The "Grand Origin Art" that Han Li had heard about multiple times today, and that Senior Brother Lin had used to tempt him, was so easily found by him with just a casual flip through the jade slip. This gave Han Li an absurd feeling of unreality!
However, the fact that the cultivation technique of the "Grand Origin Art" was actually carried by Senior Brother Lin was truly beyond his expectations.
Han Li truly didn't know whether this Senior Brother Lin was too foolish or too clever!
Now, he had briefly browsed through the cultivation technique of the Grand Origin Art in the jade slip, and it was indeed as Senior Brother Lin had said—only four layers of oral formulas. It seemed that on this point, the other party hadn't lied to him.
But what followed was something that left Han Li even more astonished.
After he finished reading the entire cultivation technique of the Grand Origin Art, there immediately followed another scripture called the "True Compendium of Puppets," which contained all the methods for refining various grades of puppet beasts and puppet humans. It was actually a very detailed manual on puppet creation!
After reading for a while, Han Li finally withdrew his spiritual sense with a look of excitement on his face, appearing extremely happy! But after glancing at the jade slip in his hand, he suddenly remembered something, and his expression became somewhat strange.
The combination of the Grand Origin Art and the True Compendium of Puppets, if cultivated simultaneously, would be a perfect match.
As long as both were cultivated to a certain level, one could presumably suppress several cultivators of the same Foundation Establishment stage alone, relying on the power of numerous puppets, giving them no chance to resist at all!
This technique of overpowering other Foundation Establishment stage cultivators made Han Li's heart race with excitement!
However, the drawback of cultivating them was just as he had analyzed. Very obvious! It would very likely delay his own cultivation, completely eliminating the already slim chance of achieving Core Formation. This would be a net loss!
As for the claim that the Grand Origin Art could increase the probability of Core Formation, Han Li absolutely didn't believe such baseless nonsense.
Han Li lowered his head in thought for a moment, finding it difficult to make a decision! He shook his head and first put the jade slip back into his storage pouch, planning to deal with it later.
After all, whether to cultivate the "Grand Origin Art" and practice this puppet creation technique that had come to him was too hasty to decide now. Better to wait until he calmed down later to consider this matter!
However, this harvest had stimulated Han Li! It suddenly reminded him that although Huang Long and the others, along with their storage pouches, had been completely obliterated by Lei Wanhe's lightning-attribute sword light, there still seemed to be some puppets that hadn't been collected yet, still outside the formation.
These were things he might as well take for free!
With this thought, Han Li immediately walked out of the great formation in high spirits.
Sure enough, not far outside the formation, he found the puppet humans and mechanical beasts that had returned to palm size due to lack of control. However, there weren't as many as Han Li had imagined—only about twenty or so, the rest having been swept away by Lei Wanhe's sword light and turned to ashes.
But even so, Han Li still enthusiastically collected them one by one.
Having swept up so many good things at once, Han Li still felt unsatisfied, wishing that a hundred or so more puppet figures would appear before him for him to pick up. This mindset made Han Li laugh at himself—he was truly being a bit too greedy!
After muttering a few self-deprecating words, Han Li returned to his cave dwelling, planning to first study those two ancient prescriptions. Then, the next day, he would go to his master Li Huayuan to see if he could obtain a decent cultivation technique.
...
Early the next morning, Han Li stood on the Divine Wind Vessel and headed straight for the eastern part of the Taiyue Mountain Range.
The previous day, he had learned from Lei Wanhe that his master's cave dwelling was built under a mountain peak in that area. And Li Huayuan happened to be busy with something in his cave recently. If he went to find him now, it would be the perfect time.
With the speed of the Divine Wind Vessel, Han Li didn't take long to find the place Lei Wanhe had mentioned. It was indeed a very secluded but beautiful location with green mountains and clear waters.
Han Li stood before a huge waterfall at the base of the mountain peak, took out a voice transmission talisman from his robe, whispered something to it, then threw it out. The talisman transformed into a streak of firelight, rushed into the massive water curtain, and disappeared.
After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the water curtain suddenly parted to reveal a large opening. Then a thin scholar in his thirties flew out from within. Upon seeing Han Li, he immediately greeted him warmly:
"Are you Junior Brother Han? I am Master's eldest disciple, Yu Kun. You can just call me Senior Brother Yu!"
