Along the way, Han Li encountered a few villagers who found his face unfamiliar and gave him curious glances, but no one approached to question him. He easily reached his destination.
Looking at the extremely old, pitch-black stone house before him, Han Li hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and giving the stone door a slight push. It didn’t budge at all.
Could there be some mechanism on this door? Han Li felt a flicker of surprise but took a deep breath and mustered all his strength into his arms. Though he had never practiced any external martial arts, the tempering of his body through Foundation Establishment and Core Formation had endowed him with considerable strength—enough to exert over a hundred pounds of force.
With a heavy creak, the door slowly began to inch open, much to Han Li’s delight.
Only then did he realize that the door was more than twice as thick as an ordinary stone door. No wonder it had been so heavy—he had almost mistaken it for having some hidden mechanism.
Han Li’s figure flashed as he stepped inside, immediately assaulted by a musty, rotting stench. His expression tightened as he quickly held his breath.
After a moment, fresh air from outside flowed in, gradually restoring the atmosphere inside the room. Only then did he exhale lightly and survey the interior by the dim light from the doorway.
The place was remarkably simple. Aside from rows of similarly sized stone tablets lining the walls, there was only a crude stone table in the center of the room.
The tablets were quite large—about ten feet wide and twenty feet tall—which momentarily stunned Han Li. The stone table, meanwhile, held no books or bamboo scrolls, only a few seemingly dull and lifeless magical artifacts.
Han Li’s initial surprise quickly faded, replaced by a wry smile as he thought it over.
This wasn’t the outside world—where would one find paper or bamboo here? As for jade slips, without spiritual power, they were naturally unusable. These stone tablets were clearly the “books” of this place, likely inscribed with the insights and experiences left behind by the cultivators who had come before.
As for the artifacts on the table, they seemed to be like his own flying swords—items their owners hadn’t had the chance to retrieve before being dragged into this place, making it impossible to store them in pouches again. Strangely, Han Li didn’t see any storage pouches in the room, suggesting their owners had other methods of handling them and hadn’t left them here.
After taking in the scene, Han Li casually walked up to one of the tablets and glanced at it. Thick dust obscured the surface, making it impossible to discern the engravings. Frowning slightly, he leaned in without hesitation, tore off a piece of his sleeve, and gently wiped the dust away.
Soon, clear inscriptions emerged before his eyes.
These weren’t the characters commonly used in the current cultivation world but a rarer ancient script. Fortunately, Han Li’s broad knowledge allowed him to recognize them easily.
However, after just a few glances, Han Li lost interest. This tablet merely recorded the miscellaneous experiences of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, nothing worth dwelling on. He immediately moved on to the next tablet.
There were over twenty tablets in the room. By the time Han Li reached the sixth one, his expression shifted, and he stopped in his tracks. This was what he had been looking for—the cultivation insights left behind by a Nascent Soul cultivator. Han Li stood motionless before the tablet for an unknown length of time before finally exhaling deeply, his face revealing a complex mix of emotions.
“So many taboos surround forming a Nascent Soul… Without knowing these things, even with the Nine-Curve Spirit Ginseng’s aid, my chances of success wouldn’t be high. Falling into this Yin Nether Land might just be a blessing in disguise,” Han Li murmured to himself.
Though the tablet contained no specific cultivation techniques, the unnamed Nascent Soul cultivator had meticulously recorded their experiences from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation and finally to Nascent Soul formation. Reading it filled Han Li with both joy and astonishment. With these insights, he could avoid countless pitfalls and correct misconceptions he might have had about forming a Nascent Soul.
After reviewing the tablet several times to ensure he hadn’t missed anything, Han Li turned his attention to the remaining tablets with satisfaction.
Initially, he had planned to leave, but then he reconsidered. Since he had already read through a portion, he might as well finish the rest—there was no harm in broadening his knowledge. Thus, he continued with a relaxed demeanor.
As expected, the remaining tablets held little of use to him. Even the cultivation techniques inscribed on them paled in comparison to the Profound Yin Scriptures he already possessed.
After the time it took to finish a meal, Han Li reached the final tablet.
He absentmindedly brushed off the dust and gave it a cursory glance, only to freeze in surprise.
This tablet was entirely different from the others. Its surface was densely covered in tiny, grain-sized characters, far smaller than those on the previous tablets. Moreover, Han Li noticed that the text was written in two distinct scripts—one was the ancient script he recognized, while the other was the demonic script he had encountered multiple times before.
His curiosity piqued, Han Li stepped closer to examine it carefully. After reading just a little, he grew mildly excited.
This tablet was a scripture specifically teaching the demonic script. It was incredibly detailed, with each character explained—clearly the work of a cultivator who had mastered the script.
Though Han Li couldn’t master it immediately, memorizing the entire text would allow him to gradually comprehend it later. Once he did, he could finally decipher the demonic copper piece and the beast-skin scroll he had acquired. As for whether humans could actually practice demonic techniques, Han Li didn’t dwell on it. Even if the techniques proved useless, learning the script would only benefit him—who knew when it might come in handy?
After all, this opportunity was exceedingly rare!
Relying on his eidetic memory, Han Li painstakingly memorized every character on both sides of the tablet. Only then did he exhale deeply and leave the room, paying no further attention to the artifacts on the table.
Exiting the stone house, Han Li wandered around the village, occasionally stopping to examine peculiar structures and chat with nearby villagers. Fortunately, the locals seemed relatively simple and honest. While they weren’t overly warm to a stranger like him, they answered his questions readily.
Through these interactions, Han Li quickly learned some basic facts about the Yin Nether Land.
For instance, due to the lack of iron ore, weapons here were crafted from the bones of particularly tough Yin Beasts. However, these bones couldn’t be used directly—they first had to be soaked in a liquid called “Sinking Water.” This process not only made the bones harder but also imbued them with Yin Fire energy, enhancing their lethality against Yin Beasts.
However, because Yin Fire couldn’t last indefinitely, these weapons had to be periodically re-soaked in Sinking Water to maintain their potency. This piqued Han Li’s curiosity about the mysterious liquid.
Additionally, the Yin Nether Land experienced several days of Yin Wind each month. During these days, most areas were swept by bone-chilling black winds, making it impossible for humans to venture outside. Anyone caught in the winds would inevitably turn into a black ice sculpture. Only within the village, shielded by certain spells, could the inhabitants remain unharmed.
Paradoxically, Yin Wind days were when Yin Beasts were most active. It was common for single beasts or entire packs to attack the village, as had happened earlier, keeping the villagers perpetually on edge.
Han Li gathered much information like this. On a whim, he even inquired about the identity of the narrow-eyed, pale-faced man who seemed hostile toward him. He learned that the man, named Feng, was also an outsider who had been sucked in a few years prior.
Though his background was unknown, Feng possessed astonishing martial prowess and had slain numerous powerful Yin Beasts, earning him great merit in the village. As a result, despite his youth, he had been recommended as a village elder, responsible for teaching martial skills to the younger generation. He held considerable prestige among the youth.
Hearing this, Han Li didn’t feel fear, but he did frown slightly, sensing potential trouble.
After strolling around the village a while longer and finding nothing else of interest, Han Li leisurely made his way back to his quarters.
As soon as he reached the door, he heard a man’s voice inside.
“What do you think? Everything I’ve said is sincere. If Miss Mei agrees to marry me, Feng, not only will you never want for food, but you’ll also no longer need to risk your life outside the village. I’ve remained single all these years—I’m not a frivolous man. My feelings for you are genuine.” It was the middle-aged man named Feng, who had somehow entered the house in Han Li’s absence.
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