Stirrings Beyond the Seas – The Wonderful Sound Sect

Chapter 405: Stirrings Beyond the Seas – The Wonderful Sound Sect

Just as Han Li was lost in thought within his bedroom, his expression flickered. He turned and walked outside.

When he arrived at the entrance of his cave residence, which had been sealed and untouched for years, he saw at a glance seven or eight transmission talismans of various colors trapped within the restrictive formation before his gate, crashing about randomly like headless flies.

Witnessing this scene, Han Li’s brows lifted. He produced his prohibition token and uttered a single word, “Collect.” Instantly, these talismans, as if granted amnesty, shot into his hand.

Without leaving the spot, Han Li calmly examined each one in turn.

A small half of these transmission talismans were congratulatory messages from Core Formation cultivators living nearby. Another portion were recruitment offers from several large and small organizations. Some were willing to offer him an honorary position as an Elder. Others proposed a generous hiring fee of rare treasures. One even opened by offering a pair of peerless beauties as serving girls, a gift meant to tempt him into their ranks.

Hearing these contents, Han Li rolled his eyes inwardly.

He would politely reply to the talismans from the Core Formation cultivators. As for those from the various organizations, he directly declined them all.

He was not naive enough to think that entering the Core Formation stage meant he could rest easy. It was better to spend some time stabilizing his cultivation realm and continue to keep a low profile!

In the days that followed, Han Li began to frequently visit the cave dwellings of several nearby Core Formation cultivators, humbly seeking their advice on matters one needed to pay attention to after entering the Core Formation stage.

Since the questions he asked didn’t touch on any secrets, these cultivators were quite happy to spare a word or two of guidance in their casual conversation, which brought Han Li no small benefit.

However, these cultivators also expressed great envy that Han Li had managed to maintain such a youthful appearance even after forming his core.

After all, unless one was born with exceptional talent or, like Han Li, had a multitude of spirit medicines to assist in cultivation, most cultivators were already well advanced in age by the time they formed their core. Even if their lifespan was greatly increased after Core Formation, their appearance would not revert to what it looked like in their youth. At most, the rate of aging would be drastically slowed from then on.

Of course, some cultivators practiced techniques that inherently had the wondrous effect of preserving youth, allowing them to remain as young as a boy or girl even after Core Formation.

Han Li was not one to hoard his treasures this time. He immediately used a few of the Youth-Accelerating Pills in his possession to exchange for some rare items from them, leaving everyone pleased with the arrangement.

After several such exchanges, although Han Li could not yet call these people close friends, he had at least become familiar with them. They would address each other as “Fellow Daoist” or “Brother,” and their interactions were quite amicable.

During this period, Han Li simultaneously refined the “Green Emperor Sword” and searched far and wide for materials to refine his own true treasure and third-grade puppets.

There were many materials that could be used to refine a treasure, and the methods of refinement were even more varied and bizarre, each different from the next. When the same amount of time and effort was spent on nurturing them, a treasure made from superior materials would possess vastly different power and far greater potential for growth than one made from ordinary materials. Furthermore, even if the same materials were used, different secret methods for refining the same type of treasure could result in drastically different power and effects.

Therefore, aside from some common treasure-refining methods known to all, any secret method that was even slightly special would not be easily leaked by sects or factions.

But this was not to say that if one had the best materials and the best refining method, the treasure would certainly be invincible once it was completed. A treasure’s true power depended, most of all, on the cultivator who refined it, and their continuous nurturing and nourishment of it within their Nascent Soul. If the treasure’s owner was lazy and unwilling to spend time on it, it was perfectly normal for a rare treasure to be inferior to an ordinary one.

As for the “Azure Bamboo Cloudswarm Swords” that Han Li intended to refine, as the name implied, the main material had to be several-thousand-year-old spirit bamboo. Originally, with the vial’s ability to accelerate growth, it would have been easy for Han Li to obtain this material if he was willing to spend some time. However, he had not bothered with ordinary bamboo. Instead, he wanted to find some legendary, exotic bamboo species to use as the main material for refining his treasure.

As a result, Han Li had been camping out at the Heavenly Star City market right up to the present, but he had yet to find a type that satisfied him. Although he was feeling a bit anxious inwardly, Han Li stuck to the principle of rather going without than using something inferior, and he temporarily shelved the matter of refining his treasure.

Fortunately, he still had the “Green Emperor Sword” and a few Talisman Treasures to protect himself, so he was safe for the time being!

Since he couldn’t start refining his treasure, Han Li naturally turned his attention to making new puppets.

