Chapter 401: Closed-door Hard Cultivation

Despite his usual caution, Han Li embarked on his journey back to Ningcui Island. He was well aware that without the aid of formations and puppets, relying solely on himself, Qu Hun, and the two Blood Jade Spiders, it would be far too dangerous to wander recklessly through the Outer Star Sea. Even though they could easily handle Level 5 demonic beasts, they would still find it difficult to escape death if targeted by a Level 6 or higher beast.

Moreover, he estimated that the demonic cores he had collected would be more than sufficient to support his cultivation for a second or even third cycle. Hundreds of Level 5 demonic cores were worth at least several hundred thousand spirit stones, and with many extremely rare varieties among them, their total value would likely be double that amount.

Han Li was not a greedy person. Everything he did was to advance further on the path of cultivation, so as soon as he realized that luring and killing more demonic beasts became increasingly dangerous, he immediately decided to stop and return. By now, they had ventured far enough into the Outer Star Sea. If he hadn't meticulously recorded his sea chart every time they passed an unfamiliar island, they might not have even found their way back.

The return journey took Han Li several months of flying. He carried precious treasures and was genuinely afraid of encountering powerful demonic beasts or legendary brigands along the way. Demonic beasts were one thing; they might cause a bit of a detour at most and generally wouldn't pursue relentlessly. However, if they encountered cultivators with malicious intentions, those individuals certainly wouldn't spare isolated targets like them. In such a case, not only would their demonic cores be difficult to protect, but they would most likely lose their lives as well!

Therefore, he and Qu Hun remained highly vigilant throughout the journey. The moment they detected traces of other cultivators, they immediately concealed themselves or fled far away. As a result, they finally returned to Ningcui Island with the demonic cores without incident, which made him breathe a huge sigh of relief!

Han Li walked into the extremely dilapidated small street. Except for two shops having new shopkeepers, everything else remained the same as when he left. He ignored the slightly surprised gazes of the crowd and walked directly into the stone house for teleportation. The Heavenly Star Palace cultivator inside the stone house had been replaced by a kind-faced middle-aged man. As soon as he saw Han Li and Qu Hun enter, he asked with a smile: "Do you two fellow Daoists wish to teleport?"

Han Li collapsed onto the large bed before him and immediately fell into a deep sleep. By now, he had returned to his cave dwelling on the thirty-ninth floor of Heavenly Star City. Physically and mentally exhausted, he couldn't bother with anything else and only after several days of sound sleep did he wake up refreshed and invigorated. This trip to the Outer Star Sea had truly exhausted him.

After waking up, Han Li strolled around his cave dwelling, feeling that after a few years away, everything inside gave him a sense of familiarity. However, when he entered the insect room, he found that the Gold Devouring Beetle had once again transformed into a huge silver sphere, hanging upside down from the ceiling, deep in hibernation. This sight made him lightly shake his head.

Afterward, Han Li made a trip to the market, visiting several shops and purchasing a copy of all the different pill formulas available. He then immediately returned to his dwelling and immersed himself in the busy process of pill refining. For a full two years, Han Li stayed in his cave dwelling. Using the collected pill formulas, he combined the demonic cores with the ripened spiritual herbs to refine a large quantity and variety of pills. The drug resistance problem that had previously plagued him was finally no longer an issue.

Furthermore, during this period, he gradually sold off the various unused demonic beast materials he possessed to small, non-permanent merchants in Heavenly Star City, acquiring a large number of spirit stones in return. For a while, he would no longer have to worry about spirit stones!

After completing these tasks, Han Li completely sealed off his cave dwelling and began preparations for dispelling his cultivation base. However, while reorganizing the pills and remaining demonic beast materials in his storage pouch, he inadvertently picked up some peculiar items that gave him a headache. These were the large quantities of several-hundred-year-old Rainbow Garment Grass that he had cultivated while luring demonic beasts in the Scattered Star Seas. These items wouldn't fetch many spirit stones if sold, and it would be a pity to destroy them, as they had been ripened with a considerable amount of green liquid.

Furthermore, he had always been quite interested in how the Rainbow Garment Grass, when unfurling its leaves, possessed such a strong allure for demonic beasts, and he had always wanted to study it closely. As Han Li looked at the numerous Rainbow Garment Grass plants before him, a strange idea inexplicably arose in his mind, growing stronger and stronger, impossible to suppress. This surprised him.

