"Senior Martial Brother, have you forgotten about the devilish tribulation of the Kunwu Mountains and the demon beast rampage at the North Night Palace over 200 years ago? If I'm not mistaken, Fellow Daoist Han had participated in both of those prominent events, and he certainly wasn't just an inconsequential bystander, either," Yan Zhu replied calmly.
The silver-robed monk's heart jolted with shock upon hearing this as he turned to appraise Han Li again. "Kunwu Mountains? North Night Palace? Could it be that this man is the fugitive wanted by the Yin Sifting Sect and the North Night Palace?"
"It's been so many years; I'm surprised there are still people who remember me. So? Are you planning to capture me and hand me over to those two powers?" Han Li's expression remained quite calm, as if he were completely unfazed by the prospect of having to battle these cultivators.
Can Ku's heart jolted upon hearing Han Li's blunt admission, and his smile became rather forced. "Haha, of course not, Brother Han. The Yin Sifting Sect and the North Night Palace are quite powerful, but they have nothing to do with our Hidden Fortune Pavilion, so there's no reason for us to do their bidding. However, I truly have heard a lot about you, Brother Han. I head that Old Devil Qian of the Yin Sifting Sect and Master Arctic Dragon of the North Night Palace had all fallen by your hands, is that true?"
"I don't think any of you will believe me if I were to tell you that I didn't kill Old Devil Qian and Master Arctic Dragon," Han Li replied with a cold smile.
The silver-robed monk's expression turned rather grim as he said, "I heard that you were only a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator at the time, Brother Han. If you really did slay two late-Nascent Soul great cultivators at your cultivation base at the time, then you must be extraordinarily powerful now that you've progressed to the late-Nascent Soul Stage yourself. I really am looking forward to sparring with you now, Fellow Daoist Han."
Upon hearing the monk's bold challenge, Can Ku hurriedly interjected, "Surely there's no need for that, Master Yuan Zhi! If Brother Han truly wants to purchase the refinement method for the spatial pocket, then I'm sure we can work out a deal."
It appeared that after learning about Han Li's resounding feats, the lord of the Hidden Fortune Pavilion had changed his mind and no longer wanted to pit their guest grand elder against Han Li.
"You won't sway my decision, Fellow Daoist Can Ku. Even without this matter concerning the spatial pocket, I'm still determined to spar with Fellow Daoist Han. I've been stuck at the late-Nascent Soul Stage for many years, and I've been looking for fellow Daoists of the same cultivation base to test my skills against, as well as to see if I can learn some things through sparring that will assist in taking me to the next level. If Fellow Daoist Han really is as powerful as the rumors suggest, then there's no way that I'm giving up on this opportunity." The silver-robed monk seemed to be very determined.
Can Ku's expression immediately soured upon hearing this, and he turned Yan Zhu for assistance.
"There's no need for you to feel troubled, Benefactor Can. This is only a sparring match, and it'll be mutually beneficial to both Senior Martial Brother Yuan Zhi and Fellow Daoist Han. In all honesty, I also want to witness the power of the most elite cultivator that the Heavenly South Region has to offer," Yan Zhu said with a smile.
Can Ku was completely speechless.
"You know where I came from?" Upon hearing mention of the Heavenly South Region, Han Li's heart stirred as his expression darkened.
Yan Zhu seemed to be able to glean Han Li's thoughts, and he replied in an unhurried manner, "There's no need to be alarmed, Brother Han. You're naturally extremely mysterious to normal cultivators, but for major powers like our Lightning Sound Sect, it's not difficult to track down your origins. Do you really think that the Yin Sifting Sect and the North Night Palace are unaware of this information? It's just that they're wary of your powers and are pretending to be oblivious. After all, both sects have lost a great cultivator each, as well as several other Nascent Soul elders. They're currently far too busy dealing with other sects that are trying to take advantage of the situation to plot against them, so they don't have the spare capacity to come after you. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to live such a leisurely life in the Heavenly South Region these past years, Fellow Daoist Han."
Han Li's expression eased slightly upon hearing this, and he said, "That's true. I don't know about other sects, but the Yin Sifting Sect is most likely aware of my origins. However, I have no interest in sparring with a cultivator of the same cultivation base unless I stand to gain from it. Fellow Daoist Can Ku, I'm only willing to accept this challenge if you promise me that you'll hand over the refinement method should I defeat Master Yuan Zhi."
The silver-robed man faltered upon hearing this before turning to Can Ku.
Can Ku's expression became rather indecisive, but he made up his mind after a short while. A smile appeared on his face as he said, "Seeing as Fellow Daoist Han is this confident, it wouldn't be right for me to turn you down. If you can defeat Master Yuan Zhi in a sparring match, then I have no qualms offering up the refinement method for the spatial pocket."
Han Li chuckled as he rose to his feet, and immediately said, "That's all I needed to hear, Fellow Daoist Can Ku. Please enlighten me, Master Yuan Zhi. In all honesty, I'm actually very curious about Buddhist secret techniques as well; I hope you won’t disappoint me, Master Yuan Zhi." His words sent a stir running through all of the Core Formation cultivators present. They were also clearly very much looking forward to the upcoming sparring match.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhu stood off to the side in silence with a profound smile on his face.
