Chapter 315: The First Dao Lord

"It seems Elder Li has been in secluded cultivation recently; no wonder his aura feels much stronger. About a hundred years ago, Dao Lord Mu suddenly announced his emergence from seclusion and took several personal disciples on a trip to the Upper Abyss Continent. The extra spiritual materials here are precisely from the Upper Abyss Continent." Ye Nanfeng said with a smile.

"I see. By the way, I came this time to purchase some spiritual materials. I would trouble Elder Ye to take a look." Han Li nodded thoughtfully, then changed the subject, taking out a jade slip and handing it over.

"Hehe, every time Elder Li comes, he brings Ye a big business. The Immortal Herb Pavilion may not have much else, but its variety of spiritual materials is second to none in the entire Guyun Continent..." Ye Nanfeng took the jade slip, his divine sense sinking into it, but the smile on his face gradually faded.

Han Li observed the change in Ye Nanfeng's expression but showed no surprise.

"This... as far as I know, the pavilion currently has none of the materials Elder Li wishes to buy." After a long while, Ye Nanfeng shook his head and said.

"No matter. These spiritual materials are indeed hard to find. But Elder Ye has wide connections; if you have any news about these materials, you can also inform me, and I will surely reward you handsomely." Han Li said.

"To be honest, many of the spiritual materials on Elder Li's list are rare treasures that can only be encountered by chance, not sought. Some I only vaguely remember seeing in ancient texts. I'm afraid I lack the ability, though not the will. Of course, I will keep an eye out and inform Elder Li at the first opportunity if there is any news." Ye Nanfeng said somewhat awkwardly, but his tone remained very polite.

"Then I thank Elder Ye in advance." Han Li, hearing this, said nothing more and cupped his hands in salute.

These days, he had been searching everywhere for the remaining few spiritual materials needed to refine the Dao Pill, having exhausted almost all channels, yet still found nothing.

"Elder Li, don't be discouraged. Under normal circumstances, finding these materials would be extremely difficult, but now it may not be so." Ye Nanfeng suddenly thought of something and spoke again.

"Oh? What does Elder Ye mean by that?" Han Li's heart stirred, and he quickly asked.

"This matter has not yet spread within the sect, but as far as I know, in a few years, our sect's Dao Lord Baili will emerge from seclusion." Ye Nanfeng leaned close to Han Li and lowered his voice.

"The First Dao Lord?" Han Li was slightly startled upon hearing this.

Dao Lord Baili, Baili Yan, was the name of the First Dao Lord of the Candle Dragon Sect. It was said that he had long cultivated to the peak of the Golden Immortal realm, only one step away from the legendary Taiyi Jade Immortal.

However, this First Dao Lord was said to be in secluded cultivation all year round, comprehending the Great Dao. Many within the sect had only heard of him but never seen his true face.

"Elder Li only joined the sect in the last millennium, so it's normal not to know this. After all, the last time Dao Lord Baili emerged from seclusion was tens of thousands of years ago. According to tradition, every time he emerges, he holds a Dao Discourse Assembly. Not only will sect elders gather to attend, but many fellow cultivators from the entire North Cold Immortal Domain will also come to observe. Such a grand gathering of thousands of cultivators; therefore, before the assembly begins, there are usually auctions, exchange meetings, and the like. Perhaps the materials Elder Li needs might appear then." Ye Nanfeng said, his face even showing barely concealed excitement.

"I see. I never thought the sect would have such a grand event. Thank you for the guidance, Elder Ye." Han Li's eyes lit up as he nodded.

"It's just a piece of news. Besides, this matter will likely spread soon. You're too kind, Elder Li." Ye Nanfeng smiled.

Han Li smiled and didn't dwell on the matter. He flipped his hand and took out another jade slip, saying, "Elder Ye, besides those just now, I would also like to inquire whether the pavilion has these materials."

The jade slip contained the materials for a pill called the 'Ten Thousand Wheel Pill.'

The Ten Thousand Wheel Pill was suitable for late-stage True Immortal cultivators. The pill formula was also obtained from Ping Yaozi, but unfortunately, it was the only one.

He had now advanced to the late True Immortal stage, and his previous pills were no longer useful; he needed to find new pills.

This Ten Thousand Wheel Pill seemed to be no ordinary late True Immortal pill, and its required materials were quite extraordinary.

As early as several hundred years ago, he had forethoughtfully instructed Meng Yungui and others to search outside at all costs. But so far, they had only found three or four auxiliary materials, and none of the three main materials for the Ten Thousand Wheel Pill had been found.

"To be honest, Elder Li, these materials are also quite extraordinary. They must be for that Earth Alchemist friend of yours, right? In particular, the three main materials—Ten Thousand Wheel Fruit, Falling Petal Flower, and Blood Crystal Lotus Root—are extremely rare. The auxiliary materials can be gathered, but among the main materials, our Immortal Herb Pavilion only has the Falling Petal Flower." Ye Nanfeng took the jade slip, swept it with his divine sense, and said with a wry smile.

He had always prided himself on the Immortal Herb Pavilion's complete collection of various spiritual herbs and materials, but today he had been thwarted twice in a row.

"That's right. That friend of mine happened to obtain an ancient pill formula a few years ago, but the spiritual materials on it are nowhere to be found, so he asked me to inquire here. Since there are some, I'll take these first." Han Li nodded.

