Having come to that conclusion, Han Li took out six top-grade spirit stones from his storage bracelet.
Five of them represented each of the five elements and he added a sixth, the wind-attributed spirit stone.
With his current abilities, he no longer needed earthfire or the like.
He opened his mouth and spat out a ball of silver flame. It roiled and gathered into a huge furnace roiling with silver flames.
He tossed the Thunderstorm wings into the furnace and pointed at the wind-attributed spirit stone.
Winds rustled as the spirit stone and winds disappeared into the furnace.
Han Li swept his sleeve at the ground, released an azure mist, producing a large pile of materials and bottles.
They were the supplementary materials needed to refine the wings.
Luckily, the matter of refining the wings had always been on his mind so he gathered the needed ingredients over time.
Han Li tossed a bottle of quicksilver-like liquid into the furnace and began to mutter as he struck the furnace with a chain of different spell seals.
After ten entire days passed, the room was filled with Han Li’s hearty laughter.
He stood at the heart of the room and held a pair of see-through crystalline wings.
The wings shimmered with azure light and a rainbow mist covered it, but it was also clear as water. They could hardly be seen in Han Li’s grasp as if they were an illusion.
Han Li already tested its might and it had truly advanced to the level of a spirit treasure. It was marvelous far beyond what he imagined.
This came as no surprise. Whether it be the Kun Peng feather or the Heavenly Phoenix Feather, so long as he could activate its abilities after refinement, refining it into a Divine Spirit Treasure was no problem.
Having transformed a treasure twice, Han Li created something with power that greatly satisfied him.
Chapter 1393: Assembling Together
Han Li flung the translucent wings into the air and he spat out a cloud of azure mist before absorbing both into his stomach.
Following that, Han Li took out the damaged Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords and began to temper them and slowly restore their spirituality.
A year later, above a nameless mountain range in the wilderness, a faint azure light streaked across the sky.
The light contained an insipid youth with his arms held behind his back. He was Han Li who already departed from the hidden room several months before.
When he mended his flying sword entirely, he departed from the heart of the mountain and immediately took the sky.
Because he was alone, Han Li was extremely careful and thus spent half a year of flight in peace.
As for the nameless mountain range he was flying above, it appeared unordinary.
Regardless of their altitude, the trees appeared short as shrubbery. If he were to fly closer to the ground, he would also encounter a dense wave of moisture.
The mountain range also had depressions that were filled with various-sized lakes. Among them, the largest spanned to thousands of kilometers in width while the smallest was only half a kilometer wide.
Nevertheless, Han Li didn’t dare to be careless as he flew past them.
Foreign beings or all sorts of formidable ancient beasts could be lying in wait inside the water.
Ever since he entered the mountains, he had already killed a dozen strange beasts that took the initiative to attack him. Among them included a huge eel from one of the lakes. It was nearly at Deity Transformation-stage and had ferocious water-attributed abilities. It was rather exhausting to deal with.
Half a month later, the mountain features began to change and he came across two perfectly straight mountains that were three kilometers tall.
When Han Li caught sight of the mountains, Han Li’s eyes lit up with joy.
With regard to their size, they weren’t particularly odd, but one of them was silver-white. Most of the mountain was covered in exceptionally cold crystalline snow.
The other mountain was sparkling purple and had maple-like trees growing all over it. The leaves on these trees shined with an odd purple light.
The mountains were separated by over five kilometers, but apart from the silver snow and the purple trees, the mountains appeared almost entirely the same.
“Since the two mountains are here, it seems they were telling the truth.” Han Li muttered. Soon, his light flashed and he made his way to the mountain of snow.
When he drew close, he encountered raging winds that carried an incisive bone-chilling cold.
His expression stirred, but a layer of azure light appeared from his body and he continued forward unhindered.
But before he entered the mountain, two streaks of light shot out from the area covered most densely in snow. With several flashes, they arrived a hundred meters away from Han Li.
Han Li then dismissed his flight light and revealed his body.
