After expressing their gratitude and bidding farewell, Han Li sat again in the hall, retrieving the blood apricot box once more and lifting the treasures between two fingers. "It truly comes without effort—another ingredient for refining the Buddha-Saint's true magical form has been found. Combined with the medicinal herbs discovered in the celestial peacock clan's holy city, all that remains now is to locate the famed Flame-Gold Essence, and with the Golden Mucilaginous Crystalline Insect, he can begin the process of solidifying his magical form!" Han Li murmured to himself, a spark of excitement lighting up his face. He placed the blood apricot back into the box, and with a flash of green light, his hands became empty. After a moment of thoughtful contemplation, his gaze shifting steadily, Han Li rose and walked toward the hall's entrance. A short while later, he arrived at a corner of the hermitage's medicinal garden. Before him stood seven and twenty slender bamboo stalks, each reaching several feet in height, glowing with a soft, pale golden aura. Han Li stood before these flying swords, gazing at them for a moment, then suddenly extended his hand and grasped the leaf of the nearest green bamboo stalk. But at the very instant his fingers made contact with the bamboo leaves, a thunderclap erupted, and a golden arc surged forth from the main trunk of the bamboo, striking his palm and back with unwavering force. "Crack!" The palm instantly darkened like ink, and the golden arc vanished seamlessly into it, as though absorbed. This room houses seven or eight furnace vessels of varying sizes, arranged in a circle, while at the center stands a tall stone platform with a large circular opening, completely covered by a white jade lid. The lid emits a faint layer of white vapor, unusually cold—crafted entirely from a massive block of dark ice. On the wooden racks surrounding the chamber, various bottles and jars are stacked, releasing a strong, pervasive aroma of medicinal herbs. This is precisely the alchemy studio that Han Li has established. The bottles and jars contain auxiliary medicinal ingredients, mostly ordinary yet essential and frequently used. Han Li has chosen not to store them in his storage bracelets, so they remain here. After briefly surveying the furnace vessels, his gaze settled on a medium-sized green one. Han Li raised his hand, grasping and then releasing the jade lid on the stone platform. Instantly, the lid lifted into the air and landed with a heavy thud on the ground beside it, producing a deep, resonant sound—remarkably heavy! At the very moment the lid flew out, a surge of bright red flame erupted from the large opening. The entire chamber instantly became scorching hot. Han Li did not hesitate—he simply pointed his hand toward the green cauldron. The cauldron swayed slightly and then faded into obscurity, vanishing from sight. A moment later, it appeared above the blaze of red flames, spinning steadily and irregularly under the glow. Han Li murmured incantations, then pressed his palms together and cast a spell toward the cauldron. The cauldron's form swelled and contracted several times before suddenly "pop" and fell straight down, precisely settling atop the fiery opening and completely shielding the red flames. Seeing this, Han Li exhaled deeply, then brushed his wrist, revealing a jade box that shimmered with a gentle blue light. He carefully opened the lid, revealing several purple, juicy berries. Each berry was the size of a fist, plump and round, filled with a clear coconut-like juice, and radiating a delightful, exotic fragrance. Inside the berries, each one encases slender, lifelike dragon-shaped seeds, crystal-clear and exquisitely rendered—precisely the kind of precious fruit that Han Li obtained during his journey to the Lin Clan. The "Tenglong Pills" crafted from this rare elixir have proven remarkably effective in refining the cultivation levels of early to mid-stage practitioners at the Liangxi stage. Now that Han Li himself has advanced to the Liangxi stage, he naturally intends to begin preparing these pills. However, the complexity of this elixir's preparation is one of the rarest experiences in Han Li's life. Several auxiliary materials required to accompany the pills must each undergo their own distinct refining processes, consuming a full month and a half. Fortunately, the maturation period of the Zhilong fruit is exceptionally long—taking exactly thirty thousand years to ripen once. Having been previously occupied with hastening the ripening of Jinlei Bamboo and Qingluo fruits, Han Li had not yet had the opportunity to examine the Zhilong fruit's maturation process, so he will now have to wait several more years. While pondering these points, Han Li reached into his storage and grasped a single wooden shelf with one hand. Instantly After reemerging, he once again entered the inner chamber to consolidate the cultivation level he had just broken through. At the same time, he began to truly comprehend the Chunli Sword Array. During this period, the four beasts—especially the little creature—actually brought a large number of rare materials to his doorstep. Though these