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The woman initially faltered at the sight of Han Li staring blankly at her, but a hint of rage then quickly appeared on her face. She swept her spiritual sense toward him, and her heart jolted with shock as she discovered that she was unable to detect any spiritual Qi fluctuations from his body.

This was quite unsettling to her, and she immediately turned around.

At this moment, Han Li finally managed to recompose himself, and his expression reverted back to normal as he stared at the woman in deep thought.

This blue-robed woman was a memory in the bottom of his heart that he had been trying not to revisit, and as such, he was both astonished to see her, yet also hesitant about approaching her.

She was Chen Qiaoqian, the woman who had once expressed her love toward him countless years ago, and the memory of her voice and her smile filled Han Lis entire heart.

This blue-robed woman was completely identical to Chen Qiaoqian, who had already perished in the human world. Aside from her fact that her demeanor was quite cold, she was the spitting image of Chen Qiaoqian, and it was as if shed been resurrected.

Back when Han Li had heard about her death, hed remained quite calm and collected, but an indescribable sense of sorrow had welled up in his heart.

It wasnt the type of grief that one would be struck by following the passing of a lover. Instead, it was simply a reminiscent sense of melancholy that any normal man would experience when hearing about the passing of a woman who had once loved them.

However, there was no way that Chen Qiaoqian could be resurrected, and there was certainly no chance that she would be reincarnated in the Spirit Realm. As such, regardless of how closely she resembled Chen Qiaoqian, she had to be someone else.

This string of thoughts rapidly flashed through Han Lis mind, and he finally managed to forcibly repress his slightly tumultuous emotions. Following a brief hesitation, he still proceeded with his original plan, making his way toward the same stone wall.

The blue-robed woman didnt turn around, but she seemed to have an ability that allowed her to sense what was happening behind her, and her brows furrowed as she departed from her original spot.

Thus, Han Li strode forward and stood directly on the spot where she had been standing just a moment ago.

Even without turning around, Han Li could sense the vicious glare that the blue-robed woman had aimed at him, following which she hurried away to a stone wall that was slightly further away.

It appeared that this woman had formed the opinion that he was some kind of perverted swine.

Han Li chuckled internally before focusing his attention on the stone wall in front of him.

As expected, the silver characters on the stone wall were all names of different types of materials and treasures, but strangely enough, none of the items had any prices listed next to them, they only had a number between one to 13 assigned to them.

Han Lis heart stirred upon seeing this, and a thought occurred to him as he cast his gaze toward the distance.

There just so happened to be 13 jade pavilions surrounding the crimson pavilion, and there was a shimmering golden number hovering above each of the pavilions.

As such, it wasnt difficult to deduce what those numbers assigned to the materials meant.

He wasnt in any hurry, so he carefully scanned his gaze throughout the entire stone wall, then headed toward the next one.

Han Li was able to glean the contents of an entire stone wall virtually in the blink of an eye, yet even after looking through most of the stone walls present, he remained completely expressionless as if he hadnt found anything that caught his eye.

Right at this moment, a rumbling boom rang out from the crimson pavilion at the very center, following which a thunderous roar of rage erupted from within. freeebnovl.cm

What? Youre saying this is fake, Eccentric Song? Thats impossible! I went to great lengths to obtain this treasure, and I was almost killed by a bunch of Golden-winged Giants in the process!

Quit yelling! Ive made my final appraisal, and I can tell you with certainty that this thing is fake. You can leave now, Fellow Daoist Duan, a sharp voice replied from within the pavilion.

I was bedridden for seven years after obtaining this item, yet youre telling me its fake? The person who supplied me with the information better pray that they dont bump into me again. Otherwise, Ill twist his head off! Another resounding roar of rage rang out, and this time, a hint of spiritual power had been injected into the voice, making it clearly audible to virtually everyone outside.

All of a sudden, red light flashed from the surface of the crimson pavilion, following which a massive figure that was around 30 feet tall leaped forth before landing on the ground nearby, causing the entire earth to tremor with the immensely heavy impact.

Most of the people in the plaza turned toward the giant figure, and all of them drew a sharp breath in unison.

From the head down, this giant figure possessed a body that was half flesh and half metal.

The metal half was of a glistening black color and was emanating a peculiar grey light, while the other half of his body was of a tanned deep bronze color, and it seemed to be just as indestructible as his metallic half.

The head attached to this body had a sinister set of facial features. Not only were his nose and eyes twice as large as that of a normal human, his head was conical in shape with a few sporadic tufts of green hair growing on top.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the strange being, upon which his expression changed drastically. He was completely unable to fathom his cultivation base, thereby indicating that this was a being at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, just like Qian Jizi.

However, just because Han Li didnt recognize this strange being didnt mean that the other foreign beings gathered here didnt recognize him.

Almost as soon as he landed on the ground, a dozen or so beings rushed out of the nearby crowd before extending a respectful bow toward him.

We pay our respects to Elder Duan!

A string of greetings immediately rang out.

These humanoid figures were far taller and larger than normal humans, and they were all Ston Cocoon beings like Tie Jian. As such, this strange being had to be an elder of the Stone Cocoon Race!

Oh, I see youve all come here to attend the auction as well. I wish you all good luck. I was swindled into risking my life for a fake treasure, so I dont even feel like staying for the auction anymore. The strange being waved a casual dismissive hand toward all of the other Stone Cocoon beings before making his way toward the exit.

All of the beings in his path naturally stepped aside in a respectful manner to grant him passage.

Coincidentally, this Elder Duan also happened to pass by Han Li, and Han Li shuffled back a little as well, planning to see off this astonishingly powerful being.

However, in the next instant, an alarming turn of events abruptly unfolded.

In the instant that Elder Duan passed by Han Li, his footsteps suddenly faltered, and his nose twitched before he turned an intense incredulous gaze toward Han Li.

All of the nearby beings were naturally quite taken aback by this sudden development, and many of them turned to Han Li as well, trying to determine what it was about him that had caught the interest of such a powerful being.

Do you have any business with me, Senior? Han Li was struck by a sense of foreboding, but he still extended a respectful salute as he squeezed a smile onto his face.

Whats your name and which race are you from?

Han Li didnt know what this beings intentions were, so he naturally didnt dare to speak the truth. As such, he fabricated a response on the spot.

Good! I am Duan Tianren of the Stone Cocoon Race. If you encounter any troubles in Cloud City, you can refer to me as your backer! Elder Duan nodded with a meaningful expression, and it was impossible to tell whether he believed Han Lis fib. All of a sudden, his body blurred before reverting back to normal, but Han Lis expression changed drastically.

He could clearly sense that in the instant that Duan Tianrens body had blurred, he had thrust a palm lightly onto Han Lis shoulder. With his spirit eye ability, he was able to see the trajectory of Duan Tianrens palm, but he was simply too fast for Han Li to evade.

A burst of strange spiritual Qi flowed from Duan Tianrens palm into his arm, and it only dissipated after circulating throughout his entire arm.

Whats the meaning of this, Senior? An enraged look appeared on Han Lis face.

There were only a dozen or so beings present that had actually caught sight of what Duan Tianren had done to Han Li, so to everyone else, it appeared that Han Li had suddenly gotten angry even though Duan Tianren was clearly extending a gesture of kindness toward him.

In the face of Han Lis enraged interrogation, Duan Tianren merely swept his gave over Han Lis face as he chuckled, Rest assured, Fellow Daoist, I could see that youd also cultivated quite a special body refinement technique, so I wanted to see what that was all about.

After Duan Tianrens gaze had swept past his face, Han Li was stunned to find that his face began to throb with pain.

He had used that black veil in conjunction with a disguise technique to conceal his original appearance, but there was simply too much of a cultivation base disparity between the two of them, so Han Li confident in the slightest that hed fooled Duan Tianren.

However, Han Li naturally wasnt going to believe the excuse that Duan Tianren had offered to placate him, and his mind raced as he attempted to glean the intentions behind that palm.

However, he was unable to think of any potential reasons why this being would target him. After all, this was most definitely the first time that hed met him.

At this moment, Duan Tianren suddenly transmitted his voice to Han Li. Save your brain cells, little fella, Ill be waiting for you at the Rich Aroma Pavilion across the street. Dont even think about getting away, I didnt intend to harm you with that palm, but with my residual spiritual Qi circulating within your body, Ill be able to detect your location within the next few hours.

After that, he gave no further explanations before departing with a hearty laugh. Moments later, he left the plaza and strode into the exit, leaving behind a befuddled Han Li, as well as a bunch of bemused beings who were all looking at him with peculiar expressions.

Han Li was struggling to calm himself down in the wake of what had just happened, and the widespread scrutiny he was receiving certainly wasnt helping matters. Thus, he also turned and made his way toward the exit.

Is there a trade center in the side hall? Isnt this supposed to be an auction house? Han Li was rather surprised to hear this.

Everyone whos attending the auction needs to carry a large number of spirit stones with them, so many fellow Daoists like to sell off some of the precious materials theyve gathered for spirit stones prior to the commencement of the auction. Hence, there will always be some time allotted before the auction for fellow Daoists to exchange items for spirit stones or try their luck and see if they can find something theyd like to purchase. If you end up not being able to sell your items to anyone, you can sell them directly to the auction house as well, but obviously at a slightly lower price than what theyd normally fetch. The good thing is that with four of the 13 races supporting the auction house, theyll have sufficient spirit stones to purchase anything, regardless of how rare it is. One of the side halls beside the main hall is dedicated to those looking to buy, while the other is for sellers looking to sell off items, Tie Jian explained.

So we can purchase items in the side halls as well? Han Li was rather intrigued to hear this.

Are you interested in selling or buying, Brother Han? If so, I suggest you go look at what everyones selling before you go and sell your own things. If you can trade something that you own for something that you need, that would be ideal for both parties, Tie Jian suggested.

Thats a good idea, Fellow Daoist. In that case, Ill go in and have a look, Han Li replied with a nod of approval.

Alright, then Ill come with you. Perhaps youll find some things that you need if youre lucky. A smile appeared on Tie Jians face as he led Han Li directly toward the entrance of the side hall on the right.

The blue-robed guards at the entrance merely glanced at Tie Jian and Han Li before allowing them into the side hall without asking any questions.

The Four Races Auction is only held to boost the popularity of Cloud City, so all upper race beings and above can attend as they please. As such, theres a great diversity in cultivation bases and status among the beings who attend the auction. Its also because of this that this auction attracts far more people per year than the other auctions held in Cloud City, Tie Jian explained with a smile as he strode into the side entrance alongside Han Li.

All upper race beings or above can attend this auction? Can this auction house hold that many people? Han Lis brows furrowed with skepticism.

It was no wonder that Han Li would have such doubts, seeing as the number of upper race beings in the Cloud City definitely numbered in the hundreds of thousands. No matter how he looked at it, this hall was definitely not large enough to house that many beings.

Hehe, youll see for yourself soon, so theres no need for me to explain, Tie Jian replied with a mysterious smile.

Han Lis expression changed slightly as he cast his gaze up ahead, and only then did he realize that he had been walking through this entrance for longer than hed expected, yet still hadnt reached the side hall.

Wait! The shimmering white entrance up ahead had appeared quite close to them even in the very beginning, so why was it that after walking for a while, they didnt seem to have closed down the distance to the entrance at all?

A hint of surprise appeared on Han Lis face as he murmured, Spatial techniques are being used here!

Haha, you finally noticed, Fellow Daoist Han. This auction house itself is actually a super spatial treasure that possesses spatial abilities and can expand or shrink at will. The interior of the hall can house over 10 times as many beings as it appears to be able to from the outside, so its more than equipped to handle the influx of auction attendees, Tie Jian chuckled.

I see. No wonder the ring at the top of the building looked so peculiar. A contemplative look appeared on Han Lis face.

