Video Editor

With his strength steadily increasing, Han Li began to travel around to refine a more powerful puppet and the incomparably powerful ancient magic weapon, the Three Flames Fan.

He first set his sights on Yueyang Palace, one of the ten righteous sects of the Great Jin Dynasty.

This palace is famous for its domesticated spirit bird, the "Haoyang Bird," whose natal feathers are one of the core materials for crafting the Three Flames Fan.

Han Li concealed his cultivation level and cleverly planned his attack, using a minor conflict within Yueyang Palace as an opportunity to launch a feint and ultimately successfully infiltrate its forbidden area.

Amidst the chaos, they secretly took several precious Haoyang bird's natal feathers and then drifted away, leaving the Yueyang Palace's high-ranking officials furious but unable to investigate.

On this day, Han Li passed through Jinxi Fangshi.

This market town is vast in scale and teems with monks.

In a large weapon-refining pavilion, he discovered a rare spatial magic treasure—the Heavenly Secrets Palace.

This object can be made large or small, containing pavilions and towers, and is rich in spiritual energy; it is truly a top-quality mobile cave dwelling.

Han Li bought it without hesitation, as it would make his future cultivation and travel with relatives and friends much more convenient.

In the market, he met a fat cultivator named Fu Cheng. Although his cultivation level was not high, he was well-informed and good at socializing.

Through Fu Cheng, Han Li successfully exchanged some materials that he didn't need for a Thunder Spirit Crystal containing pure lightning power. This item was very beneficial for tempering magic weapons and cultivating lightning-based supernatural abilities.

However, trouble always comes unexpectedly.

Not long after leaving the market, Han Li was stopped by a group of cultivators, led by the Holy Maiden of Tianlan Grassland and her guards.

It turns out that Han Li had met the Holy Maiden of Tianlan once during his previous travels. This woman had a keen sense of spirituality and seemed to have sensed a special aura on Han Li.

Perhaps it was a gold-devouring insect, or perhaps for some other reason, but they tracked them down and came to question them.

Han Li remained vigilant, but outwardly calm. He cleverly used illusion techniques and misleading language to fabricate a flawless identity and background, temporarily deceiving the Holy Maiden of Tianlan and the others, thus managing to escape.

But then, another clueless guy bumped into us.

A rogue cultivator in the early Nascent Soul stage surnamed Xiao accidentally discovered some traces of Han Li's contact with the Holy Maiden of Tianlan. Thinking he had caught someone red-handed, he tried to blackmail Han Li with this information.

A cold glint flashed in Han Li's eyes. How could he allow such an ant to threaten him?

He pretended to agree, lured the man to a secluded spot, and then swiftly and decisively killed him, while also obtaining an unexpected surprise from the man's storage bag...

A small bottle of Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Cold Marrow is a top-tier material for refining ice-attribute magic weapons or cultivating Yin-Cold Divine Powers!

……

During this time, Su Ning, Han Li, and Zhang Tie, who had just finished dealing with the affairs of the Yinluo Sect, reunited.

Then they attended a top-level auction jointly organized by several super chambers of commerce in the Great Jin Dynasty, as well as a subsequent underground trading event.

On this day, the largest auction house in the capital city of the Great Jin Dynasty...

The area in front of Jubaoge is bustling with traffic and dazzling lights.

Countless highly skilled cultivators gathered from all directions, including many Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

A tense yet exciting atmosphere filled the air, for the once-a-decade dome auction, jointly organized by the three major chambers of commerce, was about to take place here!

It is said that the scale of this auction and the rarity of the treasures are the highest in hundreds of years!

Su Ning, Han Li, and Zhang Tie arrived together, presenting the highest-level VIP tokens of the Taiyi Sect. They were respectfully led to a luxurious VIP box on the third floor, overlooking the entire auction hall and isolated from all divine sense probes.

Meanwhile, with the full support of Su Ning and Taiyi Sect in secret, Zhang Tie had already consolidated the remaining forces of Yinluo Sect with ruthless methods and successfully secured his position as the sect leader of Yinluo Sect.

