Chapter 530: Negotiation

"Who do you think you are? Get out of my way!"

A cold look appeared on Han Li's face, and golden light flashed over his body as one of his arms abruptly swelled drastically in size as he threw a punch at Feng Hai.

His arm instantly took on a radiant golden hue, looking as if it had been crafted out of pure gold, and it was also covered in countless strands of needle-like golden fur.

The space in the wake of the golden fist screeched and warped violently, as if it were about to be torn apart, and even before the fist arrived, a burst of terrifying force had already descended upon Feng Hai.

In response to Han Li's attack, Feng Hai took a step backward, and a layer of bright blue light surfaced over his body, while his hands transformed into a pair of formidable dragon claws.

He then let loose a thunderous roar as he thrust his claws forward, and a pair of millstone-sized blue dragon claw projections appeared in front of him.

Countless runes were pulsing incessantly on the pair of projections, while rippling waves of blue light were surging incessantly over their surface.

The two dragon claw projections were layered on top of one another to oppose Han Li's fist, and a resounding boom rang out as the golden first crashed into the claw projections, upon which the latter was instantly shattered into countless specks of blue light.

Not only that, but a radiant golden fist projection had erupted out of Han Li's fist, and it was crashing toward Feng Hai with unstoppable force.

Feng Hai was greatly alarmed to see this, and he hurriedly swept both hands through the air, releasing a pair of small triangular blue shields.

The shields transformed into a pair of translucent walls of blue light in front of him, and they had only just taken shape before they were struck by the golden fist projection.

A thunderous boom rang out as the golden fist projection exploded into a burst of powerful golden shockwaves, which completely inundated the two walls of light.

In the face of these golden shockwaves, the walls of blue light were unable to pose any resistance, instantly disintegrating under the pressure.

A burst of tremendous force exploded outward in all directions, causing the entire palace to shudder violently, and Feng Hai was forced to stumble back close to 20 steps before finally managing to steady himself.

All of this had taken place in the blink of an eye, and by the end of the sequence, Han Li had ended up where Feng Hai had been standing just a moment ago. The two triangular shields were held in his hands, and they had already been shattered into pieces.

Han Li closed his hands around the ruined shields, instantly reducing them to powder that slipped through his fingers before being blown away by a gentle breath.

Feng Hai's expression had darkened significantly upon seeing this, and all of the other Vast Flow Palace Golden Immortals had also sprung to their feet with astonished looks on their faces.

Even though Feng Hai was only at the pinnacle of the mid-Golden Immortal Stage, he possessed a Qiulong bloodline that granted him incredible physical prowess and a body that was comparable to a Profound Immortal's True Extreme Physique. However, he had just been comprehensively beaten in a clash of strength, and it seemed like his opponent wasn't even going all-out.

Han Li slowly withdrew his hands, then continued onward without even bothering to spare a glance at Feng Hai.

All of the Vast Flow Palace Golden Immortals instantly appeared in front of Han Li to block his path, and it seemed that a battle was imminent.

"So this is how the Vast Flow Palace treats its guests? This is certainly some exceptional hospitality!" Han Li chuckled as bright golden light erupted out of his body, and a layer of golden fur emerged over his skin.

In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a giant golden ape that was over 100 feet tall, and his aura also swelled drastically to the late-Golden Immortal Stage. Furthermore, it was an aura that was filled with an astonishing degree of malice and violence, and it was sweeping through the air in all directions.

All of the Vast Flow Palace Golden Immortals were very much taken aback by this abrupt elevation in Han Li's aura, and right at this moment, Luo Qinghai appeared between them and Han Li as he yelled, "Stop!"

"Do you want to have some fun as well, Grand Palace Master Luo?" the giant golden ape asked with a cold smile, displaying no fear at all.

"Please don't misunderstand, Fellow Daoist Liu, I have no such intentions. All of you, go back to abodes and repent on your transgressions! None of you are to come out of seclusion without my permission! Fellow Daoist Liu is an esteemed guest of our Vast Flow Palace, and he must be treated as such!" Luo Qinghai scolded with a stern expression.

The Golden Immortals didn't dare to raise any objections, and they flew out of the palace in quick succession.

Feng Hai gave Han Li a vicious glare before also departing.

In the wake of their departure, Han Li reverted back to his human form, and with that, he and Luo Qinghai were the only ones left in the palace.

"I'll be honest with you, Fellow Daoist Liu. Our Vast Flow Palace suffered severe losses in the Infernal Frost Immortal Palace, and our woes were compounded even further by the unexplained disappearance of Palace Master Tie and Palace Master Qiu, so everyone is quite tense and on-edge right now. I hope you can understand," Luo Qinghai said with a friendly smile.

"Unexplained disappearance? Did I not just explain to you how they disappeared? It sounds like you also think I'm slandering them. In that case, there's no point in continuing this conversation," Han Li said with a cold smile.

"Let's not rush here, Fellow Daoist Liu. At our cultivation base, we're rarely ever overcome by our emotions. Everything that we do is for the sake of personal interest, so I'm assuming you didn't just come to our Vast Flow Palace to demand an explanation, is that correct?" Luo Qinghai asked with a faint smile.

