"Those people are truly foolish; they mistook a medicine spirit bone as a normal true spirit bone! The former owner of this bone will probably die from remorse if they were to learn of this!" Han Li smiled as he replied in his mind, seemingly in a very good mood as well.
"This medicine spirit bone can virtually replace around a dozen types of legendary holy medicines for pill refinement, but it takes someone with your unparalleled discerning eye to identify if, Master," Qu'er said in a flattering manner.
"I was only able to just barely identify it as I had seen records of it in an ancient tome from a foreign race. How did you know that it was something special right away? Were you aware from the very beginning that this was a bone from a profound medicine spirit?" Han Li asked in a seemingly nonchalant voice.
"Before Master Immortal Zoysia departed, he had bestowed upon me some memories regarding profound medicine spirits. If the spirit body can refine and fuse with this spirit bone, then not only would its magic power be severely enhanced, it can even attain some of the abilities of the medicine spirit that the bone once belonged to, and that would give it a very good chance of breaking through its bottleneck to the Grand Ascension Stage!" Qu'er replied in an extremely excited manner.
After cultivating for so many years within the spirit body, Qu'er had virtually already become one with it. As such, if the spirit body's powers could be significantly enhanced, then she would benefit immensely as well.
"The spirit body is the body of the immortal zoysia, so it encountered no bottlenecks prior to reaching the Body Integration Stage. It did encounter a few bottlenecks after reaching the Body Integration Stage, but it was able to break through all of them with ease. I had been concerned that it would be very difficult for it to advance beyond the late-Body Integration Stage, but with this medicine spirit bone, that's no longer an issue. I have to say, I'm really envious of you spirit beings sometimes. The obstacles you encounter for your breakthroughs are less than a tenth as grueling of what normal living beings have to experience; as soon as you accumulate enough power, you can easily make breakthroughs," Han Li sighed.
"But Master, you have to remember that it often takes us spirit medicines hundreds, even thousands of times longer than normal living beings to accumulate magic power. If we encounter the same level of difficulty in our bottlenecks, how could a profound medicine spirit possibly come into existence?" Qu'er giggled.
Han Li smiled, and replied, "I'm naturally aware of that. Alright, this medicine spirit bone is clearly extremely old, but there should be many remnant signs left within it. Identify which profound medicine spirit it belonged to, then refine it right away. Hehe, come to think of it, only another medicine spirit like you will be able to identify the signs within this bone."
"Rest assured, Master; give me a few days, and I'll be able to determine which type of profound medicine spirit this bone belonged to. However, even if the spirit body progresses to the Grand Ascension Stage, my inferior cultivation base means that I'll only be able to make use of around 50% of the spirit body's powers at most. Also, Grand Ascension Stage medicine spirits can't compare with normal Grand Ascension Stage beings; they'll only be especially adept in concealment and movement techniques," Qu'er reminded in a hesitant voice.
"Oh? Is that so? That's alright, an ally with half the power of a Grand Ascension Stage being is enough to help me dominate the Spirit Realm," Han Li replied with a nonchalant smile.
"That's true. However, it will most likely take over 100 years before the spirit body's magic power can reach the pinnacle of the late-Body Integration Stage, so you'll have to be patient for a while, Master. During this time, I'll need to control the entirety of the spirit body's magic power to refine this medicine spirit bone, so I won't be able to assist you in battle," Qu'er said with a smile.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he replied in a calm manner, "I'm willing to wait for such a powerful ally. I have other trump cards up my sleeve, so I should be able to ensure self-preservation during my time in the Elder Devil Realm. There's no need for you to worry about anything; you can begin refining the spirit bone right away."
Immediately thereafter, azure light flashed within his sleeve, and a small green spirit bone that was only several inches in size appeared in his grasp before instantly vanishing once again.
"Yes, Master; I'll be sure to refine the medicine spirit bone as soon as possible!" Qu'er replied in an elated manner before falling silent.
Han Li smiled and removed his cloak before continuing onward.
As opposed to returning to the inn, he was planning to visit a nearby materials shop instead.
Two days ago, he had visited this shop and hadn't found anything that had caught his eye, but the shopkeeper had told him that a large batch of materials would be arriving in two days, and among this batch of materials were several large pieces of Foreign Devilish Metal.
