"So rare—this thing must have some special qualities, wouldn't you agree?" Han Li stared at the silver beads within the jade disc. "Far more than just a little special! For us cultivators, such materials are typically used as top-tier auxiliary ingredients in crafting artifacts and pills. But should such a material fall into the hands of the immortal clans, it would be worth a cultivator sacrificing their very soul to secure it—this is indeed a vital lifesaving asset for beasts undergoing the transformation lightning ordeal." The Great Derivation Sovereign replied. "The immortal clans' transformation lightning ordeal?" Even though Han Li had anticipated this, he still paused momentarily. "Indeed. There are countless high-ranking immortal beasts in the world, yet only a few manage to survive the transformation ordeal at the seventh-tier peak. After all, the power of heavenly lightning naturally exerts a strong inhibitory effect on most beasts, making the lightning ordeal nearly equivalent to a death sentence. However, when a beast consumes a drop of the chilled marrow, transformed into a silver bead, and fully assimilates it, it can significantly reduce the damage caused by lightning over a certain period of time." You asked whether this kind of cold marrow is rare among these immortal beasts. Yet among human cultivators in the immortal realm, few are aware of this substance. The Northern Night Xiao Ji Palace, due to its unique cold-natured cultivation techniques, is one such case—I personally encountered their senior cultivators during my travels through the Great Jin realm, and thus became familiar with this rare material. Moreover, it is said that every thousand years or so, several high-ranking immortal beasts from the Great Jin region gather secretly at the Northern Ming Ice Island, where the Xiao Ji Palace is located, and launch fierce attacks on the palace, striving to compel its cultivators to surrender some cold marrow. "Is that truly the case?" Han Li found it hard to believe. "Isn't that quite logical? Without cold marrow, these beasts face a near-certain death during their transformation journey—only a mere ten percent survive. Even if they manage to obtain a single drop, their chances of successfully passing the thunderstorm trial significantly improve. How could they not make every effort? Furthermore, during these times, the elder immortals from the Ten-Thousand-Beasts Valley often take the initiative to lead these coordinated assaults. Even if the attacks fail, the beasts suffer little damage at Yet, the Northern Ye Xiaoji Palace has inherited a great celestial cultivator from ancient times, whose several ancient, formidable sealing arrays have been passed down since antiquity. Especially, since this island lies at the heart of the cold eye of the Tianyuan Yin Meridian, the icy, bone-chilling atmosphere stretching over ten thousand li can silently claim lives. Creatures without cultivation in the cold-energy techniques find their vital essence nearly consumed merely in resisting this pervasive cold, rendering them unable to fully engage in combat against the Northern Ye Xiaoji Palace's cultivators. Thus, although the yin cultivators always arrive with great momentum, they have never truly conquered the Northern Bing Island. Nevertheless, this elixir is so precious—how did the one you eliminated obtain it? Examine this small vial for any special markings," the Daxian Divine Sovereign explained to Han Li, then grew puzzled. "Markings. There's a snowflake-patterned design at the base of this vial—does that count as a marking?" Han Li's expression brightened as he gently traced the pattern with his finger. "Then it's confirmed—this is precisely the Northern Bing Island's mark. It seems this vial is indeed the one from Xiaoji Palace's Cold Essence. Yet, how it came into the hands of a Yuan婴初期 cultivator, simply placed casually into their storage bag, is rather puzzling. The Great Yanchuan Sovereign appears to be pondering this mystery. "What marvels of the world are impossible? Perhaps someone stole it from the Bei Ming Island, or perhaps a cultivator from Bei Ming Island himself carried it off and defected, only to have it later fall into the hands of this person by chance. All of these scenarios are quite plausible. Yet, as you mentioned earlier, to us cultivators, this Cold Essence serves merely as an auxiliary material for crafting artifacts and pills. If so, why would the Beiye Xiaoji Palace's cultivators, across generations, have consistently fought against various beast tribes to preserve it, and not simply hand it over at an early stage?" Han Li frowned, pondering, and asked. "Indeed, many cultivators in the Great Jin Dynasty who are aware of this matter and have questions about it have already voiced their concerns. But the Small Extremity Palace's official statement claims it is aiming to curb the presence of immortal beasts of eight-tier and above in the immortal realm, thus maintaining stability within the Great Jin immortal world. Otherwise, this modest vial of Cold Essence alone would be sufficient to spawn dozens of eight-tier beasts—powerful enough to disrupt the balance among several major factions and trigger widespread upheaval. However, this explanation would only fool ordinary people. Back in the day, the young cultivator who challenged me in a duel held a high rank—apparently even a Deputy Palace Master. After his defeat and death in battle, I employed the Soul-Searching Technique to deeply engage with him, and in the process, accidentally uncovered a hidden secret concerning the Cold Essence." The Great Derivation Sovereign paused here, his voice momentarily soft, as if recalling something vivid. "A secret?" Han Li's eyebrows lifted, clearly intrigued. "Indeed. Without having seen this Cold Essence myself, I would have almost entirely forgotten it." This matter, probably no one outside the senior officials of the Beiyè Xiaojī Palace is even aware of. In fact, besides being a valuable material for crafting artifacts and elixirs, the most crucial function of Han髓 is as the primary ingredient in preparing the ancient secret medicine known as "Huiyang Zhenshui." The Grand Divine Sovereign said, his voice