Chapter 1784: Jiuxian Mountain

Thus, the two of them set off together in a rather muddled state.

However, both were quite alert, preferring to take longer routes and avoid remote, dangerous areas, so they encountered no major threats along the way.

It wasn’t until they reached a small town—shortly before meeting Han Li—that they inadvertently offended a minor local cultivation family, bringing trouble upon themselves. They were pursued by several cultivators of the same rank.

Had they not encountered Han Li, the two might have faced serious consequences.

Now, in the eyes of Hai Dashao and Qi Lingzi, this “Brother Han” they met on the road was truly somewhat mysterious.

Not only was his cultivation just a step away from the Core Formation stage, but he also possessed several mystical magical artifacts.

Moreover, his casual pointers on cultivation insights benefited them greatly—far beyond what they could ever hope to achieve on their own.

When Hai Dashao first received Han Li’s guidance on body-refining techniques, he was stunned for quite a while.

After all, it was extremely rare for a cultivator to be so knowledgeable about body-refining methods.

Because of this, Han Li became increasingly enigmatic in their eyes.

Fortunately, both Hai Dashao and Qi Lingzi were the type to be naturally outgoing and familiar with others. So even though they knew Han Li was no ordinary cultivator, they still addressed him warmly as “Brother Han” without hesitation.

Had Han Li’s cultivation not been relatively low, the two might have shamelessly begged to become his disciples on the spot.

After all, despite Qi Lingzi’s constant talk of reviving the Mist Sea Temple, his careless remarks revealed that he was actually planning to find a new master at the Myriad Treasures Convention.

He had no attachment whatsoever to his current title as the “Abbot” of the Mist Sea Temple.

Yet, paradoxically, Qi Lingzi repeatedly tried to recruit Han Li and Hai Dashao into the temple along the way, as if he wanted to indulge in the role of “Abbot” one last time before seeking a new master.

This naturally earned him a round of teasing from Hai Dashao, while Han Li could only smile wryly.

And so, after traveling with the two for about a month, Han Li arrived at this mountain peak, just a stone’s throw from the Black Tortoise Realm, intending to rest briefly before continuing.

Just moments ago, Qi Lingzi had once again boasted endlessly about the Mist Sea Temple, repeating the same recruitment pitch he had made countless times before, prompting Hai Dashao to firmly refuse without hesitation.

Meanwhile, Han Li, though seemingly amused, had a faint blue glint in the depths of his eyes as he subtly observed Hai Dashao.

Suddenly, a trace of unnatural redness flashed across Hai Dashao’s face, disappearing in the span of a single breath.

“It’s happening!”

Han Li inwardly exclaimed, releasing a wisp of divine sense to swiftly sweep through Hai Dashao’s body.

“Haha, I’m not bragging. With my wind-attribute spiritual root, becoming a disciple of a Deity Transformation or Void Refinement cultivator would be a piece of cake. Once I master my immortal arts, I’ll definitely…” Hai Dashao, caught up in his excitement, rambled on about his future achievements—how he would master his techniques and become a Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation grandmaster.

Unbeknownst to him, the very wind-attribute spiritual root he prided himself on had mysteriously vanished.

If any cultivator were to inspect his body now, they would only see an ordinary body-refiner with no spiritual roots at all.

Han Li’s eyelids twitched slightly, his heart filled with shock.

Just like last time, Hai Dashao’s spiritual root had disappeared again.

If he wasn’t mistaken, within a day and night, the spiritual root would reappear.

The exact same thing had happened ten days ago right before his eyes.

How bizarre! He had never heard of a spiritual root that could vanish temporarily.

If that were the case, wouldn’t it mean that during the period when the spiritual root disappeared, even if one possessed immense spiritual power, they would be unable to cast spells or channel their spiritual energy?

A strange expression flickered across Han Li’s face as he pondered this deeply.

“Brother Han, why are you spacing out? You look a bit off. How about trying some of our Mist Sea Temple’s spiritual tea? But in return, you should take out a few more of those spirit fruits. The taste from last time was truly unforgettable!” Qi Lingzi, surprisingly sharp, noticed Han Li’s odd expression and, with a sly grin, made his request.

“Qi Lingzi’s right. The spirit fruits you shared last time were absolutely delicious!” Hai Dashao, snapping out of his grand speech, also turned eager eyes toward Han Li.

“I knew you two would still be thinking about those fruits. It’s not that I’m stingy, but these ‘Condensed Pearl Fruits,’ while uniquely delicious, contain an extraordinary amount of pure spiritual energy. Eating too many at once could harm your meridians. Fine, I’ll take out six more—two for each of us.” Seeing how quickly they had turned their attention to his spirit fruits, Han Li’s face twitched slightly before he coughed dryly and flicked his sleeve. A pristine white jade plate appeared on the stone table, holding six emerald-green fruits, each the size of an egg and perfectly round like pearls.

