Chapter 1524: Chun Li, Qing Pan

Han Li took a step forward, his movement seemingly unhurried, yet his figure blurred and reappeared seven or eight zhang away.

In just a short while, he had already traveled dozens of li.

And this was the result of him exercising caution, not daring to sprint at full speed. Otherwise, with his full effort, he could have already covered hundreds of li.

Back when he had skirted the edges of this Black Mist Sea, even at his fastest flying speed, it had taken him one or two months to traverse just one side of it.

Now, though he didn’t know exactly where in the Mist Sea he was, he reckoned it was impossible to walk out of this area in just a few days.

Thus, Han Li wasn’t overly anxious. He simply walked forward calmly while silently reflecting on his gains and losses in the Abyss and the Netherworld River.

This adventure had placed him in grave danger multiple times, even nearly turning him into a puppet under the control of several demon kings. Yet, his rewards had been substantial.

First, from Mu Qing, he had obtained the true method to wield the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder and a vial of Five-Colored Peacock True Blood. From the Earthblood Old Freak, he had acquired the method to refine spirit puppets, which had also allowed him to comprehend the techniques for crafting the Nine Palaces Heavenly Qian Talisman and the Armor Origin Talisman.

Next, in the Netherworld River, the old man surnamed Jiang had imparted to him the new Qingyuan Sword Art, along with a method to refine the Emerald Swarm Sword anew. It was clear that with some effort in the future, he could elevate the power of his sword formation to a higher level.

However, none of these gains compared in value to the Netherworld River Divine Milk promised by the old man.

Now, he knew that this milk had the miraculous effect of reversing one’s constitution, allowing one to absorb more of the world’s spiritual energy. Such an inconceivable treasure was something he absolutely could not pass up.

With this divine milk, it would be as if he had saved countless years of cultivation time. For someone like Han Li, whose aptitude was ordinary, this was absolutely crucial.

Though most of the items on the old man’s list were extremely rare, as long as he could gather the majority of them, there was still hope.

After all, this transaction wasn’t meant to be completed in a short time. Even if it took him a thousand years to gather the items, it wouldn’t be too late. And with such a long span of time, Han Li was somewhat confident he could accomplish this task.

But for now, his priority was to return to his cave dwelling on the island, digest and absorb the gains from this journey, and focus on cultivating his spiritual power in seclusion. Once his cultivation reached the peak of late-stage Nascent Soul, he could consume the Blackflame Pill to attempt a breakthrough into the Void Refinement stage.

During this journey, he had encountered so many beings at the Soul Formation level or above and witnessed their battles and spellcasting firsthand. He faintly felt that his chances of breaking through to the late-stage Nascent Soul had increased slightly.

Though these beings hadn’t given him much direct guidance, the fact that Mu Qing and others were two major realms above him meant that even just observing them had been highly beneficial.

After all, how many ordinary cultivators ever got the chance to witness battles between Soul Formation-level beings?

Han Li’s thoughts raced, and within moments, he had already planned out his future cultivation path.

Then, with a flick of his wrist over his storage bracelet, a jade slip appeared in his palm—the one given by the old man surnamed Jiang, containing the new Qingyuan Sword Art.

Han Li split his divine sense in two. A smaller portion remained focused on controlling his body as he walked forward, staying alert to his surroundings, while the larger portion delved into the jade slip, silently studying the sword art.

At first, his expression was calm, but as he delved deeper into the sword art, his demeanor gradually turned solemn, and eventually, his brows furrowed tightly.

After the time it took to finish a meal, he let out a long breath and flipped his hand, causing the jade slip to vanish in a flash of azure light.

Han Li’s eyes flickered as he pondered. He had skimmed through the sword art and memorized it.

It was clear that this so-called “new” sword art didn’t make major changes to the original thirteen layers. Even if there were alterations, they wouldn’t affect what he had already learned.

The most significant change was naturally the addition of five new layers at the end.

These new layers corresponded to the three stages of the Nascent Soul period and the early and middle stages of the Void Refinement period. Mastering all of them would allow one to reach the late stage of Void Refinement.

If Han Li hadn’t already cultivated the Sacred Devil Scripture, he might have been highly interested in this sword art.

But now, he could only pick out some useful secret techniques and abilities from the later layers to practice. After all, he was already cultivating both body and magic, so he couldn’t afford to spend too much time on this sword art.

Moreover, it was only because he had already mastered the first thirteen layers and was a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator that he could even consider this. Otherwise, any other high-level cultivator who obtained this sword art would likely be unable to practice any of it.

Among the contents, what interested Han Li the most were the two new sword formations attached to the last five layers.

One was called “Spring Dawn,” and the other “Azure Banner.”

If these two formations were used in conjunction with the last five layers of the sword art, their power would be formidable, allowing one to challenge opponents of higher realms. Even without the last five layers, these formations could still be deployed, but the requirements for the flying swords used would be extremely stringent—they had to be purely wood-attribute swords cultivated to an exceptionally high level.