Of course, the price paid was that the entire Yinluo Sect secretly swore allegiance to Su Ning and the Su family, becoming an important pawn that Su Ning had planted in the demonic path for the Su family, providing them with intelligence and resources, while also giving the Su family another escape route.

Zhang Tie also obtained a large amount of demonic resources through this, and his cultivation became increasingly unfathomable.

Through the huge one-way crystal glass window in front of the private box, one can see that the circular hall below, which can accommodate thousands of people, is already full and bustling with noise.

On the central white marble auction stage, an elderly man with white hair, whose cultivation had reached the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, was serving as the chief auctioneer, his face beaming as he delivered the opening remarks. His voice was clearly amplified and carried to every corner through the sound amplification array.

"Fellow Daoists, welcome to this year's Dome Auction! As usual, the highest bidder wins. Those who do not have enough spirit stones can use treasures of equivalent value as collateral! Now, the auction begins!"

The very first item up for auction was a heavy blow!
A bottle containing three Haoyuan Pills, which are said to have a remarkable effect on improving the magical power of early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators, immediately sparked fierce competition and was eventually sold at an astonishing price, instantly igniting the atmosphere of the entire venue.

Subsequently, various rare elixirs, ancient treasures, and jade slips containing cultivation techniques appeared one after another, with bidding rising and falling, creating an extremely enthusiastic atmosphere.

However, most of the big shots in the private rooms on the third floor had not yet made their move, clearly waiting for the grand finale.

Finally, when the auctioneer brought out the tenth item, Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Next item, Ink Gold! I'm sure you master craftsmen know better than I do how precious this is! It's the perfect choice for crafting top-tier puppets and enhancing the strength of defensive magic weapons! This auction will feature a package of three hundred catties of Ink Gold, with a starting price of eight hundred thousand spirit stones, and each bid must be at least fifty thousand spirit stones!"

A collective gasp rippled through the audience.

Three hundred catties of black gold!
That's enough to forge several top-tier puppets or several pieces of top-quality defensive armor!

Normally, even a pound of it is hard to find!

"Nine hundred thousand!"

"one million!"

"1.2 million!"

Prices skyrocketed instantly.

Many master weapon refiners and representatives of large sects have joined the competition.

Han Lizhi was determined to succeed; his puppet army and future plans both required a massive amount of ink gold.

He didn't rush to speak. Only when the price climbed to 1.5 million and the bidding began to thin out did he calmly announce his bid through the sound transmission array in the private room: "Two million."

An additional 500,000 in one go!

The hall below fell silent, and many cultivators shook their heads in resignation.

In the end, Han Li successfully acquired the three hundred catties of ink gold.

Immediately afterwards, another treasure caught Han Li's attention.

"Five pieces of Five Elements Jade! This jade contains pure spiritual energy of the five elements, which can be used to balance the five elements within the body, refine top-level array plates, and even has a slight but miraculous effect on breaking through the bottleneck of the mid-stage Nascent Soul! Starting price: one million spirit stones!"

The competition for the Five Elements Jade intensified, especially among cultivators who were stuck at the peak of the early Nascent Soul stage; they were practically blinded by greed.

The price soared to 2.3 million.

Han Li made another move: "Three million."

Once again, they silenced their competitors with overwhelming financial power.

The auction was reaching its climax, and when one of the final treasures, Geng Jing, was brought to the stage, the atmosphere in the entire venue reached its peak!
"Geng Essence! A supreme treasure for sword cultivators! When integrated into a flying sword, it becomes indestructible! The Geng Essence auctioned this time is of substantial quality, appraised by a master, enough to strengthen thirty-six flying swords! Starting price: two million spirit stones!"

The entire venue erupted in chaos! Enough to strengthen thirty-six flying swords?
What a concept!

That's enough to elevate the overall strength of a sword-cultivation sect by a whole level!
The price surged like a runaway horse, instantly surpassing four million, and is still rising wildly!
Even other factions in the third-floor private rooms joined the fray.