Due to the auction houses spatial ability, the entrance has been elongated slightly, but its still not all that long, so we should be able to emerge on the other side soon, Tie Jian said in a confident manner.

Han Li merely nodded without offering a reply.

Just as Tie Jian had proclaimed, after walking for a short while longer, the entrance up ahead suddenly drew closer to them, and they made their way through it to appear on a spacious plaza.

The plaza was very lively and bustling, resembling a popular street market.

There were a series of semi-spherical light barriers situated next to one another in tight rows on the plaza, and many cultivators were entering and exiting those light barriers.

At the center of the plaza was a white jade stone platform, atop which an ordinary wooden table had been placed. There was a pair of azure-robed figures with delicate facial features handing out something to the foreign beings standing in front of the table.

Just as Han Li was inspecting his surroundings, Tie Jian suddenly cupped his fist in a salute as he said, Lets part ways here, Fellow Daoist Han. I have to find some buyers so I can sell off my treasures as quickly as possible, so I wont accompany you any longer.

Go ahead, Fellow Daoist, I also want to do some exploring on my own as well, Han Li replied with a polite smile.

Farewell for now then, Brother Han. Tie Jian nodded before hurrying away.

Han Li looked on at Tie Jians departing figure for a short while before casting his gaze toward the jade platform, then suddenly making his way toward it. Moments later, he had arrived close to the platform, and at this moment, a few more beings strode onto the platform.

Han Li looked on from the side to find that these foreign beings were exchanging bags of high-grade spirit stones for small flags of different colors from the pair of azure-robed figures.

Han Lis gaze followed one of those foreign beings to find that after receiving a small flag, he made his way over to an empty spot near the edge of the plaza, then waved the small flag to conjure up a semi-spherical light barrier that concealed himself within.

Han Li released his spiritual sense toward the light barrier, only for it to be kept at bay by a certain restriction.

It was quite clear that these light barriers were specifically to be used for cultivators looking to trade on the plaza.

With the light barriers set up, they wouldnt have to worry about other people gleaning their secrets.

Han Li cast his gaze toward the surrounding area to find that these semi-spherical light barriers were everywhere, and further beyond the plaza that he was situated on, there were even a few smaller plazas that were also very busy.

Han Li exhaled as he shook his head.

For sellers looking to hand off their treasures to someone, finding a suitable buyer among so many beings was akin to finding a needle in a haystack, so he certainly wasnt going to waste too much time here.

If he wanted to try and secure a Myriad Wonder Pill for himself, then he had to gather a large sum of spirit stones prior to the commencement of the auction.

With that in mind, Han Li began to slowly walk along the edge of the plaza. Most of the time, he would only have a look from the outside. Hed enter a light barrier or two occasionally, but hed then quickly re-emerge from within.

After 15 minutes, Han Li still hadnt accomplished anything, and his brows furrowed as he turned around in a decisive manner, retracing his steps to head back to the exit.

Perhaps it was pure coincidence or by Han Lis design, but when he stepped into the exit again, he was the only one in there.

As he walked along the passageway, he suddenly rustled a sleeve to produce a black veil, and it disintegrated into a cloud of faint black mist amid a dull thump. The black mist settled over Han Li, making his body quite blurry and indistinct.

Almost immediately thereafter, light flashed within the black mist, and it surged around him before forming a glossy black robe that draped itself over his body.

At this moment, Han Li emerged from the mist with his head lowered, and his aura had become extremely faint. When he raised his head again, he had already adopted a completely new set of facial features. In what seemed like the mere blink of an eye, Han Li had completely disguised himself.

After that, Han Li emerged from the exit in an unhurried manner, passing by a few foreign beings who were walking in the opposite direction.

The blue-robed guards outside merely glanced at Han Li before allowing him to depart.

Thus, Han Li made his way into the other side hall and found himself on another large plaza, but the scenes within came as a slight surprise to him.

There were also many beings gathered here, but in contrast with the other side hall where treasures were being sold, most of the people here were gathered on a small section of the plaza.

There, a series of bluestone walls stood, and each of them was over 100 feet in height. There were silver characters flashing from the walls, and all of the foreign beings were gathered around them, looking on with rapt focus.

Further on beyond the stone walls, there were a dozen or so jade pavilions with multiple levels, and all of these pavilions were interconnected with one another.

The pavilions were all of a translucent snowy white in color, and their doors were wide open, but the entrances were concealed by layers of flashing white light.

The pavilion at the center of the cluster of pavilions was crimson in color and enshrouded under a layer of faint azure smoke. Furthermore, there was an indistinct fragrant aroma emanating from it, as if it were some kind of ethereal otherworldly object.

The beings inspecting the stone walls would occasionally enter those jade pavilions, and some would re-emerge in high spirits, while others were left quite dejected.

After assessing the situation, Han Li made his way over to one of the stone walls, yet right at this moment, a slender figure standing before a nearby stone wall suddenly turned around and also headed toward the same wall that Han Li was walking toward.

Han Li cast a reflexive glance toward the slender figure, and he abruptly shuddered as his expression changed drastically.

This was a woman with a head of long black hair in a set of blue robes. Her facial features were exquisitely beautiful, yet her expression was quite cold, and she strode directly over to the other stone wall before inspecting it with her brows furrowed in concentration, completely oblivious to Han Lis reaction toward her.

Han Lis footsteps drew to a halt as his face paled slightly. He stared intently at the blue-robed woman with an unblinking gaze and murmured in a voice that was only audible to himself, How could it be her? Thats impossible! Are there really people in this world who so closely resemble one another?

The intense scrutiny that the blue-robed woman was receiving from Han Li finally drew her attention, and their eyes met as she turned toward him. fгeewebnovl.com

Having made up his mind, white light flashed from Han Lis hand, and the jade box disappeared.

After that, he sat down on the bed and entered a meditative state.

For three consecutive days, Han Li stayed in the room without leaving even once.

On this day, just as he was cultivating with golden light shimmering from his entire body, he suddenly opened his eyes and flipped his hand over to produce the Myriad Distance Talisman that Qian Jizi had given to him.

On the white surface of the talisman, a line of small text had appeared.

After reading the message on the talisman, Han Li stowed it away expressionlessly before making his way out of the room.

Half a day later, he found himself within a certain cave abode on the Dream Cloud Mountain of the Eight Cloud Mountains, and he was inspecting the cave abode with a pleased look on his face.

The abundance of spiritual Qi in this cave abode was not inferior in the slightest compared to Jia Tianmus cave abode on the Iridescent Cloud Mountain. Furthermore, the cave abode came complete with a pill refinement chamber, tool refinement chamber, medicine garden, as well as a variety of other facilities. There were even some commonly used spirit medicines that had been planted in the medicine garden, and he was very satisfied with his new home.

However, Han Li didnt immediately begin cultivating. Instead, he used his spiritual sense to scan through every single nook and cranny of the cave abode, then set up a dozen or so restrictions of different sizes.

Having done all that, even a Body Integration Stage being wouldnt be able to force their way into his cave abode in a short time.

After that, he transferred some of the spirit medicines and spirit herbs that he required into the medicine garden before busying himself with pill refinement.

His plan was to refine a large number of Rising Dragon Pills, most of which would be reserved for his own consumption, while the rest would be taken to the markets to be exchanged for top-grade spirit stones.

After all, both his sentient puppet and the super teleportation formation required an incredible amount of spirit stones to function, and he wouldnt be able to exchange for enough of them even through selling all of his Myriad Year Spirit Medicines.

Furthermore, selling too many Myriad Year Spirit Medicines would attract a lot of attention, so it was better to sell Rising Dragon Pills instead.

With the immense power of these pills, he was sure that the upper race beings of Cloud City would be willing to pay astronomic prices for them.

Of course, he wasnt going to sell too many of them, and he had to conceal his own identity in the process. If he were to only sell the pills on two or three occasions, that shouldnt be enough to attract the attention of the holy race beings in the city. If he still couldnt gather enough top-grade spirit stones through doing that, then hed have to consider selling his Golden Lightning Bamboo.

Given how rare Golden Lightning Bamboo was in the Spirit Realm, just one plant would most definitely be enough to get him sufficient top-grade spirit stones.

Han Li had already devised a plan to gather enough top-grade spirit stones while refining his Rising Dragon Pills, and Qian Jizi most likely wouldve never imagined that Han Li would be capable of doing something that he thought to be impossible in such a short time.

This was only a minor inconvenience to Han Li, rather than the insurmountable roadblock that Qian Jizi had assumed that this would be.

As Qian Jizi was leading him to his new cave abode, the former disclosed to him that he had secured the agreement of the other races for him to use the teleportation formation. As for conditions, they didnt state some, but they werent very stringent, most of them merely asked for a usage fee from him.

The only slightly troublesome condition was raised by the Stone Cocoon Race, they asked him to search for a tool refinement material that could only be found in the Vast Glacial Realm.

They had a map on which the place where this material could be found had been annotated, and all he had to do was act as the errand boy of the Stone Cocoon Race after entering the Vast Glacial Realm.

This condition was naturally rather dangerous to him, but this material seemed to be extremely important to the Stone Cocoon Race, as evidenced by the fact that they stipulated this condition to be non-negotiable.

Thus, Han Li agreed to it as well after a brief contemplation.

If he only had to head to a designated location to secure an ingredient, then this was a risk that wasnt too big for him to take.

Hence, Han Li had arrived at an official agreement with the Heavenly Cloud Races. As soon as he returned from the Vast Glacial Realm, hed be granted a one-time usage pass of the super teleportation formation.

After that, Han Li stayed in his cave abode for more than an entire year. During this time, he refined his pills while taking some Rising Dragon Pills to cultivate his Provenance True Devil Arts. Even though this wasnt a very long time, his Provenance True Devil Projection was looking slightly more substantial than it did over a year ago, which was a further testament to just how potent Rising Dragon Pills were.

However, what was rather surprising to Han Li was that the Crystal woman by the name of Xian Xian hadnt contacted using the Myriad Distance Talisman hed left her during this time. It was as if shed completely forgotten about him.

Han Li was rather perplexed, but he didnt go to find her.

On this day, Han Li finally emerged from his cave abode, and after taking a cursory glance around him, he flew down the mountain as a streak of azure light.

Coincidentally or by design, there just so happened to be another streak of white light flying down from the summit of the mountain at the same time, and the streak of light reached the foot of the mountain along with Han Li almost in unison.

The white and azure lights faded, revealing Han Li and a bald man.

The bald man had a set of sinister facial features, and his skin was of a greyish-white color.

The two of them both looked at one another with a hint of surprise in their eyes.

I am Tie Jian of the Stone Cocoon Race. You look rather unfamiliar, Fellow Daoist, did you only move in recently? The man was a little menacing to behold, but he spoke in quite a polite voice.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense toward the man to find that he was a being at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, and his heart jolted slightly with shock, but he merely smiled as he replied, My surname is Han, and I did indeed only move in recently.

Oh, so its Fellow Daoist Han. I heard that last year, an outsider activated a Vast Glacial Badge, and he also had the Han surname, could you be that outsider, Fellow Daoist Han? The man immediately guessed Han Lis identity after hearing his surname.

A hint of surprise flashed through Han Lis eyes, but he smiled as he replied, I was indeed the one activated the Vast Glacial Badge a year ago. I didnt think that I would be so renowned in these parts.

Haha, youre the first outsider to have activated a Vast Glacial Badge in our Heavenly Cloud Races, so youre naturally quite well-known by everyone. Are you going out now because you also heard about the precious auction items being offered in the Four Races Auction?

Four Races Auction? Han Li drew a complete blank upon hearing this.

