Chapter 1607: Tongling Puppet

"Qianqian!" Han Li repeated, muttering to himself. He nodded and continued,

"Since I don't need to delve deep into the Black Gold Mountain Range, and that Saint-tier demonic beast's powers are greatly diminished, I believe this risk is worth taking. However, let me be clear: if I find that things are not as you described, or if for any other reason I perceive the risk to be too great, I will abandon this endeavor at any time. Furthermore, on the day the Black Gold Mountain Range opens, I expect you to accompany me and personally guide the way. Finally, if this Saint-tier demonic beast truly possesses the bloodline of a Mountain Ape, then half of its True Spirit Blood must be given to me. If even one of these conditions is not met, there's no need for us to proceed with this transaction."

As he finished speaking, Han Li's expression turned serious.

"No problem, I agree to all these conditions," Qianqian replied, assenting immediately after a brief moment of thought.

Seeing her agree so readily, Han Li smiled faintly. Without another word, he flicked his wrist, and his storage bracelet whizzed out.

With a single finger, he pointed at it.

Immediately, a swirl of green light streamed out, and over a dozen containers of various sizes—bottles, wooden boxes, and caskets—suddenly appeared in mid-air.

Additionally, dozens of shimmering, colorful high-grade spirit stones also floated out.

"These elixirs can be used from your current cultivation level all the way to the low-to-mid stages of the upper clans, and they can even help you break through bottlenecks. However, their precise effects will vary from person to person. As for the materials, I spent considerable effort collecting them. Please, take a look and see if you are satisfied?" Han Li said calmly.

Many of the elixirs were ones Han Li had previously consumed himself, and he even brought out the only two remaining bottles of "True Toad Nectar," so he wasn't worried about the other party's dissatisfaction.

As for the materials, they might be slightly inferior, but they came from two Void Refinement-level demonic beasts he had killed in the Fire Coral Archipelago, making them extremely rare nonetheless.

The high-grade spirit stones, however, were difficult for him to acquire, and taking out so many at once genuinely pained him.

Indeed, after the woman examined each of the elixirs and materials, an expression of pleasant surprise appeared on her face.

"These items are extraordinary, and with these high-grade spirit stones, they are certainly equivalent to the demonic battle armor," the Crystal Clan woman said with a smile, raising her hand to collect all the items and spirit stones.

"As long as you're satisfied. This matter is settled, then. I'll leave you a long-distance communication talisman. I won't be leaving Cloud City for a while. When the Demonic Gold Mountain Range is about to open, you can simply use this talisman to notify me." Han Li smiled faintly. With a thought, a flash of light emanated from the surface of his storage bracelet, and a palm-sized jade token dropped out.

The storage bracelet then transformed into a whistling streak of green light, vanishing in an instant before reappearing on Han Li's wrist.

"Alright, I've noted that!" The Crystal Clan woman nodded with a smile and drew the jade token into her hand.

Han Li said no more. He formed hand seals and murmured incantations.

Immediately, the golden Dharma Idol within the black mist above his head, along with the purple battle armor on his body, shimmered and simultaneously dissipated.

At the same time, the Nascent Soul in Han Li's dantian curved its lips slightly, wearing a smile.

On its originally plump, fair body, a set of purple-sleeved battle armor now conspicuously appeared.

The rest was simple.

After the woman named Qianqian used a spell disk to send them back to the original shop, Han Li didn't linger and departed immediately.

Over the next period, Han Li visited many other interesting shops, one after another, primarily those specializing in materials, magical artifacts, talismans, and other such goods.

Although he also gained some valuable items, they naturally couldn't compare to the Heavenly Fiend Armor he had acquired.

Han Li spent a full day and night on this street, only returning to his residence in a beast carriage when the sky turned dim again.

For over a dozen consecutive days, Han Li did nothing but wander through the various streets and hundreds of shops across Cloud City.

In this way, Han Li finally gained a preliminary understanding of Cloud City.

In the evenings, Xiang Zhili would occasionally drop by and chat with Han Li for a while.

During this time, Cloud City appeared externally vigilant but internally relaxed. Everything seemed normal among the people in the city, with no tension suggesting an impending major battle.

It was unclear whether the various Heavenly Cloud clans were simply accustomed to the Horned Chi Clan's attacks, or if they believed the Horned Yellow Clan could not possibly reach Cloud City.

One day, when Han Li emerged from the inn again, he didn't go to any shops. Instead, he simply told the beast carriage driver, "Cloud Mist Mountain!" before entering the carriage and remaining silent.

The beast carriage immediately sped down the street.

This time, the carriage traversed almost half of Cloud City, eventually reaching the foot of a 'tall mountain' where it suddenly stopped.

Han Li stepped out of the carriage and gazed at the colossal structure before him for a moment, his eyes slightly narrowed.

This was indeed a 'tall mountain,' standing over three thousand zhang high. It was lush and green, and a pure spiritual aura washed over him. The mountain even appeared to possess an extreme spiritual vein.

Han Li looked around and saw seven other similar large mountains nearby, all roughly the same size.

