In the instant that he had used his Brightsight Spirit Eyes to appraise the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi, he was drawn in by the essential power imbued within it and plunged into countless illusionary worlds, unable to return to reality.
Thankfully, he had foreseen this in advance, and planted a burst of energy within himself that would self-detonate at a set time to forcibly awaken him. Otherwise, he would've most likely sat here in a stupor until the day he died.
The ordeal was naturally a very alarming one for Han Li, but at the same time, it confirmed to him that this was indeed Chaotic Yin Yang Qi and couldn't be anything else. If he could refine this Chaotic Yin Yang Qi, then a breakthrough to the late-Body Integration Stage would be all but guaranteed.
However, prior to that, he had to pay another visit to the two old devils in the Devil Sealing Lock.
With that in mind, he suddenly pointed a finger at the azure ball of light, and a dull thunderclap rang out as a thin golden arc of lightning shot forth from his fingertip. The arc of lightning plunged into the azure ball of light in a flash, then immediately shot back. The black and white specks of light within the azure light remained completely unmoved, and it was as if nothing had ever happened.
However, a content look appeared on Han Li's face, and he pointed a finger at the blue jade vial, upon which the vial expelled a burst of white light that swept up the ball of azure light before drawing it into the vial.
Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to stow the jade vial away, then turned his attention to the wooden box that was hovering in mid-air. He opened his mouth to expel a string of beads, then laid a hand onto the top of his own head before slowly closing his eyes.
A short while later, spatial fluctuations erupted within a certain mysterious space, and Han Li's spiritual sense clone appeared high up in the air.
He inspected his surroundings, and his brows furrowed slightly upon discovering that he had found himself in a world of snow and ice.
Before he had a chance to do anything, spatial fluctuations erupted nearby, and two humanoid figures emerged in unison.
These were none other than Feng Xie and Che Qigong.
The two seemed to be very elated to see Han Li, and Feng Xie chortled as he asked, "What took you so long, Fellow Daoist Han? Brother Che and I were worried that you had landed yourself in some deep trouble."
"I was going to come and meet you much earlier than this, but during this past year, I was constantly being hunted by some powerful enemies, and only just managed to escape from them," Han Li explained with a smile.
"Seeing as you're here, I assume that you're safe now; I must congratulate you, Fellow Daoist Han. Did you manage to obtain the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi?" Che Qigong asked with an expectant yet slightly nervous look in his eyes.
"I'm sure the two of you are more aware than I am of whether any Chaotic Yin Yang Qi has gone missing in the Devil Sealing Lock," Han Li replied as he raised an eyebrow.
Not only were Che Qigong and Feng Xie not enraged by this response, both of them were ecstatic to hear Han Li's answer.
"Hehe, we did indeed sense a disturbance in the Devil Sealing Lock not long after we last parted ways, but we've been trapped in here and affected by the restrictions in this treasure, so we only had a vague sense of this disturbance. As such, we still require confirmation from you. Judging from what you said, is it safe to assume that you've already obtained the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi?" Feng Xie was suddenly speaking to Han Li in a far more polite manner than in the past.
"I encountered some mishaps during the process, but I have indeed already extracted the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi. Isn't it about time you disclosed the refinement method to me now?" Han Li asked.
"There's no hurry. The two of us have full trust in you, but shouldn't you show us some proof that you've managed to extract the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi?" Che Qigong asked in a cautious manner.
Feng Xie also nodded in support of Che Qigong's words.
"I thought you'd ask that." Han Li had anticipated such a request, and he abruptly rubbed his hands together, then thrust them toward Feng Xie and Che Qigong. An arc of golden lightning erupted out of the palm of each hand, and they hurtled directly toward the pair of old devils.
The two devils' hearts stirred upon seeing this, and one of them made a grabbing motion, while the other opened his mouth wide.
Thus, one of the golden arcs of lightning was caught by Feng Xie, while the other was devoured by Che Qigong.
