Before Doctor Mo returned to the mountain, Han Li knew it was safe to use the mysterious bottle in the God Hand Valley, as he was the only one there, and outsiders rarely intruded. This ensured no accidents would occur during this period, allowing him to use the bottle boldly and without worry.
Han Li estimated the time of Doctor Mo’s return. He figured that Doctor Mo wouldn’t find any valuable herbs nearby and would likely need to venture into remote, deep mountains and old forests—places where rare herbs might grow. Such a journey, including travel time and the search for herbs, would take at least nearly a year before he could return to the mountain.
It had been almost half a year since Doctor Mo left. Han Li estimated that in six or seven months, Doctor Mo would return to the Seven Mysteries Sect. In the days before his return, Han Li had to make the most of the time to produce as many useful herbs as possible, following the rare formulas he knew in a planned manner. He couldn’t afford to waste the green liquid recklessly.
The medicines Han Li planned to create were all miraculous elixirs that Doctor Mo had wanted to concoct but couldn’t due to a lack of ingredients. Each one was so valuable that it could bankrupt an ordinary household or drive martial artists to fight desperately over them in the martial world.
Even with Doctor Mo’s exceptional medical skills, he had never seen any of these elixirs in their finished form, let alone crafted them himself. Though he knew the formulas, without the necessary herbs, he could only sigh in frustration.
When Han Li was learning medicine from Doctor Mo, he had been deeply intrigued by these rare formulas. Though he never dared hope to actually create such precious medicines, he memorized many of them. Doctor Mo had been indifferent to Han Li’s enthusiasm for learning these formulas, explaining them in detail whenever asked, showing no intention of hiding anything. Perhaps Doctor Mo saw these formulas as something useless yet too valuable to discard, like tasteless chicken ribs.
Now, these formulas had become Han Li’s treasure. He diligently used the bottle to produce herbs of the specific ages required by the formulas, not daring to slack off. Time was running out, and he had to prepare these medicines before Doctor Mo’s return, then hide the bottle away, never to use it lightly on the mountain again.
Han Li had no confidence in using the bottle in front of Doctor Mo without revealing its secret. He was well aware of how shrewd and cautious Doctor Mo was, and he had no intention of sharing the bottle’s secret with him.
Han Li found his relationship with Doctor Mo peculiar, far from the typical master-disciple bond.
Doctor Mo often looked at him with a strange gaze, making Han Li feel that his master was hiding some harmful secret. This feeling had grown stronger in the past year or two, preventing the kind of closeness and openness typical of a master and disciple.
In daily life, Doctor Mo treated him well, never resorting to physical punishment or verbal abuse, and spared no effort in providing the best conditions for Han Li to practice his technique. Yet, there was an invisible barrier between them, an awkward atmosphere lingering in their interactions.
Doctor Mo clearly noticed this rift but made no effort to mend their bond. He continued as usual, only urging Han Li to progress in his technique. The strange looks he used to give Han Li gradually diminished, eventually disappearing for long periods.
But Han Li’s keen sixth sense told him that Doctor Mo hadn’t truly abandoned whatever intentions he had; he had merely hidden his desires more cleverly. This made Han Li even more wary of him. Under such circumstances, how could he dare let Doctor Mo know about the bottle’s secret?
From many historical texts, Han Li had learned a hard lesson: “Never harbor intent to harm others, but always guard against others harming you!”
Whether Doctor Mo genuinely meant him harm or it was just his own misjudgment, staying vigilant was never a bad idea. If Doctor Mo truly had ill intentions, heightened caution would protect Han Li from harm. If it was a mistake on his part, being more alert wouldn’t hurt, and Han Li wouldn’t do anything treacherous like betraying his master. He would remain Doctor Mo’s good disciple, faithfully fulfilling his duties.
Thinking of this, Han Li felt a bit uneasy. Such a strange master-disciple relationship was probably unique within the Seven Mysteries Sect. He couldn’t help but sigh.
The bottle absolutely could not be used after Doctor Mo’s return—that was certain. There was no such thing as an impenetrable wall. Even if he managed to avoid Doctor Mo’s notice, others in the Seven Mysteries Sect might stumble upon the secret. The safest course was to hide it and act as if it had never existed.
Having made his plans and resolved to secretly store the bottle and not use it lightly, Han Li felt a weight lift from his mind. Exhausted, he drifted into a hazy sleep on his bed.
In the following months, Han Li secretly used the green liquid in the bottle to produce a large quantity of precious herbs. With these, he concocted several rare medicines according to the formulas, though he faced multiple failures during the process. Each failure pained him deeply—after all, the herbs used were rare and valuable, and each failure meant wasting materials worth an untold amount of silver. But he couldn’t be blamed. These formulas were being attempted for the first time, and failures were inevitable. Even if Doctor Mo himself had made them, he would likely have failed once or twice. Han Li could only console himself this way.
“Yellow Dragon Pill,” “Clear Spirit Powder,” “Golden Marrow Pill,” and “Nourishing Essence Pill”—these rare medicines, seldom seen in the outside world, were now stored in over a dozen small bottles lined up before Han Li. Looking at them, his face lit up with joy. With these miraculous elixirs, not only could he easily reach the fourth level of his technique, but even the fifth and sixth levels wouldn’t require much effort.
Among these medicines, the “Yellow Dragon Pill” and “Golden Marrow Pill” were the most helpful for his cultivation, capable of boosting his power and transforming his physique. The “Clear Spirit Powder” was a rare antidote, capable of neutralizing hundreds of poisons. Lastly, the “Nourishing Essence Pill” was a miraculous remedy for both internal and external injuries. No matter how severe the injury, one pill might not bring someone back from the brink of death or fully heal them, but it could significantly alleviate the injury and preserve life.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage