A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu’s Rebirth as the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor - Chapter 86

Chapter 85 Obtaining the Great Array

Two heads, one blue and one red.

One is predominantly fiery red, with red fur, and can spew fire-based spells.

The other head is predominantly ice-blue, and can spew ice-based spells.

Compared to before when only one head was present and required switching between fire and ice, now both heads can release spells independently, meaning they can simultaneously cast both fire and ice spells. And this is only the change on the surface of the Ice-Fire Wolf; the changes within its body are even greater.

“This is… a beast showing initial signs of mutation?”

Han Li’s eyes lit up.

The Foundation Establishment Pill is indeed effective for low-level demonic beasts and spirit beasts.

Although forcibly raising a spirit beast with ordinary bloodlines to level 2 would consume most of its potential, if it can undergo a benign mutation, the nature of the change is different.

At level 4, it might even evolve into a strange “mutation technique,”

like the petrifying pillar of light mutated from the three-eyed leopard of the Barbarian Beard.

“Let’s test its strength…”

After several tests, it was discovered that the Ice-Fire Wolf had mastered two more explosive intermediate-level spells, one fire and one ice.

Physical strength and speed have also increased significantly, and spiritual attacks are even more ferocious, with basic and advanced spells flowing effortlessly from his lips.

His overall strength has increased by more than three to five times!

Watching a giant boulder several meters long being swallowed by the Ice-Fire Wolf’s fiery explosion and quickly burned into lava, Han Li’s eyes shone even brighter:

“Well done, Little Three.”

Having such a bodyguard and thug by his side will give him much more confidence when going out in the future.

Another three months passed, and the Jade Mantis, having consumed a total of four Foundation Establishment Pills, experienced a surge in aura, its carapace shedding and transforming, also advancing to Level 2. However, the Jade Mantis did not undergo any obvious changes; its body only grew slightly larger, its entire body becoming even more jade-like, and it gained an extra pair of thin wings, its blades becoming much sharper.

At the same time, the Wind Howling Eagle transformed from a high-level demonic beast into a top-level Level 1 demonic beast.

It also gained a chameleon-like talent ability.

After taking to the sky, its feathers could turn the blue of the sky or the white of the clouds. Landing on the treetops, the leaves could remain grayish-brown, or they could be a vibrant yellow-green amidst the lush foliage. In short, they could change their color according to their surroundings.

There were also other variations.

As for the hyena boar, even after consuming six Foundation Establishment Pills and experiencing a significant increase in its aura, it showed no signs of advancing.

At this point, Han Li stopped pressuring it.

He also realized that the hyena boar was likely a pseudo-spiritual root among cultivators; even with forced enhancement, its bloodline potential wouldn’t be fully explored. For demonic beasts, bloodlines are more important, and the hyena boar clearly lacked a powerful bloodline.

Admittedly, Foundation Establishment Pills could improve physique, but they couldn’t excessively refine and optimize bloodlines. Foundation Establishment Pills weren’t that heaven-defying.

He had already been quite generous to the hyena boar.

As for the spirit-sniffing rat?

Since it was only at the mid-level 1 stage, he hadn’t fed it Foundation Establishment Pills yet, but rather some low-level pills. He could wait until it grew to a high-level demonic beast before feeding it Foundation Establishment Pills, to avoid indigestion and stomach upset.

Nearly a year passed afterward.

He gradually refined the forbidden herbs into precious pills corresponding to ancient formulas.

His success rate once reached around 50%.

It was undeniably wasteful, but for someone at the early Foundation Establishment stage, such progress in alchemy was remarkable.

After refining seven or eight bottles of herbs enough to advance him to the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, he temporarily stopped.

The success rate was simply too low, and the excessive waste of forbidden herbs pained him. After much deliberation, he decided that it wouldn’t be too late to resume alchemy after obtaining the *Great Evolution Technique* and mastering the first level to significantly enhance his divine sense. For now, he

needed to be as frugal as possible.

After all, he was cultivating the Azure Origin Sword Art and the Third Reincarnation Technique, which required reaching the third reincarnation. He didn’t want to end up with enough herbs to complete the first reincarnation and advance to the mid-to-late Foundation Establishment stage; that would be truly distressing.

Now, he had refined all three bottles of ancient pills and the dozen or so loose pills he had previously purchased at a high price from the sect through connections, and his cultivation had reached the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage. However, his

magical power cultivation had reached a bottleneck.

It is worth mentioning that the ancient pills were indeed more potent, with an effect almost twice that of spiritual medicines such as Snowflake Pills.

