"Golden seal text!"
Han Li's pupils abruptly contracted upon hearing this.
"Indeed. We were actually with several other fellow Daoists, but they've all since perished. We discovered that golden seal text cultivation art with those Rong beings in a certain secluded cave." The elderly man paused here momentarily as he heaved a long sigh.
Han Li merely appraised him and didn't urge the elderly man to continue; he knew that a detailed elaboration would follow.
Sure enough, following a brief pause, the elderly man continued, "However, before we had a chance to break that restriction and record the entire cultivation art, we fell into a trap sprung by the Rong beings. Everyone else perished, while Fairy Yue and I only barely managed to get away using secret techniques. However, in doing so, we had severely depleted our energy and couldn't take any further risks. However, you can certainly give it a try if you're interested in this cultivation art, Brother Han. By the way, this secret cave was extremely obscure, so there might be other treasures in there aside from that golden seal text cultivation art."
"Oh? Is that so? Where is this secret cave you speak of? Also, it's already been so long; wouldn't the Rong beings have already secured the treasures in the cave and left?" Han Li asked.
"Don't worry, Brother Han; the restrictions in the cave are extremely powerful, and the cultivation art was split up into several segments. Even though so much time has already passed, I'm sure those Rong beings wouldn't have been able to break all of the restrictions and obtain the complete cultivation art, so it's most likely the case that you still have a chance if you go there right away," Fairy Yue explained.
"How many Rong beings are there?" Han Li asked. He had to admit that he was a little tempted.
"Around 10 or so. Those Rong beings are extremely cunning; only half of them appeared initially and invited us to explore the secret cave together. However, as soon as we discovered the golden seal text cultivation art, the rest of them also suddenly appeared and turned on us, which is how we were reduced to such a sorry state. You are indeed quite powerful, but you won't be able to take on all of them at once in a direct confrontation. I'd advise that you sneak into the secret cave and strike when an opportunity arises," the elderly man suggested. He had clearly already thought extensively about this matter.
Han Li was silent for a moment before suddenly smiling as he asked, "If there are around 10 of them, then it will indeed be wise not to face them head-on. Also, I have another question: how did you two find out about this golden seal text cultivation art? And do you know what this cultivation art is? According to my knowledge, there aren't that many people in all of the Heavenly Cloud Races who can read this text."
The elderly man was rather hesitant, but the woman heaved a faint sigh, and admitted, "Your wisdom is truly unmatched, Brother Han; looks like we won't be able to hide anything from you. Truth be told, the seniors of our race told us about this secret cave and the golden seal text cultivation art. Fellow Daoist Xu and I are somewhat versed in golden seal text, and we know that the cultivation art is a secret technique known as the Spirit Refinement Technique."
"Spirit Refinement Technique?" A hint of surprise flashed through Han Li's eyes upon hearing this.
"According to one of the elders of our race, this technique is extremely profound and can enhance one's spiritual sense by severalfold. Once successfully cultivated, it'll be extremely effective even to breaking through Body Integration Stage bottlenecks in the future." The elderly man also came clean and revealed what he knew.
"A cultivation art that can enhance one's spiritual sense by severalfold? That's impossible! How could such an extraordinary cultivation art possibly exist?" Han Li exclaimed as his expression changed drastically.
"Fellow Daoist Xu is speaking the truth. The elders of our two races were actually made aware of the existence of this secret cave and the golden seal text cultivation art during one of the previous occasions where the Vast Glacial Realm was opened, so they know some details about this Divine Refinement Technique. However, the relevant records were quite ambiguous, and our two races had expended a lot of time and effort before they discovered the location of the secret cave.
"However, the restriction at the entrance of the secret cave is extremely profound and requires knowledge of golden seal text to be broken, so our two races have been searching arduously for information about golden seal text across the Thunder Continent for many years. Fellow Daoist Xu and I finally learned how to read golden seal text prior to the opening of the Vast Glacial Realm, which is why we attempted to break the restriction to access the cave. "Thinking about it now, it's far too much of a coincidence that those Rong beings just so happened to appear at the cave right after we broke the restriction; it's very likely that they've had their eyes on us for a while now, and they must've also been made aware of the existence of this secret cave through alternative avenues," Fairy Yue explained.
Han Li contemplated this information for a long while before finally replying, "If this Spirit Refinement Technique really is as extraordinary as you proclaim, then I wouldn't mind making a trip to secure it. However, I have no idea how to read golden seal text, so the cultivation method would be useless to me."
The elderly man could tell that Han Li was truly interested, and he hurriedly stepped in to seal the deal. "Hehe, that won't be an issue; as long as you can secure the cultivation art and are willing to give myself and Fairy Yue a replica copy each, we would be more than willing to teach you how to read golden seal text so you can use the cultivation art. That will be our repayment to you for taking this risk."
Fairy Yue remained silent, so she clearly also approved of this.
