Capítulo 23: Tests
Editor: Henyee
Maybe lady luck was smiling on him. Abruptly, a sudden thought flashed past his mind.
He quickly rushed towards the leather pouch which he had discarded and with a deft movement, took out the good luck charm that was hidden inside neatly and quickly.
The moment his palm brushed against the good luck charm, a refreshing feeling was emitted from the bottle and eventually calmed his heart. His previous frustrations and melancholy all disappeared without a trace, and his Qi and blood stopped surging, returning back to his normal state.
Currently, Han Li had no interest in discovering the root of the problem that occurred earlier. Holding the good luck charm in his palm, he brought it forward in front of his eyelids, pressing it against his face. Gently caressing it, Han Li focused all of his attention on the bottle.
After half a day, Han Li heaved a sigh of relief, diverting his attention away from the good luck charm.
Han Li didn’t know that the phenomenon that happened to him earlier was not because of “Qigong Deviation” but rather because he suffered from a “Heart Demon” that all cultivators would eventually face. Luckily, he discovered it in its early stages and fought it off by focusing on an object that was familiar to him. If he hadn’t, the Heart Demon would have entered his soul and controlled his body from within, causing him to bleed to death from his meridians. Of course, Han Li wouldn’t learn about this until after he truly stepped on to the path of cultivation in the future.
Han Li circulated his Qi around his whole body and realized there was nothing abnormal. What made him gasp in astonishment was that instead of suffering injuries, his cultivation level had unknowingly increased by a great extent! Although he did not make a breakthrough from the third layer to the fourth, but because of his struggle against the Heart Demon, he had reached the peak of the third layer earlier than expected and was only a hair length away from breaking through to the 4th!
Because of this unexpected stroke of luck, Han Li had a smile on his face. However, he had to forcefully suppress the agitation in his heart. He was afraid that his unstable emotions would lead to another attack by the Heart Demon. Han Li was uncertain whether he could survive it intact if another attack took place. He took the good luck charm that had saved his life and replaced it inside the leather pouch before hanging it on his neck.
“Yi!” Han Li realized that there was an object long forgotten by him inside the leather pouch. An object that had been left lying about in there for a few years – the mysterious bottle!
Han Li had completely forgotten about the mysterious bottle. The moment he saw it, he remembered the past events.
The current Han Li was an archive of knowledge and wisdom that far surpassed the Han Li from four years ago. In these 4 years, he had read all the books in Doctor Mo’s residence and gained much knowledge. He also cultivated the nameless oracular chant, which effectively strengthened his mind. Looking back at the disturbance to his Qi, he could effectively deduce that this mysterious bottle was a treasured item with effects that were far from ordinary
What Han Li needed to do now was to delve into and unravel the secrets of the bottle and to see if it could be used to benefit himself. There was no way he would just leave it lying around in the leather pouch and waste such a mysterious object.
Han Li took out the bottle and inspected its entire surface as if he were trying to look for something that he had missed out on during his inspection 4 years ago.
But no matter how much he inspected, there were no new discoveries.
Han Li wasted no time and opened the cap of the bottle. Floating inside of the mysterious bottle was the jade green droplet of liquid that had manifested 4 years ago! It was no different than from when it first appeared in the bottle.
However, Han Li was positive that the secret of the bottle lay in the jade green droplet of liquid. To test his theories, he would need to find some small animals to perform a few cruel, live experiments.
It was midnight, the sky pitch black outside. The darkness made it simply impractical for him to hunt for live animals. And after experiencing the attack of the heart demon earlier, Han Li was already somewhat exhausted. Even if he could catch a live animal, how would he be able to see if there were any changes to the test subject if it was pitch dark? Any actions Han Li could make would be a waste of effort.
After contemplating, Han Li decided to rest and recover his energy before experimenting the next day. He told himself that there would be a big surprise waiting for him tomorrow, and with that thought, he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, after washing himself, Han Li went to eat a hearty breakfast. After that, he immediately went to speak to the head of the kitchen of the Seven Mysteries Sect, procuring two lively gray hares for a few tales of silver before returning back to the valley.
After he returned to the valley, Han Li chose a more spacious location inside the herb garden and tied the rabbits to a stake, letting them stay outside in the blazing sun for quite a period of time.
After the rabbits were dizzy from the heat and were almost dying of thirst, Han Li took out the mysterious bottle and poured the mysterious jade green droplet of liquid into a bowl before diluting it with water.
