Restrictions and Spirit Herbs

Han Li's heart tightened. "So he's asking about that after all," he thought to himself.

But on the surface, he wore a baffled expression. "Primordial Soul? This disciple did not see any primordial soul. Could it be that Senior Brother Lin's primordial soul left his body before he died?"

Han Li had already decided that if the man asked about the primordial soul, he would firmly deny everything. He could hardly tell the truth—that Lin had tried to possess him, only to have his own soul destroyed in the process.

"You didn't see it?"

The fat cultivator looked at Han Li with a half-smile that lingered just long enough to make Han Li's heart pound uneasily in his chest.

"Well, if you didn't see it, then that Lin fellow's primordial soul must have lost itself in the great formation and dissipated on its own," the fat man said blandly, turning his head away after a moment.

Han Li breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

He knew full well that his excuse was flimsy and that the man almost certainly didn't believe a word of it. But from the way this Elder Lei had treated Lin's life and death—with utter indifference—it seemed he had no intention of pursuing the matter.

After all, everyone knew that a cultivator's first instinct upon leaving their body was to immediately seize another. But aside from Han Li, there had been no other cultivator inside the formation. The only possible target for possession was Han Li himself. Since Han Li was standing here perfectly fine, it meant Lin had failed and his primordial soul had been destroyed.

As for the possibility that Lin had successfully possessed Han Li and was now wearing his skin?

That was obvious at a single glance.

Possession was an immensely taxing act on the primordial soul. Even if successful, the possessor would need at least a month of secluded meditation to fully control the new body. Anyone would see through that in an instant.

So both Han Li and Lei Wanhe knew perfectly well what had happened to Senior Brother Lin's primordial soul.

But the fat man had taken a decent first impression of Han Li and simply couldn't be bothered with such a trivial matter. He let it slide. Han Li, for his part, played dumb because the truth—that he had killed a senior brother—would only bring him a charge of murdering a fellow disciple, which would do him no good at all.

Still, this exchange left Han Li feeling that this Elder Lei was far more agreeable than his own master.

"This cave dwelling of yours is far too crude, isn't it? How can you receive guests like this? We cultivators may not be overly particular about such things, but you still need to make it somewhat presentable," Lei Wanhe remarked casually, lingering at the entrance to Han Li's cave instead of leaving immediately.

Han Li smiled bitterly. He had only finished this cave a few days ago, thrown together in a rush. How could it possibly be refined? But the man's comment reminded Han Li of something he had been meaning to ask.

He put on a smile and spoke respectfully to Lei Wanhe.

"There are some things this disciple would like to consult Elder Lei about. Would the elder be willing to rest a while in my humble cave so that I might ask slowly? I also have some rather aged spirit herbs that I would like the elder to examine for authenticity, so that I may use them in alchemy with confidence."

"Herbs?"

The fat man's expression remained unchanged when Han Li first asked to consult him, but the mention of aged spirit herbs finally drew a faint smile. He nodded in agreement.

Han Li led Lei Wanhe into the spacious but empty main hall and seated him before excusing himself to fetch the herbs. He hurried to his storage room, retrieved two backup herbs that were six to seven hundred years old, and returned to the hall.

Han Li did not store these herbs in his storage pouch because keeping them in jade boxes or magical containers was only a temporary measure. Over longer periods, their medicinal power would gradually seep away. That was why nearly every cultivator's cave had a specially enchanted storage room, designed to preserve the herbs' spiritual properties indefinitely.

However, Han Li was wary that Lei Wanhe's powerful spiritual sense might sweep through his storage room and discover the Spirit Eye Spring he had sealed away. So he had already activated the Reversed Five Elements Formation's restriction on spiritual sense probing.

If the elder tried to peek at anything now, he was surely quite frustrated.

The jade slip had made it clear: this particular restriction was so simple and straightforward that the miniature formation's version was identical in power to the original. It was the one aspect of the formation that perfectly matched the full-scale version.

Han Li had tested this restriction after setting up the formation. His own spiritual sense could only extend a few feet around him, no further.

And Elder Lei, despite being a Core Formation cultivator with vastly superior spiritual sense, would likely be unable to extend his perception beyond the dozen or so yards of the main hall. That was why Han Li dared to invite him inside. If the man's spiritual sense had freely swept through Han Li's storage room and discovered the sealed Spirit Eye Spring, Han Li suspected the elder would have developed some very unpleasant ideas.

But not inviting the elder inside in the first place would have been even worse and would only have aroused suspicion. After all, a junior refusing to welcome a senior into his cave was quite abnormal.

Even if the elder overlooked it now, what if he thought back on it later and found it suspicious? That would be disastrous.

Besides, Han Li truly did have matters to consult the fat elder about, and he genuinely wanted to establish some kind of connection with him. After all, the man was a Core Formation cultivator. Building a good relationship with him could be immensely beneficial in the future.

Han Li mulled these thoughts over silently as he carried two herb boxes into the hall. He opened the lids one by one in front of Lei Wanhe and asked the elder to "authenticate" them.

At this moment, Lei Wanhe was rather irritated.

When Han Li had gone to fetch the herbs, the fat man had indeed released his spiritual sense, intending to probe the cave's size and layout.

It wasn't that he harbored any ill intentions—it was simply an instinctive habit for a Core Formation cultivator.

But his spiritual sense, after traveling about a dozen yards away from his body, had become as sluggish as if weighed down by a thousand pounds, unable to spread even an inch further.

Lei Wanhe's broad face had revealed a flicker of genuine shock.

He had encountered this phenomenon before. He had experienced the same thing at the caves of several fellow cultivators he was friendly with. This was unmistakably some kind of restriction that blocked spiritual sense.

But all of those friends were Core Formation cultivators themselves. It was no surprise their caves had such restrictions. This disciple was only a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and his cave had only recently been completed. For such a restriction to appear here—that was truly strange.

Lei Wanhe did not connect this restriction to the formation outside the cave.

In his estimation, a formation that could so effectively block enemies was already impressive enough. If it also had additional functions like blocking spiritual sense, then it would rival the grand protective formations of some small sects!

How could such a powerful restriction formation appear outside a mere Foundation Establishment disciple's cave?

What Lei Wanhe never imagined was that Han Li's formation was actually a simplified version of the famous "Reversed Five Elements Formation." Even at only one-tenth of the original formation's power, it was still on par with many so-called grand protective arrays.

So when Han Li opened the herb boxes for him to examine, Lei Wanhe's mind was still wandering. His gaze did not immediately fall on the contents of the box. He wore an air of complete disinterest.

But when his eyes finally landed on those two spirit herbs, both six to seven hundred years old, his lazy expression vanished instantly. Thoughts of restrictions, spiritual sense, and everything else were completely forgotten.

In Lei Wanhe's eyes, there were only two spirit herbs, brimming with spiritual energy.

"These two spirit herbs were purchased by this disciple from the outside world at considerable cost. But my experience is too shallow to accurately determine their exact age, so I have never used them. Elder Lei's arrival is truly timely. Please, help this disciple authenticate them."

"Mm..."

Lei Wanhe wasn't really listening to Han Li. He grunted absently and carefully picked up one of the herbs, examining it closely.

Han Li quietly observed the elder's expression and smiled inwardly. It seemed he had chosen the right herbs.

He had long heard that Core Formation cultivators had an even stronger craving for spirit herbs than Foundation Establishment cultivators.

At that stage of cultivation—whether attempting to condense their core into a Nascent Soul or simply raising their magical power by a single level—it was an incredibly difficult endeavor.

Consuming large quantities of alchemical pills had become the standard path for Core Formation cultivators to increase their magical power.