“Brother Han also recognizes the material of this jade box. Indeed, this is the Ten-Thousand-Year Flame Jade, renowned alongside the Profound Jade. Only artifacts crafted from such rare and exceptional materials can prevent the spiritual energy of the Phoenix Feathers from dissipating,” Ye Ying said with a faint smile, a hint of pride in her tone.
Perhaps only a true spirit family like the Ye Clan would be willing to use such precious materials to craft an ordinary container.
At this moment, Han Li merely chuckled, his expression unchanged.
Ye Chu, however, remained expressionless as she opened the box, revealing three five-colored feathers, each about three feet long and shimmering brilliantly.
The woman pointed at one of the feathers with her finger.
Immediately, the feather floated out of the jade box and drifted slowly toward Han Li.
Han Li’s face turned solemn as he reached out with one hand, grasping the feather in midair and pulling it toward him.
He then examined it carefully, running his fingers over its surface.
The feather was translucent, with faintly visible five-colored runes flickering amidst its radiant glow. The spiritual energy it contained was astonishing.
“Excellent. This must indeed be a Phoenix Feather,” Han Li nodded in satisfaction. Such a treasure of heaven and earth would be impossible to counterfeit.
With a flip of his hand, a snow-white jade box emitting an intense chill appeared—crafted from Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Jade.
The two women across from him were momentarily stunned, exchanging surprised glances.
Han Li placed the Phoenix Feather inside the box, and with a flash of white light, the box vanished without a trace.
“Now that I’ve received the Phoenix Feather, the True Dragon’s Blood naturally belongs to you two,” Han Li said with a smile, glancing at the women before flicking his finger toward the green cauldron.
A soft *clang* echoed as the green threads emanating from the cauldron shifted, flinging the Blood Dragon toward them.
The Blood Dragon’s body shimmered with spiritual light, struggling midair as if trying to escape.
But the white-robed girl had already raised her purple-gold gourd with delight. A buzzing sound filled the air as a wave of blue mist surged from the gourd’s mouth.
In a flash of blue light, the mist enveloped the Blood Dragon, pulling it to within inches of the girl.
Both women stared intently at the Blood Dragon, their divine senses repeatedly scanning its form.
“Truly the True Dragon’s Blood!” Ye Chu exhaled after a long moment, finally nodding.
The girl also smiled faintly.
With a hand seal, the blue mist contracted, shrinking the Blood Dragon several times over before drawing it into the purple-gold gourd.
“Brother Han, you truly are a man of your word. Now that this matter is settled, would you consider becoming a guest elder of the Ye Clan upon returning to Tianyuan City? Our family has always treated individuals of your extraordinary abilities with great respect,” the white-robed girl said sweetly, her tone laced with persuasion.
“Tianyuan City? I have no immediate plans to return. I intend to stay in the Wildlands for some time,” Han Li replied without hesitation.
His response didn’t surprise the women. The girl sighed slightly but didn’t press further. “Very well. But should you change your mind, you’re always welcome at the Ye Clan. Now, let’s depart before the Wood Tribe catches up. As for this Black Phoenix Clan member, I imagine Brother Han would find her troublesome to deal with. Leave her to me,” Ye Ying said, glancing at the black mountain below with a playful smile.
“Then I’ll trouble you both. I truly have no good way to handle her,” Han Li said, indifferent to their earlier remarks but quick to agree to this suggestion.
With a wave of his hand, the black mountain glowed gray before rapidly shrinking to a mere ten feet in height.
With a *boom*, it vanished into thin air.
Below, Xiao Hong lay motionless at the bottom of the crater.
Meanwhile, Ye Chu, who had been prepared, flicked her fingers downward as the mountain disappeared.
Five streaks of emerald light shot down, reaching the Black Phoenix in an instant.
With a series of *pops*, the streaks burst apart, forming a green net that ensnared the Black Phoenix.
Ye Chu then formed a hand seal and began chanting.
The green net shimmered as it shrank—miraculously, the Black Phoenix shrank along with it, soon reduced to half a foot in size.
