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Han Li only had to take a brief glance at the four cultivators to ascertain their condition, and he calmly remarked, It looks like the four of you still havent quite recovered from the ordeal you suffered in the primordial world.

Your discerning eye is truly unmatched, Senior! We suffered injuries that were quite severe back then, and our cultivation bases are quite mediocre, so were only close to halfway recovered, the scholarly man replied in a truthful manner.

Following a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li flipped a hand over to produce four faint green jade vials, and said, In that case, I have a few vials of pills here that the four of you can take. Refine the power of the pills and meditate for half a month or so, and you should be fully recovered.

Thank you for your kindness, Senior! The four cultivators hurriedly bowed again to express their gratitude.

They strode forward before taking a jade vial each, then removing the lids, and a strong medicinal fragrance immediately permeated throughout the entire hall. Even just a single whiff of this fragrance made them feel completely reinvigorated.

The four cultivators were even more ecstatic, and they knew that the spirit pills in the vials were quite extraordinary and were perhaps even more efficacious that Han Li had proclaimed.

The scholarly man knew that Han Li couldnt have come here just for a simple visit, so he stowed the spirit medicine away before asking, Why have you graced us with a visit today, Senior? Is there something we can do for you?

I do indeed have something for you to do. Its quite a simple task, but itll take a rather long time and requires you to stay in Deep Heaven City for a while. Will that be an issue? Of course, I wont ask you to do this for me free of charge, Han Li replied in a calm manner.

The task that Han Li had in mind for them didnt seem to be a dangerous one, and the scholarly man was quite relieved. He said, Rest assured, Senior, the four of us have no plans to leave Deep Heaven City for the next century, so you can feel free to assign any task to us. If its within our capabilities, well be sure to accept the task.

In that case, Ill go right ahead, then. Im not sure if you recall a female cultivator by the name of Nangong Wan that I mentioned to you before. Help me check if this woman is in Deep Heaven City. Shes an ascended cultivator, so she may have changed her name. Ill be leaving you a jade slip that contains her portrait so you can identify her if you see her. If you cant find her in Deep Heaven City, then please keep an eye out for her for the next 100 years or so. If you can find her, Ill be sure to reward you handsomely, Han Li said with a faint smile.

Thats no problem at all. We have some friends here in Deep Heaven City, if this Nangong Wan appears in the city, well be sure to find her for you, the scholarly man replied in a respectful manner.

Good. Aside from that, I also have another task that I need to entrust to you. Im preparing to refine a batch of pills, but I require a lot of ingredients, most of which are rather uncommon and cant be gathered in a short time even in Deep Heaven City. Im planning to take a long trip in the near future, so I can only ask the four of you to source those ingredients in my stead. Here are some spirit stones, they should be enough to cover the costs of the ingredients. On top of that, here are a few treasures that I obtained by chance, you can have them as well, Han Li said as he swept a sleeve over the table beside him.

Spiritual light of different colors flashed, and four jade boxes of different sizes appeared alongside a black leather pouch.

The four cultivators couldnt help but exchange a surprised glance, and after conversing briefly through voice transmission, they also accepted this task in a respectful manner.

After that, the scholarly man pardoned himself for the intrusion before approaching Han Li and picking up the leather pouch. He then swept his spiritual sense into it, upon which his expression changed drastically.

The other three cultivators faltered slightly upon seeing this before turning to Han Li with bewilderment in their eyes, but Han Lis expression remained unchanged as if he hadnt seen their reactions.

The scholarly man hurriedly smoothed out his own expression, and said, Forgive me, Senior, I was stunned by the number of top-grade spirit stones in the pouch. It seems that the ingredients youre looking to purchase must indeed be quite rare. However, seeing as youre willing to entrust this duty to us, well be sure to do our best to complete this task.

The scholarly man then carefully stowed the leather pouch away, then hesitated momentarily before picking up one of the jade boxes on the table.

He removed the lid, and a burst of white light swept forth, revealing a white jade fan that was covered in runes and shimmering with spiritual light.

The scholarly man picked the fan up before waving it through the air, and a series of fan projections immediately emerged before him while a burst of astonishing spiritual pressure swept forth.

This Mountain River Fan possesses both wind and earth attribute powers. It can strike your enemy with devastating invisible force even from over 1,000 feet away, Han Li said with a smile.

The scholarly man immediately extended another ecstatic bow of gratitude.

The other three cultivators also picked up a jade box each before opening them in an excited manner. As a result, they discovered that the boxes contained a pair of silver bracelets, a colorful handkerchief, and a profound ice flying dagger.

These four treasures were all useless to Han Li, but to these four Deity Transformation cultivators, these were treasures that they could only dream of, and all of them eagerly expressed their gratitude.

Of course, after taking Han Lis treasures, they had officially agreed to carry out Han Lis requests.

As for whether these four were going to simply take the spirit stones and run away without completing those tasks, Han Li wasnt worried about that at all. He had already conducted some research into these four, and they were relatively renowned in this city.

On top of that, none of them were vagrant cultivators, they each belonged to a certain family or sect, all of which would be quite easy to track down. As such, as long as these four werent completely short-sighted idiots, they wouldnt do something so stupid. Otherwise, theyd be plunging those close to them into a world of trouble.

In order to further stamp his authority on these four cultivators, Han Li casually told them about how he had progressed to the Body Integration Stage recently, and demonstrated his ability to easily control the worlds origin Qi, an ability that only Body Integration cultivators possessed.

The four cultivators were naturally completely stunned, and there was certainly no way that theyd try to plot against Han Li now.

After departing from the pavilion, Han Li flew away as a streak of azure light toward the massive stone towers that he had once lived in as a Deep Heaven Guard.

Not long after that, Han Li appeared near one of the stone towers, and he looked on at the guards entering and exiting the tower with a nostalgic look on his face.

This stone tower was none other than the one he had lived in as a Dark Azure Guard, and even though centuries had passed, everything was still the same as it had been back then.

Han Li took a deep breath, and the reminiscent look in his eyes faded as he flew toward the stone tower.

At the entrance of the stone tower were a dozen or so Black Iron Guards and two Dark Azure Guards. The approaching Han Li clearly wasnt a Deep Heaven Guard, and all of them turned toward him with suspicious looks in their eyes.

Han Li continued to approach these guards in a calm manner, but at the same time, he released his Body Integration Stage aura without making any attempt to conceal it.

Even though he had only released a wisp of his aura, the massive disparity in cultivation base still caused the two Dark Azure Guards to sway unsteadily on their feet. The Black Iron Guards fared even worse as all of them stumbled back several steps before steadying themselves.

Body Integration! a Dark Azure Guard exclaimed.

Is that you, Fellow Daoist Han? An astonished look appeared on the other Dark Azure Guards face as he appraised Han Li.

This man clearly recognized Han Li.

Han Li was rather taken aback by this, and he focused his gaze on the elderly man to find that he was rather familiar.

After a brief pause for contemplation, he managed to identify the man. Youre Fellow Daoist Yue, right?

Fellow Dao… No, Senior Han, you… The elderly man looked as if he had seen a ghost, and even he himself felt as if he were in a dream.

The other Dark Azure Guard was also quite stunned, but he hurriedly extended a respectful bow, and asked, You dont seem to be an elder of Deep Heaven City, Senior. May I ask your name? And is there something we can do for you? Do you recognize this senior, Brother Yue?

However, the elderly man was clearly still too astonished to muster up a response.

Is Fairy Xu of the Dark Azure Guard in the tower right now? Han Li asked.

The Dark Azure Guard was quite perplexed by the elderly mans flabbergasted reaction, but he still replied in a respectful manner, Fellow Daoist Xu has just left the city to go on patrol duty, so itll most likely be a few days before she returns.

Han Lis brows furrowed before his expression immediately returned to normal, and he said, In that case, I wont go in, then. Please pass on a message to Fairy Xu for me when she comes back, tell her that Ill be waiting for her in the Immortal Gathering Pavilion. As for my identity, Fellow Daoist Yue knows all about it, so I wont waste any time with self-introductions.

He then cupped his fist in a salute toward the elderly man before flying away as a streak of azure light.

All of the guards bowed in a respectful manner as he departed.

Who is that Senior Han, Brother Yue? Why are you so astonished? After the azure streak of light vanished into the distance, the Dark Azure Guard turned around, only to discover that the elderly man was still completely rooted to the spot, and he was slightly displeased.

The elderly man finally managed to regain some semblance of composure, and replied, Hes here to look for Fairy Xu, so theres no mistaking it, it really is him. Forgive me for my lack of composure, Brother Ding, but 300 years ago, this Senior Han was still a Dark Azure Guard like us. Back when I last saw him, he was still only at the mid-Deity Transformation Stage.

He was a Dark Azure Guard 300 years ago? Surely you jest, Brother Yue! the Dark Azure Guard exclaimed in an incredulous manner.

You only joined Deep Heaven City around 200 years ago, so its no surprise that you dont recognize him. Back in the day, Senior Han and I were both Dark Azure Guards, and even though we werent exactly close friends, I was saved by him once. This Senior Han was extremely renowned among us Dark Azure Guards 300 years ago as he had slain Spatial Tempering Stage foreign beings as a Deity Transformation cultivator. After that, he seemed to have been given some kind of mysterious mission and disappeared after entering the primordial world. Im truly astonished that hes managed to progress all the way to the Body Integration Stage from the Deity Transformation Stage, the elderly man sighed with undisguised astonishment and envy in his voice.

The young woman was completely stumped by the direction this conversation had suddenly taken. Han Li hadnt agreed to join their Gu Family, yet he still wanted to obtain their most valuable true spirit bloodline refinement technique, rendering her completely speechless.

Her expression changed several times before she finally managed to force a smile onto her face, and she replied, Im afraid I wont be able to agree to that, Senior Han. The bloodline techniques of our Gu Family cant be passed on to outsiders, not even in exchange for treasures or cultivation arts. Of course, that all changes if you accept my initial offer.

Han Li wasnt surprised nor offended by her refusal, and he said in a calm manner, In that case, our discussion can end here. I wont be joining the Gu Family, nor any other powers. It looks like both of you will have to return empty-handed.

The young woman could only heave a faint sigh before falling silent, and Qi Xubings brows were also tightly furrowed as he sat in silence.

After that, the three of them discussed some cultivation experiences, and the awkward atmosphere was gradually alleviated.

Several hours later, the two of them decided to take their leave. Han Li naturally asked them to stay out of politeness, but the two insisted on departing, so he could only accompany them out of his cave abode.

Not long after that, two streaks of light emerged from the sea of mist before receding as the elderly man and young woman reappeared.

Looks like weve both made fruitless trips, Senior Qi. Ill be going straight back to the Gu Family, will you also be returning to Deep Heaven City? the young woman asked with a smile.

I wont be returning to Deep Heaven City for now. I heard that theres also a new Body Integration cultivator in the Xuan Wu Region. Apparently, hes already accepted the Tyrant Sovereigns invitation, but I still want to pay him a visit just in case, the elderly man replied after a brief pause.

In that case, Ill be taking my leave. The young woman nodded before extending a slight curtsey. Spiritual light then flashed from her body, and she flew away as a streak of silver light.

In the blink of an eye, the silver light had vanished into the distance.

The elderly man remained on the spot and looked in the direction that the young woman had disappeared in for a long while before finally heaving a faint sigh. He raised a hand to summon a green flying canoe, then flew onto it before making a hand seal, upon which the canoe flew away as a ball of green light.

Thus, the area was suddenly empty and quiet again. However, around an hour later, the silver streak of light suddenly reappeared before stopping once again at the edge of the sea of mist.

The light receded, and the young woman was revealed. She wore a calm expression and said something into the sea of mist, following which a path was opened up before her once more.

She immediately flew into the sea of mist, and the path was gradually closed.

