Chapter 41: Heaven Controlling Vial
One night, several days later.
The entire sky was completely clear with not a single cloud in sight. The moon was hanging up in the heavens amid the stars, and there were occasionally shooting stars flashing past.
Inside the secret chamber of his cave abode, Han Li was seated at the center with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. Rays of starlight spilled down through the large hole in the ceiling, basking his entire body in faint silver radiance.
Beneath him, a complex array had been carved into the ground.
The array consisted of seven large star diagrams, each of which was around the size of a futon. The diagrams were all glowing brightly, and they connected together to form the shape of the Big Dipper.
The array was known as the Big Dipper Energy Gathering Array, and it wasn't actually recorded in the Big Dipper Origin Arts. Instead, it was something that Han Li had adapted from another star array based on his observation of the stars.
All of the stars in the sky appeared to be quite similar, but the powers that they bestowed were completely different. Some leaned more toward the Yin side of the spectrum, while others were more Yang inclined, and there were even some that fluctuated between the two. The Big Dipper Origin Arts drew upon the power of the Big Dipper's seven stars, which were constantly changing to provide a profound and irreplicable source of starpower.
This array had been created by Han Li in accordance with the special properties of the seven stars, and it was able to assist him in harnessing the starpower of the Big Dipper.
At this moment, he was seated on the first star of the Big Dipper constellation in the array.
All of a sudden, his eyes sprang open, and he swept a hand through the air to release an incantation seal.
The star array beneath him immediately began to revolve, and the seven stars began to glow brightly, with the first one glowing particularly bright. Specks of white light emerged out of thin air, filling the surrounding space to form countless constellation diagrams.
Situated within this sea of stars, Han Li's figure was made to appear rather blurry and indistinct.
He chanted an incantation while making a series of hand seals in accordance with the stipulations of the Big Dipper Origin Arts.
Around 15 minutes later, a burst of astonishingly powerful spiritual sense swept out of his glabella, circling around before forming an invisible vortex above his head.
He then switched to a different hand seal, and the spiritual sense vortex above him spread open, gradually taking on a form that resembled a nebula.
The Big Dipper Origin Arts also appeared in the nebula, and it was resonating with the star array down below.
Han Li raised his head, casting his gaze through the large hole in the ceiling, looking up at the seven stars that were glowing the brightest in the night sky. His gaze then fell upon the Dubhe star, the first star of the Big Dipper, and he began to chant a complex incantation.
The dazzling Dubhe star seemed to flash momentarily, following which boundless starpower came cascading down from it like a silver waterfall, passing through the large hole in the ceiling to encompass Han Li's entire body, enveloping him in surging starpower.
A serious look appeared on Han Li's face.
One's ability to draw upon the power of starlight was dependent on the power of their spiritual sense. His current spiritual sense was comparable to that of an immortal, thereby establishing a strong foundation for practicing this cultivation art, but he still couldn't afford to grow complacent.
He continued to make a series of hand seals to operate the cultivation art, and the starpower around him instantly began to ripple before converging to form countless threads of light that resembled thin needles.
The threads of light were enveloped by his spiritual sense, and they revolved around him momentarily before falling like rain and plunging into his body.
Han Li shuddered violently as he drew a sharp breath, and his brows furrowed ever so slightly.
These threads of light all had substantial form, and they had pierced into his body like countless swords.
As a result, his entire body was riddled with holes that were bleeding profusely, quickly staining his robes red.
What was even more alarming was that these threads of light were racing erratically throughout his body, slicing at him from the inside like countless tiny blades.
If it weren't for his incredibly powerful physical constitution, he would've already been rolling on the ground in agony.
However, moments later, his brows gradually began to unfurrow. He could sense that the threads of starlight were slowly breaking down into the purest starpower that was seeping into all parts of his body, and that was naturally an extremely encouraging observation.
He took a deep breath, quickly suppressing the pain and elation that he was feeling so he could focus his attention entirely on operating the cultivation art.
More and more starpower fell from the heavens before piercing into his body, then began to work its way through his body in accordance with the cultivation art.
He was still carrying severe injuries that he was unable to recover from due to his inability to absorb the world's origin qi, but with this influx of pure starpower, his body immediately began to eagerly devour the starpower, and his injuries quickly began to heal.
The holes that had been pierced into his body by the threads of starlight also instantly healed, unable to cause any substantial damage to his body.
