Chapter 816: Fifth-grade Immortal Lantern

After the Yellow Grain Region came the Ten Dreams Region.

Not only did the two regions directly neighbor each other, the eighteen major rivers in the Ten Dreams Region all had their origins in the Yellow Grain Region, so the two regions had alway shared a close relationship.

The Devil Realm naturally wasn't as large as the Immortal Realm, but even so, there could be a great deal of variance between two neighboring regions.

Aside from the eighteen main rivers in the Ten Dreams Region, there were also hundreds of branch waterways that formed a vast and complex system.

On this day, Han Li and Shi Chuankong were traveling on an ordinary boat along the Flowing Sand River to a city in the north.

In a rare turn of events, Han Li had disguised himself as a handsome scholar, and both he and Shi Chuankong were wearing identical azure robes. On top of that, he was holding a folding fan in one hand to further lend him a scholarly air.

The soil on either side of the river was very fertile, and the banks were lined with peach blossom trees. It was right at the height of the flowering season, and there was a faint, intoxicating, floral aroma wafting through the air.

However, Han Li only looked at the masses of blooming peach blossoms for a short while before returning to the cabin of the boat in a disappointed fashion.

"I thought this Dream Peach Forest was going to be a special sight to behold, but it really hasn't lived up to its reputation. Perhaps it would be quite a breathtaking sight for a mortal, but it really isn't anything special for cultivators like us," Han Li sighed as he flipped a hand over to summon a flagon of fine wine, then filled a cup for himself.

Shi Chuankong wasn't going to say anything, but upon spotting the flagon of wine, he immediately approached Han Li and sat down across from him, then brought out a cup of his own before filling it himself.

He took a sip of wine, then explained, "There are ten illusory dream areas in the Ten Dreams Region, and this Dream Peach Forest is one of them. The only reason why you see nothing special about it is because your spiritual sense is too powerful. In the eyes of the average person, there are celestial maidens dancing between the trees and rainbow deer frolicking through the forest."

"It seems like my spiritual sense isn't doing me a favor here then," Han Li remarked.

"If you withdraw your spiritual sense and don't try to resist the illusion, you'll be able to witness those sights as well. As we continue down the river, we'll also be passing through the Heavenly Dream Staircase and the Illusory Flaming Sea. Let's see if you'll be impervious to those illusions as well," Shi Chuankong said with a smile.

Han Li offered no response to this. Thanks to the Purple Sun Warm Jade, he had been able to make rapid progress in his Spirit Refinement Technique. As a result, his spiritual sense had been significantly enhanced over a short period of time, but he was still some way away from reaching full mastery of the fifth level.

He downed the contents of his cup in one go, then swept a sleeve over the table in front of him, and a strange-looking glass lamp appeared amid a flash of azure light.

"Have you refined this lamp yet, Brother Li?" Shi Chuankong asked.

"This Soul Devouring Lamp was left behind by those sisters from last time, and I was worried that there would be some type of hidden restriction within it, so I haven't attempted to refine it yet," Han Li replied with a shake of his head.

"This the same Soul Devouring Lamp from last time?" Shi Chuankong exclaimed.

"Didn't you see them use it last time? Why are you so surprised?" Han Li asked.

Shi Chuankong hesitated momentarily, then rubbed his hands together as he said, "Brother Li, if you don't want to refine this lamp, then I'm willing to purchase it from you. Just state a price."

"Aren't you supposed to be a shrewd businessman, Brother Shi? I'm certainly not going to sell the lamp now that you've displayed so much interest in it! Why don't you tell me what's so special about this thing?" Han Li chuckled.

"Truth be told, this lamp is a fifth-grade immortal treasure that's powered solely by spiritual sense, so it can be used by cultivators from both the Immortal Realm and the Devil Realm. As for how much one can tap into its power, that depends on the potency of their spiritual sense. I was only joking when I offered to buy it. Only someone like you can truly make full use of this lamp," Shi Chuankong replied with a smile.

"I've examined it earlier and didn't find any restrictions, but I was worried that there were perhaps some special hidden restrictions in the Devil Realm that I didn't know about, so I didn't refine it. Would you be able to examine it for me as well? If it's safe to do so, then I'll refine it, and it'll surely serve as another powerful weapon for us to use in future battles," Han Li proposed.

"That's precisely what I intended," Shi Chuankong replied with a nod, then took the Soul Devouring Lamp from Han Li before conducting a close examination.

Some time later, he returned the lamp to Han Li as he said, "There are indeed some secret hidden restrictions in our Holy Realm, but I didn't see any of them in this lamp."

