Chapter 1173: Golden Palace Jade Book

"What do you want in exchange? You're not just going to teach me the refining method for free, are you?" Han Li asked coolly, showing no signs of wild joy.

"I want you to find a way to remove the assimilation effect the Void Heavenly Cauldron has on me. Then, before you pass away or ascend, you must temporarily shelter me for a period! Also, although I already have a cultivation level of the eighth stage, I have never experienced the form-transforming lightning tribulation due to remaining inside the Void Heavenly Cauldron. I'm afraid I'll need your help to safely pass this tribulation. Relying solely on my own strength could be quite dangerous." The Heavenly Sea Beast, without any politeness, rattled off several conditions at once.

"Is that all?" Han Li's expression remained unchanged.

"If I were to propose any more conditions, fellow Daoist, I fear you might have murderous intentions, wouldn't you?" The Heavenly Sea Beast chuckled.

"Alright, if these are the only conditions, I can indeed agree to them. However, freeing you from the Void Heavenly Cauldron's restraint must wait until just before I pass away or when I'm preparing to ascend. Do you have any objections to this?" Han Li weighed the pros and cons briefly before decisively agreeing.

"No problem! Your decision, fellow Daoist, is absolutely wise. There's no need for us to fight to the death. And to show my sincerity, I can teach you these Silver Tadpole Runes first." The Heavenly Sea Beast felt a wave of relief and burst into laughter.

"That would certainly be even better." Han Li glanced at the golden talisman in his hand and accepted it openly, without any hesitation.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly raised a hand and slapped his waist, and a green pouch instantly appeared in his grasp.

It was none other than Old Ancestor Jinhua's storage pouch.

Han Li swept his divine sense inside, and everything within the pouch instantly registered in his mind.

A moment later, he shook the pouch, and a stream of green light immediately swirled out from its opening, spewing forth several jade slips of various colors.

Han Li then meticulously examined the cultivation methods and secret techniques recorded on each jade slip, seemingly forgetting about the Heavenly Sea Beast inside the cauldron for a time.

However, the beast was quite discerning and did not utter a sound to disturb Han Li at that moment.

About the time it takes to eat a meal later, Han Li raised an eyebrow. After withdrawing his divine consciousness from the last jade slip, a puzzled expression appeared on his face.

He hadn't found anything related to the golden talisman in his hand among these jade slips.

Could it be that this golden talisman wasn't refined by this person, but was merely an item acquired by chance? Han Li couldn't help but ponder this.

Suddenly, his expression shifted, as if he had remembered something else. He abruptly lowered his head, and his divine sense once again sank into the storage pouch, immediately locking onto an item.

The storage pouch flashed with green light, and another item was ejected.

It was a yellow wooden box, half a foot in size, with a restrictive talisman affixed to its surface.

Without hesitation, Han Li raised his hand, tore off the talisman, and then patted the lid of the wooden box.

The wooden box slowly opened, revealing an object within.

It was a fist-sized, milky-white jade tablet. Silver runes shimmered faintly on its surface, appearing to be covered in the very same Silver Tadpole Runes.

These runes were incredibly tiny, yet upon a sweep with divine sense, they became perfectly clear.

However, a glance revealed that the tablet was only half-sized, appearing to be incomplete and damaged.

Han Li was startled. Before he could examine the tablet carefully, the silver runes on its surface suddenly flashed wildly. With a fierce leap, it transformed into a silver streak and shot away.

Han Li was alarmed, but having seen the restrictive talisman on the wooden box earlier, he had already become somewhat vigilant. Thus, as soon as the silver streak had shot barely ten feet away, he swiftly grabbed at it like lightning.

Green light burst forth simultaneously from his five fingers.

The surrounding space immediately hummed, as if struck by a bolt of lightning from a clear sky. The silver streak trembled, its escape light halted, and the jade tablet reappeared in its original form.

Han Li's expression darkened, and he closed his five fingers.

The silver streak was drawn back by an immense force, unable to resist, and was caught in Han Li's hand, unable to move even an inch.

"The Golden Jade Scripture! Impossible! How could this item have ended up in this realm?" The Heavenly Sea Beast in the cauldron, sensing the recent events, cried out in astonishment, its voice trembling faintly.

"What? Fellow Daoist Tian Lan, do you recognize this item?" Han Li's heart tensed.

For this demon cultivator from the Spirit Realm to lose composure in such a way, it seemed the jade tablet truly had an extraordinary origin.

"Impossible! This item couldn't possibly exist in the Human Realm. With its spiritual nature, how could it willingly remain in a lower realm like the Human Realm, where spiritual energy is so scarce? I understand now! This page of the jade scripture is actually a damaged fragment, its spiritual essence almost completely depleted, leaving it powerless to return to the Spirit Realm. I just wonder what great powerful being had the ability to tear the jade scripture, causing it to become a fragment?"

The Heavenly Sea Beast seemed not to have heard Han Li's question. It merely continued to murmur to itself incessantly. It seemed the appearance of this jade tablet in the Human Realm had shocked it so profoundly that it was somewhat beside itself.

Han Li listened, his brows furrowed tightly, and had to clear his throat lightly twice.

"Ah, I apologize for my loss of composure. It's just that this item truly took this old one by surprise." The Heavenly Sea Beast finally regained some of its senses and offered an explanation.

