Chapter 542

"Hmph! All humans are cunning and deceitful—no matter where you've seen me, WWW. feiazw. COM, you'd better stop playing petty tricks!" The venomous dragon, who had been idly tossing a shimmering giant pearl in his hand, suddenly clenched his five fingers— the pearl instantly turned to dust. A flash of murderous intent crossed his grotesque face.

Han Li felt a chill in his heart, but he merely let out a bitter smile and said nothing.

"Enough, Master Li has now met both of you younger brothers. I rely entirely on the strength of all three of you—without any one, I'd be utterly at a loss." Feng Xi, sensing the tension, quickly stepped in to ease the mood, then gestured for Han Li to sit on the opposite side of the table, slightly farther from the two across from him.

"Feng Brother, we've known each other for years. Just what is this all about? Why the secrecy? You still haven't told us a thing—and now you need a human cultivator's help? What use is a mere Core Formation cultivator?"

"Indeed! You insisted we come along— I'm curious too. Is your matter truly dangerous?" The green-faced tortoise demon, with his thick, armored shell, also frowned, a flicker of suspicion crossing his face.

Despite his towering frame, he seemed overly cautious.

"Brother Gui need not worry. I summoned you both not to fight enemies or venture into danger, but simply to assist me in forging a magic treasure."

"Forging a magic treasure?" The tortoise demon and venomous dragon stared, exchanging glances.

Han Li, listening from the side, was equally stunned, a look of surprise flashing across his face.

"Correct. I intend to forge a magic treasure tailored specifically for myself."

"Did I hear right? Feng Brother wants to forge an external object? Have you forgotten? For us beast cultivators, our own bodies are the finest treasures. What material could possibly suit us better than our own demonic forms?"

"Wu Brother speaks truly. No magic treasure can match the innate power of our beast nature. Why waste time on external objects when you could simply cultivate your own body? Take Wu Brother's Dragon Spirit Body— naturally attuned to all water-based arts, you master them effortlessly, surpassing other races by a hundredfold. And Feng Brother, your Spirit Bird body is perfect for wind affinity— your Wind-Fire Wings, perfected to the extreme, can traverse ten thousand li in an instant, roaming the four seas. As for me, though my Mystic Tortoise body lacks your two brothers' prowess, if I refine this shell to the level of Spiritual Enlightenment, it becomes an indestructible golden body. Why bother learning humans' magic treasure forging?"

Feng Xi heard their words without anger; instead, he burst into hearty laughter.

"The logic you two speak of—I've cultivated for countless years, so of course I know it well. But the treasure I intend to forge holds a unique secret: another pair of sentient wings. Not Wind-Fire Wings, but Wind-Thunder Wings. With this second pair as a complement, I am confident—no matter how vast the world, I can go anywhere!" The ninth-level Stormwind Beast spoke, barely containing his excitement, leaving the two demons stunned.

"Wind-Thunder Wings?" The tortoise demon blinked, utterly confused.

"Yes. Years ago, while training in the deep sea, I found the shattered remains of an ancient giant bird on a lone island's ruins. Though only its silver skeleton remained, the preserved wing bones still contained astonishing thunder energy— they belonged to the corpse of a Lei Peng nearing the end of its transformation phase. You know: among all high-level spirit birds, the Lei Peng's flight speed ranks among the top ten. Its thunder-flight is nearly lightning itself. Our Stormwind clan is far inferior. So I had an idea—I brought the wing bones back to my cave. I plan to use them, combined with other spirit bird wing materials, and forge them onto my body like a human magic treasure."

"After reforging, the wings won't be purely thunder-affinity—I'll need to infuse them with wind spiritual energy to make them easier to control," he added.

"Can this really work?" The venomous dragon's face showed half-skepticism, as if still doubtful.

The tortoise demon beside him wore the same look of doubt.

"Rest assured, I've studied this for years—even changed my appearance to sneak into human cultivator lands and collect dozens of forging manuals. I had several human artisans teach me their knowledge, then merged it with our Stormwind clan's Wind-Fire Wing cultivation methods to create this plan. I won't claim a hundred percent success—but at least seventy or eighty percent chance remains. And I won't let you two brothers labor in vain—whether the treasure succeeds or not, I will…" The Stormwind Beast spoke with confidence, then fell silent, his lips moving slightly as he transmitted a private message— clearly not wanting Han Li to hear.

Han Li sat motionless beside them, feigning complete indifference, his expression unchanged.

But beneath the table, his hands had somehow twisted together—revealing his inner turmoil, far from the calm he showed.

Han Li knew the terms these three beasts discussed might well turn against him. But he knew he had no voice before these three beast cultivators—he could only remain silent, silently plotting his response.

"Fine. Since Feng Brother has laid everything bare, we'll lend you our aid."

Feng Xi, hearing this, was overjoyed.

"With your two brothers' earth and water spiritual arts, we can use a formation to temporarily generate thunder spiritual energy. Combined with my wind affinity, the Wind-Thunder forces will be complete. But to balance them, we'll need Master Li's wood affinity to neutralize their subtle differences. Only then will the Wind-Thunder Wings have a real chance of success!"

Feng Xi smiled confidently. But his gaze shifted to Han Li, sitting silently. He suddenly remembered something. A strange glint flashed in his eyes, and he smiled warmly at Han Li.

"Master Li, I forgot to mention: the Green Flame Wine you drank can help human cultivators break through bottlenecks and boost cultivation—but it was brewed for us beast cultivators. After a year of drinking, a trace of chaotic evil qi will form in your body. It seems harmless now, but soon it will spread, completely muddling your true qi, until your spiritual power explodes and kills you."

With that, the ninth-level Stormwind Beast fell silent, coldly staring at Han Li.

Han Li merely frowned slightly and sighed. He showed no sign of panic or anger.

"Feng Brother, how do I rid myself of this evil qi? Just say it outright—is my only hope of survival tied to the success of your Wind-Thunder Wings?"

This surprised Feng Xi, who flickered with unexpected interest. The venomous dragon and tortoise demon also showed sudden curiosity.

"Heh! Master Li, you're clever. Since you know, I won't waste words. When my Wind-Thunder Wings succeed, I'll remove your curse. If they fail, you'll be my first sacrifice. Don't imagine you can dispel it yourself—even if a human Nascent Soul cultivator offered to help, they couldn't purge the chaotic evil qi from my Green Flame Wine."

"I know what I must do," Han Li nodded slightly, finally letting out a faint bitter smile.

But in his heart, he added one unspoken thought: the moment the treasure is forged, it will also be the moment his life ends.

As Han Li felt utterly helpless, the three beasts began chatting casually right there at the jade table.

"I heard your Dragon clan joined the attack on human cultivators beyond the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Sea. Is that true? I thought your clan usually avoids such affairs."

"Hmph! True. Some of our high-level beast cultivators did intervene. Otherwise, those fools of the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Sea couldn't have breached the city so easily—let alone slain two Nascent Soul cultivators."

Even Han Li, master of hiding his emotions, couldn't help but subtly change expression.

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