Chapter 516: The Jade Pixiu
"I can't just accept such a precious gift for nothing," Daoist Xie said in an indifferent voice.
Han Li was familiar with Daoist Xie's personality, so he wasn't surprised by this response at all, and he said, "From the Spirit Realm to the Immortal Realm, you've assisted me greatly on many occasions. Even though you're contractually bound to do so, I still know better than to take you for granted.
“On top of that, I'll most likely be requiring your assistance from here onward as well. With this blade in your possession, your combat prowess will be significantly enhanced, and that'll only further benefit me."
After a brief moment of contemplation, Daoist Xie nodded in response. "I suppose you're right."
It then accepted the blade from Han Li and grabbed onto its hilt with both hands as a flash of golden lightning lit up in its eyes.
A loud crackling sound rang out as all of the lightning cloud designs on the entire blade began to radiate dazzling golden light, and the spiritual power fluctuations emanating from it were countless times more powerful than what Han Li had been able to manage.
After testing out the blade for a while longer, Daoist Xie stowed it away as it promised, "I'll be sure to repay you for this."
Han Li merely nodded in response with a smile on his face.
A curious look then appeared in his eyes as he wondered to himself, Could it be that Daoist Xie's former master came from this Black Soil Immortal Region?
This was clearly a question that Han Li didn't have an answer to, so he didn't ponder if for long before he continued to sort through his spoils.
This time, his gaze fell upon a tiny white jade Pixiu.
It seemed to be no different from an ornamental antique, and it was giving off a warm gleam under the light of the sun.
Han Li examined the Pixiu momentarily with his Brightsight Spirit Eyes, then smiled as he asked, "Are you going to reveal yourself, or do you want me to beat you until you have to?"
The Pixiu remained laying on the ground in a completely still manner, as if it really were just an inanimate object.
"If you're going to force my hand, then don't blame me for what I'm about to do," Han Li said in a cold voice as his eyes narrowed slightly.
In the wake of Han Li's threat, the white Pixiu finally began to move, and it swelled rapidly to transform into a giant white beast the size of a house.
"To think that a mere Golden Immortal would dare to..."
The giant white Pixiu's voice abruptly cut off as its entire body stiffened.
As it turned out, three Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords had appeared around its neck, and all of them had their tips aimed directly at its throat.
The Pixiu had no doubt that if it were to step out of line, then those three swords would have it decapitated in an instant.
With that in mind, the Pixiu immediately shrunk down to the size of an average pet dof, and it laid down in front of Han Li in a submissive manner as it said in a feeble voice, "Don't be like that... Let's just have a nice and civilized chat."
The three Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords continued to hover in the air around it, displaying no intention of letting it off the hook.
"You must be Gongshu Jiu's spirit pet, right? I can sense that you have quite a powerful aura. Why didn't you help him during his battle against us?" Han Li asked.
"Ptui! I'm a primordial true spirit, not a spirit pet! What right does he have to make me his spirit pet? I was only forced to follow him because he'd lived longer than me and possessed a superior cultivation base!" the Pixiu roared in a furious voice.
"Answer me! Why didn't you help him?" Han Li asked as a cold look appeared on his face.
"Because even if I had helped him, there's no way we would've been able to win," the Pixiu replied in a sheepish manner. "One of you had mastered the laws of time, while the other had mastery over the laws of reincarnation, and that's not even to mention that old monster... Gongshu Jiu was an idiot for picking a fight with you, I certainly wasn't going to go down with him!"
"Did he not have any way to force you to help him?" Han Li asked with a skeptical expression.
"He wishes he did! Unless he killed me on the spot, there was nothing he could do as long as I refused to sign a contract with him," the Pixius replied with a smug expression.
"So you're telling me he was unable to do anything to you? Is your current body not one that's been restricted by him using a secret technique? Otherwise, how could a true spirit like yourself have been turned into a little ornament that could be stowed away in a storage tool?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"That's... That's because..."
The Pixiu had no response for this.
"Tell me the truth! What abilities do you possess that convinced him not to place any more forceful restrictions upon you?" Han Li asked in a demanding voice.
"Fine, I'll come clean to you. I have an innate ability that allows me to gather wealth. Over the years, that old bastard, Gongshu Jiu, managed to accumulate a great deal of wealth with me by his side, and that's why he didn't want to kill me," the Pixiu conceded.
"If you keep lying and insisting on testing my patience, then I'll kill you right now. Your true spirit blood will be quite useful to me," Han Li mused as a hint of killing intent surfaced in his eyes.
"No, don't do that!" the Pixiu hurriedly implored in an urgent voice. "All of you humans are so sly and cunning! My innate ability isn't to gather wealth. Instead, it's to uncover certain hidden natural treasures, and as I become more powerful, this innate ability will also continue to improve."
"Alright, I suppose only time can tell whether you're being truthful to me. Now then, do you want to sign a contract with me or be slaughtered for your true spirit bloodline?" Han Li asked.
"What choice do I have? Having said that, I like the look of you a lot better than Gongshu Jiu," the Pixiu sighed in a pitiable voice as it took a glance at the three Azure Bamboo Coudswarm Swords and the time spirit domain around it.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this, and he raised a hand before extending a finger toward the Pixiu's glabella.
After the contract was signed, the Pixiu said, "We're on the same boat now, Master, and my first piece of advice to you is to destroy that thing."
Han Li turned to the direction that it was pointing in to discover a shimmering golden disk, and he asked, "What's that?"
"It's the thing that Gongshu Jiu used to communicate with other immortal envoys and emissaries. As soon as the Heavenly Court learns that Gongshu Jiu has met his demise, they'll be sure to send people to track down that thing," the Pixiu explained.
Han Li reached out to make a grabbing motion, drawing the disk into his grasp for a closer examination.
A cold look then appeared on his face as he said, "If this thing is destroyed by force, the Heavenly Court will immediately be tipped off! Are you trying to get us both killed?"
"Of course that would be the outcome if you destroy it using conventional means, but if you give it to me, then I assure you that won't happen. Now that a contract has been established between us, our lives are interconnected, so what would I stand to gain from screwing you over?" the Pixiu grumbled.
Han Li raised an eyebrow with a skeptical look on his face, but he still handed the disk over to the Pixiu, upon which the latter immediately swallowed the disk whole.
"I was born with no anus, and there's an independent world in my belly, so nothing that goes in will be able to come out unless I allow it. Now that the communication disk is in my belly, it's completely cut off from this world, so no one will be able to track it down," the Pixiu explained with a proud expression.
"It sounds like you're the perfect thing to use to get rid of evidence after killing someone... This is your true innate ability, isn't it?" Han Li jibed.
The Pixiu immediately realized that it had revealed too much, and it protested in a disgruntled voice, "Don't even think about making me swallow anything dirty! I don't eat anything aside from treasures and spirit materials!"
An amused smile appeared on Han Li's face as he continued to sort through Gongshu Jiu's belongings.
The Pixiu seemed to know Gongshu Jiu's treasures like the back of its paw, and it proved to be a great help to Han Li as he sorted through the treasures.
After the treasures came the spirit materials and spirit medicines, of which there was a huge stash, and all of them were incredibly rare and precious pieces. There was also an incomplete map of the Immortal Realm, which denoted many of the areas in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region.
To Han Li's surprise and elation, he also discovered a pair of items that contained time law powers, one of which was a round fruit that was riddled with tiny golden spots, while the other was a broken dagger that was around a foot in length.
......
Before long, the sun set, and dusk was already beginning to transition into night.
It had taken Han Li the good part of an entire day to sort through all of his spoils, and he stretched lazily as he exhaled with a pleased smile on his face.
He then swept a sleeve through the air to release a streak of golden light, and a little girl that appeared to be eight or nine years of age emerged.
She stumbled around a little before falling flat onto her backside, and Han Li hurriedly cast a concerned gaze toward her, only to find that was completely fine, but she was yawning non-stop with heavy-lidded eyes, looking as if she had just been woken up from a deep sleep.
"Why did you wake me up, Uncle?" Jin Tong complained in a displeased voice, displaying no intention of opening her eyes.
"Wake up, Jin Tong. It's time to eat," Han Li said with a smile.
Jin Tong finally forced her eyes open slightly upon hearing this, and she asked, "What is there to eat?"
"Take a look for yourself," Han Li replied as he swept a sleeve through the air, and close to 20 treasures that were giving off formidable spiritual power fluctuations instantly appeared in the clearing, including the white stone pillars that Jin Tong hadn't yet had a chance to finish.
"Woah, there's so much!" Jin Tong exclaimed as she snapped wide awake in an instant.
She then flew through the forest as a blurry golden shadow, arriving in front of the collection of treasures in the blink of an eye.
She then wrapped her arms around one of the white stone pillars with an ecstatic look on her face, but right at this moment, a thought suddenly occurred to her, and she turned to Han Li with her eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion and accusation.
Han Li immediately felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of her piercing gaze, and he asked, "What's wrong?"
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