"Then feel free to browse our wares, Senior." The Crystal woman nodded in a manner that was neither humble nor arrogant, then curtsied again before leaving Han Li to his own devices.
However, her words had come as quite a shock to all of the other customers in the shop.
All of them hurriedly turned toward Han Li with surprised expressions on their faces before drawing a sharp breath in unison.
They were naturally unable to glean Han Li's exact cultivation base, but the fact that it was so unfathomable to them indicated that Han Li was countless times more powerful than them.
Thus, all of them became rather uneasy, and some of them immediately departed while others quickly picked out a few tomes before also hurrying away.
In the blink of an eye, Han Li and the Crystal woman were the only two beings left in the shop.
Han Li paid no heed to this recent development as he made his way over to a nearby shelf to inspect the tomes that had been placed there.
From the surface, Han Li naturally couldn't really see anything. Thus, he swept his spiritual sense toward one of the stone tablets on the shelf, and that was when he discovered the function of the light barrier around the shop items.
Through the use of his spiritual sense, he could only glean a short string of introductory information. When he tried to inspect more of the stone tablet's contents, he encountered a slight obstruction.
Of course, with his immensely powerful spiritual sense, he could naturally force his way through the restriction with ease, but doing so would undoubtedly attract the attention of the shopkeeper, and no being of any status would be willing to embarrass themselves in such a farcical manner.
Han Li glanced at a few of the tomes on the shelf before him and discovered that most of them only contained some general information about the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races, so he naturally wasn't very interested in them. Thus, he made his way over to another shelf before inspecting the tomes on there with his spiritual sense again.
On this occasion, he seemed to have found what he was looking for. A short while later, a hint of elation appeared on his face, and he waved a hand toward a blue jade plate to draw it into his grasp.
He then continued to search through the shop, and in the blink of an eye, he'd gathered over 20 tomes.
Only then did he made his way over the Crystal woman with a pleased expression on his face, and he placed everything down onto the table before him as he asked, "How many spirit stones are you charging for all this?"
The Crystal woman looked at the pile of tomes that had been placed before her, and a hint of surprise appeared on her face. She then suddenly smiled and said something that came as quite a surprise to Han Li.
"These tomes aren't worth that much; you can take them for free, Senior."
Han Li faltered initially upon hearing this before his expression darkened slightly, and he asked, "Are you afraid that I won't be able to afford them?"
"That was never my intention, Senior. What I'm saying is that I have something else that may be of interest to you, and if you're willing to take it, then I can give all of these tomes to you for free," the woman replied with a composed smile.
"Oh? What is it that you want to show me?" Han Li asked as his expression eased slightly.
"Please wait for a moment; the item in question is quite valuable, so I've stored it in the back room." The woman rose to her feet with a smile before making her way toward the rear of the store.
Han Li merely waited in silence on the spot, and moments later, the woman emerged with a black metal box.
There were two azure talismans plastered over the surface of the box in a criss-cross formation, indicating that the box was housing something very important.
"Please take a look at the item in the box, Senior; I'm sure it'll be quite useful to you. Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought it out for your inspection," the woman said with a knowing smile.
Chapter 1587: Heavenly Devilish Armor
Han Li didn't waste any more time upon hearing this, and he accepted the black box before sweeping his spiritual sense toward it.
Even though restriction talismans had been plastered over the box, they weren't enough to completely obstruct his spiritual sense, and he still sensed something within the box.
"Hmm?" Han Li cast his gaze toward the Crystal woman with a hint of surprise on his face.
"Looks like you really do know some things," Han Li said as he narrowed his eyes.
"I'm working off a lot of assumptions as well, so I certainly can't say that I know everything. Why don't you open the box to see if the item inside interests you? This is not a good place to talk; let's go elsewhere first," the woman said with a smile.
She then flipped a hand over, and a formation plate appeared over her palm. She glanced at the entrance of the shop before making a hand seal and chanting something, then pointing a finger toward the formation plate.
Brilliant light instantly flashed from the formation plate, following which a vast expanse of five-colored light swept forth in all directions, enshrouding Han Li and the woman within.
Han Li raised an eyebrow at the sight of this sudden development. He could sense powerful spatial fluctuations from within the five-colored light, but he remained still on the spot and made no attempt to evade.
The light swirled around Han Li before forming a five-colored light formation, and Han Li felt his surroundings abruptly blur before he found himself within a murky grey space.
The space was extremely small; only just over 100 feet in size, and there was nothing in it aside from a table and a pair of chairs.
At this moment, Han Li was standing atop a teleportation formation that was shimmering with five-colored light alongside the woman.
"This is a small spatial rift that I had someone open up for me. There won't be any danger of our conversation being eavesdropped on here. Of course, with your powers, even without the teleportation plate, it would be a simple task to force your way back to the original space," the Crystal woman explained with an elegant smile.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the spatial walls around them to find that this space was indeed quite secure, and he nodded in a content manner before sweeping a sleeve over the black box in his hand.
