A Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu Transmigrates into a Book, the Dao Ancestor of Rein

Chapter 88 A Golden Elixir

After Han Li walked away with the spiritual tea given to him by the girl, the two of them were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

“Miss Xin, this senior is truly tolerant and generous towards us.”

"Yes, he's truly magnanimous. If it were any other Foundation Establishment cultivator, they would probably have already forced us to hand over everything we have. But how can I repay his kindness and generosity?"

He had given her so much—saving her life, extending her life, providing intelligence and a way out—it put a lot of pressure on her.

"Senior Han just gave me a Foundation Establishment Pill, I don't know how to repay him." Qi Yunxiao muttered to himself.

At this time, the six major demonic sects had not yet attacked, and the Foundation Establishment Pills, which were monopolized by the various sects, had not yet leaked out. Therefore, for these two rogue cultivators, the value of a single Foundation Establishment Pill even exceeded that of the simple Reversed Five Elements Formation they had previously used.

"We must keep our promise to him," Xin Ruyin said with a gentle smile.

Qi Yunxiao nodded and then handed over a pill bottle: "By the way, Miss Xin, why don't you take this Foundation Establishment Pill that the senior gave you to improve your cultivation?"

"Eh?"

Upon hearing this, Xin Ruyin paused for a moment, then decisively pushed her hand away in refusal:
"No, Brother Qi."

His expression instantly turned extremely serious.

"Why?"

“Brother Qi, all these years I’ve been able to continue my cultivation of immortality thanks to you. It is also because of you, Brother Qi, that I was able to escape death. Your kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain, how could I possibly take away your destiny for immortality?”

"No, no, Miss Xin, your situation is different. You need this Foundation Establishment Pill more. You should use it. Next, we'll go to the major markets and buy as many low-grade pills as possible to strengthen your foundation and increase your magical power, raising your cultivation to the twelfth level of Qi Refining. Once you reach the twelfth level of Qi Refining, try taking this Foundation Establishment Pill immediately. Only when you establish your foundation and significantly extend your lifespan can I feel at ease. It's alright if I take it a little later."

"Brother Qi..."

...

Han Li, on the other hand, was not in a hurry to return to Huangfeng Valley.

He chose Lanzhou in the southern part of the Yue Kingdom.

It is Jiayuan City.

Judging by the timeline, that Core Formation cultivator from the Yuling Sect should have entered the Yue Kingdom within the last year or two. However, his physical body was damaged by a Core Formation expert from the Yanyue Sect or some other sect, and in the end, he could only escape to the vicinity of Jiayuan City with his primordial spirit.

"My butterfly effect will most likely not affect the six sects of the demonic path, so this person will definitely appear. It's just uncertain whether this person will happen to encounter that Core Formation expert from Yue Kingdom, or whether he will be seriously injured and then happen to escape to Jiayuan City?"

"If everything remains the same, will Lu Chengfeng, whom I left behind in Jiayuan City, be possessed?" It seems that only Senior Brother Lu in Jiayuan City possesses spiritual roots and can be possessed.

Han Li thought to himself.

Actually, he should have taken action a year ago.

However, given the timing is too coincidental, some things become difficult to explain.

It's impossible for a Core Formation cultivator to possess Lu Chengfeng one minute and then catch him the next, right?

This can no longer be explained by coincidence.

"Let's go check on Sun Ergou from the Siping Gang first."

He left Lu Chengfeng there back then, even though his dantian had been destroyed.

A corpse with its dantian destroyed and initially refined into a semi-finished product cannot be cured by ordinary means. Even cultivators would find it difficult to heal without certain special and precious spiritual herbs such as the Blazing Sun Flower.

Of course, if a Core Formation cultivator is willing to expend their own Golden Core Qi to heal him, or a Nascent Soul ancestor is willing to expend their Nascent Soul Qi to improve his physique, they can also be reborn and start anew.

It remains to be seen whether Lu Chengfeng will have that kind of luck.

Jiayuan City, a major water transport city in Lanzhou, has a population of over three million.

The Siping Gang is one of many small gangs.

Han Li arrived without alerting anyone.

