Chapter 124: Earth-Sun Fruit and Sea-Condensing Crystal

"Hehe, as the saying goes, techniques and scriptures have their high and low grades, and materials containing the power of laws naturally have their superior and inferior distinctions. The specific exchange ratio depends on the quality of the items you offer, fellow Daoist," the tall man said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Han Li pondered for a moment, then flipped his wrist, and a peculiar walnut with a human face pattern appeared in his palm.

As soon as this item was brought out, it immediately emitted a dense earthy aura.

"Fellow Daoist, take a look. Would this be acceptable for exchange?" Han Li glanced at the phantom man and asked.

The phantom man was momentarily stunned, instinctively taking half a step closer to Han Li before stopping himself. He then spoke with a seemingly carefree smile:

"This Earth-Sun Fruit does indeed contain a trace of the law of earth, but it is not very rich. If you wish to exchange it, you would need at least ten of them."

"So this thing is called Earth-Sun Fruit..."

Han Li thought to himself, but his expression remained unchanged. He did not speak immediately, merely staring at the phantom man with an impassive look.

The man sighed inwardly, thinking that his involuntary half-step forward had revealed his true intentions to Han Li, so he changed his tune:

"If you have Earth-Sun Fruits of better quality, bringing out five would be enough for me to reluctantly part with my treasure."

Han Li smiled faintly, raised two fingers, and said calmly, "Two."

"Fellow Daoist, that is rather unreasonable. Although my 'Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture' has minor flaws, it is still a genuine high-grade Earth Immortal technique. Two Earth-Sun Fruits are absolutely insufficient for exchange," the phantom man said, waving his hands repeatedly.

"This technique may seem decent, but whether it is 'merely flawed' is something you know better than anyone, I'm afraid. I must say, exchanging two rare spiritual fruits for a piece of chicken rib is more than enough," Han Li said with a chuckle.

"Two Earth-Sun Fruits are truly insufficient. Could you add one more, making it three for the exchange... how about that?" the phantom man said after some hesitation.

"Adding one more is not impossible, but... you need to answer a question first," Han Li said after a brief pause.

"Just answer a question?" the phantom man was taken aback, somewhat puzzled.

"Yes. I believe you will certainly know the answer to this question," Han Li said with a smile.

"Please ask, fellow Daoist," the phantom man nodded after a moment's thought.

"To be honest, although I have obtained a few Earth-Sun Fruits by chance, I know very little about their effects. I hope you can enlighten me," Han Li said.

The phantom man was momentarily stunned, then smiled bitterly: "You have asked the right person. This fruit is a special kind among many earth-type spiritual fruits. It enters the earth upon contact, requiring a hundred thousand years to sprout, a million years to grow into a tree, and ten million years to condense earth power and bear fruit. It is an excellent material for refining earth-type immortal artifacts and high-grade Dao soldiers."

"I see. Thank you for your guidance, fellow Daoist. Let us complete the transaction now," Han Li said with a slight smile.

The phantom man said nothing more, merely nodding silently.

Thus, both raised their palms, and from each hand, an object shot out, flying toward the vortex at the center of the array plate.

The difference was that from Han Li came three human-faced walnuts emitting a yellow earthy glow, while from the phantom man came a phantom of an ancient book.

As the three fruits flew into the vortex, a flash of light appeared, and they vanished.

Soon, another beam of light lit up on the array plate, and an ancient book with a bluish-black cover slowly emerged from the circular vortex.

Han Li reached out and caught the ancient book, immediately sending out his divine sense for a rough inspection. Finding nothing unusual, he looked toward the phantom man.

The other party had just finished examining the three Earth-Sun Fruits. He cupped his hands toward Han Li, said nothing, and with a slight flicker of his figure, disappeared.

Han Li smiled, knowing that the other felt he had suffered a hidden loss and was somewhat sulky. He paid it no mind, put away the ancient book, and turned his gaze back to the array plate.

Now that he had a high-grade Earth Immortal technique, he still lacked the materials for refining the Earth Deity avatar.

Originally, Han Li had planned to use the Earth-Sun Fruit as the main material for refining the Earth Deity avatar, but since he had decided to cultivate the 'Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture,' he could no longer use this fruit. He needed to find a main material containing the law of water.

As it seemed, this should not be difficult.

He raised his hand toward the exchange area on the array plate, placed the Earth-Sun Fruits on it, and marked the requirement for materials containing the law of water.

From the various performances so far, although the Wuchang Alliance seemed mysterious, its sphere of influence was clearly not limited to the Black Wind Sea region, and the number of members within the alliance should be considerable; otherwise, it would be impossible to form such a vast trading scale and variety.

In other words, since the Earth-Sun Fruit was a precious earth-type spiritual fruit, exchanging it for materials containing the law of water of equivalent value should not be difficult.

After doing this, Han Li waved his hand to dispel the blue light array plate phantom before him, then sat cross-legged, took out the 'Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture,' and began to study it carefully.

As he expected, within just seven or eight days, several people contacted him through the mask, expressing a desire to exchange.

Han Li did not trade immediately but waited a few more days. After comparing more than ten kinds of materials repeatedly, he finally decided and chose a material called 'Sea-Condensing Crystal.'

