"Thank you for your kind words, Senior. I was merely lucky to have reached this point. As for my lightning powers, they have indeed been enhanced somewhat," Han Li replied half-truthfully with a faint smile on his face.
The armor-clad man and the young man also turned to Han Li with surprise in their eyes upon hearing this conversation.
"Good. Seeing as none of you have any objections, then come with me. I've hidden the spirit beast away in an obscure location," the shopkeeper said.
"I have no objections there, but before this, shouldn't you show us the items that you promised us?" the young man asked.
The armor-clad man faltered upon hearing this before chiming in in agreement. Han Li didn't say anything, but the expression on his face clearly indicated that he also supported this notion.
The shopkeeper seemed to have anticipated this request, and he said, "No problem. I've already prepared the items in advance, so I'd be happy to show them to you now." The ease with which the shopkeeper accepted this request came as a stark contrast to usual stinginess, and the young man was clearly taken aback, having already prepared a response for a refusal from the shopkeeper.
Three wooden boxes of different sizes were hurled through the air, and it appeared that the shopkeeper really was planning to show them the items he'd promised them.
The young man and the armor-clad man were both ecstatic. They swept their sleeves through the air, sending forth swaths of light that caught the oncoming wooden boxes.
Han Li's heart jolted as he also caught the box flying toward him before removing its lid.
A mesmerizing medicinal aroma wafted toward him, and a green fist-sized fruit sat within the box. There were even a couple of strange red leaves under the fruit, and Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly as he extended a finger toward the fruit.
The other two people also reached for the items in their respective boxes so they could conduct a more thorough examination.
However, right at this moment, the shopkeeper suddenly warned, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. All of the items in the boxes have restrictions set up on them. If any mishaps occur, you won't be able to pay for those things even if you give me everything you own."
All three of them immediately faltered upon hearing this.
The armor-clad man was a little enraged as he grumbled, "What are you trying to do, Brother Yu? How are we supposed to be able to ascertain the authenticity of these items without touching them?"
"With your cultivation bases, you'll have a 70% to 80% chance of verifying these items using your eyes and spiritual sense alone. If you want to completely assess the authenticity of these items, then you'll have to wait until after the event. If the three of you are unable to help me tame the spirit beast, then there won't be any need for you to verify the items. Besides, with my reputation, are you really concerned that I would try to deceive you?" the middle-aged man replied in a nonchalant manner.
The young man stared at the item in the box for a long while before finally making a decision and tossing the box back to the shopkeepers. "Alright, we'll trust you on this one. I'm sure Brother Yu wouldn't risk ruining his own reputation over something like this."
The armor-clad man carefully examined the object in his box with a hesitant look, but still reluctantly handed over the box in the end.
After stowing away the two wooden boxes, a pleased look appeared on the shopkeeper's face before he turned toward Han Li.
At this moment, Han Li was staring at the azure fruit in the box with blue light shimmering deep within his eyes and a contemplative look on his face.
The shopkeeper faltered slightly upon seeing this before asking, "What is it? Are you of the opinion that something is amiss with the Azure Shifting Fruit, Brother Han?"
"Not at all." Han Li shook his head before replacing the lid on the wooden box and tossing it to the shopkeeper as well.
The middle-aged man caught the wooden box before taking another meaningful glance at Han Li, then leading the way out the door.
Han Li's trio naturally followed him out of the shop.
The shopkeeper flew extremely quickly, but Han Li's trio were all powerful cultivators in their own right, and they were able to keep up with ease, flying out of the exchange center before heading directly toward a certain direction in the holy city.
After flying for two hours, they arrived in an extremely secluded corner of the holy city.
There were noticeably far fewer buildings here, and very few people in the area. It was quite a sparsely populated place, and the shopkeeper led them on a descent after arriving at a completely mundane looking short building.
This nondescript building was only just over 300 feet tall, and it was split up into two levels.
As soon as the shopkeeper's feet landed on the ground, the doors of the building were immediately flung open, and two men who appeared to be in their twenties emerged from within. They hurriedly extended respectful bows toward the shopkeeper, and greeted in unison, "Welcome back, Patriarch!"
"The two of you, stand guard out here. No one is allowed to enter this place without my permission," the shopkeeper ordered.
"Yes!" the two men answered without any hesitation before positioning themselves on either side of the building's entrance. Han Li glanced at the two of them and paid them no further heed after discovering that they were merely Core Formation cultivators.
Meanwhile, the shopkeeper had already entered the building, and the young man and armor-clad man followed suit after a brief hesitation while Han Li brought up the rear.
The room wasn't a very spacious one, and all of the decor appeared to be quite plain and mundane. There were three square wooden tables and a dozen or so wooden chairs, and those pieces of furniture took up most of the area in the room.
There were also several antiquated artworks that were yellow with age hanging on the walls of the room. All of these pieces of artwork depicted demons beasts and scenery, and they weren't very noteworthy, either.
"Brother Yu, is that spirit beast really here?" the armor-clad man couldn't help but ask. This room was quite small, and it really didn't appear as if it could house any powerful spirit beasts, so it was no wonder that the man was having some doubts.
