Chapter 152: Xu Lao and the Hidden Room

The hall Han Li was in was exceptionally peculiar. It was a cylindrical, oversized room, about thirty zhang in diameter and four to five zhang high. Pale red crystals were embedded in the surrounding green rock walls, and a thin layer of white sand covered the floor, making the entire hall appear clean and tidy.

However, anyone looking up would be astonished to find countless white stalactites hanging from the hall's ceiling. This was, in fact, a rare stalactite cave that had been slightly modified to its current appearance.

Three passages were evenly distributed around the hall. Two of these had the ancient characters for "Artifact" and "Pill" carved beside them, respectively. The third passage remained unmarked, with no signs or indications nearby.

The hall was empty. After a quick scan, Han Li hesitated briefly before heading down the passage marked with the character for "Pill."

The passage was not long. After about a dozen steps, it curved, revealing a slightly larger room at its end. Inside, a long table stood, beside which a ruddy-faced old man was standing, grinning at Han Li.

Behind the table, several dilapidated shelves lined the wall, laden with various cauldrons, raw materials, and an assortment of strange items Han Li had never encountered.

Before Han Li could speak, the old man, beaming with delight, interjected, "Young friend, you look new around here! Is this your first time? Not many fresh faces come to this godforsaken place anymore! I'm utterly tired of seeing those same old grumpy faces. It's truly wonderful to have a younger newcomer!" The old man spoke, shaking his head playfully, his expression quite irreverent.

Han Li, however, realized that his Heavenly Eye Technique was ineffective on the old man; he couldn't discern his depth, indicating that the old man was another Foundation Establishment cultivator. How could Han Li dare to be disrespectful?

Therefore, he quickly bowed and said, "This junior greets you, Senior Martial Uncle. It is indeed my first time at Yue Lu Hall. I would be grateful for your guidance!" Han Li adopted a humble posture.

"If there's anything you don't understand, just ask, young friend. Also, my surname is Xu, you can call me Uncle Xu or Old Xu. I don't care for 'Senior Martial Uncle' this and 'Senior Martial Uncle' that," the old man quickly corrected Han Li's address, seemingly quite particular about it.

"Then... this junior will obey!" Han Li hesitated for a moment before casually agreeing, finding the old man rather eccentric.

"That's better. Now, tell me, what brings you here?" the old man named Xu said with satisfaction.

"This junior wishes to look through some pill-related recipes and books to study the art of alchemy," Han Li said, trying to sound indirect and subtle, hoping not to draw too much attention.

"Pill recipes and books, you say? Just go up these stairs!" To Han Li's surprise, the old man made no attempt to question him further. He casually produced a black token and cast a spell. In the empty space behind him and between the shelves, a stone staircase leading to the roof suddenly appeared.

Han Li was overjoyed and quickly approached the stairs. Just as he was about to ascend, Old Xu suddenly revealed a cunning expression.

"Viewing the collection on the second floor costs one low-grade spirit stone per hour. Original copies are not permitted to leave the premises. If you wish to duplicate content, an additional copying fee of ten spirit stones per copy will be charged."

Before Han Li could even step onto the first stair, Old Xu, standing behind him, slowly stated the rules, causing Han Li to freeze and almost burst out cursing.

The fees were exorbitant! Not to mention the ten low-grade spirit stones for copying, even the one-spirit-stone-per-hour browsing fee would deter many financially struggling disciples.

A low-level disciple could only earn twenty to thirty spirit stones a year through various tasks! Considering daily cultivation expenses and other outlays, they would only manage to save a meager few spirit stones.

Such a fee was absolutely extortionate! Han Li's perception of the old man immediately shifted 180 degrees; he was truly a cunning merchant!

Though a strange expression flickered across Han Li's face, he didn't hesitate. Instead, without looking back, he tossed a low-grade spirit stone into the old man's hand and quickly ascended to the second floor.

