Without any avenues for the escape, the sword could only continue to withstand the power of the sword formation. Even though it was a spirit treasure, without anyone to wield it, there was no way that it would be able to withstand the might of the sword formation for too long.
Mere moments later, the spiritual light emanating from the sword began to dim in the face of the countless golden threads, and it emitted an anguished ringing sound.
However, there was no end to the golden threads around it, and they were only becoming brighter and sharper. The sword formation was clearly still growing in power.
The two Long Family cultivators were stunned upon seeing this from afar, and they unleashed several secret techniques in quick succession, sending forth malicious ghosts and devilish heads to try and stop Han Li. In contrast, Ye Ying and Ye Chu were ecstatic, and they no longer held back as they unleashed an unrelenting assault to keep the two Long Family cultivators as well as the ghosts and devils they'd summoned at bay.
It would be quite difficult for them to defeat and kill the two Long Family cultivators, but keeping them occupied was a relatively easy task.
As such, the two Long Family cultivators could only continue to stew in rage and frustration as they fended off the attacks from Ye Ying and Ye Chu.
The spiritual light continued to be whittled down by the power of the sword formation. All of a sudden, Han Li was greeted by a furious voice transmission from Long Dong.
"Brother Han, do you really want to foil my plans? If you destroy this sword, then you'll be a sworn enemy of our Long Family from now on. Do you really think the Ye Family can protect you?"
Han Li completely ignored him and continued to manipulate his sword formation.
"What benefits have the Ye Family promised you? If you can switch your allegiance, I'm willing to offer twice those benefits." Long Dong switched strategies as his voice took on a beseeching tone.
However, Han Li continued to ignore him, and Long Dong ceased his voice transmissions upon seeing this. The crimson sword continued to hover in mid-air, withstanding the relentless assault from the countless golden threads.
When the final speck of spiritual light finally faded from the surface of the sword, a series of thin cracks finally appeared upon it. The cracks weren't very deep, but an immeasurable number of them were being inflicted, and it appeared that the giant sword was going to be shattered at any moment.
Han Li faltered slightly upon seeing this, but a thought quickly occurred to him as his expression changed drastically. He let loose a loud cry as his body hurtled back as a streak of azure light, completely abandoning the sword formation in his hasty retreat.
Almost at the exact same moment, the cries of a dragon and a phoenix erupted from within the crimson sword at the same time, following which it exploded amid a resounding boom.
A scorching red sun appeared in the air, radiating scintillating white light in all directions.
As soon as the golden threads in the sword formation came into contact with this white light, they completely shattered and crumbled. Within the span of just a single breath, the sun had swelled countless times in size, encompassing an area with a radius of several thousand feet. Even the two Long Family cultivators, as well as Ye Ying and Ye Chu, were affected by this explosion, and all four of them were given a massive fright.
Thankfully, they were situated quite far away from the crimson sword to begin with, so they had ample time to withdraw their treasures and abilities before fleeing the scene.
The power produced by a self-detonating top-grade Divine Spirit Treasures was most likely quite fearsome even to a Body Integration cultivator. If it weren't for Han Li's quick thinking, he would've most definitely perished in that explosion already.
At this moment, he was situated several thousand feet away from the white sun, looking on with a set of pale features.
Even though he had withdrawn his flying swords during his retreat, a dozen or so of them were withdrawn a little too late, and the power of the explosion had damaged their spiritual nature. He was going to have to nurture them for a period of time in the future to facilitate a full recovery.
Thankfully, all of his Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had many types of precious materials, such as Refined Crystal, infused into them. Otherwise, they would've all been completely destroyed as part of that explosion.
Han Li looked on at the scorching sun with an intense unblinking gaze as blue light shimmered within his eyes.
The scintillating sun was far too bright for a normal cultivator to stare directly into, but that didn't seem to faze him at all, and he could clearly see everything that was going on within it. All of a sudden, his expression changed slightly as he spread open his wings, disappearing on the spot as an arc of azure and white lightning.
