Chapter 1733: Silver Lotus Pod

## Volume Nine: Myriad Races of the Spirit Realm

He raised his hand again, and several talismans shot out, instantly adhering to the box with a flash. A vibrant restrictive power immediately enveloped the entire jade box. He swept his sleeve again, and a streak of green mist swirled out. The jade box silently vanished into the mist, quickly put away by Han Li.

From the moment the sword-threads burst forth until the jade box was put away, the entire process was as swift as lightning, completed in a single breath. Only then did Han Li let out a breath, his expression easing somewhat. He looked at the spiritual plant in the medicinal garden that had lost its flower. After a slight hesitation, he did nothing further to it and turned to walk towards the next medicinal garden.

Thus, the next seven or eight spiritual herbs were all processed in the same manner. Han Li used a sweep of sword-light to cut off the important parts, such as fruits and seed-containing sections, then quickly froze them, and sealed them again with restrictive talismans. With so many methods applied simultaneously, fortunately, these severed parts did not self-destruct. Even if these parts still contained some kind of restriction, as long as their activation could be suppressed, they could be taken back for slow study. He was confident that with enough time, he could gradually decipher the restrictions.

However, when it came to the last spiritual herb, the silver lotus pod floating on the spring's eye, he encountered significant trouble. When the sword-thread struck the finger-thick stem beneath the silver pod, a dazzling silver light unexpectedly burst forth and deflected the sword-thread. Yet the lotus pod remained completely motionless! Han Li was naturally startled.

After carefully examining the shimmering silver lotus pod several times, he frowned. He then simply pointed his ten fingers at the lotus pod and continuously flicked them. Ten streaks of green light shot out, piercing the air, but mid-flight, they suddenly converged, directly transforming into a single crystal-clear green light, which then struck the silver pod again. The same scene unfolded. The entire silver lotus emitted a blinding silver light. The green light, upon being struck, surprisingly buzzed and shattered inch by inch, then turned to dust and vanished. Han Li's eye couldn't help but twitch violently several times.

What kind of spiritual object was this silver lotus pod, to be able to defy the heavens in such a way! He knew the sharpness of the sword-threads formed by his Azure Bamboo Cloud Swarm Swords; even ordinary Body Integration stage cultivators wouldn't dare to block a strike with their bare flesh. Yet the object before him not only repelled the sword-threads but could even reverberate and destroy them in a single blow. It was truly unbelievable.

Han Li's gaze quickly swept over the silver lotus pod, then shifted, landing on the spring water below. This spring obviously wasn't an ordinary spiritual spring. Not only was the spring water crystal clear to the bottom, but faint wisps of white spiritual energy continuously drifted out from the water. At the bottom of the spring, several sections of lotus root, each about the length of a child's arm, lay there, also shimmering silver in color, as if spotless. Han Li's gaze sharpened; he found that the roots of the lotus were pure white like jade, but they did not penetrate into the mud below. Instead, they were curled into a ball, floating beside the lotus, resembling a ball of silver mist.

"If that's the case, then perhaps..." This unexpected discovery caused his expression to stir, and his mind was filled with renewed resolve. This time, Han Li didn't deliberate for long. After a moment, he decided to take another risk.

He flipped his hand, and a blue jade bottle, about a foot high, appeared in his palm. He tossed it above the spring, and it steadily hovered in the air. Next, he shook his sleeve, and a dozen formation flags of various colors shot out, instantly vanishing into the surroundings of the spring. With one hand, he formed a spell seal, and uttered the word "Quick!"

A dozen pillars of colored light shot up into the sky around him, reaching several tens of feet high. Each pillar shimmered with spiritual light, and faint runes continuously drifted within them. Clearly, this formation was extraordinary. As soon as Han Li saw this, he unhesitatingly moved both hands simultaneously, flicking out one spell incantation after another towards the front. In the several-zhang radius of space, densely packed blue light spots suddenly appeared, and a dense aquatic spiritual energy immediately filled the entire formation. The spiritual spring below seemed to sense something; the water surface rippled with layers of waves in response. Although barely perceptible, compared to its previous mirror-like stillness, it was a world of difference.

A cold glint flashed in Han Li's eyes. He let out a low shout and pointed a finger at the jade bottle suspended in the air. The blue jade bottle immediately inverted, and from within, a strange, misty blue light poured out. The dozen pillars of light simultaneously hummed, and restrictive fluctuations immediately erupted. The next moment, all the light spots in the void surged towards the blue light mist, causing its radiance to greatly intensify, instantly engulfing the entire spring.

With a deafening roar, the entire spring shook. The spring water immediately became turbulent. Under a violent swirl, it began to rotate with the silver lotus pod at its center. A vortex, about a zhang in diameter, immediately appeared, and the surging water instantly drew the silver pod into it. Upon seeing this sight, Han Li's hand seals became even more rapid, and he began to chant incantations.

The lotus pod, along with the spring water from the spring, rapidly swirled up in an instant. Then, enveloped by layers of blue mist, it transformed into a water dragon, rapidly shrinking, and finally, it was all sucked into the blue jade bottle. Seeing the silver lotus pod along with the silver lotus roots were all collected safely, with no further mishaps, Han Li's heart naturally pounded a few times.