That night, in the residence of the leader of the Siping Gang, the leader Sun Long (also known as Sun Ergou) was playing a game of hide-and-seek with his beautiful wives and concubines. The so-called game was that the gang leader Sun Ergou was blindfolded and had to try to catch one of the concubines around him. Whoever he caught could have his oil rubbed off.

These fun little games are popular among high-ranking officials and nobles, and are also a favorite after-dinner activity for many gang leaders and high-ranking members.

Unexpectedly, Sun Ergou also started playing these tricks.

"Little beauty, I'm here..." Er Gouzi, blindfolded, groped around, and suddenly hugged someone, overjoyed: "Hahaha, who is it? Is it Jiao Jiao or Qian Qian?"

"Good boy, let your big brother see who it is, hehehe..."

However, when he tore off the black ribbon covering his eyes, the smile on his face immediately froze.

He immediately shuddered and released Qu Hun from his embrace, then knelt down with a thud, and then bowed deeply and kowtowed repeatedly to another figure behind Qu Hun:
"Your subordinate Sun Long—no, your subordinate Sun Ergou—pays respects to Your Majesty..."

In that instant, Sun Ergou was drenched in cold sweat.

My body trembled involuntarily, shaking like a leaf.

"Not bad, Er Gouzi, having a great time. You've become so romantic now? Looks like you've been living a good life these past few years." Han Li, sitting there playing with a teacup, had a playful look on his face.

"My lord, I owe my success today entirely to your grace and the elixirs you bestowed upon me years ago. It is thanks to these elixirs that my humble Siping Gang has been able to stand out among the thirty-odd small gangs in the western city."

Sun Ergou kowtowed repeatedly.

Back then, the Siping Gang had eight or nine hundred members, all of whom were porters and laborers making a living at the docks. The only notable members were second-rate martial artists like their leader. However, after being given a bottle of low-grade pills left by Han Li that he no longer needed, Er Gouzi's martial arts and internal energy improved rapidly, quickly reaching the level of a first-rate mortal master. After several months of consolidation and a significant increase in overall strength, Sun Er Gouzi smoothly usurped the leadership of the Siping Gang.

Having acquired considerable skills, they immediately began to expand, and within a few years, the ever-growing Siping Gang had grown to more than three thousand members.

Fortunately, Sun Ergou didn't get arrogant. Instead, he remembered Han Li's instructions and, after gaining a certain scale and the strength to protect himself, immediately kept a low profile. After that, he simply stayed within the Siping Gang's small territory and lived a relatively peaceful life.

Then, the scene described earlier occurred.

There was a scene where Er Gouzi was holding Qu Hun, calling her Jiao Jiao, then Qian Qian, and then coquettishly calling her "good girl." He even almost kissed her.

That scene was so shocking, it goes without saying.

"Alright, get up. Tell me about that person first. Did you manage to raise him to death?"

As Han Li spoke, he brewed himself a pot of spiritual tea.

It was Xin Ruyin who gave it to him before he left.

It tastes even better than the spiritual tea from the Ye family in Qinye Ridge.

Xin Ruyin had collected and roasted the food herself. Since there wasn't much, he only asked for three jars. He planned to give one jar each to Master Hongfu and Dong Xuan'er when he got back, and then share some of the rest with his two senior sisters, Xiuting and Xiulan.

"Rest assured, my lord, that man is still lying safely in the dungeon."

Sun Ergou said with a fawning expression.

"Alright, lead the way, let's go take a look."

As Han Li spoke, he walked past Qu Hun and came to Sun Er Gou.

At this moment, looking at this ordinary-looking young man who didn't seem particularly robust, Sun Ergou felt, for some reason, as if he were facing a prehistoric beast. He instantly got goosebumps all over.

"What's wrong? Why are you just standing there without moving?"

Han Li asked calmly.

"Yes, yes, sir, this way, this way." Sun Ergou wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and led the way.

Seeing this, Han Li nodded secretly in satisfaction.

The aura of a Foundation Establishment cultivator is overwhelming to mortals, even without being deliberately released. If it leaks even a little, mortals simply cannot withstand it. He hadn't actually used his Foundation Establishment aura to pressure Sun Ergou, yet Sun Ergou still almost got wet.

The basement of the Siping Gang had a fairly large underground space.

The guards here are quite strict, and there are always guards at every corner.

