Despite Han Li's steadfast demeanor, he was quite taken aback to hear this, and he chuckled, "You want to accept me as your master? Is that supposed to be a joke? You've only just met me and know nothing about my personality; what if I were to treat you even worse than the Asura Spider Race?"
"Were you the one who eradicated those Asura Spider Race spies outside, Senior?" the elderly man asked.
"I didn't take care of them in person, but I was involved," Han Li replied in an ambiguous manner.
"In that case, you must be aware of the current situation our race is facing, right, Senior?" the elderly man asked in a grim manner.
"I do. However, there are countless similar cases across all of the realms out there; that's not a reason for me to intervene. I don't see any benefit in accepting you, so why would I do that when I could risk offending other powerful beings of the same caliber as myself?" Han Li asked.
"You've already taken care of those spies and come to visit us in person, so there must be something that we can do for you. As long as you agree to accept us, we'll be willing to do anything for you. Us Space Fish beings are rather adept in control over spatial power; perhaps that won't be able to directly assist you in battle, but we're more than capable of opening up small spaces and managing cave abodes," the elderly man replied in an extremely earnest manner.
"Hehe, you make a compelling case. There is indeed something that you can do for me. Setting everything aside for now, do you recognize this thing?" Han Li flipped a hand over to summon the blue bead as he spoke.
As soon as the bead appeared, it immediately began to emit a buzzing sound, resonating with the elderly man in a peculiar manner.
Much to Han Li's surprise, the elderly man wasn't all that surprised to see the bead. Instead, he sighed, "That's the Domain Bead. As expected, our sacred treasure has fallen into your hands."It seemed as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
"So this is a sacred treasure of your race? You seemed to already have been aware that it was in my possession," Han Li said as his eyes narrowed slightly.
"I only just found out not long ago. Please take a look at this, Senior." The elderly man raised an arm as he spoke to reveal a peculiar symbol on his wrist.
The symbol was identical in shape to the bead that Han Li was holding, and it was also flashing with faint blue light.
"This sacred symbol is something that only the past chieftains of the Air Fish Race can possess. Aside from its purpose as a mark of identification, its main purpose is to detect the sacred treasure of our race. At my current cultivation base, I'll be able to sense the exact location of the Domain Bead as long as it's within a radius of 100 kilometers around me; this is why I was willing to immediately accept you as the master of our race. I believe that this is a sign from the heavens. Otherwise, how would our sacred treasure have fallen into your hands?" the elderly man said in a serious manner.
"Interesting. You can stand up now. I happened to obtain this treasure by chance. Seeing as it's the sacred treasure of your race, it must have some other important purpose aside from the power of laws contained within it, right?" Han Li asked with an intrigued expression.
"That's right, this Domain Bead is an extremely rare treasure that contains a realm in itself! However, back when our race first began to fall into decline many years ago, the treasure was sealed by a powerful being in our race using a secret technique. As such, I've only ever heard legends of the treasure's abilities," the elderly man replied in a respectful manner as he rose to his feet.
A hint of surprise appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this. "Oh? That does make it an extremely precious spatial treasure. Did you know that this treasure was sealed in that glacial pond?"
"I did. The forefathers of our race intentionally stored the Domain Bead in that glacial pond so that other powerful beings wouldn't hunt us down over the treasures. After all, we didn't have sufficient power to protect it, so it would've only spelled trouble for us. As such, it was mandated that the sacred treasure could only be retrieved once our race became powerful enough to protect it. Unfortunately, we never managed to make a resurgence. Instead, we've been falling further and further into decline, to the extent that we're almost unable to even pass down our bloodline anymore. Thus, the sacred treasure became completely pointless to us," the elderly man explained in a resigned manner.
"It seems that your forefathers made a very wise decision. Otherwise, the Asura Spider Race would've taken the treasure from you long ago. Speaking of which, I saw them retrieve another rock that was also imbued with the law of space in that glacial pond; what was that thing?" Han Li asked.
"That is another sacred treasure of our race known as the Engraved Spirit Stone; it serves no other purpose than to help powerful beings master the power of space."
