Chapter 25: Matching the Elixir

Before Mo Daifu returned to the mountain, Han Li knew it was temporarily safe to use the bottle in God Hand Valley. Since he was the only person in the entire valley and no outsiders would rashly intrude, he could rest assured that no accidents would occur during this period, allowing him to use the small bottle with complete confidence.

Han Li estimated Mo Daifu's return time, realizing that he wouldn't find suitable medicinal herbs nearby. He would likely have to search much farther afield, probably in remote, rarely visited deep mountains and ancient forests. Only in such secluded places could he hope to gather rare herbs. However, the round trip, combined with the time spent searching, meant it would take Mo Daifu at least a year to return to the mountain.

Nearly half a year had passed since Mo Daifu descended the mountain. Han Li estimated he would return to the Seven Mysteries Sect in another six or seven months. In the days leading up to his return, Han Li had to cultivate as many useful herbs as possible, following the rare formulas he knew in a planned manner. He couldn't afford to blindly waste the green liquid.

The medicines Han Li was about to prepare were supreme elixirs designed to enhance cultivation and break through bottlenecks. Mo Daifu himself had once wanted to concoct them but couldn't gather the necessary ingredients. Each of these medicines, if sold on the market, would be rare treasures capable of bankrupting ordinary families or being fiercely sought after by martial artists.

Even with Mo Daifu's exceptional medical skills, he had never seen any of these finished medicines, let alone personally prepared them. Although he possessed the formulas for these sacred elixirs, without the necessary ingredients, he could only sigh in resignation.

When Han Li previously studied medicine under Mo Daifu, he developed a great interest in these rare formulas. Although he never dared to dream of concocting these extremely precious medicines himself, he still memorized many of the recipes. Mo Daifu, for his part, was indifferent to Han Li's keen interest in learning these formulas; if Han Li asked, he would explain everything in detail, showing no desire to conceal anything. Mo Daifu likely considered these formulas to be like "chicken ribs"—flavorless to eat but a waste to discard.

Now, these formulas had become incredibly important to Han Li. He diligently cultivated the herbs, strictly adhering to the specified ages required for each, not daring to relax for a moment. He knew time was running out; he had to prepare these medicines before Mo Daifu's return, and then put the bottle away, never to use it on the mountain again without serious consideration.

Han Li had no confidence whatsoever that he could use the small bottle in front of Mo Daifu without revealing himself. He knew perfectly well how astute and cautious Mo Daifu was, and he had not the slightest intention of divulging the bottle's secret to him.

Han Li felt his relationship with Mo Daifu was peculiar, far from a simple master-disciple bond.

Mo Daifu often regarded him with a strange gaze, which always made Han Li suspect that the doctor was hiding some secret detrimental to him. This feeling had grown particularly strong over the past year or two, preventing Han Li and Mo Daifu from sharing the intimate, open relationship typical of ordinary master and disciple.

In daily life, Mo Daifu was actually quite good to him. He neither physically abused nor verbally chastised him, and he spared no effort in creating the best possible conditions for Han Li's cultivation. However, a barrier seemed to exist between master and disciple, with an awkward atmosphere constantly lingering between them.

Mo Daifu was clearly aware of this rift, yet he showed no inclination to mend the master-disciple bond. He continued to act as before, solely focused on pushing Han Li's progress in cultivation. The peculiar look he once directed at Han Li seemed to gradually diminish, to the point where it hadn't appeared for a long time.

However, Han Li's sharp intuition subtly told him that Mo Daifu had not truly abandoned his intentions but had instead cleverly concealed his desires. This realization made Han Li even more guarded towards Mo Daifu. Under such circumstances, how could he dare to reveal the bottle's secret?

From numerous historical texts, Han Li had learned an ironclad lesson: "Harbor no intent to harm others, but never be without guard against them."

Regardless of whether Mo Daifu genuinely intended him harm or if his feelings were a misjudgment, it was never a bad thing for Han Li to heighten his vigilance towards him. If Mo Daifu truly harbored ill intentions, increased caution would prevent him from being harmed. And if it were merely a misjudgment of his intuition, being more alert still caused no harm. He wouldn't actively betray his master; he would remain Mo Daifu's good disciple and fulfill his filial duties accordingly.

Thinking about this, Han Li still felt somewhat uneasy. He sighed, realizing that their peculiar master-disciple relationship was probably unique within the Seven Mysteries Sect.

It was absolutely certain that the bottle could not be used once Mo Daifu returned. He knew that no secret could be kept forever; even if he were lucky enough to avoid detection by Mo Daifu, others in the Seven Mysteries Sect might still stumble upon its secret. The safest course was to put it away and pretend that such a thing had never existed.

With all his plans made and the firm decision to secretly store the bottle, never to use it casually again, Han Li felt a wave of relief and drifted off into a hazy sleep on the bed.

Over the following months, Han Li secretly used the green liquid from the bottle to cultivate a large quantity of precious medicinal herbs. He then used these herbs to concoct numerous rare medicines according to their respective formulas. However, he encountered many failures during the preparation process, and each setback caused him considerable distress, knowing that the herbs used were rare, top-grade materials. Every failure meant an unknown amount of silver had gone to waste. Yet, he couldn't blame himself; these formulas were new to everyone, and a few failures were inevitable. Even Mo Daifu himself would likely make one or two mistakes if he were concocting these medicines. Han Li could only comfort himself with this thought.

Medicines such as the "Yellow Dragon Pill," "Clear Spirit Powder," "Golden Marrow Pellet," and "Nourishing Essence Pill"—all exceptionally rare and seldom seen elsewhere—were neatly arranged in a dozen small bottles before Han Li. He gazed at them, his face beaming with joy. With these miraculous elixirs, he would not only be able to reach the fourth level of his cultivation technique but would also effortlessly achieve the fifth and even sixth levels.

Among these medicines, the "Yellow Dragon Pill" and "Golden Marrow Pellet" offered the greatest assistance to his cultivation, both possessing the remarkable ability to enhance one's power and completely transform the body. The "Clear Spirit Powder" was a rare and sacred antidote, capable of neutralizing thousands of severe poisons found in the world. Finally, the "Nourishing Essence Pill" was a miraculous remedy with extraordinary effects on both internal and external injuries. No matter how grievous the wound, a single pill, while perhaps not bringing the dead back to life or instantly healing, could significantly alleviate the injury and preserve one's life.