Chapter 1216: Musical Birth Pearl

In the VIP building, Han Li played with the Wood Spirit Orb for a while. Just as he was about to put it away along with the other two treasures, he suddenly heard Tong Zi's faint voice.

“Fellow Daoist Han, are you really going to keep this orb just like that?”

“What? Is there a problem with this Spirit Gathering Pearl?” Han Li was taken aback, his brow furrowing slightly as he asked.

“Hehe, there's nothing wrong with the orb itself, but do you know that the Spirit Gathering Pearl is actually a failed, semi-finished treasure? If you use this orb to cultivate, you will indeed experience rapid progress in your cultivation and spiritual power in the early stages. However, once your cultivation reaches a certain level and you encounter a bottleneck, you’ll discover its drawbacks. High-level cultivators who use this orb will find it considerably harder to break through bottlenecks than other cultivators. This is because while relying on a single type of spiritual energy for rapid progress, you are also indirectly weakening your sensitivity to other types of spiritual energy. For cultivators below the Nascent Soul stage, this drawback isn’t obvious. But for cultivators like yourself, who need to sense various types of Heaven and Earth origin energy to break through, it’s simply not worth it. Therefore, while this Spirit Gathering Pearl is extraordinary, in the Spirit Realm, it’s mostly used to quickly advance the cultivation of low-level disciples with poor aptitude. Higher-level cultivators would never do something like ‘pulling up seedlings to help them grow’.” Tong Zi explained in detail.

“There’s such a thing? So, this treasure would hinder my advancement to the Deity Transformation stage, making it essentially useless to me?” Han Li’s expression changed slightly upon hearing this. He looked at the vibrant green orb in his hand, a hint of anger flashing across his face.

“Didn’t I just say so? This orb is only a semi-finished treasure. If you can find several other rare wood-attribute materials, you can transform it into another treasure called the ‘Woodborn Orb’. While this orb won’t accelerate your cultivation, once you’ve fully refined it, it can grant you the divine ability of an ‘Immortal Body’ once. In a critical moment, it could very well save your life,” Tong Zi said leisurely.

“Immortal Body?!” Han Li was stunned to hear this.

He had envied this divine ability for a long time. However, he had only seen it manifested in powerful ancient demonic beasts, ancient devils, and demonic Heavenly Absolute Demonic Corpses. He had truly never heard of any human cultivators being able to cultivate it.

“Exactly. One Woodborn Orb is enough for you to activate the Immortal Body once. During its activation, even if your head is cut off or your body is split in two, you can recover completely,” Tong Zi chuckled softly.

“Such a thing exists? But if it can only be used once, doesn’t that make it a consumable treasure?” Han Li asked, surprised and puzzled.

“The Immortal Body can be used once, and in certain situations, it can save your life. What’s there to be dissatisfied with? Besides, apart from the Wood Spirit Orb, the other materials needed for this treasure might not be easy to find in the Human Realm. Whether you can even refine it is still uncertain,” Tong Zi huffed in dissatisfaction.

“What materials are needed? I’ve actually collected quite a few wood-attribute materials,” Han Li said with an indifferent smile.

“I will provide you with a copy of the required materials list. But for me to tell you the refining method, Fellow Daoist, you’ll need to give me something in exchange!” Tong Zi was straightforward, directly stating his condition.

“Oh? What does Fellow Daoist Tian Lan desire? Please, just say it,” Han Li felt a sense of relief when Tong Zi said this.

If this Tian Lan Holy Beast were to simply tell him the refining method without asking for any compensation, he would become suspicious.

Although they had formed some acquaintance previously due to the lightning tribulation, after all, humans and demons are different. Such a relationship is mostly maintained through mutual interests. A trace of vigilance always remained in his heart.

He didn't expect that merely a few small favors would make a human and a demon truly open with each other, let alone talk about added trust. The other party's help was likely due to the Void Sky Cauldron being in his control, and the impossibility of acting independently without it, forcing them to yield.

“My conditions are simple. Although I’ve successfully transformed, I still need to consume some spirit medicines to consolidate my cultivation realm. Given Brother Han’s standing in the Heavenly South, I imagine these spirit medicines should be quite easy to acquire,” Tong Zi said slowly.

“No problem. Fellow Daoist, please include the items you need along with the refining method,” Han Li replied without hesitation after a brief thought.

“Good. Once Fellow Daoist returns to your cultivation cave, I will provide you with both the materials list and the refining method,” Tong Zi was very pleased with Han Li’s straightforwardness.

Han Li smiled at this, placed the Wood Spirit Orb back into its wooden box, then with a flick of his wrist, all three treasures were simultaneously put into his storage pouch.

“Fellow Daoist Tian Lan, do you think the Ghost Spirit Sect knows about the drawbacks of the Wood Spirit Orb?” Han Li’s eyes flashed with a cold light, and his voice suddenly grew chill.

