Chapter 273: One Year

The person Han Li had in mind was naturally Qi Yunxiao, with whom he had made an appointment several years ago.

Since Qi Yunxiao's formation master friend was proficient in the "Disorienting Five Elements Formation," he was surely skilled in other arrays as well. As this ancient transmission array was also a type of formation, perhaps his friend could repair it?

Han Li's heart stirred as he considered this. He calculated the time and realized the date they had agreed to meet again was approaching. However, given that tasks from the sect could be assigned at any moment, he couldn't go looking for Qi Yunxiao right away. It seemed he would have to find another opportunity later.

After a moment of thought, Han Li felt somewhat disheartened. Losing interest in the formation books, he left the Heavenly Knowledge Pavilion and returned to his cave abode.

Upon returning to his cave abode, Han Li noticed the spider eggs appeared to have grown larger. It seemed the Spirit Eye Spring was indeed effective in accelerating their incubation.

Seeing this, Han Li immediately drew a simple Control Spirit Formation, a basic method for cultivators to control demon beast eggs. He then dipped a few drops of his essence blood into the formation and placed the spider eggs inside. Once the formation activated, the two white eggs absorbed all the essence blood, and he then returned them to the spirit spring.

As soon as Han Li finished, he received a Flying Talisman message instructing him to gather immediately at the Hall of Discussions.

His heart tightened; he knew the mission had finally arrived.

On the Gold Drum Plains, the main battlefield between the Seven Sects and the Six Fiends, located amidst scattered rocks at the border of the Yue and Cheqi nations, Han Li commanded two streaks of black light transformed from his Black Dragon Snatch and several golden blades. He relentlessly attacked a Ghost Spirit Sect disciple in the early Foundation Establishment stage, trapping him within the assault.

Although the opponent was surrounded by astonishing billows of black energy, and several skull heads faintly wailed, Han Li quickly found a weakness amidst the storm-like attacks of his two sets of magical artifacts, instantly severing the foe into several pieces.

Han Li expertly snatched the storage pouch from the opponent's body, then vanished into the vast wilderness.

He had already secured his gains for the day, and evening was approaching. As per convention, Core Formation cultivators from the Demonic Dao and the Seven Sects would soon emerge to battle.

If he were to be caught in their fight, wouldn't his death be in vain?

The mere thought of the Core Formation cultivator battles he had witnessed previously filled Han Li with lingering dread.

The entire area for several miles had been turned upside down by the struggle between the cultivators from Transforming Blade Pavilion and Spirit Control Sect, almost dragging him in even though he was hiding seven or eight miles away.

Since then, he would return early as soon as the sky began to dim, even if he had achieved nothing.

A year ago, he had been ordered to escort a batch of spirit stones here with others. He was subsequently stationed there, becoming a high-level expendable for the Seven Sects. Not only had he continuously participated in several large-scale battles involving thousands of cultivators, but frequently found himself engaging in skirmishes deep within the Gold Drum Plains against scattered enemies, just as he had done recently.

Oddly enough, ever since the Demonic Dao and the Seven Sects fought to another stalemate in their second major engagement, both sides had faced each other from opposite ends of the Gold Drum Plains. This had gradually led to a peculiar pattern of warfare: one large battle each month, punctuated by daily minor skirmishes.

The "major battles" involved each side dispatching teams of thousands of cultivators to engage in combat. The "minor skirmishes," however, saw cultivators sent by both sides, either in groups of three to five or individually, to the center of the Gold Drum Plains to hunt and kill opposing cultivators.

The major battles were self-explanatory: despite the intense fighting, casualties were minimal. Unless someone was truly fighting to the death, once both sides activated their barrier shields, it was difficult for anyone to easily harm the other.

In the minor skirmishes, due to the incomparable strength of Core Formation cultivators compared to Foundation Establishment cultivators, both sides tacitly agreed, after some initial probing, to reserve the period from dawn till dusk for Foundation Establishment cultivators to clash. Once night fell, Core Formation experts from both sides would then engage in a major battle.

In one-on-one duels between Core Formation cultivators, defeating or even severely injuring an opponent was relatively easy. However, taking a life was far more challenging, as a Core Formation cultivator fleeing at full speed could achieve astonishing swiftness.

Consequently, after a year, hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators from both sides had been injured or killed, yet not a single Core Formation cultivator had been lost. This left the leaders on both sides feeling both pained and somewhat frustrated.

As for Qi Condensation cultivators, due to their weaker magical power, they were used only as reserve forces and therefore remained largely unharmed.