Both of them closed their eyes and directed their spiritual sense toward their respective arc of lightning, and Han Li merely waited in silence with his arms crossed.
After just the span of a few breaths, Feng Xie and Che Qigong opened theirs almost in unison, and content looks appeared on both of their faces.
"There's no mistaking it; the aura is very feeble, but it definitely is the aura of Chaotic Yin Yang Qi. Now that we've confirmed that, let's discuss the terms of our collaboration," Feng Xie said as an excited look reappeared on his face.
In contrast, Han Li's expression darkened upon hearing this, and he asked in a cold voice, "Didn't you agree to give me the refinement method for half of the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi? Have you changed your mind?"
"Not at all, Fellow Daoist Han. The original terms of our agreement naturally won't change, but further consideration must be taken when deciding how exactly we're going to facilitate the exchange. Otherwise, how will we decide whether we should hand over the refinement method first or if you should give us the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi first?" Che Qigong chuckled.
"I see. We're all bound by vows, but in the face of such an important treasure, vows of this nature are indeed rather lacking in gravity," Han Li said as his expression eased slightly.
"Indeed, and that's why Fellow Daoist Feng and I have thought of a way to facilitate the exchange that should be satisfactory for both sides; would you like to hear it, Fellow Daoist Han?" Che Qigong asked.
"Sure, go ahead," Han Li replied in an indifferent manner.
"It's actually very simple; we'll split the exchange process into several parts. We'll give a part of the refinement method first, and if you find it to be genuine, you can give us part of the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi that you promised to us. After that, we'll continue to give you parts of the refinement method in exchange for portions of Chaotic Yin Yang Qi. At the end of this process, there will only be a tiny amount of Chaotic Yin Yang Qi you'd still owe us, and I'm sure you wouldn't be willing to incur the risk of backlash from inner demons over such a small amount of Chaotic Yin Yang Qi. Similarly, we wouldn't be willing to relinquish that final portion of Chaotic Yin Yang Qi just to withhold the final section of the refinement method, either," Feng Xie proposed.
Han Li remained silent upon hearing this, but the contemplative look in his eyes indicated that he was clearly carefully considering this proposal.
The two devils were confident that Han Li would agree, but they still couldn't help but grow a little nervous. However, both of them were beings who had lived for countless years, and they were more than capable of maintaining poker faces as they awaited a decision from Han Li.
"That's a good idea. We'll do as you say," Han Li finally decided.
Feng Xie was ecstatic, and he immediately replied, "Hehe, you've definitely made a wise decision, Fellow Daoist Han. Let's begin our exchange right away; this is the first section of the refinement method. If you see no problems with it, then you must hand over the first portion of Chaotic Yin Yang Qi to us within three days. If you're unable to do so in time, then we'll be giving up on this exchange. If that happens, not only will you have to suffer backlash from your inner demons, you'll also have no way of ever refining the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi."
Chapter 1968: Attacking the City
Han Li merely nodded in response, and Che Qigong waved a sleeve upon seeing this, sending a ball of white light flying toward Han Li.
Han Li raised a hand to catch the ball of white light, upon which it was revealed to be a pristine white jade slip.
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"I'm going to study this section of the refinement method, and I'll return as quickly as I can once I arrive at a verdict. I'll be taking my leave now," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a farewell salute, then disintegrated into specks of spiritual light.
"Do you think he'll uphold his end of the deal, Brother Che?" Feng Xie asked after Han Li had departed from this space.
"Aside from us and Xue Guang, there's virtually no one else who's aware of the refinement method for Chaotic Yin Yang Qi. If he wants to be able to refine it, then he has no choice but to fulfill his side of the exchange. After all, giving up half of his Chaotic Yin Yang Qi is surely better than keeping all of it but being unable to use any of it. Besides, we're currently in the midst of the sacred sacrifice; with so many powerful enemies around, there's no way he'll give up on something that could give him a massive cultivation base boost," Che Qigong replied in a confident manner.
