A glossy black orb, the size of a chicken egg, emitted faint wisps of dark energy—unmistakably the purest essence of true demonic power.
This was precisely Han Li’s objective for this journey—the demon core of a Saint-tier demonic beast!
With this in hand, he could now repair the Sky-Devouring Demon Armor. Though he couldn’t yet accurately gauge the armor’s full power, he suspected it wouldn’t be inferior to the purple battle armor he had just retrieved.
Unfortunately, the Demon Ape’s battle armor had clearly been fully refined. Even if he attempted to reforge it, its power would likely diminish significantly, rendering it little more than a mediocre artifact to him.
With a hint of regret, Han Li flipped his palm, and a black jade box materialized in his hand. He opened the lid and pointed a finger at the demon core.
Instantly, a surge of dark light erupted from the box, swiftly enveloping the core and drawing it inside.
Han Li then closed the lid and, with a flick of his other hand, produced two talismans—one gold, one silver—which he promptly affixed to the box’s surface.
As the talismans glowed, the faint demonic energy that had been seeping through the jade box was abruptly sealed away, completely suppressed.
Calmly storing the box, Han Li turned his attention to the other item—a broken blade shimmering with a faint purple light.
His expression grew peculiar as he examined it—a mix of excitement and bewilderment.
“An Empyrean Treasure? But its power seems far weaker than my own. Could it be because it’s incomplete?” Han Li narrowed his eyes, murmuring to himself.
Rather than immediately testing the blade, he closed his eyes and circulated his spiritual sense throughout his body, meticulously inspecting his condition.
Finally, he formed a hand seal, and golden light erupted from his body as he summoned his three-headed, six-armed Dharma Form once more, scanning it with his spiritual sense as well.
His expression darkened.
Not only had his mana reserves been depleted by nearly half, but his Vajra Demon Form had also shrunk by almost the same amount. It would likely take decades of arduous cultivation to restore it—a significant loss.
The only silver lining was that wielding the sword formed from the Empyrean Fruit hadn’t drained his vital essence or directly depleted his true energy.
However, Han Li was well aware that the slash from the Empyrean Sword this time had been far weaker than its first use—less than a tenth of its previous power.
This was likely due to two factors: first, he hadn’t directly channeled the Empyrean Treasure with his physical body, instead relying on his Dharma Form’s power; second, the sword’s manifestation had been passively triggered by the broken blade’s law force.
Thus, while the Empyrean Sword’s power had been greatly diminished, it had still managed to slay the Demon Ape without leaving him completely drained of mana.
Though the broken blade could also manipulate a certain law of heaven and earth, it paled in comparison to the sword formed from the Empyrean Fruit. This made Han Li question whether it was truly an Empyrean Treasure.
Yet, given that it had shattered the Spring Dawn Sword Formation in a single strike, even if it wasn’t an Empyrean Treasure, it was certainly no ordinary artifact.
He leaned toward the idea that the blade’s diminished power was due to its incomplete state, which had also allowed the Demon Ape to control it.
Alternatively, the law force it contained might simply be among the weakest of Empyrean Treasures—or perhaps it was inherently countered by the law force within the Empyrean Sword, explaining why it had been so easily overwhelmed.
In just moments, Han Li had dissected the situation with remarkable clarity.
Yet, the more he understood, the more fervently his gaze burned as he stared at the purple broken blade.
Even if the Empyrean Sword sealed in his arm couldn’t be freely controlled, this weakened fragment of an Empyrean Treasure might still be manageable.
After all, the Demon Ape, despite its reduced cultivation and lack of a physical body, had still been able to wield it against him.
Taking a deep breath to steady his excitement, Han Li raised a hand and flicked his fingers, releasing five streams of gray light toward the broken blade.
A dull *thud* echoed as the gray light was repelled by a burst of purple radiance from the blade. The weapon then spun rapidly, dispersing the gray light entirely—refusing to be ensnared.
Frowning, Han Li extended his other hand, unleashing a torrent of five-colored cold flames.
Yet, after a series of eerie explosions, the flames too failed to capture the blade.
A look of surprise crossed his face, but after stroking his chin in thought, his expression cleared with sudden realization. He raised his hand again—this time, it gleamed gold—and released a golden mist that shot toward the blade.
This time, the broken blade offered no resistance. The golden light enveloped it effortlessly, pulling it before Han Li.
Delighted, Han Li examined the treasure closely. The translucent blade gradually absorbed the golden light, and the spirit creature within, previously listless, now seemed revitalized, swimming energetically within the blade.
Meanwhile, the purple hue of the blade began to shimmer with golden threads, as if being assimilated by Han Li’s Vajra Demon Art.
Startled at first, Han Li quickly grew ecstatic.
This almost certainly Empyrean fragment was proving far easier to control than expected. He could sense that with just a bit more demonic energy from his Vajra Demon Art, he’d be able to wield it freely.
Now, he was nearly certain—this broken blade was undoubtedly a demonic Empyrean Treasure from the Demon Realm, given its acute sensitivity to pure demonic energy.
After a brief hesitation, Han Li intensified his Vajra Demon Art, his body radiating golden light as scales emerged across his skin. Waves of golden energy surged into the blade like a tide.
The blade greedily devoured the energy, transforming from purple to pure gold in mere breaths. The unknown spirit within grew even more lively, its body also turning golden.
But Han Li soon found himself strained—the blade had already drained another third of his remaining mana in moments.
Swiftly, he withdrew his energy, and the golden blade vanished into his sleeve.
Though not fully assimilated, it was now controllable enough for his immediate needs. He wasn’t foolish enough to exhaust himself here.
As he pondered, Han Li retrieved several small bottles from his storage bracelet, swallowing multiple pills in quick succession—all aids for mana recovery.
Though they wouldn’t restore him to peak condition immediately, they were better than nothing.
Then, with a flash of emerald light, a top-tier spirit stone appeared in his hand. He began absorbing its pure spiritual energy without reservation—in such a perilous place, conserving resources was the least of his concerns.
Yet, when his gaze fell upon the desiccated corpse of the Demon Ape—its dantian torn open—his expression shifted as if recalling something.
After scrutinizing the corpse and finding no storage bracelet, he flicked his wrist, sending a black ring whirling around it. A burst of white light later, the corpse was sucked into the ring, which then returned to him.
Han Li then transformed into a streak of crimson light, darting through the air until he reappeared in the now-empty hall.
Aside from a nearly destroyed formation, the hall was barren—save for one object: a blood-red jade bed, faintly glowing in a corner.
A sweep of his spiritual sense confirmed no other anomalies, so he beckoned, and the heavy bed levitated, spinning toward him.
Yet, as it neared, he halted it midair with a wave of his hand.
Inspecting it visually revealed nothing unusual, but when his spiritual sense touched its surface, it rebounded—unable to penetrate.
Rather than alarmed, Han Li was intrigued. Activating his spirit eye technique, he soon let out a soft exclamation, his expression turning grave.
He raised his hand again, casting a spell at the bed.
Suddenly, the bed erupted in bloody light, and silver script—each character the size of a fist—floated up, swirling before coalescing into an arcane scripture.
“Silver Kho Script!” Han Li recognized it instantly, his voice tinged with shock and excitement.
Why was this script on the bed, and how had the Saint-tier Demon Ape obtained it?
Though questions flooded his mind, he focused instead on rapidly scanning the scripture.
His expression soon twisted into one of profound bewilderment.
“Empyrean Artifact Refining Technique,” he murmured after a long pause, his voice laced with disbelief.
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