Chapter 716: Arriving at Black Teeth City

"You're enduring your baleful decay as well, Fellow Daoist Shi?" Han Li asked with a surprised expression.

"It actually began several hundred years ago, but I've been suppressing it up to this point using secret techniques. In any case, that's not important. Have you managed to refine any Baleful Quelling Pills, Fellow Daoist Li?" Shi Chuankong asked with a hopeful expression.

Han Li offered no response, merely flipping a hand over to produce a black pill.

Shi Chuankong's eyes instantly lit up as he rose to his feet, and a burst of silver light shot out of the restrictions around him, transforming to a silver hand that grabbed onto the pill.

Han Li made no effort to stop him, allowing the silver hand to close itself around the pill.

Shi Chuankong was just about to withdraw the silver hand when he suddenly stopped what he was doing.

The baleful qi around him was rippling violently due to his excitement, but he still turned to Han Li as he asked, "Fellow Daoist Li, what would you like in exchange for this Baleful Quelling Pill?"

"We can discuss that another time. Right now, the top priority is for you to take the pill and suppress the baleful qi in your body. Otherwise, at this rate, it won't be long before you land all of us in a world of trouble," Han Li replied with a faint smile.

Shi Chuankong cupped his fist in a grateful salute toward Han Li, following which the silver hand shot back into the silver restrictions.

At the same time, a series of spatial vortexes emerged around Shi Chuankong, while the silver restrictions also lit up significantly, and he was completely concealed within them.

Han Li raised an eyebrow upon seeing this, and instead of departing, he sat down in another corner of the room with his legs crossed.

Close to a year passed by in a flash.

All of a sudden, the radiant silver light in the corner of the room faded, and Shi Chuankong was revealed.

At this point, the unrest in his aura had already subsided, and it seemed that he had made a complete recovery.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Li. If it wasn't for your Baleful Quelling Pills, the Gray Realm would've most likely become my final resting place," Shi Chuakong said as he cupped his fist in a grateful salute.

"It's only right for me to help an ally when we're both in such an inhospitable place," Han Li replied with a smile as he rose to his feet.

Shi Chuankong took a glance at Han Li, then hesitated momentarily before flipping a hand over to produce a rectangular jade box, which he opened to reveal a black spirit plant.

The spirit plant was giving off a peculiar aroma that instantly struck one with a sense of alertness, and Han Li's eyes immediately lit up as he identified the spirit plant.

"If I'm not mistaken, it seems like you've also cultivated the Spirit Refinement Technique, so I'm sure you're in need of this Myriad Soul Herb, Fellow Daoist Li. This is the same one that I purchased from that auction all those years ago, and you can have it exchange for that Baleful Quelling Pill," Shi Chuankong said as he offered the jade box to Han Li.

Han Li took a long glance at Shi Chuankong, then accepted the jade box as he replied, "This is indeed something that I need, so I won't refuse it."

"Many people directly consume Myriad Soul Herbs for its spirit sense enhancement effect, but if you refine it into Myriad Soul Pills, the effect will actually be superior," Shi Chuankong said.

"Myriad Soul Pills?" Han Li asked with a surprised expression.

Even though Han Li had failed to secure the Myriad Soul Herb during the Jade Gathering City auction, he had conducted some research into the spirit plant after the event, but there were no records mentioning that the spirit plant could be refined into pills.

"The Myriad Soul Pill is something that a pill refinement master of our Devil Realm developed only several million years ago, and the recipe is yet to make it to the True Immortal Realm, so it's no surprise that you don't know about it," Shi Chuankong explained as he summoned a jade slip before also offering it to Han Li.

Han Li hesitated momentarily before accepting the jade slip, and after examining the recipe inside, a hint of elation quickly appeared on his face.

The ingredients required for the Myriad Soul Pill weren't particularly rare, and he should be able to easily collect the ingredients upon returning to the True Immortal Realm.

Furthermore, according to the pill recipe, the Myriad Soul Herb's medicinal effects could be significantly enhanced upon being refined into Myriad Soul Pills, and that was naturally great news for Han Li.

"Fellow Daoist Li, are you able to sell me any more Baleful Quelling Pills? I don't have any more Myriad Soul Herbs, but during the Jade Gathering City auction, the Myriad Soul Herb was sold for three thousand five hundred Immortal Origin Stones, and I'm willing to pay that price for each pill," Shi Chuankong said with a hopeful expression.

"I was only able to refine a small batch of Baleful Quelling Pills due to insufficient ingredients, and I need to save some for myself, so I can only sell you five," Han Li replied after some contemplation.

