Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 120

Han Li carefully put away the golden scrolls and focused on planning his next steps. Since he had decided to cultivate both the Azure Essence Sword Technique and the Three Revolutions Heavy Yuan Technique, he needed to maximize the use of the mysterious green liquid from the bottle. To do this, it was crucial to gather the ingredients for the elixirs listed in the ancient apothecary as soon as possible. He had to ensure he didn’t miss a single ingredient, whether it was to promote growth or to acquire other materials.

He considered that the green liquid contained something other than spiritual energy, as various experiments had shown that spiritual energy alone could not produce the mysterious growth-promoting effect. His current concern was that, in battles between cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage, besides magical artifacts and cultivation techniques, the only thing one could rely on was mid-grade or higher talismans.

However, the price of these mid-grade or higher talismans was so high that one had to pay dozens of spirit stones for just one. Mid-grade or higher five-element spells were certainly powerful and essential for survival, but they required a lot of magical power and time to cast, given their high grade. For this reason, one had to carry a few mid-grade talismans. Therefore, the area that caught his attention this time was the creation of such talismans, and among them, the creation of mid-grade or higher ones.

The talisman paper needed to make talismans, if it was mid-grade or lower, had to be made using spiritual herbs that had grown for a certain period. This was where the mysterious bottle would be helpful. High-grade talismans were made using the leather containing the spiritual energy of specific demonic beasts, which Han Li had no way of obtaining. However, the red sand needed to draw talismans was refined from the blood of demonic beasts, etc., but since it was made from the bodies of the spiritual beasts they raised, it was not that expensive.

He would have to research brushes, but for now, he planned to use the golden bamboo brush he had. Thinking of the golden bamboo brush, the shy Han Yunzhi naturally came to mind, and he smiled. She was probably still in the Spirit Beast Mountain. He carefully weighed the possibility of success in refining talismans and the pros and cons. In fact, the lack of necessary tools and materials was the biggest problem for those who refined talismans. However, Han Li, who had no worries about materials, considered mid-grade or higher spells to be the key.

The type of talisman a person could create depended on the types of spells they could cast. After all, the principle of a talisman was to seal a spell onto paper. Since he had succeeded in Foundation Establishment, he could easily master low-level spells, and now he had reached the point where he could write them in an instant. However, when he moved on to mid-level spells, the same situation as before was repeated. He could only sigh. It would be enough if he could learn even a few mid-level spells and seal them into talismans.

Having a large number of mid-grade talismans would not only be advantageous in battle but also allow him to sell them freely without worrying about other people’s attention. This would free him from the shackles of chronic spirit stone shortages, and he would never have to risk exchanging spiritual herbs for spirit stones again. Considering various factors, it seemed beneficial to prepare talismans, even if it meant delaying the increase of his magical power for a while. After pacing around his bedroom several times and carefully considering the matter, he decided to pursue the cultivation of the Azure Essence Sword Technique and the refinement of talismans in parallel. Now that all decisions had been made, it was time to act.

For several days, he visited both the sect’s market and the Heavenly Star Sect’s market, gathering materials to refine elixirs and talismans. The medicinal herbs used in the ancient apothecary were already expensive and difficult to obtain. However, in Han Li’s case, it didn’t matter how much these herbs had grown, so it was relatively easy to obtain young herbs, and he achieved the feat of gathering all the materials for the Qi Refining Powder at once. The same was true for talisman materials, and he was able to easily obtain a large amount of red sand. After four days, Han Li raised the defenses of the barrier protecting his residence to the highest level and entered closed-door cultivation. It was the first time he was fully focusing on cultivation since succeeding in Foundation Establishment.

* * *

Four years passed in the blink of an eye as he cultivated. The gate of his residence was blocked by a strict barrier and had not been opened since the day he began his closed-door cultivation. Suddenly, a navy blue light flew in the air, circled above Han Li’s residence, and soon transformed into a man in scholar’s attire, grinning from ear to ear. In the man’s hand was a strangely shaped navy blue wooden board. “So, this is the youngest junior brother’s residence! It’s so remote and lacks spiritual energy. If Senior Brother Lei hadn’t told me, I would never have found it.”

He muttered, looking at the gate of the residence, as if he was itching to cause some trouble. “Senior Brother Lei said that the formation protecting the residence is amazing. Is it really? Should I try to mess with it?” However, after a moment of contemplation, he eventually made a disappointed expression. “Ah, no. I can’t. I might mess up Master’s work!” After talking to himself, he took out a talisman for delivering messages and threw it into the formation. The talisman turned into a light and disappeared silently inside. He threw the wooden board in his hand into the air and flew up on it.

At that time, Han Li was sitting with his eyes closed in the hidden room where the spring of spiritual eyes was located. Surprisingly, even after four years, he had the same face as when he started cultivating, with a faint blue light surrounding his body. However, starting from the area where he was sitting, talismans of various kinds were scattered everywhere, from low-level fire ball spells and ice arrow spells to high-level earth wall spells and fire cloud spells. It was like a talisman warehouse. There were also empty red sand containers and piles of talisman paper. How much time had passed? Han Li’s eyebrows twitched, and he opened his eyes. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he got up and left the hidden room where he had been cultivating in seclusion.

Moreover, the moment he stood up, all the talismans and other items silently seeped into his storage pouch, leaving no trace. Before he entered the bedroom, a yellow light that had transformed from a small flag approached, guiding a flame-like object. Han Li calmly opened his hand, and the flag returned to him. A blue light flowed from his other hand, bringing the flame to his eyes. He flicked his finger, and a green light flew into the flame and collided. Then, Li Huayuan’s voice began to flow from within, and the content was very simple and clear. “Come to Green Wave Cave immediately!” With that, the flame disappeared with a small sound. After hearing the voice, Han Li scratched his nose and entered the bedroom, where he began to sort through the large bundles of talismans he had brought from his storage pouch.

The talismans, sorted by type and grade, were moved into wooden storage boxes in his storage pouch. After organizing the boxes, he paused for a moment and then immediately left the bedroom and ran towards the gate. * * * As he rode on the Wind Rider, he looked back on the past four years. While cultivating, Han Li had secretly created a medicinal herb cultivation area inside the cave. Although it was not very large, it was enough to cultivate the necessary herbs, and he did not have to worry about being seen by others while cultivating. Moreover, this allowed him to be self-sufficient without leaving his residence.

He had also made small holes in the rocks above the herb cultivation area to allow light to enter and to create a passage for the mysterious bottle to absorb spiritual energy. Of course, the areas where these holes were exposed were also within the protection range of the formation, so there was no possibility of anyone accidentally discovering them. However, the large herb field outside was maintained as a decoy. While successfully growing spiritual herbs in the internal herb cultivation area, he also used the Innate True Fire [a type of internal fire used in alchemy] to create elixirs. Although the Innate True Fire was slightly inferior to the Earth Fire, it was a method he chose because he could produce elixirs stably and did not have to worry even if he failed several times.

The elixirs created with the ancient apothecary were indeed extraordinary. When he refined and consumed the Qi Refining Powder himself, he felt a violent reaction of spiritual energy that he had felt during Foundation Establishment. He immediately sat down in a cross-legged position and began to circulate his energy without letting his guard down. This amazing medicinal effect naturally caused him to grow rapidly in about a year. The effect of increasing his magical power exceeded his expectations. By taking these elixirs, he saved time absorbing spiritual energy and spent all his time converting it into his own magical power. Therefore, the speed of his magical power increase was naturally faster.

Han Li was overjoyed. Now, it didn’t seem impossible to cultivate the Azure Essence Sword Technique three more times. The Azure Essence Sword Technique still exhibited the strange phenomenon of losing a portion of his magical power every few days. However, by taking Qi Refining Powder every few days, this flaw was not noticeable. Han Li had also tried taking a Foundation Establishment Pill out of curiosity, but the effect was so minimal that he completely abandoned the idea of using it. An unexpected event occurred during the remaining three years. From the second year, the feeling of spiritual energy filling up due to the effects of the Qi Refining Powder gradually decreased. This phenomenon even worsened as the years passed.

By the fourth year, even the effects of the Yellow Dragon Pill and the Golden Marrow Pill he had used before had completely disappeared. No matter how much he ate, he could not feel any spiritual energy. For this reason, he was now troubled and in a bad mood. However, having been rapidly accumulating magical power by consuming spiritual herbs, he was now frustrated to the point of madness as he tried to cultivate using ordinary methods. With his aptitude, if he continued to cultivate in this way, he might not be able to gather enough magical power to reach the peak of Foundation Establishment even once before he died, let alone three times.

The result of continuing his cultivation for a year was disappointing. He tried taking the Qi Refining Powder again, but it still had no effect. Now, all that was left was to find other spiritual medicines. Even if Li Huayuan had not called him this time, he was planning to visit the cave once. In any case, there was still one more ancient apothecary, so if he gathered all the materials and made a spiritual pill, he would be able to regain his previous cultivation speed. He was also planning to gather a few more apothecaries and change the medicine every few years if one spiritual medicine lost its effect, like the Qi Refining Powder.

In contrast, the work of refining talismans was extremely smooth. He began by creating talismans that sealed low-level spells every day. He used precious talisman materials lavishly, which was unimaginable for others, and his talisman refining skills improved rapidly. Now, he had barely managed to create some low-level high-grade talismans, but the low success rate was a flaw. When he started his next closed-door cultivation, he was planning to start learning mid-level spells and try refining mid-grade talismans. In any case, mid-grade talismans were his true goal. In addition, he took some free time to refine seven Face-Fixing Pills and swallowed one himself.

How wonderful it would be if he could really maintain his youthful face! No matter how slow a cultivator’s body ages, no one welcomes becoming an old man with white hair. He was now feeling depressed about the elixirs while also wondering why his master Li Huayuan had called him. What could be the matter that he was calling him after four years? Curious, Han Li arrived at Li Huayuan’s Green Wave Cave and sent a talisman to announce his arrival. This time, instead of Senior Brother Wu, a handsome young man who looked to be about twenty years old appeared. “You must be Junior Brother Han. I am Mu Hyun, the sixth disciple under Master. Master is waiting for you, so let’s go in.”

Mu Hyun finished speaking and immediately turned around. Han Li felt strange at his attitude and touched his face. ‘My face isn’t that repulsive.’ He was annoyed, but he had no choice but to follow him, and naturally, no conversation took place between them. When they entered the guest hall, three people were sitting on chairs, and two people were standing on one side.

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