Around four hours later, the path reappeared in the sea of the mist, and the silver streak of light flew away again.

Meanwhile, Han Li was seated in the hall of his cave abode, holding a silver jade badge in his hand. He was stroking the badge with his finger absentmindedly with a contemplative look on his face.

The jade badge was shimmering with silver light, and on one side of the badge was the character Gu, while the other side of the badge held the image of a three-headed beast.

The beast had the body of a horse that was covered with crimson scales, and one of its heads was that of a unicorn. As for the other two heads, they consisted of a black tiger head and a blue lion head.

This was the appearance of the legendary true spirit Lihou.

It was said that this beast was only around the middle of the pack among true spirits, but its three heads controlled powers of three different attributes, and each of them possessed an incredibly powerful ability.

These abilities were not just extremely effective in battle, but also had miraculous effects in other areas.

This jade badge had been given to him by Fairy Xiao Feng during her second visit, and the true spirit bloodline that the Gu Family had inherited was none other than that of the Lihou.

Han Li had also been rather surprised by the young womans return, and he was currently thinking back to what she had told him upon her arrival.

As soon as she entered the hall, she had tossed him that jade badge and offered him a deal that was very difficult for him to turn down.

She had told her that Han Li didnt need to be a guest member of the Gu Family for 10,000 years, all he had to do was lend the Gu Family his assistance during the true spirit ceremony that was going to be held between all of the true spirit families over 10 years from now.

As long as he could secure enough benefits for the Gu Family, she was willing to give her part of the Gu Familys bloodline secret technique. Of course, she made it very clear that this was only part of the secret technique, and it wasnt the most important part, but it was still something that none of the other true spirit families outside of the Gu Family would be willing to offer to him.

Han Li was quite tempted by this offer as it meant that he would only have to help the Gu Family once, rather than be bound to them for 10,000 years.

There was a bloodline refinement method enclosed with his 12 Awakening Transformations, but that was a technique designed for Flying Spirit beings, after all, so there were parts that werent ideal for humans.

Prior to reaching the Body Integration Stage, he hadnt detected that anything was amiss, but during the past year where he had been consolidating his cultivation base, he finally discovered by chance that there were many mysterious residual components of the true spirit bloods he had refined inside his body. He had thought that the true spirit bloods had been completely refined, but these residual components were hidden extremely discreetly within his body, and he had been quite alarmed by this.

He immediately examined the situation in greater detail, and he discovered that there wouldnt be any issues for now as he could use his own magic power to restrict these residual true blood components. However, if he were to continue absorbing other true spirit bloods in the future, then major unforeseen issues could arise.

He would either suffer backlash from this true blood residue or be unable to use his 12 Awakening Transformations in the future.

As such, while he had been consolidating his cultivation base, he had also been pondering a solution to this, which was why he had been so interested in the true spirit bloodline refinement method that Fairy Xiao Feng had mentioned.

Even though the refinement techniques from these families wouldnt be able to help him completely refine the true blood residue, they would definitely be quite useful for him to reference.

If he hadnt mastered the 12 Awakening Transformations, then the refinement techniques would be completely useless to him, but in his current situation, all he had to do was find the differences between the human refinement techniques and the refinement techniques enclosed with the 12 Awakening Transformations to resolve this pressing issue.

However, it was just as he had stated before, he wasnt going to be bound to the Gu Family for 10,000 just for something like this.

Even if he couldnt obtain the Gu Familys refinement techniques, he would still be able to obtain similar refinement techniques from other true spirit families through alternative avenues. Of course, doing so could prove to be rather troublesome, and it was quite likely that he would be making enemies out of some of the true spirit families.

Hence, after hearing that all he had to do was spar with some cultivators from other true spirit families and secure some benefits for the Gu Family, he decided to accept this deal. Fairy Xiao Feng was naturally elated by this, and as for that jade badge, it would act as temporary proof that he was an elder of the Gu Family.

He reviewed the exchange several times, and after ascertaining that there seemed to be nothing amiss, he set aside the matter for now and returned to his secret chamber to continue consolidating his cultivation base.

Several more major powers came to visit him during this time, including even a messenger sent by the Heavenly Yuan Holy Sovereign, but Han Li had already made up his mind and politely refused all of their invitations.

Thus, several years passed by in the blink of an eye, and one day, three years later, Han Li emerged from his secret chamber before departing from his cave abode as a streak of azure light.

During this short period of seclusion, he had already completely mastered his own physical body and magic power, so it was naturally time for him to do some of the things that he had wanted to do.

His first destination was naturally Deep Heaven City, which was the closest to him.

He had a smooth journey, and after two months, he appeared in the air above the city walls of Deep Heaven City, then paused momentarily before flying toward a certain direction.

There was a rather renowned place in Deep Heaven City that offered temporary lodging for cultivators from outside the city. It consisted of a large cluster of pavilions that was situated between two massive stone towers.

Some of the cultivators with lower cultivation bases or were short on money had to share one pavilion between several or even over 10 people, while the more powerful and wealthy cultivators could have a pavilion to themselves.

One of the pavilions had been rented by a group of four Deity Transformation cultivators.

It was said that these four Deity Transformation cultivators were quite powerful, and they had lived here for over 100 years. On top of that, they had ventured into the primordial world on several occasions and returned with their lives, so they were rather renowned in Deep Heaven City.

However, during these past few years, these four had only left their pavilion very rarely, and spent most of their time in seclusion.

According to some of their neighbors, the four of them had ventured deep into the primordial world several years ago and encountered a perilous situation that had resulted in all of them sustaining rather severe injuries, which was why they had remained in seclusion all this time.

However, this was a very common occurrence in Deep Heaven City. It only served to make people even more aware of just how dangerous the primordial world was, and it soon became a forgotten matter.

However, on this day, the two men and two women who were cultivating in seclusion in the pavilion suddenly all heard a voice.

Fellow Daoists, its me, Han Li, would I be able to pay you a visit?

The voice was able to completely disregard the layers of restrictions they had set up around the pavilion and was clearly audible to them.

The four of them were naturally quite startled by this, and a person immediately sprang into their mind, upon which their expressions changed drastically. All of them hurriedly rose to their feet before rushing down to the first floor of the pavilion.

The scholarly man who was the leader of the group had already completely recovered his lost arm, and upon appearing on the first floor, he immediately flung the doors of the pavilion open, revealing an azure-robed young man outside.

We pay our respects to Senior Han! Forgive us for not coming out to greet you earlier, we were unaware that you were going to grace us with a visit! A look of surprise and elation appeared on the scholarly mans face as he hurriedly extended a deep bow before inviting Han Li into the room.

Han Li nodded in response before walking into the pavilion.

At this point, the other three cultivators had also appeared on the first floor, and all of them also extended respectful bows at the sight of Han Li.

No need for formalities, were already old acquaintances, Han Li said as he waved a hand before calmly taking a seat, while the four cultivators stood respectfully before him.

I wouldnt dare to accuse you of deceit, Senior. Breaking through the Body Integration Stage bottleneck is an extremely important matter, so it certainly makes sense to be more cautious, the young woman said with a smile.

Back when I broke through my Body Integration Stage bottleneck, I also found an extremely secluded place to make my breakthrough, so it looks like we have something in common with our thought processes, Fellow Daoist Han, the elderly man chuckled.

Han Li merely smiled in response.

After that, the three of them moved on to some more casual topics of conversation.

Han Li had explored multiple continents in the past several centuries, so he naturally had a vast wealth of knowledge and experience. As for these two guests, one of them was the leader of a true spirit family while the other was a veteran Body Integration Stage cultivator, so they had naturally seen and experienced a lot themselves.

Thus, the three of them were having quite pleasant conversation, and the elderly man and young woman both felt as if their horizons were being significantly broadened.

Fellow Daoist Han, you seem to know a lot about foreign races, and much of this information isnt recorded in the tomes of our human race, could it be that youve traveled to other continents in the past? the elderly man couldnt help but ask.

You have a sharp discerning eye, Fellow Daoist Qi! I did indeed just return from the primordial world, and I also traveled to other continents during my journey as well, Han Li replied in a truthful manner.

Both the elderly man and young woman drew sharp breaths upon hearing this.

Fairy Xiao Feng was silent for a moment before speaking again. Its no wonder that Ive never heard you despite your powers, it makes sense that youve been traveling elsewhere and have only just returned to our human race. However, I heard from Elder Gu Yun that you had mentioned the true spirit families, the Ye Family and Long Family to him. That reminds me of something, but Im not sure if I should disclose it.

Oh, what is it? Go right ahead, Fellow Daoist, Han Li prompted.

Truth be told, after Elder Gu Yun informed me about you, I was very intrigued and sent out some of my people to investigate those with the same surname as you. Not much time has passed, so I havent been able to find a lot of information, but I did hear about a certain Han Li who was a Dark Azure Guard of Deep Heaven City several centuries ago. Would that be you, Senior? Fairy Xiao Feng said in a slightly timid manner.

The elderly man was quite surprised to hear this.

He was stunned, both by the fact that Han Li had lived in Deep Heaven City hundreds of years ago, and the fact that a Dark Azure Guard like him had become a Body Integration cultivator in just a few centuries.

Han Lis expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but it immediately returned to normal thereafter, and he replied, Hehe, true spirit families really are very resourceful, I didnt think youd find out this information about me in just a year. I was indeed a Dark Azure Guard several hundred years ago, but I regained my freedom after completing a mission at the time.

In that case, the one that the Long Family and Ye Family are searching for is also you, Senior Han, the young woman said with a slightly peculiar look in her eyes.

The Ye Family and Long Family? Theyve been searching for me? Han Lis expression darkened slightly upon hearing this.

The Ye Family once searched for you for over 100 years but gave up after that. However, the Long Family still hasnt withdrawn their official search order. During these past years, the Ye Family and Long Family have been on very bad terms with one another. Their relationship isnt bad enough to lead to full-blown conflict, but theyre often standing against one another, and this deterioration in their relationship seemed to have begun right around when they began to search for you, the young woman said in a meaningful manner.

Han Lis brows furrowed slightly, but he didnt offer any reply and fell silent in contemplation.

You were once a Dark Azure Guard of Deep Heaven City, Fellow Daoist? Thats rather surprising to me, but this is a good thing, I can cut straight to the chase and wont have to go around in circles now. Im sure youve already guessed the reason for my visit, right, Fellow Daoist Han? the elderly man said after clearing his throat.

Could you be here to invite me to join Deep Heaven City again? Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Indeed. Im here on behalf of the panel of elders to officially invite you to join our city. With your Body Integration Stage cultivation base, youll immediately become a member of the panel of elders if you decide to join our city. As for the benefits youll receive, youve stayed in Deep Heaven City before, so Im sure youll be aware of those, and I wont waste any time by listing them, Qi Xubing said in a serious manner.

Well…

A contemplative look appeared on Han Lis face, and he didnt immediately agree or refuse.

The young womans expression stirred slightly upon seeing this, and she also made her case. Seeing as Senior Qi has opened up this topic for discussion, then Ill weigh in on the matter as well. As the leader of the Gu Family, Im naturally also here to try and recruit you to join our Gu Family as our guest grand elder. Not only will we make sure to offer you satisfactory conditions, our Gu Family wont restrict you in any way unless our family is in grave danger. Her conditions seemed to be even more alluring.

The elderly mans expression darkened upon hearing this, but he couldnt do anything to stop her.

She may have only been a Spatial Tempering cultivator, but her status as a leader of a true spirit family made her a force to be reckoned with even in the eyes of a Body Integration cultivator.

After a brief pause, the elderly man continued, There is currently a severe shortage of Body Integration cultivators within our human and demon races. Aside from this city, Im sure theres nowhere else in the three regions and seven territories thats inhabited by so many Body Integration Stage beings at once. The members of our citys panel of elders will be able to regularly exchange cultivation experiences, and Im sure that would greatly benefit your cultivation if you were to join us. Also, our panel of elders will often join forces to hunt for some powerful ancient beasts in the primordial world, these are conditions that cant be offered by any other please, so please consider my offer carefully, Fellow Daoist. This is truly a sincere offer for you to join our city.

