A green light flicked from Han Li's finger and flew into the firelight. The flames surged several feet high with a "boom," and Li Huayuan's voice suddenly echoed from within, brief and to the point.
"Come to Green Wave Cave immediately! Your master has something to discuss with you!"
As soon as the message finished, the firelight burst into a shower of sparks with a soft pop, scattering into nothingness.
Han Li listened calmly, his expression unchanged.
After entering the bedroom, Han Li pulled a small wooden chest from beneath the stone bed. Inside were over a dozen storage bags of various designs. He took out the one he carried, emptied the large pile of talismans he had previously stored inside, and sorted them by type and rank, placing them into different bags.
After pushing the chest back to its original spot, Han Li hesitated for a moment, then left the bedroom and headed straight for the cave dwelling's entrance.
...
Standing on the Divine Wind Boat, Han Li recalled the past four years—his cultivation and talisman crafting—and his expression grew somewhat somber.
When he first sealed the cave dwelling, Han Li had cultivated while simultaneously carving out a hidden inner herb garden deep within the abode. Though small, it was sufficient to grow the herbs needed for his growth-accelerating process. This way, during his seclusion, he wouldn't worry about the herbs being discovered. He could be entirely self-sufficient without ever leaving the dwelling.
To achieve this, he had carefully drilled countless tiny, concealed holes in the rocky ceiling above the garden, allowing sunlight to filter through and the small bottle to absorb spiritual energy. These openings were positioned well within the protective formation's coverage, so there was no risk of detection.
As for the outer herb garden, Han Li planned to use it solely as a decoy!
With the inner garden secured, Han Li couldpeacefully grow spiritual herbs while refining pills with his innate true fire. Though the true fire was slightly inferior to ground fire, it was safe and reliable, and he didn't have to fear failure!
The pills refined from the ancient formulas were truly remarkable.
When Han Li first took the Qi-Refining Powder after refining it, he experienced that explosive surge of spiritual energy once more—the same sensation he had felt during Foundation Establishment. Alarmed, he immediately sat down to circulate and absorb it, not daring to waste a single moment.
Such astonishing effects naturally caused his spiritual power to surge dramatically in the first year, far exceeding his expectations.
This lavish method of consumption saved Han Li the time normally spent absorbing ambient spiritual energy, allowing him to devote himself entirely to refining it into mana. His progress naturally multiplied several times over!
This made Han Li overjoyed! Refining the Azure Essence Sword Art three times became a very real possibility!
The Azure Essence Sword Art, as others had warned, caused his spiritual power to drop periodically every few days. However, under his regimen of taking a packet of Qi-Refining Powder every six or seven days, this flaw could be entirely ignored.
During this period, Han Li also curiously tried taking a Foundation Establishment Pill once, but the effect was negligible, completely dispelling any such notions.
But over the last three years, something entirely unexpected happened.
Starting from the second year, the sensation of abundant spiritual energy after taking the Qi-Refining Powder gradually diminished. Year after year, the effect grew weaker. By the fourth year, it had become like the Yellow Dragon Pill and Golden Marrow Pellet—completely ineffective. No matter how many packets he consumed, he felt not a trace of spiritual energy.
This left Han Li both frustrated and bewildered!
Because this was not due to his increased spiritual power surpassing what the Qi-Refining Powder could provide. Given the potency of this medicine, it should have continued working even through the late Foundation Establishment stage. This was a pill refined from an ancient formula! It should have been effective even for cultivators in the Core Formation stage!
This was entirely different from when the Yellow Dragon Pill and Golden Marrow Pellet had stopped working. Those had simply been outpaced by his cultivation level—something he had long anticipated.
After endless deliberation, Han Li even applied the medical knowledge he had once learned, arriving at a conclusion he wasn't certain was correct. He suspected that the frequent consumption of such potent Qi-Refining Powder had caused his body to develop a resistance, gradually rendering the medicine ineffective.
Having reached this conclusion, Han Li had no way to verify it. After all, no cultivator in the cultivation world had ever consumed pills so frequently—every few days—as he had! There were no precedents or experience to draw upon.
But Han Li still hoped that if he stopped taking the pill for a period, the Qi-Refining Powder would regain its effectiveness.
With this thought, he ceased taking the pills during the final year, switching to the normal method of cultivating the Azure Essence Sword Art.
