“That person’s divine abilities are unfathomable. Your disciple has failed in the entrusted task and was indeed defeated. If not for the intervention of the bystander Tianwei, your disciple might have been slain by the opponent’s sword.” Upon seeing the emerald flood dragon, the man surnamed Weng hurriedly lowered his head and stood respectfully to the side, hands clasped.
“The opponent was merely an early-stage Deity Transformation cultivator. Your divine abilities are not insignificant, and I even lent you the Thousand Soul Bell specifically for this task. How could you still fail? When did you become so useless?” The emerald flood dragon’s gaze darkened.
“Your disciple exerted all his strength. That person not only possesses several unknown divine abilities but also wields a cauldron-shaped spiritual treasure. Moreover, he has mastered the Vajra Art to perfection.” Sweat beaded on the slanted-brow man’s forehead as he hastily defended himself.
“He has a spiritual treasure? And has mastered the Vajra Art?” The flood dragon’s voice carried a hint of surprise.
“Indeed, your disciple speaks the truth without a single false word.” Hearing the flood dragon’s interest, the slanted-brow man felt slightly relieved.
The emerald flood dragon’s eyes flickered with an odd light as it pondered briefly. Suddenly, one of its claws reached out toward the man surnamed Weng in a grasping motion.
With a soft “puff,” a black light enveloped the Thousand Soul Bell as it flew out from the man’s body, circled once, and landed in the flood dragon’s grasp.
Lowering its head, the flood dragon examined the bell closely. Moments later, its expression darkened once more.
Seeing this, the man surnamed Weng’s heart tightened again.
“So, this person follows the dual cultivation path of both magic and body refinement. Heh, such cultivators were once prevalent in ancient times. But nowadays, very few remain. They fail to realize that mastering either magic or body refinement alone requires countless years of effort. While dual cultivation may grant superiority over peers in the early stages, once reaching deeper realms, their progress will inevitably lag behind ordinary cultivators. Moreover, body refinement requires innate talent. To my knowledge, only a handful, such as the Tianyuan Saint Emperor, have ever achieved dual cultivation to the point of advancing to the Body Unity stage. These individuals either began as body refiners before becoming cultivators or consumed rare treasures that enhanced their physical prowess to extraordinary levels. Otherwise, pursuing this path is tantamount to cutting off one’s own cultivation journey.” The emerald flood dragon sneered.
“If this person has already mastered the Vajra Art, what other body refinement techniques could he possibly pursue?” the slanted-brow man asked in confusion.
“Mastery of the Vajra Art represents the pinnacle of mortal body refinement. To progress further, the best methods would involve ancient demonic arts or techniques from the demon race. However, both are foreign practices fraught with peril. For someone to cultivate both magic and body refinement to such a level, it’s no surprise that you, a mid-stage Deity Transformation cultivator, were no match. But even so, how did he break free from my Thousand Soul Bell? Not only was the main soul within destroyed, but over two-thirds of the other trapped souls were also lost.” The flood dragon’s voice turned icy.
“Your disciple does not know how he accomplished it. I trapped him within the bell’s space, but he soon broke free. I did not witness the specifics of his actions.” The man surnamed Weng hurriedly explained again.
“Hmph, while the Thousand Soul Bell may not rank on the Chaos Myriad Spirit List, it should be enough to restrain even a late-stage Deity Transformation cultivator. It seems this person either carries a treasure specifically designed to counter spectral beings or has cultivated an extremely yang-aligned divine ability. No matter. The bell can be restored by capturing new beast souls, but the treasures left by that person must not be lost.” The flood dragon glared at the man for a long moment before finally withdrawing its gaze with a cold snort.
“Thank you for your mercy, Master. But now that the spiritual land has been claimed by that fellow, once he sets up restrictions, it will be difficult for us to search for treasures there.” The man hesitated before voicing his concern.
“That is indeed troublesome. However, such a vast spiritual land cannot be thoroughly restricted in a short time. There are solutions. First, go to where my true form is in seclusion and retrieve my token. Then seek out my friend Gongyang Du. His concealment treasure, the ‘Five-Colored Heaven-Misting Banner,’ possesses the miraculous ability to invert the five elements and render objects invisible. Borrow it temporarily, and we will find a suitable opportunity to infiltrate the area for treasure. However, doing so will incur a significant debt to that old fiend Gongsun, which may not be easy to repay.” The emerald flood dragon spoke with evident displeasure.
