Fortune Concealed Within Misfortune

Chapter 361: Fortune Concealed Within Misfortune

A quarter of an hour later, Han Li unhurriedly emerged from the Star Dust Pavilion.

He cast a glance back at the towering edifice, a faint, enigmatic smile flickering across his face before he strode away with long steps.

In his storage pouch now sat the set of “Red Thread Light-Speed Needles” and the jade slip containing the pill formula.

Not long ago, he had casually asked the young woman about the price of thousand-year spirit herbs, but he had not taken out any spirit grass for her to see. Instead, he produced two “Youth-Accelerating Pills” that contained thousand-year spirit herb components and handed them to her.

Han Li remembered it vividly. The moment the previously ice-cold young woman understood the miraculous, age-freezing effect of the “Youth-Accelerating Pill,” a fanatical expression had flooded her face. The sheer contrast in demeanor had shocked him considerably.

Immediately afterward, the young woman summoned an alchemist from the Star Dust Pavilion to personally appraise the widely legendary but seldom-refined pill.

The result: after confirming that the two pills were indeed genuine “Youth-Accelerating Pills” with proven rejuvenating effects, the young woman nervously called up Madam Lan from the fifth floor.

After the two women had a hushed private discussion, Han Li exchanged two Youth-Accelerating Pills plus a thousand spirit stones for the pill formula and the magical tool.

Even now, thinking back on it, Han Li found it somewhat amusing.

The promise of eternal youth—it was an irresistible temptation for women, utterly impossible to resist. Even Madam Lan, a female cultivator with deep schemes and considerable cultivation, had revealed the same fervent eagerness as the young woman upon hearing that Han Li possessed Youth-Accelerating Pills. This gave Han Li a thorough understanding of just how much women valued their appearance.

Nevertheless, this also meant the selling price for the Youth-Accelerating Pills far exceeded his expectations.

Originally, he had thought he might trade them for at most two thousand spirit stones. But the two women opened with an offer that left him greatly satisfied, and he was certainly not foolish enough to haggle further. It seemed fortunate that the pavilion’s managers were women; had they been men, a few hundred spirit stones would have been a generous deal.

After the transaction, Madam Lan, now somewhat recovered from her fervor, could not help but ask about the pills’ origin. Han Li casually dismissed her with an, “I obtained them by chance.”

As Han Li left the Star Dust Pavilion, he felt a twinge of reluctance.

He knew that since the pavilion could so easily produce such rare items as the Red Thread Light-Speed Needles and the pill formula, it surely possessed even more precious treasures. But he simply could not bring out any more pills or spirit herbs to trade. The danger of revealing his wealth was a risk he understood all too well.

With a regretful sigh, Han Li found an inn in the market town that catered to resting cultivators and settled in for the night.

For the remainder of the day, he focused on meditation and qi cultivation, preparing to seek out Old Xu the following day to have his magic tool refined.

The next morning, Han Li arrived at the refining shop as agreed.

Old Xu had already been waiting for some time. As soon as he saw Han Li enter, he eagerly greeted him and led him toward the back courtyard. Han Li gave a faint smile and followed him inside.

......

Over half a month later, Han Li finally emerged from the shop.

But unlike the hopeful expression he had worn upon entering, his face was now covered in a veil of gloom, as if his mood was exceedingly foul.

Behind him, Old Xu followed with a look of shame, muttering something under his breath as he trailed after Han Li.

Han Li let out a long breath, his mood seeming to improve slightly. He then said a few kind words to Old Xu before slowly making his way out of the market town, leaving behind the bewildered old man.

Soon after, Han Li exited the market’s restrictive formation and flew directly toward Xin Ruyin’s nameless hill on his Divine Wind Boat.

Standing on the Divine Wind Boat, Han Li’s expression sank once more. This was all due to the repeated failures in refining over the past half month.

He had grossly overestimated Old Xu’s refining skill. The man had ruined seven or eight out of ten of the precious materials, producing only a single set of magic tools. And the materials from the mantis demon beast, which Han Li had valued most, had been completely destroyed in the process.

This left Han Li feeling bitter with regret afterward, nearly overcome with the impulse to unsheathe his magic tool and give Old Xu a good strike.

But in the end, considering how ashamed the old man already appeared, he let the matter go. Before leaving, he even managed a few kind words of comfort.

