“So many living souls are needed?” Han Li’s expression changed drastically upon hearing this.
“Hehe, what I mentioned is already the bare minimum. To truly unleash the power of the Crimson Soul Banner, tens of millions of living souls would likely be required. Since you only intend to use it for storage, you can reduce the number accordingly. Though the Crimson Soul Banner isn’t classified as a Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure, it isn’t far behind ordinary Spiritual Treasures either. Its spatial abilities, in particular, have tempted countless cultivators,” the child chuckled lightly.
“Tens of millions of living souls! Unless I commit mass slaughter across cities and islands, it would be impossible to gather so many. Hmm… perhaps there’s another way to collect them without resorting to such atrocities!” Han Li initially shook his head repeatedly but then suddenly had an epiphany, letting out a soft exclamation as he recalled something.
“Oh? Does Fellow Daoist have another ingenious method?” The child seemed surprised.
Instead of answering directly, Han Li reached into his storage pouch once more. A flash of green light later, two small, pale-green banners appeared in his hand. Each was only a few inches long, covered in intricate runes and exuding a faint green glow—clearly extraordinary treasures.
These were the two Ghost Luo Banners he had seized during his previous journey to the Great Jin. One had even been personally wielded by the Elder Qian. The other had been infused with demonic energy, transforming into a demonic banner now held by his second Nascent Soul.
“What are these?” The child’s eyes flickered, unfamiliar with the banners. This was unsurprising, as during the Kunwu Mountain expedition in the Great Jin, the Heavenly Spirit Beast’s avatar had not yet awakened its intelligence and thus hadn’t witnessed Han Li acquiring these treasures. However, the overwhelming soul energy emanating from the two banners was impossible for the child to miss.
“If I were to refine the vengeful spirits within these banners, could they be used for the Crimson Soul Banner?” Han Li asked solemnly.
“As long as they are refined souls, they can be used. However, though these treasures are inferior to the Crimson Soul Banner, they are by no means ordinary. If you proceed with this, they will be completely destroyed. Moreover, the number of souls here is still far from sufficient for refining the Crimson Soul Banner,” the child cautioned after carefully examining the banners.
“That’s fine. Though these banners are powerful, I already possess Spiritual Treasures, making items of this tier largely useless to me. As for the insufficient number of souls—if I had a dozen or so more of these banners, would that suffice?” Han Li stroked his chin, his tone meaningful.
“A dozen? I see—these are part of a set? Do you possess the others?” The child was momentarily stunned before realization dawned.
“I don’t have the others on hand, but I know where to find them. In fact, I’m aware of another similar treasure containing even more demonic souls than these Ghost Luo Banners. Unfortunately, it’s in the hands of a Deity Transformation-stage demon, someone I dare not provoke yet,” Han Li sighed regretfully.
He was referring to the Myriad Demon Banner held by the Old Demon Che of the Ten Thousand Demon Valley. He had personally suffered under its power—the sheer number and quality of the demonic souls within far surpassed those in the Ghost Luo Banners. If he could use it to refine the Crimson Soul Banner, it would be even more suitable.
Naturally, the child had no idea what Han Li was alluding to, but he showed no interest in pressing further. Instead, he said indifferently, “If Fellow Daoist Han can gather enough souls, I’ll gladly teach you the method to refine the Crimson Soul Banner free of charge. After all, the Great Development True Light technique does seem intriguing, and I’d like to see its full potential once you master it. Do you plan to begin this immediately upon returning to the Heavenly South?”
“There’s no rush. I must first reach the peak of late-Nascent Soul stage and fully refine the Five Coldflame Devils. The remaining Ghost Luo Banners are held by other Nascent Soul demonic cultivators—I’ll need greater strength before confronting them. For now, I’ll return to the Heavenly South,” Han Li replied with a shake of his head.
“As you wish. Once we return, I’ll provide you with the refinement method. You can start gathering the auxiliary materials in the meantime to save effort later,” the child said nonchalantly before his phantom form dissipated into nothingness.
Han Li was naturally pleased. With a flick of his sleeve, he enveloped himself in azure light and shot into the sky as a faint green streak, vanishing over the horizon moments later.