There were also plenty of patrol personnel, totaling over a hundred people.

"My lord, the dozen or so people imprisoned on the first floor of this underground space are gang members who violated the gang rules and committed crimes. The second floor holds a dozen or so spies planted by other gangs. As for the third floor, which few people know about, that is where that person is imprisoned. It is guarded by more than twenty of my most trusted bodyguards."

In other words, at least twenty people were directly serving Lu Chengfeng, and hundreds were indirectly serving him.

The benefits are undeniably good.

Through the secret passage, the three quickly arrived at a location more than ten feet underground.

Along the way, there were several checkpoints, all manned by Sun Ergou's trusted henchmen.

Finally, we arrived at an iron gate.

"My lord, we have arrived. The place where that man is imprisoned is behind this door."

Upon hearing this, Han Li extended his divine sense, which spread towards the iron gate.

The iron gate passed through him effortlessly with his Foundation Establishment stage divine sense, honed by the Great Evolution Technique. What came into view was a vast underground space, four zhang high and nearly ten zhang wide. Inside the space was a platform several zhang high, upon which sat an iron cage. Who else could be imprisoned in that cage but the corpse-refining wind slave created from Lu Chengfeng's body?

At this moment, Lu Chengfeng looked as if he were sleeping in an iron cage.

Because his soul was extracted by the demonic techniques left by Doctor Mo and Yu Zitong, Lu Chengfeng was theoretically just a soulless shell. He was then initially refined into a low-level corpse using the demonic techniques provided by Yu Zitong, theoretically no longer needing to eat or drink.

Therefore, it is quite normal that it has remained here without causing any trouble.

But the next moment, Lu Chengfeng, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and subconsciously looked towards the iron gate, a look of surprise flashing across his face. He seemed astonished as to why a Foundation Establishment cultivator would appear in this mortal town.
In that instant, Han Li clearly sensed:
"Divine sense? Magical power?!"

Moreover, it was a divine consciousness far above him.

His spiritual consciousness was similar to that of Gan Rushuang and Li Huayuan, with whom he had had multiple encounters.

Therefore, his magical power fluctuations were extremely weak, only at the fifth level of Qi Refining.

"Heh, heh heh..."

At that moment, Han Li suddenly laughed, laughing so hard that he couldn't help but cover half of his face with his hand.

So, this half-finished corpse refined from Lu Chengfeng's body followed the same path as Qu Hun Zhang Tieyuan and was possessed? Did that person from the Yu Ling Sect really fall into a trap? Possessed this Wind Spirit Root?
"Lord, Lord...?!"

Seeing this, Er Gouzi felt a little flustered.

In this secluded underground place, listening to that chuckling sound is rather eerie.

"It's alright, take your men and leave." Han Li waved his hand.

"My lord, is there something wrong with that person? But I've been having my subordinates keep an eye on him!" Sun Ergou instinctively defended himself.

Are you sure a group of mortals can keep an eye on a cultivator?
Han Li shook his head:

"It's alright, leave the Soul-Guiding Bell behind and go out."

"Ah good."

Sun Ergou was a sensible person, so he didn't ask any more questions. He took out a small magical bell from his pocket, handed it to Han Li, and obediently left.

After Er Gouzi and his subordinates left, only Han Li, Qu Hun, and Lu Chengfeng remained in the empty space behind the iron gate. With a creak, the iron gate was pushed open, and Han Li, along with Qu Hun and seven or eight lizard puppets, rushed in.

Their eyes met, and nothing was said.

Without any unnecessary words, they decisively took action.

Several puppets unleashed a barrage of energy fireballs at Lu Chengfeng.

Inside the iron cage, seeing Han Li attack without saying a word, Lu Chengfeng immediately waved his hand and unleashed several transparent wind blades. The wind blades were extremely sharp, and after cutting through several pillars of the fine iron cage, they immediately darted out and hurriedly dodged.

"Senior, it's a misunderstanding. I had no intention of taking over this body."

Lu Chengfeng, who had been possessed, suddenly spoke, and his first words were a plea for mercy.

Han Li, however, had no intention of wasting words and launched a swift attack.

Several salamander golems were using ranged attacks to block the enemy's movement, while others were charging in for close-quarters combat.

