Chapter 707: Taking Stock

A few days later, Miao Xiu, without making a big show, took only a few trusted members of the San Miao tribe and came to the camp of the Gray Lizard tribe, respectfully inviting Han Li and the other two to return with them to Youhe City.

Han Li and the others had long been prepared, so they took their leave of Xi Yan and the rest and headed toward the San Miao tribe's camp.

Seeing the esteemed immortals depart, the old chieftain of the Gray Lizard tribe could not help but feel a sense of loss.

From the words of Miao Xiu and the others, he had learned that the two who had been in their group earlier, and the one who had suddenly appeared later, were all of extremely noble status. He thought to himself that if he had done better, he might have forged a great bond of goodwill.

Just as he was secretly regretting this, he saw Miao Kui quickly return to his side, come before him, and respectfully bow.

"I dare not, I dare not..." Xi Yan, flattered, hurriedly returned the bow.

"I have offended you greatly before, Chieftain Xi Yan, please forgive me. At this assembly, the Gray Lizard tribe has rendered great service. The young lady has ordered us to present two thousand gray crystals as a reward. Upon returning, she will also ask the Lord of the Domain to allocate a portion of the Water Tiger tribe's territory to your Gray Lizard tribe," Miao Kui said.

Xi Yan was stunned for a moment, then his eyes grew moist, and he made as if to kneel and kowtow in gratitude for the great favor.

"Chieftain Xi Yan, there is no need for that. Those three honored guests spoke highly of you, and you have helped our Black Tooth Domain forge a bond of goodwill. The Gray Lizard tribe deserves this reward," Miao Kui said, quickly stopping him.

"Thank you, esteemed immortal, thank you, young lady, thank you, Envoy Miao..." Xi Yan repeatedly expressed his thanks, bowing his head profusely.

On the other side, Han Li and the other two had already followed Miao Xiu back to the other side of the lake, where a huge three-story tower ship was moored. It was pitch black like ink, with eaves protruding outward and many sharp spikes, covered in intricate and strange patterns. Though lacking in colorful hues, it still gave an impression of extreme luxury.

In front of the tower ship crouched three giant beasts about ten zhang tall, shaped like warhorses but with white exoskeletons and a spiral horn on their cheeks, and four huge gray-black fleshy wings on their backs, pressed tightly against their bodies.

"This Armored Horse Tower Ship can travel above the clouds. Its speed may not match your flying treasures, but it is fairly stable. I have arranged for all the rooms on the third floor to be vacated, so you seniors can stay there with peace of mind," Miao Xiu said to Mo Guang as they boarded the ship's deck.

"Much obliged." Mo Guang, with a warm smile on his face, nodded to Miao Xiu.

Then Miao Xiu led Han Li and the others to the third floor, casually chatting with Mo Guang along the way. Han Li and Shi Chuankong stood respectfully on either side of Mo Guang, acting as if they followed his lead, and said nothing.

As Miao Xiu spoke with Mo Guang, her gaze occasionally swept over Han Li with a hint of puzzlement, but Han Li pretended not to notice and ignored it.

After the three went up to the third floor and each chose a room to stay in, Miao Xiu took her leave and ordered the ship to set off.

The three giant gray-winged Armored Horses' eyes lit up with a gray glow, and they galloped forward with their four hooves, pulling the huge ship forward for over a thousand zhang. Then they spread their huge gray wings and flapped them violently, generating strong white air currents beneath.

Supported by the powerful currents, the Armored Horses and the tower ship soared high into the sky, charging straight into the thick clouds.

Han Li stayed in his room and looked out the window, but could only see black mist and dense baleful qi, making it impossible to see anything.

Frowning, he waved his hand and covered the windows with a layer of green light, blocking the thick baleful qi rolling in from outside.

To avoid arousing suspicion from the San Miao tribe, Han Li did not set up any restrictive formations with strong spiritual power fluctuations in the room, only some simple arrays to conceal his aura.

By the time he finished setting up, the Armored Horse Tower Ship seemed to have finally broken through the thick baleful clouds and reached above the clouds.

The black mist outside the window was gone, and the view suddenly became open. Han Li withdrew the barrier he had set up and looked outside.

He saw that the sky, no longer covered by baleful clouds, was still gray. Three round suns hung high in the sky, emitting white light that was neither cold nor warm, giving an uncomfortable feeling.

However, the baleful qi above the clouds was noticeably thinner, making Han Li feel much more at ease than on the ground.

After sitting quietly for a moment, the voice of Crab Daoist suddenly sounded in his mind:

"Fellow Daoist Han, I have finished counting the storage artifacts you asked me to sort out earlier. May I see you?"

"Of course." Han Li said with a smile.

With that, he waved his hand, and a silver light shone on the two fingers of his right hand. A silver light door opened not far in front of him, and Crab Daoist stepped out from the bamboo building into the guest room.

The two sat down at a round table in the room, and Han Li took out a pot of Hundred Flower Brew.

Since arriving in the Gray Realm, he had rarely had leisure time. Only now did he have the mood to drink a few cups by himself and exchange a few words with Crab Daoist.

"The day before yesterday, I finished inventorying everything in those storage magic tools. Inside, there are 15,317 top-grade spirit stones, 58,313 ordinary immortal spirit stones, and 321 medium-grade immortal spirit stones. They're all here." The Crab Immortal turned his hand over, produced a white storage bracelet, and placed it on the table as he spoke.

