"The third layer of the Spirit Refinement Technique! Achieving this level is far from easy. Back when I cultivated the second layer, I had already exhausted every trick in the book. Climbing another level — that's simply impossible in any short period of time!" Han Li replied, somewhat exasperated.
"I watched your battle against the Moth Mother's True Extreme Body through the formation just now. Your physical body is remarkably powerful — not much weaker than those Profound Immortals. With that alone, combined with some guidance from me, cultivating the third layer of the Spirit Refinement Technique won't be as difficult as you imagine. I never personally cultivated this technique myself, but as a Patrol Emissary, I naturally captured several practitioners of this forbidden art over the years. Learning the secrets of cultivating it from them was a trivial matter." The man spoke with complete confidence.
"This puts me in a rather difficult position, Senior. If cultivating this technique leads to endless troubles down the road, then taking it to the next level is something I need to think over very carefully. Otherwise, even if I ascend to the Immortal Realm, wouldn't I end up being hunted by everyone?" Han Li hesitated for a moment, then replied with a bitter smile.
"I understand your thoughts — you still have some doubts about my words. That's fine. With your current cultivation, even if you stop practicing the Spirit Refinement Technique altogether, in a thousand years at most, or a little over a hundred at the least, you'll discover the problem within your sea of consciousness on your own. When that time comes, you'll naturally seek me out. As for worrying about what happens after you ascend to the Immortal Realm — isn't that a bit premature? Wouldn't it be more practical to first think about how to escape the danger of perishing, and whether you can even use this technique to ascend in the first place?" The man said lightly, without any intention of forcing Han Li.
"Thank you for your understanding, Senior. This matter concerns my future path of cultivation, so I must exercise caution. I need some time to think it over carefully, and I'll give you my answer as soon as possible. However, I do have one more question I'd like to ask, Senior?" After his expression shifted back and forth for some time, Han Li finally let out a soft breath and spoke.
"Oh? What else would you like to know?" The man was not at all surprised by Han Li's response, and asked calmly in return.
"I'd like to know what the Immortal Realm is truly like." Han Li asked, his gaze flickering slightly.
"Heh heh, the Immortal Realm? It's still a bit too early for that. If you really want to know, then before you undergo your Ascension Tribulation, I'll share some specifics with you. But for now, all I can give you is one word: vast. Only when you arrive in the Immortal Realm will you understand just how immense each Immortal Domain truly is. Even an immortal could spend an entire lifetime without traversing even the most insignificant among them. So even if you cultivate the Spirit Refinement Technique, as long as you avoid the major cities of whichever Immortal Domain you settle in, you'll rarely encounter Patrol Emissaries like myself. All in all, quite safe." The man replied mildly.
"Hearing Senior say this only makes me look forward to the Immortal Realm all the more." Han Li smiled faintly upon hearing this.
"In the Immortal Realm, both cultivation resources and rare treasures far surpass what the mortal world can offer. Otherwise, why would I be so desperate to find a way back? Well then, since you don't intend to accept my trade right away, I won't keep you. I have something here that will also be quite useful to you at your current stage — take it as preliminary compensation for slaying the Moth Mother. Heh heh, in all my years, I've never owed anyone a favor."
The moment his words fell, a whoosh sounded as a streak of white light shot out from the alms bowl.
After a swift sweep with his spiritual sense, Han Li's expression shifted slightly. He reached out with one hand and seized the white light from the air, drawing it into his palm. It was an impossibly thin jade slip, paper-thin and translucent, its surface covered with densely packed golden and silver script. The writing looked somewhat familiar — it was none other than Silver Tadpole Script and Gold Seal Script, two true scripts of the Immortal Realm.
"This is a treasure talisman I brought down from the Immortal Realm back in the day. Within it is a drop of Purple Cloud Essence, which is rare even in the Immortal Realm. It should be more than sufficient to compensate for the origin power you lost when you ignited the Root Fire." The man's voice was now devoid of any emotion.
Sensing the immortal spiritual energy emanating from the jade slip through his fingertips — an energy utterly distinct from ordinary spiritual qi — Han Li was overjoyed. He stowed the item away and quickly clasped his fists in repeated gratitude.
"You may leave now. When you decide to continue cultivating the Spirit Refinement Art, come find me here again." The moment the man's voice spoke those words, the gray-white light formation beneath Han Li's feet flashed, and he was instantly teleported away.
"He's already begun cultivating this secret art and thinks he can just give it up! As if the world were so generous. Given his current state, all I need to do is take a short nap, and when I awaken, I should be able to see him again."
After the man's voice within the alms bowl fell silent for a while, it spoke again in a leisurely tone.
Immediately after, the entire altar began to tremble violently. The eight nearby bronze pillars rumbled in unison, and together they projected an enormous, colossal formation pattern beneath the entire stone forest.
With a flash of light, the stone forest, the altar, and the bronze pillars all vanished into thin air as though they had been nothing but phantoms.
The ground where they had stood was once again completely empty.
……
One year later, atop a towering peak ten thousand zhang high, not far from the edge of the Land of the Primordial Demon, a young man clad in a black robe sat cross-legged upon a massive boulder, his eyes gently closed in meditation.
After an unknowable stretch of time, the young man's expression suddenly changed. His eyes snapped open, and a faint purple radiance flickered within his pupils, sharp and piercing.