A cold smile appeared on the silver-robed monk's face, and a hint of ferocity had appeared on his refined features.
"The Hidden Fortune Palace won't be big enough to house a sparring match between the two of you; how about we take this outside, Fellow Daoists? I'm sure the flight restriction won't be an issue to either of you," Can Ku suggested.
"I have no objections." The silver-robed monk nodded in response.
"We'll do as you say, Pavilion Lord Can." Han Li also accepted this arrangement in a nonchalant manner.
Thus, all of them immediately made their way out of the palace.
Everyone else remained standing on the spot, while Han Li and the silver-robed monk rose into the air. Han Li did so as a streak of azure light, while a white lotus flower appeared beneath the monk's feet, slowly carrying him into the air.
Moments later, the two of them appeared in the sky high above the Hidden Fortune Palace, facing one another with a distance of several hundred feet between them.
The silver-robed monk stared at Han Li for a while before suddenly uttering a Buddhist prayer, upon which a layer of faint golden light appeared over his face.
Han Li's lackadaisical expression faded upon seeing this, and his brows furrowed as he suddenly asked, "I had heard that Master Yuan Zhi was a Buddhist vajra protector; could it be that you've cultivated the legendary Brightjade Arts?"
The silver-robed monk faltered slightly upon hearing Han Li identify his cultivation art, but a proud expression quickly appeared on his face as he replied, "Oh? I didn't think that you would be so knowledgeable about our Buddhist cultivation arts, Fellow Daoist Han. Indeed, I am cultivating the Brightjade Arts. Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist Han."
He joined his palms together and began to utter a series of Buddhist chants, following which silver runes surfaced over his silver robes. At the same time, all of the skin on his body began to take on a faint golden hue, making him appear as if he were a golden Buddha that had descended upon this world.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but his heart jolted slightly upon seeing this.
The signs displayed by the monk clearly indicated that he already mastered the fourth layer of the Brightjade Arts. This meant that his body was already as hard as the average treasure, so he would most likely be able to combat a normal flying sword with his bare hands alone.
However, if that was the extent of his powers, then he was naturally no match for Han Li.
Han Li wasted no further time with words as he swept his sleeve through the air. A crisp ringing sound immediately rang out as several tens of golden flying swords shot forth from his sleeve, transforming into streaks of light that were around a foot in length each as they circled around his body.
Immediately thereafter, Han Li made a hand seal and cast an incantation seal into the air.
All of the sword around him shuddered as they began to radiate brilliant golden light, multiplying by sevenfold in an instant to create several hundred identical streaks of light. All of a sudden, the entire sky had been illuminated by golden light, creating a dazzling and formidable golden wave.
Can Ku and all of the other spectating Core Formation cultivators' expressions changed in unison upon seeing this.
They could sense that just the golden swords that Han Li had summoned alone would be enough to vanquish an average Nascent Soul cultivator.
In contrast, the silver-robed monk's expression remained completely unchanged upon seeing this. He merely raised his hands, and red and green spiritual light shimmered in his hands at the same time, transforming into a crimson Buddhist staff that was several feet in length, as well as a string of shimmering green Buddhist beads.
Right at this moment, Han Li made another hand seal, and the several hundred streaks of golden light swept toward the silver-robed monk as a golden wave at Han Li's behest.
In response, the monk let loose a loud cry as he abruptly raised a hand. The crimson staff that he was holding immediately transformed into a crimson wyrm that pounced toward the wave of golden light. At the same time, he also raised the string of green Buddhist beast, which transformed into a green barrier of light that shielded his body within.
After doing all that, the monk cast his eyes downward and began to make a series of hand seals, appearing as if he were about to unleash some kind of extremely powerful ability.
Meanwhile, the crimson wyrm shot forth through the air and plunged headfirst into the golden light manifested from Han Li's Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords.
The wyrm was struck by over 100 swords at once, but it wasn't immediately torn into shreds as Han Li expected. Instead, it was baring its fangs and swinging its claws through the air, launching a ferocious counterattack against the golden swords around it.
"Myriad Year Flame Coral!" Han Li murmured to himself upon seeing this, and a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes.
After adding Auric Essence to all of his flying swords, they possessed immense destructive power. However, there were a few materials that in the human world that could still withstand his flying swords, and Myriad Year Flame Coral was one of those materials.
However, this material was even rarer than Auric Essence, yet this monk had somehow been able to source it and add it to his Buddhist staff. Furthermore, it appeared that the proportion of Myriad Year Flame Coral in the staff was quite high. Otherwise, it would definitely have been unable to remain unscathed in the face of so many flying swords.
Han Li was rather surprised by this development, and he immediately changed his plan of attack. A small proportion of his flying swords remained behind to combat the red wyrm while most of them skirted around and hurtled toward the silver-robed monk.
