As soon as Wen Xinfeng posed her question, a flicker of surprise crossed Bi Ying's face. But after a moment's pause, he let out a sigh and replied: "Wen Xinfeng is not mistaken. The one who fell was not Blood Fiend's true body, but rather a clone he had refined. I only received the news shortly before entering this world. Blood Fiend encountered an accident during a previous expedition. Although he himself emerged unscathed, his vitality was severely depleted, which is why he sent a clone whose strength was in no way inferior to his true body. This clone had been painstakingly refined by Blood Fiend over the course of ten thousand years, and now it has fallen in a battle between powerhouses. When I return, I honestly have no idea how I will explain this to my old friend."
"Having only a clone destroyed is still a thousand times better than Blood Fiend's true body falling. I'm sure once you return, Brother Bi, and offer Blood Fiend sufficient compensation, he can be appeased," the silver-armored man said, withdrawing the silver lightning arcs around his body and rising to his feet.
His complexion had improved considerably compared to before.
"Let's hope so. Brother Lei, are you truly alright? Do you need my help with anything?" Bi Ying shook his head and looked at the several black ghost heads still clamped firmly onto the silver-armored man's shoulder, his tone carrying a note of genuine concern.
"I'm fine. These demon heads can't be removed immediately, but once I return and have some time, I can use my origin true fire to refine them away. What truly stings is that this battle cost me several supreme treasures I had been saving for life-saving situations," the silver-armored man said with a bitter smile.
"Friend Lei, what kind of divine ability did your opponent use that managed to force you into such a state?" Han Li finally asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Her other techniques were nothing remarkable, but she possessed a secret art that could command ghost shadows, and it was truly a headache to deal with. These ghost shadows were not only formless and traceless, but they could also directly merge into her body, rendering her physical form intangible and completely impervious to any injury. I exhausted every secret art and technique at my disposal and still could not break through this ability. In the end, I had no choice but to concede and retreat," the silver-armored man said, his voice heavy with reluctance.
"Ghost shadows… It seems the techniques of this so-called Netherworld do possess their own unique merits. For Brother Lei to face such an uncanny ability for the first time, it's entirely understandable that you were defeated," Wen Xinfeng said gently in a consoling tone.
The silver-armored man shook his head but said nothing more.
"The contest is decided. There's no need for us to remain here any longer. Let's return to the stronghold at once. All that's left is to wait a few days and see whether these ghost beings truly act in accordance with the agreement. Let's go."
Bi Ying called out to the group, then immediately put away the chessboard before him and was the first to take to the air and fly back.
The others naturally followed suit, soaring into the sky after him.
……
One month later, at a highly secluded lake, the seemingly mirror-still green surface suddenly parted, and a massive black warship burst forth from beneath. After just a few flickers, it appeared at the far edge of the horizon, and with one final blur, vanished without a trace.
On the black warship, fully armed giant puppets patrolled back and forth along both sides of the hull.
Deep within the warship, in a sealed chamber layered with restriction after restriction, Han Li sat cross-legged on a meditation mat, holding a pale silver jade slip in his hand, lost in silent contemplation.
Shortly after the battle between powerhouses had concluded, he had accompanied the others back to the Scripture Pavilion at the trading consortium's headquarters, where Bi Ying had finally delivered a true immortal secret art into his hands as promised.
This immortal secret art, called the "Celestial Origin Shield," was the one he had ultimately chosen after hearing Bi Ying's general introduction.
Compared to several other offensive immortal secret arts, Han Li felt that with the Provenance True Devil Art and the Heavenmend Bill at his disposal, he was hardly lacking in offensive means. The Celestial Origin Shield, on the other hand, sounded simple enough by its name, but it was actually a specialized technique for manipulating the origin energy of heaven and earth to form a powerful defensive barrier.
Though he did not yet know its true power, the fact that it was an immortal secret art meant it certainly possessed extraordinary qualities.
The only somewhat troublesome aspect was… Han Li's eyes flashed. He raised the jade slip in his hand and tapped a single finger toward it.
Immediately, the jade slip emitted a low hum, and golden characters drifted out from it one after another. Spinning rapidly, they assembled before him in the empty air, forming a dense passage of text.
These golden characters flickered in and out of visibility, expanding and contracting as they shimmered, as though imbued with a life of their own. They were unmistakably the golden seal script unique to the immortal realm.
Han Li narrowed both eyes and studied the text for a while before furrowing his brow and shaking his head.
Although he recognized most of these golden seal script characters individually, strung together they were exceptionally abstruse and difficult to comprehend. He estimated that truly deciphering them would not be something that could be accomplished in a short time.
With this thought in mind, Han Li tapped the jade slip once more.
With a soft "poof," the golden text hovering in the air blurred and dissipated into nothingness.
Han Li considered for a moment, then flipped his other hand over, and a crimson jade slip materialized in his grasp.
He ran his fingers across the surface of the jade slip twice, and a look of quiet delight appeared on his face.
This jade slip was none other than the item he had obtained from the true legacy treasures of Heavenly Cauldron in the Heavenly Cauldron Palace.
He had originally intended only to copy the technique recorded within, but Ice Spirit, grateful for his assistance in retrieving the treasure, had gifted the jade slip to him directly.
The jade slip also contained a profound technique — the secret art of refining the power of lightning that Heavenly Cauldron had once acquired.