However, even though he continued to take pills for the next three months, even after using up almost half a bottle of ancient spiritual pills, he only increased his magical power somewhat and failed to break through the bottleneck to enter the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

“I have been taking pills for three years, consuming more than seven bottles in total, which is definitely equivalent to an ordinary cultivator cultivating for forty or fifty years. Unfortunately, my spiritual root is too poor, and my efficiency in converting spiritual power is low, making it much more difficult to break through the bottleneck than for ordinary cultivators. In addition, the Qingyuan Sword Technique also slowed down my pace. Coupled with the effect of drug resistance, the medicinal power was somewhat wasted during the absorption process. Otherwise, if I had dual or even triple spiritual roots, I should have reached the mid-Foundation Establishment stage by now,” Han Li sighed.

He finally understood how arduous the original owner’s path to immortality had been.

He was helpless about it.

There were Heaven-Mending Pills in the mines to improve spiritual root aptitude, but with his current strength, going there would be a waste.

Level 4 Blood Jade Spiders were very troublesome.

Even in the original timeline, that giant spider had been weakened by Xuan Le and Lü Tianmeng. Otherwise, with the original owner’s cultivation at the time, dealing with a level 4 Blood Jade Spider at its peak would have required considerable effort.

Another month passed, until the three-year mission was over, and Han immediately returned to the mountain sect to report.

At this point, he hadn’t visited Master Hong Fu at Red Tassel Mountain for almost a year.

He couldn’t help it; his cultivation had improved too quickly, making it increasingly difficult to explain.

Before, he could use the bottle of Qi-Harmony Pills bestowed by Master Hong Fu and the batch of pills he had purchased as an excuse.

Now, that wouldn’t work.

One bottle of Qi-Harmony Pills and a little over a bottle of Foundation Establishment pills were far from enough to raise him to this level. Eight or nine bottles would be more like it.

As for the medicinal garden at Red Tassel Mountain? He had long ago entrusted the care of the newly arrived senior sisters, Xiuting and Xiulan. Over the past two years, he had interacted with them frequently. After his monthly visit to Master Hongfu, he would meet with the senior sisters to exchange experiences on how to care for various spiritual herbs. These exchanges were essentially just the passing on of experience, though everyone tacitly agreed.

He had also transferred the spirit stones Master Hongfu had invested in him to the two senior sisters, ensuring he didn’t take any advantage.

Because of this, the herb garden had been handed over a year ago without any major problems.

“What should I do? With my current cultivation level, if I go to see Master Hongfu, she’ll immediately see through my act.”

Previously, he was troubled by having too many Foundation Establishment Pills.

Now, he’s troubled by his cultivation progressing too quickly.

Cultivating immortality is truly too difficult.

After much thought, he could only proceed with the original backup plan.

“That’s the only way.”

Then, he first returned to his sect to hand in his mission, and then, calculating the time, headed to the Tianxing Sect market in Yuanwu Kingdom.

The border, a hundred miles or so, took him less than half an hour at his current speed.

Upon arriving at the border of Yuanwu Kingdom, Han Li looked around. On one hand, he was looking for the Tianxing Sect market, and on the other hand, he was quite curious about everything in Yuanwu Kingdom. However, judging from the surrounding scenery, Yuanwu Kingdom seemed no different from Yue Kingdom.

Like Yue Kingdom, Yuanwu Kingdom was a medium-sized country in the heart of southern China. Although these two countries were far smaller than the great powers Tianluo Kingdom and Fengdu Kingdom on the east and west sides, they were much stronger than small countries like Jiang Kingdom, Cheqi Kingdom, and Shayun Kingdom.

In southern China, there were two great powers, a dozen medium-sized countries, and dozens of small countries.

Besides the nations, there are countless barren lands without any established kingdoms.

For example, between Tianluo Kingdom and Fengdu Kingdom, and between Fengdu Kingdom and Shayun Kingdom, lies a vast wasteland spanning hundreds of thousands of miles, entirely composed of Gobi desert, barren of all vegetation. Between Tianluo Kingdom and Jiang Kingdom, Cheqi Kingdom, and Tianlu Kingdom, lies a massive mountain range called the Qiling Mountains. This mountain range stretches for tens of millions of miles, traversing the entire Tianluo Kingdom and extending to the boundless sea in the east.

The Gobi Desert serves as a barrier, and the mountains as a buffer.

It is precisely because of this that the nations in the southern hinterland have lowered their guard against Fengdu Kingdom and Tianluo Kingdom, which are controlled by the righteous and demonic paths respectively. They have no idea that the righteous and demonic forces, severely weakened by internal strife thousands of years ago and forced to withdraw from the southern hinterland five hundred years ago, are now showing signs of a resurgence.

Unbeknownst to these nations, undercurrents are already surging at the borders between the righteous and demonic paths and numerous neutral nations.

Meanwhile, in the cultivation world of Yuanwu Kingdom…

The main sects are the Tianxing Sect, Wanmiao Temple, and Shenbing Sect. There are also deeply entrenched cultivation families like the Fu family of Zidao Mountain, whose ancestors produced Nascent Soul cultivators.

