It turned out that the one inside the cauldron, speaking in a child’s voice, was none other than the avatar of the Tianlan Sacred Beast that Han Li had captured during his battle with the Tianlan Saintess.
Originally, this beast was a mere demonic creature acting on instinct. However, after being sealed inside the Void Heaven Cauldron for over a hundred years, it unexpectedly developed sentience on its own and even regained most of its memories from the Spirit Realm. Trapped inside this spiritual treasure, the beast had no means of escape and could only remain obediently within.
After Han Li advanced to late-stage Nascent Soul in the Void Heaven Hall, he immediately refined the two Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasures once more.
Upon mastering the second layer of the Void Heaven Cauldron’s treasure-controlling incantation, he was finally able to open the cauldron.
The Tianlan Sacred Beast’s avatar, sensing its chance, immediately employed a Spirit Realm escape technique and fled from the cauldron right under Han Li’s nose, covering over a hundred zhang in the blink of an eye. At such speed, if it had managed to teleport a few more times, even Han Li would have been unable to catch up.
But to his astonishment, something inexplicable occurred.
For some unknown reason, as soon as the beast’s escape light reached two to three hundred zhang away from the Void Heaven Cauldron, both the small cauldron and the beast simultaneously flashed with a cyan light. The Tianlan Beast inexplicably vanished from its position, only to reappear inside the Void Heaven Cauldron the next moment, as if it were incapable of leaving the treasure.
Han Li was both shocked and delighted by this discovery.
He then realized that due to its prolonged confinement, the beast’s aura had been assimilated by the Void Heaven Cauldron, making it akin to Silvermoon’s previous existence.
However, unlike Silvermoon, it was not an intangible entity nor the cauldron’s artifact spirit. While it could not stray far from the cauldron, it retained full autonomy in all other aspects, meaning Han Li still could not command it.
Without hesitation, Han Li resealed the beast with restrictions and tossed it back into the cauldron, intending to decide its fate after further deliberation.
But now, as he studied the golden talisman in his hand, the Tianlan Beast suddenly spoke up, identifying the silver runes as unique inscriptions from the Spirit Realm.
This revelation startled Han Li.
“Haha, Deity Transformation! Why would I want to advance to Deity Transformation? I came to your human realm with no intention of breaking through this boundary for tens of thousands of years,” the childlike voice in the cauldron burst into laughter.
“Not wanting to advance? Such a thing doesn’t exist in this world. Do you take me for a three-year-old child?” Han Li frowned, skepticism evident in his tone.
“Little one, it seems I must reveal a few things to earn your trust. Very well, I shall briefly disclose my circumstances. I do indeed hold some renown among the Spirit Realm’s demonic races, and my cultivation has long reached a level you can scarcely imagine. But this time, I expended tremendous effort to send a wisp of my soul across realms to the human world. Do you truly believe I did so merely to act as some insignificant guardian beast for a handful of humans? In the Spirit Realm, I command tens of thousands of demonic subordinates. The Tulan people of the Tianlan Grasslands mean nothing to me,” the Tianlan Sacred Beast sneered, its disdain for the Tulan people undisguised.
Han Li’s brow furrowed, but he remained silent.
The childlike voice continued leisurely:
“The reason I sent a fragment of my soul to this realm was to prepare for a great calamity ten thousand years from now. If my main body in the Spirit Realm fails to survive this tribulation and perishes, this fragment ensures I retain a sliver of existence, preventing my complete annihilation. Until then, there is no need for this avatar to cultivate too quickly, lest advancing to Deity Transformation draw the calamity’s attention to me in this realm.”
“Such a method of self-preservation exists? Do all the great powers of the Spirit Realm employ such tactics?” Han Li was taken aback, torn between belief and doubt.
“Hmph, do you think projecting a soul fragment is a simple feat? Not only must one’s cultivation reach a certain level and master the rare few techniques allowing a soul fragment to traverse realms unharmed, but one must also expend a Boundary Stone—an item so rare in the Spirit Realm that it’s nearly impossible to obtain—to overcome the barriers between worlds. Moreover, such an endeavor is perilous in the extreme. Out of ten attempts, perhaps only one succeeds. Failure means the soul fragment is obliterated in the inter-realm storms. Each failure forces me into a millennium of seclusion to recover. Over ten thousand years, I attempted this seven or eight times before finally succeeding this once. Comparatively, transmitting mere techniques or power across realms is far easier,” the Tianlan Sacred Beast scoffed.
“Even so, why are you telling me this?” Han Li’s eyes gleamed with suspicion.
