A Name Reverberates — Spirit Talismans and the Wyrm Soul

When Wei Wuyai and Extreme Zenith Shangren were lightly discussing Han Li in the great hall, Han Li himself had already reached the main entrance.

To his surprise, he saw Dong Xuan'er standing right outside the doors.

The woman had apparently emerged from a side hall at some point and was standing there with her head lowered, seemingly lost in thought.

The gate-guarding cultivators, knowing that she had arrived with the Clouddew Old Demon, naturally turned a blind eye and let her stand there without interference.

When Han Li emerged, Dong Xuan'er seemed to sense it and looked up.

The moment she saw Han Li, a strange expression crossed her face—part awkwardness, part resentment.

This left Han Li somewhat puzzled.

Though inwardly wary, he had nothing to say to her. He walked past her as if he hadn't noticed and slowly made his way toward the distant street.

Dong Xuan'er remained frozen in place, biting her red lip as she watched his retreating back, without saying a word.

After turning a corner and finally feeling her gaze leave him, Han Li frowned lightly and shook his head.

"Master, do you know that female cultivator?" Silvermoon's puzzled voice sounded in his mind.

"An old acquaintance. Not a good one, though," Han Li replied casually.

"Is that so? But this servant thinks her expression suggested something more significant between you. Perhaps she was your—" Silvermoon said with a giggle, trailing off deliberately.

"Don't guess randomly. I have no good impression of her. We were even enemies back then," Han Li said with a cold snort of displeasure.

Silvermoon sent a playful face emoji through their connection, then tactfully fell silent.

Ever since Han Li had rescued her that day without pressing her about the Purple Cheng Net or the Bronze Ancient Treasure, Silvermoon had grown noticeably closer to him.

She still didn't dare to be too presumptuous, but she had clearly opened part of her heart to him.

Han Li naturally sensed this as well and had begun to trust her more in return. Their relationship had improved considerably since the early days.

Back at the Falling Cloud Sect's encampment, Han Li briefly recounted the discussions in the great hall to Lu Luo.

"Junior Brother, why take the risk of participating in the gamble? Those Geng Essences may be rare, but they are external objects. If something happens to you, what then?" Lu Luo immediately showed concern upon hearing that Han Li intended to join the bet duel.

Han Li smiled faintly and said lightly:

"Senior Brother Lu, rest assured. If I agreed to participate, it is because I am eighty to ninety percent confident I can extricate myself safely. Otherwise, I would not have accepted so readily. However, I will be unable to look after the other disciples during the great battle in seven days' time. That will be entirely in your hands."

"I will take good care of the disciples. Don't worry about that. Since you are confident about the bet duel, I won't say more. But before the battle, if you need anything, just instruct the disciples to handle it," Lu Luo said, his expression easing slightly.

Han Li smiled. After a brief pause, he said slowly:

"For this battle, I do need to make some preparations. There are a few special materials that I will need several of our juniors to help me gather."

Han Li didn't stand on ceremony. He took a prepared jade slip from his storage pouch and handed it to Lu Luo.

"Don't worry. As long as the materials can be found in Heavenly Star City, I will make sure you have them," Lu Luo said without hesitation, taking the jade slip.

Han Li felt a faint warmth in his heart. After nodding and exchanging a few more words, he took his leave.

The materials recorded in the jade slip he had given Lu Luo were the auxiliary ingredients for refining the Descent Spirit Talisman.

He had already thought it through on the way back.

Although he felt his current abilities were sufficient for the bet duel, his long-ingrained caution urged him to prepare an extra layer of security.

That was when he thought of the Descent Spirit Talisman—a powerful ace-in-the-hole.

It was also the only major offensive measure he could prepare within a few days. Other things, like reforging his flying swords or cultivating the Great Geng Sword Formation, simply couldn't be completed in such a short time.

The only thing that gave Han Li pause was the success rate of refining the Descent Spirit Talisman.

Originally, he had wanted to find a satisfactory spirit talisman brush and practice his talisman-crafting skills for a while before attempting the Descent Spirit Talisman.

But now, there was no time.

Even if the success rate was low, he had to try. If he succeeded, he would gain another killing move. If he failed, it didn't matter.

After all, in just a few days, no other preparation could meaningfully increase his combat strength.

With this in mind, Han Li calmly made his way to his residential pavilion.

Entering the bedroom, he sat cross-legged on the bed and soon closed his eyes in meditation.

To his credit, the Falling Cloud Sect disciples were not slow. Within just two days, all the materials Han Li required had been gathered and delivered into his hands.

Han Li was inwardly pleased.

It seemed that being an elder of the Falling Cloud Sect wasn't so bad after all.

Carrying the materials, he entered the secret chamber, sat down cross-legged in the center, and arranged the auxiliary ingredients neatly before him.

Finally, he took a small, dark-green bottle from his storage pouch and carefully opened its lid.

"Puff."

A blood-red ball of light shot out from the bottle.

Prepared for this, Han Li raised his hand without changing expression. His five fingers spread wide, and a massive azure hand materialized to snatch the blood-red light out of the air.

The azure light swirled continuously. With a slight shake of his fingers, the blood-red light revealed its true form within the glow.

It was a palm-sized blood-red wyrm, franticly spinning in his palm, constantly trying to escape.

But the azure light, firm and unyielding, held the wyrm soul trapped in his large hand like a bird in a cage, unable to break free.

Han Li narrowed his eyes. Deep within his pupils, a faint blue light flickered.

In an instant, he saw every detail of the venomous wyrm's soul inside and out.

Despite how lively and restless the blood-red wyrm appeared—just as it had been years ago when he first sealed it in the bottle—under the Bright Essence Spirit Pupils, Han Li clearly detected an anomaly.

The soul energy within the wyrm soul was still formidable, but the light in its eyes was scattered and unfocused, carrying a three-tenths hint of dullness. This was a clear sign of lost intelligence.

The wyrm soul now possessed only raw soul power. Its consciousness had degenerated to a pre-awakened, instinct-driven state. Its earlier frantic attempt to flee was merely a living reflex.

Han Li let out a soft sigh.

He recalled the eighth-tier transformed venomous wyrm in its prime—how wildly arrogant it had been, how vast its divine powers. And now, its soul had fallen into his hands for only a few years, yet it had already lost its awareness, reduced to a beast-like state.

The contrast between its former and present existence was staggering. It filled Han Li with a profound wariness of the treacherous path of cultivation.

If one day his physical body was destroyed and his Nascent Soul fell into enemy hands, his fate would be no better than this wyrm's.

He sat silently for a moment, sighed again, and flicked his wrist.

A ball of azure light wrapped around the blood-red wyrm and shot upward, stopping about a zhang above his head, floating motionlessly.

No longer paying attention to the wyrm soul, Han Li lowered his head to scan the materials before him. He suddenly pointed at an unknown spirit beast hide.

The emerald-green rare hide slowly rose and floated before his chest.

A gleam of light flashed in Han Li's eyes. He opened his mouth and expelled a wisp of azure Nascent Soul flame, which struck the hide and wrapped around it without setting it alight.

His hands formed seals, fingers dancing as one spell after another struck the hide.

The Nascent Soul flame flickered, brightening and dimming irregularly.

Then, ceasing his hand seals, Han Li extended a single pale finger and pointed at a white jade box before him.

"Shoosh."

The lid flew off, revealing a glittering pile of silver powder inside.

With a hook of his finger, a portion of the silver powder turned into a silver thread and shot straight into the azure Nascent Soul flame.

Silver firelight emerged within the flames and, guided by Han Li's seals, converged on the spirit hide at the center. The entire hide transformed into a large ball of silver light, slowly rotating within the flames.

Han Li's expression grew even more serious. He began pointing at the various jars and bottles before him one by one. A dazzling array of materials, one after another, vanished into the Nascent Soul flame.

The color of the flame enveloping the hide shifted: from silver to black, from black to green, and finally to a deep blood-red. When it reached this color, Han Li exhaled lightly and finally stopped adding materials. Instead, he began to chant a low incantation.

At the same time, several of his fingers trembled, and thin strands of azure silk shot from his fingertips, striking the spirit hide.

The hide stopped rotating. Under the guidance of the azure threads, it began to sway strangely, sometimes slow, sometimes fast.

Amid the incantation, Han Li continued his work expressionlessly. Gradually, faint black threads emerged from the hide's surface within the flames.

As soon as these black threads touched the blood-red Nascent Soul flame, they vanished instantly, leaving behind a faint, rank odor in the chamber.

The entire spirit hide shrank slightly in volume.

Han Li remained unfazed. This process continued for over an hour. Only when the last wisp of black energy had been refined from the hide did he relax and let out a long breath.

After adding a few more materials into the flame and refining them briefly, Han Li's eyes flickered. He suddenly blew lightly toward the fire.

"Puff."

The flame immediately extinguished, revealing the spirit hide now stained a deep blood-red. It was now only the size of a palm.

Seeing the hide in this state, a satisfied expression crossed Han Li's face.

He looked up at the wyrm soul floating above and, without hesitation, pointed at it.

The azure light surrounding the wyrm soul flickered once, then dissolved into specks of spiritual light and vanished. The wyrm soul, as if drawn by some force, shot straight toward the blood-red spirit hide.

With a soft "splat," it sank into the hide's surface and disappeared from sight.