Oh? Do you not know about this, Fellow Daoist Han? Then again, thats no surprise, seeing as youve only just recently come to our Cloud City. The Four Races Auction is something thats held by four of our 13 races once every decade to try and increase the popularity of Cloud City. All of the auction items are precious treasures that arent normally sold during auctions, so the event always attracts many high-grade beings to Cloud City. On this occasion, our 13 races have been forced onto the back foot by the invasion of the Jiao Chi Race, so the auction items are even more prestigious than usual in order to boost morale. Among the auction items, there are even going to be Myriad Wonder Pills being sold, those pills are ideal for helping Spatial Tempering cultivators like us break through bottlenecks. Only the top pill refinement masters of the Crystal Race are capable of refining those pills, and theyve never appeared in the past editions of the auction, Tie Jian explained.

Han Lis heart stirred upon hearing this. Myriad Wonder Pill, eh? Ive also heard of these pills before.

Back when he was at Green Light City, those foreign Spatial Tempering Stage beings had mentioned this pill, and they seemed to be even more valuable than sentient puppets.

If they really were useful for Spatial Tempering cultivators, then it would naturally be very beneficial to him if he could obtain the pill or its refinement method.

With that in mind, Han Li was quite intrigued as he said, It wouldnt be right for me to miss such an auspicious occasion.

In that case, why dont we go together, Fellow Daoist? Truth be told, Ill very likely be part of the group of beings selected to enter the Vast Glacial Realm on this occasion, perhaps well be in the same group together! If that happens, Ill have to trouble you to look out for me, the bald man chuckled.

Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist! Youre a ninth-tier upper race being, so your cultivation base far outstrips mine. However, I really am rather unfamiliar with Cloud City, so Ill be counting on you to lead the way, Brother Tie, Han Li replied.

Tie Jian merely smiled and didnt respond. Instead, he raised a hand to hail one of the beast-drawn carriages parked at the foot of the mountain, then invited Han Li onto the carriage first.

Han Li accepted the invitation, climbing onto the carriage first, followed by Tie Jian, who then turned to the driver, and instructed, Take us to the Cloud Intent Auction House.

The driver gave an affirmative response before spurring the beast-drawn carriage into motion.

Inside the carriage, Han Li made further inquiries about the Four Races Auction, and only then did he learn that the auction had actually already been running for a few days, but the truly precious auction items that were of the highest caliber were being sold today.

In order to obtain a Myriad Wonder Pill, Tie Jian had even borrowed a large batch of spirit stones from his friends.

Han Li heard from Tie Jian that there were going to be two sentient puppets from the Myriad Ancient Race that were also going to be sold during the auction, and he was quite tempted by that prospect.

After traveling for over two hours, the beast-drawn carriage changed directions and diverged onto a very wide street.

The number of beast-drawn carriages on this street increased dramatically compared to elsewhere, and there were also many powerful cultivators there as well.

In the end, the beast-drawn carriage came to an abrupt halt near the end of the street, where it was in the company of several tens of other beast-drawn carriages.

Han Li and Tie Jian disembarked before looking around, and Han Li discovered that there was a massive square building up ahead that was close to 10,000 feet wide and over 1,000 feet tall.

At the pinnacle of the building was a cylindrical altar, above which a yellow ring with a diameter of over 100 feet was hovering. The ring was constructed from an unknown material that was neither metallic nor wooden in nature, and it was slowly rotating while emitting a cold light that encompassed the entire hall down below.

There were rows of armored warriors standing around the hall in a stationary manner, and all of them were actually powerful puppets.

The hall had a total of three entrances, one large and two small, with over 20 blue-robed guards situated outside them.

All of these guards were Spatial Tempering Stage beings!

At this moment, there werent many people entering the hall through the largest main entrance. Instead, the two smaller entrances were being used quite frequently, presenting a lively and bustling scene to behold.

Just as Han Li was assessing the situation, Tie Jian turned to him, and asked, Fellow Daoist Han, I have some things that I want to sell in the side hall to get some more spirit stones, would you like to come with me?

In that case, it looks like I have no choice but to comply, Han Li said in an indifferent manner.

Haha, theres no need to be so depressed, Fellow Daoist Han. There are some perils in the Vast Glacial Realm, but most people would do anything for a chance to enter it. Many people will envy you for the opportunity to enter the realm, Qian Jizi chuckled.

My cultivation base hasnt reached a bottleneck yet, so entering the realm wont benefit me much. Instead, theres a good chance that Ill be dying in there. The risk and reward comparison simply isnt worth it, so if theres any possibility that I can be exempt from entering the realm, I would definitely pass up this opportunity. Han Li shook his head in a gloomy manner.

Qian Jizi and Elder Ma exchanged a glance upon hearing this, and the former said in a slow voice, One a Vast Glacial Badge has been activated, only the one who has activated it can take others to the Void Glacial Realm with them. The future of our 13 races hinges on this, so you must enter the realm, thats non-negotiable. Youve carried the badge to us, so our Myriad Ancient Race should be grateful to you, but youve activated the badge and weve given you the opportunity to enter the Vast Glacial Realm, so weve repaid you for your efforts. However, seeing as youre being forced into the Vast Glacial Realm against your will, you can state any condition that you may have, and well do our best to satisfy you.

Han Lis heart abruptly jolted upon hearing this, and he immediately said, Im sure you know what request I have already. After returning from the Vast Glacial Realm, Id like to use your super teleportation formation.

You want to use the teleportation formation? If its only once, then we should be able to arrange that. However, teleportation using that formation requires a vast expenditure of top-grade spirit stones, and youll have to issue the spirit stones yourself, theres no way that well supply them for you. Furthermore, our race cannot make executive decisions on the teleportation formation, so we have to discuss this matter with the other few races, perhaps they may also have some conditions that you must satisfy before theyll allow you to use the formation, Qian Jizi replied in a calm manner.

As long as I can use the teleportation formation, Ill naturally supply the spirit stones required. As for any other conditions that may be raised, as long as theyre not conditions that are completely outside of my realm of capability, I can accept them, Han Li said with an elated look on his face.

Hehe, dont be so quick to jump at this opportunity, Fellow Daoist Han. Activating the super teleportation formation even just once requires so many top-grade spirit stones that even some holy race beings wouldnt be able to afford it. You may have some wealth, but it will still most likely be very difficult for you to gather enough top-grade spirit stones to use the formation. With your cultivation base, youll be greatly valued even if you were to stay in our Myriad Ancient Race, so why insist on traveling to other continents? I suggest you take this opportunity to change to another condition and request for some tangible benefits like pills or treasures instead, that would be ideal for both sides, Elder Ma proposed. freewebnvel.com

Han Lis expression faltered upon hearing this, but he shook his head after a brief silence, and said, Thank you for your kind offer, Senior, but Ive already made up my mind.

As opposed to being enraged by Han Lis refusal, Elder Ma only nodded indifferently and spoke no further on this matter.

By the way, when will the Vast Glacial Realm open up? I want to make some preparations beforehand, so learning the amount of time I have left will be quite beneficial, Han Li suddenly asked.Were not sure of the exact opening date, either, but according to past experience, itll be somewhere between several years to a century from now, Qian Jizi replied with a smile.A century! Han Li abruptly exclaimed upon hearing this. For cultivators like us, a century passes in the mere blink of an eye, surely theres no need to be so alarmed, Fellow Daoist Han, the middle-aged man said as he raised an eyebrow. My apologies, It was just surprised that it would take so long, Han Li replied with a wry smile.

Youre living in the inn from before, right? That place has been placed into lockdown, and you wont be leaving Cloud City anytime soon, so why dont you move to the Eight Cloud Mountains as well, Fellow Daoist Han? Ill get someone to organize a free cave abode for you so you can cultivate in peace while awaiting the opening of the Vast Glacial Realm, Qian Jizi said.

Han Li was a little taken aback by this offer, but after quickly weighing up his options, he nodded in agreement.

After that, Qian Jizi and Elder Ma asked some casual questions about Han Lis origins, to which Han Li gave a few intentionally ambiguous responses.

It was quite clear that Han Li didnt want to disclose too much information about himself, and the two Myriad Ancient Race elders didnt insist on prying, either.

Not long after that, the third elder of the Myriad Ancient Race finally arrived. This was a tall and broad heavily-bearded man, and he only took a glance at Han Li and delivered some absentminded praise before hurrying away, citing the excuse that he had a half-refined batch of spirit pills in his cauldron that he had to attend to.

Qian Jizi and Elder Ma could only exchange a resigned smile upon seeing this. They seemed to have already become accustomed to this Elder Huangs personality.

Thus, after receiving a Myriad Distance Talisman from Elder Ma, Han Li finally stood up to leave. Prior to his departure, Qian Jizi told him that he would discuss with the other races about the teleportation formation and organize a cave abode for him within three days. Hence, he could move in to the Eight Cloud Mountains after that.

Han Li naturally thanked the elderly man for his kindness, then left the hall and departed from the Myriad Ancient Races fortress on the beast-drawn carriage outside. At this moment, both Qian Jizi and Elder Ma were sitting in silence within the hall, seemingly in deep thought. What do you think? Could he be a spy from the Jiao Chi Race? Qian Jizi asked.

Theres no way that hes a spy, expending a Vast Glacial Badge just to plant a spy in our Heavenly Cloud Races is far too heavy a price to pay. Besides, he also saved Master Jia and killed several Jiao Chi beings of the same cultivation base as himself. No matter how you look at it, the Jiao Chi Race would have to be downright insane to sacrifice so much just to plant a spy. On top of that, even if he were to become a guest member of one of our 13 races, he wouldnt be able to obtain any of our confidential secrets anyway, so what would be the point? Elder Ma immediately shook his head in response.

My thoughts exactly. In that case, we wont have to use a soul search technique to determine his origins. Otherwise, it could prove to be detrimental to us if we were to draw resentment from him, Qian Jizi agreed with a nod.

On top of that, he possesses extremely powerful combat prowess thats no less potent than beings at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, so it would be greatly beneficial to our race if he could become a guest member of ours, so we should do our best to recruit him rather than get on his bad side, Elder Ma added.But he seems to be quite intent on leaving the Thunder Continent, Qian Jizi countered with furrowed brows.

Hehe, its not that easy to gather so many top-grade spirit stones, who knows how long itll take for him to save up the spirit stones required? During this process, well just have to expend some effort to try and convince him to stay. Of course, if he still insists on leaving in the end, then theres no need for us to play the villains and force him to stay. Our race certainly isnt short of beings at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, so theres no need to risk ruining our reputation for him, Elder Ma mused.

Following a brief pause, Qian Jizi nodded, and said, Seeing as youve already made up your mind, I have no objections.

Lets talk about the news we received about the Jiao Chi Race. This invasion from the Jiao Chi Race is only a far larger scale than past invasions. Setting aside everything else, just the number of holy race beings theyve deployed is… Elder Ma changed the subject and moved on to the Jiao Chi Race invasion thereafter.

Meanwhile, Han Li didnt go too far away from the Eight Cloud Mountains before disembarking from the carriage on a relatively secluded street, then found an inn to live in on a temporary basis.

The inn was quite ordinary in appearance and closely resembled a building that one would see in the human race.

After setting up a restriction in his room, Han Li sat down in a cross-legged manner on his bed, then began to carefully think back through his conversation with the elders of the Myriad Ancient Race, trying to see if there were alarming aspects that he should take note of. After contemplating for a long while, he finally exhaled as his expression gradually relaxed.

From what he could recall, the elders didnt seem to be plotting against him in any way, and his only concern was that the Vast Glacial Realm could be quite dangerous.

However, seeing as there were no beings at or above the Body Integration Stage that could enter the realm, he didnt have much to fear. As long as he wasnt too greedy or ambitious and stumbled around everywhere in search of spirit medicines and treasures, he should be quite safe. Hed just have to find an obscure location to hide in and weather then storm, then return following the conclusion of the ordeal.