Han Li had been flying for over two hours when, as he was pondering, his flying sword suddenly sank and slowly fell to the ground. His flying artifact seemed to have instantly lost its flight capability.

Seeing this, Han Li was not surprised but rather pleased:

“This is… an anti-flying restriction? And the restriction isn’t too strong; if I force myself to fly, I can continue.”

This situation…

“It seems the Tianxing Sect market is nearby.”

Han Li landed and walked seven or eight miles. Soon, a complex of buildings much larger than the Huangfeng Valley market appeared before him.

This was the market itself.

Unlike the “long snake formation” of buildings that stretched along the main street of Huangfeng Valley, the Tianxing Sect market was centered around a massive pavilion twenty or thirty feet high, with numerous buildings only two or three feet high radiating outwards, forming a large circular architectural layout. Like a grand “Dragon Gate,” it opened wide to welcome customers.

The central pavilion of the Tianxing Sect’s market was named “Star Dust Pavilion.”

Each character was several feet in size, clearly visible from two or three miles away.

Han Li entered the market, initially just observing.

There were specialized weapon-refining shops, displaying top-tier magic weapons as their prized possessions, but mostly mid-to-high-tier magic weapons.

There were also talisman-making shops, accepting custom orders for many kinds of beginner-to-mid-tier and even several kinds of beginner-to-upper-tier talismans.

Then there was the Spirit Beast Academy, which not only had mid-to-high-tier level 1 spirit beasts, but he even saw two top-tier level 1 spirit beasts. These were all well-trained spirit beasts ready to be handled, and their prices were much higher than the internal prices at the Qilin Pavilion in Huangfeng Valley.

Of course,

the real must-see in the Tianxing Sect’s market was the Star Dust Pavilion.

After exploring the ordinary shops and gaining a more detailed understanding of the market, Han Li went straight to the tallest and most central building, the Star Dust Pavilion.

Upon entering the pavilion, Han Li was slightly taken aback by the sight of over thirty cultivators selecting goods on the first floor.

This place was quite popular?

Much more so than the Wanbao Pavilion in Huangfeng Valley Market. The several Qi Refining stage shop assistants at the front desk couldn’t even provide comprehensive and attentive service to all the customers? This seemed somewhat negligent.

Han Li was casually strolling around when a Qi Refining stage shop assistant, having finished with a customer, hurried over:

“Senior, I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting. However, I’m afraid this floor doesn’t have anything suitable for you. If you really want to buy something, please go up to the third floor or higher; that’s where we serve Foundation Establishment stage seniors.”

Han Li nodded upon hearing this, then calmly asked, “How many floors does your Star Dust Pavilion have? And what kind of fellow cultivators does each floor serve? Please tell me.”

The shop assistant was surprised for a moment, then quickly replied with a smile, “Senior, it seems this is your first time visiting my Star Dust Pavilion. Here’s how it is: my Star Dust Pavilion has nine floors. The first seven are open to the public, while the last two are off-limits to outsiders. Of the first seven floors, floors one to three are for low-level Qi Refining cultivators, floors four to six are for Foundation Establishment experts like yourself. The seventh floor is reserved for Core Formation stage experts…”   The value of the items

on each floor decreased progressively.   Upon reaching the seventh floor, one finds only precious items that even Core Formation cultivators are qualified to possess.   It’s said that even unclaimed magical artifacts are for sale.   Items related to magical artifacts are countless.   After reaching the fourth floor, Han Li didn’t linger but headed straight for the fifth.   With his current cultivation level, choosing items on the fifth floor was perfect, and the shopkeeper wasn’t male, but a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator with the air and charm of a noblewoman. Judging from her features and demeanor, she was likely a rare beauty in her youth. Currently, she appears to be only thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, but in reality, she’s already over a hundred. A true grandmother-level antique.   And with the passing of time, beauty fades; in the next ten or twenty years, her face will age rapidly, turning her into a withered old woman.   The normal aging period for Foundation Establishment cultivators is after one hundred years old.   To preserve one’s youthful appearance, one must either break through to the Core Formation stage before aging, or rely on external forces…   “Fellow Daoist, is there anything I can help you with?”   The beautiful woman stepped forward, smiling sweetly, her voice clear and pleasant.   Han Li clasped his hands in a fist salute, his expression indifferent: “I need to purchase some mid-level talismans. Does your esteemed establishment have any in stock?”   “Mid-level talismans? Lower-tier or mid-tier?”   Lower-tier mid-level talismans are available on the fourth floor.   Mid-tier mid-level talismans are on the sixth floor.

” High-level intermediate talismans are only drawn by Core Formation stage talisman masters. Once activated, they are comparable to a full-force attack from a Core Formation cultivator using a high-level intermediate talisman. Each one costs thousands of spirit stones and is a rare item on the seventh floor .

