Chapter 970

After that sharp rebuke, Han Li felt a slight easing of the unease he had carried since the death of the Great Expansion Divine Lord.

He now intended to perform a spell to collect the heavenly lightning and naturally did not wish other cultivators to be present and interfere.

After exhaling deeply, he slapped his storage bag, and several flags of varying colors appeared in his hands; with a flick of his wrist, the flags shot outward in all directions, vanished in a flash, and sank into the ground.

Han Li looked up at the sky, where lightning continuously flashed, and his lips twitched; immediately, his body shimmered with spiritual light and floated upward, rising over thirty zhang above the ground.

He formed a strange hand seal with both hands, and low incantations issued from his mouth.

Instantly, multicolored lights flickered below.

With several muffled “pops,” columns of light erupted from the ground, transforming into several giant banners, each as thick as a bowl’s mouth, standing motionless upon the earth.

Han Li did not pause his incantation; beneath him, the flags released fine threads of spiritual energy, and gradually a spiritual gathering array with a diameter of more than ten zhang took shape.

Within the glow, various runes rolled ceaselessly; the entire array was fully activated.

At the very moment the array appeared, the lightning high above, which had seemed impossibly distant, suddenly stirred as if drawn by an invisible force—each thunderclap grew more urgent, and the lightning gradually drew closer to Han Li’s position.

Han Li narrowed his eyes, paused his incantation momentarily, flipped his palm, and a jade vial several inches tall appeared in his hand.

This vial was a magic artifact he had specially forged to collect heavenly lightning.

He gently tossed it upward, and as it hovered in midair, he cast a green spell that struck the vial’s surface.

The jade vial tumbled several times, then settled steadily with its mouth pointing upward, motionless.

At that moment, Han Li rubbed his palms together and raised them upward; two thick golden arcs shot out simultaneously and struck the bottom of the vial.

With a thunderous boom, a strange sight appeared.

The jade vial trembled slightly, and the two golden arcs vanished into its interior; then Han Li uttered a low command and pointed upward.

“Puff!” A golden arc erupted from the vial’s mouth, transforming into a lightning spear several zhang long, flickering above the vial and pointing straight at the dark, overcast sky.

At that instant, a silver lightning arc flashed down from the heavens and struck the golden spear directly.

The golden spear shuddered slightly, and the silver arc immediately slid downward, vanishing into the vial in an instant.

Thus, one lightning arc after another, drawn in by the array, was effortlessly absorbed into the jade vial by the Exorcising Thunder.

After an hour, when the vial absorbed another thick lightning arc, it began to emit a roaring sound like a tidal wave.

Hearing this, Han Li’s face broke into a smile; he raised his hand and grasped the air above.

The golden spear detached on its own; the jade vial descended from the sky and was drawn into his hand.

Han Li swiftly flicked his sleeve toward the sky, and another vial of nearly identical design was summoned into the air; the golden spear reinserted itself and continued collecting heavenly lightning into the bottle.

Only then did he have time to examine the vial in his hand.

The vessel trembled continuously with a low hum, and a blinding silver glow flickered at its mouth, as if about to burst forth at any moment.

With a “snap,” a golden talisman was slapped onto its surface; the rumbling inside ceased instantly, and the silver glow dimmed abruptly.

Han Li sealed the vial and carefully stored it in his storage bag.

He then continued to gaze upward at the sky.

Half a day later, after collecting four vials of heavenly lightning, the storm above showed no sign of abating; instead, the surroundings grew hazy with yellow mist, and the rain intensified further.

Han Li silently considered that after collecting this one final vial, he should stop; these lightning strikes were sufficient to transform into lightning-fire for refining spiritual materials.

At that moment, his expression shifted; he suddenly turned his head toward the horizon.

In the dim distance, a flash of light appeared—a white rainbow suddenly emerged and flew toward him.

His eyes flickered twice, and his expression grew serious.

Below, the spiritual gathering array radiated brilliant light; Han Li floated midair, bathed in green luminescence, while above his head, silver lightning arcs flashed incessantly, converging into a single point.

Such a scene was extremely conspicuous.

The owner of the white rainbow naturally saw it all; after a few flashes of her aura, she flew directly toward Han Li. Moments later, her light dimmed, revealing a woman dressed in palace robes.

The woman was petite, with a delicate face and clear, bright eyes that seemed those of a young maiden. Yet what was astonishing was that her palace robes, made of some rare material, shimmered with silver light, dazzlingly ornate, and were surrounded by several streams of milky-white cold mist that drifted around her, making her appear like a celestial fairy, utterly free of mortal dust.

Han Li swept his spiritual sense over her and felt a slight shock—she was an Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator, just like himself.

The palace-robed woman glanced at Han Li, then smiled sweetly:

“I am Bai Yaoyi of the Northern Ming Island. Are you also here at the invitation of Master Fu?”

Her voice was melodious and soft, exceedingly pleasant to hear.