He had already thought through all this back in the Sentient Hall, which was why hed agreed to the conditions made by the elders without any hesitation. However, it did indeed come as quite a surprise to him that hed have to wait for so long before the Vast Glacial Realm were to open up.

If he really did have to wait for a century, then he should be able to use his spirit pills to cultivate to the pinnacle of the early-Spatial Tempering Stage. After that, he could try and use the astonishingly abundant spiritual Qi in the Vast Glacial Realm to break through to the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage.

This was only possible as he could use the liquid produced by the mysterious vial to essentially infinitely refine the extremely rare Rising Dragon Pills.

Otherwise, for a normal cultivator, it would take at least 500 to 600 years to cultivate to the pinnacle of the early-Spatial Tempering Stage.

After reaching the Spatial Tempering Stage, further advancements required far more spiritual power to be gathered and cultivated than for progression in the Deity Transformation Stage. On top of that, Han Li had chosen the path of simultaneous cultivation, which was far more difficult than just normal cultivation.

With that in mind, Han Lis expression suddenly stirred slightly, and he flipped his hand over to produce a white jade box that also had crimson talismans plastered to its surface. This was none other than the other jade box given to him by the big-headed being.

Han Li knew that if he were to bring out this item, hed definitely be able to secure greater benefits from the elders of the Myriad Ancient Race. At the very least, hed be able to secure another sentient puppet for himself. However, he made no mention of this in the Sentient Hall as a safety precaution.

Regardless of whether having an extra Vast Glacial Badge would benefit him in any way after entering the Vast Glacial Realm, hed rather keep it as backup than exchange it for any benefits.

All of a sudden, a clear voice sounded from outside the hall. In summary, there are many rare and precious items to be found in the Vast Glacial Realm, but what you find in there will be down to your luck. Immediately thereafter, a streak of white light hurtled in through the gate, and the light faded to reveal a middle-aged man in a set of brocade robes. He had a pale face with a pair of thin and long eyes, as well as a distinctive hook nose. You sure got here quite quickly, Elder Ma, I had thought that Brother Huang would get here before you, Qian Jizi greeted the middle-aged man with a warm smile.

It was quite obvious that this was another Body Integration Stage elder of the Myriad Ancient Race, nad Han Li hurriedly rose to his feet to extend a respectful salute.

Elder Huang has recently been refining a batch of pills, and even if he received the news before me, itd most likely take a while for him to get here. Is the fellow Daoist the one who activated the Vast Glacial Badge? the middle-aged man asked as he turned an indifferent gaze toward Han Li.Indeed, Senior. Han Li could only reply in a truthful manner. Hmm, seventh-tier upper race, not bad. Your magic power seems to be over twice as abundant as beings of the same cultivation base, and even upper race beings of the eighth or ninth tiers wont want to face you in battle. For some reason, this Elder Ma decided to disclose his observations surrounding Han Lis cultivation base.

Han Li was quite stunned that the elderly man was able to glean so much from a single cursory glance, but his expression remained quite polite and respectful as he explained, I have some special cultivation arts, so my magic power is indeed slightly more abundant than normal.

Its not just slightly more abundant, if a being of a higher cultivation base were to engage you in battle, thinking that theyd enjoy an easy victory, youd most likely be able to turn the tables on them with ease! Hmm? Your spiritual sense seems to be completely out of place in an upper race being as well. Golden light flashed past the middle-aged mans face as he unleashed some kind of secret technique, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes as he gleaned Han Lis immensely powerful spiritual sense.

Han Lis calm facade finally cracked a little upon hearing this as a hint of astonishment crept onto his face. freewenovel.cm

Alright, Elder Ma, you can stop flaunting your Divine Inspection Technique now. It isnt really all that strange that Fellow Daoist Han is far more powerful than beings of the same cultivation base. After all, he slew several such beings with ease while saving Master Jia, so it would be foolish to regard him as a normal upper race being. The elderly man was surprised in the slightest by Elder Mas findings.I see. Forgive me for my impudence, Fellow Daoist, please take a seat, the middle-aged man chuckled before sitting down beside Qian Jizi.

Han Li finally managed to recompose himself before also sitting down with a wry smile on his face.

I heard on my way here that the two of you were discussing matters surrounding the Vast Glacial Realm, and it sounded to me like you dont know much about it, Fellow Daoist Han. Whats the point in speaking in such a roundabout manner, Brother Qian? Just lay out the information in the most straightforward manner possible, Elder Ma urged, seemingly with a hint of displeasure in his voice.

Qian Jizi splayed his hands open upon hearing this, and a slightly resigned look appeared on his face as he replied, I was just about to do that, but your arrival cut me off! Haha, now that you mention it, my entrance was indeed rather abrupt, the middle-aged man chuckled.

Seeing as youre here, why dont you tell Fellow Daoist Han about the Vast Glacial Realm yourself, Brother Ma? After all, you once entered the realm in person, so youre far more qualified to talk about it than I am, Qian Jizi suggested.

Whats there to be said? I had very ordinary luck back when I entered the Vast Glacial Realm, and I didnt obtain any extraordinary treasures or medicines. All of the races hold the Vast Glacial Realm in such high regard mostly because of the abundant spiritual Qi in there. They want to use the realm as a place where beings who had been stuck at their bottlenecks for extended periods of time could finally make their breakthroughs. If it werent for the fact that I had entered the realm once, I wouldnt have achieved my current cultivation base. The middle-aged man shook his head with a slightly peculiar look on his face. You used the spiritual Qi in there to break through a bottleneck? Han Li was quite surprised to hear this.

Indeed. At the time, the spirit medicines that could be obtained in there were only a secondary objective for me. I only re-emerged with some very ordinary spirit medicines, so I obtained next to nothing from my trip there. I did hear that some others obtained some extremely rare tool refinement materials and used them to craft several sentient treasures, Elder Ma sighed in a forlorn manner.

Haha, you should learn to be happy with what you have. Countless beings among our 13 races were extremely envious of you back when you were selected to enter the Vast Glacial Realm. At the very least, Ive never received such an opportunity, the elderly man chuckled.

If I were as supremely talented as you and managed to break through the holy race bottleneck in just over 1,000 years, then I naturally wouldnt have had to enter the Vast Glacial Realm. As youre well aware, that place is not a peaceful realm, Elder Ma replied in an indifferent voice.

Thats true. Several hundred Vast Glacial Badges appear on the Thunder Continent on each occasion, and how many beings can be teleported into the realm with each badge is dependent on the capabilities of the teleportation formation set up. Our Myriad Ancient Race has always been responsible for setting up the teleportation formations for our Heavenly Cloud Race, but teleporting around a dozen or so beings into the realm per badge is the extent of our capabilities. However, Ive heard of some races that are extremely proficient in teleportation formation that can teleport over 30 beings into the realm per badge. Its a pity that we cant get our hands on their teleportation formation blueprints. Otherwise, wed also be able to send more people into the Vast Glacial Realm. With so many races clambering to send their beings into the Vast Glacial Realm, it always becomes a very chaotic place, the elderly man mused with furrowed brows.

What makes things even worse is that each badge teleports beings to a random location. If a group of beings were to be teleported into the same area as beings from an enemy race, then a battle would be inevitable. Everyone knows that there were at least be an additional 30% chance of breaking through a bottleneck in there, so no race would allow so many high-grade beings to appear in their enemy races. Elder Ma seemed to be musing absentmindedly to himself, but also explaining things for Han Li to hear.

Han Lis eyes flashed slightly upon hearing this.

Not only that, but there have been countless instances of beings killing others in there over treasures and spirit medicines. However, the most perilous aspect of the Vast Glacial Realm is actually the realm itself. No one had seen a living immortal in there, but there are some incredibly powerful ancient beasts in there, each and every one of which is far too powerful for any of the beings that venture into the realm to face. If you encounter a more mild-tempered one, you could simply give it a wide berth and go around it without much trouble. However, if you encounter a violent one that actively attacks even without being provoked, then youll have to pray that you survive that ordeal somehow. On top of that, there are many terrifying restrictions in the Vast Glacial Realm that are suspected to have been left behind by immortals. If you stumble into one of those, then youre most likely as good as dead as well. Hence, its quite often the case that less than half the number of people that enter the realm actually return, Qian Jizi added.

Han Lis expression darkened involuntarily upon hearing this. After a lengthy silence, he asked, Senior Qian, Senior Ma, may I ask when and how the Vast Glacial Realm was discovered?

Youve stumped us there. No one knows exactly when the Vast Glacial Realm appeared, but it had most likely been discovered by the races that resided here during ancient times. Its said that an extremely important battle between the races had broken out at the time, and profound heavenly treasures had been used during the battle. The combined powers of several profound heavenly treasures shattered space at the time, thereby opening up a passageway to the Vast Glacial Realm. As for how the Vast Glacial Badges appeared, we really have no clue. It was as if the badges appeared as soon as the Vast Glacial Realm appeared. In the beginning, there were over 1,000 Vast Glacial Badges, but after so many years, most of them have been destroyed, the elderly man replied.

The method of entering and exiting the Vast Glacial Realm is also quite unique. When entering the realm, the badge is required, but when leaving the realm, the badges have to be left in there before one can depart. After over 10,000 years, the Vast Glacial Realm will open up once again, and the badges will somehow reappear all over the Thunder Continent. On top of that, the badges cant teleport beings at or above the holy race, so none of the elders of the 13 races can access the realm. Otherwise, things wouldnt be so troublesome. By the way, Im really curious about how you managed to obtain this Vast Glacial Badge, Fellow Daoist Han. Elder Ma turned to Han Li in an expressionless manner as he spoke.

Han Lis heart jolted upon seeing Elder Mas shift in demeanor, but he remained calm as he replied, I actually received this Vast Glacial Badge from a certain Fellow Daoist Yuan of your Myriad Ancient Race. At the time, the city we were situated in had been surrounded by the Jiao Chi Race, so Fellow Daoist Yuan gave a jade box to each of his companions, including myself, so we could take them away from the city. He asked us to give the boxes to any one of the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races, and to destroy them if we found ourselves unable to get away from our Jiao Chi Race pursuers. I was quite curious about what was in the box, so I decided to open it, and I unwittingly activated this badge in the process.

Someone with a Yuan surname? In that case, it has to be the one responsible for Green Light City. Rather than being surprised to hear this, Qian Jizi merely nodded in a calm manner.

It appeared that hed already guessed the origin of this badge.

Han Lis heart stirred upon seeing this. At this moment, the middle-aged mans expression darkened, and he said, We havent received any news of other Vast Glacial Badges being gathered by the other races in Cloud City, so that means all of the other badges mustve fallen into the hands of the Jiao Chi Race.

Thats most likely the case. Apparently, they have two holy race beings leading their army, and theyve even deployed a fortress level battle ark, so its already extremely fortunate that Fellow Daoist Han was able to bring just a single badge back to us, Qian Jizi sighed.

In that case, things will be quite troublesome for us. Our 13 races combined only have 17 or 18 badges, thats much less than usual. In contrast, the number of Jiao Chi beings that will enter the Vast Glacial Realm will increase significantly, Elder Ma said with a grim expression.

Theres nothing we can do about that. Weve gathered all of the Vast Glacial Badges we could, and when we received news that five more badges had been discovered, wed thought that wed stumbled upon a figurative gold mine. However, the Jiao Chi Race suddenly attacked at this crucial juncture before we could transport the five badges to Cloud City, which has led to them being lost, Qian Jizi sighed as he narrowed his eyes slightly.

Elder Ma nodded before suddenly turning to Han Li as he said in an implacable tone, In that case, theres no point in wasting time with words. Fellow Daoist Han, youll have to accompany our Myriad Ancient Race nominees into the Vast Glacial Realm on this occasion.

