Chapter 2273

"What does Brother Mo mean by this..." Han Li immediately understood the other meaning in the old man's words and asked somewhat surprised.

"Brother Ao's next heavenly tribulation will likely descend in a few years. At that time, you and I will have to personally protect him," Mo Jianli sighed and said solemnly.

"What? Fellow Daoist Ao's heavenly tribulation is coming?" Even though Han Li had always been exceptionally calm, his expression changed slightly upon hearing this, his gaze turning toward Ancestor Ao Xiao.

"Grandfather, is this true?" Yin Yue, who had been smiling, saw her face turn pale.

"Hehe, the heavenly tribulation should have arrived over a thousand years ago, but this old man used a special method to delay it until now. Although this approach allowed this old man more buffer time, relatively speaking, the heavenly tribulation will definitely be more violent than the original one when it descends. However, I never had high hopes for this heavenly tribulation, so this approach was still more beneficial than harmful. With this thousand years of time, Ling'er, you have finally advanced to the Body Integration stage, and with Han kid looking after you, I can finally feel at ease," Ancestor Ao Xiao said with a chuckle after a moment of silence.

"So, Grandfather did this self-destructive thing just for me," Yin Yue's voice trembled slightly.

"Ling'er, this doesn't have much to do with you. Even without you, at that time, the Demon Realm already had intentions of invading our Spirit Realm, and this old man would have made the same choice," Ancestor Ao Xiao said solemnly.

Yin Yue shook her head repeatedly, clearly not believing it.

"Fellow Daoist Ao, is there truly no hope of passing this heavenly tribulation? If you need any treasures, I can try to help you find them," Han Li furrowed his brows and said thoughtfully.

"Before using the secret technique to delay the heavenly tribulation, I might have had a one-tenth chance. But now, I probably don't even have half a percent. As for tribulation-passing treasures, this old man naturally prepared them long ago, and everything that could be used has been collected. The remaining few that haven't been found are things that can be met but not sought, so this old man won't hope for them anymore," Ancestor Ao Xiao sighed and said.

"Half a percent? This probability is too low. This won't do. Grandfather, is there really no other way to increase the probability of passing the tribulation?" Yin Yue's eyes were slightly red, and she asked, shaking her head repeatedly.

"A way? If Fellow Daoist Han's disciple with the Hidden Lightning Root were a Grand Ascension existence, perhaps he could help me increase my chances by another ten percent. But now, it has no effect on my heavenly tribulation," Ancestor Ao Xiao said without hesitation.

Hearing this, Yin Yue's face turned even paler.

Han Li and Mo Jianli looked at each other and could only smile bitterly.

If they were to temporarily raise Young Master Hai's cultivation to the Body Integration stage, these Grand Ascension existences might be able to manage it with some effort, but reaching the same Grand Ascension stage was something not even worth thinking about.

As for Han Li's few Extreme Mountains, although they had miraculous effects in resisting heavenly lightning tribulations, unfortunately, they had long since been refined for his own use, so he naturally couldn't take them out to lend.

"There is one thing that might be of some use to Brother Ao Xiao's tribulation, perhaps increasing the chance of passing it by ten or twenty percent," Mo Jianli said after his expression changed uncertainly for a while.

"Senior Mo, what is it?" Yin Yue's spirits lifted upon hearing this.

Ancestor Ao Xiao showed a look of surprise, as if he had never heard Mo Jianli mention this before.

Han Li's expression shifted, and he also revealed a listening expression.

"Fellow Daoist Ao Xiao, you should know Ancestor Stone Heart," Mo Jianli didn't answer directly, instead changing the topic toward Ancestor Ao Xiao.

"Ancestor Stone Heart, naturally I know him. Wasn't he that Cloud-Peak race Grand Ascension cultivator who entered the Beginning Demon Land with us? I even spoke a few words with him, but didn't he end up perishing in the ancient seal? Why, does the thing you mentioned have something to do with him?" Ancestor Ao Xiao replied after pondering for a moment.

"Although Ancestor Stone Heart didn't have treasures to resist the heavenly tribulation, the news about that thing was passed on from his mouth. That thing should be within the Spirit race," Mo Jianli said, a hint of strangeness appearing on his face.

"Those alien race Grand Ascension cultivators did indeed go to the Spirit race first before entering the Demon Realm and stayed there for a period of time. It seems this matter is likely true. But Brother Mo, you've been talking for a long time, what exactly is the treasure?" Ancestor Ao Xiao asked after his eyes flickered.

"It is the Three-Clear Thunder-Cloud Talisman!" Mo Jianli finally said after hesitating for a moment.

"What? It's this talisman. Isn't this thing a legendary supreme secret talisman? Does such a talisman truly exist in the lower realms?" Ancestor Ao Xiao finally changed his expression drastically, becoming excited.

Han Li touched his chin with one hand, also feeling moved.

As one of the few supreme secret treasures that had miraculous effects in resisting Grand Ascension tribulations, the Three-Clear Thunder-Cloud Talisman had some records in ancient texts and was also famous among the various realms.

