As for that piece of Soul Nurturing Wood, after more than two years of continuous nurturing with the Green Liquid, it had finally taken shape.
Like the Heavenly Thunder Bamboo, once this wood reached ten thousand years of age, it could no longer grow. No matter how much Green Liquid dripped onto it, not a fraction more spiritual energy could be added.
Han Li naturally wouldn't leave it sitting idle.
So he carved the foot-long piece of Soul Nurturing Wood into over a dozen thumb-sized ebony beads, strung them together with gold thread, and hung them around his neck.
The wood required no special refinement — simply wearing it close to the body was enough to achieve its optimal effect of nourishing the spirit and cultivating the soul.
After settling everything in his cave dwelling, three days later Han Li left alone, silently flying out through the sea of fog.
Since he already had the Nishang Grass in hand, Han Li had no intention of venturing into the abyss to join the fray.
Not only did eighth-level and above demon beasts roam there, but it was surely crowded with cultivators as well — neither condition suited his plans to use the Green Liquid to set up formations and slay beasts.
With the Nishang Grass's ability to attract demon beasts, any sea region was equally useful to him.
With that settled, he simply needed to find a place with coral islands.
Having thought it through, Han Li checked his bearings and immediately shot westward.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace.
A month later, Han Li came to a stop over a stretch of blazing red coral reef.
Several coral islands had appeared along the way, but Han Li had feared that being too close to his cave dwelling might attract trouble, so he'd ignored them and flown all the way here.
While this place couldn't yet be called a coral island, it was more than sufficient for transplanting the Nishang Grass.
Han Li decided this was where he would begin his first battle of slaying demon beasts and extracting their pellets.
By now, he had set up four magic formations around the coral reef, sealing the area tight, and only then did he carefully transplant the Nishang Grass to the center of the formations.
To attract a sixth-level demon beast, the Nishang Grass basically needed to be nurtured to four hundred years of age.
That meant he needed close to a month before the beast he wanted to hunt would appear.
But during this initial period, he wouldn't be idle.
The Nishang Grass's first three leaf unfoldings would naturally attract some lower-ranked demon beasts for him to practice on.
Although fifth-level demon beast inner pellets held no alchemical value for him now, they were still worth a hefty sum when traded for spirit stones.
Han Li certainly wasn't going to pass them up.
Sure enough, before the fourth growth stimulation, three or four fifth-level demon beasts came seeking the grass one after another. Han Li simply summoned several of his Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords and dispatched them with ease.
...
Watching the Nishang Grass unfurl its third leaf, Han Li let out a soft breath and gently tilted the small bottle over the plant.
A single drop of glistening emerald-green liquid fell upon it.
Carefully putting the bottle away, Han Li sat down beside the grass and closed his eyes to rest.
On the third day, the Nishang Grass opened its fourth leaf, releasing a thick, alluring aura meant to entice demon beasts.
And Han Li, who had sat motionless for the past two days, had finished resting and conserving his energy!
Although slaying fifth-level demon beasts was now child's play for him, sixth-level ones shouldn't pose much trouble either.
But venturing into the deep sea alone, it was best to be cautious!
The demon-attracting grass wasn't foolproof.
There had been incidents before where a three-hundred-year Nishang Grass had mistakenly lured sixth- or seventh-level demon beasts — a disastrous mix-up that had nearly cost him his life, forcing him to abandon his formations and flee.
Han Li had no intention of losing his life here through a moment of carelessness.
After another half day or so, Han Li — still seated cross-legged beside the Nishang Grass — felt a subtle shift.
He opened his eyes and fixed a cold stare on the distant sea surface.
After a while, dark clouds suddenly gathered over the far-off sea, wind and rain lashing together, and without warning a colossal whirlpool over ten zhang wide appeared, from within which came faint, deep rumbling sounds.
Han Li's expression remained unchanged, but his figure flickered and transformed into a beam of cyan light that shot into midair, from where he gazed down at everything below with a trace of cold menace.
Several muffled booms sounded from within the whirlpool, and then a mass of dark qi burst forth, carrying with it a demon beast.
The beast was not large — only several zhang in size — but it faced the direction of the Nishang Grass and let out a string of violent, low-pitched roars.
Seeing this, Han Li actually felt somewhat relieved.
Though the black qi obstructed his view of the beast's true form, judging from the spiritual energy emanating from the dark qi, it was indeed only a sixth-level demon beast.