"There's no way I'm interested in cultivating all the way to becoming some kind of grotesque monster like the Ancient Demons," Han Li said coldly.
"Kid Han, you don't seriously think all Ancient Demons look all twisted and deformed, do you?" The Grand Elder Spirit Lord fell silent for a moment, then spoke in a rather peculiar tone.
"What do you mean by that? Don't you become a demon from another realm after becoming an Ancient Demon? Can you even retain a human form?" Han Li was taken aback and shot back a question.
"That's exactly where you're wrong. According to the records I've seen, demon cultivators who ascend from the human realm to the Demon Realm — even after becoming one of the Ancient Demons — their appearance doesn't change at all. Of course, if they use demonic arts to transform themselves, that's another matter entirely. Back when the ancient cultivators fought the Ancient Demons to the bitter end, a small number of cultivators were lured by high-ranking Ancient Demons and used the method of demonic qi infusion to directly become one of the Ancient Demons. This made the final battles even more ferocious. It's said that these people, after being demonized, still retained their human appearance and sanity, yet willingly served those high-ranking Ancient Demons. No one knows what tricks were involved. It was only after that that the rumor spread — that human cultivators who practiced ancient demonic arts to the extreme would automatically ascend to the Ancient Demon Realm."
"As for those Ancient Demons whose true forms are inherently grotesque, they fall into two categories. The first are the primordial demons native to the Ancient Demon Realm. They are the highest-tier existences there — called something like Holy Ancestors. These demons are exceedingly rare, but every single one is terrifying beyond measure. Even now, some demon cultivators who practice ancient demonic arts must continuously invoke the names of these Ancient Demons in order to borrow enough demonic qi for their spells to succeed. The second category consists of certain demon-clan members from our human realm who practiced demonic arts and then ascended on their own to the Ancient Demon Realm. The demon clan's true forms were never human to begin with, so after becoming Ancient Demons, they naturally ended up just as hideous."
"The demon clan? How is that possible? How could they—"
"How could they practice ancient demonic arts, right? Don't ask me about that — I'm just as baffled. That text didn't go into any detail about it. It only seemed to suggest that the demon clan's contact with the Ancient Demons may have been far earlier than ours. I don't know the specifics. However, the high-ranking demon-clan members I encountered in the past were certainly not practicing any demonic arts, nor did they have any demonic qi about them. The reasons behind this — perhaps you'll find the answer if you ever make it to Great Jin. After all, that's where some of the oldest records of our human realm are preserved." The Grand Elder Spirit Lord answered in a languid manner.
Han Li's expression shifted between light and dark as his thoughts turned to the fragment in his storage pouch — supposedly a treasure of demon-clan inheritance, the Fan Sheng True Fragment. The Three Heads and Six Arms technique recorded on it looked remarkably similar to the Two Heads and Four Arms technique that the Ancient Demon had used that day. Could the two really be connected in some unknown way?
After pondering silently for a while, Han Li suddenly broke into a wry smile.
So what if some secret existed between the demon clan and the Ancient Demons? What did that have to do with him? He wasn't the type to poke his nose into everything or try to figure out every mystery. Some things were better left blurry.
Besides, the Fan Sheng True Fragment in his possession was only a fragment. Even if a complete demon-clan cultivation technique existed, he wouldn't be idle enough to practice it. The Azure Essence Sword Art alone — who knew how many years it would take to cultivate to its peak?
Moreover, since this technique was connected to the Ancient Demons and the demon clan, it couldn't possibly be suitable for human cultivation.
Han Li shook his head, banishing thoughts of the demon clan and the Fan Sheng True Fragment, and instead raised a question he cared about more.
"Don't worry about the puppet materials. Whether or not I go to Great Jin, I'll naturally help you gather everything. However, you told me two years ago that you'd figured out about seventy or eighty percent of the method for forging the Seven Flame Fan. By now it should be completely resolved, right? If the forging method is ready, you might as well hand it over to me to start working on. I've lost two of my flying swords and can no longer set up a sword formation. I'm in urgent need of a trump-card treasure." Han Li didn't beat around the bush — he spoke directly.
After over twenty years together, he and the Grand Elder Spirit Lord had come to understand each other quite well. Their relationship had mellowed considerably from before, even taking on a half-teacher, half-friend quality at times.
"In the forging method for the Seven Flame Fan, I've cut out the materials that can no longer be found and substituted the ones that can. I've worked out a method for you. As for whether it will truly succeed, I can't claim absolute certainty. But the treasure fan produced by this method can't really be called the Seven Flame Fan anymore — it should be called the Three Flame Fan instead. Because the original required eighty-one fire-attribute spirit materials to forge, and I've reduced it to thirty-one. Of course, the power is cut by more than half as well." The Grand Elder Spirit Lord didn't mince words — he told Han Li the details outright.
"That's fine. Even with reduced power, it doesn't matter. If a true Heavenly Spirit Treasure is really as formidable as the legends say, a replica like this Three Flame Fan would still be something no ordinary cultivator could withstand." Han Li answered without a second thought.
"I've copied the forging method onto a jade slip. Take a good look yourself. But even though it's a replica, there are still several materials that won't be easy to find. I reckon that forging this fan is going to take quite a bit of trouble," the Grand Elder Spirit Lord said coolly.
Then the lid of the bamboo tube behind Han Li popped open, and a beam of white light shot out. Han Li caught it behind his head with practiced ease, grabbing it without even looking — it was a white jade slip.
Han Li calmly immersed his spiritual sense into it and scanned through the contents. His brows creased almost imperceptibly.
"Most of the other materials I can handle. It'll just take some time to gather them and refine them into spirit materials. But these Haoyang Bird tail feathers and Scarlet Fire Flood Dragon scale fragments — those are things you can only hope to stumble upon. Where would I even find them? At the very least, I've never heard of either appearing in the Tiannan region."
"Those two materials are already the easiest substitutes I could think of. The others have even less hope. As for the Haoyang Bird tail feathers — back when I was traveling through Great Jin, I once saw a young female cultivator from Yueyang Palace who kept one of these spirit birds. After so many years, even if the original Haoyang Bird is gone, there should be descendants. You could go and try your luck asking for some. As for the Scarlet Fire Flood Dragon — that depends on your fortune. But if you go to Great Jin, it shouldn't be too hard to resolve." The Grand Elder Spirit Lord spoke in an unhurried tone.
"Hmph! After all that, you're still trying to get me to make a trip to Great Jin." Han Li snorted, feeling somewhat resigned.
"Heh heh! Me sending you to Great Jin is for your own good. Only by traveling through Great Jin once will you truly understand what a cultivation holy land looks like. The Great Jin Kingdom is absolutely the center of all known cultivation realms." The Grand Elder Spirit Lord spoke without the slightest concern.