Chapter 986: Calming the Mind and Settling the Qi

Han Li walked past the layers of white jade bookshelves around him and, upon approaching, discovered that this crystal exquisite pagoda was not engraved with runes, nor was it some kind of immortal treasure; it was merely a uniquely shaped storage rack.

Inside the crystal exquisite pagoda, each level was divided into eight compartments, each containing many jade slips and silk papers.

The lowest level had the largest space and held the greatest number of books, most of which were in the form of volumes and scrolls, densely piled up; a single compartment alone contained about a hundred or so volumes.

The higher one went, the smaller each level of the exquisite pagoda became, and the fewer books it could hold. At the topmost level, only eight items remained, all of which were jade slips.

With what the Crab Daoist had said earlier, Han Li had no reservations. He casually took down a jade slip, glanced at it briefly, then raised it to his forehead and examined it carefully.

After a moment, he put down the jade slip, and a slight change came over his expression.

The jade slip he had just put down recorded a puppet refining technique called "A Hundred Refinements into a Puppet." Han Li had only skimmed through it, but he was already astonished in his heart.

For instance, the selection of puppet materials was discussed from three aspects: "heavenly timing," "geographical advantage," and "human harmony." It not only fully demonstrated the impact of different origins of puppet materials on the quality of the refined puppet but also detailed the importance of refining puppets of different attributes under specific weather and environmental conditions.

However, Han Li's mind was not on this at the moment. He was more eager to look at some texts on mystical cultivation, hoping to find a technique or divine ability that could suppress or resolve the backlash of his true spirit bloodline.

Thus, after putting back "A Hundred Refinements into a Puppet," he continued to pick up other jade slips and examine them against his forehead.

...

In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.

Han Li sat cross-legged, leaning against a corner of the great hall, holding a scroll titled "Star Origin Blood Refinement Art" and carefully perusing it.

The content recorded in this technique was indeed unconventional. Unlike ordinary mystical cultivation body-tempering arts that tempered the physique, flesh, sinews, and bones, it boldly proposed using the power of stars to wash and refine the blood.

By cultivating this technique, a mystical cultivator's entire blood could be tempered, causing the blood to contain a large amount of star power. When confronting an enemy, occasionally using blood spilled from wounds as a means of attack often yielded unexpected effects.

Moreover, the blood of those who cultivated this method often contained more energy, and when employing certain blood-burning secret arts, it could provide a more terrifying boost in power.

However, this technique was extremely difficult to cultivate. The process required drawing star power into the blood, which not only demanded enduring unimaginable pain but also carried great risks.

Because blood flows through the entire body via the veins and arteries, passing through vital points such as the heart orifice and the dantian, if control was lost and the star power in the blood ran amok, it would be a life-threatening matter.

After reading it, Han Li merely expressed admiration and had no intention of cultivating it, for the scroll clearly stated that this technique was unsuitable for those with special bloodlines.

The reason was simple: such individuals had stronger blood power, making it even harder to control its fusion with star power. Han Li's own bloodline power was already extremely complex; if he attempted to cultivate this method, it would be like adding fuel to the fire—courting death.

Nevertheless, this technique was not entirely without reference value for Han Li. The various methods of blood guidance and the means to calm star power disturbances mentioned in it were quite useful.

However, how to cultivate and learn it required Han Li to carefully sift through and extract the beneficial parts.

After a while, he slowly rolled up the scroll, rubbed his aching brow, stood up slowly, and returned it to the crystal exquisite pagoda.

In the past few days, he had examined all the texts on this exquisite pagoda, but the useful information he found was not much.

Even the "Star Origin Blood Refinement Art" he had just read could only serve as an aid and could not completely resolve his current predicament.

Nevertheless, having found some methods to alleviate the situation, Han Li decided to attempt their cultivation.

He turned and left this hall, heading toward another hall.

When Han Li arrived at the central hall where the great star array was operating, he saw that the Crab Daoist within the array had been completely covered by a layer of blood-colored crystalline light. Under the refraction of light, his form could no longer be seen clearly.

He did not linger; after a quick glance, he turned and left.

As soon as he entered another hall, Han Li felt as if he had run into a wall of qi, and then his entire body seemed to be enveloped by a warm current, extremely comfortable.

He looked around and found that the entire hall was inscribed with various runes. Both the ceiling above and the floor beneath were engraved with star patterns that flickered on and off.

