In an instant, the silver firebird flapped its wings, and its body swelled once more, transforming into a colossal figure hundreds of feet tall. Its feathers blazed with rolling flames, illuminating the upper half of the valley in a brilliant silver glow.
Han Li observed this scene with a sharp glint in his eyes. He formed a hand seal and uttered the word, “Absorb.”
The Spirit Devouring Firebird immediately lowered its head and spewed a torrent of silver flames downward, engulfing the black ice near the frigid pool.
All the ice dissolved at an astonishing speed, with flecks of silver light emerging from within and swiftly merging into the silver flames.
Within a single breath, all the ice had vanished without a trace, exposing the frigid pool once more. The silver flames surged downward, enveloping the water’s surface.
Amidst the flickering flames, the extreme cold emanating from the pool transformed into strands of silver mist, effortlessly devoured and assimilated by the silver flames, causing their intensity to grow even fiercer.
The Spirit Devouring True Flame was originally a variant of yin-yang fusion, and after Han Li’s repeated refinements using external aids, it had become an even more enigmatic existence in the world, capable of refining and integrating extreme cold and yang elements to further enhance its power.
When the Asura Spider Clan had first unsealed the frigid pool, the Spirit Devouring True Flame within Han Li had grown wildly restless, displaying an intense craving for the cold energy here.
This had both surprised and delighted Han Li.
After so many years, he had never seen the Spirit Devouring True Flame react so strongly.
During his travels in the Spirit Realm, he had encountered several regions of extreme cold, but even when facing cold energies it could absorb, the flame had never reacted so violently.
Moreover, Han Li was confident that the extreme cold that had stumped the Asura Spiders could be easily resolved by the Spirit Devouring True Flame’s peculiar abilities alone.
However, he naturally had no intention of revealing the flame’s ability to devour cold energy, nor did he wish to display it in front of others.
Thus, he had allowed the Asura Spider woman and her kin to continue using their array-assisted method to retrieve the treasure.
Now, Han Li hovered above the valley, quietly observing the scene below with a faint trace of anticipation on his face.
But as time passed, the cold energy surging from the pool gradually weakened, as if the upper layers had been nearly exhausted by the Spirit Devouring True Flame.
Han Li frowned and pointed at the firebird from afar.
The bird spun in midair, rapidly shrinking until it was only about ten feet in size. With a clear cry, it transformed into a fireball and shot downward.
With a *whoosh*, the moment the firebird plunged into the silver flames below, all the flames condensed violently, as if swept by a hurricane, and were completely absorbed into the bird’s body.
A flash of silver light later, the firebird dove beneath the water’s surface and vanished.
Only faint rumbling sounds could be heard from the depths of the pool, accompanied by flickering silver light.
Han Li closed his eyes slightly, maintaining his hand seal while murmuring an incantation under his breath.
The cold energy emerging from the pool now dissipated at an even faster rate.
An hour later, when the silver firebird soared out of the depths with another long cry, all the cold energy within the pool had vanished, leaving no trace of chill behind.
The pool had now become indistinguishable from an ordinary body of water.
Han Li opened his eyes, gazing at the Spirit Devouring Firebird with a hint of joy.
Though the firebird’s body was wreathed in silver flames, beneath the raging fire, its form had taken on a crystalline, almost solid appearance.
Clearly, after absorbing the pool’s extreme cold, the firebird had undergone another transformation.
Of course, this change was only just beginning.
The cold energy of this pool was so intense that even ordinary Mahayana cultivators would hesitate to venture deep within.
Despite the Spirit Devouring Firebird’s innate marvels, it couldn’t fully refine such a vast amount of cold energy in such a short time. It had merely forcibly absorbed it into its body to slowly refine later.
Han Li took a light breath and adjusted his hand seal slightly, preparing to recall the firebird.
But at that moment, the firebird suddenly opened its beak and spat out a ball of white light, shooting straight toward Han Li.
Startled, Han Li reflexively blurred his arm and caught the orb in his hand.
Looking down, he saw a translucent, egg-sized crystal sphere, icy cold to the touch.
Had it not been for his formidable protective spiritual light and his incredibly robust physique, his hand might have been injured the moment he touched it.
“Interesting! Did you find this below?” Han Li asked curiously, glancing at the firebird.
But the silver firebird merely hovered silently before him, showing no reaction.
“Ah, I forgot—with your limited sentience, how could you answer?” Han Li chuckled wryly after a moment of confusion.
He examined the crystal sphere in his palm once more, focusing his divine sense to probe it.
But the next instant, his expression changed, and he let out a soft exclamation.
The moment his divine sense touched the sphere’s surface, it slid right off, as if his hand held nothing at all.
Puzzled, Han Li thought for a moment before tapping his forehead with a finger. With a *hiss*, a crystalline thread shot out and vanished into the sphere.
It was his crystallized divine sense!
“So that’s how it is!”
This time, realization dawned on Han Li’s face. After a brief hesitation, he tossed the sphere into the air and pointed at it solemnly.
A thunderous crack echoed as a golden arc shot from his fingertip, striking the sphere midair.
The crystal orb spun wildly, covered in crackling electricity, before shattering with a crisp sound.
As a wave of intense cold dispersed, a faint blue object emitting spatial fluctuations was revealed before Han Li.
Inside the icy sphere had been a thumb-sized pearl, radiating powerful spatial energy.
After a moment of contemplation, Han Li roughly understood the situation.
The sacred relic of the Voidfish Clan hidden in the pool wasn’t a single item but two—one large and one small.
The larger one was the pale blue stone the Asura Spider woman had taken, while the smaller was this crystal pearl.
On the surface, both emitted similar spatial law fluctuations. But since the latter had been deliberately concealed, even evading the divine sense of Mahayana cultivators, it was likely far more important in the eyes of the Voidfish Clan.
As for the exact reason, only the Voidfish Clan would know.
After a moment of thought, Han Li flipped his hand and produced a jade box. With a wave, he drew the pearl inside, sealed the lid, and affixed several restriction talismans to it.
Immediately, the spatial fluctuations from within were completely cut off.
Han Li stored the box away and then summoned the Spirit Devouring Firebird with another hand seal.
The silver firebird let out a clear cry, rapidly shrinking into a ball of silver flame that shot into Han Li’s sleeve and vanished.
Han Li then stomped his foot, summoning a green streak of light that carried him into the sky. After a brief hover, he shot off in a specific direction—toward the Fire Vein where the Voidfish Clan resided.
At the same time, the Asura Spider Matriarch, returning to the stone city atop her giant eagle, spoke worriedly to the blood-robed girl:
“Leaving the Voidfish Clan outside now—won’t that be a problem? Their existence is already known to outsiders. And with the sacred relic we took, they might connect the dots.”
“Mother, didn’t you already send people to monitor them? Let the Voidfish Clan fend for themselves. Their crystal cores may refine spatial energy, but this branch has degenerated so much that even their adults barely reach the Void Refinement stage. They can’t extract true spatial laws.
“Before, we needed their cores in hopes of gaining spatial manipulation abilities by absorbing their power. But after years of experimentation, I found the method nearly useless. The spatial laws I comprehended came from a different path—otherwise, I’d never have grasped spacetime laws by now,” the blood-robed girl replied indifferently.
“A different path?” The Matriarch was startled.
“Indeed. Now that we have the Voidfish Clan’s relic, we no longer need as many of their cores. Our current stockpile is sufficient. There’s no need to clash with those outsiders over this.
“Once we return, I’ll first refine that man’s Nascent Soul in seclusion, then delve deeper into spacetime laws. After I emerge, I can extract a seed of spacetime law and impart it to you. Then, both of us could wield this supreme power. With that, no realm could hinder our clan’s dominance,” the girl said with a faint smile.
“True. With your current cultivation and spacetime power, you can rival ordinary Mahayana cultivators. If you advance to Mahayana, you’d instantly rank among the top-tier beings, second only to True Dragons and Heavenly Phoenixes. Few could oppose you then,” the Matriarch agreed, her face alight with joy.
The girl giggled but didn’t respond, though her expression tacitly affirmed the Matriarch’s words.
…
With a *pop*, yellow light dissipated above the underground lava lake, and Han Li materialized. Scanning the area, his brow furrowed slightly.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage