Han Li stroked the bumpy patterns on the surface of the golden horn with his finger, and after a while, he suddenly said, "After some experimentation, I've discovered that this horn can absorb almost all types of spiritual power, and also release it. The only flaws are that it's only able to absorb a limited amount of spiritual power at once, and the rate of absorption is also rather slow."
The small child put down the book in his hands and turned to Han Li with a vibrant smile as he said, "As expected of a material from a mutated demon beast; spiritual absorption is a very rare ability. There are countless cultivators even in the Spirit Realm who are dying for a material with such an extraordinary ability. It's the ideal material for refining defensive-type treasures, and many renowned defensive-type spirit treasures have incorporated this type of material."
"Defensive-type treasures? Can this be used to refine battle armor?" Han Li asked.
"Hehe, you really are very smart, Fellow Daoist Han. You should be able to use this horn and your Fire Spirit Threads to refine a powerful suit of battle armor. Even if it won't be a spirit treasure, it won't be too far away from that level, either. However, my advice is that you should refrain from doing that," the small child said with a serious expression.
"Why's that? I'm in need of a suit of battle armor at the moment." A hint of confusion flashed through Han Li's eyes.
"If you want to spend the rest of your life here in this human world and regard safety as your number one priority, then refining a suit of battle armor is naturally your best option. However, if you want to sneak into the Spirit Realm through a spatial node, hehe, it's best to keep this item to refine another type of treasure," the small child explained.
"What other types of treasure can be refined using this thing?" Han Li asked.
"The Realm Transcending Bead, of course. That treasure will assist you greatly in your attempt to pass through a spatial node," the small child replied.
"A Realm Transcending Bead? If I recall correctly, you seemed to have used something known as a Realm Transcending Stone when your avatar descended into the human world. What is the relationship between those two treasures? Are they the same thing?" Han Li asked with a hint of surprise in his voice.
The small child thought about this question carefully before replying, "Their names are very similar, and they are indeed related. The Realm Transcending Stone is a disposable naturally-occurring treasure that is only found in the Spirit Realm, whereas a Realm Transcending Bead is a refined treasure that can be used more than once. The two serve a similar purpose, but the difference in their levels of potency is like that of night and day. I'll put it this way for you; a Realm Transcending Bead only has about one percent of a Realm Transcending Stone's power."
"One percent?" Han Li was slightly speechless upon hearing this.
"Don't look down on the Realm Transcending Bead just because of that, Fellow Daoist Han. You have to realize that Realm Transcending Stones are exceedingly rare, even in the Spirit Realm, and it ranks alongside the Star Defying Plate as one of the three most sought-after realm transcending treasures. The Realm Transcending Bead obviously can't compare to those two treasures, but it's still very renowned for its ability to break through some spatial restrictions. The fact that it requires a spiritual absorption material to refine makes it just as rare. Driven by my curiosity, I entered a spatial node in the Spirit Realm once, and even though I immediately returned, I'm still struck by a lingering sense of fear whenever I recall the fearsome power of the spatial storm and the boundary between realms within that spatial node. Even if you can cultivate your Law Destruction Eye to its maximal extent, there's still only an infinitesimal chance that you'll be able to pass through a spatial node. Otherwise, there would be countless cultivators in the Spirit Realm who have snuck over from lower realms. Don't even try to pass through a spatial node without a Realm Transcending Bead; it'll be the last thing you ever do. I was going to wait until you reached the Deity Transformation Stage before I warned you about this, but seeing as you have a spiritual absorption material now, this is something that you should be made aware of," the small child warned
"Looks like I have no choice but to refine this Realm Transcending Bead, then." A wry smile appeared on Han Li's face.
"Hehe, if it weren't for the fact that you already have the Law Destruction Eye, I wouldn't even bother mentioning this treasure to you. Only with both on your side would you have the slightest sliver of a chance to pass through a spatial node. I'll give you the refinement method for this bead in return for the Glacial Quintessence you gave me," the small child chuckled. Han Li suddenly changed the subject, and said, "You sure don't like to owe people favors. By the way, I wanted to ask you something; I witnessed the tribulation transcendence of an eighth grade demonic tortoise in the past, but its lightning tribulation was very different compared to yours. Your lightning tribulation seemed to have been far more powerful than the one I witnessed."
"That's not anything to be surprised about. Different demon beasts naturally have to withstand different lightning tribulations. The more powerful a demon beast is, the more formidable their lightning tribulation becomes. It's rumored that heavenly spirit beasts like dragon and phoenixes have to withstand 13 waves of lightning strikes during their metamorphosis stage lightning tribulations. I'm already quite lucky that I only had to withstand 11 waves," the small child revealed.
"I see!" Han Li was enlightened upon hearing this.
The small child held up the aged hide book with a hint of a smile on his face, and asked, "This demon cultivation art, the Nine Gale Transformations, is rather interesting, but why are you showing it to me? Could it be that you're interested in cultivation arts from our demon race?"
It turned out that the book the small child was reading was none other than the aged hide book that Han Li had obtained from Xiao Cui’er. Within the book, there was a nameless aura concealment technique, as well as a demonic cultivation art written in demon script. Only after learning the demon script did Han Li discover that this was a cultivation art known as the Nine Gale Transformations. It was a very powerful cultivation art, but it had been designed exclusively for demon beasts. Unless one was born with a pair of wings and possessed the powerful body of a demon beast, they wouldn't be able to use this cultivation art. However, he was now giving it to the small child for examination for some reason.
"This Nine Gale Transformations is quite a powerful cultivation art, and I just so happen to be missing a cultivation art that corresponds with my Thunderstorm Wings. It would be a waste to discard such a powerful technique, so I was hoping to modify this cultivation art so that it can be used by me. You're a demon beast, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky, so it shouldn't be too difficult for you to modify this cultivation art for my usage, right? In return, I can lend you that half-page of the Golden Jade Tome for examination and research. The page may be a prized treasure, but it's too profound for me comprehend for now," Han Li proposed.
"This cultivation art is indeed quite difficult to come by for the demon beasts of your human world, and it does correspond nicely with your Thunderstorm Wings. However, there's a major problem here, one that I'm sure you're aware of already; in order to unleash this technique, you must possess the powerful body of a demon beast. You've cultivated in a body refinement art before, so your body is far more powerful than that of the average human cultivator, but it's still not enough if your goal is to use this cultivation art," the small child mused with furrowed brows.
Han Li contemplated the issue for a while before replying, "As long as the gap I have to bridge isn't too large, this shouldn't be an unreachable goal for me. I have a Buddhist cultivation art known as the Brightjade Arts, and with each layer I reach in that cultivation art, my body becomes a lot powerful than it was before. I've already reached the second layer now and once I get to the third layer, I should be able to satisfy the conditions required to cultivate the Nine Gale Transformations."The small child faltered slightly before a surpri
sed look appeared on his face. "The Brightjade Arts? a Buddhist cultivation art?"
"What is it? Is there something wrong with this cultivation art?" Han Li asked with furrowed brows.
The small child replied with a question of his own. "How many layers is your cultivation art split into?"
Han Li was rather perplexed by this line of questioning, but he still replied truthfully, "Seven."
A peculiar smile appeared on the small child's face as he exclaimed, "What a coincidence! I also have a Buddhist body refinement art that's split up into seven layers!"
Chapter 1196: Vajra Arts and Imperial Elixir
Han Li faltered upon hearing this. A hint of befuddlement flashed through his eyes, and he couldn't comprehend why the Endless Sky Beast was saying this.
"This cultivation art originates from Buddhist origins, but its something that everyone uses in the Spirit Realm. It's even more popular than the basic cultivation arts of the five elements used by Qi Condensation cultivators," the small child explained.
"Everyone uses this cultivation art? Could it be that you're also referring to..." Han Li was starting to read between the lines, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
"This Buddhist cultivation art can even be used by mortals in the Spirit Realm who possess no spiritual roots. If a mortal reaches the third layer or above in this cultivation art, then obtains some special weapons, they'll even be able to combat low-grade cultivators and demon beasts. If they can reach the fifth layer or above, hehe, even mid-grade cultivators and demon beasts wouldn't dare to mess with them for no good reason, then," the small child chuckled coldly.
Han Li was flabbergasted to hear this, and only after a long while did he respond in an incredulous manner, "Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky! You're telling me that mortals can combat us cultivators?"
"Hehe, you haven't ascended to the Spirit Realm yet, so there's no point for me tell you too much about it, but this is something that I wouldn't mind disclosing to you; in the Spirit Realm, the mortals are an extremely important force in the human race. Furthermore, there were some exceptionally intellectually-endowed figures among the mortals who studied some basic cultivation arts used by cultivators and demon beasts, and managed to discover ways to refine their own bodies using the spiritual Qi from their environment without having to rely on spiritual roots. In the end, they managed to devise a unique set of cultivation principles. There are even some particularly outstanding warriors among the mortals who have slain high-grade cultivators and demon beasts; this is not something that's uncommon in the Spirit Realm. The cultivation art I'm referring to is known as the Vajra Arts, and it's one of the cultivation arts used most regularly among the mortals."
"Even so, surely mortals still can't compare with cultivators. After all, the vast majority of cultivation arts and treasures are still unusable to them," Han Li countered with furrowed brows.
"Of course. Mortals are still mortals in the end, and no matter how powerful they become, without spiritual roots, they're still unable to pursue the Great Dao. Their lifespans reach a mere 100 years, and even if they can obtain some treasures or medicines that can extend their lifespans, it'll only give them 100 more years to live at most; that's their maximal limit. However, in the Spirit Realm, the postnatal acquirement of spiritual roots is possible. Among the three human sovereigns, the Heavenly Yuan Holy Sovereign was once an extremely prominent and renowned mortal. Only after encountering a miraculous opportunity was he able to attain a spiritual root and become a cultivator, but in terms of power and abilities, he's not inferior to his other two counterparts at all." The small child's expression became rather solemn as he spoke.
Han Li stroked his chin and was at a loss for words.
