Chapter 467: Condensing Fiend Qi to Break Through

After about half an hour, Han Li once again arrived at the center of the darkroom, set down a cushion, and sat cross-legged.

He reached into his bosom and took out the storage pouch that Hu Yan had given him after entering the Immortal's Mansion.

Opening it, he retrieved a snow-white jade slip inlaid with golden patterns and slowly immersed his divine sense into it, examining it carefully.

What was recorded in this jade slip was none other than the fourth layer of the *True Word Wheel Sutra*.

Compared to the second and third layers, which involved mountain valley secret realms, white sparrows leading the way, and incomplete stone tablets, obtaining this fourth layer was far too easy, leaving even Han Li himself feeling a bit unreal.

However, he later figured out that the incomplete tablet in the mountain valley secret realm was most likely the original scroll of the first three layers obtained by the Candle Dragon Sect Master back then, deliberately placed there to mislead others into thinking the Candle Dragon Sect only possessed these three layers.

As for the jade slip in his hand, it was the same as the first layer he had obtained earlier—merely a copy.

The content of the fourth layer of the *True Word Wheel Sutra* was even more lengthy and abstruse than the first three. Han Li plunged into it and studied painstakingly for over a month before finally reading through the entire technique.

With the foundation of practicing the first three layers, he only managed to roughly understand the cultivation mechanism of this layer, yet there were still some key points that he could not figure out for the time being.

However, one particular feature he discovered filled him with surprise and delight.

It turned out that starting from the fourth layer of the *True Word Wheel Sutra*, because the cultivator had already accumulated a considerable amount of time law power, they could, through comprehension, condense time threads during cultivation.

As for how many could be condensed, it depended on the amount of law power stored in the cultivator's body and their depth of understanding of the time law.

Over the next two months or so, Han Li did not rush to begin cultivating the *True Word Wheel Sutra*. Instead, he carefully reviewed the first three layers, correlating and cross-referencing them with the fourth layer in his comprehension.

However, this process took considerable time but yielded little result; his insights into some critical points remained stagnant.

Han Li was not surprised by this and had fully prepared himself mentally. Since he still could not leave, he might as well calm down and cultivate first, improving his cultivation while pondering the technique, which might bring unexpected gains.

One day, after sitting quietly in the darkroom for half a day, he took a pill to enhance his cultivation and began practicing the *True Word Wheel Sutra*.

A surge of golden light stirred before him, and the True Word Wheel emerged, spinning leisurely.

Han Li looked up and immediately raised an eyebrow, revealing a hint of surprise.

On the wheel, a cluster of time dao patterns was glowing, emitting a translucent light.

Han Li's pupils contracted slightly, and a trace of doubt flashed through his mind.

Previously, he had been so busy comprehending the *True Word Wheel Sutra* that he had completely failed to notice.

From the time all the dao patterns disappeared to now, at most only four months had passed. Logically, no dao patterns should have recovered. Could it be because of the two extra time law threads?

The time crystal threads were truly too mysterious; Han Li had yet to figure out their full uses. However, if they could speed up the recovery of time dao patterns, that would be excellent news.

Unable to figure it out for the moment, Han Li composed himself and began cultivating the *True Word Wheel Sutra*.

He formed hand seals, and a faint chanting sound came from his mouth.

The True Word Wheel suspended before him rippled with golden halos, drifting leisurely behind him, hovering above his head, and began to shine brightly.

The golden rays projected from it immediately illuminated the entire darkroom.

…

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, over a hundred years had passed.

In the darkroom, Han Li sat cross-legged, motionless like a stone statue, yet a faint golden light emanated from his entire body.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes. A faint golden glint flickered briefly in them before receding into his pupils.

"At this rate, it might take a thousand years just to successfully open one immortal aperture... Could I really have to cultivate that *Mysterious Fiend Nether Spirit Art*?" He frowned slightly, looking hesitant, and murmured to himself.

After pondering for a moment, he suddenly had an idea and softly called out, "Demon Light."

The shadow cast before him twisted and shook, stretching and elongating forward a bit.

A faint, unusual sound arose in the darkroom. A pitch-black human figure separated from the shadow in front of Han Li, slowly standing up.

The figure was clad in a black robe, his skin dark as ink, and his features bore some resemblance to Han Li's. A head of black hair hung behind him, and faint black demonic Qi swirled around him—it was none other than Mo Guang.

After so many years of recuperation, he seemed to have fully recovered, and the aura on his body was even stronger than before.

"Fellow Daoist Han, you've finally remembered me," Mo Guang said slowly, a sinister smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly noticed the aura emanating from Han Li, and his expression changed abruptly.

Han Li observed this change but showed no reaction, merely saying calmly:

"I've experienced many things over the years, but it simply wasn't suitable for you to appear. Today, I happen to have a question, and I hope Fellow Daoist Mo Guang can enlighten me."

"I didn't expect that since our last meeting, Fellow Daoist Han has become a Golden Immortal. It seems my judgment in choosing a master has improved. If you have something to ask, go ahead," Mo Guang said with a smile.

"How much do you know about the Gray Realm?" Han Li asked again.

"The Gray Realm? It has always been a taboo in the Immortal Domain. Even Ma Liang probably didn't get involved much back then, so I don't know much—only that it is a boundless realm comparable to the Immortal Domain," Mo Guang said after a moment's thought.

"What about baleful Qi? Do you know anything about it?" Han Li asked, somewhat disappointed.

"Speaking of baleful Qi, you cultivators should know more than I do. Whenever one commits acts of slaughter, baleful Qi forms within the body, much like how we Outer Celestial Demons absorb demonic Qi when killing. However, you usually don't manifest it, unless someone's killings are so excessive that the baleful Qi solidifies from the ethereal and reveals itself," Mo Guang explained.

"Have you ever heard of any techniques in the Immortal Realm that use baleful Qi to enhance cultivation?" Han Li nodded thoughtfully and asked.

"As far as I know, such techniques do exist, but generally no cultivator actively practices them. It is said to affect the advancement in later stages of cultivation, effectively adding a bottleneck to one's cultivation path—a self-inflicted hardship," Mo Guang said slowly after a brief hesitation.

Han Li was silent for a long while upon hearing this, and Mo Guang stood quietly beside him, observing him in silence.

"I appreciate your help. Once matters here are concluded, I will speak with you again," Han Li said, looking up at Mo Guang. With a sudden sweep of his sleeve, Mo Guang's figure faded again and merged into his shadow.

"Tens of thousands of years... I cannot afford to wait..."

After Han Li let out a sigh, he formed a strange hand seal. A flash of black light appeared around him, and the vast baleful Qi surged forth, engulfing the entire dark chamber.

As his incantation gradually rose, the seemingly chaotic and disorderly baleful Qi, like surging dark clouds, suddenly halted its outward expansion like a horse reined in, and began to contract and converge instead.

Its color grew increasingly heavy, and the baleful qi became more condensed, attaching itself to Han Li's body surface.

Once the baleful qi condensed and touched his skin, Han Li immediately felt a strange sensation. His heart tightened, but he did not stop there; instead, he continued to guide the baleful qi toward his own acupoints.

The baleful qi, like dharma power, gathered in one place and surged toward an acupoint beneath his ribs. The acupoint, which had always remained unmoved, was suddenly breached by the surging baleful qi, showing signs of breaking open.

Seeing this, Han Li's mind stirred. He immediately closed his eyes and devoted himself to cultivation.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint sound emanated from Han Li's body, followed by a small vortex appearing beneath his ribs, attracting the surrounding world's primal qi to surge in and gush into that acupoint.

After dozens of breaths, when all the golden light phenomena had completely disappeared, an extra golden light spot appeared beneath Han Li's ribs.

This thirty-seventh immortal acupoint was finally opened!

Han Li's mind stirred, and he probed toward that immortal acupoint. Inside, besides a large amount of immortal spiritual power, there was also a wisp of black baleful qi floating, appearing very faint and not particularly unusual.

He felt somewhat relieved, then waved his hand slightly to summon the Truth Dharma Wheel before him.

On the wheel, besides many time dao patterns having been restored, two more clusters had appeared near the inner ring, making a total of three hundred and sixty-two clusters.

Speaking of which, since advancing to Golden Immortal, he had not been able to attend to the matter of the Vial Gourd in these years. He had not yet attempted to increase the dao patterns by condensing crystal grains, and would have to wait until leaving this place to make further plans.

Thinking thus, Han Li changed his hand seal and silently urged the Truth Dharma Wheel. Golden light rippled on it, releasing layers of golden ripples, everything the same as before.

In the following two days, Han Li did not continue cultivating but carefully observed his own condition. Only after confirming no obvious abnormal changes did he gradually relax.

After taking some pills, he once again embarked on the journey of cultivation.

…

Lost in meditation cultivation, unaware of the passage of time, over a thousand years passed in a flash.

One day, after Han Li had been silent for a long time since breaking through to become a Golden Immortal, a fierce wind suddenly blew over the ruined city, dark clouds rolled, and the world's spiritual qi converged like a great river tide toward a garden within the city.

In the dim sky, a spiritual qi vortex, nearly larger than the entire city, formed out of thin air, like a giant funnel connecting heaven and earth, frantically pouring the world's primal qi into a pitch-black hole in the garden.

The surging world's primal qi instantly filled the entire passage, like an endless river, pouring into a dark chamber deep within the underground palace.