Chapter 377: Joining the Reincarnation Palace
"What is a Reincarnation Disciple?" Han Li asked.
"Just think of it as the most core members of the Reincarnation Palace, and not just anyone can become a Reincarnation Disciple. Not only does the candidate have to possess special aptitude, they can only be selected by the Reincarnation Palace," Wyrm 3 explained in a concise fashion.
"I'm just an ordinary itinerant cultivator with no special talents or aptitude to speak of," Han Li said.
"Don't be so modest, Fellow Daoist Raccoon 11. You're a Dao Pill Master, and that's certainly an exceptional talent in my books," Wyrm 3 said with a smile.
Han Li immediately rose to his feet upon hearing this, and he was glowering intently at Wyrm 3 with a sharp and piercing gaze.
Wyrm 3 looked back at Han Li with a calm expression, directly meeting his gaze.
The two of them stared at each other for a long time, and Wyrm 3 remained calm and collected the entire time.
After a while, the sharpness in Han Li's gaze slowly faded, and he asked, "How do you know about that?"
"Your Dewform Herb was obtained from me, and you released quite a few other dao pill ingredient acquisition missions in the Transient Guild, so it wasn't difficult to figure out what you were up to," Wyrm 3 explained with a smile, while Han Li remained silent.
Wyrm 3 continued, "That pill tribulation that took place in the Black Wind Sea not long ago was triggered by you, right? Given all of those factors, I would have to be a fool not to have deduced that you're a Dao Pill Master."
"I assume that must mean Ge Yu is also a member of your Reincarnation Palace, right?" Han Li asked.
"That's right. He already realized at the time that you were a Dao Pill Master, and he simply chose not to confront you on the matter," Wyrm 3 conceded with a nod.
"The Reincarnation Palace truly is just as formidable as you proclaim. I thought I managed to fool him at the time," Han Li said as a self-deprecating look appeared on his face.
At the same time, he was feeling quite relieved.
It seemed that the Reincarnation Palace had only found out that he managed to refine a dao pill, but that was the extent of what they knew about him.
It wasn't really a big deal that his identity as a dao pill master had been exposed.
"There's no need to feel disheartened, Fellow Daoist. Ge Yu was only able to see through your ruse as he's proficient in the use of a sensory secret technique. If someone else had been in his place, they would've most likely been fooled.
“Having said that, if Ge Yu hadn't found out about your dao pill refinement, then you wouldn't have been able to obtain the second half of the Spirit Refinement Technique, so it all works out in your favor anyway," Wyrm 3 said with a smile.
"While your introduction has given me a rough understanding of the Reincarnation Palace, I still don't know much about its internal structure. Would you be able to enlighten me on that subject, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 3?" Han Li asked as he sat back down.
"Of course. Our Reincarnation Palace is different from other sects in that we have no set territory. Instead, we're a relatively decentralized organization, and we don't require our members to stay in certain places.
“On top of that, members communicate using special treasures, so it's very convenient for itinerant cultivators like yourself who are accustomed to freedom," Wyrm 3 replied with a smile.
"That sounds a lot like the Transient Guild," Han Li mused as he stroked his own chin.
Wyrm 3 fell silent upon hearing this, and it seemed that he was hesitating about something.
"Is there something wrong, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 3?" Han Li asked.
"I was hesitating about whether to reveal a certain piece of information to you, but I suppose it can't hurt," Wyrm 3 replied.
"Please go ahead," Han Li prompted.
"There are many powers in all of the immortal regions that are quite formidable, but they're often unable to deal with everything that they need to address all the time. Hence, they'll permit some smaller powers to become subsidiaries of theirs and work for them. The same applies to our Reincarnation Palace, and you can actually think of the Transient Guild as a subsidiary organization of ours," Wyrm 3 revealed.
"I see," Han Li replied with a surprised look on his face.
This revelation did explain some things. For example, it was no wonder that Wyrm 3 was a high-ranking member of the Transient Guild while also being a member of the Reincarnation Palace.
"Almost no one in the Transient Guild is aware of the relationship between the Reincarnation Palace and the Transient Guild, and even in the Reincarnation Palace, only Reincarnation Disciples are made aware of this.
“After all, our Reincarnation Palace is a sworn enemy of the Heavenly Court, and if word of this were to be leaked, then members of the Transient Guild would be hunted down by the Heavenly Court. Hence, make sure you keep this a secret," Wyrm 3 said in a solemn manner.
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 3, I'll be sure to remain tight-lipped about this subject," Han Li replied as a complex look appeared in his eyes.
It seemed that Wyrm 3 was revealing such an important piece of information to him as a sign of trust, but in reality, it was a very forcing gesture.
Now that he had been made privy to such an important secret, he most likely wasn't going to be able to leave this place unless he agreed to join the Reincarnation Palace.
"For the sake of convenience, all Reincarnation Palace members will wear Transient Guild masks when carrying out missions, and just like in the Transient Guild, members use these masks to communicate, conduct exchanges, and release and accept missions," Wyrm 3 said as he pointed at the mask on his face.