These storage magic tools almost all came from the ruins of the True Word Sect. Those Heavenly Court soldiers and True Word Sect disciples were mostly at the early True Immortal to late Golden Immortal stages. They didn't use many top-grade spirit stones, and very few possessed medium-grade immortal spirit stones. Most naturally used ordinary immortal spirit stones.

Han Li did not rush to collect the storage bracelet. He merely took a light sip of the Hundred Flowers Brew and quietly waited for the Crab Immortal to continue.

"Inside here are some miscellaneous array-laying items, including various types of array plates and array flags, as well as some rather large array stones and spirit-pattern pillars. I selected some of them and buried them around the bamboo building on the spirit herb garden side, turning this place into another main array eye besides the pond and bamboo building. However, the Flower Branch Cave Heaven is already very precisely constructed, so this array eye has limited room to function." The Crab Immortal continued.

"That's very good. Thank you for your trouble, Daoist Crab." Han Li nodded with a smile.

"Inside here are some immortal artifact treasures, of various attributes. Among them are over two hundred immortal artifacts, but only one is graded: a lightning-attribute war blade. I hope that Daoist Han can lend it to me for a while... no, I hope that Daoist Han can sell it to me. As for the price, you set it, and I will repay you later." The Crab Immortal continued.

As he spoke, he placed another black storage bracelet on the table, turned his hand over, and produced a long, narrow black war blade.

Han Li's gaze swept over it. He saw that the blade was densely covered with spirit patterns, and from top to bottom were inlaid seven purple beads the size of dragon's eyes, within which lightning patterns faintly flickered. It was actually an eighth-grade immortal artifact.

Seeing that Han Li remained silent, the Crab Immortal's palm flashed with light, and a surge of electric current flowed into the war blade. The seven beads on the blade immediately emitted a brilliant purple light, and strands of purple-gold lightning coiled out, emitting intense fluctuations.

Han Li's eyes twitched. He quickly suppressed these fluctuations and signaled the Crab Immortal to put it away.

"I will neither rent nor sell this item to you..."

As Han Li spoke, a flicker of disappointment passed through the Crab Immortal's eyes, but then he quickly returned to normal. He raised his hand as if to place the war blade on the round table.

However, before he could set it down, Han Li reached out and pressed a hand over it, stopping him.

"I can give you this blade, but I hope you will truthfully tell me some things." Han Li looked at the Crab Immortal and said slowly.

A trace of hesitation flickered in the Crab Immortal's eyes. His gaze wandered over the war blade for a good while before he nodded.

"Have you recovered most of your memories?" Han Li asked.

"Indeed, many memories have appeared in my mind, but most are rather chaotic. I have been trying to organize them clearly, but for now, I have no clue. If you want to ask about these, I really cannot answer." The Crab Immortal shook his head and said.

"What exactly is the wish your master wants me to fulfill?" Han Li frowned slightly and continued asking.

"Daoist Han, it's not that I'm deliberately hiding it. The memories I recovered before did not clearly state this matter. What I can confirm is that it must not be easy." The Crab Immortal said with a bitter smile.

"This... asking is the same as not asking. Forget it... Keep the blade." Han Li said helplessly.

The Crab Immortal hesitated briefly, then still put away the war blade and spoke:

"On this blade are engraved the two characters 'Duan Xiao,' which should be its name. Looking at its forging method and the patterns on it, it should be of the same origin as that previous blade 'Zhan Ting,' only it seems to be from an earlier era and of higher quality. Both are equally precious. Daoist Han's kindness this time will be repaid in the future."

Han Li did not speak. He merely waved his hand and put away that storage bracelet.

"I have collected all the pills and spirit herbs from these people in this storage ring. There are many good things inside, but I don't recognize many of them. I'll leave it for you to examine yourself." The Crab Immortal paused and then said.

Han Li nodded, picked up the storage ring, and after a brief refinement, began to inspect it carefully.

Upon inspection, he couldn't help raising his eyebrows in delight.

Not to mention various healing and cultivation pills, there were also many rare immortal herbs and spirit plants seldom seen in the immortal realm, including some rare spirit herbs that even he could not identify.

Among them, what surprised him the most were over a dozen fist-sized 'Xuan Zhi Crystals.' This material was an important ingredient for refining Su Sha Pills. Earlier, he had purchased a large quantity of Ku Luo Flowers from the Tamuda Assembly, and he had been worried about not having Xuan Zhi Crystals.

Now, with these two main ingredients, he could refine a new batch of Su Sha Pills. Otherwise, in this Gray Realm, once the Calamity of Decline backlash struck, it would be a life-threatening matter.

However, this matter could not be rushed for now. He could only attempt the refinement after reaching a safer place.

After putting away this storage ring, Han Li asked the Crab Immortal about the situation inside the cave heaven. He learned that everything in the spirit herb garden was fine, the batch of bean soldiers in the planting area was almost mature, and the roots of that Two-Life Tree, despite being watered with spirit liquid, still showed no signs of life.

As for the Essence Flame Firebird, it was still wrapped inside that silver sphere covered with red patterns, showing no signs of waking.

Han Li was not too worried about this. He had already witnessed the power of the Seven-Colored Fire Cinnabar Sand. Even if the Essence Flame Firebird slept for over a decade, he would not find it surprising.