...

Half an hour later, Han Li walked out of the Immortal Herb Pavilion, a look of slight pain on his face.

The materials for the Ten Thousand Wheel Pill were extremely expensive. Although he only bought a few sets, they cost him a considerable amount of immortal jade. The Falling Petal Flower was the most expensive; a single plant of a mere thousand years cost fifteen immortal jade stones.

Fortunately, this flower could be cultivated and propagated later using the small bottle, so it wasn't a big problem.

Han Li did not linger outside any longer and immediately returned to Red Cloud Peak.

According to Ye Nanfeng, the First Dao Lord would emerge from seclusion in a few years, and it was very likely that the materials he needed would appear then, but the price would probably be steep.

He had spent a lot on alchemy in recent years.

Although he still had a considerable amount of immortal jade on him, it might not be enough; he needed to find a way to gather some more immortal jade.

Han Li sat down in the secret chamber, pondered for a moment, then let his divine sense sink into his storage pouch and waved his hand.

With a clatter, a pile of spiritual treasures, techniques, and other items shimmering with spiritual light appeared on the ground.

These were the relics of Zhong Luan and the other two. Although he had sold some before, a lot remained, yet to be dealt with. Time was limited, and doing tasks was obviously too slow. But if he disposed of all these items, he could raise a considerable amount of immortal jade in the short term.

Han Li flipped his hand and took out the tiger-head mask, put it on, summoned the formation plate, opened the trading interface, and placed these items one by one in the trading column. To sell them quickly, he set the prices slightly lower.

After handling these matters, he went to the medicine garden, took out a jade box containing several purple-black spiritual flowers, each with three petals, emitting a peculiar fragrance.

These were the Falling Petal Flowers. It was said that this flower only bears fruit after reaching thirty thousand years, and then seeds can be obtained from the fruit. For him, this was naturally not a problem.

He opened up a new area in the medicine garden and carefully planted the Falling Petal Flowers.

After doing this, Han Li returned to the entrance of the medicine garden, looking at the lush garden full of precious spiritual herbs, feeling somewhat emotional.

This garden had cost him untold effort, accumulated bit by bit, to reach its current scale.

It was also thanks to the support of this garden that his cultivation at the True Immortal realm had advanced so quickly.

After staying there for a while, he walked back to the secret chamber and sat down cross-legged.

Without the support of pills, continuing to cultivate would yield little progress, so he did not continue practicing the technique. Instead, he planned to continue comprehending the eight-and-a-half-line mantra to see if he could gain any other insights.

While Han Li was in secluded cultivation, the news that the First Dao Lord would emerge from seclusion and hold a Dao Discourse Assembly began to spread within the Candle Dragon Sect. Soon after, the sect officially announced the event, scheduled for seven years later.

As soon as the news broke, the entire Candle Dragon Sect erupted in excitement.

According to records, Dao Lord Baili had held eight Dao Discourse Assemblies in total; this would be the ninth. Each one was considered a grand event in the North Cold Immortal Domain.

The biggest feature of this grand event was that there were no restrictions on the identity of attendees. In other words, any disciple of the Candle Dragon Sect, even outer disciples, could go and listen. However, how much they could gain and comprehend was another matter.

It was said that this rule was personally set by the First Dao Lord back then, and it had been so for many years.

Some inner sect elders with high cultivation levels stuck at bottlenecks, as well as some personal disciples, were especially excited.

During the Dao Discourse Assembly, perhaps some profound true words might touch upon their cultivation difficulties and help them break through their current bottlenecks. It was said that many of the sect's native True Immortals owed their ability to stand out from thousands of cultivators and ultimately transcend tribulations to become immortals to this assembly.

Disciples below the Mahayana stage were also thrilled. To have the fortune in their lifetime to listen to a high-level immortal who had half-stepped into the Taiyi Jade Immortal realm personally expound the Dao was a great blessing!

Seven years passed in the blink of an eye.

This was a considerable period for mortals, but for cultivators, it might not even be as long as a single sitting in meditation.

With a loud "rumble," the door of the cave dwelling on Red Cloud Peak opened, and Han Li walked out slowly.

Although he had been in seclusion over the years, he had been closely monitoring the affairs within the sect.

The Dao Discourse Assembly of the First Dao Lord, Baili Yan, was just seven days away.

He could have emerged a few days earlier, but during his seclusion, while comprehending the eight-and-a-half-line mantra, he inadvertently gained insight into the sealing and concealment secret technique recorded in the "Separation Yuan Yin Demon Art."

After some comprehension and cultivation, he had only now achieved minor success.

Han Li muttered incantations, and as green light flowed around him, several chain phantoms emerged within the light, emitting faint clanking sounds, then flashed and disappeared into his body.

His already faint True Immortal realm aura suddenly contracted, completely concealed, and the aura was smooth and seamless, showing no trace of concealment.

After reaching the True Immortal realm, due to different cultivation techniques, unless one fully releases their aura when fighting, others generally cannot accurately determine the number of immortal apertures opened, and thus cannot judge the level of cultivation. However, for those with strong divine sense, there was still a risk of detection. Now, with this concealment secret technique, even ordinary Golden Immortals might not be able to detect it.

A smile curled at the corner of Han Li's mouth. He nodded in satisfaction, then his form flickered, transforming into a streak of green light, shooting into the distance.