He used the same method to break through one stone door after another before entering the secret chambers, only to quickly emerge empty-handed every time.
After breaking into six secret chambers in a row, Han Li still hadn't discovered anything of note, and he was internally lamenting his bad luck. At the same time, his expectations for the remaining secret chambers had also dwindled significantly.
However, after the door of the seventh secret chamber was broken amid a resounding boom, his eyes immediately lit up as he strode into the chamber.
This secret chamber was slightly different from its previous counterparts; not only was there a table and chairs in the room, there were also three jade boxes of different sizes on the tables, as well as a pair of small vials.
Furthermore, the thing that drew his attention the most was a piece of shimmering golden artwork that was hanging on the wall.
This piece of artwork was radiating dazzling golden light, rendering him unable to glean its true contents. Han Li closed his eyes momentarily before abruptly opening them again, and blue light flashed within his pupils, allowing him to peer through the golden light.
Immediately thereafter, his expression faltered slightly as he discovered that the piece of artwork was filled with countless golden flying swords of an identical style.
These flying swords had been depicted in all sizes and positions, with the largest ones resembling gigantic heaven-splitting swords that struck him with the feeling that there were several hundred feet in length. In contrast, the smallest of these swords were only around an inch in length each, yet all of the patterns on the swords were extremely clear, as if they were right before his eyes.
The presence of so many golden swords should've made the artwork extremely cluttered and chaotic, making one unable to discern one sword from another, but each and every flying sword on the piece of artwork was extremely life-like, and they all possessed different auras that made them easily discernible from their counterparts.
Han Li was quite elated to see this bizarre myriad sword artwork, and he stared intently at it as he remained still on the spot.
However, only a brief moment had passed before Han Li suddenly gave a muffled groan and retreated a few steps as if he had been dealt a heavy blow by some kind of invisible power. He immediately twisted his own head away to remove his gaze from the artwork, not daring to inspect it any longer. At the same time, an unnatural flush appeared on his face.
"What powerful spiritual sense! It feels like I was actually being attacked by flying swords. If it weren't for the fact that I'm also proficient in using flying swords and possess a powerful spiritual sense of my own, my spiritual sense would've been severely damaged just now."
Han Li's spiritual power rapidly circulated within his own meridians for a few cycles, following which his bodily condition returned to normal, but he still wore a stunned look on his face.
However, after he calmed himself down, he immediately flipped a hand over to produce a stack of talismans of different colors. He then raised his hand, and the dozen or so talismans shot forth one after another, disappearing into the myriad sword artwork after just a few flashes.
A peculiar scene then ensued. Rune projections of all types of different colors emerged from the surface of the artwork, enshrouding the golden light before rapidly shrinking.
Under the pressure being exerted by these runes, the golden light emanating from the artwork began to reluctantly shrink as well before finally completely vanishing in the end.
The rune projections then instantly reverted back into their talisman forms before plastering themselves firmly onto the piece of artwork.
As a result, the auras being exuded by the sword artwork were instantly restricted, reducing it to an ordinary piece of artwork.
A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this, and he made a grabbing motion with one hand.
The sword artwork was forcibly wrenched off the wall before landing in his grasp.
Faint azure light flashed, and the artwork instantly rolled itself up into a scroll before vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Only then did Han Li heave a faint sigh of relief.
He didn't know if this myriad sword artwork had been created by the owner of this place, but even after taking only a brief glance at it, he could sense that this artwork was extremely profound and seemed to be imbued with some kind of mysterious cultivation method. It seemed to be a powerful sword art, but also like some kind of spiritual sense secret technique, but further inspection would be required before he could arrive at a definitive conclusion.
After that, he strode over to the table, then swept a sleeve through the air to release a burst of azure light. The azure light instantly removed the lids of the jade boxes and small vials, but Han's brows immediately furrowed slightly as he swept his spiritual sense into those containers.
There were several talismans in each of the three jade boxes, upon which were inscribed extremely complex beveled silver text runes. However, the spiritual Qi within the talismans had also dissipated, rendering them completely useless. As for the two small vials, they were completely empty with only faint traces of spirit liquid left behind within them.
It appeared that these two small vials had contained some kind of spirit liquid in the past, but the liquids had since dried up due to lackluster storage conditions. After a brief moment of contemplation, Han Li decided to stow away all of the talismans.
These talismans were very different from the talismans on the Golden Jade Tome that he possessed, so it would be a worthwhile endeavor for him to study and replicate the talismans.
After that, he searched through the entirety of this secret chamber, but didn't make any further notable discoveries.
Thus, he immediately exited this secret chamber before breaking into all of the remaining chambers one after another, but these ones were also completely empty.
After he emerged from the final secret chamber, he immediately rushed back the same way he had come without any pause.
Not long after that, Han Li appeared on the platform outside the gate of the side palace. He then glanced at the mountain paths leading to the other two side palaces and the main palace, and a contemplative look appeared on his face.
