The cup was enveloped by a ball of green light and slowly hovered toward him.
"The fact that you've come here today shows that you must have some affinity with my Rich Aroma Pavilion; why don't you have some Nine Aroma Spirit Wine as well?" the woman said with a smile as Han Li reflexively caught the cup of wine.
"Thank you, Senior," Han Li replied in a grateful manner, but he didn't immediately down the contents of the cup. Instead, he looked down at the golden cup in his hand to find that this so-called Nine Aroma Spirit Wine was translucent and viscous, and slightly pink in color. With the golden cup acting as a backdrop, it was as if he were holding a mesmerizing miniature lake filled with agate rocks.
There was also a unique aroma wafting from the wine in the cup, and as he took a faint whiff, the aroma changed several times in an instant, presenting quite an extraordinary phenomenon.
"Not only is my spirit wine extremely aromatic, consumption of it can clear the eyes and cleanse the body. Each and every mouthful of wine can save you over a month of arduous cultivation," the woman introduced.
"I am extremely fortunate to be able to taste such extraordinary wine." At this point, Han Li had also ascertained that the wine in the cup hadn't been tampered with, so he raised the cup to his lips to take a sip.
He felt as if a block of glacial ice had entered his mouth, immediately following which the block of ice melted and turned into a warm liquid that was extremely smooth and aromatic.
The captivating aroma then slid down his throat and into his stomach, even without the need for Han Li to actively swallow.
Chapter 1601: Essencefused Body
All of a sudden, Han Li felt a scorching sensation in his dantian, which then spread through his limbs, meridians, and all over his body to create an extremely comfortable sensation.
Han Li closed his eyes to savor the aftertaste of the wine for a long while before finally praising in a heartfelt manner, "This wine is indeed extraordinary! This is the first time I've had such delectable spirit wine."
"Hehe, if that weren't the case, then I wouldn't come here every year to beg for wine," Duan Tianren chortled heartily.
"It is a great honor for me that you two enjoy my spirit wine. However, we didn't invite you here just to drink wine, Fellow Daoist Li," the woman said with a smile.
Han Li's heart stirred upon hearing this, and he put down his cup as he asked, "I'm also quite curious; why did you and Senior Duan ask me to come here?"
"Seeing as you've raised the question, I won't waste any more time. Fellow Daoist Li, would you be able to roll up that sleeve so I can see your hand?" the woman asked with a peculiar look on her face.
"My hand?" Han Li feigned a surprised expression, but he actually heaved a long sigh of relief internally.
It appeared that these two weren't after his profound heavenly treasure.
"Indeed, I'd like to see your hand," the woman confirmed as she pointed at Han Li's sleeve.
"Alright, no problem," Han Li reluctantly agreed after a long hesitation.
He then rolled up his sleeve to reveal his hand, and it appeared to be no different from the average human hand.
The woman's brows furrowed upon seeing this, following which the crystal on her glabella flashed as a streak of silver light shot forth. The streak of light hurtled through the air at an astonishing speed, reaching Han Li in the blink of an eye before stabbing down with ferocious might toward the hand that Han Li had just unveiled.
The woman appeared to be quite warm and gentle, but she was attacking without any warning in a display that completely belied her appearance.
Han Li was completely caught off guard by this attack, and he reflexively spread his fingers apart before grabbing toward the silver streak of light.
The silver light struck his palm with a loud clang, following which the sound of metal grating on metal rang out.
Han Li then grabbed onto the silver streak of light before unfurling his fingers to reveal a silver needle that was several inches in length.
The needle was shimmering with translucent light and trembling slightly in his hand, seemingly possessing extremely abundant spiritual nature.
At this moment, Han Li's entire hand had already turned a glossy black color as if it had been forged entirely from black iron.
On top of that, a shimmering silver miniature mountain insignia had appeared on the back of his hand, and that was none other than a manifestation of the Divine Essencefused Mountain.
