Han Li, flying at full speed, returned to his cave dwelling in no time.
Without a word, he first retrieved the formation jade slip given to him by Qi Xiaoyu and immersed his mind into it, carefully studying the usage of the set of formation tools.
Han Li decided to set aside all other matters and prioritize setting up the cave’s protective formation. After all, the site of the earlier battle was too close for comfort, leaving him feeling quite insecure!
The setup of this Inverted Five Elements Formation was remarkably straightforward. By placing the formation flags and disks in their precise positions—some inserted into the ground, others buried—and arranging a few spirit stones into a small formation pattern as required, embedded at the formation’s eye to supply ample spiritual power to the entire array, the formation could be activated immediately. The formation’s master only needed a basic understanding of simple control techniques to manipulate the main formation flag in hand, activating various formation changes to trap, confuse, or disorient enemies.
Han Li followed the instructions, inserting the tools where needed and burying them deep. Then, gritting his teeth, he embedded several mid-grade spirit stones. This amounted to half of all the spirit stones he possessed! The loss pained him for quite a while. But to ensure the formation’s power remained uncompromised, he had no choice but to bear the sacrifice.
Though Han Li could easily trade sufficiently aged spiritual herbs at the market for a large number of spirit stones, doing so would significantly increase the risk of his secret being discovered and him being captured for interrogation. If he weren’t cautious, he might one day find himself besieged, just like the scene he had witnessed earlier! Han Li thought helplessly.
Testing the formation’s operation, it seemed to work quite well. However, its actual defensive and trapping capabilities would only be proven when enemies invaded. Still, the fact that it could envelop dozens of acres around the cave without any visible trace from the outside made Han Li feel it was well worth the cost.
Feeling reassured, Han Li returned to his bedroom and began pondering his cultivation progress.
To have even a sliver of hope to reach the Core Formation stage, one needed exceptional techniques, one-in-ten-thousand talent, immense opportunity, and various other conditions all aligned.
In comparison, reaching the Foundation Establishment stage was hardly difficult! After all, with sufficiently good talent and one or two Foundation Establishment Pills, the chances of success were quite high.
But for Core Formation, even with all the aforementioned conditions, those who truly succeeded were exceedingly rare. Thus, the emergence of every Core Formation cultivator was almost always celebrated with grand ceremonies by their sect, and news of it would quickly spread throughout the local cultivation world.
The reason the Masked Moon Sect could become the top immortal sect in Yue Kingdom was not only because they had over a thousand Foundation Establishment disciples, far surpassing other sects, but also because their number of Core Formation cultivators overwhelmingly exceeded other sects, with nearly ten individuals—enough to look down upon the other six sects!
Han Li was well aware of his own mediocre aptitude, far below that of other Foundation Establishment disciples. As for techniques, he had only obtained the rather ordinary “Green Origin Sword Art,” which was completely unsuitable for cultivation! Opportunities, however, were elusive and entirely dependent on luck.
From this perspective, it seemed everything was stacked against Han Li at the moment.
But after some analysis, Han Li concluded that while his talent was extremely poor, he possessed the mysterious small vial that could accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs, allowing him to refine pills. This wasn’t something irremediable. Opportunities were beyond human control, so he needn’t dwell on it. The only path he could actively pursue to increase his chances of Core Formation was to find a high-grade cultivation technique suitable for himself.
Once the thought of seeking a cultivation technique arose, the first person Han Li thought of was his nominal master, Li Huayuan.
Since the other had accepted him as a registered disciple, shouldn’t he now impart some techniques? After all, Li Huayuan had already succeeded in Core Formation. Perhaps he could even offer some guidance on selecting suitable techniques!
With this in mind, Han Li decided to return to Yellow Maple Valley first thing the next morning to inquire about his master’s cave dwelling and seek advice. Most likely, Li Huayuan wasn’t even aware that Han Li had succeeded in Foundation Establishment.
It was rather laughable! Since accepting Han Li, Li Huayuan had never summoned him even once. Over the years, it was as if he didn’t exist as a registered disciple, which left Han Li feeling quite sour.
Of course, feeling resentful, Han Li wouldn’t proactively seek him out and risk appearing presumptuous.