As the chant ended, Ye Chu clenched her fist, and the green net trembled before transforming into a ball of light that flew into her sleeve.
“Since I have other matters to attend to, I won’t be accompanying you further,” Han Li said abruptly, clasping his hands in farewell, leaving the women momentarily stunned.
“We’re still within the Wood Tribe’s territory. It would be safer to travel together,” the white-robed girl said, puzzled.
“No. I truly have urgent business. Farewell,” Han Li insisted, retrieving his treasures and the Soul-Crying Beast before transforming into a streak of azure light and vanishing into the distance.
In moments, his figure disappeared beyond the horizon.
Watching him leave so decisively, the two women exchanged glances.
“He’s clever, slipping away like that. Did he guess we have reinforcements waiting outside?” the girl muttered, frowning.
“Perhaps. Even if not, it shows his caution. With the reinforcements the family head sent, we might have had a chance to detain him,” Ye Chu mused.
“Sister Chu, earlier you signaled me not to act. With your late-stage Void Refinement cultivation and my help, couldn’t we have subdued him? We might not have needed to trade the Phoenix Feather,” the girl said, still troubled.
“Defeating him? I’d give us a seventy percent chance. But capturing or killing him? Less than fifty. You’ve seen his abilities—he subdued the Black Phoenix Clan member effortlessly, and his sword formation can destroy treasures on par with Heaven-Connecting Spiritual Artifacts. His spirit beast is even more bizarre, treating Void Refinement-level ghost kings as nothing. Even I couldn’t have handled that Formless Ghost King so easily. He remained calm throughout the fight, suggesting he has other trump cards. And with the True Blood in his hands, destroying it would have been a greater loss. Phoenix Feathers can be found again, but True Dragon’s Blood? Only the Long Family might possess it, and who knows how many generations pass before someone like Long Dong, with such pure bloodline, appears,” Ye Chu explained.
“I understand. His abilities and treasures are extraordinary. If even you weren’t confident, we made the right choice. The family head won’t blame us for securing the True Dragon’s Blood. It wasn’t worth the risk. At least he left without forcing our hand. Let’s go—we’ve made enough noise to attract the Wood Tribe,” the girl said after a pause, resigned.
Ye Chu nodded, summoning the giant wooden bird once more.
The two women boarded it, and it transformed into a streak of green light, streaking away like a meteor.
Meanwhile, Han Li was already thousands of miles away, flying swiftly through the sky.
A strange smile played on his lips, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
Suddenly, he opened his mouth and spat out the Void Sky Cauldron.
Holding the cauldron in one hand, he tapped its lid lightly, causing it to open slightly.
With a flash of blue light from his eyes, two golden shadows flew out—thumb-sized Gold Devouring Beetles.
Han Li smiled, exhaling two streams of pure spiritual energy that enveloped the insects.
The beetles glowed brilliantly, swelling to half a foot in size, their forms turning fearsome.
As Han Li chanted softly, the two beetles opened their mouths, spitting out thin streams of crimson liquid.
Han Li’s eyes brightened as he caught the liquid in his other hand.
When he opened his palm, two miniature blood dragons and phoenixes, a few inches long, writhed within.
Unbeknownst to Ye Ying and Ye Chu, Han Li had secretly retained traces of the True Dragon and Phoenix blood.
Had they known he possessed mature Gold Devouring Beetles—capable of devouring anything—they would never have let him steal the blood so easily.
After all, True Spirit Blood cannot be separated without special techniques or treasures.
Han Li studied the struggling miniatures in his palm, his fingers glowing with green light to restrain them, deep in thought.
He hadn’t yet decided how to use the blood, but one thing was certain: its value rivaled legendary elixirs.
Unfortunately, his knowledge of True Spirit families and bloodlines was limited, so he could only store it for future study.
Suddenly, his expression shifted. He flipped his hand, producing a silver wooden box, into which he placed the miniature creatures before sealing it with several talismans.
With a flash of silver, the box vanished.
Having done this, Han Li turned to glance far behind him, his eyes narrowing instinctively.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage