Chapter 1800: Returning the Tripod

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Xueling, for this text, but its contents conflict with my cultivation methods. I'm afraid I cannot practice the secret techniques within," Han Li said, shaking his head and placing the jade slip back on the table after quickly scanning its contents.

"What? Is your primary cultivation method a Confucian spell?" Xueling asked, her beautiful face showing a hint of suspicion.

After all, Han Li's second Nascent Soul clearly indicated he cultivated an extremely powerful demonic art. While it wasn't impossible for cultivators to practice two completely opposite methods, such individuals were certainly rare among humans.

"No, that's not it," Han Li replied calmly. "It's just that I've cultivated a special divine sense secret technique. Practicing the Blood Soul technique would actually hinder my future cultivation."

"Given that your second Nascent Soul has already reached the late Spatial Tempering stage, I should have known you possess other soul cultivation techniques no less potent than the Blood Soul Great Law. Otherwise, auxiliary Nascent Souls like ours, lacking sufficient divine sense, would typically have cultivation levels far inferior to their main bodies. For instance, my form, created from a wisp of blood soul, only possesses power at the early Spatial Tempering stage. In that case, I will take this back for now." Xueling showed no surprise upon hearing Han Li's words and, with a flick of her sleeve, indeed retrieved the jade slip.

"Compared to the Blood Soul technique, my second Nascent Soul has its own advantages. At the very least, if my second Nascent Soul were to be separated from my main body for as long as your current form has, I'm afraid it would have encountered serious trouble by now," Han Li said with a smile, looking at the woman in palace attire opposite him.

"True. The Blood Soul technique, refined using ancient blood tempering secrets, doesn't fear backlash from its avatars. Otherwise, Revered Blood Crystal, who founded this technique, wouldn't have been so famous back then," Xueling said, smiling sweetly.

Han Li simply chuckled without responding.

"By the way, I recall you mentioned having some questions for me that day," the woman said, her expression becoming serious. "Although Xueling has not inherited much of my main body's memories, I will do my best to answer anything I know."

"Since you put it that way, I won't be modest," Han Li said, his gaze briefly sweeping over Xu Jiao. "I imagine Fellow Daoist Xueling has already heard a thing or two about my background."

"Xueling did inquire further. Not only do you originate from the same human realm as Xueling's main body, but you also obtained the Azure-Blue Ice Flame that my main body left in the lower realm. Now, you've even helped the Xu family awaken me. The coincidences involved are truly astonishing," the woman in palace attire sighed softly, her expression a little complex.

"Precisely because of this, I've always had a few unresolved mysteries concerning events in the human realm back then, and I hoped you could clarify them for me," Han Li said seriously, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"You wish to ask about matters concerning the lower realm?" the woman paused, seemingly surprised.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Han Li asked, his eyes flashing with a hint of confusion.

"More than just a problem! If you wish to ask about matters of the human realm, I'm afraid Xueling has nothing to tell you," the woman in palace attire said with a bitter smile.

Han Li naturally frowned but didn't press further. He knew the other party would provide an explanation.

As expected, the woman in palace attire's expression became solemn, and she continued:

"It's not that Xueling is being deliberately enigmatic, but there are simply no relevant parts of the human realm in my memories. My understanding of everything in the human realm is only a very vague general impression."

"How could that be? Did you lose your memories of the human realm during the Blood Soul sealing period?" Han Li asked, feeling puzzled.

"No, it's not because I lost them. It's because this portion of memories was simply not copied when the main body's memories were originally inherited," the woman stated with certainty.

"Why would that be?"

"That... Xueling doesn't know either," the woman in palace attire said, looking a little embarrassed.

Han Li's mouth twitched slightly, but he ultimately said nothing more.

The woman in palace attire also felt very awkward, but she had another important matter for visiting Han Li. So, after hesitating for a moment, she spoke again, her expression somewhat strange: "I also have something I don't understand, and I'm not sure if I should ask about it."

Han Li was utterly speechless internally. His questions hadn't been answered, yet in the blink of an eye, she was asking him questions instead. However, he showed no surprise on his face, instead smiling faintly and saying, "What is it? Please feel free to ask."

"Then I shall be so bold," Xueling said, taking a deep breath and asking very solemnly. "May I ask if, during your time in the human realm, Fellow Daoist Han acquired a magical artifact somehow related to Xueling's main body? A few days ago, when I first met you, I sensed a very familiar aura from you. Although I couldn't recall anything specific, I had a subconscious feeling that this item seems extraordinarily important to both Xueling and my main body."

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this. After gazing at the woman in palace attire for a moment, he slowly nodded. "Although you haven't said much, I think I know what you're referring to."

As soon as he finished speaking, Han Li opened his mouth, and a cluster of green light shot out. The light swirled and instantly transformed into a small, azure cauldron, gently landing on Han Li's palm. It was none other than the Void Heaven Cauldron.

"The Void Spirit Cauldron... Oh, no, it's the Void Heaven Cauldron..." Xueling exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the artifact, her face full of delight. But then, her beautiful eyes widened, and her expression instantly became incredibly complex.

