Han Li listened to the old man's explanation, his expression betraying nothing. After hearing it through, he simply nodded, said nothing further, and reached for the copied jade slips before turning toward the passage.
"Since you wish to refine pills, young friend, why not purchase a pill furnace as well? I'll give you a favorable price!" The old man saw Han Li preparing to leave and quickly began hawking his wares once more.
"No need. I have no use for one at the moment." Han Li did not look back. He merely waved a hand and spoke in a flat tone.
"What a pity. The pill furnaces I have here can withstand the extreme heat of earthfire!" Elder Xu said with visible regret upon seeing the sale fall through.
"Earthfire?" Han Li's figure, which had nearly reached the mouth of the passage, came to an abrupt halt.
"That is the Earth Core Fire—several degrees more potent than innate true fire," the old man said airily.
"But isn't pill refinement supposed to use innate true fire? Can earthfire serve as a substitute?" Han Li fought to keep his voice level, though his heart was pounding wildly. He sensed that the solution to his Foundation Establishment Pill dilemma might finally be at hand.
"Heh heh! It seems young friend knows nothing about how the cultivation world has long since replaced innate true fire with earthfire for pill refinement. But that's hardly unusual—anyone who has refined pills even once or twice knows this. I suppose I'll explain it to you for free!" The old man, seeing that Han Li was genuinely interested, perked up—though he placed deliberate, heavy emphasis on the word "free."
Han Li caught the meaning behind those words at once and could only smile bitterly. The old man was making it perfectly clear: while the information was nominally free, whether he said one sentence or eight made a vast difference.
But this matter was too important to quibble over.
Without hesitation, Han Li walked back and said directly, "As long as what Elder Xu says about the earthfire is true, then I will select a pill furnace from you here and now."
"Heh heh! The pill furnaces I have are absolutely top-quality. They will not disappoint you!" Elder Xu saw his goal accomplished andnarrowed his eyes with satisfaction.
"In truth, using innate true fire for pill refinement is a practice from ages long past. Today's cultivation world uses the Earth Core Fire from Mystic Sun Fire Grounds to refine pills. Our predecessors discovered long ago that earthfire is not only purer and hotter than a cultivator's true fire, but far more stable and enduring—dramatically improving the pill success rate. It is equally effective for artifact forging. Any sect or large cultivation clan with sufficient resources maintains its own Mystic Sun Fire Ground for the use of its disciples in pill refinement and artifact forging. Only those lone cultivators with no sect support, unable to gain access to earthfire, still cling to this wasteful method of using true fire." The old man rattled off this lengthy explanation with evident relish.
"Does our sect also have earthfire that can be accessed? Do you know where, Elder Xu?" Han Li's heart soared with joy, though he struggled to contain his excitement and kept his question measured and precise.
"Ha ha!..." The old man burst into laughter the moment he heard the question, laughing so hard that Han Li blinked in bewilderment.
"When you first entered Yuelu Hall, young friend, did you notice an unmarked passage? That passage leads to the Mystic Sun Fire Ground. Pay a few spirit stones there, and you can use the earthfire." The old man finally gave Han Li the answer after indulging in a hearty laugh.
"Is that truly the case?" Han Li could not suppress a smile of delight, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
"This old man is advanced in years—would he deceive a junior?" Elder Xu said, sounding slightly offended.
"It was a lapse in judgment on my part. Please forgive me, Elder Xu!" Han Li conceded that even a miser like the old man would not joke about something like this, and offered a sincere apology.
"Hmph. I'll let it go this time, seeing how young you are!" The old man's expression softened, but he immediately assumed a stern look once more. "However, I will not be offering any further discount on the pill furnaces."
Han Li's lips twitched. The old man truly never missed an opportunity to drive a bargain.
"Are these the pill furnaces?" Han Li gestured toward the various cauldrons and tripods arranged on the shelves.
