Chapter 159 Heavenly Spirit Medicine
After Han Li made up his mind, he put down the jade cylinder and picked up another one.
The production of "Complexion-Setting Pills" was much simpler than Foundation Establishment Pills. It didn't require real fire refinement and didn't involve any unfamiliar medicinal materials; all of them were quite common varieties.
The only thing that surprised him was that these medicinal materials required a millennium of medicinal properties, which explained why he had never heard of this pill.
After all, any cultivator who possessed millennium-old spiritual herbs would cherish them as treasures and wouldn't waste them on a pill like Complexion-Setting Pills, which had no practical use in cultivation.
This led to very few people in the cultivation world knowing about Complexion-Setting Pills.
But for Han Li, this wasn't a problem at all; it just required a slightly longer incubation time.
Therefore, he decided that after settling the matter with the Foundation Establishment Pills, he would try to refine a furnace of Complexion-Setting Pills to see if they were really as magical as the formula claimed, able to maintain one's appearance as it was when the pill was taken.
About six or seven days later, when the old man came to the Hundred Herb Garden again to collect the medicinal materials, Han Li didn't conceal anything and directly asked about these three rare medicinal herbs.
"Jade Marrow Mushroom, Purple Monkey Flower, and Celestial Spirit Fruit?" The old man stroked his beard, squinting his small eyes.
"Hehe! It seems that Junior Nephew has already obtained the formula for Foundation Establishment Pills, so he's inquiring about these three main herbs! But, Junior Nephew! Do you really want to refine pills yourself?" The old man sneered, looking at Han Li as if he were an ignorant fool.
"Of course not. Don't mention these three main herbs; the junior doesn't even know about the hundreds of years old auxiliary herbs.
Where could I find them? Even the oldest plants in your garden are only a hundred years old!
In this situation, how could the junior think about refining pills?
" Han Li replied without telling the truth, skillfully deflecting the question.
"Since you don't intend to refine pills, why ask about these three rare herbs? I'm busy, I don't have time to chat with you!" The old man's face turned stern, showing no empathy.
Han Li had already anticipated this strange temperament of the old man, so he wasn't flustered at all. Instead, he smiled and said:
"Junior Nephew was just curious about the names of these three main herbs, which are quite peculiar.
Since I've never heard anyone mention their appearance or medicinal properties, I was just curious.
But what puzzles Junior Nephew is why there are none of these rare herbs in Senior Uncle's herbal garden.
You see, with such rare varieties, according to Senior Uncle's usual practice, you should try every means to obtain seeds and cultivate them in the garden.
Could it be that these rare herbs are so difficult to cultivate that even Senior Uncle cannot grow them? "
"Nonsense! Do you doubt my skills? The reason why there are no such herbs in the garden has nothing to do with my skills.
They are all transformed from the spiritual qi of heaven and earth, natural-born species.
Where can I find seeds? Even if I manage to obtain seedlings, because of their unique growth conditions, they cannot survive in ordinary environments.
Even if I try my best, it would be futile.
Otherwise, do you think I would let them go?
" The old man was irritated by Han Li's words and couldn't help but get angry.
"No seeds? How is that possible!" Han Li couldn't help but exclaim.
"Hmph, why is it impossible? You should know that things like these, which are almost extinct in the outside world but extremely useful for cultivators, if they could be artificially planted, the major sects would have cultivated them in large quantities long ago.
Why would Foundation Establishment Pills decrease year by year?
" The old man rolled his eyes at Han Li, speaking impatiently.
Han Li felt a chill in his heart after hearing the old man's words. Even though the Green Spirit Liquid had excellent effects, if there were no basic seeds, how could he stimulate their growth? He couldn't create something out of nothing!
"If there's nothing else, I'll leave now! I'll come back in two months to collect another batch of medicinal materials." The old man didn't notice Han Li's unusual expression and turned to leave.
"But how does Senior Uncle manage to obtain a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills' main herbs every ten years?
If what Senior Uncle said is true, and they have unique growth environments, shouldn't there be a fixed place for them to grow?
" Han Li's mind raced, thinking of another way out.
If there were no seeds, it didn't matter; weren't there immature seedlings?
If he could find more of them, he could still stimulate their growth. So he hurriedly asked.
"It seems that your curiosity is quite strong! But, I advise you to give up! Going to that ghostly place to find these three rare herbs is almost equivalent to suicide." The old man couldn't be bothered to turn back, coldly saying this before flying away.
Left behind, Han Li stood still, motionless for a long time.
"I must obtain these three rare herbs! Even if he doesn't tell me, won't I inquire from others?" Han Li sighed deeply, murmuring to himself.
During his two years in the Yellow Maple Valley, apart from this old man, the only people he was relatively familiar with were the steward Yu and the fellow disciple Wu Feng.
Steward Yu was too scheming, and very snobbish.
Han Li didn't like to deal with him, so he decided to find Wu Feng first. If he couldn't get any clues from him, he would have to make a trip to the greedy old man of the Yue Lu Pavilion.
He was sure to know, but he would definitely have to spend some money!
When Han Li arrived at the Transmission Pavilion specially set up for low-ranking disciples, Wu Feng happened to be there explaining low-level spells to several young men. Upon seeing Han Li, he just nodded slightly and continued his work.
Han Li didn't mind. He knew that the other party was just conscientious, not singling him out.
Speaking of this Senior Brother Wu, Han Li really admired him.
Although this senior brother remained at the peak of the Qi Condensation stage after taking the Foundation Establishment Pill, he had an extraordinary understanding of low-level spells, which impressed Han Li greatly and benefited him a lot.
If that were all, Han Li would only consider him diligent; he wouldn't have such great respect.
What surprised him was that after taking on the role of transmitting spells, this Senior Brother Wu treated all the fellow disciples who came to consult him equally, teaching them his insights and experiences wholeheartedly, seemingly without any reservation. This truly astonished Han Li.
To be honest, Han Li didn't believe at first that this person had such qualities.
He thought he had encountered another hypocrite, just pretending to be kind-hearted on the surface, but as he got to know him over a year, Han Li gradually confirmed that he wasn't faking it at all.
He genuinely wanted to help all fellow disciples.
This left Han Li speechless for a long time.
Although Han Li didn't agree with Wu
's approach, his character was beyond reproach. Therefore, he became acquainted with him. Although they weren't close friends yet, their relationship was much better than that between ordinary disciples.
Therefore, Han Li patiently waited for Wu Feng to finish his explanation.
Wu Feng's explanation was indeed meticulous. He spent more than two hours on a low-level intermediate spell, even demonstrating it several times for those present to experience.
Speaking of which, Han Li hadn't learned many other spells besides the ones he had initially obtained. In these two years, he had only managed to master the ones he hadn't mastered before!
This made Han Li thoroughly disappointed in his talent and even more eager for the Foundation Establishment Pill.
The few young men finally finished their consultation and left the room. Only then did Wu Feng smile and ask Han Li:
"Han Junior Brother, it's been a long time since you came here! Have you decided to start learning intermediate spells?"
Han Li smiled bitterly, lacking energy, and said:
"How can Junior Brother be so despondent!
You should know that my talent is a bit lacking, and learning those low-level intermediate spells already took two years.
Learning more difficult intermediate spells would take another seven or eight years to achieve some success. I think it's better to give up!"
Wu Feng frowned slightly upon hearing this, somewhat reproachful:
"How can Junior Brother be so downhearted! You should know that although your talent is a bit lacking, diligence can make up for it. As long as you practice diligently, you can still achieve great success."