Among them were rivers of stars, within which white light flowed like water waves, presenting a magnificent sight.

"As expected of the Crab Daoist's former seclusion site, the Star Power here is remarkably dense..." Han Li couldn't help but admire.

With that, he walked to a lotus platform cushion at the center of the hall and sat down cross-legged.

A white halo immediately lit up beneath Han Li's seat, as if a cotton cushion had been inserted, making it very comfortable.

After settling down, he closed his eyes and regulated his breath for a moment, then began to recall the "Star Essence Blood Refining Art" he had just read, but did not immediately start cultivating.

He directly ignored the part of the technique about how to draw Star Power into the body to refine blood, only selecting the latter part on how to calm Star Power to learn.

The Star Power emphasized in the technique was actually similar in nature to true spirit bloodlines; when it raged, the power became uncontrollable, on one hand burning up one's essence blood, and on the other hand bursting blood vessels, causing the whole body to explode.

Han Li, confident in his strong physique, could to some extent avoid death by explosion, but it was inevitable that his blood would boil hot, and after burning out, his whole body would wither and die.

After pondering for a long time, Han Li began to follow the incantation in the technique, forming hand seals and circulating his energy, silently cultivating.

...

In the blink of an eye, more than eight years had passed.

In the seclusion hall, Han Li sat cross-legged on the lotus platform cushion, his skin crimson like blood, pink mist steaming from his body, filling the room with a hazy vapor, as if a hot spring had opened.

His eyes were blood-red, but within his pupils, the divine light was calm, without any hint of panic.

He formed a strange hand seal, chanted verses from his mouth, then tilted his body to the right, propping his head on one hand and bending one leg, assuming a sleeping Buddha posture.

With this reclining pose, the Star Power within his body flowed like river waves, surging from head to foot and then from foot to head, steadily moving back and forth, gradually calming his raging true spirit bloodline.

The blood-red color on his body also began to recede from head to neck, from neck to chest, gradually returning to normal.

"It's done. The effort during this time hasn't been wasted..." After a long while, Han Li turned over and sat up, a smile appearing on his face.

During these eight years, aside from occasionally going to the hall where the techniques were stored to consult texts, Han Li spent most of his time cultivating the Star Essence Blood Refining Art in the seclusion chamber.

After countless attempts, he finally gradually mastered the method to calm the true spirit bloodline.

Han Li stood up, stretched, and looked up. Suddenly, he noticed the star map carved on the ceiling flickering with light. The rivers of stars engraved there hung like jade belts in the sky, mysterious and beautiful, but not as dazzling as before.

"Looks like another clear night with a bright moon and sparse stars..." Han Li murmured to himself in a good mood.

He had long discovered that this crystal palace, though located under the Blood Lake, could connect to the starry sky outside. Whenever night fell and stars filled the sky, the star map above the palace would also light up like the stars.

The denser the stars in the night sky, the more dazzling the star map in the crystal palace, and the richer the Star Power it absorbed. Today, the bright moon was in the sky, but the starlight seemed somewhat dim.

After watching for a moment, Han Li's heart stirred. He reached into his bosom, fumbled around, and took out the small dark green bottle that had accompanied him throughout his cultivation journey, then bent down and placed it on the ground.

The light projected from the roof spilled onto the small dark green bottle, coating it with a soft glow and clearly outlining the patterns on the bottle's surface.

But after waiting for a long time, the bottle just sat quietly in place, without any change.

"So it really doesn't work? It seems this crystal palace can only transmit star..." Before he could finish, his brow slightly raised as a very familiar scene appeared before him.

A hazy white light enveloped the small bottle, and leaf-like patterns lit up one after another. The entire bottle became crystal clear, and white light spots formed around the bottle, creating a huge white halo that emitted a soft glow.

However, the speed at which the white light spots gathered was indeed somewhat slow, much slower than before in other places.

After watching for a while, Han Li put the small bottle away again. He had only acted on a whim to try it out, and had no intention of using the Celestial Bottle to condense green liquid, as there was currently no need for it in the Scalescale Sky.

After putting it away, he turned and left the hall, heading to the technique hall again.

...

One day, more than a month later.

Han Li sat cross-legged in the seclusion hall, took three items from his sleeve, and placed them one by one before him.

They were four ancient statues of identical texture, resembling some kind of demonic creature, each with three heads and six arms, but their facial expressions, postures, and details were all very different.