But now that he had succeeded in Foundation Establishment and genuinely needed to find his master, it was utterly embarrassing that he, as a disciple, had to ask outsiders for information about his master’s whereabouts!
Han Li self-deprecatingly pondered for a moment, then gave a bitter smile and slowly drifted off to sleep on the stone bed.
He didn’t know how long he had been asleep when a sudden, violent tremor jolted him awake. Still half-asleep, he initially thought the shaking was just an illusion.
But another intense vibration followed, wiping away the last traces of drowsiness. Besides the ground shaking, loud, rumbling explosions echoed from outside the cave—clearly, someone had triggered his restrictions and was forcefully attacking his formation!
Shocked and furious, Han Li sprang up, dashed out of the bedroom, and rushed straight toward the cave entrance.
Outside, dense arrows of light and beams of light attacked, while the sky above was filled with mechanical puppets. The sight nearly made Han Li bite his tongue in astonishment.
What was going on? To avoid trouble, he had deliberately refrained from intervening in yesterday’s events. Yet now, back at his dwelling, they had come seeking him out. And judging by their aggressive demeanor, it didn’t seem like a misunderstanding. Could it be that he had been marked or tracked when flying away yesterday?
In this critical moment, Han Li’s mind became exceptionally clear, and various strategies quickly surfaced in his thoughts.
“Listen, whoever is inside! Hand over the person who fled here. As long as you surrender them, we will not harass the owner of this place any further! Why must you offend us, the Thousand Bamboo Sect, and take on someone else’s disaster?”
Perhaps seeing that their fierce attacks were completely neutralized by the Inverted Five Elements Formation’s restrictions with no effect, a man’s persuasive voice rang out from the air—it was Huang Long’s voice.
Hearing this, Han Li couldn’t help but look up.
In the area most densely packed with puppets, a massive emerald-green bamboo raft hovered in the air. On it stood six or seven people in varied attire, with Huang Long at the front, who had just spoken. Behind him, besides the man and woman Han Li had seen before, were four lean men with identical appearances—a rare set of quadruplets! It seemed reinforcements from the Thousand Bamboo Sect had arrived.
When Han Li heard the demand to hand someone over, he was momentarily stunned. Puzzled, he glanced toward the center of the Inverted Five Elements Formation and saw a person lying face-down near the cave entrance, motionless and unknown whether alive or dead!
Seeing this person, Han Li’s confusion cleared, but his heart sank even further.
Where else could Senior Brother Lin have fled? He had to stumble into Han Li’s cave, bringing such immense trouble. How should he deal with this? However, seeing the formidable power of this incomplete formation, which could withstand such fierce attacks from outside, eased Han Li’s mind considerably, and he was no longer as panicked as before.
Frowning, Han Li gripped a formation flag, parted the formation, and walked toward Senior Brother Lin.
When Han Li used both hands to turn Senior Brother Lin over from behind and carefully examined his face, his expression turned extremely grim, and he was rendered speechless.
What was there to say to a dead man? At this moment, Senior Brother Lin’s face was pitch black, with blood trickling from all seven orifices. He had clearly been dead for some time!
Han Li sighed, hesitated for a moment, then reached into the other’s robes to search. He wondered if he could find the storage pouch containing the puppets. Han Li was now very interested in this method of fighting with numerical advantage.
But as soon as Han Li lifted the corner of the robe, a greenish light suddenly flew out from within, streaking like a meteor straight toward Han Li’s face. Startled, Han Li exclaimed and fell backward.
Just as the ball of light was about to make contact with Han Li’s face, his right hand suddenly flashed with white light. Like lightning, he snatched back, firmly grasping the green ball of light in his hand. The ball of light emitted squeaking sounds, as if in pain.
“Junior Brother, spare me! Senior Brother was also harmed by enemies and forced into this! If you let me go, I, Lin, promise to grant you a tremendous benefit!” Senior Brother Lin’s pleading voice suddenly echoed in Han Li’s mind, offering substantial rewards.
“You were trying to seize my body, weren’t you?” Han Li didn’t ask about the rewards but instead said with a dark expression.
“This… indeed, but I was only momentarily confused! I will definitely compensate you for the fright, Junior Brother! I hope you can be magnanimous and not hold it against me!” Senior Brother Lin’s embarrassed voice came through, accompanied by repeated apologies.
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