According to what was recorded in the Puppet Daoist Canon, the full-powered strike of a third-grade puppet was equivalent to that of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator. The materials required for their refinement were also correspondingly more expensive, and several different forms of puppets had appeared.

After careful consideration, Han Li chose a monkey-shaped puppet primarily made of wood.

This type of puppet required a much greater age of ironwood, and a rare Heaven Crystal Wood had to be mixed in during the refinement process. However, since they were all wooden materials, Han Li could naturally use the Green Liquid to accelerate their growth, greatly reducing the cost.

But even so, the other auxiliary materials that were also upgraded in grade still amounted to an astronomical sum. Furthermore, the number of puppets he could currently control had also increased, making the total expenditure even more staggering.

Although this expenditure of spirit stones hadn’t bankrupted Han Li, after gathering all the materials, he had become as poor as a church mouse once again.

With no other choice, Han Li was forced to sell off another portion of his rare fifth-grade demon beast materials to alleviate his financial straits.

Yet Han Li hadn’t expected that, despite his extreme caution, this release of materials would still catch the attention of someone sharp-eyed.

One day, after he had just finished a transaction with a small merchant from out of town and was about to return to his cave dwelling, he was stopped on the street by a sweet-looking young girl.

“Are you Senior Han? My mistress invites you to a meeting at the Clear Springs Teahouse not far from here. Would you do us the honor, Senior? If you don’t come, this little girl will be severely punished by my mistress!” The girl said, her expression pitiful.

“Not interested!” Han Li shot a glance at the girl, then refused without any hesitation.

He could tell at a glance that this girl, though only at the Qi Condensation stage, seemed to have cultivated some kind of charm technique and was tactlessly trying to use it on him. Naturally, he wouldn’t give her a good response.

Hearing Han Li’s words, the sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl became somewhat flustered and hurriedly began to plead.

“Senior Han! If you don’t go, this junior really won’t be able to face my mistress. Please, I beg you…”

Before the girl could finish, Han Li’s expression turned cold, and he turned to leave. He had no idea who this person was, and he had no interest in meeting a strange woman.

“Senior Han, please wait! This junior, Fan Jingmei of the Wonderful Sound Sect, pays her respects to Senior Han. I have failed to discipline my disciple well. Lian’er was just very rude; I hope Senior will forgive her!”

Han Li had only taken two steps after brushing off the girl when a sweet woman’s voice came from behind him. He couldn’t help but stop and turn his head for a look.

He saw that, appearing beside the girl as if from nowhere, was a woman wearing a light veil over her head. Although her features were not clearly visible, her skin was as white as snow, her jet-black hair was glossy and tied up in a high bun, and her two bright eyes were as clear as water, staring fixedly at Han Li.

“I do not know you, madam. If you have something to say, say it quickly. Han still has to return to his residence for cultivation!” Han Li said expressionlessly, his words carrying a tone of rejection.

The woman calling herself “Fan Jingmei” was momentarily stunned by this, but quickly let out a light laugh.

“Since Senior Han is so straightforward, I will speak plainly. Senior, you have recently been selling large quantities of rare demon beast materials, have you not? Our sect is very interested in these materials and wishes to have a thorough discussion with you. However, there are many eyes and ears here. Why not follow me to a quiet room in the teahouse for a talk?”

Hearing her explanation and invitation, Han Li squinted his eyes and stared intently at the woman for a good long while, staring until a look of bashfulness appeared in her eyes, before he said stiffly, “Fine. Lead the way.”

“Thank you for honoring us, Senior. This way, please, Senior Han!” A hint of joy appeared in the woman’s eyes. She immediately took light, graceful steps forward, and the young girl followed behind her, looking dejected.

Although the girl was walking ahead, she couldn’t help but turn her head and steal another glance, meeting Han Li’s eyes. This frightened the girl, Lian’er, who quickly turned her jade-white neck back, a rosy blush rising to her ears.

This brought a faint, somewhat amused expression to Han Li’s face, and he was secretly a little tickled.

The teahouse the woman from the Wonderful Sound Sect mentioned was not far away. After a short while, Han Li followed them into a certain pavilion building that had a huge banner with the word “Tea” hanging from it.

There were not many people drinking tea at this time. A middle-aged man who had been tasting his tea immediately stood up and quickly approached the women as they entered, saying, “Aunt-Master, the room has been prepared! You may go in with the guest.”

“Good. You will stand guard outside,” Fan Jingmei ordered calmly.

“Understood!”

Under the middle-aged man’s guidance, the two women and Han Li ascended to the second floor and entered an elegant, private room.

Inside, a gray-robed old man was already present, unhurriedly brewing a pot of hot, steaming tea. He did not even lift his eyelids when Han Li and the others entered.