Han Li did not immediately collect the two clusters of cold flames. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, lost in deep thought.
Suddenly, a peculiar glint flashed in his eyes as he glanced back at the Five Ghosts behind him, then looked down at the two clusters of cold flames below. In an instant, it seemed he had figured something out and burst into loud laughter.
The laughter reverberated through the cavern, echoing endlessly.
“Excellent! It seems this trip was truly worthwhile!” Han Li murmured to himself as his laughter subsided.
He raised both hands and made a beckoning motion toward the cold flames below. An invisible force lifted them, and in the blink of an eye, they floated before him.
Amidst the sound of thunder, Han Li released countless fine golden arcs, encasing the two clusters of cold flames in golden silk-like spheres before storing them in an ice jade box.
With that done, he flicked his sleeve, summoning the black jade bottle once more. Chanting an incantation, he prepared to reseal the Five Ghosts within it.
The ghosts, seemingly aware of his intentions, hesitated, reluctant to return to the bottle.
Han Li’s expression darkened. With a sharp command and a pointed finger, the silver rings on the ghosts trembled, emitting a faint cyan glow.
Having suffered under these rings multiple times, the ghosts dared not disobey. They let out mournful wails before transforming into five streaks of grayish-white mist and darting into the bottle.
Han Li then swept his sleeve, retrieving the bottle and carefully storing it away.
As for the humanoid puppet beside him, Han Li made no move to recall it. Instead, he retrieved a high-grade emerald spirit stone from his storage pouch and replaced the nearly depleted one in the puppet.
Unless the puppet was engaged in full combat, its spirit stone consumption was negligible.
With a light movement, he descended gracefully, landing before a large boulder in the rubble. The rock’s surface was embedded with coarse grains of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Jade, shimmering with a faint white glow.
Han Li raised an eyebrow and brushed his hand over his storage pouch, producing a slender-necked vial.
Tapping the bottle lightly, its lid flew off on its own. Tilting it slightly, a thick, ink-black liquid poured out, exuding wisps of gray mist—identical to the Nether Spirit Water Bai Mengxin had used to extract the Profound Jade.
This liquid was none other than the “Sinking Water” Han Li had collected after accidentally entering the Ghost Mist Netherworld. At the time, he had found it peculiar and stored a considerable amount in containers.
Later, during his leisure, he had studied it but found no special properties beyond its viscous, yin-cold nature and its temporary ability to imbue artifacts with yin flames. Thus, it had remained unused in his storage pouch.
Now, witnessing Bai Mengxin’s extraction of the Profound Jade, he was stunned to realize that this so-called “Nether Spirit Water” was identical to his “Sinking Water.”
Though he hadn’t dared to confirm their exact nature in front of Frost Li the Transcendent and the others, he was now almost certain they were the same substance.
After all, the name “Sinking Water” had been coined by the cultivators who had stumbled into the Netherworld, and both liquids shared the same yin-cold properties and appearance.
With the cavern now empty, he decided to test it.
Han Li pointed at the black liquid, causing it to float slowly above the rock. A single drop fell, vanishing into the white glow below.
Just as with Bai Mengxin’s method, the black liquid disappeared into the jade, leaving behind a layer of gray mist.
Delighted, Han Li flicked his finger, sending a pea-sized cyan projectile at the jade.
With a soft *pop*, the Profound Jade loosened from the rock and flew into his hand.
Examining it briefly, he then scanned the cavern’s glowing veins, a faint smile curling his lips.
Though he couldn’t possibly empty the entire cavern with his limited supply of Sinking Water, he could easily harvest most of the semi-exposed jade.
With that thought, he retrieved another slender-necked vial from his pouch and tossed it to the puppet.
The puppet silently caught the bottle, then vanished, reappearing elsewhere in the cavern. With one hand controlling the Sinking Water and the other holding a storage pouch, it began extracting the jade.
Han Li did the same.
Hours passed, and the cavern’s frigid aura gradually thinned. The once-dense white specks of jade had dwindled by more than two-thirds.
When Han Li dripped the last drop of Sinking Water onto a final piece of jade and stored it away, he exhaled deeply. Yet, as he surveyed the cavern, a trace of regret flickered across his face.
Had he known the Sinking Water’s true utility, he would have collected far more.
Still, the amount of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Jade he had gathered was staggering—over a thousand pieces of varying sizes. Larger chunks required multiple drops, or the count would have been even higher.
As he mused, the puppet suddenly floated toward him and tossed over a bulging storage pouch.
Han Li caught it and scanned its contents with his spiritual sense.
Inside were another thousand or so pieces.
With this immense haul, he began contemplating other uses for the jade beyond reforging his seventy-two flying swords—perhaps crafting rare treasures or enhancing existing ones.
Even so, he wouldn’t exhaust the supply. The remaining jade would aid in refining his extreme cold flames, as its frigid aura would significantly boost the process.
Dismissing further thoughts, he turned his attention to the Moonlight Fire Raven high above.
The fire raven had grown five or six times its original size, now as large as a human head. The Kirin phantom had nearly dissipated, reduced to a thin veil of white mist enveloping the raven. The jade plaque dangled playfully from the raven’s beak.
Han Li blinked, then chuckled wryly. Raising his hand, he summoned the plaque, which flew into his grasp.
Without the plaque’s support, the remaining mist dispersed rapidly. The raven let out a low cry, its wings spreading as it transformed into a mass of crimson flames, engulfing the last remnants of mist before reverting to its avian form.
It circled excitedly before alighting on Han Li’s shoulder, preening its now-brighter feathers with its beak.
Han Li studied the raven with surprise. The Moonlight True Fire had grown far more sentient than before.
Glancing at the jade plaque, he seemed to recall something. With a wave, he summoned a wisp of Profound Jade’s cold aura, encasing it in violet flame.
His azure pupils flickered as he observed the aura—no longer solid strands but loose, indistinguishable from ordinary cold energy.
Understanding dawned on him. After marveling at the plaque for a moment, he stored it away.
After one final sweep of the cavern to confirm no treasures remained, he, the puppet, and the fire raven transformed into a cyan streak, darting toward the exit.
The entrance was tightly sealed, shimmering with mysterious runes.
Without hesitation, Han Li flicked his sleeve, releasing a small azure cauldron. It spun midair before halting before him.
Most cultivators wouldn’t be able to wield this cauldron, as it required mastery of the Azure Ice Flames—likely why Frost Li the Transcendent had entrusted one to the monk.
But for Han Li, it posed no issue. With a calm gaze, he formed a hand seal, and the violet flames cloaking him shifted hue, transforming into pale azure—the Azure Ice Flames.
Tapping the cauldron with a glowing blue finger, a tendril of azure flame snaked out, striking the vessel.
The cauldron trembled, emitting a resonant hum as countless azure flames surged from within. Bathed in blue light, it began to expand rapidly.
Han Li continued channeling his energy until the cauldron reached thirty feet in size. Then, with a change in hand seals and a low shout, he sent the massive cauldron hurtling upward as if to smash through the exit.
His expression remained unreadable.
Just before impact, the runes on the entrance flared with multicolored light, then streamed into the cauldron’s azure flames like shooting stars.
A deafening *boom* echoed as the entrance slowly cracked open, revealing a gap several yards wide.
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