However, this kind of immortal secret technique would require considerable time to cultivate and could not show results quickly, so there was no need to begin training in it immediately.
Han Li extended his spiritual sense into the two jade books, carefully re-reading everything recorded within. After silently contemplating for a while and feeling that no questions remained, he put away the two jade tablets and slowly closed his eyes.
He planned to first adjust his body, mind, and magical power to their optimal states, and then begin refining that "Heavenly Halberd Talisman."
He believed that with this talisman in hand, no matter what unexpected developments arose during the great battle soon to come, he would have more than enough means to protect himself.
Of course, the reason Han Li had so readily agreed to deal with the Blood Light Holy Ancestor's incarnation was not based on this alone.
With his current formidable spiritual sense, he could already barely manage to fully mobilize those unevolved Gold Devouring Beetles for actual combat.
He believed that if several thousand Gold Devouring Beetles were released simultaneously without prior preparation, even a Holy Ancestor's incarnation would be hard-pressed to withstand them.
Moreover, he was about to practice the various divine abilities recorded in the Brahma Saint True Devil Art — each one was extraordinary and more than enough to give his opponents a tremendous surprise.
Furthermore, he still had the Leopard Qilin Beast and those not-yet-fully-evolved Gold Devouring Beetle Kings to supplement his strength. He was confident that not only could he face a Demon Holy Ancestor's incarnation, but even before a true Holy Ancestor's main body, he should still have the means to protect himself.
With these thoughts, Han Li relaxed his spiritual sense, gradually let everything fade from his mind, and began entering meditation.
In the time that followed, the secret chamber first fell into extraordinary silence for a period, then suddenly a low hum emanated from within, occasionally punctuated by a few thunderous booms that shook the entire chamber.
Half a month later, a piercing shriek suddenly erupted from the secret chamber. A pillar of golden light flashed and shot through the chamber's ceiling, appearing directly above the stone tower where Han Li resided.
This golden pillar of light shimmered with spiritual luminescence, reaching over a thousand zhang in height and as thick as a water vat. At its apex, the vague outline of a massive halberd-shaped phantom hovered, emitting an astonishing cry.
Even more wondrous was that around the halberd phantom, countless silver lights flickered ceaselessly — thousands upon thousands of silver runes dancing through the air.
From a distance, the sight appeared profoundly mysterious and arcane.
In the next instant, the halberd phantom's piercing cry abruptly ceased as it released a blinding golden radiance. Simultaneously, an indescribable wave of terrifying power erupted from within, sweeping madly in all directions.
Wherever the wave passed, spiritual light flickered in the nearby void as specks of golden luminescence appeared.
They were each only the size of a grain of rice, but their numbers were beyond counting, and they surged toward the pillar of light like a tide.
These motes of light emanated an incredibly pure gold-attribute spiritual energy, permeating an area spanning tens of thousands of li. It was clear that all the gold-attribute spiritual qi across this vast region had been completely drained.
Not only that, some cultivators who were meditating and cultivating in their residences nearby, as well as armored guards patrolling at low altitudes — all who wore gold-attribute armor or other weapon-type treasures on their persons discovered their treasures emitting waves of abnormal hums, followed by massive quantities of gold-attribute spiritual energy violently pouring outward, transforming into specks of golden light and surging in the same direction.
These cultivators were naturally startled by this sight and each tried various means to control the abnormal state of their treasures. But whether they used secret techniques to communicate with their treasures or directly employed talismans and other methods to seal them, the loss of gold-attribute spiritual energy was unstoppable and utterly irresistible.
In just a short while, nearly half of the gold-attribute spiritual energy in their treasures had been drained away, leaving them dim and faded.
It was obvious that if this continued, these treasures would be forcibly destroyed on the spot.
The cultivators were terrified to the point of losing their souls, yet could only watch helplessly as this unfolded.
Just when things seemed truly about to spiral beyond control, the halberd phantom within the golden pillar suddenly trembled, and the bizarre waves it had been emitting abruptly ceased.
The massive pillar of golden light flickered, enveloping the phantom as it plunged downward in a streak of gold, ultimately dispersing without a trace.
At the same time, the loss of gold-attribute spiritual energy from the cultivators' treasures immediately halted, returning to normal.
For these cultivators, had it not been for the fact that their treasures' auras had clearly become extremely weak, everything that had just happened would have felt like a dream.
Many of them exchanged bewildered glances.
Of course, this spectacular celestial phenomenon occurring at Han Li's residence could not escape the notice of the cultivators living nearby, who naturally assumed that this senior was refining some extraordinary treasure that required an enormous infusion of gold-attribute spiritual energy, thus causing what had just transpired.
Shocked and alarmed as they were, none of them dared to confront a late-stage Body Integration cultivator over the matter, and those whose treasures had been damaged could only resignedly accept their ill fortune.
Zen Master Jin Yue and several other Elders of the Elder Council, though they had not personally witnessed this phenomenon, soon received relevant reports.
Though somewhat surprised, they did not take the matter seriously, and not a single one sent anyone to inquire of Han Li about it.
At this time, the Demon race army outside the city was mobilizing with increasing frequency. Before a great battle, the atmosphere was something every cultivator of Sky Abyss City could already sense with absolute clarity.
Under such circumstances, these high-level cultivators would naturally not expend their energy on such trivial matters.