Han Li could naturally only proclaim that those were never his thoughts.

The rest of the process was quite simple. The armored warriors departed at Qian Jizis behest to gather more of their comrades to this place, temporarily placing the area in a radius of several kilometers into a state of lockdown. As for this inn, it was naturally also isolated as the epicenter of the incident.

Thus, a completely oblivious and stunned Xiang Zhili was summoned to the room, and Han Li could only appraise the situation with a resigned smile.

After that, Han Li and the elderly man departed from the inn while the Vast Glacial Badge remained there with countless armored warriors guarding the place.

Bai Yue and Cang Ying didnt remain in this place for much longer before taking their leave.

However, Han Li and the elderly man didnt travel through the city via flight. Instead, there was a carriage being drawn by a pair of giant golden lion spirit beasts waiting on the side of the street beside the inn.

The elderly man invited Han Li onto the carriage, and the giant lions rose up several feet above the ground before charging along at an incredible speed.

Qian Jizi didnt have any intention to engage in an in-depth conversation with Han Li inside the carriage. He merely made some small talk before closing his eyes to meditate.

Han Lis expression remained unchanged, but countless thoughts were racing through his mind as he considered just why he was being taken.

The elderly man had assured him that he was only trying to repay Han Li for saving Jia Tianmu, but he certainly wasnt going to allow himself to be convinced by that.

Even if he had saved Jia Tianmu, the favor had already been repaid by the sentient puppet that had been given to him.

However, it appeared that they required his assistance to enter this so-called Vast Glacial Realm, seeing as his blood essence had activated the Vast Glacial Badge.

In that case, he could perhaps use that as leverage to see if he could be granted access to use the super teleportation formation.

Thus, he was still useful to the Heavenly Cloud Races, so they definitely wouldnt plot against him right away. With that in mind, he was feeling a lot more reassured.

The beast-drawn carriage that he was currently riding in was significantly faster than the other carriages hed ridden in before, and it didnt take long for the carriage to reach the Eight Cloud Mountains.

Han Li cast his gaze out the window at the eight massive mountains in the distance, and a peculiar look flashed through his eyes. Was this Qian Jizi taking him back to his cave abode?

A short while later, just as the beast-drawn carriage was approaching one of the eight mountains, it suddenly changed directions and skirted around the mountain, flying toward the area behind it instead.

Han Li was a little surprised by this, but after the beast-drawn carriage traveled around the mountain, he discovered that there was a small fortress that was several kilometers in size beyond the mountain.

The fortress wasnt very large, but there were seven or eight layers of city walls around it. Each successive layer of the city walls was taller than the previous one as they approached the fortress, and just the outermost wall was already over 1,000 feet tall, while the innermost wall appeared to be close to 10,000 feet in height.

From a distance, it appeared to be a fortress, but it was probably more accurate to call it a giant tower.

Through the use of his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, Han Li could clearly see that there were silvery-white statues situated atop the city walls as intervals of just over 1,000 feet.

These statues all differed in appearance with some being carved to resemble beasts while others were more humanoid in shape. The largest of these statues were over 1,000 feet tall, and even the smallest were 700 to 800 feet tall. All of them were completely stationary, but there was an indescribable menacing aura emanating from their bodies.

There were also rows of azure-armored guards wielding long halberds standing atop the city walls. All of them were patrolling the walls in a uniform manner, yet none of them were actually living creatures, they were all humanoid puppets.

There was a tall pillar situated on each of the four corners of the fortress, and these pillars were respectively, yellow, blue, red, and green in color. All of them were quite translucent, and they reached all the way up into the clouds. There were countless large runes flashing over their surfaces, giving them an extremely mysterious and eye-catching appearance.

Just as Han Li was taking in the scenes before his eyes with a hint of awe in his heart, the beast-drawn carriage flew into the air above the fortress, then descended before a strange green hall that was situated at the center of the fortress.

After disembarking from the carriage, Han Li glanced up at the hall to find a plaque that was several tens of feet long hanging from it. The words Sentient Hall were inscribed on the plaque in large golden letters, and Han Li immediately thought of his own sentient puppet.

Could it be that this hall was somehow related to sentient puppets or was this just a pure coincidence?

Just as these thoughts were running through Han Lis mind, Qian Jizi chuckled, Please come in, Fellow Daoist. This is an important place to our Myriad Ancient Race, and very rarely will we ever invite outsiders into it.

Thank you for giving me this honor, Senior, Han Li replied with a respectful bow.

In the face of this immensely powerful being, Han Li didnt dare to show any disrespect as nothing could come from a show of dissent.

A hint of a smile appeared on Qian Jizis face, and he waved a hand before walking on ahead.

There was a white-robed guard standing on either side of the palace gates, and he remained completely expressionless as the elderly man strode toward the gates, as if he couldnt even see anything.

Han Li was rather perplexed by this, and he took an extra glance at the guard, following which his expression abruptly changed slightly.

Looks like youve figured it out, Fellow Daoist Han, those two guards are a pair of sentient puppets, both of which are ninth-tier upper race beings, and they can guard this palace day and night. Aside from a few special people who can take people into the palace, theyd everyone else who approached the palace without any hesitation, the elderly man explained without even turning his head.

Han Li drew a sharp breath as he turned to the two white-robed puppets with a hint of awe in his eyes.

These two puppets were equivalent in power to beings at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage. If a normal cultivator were to have these two puppets in accompaniment, theyd essentially be invincible below the Body Integration Stage. It was a massive waste to be using such puppets to guard a hall like this!

Han Li clicked his tongue with wonder internally as he glanced at the two expressionlessly puppets one final time.

At this point, Qian Jizi had already made his way into the hall, so he could only follow him in through the gate.

The exterior of this Sentient Hall appeared to be quite out of the ordinary, but the interior was actually quite simple. Aside from the main hall, there were only two side halls, one on the left, and one on the right.

Within the main hall, there were no other eye-catching features aside form several dozens of thick metal pillars.

Qian Jizi strode directly over to the two rows of chairs situated at the center of the hall before sitting down in the main seat.

Take a seat, Fellow Daoist Han. The Vast Glacial Badge is quite an important item, so Ive already invited the other two elders of our race to gather here. The three of us are responsible for making all of the decisions in the Myriad Ancient Race here in Cloud City, Qian Jizi said with a smile.

I see. Looks like this Vast Glacial Badge is far more significant an item than Id expected, Han Li replied with a nod.

He hadnt seen Qian Jizi do anything out of the ordinary on the way here, but hed somehow already notified the other two elders. This only further accentuated the gap between Spatial Tempering Stage and Body Integration Stage beings.

Youre not from the Thunder Continent, are you, Fellow Daoist? Qian Jizi suddenly asked.

Han Lis heart stirred upon hearing this, but he then immediately relaxed as he nodded, and truthfully replied, Indeed, I come from another continent. Has Fellow Daoist Jia already disclosed my intention to use the super teleportation formation to you, Senior?

Master Jia did indeed mention this to me, and on top of that, theres no way that you wouldnt recognize the Vast Glacial Badge and activate it without a second thought if you were from the Thunder Continent, Qian Jizi chuckled.

Is the Vast Glacial Badge supposed to be extremely renowned? I havent seen any records of it anywhere, would you be able to enlighten me, Senior? Han Li asked with a wry smile.

He didnt blame Jia Tianmu in the slightest for informing Qian Jizi of his intention to use the super teleportation formation. Instead, he wouldve found it quite strange if he hadnt done so.

Its no surprise that there are no records of the Vast Glacial Badge. Its quite a renowned object on our Thunder Continent, but it cant be used by any single being. Without the power of an entire race acting as support, even if one were to obtain the Vast Glacial Badge, it would be impossible for them to enter the Vast Glacial Realm. However, many beings of the upper race have heard about this badge, the elderly man explained with a smile.

Using the badge requires the power of an entire race? This Vast Glacial Realm must be quite an extraordinary place, Han Li mused as he stroked his chin.

Its not just extraordinary, some of the things that can be obtained from the Vast Glacial Realm could even determine the fate of an entire race. Of course, such monumental treasures are exceedingly rare, even in the Vast Glacial Realm. The main aspects about the realm that make it very attractive are that the richness of the worlds origin Qi there is over 10 times that of our Spirit Realm, and there are also many spirit medicines and spirit fruits there that ware extremely difficult to find in the Spirit Realm, the elderly man explained with a smile.

How can there be a place with such rich spiritual Qi? An incredulous look appeared on Han Lis face upon hearing this.

Hehe, what kind of place do you think this Vast Glacial Realm is, Fellow Daoist? A spatial rift or a small subsidiary realm to the Spirit Realm? Qian Jizi chuckled as he stroked his beard.

Please enlighten me, Senior, Han Li replied in a respectful voice.

The elderly mans smile faded, and he paused for a moment before continuing, This has not been completely confirmed, but we are almost entirely sure that the Vast Glacial Realm is a damaged subsidiary space to the True Immortal Realm.

A subsidiary space to the True Immortal Realm! Even with Han Lis steadfast nature, he couldnt help but be stunned by this revelation.

Indeed. It should be a now-defunct space in the True Immortal Realm. Those who have entered this space in the past have found cave abodes and even remains that are suspected to have once belonged to immortals. However, no one has ever seen a living immortal in there, Qian Jizi confirmed with a nod.

Han Li was left speechless as he sat on his chair with a blank expression on his face.

Theres no need to be so shocked, Fellow Daoist. At present, this is only mere speculation, among the cave abodes, remains, and treasures discovered within the Vast Glacial Realm, weve yet to discover anything thats actually useful, so its not like anyone can just go in and come back out with extraordinary treasures that defy the natural order. Even the spirit medicines and spirit fruits I mentioned are mostly hidden in obscure locations that require extensive efforts to find, the elderly man said with a smile.

Han Li was seated in the corner, and his expression abruptly changed as he swept his spiritual sense toward this newcomer.

This mans spiritual power was quite unfathomable, indicating that he was a Body Integration Stage being.

The man withdrew his gaze, then waved a hand toward the armored warriors before turning his attention to Han Li. Are you the one who activated this Vast Glacial Badge?

I want to deny that, but it doesnt really seem possible at this point, Han Li sighed with a wry smile on his face.

Why would you deny this? Youve encountered a massive stroke of luck! the man said with a hint of a smile on his face as he appraised Han Li through narrowed eyes.

A massive stroke of luck? What do you… Han Lis expression changed slightly, yet just as he was about to ask a question, the mans brows furrowed as he abruptly turned toward one of the walls of the room.

Brother Cang Ying, seeing as youre already here, why dont you show yourself? Are you planning to hand over this Vast Glacial Badge to our Water Wraith Race?

Not many Vast Glacial Badges have appeared on this occasion, so every single badge is extremely valuable, would your Water Wraith Race dare to take one for yourselves? Without the Myriad Ancient Race to set up and activate the required formation, the badge will be useless to you even if you do take it, a cold voice replied.

A black shadow then flashed on the wall that the white-haired young man was staring at, following which a shadowy figure that was enshrouded under grey light appeared in a soundless manner. The figure was standing close to the wall, completely motionless, as if it were an insubstantial object.

The cold voice just then had sounded directly from within the grey light.

As opposed to becoming enraged, the white-haired man merely chuckled, Hehe, Im naturally aware of this. However, if this fellow Daoist wishes to join our Water Wraith Race, then it wont be an issue for us to use this Vast Glacial Badge to take some of our brethren into the Vast Glacial Realm, right?

That would be fine, of course, but this fellow Daoist doesnt seem to have expressed any intention of joining your race. Perhaps hed rather become a guest member of our Yin Demon Race, the shadowy figure referred to as Cang Ying replied in a completely emotionless voice.

