Chapter 2307: Spirit Infant Lamp

Mo Jianli’s expression flickered slightly, his gaze fixed on the jade box with intense fervor.

Han Li merely watched calmly, revealing no hint of emotion.

Xue Ran inwardly sighed in relief.

At this moment, Hei Lin had already taken the jade box into his hand. He removed the talisman and opened the lid, causing a loud thunderous roar as a translucent jade token, half a foot long, flew out.

The surface of the jade token was wreathed in arcs of lightning, with countless golden runes flickering faintly. It exuded an astonishingly powerful aura of thunder.

“Is this the Three Pure Thunderbolt Talisman?” Hei Lin murmured, unable to conceal his ecstasy.

“Brother Ling, I have also brought three Rakshasa Spider Cores. Would you like to inspect them?” This time, Mo Jianli spoke before Xue Ran could, taking the initiative.

Upon hearing this, Xue Ran’s expression darkened, and he seemed about to say something.

However, the white-robed elder waved his hand and laughed heartily in response:

“Rest assured, everyone. Although I don’t have many Thunderbolt Talismans in my possession, they are sufficient to exchange for the cores you’ve brought. There’s no need to worry.”

“If that’s the case, then I’m relieved,” Mo Jianli chuckled, but with a flick of his hand, he still tossed a green wooden box forward first.

Xue Ran snorted and, unwilling to be outdone, produced a storage bracelet and swiftly threw it out as well.

Only Han Li remained seated steadily, seemingly unconcerned about the possibility of the Thunderbolt Talismans running out.

The white-robed elder cast a deep glance at Han Li, then flicked his sleeve, collecting the cores from Xue Ran and Mo Jianli. After a brief inspection, he tossed out two more jade boxes, each sealed with talismans.

Mo Jianli and Xue Ran both perked up, grabbing the incoming items, removing the talismans, and opening the lids, their faces alight with excitement.

“Fellow Daoist Han, do you not wish to exchange for a Thunderbolt Talisman, or have you returned empty-handed this time?” The Spirit King blinked and asked Han Li with a smile.

“Returning empty-handed is naturally impossible. However, I’d like to ask first—how many Thunderbolt Talismans do you have left, Brother Ling?” Han Li smiled faintly and countered without showing any emotion.

“How many? Could it be that you’ve obtained a large number of Rakshasa Spider Cores this time?” The white-robed elder’s expression finally showed a hint of surprise.

Han Li merely chuckled without further explanation.

Seeing this, Xue Ran, Mo Jianli, and the others couldn’t help but look puzzled.

After all, when they had obtained the cores from the Rakshasa Spider Clan, each of them had only managed to secure three. How could Han Li now imply he had more?

The white-robed elder pondered for a moment before relaxing his expression and saying:

“To be honest, these Three Pure Thunderbolt Talismans are considered treasures of our Spirit Race. I don’t have many left. Apart from the ones exchanged with the three of you, I only have two remaining. If you truly have more Rakshasa Spider Cores, you’re welcome to take them all.”

“Good. Then I’ll exchange for two more,” Han Li said decisively, narrowing his eyes.

With a flip of his palm, a flash of spiritual light revealed a jade box and a foot-long crystalline sword.

With a flick of his wrist, the two items shot out as two streaks of white light.

The white-robed elder instinctively reached out and caught them. Instead of immediately opening the jade box, he curiously examined the crystalline sword first.

“This is…”

After a brief moment, the Spirit King let out a soft exclamation, his gaze on the sword suddenly filled with realization.

“Haha, you’ve recognized it. This flying sword was taken from a powerful enemy in the Lesser Rakshasa Realm. It was forged using Rakshasa Spider Cores—three or four of them, in fact. There were originally five swords, but four were destroyed in battle, leaving only this one intact,” Han Li explained calmly.

Hearing this, Xue Ran and the others understood.

This sword was one of the five crystalline swords the Elder Yi had used to manipulate time.

Although four had been destroyed by Han Li during the fight, the last one had fallen to the ground uncontrollably, only to be secretly retrieved by Han Li later.

Given how fiercely Elder Yi had fought the Rakshasa Spiders, it wasn’t impossible for him to have obtained so many cores to forge the swords.

However, using the cores directly to craft flying swords was an ingenious idea.

As for the jade box Han Li had tossed, it naturally contained three more Rakshasa Spider Cores.

After verifying the items, the white-robed elder’s face lit up with joy, and he promptly handed over the remaining two Thunderbolt Talismans to Han Li.

For him, the more Time Threads that could be extracted, the better.

Of course, he had no intention of reneging on his promise of three additional treasures for each person.

He personally led the group to an underground treasure vault, allowing Han Li and the others to freely select their rewards.

Thus, their visit to the Spirit Race concluded with everyone satisfied.

Having achieved their goals, the group didn’t linger on Fuling Mountain and soon bid farewell to the Spirit King.

