Chapter 1657: Hundred Races of the Spirit Realm — The Crystal Clan

Sure enough, Xiang Zhili came that evening, and once he started chatting with Han Li, the conversation lasted the entire night.

Through their talk, Han Li learned a great deal of intelligence about Cloud City and the Thirteen Heavenly Cloud Clans that he had previously been unaware of.

It was not until dawn was about to break that Xiang Zhili finally rose, fully satisfied, and took his leave.

But just as Han Li was seeing him to the door, Xiang Zhili seemed to recall something. He suddenly turned around, a trace of hesitation flickering across his face, and said:

"Junior Brother Han, it's impossible for me to return to the human race. But you still have a chance of that day coming. If you ever decide to leave Cloud City and head somewhere far off, could you come see me first? I have some things I'd like to leave with you, and there's a matter I'd like to entrust you with. But don't worry, Junior Brother — as long as you're able to return to the human race, this matter will be as simple as raising a hand for you. And there will be considerable benefits in it as well."

"Oh? Can't you tell me what it is now? I really can't say for certain when I might leave. If something unexpected comes up, I might not have time to come bid you farewell," Han Li said after a moment of surprise, pausing briefly to consider.

"To be honest, Junior Brother, it wouldn't be convenient to go into details just yet. Besides, I still need some time to prepare certain things. You'd best come by when the time comes. Otherwise, if you miss this opportunity, we may both deeply regret it." Xiang Zhili shook his head and spoke with a meaningful tone.

Hearing Xiang Zhili put it that way, Han Li naturally gave a promise that he would try his best.

Xiang Zhili nodded, then turned and left the room.

Han Li watched as Xiang Zhili vanished from beyond the doorway in a flicker, and a peculiar expression crept onto his face. He suddenly reached a single hand toward the door and grasped inward, and a tremendous force immediately pulled it shut. The wooden door swayed once before slamming closed in an instant.

At the same time, a layer of white radiance rippled across the four walls of the room, and a restriction activated on its own, shrouding the entire chamber within its barrier.

Han Li walked unhurriedly to a corner of the room and settled cross-legged onto a meditation cushion once more. A faint smile appeared on his face for reasons unknown, though a cold glint flickered within his eyes as his thoughts drifted to who knew where.

The next day, Han Li remained in his room resting in meditation, showing no intention of stepping outside whatsoever.

It was not until the morning of the third day that the door opened quietly and he strolled out in a leisurely manner.

He did not go downstairs to the main hall to look for Xiang Zhili. Instead, he simply drifted down from an exit on his own floor, landing lightly on the street of the foreign-race inn.

Han Li appeared to have already decided where he was going. He casually flagged down a beast-drawn carriage, stated a destination, and the carriage went galloping along the street.

Through the carriage window, Han Li took in every detail of the streetscape with crystal clarity.

When his gaze swept once more toward that enormous sphere far beyond the distant city wall, a slight stir passed through his heart.

After his conversation with Xiang Zhili the previous night, he naturally understood the true nature of those colossal objects. Those enormous spheres were in fact thirteen super-sized war puppets, rumored to possess power comparable to that of an early-stage Spirit Transformation cultivator.

And the thirteen puppets just happened to be assigned one each to the Thirteen Heavenly Cloud Clans, with each clan responsible for controlling one.

With such terrifying war puppets guarding it, the defensive strength of Heavenly Cloud City could easily be imagined. No wonder the Heavenly Cloud races had chosen this city as their central stronghold against the Jiaochi Clan — at the very least, they didn't have to worry about the Jiaochi sending elite forces to launch a surprise raid on the city.

Han Li soon withdrew his gaze from the distant sphere and closed his eyes.

The place he was heading wasn't far. The beast-drawn carriage galloped for only half an hour before arriving at a rather secluded side street.

Han Li tossed out a few spirit stones and hopped down from the carriage, glancing left and right.

Don't let the humble appearance of the street fool you — the number of pedestrians was clearly far greater than on those main thoroughfares.

The shops lining both sides of the street weren't large, but just as many people were streaming in and out of them, their businesses seemingly booming.

Han Li nodded and glanced at a shop directly before him, looked up at the signboard hanging above its entrance, then walked in with an expressionless face.

The shop was several dozen zhang in size, with rows upon rows of shelving lining every wall. The shelves were packed dense with stone tablets, jade discs, silver plaques, and all manner of other catalogues and records — but every last item was veiled behind layers of shimmering, crystalline light barriers.

This was a shop that specialized in selling texts and records.

According to what Xiang Zhili had told him, although Cloud City contained shops of every description in staggering numbers, most of the notable establishments that Han Li might find interesting were concentrated along this very street.

Now that he saw it for himself, it appeared to be true.

Though the shop wasn't large, the variety of texts and records on offer was genuinely impressive.

A few other foreign-race cultivators were already inside, each standing before the shelves browsing items on their own. They were all Core Formation-stage existences.

These foreign cultivators seemed entirely absorbed in their selections and paid no attention to the fact that a high-ranking human cultivator had just walked in.

As for the shopkeeper, she was a young female of the foreign race.

She looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, but her skin was luminous as snow, her ears pointed to fine tips, and set between her brows was a small milky-white crystal the size of a soybean. Her pair of beautiful eyes shimmered with a depth that lent her an air of keen intelligence.

"The Crystal Clan."