Is that so? Thats rather hard to say. If I recall correctly, there is an unspoken rule among our 13 races, if two races set their eyes on an outsider at the same time, the other race can only extend an invitation after said outsider has rejected the invitation from the first race. Fellow Daoist, I am Bai Yue of the Water Wraith Race, and Im officially extending an invitation to you to become a guest member of our race. If youre willing to join our race, I can promise you that well help you advance a tier in your cultivation base within 100 years, and well also offer you a variety of other immense benefits. The white-haired man turned his gaze away from Cang Ying and extended a formal offer to Han Li.

However, he stared intently into Han Lis eyes as he spoke, and a strange iridescent light rapidly swirled within his own eyes, seemingly emitting an invisible power that threatened to suck away the beholders sense of reason.

Han Lis eyelids twitched, and as soon as he looked into Bai Yues iridescent eyes, his spiritual sense blurred, and almost reflexively opened his mouth to accept the offer being extended toward him.

However, in the next instant, he activated his Great Development Technique, and his pupils contracted as piercing blue light appeared in his eyes, thereby allowing him to resist the strange captivating force of the white-haired mans eyes.

At the same time, Han Li regained clarity in his spiritual sense, following which a burst of fury welled up in his heart.

This white-haired young man appeared to be quite honest and benevolent, yet he had used a captivation technique to try and sway Han Lis decision. If it werent for the fact that he possessed his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, he wouldve most likely been drawn into accepting his offer just then.

The white-haired young man faltered upon seeing this before a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

Cang Ying was also rather taken aback by this development, but he then burst into laughter as he said in a derisive tone, Haha, I didnt think that your Iridescent Illusionary Eyes would fail to take effect on a being below the holy race. Stop trying to play your little tricks, Fellow Daoist Bai. As you said yourself, the rule stipulating that invitations had to be made in sequential order to outsiders is only an unspoken one. In the face of the Vast Glacial Badge, none of our 13 races would be willing to follow an unofficial rule like that.

The white-haired mans expression quickly returned to normal, and he cast a meaningful glance toward Han Li before turning to Cnag Ying. Seeing as this fellow Daoist has no intention of joining our Water Wraith Race, I naturally wont force him to do so against his will. Brother Cang Ying, arent you going to try and invite this fellow Daoist to join your Yin Demon Race?

This matter concerns a Vast Glacial Badge, which is an item of the utmost importance, so neither of us can decide which race he will join. In that case, Im not going to waste my efforts doing something that wont lead to anything, Cang Ying harrumphed in response.

Bai Yue merely smiled and remained silent upon hearing this.

Cang Ying also chuckled as he fell silent as well.

As for Han Li, he also refrained from saying anything as the blue light in his eyes faded.

Thus, the room became extremely silent, and the nearby armored warriors were left staring blankly at one another, wondering what they should do in this situation.

However, this silence was broken just moments later.

The sound of knocking suddenly rang out from the other side of the door, following which an elderly voice sounded. I am Qian Jizi of the Myriad Ancient Race. Would I be able to see the owner of this place?

Bai Yues face paled slightly upon hearing this elderly voice, and the grey light around Cang Yings body rippled unsteadily as well.

Han Li immediately replied, Please come in, Senior. It is a great honor for me to welcome you to my humble abode.

Upon hearing Han Lis polite response, the elderly man didnt delay any longer. Spiritual light flashed, and he passed directly through the door, appearing in the room in the next instant.

This was a chubby yellow-robed elderly man with a strange woven basket on his back. He wasnt very tall, and he had a set of benevolent facial features.

Fellow Daoist Bai, Fellow Daoist Cang Ying, I didnt expect to see you two here, the elderly man greeted in a warm voice, as if he really were only just finding out that these two beings were in the room.

Greetings, Fellow Daoist, the two of us have only just arrived as well.

Indeed. I just so happened to be doing something nearby, and I noticed the phenomenon resulting from the activation of the Vast Glacial Badge, so I decided to come and have a look.

Bai Yue and Cang Ying were regarding each other with enmity just a moment ago, but in the face of this elderly man, both of them were behaving in an extremely careful manner.

Han Li was naturally rather intrigued by their sudden changes in demeanor, and he swept his spiritual sense toward the elderly man, upon which a wave of shock surged through his heart.

This Qian Jizis magic power was as boundless as the ocean, and it was completely unfathomable to Han Li. At the very least, he was unable to glean the elderly mans cultivation base as he currently was, which meant that the elderly man was most likely a being at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage.

It was no wonder than Bai Yue and Cang Ying were so wary of him. Even if the two of them were to combine their powers, theyd most likely still be no match for the elderly man.

So there really is a Vast Glacial Badge here! Does this badge belong to you, Fellow Daoist? Qian Jizi gave the two a benevolent smile, then glanced at the golden and silver badge hovering in mid-air before turning to Han Li.

Indeed, Senior, Han Li hurriedly replied with a respectful bow.

Your surname is Han, right? Qian Jizi suddenly asked with a smile.

How did you know that, Senior? Han Lis expression changed slightly, and even though he was asking that question, he most likely knew the answer already.

As expected, Qian Jizi smiled, and replied, Ive heard about you from Fellow Daoist Jia, and I also have your portrait. I was going to send someone to invite you for a chat a few days from now, but it looks like I have no choice but to meet you a little earlier than expected.

Do you recognize him, Fellow Daoist Qian Jizi? Bai Yue asked.

Hehe, one of our Myriad Ancient Races four top puppet masters, Master Jia, was almost captured by the Jiao Chi Race a few days ago, and it was all thanks to Fellow Daoist Han that he was able to escape unscathed, so of course Ive heard of him, Qian Jizi replied as he stroked his beard.

What? Does that Master Jia was sent to the border? Cang Ying asked with a surprised look on his face.

Indeed. Our race had an important matter to take care of, so we had no choice but to send Master Jia. We deployed a few guards to accompany him, but due to the invasion of the Jiao Chi Race, all of them perished on the border. Are you two interested in the internal affairs of our Myriad Ancient Race? the elderly man asked with an amused smile.

Bai Yues expression changed upon hearing this, and he forced a smile onto his own face as he replied, I wouldnt dare to pry into your races internal affairs, Fellow Daoist. Its just that Master Jias proficiency in puppetry is quite extraordinary, making him an indispensable member of our 13 races, so I am merely concerned for his safety.

Indeed. Were both very happy to hear that Master Jia is now safe. It was quite apparent that Cang Ying was also feeling very uneasy.

Looks like I was overthinking things, then. Seeing as this Vast Glacial Badge has been activated by Fellow Daoist Han, you wouldnt mind if I invited Fellow Daoist Han back our race for a chat, would you? As for this place, well set up restrictions and deploy troops to put it into complete lockdown. Our Myriad Ancient Race will deploy people soon after this to set up the relevant formation. Qian Jizi was speaking in a polite tone, but he gave the other two beings no opportunity to state any objections.

Bai Yue and Cang Ying naturally werent very pleased by this arrangement, but they had no choice but to bow to Qian Jizis overwhelming might.

The elderly man nodded with a content look before turning to Han Li with a smile as he asked, Fellow Daoist Han, would you like to follow me to our race?

A wry smile appeared on Han Lis face upon hearing this. This was an invitation that was being extended by a being at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, so he certainly wouldnt dare to refuse it. As such, he could only respectfully reply, If you dont mind my intrusion, Id love to accompany you, Senior.

Qian Jizi could see the hesitation in Han Lis eyes, and he chuckled, Haha, not to worry, Fellow Daoist Han. Setting aside everything else, you are the one who saved Master Jias life, and our Myriad Ancient Race isnt one to repay kindness with animosity.

Han Li had already examined the crimson talismans plastered to the surface of the box, they were nothing special and were only used to repress the aura of the item inside the box.

On top of that, he had already formulated a plan to remove these talismans.

For others, this would most likely prove to be quite a troublesome prospect, but he possessed several abilities that were extremely effective against restrictions.

Thus, after securing his room with a series of light barriers, Han Li tossed the jade box into the air, where it hovered motionlessly at his behest.

He then reached out with a pristine white hand toward the jade box while the Divine Essencefused Light barrier being emitted by the miniature mountain became noticeably denser. At the same time, five white skulls emerged from his fingertips, all of which swelled in size before hurtling toward the jade box.

Break!

Han Li issued a command as he pointed at the five skulls, and all of them opened their mouths in unison to expel a wave of five-colored glacial flames that swept up the jade box within.

An astonishing scene then ensued.

As the five-colored glacial flames converged toward the box, the crimson talismans detached themselves from the boxs lid of their own accord.

The talismans shouldve been quite light and spritely, but due to the effects of the five-colored glacial flames, they were moving a lot more slowly than they normally would, and Han Li was able to clearly see the process through which they were separating from the box.

This brief period of time was enough for Han Li to assess all of the changes taking place within the box.

All of a sudden, his expression darkened, and the five-colored glacial flames surging around the jade box transformed into a massive five-colored hand, which forcibly removed the lid on the box.

A burst of extremely unstable yet powerful fluctuations erupted from the box into the air, following which a golden ball of light shot forth, only to be caught in and completely immobilized by the five-colored hand.

Right at this moment, a resounding thump rang out as a red light formation surfaced around the jade box. The formation then swelled and shrank, looking as if it were about to explode.

Han Li glanced at the light formation, and the terrifying spiritual power imbued within it was quite harrowing even to him.

Thus, he immediately made a hand seal, and the massive five-colored hand locked firmly around the golden and silver ball of light before whizzing toward the corner as a streak of five-colored light. At the same time, the Divine Essencefused Light in the nearby area suddenly tightened to form a dense grey pillar of light that trapped the light formation within.

In the next instant, the light formation exploded, and a white halo immediately appeared within the pillar of light.

The pillar of light then began to tremor violently as a series of strange ripples appeared over its surface, looking as if it were going to be vanquished at any moment by the force of the explosion.

Han Lis eyes narrowed as he harrumphed coldly, and he opened his mouth to expel a ball of silver flames.

The fireball transformed into a silver Fire Raven that rushed into the grey pillar of light in a flash before plunging headfirst into the halo of white light.

A bizarre turn of events then unfolded. The violent fluctuations that resembled an erupting volcano within the white halo of light suddenly receded, and at the same time, the halo of light shrank drastically at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye.

Within just the span of a few breaths, it had disappeared completely, and in its place was the silver Fire Raven.

The bird had swelled to several times its original size, and it was in the process of sucking one final wisp of white light into its stomach.

Han Li finally heaved an internal sigh of relief upon seeing this.

He waved a hand, and the silver Fire Raven spread its wings before flying back to him, disappearing into his body in a flash.

Meanwhile, the five white skulls also vanished amid a string of dull thumps.

At the same time, the five-colored hand in the air appeared above his hand, then relaxed its fingers to release that ball of golden and silver light.

Han Li swept a sleeve upward, and a swath of azure light swept forth to draw the golden ball of light into his grasp. As he clenched his fingers around it, the golden and silver light dimmed to reveal the object within.

He held his hand up to his face, then focused his gaze to conduct a more thorough inspection.

There was an antiquated badge that appeared to be around half a foot in length within the spiritual light.

One side was shimmering with golden light while the other glowed with silver light, and the surfaces of the badge were riddled with profound ripples. At the same time, there was an unidentifiable ancient symbol carved onto each side of the badge.

Even with Han Lis vast wealth of knowledge in foreign languages, he was still completely unable to figure out from which language these symbols originated.

Han Li stroked the surface of the badge gently with his finger, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

To think that the item that the big-headed being had held in such high regard was something like this.

