their doubts were now dispelled after personally witnessing Han Li’s profound cultivation.
It was only after Han Li took a seat that the others dared to follow suit. Apart from the Heavenly Talisman Sect Master, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators simply stood at the side.
The woman surnamed Xie said with a pleasant voice, “Has Senior gained anything from his stay in the records hall? If Senior is interested, we do have a few records on the matter as well, although our valley isn’t particularly adept in talisman refinement techniques.”
Han Li smiled at the woman and said, “There is no need to trouble you. I have some urgent business at hand and will need to soon depart to the Linjiang Province.”
The man surnamed Chang yelped out in surprise. “Does Senior mean to deal with those fierce flood dragons?”
“Oh, you know about it?” Han Li asked with a changed expression.
With a hesitant tone, Cultivator Chang said, “The cultivators journeying to the Linjiang Province are all going for the fierce flood dragons. I’m afraid Senior’s information isn’t very new.”
Han Li’s expression sank and he slowly said, “I acquired this news half a year ago at a market. Since the flood dragons are around grade seven, they shouldn’t have been so quickly hunted by other cultivators.”
“Not at all,” Old Man Wen hastily explained, “In fact, not long ago they managed to kill a flood dragon in an ambush. But the flood dragons fiercely retaliated and killed many cultivators in return. There was even a Nascent Soul cultivator that was gravely injured.”
“How was the Nascent Soul cultivator injured?” Han Li asked with surprise.
Old Man Wen answered, “A transformed grade-eight blue flood dragon had appeared amongst them. The cultivators who lied in ambush had suffered heavy losses since they hadn’t expected it. While the South Seas Sect had dispatched many elders, they were only able to repel the group of flood dragons. The flood dragons had made their way to the many islands by the shore and hid there, frequently attacking lone cultivators and mortal ships in the vicinity. If Nascent Soul cultivators grouped and attacked them together, the flood dragons would immediately flee deep into the ocean using ice evasion techniques. Their attacks have become increasingly vicious recently and far more troublesome. I heard that the South Seas Sect have already invited many high-grade cultivators to gather at Jade Blossom Island in preparation of a hunt as grade-eight flood dragons are rarely ever seen.”
“A grade-eight flood dragon...” Han Li muttered to himself with a calm expression. He was reminded of the grade-eight Venomous Flood Dragon he had killed in the past.
Although the demon beast was only grade eight, they had a true strength that was beyond that of a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. On top of this, it was particularly difficult to deal with when it was at sea.
However, Han Li had no interest in the blue flood dragon. He then asked, “I recall that there was a red fire-attribute flood dragon among them, a Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon in partiuclar. Is this true?”
Cultivator Chang seemed to know much about the matter and quickly answered, “There does seem to be a red flood dragon among them, but I’m not too sure if it is a Scarlet Flame Flood Dragon.”
“That will do.” Han Li nodded with satisfaction.
When the others in the hall saw that Han Li’s face had relaxed, they all sighed with relief.
At that moment, Old Man Wen and the other two exchanged a glance. Then he probingly asked, “Senior Han’s cultivation is quite vast. Surely you must be an elder of a great sect?”
Han Li glanced at the three and wore a mysterious smile. “Hehe, I came from a rather remote region. I am not the elder of any sect in the Great Jin.”
Han Li’s sharp gaze had startled the group, but upon hearing his words, they couldn’t help but rejoice.
After a moment of hesitation, Old Man Wen then cautiously asked, “Since Senior has already researched the Spirit Subjugation Talisman, what does he think of it? Is it worthy of your notice?”
Han Li sighed and bluntly said, “If you have anything to say, state it. There is no point in beating around the bush. Could it be you wish to have me enter your sect?”
After hearing Han Li’s unhappy tone, Old Man Wen as alarmed and quickly explained, “Please don’t misunderstand, Senior. I wouldn’t dare to have such an extravagant request. I only wished to ask if Senior is willing to become a joint guest elder of our three sects.”
“A guest elder?” Han Li soon narrowed his eyes.
Small and mid-grade sects in the Great Jin would often have a sect position for high-grade vagrant cultivators. Although the position sounded the same as an ordinary elder, in truth there were quite a few differences.
To small sects, guest elders were only that in name. Guest elders couldn’t be restricted by the sect and wouldn’t be bound to their
orders either. Typically, they would only find the need to take action when their sects were subjected to mishaps.
However, even this assistance wasn’t mandatory and depended on the mood of the elder. Guest elders were even paid appropriately of their position and sometimes were paid even more than ordinary elders.
The reason why the position of guest elder was widespread in the Great Jin was due to the vast number of small sects and lacking number of Nascent Soul cultivators in comparison. Let alone small sets, even mid-grade sects would find themselves lacking a Nascent Soul cultivator at times. Under such circumstances, it would only be natural for them to strive their hardest for the support of a vagrant Nascent Soul cultivator.
But usually vagrant high-grade cultivators found it disdainful to enter the restrictions of a sect, but were tempted by the compensation. As a result, the position of guest elder came to be.
Chapter 964: Fierce Flood Dragons
When Han Li heard the Heavenly Talisman Sect Elder carefully mention this proposal, his cheek twitched before he faintly smiled.
“How did you think I would respond to your request of becoming the guest elder of your three sects?”
Old Man Wen’s apprehension calmed after seeing that Han Li wasn't angry and he hastily explained, “We understand that small sects like ours do not have the qualifications for Senior to enter our employment, so we only need you to settle a dispute of ours and allow us to use your name as protection. We wouldn’t dare to trouble any further.”
Han Li blinked and said, “You mean to say that I’ll only have to act once and I’ll have no need to look after you in the future?”
“That’s right. Of course, we won’t have Senior act for nothing. Since you are interested in talisman refinement techniques, our Heavenly Talisman Sect is willing to bestow the Spiritform Talisman technique to you. The Gold Mist Mountain and Bright Yang Sect will also hand over their legacy techniques to you. Additionally, we’ve prepared tens of thousands of spirit stones. We hope Senior will accept them.”
Old Man Wen knew that he would only anger Han Li if he tried to be clever, so he spoke with a direct tone instead.
“Tens of thousands of spirit stones?” Han Li asked with a smile.
“It is truly too few spirit stones, but we’ll be able to continue offering a sum of spirit stones every year. Additionally, we are willing to bestow the Spiritform Talisman that our founder had originally refined over to you. Senior should have the ability to refine such an item.” Old Man Wen spoke with gritted teeth as if it was the final condition he could offer.
“Your founder? Do you mean Daoist Heaven Talisman?” Han Li’s expression began to stir.
Sect Master Yue Zhen then took the initiative to say, “That’s right. I must tell Senior that although the sect founder was able to display its great, it was a pity that the later generations of our sect weren’t capable enough to refine the item. As such, out sect passed the talisman down for countless years and witnessed the treasure’s spiritual nature gradually fade over time, but we were helpless to do anything. If Senior is able to make use of it, it will solve this problem as well.”
“Your sect still possessed such a treasure? I want to take a look!” Han Li said with a trace of excitement.
Old Man Wen rejoiced at seeing Han Li’s interest and hastily commanded, “Martial Nephew Yue, take out the talisman and let Senior look at it.” Although he possessed the highest cultivation in the Heavenly Talisman Sect, the founder’s original Spiritform Talisman was something that was only kept by the sect masters.
“Yes, Martial Uncle!” Yue Zhen immediately slapped his storage pouch and summoned a yellow wood case, then presenting it over to Han Li with both hands.
Han Li simply waved his hand when he saw this and summoned the case into his hand. Then, he lowered his gaze and examined it.
The wooden box was unremarkable and rather plain apart from the shining golden talisman sealing it. Han Li raised his brow and brushed his hand against the box, causing the talisman to float off in a flash of light.
The three Core Formation elders were particularly alarmed, but the other cultivators seemed unphased.
Being able to use spiritual power to take off a sealing talisman wasn’t something that ordinary cultivators could do. Not only did their cultivation have to be immense, but their control of magic power must reach an unfathomable stage. They had only heard of this ability from hearsay, but now that they saw Han Li calmly display this, they viewed him with even greater respect.
The box opened to release a cloud of sparkling azure light composed of pure wood-attribute spiritual Qi.
Han Li was deeply shocked. According to what Old Man Wen said, this talisman had been losing its spiritual nature for many years, but it was still clearly very powerful. But what made him even happier was that this Spiritform Talisman was actually a wood-attribute talisman, something that would greatly complement his cultivation technique. It would make it much easier to nurture.
