Chapter 1082: Icebound Land

**Volume Six: Transcendent Spirit Treasures**

The Qi Condensation stage cultivators before Han Li, whether from minor families or rogue practitioners, were utterly terrified by his unfathomable demeanor. Not one of them dared to breathe. They knew that anyone whose cultivation level they couldn't discern was almost certainly a Core Formation stage cultivator or higher. Such high-level cultivators would never bother with Qi Condensation stage practitioners, who usually only dared to glance from afar, let alone speak directly to them. At this moment, everyone was trembling with apprehension.

After Han Li asked for the location, his expression softened slightly. However, with a sudden flick of his sleeve, several streaks of green light shot out, instantly embedding themselves into each person in front of him. The Qi Condensation cultivators immediately collapsed without a sound or any resistance.

Without a word, Han Li raised his hand again, instantly drawing one of them into his grasp. His fingers gripped the person's head, and a green light pulsed rapidly. After a moment, the light on his hand subsided, and the person slipped from his grasp, remaining unconscious. Han Li then similarly grabbed another person and repeated the process.

In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Han Li had dealt with everyone in the same manner. After dropping the last person to the ground, he gazed at them and murmured to himself, "If I were a little more ruthless, making you vanish from this world would be more secure. Consider yourselves fortunate that I only erased your recent memories."

With these words, Han Li looked up, fixed on a direction, and with a blur of his figure, transformed into a streak of green light, swiftly departing the area.

An hour later, the cultivators almost simultaneously regained consciousness. Seeing each other's bewildered state, they all exclaimed about their inexplicable unconsciousness, having no recollection of having met Han Li. Frightened, they immediately abandoned their gathering on the mountain and dispersed. By then, Han Li had already appeared tens of thousands of miles away, slowing his escape speed to concentrate on the white jade slip that Linglong had given him before her departure.

After an unknown period, Han Li let out a soft sigh, put away the jade slip, and fell into thoughtful silence, his eyes reflecting deep contemplation.

The information in the jade slip was divided into two parts. One part introduced the "Reverse Spirit Channel" and detailed an incredibly mysterious grand formation used by cultivators from the Spirit Realm to create such channels. Naturally, the profoundness of this formation was immense, but what truly left Han Li speechless and sent shivers down his spine was the sheer quantity and the top-tier quality of spirit stones required to activate it.

Although this grand formation was unsuitable for use in the Human Realm, Han Li thought that with diligent study, he might be able to devise a simplified version, making it somewhat feasible. The second part of the information, naturally, concerned the spatial nodes of the Human Realm.

The jade slip not only meticulously described the characteristics of these nodes and the environmental regions where they were likely to appear, but also listed over a dozen previous nodes in the Human Realm, contradicting the limited knowledge of a few locations mentioned by Xiang Zhili and the woman. After pondering for a while in his escape light, Han Li finally smiled, emerging from his deep contemplation.

Regardless of how important the information in the jade slip might become in the future, his current priority was to reach the Nascent Soul stage. After all, according to the jade slip, one would need to be at least at the early Soul Transformation stage to traverse a spatial node. Only then would a cultivator's Nascent Soul truly solidify and be able to withstand the immense dimensional pressure within the node. Otherwise, without any other dangers, any cultivator below the Soul Transformation stage would have their Nascent Soul instantly crushed by the inter-dimensional forces upon entering a node.

He had now obtained the Spirit Cultivating Pill and the method to lift the Soul Sealing Curse. Logically, he should have immediately set off for Tiannan. However, lifting the Soul Sealing Curse required an auxiliary medicinal ingredient, a 'medicine guide,' in the form of a specific pill. This auxiliary spiritual medicine, called the "Profound Ice Pill," was a cold-attributed pill similar to the Snow Soul Pill. While the effects of the two pills were vastly different, the Profound Ice Pill primarily required a spiritual herb called the Profound Ice Flower as its main ingredient. Though exceptionally precious, this Profound Ice Flower was not an impossible-to-find item in the world.

The only issue was that this item exclusively grew on ten-thousand-year-old Profound Ice. Once plucked and separated from the ice, it would instantly melt into a puddle of clear water within a short time, completely losing its medicinal properties. There was no effective way to preserve it. Therefore, although this flower was an extremely rare cold-attributed spiritual herb, in practice, only a few cultivation sects that permanently resided in icy regions could utilize it. It wouldn't even appear at auctions in Dajin.

Furthermore, since this pill was only effective for the Soul Sealing Curse, even Old Devil Qian didn't carry it with him. Of course, the Yinluo Sect itself undoubtedly had a few bottles of this pill. However, even with all his self-confidence, Han Li would never consider forcibly entering the headquarters of such a prominent demonic sect. Not to mention the numerous demonic cultivators within, he couldn't even breach their internal restrictive formations by himself.

