Chapter 2259: Sanqing Lightning Talisman
"What do you mean by that, Brother Mo?" Han Li could immediately tell that there was a hidden meaning behind Mo Jianli's words.
"Brother Ao's next heavenly tribulation is going to arrive soon, and we'll have to assist him with that," Mo Jianli sighed with a grim expression.
Han Li's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, and he immediately turned to Patriarch Ao Xiao.
"Is that true, Grandfather?" Silvermoon's smile also instantly faded as her face paled slightly.
"Hehe, my heavenly tribulation should've arrived over 1,000 years ago; it's only been delayed to this point as I had taken some special measures. As a result, this heavenly tribulation will be even more fearsome than it otherwise would've been. However, I never had much of a chance of transcending this tribulation to begin with, so the benefits outweighed the consequences. During this period of time, Ling'er has reached the Body Integration Stage, and Fellow Daoist Han has become a new pillar for our two races, so I can let go without any qualms now," Patriarch Ao Xiao chuckled.
"So you did this for my sake," Silvermoon said in a trembling voice.
"Not entirely. Even if you didn't exist, I would've still made the same decision so I could be around to protect our two races from the invasion of the Elder Devil Race," Patriarch Ao Xiao said with a shake of his head.
However, Silvermoon was shaking her head vigorously, clearly not trusting his alibi.
"Is there really no hope for you to transcend this heavenly tribulation, Fellow Daoist Ao? If you require certain treasures, I can try to seek them out for you," Han Li said with tightly furrowed brows.
"If I hadn't delayed this tribulation, I'd still have a roughly 10% chance of being able to transcend it, but now, that probability has fallen to less than 5%. As for treasures, I've already prepared as much as I can. There are a few that I still haven't found, but it was always going to be a struggle to find them, so I'm not too fixated on that," Patriarch Ao Xiao sighed.
"Less than 5% is way too low! Isn't there any way to increase that probability, Grandfather?" Silvermoon asked as tears began to well up in her eyes.
"If that disciple of Fellow Daoist Han's with the recessive lightning spiritual root were a Grand Ascension Stage being, that probability would be increased by about 10% with his assistance, but as he currently is, he won't be of any use," Patriarch Ao Xiao replied.
Silvermoon's face paled even further upon hearing this.
Han Li and Mo Jianli could only exchange a resigned glance as well.
Perhaps it would be possible for them to raise Hai Yuetian's cultivation base to the Body Integration Stage in a short time, but it was entirely impossible to help him reach the Grand Ascension Stage on such short notice.
As for Han Li's extreme mountains, they were very effective against heavenly lightning tribulation, but they had already been completely refined, so he couldn't lend them to anyone even if he wanted to.
"There's one thing that may be able to increase your chances of transcending your heavenly tribulation by as much as 15% to 20%," Mo Jianli suddenly said.
"What is it, Senior Mo?" A hopeful look immediately appeared in Silvermoon's eyes upon hearing this.
At the same time, a surprised look appeared on Patriarch Ao Xiao's face, indicating that he had never heard Mo Jianli mention this before.
Instead of directly answering Silvermoon's question, Mo Jianli asked, "You've heard of Patriarch Shi Xin, right, Fellow Daoist Ao Xiao?"
"Of course. Isn't he the Cloudmound Race Grand Ascension Stage being who entered the original sealed site with us? I spoke to him on one occasion, but didn't he perish in the ancient seal in the end? What does this have to do with him?" Patriarch Ao Xiao asked.
"Patriarch Shi Xin didn't possess any treasures that could resist heavenly tribulations, but he did know of such a treasure, and that treasure should be in the Spirit Race," Mo Jianli explained.
"Prior to entering the Elder Devil Realm, those foreign Grand Ascension Stage beings stayed at the Spirit Race for some time, so this information is most likely reliable, but what exactly is this treasure that you're talking about, Brother Mo?" Patriarch Ao Xiao asked.
"I'm referring to the Sanqing Lightning Talisman," Mo Jianli finally revealed.
Patriarch Ao Xiao's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. "What? Isn't that a talisman that can only be found in the True Immortal Realm? Is there really such a talisman in our realm?"
Han Li was also quite taken aback by this revelation.
