This flying sword, emanating astonishing demonic energy, was naturally one of the spoils Han Li had obtained from slaying numerous Demon Venerables in the Spirit Realm.
Since it was of no use to him, he was more than happy to generously offer it in exchange for the ore in the other party’s possession.
“Many thanks for your generosity, Venerable! This aberrant demon gold was obtained by this junior not long ago from a fellow clansman, and it seems to have changed hands multiple times before that. Tracing its original source would be quite difficult.” The short, stout demon, upon receiving the sword and scanning it with his spiritual sense, wore an expression of mingled shock and delight, repeatedly thanking Han Li.
Earlier, when he had told the Black Hoof clansman that he wanted to exchange for a top-tier demonic artifact, he had been somewhat overreaching. Now that he had actually obtained it, his joy was beyond words.
For a being at his level—equivalent to the Deity Transformation stage—a top-tier treasure was a rare possession indeed.
“If that’s the case, then forget it. This piece of demon gold should suffice for my needs.” Han Li frowned briefly but quickly relaxed as he spoke.
With that, he wasted no more time lingering and turned to leave on his own.
The stout demon had initially wanted to seize the opportunity to ingratiate himself further, but seeing this, he dared not say another word and merely adopted a respectful posture of farewell.
With his new acquisition, Han Li’s original intention to leave immediately was naturally forgotten.
Over the next two hours, he meticulously examined the remaining stalls along the entire street and actually managed to find two types of spiritual herbs that did not exist in the Spirit Realm. These allowed him to gather the ingredients needed to refine a pill that could stabilize the mind and spirit for cultivators at the Body Integration stage.
Taking this pill while practicing techniques or supernatural abilities could slightly improve the efficiency of comprehension and cultivation. In the long run, its benefits were quite significant.
Han Li had long possessed the pill formula but had been unable to refine it due to the absence of these two herbs, which had long gone extinct in the Spirit Realm.
Pleased with his gains, Han Li, after leaving the street, enthusiastically visited some of the nearby large shops.
Unfortunately, the items sold in these shops were almost exclusively tailored for high-ranking demons, and he found nothing else of value to him.
By then, the sky had gradually darkened, and the streets quickly grew sparse as shops began closing their doors one after another, as if preparing for a curfew.
Han Li casually found a place to stay, renting an isolated chamber where he settled temporarily.
After setting up several layers of restrictions in the chamber, he finally took out the aberrant demon gold he had obtained during the day, holding it before him and silently examining it.
The ore gleamed brightly, but its surface was extremely uneven, riddled with pits and bumps.
Strangely, it not only emitted dense demonic energy but also contained wisps of pure spiritual energy.
This was actually a rare material that simultaneously accommodated both spiritual and demonic energy.
However, Han Li had not purchased this ore solely for that reason.
After pondering for a long while, he suddenly tossed the ore into the air, where it hovered before him. With a flick of his finger, a streak of azure light flashed past.
*Pfft!*
The black-and-white ore silently split in two, and a pea-sized object fell out.
With a swift grab, an invisible force swept out, and the revealed object was immediately drawn into his palm.
Han Li focused his gaze and saw that it was a murky, crystalline bead.
“As expected, my spiritual sight wasn’t mistaken. There really was something hidden inside. Whether it’s useful to me remains to be seen—further confirmation is needed.”
Han Li murmured with a faint smile as he toyed with the bead, then sent his spiritual sense probing into it.
But the next moment, his expression drastically changed, and he abruptly flung the bead away.
*Boom!*
The ejected bead suddenly emitted a thunderous roar, releasing a terrifying aura in all directions. A gray-white beam, as thick as a bowl, shot out from the bead and struck the restrictions on the ceiling in a flash.
Several layers of light barriers were torn apart like paper, and the beam slammed into the final layer of restrictions before finally being halted with a slight tremor.
In that brief moment, Han Li’s expression darkened. With a flicker, he appeared above the beam and pressed down with his palm.
A golden hand materialized, radiating dazzling light, and forcefully resisted the beam.
Yet Han Li’s expression remained tense. His fingers trembled slightly as they erupted with blinding golden light, and his arm was gradually forced back by the gray-white beam, unable to completely block it.
A flicker of surprise crossed Han Li’s face, but it quickly hardened into resolve. With a cold snort, golden light flashed along his arm, causing it to thicken considerably. His sleeve burst apart, revealing scales of gleaming gold.
