Han Li waved his hand toward the air, and the giant sword immediately turned around and shot back. By the time it reached him, it had reverted to its talisman form, drifting lightly down toward his palm.
Han Li was just reaching out to catch the treasure talisman when, mid-descent, it suddenly burst into flames with a crisp crackle. In moments, it had burned to ash, and the mountain breeze blew it away without a trace.
Seeing this, Han Li froze for an instant, then a bitter smile spread across his face.
This treasure talisman was completely spent. Its dwindling power had finally been exhausted in the long, drawn-out battle, a fact that pained Han Li greatly now that he knew just how valuable a treasure talisman could be.
Still, taking down such a powerful enemy as Senior Brother Lu had demanded a price—what else could he expect? At least the other party's Azure Floodgate Flag was an excellent spoil, more than enough to make up for the talisman's loss. Not to mention two Foundation Establishment Pills waiting for him to claim!
The thought sent a rush of elation through Han Li. This fierce battle had been well worth it.
If taking a Foundation Establishment Pill could help him establish his foundation, he would no longer need to risk his life in the so-called Blood Trial. After all, cultivators as strong as Senior Brother Lu were surely plentiful there—and a whole crowd of even more troublesome ones, no doubt.
After a while, Han Li absorbed the spirit stones in his hands and felt his magic power recover a little. He stood up, intending to pick up the Azure Floodgate Flag lying not far away.
But the moment he straightened, a sharp pain lanced through his dantian, as if countless steel needles were stabbing into it violently. The pain forced Han Li to bend over again, his face going deathly pale as he grimaced.
Han Li remained motionless for the time it took to drink a cup of tea before he finally drew a deep breath, feeling the stabbing pain ease somewhat.
His expression soured, and his mouth twitched a few times.
He knew exactly why this was happening. It was the result of swallowing large quantities of medicinal herbs with some years on them earlier. Although he had managed to absorb a portion of their spiritual energy in time, most of it had gathered in his dantian, becoming foreign residue. Mixed in with it were countless other medicinal impurities he could not fully identify—if he did not expel them soon, the consequences would be dire.
Han Li knew full well that swallowing spirit herbs was not advisable and would inevitably backlash his body, but at the time, to save his life, he had had no choice but to take the risk. And sure enough, this forced method of drawing on spiritual energy had helped him enormously in the battle of attrition.
But relying on herbs alone had not been enough to carry Han Li to the end. Apart from the fact that his mid-grade spirit stones had provided energy faster than his opponent's, his other key to victory had been canceling his defensive spell, the Water Shield.
During the past two years, while studying and experimenting with minor casting techniques, Han Li had learned from Wu Feng by chance that most of the low-level disciples had a misconception when using talismans: they believed that apart from the small burst of spiritual energy needed to activate the talisman, it would consume none of the user's magic power. This was, in fact, a mistaken belief.
In truth, once a talisman was activated, the spell it cast remained connected to the user through a thread of spiritual energy, allowing the caster to control and direct it. As long as the spell persisted, the user would automatically and continuously drain magic power to maintain that thread.
Because this spiritual thread was invisible and imperceptible to disciples at the Qi Refining stage, and the magic power required to sustain it was negligible in the short term, most disciples simply overlooked it—hence the misconception above.
Even the few who knew the truth considered it trivial enough not to spread the knowledge widely among the lower-level disciples. Wu Feng was one of those in the know, and he had mentioned it casually during a chat with Han Li. Han Li, ever attentive, had remembered it, later verifying it through several personal tests—and found it true.
As a result, once he realized this fight would turn into a battle of endurance, he had immediately recalled this fact and decisively canceled his defensive spell to conserve more magic power. The saving seemed tiny at first glance, but over time, the cumulative difference was far from negligible. Senior Brother Lu, evidently, did not know this. Cautious and careful as always, he had maintained that fatal Wind Wall the entire time—never suspecting that it was precisely the Wind Wall that pushed him further toward his doom.
Thus, Han Li had ultimately outlasted his opponent by that narrow margin of saved power. Without those two advantages, he might not have been able to hold out.
Even so, Han Li felt that this victory had been extraordinarily perilous. He had thrown everything he had into the fight and only just barely kept his life. His opponent's strength had truly been above his own.
Still, in the end, he was the one who survived.
When the pain had eased a little more, Han Li could not hold back any longer. He shuffled over slowly, and when he finally scraped together enough strength to bend down where the Azure Floodgate Flag had fallen, he picked up the artifact with some effort. He examined it joyfully several times over before happily tucking it away in his storage bag.
Next, he made his way to Senior Brother Lu's corpse. After scanning the gruesome scene with mild disgust, he rummaged through the remains, searching for spoils.
The other party's storage bag was easily found on what remained of the body.
Han Li dumped its contents out onto the ground without ceremony. Among them, a small blue bottle and a box containing the Foundation Establishment Pills caught his eye at once.
Overjoyed, he ignored everything else, hurriedly bending to pick them up and open them for inspection. Sure enough, each held a single blue pill. Though slightly pungent in smell, the powerful spiritual energy contained within was unmistakable.
Han Li's smile broadened. Now that he had confirmed the Foundation Establishment Pills were real, he had no interest in examining the other items right now. This was the site of a major battle—no place to linger. Better to leave quickly.
He efficiently packed everything back, carefully tucking Senior Brother Lu's storage bag close to his body before he finally felt somewhat at ease. He straightened up, intending to stretch.
But just then, a sudden rush of wind came from behind, as if something were lunging at him. Startled, Han Li tried to twist aside—but a searing pain tore through his dantian, freezing him in place. The next moment, a soft, fragrant female body threw itself against his back and clung to him tightly.
Han Li struggled in shock, but the pain in his dantian, combined with the exhaustion of the battle, left him too weak to break free.
Though he had already guessed who was behind him, he could not help but glance back over his shoulder. Before his face had even turned halfway, a beautiful, flushed visage pressed against his, lips feverishly meeting his own—it was none other than Junior Sister Chen, the one who had been immobilized moments before.
Her face was crimson, her delicate eyes burning with desire, and her limbs wrapped around Han Li from behind like an octopus, her voluptuous body pressing and rubbing against his back. From her lips came helpless moans as the fire of passion consumed her.
As it turned out, not long before, Junior Sister Chen had been unable to move due to the Wind Bind spell, and the battle between Han Li and Senior Brother Lu had not touched her at all—all the fighting had avoided the spot where she lay. After the battle, she was completely unscathed.
Even before the fight began, the Frenzy Pill had already taken effect. Junior Sister Chen had been driven half-mad by the flames of desire, her vision filled with illusions, her mind consumed with the need for intimacy. But with the binding spell still in place, she had been unable to move a muscle—and so she had simply lain there, outwardly obedient while her inner torment grew more desperate with every passing second.
Just moments ago, the Wind Bind spell's duration had finally expired. Freed at last and刺激 by the full force of the lingering potion, Junior Sister Chen had charged straight toward the only man present—Han Li—and seized him in a tight embrace, bringing about the passionately entangling scene above.
Han Li was a genuine virgin. After a few of Junior Sister Chen's kisses, he felt a stirring in his heart and an unfamiliar sensation rising within him. Moreover, he had never claimed to be a gentleman, nor did he hold any interest in the pretense of resisting temptation. So, caught up in the moment, he straightforwardly wrapped his arms around Junior Sister Chen's naked body, his fingers roaming freely over her silk-smooth skin.
In response to Han Li's reciprocation, Junior Sister Chen grew even more desperate. Though she had never experienced intimacy before, her innate instinct drove her to begin tugging at Han Li's clothes.
This action cut through Han Li's daze enough to bring him back to his senses a fraction. He dared not play with fire any longer. With a quick flip of his right hand, a Focus Charm appeared in his grasp. Drawing on the meager magic power he had barely recovered, he cast the Focus Art and bound Junior Sister Chen once more.
Then, with a gentle twist, he freed himself from her embrace and laid her softly on the ground.