Chapter 1739: Nineflame Herb
All of a sudden, Han Li emerged from the nearby space, and glanced at the Provenance Golden Body with a pleased look on his face.
He swept a sleeve through the air, and the golden body disintegrated into specks of golden light. The second Nascent Soul then flew toward him as a ball of black Qi before also vanishing into his body in a flash.
He had released his second Nascent Soul to possess the golden body, but due to the fact that it still hadn't fortified its cultivation base, it had been unable to use its devilish powers during that battle and could only use its spiritual sense to control the golden body.
In doing so, the second Nascent Soul wouldn't have to worry about facing backlash from inner demons, but the golden body wouldn't be able to unleash its full power, either.
Thankfully, after Han Li reached the late-Spatial Tempering Stage, he had also cultivated to the last level of his Provenance True Devil Arts, so his golden body had become far more powerful than back when he was at the early-Spatial Tempering Stage.
As such, he was able to use many more powerful abilities that he had been looking forward to for a long time, one of the most powerful and unpredictable of which was the Revolving Golden Light.
Even if an ordinary Body Integration Stage being were to be caught off guard and sucked in by this golden light, there was a very good chance that they'd perish in there unless they had some extremely powerful abilities or treasures to protect themselves.
As such, even though the second Nascent Soul was unable to use its devilish powers, it was still able to kill that Rong being with ease.
All four of those Rong beings had been slain in virtually the blink of an eye, and Fairy Yue and the elderly man were still hesitating in the distance about whether they should turn around and lend Han Li their assistance when the battle was already over.
The four troublesome enemies who had posed such a major threat to them had been eradicated by Han Li with the utmost ease, and both of them were completely rooted to the spot.
Their expressions were filled most with astonishment, as well as a hint of unease, and the slightest hint of elation.
Han Li completely disregarded them and arrived before Qu'er in a flash.
Ever since Han Li had appeared, Qu'er had remained rooted obediently to the spot without moving so much as a single inch. The two of them engaged in a brief conversation via voice transmission, following which white light flashed from her body, and she quickly disappeared up Han Li's sleeve.
Han Li paused momentarily with a contemplative look on his face before turning to appraise the woman and elderly man in the distance.
The two of them also seemed to have engaged in a brief conversation, and after a brief hesitation, they flew over to Han Li together.
Even though they had decided to approach Han Li, they still chose to stop over 100 feet away from him in the end.
"Thank you for stepping to save us, Fellow Daoist Han. Otherwise, I'm not sure Fairy Yue and I would've been able to escape those Rong beings. Your immense powers truly put the two of us to shame," the elderly man said as he cupped his fist in a grateful salute.
A calm expression reappeared in Fairy Yue's eyes as she sighed, "Indeed, those Rong beings' movement techniques were quite powerful, and if you hadn't stepped in just in the nick of time, our lives were truly at risk. I'm also extremely grateful to you."
"So the two of you have already expended much of your magic power; I was wondering why you were unable to shake off those Rong beings. There's no need to thank me. I may not be a Heavenly Cloud being, but I entered this realm with you two back in Cloud City, so I certainly won't just stand by and watch when you two are in grave danger," Han Li replied with a modest smile.
"You have a sharp eye, Brother Han! Indeed, by the time Fairy Yue and I discovered those Rong beings' nefarious plot, we had already expended much of our energy. I won't forget what you did for us, Fellow Daoist Han; I'll be sure to thank you for your efforts." The elderly man was quite relieved to see how benevolent Han Li was, and the smile on his face became a little more genuine.
Han Li merely smiled and remained silent.
All of a sudden, Fairy Yue raised a hand to produce a jade box.
"This is a Nineflame Herb that's already extinct in the Spirit Realm, and it's a mandatory ingredient for refining several types of spirit pills. It's also one of the reasons why those Rong beings were so intent on hunting us down. We have no way of thanking you for saving our lives, so we can only offer this spirit herb in repayment."
She tossed the jade box over to Han Li as she spoke, and a hint of surprise appeared on the elderly man's face upon seeing this, but it quickly disappeared and was replaced by a smile again.
Han Li was also rather taken aback by this, and he made a grabbing motion with one hand to draw the jade box into his grasp.
He looked down at the jade box to find that it was flashing with red light, and that there were several blue talismans plastered over the box, indicating that it contained something very important.
He opened his mouth to expel a burst of azure light, and the talismans on the jade box flashed erratically a few times before flying off on their own.
The lid of the box was removed, and a ball of glazed light that seemingly possessed an extremely high level of spiritual nature emerged from within.