After mastering the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra, the mountain had completely fused as one with his hand, so despite the lethality of the silver needle that the woman had unleashed, there was no way that it could wound him.
However, Han Li wasn't triumphant in the slightest to have withstood that attack. Instead, his expression darkened significantly.
In contrast, the Crystal woman was staring at his black hand with undisguised excitement in her eyes, and Duan Tianren also wore an elated expression on his face.
"You really do possess an acquired Essencefused Body. In that case, we'll be able to achieve our objective!" the woman murmured to herself before raising a hand, and the silver needle escaped Han Li's grasp before flying back to her.
In the end, the needle disappeared into the crystal on her glabella in a flash.
Han Li took a deep breath to compose himself before asking, "What do you mean by Essencefused Body, Senior?"
"An Essencefused Body naturally refers to someone capable of using the Divine Essencefused Light. Seeing as you've fused an Essencefused Treasure with your body, you technically possess an acquired Essencefused Body. Speaking of which, this cultivation art that allows you to fuse a treasure into your body is quite similar in effect to the cultivation art you're using, Fellow Daoist Duan. The only difference is that instead of treasures, you fuse all types of precious tool refinement materials into your body instead, Brother Duan." The woman seemed to be in very high spirits.
Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't ask any questions. He knew that the woman would definitely explain the situation to him anyway, even if he didn't ask her anything.
As expected, seeing as Han Li wasn't saying anything, the woman continued, "Even though we've essentially confirmed that you possess an Essencefused Body, I still want to see you release your Divine Essencefused Light. You wouldn't turn down that request from me, would you, Fellow Daoist Li?"
Instead of answering the question, Han Li merely waved a hand before him, and a layer of grey light instantly surfaced to create a light barrier around his body.
The woman's eyes lit up upon seeing this, and she rubbed her hands together before raising them toward Han Li.
A string of spluttering sounds rang out, following which several crimson fireballs flew toward him.
Initially, they were only fist-sized fireballs, but not long after they left her hand, they swelled to the size of human heads, and seemed to be quite powerful as well.
Han Li looked on at these fireballs and displayed no intent to evade them, merely allowing them to strike his grey light barrier in quick succession instead.
As soon as the fireballs came into contact with the grey light barrier, they disappeared amid dull thumps like sandcastles in the rising tide, completely vanishing before they could unleash any power.
"There's no mistaking it; Divine Essencefused Light combats the power of the five elements. From the ease with which you're using your Divine Essencefused Light, I can tell that you've clearly cultivated it to the maximal extent, and your mastery of it is no less proficient than in those who are born with Essencefused Bodies. What do you think, Fellow Daoist Duan?" The woman clapped her hands with elation before turning to Duan Tianren.
A peculiar light flashed through Duan Tianren's eyes upon hearing this, and he suddenly made a grabbing motion toward Han Li.
Several large runes flashed from his fingertips, following which a vast expanse of grey light surged forth, sweeping direct
ly toward Han Li.
"Divine Essencefused Light!" Han Li exclaimed with alarm as he looked on at the familiar grey light surging toward him.
He then reflexively made a hand seal, and brilliant light erupted from the grey light barrier around the body as it prepared to withstand Duan Tianren's Divine Essencefused Light.
Immediately thereafter, the two bursts of grey light flashed amid a string of strange crackling noises.
Even though both bursts of light were grey in color, it was not impossible to tell the difference between the two.
It was quite clear that the color of Duan Tianren's Divine Essencefused Light was slightly darker, but it was clearly more volatile and unstable, as if he were unable to completely control it as he pleased.
A hint of surprise flashed through Han Li's eyes, and after a brief pause for contemplation, he suddenly pointed an inky-black finger toward the grey light up ahead. All of the Divine Essencefused Light suddenly converged toward the center to form a large ball of light that rapidly rotated on the spot.
An astonishing scene then ensued.
The grey light unleashed by Duan Tianren seemed to have encountered a massive vortex, and it all disappeared into the ball of light in a flash.