"Five million!" A chilling voice came from a private room belonging to a certain demonic sect.

"Five and a half million!" A righteous sect did not back down.

"Six million!" Another mysterious private room joined the fray.

Although Han Li was wealthy, he still frowned at the price.

Just then, Su Ning smiled slightly, patted his shoulder, and gestured for him to calm down.

When the price climbed to 7.5 million and the bidding finally slowed down, Su Ning slowly spoke, his voice carrying an undeniable authority through the private room: "Taiyi Sect, 10 million."

Instantly, the entire auction hall fell silent!

Taiyi Sect!
It was actually the Taiyi Sect that made a move!

It's still that infamous Elder Su Ning, the Demon Su!

Sure enough, the private rooms that had been bidding earlier also fell silent instantly.

On the one hand, the price is indeed too high; on the other hand, who would be willing to offend the powerful Taiyi Sect and the infamous Su Ning for a piece of Gengjing?

The auctioneer asked three times, but no one raised the price again, and the hammer fell to seal the deal!
Su Ning turned to Han Li and said, "This item is useless to me, but it's perfect for helping you refine your flying sword."

Han Li was grateful and thanked him sincerely.

That wasn't all. The following treasures, such as the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Milk (a small bottle that instantly restores all mana), the Blood Phoenix Wood (a whole tree, an auxiliary material for refining fire-type Heavenly Treasures), and the Void Stone (the size of a fist, which enhances the stability and capacity of spatial magic treasures), were also auctioned off by the three at astonishing prices, their immense wealth shocking the entire audience.

However, the real top-tier deals are not over yet.

Following the auction, there will be an underground trade fair that is only open to cultivators at the late Nascent Soul stage or above, or those who possess special tokens.

In a more secluded and heavily guarded underground palace, dozens of cultivators with profound and unfathomable auras sat silently.

There was no noise here, only the silent exchange of divine thoughts and the display of rare and precious treasures that were unimaginable to the outside world.

Here, Han Li traded several ancient pill formulas, which were useless but extremely precious, for a branch of Soul Nourishing Wood; Su Ning traded several ancient demonic treasures obtained from Mo Wuyou for a fragment of a Star Core, which could be used to enhance the power of the Void Heaven Palace; Zhang Tie also obtained several rare materials that would help with corpse refining and cultivating demonic arts.

Some even offered incomplete ancient pill formulas, methods for refining spirit realm talismans, and even stable coordinates of spatial rifts for trade, each transaction enough to cause a huge uproar in the outside world.

When the three left the underground trade fair, they were amazed by the sheer amount of money they had made.

This auction trip not only allowed Han Li to gather the main materials he needed, but also greatly enhanced the foundation of all three of them, paving the way for their future cultivation path.

The prestige and wealth of the Taiyi Sect were once again deeply imprinted in the hearts of all the cultivation sects in the Great Jin Dynasty through this auction.

……

After the auction, Han Li traveled to the vicinity of Tianfu Gate on this day.

Remembering that he still possessed the method for refining spirit-summoning talismans that he had obtained in the Netherworld, and that it originated from the Heavenly Talisman Sect, he suddenly decided to return the method to the current sect leader of the Heavenly Talisman Sect.

Not long after he left the Tianfu Sect's mountain gate, on a small hill, he encountered an ordinary-looking old farmer humming a folk song—Xiang Zhili!

Han Li is now at the peak of the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, with incredibly powerful divine sense. However, when he subconsciously swept his gaze over the old farmer, he felt as if he had been thrown into the ocean by a mud ox, unfathomable!

He was shocked and immediately realized that the person in front of him was a terrifying being far beyond his imagination!
When Xiang Zhili saw Han Li, especially after carefully examining him for a few moments, an astonishing light flashed in his cloudy old eyes, showing even greater shock than Han Li!
"Tsk tsk tsk! Junior Brother Han, your cultivation progress... it's simply monstrous!" Xiang Zhili circled Han Li twice, marveling at his progress. "How many years has it been? Peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage! And your foundation is still so solid!"

