Stirring Winds Beyond the Seas; Years Lost in Cultivation

Chapter 380: Stirring Winds Beyond the Seas; Years Lost in Cultivation

Days passed one after another.

Day after day, Han Li did nothing but hasten the maturation of medicinal herbs, prepare the required “Yellow Dragon Pills” and “Golden Marrow Pills,” and then sit cross-legged to refine his qi, utterly immersed in bitter cultivation.

Naturally, he also made sure to regularly train the white spider and his other strange insects according to the insect-raising notes of the Imperial Spirit Sect cultivator; this counted as his sole pleasure amidst the training.

As Han Li himself had estimated, within a little over a year he had broken through to the ninth layer of the Qi Condensation stage. Compared to his past speed, it was almost as fast as flying.

But Han Li was still somewhat dissatisfied with this pace. Once he reached the ninth layer, he steeled himself and took three Foundation Establishment Pills in succession, one after another.

Borrowing the immense medicinal power, Han Li re-entered the Foundation Establishment stage in roughly another year.

Now, he could finally use Innate True Fire.

Thus, Han Li immediately stopped concocting low-grade pills and began to refine the several types of pills suitable for the Foundation Establishment stage according to their formulas.

According to Han Li’s calculations, aside from the “Qi Refining Powder,” which had little effect on him due to excessive consumption, the pills from the other three formulas should be enough to advance his cultivation to the late Foundation Establishment stage without issue.

However, following his original plan, Han Li did not immediately deepen his cultivation. Instead, he stockpiled pills and switched to cultivating the “Great Derivative Art,” preparing for the refinement of his “External Incarnation.”

Back then, Han Li’s cultivation of the first layer of the “Great Derivative Art” went surprisingly smoothly, taking only half a year to complete.

This gave Han Li some confidence. He understood that, although his talent for comprehending the Five Elemental spells was poor, he possessed no small talent in the “Great Derivative Art.” Thus, he held considerable confidence in his ability to master the second layer.

According to the half-manual of the “Great Derivative Art,” once the second layer was complete, his divine sense would be amplified several times over, and he would be able to split his mind into over a hundred separate strands. At this stage, when the technique was combined with puppet arts, the true terrifying power of the “Great Derivative Art” would finally reveal itself.

Although he knew the second layer would definitely be much harder to cultivate than the first, the time it consumed still far exceeded Han Li’s expectations.

What he had initially thought would take two to three years to master ultimately took six full years of day-and-night, single-minded cultivation before he barely succeeded.

That was nearly half again as long as expected, leaving Han Li extremely frustrated!

And during this period, the torment of forcibly tempering his divine sense—the splitting headaches and throbbing temples—was enough to make Han Li’s face change color at the memory. It was truly a lingering fear.

Also, in the third year of cultivating the “Great Derivative Art,” the disciple of the middle-aged Ascension Pavilion cultivator who had suffered greatly at Han Li’s hands over the qualifications for the large island trade mission arrived, bearing his master’s orders to challenge Han Li once more on Little Whirlpool Island.

The result? The fellow was first trapped inside Han Li’s great formation for three days and three nights, only discovered and released when Han Li happened to emerge from seclusion.

You see, due to the immense difficulty of cultivating the “Great Derivative Art,” Han Li had already forgotten about this matter entirely.

Confronting Han Li, whose true cultivation was concealed by the nameless aura-concealing technique, this cultivator—already somewhat agitated from being trapped by the array for several days—was naturally defeated just decisively enough. Han Li made him believe it was merely due to superior magic tools. The man then departed in chagrin.

Three more years passed after this incident. Having mastered the second layer of the “Great Derivative Art,” Han Li prepared to cultivate the secret art of “External Incarnation.”

He first spent several days in quiet recuperation, allowing his primordial spirit to reach its peak state. Then, he summoned Qu Hun into the sealed training chamber, where they sat cross-legged, face to face.

Han Li waved his hand, lowering the stone door to seal the chamber, and gazed silently at Qu Hun across from him for a long while without speaking.

Staring at Qu Hun’s ugly yet familiar face, a flood of mixed emotions surged within Han Li’s heart. He thought of many long-forgotten memories: the “Seven Mysteries Sect,” the Cinnabar Cloud Mountain Range, and a host of familiar figures…

But after exchanging a look with Qu Hun’s wooden, lifeless eyes, Han Li sighed. He no longer hesitated. His hands began to spin like windmills, forming incantation gestures, and a faint green light radiated from his body, casting the entire chamber in an emerald glow.

Soon, Han Li’s face twisted slightly within the green light. Tiny beads of sweat condensed on his forehead, and his eyes emitted a dazzling, piercing white light that made it impossible to look directly at him.

“Hai!”

With a sudden roar, Han Li formed a strange hand seal with both hands, then went completely still. However, from his nose, a ball of green light the size of a thumb emerged. This light sphere flew rapidly to Qu Hun’s nose and similarly burrowed into his body through his nostrils.

By now, Han Li’s face was deathly pale, and sweat the size of soybean kernels rolled down his face. Yet the white, piercing light in his eyes grew even more dazzling. Finally, two thin strands of white light shot directly from his eyes into Qu Hun’s eyes, which stared back at him. Both bodies trembled involuntarily…

The stone door of the training chamber remained sealed for over a month. It was not until the middle of the second month that the door slowly rose, and a haggard but deeply excited Han Li walked out.