"Alright, that's enough! Even though Fellow Daoist Li's Essencefused Body is an acquired one, it's quite clear that he's far more proficient in using the Divine Essencefused Light than you are, Brother Duan. Tsk tsk, his level of mastery is no different from that of a being naturally born with an Essencefused Body," the woman remarked with a wide smile.
"Hmph, of course that's the case. My Divine Essencefused Light is only released from forcibly using my magic power to activate the Essencefused Stones that I've fused with my body, so there's no way it can compare with Fellow Daoist Li's Divine Essencefused Light. Tsk tsk, speaking of which, your secret art to fuse treasures with your body is quite extraordinary, Fellow Daoist Li," Duan Tianren clicked his tongue with wonder.
"It's quite fortunate that you fused a large quantity of Essencefused Stones into your body. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to detect the Essencefused Treasure within Fellow Daoist Li's body," the woman said with a smile.
Han Li was left a little speechless upon hearing this.
At this moment, Duan Tianren raised a hand to withdraw the Divine Essencefused Light that he'd released, then lowered his arm in a calm manner.
Han Li also made a hand seal to withdraw the silver light around him before asking, "There must be a reason why you hold this ability in such high regard, right, Senior?"
"We do have our reasons, of course. In all honesty, we've waited thousands of years for someone capable of wielding the Divine Essencefused Light, but we were still unable to gather enough people, so we'd originally already given up. Who would've thought that you'd appear us at this juncture to rekindle our hopes?" the woman replied with an excited gleam in her eyes.
"Gather enough people? Does that mean you found others with the Essencefused Body as well?" Han Li was quite surprised to hear this.
"Of course. We'll have to tell you everything eventually, so I'll fill you in now. We have an objective that we want to achieve, and only beings with mastery of the Divine Essencefused Light can achieve it, but one person alone definitely isn't enough. After searching for thousands of years, Brother Duan and I have found three beings with the Essencefused Body, including yourself," the woman explained.
"The Divine Essencefused Light isn't a unique secret cultivation art, but it's most definitely extremely rare, so we weren't confident at all that we'd be able to gather enough people, but it appears that the heavens have blessed us with immense fortune," the woman continued with a smile.
"Alright, I now understand why I was invited here, but how may I be of assistance to you, Senior?" Han Li asked with a wry smile.
"That's quite an important matter, and I can only reveal the specific details to you after discussing some things with Brother Duan. However, one thing is for sure; we'll need you to do something for us, and we'll require your services at several years to a century from now," the woman replied.
"What? Several years to a century?" Han Li's brows furrowed upon hearing this familiar timeframe.
"Is there something wrong, Fellow Daoist Li?" the Crystal woman asked.
Han Li was silent for a long while before a peculiar look appeared on his face, and he asked, "Does this have something to do with the Vast Glacial Realm?"
Chapter 1602: Cai Liuying
A hint of surprise flashed through the woman's eyes upon hearing this, but she then smiled, and said, "Indeed, we will require you to do something for us in the Vast Glacial Realm. Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li; even though you're not a member of our 13 Heavenly Cloud Races, we are both relatively important figures in our respective races, so it won't be an issue for us to grant you a spot to enter the Vast Glacial Realm. As such, we'll be giving you this splendid opportunity in return for your help; what do you think?"
A peculiar look appeared on Han Li's face. After a long while, he finally sighed, "I haven't reached a bottleneck in my cultivation, so entering the Vast Glacial Realm won't do me much good. On top of that, I can enter the Vast Glacial Realm without any additional effort on your part, Senior."
"You can enter the Vast Glacial Realm without our help? Surely not! I can see that you're in disguise right now, but I'm certain that you're not a being from one of our 13 races; how can an outsider like you have the right to enter the Vast Glacial Realm?" A hint of surprise appeared on Duan Tianren's face as he spoke.