"Senior Brother Xiang, what's going on?"

"What? Don't you recognize me after all these years?"

"Don't dare!"

When Xiang Zhili later learned from Han Li that not only had he become a Nascent Soul cultivator, but Su Ning had also reached the Half-Step Divine Transformation realm and possessed incredible combat power, having personally killed a Divine Transformation cultivator, Xiang Zhili was completely unsettled!
He calculated with his fingers, his expression shifting constantly. Finally, he sighed and muttered to himself, "Chaos! Chaos! When did the fortunes of the human realm become so abundant? Two freaks like you have appeared at the same time! It seems... the opportunity for me to ascend to the spirit realm, which I have been waiting for for many years, may... may just fall into the hands of the two of you!"

"Ascension to the Spirit Realm?"

"Junior Brother Han, your cultivation level is still too low. You will naturally understand when you reach the Nascent Soul stage."

He then briefly revealed more secrets about spatial nodes and ascension to the spirit world to Han Li, and solemnly instructed them to improve their strength as soon as possible, as they might need to rely on their strength to find a stable ascension channel in the future.

Then, it vanished again like a ghost, leaving Han Li with a surge of emotions.

After parting ways with Xiang Zhili, Han Li passed by the Sha Yang Sect.

This sect bullied the Tianfu Sect by taking advantage of its power. Since Han Li had received the favor of the Tianfu Sect returning the talismans, he decided to take care of it as well.

He didn't make a big fuss, but only released a trace of terrifying spiritual pressure at the late Nascent Soul stage, which terrified the entire Shayang Sect. The sect leader personally came out to apologize and obediently handed over the sect's secret treasure, the Spirit Transformation Talisman, which could neutralize the opponent's spiritual power attack.

And as compensation, a secret technique called "Spirit Shadow Technique" that can create realistic clones.

Afterwards, Han Li went to Linjiang Prefecture, where it was rumored that a Crimson Fire Dragon was causing trouble.

He killed the dragon, taking its hardest reverse scale under its neck and a large number of scales, which were top-quality materials for refining fire-attribute armor and magic weapons.

After much preparation, all the materials were finally collected.

Han Li found a secluded place, started refining weapons, and spent countless efforts to finally create a humanoid puppet with the strength of the late Nascent Soul stage!
Its strength has greatly increased!
He then set off for Bitter Bamboo Island to find the final key ingredient for crafting the Three Flames Fan—the Black Phoenix Feather.

The island's lord, Elder Kuzhu, was also a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator with an eccentric personality, and he initially intended to refuse.

But when Han Li unleashed the late-stage Nascent Soul puppet and his own unfathomable spiritual pressure without any concealment, the old man of the Bitter Bamboo turned pale and broke out in a cold sweat. He readily admitted defeat, handed over his treasured Black Phoenix Feather, and dared not disobey in the slightest.

With all the materials ready, Han Li had another major concern.

However, it was at this moment that the Great Evolution Divine Lord, who had always existed in the form of a remnant soul, finally reached the end of his life.

This extraordinary and brilliant person imparted all his life's knowledge, especially the later stages of the "Great Evolution Technique" and the essence of puppetry, to Han Li.

And after seeing Han Li successfully refine a late-stage Nascent Soul puppet, his wish was fulfilled.

Then, with a sense of relief and liberation, his consciousness completely dissipated between heaven and earth.

Han Li felt a pang of sadness and solemnly concealed the last traces left by the Great Evolution Divine Lord.

Subsequently, following the method given by the Great Evolution God before his death, he successfully subdued the Earth Armor Dragon that had been hiding in the spirit beast bag. This beast was skilled in using earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique for finding treasures) and would be a great help in the future.

At this moment, Han Li's cultivation techniques, magic weapons, puppets, and spirit beasts have all reached new heights, and his cultivation level has reached the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage. He only needs an opportunity to try to break through to the late stage.

His gaze, however, turned once again to a wider world and a higher realm.

And rumors about Kunwu Mountain began to vaguely reach his ears.

...(End of chapter)