Nevertheless, the continuous major battles on the main front and the incessant sneak attacks and harassment over the past year had severely taxed the cultivators of both the Six Fiends and Seven Sects. While desperately trying to weaken each other, both sides were simultaneously amassing their strength. They were all keenly aware that the decisive battle was fast approaching.

Han Li, riding his wind boat, appeared in his side's camp an hour later.

Within the protective grand formation, wooden and stone houses of various sizes appeared, arranged haphazardly with no discernible pattern. These were temporary dwellings built by the cultivators who arrived, casually constructed using wood or earth-elemental Taoist arts. Naturally, these areas were divided by sect.

Han Li first went to his own dwelling, a small stone house.

After closing his door, he temporarily sealed the stone house using a set of small Forbidden Elemental Formation Flags.

Next, Han Li emptied the contents of the storage pouch he had acquired that day and began to sort through them.

"Another pile of skull heads and small banners!" Han Li muttered to himself amidst the heap of items. "Who uses these ghostly things besides Ghost Spirit Sect cultivators? They're only good for exchanging for materials. Hmm, this sword is decent! I'll keep it as a spare. And this..." He quickly set aside the useful magical artifacts and items, putting the worthless and unusable ones into a separate storage pouch.

Tucking away the storage pouch, Han Li withdrew the formation flags and left his dwelling.

After taking a few turns, he walked toward the most conspicuous building in the cluster of houses.

This wooden house, spanning fifty to sixty zhang, was painted golden yellow. Under the setting sun, it shimmered as if made of pure gold.

Han Li unceremoniously pushed the door open and entered. Inside, it was bustling and lively, with dozens of cultivators trading at stalls and many more bargaining with owners or browsing their wares.

Like an old horse knowing its way, Han Li quickly visited several stalls. The items in his storage pouch rapidly transformed into spirit stones, one by one. Once he had sold everything, he found himself with nearly a hundred additional spirit stones.

Han Li then ignored the other cultivators and headed for the largest stall in the room.

This stall was seven or eight zhang long, nearly three to four times larger than the others, and its owner was a chubby cultivator in the middle Foundation Establishment stage.

Without a word, Han Li immediately tossed the storage pouch filled with spirit stones to the chubby man and stated bluntly:

"Brother Chen, I have gathered the five hundred spirit stones for that Dragon's Roar Grass."

"Hehe, it's Brother Han!" the chubby man chuckled, his eyes crinkling in a smile as he recognized Han Li. "Impressive, you collected the spirit stones so quickly! Let me count them." He then grabbed the storage pouch with his plump hand and immersed his spiritual sense within to count the spirit stones.

"Excellent, excellent! It truly is five hundred spirit stones! Here is the Dragon's Roar Grass, keep it safe!" With a beaming smile, Chubby Chen took a jade box from his person and handed it to Han Li.

Han Li took the small box, opened the lid for a quick look, nodded, and put it away. Then, with a hint of expectation, he continued:

"Is there still no news about the pill recipe I asked you about last time? As long as you have the recipe, I can even offer a higher price!"

"My friend," Chubby Chen said, his face clouding over with a bitter expression as he began to lament, "this pill recipe is an absolute rarity. While some Foundation Establishment cultivators like us might possess a few, they are all immensely treasured. Who would ever sell them? Moreover, you're looking for a recipe specifically useful for the Foundation Establishment stage, which makes it even more difficult. I've truly done my utmost, but I simply cannot acquire it!"

Han Li felt a pang of disappointment, but he merely offered a faint smile and replied:

"It's alright, if you can't find it, don't worry! I should still thank Brother Chen for already helping me acquire two others!"

Chubby Chen chuckled at his words:

"Those two were nearly defunct recipes, they'd been gathering dust in my hands for years. I truly couldn't believe you wanted them at the time! But for you to take them back to experiment and improve them—that's truly not something an ordinary person would dare attempt. After all, it requires an immense amount of time and effort; it might even take several generations to complete!"

As Chubby Chen spoke, he grew somewhat reflective.

Han Li listened, offering a faint smile but remaining silent.

Ever since Han Li had settled in this camp and discovered its temporary exchange, he was astonished to find many rare items that were simply unavailable in conventional market cities. From medicinal herbs and raw materials to magical artifacts and cultivation techniques, almost everything could be found there.

The missing medicinal ingredients for the Spirit Gathering Pills were easily acquired at the exchange. Once he returned and cultivated them, his magical power could rapidly advance once more.

Furthermore, from the chubby man, he had managed to purchase two highly sought-after ancient recipes for just under a thousand spirit stones, which left Han Li ecstatic.