Qian Jizi and Elder Ma exchanged a glance upon hearing this, and the former said in a slow voice, "Once a Vast Glacial Badge has been activated, only the one who has activated it can take others to the Void Glacial Realm with them. The future of our 13 races hinges on this, so you must enter the realm; that's non-negotiable. You've carried the badge to us, so our Myriad Ancient Race should be grateful to you, but you've activated the badge and we've given you the opportunity to enter the Vast Glacial Realm, so we've repaid you for your efforts. However, seeing as you're being forced into the Vast Glacial Realm against your will, you can state any condition that you may have, and we'll do our best to satisfy you."
Han Li's heart abruptly jolted upon hearing this, and he immediately said, "I'm sure you know what request I have already. After returning from the Vast Glacial Realm, I'd like to use your super teleportation formation."
"You want to use the teleportation formation? If it's only once, then we should be able to arrange that. However, teleportation using that formation requires a vast expenditure of top-grade spirit stones, and you'll have to issue the spirit stones yourself; there's no way that we'll supply them for you. Furthermore, our race cannot make executive decisions on the teleportation formation, so we have to discuss this matter with the other few races; perhaps they may also have some conditions that you must satisfy before they'll allow you to use the formation," Qian Jizi replied in a calm manner.
"As long as I can use the teleportation formation, I'll naturally supply the spirit stones required. As for any other conditions that may be raised, as long as they're not conditions that are completely outside of my realm of capability, I can accept them," Han Li said with an elated look on his face.
"Hehe, don't be so quick to jump at this opportunity, Fellow Daoist Han. Activating the super teleportation formation even just once requires so many top-grade spirit stones that even some holy race beings wouldn't be able to afford it. You may have some wealth, but it will still most likely be very difficult for you to gather enough top-grade spirit stones to use the formation. With your cultivation base, you'll be greatly valued even if you were to stay in our Myriad Ancient Race, so why insist on traveling to other continents? I suggest you take this opportunity to change to another condition and request for some tangible benefits like pills or treasures instead; that would be ideal for both sides," Elder Ma proposed.
Han Li's expression faltered upon hearing this, but he shook his head after a brief silence, and said, "Thank you for your kind offer, Senior, but I've already made up my mind."
As opposed to being enraged by Han Li's refusal, Elder Ma only nodded indifferently and spoke no further on this matter.
"By the way, when will the Vast Glacial Realm open up? I want to make some preparations beforehand, so learning the amount of time I have left will be quite beneficial," Han Li suddenly asked."We're not sure of the exact opening date, either, but according to past experience, it'll be somewhere between several years to a century from now," Qian Jizi replied with a smile."A century!" Han Li abruptly exclaimed upon hearing this. "For cultivators like us, a century passes in the mere blink of an eye; surely there's no need to be so alarmed, Fellow Daoist Han," the middle-aged man said as he raised an eyebrow. "My apologies, I was just surprised that it would take so long," Han Li replied with a wry smile.
"You're living in the inn from before, right? That place has been placed into lockdown, and you won't be leaving Cloud City anytime soon, so why don't you move to the Eight Cloud Mountains as well, Fellow Daoist Han? I'll get someone to organize a free cave abode for you so you can cultivate in peace while awaiting the opening of the Vast Glacial Realm," Qian Jizi said.
Han Li was a little taken aback by this offer, but after quickly weighing up his options, he nodded in agreement.
After that, Qian Jizi and Elder Ma asked some casual questions about Han Li's origins, to which Han Li gave a few intentionally ambiguous responses.
It was quite clear that Han Li didn't want to disclose too much information about himself, and the two Myriad Ancient Race elders didn't insist on prying, either.
Not long after that, the third elder of the Myriad Ancient Race finally arrived. This was a tall and broad heavily-bearded man, and he only took a glance at Han Li and delivered some absentminded praise before hurrying away, citing the excuse that he had a half-refined batch of spirit pills in his cauldron that he had to attend to.
Qian Jizi and Elder Ma could only exchange a resigned smile upon seeing this. They seemed to have already become accustomed to this Elder Huang's personality.
Thus, after receiving a Myriad Distance Talisman from Elder Ma, Han Li finally stood up to leave. Prior to his departure, Qian Jizi told him that he would discuss with the other races about the teleportation formation and organize a cave abode for him within three days. Hence, he could move in to the Eight Cloud Mountains after that.
Han Li naturally thanked the elderly man for his kindness, then left the hall and departed from the Myriad Ancient Race's fortress on the beast-drawn carriage outside. At this moment, both Qian Jizi and Elder Ma were sitting in silence within the hall, seemingly in deep thought. "What do you think? Could he be a spy from the Jiao Chi Race?" Qian Jizi asked.
"There's no way that he's a spy; expending a Vast Glacial Badge just to plant a spy in our Heavenly Cloud Races is far too heavy a price to pay. Besides, he also saved Master Jia and killed several Jiao Chi beings of the same cultivation base as himself. No matter how you look at it, the Jiao Chi Race would have to be downright insane to sacrifice so much just to plant a spy. On top of that, even if he were to become a guest member of one of our 13 races, he wouldn't be able to obtain any of our confidential secrets anyway, so what would be the point?" Elder Ma immediately shook his head in response.