"Don't think too much about this matter. The mortals in the Spirit Realm are only able to achieve all of this due to the fact that the spiritual Qi density in the Spirit Realm is far superior to that of lower realms. Your human world has endured a devilish tribulation long ago, and the spiritual Qi density here is far inferior compared to the other lower realms. Even if mortals were to obtain the cultivation arts from the Spirit Realm that I mentioned, they wouldn't be able to absorb the world's origin Qi into their bodies anyway, so there's no way that they'd be able to cultivate," the small child explained.
"Other lower realms? Does that mean there are more lower realms than just the human world?" Han Li was very surprised to hear this.
A peculiar look appeared on the small child's face as he said, "Of course! There are hundreds, if not over 1,000 lower realms beneath our Spirit Realm. All of the most exceptional cultivators from these lower realms would ascend to the Spirit Realm, and barely any have ascended from the human world in the past years. However, there have been many cultivators ascending from other lower realms that haven't been invaded by elder devils. I decided to send my avatar to the human world, firstly, because the spiritual Qi is very sparse here. That makes it more difficult for my avatar to descend into this realm, but it makes it easier for me to avoid my great tribulation. Secondly, this is a realm dominated by the human race, so no one would suspect that I would send my avatar to this realm. Otherwise, if my enemies were to learn my backup plan and destroy this avatar of mine, all of my efforts would've been in vain."
Han Li was speechless once again.
He had always thought that the human world was a unique existence, which was why the Spirit Realm had gone to the effort of deploying cultivators into the human world to combat the invasion of the elder devils. However, after hearing the Endless Sky Beast's words, it was clear that there were other factors behind that decision.
"Alright, that's enough about the Spirit Realm. It won't benefit you to learn too much about it for now. Let's talk about the Vajra Arts first. This cultivation art can be used even by mortals without spiritual roots, but it's also renowned in the Spirit Realm for being extremely difficult to cultivate. There are very few people who can reach the third layer, let alone the fifth layer; most of the mortals in the Spirit Realm have only reached the first layer, which will somewhat enhance their bodies, but the effects won't be very useful. Reaching the second layer of the cultivation art requires the cleansing of the marrow, which is an excruciating process that not many people can withstand. However, there are many mortals within the Spirit Realm and reaching the second layer would allow one to become as powerful a low-grade demon beast, so there are always some who are willing and able to endure the painful process. I've never heard of your Brightjade Arts, but I'm sure it's very much related to this cultivation art. After all, there are only a handful of Buddhist body refinement cultivation arts, and this is most likely the only one among those cultivation arts that can be used in the human world." The small child was very confident in his judgment.
Han Li also felt like that was a very plausible notion, and he nodded as he said, "Perhaps that's true. It's indeed been rather difficult for me to cultivate the Brightjade Arts."
"Give me a jade slip; I'll give you a copy of the Vajra Arts for you to examine. If it's the same cultivation art as your Brightjade Arts, then it won't do you much good, but if they're not the same thing, you can choose one between them to cultivate." The small child was suddenly being very generous.
"Hehe, I'll have to thank you in advance then, Fellow Daoist Endless Sky." Han Li certainly wasn't going to decline such a tempting offer. A faint smile appeared on his face, and he flipped his hand over to produce a jade slip before tossing it to the small child.
The Endless Sky Beast caught the jade slip before slowly closing his eyes to replicate the cultivation art.
The smile on Han Li's face faded, and his brows furrowed as memories of a copper plate and another cultivation art surfaced in his mind.
They were none other than the Sacred Provenance Plate, as well as the Heavenbearing Devil Arts that he had obtained from Man Huzi.
There was nothing to be said about the Sacred Provenance Plate; he was already certain that this demonic cultivation
art and the Brightjade Arts had both originated from the Elder Devil Realm. Furthermore, they were, respectively, the cultivation art required to unleash the technique, and the mandatory basic body refinement cultivation art. Unfortunately, there was a missing link in the middle, and that was the cultivation art for the transformation ability.
When he had obtained the Heavenbearing Devil Arts from Man Huzi, he had only inspected it briefly before ascertaining that this cultivation art was that missing link. He didn't know how it had become a top-grade devilish art, but that didn't really matter.
What was important was that he had somehow gathered the complete set of cultivation arts. Furthermore, the fact that the Nine Gale Transformations that Han Li wanted to cultivate required progression in the Brightjade Arts made him feel as if there were some kind of profound greater power at work, trying to make him cultivate the Sacred Provenance Plate.
A series of thoughts flashed through Han Li's mind and after about 10 minutes, the small child sitting atop the cauldron suddenly opened his eyes before raising a hand, sending a burst of yellow light flying toward Han Li.
Han Li immediately swept a sleeve through the air, catching the yellow light to reveal the jade slip within.
"The cultivation art has been recorded in there; you can have a look at it first," the small child said in a calm voice.
Han Li nodded and immediately seeped his spiritual sense into the jade slip to examine the cultivation art within.
After just a short while, Han Li heaved a faint sigh and withdrew his spiritual sense.
The small child's expression remained unchanged as he asked in an indifferent manner, "Is the same as your Brightjade Arts?"
Han Li was silent for a moment before replying, "It is. There are some additional spiritual Qi absorption methods detailed in the Vajra Arts, but everything else is completely identical."
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 658