"I certainly hope so. Hehe, with this Chaotic Yin Yang Qi, it won't be long until we can get out of here. When that time comes, we can capture that brat together and forcibly extract the other half of that Chaotic Yin Yang Qi from his body; there's no way he'll be able to truly refine it in such a short time," Feng Xie said with an excited look in his eyes.
"Of course. It's downright delusional for a mere human cultivator like him to think that he can take this Chaotic Yin Yang Qi for himself. I can see he's quite a cautious little brat, but there's no way he could anticipate that we've already broken all of the restrictions in this Devil Sealing Lock. Now, all we're missing is his Chaotic Yin Yang Qi. As long as we can have half a year to refine the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi to an elementary level, that'll be enough for us to get out of this Devil Sealing Lock. When that time comes, Xue Guang's days will be numbered!" Che Qigong looked up at the snowflakes descending from the heavens as a hint of insanity appeared in his eyes.
"Haha, I'm really looking forward to that day." A sinister smile also appeared on Feng Xie's face.
Meanwhile, outside the Devil Sealing Lock, Han Li had withdrawn his spiritual sense clone, and his Nascent Soul had also returned to his body.
He slowly opened his eyes, then flipped a hand over to produce that white jade slip.
He pressed the jade slip firmly against his own forehead, then injected his spiritual sense into it to inspect its contents.
There was indeed a rather profound incomplete refinement method in there, which was comprised of around 1,000 characters. As Han Li studied the contents of this incomplete refinement method, his expression began to undergo minute changes, and he went into meditation for two days and two nights with the jade slip pressed against his forehead.
On the third morning, he finally withdrew his spiritual sense, and the jade slip on his forehead immediately crumbled away into dust. He had naturally already committed the contents of the jade slip completely to memory at this point.
"The refinement method looks to be real. Even if those two old devils want to try something, I'm sure they wouldn't risk ruining this exchange from the get-go," Han Li murmured to himself as a contemplative look appeared on his face.
After pondering the issue for a while, Han Li arrived at a decision. "I have to throw this Devil Sealing Lock back into the Elder Devil Realm after I obtain the refinement method. Looks like I won't be able to wait until I can venture into the Elder Devil Realm with Patriarch Long and the others; I'll just have to toss it into a random node where our two realms have already overlapped."
Having made that decision, he swept a sleeve through the air to release the blue jade vial containing the Chaotic Yin Yang Qi, then laid a hand onto the top of his own head again.
...
While Han Li was hiding in the primordial world near human territory, exchanging for the refinement method bit by bit from Che Qigong and Feng Xie, Deep Heaven City had already been completely surrounded.
A series of devilish strongholds that were each several thousand feet tall had been set up in front of each city wall, and within those strongholds were countless elite devilish armored warriors.
Massive flying pagodas had also appeared in the air above the devilish army, and they were being surrounded by countless flying carriages and battle arks.
Between the strongholds were a series of stone mountains and craters of different sizes, within which were countless devilish beasts of varying power levels.
On a giant platform at the top of one of the devilish strongholds, there were over 100 high-grade devilish beings appraising Deep Heaven City from afar.
They were led by a crimson-robed young man who wore a frosty expression, but if one were to look closely at him, they'd discover that he seemed to be rather distracted, as if his mind were elsewhere.
Meanwhile, the other high-grade devilish beings were discussing something among themselves in hushed tones. A short while later, the crimson-robed young man withdrew his gaze, and said, "It's time. Begin attacking the city; I want to have this Deep Heaven City fully conquered within a few years!"
The surrounding devilish beings all adopted serious expressions upon hearing this, and they answered in unison, "We'll do everything in our power to make sure that happens, Master Xue Guang!"
There was a red-armored guard standing beside the crimson-robed young man, and he immediately tossed the item that he was holding up into the air.
A ball of silver light instantly rose up into the heavens, climbing to an altitude of over 100,000 feet before exploding with a resounding boom.
A silver rune with a diameter of around 1,000 feet then emerged in mid-air before radiating dazzling silver light.
