Following the new arrival, the three cultivators each tended to their own matters, not bothering to strike up any conversation.
It wasn’t until half a month later when the miasma had mostly retreated that two more striking lights flew towards the mountain with practiced coordination.
The two streaks circled above and dropped down in the middle of the three to reveal the Nine Serenities Sect Elder Wei and a beautiful black-clothed woman with thick eyebrows and a solemn face.
While she remained silent and emotionless, Elder Wei looked at the three with a happy bearing and said, “You three have honored me with your timely arrival. I was originally making preparations in case any of you were missing, but it seems it wasn’t necessary.”
The large man coldly smiled and bluntly said, “Although I have come, I am currently in a crucial point in overcoming my bottleneck. If Brother Fu’s affairs disinterest me, I will immediately leave.”
“Don’t worry, Brother Yuan! You should know that I speak truly since I"ve requested Fellow Daoists Han and Bai to come as well. Ah, but before that, an introduction is due. This is my Junior Martial Sister Chang Zhifang, the Nine Serenities Sect’s internal affairs elder. Since you’ve stemmed from the Nanjiang’s Sacred Poison Sect, we’ll especially need the a.s.sistance of a native like yourself, Brother Yuan. As for Fellow Daoist Han, he possesses astonis.h.i.+ng abilities and is a vagrant cultivator from overseas. Fellow Daoist Bai is...” Old Man Fu then proceeded to give a quick introduction of one another.
When the others heard Old Man Fu mention that Han Li possessed astonis.h.i.+ng abilities, Cultivator Yuan and Bai Yaoyi both looked at him with a trace of surprise.
Han Li frowned when he heard this and said, “Fellow Daoist Fu is overpraising me. My cultivation is rather average. Where have you heard of my said ‘astonis.h.i.+ng’ abilities?”
With a deep tone, Old Man Fu deeply said, “There is no need to hide it. Not only have you killed the Old Man Xiao in the Jin Capital, but after the trade meet, did you not also kill the ill.u.s.trious Monk Wickedfire? Given your vast cultivation, what is there to say?”
“Monk Wickedfire was killed by Fellow Daoist Han?” Cultivator Yuan suddenly looked at Han Li with a vastly changed expression. Bai Yaoyi also revealed shock. Only the black-clothed woman appeared indifferent as if she already knew beforehand.
Han Li bitterly chuckled and said with a helpless tone, “Brother Fu must be mistaken. While I did kill an unknown early-Nascent Soul cultivator in the Jin Capital, the one who killed this Monk Wickedfire was another cultivator. Do you believe that a vagrant like myself could possess such heaven-defying abilities?”
“Another cultivator? I heard that there were two similar faced cultivators that fought against Monk Wickedfire. Could it be that it truly wasn’t you?” Old Man Fu’s expression relaxed but he spoke with a tone of doubt.
Han Li rubbed his chin and said, “Brother Fu truly overestimates me. If I have the power to kill a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator in an instant, why would I need to avoid the Yin Sifting Sect? I could boldly leave and none would dare to block me.”
“Regardless, that Old Man Xiao was exceptionally cunning and was skilled in several evasion techniques. Being able to kill him already displays exceptional abilities. In any case, do you recognize the cultivator that killed Monk Wickedfire? Tch tch, the sudden appearance of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator can surely only mean that they come from overseas.” Old Man Fu asked with a greatly interested tone.
Han Li shook his head and calmly said, “The cultivator who killed Monk Wickedfire only had the same face as me. We don’t have the slightest relations.h.i.+p. "
“What a pity. If we were able to find him, our odds of success would be even greater.” With that said, Old Man Fu dryly laughed and dropped the topic.
Cultivator Yuan then asked, “I also heard that a two-headed and four-armed devil appeared near the underground trade meet on the last day. It devoured several early-Nascent Soul cultivators. Was it not for the great cultivator overseeing the trade meeting, the entire group would’ve been eliminated. Does Brother Han know of this matter?”
Han Li answered, "I don"t, I was already far away when it happened."
Cultivator Yuan wore a doubtful expression when he heard this.
At that moment, Bai Yaoyi asked, “Fellow Daoist Fu, how about you tell us about this appointment? I wouldn’t have come to such a faraway place if it weren’t for that small favor I owed you.”