After tilting his head and pondering for a moment, he suddenly repacked the Rainbow Garment Grass and brought it to the insect room where the Gold Devouring Beetles were kept. He casually tossed a several-hundred-year-old Rainbow Garment Grass plant into the insect room. However, the Gold Devouring Beetles, deep in hibernation, showed no reaction at all. Seeing this, Han Li let out a few self-deprecating laughs. But after hesitating for a moment, he still had Qu Hun relocate the Rainbow Garment Grass plants to several large coral reefs in the medicinal garden.

Shortly after, Han Li entered the secret chamber and, following the cultivation-dispersing technique provided by the "Three Revolutions Heavy Yuan Art," began carefully dispelling his cultivation. For stability's sake, Han Li's cultivation-dispersing process was very slow. The entire process of dispelling his cultivation lasted for half a month, gradually reducing his cultivation to the early Foundation Establishment stage before it finally concluded successfully.

At this point, Han Li temporarily emerged from seclusion to stabilize his cultivation after dispelling it, before taking medicine and cultivating the "Three Revolutions Heavy Yuan Art." During this time, Han Li, as if by a strange impulse, used the green liquid to ripen another Rainbow Garment Grass plant and, while it emitted its peculiar scent, threw it into the insect room. Afterward, he stood outside the insect room, peering intently through a tiny hole for a while, his heart filled with a bit of disappointment! The silver sphere formed by the Gold Devouring Beetles remained motionless, seemingly no different from before.

This situation was somewhat unexpected for Han Li, but not particularly strange. After all, Rainbow Garment Grass was not originally meant to be alluring to all demonic beasts. Given the Gold Devouring Beetles' high ranking, it was normal for them not to be susceptible to its allure.

Han Li sighed lightly, deciding to no longer waste time or green liquid on this plant. Instead, he would focus on refining "Spirit Nourishing Pills" to upgrade the two Blood Jade Spiders, which would be far more worthwhile. Just as he was thinking this, the silver sphere inside the insect room suddenly cracked open! Hundreds of Gold Devouring Beetles, their eyes glowing red, swarmed towards the Rainbow Garment Grass emitting the peculiar scent, instantly devouring it completely. They then continued to buzz with low hums, seemingly becoming somewhat agitated.

Seeing this, Han Li was somewhat stunned but immediately revealed a hint of joy. It seems this experiment can still be continued! In high spirits, Han Li left the insect room and instructed Qu Hun to throw in another identical Rainbow Garment Grass plant at regular intervals from now on. He wanted to see what exact effect this Rainbow Garment Grass had on demonic beasts, to resolve the doubts in his mind.

Soon after, Han Li, carrying all his pills, entered the secret chamber and began a life-or-death seclusion. Han Li had completely entered the state of Bigu, and to focus solely on cultivation, he decided that he would not take a single step out of the secret chamber until his cultivation was restored. As for everything within the cave dwelling, he didn't need to worry much, as his clone, Qu Hun, could control things remotely.

Thus, Han Li took out a bottle of pills from his storage pouch, consumed one, then slowly closed his eyes and entered a state of selfless cultivation. From then on, apart from contacting Qu Hun outside the secret chamber once a day, Han Li devoted all his attention to Qi refining and meditation. As time passed, Han Li naturally became completely focused. Whenever he felt the spiritual energy within him was insufficient, he would casually take out a pill and consume it, then continue cultivating. In this way, time naturally passed quickly!

The monotonous life of cultivating, cultivating, and cultivating year after year, driven by Han Li's strong desire to form his Core, passed by unnoticed. Ten years flashed by, yet the door to the secret chamber remained motionless! Twenty years passed, and the door was still tightly shut! Thirty years... Time flowed by; days and months flew like a shuttle!

One day, sixty years later, dark clouds suddenly loomed above Han Li's cave dwelling, silver lightning snakes danced wildly, and the sky dramatically changed. At the same time, the faint spiritual energy within a hundred li radius all madly converged towards Han Li's cave dwelling, forming a visible vortex of spiritual energy. All the cultivators nearby were startled; whether they were passing by or residing in the vicinity, they all stopped in their tracks or emerged from their cave dwellings and gazed with astonished expressions towards the source of the phenomenon.

"Core Formation! Someone has formed their Core again!" many cultivators stared blankly at this scene, murmuring to themselves, their faces displaying varied and extremely diverse expressions. There was jealousy, bewilderment, but most expressed extreme envy...

At the same time, numerous cultivators above the Core Formation stage within the city, although they didn't directly witness the dramatic changes in the sky, the unusual spiritual energy in Heavenly Star City could not escape their powerful spiritual sense! After glancing towards Han Li's cave dwelling, some remained unperturbed, some showed slight excitement, and some frowned...

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