As a result, in the seemingly large but actually very limited underground space, Lu Chengfeng, whose cultivation level was only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, was quickly overwhelmed. He was knocked away by one of the lizard puppets and slammed heavily against a stone wall, and then pounced on and pinned down by the other two.

This is not over yet.

The other corpses showed no sign of stopping, opening their mouths to spew fireballs to burn the half-finished corpse slave to ashes.

"Senior, have mercy on me."

Lu Chengfeng still wanted to beg for mercy.

But several fireballs from the salamanders are about to strike.

Upon seeing this, Lu Chengfeng was both shocked and furious, cursing under his breath, "Damn it."

He had originally intended to feign compliance, waiting for the Foundation Establishment cultivator opposite him to get closer before suddenly unleashing his ultimate, and only, explosive attack. But now…

It can't be hidden anymore.

"Go away."

A beam of green light shot out from his sleeve, instantly tearing the fire lizard puppets that had been forcibly suppressing him from the left and right to shreds.

But the sword light didn't stop there; it then headed straight for Han Li, who was seven or eight zhang away.

However, Han Li had already taken precautions:

"The Green Radiance Sword?"

We've been waiting for you to forcefully unleash the last of your Golden Core energy for this attack.

After this blow, let's see what you have left.
With a cold snort, two top-tier magical artifacts, prepared long ago, flew out of the storage bag. These mirrors, one on the left and one on the right, emitted beams of light that shone upon the incoming Green Radiance Sword.

Where the mirror light shone, the green sword light was immediately frozen in place, unable to move.

Upon seeing this, Lu Chengfeng immediately exclaimed in surprise:

"The Mirror of Condensed Light?"

You misjudged me.

This is not the "ancient treasure" Ningguang Mirror, but a replica of the "magical artifact" Qingning Mirror.

Han Li seized the opportunity and shook the Soul-Guiding Bell he carried with him and the Soul-Guiding Bell on Sun Ergou's body. Two crisp sounds suddenly rang out in the underground space, and Lu Chengfeng, who had already gotten up to do something, immediately covered his head and fell to the ground again.

The green magical flying sword also lost control and stopped struggling. Its previous attempt to tear apart the mirror light ceased, and it became completely silent.

Clearly, the opponent was distracted and no longer had the energy to control the magical flying sword.

"That damned magical artifact again..."

"Wait, so you're the one who created this corpse?"

Lu Chengfeng cursed.

If Sun Ergou hadn't been carrying the Soul-Guiding Bell with him, he would have already subdued and enslaved the Siping Gang.

As for why he didn't flee, it was naturally because Sun Ergou wasn't controlling the half-finished corpse he had possessed to do anything. Staying in this underground space was perfectly fine; he could cultivate peacefully without being disturbed. Why would he leave? There wasn't such a good environment for quiet cultivation outside.

"what…"

The clanging of the Soul-Guiding Bell gave him a splitting headache. After a scream, a ball of green light appeared on his forehead and chest. The green light on his forehead was a cultivator's primordial spirit, and the green light on his chest was a cracked green bead.

escape.

Must escape.

While the newcomers' attention was focused on the magical artifact and the physical body, they quickly made their way out and fled.

Han Li, who had been preparing for this for a long time, immediately brightened up when he saw the two items:
"It's now."

He continued to remotely control the Soul-Guiding Bell to make it ring, then used the Cloud-Stepping Boots to enhance the Wind-Riding Step to its maximum, and in a few flashes, he arrived in front of Lu Chengfeng, whose eyes had once again become dazed. Then, two magical hands reached out, one grabbing the ball of green light, and the other grabbing the cracked green bead.

"My Golden Core Qi!" The primordial spirit trembled. Although extremely unwilling, it dared not continue to confront him head-on.

He tried to escape, but it was too late. Han Li's magical power was extremely fast, and he directly seized the man's primordial spirit before he could escape through the iron gate.

Everything happened extremely suddenly, from the start to the end, in just a few breaths.

Once the dust had settled, Han Li had already sealed the primordial spirit of the Core Formation cultivator from the Spirit Control Sect with talismans, then placed it inside a small magical bottle. The green bead, about the size of a fingernail, was also wrapped in talismans and placed in a box reinforced with intermediate-grade talismans.