"My thoughts exactly. In that case, we won't have to use a soul search technique to determine his origins. Otherwise, it could prove to be detrimental to us if we were to draw resentment from him," Qian Jizi agreed with a nod.
"On top of that, he possesses extremely powerful combat prowess that's no less potent than beings at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, so it would be greatly beneficial to our race if he could become a guest member of ours, so we should do our best to recruit him rather than get on his bad side," Elder Ma added."But he seems to be quite intent on leaving the Thunder Continent," Qian Jizi countered with furrowed brows.
"Hehe, it's not that easy to gather so many top-grade spirit stones; who knows how long it'll take for him to save up the spirit stones required? During this process, we'll just have to expend some effort to try and convince him to stay. Of course, if he still insists on leaving in the end, then there's no need for us to play the villains and force him to stay. Our race certainly isn't short of beings at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, so there's no need to risk ruining our reputation for him," Elder Ma mused.
Following a brief pause, Qian Jizi nodded, and said, "Seeing as you've already made up your mind, I have no objections."
"Let's talk about the news we received about the Jiao Chi Race. This invasion from the Jiao Chi Race is on a far larger scale than past invasions. Setting aside everything else, just the number of holy race beings they've deployed is..." Elder Ma changed the subject and moved on to the Jiao Chi Race invasion thereafter.
Meanwhile, Han Li didn't go too far away from the Eight Cloud Mountains before disembarking from the carriage on a relatively secluded street, then found an inn to live in on a temporary basis.
The inn was quite ordinary in appearance and closely resembled a building that one would see in the human race.
After setting up a restriction in his room, Han Li sat down in a cross-legged manner on his bed, then began to carefully think back through his conversation with the elders of the Myriad Ancient Race, trying to see if there were alarming aspects that he should take note of. After contemplating for a long while, he finally exhaled as his expression gradually relaxed.
From what he
could recall, the elders didn't seem to be plotting against him in any way, and his only concern was that the Vast Glacial Realm could be quite dangerous.
However, seeing as there were no beings at or above the Body Integration Stage that could enter the realm, he didn't have much to fear. As long as he wasn't too greedy or ambitious and stumbled around everywhere in search of spirit medicines and treasures, he should be quite safe. He'd just have to find an obscure location to hide in and weather the storm, then return following the conclusion of the ordeal.
He had already thought through all this back in the Sentient Hall, which was why he'd agreed to the conditions made by the elders without any hesitation. However, it did indeed come as quite a surprise to him that he'd have to wait for so long before the Vast Glacial Realm were to open up.
If he really did have to wait for a century, then he should be able to use his spirit pills to cultivate to the pinnacle of the early-Spatial Tempering Stage. After that, he could try and use the astonishingly abundant spiritual Qi in the Vast Glacial Realm to break through to the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage.
This was only possible as he could use the liquid produced by the mysterious vial to essentially infinitely refine the extremely rare Rising Dragon Pills.
Otherwise, for a normal cultivator, it would take at least 500 to 600 years to cultivate to the pinnacle of the early-Spatial Tempering Stage.
After reaching the Spatial Tempering Stage, further advancements required far more spiritual power to be gathered and cultivated than for progression in the Deity Transformation Stage. On top of that, Han Li had chosen the path of simultaneous cultivation, which was far more difficult than just normal cultivation.
With that in mind, Han Li's expression suddenly stirred slightly, and he flipped his hand over to produce a white jade box that also had crimson talismans plastered to its surface. This was none other than the other jade box given to him by the big-headed being.
Han Li knew that if he were to bring out this item, he'd definitely be able to secure greater benefits from the elders of the Myriad Ancient Race. At the very least, he'd be able to secure another sentient puppet for himself. However, he made no mention of this in the Sentient Hall as a safety precaution.
Regardless of whether having an extra Vast Glacial Badge would benefit him in any way after entering the Vast Glacial Realm, he'd rather keep it as backup than exchange it for any benefits.
Chapter 1597: Four Races Auction
Having made up his mind, white light flashed from Han Li's hand, and the jade box disappeared.
After that, he sat down on the bed and entered a meditative state.
For three consecutive days, Han Li stayed in the room without leaving even once.
On this day, just as he was cultivating with golden light shimmering from his entire body, he suddenly opened his eyes and flipped his hand over to produce the Myriad Distance Talisman that Qian Jizi had given to him.
On the white surface of the talisman, a line of small text had appeared.
After reading the message on the talisman, Han Li stowed it away expressionlessly before making his way out of the room.
Half a day later, he found himself within a certain cave abode on the Dream Cloud Mountain of the Eight Cloud Mountains, and he was inspecting the cave abode with a pleased look on his face.
The abundance of spiritual Qi in this cave abode was not inferior in the slightest compared to Jia Tianmu's cave abode on the Iridescent Cloud Mountain. Furthermore, the cave abode came complete with a pill refinement chamber, tool refinement chamber, medicine garden, as well as a variety of other facilities. There were even some commonly used spirit medicines that had been planted in the medicine garden, and he was very satisfied with his new home.
