Published: August 25, 2025
Chapter 239: The Choice
After spending a day in the secluded mansion, the next morning Han Li once again stood before Master Li Huayuan and his wife. He listened as his master spoke calmly:
"Han Li, have you decided what you want me to give you? You can tell me now!"
"I want a cultivation method suitable for myself. I hope Master can grant me this!" Han Li had no hesitation; the answer had long been in his heart, so he blurted it out immediately.
Li Huayuan heard this but showed no surprise. Instead, he gave a faint smile toward his young wife, as if to say, "See, I wasn’t wrong; he really wants a cultivation method!"
Then he turned back and said to Han Li with composure:
"Hmm, your choice is not bad! Come closer, let me check your spiritual root attributes and then decide which spell formation to grant you."
Han Li didn’t dare delay and quickly stepped forward. His wrist was grabbed by Li Huayuan, and a warm current quickly circulated through his meridians.
"Besides the metal attribute, you can cultivate methods of other attributes! To have four attributes in your spiritual root—that really surprises me! Previously, I could only tell from the surface that your spiritual root was mixed, but I never expected it to be to this extent!" After a brief examination, Li Huayuan’s expression turned a little strange. He sighed lightly.
The young woman beside him also showed slight surprise. Although she said nothing, she couldn’t help but glance at Han Li several more times.
"Disciple’s aptitude is poor, Master. I have disappointed you!" Han Li’s face flushed slightly, ashamed.
"It’s nothing. Since Heaven has allowed you to successfully establish the foundation, surely you have your own destiny. But this does make choosing your cultivation method a bit troublesome."
"What do you mean?"
Han Li blinked, though he didn’t ask outright, the confusion on his face was obvious.
"You’re impossible," the young woman scolded Li Huayuan for being so vague. Then she explained gently to Han Li, "What Master means is, originally he wanted to select a good cultivation method for you. But looking at your spiritual root attributes now, he hesitates. The better the cultivation method, the harder it is to cultivate. It’s better to give you a simpler spell formation to help you advance faster."
"Exactly. What she says is what I want to express," Li Huayuan nodded repeatedly. Then he elaborated:
"You must understand, for us immortal cultivators, cultivation methods can generally be divided into three categories based on power and effect.
The first category has average or even slightly slow magical power advancement. However, the divine abilities and combat skills they bring are often powerful and extraordinary. In actual combat, even when magical power is still at a low level, they allow one to easily defeat higher-level cultivators. So, cultivators who know they have little hope of forming a golden core usually choose these."
"The second category is quite the opposite. These spell formations greatly accelerate the advancement of magical power and are easier to cultivate, with fewer bottlenecks than those choosing the first category. But, as with all things, there is a trade-off. The advantage of the first category is the fatal flaw of this one. These methods lack strong self-defense skills and have very weak divine abilities. Choosing this spell formation dooms one to be weak among cultivators of the same rank. Still, many who aim to reach higher realms of immortal cultivation and enter the heavenly Dao choose these, since they are the easiest to approach the core formation stage."
Li Huayuan paused here, then smiled warmly at Han Li:
"I wonder, disciple, which type of spell formation would you choose? Or which do you think suits you better?"
Han Li was momentarily stunned and hesitated before asking:
"Master, you said there are three types, but only mentioned two?"
Li Huayuan shared a knowing smile with his wife and then kindly said to Han Li:
"Indeed, besides the first two, there is a very rare third category. These are the top-tier cultivation methods sought after by many cultivators. However, I do not recommend you cultivate them! None of your seven senior brothers chose these. Although these methods combine the strengths of the first two categories, with great power and rapid magical power advancement, the conditions and difficulties are numerous, and the cultivation process is extremely dangerous. A slight misstep can lead to irreversible disaster. Your master's wife cultivates such a top-tier method and was so cautious but almost lost her life. So unless one’s aptitude vastly surpasses others, cultivating these is almost akin to suicide."