"Hmph, quit daydreaming! You and I have both grown accustomed to lives of freedom; how could we possibly subject to someone else and allow ourselves to be restricted by others? If our personalities had been different, you wouldn't have left the Heavenly Fox Race, and I wouldn't have turned down the invitations from the three sovereigns. Besides, we haven't done anything for those major powers, and they'll definitely accept us with open arms now, but in the future, they'll most likely use us as cannon fodder. If perilous tasks arise, the new cultivators to join them like us will definitely be pushed to the front lines. As opposed to that, I would rather be alone and do as I please, even if it means having to fight for myself as well.
"On top of that, it's not like the territories of the three sovereigns and seven monarchs are going to be absolutely safe, either. During the last devilish tribulation, three demon monarchs and two human sovereigns perished, so there's no absolute safe harbor. All we can do is recruit as many fellow Daoists as possible. If they join us, then all of us will have a greater chance of survival. In any case, I would much rather place my trust in myself than put my life in the hands of others," Daoist Master Myriad Bone said in a solemn manner.
The woman seemed to have been convinced by Daoist Master Myriad Bone, and after a brief pause, she nodded, and said, "In that case, this Myriad Treasure Convention will be a fantastic opportunity for us to contact other vagrant cultivators. There really are very few situations where so many human and demon Body Integration cultivators will be gathering in one place. I'll leave the human cultivators to you while I contact the demon cultivators. I'm sure these vagrant cultivators have all heard about the imminent devilish tribulation, but they definitely won't know as much about it as we do, including the fact that it's going to take place within the next 1,000 years. By the way, I discussed this matter with that black wolf prior to coming here, and he seemed to be quite interested. However, we'll have to speak to him about this matter in further depth if we want to convince him."
"That would be great. Fellow Daoist Tian Kun has once competed with Wolf Monarch Tian Kui for the position of demon monarch, and he was only defeated after a grueling battle that spanned a day and a night, so he's definitely going to be far more powerful than the average vagrant Body Integration cultivator. I'm not sure how many human cultivators I'll be able to recruit, but I have some ties with Patriarch Heavenly Yin of Heavenly Yin Mountain, and he'll be attending this Myriad Treasure Convention as well, so it shouldn't be too difficult to convince him," Daoist Master Myriad Bone said in an elated manner.
"If we really can recruit those two, then our safety will most likely be assured even if we can't convince anyone else," the woman said with a smile, and her captivating features immediately lit up, making her significantly more seductive than she already was.
Even a vastly powerful cultivator like Daoist Master Myriad Bone couldn't help but be struck by a moment of disorientation at the sight of her seductive display.
The woman's seductive smile widened even further at the sight of Daoist Master Myriad Bone's slightly slack-jawed expression. "Oh? Do you want to try dual cultivating with me, Brother Myriad Bone? If so, I certainly wouldn't mind giving it a try!"
It was as if she really were willing to offer her body to Daoist Master Myriad Bone if he so pleased, but he immediately shuddered upon hearing this before hurriedly waving his hands with a wry smile. "Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist! You possess the Heavenly Fox Body; that's not something I can lay my hands on. I'm no longer a young man, and I still want to live for a few more years."
"That's a real pity; I was truly looking forward to dual cultivating with you. It's unfortunate that you have the heart but not the will to see things through," the woman giggled, further accentuating her seductive qualities as she did so.
Daoist Master Myriad Bone didn't even dare to look directly at her anymore, and he hurriedly shifted his gaze away as he changed the subject. "By the way, your Myriad Illusion Technique really has been honed to an extraordinary extent. When you posed as my concubine, even I would've been fooled had I not been aware of our arrangement; I'm sure that Fellow Daoist Han wouldn't have been able to see anything amiss, either. As expected of a Heavenly Fox being; your aptitude in concealment and disguise truly is astonishing."
As opposed to being flattered by these words of praise, the woman's smile suddenly faded, and she said in a cold voice, "Hmph, do you really think he was fooled, Fellow Daoist Myriad Bone?"
