Chapter 808: Formed Core-Level Puppet

"My younger sister never married back then. The family that was supposed to marry into our Chen family suddenly defected to the demonic path. Naturally, our Chen family couldn't marry Qiaoqian off to them anymore. Later, my seventh sister became taciturn and cold towards men, remaining single until the end." Chen Qiaotian hesitated, but still recounted Chen Qiaoqian's past circumstances to the esteemed figure before him.

As he looked at Han Li's youthful face, he suddenly recalled a long-standing rumor within their sect, and his expression subtly changed.

"She never married?" A hint of surprise flickered in Han Li's eyes, then he gazed up at the sky in silence.

After a long moment, he lowered his head and calmly said to Chen Qiaotian:

"Given your expression, it seems you've somewhat guessed who I am. I won't say much more. This place is now swarming with both righteous and demonic cultivators. Since you're here for the treasures of the Demonfall Valley, handle yourselves carefully." As soon as Han Li finished speaking, he ignored the three individuals. A spiritual light enveloped his body, transforming him into a streak of green light that shot into the sky and vanished.

The scholar and the other two didn't even have time to utter words of farewell before Han Li instantly vanished without a trace.

The three individuals stood rooted to the spot, somewhat stunned.

"Big brother, what's the background of that senior? Does he have some connection to our Chen family?" The female cultivator asked immediately, unable to contain her curiosity once she recovered.

"Connection? How could our Chen family be qualified to be associated with him? If I'm not mistaken, you should all know the name of that senior very well. He was once from our Yellow Maple Valley, managed to retreat unharmed from the hands of the Mulan Divine Master, shattered the Mulan Sacred Birds during the border war, and later even killed a demonic cultivator elder from the Jin Kingdom. You, from Huadao Dock, shouldn't be unfamiliar with him, right? It's just that what he said earlier seems to have some connection to my seventh sister, who passed away many years ago. That's a bit strange," Chen Qiaotian said, looking in the direction where Han Li had disappeared, feeling somewhat perplexed.

"What? He's *that* legendary figure? He really does look young. I heard that, by seniority, he was once a fellow disciple of our Six Sects. To possess such divine abilities now... it's truly incredible!" The female cultivator, seemingly well-informed about Han Li's past, gasped in astonishment.

"Indeed. When he first entered our Yellow Maple Valley, I had just succeeded in Foundation Establishment. Later, he, along with Big Brother, Seventh Sister, and others, participated in the Bloody Trial, and his progress became unstoppable from then on. But to think he's now a figure second only to the three great cultivators of Tiannan... it's truly unimaginable," Chen Qiaotian said with a sigh.

"I heard that Master Linghu from your valley once tried to persuade him to return to Yellow Maple Valley, but he seemed unwilling to come back. Is that true?" another male cultivator in blue robes asked out of curiosity.

"I'm not entirely sure about that. Perhaps it's true," Chen Qiaotian said vaguely after a moment's hesitation.

It seemed he was unwilling to elaborate on the matter, even to his sworn siblings.

Fortunately, the two cultivators didn't press him further.

The male cultivator in blue robes then changed the subject, saying:

"This time, we can consider ourselves fortunate. Firstly, Big Brother just finished refining the Golden Book and Silver Pen artifact, which blocked most of the venomous moth's poisonous powder. Secondly, with Senior Han intervening, we managed to get through this ordeal relatively unscathed. I'm sure once Big Brother completely refines the Golden Book, we won't have to fear those Yun brothers anymore."

"Exactly. I knew the Chen family had an ancestral artifact, the Golden Book and Silver Pen, but I never imagined there was truly a method to refine such a treasure. Big Brother only used a flying sword before," the female cultivator added with interest.

"The Golden Book and Silver Pen artifacts used by our Chen family disciples are actually just imitations of this complete set of magical treasures. Although I intended to refine this set from the beginning, I was never able to gather all the materials, so I had to make do with a flying sword first. Fortunately, after years of accumulation, I've finally refined this set of treasures. I hope they can be of some use in the Demonfall Valley," Chen Qiaotian explained with a slight smile. Then his expression turned serious as he continued:

"Alright. In any case, it's better for us to be cautious from now on. Just as Senior Han mentioned, any cultivators daring to set their sights on Demonfall Valley are extraordinary individuals. The three of us must remain vigilant. It would be best if we could find other fellow disciples from the Six Sects and travel together."

"Big brother speaks wisely."

"Alright, we'll do as Big Brother says."

The male and female cultivators nodded repeatedly.

So, the three of them didn't linger. They immediately transformed into streaks of light and departed swiftly.

As for Han Li, who had departed, after a wave of emotion, he finally managed to temporarily suppress his sorrow for Chen Qiaoqian, burying it deep within his heart.

Then, he mustered his spirits and continued on his way.

Several hours later, he faintly saw the Myriad Spirit Mountain Range.

As the view was still of the outer reaches of the mountain range, the miasma on the peaks was extremely thin, allowing the verdant trees and towering ridges to be faintly visible.

These mountains couldn't be described as grand or colossal, but the character for "vast" alone sufficiently captured their essence.

Within sight, a dark line stretched endlessly in both directions.

Han Li slowed his flight speed and glanced around. The vicinity was quiet, with no other cultivators in sight.

However, Han Li remained unfazed. After flying a bit closer, he slowly closed his eyes.

