Han Li didn't have time to think. He sat cross-legged on the spot and began circulating his spiritual energy, breathing in and out. The icy sensation in his eyes immediately diminished.
Had anyone been standing in front of Han Li at that moment, they would have noticed that a faint layer of blue light had appeared on his closed eyelids at some point — exceedingly dim.
A full half-hour passed before the chill gradually faded from both eyes.
Han Li exhaled a long breath. His eyelids fluttered several times before he opened his eyes, then instinctively glanced around.
A flicker of confusion crossed his face.
"Is there really no change at all? Could it have had absolutely no effect?" Han Li blinked and muttered to himself.
However, after lowering his head in thought for a moment, he raised it again and channeled a surge of spiritual power directly into his eyes.
Deep within his pupils, a flash of blue light sparked.
"Oh?" Han Li couldn't help but exclaim softly.
The warded wall of the meditation chamber opposite him had turned into a hazy, pale blue in his vision.
Startled, he let his concentration waver, and the wall returned to normal.
"No wonder the cultivators of the three sects who've reached Core Formation and above have no interest in this spirit water. With such a negligible, nearly nonexistent ability to see through barriers, it's no wonder nobody gives it a second thought. Several auxiliary techniques can achieve far better results. But that's after a single cleansing. If I use the spirit water to wash my eyes once every half month, who knows what abilities might develop over time? I'm actually a little curious!" Han Li gazed at the orb of spirit water still floating before him and thought to himself.
Without further hesitation, he cast his spell again and repeated the same cleansing process.
There was enough spirit water for over a dozen cultivators to each cleanse their eyes once.
With Han Li's deep cultivation, he used a bit more each time, and it would still take several rounds to exhaust it all.
By the time the spirit liquid was completely used up, Han Li's eyes looked no different from before. The only change was that when he infused spiritual power into his eyes, a brief flash of blue light would appear. The ability to see through wards also didn't seem to have improved noticeably.
Han Li wasn't discouraged. There would be plenty of time ahead — he could slowly cultivate his eyes' abilities at his own pace.
The following day, after letting Silver Moon know, Han Li entered his seclusion chamber and took out the golden page that recorded the Green Element Sword Art.
All told, this sword art consisted of thirteen layers and formed a truly complete set of techniques. The powers it granted grew progressively stronger — from Green Element Sword Rays, to the Body-Shielding Sword Shield, to the Sword Shadow Light-Splitting Art.
The first two were nothing special. Apart from being convenient to use and ready at a moment's notice, their power was honestly nothing to speak of.
As for the third technique, the Sword Shadow Light-Splitting Art, Han Li was quite satisfied with it. The fact that it hadn't produced decisive results in previous battles wasn't a flaw of the technique — his opponents had simply been too powerful for its full might to shine.
He believed that if his opponent were an ordinary cultivator of similar cultivation level, they would be utterly unable to withstand the onslaught of hundreds of sword lights closing in from all sides. In the blink of an eye, they would be torn to shreds.
Now that he could cultivate the tenth layer of the sword art, he could naturally learn its new technique.
It was somewhat amusing, really. Although he had obtained the entire cultivation method of the Green Element Sword Art from this golden page back then, whether it was deliberate on the part of whoever refined the page or not, a section of the cultivation incantation related to the final technique had been concealed from him.
He could clearly see those shimmering white characters that he couldn't make out — they were the cultivation method for the final technique. But his cultivation had been insufficient, and even after reaching Core Formation, he still couldn't discern what the final technique was.
As for the incantation for the thirteenth layer, whether it was because the realm of comprehension exceeded the boundaries of this world, Han Li had looked at it several times and found it profound and inscrutable. Forget cultivating it — he couldn't even begin to grasp the first clue. It seemed he would need to reach the Deity Transformation stage, or perhaps even leave this world entirely, before he could unravel the mysteries within those words.
Han Li hadn't been anxious about it at the time. Restricting access to certain techniques on inheritance artifacts so that disciples and successors wouldn't recklessly cultivate powerful abilities beyond what their cultivation could handle was not uncommon in the world of cultivation. He understood perfectly well that once his cultivation reached the appropriate level, the method for cultivating that technique would naturally become clear to him.
Now, with his Nascent Soul stage cultivation, looking at this technique's incantation again would surely pose no problem.
With that thought, Han Li tossed the golden page into the air. He opened his mouth and spat out a ball of green light, which gently caught the golden page and held it aloft.
Then, with a calm expression, he flicked his fingers in rapid succession. Beam after beam of Green Element Sword Rays shot into the golden page. The light shimmered and flickered before being completely absorbed.