Upon hearing the words of the Crystal Clan woman, Han Li wasted no time in further discussion and directly took the black box. With a slight sweep of his divine sense into the box, he detected something despite the sealing talismans on the lid, which were insufficient to completely block his probing.
“Hmm!” Han Li let out a soft exclamation, casting a glance at the Crystal Clan woman with a hint of surprise on his face.
“It seems you truly know something—this isn’t mere exaggeration,” Han Li remarked slowly, narrowing his eyes.
“Half of it is speculation on my part. Why not open it and examine it carefully before deciding whether you truly want it? By the way, this place isn’t very suitable. Let’s move elsewhere for a detailed discussion,” the woman replied, her crystalline eyes shimmering as she smiled gracefully.
With a flip of her hand, she produced a magical disk. Glancing toward the door, she formed a hand seal and chanted an incantation, pointing at the disk.
Instantly, the disk erupted in radiant light, sending multicolored mist swirling in all directions. Both she and Han Li were enveloped in the mist.
Han Li’s brows twitched as he sensed strong spatial fluctuations within the mist. His eyes flickered, but he remained rooted in place, showing no intention of evading.
The mist swirled around him before transforming into a five-colored formation. In the blink of an eye, the surroundings blurred, and Han Li found himself in a dim, gray space.
The space was small, no more than a dozen zhang in size, containing only a table and two chairs in one corner. Beneath his feet, however, lay a glowing five-colored teleportation formation.
The Crystal Clan woman stood nearby, still smiling.
“This is a small spatial rift I commissioned specially. Here, our conversation will be completely undetectable. Of course, with your abilities, Senior, returning to the original space would be effortless even without the teleportation disk,” she said elegantly, pursing her red lips.
Han Li swept his divine sense across the spatial barriers, confirming the truth of her words. Satisfied, he nodded and unceremoniously waved a hand over the box.
A flash of azure light later, the two talismans fell away, and the lid opened.
A surge of black mist erupted from the box, swirling violently before threatening to spread outward. But Han Li, seemingly anticipating this, suddenly opened his mouth and exhaled a golden radiance.
The black mist was instantly drawn into a swirling column and sucked into Han Li’s mouth, vanishing into his abdomen.
“Such pure demonic energy!” Han Li remarked calmly, his face briefly glowing with golden light as if he had just consumed a great tonic.
The black mist was exceptionally pure demonic energy, but for Han Li, who cultivated the Vajra Demon Art, absorbing it in moderation posed no issue—it could be easily converted into his own spiritual power.
The Crystal Clan woman’s eyes flickered with shock at the sight.
She knew all too well the potency of the demonic energy emanating from the box. Every time she opened it, she had to layer herself with countless protective measures before daring to approach its contents. A single misstep could lead to severe cultivation regression or even death.
Han Li then reached out toward the open box, and a dark object flew into his hand—a half-chi-long purple battle armor. The armor was fearsome in design, adorned with spikes at the shoulders and knees, its surface etched with black patterns and exuding overwhelming demonic energy.
It was a demonic battle armor.
However, the chest of the armor bore a gaping hole, its edges shattered, indicating severe damage.
Han Li studied the armor with a peculiar expression. Given his mastery of the Vajra Demon Art, he could sense the incredible power contained within the armor—undoubtedly the strongest he had encountered since entering the world of cultivation.
And this was while the armor was damaged. If restored, its power would be unimaginable.
His expression shifted as he contemplated the possibilities.
“This Purple Demon Armor is a treasure I stumbled upon by chance. Initially, I didn’t know its origins, but after extensive research, I discovered it might be the legendary Heavenly Demon Armor—likely the innate armor of an extremely powerful extraplanar demon. Given its condition, its original owner must have perished. Now, its power is less than a tenth of its original state. Of course, if reforged and repaired, it could regain twenty to thirty percent of its former might,” the Crystal Clan woman explained with a smile.
