Chapter 617: Return
"Alright, I'll do as you said. But how will Brother Han handle this Cadaver Demon?" The white fox spoke to Han Li through a voice transmission.
Han Li took a look at the green haired Cadaver Demon and casually said, "First, I'll see whether or not the Gold Devouring Beetles can destroy it. If that isn't possible, then there is nothing that can be done. We'll just leave it alone. Besides, regardless of the outcome I'll be taking the jade box that has its main soul. It won't be able to cause any major problems later on."
He then slapped his waist and launched the Spirit Beast Pouch into the air, releasing countless black-tainted Gold Devouring Beetles to surround the Cadaver Demon.
Sounds of the beetle's gnawing spread throughout the room, but soon, Han Li saw a portion of the Gold Devouring Beetles suddenly fall onto their backs and die. Their tri-colored shell turned dark-green in an instant.
"What fearsome poison!" Han Li muttered with a faint scowl. After a moment of hesitation, he had the flying beetles return to his spirit beast pouch.
The white fox pondered for a long moment and said, "The Cadaver Demon's rotting poison might not be among the ten deadliest poisons in the land, but it isn't something that your incomplete Gold Devouring Beetles are capable of enduring."
Han Li snorted and frowned as he coldly glanced at the Cadaver Demon.
The monster's body was extremely durable, far beyond that of the Venomous Flood Dragon. He reckoned that if he were to destroy the Cadaver Demon, it would cause a majority of his black-tainted Gold Devouring Beetles to perish. There was no way Han Li would suffer such a loss over a fruitless matter.
"Let's go." Han Li spoke without the slightest hesitation.
The white fox nodded her head and said, "That does seem to be the only choice. Perhaps there will be a later use for the Cadaver Demon!"
With that said, a strange light glowed from the white fox and a yellow wolf head emerged from its body. As soon as the yellow wolf appeared, it opened its mouth wide and enveloped them both in yellow light. Afterwards, Han Li and the white fox disappeared from the room.
Senior Martial Brother Wang and the other three Qi Condensation cultivators were anxiously standing outside of the cliff. With none of them capable of using earth movement techniques, they could only wait for Han Li to return.
Kui Huan grew impatient and asked, "Senior Martial Brother, do you think Junior Martial Brother Han succeeded?"
When the other two heard him they attentively looked at Senior Martial Brother Wang. He wryly smiled and said, "It's hard to say. With Junior Martial Brother Han's tenth layer cultivation, it shouldn't have been easy for him to chase after the demon fox. However, Junior Martial Brother Han does possess an impressive magic tool. Perhaps he'll be able to give us a pleasant surprise, but either result shouldn't come as a shock."
When the other three heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other in dismay.
The short, stout youth sighed and shook his injured hand. When he thought to say something further, a yellow light suddenly flashed from the cliff to reveal Han Li with a small fox in his grasp.
"Junior Martial Brother Han!"
"You truly managed to capture the fox!"
All four of the cultivators began to speak with expressions of excitement.
Han Li chuckled and said, "It wasn't much. The fox was quite cunning and circled several times within the mountain. Had it not exhausted its spiritual power, I fear I wouldn't have been able to capture it so quickly." He then tossed the white fox towards Kui Huan.
Kui Huan was stunned for a moment before excitedly catching it.
The short, stout youth hurriedly warned, "Junior Martial Brother Kui, be careful! Don't let it run away!"
Kui Huan lifted the white fox and replied, "Don't worry! I'll be very careful." Afterwards, he slapped his storage pouch and took out a dark-green bag before quickly slipping the small fox inside.
Kui Huan quickly tied the pouch closed and proudly said, "Hehe! How will you escape from this pouch, little fox?"
Han Li took a look at the small pouch, but after seeing that it was only a low grade spirit tool, he paid it no further heed.
Senior Martial Brother Wang didn't pay any further attention to the small fox in the pouch. He instead faced Han Li and cordially said, "We were only able to capture the demon fox in great thanks to Junior Martial Brother Han. Since we aren't an unscrupulous sort, we'll give Junior Brother Han a third of whatever the fox will fetch us. As for the rest, we'll split it evenly among us four. How does that sound?"
Han Li smiled in response. From Senior Martial Brother Wang's skilled display, it seemed he truly wished to form a relationship with Han Li. As a result, Han Li nodded his head and agreed without any reservations, "Since Brother Wang has made up his mind, I have no complaints."
Although the other three felt somewhat reluctant to receive fewer spirit stones, they all knew that if it weren't for Han Li's assistance they would've ended up wasting their efforts. As such, no one raised any objections.
In the following moments, Han Li shared a few pleasantries with the others before excusing himself on the pretenses of having a pressing matter at hand.
With Han Li heading back to the sect the other four decided to strike while the iron was hot and head straight to the market city at the center of the Dreamcloud Mountains. Since that was where the disciples of the three sects mingled the most, they reckoned they would fetch the highest price for the Snowcloud Fox there.
The four then departed from the marsh in high spirits.
Han Li didn't travel far before casually finding a small mountain nearby. He dropped down and sat cross legged on a flat rock before closing his eyes. He had the jade scepter on hand, allowing the white fox to find him when the time came.
About an hour later, Han Li's expression stirred and he opened his eyes. At nearly the same time, a yellow light emerged from the earth revealing the white fox.
Han Li looked at the white fox and indifferently said, "Well aren't you fast?"
The white fox raised its head and chuckled, "It isn't that I'm fast. It's just that they underestimated me by using a low grade spirit tool to contain me. I fear they still haven't discovered that I've disappeared."
Han Li expressionlessly said, "But now those Drifting Cloud Sect disciples will have made a wasted effort. When the time comes, I should give them a bit of compensation!"
The white fox shook its head and said, "If that's the case, they will have profited from this disaster."
"Alright, let's cut the rubbish. Shrink yourself and hide in my sleeve for the time being. We're going to return." Han Li then shook his sleeve.
When the white fox heard him, she wordlessly shrunk herself in a glimmer of silver light and flew into Han Li's sleeve as a white blur.
Because of the restrictions that Han Li had placed on the white fox's body, he had no fear of any sinister designs the white fox may hold, allowing him to confidently fly back.
Instead of returning to his cave residence, he first dropped down into the market city at the main mountain of the Drifting Cloud Sect. They should have the materials he needed to shift the housing of the artifact spirit.
He needed to hurry up and make preparations for his return. Each passing day that Silvermoon remained as a loose artifact spirit was a day that he felt uneasy.
Han Li was able to purchase the ingredients without problem. He easily found a store dealing with materials and purchased them all in one go. Although these materials were uncommon, they weren't particularly rare or precious. As a result, no one has asked him what he was using them for.
With both the materials and white fox on hand, Han Li flew back to the medicine garden with satisfaction. But just as he arrived at the medicine garden, there were two people standing outside the restrictions.
One of them was Kui Huan who was sighing with an appearance of nervousness. The other person was a sullen-faced Senior Martial Brother Wang.
When Han Li saw them, he inwardly sighed. He obviously knew why they were here. However, Han Li landed near them with an expression of ignorance.
When they saw that Han Li had returned, they glanced at each other and wore embarrassed expressions.
Han Li stepped forward and calmly asked, "Fellow Daoists, why have you returned so quickly? Have you already sold the Snowcloud Fox?"
After a moment of hesitation, Senior Martial Brother Wang wryly smiled and said, "We... I'm afraid we've let Brother Han down."
Han Li stroked his chin and asked, "Oh, what happened? Was there an incident with the Snowcloud Fox?"
Kui Huan opened his eyes wide and bewilderedly asked, "Junior Martial Brother Han, how did you know?!"