Feeling the intense heat gradually dissipate within his body, Han Li opened his tightly closed eyes. The "Ming Wang Sect Technique" was truly formidable—despite his body, once condensed into a Yuan婴 and refined through the Yi Jing's marrow-shaping process, nearly unable to endure the intense pain from repeated body fortification exercises. This made Han Li both frustrated and increasingly puzzled. "Master! Is it truly feasible to continue practicing the Ming Wang Sect Technique? Even just the second layer already causes such unbearable suffering. I simply don't believe that all the Buddhist monks in the sect begin practicing this technique only after attaining Yuan婴 stage. Otherwise, by the time they fully master it, their lifespans would surely have reached their limits. Indeed, those who have achieved Jie Dan stage would find it difficult to endure such trials—not merely physical, but even their consciousness clearly senses the pain." Han Li suddenly asked the Da Yan God King. "What's so strange about that?" The Buddhist sect, having devised a way to adapt the eldritch lineage's techniques into this form, naturally also developed methods or tools to alleviate the suffering of practitioners—after all, Buddhist cultivation techniques are inherently renowned for their emphasis on endurance and resilience. Moreover, if the cultivator possesses sufficient determination, achieving a Dan Stage while simultaneously practicing the Ming Wang Technique is quite feasible. However, the intensity of this technique is, relatively speaking, more suited to human beings. Originally designed for the use of the eldritch and ancient demonic lineages, whose bodies are naturally robust and unbothered by such discomforts, it is indeed more demanding for us humans. The Daxian Sovereign replied lazily. "Ah, now that makes perfect sense. It all fits together. Unfortunately, we no longer have the time to study other Buddhist techniques. We'll have to settle for this one for now. At the current level, I can still manage." Han Li frowned slightly, then smiled wistfully. Then, he raised his hand and unrolled his sleeve, suddenly revealing a section of his arm. Han Li narrowed his eyes, focusing intently on the surface of the arm, where blue glimmers danced within his pupils. After a full cup of tea's worth of time, Han Li finally extended a finger and lightly pressed it against his arm's skin before lowering his arm. "Though the hardships have been considerable, this Ming Wang's method truly stands out in body cultivation—far surpassing the other body-strengthening techniques I've encountered. Simply through this brief period of practice, I can already sense remarkable changes within my own body," Han Li murmured, speaking to himself as if in quiet reflection. As Han Li approached the grand hall, a bustling sound suddenly arose from the main entrance. Hearing this, Han Li paused and turned to look. A group of people was walking toward the entrance—there were quite a few of them. Leading the way at the front gate were exactly three disciples from the Artisan Hall, all of whom were present. Behind them came several young male and female cultivators, with a sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl at the forefront. She wore a lush green court gown, her appearance graceful and her demeanor refined, though her eyes constantly flickered with curiosity. The three members from the Artificer's Hall were smiling politely, displaying a careful and respectful demeanor, as if afraid of offending anyone. Han Li's eyes flickered briefly, and he immediately turned to walk into the Hall of Earthfire Flame, hoping to avoid any further complications. Yet just then, a senior disciple from the Artificer's Hall—named Gao, who had the deepest cultivation and the strongest reservations toward him—suddenly rushed forward and shouted, "Han brother, come here a moment. The Lady of Lunxiu is preparing to craft a magical artifact, and certain materials must be specially refined. You're perfectly suited to assist her with this. This task was personally assigned by the Fourth Master of the Observatory—there's no time to delay!" "The Lady of Lunxiu?" Han Li was slightly surprised at first, and even more so when he learned it was the Fourth Master's direct instruction. Pausing mid-step, he had no choice but to turn back. After staying here for so long, Han Li now had a general sense of the senior cultivators within the Huangqing Observatory. There are, in name, four abbot-level practitioners at the observatory, all of whom have achieved the Jian Dan stage of cultivation. Yet there is also the Tian Qing Pavilion, reportedly housing the sole Yuan Yin cultivator of Huang Qing Observatory. Among the four abbot-level practitioners, though this one attained the Jian Dan stage last, he is said to have an exceptionally unique cultivation technique, and his divine abilities surpass even the others—making him renowned throughout the Song Commandery. Upon hearing his name, Lu, the senior scholar from Bai Lu Academy, was no less