Chapter 2341: True Immortal Descends Primordial Soul Lamp

Mo Jianli's expression subtly changed, his gaze fixed on the jade box with unusual fervor. Han Li merely watched calmly, showing no unusual expression whatsoever. Xue Ran secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Hei Lin had already drawn the jade box into his hand. He removed the talisman and opened the lid. Inside, a thunderous roar erupted, and a half-foot long, crystalline jade tablet flew out. Arc lightning coiled around the surface of this jade tablet, with numerous golden inscriptions flickering in and out of sight. The entire tablet radiated an astonishing power of lightning.

"Is this the Three Pure Thunder-Cloud Talisman?" Hei Lin murmured, his face unable to conceal his wild joy.

"Brother Ling," Mo Jianli said, speaking before Xue Ran could, "I have also brought three Asura Spider Cores. Would you like to take a look?" Hearing this, Xue Ran's face darkened, and he was about to speak himself.

But at this moment, the white-robed elder waved his hand and replied with a hearty laugh: "Rest assured, gentlemen, although I don't have many Thunder-Cloud Talismans, I have enough to exchange for all the cores you possess. There's no need to worry."

"If that's the case, then I am relieved," Mo Jianli said, yawning. Yet, with a flick of his wrist, he still tossed a dark green wooden box over first. Xue Ran snorted. Unwilling to be outdone, he also took out a storage bracelet and quickly threw it out. Only Han Li remained seated steadily, seemingly unfazed by the possibility of there not being enough Thunder-Cloud Talismans.

The white-robed elder gazed deeply at Han Li. He flicked his sleeve, collecting Xue Ran's and Mo Jianli's cores. After a brief inspection, he flung out two other jade boxes, each adorned with a talisman. Both Mo Jianli and Xue Ran instantly invigorated. They snatched the flying objects, removed the talismans, and opened the lids, unable to conceal their extreme excitement.

"Fellow Daoist Han," Spirit King asked Han Li with a smile and a blink, "do you not wish to exchange for a Thunder-Cloud Talisman, or are you returning empty-handed this time?"

"Empty-handed is naturally impossible," Han Li replied with a slight smile and an unperturbed expression. "However, I'd like to ask something first. Brother Ling, how many Thunder-Cloud Talismans do you have left?"

"A few?" The white-robed elder's expression finally showed a hint of surprise. "Did Fellow Daoist acquire many Asura Spider Cores this time?"

Han Li just chuckled and did not offer much explanation. Seeing this, Xue Ran, Mo Jianli, and the others couldn't help but show some surprise. It was well known that each of them had obtained exactly three cores from the Asura Spider race. So why did Han Li's tone now suggest he had more?

Seeing Han Li's demeanor, the white-robed elder pondered for a moment. After a good while, he finally relaxed and spoke again: "To be frank, Fellow Daoist, these Three Pure Thunder-Cloud Talismans are considered the treasured artifacts of our Spirit Race. I don't have too many myself. Aside from what I've exchanged with Brother Xue and the two others, only two remain. If Fellow Daoist truly has so many Asura Spider Cores, you can exchange for all of them."

"Good," Han Li said without hesitation, narrowing his eyes, "then I, Han, will exchange for two more."

Then he flipped his palm, and with a flash of spiritual light, a jade box and a foot-long crystalline miniature sword appeared. Han Li flicked his wrist, and the two objects flew out as two beams of white light. The white-robed elder instinctively raised his hand and caught both objects. Instead of rushing to open the jade box, he first curiously swept his gaze across the crystalline sword.

"This is..." In just a moment, Spirit King let out a soft "oh?" His gaze at the crystalline sword showed a hint of sudden realization.

"Heh heh, Fellow Daoist has seen through it," Han Li said unhurriedly. "This flying sword was taken from a powerful enemy in the Minor Asura Realm. The materials used are indeed Asura Spider Cores, and there are as many as three or four of them. There were originally five such swords, but four were shattered during intense battle. Only this one remains relatively intact."

Upon hearing this, Xue Ran and the others felt a sense of sudden understanding. This flying sword was indeed one of the five crystalline swords used by Elder Yi to activate the power of time. Although four of them had been destroyed by Han Li on the spot, the last one had fallen to the ground out of control, and Han Li had secretly collected it later. Given how fiercely Elder Yi and the Asura Spiders had fought, it wasn't impossible for him to obtain so many cores to refine flying swords. However, directly using cores to refine flying swords was truly an extraordinary idea. As for the jade box Han Li threw out, it naturally contained three other Asura Spider Cores.

After the white-robed elder confirmed everything was in order, his face beaming with joy, he readily took out the two remaining Thunder-Cloud Talismans and handed them to Han Li. For him, the more threads of time he could extract, the better. Thus, this visit to the Spirit Race truly ended with everyone greatly pleased.

After achieving their desires, the group did not linger long in Fuling and one after another bade farewell to Spirit King. After the white-robed elder exchanged a few polite words, he did not try to keep them. Thus, the four individuals split into two groups, leaving the grand hall one after another and flying out of the Spirit Race's sacred mountain.

As soon as Han Li and Mo Jianli left, they headed directly to where Silvermoon and the others were waiting aboard the Ink Spirit Sacred Ark. Half a day later, the two landed in a secluded mountain valley. Upon seeing Han Li and Mo Jianli, Silvermoon, Zhu Guo'er, and Ancestor Huashi were naturally overjoyed. Not long after, a hum resonated through the valley, and the ink-black gigantic ark immediately flew out, soaring back towards the human race's territory.