“Hehe, so it was Fellow Daoist Han! I knew that with your abilities, you’d make it out of a trifling mission just fine!” The lights in front of Han Li vanished to reveal two men. One of them recognized Han Li and spoke with a smile.
The person’s complexion was pale and he appeared to be sixty years of age. When Han Li first entered Deep Heaven City, he met Old Man Liu from Spirit Flight Hall.
As for the person to his side, he appeared to be a sickly scholar, but he also wore a kind expression.
“So it was Brother Liu and Brother Ouyang! Didn’t you two come here earlier than me? It seems your missions were finished smoothly.” Han Li chuckled, refraining from mentioning his brush with death with the wood tribe.
Old Man Liu shook his head and he said, “How could our mission compare with yours? I simply followed a few golden guards as they wiped out a few small strongholds held by foreign races. So long as I was a bit careful, I wasn’t in any danger.”
Han Li smiled and asked, “Apart from your two, have any others come?”
Old Man Liu flashed a beaming smile and said, “Of course. Our journey requires many people. Although we predicted that about half of our numbers wouldn’t be able to arrive, just about everyone we needed has arrived. Let me guide you.”
“Then I’ll have to trouble you.” Han Li saluted him.
Han Li followed the two and streaked towards the icy mountain.
After a short journey, the old man in the lead took out a jade badge and held it out in the air in front of him.
A wave of white light flew out from the badge and revealed a field of white lotuses that flashed with light.
Old Man Liu commanded the light and entered one of the white lotuses, which soon flashed before disappearing.
Han Li blinked. He and the scholar soon followed.
There was a layer of illusion formations that were placed there. It was quite mysterious since he hadn’t been able to see it.
In that case, if an ordinary ancient beast arrived nearby, it wouldn’t discover anything odd about the mountain.
The three flickered several times with light as they flew above the mountain top and dropped down in front of an ice pavilion.
There was a group of various-styled ice buildings nearby. There was also a man and two women that were keeping watch of the pavilion. When they saw the three arrive, their sights focused on Han Li.
The man possessed a large stature and wore grey robes. His full beard gave him a bold appearance.
One of the women appeared over forty years old, wore azure robes, and had an ordinary appearance. The other woman appeared young, wore green robes, and wore a veil.
When Han Li saw the veiled woman, he yelped.
“Fairy Ying, I didn’t think that you would take the invitation too. What a coincidence!” Han Li called out to her in surprise.
The veiled woman replied with a sweet smile, “I knew you’d be here. I can be considered a founding member.”
She was Fairy Ying who had invited Han Li to team up when he last attended a meeting for ascended cultivators.r />
“A founding member? That is truly outside my expectations.” Han Li chuckled.
When Han Li was invited to join the group, Fairy Yin wasn’t among those who met him, but he still found them to be trustworthy.
As for the people who initiated this gathering, Han Li didn’t care much about that.
Han Li flickered his gaze and swept his eyes past the other two.
The two appeared familiar as if he had seen them before at the meeting for ascended cultivators. However, he didn’t seem to have talked to them before.
The lowest cultivation the three possessed was at mid Deity Transformation stage. The older woman in particular was a late Deity Transformation cultivator.
Thus, Han Li saluted them.
The large man and the older woman promptly returned his salute, not daring to neglect him.
The veiled woman soon invited Han Li to take a seat in the pavilion. After some thought, Han Li shook his head and said, “I’ve received a few wounds on my mission, and I’ve spent some magic power flying without rest. I’ll need to recover. If I remember correctly, there is still a month before the determination meeting time.”
Old Man Liu twirled his beard and spoke with a friendly face, “Hehe, we’ve overlooked that. Please take a rest. We’ll talk to you later. The rooms on the very left don’t have anyone in them. Go ahead and choose one. Of course, if you are dissatisfied, you can construct your own.’
“Then I’ll go ahead.” Han Li faintly smiled and bid them a few words of farewell. He then walked to one of the ice rooms and disappeared inside with a few flickers.
