Chapter 771: Enemy Plot

**Volume 5: Gaining Renown**

Han Li meditated quietly in his room. After an unknown period, the spiritual power he had expended during his journey gradually returned to its peak state.

When he opened his eyes and internally observed his condition, a faint smile appeared on his face.

Ever since he cultivated the Azure Origin Sword Art to the tenth layer, he clearly felt a significant increase in his spiritual power recovery rate compared to before. This was an unexpected pleasant surprise.

With this thought in mind, Han Li pondered for a moment, then reached into his bosom and pulled out a dark, gleaming wooden box. Several shimmering green restriction talismans were affixed to the lid.

With a flick of his single hand over the lid, the talismans detached and transformed into streaks of green light that shot into his sleeve.

Han Li then tapped the box with a finger, and the lid immediately opened by itself, revealing its contents.

A palm-sized talisman, covered in intricate runes, lay quietly in the box. On its surface, a faint, blood-red miniature flood dragon seemed to swim back and forth incessantly.

Han Li extended his hand and gently beckoned the talisman. It instantly shot out, circled once, and then gently landed in his hand.

He had spent several days and failed three times before finally succeeding in refining this talisman. Although he didn't know its exact power, he was certain that this "Spirit Subduing Talisman" was considerably weaker than the power described in its refining method.

After all, three failed attempts at refining the talisman had caused the level eight flood dragon soul to lose more than half of its soul power. Its true effectiveness could only be tested in actual combat.

Han Li traced the various runes on the talisman's surface with his finger, falling into deep thought, his expression shifting uncertainly.

While Han Li sat quietly meditating in his room, several mysterious figures gathered around a stone table in a stone chamber, located twenty to thirty zhang (approximately 66 to 100 meters) underground, at the Mages' encampment dozens of miles from the Southern Heaven Grand Camp, discussing something.

There were five men and two women. One man and one woman were cloaked in black robes, their faces completely obscured.

Among the others, two were familiar to Han Li. One was the woman surnamed Le, who had wielded an ancient lamp during the Battle of Huanglong Mountain, causing him considerable trouble. The other was the middle-aged Confucian scholar, Divine Master Zhong, who had pursued him for several days and nights, severely depleting his vital energy.

The remaining three men consisted of a dark-skinned, gaunt old man, a dwarf less than four feet tall, and a dignified-looking, brocade-robed man.

"Master Le, how are the spirit oils prepared? You know, the duration for which the holy lamp burns affects how long the sacred beast can appear in this realm. There's no room for error," the gaunt old man, his face full of wrinkles but his eyes clear and sparkling, asked the woman surnamed Le from his corner of the stone table.

"Divine Master Zhu," replied the woman surnamed Le, dressed in green, her expression solemn, "rest assured. This battle concerns the survival of my clan. I have brought out all the lamp oil our clan has stored for over a thousand years. It's enough to sustain the sacred beast until this battle is over."

"Brother Zhong, your spirit formation array should also be fine, right? Compared to the Southern Heaven Cultivators, our Mages' magic tools are inferior in both quantity and quality. We can only rely on spirit formation arrays to suppress their attacks," the old man turned and asked the middle-aged Confucian scholar.

"No problem at all. My centuries of research into spirit formation arrays were not in vain. I've already passed on several newly improved grand arrays to them. If the Southern Heaven Cultivators gauge this battle's strength based on their original spirit formation arrays, they will be greatly surprised," the Confucian scholar stated calmly.

"Excellent! Brother Bi, once the melee begins, have all high-level Mages summon void spirit beasts to attack first, to draw the enemy's assaults and deplete the Cultivators' spiritual power as much as possible. Sect Master Fang, this will also require the cooperation of your giant beasts," the gaunt old man instructed the dwarf, then politely addressed the man cloaked in black.

"Before the battle, I will hand over those giant beasts to you. However, your clan won't renege on the promises you made to us after everything is done, will you?" the black-robed man fully agreed, then added with significant meaning.

"Reneging? Brother Fang, you jest. Immediately after a major battle with Cultivators, would our Mulan Clan be foolish enough to offend your esteemed sect? After all, your Yin Luo Sect is one of the Ten Great Demonic Sects of Grand Jin. Once our Mulan Clan conquers Southern Heaven, we will only focus on recuperating and rebuilding. It's no big deal to hand over a few mortal nations for your sect to manage. In any case, these mortals are all from the Yan tribe; we won't concern ourselves with their lives or deaths," the gaunt old man's eyes flickered a few times as he said coldly.

"That's good. This time, if it weren't for several of our Yin Luo Sect's foundational treasures, the Ghost Luo Banners, being destroyed by those righteous cultivators, necessitating a large number of living souls for repair, our sect would absolutely not get involved in the conflict between your Mages and the Southern Heaven Cultivators. Collecting a large number of living souls in Grand Jin would certainly draw the interference of those righteous cultivators. While we don't fear them, the repair of our treasures cannot be delayed," the black-robed man nodded, then spoke in an emotionless voice.

"Furthermore, all the living souls of cultivators who die in this great battle also belong to our sect. Divine Master Zhu, you have no objection to this, do you?" the black-robed woman spoke up. Her voice was rough and hoarse, completely mismatched with her slender figure, and anyone hearing it for the first time would surely be startled.