The mysterious droplet of liquid was about the size of a bean and easily dissolved in the water, causing the whole bowl of water to turn into a jade green color.
Han Li placed the bowl near the rabbits and waited for them to drink the water. Being out in the blazing sun for such a long period of time, the rabbits scampered up and drank the water in the bowl in big gulps. Han Li was unwilling to allow the rabbits to drink the entire bowl of diluted water, and after half of the water was gone, he removed the bowl from the rabbits’ reach.
After that, he stood to the side and observed, patiently waiting for any reactions from the rabbits.
After a short moment passed, about the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, the rabbits started to frantically jump about, their actions becoming more and more agitated and ferocious. Their bodies began to undergo an astounding mutation. Their fur and skin started to protrude lumps the size of a chicken egg. The lumps multiplied until they covered the rabbits’ bodies. From afar, Han Li felt that the rabbit looked quite comical. The lumps had caused the rabbits to grow bigger by a single size, swelling up until both of the rabbits grew to the size of watermelons.
Looking at the mutation of the rabbits, along with their tortured shrieks, Han Li felt a bit of fear in his heart.
What just happened before his eyes was completely outside of his expectations. If the mysterious liquid was a potent poison or a miraculous medicine to increase cultivation, he would still not be so shocked. He did not expect that the rabbits would actually grow lumps all over their bodies and expand to such a size, becoming grotesque beyond belief.
Capítulo 24: A Panicked Decision
Editor: Henyee
Looking at the rabbits in front of him, he saw that they continued to grow larger and expand.
Han Li had at last realized that something was wrong. He suddenly remembered something. He looked at the porcelain bowl in his hand like a snake and threw it to the side by the medicine field. He then turned around and took to his heels, running straight away from the rabbits for more than ten meters before stopping.
Just as he thought of turning around, one after another, two sounds simultaneously exploded over. Han Li shuddered and turned his head for a look. As expected, each of the two rabbits had turned into a bloody carcass, exploding into several chunks. Flesh and blood were scattered, covering a patch of grass with a blanket of blood. Two pits appeared in the places where the rabbits had been originally tethered to. Surrounding the pits were the rabbits’ messy remains. Bloody chunks of meat sprinkled the ground. This was a spectacle too terrible to observe.
Han Li let out a breath and sat down on the ground. He feared that if he had not reacted quickly enough at that instance, he would’ve been caught in the explosion. Although he might not have been seriously injured, having his entire body drenched in rabbit blood and dregs of meat would not have been a pleasant affair.
Waiting until after his heart calmed, Han Li stood up and walked next to the pits.
After seeing the mutilation at the site, he took a look at the shattered porcelain bowl by the medicine field and was dumbfounded.
Han Li originally believed that he would have discovered the green liquid to be some sort of panacea, but he did not expect it to be such a frightening thing. Poison was poison, but it made the rabbits die so tragically! No matter what he said to himself, he could not pass this off as a trick. It was far too frightening! Han Li was not unfamiliar with deadly poisons. Under Doctor Mo’s several years of instruction, Han Li was experienced with many poisons capable of delivering an instant death, but none of them were capable of killing a man so terribly.
After a while, Han Li regained his composure. Keeping his head calm, he made plans to depart from the medicine field.
Because it was soon going to be noon, he had to finish mixing the secret medicine to give to Senior Disciple Li. As for everything here, he would deal with it once he finished delivering the medicine.
With these thoughts in mind, Han Li did not take another look at the scene of the explosion, leaving all these troubles behind for later, and returned to his residence. After resting for a moment, he brought the medicine to the entrance of God Hand’s Valley.
Han Li was very punctual. He arrived at the entrance just as noon arrived. Li Feiyu seemed to have been anxiously waiting for him for a while now.
He alone waited at the valley’s entrance. He wore a white embroidered gown. However, he carried along the longsword that had previously left Han Li a deep impression. Since Han Li had not arrived yet, Li Feiyu’s face showed a sliver of worry, anxiously looking towards the direction of the valley.
As soon as he saw Han Li finally arrive, he put away his expression of anxiety. The corner of his mouth slightly rose, his face exposing a smile.
“Junior Disciple Han, you are truly quite punctual! You said noon, and you arrived right on time. I was waiting here for almost an hour,” Li Feiyu said half jokingly, half complaining.
