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Chapter 566: The Third Option
Chapter 566: The Third Option
Chapter 566: The Third Option
"Jin Tong, give this a try to see if you can stay in Xiao Bai's body for a bit longer," Han Li said as he handed the talisman to Jin Tong.
Jin Tong accepted the talisman before adhering it to her own body, and it immediately vanished into her body as a ball of gentle white light.
A series of radiant white spirit patterns then appeared on her forehead, forming the same cloud-like designs that had been on the talisman.
A peculiar look appeared on Jin Tong's face, following which she instructed Xiao Bai to open its mouth before flying toward it as a streak of golden light.
Xiao Bai hurriedly obliged, swallowing the streak of golden light.
An hour quickly flew by, but Jin Tong still hadn't come out, and Xiao Bai was growing a little anxious, pacing around the carriage in a concerned fashion.
Han Li was very encouraged to see this, and he continued to wait.
Another hour passed by before Xiao Bai's expression suddenly changed slightly, and it opened its mouth, upon which Jin Tong flew out as a streak of golden light.
The white spirit patterns on her forehead had already vanished, and her complexion was looking a little pale.
Han Li didn't immediately ask how she felt. Instead, he flipped a hand over to produce a green jade ruler before handing it to her.
Jin Tong immediately grabbed onto the ruler, then quickly crunched it down in just a few bites as if she were eating a stick of hard candy.
After that, a layer of azure light emerged over her face before quickly fading away, but her complexion was left looking a little better.
"How did it go?" Han Li asked.
"The talisman worked, Uncle! Before I had the talisman, I always felt really drowzy while inside Xiao Bai's stomach, but the talisman made me feel a lot better," Jin Tong replied with a smile.
"How much longer do you think you'll be able to stay in there if you had enough of these talismans at your disposal?" Han Li asked.
"Even with enough talismans, I feel like I'll only be able to stay another hour in there at most," Jin Tong replied.
Han Li gave a contemplative nod upon hearing this.
It seemed that even with these Soul Armor Talismans enhancing her soul, she couldn't stay in Xiao Bai's stomach for very long. At the very most, she would only be able to stay in there for three hours at a time at the cost of two of these talismans.
This wasn't a very long time, but it was already far better than before.
With that in mind, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to produce several more spirit treasures for Jin Tong to eat, then returned to the exchange section in the Reincarnation Palace interface to purchase over 100 Soul Armor Talismans.
This was a dire situation, so he wasn't being stingy with his Immortal Origin Stones at all.
Right as he was about to withdraw the crimson light barrier, an elated look suddenly appeared on his face.
As it turned out, someone had already responded to the mission that he had just released.
He immediately cast an incantation seal onto the light screen, and a burst of red light emerged from within, then transformed into a blurry red figure with indistinguishable facial features.
However, the words "Phoenix 19" could be clearly seen etched on the figure's mask.
"Given that you've responded to this mission, I presume you must have a way for Golden Immortals to use High Zenith Stage immortal treasures, right, Fellow Daoist?" Han Li said, wasting no time with small talk.
"Before I answer that question, I want to ask what type of immortal treasure you wish to use," Phoenix 19 replied.
The voice sounded like it belonged to a man, but it was surprisingly a little high-pitched.
"A flying immortal treasure," Han Li repiled.
"I see. Generally speaking, the immortal spiritual power requirements of flying immortal treasures aren't very high, so this will be a relatively easy case. Having said that, I'll need you to tell me about the restrictions in the treasure," Phoenix 19 said.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but he offered no response.
"Are you under the impression that I'm trying to glean the secrets of your immortal treasure? The problem is that if I'm not aware of the restrictions in the flying treasure, then I can't decide on the best way to use it," Phoenix 19 said.
Han Li continued to stare at Phoenix 19 in silence.
The flying carriage had once belonged to Gongshu Jiu, and the Heavenly Court had members all over the entire True Immortal Realm, so he had to be extremely careful not to expose himself as Gongshu Jiu's killer.
However, Phoenix 19 was also telling the truth.
After some contemplation, Han Li ultimately decided to give Phoenix 19 a rough description fo the restrictions in the flying carriage.
After hearing what Han Li had to say, Phoenix 19 replied, "You've found yourself a truly exceptional flying treasure, Fellow Daoist! The restrictions used are quite advanced, but thankfully, they're right in my wheelhouse. There are three ways that can allow you to tap into over 80% of the carriage's power, but each of them have their own pros and cons."
Han Li was quite encouraged to hear this, and he urged, "Please enlighten me, Fellow Daoist."
"Well... All three of those methods are closely guarded secrets, and the compensation you're offering is a little insufficient," Phoenix 19 chuckled.
"Rest assured, if the methods that you lay out are truly effective, then I'm happy to compensate you accordingly, but if you're only bluffing..."
Han Li's voice trailed off there, but the implications were very apparent.
