Seclusion and Storm Clouds

The doors to the alchemy chamber remained sealed for three full years.

When Han Li finally walked out calmly one day, all the demon cores had already been transformed into various rare and precious pills.

For the first two years, Han Li naturally devoted all his time to refining pills primarily made from fifth-grade demon cores.

Although these pills no longer had any significant effect on him at his current stage, any single one of them, if it fell into the hands of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, would be something that would drive them wild with joy—a dream they would never dare to hope for.

Through the process of refining these pills, Han Li managed to elevate his mastery of alchemy to yet another level.

After all, even a genuine master alchemist would not have the opportunity to squander so many demon cores for practice.

An ordinary alchemist would consider it an extraordinary feat if they could use thirty or forty demon cores for pill refinement in their entire lifetime.

Although the refinement methods for each type of pill differed considerably, there were always some common principles that Han Li could draw upon for reference.

Thus, after multiple rounds of refining these rare pills, Han Li’s alchemy skill was forcibly elevated to a level even slightly above that of a so-called master alchemist.

As a result, when Han Li later used sixth- and seventh-grade demon cores, his success rate naturally increased by a fair margin.

This brought Han Li immense relief.

Otherwise, given the rarity of sixth- and seventh-grade pills, even Han Li would be reluctant to waste them carelessly.

After finishing his alchemy, Han Li rested for a month.

During this time, Han Li made several trips to the insect chambers to check on both the tri-colored Gold Devourer Beetles and the original, un-evolved Gold Devourer Beetles.

While he was in the alchemy chamber, he had his puppets take turns feeding the two types of Gold Devourer Beetles with the fully unfurled Rainbow Tail Grass.

The result was a piece of extremely bad news for Han Li.

Although the tri-colored Gold Devourer Beetles still consumed the Rainbow Tail Grass without issue, the grass seemed to have lost its special potency—the one that once made them restless and excited. After consuming it, there was not the slightest abnormal reaction.

At first, Han Li suspected it was because too little time had passed or that there were too many Gold Devourer Beetles, making the grass’s effects less apparent.

So, with suspicion in his heart, he had several hundred tri-colored Gold Devourer Beetles isolated and fed exclusively on this grass, carefully observing any changes in their behavior.

But after several feedings, the Gold Devourer Beetles were exactly the same as before, showing no unusual reactions whatsoever.

This left Han Li feeling deeply unsettled.

He could now conclude with certainty that the Rainbow Tail Grass had truly lost its miraculous reproduction-accelerating effect on the evolved Gold Devourer Beetles.

Although he did not understand the mystery behind it, there was no doubt that he had lost the method to rapidly breed and advance this batch of beetles.

These insects could now only be used one at a time, with no replacements in sight.

For now, he had no choice but to return to his old ways, having the puppets concentrate the Rainbow Tail Grass on feeding the un-evolved silver-gold Gold Devourer Beetles.

These beetles were growing increasingly restless, a sign that their next reproduction was not far off.

After handling all of this, Han Li regrouped his mindset and entered the secluded cultivation chamber.

With the aid of various pills, he planned to first master the eighth layer of the Azure Origin Sword Art, in preparation for breaking through to the mid-Core Formation stage.

Seated cross-legged on a meditation mat in the chamber, Han Li retrieved a pre-prepared medicine bottle from his storage pouch.

He then poured out a dragon-eye-sized pill radiating a faint red light, brought it to his mouth, tilted his head back, and swallowed it.

Feeling the medicinal power beginning to warm within his abdomen, Han Li silently recited the eighth-layer sword formula and slowly closed his eyes.

…

Time passed like a shuttle; the years were merciless.

With Han Li wholly focused on cultivating his sword formula and magical power within the cave, time slipped by unnoticed.

The process of continuously consuming pills and then refining their potency into spiritual power was excruciatingly monotonous.

Fortunately, Han Li’s single-minded desire was to master his technique and gain the ability to protect himself, and with that mindset, he did not find it overly oppressive.

Fifteen or sixteen years passed in the blink of an eye.

Han Li finally broke through the bottleneck of mid-Core Formation and successfully cultivated the eighth layer of the Azure Origin Sword Art.

In his excitement, he was not in a hurry to immediately emerge from seclusion. Since he still had a large surplus of pills remaining, he naturally would not stop his refinement.

Thus, having just entered mid-Core Formation, Han Li forced himself to calm down and continue cultivating the ninth-layer sword formula.