Han Li offered no response to this.

"Palace Master Tie and Palace Master Qiu's Origin Soul Lamps haven't been snuffed out, so you must've spared them out of the kindness of your heart. Please allow me to apologize in their stead," Luo Qinghai said with a serious expression as he cupped his fist in a salute toward Han Li.

"Don't misconstrue my actions, Grand Palace Master Luo. I only spared them because I didn't want to grant them a swift and painless death," Han Li said in a cold voice.

"Let's be calm and civilized now, Fellow Daoist Liu. I don't know why Palace Master Tie and Palace Master Qiu decided to go after you, but as long as you're willing to return their nascent souls to us safe and sound, our Vast Flow Palace is willing to offer you satisfactory compensation," Luo Qinghai said.

"You sound very confident that I'll agree to your proposal," Han Li remarked as he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm a firm believer in the notion that everything has a price. As long as the reward is sufficiently alluring, even sworn enemies can become friends," Luo Qinghai said.

Han Li was silent for a moment, then said, "In that case, I don't have much for their nascent souls anyway, so I can return them to you."

Luo Qinghai was very relieved and elated to hear this, and he hurriedly cupped his fist in a grateful salute as he said, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Liu. What would you like in return? Our sect has always been rather lacking in resources compared with the likes of the Dawn Fall Sect and the Blaze Dragon Dao, but I'll do my best to satisfy you."

"There's not much that can catch my eye in the Northern Glacial Immortal Region, but back in the Infernal Frost Immortal Palace, I heard from Fellow Daoist Gongshu that your Vast Flow Palace has a cultivation art by the name of the Water Divination Time Arts, and that it's related to the laws of time. Is that correct?" Han Li asked as he sat down onto one of the chairs in the hall.

"That is indeed true," Luo Qinghai confirmed as a peculiar look appeared on his face. "By the way, by Fellow Daoist Gongshu, are you referring to Immortal Envoy Gongshu Jiu?"

"That's right," Han Li replied with a nod.

"It sounds like you also entered the Infernal Frost Immortal Manor, but I don't recall seeing you there. Could it be that you entered the immortal manor together with Immortal Envoy Gongshu?" Luo Qinghai asked.

"I don't believe that's any of your business, Grand Palace Master Luo," Han Li said as his brows furrowed slightly.

"Forgive me. Please continue, Fellow Daoist Liu," Luo Qinghai said with an apologetic smile.

"There's not much else to be said. Give me the Water Divination Time Arts, and I'll return the nascent souls to you," Han Li replied in a direct and concise fashion.

"The Water Divination Time Arts is the premier cultivation art of our Vast Flow Palace. Even within our sect, we can only access the cultivation art after securing majority approval from the panel of elders, so I'm afraid this may be a little too much to ask. Is there anything else I can do for you, Fellow Daoist Liu?" Luo Qinghai asked.

"That's the only condition that I have, it's up to you whether you want to accept it or not. I'm only going to wait two hours here. If I don't see the Water Divination Time Arts in two hours, then I'll just have to refine those nascent souls into Golden Soul Pills," Han Li said as he casually flipped a hand over to produce an object.

Han Li had summoned a white crystal ball, sealed within which was a blue nascent soul in the appearance of the fair-skinned scholar, and Luo Qinghai's pupils instantly contracted slightly upon seeing this.

The nascent soul was ecstatic to see Luo Qinghai, but it was completely immobilized, and it wasn't able to communicate with Luo Qinghai through voice transmission, either.

Luo Qinghai shifted his gaze from the white crystal ball to Han Li, then said, "Please wait here for a moment, Fellow Daoist Liu, I have to discuss this matter with the others."

After that, Luo Qinghai promptly departed, leaving Han Li on his own in the hall.

......

Luo Qinghai emerged from the hall with his brows tightly furrowed in indecision.

After a brief pause, he quickly made his way into a side hall, where all of the other Golden Immortals were already waiting for him, and they immediately rose to their feet as he entered the room.

"How did it go, Grand Palace Master?" the green-faced elderly man asked.

Luo Qinghai gave everyone a brief recount of his conversation with Han Li.

"He wants the Water Divination Time Arts? He must be delusional!" Feng Hai harrumphed coldly.

"The Water Divination Time Arts is the most prized treasure of our Vast Flow Palace. How can we give it to an outsider?" the blue-robed woman chimed in.

"The problem is that this is the only condition that he's stated. If we turn him down, what's going to happen to Palace Master Tie and Palace Master Qiu?" the green-faced elderly man asked with tightly furrowed brows.

The blue-robed woman fell silent upon hearing this.

"He may be a formidable opponent, but if all of us attack him at once with the restrictions in the Vast Flow Palace on our side, surely we'll be able to bring him down! Once he's dead, we'll be able to save Palace Master Tie and Palace Master Qiu's nascent souls," Feng Hai suggested as a hint of killing intent flashed through his eyes.

Everyone else was also quite tempted by this proposal.