A swath of azure light immediately flashed past, and the two talismans detached themselves from the box while the lid was flung open.
A burst of black Qi immediately swept forth from within, swirling around the box before attempting to spread into the surrounding area.
However, Han Li seemed to have anticipated that this would happen well in advance. He merely opened his mouth in a composed manner to expel a swath of golden light, and as soon as the black Qi was swept up by this light, it transformed into a black pillar of mist that was sucked straight into Han Li's stomach.
"What pure devilish Qi!" The golden light around Han Li's body intensified in brightness as if it had been enhanced by the devilish Qi he'd just swallowed.
This black Qi was devilish Qi of an extremely high degree of purity, and for a cultivator like Han Li, who was using the Provenance True Devil Arts, he was able to convert this devilish Qi into magic power as long as he didn't ingest too much of it at once.
A hint of astonishment flashed through the Crystal woman's eyes upon seeing this.
She was well aware of just how powerful the devilish Qi emanating from the item in the box was, and every time she opened the box, she would have to make extensive preparations beforehand.
Otherwise, if the devilish Qi were to infiltrate her body, her cultivation base would be significantly damaged, and under worst-case scenarios, she could even die.
At this moment, Han Li made a grabbing motion toward the box, and a black object flew out from within before landing in his grasp.
This was a suit of purple armor that was around half a foot in size. Not only was it extremely sinister in appearance, there were several spikes protruding from the shoulder and knee sections of the armor. On to
p of that, its entire surface was filled with black patterns, and it was emanating immensely powerful devilish Qi.
This was a suit of armor that had undergone devilfication.
However, there was a large hole on the chest of the suit of armor, and the surrounding area was riddled with cracks, clearly indicating that it had been severely damaged.
Han Li stared at the suit of armor in his hand with a peculiar look on his face.
With his mastery of the Provenance True Devil Arts, he could naturally sense that this suit of devilish armor contained incredible power. This was definitely the most powerful suit of armor he had ever seen, and this was even after it had sustained such severe damage. If it could be fully repaired, it would truly be an unfathomably powerful suit of armor.
With that in mind, Han Li's eyes began to shimmer with intrigue as he appraised the suit of armor.
"This suit of devilish armor is something I just so happened to come across, and in the beginning, I didn't know what it was, either. However, after verification from many sources, I learned that this is a legendary suit of Heavenly Devilish Armor. It appears that this is a suit of armor manifested by an extremely powerful Heavenly Devilish Monarch. However, from the extensive damage suffered by the suit of armor, it's most likely the case that its former owner has already perished. Now, the suit of armor is most likely not even a tenth as powerful as it once was. However, if it were to be repaired, it should be able to recover around 20% to 30% of its former power," the Crystal woman said with a smile.
"A Heavenly Devilish Monarch? Those are devilish beings that are close to true spirit beings; it's no wonder that this suit of armor is imbued with such pure devilish Qi. It's quite extraordinary that you were able to find something like this," Han Li said in a solemn manner.
He then suddenly tossed the miniature suit of armor into the air before casting a golden incantation seal onto it.
The golden light disappeared into the purple suit of armor in a flash, following which it expanded to several times its original size. At the same time, the devilish Qi emanating from it also became more powerful, and it began to sweep through the surrounding area.
The Crystal woman's expression changed slightly at the sight of the black Qi surging toward her, and she abruptly raised a hand to send several white talismans flying through the air. The talismans then exploded to form a white light barrier than shielded her within.
A strange sizzling sound rang out as the devilish Qi made contact with the light barrier, but it was kept at bay in the end.
A hint of a smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this. He abruptly made a hand seal, and brilliant golden light erupted from his body as golden halo emerged above his head, within which a projection with three heads and six arms gradually surfaced.
The three heads of the projection were chanting in unison while the six arms pointed a finger each at the suit of devilish armor at the same time.
Six pillars of golden light immediately surged forth, all of which struck the suit of purple armor.
An astonishing scene then ensued.
After being struck by the golden light, the suit of purple devilish armor rotated on the spot and disappeared.
In the next instant, black Qi swirled around the golden projection, and the purple armor somehow ended up on the projection's body.
In the instant that the projection donned the suit of armor, its aura swelled to several times its original power. At the same time, black Qi surged forth from its body, completely inundating the projection under a vast expanse of devilish Qi.
Han Li was ecstatic to see this. From this, he was able to deduce that the suit of armor hadn't lost all of its spiritual nature, and was thus able to be used by his Provenance True Devil Arts.
It was no wonder that this was the case. After all, the Provenance True Devil Arts was a mysterious devilish cultivation art that originated from the Elder Devil Realm in the first place. Even though elder devils were vastly different from Heavenly Devilish Monarchs, both drew on true devilish Qi as their essential source of power.
Of course, if the suit of armor were completely unscathed with its spiritual nature fully intact or if its owner were still alive, then it would be close to impossible for him to take it for himself.
