Slowly rising to his feet and stretching his limbs, Han Li flipped his palm, and a ball of cyan light emerged. It quickly condensed and compressed, transforming into an egg-sized luminous sphere that shimmered with spiritual light, appearing almost tangible.
“It seems that as the Spirit Infant grows, my spiritual power has also increased significantly,” Han Li murmured, staring at the pure spiritual energy coalesced into the cyan sphere in his hand.
With a flick of his wrist, the luminous sphere dissipated into nothingness.
Next, he tapped the crown of his head with one hand, and a wisp of cyan mist shot out, swirling in the air before materializing into an infant identical in appearance to him.
However, the Spirit Infant, originally two inches tall, had grown another half-inch over the past six months. Its form was also noticeably more solidified and distinct than before.
The Spirit Infant itself held a small cyan cauldron in its arms, while an emerald talisman hovered above its head. Dozens of needle-thin flying needles, alternating between gold and cyan, whirled around it, creating a dazzling spectacle.
The Spirit Infant seemed exceptionally excited upon emerging, frolicking around the chamber for nearly an hour before finally showing signs of fatigue and returning to Han Li’s body.
Han Li, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, reopened them, a satisfied expression on his face.
Before consuming the Spirit Nurturing Pill, his Spirit Infant could only remain outside his body for a short while before its form destabilized, risking the depletion of its essence.
It was said that only upon reaching the late-stage of Deity Transformation could a Spirit Infant truly solidify, unafraid of the world’s yang winds, and capable of freely moving outside the body.
This was also the greatest advantage that allowed cultivators at the late-stage of Deity Transformation to ascend to the Spirit Realm!
Though his spiritual power had greatly increased, he was still far from reaching the peak of mid-stage Nascent Soul. Strangely, after the refinement of the Spirit Nurturing Pill, he could clearly sense that with a century of dedicated cultivation, he could reach that level without encountering any bottlenecks.
This peculiar intuition was naturally a cause for celebration for Han Li.
After returning the Spirit Infant to its place and adjusting the energy within his body, he opened his mouth and spat out two golden streaks.
They swirled in the air before transforming into two golden flying swords, though their luster appeared somewhat dim. These were the two Emerald Swarm Swords that had been seized and corrupted by the ancient demon.
Though their spiritual essence hadn’t been entirely lost, and they could still be used in battle, they were clearly inadequate for forming the Great Geng Sword Array.
Thus, Han Li decided to spend some time refining these two swords to restore their full power and make them usable again.
With a thought, the two small swords flew to hover a few feet in front of him.
He then exhaled a stream of cyan infant flame, instantly enveloping the swords.
Watching the flickering cyan flames, Han Li waved his sleeve, and several small vials and jade boxes flew out, opening on their own. Various powdered materials merged into the flames, transforming into multicolored spiritual lights before fusing into the swords.
Han Li stared intently at the swords, his fingers flicking out incantations to control the refinement process.
The refinement lasted three days and nights.
Only when Han Li, his face deathly pale, spat out a mouthful of essence blood that split and seeped into the swords did the process conclude.
Now, the two Emerald Swarm Swords gleamed brilliantly once more, all traces of demonic energy completely purified.
Drawing the swords back into his body, Han Li immediately sat down to meditate. After a day, his spiritual power was fully restored.
Sensing the abundance of spiritual energy within him, Han Li pondered briefly before a flash of green light revealed a half-foot-long emerald ruler in his hand.
Running his fingers over its ancient patterns, he fell into deep thought.
This was none other than the Eight Spirit Ruler, a spiritual treasure.
Back in the Demon Subduing Pagoda, Han Li had already noticed its profound nature—ordinary spiritual energy seemed ineffective on it. Of course, due to the urgency at the time, he hadn’t confirmed this thoroughly.
Now, holding one end of the Eight Spirit Ruler, he channeled spiritual energy into it with glowing fingers.
Just as before, the energy flowed through the ruler without eliciting any response. The faint green light emanating from it was merely the treasure’s own radiance.
After infusing a tenth of his spiritual power with no effect, Han Li decisively cut off the flow and lowered his head in contemplation.
Moments later, he raised his other hand, extending a finger.
