Chapter 32: The Inverse Dan Art

"Tsk tsk, Fellow Daoist Han has no small fortune. This Po Yin Zhi must be at least two thousand three hundred... no, two thousand four hundred years old. Exchanging it for a Wang Xi Dan is more than enough..." Gao Bu Lin said, his eyes rolling a few times.

"This Po Yin Zhi, in exchange for two Wang Xi Dan," Han Li interrupted Gao Bu Lin's words.

"This... Fellow Daoist Han, I only have one such pill," Gao Bu Lin replied with a wry smile.

"Elders from other peaks might not have it, but I find it hard to believe that an elder from the Luo Xia Peak, which specializes in alchemy, cannot produce two Wang Xi Dan. If Elder Gao finds it difficult, I can wait a few more days. I trust that in such a large sect, there will be someone willing to sell Wang Xi Dan," Han Li said unhurriedly.

Gao Bu Lin's white brows furrowed. This time he truly fell into hesitation. After struggling for a long while, he finally clapped his hand and said:

"Deal!"

Han Li took a white jade box handed over by the white-browed elder. With a sweep of his divine sense, a hint of a smile finally appeared on his face.

The faint, mixed herbal scent emanating from the other party told him that the man was an alchemist.

And a two- to three-thousand-year-old spiritual herb, while rare and precious to others, was nothing to him. It was far less useful than the two Wang Xi Dan in his hand.

Gao Bu Lin brought the wooden box to his nose and sniffed for a long while, then let out a satisfied sigh. Happily, he put it into his storage pouch. After saying to Han Li, "If you have time, you can come to Luo Xia Peak for a chat," he hurriedly took his leave.

Next, Han Li did not immediately leave the market. Instead, he strolled around the valley, exchanging most of his spirit stones for several high-grade pills similar to Wang Xi Dan. Only then did he leave Tong Yi Valley and fly toward Chu Yun Peak.

Returning to his cave dwelling, Han Li saw Liu Le'er sitting alone in the main hall, propping her chin with one hand, staring blankly into space.

"Le'er, what are you thinking about?" Han Li sat down opposite Liu Le'er and asked.

"Brother..." The little fox girl only then noticed Han Li's return and called out joyfully.

"Why are you daydreaming alone here?" Han Li smiled gently.

"Le'er was thinking about everything that has happened since meeting Brother. It feels like a dream," Liu Le'er said somewhat seriously.

Han Li was momentarily stunned, then chuckled softly.

"If it were a dream, Le'er would wish never to wake up. In this world, besides Father and Mother, only Brother is the kindest to me. Le'er hopes Brother will always be by my side," the little fox girl said, her nose suddenly tingling, her voice low.

Han Li looked at Liu Le'er in this state, hesitated for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand, pressing two fingers together against her brow.

Liu Le'er, not understanding, was startled but did not dodge.

"Close your eyes," Han Li said softly.

Hearing this, Liu Le'er did not hesitate. Her eyelids immediately shut tightly.

Han Li shook his head with a light smile, also closed his eyes, and began to chant silently.

After about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, Han Li opened his eyes.

Liu Le'er, sitting opposite him, was now slightly pale, with sweat at her temples.

Han Li withdrew his finger and said, "Alright, you can open your eyes now."

Only then did Liu Le'er slowly open her eyes, her long lashes trembling slightly, looking at Han Li with confusion.

"I have just imprinted the 'Huan Ling Chan Bian' technique into your sea of consciousness. This is a high-grade demonic technique I obtained by chance back then. It is quite suitable for your fox-demon body to cultivate," Han Li said with a slight smile.

Upon hearing this, Liu Le'er closed her eyes to sense it, but her small face still showed some bewilderment.

"Although I will do my best to protect you, in case there are times when I am not by your side, you must be able to protect yourself, at least enough to hold on until I find you," Han Li explained slowly, his expression grave.

Liu Le'er listened, thought for a moment, then nodded heavily, saying solemnly to Han Li, "Mm, Le'er will definitely cultivate this technique well."

Only then did Han Li nod with a smile.

...

Chu Yun Peak, a certain议事大殿.

"Peak Master, that person is indeed a high-level strength cultivator. Everything has been arranged properly, without alerting anyone from other peaks. As for Junior Disciple Gu, as per your instructions, he has been given a generous reward and has been strictly told never to mention the matter of that person slaying a Nascent Soul cultivator to anyone," Luo Jun said respectfully to the Confucian-robed middle-aged man on the main seat.

"Good. This person has a powerful physical body and can slay a Nascent Soul cultivator at the Core Formation stage. He will naturally be of great use to this peak in the future. Keep an eye on him, and if he has any requests, try to fulfill them as much as possible," Peak Master Nan Gong nodded.

"Yes," Luo Jun replied.

"You may leave," Nan Gong Peak Master waved his hand.

Luo Jun bowed and withdrew.

"Han Li..." Nan Gong Peak Master murmured to himself, sat quietly for a moment with his eyes closed, then rose and walked toward the back.

...

