Chapter 2313: Extreme Origin Crystal and Regenerative Spirit Molding
High-grade Flying Spirit beings of different descriptions were constantly entering and exiting these buildings, presenting quite a lively and bustling sight to behold.
All of a sudden, the sky abruptly darkened, and Yue Long descended upon the basin amid a gust of fierce winds.
All of the Flying Spirit beings in the basin immediately stopped what they were doing before hurriedly kneeling down onto the ground and kowtowing to Yue Long.
"This is one of my seven cave abodes, and the construction is rather special. Come and take a look with me, Fellow Daoist Han," Yue Long said to Han Li as he pointed at the stone pagoda down below.
Han Li nodded in response before slowly descending toward the pagoda, while Yue Long flew directly into the entrance on the top floor of the pagoda.
Around 15 minutes later, Han Li found himself seated on a golden chair in a lavish hall.
Yue Long was seated across from him in another golden chair, holding a green wine cup with an enthusiastic expression.
"Brother Han, this Origin Elixir Wine is a rare spirit wine brewed from 49 different types of spirit herbs, and not only is it very effective for magic power recovery, it can also improve focus and alertness."
"This is indeed a fine wine; you sure know how to enjoy yourself, Fellow Daoist," Han Li praised with a smile after taking a sip of the wine.
Yue Long's smile became even more pronounced upon hearing this. "If you like it, then have some more."
"Don't mind if I do," Han Li chuckled before downing all of the wine in his cup, then drew the wine flagon on the table into his grasp before refilling his cup.
"Haha, I'm glad you like the wine, Brother Han. Aside from that, I have some treasures that you won't find anywhere else; why don't you take a look at them as well?" Yue Long said with a smile before clapping his hands together.
The sound of footsteps rang out outside, and three female servants made their way into the room with their heads lowered before arranging themselves into a row in front of Han Li.
Han Li only took a brief glance at the trio of female servants before turning his attention to the silver platters they were carrying.
On each platter sat a palm-sized translucent brick with smooth surfaces, one of which was yellow, another one was blue, and the final one was red.
The three bricks were giving off earth, water, and fire attribute auras, respectively, and Han Li's expression immediately changed slightly as he swept his spiritual sense over them.
Furthermore, the purity of their auras was far superior to that of top-grade spirit stones.
Yue Long had been appraising Han Li's expression this entire time, and upon seeing the surprised look that had appeared on Han Li's face, he smiled, and said, "What do you think of these Extreme Origin Crystals, Brother Han? They were all refined by me, and they can be extremely effective both as tool refinement materials or as spirit stone substitutes."
"You mean to tell me that these aren't naturally-occurring materials? You refined these Extreme Origin Crystals yourself?" The surprise on Han Li's face became even more pronounced upon hearing this.
"That's right. I was fortunate to have been able to refine these bricks using a secret technique, but during the process, I failed countless times and wasted a vast quantity of precious materials. However, I still think the end result was well worth it," Yue Long replied in a slightly proud manner.
"A secret technique, eh?" Han Li's eyes narrowed slightly upon hearing this.
"Haha, please examine the items first, Brother Han; I'll explain everything else to you in detail later," Yue Long replied as a mysterious look appeared in his eyes.
"Alright, then I'll go right ahead," Han Li said with a nod before making a nonchalant grabbing motion, drawing the blue translucent brick into his grasp.
A spiritual sense thread then shot out of his glabella before vanishing into the brick in a flash, and at the same time, he slowly closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, Yue Long looked on with a faint smile, making no gesture to stop him.
A long while later, Han Li raised an eyebrow as he reopened his eyes, and the spiritual sense thread returned to his glabella from within the brick.
"What pure energy; the amount of spiritual Qi within this brick is at least four to five times that in a top-grade spirit stone of the same mass, and the degree of purity is something that normal spirit stones can't even begin to compare to. However, the internal structure is rather strange; it seems that there are innate spirit patterns inside the brick. If this is used to refine a treasure, it should create some type of special ability. May I ask how its durability is?" Han Li asked.
Yue Long's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he chuckled, "You really do have a keen eye, Brother Han; you've listed most of the special characteristics of this Extreme Origin Brick. As for its durability, you can feel free to test that out for yourself."
"Alright, then please pardon me, Fellow Daoist." A peculiar look flashed through Han Li's eyes as he opened his mouth to expel an azure thread, which quickly revolved around the translucent brick before flying back to him.
Bright blue light immediately radiated from the brick, and a shallow sword mark appeared on its surface.