A seven-colored light flickered at his fingertip as he extracted a wisp of Buddhist light from the Vajra Shield within him.
The Buddhist light vanished into the ruler, and the previously inert object suddenly emitted a pulse of radiance. A stream of cyan light shot out, forming a series of emerald-green characters in the air—resembling an incantation.
Startled, Han Li quickly focused on the text.
“As I suspected,” he murmured after a brief glance, exhaling deeply as if confirming a long-held suspicion.
The Eight Spirit Ruler was indeed a Buddhist treasure, requiring Buddhist light to activate it. The characters revealed by the Buddhist light were its treasure-controlling incantation.
Han Li’s cultivation had always been primarily Daoist, supplemented by demonic techniques. The only Buddhist method he practiced was the King of Brightness Mantra.
Though this was a top-tier Buddhist technique, it focused on body refinement, making cultivation arduous and the process excruciating. Having only reached the second layer, he couldn’t produce any Buddhist light.
However, the Vajra Shield was brimming with Buddhist light, which he could borrow to cultivate the first layer of the Eight Spirit Ruler’s incantation.
His mind racing, Han Li swiftly made his decision. Even if he could only harness a fraction of the Eight Spirit Ruler’s power, as a Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure, its might would be extraordinary.
Resolved, he infused more Buddhist light into the ruler, clarifying the green text further, and began memorizing it intently.
The Eight Spirit Ruler’s incantation differed significantly from the Void Sky Cauldron’s, but its first layer seemed manageable, requiring only about a year to master.
Once he had memorized it, he waved his sleeve, and the ruler vanished in a flash of cyan light.
Next, he produced the damaged Black Wind Banner, now missing most of its shaft and reduced to tattered remnants.
Despite its ruined state, faint black light still flickered on it, proving its lingering spirituality—a testament to its former power.
Han Li hadn’t retrieved it to attempt repairs but out of curiosity for spatial treasures of its caliber, hoping to glean some unique insights.
Spatial treasures, especially Heaven-reaching ones, were exceedingly rare. Even ordinary spatial artifacts were few and far between, with storage pouches being the most basic and unremarkable.
Unfortunately, the Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure’s complexity far exceeded Han Li’s current comprehension. After days of fruitless study, he reluctantly stored it away.
He then examined the massive flame cauldron obtained from the Spirit Transformation Hall. Though it had gained sentience by chance, it was undoubtedly a top-tier ancient treasure, capable of summoning thousands of Solar Fire Ravens—a formidable power.
The transparent material, fire pillars, and black crystals found in the Yin-Yang Cave were also rare materials, but Han Li had no time to process them now.
The scroll from Kunwu Hall and the earthen-yellow demon-subduing staff from Venerable Dry Devil’s storage pouch—both once-famed treasures of the Kunwu Three Elders—were also immensely powerful. With minor refinement, they could be wielded effectively, and Han Li hadn’t forgotten them.
As for the blood blade he had initially been eager to study, closer inspection left him deeply disappointed.
Clearly forged from Black Marrow Iron—likely one of the two auctioned underground—the blade had lost all the terrifying power it once displayed after devouring the essence of several Nascent Soul cultivators, becoming utterly ordinary.
With his experience, Han Li quickly deduced the reason: the imitation Demon Dragon Blade could temporarily amplify its power through consumption, but the enhancement wasn’t permanent. Over time, the added strength would fade, a fatal flaw that made it incomparable to the genuine artifact.
Disheartened, Han Li stored the now-useless blade away.
After a moment of contemplation, he tapped the back of his head and spat out a golden bubble—the Vajra Shield formed from the Vajra Relic. Inside floated five radiant golden spheres.
Staring at them, Han Li’s expression turned grave for the first time, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes as if weighing a difficult decision.
But then, as if resolving himself, he frowned and pointed at the Vajra Shield. The golden bubble trembled and rapidly expanded.
Within, the five golden spheres crackled with countless thin arcs of lightning, revealing five humanoid skeletons plastered with talismans. In their chest cavities rested pitch-black skulls, similarly bound by talismans and immobile—these were the Five Children Congenital Devil Avatars cultivated by Venerable Dry Devil of the Yin Luo Sect.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage