“Elder? When did the Ye family add another elder? Is he a rogue cultivator or from a minor sect? There won’t be any issues, right?” The Daoist nun was startled and immediately pressed for answers.
“Rest assured, Aunt. This person isn’t a cultivator from our Great Jin. He’s a rogue cultivator from the Tianlan Grasslands, and his abilities are quite impressive. We’ve already investigated his background thoroughly—there are absolutely no issues with his origins. There truly is such a cultivator in the Tianlan Grasslands who had to flee after offending the Tianlan Sacred Hall. Moreover, we haven’t disclosed any core family matters to him.” The beautiful woman replied confidently.
“Oh, that’s acceptable. Although I don’t agree with your subsequent plans, since the other elders have already approved and begun implementing them, we must obtain those two Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasures. As for what comes next, we’ll have to take it step by step. In the future, you must be extra cautious. The intelligence networks of those major factions are formidable—the slightest misstep could draw their attention. We mustn’t let any rumors leak.” The elderly Daoist nun cautioned again.
“Aunt, I’m afraid we’ve already aroused suspicion among certain individuals. Recently, those major factions have significantly increased the number of stationed cultivators in the capital.” The beautiful woman sighed helplessly.
“Have they increased the number of Nascent Soul cultivators?” The Daoist nun’s heart sank, her expression shifting slightly.
“No, the additional ones are all Core Formation cultivators. The Nascent Soul-level personnel remain the same as before—just those few stationed in the capital.” The beautiful woman shook her head.
“That’s fine then! It seems they’re only slightly suspicious and haven’t discovered anything concrete. Since the Three Emperors Temple announced its intention to refine a powerful treasure, it has drawn considerable attention. Otherwise, your side would undoubtedly face greater pressure.” The elderly Daoist nun’s expression eased.
“You’re right, Aunt. However, although the Three Emperors Temple is merely a decoy, if that imitation spiritual treasure can indeed be successfully refined, it could significantly boost our strength. If possible, we should still strive to complete its refinement.” The beautiful woman added after some thought.
“I’m well aware of that. The ‘Mountain-flattening Seal’—a treasure capable of splitting mountains and cracking the earth—even its imitation is extraordinary. Refining it would be akin to gaining an additional late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. I’ll spare no effort. Speaking of which, how is your Second Uncle’s progress in recruiting some high-level rogue cultivators? Tell me about it…” The elderly Daoist nun shifted the topic, inquiring about another matter.
“Recruiting rogue cultivators began long ago. Two of the Four Great Rogue Cultivators have already agreed to serve our imperial family. The other two are elusive—we can’t even track their whereabouts, let alone recruit them. However, the Ghost King of Xibing Mountain and Deputy Valley Master Xiong of the Ten Thousand Demons Valley are both supportive of our imperial family’s independence from the control of major factions and have promised to lend us their aid when the time comes. There are also several minor sects that have expressed goodwill toward us…”
Below, the elderly Daoist nun of the Imperial Qing Temple and the middle-aged beautiful woman continued their detailed conversation in the pavilion as time passed…
…
In the Earthfire Hall, Princess Lvxiu stared wide-eyed at a silver metal the size of an egg, enveloped in intertwined silver light and blood-red radiance, her face brimming with joy.
“Senior Brother Han, I never expected you to actually refine this Bloodthread Silver—and with such high purity! It seems Elder Wei is truly remarkable, to have disciples with such exquisite refining skills. I’ve visited several refining workshops in the market, and none of those refiners were confident they could refine this.” The palace-dressed maiden twirled the material in her hand while grinning at Han Li.
“Elder Wei’s refining techniques are naturally incomparable to those of ordinary market refiners. However, I’m not Elder Wei’s disciple—I’m merely assisting temporarily in the Refining Hall. Once my time here is up, I’ll return to focused cultivation. My current refining skills are just a side pursuit.” Han Li smiled faintly, speaking calmly.
“Is that so? What a pity. If you can refine Bloodthread Silver, you must have considerable talent in artifact refinement.” The girl sighed regretfully upon hearing Han Li’s words.
“Now that I’ve helped the Princess refine the Bloodthread Silver, I have other matters to attend to and must take my leave.” Han Li began packing his tools, preparing to depart.
“Don’t rush off! Do I look so ugly that you’re in such a hurry to leave? Besides, who said I only had this one item to refine? I have another material that needs processing. I didn’t dare bring it out earlier since I wasn’t sure of your refining skills, but now I’m fully confident in you.” The girl stowed the Bloodthread Silver with a grin, then pulled out a foot-long jade box from her storage pouch and tossed it to Han Li.
Han Li felt a headache coming on. “Another material to refine? The Princess overestimates me. After refining the Bloodthread Silver, my spiritual energy is already depleted. I truly lack the strength to refine anything else.” He weighed the jade box in his hand, not even opening it, and spoke with a pained expression.
“Is that so? Well, your cultivation is indeed a bit shallow. But this item doesn’t require refining—I just need you to process it slightly to prevent its spiritual essence from dissipating. Let me warn you in advance: after seeing this, you mustn’t disclose it to anyone else. This is something I obtained with great difficulty—there are likely only a handful of its kind in the world.” The palace-dressed maiden tilted her head, a hint of pride flashing in her eyes.
“What material could be so rare?” Han Li was intrigued. He glanced at the jade box and casually lifted the lid.
Before he could even see what was inside, a blinding red light erupted from the box, catching him off guard and dazzling his eyes.
Startled, Han Li instinctively activated his Clear Sight, causing a faint blue glow to flash in his eyes.
“Ah! Your—”
“This is—”
The girl and Han Li exclaimed simultaneously, both filled with astonishment.
Inside the box lay a half-foot-long feather, crystalline and translucent, shimmering with red light as if forged from flames.
“A Sunbird plume? No, it doesn’t quite match…” Han Li murmured, staring blankly at the object.
“Sunbird? This is a tail feather from a Black Phoenix! My grandfather took me overseas years ago to visit a great senior, and I plucked it from his spirit beast while it was asleep. Hehe, that silly bird was dead to the world—it never woke up. By the way, what’s with your eyes? They just glowed blue. That’s fascinating—is it some kind of spell?” The girl chattered excitedly, her eyes darting around as she scrutinized Han Li’s pupils, as if trying to uncover their secret.
But Han Li, realizing his slip, had already deactivated his Clear Sight, leaving no trace of abnormality. Meanwhile, he focused on the feather in the box, silently conversing with the Great Divination Sage in his mind.
“A Black Phoenix tail feather? If I recall correctly, this is a fire-attribute spirit beast on par with the Sunbird. Can its plume substitute for a Sunbird feather?” Han Li asked gravely.
“The Black Phoenix is said to be a descendant of the Fire Phoenix. It’s astonishing that such a spirit beast’s bloodline has survived since ancient times. Unfortunately, these two materials can’t be substituted for one another. However, if slightly modified and incorporated into your Three Flames Fan, it could enhance its power. But this particular feather has lost most of its spiritual essence and is no longer suitable as material. Strange—when I traveled through Great Jin in the past, I never heard of any old monsters taming such a spirit beast.” The Great Divination Sage marveled before lamenting in puzzlement.
“I see…” Han Li was deeply disappointed upon hearing that substitution wasn’t possible.
Meanwhile, the palace-dressed maiden stared eagerly at Han Li, clearly fascinated by the blue glow in his eyes.
Seeing her expression, Han Li rubbed his nose and sighed inwardly.
“The blue glow earlier was due to a special spiritual water I used to cleanse my eyes. It’s just a minor technique to slightly enhance clarity—hardly worth mentioning for low-level cultivators like us.” Han Li replied calmly, his expression unreadable.
“A spiritual eye-cleansing water? What kind is it? Do you have any left? Could you give me a bottle?” The girl perked up, her excitement palpable.
“Such spiritual water must be prepared fresh to be effective. What I had before has long been used up—I’m afraid I must disappoint the Princess.” Han Li feigned regret.
“Senior Brother Han, are you telling the truth? Or are you just fooling me because I’m young?” The girl narrowed her eyes skeptically, pursing her lips.
“Every word I speak is true—I wouldn’t dare deceive the Princess. However, I do have something else that might interest you.” Han Li chuckled dryly before continuing leisurely.
“What kind of exchange? Don’t tell me you’ve taken a fancy to my Black Phoenix plume!” The girl blinked, then smirked mischievously.
“Princess Lvxiu jests. How could a mere Qi Condensation cultivator like me dare covet such a treasure? I merely wish to verify something with the Princess’s help.” Han Li closed the box with a wry smile.
“Verify something? That’s simple—no need for an exchange. Just help me process this Black Phoenix plume, and you can ask whatever you like. If I know the answer, I’ll tell you.” The girl waved her hand magnanimously.
“Very well, it’s settled then.” Han Li nodded after a brief pause.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage