After reaching the mid-stage of Core Formation, Han Li remained in seclusion in his stone chamber for over twenty years before finally emerging.
During that time, he had not consumed all of his pills, leaving a small portion still stored in his storage pouch.
This was not because he had grown impatient, eager to emerge before all the medicinal pills had been fully refined.
Rather, as his cultivation neared the late stage of Core Formation, he had finally encountered a bottleneck in his advancement. Without breaking through this barrier, no amount of spiritual pills could push his cultivation any further.
The method of breaking through a bottleneck depended on each individual's fortune and the characteristics of their cultivation technique — there was essentially no fixed rule to follow.
In the past, cultivators who reached this stage broke through in various ways: some achieved it during meditation, others found inspiration while wandering through mountains and waters, and still others broke through unexpectedly in the razor-thin moment between life and death in battle.
With this in mind, Han Li naturally had no desire to waste time sitting idle in his seclusion chamber. He planned to go out and seek the legendary Demon Companion Grass, hoping that during his travels, fortune might smile upon him and help him break through the bottleneck.
Since he had no idea how long it would take to find what he needed, Han Li certainly could not leave the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng in his cave dwelling for an extended period.
As a result, he intended to abandon this cave dwelling on the small island in the Misty Sea.
Having Gongsun Xing take it over was not a bad arrangement. At least for the time being, the place would remain safe.
As for the Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng and the issue of nourishing it with earthen energy at regular intervals — before Han Li had reached the mid-stage of Core Formation, this had indeed been somewhat troublesome.
But now that he had entered the mid-stage, this concern was a thing of the past!
He now possessed the ability to draw the refined earthen essence from the island and infuse it into the ginseng, ensuring its safety.
Han Li was currently flying toward the market town the young woman had described. Only in a place where cultivators came and went frequently would he have any chance of obtaining information about eighth-grade demon beasts.
He would figure out a way to obtain the Demon Companion Grass when the time came.
As for the possibility of simply purchasing the spirit grass directly from the market, Han Li harbored no illusions that such good fortune awaited him.
Han Li's escape light traveled at tremendous speed.
Though the young woman had said the island with the market town was half a month's journey away, for him, at full speed, it would only take a few days.
Two days later, as Han Li was hurtling across the sea at full speed, a streak of red light suddenly veered toward him from the distance, with several clusters of ashen-grey mist in hot pursuit behind it.
Han Li raised an eyebrow at the sight.
Then, with a mere thought, he murmured a barely audible incantation. A series of soft, rapid popping sounds came from his body, dense and quick, as a glow of azure light surfaced over his face.
Moments later, Han Li's frame shot up by several inches, the azure light dispersed, and a pale, unfamiliar face was revealed.
This was one of the secret techniques from the Profound Yin Arts that Han Li had deliberately cultivated during his seclusion — the Transformation Technique.
This technique not only allowed one to freely elongate or shorten any part of the body, but also to control the tension of muscles and instantly alter skin color. It was truly a top-tier disguise technique.
In Han Li's estimation, this technique was by no means inferior to the other legendary disguise arts — even cultivators with superior spiritual sense would find it difficult to see through. That was precisely why it had been included in the Profound Yin Arts.
The only drawback of this secret technique was that once activated, one could only utilize at most seventy percent of their total Magical Power.
If one engaged in combat using more than seventy percent of their power, the wondrous effect of the Transformation Technique would vanish, restoring one's original appearance.
However, this was not something Han Li particularly minded.
Whenever he decided to conceal his identity, it was usually because he had no intention of revealing his true strength anyway — restricting his cultivation would not significantly affect him.
Just after Han Li had changed his appearance, the red light spotted him and immediately veered in his direction, like a drowning man grasping at a straw.
Seeing this, Han Li simply halted his flight and let out a soft sigh where he stood.
The sigh was not because trouble had come knocking —