"This Great Blood Soul Technique and my second Nascent Soul actually each have their advantages. At the very least, if my second Nascent Soul were to leave my side for as long as your blood soul has, it would've gone rogue long ago," Han Li said with a smile.
"That's true. The Great Blood Soul Technique includes a special blood refinement secret technique to cultivate a blood soul, and that eliminates the risk of suffering backlash. Otherwise, Daoist Master Blood Crystal wouldn't have been so vastly renowned for inventing this technique," Blood Spirit replied.
Han Li merely smiled in response and remained silent.
"By the way, I recall that you had some questions for me, Fellow Daoist Han. I haven't inherited a lot of the memories of my true self, but I'll do my best to answer your questions based on the limited memories I possess," Blood Spirit continued.
"In that case, I'll go right ahead. I'm sure you've already heard about my origins, right, Fellow Daoist Blood Spirit?" Han Li asked as he turned his gaze toward Xu Jiao.
"I did indeed ask about your origins, and I've learned that not only did you come from the same human world that my true self came from, you also obtained the Celestial Blue flames that she had left in the human world. As recent as a few days ago, you played a major role in awakening me; fate truly does act in incredible ways," Blood Spirit sighed with a complex look on her face.
"It's exactly because of this that I have questions about the human world that I would like you to answer, Fellow Daoist," Han Li said in a serious manner.
"All of your questions are regarding the human world?" Blood Spirit seemed to be rather taken aback to hear this.
"Is there an issue?" Han Li asked in a perplexed manner.
"Indeed there is! If you wish to ask me about the human world, then I'm afraid I have nothing to tell you," Blood Spirit said with a wry smile.
Han Li's brows naturally furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he didn't pose any further questions as he knew that Blood Spirit would definitely give him an explanation.
Sure enough, a serious look appeared on her face, and she continued, "It's not that I don't want to answer your questions; it's just that I don't have any memories of the human world, and my understanding of the human world is very murky and indistinct."
"Why is that? Could it be that you lost your memories of the human world during the time that you were sealed as a blood soul?" Han Li asked in a puzzled manner.
"That's not the case. Back when my true self passed on her memories to me, she simply didn't replicate that part of her memories," Blood Spirit explained.
"And why did she do that?"
"I'm not sure of that myself." A slightly awkward look appeared on Blood Spirit's face.
Han Li's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't press the issue any further.
Blood Spirit was also feeling rather apologetic. However, she had another objective for visiting Han Li, and after a brief hesitation, she said, "I also have something that I would like to ask you as well."
Han Li was completely speechless. Not only had Blood Spirit expressed an inability to answer his questions, she was now going to ask him questions instead.
Despite his internal reaction, he put on a faint smile, and said, "You can ask me anything you'd like."
"Alright, then pardon my intrusion. Fellow Daoist Han, did you happen to obtain any treasures related to my true self during your time in the human world? I sensed a very familiar aura from you back when I first met you a few days ago. I couldn't think of anything, but I have a feeling that you may be in possession of a treasure that's very important, both to me and my true self," Blood Spirit said in a serious manner.
Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and only after appraising Blood Spirit for a while did he slowly nod in response. "Could this be the item that you're referring to?"
As soon as his voice trailed off, Han Li opened his mouth to expel a ball of azure light, which transformed into a miniature azure cauldron that settled over his palm.
It was none other than the Heavenvoid Cauldron.
"That's the Spiritvoid Cauldron! Wait, no, it's the Heavenvoid Cauldron..." Blood Spirit immediately exclaimed in elation at the sight of treasure, but she then faltered as a complex look appeared on her face.
"Oh? You can still identify this treasure?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"I don't remember much from the human world, but for some reason, I recognized this cauldron as soon as I saw it. On top of that, judging from the aura it's releasing, it seems to be extremely similar to the Spiritvoid Cauldron that my true self possesses, so it should've been crafted by her as well. Also, I don't know why, but I can sense that this treasure should be extremely important to my true self," Blood Spirit murmured as she appraised the miniature azure cauldron.
"Extremely important, eh?" An ambiguous look appeared on Han Li's face.
After a brief pause, Blood Spirit said in a careful manner, "Like I said, I don't know why I feel this way, either; I can only assume that this is the result of a strong urge planted in my blood soul by my true self. I won't waste any more time here; I have to recover this Heavenvoid Cauldron no matter what. If you agree to hand it over to me, you can state any conditions you may have."
Han Li narrowed his eyes as he stroked his chin, yet before he had a chance to reply, Blood Spirit suddenly turned to Xu Jiao, and instructed in an implacable voice, "Xu Jiao, bring out that thing!"
"... Yes, Senior Blood Spirit." A hint of reluctance appeared on Xu Jiao's face, but he still gritted his teeth and waved a sleeve over the storage bracelet on his wrist.
A burst of white light swept forth, following which two jade boxes, one large and one small, as well as a blue leather pouch, appeared on the table beside Han Li.
"Here is a 30,000-year-old Devilish Jade Flower, and the Eight Wyrm Blade, which is a spirit treasure that can wield the power of eight wyrms, as well as a pouch of top-grade spirit stones that are worth 30,000,000 spirit stones; I'm willing to exchange all of this for your Heavenvoid Cauldron, and I'll owe you a favor as well, so I'll be sure to thank you handsomely when I return to the human race," Blood Spirit proposed.
Han Li chuckled as he instantly injected his spiritual sense into the three containers on the table, and sure enough, they contained exactly what Blood Spirit proclaimed they did.
There was a black spirit flower that was extremely beneficial to those using devilish cultivation arts, a strange blue blade with eight wyrms carved on its surface, and a leather pouch that was full of top-grade spirit stones.
Han Li raised a hand and drew the jade box containing the black spirit flower into his grasp.
"Why have you only taken the Devilish Jade Flower, Brother Han?" Blood Spirit's brows furrowed slightly with befuddlement.
"This Devilish Jade Flower will indeed be quite useful to me, so I'll accept it in exchange, but I won't be taking the spirit stones and this spirit treasure as I'm not in need of such things. I don't consider myself to be a saint or a gentleman, but I know the importance of giving thanks where it's due. Back when I was in the human world, the Celestial Blue flames that I absorbed and this cauldron have helped me defeat several powerful enemies, so it wouldn't be right for me to extort you here. Besides, this Devilish Jade Flower is a spirit medicine that can only be found in the Elder Devil Realm, so it won't be much less valuable than a spirit treasure," Han Li explained with a smile.
The miniature cauldron hovering above his hand then rose up into the air before arriving in front of Blood Spirit in a flash, where it settled before her in a stationary manner.
Han Li's actions and words had clearly taken her by surprise, and a peculiar look flashed through her eyes as she appraised the miniature cauldron before her.
After a brief silence, her expression returned to normal, and she said, "On behalf of the Xu Family and my true self, I thank you for doing us this great favor. If you ever require any assistance with anything in the future, you can come to the X
u Family to find me. I'm not all that powerful, but there are some things that I can be of great help in."
After that, Blood Spirit swept a sleeve through the air, and a burst of crimson light appeared, following which the miniature azure cauldron and the other two items on the table both disappeared in a flash.
She then rose and extended a slight curtsey toward Han Li before turning to depart.
"I'll also be taking my leave now, Senior." Xu Jiao was slightly taken aback by this situation, and he hurriedly rose to his feet to extend a respectful bow toward Han Li before departing with Blood Spirit.
Han Li looked on at the entrance to the pavilion for a long while following their departures before finally heaving a faint sigh.
For some reason, even though he hadn't received any answers from Blood Spirit, nor any leads that had notified him of the whereabouts of her true self, he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders now that he had returned the Heavenvoid Cauldron to her.
It was as if all of the potential inner demons that could've arisen to impede his cultivation had vanished, and the promise that he had made to the young man with the Weng surname had also been fulfilled.
The Heavenvoid Cauldron was an exceptional spirit treasure, but there were clearly other uses for it that he was still unaware of. Otherwise, from a pure power perspective, it was actually inferior to a few of the other spirit treasures he possessed.
As such, he felt a little forlorn to be handing it over, but he certainly wasn't all that reluctant.
Seeing as handing over the cauldron had ironed out his potential inner demons, allowed him to befriend the Xu Family and the Fairy Ice Soul, and also earned him a Devilish Jade Flower that he had only ever heard of, this was certainly not a bad deal.
However, now that everything had been taken care of here, it was about time that he left the Xu Family. There were only a few years left until the Myriad Treasure Convention, and he could take his time to travel there by traversing through the Tian Yuan Region.
With that in mind, Han Li also rose to his feet and slowly made his way over to the staircase.
Chapter 1783: Young Master Hai and Qi Lingzi
A day later, a streak of azure light flew out of the mountain range that the Xu Family was situated on, and Han Li appeared high up in the air.
He turned around to take one final glance at the mountain range down below before continuing in his flight.
After just a few flashes, the streak of light vanished into the distance.
After that, Han Li embarked on a journey across some of the cities in the Tian Yuan Region, a journey that would span the length of several years.
Some of the renowned sects and major families near the cities all discovered his presence, and they either sent their own high-grade cultivators to visit him, or kept an eye on him in a cautious manner until he departed.
Even though he was only traveling over a very small portion of the Tian Yuan Region, this journey allowed Han Li to develop a better grasp of the situation in the human race.
There were indeed far less Body Integration cultivators in the human race compared to the Jiao Chi Race, or even the Flying Spirit Race.
Aside from the three sovereigns and the Body Integration cultivators under them, there were very few Body Integration cultivators in the other sects or major families. As for completely vagrant Body Integration cultivators like himself, there were virtually none in the human race.
Han Li had heard that there were more cultivators like him in the demon race, but there still wasn't a significant margin between the numbers.
Even if the two races were to join forces, they would still only be roughly comparable in power to an average race on the Tian Yuan Continent.
This was why the human and demon races had established their territory in such a secluded part of the Tian Yuan Continent, where there were no powerful foreign races around. Otherwise, even with the super formation and the protection of Deep Heaven City, the ability of the two races to survive the Spirit Realm would be quite questionable.
After all, according to what he had learned, many foreign races that were more powerful than the human and demon races had been wiped out in a short time in the history of the Spirit Realm.
With his newfound powers as a Body Integration cultivator, he naturally didn't encounter any danger during his journey. On top of that, he slew a few evil cultivators by chance, and forged himself quite a reputation in the Tian Yuan region as a result.
Thus, any sects and major families were made aware of the fact that an unfathomably powerful Body Integration cultivator who bore the appearance of a young man had appeared in the human race.
After that, even some major powers from the Xuan Wu Region and Tian Ling Region sent people to try and recruit him, but they would naturally all face polite rejections from Han Li.
Thus, five years flew by in the blink of an eye...
On this day, there were three human cultivators in different attire halfway up a lush mountain on the border of the Xuan Wu Region and Tian Yuan Region. The three of them were seated in a stone pavilion and having a pleasant conversation.
One of them wore a set of white scholarly robes and had a pair of bright eyes complemented by sharp well-defined brows. He appeared to be in his thirties, and was quite a handsome and graceful man.
The person beside him wore a set of yellow Daoist robes with a worn-out black wooden sword on his back. This was a young Daoist priest who appeared to only be 17 to 18 years of age.
The final person to complete the trio was a young man with a set of ordinary facial features and slightly tanned complexion. He wore a set of long azure robes, and he was none other than Han Li.