At this point, Shi Kun and Liu Shui'er were most likely close to reaching the mountain summit.
Chapter 1711: Medicine Garden
However, the illusionary formation on the plaza was extremely potent, and unless the two of them had some special tricks up their sleeves, they definitely wouldn't be able to pass through it in a short time.
Even so, there wouldn't be too much time left for him, and he would only have a chance to search through one more place at most.
With that in mind, Han Li's gaze began to wander back and forth between the two side palaces, and he was struggling to make a decision.
All of a sudden, a thought occurred to him. One of the side palaces was surrounded by lush greenery and enshrouded under a burst of rich wood-attribute spiritual Qi. Furthermore, the gentle breeze blowing over from that direction was intermingled with a faint medicinal aroma, and Han Li couldn't help but denounce himself for being an idiot.
A medicine garden was a mandatory fixture for all cultivators' cave abodes; this place was left behind by an immortal, so there had to be a medicine garden here as well.
Regardless of how valuable the other treasures here were, how could they compare to spirit medicines that could only be found in the True Immortal Realm?
With his mysterious small vial, he could nurture any spirit medicine he found here at an extraordinary rate, so spirit medicines would be far more valuable to him than any other treasure that he could find here.
From the spiritual Qi wafting through the air in the distance, it was quite clear that the medicine garden lay in that direction.
With that in mind, Han Li didn't hesitate any longer; he immediately rushed toward the area behind the main palace as a streak of azure li
ght with his giant ape puppet in hot pursuit.
With Han Li's insanely fearsome physical constitution, it only took him around 10 minutes to reach the cluster of buildings behind the main palace.
He didn't know the exact location of the medicine garden, but it was very easy to identify where the wood-attribute spiritual Qi in the area was richest.
He completely disregarded the other buildings that he passed by along the way and arrived on a patch of flat ground between three pavilions after just a few flashes.
There was a garden that was several acres in size here, and this was none other than the source of the faint medicinal aroma.
However, the entire medicine garden was completely surrounded by five purplish-golden pillars and enshrouded under a five-colored light barrier.
Han Li's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this.
It was quite apparent that this was a large formation that would be far more troublesome to break through than the simple restrictions on the doors of the secret chambers from before.
Following a brief moment of contemplation, he made a hand seal with one hand before opening his mouth to expel a ball of silver flames.
A clear cry rang out from within the silver flames, and the silver fireball transformed into a small silver bird.
It was none other than his Spirit Engulfing Fire Raven. This fire raven was capable of devouring all types of spirit flames and spiritual powers, so it was naturally extremely proficient in breaking through restrictions like this one.
"Go!" Han Li immediately instructed as he pointed at the five-colored light barrier before him. The silver fire raven instantly spread its wings and shot forth as a ball of silver light at his behest. "Boom!" The five-colored light barrier swayed slightly, immediately following which silver flames and five-colored light intertwined with another amid a string of successive explosions.
Flames danced around the silver Fire Raven's body, and those flames shot forth in all directions, devouring all of the five-colored light that came into contact with it.
Mere moments later, the light barrier had become noticeably thinner, and Han Li was ecstatic to see this. It appeared that this restriction that was left behind by an immortal was going to be far easier to break through than he'd anticipated.
Just as he was about to spur on the Fire Raven to unleash more of its power, a low buzzing sound suddenly rang out from the five surrounding purplish-golden pillars. Immediately thereafter, brilliant five-colored spiritual light erupted, and pillars of light surged forth before injecting themselves into the light barrier.
Light instantly flashed from the thinning light barrier, and it immediately returned to its former density. Han Li's expression darkened upon seeing this.
He immediately made a series of hand seals while chanting something before abruptly uttering the word "expand" in a firm manner.
A vicious light flashed through the Spirit Engulfing Fire Raven's eyes, and it spread its wings before rising up into the air. It was originally only around a foot in size, but its body rapidly expanded, and it only took mere moments for it to swell to around 10 feet in size.
The giant silver Fire Raven let loose a loud cry before flapping its huge wings downward in a violent manner. Countless silver feathers were sent flying through the air before transforming into fireballs that crashed down in a torrential barrage.
A resounding boom immediately rang out across the heavens, and scorching flames completely inundated the entire light barrier down below.
The five pillars were still constantly injecting spiritual power of the five elements into the light barrier, but that still couldn't prevent it from quaking violently.
The massive silver bird withdrew its wings upon seeing this before transforming into a massive fireball amid a flash of brilliant silver light, then came crashing down from above like a shooting star.
An earth-shattering boom erupted, and the five-colored light barrier was finally unable to hold itself together any longer, shattering into countless pieces.
A hint of elation flashed through Han Li's eyes upon seeing this, and he was preparing himself to immediately rush into the medicine garden in the instant that the light barrier completely crumbled.
However, his thought process proved to be too simple in the end.
