Chapter 954: Cold Marrow

"Impossible! Although my master's cultivation is slightly inferior to that rogue, how could he not even have a chance?" The young man's face turned pale as he spoke, filled with disbelief.

"Hmph, what do you know?"

"Let alone an early Nascent Soul cultivator, that person is a ruthless individual who has previously killed cultivators of the same rank. It's no surprise that your master was killed by this person before he could even react. But how exactly did old man Xiao tell you about it? Tell us honestly and in detail again." Ge Tianhao snorted coldly, replying unpleasantly.

Meanwhile, Lin Yinping released her spiritual sense and quickly searched the area. Suddenly, with a sway of her graceful waist, she instantly appeared some seven or eight zhang away. She reached out and levitated an object from the ground to examine it closely, and her expression suddenly turned grim.

"My master didn't say much," the young man mumbled. "He only handed me his natal magic disk and instructed that if the disk showed any abnormality, or if he didn't return after a certain period, I should immediately inform you seniors about that person's matter, so you could rescue him from danger in time."

The young man hastily reached out and caught it. After looking at it, his heart sank.

It was a small piece of yellow wood, flickering with a familiar, faint spiritual light. It was precisely a fragment of the old man's wooden shield.

"This is from my master's Wood-Kuei Shield," the young man said, his face turning even paler. "That shield is exceptionally sturdy, and its defensive power is astonishing. How could it have been destroyed?"

"Fellow Daoist Lin," Ge Tianhao said gravely to the Heavenly Azure Saintess, completely ignoring the young man, "it seems old man Xiao is no longer with us. Initially, when I heard you, I didn't quite believe that person truly possessed the ability to kill cultivators of the same rank, but now it seems this person is even more formidable than expected. Although old man Xiao was only an early Nascent Soul cultivator, he was proficient in several extraordinary escape techniques, yet he was killed before he could even utter a cry for help. This shows that this person's abilities are no less than those of a late Nascent Soul cultivator. With just a few of us, I'm afraid we won't be able to capture this person."

"Heh heh! He killed our Yin Sect elder and stole our sect's supreme treasure. Even if he isn't a late Nascent Soul cultivator, and even if he were, our sect will absolutely not let him go," Ge Tianhao chuckled a few times, speaking with subtle meaning. "However, this person seems to have no minor grudge against your Heavenly Azure Steppe. Otherwise, Fellow Daoist Lin, as a saint of your clan, wouldn't have stayed in our Great Jin for several years specifically for this person."

"As long as we can kill this person," Lin Yinping said, pursing her red lips slightly before suddenly smiling charmingly, "I can add two more percentage points to the conditions the Holy Temple originally promised your sect. However, as for the treasures on this person, our Holy Temple must certainly choose one first."

"Three tenths?" Ge Tianhao said without hesitation. "To capture and kill such a powerful cultivator, our sect doesn't even know how many people we'll lose. As for the treasures, our sect had originally agreed to your Temple's terms, so there's naturally no further discussion needed."

"Our Temple can agree to this condition." Lin Yinping hesitated only slightly before readily agreeing.

"Very good. As the Heavenly Azure Saintess, Fellow Daoist, I presume you wouldn't go back on your word." Ge Tianhao turned around and instructed another male cultivator from the Yinluo Sect, "Junior Martial Brother Hu, immediately send out a sound transmission talisman to gather all the elders and disciples of our sect in Jinjing, and thoroughly search for this person. Since this person went to the market, he will definitely participate in the Grand Auction. This is our best opportunity to capture him. However, everything must be done in secret. Do not attract the attention of cultivators from other sects. Low-level disciples absolutely must not engage with this person. Even if the elders haven't gathered yet, do not act rashly. To capture this person, the most appropriate way is actually to lure him into a magic array and then attack together."

"Should we also notify Sect Master Fang? Elder Bi, the Fourth Elder, only perished after being sent out by him," the male cultivator asked.

"Since the last time the Ghost Luo Banner repair plan was only half-completed, and with the incident involving the Fourth Elder, Sect Master Fang has already greatly displeased the Grand Elder and the others. I heard he's currently in seclusion refining a powerful treasure. Even if he were to rush here immediately, he wouldn't make it to the auction. However, we can send him a sound transmission talisman first. If we fail to capture this person on our own, we can then enlist the help of his faction to deal with that person together." After a slight hesitation, Ge Tianhao nodded.

After a thorough discussion, the group immediately flew off, enveloped in streaks of escape light. Of course, to avoid alarming mortals, they instantly concealed their forms once they ascended into the air.

Although Jinjing had rules prohibiting cultivators from flying, powerful sects like the Yinluo Sect paid no attention to them whatsoever.

At the same time, Han Li was walking down a less-trafficked street about twenty *li* away. He was using his spiritual sense to examine the old man's storage pouch hidden in his sleeve. There were quite a lot of miscellaneous items inside, and it would indeed take some effort to sort through them.