"In that case, I can begin refining it right away," Han Li replied with a nod.

"Before that, do you know what these four beasts on the lamp are, Brother Shi?" Shi Chuankong asked.

"Please enlighten me, Brother Shi," Han Li prompted in an intrigued manner.

"These four beasts appear to be quite similar, but in reality, there are minute differences between them. This one here with the single horn on its head is called Covet, and it likes to captivate souls. The one with the sunken eyes is called Clinch, and it likes to collect incomplete souls. This one with the closed ears is called Unaware, and it likes to imprison souls.

“The final one with the sharp fangs is called Glutton, and it likes to devour souls. The four of them represent the lamp's four abilities," Shi Chuankong explained.

"If you're so familiar with this lamp, then why weren't you able to identify it before?" Han Li asked with a perplexed expression.

"Back when this lamp first appeared in our Holy Realm, it was supposed to come to our Vast Origin House. At the time, the report had already been filed, and all I had to do was sign off on it. However, I was busy with other matters at the time, so I wasn't able to address the matter in a timely fashion, resulting in the lamp being lost, and it must've somehow ended up in the hands of my eldest brother," Shi Chuankong replied with a wry smile.

"I see," Han Li mused with a smile.

"I wanted to tell you about these four beasts so that you know that they're very dangerous creatures. According to the report that I received, this lamp can't be refined through conventional means. Otherwise, there's a very good chance that you'll suffer backlash from the spirits of the four beasts, resulting in spiritual damage," Shi Chuankong cautioned.

A confident smile appeared on Han Li's face upon hearing this, and he flipped a hand over to produce the book titled Soul Devouring Refinement Technique.

"This book lays out how the lamp is to be used, and its refinement method also just so happens to be included as well," Han Li said.

"No wonder you wanted to claim the book. I should've known that you were thinking ahead," Shi Chuankong chuckled.

"We have nothing better to do anyway, so why don't I refine this Soul Devouring Lamp now? Perhaps it'll be useful to us later on," Han Li said.

"That's a good idea. We're still not out of the woods right now, so it certainly couldn't hurt to have some more tricks up our sleeves. You can focus on refining the lamp, I'll make sure to keep a lookout for you," Shi Chuankong replied with a nod.

With that, Han Li began setting up an array on the boat in accordance with the method laid out in the book.

After setting up an array that was around ten feet in size, Han Li made a hand seal to activate it, and the array immediately began to glow with golden radiance, encompassing the entire Soul Devouring Lamp.

Basked within the golden radiance, the glass lamp instantly became translucent, and some thin azure and purple lines had appeared within it.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this. These lines were none other than the spiritual sense threads left behind by the twin sisters.

All of a sudden, a burst of scorching heat erupted out of the golden light beneath the array to roast the glass lamp, and all of the purple and azure threads inside instantly began to squirm violently like live eels thrown into boiling water.

Han Li then pointed a finger at the lamp, and the golden light in the array immediately surged into the lamp to ignite all of the purple and azure threads, rapidly melting them away.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this. Now that the twins' residual spiritual sense threads had been eradicated, it was time for him to inject his own spiritual sense threads into the lamp.

With that in mind, he switched a different hand seal before slowly closing his eyes, and dozens of translucent threads shot out of his glabella before piercing into the glass lamp, where they slowly fused into the lamp.

Several months flew by in a flash.

At this point, the boat had already left the Dream Peach Forest and arrived at the Heavenly Dream Staircase.

Shi Chuankong was standing at the front of the boat, scouring the banks of the river with his gaze. At this moment, the river was lined with sheer cliff faces on either side, presenting a majestic sight to behold.

After rounding a corner, the boat suddenly arrived in a very open and spacious body of water.

It was still early in the morning, and there was still some faint mist lingering in the air. The sun was rising over the surface of the river, basking it in a warm glow.

As the sun rose up higher and higher, its radiance also grew brighter and brighter, and before long, the mist over the surface of the river had completely evaporated.

Shi Chuankong's brows furrowed slightly as he turned to the mountain face to his left. The light of the sun was shining down upon that mountain face, and a shimmering, golden stone staircase had appeared on the mountain face without any warning, leading all the way to the mountain summit.

From there, the staircase ascended even further, stretching up into the clouds in the sky before finally vanishing out of sight.

Shi Chuankong was just thinking about how it was going to be a pity that Han Li was going to miss this piece of spectacular scenery when he hurriedly swung around, and right at this moment, Han Li suddenly gave a muffled groan as his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.