Chapter 981: Visitors

After a single reprimand, Han Li felt a certain release in his heart, a feeling absent since the passing of Grand Expansion Divine Lord.

He was about to cast a spell to collect the heavenly lightning, and naturally, he didn't want other cultivators present to interfere.

After exhaling deeply, he patted his storage pouch. Several magic flags of various colors appeared in his hand. With a wave, these flags shot out in all directions, vanishing into the ground in a flash.

Han Li looked up at the constantly flashing lightning in the sky, a corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Immediately, spiritual light pulsed around his body, and he floated up into the air, rising to a height of over thirty zhang above the ground.

Forming a strange hand seal with both hands, a series of low incantations emanated from Han Li's mouth.

Instantly, various colored lights flashed below.

After several muffled thuds, several pillars of light shot up from the ground, transforming into enormous banners, each as thick as a bowl, standing motionless on the ground.

Han Li's incantations continued without a pause. The magic flags below released tendrils of spiritual energy amidst the chanting, and a spirit-gathering array, over ten zhang in diameter, gradually took shape.

Within the light, various runes continuously rolled within the array, which was now fully activated.

The moment the array appeared, the seemingly distant lightning in the nearby high-altitude suddenly seemed to be drawn by something, growing more frequent with each flash, and gradually approaching Han Li's location.

Han Li's eyes narrowed. His incantations paused momentarily. With a flip of his hand, a long-necked jade bottle, several inches tall, appeared in his palm.

This bottle was a magic artifact he had specially refined for collecting heavenly lightning.

With a gentle toss, the small bottle was launched into mid-air. A streak of green magic light shot out, striking the bottle.

After several rotations, the jade bottle settled with its mouth facing upwards, motionless.

At this moment, Han Li rubbed his hands together and simultaneously raised them upwards. Two thick golden arcs shot out, striking the bottom of the jade bottle simultaneously.

After a clap of thunder, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The jade bottle trembled slightly, and the two golden arcs vanished into it. Then, Han Li let out a low cry and pointed a finger towards the sky.

With a whoosh, a golden arc shot out from the bottle's mouth, transforming into an electric spear several zhang long, constantly flickering above the jade bottle and pointing directly at the heavily overcast sky.

And at that very instant, a silver electric arc suddenly flashed down from the sky, striking the golden spear precisely.

The golden spear trembled slightly, and the silver arc immediately surged downwards, vanishing into the bottle in an instant.

In this manner, electric arcs were drawn by the array one after another, then effortlessly collected into the jade bottle by the Evil-Dispelling Divine Thunder.

An hour later, after collecting another thick electric arc, the jade bottle began to emit a rumbling sound, like a tsunami.

Hearing this sound, Han Li's face couldn't help but show joy. He raised his hand and made a grabbing motion in the air.

The golden electric spear detached itself, and the jade bottle flew down from the air, captured by his hand.

Han Li quickly flicked his sleeve towards the sky, and another bottle of similar design was launched into the air. The golden spear re-inserted itself, continuing to collect heavenly lightning into the bottle.

At this moment, he finally had the leisure to carefully examine the bottle in his hand.

He saw the object continuously trembling with a low hum, and dazzling silver light flashed from its mouth, as if something could shoot out from within at any moment.

With a 'pa' sound, a golden talisman was affixed to it. The rumbling in the bottle abruptly ceased, and the silver light instantly dimmed.

Han Li capped the bottle and carefully placed it into his storage pouch.

Then he continued to gaze up at the sky.

Less than half a day later, after continuously collecting four bottles of heavenly lightning, the thunderstorm in the sky still showed no signs of diminishing. Instead, the surroundings were a dismal yellow, and the storm seemed to be intensifying.

Han Li mused to himself that after collecting this current bottle from the air, he could stop. This lightning would be enough to transform into thunderfire for refining spiritual materials.

Just then, his expression changed, and he suddenly turned to gaze at the horizon.

In the distant, gloomy sky, he saw light flashing as a white rainbow suddenly appeared and flew swiftly towards him.

His eyes flickered twice, and his expression grew solemn.

The spirit-gathering array below radiated brilliant light. Han Li, enveloped in green light, floated in mid-air, while above his head, silver electric arcs continuously flashed wildly, gathering in one spot, one after another.

Such a scene was highly conspicuous.

The master of the white rainbow naturally took in the entire scene. After a few flashes of its escape light, it flew directly towards Han Li. A moment later, when it was over thirty zhang away, the light converged, revealing a woman in palace attire.

The woman was petite and delicately featured, with a pair of clear and bright eyes, appearing to be in the prime of her youth. What was astonishing, however, was her palace attire. Made of some unknown precious material, it not only shimmered with dazzling silver light but also had several strands of milky-white cold air constantly floating around her, making her resemble a fairy in the clouds, utterly ethereal.

Han Li swept his divine sense over her and was slightly startled. This person was actually a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator, just like him.

After the woman in palace attire cast her gaze over Han Li, she smiled charmingly:

“I am Bai Yaoyi from Beiming Island. Is Fellow Daoist also here at the invitation of Fellow Daoist Fu?”

The woman’s voice was melodious, soft, and very pleasant to listen to.

“Beiming Island… Could Fellow Daoist be a cultivator from the Minor Polar Palace of Northern Night?” Han Li’s heart stirred with surprise.

