Chapter 332: Poison Pill

Han Li immediately spotted the five "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills" among the items.

He promptly took them out of the beast puppet's mouth and examined them thoroughly. The tremendous spiritual energy contained within the pills confirmed their authenticity for Han Li. Relieved, he then took out an exquisite jade box from his storage pouch and carefully stored the five pills inside.

Although Han Li was unaware of the specific effects of the "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills," seeing how much the Yue Emperor valued them, he inferred that what the young prince of Xinwang Manor had said about their usefulness for Core Formation was likely true. He was greatly excited.

Next, Han Li's gaze turned to the other items: an ink-black alms bowl, a blood-red pointed cone about an inch long, and a jade slip emanating a grayish-white aura.

A chill ran down Han Li's spine as he looked at these items. At first glance, they were clearly artifacts exclusively used by demonic and evil cultivators, potentially imbued with restrictions or curses. Therefore, Han Li didn't rush to handle them. Instead, he took a shallow breath, and a faint glow emanated from his hands, which were suddenly enveloped by a thin layer of green light. Only then did Han Li feel safe enough to pick up the jade slip first and examine it.

Aside from the somewhat eerie aura it emitted, the jade slip appeared to be free of any restrictions. After exhaling a sigh of relief, Han Li slowly extended his spiritual sense into it.

The moment his spiritual sense entered the jade slip, Han Li stood motionless, his expression shifting strangely. One moment he was filled with pleasant surprise, the next deeply dejected, finally settling on an expression of extreme caution. There was even a rarely seen hint of fear in his eyes.

After a full fifteen minutes, Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense, but he remained somewhat dazed. The contents of the jade slip were both within Han Li's expectations and considerably beyond them.

It indeed contained the cultivation techniques of the Black Fiend Sect members. For instance, the young prince cultivated the "Black Fiend Asura Art," the four Blood Servants practiced the "Fiend Demon Art," and the Yue Emperor cultivated the "Blood Refinement Divine Light," among others. What surprised Han Li, however, was that all these cultivation techniques mentioned a text called the "Profound Yin Scripture." This greatly piqued Han Li's curiosity!

However, Han Li quickly scanned through the jade slip but found no information regarding the whereabouts of this scripture. Left with no other option, Han Li abandoned the search and focused his attention on some strange secret arts separate from the main cultivation techniques. Several of these arts immediately delighted Han Li. Not only did they resolve some of his long-standing doubts, but they also revealed the true purpose of the "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills."

Han Li calmed himself and read on carefully. It turned out that the "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills" were akin to demonic beast inner cores, which cultivators practicing the "Fiend Demon Art" could condense within their own bodies. This was, in fact, the primary purpose for which the "Fiend Demon Art" was created. The reason the four Blood Servants could transform into Fiend Demons and enter the Foundation Establishment stage without consuming Foundation Establishment Pills was also due to the formation of these pills.

However, according to the "Fiend Demon Art," cultivators of this technique, even without resorting to blood sacrifice, could never hope to achieve Core Formation in this lifetime due to its rapid cultivation. The Foundation Establishment stage was the highest level they could reach. In fact, not only the "Fiend Demon Art" but also several other techniques were largely similar, almost all possessing the fatal flaw of being unable to achieve Core Formation. Of course, their cultivation speed, coupled with the aid of blood sacrifice techniques, led to astonishingly rapid advancements.

The appearance of the "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills" seemed designed to compensate for these cultivation technique flaws. This brings us to a secret art within the jade slip known as the "Fiend Core Art." According to this secret method, even Foundation Establishment cultivators with the poorest aptitude, if they consume a "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pill" as instructed, will have a one-third chance of forming a "pseudo-Golden Core"—a "Fiend Core"—which is similar to the Golden Core of a true Core Formation cultivator.

When newly formed, the Fiend Core's power is slightly inferior to a true Golden Core, but not significantly so, and it similarly possesses the miraculous effect of extending one's lifespan. When Han Li read this, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest. A one-third chance of Core Formation—these "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills" were truly defying the heavens! He almost immediately felt the urge to grab the five pills and try them.

