She yelped and took a long look at the item in the box. Then she slowly opened the lid and her expression turned solemn.
“Are you truly planning to use this as a down payment. Don’t you fear that I will take it and won’t return?” The woman coldly said.
“This is a trifling three thousand year old herb. With your status, you aren’t going to do something like that. Additionally, this is a display of sincerity to guarantee your business. So long as you bring those medicine herbs to me, I’ll definitely leave you satisfied.” He said with a neutral tone.
She flipped her hand and put away the box. Then, she confidently said, “It seems you are sincere about the deal, but items you want can’t be gathered in a short amount of time. I will need several years to gather the three medicines.”
“Good, I await good news.” Pleased, Han Li saluted her.
To him, a medicine herb of several thousand years wasn’t valuable. It was a cheap price to gain her trust. Furthermore, Han Li was confident that his promise of a ten-thousand-year-old medicine herb was enough to have her find his items.
Since Han Li was unwilling to attract too much attention to the human side of the city, this was a suitable method.
The woman nodded and wordlessly left.
Han Li narrowed his eyes to look at the slender silhouette through the black mist. Suddenly, he began to walk to the exit on the human side.
But when he walked past the first human vendor, his eyes were drawn onto the branch once more and he unconsciously stopped. After some hesitation, he walked over.
“Could you tell me about the origins of this item?” Han Li walked over to the vendor and reached out for the green branch. He then stroked it with his finger.
“The origin? I saw heavenly lightning strike dried spirit wood. Afterwards, it grew alive and turned into this spirit wood. I don't know anything about its origins or usage.” A hoarse, aged voice spoke from the white mist.
Han Li flipped the branch several times and muttered, “Heavenly lightning turned wood. How surprising.”
“Hehe, rare indeed,” the old man chuckled, “However, I won’t hide this from you. This item contains potent lightning power. Even if you forcefully refine it, you won’t be able to use it for tool refinement. I wanted to see if the demons were interested, but it seems you are too!”
Chapter 1336: Mysterious Lightning Marks
“Oh, its nothing much. I just cultivated a bit of lightning, so I am curious about this item.” Han Li fiddled with the lightning branch and calmly asked, “What did you plan on trading this for?”
When the old man heard that Han Li thought about purchasing it, the old man was startled and gave Han Li an appraising glance. He hoarsely said, “I have yet to find a true use for the lightning wood, so its price is hard to estimate, but it is lightning turned wood. How about this? Recently, I’ve wanted to refine a Sky Essence Pill, but I’m missing a five-thousand-year-old medicine herb. If you can give it to me, the wood is yours. Of course, I won’t refuse top-grade spirit stones if you have them.”
“How did you know I have medicine herbs?” Han Li’s heart trembled and his expression behind the white mist sank.
“There is no need to be shocked,” The old man softly said, “I’ve cultivated a minor ability that grants me an extraordinary scent of smell. During your trade with the demon woman, I caught a whiff of a medicinal scent coming from that wooden box. It belonged to a three-thousand-year-old medicinal herb. If you can easily take that out, then it is likely you can bring out a five-thousand-year-old medicine herb.”
Han Li was left speechless.
He heard Buddhist sects’ grand techniques were able to strengthen a cultivator’s five senses. Legend mentioned myriad distant sight, flawless hearing, penetrative sights like his Brightsight Spirit Eyes. From what he said, his abilities must’ve reached an inconceivable realm mentioned only in rumors.
Having realized this, Han Li’s expression relaxed and he slowly said, “That is so. Since you’ve pointed it out, I do have such a medicine herb. Take a look and see if it’s suitable.”
Han Li had no intention of bargaining. He raised his hand and white light flashed. He tossed a narrow wooden box over to him.
The old man was surprised. He didn’t think that Han Li would truly agree to his condition. He happily took the box and took a quick glance at its interior before covering it back up.
“Not bad, a genuine five-thousand-year-old spirit herb. I can use it.” The old man happily said.
Han Li smiled and his hand blurred, putting away the branch. Then he saluted him and silently departed.
In front of old cunning foxes, the less said the better.
After he left the hall, he took another trip through the market, but with his spirit treasures and countless medicine herbs, there was little that could temp him. Several hours later, he returned to the huge stone pagoda.
When he walked in his squad’s seclusion room, Han Li waved his hand, striking at the door with a spell seal. He didn’t wish to be disturbed.
But Han Li still wasn’t at ease. He raised his hand and released several differently-colored streaks of light that disappeared into corners of the room.
His two hands formed a spell seal and a white barrier of light appeared on the walls, thoroughly protecting him from view.
As a result, Han Li was able to take a seat on the meditation mat and take out the half-foot-long lightning branch.
It was only about as thick as a thumb, but its color was exceptionally green. There was also a fine vortex pattern on its surface, but on closer inspection, it looked more like a flame.
He hadn’t closely inspected the branch while he was in the Profound Zenith Hall. Now, he brushed his finger lightly past every inch and he closed his eyes.
Underneath the branch’s surface, the wood was brimming with violent lightning. It was inconceivable for such a thing to have solid form.
As he mulled over this, he opened his eyes once more and azure light flashed from his hand. He injected some spiritual power into the branch.
The branch trembled and the magic power came back to him, completely repelled.
A trace of astonishment appeared in his eye and he poured in magic power with more force.
The branch trembled and a layer of white light appeared on it. It clashed with the azure light from Han Li’s hand, appearing entirely incompatible.
A while later, a slight drone sounded from the light.
Han Li frowned and he waved his hand, vanishing the azure light.
It was clear that forcefully injecting more spiritual power into the branch would cause it to explode.
With Han Li’s experience, he had other ways of examining it.
He grabbed the branch and released several arcs of golden lightning onto it.
The lightning jumped on the branch’s markings and remained completely still.
Han Li didn’t appear dejected. If this branch was easily researched, its previous master wouldn’t have sold it at such a low price.
Han Li then tossed it into the air, where it immediately floated in suspension.
He flicked his finger at the branch, and a golden swordlight flew out and chopped at the center of the branch.
A deep clap of thunder sounded. White light arced out and the branch was easily split into two. It then gently fell to the ground.
Han Li then reached out for the two halves and took them into his hand.
Han Li swept his gaze past them and saw silver light shining from the split ends.
Blue light shining from his eyes, he closely looked at it and discovered that the so-called silver light was actually countless thin arcs of lightning waved together in some sort of pattern. It formed an inconceivable design.
It was meticulous and complex.
If it weren’t for his spirit eyes, he wouldn’t have been able see through it.
In the blink of an eye, a layer of green wood immediately formed over the cut ends, creating
two independent branches.
Han Li was truly shocked by this.
Controlling lightning and condensing it together was originally something he considered a skill of his. But lightning of this elaborate detail was beyond his abilities and something he never considered.
This was countless times more complex than his nets or condensed balls of Divine Devilbane Lightning. And those methods already required an outstanding degree of control with his spiritual sense.
Han Li took the branches in hand and lowered his head in thought.
Suddenly his gaze flickered and he flicked his finger at once of the ganches.
Golden light flashed and it was again cut into two.
This time, Han Li was prepared and his spiritual sense stirred. He looked at the bared silver opening.
Blue light brightly shined from his eyes and he completely focused on the branch’s opening.
This time, however, the designs of the lightning from the opening was vastly different.
A short moment later, the opening was covered again by green wood.
He slowly closed his eyes and began to think about what he saw.
Suddenly, his finger flicked and another piece of the wood was split open. Again, a completely different pattern was revealed and he looked at it with complete focus.
Soon, the branch half was cut into countless small pieces, all lying on the ground.
As Han Li began to show a face of understanding, he spat out a thin swordlight and cut through the center of the other branch half. In a flash of silver light, it split into two even pieces.
He closely examined it once more and he released countless more golden streaks, splitting the wood into thin pieces.
The thinnest pieces were like paper.
Even so, the lightning wood remained extremely stable. It clearly contained a fearsome amount of lightning to not burst out.
Han Li suddenly flipped his hand and took out a white jade slip.
He held onto the jade slip and began to imprint all the patterns that he saw.
Finally, he let out a long breath.
Even with his astonishing level of memory, the many meticulous and complex patterns would be difficult to remember.
With that freed up from his mind, he began to comprehend the lightning designs.
For some reason, why he saw the lightning patterns, he felt a grasp of it, knowing the patterns had to do with the formation of the lightning wood.
He sat down for an entire day, unmoving as he completely looked at the patterns.
Suddenly, Han Li’s eye stirred and he flicked his finger. Lightning rang!
A streak of golden lightning shot out and immediately burst, scattering into countless thin arcs.
He chanted an incantation as fingers began to flick through the air.
The arcs of lightning stopped and suddenly condensed together. They began to weave into a strange design, faintly resembling what Han Li saw from the branch.
Just as it was about to take the form of cloth, it ruptured.
The weaved lightning disappeared like a firecracker.
Han Li let out a deep sigh and he couldn't help but show a trace of disappointment, but excitement was still strong in his eyes.
His thoughts were correct. The golden lightning cloth he weaved with the lightning patterns possessed a vague power.
It was a shame that he made an error in weaving the cloth, leading to its eruption before he could research it.
Han Li took a deep breath and he twisted his hands together. A dense bolt of golden lightning shot out, letting out a rumbling sound.
It burst into countless thin arcs of lightning and condensed together again. The threads now appeared in far greater number.
Chapter 1337: Hateful Visitor
Under control of Han Li’s spiritual sense, the threads of lightning continued to weave together in the pattern of the branch.
However, this level of control was extremely difficult. Even with his vast spiritual sense and Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he successively failed, resulting in eruptions.
Eight times later, the golden lightning cloth eventually took form, floating motionlessly in the air.
The cloth was the size of a palm, woven in eye-catching lightning patterns. It appeared rather mysterious.