"I see." Han Li looked down at the bead in his hand with a contemplative expression.
The elderly man gritted his teeth with a hesitant expression before continuing, "Senior, if you're willing to accept our race, then we'd be willing to offer our blood essence to erase the mark left on the Domain Bead by our forefathers so that you can refine it for yourself. This sacred treasure has been refined by the powerful beings of our race in the past, and ownership cannot be transferred through normal refinement methods. I also know a cultivation art that will allow you to easily control this treasure.
"Of course, the prerequisite for all of this is that you have to be quite powerful even among Grand Ascension Stage beings. Otherwise, it'll be very difficult for you to repress the backlash from this bead. As for the Asura Spider Race, they can't leave this realm easily due to some special reasons, so you don't have to worry about offending them."
"I am indeed very interested in this treasure, but I'm afraid it'll be very difficult for me to take all of you with me as I entered this realm through a special method. Unless I make all of you my spirit beasts and store you in my spirit beast bracelet, I won't be able to take you with me when I depart from this realm. As for those Asura Spiders, they pose no threat to me so even if they do come after me, I'll be capable of opposing them," Han Li said.
"If that's your only concern, then there's a very simple solution. After you refine the Domain Bead, we'll be able to enter the realm within the bead and leave this realm with you," the elderly man replied in an ecstatic manner.
"That's a viable option, but can the realm within the Domain Bead really contain all of you? And how long will it take for me to refine the treasure? I only have a few more days left in this realm," Han Li said.
"Rest assured, Senior, the area of the realm within the Domain Bead definitely ranks among the top treasures of its kind. As for the time it'll require to refine the bead, with the assistance of our entire race, it'll only take around two to three days for you to successfully refine it," the elderly man immediately replied.
Han Li contemplated the situation for a moment before nodding in response. "Oh? I didn't think that the realm inside the treasure would be so vast. I can afford to wait two or three days. In that case, it's decided; as long as I can refine this Domain Bead, I'll protect your Space Fish Race for as long as I live."
It wasn't a difficult task for him to integrate such a weak branch of beings into the human race.
The elderly man was ecstatic to hear this, and he immediately fell to his knees before kowtowing again. "Thank you, Senior! I'll begin the preparations right away; please wait for me."
He didn't know how Han Li was going to treat them, but it was surely going to be better than living under the rule of the Asura Spiders, which were slaughtering them as they pleased, placing them at constant risk of ending their bloodline inheritance.
"Go on, I'll stay here and study this treasure in the meantime," Han Li instructed with a wave of his hand.
"Yes, I'll be taking my leave now, Senior." Only then did the elderly man rise to his feet before departing in a respectful manner.
……
Several hours later, a shimmering silver formation was slowly taking shape on a plot of empty land situated between around a dozen triangular buildings.
Countless Space Fish beings were busy constructing the formation, while another group of Space Fish beings were walking onto a tall platform that had just been constructed on the edge of the formation.
They then slit their wrists using sharp blades, allowing their blood to flow into a giant azure cauldron that was around as half as tall as a grown man.
Close to half of the cauldron had already been filled, and a translucent blue bead that was flashing with faint spiritual light was floating at the center of the pool of blood.
At this moment, Han Li was hovering in the air above the giant formation, appraising the unfolding scene with his arms crossed.
The Space Fish beings were very efficient, completing a series of very complex preparatory steps in a short time.
It seemed that it wouldn't even take the full three days for him to refine the Domain Bad.
He was naturally very eager to truly attain such a powerful spatial treasure, and he really wanted to know what the realm inside the treasure was like.
……
On the Blood Sky Continent of the Spirit Realm, a resounding boom suddenly rang out from a certain ancient altar that was embedded into the ground, following which a burst of energy fluctuations was released, forcibly scattering all of the earth around the altar.
Immediately thereafter, a five-colored light formation appeared in mid-air, and a translucent figure emerged.
"I've finally completed my descent. As expected, the spiritual Qi is far less abundant here than in the True Immortal Realm," the figure sighed to himself as he inspected his surroundings.