"As for the Cultivators' souls, we naturally won't interfere. But for the Mages' living souls, can't you identify and release them? Your unbridled collection of war-dead souls recently has put us three old fellows in a very passive position. We can offer some compensation in other areas," the gaunt old man said, his expression subtly changing upon hearing this.

"That's not possible. There's fundamentally no difference between the yin souls of Cultivators and Mages; they cannot be finely distinguished. Even if there were a way to identify them, thousands of Mages and Cultivators will surely die in tomorrow's battle. How can you expect us to identify them one by one? Are the three Divine Masters intending to break your promise on this matter?" The black-robed man narrowed his eyes, his pupils instantly turning emerald green, and an eerie chill emanated from his body.

The Confucian scholar surnamed Zhong and the dwarf surnamed Bi felt secretly annoyed upon seeing this. Although they made no overt moves, a faint silver light shimmered around one, and a red glow flickered across the other's face, both silently staring at the black-robed man.

The brocade-robed man and the woman surnamed Le also stared coldly at the black-robed man, their faces showing displeasure.

It was well known that the collection of deceased Mages' living souls had long caused great dissatisfaction among them. If they weren't truly reliant on these demonic cultivators from Jin, they might have already turned hostile.

"Cough! Stop it, what are you doing? Sect Master Fang is a guest whom I, Zhu, personally invited. Are you not even going to give me face?" The old man lightly coughed, then his expression darkened.

Meanwhile, the black-robed woman on the other side slightly moved her lips, transmitting something to the black-robed man.

Upon hearing her, the green light in the black-robed man's eyes gradually receded, and the eerie chill around his body vanished in a fleeting flash.

The Confucian scholar and the others, seeing this, exhaled softly and dispersed their spiritual power.

They all understood clearly that even though they found each other displeasing, at this moment, they were merely satisfying their respective needs; it was not the time for internal strife.

"Alright then. You can take the living souls. However, you must do so secretly after the battle, and absolutely no one else must see you. Otherwise, we truly won't be able to control our subordinates," the gaunt old man said, gritting his teeth after a moment of hesitation.

"Very well. Our sect can agree to this condition," the black-robed man's eyes flickered a few times, then he conceded and nodded in agreement.

Although the Confucian scholar and the others were still somewhat dissatisfied, they could only accept it.

"Are the methods your sect prepared for this wager truly feasible? Let's not be too clever by half. You know, there are demonic cultivators in Southern Heaven too; don't let them see through it at a glance," the brocade-robed man, who had been silent until now, suddenly remarked indifferently.

"Demonic cultivators? Are they even worthy of the name! They merely understand some rudimentary cultivation techniques. Or they've foolishly altered true demonic cultivation arts beyond recognition. How could they know the true power of ancient demonic arts?" the black-robed man sneered dismissively.

"Oh really! Yet, an elder of your esteemed sect was apparently instantly killed by a Southern Heaven Cultivator of the same rank. I think Sect Master Fang shouldn't underestimate them," the dwarf surnamed Bi retorted with a slight sneer.

The black-robed man's gaze turned cold, and he let out a snort, yet surprisingly offered no rebuttal.

However, the black-robed woman seized this opportunity to speak.

"I was actually just about to mention this. That cultivator who can unleash golden arcs would be quite useful to our Yin Luo Sect. We hope the three Divine Masters will hand him over to us for handling. What are your thoughts, Divine Masters?"

"Hand him over to you!" The gaunt old man mused upon hearing this.

"What, you won't even agree to this small condition?" The black-robed woman seemed somewhat displeased, her voice becoming even rougher and more grating. "If it were merely a Nascent Soul early stage cultivator, handing him over to you two fellow Daoists would naturally be no issue. But if it involves a Golden Lightning Bamboo magic treasure, then it's a completely different matter," the old man said unhurriedly, staring at the black-robed woman, a strange smile forming among the wrinkles on his face.

"Fellow Daoist Zhu has already guessed it," the black-robed woman's heart sank slightly, surprised.

"While our Mulan Steppe may be somewhat barren, this old man still knows a thing or two about the three divine woods of the cultivation world. Although few know about the Demon-Dispelling Divine Lightning, it cannot be hidden from a few of us," the old man said deliberately.

"Since you know about the Demon-Dispelling Divine Lightning, then you know our Demonic Sect can never allow this item to fall into the hands of others. Just state your conditions directly," the black-robed man, seeing through their intentions, asked coldly.

"It's simple. I've heard that besides bringing over a dozen giant beasts this time, your esteemed sect has also brought along a considerable number of copper-armored refined corpses. We hope that when tomorrow's battle reaches a critical point, Brother Fang can unleash this batch of corpse soldiers to aid our clan. After all, no matter how thoroughly we prepare, we don't know how the Cultivators will counter. It's natural to be more careful," the wrinkles on the old man's cheeks subtly trembled as he spoke with a half-smile.

"Oh! I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Zhu to know so much about our sect's secret arts. While copper-armored corpse soldiers are relatively easier to refine, losing too many at once would be detrimental to our sect's future development. If this is your condition, then the Southern Heaven Cultivator who wields the Demon-Dispelling Divine Lightning must be captured alive by you and handed over to our sect," the black-robed man pondered for a moment before replying, not outright refusing, but stating his own condition.