"Would I lie to you three? Come with me," the shopkeeper instructed in a brisk tone as he glared at the armor-clad man. He then made his way over to one of the scenery paintings hanging from one of the walls, and he rustled his sleeve to produce a scroll.
The scroll was unfurled to reveal the exact same scene depicted in the artwork on the wall.
Han Li and the armor-clad man both faltered upon seeing this, unable to comprehend what the shopkeeper was doing. However, the young man's expression changed drastically as he caught sight of the two pieces of artwork, and he exclaimed, "That's the Xumi Paradise Scroll! You're in possession of the Pentaluster Race's most prized treasure?"
"The Xumi Scroll? No way! Aren't there only a total of seven of those in the Pentaluster Race? How did you manage to obtain one, Brother Yu?" The armor-clad man was very startled to hear this.
Han Li had no idea what this treasure was, but his heart stirred upon hearing the word "Xumi" as he cast his gaze toward the artwork hanging on the wall.
The slightly yellow artwork depicted a small green mountain, and there was a small cluster of buildings on that mountain, but everything was rather blurry and indistinct.
"Hehe, you sure have a strong discerning eye. This is indeed a Xumi Paradise Scroll. However, it's not one of the seven scrolls that the Pentaluster Race view as their most prized treasure; this is an imperfect Xumi Scroll," the shopkeeper chuckled.
"So it's a replica?" Both the young man and the armor-clad man faltered upon hearing this.
A smug expression appeared on the shopkeeper's face as he replied, "Indeed. There aren't many people even in the Pentaluster Race who are aware of its existence. Back then, the Pentaluster Race used the spirit bones of a Five-Colored Phoenix to refine a total of 10 Xumi Pa
radise Scrolls, not seven. Unfortunately, three of them were flawed, and their effectiveness was severely hampered as a result. As such, those three scrolls were hidden very early on, and their existence wasn't revealed to the rest of the world. Due to various reasons, those three scrolls somehow ended up outside of the Pentaluster Race and switched hands between several other races. As for how I came about this one, that's not something the three of you need to know."
"Even though it's a flawed scroll, obtaining such a treasure is a vast fortune, Brother Yu," the armor-clad man said with an envious expression.
The young man stared at the scroll, and a hint of greed flashed through his eyes.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but he was also filled with a sense of yearning.
Xumi treasures were one of the treasures that he wanted to obtain the most after arriving in this Spirit Realm. Unlike the false Xumi space refined using spatial rifts in the human world, this was an independent existence, and was a true spatial treasure that could be carried.
"Alright, let's go. The spirit beast is in the Xumi Paradise." The smile on the shopkeeper's face suddenly faded as he abruptly rustled his sleeve.
An incredible scene then ensued.
Brilliant five-colored light abruptly erupted from the scroll before transforming into a vast expanse of light that disappeared into the artwork on the wall.
The shopkeeper began to chant something while abruptly pointing a finger at the artwork on the wall.
The same five-colored spiritual light also flashed from the scroll before a swath of light emanated from it.
The five-colored light swept up everyone in the room at the shopkeeper's behest. Following a brief hesitation, Han Li relinquished his resistance in the end and allowed the light to enshroud his entire body, but he surreptitiously injected more power into the protective layer of spiritual light around him.
Following another flash of five-colored light, the room was completely devoid of any people.
Chapter 1427: Lightning Beast
The piercing spiritual light receded, and when Han Li opened his eyes again, he found himself on a bluestone plaza with a series of buildings of different heights not far up ahead.
Han Li narrowed his eyes and discovered that these buildings were rather familiar. They were none other than the buildings depicted on the small mountain in the Xumi Paradise Scroll. After surveying his surroundings, he heaved a faint sigh of relief.
He was currently situated atop a small green mountain with blue skies and a few white clouds up above.
As expected, he had arrived in a space that was identical to the image on the Xumi Paradise Scroll. This space wasn't very large, looking as if it was only several kilometers in size, but it was surrounded by five-colored walls of light in all directions. The other three people had also arrived in this place not far away from him.
Han Li and the other two men were looking around with curiosity in their eyes, but the shopkeeper was not in the mood for sightseeing as he hovered directly toward the cluster of buildings up ahead.
Han Li's trio also rose up into the air to follow him.
"Brother Yu, this Xumi space appears to be completely perfect and intact without anything amiss. What is this flaw you were referring to?" the young man couldn't help but ask. "Hehe, do you think I'll disclose that information to you? It seems to have nothing to do with our deal," the shopkeeper said in a brusque voice as he rolled his eyes.
A hint of fury flashed through the young man's eyes upon hearing the shopkeeper's blunt response, but he forced a smile onto his face, and said, "Hehe, I was merely curious and I bear no ill will."
The shopkeeper harrumphed coldly, but didn't follow up with any further insults, presumably because he still had to enlist the young man's assistance in their upcoming task. After flashing through the air several more times, he appeared before a pavilion over 1,000 feet away before stopping in mid-air with his hands clasped behind his back. he pavilion was over 1,000 feet tall, and was split into three levels. The building was rather antiquated with a wide bottom that tapered to a point at the top.