As the few cultivators looked at Han Li’s back, silence filled the air.
The woman slightly frowned and slowly asked, “Is Brother Han hurried to rest because his injuries are severe?”
“It shouldn’t be! His complexion is fine. It’s probably just that he’s low on magic power.” The large grey-robed man shook his head.
Fairy Yin indifferently said, “That might not be the case. If Han Li possesses exceptional concealment techniques, we wouldn’t be able to see anything odd. Nevertheless, since he’s here on schedule, he’s already demonstrated that his abilities are unordinary. Even if he is somewhat ill, I believe that it won’t affect our plans. Didn’t Fellow Daoist Yuan and Master Jing Yuan also head straight to their rooms upon arriving?” She clearly had quite a bit of confidence in Han Li.
The sickly scholar smiled and said, “Your words make sense. Although Fellow Daoist Han is only a mid Deity Transformation cultivator, according to my information, his abilities are among our top three.”
The older woman was stunned and doubtfully said, “Your words aren’t an exaggeration, are they? Fellow Daoist Han is only a mid Deity Transformation cultivator. Are you sure?”
The veiled woman leisurely explained, “Older Sister Zhao has remained in diligent cultivation over these past few years in Deep Heaven City and hasn’t taken part in our meetings. It is no surprise you don’t know of Brother Han. Fellow Daoist Han had killed many similar grade foreign beings and he also captured many of them alive. He is quite famous among the newly ascended cultivators in the city. One of his abilities in particular is incredibly effective against shadow tribe beings. This was primarily one of the reasons we went through such great lengths to invite him.”
“Fellow Daoist Ying means that he will be effective in dealing with those shadow bug beasts?” The older woman realized.
Old Man Liu added, “That’s right. Otherwise, they will be troublesome to deal with. If we consume that much magic power before we encounter our true prey, that would be awful.”
The older woman nodded and said nothing else.
As for the others, they took a seat and briefly chatted. When Han Li entered the ice room, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.
Chapter 1394: Scheming for True Toads
About two weeks later, a clear and long shriek sounded from the outside. Although it wasn't loud, it roused Han Li and the others that were resting.
Han Li’s brow moved and he opened his eyes.
He blinked and tilted his head in thought. Then he stood up and walked out of the ice building.
There was a spacious area in front of the ice building, but at an unknown time, it turned into an icy hall that was three hundred meters long. It was supported by many huge pillars of ice. Although they were exceptionally crude, it sparkled under the sunlight and gave it an imposing presence.
Inside the hall, there was a ten-meter-tall platform where a man and a woman stood.
The man had a head of silver hair and a handsome young face. As for the woman, she wore her hair in a coil and had a well-rounded body, adding to her exceptional beauty. Despite her bare, frail and flawless limbs, she didn’t seem to mind the cold.
The two were at the Spatial Tempering stage. The man in particular was at mid-stage.
The long whistle came from the silver-haired man.
Five people were standing below the platform. Fairy Ying and Old Man Liu stood among them. When the whistle sounded, Han Li and the others came out from their buildings.
In the blink of an eye, over twenty cultivators appeared on the mountain.
The cultivators were all at the Deity Transformation stage at the very least. They walked to the hall with various expressions.
Han Li wore a calm expression as he followed them inside.
When the group entered, many people immediately said, “We pay our respects to Senior Zhu and Senior Qing!”
“These two Seniors have also come! It is good to see you again!”
Han Li soon found an empty spot and stood there unmoving.
The two that originally visited and invited him were the pair of famous golden guards, the woman and man on stage.
Although he only spoke to them once, he had heard much about them. If they weren’t also ascended cultivators, Han Li didn’t know if he would've agreed to this meeting, no matter what rewards were promised.
Senior Zhu’s long whistle had come to a stop and he smiled in response to everyone’s greeting. Then he loudly said, “It appears everyone has come. Please have a seat. Let’s have a proper discussion on how we’ll clean up the nest of Blue-eyed True Toads.”
When he finished speaking, the woman at his side immediately released a spell seal on the floor.
Suddenly, the ice hall lit up with white light and rows of exquisite jade chairs appeared as a result of simple spell formations.
When the cultivators saw this, they took a seat. The two Spatial Tempering cultivators on stage also sat down.
The silver-haired man swept his gaze to both sides and smiled, “It appears that the number of cultivators that arrived was what we expected. When we invited you, we assumed forty percent would be able to make it. As for the others, they couldn't make it for a myriad of reasons.
But even so, we will have to concentrate our efforts in exterminating the Blue-eyed True Toad next. When the time comes, we will all take what we need. You will divide the True Toad Spirit Blood among yourselves while we will take the Thousand Heart Flowers that the beasts are guarding.
It is as we had mentioned before. Are there any objections? Of course, the division of True Toad Spirit Blood will be in accordance to what you contribute. It won’t be evenly split. I hope that you will stifle your thoughts about having a free ride.”
With that said, a huge pressure faintly emitted from his body and his face turned stern.
The other cultivators in the room remained standing and added nothing else.
“Good, since you understand, let’s discuss the operation’s concrete steps. The group of True Toads were discovered by Fairy Ying. Let’s have her explain,” the youth smiled and turned to the veiled woman.
“Senior Zhu, your wish is my command.”
Fairy Ying smiled and she gracefully stood up. She swept her gaze past the other cultivators and said, “I won’t speak of how I discovered the True Toad nest, but I can tell you that there are nearly
ten toads. The two fully mature toads are around the level of mid Spatial Tempering. The other toads will be at Nascent Soul strength. The toads have always hidden in the depths of their nest and rarely head out. If we wish to attack their nest, it will become very difficult. After all, it will be difficult for us to fight them in that environment.
With that said, the woman briefly paused and continued, “If it was just that, there would be no need to invite you all here. The crucial point is that there are two types of ferocious beasts living nearby. One of them is the Black Blood Ants with the other being a Shadow Insect Beast.
The two insects might not be anything alone, but they live together in a group over a hundred. If we want to deal with the toads, we’ll need to deal with these insects first.”
“Black Blood Ants?”
“Shadow Insect Beasts.”
...
When they heard the masked woman, most of the cultivators began to whisper. There were even a few that didn’t dare to discuss the topic with their neighbors.
The two insects were actually quite infamous. If the insects were there, they would pose a large threat even against Spatial Tempering cultivators.
After she finished speaking, the veiled woman nodded to the silver-haired youth and sat back down.
Senior Zhu calmly said, “There is no need to be nervous. Since we’ve invited you here, we already have a method to deal with them. We only need you to assist us with vigor!”
An old man with a bamboo hat stood up and bowed, saying, “Senior Zhu! It’s not that we don’t trust you, but the matter appears quite dangerous. Could Senior explain his plan?”
The old man was one of the few late Deity Transformation cultivators.
“So it was Fellow Daoist You. Please sit back down. Even if you didn’t mention it, I still would’ve explained.” Senior Zhu smiled nonchalantly.
The old man didn’t speak any further and sat down with a salute.
“It’s quite simple, the two insects may be troublesome, but we’ve purchased Sandalwood Crane Incense. It has an immensely powerful attractive allure to the Black Blood Ants. So long as we light it from a distance, we can easily attract them to the surface and exterminate them. On the contrary, the Shadow Insects are troublesome to deal with. However, we’ve borrowed a set of Profound Heavenly Lightning Flags. With eight of you using this treasure, we can form a ring of lightning and restrain the insects. Apart from that, we also invited Fellow Daoist Han and Fairy Xiao, who both have techniques that will be effective against the insects. With you two assisting the lightning formation, it should be safe. As for the remaining few, they will join with me and my wife in exterminating the True Toads. How do you feel about this?” Senior Zhu’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was easily heard.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 780