“Heh, it’s simple. I merely wish to convey that we have no conflicting interests. My earlier capture was due to my lack of sentience at the time, temporarily exploited by those Tulan people. Moreover, since I have no intention of advancing to Deity Transformation anytime soon, you need not fear retaliation from me,” the beast chuckled.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t eliminating you outright be the cleaner solution?” A trace of killing intent flickered across Han Li’s face.
Silence fell within the cauldron, but after a moment, the child’s voice replied calmly, “My current cultivation is far inferior to yours, so you could indeed attempt it. However, as a soul fragment of a high-ranking Spirit Realm demon, the esoteric techniques I possess far exceed your imagination. Not only could I unleash a desperate attack to severely wound you, but even if you survived, I could imprint a mark upon your soul. If you never ascend to the Spirit Realm and perish in this realm, it matters not. But the moment you set foot there—even if you reincarnate—my main body will eventually find you. Then…”
The Tianlan Sacred Beast left the threat hanging, its meaning unmistakable.
Han Li was momentarily speechless.
Given his current cultivation and knowledge, he knew much of what the beast said, though embellished, was likely true.
This made dealing with the beast a thorny issue. He had no desire to provoke such a formidable enemy in the Spirit Realm should he ever ascend. From the beast’s tone, its main body’s power could crush him as effortlessly as an ant.
As for the beast’s threat of a mutual demise, Han Li was less concerned.
Since it couldn’t escape the Void Heaven Cauldron, with proper precautions, he doubted it could harm him.
Han Li’s escape light drifted forward as he remained deep in thought, silent for a long while.
The Tianlan Beast within the cauldron also stayed quiet, seemingly allowing him time to ponder.
“You mentioned the Kun Peng’s spiritual feather earlier. What is its significance, and what special uses does it possess?” Han Li abruptly changed the subject.
“The Sky-Soaring Kun Peng and the Rahu Beast are both primordial spirits, said to have emerged from chaos at the dawn of creation. In a sense, they could be called deities. Anything shed by such beings holds immense value—ponder that. Even my main body in the Spirit Realm would flee at the sight of such creatures, let alone provoke them. However, the Kun Peng and Rahu are natural enemies. This time, the Kun Peng likely wandered between realms and detected the Rahu hidden in your human world. It attempted to tear the Rahu apart from beyond the boundary, but the Rahu, being within your realm and unaffected by inter-realm forces, gained the upper hand, forcing the Kun Peng to retreat. Thus, you stumbled upon this windfall.
“The Sky-Soaring Kun Peng is a born wind spirit, innately comprehending wind-related laws of nature. Though damaged, its shed feather is the finest material for crafting wind-attribute spiritual treasures. Once refined, its power would far surpass ordinary treasures. I recall someone in the Spirit Realm once used a scale from a Flaming Qilin to forge a Fire Dragon Canopy, a treasure ranked among the top hundred in power,” the Tianlan Beast remarked nonchalantly.
“Top hundred?” Han Li was startled.
“Do not underestimate this ranking. I know you possess the Eight Spirit Ruler and several imitation treasures, but let me clarify: while treasures like the Eight Spirit Ruler and Seven Flames Fan are rare in the human realm, they are considered lower-tier in the Spirit Realm. Only those listed on the Primal Chaos Myriad Spirits Ranking qualify as true Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasures. The rest are merely spiritual treasures. To make the ranking, a treasure must at least rank within the top hundred in power,” the Tianlan Beast explained.
“Primal Chaos Myriad Spirits Ranking? Never mind, I’ve no interest in that now. But from your tone, Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasures, scarce in the human realm, seem plentiful in the Spirit Realm. I recall ancient human cultivators crafted few such treasures. You mentioned a trade—does it involve the Kun Peng’s feather?” Han Li stroked his chin, his expression grave.
“Your Wind Lightning Wings can perform lightning teleportation, but they’re incomplete, no? They seem to contain traces of wind-attribute spiritual power,” the Tianlan Beast countered, ignoring Han Li’s question to inquire about the wings instead.
Han Li was taken aback.
“What do you mean? The Wind Lightning Wings were indeed crafted to harness both wind and lightning, but as I only possess the Evil-Suppressing Divine Lightning, I’ve only been able to use their lightning teleportation. As for their completion, I’m unsure,” Han Li admitted truthfully.
“I can teach you how to refine the Wind Lightning Wings into a spiritual treasure using the Kun Peng’s feather. The feather’s innate wind laws allow you to wield it without needing wind-attribute spiritual power. Though your cultivation and materials limit you from forging a true Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure, a lower-tier spiritual treasure is achievable,” the Tianlan Beast chuckled, its tone brimming with pride.
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