All of a sudden, the pillars of light erupting from the five purplish-golden pillars vanished, and in the next instant, a loud thunderclap rang out as arcs of purple lightning emerged.
Han Li's expression immediately darkened significantly at the sight of this purple lightning. He glanced at the crumbling five-colored light barrier and gritted his teeth, but instead of taking evasive measures, black Qi surged forth from his body, and his suit of Heavenly Devilish Armor appeared again. He injected his spiritual power into the suit of armor in a frenzy, and countless black runes shot forth from the surface of the armor, revolving around his body to form a protective barrier.
Thunderclaps erupted as countless thin golden arcs of lightning sprang forth, forming a net of lightning that acted as an additional protective barrier around him.
Immediately thereafter, he made a grabbing motion with one hand, and a stack of talismans instantly appeared before surging toward his body. Light flashed, and several layers of light barriers of different colors emerged outside of the lightning net. Right at this moment, Han Li swept a sleeve through the air to hurl forth his Extreme Essencefused Mountain. The mountain instantly swelled to over 100 feet in size at his behest before positioning itself in front of him like a giant shield.
These arcs of purple lightning were indeed extremely fearsome, but surely they wouldn't be able to melt through this mountain.
Almost in the exact same instant that Han Li completed all of these defensive measures, an enormous thunderclap erupted from each of the five purplish-golden pillars in unison.
Five bolts of purple lightning that were each as thick as large bowls surged forth before converging mid-way to form a massive ball of lightning that was around five feet in diameter. The ball of lightning then hurled directly toward Han Li with unstoppable force, and his expression darkened even further at the sight of its astonishing mass.
However, he continued to remain still on the spot as he let loose a low cry before abruptly thrusting a palm toward the black mountain up ahead.
The silver runes on the surface of the mountain immediately flashed, and a layer of grey light swept forth from the mountain directly toward the purple ball of lightning.
In the next instant, the two clashed, and a resounding boom rang out. The grey light barrier only managed to stall the lightning ball for a moment before being split apart. This didn't come as much of a surprise to Han Li. After all, the Divine Essencefused Light was quite profound, but it was only effective against five elemental power, so it naturally failed to have much of an effect on the secret lightning power from the True Immortal Realm.
Thus, the purple ball of lightning continued onward and crashed directly into the black mountain. A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.
His current Extreme Essencefused Mountain had more than just Divine Essencefused Light as its ability. Azure light suddenly flashed from his palm, which was pressed against the mountain face, and an incantation seal was injected into the mountain.
A silver rune immediately drifted out of the mountain before transforming into several fist-sized black holes that appeared in front of the mountain.
The purple lightning ball crashed into these black holes in a flash, but passed through without any impediment.
Han Li's expression stiffened slightly, but he could clearly see that in the instant that the lightning ball passed through the black holes, its diameter, which was originally around five feet, was reduced by over a third.
However, before he had a chance to think about anything else, the lightning ball struck the black mountain amid an earth-shattering boom.
Brilliant purple light erupted from the lightning ball, and two purple ligh
tning snakes suddenly skirted around the giant mountain on either side, then hurtled directly toward Han Li as if they had minds of their own.
The outermost layers of light barriers were instantly destroyed upon making contact with the purple lightning snakes, unable to offer any impediment.
Han Li's eyelids twitched violently upon seeing this, but he suddenly waved a hand forward.
The golden lightning net around his body instantly shot forth amid a rumbling thunderclap, hurtling directly toward the two bolts of purple lightning.
Right at this moment, a crisp cracking sound rang out, and as soon as Han Li heard this sound, he immediately rushed off to the side, leaving a trail of afterimages in his wake.
The five-colored light barrier had finally been completely shattered by the silver Fire Raven's ferocious assault, but as the purple and golden lightning intertwined, the two bolts of purple lightning suddenly exploded.
Purple light instantly completely inundated the golden light, and the enormous force of the explosion swept up a scorching tornado that was interspersed with countless traces of purple lightning. The tornado then swept up Han Li's body in a flash, and his expression abruptly changed as he was forced to stop on the spot.
A resounding boom rang out as black runes abruptly exploded, transforming into bursts of black Qi that intertwined with the purple lightning as both powers exploded into nothingness.
In the next instant, a golden projection with three heads and six arms emerged from within the black Qi. The projection waved its arms through the air, and countless balls of golden light erupted from its six palms, forcing the tornado into a state of near collapse.
A startling commotion rang out as black light suddenly flashed from the tips of the sharp spikes on Han Li's suit of devilish armor, following which pillars of black light that were as thick as human thumbs shot forth.
The tornado was finally completely destroyed by these two types of attacks amid an anguished wail, and Han Li rushed toward the medicine garden again.
However, right at this moment, a buzzing sound suddenly rang out from the five purple pillars, and light flashed violently as the shattered light barrier above the medicine garden instantly repaired itself.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality c1-2248 Page 981