Devil blades forged from Devil Essence Diamonds possessed a fearsome reputation.
It was said that such blades possessed the vicious ability to kill by absorbing flesh and soul, and in turn, refine them into power. The devil blade’s might would then increase with the body count. Many believed that after a certain amount of time and honed with a continuous stream of kills, it would eventually rival a Divine Spirit Treasure and be possible for the wielder to kill a Deity Transformation-stage cultivator.
Of course, Divine Spirit Treasures and said blades in particular have long been extinct in the mortal world, so there was no such thing as a true comparison. But when the Yin Sifting Sect Elder suddenly mentioned this treasure, Han Li’s expression turned unsightly.
Gui Ling blinked and mused, “The blade can’t have been a Devil Dragon Blade, since his Nascent soul was given the opportunity to escape. It should be a rare Devil Dao treasure of another kind since the saber only bore a strong resemblance to the weapon.”
“That should be the case,” Han Li nodded.
Soon after, he looked in the direction of the Devil Suppressing Pagoda and saw that one of the peaks in the distance was gone.
When he thought of the Heavenvoid Cauldron in his hand, his heart stirred and he muttered, “Kunwu Mountain was known to be the center of human cultivation; it shouldn’t be rare for a Divine Spirit Treasure to be there.”
With Gui Ling’s help and the human-like puppet, he now had a chance at acquiring the treasure. And with the eight high-grade spirit stones he acquired from Old Devil Qian’s storage pouch, he could use his puppet quite freely.
Silvermoon’s voice suddenly spoke in his mind with hesitation, “Master, how about we take a look? For some reason, ever since I left the hall, something has been beckoning me towards there. It seems quite familiar — perhaps there is something that is related to my lost memories.”
“There is something calling for you?” Han Li asked, startled.
“That’s right, I can faintly sense it. If we miss this opportunity, my memories may never be whole,” Silvermoon spoke with an earnest tone.
Han Li silently mused for a long while. Then, he chuckled, “In that case, let’s take a look. I am also quite interested in this Divine Spirit Treasure.”
When Silvermoon heard him, she happily replied, “Many thanks, Master!”
Han Li then turned to the side and slowly said, “Fellow Daoist Gui, since a Divine Spirit Treasure has emerged, it seems hiding away isn’t an option anymore.”
Gui Ling gave a slight bow and answered, “You are my master. I will do what you bid.”
With the appearance of such a rare treasure, no cultivator could turn a blind eye. Gui Ling had already anticipated this and wasn’t surprised by his change of mind.
Then, the Nascent Soul trapped by the large azure hand shouted, “Could you agree to not harm me? I swear that everything I told you is true.”
“I never mentioned sparing you, and you clearly understood that not speaking would only mean having your soul refined. You can only blame yourself for falling into my hands.” With that said, Han Li opened his mouth and released a bolt of golden lightning.
With a miserable scream, the large hand and the Nascent Soul disappeared in a flare of gold, only for a faint green banner to fall to the ground.
Han Li’s eyes lit up and he swept it up with a wave of his sleeve. He quickly glanced over it and found it to be another Ghost Sifting Banner.
After using a soul scouring technique on Old Devil Qian, he came to understand that the banners were no trivial items. If all eighteen were combined, they would have unimaginable power.
Since he was already the nemesis of the Yin Sifting Sect, he planned on taking all of them into his possession.
Even if they were of little value to him, he couldn't allow them to restore their number.
In the past when one had been destroyed or lost, if the sect wasn’t able to recover it, they refined a new one.
However, this was only done a few times in the entire history of their sect. No matter how wealthy they may be, these banners weren't easily created. After refinement, it would take quite some time before they were powerful enough to be used.
Han Li looked in the direction of the pagoda and muttered, “Let’s hurry! We don’t know if there are cultivators already fighting over the treasure.”
He then flew down the steps with Gui Ling closely behind.
There were restrictions to either side of the stairway, preventing them from cutting through.
Along the way, he spotted no further signs of combat and soon, they returned to the main white jade plaza, then making their way up to the Devil Suppressing Pagoda.
Farther down the path, there was an area reduced to a mess littered with rubble and holes.
Han Li turned a blind eye to this and continued on his way. Gui Ling let out a gasp and looked at one of the piles of rubble.
Surprised, he followed her gaze and found something strange.
Below an unremarkable pile of debris, there was a small white object. It was clearly the bones belonging to an arm.
He swept his sleeve and blew away the rubble in an azure wind, revealing a skeleton underneath.
Shock appeared on Han Li’s face. The hair and clothes draped on the skeleton belonged to Old Man Fu. The Dark Violet Pearl was tightly held in his other hand, but it was mostly shattered.
Han Li remained silent and began to look around.
After a long while, he sighed, “To think you put all that effort into refining the Nascent Cultivating Pill only for you to die here! The path of cultivation is truly perilous!”
Although he didn’t consider them to be friends, his sudden death left a rather peculiar feeling in his heart.
“Does Fellow Daoist Han recognize this person?” Gui Ling asked, “His death is quite odd. The flesh had been stripped clean and there are no signs that his Nascent Soul had manifested. And there is only the mark of a single cut from his back. It appears like…”
Han Li let out a long sigh, “This person died from the blade that the Yin Sifting Sect Elder described, right?”
Gui Ling solemnly said, “Indeed, although there are other devilish techniques capable of stripping away flesh, they don’t leave a mark like this. Additionally, the Yin Sifting Sect Elder’s Nascent Soul was able to flee but this person’s simply perished. Could it truly be a Devil Dragon Blade? How could we explain this difference in strength?”
After some thought, Han Li shook his head and said, “I very much doubt that. The Devil Dragon Blade might have the power to increase its strength from consuming the souls and flesh of cultivators, but the process should take quite a bit of time. How could its power grow so rapidly?”
“Yes, that does make sense,” Gui Ling chimed with a sense of understanding.
“More importantly, this ‘Master Scatterwind’ has no fear of consequences. He dared to attack elders of both the Yin Sifting Sect and the Nine Serenities Sect. Furthermore, he hadn’t destroyed their bodies after killing them. Doesn’t he have any fear of the two sects joining together to take revenge?” Han Li took another glance at the skeleton and puzzlement appeared on his face. Given that his storage pouch had disappeared, the Nascent Cultivating Pill should’ve fallen into the hands of that character.
As Gui Ling had just emerged from imprisonment, she had little understanding of the current cultivation world and thus little to add.
Han Li pondered for a moment more and couldn't come up with an answer. Then, he raised his hand and released a fireball, burning the skeleton to ash.
“Let’s be careful. That blade will be stronger after consuming a Nascent Soul cultivator. We'd best not suffer in the same way.” With those indifferent words, he led the way ahead but wore a much gloomier expression.
Gui Ling’s heart trembled upon hearing this, and she grimaced with her unsightly face before following after him with a wry smile.
As they headed up, the two hadn’t encountered anything else of note and eventually arrived at the end of the stairway, or what remained of it.
They found themselves at a cliff that had been cut half in size and the mountain behind it had vanished without a trace.
Han Li peered into the distance and then looked down at the unfathomable depth. He then stroked his chin with a pensive expression.
Although Gui Ling had already been expecting this from what the Yin Sifting Sect Elder had said, she was astonished to see this with her own eyes, “It appears that others have already descended and that the Devil Suppressing Pagoda had truly sunk into the mountain. Who knows what’s going on below.”
“Fellow Daoist Gui, do you know what monsters are being detained in the pagoda?”
After some hesitation, Gui Ling earnestly replied, “I’m not too sure. In the past, I was one of the demon beasts used to guard the mountain. Those cultivators hadn’t mentioned the matter to me. But before I was moved outside the mountain, I sensed a huge devilish Qi that appeared here. Soon after, it disappeared. It should’ve been sealed in the pagoda. It is a pity that my cultivation at the time had been rather shallow. From how powerful the aura was, I could’ve determined the true cultivation of the master of the Qi.”