However, Han Li was already prepared for this, and he certainly wasn't going to allow it to escape. He waved a hand and made a grabbing motion, upon which a burst of immense force instantly immobilized the ball of light.
He curled his five fingers back, and the ball of light flew directly toward his hand.
Fairy Yue's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and she hurriedly cautioned, "Be careful, Fellow Daoist Han!"
"It's alright." Han Li merely smiled in response before shimmering golden spiritual light radiated from his hand, and the glazed ball of light gently settled into his grasp.
This was a spirit herb that resembled a flame and was emitting nine different types of spiritual light.
The spirit herb was only several inches tall, but its nine-colored light was radiating such intense heat that the surrounding air was shimmering and warping violently.
However, Han Li didn't seem to be bothered by the scorching heat at all as he held the spirit herb up to his eyes for closer inspection.
A hint of astonishment flashed through the elderly man's eyes upon seeing this, and he chuckled, "Looks like your concerns were unwarranted, Fairy Yue! With Brother Han's astonishing powers, there's no way this spirit herb will be able to harm him."
Fairy Yue faltered slightly before a wry smile appeared on her face. "Indeed, the spiritual light released by this Nineflame Herb can melt metal and stone with ease, but it has no effect on you; your powers are truly unfathomable, Fellow Daoist Han."
"You two are far too kind; I've merely cultivated some techniques in the past that grant me greater resistance to flames and heat. This Nineflame Herb is indeed an extremely rare fire-attribute spirit herb, and I do actually have a use for it, so I'll be accepting this gift," Han Li replied with a smile.
He then placed the herb back into the jade box and applied a few talismans of his own to its surface. The jade box then vanished amid a flash of spiritual light.
A faint smile appeared on Fairy Yue's face upon seeing this.
The elderly man was quite reluctant to part with the spirit herb, but he naturally had no objections to this arrangement. Instead, a faint smile also appeared on his face, and he was just about to say something when Han Li abruptly swept a sleeve through the air, sending a faint azure jade vial flying toward each of the two of them.
Both of them faltered slightly before reflexively spreading open a hand each, conjuring up bursts of light that swept the jade vials into their hands.
"What's this, Brother Han?" A hesitant look appeared on the elderly man's face.
Fairy Yue was also looking at Han Li in a surprised manner.
"The Nineflame Herb is far too precious for me to accept without offering anything in return. Those vials contain pills that can help even ninth-tier upper race beings improve their cultivation base, so it should be helpful for when the two of you decide to break through your bottlenecks," Han Li explained in a nonchalant manner.
"What? Pills that enhance even a ninth-tier upper race being's cultivation base?" the elderly man exclaimed before removing the lid of the vial and injecting his spiritual sense into it to inspect its contents. He then took a whiff of the medicinal aroma wafting from the vial, and an ecstatic look appeared on his face.
Fairy Yue's expression also changed slightly upon hearing this.
"These pills will indeed be very useful to me, but you've just saved our lives; how can I take these pills from you?" The elderly man finally calmed down slightly before inspecting the jade vial in his hands in a hesitant manner.
"It was a simple task for me to step in there. Compared to the Nineflame Herb, those pills really aren't all that significant at all. I don't want to benefit unfairly from anyone, so please accept the pills," Han Li said with a faint smile.
After a brief moment of contemplation, the elderly man accepted the vial with a smile. "In that case, Fellow Daoist Yue and I would be more than happy to oblige."
Fairy Yue also examined the contents of the vial before stowing it up her sleeve as she extended words of gratitude toward Han Li.
Following that exchange, the wariness in the elderly man's heart had largely abated, and he looked around before suddenly asking, "Brother Han, are you the only one in this area?"
"I was traveling with two other fellow Daoists, but we encountered some danger a while ago and split up," Han Li replied in a truthful manner.
"I see, that's quite a pity," the elderly man said as a disappointed look flashed through his eyes, and the same expression was also mirrored on Fairy Yue's face.
"You seem to be withholding some information, Fellow Daoist Xu! Could it be that there's something that you and Fairy Yue want to do that require many helpers?" Han Li asked as he stroked his chin with a hint of a smile on his face.
The elderly man turned to the woman with an inquisitive glance upon hearing this, and Fairy Yue hesitated momentarily before making a decision.
"Brother Xu, that place has already been taken by those Rong beings, and our powers won't be enough to fight them off. However, with Brother Han's unfathomable powers, perhaps we'll have a chance. As such, I think we should tell him about this. If we succeed, we'll take nothing more than a replica of that golden seal text cultivation art."