“This is already the third failed attempt to break through the bottleneck. It seems mere arduous cultivation won’t suffice to overcome this hurdle in the short term. I must seek alternative methods.” Han Li muttered to himself before suddenly flipping his palm to reveal an object engraved with a black fire phoenix.
It was the small silver vial containing the three Blackflame Pills.
Though the Blackflame Pills were renowned as the supreme spiritual medicine for breaking through the bottleneck at the late Nascent Soul stage, their formidable potency naturally made them suitable even for mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. However, their power was so overwhelming that if consumed by those with insufficient cultivation or frail physiques, the black phoenix flames within the pills could incinerate them from within.
Han Li, possessing the Devouring Spiritual Heavenly Flames and being a dual cultivator of both spiritual and physical prowess, had no such concerns. He could safely consume one to aid his breakthrough.
Yet doing so would mean having one fewer Blackflame Pill when attempting to advance to the Void Refinement stage, significantly reducing his chances of success.
After all, spiritual medicines like the Blackflame Pills were treasures one could only encounter by chance, not by deliberate search. His current mid-stage bottleneck was merely a matter of time before breaking through. Countless cultivators remained stuck at the late Nascent Soul stage for their entire lives—evidenced by the rarity of Void Refinement cultivators compared to Nascent Soul ones. Thus, the more auxiliary pills one had when attempting such a breakthrough, the better.
After much deliberation, Han Li let out a bitter smile and stowed the vial back into his storage bracelet.
However, he had no intention of continuing his secluded cultivation. Rising to his feet, he strode toward the chamber’s exit.
Outside the chamber, a giant ape puppet stood waiting.
Before Han Li could speak, the puppet took a large step forward, presenting a pale yellow, rod-like object covered in peculiar dark green patterns—the Profound Heavenly Fruit.
Han Li’s expression turned solemn at the sight.
With a single grasp, he drew the object into his hand, his eyes glowing blue as he peered into it.
The tiny light cluster inside, once the size of a soybean, had now grown to the size of a thumb.
Weighing the treasure in his hand, Han Li couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
Back in Sky Abyss City, he had secretly scoured ancient texts for information on the Profound Heavenly Fruit. Strangely, no matter how ancient the records, none mentioned it. Had he not encountered references to Profound Heavenly trees and vines in the human world, he wouldn’t even have known what it was.
Nevertheless, since the fruit contained the law power of an entire realm, it was undoubtedly a heaven-defying treasure. Naturally, Han Li had never breathed a word of it to anyone.
After another futile attempt to infuse spiritual power into the fruit, Han Li stroked it thoughtfully.
Over the years, he had continuously fed the fruit with the mysterious green liquid. Apart from the white light cluster growing slightly larger, no other anomalies had occurred.
Though he didn’t know whether continued infusion would eventually allow him to harness the fruit’s power, he had no choice but to persist.
After carefully storing the Profound Heavenly Fruit, Han Li inspected his spirit herb garden.
The Dragon’s Beard Fruits and other spiritual herbs he had planted earlier had long matured, with a batch already harvested and stored in another storage bracelet by the puppets.
Delighted, Han Li transferred the spirit fruits into his own storage bracelet.
With that done, he beckoned to the puppet trailing him.
Instantly, his second Nascent Soul flew out from the giant ape puppet, circled once, and merged back into his body.
Han Li narrowed his eyes as if absorbing information before patting the back of his head, releasing the second Nascent Soul back into the puppet. A cold smile curled his lips.
“A few mid-tier demons dare to come knocking again? They must have found some reinforcements.” With that, he strode toward a hall in the cave abode.
A massive formation and an altar-like platform stood quietly within. At the formation’s core, an octagonal dharma disk rested atop the platform.
Without a word, Han Li flicked several incantation seals onto the formation.
A low hum resonated as the entire formation shimmered with white light. The octagonal disk then projected a silver screen dotted with countless white specks.
When establishing this cave abode, Han Li had secretly deployed numerous Myriad Eye Pearls across hundreds of miles.
Now, a glance at the screen revealed several black dots flickering about twenty miles away.
Hands forming a seal, Han Li’s body erupted with azure light, transforming into a streak of cyan that shot out of the hall. In a few blinks, he vanished beyond the cave entrance.
At his astonishing speed, the distance was covered in mere breaths.
There, suspended in the low sky, were a three-headed azure serpent, a bull-headed emerald lion cub, and a blurry gray shadow, whispering among themselves.
The moment Han Li materialized high above, the three demons reacted swiftly, scattering as two gusts of demonic wind and a streak of gray light.
With a cold snort, Han Li flicked his sleeve, releasing three crimson threads that vanished and reappeared behind the fleeing figures. In a flash of red light, the threads ensnared the demons, rendering them immobile.
Another flick of his sleeve, and the threads yanked the three demons before him.
The bull-headed cub and serpent trembled in terror, but the gray-shrouded demon suddenly spoke in a bizarre, unintelligible tongue—though its tone carried a hint of threat.
Han Li’s expression darkened. Without a word, he reached toward the gray light.
A dazzling five-colored radiance swept forth.
The demon’s protective gray light dissolved like snow under the glow, and its body—a half-zhang-long fish with golden scales and humanoid limbs—was yanked into Han Li’s grip, his fingers pressing into its skull.
The fish demon’s head bore a man-like face, grotesquely fused to its piscine form.
Unfazed, Han Li’s palm erupted with golden light.
The demon shrieked, convulsed, then stiffened into unconsciousness.
Han Li had directly employed a soul-searching technique to scour its memories.
The remaining two demons trembled in abject fear.
For someone of Han Li’s power, extracting a sixth-tier demon’s memories was child’s play. Within minutes, he had gleaned everything.
“Skywing Tribe… offerings… Venerable Radiance…” These terms surfaced in his mind, giving him pause. Then, the golden light faded, and his grip loosened.
The fish demon plummeted.
The crimson thread binding it swelled into a fiery chain, engulfing the demon in scarlet flames that reduced it to ashes in moments. The chain then shrank back into a thread and vanished into Han Li’s sleeve.
Turning to the remaining two, Han Li’s face remained impassive.
“Bold of you, targeting my abode over mere Bellwood Flowers,” he remarked after a pause, now speaking their tongue—learned from the extracted memories.
“Without the Bellwood Flowers, we of the Hidden Black Mountain cannot fulfill our tributes. The Skywing Tribe would flay our souls and scatter our sentience. Even knowing your might, we had no choice,” the bull-headed cub replied, its intelligence evident.
“Bellwood Flowers—you mean these?” Han Li smirked, producing a purple, bell-shaped blossom exuding a peculiar fragrance.
“Yes! Our mountains have many spirit veins, but only your abode still harbors them,” the cub admitted bitterly after a long stare.
“Odd. These flowers hold little spiritual energy and aren’t used in elixirs, yet they top your millennial tribute list. Without them, the Skywing Tribe would indeed punish you severely. But to enlist a newly transformed sea dragon and think you could seize my abode? Overconfidence. And offering ten Gold Marrow Crystal Insects as payment—quite the lavish bribe. Though I’ve heard these half-crystal, half-insect oddities dwell deep within rare ores, nearly impossible to capture alive. How did you manage it?” Han Li stroked his chin, eyes glinting.
“No harm in telling. When the Skywing Tribe discovered this land, stronger beings than us existed in Hidden Black Mountain. But their three elders slaughtered them all, sparing only us because our unique talents allow us to gather their required tributes. Otherwise, we’d be long dead!” The cub’s voice dripped with cold mockery.
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