As for the Gold Devouring Beetles Monarchs that Qing Yuanzi proclaimed would pose a major threat even to true immortals, that was too far beyond his reach, and he had no idea how to even begin nurturing his beetles toward that direction, so there was no point in thinking about that for now.
However, regardless of whether he wanted to be able to control more Gold Devouring Beetles or prepare for his future breakthroughs, he had to cultivate the second stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique.
In his current state, he already satisfied the spiritual sense requirements. However, his physical constitution was slightly lacking, and he would only be able to barely satisfy those conditions once he reached the late-Body Integration Stage and completely mastered his Provenance True Devil Arts.
Prior to that, he could use some external items to bolster his own body. For example, that Red Silk Heavenly Wine could slowly enhance one's physical constitution, so he could brew some to drink over time.
Of course, he also needed to spend some time to study the talismans and mysterious starry sky diagram that he had obtained from the Vast Glacial Realm.
With that in mind, Han Li fell into a period of silent contemplation...
During the next year, Han Li didn't take so much as a single step out of his cave abode and focused all of his efforts on consolidating his magic power and mental state. However, in contrast with the peace and quiet inside his cave abode, the outside world had been stirred up into a frenzy by his breakthrough.
Many of the powers in the nearby area wanted to approach him, but all of these powers knew that cultivatora had to go into seclusion for a year after breaking through a major bottleneck. As such, these powers had been very thoughtful in that they hadn't sent anyone to disrupt Han Li's cultivation.
However, as soon as one year passed, some of them immediately sprang into action.
On this day, a thin and tall elderly man appeared at the edge of the sea of mist. He wore a set of long azure robes with a green jade scepter hanging from his waist. He was standing on a nearby mountain and casting his gaze toward the center of the sea of mist in a completely expressionless manner.
All of a sudden, he turned and looked up into the air.
Spiritual light flashed in the distance in that direction, following which a streak of silver light that was over 100 feet long appeared.
The silver light was traveling at an astonishing speed, and after just a few flashes, it reached the nearby area, looking as if it were about to plunge headfirst into the sea of mist.
However, right at this moment, a faint cry of surprise rang out, and the elderly man's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
The silver streak of light circled around before abruptly descending onto the mountain that the man was situated on, and a slender humanoid figure appeared over 100 feet away from him after a flash of silver light.
This was a young beauty in a blue palatial dress. There was no aura emanating from her body whatsoever, and she had a pleasant smile on her face, making her appear as if she were an approachable mortal beauty.
The elderly man's pupils abruptly contracted at the sight of her. "Fairy Xiao Feng! I didn't think the esteemed leader of the Gu Family would come here in person."
"Oh? So it's Elder Qi of Deep Heaven City. Have you come for the man on Sunrise Peak?" the young woman asked as she extended a slight curtsey.
"Hehe, Deep Heaven City is only several month's travel away from here, so we were naturally made aware quite a while ago that a Body Integration Stage Fellow Daoist has appeared here. All of the other members on the panel of elders are either in seclusion or away doing something else, so I had to make this trip. Are you also here for the same purpose, Family Leader Gu?" the elderly man replied with a smile, and he was being quite polite to the young woman.
"Indeed, Senior. One of the elders of our Gu Family has already approached the senior on Sunrise Peak around a year ago, but never did I think that he would progress to the Body Integration Stage after just a single year. Hence, I naturally had to pay him a visit in person," the young woman said with a smile.
"If I recall correctly, the true spirit ceremony that's held between your true spirit families once every 3,000 years is coming up in a few more years, right? No wonder you're so eager to bolster the power of your Gu Family. However, if this man really has reached the Body Integration Stage, then I'm afraid I won't be able to hand him over to you. Back when the foreign races attacked our city, two of our elders had perished, and we also have two other elders who will most likely struggle to transcend their next major heavenly tribulations. Hence, we desperately need new Body Integration Stage fellow Daoists to supplement us," the elderly man said as he shook his head in an unyielding manner.
"Hehe, of course, a Body Integration cultivator isn't that easy to convince to join a certain power. Perhaps both of us will be going away empty-handed. Let's wait until we meet him before we discuss anything else," the elderly man said with a nonchalant chuckle.
"Indeed. In that case, I'll be visiting this senior together with you, Elder Qi." The woman nodded in agreement, and the elderly man also had no objection to this.
Thus, the two of them rose up into the air and instantly arrived at the edge of the sea of mist.
The elderly man took a deep breath before suddenly calling out, "Qi Xubing of Deep Heaven City and Fairy Xiao Feng of the Gu Family have come to pay a visit!"
The elderly man's voice transformed into a burst of profound spiritual power that spread through the entire sea of mist, causing it to ripple incessantly.
Han Li was meditating in his cave abode, and he immediately opened his eyes as a solemn look appeared on his face.
He abruptly made a grabbing motion, and a white formation plate appeared in his grasp. He pointed at the formation plate a few times in rapid succession, then said something into it, and at the same time, Han Li's voice also rang out from the sea of mist in response.
