A Name That Shakes a Region, Liu Yu

Chapter 678: A Name That Shakes a Region, Liu Yu

"You are truly perceptive, Fellow Daoist. This is indeed the Falling Cloud Sect of the Heavenly Alliance. Please, the young lady should hurry; my master is still waiting." A playful light flickered in Yin Yue's eyes as she urged the woman on without any change in her expression.

"Very well. I, too, wish to meet this Senior. I ask that you lead the way, Fellow Daoist." The woman in white was no ordinary cultivator; she quickly regained her composure.

Yin Yue smiled faintly, then moved with light steps out of the quiet room. The white-robed woman followed in silence.

Moments later, the two women arrived at the main hall, one after the other.

Han Li was seated on a stone chair, his eyes clear as he gazed at a massive, shimmering shield in the center of the hall. Within it, a spirit beast was furiously ramming its head against the barrier, but the earth-attribute restriction was completely unmoved; its deep yellow surface was as firm as a boulder.

Liu Yu took a careful look at the beast. It had a body like a green ox, a back covered in scales, and hooves of a pale silver. It was a rare Iron Rhinoceros Beast.

Though not an ancient mutant breed, this spirit beast was still an exceedingly rare sight in the cultivation world. It seemed that the recently exterminated Fu Family of Yuanwu had possessed such a heirloom beast. It was said to be a match for a mid-Core Formation cultivator without being at a disadvantage. Was this that very beast?

If so, then the man before her must have annihilated the Fu family and seized this spirit beast.

Liu Yu felt a chill in her heart at Han Li's ruthlessness. Falling into the hands of such a Nascent Soul cultivator was truly a case of more bad than good!

However, she was also secretly puzzled by how young Han Li appeared.

After all, it was rare for male cultivators to practice techniques that preserved one's appearance. Even after entering the Nascent Soul stage, most appeared as middle-aged men. Of course, this 'middle-aged' appearance was the normal look of a male cultivator at three or four hundred years old. The higher one's cultivation, the slower they aged.

Thus, in the cultivation world, it was not at all strange for some old men to address middle-aged cultivators as 'Uncle' or 'Grand-uncle.'

At this moment, Yin Yue stood before Han Li, her expression growing serious.

"Master, I have brought the Fellow Daoist from the Imperial Spirit Sect."

"Mm. You may withdraw for now." Han Li nodded, speaking casually.

"Yes, Master." Knowing her transformation could not last long and that Han Li had said this intentionally, Yin Yue smiled and quietly retreated.

Liu Yu walked uneasily to stand before Han Li, giving him a light, graceful bow before stepping aside, her demeanor delicate and pitiable, making her seem exceptionally well-behaved.

Han Li, however, only gave her a cold glance before turning back to look at the Iron Rhinoceros Beast within the shield. With a flick of his finger, a thin arc of electricity shot from his fingertip, piercing the shield and striking the beast's body.

The Iron Rhinoceros Beast convulsed as electric arcs danced over its body. With a mournful cry, it collapsed with a thud, its four legs twitching uncontrollably, unable to get up.

Seeing Han Li casually strike down such a powerful beast with a single attack, Liu Yu's feigned delicate expression flickered, but she quickly composed herself as if nothing had happened. Yet Han Li's spiritual sense easily detected that her heart was beating just a fraction faster than before.

It was only then that Han Li turned his gaze back to the woman in white and asked calmly, "What is your name, Fellow Daoist? Why were you following me without cause? It's not strange for cultivators of the Ghost Spirit Sect or Devil Flame Sect to seek me out, but I don't recall having provoked your Imperial Spirit Sect."

Hearing this, Liu Yu was momentarily stunned before her expression turned somewhat unnatural. After biting her red lip lightly, she replied in a low voice, "Senior has imprisoned our Imperial Spirit Sect's Wood Spirit Infant. That is the only reason I was ordered to track your movements. If I have been presumptuous, I ask Senior not to take it to heart. I am merely following orders."

She was well aware that even if she didn't tell the truth, a Nascent Soul cultivator could easily use a soul-search technique to forcefully extract the information they wanted. She had no desire to end up a soulless idiot with damaged spiritual sense.

"Wood Spirit Infant? You mean that little green toy?" Han Li furrowed his brow, immediately recalling the eerie little figure he had captured. He spoke with some surprise.

"That's correct. This spirit infant was refined by our sect with immense effort and is of the utmost importance. But an accident occurred this time, allowing it to escape. And now, it has been captured by Senior." Liu Yu explained with a wry smile.

"Refined by you? I thought it was some kind of spiritual being that had formed an infant. Still, that little thing was quite troublesome. If it hadn't been for me, I imagine not many cultivators would have been able to deal with it." Han Li's eyes flickered as he spoke coldly.

At his words, Liu Yu seemed to show a hint of embarrassment and was momentarily at a loss for what to say.

Fortunately, Han Li stared at her flawless face and asked thoughtfully, "But how did you know I had captured the spirit infant and track me down so quickly? Did you place some kind of mark on it? If so, it would not have escaped my spiritual sense."

"Senior, I did not place any tracking restriction on the spirit infant. My fellow senior disciple and I practice a special secret technique that allows us to sense the general location of the Wood Spirit Infant from a great distance. That is why a sect elder sent us to pursue Senior. Of course, this sensing has a range limit. If Senior had traveled more than a hundred thousand li away, my senior disciple and I would have been helpless." Liu Yu seemed truly unwilling to hide anything now. She not only answered his questions but even volunteered other relevant information.

Han Li gave a slight nod. Whether her words were true or false, he was fairly satisfied with her tact.

However, his next question made Liu Yu's expression change dramatically.

"Since your Imperial Spirit Sect went to such trouble to refine this spirit infant, it must be of great use. Would you care to tell me what it's for?"

After saying this, Han Li narrowed his eyes, a cold light flickering within them as he stared at her in silence.

A trace of hesitation appeared on Liu Yu's face. But when her bright eyes met Han Li's icy glare, she shuddered involuntarily and immediately replied without further delay.

"This Wood Spirit Infant is indeed extraordinary. It can fuse with a wood-attribute spiritual root cultivator who has practiced a specific cultivation art. Instead of forming their own Nascent Soul, the cultivator uses the spirit infant as a replacement, thus gaining the cultivation and abilities of the Nascent Soul stage."

Even though she knew that revealing the spirit infant's secret would bring no good outcome when she returned to the Imperial Spirit Sect, she was even more aware that she would not survive the current situation if she remained silent. This seemingly young Nascent Soul cultivator was not one to show mercy to women. She could only worry about her immediate safety for now.

"Directly entering the Nascent Soul stage? Such a technique exists? If this is true, your Imperial Spirit Sect would have unified the demonic path long ago. How could it be content to remain beneath the Blissful Union Sect? Does this secret technique have other limitations?" Han Li was startled by her words, but he quickly calmed down and struck at the core of the issue.

"Senior has keen insight. This kind of spirit infant cannot be mass-produced. Although this secret technique was created long ago, cultivating the spirit infants is incredibly difficult. The refining materials are extremely rare, and it also seems to require the cooperation of sect elders whose lifespans are nearly up. The dissipating Nascent Souls of these elders seem to be an essential component. Furthermore, each time a spirit infant appears, it is only through a combination of fortunate coincidences that it succeeds. Out of ten or more attempts, maybe one will succeed. To perform the fusion ritual, five spirit infants of different attributes must be gathered. If even one is missing, the five elements will be incomplete and the fusion will fail. Our Imperial Spirit Sect has been accumulating spirit infants for many years, but we only have six or seven. We were always missing the rarest metal-attribute spirit infant. It was only decades ago that we managed to refine one. With that, the sect immediately selected ten Core Formation cultivators as candidates for the fusion. Each of us began cultivating the specific secret technique. When the conditions are ripe, five of us will be chosen from the candidates to perform the fusion ceremony." Liu Yu's voice was melodious as she laid out the relevant secrets one by one.

Han Li's face remained expressionless, but he was inwardly shaken.

He propped his chin on one hand and fell into contemplation.

After a long while, he slowly spoke, "Since these cultivators used a shortcut to enter the Nascent Soul stage, there must be some differences from true Nascent Soul cultivators. I imagine there are quite a few flaws."

This method of fusing spirit infants reminded Han Li of the Demonic Core cultivators. Both seemed to be methods of rapid achievement. However, this method of cultivating spirit infants was far more challenging.

"Senior speaks the truth. I don't know about other aspects, but I do know that the most important thing for a Nascent Soul cultivator—their astonishing lifespan—is not granted to those who fuse with a spirit infant. They retain only the lifespan of a Core Formation cultivator. Furthermore, once this secret technique is used, it seems to permanently forfeit the chance to form a true Nascent Soul, and their cultivation level becomes stagnant, unable to advance further. You could say there are both advantages and disadvantages."

Having already revealed so much, the woman steeled herself and laid it all out. After all, it seemed to make little difference how much she said at this point.