"What do you mean by that?" Daoist Master Myriad Bone was taken aback by her sudden shift in demeanor.
"It's no surprise that you didn't detect anything. When I was posing as your concubine earlier, Fellow Daoist Han had directed a wisp of his spiritual sense solely toward me. If it weren't for the fact that I had unleashed a detection secret technique and was paying extra attention to him, I would've failed to detect this as well. This Fellow Daoist Han possesses the most powerful spiritual sense I've ever seen. If I had to compare it to someone else, I'd say that it's most likely not inferior to the spiritual senses of the three sovereigns and seven monarchs," the woman replied in a grim voice.
"Is that so?" Daoist Master Myriad Bone drew a sharp breath as his expression darkened even further.
"Rest assured, Brother Myriad Bone, it's no surprise that this Fellow Daoist Han possesses incredible aptitude, considering he was able to reach the Body Integration Stage at such a young age. He was able to see through my disguise, but I had already used a Heavenly Fox Race secret technique to completely seal away my magic power for a short time, so no matter how powerful he is, there's no way he would've been able to identify the fact that I'm a Body Integration cultivator. On top of that, I'm sure that he's determined that we bear no ill will toward him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have conversed with you for so long before departing."
Daoist Master Myriad Bone's expression eased slightly upon hearing this, and he said, "That is indeed true. If he asks me about this next time, I'll just have to make up an excuse to placate him."
"In all honesty, it doesn't really matter even if he learns my true identity. Am I that unsightly that I can't be presented before others?" the woman asked as she adopted her seductive smile again.
Daoist Master Myriad Bone's eyelids twitched upon seeing this, and he could only remain silent with a wry smile on his face.
Chapter 1797: Immortal Wine and Mouse Monarch Dong Tian
Contrary to her stunning looks, this Fairy Hua of the Heavenly Fox Race was an extremely ruthless and dangerous character. She had once sucked away the true Yang essence of hundreds of young male demons, and for that, she was hunted down by the Heavenly Fox Monarch himself for a long while, but still managed to escape with her life. With that harrowing past behind her, Daoist Master Myriad Bone naturally didn't dare to let others know that he was on friendly terms with this woman.
"Alright, now that we've had our first meeting with Fellow Daoist Han, I'm going to go into seclusion for a few days. I recently attained some sudden enlightenment in my cultivation and wish to explore that further. It would be inconvenient for you to live here with me, so I'll have to ask you to leave," Daoist Master Myriad Bone said in a casual voice.
"You sure are a sly old Daoist priest! You're just scared that I'll go after your disciples, you're fabricating the excuse that it would be inconvenient for me to live here. Am I going to occupy the entirety of this massive space? Come to think of it, you've brought a few disciples with you who have decent aptitude. I've heard that you also brought along the sons and grandson that you adore the most; you better keep a close eye on them," the woman chuckled in a seductive manner before her body swayed, and she abruptly vanished on the spot.
In the next instant, spiritual light flashed within the teleportation formation, and she reappeared inside the formation, having already reverted back to the appearance of Daoist Master Myriad Bone's concubine.
Daoist Master Myriad Bone's face paled slightly upon hearing this, and he hurriedly summoned a silver badge
before waving it toward the formation.
A buzzing sound rang out from the teleportation formation, and the woman was instantly teleported away.
Only then did Daoist Master Myriad Bone shake his head with a wry smile and depart from the scene.
Meanwhile, Han Li had already returned to the fifth floor, and he was sitting by himself on the main seat in the hall, contemplating something in silence.
He was trying to figure out what this Daoist Master Myriad Bone's intentions were. He naturally wasn't convinced that Daoist Master Myriad Bone had merely invited him in an attempt to befriend him with pure motives.
Furthermore, the concubine that he had been holding had unleashed an extremely advanced illusionary technique to conceal her true appearance, which was rather suspicious.