“This humble one is indeed an External Affairs Elder of the Minor Polar Palace,” the woman in palace attire said with a slight smile. “Our palace is located in a remote area, so I didn’t expect Fellow Daoist to know of our sect. May I ask for your esteemed name?”

“My surname is Han, merely a rogue cultivator from overseas,” Han Li replied, his expression returning to calm. “I am indeed here at the invitation of Fellow Daoist Fu. The name of the Minor Polar Palace has long been renowned to me.”

“An overseas cultivator!” Bai Yaoyi asked with a slight smile, her clear eyes flickering. “Does Fellow Daoist Han know the Three Overseas Immortals? Do you have any connection with these three Fellow Daoists?”

“No, I don’t,” Han Li replied without hesitation. “I rarely interact with other cultivators and have always cultivated in seclusion on my island.”

“I see,” she replied. “Then this humble one was presumptuous. Fellow Daoist is collecting heavenly lightning; do you need Yaoyi’s assistance?”

“Thank you for your kind offer, Fellow Daoist,” Han Li replied. “I have almost finished collecting. This is already the last bottle.”

“In that case, this humble one will meditate at the peak for a while,” she said.

Hearing Han Li say this, Bai Yaoyi did not insist. Her escape light swirled once, and she flew directly to land on another large rock at the peak.

The moment she appeared and landed, she raised her hand and released an umbrella-shaped spiritual artifact into the air.

After this object rotated slightly in the high altitude, it immediately emitted a large expanse of white light, shielding all wind and rain within a radius of several tens of zhang. Only then did the woman calmly sit down cross-legged.

A cold light flashed in her hand, and a palm-sized object appeared in her grasp.

Han Li glanced at it and clearly saw what it was. It was a snow-white jade, crystal clear and translucent, with cold light flickering on its surface, very different from ordinary beautiful jade.

“Ice Jade,”

His mind swiftly turned, and he immediately recognized this rare material. The bottle of Cold Marrow he had accidentally obtained was precisely produced from ten-thousand-year Ice Jade.

At this moment, the woman in palace attire had already placed the Ice Jade flat on her hands, closed her beautiful eyes, and entered meditation.

It seemed this woman's cultivation technique, if not purely ice-attributed, was at least of a yin-cold type. Otherwise, she wouldn't be using the cold energy of this jade to cultivate. This was somewhat similar to Han Li consuming Snow Soul Pills, though no matter how good the quality of this Ice Jade, it could absolutely not compare to the astonishing efficacy of Snow Soul Pills.

Han Li remained outwardly calm, but he unconsciously felt a degree of caution towards this woman.

He recalled that the Minor Polar Palace of Northern Night would rather battle high-level demonic beasts every few generations than hand over the Cold Marrow, showing how much the palace valued this item. If this woman were to know that the palace's most treasured item was on him, it would undoubtedly cause enormous trouble.

Thinking this, Han Li withdrew his gaze and stared at the small bottle in the air, his face devoid of expression.

Not long after, once the fifth small bottle was also filled with heavenly lightning, Han Li immediately put away the magic artifact and slowly flew down from the air, landing in the center of the spirit-gathering array.

He then cast several magic seals, striking the nearby magic flags. Instantly, the array's restriction changed, erecting a green light curtain to protect him within it.

Han Li also sat down within the array, closing his eyes to rest, facing the woman in palace attire from a distance. He certainly wouldn't refine any spiritual materials in front of her.

As a result, apart from the sound of thunder and rain, the mountain peak became quiet.

The heavy rain lasted for a full day and night before gradually disappearing. When the scorching sun reappeared in the sky, the air immediately became humid and hot, and miasma slowly rose from the ground once more, re-enveloping the entire mountain range.

Various insects and ants that had retreated to their nests also resurfaced from the ground.

Han Li, with a calm mind, slowly released his divine sense, sensing everything within a radius of several tens of li. Wherever his divine thought reached, every detail, whether it was the struggle for survival among insects and ants or flowers and fruits falling to the ground, was clearly transmitted into his sea of divine consciousness.

He remained motionless, like an old monk in deep meditation.

Occasionally, low-level cultivators would accidentally wander onto the mountain. Upon realizing Han Li and Bai Yaoyi’s astonishing cultivation levels, they would instantly change their expressions and flee in panic, without either of them needing to say anything, not daring to linger for a moment.

Thus, Han Li and the woman in palace attire sat there for three days and three nights.

On the morning of the fourth day, another high-level cultivator finally arrived at the main peak.

This time, the arrival was a towering, burly man with an extremely ugly appearance and a dark, gleaming physique.

It was unknown what cultivation technique this person practiced; he arrived riding a giant green turtle, accompanied by a strange, evil wind.

The burly man, upon seeing Han Li and Bai Yaoyi, immediately let out a loud laugh. Without another word, he found another spot on the peak to sit down. However, he had no intention of resting his eyes; instead, he pulled out a golden, shimmering book from his embrace and began reading it, swaying his head.

Such a seemingly bookish action was truly at odds with the burly man's physique and appearance, appearing somewhat comical. Han Li and Bai Yaoyi, however, seemed to ignore it, simply sitting there quietly.

In reality, Han Li's brows had already furrowed in his mind.

This burly man was also a Mid-Nascent Soul cultivator. It seemed the purpose of Old Man Fu inviting them here was truly extraordinary; even early-stage cultivators didn't seem qualified to participate.