The three cultivators were thrown into a slight panic in the face of so many balls of lightning, and they were completely unable to pay any heed to the escaping Infant Carp Beast.
However, Han Li's expression darkened upon seeing this, and he swept his sleeve through the air in the demon beast's direction.
A flying sword that was around a foot in length shot forth from his sleeve, shuddering slightly before transforming into a streak of golden light over 100 feet long, which flew through the air.
The sword was so fast that the Infant Carp Beast only saw a flash of golden light, followed by a split second of excruciating pain, before it was unable to feel nor see anything ever again.
The golden light sped around the demon beast a few times and large clouds of blood mist erupted into the sky, slicing the beast into seven or eight pieces. Even its soul didn't have a chance to escape before it, too, was destroyed.
The segments of its body came plummeting down from above.
At this moment, Han Li reached out a feigned a grabbing motion.
One section of the demon beast's body suddenly exploded and a blue bead shot forth from within its flesh and blood, flying toward Han Li as a streak of blue light.
Han Li closed his five finger's and the Infant Carp Beast's demon core had already ended up in his hand.
He looked at the demon core in a nonchalant manner without any hint of emotion in his eyes.
A demon core of this caliber naturally wasn't going to catch his eyes.
Following the death of the demon beast, the balls of lightning frantically attacking the three cultivators also disappeared in the flash.
The three of them heaved a collective sigh of relief before turning to Han Li with awe and veneration in their eyes.
They were unable to chase down the Infant Carp Beast earlier, but they had clearly witnessed the scenes in which Han Li destroyed that sixth grade demon beast with ease.
It was not difficult to imagine their astonishment.
They had thought that at most, Han Li would only be a Core Formation cultivator who just so happened to be passing by, but who would have thought that he would be a Nascent Soul cultivator?
However, this place was already quite far into the outer seas. Cultivators of Han Li's caliber were still rare here, but three of them had encountered a few in the past, so they weren't overly flustered. Thus, the three cultivators hurriedly stowed away their treasures before drifting over to Han Li.
Before they had even reached the Han Li, the man in the conical bamboo hat extended a deep bow toward him.
"Chen Jing of the Azure Yang Sect pays his respects to Senior. Thank you for your assistance, Senior. We've been tangled up in a battle with this demon beast for a long time and it would've been very difficult for us to escape on our own. May I have the honor of knowing your name, Senior?" The man was surreptitiously sizing up Han Li as he spoke. His expression was quite respectful, but he spoke in a manner that was neither haughty nor humble.
"Azure Yang Sect? You're Lord Three Yang's disciple?" Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
"Lord Three Yang is indeed my master. Do you recognize him, Senior?"
The man scanned over Han Li's body with his spiritual sense, but was unable to detect his cultivation base. He was most likely a Nascent Soul Stage powerful being. He found it slightly perplexing that he was unable to ascertain Han Li's cultivation base, but automatically assumed him to be an early-Nascent Soul cultivator.
After all, mid-Nascent Soul and late-Nascent Soul cultivators were all extremely renowned.
"Hehe, I've heard of your master, yet never seen him!" Han Li chuckled.
At the mention of the Azure Yang Sect and Lord Three Yang, he naturally thought back to Yuan Yao's experiences with them. She had slain the young master of the Azure Yang Sect, which led to her being hunted by the entire sect. Even though Lord Three Yang was quite a renowned figure in the Scattered Star Seas, in Han Li's eyes, he was merely a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator who wasn't worthy of his attention.
Aside from that, he had no vendetta against the Azure Yang Sect, so he certainly wasn't going to kill these three in cold blood. Next, he began to ask them some questions.
"The three of you must be quite familiar with this area, right? Do you know the specific location of the Green Spirit Island?" Han Li's sea charts were very detailed, but it was no easy task trying to find an island in this boundless ocean.
As such, he certainly wasn't going to give up on the opportunity to make an inquiry to these three cultivators.
At the mention of Green Spirit Island, smiles appeared on the faces of the Azure Yang Sect cultivators.
"Senior, you're trying to get to Green Spirit Island to obtain high-grade spirit stones, right? If that's the case, then there's no need for you to travel all the way to Green Spirit Island. You can purchase spirit stones from the markets nearby. Of course, if you're familiar with the mine guards from the Starfall Coalition or the Star Palace, you'll naturally be able to get a better price."
"Markets? How many high-grade spirit stones can be found there? I require more than just one or two," Han Li replied in a skeptical manner.
"I'm sure the markets will be able to satisfy your needs, Senior. High-grade spirit stones are technically equivalent to over 10,000 spirit stones but in reality, the price at which they're sold is over twice that amount. As long as you're not looking for more than 30 or 40 high-grade spirit stones at once, those markets will be able to provide them," Chen Jing replied with a smile.
"In that case, then take me to the markets first. If there aren't enough spirit stones there, then I'll make a trip to Green Spirit Island. You can take this demon core as remuneration for leading the way." Han Li tossed the Infant Carp Beast's demon core toward them as he spoke.
Chen Jing caught the demon core and was immediately ecstatic.
"Don't worry, Senior, we've been residing around this area for over 10 years so we know everything there is to know about these markets. We'll be sure not to disappoint you." The Azure Yang Sect cultivators were still rather confused about Han Li's identity, but a sixth grade demon core would rake in a large sum of spirit stones for a Core Formation cultivator, particularly when all they had to do in exchange for it was to lead the way to the market. They were naturally overjoyed.