materials were highly valuable, they were mostly of little use to the current needs of Han Li, so the Han Li embodied by Ti Hun naturally accepted them without hesitation. The four beasts could not discern whether the figure before them was genuine or not, and thus expressed heartfelt gratitude, never showing the slightest sign of disrespect. Under the instruction of the second prenatal stage, Ti Hun formally received the materials and then sent the four beasts away. As for whether they would eventually leave the great island and sail into the vast ocean beyond, he paid no further attention. For the following days, everything proceeded as usual. After several years passed, the first batch of Zhilong fruits finally ripened and matured. Han Li emerged from his seclusion and began to mass-produce Tenglong Pills. As a result, the elixir not only required an exceptionally complex preparation process, but its success rate was astonishingly low. With his current mastery as a master alchemist, out of ten attempts, seven or eight failed. Although Han Li had anticipated the difficulty in crafting this elixir, he was still taken aback by such a low success rate. Now he realized that the challenges involved in refining the elixir for cultivators at the Refinement of Void stage were far greater than what was commonly believed. That explained why the Tianyuan City auction house had never seen such an elixir offered for auction—likely, even if a few alchemists produced it, it would still be insufficient for their own use to break through their cultivation bottlenecks, let alone be readily presented. While it was not entirely unheard of to use elixirs of this rank in ordinary cultivation, such cases remained extremely rare. Though Han Li felt a touch of frustration, with the mysterious vial now in hand and the supporting materials not particularly rare, he simply needed to invest a bit more time—thus, he had no real concerns. Thus, time passed slowly, year after year, as Han Li entered meditation to refine pills, then returned to meditation to refine more pills. In a matter of moments, Han Li appeared in another hall, marked on the ground by a massive spell array. At the center of the array stood a stone platform, upon which a hexagonal bronze mirror was placed, subtly radiating a silvery glow. This was precisely the seal of the Wanlong Pearl that Han Li had refined several times after gaining a deeper understanding of the Jiugong Tianqian Symbol. Now, not only had the range of the seal expanded to several thousand li, but its subtle intricacies were far more refined than before. Han Li took a few steps forward, positioned himself at the center of the array, and, with both hands, chanted a series of gestures, channeling a beam of azure light into the spell. Instantly, the entire array resonated with a deep hum, and various hues of misty light surged forth, spiraling toward and wrapping around the bronze mirror. As the light cascaded onto the mirror, it emitted a low hum, its silvery glow flashing briefly, then suddenly spewing out a silvery luminous veil several zhang in width. Within this veil, countless points of light of varying sizes flickered and danced continuously. Han Li glanced at the screen, his expression suddenly shifting as his gaze settled on two glaring points at the very edges. "Two people?!" Han Li was startled, his face filled with astonishment, yet he fixed his gaze on them without blinking. For the full duration of a tea service, the two points remained motionless on the screen—neither moving toward Han Li's pavilion nor showing any intention of departing. Han Li's expression grew increasingly uncertain. "Clearly, this formidable presence is not here to cause trouble. If so, it would have arrived instantly upon Han Li's divine awareness sweeping over his pavilion. Yet these two remain steadfast here, suggesting they are not merely passing through. This is indeed a predicament for Han Li! Given their修为, it's impossible that they appeared here by mere chance. One could only wonder—whether they are allies or adversaries, or whether they harbor some other intention concerning this island. These two were no more than a few thousand miles away from their own abodes, and even their great powers might reach directly to where he stood. He didn’t want a fire at the city gates to spread and damage the fish in the pond. With this thought in mind, Han Li grew increasingly concerned. Moreover, the cold sensation he had sensed when his divine awareness first passed over them only deepened his unease, especially since he still didn’t know their intentions. His face grew serious as he pondered, gazing at the spell array beneath his feet. Suddenly, he clenched his teeth and made up his mind. Han Li raised one hand and pointed it toward the bronze mirror on the stone platform. The mirror trembled slightly and gradually rose into the air, radiating a brilliant silver glow. At the same time, he murmured softly, and as he opened his mouth, a cluster of pure blood spilled out. "Pffft!" The blood sphere, just a few feet from the mirror, burst open instantly, spreading into a dense crimson mist that immediately enveloped the entire mirror.