"Interesting! He wasn't deterred by the fee. Looks like we have a little rich kid here. Heh heh, seems I'll be making a bit more!" Old Xu, as he called himself, saw Han Li's generous ascent and couldn't help but beam, his eyes narrowing into crescent moons. He vigorously rubbed the spirit stone on his clothes corner, then held it up to scrutinize it. His true miserly nature was now completely exposed, a stark contrast to his initial amiable demeanor.

Meanwhile, Han Li suppressed his irritation. After calming himself, he began to carefully examine the second floor.

Contrary to his imagination of a spacious, well-lit room overflowing with countless books and bamboo slips, the second-floor room, though not small, contained surprisingly few items.

Two dusty bookshelves, a grimy table, and a broken chair. That was the extent of the room's furnishings. The bookshelves held twenty to thirty yellowed old books, while the table had a few dilapidated bamboo slips and two jade slips whose original color was no longer discernible.

"This desolate? Did I come to the wrong place? This is supposed to be the secret library of a major cultivation sect? It looks more like a pauper scholar's rundown study!" Han Li was severely disheartened by the sight. If not for his apprehension of Old Xu's unfathomable cultivation, he would have immediately rushed downstairs, grabbed the old man by the collar, and demanded answers.

After taking a deep breath, Han Li calmly walked to a bookshelf, casually pulled out an old book, and began to flip through it carefully.

"Heaven and Earth's Five Elements, correspondence with the five organs, golden needle acupuncture points, capable of transforming essence into vitality..." After reading just a few opening lines, Han Li was immediately astonished. He closed the book and looked at its cover.

The five prominent characters for "Hua's Golden Needle Secret Technique" appeared before his eyes.

Han Li's face instantly darkened. It wasn't that the book was bad; the content indeed described a rare golden needle healing technique, capable of miraculous effects like reviving the dying and stimulating a patient's potential. But what did this golden needle technique have to do with alchemy? What angered him even more was that he had already read this very book countless times with Doctor Mo, even able to recite it by heart. This was clearly a mundane medical text, so why was it prominently displayed here?

A series of questions swirled in Han Li's mind, making him frown in utter confusion. But as his gaze fell upon the remaining books on the shelf, an even worse premonition settled over him.

Han Li frantically went through all the remaining old books, one by one. With each book he finished, his face grew a shade darker. After quickly scanning the books on the other shelf as well, Han Li's expression was as dark as a brewing storm.

Not one of these twenty-odd books was related to alchemy. They were either secret healing techniques, folk remedies for strange illnesses, or, most bizarrely, a self-proclaimed poison manual by a master of toxins. All of them were mundane texts.

"One hour's up! If you want to keep looking, you'll need another spirit stone!" Old Xu suddenly called out from downstairs.

Han Li was speechless. They charged spirit stones for this pile of junk? However, as his eyes turned to the items on the table, he still held a sliver of hope, pulled out another spirit stone, and dropped it from the top of the stairs.

"Got it! Feel free to continue, young friend, I won't disturb you!" Old Xu downstairs said with a grin.

Han Li ignored the old man, knowing full well that for someone so openly greedy, his respect was irrelevant. What mattered was his ability to produce spirit stones and continue generating profit.

However, Han Li had no intention of wasting another spirit stone. Thus, his examination of the bamboo slips on the table was noticeably faster than before. He merely skimmed for the general content, no longer reading detailed sentences.

Under the soft white glow of a large moonstone embedded in the ceiling, Han Li's expression shifted, fluctuating between hope and despair as he turned over the bamboo slips. After he finished reviewing all of them, he carefully stacked them back in their original places and sighed softly.

This time, the bamboo slips indeed contained several pill recipes and some compounding insights. Unfortunately, based on their ingredients, these pills had similar effects to Han Li's "Yellow Dragon Pill" and "Golden Marrow Pellet." For Han Li, whose Evergreen Arts had already reached the eleventh level, they offered no discernible benefit.

With this, Han Li's last hope rested on the two fist-sized jade slips, hoping that their contents wouldn't leave him empty-handed.