However, prior to that, he had to obtain the refinement method for the Baleful Yin Qi first. On top of that, he also had to purchase some Bloodtooth Rice as soon as possible.
He had already obtained the contacts required for this from the Vast Origin House, so it shouldn't be too difficult.
As Han Li flew toward the city, he carefully pondered what he was going to do next, and several days later, he finally returned to Blue Waterfall City, where Violet Spirit was waiting for him at the inn where he was staying.
Han Li was rather taken aback by this, and he asked in a cautious manner, "Did something happen? Why are you here?"
He and Violet Spirit had agreed to meet as little as possible in order to avoid attracting unnecessary problems for Violet Spirit, so the two of them had been keeping in touch through her subordinates.
As such, Han Li was naturally surprised to see Violet Spirit waiting for him at the inn.
"I had to come and see you in person; my mistress, Liu Ji, just arrived at Blue Waterfall City, and she recently instructed me to gather all of my subordinates to see her," Violet Spirit replied in an urgent manner.
Han Li's heart jolted upon hearing this, and he immediately asked, "Is it her true body that's arrived in the city?"
"No, it's just one of her late-Body Integration Stage clones, but even so, its powers and treasures wouldn't be inferior to those of the average Sacred Ancestor," Violet Spirit replied in a concerned manner.
"In that case, there's nothing to be overly concerned about. Having said that, why did she come here? Surely it's not for me; I don't think I've antagonized her in any way, and if she wanted to get rid of me, then she wouldn't have only sent a clone here. Do you know the exact purpose for her visit, Violet Spirit?" Han Li asked with furrowed brows.
"The instructions I was issued weren't very specific; it seems that she wants me and my subordinates to help her search for someone in this nearby area. I'm also of the opinion that she isn't here for you, but it would be best for you to take extra care during this time," Violet Spirit said in a concerned manner.
A hint of warmth flowed through Han Li's heart at the sight of Violet Spirit's concerned expression, but he remained very calm as he said, "Alright, I understand. As a devilish matriarch, I'm sure Liu Ji is a very cautious person, so don't contact me anymore during this period of time. Otherwise, it would be very bad for you if she discovers what you're doing. Also, I'm going to be leaving the Blue Waterfall Lake to return to the Spirit Realm soon."
"I see, then the next time we meet may be several centuries or even over 1,000 years in the future. Even with the treasures that Sister Lan provided to you, you won't be able to return to the Elder Devil Realm as you please," Violet Spirit said with a slightly dejected expression.
"You may not have to wait that long; I recently encountered some opportunities, and I should be able to make a breakthrough to the Grand Ascension Stage soon. As long as I can make a successful breakthrough, I'll immediately return to the Elder Devil Realm to save you from Liu Ji. During this time, you'll have to fend for yourself. If anything happens and Liu Ji plans to refine you into one of her clones, inform the Vast Origin House so they can relay the message to me, and I'll return to the Elder Devil Realm for you right away," Han Li vowed without any hesitation.
A gentle look appeared in Violet Spirit's eyes upon hearing this, and she said, "I am eternally grateful for your promise, Brother Han. With your exceptional aptitude, I'm sure you'll be able to reach the Grand Ascension Stage and climb to the pinnacle of the Spirit Realm; I'll be praying for your success. That's all I came here to tell you; I'll be taking my leave now."
As soon as Violet Spirit's voice trailed off, she extended a salute toward Han Li before immediately departing.
Han Li looked on at her departing figure and was struck by the urge to say something, but only managed a faint sigh in the end as a hint of dejection also crept into his eyes.
Two days later, Han Li was standing atop a peak of a small mountain near Blue Waterfall City, looking on at the massive boundless Blue Waterfall Lake in silence.
It was currently early morning, so the sky was still quite dim, and the water vapor permeating over the lake made the air very moist and humid.
All of a sudden, Han Li raised an eyebrow, and said, "Seeing as you've arrived, why don't you show yourself, Fellow Daoist? Are you afraid that I've set up an ambush for you?"
