“Oh? Is it not Ancestral Dragon blood?” Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this.
"Not only is it not Ancestral Dragon blood, it has nothing to do with a true Ancestral Dragon; only people outside the dragon race would make such a mistake. Then again, it's an understandable mistake to make; the aura being given off by that drop of blood is indeed a true dragon aura," the black-robed man chuckled.
"It sounds like you know what it is; would you be able to tell me?" Han Li asked.
"Of course. In reality, this item is only useful to the dragon race and is completely useless for everyone else. It's true that it's a drop of blood essence, but it belongs to the Nightmare Dragon rather than the Ancestral Dragon," the black-robed man revealed.
"Nightmare Dragon?" Han Li's brows furrowed slightly with befuddlement; it was clearly his first time hearing such a name.
"It's no surprise that you haven't heard of the Nightmare Dragon; there aren't even many people in the dragon race who are aware of such an existence. The Nightmare Dragon is an existence in the True Immortal Realm that's no less powerful than the esteemed Ancestral Dragon, but it's the patriarch of the devilish dragons, which are the sworn enemies of us true dragons. This Nightmare Dragon blood most likely descended from the True Immortal Realm, and this is only one drop of eight in total," the black-robed man explained.
"Eight? There are that many?" Han Li was quite stunned to hear this.
"The elders of our race were able to detect this number through special methods using their bloodline power, and that's why some of my brethren and I were sent out to all the realms to recover these drops of Nightmare Dragon blood. Even though this blood contains extremely enormous power from the Nightmare Dragon itself, it's also imbued with chaotic power that can only be slowly refined by us true dragons over time. If anyone else tries to refine this blood by force, not only will they be unable to access the energy in it, their magic power will be contaminated, thereby transforming them into a projection clone of the Nightmare Dragon.
"The elders suspect that the Nightmare Dragon intentionally sent its blood down into the lower realms for this purpose. As the sworn enemies of the devilish dragons, we naturally can't allow this sinister plan to come into fruition," the black-robed man said with a serious expression.
"In that case, not only is this blood useless to the rest of us, it's extremely dangerous as well. Having said that, with his Nightmare Dragon blood, the power of your race will be drastically enhanced in the near future; perhaps there will even be some of you ascending to the True Immortal Realm," Han Li mused.
The black-robed man immediately shook his head in response. "Refining Nightmare Dragon blood is nowhere near as simple as you think, Fellow Daoist. The blood is indeed imbued with extraordinary power, but the chaotic power contained within it will take an extremely long time to eradicate, and during this process, much of the energy in the blood will be lost as well. In the end, we'll be lucky if the blood even retains 10% of its original power. On top of that, this energy will only enhance one's magic power and save them some time in their cultivation.
"For true spirit beings, ascension is countless times more difficult than it is for others. Having said that, this blood could be consumed by some juniors below the Grand Ascension Stage, and there's a chance that it could help them break their bottleneck to become true spirits earlier than they otherwise would."
"In that case, your true dragon race will most likely be welcoming a few new true spirits soon," Han Li said.
"That is indeed a possibility, but whether it'll actually happen is still yet to be seen. All of us true dragons possess true spirit bodies from birth anyway, so even if we rely only on gradual accumulation over time, it's not too difficult for us to become true spirits. Alright, I've revealed everything about this situation to you; have you decided whether you're going to help me, Brother Han?" the black-robed man asked in a seemingly nonchalant manner.
Instead of directly answering this question, Han Li replied in an ambiguous manner, "Seeing as you're a friend of Fan Paozi's, and you'll be taking all responsibility publicly for this incident, there's no reason for me to refuse."
"Has Fan Paozi already given you an invitation for our Vast Spirit Dao Fruit Convention?" the black-robed man asked with a smile.
"Are you referring to this?" Han Li asked as he flipped a hand over to produce a shimmering silver dragon scale.
"That's right. If you're willing to help me here, I can assure you that I'll provide you with some minor assistance during the convention, thereby slightly increasing your chances of securing a dao fruit," the black-robed man said.
A contemplative look appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this. "After receiving this invitation, I did some research about this Dao Fruit Convention, but unfortunately, not many fellow daoists of the Spirit Realm seem to know about it; all they know is that invitations to this convention seem to be extremely difficult to obtain. I also heard that this dao fruit is renowned as the number one spirit fruit across all realms, but I don't know exactly what it can do."
