(Haha! The book friends who have been caring for the flower arrangements have kindly provided group number 25408079—thank you, Wan Yu! Anyone interested is welcome to join and discuss!) After making up his mind, Han Li set down the jade tube and picked up another one. The preparation of "Dingyan Pills" was far simpler than that of the "Juzhi Pills." It required neither true fire refining nor any unfamiliar herbs—only common varieties. What struck him as astonishing was that these herbs insisted on possessing a medicinal potency of over a thousand years to qualify as raw materials for the Dingyan Pills. This explained why the pill had never been heard of before. After all, how could any immortal cultivator treat a rare herb of over a thousand years as anything less than precious, and then waste it on a pill that offered no benefit to their cultivation? This lack of awareness of the Dingyan Pills among cultivators was thus quite understandable. For Han Li, however, this was no issue at all—only a slightly longer maturation period. Thus, he decided to attempt preparing a batch once the foundation丹 matter was settled, to see whether the recipe truly claimed such magic—enabling a person's appearance to remain unchanged, always preserved as it was when the pill was first taken. When the elderly man came to the Hundred-Medicine Garden seven or eight days later to collect herbs, Han Li did not hesitate, and simply stood within the garden, directly inquiring about these three rare herbs. "Yuzhui Chi, Zihou Hua, and Tianling Guo?" The old man brushed his thin beard, his small eyes narrowing into a thin slit. "Hehe! It seems your nephew has now obtained the recipe for the foundation pill, hence your interest in these three primary herbs. But nephew—do you really intend to take on the task of refining pills yourself?" The elder Ma gave Han Li a look of utter disbelief, as if he were completely unaware of the significance of the matter. "Of course not. Not only do I have no knowledge of these three primary herbs, but even regarding the auxiliary herbs with ingredients spanning several centuries, where would I possibly find them?" The oldest plant in your garden here is no more than a hundred-year-old Hua Long Grass! Under such circumstances, how could your junior disciple even hope to pursue alchemical elixir cultivation? Han Li, of course, did not speak the truth straightaway, but skillfully deflected the matter. "Since you have no intention of refining elixirs, what purpose do you have in asking about these three rare herbs? I'm quite busy and simply don't have time to chat with you!" The elderly man stiffened his expression, speaking with an unyielding tone. As for Master Ma's unusual temperament, Han Li had anticipated it long before, so he remained calm and smiled, saying: "My junior merely finds the names of these three primary herbs quite peculiar, and has never heard of their specific forms or properties before. Thus, I simply asked out of curiosity. However, what I find puzzling is that your garden, which should normally cultivate such rare varieties, has not a single specimen of these three herbs. After all, according to your usual practice, one would expect to obtain seeds and cultivate them within the garden. Surely, these rare herbs must be difficult to grow—can it be that even Master Ma himself cannot successfully cultivate them?" "Nonsense! Do you doubt my master's skill? The absence of these herbs in the garden has nothing to do with Ma's technique. They are naturally formed from the celestial and terrestrial qi—native varieties that grow spontaneously. Where would one even find their seeds? Moreover, even if we managed to obtain seedlings, their growth conditions are so unique that they simply cannot survive under ordinary circumstances. No matter how much care we take, they would inevitably perish. Otherwise, why would I have let them go without a fight?" The old man was deeply stirred by Han Li's words and growled in frustration. "No seeds? How could that be!" Han Li exclaimed in surprise. "Hmph! How could it not be? Consider this—herbs that are nearly extinct outside the realm yet indispensable to cultivators. If they could be cultivated artificially, wouldn't the great immortal sects have already established vast groves of them by now? And wouldn't the supply of foundation-dan have steadily declined?" The old man rolled his eyes at Han Li, clearly unimpressed. Han Li felt a chill run down his spine at the force of the argument. No matter how effective the green liquid is in stimulating growth, if there are no seeds at the very basic level, how can it possibly work? Can it truly create something out of nothing? "If nothing urgent comes up, I'll be off now! I'll return in two months to collect another batch of herbs." Master Ma didn't notice the unusual expression on Han Li's face, but instead turned to prepare his departure. "But every ten years, only one batch of