Han Lis expression changed slightly upon hearing this, as if he really had been tempted.

Our Gu Family only has one Body Integration Stage grand elder, but as one of the true spirit families, we have some unique secret techniques for the utilization of true spirit blood. I heard that when you broke through your Body Integration Stage bottleneck, you summoned a Giant Mountain Ape projection. According to my knowledge, none of the true spirit families have inherited the bloodline of the Giant Mountain Ape, so I can only assume that you obtained this true spirit bloodline outside of the human race. If youre willing to join our Gu Family, I will pass on the method to refine and utilize true spirit blood to you. Also, if you wish to found another true spirit family yourself 10,000 years from now, our Gu Family definitely wont oppose you. On the contrary, well support you with all our power. The young woman was also laying down the most attractive conditions she had to offer.

The elderly man was quite stunned to hear that Han Li possessed a true spirit bloodline, and his expression completely changed upon hearing the conditions offered by the young woman.

A new true spirit family? Han Li was also quite surprised to hear this.

Indeed. With your powers and the true spirit bloodline you inherited, our Gu Family wouldnt dare to restrict you as our guest grand elder forever. As long as youre willing to undertake the role of guest grand elder in our Gu Family for 10,000 years, well offer you our wholehearted support if you decide to found another true spirit family after that. Otherwise, even with your powers, youll definitely encounter a lot of opposition if you try to found a true spirit family on your own. After all, none of the true spirit families would wish to see a new competitor arise among them, the young woman said with a smile.

Han Li stroked his chin and fell silent upon hearing this.

A wry smile appeared on Qi Xubings face. Han Li hadnt yet offered a response, but even if he were to join a certain power, it definitely wouldnt be here in Deep Heaven City.

In contrast, Fairy Xiao Feng appeared to be quite calm and collected, but she was also feeling rather uneasy as she didnt know if these conditions would be attractive to Han Li. freewebnvel.co

After all, many high-grade cultivators were interested in establishing their own major family or power, but there were also many who were only interested in cultivation and didnt want to have ties with any entity, even as just a guest.

Otherwise, it wouldnt have been so difficult for Deep Heaven City to source new Body Integration cultivators to replace the ones they had lost.

After a long pause, Han Li suddenly said something that caught both Qi Xubing and Fairy Xiao Feng off guard. I heard that the Heavenly Spirit Sovereign among the three sovereigns passed away not long ago, and that a new spirit sovereign will be chosen in about 100 years, is that true?

That is indeed true. A Body Integration Stage fellow Daoist will be chosen to become the new spirit sovereign in a tournament to be held 100 years from now. Are you interested in that, Fellow Daoist Han? the elderly man asked with a peculiar look on his face.

Do you think I dont have what it takes to enter the tournament? Han Li asked with a nonchalant smile.

All human cultivators at or above the Body Integration Stage have the right to enter this tournament, but almost all of the three sovereigns of the past have been cultivators at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, and the only rare exceptions are mid-Body Integration cultivators with unfathomable abilities. According to my knowledge, there has never been an early-Body Integration cultivator who has managed to take on that role ever since the human race established itself in the Spirit Realm, the elderly man said with a wry smile.

You do indeed possess a true spirit bloodline, which will grant you immense powers, but its most likely still too early to be going after the position of spirit sovereign. 100 years will only just be enough for you to familiarize yourself with your new powers and abilities, and Im afraid that you wont be able to compete with those at the mid and late-Body Integration Stages, the young woman also persuaded in a euphemistic manner.

Hehe, Im not arrogant enough to think that a new Body Integration cultivator like me can become the next spirit sovereign. However, Im sure many other Body Integration cultivators will be participating in the tournament, I only want the opportunity to acquaint myself with and communicate with these fellow Daoists. As for your offers, I must decline as I dont like staying in a certain place for too long, and I dont like to be bound to too many people. However, Im quite interested in the refinement and utilization method of true spirit bloodlines of your Gu Family, would you be willing to pass on this secret technique to me for any treasures or cultivation arts? Han Li asked.

Of course, during this time, he still needed to search for some materials to refine the Body Integration Stage pills with the Corrosive Poisonweed as the main ingredient.

Compared to the Corrosive Poisonweed, all of the other materials were barely worth mentioning, but they were still quite rare in the Spirit Realm. As such, he would have to expend some effort if he wanted to gather all of the materials required to refine the pills. freewenvel.com

On top of that, in order to deal with the major heavenly tribulation that would strike him once every 3,000 years, he also had to refine the High Zenith Azure Mountain he had obtained in the Vast Glacial Realm into an extreme mountain.

Even though the combined effects of the two extreme mountains still wouldnt be able to compare with that of the true five extreme mountains, but it would still be somewhat effective against heavenly tribulations.

Furthermore, he also had to find the purpose of the Spiritvoid Pill somehow. Only then would he be able to consume it without any qualms, and also be aware of when the ideal time to consume it would be.

Now that he had progressed to the Body Integration Stage and mastered the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique, although he still couldnt release 10,000 Gold Devouring Beetles at once, he could release around 1,000 and sustain them for a while. Such a massive swarm of mature Gold Devouring Beetles was naturally going to be an extremely fearsome trump card of his that even the average Body Integration Stage being would be extremely fearful of.

With that in mind, it was also a priority of his to refine the legendary Rainbow Pills from the inner cores of the Flying Rainbow Fish. Those pills combined with the Golden Lightning Bamboo leaves would surely have a very good chance of making the mature Gold Devouring Beetles evolve again.

Many years ago, that strange stone block had already caused a mutation among a small portion of his Gold Devouring Beetles.

Unfortunately, this mutation didnt seem to have resulted in any special effects aside from making the Gold Devouring Beetles extremely heavy and giving them the minor stoneform ability, so he had been rather disappointed by this.

As for the Gold Devouring Beetles Monarchs that Qing Yuanzi proclaimed would pose a major threat even to true immortals, that was too far beyond his reach, and he had no idea how to even begin nurturing his beetles toward that direction, so there was no point in thinking about that for now.

However, regardless of whether he wanted to be able to control more Gold Devouring Beetles or prepare for his future breakthroughs, he had to cultivate the second stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique.

In his current state, he already satisfied the spiritual sense requirements. However, his physical constitution was slightly lacking, and he would only be able to barely satisfy those conditions once he reached the late-Body Integration Stage and completely mastered his Provenance True Devil Arts.

Prior to that, he could use some external items to bolster his own body. For example, that Red Silk Heavenly Wine could slowly enhance ones physical constitution, so he could brew some to drink over time.

Of course, he also needed to spend some time to study the talismans and mysterious starry sky diagram that he had obtained from the Vast Glacial Realm.

With that in mind, Han Li fell into a period of silent contemplation…

During the next year, Han Li didnt take so much as a single step out of his cave abode and focused all of his efforts on consolidating his magic power and mental state. However, in contrast with the peace and quiet inside his cave abode, the outside world had been stirred up into a frenzy by his breakthrough.

Many of the powers in the nearby area wanted to approach him, but all of these powers knew that cultivator had to go into seclusion for a year after breaking through a major bottleneck. As such, these powers had been very thoughtful in that they hadnt sent anyone to disrupt Han Lis cultivation.

However, as soon as one year passed, some of them immediately sprang into action.

On this day, a thin and tall elderly man appeared at the edge of the sea of mist. He wore a set of long azure robes with a green jade scepter hanging from his waist. He was standing on a nearby mountain and casting his gaze toward the center of the sea of mist in a completely expressionless manner.

All of a sudden, he turned and looked up into the air.

Spiritual light flashed in the distance in that direction, following which a streak of silver light that was over 100 feet long appeared.

The silver light was traveling at an astonishing speed, and after just a few flashes, it reached the nearby area, looking as if it were about to plunge headfirst into the sea of mist.

However, right at this moment, a faint cry of surprise rang out, and the elderly mans expression changed slightly upon hearing this.

The silver streak of light circled around before abruptly descending onto the mountain that the man was situated on, and a slender humanoid figure appeared over 100 feet away from him after a flash of silver light.

This was a young beauty in a blue palatial dress. There was no aura emanating from her body whatsoever, and she had a pleasant smile on her face, making her appear as if she were an approachable mortal beauty.

The elderly mans pupils abruptly contracted at the sight of her. Fairy Xiao Feng! I didnt think the esteemed leader of the Gu Family would come here in person.

Oh? So its Elder Qi of Deep Heaven City. Have you come for the man on Sunrise Peak? the young woman asked as she extended a slight curtsey.

Hehe, Deep Heaven City is only several months travel away from here, so we were naturally made aware quite a while ago that a Body Integration Stage Fellow Daoist has appeared here. All of the other members on the panel of elders are either in seclusion or away doing something else, so I had to make this trip. Are you also here for the same purpose, Family Leader Gu? the elderly man replied with a smile, and he was being quite polite to the young woman.

Indeed, Senior. One of the elders of our Gu Family has already approached the senior on Sunrise Peak around a year ago, but never did I think that he would progress to the Body Integration Stage after just a single year. Hence, I naturally had to pay him a visit in person, the young woman said with a smile.

If I recall correctly, the true spirit ceremony thats held between your true spirit families once every 3,000 years is coming up in a few more years, right? No wonder youre so eager to bolster the power of your Gu Family. However, if this man really has reached the Body Integration Stage, then Im afraid I wont be able to hand him over to you. Back when the foreign races attacked our city, two of our elders had perished, and we also have two other elders who will most likely struggle to transcend their next major heavenly tribulations. Hence, we desperately need new Body Integration Stage fellow Daoists to supplement us, the elderly man said as he shook his head in an unyielding manner.

Hehe, of course, a Body Integration cultivator isnt that easy to convince to join a certain power. Perhaps both of us will be going away empty-handed. Lets wait until we meet him before we discuss anything else, the elderly man said with a nonchalant chuckle.

Indeed. In that case, Ill be visiting this senior together with you, Elder Qi. The woman nodded in agreement, and the elderly man also had no objection to this.

Thus, the two of them rose up into the air and instantly arrived at the edge of the sea of mist.

The elderly man took a deep breath before suddenly calling out, Qi Xubing of Deep Heaven City and Fairy Xiao Feng of the Gu Family have come to pay a visit!

The elderly mans voice transformed into a burst of profound spiritual power that spread through the entire sea of mist, causing it to ripple incessantly.

Han Li was meditating in his cave abode, and he immediately opened his eyes as a solemn look appeared on his face.

He abruptly made a grabbing motion, and a white formation plate appeared in his grasp. He pointed at the formation plate a few times in rapid succession, then said something into it, and at the same time, Han Lis voice also rang out from the sea of mist in response.

Im honored to be visited by such esteemed fellow Daoists. Im currently in seclusion, so I wont be able to come out and greet you in person for now. Please enter my cave abode and take a seat, and Ill come out to meet you right away.

As soon as the voice trailed off, the sea of mist parted to reveal a path that was several tens of feet wide.

The elderly man and the woman exchanged a glance before flying on ahead one after another.

A short while later, the two of them descended in front of the cave abode halfway up the mountain, and at this point, the gate was already wide open.

The two of them made their way inside before taking a seat in a simple hall.

An expressionless white-robed woman then emerged with a tea platter and offered the two of them a cup of fragrant spirit tea each before standing off to the side in silence.

The elderly man and woman didnt pay any heed to this initially, but after casually casting their spiritual sense toward the white-robed woman, both of them were alarmed by what they found.

Senior Qi, am I right in saying that this woman seems to be a puppet? The young woman transmitted her voice in a bewildered manner.

That is indeed a puppet, and judging from its aura, it seems to be a Spatial Tempering Stage puppet. Whats strange is that it seems to be able to move on its own without being controlled by anyone. The elderly man had an even sharper discerning eye, and he was able to see some details that the woman had failed to notice.

The young woman was even more stunned to hear this. However, before they had a chance to inspect the white-robed woman any further, the sound of footsteps suddenly rang out from outside the hall, following which a young man who appeared to be in his twenties strode in in a calm manner.

The young woman immediately cast her gaze toward him, following which her expression stiffened slightly, and she hurriedly rose to her feet before extending a slight curtsey.

As expected, you really have progressed to the Body Integration Stage, Senior. I congratulate you on behalf of our Gu Family.

The elderly man also rose to his feet and smiled as he cupped his fist in a salute.

Greetings, Fellow Daoist, I am Qi Xubing, an elder of Deep Heaven City.

Its an honor to meet the two of you. Forgive me for not coming out to greet you in person, fellow Daoists, Han Li said with a smile as he also extended a salute in return.

Haha, youve only recently reached the Body Integration Stage, so you must be consolidating your cultivation base, I certainly cant blame you for that, the elderly man replied with a stroke of his beard.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, they each took a seat.

Truth be told, I almost didnt believe it when I was informed that Senior Han had reached the Body Integration Stage. After all, Elder Gu Yun of our family had only just returned not long ago, and he had told me that you were at the Spatial Tempering Stage, who wouldve thought that youd become a Body Integration cultivator after just a year? the young woman said in a slightly awestruck manner.

Hehe, I had actually already begun preparations to break through my bottleneck back then. However, as Im sure the two of you are aware, the probability of reaching the Body Integration Stage is quite low, so I didnt think that I would succeed the first, which is why I withheld this information from Fellow Daoist Gu Yun, I hadnt intentionally omitted this detail to deceive him, Han Li explained in a slightly apologetic manner.

At this moment, Han Lis Nascent Soul felt as if it were being burned alive. There seemed to be lava churning within its entire body, and its mouth was completely dry while its limbs had turned into a scorching red color.

Right at this moment, a burst of enormous suction force erupted from the physical body down below, and the Nascent Soul was completely powerless to resist as it abruptly shrank down to less than a tenth of its size, then vanished into the top of Han Lis head in a flash.

The scorching energy permeating through the Nascent Souls body then surged into the physical body in a frenzy as if it had found an outlet.

Han Lis body immediately became translucent, and with the influx of scorching energy, light swirled over the surface of his skin, instantly making his body semi-transparent.

Even the faint golden bones beyond his flesh and blood could just barely be made out.

At this moment, there were countless thin threads of light wrapped around his bones, and these threads were flashing with faint five-colored spiritual light.

At the same time, there were countless tiny streams of energy quickly following through all parts of his meridians from his dantian.

Han Li could only sense that this flow of energy was quickly combating the scorching sensation and replacing it with a cool and refreshing one that was extremely comfortable.

Moments later, all of the energy converged before flowing toward his head at once, and Han Li felt as if there were a massive figurative lock in his mind that was opened by this energy, following which a numb sensation that originated from deep within his soul spread through his entire body.

As a result, he involuntarily opened his mouth and let loose a long cry. frewebnovel.com

In the instant that the giant ape projection vanished, the astonishing aura that had restricted all of the nearby cultivators also disappeared, allowing all of them to rise to their feet with bewildered looks on their faces.

Some of them decided to stay and continued to appraise the sea of mist to see what was going to happen next, while others were petrified of this place and hurriedly fled the scene, encouraging their friends to do so as well.

In the instant that the white-haired elderly man regained his mobility, he immediately shot forth toward the cave abode as a streak of white light, preparing to gather everyone and leave right away.

However, everyone had only regained their mobility for a short while when the long cry that Han Li had let loose surged toward them. It was as if rumbling thunderclaps were erupting through the entire area, and the sea of mist was dispersed in all directions.

The cultivators near the border of the sea of mist were all alarmed by this development and attempted to flee the scene, but as soon as the sound traveled into their ears, they felt as if bolts of lightning had exploded in their heads, and they let loose cries of agony and alarm as they plummeted from the sky.

Even though these cultivators magic power had been completely restricted, their physical bodies were still far more powerful than those of the average human, so even though falling from an altitude of several thousand feet was quite a painful experience, they didnt suffer any major injuries.

However, there seemed to be no end to the long cry erupting from the distance, and all of the cultivators were writhing in pain in response to this terrifying noise. They all clamped their hands over their ears in an attempt to lessen the pain, but the sound seemed to be able to pierce directly into their minds.

Some of them had even torn their clothes into rags to craft makeshift earplugs, but that still completely failed to keep out the torturous sound.

Mere moments felt like months to these cultivators, and if it werent for the fact that these cultivators couldnt muster up any magic power, they wouldve most likely already self-detonated to put themselves out of their misery.

At this moment, the sea of mist had formed giant waves that were proliferating in all directions, and some cultivators were able to just barely turn their heads to appraise the situation, upon which their faces immediately turned completely pale.

Even though these massive waves had only been formed by mist, they still presented a very terrifying sight that petrified all of the onlookers.

After all, there was no way for them to muster up any magic power or use any treasures to defend themselves, and who knew whether there was some additional type of power imbued within the waves of mist?

The gargantuan waves of white mist continued to surge forth, and if they were to crash into the mountain, all of the spectating cultivators would be instantly inundated.

However, right at this moment, the long cry erupting from the center of the sea of mist suddenly ceased, and was followed by a cold harrumph.

Immediately thereafter, a string of loud thumps rang out, and the waves of mist instantly exploded into nothingness.

All of a sudden, it was as if nothing had ever happened.

Only around 15 minutes had passed did all of the human cultivators rise to their feet. All of them were in an extremely sorry state, and they glanced at one another to find their own alarmed and horrified expressions mirrored in each others eyes.

Without even uttering a single word, all of them rushed back into their cave abodes as streaks of light, and not long after that, one streak of light after another flew away from the mountain, fleeing in all directions.

They didnt pause even for a single moment in their flight, and only after flying for hundreds of thousands of kilometers did some of them hesitantly stop. However, most of them simply continued onward and completely left this area.

After all, it was simply far too terrifying for them to have a neighbor who could inflict such unspeakable agony upon them with just his voice alone.

However, from the astonishing phenomena and Han Lis display of unfathomable power, many people had already guessed what had just happened.

The white-haired elderly man traveled all the way to a small valley that was hundreds of thousands of kilometers away with his group, and after everyone had settled there, a male cultivator immediately separated from the group. This was the second most powerful cultivator in the group, and the elderly man had given him a jade slip and instructed him to deliver it to the Gu Family as quickly as he could.

Meanwhile, the rumor stating that a new Body Integration Stage powerful being had taken over the Sunrise Peak also began to spread toward other areas like wildfire.

At this moment, the sea of mist around the Sunrise Peak had reverted back to its original state, and peace and quiet resumed.

Three days later, Han Li slowly opened his eyes as he sat with his legs crossed in the secret chamber within the belly of the mountain. Blue light flashed through his eyes, but they returned to normal following a few blinks.

He had already successfully progressed to the Body Integration Stage several days ago, but in order to consolidate his cultivation base, he immediately meditated for a few days within his secret chamber. Now that he had finally quelled the potential negative effects that he could be afflicted by in the wake of such a major breakthrough, he was able to do other things.

Han Li slowly looked around, and a slightly peculiar look suddenly appeared on his face. Even without releasing his own spiritual sense, he could still detect the worlds origin Qi in the air around him.

He gently exhaled before making a hand seal and chanting a simple incantation, upon which an astonishing turn of events unfolded.

A loud buzzing sound rang out in the air, following which specks of white light flashed erratically before forming a series of palm-sized blades of wind.

These blades of wind were extraordinarily thin and semi-transparent. They hovered in mid-air while trembling slightly, and they soon filled the entire secret chamber.

The records on the tomes certainly werent lying! After reaching the Body Integration Stage, my ability to sense and control the worlds origin Qi is incomparable to back when I was at the Spatial Tempering Stage. Ive barely expended any magic power, yet Im able to directly control the worlds origin Qi to form attacks, Han Li murmured to himself with an elated look on his face.

He swept a sleeve through the air, and the blades of wind vanished as balls of white light.

He then closed his eyes and began to assess his current bodily and magic power condition following his breakthrough to see if there was anything amiss.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, and the elation on his face had become even more pronounced.

After progressing to the Body Integration Stage, his physical constitution and magic power had both become far more powerful than he had imagined prior to the event. With his current powers, he was confident that he would most likely be able to defeat even a being at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage.

After a while, he forcibly repressed his elation and began to think about what he had to do next. It was undoubtedly the case that as a Body Integration cultivator, he would no longer have to fear anyone unless there were hidden Grand Ascension Stage beings among the human and demon races. As such, he would be able to do the things that he wanted without having to be as fearful of potential consequence as he had been in the past.

Of course, he was going to remain here for the next few years as he still needed to completely consolidate his cultivation base. After that, there were many things that he had to do, the most important of which was naturally to verify whether Nangong Wan had ascended to the Spirit Realm.

However, due to the fact that Nangong Wan may have also ascended to the Spirit Realm through a spatial node, she may not necessarily have ended up on human territory. If he couldnt find her in Deep Heaven City, then he would have to consider the possibility that she was somewhere else, perhaps even on demon territory.

That was certainly far from unlikely as the human and demon territories directly neighbored one another, after all.

As such, if he couldnt find any information about her in Deep Heaven City, then he would have to search for her elsewhere on the three regions and seven territories.

If Nangong Wan were still trapped in the human world due to a lack of power, then he would have to find a way to break into the human world and forcibly lend her his assistance.

Setting aside everything else, as long as he could get his hands on a few types of spirit pill and treasures and somehow deliver them to Nangong Wan across realms, then it definitely wouldnt be difficult for her to ascend to the Spirit Realm.

At the thought of his beloved wife, countless emotions immediately welled up in Han Lis heart, and he stared blankly into space for a long while, completely absorbed in his own memories.

In the end, he heaved a resigned sigh before focusing his attention on other matters. Aside from Nangong Wan, he also had to track down that Fairy Xu after he came out of seclusion.

She was Fairy Ice Souls descendant, he had to deliver to her the items that the young man with the Weng surname had entrusted to him.

Aside from that, he also had to collect the materials stipulated by Qing Yuanzi.

Even though he had already collected most of the materials, he didnt travel to the Flying Spirit Race as he wanted to return to the human race and attain enough power to ensure self-preservation first.

In any case, Qing Yuanzi had given him a time limit of 1,000 years, so he still had 600 to 700 years left.

During this time, he was confident that he would be able to progress to the late-Body Integration Stage, following which he would meet Qing Yuanzi again to exchange for that Divine Infernal River Elixir.

This was definitely the safest course of action to take.

The giant golden ape spread its massive arms before wrapping them around the neck of the purple wyrm, then tore the head off the huge wyrm with a ferocious roar.

The purple wyrms body disintegrated into countless arcs of lightning amid a resounding boom, and the giant ape abruptly raised its head before taking a deep breath, then opened its mouth to expel a vast expanse of golden light.

All of the dispersing arcs of lightning were immediately captured by the golden light before being drawn into the golden apes mouth. In the blink of an eye, all of the lightning had vanished.

However, the giant ape had no intention of stopping there. Spiritual light swirled around its body, and the golden light it had expelled from its mouth vanished into the five-colored spirit clouds as a pillar of light.

A string of dull thumps rang out in rapid succession within the spirit clouds, and they began to revolve around the golden pillar of light.

All of the runes within the clouds were drawn into the golden light in a frenzy by a burst of enormous suction force, and these runes were all devoured by the gargantuan ape.