After that, as long as the two items are stored separately, this person from the Yuling Sect will be unable to cause any trouble.

Looking at the Wind Slave's body on the ground, Han Li examined it and marveled at it.

"My dantian has been completely repaired, all the damaged meridians have been repaired, and even the minor internal injuries I sustained when I forcibly separated Lu Chengfeng's soul back then have been completely healed..."

"Moreover, all the meridians throughout my body have been greatly expanded, and my dantian is even deeper than that of someone at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage..."

"Tsk, this Core Formation cultivator from the Spirit Control Sect must have lost a lot of his precious Golden Core essence, right?"

Feng Nu was able to return to the path of immortality and even cultivate to the fifth level of Qi Refining entirely thanks to the Yu Ling Sect cultivators who used their own Golden Core Qi to help restore his body and rebuild his foundation. The effects of the Yi Jing Marrow Cleansing technique far surpassed the effects of the Foundation Establishment Pill.

It is precisely because of this that one can use the weak cultivation of a Qi Refining Level 5 cultivator to carry the power of a Core Formation cultivator and unleash a strike with the magic weapon, the Green Radiance Sword.

Otherwise, if Lu Chengfeng's body had swallowed that green bead, he would have exploded and died long ago.

In fact, when a high-level cultivator possesses a low-level cultivator, isn't each possession essentially a physical transformation? Or, to be more precise, a physical enhancement!

And look, Lu Chengfeng's Qi Refining Level 5 body is almost surpassing his Foundation Establishment Level 5 body in every aspect. His potential has increased exponentially!
just.

The cost was also very high.

The dim light of that bead in the box speaks volumes.

"It seems that the already limited Golden Core energy has been greatly depleted again, leaving only one or two strikes before it could fight me." Just now, it forcibly activated its original magic weapon, attempting to deliver a fatal blow, but was interrupted. Now, this dull green bead probably doesn't even have half a strike's worth of energy left.
With a wave of his hand, Han Li summoned the magic weapon, the Green Radiance Sword, to his side.

Looking at this magical flying sword, which was no less powerful than the Qingjun Sword of Fuyunzi of the Qingxu Sect, his smile became even more relaxed:

"Good baby."

Although he couldn't refine the magic weapon and couldn't unleash its full power, this Green Radiance Sword was still undoubtedly his most powerful weapon, second only to the Invisible Needle Talisman.

Furthermore, having captured a high-level cultivator from the Yuling Sect and performed such a remarkable feat, it would be reasonable for Huangfeng Valley not to reward him handsomely.

...

In fact, by this point, Han Li was becoming increasingly suspicious of Yu Zitong's identity.

There are three doubts.

First, the Seven Ghosts Soul Devouring Technique.

This method can actually temporarily refine the essence of mortals into magical power!
It's important to understand that essence is directly related to lifespan, and it only frequently appears in the understanding of beings at the Nascent Soul stage.

Where did Yu Zitong get such a bizarre and miraculous top-level demonic secret technique?
None of the cultivators he knew from Yellow Maple Valley had ever heard of such a method that could temporarily convert essence into mana. If such a method existed, how much more than doubled would a cultivator's explosive combat power be? It wouldn't be impossible for a mid-stage Core Formation cultivator to unleash one or two attacks from a late-stage Core Formation cultivator or even a Pseudo-Nascent Soul cultivator!

Secondly, the method of the primordial spirit leaving the body.

This method is little known even among the major cultivation sects; otherwise, during the Blood Trial, disciples who died unexpectedly would have already been possessing the bodies of any cultivators who came near. Death doesn't necessarily mean true death.

Over the years, only Young Master Lin, a sect leader in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, has used it.

His mentor, Master Hong Fu, had never taught him.

The question is, how did Yu Zitong, a mere Qi Refining Level 7 weakling, learn this? And even teach it to Mo Juren?!
Thirdly, the secret method of refining corpses and extracting souls.

What Yu Zitong taught Doctor Mo was undoubtedly an abridged version.

It looks very low-grade.

But hidden behind this seemingly low-level appearance lies an extraordinary level of sophistication. That is, the soul-extraction technique Yu Zitong taught Doctor Mo wouldn't cause too much damage to the body, especially the brain, of the person whose soul was being extracted. Zhang Tie preserved his physical body in this way; otherwise, he wouldn't have possessed the Soul-Slaying Pill from the original story.

