Han Li swept his gaze across the area and flicked his finger, sending a streak of cyan sword energy toward a reef at the bottom of the lake.
With a “bang,” before the sword energy could strike the reef, a faint blue radiance suddenly emerged from below, blocking the attack.
However, the blue radiance was clearly extremely fragile, holding out for only a moment before being sliced apart by the sword energy. The entire barrier dissolved into specks of spiritual light, vanishing without a trace.
The reef below flickered and disappeared like an illusion, only to be replaced by a five-colored barrier that enveloped a hundred-zhang area of the lakebed. The surface of the barrier shimmered with shifting spiritual lights, making it impossible to discern what lay beneath.
Sensing the surging spiritual power within the barrier, Han Li stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes slightly.
The earlier blue barrier had been nothing more than a simple illusionary restriction, likely hastily set up by the three flamboyant women. The current five-colored barrier, however, was undoubtedly the real restriction personally laid by Frost Li the Transcendent.
Since Frost Li had been reduced to just a Spirit Infant and had passed away too hastily, he naturally hadn’t left Han Li any tools or incantations to dismantle the restriction.
Thus, brute force was the only option.
Still, this restriction was clearly formed from the fusion of the Five Elements. Even with his abilities, breaking it would require considerable effort.
Having made up his mind, Han Li wasted no time. He formed a hand seal, and a flash of silver light emerged from his storage pouch. A faint humanoid figure materialized eerily behind him—the humanoid puppet.
With a flick of his sleeve, thirty-six golden flying swords shot out, humming as they converged into a single massive golden sword over ten zhang long.
Han Li struck the sword with a spell, and with a thunderous roar, a golden arc as thick as an arm appeared on its surface. The arc coiled around the sword before transforming into a lifelike electric python.
The python circled the sword several times, raised its head, and hissed, its presence truly awe-inspiring.
Meanwhile, the humanoid puppet raised its hand, summoning a small red bow. With a gentle pull of its other hand, an emerald-green arrow appeared on the string.
As thunder rumbled, golden arcs crackled along the arrow’s surface.
Han Li’s expression turned solemn as he slowly pointed his finger downward. The massive golden sword, like a divine mountain-cleaving weapon, descended with a deafening roar.
At the same time, the puppet’s arrow shot forth, a streak of emerald light intertwined with golden threads.
A deafening explosion erupted as the barrier trembled violently before being engulfed in boundless golden lightning. The surrounding lake water churned violently, forming an underwater vortex that surged toward the surface.
Han Li stood motionless within the vortex, utterly unfazed by the turbulent currents.
Finally, the light faded, and the golden radiance vanished.
Han Li peered downward, his expression shifting before breaking into a faint smile.
The five-colored barrier had disappeared, revealing a small teleportation formation about ten zhang in diameter at the center, emitting a soft glow.
The emerald-green lake water rushed toward it, but upon touching the white light, it was firmly repelled. The formation was crafted from a special material that repelled water.
A flicker of surprise crossed Han Li’s eyes as he recalled the puppet with a wave of his hand. He then stepped onto the formation without hesitation.
Rather than activating it immediately, he took a moment to study the small teleportation array beneath his feet.
After a while, he nodded in satisfaction and tapped his spirit beast pouch, releasing most of the Six-Winged Frost Centipedes he had previously stored. With a mental command, the snow-white centipedes burrowed into the ground around the formation.
Assured, Han Li struck the edge of the formation with a spell, activating it.
A flash of white light later, Han Li vanished from the formation.
The next moment, as he recovered from the disorientation of teleportation, he found himself in a stone chamber.
The chamber was modest in size and mostly empty, save for a green stone door slightly ajar not far ahead.
After a brief pause, Han Li sat cross-legged and extended his spiritual sense outward, slowly scanning the area beyond the door and the surroundings.
Soon, his expression relaxed as he confirmed that the cave dwelling was indeed deserted, with no other cultivators hiding within.
Reassured, Han Li stood up and walked to the stone door, disappearing into the passage beyond.
Half a day later, a dazzling azure streak shot out from the lakebed, flickering several times before vanishing into the horizon with a piercing whistle.
Within the streak of light, Han Li absentmindedly toyed with a pale golden ore in his hand, a faint smile playing on his lips.
His visit to Frost Li the Transcendent’s cave dwelling had yielded far greater rewards than he had anticipated.
The treasures Frost Li had hoarded were far more abundant than expected. Not only were there materials and artifacts worth millions of spirit stones, but the collected scriptures and secret techniques included many that Han Li had only heard of but never had the chance to study. This delighted him immensely.