Han Li currently had a hint of a smile on his face, and he listened patiently to the Daoist priest's epic tale.
"This is no exaggeration; the Mistsea Sect that the founding father of our Mistsea Daoist Temple belonged to back when he was in the lower realm was truly the number one sect in the world. It dominated the entire human world and crushed all demons that dared to oppose it. Patriarch Profound Spirit Disciple was also renowned as the number one cultivator in that world. I've inherited his teachings and also taken over the Mistsea Daoist Temple; if the two of you are willing to join our temple, then we'll truly be a force to be reckoned with. Once all three of us reach our full potential, we may not be able to make our Daoist temple the number one sect in the human race, but we'll definitely be able to at least dominate an entire region, haha!"
"Qi Lingzi, you've said this to me and Brother Han at least 18 times already. Even if we count all the kids in your Mistsea Temple, it only has two or three members in total, yet you have the audacity to invite me and Brother Han to join your temple? Your patriarch may have been a dominant force in the human world, but in our Spirit Realm, he was only an ordinary Deity Transformation cultivator. Otherwise, how could your temple have fallen so far into obscurity?" the white-robed man chuckled, and a green paper fan suddenly appeared in his hand. He opened the fan in a fluid graceful manner and gently fanned himself with it as he shook his head with an amused smile.
"Ptui! You don't know anything, Young Master Hai! It's not that the cultivation arts of our Mistsea Daoist Temple are too weak; the problem is that the Boundless Mistsea cultivation art my patriarch left behind has extremely special requirements for those who wish to use it. Back when my patriarch ascended to the Spirit Realm, he was extremely unfortunate to have encountered an exceedingly rare spatial storm. He managed to escape from the spatial storm in the end, but he suffered severe injuries during the ordeal, and he perished not long after founding the Mistsea Daoist Temple. Otherwise, our temple definitely wouldn't still be restricted to such an obscure location..." the young Daoist priest argued vehemently.
"I think your patriarch had a lot of foresight. With the current state of your Mistsea Daoist Temple, if you had taken over a spirit mountain or spirit vein, the temple would've most likely been destroyed already, isn't that righ
t, Brother Han?" Young Master Hai gently closed his fan as he turned to Han Li in an amused manner.
"Your words do hold some truth, Brother Hai, but at the same time, Fellow Daoist Qi Lingzi's cultivation art is quite profound, so it most likely will have some special requirements for those who wish to cultivate it," Han Li replied with a smile.
"Haha, you see? Even Brother Han is giving me his endorsement; that means that our Mistsea Daoist Temple is different from all of those other powers! How about it? If you're willing to join our temple, I can pass the Boundless Mistsea cultivation art onto the two of you right away," the young Daoist priest tempted as his eyes narrowed into thin lines.
Young Master Hai immediately rolled his eyes in a disdainful manner in response. "I'm cultivating the most orthodox body refinement technique, and I have exceptional aptitude in body refinement; I've already reached the third layer of the Vajra Arts. You may be the so-called temple master of your Daoist temple, but you've only recently progressed to the Foundation Establishment Stage; you might not even be able to beat me in battle, what are you going to be able to teach me? If I'm going to join a sect, then I'm going to join a proper sect with a good reputation. Also, you were slightly ambiguous in your wording there, Brother Han. What do you mean by 'my words hold some truth'? What I said is entirely true; Senior Profound Spirit Disciple must've built the Mistsea Daoist Temple in that secluded location so that it wouldn't be ransacked by others." Young Master Hai said in a smug manner.
Han Li's lips twitched slightly upon hearing this, and he could only offer a wry smile in response. These two really were a pair of chatterboxes.
He had acquainted himself with these two around a month ago in a nearby city. At the time, they were being hunted by several Foundation Establishment cultivators from a small local sect that they had offended.
This was an extremely common occurrence, and Han Li had no intention of stepping in as he flew by at the time.
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