Chapter 1533: Qingyuzi

Han Li and Yuan Li were both startled upon hearing the aged voice, and then exchanged glances.

"Let's go," Han Li said to Yuan Li, turning his head. Though he felt uneasy inwardly, his expression remained unusually calm. "This person's cultivation is unfathomable, not inferior to the Six-legged Fiend King or other demon kings. No, sensing the wisp of spiritual thought from the spirit insect, Mei, this existence might be even more terrifying than them."

Seeing Han Li's resolve, she felt a subtle sense of relief, as if infected by his composure, and nodded silently.

The two then moved, slowly floating towards the cave entrance.

The passage inside was not particularly large, nor did it have any special features; it was merely a square entrance built from ordinary bluestone.

After flying over a hundred zhang along the passage, their surroundings suddenly brightened. An ancient hall, its floor covered with fine white sand, appeared before them.

The hall was quite spacious, about a hundred zhang across, yet in such a vast room, there were only a few pieces of furniture. Apart from a few tables and chairs, only several pots of peculiar plants adorned the four corners of the hall.

These plants were no more than a foot tall, yet from a distance, one could distinctly smell the herbaceous scent emanating from them. Despite being only a few potted plants, they made one feel as if they were in a dense forest or vast mountains.

In the very center of the hall, a grey-robed old man sat on a chair.

He had a three-foot-long beard and an unusually ordinary face. His keen, sparkling eyes swept over the two.

"You are humans!" a voice of surprise exclaimed from the old man.

It was indeed the owner of the aged voice.

After Han Li's gaze swept over the old man, he was inwardly startled and replied with a slight bow:

"Senior also knows about the human race? May I ask for Senior's name?"

"Hehe! More than just know," the old man chuckled. "I am also human. I won't mention my former name; now I simply go by the surname 'Jiang'." A hint of amiability shone in his gaze as he looked at Han Li and Yuan Li.

"What? Senior is a senior of our human race?" Han Li and Yuan Li were both astonished, with Yuan Li even letting out a soft gasp.

"Why, is it strange that I am human?" the old man chuckled.

"Of course not," Han Li quickly replied, the surprise vanishing from his face. "This junior merely didn't expect to meet a fellow human so far away from our human territory."

The old man's cultivation was truly unfathomable, and Han Li dared not offend him easily.

"Although I originated from the human race," the old man continued, "my current physical body is not my original one. Instead, by a stroke of luck, I seized it from the extremely rare 'Changyuan Race'."

"Members of this race are naturally proficient in various divine abilities and cultivation techniques, possessing several incredible cultivation talents within their bodies. Each one is enough to leave even the most gifted cultivators of our human race in awe," the old man said leisurely, extending a hand and glancing at it.

Han Li had never heard of the "Changyuan Race," but the old man before him, whether in appearance or speech, was clearly no different from an ordinary human, with no discernible abnormalities.

A strange look appeared in Han Li's eyes.

"You two needn't be surprised!" the old man said, his eyes flashing. "My current appearance is still that of when I was human. It took me considerable effort to refine the Changyuan Race body to be exactly like my original one."

"Senior's divine abilities are astonishing; we juniors are simply unaccustomed to such marvels!" Han Li exclaimed. Hearing the other party speak of such a heaven-defying feat in such a casual tone, Han Li felt a chill in his heart but maintained an unusually respectful demeanor.

"Speaking of which," the old man continued, "since my Dao methods first achieved success, I left the human race and have never returned."

"I am quite interested in the current state of the human race. Would you two be willing to tell me about it?" the old man asked peacefully.

"Whatever Senior wishes to know, we juniors will certainly tell you everything we know," Han Li replied without hesitation after glancing at Yuan Li.

"That's excellent!" The old man beamed with joy, clapped his hands, and laughed heartily. "I wonder how many of my old friends from the race are still alive today."

After a slight pause for thought, the old man's gaze lightly swept over the two. After a flicker of golden light in his eyes, he showed a hint of surprise on his face.

"Your cultivations aren't high, but the techniques you practice are quite interesting," he said. "One is a half-ghost, half-human body; the last time I saw someone cultivating this demonic-ghost path was tens of thousands of years ago."

"The other's spiritual power is quite mixed, with a hint of demonic nature within, and a remarkably powerful physical body. It seems either several cultivation techniques are practiced concurrently, or it's a path of dual cultivation of magic and body." The old man spoke these few words casually, as if by instinct.

But these words, upon reaching Han Li and Yuan Li's ears, struck them like a bolt from the blue.

Yuan Li's expression instantly paled, and Han Li's expression also changed drastically. Their true natures, after a single glance from the old man, were completely exposed.

Han Li forcibly suppressed the horror in his heart, and just as he tried to force a smile and say something, the old man's expression changed. Golden light suddenly flashed dazzlingly in his eyes, followed by a soft exclamation of surprise.

Immediately, without a word, he made a summoning gesture towards Han Li in the air.

Before Han Li understood what the old man intended, he felt all seventy-two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords within him tremble simultaneously. Propelled by a huge suction force, they flew out of his body on their own and began to hover erratically around him.

Han Li was greatly alarmed. A hum resonated from his body as grey radiant light and golden electrical arcs instantly shot forth, enveloping and protecting him. Only then did he ask, both startled and enraged:

"Senior, what is the meaning of this? Have I offended you?"

