Chapter 606: The Black-Clad Young Woman

Han Li didn't need to expend effort searching; the person who had spoken was sitting cross-legged on a stone platform about ten zhang in front of him.

It was actually a young woman in a black dress with a wooden hairpin in her hair.

This young woman had beautiful features, but her face was pale, and her eyes flowed with a brilliant luster, faintly covered by a layer of glowing light. But what stunned Han Li was that one of her sleeves hung empty; she was actually a person with a missing arm.

Before Han Li could speak, the young woman let out a surprised cry upon seeing him release a magic treasure.

"So you are not a junior at the Qi Refining stage, but a cultivator at the Core Formation stage. Tsk tsk, your Qi-restraining technique is quite good. I was almost deceived by it as well." The young woman giggled, her eyes flowing with light as she spoke.

And on her lap, the Snow Cloud Fox was curled up extremely comfortably, looking at Han Li with curious eyes, full of spiritual intelligence.

"So this is a senior's place of secluded cultivation; Han has been rude." After sweeping his spiritual sense toward the other party, Han Li felt a chill in his heart.

The place where the other party was located seemed like transparent air; his spiritual sense easily passed through her body without discovering any spiritual energy fluctuations.

This meant that either the other party had some strange treasure to conceal her cultivation, or her cultivation was far too high above his own. Looking at the other party's tone and the means she had just displayed, it really didn't look like the former.

Han Li's vigilance rose sharply.

"Looking at your age, you have already cultivated to the late Core Formation stage. That is truly rare." While Han Li was considering his countermeasures, the young woman raised a wrist as white as jade, gently stroking the Snow Cloud Fox on her lap, and said leisurely.

"Senior is too kind. Junior only cultivated to this realm by luck. May I ask for Senior's honorable name?" Han Li exhaled and asked calmly.

"My name is not worth mentioning. Even if I told you, you wouldn't know it. In fact, let alone you, even among the Nascent Soul cultivators of your generation, there are few who recognize me." The young woman sighed slightly and said.

Hearing this, Han Li was stunned, and then a bitter taste filled his mouth.

Could this young woman truly be some reclusive old monster who had never appeared in the world?

He felt a slight chill, but his face did not show any panic.

After all, with the advancement of his cultivation and the increasing number of secret techniques he had mastered, Han Li no longer feared Nascent Soul cultivators as much as he once did. Especially the "Blood Shadow Escape" he had just learned recently, which made him much bolder.

If they were to fight, he reckoned he would be no match, but he could certainly manage to escape in one breath, though the consequence of losing a great amount of essence blood would certainly mean he would have to go into secluded cultivation for several years afterward.

Come to think of it, for such a mysterious figure to be hiding under the noses of the three sects, who knows what her intentions were? Was she like him, just taking a fancy to the dense spiritual energy here and sneaking in?

Thinking of this, Han Li swept his gaze slightly around the stone chamber, and a wave of surprise washed over him.

This stone chamber in the mountain was just a solitary room; he didn't see any other connecting doors, and aside from the stone platform beneath the young woman, there wasn't a single table or chair. The entire room was extremely empty, giving one a cold and chilly feeling.

Han Li also carefully discovered that the four walls of this stone chamber were extremely rough, not at all like the caves of ordinary cultivators that were cut smooth and neat by flying swords or magic tools. Instead, it looked as if it had been hacked out by a giant axe, uneven and bumpy.

Once these details entered his eyes, a strange look flashed in Han Li's eyes.

Seeming to see through Han Li's confusion, the young woman suddenly smiled and said:

"Since you are confused, why not touch the stone walls around you? That way, your doubts will be resolved."

Hearing this, Han Li's heart stirred.

"Since Senior has said so, then Junior will not be polite." Han Li was indeed curious; he had just probed the walls with his spiritual sense and found nothing unusual, looking just like ordinary bluestone.

He walked slowly toward the stone wall on his left.

However, for the sake of caution, Han Li kept his spiritual sense on the young woman at all times, fearing that the other party might suddenly decide to launch a sneak attack.

Although the other party had not shown any malice so far, Han Li had been through many storms over the years; his caution was far beyond that of ordinary people.

Reaching the stone wall, Han Li touched it, but there was nothing unusual.

Afterward, he thought for a moment, extended a finger, and a green glow flashed, with several inches of green sword light appearing at his fingertip.

Han Li stabbed backward, and a shocking scene appeared.

After the sword light made a crackling sound against the green stone wall, it was blocked, unable to leave even the slightest mark on the wall.

Han Li felt horrified, but at the same time, he was unwilling to accept it.

Suddenly, he raised his spiritual power, and the sword light grew to a full foot in length, slashing fiercely at the wall.

The stone wall remained unharmed; not a single scratch appeared.

With a strange look on his face, Han Li didn't say a word, pointing at a flying sword circling above his head. The sword transformed into a green glow and stabbed straight down, then flew back with a clear hum.

As a result, a shallow hole only an inch deep appeared on the stone wall, and it immediately smoothed over, disappearing without a trace a moment later.

"What is this? How can it automatically repair itself? Did Senior cast some forbidden technique on it?" Han Li gasped, turning his head to ask in shock.

"Casting a forbidden technique? You think too highly of me. This is Green Gold Stone, also known as Spirit-Absorbing Stone, a very rare type of material for refining tools. Aside from being destroyed by giant force, the spiritual energy of any magic technique or magic treasure is ineffective against it." The young woman said faintly.

"Green Gold Stone? Junior is ignorant and has truly never heard of this material." Han Li frowned slightly, turned away from the stone wall, and returned to his original position before speaking slowly.

"Hehe, you naturally wouldn't know of this object. This thing was very rare even in the Primordial Era. There are probably not many people who know about it now." The young woman said indifferently.

Hearing this, Han Li felt a bit surprised and was just about to say something when the young woman smiled beautifully and said again:

"Although you have almost reached the False Nascent Soul realm, I see that your aptitude seems not very good. No, it should be said that it is terrible. To be able to cultivate to this point, it seems you must have had some fortuitous encounter. Otherwise, even with the greatest effort, you would only be at the Foundation Establishment stage. That you can meet me here can be considered fate. If you don't mind, I have a treasure that can help you."

"Lend Junior a treasure?" Han Li was stunned, and then a strange look appeared on his face.

"Of course, I have conditions for doing so. First, this thing is only lent to you. You must return the original object afterward. Second, after you take this treasure, you must do one thing for me. This will be the reward for lending the treasure." The young woman seemed to see through Han Li's suspicion, her face sank, and she said coldly.

Afterward, she reached into her bosom and fumbled, and a square jade box appeared in her hand.

This jade box was pitch black and only the size of a fist. Its surface was somewhat rough and simple, and it was black with a hint of yellow, looking as if it had been around for many years.

Han Li looked at the young woman's expression and then at the black box, not saying whether he agreed or refused, his face shifting between light and shadow.

After pondering for a good while, he asked solemnly:

"Could Senior first tell me what this treasure is? Then Junior will consider it, how about that?"

Seeing Han Li so hesitant, the black-clad young woman showed a hint of impatience, pointing at the black box with a raised eyebrow:

"You must know about Spirit Eye Stones, right? What is in this box is the highest existence among Spirit Eye Stones—'Spirit Eye Jade'. With the spiritual energy provided by this thing, it can at least allow you to stabilize your False Nascent Soul realm by three points before you form your Nascent Soul. When you condense your Nascent Soul, it will naturally feel very easy. This treasure has followed me for many years. If it weren't for the fact that my current cultivation cannot be increased by mere hard work, I wouldn't lend it to you so easily."

As soon as the young woman finished speaking, she stroked the black jade box with her slender hand, a hint of reluctance appearing on her face.

"Spirit Eye Jade!" Han Li's expression changed several times. With this object, the time it would take for him to reach the False Nascent Soul realm could be shortened by at least a third. The words of refusal he had wanted to blurt out were swallowed back into his stomach.

"I don't know what Senior wants Junior to do. If even with Senior's cultivation you cannot do it, how could Junior be of any help!" Han Li hesitated for a moment before sighing and saying.

"Rest assured! It's not asking you to kill or commit arson. I just want you to run an errand. Although my cultivation is extremely high, due to certain reasons, I cannot leave this stone chamber even half a step. But I have a letter that needs to be delivered to someone." Seeing that Han Li finally agreed, the young woman's face immediately revealed joy.

"Just delivering a letter?" This made Han Li very surprised.

"Naturally, did you really think I would ask you to kill or commit arson?" The black-clad young woman covered her mouth and giggled, her charm blooming for a moment.

... ===== CHAPTER 607 =====