“That’s hard to say. From what you mentioned earlier, this orb was abandoned by ancient cultivators a long time ago, and its drawbacks don’t seem to have been passed down. If there were Nascent Soul cultivators in the Ghost Spirit Sect who practiced wood-attribute techniques and used this orb, they might have noticed the harm. If not, it would be impossible to discern anything from the orb itself. What’s wrong? Do you suspect those three intentionally used this orb to prevent you from advancing to the Deity Transformation stage?” Tong Zi immediately reacted.

“I had thought that before, but on second thought, the Ghost Spirit Sect seems to have no motive for doing so! After all, even if I’m only prevented from advancing to the Deity Transformation stage and remain in the Nascent Soul realm, I would still be the foremost cultivator in the Heavenly South. Aren’t they afraid that I’d discover something amiss and, in a fit of rage, wipe out the Ghost Spirit Sect? There must be some other hidden agenda! Let me think. Since someone could use the Ghost Spirit Sect in this way, the mastermind behind this must be a local cultivator from the Heavenly South. And preventing my advancement to the Deity Transformation stage, how would that make a difference to others? Even if I’m not a Deity Transformation cultivator, no one in the Heavenly South is my match. The only consequence of failing to advance to Deity Transformation is that my lifespan won’t increase, remaining at around a thousand years. This would significantly shorten the time the Fallen Cloud Sect can suppress other sects in the Heavenly South. But for most sects, it makes no difference who becomes the leading sect in the Heavenly South. Only a handful of sects would be interested in this, most likely the Hua Yi Sect, the Harmonious Bond Sect, or the Taichu Sect, one of the three major sects, or perhaps they secretly colluded,” Han Li rubbed his chin, his mind rapidly analyzing the situation.

“Listening to your explanation, what was previously just a few clues now seems incredibly clear. Do you believe the other three late-Nascent Soul cultivators were involved in this?” Tong Zi was somewhat dazed by Han Li’s analysis, and it was a while before he let out a bitter laugh and spoke.

“Perhaps. But this is just speculation. Who knows what the truth really is? I can’t say how confident I am,” Han Li stood up, paced a few steps in the hall, then looked at the ceiling, a cold smile on his face.

“Isn’t it simple to find out the truth? Just capture those three and use a soul-searching technique,” Tong Zi suggested with a low chuckle.

“Capturing the three of them would be easy, but it might not yield any results. Even if I knew the truth, without concrete evidence, I couldn’t simply take action against any sect. Moreover, capturing three Nascent Soul cultivators from the Ghost Spirit Sect at once would make me a target for everyone. While my title as the foremost cultivator in the Heavenly South inspires awe in other cultivators, there are likely even more people who envy and fear me. Others might seize the opportunity to incite all Heavenly South cultivators to turn against me. No matter how powerful I am, I can’t possibly fight against the entire Heavenly South cultivation world alone. Such precedents aren’t unheard of in the Heavenly South,” Han Li’s expression hardened, but after a moment of contemplation, he still shook his head.

“Young Han, you’re being too hesitant. If it were based on this old man’s temper back in the Spirit Realm, hehe... But this matter is up to you. As long as you can keep your own life safe, I won’t interfere,” Tong Zi said lazily.

“Don’t worry. Since I know someone harbors ill intentions in the dark, I will naturally be careful. For now, I’ll pretend not to know. If they stop here, then so be it. But if they try any more underhanded schemes against me, I will eventually catch them red-handed. Once I have concrete evidence, hmph, they’ll certainly learn what it means to be caught between a rock and a hard place,” Han Li’s expression was calm, but the chill in his words was palpable to anyone.

This time, Tong Zi chuckled softly and did not reply.

Han Li remained in the hall for a little longer before finally stepping out of the VIP building. He looked up at another pavilion not far away, his brow subtly furrowing.

Han Yunzhi was one thing, but why was Dong Xuan’er seeking him out? He and Dong Xuan’er had not parted on good terms back then. Though she was exquisitely beautiful, she hadn’t left him with a good impression.

However, Han Li also had a lingering question in his mind. He had once learned from a former Harmonious Bond Sect disciple that after Dong Xuan’er formed her Core back then, she had sent people everywhere to look for him for a period of time. Why was that?

Han Li gazed at the distant pavilion, his eyes flickering a few times before he slowly walked towards it.

Upon entering the pavilion, he saw two seemingly young and beautiful female cultivators, one standing and one sitting, silently in the hall.

The one sitting was a woman in a yellow gown, with a delicate and pretty face, appearing gentle like a humble yet refined maiden. The one standing was a woman in a white gown, whose beauty was captivating, though a hint of weariness lingered between her brows. This, however, did not detract from her charm; instead, it added a touch of vulnerable allure.

Han Li’s arrival immediately caused both women to look over at him simultaneously.

“It’s quite a surprise to see both of you here together, Fellow Daoists,” Han Li said. “However, both of you are old acquaintances of mine. I’m truly a little sentimental to meet again today.”

Han Li walked a few steps to stand before them, his gaze sweeping over them, a faint smile appearing on his face.

“Brother Han... no, Senior Han,” the yellow-gowned woman stammered, her dark eyes flashing with surprise and delight upon seeing Han Li. She quickly stood up, appearing somewhat flustered. “Yunzhi’s visit this time hasn’t caused you any trouble, has it, Senior?”