Han Li picked up a jade slip and gently blew off the dust, revealing its vibrant emerald-green surface.
He pressed the jade slip firmly against his forehead, slowly immersing his consciousness into it. A method for refining a certain pill suddenly appeared before his mind’s eye—it was actually the formula for the Foundation Establishment Pill, something Han Li had long dreamed of obtaining. The entire process, from the required ingredients to the final condensation of the pill, was meticulously detailed, filling him with both shock and delight.
For a moment, he completely forgot about the other jade slip and eagerly scanned through all the contents. But when his mind came across the line, “Must be tempered with Innate True Fire to complete the pill,” Han Li froze, feeling utterly dumbfounded.
Innate True Fire was a type of Daoist mystic flame that only Foundation Establishment cultivators could possess—a basic ability innate to all cultivators after reaching Foundation Establishment. Its power would gradually increase as the cultivator refined their Qi through meditation. By the time one reached Core Formation, this true fire would even transform into the legendary Samadhi Flame, capable of incinerating all things under heaven.
But how could Han Li, still in the Qi Refining stage, possibly produce such a flame? Only after establishing his foundation would he be able to use it.
Yet, to establish his foundation, he needed to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill. And to refine that pill, he required the Innate True Fire that came after Foundation Establishment. Thus, he found himself trapped in a vicious cycle with no way out.
The frustration made Han Li feel like banging his head against a wall!
Asking other Foundation Establishment cultivators for help in refining the pill was even more out of the question. That would be equivalent to exposing the secret of his small bottle. In that case, the very person he asked for help might become the murderer who ends his life.
Han Li stood before the table, restless and troubled for a long while, before finally removing the jade slip from his forehead and placing it back where it belonged. Distractedly, he picked up the other jade slip, wiped it a few times, and revealed its fiery red color.
“The matter of the Foundation Establishment Pill will have to wait! Let’s see what’s in this one first. Maybe it contains some other miraculous pill formulas!” Han Li was a decisive person by nature, so he immediately set aside the issue of the Foundation Establishment Pill and began examining the red jade slip, hoping for a pleasant surprise.
“Everlasting Beauty Pill.” As soon as Han Li’s consciousness entered the slip, these three words appeared in his mind. A sense of foreboding washed over him, but he tried to reassure himself. “Although it’s called that, the effects of the pill might not be what I imagine. Perhaps it has some other miraculous use!”
However, the next few lines shattered any hope he had. “Preserves youth and maintains appearance forever”—that was the description of the pill’s effects, with no additional uses mentioned!
Han Li stood as if petrified, not moving a muscle or uttering a word. But inwardly, he could no longer suppress the rising fury, and he began cursing vehemently in his mind.
“What kind of library is this? It doesn’t have any of the formulas one would expect, but it’s filled with all sorts of useless junk! What use could things like Golden Needle Secret Techniques or Everlasting Beauty Pills possibly be to us cultivators? And yet they’re displayed here so prominently…”
Just as Han Li was beginning to feel that this trip had been a complete waste of time, that annoying voice echoed from below once again.
“Time’s up again. If you don’t—”
“Coming down now!”
This time, Han Li had no intention of giving away another spirit stone for nothing. So, he picked up the jade slip containing the Foundation Establishment Pill formula and prepared to leave.
But as he reached the staircase, he hesitated. Although the Everlasting Beauty Pill offered no help in advancing his cultivation, it seemed like something he could sell to other cultivators. Most importantly, refining this pill didn’t require the so-called Innate True Fire—he could prepare it right now.
With this thought, Han Li turned back, rushed to the table, grabbed the red jade slip, and then hurried back to the staircase, descending quickly with loud footsteps.
“So, how did it go, young friend? Any gains?” The old man greeted Han Li with a wide, grinning face as soon as he came down, but Han Li found his tone utterly insincere.
“Elder Xu, is the upstairs really where our sect stores pill formulas? Why is it filled with such worthless trash? Are there no other storage rooms?” Han Li ignored the old man’s teasing and instead voiced the question that had been bothering him for a while, his expression clearly frustrated.