impressed. Nevertheless, these abbot-level figures all possess extraordinary status, and Han Li has yet to have the opportunity to meet any of them. "Since it is the directive of the four abbot-level practitioners, I shall naturally do my utmost to assist," Han Li said, quietly observing the male and female cultivators before him. "You are capable of refining materials, I suppose? Yet your cultivation level seems rather low. The materials the Princess wishes to refine are a rare substance known as 'Xuesi Silver.' Should you damage them, will you be able to bear the responsibility?" The young men and women likewise glanced at Han Li. Upon seeing that Han Li had only reached the third or fourth stage of Qi Condensation, most of them immediately showed a look of contempt, and one in a deep blue brocade robe was particularly direct in his words. The young lady in court attire, who should be the Lady of Xiuzhu, merely smiled gently, her eyes flashing with evident doubt. "I'm afraid I won't be able to assist the Lady with material refinement." The disciple who spoke seemed eager to explain clearly. "Just a brief moment, and I could help her with the refining. Could any of my senior brothers ask Master Wei to come out? After all, even though I'm currently in the palace, I've long heard of Master Wei's reputation. I've actually been looking forward to meeting him in person." The green-robed lady spoke softly and composedly, her gentle demeanor leaving the three disciples deeply impressed and somewhat flustered. Han Li's brow subtly twitched. Though the lady appeared exceptionally polite, a fleeting spark of cunning in her eyes escaped his notice—something he couldn't overlook. With a quiet chuckle in his mind, he remained silent. The three disciples, however, were completely enchanted by her gentle words and ended up unsure of how to respond. One of them, especially, was so convinced that he actually agreed to go and inform Master Wei. Han Li could only sigh inwardly. He hadn't mistaken—he clearly remembered that, before the old master with the surname Wei entered seclusion, he had explicitly stated that unless there was something truly urgent, they should never disturb him and his two assistants as they worked in the underground chamber refining the materials. Now, merely for the purpose of gathering some raw materials, they were already disturbing the aged master's well-being; such a messenger surely wasn't going to escape unscathed. Indeed, the disciple stepped firmly into the Hall of Earth and Fire, only to emerge shortly afterward, his face streaked with dust and gray. This lady is a bit older, with only average beauty, yet the beauty spot on her upper lip lends her an air of grace and charm. She is smiling warmly and inquiring. "Not to be modest, Miss Mingzhu. If we were working with ordinary materials, we three could certainly handle the refining process ourselves. However, for rare materials like blood-threaded silver, only my younger brother Han, who has received special instruction from Master Wei on the refined techniques for material preparation, knows exactly how to craft them. The skills we've primarily learned are those for producing common magical artifacts." After a moment of awkward glances exchanged among the three, the younger disciple named Gao could only offer this explanation with a sigh. "This does seem rather troublesome. We arrived here with the Lady of Jade, and we cannot stay long. Should we miss this opportunity, we're not sure when we'll next encounter a master who specializes in refining blood-threaded silver. It seems we truly need to rely on Master Han's assistance." The green-branch Princess, her eyes sparkling with brightness, suddenly smiled gently at Han. "Very well. As long as the Princess is willing to take the risk." Han Li said calmly, "I will do my best." "Never mind, Senior Brother—just go ahead and refine the materials. If it truly doesn't work out, that's not a big deal at all. It merely means Luixiu hasn't yet encountered the right opportunity. We can always find another one later." Upon hearing this, the young lady in court attire smiled gently. Seeing that the young lady had already expressed herself so clearly, Han Li nodded. However, after glancing at the large group of people gathered before him, he furrowed his brows slightly and added, "As for me, I can only refine the materials, and I won't be able to have this many people watching simultaneously. Otherwise, with everyone distracted, the chances of success would surely diminish." "Never mind—just having me present beside you will be sufficient. The others may wait outside, or perhaps have these three senior brothers show them around the rest of the armory." The young lady in court attire replied with ease. Though some of the people accompanying her seemed reluctant, none of them voiced any objections. Thus, Han Li said no more words and immediately followed the one leading the way straight to the Earthfire Hall. The others, under the gaze of the young lady, were left in place and could not move.