A light breeze came. Han Li felt a slight chill on his body. He lowered his head to look at his “clothing”. Thinking about his current appearance, he couldn’t help but bitterly smile.
Recalling his training with Shifting Smoke Steps, he still had some lingering fear. In the forest undergrowth where he cultivated the technique, he had lived through a truly frightening experience. When he started training with this strange technique, he was covered all over with cuts and bruises from scraping against the unavoidable, stiff thorns.
Fortunately, he possessed Vitality Raising Pellets. In addition to treating internal injuries, they unexpectedly had an amazing effect on external injuries. After eating one, not only did it staunch the wound, there wouldn’t even be a scar by the next day.
Han Li clicked his tongue in marvel. This medicine was incredibly more potent than common concoctions. The only thing that confused him was why the medicine was named “Vitality Raising Pellet”. It seemed to him that the names “Scars Away” and “Staunch Bleeding” would be more appropriate.
If the experts that created the Vitality Raising Pellet knew what Han Li was thinking, they would have likely spit out blood from anger. This elaborate and elusive healing panacea had actually been compared to the “Golden Wound Medicine”, a common Jiang Hu elixir, by Han Li, who thought that it was only relatively stronger. How could these experts not die from anger?!
However, because he had practiced in such a dangerous environment, Han Li was able to make the fullest of his potential. Within this short time, his Shifting Smoke Steps had reached the level of proficiency where he could immediately put it to good use.
In addition, Han Li’s Eternal Spring Arts had just recently and unexpectedly broken through to the sixth layer. This was the highest layer of the chant that Doctor Mo had given him. Were it not for the assistance of those tens of elixirs, even if he were to exert all of his strength, it would have been unlikely for him to achieve this level of success in this lifetime.
After a few years of cultivation, Han Li had quite a bit of understanding and experience with the Eternal Spring Arts. He felt that this level of success was very unusual. Regardless of the means by which he cultivated, the effectiveness and results were completely different from common martial arts.
Initially, Han Li thought that the success rate of cultivating this particular martial art, as well as the speed of comprehension, depended on one’s individual talent.
One bestowed with good aptitude would naturally perform as expected, without any obstructions. Even if one had no external assistance, by means of hard work, he or she would be able to reach a high layer.
But if one’s aptitude was no good, once a certain layer was reached, he or she would be unable to advance a single step further without the assistance from elixirs. Han Li estimated that in a normal cultivator’s lifetime, he or she would stop at that very point without the slightest advance. This idea was very much reflected upon himself. In the past, he managed to cultivate to the third layer very smoothly, but at the fourth layer, he was met with incomparable difficulty and did not advance in the least.
However, if one had elixirs, the impossible would become possible, and it would be possible for one to break through the limitations of their natural aptitudes and advance to another layer. With this in mind, it is obvious how greatly cultivation depended on the power of medicine!
However, those like Han Li, who ate elixirs everyday like snacks, were reckoned to be nonexistent in the entire world. Therefore, it would be reasonable to say that the even more difficult fifth and sixth layer had been effortlessly cultivated by Han Li, who had not encountered the difficulty that he had faced from cultivating to the fourth layer.
The cultivation of the sixth layer of the Eternal Spring Arts, aside from making Han Li feel more vigorous than before, made his mind even sharper. For the time being, he hadn’t discovered any other wonderful effects. What was strange was that ever since he cultivated this Eternal Spring Arts, his spirit, mind, and five senses were somewhat strengthened with each increasing layer, but it had little effect on his body’s health. He had no choice but to make his body sturdy and his footsteps light. In addition, his cultivation of the Eternal Spring Arts had formed a new energy flow, which Han Li called pseudo-True Qi. Although it moved through the channels of True Qi, it did little more than make his sense of touch more sensitive. It did not have the same formidable might as True Qi.
Having trained this much, he was certain that the sixth layer wasn’t the end of the chant. Perhaps it had the further wonderful effects that would be revealed in the later layers.
Thinking of this, he helplessly shook his head and sighed. With regards to his current relationship to Doctor Mo, the final layers of cultivation was a matter he could only dream of.
