Chapter 761: Thunder Pearl

Volume 5: Renowned Across the Land

Han Li’s five fingers gripped with precise timing. The point of green light flashed, and was instantly enveloped by the purple flames on his fingers.

However, Han Li felt a sudden softness at his fingertips, and a huge force emanated from the green flame, powerfully repelling his fingers.

Han Li was startled, but with a thought, he deftly reversed his hand, reaching out to grasp the empty air, and the purple flames on his palm descended.

The light flared, and the green flame was enveloped within the purple glow.

Han Li’s arm remained motionless, his five fingers emanating dazzling purple flames. The green and purple lights intermingled and transformed, flickering between dim and bright.

After maintaining this for a quarter of an hour, Han Li let out a sigh. He casually shook his hand, separating his fingers, and the purple flames on his hand vanished instantly.

Then, he looked at the still sparkling green flame, a wry smile appearing on his face.

This peculiar lamp flame was more troublesome than he had initially anticipated. Although the Violet Cloud Heavenly Flame could contend with it, refining this flame seemed beyond its capabilities.

Thinking this, Han Li pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and lightly pointed at the flying sword in front of him.

A low rumble of thunder suddenly sounded, and a blinding golden arc burst forth from the flying sword.

As soon as this electric arc appeared, it instantly exploded, transforming into countless delicate golden threads that descended over the green flame.

A green light flashed. These golden threads were like mud oxen entering the sea; they were all completely absorbed by the small, bean-sized flame. Immediately, the light intensified, and the green flame expanded to the size of an egg.

Seeing this, a piercing blue light flickered intensely in the depths of Han Li’s pupils. He stared at the green flame that had absorbed the golden arc, his expression fluctuating.

After an unknown period of motionless contemplation, Han Li let out a light breath, and the blue light in his eyes receded. However, a hesitant look appeared on his face.

But a moment later, he shook his head, his decision firm. He opened his mouth and inhaled towards the flying sword. The purple flame on the sword instantly transformed into a strand of purple thread, which was completely absorbed into his mouth.

Without the suppression of the Violet Cloud Heavenly Flame, the green flame on the sword surged, instantly engulfing the entire flying sword. Han Li groaned in muffled pain, his mind connected to it, and a green aura flashed across his face, revealing a hint of discomfort.

However, Han Li immediately disregarded his physical discomfort. His ten fingers continuously flickered, aiming at the flying sword. Green light flashed, and more than ten streaks of sword qi shot out from his hand.

Like the golden arc formed by the Profound Devil-Slaying Divine Thunder, the green sword qi, upon contact with the green lamp flame, was entirely absorbed and vanished without a trace.

But Han Li acted as if he didn't notice any of this, his spiritual power circulating ceaselessly within his body, as streaks of sword qi, like moths to a flame, struck the green flame one after another.

His magical power was rapidly depleting.

As a result, after absorbing numerous sword qi, the green flame seemed to have been nourished. It grew even more powerful.

Soon, it transformed into a dazzling green fireball, burning fiercely in front of Han Li.

At this point, Han Li’s magical power had been depleted by more than a third.

But looking at the massive fireball before him, Han Li instead smiled. He stopped sending out sword qi from his hand and beckoned towards the flying sword within the fireball.

With a whoosh, the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword effortlessly shot out of the green flame and soared into the sky. After a single rotation, it flew back into Han Li’s hand.

Han Li lowered his head to look at the green flying sword in his hand. It was extraordinarily clear and bright, and the green flame on it had vanished completely. A smile involuntarily appeared on his face.

"I was right after all! Although this flame is incredibly mysterious, it can clearly only devour a limited amount of spiritual power. If it absorbs too much Green Essence Sword Qi, it can actually be manipulated strategically," Han Li murmured with a slight smile.

Then, he brought his hands together, and with a flash of light, the flying sword merged into his palm and disappeared.

At this point, Han Li finally looked at the green fireball in front of him and gently pointed a finger at it. A wisp of his divine sense delved into it.

The green fireball trembled, then slowly began to rotate, its green light flickering erratically between dim and bright.

Han Li raised his eyebrows and urged it with his divine sense.

The green fireball began to sway, but after a long moment, it slowly and sluggishly drifted about ten feet away, wobbling all the way.

Seeing this, Han Li rubbed his chin and fell into contemplation.

This green flame possessed immense power. To abandon it entirely would naturally be a waste. Although he could temporarily control it now due to its absorption of a large amount of Green Essence Sword Qi, it was clearly not as nimble as he wished because of his cultivation method. After all, this fire was not something he had refined, making it difficult to manipulate with the same ease as the Azureflame Ice and Violet Cloud Heavenly Flame.

Han Li frowned deeply, staring at the green fireball as he pondered. Suddenly, he extended a hand and placed it on his storage pouch at his waist.

With a flash of white light, a small section of bone, white as jade, and a small, pale yellow bottle appeared simultaneously in his hand.

These were precisely the jade slip containing the Profound Yin Scripture and the magical artifact he had previously used to absorb the souls of demonic beasts.

He opened the bottle cap, and a ball of black mist flew out.

Han Li’s five fingers grasped the empty air towards the black mist, and immediately the black mist shot into the palm of his hand. Then, with a thought of his divine sense, this ball of ghostly energy immediately leaped onto the bone in his other palm.

Immediately, the bone turned from white to black, floated out of his hand, and emitted a faint, chilly black light.

Seeing this, Han Li immersed his divine sense within it, quickly scanning the contents of the Profound Yin Scripture, searching rapidly through its pages.