The golden hand slowly clenched its fingers.
*Rumble—*
A tremendous restraining force enveloped the gray-white beam, compressing it into a sphere several feet in diameter before the golden hand seized it firmly.
Han Li then began chanting, firing a series of incantations at the golden hand with his fingers.
The hand blurred and transformed into golden runes that wrapped around the gray-white sphere.
The sphere, which had been pulsating as if on the verge of explosion, instantly dimmed and fell silent, emitting no further sound.
Only then did Han Li relax. With a movement, he returned to the ground and beckoned.
The sphere descended steadily into his palm.
The energy contained within the sphere earlier had been extraordinary—so much so that Han Li, without activating his True Devilish Sage Art, had nearly failed to suppress it. But now, under his restraints, it lay perfectly still, showing no trace of its earlier ferocity.
Han Li held the sphere aloft, his brow furrowed in deep thought.
While the sphere’s power had surprised him, what truly concerned him was the nature of the energy composing it.
The reason Han Li had unhesitatingly purchased the aberrant demon gold from the demon was not just because his spiritual sight had detected something hidden within but also because of an inexplicable, profound intuition.
This object was undoubtedly extraordinary—and seemingly of great importance to him.
For beings at Han Li’s level of cultivation, such intuitive insights were treated with utmost seriousness. Though such premonitions were rare and sometimes unreliable, none would dare ignore them.
Though his spiritual sense had only brushed the crystalline bead before he withdrew in alarm, he had still gleaned some information. However, a definitive conclusion required further probing.
Yet the energy composing the sphere was bizarre—ordinary spiritual sense seemed to agitate it into violent instability.
This turned what should have been simple into a thorny problem.
After a moment of rapid deliberation, Han Li took a deep breath and assumed a solemn expression. Activating both the Great Development Art and the Spirit Refinement Art, his spiritual sense surged dramatically.
Blue light flickered in his eyes, and with a series of sharp *zips*, nearly transparent crystalline threads shot from his brow, vanishing into the restrained gray-white sphere in a flash.
This was the materialized form of spiritual sense—over a hundred threads, a testament to Han Li’s terrifyingly powerful psyche.
The moment the threads entered, the sphere trembled slightly, emitting a low hum as instability threatened once more.
Han Li immediately intensified his incantations.
The golden runes enveloping the sphere flared brilliantly, forming a net that constricted inward.
The restless sphere shuddered and instantly calmed.
With his mind somewhat eased, Han Li closed his eyes and began carefully examining the sphere with his spiritual sense.
After a short while, his expression shifted from bewilderment to elation, then to confusion, before finally settling into a mix of uncertainty.
With a hand seal, the crystalline threads retracted with a series of whistles.
Han Li slowly opened his eyes, his brow deeply furrowed.
“To think there truly exists something that can perfectly fuse demonic and spiritual energy—this is unbelievable. If so, isn’t this object tailor-made for the True Devilish Sage Art? It should be effortlessly convertible into my own mana without refinement. But can such a convenient thing truly exist? Moreover, no records in any texts seem to mention this.” Han Li muttered to himself, visibly hesitant.
“Never mind—I’ll test it first.”
His hesitation didn’t last long before he reached a decision.
Chanting an incantation, he formed a series of hand seals before pointing at the sphere.
The rune-wrapped sphere’s surface began to warp and deform until, with a flash, a portion the size of an egg was cleanly isolated.
Before this isolated segment could destabilize, Han Li ceased his chant and snatched it with a lightning-fast motion. Golden light shimmered as he activated the True Devilish Sage Art.
A golden phantom, ten feet tall, materialized behind him, growing increasingly distinct.
Meanwhile, the gray-white sphere in his hand visibly shrank, vanishing entirely within a few breaths.
“As expected, my conjecture was correct. My true essence has indeed increased by a sliver. If I were to absorb the entire sphere, the gain would be staggering.” Unable to suppress his excitement, Han Li’s lips curled slightly, his eyes alight with joy.
“But what is this? It’s completely devoid of impurities, so how did this appear after conversion?” The next moment, Han Li raised a finger and muttered in puzzlement.
A wisp of faint green energy, barely visible, emerged from his fingertip—no more than a few inches tall and exceedingly slender.
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