Chapter 782: The Great Geng Sword Array Is Complete

A strange scene suddenly appeared: the transparent "liquid" began slowly splitting and reshaping itself, forming six silver beads the size of thumbs, gently spinning in midair.

Han Li took a deep breath, then bit down hard on his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood.

The moment the essence blood touched the surface of the beads, not a single drop was left—each one absorbed it all. Instantly, the beads changed color, turning golden yellow, as if forged from pure crimson gold.

Seeing this, Han Li's spirits lifted. He opened his mouth again, and a streak of blue light shot out, then hovered and stopped before him.

It was a miniature blue-green sword, barely an inch long, shimmering with spiritual radiance.

Han Li pointed at one of the golden beads formed from geng essence, and the bead instantly transformed into a streak of golden light that shot straight toward the sword, melting and wrapping around it, coating its surface with perfect evenness.

Instantly, the sword became dazzling, blazing with golden light.

Han Li raised his eyebrows and tapped his fingers lightly toward the ground; several auxiliary materials flew up one by one and mysteriously merged into the sword.

Then he gestured toward the sword, and in an instant it flew into his palm. With a soft "puff," a cluster of blue infant flame appeared out of thin air, engulfing the sword.

Han Li slowly closed his eyes and used his spiritual sense to control the infant flame, beginning the refining process.

Only when the essence-blood-infused geng essence was completely fused with the sword, indistinguishable from it, could the refining be considered complete.

Days passed one after another, and Han Li remained in the secret chamber, refining the Qingzhu Fengyun Swords one after another without a single moment of rest.

Had Han Li not possessed ten-thousand-year spirit fluid to replenish his magic power in time, he could never have sustained such intense refining over such a short period.

Outside the cave, as the day agreed upon with the black-robed man drew near and Han Li still had not emerged, those who knew of the matter began to grow anxious.

Among them, the silver-haired elder was naturally the most distressed. For just yesterday, someone had sent a jade slip via flying sword letter into the Luoyun Sect, clearly stating the exact location where Han Li was to meet him.

That place was not only treacherous in terrain but also extremely distant from Mount Mount Yunmeng—if Han Li did not emerge soon, he would arrive too late.

As the silver-haired elder sat restlessly in a side hall of the council chamber, Han Li's figure appeared silently at the entrance.

"Younger brother! You've emerged? Have you finished refining the magic treasure?" The elder turned around, sensing his presence, and upon seeing Han Li at the door, exclaimed in surprise and delight.

"I've barely managed to complete them all," Han Li replied, his demeanor calmer than a month ago. "I heard the man sent another jade slip, specifying the meeting location. Is that true?"

"Correct. He's arranged to meet you atop Tianzhu Peak. Here's the jade slip he sent. Take a look." The silver-haired elder nodded and tossed a green jade slip toward him.

Han Li caught it and immediately immersed his spiritual sense within, scanning it swiftly.

"Hmph! He wants me to come alone—and insists I bring the Jin Jin Leizhu magic treasure. Clearly, he's investigated me thoroughly. He knows something about me and Wan'er. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so confident." Han Li snorted, a sharp glint flashing across his face.

"Given his abilities, uncovering your connection to Lady Nangong would be effortless. Low-level cultivators cannot keep secrets from a cultivator of such immense power. But younger brother, I won't let you go alone into danger. I've already arranged for Fire Dragon Child and five or six other allies. You go ahead first—we'll follow behind. The moment he appears, we'll strike together. We must capture him and make him understand that in our Xi Country, no one comes and goes as they please."

"Your plan is sound. But he's likely prepared. Still, it's good that you and the others are following—if he grows careless or overconfident, it may be heaven's will to destroy him." Han Li considered it, then nodded in agreement.

Having some backup was, of course, more than welcome.

"Good. Tianzhu Peak is incredibly tall, but to us cultivators, it's as flat as ground. I'll imprint a tracking mark on you. If the opponent proves too powerful, just buy time—I and my friends will arrive promptly."

"Thank you, Elder Brother, for your great care. I, Han Mou, will repay this favor." Han Li, who rarely accepted favors, spoke these words with rare sincerity.

"Hah! You're part of the Luoyun Sect—why speak so formally? Time's running short. Younger Brother Han, prepare quickly. You must depart tonight to reach Tianzhu Peak on time."

Han Li nodded and took his leave, returning to his quarters.

Watching Han Li's retreating figure, the silver-haired elder sighed softly, a knowing smile appearing on his face.

For Han Li to speak those words—he had not wasted his efforts.