In the next instant, Han Li reappeared out of thin air before grabbing the air down below with a palm that was as pristine white as jade.
Five bone rings immediately surfaced on his five fingers before disappearing in a flash.
Five bursts of glacial flames were blasted from his fingertips, creating a sea of five-colored flames that enshrouded a vast area down below.
A crimson shadow that was around a foot in length suddenly appeared. It was a vibrant red blood dragon with an incomplete blood phoenix clamped tightly within its mouth.
A small portion of the blood phoenix's body had disappeared, and the remaining portion of its body remained completely motionless in the blood dragon's mouth, as if it had lost all of its spiritual nature.
Within the glacial flames, the blood dragon was scurrying around in a surreptitious manner, clearly attempting to flee the scene using the chaotic explosion to cover its tracks. However, never would it have thought that Han Li had an ability like the Brightsight Spirit Eyes. Not only was its location immediately identified, Han Li had even summoned his five glacial flames to ensnare it.
With its body trapped within the five glacial flames, the blood dragon was moving at less than a tenth of its original speed, and all of its movements had become extremely slow and sluggish.
A cold light flashed through Han Li's eyes, and the five glacial flames immediately swept back toward him, carrying the blood dragon within it.
At the same time, Han Li opened his mouth to summon the Heavenvoid Cauldron, which was enshrouded in a ball of azure light.
Chapter 1387: Heavenly Phoenix Feather
"Don't you dare!" The blood dragon immediately let loose a roar of shock and fury as a streak of crimson light shot forth from its body, hurtling directly toward the cauldron.
In this desperate situation, Long Dong's soul released its final bit of true spirit blood as a streak of sword Qi in a final stand.
If this was just a normal attack, then the crimson sword Qi would most likely be able to vanquish it.
However the Heavenvoid Cauldron itself was also a Divine Spirit Treasure, and the azure threads it unleashed were extremely versatile.
Azure light immediately flashed in the air as most of the azure threads disappeared at Han Li's behest. The remaining threads also suddenly transformed into a streak of azure light to combat the oncoming crimson light.
In the next instant, spatial fluctuations erupted in the air around a foot above the crimson dragon, and a plume of azure threads shot forth from within space.
The azure threads dispersed, instantly ensnaring the blood dragon and the blood phoenix within the five-colored flames before drawing them toward the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
All of a sudden, a ball of azure light suddenly emerged from the desperately struggling blood dragon. The ball of light flashed before appearing over 100 feet away, then flashed several times in quick succession to cover a distance of 300 to 400 feet.
A cold light flashed through Han Li's eyes as a burst of black light suddenly shot forth from his Law Destruction Eye.
A dull thump rang out in the air, following which the azure ball of light stumbled out of thin air, and it seemed to have
dimmed significantly.
However, before Han Li had a chance to unleash any other attacks, the azure ball of light abruptly flashed through the air, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
Han Li's brows furrowed as the black light that had just accumulated within his third demonic eye dissipated.
The Law Destruction Eye did indeed possess the ability to puncture space, but he naturally couldn't do anything from such a long distance away.
Meanwhile, the blood dragon and the blood phoenix had already been sealed away into his Heavenvoid Cauldron.
The lid of the cauldron then came crashing down with a resounding boom.
What everyone had failed to notice was that in that instant, two discreet specks of golden light suddenly emerged from one of Han Li's sleeves before disappearing into the cauldron in an extremely stealthy manner.
At this moment, the other four cultivators were situated several thousand feet away from Han Li, and all of them were stunned to see Han Li capturing the true spirit blood while Long Dong fled for his life.
The two Long Family cultivators glanced at one another before immediately fleeing the scene as two streaks of light. Those ghosts and devils they had summoned also fled in hot pursuit.
The direction they were escaping toward was none other than the one that Long Dong had just disappeared in.
Ye Chu and Ye Ying displayed no intention to give chase. Instead, both of them flew toward Han Li.