However, Han Li didn't immediately begin cultivating. Instead, he used his spiritual sense to scan through every single nook and cranny of the cave abode, then set up a dozen or so restrictions of different sizes.
Having done all that, even a Body Integration Stage being wouldn't be able to force their way into his cave abode in a short time.
After that, he transferred some of the spirit medicines and spirit herbs that he required into the medicine garden before busying himself with pill refinement.
His plan was to refine a large number of Rising Dragon Pills, most of which would be reserved for his own consumption, while the rest would be taken to the markets to be exchanged for top-grade spirit stones.
After all, both his sentient puppet and the super teleportation formation required an incredible amount of spirit stones to function, and he wouldn't be able to exchange for enough of them even through selling all of his Myriad Year Spirit Medicines.
Furthermore, selling too many Myriad Year Spirit Medicines would attract a lot of attention, so it was better to sell Rising Dragon Pills instead.
With the immense power of these pills, he was sure that the upper race beings of Cloud City would be willing to pay astronomic prices for them.
Of course, he wasn't going to sell too many of them, and he had to conceal his own identity in the process. If he were to only sell the pills on two or three occasions, that shouldn't be enough to attract the attention of the holy race beings in the city. If he still couldn't gather enough top-grade spirit stones through doing that, then he'd have to consider selling his Golden Lightning Bamboo.
Given how rare Golden Lightning Bamboo was in the Spirit Realm, just one plant would most definitely be enough to get him sufficient top-grade spirit stones.
Han Li had already devised a plan to gather enough top-grade spirit stones while refining his Rising Dragon Pills, and Qian Jizi most likely would've never imagined that Han Li would be capable of doing something that he thought to be impossible in such a short time.
This was only a minor inconvenience to Han Li, rather than the insurmountable roadblock that Qian Jizi had assumed that this would be.
As Qian Jizi was leading him to his new cave abode, the former disclosed to him that he had secured the agreement of the other races for him to use the teleportation formation. As for conditions, they didn't state some, but they weren't very stringent; most of them merely asked for a usage fee from him.
The only slightly troublesome condition was raised by the Stone Cocoon Race; they asked him to search for a tool refinement material that could only be found in the Vast Glacial Realm.
They had a map on which the place where this material could be found had been annotated, and all he had to do was act as the errand boy of the Stone Cocoon Race after entering the Vast Glacial Realm.
This condition was naturally rather dangerous to him, but this material seemed to be extremely important to the Stone Cocoon Race, as evidenced by the fact that they stipulated this condition to be non-negotiable.
Thus, Han Li agreed to it as well after a brief contemplation.
If he only had to head to a designated location to secure an ingredient, then this was a risk that wasn't too big for him to take.
Hence, Han Li had arrived at an official agreement with the Heavenly Cloud Races. As soon as he returned from the Vast Glacial Realm, he'd be granted a one-time usage pass of the super teleportation formation.
After that, Han Li stayed in his cave abode for more than an entire year. During this time, he refined his pills while taking some Rising Dragon Pills to cultivate his Provenance True Devil Arts. Even though this wasn't a very long time, his Provenance True Devil Projection was looking slightly more substantial than it did over a year ago, which was a further testament to just how potent Rising Dragon Pills were.
However, what was rather surprising to Han Li was that the Crystal woman by the name of Xian Xian hadn't contacted using the Myriad Distance Talisman he'd left her during this time. It was as if she'd completely forgotten about him.
Han Li was rather perplexed, but he didn't go to find her.
On this day, Han Li finally emerged from his cave abode, and after taking a cursory glance around him, he flew down the mountain as
a streak of azure light.
Coincidentally or by design, there just so happened to be another streak of white light flying down from the summit of the mountain at the same time, and the streak of light reached the foot of the mountain along with Han Li almost in unison.
The white and azure lights faded, revealing Han Li and a bald man.
The bald man had a set of sinister facial features, and his skin was of a greyish-white color.
The two of them both looked at one another with a hint of surprise in their eyes.
"I am Tie Jian of the Stone Cocoon Race. You look rather unfamiliar, Fellow Daoist; did you only move in recently?" The man was a little menacing to behold, but he spoke in quite a polite voice.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the man to find that he was a being at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, and his heart jolted slightly with shock, but he merely smiled as he replied, "My surname is Han, and I did indeed only move in recently."
"Oh, so it's Fellow Daoist Han. I heard that last year, an outsider activated a Vast Glacial Badge, and he also had the Han surname; could you be that outsider, Fellow Daoist Han?" The man immediately guessed Han Li's identity after hearing his surname.
A hint of surprise flashed through Han Li's eyes, but he smiled as he replied, "I was indeed the one activated the Vast Glacial Badge a year ago. I didn't think that I would be so renowned in these parts."
"Haha, you're the first outsider to have activated a Vast Glacial Badge in our Heavenly Cloud Races, so you're naturally quite well-known by everyone. Are you going out now because you also heard about the precious auction items being offered in the Four Races Auction?"
"Four Races Auction?" Han Li drew a complete blank upon hearing this.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 907