As for the elderly man and the young woman, their cultivation bases were inferior to Chen Jing's, so he naturally made all of the executive decisions for their group. However, they were even more fearful when they looked at Han Li now.
After all, the disparity between Foundation Establishment and Nascent Soul cultivators was simply massive!
Thus, Han Li was led by Chen Jing's trio away from this place. According to their description, this location was only about half a month's travel away from Green Spirit Island and on the way there, they would pass by the island on which the three of them inhabited.
They flew toward the eastern direction almost without any pause for rest and after flying for over 10 days, an unknown island finally appeared up ahead.
This island appeared to be quite large; several thousand kilometers in radius. The island had an undulating terrain filled with lush hills and mountains.
"This is Lightning Sky Island. I have a simple abode here, so I'm very familiar with the markets in this area. The market here is also one of the largest near Green Spirit Island, so I'm sure it won't disappoint you, Senior," Chen Jing explained with a smile on his face as he flew through the air.
"The spirit vein on this island is not bad. It's no wonder that so many cultivators are staying on this island." Han Li nodded as he looked into the distance.
"Not only is the spirit vein on Lightning Sky Island the best among the surrounding few islands, the island also produces several types of rare medicines. Both the Starfall Coalition and the Star Palace have set their eyes on the island before, but they were both wary of one another and allowed other powers to take joint ownership of the island instead," Chen Jing said in a slightly boastful manner.
"Those so-called other powers include your Azure Yang Sect, right?" Han Li chuckled.
"Ahem… Our Azure Yang Sect does have a few people living on this island, but we wouldn't dare to claim ownership over any part of it," Chen Jing chuckled drily. There seemed to be some hardships involved that he was reluctant to talk about.
Han Li naturally wasn't actually interested in the Azure Yang Sect. As such, he merely smiled and set the topic aside.
After that, Chen Jing began to introduce the powers on the island, as well as the several Nascent Soul cultivators here.
Han Li heard the name of a familiar person from Chen Jing's description, and he faltered lightly before exclaiming, "Daoist Master Swift Crane! The one from the Jade Cloud Sect? He's also on this island? I heard that he was severely wounded many years ago."
Chen Jing's heart stirred slightly, but he still gave an honest response. "You know about Senior Swift Crane as well, Senior? His body was once destroyed many years ago, but he was saved by the Jade Cloud Sect and managed to recover his cultivation base through possession. I heard that he had intentions of taking over the island for the Jade Cloud Sect, but he wasn't the only one with such intentions so in the end, the island was split among several powers."
"Hehe, I see!" Han Li replied in a neutral manner, making it impossible for Chen Jing to glean his thoughts.
Before they knew it, the four of them had reached the island and were flying directly toward the center of the island.
After flying for a short while longer, a small city nestled between several tall mountains appeared before their eyes.
It was quite clear that this city had only been constructed not long ago. It wasn't very large in area; only around a dozen or so square kilometers, and all of the buildings in the city were constructed from large grey-white stones, creating a pristine and orderly sight to behold. There appeared to be city gates on all four sides of the city, but only Qi Condensation cultivators used those gates. All of the more powerful cultivators capable of flight chose to take aerial routes. It appeared to be a lively and bustling city.
Han Li's eyes narrowed as he suddenly asked, "How many cultivators are there living on this island? Are they all here in this city?"
Chen Jing faltered slightly upon hearing this before replying after some contemplation, "There are no exact population figures, but if the Qi Condensation cultivators are taken into account as well, then there are probably 30,000 to 40,000 inhabitants. Most of them live in this city while others are distributed over other spots on the island. There are even some powerful cultivators who have blasted cave abodes for themselves into the faces of mountains."
"I see." Han Li nodded with a thoughtful expression and didn't raise any other questions. The three of them reached the city a short while later.
At their altitude, they were able to clearly see everything within the small city.
Han Li swept his gaze down below and developed a slight interest in the stone towers situated at the center of the city, which were extending into the sky like eight heavenly pillars.
The stone towers were circular in shape and each and every one of them appeared to be around 500 to 600 feet tall. Their surfaces were bumpy and uneven, with many mysterious runes and formation spells carved into the stone. These runes and formations were shimmering with feeble spiritual light and were extremely attention-grabbing.
Even Han Li couldn't help but take a few more glances at the towers.
"Those eight stone towers can activate the city's protective formation. They were designed by a renowned formation master in our Scattered Star Seas. Once activated, the formation's power is definitely not inferior to the protective formation of the major sects. The towers have Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed in them 24 hours a day in order to ensure that they can be activated at any moment. This formation has saved the city from destruction on several occasions and has proved to be extremely useful."
Han Li's heart stirred upon hearing this as he asked, "Oh? Are there demon beasts attacking this island?"
"Hehe, please be at ease, Senior; I'm referring to events that took place many years in the past. Ever since the mines on Green Spirit Island were split among us humans and demon beasts, those demon beasts have never attacked this island again. Let's get down now. The market is just over there and I happen to know a few shops that specialize in selling high-grade spirit stones. I can introduce them to you, Senior," Chen Hing replied with a smile before pointing toward the southern region of the city, awaiting further instructions from Han Li.