“An extraplanar demon! Such beings are akin to true spirits. No wonder the demonic energy is so pure. It’s remarkable you managed to acquire this,” Han Li said gravely, taking a deep breath.
He then tossed the miniature armor into the air and sent a golden spell into it.
The armor’s patterns shimmered, and its size expanded severalfold. The demonic energy it emitted thickened, rolling outward like a tide.
The Crystal Clan woman paled slightly as the black mist surged toward her. With a flick of her wrist, several white talismans flew out and exploded into a protective barrier around her.
The demonic energy hissed against the barrier but was repelled.
Han Li watched with an enigmatic smile before forming a hand seal. Golden light erupted from his body, and a golden halo appeared above his head. A three-headed, six-armed dharma form materialized behind him.
The dharma form chanted incantations, and its six arms pointed at the demonic armor. Six golden beams shot forth, striking the armor.
In an astonishing turn of events, the armor spun rapidly before vanishing in the golden light.
The next moment, black mist roiled around the dharma form, and the purple armor materialized on its body, as if donned effortlessly.
The moment the armor settled, the dharma form’s aura surged severalfold, its figure engulfed in demonic energy.
Han Li looked up at the dharma form, his face alight with joy.
The armor’s spiritual nature wasn’t entirely lost, and it could be controlled by his Vajra Demon Art. This made sense—the art itself originated from ancient demonic techniques, sharing the same foundation of true demonic energy as the extraplanar demons.
Of course, if the armor were intact or its original owner still lived, subduing it would have been nearly impossible.
“Excellent. This armor suits me perfectly. But it’s a pity it’s damaged. Otherwise…” Han Li nodded, his voice tinged with regret.
“If it were intact, it wouldn’t have ended up in my hands. However, if you’re willing to pay the price, I can repair it—restoring at least twenty to thirty percent of its original power,” the woman said calmly, though her heart raced at the sight of the dharma form.
“You can repair it? Ah, I nearly forgot—you’re of the Crystal Clan. It’s not impossible. But what ‘price’ do you speak of? And how do you intend to sell this to me?” Han Li chuckled, lowering his gaze to meet hers.
“Objectively, this item is priceless. But as demonic armor, only demonic cultivators can wield it, and they are exceedingly rare on the Thunder Continent—especially those of your caliber. In all my years since acquiring it, I’ve never met someone like you. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have remained with me for so long.”
“How about this? If you have any rare materials, elixirs, or top-grade spirit stones, I’d consider selling it to you,” the woman said without hesitation, as if she had already deliberated on the matter.
“That simple?” Han Li was taken aback. The terms seemed too ordinary.
The woman merely smiled in response.
“First, tell me how you plan to repair it,” Han Li said, shifting the topic.
The woman hesitated briefly before sighing. “Repairing it is straightforward—if you can provide enough ‘demon cores,’ I can easily restore it.”
“Demon cores? What are those?” Han Li frowned, unfamiliar with the term.
“Demon cores are the inner cores of high-tier demonic beasts. To repair this Heavenly Demon Armor, you’d need at least a hundred cores, all from beasts of upper-tier or higher. One core would serve as the primary material—the higher its grade, the better. Ideally, it should be from a Saint-tier demonic beast,” she explained gravely.
“A Saint-tier demonic beast? Are you joking? Where would I find so many high-tier demon cores, let alone a Saint-tier one? It sounds like repairing this armor is far costlier than buying it. Are you spinning tales?” Han Li’s expression darkened.
“You misunderstand. The repair’s effectiveness largely depends on the primary core’s quality. Lower-tier cores can be used, but the results would be inferior. With a Saint-tier core, the armor’s power could increase two to threefold. Such gains justify the cost. Besides, since I mentioned Saint-tier cores, I do have leads. I can share two pieces of information with you—both could lead you to Saint-tier demon cores,” the woman said with a knowing smile, as if she had prepared for this very moment.
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