"As far as I know, Cold Marrow exists only in the Extreme Cold Palace. If not for the fact that the Extreme Cold Palace once had Deity Transformation cultivators and the Solar Essence Fire was extremely difficult to find, this substance would have been seized by other cultivators long ago. Though the Extreme Cold Palace no longer has any Deity Transformation cultivators, the Cold Marrow mysteriously went missing ages ago. I personally infiltrated the Extreme Cold Palace to search for it once, but came up empty-handed. How did you obtain this Cold Marrow? Could it be the very bottle that was lost from the palace?" Old Devil Hu's chilling voice arrived via spiritual transmission.
"Of course not. What are the odds that such a coincidence would occur — that the lost bottle of Cold Marrow would end up in Han's hands. I merely obtained a small amount from the Ten-Thousand-Year Dark Jade within the Dark Jade Cavern of the Void Spirit Hall at the Extreme Cold Palace. And for this exchange with you, Fellow Daoist, I naturally couldn't bring it all. After dividing it up, it should be just barely enough to refine two portions of Yang-Reverting Water." Han Li had apparently anticipated this question from the old devil long ago and spoke without the slightest change in expression.
"Hmph, I don't care where this stuff came from. It's originally not suitable for excessive consumption — enough for me alone will do. But if you truly intend to use it as the basis for an exchange, I have one additional condition. If you agree, I will allow the girl Zi Ling to leave Devil Buddha Mountain." The wood-crowned elder's gaze shifted, and he suddenly stopped using spiritual transmission, speaking aloud directly.
"What condition?" A flicker of surprise passed through Han Li's eyes. The other party raising an additional condition was genuinely somewhat unexpected.
"Simple enough. Besides giving me what you mentioned, you must also take a single strike from me head-on. No dodging, and no using the Heaven-Destroying Pearl. But whether or not you manage to withstand it, I will cause you no further trouble." The wood-crowned elder's cold gaze swept across Zi Ling before his expressionless face spoke.
Xiang Zhili's expression shifted upon hearing this condition, though he quickly recovered. Feng the Eccentric, on the other hand, looked at the old devil with surprise.
The others' reactions were all quite different!
Originally, Old Devil Hu's dramatic change in demeanor had left them all bewildered, unable to fathom what incredibly rare treasure Han Li had produced that could cause even a Deity Transformation cultivator's expression to change so suddenly. But upon hearing this condition, they were rendered speechless once more.
"Take your strike head-on, without dodging?" Han Li's pupils contracted as he murmured to confirm, repeating the words.
"That's right, these are my terms. If I don't show you a thing or two, I'm afraid everyone else will truly believe that I, the master of Devil Palace, can't even protect my own concubine!" the old devil said in a sinister voice.
For a time, the great hall fell silent once more. Many among them were quietly deliberating. Had Old Devil Hu's killing intent not truly subsided, and was he using this opportunity to strike down his opponent in a single blow? After all, with the enormous gap between a Nascent Soul cultivator and a Deity Transformation cultivator, how could anyone withstand such a strike without dodging?
And just as all eyes turned toward Han Li, Zi Ling's face had gone so pale it was nearly translucent.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly bit down on her silver teeth.
"There's no need for Brother Han to make any exchange. This concubine has changed her mind — I no longer intend to leave the Devil Palace. Brother Han, you should go on your own." The woman spoke with difficulty, her voice tinged with bitterness.
Han Li froze for a moment upon hearing these words, but quickly grasped her meaning and chuckled softly. Yet before he could speak, Old Devil Hu's icy voice cut in ahead of him:
"You take my Devil Palace for what kind of place? Come and go as you please? As long as I have agreed to this transaction, even if you wish to stay here, it is nothing but wishful thinking. Boy surnamed Han, you wouldn't agree to that, would you?"
"I certainly would not. If it's only a single strike, Han would actually rather like to attempt it." Han Li shook his head at Zi Ling and agreed without the slightest hesitation.
The old devil let out a sinister laugh and raised one hand, pointing a finger toward Zi Ling nearby.
The woman immediately felt an itchy, tingling sensation at her Dantian, and couldn't help but cry out softly in alarm, her complexion draining. Her delicate body trembled, and several threads of black silk flew out from within her body, coiling like dark serpents before plunging into the old devil's finger and vanishing.
Zi Ling was finally able to straighten up once more. After circulating her Magical Power slightly, a look of both astonishment and delight appeared on her face. The spiritual energy she had been utterly unable to mobilize before came surging forth once again.
Han Li's divine sense swept through Zi Ling's body as well, and after a moment, a look of satisfaction finally appeared on his face.
The restriction within her body was indeed gone.
"The item!"
Old Devil Hu was entirely without pretense — no sooner had he lifted the restriction from Zi Ling's body than he fixed Han Li with a cold stare and demanded.
The corner of Han Li's mouth curved upward as he abruptly raised his hand. A streak of white light shot forth from his sleeve.
Old Devil Hu's eyes brightened, and with a single hand he made a grabbing motion through the air. The white light appeared in his grasp.
It was a milky-white jade bottle!
The old devil's gaze flickered twice, and his sleeve swept over the bottle. The cap opened of its own accord. At the same time, waves of black light rippled outward, forming a layer of black luminous shielding to prevent anyone else from using divine sense to peek at the contents.
The wood-crowned elder's such cautious attitude only served to heighten everyone's curiosity. Even Xiang Zhili couldn't help but stroke his beard in contemplative silence.
In barely a moment's time, Old Devil Hu finished examining the bottle's contents, and a trace of a smile appeared on his face.
After capping the bottle once more, he flipped his palm, and the bottle vanished without a trace.
Having completed all of this, he raised his head to look at Han Li once more. The smile drained from his face, replaced by a thick layer of murderous intent. With a sudden flash of black light around his body, he transformed into a streak of dark radiance and shot out through the hall doors. Behind him, his emotionless words echoed through the hall.