Han Li nodded with a wistful expression as he said, "This suit of armor does indeed suit me very well, but it's a pity that it's already been damaged. Otherwise..."
The woman was quite stunned by the sight of the golden projection that Han Li had conjured up, but her expression remained calm as she replied, "If this suit of armor hadn't been damaged, then it most likely wouldn't have fallen into my hands. However, if you're willing to pay the price, then I have a way to repair it. At the very least, the suit of armor will be able to recover 20% to 30% of its former power."
"You can repair this suit of armor? Oh, I almost forgot that you were a Crystal being, so repairing this armor certainly wouldn't be beyond your capabilities. What's this price that you're referring to? Also, how much do you plan to sell this suit of armor to me for?" Han Li asked with a smile.
Following a brief pause for contemplation, the woman replied, "This item should be a priceless treasure, but it's a pity that it's a suit of devilish armor, so it can't be used by anyone who's not a devilish cultivator. Unfortunately, devilish cultivators have always been quite rare on Thunder Continent, and it's the first time I've ever seen a devilish cultivator of your cultivation base. Otherwise, this armor would've most likely have been sold already. How about this? If you have any precious materials, ingredients, pills, or medicines, bring them all out and thrown in a few top-grade spirit stones as well. If your offer is satisfactory, I can consider selling the armor to you."
"It's that simple?" Han Li was rather surprised to hear her answer.
The conditions she was proposing were far too simple considering what was being offered in exchange.
The woman merely smiled and provided no response.
"Can you tell me how you're going to repair this suit of armor first?" Instead of immediately accepting the offer, Han Li suddenly changed the subject.
A slightly hesitant look appeared on the woman's face upon hearing this, but she heaved a faint sigh in the end, and replied, "Repairing the armor is actually quite simple. As long as you have sufficient devilish cores, I'll be able to easily repair it."
"Devilish cores? What are those?" Han Li asked with furrowed brows. This was the first time that he had heard of such a thing.
"Devilish cores are the inner cores of high-grade devilish beasts. If we want to repair this suit of armor, it would at least require hundreds of devilish cores, all of which would have to be from upper race devilish beasts. One of those devilish cores will act as the main material to repair the armor, and the higher the grade of that core, the better. Ideally, we'd use the inner core of a holy-grade devilish beast to serve that purpose," the woman said with a solemn look on her face.
"Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist! Where am I going to find so many high-grade devilish cores? And you're asking me to secure the inner core of a holy-grade devilish beast as well? Why does it feel like repairing this suit of armor will cost far more than what it takes to purchase it? You're not swindling me for an ulterior motive, are you?" Han Li asked with a cold expression.
The Crystal woman seemed to have anticipated Han Li's reaction, and her expression remained calm as she said, "You're wrongfully accusing me here, Senior. The enhancement the suit of armor will receive after being repaired is almost entirely dependent on the devilish core that is to be used as the main material. I can still repair it using devilish cores of a lower caliber, but the effect will be severely lackluster in comparison. If we were to use a holy-grade devilish core as the main material, the enhancement effect would at least be increased by twofold to threefold compared to if a lower grade devilish core were to be used. If you want the best, then you naturally have to pay a high price. I have two avenues through which you can potentially secure a
holy-grade devilish core, and I can disclose both of them to you if you're interested."
Chapter 1588: Golden Devil Mountain Ranges
"Two potential avenues? Go ahead," Han Li prompted.
"Three months from now, the Lucky Cloud Auction House of Cloud City will be selling a holy race thorned devilish beast inner core as one of their auction items. From what I've heard, that devilish core is extremely rare, and even some of the holy race beings in the city have set their eyes on it," the woman disclosed in a slow voice.
Han Li's brows furrowed upon hearing this. He did indeed possess considerable wealth, but he certainly wouldn't be confident that his wealth could exceed that of Body Integration Stage beings.
Those old monsters had all lived for tens of thousands of years, and the wealth they've accumulated during this time was most definitely quite staggering.
Of course, if he exchanged all of the spirit medicines and materials he was carrying into spirit stones, he'd be able to keep up in the bidding with all those old monsters, but he was alone in an unfamiliar place, so it certainly wouldn't be wise to flaunt his wealth in such a blatant manner.
If he were to do so, he'd most likely be singled out as a target even before he could purchase the devilish core. He didn't want to draw trouble to himself, and with that in mind, he quickly shook his head as he replied, "If there are going to be holy race beings participating in the bidding, then there's no way I'll be able to outbid them, so that won't work."
"Oh, in that case, we'll have to take the second avenue. You must be quite new here in Cloud City, right, Senior? Have you heard of the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges?" the woman asked with a smile.
"I know that such a place exists, but I don't really know anything about it," Han Li replied in a truthful manner.
"It's not unusual for you to have limited knowledge about that place; it only appeared in the past 10,000 years, and very few people outside of Cloud City are aware of its existence. Allow me to tell you about it in greater detail," the woman chuckled.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 901