These were Cloud City's renowned "Eight Cloud Mountains"!

Legend has it that long ago, several powerful cultivators in the city used unfathomable divine abilities to forcefully move eight large mountains from the ground into Cloud City. They also extracted eight supreme spiritual veins from the earth and integrated them into these mountains, thus forming eight spiritual mountains that were not naturally linked to other spiritual veins on the surface.

These eight spiritual mountains were also the only spiritual lands in Cloud City suitable for long-term residence and cultivation, with numerous caves and abodes of varying sizes.

These cave dwellings were not privately owned but were all leased out. Naturally, the leases were counted in centuries, and the fees were astonishingly high.

Yet, despite this, most of the Eight Cloud Mountain cave dwellings were genuinely rented out, sometimes even leading to a situation of supply not meeting demand.

Jia Tianmu's temporary cave dwelling was in "Cloud Mist Mountain," right before him.

Following the address left for the cave dwelling, Han Li's body glowed with green light, and he immediately transformed into a green rainbow, shooting straight towards the mountain.

The Eight Cloud Mountains area was also one of the very few places in Cloud City where one was permitted to use spiritual power for direct flight.

Han Li naturally had no major reservations.

His presence here was, of course, due to the "Spiritual Puppet" that the other party had promised. During this time, Han Li had naturally learned much about the Myriad Ancient Clan.

Although this clan ranked mid-tier among the Thirteen Heavenly Cloud Clans, their research into puppetry had reached an incredible level. It was said to be one of the three races most skilled in puppetry on the Thunderous Continent.

As for the "Spiritual Puppet," which he had initially not understood, Han Li finally grasped its nature after consulting ancient texts and hearing Xiang Zhili's explanations.

Not only did these puppets possess power at least equivalent to the Soul Transformation stage, but they also had a certain degree of sentience, capable of executing simple commands on their own without requiring constant mental control, which indicated their rarity!

Furthermore, it was said that the sentience of these puppets could evolve on its own, potentially leading to a considerable level of intelligence.

Of course, this was merely a legend, and the Myriad Ancient Clan had never publicly acknowledged it. However, this alone shrouded the Spiritual Puppets in an even greater air of mystery.

Naturally, these Spiritual Puppets were difficult for even the Myriad Ancient Clan to craft and were generally not sold externally.

Even if one or two occasionally surfaced, they were instantly snatched up by other clans, each fetching an incredible, exorbitant price.

Hearing about the many peculiar aspects of Spiritual Puppets, and being adept at puppet crafting himself, Han Li naturally developed a great interest.

Coupled with some other intentions he had, this was why he personally came to this mountain.

After a few flashes of the green rainbow that Han Li had transformed into, he circled down in a secluded spot on the mountainside.

Not far in front of him was an unremarkable mountain wall, with a stone gate several zhang tall embedded within it.

Han Li didn't approach to knock directly. Instead, he flicked his sleeve, and a streak of fire shot out. After a flicker, it silently disappeared into the stone gate.

Soon after, a flash of white light appeared on the stone gate's surface, and the large door opened by itself.

Jia Tianmu walked out, a smile on his face.

"Haha, it is indeed Fellow Daoist Han. But why have you only arrived now? I've been waiting for several days."

"I had some matters to attend to, which caused a delay. Please don't mind it, Fellow Daoist Jia!" Han Li carefully observed the other party, noticing his significantly improved complexion, and said with a smile.

"I see. This is not the place for conversation. Please, Fellow Daoist, come inside the cave dwelling so we may speak," Jia Tianmu nodded, immediately extending an unusually warm invitation.

"Then it would be disrespectful not to comply," Han Li replied without ceremony, taking large strides forward.

Jia Tianmu's cave dwelling was not particularly large. After passing through a short corridor, they entered a hall over thirty zhang in size.

It was elegantly and uniquely furnished, with several sparkling spherical pearls embedded in the ceiling. In the center of the hall were one large table, two tea tables, and several hundred chairs.

Other than that, the hall was empty. Even its four walls were made of plain bluestone.

"Please, Fellow Daoist, have a seat," Jia Tianmu said, motioning after settling into the main seat.

Han Li nodded and took a seat to the side.

"Clap," "Clap" two sounds rang out. Without a word, Jia Tianmu clapped his hands twice.

Han Li's eyes flashed, and he immediately glanced towards a side door.

Footsteps could be heard from within the door.

A moment later, a beautiful woman in her early twenties, dressed in a yellow palace gown, emerged gracefully, holding a long, rectangular wooden box in both hands.

The woman soon walked to the center of the hall, placed the wooden box on the tea table in front of Han Li, and then stood respectfully to the side without speaking.

A strange scene unfolded!

Han Li merely swept his gaze over the wooden box, then raised his head, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the woman who had emerged, a strange expression on his face.

"Oh? Fellow Daoist, have you perhaps taken a liking to this maidservant in my residence? If you truly like her, how about I present her to you as a gift?" Jia Tianmu said with a light chuckle upon seeing this.