” “What I need is, of course, a mid-level intermediate talisman! Attack type is best, but defensive or support type is also acceptable, as long as the price is right,” Han Li said. “

Fellow Daoist, please follow me to the sixth floor.”

Madam Lan’s smile deepened.

On the sixth floor, another aloof-looking girl of fifteen or sixteen was the manager. This girl had no magical cultivation whatsoever, yet she could manage the first floor of Star Dust Pavilion; her identity was definitely extraordinary. She was most likely a descendant of some important figure from the Heavenly Star Sect.

“Xiuer, I’ve brought guests…”

“Aunt Lan, I’m busy right now, could you help me greet the guests?”

The girl glanced up at Han Li before lowering her head to fiddle with some of her gadgets. It was like ordinary needlework, stitching a mandarin duck pattern; she didn’t even care when she pricked her finger twice.

“This girl…”

After greeting the girl, Madam Lan had no choice but to lead Han Li around the talisman section of this floor.

“Intermediate-grade, mid-level Flowing Fire Talisman, a fire-type talisman. When activated, it can disperse to form dozens of fire crows comparable to high-level beginner spells, and gather to form a powerful ten-zhang-long fire meteor. This was made by a Core Formation expert; the selling price is six mid-grade spirit stones each. Our store still has two left,” Madam Lan introduced with a smile.

Offensive talismans are significantly more expensive than defensive and support talismans.

“Intermediate-grade mid-level Lightning Flash Talisman, five mid-grade spirit stones each…”

“Intermediate-grade mid-level Golden Thread Talisman, also five mid-grade spirit stones each…”

“…”

“Actually, it’s fortunate you arrived at the right time, otherwise, these intermediate-grade mid-level talismans, especially those offensive mid-level talismans, would likely no longer be here.” The woman’s words were indeed not exaggerated.

Offensive mid-grade low-level talismans are extremely rare on the market, and they are snapped up by cultivators with some wealth as soon as they appear, let alone the even rarer mid-level treasure talismans. Furthermore, these treasure talismans were drawn by Core Formation experts, not Foundation Establishment talisman masters.

The difference in power is considerable.

According to Madam Lan, the reason the Core Formation stage talisman master was willing to offer these difficult-to-draw and especially precious mid-grade talismans was because he wanted to refine an extremely powerful magic weapon but lacked spirit stones to exchange for enough magic weapon materials. He thus offered these talismans to earn some extra money.

Han Li nodded upon hearing

this. The truth was hard to discern.

It was possible this was a marketing tactic.

However, he still wanted to buy a few.

Before taking out spirit stones, he took out a pill bottle. Inside the bottle was a pill:

“Fellow Daoist, do you recognize this?”

After some examination, upon learning it was the legendary Youth-Preserving Pill, Madam Lan’s hand trembled slightly as she held the bottle. The mortal girl named Xiu’er, who had heard the news, also rushed over. Her originally aloof face was now beaming with joy.

The value of the Youth-Preserving Pill varied greatly from person to person.

In the hands of a male cultivator who valued strength more than beauty, it was practically worthless. However, when faced with female cultivators who have families, backgrounds, strength, and spirit stones, they would do everything in their power to acquire it, as long as the price wasn’t too outrageous.

“Fellow Daoist, how much for this Youth-Preserving Pill? Don’t worry, spirit stones are no problem.” The shopkeeper, originally the seller, quietly became the buyer.

“I’ll take all five of your esteemed mid-grade attack talismans,” Han Li said.

“Five? No way. One Youth-Preserving Pill isn’t worth that price.” Although Madam Lan refused verbally, she didn’t loosen her grip on the pill bottle.

At the same time, the young girl beside her stared intently at the pill bottle in Madam Lan’s hand.

Seeing this, Han Li smiled:

“I didn’t say I’d only offer one Youth-Preserving Pill in exchange for several talismans.”

Although he didn’t know exactly how many Youth-Preserving Pills Fairy Hong Fu had refined using the herbs he retrieved from the forbidden area, she had given him twelve in total.

He gave one to Dong Xuan’er.

He took the other himself.

He planned to keep a few of the remaining ten pills for future use, in case he needed to befriend some female cultivators. He would exchange the rest for necessary cultivation supplies or various treasures to arm himself.

“Ladies,” Han Li said, “I have two Youth-Preserving Pills here, enough to satisfy your needs. However, exchanging two incredibly rare and priceless Youth-Preserving Pills for only five mid-grade offensive talismans would be a huge loss for me. After all, the materials used to refine Youth-Preserving Pills involve several thousand-year-old spiritual herbs, and it hasn’t been heard of any Youth-Preserving Pills appearing on the market for hundreds of years. Therefore, you’ll need to add three to five mid-grade defensive or support talismans…”

Seeing the two women’s undisguised determination, Han Li decisively raised the price, asking for an exorbitant sum.

Madam Lan began to haggle: “Add three or five more? Impossible, that’s too many. I can only add one more at most.”

“Then forget it. I’ll have to find somewhere else to sell this second Youth Preservation Pill. One Youth Preservation Pill in exchange for three mid-grade attack talismans and one support talisman, what do you think, fellow Daoist?” Han Li pointed to the shelf; he wanted four.

Madam Lan hesitated.

The young girl, however, became anxious.

“No, you must sell us the other Youth Preservation Pill you have.” The mortal girl said firmly, then gritted her teeth: “How about this, you take the five mid-grade attack talismans on this shelf, and I’ll give you four mid-grade support talismans separately. What do you think? Don’t worry, they’re all made by Core Formation stage talisman masters, not the cheap imitations from Foundation Establishment stage.”

“Xiuer, you…”

Madam Lan was shocked.

Han Li’s eyes lit up:

“Okay, deal.”

He made a killing this time.

Nine talismans, worth around 5,000 in total, could be exchanged for just two Youth-Preserving Pills; only these two from Star Dust Pavilion could be so extravagant.

Afterwards, Han Li took out a pile of top-tier magic artifacts,

including many exquisite and rare examples.

“Dust-Falling Pearl, Breeze Fork, Soul-Severing Flying Knife, Gale Sword… This top-grade Yellow Silk Umbrella is damaged; I’m afraid it won’t sell for the 650 spirit stones you wanted, Fellow Daoist…”

“How about 550 spirit stones then?”

“500.”

“Alright.”

There were six top-grade magic artifacts in total, worth approximately 38 mid-grade spirit stones.

This was without even selling the representative magic artifacts of the disciples of the Hidden Moon Sect.

In addition,

Han Li also sold some miscellaneous items—the many junk left behind by those who participated in the forbidden area trials—at a discount to the Star Dust Pavilion. With small profits but quick turnover, his earnings exceeded 2,000 spirit stones.

He had previously asked the Myriad Treasures Pavilion in the Yellow Maple Valley market to sell a batch. This time, he cleared out another batch to the Star Dust Pavilion. He had finally realized most of the wealth he gained during the Blood Trial through “passive self-preservation.”

“Fellow Daoist, is there anything else you need?”

“Does your esteemed pavilion have any pills suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators to enhance their magical power?”

“Yes, we do. Our pavilion currently has three types, with about two or three pills of each left. But the price…”

Six or seven hundred spirit stones per pill, truly a price that makes one dreadful.

No wonder ordinary cultivators can’t afford them.

No wonder even cultivators with a little wealth can only buy a few pills for breaking through bottlenecks, and are unwilling to use them normally.

No wonder the vast majority of cultivators are only fit for arduous cultivation.

In the end, it’s all due to a lack of spirit stones.

“Give me all the remaining three types of pills.”

Han Li waved his hand, returning the thirty-eight spirit stones he had just received, and even took out several hundred spirit stones from his person. He had only obtained seven pills suitable for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

He felt that he was quite lucky, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to get the remaining ones.

Not long after he left the Star Dust Pavilion, while he was inquiring about secret shops from some shop owners, he realized that he seemed to be being watched.

“Interesting. Could it be someone from the Stardust Pavilion?”

“No, it shouldn’t be. After all, even a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert wouldn’t stand a chance against me right now. The two women from the Stardust Pavilion who just sold me a large number of talismans know this very well.”

Why did he buy talismans before anything else? Wasn’t it to increase his means of self-defense and enhance his deterrent power?

“Since it’s most likely not someone from the Stardust Pavilion, then it’s probably some traitorous cultivator lurking in the market?”

Thinking of this, Han Li’s eyes unconsciously turned slightly cold.

Just as he was preparing to make his move, the furtive person approached him and bowed respectfully:

“Senior, would you like to participate in the recent Secret Shop Trading? I have connections.”

Han Li: …

Okay, he was being too sensitive.

Besides, even if someone wanted to rob him, they shouldn’t have alerted him so early.

“Secret Shop Trading? How often is it held here?” Han Li asked.

“It’s usually held every three months, Senior. This secret shop auction is in three days. Would you like to participate?” Inviting a Foundation Establishment cultivator to participate in the secret shop auction is beneficial even for a nobody like him. If the person turns out to be a big client, he’ll get a commission.

“We’ll see. I’ll stay at the inn for a few days first and see how things go.”

“Okay, Senior.”

Afterwards, Han Li continued to wander around the Tianxing Sect’s market, searching for Qi Yunxiao’s whereabouts. Finding nothing, he had no choice but to spend some spirit stones to post notices in several shops:

Why is it so difficult for Dragon Roar to cultivate immortality? It’s because he was born a woman.

