Thus, after a brief pause, Han Li said in a calm voice, "Seeing as the refinement methods of the pills and sentient puppets can't be leaked to outsiders, then I won't force the issue. I'll simply ask for the other half of the spirit stones required to activate the super teleportation formation as well; that should be a far easier condition to fulfill."
Cai Liuying faltered slightly upon hearing this before replying with a smile. "Spirit stones? That's certainly no problem at all."
Qian Jizi and Duan Tianren also agreed to this arrangement as their expressions eased slightly.
Seeing as the conditions for the exchange had been established, Han Li summoned an azure jade slip before tossing it toward Cai Liuying.
Cai Liuying raised an eyebrow before catching the jade slip, then injected her spiritual sense into it to find that it was a list of many materials, quite a few of which were vastly renowned to her.
She glanced at Han Li with a hint of a smile on her face before flicking her wrist and tossing the jade slip to Duan Tianren. Meanwhile, she began to examine the spirit medicines Han Li had brought out.
Moments later, all three of them had examined the new spirit medicines, and after confirming that nothing was amiss, they each began to summon different containers such as wooden boxes and jade vials out of their storage bracelets.
Within mere moments, around 60% to 70% of the materials on the list had been assembled.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but he was actually extremely astonished.
This naturally wasn't a list of random materials; most of them were actually ones that Qing Yuanzi had requested, and even though most of these materials weren't the ones on the list that were of the utmost importance, they were still all extraordinary items.
As such, Han Li was naturally quite stunned that Qian Jizi and the others were able to assemble so many of them without even batting an eyelid.
However, this also indicated that these three Body Integration Stage beings had indeed made extensive preparations in advance, so they were sincere in their offer to trade with Han Li. Otherwise, they wouldn't be carrying so many precious items with them.
After examining all of the materials, Han Li stowed them away into his storage bracelet in a pleased manner.
At this moment, Duan Tianren suddenly said, "Aside from a few of the materials that we can't track down, I'll get the rest delivered to you within 10 days. Will that be an issue, Fellow Daoist Han?"
"Of course not; I have full trust in your word, Senior," Han Li replied with a smile.
"These are the spirit stones and Crystal Moon Liquid that you asked for. You really are stripping us bare, Fellow Daoist Han; we might have to start borrowing from our friends to make ends meet," Cai Liuying chuckled as she swept a sleeve through the air.
A black leather pouch and a shimmering blue vial were immediately sent flying toward Han Li within a ball of five-colored light.
"Surely you jest, Senior," Han Li chuckled in response as a hint of elation flashed through his eyes, and he made a grabbing motion to draw the two items into his grasp.
He only gave the spirit stones within the leather pouch a rough examination with his spiritual sense before tossing it into his storage bracelet, but he was a lot more thorough in his inspection of the small blue vial.
Not only did he open the vial and use his spiritual sense to examine it several times, he even held it up to his nose and took a whiff of the contents. Only after that careful assessment did he stow the vial away.
Seeing as the exchange had been completed, Han Li naturally wasn't going to stick around any longer. Thus, after extending a bow to the three Body Integration Stage beings, he bade them farewell and departed.
The three Body Integration Stage beings clearly didn't want Han Li to stay any longer, either, so they also bade him farewell.
Spiritual light flashed from the teleportation formation, and Han Li instantly vanished.
"You two can go as well," Cai Liuying said to Liu Shui'er and Shi Kun.
"Yes..."
Liu Shui'er naturally accepted the instruction, whereas Shi Kun glanced at Duan Tianren before also doing as he was told after receiving a nod of confirmation from Duan Tianren.
Thus, the two of them also stepped onto the teleportation formation and disappeared in a flash.
When the two of them arrived in the hall on the first floor of the pavilion, Han Li was already nowhere to be found.
The two of them exchanged a glance with wry smiles on their faces.