A flash of realization suddenly appeared in the Crystal woman's eyes, and she chuckled, "Don't be quick to jump to conclusions, Brother Duan. If we're talking about outsiders, then there really is one who was granted the right to enter the Vast Glacial Realm recently. I think we need to stop referring to you as Fellow Daoist Li; isn't that right, Fellow Daoist Han?"Han Li heaved an internal sigh upon hearing this.
As expected, these two beings were too powerful to be fooled by his disguise. Thankfully, from the sounds of it, they could tell that he was in disguise, but they still couldn't glean his true appearance.
After a brief pause to collect his thoughts, Duan Tianren mused, "Fellow Daoist Han? Now that you mention it, I did hear someone in my race tell me about this. There was a certain outsider who activated a Vast Glacial Bage around a year ago, and he seemed to be requesting access to our super teleportation formation at the time as well."
"Indeed. It appears that this Fellow Daoist Han and Fellow Daoist Li are one and the same," the woman said with a smile. "Hehe, in that case, he has to enter the Vast Glacial Realm anyway; that'll save us a lot of hassle." Duan Tianren was quite elated to hear this.
"I still don't know what you'd like me to do, and on top of that, I've accepted another mission from your Stone Cocoon Race as well, so it'll be quite difficult for me to juggle two missions at once in the Vast Glacial Realm," Han Li said in a hesitant manner.
"Oh, you're talking about gathering the tool refinement material, right? Don't worry, that won't take you long at all, so it definitely won't delay you. If you have to choose between one or the other, then naturally prioritize the task that Fellow Daoist Cai and I are assigning you. Even if you don't manage to gather the tool refinement material, our Stone Cocoon Race wouldn't hold you accountable as long as I have something to say about it," Duan Tianren said in a proud manner.
"As for what task we're going to be assigning you, seeing as it's assured that you'll be entering the Vast Glacial Realm, it couldn't hurt to divulge some of the details to you. What do you think, Brother Duan?" the Crystal woman asked."If you think it's fine, then go right ahead; I have no objections," Duan Tianren replied.
"It's actually very simple. We need you and two other beings who also possess the Essencefused Body to combine your powers in order to open a hidden restriction in the Vast Glacial Realm, then secure a few items from within the restriction. Those items will assist Brother Duan and me greatly in our hea
venly tribulations, and if you succeed, our survival will essentially be ensured for the next few tens of thousands of years," the woman elaborated in a serious manner.
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but think of Qing Yuanzi, who was hiding in the infernal river.
Despite his extraordinary cultivation base, he had no choice but to reside in a space outside of the main realm in order to delay his next major heavenly tribulation.
At their cultivation bases, dying of old age was no longer a concern, but the major heavenly tribulations that were guaranteed to befall them periodically was something that they had to try to avoid or delay at all cost.
It seemed that even after reaching the Body Integration Stage, one still had to toil away in the ever-present hamster wheel of cultivation.
Han Li heaved an internal sigh as he came to that conclusion.
The Crystal woman continued, "This restriction is something we discovered in the Vast Glacial Realm back before we reached the holy race, and I wasn't able to open it at the time, but I was lucky enough to learn some information about it through other avenues. There are a few items in there that are next to useless for upper race beings like you, but they're life-saving treasures to holy race beings like us."
"Seeing as this restriction lies in the Vast Glacial Realm, then doesn't that mean it would've been left behind by an immortal? I've heard that many beings have perished within various restrictions in the Vast Glacial Realm; are you really certain that we'll be able to bypass it unscathed, Senior?" Han Li asked in a cautious manner.
"Perhaps my combat prowess is slightly inferior compared to that of the average holy race being, but in terms of mastery in restrictions, I can confidently say that I'm ranked within the top five beings in all of the Heavenly Cloud Races. At the time, I painstakingly studied the restriction to find that it had existed for countless years, and the vast majority of its power had already faded. Otherwise, I would've completely given up on it from the get-go. Do you not believe me, Fellow Daoist?" the woman asked with a meaningful look in her eyes.
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