In a secret chamber on the bottom level of the ark, Han Li sat cross-legged in the center. But before him, several items floated silently: an ancient lamp, two jade tablets flickering with countless electric arcs, a five-colored spherical bead, and a milky white small bottle. These items were naturally all his gains from this journey, and it could be said his harvest was considerable.

After observing these items for a moment, Han Li's eyebrow suddenly twitched, and he pointed a finger at one of the jade tablets. With a "sizzle"! Numerous golden inscriptions emerged on the jade tablet's surface. At the same time, an arc of electricity flashed out from it, striking his fingertip and instantly dispersing into countless scattered threads of electricity. He felt a slight numbness in his finger, and his entire palm instantly lost sensation, while its surface showed a slight charring. Han Li's heart tensed. He abruptly channeled his true essence power, and surging magic power flowed into his hand. His previously numb palm instantly returned to normal, and the charred surface receded, becoming brilliantly golden.

"As expected of the legendary immortal secret talisman," Han Li murmured, "I hope it truly helps in resisting heavenly tribulations." His face, however, showed satisfaction. He then flipped his palm, took out two jade boxes, placed the two jade tablets back inside, and they vanished with a flash.

Next, he looked around, and with one hand, beckoned towards the ancient lamp in the air. With a "poof," after the treasure trembled, it appeared in his palm out of thin air. Han Li narrowed his eyes and carefully examined the ancient lamp. This treasure could actually summon a peacock avatar similar to the Sacred Peacock of Mulan, suggesting a significant origin. Thinking further, the connection between Elder Yi, a member of the Five-Light Race whose true form was a peacock, and the peacock conjured by this treasure became increasingly intriguing.

However, besides the dense spiritual patterns on its surface, the materials used for this ancient lamp were also extremely rare. Even with Han Li's extensive knowledge, he couldn't recognize all of them. The few materials he did recognize were all exceptionally precious, secretly astonishing even him.

Han Li pondered for a moment, seemingly having made a decision. He formed a hand seal with one hand. A spiritual light flashed between his eyebrows, and a crystalline thread shot out, instantly vanishing into the ancient lamp. He slowly closed his eyes and began to comprehend the mysteries of this treasure.

Time passed little by little. After a full day and night, the crystalline thread trembled and suddenly reeled back. At the same time, Han Li's expression stirred, and he opened his eyes, a hint of joy on his face.

"The Prime Soul Lamp. So this treasure is called by this name. It's truly marvelous! No wonder it can summon a peacock spirit beast identical to it; it's essentially a manifestation of a wisp of its primordial spirit." Han Li was overjoyed! This so-called "Prime Soul Lamp" was fundamentally a wondrous treasure used to house and strengthen split souls. Other magic tools and treasures, while capable of hosting a wisp of a split soul, would inevitably lead to that wisp's weakening and dissipation if left for too long away from the main body, unless it completely transformed into an independent entity. But with this Prime Soul Lamp, by placing a wisp of a split soul inside, not only would there be no such worry, but it would gradually grow stronger under the treasure's nourishment. If this wisp of split soul were then refined using some special secret arts, it could even become a Prime Soul Avatar, similar to an external avatar. Moreover, no matter how powerful this avatar became, because of the Prime Soul Lamp in hand, there would be no need to worry about any backlash. If conditions allowed, it was even entirely feasible for the treasure's owner to cultivate this Prime Soul Avatar to be stronger than their main body.

Han Li took a deep breath, his gaze towards the ancient lamp growing fervent. Since his original second Nascent Soul had disappeared, he had long intended to cultivate a second avatar. The appearance of this treasure perfectly suited his current needs. He meticulously re-examined the ancient lamp several times, genuinely confirming that its soul-nourishing effect was real and that there were no other hidden traps. He then immediately and carefully planted a wisp of his primordial spirit into the lamp. As for how to specifically cultivate this Prime Soul Avatar after this wisp of split soul grew stronger, he would need to think carefully about it.

Han Li flicked his sleeve, and with a sweep of shimmering light, he carefully put away the Prime Soul Lamp.

Next, his gaze flickered to the small bottle. Inside this small bottle was precisely the scarce True Blood of the Black Tortoise. If this True Blood were consumed and then refined with the Startling Sting Arts, it would be enough to significantly advance his Startling Sting Transformation divine ability. It was somewhat amusing to think about: he had originally believed that no one could truly collect all twelve types of True Blood recorded in the Startling Sting Arts and master all twelve transformation divine abilities. But up until now, he had unknowingly cultivated half of the transformations, including True Dragon, Heavenly Wind, Thunder Roc, Azure Luan, Five-Colored Peacock, and Mountain Ape. If he were to cultivate the Black Tortoise form as well, then acquiring the remaining few transformations wouldn't be an impossible fantasy either. He truly wondered how powerful the transformed True Spirit body would become after all twelve Startling Sting Transformations were mastered, reaching a heaven-defying level. After all, with each additional transformation mastered in the Startling Sting Arts, the power of the other transformations would increase to an incredible degree.

Han Li thought silently, yet his hand had already grasped the small bottle. He opened the lid, tilted his head back, and swallowed it in one gulp.