Han Li naturally had no knowledge of the conversation between Peak Master Nan Gong and Luo Jun.

At this moment, he was sitting cross-legged in the secret chamber of his cave dwelling, with over a dozen jade bottles and boxes lined up on the table before him.

He held a small red bottle in his hand, uncorked it, and poured out a fiery red pill. A strong medicinal fragrance spread out. After a brief examination, he tilted his head back and swallowed it, then closed his eyes to inspect the situation within his body.

After a moment, he opened his eyes, his brows slightly furrowed.

Although this fiery red pill was of a similar grade to the Wangxi Pill, it had no effect on him whatsoever.

Han Li showed no sign of surprise and casually picked up the second bottle of pills, pouring out a golden-yellow pill and swallowing it.

The pill melted upon entering his stomach, but still did not generate a trace of magical power.

After a while, Han Li opened his eyes, expressionlessly picked up the third bottle...

Soon, he had tested most of the pills on the table in one go, but unfortunately, none were useful. Only a purple jade box and a green porcelain bottle remained on the table.

Han Li looked contemplative, feeling somewhat frustrated inside.

It seemed that finding another suitable pill was far more difficult than imagined. But now that he had finally arrived at the Cold Flame Sect, given his current understanding of the Spirit Realm, the cultivation resources here were quite abundant. As long as he put in some effort, he should be able to gain something.

Thinking this, he picked up the purple jade box from the table, pinched a gray pill from it with his fingers, tilted his head back, and swallowed it.

This time, Han Li's heart stirred, and a hint of joy finally appeared on his face.

He felt strands of spiritual power emerging from the pill, circulating through the meridians in his body, and merging into his dantian, causing his spiritual power to increase slightly.

Although the effect of this gray pill was far inferior to that of the Wangxi Pill, finding another useful pill was still a fortunate thing.

As for the pill in the celadon porcelain bottle, after trying it, naturally, as expected, it had no effect at all.

Han Li let out a light breath, took another gray pill from the purple jade box, and held it in his palm.

This pill was called the Wuyun Pill. Although its medicinal effect was said to strengthen the foundation and nourish the origin, it was more suited for cultivators practicing water-attributed techniques, and its properties differed greatly from those of the Wangxi Pill.

Han Li pondered for a moment, then suddenly stood up, left the secret chamber, and walked outside.

When passing by Liu Le'er's bedroom, he stopped in his steps.

Even through the door, Han Li could sense the surging spiritual energy inside, clearly indicating that she was in the midst of intense cultivation.

He nodded with satisfaction and continued walking out, soon arriving at the alchemy chamber.

This alchemy chamber was not large, only about four or five zhang in circumference, with a bluish-black floor. In the center of the room was a round platform half a foot above the ground, inscribed with many dark red lines that formed a formation.

In the center of the formation was a black hole, with faint flickering flames and a scorching heat emanating from it.

On the round platform sat a half-man-tall alchemy furnace, exuding wisps of spiritual energy, quite extraordinary.

Han Li swept his gaze over the area, then sat down on a cushion beside the furnace and waved his hand to cast a spell seal.

The red formation suddenly brightened, and a stream of bright red earth fire emerged from the black hole, enveloping the furnace.

Han Li first thoroughly cleaned the inside and outside of the furnace with great skill, then flipped his hand to produce the Dark Cloud Pill and, to his surprise, tossed it into the furnace.

He formed hand seals with both hands, and the earth fire immediately moved according to his technique, splitting into eight streams that drilled into the furnace. Soon, a strong medicinal fragrance emanated from the furnace.

Han Li continued forming hand seals without pause, and the medicinal fragrance suddenly faded.

His expression unchanged, he continued forming hand seals and casting spells.

In the blink of an eye, half an hour passed. The medicinal fragrance from the furnace had almost disappeared, replaced by other odors, seemingly a mixture of several kinds.

Han Li suddenly stopped his movements and cast a spell seal, extinguishing the flame beneath the furnace.

He waved his hand to lift the furnace lid. The Dark Cloud Pill was gone, replaced by a small pinch of multicolored powder.

After a brief inspection, Han Li carefully emitted a green light to lift the powder out.

The green light trembled slightly, and countless fine threads suddenly appeared within it, as if a thousand tiny hands reached into the powder and stirred.

Soon, the small pinch of powder was divided into a dozen portions, each a different color.

Han Li nodded and carefully placed the different powders into a dozen small jade boxes he had prepared earlier.

The secret technique he had just performed was called the Reverse Pill Art, an obscure technique he had obtained by chance in the Spirit Realm. It could reverse-refine and decompose pills.

The original creator of this technique had intended to use it to decompose others' pills and reverse-engineer their formulas.

Unfortunately, that person ultimately failed. The Reverse Pill Art had its limits; it could not truly deduce a pill's formula, only identify the materials used.

Han Li found the technique quite novel, and being an alchemy grandmaster himself, he had memorized it. Today was the first time he had used it.

Fortunately, the Dark Cloud Pill was only a Nascent Soul stage pill, not of high grade; otherwise, he might not have succeeded in one attempt.