But unlike other treasures, this so-called supreme Daoist secret talisman was a consumable item and had always existed in legends, with rumors that only True Immortals in the Immortal Realm could refine it. Therefore, no one in the various realms had ever heard of anyone truly seeing it with their own eyes.

Thus, as time passed, even some Grand Ascension ancestors gradually stopped believing in the existence of such a talisman in the lower realms.

Now that Mo Jianli had suddenly spoken the name of this object, and it was in the Spirit race not far from the Human race, it made even existences like Ancestor Ao Xiao feel both surprised and happy.

"Logically speaking, the Three-Clear Thunder-Cloud Talisman shouldn't appear in the lower realms, but Ancestor Stone Heart saw the existence of this talisman with his own eyes in the Spirit race, and I can guarantee that his news won't be half-false. As for why, this old man won't go into detail," Mo Jianli said, half-explaining and half-narrating, with deep meaning.

"Since Brother Mo says so! Then it must be true. But Ancestor Stone Heart knew of the existence of this talisman, how could he not try to get his hands on it? Even if his next heavenly tribulation was still far off, there was no way he would let go of such a treasure," Ancestor Ao Xiao asked earnestly after calming down and pondering for a while, despite his surprise at Mo Jianli's certainty.

"If such a treasure were placed before my eyes, I wouldn't let it go either," Han Li said, fully agreeing.

"You two don't know this. It wasn't that Ancestor Stone Heart was willing to let go of the treasure right before his eyes, but that he had already reached a transaction with the owner of this talisman and was preparing to fulfill the transaction and get the Three-Clear Purple-Cloud Talisman after returning from the Demon Realm," Mo Jianli said with a smile.

"In the Spirit race, for Ancestor Stone Heart to have to use a transaction to exchange for it! Could it be that this talisman fell into that person's hands?" Ancestor Ao Xiao's handsome face sank, revealing a hint of wariness.

"If it's not that person, who else could it be!" Mo Jianli sighed and said with a bitter smile.

Hearing this, Yin Yue blinked her beautiful eyes, feeling confused, but also vaguely guessing something.

And Han Li suddenly smiled:

"Could the two Fellow Daoists be referring to the Spirit King of the Spirit race?"

He immediately recalled the images of the Spirit King appearing with the help of Bai Qi's body before entering the Spirit-Washing Pool in the Demon Realm that day.

Ancestor Ao Xiao and Mo Jianli's expressions shifted slightly, and they looked at each other subconsciously.

"That's right, the two of us are referring to the Spirit King. The Three-Clear Thunder-Cloud Talisman is currently in his hands, and it seems there's more than one," Mo Jianli nodded and admitted frankly.

"Not just one?" Ancestor Ao Xiao was stunned for a moment, but immediately stopped thinking about it.

According to the records in ancient texts, no matter how many such secret talismans there were, only one could be used in a single heavenly tribulation.

"I've also heard some things about the Spirit King's reputation, but it was limited to there being such a Spirit race Grand Ascension cultivator. I don't know much else. Judging by the two Fellow Daoists' tone, it seems you don't want to provoke him!" Han Li narrowed his eyes and asked slowly.

"It's not just that we don't want to provoke him! If possible, Brother Ao and I wouldn't want to have anything to do with this old monster at all," Mo Jianli replied with a bitter smile.

"Oh, why is that?" Han Li naturally asked a few more questions.

"Because although the Spirit race isn't large, and is even far inferior to the overall strength of our Human and Demon races, this Spirit King is very likely a true old monster who has lived for over a million years," Ancestor Ao Xiao took the initiative to answer.

"Lived for over a million years? How is that possible?" Han Li exclaimed, truly feeling horrified.

"Hehe, don't talk about you. When the two of us first heard this, we were also shocked," Mo Jianli chuckled and said.

"If the Spirit King has truly lived for over a million years, then how many times has he passed the heavenly tribulation..." Han Li didn't finish his sentence, but everyone naturally understood the meaning.

"That's unclear. Because no one has ever seen this Spirit King pass the tribulation with their own eyes, and there has never been any news related to his tribulation. Some say that this Spirit King is a special existence whose tribulation interval is counted in hundreds of thousands of years, and others say that the Spirit King is actually the same as us, having been replaced for many generations, but outsiders don't know it. As for which statement is true, no one knows," Ancestor Ao Xiao said solemnly.

"If he truly is an old monster who has lived for over a million years, I would also be extremely wary if I encountered him," Han Li's expression changed repeatedly, appearing thoughtful.

"But one thing is certain: for these million years, the Spirit King's aura and appearance have remained consistent, as if he were one person, according to the successive generations of Grand Ascension cultivators of our two races. But fortunately, the birth of the Spirit race is extremely difficult, and although the Spirit King's strength is unfathomable, he cannot expand the current Spirit race territory and can only maintain the current scale. Moreover, he has always been reclusive, and in these million years, he has made very few moves," Mo Jianli explained further.