In the secret chamber of the Twin Peaks in the Yunmeng Mountains, the surroundings were shrouded in a hazy white mist, as if the entire room was under some form of restriction.
At the center of the chamber, a figure sat cross-legged, his body shimmering with a cyan glow. Around him, five pristine white humanoid skeletons sat in a similar posture, encircling him.
These skeletons were enveloped in a faint layer of grayish-white demonic energy, their jaws slightly agape, each emitting a flickering light of black, white, blue, yellow, or green.
The cyan figure in the center held his hands together in front of his chest, a dazzling purple flame flickering faintly between them.
This was none other than Han Li, who had been in seclusion for an unknown number of years.
Suddenly, a silver light flashed on the wall, and a cyan figure eerily emerged from the restriction, appearing silently beside him.
After half a day, Han Li suddenly opened his mouth, and the brilliant purple flame transformed into a thin thread of fire, swiftly drawn into his mouth.
In contrast, the five nearby skeletons snapped their jaws shut, the lights within their mouths vanishing instantly. The grayish-white demonic energy around them rapidly dissipated, and their pristine bones took on faint hues matching the colors of the flames they had emitted.
Han Li slowly opened his eyes, his expression blank at first. Only after a long while did clarity return to his gaze.
He tilted his head slightly, his eyes settling on the cyan figure beside him, his brow furrowing slightly.
The cyan figure was naturally the humanoid puppet he had left outside his cave to operate autonomously. Over the years, aside from periodically synchronizing with the Second Nascent Soul controlling the puppet, Han Li had allowed it to manage all affairs within the cave. Its sudden appearance here indicated a matter of great importance—one it could not decide on its own, requiring Han Li’s personal judgment.
Han Li found it odd. Given that the Second Nascent Soul possessed abilities no less than those of a great cultivator, what could possibly be beyond its decision-making capacity? Without hesitation, he extended his divine sense, directly invading the puppet and synchronizing with the Second Nascent Soul’s consciousness.
After a full quarter-hour, a peculiar expression crossed Han Li’s face. The previously motionless puppet raised its hand, retrieving an object from a storage pouch at its waist and calmly offering it to him.
Han Li took it without hesitation—it was a broken jade talisman, no larger than half a palm.
When he channeled a trace of spiritual power into it, densely packed crimson characters surfaced on the talisman’s surface.
After reading for only a short while, Han Li’s expression turned contemplative.
“Fellow Daoist Tianlan, you’re awake too? This seclusion of ours hasn’t been short,” he murmured, his voice slightly stiff from disuse.
“Only a hundred and twenty or thirty years—two Jiazi cycles. Not that long! What, are you planning to leave seclusion now? Your cold flames and the Five Demons are at a critical stage of refinement. Just another decade or so, and the Five Demons will truly master the five extreme cold flames. Wouldn’t it be a shame to stop now?”
A flash of light emerged from Han Li’s sleeve as a small cauldron flew out, hovering before him. The figure of a child appeared atop it, now appearing two or three years older than before, shaking his head as he spoke.
“Not a shame. We can always resume refinement later. But this message talisman brings news from the Chaotic Star Sea. Back then, I made a deal with the Twin Saints of Heavenly Star. Now, Ling Yuling is in trouble, and I can’t simply ignore it,” Han Li replied with a light shake of his head.
“The Twin Saints of Heavenly Star? That late-stage Nascent Soul couple from the Chaotic Star Sea? Back then, I used a secret technique to observe their auras. Though their magic power was considerable, their vitality was weak, as if their lifespans were nearing their end. Even if nothing had happened to them, they’d likely have passed by now. Otherwise, with them guarding the sect, why would they need your help?” the child mused, his eyes glinting.
“From Ling Yuling’s message, there’s no mention of the Twin Saints. It seems they’ve indeed departed this world. But this is also an opportunity—I’ve long been interested in the Heavenly Star Palace’s Magnetic Divine Light. Back then, the Twin Saints gave me several methods to aid in advancing to the Deity Transformation stage. After careful study, I found most unreliable. Only mastering the Magnetic Divine Light would truly be useful. This trip will allow me to obtain its cultivation method,” Han Li said slowly.
“I’ve never heard of this Magnetic Divine Light in the Spirit Realm. It must be unique to this world. But Fellow Daoist, are you sure you want to cultivate it? Wouldn’t it distract you from your main path?” the child cautioned.
“I know my limits. Before cultivating the Magnetic Divine Light, I’ll first refine my magic power to late-stage perfection and attempt a breakthrough using the extreme cold flames. If that fails, I’ll have no choice but to turn to the Magnetic Divine Light. Otherwise, I’ll have no other means to advance,” Han Li said gravely.
“If you’ve made up your mind, I won’t say more. It’s a pity that though I know many methods to break through to the Deity Transformation stage, the spiritual energy here is too sparse for them to work. By the way, how has your cultivation been these past hundred years? Your magic power seems to have grown significantly,” the child remarked, his gaze sweeping over Han Li.
“Though my magic power has improved, I’m still far from late-stage perfection. At least another fifty or sixty years of arduous cultivation. And that’s with the aid of constant elixirs. Without them, even another century wouldn’t suffice,” Han Li sighed.
At this moment, he recalled the Crimson Cloud Pills he had refined in that mysterious medicinal garden space. If he still had an ample supply, he could have compressed his cultivation time by several folds.
Unfortunately, one of the herbs required for the pills had been exhausted, and he couldn’t transplant or accelerate its growth outside the space. The other elixirs he now used offered limited assistance for his current realm, far from satisfactory.
Still, over the years, he hadn’t wasted the green liquid from the mysterious vial. Beyond pill refinement, he had used the remaining liquid to cleanse his spirit eyes and accelerate the maturation of his spirit insects.
However, the eye-cleansing process had ceased after twenty-odd years.
After countless cleansings, the Bright Spirit Water had lost all effect, and continuing would have been a waste.
Yet, Han Li’s spirit eyes were now incomparable to before.
When infused with powerful spiritual energy, they could pierce through clouds and fog. At full strength, he could see objects a thousand zhang away as clearly as if they were right before him, without even using divine sense. This ability proved invaluable in environments where divine sense was blocked.
Meanwhile, the Six-Winged Frost Centipedes, after a century of acceleration, had finally evolved a second pair of wings. Their power had surged from around fifth-grade demon beasts to seventh-grade perfection, now capable of conjuring wind and snow. With all twelve centipedes working together, they could instantly turn a ten-mile radius into a glacial wasteland.
The specially cultivated Gold Devouring Beetles showed no signs of advancing. Though Han Li possessed the technique borrowed from the Heavenly Star Saintess to accelerate their final maturation using the five elemental spiritual energies, it was clear they weren’t yet ready. It was uncertain how many more years of cultivation they would require.
As for the Earth Armored Dragon obtained from the Great Jin—a creature adept at locating rare treasures—it had been contentedly cultivating in the cave, fed a steady supply of demon cores. However, it was still far from breaking through to the eighth grade and attaining human form.
In terms of techniques, while cultivating the Azure Essence Sword Art, Han Li had also practiced the Great Development Art.
Whether it was due to the transformation of his spiritual roots or a true innate talent for divine sense cultivation, he had smoothly advanced to the final layer of the Great Development Art, finding it even easier than the previous stages.
As a result, his divine sense had grown several times stronger. If he could complete the final layer, his divine sense would rival that of a Deity Transformation cultivator.
Beyond divine sense, Han Li’s physical body had also become astonishingly robust.
To complement the Nine Transformations of the Gale, he had mastered the third layer of the Vajra Art. Though it hadn’t taken much time, the difficulty and pain involved had nearly made him abandon the practice. No wonder even in the Spirit Realm, few cultivated beyond the third layer.
Yet, upon mastering it, the transformative power of the Vajra Art far exceeded his expectations.
Now, he could withstand attacks from ordinary magical tools without activating protective spiritual light, relying solely on his physical body.
In contrast, mastering the Nine Transformations of the Gale had been effortless, taking him barely over a year to fully comprehend and freely employ.
During his seclusion, Han Li had also crafted several treasures.
The Woodborn Pearl, capable of invoking the Indestructible Body technique, was naturally the first. The most crucial auxiliary materials for this pearl were two of the three great spiritual woods: “Soul Nurturing Wood” and “Spirit Eye Tree.”
What would be nearly impossible for others to obtain in the human realm posed no issue for Han Li.
Thus, he effortlessly crafted the Woodborn Pearl and integrated it into his body.
Beyond this, he had also refined the twin venomous hooks of the Twin-Tailed Human-Faced Scorpion and the Fire Dragon Pillars obtained from Kunwu Mountain into two sets of formidable magic treasures.
Silently reviewing the gains of his seclusion, Han Li suddenly flicked his sleeve, sending a pitch-black jade bottle flying. He murmured an incantation.
The five skeletons trembled as grayish-white demonic energy surged forth, transforming into five ghostly heads the size of cartwheels, spewing demonic flames with terrifying ferocity.
“Activate!” Han Li shot out a spell seal.
The ghostly heads spun rapidly, shrinking until they were fist-sized, then were sucked into the jade bottle by a radiant mist.
Storing the bottle, Han Li stood up in a flash.
With a sweep of his sleeve, the white light in the stone chamber flickered, and the restrictions dissolved, revealing the stone door at the entrance.
Expressionless, Han Li strode forward. Meanwhile, the humanoid puppet vanished in a silver flash within the chamber.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage