Han Li flicked his finger, and a speck of green light flew into the firelight. The flames roared and surged several feet high, and suddenly, Li Huayuan’s voice emerged from within—brief and clear.
“Come to Green Wave Cave immediately. Your master has something to discuss with you!”
As soon as the words finished, the firelight let out a soft pop and transformed into a shower of sparks, vanishing without a trace.
Han Li listened calmly, rubbed his nose, and still headed into the bedroom first.
Inside the bedroom, Han Li pulled out a small wooden box from under the stone bed. The box contained over a dozen storage pouches of various styles. He took out the one he carried on him, emptied the stack of talismans he had previously stored inside, and sorted them one by one according to type and grade, placing them into different pouches.
After pushing the box back into place, he hesitated for a moment before leaving the bedroom and heading straight for the cave’s main entrance.
…
Standing atop the Divine Wind Boat, Han Li recalled the past four years of cultivation and talisman-making, his expression growing somewhat heavy.
When he first sealed the cave, Han Li had simultaneously cultivated and secretly carved out a highly concealed inner medicinal garden within the cave. Though small, it was sufficient for growing herbs he needed to accelerate. The benefit was that during his seclusion, he wouldn’t have to worry about others discovering the herbs he was accelerating. He could be entirely self-sufficient without ever leaving the cave.
To achieve this, he had deliberately carved countless tiny, densely packed holes into the rock wall above the garden, allowing sunlight to filter through and enabling the small vial to absorb spiritual energy. Of course, these openings were positioned well within the range of the cave’s protective formation, eliminating any worry of discovery.
As for the larger outer garden, Han Li planned to use it solely as a decoy!
With the small garden secure, Han Li felt at ease accelerating spiritual herbs while refining pills using his innate true fire. Although true fire was somewhat inferior to earth fire, it was safer and more reliable, and he didn’t have to fear the number of failed attempts!
The pills refined from ancient recipes were indeed extraordinary.
When Han Li took the Refined Qi Powder he had refined, he once again experienced the explosive sensation of spiritual energy he had felt during his Foundation Establishment. Shocked, he immediately sat down to meditate and refine it, not daring to slack off in the slightest.
Such astonishing effects naturally allowed his magical power to advance by leaps and bounds in the first year, far exceeding his expectations.
This lavish method of consumption allowed Han Li to completely save the time needed to absorb spiritual energy, enabling him to fully devote himself to refining it into magical power. The efficiency of his progress naturally multiplied several times over!
This once filled Han Li with immense joy! Re-cultivating the Qingyuan Sword Art three times became an highly achievable goal!
Although the Qingyuan Sword Art did, as others had said, exhibit the strange phenomenon of his magical power receding slightly every few days, with him taking a packet of Refined Qi Powder every six or seven days, this flaw could be entirely overlooked.
During this period, Han Li also curiously tried taking a Foundation Establishment Pill once, but the effect was minimal, leading him to completely abandon the idea.
However, in the latter three years, something entirely unexpected happened.
Starting from the second year, the sensation of abundant spiritual energy from taking the Refined Qi Powder gradually diminished. It weakened year by year, and by the fourth year, it had become just like when he had taken the Yellow Dragon Pill and Golden Marrow Pill—completely ineffective. No matter how many packets he consumed, he couldn’t sense any spiritual energy.
This left Han Li both frustrated and deeply puzzled!
This was definitely not due to his increased magical power outstripping the spiritual energy provided by the Refined Qi Powder. Given the potency of this powder, it should have been more than sufficient for him to use all the way to late Foundation Establishment without any issues. After all, it was refined from an ancient recipe! It might even have significant effects for Core Formation cultivators!
This was entirely different from the failure of the Yellow Dragon Pill and Golden Marrow Pill. That had been due to the pills’ potency failing to keep up with his cultivation level, something he had long anticipated.
After much contemplation, and drawing on his previous medical knowledge, Han Li arrived at a conclusion he wasn’t sure was correct: due to frequently consuming the overly potent Refined Qi Powder, his body might have developed a certain resistance, causing the pill to gradually lose its effectiveness.
He had no way to verify this conclusion. After all, in the world of cultivation, no one had ever been so extravagant as to take pills every few days like he did! Naturally, there were no precedents to consult or experiences to learn from.
But Han Li still held out hope that after stopping the pills for a period, the Refined Qi Powder might become effective again.
