Chapter 213: Drug Effect

Seeing how cautiously the man apologized, Han Li felt too embarrassed to press the issue further and abandoned his original intention of teaching him a lesson. After all, besides being a bit rude in the past, the ugly man hadn't committed any major offense.

With these thoughts, Han Li's expression softened, and he said calmly,

“Since there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now!”

With that, Han Li lightly departed.

The ugly man watched Han Li's disappearing figure for a long time before finally letting out a deep sigh and muttering to himself,

“This is truly unfair! Others can casually achieve Foundation Establishment while cultivating in a Geomantic Fire Chamber. Yet, I specifically sought a secluded room and even gathered a pile of auxiliary elixirs, only to fail my breakthrough! No wonder Ancestor Li accepted him as a disciple; his aptitude must be extraordinary!”

The ugly man had actually taken Han Li for a genius with extraordinary aptitude! If Han Li himself had heard this, he would surely have been left speechless with a wry smile.

Meanwhile, Han Li had already exited Yue Lu Hall. The two guards at the teleportation array had been replaced; otherwise, they would have been astonished to see Han Li suddenly advance from the Qi Condensation stage to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Han Li, riding his flying magical artifact, traveled slowly through the sky, his mood exceptionally pleasant as he recalled his experience of entering the Foundation Establishment stage.

Five months prior, after Han Li finished refining the Foundation Establishment Elixir and deliberated for a while, he concluded that cultivating Foundation Establishment in a Geomantic Fire Chamber was an excellent idea. At the very least, he wouldn't have to worry about sudden intrusions interrupting his seclusion and forcing him to abandon his efforts midway.

With his mind made up, Han Li first consumed one of the three Foundation Establishment Elixirs he possessed, then circulated his cultivation technique to begin dissolving its medicinal power.

The Foundation Establishment Elixir's medicinal power took effect quickly. Within just a few hours, Han Li felt a fierce fire burning ever more intensely in his Dantian, while his limbs and other body parts grew incredibly cold, creating a stark contrast of hot and cold sensations.

However, this sensation lasted only a short while before the fierce fire in his Dantian suddenly vanished without a trace, and his limbs and other body parts returned to normal temperatures. This left Han Li somewhat stunned.

A flicker of doubt crossed Han Li's face, which then abruptly changed. He pressed his hands onto his Dantian, refusing to release them even an inch.

Because at that spot, a sudden, violent pain erupted, as if seven or eight sharp knives were twisting simultaneously. This left the unprepared Han Li incredibly pale, with pea-sized beads of sweat continuously dripping down his chin. His entire body was completely bent into an arch.

As Han Li painfully curled into a ball on the ground, he cursed endlessly in his mind, wondering why no one had ever mentioned that consuming a Foundation Establishment Elixir would be so excruciatingly painful!

But before he could even finish cursing, the intense pain in his Dantian suddenly erupted.

This eruption transformed into countless hot currents that immediately spread throughout his entire body along his meridians, even penetrating deep into his bones. But then, these hot currents instantly morphed into an unbearable, strange itch, as if countless ants were crawling all over him. He wished he could bang his head against the wall just to slightly alleviate the torment!

This torture, which almost drove Han Li mad, gradually subsided after about the time it takes to eat a meal. Only then could Han Li, leaning against the corner of the wall, barely manage to stand up. By this point, he was drenched in sweat, his entire body covered in a sticky, unknown gray substance that emitted an indescribable, strange odor.

Yet, Han Li paid none of this any mind! What truly mattered to him was that his cultivation technique had instantly advanced to the twelfth layer, and his entire body felt pleasantly warm, with no discomfort whatsoever.

Evidently, that Foundation Establishment Elixir had already improved his physique, cleansing his marrow and strengthening his tendons. The warmth in his body was likely due to the lingering medicinal power that hadn't been fully dissolved, which could be absorbed to enhance his spiritual energy. This was also the reason cultivators typically secluded themselves for three months after consuming a Foundation Establishment Elixir; otherwise, its effects would gradually dissipate over time.

Initially, Han Li diligently followed the standard Foundation Establishment process, meditating to absorb the residual medicinal power.

However, Han Li soon discovered that the medicinal power contained within his body could only slightly deepen his spiritual energy and would no longer provide any further physical improvement.

If one only possessed a single Foundation Establishment Elixir, after purifying their marrow and strengthening their tendons, they would naturally not let go of such a rare opportunity to increase their spiritual energy. They would never give up easily without spending three solid months in seclusion to fully absorb all the medicinal power.

But Han Li was different; he still possessed a large stock of Foundation Establishment Elixirs and cared little for the residual medicinal power. His concern was how many more times he would need to undergo this physical improvement before he could truly step into the Foundation Establishment stage. After all, purifying marrow and strengthening tendons was the crucial step for a successful breakthrough into Foundation Establishment.