Moments later, the surface of the golden pillar of light was riddled with runes of all different colors, which were surging downward in a frenzy.

The giant golden apes mouth was like a bottomless pit that seemed to have an unlimited capacity for these runes.

All of the spectating cultivators around the sea of mist all looked on in a flabbergasted manner.

Meanwhile, the terms Giant Mountain Ape and true spirit bloodline reverberated within the white-haired elderly mans mind, and he was even more shocked than all of the other cultivators.

As a branch leader of a true spirit family, he was naturally far more knowledgeable and experienced than other cultivators of his caliber, and he immediately identified that gargantuan ape as the projection of a Giant Mountain Ape, a revelation that immediately had his jaw dropping straight to the ground.

No wonder he was unwilling to join our Gu Family, he possesses a true spirit bloodline himself! But this projection is way too powerful! Even from this far away, its aura alone is enough to fell so many of us. On top of that, the phenomena taking place on this occasion are even more astonishing than those from last time. So much of the worlds origin Qi is converging toward one place, could it be that hes attempting a breakthrough to the Body Integration Stage? The elderly man wasnt all that powerful himself, but he was quite smart and managed to strike the nail on the head in just a short time.

At this moment, not only were the runes above the sea of mist being drawn into the golden light, even the five-colored spirit clouds themselves were being swept up.

A short while later, the spirit clouds in the sky had been warped and elongated to form a giant funnel-like structure with a wide top that tapered down to a narrow bottom.

Vast amounts of these spirit clouds were surging into the giant ape projection in a frenzy, and the slightly indistinct projection gradually became clearer during this process.

Not long after that, all of the five-colored spirit clouds had been sucked away, and the giant ape projection seemed to still be dissatisfied. It closed its huge mouth before thumping its own chest again, and piercing golden light erupted from its body.

A white tornado took shape around the giant ape projection before swelling rapidly in size, and in the blink of an eye, it had completely encompassed the giant projection within it.

At the same time, a burst of invisible fluctuations was rapidly spreading in all directions from the tornado, and the scope covered by these fluctuations was quite astounding.

All of the worlds origin Qi in a radius of thousands of kilometers were stirred up into a frenzy, and they all surged toward the sea of mist as pea-sized specks of light.

These specks of light vanished into the tornado like moths to a flame, and the giant apes roar rang out from within the tornado once again. On this occasion, the roar was slightly urgent and pained.

As the number of five-colored specks of light increased, the giant apes roars gradually subsided before it fell completely silent in the end.

However, regardless of how many specks of light were converging toward the tornado, it seemed that the tornado would never be filled.

All of the cultivators around the sea of mist looked on in awe and astonishment. If a normal cultivator were to absorb so much of the worlds origin Qi, they wouldve most likely self-detonated and perished already.

After a long while, a shrill cry suddenly rang out from within the white tornado, followed by an earth-shattering boom.

The tornado was then blown apart, and gusts of fierce winds erupted in all directions, dispersing all of the nearby specks of light.

The giant ape appeared once again, but its body was no longer golden in color. Instead, it was riddled with dazzling five-colored runes, presenting a very peculiar yet spectacular sight to behold.

The giant ape had its hands on its head, and its expression was changing rapidly, transitioning erratically between unspeakable agony, extreme fury, and a series of other emotions, making it appear as if it had gone insane.

At the same time, the runes on its body flashed violently, and its entire body was fluctuating in clarity in an extremely unstable manner.

All of the spectators were rather puzzled to see this, but a sense of horror welled up in the white-haired elderly mans heart.

This situation was a clear indication that the man had reached a critical juncture in his breakthrough and had been afflicted by inner demons.

If he were to succumb to his inner demons and lose control over himself, it was very possible that his inner demons would make him go on a senseless killing rampage.

With this mans astonishing powers, none of the spectating cultivators would be able to offer any resistance, and theyd be as good as dead.

Breaking through major cultivation bottlenecks was always an extremely perilous endeavor, and such events were far from uncommon.

With that in mind, the elderly mans horror was exacerbated even further, and in his desperation, he circulated his own magic power with all his might, trying to stand up against the enormous pressure so he could lead all of the other cultivators away from here, but he had only just risen to his feet before his legs gave out from under him, and he knelt down onto the ground again.

Even though the giant ape projection in the distance was clearly quite disoriented, the spiritual pressure it was releasing showed no signs of abating. As a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, he was completely immobilized, and even his magic power was completely unable to circulate, so he wasnt even able to alert the others of how perilous this situation was.

As such, the elderly man could only look on helplessly as his horror mounted.

Meanwhile, within the secret chamber in the mountain, Han Li was seated with his legs crossed inside a peculiar small formation. His body was completely still and lifeless, and there was a golden and azure Nascent Soul that was around half a foot tall hovering several feet above him. The Nascent Soul was staring at a corner of the secret chamber outside of the formation, and it was holding a golden blade segment in its arms.

There were 72 small azure swords around it, each of which was around an inch in length, forming a secure protective barrier.

Around the small swords were a short silver ruler, a small azure cauldron, and a huge black sword, all of which were slowly revolving around the Nascent Soul.

The Nascent Souls current appearance was very unsettling as one of its eyes were of a shimmering blue color while the other was as red as blood, and the two halves of its face that were separated by the bridge of its nose wore completely contrasting expressions.

One side of the face was twisted with savagery and ferocity, while the other was calm and collected with a hint of a smile. It was as if there were two completely different Han Lis inside the Nascent Souls body.

Han Lis physical body down below was making a hand seal with one hand and carrying an azure incense burner in the other. There were short black segments of incense sticks protruding from the burner, and they didnt seem to have been ignited yet.

There was a vast amount of five-colored runes drifting from the ceiling of the secret chamber, and regardless of whether they fell upon Han Lis Nascent Soul or physical body, they immediately disappeared in a flash.

In the corner that the Nascent Soul was staring into, there was a head-sized ball of black Qi that was churning erratically and letting loose strange howls.

Its howls were extremely unpleasant and made it very difficult for the listener to remain calm. Furthermore, it was tinged with an intense yearning for slaughter.

The calm side of the Nascent Souls face remained completely unmoved by this ghastly noise, but the crimson light in the eye of the other side of the face was becoming darker and darker, and it seemed to be about to completely succumb to insanity at any moment.

A cold light flashed through the Nascent Souls blue eye, and it raised a hand before pointing at the incense burner being held by Han Lis body down below.

A ball of silver flames shot forth from its fingertip before striking the incense sticks in the burner in a flash, and the incense was immediately ignited, sending a mysterious sandalwood scent wafting throughout the entire secret chamber.

Strangely enough, after inhaling this fragrance for only a short moment the deranged look on the twisted side of the Nascent Souls face immediately began to abate, and the crimson light in its eye also gradually faded.

As soon as the ball of black Qi came into contact with this scent, it immediately let loose a howl of anguish before abruptly falling silent.

The black Qi then began to churn in a frenzy before gradually dissipating amid the fragrance, revealing a terrifying ghostly face with no nose and no eyes, and was twisted in agony.

The Nascent Soul immediately opened its mouth to expel a bolt of golden lightning upon seeing this, and the arc of lightning struck the ghostly face with unerring accuracy amid a resounding boom, causing it to shudder violently.

It gritted its teeth in a resentful manner before letting loose a sharp screech, and it suddenly became blurry and indistinct before vanishing into a burst of black Qi.

Only then did the Nascent Soul slowly close its eyes, and its twisted expression gradually faded. When it reopened its eyes, they had completely regained their clarity.

A mere soul fragment of a Heavenly Devilish Monarch dares to try and disrupt me? Know your place! the Nascent Soul chuckled coldly in a derisive manner.

It then tossed the blade segment in its arms up into the air, then rapidly made a hand seal before closing its eyes again.

The speed at which the five-colored runes were descending from the ceiling immediately increased by more than twofold, and the entire secret chamber was filled with vibrant spiritual light that was flashing incessantly.

At the same time, a peculiar fragrance was released by the physical body down below.

However, the Nascent Soul paid no heed to this as it continued to absorb the five-colored runes falling from above with all its might. As it did so, its body began to expand at a rate that was discernible to the naked eye.

After about seven or eight more minutes, the Nascent Soul had grown to around three to four feet tall and resembled a small child.

At this moment, the giant ape projection above the mountain abruptly shrank back into the belly of the mountain as a pillar of light.

An extremely enormous burst of the worlds origin Qi immediately descended into the secret chamber before injecting itself into the Nascent Soul and physical body in a frenzy.

The physical bodys skin began to take on a translucent quality, and the fragrance it released became even more potent.

Meanwhile, the Nascent Soul up above expanded to the same size as the physical body amid flashes of spiritual light within the span of just a few breaths. Its eyes were tightly shut, and it was hovering in mid-air with a seated manner while a pained expression appeared on its face.

He pointed a finger at the scroll, and it slowly unfurled, upon which a burst of astonishing baleful Qi erupted into the heavens. The scroll was covered by a layer of golden light, making it impossible to see what was on the scroll.

Blue light flashed through Han Lis eyes, and with his spirit eye ability, he was able to immediately glean the contents of the scroll.

There were countless golden flying swords of different sizes all over the scroll, every single one of which was extremely life-like and possessed a unique aura.

Strangely enough, even though the artwork was only several feet in length and width, it struck one with the feeling that it contained countless flying swords.

These flying swords had been depicted in all sizes and positions, with the largest ones resembling gigantic heaven-splitting swords that struck him with the feeling that they were several hundred feet in length. In contrast, the smallest of these swords were only around an inch in length each, yet all of the patterns on the swords were extremely clear, as if they were right before his eyes.

This was none other than the myriad sword artwork that Han Li had obtained within the ruins inside the Vast Glacial Realm.

This artwork clearly contained an extremely powerful cultivation art, and aside from the Spirit Refinement Technique, Han Li had also spent a lot of time studying this artwork, an endeavor which really had allowed him to glean some things from it.

The things that he gleaned from the artwork naturally had something to do with sword arts, and they also had a strong relation to the utilization of spiritual sense.

At his current cultivation base, he could already cultivate the final Azure Coil Sword Formation enclosed with the Azure Essence Sword Art, and this sword formation was more powerful than the Spring Dawn Sword Formation.

However, after witnessing Body Integration Stage beings in action on many occasions, Han Li felt the sword formation to be rather lacking. Thus, he was struck by a moment of inspiration and decided to incorporate what he had gleaned from the myriad sword artwork into the Azure Coil Sword Formation.

Sure enough, the new sword formation became a lot more powerful as a result, and he was able to better control it as well.

Han Li stared at the myriad sword artwork in an intent unblinking manner.

The things he had gleaned from the artwork were collected and named the Sword Observation Art by him, but he knew that he had only gleaned a minuscule portion of what the artwork truly had to offer. It was just that the rest was too profound for a Spatial Tempering cultivator to comprehend.

After a long while, he heaved a faint sigh before sweeping his sleeve through the air, and azure light flashed before the artwork reverted back into its scroll form and vanished into thin air.

A contemplative look appeared on Han Lis face. He had reaped many rewards from the Vast Glacial Realm, and aside from the Spirit Refinement Technique and myriad sword artwork, the one that he held in the highest regard was the Spiritvoid Pill that he had swindled.

Even Body Integration Stage beings like Cai Liuying and Duan Tianren had plotted for tens of thousands of years to secure these pills, so they naturally had to be extremely valuable.

Unfortunately, this was the first time that he had heard of these pills, and they were presumably only useful for Body Integration Stage beings, so this pill wasnt going to be of any use to him before he made his breakthrough.

Aside from the Spiritvoid Pill, he had also obtained many other spirit medicines from the medicine garden within the ruins. However, most of these spirit medicines had been given to Qian Jizi and the others, and he had only retained one of each so he could nurture them to the point where they could produce seeds.