"I'm assuming members of the Reincarnation Palace have certain obligations to fulfill, just like members of the Transient Guild, right?" Han Li asked.
"That's correct. Once every 1,000 years, a Reincarnation Palace member must complete a mission. Of course, they can choose not to complete the mission, but they'll need to issue Immortal Origin Stones or other resources equivalent in value to the mission content," Wyrm 3 replied with a nod.
"In that case, high-ranking members of the Transient Guild may not necessarily be members of the Reincarnation Palace, but members of the Reincarnation Palace, including Reincarnation Disciples, are generally high-ranking members of the Transient Guild, right?" Han Li asked.
"You can think of it that way. That's about as much information on the Reincarnation Palace that I can reveal to you at this point," Wyrm 3 said before taking another sip of tea.
Han Li was silent for a moment, then said, "You've been very earnest in your invitation for me to join the Reincarnation Palace, so it would be quite rude of me to continue to refuse. I agree to join the Reincarnation Palace."
"Great! I knew I was right to have approached you. While it's true that itinerant cultivators enjoy more freedom, the more you progress in your cultivation, the greater your demand for cultivation resources will become, and eventually, you'll hit a dead-end, so it's definitely a wise decision for you to join our Reincarnation Palace," Wyrm 3 said as he set down his teacup.
"From this day forth, both of us will be members of the Reincarnation Palace. Please look after me, Fellow Daoist Wyrm 3," Han Li said with a smile.
"No problem. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. You're a Dao Pill Master, so I'm certainly more than happy to be on good terms with you," Wyrm 3 chuckled in a joking manner.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he cupped his fist in a salute toward Wyrm 3.
Now that he had agreed to join the Reincarnation Palace, an unspoken barrier of apprehension between them seemed to have been torn down, bringing them a lot closer.
Wyrm 3 flipped a hand over to produce a crimson lion mask, upon which was inscribed the number "5", and he handed the mask to Han Li as he said, "This is your new mask. From this day forth, you'll be Dragon Five, but you're free to keep your Raccoon 11 identity if you so choose."
Han Li nodded in response as he accepted the crimson lion mask.
He had been looking for a new mask, so this had come at the perfect time.
He made a hand seal and cast a streak of azure light into the mask, but to his surprise, it displayed no reaction.
"This mask is different from ordinary Transient Guild masks, and you can only use it with a special incantation seal of the Reincarnation Palace," Wyrm 3 said as he swept a sleeve through the air to send a jade slip flying toward Han Li.
Han Li caught the jade slip before pressing it against his forehead, and moments later, he chanted an incantation before casting an incantation seal into the crimson lion mask, upon which it immediately released a crimson light screen.
Han Li didn't go any further beyond that, withdrawing his hand seal to scatter the light screen.
"On the surface, this mask doesn't appear to be remarkable in any way, but it's actually specially made by the Reincarnation Palace, and it has one additional benefit outside of all of the uses of a Transient Guild mask, and that's its ability to conceal the aura of the Spirit Refinement Technique. It's not perfect, but as long as you exercise some caution, you won't be easily caught by the surveyors of the Heavenly Court," Wyrm 3 added.
Han Li's eyes lit up slightly upon hearing this, and he took another glance at the crimson mask before stowing it away, then turned his gaze back to Wyrm 3.
Wyrm 3 seemed to be aware of what Han Li wanted, and he picked up the gray jade slip on the table and began chanting an incantation while casting several incantation seals into the jade slip.
A layer of murky gray light appeared over the surface of the jade slip, and it was interspersed with specks of black light, presenting an intriguing sight to behold.
The gray light then vanished in a flash, and a hint of excitement appeared in Han Li's eyes upon seeing this.
"According to the rules of our Reincarnation Palace, all those who join will receive one level of the Spirit Refinement Technique for free. This jade slip contains the fourth level of the Spirit Refinement Technique, so you'll have to earn the rest of the cultivation art," Wyrm 3 said as he handed the jade slip to Han Li.
Han Li accepted the jade slip with a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
He had thought that this jade slip contained the entire second half of the Spirit Refinement Technique, but it appeared that things weren't going to be so easy for him.
Having said that, the fourth level of the Spirit Refinement Technique was already sufficient for his current needs.
He pressed the jade slip to his forehead once again before injecting his spiritual sense into it, and sure enough, the concealment restriction inside had already been removed, and everything was revealed to him.
He suppressed the excitement in his heart as he quickly read through the cultivation art, which wasn't very long, only spanning several thousand characters, and it didn't take long for him to commit the entire thing to memory.
After that, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he sat still in his chair.
Wyrm 3 also sat in silence, and only after a full 15 minutes had passed did Han Li exhale as he opened his eyes.
The Spirit Refinement Technique had always been a major problem weighing on his mind, and now that it had been resolved, he felt as if a huge load had been lifted from his shoulders.
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