With a gentle tap of his finger, the scroll slowly unfurled.
A surge of astonishingly fierce energy erupted into the sky, yet the painting itself was shrouded in a golden haze, making it impossible to discern anything clearly. Han Li’s eyes shimmered with a crystalline blue light as his spiritual vision activated, allowing him to perceive the image with perfect clarity.
The painting was filled with countless golden flying swords of varying sizes, each vividly lifelike and exuding distinct auras. Strangely, despite the scroll being only a few feet in length, it gave the illusion of containing an endless number of swords.
These swords were depicted in various postures—some massive, resembling towering colossi that seemed dozens of zhang long, while others were as small as a few inches, their intricate patterns visible in minute detail as if they were right before one’s eyes.
This was none other than the “Ten Thousand Swords Painting” he had obtained from the ruins of the Forbidden Grounds in the Cold Moon Realm.
Clearly containing an immensely profound cultivation method, Han Li had spent considerable time over the years studying it alongside his Soul Refinement Art, gaining some insights.
What he had gleaned from the painting naturally pertained to sword techniques, particularly those involving the manipulation of divine sense.
Given his current cultivation level, he was long capable of mastering the final sword formation of the Green Origin Sword Art—the “Emerald Swarm Sword Formation.”
Though this formation was far more powerful than the Spring Pear Sword Formation, Han Li found it lacking after witnessing the might of Body Integration cultivators.
Thus, he had an epiphany—integrating the insights from the Ten Thousand Swords Painting into the Emerald Swarm Sword Formation. The result was a drastically enhanced formation, more fluid in execution, deployable with a mere thought.
Han Li stared intently at the floating painting, unmoving.
He had privately named the insights he derived from it the “Mind Sword Art,” though he knew full well that what he had grasped was less than a tenth of its true profundity. The remaining knowledge was simply too abstruse for his current Void Refinement cultivation.
After a long while, he sighed softly and flicked his sleeve. A flash of green light later, the painting rolled back into a scroll and vanished into thin air.
Han Li fell into deep contemplation. His gains from the Cold Moon Realm were substantial—beyond the Soul Refinement Art and the Ten Thousand Swords Painting, the most prized was the Void Spirit Pill he had cleverly concealed.
Even Body Integration experts like Cai Liuying had schemed for tens of thousands of years to obtain this pill, underscoring its immense value.
Unfortunately, this was his first encounter with such a pill, and it was likely only useful for Body Integration cultivators. Until he advanced, it would remain useless to him.
Aside from the Void Spirit Pill, he had also harvested numerous spiritual herbs from the ruins’ garden. Most had been sold to figures like Tianjizi, leaving him with only a few specimens for future cultivation.
Among these, the rarest was undoubtedly the silver lotus pod he had obtained last. Though he couldn’t identify it, he was certain it was a treasure unparalleled in the Spirit Realm.
For now, he could only hope for a future opportunity to uncover its purpose.
As for the Scarlet Luo Fruits, he could brew Scarlet Luo Heavenly Wine according to the recipe. This wine extended lifespan and refined constitution—drinking some surely wouldn’t hurt.
Moreover, the fruits he possessed had accumulated tens of thousands of years of potency, potentially yielding additional effects.
The Venomous Erosion Grass, meanwhile, was a key ingredient for several Body Integration-enhancing pills, essential for his future advancement.
Beyond these, the depleted talismans and the star map from the folding screen’s spatial pocket were also worth studying, promising insights into talisman and formation arts.
However, the past century had been devoted to the Soul Refinement Art and other techniques, leaving no time for these pursuits. They would have to remain stored in his bracelet for now.
Han Li’s eyes flickered as he silently reviewed his gains.
After a long exhale, he dismissed his distractions and turned his focus to breaking through the Body Integration bottleneck.
With his enhanced divine sense and the pills acquired from the Thunder Continent, his chances far surpassed those of ordinary cultivators. Still, he needed to refine additional pills and artifacts.
Unlike previous breakthroughs, the Body Integration bottleneck required not only copious pills but also a formation to harness the power of heaven and earth.
This formation had been serendipitously obtained from an alien race during his return journey. Reportedly a closely guarded secret, its acquisition had been pure luck.
Though not overly complex, the formation was ingeniously designed and required several artifacts as its core.
Naturally, Han Li had to craft these himself—hence his extensive material purchases in Sky Abyss City.
With a flick of his wrist, his storage bracelet shot into the air as a streak of black light, hovering motionless.
A red glow flashed as a small crimson cauldron appeared beneath it.
A green mist then swept down from the bracelet, revealing numerous jade boxes and bottles on the ground.
With a hand seal, the cauldron spun midair, expanding to several feet in height.
Han Li smiled faintly and pointed at it. A wisp of green flame spurted from his fingertip, encircling the cauldron before erupting into a roaring blaze, filling the chamber with intense heat.
Expressionless, he gestured toward a jade box. It opened, and an unknown metal—black and glossy, faintly exuding spiritual energy—flew into the cauldron.
With a sweep of his sleeve, the green flames surged, engulfing the cauldron entirely as material after material was added.
Two months later, Han Li had completed all necessary artifacts and pills.
Another half-month was spent meticulously setting up a grand formation centered on the mountain peak.
After six months of secluded cultivation to restore his energy and sharpen his focus, he finally began his assault on the Body Integration bottleneck.
—
On this day, the white-haired elder of the Gu family branch was meditating in his cave when the ground suddenly trembled violently.
Startled, he opened his eyes, about to demand an explanation from his clansmen, when his expression abruptly changed.
In a flash of light, he shot out of the chamber, reappearing atop a boulder on the mountain, gazing grimly at the distant sea of mist.
Soon, several other figures landed behind him.
Similar scenes played out around the misty expanse.
“Heavenly Phenomenon—another Heavenly Phenomenon!” The thought echoed in everyone’s minds.
From the mist rose over a dozen towering silver pillars, each a hundred zhang tall, adorned with flickering golden runes.
The mist churned violently, and the sky was filled with multicolored specks of light surging toward the center.
Those who sensed it paled—the surrounding spiritual energy was madly converging toward the mist, drawn as if by an irresistible force.
Above the mist, vast five-colored clouds coalesced, covering most of the sky.
Thunder roared as purple lightning snakes writhed within the clouds.
Then, a long howl erupted from the mist, followed by an overwhelming spiritual pressure.
Even hundreds of miles away, weaker cultivators collapsed, bleeding from their orifices, while stronger ones like the elder dropped to their knees, vision darkening.
Before they could react, ethereal chants arose from the clouds, accompanied by flickering runes.
From the mountain at the mist’s heart came an inhuman roar. A golden light shot forth, dispersing to reveal a colossal golden shadow—a hundred-zhang-tall, fanged, savage ape.
As it appeared, the clouds responded. The lightning serpents merged into a purple flood dragon rivaling the ape in size.
With a deafening crack, the dragon descended, its body crackling with electricity.
The golden ape roared, pounding its chest before leaping to meet the dragon in midair.
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