When Han Li saw the finished product, his face slightly changed and he waved his hand, summoning the cloth into his hand.
It was exceptionally soft with a sleek surface. It was actually somewhat more exquisite than silk and he couldn't find anything out of the ordinary with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes.
Han Li gently stroked the golden cloth and examined it for a moment more. His gaze flickered and he tossed the item into the air, striking it with a spell seal.
The cloth turned into a streak of golden light and began to circle from his hands. It rang with soft rolls of thunder.
The cloth dispersed inch by inch, revealing a hollow image of lightning patterns in a faint golden glow. As the translucent pattern appeared, an immense spiritual pressure burst out from it.
This was the mysterious power he sensed from the branch previously.
Han Li narrowed his eyes and attentively stared at the golden pattern. His heart lit up with excitement.
Although he still couldn't completely control the lightning patterns, the force of its spiritual power was over ten times what was originally contained in cloth weaved from Divine Devilbane Lightning. If it was harnessed into an attack, the protective restriction in the stone room might not be able to withstand it.
With that in mind, Han Li beckoned to the lightning pattern.
Thunder clapped and the lightning patterns flashed, returning to its form as cloth and dropping back into his hand.
Soon after, he spat out more lightning, using it to weave together another item of lightning. After another string of failures, he successfully created something.
This time, it wasn’t a cloth, but a glistening golden ball. Lightning patterns faintly shined from its surface.
Han Li grabbed ahold of it and thoroughly examined both of the items with his spiritual sense.
A short moment later, he thought of something and spat out a ball of silver flames.
He then pointed at the flame with an incantation gesture.
Bang. The flame ruptured and scattered into countless silver flowers.
Han Li chanted and used his spiritual sense to change the form of the flames into thin strings.
A similar scene occurred, but when he weaved it together halfway, the flames burst and turned into a silver fireball.
When this happened, a pensive expression appeared on his face. With another command, the fireball turned into a bird and flew back into his body.
Afterwards, he used his magic power to condense together blue strings, but the result was similar to the spirit engulfing flames. His attempt ended in failure.
Han Li didn’t continue his experiments and sank into deep thought.
While both lightning objects originated from the same principles, many small details varied. The lightning int he cloth was steady and pure, but the golden orb’s lightning was restless and dangerous as if it could erupt at any moment.
As Han Li fiddled with the two items in his hand, he eventually smiled after some meticulous thought.
According to his guesses, the lightning patterns were a type of naturally formed talisman characters. Each pattern should create unique properties similar to the talisman characters formed from Immortal Clan’s silver runes.
These lightning patterns’ effects and skillful use weren’t something he could come to understand in a short amount of time.
As such, Han Li placed the two lightning items in a jade box and carefully sealed them with several restriction talismans before finally putting them in his storage bracelet.
For the rest of the time before the auction, Han Li carefully withdrew his spiritual sense and shut his eyes in meditation.
On the morning of the third day, hl Han
Li opened his eyes and withdrew the restriction from the seclusion room before heading out.
When he left the room, he immediately released his spiritual sense out of habit and unconsciously swept his spiritual sense past the entire hall.
As a result, he heard someone’s voice.
He looked to the side and frowned.
Without making the slightest sound, he walked out of the main hall.
Before he fully made his way out, he heard a man’s voice wildly laugh, “Fairy Xu, if you can’t take a loss, then don’t make the bet in the first place. Did you not agree to become my apprentice’s wife?”
The laugh sounded extremely foreign as if it came from a broken gong.
Han Li calmly walked out and swept his gaze across the entire hall.
He saw two pairs of people standing in confrontation.
One of the pairs consisted of a man and a woman. The woman was Fairy Xu, but her face was deathly white. The other was the large green-eyed man, but his face wore an unsightly expression.
They faced two black-robed men.
One of them had a slim face and long triangular eyes, wearing dark azure armor. The other was a pock-marked middle-aged dwarf with diseased hair.
The laugh came from the old man.
“Senior Han!”
As soon as Han Li appeared, the large man glanced at Han Li and quickly saluted him with a face of deep relief.
Fairy Xu also appeared overjoyed when Han Li appeared.
Han Li stopped and many thoughts quickly flashed through his hand, but his face remained unchanged.
The old man’s wild laughter suddenly stopped and he examined Han Li with a trace of surprise. “So your esteemed self must be the newly arrived Fellow Daoist Han.”
At nearly the same time, Han Li swept his spiritual sense past the old man to discover he was a mid Deity Transformation-stage cultivator. He couldn't help but raise a brow at the old man.
“Who are you Fellow Daoists and why are you making a commotion?” Han Li coldly asked.
The old man was enraged by Han Li’s rude demeanor as his cultivation level was a level above his.
But when he recalled that Han Li was an ascended cultivator, he forcefully suppressed his rage and wore an artificial smile, “I am Huang Bao. Leader of the twenty-seventh squad. I’ve come here because I have some matters to discuss with Fairy Xu. It’d be best if you didn’t interfere.”
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 745