Even though the badge was shimmering with spiritual light, there were some signs of wear and tear around its edges, indicating that it was definitely quite an old item. Furthermore, the material used to forge the badge was also quite strange. One side was frosty cold to the touch while the other side was scorching hot, indicating that it seemed to possess both ice and fire attributes at the same time.

Han Li fell into deep thought upon seeing this. However, as he swept a finger over one of the ancient symbols, something unexpected happened.

A wisp of white light suddenly emerged from within the badge, and it was as thin as a strand of fine silk, but it was extremely fast and disappeared in a flash.

A cold sensation shot through his palm, followed by a faint hint of stabbing pain. His hand then became a little a moist and clammy, and in his bewilderment, Han Li reflexively tossed the badge into the air, where it hovered motionlessly above his head.

He then brought his palm up to his face to find that there was a gash that was several inches long on his palm. The gash was bleeding profusely, and it seemed that he wouldnt be able to immediately stop the bleeding.

With his powerful body in conjunction with the fact that this hand had cultivated the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra, it was quite incredible that a thin white thread could inflict such a nasty gash onto his palm.

Despite the astonishment in his heart, Han Li immediately began to circulate his magic power within his body. Specks of white light began to emanate from the gash, following which it was fully healed in just a few moments.

After that, he glanced up at the strange badge overhead with intrigue and bewilderment in his eyes.

At this moment, brilliant golden and silver light were radiating from the badge, and the traces of blood on it were rapidly vanishing.

No, they werent vanishing, they were being absorbed by the badge!

Han Lis lips twitched, yet before he had a chance to do anything, the badge suddenly let loose a long cry akin to that of a dragons roar. Immediately thereafter, a pillar of golden and silver light erupted into the air, completely disregarding the Divine Essencefused Light and the restrictive light barriers that hed set up earlier, then puncturing the roof and climbing straight into the heavens.

Han Lis expression instantly darkened significantly upon seeing this. He immediately waved a sleeve through the air, and a swath of azure light swept forth from within as he attempted to recover the badge.

However, an incredible turn of events then unfolded!

Even as the azure light swept toward the badge, it completely refused to budge, and it only continued to blast a pillar of golden and silver light into the sky.

Han Lis heart sank as a wry smile appeared on his face.

With the massive commotion that this badge was causing, there was no way that what he was doing would go by unnoticed. It wouldnt take long before someone came to investigate what was going on.

With that in mind, a series of thoughts flashed rapidly through Han Lis mind, and he immediately sprang into action.

Specks of light of different colors instantly appeared out of thin air at his behest, and he instantly stowed away the miniature black mountain as well as the formation plates hed set up earlier.

He then paused before making his way toward a corner of the room, where he sat down expressionlessly in a cross-legged manner, paying no further heed to the badge that was hovering in mid-air.

A short while alter, light flashed from the four walls and the door of the room at the same time, following which a few black-armored warriors of Cloud City emerged in the room in a wraith-like manner.

All of them faltered slightly at the sight of the badge that was causing such a big commotion, then turned to Han Li in unison with a cold look in their eyes.

However, their expressions then changed slightly after verifying Han Lis cultivation base with their spiritual sense to find that he was far more powerful than them.

The leader of the armored warrior adopted a slightly more benevolent expression as he asked, Is that your treasure? Are you not aware that activating powerful treasures and using too much spiritual power is prohibited in Cloud City?

Seeing as Han Lis cultivation base was far superior to theirs, they didnt dare to show him any disrespect before figuring out what was going on.

I encountered some issues while refining this treasure, but Ill sort things out right away. Han Li was quite calm and collected, and he made a grabbing motion toward the badge from afar as he spoke.

A massive translucent hand instantly appeared in the air before grabbing down toward the badge.

However, despite Han Lis best efforts to drag the badge down toward him, it refused to move so much as a single inch, as if it were completely locked in space somehow.

Confused expressions appeared on the faces of the armored warriors in the room upon seeing this, and Han Lis lips also twitched in response to this situation.

He took a deep breath, and just as he was about to exert more force on the badge, an indifferent male voice suddenly sounded from outside the room.

Dont bother! The Vast Glacial Badge has already been activated by you in advance, and its locked onto a spatial position, so it wont move no matter what you do to it unless you shatter all of the space in a radius of 1,000 feet.

As soon as the voice trailed off, spatial fluctuations rippled throughout the room, and an indistinct humanoid figure emerged out of thin air.

All of the armored warriors expressions changed upon seeing this humanoid figure, and they bowed in unison as their leader greeted in a respectful manner, The members of the 73rd enforcement squad pays their respects to Elder Bai!

The humanoid figure was a man in a brocade robe who appeared to be quite young, but both his hair and beard were snowy white in color.

Theres no mistaking it, this is indeed a Vast Glacial Badge. Tsk tsk, Id thought that all of these badges had fallen into the hands of the Jiao Chi Race, but who wouldve thought that thered be one here? In contrast with his snowy white hair and beard, the man had a pair of thick black eyebrows. There was an elated expression on his square face, and he paid no heed to anyone else as he stared up at the shimmering golden and silver badge hovering in mid-air.

Its not that, I was marveling at just how extraordinary sentient puppets truly are. If it werent for the fact that Im also proficient in puppetry myself, Id be fooled into thinking that this sentient puppet was an actual person. The spiritual pressure emanating from her body is remarkably similar to that of a normal cultivator, Han Li praised with a smile on his face.

Not only was Jia Tianmu not dejected upon hearing this, he burst into hearty laughter instead. Haha, so youve figured it out, Fellow Daoist Han! Tsk tsk, among the fellow Daoists who have visited my cave abode, you are definitely the first below the holy race to discover that this servant of mine is only a puppet. I refined this puppet myself many years ago, and its swindled many of my good friends since then.He seemed to be quite impressed that Han Li had been able to identify his servant as a puppet.

Youre far too kind, Fellow Daoist Jia. From the looks of it, this sentient puppet isnt very powerful, but it certainly does greatly resemble a human, Han Li mused with a smile as he appraised the puppet, which was virtually identical to a real human being.

You do indeed have a brilliant discerning eye, Brother Han! This is the first sentient puppet that Ive ever refined, and its only a third-tier upper race puppet. I decided to solely pursue crafting a sentient puppet with the most spiritual nature at the time, but unfortunately, even after Ive nurtured the puppet for so long, its spiritual nature hasnt been enhanced in the slightest, Jia Tianmu sighed as he turned toward the servant with a wistful look on his face.

At this moment, the servant suddenly turned and smiled at Jia Tianmu in an extremely humanized manner, but its smile then instantly faded as it adopted a blank and wooden expression again. Han Li was a little speechless upon seeing this. Have a look at the sentient puppet in the box and see if youre happy with it, Brother Han, Jia Tianmu prompted after withdrawing his gaze from his servant.Alright, then Ill go ahead. Han Li nodded as he swept a sleeve over the table, and a swath of azure light surged forth. The long wooden box opened following a crisp crack, revealing the item within. Han Li focused his gaze on the item, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

There was a white snake that was around a foot in length sitting inside the box. Its entire body was glittering and translucent, with a layer of white spiritual light radiating from it.

This is a new type of sentient puppet that I refined not long ago. It possesses a cultivation base thats roughly the same as yours at around the seventh-tier of the upper race, but even though its not all that powerful, it possesses two forms. If it werent for the fact that youve saved my life, I really wouldnt be willing to part with this part, Jia Tianmu said with a slightly forlorn look in his eyes.Two forms? Han Li was rather surprised to hear this.

Indeed! Even though I havent infused my blood essence into it to perform a master recognition ceremony, I can still show you its basic abilities. Jia Tianmu made a hand seal as he spoke, then pointed a finger toward the wooden box in Han Lis hands. A beam of white light immediately shot forth from his fingertip, disappearing into the white snakes body in a flash.

Spiritual light flashed, and the motionless snake suddenly sprang to life. Brilliant white light erupted from its body, and it transformed into a streak of white light as it flew out of the wooden box. Immediately thereafter, it swelled drastically to become a white python that was several tens of feet in length before circling around in the air.

The python had a pair of crimson eyes while its body was entirely covered in shimmering white scales. A violent aura was emanating from the puppet, and it really did seem to be completely identical to a real giant python. All of a sudden, Jia Tianmu let loose a low cry and made a hand seal before casting another incantation seal onto the snake.

The giant python puppet shuddered as a result before curling up into a ball.

Another flash of brilliant white light radiated forth, following which the white python transformed into a beautiful white-robed woman. In its female human form, the puppet wore a slightly lost expression as it hovered motionlessly in mid-air.

This sentient puppet can assist you in battle and also be used as a servant in your cave abode. Its only flaw is that it requires several times the number of spirit stones to function compared to other sentient puppets. On top of that, most of the puppets body is constructed from Glacial Crystal Iron, so it can only be powered by the extremely rare ice-attribute spirit stones. If you want to use the puppet, youll have to prepare to expend a lot of spirit stones on it in the future, Jia Tianmu explained.

Han Li stared at the white-robed woman hovering in mid-air for a long while before smiling as he replied, Ice-attribute spirit stones are indeed quite rare, but I do have some in my collection, so Id be more than happy to take the puppet.

Hehe, Im glad that youre pleased with the puppet, Brother Han. Youll only need to use a drop of your blood essence to conduct a master recognition ceremony, and no one else will be able to use the puppet aside from yourself, Jia Tianmu said with a smile before making a hand seal, then pointing a finger at the puppet. The white-robed woman immediately swayed before flying toward Han Li as a ball of white light. It then transformed into a white snake that slowly descended into the box again. At the same time, Han Li rustled a sleeve, and a burst of azure light swept past to place the lid back onto the box.

Fellow Daoist Jia, from the sounds of it, all of these sentient puppets were created by you, so you must be an extremely well-established puppet refinement master. I also have some interesting puppets that were given to me by someone else, would you like to see them? Han Li turned to Jia Tianmu with a smile.

Oh? Id love to see them! Jia Tianmu seemed to be genuinely excited at the prospect of witnessing a new type of puppets. Han Li smiled as he flipped his hand over, and a jade box appeared over his palm. The box was shimmering with spiritual light, and there were even a few restriction talismans plastered onto it.

After peeling off the talismans, Han Li laid a hand onto the lid of the box, and it came flying off of its own accord, following which several tens of humanoid puppets flew out from within, each of which was around a foot in size.

These were none other than the spirit servants that Han Li had received from Demon Monarch Di Xue.

As soon as these humanoid puppets flew to the center of the hall, a cloud of five-colored mist suddenly erupted forth. The mist then faded, and 12 seductive gorgeous women in five-colored dresses appeared in the hall.

At the same time, 24 handsome young men appeared on either side of the hall, and all of them were holding different types of musical instruments as they sat in a cross-legged manner.

Han Li hadnt cast any incantation seals, but a delightful captivating symphony immediately rang out within the room. The beautiful women also began to dance along to the music.

Their five-colored dresses fluttered as they flaunted their slender figures, and a peculiar fragrant aroma wafted through the air.

Jia Tianmus eyes abruptly widened as soon as those humanoid puppets appeared, and he stared intently at them with rapt focus in his eyes.

After a long while, the captivating music drew to a halt, and the 12 female dancers also stood still on the spot with their hands by their sides. They are indeed quite interesting. The spiritual sense within these puppets doesnt belong to you, does it, Fellow Daoist Han? Jia Tianmu asked with an intrigued look on his face.

So youve noticed that as well. These puppets are known as spirit servants, and theyre half-spirit half-object entities. Theyre different from sentient puppets in that theyre refined from infusing a type of spirit body into a puppet. However, they function much the same as sentient puppets in that they have a certain, albeit limited, degree of autonomy, and theres no way to further enhance their spiritual nature after theyve been refined, Han Li explained with a smile.