The scholar finished speaking and landed gracefully beside Han Li, looking at him with a beaming smile.
"Senior Brother!" Han Li replied with a very respectful demeanor, speaking obediently.
This Senior Brother Yu Kun, seeing Han Li's expression and hearing his so obedient address, smiled even more warmly, his tone becoming extremely cordial:
"No need for 'Senior Brother'—that's too formal! Just call me Senior Brother Yu. I've long heard about you from Master. That Junior Brother Han could participate in the Blood Trial and return victorious is truly an remarkable achievement!" Yu Kun praised repeatedly.
Han Li just gave a few dry laughs, unsure why this person was being so polite to him as a registered disciple. This, however, made him feel uneasy!
"I originally heard that Junior Brother's aptitude wasn't very good, but now that we've met, Junior Brother Han has actually succeeded in Foundation Establishment. This is truly something to celebrate!"
Yu Kun seemed to have long known about Han Li's successful Foundation Establishment, so he had never shown any surprise at Han Li having entered the Foundation Establishment stage. However, he still congratulated Han Li endlessly, which made Han Li feel even more guilty.
"Oh right, Master is still waiting for you in the cave dwelling! Let's not keep the old man waiting long—let's enter the Green Wave Cave first!" Yu Kun seemed to have just remembered this, slapped his forehead, and said with a grin.
Seeing the other party's behavior, Han Li's mouth twitched slightly, but he maintained a respectful expression, agreed, and flew into the water curtain together.
As soon as they entered the water curtain, Han Li's eyes brightened. A natural small valley appeared before him. Not only were there birds singing and fragrant flowers, clear trees and clean water, but there also some very rare and precious little animals, jumping around!
"This is...?" Han Li felt as if his mind wasn't working properly! This scene before him was truly unexpected! Could it be that his master actually liked keeping small pets? This was truly astonishing!
"Haha! What's wrong, Junior Brother? Surprised? You're not the first—actually, every new guest who arrives is startled by all this! However, these little animals aren't kept by Master, but are the treasures of Master's wife! Be sure not to hurt them, or Master's wife will definitely not forgive you!" Yu Kun said with a grin, showing a "I knew you'd be shocked" expression.
"Master's wife?" Han Li was truly speechless.
"Yes, although Master's wife is only at the mid Foundation Establishment stage, she and Master have a very good relationship! And she's very kind and easy to get along with," Yu Kun said with a shrug.
Thus, Han Li, still confused, was led by Yu Kun into a large cave on one side of the valley. Then in the main hall inside the cave, Han Li met his master Li Huayuan, and another beautiful woman who appeared to be in her late twenties!
His master, needless to say, still had that cold expression, but upon seeing Han Li enter, he did reveal a hint of a smile. As for that beautiful woman, although Han Li found her attractive, how could he dare to look closely in front of Li Huayuan? He only gave a brief glance before respectfully stepping forward to pay his respects:
"Disciple Han Li pays respects to Master!"
"Mm! Rise. The one beside me is your Master's wife—you should greet her too!" Li Huayuan was very satisfied with Han Li's respectful attitude, so he pointed to the beautiful woman beside him and said.
"Greetings to Master's wife!" Han Li sighed inwardly and had no choice but to also bow to this woman who, despite appearing not much older than himself.
"There's no need for such formality!" The beautiful woman said with a smile as she saw Han Li step forward to pay his respects. Her voice was soft and pleasant, revealing the gentle demeanor of a woman from the Jiangnan region. Indeed, she was an extremely gentle woman!
"Han Li, I heard a few days ago about your successful Foundation Establishment! To be honest, this truly left me in disbelief—I was quite shocked!" Li Huayuan said with a smile, his tone exceptionally gentle, making Han Li feel somewhat overwhelmed by the unexpected favor.
"This was just my disciple's luck that allowed me to succeed in Foundation Establishment. Even I myself was a bit surprised!" Han Li said with a slight blush, appearing quite embarrassed.
"Haha! Luck is also a reflection of one's aptitude. Otherwise, wouldn't cultivators who are naturally gifted be even luckier to have such excellent natural talents?" Li Huayuan shook his head slightly and said with a light laugh.
"Ah! This..." Han Li had never considered this before and found himself too embarrassed to speak!