Han Li felt as if lightning struck through his mind and wore a doubtful expression.
When King Glorious Blaze saw this, he hesitated for a moment before taking the initiative to explain, “Please don’t feel this is strange, Fellow Daoist. Although this is a Heavenly Corpse Pearl, it isn’t the one that I cultivated. When I first acquired the Heavenly Corpse Arts, I obtained this corpse pearl as well. As my own Heavenly Corpse Pearl is extremely important, I conceal it in my tomb instead of carrying it on me.”
“So it was like that! In that case, I’ll be taking this.” Han Li nodded his head in realization, but just as he thought to ask something else, his expression stirred and he raised his head to look into the distance, then saying, “It seems your men have arrived. I will be taking my leave.”
Before King Glorious Blaze could say anything, Han Li’s body glowed with azure light and he streaked through the sky.
The old devil glanced at Han Li’s departing figure with a wavering expression, skeptical of Han Li’s words. But soon, he heard ghost wails screaming in the distance and a green cloud that surged across the horizon.
King Glorious Blaze was delighted to see them. Now that Master Wildsand and Lord Heavenwind have retreated, he had nothing to fear.
He then turned into a streak of grey light and flew off to welcome them.
...
At that moment, Han Li was streaking through the sky at the speed of lightning. He didn’t dare to waste the remaining time he had left before the Soullock Seal went back into effect. He needed to shake off King Glorious Blaze and the other two heretical cultivators, or else he would face them with his cultivation sealed.
With Han Li’s magic power temporarily restored to full strength, he was able to fly with incredible speed. By the time his magic power was sealed once more, he had arrived at a mountain range thousands of kilometers away, having changed direction several times along the way.
Han Li sighed with relief. Having recognized his location, he then calmly took off on his flying magic tool.
Two days later, Han Li dropped down on a small desolate mountain. Soon after, he released several magic tools and easily carved out a cave residence. As a finis.h.i.+ng touch, he placed down a concealment spell formation at the entrance.
Han Li walked into the cave residence’s sealed room and sat down cross-legged.
“You plan on comprehending the Brightjade Arts here?” Monarch Soul Divergence suddenly broke the silence.
“What? This place won’t do?” Han Li asked.
Monarch Soul Divergence snorted and said with an annoyed tone, “There isn’t a spirit vein here. By the time you finish cultivating at this speed, my soul will have already scattered.”
“Hehe! Senior, please don’t be angry, I was only joking. I’ve already comprehended a portion of the Brightjade Arts along the way. Fortunately, the first layer of the technique doesn’t have large requirements for spiritual Qi. I reckon I’ll be able to cultivate it in a year, but the second layer will be much harder to cultivate and requires a large quant.i.ty of spiritual power. I will find a spirit vein when the time comes, or it will take unbearably long. And to eliminate the possibility of a baleful Qi backlash, I will have to cultivate the first two layers of the Brightjade Arts.” Han Li then continued, “Although there are many spirit veins in the Great Jin, they will all be taken, even the inferior ones. And since I plan on quickly recovering my magic power, I will require a spirit vein of appropriate quality. It would be best to sneak into a large sect and quietly cultivate the technique there.”
“From your tone, it seems you already have a plan.” Monarch Soul Divergence said with a curious tone.
“That’s right. I already have a target, and I won’t even have to forge an ident.i.ty.”
“Oh! That’s quite good. How about you tell me about it?” Monarch Soul Divergence asked with surprise.
“It’s quite simple,” Han Li explained, “Among the deeds inside of the Feng Clan’s secret cave, there were a few doc.u.ments mixed together, detailing a few secret affairs of the Feng Clan. It just so happened that the Feng Clan Master had prepared an escape route for the clan’s disciples many years prior, creating a completely unrelated background as a rich merchant clan in the Nan province. This wealthy merchant clan has over a dozen successful businesses, but it was actually something the Feng Clan had nurtured in secret. The clan is simply a front while all power and control belongs to the Feng Clan. Now that the Feng Clan is extinct, I’ll be able to use this wealthy clan as cover and enter a large sect in the region. In only three years, I should be able to free a majority of my strength from the baleful Qi and I’ll be able to safely search for your materials.”
“So it was like that! That seems like a good idea, but why have you stopped here? You plan on cultivating the first layer of the incantation?”