Even though he was still unable to identify those unique spirit flowers and spirit fruits, they were definitely all extremely difficult to find in the Spirit Realm.

The spirit medicine that he held in the highest regard among them was naturally none other than that silver lotus seed pod. This spirit medicine was most likely the most precious one in the entire medicine garden, but he had no idea what it was, so he couldnt do anything with it for now. He could only hope that he would be able to learn how to use these spirit medicines in the future.

Setting those aside, he could brew some Red Silk Heavenly Wine with the Red Silk Fruits. This wine could extend ones lifespan and enhance ones physical constitution, so it definitely couldnt hurt to drink it. Furthermore, the Red Silk Fruits that he had procured had been growing for countless years, so perhaps the spirit wine brewed with these fruits would have some additional positive effects.

As for the Corrosive Poisonweed, that was an important material for refining several types of pills that could improve a Body Integration Stage beings cultivation base, so he could begin refining those pills after he made his breakthroughs.

Aside from those, the completely depleted talismans and that starry sky diagram in the world within the screen were all items that were very much worthy of further examination. Han Li was sure that studying them would be greatly beneficial to his prowess in the areas of talismans and formations.

However, during the past century or so, he had primarily focused his time on cultivating the Spirit Refinement Technique and some other secret techniques, so he hadnt had much time to examine those things. As such, they had been sitting idly inside his storage bracelet this entire time.

After a long while, Han Li exhaled as he focused his attention on his Body Integration Stage bottleneck.

His spiritual sense had been vastly enhanced, and that, in conjunction with all of the spirit pills he had obtained from the Thunder Continent, would greatly increase his chances of making a successful breakthrough.

However, prior to that, he had to refine some spirit pills and treasures first. After all, the Body Integration Stage bottleneck was different from all of the major breakthroughs he had made in the past. Not only did he require a large number of pills to assist himself during the breakthrough process, he also had to set up a formation to draw upon the worlds origin Qi to further increase his chances of success.

This formation was one that Han Li had obtained by chance while passing through the territory of a foreign race during his return journey.

It was said that this formation was an extremely closely guarded secret of their race, and if it werent for a series of fortuitous events, he wouldnt have been able to learn the method to establish the formation.

This formation wasnt necessarily all that complex, but the thought process behind it was quite brilliant, and it required a few specific treasures to form the core of the formation. Han Li would naturally have to refine these treasures himself, which was why he had purchased so many materials from Deep Heaven City.

He flicked his wrist, and his storage bracelet flew through the air as a streak of black light before hovering in the air in a stationary manner.

He waved a hand toward the bracelet, and red light flashed as a crimson cauldron that was around an inch in height appeared below it.

A burst of azure light then swept forth from the storage bracelet, and spiritual light flashed on the ground, following which a series of containers appeared.

Han Li made a hand seal, and the cauldron quickly expanded to several feet in size. A faint smile appeared on his face, and he pointed a finger at the cauldron, upon which a wisp of azure flames erupted from his fingertip.

The flames revolved around the cauldron before abruptly swelling to several times its original size, upon which a scorching aura was released, drastically increasing the temperature within the secret chamber.

Meanwhile, Han Li made a grabbing motion toward one of the jade boxes on the ground, and the lid of the box flew off on its own before a piece of unknown metal emerged from within.

The surface of the metal was of a glossy black color, and there were wisps of spiritual Qi emanating from it, this was clearly a material that had already been roughly refined.

The black piece of metal vanished into the cauldron in a flash, and Han Li swept a sleeve through the air, upon which the azure flames swelled once again to encompass the entire cauldron.

After that, he added one material after another into the cauldron, and only after two months did he finally complete the refinement of all of the treasures and pills that he required.

He then spent another half month or so to carefully set up a huge formation with the mountain as the center.

After all of those preparations were made, Han Li went into seclusion and cultivated for half a year to prime himself into the best condition before finally beginning to attempt a breakthrough.

On this day, the white-haired elderly man from the Gu Family branch was meditating in a cave abode when the ground suddenly began to tremor, following which the entire secret chamber began to quake violently.

The elderly man opened his eyes and was just about to yell out to inquire what was happening when a thought suddenly occurred to him.

His expression immediately changed as he rushed out of the secret chamber as a streak of light, and after just a few flashes, he appeared on a giant rock on the mountain summit, then cast his gaze toward the sea of mist in the distance with a solemn expression.

Moments later, a few more streaks of light rushed over to join the elderly man, and they also directed their attention toward the sea of mist.

There were heavenly phenomena taking place again! freewebnovel.c

The same thought appeared in everyones minds at the same time as a dozen or so giant silver pillars of light erupted from within the sea of mist.

Each and every pillar of light was over 1,000 feet tall with faint golden runes flashing erratically on their surfaces.

The sea of mist tumbled violently, and countless specks of lights of different colors were converging toward the center of the sea of mist from all directions.

The elderly man released his spiritual sense, and his face immediately paled. Within his sensory range, all of the worlds origin Qi was surging toward the sea of mist in a frenzy. Enormous amounts of spiritual Qi was being released by the nearby spirit veins, and they seemed to have been stirred up by some kind of powerful force.

In the blink of an eye, massive five-colored spirit clouds had appeared above the sea of mist to cover the entire sky.

Loud thunderclaps rang out as bolts of purple lightning appeared within the clouds before intertwining violently like a series of purple lightning snakes.

All of a sudden, a long cry suddenly rang out from within the sea of mist, followed by a tremendous eruption of spiritual pressure.

The spiritual pressure was powerful beyond belief, and even though all of the spectating cultivators were situated hundreds of kilometers away, all of them felt a gargantuan weight crashing down upon them. Some of the cultivators with weaker cultivations bases blacked out on the spot and collapsed with blood trickling out of all of their orifices.

Even the more powerful beings like the white-haired elderly man also experienced momentary loss of vision before involuntarily falling to their knees.

These people were naturally extremely alarmed, yet before they had a chance to do anything, bursts of Buddhist chants suddenly rang out from within the five-colored spirit clouds, and runes of all different colors began to appear.

Right at this moment, an inhuman roar erupted from the center of the sea of mist, where the mountain was situated, and a streak of golden light shot forth. The light then receded to reveal a golden figure that was over 1,000 feet tall.

The golden figure had a pair of huge menacing eyes and was baring its fangs in a ferocious manner, it was a vicious-looking giant golden ape.

As soon as this ape appeared, loud thunderclaps immediately erupted from within the five-colored spirit clouds. Countless purple lightning arcs then converged toward the same spot in the clouds, forming a giant purple wyrm that was not inferior in size to the massive ape.

Another earth-shattering thunderclap erupted, and the purple wyrm came crashing down with devastating force.

The giant golden ape looked on with a ferocious expression and pounded its own chest with its huge fists before leaping up to meet the purple wyrm.

At the center of the sea of mist, the sky was still silver, and the sun was still golden. However, aside from that, there were no clouds or mist, nor any signs of wind blowing through the area.

There was no sound at all within a radius of around 50 kilometers, it was as if everything had been isolated by a type of mysterious energy.

Time slowly passed, and the strange phenomena within the sea of mist remained unchanged. However, on the second day, some shimmering black spots began to appear within the golden sun.

On the third day, those spots formed a black clump at the center of the sun.

On the fourth day, the black clump began to elongate and thin out in the process.

On the fifth day, a long and thin black line had taken shape on the surface of the sun, and from a distance, it looked as if it were a tightly-shut giant golden eye, creating a very peculiar sight to behold.

On the sixth day, everything remained unchanged except the golden light radiating from the sun was becoming more and more dazzling and bright.

At noon of the seventh day, Han Li suddenly opened his eyes as he sat inside his cave abode, and at the same time, the black light on the giant golden eye formed by the sun also slowly opened.

Within the black light, a seven-colored ball of light that resembled a pupil appeared. The surface of the ball of light was swirling in a dazzling manner, striking one with the incredible feeling that it was able to see through all things in this world.

Moments later, a long cry akin to a dragons roar erupted from the mountain and directly into the heavens.

…

Within a certain space, there was a pristine white palace hovering in mid-air. Within it, several shimmering yet blurred humanoid figures, each of which was seated on a platform that was several hundred feet tall above the ground, were conversing with one another from afar.

The faces of these humanoid figures had all been concealed by spiritual light, and there were several disciple-like figures standing behind each of them, all of whom were acting in a very respectful manner.

At the center of the platforms was a black and white flower with a diameter of around 1,000 feet. The flower was emanating a fragrant scent and was very mysterious to behold.

All of a sudden, a blurry humanoid figure with seven-colored spiritual light revolving around him suddenly let loose a faint cry of surprise.

Whats going on, Fellow Daoist Xuan Ming? a figure enshrouded in white light next to him asked.

After a brief hesitation, the rainbow figure replied in a truthful manner, Someones cultivating the Spirit Refinement Technique, and theyve mastered the first stage. The phenomena that they triggered was detected by my immortal treasure.

The Spirit Refinement Technique? That technique has already been listed as a restricted technique within all of the major immortal areas, how could someone still dare to take the risk to cultivate it? In any case, just send someone to detain them, why is this situation worthy of any alarm? The white figure was still rather perplexed.

I would naturally have sent someone already if things were as simple as that, but the phenomena my immortal treasure detected came from a certain lower realm, so its not being cultivated by anyone in the immortal areas, the rainbow figure explained with a wry smile.

The white figure faltered momentarily before chuckling, Someone from a lower realm? That is indeed rather surprising. Someone mustve taken the technique to that realm on a visit. In that case, it doesnt really matter, then. The Spirit Refinement Technique is quite difficult to cultivate even for those in the True Immortal Realm like us, so theres no way someone from a lower realm can master the final stage.

Youre right. Ive been assigned the task of overseeing these matters, but its naturally beyond my realm of jurisdiction if someone outside of this immortal area cultivates this technique. Even if that man masters that technique, he wont be able to get past the people at the guidance platform when he ascends anyway, the rainbow figure replied with a smile.

The conversation between the two of them was quite brief, and the other people present paid some attention to it at first, but after hearing that this merely concerned someone from a lower realm, they also quickly brushed off the subject, and the matter was soon glossed over.

The rainbow figure also didnt mention this subject any further as if he had truly forgotten all about it.

…

Han Li exhaled, and his heart was filled with elation as he sensed the world around him with his vastly enhanced spiritual sense. He had finally mastered the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique, and even though he still hadnt reached the Body Integration Stage, the power of his spiritual sense was comparable to that of the average late-Body Integration Stage being.

His spiritual sense instantly spread out of his cave abode and emerged out of the mountain, upon which his brows furrowed slightly.

The phenomena in the sky had already vanished, and everything in the surrounding area had been severely ravaged.

The ice, snow, and winds had been extremely fierce, and not only had most of the plants in the area disappeared, the remaining ones looked as if they were all hanging by a thread.

The top half of the mountain was completely bare, presenting an extremely bleak and desolate sight to behold.

Han Lis spiritual sense scanned through the surrounding area a few times before extending outward, instantly sweeping through everything within a radius of hundreds of kilometers.

All of a sudden, his expression changed slightly, and his spiritual sense paused at a certain mountain on the border of the sea of mist before encompassing the entire mountain.

There were Spatial Tempering Stage spiritual sense fluctuations emanating from within a cave abode at the foot of that mountain, and even though several layers of restrictions had been set up around the cave abode, they were easily torn apart by Han Lis insanely powerful spiritual sense.

Thus, a wisp of his spiritual sense penetrated through several layers of restrictions before tracking down the Spatial Tempering cultivator.

Within a secret chamber sat none other than the white-robed man.

Han Li didnt bother to disguise his spiritual sense at all, and he had forcibly barged his way through the restrictions, so as soon as his spiritual sense appeared inside the secret chamber, it was immediately detected by the white-robed man.

