Chapter 233: Planting Bean Soldiers

“I see. Aside from being used in battle, what other purposes do these Dao soldiers serve?” Han Li nodded and asked.

“Depending on their origin, Dao soldiers often possess special talents and obey their master’s commands without question, showing no fear of death. If you have enough of them, you can form various formations, making them a most powerful aid for us immortals—invincible in every endeavor.” Hu Yan长老 shook his head and replied.

“Since Dao soldiers have so many advantages, wouldn’t everyone want them? Why have I rarely seen anyone using them outside?” Han Li asked, puzzled.

“Heh, do you think Dao soldiers are something ordinary immortals can afford? If everyone had them, they wouldn’t be so rare. You see, cultivating Dao soldiers requires vast resources and energy, along with a bit of luck. Not every immortal has the capital or ability to cultivate them. Even bean soldiers, considered low-grade planting-type Dao soldiers, are possessed by only a few in the entire Candle Dragon Sect,” Hu Yan长老 explained with a chuckle.

“Thank you for your guidance, Elder Hu Yan. I am much obliged. As for the art of refining Dao soldiers…” Han Li bowed and said.

“Alright, since you gave me that wine recipe, I’ll give you some of my insights on planting bean soldiers. But remember, don’t spread them! Oh, and I quite like these two gold-threaded琉璃 cups; consider them a tribute from you, boy.” Hu Yan长老 first put on a stern face, then gave a sly smile.

With that, without waiting for Han Li’s agreement, he lightly brushed his hand over the table and put away the two gold-threaded琉璃 cups.

At the same time, a thin yellow paper booklet appeared on the table.

Though a bit speechless, Han Li had come to understand the old man’s temperament, so he said nothing. He picked up the thin booklet, flipped through a few pages, and carefully put it away.

The unremarkable yellow paper booklet indeed contained content on planting bean soldiers, and it seemed to be Hu Yan长老’s unique insights on the subject. He could study it carefully when he returned.

“Thank you, Senior.” He bowed sincerely to the old man.

“Enough, enough. We’ve each gained something; we’re even. I’m busy now and don’t have time for you. Go about your business.” Hu Yan长老 waved his hand.

Han Li acknowledged and took his leave.

After leaving the Tai Xuan Hall, he went directly back to Red Cloud Peak.

Upon entering his cave residence, he went straight to the small spirit medicine garden.

The garden was already planted with many spirit medicines, and the giant ape puppet responsible for tending them stood guard by the ridges.

Han Li went to a vacant plot in the southwest corner, crouched down, and dug a shallow pit in the soft soil with his hands. With a flick of his wrist, he took out a walnut-sized soybean, dropped it in, then pushed the surrounding soil back to fill the pit.

This soybean was the mother bean he had obtained from the Yellow Turban Giant back in the Jingyuan Temple of the Spirit Realm.

According to the thin booklet Hu Yan长老 had given him, after being planted, bean soldiers take a considerable amount of time to germinate and sprout, but exactly how long could not be determined.

Different types of bean soldiers, or even different individuals of the same type, vary in their germination cycles, which is closely related to the quality of the bean soldier itself, the soil, and the spirit liquid used.

Speaking of spirit liquid, the liquid from his own Heaven-holding Vase should be the best choice.

However, since he had used it all to accelerate the growth of spirit medicines, the liquid in the small vase was depleted. He would have to wait until the next condensation of liquid before he could use it for watering.

After doing this, Han Li glanced at the other spirit medicines nearby. Under the giant ape puppet’s irrigation, a few plants were nearing fifty thousand years in age.

These spirit medicines were now usable, but he had no suitable pill formulas on hand.

Though there were ways to obtain pill formulas within the sect, alchemy was a skill perfected through practice. Pills beneficial for advancing cultivation in the True Immortal realm were certainly difficult to refine. With his alchemy skills, he could attempt it, but he would inevitably fail several times before succeeding.

With the spirit stones and immortal essence stones he currently had, he was relatively wealthy among True Immortals of the same rank. But once he started refining pills, it might not be enough.

He still had many low- and mid-grade magic treasures and materials. He needed to plan how to sell them in batches to prepare as much as possible for alchemy.

But before that, there were a few matters to handle.

Thinking this, he returned to the secret chamber.

After sitting cross-legged, Han Li flipped his hand, and a delicate storage bracelet appeared in his palm. With a spell, a pile of colorful items appeared before him.