With Han Li’s current seventy-two Emerald Swarm Swords, they didn’t meet the requirements for these formations. They would need to be refined anew.

Of course, the “Spring Dawn” formation could be practiced and deployed immediately if his swords met the criteria. As for the “Azure Banner” formation, he would need to reach the middle stage of Void Refinement before he could even begin studying it.

With that in mind, Han Li turned his attention to the sword-refining method recorded at the end of the sword art. But after briefly studying it, his expression shifted between surprise and doubt.

The method itself wasn’t complicated, but the refining process would take a long time, and during that period, the swords would be extremely fragile and unusable in battle. Only after the refinement was complete and the swords had been tempered to a state of “sword-heart clarity” could their true power be unleashed.

According to the text, the Gold Essence originally infused into the swords would also need to be removed. This meant the Great Geng Sword Formation could no longer be deployed, which gave Han Li pause.

The lengthy time and temporary loss of his swords weren’t major concerns—he didn’t rely solely on the Emerald Swarm Swords in battle. But losing the Great Geng Sword Formation made him hesitate.

Though the new sword art claimed that the “Spring Dawn” and “Azure Banner” formations far surpassed the Great Geng Formation, making the sacrifice worthwhile, Han Li had never seen the latter two formations in action.

In contrast, the Great Geng Formation had helped him defeat enemies multiple times, so it was only natural for him to feel reluctant.

Since he didn’t plan to cultivate the last five layers of the Qingyuan Sword Art, relying solely on the refined swords, it was hard to say how much of the new formations’ power he could unleash.

If the new formations ended up weaker than the Great Geng Formation in his hands, the loss would outweigh the gain, and he’d have made a grave mistake.

Just as Han Li was hesitating over the sword formations, his expression suddenly shifted. He stopped in his tracks and stood still.

His gaze swept toward the black mist to one side, and his face darkened as he coldly said, “Lurking there so sneakily—are you planning to ambush me?”

As he spoke, he raised a hand, and with a thunderous crack, a thick golden arc shot out, instantly coiling and expanding into a golden lightning ball the size of a human head.

The surface of the ball crackled with electricity, faint golden runes flickering across it, exuding an astonishing aura.

“You’re not a Skywing tribesman?” A surprised voice suddenly came from the direction Han Li was looking.

“Who are you? How do you know that?” Han Li narrowed his eyes and asked slowly.

“Heh, if you were truly a Skywing tribesman, even a mere Spirit General like you wouldn’t be able to remain unharmed here, let alone a Spirit Commander,” the voice replied coldly.

“Oh? From your tone, you seem quite familiar with the Skywing tribesmen and this place. But why hide in the shadows? Why not come out and talk?” As soon as Han Li finished speaking, the golden lightning ball in his hand vanished with a flicker.

In the next moment, a golden flash erupted in the black mist as the lightning ball reappeared out of thin air and exploded with a deafening roar.

Amid the golden light, a shadowy figure darted out of the mist, flickering several times before appearing about ten zhang in front of Han Li.

Upon closer inspection, Han Li was startled. Before him stood a green-faced youth with two white curved horns on his head.

When Han Li scanned the figure with his divine sense, he discovered it was a Void Refinement-stage being, exuding a faintly familiar aura.

Puzzled, Han Li quickly recalled where he had sensed this aura before and exclaimed in surprise, “A Frost Beast! You’re a high-ranking Frost Beast clansman! No—your yin energy is so dense. You’ve cultivated ghostly techniques!”

The horned youth’s expression changed drastically upon hearing Han Li identify his origins in an instant. But then, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he snarled, “Brat, I was going to let you go, but now that you’ve recognized me, it doesn’t matter which branch of the Flying Spirit Tribe you’re from—you won’t leave here alive!”

With that, the youth suddenly opened his mouth and exhaled a gust of gray yin wind, which surged toward Han Li like a tidal wave.

The man had immediately decided to silence Han Li after being exposed.

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Han Li felt a pang of regret. But seeing the other party attack, he instead smiled.

Without any grand movements, the gray light around him suddenly intensified several times over, swirling around him like a vortex. When the yin wind reached him, it split apart as if repelled, flowing past him on either side.

The horned youth was startled but quickly slapped the top of his head. The two curved horns silently detached, transforming into a pair of gleaming white scimitars that landed in his hands.

With the twin blades in hand, the youth grinned savagely, brimming with confidence. With a stomp of his foot, he shot toward Han Li in a blur of afterimages.

Seeing the demon opting for close combat, a strange glint flashed in Han Li’s eyes. He stood his ground, unmoving, as a golden light erupted from his body. Golden scales emerged across his skin, and with a low hum, a three-headed, six-armed golden phantom materialized behind him.