An elated look appeared on Jia Tianmus face upon hearing this, and he immediately asked, Ive thought of trying to fuse spirit bodies and puppets as one, and Ive conducted several experiments to try and make that a reality, but none of them have succeeded. What kind of spirit body was infused into these spirit servants?

I didnt refine these spirit servants myself, so Im not too sure what kind of spirit bodies were infused into them. However, Im sure that youll be able to separate the spirit bodies from these puppets and identify them, Han Li replied as he stroked his chin.Thats true. Wait, youre giving these puppets to me? Jian Tianmu nodded in response before suddenly realizing what Han Li was implying.

These spirit servants are quite interesting, but they serve no purpose for me. In contrast, you have brilliant mastery in the art of puppetry, so perhaps youll be able to make good use of them to further better yourself, Han Li said in a calm manner.

These spirit servants are indeed extremely useful to me, but I cant just accept such a precious gift from you. How about this? I have some wealth on my hands at the moment, so Ill purchase them from you instead, Jia Tianmu insisted as he shook his head.

If you really want to offer me something in return, then I have a few questions to ask you. If you can answer those questions, Id be more than satisfied. Han Li finally disclosed his objective.

Jia Tianmu faltered upon hearing this before responding in a cautious manner. Questions? Feel free to ask me anything, Brother Han. However, if what youre asking has anything to do with confidential information in our 13 Heavenly Cloud Races, then forgive me for not being able to answer them.

Of course, my questions definitely wont be related to any sensitive subjects, Han Li assured with a smile. Jia Tianmus expression eased upon hearing this, and he nodded as he said, Then go ahead, Brother Han.

During the past few days, I heard from someone that there seems to be a teleportation formation capable of facilitating teleportation between continents in the Heavenly Cloud Races, is that true? If so, which race is it being controlled by? Han Li asked.

Jia Tianmu was clearly rather taken aback by Han Lis question, and he relaxed even further as he replied, There is indeed such a teleportation formation, but its not being controlled by any single race. Instead, it belongs to several races among our 13 Heavenly Cloud Races.

Which races do the teleportation formation belong to? Han Li asked.

Due to the fact that the teleportation formation needs to be kept in good condition, its often serviced, and thats taken care of by the Crystal Race, the Stone Cocoon Race, the Multihand Race, and our Myriad Ancient Race. Fellow Daoist Han, are you interested in the teleportation formation itself or are you interested in using it? Jia Tianmu asked with a thoughtful expression on his face.

Xian Xian, Han Li murmured to himself before nodding as he said, Seeing as I dont have to venture deep into the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges and the holy-grade devilish beast has been severely debilitated, this is a risk worth taking. However, let me make this clear, if things arent as you say they are or I find that the undertaking is somehow riskier than I expected for whatever reason, Ill bail out right away. Also, on the day that the mountain ranges open up, I want you to come with me in person and lead the way. Lastly, if the holy-grade devilish beast really does possess the bloodline of a Giant Mountain Ape, you have to split half of its true spirit blood with me. If you dont agree to any of the aforementioned conditions, then the deal is off.

Han Li adopted quite a serious expression as he spoke.

Xian Xian contemplated his conditions momentarily before nodding as she replied, Alright, I accept those conditions.

A smile appeared on Han Lis face in response to her prompt agreement. Thus, he spoke no further as he flicked his wrist, and a storage bracelet instantly flew out of his sleeve.

He pointed a finger at the bracelet, and a swath of azure light instantly swept forth, following which a dozen or so vials and boxes of different sizes and materials abruptly appeared in mid-air.

On top of that, there were also several tens of top-grade spirit stones that were shimmering with lights of different colors.

At your current cultivation base, these pills and medicines should be enough to support your cultivation until the low and intermediate tiers of the upper race, and they can even assist you in breaking through bottlenecks. However, their effectiveness will differ from person to person. As for these materials, I expended a lot of effort to collect them, take a look and see if theyre to your liking, Han Li said in an indifferent voice.

Many of these pills had been consumed by Han Li in the past, and hed even brought out his remaining two vials of True Toad Liquid, so he wasnt afraid that the woman would be discontent with his offering.

As for the materials, those were of a slightly lower caliber, but they had been obtained from the two Spatial Tempering Stage demon beasts that hed slain back in the Flame Coral Islands, so they were also extremely precious and rare.

In contrast, the top-grade spirit stones really had been quite difficult to come by, even for him, and bringing out so many at once was far from a pleasant experience for him.

As expected, after examining the pills and materials, a hint of elation appeared on the womans face.

All of these items are quite precious, and along with those top-grade spirit stones, theyre certainly enough to exchange for this suit of devilish armor, the woman said with a smile as she stowed everything away.

Im glad to hear that. We have a deal, then. Ill leave you with a Myriad Distance Talisman, and I wont be leaving Cloud City anytime soon. When the Golden Devil Mountain Ranges are about to open up, you can inform me using that talisman. Han Li smiled as azure light flashed from his storage bracelet at his behest, following which a palm-sized jade badge flew out from within.

The storage bracelet then flew back as a streak of azure light, fitting itself around Han Lis wrist in a flash.

Alright, Ill remember to use the talisman when the time comes. The Crystal Woman nodded with a smile as she caught the jade badge.

Han Li didnt say anything further as he made a hand seal and began to chant something.

The golden projection and the suit of purple armor that it was wearing both disappeared in the flash, and at the same time, the Nascent Soul within Han Lis dantian smiled as a purple suit of armor appeared over its chubby body.

The rest of the process was quite simple. The woman teleported the two of them back to the shop using her formation plate, and Han Li immediately departed.

He then visited some other shops that caught his interest, most of which were specialty shops that sold items like materials, treasures, and talismans.

He did manage to find some noteworthy things in those shops as well, but of course, none of them could compare with the Heavenly Devilish Armor hed just obtained.

Han Li stayed on this street for an entire day, and he only hailed a beast-drawn carriage to return to the inn after night had already fallen.

In the half a month or so after that, Han Li did nothing aside from visiting these streets and hundreds of shops in Cloud City.

Thus, he managed to gain a rough understanding of the various places across the city.

At night, Xiang Zhili would occasionally visit him for a conversation. During this period of time, the city appeared to be on high alert, but its inhabitants were actually quite relaxed, seemingly completely unfazed by the fact that the city was potentially going to come under attack soon.

Perhaps this was due to the fact that they were already accustomed to attacks from the Jiao Chi Race or perhaps they simply didnt think that the army of the Jiao Chi Race would make it to Cloud City.

On this day, Han Li emerged from the inn as usual, but he didnt visit any more shops. Instead, he hailed a carriage and asked the driver to take him to Radiant Cloud Mountain.

The beast-drawn carriage immediately began to race down the street, and it had to travel through most of Cloud City before finally arriving at the designated destination.

Han Li disembarked from the carriage and looked up at the colossal mountain before him through narrowed eyes.

This was a lush mountain that was over 30,000 feet tall with a burst of pure spiritual Qi emanating from it. It seemed to possess a top-grade spirit vein.

Han Li looked around to find that there were seven mountains of a similar size in the nearby area, and these eight mountains formed the renowned Eight Cloud Mountains of Cloud City.

It was said that a long time ago, a few unfathomably powerful beings in the city had unleashed extraordinary abilities to forcibly transport these eight mountains from the ground down below all the way up to Cloud City. They then also captured eight top-grade spirit veins and placed them into the mountains, thereby creating these eight spirit mountains that were not inferior to any on the ground below.

These eight spirit mountains were also the only places in Cloud City where outsiders could permanently reside, and there were many cave abodes of different sizes on the mountains.

None of these cave abodes were owned by a single being, and all of them were available for rent. Of course, the rent was extremely expensive, and the lease period was based on centuries.

Even so, most of the cave abodes on the eight mountains had been rented out, and there were even instances where demand exceeded supply.

The temporary cave abode that Jia Tianmu had in Cloud City was situated in this Radiant Cloud Mountain.

Han Li rose up onto the mountain as a streak of azure light, heading toward the address that Jia Tianmu had given him.

The Eight Cloud Mountains were also the only places in Cloud City where beings were permitted to fly and use magic power.

The reason why Han Li had come here was naturally for the so-called sentient puppets that had been promised to him by Jia Tianmu.

During this period of time, Han Li had learned a lot about the Myriad Ancient Race. Even though this race was only ranked somewhere around the middle of the 13 Heavenly Cloud Races, their mastery of puppetry and puppet refinement had reached an incredible degree.

It was said that they were one of the three races on the Thunder Continent that were most proficient in the art of puppetry.

Han Li was initially rather confused as to what these sentient puppets were, but after reading through some relevant tomes and learning about them from Xiang Zhili, he finally understood what they were.

These puppets all had to possess Deity Transformation Stage power at a minimum, and they also possessed certain levels of spiritual nature. Even without having to inject spiritual sense into them, these puppets could carry out some simple instructions, so they were quite extraordinary indeed.

On top of that, it was said that the spiritual natures of these puppets could evolve given the right conditions, and they could even develop a high level of intelligence.

Of course, that was only a rumor. The Myriad Ancient Race had never released an official statement to support or refute this claim, so these sentient puppets were given an extra layer of mystery and intrigue.

Even for the Myriad Ancient Race, these sentient puppets were quite difficult to refine, and they werent sold to outsiders under normal circumstances.

The few that did manage to somehow make their way out of the Myriad Ancient Race were all highly sought-after items, and each puppet could be sold for an astronomic sum.

Han Li was quite proficient in the art of puppet refinement himself, so he was naturally very intrigued by these extraordinary sentient puppets.

Furthermore, he had some other objectives as well, and that was why he had decided to come to this place in person. freewbnoel.com

After flashing through the air a few times as a streak of azure light, Han Li descended onto an obscure location halfway up the mountain.

There was an ordinary-looking mountain face not far ahead of him, upon which a stone gate that was several tens of feet tall could be seen.

Han Li didnt directly knock on the gate. Instead, he swept a sleeve through the air, and a ball of light flew out from within, then disappeared into the stone gate in a flash.

Not long after that, white light flashed from the surface of the stone gate, and it slowly opened of its own accord.

Jia Tianmu emerged from within with a smile on his face, and greeted, Haha, it really is you, Fellow Daoist Han. What took you so long? Ive been waiting for quite a few days already.

Han Li smiled, and replied, Apologies for the delay, I had some matters to attend to, so I ended up coming a little later than expected.

Jia Tianmu nodded before extending a warm invitation. I see. Come into my cave abode and well talk in there.

Id be glad to. Han Li accepted the invitation and strode into the cave abode.

Jia Tianmus cave abode wasnt very large. After passing through a short passageway, the two of them arrived in a hall that was over 300 feet in size.

The decor was quite unique and elegant with a few shimmering beads embedded onto the roof, along with a table, two smaller side tables, and a few chairs in the room.

There was nothing else in the hall aside from that, and even the walls had only been paved with the most ordinary bluestone.

Take a seat, Fellow Daoist Han, Jia Tianmu offered after sitting down on the main seat.

Han Li nodded before taking a seat beside him.

Before even saying anything, Jia Tianmu suddenly clapped his hands together twice, and footsteps sounded from a side door, thereby drawing Han Lis attention toward that direction.

Moments later, a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her twenties emerged into the hall. She was wearing a yellow palatial dress and was holding a long wooden box as she strode into the room in an elegant manner.

The woman made her way to the center of the hall, then placed the wooden box in her hands onto the side table in front of Han Li before standing off to the side in a respectful manner.

Han Li merely took a cursory glance at the wooden box before turning his attention to the woman with a peculiar look in his narrowed eyes.

Has my servant caught your eye, Fellow Daoist Han? If you like her, how about I give her to you? Jia Tianmu chuckled upon seeing this.