“Han brat, don’t you want to form your Nascent Soul? The true greatest effect of the Heavenmend Pill is actually to temper and refine a Core Formation cultivator’s innate spiritual roots, making it easier for them to advance to the Nascent Soul stage,” Xuan Gu suddenly said coldly.
“Refine spiritual roots? Do you take me for a three-year-old child? How could there be such a heaven-defying elixir in this world?” Han Li was silent for a moment before turning around, narrowing his eyes slightly. His face was full of disbelief!
“Heh heh, whether you believe it or not is up to you. But do you really think I’ve lived all these years in vain? Back in the day, I captured a Star Palace elder-level cultivator and used soul-searching and spirit-refining techniques to force this information out of him. As for the rumors circulating outside that this pill can break through Nascent Soul bottlenecks, greatly increase magic power, and extend lifespan—those are completely false. Because a previous palace lord of Star Palace once took out a Heavenmend Pill and personally consumed it.”
“And you already have the Ninecurl Spirit Ginseng. If combined with the effects of the Heavenmend Pill, it could increase your chances of forming a Nascent Soul to thirty or forty percent. If you miss this treasure-hunting opportunity and wait for the next one three hundred years from now, even if you get the Heavenmend Pill then, it won’t have any effect. Because the Heavenmend Pill isn’t easy to refine; the entire process of spiritual root tempering takes at least a hundred years to complete. You need to think this through clearly.” A trace of indifference showed at the corner of Xuan Gu’s mouth as he spoke unhurriedly.
“A thirty to forty percent chance of forming a Nascent Soul?” Han Li’s heart raced.
Seemingly reading Han Li’s thoughts, Xuan Gu smiled slightly and added, “As for your concern about the commotion during the treasure retrieval, you can set your mind at ease. Even if the sky falls and the earth splits inside this platform, aside from seeing it with their own eyes, outsiders won’t be able to sense any abnormalities with their spiritual sense. Otherwise, why do you think this famously renowned Celestial Shield from ancient times has such a great reputation? And if you’re worried that one Bloodjade Spider alone can’t successfully retrieve the treasure, don’t forget—I am Ji Yin’s master and have switched to cultivating the ghostly path. If even he knows corpse-refining techniques, how could I not know them?”
After saying this, Xuan Gu immediately opened his mouth and spat out a fist-sized ball of fluorescent light that shot straight toward the Bloodjade Spider corpse on the altar. In the blink of an eye, the light transformed into a large cloud of faint green mist that enveloped the corpse. The green mist was quickly absorbed completely by the corpse. Moments later, the two previously motionless halves of the corpse automatically joined together. Then, green light shone brightly at the break, and a fully restored Bloodjade Spider staggered to its feet.
Watching this scene, Han Li’s face remained calm, but inwardly he was utterly astonished. The world of cultivation truly had no end of wonders—there really were such bizarre spells that could instantly turn a corpse into a refined zombie.
“How’s my corpse-refining technique? Although this spider zombie won’t be able to move for long and its abilities are far inferior to when it was alive, it should be no problem working with your Bloodjade Spider to retrieve the treasure. After we retrieve the treasure, I don’t want a single Heavenmend Pill from the tripod—you can have them all. And I can give you half of the ancient treasures in the Void Heaven Cauldron, but the Void Heaven Cauldron itself must go to me. How does this deal sound to you?” Xuan Gu manipulated the spider zombie to take a few steps before turning to face Han Li, speaking with full confidence.
“Hmph, even if you describe it as flowers falling from the sky, how do I know you won’t immediately turn hostile once the Void Heaven Cauldron is retrieved? After all, both your cultivation and techniques are superior to mine.” Han Li first pondered for a moment, a strange light flashing in his eyes, before speaking bluntly.
Hearing this, Xuan Gu actually felt secretly pleased. Although Han Li’s tone was somewhat harsh, he clearly already agreed and was compromising to seventy or eighty percent. He just wanted to bargain a bit more.
So Xuan Gu smiled broadly and quickly said, “Han Li, you’re too modest! If I’m not mistaken, if we were to truly fight with all our strength, the outcome would be fifty-fifty. It definitely wouldn’t be decided in a short time. With others likely to return at any moment, do you think I would be so unwise to engage in a desperate fight with you? Of course, as long as you agree to help me retrieve the treasure, I’ll give you the alchemy formula for the Ninecurl Spirit Ginseng right now as a token of my sincerity in joining forces with you.”
After saying this, Xuan Gu unhesitatingly flipped his palm, and an antique white jade slip appeared in his hand, which he then threw toward Han Li.