However, he didn't detect any ill intent from their speech and actions, which was why he had been content to converse with Daoist Master Myriad Bone for so long before departing.
Besides, with his current powers, he could put up a good fight even against a late-Body Integration cultivator, so he had nothing to fear even if they did harbor some kind of ulterior motive.
Additionally, the Black Realm Exchange Convention that they had mentioned was truly something that he was interested in attending. After all, he wasn't really banking on reaping much rewards from the Myriad Treasure Convention.
Part of the reason why he had come here was to fulfill the agreement he had made with that demonic woman back in Deep Heaven City, and on top of that, he also wanted to take this opportunity to acquaint himself with other cultivators of the same caliber and see what the three sovereigns and seven monarchs were like. He wanted to compare them to the holy-grade beings he had encountered in the foreign races.
If he could purchase a large amount of demon beast materials from the demonic woman and also reap many rewards during the Black Realm Exchange Convention, then there was a good chance that he would be able to gather all of the materials required to refine his second extreme mountain.
If he could accomplish that, then he would have another immensely powerful treasure at his disposal, and with those two extreme mountains, it would also become an extremely easy task for him to transcend his first few major heavenly tribulations.
On top of that, it seemed that he would be able to find a third extreme mountain in the not too distant future as well. However, that would depend on whether his new in-name disciple could successfully cultivate her Ice Essence Glacial Soul ability.
One of the five mountains required to refine the five extreme mountains was none other than the Vast Yin Glacial Soul Mountain.
The Vast Yin stones that this mountain was comprised of were different from Profound Jade. It could only be found in an extreme glacial realm, but only after being stimulated by someone could it release Glacial Soul Qi, which was extraordinarily cold.
Such a mountain generally stood hundreds of thousands of feet beneath a glacier, and due to the vast amount of glacial Qi around it, even Han Li's tremendously powerful spiritual sense wouldn't be able to detect it.
Only those with the aforementioned ability would be able to sense the Vast Yin stones from afar.
As for the range within which these Vast Yin stones could be sensed, that would depend on the size of the Vast Yin stones and the potency of the cultivator's Ice Essence Glacial Soul ability.
The Vast Yin Glacial Soul Mountain that he was searching for was naturally extremely massive, and as long as one were to master the Ice Essence Glacial Soul ability, they would definitely be able to sense it even from hundreds of thousands of feet.
Of course, Han Li had no idea whether such a mountain could be found.
Thankfully, he knew of many extreme glacial realms in the human and demon territories alone. Compared to the other few types of extreme mountains, this one was the easiest to source, but it was still yet to be seen whether he could track down such a mountain.
However, for the sake of his future major heavenly tribulations, Han Li naturally couldn't relinquish any shred of hope, which was why he had decided to save Bai Guo'er without any hesitation after discovering her special physique.
He possessed a vast amount of pills, so saving her wouldn't cause as huge a setback in his cultivation as it would for other cultivators of his caliber, but it would still definitely delay his cultivation for over 100 years.
However, if he could refine the Glacial Soul Extreme Mountain and make some further advancements in his power, he could consider creating a clone of himself with restricted magic power to return to the human world. There were two places in the human world where sightings of Greatnorth Essence Lights had been made, so there was definitely a good chance that a Greatnorth Essence Mountain could be found there.
As such, there was a good chance that he would be able to gather four of the five extreme mountains. If he were fortunate enough to gather the materials required for the last extreme mountain as well and refine all five extreme mountains, he most likely wouldn't have to worry about major heavenly tribulations for a very long time to come.
With sufficient time, he was confident in his own ability to reach the Grand Ascension Stage, and it certainly wasn't impossible for him to ascend to the True Immortal Realm eventually.
Han Li's expression remained calm and unchanged, but these thoughts were rapidly flashing through his mind.
After a while, he stood up before making his way toward one of the side doors of the hall.
His plan was to continue resting in the hall for the next two days, then pay Heavenly Yuan Holy Sovereign a visit to collect the ingredients required to brew Red Silk Immortal Wine.