If it were any other cultivator, even a Foundation Establishment stage expert, carefully extracting another's soul, it would more or less damage the brain of the person whose soul was extracted. Feng Nu Lu Chengfeng is an example; his brain was actually injured and left with hidden ailments when his soul was extracted. If it weren't for the Core Formation cultivator from the Yu Ling Sect using his own Golden Core essence to help repair it, it would have been impossible for this body to embark on the path of cultivation again.

If your brain is damaged, how can you talk about cultivating immortality?
and so.

Yu Zitong's identity has become increasingly mysterious.

...

After putting the wind slave, whose primordial spirit was gone but whose physical body was intact, into a spirit beast bag, Han Li explained some things to Sun Ergou and then went to the Mo family mansion.

At this time, the Mo family had not yet fallen into decline.

The main reason is that he did not disrupt the balance of power in Jiayuan City like the original owner did.

Jiayuan City has three leading enterprises, namely:

The most powerful Tianba Sect occupies the most prosperous East District.

The second is the Brotherhood Alliance, a grassroots gang force based in the northern part of the city.

Then there's the Jingjiao Society, a subordinate force of the Mo family, which occupies the southern part of the city.

Finally, there's Xicheng, where twenty or thirty small gangs, including the Siping Gang, are clustered together.

Jiayuan City, with a population of over three million, and its surrounding towns and villages, with a combined population of at least three to five million, were divided up by three major powers, several medium-sized sects, and dozens of small gangs.

The original owner, at the request of the ambitious women of the Mo family, assassinated the lord of Duba Manor, a powerful city with a history of conflict with the Jingjiao Society. This disrupted the balance of power among the three factions—the Jingjiao Society, Duba Manor, and the Five Colors Sect—leading to the Mo family's annihilation in Jiayuan City within a few years after the Five Colors Sect revealed its true strength.

The current Duba Manor still exists, the balance of the three major forces remains, and the cultivators have not interfered with the changes in the mortal world. Therefore, although the Five Colors Sect is the strongest, it has not been able to quickly devour the other forces, let alone unify the martial arts world of Jiayuan City and many surrounding major cities.

The change of one variable actually maintained the tripartite balance of power.

"Dr. Mo, are you satisfied with this scene?"

Since there were no signs of the Mo family's destruction, the three Mo sisters naturally did not need to go their separate ways.

Doctor Mo's four wives also lived a life of luxury.

And this must be what Mo Juren wanted to see, right?

...

Half a day later, by questioning the primordial spirit of the Yuling Sect cultivator, Han Li found the hiding place of the Golden-backed Demon Mantis.

In order to temporarily save his life and also to trick Han Li, this guy did not hide the location of the cave where he hid the corpse and the storage bag.

After arriving at the destination, Han Li chose to hide underground and wait patiently.

In half a month, he summarized the living habits of the golden-backed mantis.

This level-four peak demonic insect, standing over ten feet tall, would venture out every one or two days to hunt large wild beasts in the mountains for food. Each time, it would carry the large beast back to its cave to eat, and its outings never lasted longer than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. It was extremely efficient and very regular.

Based on the habits of the demonic insects, he devised a set of tactical plans.

On this day, when the Golden-backed Demon Mantis went out again, Han Li used concealment and stealth techniques to hide himself. Then, using an earth-遁符 (earth-遁符 is a type of talisman used in Chinese magic), he quickly approached the cave underground. Just as the Golden-backed Demon Mantis swooped down from the sky to hunt, it lost sight of the area. He swiftly slipped into the cave and found a corpse draped in a gray robe in a corner. The corpse still contained fluctuations of spiritual energy, which preserved its body from decay.

The corpse had a storage bag and a spirit beast bag attached to its waist.

Han Li didn't intend to look inside. Instead, he used his magic to grab the items and prepared to leave.

He hadn't yet set up the Inverted Five Elements Formation, and he didn't want to clash head-on with the unrestricted Golden-backed Mantis.

But after taking only a few steps, he suddenly squatted down again.