When Han Li’s divine sense came across the words “Yin Fire Thunder,” a surge of joy went through him. His reading speed immediately slowed, and he began to meticulously examine this section.

“Yin Fire Thunder.” The name sounded ordinary, with nothing particularly special about it. But in reality, this item was an existence no less significant than the Heavenly Corpse Flame in the Profound Yin Scripture.

However, it was not some demonic secret art, but a secret method for refining a type of thunder bead. It was a treasure similar to the “Heavenly Thunder Pearl” that Han Li had previously acquired.

Of course, according to the descriptions in the Profound Yin Scripture, once this Yin Fire Thunder was successfully refined, its power was astonishing. In terms of destructive power alone, it even surpassed that of the Heavenly Corpse Flame.

Its principle involved suppressing a large amount of pure Yin fire from the Profound Yin into a ball, then mixing in some lightning power, along with other materials, and solidifying it using special techniques to stabilize it.

Once unleashed against an enemy, the Yin fire and lightning within it could be simultaneously triggered, causing an explosion to harm the opponent.

Unfortunately, thunder beads were single-use consumables, not only subject to many restrictions but also troublesome to refine. They were extremely difficult to succeed, and only cultivators who could manipulate lightning-attribute spiritual power could refine them.

Therefore, not to mention the Old Monster of Extreme Yin, even Venerable Xuan Gu had never refined such an item.

When Han Li first saw the refining method for the Yin Fire Thunder, he also didn't pay much attention to this secret method. Although he could manipulate the Profound Devil-Slaying Divine Thunder, he couldn't cultivate Profound Yin, so he naturally skimmed over it, only cultivating a few easy-to-learn secret arts from the Profound Yin Scripture, such as the Yin Demon Slash.

Now, facing the troublesome green lamp flame, he suddenly thought of this Yin Fire Thunder refining secret method.

Originally, refining Yin Fire Thunder required a massive expenditure of spiritual power, and the success rate was low. Additionally, cultivators who could wield lightning were rare. Therefore, few in the cultivation world refined this item; even if a few were occasionally refined, they were quickly used up like fleeting blossoms due to being consumables.

Han Li still couldn't cultivate Profound Yin, but with his current knowledge and cultivation, he no longer needed to strictly follow everything in the Profound Yin Scripture. By slightly modifying the thunder bead refining method, he could use the existing green flame to refine other types of thunder beads. This would not be a waste.

After all, the power of the green flame was no less than his Violet Cloud Heavenly Flame, and if refined into a thunder bead, its power would certainly be no less than the original Yin Fire Thunder.

He had previously entertained the idea of refining thunder beads using the Azureflame Ice or even the Violet Cloud Heavenly Flame. However, because he had refined so little of these two spiritual flames, they were barely enough for combat, and he dared not waste them on this. This thought had thus flashed through his mind and been dismissed.

Now, facing the green flame that he could neither collect nor discard, refining it into a thunder bead was an ingenious idea.

This way, during the upcoming major battle, this item could also become a sharp weapon against his enemies.

With his plan decided, Han Li immediately rummaged through his storage pouch for other items.

As for the materials for refining thunder beads, he could indeed gather them from what he had. These were not rare items; they were common materials used in both alchemy and artifact refining. Han Li had prepared some.

Thus, he took out the items one by one and arranged them in front of him. Then, facing the flickering fireball, his expression hardened, and he raised both hands.

With a rumble, two golden electric arcs simultaneously shot out from his palms, striking the green fireball.

Inside the main hall of the Falling Cloud Sect's station, Lu Luo sat motionless in a chair, his face expressionless. In front of him stood several Core Formation cultivators from the Falling Cloud Sect, including the red-robed elder and the woman named Song. Their expressions, however, showed a hint of anxiety.

"Nephew Duan, how many days has your Uncle Han been in seclusion now?" Lu Luo suddenly asked indifferently.

"Reporting to Martial Uncle. Martial Uncle Han has been in seclusion for over two months now. Martial Sister Song and I have been guarding outside the quiet room, and Martial Uncle Han has not come out once."

"Hmm! Your Uncle Han informed me when he went into seclusion that he wanted to prepare for the upcoming great war and asked us not to disturb his seclusion lightly. But now, the Mulan people seem to have gathered their forces and are starting to stir. The higher-ups on our side have held several meetings, and those cultivators have specifically requested your Uncle Han's presence. But I've used excuses to decline them. However, now the three great cultivators have gathered in Tianyi City and have also sent a letter inviting your Uncle Han to meet tomorrow. This time, it's a meeting that only Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivators can attend. This shows the importance they place on your Uncle Han. It's no longer proper to refuse," and I estimate that this gathering will be the final decision on how to engage in battle. If someone from our Falling Cloud Sect attends this meeting, there will be many benefits," Lu Luo sighed, mumbling.

Hearing their Martial Uncle Lu's words, the others in the hall likewise wore bitter smiles.

"But Martial Uncle Han must be at a crucial point in his seclusion now. If he is disturbed lightly, will it cause Martial Uncle's efforts to fail?" The woman named Song hesitated, her delicate face showing a worried expression as she spoke.

"It is precisely because of this concern that Martial Uncle Lu has been delaying. But if Martial Uncle Han doesn't appear at tomorrow's gathering, I'm afraid the others…" A middle-aged cultivator with a small mustache on his upper lip said hesitantly.

"What about the others?"

Just then, a light, ethereal voice suddenly drifted in from outside the hall. The voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

Upon hearing this, Lu Luo's face immediately lit up with joy.

(One more chapter, I'll continue to work hard on the code!)