Han Li quickly raised his hand and made a gentle grasping motion toward the incoming jade slip. A blue light flashed, and the white jade slip, wrapped in a blue light sphere, landed lightly in his palm.
Seeing Han Li being so cautious, Xuan Gu just chuckled lightly without saying anything. Han Li had already begun rapidly scanning the contents of the jade slip with his spiritual sense.
Although there was no time to carefully study the formula’s authenticity, it didn’t appear to be forged. It indeed mentioned the Ninecurl Spirit Ginseng and included two or three auxiliary ingredients Han Li had never heard of.
After a moment’s thought, Han Li unceremoniously stored the jade slip in his storage pouch. Then he looked up and stared calmly at Xuan Gu, saying, “Fine, I agree to this deal. Let’s start retrieving the treasure immediately!”
Once decided, Han Li wouldn’t drag his feet and allow the danger to increase. He immediately slapped a spirit beast pouch, and a white light shot out—another Bloodjade Spider appeared ferociously before them.
“Excellent, that’s more like it.” Excitement appeared on Xuan Gu’s face as he also walked onto the platform and commanded the spider zombie to first spit out a web, preparing to pull.
On his side, Han Li calmly commanded the Bloodjade Spider to similarly spit out a milky white web that covered the Void Heaven Cauldron below the hole.
“Hurry up. We don’t have much time. Although I’m restricted by my techniques and cannot perform berserk spells, I can still use some auxiliary magic, though the effects are somewhat weaker.” Xuan Gu shot several spells of different colors at Han Li’s Bloodjade Spider while explaining to him.
Immediately, this last Bloodjade Spider entered a berserk state. Besides its bright blood-red color, black and green lights of two different colors intertwined and flowed continuously over its body, creating a somewhat eerie appearance.
Han Li slightly frowned but didn’t say anything. After all, without these auxiliary spells, the Bloodjade Spider indeed couldn’t pull the Void Heaven Cauldron.
Then the Bloodjade Spider and the spider zombie simultaneously exerted force, beginning to pull outward. Similarly, the platform shook violently, and blue light shot forth.
This time, without the scholarly-robed old man’s protective spells, they could only rely on themselves. Han Li hurriedly deployed a fire-attribute protective barrier around himself and maximized the power of the Lingxi Jade, making his entire body seem bathed in a ball of blazing white light. Additionally, he activated the Green Yuan Sword Shield at the innermost layer. A layer of green shimmering shield appeared closely attached to Han Li’s body, with faint golden specks mixed within the green radiance.
Meanwhile, Xuan Gu’s body also became enveloped in dense green energy, with thick ghostly qi protecting him thoroughly.
Not bad! Although Han Li still felt the piercing cold under the assault of the blue chill, by circulating the Green Yuan Sword Art at full power within his body, he could barely avoid being frostbitten.
This made Han Li deeply appreciate the vast difference between Nascent Soul cultivators and Core Formation cultivators. That scholarly-robed old man had casually deployed a protective barrier that excluded all the cold air without a hint of chill.
Han Li sighed and focused most of his attention on the hole, while keeping a small part vigilant against Xuan Gu. After all, no matter how sweet-talking this old demon was, Han Li needed to maintain extreme caution around him.
Under the strenuous pulling of the Bloodjade Spiders, the Void Heaven Cauldron reenacted the scene of being hauled up from before. It was gradually being pulled upward.
For some reason, compared to last time, Han Li felt this treasure retrieval was taking an extremely long time. Every inch the spider silk moved seemed to take considerable time, making Han Li grow anxious. If those old demons returned early, it would be extremely bad.
Xuan Gu within the green energy seemed extremely calm. However, as the blue light at the hole grew increasingly dazzling, a fanatical light gradually appeared in his eyes.
Under their watch, time slowly passed, and the Void Heaven Cauldron was pulled higher and higher.
Who knew where Man Huzi had led those old monsters? No one else had returned to this place yet. While Han Li remained worried, he also felt secretly fortunate.
Suddenly, both Han Li and Xuan Gu, who were closely watching the hole, simultaneously flew upward. Then the top of the blue flame finally emerged from the hole, the enormous blue flower blooming once again, transforming the entire platform back into a world of blue ice.
Han Li stared intently at the vague black shadow within the blue icy flame, his heart pounding wildly.
Last time when the treasure tripod emerged from the hole, he hadn’t gotten a good look at it because he was focused on the old demons’ movements. Now he finally had the chance to truly witness this treasure’s real appearance.
Although only a small portion was visible, Han Li could already see the full form of the Void Heaven Cauldron.
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