Chapter 216: Medicinal Efficacy

Seeing the other party apologize so cautiously, Han Li felt embarrassed to continue finding fault with him. He had no choice but to cancel his original intention of teaching the man a lesson. After all, apart from being somewhat rude to him in the past, the ugly man hadn't committed any major errors.

Thinking this way, Han Li's expression softened, and he said indifferently:

"Since there is nothing else, I will be leaving first!"

Having said that, Han Li drifted away from the place.

The ugly man watched Han Li's disappearing back for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh, muttering to himself:

"There is truly no justice in this world! Others can casually go into seclusion in a geothermal room and successfully reach Foundation Establishment. How is it that I specifically sought out a quiet room and even found a pile of auxiliary medicinal pills, yet failed to break through? No wonder this person could be taken as a disciple by Ancestor Li; it seems his aptitude is truly extraordinary!"

The ugly man had actually mistaken Han Li for a genius with extraordinary aptitude. If Han Li himself had heard this, he probably would have been left between laughter and tears.

By this time, Han Li had already walked out of the Yuelu Hall. The two people guarding the teleportation array had been replaced by others; otherwise, seeing Han Li suddenly advance from the Qi Condensation stage to the Foundation Establishment stage would likely have caused quite a stir.

Han Li piloted his flying magic tool, traveling slowly through the sky with an incomparably comfortable mood, while recalling the experience of his entry into the Foundation Establishment stage.

Five months ago, after Han Li finished refining the Foundation Establishment Pills and deliberated for a while, he felt that using the geothermal room for Foundation Establishment was truly a good idea. At the very least, he didn't have to worry about someone suddenly breaking in, interrupting his seclusion and causing him to give up halfway.

Thus, with his mind made up, Han Li first took one of the three Foundation Establishment Pills he had, then began to circulate his cultivation technique to dissolve the medicinal efficacy.

The medicinal efficacy of the Foundation Establishment Pill took effect very quickly. After just a few hours, Han Li felt a ball of raging fire beginning to burn hotter and hotter in his dantian, while his limbs and other parts felt incomparably cold, forming a very distinct contrast between hot and cold sensations.

Yet this feeling only lasted for a short while before the raging fire in his dantian suddenly vanished without a trace, and his limbs and other parts returned to their normal temperature, which left Han Li somewhat stunned.

A look of doubt flashed across Han Li's face, then his expression changed drastically, and he pressed both hands onto his dantian, refusing to let go even by half an inch.

Because from that spot, a violent pain suddenly erupted, as if seven or eight sharp knives were churning simultaneously. This caused the completely unprepared Han Li's face to turn incomparably pale, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down his chin incessantly. His entire body curled up into a bow shape.

While Han Li curled into a ball on the ground in agony, he cursed incessantly in his heart, wondering why no one had ever mentioned to him that taking a Foundation Establishment Pill was such a painful affair.

But before he could finish cursing, the intense pain in his dantian suddenly erupted.

This eruption turned into countless streams of heat that immediately spread throughout his entire body along his meridians, even penetrating deep into his bone marrow. But then, the heat immediately turned into an unbearable, strange itch, as if countless ants were crawling all over his body, making him wish he could bang his head against the wall just to slightly alleviate this suffering.

This torture, which nearly drove Han Li mad, lasted for the time it takes to eat a meal before gradually subsiding. Only then could Han Li lean against the corner of the wall and barely stand up. By this time, he was drenched in sweat, his entire body covered in a layer of inexplicable gray substance that was sticky and emitted an indescribable, strange odor.

Yet Han Li didn't care about any of this. What he cared about was that his cultivation technique had advanced to the twelfth layer in one go, and his whole body felt warm and comfortable, with not a single part feeling unwell.

Clearly, that Foundation Establishment Pill had already improved his constitution, performing marrow cleansing and tendon changing for him. As for the warmth on his body, it should have been caused by the remaining medicinal efficacy of the Foundation Establishment Pill that hadn't been fully dissolved; it could be absorbed to increase his magic power. This was also the reason why one had to go into seclusion for three months after taking a Foundation Establishment Pill; otherwise, this medicinal efficacy would gradually dissipate with the passage of time.

At first, Han Li had indeed followed the Foundation Establishment process of others step by step, honestly meditating to absorb this residual medicinal efficacy.

But Han Li soon discovered that the medicinal power stored within his body could only slightly deepen his magic power; it would no longer serve to improve his physical constitution.

If one only had a single Foundation Establishment Pill, naturally, no one would pass up this rare opportunity to increase their magic power after undergoing marrow cleansing and tendon transformation. They would certainly not give up easily without spending a solid three months in seclusion to absorb all the medicinal power.

However, Han Li was different. He had a large batch of Foundation Establishment Pills on hand, so he didn't think much of this residual medicinal power! What he cared about was how many more times he would have to undergo this physical improvement before he could step into the Foundation Establishment stage! After all, marrow cleansing and tendon transformation were the keys to successfully breaking through and establishing his foundation!

