Two years later, Han Li was seated in a corner of a secret chamber on the deepest level of the Azure Origin Palace, flicking a string of incantation seals of different colors through the air.

At the center of the secret chamber was a golden formation that was around 10 feet in size, above which hovered two green vials of different sizes, one of which was situated above the other.

The vial on top was only several inches in size, and it was tipped upside down with a mysterious light flashing within its opening.

All of the incantation seals being released by Han Li were vanishing into that vial in a flash.

The vial below the first vial was around a foot in size, and it was being bound by countless five-colored threads of light surging out of all parts of the light formation.

Furthermore, wisps of light were flowing out of the opening of this vial, only to be drawn in by the vial above it.

With each wisp of light that was drawn away, the larger vial would become slightly smaller, and its color would also fade minutely.

Around half a day later, the two vials were identical in size, and the second vial had become almost transparent.

Finally, a dull thump rang out, and the second vial transformed into a ball of light that was also drawn into the first vial up above.

An elated look appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he immediately pointed a finger at the formation.

The buzzing formation instantly ceased operating, and all of the light faded as the only remaining small vial slowly descended.

Han Li waved a hand to draw the vial toward him, and the vial immediately flew into his grasp as a ball of green light.

"The Origin Fusion Immortal Technique on that jade slip really is very effective; it was worth spending the time to master it. Now that I've fused the replica vial with the Heaven Controlling Vial, I'll be able to use the treasure in simple ways rather than solely relying on it to nurture spirit medicines," Han Li murmured to himself with a faint smile on his face.

"Come to think of it, I always knew that this was an extraordinary treasure, but I never thought that it would be something held in such high regard by even a dao patriarch of the True Immortal Realm. How did it end up in the human world? And where has its vial spirit gone? Could it have been lost elsewhere in the human world?" Han Li mused as he stowed the small vial away.

"So be it, it's already a miraculous opportunity that I've managed to obtain a part of this treasure, and it's played an extremely important role in my cultivation; it would be greedy of me to ask for more than this. What I have to do now is go into seclusion to master the new abilities that I've obtained. After I do that, I'll refine the Integrated Five Extreme Mountains and some of my other important treasures, then go into arduous cultivation in anticipation for my ascension tribulation. However, before I go into an extended period of seclusion, there are some things that I must take care of."

With that in mind, Han Li flipped a hand over to summon a rather damaged jade badge.

This was the soul badge that he had obtained from Ma Liang, and not long after he had returned to the Boundless Sea, he had asked Daoist Xie to ascertain whether the owner of this soul badge was actually in the Spirit Realm.

Much to his surprise, not only did Daoist Xie ascertain that the owner of the soul badge was indeed in this realm, they were situated in the Spirit Race territory not far away from the human race.

The thought of the Spirit Monarch immediately sprang into Han Li's mind upon learning this.

He didn't know who the owner of this soul badge was, but it most likely had something to do with the mysterious Spirit Monarch.

He was planning to head to the Spirit Race to investigate, but in the aftermath of the battle in Baleful Cry Point, he had to remain in the Azure Origin Palace this entire time, thereby resulting in this delay.

"No more foreign beings have come to see me in the past two years, so it's about time I take care of this matter," Han Li murmured to himself as his eyes narrowed slightly.

......

Several months later, violent spatial fluctuations erupted above Concealed Spirit Mountain of the Spirit Race, and a giant black ark emerged in complete silence, following which Han Li appeared at the front of the ark.

Everyone on Concealed Spirit Mountain naturally erupted into a frenzy, and countless guards rose up into the air as layers of restrictions appeared.

However, Han Li paid no heed to this as he called out, "Fellow Daoist Spirit Monarch, I have come to visit you and would like to be granted an audience."

Even though his voice wasn't very loud, it was echoing throughout the entirety of Concealed Spirit Mountain, and it was imbued with some type of incredible power, causing all of the guards in the air above the mountain to immediately plummet out of the heavens.

Even the Holy Spirits who had risen up into the air were forced to descend again as their magic power ceased to circulate as soon as they heard this voice.

Everyone was naturally very alarmed by this, and right at this moment, the Spirit Monarch's voice finally rang out from within Concealed Spirit Mountain.

"Welcome, Fellow Daoist Han; forgive me for not greeting you sooner. Please come in."

