Chapter 1139: Agreement
Her Dao Companion had also made his way out of the wooden cabin just in time to hear Han Li's proposed solutions, and his face also paled with despair.
However, he took a deep breath to muster up his courage before making his way over to Han Li. He extended a deep bow toward Han Li, and said in an earnest voice, "We're not asking for much; we only want our daughter to live a little longer. Even if she only makes it to the Foundation Establishment Stage, that's enough. Would my Dao Companion and I somehow be able to combine our powers to repress the backlash from our daughter's Yang-type energy, just so we can help Qin'er reach the Foundation Establishment Stage?"
Han Li glanced at the man before shaking his head as he said, "At your current early-Core Formation Stage cultivation bases, it would definitely be impossible. However, if you can reach the late-Core Formation Stage and be willing to sacrifice some of your cultivation base, you can give it a try."
Even the man fell completely silent this time.
They wanted to ask for Han Li's assistance, but they didn't dare to ask for more.
Han Li had already provided them with more help than they had any right to ask for. No matter how much the two of them loved their daughter, they knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to keep pressing Han Li.
After all, this was not an issue that could be resolved on a one-time basis. The solution would be for Han Li to constantly keep the young woman by his side, and it was quite clear that no high-grade cultivator would be willing to carry such baggage with them.
However, to their surprise, Han Li provided them with an alternative arrangement, one that shocked them to such an extent that they couldn't help but think that they had misheard him.
"I have a formation spells book here for your daughter. If she masters the contents of this book to a satisfactory degree the next time I see her, I can consider taking her under my wing. Of course, in that case, I'll also help her reach the Foundation Establishment Stage and perhaps even the Core Formation Stage. However, it's up to her to convince me to take her first. Let me make this clear now; this book is only for your daughter to read. If you two try to master the contents of the book, then attempt to teach her, I'll definitely be able to see through your tricks and I'll leave right away!"Han Li's voice wasn't very loud, but his words exploded like claps of thunder in the hearts of Wen Siyue and her Dao Companion.
"Senior Han, are you being serious right now?" Wen Siyue was in complete disbelief.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face as he swept a sleeve through the air. A jade box shot forth from within, hovering slowly toward the couple.
"That box contains the book 'Formation Spell Essentials'. The formation spells depict in the book aren't very complex, but there are some unique aspects that I'll be focusing on to test your daughter's aptitude in formation spells," Han Li said.
The "Formation Spell Essentials" book in the jade box was one of the books that Xin Ruyin had bestowed upon him all those years ago. Han Li felt that it was only fitting for him to give this book to Tian Qin'er.
Wen Siyue was overjoyed as she carefully accepted the jade box.
"Thank you for your kindness, Senior! Qin'er is quite talented in the way of formation spells, so she definitely won't disappoint you! May I ask when you'll meet our daughter again?" Wen Siyue asked with an urgent expression.
"That's hard to say. If everything goes smoothly, maybe I'll see her again in a year or so. If not, it may take several years. Let me reinforce this; during this period of time, she absolutely cannot use any cultivation arts. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, she won't be able to live until she sees me again. Here is a vial of Purple Yin Pills. Feed her one of these per month and she won't require any other pills for the next few years." Han Li patted his storage pouch to produce an azure vial that was several inches in height, which he tossed to the couple.
This time, the graceful man was the one who accepted the vial with elation and immediately began to express his gratitude.
"Alright, after you find the White Yang Demon Fish's demon core, go to the Stalwart Star Island to wait for me a year from now. As long as you stay on that island, I'll be able to find you. I still have important matters I must attend to, so I won't stay here any longer." After providing this series of instructions, spiritual light flashed around his body and he shot forth into the distance as a streak of azure light, not affording the couple an opportunity to keep him.
The couple's expressions were slightly surprised by Han Li's sudden departure, but they still hurriedly bowed into the distance toward the direction he had just disappeared in.
The streak of azure light quickly disappeared from their line of sight, and only then did they dare to stand tall again. They took a glance at one another and both of them could see their own joy mirrored in each other's eyes.
If it weren't for Han Li's help, even if they could cure the poison in their daughter's body, she would still most likely perish in the near future. Furthermore, Han Li had also helped Wen Siyue in her cultivation in the past, and the couple was extremely grateful toward him.
After returning to the wooden cabin, the two of them began to discuss how they were going to search for the White Yang Demon Fish's demon core, as well as how they were going to organize for Tian Qin'er to study that formation spell book.
At this point, Han Li had already left Silver Shark Island. He abruptly changed directions and flew deeper into the ocean.
He wore a contemplative look on his face as he streaked through the air.
It was a spur of the moment decision for him to give this Tian Qin'er this opportunity. He wanted to meet her again mostly because he wanted to determine her true origin. After all, the fact that she possessed the Dragon Call Physique in a female body and that familiar disposition she had made it very difficult for him to believe that everything was merely a coincidence.
If her formation spell aptitude was also quite exceptional, thereby allowing her to easily glean the essence of that Formation Spell Essentials book, then there was a good chance that she really was a reincarnation of Xin Ruyin or possessed some other mysterious origin.