After all, there was a world of difference between a grand formation without a master and one actively controlled by someone. According to the Profound Ice Pill's recipe, other cold-attributed spiritual herbs could be used to concoct it, but the medicinal efficacy would drop significantly. For the sake of certainty, Han Li naturally planned a trip to an extremely cold region. This was why he had previously mentioned going to the Northern Extreme Palace to Bai Yaoyi while in Kunwu Mountain. The Northern Extreme Palace was located on the Northern Nether Ice Island, a famously frigid place, and its cultivators would undoubtedly be able to easily find Profound Ice Flowers.

Furthermore, apart from this matter, he was also thinking about the spiritual medicine 'Cold Marrow,' hoping he might fortuitously find information about the Sun Essence Fire at the Northern Extreme Palace. After all, since this sect had preserved Cold Marrow for so many years, they should have clues regarding the Sun Essence Fire, even if they hadn't obtained it themselves.

Of course, Han Li would not immediately go to Northern Nether Island. He needed to wait for the commotion from the Kunwu Mountain incident to subside. Additionally, for safety, he had other matters to attend to. It seemed that simply going into seclusion for a few years wouldn't be enough. After much deliberation, Han Li finally made his decision, immediately changed direction, and flew northward.

Traveling north across more than ten states, Han Li finally arrived at a large county named Frost County.

While this county wasn't the absolute northernmost region of Dajin, it was close. The area was perpetually covered in ice and snow, with heavy, white snowfall occurring seven or eight days out of every ten. Consequently, the mortal population in this county was sparse, and the land vast. Spiritual mountains and veins were few and of inferior quality compared to other spiritual lands. Thus, few cultivation sects from Dajin established themselves here; instead, many minor aristocratic families and rogue cultivators gathered in the county.

Despite its harsh environment, Frost County was exceptionally vast, its area ranking among the top five of Dajin's twenty-six counties. It was also rich in famous cold-attributed spiritual herbs and materials.

Most cultivators in this county practiced ice-cold or yin-cold attribute cultivation methods. They gathered here to utilize the area's frigid Qi to enhance their cultivation. Naturally, if they were to engage in combat with cultivators practicing other attribute methods, they would undoubtedly have a slight advantage.

Whether it was Tiannan or the Starfall Sea, where he had been later, most regions were perpetually spring-like. He had truly seldom visited places like this, where ice and snow reigned.

However, with Han Li's current level of cultivation, his body had long become impervious to heat or cold. Thus, while he initially found the pervasive snowy weather somewhat bothersome, after several days of travel, he became accustomed to it and paid it no mind. He encountered other cultivators along the way, but with his current cultivation, he would instantly vanish far before they could detect him, leaving no chance for others to notice his presence. So, on the fifth day after entering Frost County, Han Li finally stopped in an inconspicuous, desolate mountain range. Though this mountain range was not large, it possessed a spiritual vein of decent quality.

Han Li floated above a certain mountaintop, sensing the dense spiritual energy of the area. He nodded with a satisfied expression. Immediately, he let out a cold snort, and a powerful aura surged upwards from his body, then descended, enveloping the entire mountaintop.

The immense spiritual pressure generated by this aura instantly caused all the flowers, plants, and trees on the mountain to inexplicably slow down. Small beasts and insects even fell directly to the ground, sinking into unconsciousness. For the cultivators practicing on the mountain, it instantly caused great chaos. Those with lower cultivation levels felt as heavy as a thousand pounds and dropped to their knees, while those with higher cultivation also suddenly found breathing difficult, as if restricted by a spell. Cries and shouts immediately echoed through the mountain, one after another. Then, three streaks of light simultaneously rose from several points on the mountain and shot directly towards Han Li.

Seeing someone approaching, Han Li's protective green light instantly flashed. His facial features blurred and transformed, and moments later, he became a goat-bearded old man with a fierce expression. During this process, with his body constantly shimmering with spiritual light, Han Li had no fear of the approaching cultivators seeing his transformation.

As the light converged, two black-robed elders and a gray-robed burly man appeared before Han Li. The seemingly younger burly man flew in front, while the two elders followed behind him. Han Li raised an eyebrow but felt no surprise, as the burly man clearly possessed a mid-Core Formation stage cultivation, while the elders were merely late Foundation Establishment stage cultivators. However, their cultivation methods seemed very similar, suggesting a considerable connection.

Before Han Li could speak, the gray-robed man, with a mix of shock and anger, swept Han Li with his divine sense. His expression immediately changed drastically; his anger vanished, replaced by a fawning smile. "This junior, Li Zhongtian, patriarch of the Li family of Snow Lotus Peak, dares to ask what instructions Senior has for us? This junior will certainly do his utmost to comply!" the burly man said with extreme deference. Yet, as his gaze met Han Li's fierce, illusionary face, his heart was filled with intense unease.

"This old man cares not for your Li family," Han Li stated in a hoarse voice that was bone-chilling, seemingly three parts colder than the frigid wind whistling through the air. "I've taken a fancy to this mountain. All of you, leave immediately. You have half a day to prepare. After half a day, this old man will take possession of this place."