Suddenly, his footsteps halted, and a trace of surprise appeared on his face.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Grandmaster Dayan transmitted lazily.

He reached out and lightly stroked the bottle's neck twice with a finger. A needle-like chill emanated from his fingertip, and Han Li couldn't help but show a hint of surprise and doubt on his face.

Then, he held up the small bottle with one hand and gently shook it. Faint sounds of liquid flowing could be heard from inside.

Han Li raised an eyebrow.

"Could it be some kind of spiritual liquid inside?" Han Li murmured, gazing at the small bottle. "But the liquid in this bottle is peculiar; even my spiritual sense can't penetrate it."

"If you want to know what it is, just examine it carefully after you return," Grandmaster Dayan warned. "This is a mortal street, so don't rush to open it now, lest you cause any trouble."

"Of course, I know that." Han Li flicked his wrist, his expression unchanged, and the small bottle instantly vanished from his hand without a trace.

"Han boy, since you've exposed your identity, you'll need to be extra careful in Jinjing from now on. The Yinluo Sect and the Heavenly Azure Saintess won't let you off easily. They'll probably guess you'll attend the auction as well."

"It doesn't matter. I don't believe there's a second spirit beast in Jinjing that can see through illusions," Han Li said, who seemed to have considered this matter long ago. "As long as I try to avoid the late Nascent Soul cultivators in Jinjing, there won't be any major problems. This auction is the only way to gather the materials I need, so even if there's some danger, we have to take the risk."

"That's true. Moreover, since this time is for collecting materials for the puppet, if there's real danger, I will make an exception, just like in the previous battle, and use the 'Spirit Shocking Thorn' divine ability of the Great Evolution Art to assist you," Grandmaster Dayan said lightly.

"Thank you, Senior," Han Li replied, delighted in his heart. "With your words, I can feel much more at ease."

An hour later, Han Li slowly slipped back to the Daoist temple like a mortal. After leisurely chatting with the temple master for a while, he unhurriedly returned to his room.

After casually setting up several temporary magic arrays around the room, Han Li then took out the small verdant bottle again and placed it before him, examining it closely once more.

A moment later, he raised a hand and grasped the jade bottle's cap. With a flash of spiritual light, the cap was easily pulled off.

Immediately, a cold light shot out from the bottle. At the same time, the temperature in the entire room plummeted sharply. Even Han Li, a cultivator who had cultivated a cold art like the Violet-Nether Extreme Flame, couldn't help but shiver intensely when enveloped by this cold light.

Han Li's heart startled, and a layer of purple flames suddenly erupted around his body. Upon contact with the cold light, it was immediately repelled by the purple flames.

Wherever the cold light swept across the room, thick ice immediately solidified. If not for the multiple layers of restrictions already placed within the room, the cold qi would have likely permeated directly outside.

It seemed that although this cold light wasn't as potent as the Violet-Nether Extreme Flame, its extreme coldness appeared to be not far from that of the Azure-Blue Ice Flame.

"What in the world is this?"

Highly interested, Han Li, with his palm enveloped in purple flames, gripped the bottle tightly and gently shook it again. Immediately, another burst of cold light sprayed out from the bottle's opening.

He watched as this cold light dispersed in mid-air, making the room three times colder. He finally moved the small bottle directly in front of his eyes. With a glance, blue light flickered in his pupils. Peering through the white cold qi, he faintly saw dazzling silver light shimmering within the bottle.

"This seems to be..." Grandmaster Dayan's voice suddenly became somewhat excited. "Pour out a drop from the bottle and carefully catch it with a jade plate. Let me examine it closely."

Han Li's heart stirred. Without a word, he took out a palm-sized jade dish from his storage pouch. With his other hand, he gripped the small bottle and subtly flicked his wrist.

A drop of silver liquid steadily fell from the bottle's opening, emitting a crisp and pleasant sound. It landed in the dish and directly transformed into a grain-sized silver bead, which rolled around continuously.

Much to Han Li's surprise, the silver bead itself emitted no cold qi whatsoever and appeared completely ordinary.

"Indeed, I was right. It truly is Cold Marrow, which can only be formed within Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade," Grandmaster Dayan sighed and said slowly.

"I've heard of Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Jade, but what is Cold Marrow? It seems very precious," Han Li asked in surprise.

"Cold Marrow is essentially a type of jade essence, which is one of the most commonly used materials for alchemy and artifact refining," Grandmaster Dayan replied calmly. "However, this type of Cold Marrow only grows within Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Jade, and it's extremely rare for anyone in the world to ever see it. If I'm not mistaken, only the Minor Extreme Palace of Northern Night in the northwest of Great Jin possesses a small bottle of this, treating it as a treasured artifact passed down through generations. Besides that, I've never heard of it being produced anywhere else. Oh, and that Snow Crystal Bead you refined was actually made from Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Jade."