If you want to know where to find the solution, go to Hongying Mountain in Taiyue Mountain.

Directly posting notices would undoubtedly easily arouse suspicion, but what he needed now was to stir up trouble and attract Qi Yunxiao’s attention as soon as possible.

And regardless of whether it would have an effect, he would post them first.

It’s like fishing: you bait the spot before you start fishing.

If Qi Yunxiao happened to see it, he would most likely inquire about the source of the notices from the shopkeeper, and then

he would know the address of the inn where he was staying. At that time, no matter what conclusion the other party reached after discussing it with Xin Ruyin, they would definitely come to try it as a last resort. Whether it was this time or the next secret shop transaction, he believed that he would always catch a fish.

Besides, those who could understand the meaning of the notices would definitely be sensitive enough to understand it at a glance.

Those who did not understand the meaning would just pass by without caring.

And this was undoubtedly another screening.

Then.

The next evening.

The inn where he was staying welcomed a short and stocky, inconspicuous young man.

The young man had the cultivation of the tenth level of Qi Refining. After entering the inn, he went straight to his room. When

he reached the door, the young man hesitated, not knowing whether to knock on the door.

Inside the room, Han Li opened his eyes and smiled. He understood why Jiang Taigong used a straight hook to fish. It really was a case of willing people taking the bait.

The young man outside the door was Qi Yunxiao. This kid probably hadn’t even figured out if the notice was real or fake before rushing over – wasn’t this a classic case of willing victims taking the bait?

“The small fish has taken the bait, is it too late for the big fish to leave?”

Han Li muttered to himself before pushing open the door.

The sudden opening of the door startled Qi Yunxiao.

“Who are you, fellow Daoist?”

Han Li asked, feigning surprise.

“Junior Qi Yunxiao greets Senior,” the young man said respectfully.

“What brings you here?”

“Junior saw these notices posted in some shops and came to pay a visit,” Qi Yunxiao said cautiously.

“Oh, so you’re asking about the Dragon Roar Physique? Come in and tell me,”

Han Li invited.

Qi Yunxiao thought for a moment and didn’t refuse.

After they were seated, Han Li chuckled and teased,

“Young friend, didn’t you even bother to find out my identity before coming here to see me? And are you sure I can answer your questions and resolve the flaws of the Dragon Roar Physique?”

Qi Yunxiao, embarrassed, scratched the back of his head. “You always have to try your luck.” “

Hahaha…” Han Li laughed heartily, finding it rare to encounter such a devoted lover who disregarded his own safety.

“Senior…”

“It’s alright, I can tell you some things about the Dragon Roar Physique, even the cure. But what can you offer in exchange for this information? There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” Han Li was very direct.

“This…” Qi Yunxiao hesitated.

He did have some good stuff, but it was meant to be exchanged for a thousand-year-old elixir to cure the girl he admired. If he offered this trump card in exchange for just some information, what would he do about finding the medicine later?

“Fine, I’ll give you the information for free.” Han Li suddenly changed the subject.

“Senior?!”

“Heh, the Dragon Roar Physique isn’t as simple as you think. Even if you know the solution, you probably won’t be able to cure it.”

“Ah?”

Qi Yunxiao’s expression changed slightly.

Han Li didn’t keep him in suspense, but instead revealed his understanding of the Dragon Roar Physique:

“The Dragon Roar Physique is caused by a man being mistakenly born as a woman, resulting in an uncontrollable dragon roar energy within the body. People with this physique cultivate faster than ordinary people, but they also have the drawback that the more diligently they cultivate, the shorter their lifespan becomes. The normal way to resolve this is to neutralize the dragon roar energy with ice-attribute cold energy at the Nascent Soul level. Only in this way can the dragon roar energy be eradicated.”

“What? Nascent Soul level cold energy?”

Qi Yunxiao felt his brain couldn’t keep up, as if it were a fantasy.

“That’s right, it must be Nascent Soul level cold energy. Nascent Soul level won’t work.”

Han Li’s tone was certain, without a hint of joking.

“This…”

Qi Yunxiao was at a loss.

He sensed the seriousness in the words of the Foundation Establishment cultivator before him.

“Then, that Miss Xin’s prescription…”

“Prescription? An ancient elixir prescription? That person wouldn’t be thinking of using thousand-year-old or even ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs to refine some kind of unorthodox elixir to suppress the dragon’s roar energy, would they?”

“Senior, is this method not going to work?”

Qi Yunxiao was clearly in a daze, completely flustered. He hadn’t even noticed how much information he had revealed to a stranger in a short time. It was fortunate that it was Han Li who had no intention of harming her, otherwise Xin Ruyin would have been in danger.

“Fellow Daoist Qi, your friend has oversimplified the dragon’s roar energy. What she did was useless, and not only useless, it would actually strengthen the dragon’s roar energy within her body, causing her meridians to wither and her dantian to shrink. She would likely die young within a few years.” Han Li poured himself a cup of tea and savored it.

The spiritual tea from Qin Ye Ridge tasted alright.

“What should we do then?” The young man stood up excitedly, then slumped back down dejectedly. “Is it possible that… is there no other treatment besides that so-called Cold Yuan Cure Method?”

“There is a temporary solution, but I doubt you can implement it.”

“Senior, please enlighten us.”

Qi Yunxiao’s eyes lit up, and he stood up again.

“The method isn’t difficult. It involves having a Nascent Soul elder suppress the Dragon Roar Qi within the Dragon Roar Body using their Yin Qi every so often. Ideally, they should also supplement this with certain Yin-cold spiritual herbs. This way, we can first establish the Foundation, and perhaps even form the Core, extending our lifespan first.” Han Li squinted, offering Qi Yunxiao a makeshift solution. “As for after Core Formation? You can’t cultivate anymore, otherwise, once the Dragon Roar Qi erupts, even a Nascent Soul elder might not be able to suppress it.”

“Have a Nascent Soul elder come to help with cultivation at any time?”

Qi Yunxiao was dumbfounded.

Then he gave a bitter smile.

A deep sense of powerlessness washed over him.

How could insignificant figures like them possibly receive such care from a Nascent Soul cultivator?

It was utterly impossible.

“So, fellow Daoist, do you understand the difficulties of the Dragon Roar Body?”

Han Li put down his teacup, looking at him with a nonchalant air.

“Thank you for your guidance, Senior. However, these two methods are extremely difficult to implement. Is there another way?” Qi Yunxiao asked hopefully, not believing that this person had deliberately lured him here just to torment him.

“Yes,”

Han Li nodded.

He actually had two other methods, though not really solutions:

First, possession.

Having Xin Ruyin possess a normal male cultivator would likely free her from the Dragon Roar Qi’s torment.

For example, Xin Ruyin, Qi Yunxiao, and the maid Xiaomei could all have their primordial spirits leave their bodies, with Xin Ruyin possessing Qi Yunxiao’s body, Qi Yunxiao possessing Xiaomei’s body, and Xiaomei possessing Xin Ruyin’s body.

Theoretically, it was feasible for the three to exchange bodies.

The second method was to have Xin Ruyin cultivate with the Old Demon Yunlu, striving to obtain the Old Demon Yunlu’s true teachings.

The old demon, being androgynous and capable of being both male and female, would undoubtedly cherish and nurture Xin Ruyin as a treasure if he knew she possessed the Dragon Roar Physique, a rare physique even rarer than a Heavenly Spiritual Root. The problem with Xin Ruyin’s Dragon Roar Physique was simply the Dragon Roar Qi born from a male being mistakenly born as a female. Once she cultivated the androgynous methods of the Yunlu Old Demon of the Hehuan Sect, becoming androgynous herself, how could the so-called Dragon Roar Qi still cause trouble?

At that time, this Dragon Roar Qi would not only cease to be a hindrance to her cultivation but would instead become a golden finger that accelerates Xin Ruyin’s cultivation speed.

Of course,

the prerequisite for cultivating with the Yunlu Old Demon was that someone could accompany Xin Ruyin and protect her. Otherwise, there might be those in the Hehuan Sect of the demonic path who would risk possessing Xin Ruyin and seizing this rare physique.

However, Han Li naturally wouldn’t tell Qi Yunxiao any of this. Their relationship was far from that point.

He took out a jade box containing a pure white flower the size of a soup bowl:

“This snow lotus is an 800-year-old icy snow lotus, possessing very strong cold-attribute medicinal power. Although it’s not the thousand-year-old spiritual herb you’re looking for, it’s several times more precious than ordinary thousand-year-old spiritual herbs.”

“If you can use this spiritual herb as the main ingredient to refine the ancient spiritual pill, Snow Cloud Pill, it will allow your friend with the Dragon Roar Physique to temporarily suppress the Dragon Roar Qi within his body. If there’s enough pills, he can continue cultivating, even reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.”

“However, after Foundation Establishment, he can no longer cultivate; otherwise, if the long-suppressed Dragon Roar Qi goes berserk, the Snow Cloud Pill might not be able to suppress it. Of course, the specific choice is up to you…”

Han Li closed the box to prevent the medicinal power from dissipating. His honesty was already the greatest kindness.

Qi Yunxiao, however, refused to look away for a long time.

His spirits were exceptionally high.

“Senior, could you sell me that Snow Lotus? I’m willing to exchange it for a set of array-setting artifacts.”

“What array-setting artifacts?”

“An artifact capable of setting up the Inverted Five Elements Array.”