Seeing Han Li’s demeanor, the old man couldn’t help but let out a sly chuckle.
“Young friend, you’re certainly not the first to ask that since I started managing this place. Almost every newcomer who visits the Yue Lu Palace and goes upstairs ends up asking me the same thing. But if you want to know the reason…” Elder Xu deliberately drew out his words, making it abundantly clear that he expected something in return.
The old man’s money-grubbing expression left Han Li speechless. The person before him didn’t seem like a Foundation Establishment cultivator at all but rather a cunning merchant from the mortal world, a true miser through and through.
At this point, Han Li finally understood why the old man had insisted on being called “Elder Xu” instead of “Uncle-Master” earlier. Clearly, he felt that acting as a senior member of the sect would make it harder to openly demand benefits, so he had resorted to this laughably transparent trick.
Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly and, without another word, placed the two jade slips on the old man’s table with two soft thuds.
“This junior originally intended to make copies of both jade slips, but now it seems I don’t have enough spirit stones. In that case, I’ll just copy one and return the other.” Han Li hadn’t spent all that time in the mortal world for nothing. He decided to counter the old man’s greed with a slight pushback to prevent him from becoming even more demanding.
“Young friend wants to copy both?” Elder Xu’s eyes lit up with delight.
“That was the plan, but this junior also wants to know the answer to that earlier question. It seems my spirit stones aren’t quite enough for both.”
“Hehe, since young friend is so straightforward, the answer to your question is on the house. Let me make the copies for you first!” The old man hastily grabbed the two jade slips, retrieved two white jade slips from a shelf behind him, and began copying the contents with frantic speed, as if afraid Han Li would change his mind.
“All done! Here you go!” The old man moved with astonishing agility, finishing the copies before Han Li could even process what was happening. He tossed the copies toward Han Li and then fixed him with a look that clearly said, “Hurry up and hand over the spirit stones.”
Han Li’s lips twitched. He wanted to say something but held back. After a brief silence, he cleanly took out twenty low-grade spirit stones from his storage pouch and wordlessly handed them to the old man.
The old man accepted the spirit stones with a beaming smile, so delighted that he couldn’t close his mouth for a while. Only after counting the stones three or four times did he finally notice that Han Li was still waiting for his answer.
Now thoroughly satisfied, Elder Xu stored the spirit stones away and looked Han Li over again, this time with the appraising eyes of someone looking at a wealthy patron.
“One truly can’t judge a book by its cover! I never would’ve guessed that young friend is so well-off. But although I love wealth, I am also a man of my word. Ask whatever you want today, and I’ll make sure you leave satisfied!” After retracting his gaze, the old man suddenly adopted a solemn and dignified demeanor.
Han Li was slightly taken aback but didn’t hesitate to ask for the answer to his earlier question.
“The truth is quite simple. Most pill formulas have been lost long ago. This isn’t unique to our Yellow Maple Valley—it’s the same for other sects, and even the entire cultivation world!” the old man explained slowly.
Han Li was stunned by this revelation and looked at the old man with confusion.
“If you think about it calmly, young friend, you’ll understand. What is the value of a pill formula? It lies in its ability to transform various rare natural treasures into pills that we cultivators can consume.”
“But have you ever considered that the natural treasures in this world are limited? Each one requires hundreds or even thousands of years to mature. Meanwhile, the number of cultivators has never decreased—in fact, it’s been increasing year by year. As a result, the ingredients recorded in the formulas have gradually become scarce, and some have even gone entirely extinct. By the time the cultivation world realized the severity of the problem, most of the world’s natural treasures had already been harvested. Only a few special places still have traces of them left, but even for accomplished cultivators, these places are extremely dangerous, and few are willing to take the risk.”
“Thus, formulas that no longer have accessible ingredients have become worthless. Who would value them? After an extremely long time and several great catastrophes in the cultivation world, those pill formulas gradually vanished into history, leaving behind only a handful of survivors. The Foundation Establishment Pill is merely one of them.”
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