Seeing as he was planning to attend this Black Realm convention, it certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to refine some Red Silk Immortal Wine. If he were to encounter some extremely avid wine enthusiasts among the cultivators there, the wine would possess extremely high exchange value.
Otherwise, even though he was carrying many treasures and spirit medicines, there really wasn't all that much that he could bring out for exchange. Myriad-year spirit medicines were indeed quite rare, but they weren't too precious in the eyes of Body Integration cultivators. As for the powerful treasures that he had, most of them were useful to him, so he couldn't just offer them for exchange.
Thus, night slowly fell, and only when it had turned dark outside did Young Master Hai and Qi Lingzi return in an excited manner.
Han Li could sense that the two of them had appeared in the teleportation formation on the first floor, and he used his restriction badge to summon them to the fifth floor. After that, he issued some instructions to them, and even though they had a lot to say to him, they could only bite their tongues and return to their living quarters.
Two days later, Han Li paid a visit to Heavenly Yuan Holy Sovereign, who was staying in another Immortal Welcome Palace, and secured a large amount of ingredients from him.
What was slightly unfortunate was that the two demon monarchs, the Black Phoenix Monarch and Wyrm Monarch Li Huo, both had something to do, so they were no longer on Nine Immortal Mountain. It was most likely the case that they were only going to come back prior to the commencement of the Myriad Treasure Convention.
Han Li was naturally slightly disappointed, but he didn't think too much of it as he was in a hurry to brew the immortal wine.
Thus, he quickly took his leave from Heavenly Yuan Holy Sovereign's residence and returned to his own Immortal Welcome Palace.
He entered a secret chamber on the fifth floor, then began to brew Red Silk Immortal Wine according to the procedure detailed on the ancient tome.
He stayed in the secret chamber for half a month without coming out even once.
He naturally couldn't brew all of the Red Silk Fruits that he had into wine, and aside from the two flagons he had promised Heavenly Yuan Holy Sovereign, he only brewed seven more flagons beyond that.
Han Li was well aware of the correlation between rarity and value. Even though this Red Silk Immortal
Wine was wine of the True Immortal Realm and had never been seen in the Spirit Realm before, bringing out too much at once would still severely dent its value.
Furthermore, consumption of this Red Silk Immortal Wine over an extended period of time could enhance one's constitution and extend one's lifespan, so Han Li was planning to drink it himself for a long time to come.
After brewing the wine, Han Li continued to meditate and cultivate in the hall most of the time, and he would occasionally leave the fifth floor to meet and interact with the other Body Integration cultivators who had arrived.
There were a few of them that he found to be quite enjoyable to interact with, and they established a close acquaintanceship.
As for that Daoist Master Myriad Bone, he was still as warm and hospitable toward Han Li as ever. He had even invited Han Li to attend a small private exchange convention that could only be attended by cultivators at or above the Spatial Tempering Stage, and Han Li had secured some materials that he required during the event.
This further improved Han Li's impression of Daoist Master Myriad Bone, which had been quite positive to begin with.
As time passed, more and more Body Integration cultivators began to move into the Immortal Welcome Palaces, and around a month prior to the commencement of the Myriad Treasure Convention, the Immortal Welcome Palaces had been mostly occupied.
Among these Body Integration cultivators were grand elders from some major powers, as well as beings who ruled over a certain territory themselves, and there weren't that many vagrant cultivators like Han Li.
However, aside from Heavenly Yuan Holy Sovereign, Mouse Monarch Dong Tian was the only other one among the three sovereigns and seven monarchs to arrive.
However, this demon monarch immediately went into seclusion after moving into Nine Immortal Mountain, refusing to see anyone, thereby creating a sense of mystery and intrigue around him.
Come to think of it, this Mouse Monarch Dong Tian had always been the most enigmatic among the seven demon monarchs. It was said that he was constantly using a secret technique to conceal himself, and very few people among the human and demon races had seen his true appearance.
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