But having grown accustomed to the explosive growth from consuming spiritual herbs, returning to the ordinary method was agonizingly slow. Moreover, with his mediocre aptitude, relying solely on normal cultivation—forget about refining the sword art three times, even once would be a pipe dream within his lifetime!
After enduring a year of snail-paced cultivation, Han Li was bitterly disappointed. When he resumed taking the Qi-Refining Powder, it remained utterly useless. The medicine had truly lost all effect on him; he would have to seek other spiritual herbs.
Under these circumstances, even if Li Huayuan hadn't summoned him via message talisman, Han Li had already planned to leave the cave dwelling.
After all, he still lacked the ingredients for another ancient formula. Only by refining the Spirit-Gathering Pill could his spiritual power surge again. And he intended to find more pill recipes—if the Spirit-Gathering Pill proved as ineffective as the Qi-Refining Powder, Han Li would simply switch to a different pill every few years.
As for talisman crafting, that had progressed smoothly.
Each day, he set aside most of the morning to practice, starting from low-level spells he could already cast instantly, crafting talismans relentlessly without any regard for materials. This approach—unimaginably wasteful by any talisman master's standards—caused Han Li's crafting skill to soar. He could now barely produce low-tier high-grade talismans, though his success rate remained pitifully low.
He had already decided that during his next seclusion, he would begin studying mid-level spells and attempt crafting mid-tier talismans—the true goal of his talisman practice.
Additionally, during his seclusion, besides the Qi-Refining Powder, Han Li had taken advantage of his relative leisure to refine seven or eight Age-Preserving Pills, and had curiously taken one himself. If it truly could preserve his appearance, Han Li would be delighted—after all, no one wanted to face the day when their hair turned white, even if cultivators aged incredibly slowly.
Now, the ineffectiveness of the medicine cast a pall over Han Li as he flew, though he remained curious about why his master Li Huayuan had suddenly summoned him. He couldn't help wondering what matter could have prompted the visit after four years.
Thus, preoccupied with his thoughts, Han Li arrived at Green Wave Cave. When he sent his voice inside and the restriction lifted, the person who opened it was no longer Senior Brother Yu, but a handsome young man in his twenties, with rosy lips and white teeth.
Before Han Li could speak, the youth addressed him coolly:
"Junior Brother Han, I presume? I am Wu Xuan, Master's sixth disciple. Master has had me waiting here for quite some time. Follow me!"
With that, Wu Xuan turned and walked off without sparing Han Li another glance, leaving Han Li bewildered as he touched his own face.
"This face of mine can't be that repulsive, can it?"
Somewhat irritated but with no choice, Han Li followed behind him. Not a single word passed between the two as they made their way directly to the main reception hall. Inside, three people sat on chairs, and two others stood nearby.
Seated were Li Huayuan and his wife, along with an unfamiliar woman dressed in red. The woman appeared to be in her thirties—still attractive, retaining a certain charm—but her expression was icy, exuding a sharp killing intent rarely seen among cultivators.
Li Huayuan appeared to be speaking with the woman, his tone and demeanor suggesting deep respect.
Standing to the side were two people: one was Fourth Senior Brother Song Meng, whom Han Li had met before, and the other was a young woman of eighteen or nineteen, also dressed in red. She was fairly pretty, with a hint of allure in her features, and bore a striking resemblance to the red-robed woman.
"Han Li, come and greet your Grand Aunt Hongfu!"
Upon seeing Han Li enter, Li Huayuan greeted him warmly. Wu Xuan, meanwhile, walked silently to Song Meng's side and stood at attention with his hands clasped.
"Grand Aunt Hongfu!" Though Han Li had no idea what was happening, he naturally observed all proper courtesies.
The red-robed woman heard his greeting but did not immediately respond. Instead, she looked Han Li up and down, studying him carefully.
After a long moment, a faint smile finally appeared on her face, and she said stiffly:
"Mm, very good!"
"Hehe! It seems Senior Sister Hongfu is quite satisfied! This disciple of mine may look rather ordinary, but he is a genuine Foundation Establishment cultivator—well-mannered and clever, a credit to me!" Seeing the woman's apparent approval, Li Huayuan broke into a broad smile and lavished praise on Han Li.
This only deepened Han Li's confusion, leaving him utterly in the dark about what was going on.