Suddenly turning his head, he looked at the body of the Spirit Control Sect cultivator, which, though damaged, was not decaying:

"Wait, there are still spiritual energy fluctuations within this body..."

He suddenly had an idea, and his eyes lit up.

A sweep of divine sense revealed a bead emitting a faint green light within the mangled body.

"The golden core of a Core Formation cultivator?"

That's right.

In the dungeon, the cracked green bead that the Yuling Sect cultivator tried to take with him when he escaped with his primordial spirit was not his golden core, but just a bead of spiritual energy condensed from a bit of the primordial energy within the golden core.

The real elixir is still inside the other person's body.

Because he had come here many years in advance, he not only obtained the other party's storage bag and spirit beast bag, but also this golden core that was losing spiritual power but had not yet completely exhausted its spiritual power and disappeared!
What a pleasant surprise! What a pleasant surprise!
"No wonder the body has been preserved to this day without decaying..."

It was all thanks to the spiritual power emanating from this golden elixir that it was preserved.

With a wave of his hand, Han Li took the golden pill.

He sensed the spiritual energy within the golden core, which had shrunk considerably, and found that although the spiritual energy was not abundant, it was still comparable to the total mana of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator like himself. In other words, it still had a considerable amount of vital energy remaining.

"It seems we should have come earlier."

In that case, more of the residual vital energy within the golden core can be preserved.

But that's enough.

Make a lot of money.

"Walk."

Not long after he left, the Golden-backed Mantis returned carrying a large wild boar.

Perhaps sensing the presence of an unfamiliar aura, the giant praying mantis entered the cave while it was away, and flew out, emitting a strange cry. The cry carried far, silencing all wild animals and insects within a radius of several miles, leaving them limp and motionless. Afterwards, they all kept their distance.

After venting its anger and scanning the surroundings, the golden-backed mantis found no trace of outsiders and had no choice but to fly back to its cave to eat.

underground.

Han Li narrowed his eyes slightly:

“Very strong.”

...

Inside the previously opened underground cave, Han Li ignored the commotion outside and began to take stock of his gains.

The biggest gain was undoubtedly the [Primordial Spirit] of that Spirit Control Sect cultivator. Confining it within the magical artifact bottle for at least three to five years wouldn't be a problem; it wouldn't dissipate or cause the cultivator to become mentally impaired. Besides, he wouldn't keep the other person locked up for that long.

The second gain was the magic weapon [Green Radiance Sword] and the opponent's [Golden Core], which had little energy left.

Although the Green Radiance Sword is not a top-tier magic weapon, but just an ordinary one, a magic weapon is still a magic weapon, surpassing the vast majority of talismanic treasures! A magic weapon that can be activated can easily defeat any individual below the Core Formation stage.

“Originally, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to activate the Green Radiance Sword. But with this golden core, it’s different…”

Han Li was overjoyed to see the newly acquired green golden pill.

As long as the one from the Spirit Control Sect tells him how to use the spiritual power within the Golden Core to activate the Green Radiance Sword, which is almost identical in origin, just like this person did before. Furthermore, as long as the spiritual power within this Golden Core is not exhausted, he should be able to deal damage at the Core Formation level, even if he cannot fully unleash the power of the Green Radiance Sword.

This is definitely a killer move.

As for how many hits he can actually land?
It all depends on how much spiritual energy is left in this golden elixir.

I reckon there will be at least three to five hits.

"I believe this person from the Spirit Control Sect will be pragmatic enough to tell me how to use it?"

after all.

The other party can't die even if they want to.

Whether or not to subject him to torture is entirely up to him.

Continue to organize the findings.

The next thing discovered was the [Spirit Beast Bag].

The bag mainly contained bottles and jars, each holding several kinds of strange insects, mostly larvae with little fighting ability.

There are more than 500 of them.

Almost all of them are alive.

The mothers of these insects were all obtained by Core Formation cultivators of the Spirit Control Sect over two to three hundred years through ruthless acquisition and exploitation. They were then used to cultivate these larvae, making them rare species ranked two to three hundredth on the Spirit Control Sect's list of extraordinary insects. Besides the Golden-backed Demon Mantis, there are even two other rare species that rank among the top one hundred on the list. Each of these extraordinary insects would be worth hundreds of gold coins on the market of Spirit Beast Mountain.