This item contained an extraordinary law of water and was highly compatible with the 'Black Sea Heavy Water Scripture' in all aspects. It was said that a piece the size of a fingernail condensed the essence of seawater from ten thousand miles of ocean. Hence, its preciousness far exceeded that of the Earth-Sun Fruit. Han Li used up almost all the remaining Earth-Sun Fruits and even added some other spiritual materials before finally persuading the other party to exchange for a barely sufficient amount of this item.

After everything was prepared, Han Li immediately went into seclusion.

Spring passed and autumn arrived; a little over a year was almost a snap of the fingers for the True Immortal Realm.

During this time, Han Li continued to cultivate the Birth Soul Flower through the green liquid on one hand, while on the other he day and night pondered the Black Sea Heavy Water Sutra, making final preparations for refining the Earthly Deity Avatar.

One day, at a certain seabed ten thousand miles away from Wumeng Island.

The seabed here was uneven, with towering rock peaks like a mountain range under the sea at first glance.

These rocks were dark red, their surfaces rugged, evidently formed after magma cooled.

Black holes could be faintly seen on the seabed, dark and deep, leading to unknown places.

This was a submarine volcanic group, often erupting with massive volcanic explosions, so few people came here.

On a flat area of the seabed, a huge hemispherical blue protective barrier was opened, isolating the surrounding seawater, making it impossible to see inside from the outside.

Inside the formation, a figure in a green robe sat cross-legged in the center, exactly Han Li.

Around it, over a dozen enormous stone pillars stood scattered, and in the center was a fire-attribute formation inscribed with crimson runes.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes, his expression solemn as he began to mutter incantations under his breath.

The crimson formation beneath him immediately hummed into operation, and the dozen or so stone pillars around burst into dazzling red light, piercing through the blue protective barrier to illuminate the seabed for several li in all directions.

He formed hand seals, and as the formation operated, the ground around began to rumble and shake.

After a moment, he let out a low shout.

Crack!

At the very center of the formation, in an area about a zhang square where no array patterns were inscribed, cracks suddenly appeared, revealing a large hole.

Inside, it was a vivid red; from here, one could clearly see not far beneath the ground rolling magma and the billowing flames clinging to it.

These flames were a faint reddish-gold color, not ordinary magma ground fire, but a type of strange fire known as deep-sea ground fire, which could merge and coexist with seawater, and was several times more powerful than ordinary ground fire.

A wave of intense heat emanated from the large hole, causing the surrounding seawater to churn violently.

Han Li's figure flickered as he appeared near the cave entrance. After sitting down cross-legged again, he flicked his ten fingers repeatedly toward the air.

The surrounding formation immediately began to operate even faster, emitting a dazzling red light that poured continuously into the cave entrance.

The magma underground also began to ripple, slowly surging toward the cave entrance.

With a "puff," a thick, pale-golden flame suddenly shot out from the ground at the cave entrance, spiraling upward to a height of seven or eight zhang, like a violent fiery fountain that could burst apart at any moment.

Han Li's expression turned serious, and he involuntarily accelerated the hand seals. The light of the surrounding formation grew even brighter, and strands of red light shot out from the formation, wrapping around the pale-golden earthfire.

The surging earthfire immediately became docile, like a wild horse being slowly tamed, and under the manipulation of his fingers, it flexibly transformed into various shapes.

Seeing this, Han Li's expression gradually relaxed a bit. He waved his arm, and a row of various materials appeared beside him.

Given his current level of magical power, it was fundamentally impossible for him to refine these materials. So, on a whim, he thought of borrowing the power of this deep-sea earthfire.

He waved his hand, and a piece of white crystalline ore material shot out, plunging into the earthfire.

He formed hand seals with his fingers, manipulating the flame to envelop this material.

After an unknown amount of time, the white crystalline ore slowly melted, turning into a lump of translucent white liquid.

After a brief observation, he beckoned with one hand again, and another material flew out, plunging into the flame...

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

The materials around Han Li had now been mostly thrown into the earthfire flame, refined, and mixed together, forming a pale blue sphere the size of a millstone, gently rolling within the flame.

His face was somewhat pale. He took out a Cloud Crane Herb and consumed it, his complexion slowly recovering. Then he waved his hand and produced a deep blue crystal the size of a bowl's mouth.

The crystal was glittering and translucent; from the outside, one could clearly see the pure blue light contained within, gently trembling like water waves, and a powerful fluctuation of the Water Law radiated from it.

This object was none other than the Condensed Sea Crystal.

Han Li stared deeply at the crystal in his hand for a couple of moments. After taking a deep breath, he waved his hand and cast the object into the earthfire before him.

Under his control, the earthfire layered over it, rolling and enveloping the deep blue crystal.

At that moment, a layer of pale blue watery light suddenly appeared on the crystal's surface, flowing unceasingly, making the entire stone look like a small clump of clear water, bright and limpid.

The deep-sea earthfire, capable of melting metal and iron, was instantly isolated by this seemingly ordinary pale blue watery light, unable to penetrate even a fraction.