"Oh, you can still recognize this artifact!" Han Li asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

"It shouldn't be wrong. Although I don't remember anything about the human realm, as soon as I saw this cauldron, I instinctively called out its name. Moreover, judging by the aura it emits, it seems extremely similar to another Void Spirit Cauldron my main body possesses. It must also have been refined by my main body. And for reasons unknown, this artifact should be extremely important to my main body," Xueling murmured, gazing at the azure cauldron.

"Extremely important!" Han Li's expression became thoughtful.

"I also cannot explain the reason; it's simply a strong thought left by my main body within the Blood Soul. Fellow Daoist Han, I won't beat around the bush. I must retrieve this Void Heaven Cauldron at any cost. As long as you agree to this, Brother Han, you may propose any conditions," Xueling said carefully after a moment of silence.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin, not responding immediately.

"Xu Jiao, bring that out!" Xueling commanded suddenly, turning her head towards Xu Jiao with an unyielding tone.

"...Yes, Senior Xueling!" Xu Jiao's face revealed a hint of reluctance upon hearing the woman in palace attire, but after gritting his teeth, he suddenly shook the storage bracelet on his wrist.

A wave of white light swept past, and then two jade boxes, one large and one small, along with a blue leather pouch, quietly appeared on the table beside Han Li.

"Here, we have a 30,000-year-old 'Demonic Jade Flower,' the 'Eight-Flood Dragon Blade' spiritual treasure capable of wielding the power of eight flood dragons, and a pouch containing thirty million top-grade spirit stones. Xueling offers these three items in exchange for the Void Heaven Cauldron in your possession! What do you think, Fellow Daoist Han? Consider this a favor owed to you by my main body. Once my main body returns to the human race, she will express her gratitude profusely," Xueling said, her eyes shimmering.

Han Li chuckled softly, his divine sense instantly penetrating the three items on the table. Inside, they were exactly as the woman in palace attire had described: a black spiritual flower highly useful for cultivating demonic arts, a strange blue blade inscribed with eight flood dragons simultaneously, and a pouch full of top-grade spirit stones.

With a lift of his hand, Han Li drew the smaller jade box containing the black spiritual flower into his grasp.

"Brother Han, what is the meaning of this?" Xueling asked, her delicate brows furrowing slightly in confusion.

"This Black Jade Flower is indeed somewhat useful to me, so I won't decline it. However, I won't be needing the spirit stones and this spiritual treasure. I'm not lacking in either. Although I wouldn't call myself a true gentleman, I do understand the principle of 'when drinking water, remember its source.' The Azure-Blue Ice Flame and this cauldron, which I obtained in the lower realm, helped me defeat powerful enemies multiple times. Based solely on that, I wouldn't make an exorbitant demand. Moreover, this Black Jade Flower is a spiritual medicine unique to the True Devil Realm; even if its rarity isn't quite on par with a spiritual treasure, it's not far off," Han Li said with a smile.

Then, the small cauldron in Han Li's hand suddenly flew up, and after a flicker, it appeared before the woman, gently hovering in place.

Han Li's actions and words were clearly a great surprise to the woman in palace attire. As she looked at the small cauldron before her, a strange expression flickered across her face. However, she was no ordinary person, and after a moment of silence, her expression became solemn as she said:

"Fellow Daoist, Xueling, on behalf of the Xu family and my main body, thanks you for this favor. Should you ever need assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to seek me out at the Xu family. Although Xueling's cultivation isn't high, I believe I can still be of great help in certain matters."

After these few words, which she spoke with unusual gravity, the woman in palace attire flicked her sleeve, and a wave of blood-red light appeared. The azure cauldron before her and the other two items remaining on the table vanished instantly. Then, after giving Han Li a slight bow, she turned and walked towards the main door of the pavilion without another word.

"Then this junior will also take his leave," Xu Jiao said, looking surprised by the situation. He quickly stood up, bowed to Han Li, and then hurried after her.

Han Li gazed at the pavilion door, his eyes flickering. After a long while, he let out a soft sigh.

For some reason, even though he hadn't received the answers he sought from Xueling, and he still knew nothing about the whereabouts of her main body, returning the Void Heaven Cauldron to her made him feel much lighter inside. The doubts that could have become cultivation impediments now seemed insignificant, and the influence of the vow he had made to the young man named Weng years ago was completely lifted at this moment.

While the Void Heaven Cauldron was a good spiritual treasure, it clearly had other unknown uses. Otherwise, purely in terms of combat power, it was inferior to some of his other spiritual treasures. Giving it up now was certainly a bit regrettable, but not to the extent of causing him great reluctance.

Now, not only had he cleared potential inner demons, but he had also formed good relations with Xueling, the Xu family, and potentially the Ice Phoenix Immortaless in the future. Moreover, he had obtained a Black Jade Demonic Flower, an item he had only heard of. All in all, it was not a loss.

However, with matters here mostly settled, it was time to leave the Xu family. The Grand Treasure Assembly was only a few years away, so he could spend some time traveling within the Tianyuan Region and then slowly make his way there when the time came. Han Li also stood up and slowly walked towards the staircase, lost in thought.