These insects are like mobile spiritual stones.

With a simple estimate, it could easily sell for at least forty or fifty thousand.

After all, half of the combat power of a high-level cultivator in the Spirit Control Sect comes from their spirit beasts and insects; magic weapons and spells are secondary. Even though they suffered heavy losses when they were forced to fight against others in the Yue Kingdom more than a year ago, losing a large portion of their power, what remained was still of great value. For example, that level four Golden-backed Demon Mantis would definitely have a lot of people vying to buy it even if it was priced at seventy or eighty thousand spirit stones.

These hundreds of spirit insects, though their spiritual power levels are somewhat low and most are still larvae, are rare and possess immense potential. Being listed means they are qualified to reach at least level 4 upon adulthood. Reaching a higher level through sheer chance is not out of the question.

If you raise it for over a hundred years, it should be able to reach an average spiritual power level of two or three.

Hundreds of cannon fodder with second or third-level spiritual power are still a considerable fighting force. Such a large number would be a powerful asset even for Core Formation cultivators. For their opponents, it would be an even greater threat.

Of course, if you want to sell them for money, especially at a high price, it's best to first gradually remove the blood pact mark left by the Spirit Control Sect cultivators from the spirit insect's body. Selling them clean is ideal. Selling them with the mark on them will definitely result in a lower price.

The final reward is the storage bag of a Core Formation cultivator from the Yuling Sect.

Han Li didn't have high hopes for this storage bag.

As expected, there were only a hundred or so mid-grade spirit stones and a thousand or so low-grade spirit stones.

From the perspective of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, this amount of spirit stones is undoubtedly a large sum of money. But for a dignified Core Formation stage expert, is this amount of spirit stones even enough to feed a beggar? Is it worthy of the status of a Core Formation expert?

Then came several bottles of pills he couldn't recognize, each with different effects. He dared not use them indiscriminately without knowing their properties.

In addition, some spiritual materials can also be worth a lot of spirit stones.

The most eye-catching items inside the storage bag were the various bottles and jars. Most of these bottles and jars were engraved with descriptions of food for some kind of demonic beast or insect. It seemed that this person had likely spent some of their spirit stones on these beasts' provisions.

Furthermore, it is not difficult to deduce from these bottles and jars that many of the spirit beasts and spirit insects raised by the other party have died in battle, because the corresponding spirit beasts and spirit insects for several kinds of feeds can no longer be found here.

In the corner of the storage bag, there was another green jade slip, which contained a guide to cultivating strange insects.

It involves some secret methods for cultivating and controlling insects.

Attached is a list of unusual insects.

The Golden-backed Mantis ranks seventy-third on the list.

“A high-level cultivator who has been in the Core Formation stage for at least one or two hundred years would certainly have far more wealth than this. It’s a pity that the mid-to-high-level talismans, as well as high-level talismans and talisman treasures, were used up in the battle more than a year ago.”

"Originally, this fellow should have possessed dozens, even hundreds, of strange and unusual treasures, just like Li Huayuan. Moreover, compared to the younger Li Huayuan, this man's collection should have included even more exquisite pieces, given that he has lived a hundred years longer. Unfortunately, his cave dwelling isn't in Yue Kingdom, but rather in the Yuling Sect of Tianluo Kingdom, which has benefited his wives, concubines, and disciples..."

After all, he couldn't possibly make a trip to Tianluo Kingdom.

"Then, only that golden-backed mantis is left."

"Should I return to the sect and ask Master Hongfu to help me capture him easily? Or should I kill him myself and use him to refine the weapon?"

　Let me explain the reference basis for using the Golden Elixir to activate magical treasures.

　　There are two bases for this.

　　One is the cultivator from the Yuling Sect. In the original story, this guy used his limited Golden Core spiritual energy to activate his natal magic weapon, the Green Radiance Sword.

　　The second is that in the Blood Forbidden Land, a Qi Refining stage disciple activated the magic weapon "Moon Sun Pearl" to dispel the fog within the forbidden land.

　　This all demonstrates that lower-level cultivators can utilize magical artifacts through certain means.

　　This book is set as a magic weapon activated by low-level cultivators using their Golden Core Qi.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)