"The spirit beast is in this building. Come with me and I'll show you the beast first," the shopkeeper instructed as Han Li's trio gathered around him. The shopkeeper then descended first, and Han Li's trio glanced at one another before following suit.
Rather than landing in front of the entrance on the first floor, the shopkeeper drifted over to a window on the second floor before stopping there. Han Li and the others found this to be rather strange, but they also headed to the same spot.
After looking in through the window, they were greeted by the sight of a murky silver barrier of light. The entire second floor had been sealed by a restriction.
The young man's eyes flashed, yet before he had a chance to say anything, a loud rumbling boom erupted, following which the silver light barrier tremored along with the entire pavilion.
Immediately thereafter, a string of thunderclaps erupted within the light barrier in rapid succession. Thunderclaps were the only sounds that the four could hear, and they felt as if they were situated in a world of furious lightning, causing their consciousness to drift in an unsettling manner.
Han Li was greatly startled by this development, and he immediately activated his Great Development Technique, thereby reinstating his clarity of mind in the blink of an eye. The shopkeeper and the others were all Spatial Tempering cultivators, so they also quickly recovered after unleashing their respective abilities. Even so, the young man and the armor-clad man's faces had paled significantly.
"This is the spirit beast you want to tame, Brother Yu?" the armor-clad man asked as he stared intently at the window.
"That's right. Rest assured, fellow Daoists, the spirit beast has been sealed, and you won't be in any danger before it's released." The shopkeeper wore a calm expression, but there was excitement shimmering in his eyes. He suddenly flipped over a hand, and a scroll appeared in his grasp following a flash of light. It was none other than that Xumi Paradise Scroll.
On this occasion, he didn't unfurl the scroll. Instead, he grabbed one end of the scroll while gently tapping the other end toward the light screen.
A peculiar turn of events immediately unfolded.
The light barrier beyond the wind suddenly shattered like glass before vanishing.
The shopkeeper then flapped his wings and entered the pavilion, leaving an afterimage in his wake.
The armor-clad man and young man immediately followed suit without any hesitation.
Han Li stroked his chin and contemplated the situation for a while before slowly drifting in through the window.
The entire pavilion tremored once again amid a resounding boom, and a burst of lightning-attribute spiritual pressure swept toward him like a physical wave.
Han Li's expression changed slightly, and he was almost unable to repress the urge to evade.
However, he remained in the same spot in mid-air and shielded himself using his Divine Essencefused Light in the end.
Only then did he get a chance to glean his surroundings.
The second floor of the pavilion was far more spacious than he'd imagined.
It had an area of 2,000 to 3,000 feet, making this place appear as if it were a small plaza. At the center of the cavernous room stood 81 thick copper poles, all of which were shimmering and engraved with all types of demons and monsters. These copper pillars surrounded an area in the center that was over 300 feet wide, and arcs of black lightning were crackling between the bowls amid rumbling thunderclaps, creating a massive prison-like restriction. Within the massive cage, a ball of black mist that was around 10 feet in size was surging erratically, and resounding thunderclaps rang out incessantly from within. Bolts of silver lightning shot forth occasionally from within the black mist, but they would disappear as soon as they struck the black net of lightning as if they'd met the bane of their existence.
"That's the lightning-attribute spirit beast in there?" The armor-c
lad man faltered slightly at the sight of the mundane ball of black mist within the cage. "What? Are you thinking that this spirit beast isn't so remarkable after all? This Lightning Beast's powers are far beyond what you can imagine," the shopkeeper chuckled coldly as he glanced at the armor-clad man out of the corners of his eyes.
"Lightning Beast?" Han Li murmured to himself with furrowed brows.
"That's right, that's the name of this spirit beast. I won't tell you about this Lightning Beast's origins, but what I can tell you is that there is most definitely only one of this Lightning Beast in this world." The shopkeeper stared intently at the cloud of black mist within the net of black lightning as a hint of deranged insanity appeared on his face."Really? Its attacks don't seem to be all that powerful." The young man's brows furrowed in skepticism.
"Attacks? This Lightning Beast isn't unleashing any attacks. The lightning you see is simply something that it was born with. Let me show you the true appearance and power of the Lightning Beast," the shopkeeper said with a derisive sneer on his face.
He suddenly raised a hand to send forth a streak of white light from within his sleeve. The streak of light surged through the air before striking the base of the thickest copper pole before up ahead.
The streak of white light was a snowy white little winged beast with spikes that were several inches long growing all over its body, making it appear as if it were a flying hedgehog.
However, a restriction of some sort had clearly been cast onto it as it was unable to fly at all after landing on the copper pillar, and it merely sprawled down onto the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
"That's an Inchlight Beast!" The armor-clad man and young man immediately identified this vicious beast that was vastly renowned within the Flying Spirit Race, and they were barely able to believe their eyes.
These little beasts were extremely ferocious, and they dared to engage even Spatial Tempering Stage beings in direct battle. Even though they were pack-dwelling beasts, all of them were extremely vicious. However, the one on the copper pillar was completely timid and docile, and that came as quite a surprise to the two of them.
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