Chapter 937: Wind Rising Suddenly

Volume 6: Heavenly Treasures

A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality VIP Volume 6: Heavenly Treasures

Congratulations on the successful overall upgrade of WaiWai Bookstore website! Your support is our greatest motivation.

Some time later, the palace-attired young woman, exuding grace, emerged from the Earth Fire Hall. The men and women who had accompanied her had already been waiting impatiently outside the hall.

The three disciples of the Artifact Forging Hall also dutifully remained by their side. These male and female cultivators were all from extraordinary backgrounds, and certainly not people that low-level cultivators like themselves would dare to neglect in the slightest.

The moment the young woman emerged, elegant and poised, the young men immediately swarmed around her.

“Princess, how was it?”

“The Blood-Thread Silver wasn't damaged by that guy, was it?”

They all asked with extreme eagerness.

“It's fine. Thank you, Senior Brothers, for your concern. Senior Brother Han has already helped me refine the materials, and there were no mishaps in the process.” The young woman brushed a strand of hair from her forehead and smiled gracefully and elegantly, utterly devoid of the tomboyish image she had when she was with Han Li.

Han Li, who was also emerging from the Earth Fire Hall, saw this scene and couldn't help but twitch his lips.

“Heh heh! Kid Han. You're really cunning. You actually managed to subtly extract the origin of the Black Phoenix Plume from such a young girl. What? Do you really intend to go there and target that island master's Black Phoenix?”

“Of course. Since I know a way to enhance the power of the Three-Flame Fan, I naturally have to try my best. After spending so many precious materials and so much effort, if its power is still unsatisfactory, wouldn't it all be for nothing? After all, ordinary ancient treasures don't have much power against mid-to-late Nascent Soul cultivators. Let's go. While they remain at Huangqing Temple for a few days, I'll just stay in my secret chamber. That way, I'll avoid being disturbed by these guys and delaying my cultivation.” Han Li said indifferently, then silently slipped out of the Earth Fire Hall and headed towards his residence.

For the next two days, the palace-attired young woman secretly came to Han Li's residence once more, wanting him to refine something else. However, Han Li had already put up a "closed-door cultivation" sign and activated a simple restriction at his door, leaving the young woman to pout as she circled his residence before reluctantly departing.

After two days, these young men and women finally left Huangqing Temple with the beautiful woman. The Artifact Forging Hall returned to normal.

Han Li would occasionally emerge to refine materials, diligently completing his monthly tasks on time. The rest of his time was dedicated to cultivating the Ming Wang Art.

Months passed by. Because Han Li consistently completed his refining tasks on time, Elder Wei came to value him more and more. At one point, Elder Wei even took the time to explain some special refining techniques to Han Li, and gradually began entrusting him with the refinement of rare materials.

Seeing this, Han Li remained composed, completing these tasks monthly without any delay. This surprised Elder Wei, who finally acknowledged Han Li's talent in artifact forging. Naturally, he began to impart more knowledge to Han Li from time to time.

Concurrently, Elder Wei started assigning Han Li the less critical parts of the materials required for the artifacts he himself was forging.

Not long after, Han Li was surprised to discover that all the materials entrusted to him for refinement were rare earth-attribute materials. This left him somewhat astonished!

After all, aside from a few treasures that solely emphasized brute force, it was rare for any magical artifacts or spiritual treasures to be forged entirely from earth-attribute materials.

However, none of this concerned him. He continued diligently with his original plan, cultivating the second level of the Ming Wang Art regardless of external circumstances, and faintly sensed the astonishing changes occurring within his body.

Just then, the Gan family from outside the mountain suddenly sent someone to deliver a message: the scholar surnamed Yan, who had escorted him into the mountain, had suddenly fallen gravely ill and passed away.

“A serious illness? When I examined him that day, he didn't seem to have any underlying conditions, did he?” Han Li murmured to himself in surprise upon receiving this news. At the same time, he recalled the recent incidents of unfamiliar cultivators repeatedly appearing at Huangqing Temple, secretly scanning the premises with their divine sense, subtly indicating an impending storm.

“I absolutely cannot stay here much longer, or I might be dragged into some serious trouble.” Relying on his extensive experience, Han Li immediately made this decision.

Consequently, Han Li dedicated himself even more diligently to cultivating the Ming Wang Art during the remaining time.

Over a year later, a minor but significant incident occurred at Huangqing Temple: an external affairs disciple in the Qi Condensation stage suddenly and inexplicably disappeared from the temple. This immediately alarmed several high-level cultivators within the temple, and even the Nascent Soul stage old Taoist nun personally inquired about the matter upon hearing of it.

The disappearance of such a low-level disciple would ordinarily be a trivial matter among the temple's thousands of disciples. However, this particular disciple was from the Artifact Forging Hall and could provide significant assistance in forging items for the temple.

It was no wonder so many high-ranking officials of Huangqing Temple were alarmed.