There were actually past instances of reincarnations in the cultivation world, where the reincarnated person had retained some of their traits and memories from their past lives. These cases were extremely rare, but there definitely were precedents.
However, none of those cases could actually be verified with evidence and were only rumors that seemed to be somewhat plausible. Due to those rumors, legends regarding the underworld also began to circulate and it had somehow become a mysterious existence akin to the Spirit Realm.
Some speculated that the underworld was an independent realm, while others gandered that the underworld was a mysterious location in the human world. Of course, there were also those who were of the opinion that the underworld didn't exist and was only a figment of popular imagination.
Han Li had always been sitting on the fence when it came to this matter.
To him, there was no way to verify either side of the argument, so there was no point in thinking about it as it would just be a waste of time.
However, Qi Yunxiao and Xin Ruyin were good friends of his. In particular, he admired Xin Ruyin's fiery nature greatly. Now that he had become an immensely powerful cultivator, if this Tian Qin'er really was Xin Ruyin reincarnate, then he wouldn't mind taking her under his wing.
Furthermore, Xin Ruyin had only been a Foundation Establishment cultivator at the time, yet she could already assist Qi Yunxiao in developing low-grade formation tools. If she had lived a long enough life, had sufficient formation spell books to reference, and saw more of the world, her achievements in the formation spell field would have been immeasurable.
His main priority was to progress to the Deity Transformation Stage, so he definitely wouldn't be able to focus much attention on studying formation spells. If he could take in a disciple with exemplary formation spell aptitude, and raise her to become a formation spells master, she would definitely be able to provide much assistance to him in the future.
After grappling with these thoughts for a long while, Han Li heaved a faint sigh and decided to set aside this train of thought for now. He suddenly flipped a hand over and a white jade slip suddenly appeared.
He scanned through the jade slip's contents with his spiritual sense, upon which the image of a massive sea chart appeared in his mind. This was the map that the Star Palace cultivator guarding the teleportation formations had given him.
Prior to coming here, he had already verified the location of the island that housed the high-grade spirit stone mine. This was once a nameless island that had since been named "Green Spirit Island". Apparently, this was because most of the spirit stones discovered there were wood-attribute spirit stones.
According to the sea charts, this Green Spirit Island was located extremely far north of Silver Shark Island. Even a Core Formation cultivator would have to fly several months without rest to get there, and it was almost the farthest point that normal cultivators could reach, which was why the spirit stone mind on the island had only been discovered recently.
It was said that this island was extraordinarily massive and was originally only inhabited by some demon beasts. The mines were distributed all over the island and they had been split among the Starfall Coalition, the Star Palace, the demon beasts in the sea.
As large amounts of high-grade spirit stones were excavated from the island, the few islands nearby also began to thrive. Gradually, some smaller powers and itinerant cultivators gathered together, constructing a few small towns and markets that people could stop by on the way to Green Spirit Island. As such, a colony of human cultivators was established in what was once the middle of nowhere. Furthermore, it was said that the Star Palace the Starfall Coalition were both looking into setting up new teleportation formations near the island.
Han Li assessed all of the information he had attained on Green Spirit Island again and after deciding that he wasn't missing anything, he put away the jade slip and accelerated through the air.
By his estimations, it would most likely take him three months to get the Green Spirit Island at his current speed.
The scenery over the ocean was naturally extremely bland. There were only vast expanses of blue stretching as far as the eye could see in all directions, and there was nothing else to punctuate the stretches of seawater.
Han Li continued on his journey and more than a month had passed by in the blink of an eye.
Along the way, he stopped by some islands to recover his magic power and the journey had gone very smoothly. He hadn't encountered any mishaps or unexpected accidents thus far. He would occasionally pass by a few cultivators, but he merely flew past them without paying them any heed.
Most of these cultivators were at the Foundation Establishment or Core Formation Stages, and upon witnessing the speed at which Han Li was traveling, they naturally stayed out of his way in the knowledge that he was far too powerful for them to mess with.
He did encounter an unidentifiable sixth grade demon beast that sprang out of the ocean and tried to eat him.
However, that demon beast was sliced in half by a stroke of his sword, and he plucked away its demon core for good measure.
He had only slain the demon beast as it was of a relatively high grade. Otherwise, he couldn't even be bothered to swing his sword.
On this day, Han Li encountered another small island that was piled up from black rocks. Aside from some seaweed, there was nothing living growing on the island. However, he descended upon it without any hesitation and sat down on a relatively flat rock, before closing his eyes to recover his energy.
Half a day passed and the sky gradually began to darken. The crimson sun set beneath the horizon and the air temperature instantly dropped significantly.
However, none of that was enough to faze Han Li. He merely summoned a layer of azure light to shield his body from the cold.
When the final ray of sunlight disappeared, the entire surface of the ocean was plunged into complete darkness.
Right at this moment, the entire small island that he was situated on suddenly tremored violently. Immediately thereafter, a loud roar that sounded like a muffled thunderclap erupted from the bottom of the ocean nearby. It was somewhere between the moo of a cow and the roar of a tiger!