Thus, he opened his eyes and smiled as he said, Greetings, Fellow Daoist, I am Gu Yun from the Southmoon Mountain. Congratulations on mastering your new ability!

Southmoon Mountain? Is that the mountain near Chenwu City? Han Li asked in a hesitant manner.

Hehe, that is indeed the one. Do you know of our Gu Family, Fellow Daoist? The white-robed man was rather taken aback.

I dont know much about the Gu Family, but I have heard of the renowned Southmoon Mountain. The cultivators who are rumored to be residing on that mountain must be your Gu Family, right? Han Li asked in a slow voice.

Hehe, Im sure youve heard of true spirit families, right, Fellow Daoist? Our Gu Family is a true spirit family, and in order to ensure the continuation of our bloodline, we very rarely interact with the outside world. Not many people know about this, but with your powers, its only a matter of time before this information is revealed to you, the white-robed man chuckled.

A true spirit family? Do you know of the Ye Family and the Long Family? Han Li asked after a brief pause.

The Ye Family and Long Family are two of the largest true spirit families. Our Gu Family is certainly not weak, but were still inferior to those two families. Do you recognize people from those two families, Fellow Daoist? the white-robed man asked in a hesitant manner.

I have indeed encountered some people from those two families, but they were only fleeting encounters. Now then, why have you decided to stay in this place? Han Li asked.

Hehe, this is where one of the branches of our Gu Family is situated, and I just so happened to be passing by. Much to my surprise, you were also here cultivating your new ability, and I wanted to get to know you, the white-robed man replied with a smile.

I see. Ive already completed my cultivation now, if you dont mind, you can come and meet me at my cave abode. Im also quite curious about the true spirit families, so Im sure a meeting will be mutually beneficial for us, Han Li offered.

That would be ideal! Ill come over right away, the white-robed man agreed in an elated manner.

Alright, then Ill be awaiting your arrival in my cave abode.

Han Lis voice gradually faded away, and moments later, his spiritual sense disappeared from the secret chamber.

Around 15 minutes later, a streak of white light flew out of the mountain before reaching the border of the sea of mist in just a few flashes.

Several large silver runes flashed within the mist, and it suddenly parted to reveal a path that was several tens of feet wide, leading directly into its depths.

Gu Yun immediately flew down the path, and the white streak of light soon vanished into the distance.

At this moment, the mist closed over again, and the path disappeared.

By the time Gu Yun reached the mountain at the center of the sea of mist, Han Li had already emerged from his cave abode and was standing in front of the gate with a smile on his face.

Upon verifying that Han Li was indeed a cultivator at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, Gu Yuns smile widened even further.

After exchanging some pleasantries, they entered the cave abode one after another, and after staying in Han Lis cave abode for about half a day, the white-robed cultivator emerged from the sea of mist with a disappointed look on his face.

He then issued some instructions to the elderly man who was the leader of this Gu Family branch before departing.

Meanwhile, Han Li was situated within the secret chamber of his cave abode, appraising a white jade slip in his hand with a contemplative look on his face.

So the Long Family is the number one true spirit family and has Body Integration cultivators among their ranks, Ill have to be careful of them in the future, Han Li murmured to himself, and the jade slip vanished amid a flash of light.

This jade slip had been given to him by Gu Yun, and there was some information about the true spirit families recorded in there, thereby giving Han Li a rough understanding of those families.

Of course, none of this was particularly confidential information, and all Spatial Tempering cultivators would eventually be able to learn all of this through alternative avenues, so Gu Yun had only done him a slight favor.

Han Li had invited Gu Yun to his cave abode as he wanted to learn more about the Long Family, which he had opposed alongside the Ye Family to foil their plans in the past.

Even though several centuries had already passed since then, this wasnt enough time for cultivators to forget their grudges.

Seeing as he had returned to the human race and planned to settle here permanently, he had to develop an understanding of his potential enemies so he could address them appropriately.

Thus, he was inclined to invite Gu Yun over for a conversation after learning that he was a member of a true spirit family.

Just as he had expected, after conversing for a while, Gu Yun invited him to join their Gu Family as a guest elder, an offer that Han Li naturally turned down in a euphemistic manner.

With his current powers and cultivation base, there was no way that he would bind himself to any family. On top of that, with his immense wealth, the conditions that Gu Yun offered, which he thought to be very alluring, couldnt tempt Han Li at all.

After contemplating the issue for a long while, Han Li shook his head to set the matter aside for now. He then flicked his wrist, and a scroll that was around a foot in length appeared before him.

The Provenance Projection wasnt manifested into the golden body, but its six arms each made a different hand seal, and the lips on its two heads with clear facial features were moving slightly as if it were chanting something.

Moments later, Buddhist chants began to echo throughout the secret chamber, and at the same time, golden light swirled over Han Lis face while his skin and muscles squirmed, following which a series of golden scales appeared.

This was a clear indication that he had unleashed his Provenance True Devil Arts to its maximal extent.

The nine silver discs that were hovering around him tremored slightly before radiating piercing light and emitting a faint buzzing sound.

The sound resonated with the Buddhist chants and combined as one seamlessly without seemingly out of place or unpleasant to the ears at all, it was as if both of the sounds were originating from the same source.

All of a sudden, a golden halo appeared behind Han Li, and another appeared behind the Provenance Projection.

The halo behind the projection was clearly larger than the one behind Han Li, but it was nowhere near as dense.

Han Li let loose a low harrumph as he switched to another hand seal, and the two golden halos revolved on the spot before countless golden runes gushed out of their centers. All of these runes were shimmering with golden light and extremely dazzling to behold.

Upon closer inspection, one would discover that these were all golden seal runes.

The nine silver discs also began to display changes as if they were being influenced by the golden seal text. A faint buzzing sound rang out, and one fist-sized silver rune after another rapidly drifted out of the discs before hurtling toward the golden light.

These silver runes were clearly beveled silver text.

Thus, golden and silver runes appeared simultaneously within the golden light, and their numbers only continued to increase as they soon spread all throughout the light. However, there were still large numbers of runes that were gushing out relentlessly before surging into the light in a frenzy.

Han Li remained completely still, but a rather strained look appeared on his face, and this expression was only becoming more and more pronounced as the number of runes in the golden halo increased.

Not long after that, Han Lis eyes abruptly sprang open, and he let loose an almighty cry.

All nine of the silver discs exploded in unison amid a sharp screeching sound and vanished into balls of silver light.

Meanwhile, the golden halo behind Han Li also began to accelerate drastically in its rotation. At the same time, it began to blur and shrink, and the golden and silver runes within it also shrank alongside it.

Within the span of just a few breaths, the thousands of runes had been reduced to around the size of a grain of rice each.

The golden halo itself had also become a fist-sized ball of shimmering golden light.

The other golden halo that was higher up in the air also transformed into a golden ball of light at the Provenance Projections behest before slowly descending.

Immediately thereafter, a flash of light appeared, and the giant projection vanished, leaving only the two balls of light hovering beside Han Li.

A solemn look appeared on his face as he pointed a finger at each of the balls of light, both of which then vanished into his glabella in a flash.

In the next instant, large droplets of sweat began to materialize on Han Lis forehead, and his body also expanded in size in an alarming manner. His entire body began to tremble, and thick worm-like veins were bulging through his scales.

It was as if there were something wreaking havoc within his body and putting him in extreme agony.

A short while later, spiritual light flashed from Han Lis head, and a layer of purplish-golden light abruptly enveloped it. The layer of light fluctuated erratically in size, and a series of golden and silver runes appeared over his face before instantly vanishing. It was as if there were something trying to escape, only to be forcibly dragged back, and this created a very peculiar sight to behold.

At this point, Han Li had already closed his eyes, and he was constantly making different hand seals as if he were desperately trying to activate something. The golden light around his body fluctuated in brightness and flashed erratically, and at the same time, astonishing scenes were also unfolding in the air above the mountain that his cave abode was situated within.

The clear blue sky was originally completely devoid of any clouds, but all of a sudden, howling winds were suddenly swept up, following which the entire sky dimmed as massive patches of dark clouds appeared, making the sky in a radius of around 50 feet as dark as the bottom of a charred pot.

Meanwhile, the fierce winds abruptly receded, and a burst of glacial air suddenly surged forth from somewhere before rampaging through the clouds.

Fist-sized blue hail began to fall in a frenzy alongside a fierce snowstorm, and moments later, the entire area had been transformed into a world of glacial snow and ice.

Before the snowstorm had even ceased, a gust of scorching wind suddenly swept forth from within the clouds in a ferocious manner.

The extremely dense dark clouds were instantly dispersed by these winds, and rays of sunlight began to spill down from above.

If anyone were still situated on the mountain to witness the phenomena taking place in the air above, they would most definitely be stunned by what they saw.

It was already noon at this point, so there shouldve been multiple suns in the sky, but at this moment, there was only a single scintillating sun while the rest had all vanished.

The single sun that remained was golden in color, and the clear blue sky had also taken on a faint silver hue. The golden and silver colors intertwined, making this entire area appear as if it were situated in another mysterious world.

However, if one were to fly a few hundred kilometers away from the mountain that Han Li was situated in, they would discover that these astonishing phenomena would gradually fade away. Beyond the vast sea of mist that Han Li had conjured up, there were still several suns hanging in the sky alongside one another, and the sky was still as blue as ever. However, faint silver light was flashing incessantly above the sea of mist, and the strange rumbling noise emanating from the same direction was quite alarming.

Many of the cultivators in the surrounding area were already feeling quite anxious and wary, and they immediately rushed out of their cave abodes. They either stood at the summit of the mountain or used flying treasures to fly to higher altitudes, and all of them cast their eyes toward the sea of mist with bewilderment etched on their faces.

In the air above a mountain that was close to 10 kilometers away from the sea of mist, there were a dozen or so people hovering at an altitude of over 10,000 feet, and they were also appraising the sea of mist in the distance.

One of them was a white-robed man who appeared to be in his thirties. He was clearly the undisputed leader of the group, and he stood at the forefront with a giant white sword beneath his feet.

the dozen or so other people in the group were all standing behind the white-robed man with respectful looks on their faces.

Did this man really only take over the Sunrise Peak three days ago?, the white-robed man asked without even turning his head.

An elderly man with pristine white beard and hair bowed slightly in a respectful manner, and replied, Indeed, Senior. This man descended upon the Sunrise Peak three days ago, and he evicted all of the nearby cultivators with his powerful spiritual sense. I have a good friend whos a late-Nascent Soul cultivator, and he just so happened to be in this area. According to his account, the spiritual sense was so vast that it flattened him to the ground and rendered him completely unable to circulate his magic power, which was why he had fled the scene without daring to offer any resistance.

Oh? I can use the power of my spiritual sense to restrict a Nascent Soul cultivator from afar as well, albeit with some difficulty, but no ordinary Spatial Tempering cultivator can restrict all of the cultivators in a dozen or so cave abodes at once, not even someone at the pinnacle of the Spatial Tempering Stage, the white-robed man mused with a slightly peculiar look on his face.

Are you saying that man is a Body Integration cultivator, Senior? the elderly man exclaimed as his expression changed drastically. Everyone else was also given a huge fright upon hearing this.

Thats very likely to be the case if were judging from his spiritual sense alone, but I cant eliminate the possibility that he couldve used some treasure or cultivated some particularly powerful secret technique to enhance his spiritual sense, the white-robed man replied after a brief pause.

I see. The elderly mans heart eased slightly upon hearing this. It seemed that this was less daunting of a prospect to him.

This is all just my speculation. Even if that man isnt a Body Integration cultivator, hes definitely at the Spatial Tempering Stage, and hes most likely already at the pinnacle of that state. Dont get on this mans bad side no matter what you do. Even true spirit families like ours would only do everything in our power to try and get on good terms with someone as powerful as him, the white-robed man instructed in a cold manner.