The ninth layer was naturally several times more difficult than the eighth.

Spring passed and winter came; autumn yielded to summer; year after year went by.

The doors to the secluded cultivation chamber remained tightly shut without a sign of opening. A thick layer of dust had begun to settle over everything inside the cave.

It was as if this place had gradually become an ancient tomb.

…

It was a calm morning over the sea near the Fog Sea region. Some early-rising seabirds were circling at low altitude over the water, occasionally letting out sharp cries. Everywhere, there was a scene of tranquility.

But moments later, flashes of light flickered at the distant horizon. Several beams of cyan and red light came streaking toward the Fog Sea like wind and lightning.

After a short while, the figures within the distant light could finally be made out. They were three women and two men—several cultivators fleeing at full speed in this direction.

Among them, the only one with Foundation Establishment cultivation was a middle-aged man in his forties. The other four were all Qi Condensation cultivators, between seventeen and twenty-three years of age, extremely young!

These people rushed forward in a panic, constantly looking back as if something were chasing them.

In the blink of an eye, they had arrived near the Fog Sea.

“Uncle Sun! There’s a sea fog ahead. Let’s rest there for a while! Otherwise, before those things catch up, we’ll all collapse first.” Among the five, a young woman in yellow, only fifteen or sixteen years old, spoke to the middle-aged man somewhat breathlessly.

The young woman had a round face, large, pitch-black eyes, and a slightly chubby appearance that made her look quite adorable.

But right now, her face was covered in sweat and pale, clearly showing that her magical power was on the verge of exhaustion.

“This…”

The middle-aged man was momentarily taken aback. He glanced at the other three men and women and saw that while their condition was somewhat better, they were not much stronger.

“Fine. Let’s recover a bit of magical power in the sea fog and then leave immediately. Even if we shake those fellows off by some distance, they will still pursue us relentlessly. It’s better to be cautious. If they really catch up, we won’t have the slightest chance of survival.” The middle-aged man hesitated, looked back again, and then reluctantly agreed.

These words immediately brought looks of joy to the faces of the young men and women.

Their cultivation bases were simply too shallow. To have flown continuously all the way here was already an extreme stretch. Even though they knew that stopping now was extremely dangerous, they could no longer care.

Changing direction, they flew toward the sea fog.

“This sea fog is really thick. Maybe if we stay here for a while, we can fool those guys following us!” A sturdy young man in his twenties said with pleasant surprise as soon as he entered the sea fog.

“Don’t get your hopes up. Although I don’t know what method they’re using to track us so persistently, it’s definitely not something a little sea fog can fool. Fly lower and see if there’s any reef or such below where we can rest. Meditating is a faster way to recover magical power.” The middle-aged man did not mince words in his rebuttal. The sturdy young man’s face reddened slightly as he took the lead and dove downward.

The others naturally dared not lag behind and quickly followed.

“Hey! There’s an island here!” After a moment, the yellow-clad girl suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

There was no need for her reminder; the others had already clearly seen the island hidden beneath the thick fog. They looked at each other in bewilderment.

“There won’t be any demon beasts on it, right?” A young female cultivator in a blue dress, with an ordinary appearance, said somewhat fearfully.

“It shouldn’t be that coincidental. Besides, we can’t afford to care anymore. Let’s quickly go to the island and recover our magical power!” The middle-aged man was a bit hesitant at first, but then made up his mind.

Seeing this, the others had nothing more to say. Together, they lightly descended onto the small island.

“The spiritual energy over there seems pretty good. Let’s meditate there!” As soon as his feet touched the ground, the middle-aged man released his spiritual sense to sense the island’s condition, then pointed in a certain direction with a look of pleasant surprise.

The direction he indicated was precisely where the island’s only small mountain range was located.

Upon hearing this, the young men and women perked up.

Without another word, the middle-aged man took the lead and flew over. The other four cultivators hurriedly followed.

Being able to recover even a bit more magical power now could mean the difference between life and death. Naturally, they would not pass up this rare location with spiritual energy.

After a short while, they arrived at the small, verdant mountain range.

Casually picking a low peak, they each gripped a spirit stone in both hands, sat down cross-legged without delay, and began to absorb the dense spiritual energy around them.

(I finally finished typing this chapter. Time for me to sleep too! Hope everyone can support me with their recommendation tickets!)