Phoenix 19 seemed to have been slightly irked by Han Li's skepticism, and they said in a cold voice, "Don't look down on me, Fellow Daoist! All of my methods are secret techniques passed down from Hundred Creations Mountain, so you can rest assured of their efficacy!"
Han Li's heart stirred slightly upon hearing the term "Hundred Creations Mountain".
This was something that he had heard the Stemborer Queen mention while back in the Spirit Realm. It was a sect in the Immortal Realm, and the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra that he had cultivated in the past was also a secret technique from Hundred Creations Mountain. /wiki/Hundred_Meridian_Refinement_Mantra#:~:text=Hundred%20Meridian%20Refinement%20Mantra%20was,a%20Buddhist%20Impervious%20Vajra%20Body.[/ref]
Judging from what Phoenix 19 had just said, it seemed like this Hundred Creations Mountain was no ordinary sect.
Phoenix 19 seemed to have realized that he had lost his composure a little, and he cleared his throat before continuing, "These are the three methods and the compensation that I require. As for exactly which one you choose, that'll be up to you."
After that, he swept a sleeve through the air to release three specks of light, which swelled to form three light screens in mid-air, all of which were filled with tiny text.
Han Li cast his gaze toward the first light screen to discover that it contained a special secret technique that could forcibly stimulate the spiritual power within the flying carriage to make up for the subpar immortal spirit power of a Golden Immortal, and this method could tap into over 90% of the carriage's power.
At the end, a price tag of 5,000 Immortal Origin Stones was displayed.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he turned his gaze to the next light screen.
According to the first light screen, the enclosed method didn't require much preparation, and it could be used as long as one knew the secret technique, but it was very harmful to the flying carriage, and it wouldn't take long before the carriage's spiritual power was completely exhausted.
This would be a suitable method to use on a short-term basis, but he was going to have to rely on the flying carriage on this entire journey through the primordial land, so it clearly wasn't going to work.
As Han Li read through the content of the second light barrier, his eyes began to light up a little.
The second light screen contained an alternative secret technique that could temporarily fuse the immortal spiritual power of several Golden Immortals into one to reach the High Zenith Stage, and this was also the most effective of the three methods, able to tap into virtually all of the flying carriage's power.
The price tag for this method was 10,000 Immortal Origin Stones.
However, Han Li quickly realized that this was a unfeasible method, not because of the steep price, but instead because the minimum personnel requirement to unleash this secret technique was a lineup of at least three late-Golden Immortal cultivators or at least eight mid-Golden Immortal cultivators.
The lineup of Han Li, Daoist Xie, Xiao Bai, and Jin Tong was still far from reaching this minimum requirement, by his estimates, they would only be able to tap into around 60% of the carriage's power using this secret technique, which was an improvement, for sure, but still far from ideal.
With that in mind, Han Li heard an internal sigh before turning his attention to the third light screen, which laid out an array-based secret technique that was similar in principle to the second method, also involving combining multiple sources of immortal spiritual power into one to elevate the combined immortal spiritual power to the High Zenith Stage.
However, this array drew upon the immortal spiritual power of the Immortal Origin Stones rather than cultivators, and as long as one had sufficient Immortal Origin Stones, they could theoretically tap into the flying carriage's full power.
Of course, the number of Immortal Origin Stones required to sustain High Zenith Stage immortal spiritual power was downright astronomical, and it was far too steep a price for most Golden Immortals.
Perhaps it was because of this that the third method only had a price tag of 1,000 Immortal Origin Stones. It was clear that Phoenix 19 didn't recommend this method, and he had only included it to highlight the first two methods as superior options.
"Have you made your decision yet, Fellow Daoist?" Phoenix 19 asked.
"I have. I'll take the third method," Han Li replied.
Phoenix 19 was very much taken aback to hear this.
The third method was the cheapest of the three, but its flaws were very apparent. It seemed to Phoenix 19 that Han Li was quite a prudent character, so it was very surprising to him that Han Li had chosen this method.
"Are you sure, Fellow Daoist?" Phoenix 19 asked.
"I am," Han Li replied with a nod.
Phoenix 19 didn't ask any further questions, and the exchange quickly took place.
Moments later, a white jade slip emerged from the teleportation array at the center of the crimson light screen.
Han Li immediately grabbed the jade slip before injecting his spiritual sense into it, and only after a full hour had passed did he withdraw his spiritual sense, upon which a hint of admiration appeared on his face.
The secret technique laid out in the jade slip was definitely a viable one, and it was also perfectly catered to Han Li's flying carriage, indicating that it had been modified by Phoenix 19 to suit this particular case.
The fact that he was able to do this in such a short time indicated that his expertise in this field far exceeded Han Li's.
With that in mind, Han Li made sure to keep a mental note of Phoenix 19's name so that he could seek him out if he had encountered any other problems in this field in the future.
After that, he swept a sleeve through the air to summon a bunch of materials required to set up the array before getting to work.
1. For more information on the Hundred Meridian Refinement Mantra, please refer to ?