"Hehe, even across all of the realms, only 1,000 people have been invited to the Myriad Spirit Dao Fruit Convention held on our dragon island. The only condition for receiving an invitation is that one must possess power close to or exceeding that of the average true spirit being. Senior Martial Brother Fan has extremely high standards, so it's truly remarkable that you were able to gain his acknowledgment, Brother Han. Perhaps it's a bit of an exaggeration to say that our dao fruit is the number one spirit fruit across all realms, but I'm sure most people will agree that it definitely belongs in the top three.
"After all, those who consume the fruit will attain Vast Spirit Dao Physiques for 10,000 years, during which time their cultivation and ability to learn and understand cultivation arts will be enhanced by around eightfold," the black-robed man chuckled.
"Eightfold!" Han Li was truly stunned to hear this, and an incredulous look appeared on his face.
"That's right. Each person can only consume a single Vast Spirit Dao Fruit in their life, consumption of the fruit can temporarily allow one to attain the legendary Vast Spirit Dao Physique. The physique won't assist you in battle, but it's incredibly useful for cultivation and mastering cultivation arts," the black-robed man said with a hint of yearning in his eyes.
"If this fruit really does possess such incredible abilities, then it's no exaggeration to say that it's the number one spirit fruit across all realms. However, it sounds like the fruit will be extremely difficult to obtain even if one gets to participate in this convention; how will you be able to assist me? Even if you're a true dragon yourself, I'm sure it'll be very difficult for you to swing things in my favor when it comes to obtaining such a precious treasure," Han Li said in a calm manner.
"Rest assured, Brother Han; I've already been assigned the role of one of the 36 overseers of the convention for this edition. On the surface, I won't be able to help you, but I can pass some information about other people onto you, as well as some other obscure information that's inaccessible to outsiders," the black-robed man replied.
"Is that it?" Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.
"You should be satisfied with that, Fellow Daoist. Vast Spirit Dao Fruits are extremely precious, and all of the people attending the convention will be powerful beings. On top of that, the past track record of the convention indicates that only one out of over 100 people will obtain a dao fruit, while others will only be able to taste some spirit juice made from diluted dao fruit juice. This spirit juice is also extremely precious to cultivators like us, but it's completely incomparable to the dao fruit itself.
"I would already be making an exception by providing information to help you. Perhaps my assistance will be the difference between obtaining a dao fruit and failing to do so," the black-robed man said with a faint smile.
"You're right, I was being too greedy there. In that case, I agree to this deal," Han Li decided after a brief moment of contemplation.
"I knew you'd agree, Brother Han. I'll hide here for a few days, and when the time arrives, we'll be able to leave this continent together," the black-robed man said in an elated manner.
"That's not an issue, but I only purchased three teleportation spots; how will you be able to accompany me during the teleportation without being noticed?" Han Li asked.
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist; I've cultivated an imitation secret technique that can allow me to pose as an accessory, and there's a good chance I'll even be able to fool a true immortal with this secret technique," the black-robed man replied in a confident manner.
Han Li's expression eased slightly upon hearing this. "Alright, then there shouldn't be any problems."
"Seeing as everything has been decided, I won't disrupt you any longer; I need to go and find a room to rest as well. I've been searching for this drop of Nightmare Dragon blood nonstop these past few years, and I haven't truly slept once during this time," the black-robed man said as he rose to his feet, then departed after extending a parting salute.
Right as the black-robed man was departing, a peculiar look appeared on Han Li's face as he said, "I hope to be able to see you in your true form next time we meet, Fellow Daoist."
The black-robed man stiffened slightly upon hearing this, following which a peal of tinkling female laughter suddenly rang out. "So you've already seen through my disguise. In that case, I'll present myself to you in my true appearance next time we meet. By the way, my name is Tian Fei'er; make sure you remember that."
Immediately thereafter, she vanished from the secret chamber in a flash.
"Tian Fei'er, eh? She's most likely quite an important figure in the dragon race," Han Li murmured to himself with a contemplative expression.
Four days later, Han Li was in the process of meditating in the secret chamber when a burst of crimson flames flew into the room before landing in his grasp.
Ming Zun's calm voice then rang out from within the flames. "Fellow Daoist Han, the teleportation formation is ready."