After meditating for over ten days, Han Li finally grasped this crucial point and, naturally, had no patience to wait.

He mused that taking another Foundation Establishment Elixir consecutively shouldn't pose any major problems; at most, it would just slightly increase the residual medicinal power, which was insignificant. After repeatedly deliberating, Han Li finally didn't wait even a few days before consuming the second Foundation Establishment Elixir.

The same intense pain and strange itch, despite Han Li's preparation, still caused him considerable suffering. However, Han Li perceived that this time, the sensation was slightly less severe than the previous one. Nevertheless, a significant amount of impurities still emerged from his body, suggesting his aptitude was indeed quite challenging.

After consuming two Foundation Establishment Elixirs consecutively, Han Li felt no abnormality with the residual medicinal power within him. While the warmth was slightly more intense, it caused no harm. Furthermore, his spiritual energy had advanced by leaps and bounds to the thirteenth layer, reaching the peak of the Qi Condensation stage.

With this reassurance, Han Li felt relieved. He then proceeded to take one Foundation Establishment Elixir after another without hesitation. Each elixir had the same marrow-cleansing effect, expelling batch after batch of gray impurities from his body.

However, starting from the third elixir, Han Li clearly felt the marrow-cleansing effect of the Foundation Establishment Elixir rapidly diminishing, and fewer and fewer impurities were expelled. Simultaneously, the spiritual essence within his body was undergoing peculiar transformations.

The true essence, originally in a gaseous state, gradually became denser and viscous after several Foundation Establishment Elixirs, showing a strong tendency to transform into a liquid. By the time he consumed the seventh Foundation Establishment Elixir, Han Li's true essence, except for a small portion at the core of his Dantian, was virtually indistinguishable from liquid.

However, after consuming the seventh elixir, the residual medicinal power within Han Li's body finally reached a state of near saturation. His entire body, which had previously felt warm, now had a burning hot sensation, causing Han Li to hesitate.

He truly didn't know if consuming the eighth elixir would cause the medicinal power to surge intensely and lead to trouble. However, Han Li also sensed that he was very close to the Foundation Establishment stage, likely just one or two more elixirs away.

After a brief consideration, Han Li's strong desire to achieve Foundation Establishment ultimately prevailed. Gritting his teeth, he consumed the eighth Foundation Establishment Elixir.

However, as soon as this elixir entered his stomach, the residual medicinal power, which he had barely managed to control, suddenly burst forth. Han Li's meridians instantly grew hot, and he immediately lost consciousness and fainted!

When Han Li awoke, feeling scorching hot all over, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that he had successfully broken through while unconscious and had already entered the Foundation Establishment stage.

Overwhelmed by both joy and surprise, Han Li immediately wanted to leap up to express his excitement. But as soon as he straightened, his entire body heated up again, and he fell back to the ground, startling himself greatly.

It turned out that although he had successfully achieved Foundation Establishment, the residual medicinal properties of the eight Foundation Establishment Elixirs had not diminished at all. They still completely permeated his entire body, making his situation extremely dangerous.

In his current situation, he had to immediately circulate his cultivation technique to absorb these medicinal powers. Otherwise, there was a constant risk of another outburst.

Although Han Li had figured out how to resolve the crisis, he still inwardly groaned endlessly and couldn't bring himself to feel happy.

Because besides the *Azure Essence Sword Art*, Han Li possessed no other cultivation technique above the Foundation Establishment stage. And just by observing how casually his newly acknowledged master had given him this sword art, he knew how inferior it was!

Furthermore, Han Li had flipped through this book a few times previously and had made inquiries about it.

This sword art was indeed very ordinary. Almost all Foundation Establishment disciples of the Yellow Maple Valley had cultivated two or three layers of it, but no one had ever continued to cultivate beyond the third layer. Han Li hadn't clearly understood the specific reasons, but the inferiority of this sword art was evident.

However, in his current situation, even if Han Li didn't want to cultivate it, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and proceed.

Left with no other option, Han Li took out the *Azure Essence Sword Art*, spread it open on the ground in front of him, and then sat cross-legged to cultivate according to the text.

The *Azure Essence Sword Art* had a total of nine layers. The first three layers could be cultivated by Qi Condensation disciples, while the middle three and last three layers could only be practiced by Foundation Establishment disciples and Core Formation cultivators. Furthermore, upon completing every three layers, one could use a unique divine ability specific to this sword art.

After cultivating the first three layers, one could emit a yard-long sword aura from their bare palm without needing any magical artifact. In terms of power, it was sufficient to contend with ordinary high-grade magical artifacts.

After cultivating the middle three layers, one could instantly release a protective sword shield. While its defensive power was comparable to ordinary elementary-to-mid-tier defensive spells, this shield possessed a certain sword aura counterattack. If one carelessly attacked the shield, they would be subjected to sword aura attacks automatically released by the shield. As for the last three layers...