“Northern Ming Island? Are you perhaps a cultivator of the Northern Night Supreme Palace?” Han Li asked, startled.

“I am an Outer Affairs Elder of the Supreme Palace. Our sect lies in a remote corner, so I did not expect you to know of us. May I ask your esteemed name?” The woman smiled faintly.

“I am Han. A wandering cultivator from the seas. Indeed, I came at Master Fu’s invitation. The name of the Supreme Palace has long been renowned to me.” Han Li’s expression returned to calm.

“A sea cultivator! Do you know the Three Immortals of the Seas? Do you have any connection with them?” Bai Yaoyi’s gaze flickered, and she smiled gently.

“I do not. I rarely interact with other cultivators; I have always cultivated in seclusion on my island.” Han Li replied without hesitation.

“I see. My apologies for the presumption. Are you collecting heavenly lightning? Would you like me to assist?”

“Thank you for your kind offer, but I have nearly finished. This is the last vial.”

“In that case, I shall meditate atop the peak.”

Hearing this, Bai Yaoyi did not press further; her aura circled once, then descended straight onto another large rock atop the peak.

As soon as she landed, she raised her hand and released a parasol-shaped spiritual artifact into the air.

The object rotated slightly above, then emitted a vast expanse of white mist that blocked all wind and rain within a radius of dozens of zhang; only then did she sit down calmly, cross-legged.

A flash of cold light appeared in her hand, revealing an object the size of a palm.

Han Li glanced and recognized it immediately—it was a crystal-clear, snow-white jade, shimmering with cold radiance, utterly unlike ordinary beautiful jade.

“Ice Jade.”

His mind turned, and he instantly identified this rare material; the bottle of Frost Marrow he had once acquired had been extracted from ten-thousand-year-old Ice Jade.

At that moment, the palace-robed woman placed the Ice Jade flat on her palms, closed her eyes, and entered meditation.

Clearly, her cultivation method was not purely ice-elemental, but rather a yin-cold one; otherwise, she would not need to rely on the jade’s cold power to cultivate. It bore a certain resemblance to Han Li’s use of Snow Soul Pills—though even the finest Ice Jade could never match the astonishing potency of the Snow Soul Pills.

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but he unconsciously grew more cautious toward her.

The Northern Night Supreme Palace would rather fight high-grade beast beasts every few generations than surrender Frost Marrow—clearly, they valued it immensely. If this woman discovered that the sect’s treasured artifact was on his person, there would be no avoiding a massive catastrophe.

Thinking thus, Han Li lowered his gaze and fixed his eyes on the vial in the air, expressionless.

Soon after, the fifth vial was filled with heavenly lightning; Han Li immediately retracted his artifacts and descended slowly from the air, landing in the center of the spiritual gathering array.

He cast several spells, striking the surrounding flags; instantly, the array’s seals shifted, raising a pale green barrier that shielded him within.

Han Li sat down within the array as well, closing his eyes in meditation, facing the palace-robed woman across from him. In her presence, he would not dare to refine any spiritual materials.

Thus, atop the peak, save for the thunder and rain, all fell silent.

The heavy rain lasted an entire day and night before gradually ceasing; when the sun reappeared, the air immediately grew damp and hot, and miasma slowly rose again from the ground, once more enveloping the entire mountain range.

The various insects and ants, which had retreated into their burrows, now emerged once more from the earth.

Han Li, unmoved, slowly extended his spiritual sense, sensing everything within a radius of dozens of li. Wherever his spiritual perception reached—whether the struggle of insects competing for survival or fruit falling from trees—it was vividly reflected within his spiritual sea.

He sat as still as a meditating monk.

Occasionally, low-level cultivators wandered onto the mountain; upon seeing Han Li and Bai Yaoyi’s astonishing cultivation bases, they did not wait for either to speak—they turned pale and fled in panic, daring not to linger a moment.

Thus, Han Li and the palace-robed woman sat in silence for three days and three nights.

On the morning of the fourth day, another high-level cultivator finally arrived at the main peak.

This time, it was a giant of a man, as tall as a tower, with a grotesquely ugly face, his entire body gleaming black and shiny.

No one knew what cultivation method he practiced, but he arrived riding atop a giant blue tortoise, accompanied by a sinister wind.

The giant, upon seeing Han Li and Bai Yaoyi, let out a loud laugh and without a word sat down elsewhere atop the peak. Yet he did not meditate; instead, he pulled a golden book from his robes and began reading aloud, swaying his head back and forth.

Such a bookish gesture was wildly incongruous with his massive frame and hideous appearance, appearing almost comical. Yet Han Li and Bai Yaoyi appeared utterly oblivious, sitting quietly in place.

In truth, Han Li’s brow had already furrowed.

This giant was also a Nascent Soul mid-stage cultivator. Clearly, Master Fu’s purpose in summoning them here was no ordinary matter—apparently, even early-stage cultivators were not qualified to attend.

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