However, the defects of the Fiend Core mentioned later in the secret art left Han Li dumbfounded. It stated that because the "Fiend Core" was, after all, an artificial Golden Core, once formed, it could not grow further. This meant the cultivator's cultivation would never advance and would remain at the initial stage of Golden Core throughout their life. If that were the only drawback, Han Li still wouldn't dismiss this shortcut. The method of dissipating cultivation three times with the "Three Revolutions Restoration Art" and then reforming a Golden Core was too arduous and too uncertain. Even if he actually dissipated his cultivation three times, Han Li had no confidence it would succeed. After all, this technique was merely a hypothesis by the expert who created the "Azure Essence Sword Art," and no one had ever truly practiced it.

The "Fiend Core Art" was different; judging by the secret art's tone, it had certainly been used by others before. A one-third chance—this was simply too tempting for Han Li! As for the inability to advance to the Nascent Soul stage after forming a "Fiend Core," Han Li wouldn't even consider such a distant prospect. The Nascent Soul stage was something Han Li only occasionally fantasized about in his dreams. For him now, forming a Core was his ultimate goal. As for aspiring to condense a Nascent Soul after Core Formation, that would be decided when the time came.

However, the subsequent explanation in the "Fiend Core Art" left Han Li stunned. It went on to explain that once a "Fiend Core" formed within a cultivator, it would continuously release fiendish demonic energy. Over time, this energy would gradually erode the cultivator's consciousness. While it wouldn't lead to the terrifying outcome of losing one's mind or recognizing no one, a dulling of consciousness and a gradual intellectual decline were unavoidable.

This sent a shiver down Han Li's spine! It was well known that Han Li had always prided himself on his sharp mind, which was also his greatest asset for navigating the cultivation world freely to this day. Therefore, upon reading this, Han Li struggled briefly before completely abandoning the idea of using the "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills" himself.

At this moment, Han Li was utterly vexed. Didn't this mean that the "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills" he had painstakingly acquired were now nothing more than a useless burden? But Han Li pondered for a moment and realized something was amiss. If that were the case, why would the Yue Emperor specifically cultivate these pills? Given his cunning nature, he certainly wouldn't consume them himself.

With this thought, Han Li glanced through the other secret arts, then focused his attention on another highly intriguing one: "External Avatar." Han Li had long heard of this renowned, top-tier demonic secret art. Although "avatar" techniques varied wildly in their specific methods and effects, any such art was undoubtedly considered paramount by demonic cultivators. They were essentially the highest secrets of various sects and factions. The Seven Sects of Yue Nation had tried every possible means to collect related cultivation techniques, but ultimately, they had gained nothing!

When Han Li swiftly read through this art, he was ecstatic, for he had finally found a purpose for the "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills." If his guess was correct, the Yue Emperor must have had the same plan, which explained why he spared no expense in cultivating the four Blood Servants to condense the "Blood Coagulation Five Elements Pills." The blue-robed man, whose cultivation was absorbed and who died under the Heavenly Thunder Pearl, must have been the avatar he refined. Only this could explain why he willingly allowed his cultivation to be absorbed without any resistance.

Han Li forcefully suppressed his distracting thoughts and quickly read through the remaining secret arts. As Han Li had not cultivated demonic arts himself, he naturally had no interest in the "Marrow Cultivating Pill" and other secret arts like blood sacrifice. Only the subsequent "Blood Spirit Drill" refinement method caught Han Li's eye, and he made a mental note of it.

After Han Li withdrew his spiritual sense and thoroughly processed the information, he turned his attention to the other two items. The blood-red pointed cone he had obtained was the solidified form of the Blood Spirit Drill after it left the body; it should be usable as a magical artifact. As for the ink-black alms bowl, it was a rare magical artifact called the "Soul Gathering Bowl," specifically designed to contain the souls and nascent souls of cultivators. Once a soul entered this artifact, it would gradually lose all its spiritual essence, becoming an ordinary wandering spirit, to be controlled and refined by evil cultivators.

Han Li only briefly observed the "Soul Gathering Bowl" before the chilling aura within forced him to shiver, and he hastily put the bowl back into his storage pouch. Han Li clearly knew he had not cultivated such Yin techniques and thus could not utilize this magical artifact. Given how chilling this artifact was, who knew how many cultivators' souls had been lost within it. Prolonged contact with it would only lead to serious illness!