"I'm honored to be visited by such esteemed fellow Daoists. I'm currently in seclusion, so I won't be able to come out and greet you in person for now. Please enter my cave abode and take a seat, and I'll come out to meet you right away."
As soon as the voice trailed off, the sea of mist parted to reveal a path that was several tens of feet wide.
The elderly man and the woman exchanged a glance before flying on ahead one after another.
A short while later, the two of them descended in front of the cave abode halfway up the mountain, and at this point, the gate was already wide open.
The two of them made their way inside before taking a seat in a simple hall.
An expressionless white-robed woman then emerged with a tea platter and offered the two of them a cup of fragrant spirit tea each before standing off to the side in silence.
The elderly man and woman didn't pay any heed to this initially, but after casually casting their spiritual sense toward the white-robed woman, both of them were alarmed by what they found.
"Senior Qi, am I right in saying that this woman seems to be a puppet?" The young woman transmitted her voice in a bewildered manner.
"That is indeed a puppet, and judging from its aura, it seems to be a Spatial Tempering Stage puppet. What's strange is that it seems to be able to move on its own without being controlled by anyone." The elderly man had an even sharper discerning eye, and he was able to see some details that the woman had failed to notice.
The young woman was even more stunned to hear this. However, before they had a chance to inspect the white-robed woman any further, the sound of footsteps suddenly rang out from outside the hall, following which a young man who appeared to be in his twenties strode in in a calm manner.
The young woman immediately cast her gaze toward him, following which her expression stiffened slightly, and she hurriedly rose to her feet before extending a slight curtsey.
"As expected, you really have progressed to the Body Integration Stage, Senior. I congratulate you on behalf of our Gu Family."
The elderly man also rose to his feet and smiled as he cupped his fist in a salute.
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist; I am Qi Xubing, an elder of Deep Heaven City."
"It's an honor to meet the two of you. Forgive me for not coming out to greet you in person, fellow Daoists," Han Li said with a smile as he also extended a salute in return.
"Haha, you've only recently reached the Body Integration Stage, so you must be consolidating your cultivation base; I certainly can't blame you for that," the elderly man replied with a stroke of his beard.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they each took a seat.
"Truth be told, I almost didn't believe it when I was informed that Senior Han had reached the Body Integration Stage. After all, Elder Gu Yun of our family had only just returned not long ago, and he had told me that you were at the Spatial Tempering Stage; who would've thought that you'd become a Body Integration cultivator after just a year?" the young woman said in a slightly awestruck manner.
"Hehe, I had actually already begun preparations to break through my bottleneck back then. However, as I'm sure the two of you are aware, the probability of reaching the Body Integration Stage is quite low, so I didn't think that I would succeed the first time, which is why I withheld this information from Fellow Daoist Gu Yun; I hadn't intentionally omitted this detail to deceive him," Han Li explained in a slightly apologetic manner.
Chapter 1767: Invitation to the Spirit Sovereign Tournament
"I wouldn't dare to accuse you of deceit, Senior. Breaking through the Body Integration Stage bottleneck is an extremely important matter, so it certainly makes sense to be more cautious," the young woman said with a smile.
"Back when I broke through my Body Integration Stage bottleneck, I also found an extremely secluded place to make my breakthrough, so it looks like we have something in common with our thought processes, Fellow Daoist Han," the elderly man chuckled.
Han Li merely smiled in response.
After that, the three of them moved on to some more casual topics of conversation.
Han Li had explored multiple continents in the past several centuries, so he naturally had a vast wealth of knowledge and experience. As for these two guests, one of them was the leader of a true spirit family while the other was a veteran Body Integration Stage cultivator, so they had naturally seen and experienced a lot themselves.
Thus, the three of them were having quite pleasant conversation, and the elderly man and young woman both felt as if their horizons were being significantly broadened.
"Fellow Daoist Han, you seem to know a lot about foreign races, and much of this information isn't recorded in the tomes of our human race; could it be that you've traveled to other continents in the past?" the elderly man couldn't help but ask.
"You have a sharp discerning eye, Fellow Daoist Qi! I did indeed just return from the primordial world, and I also traveled to other continents during my journey as well," Han Li replied in a truthful manner.
Both the elderly man and young woman drew sharp breaths upon hearing this.
Fairy Xiao Feng was silent for a moment before speaking again. "It's no wonder that I've never heard of you despite your powers; it makes sense that you've been traveling elsewhere and have only just returned to our human race. However, I heard from Elder Gu Yun that you had mentioned the true spirit families, the Ye Family and Long Family to him. That reminds me of something, but I'm not sure if I should disclose it."
"Oh, what is it? Go right ahead, Fellow Daoist," Han Li prompted.
"Truth be told, after Elder Gu Yun informed me about you, I was very intrigued and sent out some of my people to investigate those with the same surname as you. Not much time has passed, so I haven't been able to find a lot of information, but I did hear about a certain Han Li who was a Dark Azure Guard of Deep Heaven City several centuries ago. Would that be you, Senior?" Fairy Xiao Feng said in a slightly timid manner.