the primary herbs for the Foundation Pills is produced—where do these come from? If, as Master says, their growing conditions are truly unique, shouldn't they have a fixed, consistent location?" Han Li quickly spun through his thoughts and immediately came up with an alternative solution: without seeds and without connections, what about the young seedlings that haven't yet matured? If he could find more of them, stimulation would still be possible. So he hurriedly asked further questions. "I must say, your curiosity is quite remarkable! Still, I'd advise you to give up hope—going to that strange place to collect these three rare herbs is not much different from committing suicide." The old man didn't even turn around, merely said coldly one sentence before drifting off without a further word. Left behind, Han Li stood motionless at the spot, as if frozen in place. "These three rare herbs—I must have them! Even if they don't tell me, I won't stop asking others, will I?" Han Li exhaled deeply, then murmured to himself. During his two years in Huangfeng Valley, aside from Master Ma, the only others he knew well were the Assistant Director Yu and his junior disciple Wu Feng. Yu was too calculating and very self-serving, and Han Li found it difficult to get along with him. So, his first stop was Wu Feng. If he received no information from Wu Feng, then he would have to visit the greedy elder in Yuelu Hall—surely he would know something, though it would likely cost him dearly. When Han Li arrived at the Training Hall, where junior disciples gathered to learn basic spells, Wu Feng was just then explaining basic techniques to several young students. After meeting Han Li, he merely gave a slight gesture and then resumed his work. Han Li didn't mind this at all; he knew the man was simply conscientious, not particularly attentive to him alone. As for this Wu senior brother, Han Li genuinely held him in high regard. Although Wu, after taking the Foundation Pill, still hovered at the peak of the Qi Stage without progressing into the Foundation Stage, his mastery of basic spells was truly extraordinary—deeply insightful and able to draw connections effortlessly, which left Han Li amazed and also greatly benefited from it. If that were all, Han Li would only have taken an interest in him. What surprised him, however, was that since assuming the role of spell instructor, Wu treated every brother who came to seek guidance with equal care and dedication, patiently sharing his own insights and experiences—never holding back a single point. This truly astonished Han Li. To be honest, at first Han Li simply didn't believe the other person was someone of such genuine character. He thought he had once again encountered a pseudo-philosopher—someone who merely put on a strong show of courtesy and warmth, without any real substance. As a result, Han Li remained indifferent and kept a respectful distance. But after truly getting to know him for over a year, Han Li finally confirmed through his everyday demeanor and consistent actions that the man was not merely performing—he was genuinely and sincerely helping all his fellow disciples. This left Han Li speechless. Although he didn't entirely agree with Wu's approach, he had no doubt about Wu's personal integrity. Thus, he made a sincere effort to grow closer to him. While they hadn't yet reached the level of close friends, their relationship had certainly improved significantly compared to that of ordinary disciples. So, he patiently waited by. Wu, in fact, explained things with remarkable thoroughness. Even a basic mid-level "Fire Serpent Technique" took over two hours to cover, with several demonstrations, allowing the others to fully experience and absorb it. To be honest, Han Li's Five Elements spells—aside from those he initially acquired—hadn't really learned many new ones. Over the past two years, he had merely consolidated and integrated the ones he had previously struggled to master. This left Han Li utterly disappointed with his own aptitude and made him even more eager for the Foundation Pill. After the young disciples finally finished their inquiries and departed, Wu Feng approached Han Li with a smile and asked, "Frater Han, it's been a while since you last came here. Have you decided to start learning mid-level spells?" Hearing this, Han Li chuckled weakly, lacking any enthusiasm, and replied, "Senior Brother, you know well enough my aptitude. It's already taken me two years just to master the basic, lower-level spells. To learn the more difficult mid-level ones? That would take another seven or eight years before I could even begin to make any real progress. I think I'll just leave it at that." Wu Feng frowned slightly, expressing some concern, and said, "How could you be so disheartened?" One need not possess exceptional qualifications; with diligence and perseverance, one can still achieve great success through dedicated practice.