Published: August 16, 2025
Chapter 152: Two Years Later
Han Li had seen mid-grade spirit stones for the first time. One was a fiery red, fire-attributed spirit stone, while the other was a deep yellow earth-attributed spirit stone—both the most commonly encountered types of mid-grade spirit stones.
Indeed, they looked completely different from those low-grade spirit stones that only had faint attribute colors. Not only was their luster different, but the powerful spiritual waves emanating from them also made it impossible to confuse them with anything else.
The three magical artifacts were also quite good. As expected from creations forged by foundation establishment stage experts, they were far superior to the rubbish Han Li had seen at the Tainan Meeting.
One was a ring that seemed to be made of refined steel. Once activated by incantation, it could fly out automatically to lock onto enemies and could change its size freely within a certain range. On a whim, Han Li once channeled his entire magical power into it, and the ring radiated a faint yellow light, expanding terrifyingly to the point it could encompass his entire thatched hut. Han Li was stunned for a long time.
Another was a small black triangular flag. This magical artifact was simpler to use. By injecting spiritual power into the flag and then waving it, it would immediately conjure a swirl of black mist around the flag bearer. This mist would blind the eyes of attackers in front and could also conceal the user’s whereabouts, making it a very useful defensive tool.
The first two artifacts were rare and excellent outside the valley, but at first, what made Han Li the most ecstatic was the last auxiliary artifact—a brass bottle that could prevent the loss of spiritual power from items placed inside.
As soon as he got the bottle-shaped artifact, Han Li immediately thought of the mysterious green liquid that had long vexed him and how to store it properly.
To be clear, ever since Han Li learned about the existence of spiritual power, he had long suspected that the small bottle absorbed and condensed the natural spiritual energy of the world every night. But lacking proper means to verify this, this idea remained a deep-seated guess.
Now, with this brass bottle artifact, he finally had a way to test his theory. That very night, he placed the condensed green liquid into the brass bottle to see if the artifact could preserve it.
But the outcome was disappointing.
The brass bottle only extended the green liquid’s preservation time from the original quarter of an hour to a full day. Beyond that limit, the green liquid would still vanish without a trace from inside the bottle. This suggested that the liquid was not just a simple condensation of natural spiritual energy but must contain more complex substances.
After this test, Han Li had enough self-awareness to know that this mystery was definitely not something he could easily solve at this stage.
So, he decided not to waste energy pondering the matter any further and resolved to go with the flow and let nature take its course. After all, the current use of this little bottle was already of great benefit to him.
With his heart unburdened, Han Li began taking advantage of the green liquid’s effects to concoct batch after batch of "Yellow Dragon Pills" and "Golden Marrow Pills." He planned to first consume these reduced-effect pills while trying to find more refined substitute pill recipes within the valley.
However, Han Li knew he could not rush this matter.
As a newly admitted disciple, if he blatantly went about inquiring after pill formulas, it would be like announcing to everyone that there was something suspicious about him! It would inevitably arouse suspicion and speculation, potentially drawing deadly trouble upon himself!
Therefore, Han Li resolved to quietly cultivate within the medicinal garden for a few years, until he fully understood the affairs of the sect and became an elder of Yellow Maple Valley, so he wouldn't attract attention. Only then would he consider the issue of pill formulas.