Moments later, the two of them appeared just over 100 feet away from Han Li. Ye Chu was looking at Han Li and his Weeping Soul Beast with undisguised shock in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Ye Ying wore a smile on her face, but her eyes were fixed on the azure cauldron in front of Han Li.
It was quite clear that the two had become extremely wary of Han Li after he had captured the true spirit bloods.
"Brother Han, thank you for your assistance. If it hadn't been for your efforts, the Long Family would’ve most likely succeeded in their scheme. Rest assured, Brother Han; the conditions I promised you earlier remain unchanged. Your efforts won't be for nothing," Ye Ying said with a seductive smile.
"Indeed. With the power of our Ye Family, there are very few wishes what we won't be able to grant you," Ye Chu also said in a slow voice, but there was a barely-disguised threat in her words.
Han Li's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything as he patted the azure cauldron before him.
A ringing sound erupted as the lid of the cauldron was lifted once again. The blood dragon and the blood phoenix both emerged at the opening of the cauldron with countless azure threads binding their bodies.
Ye Ying and Ye Chu were ecstatic to see the true spirit bloods. A crimson light flashed past Ye Ying's face, and the indistinct projection of a miniature blood phoenix appeared for a split second.
Han Li smiled as he flicked a finger toward the azure cauldron.
All of the azure threads around the blood phoenix were immediately severed, and it was tossed toward Ye Ying.
Ye Ying was ecstatic to see this, and she let loose a delicate cry as the other miniature blood phoenix flew forth from her body, crashing into the oncoming incomplete blood phoenix.
Brilliant crimson light flashed, and the two of them combined as one without any impediment, forming a crimson ball that was around a foot in size.
The ball was of an extremely vibrant shade of red, as if it had been forged from blood essence. After circling around in the air for a while, it transformed into a blood phoenix that was around a foot in size, flapping its wings as it flew in circles around Ye Ying.
Ye Ying wore a smile on her face as she pointed a slim finger at the blood phoenix.
Following a crisp heavenly cry, the blood phoenix spread its wings and disappeared into Ye Ying's body as a streak of crimson light.
Immediately thereafter, a layer of crimson light surfaced over Ye Ying's body. At the same time, the indistinct projection of a blood phoenix appeared behind her. It was initially rather blurry, but it slowly became clearer and gradually stabilized.
After a while, the blood phoenix projection disappeared, and Ye Ying opened her eyes with excitement shining on her face.
"Most of my true phoenix blood has been recovered. There's still a small portion missing, and it’s most likely been forcibly devoured by this true dragon blood, so it won't be easy to separate it. Thankfully, the true dragon blood has also fallen in our hands. Brother Han, toss the true dragon blood over to me as well; blood of this caliber has to be stored carefully as using ordinary containers could quite possibly damage its spiritual nature." Ye Ying smiled as she flipped over her hand to produce a small purplish-golden gourd that was extremely intricate and beautiful.
However, Han Li merely smiled in response, but showed no intention of handing over the true dragon blood.
"Fairy Ye, if I recall correctly, I seem to have only promised to help you recover your true spirit blood. Now that you've already recovered the heavenly phoenix blood, isn't it too greedy of you to ask for this true dragon blood as well?"
"What are you trying to say, Fellow Daoist Han? Could it be that you want to keep this true spirit blood for yourself?" Ye Chu's voice immediately cooled as she shot daggers from her eyes.
"I may be an ascended cultivator, but I know the taboos of the true spirit families; I wouldn't dare to take the true dragon blood for myself. Even if I were to fuse the true spirit blood into my body, I'd end up being hunted by all of the true spirit families," Han Li replied with a smile and a shake of his head.
Seeing as Han Li wasn't intending to take the true dragon blood for himself, Ye Ying's expression eased as she asked, "Then what do you propose, Brother Han?"
"Hehe, nothing much. This true dragon should be no less valuable than your heavenly phoenix blood; your Ye Family would be intent on getting your hands on it, right? If I were willing to offer up this item, what would you give me in exchange?" Han Li asked.