As soon as the voice trailed off, the restrictions above Concealed Spirit Mountain parted to open up a passageway to grant Han LI passage.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he flew into the passageway as a streak of azure light.

The Spirit Monarch was standing on the platform in front of the hall on the summit of Concealed Spirit Mountain, looking up into the sky with a solemn expression.

All of a sudden, Han Li appeared before him in a wraith-like manner amid a flash of azure light.

The Spirit Monarch's pupils contracted slightly upon seeing this, but a smile appeared on his face as he cupped his fist in a salute.

"Your powers are truly unfathomable, Fellow Daoist, and you've become renowned throughout the entire Spirit Realm; to what do I owe this honor of a visit from you?"

"You're far too kind, Brother Spirit Monarch; I was very fortunate to have earned this reputation. Besides, it's not necessarily a good thing. As for why I came here, I wanted to ask you about something," Han Li replied.

The Spirit Monarch's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this. "What is it, Fellow Daoist Han?"

"Do you know the owner of this item, Fellow Daoist?" Han Li asked as he swept a sleeve through the air to release that damaged soul badge.

The Spirit Monarch drew the soul badge into his grasp, and his expression immediately changed slightly as he sensed its aura.

After a long pause, a wry smile appeared on the Spirit Monarch's face, and he asked, "Did you obtain this badge from that fallen immortal, Brother Han?"

Han Li nodded in response. "Looks like I was right to have come to visit you."

After a brief hesitation, the Spirit Monarch seemed to have arrived at some type of decision, and he tossed the soul badge back to Han Li. "Please come with me, Fellow Daoist."

Immediately thereafter, he turned and strode toward the hall without waiting for a response from Han Li.

Han Li's expression changed slightly upon seeing this, and he immediately followed along.

Shortly thereafter, Han Li found himself standing in front of an ice mountain in a mysterious underground space, appraising a handsome young man sealed at the bottom of the mountain with a surprised expression.

The Spirit Monarch was standing beside him, and the former made a hand seal before casting an incantation seal into the ice mountain.

Moments later, countless specks of white light quickly converged within the ice mountain to form the Nascent Soul of the Spirit Monarch.

The Nascent Soul cast its gaze toward Han Li, and as opposed to being surprised to see him, a wry smile appeared on its face.

"So you came after all. It seems that the recently fallen immortal really was searching for the immortal that I've sealed away here. This immortal has resided in the Spirit Realm for many years, and he's definitely harboring some important secret, so it's no surprise that someone was sent from the True Immortal Realm to track him down."

"You managed to seal this immortal, Brother Spirit? In that case, it looks like the rumors circulating about you aren't completely unreasonable after all," Han Li said with a contemplative expression.

"I'm afraid I can't elaborate on that in detail," the Nascent Soul said with a shake of its head, then shot forth toward the Spirit Monarch as a ball of white light, vanishing into his body in a flash.

As a result, the Spirit Monarch's aura instantly became significantly more powerful, making it comparable to that of the top-tier powerful beings that Han Li had met in the past.

It seemed that this was the true Spirit Monarch.

A peculiar light flashed through Han Li's eyes upon seeing this, but he didn't say anything.

Meanwhile, the Spirit Monarch withdrew his aura before turning to Han Li with a serious expression. "Now that you've seen the owner of this soul badge, what are your intentions, Fellow Daoist Han?"

"Regardless of whether this immortal has anything to do with the one I've slain, I want to put an end to him to avoid any potential trouble in the future," Han Li replied.

"I'm afraid you most likely won't be able to do that, Fellow Daoist Han. If it were that easy to put an end to this true immortal, then I wouldn't have sealed him here to slowly refine his true immortal body with my bonded flame," the Spirit Monarch replied with a shake of his head.

Han Li was rather surprised to hear this. "Why is that? It wasn't that difficult for me to slay that other true immortal."

"That's completely different. The true immortal that you slew was restricted by the power of laws of the Spirit Realm, and he had to dedicate most of his power to contend with the power of this realm. In contrast, this true immortal has already changed to a different true immortal body in the Spirit Realm, and he's cultivated some type of immortal secret technique that has combined his magic power, soul, and physical body into one unified entity. As such, his body is far more powerful than that of even the average true immortal, and even a Profound Heavenly Treasure wouldn't be able to harm him," the Spirit Monarch explained.