Chapter 1715: Silver Lotus Pod

With another flick of his palm, several talismans shot out and adhered to the box in a flash. A dazzling array of restrictive forces instantly enveloped the entire jade box.

Sweeping his sleeve once more, a burst of azure mist surged forth, and the jade box silently vanished within the radiant glow, swiftly stowed away by Han Li.

From the moment the sword threads sprayed out to the retrieval of the jade box, the entire process was as swift as lightning, completed in the span of a single breath.

Only then did Han Li exhale, his expression easing slightly.

He glanced at the spirit tree in the herb garden, now bereft of its blossoms, hesitated briefly, but ultimately chose not to interfere further. Turning, he strode toward the next plot.

Thus, over the next seven or eight spirit herbs, he repeated the same procedure.

Han Li severed the crucial seed-bearing parts—such as fruits—with his sword light, swiftly froze them, and then sealed them with restrictive talismans.

With so many precautions in place, he managed to prevent the severed portions from self-destructing. Even if these parts still harbored hidden restrictions, suppressing their activation for now would allow him to study them at leisure later.

He was confident that, given enough time, he could gradually unravel these restrictions.

However, when it came to the final spirit herb—the silver lotus pod floating above the spring—he encountered a major obstacle.

As his sword threads slashed at the finger-thick stem beneath the silver pod, a blinding silver radiance erupted, repelling the attack effortlessly. The lotus pod remained utterly unmoved!

Han Li was momentarily stunned. After scrutinizing the gleaming silver pod several times, his brows furrowed, and he decisively aimed all ten fingers at it, unleashing a barrage of strikes.

Ten azure threads shot through the air, converging mid-flight into a single crystalline beam of emerald light that struck the silver pod once more.

The same scene repeated itself! The entire silver lotus erupted with dazzling silver light, and the emerald beam shattered with a resonant hum, disintegrating into nothingness.

Han Li’s eyelids twitched violently. What kind of divine object was this silver lotus pod, to possess such heaven-defying power?

He knew full well the sharpness of the sword threads formed by his Emerald Swarm Sword—even a typical Body Integration cultivator wouldn’t dare take such a strike head-on. Yet, this object not only repelled the threads but even reflected the attack with enough force to annihilate them. It was utterly unbelievable.

His gaze darted across the silver pod before shifting to the spring below.

This was no ordinary spirit spring. Not only was the water crystal clear, but faint wisps of white spiritual energy continuously rose from its depths.

At the bottom of the spring lay several segments of lotus root, each as long as a child’s arm and shimmering with the same silver brilliance, pristine as if untouched by dust. Han Li’s eyes narrowed as he noticed the roots—jade-white and coiled into a ball, floating beside the lotus segments like a silver mist rather than burrowing into the mud below.

“In that case, perhaps…” This unexpected discovery stirred his thoughts, reigniting his determination.

This time, Han Li deliberated only briefly before deciding to take another risk.

With a flip of his palm, a foot-tall blue jade vial appeared in his hand. He tossed it above the spring, where it hovered steadily in the air.

Next, he flicked his sleeve, sending over a dozen array flags of varying colors shooting out. They vanished in a flash, embedding themselves around the spring.

Clasping a single-handed seal, he uttered the word “Activate!” Instantly, over a dozen radiant pillars erupted from the ground, each several zhang tall.

Each pillar shimmered with spiritual light, faint runes drifting within—clearly, this was no ordinary formation.

Without hesitation, Han Li began weaving a series of hand seals, sending one incantation after another toward the formation.

Countless blue specks of light materialized in the surrounding air, saturating the area with dense water-attribute spiritual energy.

The spirit spring below seemed to respond, its surface rippling with faint waves—subtle, yet a stark contrast to its previous mirror-like stillness.

A cold glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes as he barked a command, pointing at the floating vial.

With a *whoosh*, the vial inverted, releasing a billowing azure mist.

The pillars hummed in unison as restrictive forces erupted.

In the next moment, all the specks of light surged into the azure mist, amplifying its radiance until it engulfed the entire spring.

A deafening roar shook the earth as the spring trembled violently. The water churned into a whirlpool centered around the silver lotus pod, its diameter expanding to over a zhang.

Seeing this, Han Li accelerated his incantations, his lips moving rapidly.

The lotus pod, along with the spring water, was swept upward, encased in azure mist. It transformed into a watery dragon, rapidly shrinking until it was entirely sucked into the blue jade vial.

Relieved that the silver pod and lotus roots had been safely collected without further mishap, Han Li’s heart pounded with excitement.

Ceasing his incantations, he beckoned the vial, which shot toward him as a streak of blue light before landing securely in his grasp.

Extending his spiritual sense through the vial’s opening, he confirmed that the silver pod and lotus roots remained unharmed, still immersed in the spring water. Overjoyed, he sealed the vial with talismans before carefully storing it in his storage bracelet alongside the pile of jade boxes. The frustration from losing several spirit herbs earlier was somewhat alleviated.

In the following hours, Han Li scoured the garden’s remote corners, harvesting every miscellaneous spirit herb he could find, regardless of whether he recognized them.

Though these herbs might have been ordinary to the garden’s original owner, in the Spirit Realm, they were undoubtedly rare treasures.

This trip to the herb garden had proven immensely fruitful.

Certain that nothing of value remained, Han Li saw no reason to linger. With a command, he recalled Qu’er, who transformed into a ball of white light and vanished into his sleeve. Striding purposefully, he headed for the courtyard gate.

The moment he stepped outside, a deep, rumbling roar echoed from the direction of the main hall, followed by a towering surge of spiritual pressure. The sheer force of it was staggering.

Han Li’s heart stirred, but his lips curled into a faint, knowing smile.

It seemed that after all this time, Shi Kun and Liu Shui’er had finally lost patience with the plaza’s illusionary formations and resorted to brute force.

Judging by the spiritual pressure, the illusion had indeed been forcibly shattered.

They must have employed secret techniques or treasures far beyond their current cultivation level—otherwise, given their earlier displays, such a feat would have been impossible.

With this in mind, Han Li’s gaze swept over the two side halls. After a brief pause, he chose not to investigate them further. Instead, he moved toward the main hall, his steps deceptively slow yet covering ground rapidly.

Moments later, as he arrived before the main hall, he witnessed Shi Kun staggering back over a dozen steps, his face pale.

The pair of massive hammers he had been wielding were rapidly dissolving under arcs of purple lightning, soon reduced to mere handles.

Shi Kun’s eyes flashed with terror, but before he could react further, Liu Shui’er—standing ten zhang behind him—acted.

With a flick of her wrist, a silver mirror shot forth, its surface trembling as it released several beams of azure light, momentarily holding back the purple lightning.

Seizing the opportunity, Shi Kun roared and shot backward, skimming the ground until he landed thirty zhang away.

The azure beams soon shattered under the purple lightning’s assault, which then redirected toward Liu Shui’er.

The woman’s heart clenched, but she decisively commanded the mirror to intercept the attack while her figure blurred into afterimages, vanishing before reappearing far away.

A low explosion followed as the purple lightning struck the mirror, reducing it to a burst of silver sparks.

With no target left, the purple arcs flickered erratically before dissipating.

Liu Shui’er reappeared, her expression grim beneath her hood. Though she had anticipated the loss of her treasure, it still stung.

“Fellow Daoists, the restrictions here are no ordinary ones. To break them, the three of us must join forces,” Han Li declared calmly as he approached.

Shi Kun and Liu Shui’er turned to him. Shi Kun’s face twitched with barely concealed envy. “Brother Han, how clever of you to avoid this troublesome restriction and explore elsewhere first. With such a head start, you must have reaped quite the harvest.”

“I did find a few things, but they pale in comparison to what lies within this hall. I’m certain the treasures and items our seniors seek are stored here,” Han Li replied with a faint smile, unperturbed.

“This was once the dwelling of an immortal. Even what they considered mundane would be invaluable to us. But as agreed, this is your fortune and skill at work. I bear no resentment,” Liu Shui’er said lightly, her tone suggesting genuine indifference. “Besides, with so little time, you could’ve only searched one or two places. There’s still plenty left for Shi Kun and me.”