The man surnamed Weng dared not respond, merely nodding obediently.
At the same time, Han Li had just flown beyond the towering walls of Tianyuan City, heading toward the plains outside.
Once the battle concluded, he did not return to the Flying Spirit Hall but instead made straight for his chosen spiritual land.
With Han Li’s current abilities, traversing vast distances was effortless. In just three or four days, he arrived without incident before a sprawling, verdant mountain range.
This was the so-called Qionglai Mountain.
His light dimmed as Han Li materialized atop a peak at the mountain’s edge. He surveyed the vast expanse, spanning hundreds of thousands of miles, with narrowed eyes.
Though this mountain range was the least impressive of the three displayed at the Jade Pavilion, its spiritual energy density was extraordinary compared to the so-called sacred cultivation sites of the human world. The difference was like heaven and earth.
After a moment’s observation, Han Li nodded in satisfaction. His escape light flared once more as he transformed into a green streak, plunging into the mountains.
Soon, he had traversed over a hundred thousand miles.
Despite his rapid flight at high altitude, Han Li’s spiritual sense extended outward, enveloping everything within a radius of ten thousand miles.
Along the way, he detected four or five locations with restrictions, clearly marking the abodes of other cultivators.
Han Li paid these neighbors no mind, instead accelerating past them.
After crossing nearly half the mountain range, he finally reached the spiritual land marked on his map.
Spanning over twenty thousand miles, the land stretched beyond sight. Aside from himself, no other cultivators resided here.
Pleased, Han Li did not rush to establish his cave abode. Instead, he leisurely circled the marked area, periodically dropping white ritual flags into the ground from above.
These flags, the lowest-grade magical tools, served primarily to announce his ownership of the land, deterring others from entering.
Next, Han Li explored the area at his leisure.
By the end of the day, he had discovered several small spiritual mines and natural herb patches, though most had been partially depleted.
Naturally, these were of low quality and common variety, likely deemed unworthy of extensive harvesting by the previous occupant.
While Han Li also disregarded these finds, their presence was a minor boon.
After inspecting each site, Han Li paused high above the land’s center, deep in thought.
Strangely, he found nothing particularly remarkable here. Had the slanted-brow man risked so much merely for the convenience of practicing a secret technique?
Han Li’s eyes flickered before he shook his head slightly.
Given the man’s furious reaction upon defeat, the matter couldn’t be so simple. Besides, larger spiritual lands existed elsewhere—why fight so desperately, even to the point of murderous intent?
It seemed further investigation would be necessary later. Otherwise, this lingering doubt would hinder his cultivation.
Decision made, Han Li turned his thoughts to establishing his cave abode.
Though the land’s spiritual energy was generally uniform, several spots were slightly denser.
After careful consideration, Han Li made his choice and set off toward the selected location.
Soon, he arrived at a billowing expanse of multicolored mist between two massive peaks.
The area appeared to be a vast swamp, with vividly hued miasma continuously rising from the mud below, reaching over a hundred yards high. The toxic fumes could trouble even cultivators if inhaled.
Moreover, the mist contained some mysterious component that restricted spiritual sense, preventing deep penetration.
During his earlier inspection, Han Li had relied on his Brightsight Spirit Eyes to penetrate the miasma. Several miles in, he vaguely discerned a mid-sized natural stone valley connected to both mountains.
Such a naturally concealed location was perfect for hiding a cave entrance.
Flying into the mist-shrouded valley, Han Li easily carved an opening in an inconspicuous section of the stone wall. He then released his flying swords to excavate two lengthy tunnels leading into the heart of each mountain.
His plan was to establish two cave abodes—one as a decoy, the other for true cultivation, housing his spirit beasts and medicinal herbs.
As for the Sky Machine Mansion, its small size made it unnecessary for now.
Once the caves were ready, Han Li transplanted all the spirit herbs and trees he’d brought from the human world into the garden. The nurtured Gold Devouring Beetles were released into their chamber. After years of cultivation, each beetle had grown alarmingly large and ferocious, nearing full maturity.
The leopard-qilin beast was given its own comfortable den to cultivate in peace.
However, when Han Li entered a particularly gloomy, empty beast chamber, his expression turned solemn.
With a wave of his spirit beast ring, a black mist surged forth, depositing a ten-foot-tall, shadowy figure in the center of the stone room.
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