“Haha, two is better than nothing! And strangely enough, after eating them last time, my cultivation improved noticeably. If that’s the case, Brother Han, tell me where to buy these Condensed Pearl Fruits. I’ll stock up! Then I won’t need pills or meditation—just eat a couple every few days, and my cultivation will soar!” Qi Lingzi exclaimed excitedly, staring at the fruits.

But before he could finish, a black shadow flashed, and two of the fruits vanished from the plate.

Qi Lingzi blinked, then realized Hai Dashao had already grabbed one in each hand, biting into them greedily.

“Such waste!” Qi Lingzi shook his head in dismay.

Hai Dashao, however, rolled his eyes, ignoring the little Taoist’s distress, savoring the burst of flavor with relish.

Han Li could only sigh inwardly, amused.

If these two knew that each of these fruits was worth over a thousand spirit stones, would they still eat them so carelessly?

But this Qi Lingzi was no ordinary fellow either.

Han Li’s gaze shifted, narrowing slightly as he studied the young Taoist.

Qi Lingzi’s spiritual roots were indeed of the common triple-attribute type. But after careful observation over the past days, Han Li had discovered a bean-sized, light-shrouded orb hidden in his dantian.

Only Han Li’s vastly superior divine sense allowed him to detect it—even cultivators several ranks higher than Qi Lingzi would have missed it.

Curious, Han Li had stealthily probed the orb with his divine sense, only to encounter a vast sealing force.

“A legacy artifact!”

Han Li immediately recognized it.

Some cultivators, to prevent their knowledge from being lost, would seal their life’s learnings into a special artifact and implant it into a descendant or disciple.

These artifacts usually had specific activation conditions. If unmet, they would remain hidden within the recipient.

Typically, once the inheritor reached a certain cultivation level, they would automatically gain access to the techniques and secrets within.

Alternatively, if the inheritor neared the end of their lifespan, they could extract the artifact and pass it to another. However, if an outsider tried to forcibly remove it, the artifact would self-destruct, killing the inheritor.

The method to craft such legacy artifacts was exceedingly rare and difficult, making them an unusual form of inheritance.

Finding one in Qi Lingzi was unexpected.

It seemed the founder of this so-called “Mist Sea Temple” was no ordinary ascended cultivator.

But with the numerous great divine abilities Han Li already possessed, he had no interest in others’ techniques. After a brief moment of surprise, he turned his attention back to the handsome Hai Dashao.

A disappearing spiritual root—what kind of bizarre phenomenon was this?

It had piqued his curiosity, something that rarely happened.

After Qi Lingzi brewed some fragrant spiritual tea for them to enjoy and they finished the remaining fruits, the three wasted no more time lingering.

Han Li summoned his flying carriage once more, and with the two in tow, they transformed into a streak of white light, speeding toward the Black Tortoise Realm.

The Black Tortoise Realm was quite different from the Tianyuan Realm!

Though it had fewer cultivators than the Tianyuan and Tianling Realms, the number of mortal body-refiners far surpassed the other two.

Its people were fiercely martial—even the elderly, women, and children dared to wield weapons and fight beasts in the wild.

However, large mortal cities were scarce in the Black Tortoise Realm. Most settlements took the form of small towns or mountain strongholds scattered across the vast land.

Moreover, as the only one of the three realms bordering the Seven Demon Lands, the Black Tortoise Realm faced far more frequent and severe beast tides, with low-level demonic beasts appearing much more often.

High-level shape-shifting demonic beasts occasionally infiltrated the realm to cause trouble.

Thus, the Black Tortoise Realm was the most chaotic of the three, growing increasingly lawless the closer one got to the demonic territories.

Mount Jiuxian, a colossal spirit mountain straddling the border between the Black Tortoise Realm and the Fox Demon Lands, was an exception.

The mountain, divided into nine peaks, not only housed rare top-grade spirit veins but also produced unique spiritual herbs beneficial to both humans and demons.

Due to its treacherous terrain and strategic location, Mount Jiuxian was jointly controlled by elite forces from both races.

Even the most reckless individuals from either side dared not stir trouble near the mountain.

In recent years, security had tightened further. Both races dispatched large numbers of enforcers to purge the area of notorious minor factions.

Within just five or six years, the mountain had become a rare haven of order in the Black Tortoise Realm.

And now, the Millennial Myriad Treasures Convention—a grand event jointly hosted by humans and demons—was about to commence here.