"In that case, looks like I have no choice but to make this trip. Brother Xu, give me a copy of your map." Han Li had finally made up his mind.
"Of course, Fellow Daoist Han, I'll make you a copy of the map right away," the elderly man agreed in an elated manner.
He flipped a hand over to produce a jade slip, which he placed against his forehead, and faint while light began to shimmer from it.
Mere moments later, the jade replicated the map within the elderly man's spiritual sense.
The elderly man then handed the jade slip over to Han li with a wide smile on his face, and said, "Do be careful, Brother Han; Fellow Daoist Yue and I will be awaiting your triumphant return!"
"The two of you can go and rest on that island over there. If I managed to obtain the golden seal text cultivation art, I'll be sure to come back here and reunite with the two of you,"Han Li replied as he accepted the jade slip.
Azure light then flashed from his body, and he flew away into the distance.
After just a few flashes, the azure light vanished into the distant sky.
After Han Li had completely disappeared from view, Fairy Yue withdrew her gaze, and asked, "What do you think of Fellow Daoist Han's chances, Brother Xu?"
The elderly man contemplated this question for a long while before replying, "It's hard to say. If he were a normal upper race being, he would naturally have next to no chance at all. However, he has displayed incredible powers that perhaps even surpass those of a holy race being. If luck is on his side, he should have a roughly 50% chance of success. Don't forget that there's also an extremely powerful Rong being among their ranks who managed to wound us even after we joined forces against him."
"50% is already quite fantastic! To think that our two races dedicated so much time and effort into this, only for those Rong beings to suddenly swoop in and foil our plans. If we don't manage to obtain the Spirit Refinement Technique, you and I will both be subjected to very unsavory fates," Fairy Yue sighed.
"There's no helping it; who would've thought that those Rong beings would suddenly turn up and foil our plans?" the elderly man also sighed in a resigned manner.
A cold expression appeared on Fairy Yue's face. "If I had known that those Rong beings were plotting against us from the very beginning, I would've refused to cooperate with them no matter what. We ended up being used as tools by them and broke many of the restrictions in that cave before they stabbed us in the back!"
The elderly man shook his head, and countered, "It wouldn't have made a difference. We had already opened the entrance to that secret cave, and they would've immediately attacked us had we refused to cooperate with them, so it would've happened sooner or later regardless. Furthermore, if the altercation had taken place outside the secret cave, we wouldn't have been able to take advantage of the cave's internal terrain and restrictions, and our chances of escape would've been even slimmer."
"That's true. We can only hope that Fellow Daoist Han will succeed now." Fairy Yue cast her gaze into the distance again.
Meanwhile, the elderly man stroked his beard and fell silent as a contemplative look appeared on his face.
At this point, Han Li was already tens of thousands of kilometers away, and he was flying through the air at an incredible speed.
During his flight, he narrowed his eyes as he placed the jade slip to his forehead, using his spiritual sense to glean the information within.
The elderly man had injected a lot of information into the jade slip; not only was there a map of the secret cave, there were even annotations denoting all of the paths in the cave that they'd explored before.
This would undoubtedly save him quite a bit of trouble.
"Spirit Refinement Technique, eh?" Han Li murmured to himself.
He had already been made fully aware of the benefits of having powerful spiritual sense after cultivating the Great Development Technique. If this secret technique really could multiply the power of his spiritual sense, then now only would it become easier for him to break through future bottlenecks, he would also be able to release more Gold Devouring Beetles at a time during battle.
On top of that, possessing powerful spiritual sense would be greatly beneficial to him in other areas such as formation crafting and pill refinement. As such, he was determined to get his hands on this extraordinary cultivation art.
Such a cultivation art could only exist in the True Immortal Realm; there was no way that he would be able to find something like this in the Spirit Realm, so he naturally wasn't willing to pass up this opportunity.
With that in mind, even the perpetually calm and steadfast Han Li was becoming slightly excited.
According to the map, the secret cave was about a day's flight away; it was quite remarkable that the elderly man and Fairy Yue had managed to escape so far even after expending so much energy.
As for the Rong beings who were situated in the secret cave, Han Li wasn't all that concerned about them now that he had fully recovered his magic power.
As long as there weren't any Body Integration Stage beings among them, he would always be able to escape even if he couldn't defeat all of his enemies.
With that in mind, Han Li no longer contemplated the matter any further, and a loud thunderclap suddenly erupted behind him as his Thunderstorm Wings appeared on his back.
He then made a hand seal, and his body shot forth through the air, vanishing into the distance in a flash.
In the next instant, he appeared over 1,000 feet away, then disappeared once again.
From a distance, it looked as if there were an azure and white thread that was teleporting through the air in a wraith-like manner.
Han Li was flying onward at full speed in case those Rong beings broke the restriction and took the golden seal text cultivation art.
The journey would've originally taken him a day to complete, but at his current speed, he would be able to get there in less than half a day.