The refinement of the incarnation had finally succeeded after much agonizing effort. Although he did not yet know its effectiveness, at least there was no sign of failed refinement or technique backlash, which allowed Han Li a great sigh of relief.

But no sooner had he emerged from the chamber than he entered another stone chamber to begin closed-door cultivation.

The ritual had also caused considerable damage to his vital energy. If he did not immediately take medicine and refine his qi, there was a real danger of his cultivation dropping back to the Qi Condensation stage.

As for the incarnation “Qu Hun,” since the split mind had not yet fully mastered the body, it had to remain in the chamber to continue its gradual adjustment and adaptation.

Within a few short months, Han Li had recovered his damaged vitality. But he did not emerge from seclusion; instead, he immediately began studying the cultivation method of the “Three Revolutions Heavy Origin Art.”

The method was clearly explained: When a cultivator’s cultivation reaches the late Foundation Establishment stage, they should disperse most of their cultivation base from the “Azure Origin Sword Art,” starting over from the early Foundation Establishment stage. Simultaneously, they must compress and condense their true essence, forcing their liquid true essence toward solidification, thereby reducing the bottleneck resistance encountered during Core Formation.

According to the conjecture of the master who created this technique, after repeating this cycle three times, there should be a fifty percent chance of forming a golden core.

When Han Li dispersed his cultivation, he had not actually reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. He had unexpectedly dispersed his cultivation while still in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

But he paid this no mind!

In Han Li’s view, the difference between dispersing cultivation in the late and mid-Foundation Establishment stages simply amounted to a matter of having slightly more or less true essence during the compression process.

As long as the overall principle of compressing and solidifying true essence remained unchanged, and he dispersed his cultivation from the late Foundation Establishment stage for the subsequent two cycles, there should be no major issues.

After spending several months in intensive study of the “Three Revolutions Heavy Origin Art,” Han Li felt he had thoroughly comprehended the technique. He then entered the chamber with a large supply of pills.

This time, he was determined: he would not leave his cave until he had mastered the first revolution of this technique and cultivated the Azure Origin Sword Art to the sixth layer.

As for Qu Hun, whose body was now fused, Han Li had him continuously take pills and cultivate his qi, preparing for Foundation Establishment.

Because Qu Hun’s spiritual roots were of the “Three Spiritual Roots” attribute—far superior to Han Li’s aptitude—with the aid of pills, his cultivation surged at a speed almost no slower than Han Li’s re-cultivation.

According to Han Li’s estimation, Qu Hun would be able to establish his foundation after just two years.

Furthermore, Han Li had long since selected a demonic technique from the grayish-white jade slip: the “Blood Refining Radiance” which the Yue Emperor had once cultivated, intending for Qu Hun to train in it after Foundation Establishment.

After all, he had witnessed firsthand how powerful this demonic technique was in the hands of the Yue Emperor.

As for the problem of lacking subsequent techniques for further advancement after Core Formation, Han Li did not pay it much mind.

Even if a Demonic Core was formed, Qu Hun, as an incarnation, could only maintain his cultivation at the early Core Formation stage. Whether there were follow-up techniques or not made no difference.

Han Li’s seclusion this time was truly lengthy!

As the saying goes, years are lost in cultivation. In the blink of an eye, over twenty years had passed.

Throughout that long span of time, Han Li had not taken a single step outside his cave, not once showing himself to the island’s residents.

As for Little Whirlpool Island, the arrival of this Immortal Master Han Li had almost no impact on the lives of the several hundred villagers in the town.

Those who fished, continued fishing. Those who farmed, continued farming.

Naturally, the two originally clearly visible mountain peaks were now shrouded in thick white mist, becoming vague and indistinct. The mortal residents of Little Whirlpool Island were somewhat unaccustomed to this at first.

But as months and years passed, the people of the town grew used to the sight and eventually paid it no mind at all.

However, the adults in town still warned the children of the household never to approach the white mist near the mountain peaks.

Because once a person stepped inside, they would become utterly lost, unable to find their way out. Only after being trapped for several days, suffering greatly, and shouting “Immortal Master Han!” several times would a path reappear, allowing them to escape.

After this happened a few times, the residents naturally learned their lesson, understanding that this Immortal Master Han did not appreciate being disturbed.

But so long as they didn’t approach the peaks, there was no problem with cutting firewood or picking fruit near the mountain foothills.

Furthermore, whenever the village’s protective formation lacked spirit stones, the town head simply shouted several times toward the mountain peak from outside the white mist. A tray bearing a year’s supply of spirit stones would automatically fly out from the mist, allowing the messenger to retrieve them. It was never delayed.

Naturally, after twenty years had passed, the original town head had already passed away. The current town head was Hei Gui, the dark-faced fisherman Han Li had met when he first arrived at Little Whirlpool Island. But his requests for spirit stones proved equally effective.

Thus, although the residents of Little Whirlpool Island could not be described as fervently devoted to this Immortal Master Han, the majority held a fairly good impression of him.

But on this day, Han Li finally emerged from his cave once more.