At the same time, beneath a high cliff at the center of Holy Island, Han Li's gaze flickered as he stared intently at the hundred-zhang crystal wall before him.
Beside him, Daoist Xie was examining the massive crystal wall with an expressionless face.
Some seven or eight zhang away, two green-robed elders stood with their hands clasped, faces full of terror.
These two were naturally the guards specifically assigned to this location, both at the late stage of Void Refinement.
However, the moment Han Li had arrived and released even a trace of his Mahayana spiritual pressure, the two green-robed elders had instantly become utterly terrified, not daring to obstruct him in the slightest.
By now, Han Li had already scanned every golden character flickering across the crystal wall from top to bottom. His gaze paused upward before settling once more on several ancient golden characters ranked third on the list.
"Profound Heaven Spirit-Slaying Sword."
Han Li murmured the name several times in a voice too low to hear, and unconsciously raised one hand to gently stroke his opposite arm.
Where his fingers touched, a certain pattern hidden beneath his robe sleeve suddenly became searingly hot, even carrying a faint stinging sensation.
Han Li let out a long breath, then without turning his head, asked: "Is the Profound Heaven Spirit-Slaying Sword that Profound Heaven treasure which most recently appeared on the ranking? I heard that when this item first appeared, it drove every race on the entire Feng Yuan Continent into a frenzy for a time."
"Reporting to Senior: when this Profound Heaven treasure first appeared on the ranking, it wasn't just the Feng Yuan Continent—even the great supreme clans from other continents sent people to search for it. But for some unknown reason, they were unable to obtain it, and no further news came after that. However, those great clans are most likely still searching in secret." The two green-robed elders glanced at each other, and one of them stepped forward to answer cautiously.
"Perhaps so. Brother Xie, we've finished reviewing this ranking. Let's go." Han Li chuckled softly without elaborating further, called out to Daoist Xie, and turned to leave.
"Farewell, Seniors!" The two green-robed elders hastily bowed to see them off.
"Brother Xie, do you know anything about this Chaotic Myriad Spirit Ranking?" After putting some distance between themselves and the ranking, Han Li suddenly asked Daoist Xie.
"My memories contain no information about this item, and my former master never mentioned it before. However, I just sensed a trace of Immortal Qi from that crystal wall."
"Immortal Qi!"
Han Li, who hadn't placed much confidence in his casual question, was taken aback upon hearing this.
"That's right. Though very scarce, it is extremely pure—no less pure than the Immortal Qi contained in the spiritual liquid you provided earlier," Daoist Xie replied flatly.
"How interesting. It seems that even though our Spirit Realm and the True Immortal Realm have lost contact for many years, some connections between them truly cannot be completely severed." After pondering for a moment, Han Li gave a cold laugh and muttered to himself.
Daoist Xie's expression remained unchanged, and he said nothing further.
Holy Island was not particularly large, and with the map Li Rong had provided, Han Li somehow turned left here and right there before arriving at a small teleportation formation.
He stepped onto it with Daoist Xie, then formed a single-handed seal.
The formation hummed, and as brilliant milky-white spiritual light blazed outward, their figures blurred and vanished without a trace.
The next moment, before a pavilion some seventy or eighty zhang tall, a flash of white light flickered, and Han Li and Daoist Xie's figures appeared within another formation.
"Heavenly Book Pavilion."
Han Li raised his head and swept his gaze across the enormous signboard hanging above the pavilion's entrance. A strange look passed across his face, and he turned to Daoist Xie: "Brother Xie, wait here for me briefly. I'll be back shortly."
"Fellow Daoist Han, please go ahead." Daoist Xie replied without hesitation.
Han Li nodded and walked toward the pavilion's entrance.
A short while later, he stood before an old woman with an abnormally pale complexion and said calmly: "I've heard that the Heavenly Book Pavilion houses countless secret arts. I'd like to go inside and have a look. Could you please lift the restrictions?"
"Your face is quite unfamiliar—might you be a Fellow Daoist who recently arrived on the island? Since you've come to the Heavenly Book Pavilion, you should already be well aware of our rules." The old woman sat cross-legged in the center of the empty first-floor hall, sized Han Li up with some puzzlement, then spoke with a furrowed brow.
The person before her had a depth of aura that was impossible to fathom—she simply could not determine his cultivation realm at all, which secretly astonished her.
"To learn a secret art, one either pays a set price in spirit stones, or exchanges a secret art of a similar type that the pavilion has not yet collected. Is that correct?" Han Li said with a slight smile.
"Indeed so. You intend to pay in spirit stones, then! Although the spirit stones required to learn a single secret art are an astronomical sum, it's still far easier than actually exchanging one of your own. The pavilion has already collected no fewer than ten thousand secret arts—to find one we haven't yet collected is no easy matter." The old woman let out several hoarse, raspy laughs before speaking.