“Of course. However, since this matter is of great importance, it’d be best that we take necessary precautions.” Then, Old Man Fu flicked his fingers all around him and released a dozen streaks of green fire.
They ruptured into bursts of dark flame and faded away into mists of green light.
Han Li swept his spiritual sense past them and found the faint fluctuations of the restriction. Although he didn’t know what kind he employed, the ease at which he set it up had caused his heart to tremble. He couldn’t help but think higher of the old man.
Both Bai Yaoyi and Cultivator Yuan swept their spiritual sense past the restriction as well and they couldn’t help but feel a trace of excitement at how seriously the old man was acting.
Old Man Fu let out a deep breath and solemnly said, “In truth, I’ve been preparing for this for over the last thirty years, and now a true opportunity has appeared. Have you Fellow Daoists ever heard of an ancient medicine known as the Nascent Cultivating Pill?”
“The Nascent Cultivating Pill?” Bai Yaoyi and Cultivator Yuan both appeared at a loss, but when Han Li heard this name, his expression stirred.
When Cultivator Yuan saw this, he asked, “Does Fellow Daoist Han know of the medicine pill?”
After a moment of thought, Han Li elaborated, “Yes, a little bit. The Nascent Cultivating Pill was an ancient sect’s signature spiritual medicine, and can be considered of divine quality. It was said that when the pill was taken, it would provide immense benefits to the Nascent Soul, allowing them to easily breakthrough bottlenecks. However, the sect wasn’t able to endure the pa.s.sage of time and the medicine pill formula was lost. Now, there are only a spa.r.s.e few that know of the its existence.” Were if not for the fact that Han Li was well researched in pill refinement and had read through many relevant ancient records, he would have no knowledge on this.
Both Cultivator Yuan and Bai Yaoyi showed delight. With much eager, Cultivator Yuan asked, “Brother Wei, you mean to say you know the whereabouts of this pill?”
It stands to mention that after a cultivator entered Nascent Soul stage, the number of medicines and methods to break through bottlenecks, even from those of ancient times, were reduced to nearly nothing. And if someone came into possession of one, they wouldn’t dare to mention it even to their kin.
After so many years, such items from antiquity had mostly disappeared. Apart from the few heaven-defying items of legend, most Nascent Soul cultivators had to rely on cultivation advancement medicines to break through their bottlenecks. As a result, those present couldn’t help but stir in excitement when they heard of the pill’s effects.
Old Man Fu chuckled with a proud expression. “It surprises me that Han Li actually knows of the pill. That’s right though, I acquired the refinement formula for this pill over a hundred years ago.”
“Fellow Daoist actually has such a treasure?” Cultivator Yuan knitted his hands together and his overwhelming excitement was betrayed from the slight red light blossoming over his dark face.
Both Han Li and Bao Yaoyi exchanged a similar glance of happiness.
Old Man Fu nodded. “I am also proficient in pill refinement techniques. So long as I have all the materials, the refinement shouldn’t prove to be a problem.”
Han Li furrowed his brow and asked, “From your tone, it seems you are lacking said materials.”
“Brother Han is quite sharp. Were it not for the fact that I was missing one of its main ingredients, I would’ve refined it years ago. It is for this reason that I wish for you to lend me your strength.”
Bai Yaoyi frowned and said, “Since you weren’t able to acquire it after so many years despite your position as a Nine Serenities Sect Elder, this item should be truly difficult to find.”
“Hard to find?” Old Man Fu bitterly chuckled, “This material should be extinct from this world. At the time, I believed the pill formula to be useless, but I didn’t think I’d find traces of it. As such, this caused me to write up plans.”
Cultivator Yuan impatiently said, “Alright, Brother Fu, please don’t speak in circles. Quickly now, properly tell us what you require.”
Old Man Fu calmly stated, “The flesh of an Umbra Yin Horse.”
In his alarm, Han Li narrowed his eyes and asked, “An Umbra Yin Horse? Where did Fellow Daoist find such a thing?”
When Bai Yaoyi and Cultivator Yuan heard this, they exchanged looks of dismay.
The old man chuckled and deeply said, “I happened to found traces of it thirty years ago right here in Nanjiang.”