"Hehe, so you're looking for some benefits, Brother Han. That's no problem at all; state your price, Brother Han," Ye Ying replied with a wide smile.
"An item as precious as true spirit blood can't be exchanged for using mere spirit stones. Having said that, if you have 100 or so top-grade spirit stones, I can certainly consider it," Han Li said in an indifferent voice.
Ye Ying's expression changed slightly, and she turned to exchange a glance with Ye Chu. After turning back to Han Li, her smile was a little more forced as she said, "Surely you jest, Brother Han; even our Ye Family won't be able to offer up so many top-grade spirit stones at once. If you're only looking for a few, I can try and source them for you."
"If I'm only looking for a few top-grade spirit stones, I wouldn't trouble you two; I'd be able to source them on my own, albeit with a bit of effort," Han Li replied.
"So what do you want? Go ahead and spit it out," Ye Chu urged in a cold voice, seemingly having run out of patience.
"It's quite simple; I want one of the heavenly phoenix feathers in your possession, Senior Ye," Han Li said in a slow voice.
"What heavenly phoenix feather? Have you been swindled by that Black Phoenix Race cultivator?" Ye Chu’s pupils contracted slightly upon hearing this, but her expression remained calm.
"Do you think I'd believe that, Senior Ye? If you insist on denial, I wouldn't mind using a soul search technique on Fellow Daoist Xiao. I only want a single feather. One heavenly phoenix feather in exchange for true dragon blood is a huge bargain for the two of you." Han Li's expression remained calm and collected.
Ye Chu's brows furrowed tightly upon hearing this, and she cast her gaze toward Ye Ying.
Ye Ying pursed her lips a few times before asking, "What do you need this heavenly phoenix feather for? This item is also very useful to our Ye Family, so would you be able to accept anything else instead? How about the two Zoysia Dragon Fruits I obtained earlier?"
"I have a treasure that needs to be refined again, and that process just so happens to require a hea
venly phoenix feather. As for Zoysia Dragon Fruits, those are quite tempting as well, but in comparison, they obviously pale next to a heavenly phoenix feather," Han Li replied calmly.
"So you're only after the heavenly phoenix feather, Brother Han? Is there no room for negotiation?" Ye Ying stared at the blood dragon atop the azure cauldron with an indecisive look on her face.
"Hehe, if you're in possession of Immortal Gaze Pills or Nineheart Spirit Zoysias, I wouldn't mind taking them as well," Han Li chuckled.
"Hmph, if I had such things, why would I even need the true dragon blood? I could just take those to ascend to the Spatial Tempering and Body Integration Stages. Alright, you have yourself a deal; I'll exchange for the true dragon blood with a heavenly phoenix feather," Ye Ying gritted her teeth and agreed in the end.
Ye Chu's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and she opened her mouth to say something, but swallowed her words in the end. Han Li's eyes immediately lit up.
"Haha, that's a very wise decision, Fellow Daoist Ye. If you'd allow me to examine the phoenix feather in order to verify its authenticity first, I'll immediately hand over the true dragon blood. You wouldn't be worried that I'll take the treasure and leave, right?" Han Li said with a smile.
Ye Ying sighed and turned to Ye Chu as she instructed, "Big Sister Chu, give him a phoenix feather."
"Yes, Young Mistress." Ye Chu hesitated momentarily, but did as she was told in the end. She swept a hand over her storage bracelet to produce a fiery red jade box.
Not only was this jade box of a vibrant crimson color, its surface was engraved with fiery patterns. Upon being produced, it began to emanate a scorching aura, and the surrounding temperatures were instantly raised significantly.
"Flame Jade!" Han Li was quite taken aback at the sight of this jade box.
Chapter 1388: Dark Hand
"So you also recognize the materials of this jade box, Brother Han. Indeed, this is Myriad Year Flame Jade, which ranks alongside Myriad Year Profound Jade. Only a container constructed from rare extreme fire-attribute materials like this can ensure that the phoenix feather doesn't lose any of its spiritual Qi," Ye Ying said with a slightly smug smile on her face.
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