growing serious. "Huiyang Zhenshui? The one that can revitalize bones into flesh and continuously repair wounds?" Han Li gasped, startled. "Exactly. It's said that regardless of the severity of bodily injuries—whether the body is shattered into four or five parts or even separated into head and limbs—when this spiritual medicine is sprinkled upon the wounds, the body instantly regenerates to its original state. Some ancient texts even claim it possesses the miraculous power of resurrecting the dead. Of course, these are all legends; no one knows if they're true or not. Nevertheless, there is one point universally acknowledged across all texts: Huiyang Zhenshui has a remarkable effect in extending the lifespan of cultivators. It can extend a regular cultivator's life by one-quarter. Do you understand what that means now? "The Da-Yan Divine Sovereign said calmly. "This means that some cultivators at the late Jie-Dan stage will have the opportunity to advance to the Yuan-Ying stage, and those at the late Yuan-Ying stage may even reach the Hua-Shen stage." Han Li exhaled deeply and murmured, "Of course, the Han-Mei is merely one of the primary ingredients used to produce the True-Yang Water. If one truly wishes to produce this water, other ingredients may be secondary—yet the Sun-Spirit Flame deep beneath the ten-thousand-foot layer of molten rock is absolutely essential. Only when the Han-Mei is tempered by this flame can it be considered a harmonious balance of yin and yang, capable of producing the True-Yang Water. Otherwise, it would simply be wasted." The Da-Yan Divine Sovereign spoke with evident intention. "Where can one find the Sun-Spirit Flame? Even ordinary cultivators would struggle to endure for long beneath such a ten-thousand-foot layer of molten rock. What are the odds of such a flame forming within the vast expanse of molten rock? Once formed, this flame becomes as ephemeral as a spiritual being—appearing and vanishing without trace within Moreover, even if we have this fire, without the formula for Huayang Water, all efforts would be in vain," Han Li said with a touch of self-mockery. The Da Yan Sovereign fell silent, and only after a while did he speak slowly, "I cannot produce the Sun's Essence Fire, but I do have the formula. Didn't you know that when I defeated the Deputy Palace Master of Xiao Ji Palace years ago, his consciousness carried this very formula? I found it quite remarkable and simply noted it down. If you truly wish to cultivate this elixir, I can provide it to you." "That is truly wonderful of the Elder. I shall keep it for now. Who knows—perhaps I will actually need it someday." Han Li was both surprised and delighted upon hearing the Sovereign's words. With Huayang True Water at his disposal, his chances of advancing to the Changshen Stage would naturally increase significantly. "In fact, the Sun's Essence Fire is not something our cultivators in this realm can capture at all. I would advise you not to place too much hope in it." Otherwise, the great cultivators of the Beiye Xiaoji Gong over the generations have possessed this formula and the Cold Marrow for so many years—why have they never succeeded in refining it into this spiritual elixir?" The Great Eye Sovereign spoke calmly, and before waiting for Han Li to respond, a pale yellow jade scroll fluttered out from the bamboo tube. He had managed to reproduce the formula so swiftly. "Thank you, elder. I merely wanted to be safe in case of any unforeseen circumstances," Han Li replied, gently grasping the scroll in his hands with a light smile. "Since your Snow Crystal Sphere is crafted from a ten-thousand-year-old pure jade, if you could infuse several drops of Cold Marrow into it, the sphere's spiritual essence and power would greatly enhance. Don't forget that." The Great Yanshan Sovereign added one final reminder, then, feeling that he had said enough for the day, fell silent. Han Li slightly raised his brow—had the Great Yanshan Sovereign not mentioned this, he would have done the same thing himself. Yet one thing remained curious to Han Li: could this cold essence's chilling aura be absorbed and integrated into its purple lotus fire? Might this enhance the power of the purple lotus fire even further? With this thought in mind, Han Li poured the silver beads back into the small bottle. Then, with no hesitation, he spread his fingers and instantly a hazy purple flame appeared in his hand. With a single hand motion, the purple flame swiftly transformed into a compact luminous screen, sealing the bottle's mouth. Next, he pressed a series of hand gestures with his other hand, softly murmuring incantations. As the purple flame flashed, the flames on the screen began to rotate on their own, growing faster and faster with each utterance. A short while later, a silvery, radiant stream of cold energy slowly emerged from the bottle's mouth, glowing with a dreamlike splendor. Han Li then gave a low exclamation, raising his hand and casting a green spell. The luminous screen, upon absorbing this technique, immediately trembled and reshaped itself into a fiery fist of palm-sized magnitude, sealing the strand of cold qi within it, completely impermeable. Then, Han Li raised his hand to securely reseal the small vial, while with the other hand he gestured toward the purple flame sphere. The sphere flashed and swiftly shot toward Han Li. With a single mouthful, Han Li directly swallowed the purple flame sphere along with the silver cold qi, then settled himself cross-legged on the ground, slowly closing his eyes. At this moment, within his dantian, a Yuan婴 of two inches in size opened its eyes, clear and bright. Before it, the purple flame sphere rotated gently, with a silver orb pulsating steadily within. The Yuan婴 blinked, then gently pressed a seal with its small hand, radiating a strong, misty glow of spiritual light, and launched a series of spells from its palm. The purple flame sphere erupted in a powerful surge, completely igniting, and the silver orb inside transformed into silver flames that wove and blended seamlessly with the purple flames. Meanwhile, Han Li's true form outside remained expressionless, completely immersed in meditation, motionless.