“I do plan on completing the first layer of the Brightjade Arts. I want to see if there are any problems with cultivating it. And I also want to take advantage of this desolate area to make that vajra barrier recognize me as its master and turn that crystalized demon core into a flying needle. But more importantly, I will have to deal with these items first.” Han Li sighed and with a flip of his hand, he summoned a white and a golden pearl into his palms. They were the Heavenly Corpse Pearl he had just acquired from King Glorious Blaze and the Snow Crystal Pearl he acquired from the Nine Immortals Palace disciple[1].
[1] In Chapter 893, one of the Foundation Establishment cultivators, a renegade Nine Immortals Palace disciple, had snuck away with the snow crystal pearl. Han Li became drawn into the situation when the Nine Immortals Palace attempted to exterminate the caravan.
“Needless to say, the Snow Crystal Pearl is a rarely seen ice-attribute treasure, and it has yet to recognize a master. If I manage to refine it and nurture it, it will certainly benefit the Purple Apex Flames. And since the Heavenly Corpse Pearl is so heavily desired that even mid-Nascent Soul cultivators wouldn’t hesitate to kill for the treasure, it must be valuable. Does Senior know how to use it?”
After some thought, Monarch Soul Divergence said, “This item involves demon and ghost Dao cultivators so I don’t know too much of it, but I do know a bit about corpse pearls as a result of their large reputation. Items of these nature are something only corpse monarchs can produce from cultivation. Cultivators that rely on body refinement techniques will see this as a miraculous body purification medicine. After it is swallowed, it will slowly nurture a cultivator’s const.i.tution and have their tempered body surge in strength. Once the pearl is completely refined, one’s body will be as durable as a corpse monarch. Given that the name of this corpse pearl is the Heavenly Corpse Pearl, its effects should be unordinary. That King Glorious Blaze most likely cultivated a body cultivation technique.”
Han Li lowered his head to look at the golden pearl and hesitantly asked, “Swallow it? To refine this magic treasure, I’ll have to refine it inside of my body?”
“Of course, it isn’t so simple that you can directly refine it. Corpse pearls are extremely poisonous. You will need to first prepare a kind of spirit liquid to remove the poison from it. Although the materials to create spirit milk is rare, I recall that you should already have the materials on hand. It is possible that the pearl could greatly benefit the cultivation of the Brightjade Arts. I’ll duplicate the liquid on a jade slip for you. Take a look!”
“So it was like that. Many thanks for the trouble, Senior!” Han Li said with a smile.
A jade slip shot out from the bamboo tube on his back and Han Li caught it, then immersing his spiritual sense into it.
A short moment later, Monarch Soul Divergence then asked in a strange tone, “Youngster Han, haven’t you forgotten about something important ever since you escaped from the Moulan Plains?”
Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense from the jade slip and asked with a confused tone, “Something important? What does Senior mean?”
Monarch Soul Divergence sighed and said, “Could it be you’ve forgotten? Your Divine Spirit Treasure, that small cauldron, has something sealed inside of it!”
“You means to say the incarnation of the Holy Endless Sky Beast?” Han Li replied with a smile.
Monarch Soul Divergence chuckled and said, “That’s right. Ever since you put away the beast, haven’t you left it alone? Could it be that you’re overlooking it?”
“Overlooking it? Of course not. In fact, I’ve attempted to deal with. However, I will only be able to bring out the cauldron once my magic power has recovered. It is natural that you don’t know of it.”
“What did you do?” Monarch Soul Divergence curiously asked.
Han Li responded with a wry smile, “What could I do? The cauldron isn’t something that I can easily take out, and the beast’s capture was far beyond what I could’ve antic.i.p.ated. I was only able to use my spiritual sense to communicate with the beast.”
“What was the result?” Monarch Soul Divergence asked with great antic.i.p.ation.
Han Li let out a gloomy snort and said, “The beast hasn’t been in this world for long and it doesn’t possess much intelligence. I cannot communicate with it.”
Monarch Soul Divergence indifferently said, “That is normal. However, since the beast was formed from the spiritual sense of a creature from a greater realm, I reckon that its intelligence will fully develop in several years. It won’t be too late to deal with the creature later.”
“Then all I can do is wait! It is a pity that the Endless Sky Saintess’ cauldron is also sealed inside of it. The might of its spirit sand makes it an extremely powerful treasure. It seems that her cauldron was an imitation of the Heavenvoid Cauldron.” Han Li said with a pitiful expression.
“The Saintess’ cauldron doesn’t seem to be a magic treasure specialized in combat, unlike the Sevenflame Fan. If you are able to collect enough materials to form the imitation that I devised, the fan will certainly be above that of the Endless Sky Saintess’s cauldron. I can’t wait to see it!” Monarch Soul Divergence said with a cold smiled.