Halting his imagination, Han Li jumped, softly leaving the floor. Not a sound was produced. Then, with long strides, he walked to his residence.
Tomorrow, he would meet with Doctor Mo, but before then, he had to make full use of his innate skills. His mind planned each step of his encounter with Doctor Mo in advance. He carefully pondered every finite possibility of the dangers that had yet to occur and formulated an optimal plan for responding to the threats that he simulated in his mind.
Chapter 44: Antidote
The sun hung high up in the sky. Despite this time of year being the beginning of autumn, the heat from the sun was scorching hot.
Doctor Mo was in his room, fidgeting. Although he was confident in his methods of dealing with Han Li, he could not be completely at ease.
Suddenly, sounds of footsteps could be heard, slowly approaching his residence.
When he heard the sounds of the familiar footsteps, Doctor Mo was filled with joy. He rushed hurriedly and opened the door.
As expected, standing outside the door was his long awaited target – Han Li.
Looking at him as Han Li walked towards him, Doctor Mo fiercely suppressed the glee in his heart before allowing a trace of smile on his face.
“Not bad, you are indeed punctual. Seeing that you have made no attempts to escape, I’m truly happy. This means that you are intelligent. Let us enter the house before we have a good discussion.”
The expressions on Doctor Mo’s face was like that of a kindly elderly neighbor. The smile on his face was akin to a blooming flower.
“You can relax, I didn’t set any traps in the house,” Doctor Mo quickly explained to him, seeing the alertness in Han Li’s eyes.
“Hmph! Since I’ve dared to come, why would I be afraid to enter your residence?” Han Li immediately replied, as if he couldn’t stand the slightest provocation.
After he replied, Han Li took a step to enter the residence.
Doctor Mo immediately shifted his body to the side, allowing Han Li to enter. After Han Li entered, he extended his hands, attempting to close the door, but before he could do so, Han li interjected without turning back his head:
“if you dare to close the door, I will assume that you have some tricks up your sleeves. There’s no way I would still discuss anything with you.”
After hearing Han Li’s words, Doctor Mo panicked. However, he swiftly recovered and left the door open. Unsatisfied, he exclaimed:
“I truly want to have a discussion with you. I mean no harm towards you. Since you are not willing to let the door be closed, we will just leave it open then.”
After saying this, Doctor Mo reclined on his chair. The two of them silently stared at each other. They have not met for half a year, and thus, they were considering and gauging each other carefully.
In Han Li’s eyes, Doctor Mo had clearly declined a lot. He looked even more aged and withered now, no different from a 70 year-old grandfather. Involuntarily, he murmured in his heart, “Could it be that what he said was true? All he wanted to do was to recover his vital energy? Was there truly no other sinister plan?. Did I overthink things? “
As Han Li studied his surroundings, his pupils swiftly contra
cted. That muscularly built, mysterious figure was standing silently at one corner, like some sort of corpse. If Han Li had not meticulously scanned every corner, he would surely have missed him.
After his prior inspection of Han Li, Doctor Mo was extremely satisfied with his condition. As such, he warmly stated, “Looking at the current you and comparing it to the person who had just entered the sect back when he was only ten years old, you have already grown so much.”
The sudden shift in conversational topic and the change in atmosphere caught Han Li off-guard, making him wary of Doctor Mo’s intentions. However, in his heart, Han Li raised his alertness to its maximum level. This sly old fox, the salt he had eaten was much more compared to the rice Han Li had consumed*. If Han Li was the slightest bit careless, he would undoubtedly fall into a trap.
(*chinese idiom meaning that the Doctor Mo’s experience was far greater than Han Li’s)
“Old Mo, I will forever engrave your care towards me in my heart, never forgetting it. Whatever request you have, I will try to fulfill it.” Han Li’s expression warmed, as if he had turned back to the obedient disciple he had been ages ago.
“Excellent! Excellent! Your words prove that I have not wasted my time and efforts on you. Come, let me see how much your progress with the Eternal Spring Arts has improved.” At that moment, Doctor Mo seemed to assume the role of the kindly teacher. Standing up, he directly attempted to take Han Li’s pulse.
