Upon hearing this, the Ice Phoenix agreed without the slightest hesitation. She immediately closed her beautiful eyes, calmed her mind to a state of perfect stillness, and opened her spiritual sense directly toward Han Li.
At that moment, Han Li raised a finger and paused it momentarily. A flash of spiritual light flickered at his fingertip, and a slender, crystalline thread shot outward, its front half vanishing in a flash into the space between the Ice Phoenix's brows.
The Ice Phoenix's expression remained perfectly serene, betraying not the slightest hint of surprise at the crystalline thread that now protruded from between her brows and connected to Han Li's fingertip.
Meanwhile, blue light flickered once more in Han Li's eyes. His finger trembled slightly, causing the crystalline thread to sway back and forth in unison.
Suddenly, Han Li's brows furrowed. His other hand formed an odd incantation seal.
A soft popping sound!
The previously near-transparent thread underwent a drastic color transformation, gradually radiating a milky-white glow that grew increasingly brilliant. The swaying of the thread grew ever more violent as well.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a look faintly resembling pain appeared on the Ice Phoenix's face, within which could be vaguely discerned a trace of struggle.
A soft gasp escaped her lips!
The woman's eyes snapped open in that same instant, and the crystalline thread between her brows shattered inch by inch. Her entire body was drenched in perspiration, as though she had just been fished out of water.
At this moment, her beautiful eyes held a touch of confusion, as though she had not yet fully recovered her clarity of mind.
Upon seeing this, Han Li offered a faint smile. One sleeve swept toward her, and a wave of azure radiance rolled gently across her body.
The instant the azure light touched her, the Ice Phoenix shuddered, and the usual lucidity returned to her eyes.
"Fellow Daoist, please examine your spiritual soul first and see whether anything differs from before," Han Li asked in a composed manner.
"Thank you for your help, Brother Han. Although I cannot pinpoint exactly what changed, I do feel that something extraneous which I had never previously noticed in my spiritual soul seems to have been removed. As expected of your vast abilities — this little sister's longstanding worry has finally been laid to rest," the Ice Phoenix replied with elation after a brief period of introspection.
"It was nothing. My spiritual soul just happens to be somewhat more powerful than that of an average Mahayana cultivator; otherwise, I couldn't have succeeded so easily. The fact that I was able to accomplish this at all is largely because this immortal's divine sense has been significantly suppressed within the Spirit Realm. Otherwise, even I would most likely have been powerless," Han Li replied gently.
Nearby, the Six-Winged, still frozen and unable to move, witnessed this entire scene. His face remained expressionless and numb, but a glint of undisguised horror could not help but flash through his eyes.
Han Li seemed to have sensed the shift in the Six-Winged's thoughts as well. He turned around and addressed him in a calm, detached tone: "There are certain tasks I need you to carry out. If you can complete them, I promise to undo the blood pact and formally restore your freedom. Otherwise, given the vast disparity in spiritual soul strength between us — so long as you have not ascended to become an immortal — you will spend the rest of your life entirely under my suppression, with not the slightest ability to resist."
The moment he finished speaking, Han Li formed a single-handed incantation seal and pointed a finger through the air at the Six-Winged. A surge of divine sense pierced straight through his body, while at the same time a sound-isolating barrier of light enveloped the surrounding area.
The Six-Winged felt something shift within his spiritual sea, and his body suddenly loosened, completely regaining its mobility. Yet his expression only grew uglier still.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked, fixing Han Li with a cold stare.
"I have certain materials that I have been unable to obtain on my own. You will go to other nearby planes and search for them. If you can gather all of them within a thousand years, I will consider your obligation fulfilled and release you from the blood pact. Of course, as an advance payment, I can remove the spiritual soul imprint that the immortal planted in you right now. Additionally, I want you to swear that should the human race ever face a catastrophe, you must take a binding oath to lend your aid three times," Han Li said, his demeanor as placid as ever.
"Just these conditions?" The Six-Winged was somewhat taken aback.
"You are already a Mahayana existence. Keeping you as a spirit pet would naturally be out of the question. Though I could cut you down with ease by leveraging the blood pact, what benefit would that bring me?" Han Li replied offhandedly.
"Hand me the materials list. I want to see it first. As for the oath to aid the human race — we can discuss that after I complete this first task," the Six-Winged said without hesitation after a brief mental deliberation.
"That is perfectly acceptable. However, until you take the oath, I will not release you from the blood pact," Han Li said noncommittally. With a flick of his sleeve, a white jade slip flew outward.
The Six-Winged raised one hand and drew the jade slip into his palm through the air. He pressed it against his forehead, and his divine sense swept through its contents in an instant.
The materials recorded inside were not numerous — only a dozen or so. But upon examining their names closely, even with his current Mahayana-level knowledge, he could not help but draw in a sharp breath.
These materials were not the kind of long-extinct legendary treasures spoken of in myth, but each one was exceedingly rare within a single plane and absolutely impossible to find within a short period of time.
A rough calculation told him that under normal circumstances, a thousand years would be barely sufficient.
"Hmph. You certainly don't ask for small favors. If I agreed to this, I wouldn't have a thousand years to cultivate at all — I'd spend every last day hunting down these materials for you," the Six-Winged snorted, his face dark as a storm cloud.