With this idea in mind, Han Li stopped taking the pills in the final year and switched to cultivating the Qingyuan Sword Art through normal means.
But after growing accustomed to the rapid advancement from consuming spiritual medicines, the painfully slow progress of ordinary cultivation became unbearable. Moreover, if he were to rely solely on this method, given his aptitude, not only would achieving three recultivations be impossible, even one would be a pipe dream within his lifetime!
After enduring a year of tortoise-paced cultivation, Han Li was ultimately extremely disappointed. Even after resuming the use of the Refined Qi Powder, it still showed no effect whatsoever. It seemed the pill had completely lost its potency for him, and he would have to seek other spiritual medicines.
Under these circumstances, even if Li Huayuan hadn’t summoned him with the message talisman, Han Li would have planned to leave the cave for a trip.
After all, he still lacked one ingredient for another ancient recipe. Only by refining this Spirit Gathering Pill could his magical power surge forward again. He also intended to seek out more pill recipes. If the Spirit Gathering Pill were to lose effectiveness like the Refined Qi Powder, Han Li would have no choice but to switch to a different pill every few years.
As for talisman-making practice, it proceeded extremely smoothly.
He devoted a small part of each day to practicing low-level spells he could already cast instantly, relentlessly producing talismans without any regard for material costs. This extravagance, unimaginable to other talisman masters, allowed Han Li’s skill to soar. He could now barely produce primary high-grade talismans, though the success rate was still pitifully low!
He had already decided that during his next seclusion, he would begin studying intermediate spells and attempt to refine intermediate talismans—his primary goal in talisman-making.
Additionally, during his seclusion, besides the Refined Qi Powder, Han Li had taken advantage of quieter moments to refine seven or eight Everlasting Pills. Out of curiosity, he had taken one. If it truly could preserve his appearance, Han Li would be very pleased—after all, no one wished to see themselves white-haired and aged, even though the physical aging of cultivators was exceptionally slow.
Now, mid-flight, Han Li was greatly frustrated by the pill’s failure, but he was also curious about why his master, Li Huayuan, had suddenly summoned him after four years. He couldn’t help but wonder what the reason might be.
Preoccupied with these thoughts, Han Li arrived at Green Wave Cave. However, after sending his message in, it wasn’t Senior Brother Yu who opened the restrictions, but a handsome young man around twenty years old with red lips and white teeth.
Before Han Li could say anything, the young man spoke to him coldly, “You must be Junior Disciple Han. I am Wu Xuan, the sixth disciple under our master. He instructed me to wait here for you for some time. Follow me.”
After speaking, Wu Xuan turned and walked away without even a glance at Han Li, leaving Han Li baffled as he touched his own face.
“This face can’t be *that* offensive, can it?”
Feeling somewhat annoyed, Han Li had no choice but to follow reluctantly. Not a word passed between them as they proceeded directly to the guest hall. Inside, three people were seated, with two others standing nearby.
The seated individuals were Li Huayuan, his wife, and an unfamiliar woman in red. The woman appeared to be in her thirties, quite attractive with a lingering charm, but her face was cold and carried a faint, rarely seen aura of killing intent among cultivators.
Li Huayuan seemed to be discussing something with the woman, his demeanor and words indicating great respect for her.
The two standing were someone Han Li had met before—Fourth Senior Brother Song Meng—and a young woman of eighteen or nineteen, also dressed in red. She was rather pretty, but her eyes carried a hint of coquettishness, and she bore a clear resemblance to the woman in red.
“Han Li, come and pay your respects to your Aunt Hong Fu!” Li Huayuan called out cheerfully as soon as Han Li entered.
Meanwhile, Wu Xuan wordlessly went to stand beside Song Meng, hands at his sides.
“Aunt Hong Fu!” Han Li, though unsure of the situation, naturally observed the proper courtesy.
The woman in red did not immediately respond to Han Li’s greeting. Instead, she looked him up and down carefully. After a long moment, a faint smile appeared on her face, and she said somewhat stiffly, “Hmm, very good.”
“Hehe! It seems Senior Sister Hong Fu is quite satisfied! This disciple of mine may be ordinary-looking, but he is a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator. He’s also clever and quick-witted, very much to my liking!” Seeing that Hong Fu seemed pleased, Li Huayuan beamed and began praising Han Li extensively.
Han Li listened, utterly bewildered and completely in the dark about what was going on.
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