“Don’t joke with me. That Reversed Five Elements Array is powerful enough to be a small-scale mountain-protecting array. A normal array setup would require a large number of people and several months, even a year, to successfully set it up. You, a mere Qi Refining cultivator, surely can’t condense such an array into just a few magic artifacts?” Han Li provoked him, then put away the box containing the Iceberg Snow Lotus.

Qi Yunxiao, seeing this, became extremely anxious.

“Senior, everything I’ve said is true. My friend and I have been researching this array for over a year, and we’ve already been able to inscribe part of the array’s power into the relevant array-setting tools. I dare not say how much power it possesses, but it definitely has one-tenth of the complete Reversed Five Elements Array’s power.” The young man said, genuinely taking out a set of array-setting tools from his storage bag: “Moreover, given more time for me and my friend, we can definitely continue to improve the array and its tools, and even inscribe the complete array into suitable array-setting magic artifacts.”

This was indeed true.

Xin Ruyin could indeed do it.

One of them was skilled in array formations, his lineage of which was of unknown origin but highly legendary. The other was skilled in weapon crafting, possessing the core weapon crafting heritage of the Divine Weapon Sect. Working together, they had simplified the method of setting up a Core Formation level array to the point where it could be accomplished with a magic weapon. It was

like summarizing a very long article in just a few words.

The value it represented was therefore self-evident.

“Fellow Daoist Qi, I can exchange this array-setting tool for spiritual herbs, but you need to continue crafting a more complete set of the Inverted Five Elements Array for me. I don’t need this half-finished product. Furthermore, I can provide you with the complete formula for the Snow Cloud Pill and several auxiliary spiritual materials, but what else can you offer in exchange? You should know that the value of this ancient formula and its auxiliary materials is no less than the value of this Iceberg Snow Lotus.”

Han Li remained calm and collected, completely maneuvering.

Qi Yunxiao knew this, but he couldn’t refuse:

“Junior, how about I exchange this weapon-refining manual with you, senior?”

“No need for that. This should be the weapon-refining method of the Qi family of the Divine Weapon Sect, right? Giving this to me wouldn’t be appropriate.”

Han Li waved his hand, politely refusing on the spot.

The young man was suddenly startled:

This person knew his identity?

That’s right, he must have investigated him, otherwise why would he have deliberately fished him out here?

“Don’t worry, if I really wanted to scheme against you, you’d be dead by now.” Han Li returned a gentle smile: “And by following the clues, your friend will also be finished.”

It was clearly a smile, but in Qi Yunxiao’s eyes, it sent a chill down his spine.

“Th-th, senior…”

Only then did he realize how reckless he had been to come here directly; it was practically asking a tiger for its skin. If the person in front of him had even the slightest ill intentions towards him, he would probably be finished long ago, and his beloved would also be implicated.

It was precisely for this reason that he felt an inexplicable goodwill towards Han Li, who had no ill intentions.

“Consider it a favor you owe me. In the future, if I need you to do anything, consider whether it violates your own principles and is within your capabilities. If you can, don’t refuse outright.”

“Thank you, senior. Thank you, senior.”

“Let’s exchange contact information. See you later. Consider this a mutually beneficial cooperation.”

“Okay.”

Excellent.

“Also, Fellow Daoist Qi, as your partner, I must remind you: be careful in your actions in the future. Although your recklessness is understandable, a careless mistake can have serious consequences, potentially harming yourself and others. You don’t want to implicate your friend, do you?”

“Thank you for the reminder, senior.”

After leaving his contact information, Han Li, carrying the half-finished Reversed Five Elements Array, left the inn first, then went to various shops in the market to retrieve the notices, and then flew away on his sword.

His goal achieved, and with a large sum of money, he was off.

…

The bait has been cast; will that big fish, Xin Ruyin, take the bait?

He had calculated it all: one Snow Lotus combined with a single herb could yield a maximum of three bottles, totaling about thirty Snow Cloud Pills. Each Snow Cloud Pill could only help Xin Ruyin, a Qi Refining stage cultivator, suppress the Dragon Roar Qi within her body for a little over a month. Furthermore, as Xin Ruyin’s cultivation level increased, the Dragon Roar Qi would grow stronger, thus weakening the pill’s suppressive effect and shortening its effective duration. Thirty-odd pills wouldn’t last three years.

If the alchemist’s skill wasn’t up to par, they might not even be able to refine twenty or thirty Snow Cloud Pills. In that case, Xin Ruyin’s time would be even shorter.

Then she would have to seek his help again.

“Where can I find the solution to my problems? Red Tassel Mountain within Mount Taiyue.”

“Fellow Daoist Qi, Miss Xin, I, Han, await your arrival.”

“I, Han, am fishing; those who are willing will take the bait…”

(End of Chapter)