A series of other slightly smaller silver runes also rose up into the air in quick succession all around Deep Heaven City, as if to resonate with this initial giant silver rune.
All of the devilish beings in the air and on the ground below immediately began to prepare for battle upon seeing this.
A series of giant light formations lit up within the strongholds, following which countless black balls of light the size of small mountains emerged in the air above the strongholds, then hurtled directly toward Deep Heaven City.
The space in the wake of the giant balls of light twisted and warped drastically, indicating that each ball of light was imbued with enormous power.
The devilish pagodas and flying carriages within the dense devilish Qi also began to unleash attacks, sending countless pillars of light raining down from above.
Even before these attacks had struck the protective restrictions set up over Deep Heaven City, rows of formations appeared in the air above the city walls.
Five-colored light flashed, and countless fireballs, wind blades, ice spikes, and other magic attacks surged forth in a frenzy to clash with the attacks unleashed by the devilish army.
Earth-shattering booms erupted one after another as the scintillating explosions of light illuminated the dark sky.
Under the illumination of this light, one could make out groups of devilish beasts charging toward Deep Heaven City like hundreds of giant pythons.
Some of these devilish beasts were galloping along the ground, some were gliding along at low altitudes, and some were flapping their wings vigorously as they soared higher up in the air.
At the same time, a group of flying carriages and giant arks were also slowly advancing toward the city.
All of a sudden, groups of armored devilish warriors emerged near the giant flying devilish beasts. These warriors were either standing atop devilish clouds or seated on devilish steeds.
Thus, the devilish assault against Deep Heaven City officially commenced.
...
Deep within a lush forest, a fair-skinned beauty in a suit of black armor was seated beneath a massive tree with her eyes closed in meditation.
Standing beside her was another woman in a blue palatial dress, who was appraising her with a concerned expression.
After a long while, the black-armored woman exhaled and slowly opened her eyes.
"Have you full
y recovered, Sister Liu Ji?" Yuan Cha hurriedly asked as an elated look appeared on her face.
"If Bao Hua's Sunset True Flames were that easy to recover from, then she wouldn't have been so renowned in our holy realm. I've taken some spirit pills, but I've only just barely managed to repress my injuries. Unless I go into seclusion for at least a century, there's no way I could fully recover. However, it's pretty clear that Bao Hua is also yet to recover from her injuries. Otherwise, this clone of mine definitely wouldn't have been able to survive her Sunset Arrow," Liu Ji replied.
"Indeed. However, the fact that our true bodies are unable to descend into this realm places us at a severe disadvantage against her," Yuan Cha sighed with a complex look on her face.
"We would indeed be no match for her on our own, but the current Bao Hua is no longer the same renowned Sacred Ancestor she once was. We have a devilish army at our disposal; there's no need for us to face her alone. However, after we get back, make sure that you don't go anywhere by yourself unless it's absolutely necessary. Only by staying in the devilish army will we be able to ensure our own safety," Liu Ji said in a cold voice.
"Thank you for your words of caution, Sister, but judging from Bao Hua's personality, I don't think she'd be all that keen on hunting down a few clones of ours, and it wouldn't help her current situation anyway. She must be aware that the sacred sacrifice has already commenced, yet she still dares to appear here; she must have some type of ulterior motive," Yuan Cha said in a cautious manner.
"Ulterior motive? What motive can she have other than to recover from her injuries and regain her magic power?" Liu Ji chuckled coldly in response.
"That's true. Bao Hua is quite a renowned divination master in our holy realm; could it be that she's here because she's tracked something down that can help her make a recovery? I don't think she'd be willing to take such a risk otherwise."
Liu Ji faltered slightly upon hearing this before a contemplative look appeared in her eyes. "Perhaps so."
"Let's set this matter aside for another time. For now, I'll take you back to human territory. As long as we can reunite with your other clone, we'll have nothing to worry about," Yuan Cha suggested.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 1136