Chapter 861: Transformation and Absorption

Han Li's gaze continued down the exchange list, and the prices of the items listed also kept rising.

While following Chen Yang and the others to Qingyang City, he had also, intentionally or unintentionally, learned some things about the Scale Lair Void from those people. Although they harbored ulterior motives and might conceal some things in their words, they wouldn't deceive him about matters concerning savage beasts.

Therefore, he had a rough understanding of the items listed on the exchange list.

The scale beasts within the Scale Lair Void were gifted with extraordinary talents. At birth, they possessed strength at the Deity Transformation stage or even the Great Vehicle stage, and later enhanced their power by absorbing star power. Hence, the people here often distinguished the levels of scale beasts by their age; the older the beast, the stronger it was, and the more star power its beast core contained.

From this perspective, the Xuan warriors here, whether they came voluntarily or were enslaved like Han Li, all aimed to exchange for beast cores, weapons, and other items on the list through constant fighting to improve their strength.

Here, as long as you could afford the Xuan points, even beast cores from scale beasts with ten thousand or even tens of thousands of years of age were available, though of course these cost astronomical Xuan points.

Although he was now very tempted by these things, unfortunately he was currently strapped for cash, with only ten Xuan points.

To find a way out of trouble, he had to plan carefully. When in adversity, one must not let emotions get the better of them.

Han Li shook his head slightly, calmed himself, and let his gaze wander.

"Eh!" He suddenly let out a soft exclamation, his gaze stopping on an item in the list.

"Taro beast core, around two thousand years old, three Xuan points each."

Han Li's eyes lit up, and he immediately walked to the stone counter.

"I want to exchange for three Taro beast cores, around two thousand years old." He took out his identity token and handed it to a crimson-robed staff member behind the counter.

Other Xuan warriors nearby looked over upon hearing this. Many were momentarily stunned, then showed strange expressions, and some even did not hide the mockery in their eyes.

"Are you new here? Don't say I didn't warn you. Although the Taro beast's core contains a fair amount of star power, this beast's special physique causes the star power in its core to be chaotic, making absorption extremely difficult. Most of it will likely dissipate." The crimson-robed staff member glanced at Han Li and said.

"So that's how it is..." Han Li understood upon hearing this. No wonder this beast's core was so cheap.

"Thank you for the reminder." He said with a smile, but did not change his mind.

He had few Xuan points now and could only afford the cheapest Taro beast.

Seeing this, the crimson-robed staff member said nothing more. He took out a silver short rod, tapped it on Han Li's token, and the ten Xuan points on it instantly became one.

Then he rummaged for a while, took out three egg-sized beast cores, and handed them to Han Li.

Han Li took the beast cores and put them away. He did not linger here and headed toward the Ninth District.

After passing through a dark passage, a spacious area appeared ahead, looking very much like a wide cave.

The cave was circular, with stone chambers carved along the cave walls, a full twenty to thirty rooms, each with a number.

Several white fluorescent stones were embedded in the cave ceiling, emitting a faint light that only illuminated a small area nearby, leaving other places very dim.

At the moment, over a dozen Xuan warriors were sitting in the cave, talking loudly, occasionally bursting into laughter. When they saw Han Li appear, they all looked at him with surprise and sized him up.

Han Li paid no attention to these people. His gaze swept across the cave and quickly found the room marked "332." He walked over, pulled open the door, and was about to enter.

Just then, a tall, scar-faced man blocked his way, kicked the door, and it slammed shut with a loud bang.

"Kid, you want to enter without greeting our boss here? That's not very proper, is it?" The scar-faced man said with a ferocious grin.

"Greeting?" Han Li asked expressionlessly.

"You're new here, so you have ten points, right? Hand over those ten points to me, and I'll offer them to Boss Poison Dragon. That's the rule here." The scar-faced man clenched his fist, producing a series of cracking sounds from his knuckles.

The others all looked over with smiles, enjoying the show.

Han Li glanced at the crowd nearby, stood still, and said nothing.

"Are you deaf, or is your head not working?" The scar-faced man glared, then slammed his fist against Han Li's door again, producing a loud bang.

"Move aside. A good dog doesn't block the way." Han Li frowned slightly and said indifferently.

"Heh heh, Scar, he doesn't take you seriously at all! He's calling you a dog!" A round-faced, fleshy man beside him laughed.

"Scar, even a newbie can't handle? Tsk tsk..." Another man, who looked like a bamboo pole, shook his head and said.

The others also laughed, their laughter full of mockery.

The scar-faced man's face instantly turned red, and his eyes became bloodshot, like an enraged bull.

Although he was tall, his strength in the Ninth District was only mid to low, and he was often ridiculed by others.

He could only endure this silently, while venting his frustration on weaker individuals.

Bullying a seemingly frail newcomer like Han Li was what the scar-faced man liked most. He never expected that today, instead of bullying, he would be humiliated.

"Kid, you're asking for death!" The scar-faced man roared, his arm like a blade, chopping down fiercely at Han Li's head, producing a sharp whistling sound.

Judging by the momentum, he intended to split Han Li's head in two.

A cold glint flashed in Han Li's eyes. He punched upward, meeting the scar-faced man's arm.

Crack! A clear sound of bone breaking came. The scar-faced man's arm suddenly bent, and the arm rebounded, hitting the man's chest hard.

Another dull thud. The scar-faced man staggered back more than ten steps, crashing into the opposite wall before stopping, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Only then did the man react, his face filled with horror. He stood there motionless, staring blankly at Han Li.

The other Xuan warriors erupted in commotion, all standing up with a "whoosh," their eyes fixed on Han Li, their expressions varied.

Han Li paid them no attention. He opened his door, walked in, then flipped his hand and slammed the door shut with a "bang."

The stone chamber was not large, only about three or four zhang in size. Apart from a stone bed and a table with chairs, there was nothing else.

In the center of the ceiling, a section of white tree root was exposed, continuously emitting white light that illuminated the entire chamber.

"This is star power!" Han Li's divine sense swept over the white light, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

He moved his divine sense, trying to extend it inside the white root to trace the source of the star power, but the stone walls of the chamber were made of a special material that blocked divine sense, so he had to give up.

"I never thought there could be such a wondrous thing in the world, capable of transmitting star power." Han Li murmured, looking at the white tree root.

Although he couldn't probe with divine sense, he could clearly see that the star power emitted by the root was not inherent to it but transmitted from elsewhere; the white root was merely a tool for transmission.

However, the star power emitted by the root was not abundant, only enough for ordinary cultivation.

Han Li soon shifted his attention away from the root. He scanned the chamber with his divine sense and found no signs of tampering, then relaxed slightly and sat down on the bed.

On the bed were two sets of Xuan warrior attire: shorts and a cape.

He frowned at the two sets of clothing but still took off his own clothes and changed into one set of Xuan warrior uniform.

Han Li placed his original clothes at the head of the bed. Suddenly, his belly bulged, and he spat out a small dark green bottle—the Heaven-Devouring Bottle.

Looking at the Heaven-Devouring Bottle in his hand, a smile appeared on his face.

Before arriving at Qingyang City, in case of unforeseen circumstances inside the city, he had swallowed the Heaven-Devouring Bottle into his stomach in advance.

Fortunately, he had taken this precaution; otherwise, the Heaven-Devouring Bottle would likely have fallen into the hands of Chen Yang and the others by now.

Han Li looked at the Heaven-Devouring Bottle for a moment, then swallowed it back into his stomach. He walked over to the white tree root and sat down.

Cultivation was the most important thing now!

Han Li took out a Taro beast core. The star power inside the core was considerable but very chaotic, churning like boiling water.

He frowned slightly but still opened his mouth and swallowed it, then closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

After entering his stomach, the Taro beast core quickly melted, turning into a mass of powerful star power.

This star power, like a runaway horse, rampaged through his body and began to dissipate outward, completely different from when he consumed other beast cores.

Han Li hurriedly activated the "Feather Transformation Ascension Art" at full power to absorb this star power.

Although he exerted all his effort, as the man had said, he could only absorb a small portion; the rest of the star power quickly dissipated.

But just then, a sudden change occurred!

The Heaven-Devouring Bottle in his belly suddenly trembled, and a soft light emanated from its mouth. The star power that was dispersing seemed to be attracted and quickly flowed back.

Sensing this, Han Li was first stunned, then overjoyed. He quickly activated the "Feather Transformation Ascension Art" to absorb this star power.

But before he could absorb much, the star power merged into the Heaven-Devouring Bottle.

He slapped his forehead and sighed helplessly.

In terms of absorbing star power, how could he compete with the Heaven-Devouring Bottle?

The star power of the Taro beast core surged into the Heaven-Devouring Bottle. A light flashed inside the bottle, and a drop of green liquid gradually appeared.

Just as the green liquid condensed, the remaining star power stopped entering the bottle and swirled around the Heaven-Devouring Bottle.

Seeing this, Han Li was momentarily stunned, then let out a long breath and continued to activate the "Feather Transformation Ascension Art" to absorb the star power near the bottle's mouth.

This star power, guided by the Heaven-Devouring Bottle, had become much gentler and was quite smooth to absorb.

Meanwhile, the star power emitted by the white tree root on the ceiling also converged and merged into his body.

Streams of star power merged into the second acupoint of the "Feather Transformation Ascension Art." The second acupoint trembled slightly and gradually began to open.

While Han Li was cultivating, the atmosphere in the Ninth District became somewhat tense.

Scar sat cross-legged in front of a closed stone chamber, as if waiting for something. His broken and twisted arm had returned to normal, but the wound was still black, red, and swollen.

He occasionally glanced toward Han Li's chamber, a trace of venom flashing in his eyes.

Seeing this, the other Xuan warriors originally gathered in the Ninth District showed a hint of disdain. After a brief exchange of whispers, they also left one after another.