Han Li immediately made a mental note of this, and was naturally paying the shop a visit now that the two days had passed by. He wanted to see if he could find any other beads that contained that mysterious energy within the pieces of Foreign Devilish Metal.
After all, just a single one of those beads could save him over 100 years of arduous cultivation, so he was certainly interested to acquire more.
However, just as Han Li turned the corner, a pair of burly devilish men suddenly appeared in his path with cold expressions.
Han Li immediately ascertained both of them to be at the mid-Spatial Tempering Stage, and one was emanating a scorching aura, while the other was releasing a bone-chilling one, so it was quite clear that they were using special devilish cultivation arts.
He stopped around 30 to 40 feet away from them in an expressionless manner, and asked, "Do you need something? If not, then please step aside; I have important business to attend to."
"We have no business with you, but our mistress does. She would like to invite you for a chat," one of the two devilish men said in a cold voice as he pointed toward a certain direction.
Han Li turned his attention toward that direction to find there was a pub, within which a devilish woman in a long black dress was appraising him from one of the tables.
Their eyes met, and the woman put on a seductive smile. At the same time, she transmitted her voice to Han Li. "Why are you in such a hurry, Fellow Daoist? How about we have a drink together? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."
"Are you here for that spirit bone?" Han Li asked in a calm voice.
"Hehe, you're a smart man, Fellow Daoist. Indeed, I'm here for the spirit bone. If you're willing to hand it over to me, I can offer you some other treasures that will definitely be at least equal in value," the devilish woman chuckled.
"I have no interest in handing the spirit bone over to anyone," Han Li said without any hesitation before stepping forward to pass through between the two devilish men.
The devilish woman's smile immediately gave way to a vicious expression upon hearing this, and her lips tremored as she transmitted an instruction to the two devilish men.
The pair of devilish men hesitated momentarily upon hearing this, then converged toward Han Li in a seemingly slow and steady manner, but their scorching and freezing auras were sweeping toward Han Li in unison.
The two auras intertwined and enhanced one another significantly, trying to force Han Li back.
If Han Li were an ordinary Spatial Tempering Stage being, then he'd have no choice but to comply, but Han Li remained completely expressionless as golden light flashed from his body, and the two auras crashed into his protective spiritual light.
A resounding boom akin to an explosive thunderclap rang out, and an extremely fearsome aura emerged from Han Li's body for a split second.
Two auras, one hot and one cold surged forth in a frenzy, and the two devilish beings' hearts jolted as they tried to oppose this aura with their own.
However, in the next instant, both of them let loose cries of pain, and they stumbled back as if they had become inebriated. With each backward step they took, the two of them would throw up a mouthful of blood each.
Only throwing up seven or eight mouthfuls of blood each did they barely manage to steady themselves, but both of them had turned deathly pale. On top of that, one of them had been completely charred black, while the other had a layer of white frost over his body.
Both of them wore expressions of incredulity, and the devilish woman immediately stood up in astonishment, but she could only look on as Han Li departed, not daring to pursue him.
Thus, Han Li passed through the two devilish men in a calm and collected manner, continuing on his way without even turning his head once.
Such a massive commotion naturally attracted the attention of the devilish beings nearby, but most of them only briefly appraised and discussed the situation before returning to what they were doing, seemingly not paying the incident much heed.
After all, Blood Crow City was currently filled with outsiders, and minor conflicts like this were an extremely common occurrence.
After the two devilish men forcibly repressed their internal injuries, they made their way over to the devilish woman with sullen expressions. "Mistress, please forgive us for our ineptitude."
The devilish woman took a deep breath to compose herself before speculating, "The two of you combined possess peak Spatial Tempering Stage powers; how was he able to brush you off so easily? Could it be that he's a devilish lord in disguise?"
"That's most likely the case. Do you recall the three brothers of the Nan Family that we encountered a few days ago, Mistress? The three of them combined can even put up a fight against an early-stage devilish lord, and it's very suspicious that they've arrived in this city in disguise. It seems that many unfathomably powerful beings have appeared in Blood Crow City; could it be that something big is about to happen soon?" one of the devilish men murmured in a concerned manner.