As he asked loudly, a green light flashed in one of his sleeves, and over a dozen Azure Essence Lightning Beads silently rolled into his palm. At the same time, a flash of light appeared in his other hand, and the spirit beast ring, filled with Devouring Goldbeetles, emerged, which he clutched tightly.

Although he possessed many treasures, facing this unfathomable old man, only these two items could truly assist him.

"Judging by the style and refining method, these are indeed the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, and precisely seventy-two of them!" the old man mumbled, completely ignoring Han Li. "The color of the flying swords is a bit off; other materials must have been mixed in later. They were actually refined with Golden Lightning Bamboo as the main material. What an extraordinary undertaking. Even I couldn't possibly gather so much Golden Lightning Bamboo..." He continued to murmur with a strange expression on his face, staring at the seventy-two golden, glittering small swords in the air.

Han Li was naturally startled upon hearing the old man call out the name of the Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords. Then, seeing the old man's peculiar expression, a guess he himself could hardly believe suddenly emerged in his mind. He was momentarily stunned.

After a while, the old man sighed softly, finally stopped muttering to himself, shifted his gaze away from the seventy-two flying swords, and temporarily closed his eyes.

Almost at the same time, Han Li immediately felt his flying swords regain their autonomy, and without hesitation, he quickly formed a hand seal with both hands.

Instantly, after a frantic flash, all the flying swords vanished into his body.

Then he likewise looked at the old man before him with a strange expression and fell silent.

Yuan Li, standing by, seemed to sense a subtle strangeness between Han Li and the old man. Although her expression was uncertain and surprised, she wisely chose not to interject at this moment.

After quite some time, the old man surnamed Jiang opened his eyes again. This time, his gaze fell upon Han Li, and he smiled slightly:

"Hehe, it seems the Azure Essence Sword Art I left behind in the Human Realm has fallen into your hands," the old man chuckled. "You must be an ascended cultivator who ascended here from the Human Realm."

"I didn't actually complete or perfect this sword art back then," he continued. "That you could rely on this art to refine seventy-two Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords, and use divine wood like Golden Lightning Bamboo as the main material to forge them into your natal magic treasures, it truly is remarkable that you managed all this."

As the old man spoke, he clicked his tongue in wonder, scrutinizing Han Li from head to toe as if he were observing a rare treasure.

"This junior did indeed fortunately obtain the Azure Essence Sword Art and is also an ascended cultivator," Han Li said, his expression becoming serious. He bowed again and asked, "So, Senior Jiang is actually Senior Qingyuanzi?"

While in the Human Realm, he had always primarily cultivated the Azure Essence Sword Art. Now facing Qingyuanzi himself, the emotions in his heart were naturally profound.

"Qingyuanzi? Well, yes and no," the old man replied with a faint smile, waving his hand to indicate Han Li needn't bow so formally. "To be precise, I can only be considered half of Qingyuanzi."

"Half!" Han Li was startled by these words.

"When Qingyuanzi traveled to other continents in the past, he was ambushed by several powerful enemies," the old man surnamed Jiang said calmly. "Although he narrowly escaped with his life, his physical body was destroyed, and nearly half of his soul was shattered. In that crisis, he encountered a member of the Changyuan Race. He then seized their body and forcibly merged with their soul to repair his own essence soul. As a result, half of my current memories are Qingyuanzi's, while the other half belong to that Changyuan Race member. It was through this fortunate opportunity that my cultivation ultimately advanced by leaps and bounds, finally reaching my current realm. But if you say I am Qingyuanzi, it's not entirely wrong."

Han Li blinked, feeling somewhat speechless.

"Indeed, when I merged back then, I lost many of Qingyuanzi's memories. However, I did not forget anything related to the Azure Essence Sword Art," the grey-robed old man said with some regret. "You used Golden Lightning Bamboo as the main material, which would originally have made it the finest wood-attribute flying sword. What a pity, later on, in your eagerness for quick success, you haphazardly added other materials during refinement, causing the wood spirit of this flying sword to become mixed. Otherwise, after so many years of nurturing, your flying swords should have long since reached the stage of 'Sword Heart Sentience,' and a single set of flying swords would have been enough to dominate cultivators of the same rank. Hehe, back then, Qingyuanzi had no other magic treasures besides a set of Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords; he could defeat Void Refinement stage cultivators while in the Spirit Transformation stage, and make Integration stage cultivators wary when in the Void Refinement stage."

Hearing the old man's words, Han Li stroked his chin, a bitter smile appearing on his face.

Perhaps everything the old man surnamed Jiang said was true, but given his precarious situation in the Human Realm back then, how could he not seek quick success? Moreover, in reality, he could now easily defeat Void Refinement stage cultivators, and if he himself could advance to the Void Refinement stage, he would also have the confidence to protect himself against Integration stage cultivators.

Of course, he found it unsuitable to say these things directly to the old man, so he could only put on a slightly awkward expression.

"No matter what, since you have inherited the Azure Essence Sword Art, and I myself possess nearly half of Qingyuanzi's memories, you and I do share a trace of connection," the old man said. His face suddenly sank, and he asked with a cold voice, "Now, I have a question, answer me honestly: are you two with those outsiders who entered the Underworld River area this time?"