Immediately thereafter, the sword rapidly faded away at a rate that was discernible even to the naked eye.
"This brick possesses the Regenerative Spirit Molding ability!" Han Li exclaimed.
A hint of surprise appeared in Long Yue's eyes upon hearing this. "As expected of Brother Han to be able to identify this ability right away. Indeed, all three of these Extreme Origin Bricks possess the Regenerative Spirit Molding ability. If a treasure were to be refined using this material, unless it was completely destroyed, it would be able to regenerate and recover from any amount of damage over time. Some bonded treasures also possess regenerative abilities, but that requires constant nurturing from the owner's true essence, and that process would take far longer than a treasure with the Regenerative Spirit Molding ability. I'm sure I don't need to elaborate further on just how precious this material is, right?"
"Materials with the Regenerative Spirit Molding ability are extremely rare across all realms, let alone just the Spirit Realm. On top of that, the fact that it wasn't substantially damaged by a streak of sword Qi from me is a testament to its incredible durability. I'm assuming you aren't showing me these Extreme Origin Crystals just so I can critique them," Han Li said as he appraised the brick in his hand.
Yue Long faltered slightly upon hearing this before replying, "You're a straightforward man, Fellow Daoist Han. In that case, I'll come clean to you as well; I invited you here as I have a request for you. If you can help me complete a certain task, I'll be willing to give you these three Extreme Origin Crystals as compensation; what do you think?"
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he said, "Just a single one of these Extreme Origin Bricks is already quite precious, yet you're willing to give me three; I'm sure the task you're trying to complete isn't a simple one. Tell me what it is first and I'll give you my verdict after that."
Yue Long hesitated momentarily before revealing, "This task will perhaps be rather difficult for normal Grand Ascension Stage beings, but I'm sure it's no issue for someone of your powers, Brother Han. I expended so much effort to refine these Extreme Origin Crystals as I want to use this material to refine a powerful five-elemental treasure to help me transcend my next major heavenly tribulation. However, even after several thousand years of effort, I was only able to refine Extreme Origin Crystals of these three elements. I require assistance to refine crystals of the final two attributes, and you're the perfect choice, Brother Han."
"You want me to help you refine Extreme Origin Crystals?" Han Li was quite taken aback to hear this.
"That's right. Truth be told, these Extreme Origin Crystals can only be formed using the world's origin Qi of different attributes. The crystals of these three attributes were quite manageable; even though I failed many times, I still managed to succeed a few times. However, refinement of the metal and wood attribute Extreme Origin Crystals require an astonishing amount of the world's origin Qi, more than what I can handle and control, and that's why I decided to turn to you, Brother Han," Yue Long said as he cupped his fist in an earnest salute.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li said in a cautious manner, "If you only require my assistance in controlling the world's origin Qi, then I'd be open to helping you, but I have some questions that I would like to have answered."
Yue Long was elated to hear this, and he immediately prompted, "Go ahead, Brother Han."
"If I recall correctly, this is our first-ever meeting; why have you decided to turn to me instead of a good friend of yours? Also, are there going to be any unforeseen dangers involved with assisting you in controlling the world's origin Qi? After all, the world's origin Qi is extremely unpredictable and possesses unfathomable power. In addition to that, how do you know that I'll be powerful enough to help you refine the Extreme Origin Crystals of the remaining two attributes?" Han Li asked.
"I can see that you still don't fully trust me, Brother Han. Haha, that's only to be expected; I would also be quite wary if I were in your shoes. Rest assured, I'll provide a satisfactory answer to all of those questions," Yue Long chuckled.
"Please go ahead, Fellow Daoist," Han Li prompted.
"Firstly, the metal and wood attribute world's origin Qi are far more difficult to attract than the power of heaven and earth of the other three attributes. As such, they're also several times more powerful, and there's no way the average Grand Ascension Stage being would be able to control it; I only attempted it twice and didn't dare to make any more attempts thereafter. I do have several close friends, but their powers and abilities are roughly on par with my own, so they naturally won't be of any help in this regard.
"Unfortunately, the duty of controlling the power of heaven and earth can't fall on the shoulders of multiple people at once; it can only be undertaken by a single person to ensure smooth operation and successful refinement of Extreme Origin Crystals. As for your second question, it would be deceitful of me to proclaim that there's no danger involved. However, as long as sufficient preparations are made in advance, the danger associated with controlling the power of heaven and earth can be minimized. At the very least, I was able to remain safe during the two occasions where I attempted to control metal and wood attribute power of heaven and earth.
"As for the final question..." Yue Long paused momentarily here.