"Certainly not. Those are ordinary stock—fit only for refining the most inferior pills. How could they withstand the scorching of earthfire? The true quality pieces are all in here!" The old man resumed his merchant's grin and patted an unremarkable gray cloth pouch at his waist.
With a light slap, he cast the pouch onto the empty ground beside him. A swirl of green light unfurled, and a row of antique pill furnaces with elegant, distinctive designs materialized on the floor.
"There! These are all premium furnaces from my personal collection. Every last one is a masterpiece—absolutely not your common fare!" The old man picked up the nearest furnace, tapped it lightly, and spoke with undisguised pride.
"Indeed, they are impressive." The moment these furnaces appeared, Han Li could feel the faint spiritual energy radiating from them and let out a soft murmur of surprise.
But what truly caught his attention was the unassuming cloth pouch itself. It was unquestionably a high-grade storage pouch with capacity far exceeding tenfold that of an ordinary one—otherwise it could never have housed so many sizeable objects.
"Heh heh! Not to boast, but old Xu is a master craftsman when it comes to pill furnace artifacts. Most of the low-grade furnaces used by the sect's junior disciples came from my hands. These, however, are the cream of the cream!" The old man saw Han Li's interest and grew even more delighted.
Han Li smiled faintly without comment. He walked slowly among the furnaces, bending down to examine each one.
"This is the Luohou Cauldron. It absorbs flame heat, enhancing pill success rates, and it can also—"
Every time Han Li picked up a furnace for closer inspection, Elder Xu launched into an enthusiastic monologue, extolling each piece as a treasure unrivaled under heaven, as though Han Li's failure to purchase it immediately would be a crime against the natural order. It was simultaneously impressive and exasperating.
"This one." After inspecting every furnace and mulling it over, Han Li pointed at the smallest piece—a silver-colored cauldron—and spoke to the old man.
"Tsk tsk! Young friend has excellent taste. This Silver Silk Cauldron is without question among the finest pill furnaces—a rare and superior-grade artifact. Of all my furnaces, it stands in a class by its own!" The old man was mildly surprised that Han Li had chosen the smallest piece, but his expression smoothed over instantly, and he lavished praise upon the silver cauldron without restraint.
"What does taste have to do with it? I'm simply considering the limited space in my storage pouch—only this cauldron will fit." Han Li listened to the old man's incessant chatter and thought sourly to himself.
After a round of haggling, Han Li purchased the Silver Silk Cauldron for thirty-two low-grade spirit stones. He then left without a moment's hesitation.
In the brief span of his dealings with Elder Xu, Han Li had already spent over fifty spirit stones. Even for someone of his considerable wealth, the cost stung. He had no desire to remain here another instant, despite the old man's enthusiastic attempts to keep him.
Stepping out of Elder Xu's quarters, Han Li returned to the hall where the teleportation array was located. But rather than activating the array to leave, he paused in thought, then turned and walked down the unmarked passage.
At the passage's end, a massive stone door blocked his path. Its surface shimmered with flowing, multicolored luminescence—clearly protected by extremely powerful restrictions that discouraged any rash attempts.
Beside the stone door stood a small stone hut, inside which sat a pimply-faced, ugly-looking man. The fellow possessed only basic cultivation at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, yet he treated Han Li with an air of haughty indifference that immediately set Han Li's teeth on edge.
But Han Li was not one to show his true feelings. Despite his internal irritation, his outward demeanor remained perfectly composed. Even though the man answered only one in every three questions with clear reluctance, Han Li managed to extract a thorough account of the situation and committed it to memory.
Then, as though entirely unbothered by the man's rudeness, Han Li offered a polite farewell and departed. But before he had taken more than a few steps, he heard the ugly man grumbling behind him.
"Another penniless low-grade disciple who thinks he can refine pills? Has he gone mad from studying? All talk and no action—wasting my breath on him!"
Han Li's figure showed no reaction whatsoever to the words. But with his back turned to the ugly man, his face could have frozen frost, and a flash of killing intent flickered through his eyes before vanishing.