"Ling Yuling!" Han Li exclaimed upon seeing the face beneath the hood.
This person was none other than the beautiful Star Palace cultivator whom he had saved all those years ago outside the Heavenly Star City.
Han Li laid a finger on his own nose as a smile also appeared on his face.
"To think that you would still recognize me after so many years apart; I feel extremely honored! Also, I must congratulate you on progressing to the Nascent Soul Stage!" Ling Yuling smiled as he appraised Han Li carefully, upon which a hint of surprise appeared on her face.
She was also unable to ascertain Han Li's cultivation base, but she knew that Han Li's cultivation base was definitely not inferior to her own. Upon establishing that, the smile on her face became even warmer and more inviting.
"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Ling. Haven't you also progressed to the Nascent Soul Stage?"
Ling Yuling smiled but didn't reply right away. Instead, she turned her head and instructed in a cold voice, "You guys go on ahead first. I have some things I have to discuss with Fellow Daoist Han, and I'll catch up to you guys later."
"Yes, Elder!" The other Star Palace cultivators all bowed respectfully upon hearing this. From the respectful expressions on their faces, it could be seen that they were extremely obedient and reverent toward this "elder".
A hint of surprise appeared in Han Li's eyes upon seeing this, but his expression remained unchanged.
Those cultivators continued on their way, led by a late-Core Formation Stage elderly man, and disappeared into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Ling Yuling turned back to Han Li, and sighed, "Sorry about that, Brother Han. I've received orders to reinforce an island that's being attacked by the Starfall Coalition, so I won't be able to stay here for too long."
"I've also heard on my way here that the Star Palace is engaged in battle with the Starfall Coalition again. It's no wonder that you're burdened by these duties," Han Li replied in a slow voice.
A wry smile appeared on Ling Yuling's face upon hearing this. However, she quickly turned his attention to Han Li again, upon which a peculiar look appeared on her face.
He hesitated momentarily before asking, "Brother Han, you've gone beyond the early-Nascent Soul Stage, haven't you?"
In response, Han Li chuckled and gave an ambiguous reply, "Haha, I've only gone slightly ahead. With your aptitude, it's only a matter of time before you exceed your current cultivation base."
Ling Yuling's expression faltered slightly upon hearing this as waves of shock churned through her heart.
It was incredible to her that Han Li had already become a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. It had only been less than 200 years since they had last met, yet Han Li had progressed from the Core Formation Stage to the mid-Nascent Soul Stage. That was simply unheard of.
After a brief stunned silence, Ling Yuling finally managed to recompose herself, but her expression was still filled with envy as he said, "Looks like you really are an extraordinary prodigy, Brother Han. To think that you've been able to make such drastic improvements in such a short time; I am truly in awe!"
"I'm no prodigy; I've simply been lucky and encountered many opportunities," Han Li gave another ambiguous reply.
Ling Yuling didn't linger any further on this topic. Instead, a smile appeared on her face as she asked, "Is there something you want to do here, Brother Han? I'd be happy to offer my assistance if required."
"I'd like to take a trip to the Outer Star Seas, so I was hoping to be able to use the Star Palace's teleportation formation." Han Li didn't try to hide his intentions.
"If that's the case, then it's a good thing that you ran into me, Brother Han. Due to the fact that we're trying to guard against Starfall Coalition cultivators infiltrating the palace from the outer seas, most of the teleportation formations leading to the outer seas have been shutdown. There are only two left that are currently in use; I'll give you a badge and with it, you'll be granted access to the teleportation formations."
Ling Yuling gave Han Li a gentle smile and she appeared to be completely identical to an exquisite beauty. However, the way in which she spoke and acted wasn't feminine in the slightest. The combination of the two presented a unique and indescribable allure.
At his current cultivation base, Han Li was naturally immune to the effects of Ling Yuling's beauty. Furthermore, he was confident that he would be able to take care of the guards and restrictions standing between him and the teleportation formations he wanted to access. However, it was always a good thing to be able to avoid such troubles and hindrances.
Thus, Han Li accepted the badge with a smile.
The two of them chatted for a while longer before Han Li bade farewell to Ling Yuling, transforming into a streak of azure light as he hurtled toward the massive island in the distance.
Ling Yuling looked on in the direction that Han Li had disappeared in, and the smile on her face gradually faded. She lowered her head and contemplated momentarily before suddenly patting her storage pouch to produce a silver voice transmission talisman.
She said something in a low voice into the talisman before raising his hand into the air. The talisman transformed into a ball of light before disappearing into space.
After doing all that, Ling Yuling heaved a faint sigh with a resigned expression before putting on her hood again. She then transformed into a streak of light in pursuit of his subordinates, who had gone on ahead.
After Ling Yuling had flown away into the distance, a silver light flashed in the air nearby as an azure figure emerged from thin air. He turned toward the direction that the voice transmission talisman had flown away in before disappearing once again.
Ten minutes later, at a certain location several tens of kilometers away, there was a man hovering in the air. This man was none other than Han Li himself.
He currently had his hands clasped behind his back and was completely expressionless.
A humanoid figure suddenly flashed before him, upon which his puppet appeared. It raised a hand to reveal what appeared to be a fiery snake scrambling over his palm. However, it was sealed within a ball of silver light and was unable to escape.
Han Li raised an eyebrow before reaching out to grab the fiery snake. The latter immediately exploded on its own, transforming into a ball of raging fire.
Han Li quickly scanned through the fireball with his spiritual sense, upon which a dark expression appeared on his face.
A cold light flashed through his eyes before he abruptly brought his five fingers together, crushing the fireball as he did so. He turned toward the massive island upon which the Heavenly Star City was situated, and his eyes narrowed.
"So everyone in the Scattered Star Seas knows that I have the Heavenvoid Cauldron. Looks like I'll need a disguise," Han Li murmured to himself. His face was then abruptly enshrouded under a layer of light, making his facial features blurry and indistinct. At the same time, a series of crackles and pops rang out from all over his body, instantly making him around a foot taller.
A short while later, he had transformed into a burly man with a dark complexion. He put away his puppet and flew toward the Heavenly Star City.
Unbeknownst to Han Li, in the instant that he had crushed the voice transmission talisman, someone sitting in a dim underground cave of the Heavenly Star City's sacred mountain was alerted to what he had done. The humanoid figure abruptly rose to his feet before feigning a grabbing motion. Spots of fiery light then began to appear in the air nearby before converging to form the very same fireball that Han Li had just crushed.
The humanoid figure scanned through the information in the fireball with his spiritual sense before flipping his hand over, upon which the fireball instantly disappeared.
"What's going on? Why is Yuling using the voice escape talisman we gave her? These talismans are very rare and she wouldn't use them for no good reason. Did something happen to her? She's only just left the Heavenly Star City." A voice suddenly sounded from a
nother corner of the cave. The voice was very pleasant and enticing and it sounded as if a young woman had just spoken.
"She's fine. It's just that she encountered a rather interesting person nearby and alerted us of this. She wants us to try and recruit this man to our side!" the first humanoid figure replied. However, his voice was a little slow and stiff, as if he didn't speak very often.
"Oh? Who is it? It's not often that Yuling develops an interest in anyone." The woman's heart was immediately put at ease upon learning the fact that Ling Yuling was not in danger. As such, she began to develop a curiosity toward this "interesting person" in question.
"You still remember what happened with the Heavenvoid Cauldron over 100 years ago, right?"
"Of course I do. Does this person have something to do with the cauldron?" the woman asked with a hint of surprise in her voice.
"The man who had taken the cauldron right under the noses of Man Huzi and Wan Tianming is actually the same person as the cultivator who saved Yuling all those years ago. Now, he has arrived outside our Heavenly Star City and wants to use our teleportation formation to get to the outer seas. Yuling just so happened to bump into him on his way here," the man explained.
"I see. If I recall correctly, this man's surname seems to be Han, and he was only a Core Formation cultivator back then. How is he worth recruiting?" The woman was rather perplexed.
"Hehe, you might not believe this, but Yuling suspects that this man has already become a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator! If that really is the case, then this man is truly an extraordinary talent," the man chuckled.
The woman seemed to be very familiar with the situation in the Great Jin, and she immediately said, "When the Heavenvoid Cauldron was first taken from the Heavenvoid Hall, we had sent people to investigate the person who had obtained the cauldron. Didn't they determine that he was most likely a foreign cultivator who went back to where he had come from after the event? Could it be that he's a cultivator from a certain major sect in the Great Jin? Otherwise, even if he is an extraordinary prodigy, without the support of a large sect, there's no way he would be able to become a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator in such a short time."
Chapter 1133: Divine Essencefused Light
"Regardless of whether he's a Great Jin cultivator or not, the fact that he was able to take the Heavenvoid Cauldron is a sufficient indication of his powers. If it weren't for the fact that the Divine Essencefused Light we cultivated rejects treasures of the five elements, and that Heavenvoid map fragment doesn't work for late-Nascent Soul cultivators, how could the spirit treasure have fallen into the hands of a foreign cultivator?" A forlorn look appeared on the man's face.
However, a wry smile appeared on the woman's face upon hearing this, and she said, "Full mastery of the Divine Essencefused Light would allow us to use the power of the five elements, so how could we have been unable to secure a treasure of the five elements? We can only blame ourselves for missing out on this opportunity."
After a prolonged silence, the man said in an apologetic voice, "Indeed. If I had known this was going to happen, I wouldn't have dragged you along with me to cultivate this Divine Essencefused Light. This is my fault."
The woman shook her head calmly, and said, "It's not your fault. If we hadn't tried to find a shortcut, we would've never been able to progress to the Deity Transformation Stage. As things were, if it weren't for that hiccup in the final juncture, you and I would've successfully progressed to the Deity Transformation Stage already. At the very least, our lifespans would've been prolonged by over 1,000 years."
"Indeed. Who would have thought that a five elements spiritual root was required to cultivate the Divine Essencefused Light to the final stage? If someone were to truly possess such a spirit root, they most likely wouldn't even be able to reach the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation Stages, let alone the Nascent Soul Stage; how would they be able to cultivate this Divine Essencefused Light? It's no wonder that this cultivation art had been created so long ago, but no one has ever been able to successfully cultivate it. I was able to reach the late-Nascent Soul Stage within 500 years and in my opinion, my cultivation aptitude is definitely not inferior to the past masters of the Star Palace. I even managed to resolve the so-called three insurmountable hurdles to cultivating the Divine Essencefused Light, but never did I think that I would suffer a fate like this. The ancient cultivator who invented the Divine Essencefused Light was clearly intentionally setting up a trap for people to fall into. I don't know what his intentions were to create such a self-contradicting cultivation art. If I had known about all this in advance, I would've never dabbled in this accursed cultivation art." The man's voice was becoming more and more worked up as he spoke, clearly indicating that he was extremely resentful toward the creator of this Divine Essencefused Light.
The woman heaved a long sigh. After a brief silence, she offered some words of consolation. "So be it. Regardless of whether this cultivation art was invented as a joke by that ancient cultivator, it's a good thing that we discovered these things in the nick of time and didn't continue down that path. Otherwise, if we had continued to cultivate on the Essencefused Mountain, the power of the five elements within our bodies would've imploded and we would've died. Come to think of it, we have to thank the Archsaint of the Six Paths and Wan Sangu. If they hadn't forced us out of our seclusion early, we would've never noticed these things."