This storage bracelet was taken from the unidentified True Immortal elder who had appeared in the Xuanbing Mountain Range.

Speaking of which, that old man’s origins were unknown. He seemed to have some information about the whereabouts of Bai Suyuan’s little girl’s ancestor. His appearance to kidnap Bai Suyuan was also a mystery.

It was a pity he hadn’t managed to capture the other’s nascent soul; otherwise, he could have thoroughly investigated through soul search.

As Han Li thought this, he skillfully sorted the spirit stones, immortal essence stones, magic treasures, and materials into categories and put them away. Soon, only three items remained on the ground.

A large piece of dark gold metal covered with patterns, and two jade boxes, each sealed with several glowing white talismans, indicating the contents were extraordinary.

He first picked up the dark gold metal, which was the size of a watermelon. It was identical to the few pieces of gold ore he had obtained earlier from the Mirage Beast.

Han Li looked at the metal in his hand, curiosity stirring within him.

The Mirage Beast had collected this item, and the unidentified True Immortal elder also had it in his storage artifact. It seemed this metal had some special use.

After a moment’s thought, he put the metal away. He hadn’t paid much attention to it before, but now he needed to find someone to appraise it and see what it really was.

Next, Han Li picked up one jade box. A burst of green light shone from his hand as he pointed at the talismans on it.

The white talismans seemed to sense the threat and all emitted dazzling white light, trying to resist his action.

Han Li sneered and flicked his finger.

Several green sword beams shot out, instantly transforming into several green sword threads that wrapped around the white talismans and twisted sharply.

With a crack!

The white talismans broke into several pieces, losing all their spiritual nature.

He smiled faintly and opened the jade box.

Inside was a white token, palm-sized, with a peculiar shape—rather long and thin, and not neatly made, as if a child had casually carved it from jade.

Han Li picked up the token and brought it close to his eyes for a careful look.

The token’s material was crystal clear, with a layer of soft crystalline light on its surface. It was no ordinary item, and he couldn’t identify the material.

Since it had been stored so carefully, it must be significant.

However, after examining it thoroughly with several techniques and secret arts, he still found nothing.

He shook his head, put the white token back in the jade box, and stored it away.

Since he couldn’t figure it out, he would deal with it later.

Finally, Han Li picked up the other jade box and similarly broke the sealing talismans on it.

Inside was a yellowed booklet that looked very old, its pages seemingly made of some kind of animal hide.

Han Li picked up the booklet, flipped through it roughly, then shook his head, closed it, and put it back in the jade box.

The booklet had no cover, so its name was unknown, but its contents seemed to be a text on artifact refining, containing many techniques for strengthening and refining magic treasures, though somewhat unorthodox.

He still had many matters to attend to; he would study it later when he had free time.

Han Li put this jade box away as well, formed a hand seal, and the Heavy Water True Wheel appeared, hovering before him.

With blue light flickering in his eyes, he reached out and beckoned. A small mass of heavy water flew out from the True Water Bag and drifted toward the black true wheel.

The true wheel was spinning slowly, its surface emitting a dark, deep light.

When the heavy water approached the true wheel, the water dao patterns on the wheel immediately lit up with water-blue light, emitting a faint law power.

The attracting force that had appeared during the battle with Bai Ri and that True Immortal elder reappeared, and the suspended heavy water was instantly absorbed by the Heavy Water True Wheel with a whoosh.

Though slight, the Heavy Water True Wheel became a bit heavier again.

Seeing this, Han Li was delighted. The Heavy Water True Wheel could indeed continue to absorb heavy water.

He waved his hand again, and a bucket’s worth of heavy water surged out, pouring down from the void onto the Heavy Water True Wheel.

The water dao patterns on the Heavy Water True Wheel shone with intense blue light, drinking in the heavy water like a cow drinking water, quickly consuming most of it.

Just then, a sudden change occurred.

The water dao patterns flickered wildly a few times, then suddenly dimmed and stopped absorbing.

The spiritual connection between the Heavy Water True Wheel and him suddenly diminished by half, becoming intermittent. The true wheel lost its support and fell from midair toward the ground.

Han Li was quick-eyed and caught the true wheel, preventing it from hitting the ground.

But his arm was pulled down heavily; having absorbed so much heavy water, the wheel was much heavier than before.

“What’s going on?” Han Li muttered to himself in confusion.

Though initially just for camouflage, after testing, he found the Heavy Water True Wheel to be quite powerful in battle and might prove useful later. He didn’t want anything to happen to it.