Spatial fluctuations erupted up above, and a grey-robed man in a conical bamboo hat appeared before replying, "Hehe, this is quite a significant deal, so it certainly couldn't hurt to be careful."
"Have you brought all of the Bloodtooth Rice I requested?" Han Li asked as he turned around to face the grey-robed man.
"Of course, I had to pay quite a heavy price to gather the staggering number that you requested, so I'm going to have to raise the price by 20%," the grey-robed man replied.
Han Li's expression instantly darkened slightly upon hearing this. "Oh? I've never heard of anyone raising the price at the point of transaction."
"If you want to go with the original price, then I can only give you a third of what you requested; you can't expect me to incur a loss for you, Fellow Daoist," the grey-robed man chuckled in a nonchalant manner.
After pondering the situation for a while, Han Li harrumphed coldly in response, "Hmph, you expect me to believe that you'll be incurring a loss? So be it, I still have other matters to attend to, so I don't have time to waste here; I'll give you the extra 20%. However, you have to ensure that the quality of the Bloodtooth Rice is up to standard."
"Haha, rest assured, Fellow Daoist; all of the Bloodtooth Rice I've brought with me are of a premium standard," the grey-robed man replied in an ecstatic voice.
"I certainly hope so," Han Li said in an indifferent manner before sweeping a sleeve through the air, sending a black bracelet flying directly toward the grey-robed man.
"Oh? You're handing over the devil stones first? You seem to have a lot of trust in me, Fellow Daoist." The grey-robed man was rather taken aback by this gesture, but he immediately drew the bracelet into his grasp before injecting his spiritual sense into it.
Han Li merely gave a cold smile and offered no response.
Moments later, a pleased look appeared on the grey-robed man's face, and he stowed the bracelet away as he said, "You must be a very powerful man to be able to bring out so many devil stones at once. Seeing as you've kept your end of the deal, I certainly won't revoke on my end. Brother Fang, bring out the Bloodtooth Rice."
As soon as his voice trailed off, green light flashed in the air even higher above him, and a green humanoid figure appeared in a wraith-like manner.
The green figure sent a green storage bracelet flying toward Han Li with a flick of his wrist, and Han Li immediately drew the bracelet into his grasp before pressing it against his forehead to inspect its contents.
Han Li's inspection was clearly far more thorough than that of the grey-robed man, and only after a long while did he finally remove the bracelet from his forehead.
"It's a little expensive, but the quality you've provided really is quite outstanding."
"Of course. Truth be told, I've had to delay my transactions with several other buyers to gather this batch of premium Bloodtooth Rice, so the price increase really was necessary," the grey-robed man chuckled in response.
"Alright, seeing as the transaction is complete, I'll be taking my leave now," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a salute, then instantly flew away as a streak of azure light.
After Han Li had disappeared into the distance, the grey-robed man remarked, "To think that he's able to fly away so easily despite the flight restrictions in place; it seems he's even more powerful than we anticipated."
"Seeing as we couldn't target him, then we'll naturally just treat this as a normal transaction. Having said that, all of the recent buyers seem to have been very powerful, so we haven't encountered many suitable targets," the green figure replied in a cold voice.
"Even Sacred Ancestors wouldn't want to cross those major powers; the only targets that we can prey on are those from smaller powers or no-name vagrant cultivators. Not only is this man very powerful, he's been purchasing Foreign Devilish Metal in bulk in a very blatant manner as soon as he came to the city, so he's most likely from some major power and not someone to be messed with; it's already very fortunate that we were able to get an extra 20% out of him," the grey-robed man chuckled.
"His origins are too mysterious for us to ascertain in a short time anyway, and Mistress Lan Pu has already summoned us to return to the city, so it would be best to avoid unnecessary trouble," the green figure replied before vanishing into space once again amid a flash of green light.
The grey-robed figure lingered for a while longer, and his eyes narrowed slightly as he murmured to himself, "I have a feeling that if we had tried to target that man, we would've been left to rue the decision."