"Hmph, those two are just not worthy of a mention. If it weren't for the restriction of the Essencefused Mountain, I would've stormed their base and killed all of them long ago! Furthermore, this problem is not one that cannot be resolved." The man's voice became a little peculiar as he spoke.
"What do you mean by that? Have you really found a way to change our spirit roots?" The calm woman also couldn't help but get excited upon hearing this.
After a brief hesitation, the man revealed, "Ever since we discovered this issue, I've been reading through all types of ancient tomes in the past century, trying to find a way to overcome this problem. During the process, I discovered an ancient spiritual power that we could use. The technique can't change one's spirit root completely, but it does involve putting a pure-attribute treasure through a blood sacrifice, thereby using it to replace the missing spirit root in order to gain control over the power of the five elements."
"It's that simple?!" The woman was shocked to hear this.
"Of course, there are certain conditions that must be fulfilled with regard to the sacrificial process and the treasure used, but those aren't problems to us. Most importantly, this method can only grant us control over the power of one element, but we won't be able to sacrifice a second treasure. Otherwise, our Nascent Souls would be unable to handle the influx of power and our physical bodies will also crumble due to backlash. As such, unless we possess four attribute spirit roots in the first place, this method won't work for us," the man said in a resigned manner.
"I see. Then it really is completely useless to us as we only have two attribute spirit roots."
The woman's heart sank upon hearing this. The flames of hope that had just ignited in her heart were doused once again.
"So be it. We should stop being so fixated on mastering the Divine Essencefused Light. Even if there were other ways to resolve this issue, there's not enough time for us given our remaining lifespans of less than 100 years. Let's focus more on Yuling. After our combined efforts, she has finally progressed to the Nascent Souls Stage. Once her cultivation base is fortified in a few more decades, we'll inject her with our power to forcibly take her to the mid-Nascent Soul Stage. In that case, with her mid-Nascent Soul Stage cultivation base, she should be ready to take over the Star Palace. Of course, we have to get rid of the Archsaint of the Six Paths and Wan Sangu before that." The woman's voice suddenly turned extremely cold and forbidding at the mention of these two enemies.
"It won't be a difficult task for us to get rid of those two as long as we put our lives on the line," the man said nonchalantly.<
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"What do we do with that cultivator with the Han surname? He possesses the Heavenvoid Cauldron and he might be a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. If you and I were to leave this world someday, he could prove to be an extremely volatile element in the Scattered Star Seas. From the tone of Yuling's voice transmission, she seems to have a rather good impression of him." The woman was quite hesitant.
"He's a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator with exceptional aptitude; he really is worth recruiting if possible. We'll see if he wishes to join our Star Palace. If he does, then everything will be smooth sailing from there. We'll set up a restriction to take his Heavenvoid Cauldron for Yuling to use when making a breakthrough to the mid-Nascent Soul Stage, and we'll give him some other treasures as compensation. If he's unwilling to join us, then we'll just have to kill him!" The man's voice had become extremely cold.
"That seems to be the only way." The woman heaved a faint sigh, but stated no objections.
"However, this voice escape talismans has already been destroyed once, so he must be aware that we're onto him. Ordinary elders won't be able to subdue him, so it looks like we'll have a make a trip in person," the man said in an indifferent voice.
"Even if he possesses a spirit treasure, he's just a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator; it won't require both of us to subdue him. I can take care of him myself. On the Divine Essencefused Mountain, he definitely won't be a match for me even if he's a late-Nascent Soul cultivator." The woman was very confident in her own abilities.
"Alright, that works too. You have to be careful, though; that Heavenvoid Cauldron is not something to be scoffed at." The man didn't object to this course of action.
"As long as its a treasure of the five elements, its power will be severely debilitated in the face of my Divine Esscencefused Light, so what are you worried about?" the woman chuckled nonchalantly.
This time, the man in the cave didn't reply. He had clearly acknowledged what the woman was saying.
At this moment, Han Li had already arrived at the Heavenly Star City.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 615