Yet, what excited him most was not these, but a fist-sized chunk of Gold Essence mixed among the materials.
Han Li had already gathered most of the Gold Essence needed for the remaining half of his flying swords during his time in the Great Jin. Now, with this additional piece from Frost Li’s trove, he finally had enough to incorporate Gold Essence into all his swords.
With this, the full set of seventy-two flying swords could finally form the complete Great Geng Sword Formation.
Having previously deployed a half-formation with thirty-six swords, Han Li knew its terrifying power—even late-stage cultivators trapped within would suffer greatly.
The full formation’s power would undoubtedly be unimaginably fearsome.
No wonder the creator of this sword formation had written in the final pages of the Qingyuan Sword Art that mastering it would allow one to dominate the world.
Han Li harbored great expectations for this formation.
Exhaling softly, he flipped his hand, and the Gold Essence vanished into his storage pouch.
As his escape light continued its unhurried journey, Han Li fell into deep thought before suddenly opening his mouth and spitting out a small, inch-long cauldron—the Void Heaven Cauldron.
He raised his hand, cradling the cauldron, and formed a seal with his other hand, striking the lid with a spell.
The cauldron shimmered with cyan light as the lid slowly shifted, revealing a narrow gap.
A golden flash later, a talisman shot out.
Han Li, prepared, exhaled a stream of azure mist that struck the talisman.
The golden talisman flickered, its glow dimming before being immobilized by the azure mist, held firmly in place by Han Li’s formidable spiritual power.
He swiftly grabbed the talisman and examined it closely.
This was the peculiar talisman he had taken from the Golden Flower Venerable. Unlike any he had seen before, it could enable instantaneous movement, transform into golden flowers and spirit bees, and possessed remarkable power.
It seemed to be a unique, secret talisman.
Unable to resist, Han Li had retrieved it for further study.
At first glance, the talisman appeared ordinary, with most of its runes being common ones Han Li recognized. The only exceptions were the silver ancient characters inscribed at its four corners and center.
These characters were mystifying, resembling clusters of silver tadpoles arranged in patterns that exuded an aura of primal antiquity.
After scrutinizing them repeatedly, Han Li concluded that these characters were unlike any ancient script he had encountered before—they were entirely distinct, with no discernible lineage.
Additionally, the talisman’s surface was dotted with golden specks the size of beans. These specks moved about as if alive, flickering in and out of visibility, adding to its enigmatic nature.
Han Li stared unblinkingly at the golden talisman, his brow furrowing.
“Hmph! These Silver Tadpole Scripts are beyond the comprehension of you human realm cultivators. You might as well give up now!” A childlike voice, dripping with arrogance, suddenly rang out from the Void Heaven Cauldron in Han Li’s hand, as if looking down on him.
Han Li’s eyes flickered, but instead of anger, he chuckled.
“Oh? So you recognize these characters?”
“Hmph, even in the Upper Realm, few understand the Silver Tadpole Script. If I hadn’t once devoured the soul of a human who knew it, I wouldn’t recognize it either,” the childish voice declared unabashedly.
“Why have you suddenly decided to speak to me today? I thought you’d resolved to settle in the Void Heaven Cauldron and never come out,” Han Li said coldly, his expression turning serious as he stared at the cauldron.
“Before, you were just a mere human realm cultivator, not even at the Deity Transformation stage. What was there to discuss? But now, since you’ve obtained a spirit feather from the Sky Soaring Kunpeng, I have something to say—and a deal to propose,” the child in the cauldron replied indifferently.
“Sky Soaring Kunpeng? That enormous demonic bird I saw attempting a cross-realm attack at sea?” Han Li’s expression shifted as he recalled the unbelievable battle he had witnessed in the Outer Star Sea.
“Heh! ‘Demonic bird’—you can only say that in the human realm. If the Tianpeng Tribe in the Spirit Realm, who worship the Kunpeng as a deity, heard you, you’d be in for a world of trouble,” the child sneered.
“Tianpeng Tribe?” Han Li’s interest was piqued.
“There’s no point discussing the Spirit Realm with you. If you’re lucky enough to ascend, you’ll find out for yourself. If not, it’s a waste of breath,” the child said dismissively, sounding oddly aged.
“You’ve got quite the attitude! Even if your true form, the Heavenly Lazure Sacred Bird, is some mighty demon in the Spirit Realm, your current borrowed body in this realm has only just reached the eighth rank. Who knows how long it’ll take for you to regain Deity Transformation-level power!” Han Li retorted with a cold laugh.
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