The Offshore Hunt Begins: Soul Extraction and Core Harvesting

As for the Soul-Nourishing Wood, after more than two years of continuous stimulation with Green Liquid, it had finally matured.

Like the Divine Thunder Bamboo, the wood had long since ceased to grow after ten thousand years, and no amount of Green Liquid could increase its spiritual energy by even the slightest fraction.

Han Li, naturally, was not about to leave it unused.

He carved the foot-long piece of Soul-Nourishing Wood into over a dozen pitch-black beads the size of his thumb, strung them on a golden thread, and hung them around his neck.

The wood required no deliberate refinement; simply wearing it against the skin was enough to achieve its best effect of nourishing the spirit and strengthening the soul.

After taking care of everything in his cave dwelling, three days later, Han Li departed his cave alone and silently flew out of the Mist Sea.

Since he already had the Rainbow Garment Grass in hand, he had no intention of getting involved in the Deep Abyss.

Not only were there grade-eight demon beasts active there, but it was also sure to be swarming with cultivators—hardly a suitable place for him to use Green Liquid to set up formations and exterminate beasts.

With the Rainbow Garment Grass as his lure, any sea region would do.

With that in mind, he checked his bearings and immediately shot westward.

In the blink of an eye, he had vanished from sight.

A month later, Han Li stopped on a stretch of fiery-red coral reef.

A few coral islands had appeared along the way, but fearing that being too close to his cave dwelling might cause trouble, he had deliberately ignored them and flown straight here.

Although this place could not yet be called a coral island, it was more than enough for transplanting the Rainbow Garment Grass.

Han Li decided that here, he would begin his first battle of exterminating beasts to harvest their inner cores.

He had already laid out four spell formations around the coral reef, sealing off the vicinity completely, before carefully transplanting the Rainbow Garment Grass to the center of the formations.

To attract grade-six demon beasts, the Rainbow Garment Grass would need to be stimulated to at least four hundred years' maturity.

That meant it would take him nearly a month to lure the demon beasts he wanted to hunt.

But he would not be idle during the earlier period.

The first three rounds of leaf expansion of the Rainbow Garment Grass would naturally attract some low-grade demon beasts for him to practice on.

Although grade-five demon beast inner cores were of no value for his alchemy, they were still worth a considerable amount of spirit stones on the market.

Han Li was not about to let the opportunity pass.

As expected, before the fourth stimulation, three or four grade-five demon beasts came seeking the scent. Han Li simply summoned several Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords and effortlessly cut them down.

...

Looking at the Rainbow Garment Grass before him, now unfurling three leaves, Han Li let out a soft breath. He took out the small vial and gently tilted it over the grass.

A single drop of emerald-green liquid fell onto it.

Carefully putting the vial away, Han Li sat down beside the grass and closed his eyes to rest.

On the third day, the Rainbow Garment Grass unfurled its fourth leaf, releasing a dense, enticing aura of beast-attracting energy.

Han Li had not moved for two days; he had finished replenishing his strength as well.

While killing grade-five demon beasts was now a trivial matter for him, and grade-six beasts should be no trouble either, he was alone in the deep sea, so a little caution was warranted.

This lure-grass method was not foolproof.

In the past, he had encountered an incident where a three-hundred-year Rainbow Garment Grass mistakenly attracted a grade-six or even grade-seven demon beast. It had nearly cost him his life, forcing him to abandon his formation and flee.

Han Li was determined not to let a moment's carelessness cost him his life here.

A little over half a day later, Han Li, who had been sitting cross-legged beside the Rainbow Garment Grass, suddenly stirred slightly.

He opened his eyes and stared coldly at the distant sea.

After a short while, dark clouds suddenly gathered over the sea surface, wind and rain began to rage, and a massive whirlpool dozens of feet wide appeared without warning, from which a low, muffled roar could be heard.

Han Li’s expression remained unchanged, but his figure flickered and became a streak of azure light rising into the air, watching the scene below with a hint of coldness.

From the whirlpool came a few dull rumbles, and then a ball of black Qi burst forth, carrying a demon beast with it.

The beast was not large, only several zhang in size, but it was making angry, agitated roars in the direction of the Rainbow Garment Grass.

At the sight, Han Li let out a relieved breath.