With that in mind, Han Li began to examine the glowing talisman.
The talisman was the size of a hand and was emerald green, but golden and silver characters faintly surrounded it in a mysterious display. However, what attracted Han Li’s attention was a small ball of faint purple light faintly revolving around the center.
Han Li covered his hand in a layer of azure light and reached out for the talisman. Then in a flash of light, the talisman trembled and streaked out from the box.
Han Li’s expression sank upon seeing that it escaped. He then formed a fist and an illusory hand grabbed the talisman mid-air. Before the other cultivators could show their surprise, the hand of light had disappeared and the talisman was in Han Li’s grasp.
Han Li stared at the squirming talisman in his hand and chuckled. “So this is the Spiritform Talisman! It is quite impressive. I heard that Daoist Heaven Talisman was a late-Nascent Soul stage cultivator. Given the cultivation that was used to nurture this talisman, it wouldn’t be easy for ordinary cultivators to refine it. And even if it is fully refined, its might will greatly decrease and will require further nurturing. This isn’t something that can be done in a few short decades. If done improperly, it could take over a hundred years.”
Old Man Wen and the other exchanged a glance when they heard this. With a sullen heart, he asked, “Does Senior think this talisman...”
“That... would be what an early-Nascent Soul cultivator would say. Since I’m at mid-stage with a wood-attribute cultivation art, I would have an easier time refining this talisman.” Han Li spoke indifferently, but in truth, there were quite a few things Han Li didn’t say. Although it would take quite a while for him to hone the talisman, with further tempering the talisman would certainly surpass its original strength.
“So Senior agrees?” Old Man Wen happily asked. The other cultivators in the hall looked at Han Li with hopeful faces.
“Not yet. First, tell me about this problem you want me to resolve. I could accept if it isn’t too troublesome,” Han Li said. Then with a shake of his hand, the talisman returned to the wooden box and was sealed once more.
Old Man Wen was overjoyed to hear that Han Li would consider the matter and quickly began to explain, “Of course. In truth, the matter should be only a trivial effort for you. This matter is related to a market that we share. Over the past few days...”
Han Li calmly listened to him and a quarter hour later, he flew out from the sect and headed north.
Several days had passed and an affair of moderate importance in the Huayuan Province had occurred. The Heavenly Talisman Sect’s Guest Elder Han suddenly arrived at the Devil Dao’s Yang Fiend Sect. Given his vast abilities and cultivation, he was able to easily defeat the sole Nascent Soul elder of the Yang Fiend Sect and quickly departed afterwards.
The next day, the Spirit Wind Sect who previously had the backing of the Yang Fiend Sect suddenly relocated their market to a faraway region.
Not only this but the other small and mid-sized
sects were alarmed by what they heard and they all abandoned the nearby region, giving the Heavenly Talisman Sect and their allies complete control.
For the time being, the three sects felt triumph. The three elders in particular felt that their investment had paid off. With the name of the mid-Nascent Soul guest elder protecting them, they reckoned they’d be able to surge in strength over the next hundred years.
...
At that moment, the Huayuan Province’s top sect — the South Sea Sect — had called together the flood dragon extermination hunt. Over a few short days, they managed to gather over two hundred Core Formation cultivators and ten Nascent Soul cultivators. Afterwards, they split into different squads to sweep various areas of the nearby sea for the hidden flood dragons.
They would occasionally find a few low-grade demon beasts and exterminate them. Eventually, the human cultivators surged in momentum and planned to complete the hunt in a single move.
However, the flood dragons were quite cunning and when they saw that something was amiss, they hid deep in the sea for several months. With no further trace of them, a portion of the cultivators lost their patience and abandoned the hunt.
As further months passed by, there were now only about a hundred cultivators in the hunt. As for the Nascent Soul cultivators, their numbers were now seven.
With these amount of cultivators, they were no longer able to act in great force and the flood dragons saw an opportunity. They immediately began to move. Not only did they begin to attack lone cultivators, but the grade-eight blue flood dragon began to occasionally launch attacks on the squads of cultivators.
Although these squads would have Nascent Soul cultivators leading them, the grade-eight flood dragon possessed great abilities and its ice evasion techniques have reached perfection. After each attack, it would immediately escape any further conflict. As a result, it was able to devour many Core Formation cultivators without injury.
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