The Long Family patriarch would be traveling with Elder Hui, Han Li had been paired up with the woman from the Ye Family, and the Spirit beings had also split up into two groups that were led by Holy Maiden Thousand Autumns and Bai Qi.
After flying for close to 10,000 kilometers, the woman from the Ye Family suddenly stopped, then swept a sleeve through the air to summon a black flying boat.
This was a black and completely nondescript devilish treasure that was over 100 feet in length, and the woman from the Ye Family flew onto the canoe before making an inviting hand gesture toward Han Li.
Han Li naturally accepted the invitation and flew onto the boat as well.
The woman from the Ye Family smiled, and said, "This Blackjade Boat is a flying devilish treasure that I purchased in Blood Crow City. It's quite fast, and traveling in it would make us more inconspicuous."
"This is indeed quite a fine devilish treasure; that's very thoughtful of you, Fairy Ye," Han Li said with a smile.
"You're far too kind, Brother Han; I'm sure a treasure of this caliber is nothing in your eyes. Let's continue our conversation in here." The woman raised a hand as she spoke to summon a ball of white light, which transformed a yellow cloth puppet that stood on guard while she made her way toward the cabin at the center of the boat.
Han Li nodded in response and followed her into the cabin.
The cabin was around several tens of feet in size, and it was complete with all types of basic furniture; there were even several black futons sitting in the corner.
The cabin appeared to be able to house four or five people at once, which was quite spacious considering the size of the boat.
Han Li and the woman from the Ye Family each took a seat on a chair, following which the latter said, "Brother Han, now that there's no one else with us, I'd like to discuss something with you in private. What I'm about to talk about next concerns the route that we're going to take, so I didn't want anyone to overhear us."
"Oh? Please go ahead."
Han Li immediately recalled that the woman seemed to have chosen this route in advance and had taken the initiative to invite him to form a partnership with her. She was the only one among this group of companions that he was on relatively friendly terms with, and it didn't really make much of a difference to him what route they took, so he was naturally willing to follow her lead.
However, it now seemed that this woman had some type of ulterior motive.
"You possess heavenly phoenix blood within your body, right, Fellow Daoist? There's no need to try and deny it; I've heard about the transformations that you displayed during the battle of Deep Heaven City. On top of that, there is a secret technique passed down in our Ye Family that allows me to sense heavenly phoenix aura when it's present. However, what I find to be very peculiar is that I can also several other auras from you, and each of them is no less powerful than the heavenly phoenix aura. I can't decipher exactly what they are, but thinking back to your transformations, I assume you have several types of true spirit blood within your body, is that right, Brother Han?"
Han Li's heart jolted slightly upon hearing this, but his expression remained calm as he replied, "Seeing as you've already figured it out, I'll admit that I did indeed manage to obtain some true spirit bloods during my travels in the primordial world. Why have you decided to ask me about something like this now?"
"There's no need to be concerned, Brother Han; I have no interest in the origins of your true spirit bloods. However, seeing as you're able to fuse different true spirit bloods into your body, I was wondering if you'd be willing to refine another type of true spirit blood," the woman from the Ye Family replied in a nonchalant manner.
"What do you mean by that? Do you possess another type of true spirit blood?" Han Li asked as a hint of surprise flashed through his eyes.
"I don't have any true spirit blood on my hands right now, but we can find some in a place that we're going to be passing through," the woman replied with a mysterious smile.
"What place are you referring to?" Han Li asked as a slightly cautious look appeared in his eyes.
"Iron Sand Ridge," the woman from the Ye Family replied without any hesitation.
"Iron Sand Ridge? Isn't that the territory of the Azure Wing Race? What true spirit blood can be found there?" Han Li asked in a surprised manner.
"The Azure Wing Race isn't a very powerful race in the Elder Devil Realm, but there are some special beings among them who have inherited true spirit blood; it's just that very few people know about this," the woman from the Ye Family said with a cold smile.
"Who are these special beings that you're referring to Fellow Daoist Ye?" Han Li asked.
"I'm naturally referring to the core members of the Azure Wing Race. Just like the true spirit families of our human race, not everyone in the Azure Wing Race inherits the true spirit bloodline; only an extremely small proportion of them are blessed with such a bloodline. Regardless of how pure the bloodline is, any Azure Wing being verified to possess a true spirit bloodline will immediately enjoy a meteoric rise in status in the race," the woman from the Ye Family explained.
"In that case, there must be many people plotting against them, so they're most very heavily guarded by their brethren; how are you so confident that we can obtain their true spirit blood? On top of that, your Ye Family already possesses the heavenly phoenix bloodline, so why are you willing to take such a risk? Could it be that your Ye Famly also mastered a secret technique to fuse other types of true blood?" Han Li asked.
"Of course not, but do you know what type of true spirit bloodline the Azure Wing Race has inherited?" the woman from the Ye Family chuckled.
"Please enlighten me, Fairy Ye," Han Li prompted.
"Are you aware of the most renowned types of ancient true spirit birds, Fellow Daoist Han?" Instead of giving a direct answer, the woman from the Ye Family replied with a question.
"I do. Aside from the heavenly phoenix, there's the Kun Peng, Ghost Dove, and Azure Luan," Han Li replied.
"The bloodline inherited by the Azure Wing Race belongs to the Azure Luan, and they possess some of the Azure Luan's innate abilities; do you understand why I'm' willing to take such a risk now? Truth be told, I had discovered this even before entering the Elder Devil Realm, and if it weren't for this, I may not have been willing to take this risk. In a sense, this Azure Luan True Blood is even more important to our Ye Family than the Spirit Cleansing Pond and Clean Spirit Lotus, so I truly hope that you can lend me your assistance. Speaking of which, the Long Family and the Spirit beings clearly all have ulterior motives as well. Otherwise, why they agree to split up so easily?" the woman from the Ye Family urged.
Han Li was ecstatic to hear this, but he still maintained a calm facade as he said, "I see. I heard that the Azure Luan and heavenly phoenix originally share the same bloodline, but they evolved into two different types of beings due to the different abilities that they cultivated. You're trying to take advantage of this opportunity to obtain another type of true spirit blood that the members of your Ye Family can inherit, is that correct?"
Azure Luan True Blood was one of the types of true blood in the 12 Awakening Transformations that he could refine, so if he could obtain it, he would be able to take another major stride in the cultivation of his 12 Awakening Transformations.
At the stage where his 12 Awakening Transformations was currently at, one more type of true spirit blood could immediately enhance the powers of his other transformations significantly.
"Indeed, Brother Han. Our Ye Family was able to inherit the heavenly phoenix bloodline, so I'm sure their bodies wouldn't reject the bloodline of the Azure Luan. If we can inherit this bloodline as well, then it'll be a simple matter for us to overtake the Long Family as the number one true spirit family in the future. On top of that, if I can refine the Azure Luan bloodline and combine it with by heavenly phoenix bloodline, my powers will also be enhanced significantly, and there's even a chance I'll be able to progress to the Grand Ascension Stage someday." The woman's eyes began to light up as she spoke.
Han Li contemplated the proposal for a long while before finally asking in an indifferent voice, "What will I be getting out of this aside from the true spirit blood?"
The woman from the Ye Family was ecstatic to hear this, and she immediately replied, "You'll get a huge sum of spirit stones that's not inferior to what a normal sect would be able to accumulate over a span of 10,000 years, and our Ye Family will owe you a massive favor. If you ever need our assistance for anything, our family will be willing to give you our unreserved aid on one occasion."
"Alright, let's shake on it," Han Li said as he extended a hand out of his sleeve.
The woman immediately extended a hand as well, and they shook hands as an elated look appeared on her face.
"The Azure Luan True Blood must be very difficult to obtain considering the heavy price you're willing to pay, right, Fairy Ye? I've already agreed to help you, so tell me where the difficulties lie," Han Li prompted in a calm voice.
The woman's smile faded upon hearing this, and she gave a response that was quite a shock for Han Li. "It is indeed going to be a very troublesome task, Brother Han. If we want to obtain the true blood, we'll most likely have to face a Sacred Ancestor."