The Sanqing Lightning Talisman was one of very few types of treasures that could resist Grand Ascension Stage heavenly tribulations, so it was vastly renowned across all realms.
However, this was a disposable treasure, and it had always been said that only true immortals of the True Immortal Realm would be able to refine such talismans, so no one had actually ever seen one.
Thus, as time passed, even most of the Grand Ascension Stage beings gradually became unconvinced that such talismans could be found in the lower realms.
As such, it was naturally a massively pleasant surprise for Patriarch Ao Xiao to hear that this talisman could be found in the nearby Spirit Race.
"Theoretically speaking, there shouldn't be any Sanqing Lightning Talismans in the lower realms, but Patriarch Shi Xin saw the talisman in person, and I can guarantee you that his information is reliable. As for why that is, I'm afraid I can't reveal that," Mo JIanli said with a meaningful expression.
"In that case, I'm sure this information is trustworthy, but why is it that Patriarch Shi Xin didn't try to obtain those talismans for himself? Even though he was quite far away from his next heavenly tribulation, surely he wouldn't be willing to miss out on such a priceless treasure," Mo Jianli said with furrowed brows.
"Indeed, I would also do everything in my power to obtain such a treasure if I were to discover one," Han Li chimed in in agreement.
"It's not that Patriarch Shi Xin didn't try to obtain the treasure; he had already made an agreement with the owner of the talismans, and once he returned to the Elder Devil Realm, he would fulfill the agreement and receive the talisman," Mo Jianli said with a smile.
"Even Patriarch Shi Xin had to make an agreement with that Spirit being? Who is it?" A hint of wariness appeared on Patriarch Ao Xiao's face as he spoke.
"Who else could it be?" Mo Jianli sighed with a wry smile.
A perplexed look appeared on Silvermoon's face upon hearing this, but a thought then immediately occurred to her.
Meanwhile, Han Li suddenly chuckled, "You must be referring to the Spirit Monarch."
Patriarch Ao Xiao and Mo Jianli exchanged a quick glance upon hearing this, and the latter nodded in response.
"I am indeed referring to the Spirit Monarch. He is in possession of the Sanqing Lightning Talisman, and he seems to have more than one."
"More than one?" Patriarch Ao Xiao was quite taken aback to hear this.
According to relevant tomes, no matter how many Sanqing Lightning Talismans one possessed, only a single one could be used per heavenly tribulation.
"I've heard some things about the Spirit Monarch, but I don't know too much about him; it seems that both of you are quite wary of him," Han Li observed as his eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's an understatement! If possible, Brother Ao and I would choose to never have any interactions with that old monster," Mo Jianli replied with a wry smile.
"Oh? Why is that?" Han Li asked.
"The Spirit Race isn't a large race, and its overall power could well be inferior to the combined power of our human and demon races, but the Spirit Monarch is very likely to have lived for over 1,000,000 years," Patriarch Ao Xiao explained.
"1,000,000 years? How is that possible?" Han Li was truly stunned to hear this.
"Hehe, I had the exact same reaction when I first heard about this," Mo Jianli chuckled.
"If the Spirit Monarch really has lived for over 1,000,000 years, then the number of heavenly tribulation he must've endured..." Han Li didn't complete his sentence, but what he was trying to convey was very apparent.
"I don't know about that; no one has witnessed the Spirit Monarch transcend a tribulation, nor heard any news about his tribulation transcendence. Some people say that the Spirit Monarch is a special being that experiences a heavenly tribulation only once every 100,000 years, while others speculate that the title of Spirit Monarch has already been passed down several times in secret. As for which one of those theories is correct, no one really knows," Patriarch Ao Xiao said.
"If he really has lived for over 1,000,000 years, then even I'll have to be quite wary of him," Han Li said with a contemplative expression.
"One thing is for sure: the aura and appearance of the Spirit Monarch has remained consistent during these past 1,000,000 years according to the descriptions of the past Grand Ascension Stage beings of our two races. Thankfully, it's extremely difficult for new Spirit beings to be born, so even if the Spirit Monarch possesses unfathomable power, he's unable to expand the Spirit Race's current territory. On top of that, the Spirit Monarch is a very mysterious man, and he's rarely ever been involved in a battle during the past 1,000,000 years," Mo Jianli added.