Surely, after his own death, this younger brother Han would remember this debt and wholeheartedly support the Luoyun Sect.

The silver-haired elder felt a wave of relief. After a moment's thought, he slapped his storage bag, and several talismans appeared in his hand. He tossed them into the air, and they instantly transformed into streaks of red light, shooting out of the side hall.

With these message talismans sent, his friends who had arrived at the Guest Pavilion days ago would surely gather here shortly.

The elder sat motionless in his chair, his expression thoughtful.

…

That evening, after informing the silver-haired elder, Han Li left Mount Mount Yunmeng and headed straight for Tianzhu Peak, a day's journey away.

An hour after Han Li departed, the silver-haired elder and Fire Dragon Child and several other Nascent Soul elders quietly left the Luoyun Sect, following behind.

To conserve magic power, Han Li's blue-light flight speed was only moderate.

As he flew forward in his light, he idly played with a golden sword, two or three inches long—one of the thirty-six Qingzhu Fengyun Swords infused with geng essence.

For some reason, the swords infused with geng essence had turned completely crimson gold.

If he remembered correctly, during refining, geng essence might alter a magic treasure's surface color—but once refining was complete and the geng essence truly permeated the treasure's core, it should revert to its original hue.

Yet these thirty-six swords retained their golden color without fading.

This puzzled Han Li slightly.

Yet their power had not diminished—in fact, Han Li sensed they were even more effective than rumored. After testing, their power had increased nearly thirty percent, and their sharpness far surpassed their former state.

Han Li believed that if a lesser-quality magic treasure now clashed with these swords, it would be instantly severed into scrap.

Han Li was thrilled, yet also puzzled.

Finally, he recalled the primary material of the swords—Jin Jin Leizhu—and the other rare material previously infused: Lei Lingjing.

These materials were all extraordinarily rare. Could the addition of geng essence have triggered some unforeseen transformation? After much thought, Han Li could only offer himself this explanation.

Since the outcome was favorable, he chose not to dwell on it further, and turned his full attention to the Great Geng Sword Array.

This technique required almost no deliberate cultivation—he could summon it effortlessly.

Han Li tested just a fraction of the array's power in the secret chamber—and was left stunned.

The array's power confirmed the golden page's claims were not exaggerated. Though he could now form only a simplified Great Geng Sword Array, its marvels left him awestruck, greatly boosting his confidence for this mission. Otherwise, he would never have agreed so readily to meet the man.

Nangong Wan's Soul-Sealing Spell must be broken—but without the Great Geng Sword Array, Han Li would never have gone to surrender himself helplessly to death.

Whether he could defeat a Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator, he could not say—he had never truly fought one.

But a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator trapped within this array—he had at least an eighty percent chance of trapping or even annihilating them.

With such a technique, he could at least defend himself against any Nascent Soul late-stage cultivator.

Yet how to extract the method to break the Soul-Sealing Spell from the man's mouth—that was truly troublesome. Han Li could only proceed step by step, reacting as events unfolded once he met the black-robed man.

He sighed softly, and a flash of golden light in his hand made the sword vanish. Then he used his spiritual sense to scan behind him.

He detected no trace of the silver-haired elder or the others—and he wasn't surprised.

To avoid the black-robed man's surveillance, they would surely keep their distance, relying only on secret techniques to track him.

After all, the opponent might be a Nascent Soul late-stage demonic cultivator—they had to be extremely cautious, lest they be discovered and ruin everything.

Tianzhu Peak lay west of Mount Mount Yunmeng, a solitary, steep mountain rising over ten thousand zhang high—hence its name, "Heaven's Pillar."

From afar, one-third of the mountain vanished into clouds, appearing majestic and perilous.

Around the mountain stretched only low hills; from its mid-slope, one could see everything nearby. This was likely one reason the black-robed man chose this location.

Yet as Han Li approached within a hundred li of the mountain, he immediately felt a spiritual sense coil toward him.

This spiritual sense was quite strong—perhaps equivalent to a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator. But Han Li dared not grow careless; who knew if the man was deliberately concealing part of his power to mislead him?

Thus, Han Li pretended not to notice the probing spiritual sense and continued flying calmly toward the peak of Tianzhu Peak.

Almost simultaneously, atop Tianzhu Peak, on a patch of green stone, the black-robed man opened his tightly shut eyes and gazed coldly in Han Li's direction.

"You've finally arrived. My intelligence was correct—you truly have an extraordinary connection to that female cultivator!" he murmured softly.

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