Chapter 627: Seeking Another Way

Han Li's brow twitched slightly. He took the black light and looked at it, finding three black pills the size of dragon's eyes lying in his palm.

These three black pills were as dark as ink, with specks of light reflecting off their surfaces, while a pungent spicy odor emanated from within.

Han Li wrinkled his nose slightly, waved his hand to put away the silver alchemy furnace, and sat cross-legged on the cushion.

Seeing this, the silver flame figure curiously drifted over, hovering by Han Li's hand as if staring with wide eyes at the three strange pills.

Han Li had originally placed high hopes on these three "Susha Pills," but now that they were actually refined, his heart grew more uneasy.

When he had obtained the pill formula, the other party had only said there was a certain chance, but no one knew how great the possibility of success was.

"Whether it works or not, I can only try," Han Li muttered to himself with a bitter smile after pondering for a moment.

Having said that, he looked at the silver flame figure and said with a smile, "Just keep watch for me for a while."

Upon hearing this, the latter nodded heavily and immediately flew to a spot three zhang away, crossing its arms in front of its chest, looking as if to say, "Leave it to me."

Han Li smiled and nodded at him, then closed his eyes to begin regulating his breath.

Half an hour later, he raised his wrist and directly tossed the medicinal pill into his mouth.

As the pill entered his throat, a pungent, spicy taste immediately spread, sliding down his esophagus into his abdomen.

Han Li felt a line of fire extending from his throat, burning his face red, and he couldn't help but show a pained expression.

Before this scorching heat could dissipate, a surge of yin-cold force spread from his lower abdomen, instantly permeating his entire body, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

This sudden shift of ice and fire caught Han Li off guard, and all his pores involuntarily opened wide.

At that moment, black mist suddenly surged from his acupoints around him, instantly forming a black mist vortex that enveloped him entirely.

Seeing this, the silver flame figure guarding nearby immediately prepared to fly forward and burn away the mist, which even made him feel uncomfortable, with his own flames.

"Don't bother, I'm fine."

At this point, one of Han Li's hands suddenly emerged from the black mist, stopping the silver flame figure.

His tone was slightly elevated, as if he were enduring great pain, yet the tone clearly carried a note of joy.

Rolling black mist surged forth, quickly filling the entire secret chamber, and some even escaped through the hole Han Li had previously drilled in the dome, dispersing outside the chamber.

Han Li casually tossed two storage pouches, which flew out with their mouths wide open, sucking in the rolling black mist.

As a large amount of black mist was drawn into the storage pouches, the secret chamber gradually became clear again, but the mist enveloping Han Li remained as thick as ink, making him look like a large black cocoon.

Time passed drop by drop, and baleful qi continuously emanated from the black cocoon, which the storage pouches ceaselessly absorbed.

After two were full, Han Li would take out two more; when the pouches were used up, he would resort to storage rings.

…

More than three years passed in a flash. In the secret chamber, after the black light on the surface of the cocoon flickered violently a few times, baleful qi finally stopped emanating.

Han Li felt a warmth around his body, and the previous painful sensation of alternating ice and fire disappeared. The baleful qi enveloping him also dissipated like smoke.

At this moment, his complexion was somewhat pale. After breathing heavily a few times, he slowly raised his head, but a look of disappointment appeared between his brows.

He had never imagined that the Calamity-Suppressing Pill he had painstakingly refined would have only such meager effects.

Over these three years, he had indeed drawn a considerable amount of baleful qi out of his body, but it was still far from complete purification. The stubborn baleful qi entrenched in his acupoints still threatened his path of cultivation at every moment.

In fact, in terms of function, such an effect was not insignificant for others, and even had a fair chance of helping them overcome the Baleful Tribulation, but for him, it was like a drop in the bucket, utterly impossible.

Han Li's gaze sharpened, and he reluctantly raised his hand, tossing the remaining two pills into his mouth at once. An even more intense pain immediately surged over him, and thick black smoke once again emanated, engulfing him...

Time flew like a white horse passing a gap; another ten years passed in a flash.

Han Li, who had been sitting cross-legged in the secret chamber, slowly opened his eyes. Light flickered in his pupils, but they still retained that eerie silver-gray color.

The effects of the three Calamity-Suppressing Pills he had painstakingly refined were limited to helping him eliminate some baleful qi and delaying the next outbreak of the Baleful Tribulation; beyond that, there were no other benefits.

Han Li had already prepared himself for this outcome, so he was not particularly disappointed. He simply regarded it as another temporary means to deal with the Baleful Tribulation.

Although the Calamity-Suppressing Pills had not eliminated the baleful qi in his immortal apertures, they had removed a considerable amount of baleful qi from his body. The Baleful Tribulation, which had already been delayed, would likely be postponed for a while longer.

After sitting quietly for a moment, Han Li quickly composed himself.

Since the Calamity-Dispelling Pill was useless, he had no choice but to seek other methods to eliminate the baleful qi.

Looking back on his over a hundred years of cultivation, he had come step by step to where he was today, having encountered countless difficulties large and small. He believed that human effort could achieve anything; his current lack of success was only temporary.