I wouldnt dare to irk such a powerful senior! If it werent for the fact that you were passing through the air, we were planning to evacuate this area and find another place to settle altogether, the elderly man said with a wry smile.

Theres no need to go that far. Seeing as he only used his spiritual sense to evict all of you, hes definitely not a cruel man who actively engages in senseless slaughter. Judging from the phenomena unfolding before us, that man is most likely only borrowing this place to cultivate some kind of powerful ability and doesnt have any sinister motives. Furthermore, the fact that hes chosen such a secluded place to cultivate indicates that he should be a vagrant cultivator without any ties to any major powers. If we can recruit him into our Gu Family as a guest elder, then that would be a significant boost to our overall power. With that in mind, Im inclined to wait for a while and see if I can meet this man, the white-robed man mused.

It would be nothing short of a blessing for us if youre willing to stay here for now, Senior, the elderly man immediately said in an ecstatic manner.

This senior was an early-Spatial Tempering cultivator, so if he could stay with them and instruct them in their cultivation, they would undoubtedly benefit immensely.

After all, even as a branch leader of the Gu Family, the elderly man was only a late-Nascent Soul cultivator.

The white-robed man was very pleased with the elderly mans attitude, and he nodded before casting his gaze toward the sea of mist again, wondering what kind of powerful ability could trigger such astonishing phenomena.

However, this was a rare secret technique even in the True Immortal Realm, so there was obviously no way that this man could guess what it was. Thankfully, the phenomena unfolding from this distance werent all that astonishing, if he were situated at the center of the sea of mist, there was no way that he would remain so calm and collected.

There were some abilities in the Spirit Realm that could affect the worlds origin Qi in the surrounding area, but none of them could create as astonishing an effect as the Spirit Refinement Technique.

However, just the phenomena that the white-robed man was currently witnessing had already convinced him that Han Li was no ordinary cultivator, and he was very keen to recruit such a powerful being.

After inspecting the sea of mist for a while longer, the white-robed man asked a young man to remain behind on the mountain before departing with everyone else into the cave adobe at the foot of the mountain.

The nearby cultivators were also quite stunned by these phenomena, but they couldnt just stand there and stare forever, so all of them eventually also returned to their cave abodes with heavy hearts.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense through the surrounding area, and after verifying that all of the cultivators had indeed departed, he flew toward a certain point on the mountain as a streak of azure light.

The azure light soon faded, and Han Li appeared in front of an azure rock face.

Blue light flashed through his eyes as he inspected the rock face before flicking his wrist, upon which several balls of azure light flew out of his storage bracelet, then transformed into several huge ape puppets in a flash.

Without even requiring any instructions from Han Li, the puppets raised their arms, and streaks of azure light that were around a foot in length each erupted from their fingers toward the rock face.

Azure light flashed, and the hard rocky surface of the mountain was sliced through like tofu. In the blink of an eye, a huge cave that was around 100 feet tall had appeared, and the ape puppets entered the cave.

Han Li then swept a sleeve through the air to expel a ball of golden light, which circled around before revealing itself to be a small beast that was around a foot in length.

This was a small leopard-like beast with shimmering golden fur, it was none other than the Leopard Kirin Beast!

Golden light flashed from its body, and it expanded rapidly to around 10 feet in size in the blink of an eye. There were peculiar black patterns all over its body, and a pair of short silver horns that were each several inches in length had appeared on its head.

An indescribably fearsome aura was emanating from its body, and Han Li instructed, Patrol the surrounding area and dont let anyone come near this mountain.

The giant Leopard Kirin Beast roared in response before black Qi abruptly erupted from its paws, and it vanished into the ground.

As for Han Li, he merely sat down with his legs crossed on the spot and patiently awaited the completion of his cave abode.

He had been rather surprised by the current appearance of the Leopard Kirin Beast. The reason behind its transformation was the Dark Beast Monarch inner core it had consumed in the Vast Glacial Realm.

After consuming that inner core, it had hibernated for over 10 years before finally awakening, and its powers had increased significantly following that awakening. It was able to easily progress to the Spatial Tempering Stage, and it had also taken on this menacing appearance.

Han Li was naturally quite intrigued by this transformation, but this beast possessed a hint of the True Spirit Kirins bloodline and had consumed the demon core of a Body Integration Stage Dark Beast Monarch, so it wasnt entirely implausible for it to have undergone such a transformation.

Furthermore, it seemed that there was still more latent potential for the Leopard Kirin Beast to tap into.

During the next few decades following its awakening, Han Li had fed it a large amount of spirit pills, and it had evolved again to the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage, and also attained several powerful abilities.

According to Han Lis estimations, even the average late-Spatial Tempering Stage being wouldnt be a match for this beast.

Despite this, it appeared that the Leopard Kirin Beast was only just beginning to reach maturity, so he was very much looking forward to seeing how this beast was going to develop.

He wasnt concerned for the safety of the beast in the slightest as only Body Integration Stage beings would be able to pose a threat to it, but it was virtually impossible that any Body Integration Stage being would visit this mountain.

With that in mind, Han Li closed his eyes, and several hours later, the giant ape puppets finally completed the cave abode before emerging one after another.

Han Li opened his eyes and swept a sleeve through the air to draw them up his sleeve as balls of azure light. He then stood up and flipped a hand over to produce a stack of formation flags.

He raised a hand, and several tens of balls of different-colored spiritual light shot forth into his surroundings before vanishing into thin air.

Countless bursts of white mist appeared before permeating through the area, and moments later, the entire mountain had transformed into a sea of mist along with the area in a radius of close to 100 kilometers around it, making it impossible to see what was happening on and around the mountain.

After that, Han Li made a hand seal before making a grabbing motion, and white light flashed as a palm-sized round formation plate appeared in his grasp.

Han Li pointed a finger at the formation plate before letting loose a low cry, upon which countless silver runes emerged within the mist, then abruptly vanished into nothingness.

Only then did Han Li withdraw the formation plate before striding toward the entrance of his new cave abode.

After he made his way into the cave abode, he swept a sleeve through the air to send an azure stone gate tumbling down from above, which completely sealed the entrance.

Spiritual light then flashed erratically from the surface of the stone gate, and it completely fused as one with the surrounding rock face as if it had always been a part of this mountain.

Due to the fact that Han Li had controlled his puppets to construct this cave abode, he was naturally extremely familiar with its structure.

The first thing he did was travel to the medicine garden to plant some spirit medicines, then set up a few small restrictions within the cave abode before heading straight to the secret chamber.

After making a few turns, he was greeted by the sight of the stone door of the secret chamber, and he suddenly patted something on his waist.

A faint white shadow flew out before transforming into a white-robed beauty that was emanating a frosty aura.

It was the sentient puppet, Doll

Doll was also different from its past appearance. Not only had a thumb-sized blue bead been embedded into its glabella, there also seemed to be a bit more life in its eyes.

This was naturally the effect of the Glazed Water Bead.

After being nurtured by this treasure for over 100 years, Dolls body had become extremely cold, and it seemed to truly be developing toward a Glazed Water Body.

The effect of this wasnt very pronounced at all, and it had taken over 100 years for this slight change to take place, but Han Li was still extremely pleased.

Furthermore, Dolls spiritual nature also seemed to be increasing, and this was naturally an unexpected yet positive side-effect of the Glazed Water Bead.

After issuing Doll some simple instructions, Han Li entered the secret chamber, then raised a hand to summon a yellow futon.

He sat down with his legs crossed on the futon and closed his eyes before falling completely still, with only a layer of translucent azure light shimmering around his body.

Han Li meditated like this for three days and three nights without opening his eyes even once during this time.

The mountain ranges that he was situated in had truly erupted into a frenzy.

After being forcibly evicted from this place. Many of the cultivators here packed up their things and left, while some went to seek refuge with their friends on the nearby mountain ranges.

As such, the cultivators in the neighboring areas were also made aware of the fact that an unfathomably powerful high-grade cultivator had appeared nearby. He was able to completely immobilize a Nascent Soul cultivator with just his spiritual sense alone, and he seemed to be a Spatial Tempering cultivator.

As such, many of the cultivators were feeling quite uneasy, praying that this senior didnt harbor any negative intentions.

Not long after that, they were made aware that Han Li had gone into seclusion in an area that was completely filled with white mist, and all of them were very relieved.

It was quite clear that this high-grade being had no intention of taking their territory and really did seem to only need to do something here.

As such, even though they were still a little uneasy, they didnt have to move out of their cave abodes.

On the morning of the fourth day, Han Lis body moved slightly, and the azure light around him faded as he opened his eyes.

Piercing blue light flashed within his pupils before immediately vanishing, and he slowly exhaled.

Following these past three days of rest, both his magic power and spiritual sense had been completely replenished, and the fatigue hed accumulated from his travels had also been alleviated.

He was finally able to get down to business.

A contemplative look appeared on his face as he flipped a hand over to produce an intricate jade slip.

This jade slip was quite remarkable, not just because of the faint golden light that was emanating from it, but also because it was fluctuating erratically in size on his palm as if it possessed spiritual nature and would fly away if he werent careful.

Han Li didnt pay any heed to this as he pressed the jade slip against his own forehead before closing his eyes again.

Time passed by slowly, and after an indeterminate period of time had trickled past, he heaved a faint sigh before removing the jade slip from his forehead.

He then opened his eyes as a contemplative look appeared on his face.

This jade slip was naturally none other than the one that contained the Spirit Refinement Technique.

This technique was split up into three stages, and even successful mastery of just the first stage alone would enhance his spiritual sense by at least twofold.

Han Lis spiritual sense was already far more powerful than other beings of the same cultivation race, and if he were to attain this incredible boost on top of that, it would become a lot easier for him to break through his Body Integration Stage bottleneck. The effect of that would be several times more potent than that of any spirit pill.

Thus, Han Li had immediately begun to study this cultivation art right after he had obtained it. He had been cultivating this technique ever since he had left the Thunder Continent, and during his century-long journey, he had dedicated most of his time and attention to this cultivation art.

One could say that mastering the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique was quite difficult, but it could also be argued that this was quite easy.

The difficult aspect naturally lay in the fact that there were almost no beings in the Spirit Realm that satisfied the prerequisites to cultivate this technique. There was no way for those who didnt satisfy those conditions to successfully cultivate this technique, and if they were to try and forcibly cultivate the technique anyway, they would be struck by enormous backlash force and self-detonate as a result.

However, Han Lis spiritual sense and physical constitution were both powerful enough to cultivate this first stage. As such, after over a century of cultivation, he had already completely figured out this first stage and was only one step away from mastering it.

The information in the cultivation art stated that due to the fact that this was a True Immortal Realm secret technique written in golden seal text, every time a stage was mastered, extraordinary phenomena would occur, which was why he decided to find an obscure place without any powerful beings around before he took this final step.

Han Li couldve completed the cultivation of the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique long ago, but he had been situated in the primordial world back then, and if he were to draw the attention of some powerful ancient beasts, that couldve spelled the end for him.

Now that he was on human territory and in such a secluded place, he could naturally complete his cultivation of the first stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique.

As for the forlorn sigh he had just heaved, this was due to the fact that the second stage of the Spirit Refinement Technique was far more profound than the first stage. As such, it would be extremely difficult to decipher it, which would take at least several centuries of dedicated effort, and this wasnt even taking into account the rigorous conditions that had to be fulfilled to cultivate the second stage of this technique.

All of a sudden, the jade slip in his hand abruptly vanished amid a flash of spiritual light, following which he began to pull out a series of jade vials of different sizes.

He tipped out some pills from each of the vials before consuming them, then swept a sleeve through the air to summon nine shimmering silver discs, which hovered around his body in a stationary manner.

A solemn look appeared on his face as he made a peculiar hand seal, following which bright golden light erupted from his body.

A golden projection with three heads and six arms emerged behind him in a flash.