After meditating for over ten days, Han Li, who had thoroughly understood this point, naturally had no patience to wait several months before taking a second Foundation Establishment Pill.

He asked himself if taking Foundation Establishment Pills in succession would cause any major problems; at most, it would just leave a bit more residual medicinal power, which was nothing! After thinking it over several times, Han Li finally didn't wait a few days before taking the second Foundation Establishment Pill.

The same intense pain, the same numbness and itching, made Han Li, who had been prepared, suffer quite a bit! But Han Li felt that this time, it seemed slightly lighter than the last. It was just that a lot of impurities were still expelled from his body; it seemed his aptitude was truly terrible!

After taking the Foundation Establishment Pills twice in succession, Han Li did not feel anything amiss with the residual medicinal power in his body. Of course, that warmth was slightly more intense, but this was of no hindrance at all! Furthermore, his magic power had advanced by leaps and bounds to the thirteenth layer, reaching the peak of the Qi Condensation stage.

With this, Han Li set his mind at ease. He then proceeded to take one Foundation Establishment Pill after another without stopping. Each pill performed the same marrow-cleansing function, forcing out batch after batch of gray impurities from Han Li's body!

But starting from the third pill, Han Li clearly felt that the marrow-cleansing effect of the Foundation Establishment Pill was rapidly declining, and fewer and fewer impurities were being expelled. At the same time, however, the magic power essence within his body was undergoing strange changes.

The originally gaseous essence, after taking the Foundation Establishment Pills several times, gradually became dense and viscous, with a strong tendency to transform into a liquid state. By the time he took the seventh Foundation Establishment Pill, Han Li's essence, except for a small piece at the core of his dantian, was no different from a liquid.

But after taking the seventh pill, the residual medicinal power in Han Li's body finally reached a state of near saturation. The warmth throughout his body had now turned into a burning, spicy sensation, which made Han Li hesitate!

He truly did not know if, after swallowing the eighth pill, his medicinal power would erupt and cause some kind of disaster! But Han Li also felt that he was very close to the Foundation Establishment stage; it was likely just a matter of taking one or two more pills!

After pondering slightly, Han Li's desire for Foundation Establishment gained the upper hand. Gritting his teeth, he took the eighth Foundation Establishment Pill.

However, this time, as soon as the pill hit his stomach, the residual medicinal power that he had barely been able to control suddenly erupted. A heat surged through all of Han Li's meridians, and he immediately lost consciousness!

When Han Li woke up with his whole body burning, he was pleasantly surprised to find that he had successfully broken through while unconscious and had already entered the Foundation Establishment stage.

Han Li, filled with surprise and joy, immediately wanted to leap up to vent the excitement in his heart! But as soon as he straightened his body, a heat surged through him again, and he collapsed to the ground once more, giving himself quite a fright!

It turned out that although he had successfully established his foundation, the residual medicinal properties of the eight Foundation Establishment Pills in his body had not diminished in the slightest; they still filled his entire body, which was extremely dangerous!

Given the current situation, he had to immediately circulate his energy to absorb this medicinal power at once. Otherwise, there was a possibility of it erupting again at any moment.

Although Han Li had figured out a way to resolve the crisis, he still secretly groaned, unable to feel happy.

Because, other than that copy of the "Great Expansion Sword Art," where would Han Li find any cultivation techniques above the Foundation Establishment stage! And as for this sword art, just by looking at how casually his newly apprenticed master had thrown it to him, one could tell how trashy this technique was!

Furthermore, Han Li had flipped through this book a few times in the past and had inquired about it from others.

This sword art was indeed very ordinary; almost every Foundation Establishment disciple of the Yellow Maple Valley had practiced two or three layers of it, but no one had ever continued to practice beyond the third layer. As for the specific reason, Han Li hadn't asked clearly, but the poor quality of this sword art was evident!

But given the current situation, even if Han Li didn't want to practice it, he had no choice but to bite the bullet.

With no other choice, Han Li had to take out the "Great Expansion Sword Art," spread it on the ground in front of him, and then sit cross-legged to practice according to the book.

This Great Expansion Sword Art had a total of nine layers. The first three layers could be practiced by Qi Condensation disciples, while the middle three and the last three could only be practiced by Foundation Establishment disciples and Core Formation cultivators. Furthermore, for every three layers practiced, one could use a unique divine ability of this sword art.

After practicing the first three layers, one could emit sword qi a zhang long with just one's palm, without needing any magic treasures; in terms of power, it was enough to rival an ordinary top-grade magic treasure!

After practicing the middle three layers, one could instantly release a protective sword shield. Although its defensive power was about the same as an ordinary mid-tier beginner defensive spell, this shield carried a certain sword qi counterattack; if one attacked this shield at will, they would be struck by the sword qi automatically released by the shield.

As for the last three layers...

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