Instantly, his powerful divine sense, comparable to that of a late Nascent Soul cultivator, enveloped an area of a hundred li, rapidly searching.

Moments later, Han Li's eyebrows twitched, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

With an expressionless face, he activated his escape light. A green rainbow shot diagonally through the air, streaking towards a locked target.

In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the green rainbow arrived above a small hill. There, an old and a young cultivator sat cross-legged, facing each other, engaged in conversation.

A dazzling green rainbow flashed into existence above their heads, then instantly vanished, revealing Han Li's figure floating directly in mid-air.

The two were naturally startled and quickly leaped to their feet. While the elder managed to remain calm, the young-looking cultivator's face was filled with panic.

Han Li's gaze swept over the two. Their cultivation levels were truly not high. The elder was a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, while the youth seemed to be only at the fifth or sixth layer of Qi Condensation. He truly wondered why cultivators with such low cultivation would come to the Myriad Peak Mountain Range.

At this moment, the elder also swept Han Li with his divine sense. With his cultivation, he naturally couldn't discern Han Li's realm. Filled with alarm, he hastily prepared to step forward and perform a deep bow. However, Han Li's cold voice already drifted down from above.

"Don't panic! In which direction is the nearest market city from here? Just point it out to me." Han Li's voice was devoid of emotion, filled with an undeniable tone.

"Four hundred li to the west, there's a newly opened market city. Senior can go take a look," the elder quickly said, his heart settling and a respectful expression on his face.

"Four hundred li away? I see."

As his words faded, a flash of green light appeared, and Han Li vanished from his spot.

The elder, startled, quickly looked, only to find that a green rainbow was already a hundred zhang away. After a few rapid flashes, it transformed into a mere speck of light and disappeared from sight.

The elder and the young man beside him were simultaneously stunned speechless.

Four hundred li to the west, there indeed existed a remarkably simple, temporary market city, hastily constructed using petrification spells.

There were very few cultivators within it.

Han Li paid no attention to this. After purchasing a large quantity of necessary materials from a raw materials shop in the market city, he immediately left and headed straight for the mountain range.

He journeyed more than ten li deeper into the mountain range. Seeing that the miasma in the mountains was rapidly increasing, Han Li casually found an inconspicuous small hill and descended.

Han Li was already skilled and familiar with the work of establishing a temporary cave dwelling.

With over a dozen flying swords emerging simultaneously, a simple, small cave dwelling appeared within the mountainside just a quarter of an hour later.

After finishing, Han Li looked at the cave dwelling and nodded with satisfaction. He immediately set up two simple spell formations outside the entrance, then entered.

First, he released Silvermoon, allowing her to cultivate independently within the cave. He then released the Heaven-Defying Demonic Corpse, instructing it to remain deeply buried in the earth within a relatively dark secret chamber.

Only then did Han Li enter the cave dwelling's secret chamber with a large quantity of materials.

Sitting cross-legged in the secret chamber, Han Li flipped his hand and took out the jade slip given to him by Grand Amulet Divine Monarch, beginning his personal study of the two methods for refining Core Formation puppets contained within.

These two types of puppets differed greatly from the Foundation Establishment-level giant ape puppet Han Li had previously refined. The advantages and disadvantages of the two puppets were very distinct, clearly allowing one to choose which to refine based on their needs.

One was a giant tortoise-shaped puppet, thick-skinned and tough, capable of withstanding three to five ordinary attacks even from a Nascent Soul cultivator. It could also spew spheres of thunder-fire from its mouth, comparable to a full-force attack from a mid-Core Formation cultivator. Its only drawback was its cumbersome size, slow movement, and sluggish flight; if engaged in close combat by a cultivator, it would immediately become an easy target with no means of resistance.

The other was a human-tiger demon-shaped puppet, which was the complete opposite. This type of puppet had no long-range attacks and only average defensive capabilities, but it excelled in its lightness, resembling a swallow, and its wind-like agility. Its pair of tiger claws could emit half-foot long, crystal-clear claw-lights, capable of easily tearing through the ordinary protective shields of Core Formation cultivators. It was entirely a close-combat type of puppet.

After understanding the characteristics of both types of puppets, Han Li decided without hesitation to refine a few of each. This way, he would be better prepared for the complex situations within the Demonfall Valley.

With his decision made, Han Li immersed his consciousness into the jade slip, focusing all his attention on the refining methods.

Three full days and nights passed. Inside the secret chamber, Han Li remained expressionless, his cross-legged figure motionless on the ground.

But as the fourth day began, Han Li's expression stirred. He moistened his dry lips and withdrew his divine sense from the jade slip. After a brief moment of thought, he suddenly flipped his palm, and after a flash of white light, the jade slip vanished.

He then unfastened the storage pouch at his waist, tossed it into the air, and immediately a white glow erupted from it, followed by countless crafting materials pouring out: rare wood, common iron essence, various colored crystals, jade boxes of all sizes...

Moments later, these items were densely piled in front of Han Li.

Han Li beckoned to the storage pouch, retrieving it back into his hand and reattaching it to his waist.

Then, his gaze shifted, and he began to scrutinize the materials before him.

A moment later, his eyes settled on an unusually dark piece of ironwood. He took a deep breath and lightly pointed a finger at it.

The ironwood silently floated up and slowly flew towards Han Li.