The elderly man was quite surprised to hear this.
He was stunned, both by the fact that Han Li had lived in Deep Heaven City hundreds of years ago, and the fact that a Dark Azure Guard like him had become a Body Integration cultivator in just a few centuries.
Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but it immediately returned to normal thereafter, and he replied, "Hehe, true spirit families really are very resourceful; I didn't think you'd find out this information about me in just a year. I was indeed a Dark Azure Guard several hundred years ago, but I regained my freedom after completing a mission at the time."
"In that case, the one that the Long Family and Ye Family are searching for is also you, Senior Han," the young woman said with a slightly peculiar look in her eyes.
"The Ye Family and Long Family? They've been searching for me?" Han Li's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this.
"The Ye Family once searched for you for over 100 years but gave up after that. However, the Long Family still hasn't withdrawn their official search order. During these past years, the Ye Family and Long Family have been on very bad terms with one another. Their relationship isn't bad enough to lead to full-blown conflict, but they're often standing against one another, and this deterioration in their relationship seemed to have begun right around when they began to search for you," the young woman said in a meaningful manner.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't offer any reply and fell silent in contemplation.
"You were once a Dark Azure Guard of Deep Heaven City, Fellow Daoist? That's rather surprising to me, but this is a good thing; I can cut straight to the chase and won't have to go around in circles now. I'm sure you've already guessed the reason for my visit, right, Fellow Daoist Han?" the elderly man said after clearing his throat.
"Could you be here to invite me to join Deep Heaven City again?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed. I'm here on behalf of the panel of elders to officially invite you to join our city. With your Body Integration Stage cultivation base, you'll immediately become a member of the panel of elders if you decide to join our city. As for the benefits you'll receive, you've stayed in Deep Heaven City before, so I'm sure you'll be aware of those, and I won't waste any time by listing them," Qi Xubing said in a serious manner.
"Well..."
A contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face, and he didn't immediately agree or refuse.
The young woman's expression stirred slightly upon seeing this, and she also made her case. "Seeing as Senior Qi has opened up this topic for discussion, then I'll weigh in on the matter as well. As the leader of the Gu Family, I'm naturally also here to try and recruit you to join our Gu Family as our guest grand elder. Not only will we make sure to offer you satisfactory conditions, our Gu Family won't restrict you in any way unless our family is in grave danger." Her conditions seemed to be even more alluring.
The elderly man's expression darkened upon hearing this, but he couldn't do anything to stop her.
She may have only been a Spatial Tempering cultivator, but her status as a leader of a true spirit family made her a force to be reckoned with even in the eyes of a Body Integration cultivator.
After a brief pause, the elderly man continued, "There is currently a severe shortage of Body Integration cultivators within our human and demon races. Aside from this city, I'm sure there's nowhere else in the three regions and seven territories that's inhabited by so many Body Integration Stage beings at once. The members of our city's panel of elders will be able to regularly exchange cultivation experiences, and I'm sure that would greatly benefit your cultivation if you were to join us. Also, our panel of elders will often join forces to hunt for some powerful ancient beasts in the primordial world; these are conditions that can't be offered by any other power, so please consider my offer carefully, Fellow Daoist. This is truly a sincere offer for you to join our city."
Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, as if he really had been tempted.
"Our Gu Family only
has one Body Integration Stage grand elder, but as one of the true spirit families, we have some unique secret techniques for the utilization of true spirit blood. I heard that when you broke through your Body Integration Stage bottleneck, you summoned a Giant Mountain Ape projection. According to my knowledge, none of the true spirit families have inherited the bloodline of the Giant Mountain Ape, so I can only assume that you obtained this true spirit bloodline outside of the human race. If you're willing to join our Gu Family, I will pass on the method to refine and utilize true spirit blood to you. Also, if you wish to found another true spirit family yourself 10,000 years from now, our Gu Family definitely won't oppose you. On the contrary, we'll support you with all our power." The young woman was also laying down the most attractive conditions she had to offer.
The elderly man was quite stunned to hear that Han Li possessed a true spirit bloodline, and his expression completely changed upon hearing the conditions offered by the young woman.
"A new true spirit family?" Han Li was also quite surprised to hear this.
"Indeed. With your powers and the true spirit bloodline you inherited, our Gu Family wouldn't dare to restrict you as our guest grand elder forever. As long as you're willing to undertake the role of guest grand elder in our Gu Family for 10,000 years, we'll offer you our wholehearted support if you decide to found another true spirit family after that. Otherwise, even with your powers, you'll definitely encounter a lot of opposition if you try to found a true spirit family on your own. After all, none of the true spirit families would wish to see a new competitor arise among them," the young woman said with a smile.
Han Li stroked his chin and fell silent upon hearing this.
A wry smile appeared on Qi Xubing's face. Han Li hadn't yet offered a response, but even if he were to join a certain power, it definitely wouldn't be here in Deep Heaven City.
In contrast, Fairy Xiao Feng appeared to be quite calm and collected, but she was also feeling rather uneasy as she didn't know if these conditions would be attractive to Han Li.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1017