As the process continued, the agony of constantly being impaled by the threads of starlight was gradually forgotten, and he found himself completely immersed in his cultivation.
Seven days passed by in the blink of an eye.
At the center of the cave abode, Han Li was still seated on the diagram of the first star, and every single fiber of his muscles and tendons was giving off a radiance that resembled starlight, while the same starlight was also beginning to glow from his bones.
What was particularly worthy of note was that there was an extremely eye-catching speck of blue light situated at his lower abdomen.
The speck of blue light was constantly expanding and contracting as if it were breathing, and it was devouring most of the starpower that was drawn into Han Li's body.
At this point, Han Li's expression was completely calm and placid without any signs of pain.
All of a sudden, the starpower around him rippled, and the speck of blue light at his lower abdomen began to radiate dazzling light while churning incessantly.
Immediately thereafter, a profound starlight rune appeared within the blue light.
The rune only appeared for an instant before vanishing into his body in a flash.
Han Li opened his eyes, and an elated smile appeared on his face.
With his incredibly powerful physical body and spiritual sense, he was able to attain complete mastery of the first level of the Big Dipper Origin Arts in just a few days, thereby successfully manifesting his first profound aperture.
However, he still had no plans of coming out of seclusion, and he closed his eyes once again to consolidate his progress.
Several days later, on a clear and picturesque night, Han Li's eyes suddenly sprang open, and he raised a hand to cease the operation of the Big Dipper Energy Gathering Array. The starpower and the specks of white light around him instantly receded like the tide.
He hurriedly rose to his feet, then made his way over to a dark green vial that was sitting on the ground in front of him, then raised it up to his own eyes for closer inspection.
At this moment, the small vial was completely enshrouded in a layer of green light, and several strange golden runes had appeared on its surface, giving it a rustic appearance.
However, in the next instant, the burst of green light abruptly vanished into the dark green patterns on the vial, but the golden runes remained, bulging slightly out of the surface of the vial.
Han Li gently swayed the vial from side to side, and he could feel a drop of liquid swirling around within the vial.
A faint smile appeared on his face upon seeing this.
Over these past few days, he would always set the vial on the ground in front of him during his cultivation.
At a certain time, a layer of faint white light would always appear on the surface of the vial.
Upon closer inspection, one would discover that the layer of white light consisted of countless tiny specks of white light that were rapidly entering the vial as if they were living creatures until they were completely absorbed.
However, this phenomenon never lasted very long, and it would immediately vanish after a certain hour of the night.
Once every two days, after the vial had absorbed all of the white light, a layer of green light would appear, following which a drop of green liquid would appear in the vial.
Han Li withdrew his gaze as he gently stroked the leaf patterns on the small vial with his fingers. He was doing so with the utmost care and delicacy, as if he were stroking the cheek of a loved one.
As he felt the contours of the vial, he couldn't help but think back to a distant past.
He felt as if he had returned to the Seven Mysteries Sect and that small medicinal farm in the God Hand Valley, where he experimented with the green liquid in the small vial for the very first time. With that memory came the same sense of anxiety and anticipation that he had felt at the time. [1]
He knew that if he hadn't unintentionally discovered that the green liquid in the vial was able to accelerate the maturation of spirit medicines at the time, perhaps he would've never been able to set foot on the path of cultivation at all, and there was certainly no way that he could've risen up to become the number cultivator of the human race that was revered by the entire Spirit Realm.
If there were one thing that had accompanied him throughout his entire cultivation journey, then it was undoubtedly this Heaven Controlling Vial. [2]
During the 300 years in which he had been unconscious following his ascension to the Immortal Realm, he had lost Daoist Xie, the Gold Devouring Beetle Monarch, and many of his past allies and assets, but he had always been unconsciously protecting this vial, not allowing himself to part with it.
When it came to this vial, he felt a special type of attachment to it.
All of a sudden, Han Li raised an eyebrow, and he stopped stroking the vial as a peculiar look appeared on his face.
His brows furrowed slightly as he pulled out the stopper before looking into the vial, and a hint of surprise and elation surfaced in his eyes.
He then immediately replaced the stopper on the vial before rushing out of the secret chamber.
1. For more on the Seven Mysteries Sect and the God Hand Valley, please refer to RMJI Chapter 3: Seven Mysteries Sect and RMJI Chapter 5: Doctor Mo, respectively. ☜
2. For more information on the Heaven Controlling Vial, please refer to RMJI Chapter 2430: Heaven Controlling Vial. ☜
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