With a contemplative expression, he flipped his hand and took out the Dragon Five mask, posting a bounty mission in the Wuchang Alliance to find a way to eliminate baleful qi and survive the Baleful Tribulation.

Then, Han Li took out a communication array disk, made a hand seal, and pointed. The spiritual patterns on the surface of the disk lit up in circles.

……

In Jukun City, a wooden pavilion belonging to the Baizao Mountain branch.

Outside the pavilion was a large flower garden, filled with colorful blossoms of every hue, surrounding the pavilion in a sea of flowers that looked magnificent and enchanting.

Senior Jingyang sat on a recliner inside the pavilion, waving his hand to cast a spell and retracting a white array disk floating before him.

"So it failed... But this is also an opportunity..." he murmured in surprise, then a smile appeared on his face. He snapped his fingers, and a white light flashed at his fingertip.

Just then, a green shadow flickered behind Senior Jingyang, and a green-robed young woman materialized.

She appeared to be only about sixteen or seventeen, with a slender figure and delicate features. Her clear face was full of competence. She bowed respectfully to Senior Jingyang and said, "Deputy Mountain Lord, what are your orders?"

"Issue an order to find and collect methods for expelling baleful qi," Senior Jingyang instructed.

Upon hearing this, the green-robed young woman opened her mouth but hesitated for a moment.

"What is it?" Senior Jingyang frowned slightly.

"You have used up all your immortal essence stones, and the next resource allocation won't come for another hundred years. Any method to expel baleful qi is extremely costly. Are we to use the sect's funds? But if we are discovered..." the green-robed young woman said hesitantly.

"It's fine. Just do as I say," Senior Jingyang said indifferently.

"Yes." Seeing this, the green-robed young woman said no more. Her petite form turned into a streak of green light and flew into the distance, like a green thrush, disappearing in a flash.

……

Inside the secret chamber.

Han Li waved his hand, casting a spell to put away the communication array disk.

Because of the appearance of the Silver Fox at the previous auction, Jukun City was still under tight security. It was inconvenient for him to go there for the time being, so he had to ask Senior Jingyang for help.

He had already used all the channels available to him; now he could only wait slowly.

Han Li looked ahead and planned his next cultivation schedule.

His cultivation had now hit a bottleneck. Without confidence in overcoming the Calamity of Decay, breaking through to the Taiyi realm was naturally a luxury. As for the other two time-based techniques besides the True Word Wheel Sutra, although there was not much left to complete them, he felt that these two techniques were not of much help to him now, and moreover, they seemed to be incomplete versions.

As he pondered, the scene of the Silver Fox using the Soul Refining Art to deflect the attacks of Gongshu Tian, Su Liu, and others appeared in his mind, and his heart warmed slightly.

Although he had seen some clues about this high-level application of the Soul Refining Art, he was still unable to practice it for now.

Although the incident with the Silver Fox did not involve Han Li, it served as a warning to him. He was now in the Black Mountain Immortal Domain, not the North Cold Immortal Domain or the Primordial Wilderness, and this was a place under strict surveillance by the Celestial Court.

Despite various coincidences and some pre-arranged plans, a mere auction had produced three Supervisory Immortal Envoys. How many hidden forces of the Celestial Court lurked in the Black Mountain Immortal Domain was unknown.

The Silver Fox was now missing, but the two Supervisory Immortal Envoys might still be near Jukun City. More importantly, the Supervisory Envoy named "Su Liu" in Jukun City was no ordinary person.

In any case, now was not the time to cultivate the Soul Refining Art.

Although he had tried and found that cultivating the Soul Refining Art would not be detected by the white compass, it was hard to guarantee that those people did not have other more sophisticated methods. It was better to be cautious.

Han Li pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and waved.

A flash of light appeared before him, revealing a broken dagger, a small white pot, and a green wooden ruler. All three items emitted faint fluctuations of the law of time.

The broken dagger was an item containing the power of time, found earlier in Gongshu Jiu's storage device. The small white pot was the Time-Breaking Pot, and the green wooden ruler was the wooden ruler immortal artifact just obtained from Senior Jingyang.

Han Li formed hand seals with both hands, and golden light surged behind him as the Wheel of True Words manifested.

He chanted incantations and continuously formed hand seals. Golden light flickered at the center of the wheel, and the Eye of Truth emerged, shooting a beam of golden light that landed on the broken dagger.

Ripples of law fluctuations immediately arose on the dagger, and it emitted a dazzling golden glow that extended from the broken parts, quickly repairing it.

A brand-new golden dagger appeared before Han Li. The dagger was covered with spiral runes, and its blade gleamed with cold light, looking extremely sharp.

Han Li closed his eyes and carefully sensed the power of the law of time within the golden dagger. After a moment, he opened his eyes and nodded slightly.

The power of the law of time within the dagger was not abundant, but it was different from the time power of the three techniques he currently practiced, carrying a hint of chaotic energy.

After a brief deliberation, Han Li ceased his incantations. The golden light on the dagger's surface disappeared, and it fell to the side.