Chapter 1753: Giant Spirit Talisman and Crimson Shadow
“Let's split these spirit medicines evenly as we agreed on,” Duan Tianren said with undisguised excitement in his eyes as he looked at all of the jade boxes hovering in the air.
Cai Liuying was also very excited, but she shook her head, and countered, "Hold on! We did indeed agree to split these spirit medicines evenly, but the spirit stones and Crystal Moon Liquid at the end were all given by me, so I have to take 10% more than my share."
"10%? Are you planning to go back on your word, Fairy Cai? Fellow Daoist Duan and I will naturally reimburse you for your spirit stones. As for the Crystal Moon Liquid, that is indeed a holy medicine for body refinement, but how can it compare with 10% of all the precious True Immortal Realm spirit medicines here? You can have five or six extra spirit plants at most as compensation," Qian Jizi said in a cold voice as his expression darkened.
"Sure, I'll take five extra spirit plants, then," Cai Liuying eagerly agreed with a smile on her face.
Qian Jizi faltered slightly upon seeing before immediately realizing that he'd fallen for a trap, and an indignant look on his face, but he merely gave a cold harrumph before falling silent.
Meanwhile, Duan Tianren was inspecting the unfolding scenes with his arms crossed and a faint smile on his face.
Thus, the three of them immediately began to allocate the hundreds of spirit medicines between them, and after several rounds of intense bartering, they were finally able to split up all of the spirit medicines.
"Hehe, with these spirit medicines, the bottleneck that has troubled me all these years will surely be broken with ease," Duan Tianren said in a pleased manner as he stowed away his jade boxes.
"I'm sure he didn't bring out all of the spirit medicines, though; aren't you two interested in what he has left?" Qian Jizi suddenly asked as a sinister look flashed through his eyes.
Duan Tianren and Cai Liuying naturally immediately understood what he was implying, but after exchanging a glance with one another, wary looks appeared on both of their faces.
Duan Tianren contemplated the matter for a while before shaking his head in response. "The three of us will naturally be able to take him down with ease, but don't forget the order that Senior Weng issued to us a few days ago. He instructed us to allow that kid to access the teleportation formation, so he must be related to Senior Weng somehow. Also, I've heard my disciple describe the size of that medicine garden, and even if he's kept some spirit medicines in reserve, it definitely wouldn't be a lot. It's not worth risking Senior Weng's wrath to try and secure those remaining spirit medicines. On top of that, that kid is quite powerful in his own right, and he's been very cooperative, so there's no need to do something like this."
"I second Brother Duan's opinion. Even as holy race beings, we definitely don't want to risk incurring Senior Weng's wrath over something like this," Cai Liuying chimed in in a solemn manner.
"In that case, just pretend like I never said anything. It appears I was indeed a little too greedy." Qian Jizi glossed over the matter with a sheepish chuckle.
Without Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren's support, his scheme was naturally laid to rest.
At this point, Han Li had already arrived at the foot of the mountain. His robes were fluttering around him in the wind, and he had a calm and collected look on his face.
However, his mind was racing rapidly as he assessed the exchange that had just taken place.
On the su
rface, it seemed that he had ended up with the short end of the stick by exchanging so many True Immortal Realm spirit medicines for some materials and spirit pills. However, in his heart, he was well aware that he had actually profited greatly from the exchange.
He had naturally retained one of every type of spirit medicine that he had brought out earlier, and with the assistance of his mysterious small vial, he would be able to mass cultivate them given some time.
As such, all he was sacrificing in this exchange was actually time, and not a lot of it, at that.
With the Red Silk Fruits and Corrosive Poisonweed, he didn't know if his standard nurturing method would work, so he only handed over a few of those plants each and kept most of them for himself.
As for the unique spirit medicines and that mysterious silver lotus seed pod, he naturally hadn't handed them over either.
As such, Han Li had essentially received such immense benefits from Qian Jizi and the others at the cost of virtually nothing, so he was naturally in a very good mood.
After departing from the mountain, Han Li went to an inn on a different nearby mountain and temporarily settled there.
During the next three days, he either stayed in his room or traveled to all types of material shops in Concealed Wyrm City to purchase large amounts of materials.
These materials weren't necessarily all that precious, but they were all unique to the Thunder Continent. He was preparing to return to the Tian Yuan Continent, so he naturally had to purchase a vast quantity of these materials to ensure a sufficient supply.
On the morning of the fourth day, Han Li departed from the inn and left Concealed Wyrm City, traveling to Azure Wyrm Peak, which was a mountain that was close to 100 kilometers to the west of the city.
In this massive mountain range, this mountain was completely nondescript and didn't stand out in size, nor appearance. If it weren't for the fact that the mountain was filled with a type of tree that remained azure all year round and the shape of the mountain resembled an ascending wyrm, it would most likely completely escape one's notice.
Han Li flew over into the air above the mountain as a streak of azure light before the light faded to reveal him, and he cast his gaze downward.
With his immensely powerful spiritual sense, he was naturally able to instantly inspect the entire mountain. As a result, he discovered that the mountain was completely empty, so Xiang Zhili clearly still hadn't arrived yet.
Han Li wore a contemplative expression as he hovered in the air for a while, before suddenly sweeping a sleeve through the air, sending a dozen or so formation flags flying downward. The formation flags then vanished in a flash into the air surrounding the mountain, and only then did he descend onto its summit.
He found a clean mountain rock and sat down on it with his legs crossed and his eyes closed.
Time passed by quickly, and several hours flew by in a flash.
All of a sudden, Han Li's expression stirred slightly, and he abruptly opened his eyes as he cast his gaze toward Concealed Wyrm City.
Spiritual light flashed in the distant sky in that direction, and moments later, a streak of light appeared in the air above the mountain before descending onto it.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Junior Martial Brother Han, I had some things to take care of, which delayed my arrival." The light receded to reveal a yellow-robed elderly man, who cupped his fist in a salute toward Han Li in an apologetic manner.
It was none other than Xiang Zhili.
"That's alright, I only arrived not long ago as well. Can you tell me what you have to say now, Senior Martial Brother Xiang?" Han Li asked in a calm manner.
"Of course. However, before that, I have to show you something first." Xiang Zhili reached one of his hands out of his wide sleeve to reveal a shimmering green jade box before handing it over to Han Li with a smile on his face.
Han Li glanced at the jade box before sweeping his spiritual sense toward it, only for his spiritual sense to be immediately repelled. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes, and he asked, "Is this the item that you want to give me, Senior Martial Brother Xiang? What is it? You're certainly being very secretive about this!"
An extremely profound restriction seemed to have been set up inside the jade box.
"Hehe, you'll know once you open it, Junior Martial Brother Han," Xiang Zhili encouraged with a mysterious smile.
Han Li nodded in response before accepting the green jade box to find that it was as light as air.
He then took another glance at Xiang Zhili with a peculiar look on his face before suddenly tossing the jade box into the air. A streak of azure sword Qi that was around 10 feet in length flew out of his sleeve before striking the box viciously in a flash.
"Argh!"
Xiang Zhili immediately let loose a cry of surprise upon seeing this, but it was too late for him to stop Han Li.
The jade box was sliced open by the sword Qi amid a faint crack, and an item drifted out of it.
Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly to inspect the item, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
This was a shimmering golden talisman with profound silver patterns all over its surface. On top of that, there were countless golden and silver runes surrounding the talisman, giving it an air of mystery.
A calm expression reappeared on Xiang Zhili's face, and he made no mention of how Han Li had sliced open the box. Instead, he said in an earnest manner, "This is a Giant Spirit Talisman that I obtained by chance in the human world, but it requires someone of the Deity Transformation Stage or above to be able to refine it. It's all thanks to this talisman that I was able to survive my tumultuous trip through the spatial node into this realm. However, my cultivation base has plummeted all the way to the Core Formation Stage, so I have no use for it anymore. As such, I decided to give it to you, but in exchange, I want you to do something for me once you return to the human race. Rest assured, this is something that's well within your capabilities."
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't immediately respond. Instead, he made a grabbing motion upward, and a burst of invisible force drew the golden talisman into his hand.
His heart stirred slightly as he sensed the pure spiritual power emanating from the Giant Spirit Talisman, and several thin translucent threads suddenly erupted out of his glabella before vanishing into the talisman in a flash.
"Spiritual sense crystallization!" Xiang Zhili couldn't help but exclaim as a hint of shock flashed through his eyes.
Right in the next instant, a startling turn of events suddenly unfolded.
The Giant Spirit Talisman suddenly began to release a faint buzzing sound while its golden color instantly turned black. At the same time, a burst of grey Qi appeared over its surface, and a plume of greyish-white thin threads erupted from the talisman.
The threads reached Han Li in a flash, but Han Li seemed to have anticipated that this would happen, and he remained completely unflustered. Spiritual light flashed, and a dense indestructible-looking golden light barrier appeared in front of him.
At Han Li's current cultivation base, the protective spiritual light formed by his Provenance True Devil Arts was completely impervious to the effects of normal treasures.
However, this proved not to be the case here! The greyish-white threads punctured through the golden light in a flash before vanishing into his body.
A bone-chilling sensation immediately spread through Han Li's body from the greyish-white threads, and within the span of a single breath, his body had become completely numb and immobilized.
At the same time, a sinister look suddenly appeared on Xiang Zhili's face. As soon as the greyish-white threads vanished into Han Li's body, he immediately made a hand seal, upon which his body abruptly exploded.
Blood and flesh flew in all directions, revealing a crimson shadow. Bright crimson light then erupted forth as the crimson shadow hurtled toward Han Li, leaving an overwhelming stench of blood and gore in its wake.
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sp; Chapter 1754: Departing From the Thunder Continent
All of a sudden, black Qi erupted from Han Li's body, and a suit of black armor appeared. Countless black runes surged forth from the suit of armor, and the crimson streak of light was instantly repelled by the runes and black Qi.
The crimson shadow was sent stumbling backward and was forced to reveal its true form.
Blue light flashed through Han Li's eyes, allowing him to better glean the true appearance of the crimson shadow, and in spite of everything he had been through, even he couldn't help but be startled by what he was beholding.
At first glance, the face of the crimson shadow appeared to be a sinister ghostly face, but after a faint flash, it turned into Xiang Zhili's face, and after another blur, it transformed into the face of another man.
This man was also familiar to Han Li; it was none other than Old Devil Hu, whom Xiang Zhili had entered the spatial node with.
The crimson shadow quickly transitioned between its three faces as if it were incapable of adopting a stable form.
The crimson shadow finally righted itself before exclaiming in a shocked and enraged manner, "Heavenly Devilish Armor? Impossible! How could you possess a suit of armor that should only belong to heavenly devils?"
The voice resembled that of Xiang Zhili, but it also gave Han Li a strange unfamiliar feeling.
Han Li harrumphed coldly as shimmering golden light appeared all over his body. At the same time, a suit of golden scale armor emerged over his skin.
"Do you think I can't do anything to you just because you have that suit of Heavenly Devilish Armor?" The crimson shadow's face changed several times in rapid succession before it let loose a strange cry and began to rotate on the spot.
In the blink of an eye, a crimson tornado had erupted from his body and risen up into the sky, reaching a height of over 100 feet.
Incessant rumbling rang out from within the tornado, and bolts of crimson lightning flashed violently, creating an extremely alarming sight to behold.
The crimson shadow then chanted a few strange incantations, and the tornado rapidly shrank, condensing itself into a head-sized crimson rune mere moments later. The rune hovered in front of the crimson figure, and a grim look immediately appeared on Han Li's face as he sensed the violent fluctuations proliferating from the rune.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1008