“Sly old fox, how cunning and thick-skinned.” Han Li cursed in his heart as he swiftly side-stepped, avoiding Doctor Mo’s hand.
“Old Mo, don’t be in such a hurry, I can truthfully tell you that my Eternal Spring Arts have reached the fourth layer. However, I want you to give me the antidote to the Insect Corpse Pill first. After I’m cured, I will let you inspect my progress.” Han Li smiled as he used a sincere tone while talking to Doctor Mo.
“Oh! Oh my, my mind must have become muddled. My memory is no longer as good as before. Initially, I intended to give you the antidote the moment you stepped in.” Shock adorned his features as Doctor Mo seemed to have recalled something.
He withdrew a silver flask from inside his robes and took out a black-colored, ordinary looking pill, which he tossed towards Han Li.
Han Li acted clumsily and “barely” managed to catch the pill that was tossed over to him. Bringing it to his nose, he sniffed it. Waves of spiciness were released from the pill. He inclined his head to look at Doctor Mo, only to find Doctor Mo smiling at him.
He hesitated, suspecting the authenticity of this antidote.
Yet, there was no way for him to avoid ingesting it because the Insect Corpse Pill would soon activate. If he did not ingest the antidote now, it was equivalent to committing suicide. Han Li believed that Doctor Mo would continue acting cautiously and refrain from giving Han Li a fake antidote. Han Li’s expression turned heavy as he chose to swallow the antidote, waiting for its medicinal effect to take place.
At this moment, Doctor Mo was extremely relaxed. He began to chat nonchalantly with Han Li, as if he had forgotten what his real purpose was.
Not long after, Han Li could feel a surging wave of immense pain originating from his stomach, but the pain swiftly subsided. He quickly began to inspect his own body and realized that the Insect Corpse Pill had disappeared without a trace. Joy filled his heart, and his face broke out with traces of a smile.
Naturally, the changes had not escaped from Doctor Mo’s notice. He waited for Han Li, who was completing his inspection. With a huge smile on his face, he said:
“Ah, Han Li, when I gave you the Insect Corpse Pill to ingest, it was merely to give you extra motivation. If not for that, I think you might not have broken through to the fourth layers of the Eternal Spring Arts so easily!”
“Thank you for Doctor Mo’s beautiful intentions. However, I hope that such intentions will not be needed in the future.” After recovering, Han Li’s state of mind improved, and he began to slightly believe Doctor Mo’s sincerity. He was not as directly opposed to Doctor Mo as before.
“Now, will you allow this old man to take your pulse?”?
Doctor Mo’s words caused Han Li’s expression to grow unsightly. To think that Doctor Mo would still request examine his cultivation. Who knew whether Doctor Mo would decide to grab this opportunity to further control and harm him?
Chapter 45: Sneak Attack and Bared Teeth
Han Li lowered his head as he pondered. It seemed that there was no way he could avoid Doctor Mo’s Inspection.
Doctor Mo had actually given him the antidote without hesitation, showing his clear sincerity. If Han Li still tried to beat around the bush, Doctor Mo’s suspicion would be raised, causing him to think that Han Li had not yet broken through to the fourth layer of the Eternal Spring Arts and instead was lying to him with false words. If that were the case, things would likely take a turn for the worst, causing many unexpected occurrences beyond his control.
Nevertheless, Han Li had long anticipated this moment and made his preparations. Even if Doctor Mo had malicious intentions towards him after taking his pulse, Han Li still had several ways to guarantee that he would be able to escape..
As he thought of this, Han Li raised his head. He glanced at Doctor Mo with both eyes before saying, “Old Mo, seeing how willingly you presented me the antidote, I will trust you one last time. I hope you will not cause me to be disappointed.”
After that, he extended his right wrist towards Doctor Mo while silently observing the the other party’s reactions. If anything seemed out of place, he would instantly retract his arm.
Regretfully, Doctor Mo maintained the false smile on his face. He could not detect any changes in Han Li. The only expression he made was a slight twitch of his eyebrow after Han Li agreed. Swiftly, he regained his original expression. It appeared that Doctor Mo had long expected Han Li to agree to his request.
Doctor Mo made no reply as he silently extended his left hand and placed it onto Han Li’s wrist. The smile on his face was slowly reined in, causing Doctor Mo to exhibit an extremely serious expression, as if he were carrying out an incomparably holy act.
Han Li secretly caused his body to manifest the Qi of the fourth layer. When he saw Doctor Mo’s expression, he raised his caution and alertness to the highest stage while his left hand slowly dipped towards his waist, where he had hidden a recently manufactured short sword.
Slowly, extreme joy broke out on Doctor Mo’s face. From taking Han Li’s pulse, he had discovered that there were unceasing waves of a mystical energy circulating within Han Li’s body, its intensity far exceeding his expectations.
Despite him being a cunning old fox with vast worldly experiences, he could not help but tremble slightly upon seeing that his only hope for salvation lying before him actually had a chance of succeeding. Excitement shone on his face. His smile was extremely radiant and couldn’t be compared to the fake smile he had on his face earlier.
“This is too wonderful! You really broke through to the fourth layer of the Eternal Spring Arts! HAHA! This is too amazing! HAHAHA!…..” Doctor Mo began to laugh uproariously, not bothering to maintain his previous facade in front of Han Li. The sound of his laughter reverberated through the whole house but yet… his hands remained tightly clamped onto Han Li’s wrist, as if he had no intentions of letting go.
“Old Mo, what is the meaning of this? Let go of me.” Han Li’s expression turned chilly; he had expected something of this nature to occur and had attempted to retract his hand immediately after Doctor Mo’s inspection, but Doctor Mo had given him no such chance.
“Let go of you? Sure!” Doctor Mo ceased his laughter. However, expression on his face changed.
He suddenly unleashed a roar: “Tai!”
Han Li felt his ears rumble as the world turned dark before his eyes. His body lost its balance, and he collapsed onto the floor. His left hand, which had been grasping onto the short sword’s hilt, fell limply to the ground.
“F*ck!” E
ven though his mind was clear, Han Li’s body refused to listen to his commands. Despite all of his precautions, he still suffered from Doctor Mo’s sudden sneak attack, causing him to unable to react in time.
“Brat, you are still a greenhorn. No matter what tricks you have up your sleeves, you have no way to execute them now.” Everything was going as he had predicted. Doctor Mo couldn’t help but grin and appear smug after achieving his objective.
“Come over here!” Doctor Mo’s left hand pulled Han Li over, dragging Han Li’s body towards his legs. Lowering his own body, Doctor Mo extended the index finger of his right hand and jabbed at the paralyzing acupoints located in front of Han Li’s chest region.
Peng!
A sound rang out. Doctor Mo’s finger met resistance as if it had attempted to pierce into a metal plate. His fingers trembled from the waves of pain that assailed him. For some reason, his acupoints-stimulating technique had failed.
“What is happening?!” He became shocked as his heart shuddered involuntarily.
“Could it be that he wore a layer of metallic armor underneath his shirt?” Doctor Mo wondered, surprised by the resistance.
His gaze involuntarily searched Han Li’s body. However, seeing how thin Han Li’s clothes were, he shook his head and immediately discarded the idea.
In the moment during which Doctor Mo was distracted, Han Li regained control over his body. His recovery abilities were far beyond what Doctor Mo had imagined.
Han Li’s true cultivation was at the sixth layer of the Eternal Spring Arts. He had truly not wasted his time and efforts in cultivating. His recovery rate was extraordinary, far surpassing even his own expectations.
At this moment, Doctor Mo decisively discarded his train of thought, causing all of his confusion and suspicion to dissipate. He began to think of another method to control Han Li, but in that instance, he discovered that Han Li’s wrist, which currently locked firmly into his grasp, suddenly became extremely smooth, as if it were soaked with oil. There was no way for him to forcefully exert his strength and lock onto Han Li’s wrist.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 24