With a sigh, Han Li slapped his storage pouch. Five pure-white flying knives shot out from the pouch, circling and hovering around him at irregular intervals.

Seeing this complete set of magic tools refined from the white spider’s limbs, Han Li’s mood improved slightly.

Although three of the leg segments had been ruined, and the armor he had envisioned making from the spider’s shell had also fallen through, at least the outcome was not a total loss like the giant mantis materials. This counted as a blessing within a misfortune! Han Li could only think this with a wry smile.

However, this refining experience had taught him a clear lesson: the rarer and more advanced the materials, the higher the refiner’s skill needed to be. After all, with the same person, had not most of the ink flood dragon materials been successfully refined last time?

As he flew, Han Li wore a contemplative expression.

A few days later, Han Li once again appeared in the sky above the nameless hill.

This time, before he could even send a sound transmission talisman, the white mist enveloped by the formation parted to allow him passage automatically.

Seeing this, Han Li smiled. He knew that Xin Ruyin must have been waiting for his return these past two days as well, for the appointed day was nearly upon them.

Before long, Han Li sat down on a bamboo chair inside the bamboo hut. Across from him sat Xin Ruyin, dressed still in plain clothes, with a faint smile on her face.

“Senior Han, your timing is perfect. I only finished repairing the ancient teleportation array yesterday. If you follow the diagrams when restoring it, you will be able to return the ancient array to normal operation,” Xin Ruyin said calmly, taking out a jade slip and handing it to him.

For her, repairing an ancient teleportation array had been a worthy challenge, and she felt a measure of joy at having succeeded.

Han Li took the jade slip, his heart filled with delight. Rarely, he allowed a hint of undisguised joy to appear on his face.

Although he had no immediate plans to use the ancient teleportation array, it was certainly a backup route to consider.

He immersed his spiritual sense into the jade slip for a brief glance. Indeed, it contained a complete restoration method for the ancient teleportation array, along with a detailed step-by-step guide.

“Miss Xin, I am in your debt.”

Han Li did not launch into a long speech of gratitude. Instead, he offered a sincere word of thanks before carefully storing the jade slip.

“It was nothing. I myself was quite interested in this ancient teleportation array,” Xin Ruyin said with a faint smile.

But then, as if remembering something, she pulled out a small storage pouch and handed it over, speaking slowly:

“I have at most a year or two of life left. These several sets of formation banners and plates that Brother Qi and I refined together will no longer be used. I will give them all to you, Senior Han. I hope they may be of some help in your future cultivation!”

Hearing Xin Ruyin present him with such a generous gift and speak of it so lightly, Han Li was momentarily taken aback. He then gazed deeply at her for a few moments.

After a long silence, he stood up, accepted the storage pouch with both hands, and said solemnly:

“Although I, Han Li, am neither a benevolent gentleman nor a chivalrous hero, I will make you another promise now: once my strength has grown enough to destroy the Fu Clan, I will see to it that the Fu family is erased from the cultivation world.” His words at this moment were utterly serious.

Xin Ruyin smiled at this. She knew her purpose in offering such a generous gift had been achieved.

The harder someone like Han Li was to persuade, the more he valued the promises he made from the heart.

“Senior, if you have no urgent matters, you are welcome to stay a few more days at my humble abode. Xin Ruyin would very much like to discuss the Dao of formations with you,” she said, her expression calm.

......

Three days later, Han Li flew out from the nameless hill on his magic tool, heading straight for the nearby cultivator gathering site—White Pool Mountain.

There, rogue cultivators and members of immortal clans often gathered to exchange gossip about the cultivation world, and occasionally to trade goods as well.

Han Li’s purpose was to glean information from this place: just how dire the situation had become in the Yue Kingdom’s cultivation world, and whether the Seven Sects still had a chance to turn things around.

Only after obtaining this intelligence could Han Li truly decide on his next course of action.

And the next gathering was set to occur very soon.

White Pool Mountain was not very far from Xin Ruyin’s nameless hill. Xin Ruyin and Qi Yunxiao had attended a few gatherings there in the past. Of course, such local, minor gatherings were mostly attended by Qi Condensation cultivators; Foundation Establishment cultivators rarely visited.

A day later, Han Li arrived at the so-called White Pool Mountain.

The mountain was quite vast, consisting of three peaks of varying sizes. The tallest and most perilous was the western peak, the very place where cultivators gathered.

The streak of white light that was Han Li shot directly toward the summit of this peak.