“I am quite embarrassed. Blending the medicine took too much time yesterday, so I didn’t sleep until it was very late. In the morning, I woke a bit late. As soon as I finished taking care of a few matters at hand, it was almost noon already.” Said Han Li. Half of what he said was true.
“Junior Disciple Han…medicine, the medicine, did you finish mixing it?” Because Senior Disciple Li was anxious and a little hurried, he had actually spoken with somewhat of a stutter.
Han Li did not directly answer Senior Disciple Li’s question. He calmly smiled, slowly taking out a large medicine bag out from his bosom. With a swing of his arm, he threw the medicine over to Li Feiyu.
“Every time before you consume the Essence Extraction Pill, take the medicine by mixing a spoon of the medicinal powder with cooled boiled water, and it will alleviate all of your pain.”
“Thank you, Junior Disciple Han! Thank you, Junior Disciple Han!” Senior Disciple Li was wild with joy. Even if it could only ease his pain, he would have regarded it as great news. The pain from taking the Essence Extraction Pill made it so that he would shiver even when it wasn’t cold. He had tried many painkillers, but they all had no effect. Since Junior Disciple Han knew all of the characteristics of the Essence Extraction Pill and had taken it before, perhaps this medicine would actually be effective.
“Don’t thank me yet. Wait until after the medicine works before thanking me. In addition, this is only a year’s worth of medicine. I currently used up all of the medicinal ingredients I had available. I won’t be able to make any more for you until I gather enough medicinal ingredients,” Han Li spoke bluntly.
“No problem. Isn’t this a year’s worth? This is enough for the time being. Regardless of whether or not this medicine is effective, I, Li Feiy,u appreciates Junior Disciple Han’s kind intentions.” Senior Disciple Li had at last acquired what he desired. His expression returned to normal and was no longer artificial. He very straightforwardly expressed a humble feeling of respect towards Han Li.
Han Li faintly smiled. Not saying anything else, he took the initiative to part ways with Senior Disciple Li.
With the secret medicine in Li Feiyu’s hand, his head was filled with thoughts of quickly returning and testing the efficacy of the medicine. Seeing that Li Feiyu had no urge to bother Han Li any further, the two mutually took their leave.
After returning from the valley entrance, Han Li first went to clean up the medicine fields. The rabbit remains, bloodied earth, and broken bowl shards were soon completely swept into a hole. Then, he endlessly covered the two earth pits by pushing it flat with dirt. Just like that, it appeared as if there were no difference in the landscape between its current state and its state before the experiment.
Satisfied, Han Li clapped his hands to get rid of any dust particles. He looked all over the place, checking if there was anywhere he had overlooked.
When his eyes fell onto where the porcelain bowl had shattered, he could not help but mutter to himself.
He remembered very clearly that when he threw away the bowl, the diluted water within had spilled all over a small portion of the medicine field, landing on several medicinal herbs. He couldn’t help but be somewhat hesitant since he didn’t know whether these medicinal herbs would become poisonous after absorbing the water. Also, if someone were to eat these poisonous herbs, would they also experience the same horrible death as the rabbits? Should Han Li immediately destroy these poisonous plants? This chain of questions abruptly rose in Han Li’s mind.
Han Li had pondered for half a day, unable to come to a decision. After examining the plants once more, he decided to only do another small experiment. If in the following days, the medicinal herbs really became poisonous, it still wouldn’t be too late for him to destroy them.
After deciding, he looked around to see if there was nothing else he could do and went back to the stone room to practice. He hoped that he would be capable of breaking through and continue advancing his foundation.
Han Li currently no longer cared about the chant’s specific usefulness. His cultivation of this chant had already become instinctive. If he did not cultivate it, Han Li wouldn’t know what else he could do in the mountain valley. Stubbornly cultivating this chant to a greater layer of cultivation had already become his current life’s entire goal.
After an afternoon absorbed in cultivation, Han Li dispiritedly discovered that he truly was not a genius. Although he felt the distance from the fourth layer could be pierced through by a finger, he couldn’t advance an inch forward and had diligently cultivated the whole afternoon in vain.
It seemed he couldn’t cultivate any further without the support of medicinal elixirs. Otherwise, it would be very likely that he would forever stay at the peak of the third layer, unable to advance any further.
Han Li’s mind began to hope expectantly that Doctor Mo would return a bit earlier and was lucky enough to have found enough medicinal ingredients to help Han Li break through his current predicament.
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