Although the black Qi obscured the true form of the beast, from the spiritual energy radiating from the black Qi, it was indeed only at the level of a grade-six demon beast.

This was perfect for him, and there should be no danger.

So Han Li simply hovered in the air, watching the beast below without moving.

In that short span of time, the beast within the black Qi, driven mad by the scent of the Rainbow Garment Grass, was already losing its mind.

Finally, with a great roar, it lunged fiercely toward the coral reef. Following its charge came a towering wave over ten zhang high.

Having witnessed the massive waves caused by the grade-seven giant turtle’s tribulation, Han Li was not impressed by such a display.

As the black Qi approached within several dozen zhang of the coral reef, a cold smirk flickered across Han Li’s face. He turned his hand over and produced a palm-sized, emerald-green formation plate.

With a flash of cyan light on his palm, Han Li struck the formation plate without hesitation.

A blinding yellow radiance bloomed from the plate.

The next moment, over a dozen yellow beams of light shot up from beneath the sea, followed by a hazy yellow barrier that instantly trapped the passing black Qi within.

The beast inside the black Qi was clearly startled.

But immediately, two massive, iron-blue pincers shot out from the black Qi and struck violently against the yellow barrier.

A thunderous crash echoed across the sea.

The entire yellow barrier began to tremble precariously, as if it could only withstand a few more hits.

But for Han Li, that brief moment of confinement was enough.

The Five Elements Ring, the ancient treasure he had long prepared in his hand, was sent flying with a clear chime, vanishing in an instant.

Above the black Qi, a low chanting sound emerged.

Then, a five-colored mist appeared, plunged downward into the black Qi, and disappeared without a trace.

A terrified roar followed, and the dense black Qi dispersed instantly, revealing the demon beast within.

It was a massive cyan shrimp, three to four zhang long, with six jade-green eyes on each side of its head, rolling in panic.

At that moment, five bronze rings were tightly locked around it, binding it like a zongzi, utterly unable to move.

Just then, two dazzling azure rainbows shot down from the sky. They crossed, and the giant shrimp was cleanly cut into several pieces, its green fluid spilling across the ground.

The five-colored bronze rings trembled slightly, vanished in the mist, and reappeared in Han Li’s hand the very next instant.

A hint of satisfaction crossed Han Li’s face. He gave the formation plate a shake.

With a flash of yellow light, it disappeared.

At the same time, the barrier below silently faded away.

Han Li stored the Five Elements Ring and flipped his hand again, producing a pitch-black round bowl.

Holding the bowl in both hands, he gently descended and landed beside the shrimp’s remains.

His eyes flickered coldly as he glanced at the shrimp’s head. Without hesitation, he extended a finger and began to chant.

A white light gathered at his fingertip, growing brighter with the incantation.

Suddenly, Han Li let out a low snort. From the white light on his fingertip shot several strands as thin as silk, stabbing straight into the shrimp’s head.

His finger quivered slightly, and a green light the size of a fist, bound by the white strands, was drawn from the shrimp’s head and pulled toward the Soul-Gathering Bowl in his hand.

The green light seemed to sense its danger and struggled desperately halfway, but it was gradually drawn closer despite its efforts.

When it was only about a foot from the bowl, a patch of black light flew out from the bowl on its own, enveloped the green light, and absorbed it in a single smooth motion.

Seeing this, a smile appeared on Han Li’s face.

He stepped forward, searched inside the shrimp’s corpse for a moment, and pulled out a pale blue sphere.

Compared to a grade-five inner core, this grade-six inner core was not only larger but also had begun to take on a translucent quality. It radiated a faint light, making it look exceptionally beautiful.

After a brief inspection, Han Li tucked the inner core into his storage pouch. He glanced at the shrimp’s carcass again, as if a thought had occurred to him.

He raised his hand, and two streaks of cyan light flashed across.

The two massive shrimp pincers were neatly severed. Without hesitation, Han Li gestured, and both pincers were gathered up.

Then a small fireball flew out, reducing the remaining shrimp carcass to ash.

Only then did Han Li calmly fly back to the vicinity of the Rainbow Garment Grass and sit down cross-legged once more.

He was certain that this sea region could not possibly hold only one grade-six demon beast. Now, he simply had to wait quietly for the next one.

Han Li settled into his thoughts, unhurried.