Chapter 952: Jade Pendant

Saintess Tianlan evidently didn't want to needlessly provoke an enemy by mistakenly identifying someone, which is why she somewhat conceded and spoke those words.

"Conditions?" Han Li's gaze indifferently swept over the woman. His face remained expressionless, revealing nothing of his thoughts.

"If fellow Daoist is willing, this humble one can also offer a sum of spirit stones as an apology for the unintentional offense," Lin Yinping said, raising her chin slightly, her voice unusually calm.

"Heh heh... spirit stones won't be necessary." Han Li chuckled a few times without saying anything further. Suddenly, he reached back with one hand and swiftly brought the satchel from his back to his front.

Han Li's action startled the few people nearby, and their gazes all fell upon the object in his hand.

Han Li was quite straightforward; he held a corner of the satchel and shook his arm.

Instantly, a clear ringing sound echoed as a gleaming golden long saber in its sheath appeared on the ground. Although the saber was still sheathed, the dazzling spiritual light emanating from it and its inexplicable resonance indicated to anyone who saw it that this was an exceptionally rare treasure.

No wonder the person in front of them was so furious at outsiders demanding to see his satchel. If they were forced to display their beloved treasures in front of strangers, they would probably be quite annoyed too.

Upon seeing the long saber, a hint of surprise and doubt flashed in Lin Yinping's beautiful eyes. Somewhat disbelieving, she released her full spiritual sense and re-examined the sheathed saber for a while. She finally had to confirm that the saber appeared perfectly normal, not as if an illusion spell had been cast on it.

Ge Tianhao and the other cultivators from the Yin Luo Sect exchanged glances, feeling a bit awkward when they saw that the satchel didn't contain what they had imagined.

It seemed they had truly made a colossal blunder. Fortunately, they hadn't genuinely clashed with this person just now. Otherwise, forming an enmity like this would have been utterly unfair.

Old Daoist Wu Pi and the ugly man maintained stern, unsmiling expressions, appearing completely detached from the situation.

"It truly seems we have misunderstood fellow Daoist. This humble one is indeed at fault. Whatever conditions fellow Daoist has, Yinping will certainly do her best to satisfy them," Saintess Tianlan said with a sigh, a fleeting look of disappointment crossing her face before she apologized to Han Li.

"Spirit stones? I am not lacking in those. How about this: the jade pendant on Fellow Daoist Lin's waist is quite unique. How about bestowing it upon me?" Han Li's gaze swept over Saintess Tianlan before finally settling on the swaying, tinkling jade pendant at her slender waist. He spoke, much to everyone's surprise.

"A jade pendant?" Lin Yinping was clearly greatly surprised and perplexed as she removed the emerald, glistening butterfly-shaped jade pendant from her waist. She gazed at it for a moment, her beautiful eyes filled with astonishment and doubt.

As an adornment worn on her person, it naturally couldn't be an ordinary item. This small, butterfly-shaped jade pendant possessed a certain effect of invigorating the spirit and clearing the mind. It was a relatively rare type of auxiliary magical artifact. However, while such an item was still valuable to Foundation Establishment and Core Formation cultivators, its invigorating effect was almost negligible for a mid-Nascent Soul stage female cultivator.

The woman had kept it precisely because of its unique design and because she had carried it close to her for many years. Now, Han Li had actually asked for this jade pendant. What did he mean by that?

Lin Yinping delicately picked up the mere-inch-sized jade pendant with two slender fingers, a hint of hesitation on her face.

"What's wrong, Fellow Daoist Lin? Are you reluctant to part with this item? Perhaps we could exchange it for something else. I see the hairpin on your head..." Han Li's eyes flickered a few times, as if changing his mind.

"It's just a small magical artifact; there's nothing to be reluctant about. It's simply that I've had it for some years, and I've grown slightly fond of it. Fellow Daoist, take this," Lin Yinping said, raising an eyebrow. She made a decision in an instant and tossed the jade pendant in her hand directly to Han Li.

Han Li raised his hand to catch the incoming jade pendant. Sensing the lingering warmth of the object in his hand, he nodded with satisfaction. With a flip of his palm, the jade pendant vanished without a trace.

Next, he gestured towards the golden long saber on the ground. The saber hummed once before flying into his hand. Immediately, a piece of gray cloth shot out from his sleeve, re-wrapping the long saber into a long, strip-shaped satchel in the blink of an eye.

Placing the satchel on his back, Han Li turned and left without another word, heading towards the entrance of the market.

The other cultivators, seeing Han Li's indifferent demeanor, couldn't help but exchange bewildered glances.

As Lin Yinping watched the other party truly about to depart, she suddenly remembered something. Her cherry lips parted slightly as she asked an additional question.

"At present, none of us know fellow Daoist's esteemed name. Could fellow Daoist be so kind as to share it?"

"Li Feiyu, a rogue cultivator from overseas!" Han Li's steps didn't falter in the slightest, but his dispassionate words drifted back faintly as he gradually moved further away.

"Li Feiyu? Brother Ge, have you ever heard of such a formidable cultivator from overseas? This person's expression didn't change in the slightest when facing so many of us; his divine abilities must be extraordinary," Lin Yinping said, her gaze slightly cold as she watched Han Li's retreating back. For some reason, even after seeing his satchel, a trace of doubt lingered in her heart that she couldn't dispel, leaving her with an unsettling feeling.