"Five is certainly better than nothing, I suppose," Shi Chuankong said with a hint of disappointment in his eyes as he swept a sleeve through the air to summon a small pile of Immortal Origin Stones.

Han Li briefly swept his spiritual sense over the Immortal Origin Stones, then summoned a black jade vial before tossing it at Shi Chuankong.

Shi Chuankong removed the stopper of the vial to discover that there were six Baleful Quelling Pills inside.

"You can have an extra Baleful Quelling Pill in exchange for the Myriad Soul Pill recipe," Han Li said.

"You're a good man, Fellow Daoist Li," Shi Chuankong said with a wide smile, and after the two of them chatted for a while longer, Han Li returned to his own room.

Even though he had a decent supply of Baleful Quelling Pills in his position, he didn't dare to stay in the outside world for long, and he immediately entered the Flower Branch domain to remove himself from direct contact with the pervasive baleful qi in the Gray Realm.

Several more years flew by in a flash, and the louchuan finally arrived at Black Teeth City, which was quite a large city, comparable to some medium-sized cities in the True Immortal Realm.

There were many residents and shops in the city, but still far fewer than in some of the cities of the True Immortal Realm.

The louchuan circled around in the sky for a while, then descended in front of a majestic manor, following which Han Li's group disembarked.

Han Li didn't want to leave the Flower Branch space, but at the moment, the three of them were supposed to be guest elders of the San Miao Tribe, so he would have to meet the Black Teeth Regional Monarch.

Having said that, all three of them had concealed their auras, so they didn't attract any attention.

A black-robed man with scales all over his face rushed out of the manor to greet Miao Gao.

"Welcome, Monarch San Miao. The regional monarch is waiting for you inside, and all of the other monarchs have already arrived."

"It sounds like everyone's here nice and early. Lead the way," Miao Gao instructed.

The black-robed man led the group into the manor, and they soon arrived in a large hall, at the center of which was a trapezoid stone platform.

The stone platform was around five feet tall, and at this moment, there was a man with a thick black beard sitting on it.

The man was extremely broad and imposing, and he was wearing a black and golden robe that was stretched taut in many areas, struggling to contain the man's huge and muscular physique.

Four stone chairs were placed on either side of the stone platform, and aside from the last chair on the left hand side, all of the other seven chairs had already been occupied, with four or five servants standing behind each chair as well.

"Subordinate Miao Gao pays his respects to the regional monarch," Miao Gao said as he extended a salute, and Han Li and the others followed suit.

The black-robed man gave a slight nod, following which his gaze swept over Han Li's trio, and in particular, a hint of befuddlement flashed through his eyes at the sight of Mo Guang, but he didn't immediately raise any questions.

Meanwhile, Han Li was also secretly observing everyone in the hall, and he discovered that the Black Teeth Regional Monarch possessed the highest cultivation base out of everyone here at the mid-High Zenith Stage, while all of the other monarchs were Golden Immortals.

In light of this, it appeared that the Black Teeth Region was a slightly weaker region in the Gray Realm.

"Why are you so late, Miao Gao? Everyone's been waiting for you for a long time!" a portly elderly man seated on the third chair to the left complained in a displeased manner.

"My apologies, everyone. During our Tamda Festival, we were suddenly attacked by the Nirarbuda Region, and I had to take care of some matters in the aftermath, so I was delayed quite a bit," Miao Gao replied in a calm manner.

All of the other seven monarchs were astonished to hear this, but the regional monarch seemed to be already aware of this, and he said, "I've already heard about this. You did a great job fighting off the Nirarbuda invasion, and I'll arrange a reward for you later. For now, take a seat."

Miao Gao expressed his gratitude to the regional monarch, then sat down on the only vacant stone chair, while Han Li and the others stood behind him.

𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Regional Monarch, the Three Region Conference is fast approaching. Now that Monarch Miao Gao is here, should we set off right away?" another black-robed man asked.

"There's no hurry. I'll arrange the itinerary, so there's no need for any of you to worry about that. On top of that, I have some matters that I wish to discuss with all of you regarding this conference," the regional monarch said.

The eight monarchs immediately sat up straighter upon hearing this.

The regional monarch took a glance at all of the monarchs' entourages, then instructed, "You can all go for now."

All of the entourages immediately vacated the hall, and Han Li had no interest in this meeting anyway, so he was more than happy to leave.

After all of the entourages had departed, the portly elderly man remarked, "Monarch Miao Gao, I can sense that three of the people in your entourage have very unique auras. They don't seem to be from your San Miao Tribe."