Several months later, Han Li returned to the Heavenly South via an ancient teleportation formation. After retrieving the Sixwing Frost Centipedes guarding the formation and destroying it once more, he quietly left the underground cavern.
Two months later, he arrived back at the Cloud Dream Mountains in the State of Xi. After notifying Elder Lü Luo of his return via a message talisman, he bypassed any further interaction and flew straight to the Twin Peaks.
At this time, Nangong Wan was still in seclusion.
Han Li naturally refrained from disturbing her cultivation. A mere year or so of separation was but a fleeting moment for cultivators like them.
The entire Heavenly South’s cultivation world remained unaware that its foremost cultivator had ever left the Fallen Cloud Sect.
Elder Lü Luo, however, breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving Han Li’s message. The Fallen Cloud Sect’s current prestige rested entirely on Han Li’s reputation. Unless three or four more Nascent Soul cultivators emerged, the sect’s status as a superpower would remain tenuous without him.
Upon returning to his cave, Han Li sent a jade slip to Liu Yu via flying sword, detailing the auxiliary materials needed for the Crimson Soul Banner’s refinement and instructing her to gather them during his seclusion.
He then entered his cultivation chamber to resume mastering the final layer of the Azure Essence Sword Art while simultaneously refining the Five Coldflame Devils.
Time flew like a shuttle, and decades passed in the blink of an eye.
Fifty years slipped by unnoticed.
During this period, Han Li sensed Nangong Wan emerging from seclusion once and temporarily halted his own cultivation to spend time with her. The two traveled together for half a year, during which Han Li reveled in her tenderness. Upon their return to the Twin Peaks, they resumed their solitary cultivation.
This, in a way, was the sorrow of cultivators. On one hand, they possessed supernatural abilities and lifespans far beyond mortals; on the other, they had to cultivate relentlessly before their time ran out, chasing the faintest hope of immortality.
For those born with indomitable willpower, cultivation was no hardship. But for ordinary cultivators, it was a dilemma—persisting in a path with slim chances of success or abandoning the arduous journey, though the latter meant forsaking the allure of extended lifespans with each breakthrough.
This dichotomy polarized the cultivation world.
Low and mid-tier cultivators, once achieving minor success and sensing stagnation, often abandoned cultivation for leisurely lives—taking concubines, forming friendships, or even returning to the mortal world to establish clans and rule as local overlords.
High-tier cultivators, feeling closer to immortality, spared no time for distractions, dedicating themselves entirely to cultivation.
Han Li and Nangong Wan belonged to the latter group. As a late-Nascent Soul and mid-Nascent Soul cultivator respectively, they stood at the pinnacle of the human realm. Ascending to the Spirit Realm would bring them within reach of true immortality.
Though deeply devoted to each other, they exercised restraint in physical intimacy. While dual cultivation could aid progress, neither practiced such techniques, and the marginal gains were negligible at their level. Fearful of compromising their mental and foundational stability, they indulged sparingly.
Instead, their shared pursuit of the Dao fostered a profound spiritual connection, making their bond even more harmonious.
Thus, after reuniting, they returned to seclusion without further interruptions.
Until one day, a thunderclap echoed over the Twin Peaks, triggering a disturbance in the spiritual energy within a radius of several hundred miles.
Countless fist-sized motes of light—each a different color—emerged from the earth, rocks, and trees of the surrounding mountains, converging rapidly above the Mother Peak. There, they formed a dazzling, multicolored cloud spanning several acres, rotating directly above Han Li’s cave.
The spectacle immediately drew the attention of Han Li’s disciples on the Son Peak and Nangong Wan, who emerged from seclusion to gaze at the celestial phenomenon in astonishment.
Given the Twin Peaks’ proximity to the Fallen Cloud Sect, the sect’s higher-ups also sensed the anomaly. Over a dozen streaks of light shot from the sect’s protective formation toward the peaks.
At the forefront were Lü Luo and the now-Nascent Soul-stage Elder Song, their expressions grave.
Further back, a white-robed woman—Liu Yu—wore a faint smile of excitement. Though her cultivation had stagnated, her authority within the sect, as Han Li’s representative, had grown to rival that of the Nascent Soul elders. Even Lü Luo and Elder Song treated her with deference.
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