Chapter 2301: Return
Mo Jianli and the others caught the cores before examining them to ensure that there wasn't anything amiss, then stowed them away with elated expressions.
"Seeing as our deal is complete, we won't have to continue our battle any longer. May I ask when you're planning to leave this realm? This is only a small realm, and it can't contain too many Grand Ascension Stage beings," the green-robed woman said.
"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Luo, we'll be leaving in a few days at most. Prior to that, we're planning to collect some resources from this Small Asura Realm; I'm sure you wouldn't stop us, right?" Han Li replied with a smile.
"Hehe, if it's just collecting resources, then of course we won't intervene. However, there are a few other beings in this realm that are very difficult to deal with, so do be careful," the green-robed woman cautioned with a meaningful smile.
"Oh? Could it be that one of those beings is that Che Qizi?" Mo Jianli asked.
The green-robed woman was rather surprised to hear this. "Have you encountered it already, Fellow Daoist Mo?"
"Indeed I have. As expected of a legendary ancient beast; even I almost perished by its hands," Mo Jianli sighed.
A hint of excitement appeared on Xue Ran's face upon hearing this, and he hurriedly interjected, "Would you be able to tell me where the lair of this Che Qizi is, Fellow Daoist Luo?"
"I actually do know the location of the Che Qizi's lair, but..." A hint of hesitation appeared on the green-robed woman's face as he spoke.
Xue Ran realized that he had been overly eager upon seeing this, and he reverted back to a calm expression as he said, "Rest assured, I won't ask you to disclose this information to me free of charge."
Immediately thereafter, he flipped a hand over to produce a small leather pouch before tossing it toward the woman.
The green-robed woman drew the pouch into her grasp before injecting her spiritual sense into it, upon which a pleased look appeared on her face. "I have a map with an annotation of the Che Qizi lair's exact location."
As soon as her voice trailed off, she raised a hand to release a white jade slip.
Xue Ran drew the jade slip into his grasp, then pressed it against his own forehead with a serious expression.
Hei Lin was also appraising the jade slip with a hint of excitement in his eyes.
At this moment, Ying'er suddenly smiled, and said, "I'm sure all of you must be extremely renowned beings of your respective realms, and you must be carrying many precious treasures. Our race has also collected some resources that can't be found in any other realms, so how about we arrange some trades before you go and seek out other resources? I'm sure that would save all of you a lot of time."
Han Li faltered slightly upon hearing this before chuckling, "Oh? Are you proposing an impromptu exchange convention, Fellow Daoist Ying?"
"That's right. Truth be told, our race has a collection of all of the precious resources in this realm. As long as you can offer the right price, we'll be sure to satisfy your needs," Ying'er replied.
The green-robed woman didn't say anything to stop her, so she was clearly in approval as well.
Mo Jianli and the others were very tempted upon hearing this.
With the limited time they had left in this Small Asura Realm, it was very unlikely that they would be able to collect all of the resources they wanted. As such, it certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to exchange for some resources.
"Alright, I'd be happy to trade some items with you," Mo Jianli agreed after a brief moment of contemplation.
"We would also be open to some trades," Xue Ran said after communicating with Hei Lin through voice transmission.
"In that case, I'll join in as well," Han Li chimed in.
This was a win-win arrangement, so there was no reason not to participate.
The smile on Ying'er's face became more pronounced upon hearing this, and she proposed, "Alright, then let's go somewhere nearby to begin our exchanges."
Han Li and the others all agreed, but prior to their departure, everyone failed to notice that Han Li had cast a seemingly nonchalant glance toward the glacial pond.
Several hours later, the Asura Spiders departed with pleased expressions from the island where the glacial pond was situated on the giant black falcon.
Thus, Han Li and the other foreign Grand Ascension Stage beings were left on their own.
After a series of trades, all of them had reaped great rewards, obtaining many precious resources that could only be found in this realm.
They had expended a heavy price for those resources, but they were still very pleased.
"Are you really just going to let these Asura Spiders go, Brother Han? It's still not too late to change your mind," Xue Ran suddenly said.
"Why would I change my mind? If they were that easy to kill, then I would've already done so rather than stoop to trading with them," Han Li replied with a calm expression.
"The resources brought out by those Asura Spiders are most likely only a very small portion of their collection. On top of that, aren't you interested in that blue stone? The potency of the spatial power contained within that stone is something that I've never seen before. If we can obtain that item, we can employ a shared ownership system, and perhaps all of us would be able to truly master the law of space over time," Xue Ran proposed.
Even Mo Jianli was slightly tempted upon hearing this.
In contrast, Han Li chuckled in a nonchalant manner, "Hehe, unfortunately, I'm not interested in the power of space, so I have no intention of taking the risk. If you're interested in that stone, you can negotiate with the Asura Spiders yourselves; perhaps they'll be willing to give it to you if you offer them sufficient compensation."
Xue Ran's expression changed slightly upon hearing this, but he quickly chuckled in response, "Surely you jest, Fellow Daoist. The Asura Spiders clearly hold that stone in very high regard, so they most likely won't accept a trade even if we were to hand over everything in our possession. Seeing as you're unwilling to get involved, then just pretend like I never said anything. We still have some matters that we need to attend to, so we'll be taking our leave now."
Xue Ran cupped his fist in a parting salute as he spoke, and Hei Lin also followed suit.
Han Li returned the salute, and said, "Look after yourselves, fellow daoists."
Mo Jianli also offered some parting words.
Thus, Xue Ran and Hei Lin departed as two streaks of light, quickly vanishing into the distance.
"Do you plan to search for some more precious resources, Brother Han?" Mo Jianli asked with a smile after Xue Ran and Hei Lin had disappeared into the distant sky.
"I do. We still have a few days until we have to leave; perhaps I'll encounter some opportunities during that time. What are your plans, Brother Mo?" Han Li asked.
"I'm already extremely fortunate to have obtained these three cores, so I don't plan to take any more risks. I'm going to find a secluded place to rest and meditate until the day we leave. Your powers are far beyond mine, but I still have to advise you to be careful in case the Asura Spiders decide to seek vengeance on us," Mo Jianli said with a serious expression.
"That sounds like a good plan. As for those Asura Spiders, I may not be able to kill them on my own, but they won't be able to do anything to me, either," Han Li replied with a confident smile.
"In that case, there's nothing for me to worry about. I'll be taking my leave as well; see you back in the Spirit Realm in a few days," Mo Jianli said with a smile as he extended a parting salute.
Han Li also bade him farewell, and he released a small boat that he got onto, then quickly sped away as a streak of light.
Only after a long while did Han Li withdraw his gaze from the distance, then turned toward the giant island where the glacial pond was situated with a peculiar look in his eyes.
He then swept a sleeve through the air, transforming into a ball of azure light that flew directly toward the island.
A short while later, Han Li reappeared above the same valley from before.
He hovered in mid-air as he looked down at the glacial pond from above.
At this point, the glacial Qi within the valley seemed to have abated significantly.
However, the space around the glacial pond had still been completely frozen into a massive chunk of ice, completely sealing the entrance to the pond again.
Han Li looked down at the massive block of ice for a while, then suddenly opened his mouth to release a silver fireball, which transformed into a silver Fire Raven.
After that, he chanted something and made a hand seal before pointing a finger toward the Fire Raven, which swelled drastically in size at his behest.
In the blink of an eye, the silver Fire Raven swelled to over 100 feet in size with scorching silver flames burning all over its body, but it was clearly looking rather fatigued, having just endured a grueling battle against that purple peacock.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he opened his mouth to release several azure balls of magic power, which vanished into the Fire Raven's body in a flash.