After a few polite words, the white-robed elder didn’t press them to stay.

The four then split into two groups, leaving the hall one after another and flying away from the Spirit Race’s sacred mountain.

Han Li and Mo Jianli departed directly for the location where the Mo Spirit Flying Ship, carrying Silvermoon and the others, was waiting.

Half a day later, the two descended into a hidden valley.

Silvermoon, Zhu Guo’er, Hua Shi, and the others were overjoyed to see Han Li and Mo Jianli.

Before long, a deep hum echoed through the valley as an ink-black giant ship soared into the sky, heading straight back toward the human race’s territory.

In a secluded chamber on the lower deck of the ship, Han Li sat cross-legged at the center.

Before him floated several objects:

An ancient lamp, two jade tokens crackling with arcs of lightning, a five-colored orb, and a milky-white vial.

These were all the spoils of his journey—no small haul by any measure.

After studying the items for a while, Han Li’s brow twitched, and he pointed a finger at one of the jade tokens.

*Zzzzt!*

Countless golden runes surged across the token’s surface, and a bolt of lightning flashed out, striking his fingertip and dispersing into countless electric threads.

His finger went numb, and his entire hand momentarily lost sensation, its surface slightly blackened.

Han Li’s heart tightened. He immediately channeled his true essence, sending a surge of spiritual power into his hand.

The numbness faded, and the blackened skin restored itself, now gleaming with golden light.

“As expected of a legendary immortal-grade talisman. Let’s hope it proves useful against the heavenly tribulation,” Han Li murmured, his face showing satisfaction.

He then flipped his hand, producing two jade boxes, and stored the tokens inside before making them vanish.

Next, he glanced at the remaining items and reached out toward the ancient lamp.

*Poof!*

The treasure trembled before appearing in his palm.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the lamp carefully.

This artifact could summon a peacock avatar similar to the Mulan Sacred Bird, suggesting it had an extraordinary origin.

Considering that Elder Yi was a member of the Five-Colored Race and his true form was that of a peacock, the connection between him and the peacock conjured by this treasure became even more intriguing.

However, apart from the densely packed spirit patterns on its surface, the lamp was made of incredibly rare materials—some of which even Han Li, with his vast knowledge, couldn’t identify.

The few he did recognize were exceedingly precious, leaving him inwardly astonished.

After some thought, Han Li seemed to reach a decision. He formed a hand seal, and a crystalline thread shot from between his brows, vanishing into the lamp.

He then closed his eyes, beginning to unravel the mysteries of the treasure.

Time passed slowly. After a full day and night, the crystalline thread trembled and retracted abruptly.

At the same time, Han Li’s expression shifted, and he opened his eyes with a trace of delight.

“Soul Nurturing Lamp. So that’s its name. How marvelous! No wonder it could summon a peacock spirit—it was crafted from a wisp of its essence!”

Han Li was overjoyed.

This so-called “Soul Nurturing Lamp” was a rare treasure capable of housing and strengthening split souls.

While other magical tools could also store fragments of a soul, over time and separated from the main body, these fragments would inevitably weaken and dissipate unless they evolved into independent entities.

With this lamp, however, a split soul could not only avoid such decay but also grow stronger under its nourishing effects.

With the right techniques, this split soul could even be refined into a soul avatar akin to an external incarnation. And no matter how powerful this avatar became, as long as the lamp remained in hand, there was no risk of backlash.

Under the right conditions, the lamp’s owner could even cultivate the soul avatar to surpass the main body in strength.

Han Li took a deep breath, his gaze burning as he looked at the lamp.

At his current level of cultivation, his second demonic infant had become too weak to be of much assistance.

He had long considered nurturing a second incarnation.

The appearance of this treasure was perfectly timed for his needs.

After carefully inspecting the lamp several more times to confirm its soul-nurturing properties and the absence of hidden traps, he cautiously implanted a wisp of his soul into it.

As for how to cultivate this soul avatar once the split soul grew stronger, he would need to deliberate further.

With a flick of his sleeve, Han Li stored the Soul Nurturing Lamp away.

Next, his gaze shifted to the small vial.

Inside it was the small quantity of Black Tortoise True Blood.

By consuming this blood and refining it with the Spirit Refinement Technique, he could significantly advance his transformation abilities.

Ironically, he had once believed that collecting all twelve types of true blood recorded in the Spirit Refinement Technique was impossible, let alone mastering all twelve transformations.

Yet so far, he had already mastered half of them—True Dragon, Heavenly Phoenix, Thunder Roc, Azure Luan, Five-Colored Peacock, and Mountain Giant Ape.

If he could now master the Black Tortoise form, the remaining transformations no longer seemed like pipe dreams.

He couldn’t help but wonder how overwhelmingly powerful his spirit form would become if he mastered all twelve transformations.

After all, each additional transformation exponentially increased the potency of the others.

Lost in thought, Han Li reached out and grabbed the vial. He opened it and downed the contents in one gulp.