Now, in the pavilion where the old Taoist nun had previously discussed matters with the beautiful woman surnamed Yu, the old Taoist nun sat on a grand armchair in the center, flanked by two other Taoist nuns in yellow robes. One appeared to be over forty, the other around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

“What happened? Our Huangqing Temple has numerous restrictions, yet a disciple vanished without a trace, unknown to gods or ghosts. Do either of you have anything to say?” The old Taoist nun asked coldly, her face grim.

“Reporting, Master-Aunt, I have investigated all the restrictions within the temple. They are all completely intact, showing no signs of external invasion. It seems either a master of formations was involved, or the disciple left on their own accord,” the middle-aged Taoist nun replied respectfully after a slight hesitation.

“A master of formations? Even if the few Grandmasters of formations from Great Jin were to come here, they couldn't break our Huangqing Temple's protective formation from the outside overnight. However, if one were to leave from the inside, it wouldn't be too difficult. What is that disciple's name, and what is their background?” The old Taoist nun asked, frowning, as if remembering something.

“That disciple is named Han Li. Two years ago, Martial Niece Hualian brought him back to the temple from Bailu Academy, where he was a rogue cultivator about to seek mentorship,” the young Taoist nun, who seemed to have inquired about the relevant information, hastily replied.

“Han Li? Why is that name identical to the elder the Ye family just recruited?” The old Taoist nun suddenly froze, speaking in surprise.

“Yes. I was also taken aback when I first heard the disciple's name. But it's most likely a coincidence! After all, one is at the Nascent Soul stage, and the other is at the Qi Condensation stage; there's hardly any way they could be related,” the young Taoist nun analyzed.

“Coincidence? While there are many coincidences in this world, it just so happens that someone disappeared at a critical time when we are forging that item. And the missing person coincidentally shares the same name as the newly recruited elder within the clan. Whether it's truly a coincidence or not, this matter must be thoroughly investigated. Send someone to the capital to inquire if there are any unknown connections between our clan's 'Elder Han' and this Han Li. Additionally, summon Hualian first; I want to personally ask about the process of bringing this disciple back to our temple, to see if Bailu Academy has set any traps for us. Furthermore, the progress in the Artifact Forging Hall must not stop for a moment. The item we are responsible for forging must be completed within three years; otherwise, we will miss a crucial opportunity,” the old Taoist nun said expressionlessly, issuing one command after another.

“Yes, Master-Aunt!”

“Understood!”

The other two repeatedly assented, then bowed and left to arrange these matters.

Once the two had left the pavilion, the old Taoist nun finally let out a long sigh, leaned back, and slowly closed her eyes.

Three months later, in Taixing Market, the largest market in Yizhou, a young man purchased an unknown ore that had been displayed in a certain shop for nearly a century, attracting no attention, for the high price of ten thousand spirit stones.

Five months later, at the famous Fanchuan Trade Fair in Fan County, a masked cultivator bid one hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones for three pieces of Fire Tinwood.

Half a year later, in Kailong Prefecture, Fengzhou, a theft occurred at a local mid-tier sect called the Singing Sword Sect. A spiritual horn from an Iron-Horned Rhinoceros, stored within the sect's treasury, suddenly vanished without a trace.

Eight months later, in Qucheng County, a hideously ugly, mid-Nascent Soul stage big man suddenly appeared at the Zongping family's estate, the county's foremost aristocratic family. He sought to exchange a thousand-year-old spirit herb and a seventh-level demon beast's spirit core for their family's prized Five-Radiance Wood. The Zongping family head refused and summoned two Nascent Soul elders from the clan to confront him. However, the mid-Nascent Soul cultivator effortlessly transformed the two elders into two massive blocks of ice using a powerful divine ability.

The Zong family head was greatly alarmed and, with no other choice, reluctantly handed over the Five-Radiance Wood. The ugly big man took the wood, let out a few bursts of wild laughter, then tossed down the spirit herb and demon core and walked away. It took considerable effort to free the two Zong family elders from the ice. Although their lives were not in danger, their vital essence was significantly depleted.

Nine months later...

In just over a year, the southern region of Great Jin frequently saw the activities of three individuals: a young man, a masked cultivator, and a hideously ugly big man. They scoured the area for various rare materials. The young man specialized in purchasing obscure materials unknown to others, while the masked cultivator repeatedly made grand bids at auctions, as if his supply of spirit stones was endless.

The ugly big man, on the other hand, unceremoniously approached aristocratic families and smaller sects across the region, forcibly exchanging spirit medicines and demon cores for their various rare natural treasures.

Naturally, interspersed with these events were instances where certain items from the treasuries of some mid-to-large sects mysteriously vanished overnight.

The first two, the young man and the masked cultivator, did not attract much attention, except from a few observant individuals.

However, the masked big man's forced transactions and the frequent thefts from the treasuries of various cultivation sects immediately shook the entire southern cultivation world of Great Jin.

Not only did the aggrieved cultivation sects dispatch their disciples to search for this powerful and mysterious thief, but the aristocratic families and smaller clans who had their treasures forcibly purchased by the ugly big man also had their supporting cultivation sects send out personnel in exasperation, spreading out everywhere to search for this audacious ugly big man.