"Given your surprise, Fellow Daoist Tian Lan, this item truly seems to have an extraordinary background. From what you've said, it appears to have originated from the Spirit Realm." Han Li gripped the jade tablet in his hand, slowly swung it towards the Void Heavenly Cauldron in front of him, and asked with a doubtful tone.

"More than just an extraordinary background? If I tell you its true origin, you'll be even more startled. This item didn't originate from the Spirit Realm; it flowed down from beyond, a genuine immortal artifact." Suddenly, the surface of the Void Heavenly Cauldron flashed with green light, and a ball of green light emerged.

The green light then condensed and swirled, remarkably forming a male child about a foot tall, plump and fair-skinned, appearing to be only three or four years old.

At that moment, however, the male child's expression was grim. He stared intently at the jade tablet in Han Li's hand, his eyes flickering with complex emotions, seemingly a mix of envy and regret.

Hearing that the jade tablet was an immortal artifact, Han Li's expression changed dramatically. However, the next moment, seeing the male child appear, his heart leaped in surprise, but he quickly relaxed.

This was merely the Heavenly Sea Beast manifesting a human form outside the cauldron, borrowing a bit of spiritual energy from it. Its true body could not leave the Void Heavenly Cauldron until Han Li personally removed its restriction. Han Li's attention then fully turned to this so-called "Golden Jade Scripture."

"An immortal artifact! Did I hear that correctly?" Han Li glanced at the jade tablet in his hand, somewhat incredulous.

"Compared to the True Immortal Realm, the barrier between our Spirit Realm and your Human Realm is much weaker. It's not so strange for immortal artifacts to occasionally drift down into our Spirit Realm. It's just that the Golden Jade Scripture has such an immense reputation, which is why this old one lost composure." The Heavenly Sea Beast sighed lightly.

"Oh, if Fellow Daoist Tian Lan is willing, could you tell me more about this item?" Han Li pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"Why not? This item's reputation among the human race in the Spirit Realm is so vast that it's almost common knowledge. It's no secret at all. Speaking of this scripture, one must start with the immortals of the True Immortal Realm. Although some immortal artifacts frequently drift into our Spirit Realm for various reasons, truly useful treasures among them are few and far between. Furthermore, ever since records began in our Spirit Realm, for unknown reasons, almost no immortals have ever descended here. The reason for 'almost' is that a very long time ago, an immortal's corpse appeared in the Spirit Realm. This Golden Jade Scripture was found on that immortal's corpse. It is said that originally, there were a total of 108 pages. Each page recorded an immortal secret technique. The inner thirty-six pages documented cultivation methods for breathing and absorption, including some cultivation formulas and profound energy transformation abilities. The outer seventy-two pages, however, were all-encompassing, covering various miscellaneous studies like talisman crafting, array formations, alchemy, and artifact refining."

The male child paused, speaking with an envious tone, then continued:

"The inner thirty-six pages of this jade scripture are the most important. As for the outer seventy-two pages, while they appear to cover the widest range of topics, there isn't much that can be directly used. This is because the materials mentioned for alchemy, talisman crafting, artifact refining, or array formations are mostly unheard of, serving primarily as references for study. Therefore, apart from a few exceptions, the outer seventy-two pages of the jade scripture are largely impractical. The great struggle that swept across the entire Spirit Realm back then primarily focused on acquiring those inner thirty-six pages. However, after countless millennia of changing hands, only about seven or eight of these inner pages are now known to exist. Nevertheless, almost every cultivator who obtained a jade scripture page and achieved success in their cultivation became a remarkable figure among the human race. Even if they couldn't stand alongside the Three Sovereigns, they could still protect a region and dominate an area. But what's even more enticing is that cultivators who have achieved the Grand Dao and successfully ascended to the Immortal Realm in the Spirit Realm over the last hundred thousand years are said to have all cultivated the techniques from these jade scriptures. Regardless of whether this is true, it's certainly enough to drive you human cultivators mad!"

"Human cultivators? What do you mean, these jade scriptures have all fallen into the hands of our human race?" Han Li was initially stunned speechless, but then detected a hint of something amiss and grew somewhat surprised.

"Heh heh! Initially, our demon race also participated in the competition for the thirty-six pages of the Golden Jade Scripture. But soon after, those senior demon cultivators who acquired them discovered that the cultivation methods within these jade scriptures were only suitable for human cultivators. Once our demon cultivators attempted to practice the divine abilities recorded there, either they had no effect at all, or their cultivation suffered great damage, with some even dying from their bodies exploding. After several attempts, our demon race completely gave up on competing for these jade scripture pages. Although these pages are exceptionally valuable, they are completely useless to our demon race. However, the immortal's corpse back then was also a human body. So, it's not too strange that the Golden Jade Scripture's techniques were created specifically for you humans," the child said with great regret.

"I see! However, since no immortals had ever descended to the Spirit Realm back then, how did your Spirit Realm cultivators know that the human corpse was indeed an immortal's body? Perhaps it was just the remains of some immensely powerful cultivator?" Han Li stroked his chin, speaking thoughtfully.

"This old one isn't very clear on that. This matter happened a very long time ago, before this old one attained enlightenment and opened its spiritual intelligence. How could I know about the events of that time? However, back then, so many powerful seniors from both the human and demon races concluded it was an immortal's corpse. They were most likely not mistaken." The child, hearing this question, seemed startled. After furrowing his brows, he replied hesitantly.