As soon as he stopped his hand seals, he unhesitatingly beckoned towards the jade bottle. The jade bottle instantly transformed into a ball of blue light and shot towards him, then paused and landed in his hand. Han Li's divine sense stirred, and he immediately scanned the inside through the bottle. As a result, the silver lotus pod, along with the lotus roots, were perfectly intact, submerged in the spring water, without the slightest abnormality. He was instantly overjoyed.

After sealing the jade bottle with talismans in the same manner, Han Li very carefully stored this spiritual object, the only one he had obtained intact, into his storage bracelet, piling it with the large stack of jade boxes. His previous frustration over several destroyed spiritual herbs finally lessened somewhat.

In the time that followed, Han Li collected all sorts of other miscellaneous spiritual herbs found in secluded corners of the medicinal garden, regardless of whether he recognized them or not, completely gathering them all. Although these spiritual herbs might have been ordinary in the eyes of the medicinal garden's owner, they were still exceptionally rare in the Spirit Realm. This trip to the medicinal garden was considered a significant gain.

After confirming there were no other spiritual herbs left in the medicinal garden, Han Li had no intention of lingering. Immediately, after giving a command, he had Qu'er, the little girl, transform back into a ball of white light and enter his sleeve. Then he strode out of the courtyard gate.

The moment his figure appeared outside the gate, a muffled rumbling sound faintly echoed from the front of the main hall, followed by a surging wave of spiritual pressure that shot skyward, rolling in from the same direction. Its momentum was truly astonishing! As soon as Han Li heard this sound, his heart stirred instantly, but then he showed a half-smile that wasn't quite a smile. It seemed that after such a long time, Shi Kun and Liu Shuir had finally been driven to exasperation by the illusions in the square and were now forcefully breaking through the restriction. Judging by the spiritual pressure fluctuations, the illusion there had indeed been forcefully broken. The two of them must have used secret techniques or treasures far beyond what they could currently master. Otherwise, with the cultivation they had previously displayed, they would absolutely not have been able to achieve this.

Thinking thus, Han Li glanced at the other two side halls. After pondering for a moment, he did not walk towards them. Instead, with a step, he moved seemingly slowly but actually quickly, heading straight for the main hall.

A moment later, when his figure reappeared before the main hall, he just happened to see purple light flickering on the main hall's gate, and Shi Kun grunted as he stumbled back a dozen steps. He had originally been holding a pair of giant hammers in both hands, which rapidly melted and dissolved amidst the flickering purple electric light. In the blink of an eye, only two handles remained. Shi Kun's face was pale, devoid of color, and a hint of shock appeared in his eyes.

However, before he could employ any more means to resist the purple lightning snakes, Liu Shuir, standing over ten zhang behind him, made her move. With a flick of her hand, a silver mirror shot out. As the mirror surface vibrated, several misty green light pillars simultaneously shot out, temporarily blocking the purple electric arcs. Seizing this opportunity, Shi Kun let out a low roar and shot backward, almost skimming the ground, instantly appearing thirty zhang away.

At this point, the several green light pillars could no longer resist the purple electric arcs and shattered inch by inch amidst thunderous roars. The purple electric light, following the force of the light pillars, changed direction and surprisingly shot directly towards Liu Shuir. The woman's heart naturally tensed, but she decisively pointed at the precious mirror in the air, urging the treasure to shoot back, meeting the electric arcs head-on. Meanwhile, with a flicker of her body, she eerily transformed into an afterimage and vanished. The next moment, her graceful figure reappeared in the far distance.

After a low explosion, several purple electric lights struck the silver mirror. After several crackles of thunder, it shattered into a ball of silver light. And after losing its target nearby, the purple lightning snakes flickered wildly a few times, then naturally dispersed and vanished. Liu Shuir, who had reappeared, saw her treasure destroyed. Although she had anticipated it, her expression beneath her cloak was naturally far from pleasant.

"Fellow Daoists," Han Li slowly walked over and said loudly, "this restriction is no ordinary one. If you wish to break it, I'm afraid it will require the combined efforts of the three of us."

Shi Kun and Liu Shuir naturally also saw Han Li appear. Upon hearing this, Shi Kun's facial muscles twitched, and he spoke with a hint of sarcasm: "Brother Han is quite clever. Knowing this restriction would be difficult to break, you actually went elsewhere first. Arriving in the hall so much earlier than us, you must have gained quite a bit from other places, haven't you?"

"I did gain a little, but how can it compare to what's in here?" Han Li smiled faintly, speaking nonchalantly. "I believe the inheritances of the two seniors and other important treasures should all be in this main hall."

Liu Shuir, on the other hand, was quite open-minded. She merely chuckled, seemingly genuinely unconcerned about Han Li's action of taking treasures first. "After all, this place was once inhabited by immortals. Even ordinary items in an immortal's eyes would probably be very useful to us. However, as agreed beforehand, this is Brother Han's fortune and ability, so I, your junior sister, have no complaints. Moreover, in such a short time, Brother Han could only have searched one or two places at most; it's impossible to have plundered everything. Daoist Shi and I naturally still have a chance."