"Fellow Daoist Lin's question puts me in a difficult position. One must understand that while overseas cultivators are part of the Great Jin cultivation world, they are effectively a distinct group compared to us mainland cultivators, with very few venturing into the mainland's interior. Overseas cultivators vary widely in cultivation levels, and there are numerous rogue cultivators and factions of all sizes. Unless one is directly involved, it's hard to know how many deeply hidden powerful cultivators exist overseas. Of course, the most renowned figures like the Three Immortals of the Overseas, who are already famous both domestically and abroad, are a different matter entirely," Ge Tianhao explained in detail to the woman, despite the difficult expression on his face.

Hearing these words, Saintess Tianlan' furrowed her brows slightly, knowing that further investigation would be impossible. She reluctantly put the cultivator named "Li Feiyu" out of her mind for the time being.

Meanwhile, Han Li didn't linger at all. He left the market directly, then his figure flickered a few times, appearing on a nearby street. He mingled with the bustling mortals, walking at a leisurely pace.

"Senior! I didn't expect that even without your magic power, you could deceive so many Nascent Soul cultivators with just your spiritual sense. Even I didn't detect any abnormalities after you transformed the Cave of Heavenly Fortune. This junior is utterly impressed," Han Li transmitted with a slight smile playing on his lips as he walked.

"That's nothing. Once you've also mastered the latter three layers of the Grand Yan Art, you'll similarly be able to control your opponents from mere inches away. If you also happen to be skilled in illusion techniques, eliminating lower-level opponents invisibly won't be difficult either," Grand Yan Divine Monarch said indifferently.

"That's true. The first four layers of the Grand Yan Art are already so formidable. If I could master all of them, I can't imagine how powerful my spiritual sense would become. It's a pity that although Senior gave me the incantation for the fourth layer, I haven't had time to formally cultivate it," Han Li said with a hint of helplessness amidst his admiration.

"Heh heh, although your spiritual root aptitude is poor, your aptitude for cultivating the Grand Yan Art seems quite good. Plus, with a wondrous item like Soul Nurturing Wood to nourish your spiritual sense, cultivating the entire Grand Yan Art won't be any slower than this old man's pace," Grand Yan Divine Monarch said, clearly optimistic about Han Li's progress in the Grand Yan Art.

"I hope so. However, I don't quite understand something. Why did Senior want me to obtain a personal adornment from the other party? Does Senior have some other plan?" Han Li asked, a bit puzzled.

"Hmph! Do you think this Saintess Tianlan, who appeared in Jinjing, will easily let you off in the future?" Grand Yan Divine Monarch retorted abruptly.

"What else could she be after? Most likely, it's about me entering the Great Jin. I even brought the Tuwa people's sacred beast clone and that peculiar small cauldron together into the Void Heaven Cauldron. How could Saintess Tianlan give up so easily? She will probably continue searching for me throughout the Great Jin. However, the fact that she's involved with people from the Yin Luo Sect suggests that the trouble ahead won't be small," Han Li said helplessly with a sigh.

"Exactly. In my younger days, I once practiced a method for refining a 'Sense Bead,' which allows one to detect an opponent's presence within a hundred miles by using their aura. From now on, as soon as this woman enters within a hundred miles of you, it will warn you and even roughly indicate her direction. This way, if she poses any threat to you in the future, you can prepare in advance. However, this item's effect won't last too long; it will gradually fade after about a year or so. But this period will be enough for you to be cautious of her during your time in Jinjing," Grand Yan Divine Monarch slowly explained.

"So that's it! Thank you, Senior, for considering this junior so thoroughly," Han Li said, his heart filled with joy, as he quickly expressed his gratitude.

"I'm not thinking of you, but merely don't want any unforeseen accidents to occur while you're crafting the puppet for me," Grand Yan Divine Monarch said indifferently.

Han Li smiled faintly upon hearing this and didn't say much more. He suddenly changed direction, entered a nearby alleyway, then turned this way and that, eventually arriving before a small, isolated, dilapidated abandoned courtyard. The vicinity was eerily silent and deserted.

At this point, Han Li stopped, his expression turning grim.

"Fellow Daoist, you've been following me for quite some time now. What exactly are your intentions?" After speaking, Han Li slowly turned around, his gaze fixed on an empty spot behind him, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Li truly lives up to his reputation as an overseas cultivator; to think you could even discern this old man's diligently cultivated Ghost Shadow Escape. Fellow Daoist need not worry. I bear no ill will," a man's voice chuckled. Immediately, a green flash occurred in that spot, and a human-shaped green shadow gradually emerged.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the man carefully.

It was a lean old man with a cunning expression on his face and a few sparse, broken whiskers on his chin. He was at the early Nascent Soul stage and looked at Han Li with an air of composure and calculation.

"Fellow Daoist, you've been following me all the way from the market. What exactly is your purpose? Don't you know that trailing other fellow cultivators is a great taboo? Even if I were to strike you down now, no one would say a word," Han Li said menacingly, a fierce glint flashing across his face.